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Posts Tagged ‘rcl’

  1. Wrapping up the Semester

    December 6, 2012 by Francis Flores

    When I read Anne’s post on the RCL homepage, I was deeply saddened that this semester is coming to an end. I can honestly say that this is my favorite class because of the freedom of creativity that is allowed. Though I enjoyed all aspects of blogging, I especially enjoyed the passion blog. Not only did I enjoy writing them, but I enjoyed reading other ones too. One experience I can take out of this is probably the writing process. Because I tend to wait until the last minute all the time, I was often up really late writing these blogs. Sometimes, though, it was because I had not yet found what I wanted to write about. As you can tell if you’ve read some of my entries, some of the passages and songs seem randomly placed together, but I enjoyed the challenge. One thing I will change about next semester is definitely the timing of which I write these. I end up saving the passion blog for last because I put most of my energy into it. Even though the passion blogs were my favorite ones to write, I thoroughly enjoyed the RCL blog and the Works in Progress Blog. The feedback that I was able to get from my peers was really helpful, especially with the Works in Progress blog. The freedom we were allowed with the RCL blogs was also great. That was probably my favorite thing about all the blogs, the feedback and the freedom. We were essentially allowed to do what we wanted with these blogs and I absolutely loved that.

     

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  2. Public Controversy and Copyrights

    November 29, 2012 by Francis Flores

    a)      We can determine whether or not an issue is public if it meets certain criteria; it has to affect people either directly or indirectly. This is also where the boundary for a controversial issue lies. A controversial also affects the public on a larger scale, but it also crosses the lines of sensitive subjects such as religion and politics. If an issue is “public,” this means that it has been discussed amongst many people and has spread whether it is through the media or through just the grapevine of people. One thing about today’s society is the emphasis that we place on all sorts of media, and this makes it easier for information to spread, whether we want it to or not. An issue is “controversial” when it crosses boundaries that not everyone is comfortable with. It usually occurs when there are two differing groups of extremists arguing for their own set of beliefs and values. One issue that embodies both of these things would probably be anything concerning gay rights. I know I sound like a broken record because I bring this up so often, but this “issue” (which, by the way, shouldn’t be considered an issue at all) crosses the line in regards to politics and religion. There should obviously be a separation between the two, but if the public thinks that this “issue” directly affects them and their children, they will argue against it, or for it, depending on what they believe in. This “issue” also brings up a discussion on what is and isn’t civic, which obviously differs between the two sets of ideas.

    b)      One question that I had about copyright issues concerning the History of a Public Controversy Project is: how do we know if it has a license and how we would we gain permission to use a certain idea?

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  3. Civic Life in Everyday Life

    November 9, 2012 by Francis Flores

    Civic life can be defined as a set of values that people establish for themselves in order to be the sort of citizen that society wants them to be. These values lead to civic actions that shape our society.

    One example would be this past election. For the idea of democracy to work, the citizens must actually participate in the elections that determine who will be leading this country. I, unfortunately, am not yet 18 years old so I could not vote; however, I did see multiple posts on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook about this election. Everyone, and I mean everyone that was actually able to vote, was posting about the importance of voting and encouraging everyone to go out and vote.

    I think voting is so important because it establishes a need to support the idea of democracy. We are lucky to live in a country that is democratic, so I think it is a civic responsibility to go out and vote to show that we do have a voice in the outcomes of these elections. We have the privilege of deciding for ourselves what we think is best for us and I think we should take advantage of that by any means.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,,, | 2 Comments

  4. Exploring the TED Talk Genre

    November 1, 2012 by Francis Flores

    So, I was looking around TED.com for quite some time, not really sure what to watch (this website is so overwhelming) and I even came across a couple that I downloaded but wasn’t sure how to approach them. Well, I came across one TED talk that I especially liked and it’s entitled Ruby Wax: What’s so funny about mental illness?  The title caught my attention first, and the fact that it was relatively short made it bearable.

