Friday, January 30, 2009
Observation 3
After reviewing my paper I corrected several things. First I organized my thoughts in a better lay out so that they flowed together better. Then I made all of my observations more detailed so that they were explained better and people could really understand what I was trying to say. In my conclusion I then tried to reinstate my thesis in a more effective way so that my points were stronger. Overall, reviewing my paper helped me construct it in a way that way more detailed, stronger and more effective.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Rhetoric First Draft
Blood Diamond
A blood diamond, or conflict diamond, is a diamond that is mined in a war stricken area, typically in Africa, and is sold to finance rebels who are against their country’s government. The film Blood Diamond was released in 2006 as a way to educate the public about blood diamonds. Hopefully, through this movie, the public will become more contentious about the history behind the diamonds they purchase.
Currently in Africa there is an unruly organization, the Rebellion United Front (RUF), that is at war with their own African government. In the movie, the RUF tears through the Vandy family’s village, killing and kidnapping many innocent people. Among those kidnapped are Salomon Vandy and his son Dia Vandy. Salomon is taken to work in a diamond mine, while Dia is kidnapped and forced to become a member of the RUF army. One day, while working in the mines, Salomon finds a diamond that is worth an estimated 100 karats. Salomon pretends like he needs to go to the bathroom in the forest, in the forest he digs a hole and hides the diamond in it. Despite his sneakiness, the overseer of the mine saw the diamond that Salomon discovered and also witnessed him hide the diamond. But right when the overseer is about the confront Salomon, the African army comes in and arrests the majority of the RUF and the enslaved miners. The African army then takes them away to jail. In jail, the overseer confronts Salomon about the diamond and Danny Archer, a conflict diamond smuggler, overhears them and automatically becomes interested. Danny and Salomon make a deal that, in exchange for the diamond, Danny will reunite Salomon with his family.
In the movie, rhetoric is applied through the use of all of the rhetorical appeals: pathos, logos, and ethos. Through the use of the rhetoric appeals, a powerful story is created that addresses the issue of conflict diamonds while appealing to the audience. All the rhetorical appeals are used to evoke a reaction in the viewers to potentially inform the public about blood diamond’s history in Africa and, hopefully, by informing the public through this film, diamond consumers will cease to purchase and support blood diamonds.
Pathos, “the pathetic appeal”, is used in order to evoke an emotional response form the viewers. According to our book, “the speaker attempts to put the audience into a particular emotional state so that the audience will be receptive and ultimately convinced by the speakers message.” (Alfano, Christine. Envision in Depth : Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. New York: Longman, 2007.) In this case, the sad story of the Vandy family and of all the African people is portrayed. The ultimate display of pathos is shown in this movie through many emotional situations.
The African rebel army, RUF (Rebellion United Front), pillages the Vandy’s village and kidnaps Salomon Vandy and his son Dia. The way the RUF come through town and shoot innocent men, women and children is nauseating and defiantly evokes a very powerful emotional response from the audience. Also, the RUF’s line up the village’s men, women, and young adults, make them kneel, and then cut off their arms. The RUF’s reasoning behind this is that if they have no arms then they can not vote. They do not want the people to vote because they are hoping to over throw the government. This scene evokes an extremely powerful emotional response from the audience. When I watched the movie for my first time I was so distraught after this scene that I was not sure if I could watch the rest of the film, for it induces a very intense despondency in the audience.
Pathos is also displayed in a more optimistic way through Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Danny Archer. Danny finally realizes what he has been fueling by smuggling conflict diamonds. He forgets about the diamond, even though, at first, that was the only thing he was truly after, and focuses on finding Salomon’s family. Danny finally pulls through and is able to reunite the Vandy family, but in doing so he ends up sacrificing his own life for Salomon. The relationship that blossoms between Danny and Salomon truly touches the audience, making them feel happy and hopeful. The movie also evokes an emotional response from the viewers when Salomon reunites with his family.
Logos is a rhetorical appeal that applies rationality. According to our book, “it appeals to reason and an attempt to persuade the audience through clear reasoning and philosophies”. (Alfano, Christine. Envision in Depth : Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. New York: Longman, 2007.)The “logical appeal” is used in this film through statistics and facts. The statistics at the end of the film state that in 2003 there was a draft called the Kimberley Process to combat the flow of blood diamonds. The end of the film also mentions that the war in Sierra Leone is over but there are still child soldiers in Africa. Logos also applies to the movie because it is based on real events but told through the fictional characters of Danny and Salomon.
Ethos plays a huge role in the film because the topic of conflict diamonds is addressed through a Hollywood film and uses famous actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly. By using famous names and the Hollywood market the affect of the movie is significantly more persuasive. It also brings a typically overlooked controversial subject into the public eye.
The use of rhetorical strategies adds to the effect of the movie, making it more powerful and persuasive. Obviously narration is used since the movie tells the story of Solomon Vandy and Danny Archer. The use of cause and effect shows the consequence of when consumers are unaware and demand diamonds, not caring whether they are conflict diamonds or not. This result of consumers continuing to purchase blood diamonds without a care is that, unfortunately, innocent Africans will continue to suffer and be enslaved to mine the diamonds. Hopefully, the effect of this movie will be that people will be well informed about the history behind the diamonds they purchase and therefore boycott the blood diamond market.
A blood diamond, or conflict diamond, is a diamond that is mined in a war stricken area, typically in Africa, and is sold to finance rebels who are against their country’s government. The film Blood Diamond was released in 2006 as a way to educate the public about blood diamonds. Hopefully, through this movie, the public will become more contentious about the history behind the diamonds they purchase.
Currently in Africa there is an unruly organization, the Rebellion United Front (RUF), that is at war with their own African government. In the movie, the RUF tears through the Vandy family’s village, killing and kidnapping many innocent people. Among those kidnapped are Salomon Vandy and his son Dia Vandy. Salomon is taken to work in a diamond mine, while Dia is kidnapped and forced to become a member of the RUF army. One day, while working in the mines, Salomon finds a diamond that is worth an estimated 100 karats. Salomon pretends like he needs to go to the bathroom in the forest, in the forest he digs a hole and hides the diamond in it. Despite his sneakiness, the overseer of the mine saw the diamond that Salomon discovered and also witnessed him hide the diamond. But right when the overseer is about the confront Salomon, the African army comes in and arrests the majority of the RUF and the enslaved miners. The African army then takes them away to jail. In jail, the overseer confronts Salomon about the diamond and Danny Archer, a conflict diamond smuggler, overhears them and automatically becomes interested. Danny and Salomon make a deal that, in exchange for the diamond, Danny will reunite Salomon with his family.
In the movie, rhetoric is applied through the use of all of the rhetorical appeals: pathos, logos, and ethos. Through the use of the rhetoric appeals, a powerful story is created that addresses the issue of conflict diamonds while appealing to the audience. All the rhetorical appeals are used to evoke a reaction in the viewers to potentially inform the public about blood diamond’s history in Africa and, hopefully, by informing the public through this film, diamond consumers will cease to purchase and support blood diamonds.
Pathos, “the pathetic appeal”, is used in order to evoke an emotional response form the viewers. According to our book, “the speaker attempts to put the audience into a particular emotional state so that the audience will be receptive and ultimately convinced by the speakers message.” (Alfano, Christine. Envision in Depth : Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. New York: Longman, 2007.) In this case, the sad story of the Vandy family and of all the African people is portrayed. The ultimate display of pathos is shown in this movie through many emotional situations.
