The photo I chose is of football players participating in a public protest. This photo argues for certain social problems to be addressed and acted upon. I found this photo to portray both sides of the argument surrounding police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement as some teammates remained standing while others kneeled. I believe this image is compelling because of the lack of violence. Many use violence to get a point across, however I believe it can take away from the credibility of ones argument. Sort of like when you’re arguing with someone and maintain a cool and even tone as opposed to rising to a yelling match. I found it important that while the players did kneel during the national anthem, they still had their hands to their hearts. I believe this shows a respect for veterans, like some may argue against. I also think the physical kneeling draws a quiet but powerful attention. This image also portrays an interesting aspect of allies. The football player wearing number 25 has his hand on the shoulder of his neighbor in support, but isn’t kneeling himself. I think this can be compared to many offering support of the BLM movement, but not actively participating in the rallies and protests. The argument is clear, those kneeling are fitting for justice and are ensuring their message won’t go unheard- regardless of how it’s viewed.

 

Photo Curtesy of: ED-AX162_Steele_GR_20180111131654-25prfwz.jpg

The TED talk I chose to review is delivered by Darieth Chisolm on the effects of revenge porn. She chose to discuss the effects, poor legislation, and stigma surrounding those being affected by this act of cyber domestic abuse as she labels it. I found it interesting to hear about the legal loop holes and rings one has to jump for in order to get anything done to the perpetrator. Chisolm discussed the difficulty she faced as the man who posted her nude photos was located in another country- which made the already stressful process even more demanding for the victim to provide sufficient evidence to appease both countries requirements.  This talk allowed me to better understand what resources are available for victims of this assault and what steps are necessary for justice to be served. This topic hits close to home for me, as I have been a victim of a similar situation. I believe that Chisolm delivered a presentation as opposed to a speech. She possessed emotion and character while discussing this difficult topic an delivered her message in a ay that was more easily relatable than that of a speech. I felt like overall she did a good job in terms of volume, keeping the viewers attention, and with her organization of ideas. The one issue I found was that in her delivery, she was very breathy. I am not sure if this show she normally talks, or if it is due to the nature of the content presented in this talk, but it was something I picked up on.

Video Curtesy of: https://www.ted.com/talks

The video I chose to review is Neil Hilborn and his slam poetry piece called “OCD”. I decided to go this route because while speeches require everything we discussed in class, poetry performances utilize a bit of theatrics that I think is definitely important when preparing to deliver a TED talk. Hilborn has pretty locked in eye contact, and while we don’t see the audience, it is clear from their applause they at least fill a large room. Good eye contact helps engage a large crowd, and avoids the feeling of talking to a sea of people. His volume is great- but sometimes becomes too much. There aren’t any instances where what he says is too quiet to understand, but a few moments his voices rises in volume over what I personally would view as a smooth performance. I attribute this to his emotional connection with his topic. His rate of speaking varies highly in his poem. There are occasions where he slows down for emphasis, in his closing lines and in some of the more important pieces of information he wanted to hit on throughout. In contrast, he sometimes speeds through certain pieces. Also, his organization was fantastic in my opinion. They way he describes the girl he was with earlier gives the audience someone to reference as he begins to tell the story further. In addition, I like the way he looped back to a few of his certain tics he has at the end regarding the locked doors and lights left on. Overall I think it was a job well done, and think there is a lot of good behavior to pull from this as I prepare for my TED talk.

 

Video Curtesy of: https://youtu.be/vnKZ4pdSU-s

I think this author took an incredibly personal and hasty stance on the topic of incorrect studies. I agree with very little that he hd to say, and one of the only things I could genuinely get behind was his statement of “Causation does not equal correlation”. I understand the concern surrounding scientists being unable to replicate their original experiments, I understand that there should be a more representative sample of individuals participating in these under-grad studies, I understand Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers may not be your go to book club book, but there’s a way to go about discussing this. There are few people who can stand on the same playing field as these scientists who deliver us information about human behavior. There are even fewer people who can speak to their own personal findings. I think it is incredibly difficult to believe a man writing for Wall Street Journal to offer flimsily backed rebuttals of theories given by scientists and doctors. The key word scientists use is theories. It is nearly impossible to have a scientist determine something as fact, and if facts are what Mr. Kessler is looking for, he should stick to writing. I will be wary of my sources when conducting my research for my essay, but will not be shying away from scientific studies because a few argue their validity.

