Monthly Archives: September 2012

Battle of the Sexes (Analysis)

King’s essay topic is interesting in itself because it demonstrates the age long battle women have been fighting to secure equality with men. The stereotypical housewife is something that developed during the early 1920’s and 1930’s and then started to change during World War II. This stereotype came about due to women traditionally taking care of their children while their husbands would go to work and earn money to support their families. However, once males had to go to war women started taking a more active role in the workplace and they started to shift this stereotype. Ever since then, women have been fighting to achieve equality and show that they can do just as much as men.

King’s essay is quite the descriptive one. There is no shortage of detail and even though I didn’t read all 29 pages word for word, I can guarantee one probably felt that after they had finished reading it, they were actually at the match. Rhetorically speaking, if we look at the match itself, it was suited for both genders and conveyed the ultiamte message that women can do just as many things as men can. Billy Jean King harassed a slow, old, under prepared Riggs. She demonstrated sportsmanship at the sametime and didn’t let Rigg’s pregame mind tricks fool her. Kyle does a great job illustrating the history of the match and events leading up to the Battle of the Sexes. He showed just how important this match was for women’s rights as he illustrated that certain things were born out of it such as TITLE IX. I don’t get much of a feel for his own personal view on the subject matter, but maybe staying neutral is what he was trying to do. I would have loved to see what the criteria was for this paper.

He vigilantely demonstrated the rhetoric King and Riggs possessed by stating their on and off the field actions. Riggs was a camera man who loved to taunt and be on the TV. King was more composed and treated the match as more of a job. She inspired women throughout the world with her good temper and blissful personality. Riggs on the otherhand demonstrated just how ridiculous this internal conflict was by treating it as somewhat of a joke. He basically expressed the world’s views on feminism and women’s equality, but was bit in the butt for it. His interview during the game showed he throughouly underestimated his opponent and was in for a long evening. I am darn sure of one thing. Many viewers back home had underestimated King and were just as shell shocked as Riggs was during the match.

Overall I thought the paper was excellent although I feel like it was more of a historical piece of work rather than a rhetorical analysis. Regardless, it was very insightful and offered information on what was one of the most important topics of its time.

Passion Week 3 (Fraternity)

This past weekend was a very nerve wracking expierence. What am I talking about you may ask? Fraternity Rushing. The last several weeks my roomates and I have been exploring Greek life all over campus and determining if we wanted to be a part of it. It was quite a hectic and time consuming process. In the end, we did find a place we would like to call home and hoped we would get a bid to join the brotherhood. To our joy we did and were all very pleased about it. However, not everyone gets bids to their favorite fraternities and one can feel like they wasted all their time for nothing. I was one who was worried that this may happen to me, and with such a hard course load, I made a plan at the beginning of this semester of how to rush while not letting it consume large chunks of my time. I would like to share this plan with anyone who is interested in rushing or pledging a fraternity.

At the beginning of this semester, I decided to narrow my search for fraternities down to five. I picked the five I thought were best for me and rushed them. With the allure of over 50 fraternities one can become consumed with trying to rush them all and lose sight of their school work and other things. I rushed these five for two weeks and narrowed it down to two. Finally by the end of three weeks I had my home picked out. I realized it was important to manage my time and not become obssessed over the whole “rushing” event. I decided that regardless if I received  a bid at my favoirte fraternity or not, there was always spring semsester and beyond to rush again. The problem is so many people try to see so many frats that they either don’t put much effort into the ones they actually like or end up with so many bids and don’t know how to choose the best one for them. If one takes a smaller scale approach like I did, you are most likely going to get more insight into frats you like and get to know the brothers better. Yes, you may not receive many bids, but you will definitely find the frat that you feel you fit in the best. In the end I felt this plan insured I was making the best choice possible when it came to selecting a frat.

Whether you decide to go Greek or not, it is still important to approach everything you do with a plan. I took a big operation and made it smaller and ended up having enough time for my academics and to explore fraternities that really interested me. Always do what is best for you and don’t worry. College is all about exploring your interests and you have a lot of time to do just that.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

I decided I wanted to do a topic that would really interest me and be very different also. I narrowed all my topics down and here are the three that made the cut.

Thank You for Smoking

This movie offers a very interesting take on rhetoric as it is used in a way very unconventional to us.  Nick Naylor is a spokesman for a big tobacco business and tries to convince people that smoking isn’t bad. It would very cool to analyze this movie and see if Naylor’s tactics are actually successful.

 

Joe Paterno Billboard

A recent billboard was unveiled that supported Joe Paterno and stated,”you can’t cover up 50 years of success with honor.” I would analyze how effective this billboard is, does it get its message across, and the history surrounding this controversy.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/09/20/penn-state-billboard-supports-joe-paterno/70000799/1#.UGNYkFLNlM4

 

Please God I’m only Seventeen!

This is a poem I first heard during my driver’s ed class. It is an emotional poem written about a kid who dies in a car crash due to his own reckless driving. It is used to make new driver’s understand just how awful the consequences are for reckless and careless driver. I thought it did a very good job in illustrating its point when I first heard it. It would be an interesting topic to rhetorically analyze.

