Topic Proposal #4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpYq9CBZoKQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9LfD1CYhI

Our issue is the major problem with drinking and driving in our society. We will begin our presentation by showing the video of drinking and driving and then talking about our solution. We will then show the second video which is our solution and we will go into more detail about our solution. Our solution is to require all Americans to drive cars with breathalyzers in the steering wheel.

Short Writing Assignment #8 / Rhetorical Analysis Redux

Memo: Nike’s “Thunder Thighs” advertisement

The purpose of the “Thunder Thighs” advertisement was to acknowledge the new look for women. We hoped to inform everyone that it is okay to have big thighs and muscular legs. The ideal weight for women is no longer 110 pounds; it is 150 pounds. The past decades stereotypical view of what a female should look like has changed over the last few years. The United States women’s soccer team at the 1999 Women’s World Cup was nicknamed “Babe City” by David Letterman, even though none of the women were small. Most of them were tall and weighed around 150 pounds. The idea of the “thunder thighs” advertisement stemmed from the United States women’s soccer team. If they were nicknamed “Babe City” on national television with the manly, muscular look they displayed, I figured we could possibly run an advertisement going off of the women’s soccer team. Although we would not focus on soccer girls, we would focus on their look and use phrases to make the “muscular” look desirable for other women.
By targeting the “muscular” look for females, Nike not only made female athletes feel good about their bodies, but also made other females think it’s okay to weigh more than 120 pounds. The reason this advertisement did not receive much attention in the beginning was because it was in a health magazine. Most people looking at health magazines are already healthy and in good physical shape. In order for this advertisement to be successful and receive the attention it needs, we need to run it in magazines that target females in the 18-25 age group. That is the age group that feels the most insecure about their body and needs to see the advertisement. The next time we run the advertisement, we need to run it in Plus Model Magazine, Seventeen, and other young adult magazines.

http://www.2desktop.com/download_I_have_thunder_thighs_Nike_Women_Sports_free_quality_desktop_wallpaper_1024_768_resolution_9489.html

The Rhetoric of the Market

http://www.2desktop.com/download_I_have_thunder_thighs_Nike_Women_Sports_free_quality_desktop_wallpaper_1024_768_resolution_9489.html

http://www.loleg.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/my_butt_is_big.jpg

1.We know that ads are supposed to be persuasive. Take this for granted. But what do these ads persuade you to think, do, or believe—especially beyond simply purchasing their products?

Although these ads represent different parts of the body, they are still related. They persuade me to believe that a muscular body is attractive. While most people do not find thunder thighs attractive, this advertisement makes them seem attractive and worth all the time it took to get them. This also goes for the butt advertisement because girls think they need to be extremely skinny, but in reality no one finds that attractive.

2.As you study the advertisements, consider all the elements of it that you can identify. In other words, try not to just focus on the explicit argument. What implicit elements argue here?

The implicit element in both advertisements is that girls think they are more attractive when they are in shape. Guys do not like girls to be overly muscular because it makes them look masculine so these advertisements are used to show that it is okay to be muscular and still be feminine.

3.Describe the apparent use-value of each product; then describe the exchange-value as you see it. Basically, what might purchasers of these products expect to get from them that an inexpensive, generic version would not provide? Evaluate the ads in terms of use-value appeal and exchange-value appeal—how does each address use and exchange concerns? Do they all do both? Do any of your observations contradict what you might have expected?

The use-value of both ads is to encourage girls to work out and look like the images in the advertisements. The exchange value is used to get the reader to think that they can only have that body if they use Nike. The purchasers of Nike products think they will look more athletic which will make them feel more athletic. I think the use-value and exchange-value go hand in hand for both advertisements. If you walk around USC during this time of year, you will see at least 20 girls wearing the Nike shorts in the advertisement. Almost every girl has them and she only gets them because everyone else has them. I did the same thing. I asked for a pair for Christmas because everyone has them. I did not have to see a written ad to convince me to purchase them, I just saw everyone else at USC wearing them.

4.Who would you say the imagined audience for each ad is? What magazines do you think each came from?

I think the imagined audience for the ads is girls ages 18-25 and I think both advertisements came from sports magazines.

Short Writing Assignment #6 / Third Topic Proposal

I am going to write an updated "Modest Proposal" for drinking and driving. My second essay was on the effects of lower blood alcohol concentration laws so I will include some of the effects. I also plan to provide reasonable solutions for drinking and driving. My satirical solution that not everyone will agree with is that citizens who wish to drive must purchase a car with a steering wheel that will only unlock if alcohol is not detected on the driver's breath. To be sure those are the only cars on the road, the government will have to make sure everyone gives up their current car.

For the people that cannot afford to buy a car right away, this will pose a major problem because they will not have a means of transportation. This will also be a problem for large families. The breathilizer steering wheel is a great solution as an option, but not if it required for the entire country to give up their cars and purchase cars with that type of steering wheel. People can probably purchase a new steering wheel equipped with this function, but my proposal requires EVERYONE to give up their cars, which means cars won't sell because no one can drive cars without the breathilizer steering wheel.

The first part of my satirical solution is possible because people are willing to purchase cars with more safety, but no one will agree to give up their car and purchase a new one when they could just purchase the particular part.

A Modest Proposal

Words that are not used very often: solar year, plump, utterly, breeders-used when referring to animals, horrid, shillings

What does annum mean?
What does hath mean? archaic third person singular present
What does hitherto mean? until now or until the point in time under discussion
What does prolifick mean?
What does alms mean?
What does raiment mean?