The African rebel army, RUF (Rebellion United Front), pillages the Vandy’s village and kidnaps Salomon Vandy and his son Dia. The way the RUF come through town and shoot innocent men, women and children is nauseating and defiantly evokes a very powerful emotional response from the audience. Also, the RUF’s line up the village’s men, women, and young adults, make them kneel, and then cut off their arms. The RUF’s reasoning behind this is that if they have no arms then they can not vote. They do not want the people to vote because they are hoping to over throw the government. This scene evokes an extremely powerful emotional response from the audience. When I watched the movie for my first time I was so distraught after this scene that I was not sure if I could watch the rest of the film, for it induces a very intense despondency in the audience.
Pathos is also displayed in a more optimistic way through Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Danny Archer. Danny finally realizes what he has been fueling by smuggling conflict diamonds. He forgets about the diamond, even though, at first, that was the only thing he was truly after, and focuses on finding Salomon’s family. Danny finally pulls through and is able to reunite the Vandy family, but in doing so he ends up sacrificing his own life for Salomon. The relationship that blossoms between Danny and Salomon truly touches the audience, making them feel happy and hopeful. The movie also evokes an emotional response from the viewers when Salomon reunites with his family.
Logos is a rhetorical appeal that applies rationality. According to our book, “it appeals to reason and an attempt to persuade the audience through clear reasoning and philosophies”. (Alfano, Christine. Envision in Depth : Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. New York: Longman, 2007.)The “logical appeal” is used in this film through statistics and facts. The statistics at the end of the film state that in 2003 there was a draft called the Kimberley Process to combat the flow of blood diamonds. The end of the film also mentions that the war in Sierra Leone is over but there are still child soldiers in Africa. Logos also applies to the movie because it is based on real events but told through the fictional characters of Danny and Salomon.
Ethos plays a huge role in the film because the topic of conflict diamonds is addressed through a Hollywood film and uses famous actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly. By using famous names and the Hollywood market the affect of the movie is significantly more persuasive. It also brings a typically overlooked controversial subject into the public eye.
The use of rhetorical strategies adds to the effect of the movie, making it more powerful and persuasive. Obviously narration is used since the movie tells the story of Solomon Vandy and Danny Archer. The use of cause and effect shows the consequence of when consumers are unaware and demand diamonds, not caring whether they are conflict diamonds or not. This result of consumers continuing to purchase blood diamonds without a care is that, unfortunately, innocent Africans will continue to suffer and be enslaved to mine the diamonds. Hopefully, the effect of this movie will be that people will be well informed about the history behind the diamonds they purchase and therefore boycott the blood diamond market.
Observation 3
Based on my revisions, I have found that I can improve my writing in many areas. First, I need to improve my use of MLA formatting. I also need to include a works cited page with my essay. I made many gramatical errors and went back and fixed those, as well as other minor mistakes. I went back and revised my theses and made it less general and more arguable. I am going to work on getting a few outside sources to back up my arguments and further support my paper. I am also trying to analyze my commercial deeper and recognize more of the rhetorical strategies used. Finally, I go back every few days and rewatch my commercial to see if I spot anything new that I can include in my essay, as it is not quite long enough yet.
Observation 3
I read Amanda Brooke's essay about a government sponsored anti-meth commercial. Reading her paper instantly reminded me that different people have different styles of arguementation. As I read the paper, I started thinking about how I would have worded certain sentences differently than the way they were written. I also decided that a good introduction should map out the rest of your paper so that the reader knows what information they are about to receive. This way, they can read the paper and identify which pieces of evidence apply to which parts of the essay's thesis. I thought Amanda Brooke's paper was good, but I definately would have done it slightly differently, and I'm sure that if she wrote a paper on my piece of visual rhetoric, hers would be completely different from mine, too.
Observation 3
Overall, I added more details of each specific thing that contributed to the commercial's use of visual rhetorical devices. I went more into the rhetorical strategies that weren't as obvious and blunt. I read more closely into the small details and elaborated on those. I also re-worked my thesis to make it more specifiic. My previous thesis was very general. In my first draft, I did not use a lot of the rhetorical terms. I made sure to include those in my revisions. My conclusion needed some hard work, too. I tried to tie everything back together in the end to bring the essay full circle. I learned a lot by revising my paper. First, I learned a lot about how to elaborate on specific examples. I also learned how to write this kind of paper. I know I have a lot of revisions still left to do because my paper is far from perfect, but I think I am improving.
State Farm Advertisement Analysis
James Newhart
Professor Liu
English 103
26 January 2009
Visual Rhetoric
Lebron James has been featured in many different commercials throughout the past couple of years and is a well known very marketable celebrity, so it is no wonder State Farm chose him to represent their company. State Farm’s advertisement can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQcBYvI08MM. This commercial is a great example of visual rhetoric because it has so many different angles it can be analyzed at and it is trying to persuade an audience to buy its product. To get a large audience to view this advertisement Lebron James built up suspense by telling the world he was making a large announcement so as to get more people to watch their television when this commercial debuted, when in fact it was just him in this commercial having a dream about playing and dominating professional football. This State Farm commercial uses an analogy, ethos, and pathos along with visual and verbal rhetoric to grab the audience’s attention while at the same time selling their product and making the viewer assured that State Farm's insurance is more reputable, respectable and sound than any other insurance company out there.
The audience that this commercial is trying to advertise to is anybody who needs or has insurance. The audience therefore is basically everyone that watches television because everyone obviously either needs or already has insurance. Connecting with an audience as large as this is a difficult task because everyone is unique and has their own individual wants and needs. This makes advertising a specific product to the masses challenging due to the fact that the commercial needs to be able to relate with a majority of people. Knowing this State Farm then produced this commercial that most everyone can relate to and understand. Using Lebron James, a well known professional basketball player, was key in helping the majority of all television viewers relate to this advertisement. Being able to use common sports knowledge of the portrayal of Lebron James’ character is crucial in selling this insurance to the audience.
State Farm uses visual and verbal rhetoric to sell its insurance to the audience in this commercial. Visual rhetoric is everywhere and everybody is exposed to many different pieces of visual rhetoric in a day, so State Farm obviously chose using visual rhetoric to sell its product to its viewers because the most people will see it. It is mainly visual rhetoric because it is not even mentioned that it is a State Farm insurance commercial until the last 10 seconds of it. The first 20 seconds of the advertisement Lebron is catching footballs and winning championships with very little talking and not a word was said about State Farm or insurance. At the end it turns from visual rhetoric into verbal rhetoric when Lebron James states the State Farm Slogan. The use of visual and verbal rhetoric in this advertisement makes State Farm’s argument that their insurance is the most reliable much stronger because the visual rhetoric captures the audience’s attention and the verbal rhetoric helps to persuade the audience once they are paying attention to the commercial that State Farm insurance is the best.
This commercial featured two rhetorical appeals to try to persuade the audience into buying State Farm insurance. The first appeal used is ethos. Our textbook “Envision in depth” defines ethos as “the deliberate use of the speaker’s character as a mode of persuasion” (P. 35). Lebron James is a well-known professional basketball star that people easily recognize and have respect for. When a celebrity like Lebron is in a commercial, the audience will focus more on the commercial and therefore more on the product that is trying to be sold, which in this case is insurance. By using Lebron James in their advertisement, State Farm effectively uses the ethos rhetorical appeal. The second rhetorical appeal used is pathos, which is defined as “an appeal to the emotions” in our book (P.35). Prior to this commercial coming out, Lebron James told the media world that he had a big announcement to make but was very vague and unclear on what the topic of the announcement was going to be. To any basketball fan this so-called announcement sounded like it was going to be Lebron divulging which team he was going to sign with when he becomes a free agent next year. Lebron James is one of the best players in basketball at the moment so a hint at any type of announcement held the sports world in suspense. The media then turned Lebron’s “announcement” into a big story and had much of the professional basketball fan base very interested. Lebron finally went to make his announcement and it turned out it was him in a commercial declaring he was going to play professional football, which is obviously not true. All of the hype built up for Lebron’s announcement helped get an emotional response from professional basketball sports fans therefore using the pathos rhetorical appeal.
