TOW #14- Me Talk Pretty One Day (essay)

The worst situation I can imagine is being harshly judged for not understanding what someone is saying. This is exactly what David Sedaris had to go through in his short essay Me Talk Pretty One Day. At 41 years old Sedaris went to school in France in hopes of learning the language. He was timid because all of the students were under 25 and amazing at French. Just to make things worse, he was thrown into a class with a professor who had mistaken her job for making the students lives a living hell. Almost every day the students were scolded for their mistakes, in French, which Sedaris understood in bits and pieces. He successfully uses exaggeration and pathos to convey a comedic tone to his essay. This comedic tone contributes to his purpose, which is simply that something good comes out of everything. Exaggeration is used discretely. At first, I thought this was serious but then realized it was for comedic purposes. For example, the students did not really have to worry about the teacher punching anyone, or throwing chalk. Also, I highly doubt the teacher actually “masterminding a program of genocide,” but the hyperbolized claim makes the situation comedic. These claims contribute to the fear and unpredictability of the class. Also, Sedaris pokes fun at not only the students, but also himself. He described how he himself felt “not unlike Pa Kettle trapped backstage after a fashion show.” The fact that he can make fun of himself adds humor to the essay. It comes across as witty but not pretentious, clever but not conceited. It adds a feeling of trust for the author’s humor not to be too rude. Overall, this essays meaning came through clear and concise using humor in exaggeration and pathos.

TOW #13- The Body Shop, Meet Alex

            Many people think that sexism has gone distinct, however, that is not the case. Some people’s brains are hard-wired to think of things in a sexist way. Surprisingly, common beliefs like men not being able to hit girls is still a form of being sexist. This ad by the Body Shop mainly targets sexism against women. It shows a young boy showing his muscles and a girl laughing along side him. The words say, “Meet Alex- future sport star, prime minister, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist… (shown here with her brother Chris).” The point is that when reading the text and looking at the picture you are suppose to believe that it is referring to the boy. However, when you read what is in the parentheses it is clarified that the text is talking about the girl. The Body Shop uses the text and the photograph to convey a message of stereotypes in humans brains that they cannot help. The text shows Alex, a common boy but also girls name, along with many jobs. The jobs are suppose to lead you to believe it is referring to the male, however it proves that not only men can do these jobs and be advertised and successful. When the viewer reads the text in parentheses it leaves them with either a guilty and heart warmed feeling. Also, the image shows the boy showing his muscles up, hence boys are always stronger which is another misconception, and the girl laughing by his side. I think the boy is in the limelight of the photo, which is why most people just look assumes it is him. To make the ad better both children should have an equal space on the screen. Overall, the message of stereotypes and sexism is simple yet strong in this advertisement.

TOW #12 Bossypants (IRB)

Never before did I think it was possible to genuinely laugh out loud at a book. I thought that words in the form of a book were not capable of striking me as funny. However, reading Bossypants by Tina Fey completely changed my mind. My sense of humor is more on the sarcastic side. Cliché jokes are more of an annoyance to me than an enjoyment. It’s not only the humor that caught me in this book but also the skill of her rhetoric. She weaves in meaning through all of her anecdotes and illustration. All of chapters have a reoccurring theme of feminism, which plays into Feys overall purpose. Her purpose was to show women that they are beautiful even if they are not like the girls in Hollywood. She does this by making the reader have a humorous attitude towards her own life and weaving in light-hearted stories with lessons. Fey creates a humorous story through anecdotes and an informal tone. The whole book is bursting with Fey’s personal experiences. From someone stealing her boyfriend to stealing her job, she is more then willing to laugh at herself, which makes the read ten times more enjoyable. For example, in the middle of a story about her wishes for her daughter she says that you could “be able to pick me out of a sea of highlighted blonde women with fake tans because I’m the one with the thick ponytail and the greenish undertones in my skin” (Fey 23). She also has an apparent informal tone. it gave the feeling that she was there with you and that she is one of your friends. The specific diction as well as the overall picture of the stories she includes creates an intimate setting between Fey and her audience. Every line of this story is comedic gold and I read it with a broad smile across my face. Not only did I learn to think of myself as beautiful but also important life lessons. For example, whoever has the best your mama joke wins. It is a fair and easy way to settle an argument.  

IRB Intro Post #2 Bossypants

This marking period I will be reading Bossypants by Tina Fey. In the book, Fey explains her life in a tell-all from start to finish. I chose this book because I heard from many people that it was hilarious and appeals to many ages and I love funny books. It's also a very popular book and in the top charts on many websites.

TOW #11- What’s Selling Better: iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus?

Apple recently came out with two new phones known as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The biggest difference between the phones is the screen size. The iPhone 6 is about an inch smaller in screen size then the 6 Plus. Ansuya Harjani writes an article about the surprising public preference of the iPhone 6.