 

http://mrmom.amaonline.com/PleaseGod.htm

Lou Gehrig’s Farewell to Baseball (Documentary)

Lou Gehrig is arguably one of the greatest baseball players to ever walk the earth. He won countless championships and posted incredible numbers that few have matched even today. More importantly, he demonstrated how to not only be a good athlete, but how to be a good person. His legacy spans beyond what he did for baseball. Sadly Gehrig’s career was cut short when he was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal disease. He had to retire from baseball almost immediately and did so in the most repsectful fashion. While many would have became frustrated and scorned the world for being given such horrible luck, Gehrig expressed, “how he was instead the luckiest man in the world and had a lot to live for.” Gehrig’s farewell speech is short, but its hard to find a speech as meanigful anywhere else. Gehrig had full control of his audience’s attention due to his baseball talent through the years. He could have made people feel bad for him, or complained, but instead he delivered a speech that will forever be remembered. He gave his speech in under 40 seconds, but the speech could be analyzed for weeks. He reached out to everyone that has had a “bad break” and has been stricken with a disease. He grabbed his audience’s attention and made them sympathize with not only himself but many others. He was very composed and even though there were so many people listening, one felt he was looking straight into your eyes. Emotionally, this speech couldn’t have been any more impactful. In a stadium filled with thousands he inspired everyone. He made us understand that a terminal illness doesn’t mean you have to give up on life and that there is still so much to do. Perhaps this is the most important thing a good speaker can accomplish, inspiration.

Below is his speech from a documentary about Lou Gehrig.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uXsPvf9zq4&feature=related

Surviving College (Week 2)

After contemplating what I was going to talk about this week, I decided what could be more relevant then how to give your first major speech. Just a few days ago I gave my first college speech and what a whirlwind it was. I had spent nearly two full days going over how to present what I wanted my audience to hear and how to do it effectively. I also became increasingly nervous as the day came due to my lack of knowledge on how to give a speech. I am sure many of us have given simple speeches in high school, but nothing as serious as a college speech. The day came and in the end, I feel I did decently well with my speech.

After this experience, I decided I wanted to help anyone out that has to give a speech regardless if it is for college, business, or anything else. First of all, I found it very helpful to have someone listening to your speech and critiquing you as you speak. In my case I chose an upperclassmen whom I am good friends with and whom has experience with speeches. Second, I performed my speech in a lecture room and pretended my audience was sitting in those very seats. Now obviously everyone does not have access to a lecture hall, but envisioning an audience in front of you helps immensely. Finally practice, practice, practice. I have yet to talk to someone who crammed a speech in the night before and felt successful about it. Space out your time and use it wisely. Now, how did I deal with those nerves everyone gets when they finally have to give the speech? Well, to combat my nerves, I remembered how much practice and work I put in and also that I am not the first to feel nervous about giving a speech or make mistakes. We all have had nerves or messed up and therefore one shouldn’t be ashamed of mistakes. People don’t get good at giving speeches over night. It takes years for one to develop a comfort zone with giving speeches. Another thing I found helpful is to move around. This seems to ease the nerves a a lot. The introduction to my first speech was very difficult but then when I started to walk and talk I felt so much more comfortable.

In the end, anyone has the ability to give a speech. How well one can present information and speak depends on the person and their experience. Regardless, a great amount of effort is required to succeed. Speeches are hard work but with practice and a little confidence anyone can make their audience believe in them.

Speech Reflection

First off, congratulations to everyone who went on Tuesday. I thought all the speeches were excellent and our topics were really diverse which helped keep everyone’s attention. Also, everyone seemed well rehearsed and knew what they were talking about. It is very awesome how each of us were able to apply what we have been learning in our class to each of our topics. For those who haven’t gone yet, I am sure each of you will do fine. Remember that this speech is the first one that most of us have ever given in college. When I first went up to the podium, man I was nervous. Then I remembered that everyone else is probably going to feel the same way and I just relaxed and attempted to give the speech I had prepared for so hard the last few days. The thing about speeches is that most of us tend to work ourselves up about messing up that we forget to focus on the speech itself.

Below, I decided to list a few things that I tried to avoid(probably didn’t).

-verbal fillers (umm, well, yeah, )

-talking to fast (this is important becasue your audience can lose you)

-change tone to keep audience engaged

These are just a few things I kept in mind but I am sure all who have yet to go will do great. Remember to have fun with this speech too!

Civic Engagement Assignment (1) Stop Crime

While I was looking at my hometown’s website, I came across an ad called Crime Stoppers. Basically, it is a volunteer service group dedicated to reducing the crime rate around my hometown. Rewards are provided for any information about local crimes and this group is based on the principle that someone other then a criminal has information that can solve a crime. So some may ask, are these people vigilantes? No, they do not take justice into their own hands, but rather they call the Crime Stopper’s hotline if they see any suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. This got me thinking, how does this civic duty incorporate rhetoric and being a good citizen. In order to answer these questions, I decided to do my speech on it.