    I think that TED talks should:

    1. Make a solid point
    2. Interact with the audience
    3. Entertain!
    4. Have visuals that compliment the topic/speaker

    With this TED talk in particular:

    1. I was a bit confused with what exactly it was that she was trying to say. Once she delved into her speech a little bit more, it became clearer and she did manage to make her point; it just took longer than it probably should have.
    2. She was extremely interactive and she made the audience laugh a lot. She was extremely conversational, which ties in with the confidence aspect: she was able to “dumb down” her topic enough for the audience to understand clearly.
    3. She was making jokes and conversing with the audience which made it extremely entertaining.
    4. She made her own visuals which lent to the personal aspect of her speech, and these visuals made her audience laugh (since they were pretty bad). Not only were they personal to her and entertaining to the audience, but they pertained to her topic and complemented it quite nicely.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,,, | 2 Comments

  5. Amplifying the Truth

    October 25, 2012 by Francis Flores

    “Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.” 

    –Ella Wheeler Wilcox

    I actually saw this quote on Tumblr (I have an addiction, it’s actually quite sad) and I thought it was true, which is unfortunate.

    Praise of the Author: Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850-October 30, 1919) was an American poet and novelist–she was most famous for Poems of Passion and her most famous poem being “Solitude,” which is where this line originates. She was born in Johnstown, Wisconsin and was the youngest of four children. Her most famous poem, “Solitude,” was published in 1883 in The New York Sun and was inspired by a grieving woman whom she encountered on a train to Madison, Wisconsin.

    Paraphrase and Explanation: Wilcox is saying that people are so willing to share the happy moments because it allows them to feel good about themselves as well, but when it comes to sharing in tears and rough times, not many people stick around because the feeling usually spreads. This is usually why people tend to feel like they are alone or like no one really wants to be around them: good feelings bring around more people and bad feelings chase them away.

    Proof: I think the most common example of this is something I experienced at school. There was always the one girl that everyone knew to be crack jokes and to smile no matter what happened. She was always followed by a posse of people and everyone knew her name, even the faculty and staff knew her because of her personality regardless of whether or not they taught her or not. There was a day, though, when she did not smile and when she refused to tell a joke–she was visibly different, but her friends deserted her. That day, instead of being surrounded by her posse as she usually was, she walked alone, head down. It was a strange sight to see, but it seemed as if no one cared or noticed the significant difference. I remember this so vividly because it was such a surprise (and to be honest, kind of a downer).

    Epilogue: I guess looking at Wilcox’s quote, this doesn’t generally have to be true, but honestly, no one wants that feeling of feeling as down as the person you are trying to console.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  6. Analyzing Rhetoric: Drive Safely.

    October 19, 2012 by Francis Flores

     

    Pathos: This ad has an extremely strong sense of pathos because it uses this damaged image of a small girl. I’m guessing that this would appeal to those who would feel sympathetic towards children (so, considering I have some faith in humanity, this should be mostly everyone, right?). She looks almost deflated, and almost as a car would if it had been hit itself, which is the message of this ad. She also seems to look sad, which is understandable. This ad uses the image of this little girl to depict what could potentially happen as a result of reckless driving.

    I also noticed that the little girl, aside from the dent on her head, is the epitome of purity, which would trigger a stronger sense of remorse for her. She is wearing white overalls, a pink shirt, and she has blonde hair and fair skin. She pretty resembles a porcelain doll which has been cracked as a result of said car accident. The color white resembles her purity, as does the color pink. The background is also a shade of pink, so these colors are contrasting to the morbid message of this advertisement.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  7. Analyzing Obama’s “Hope” Poster

    October 11, 2012 by Francis Flores

    To be honest, I never looked at these posters with much thought. I used to see people wearing them on their shirts, but I honestly never took the time to look at them. Looking at this poster and the insights that the writer offers, I am noticing the ambiguity of these posters. The word “Hope” offers two different meaning, like the writer said, but that jumped out at me the most. I think this ambiguity is present so that he could appeal to those that already support him and also so that he could attempt to lure in those who know nothing of his campaign; it lends a mysterious feel to his campaign. I noticed that Obama is staring off into the distance in this photo and I think that this lends to the “Hope” thing. He could mean this to be that there is hope in the distance, and he sees it.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

  8. Anti-Smoking Ad: Week 4

    October 4, 2012 by Francis Flores

    So, when I initially saw this prompt, I immediately knew what I wanted to use! Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against smoking because people have that right to choose, but this ad did scare me when I first saw this, so I thought I’d share.