State Farm uses an analogy in this commercial to strengthen their argument on why the audience should buy their insurance. Lebron James is portrayed as dependable and reliable football player who is always there to make the big play and help his team win a championship. This is one big analogy for the reliability of State Farm insurance as shown in the last 10 seconds of the commercial when Lebron states “I’m there for the best day of the week,” which he immediately follows by saying the State Farm slogan “State Farm is there.” The use of an analogy in this commercial strengthens the argument that State Farm’s insurance is the insurance the viewer should want to have. According to our textbook analogies are used in visual rhetoric to “make a difficult selling point” and this is exactly why it is used in this advertisement (P. 31). Insurance is hard to sell because it is not tangible but because it was compared to the reliability of Lebron James it helps the viewer feel safer choosing State Farm insurance. This analogy also makes the advertisement easier to understand by the majority of the viewers.
When Lebron James is awoken from his sleep in this advertisement, his dream of being a professional football player ends. The meaning of him being reliable and “always there” on game days helps portray State Farm insurance as the best insurance company out there. Lebron’s dream was one of happiness where he won a championship for the horrible Cleveland Browns, a team that has not made the playoffs in 7 years, yet it seemed too good to be true. After being woken up Lebron seems very somber and almost sad that the dream is over but does the Heisman pose at the end of the commercial signifying that playing professional football will always be in the back of his mind. The analogy of Lebron to reliability occurs because many sports writers pose “what if” questions such as, “What if Lebron played football?” Many people believe he would be an outstanding player who would dominate the game like he does basketball. State Farm then used these comments and these thoughts on Lebron playing professional football and turned them into a very effective selling point in this particular advertisement by relating him and his trustworthiness to their insurance. Lebron dominating football in his dream was also a comparison State Farm wanted to make to itself as a company to make them more sellable to the common viewer.
State Farm effectively captures the audience’s attention and effectively sells their product in this advertisement by comparing a celebrity to the reliability of State Farm insurance. Using this analogy helped the audience grasp the safety of State Farm insurance. Building up hype before this commercial aired to get more viewers was also a very useful technique in selling insurance. The use of ethos and pathos helped the advertisement to be more convincing and appealing which also helps sell the insurance better. The visual and verbal rhetoric used in this State Farm advertisement were critical in selling the product because without any rhetoric the commercial would have no selling point and therefore State Farm would not be able to sell any insurance. Overall State Farm did a very good job in fulfilling many different aspects of rhetoric to be able to merchandise their insurance productively.
Works Cited
1. Christine , Alfano, and Alyssa O'brien. Envision in Depth. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008
2. Youtube. January 21, 2009.
Professor Liu
English 103
26 January 2009
Visual Rhetoric
Lebron James has been featured in many different commercials throughout the past couple of years and is a well known very marketable celebrity, so it is no wonder State Farm chose him to represent their company. State Farm’s advertisement can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQcBYvI08MM. This commercial is a great example of visual rhetoric because it has so many different angles it can be analyzed at and it is trying to persuade an audience to buy its product. To get a large audience to view this advertisement Lebron James built up suspense by telling the world he was making a large announcement so as to get more people to watch their television when this commercial debuted, when in fact it was just him in this commercial having a dream about playing and dominating professional football. This State Farm commercial uses an analogy, ethos, and pathos along with visual and verbal rhetoric to grab the audience’s attention while at the same time selling their product and making the viewer assured that State Farm's insurance is more reputable, respectable and sound than any other insurance company out there.
The audience that this commercial is trying to advertise to is anybody who needs or has insurance. The audience therefore is basically everyone that watches television because everyone obviously either needs or already has insurance. Connecting with an audience as large as this is a difficult task because everyone is unique and has their own individual wants and needs. This makes advertising a specific product to the masses challenging due to the fact that the commercial needs to be able to relate with a majority of people. Knowing this State Farm then produced this commercial that most everyone can relate to and understand. Using Lebron James, a well known professional basketball player, was key in helping the majority of all television viewers relate to this advertisement. Being able to use common sports knowledge of the portrayal of Lebron James’ character is crucial in selling this insurance to the audience.
State Farm uses visual and verbal rhetoric to sell its insurance to the audience in this commercial. Visual rhetoric is everywhere and everybody is exposed to many different pieces of visual rhetoric in a day, so State Farm obviously chose using visual rhetoric to sell its product to its viewers because the most people will see it. It is mainly visual rhetoric because it is not even mentioned that it is a State Farm insurance commercial until the last 10 seconds of it. The first 20 seconds of the advertisement Lebron is catching footballs and winning championships with very little talking and not a word was said about State Farm or insurance. At the end it turns from visual rhetoric into verbal rhetoric when Lebron James states the State Farm Slogan. The use of visual and verbal rhetoric in this advertisement makes State Farm’s argument that their insurance is the most reliable much stronger because the visual rhetoric captures the audience’s attention and the verbal rhetoric helps to persuade the audience once they are paying attention to the commercial that State Farm insurance is the best.
This commercial featured two rhetorical appeals to try to persuade the audience into buying State Farm insurance. The first appeal used is ethos. Our textbook “Envision in depth” defines ethos as “the deliberate use of the speaker’s character as a mode of persuasion” (P. 35). Lebron James is a well-known professional basketball star that people easily recognize and have respect for. When a celebrity like Lebron is in a commercial, the audience will focus more on the commercial and therefore more on the product that is trying to be sold, which in this case is insurance. By using Lebron James in their advertisement, State Farm effectively uses the ethos rhetorical appeal. The second rhetorical appeal used is pathos, which is defined as “an appeal to the emotions” in our book (P.35). Prior to this commercial coming out, Lebron James told the media world that he had a big announcement to make but was very vague and unclear on what the topic of the announcement was going to be. To any basketball fan this so-called announcement sounded like it was going to be Lebron divulging which team he was going to sign with when he becomes a free agent next year. Lebron James is one of the best players in basketball at the moment so a hint at any type of announcement held the sports world in suspense. The media then turned Lebron’s “announcement” into a big story and had much of the professional basketball fan base very interested. Lebron finally went to make his announcement and it turned out it was him in a commercial declaring he was going to play professional football, which is obviously not true. All of the hype built up for Lebron’s announcement helped get an emotional response from professional basketball sports fans therefore using the pathos rhetorical appeal.
State Farm uses an analogy in this commercial to strengthen their argument on why the audience should buy their insurance. Lebron James is portrayed as dependable and reliable football player who is always there to make the big play and help his team win a championship. This is one big analogy for the reliability of State Farm insurance as shown in the last 10 seconds of the commercial when Lebron states “I’m there for the best day of the week,” which he immediately follows by saying the State Farm slogan “State Farm is there.” The use of an analogy in this commercial strengthens the argument that State Farm’s insurance is the insurance the viewer should want to have. According to our textbook analogies are used in visual rhetoric to “make a difficult selling point” and this is exactly why it is used in this advertisement (P. 31). Insurance is hard to sell because it is not tangible but because it was compared to the reliability of Lebron James it helps the viewer feel safer choosing State Farm insurance. This analogy also makes the advertisement easier to understand by the majority of the viewers.