I will spend approximately two minutes describing what the flyer looks like and what exactly being part of the crime stoppers means. This will familiarize my audience with what I am talking about and help them understand the purpose of this volunteer group.

The last three minutes of my speech will talk about how one can effectively use rhetoric in helping out their community while also being a good citizen. I will discuss how one should go about reporting a crime, what forms of rhetoric may be used if one is called to court, and how all this ties into our civic duty. Finally, I will once again sum up the overall purpose of this group, who can be a crime stopper, and how this exemplifies good citizenship.

http://www.ccpa.net/index.aspx?NID=2834

How to Survive College

I wanted to make a blog that would not only keep people interested but also help them in a unique way. The transition from high school to college is a gigantic leap for most. Most of us go from living under our parent’s roofs and being provided with everyday necessities to now being forced to live on our own and make our own choices. As a freshman who is now doing his second semester of college, I now understand how much of a challenge college can be for incoming fall freshman. I want to use the knowledge I acquired over the summer semester to provide weekly tips and advice on how to survive college. Now of course I am still writing my own story here at Penn State and not only will I talk about what I learned over the summer but what new things I learn each and everyday as a student here.

The first and still one of the most important things I learned in my first few weeks at Penn State was this: college life is awesome! Now I’m sure everybody has realized that, but what you must be careful with is that it is easy to become sucked in to everything going on around you and forget about the number one thing you came here for……an EDUCATION. One thing I told myself I wouldn’t do in college is procrastinate like I did my senior year of high school. Two weeks into the summer I already was putting homework off. Now granted I only took two classes and one of them really was not that challenging, but I still sat myself down and rethought why I was here and what my purpose was. I got myself back on track and ended the summer with great grades. Remember that the primary reason you are paying for college is to get a good education. One still needs to have fun and enjoy themselves, but don’t get lost in the college aura like I did. Make a list of your priorities and follow them.

I look forward to informing anyone who is listening about college life, how to survive it, and the new things I learn everyday.

 

Mookie. Why did you do that? (4)

Mookie’s change of character at the end of the film came as quite a shock to me. It was apparent that he was lazy and sometimes not the greatest worker, but he always seemed loyal to Sal especially when he kicked his best friend out of the pizza shop. The underlying cause of Mookie’s surprising actions can be traced back to his roots and that of his community. The black community is depicted in this movie as thinking they are superior to everyone else and that any of their actions are justifiable. This is apparent with Mookie using advantage of his delivery job to hang out with friends and procrastinate. His arrogance is shown through the way he handles his family and how he doesn’t understand how fortunate he is to have a job. Although not entirely racist like his other friends, Mookie still believes in loyalty over justice and doing the right thing. Although neither side used rhetoric during the confrontation in Sal’s pizza shop, Radio Raheem had no right to blast his music and make demands. Sal shouldn’t have used racist words or destroyed the radio either. Clearly both both sides were at fault here. During the ensuing brawl, I believed Mookie would stand up for Sal, but instead was a spectator. After Raheem and Sal brawl in the street, Mookie then feels it is Sal’s fault when Raheem is killed by a police officer. He then uses irrational thinking and throws a garbage can through Sal’s window and basically starts the riot that leads to the destruction of the building. This all goes back to loyalty over everything. Sal knows he did it because he was backing his friends up and failed to think at all. Mookie falls victim just like so many others to the problems of his society and instead of being a solution, he just becomes part of the problem. I have always believed that any situation can be solved with constructive conversation, calmness, and never using violence. One needs to throw out any personal feelings and look at the argument from both sides. Mookie’s actions were not justified as he failed to do any of these things in attempt to stop the violence. Instead, he betrayed his shop owner who had provided him with a job, promoted violence, and defended his people solely on the basis of loyalty and nothing else.

Do the Right Thing Response

The film, Do the Right Thing, is a great example of what can happen to a community when people fail to communicate effectively with each other. Rhetoric is basically nonexistent in this entire film and Spike Lee does a terrific job in illustrating how racial tensions are fueled by word of mouth. These racial tensions are heightened by the hot weather on top of each ethnicity having disrespect for each other. Arguments are fought with racist words and other profanities that each ethnicity yells at each other. Despite this dysfunctional society, the idea of a good citizen is exemplified by one drunk man(the mayor) who understands what the role of a good citizen is. He betters his community through brave deeds such as saving a boy about to be hit by a car and protecting a white pizza shop owner despite his own skin color. He sees into the deeper meaning of people’s roles in society despite his social status. This society as a whole, however, appears very uneducated and sees violence and anger as a means to an end. This proves unsuccessful as both an African American man dies and an entire building is burnt down due to both of these “supposed problem-solving” tactics. Never do people take any effective rhetorical steps such as listening to each other’s viewpoints or even letting one side talk without interruption. Instead, both the African Americans and Whites feel each is owed a certain amount of respect and decide to completely ignore each other and fight their verbal battles with yelling and hatred. All this does in the end is cause destruction and death. Overall, Lee’s movie can be viewed as an example of what happens when we remove rhetoric from a society and replace it with ignorance and lack of respect for one another’s viewpoints.