final project!

I decided that for my final project I am going to do a powerpoint. I am not exactly sure how many slides I will use, but to make the project coherent and flow smoothly I'll probably use more than 4 slides- maybe around 6 slides. I've never used powerpoint for my macbook, so I'm not exactly sure what options it'll let me use, but I have an idea of what I want it to look like. I want a green background for the slides, or at least many dark colors because I love dark colors and I love music that is in minor keys, which are considered dark keys. I'm going to start with band in 6th grade when I first started playing my instrument, then I'm going to cover what I did in high school, then I'll cover where I am in college right now, then I'll describe the two different paths I want to go on for my future- one as a principle tubist in a distinguished orchestra and a music educator either in a high school or a professor at a college.

For my scrapbook, the one thing that keeps coming back to mind that I should discuss is my future career that I wish to have. I hope to either be a band director of a successful music program somewhere or I want to play in a world class orchestra. I have already come so far from where I was when I first started playing my instrument and I knew next to nothing about music. I know so much more already and I'm still excited to learn more about it. I also might include how I really want to be a mother and have a modest, happy family. I might include reading too since I read every day and it is still such a huge part of my life.

My first thoughts when I saw the Oklahoma memorial were about how beautiful the memorial is and what an awe-inspiring creation it is. I was impressed with how strong and graceful it appears, as if the memorial is trying to say that even though what happened was a devastating tragedy nothing is ever going to tear the unity and love shared between the survivors and the families of those that passed away.

One of the symbols that I thought was one of the strongest was the elm tree that was named the Survivor tree. I love that it represents the resilience and durability of those that remained after the tragedy. Trees have always represented wisdom and stability, and I think this tree says exactly that. I think the people who survived can look to the tree as a sign of hope and faith that they can continue living life even though many of their comrades passed away.

The reflecting pool is also another symbol that I think is very important to the memorial. After all the chaos and turmoil, a pool where people effected by the tragedy can come reflect and remember is exactly what is needed. Since it is a reflecting pool, people can look at themselves and see who they have become since the event. The calming sound of the water is also necessary to relax those who are still experiencing an inner turmoil over the events.

Pictures as a Composition

 Like the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" states, a picture can sometimes convey much more than words can. they are reflective of the times, the customs, the situations, and so many other things. It literally freezes a moment in time forever. Unlike a memory, the photograph never changes and no one can exaggerate what is found in the picture. A narration or caption that goes with the photo always helps explain what is in the picture, but pictures by themselves speak leaps and bounds alone. For example, a baby album forever immortalizes the person that the baby album is about. No words are needed to explain the pictures and how important they are.

The picture I chose to describe is a picture of my family outside Seaworld on the day of my birthday. It was one of the happiest days of my life and my family looks so happy. It was before my brother was born and so my mom is still extremely skinny and my dad still has his huge glasses. I am almost a head taller than my sister even though she is only a year younger than me and I'm a head shorter than my mom even though now I am the same height as her. I think this is reflective of what a lot of families do in today's world. They take vacations and visit amusement parks together and have fun being a family.

Thesis for Essay 2

If I use facebook, my thesis will be, "Facebook, even though it has its significant dangers, is a wonderful application that connects many different types of people together while creating a sense of community online." I might change that a bit when I actually write my essay.

If I use Pandora, my thesis will be, "Pandora, or the music genome project, is a great way to discover new music, listen to one's favorite music, and learn about music in general." Again, I might change that a bit if I use this thesis.

List of DC communities for Essay 2

I'm not all that tech savvy, so I only belong to a few online groups. They are Facebook, Myspace, ITEAonline, NMSU, and yahoo mail. I think I'm going to write about Facebook because it is the group that I am most interested in and I would say I use this group the most. I'll probably try to use the angles that the articles we had to read use; I'll list the dangers and benefits of Facebook. I might take a side and argue the side of the benefits of facebook simply because I want to keep mine, but I'll have to think about which side puts on a stronger argument. I'm open to input about which side would be better to argue for.

