Semester 2 Blog 3 Learning Outcome 3

The soul purpose of any kind of mass media or advertisement is to persuade and inform.  Each type of media can be done differently. One very forceful claim that has been adopted from learning about mass media is that one type of advertisement is usually directed towards one type of specific audience, and the images have a stronger impact than the text.  The main focus of the author or publisher when making an advertisement is their audience.  These people are the only people that will generally be interested in what they have to offer, therefore they usually only focus on appealing to them.  Also, almost all advertisements are bias towards any other product out there that is even remotely similar to theirs.  This makes the audience believe that their product is the best, whether they’re tried it and compared it, or not.  Women often view advertisements and feel as though they will look like the model in the picture if they use that product.  What really goes on behind the scenes of making that specific advertisement, are all the touch-ups and Photoshop that real women do not see.  Text in many advertisements for women are to make them feel like if they do not buy the product then they will not look or feel beautiful.  All advertisements are based on who the audience is and the majority of the time, they make their audience feel as though their product is definitely better than any other product.  In conclusion, many advertisements are more focused on the text and the image of their product, instead of the product itself.

Semester 2 Blog 2

We live in a world where everything you do is judged and criticized.  Too often people will get in silly arguments over difference of opinions.  One of Mondello's claims many people may disagree with is that the next generation to come will be isolated because of the lack of CD albums, paper back books, and old school items.  Mondello states in his article titled Our Media, Ourselves: Are we headed For a Matrix? that without these things, life will have no value.  Too frequently people will get caught up in the past and the history, and not focus on what new inventions we all have been gifted with.  New technology is what shapes and changes the way we all live and learn together.  One of Mondello's points he made in this article, was "Won't the next generation be isolated without them-cut off like Vashti, staring at screens all day?"  This can be easily argued that old ways will not be isolated, but new ways and new ideas will be considered as well.  The more renovations and ideas that are introduced to our world, the more advanced we will be as a whole.  This claim can competently be disagreed with because the discovery of new ideas and new products are invented to improve something that already exists, or improve our standards of living.  Without the invention and renovations of things that already exist, our world would always stay the same and the theory of evolution would not exist.  Society easily gets lost in comparing the good with the bad.  New inventions and new technologies are only taken on if society accepts them and moves forward with them.  As stated in The Machine Stops, E.M Forster writes, "I have called you before, mother, but you were always busy or isolated.  I have something particular to say.  What is it, dearest boy? Be quick.  Why could you not send it by pneumatic post?"  This quote clearly shows the way people receive information and how they have taken on a new way of communication through something more advanced, technology.  This is why Mondello’s claim can easily be disagreed with because the generations to come will not be isolated from the world, they will just be more advanced than previous generations.  The world has come a long way since the beginning of time, and its all thanks to new concepts and new products.  The next point to address regarding this claim is that new electronic components have benefited the world greatly.  Without the invention of medical appliances, and medicines, our average life span would be the same as it was 85 years ago.  More people need to step back and learn to acquire the advancements and changes that our world is naturally supposed to go through.  Just like humans grow and develop, our world does too.  In conclusion, Mondello’s claim about the isolation of future generations is effectively disagreeable to the point that computers and music players have not taken the place of paper books or records, but instead they have just been renovated and progressed to accommodate the changes that happen to our world every single day. 

Semester 2, Blog 1 Hoover Advertisement

At a first glance of this image you see colors associated with Christmas or the Holiday Season.  The only colors on this image are red, green, white, and black from the text.  Many of us think of Christmas as a time to exchange and receive gifts.  In the image you see a middle aged attractive woman with a long, green dress that seems to be covering most of her body.  The only part of her body that is exposed is her face and the lower part of her arms.  This makes me immediately think back to how times were in the 50's and 60's when most women did not wear very revealing clothing and played the role of the "housewife".  Many women did not have the rights that they do now.  The product in this advertisement is the vacuum itself and its bright red color, with a large green bow.  The logo for this product is also placed in the upper right hand corner with yet another bow on it, which again ties the image to the Christmas season.  The boxes in the bottom right hand corner are significantly smaller than the vacuum and they are wrapped, yet the vacuum is not.  This also signifies that what is in the smaller boxes may not be as important, which adds attention to the product.  The woman in this image is grabbing onto the vacuum as if it is her favorite present.  Her facial expression shows that she is pleased with her gift, and thankful that she got it.  Although, going back to what I mentioned earlier about women’s roles during the 50's and 60's, she is gifted a cleaning supply.  This shows that women were responsible for chores such as cleaning, yet they are somewhat forced to be thrilled with getting a cleaning device for Christmas.  Also, if you look in the woman's right hand she is holding what seems to be a card that is a part of the present.  Her smile is not a full smile like you would see with a young boy getting a new toy or a young girl getting a doll set.  It looks like a small smirk, or smile of contentment.  The text says "Give her a Hoover and you give her the best".  This implies that most men want to give their wives the best of the best, and giving them a Hoover would be the best vacuum they could get.  The text in parenthesis "(and forever after)" shows that the feeling the wife will get of having the best of the best will last forever.  The other text that states, "She cares about her house, you know, so if you really care about her....wouldn't it be a good idea to consider a Hoover for Christmas?"  This shows again that wives during this time really prided themselves over how clean their houses were and this text makes the connection between the wife's caring of her house, and the husbands caring for her.  These are two different types of caring though, yet this advertisement compares the two as the same feelings to sell the product.  The text also implies that the Hoover Vacuum is the best, and it is the only vacuum that can make her feel the same way about cleaning her house, as her husband feels towards her.  The purpose for this ad is to persuade husbands that by giving their wife a Hoover Vacuum, they will feel like their husbands really care about them.  The main audience for this product is husbands that want to show their love to their wife on Christmas.  The main tactic in this advertisement was using persuasive appeals implying that their wife would be happier on Christmas if she received a Hoover Vacuum.     

