TOW #14 - Saudi Arabia: Women Arrested For Violating Driving Ban

On November 30th, a Saudi Arabian woman videotaped herself driving a car and posted it on youtube. This demonstration protested the law of Saudi Arabia that it is illegal for a woman to drive. The next day on December 1st, she was arrested by officials. When it comes to women’s rights, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most restrictive countries in the world. Guardianship laws mean that a woman cannot marry, work or travel abroad without the consent of a male relative. This story was covered by Inquisitr an internationally recognized news web site with a strong presence in the USA, and is currently is one of the top 2500 web sites globally and one of the top 1000 web sites in the USA.  This media used biased diction to tell the story of the Saudi women drivers, and make them seem like the victims. It wrote very biasedly for example when they mentioned, “The religious practices of Saudi Arabia are so radical in fact that many...” The use of the words such as radical creates a one-way viewpoint on the topic, and only sheds a light on the media's side of the story. This effectively helps their purpose of showing the bravery of the women activist and their story. Using biased diction, they are also able to help appeal to pathos. It appeals to Pathos because the specific diction creates a rebellious mood, and is followed through when describing that other women have followed in the footsteps of defying the driving ban. The mood affects the reader and immediately could make the reader feel for the women protesters. This is effect in the sense that getting the mass to agree with the protesters, which successfully told the story to make the women drivers look good. It is intended that the article’s effectiveness is t gain awareness so that people will reach out to try and help the women drivers of Saudi Arabia, and maybe can overturn the guardian laws that are established there. I believe that this was an effective use of rhetorics in order to achieve their purpose because it draws in the audience through telling the story of a law against a simple right, and then uses pathos to raise awareness and to help the women of Saudi Arabia.

TOW #13: Fast Food Nation (IRB Part 2)

The author of Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser, begins talking about the image that fast food companies, specifically the well known brands like McDonalds, create in order to get the attention of their customers. The first big idea that was created and quickly adopted by a lot of  fast food companies such as Wendy’s, McDonalds, and Burger King was to create a mascot, or a cartoon-like person to advertise the food. Schlosser mentions that McDonalds had Ronald McDonald, Wendy’s had Wendy, and Burger King had the King. He clarifies that the main goal was to allow people to create an emotional connection. The consumers will then be more likely to purchase their products because they’re doing are drawn to the characters and to the bigger picture of the company itself. The author also explains that making sure the people behind the counter were good employees was just as important as choosing a spokesperson. A corporation's employers typically handpicked employees who appeared to have an enthusiastic view and outlook of the company. With that, customer interactions would leave a good impression on the customer and encourage them to come back to the restaurant. Throughout the book, Schlosser uses various rhetorical strategies in order to make his points clear to the audience. He uses straightforward facts/statistics to support his view of how these companies have succeeded. Along with the facts, he uses personal anecdotes to provide the reader with his encounters with fast food spokespeople and employees working behind the counter. One of the author's most powerful rhetorical devices, however, is his use of historical references. He initially analyzes the beginnings of the fast food corporations which can really say a lot about the amount of displays the amount of progress that the industries have undergone. I believe that Schlosser is able to achieve his purpose of educating the American people about the history of fast food and how their ways of advertisement have attracted so many people because he uses facts to back up his reasoning, and also personal experiences to show that he has done his research and is well versed in the area.

TOW #12: Fast Food Nation (IRB)

Fast food nation, a book about the truths of the fast food industry started off in an interesting way. The author Eric Schlosser, an Oxford and Princeton graduate, was a journalist with The Atlantic Monthly. He was also awarded the National Magazine Award and has had his work appear in in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Nation. With this in mind, I think it’s safe to say that Eric Schlosser is a credible author. When I began reading Fast Food Nation the first part of the book was all about the history of fast food. This helps Eric Schlosser in crafting his story because it is necessary for the author to provide the reader with background knowledge. Although the information was boring at times, it sitll kept the audience informed. However, because the first section was strictly historical knowledge, it lacked rhetorical devices, which didn't define much of a purpose yet. It is implied that the purpose for the writing is because of the increase of popularity of the fast food industry along with the attention that it has drawn, and the negative effects that creates. Schlosser's audience is the same audience of the fast food companies, the American people. He attempts to educate the people of the consequences of supporting fast food in America, and the negative outcomes related to it. As of now, Schlosser is doing a good job with keeping his readers informed and initiating his point of how the fast food industry is making a negative impact on health. Since I haven't finished the book yet, it's expected that I don't know Schlosser's full purpose and juicy details of the rest of his book. The provided background information for his readers is necessary for readers to be able to understand the rest of the book. 