Ah! I just remembered I forgot about Pandora! Oh my goodness, I might actually use that one instead. I love Pandora, and being a music major I think it would be fitting to use it, but I'll have to think about it some more. Again, I'm open to input.

Discourse communities

Some discourse communities that I am a part of include: New Mexico State University, International Tuba Euphonium Association, The Greater Southwestern International Church of Christ, and the Pride of New Mexico.

-New Mexico State University is a college that is not very exclusive. Anyone that can afford tuition can be a part of the college. Since NMSU has more of a younger population, it is very common for students to dress according to what the current trends for young adults are. Many people get to know each other by asking about what majors and related topics. I am music major so I can more easily to other music majors.

The International Tuba Euphonium Association is another group that also is not very exclusive, but it costs money to be a member. It is almost entirely composed of tuba and euphonium players, although anyone can become a member. It is purely for the betterment of the tuba/euphonium community.

The Greater Southwestern International Church of Christ is another group that anyone can join, but to be a member one needs to have a sincere love for God and studies the bible to get baptized. It is composed of many different people of different interests, ages, and walks in life who all share a common interest in living a christian life in troubled times.

discourse communities

Discourse communities seem to be groups of people that gather in some way to discuss one topic in specific. These people in this group follow unwritten rules and may have different opinions on the specific topic. Intercommunication is important in this community, whether it is by e-mail, a chat group, or some other means of communication.

Commonplace is a place that is united more strongly than discourse communities because the members all have the same opinions and goals, but it is the same concept as discourse communities.

Rhetorical Analysis of Online Advertisement

Rhetorical Analysis of Online Advertisement

            For this online advertisement assignment, I decided to use the “Everybody loves this car” commercial by Volkswagen.  I chose this commercial because it encompasses many different types of people so that anyone watching can feel like the commercial is targeting them in specific.  It also uses the three modes of persuasion, which are logos, ethos, and pathos, as outlined by Aristotle very effectively for their product.

            Logos, the mode of persuasion that appeals to logic and is based on facts, is not used as frequently in this advertisement as the other two, but it still can be found in the commercial and is still used to help convince the audience to buy Volkswagen beetles.  There are not really any concrete facts that are found in the commercial; the commercial is based on statements that are opinionated and not factual at all. The element of the commercial that might be closest to using logos is when the narrator lists all the different types of ethnicities and differences that exist in a given population. All the different groups of people that are mentioned are valid and actual groups that are discriminated against in real life. The commercial uses the people that depict each of their groups to convey happiness in the car. Every person is smiling either a huge grin or a smug smirk. To make the advertisement more effective, the commercial needed to utilize a more persuasive technique that appeals to one of the two other modes of persuasion.

            Ethos, the mode of persuasion that appeals most to the ethical aspect of the advertisement and also deals with the credibility of the commercial creators and the company that is trying to sell the product. Volkswagen is a very credible company that has a history of creating quality automobiles. This automatically gives credibility to the commercial and draws the attention of the audience from the very beginning. The familiar shape of the Volkswagen beetle also helps to grab the audience’s attention. Another aspect that appeals to Ethos is that many activist groups can relate to all the different groups of people that were targeted in the commercial. These groups of people face real issues in society today. The narrator seems well informed about all the different groups that have faced discrimination over the years.

            Pathos, the mode of persuasion that is most effective and appeals to the emotional aspect of the advertisement. As mentioned previously, several groups are being targeted so that the commercial can appeal to virtually every minority group. Ironically their attempt to target all these minority groups has created a majority group that can relate to the commercial. The fact that the commercial encompasses so many different people makes the audience want to believe that the Volkswagen Company is sensitive to anyone no matter who or what they are. The commercial even includes the colorblind in their campaign. The statement that the narrator says at the beginning of the commercial that “everybody loves a Volkswagen beetle” encourages the audience to believe that because of the appeal to all different groups of people everyone should love a Volkswagen because in some way or another the commercial has appealed to everyone watching it.

