Ted Video Response

Bryan Stevenson talks about identity in his Ted video. He plays off of the power of identity and how it contributes to our lives and how it is at risk within the justice system. He talks about the lessons he learned from his grandma and how she was always watching him and how powerful and loving she was. He tells us how she taught him three things. These included, always love your mother, always do the right thing, even if it is not popular, and to never drink. He goes on to explain the justice system and how in 1972 there were 300,000 people incarcerated and now in 2012 there are millions of people incarcerated. There is a disconnect in the justice system that takes a toll on our society. He says we live in a society full of judement and where a judge can make you something you are not, for example the young African American teenage boy he was defending that was tried as an adult. In his eyes it was a race issue and he pushed for a motion to try him as an older Caucasian male that was very high ranked in society. Stevenson tells us about a janitor that he met that was so proud of him and how he came in the court room while everyone was outraged about his motion and sat down. When a deputy approached him and asked him what he was doing in the courtroom he explained to him that he wanted to tell him to keep his eyes on the prize and to just hold on. That is the message that Stevenson wanted to send out to his Ted viewers. I think this was a very good video. Bryan Stevenson really strived to make sure people are doing what they should. He wants to change somethings in the justice system to better them and to better our society.

Article Summary

In the article "Don't Mess With Big Bird" by Charles M. Blow he talks about Mitt Romney's comment kind of bashing Big Bird from Sesame Street. Romney's comment was this “I’m sorry, Jim. I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things. I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you, too. But I’m not going to — I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it". Many people were outraged because Big Bird has been such a huge influence in so many children's lives since 1969. The author Charles Blow took offense to it and wrote this article in response. He explains how he grew up with PBS and Sesame Street and how even as a junior in high school taking his ACT PBS helped him. He uses a good balance of ethos, pathos, and logos. Everything he says has something to back it up, whether its a statistic or just his own opinion. 

Ethos, Pathos, Logos chart.

Ethos:

• New York Times
• PBS
• Presidential Debate
• Big Bird
• National Geographic Magazine
• Sesame Street
• Countess Von Backward
• Fox News

Pathos:

• "I honestly don’t know where I would be in the world without PBS."
• "Those are fighting words."
• Romney's fox trop away from facts
• Let the facts speak for themselves
• "Do you know anything about looking out for the less fortunate?"
• "I'm down with Big Bird. You pick on him, you answer to me."
• Character matters

Logos:

• Over the course of a year, 91 percent of all U.S. television households tune in to their local PBS station
• our service is watched by 81 percent of all children between the ages of 2-8
• 1969 Big Bird has been the man on Sesame Street
• Costs $1.35 per person per year

NY Times Columnist - Charles M. Blow

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/opinion/blow-dont-mess-with-big-bird.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Why Men Fail

In the article "Why Men Fail" by David Brookes he talks about how women are starting to out perform men. I think this is a pretty true statement. I mean women's performance rate compared to men's isn't super out of this world but it also isn't as low as you'd think. I think women are just realizing that it's the 21st century and people aren't stuck with the stereotypes women had way back when. Like tending to the children and the house and letting the men take care of working and being the bread winners. They've realized that they can be strong independent people without a man in their life. The author uses a good example of pathos in his article which says "Forty years ago, men and women adhered to certain ideologies, what it meant to be a man or a woman. Young women today, Rosin argues, are more like clean slates, having abandoned both feminist and pre-feminist preconceptions. Men still adhere to the masculinity rules, which limits their vision and their movement". I think this statement is so true, women can do anything a man can do and sometimes better. I love how times are changing and I think it is for the better. Women need to take a stand and prove to people that they're good for more than taking care of children and the house. 

Questions

1. What's a good source to use if we get a brain block or get stuck during our writing?
2. Does our paper just have to be 3-5 pages or a certain word length as well?
3. Will we have a rubric to go with our peer edits so we get good feedback or will we just have to give our opinion?