When Lebron James is awoken from his sleep in this advertisement, his dream of being a professional football player ends. The meaning of him being reliable and “always there” on game days helps portray State Farm insurance as the best insurance company out there. Lebron’s dream was one of happiness where he won a championship for the horrible Cleveland Browns, a team that has not made the playoffs in 7 years, yet it seemed too good to be true. After being woken up Lebron seems very somber and almost sad that the dream is over but does the Heisman pose at the end of the commercial signifying that playing professional football will always be in the back of his mind. The analogy of Lebron to reliability occurs because many sports writers pose “what if” questions such as, “What if Lebron played football?” Many people believe he would be an outstanding player who would dominate the game like he does basketball. State Farm then used these comments and these thoughts on Lebron playing professional football and turned them into a very effective selling point in this particular advertisement by relating him and his trustworthiness to their insurance. Lebron dominating football in his dream was also a comparison State Farm wanted to make to itself as a company to make them more sellable to the common viewer.
State Farm effectively captures the audience’s attention and effectively sells their product in this advertisement by comparing a celebrity to the reliability of State Farm insurance. Using this analogy helped the audience grasp the safety of State Farm insurance. Building up hype before this commercial aired to get more viewers was also a very useful technique in selling insurance. The use of ethos and pathos helped the advertisement to be more convincing and appealing which also helps sell the insurance better. The visual and verbal rhetoric used in this State Farm advertisement were critical in selling the product because without any rhetoric the commercial would have no selling point and therefore State Farm would not be able to sell any insurance. Overall State Farm did a very good job in fulfilling many different aspects of rhetoric to be able to merchandise their insurance productively.
Works Cited
1. Christine , Alfano, and Alyssa O'brien. Envision in Depth. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008
2. Youtube. January 21, 2009
Observation 3
After the peer editing and self-editing I observed many flaws in my paper. When I went back and edited my paper I worked to make it more detailed and organized. Some of my sentences were kind of confusing and the wording was weird. I also added the MLA format to my citations. I worked to add more examples to hopefully make my paper stronger and more convincing. I added a title to my paper but I am still not really satisfied with my title and think it needs a bit more work. I also think I have a bit more editing to do in order to make my paper stronger. I am going to try to add some more outside information to my paper.
Observation 3
I corrected several things while revising my paper. The first thing I did was format my paper in MLA format. The reason I did MLA format was because without MLA format, my paper won’t be uniform. With MLA format, I can also easily find what sources were cited. Next, I revised my thesis. I did this because my thesis was too broad, so I made it more detailed and included in it more of what I was going to touch on in the body of the paper. The third thing I did was find outside sources and more historical background to go with the paper. I did this to tie in more material to make a more convincing argument that could. After that, I made a more detailed analysis of my rhetoric terms. I explained what the terms meant and but more examples of the terms being used. Lastly, I reorganized my paper so that it flowed better and didn’t seem as choppy. That way it helped to connect my thought process better.
Observation 3
After revising my visual rhetoric paper, I was able to fix a lot of things that I did incorrectly the first time. Mainly, my paper was not clear and strong enough. My argument was there, but it wasn’t as clearly stated and as strongly supported as it should have been. In my analysis, my thoughts seemed cut off right before I made it to the real meat of the argument, so I expanded on my ideas to make them more sufficient. After I revised this, my paper not only got stronger and clearer, but much more organized. The format was much easier to follow and I think, more persuasive. Besides these things, I added a title and a conclusion that tied my paper together to make it much more convincing.
Observation 3
As I revised my Visual Rhetoric Paper, many errors in my writing were apparent to me. First, My previous title, Visual Rhetoric Assignment, did not discuss anything original about my work. I changed my title to convey more information about my paper and the commercial I did the assignment about. Secondly, my first draft did not include a works cited page even though I did cite one source, our textbook, in my rhetorical analysis. I added a works cited page at the end of my paper by correctly using MLA format. My most important improvement of the paper was eliminating grammatical errors and finding better ways to state ideas. I did this by reading my paper many times and also having a friend edit it. Lastly, in my previous edit of my paper I found new examples and evidence to convey how my advertisment used rhetorical appeals and strategies.
Observation 3
As a result from reading other student’s work, I have learned how to differentiate between a strong opening paragraph and a weak one. I have also learned if the introductory paragraph includes a complete and strong thesis that will inform you in what order and what topic that will be discussed will be a better paper than one with out it. I have been educated on using large words only when you know exactly what they mean. In conclusion, as a writer and proofreader I have improved on my skills and grammatical work.
Visual Rhetoric First Draft
David Thomas
English 103 Section 33
Visual Rhetoric Assignment
English 103 Section 33
Visual Rhetoric Assignment
Are You in Good Hands?
The piece of visual rhetoric I chose to analyze is a commercial for Allstate insurance. The commercial features a line of cars traveling down a seemingly endless road. The passengers in these cars are teenagers. A sad song plays in the background. The voice-over comes in about 30 seconds into the commercial, “Every year, nearly 6,000 teenagers go out for a drive, and never come back. Just talking to them can change that.” The commercial ends with the appearance of the words, “Start the conversation,” followed by “Parent-Teen Driving Contract,” and finally, “Allstate. You’re in good hands.” Each of these elements is a rhetorical device meant to influence the viewer. These rhetorical devices fall under various categories, and each is meant to affect the viewer in a different way. The overall goal of this piece of visual rhetoric is twofold. Firstly, this commercial attempts to encourage parents to talk to their kids about safe driving, which will hopefully then lead to fewer potentially tragic car accidents. And secondly (and arguably more importantly), it tries to establish in its viewers’ minds the idea that Allstate is a company who cares about people.
This commercial’s primary means of influencing its audience is through the use of pathos. It provides an excellent demonstration of the power of pathos to influence people’s emotions. Many of the elements of this commercial make an emotional appeal toward the viewer. The first thing that you hear in the commercial is “From Where You Are” by Lifehouse, a bittersweet song about how if feels to miss a loved one who has gone away. This is an example of pathos because it invokes the feeling of sadness in the viewer. The song is a crucial element in this pathos-driven commercial; it sets the tone for the whole piece. Can you imagine how different the commercial would be if instead of “From Where You Are,” the commercial’s soundtrack featured “The Entertainer,” by Scott Joplin? “The Entertainer” is an entertaining, happy tune that invokes positive emotions like happiness and humor. A song like this has no place in this commercial because it sets the wrong mood for the message being delivered. Teenaged auto accident fatalities is not a cheery subject; it is a sad, regretful subject, which is why it was paired in this commercial with a sad, regretful song. The next rhetorical element in this commercial is the image of teens driving on a seemingly endless, isolated road that appears to lead nowhere except away from home. This is also an example of pathos because the image of thousands of cars carrying thousands of kids away from home, never to return, invokes a strong emotional response in this commercial’s viewers. Like the accompanying song, this pathetic device is also meant to invoke a sad emotional response in the viewer. The power of this image is not manifested until the voice-over states that, “Every year, nearly 6,000 teenagers go out for a drive, and never come back.” This is the moment when the true nature of the commercial is revealed. Prior to this point, viewers did not know what the image of teens driving on a suspiciously nondescript road meant. Once this revelation has been made, however, the viewer is instantly hit with one of the saddest realities of the world in which we live: thousands of teenagers die each year as a result of unsafe driving. These deaths are devastating to the families of these teens. They come with no prior warning; as the voice-over puts it, they were just going out for a drive just like they would on any other day. These realizations invoke a powerful emotional response. They cause the viewer to imagine how they would feel if their own son or daughter were killed in a car accident. The voice-over also tells the viewer that just talking to their kid can help ensure that this does not happen. This statement is also pathos-driven. It carries the emotions of resolve and hope by instilling in viewers the idea that they have the power to influence the situation. The belief that they can help the situation influences parents to take Allstate’s advice and start a conversation with their kid about safe driving in an effort to reduce the likelihood that an unimaginable tragedy like this should affect their own family. This was one of the two main goals of the commercial, and I would imagine that they succeeded in this effort. If I were a parent, I would have had a conversation with my kid after seeing this commercial. Pathos is an immeasurably strong force of persuasion, and this particular commercial uses it very effectively.