TOW #11: Visual text

In a poster for a movie called "Frozen" by Disney, bright blue colors are depicted to catch the audience's attention. The obvious purpose of this movie poster is to get the audience to come see the movie. Disney, in this particular case, and the designers of this poster aim for the movie to ideally appeal to audiences of all ages, not just the common misconception of Disney movies being aimed for young children.  This visual text is well able to establish ethos and create a tone. 
       The world famous company already establishes credibility to the advertisement, and the movie, just by having its logo on the poster, being an incredibly successful company . In the center, the logo is placed very noticeably right above the title of the film, which can't be missed. The poster also increases it's ethos by including at the top "from the creators of 'Tangled' and 'Wreck-It Ralph'". It argues that the movie "Frozen" will be just as good as "Tangled" and "Wreck-It Ralph" because it is made by the same directors and company. This grabs the attention of an audience who liked the two previous movies. 
        Along with the text, the placement of the characters also attempts to convince the audience to come see the movie. The poster depicts four characters are up to their heads in snow, but despite this, doesn't give anything from the plot away to the audience.  Since they might not know what the movie is fully about, it  potentially inspires them to find out what will happen. There is the snowman in the middle, holding his own head. This prominent placement of such a goofy and creative character creates a happy tone and lets the audience know right away that Frozen is going to be a family-friendly and cheerful. 
        I believe Disney does a good job with achieving it's purpose because it uses bright flashy colors to initially grab the audience's attention. The poster then goes deeper by using convincing text to draw in an audience who has previously watched other Disney movies or is familiar with the successful company itself. 

TOW #10: Going Vegan, if Only for a Day

A writer for the New York Times, Mark Bittman, wrote in “Going Vegan, if Only for a Day”, what it truly took to be a Vegan. With context of this text being written within the last few years, it is applicable to our society as many of our people are changing their lifestyles and diets in order to improve their longevity and health by limiting eating meat, or completely avoiding any animal products.

        Mark Bittman is a journalist, food writer, and an author of 14 books, including the bestselling "How to Cook Everything and Vegan Before 6 P.M.". He most likely intended his article for anyone who has debated between whether or not to become a Vegan. The purpose of the text is to not only inform on what a Vegan is, but to highlight the difficulties a Vegan faces on a daily basis in order to maintain a diet that doesn't come in contact with any animal related products.

         He achieves his purpose through the use of humor, which he was used in the text several times. At one point he states, “I could live off pasta with vegetables for weeks” which is seen as sarcastic, but helps him achieve his purpose of informing the audience that being a vegan has limiting options, and it may affect your health much worse than just eating animal products. Bittman’s title also connects to humor, and ultimately his purpose, “Going Vegan, if Only for a Day” because it shows that a lot of people decide to join this lifestyle but don't realize that its a nearly impossible commitment. He also wants them to see the struggle vegans have finding foods not made from animal products.

         I believe that Bittman does a good job of achieving his purpose of telling the his audience what it really takes to become a Vegan because he uses of humor but it is balanced out by his commanding tone of showing the realities that Vegans are faced with. He successfully informs his readers that this lifestyle is beneficial, but it's not an easy task for those who go through completely eliminating animal products from their diet.  

IRB Intro #2

In Fast Food Nation, investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs into the history, science and business of fast food restaurants. It was first published in 2001, which was later adapted into a film in 2006. The book examines the specific workings of the fast-food industry, including the chemical flavoring of the food, production of cattle and chickens, working conditions of beef industry, dangers of eating meat, and the globalization of fast food as an American culture export. The author, Eric Schlosser, uses humor and surprising information to create interest in his subject of the fast food industry.

TOW #9: This Messy World

This is a  personal essay called "This Messy World" by Richard Abrons, who received his BA from Yale, MBA from Columbia, and his MFA in Writing from NYU. In this piece the author describes all the conflicts going on in the world. The author also the ones that have already happened in the past including the Depression, World War 2, the Holocaust, the Cold War, etc. Although all these upheavals are going on, Abron's purpose is to point out that it's okay enjoy certain things without feeling guilty through his use of allusions and diction. 
     Throughout the essay Abrons talks about several situations that many would know about. He gives importance to these tragedies and mentions, "Syria, ISIS, Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, ebola, a reporter decapitated on YouTube, murder in Brooklyn.." (Abrons). These historical allusions in our current generation are commonly known throughout, and help the audience understand what is going on in the world. It helps achieve Abron's purpose by backing up his knowledge of current events. 
    The author also cleverly crafts his writing through diction. Although he is writing about serious topics, he gives the essay an informal tone, and does so without being disrespectful. He brings up valid points of how Americans have much to worry about and sometimes don't give importance to serious problems going on in other parts of the world but also describes himself as "damn lucky" and that people should also "do some good and enjoy". He isn't necessarily telling is audience to be ignorant, he uses these phrases to show that even though there is a lot going on, one can still live a little.
    This personal essay was intended towards an audience who pays attention to current events and watch the news because it uses information that they can understand and connect to, through the occasion of a conversation that the author has with his wife. I believe that Abrons does a great job of achieving his purpose because he points out that yes there are so many issues going on in the world that people have to worry about but feeling guilty, empathetic, and showing acts of generosity, "may make no difference to the whole but they can make a difference to the part, and that is all we can do" (Abrons).