Advertisements are constantly contrived and displayed on posters, billboards, television, and the like. The media is ubiquitous, and its target is mainly teenagers. Teens are perfect "victims" for the media due to their nonchalance toward financial matters, their desire for freedom, and their yearnings for enjoying themselves with friends. With such a primary focus on having fun, teens can be naive enough to believe everything they read in magazines, hear on the radio, and watch on television. Such mistakes could lead to confusion, and even a void of gratification.
I've noticed one particular method the media has been using for a while to attract teenagers' attention, and it's not the most tactical: sexual appeal. As shown today in English class, such figures as Britney Spears are the epitomes of exploiting their bodies in order to entice people to purchase a product, watch a movie, go to a concert, and much, much more. To begin on a light note, many commercials use "attractive" people to advertise a product because people admire beauty. A person might believe that the advertiser "looks great" or "feels wonderful" because he or she purchased the item. This clearly means those watching should buy the item, too, so that they look and feel just as wondeful, right? Not at all. The media's goal isn't necessarily to satisfy its customers; its goal is to deceive by using nonverbal affective appeals that attract its audience's attention, convince said audience to purchase the product, and take their money.
Of course, using "beautiful" people to advertise isn't a crime...but it most definitely has escalated within the past few years to a new height that is considered--at least by me--to be absolutely preposterous. Now more than ever, commercials and movie trailers are using sexual appeal in order to grab people's attention. An example of someone who uses sexual nonverbal affective appeal to inveigle people into purchasing a product is the "actress" Megan Fox. Although constantly criticized for her terrible acting, Megan Fox sells. She succeeds in captivating audiences--most notably teenagers'--with her brazen sex appeal. To be blunt, she is using her body as a tool to make money for movie studios.
I am disappointed that such brazen sexual appeal has only attracted more people's attention. The more sexual an advertisement is, the more interested people are, and the greater the probability that they'll be duped into buying the product. This cycle will never end until people raise their standards by which they'll part with their money.
-Chloe Martianou
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Laughter and Tears
I have had a very sore throat for the past few days, and while coming home from school today my mom said something that made me laugh. I quickly regretted it and asked her not to say anything funny because it hurt when I laughed. I then starting thinking about what we were talking about in class a few days ago. If words have no real meaning (they only mean what we say they mean), how can some words cause a physical reaction from us? Everyone knows what it's like to try to stifle a laugh after hearing a hilarious joke. If what was said was extremely funny, it is often impossible to stop the reaction. The same thing happens when something sad is said. How can simple words cause the uncontrollable physical reaction of tears? If words really mean nothing, aren't we laughing and crying for no reason?
-Alexa Kaczmarski
-Alexa Kaczmarski
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Continuing with the discussion today..
It was interesting to analyze Obama's speech linguistically and I was amazed by how the speech was written so affectively by using ethos, pathos, and logos evenly.
When I was reading the speech, I got an impression that Obama was rushing the audience to decide on the healthcare matter, emphasizing how urgent the problem was. Especially when he mentioned two examples, a man in Illinois who died because he could not get a treatment and a woman in Texas who had cancer, it arose emotion and it made it feel like we had to take actions NOW because people were dying the minute we were speaking. I also got the same impression when Obama warns the politicians that opposing just to politically attack him is not the right thing to do now.
When Obama said, "That's not my judgment...... it's the judgment of medical professionals across this country," I thought that by bringing up the medical professionals, Obama almost made his proposal seem like a report. People have faith in professionals especially in the medical field and they assume that since the professionals know what they're doing, it must be right to follow their advice. Also, by mentioning them, Obama emphasized on the fact that his proposal is not his personal judgment.
There were many components that helped the audience to remember his speech. During his speech Obama mentioned individuals like the man in Illinois, the woman in Texas, and Ted Kennedy. He also mentioned the effect his proposal can have on small business, employees without coverage, individuals, and at one point, he is directly speaking to the seniors of America. By directly speaking to individuals and certain groups of people, the people in the groups Obama mentioned will definitely remember what he said about the advantages that they will have.