Though it is clear that this commercial is primarily pathos-driven, examples of logos and ethos appear within it as well. I have already said that the voice-over message was an example of pathos, revealing the sad truth that 6,000 teen drivers die each year. However, the use of the number 6,000 is also an example of logos because it is an appeal based on logic or reason. The number 6,000 is a statistic, a measurement. It is a tool of persuasion designed to give the viewer a ballpark estimate of how many families are affected by this tragic occurrence every year.
In addition to including examples of pathos and logos, I believe that the commercial’s voice-over is also an example of ethos because it relies on the character of the speaker. Though the speaker is never seen in this particular commercial, his voice is enough for viewers to recognize him as Dennis Haysbert, the spokesman who speaks on behalf of Allstate in many of their commercials. You may remember him as the man who says, “Are you in good hands?” or “That’s Allstate’s stand,” or perhaps as President David Palmer from the TV series “24.” In any case, Allstate has invested millions of dollars in advertising, and one of their objectives in this regard is to establish Dennis Haysbert as a person you can trust, someone who you respect, and as someone who understands your situation as it relates to your car insurance. The fact that they used Dennis Haysbert as the voice on their commercial rather than, say, Paris Hilton, leads me to believe that Allstate purposefully intended to use Haysbert’s voice as an agent of ethos. Paris Hilton is virtually the opposite of Dennis Haysbert. She is not a person who you can trust, she is not a person who you respect, and she is not someone who knows much about how car insurance fits into the rest of your life. For these reasons, she would not make a very strong appeal to the viewer where a person like Dennis Haysbert would.
The influence of Dennis Haysbert’s respectable character is one way that this commercial attempts to achieve its second goal: associating Allstate with being a company who cares about people. However, I believe that the primary means of reaching this goal is in what the commercial doesn’t say. Everyone knows that Allstate makes money by selling insurance. Everyone also knows that it costs Allstate money to put commercials on television. And finally, everyone knows that the reason why Allstate invests in commercials is to increase future profits by influencing potential customers to buy insurance from Allstate. However, nowhere in this commercial does it directly suggest that viewers switch their insurance to Allstate. Instead, it simply suggests that parents talk to their kids about safe driving. The fact that Allstate paid for an advertisement that doesn’t even directly try to sell insurance makes Allstate seem like a selfless and charitable entity. It causes people to believe that Allstate cares about more than just making money, that they also care about the people they insure, their families, and their community as a whole. I believe that this was the second part of Allstate’s goal for this commercial, and that, as they were in achieving the first part of this goal, they were also successful in accomplishing this one.
This commercial attempted to do two things: to encourage parents to talk to their kids about safe driving and to establish in its viewers’ minds the idea that Allstate is a company who cares about the people it insures, and even those it doesn’t. In order to reach these goals, the commercial relied mostly on pathos and ethos, creating a somber mood using powerful rhetorical images and music and also relying on the audience’s perception of the character and qualities of Allstate’s spokesperson. Speaking objectively, I believe that the creators of this commercial achieved these goals in a remarkably effective manner. Not only do I believe that this commercial succeeds at persuading parents to talk to their kids and at establishing goodwill toward Allstate, I believe that it does so in a way that makes the commercial memorable to everyone who sees it.
Works Cited:
“Allstate Teen Drivers.” Uploaded June 27,2008. Accessed January 24, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7U_EXEso0o
“Scott Joplin – The Entertainer.” Uploaded August 8, 2006. Accessed January 24, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cFkae0j_Ns
“David Palmer (24 character).” Modified January 19, 2009. Accessed January 24, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Palmer_(24_character)
“Dennis Haysbert” Modified January 25, 2009. Accessed January 24, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Haysbert
Crewell, Dustin; Draper, Melissa; Mitchell, Colin. “The Art of Rhetoric: Learning How to Use the Three Main Rhetorical Styles” Modified February 23, 1996. Accessed January 24, 2009. http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclass/web/project1/group4/
Page Wise
English 103-33
Jin Liu
January 25, 2009
Prevention of Horse Slaughter
What comes to mind when you think of a horse? Does untouchable beauty come to mind, seeing a wild horse running free in wide-open fields? Or do you think of seeing a live horse hanging by its’ hind legs waiting to be slaughtered? Currently tens of thousands of horses are shipped over the boarders of Mexico and Canada to slaughterhouses. Not only is it a horrible thing to do to a helpless animal, but also the ensuing process that takes place is highly illegal. The political cartoon by G.J. Caulkins utilizes many rhetorical devices and cannons such as narration, pathos, and ethos to suggest that the destroyed relationship between Kimosabe and his horse, Silver, represents the horrid truth that horses are slaughtered for the production of everyday glue.
The central image of the cartoon is the famous cowboy Kimosabe who is known for his “High Ho, Silver! Away!” He is sniffing glue that he made from his horse, Silver, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Tanto, standing beside him, has his eyes wide and almost “popping” out of his head in shock. The statement underneath the characters explains that Tanto, Kimosabe’s friend, finds out what glue is actually made out of. Kimosabe’s posture enhances the humor of the cartoon, focusing on his tongue hanging out of his mouth. The fact that he is sitting on large containers labeled as glue, shows that his relationship with his steed meant little to 
him and that he would rather get high off of glue. Tanto, Kimosabe’s partner, stance shows concern for Silver. The text above the characters reveals the shock Tanto is experiencing.
Caulkins used many rhetorical devices to enable the reader to understand just what he wanted them too. Of the nine devices, Caulkins uses narration, description and illustration. The narration used in his cartoon is text, where the characters are speaking or thinking something. Description is used to show the details in the cartoon. The cartoon itself is an illustration; illustration is used to show how the product can impact a person’s life (Alfano O’Brian, 31). In this cartoon the rhetorical device, written narration, is used to explain the comical situation or to tell the story of what happened by using text. Tanto is the only character to speak in the cartoon, but this is because Kimosabe is high off of sniffing the glue that was made out of his long time friend and horse, Silver. The text underneath the comic is written narration as well. It is used to describe what Tanto has just learned about glue and Silver. By using key words, such as “horrible” in the cartoon helps the reader “hear” the trauma in situation. Description is used at the bottom of the Caulkins’ cartoon. It is used to summarize and explain the plot of the comic. Usually when someone reads the comic, they immediately look to the words. First they see the conversation between characters; however, in this situation they can look further to the bottom of the comic and see the description of the situation that will help the reader further understand the cartoon.
Caulkins uses rhetorical appeals to persuade the reader to understand, feel, think or agree to what he does. There are three rhetorical appeals: logos, pathos and ethos. Logos is the “rational appeal” includes statistics and facts. Pathos is the “pathetic appeal” and targets the reader’s emotions to persuade them. Ethos is the “ethical appeal” which involves the credibility of the author. Of the three rhetorical devices, Caulkins uses pathos and ethos. Pathos, the pathetic appeal, is used to reach to the reader’s emotions. It is used in two ways: humor and sympathy. Because the comic is about a controversial subject, Caulkins uses humor to lighten the atmosphere; however, he uses a subject that causes the reader to feel sympathetic for the horse. Many people are unaware of the fear and suffering a horse goes through before it is slaughtered. Under federal law, horses are supposed to be unconscious before they are shot in the brain with a bolt gun. Unfortunately, the majority of the times, horses are conscious when their throats are slit. Their death usually caused by suffocation. The cartoon provides sympathy when Tanto is so upset due to the loss of Kimosabe’s horse, but also provides humor when Kimosabe is sniffing glue to get high. “Ethos is the deliberate use of the speaker’s character as a mode of persuasion,” (Alfano O’Brian, 31). One can see the author’s opinion in his cartoon by seeing how shocked Tanto is to find out the Sliver was killed and made into glue. He is clearly alarmed and appalled that horses are made into glue. Shows how everything is tied together and how everything fits in the world.