    This ad was created by the California Dept. of Public Health, California Tobacco Control Program and it is generally intended for a broad demographic of adults, teens, and younger children. Their most famous ad being one in which they show the effects of smoking, they intend to show the “evils” of the tobacco industry.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiVC2uhnlKk

    This ad is intended, I think, for an audience of adults, even those with families. I think the thing that appeals most to the audience is the image of the grim reaper, which displays the fact that death is lurking when tobacco is smoked or sampled. Because of its addictive nature, the tobacco industry allowed for free samples to be given out, and this ad exaggerates the effects of this addiction.

    The other thing that I think appeals to the audience is the song choice. It’s a rendition of “Lullaby,” sung by Honey-Honey, and it creates an eerie feeling. The song sounds so soothing and sweet, but what its actually emphasizing is the creepiness in the grim reaper feeling that this ad is trying to portray. The song is actually what attracted me to this ad in the first place. The reason I was so terrified of the ideas given from this ad was because of the song. Also, the women that give out the free samples are so seemingly innocent, and I think that they used a woman for this ad for that reason. Since woman generally give off a more maternal vibe, people would be more likely to take this sample from her, but they would least likely suspect that it is her who is offering the very substance that could potentially kill them.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,,,, | 2 Comments

  9. RCL: NO H8

    September 27, 2012 by Francis Flores

    a) For my Rhetoric Analysis Essay, I decided to analyze an Anti-bullying PSA put out by the NO H8 Campaign, which can be seen on Youtube by clicking this link:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhFZ7qjrw5U

    b) This artifact was created in November of 2010 by the NO H8 Campaign and it was created to shine a light on the bullying of LGBT teenagers and the the effects that it has on them. One of their main highlights is suicide. This PSA was intended for adults and teenagers of the LGBT community especially. They try to emphasize the fact that the ignorance of some adults is passed down to their children and this has a great effect on the lives of those in the LGBT community. They also emphasize that those getting bullied due to this ignorance should ask for help. They face the constraints of many people who are against the gay community, such as many religious and political organizations. I wanted to analyze this particular advertisement because of the effects that bullying has on these teenagers, and the fact that the numbers of suicide are so is astonishing. It’s saddening to think that no one thinks much of how this ignorance can affect people until they commit suicide.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,,, | 1 Comment

  10. Composing, Designing, Advocating: RCL Week 2

    September 21, 2012 by Francis Flores

    Composing, by definition, means “making or forming by combining pieces into a whole,” and when I see this word, I generally think of music. I don’t compose music myself, but I know a couple of people that do. My best friend composes music and he trusts me enough to show me in advance before he shows the rest of the world. I could listen to him strum different guitar chords or sing different scales until he finds one that he likes for a very long time. The composition of music just reminds me of my jazz choir in senior year. I got the chance to meet the composer of one of the songs we performed on a couple of our competition trips, so every time I see the word “composing,” I think of my best friend and my experience in jazz choir in my senior year.

    Designing, by definition, is “concerned with how people use things,” and when I see this word, I generally think of architecture. I don’t have this talent, but my dad does and I used to watch him design for hours. He used to design furniture for Hollywood-style places and he even met a few celebrities such as The Black-Eyed Peas. He used to sit with me and ask me what I liked about his designs and what he should change (color, usually). Every time I see the word “designing,” I think of my father and all the time we spent looking at his different drawings.

    Advocating, by definition, is “speaking or writing in favor of,” and when I see this word, I think of the church, specifically the Catholic Church. In today’s society, especially, there seems to be a strong influence of their beliefs regarding LGBT rights. A lot of people seem to use the church as a reason to not legalize gay marriage and even sometimes gay adoption. So, when I see this word, I see it in a negative way, but I do know that sometimes, well, actually the majority of the time, it’s a good thing to advocate for your beliefs.

    I think they differ only in the way that they can be associated with different thing. Honestly, who thinks of advocating when talking about music? Who thinks of designing when talking about LGBT rights? I don’t. I mean, if you do, then I’m sorry if this upsets you. They are similar in the way that they need each other to work together. For something to be successful, these components must be utilized to their own strengths.

    Category Rhetoric and Civic Life | Tags: ,,,,,, | 1 Comment

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