 

Photo Curtesy of: https://www.wsj.com

The paradigm shift I have chosen to address is the swing in power for women. More specifically, the #MeToo movement and newfound support women have been met with as they step forward with their experiences with sexual assault. A subsection of what I will be addressing includes the increased leniency men have been given when in positions of power. I will be hitting on specific examples of this, such as the 2016 election where Hillary Clinton had a platform to spread ideas and a semblance of power, but Trump was swarmed with sexual assault accusations, among many others, and was met with little consequences. In addition, with Brett Kavanaugh and Dr Ford, a woman with an education and a platform as well, speaks out in addition to multiple other women as well, but Kavanaugh in a slew of accusations gets a half-assed FBI investigation that didn’t even include his accuser. This topic is important because of the magnitude of the scope. The effects of sexual assault permeate much more of the population than just the victims, and it shouldn’t be something that gets swept under the rug if the victim is a man or a woman. Over just the last 15 years, the #MeToo movement has been snowballing, gaining traction and support, and won’t stop until all those who would like to speak have spoken.

Photo Curtesy of: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/metoo-movement-has-lawmakers-talking-about-consent_us_5a6758dfe4b06bd14be5067f

After reading the article presented to us, titled “HAVE SMARTPHONES DESTROYED A GENERATION?” by Jean M. Twenge, I have come to a conclusion that the introduction of smartphones into our society has resulted in many paradigm shifts. In particular, the one I would like to pinpoint is that of high depression rates in teenage girls. This is a topic that hits close to home for me, because while reading the article, the story ran parallel to mine. The high rates of smartphones and depression walk hand in hand linked by social media. The idea that exclusion is so easily promoted over Snapchat, Instagram, and other sites is an understatement in my opinion. Its like a bomb goes off every time theres an event. Your feed is flooded for days with the same individuals at the same event, all showing their followers that they went out, or celebrated a birthday. I agree with Twenge, if you’re not invited, you’ll be painfully aware as you’re bombarded by snapchats and texts and instagram posts depicting in full detail what you weren’t invited to and can’t participate in. The advancement of technology in and within itself is a paradigm shift, and the tributaries that stem from this river such as social media and accessibility carry a heavier weight. The shift in suicide rates and depression amongst young girls has a direct tie to social media consumption and participation, and this is due to the shift of technology itself that puts iPhones in the hands of 13 year olds. Twenge’s article introduces an array of paradigm shifts comparing Gen X and the baby boomers to the iGen kids in mental health, technology accessibility, suicide rates, ideas of hanging out, and dating standards among others.

Photo curtesy of: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/apple-iphone-x-review/

 

The artifact I chose for my rhetorical essay is a political ad in Ireland. Their call to action is focused on the upcoming election and the plea to “Save the 8th”. The ad’s main goal is to argue for the continued support of this article. It pushes for the continued support to ban abortions of babies with Down syndrome. Civic engagement is another key theme of this ad due to the responsibility of the people to vote. I found this artifact particularly interesting because abortion tends to be an incredibly polarizing and often times political topic. I begun researching the advertisement and propaganda surrounding this topic in the United States, then expanded my search internationally. I think the varying viewpoints snd levels of involvement from the government is incredibly interesting. Im not here to argue the debate of pro-choice or pro-life, but rather to dissect the rhetorical appeals of two countries that offer aligning views to both sides of the debate. Elements I have begun to discuss in my essay to compare this ad to one from China offering the support of abortions are as follows. I begin with the visual differences, coors, animations, etc. I then continue to discuss the ethos appeal through religion and governmental backing. Furthermore, I delve into the dissection of each advertisement’s logical appeal. Finally, with my strongest point, I begin to unravel the pathetic appeals each ad has on its directed audience.

Photo curtesy of: https://www.irishcatholic.com/green-party-cllr-tries-censor-pro-life-billboards/

 

 

We’ve all seen our fair share of crude or eyebrow raising graphic tees, but I’m here to discuss the logical appeal behind this specific example. At surface value, it sounds like a poor joke, a condescending response to a female significant other’s story. However, if you really want to delve deeper into subliminal meanings and a connection to a current social problem, you could argue its sexist undertones. The t-shirt elicits a few different responses. Some view it as a valid statement, others as a sarcastic remark, and some as full blown misogyny. I personally don’t find it offensive, more as an ignorant joke, but others connect to the social stigma that women serve men, and that this shirt further pushes this “agenda”. I would argue that this specific example is a mixed bag in terms of effectiveness of  it’s logical appeals. To those that support the explicit and purely stated message on the shirt, I’m sure feel validated when they see another individual wearing it knowing that they align with their personal beliefs. On the other hand, many in the middle like myself, don’t really give the shirt that much attention when it’s viewed. however on the other end of the spectrum, others may feel completely outraged that such a shirt exists. For this particular example, I fell it does a subpar job of expressing any logical argument.