What comes to mind now when you think of a horse? Understanding the beginning, the process, and the outcome of a situation are key strategies in realizing what is morally right or wrong. With Caulkins’ use of rhetorical devices and cannons in his political cartoon, the readers are able to understand his opinion on the subject. He was successful on getting his point across but not only causing the reader to become sympathetic to the situation, but he provided humor as well. The cartoon was successful in catching the reader’s attention and hooking them into learning more about the subject, a victorious strategy from Caulkins.
Works Cited
Envision in Depth. Pearson Education, Inc., 2008.
End Horse Slaughter Permanently. Humane Society of the United States.
Observation 3- Michael Schreiber
As I read Emily's paper I was impressed in the ways she argued her topic. She used less examples than I normally do, but she still got her points out by using many theories for a single example. I also read other people's papers in the class and have noticed that most of them think it is best to go deeper into detail about one aspect of a cartoon or video rather than bringing an array of topics and examples and just going over them for a brief amount of time. I also liked how many people made connections from one example to the next to further increase their point on a theory. I will take these things into consideration when I am writing my own papers because I feel I have never backed up my theories well, and I have seen how a few well placed examples described in detail can really persuade the reader.
Observation 3
By reading other people's essays and making revisions to my own I have learned several things about my writing. I have learned how to make good rhetorical arguments and how to incorporate specific terms and rhetorical themes into my paper. Having good evidence and thorough examples is another important thing I have realized in reading other's papers. By looking at the comments written about my paper, I was able to go back and make a more detailed analysis, and able to organize my thoughts more clearly. I have also learned the importance of having a strong thesis to support your paper and be a good foundation for all the arguments that muse be made when analyzing a visual text of some sort. The importance of specificity has also been brought to my attention. Making clear arguments is not enough to have a strong paper, one must support those claims with detailed observations and possibly outisde sources. Getting the opportunity to read my classmates papers has given me some direction on what to improve/change about my own paper.
Observation 3
After doing self review and peer editing on my paper, I found a few things that needed to be changed. When I was revising my paper i had to re-organize my introduction paragraph so that my thesis was at the end of the paragraph instead of at the beginning. I had to add more detail to the content of my paper and to the observations that I made. I also had to correct my MLA format by the citing that I did in my paper and I had to add a header with my name and page number in the top right corner. I also had to add more words to my paper so I tried to do a more detailed analysis of the commercial and video.
observation 3
I made a few revisions in my paper after class on monday. One being the title because it was "Visual Rhetoric". The second revision I made was the detail. I did this because my paper was about 300 words short so I hade to make a more in depth analysis of the advertisement to be able to add more words to it. In doing these revisions I learned that papers need descriptive titles and I learned how to analyze every single part of a piece of visual rhetoric to be able to the minimum 1500 word requirement.
Observation 3
As I went over my Visual Rhetoric paper, I found a few things that I felt I needed to revise. My paper was not in MLA format, such as the heading and the works cited page so I fixed both of those first. Then, after rereading my essay I realized that it would be a good idea to revise my thesis statement to better fit the whole topic of my paper. Also, I added a few more details and observations that I made from watching my commercial a few more times and comparing it to my paper. I learned quite a bit about reorganization and revision because when I first wrote my paper I didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it. This was obviously wrong though, because I realized that there is always room for improvement.
Observation 3
After re-reading my paper, and reading and editing one of my peers papers I learned a lot. Mainly, that a paper is never 100% correct the first time written. It can always use some sort of feedback, whether it be from a friend, a professor, or just yourself. After looking over my paper, I realized that I needed to go back and refine my thesis statement to fit the main argument of my paper. Also I went back into the section where I had made observations about the political cartoon, and tried to look deeper into the cartoon to convey a better understanding of what the author was trying to portray. One thing I definitely noticed was that my paper was not in MLA format, and that I needed to fix that. So I went on to certain websites and fixed the citations. I felt my title was appropriate and my opening paragraph was very insightful, despite the fact that I had to refine my thesis statement a little bit. By reading someone elses work, it made me realize that I could do a better job on my paper, and I hope will improve my writing in the long run.
Observation 3
I have learned about good rhetorical argumentation strategies through this paper. Having a clear thesis is very important. It needs to be clear and understandable and communicate the idea of the paper effectively. It should not be too broad but it should not be too specific. It is important to use proper rhetorical terms and theories and relate them effectively to the visual. My commercial is on a Mac vs. PC commercial. I need to use more specific examples using the rhetorical terms and making my observations more clear. My title should be something that clearly conveys the theme of the paper. Using specific examples and evidence is important and using the proper MLA format is necessary.
Visual Rhetoric
Kelley Hutchinson
English 103 section 33
Jin Liu
January 26, 2009
What Happened to Joe Camel
In the nineteen eighties and early nineties, the most popular spokesperson for smoking was Joe Camel, the mascot for Camel Cigarettes. Joe was created in order to promote Camel’s 75th Anniversary. As an advertisement gimmick, Joe was a huge success. By 1991, a report from the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study showing that more children 5 and 6 years old could recognize Joe Camel than could recognize Mickey Mouse or Fred Flintstone (Wikipedia). And with his popularity, Joe made smoking the “cool” thing to do. The exciting backgrounds and good looking people in the advertisements made smoking look like it was the only way to fit in. But now, Joe Camel is promoting a new trend, not smoking. Joe Camel, who was once an icon, is portrayed in current ads as being reduced to being confined in a hospital and bad health. Joe Camel is now the newest symbol for an anti-smoking campaign and is advertising that what Joe was doing back then may have been “cool,” his choices have led to deteriorating health. The new campaign uses many forms of rhetoric to covey the negative effects of smoking on health. The anti-smoking ad featuring Joe Camel shows through the rhetorical appeals of ethos and pathos, four of the rhetoric strategies, and all five of the rhetoric cannons, to convey the message that smoking if not actually “cool” and can lead to bad heath.
When the audience is looking at this ad, many emotions are provoked. First, you notice the downtrodden face on Joe. He seems depressed and deep in thought, looking at his signature shades he has taken off. The audience also notices that Joe is in a hospital gown and bed. He also has an I.V. in his arm, further making the reader think of a hospital. Joe also looks old, frail, and defeated. After taking in the picture finally notices the title and the message. The title of the ad reads “Joe Chemo,” which gives a sort of explanation to the picture. The caption below reads, “The surgeon general warns that smoking is a frequent cause of wasted potential and fatal regret,” which reflects the mood of the ad.
The first use of visual rhetoric used is Pathos, or the appeal to the emotions. One way Pathos is used in the expression on Joe’s face. The sad face on Joe makes the audience feel sad too. The sight of Joe in a hospital gown and bed also elicits deep emotional sympathy for the camel. The message on the ad furthers the rhetoric appeal of Pathos. The message reads, “The surgeon general warns that smoking is a frequent cause of wasted potential and fatal regret.” That, along with the picture makes the audience feel even more distressed about the ad. Another appeal of rhetoric that is used is that of Ethos, or the appeal to character. Usually Ethos is in reference to the author of the medium in which rhetoric is being presented. But in this case, Ethos is in reference to the character of Joe Camel. Back in the day, Joe Camel was a mascot and a symbol of cigarettes. He had established his credibility in the fact that smoking was cool and was a good thing to do. But, now that credibility is gone. And with his credibility lost it shows it is not cool to smoke. Even though the credibility is gone from what Joe Camel once represented, he is still showing another Ethos, one of a changed man. This Ethos is one of being regretful of his past decisions. His new character is one that understands now that he made many wrong decisions and is willing to change what he represents.