            In the article, Harjani uses credible sources and statistics to prove the unexpected popularity of the smaller iPhone. He begins the article by introducing a source known as AppLovin, a mobile advertising firm. A normal reader would not consider this a credible source because most have never heard of it. To make this a credible source, Harjani later says that the firm processes 25 billion ad requests daily, therefore, they know about the preference of iPhones. Although the source is not well known, the provided evidence makes it a trustworthy source. The author also uses a lot of statistics throughout the article. He says that in the first weekend of sales Apple sold 10 million of their iPhones, apposed to 9 million sold last year. It is also stated that for every 5 new iPhones sold, only 1 is an iPhone Plus, which is statistics from AppLovin. It is also stated from AppLovin that “no one expected iPhone 6 Plus to match or surpass the heights of iPhone 6, but usage was less robust then expected”. By proving this source was credible and using numbers from the company, this quote seems legitimate and credible. The iPhone 6 Plus was never expected to be as popular or more popular then the iPhone 6 but it was not expected to be this much of a gap in preference. It is also stated that the gap is not as large in China, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Harjani successfully provides a credible source known as AppLovin and statistics in order to prove his purpose.

TOW #10- Perez Hilton Article

            Perez Hilton is a professional blogger who has been ridiculed over the years for his blog wrongfully bullying countless celebrities. He is known for offensive doodles over pictures and getting right to the point in his articles. His audience is not scholars or scientists, but he still manages to use similar strategies to appeal to his audience, people looking for the juiciest rumors around.

            In this particular article Hilton talks about Justin Bieber’s birthday mishap. He discusses the fight Justin and his crew got into with the paparazzi and how it effected his birthday. Hilton uses pop-culture slang, celebrity ethos, and sarcasm to ridicule Justin Bieber’s birthday fiasco.

            The famous blogger writes for people who aren’t looking for well written, grammatically correct, analytical pieces of writing. They’re looking for things that they can understand and have fun reading. To appeal to this audience he includes pop-culture slang. Instead of saying Bieber, he is referred to as the Biebs. He also uses “the pits” as the slumps or down in the dumps and “ugh” which is a very informal expression of disgust. Hilton uses this language to connect him to his audience. He also quotes a tweet from Justin himself that says “Worst birthday ever.” This gives ethos to the author that he actually did have a very bad birthday and it was not made up. Most people need this proof from the blogger because of his reputation. Lastly, Hilton uses sarcasm to show his mocking tone of Bieber. It is explained that after his birthday was ruined he returned back to his hotel and Hilton says, “that’s seriously SUCH a shame! Especially since it was CLEAR how much he was looking forward to everything!” It’s clear that this is sarcasm because it is explained that Justin really didn’t mention the party at all before its occurrence. Also, afterwards Hilton changes to a serious note by says “but we seriously” wish Justin a happy birthday, showing that before he was not being serious, therefore had a sarcastic tone. This tone makes fun if Bieber and his birthday gone wrong because he is such a fortunate kid and makes a big deal out of one event gone wrong.  

            Through pop-culture slang, celebrity ethos, and sarcasm Hilton is able to clearly tell the story of Justin Biebers birthday and what he thinks of it. It did not make me think the same way about Bieber as Hilton, however I clearly understood his views on the singer.  

Link to the article

TOW #9- Visual Text

            The word graffiti often has a negative connotation. It comes with the feeling of rebellion and recklessness. However, street artists spend a lot of time planning and creating their pieces in order to convey a message. I recently stumbled upon a street artist by the name of Hunter Rodriguez. He is a small street artists in New York City attempting to improve the world one piece of artwork at a time.

            I found three pieces of work he has completed (all three are attached) that are all very unique and convey a powerful message. The one I found most interesting is the “Media Unit” drawing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The drawing is of a man’s body with a television as a head and the words “Hunt for peace” running vertically down the side. Rodriguez uses a lack of colors, and symbolism to convey that the media is holding humanity back from finding peace.

            The illustration is so detail oriented that color could have been a distraction. The shading makes for a very realistic deep picture despite the fact there is no color. The lack of color in the photo creates a serious tone. Another strategy Rodriguez used is symbolism. As a head, the body has a television and there is a channel changer in his pocket. This symbolizes how engulfed America is in the media. He also clearly conveys his audience by putting an American flag on the tie. The man also looks very stiff and constrained and has handcuffs on. This shows that media is holding American’s back from peace. On the man’s pants there is stitching of a peace sign and a heart. With peace, there comes love. The overall meaning is powerful and effectively shown.

            All of Rodriguez’s street art has a strong meaning however this one stood out because of the fine detail put into every aspect of it. This is the type of graffiti people don’t mind seeing on the street.

(The one I chose)