Photo curtesy of: https://www.redbubble.com/people/mralan/works/12260824-cool-story-babe-now-go-make-me-a-sandwich?p=classic-tee

How the FBI Helped Sink Clinton’s Campaign

          In the linked article above, The Atlantic discusses the investigation that was launched by the FBI into Hillary Clinton’s emails. This investigation is a true display of Kairos because of the timing. Unlike a sale, with a limited time frame and advertisement for a specific offer, this investigation was launched dab smack in the middle of the race for presidency in 2016. These emails spanned over years and were obviously under careful watch of the FBI, as they compiled nearly all of them,  as Election Day loomed closer. This lack of urgency was quickly reversed when their findings became public and the race to air Clinton’s dirty laundry was on. I personally believe it was interesting in terms of timing, I understand the FBI needs and should be impartial to political affiliation, but it did raise a few eyebrows with their choice of release date for this information. On the other hand, Donald Trump wasn’t let off the hook either, as he still has his own investigations pending as well. This tactical use of Kairos appeals to all three of the rhetorical devices. Firstly, with Ethos, the FBI itself as a unit carries an immense weight of authority with it. Most Americans look to the FBI as an entity with answers, and as a group that looks to protect the United States and look out for our collective best interest. Continuing on, Pathos is apparent as well in the FBI’s release of emails. The leaking of confidential documents definitely elicits an emotional response from citizens in the United States. Many felt a sudden lack of trust, respect, and frankly an overwhelming wave of disgust. All of these emotions already have a negative connotation, however when associated with a prospective president of our country, many were dissuaded from her campaign trail. Finally, with Logos, the FBI added even more credibility to their claims of confidential information being leaked by releasing the recipients and contents of the emails. I believe this adds to the Kairos of the article and the FBI because the specific details make their bold claim come to life to the shock and definite disappointment of Clinton and her supporters. On the other hand, this article could be dubbed a blessing to Donald Trump and his supporters. Not only did this event cement many republican’s views even more towards Trump, but it also most certainly swayed a few voters who found themselves in the middle of the political spectrum. Overall, the FBI’s release of Clinton’s emails was a calculated display of Kairos through its emotional reaction and opportune timing.

Photo curtesy of: https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/07/why-chinese-elites-endorse-hillary-clinton/

Featured above is a segment of a Youtube Video titled “Top 10 Worst Commercials of All Time”. One that stood out in particular to me was Playstation’s advertisement for their new Playstation 3. In the commercial, they set the scene with a cold, white, empty room with nothing but the console and a life like animated babydoll. There are no words in their ad, which I don’t think does a good job of convincing the customer to purchase said device. The baby begins to twist its mouth and murmur incoherently as the camera pans back and forth between doll and game. As the commercial continues, the camera zooms closer to the baby’s face and you watch scenes of warfare and gunfire play over its glassy eyes as two tears slide down its face. This isn’t all, for the tears then rewind along with the videos flashing in its eyes, and the camera pans back to the full view of the room.

I have a few bones to pick about this commercial. To begin, I think Playstation definitely missed their audience. The advertisement wasn’t for a particular horror or thriller video game, but rather for the console itself, so the eerie child seems unnecessary and detrimental to their sales. Furthermore, there was no explanation offered towards the perks and added benefits of their newer Playstation. If I was a costumer, I would much rather hear about their new added games, apps, or add ons that this console has over their competitors or their earlier works. Even further, Playstation and companies alike tend to sell towards teenagers and young adults. This advertisement evokes fear and confusion, not excitement and heightened interest. I showed this ad to my brother, a 17 year old video game enthusiast, and he sent back a three word text;”What the heck?”. This cold, way off base, and honestly terrifying advertisement did a lot more than Playstation intended, but definitely in the wrong direction.

 

Video curtesy of https://www.youtube.com