The anti-smoking ad also contained four of the ten strategies. The first and most prominent strategy used was cause and effect. The main point made was that if a person smokes, they could have serious health problems. This is portrayed by the once young, healthy, “cool” looking camel is now an older, sicker, and frail camel. Basically it shows that by using cigarettes, one is not cool and will regret their decision. The second strategy used is narration. Narration in definition is telling a story. The story told is one that shows if you make a poor life decision, then in the future it will cause you pain and regret. Illustration is another of the strategies used in this anti-smoking campaign. Illustration is showing how something can impact a person’s life. This ad shows that by smoking, one can go from having a carefree, enjoyable life to being miserable and sickly life. The last of the ten strategies used in the ad is process. Process is used to show how the product can be used. In the case of this ad, the product of cigarettes can be used to cause several health problems.
All five rhetorical canons are used into making the ad effective in rhetoric. The invention of ideas is seen throughout the entire ad. The usage of using an old campaign promoting smoking is used now to show the side effects of cigarettes. Also it shows the opposite of the stereotype that smoking cool, but actually just leads to regret. Idea invention is also seen in making use of rhetorical appeals and strategies. The second rhetorical canon is arrangement. The ad is arranged so that the sickly picture of Joe Camel is right in the middle. The image of Joe is also the largest thing on the ad, so to draw attention to him. It is also arranged chronologically in that the audience reads the ad from left to right in order to make it easier for the audience to follow. The commercial was also very effective in its use of the rhetorical canon of style. The ad’s focus on a camel named Joe Camel. What Joe is supposed to relay to the audience is an expression of deep thought and regret. So in order to convey that emotion, the ad has Joe looking at his trademark sunglasses in his hands with tired eyes that say defeat. The next rhetorical canon used is memory. The ad has a message at the bottom saying, “The surgeon general warns that smoking is a frequent cause of wasted potential and fatal regret.” The message supports the picture and makes the audience remember the significance. The last cannon used in the anti-smoking campaign is delivery. The delivery of the ad makes it so people think more about their decisions and shows them the consequences if one does make a poor life decision.
Joe Camel used to be the coolest guy to many people. When they saw him smoking, they also get wanted to smoke. The new anti-smoking campaign featuring Joe Chemo is one that is a successful ad. The reason Chemo Joe is so successful though is because its message is clear. And in order for that message to be communicated clearly, rhetoric needs to be used. For without rhetoric, advertisement would not exist. Rhetoric has such an impact on the way in which it is perceived with the usage appeals, strategies, and cannons.
Works Cited
Alfano, Christine and Alyssa O’Brien. Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. Pearson Longman. 2008.
"Joe Camel." Wikipedia. 23 Jan. 2009. Wikipedia. 26 Jan. 2009.
Plous, S. "Joe Chemo." Cartoon. Joe Chemo. 2009. 26 Jan. 2009.
Reyonlds, R.J. "Genuine Taste." Cartoon. Subliminal World. 03 Jan. 2003. Camel Cigarettes. 26 Jan. 2009.
Link: http://www.notmytribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ad-busters-joe-chemo.jpg
English 103 section 33
Jin Liu
January 26, 2009
What Happened to Joe Camel
In the nineteen eighties and early nineties, the most popular spokesperson for smoking was Joe Camel, the mascot for Camel Cigarettes. Joe was created in order to promote Camel’s 75th Anniversary. As an advertisement gimmick, Joe was a huge success. By 1991, a report from the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study showing that more children 5 and 6 years old could recognize Joe Camel than could recognize Mickey Mouse or Fred Flintstone (Wikipedia). And with his popularity, Joe made smoking the “cool” thing to do. The exciting backgrounds and good looking people in the advertisements made smoking look like it was the only way to fit in. But now, Joe Camel is promoting a new trend, not smoking. Joe Camel, who was once an icon, is portrayed in current ads as being reduced to being confined in a hospital and bad health. Joe Camel is now the newest symbol for an anti-smoking campaign and is advertising that what Joe was doing back then may have been “cool,” his choices have led to deteriorating health. The new campaign uses many forms of rhetoric to covey the negative effects of smoking on health. The anti-smoking ad featuring Joe Camel shows through the rhetorical appeals of ethos and pathos, four of the rhetoric strategies, and all five of the rhetoric cannons, to convey the message that smoking if not actually “cool” and can lead to bad heath.
When the audience is looking at this ad, many emotions are provoked. First, you notice the downtrodden face on Joe. He seems depressed and deep in thought, looking at his signature shades he has taken off. The audience also notices that Joe is in a hospital gown and bed. He also has an I.V. in his arm, further making the reader think of a hospital. Joe also looks old, frail, and defeated. After taking in the picture finally notices the title and the message. The title of the ad reads “Joe Chemo,” which gives a sort of explanation to the picture. The caption below reads, “The surgeon general warns that smoking is a frequent cause of wasted potential and fatal regret,” which reflects the mood of the ad.
The first use of visual rhetoric used is Pathos, or the appeal to the emotions. One way Pathos is used in the expression on Joe’s face. The sad face on Joe makes the audience feel sad too. The sight of Joe in a hospital gown and bed also elicits deep emotional sympathy for the camel. The message on the ad furthers the rhetoric appeal of Pathos. The message reads, “The surgeon general warns that smoking is a frequent cause of wasted potential and fatal regret.” That, along with the picture makes the audience feel even more distressed about the ad. Another appeal of rhetoric that is used is that of Ethos, or the appeal to character. Usually Ethos is in reference to the author of the medium in which rhetoric is being presented. But in this case, Ethos is in reference to the character of Joe Camel. Back in the day, Joe Camel was a mascot and a symbol of cigarettes. He had established his credibility in the fact that smoking was cool and was a good thing to do. But, now that credibility is gone. And with his credibility lost it shows it is not cool to smoke. Even though the credibility is gone from what Joe Camel once represented, he is still showing another Ethos, one of a changed man. This Ethos is one of being regretful of his past decisions. His new character is one that understands now that he made many wrong decisions and is willing to change what he represents.
The anti-smoking ad also contained four of the ten strategies. The first and most prominent strategy used was cause and effect. The main point made was that if a person smokes, they could have serious health problems. This is portrayed by the once young, healthy, “cool” looking camel is now an older, sicker, and frail camel. Basically it shows that by using cigarettes, one is not cool and will regret their decision. The second strategy used is narration. Narration in definition is telling a story. The story told is one that shows if you make a poor life decision, then in the future it will cause you pain and regret. Illustration is another of the strategies used in this anti-smoking campaign. Illustration is showing how something can impact a person’s life. This ad shows that by smoking, one can go from having a carefree, enjoyable life to being miserable and sickly life. The last of the ten strategies used in the ad is process. Process is used to show how the product can be used. In the case of this ad, the product of cigarettes can be used to cause several health problems.