-Joanne Park
When I was reading the speech, I got an impression that Obama was rushing the audience to decide on the healthcare matter, emphasizing how urgent the problem was. Especially when he mentioned two examples, a man in Illinois who died because he could not get a treatment and a woman in Texas who had cancer, it arose emotion and it made it feel like we had to take actions NOW because people were dying the minute we were speaking. I also got the same impression when Obama warns the politicians that opposing just to politically attack him is not the right thing to do now.
When Obama said, "That's not my judgment...... it's the judgment of medical professionals across this country," I thought that by bringing up the medical professionals, Obama almost made his proposal seem like a report. People have faith in professionals especially in the medical field and they assume that since the professionals know what they're doing, it must be right to follow their advice. Also, by mentioning them, Obama emphasized on the fact that his proposal is not his personal judgment.
There were many components that helped the audience to remember his speech. During his speech Obama mentioned individuals like the man in Illinois, the woman in Texas, and Ted Kennedy. He also mentioned the effect his proposal can have on small business, employees without coverage, individuals, and at one point, he is directly speaking to the seniors of America. By directly speaking to individuals and certain groups of people, the people in the groups Obama mentioned will definitely remember what he said about the advantages that they will have.
-Joanne Park
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Open and Closed Minds
I have been contemplating one of the last questions asked today during English: Did Obama's speech have an effect on the people? I have come to the conclusion that Obama's Back to School speech may have indeed roused different emotions in people, but whether he managed to inspire anybody to work harder or not clearly relies on the people themselves.
Obama's narration of the tragic stories of Andoni, Shantell, and Jazmin served to relate to certain people with similar hardships, and hopefully strike a chord within them. Depending on each individual's views and thoughts, however, Obama's speech may or may not have persuaded them to persevere in school. If, say, a teenager is truly upset about his relationship with his family, and finds it difficult to focus on his schoolwork, it is his choice alone whether or not he listens to Obama's speech and follows it through to the end. That teenager will, in the end, decide whether it is worthwhile to persist in school or not.
That being said, an individual will only be moved by Obama's speech, and strive for success if he or she has an open mind towards it. That is to say, said individual is willing to accept others' ideologies, (in this instance, Obama's ideology) and follow through with it.
For someone who has a closed mind, on the other hand, he will obstinately refuse to believe in anybody else's ideologies except for those of his own. In this case, the individual will not appreciate Obama's speech, and will continue believing in what he wants to believe in. He therefore may or may not work hard to succeed; the choice is his.
Though quite profound and articulate, Obama's speech is not entirely capable of persuading his listeners to have a good work ethic towards school. In the end, it is up to each individual to decide what to believe in, which aspects to accept, and determine how hard he or she will work in order to triumph in school.
-Chloe Martianou
Obama's narration of the tragic stories of Andoni, Shantell, and Jazmin served to relate to certain people with similar hardships, and hopefully strike a chord within them. Depending on each individual's views and thoughts, however, Obama's speech may or may not have persuaded them to persevere in school. If, say, a teenager is truly upset about his relationship with his family, and finds it difficult to focus on his schoolwork, it is his choice alone whether or not he listens to Obama's speech and follows it through to the end. That teenager will, in the end, decide whether it is worthwhile to persist in school or not.
That being said, an individual will only be moved by Obama's speech, and strive for success if he or she has an open mind towards it. That is to say, said individual is willing to accept others' ideologies, (in this instance, Obama's ideology) and follow through with it.
For someone who has a closed mind, on the other hand, he will obstinately refuse to believe in anybody else's ideologies except for those of his own. In this case, the individual will not appreciate Obama's speech, and will continue believing in what he wants to believe in. He therefore may or may not work hard to succeed; the choice is his.
Though quite profound and articulate, Obama's speech is not entirely capable of persuading his listeners to have a good work ethic towards school. In the end, it is up to each individual to decide what to believe in, which aspects to accept, and determine how hard he or she will work in order to triumph in school.
-Chloe Martianou
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Empathy
After reading President Barack Obama's Back to School Event speech, I imagined how encouraged all his listeners felt.