Muslim Rage Picture Response

This picture is of the Muslim Rage protests that broke out because of a video. This picture when first looked at shows a lot of hate in my eyes. You see anger until you really look deep and examine this picture well. If you do so you can see its guys yelling and protesting. One guy is holding a flag and the other is holding his hand up probably chanting something. In response to the tweets on #MuslimRage I think partly everyone is tired of the fighting and hostility between our countries so the I'm glad they can find a way to kind of laugh it off and make jokes. The tweets were pretty funny I must say. It is crazy to see the amount of chaos one video or comment or even a word can set off now a days. I think these people are just trying to defend themselves like we are whether it be for good or bad reasons.

Obama video paragraph

A visual element that grabs my attention first in this video is Obama sitting down and talking. It grabs your attention because it is word of mouth and makes it more personal. The background music reinforces this impression because it makes his words flow and it adds a dramatic tone to it as well. It is important for Obama to be able to talk to his viewers and relate rather than have a dramatic act. The video is very normal no fancy graphics or anything. The video puts Barack Obama as the background for a few shots so you can see him conversing with people and other that go along with what he is talking about reinforcing the importance of his video. The video shows the “President’s Plan” including sentences with different points to his plan explaining them. Barack Obama is saying we need to move forward and stop trying the same plans that got us in this trouble. We need to find new methods to get us out of our hard times rather than doing things that aren’t going to help our country progress. An example of ethos is his Presidential campaign and just the fact that he’s Barack Obama. When Obama says, “We have to make a choice for two very different plans for our country” he showed pathos. His presidential campaign is a great example of logos. 

Obama Video Rhetorical Analysis

 What visual elements grab your attention first?
One of the first thing that grabs my attention is Obama sitting down talking.




 What other details reinforce that impression? How?
The background music really makes his words flow and makes them a little more dramatic.




 What is more important? Less important?
Its more important for him to be talking to his voters rather than having the dramatics.




 What about color and style? What impact do they have on your impressions?
Its a very normal video nothing too fancy.



 How does the image direct the viewer’s eyes and reinforce what is important?
The video puts Barack Obama as background for a few shots so you can see him conversing with people and doing other things that go along with what he is talking about.



 What text is included? How does the text relate to the image?
It showed the "Presidents Plan" which went along with his sentences when he explained the plan.



 What argument is being made? Consider: when this was made (kairos), who is the
audience, what is the purpose (exigency).
Barack Obama is saying we need to move forward and that trying the same plans that got us in the trouble we're in now is not going to help anything. We need to find new methods to get us out of our hard times.



 List details that provide ethos, pathos, logos.
Ethos: Presidential campaign
Pathos: "We have to make a choice for two very different plans for our country."
Logos: Presidential Plan

Plagiarism Precis

In Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age (2012) author Trip Gabriel argues that plagiarism has become so easy with technology. Before technology people had to cite every source they used but now with the Internet you can claim anything as your own personal work. Gabriel thinks that in order to prevent plagiarism we have to raise awareness about it. This article was intended for all age groups. 

FEAR IS A LIAR

The first things that grab my attention are the big bold letters in the photo and the fact that they are written on a wall in a not so pretty place. The capital letters and the fact that its in black and white making the letters pop out even more really enforces this. The feel of the photo and the message it brings is more important than where it was taken and why it was taken. The photo is plain and simple but to the point. The fact that the artist made it black and white really makes the photo that much more interesting and it also makes it stand out more in my eyes. The bold letters keep you focused on the words which I believe is important to understanding the picture. The photo reads FEAR IS A LIAR. The picture was taken in a very unattractive place that I am sure you would not want to randomly stumble upon. But it goes hand in hand with the no fear phrase it is projecting. The argument being made is that you should not trust fear because it is a liar. The pathos in this photo is probably the setting it is a very ugly place that puts emotion in the photo. Logos is the message it sends. As for the ethos of the photo I would say it's the artist behind the photo and the occupy art movement