Blog Three Learning Outcome Three

 

Everything from swearing, smoking, and sexting happen at High Schools all over the world. It is something that teens feel they have to be a part of, to fit into such a violent, judgmental, and gruesome place. Most kid’s number one problem in High School is that they are too lazy, too social, or too dependent. Students who struggle in High School never want to admit that they need help, and before they know it, they get smacked across the face with something known as reality;  that big, scary, unfamiliar place of  life itself. When will students grow up and put school before their phone or laptop. When will students learn that school comes first? In this paragraph I used three familiar types of rhetorical devices to shape and develop my paragraph. I related this piece directly from my editorial, to learning outcome three by using alliteration to make my ideas flow together. The easier ideas are put together, the better my content is understood by my readers. I also used sensory detail with words such as gruesome and violent to give my audience a visual of what I was referring too. This also gives the readers the mood of mental imaging of the setting or objects portrayed in a descriptive way. I also used rhetorical questions to keep my reader thinking and on the edge of their seat to learn and investigate more, even after the story ended. By putting questions that your audience cannot answer at the end of your piece, it leaves them with a continuous thought and curiosity which evolves to them making their own ending to your story.

Blog 2 Learning Outcome 1

Imagine getting a 15 year jail sentence just for owning a gun. Seems pretty outrageous right? In "Indy Star's" controversial editorial on illegal ownership of guns, Jerry Crawford faces jail time of 15 years for illegal possession of a firearm. In this particular editorial, it explains the seriousness of owning a weapon. This piece addresses learning outcome one because it is alerting the audience of a real-life situation, and is warning all readers of this newspaper, that owning a firearm is not only dangerous, but a serious responsibility as well. On line twelve, the quote "This sentencing shows just how seriously federal law threats the illegal possession of firearms." grabs the audience's attention by using words like "seriously" and "illegal". The purpose for this editorial in Indy Star was purely to educate and warn readers the severe consequences and stresses that can be tied with owning a weapon. Also in the quote at the end of the article, the author says "The sentence handed down Wednesday on Jerry Crawford came in a case investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and explosives' Achilles Task Force." The author's purpose behind adding this in was to deepen the seriousness of this topic by showing just how extreme this case was. By doing this, the author immediately opens the eyes of his readers. This editorial was not only to entertain the weekly readers of the Indy Star, but to send out a warning of something that could happen to any owner of a firearm.

Link=  www.indystar.com/fdcp/?unique=1323995077052

Blog One, Learning Outcome Two

A lot has changed since the year 1964.  In “Why We Can't Wait", by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, he explains the times that African Americans went through during the extent of segregation.  The use of the word "negro" is very different from the way we use that word today, both verbally and in our writings.  For an example, on page 50, line 22, Dr. King uses the word "negro" in the quote "...refused to hire Negroes in other than menial capacities, refused to promote the few Negroes in their employ and would not serve colored people at their lunch counters."  This quote brings me to my first point of relating this to learning outcome two; which is how this first quote relates to the impact of language changes over time.  This quote shows how the word "negro" was used in a negative or bad way.  This quote makes the reader think the "negroes" are a group of people who are less important or who have fewer rights than others.  In this quote, it states that Negroes would not be promoted in their employ and would not be served their lunch.  This immediately gives the readers the negative impression of Negroes because of the fact that they have no rights although they are still human.  Also, the quote found on page 160 relates to the change of language with the word "negro".  "What more does the negro want?" which implies that during the time of slavery and racism, Negroes were not called by their names.  This quote also implies that Negroes did not have a lot of freedom.  Now a day, Negroes are free and they have the same rights as every other American.  We refer to all Americans by name and when the word "negro" is used, it is no longer an adverse or degrading word. We use Negro very seldom, and if this is used, it is used just to refer to African Americans as human beings.