            There are also many interesting points that can be analyzed in the advertisement that might make it even more appealing to the audience.  The first noticeable thing is that the narrator has an English accent, which makes the speaker seem more intelligent and well informed about the car that is being promoted. Also the color of the main beetle being showcased is yellow, which is a color that symbolizes happiness and joy. The first driver is a white male, which reflects who has the most power in American society. The second driver is a stereotypical black male with a big Afro and a disco ball ornament hanging from the rear-view mirror. He is also wearing sunglasses, like the next driver, a woman, is wearing as well. The next group, the homosexuals, does not have a physical person driving but rather have an enormous triangular flag on the car. This makes homosexuals look like bad drivers or makes them seem weak. The next two drivers, the old man and the left-handed man, are driving with the windows up while all the previous drivers had the windows down. The commercial then rapidly goes through a few more ethnicities, which appear to not be as important as the other ethnic groups. The music is also critical as well. The commercial starts out with just the drums, then as the drivers change and more groups are mentioned, more instruments are added, such as a guitar, then a harmonica, then vocals. This creates intensity and suspense and gets the audience excited about the product, in this case the Volkswagen beetle, and makes them want to be happy like the people and music denote.

            Overall the “Everybody Loves This Car” commercial is a good representation of the three methods of persuasion and is a good commercial to analyze and try to understand how companies such as Volkswagen use the media to influence what products people buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"YouTube - Volkswagen Beetle Commercial: Everybody Loves this Car." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Dec. 2008. 08 June 2009 .

6/5 rhetorical visions assignment

I will start off by giving my own definitions of the three kinds of arguments as outlined by Aristotle.

Logos: I think this method is the most sensible one, but not necessarily the most effective. It is based for the most part on fact and logical arguments and valid points. It is the method that gives the most facts out of all three.

Ethos: This method I believe has a lot of implications tied into it. The reputation of the person or group of people presenting the information has a huge effect on the audience. Also the way the ad is presented effects the Ethos as well. 

Pathos: In my opinion I think that this can be the most effective and dangerous method. People are naturally ruled by emotions and pathos aims at evoking strong emotions. Most commercials and advertisements that want an audience to believe a certain viewpoint heavily use the pathos method.

As far as my ads that I chose, I think Ethos will be very important because my ads are based on popular companies that have good reputations. They all appeal to the pathos method as well. The Volkswagon commercial appeals very strongly to the emotional aspect by involving so many differences and encompassing all ethnicities and types of people. The Heineken commercial appeals very strongly to the emotions and bonds that same-sex friends experience. Logos isn't used as much because the ads are trying to persuade the viewers to use their products and so they might not be giving all the facts or might be only telling half-truths.

Online advertisement

Okay, so this didn't post yesterday, so I'm going to try again...

Option 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ZZreXEqSY

I think this ad might be a good choice because it is a situation that many people can relate to and the humor grabs the viewer's attention.

option 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVsg6TtVEE

I chose this ad because it appeals to the imagination and the longing that is in everyone to leave their mundane lives and find their own fantasies. This ad makes it seem that their water can do many things out of the ordinary when reality it can't.

I know we're only supposed to have 2, but this third one was tied with the first two.

Option 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiImuSr1ukI

I chose this advertisement because it appeals to so many different kinds of people

and because it is trying to be politically correct.

Poster assignment June 3, 2009

I decided to use a poster from part 2 of the website under the title "Warning! Our Homes Are in Danger Now!." I picked the image titled "Don't Let That Shadow Touch Them." I chose this one because I think it is a good example of propaganda and uses both the key rhetorical concepts and the five rhetorical canons very well. The metaphor of the swastika being a shadow vilifies All of Germany as evil and a country that must be stopped by buying war bonds. It also makes American males seem brave and strong by giving the boys a war plane and a flag while weakening females by putting the girl in a crouching position and giving her a doll that is being touched by the shadows. The children are also of a white ethnicity, which unites the predominately white America while alienating other ethnicities. This poster is going to be very memorable to those who see it because it is threatening innocent children and because overall the poster is very menacing. The font in bright yellow grabs the reader's attention by contrasting it with the darkness of the picture in the poster. Overall, the poster instills a sense of fear and urgency to buy war bonds to protect children and the american way in general.

I really hope this works...