http://entertainment.time.com/2012/09/28/fox-news-apologizes-after-airing-live-footage-of-suicide/?iid=ent-main-mostpop1
The article I read came from entertainment.time.com and is written by James Poniewozik. He writes about how Fox News center accidentally aired live footage of a man committing suicide and describes Fox's apology to the public. He also raises the question: Why air live footage of car chases? They are not national news and have no reason to be televised.
The exigence of the text was that Fox aired live footage of the public, which was very controversial, and released an apology to the public. The purpose for James writing the text was to inform the public of this information and show readers the apology from Fox. He also chose to write this article to raise an argumentative question of why do national television programs air live footage of car chases. This article was geared to an audience of adults who are up to date on current news or would be interested by this topic.
The rhetorical devices used in this article are: logos, ethos, pathos, argumentative (modes of discourse), and persuasion.
Yes, I think James Poniewozik accomplishes his goal through his text. First, he gives the audience background information by explaining how the incident occurred and gave a copy of Fox's apology. He uses this as an example for his bigger argument: Why air live footage of car chases? Immediately after, he uses logic to explain why it is wrong to air them and gives many reasons to back himself up. He makes it seem unnecessary and a waste of television time. By the end of the article I found my self wondering why car chases are aired live because of 1. the incident that occurred and 2. the reasons James Poniewozik listed. He sufficed in convincing me and I think he will convince the rest of the readers.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Jessica Simpson Proactiv Advertisement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmYZQmX2Jz8
One can almost never turn on the TV without seeing a Proactiv commercial. The advertisement always has a celebrity who endorses it; in this commercial it is Jessica Simpson. In the two minute commercial, Jessica Simpson gives the audience a sneak-peek into her life, which always involves using Proactiv everyday. She gives details about her personal life, and her fight for getting rid of acne. She tells the audience that if they want to feel confident about their skin and stay clear of blemishes, than they have to use Proactiv. The audience for this commercial is young to middle age people suffering from acne, primarily women because Jessica Simpson appeals to them more over men. The purpose for creating this advertisement is to promote the use of Proactiv. It is to show everyday people that even celebrities suffer from acne, but Proactiv is the cure. If you use Proactiv, you will live a more confident and happier life. The exigence for this advertisement is that the company Proactiv is trying to get more people to use their product.
This Proactiv commercial uses many rhetorical devices to try and reel in TV watchers into buying the product. The devices used are: ethos (celebrities have flaws and can relate to the audience), logos ("Problem, acne. Solution, Proactive."), pathos (physical and mental distress with acne), tone (optimistic and sincere), and mood (encouraging).
One can almost never turn on the TV without seeing a Proactiv commercial. The advertisement always has a celebrity who endorses it; in this commercial it is Jessica Simpson. In the two minute commercial, Jessica Simpson gives the audience a sneak-peek into her life, which always involves using Proactiv everyday. She gives details about her personal life, and her fight for getting rid of acne. She tells the audience that if they want to feel confident about their skin and stay clear of blemishes, than they have to use Proactiv. The audience for this commercial is young to middle age people suffering from acne, primarily women because Jessica Simpson appeals to them more over men. The purpose for creating this advertisement is to promote the use of Proactiv. It is to show everyday people that even celebrities suffer from acne, but Proactiv is the cure. If you use Proactiv, you will live a more confident and happier life. The exigence for this advertisement is that the company Proactiv is trying to get more people to use their product.
This Proactiv commercial uses many rhetorical devices to try and reel in TV watchers into buying the product. The devices used are: ethos (celebrities have flaws and can relate to the audience), logos ("Problem, acne. Solution, Proactive."), pathos (physical and mental distress with acne), tone (optimistic and sincere), and mood (encouraging).
Yes, I think the commercial did accomplish its goal of showing viewers that Proactiv works. The testimonial from Jessica Simpson advocates the effectiveness of the medication. She also shows viewers that acne is not something to be ashamed of. Almost everyone has problems with skin blemishes. Also, the statement, "Problem, acne. Solution, Proactiv" makes it seem like such a simple choice. Choose Proactiv and your troubles will go away. Lastly, by using the rhetorical devices I listed above, the audience is reeled into the commercial, without even knowing it, and by the end convinced that Proactiv is the solution for their acne.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Obesity Paradox
Harriet Brown, an American writer and editor, wrote this article for the New York Times about the obesity paradox. She describes how this mystifying topic is prevalent in today's society. An example she gives is that diabetes patients of normal weight are twice as more likely to die as patients who are overweight or obese. She goes on in her article to describe why this is happening using research and statistics. One of the explanations she gives is that when a chronic disease develops the body needs more calories. Therefore an overweight patient has more of those "reserves" or extra calories to help sustain them. This article disproves many conceptions about obesity and health.
The exigence of the article is that the author wanted to discredit any pre-conceptions about obesity and health because, according to Harriet Brown, it is culturally embedded in all of us to think of those two things, when side by side, as bad. The purpose of the article is to inform people of new medical research that "thinner may be sicker". The intended audience are average normal American people who do not know a whole lot about the medical world and who are reading this article to become informed.
Harriet Brown use jargon, logos, and oversimplification.
I think Harriet Brown did get her message through in her article. The topic that she is talking about is way more complicated than she is making it out to be. By oversimplifying the obesity paradox, I was able to understand what she was talking about and further believe what she was saying. Also, she used a lot of big and long medical terms. Through this jargon, the article sounded more sophisticated and I was more prompted to take what she was saying seriously. Lastly, she used a lot of statistics and research throughout her entire article. Harriet also cited many medical professional and scientists from prominent universities such as Northwestern University. By backing up what she was saying, her article became credible. Through all of these things, Harriet Brown got her message across that there are misconceptions about obesity and health to the reader.
The exigence of the article is that the author wanted to discredit any pre-conceptions about obesity and health because, according to Harriet Brown, it is culturally embedded in all of us to think of those two things, when side by side, as bad. The purpose of the article is to inform people of new medical research that "thinner may be sicker". The intended audience are average normal American people who do not know a whole lot about the medical world and who are reading this article to become informed.
Harriet Brown use jargon, logos, and oversimplification.
I think Harriet Brown did get her message through in her article. The topic that she is talking about is way more complicated than she is making it out to be. By oversimplifying the obesity paradox, I was able to understand what she was talking about and further believe what she was saying. Also, she used a lot of big and long medical terms. Through this jargon, the article sounded more sophisticated and I was more prompted to take what she was saying seriously. Lastly, she used a lot of statistics and research throughout her entire article. Harriet also cited many medical professional and scientists from prominent universities such as Northwestern University. By backing up what she was saying, her article became credible. Through all of these things, Harriet Brown got her message across that there are misconceptions about obesity and health to the reader.
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