All five rhetorical canons are used into making the ad effective in rhetoric. The invention of ideas is seen throughout the entire ad. The usage of using an old campaign promoting smoking is used now to show the side effects of cigarettes. Also it shows the opposite of the stereotype that smoking cool, but actually just leads to regret. Idea invention is also seen in making use of rhetorical appeals and strategies. The second rhetorical canon is arrangement. The ad is arranged so that the sickly picture of Joe Camel is right in the middle. The image of Joe is also the largest thing on the ad, so to draw attention to him. It is also arranged chronologically in that the audience reads the ad from left to right in order to make it easier for the audience to follow. The commercial was also very effective in its use of the rhetorical canon of style. The ad’s focus on a camel named Joe Camel. What Joe is supposed to relay to the audience is an expression of deep thought and regret. So in order to convey that emotion, the ad has Joe looking at his trademark sunglasses in his hands with tired eyes that say defeat. The next rhetorical canon used is memory. The ad has a message at the bottom saying, “The surgeon general warns that smoking is a frequent cause of wasted potential and fatal regret.” The message supports the picture and makes the audience remember the significance. The last cannon used in the anti-smoking campaign is delivery. The delivery of the ad makes it so people think more about their decisions and shows them the consequences if one does make a poor life decision.
Joe Camel used to be the coolest guy to many people. When they saw him smoking, they also get wanted to smoke. The new anti-smoking campaign featuring Joe Chemo is one that is a successful ad. The reason Chemo Joe is so successful though is because its message is clear. And in order for that message to be communicated clearly, rhetoric needs to be used. For without rhetoric, advertisement would not exist. Rhetoric has such an impact on the way in which it is perceived with the usage appeals, strategies, and cannons.
Works Cited
Alfano, Christine and Alyssa O’Brien. Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. Pearson Longman. 2008.
"Joe Camel." Wikipedia. 23 Jan. 2009. Wikipedia. 26 Jan. 2009
Plous, S. "Joe Chemo." Cartoon. Joe Chemo. 2009. 26 Jan. 2009
Reyonlds, R.J. "Genuine Taste." Cartoon. Subliminal World. 03 Jan. 2003. Camel Cigarettes. 26 Jan. 2009
Link: http://www.notmytribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ad-busters-joe-chemo.jpg
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Visual Rhetoric
Sarah Jones
January 26, 2009
This commercial, advertising Macs, is a commentary of America's fast paced lifestyle, focusing on the problems of PCs; while Macs appeal to this busy lifestyle, PCs just hinder it, this comparison being shown not only through the commentary but also through the appearance of the characters playing “Mac” and “PC.” Every person wants to find success and their own version of the “American Dream.” Through this commercial, the American Dream is shown to be possible through Macs. Through the comparison and contrast of the Mac versus the PC, the commercial tries to persuade people’s preference in operating systems. The Mac is shown to be superior in image, portrayed as a skinny man versus the fat man that represents the PC. Macs win out in clothing choice in the commercial, showing a trying too hard look of the PCs versus a laid back, casual look of a Mac. The commercial persuades people’s opinions of the operating systems by representing the Mac as a well known, cool, good looking actor versus the dorky looking, older boring version of the PC.
The image and body structure of the two men, a “bloated” man representing a PC and a skinny man representing a Mac, is parallel to the structure of the two operating machines. The bloated man represents everything that people do not want in a computer and in turn what they themselves do not want to be. No one is born fat, but it comes with laziness, idleness, and a lack of drive. This is the embodiment of a PC, as shown in the commercial. Although a PC is not bought sluggish and useless, it becomes this way after being loaded with information it cannot sort out. PCs are shown in the commercial to be slow, packed with useless tidbits of programs that are necessary for proper use of that machine; however, in a Mac these programs are not needed. A Mac comes with everything that is needed, like ITunes, I photo, and many other programs that are not trial software. Because of this, the Mac gives the image of being neat and tidy and in top shape. This is not the image of the “American Dream” that everyone wants to be a part of; instead, it is the image that people are trying to get America away from. We do not want to be shown as a nation of fat, lazy people with no ambition, instead, we want to be known as a nation with all the resources to make anyone great. Like the Mac in the commercial, we want to be considered a nation full of people with energy rising up in the world and accomplishing great tasks. Much like the skinny man, a Mac has more “energy,” lasting longer and holding more important information. They are able to be trusted with value and worth. Because the PC has all of this useless information, it eventually becomes slow and useless, crashing at the most inopportune times. The epitome of the American Dream is wrapped up in the Mac; therefore, they are more appealing to the customer.
Throughout the commercial many persuasive arguments are presented in various forms. A persuasive part of the commercial is the setup of the scene and how the two people are dressed. The commercial is setup with a complete white background with nothing in the surroundings, and the only things present in the scene are the two people representing Macs and PCs. This causes for the audience to focus on the two people. With the focus being only on the two people more emphasis is put on how they are dressed and act. Because the only colors in the commercial are the clothes they are wearing, the viewer is able to analyze their color choices more than if they were blurred with a background or other figures in the commercial. In the visual, the PC is wearing a suit and the Mac is wearing a casual outfit. This makes the PC seem like a dork, as opposed to the Mac who appears to be relaxed and laid back, just how anyone would want to appear to be. Because the viewer relates to the character of the operating systems shown rather than the computer itself, the consumer will want to buy a Mac over a PC, wanting to be viewed as relaxed and carefree. The PC appears to be trying to look better than he actually is by wearing a suit. The Mac is shown as down to earth, representing himself as being who he is and not trying too hard to be something else, or even appear to be something or have something he does not and cannot have. People will be more inclined to buy something they feel more comfortable with rather than something that just looks nice. Not only is the PC wearing a suit and the Mac is wearing casual clothes, the PC has on a red tie and the Mac has on a blue shirt. These are opposing colors, representing the juxtaposition of the two operating systems and the extreme difference between the two. The “American Dream” is shown through wearing the right clothes and looking the right way because of a person’s success. People will want what they think is the most appealing, in this case, the Mac. The author of the commercial’s strategy of using opposing appearances enhances the appeal of the Mac, showing the immense difference and bringing to the front the reasons for getting a Mac.
Rhetorical appeals greatly persuade the viewer and influence their decision to choose one product over another. This commercial compares the actors representing the two products. Justin Long represents Macs, a young, popular movie star, and John Hodgman portrays the PC, an older, more boring, lesser known actor/ writer. When people buy products because they have seen them advertised on TV, it is usually due to their attraction to the character or actor that is displaying the product. The majority of consumers that buy computers are college aged or students because every student is required to own a laptop. Every college student can relate to Justin Long because he is young and plays in movies that are comical and appeal to people in their teens and twenties. Because he is well known, more people will be willing to buy a product that he endorses because, even though they do not know him personally, they trust his decisions. Unlike this cool, fun-loving guy, the actor playing the PC is not as well known. John Hodgman is mostly known for his writing, not his acting; therefore, people do not know his face. He is older and not as good looking as “the Mac.” People will consider him a joke because of the way he looks and his anonymity. This is not a commentary on the anonymity of PCs, because there is no discrimination in the number of PCs versus Macs, but on people’s preferences and their preference in a product they can relate to rather than something they do not want to compare themselves to. The commercial influences people’s bias and opinion and their underlying need to feel recognized and well known. The “American Dream” is to not only find success but to be praised and find satisfaction in other people’s opinions. By comparing Justin Long and John Hodgman, the commercial gives preference to Macs through the popularity of the character that plays each operating system.
The Mac commercial is an analysis of the benefits of a Mac shown in the failures of a PC. Although the commercial does not show the cons of a Mac or the pros of a PC, it persuades the viewer to make a choice based on the information they are given. Through the comparison and contrast of the two, the consumer is encouraged to buy a Mac rather than a PC. Using rhetorical strategies and appeals, the commercial makes it very convincing to buy a Mac by showing the many downsides to a PC. Through the juxtaposition of many elements, Macs are shown to be superior.
Works Cited
Alfano, Christine and Alyssa O’Brien. Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. Pearson Longman. 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EbCyibkNB0
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