Analyzing a Visual Argument

Both videos have an emotional appeal to them, one more than the other. Romney’s video has a huge emotional charm whereas Obama’s video has more of a “lets get down to business” feel to it. Romney’s video has emotional music in the background and Obama’s music is more chilled out. It is important to grab emotional attention because there are viewers that relate to that well. Obama kind of had an emotional appeal but not as much as Romney did. Mitt Romney’s video had a lot of older photos and photos about his life more so than what he has done and the things that have happened while he has been in some place of leadership. Obama had more photos of him working, of things that have happened in the past 4 years, and doing the job of the president than photos of him and his family. It shows that although Romney is committed to his family and is a devoted father I am still wondering about the work he has done. It tells me that all he wants to talk about is himself and his family and they may be very important to him but as president the world is not worried about your family they are worried about how you are going to help our country. Michelle Obama talks about their daughters in Barack’s video but they also are focused on what he has done to help and what he is about. They make a point to let you know that he eats dinner every night with his family and he is so worried about spending time with them that he makes sure he is the last one asked about how his day was.  The argument being made between the two videos is them having to prove to the country why they’re more fit than the other to be president. Both videos had a good balance of ethos, pathos and logos. Although I do believe that Obama’s video was more leaned towards logos and ethos, whereas Romney’s was leant more towards pathos and ethos. 

Response to political speeches

Michelle Obama and Anne Romney's speeches both were very compelling. I think they are both very intelligent women working towards one point, getting their husbands more support. I think Anne Romney used way more pathos than Michelle Obama did. Although Michelle did use some pathos I felt Anne really tried to pull and tug at your heartstrings. She used phrases like “Lets talk about what’s in our hearts” and “give and it should be given unto you”. Whereas Michelle used a lot more logos; seeing as her husband was president this last term. She talked about the things he has done in the past four years to better our country; including cutting taxes, fighting to get the auto industry back on its feet, creating jobs and much more. I think it was hard to listen to their speeches from an unbiased perspective. Although it was compelling I did not really enjoy listening to Anne Romney’s speech because it felt very fake and overly emotional to me. To me it felt like she was just telling people what they wanted to hear. Michelle Obama’s speech had emotion to it but it seemed so much more real, like she actually cared for the audience she was speaking to and wanted their support for her husband. I am personally rooting for Obama in this coming election so I have to agree that my own political leaning possibly shaded my views on these speeches. I think the way the audience reacted to Michelle and Anne shows all their support for them. Both audiences applauded them with much praise. But I think that was just because the people listening to their speeches are people that are in favor of their husbands so all the applause should be greatly expected. I just personally favored Michelle’s because of the way she held herself and the fact that hers seemed so much more genuine.

Chapter 3 Precis

In Chapter Three of Choices 2.0 (2010) author Joe Marshall claims that after figuring out your thesis you must include details and facts to back it up. He explains that although everyone may say the same thing and believe the same thing it does not mean its true; you need to make sure you have clear evidence to support it. In order to write a good story you must have a strong thesis. His audience is pretty much any writer looking to better their theses. 

The web means the end of forgetting

This article was very interesting; it shows you a lot about how today nothing you say and do on the Internet ever goes away. Even if we try, nothing can ever erase anything we do on the computer and what makes it worse is companies including U.S. Recruiters and HR offices use the Internet to judge your character. It has been shown that 70% of U.S. Recruiters have actually rejected candidates because of something they have posted online. Places like Facebook have even made it harder to be private. They launched new privacy settings on their website that would show everyone certain things about your page no matter if you were friends with them. I thought it was very interesting that in response to this a few college students wanted to create a new social networking site that would allow you to have more privacy. They even raised $20,000 from people who like their idea and wanted to back them up. I can say I agree and disagree with this argument and article. Maybe people should have more privacy with certain things and to a certain extent. Like always when there is a freedom given to anyone someone will most likely take advantage of it and ruin it for everyone else. So of course we know that if this is changed with the Internet that someone might go overboard and use it inappropriately. But on the flip side there are many people out there who would love to have more privacy for their own personal reasons whether it be good or bad. I think that we have a lot of privacy on the Internet as it is and if you’re doing bad things on the Internet that’s on you. You should not get upset if job corporations are looking you up because you seem like a good candidate and they see that on your free time you do inappropriate things or if you get in trouble with anybody for that matter for things you personally post online.