There are so many troubled kids who are struggling with difficult situations, and school only adds onto that frustration. Many children give up on the challenging work, and regret it years later. With an articulate speech as this particular one, however, students feel motivated to keep trying, not only because it was eloquently spoken, but also because it was very empathetic.
Empathetic words are needed by those who are striving to become successful, but are in a rough situation. Obama's speech wasn't meant to act as a pity party for himself and others; its purpose was to inspire students to work hard no matter what difficulties they may face. He provided students with solid evidence of how others with similar hardships were able to succeed.
By empathizing with the students and motivating them to continue with their schoolwork, Obama may have paved the road for inpsired students to persevere and succeed with their work.
-Chloe Martianou
There are so many troubled kids who are struggling with difficult situations, and school only adds onto that frustration. Many children give up on the challenging work, and regret it years later. With an articulate speech as this particular one, however, students feel motivated to keep trying, not only because it was eloquently spoken, but also because it was very empathetic.
Empathetic words are needed by those who are striving to become successful, but are in a rough situation. Obama's speech wasn't meant to act as a pity party for himself and others; its purpose was to inspire students to work hard no matter what difficulties they may face. He provided students with solid evidence of how others with similar hardships were able to succeed.
By empathizing with the students and motivating them to continue with their schoolwork, Obama may have paved the road for inpsired students to persevere and succeed with their work.
-Chloe Martianou
Monday, September 7, 2009
A Really Lot Of Grammar
I have two friends with very opposing views on grammar and I was wondering what everyone else thought. My one friend is always correcting everyone's grammar. She feels it is important that we speak English the way it was meant to be spoken. Of course English evolves, and we have to allow for that change, but saying things like "a really lot of" is just plain wrong. My other friend says the purpose of language is communication. If you know what I mean, who cares how I say it? On the one hand, I agree with him, that language is a fluid thing, it moves and shifts and it's fine to use it in any way that is understood. On the other, I see the value in having a structured way in which language is used. It certainly gives a better impression, one of intelligence and education, if I speak correctly. What does everyone think?
I also noticed an interesting paradox. Most people, and teachers, won't care if you speak incorrectly, so long as you dont' write it. We have all had teachers explain to us that the problem with our essay is we are writing the way we speak. If it's ok to speak incorrectly, shouldn't it be ok to write that way?
I never understood why we must learn grammar in school. It always seemed to me that we would learn the right way to use language simply by using it. If everyone read and listened enough, they would be so submersed in grammar they would begin to subconciously use it. This is the way babies learn to speak correctly far before they ever know that "bottle" is a noun. What does everyone else think? Is this enough for good grammar? Or do we need to know what a relative pronoun is to use it?
~Becca LaRosa
I also noticed an interesting paradox. Most people, and teachers, won't care if you speak incorrectly, so long as you dont' write it. We have all had teachers explain to us that the problem with our essay is we are writing the way we speak. If it's ok to speak incorrectly, shouldn't it be ok to write that way?
I never understood why we must learn grammar in school. It always seemed to me that we would learn the right way to use language simply by using it. If everyone read and listened enough, they would be so submersed in grammar they would begin to subconciously use it. This is the way babies learn to speak correctly far before they ever know that "bottle" is a noun. What does everyone else think? Is this enough for good grammar? Or do we need to know what a relative pronoun is to use it?
~Becca LaRosa
Word Choice
When you apply to college, as we all know, you have to write an admissions essay. This is the college admissions officers way of trying to find something about you. To an extent, the words we choose to put down tell something about us. We each have our own "voice"; no two people write the same way. We all have different writing influences, teachers, books, newspapers, that have shaped the way we can use words. What we choose to say also says something about our values and who we are. But how much does it say? How much can you really learn about someone from a string of words a page long? For the purpose of college admissions when you can't meet everyone, an essay may work well. But in general, how much do you learn from the words one uses? Even a pen pal, who you may write for years but never see. How well do you know them?
~Becca LaRosa
~Becca LaRosa
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