Stroling should be strolling

Short Writing Assignment #5 / Getting a Re-action

Footprints

One night I had a dream--
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.
"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

...Mary Stevenson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZkdcYlOn5M

Essay #2

A) My issue involved stricter standards (Lower BAC laws) for driving under the influence. To my surprise, I found many people against lowering the BAC laws. Many people argued there would be a great number of arrests. Some argued lower BAC laws did not decrease the number of alcohol-related deaths. Others were for lower BAC laws because studies showed they did decrease alcohol-related deaths.

B and C) Rick Berman, a member of the general counsel for the American Beverage Institute, believes lower BAC levels target social drinkers.
The NHTSA first argued lives were not saved from lowering BAC levels, but two years later they said studied showed that lower BAC levels did save lives.

D) I think lower BAC levels should be enforced. I think there should be a no tolerance level. Drunk drivers are killing sober drivers everyday so why not enforce a no tolerance level for all ages? I have an interest in the issue because I know of so many people who choose to drink and drive because they don't think anything will ever happen to them. I know of about 20 people who either died from drinking and driving or received a DUI. This should not be tolerated and stricter laws should be enforced.

Short Writing Assignment #4 / Second Topic Proposal

What results are produced from stricter standards for driving under the influence?

With stricter standards for driving under the influence, are human rights taken away?
Do social drinkers and those who only have a few drinks feel they are targeted?
Are drivers really able to maneauver a car at a .08 BAC level?

1. "Hell on Wheels: The Hard-core Drunk Driver."
Library Search in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

Bill Hewitt believes stricter standards do not impact repeat offenders. Hard-core drunk drivers are the most difficult to deal with because they continue breaking the law. Law enforement cannot find a solution to minimize repeat offenders so stricter standards do not have any effect on them.


2. "The Debate over Drunk-Driving Laws: An Overview."
Library Search in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

Kathy Koch Others argues that lowering BAC levels will penalize social drinkers instead of reducing deaths. She believes that to minimize deaths due to driving under the influence, laws must be directed towards repeat offenders.

3. “The Government Should Lower the Legal Threshold for Drunk Driving."
Library Search in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

This article shows that there are no negative results from lowering the BAC level. Road blocks and zero tolerance and two of the tactics used to adopt the stricter standards and ensure that they are enforced.

4. "Lower BAC Level."
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrinkingAndDriving.html
Google Search

This article shows the solutions to drinking and driving, along with the results due to accidents. Although this article does not include results due to stricter laws, I want to incorporate solutions for stricter standards into my paper.

Possible Topics

1. Stricter standards for drinking and driving
2. The drinking age

Topic Proposal

Elizabeth Kolbert's writing, "Why Candidates Need to Make Fun of Themselves," takes a closer look at what presidential candidates hope to accomplish through humor. In my essay I hope to find out why certain presidential candidates think humor will help them get more votes. Are the presidential candidates hoping to target a certain age by using humor in their campaign? If so, why will humor draw a certain age to them? Do they think the young voting population will be attracted to a candidate who can relate to them on a humorous level?


* What is the purpose of the argument? What does it hope to achieve? The purpose of my argument it to find out why presidential candidates find it necessary to use humor during their campaign.

* Who is the audience for this argument? The voting population.

* What are the contexts – social, political, historical, cultural – for this argument? Whose interests does it serve? Who gains or loses by it?
The contexts are political and it serves the interests of the voting population. The presidential candidate will gain or lose votes based on his success or failure with comedy. The contexts could also be social because the presidential candidate is trying to relate to the voting population and make us believe he is an ordinary guy.

* How does the language or style of the argument work to persuade an audience? Some people believe humor makes people feel comfortable while other people are naturally drawn to humor so presidential candidates tend to use humor to gain supporters.

Short Writing Assignment #2

Of all the readings we have done so far for this class, I am most interested in the reasons for laughter. I never paid attention to the reasons for laughter and just assumed people laughed because something was funny. I was very surprised to find out there are eight different reasons for laughter, with surprise and superiority as the two primary reasons. Under surprise and superiority there are six additional reasons for laughter which include instinct, release, incongruity, ambivalence, regress, and solving a puzzle.

Part of the reason I am interested in the reason we laugh is because it gives me something to think about when I hear a joke. After learning the reasons for laughter I can listen to a joke and decide if I laughed out of surprise, instinct, release, incongruity, superiority, ambivalence, regress, or because I solved a puzzle. Because of this I will probably not laugh as much and I will think about why I was laughing.

Knowing the reason for laughter is especially important for a comedian. If he wants to surprise the audience with the punch line, he will not be pleased if they laugh out of instinct. He wants to surprise them with his jokes and let that be the reason for their laughter. I think Mel Helitzer should have included the psychology behind the reasons for laughter. He mentioned the psychologist who identified the reasons for laughter, but he did not include how she discovered her findings. That is very important to me because I wonder if the findings were based on studying someone and looking at their personality to see why they laughed or if the findings were based on someone saying why they laughed.

I chose the article “Why We Laugh” by Morgan Griffin because Robert R. Provine, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland Baltimore Country, provides the psychological reasons to determine why people laugh. He conducted a survey of 1,200 “laugh episodes” by listening to conversations in public. He found that only 10-20% of laughs were in response to jokes and the other 80-90% of laughs came from comments that did not involve humor.

When Provine surveyed conversations in public, did he survey at random or did he visit one shopping mall and survey all males? We do not know who he surveyed and if his subjects were respresentative of the population. Depending on who he surveyed, his results may not be accurate.

http://men.webmd.com/features/why-we-laugh

Chapter 1 Reading Response CWS

Chapter one starts off by explaining the value of humor writing and explaining how people acquire their humor-writing skills. A quote backs up one theory of humor-writing skills by saying a secret is passed down from one generation to the next telling how to write humorously. The believers of this theory think the humor trait is inherited and only those who have humor in their genetics can become successful humor writers. Not all humor writers inherit their talent. The writing comes naturally for some, but others grow into their success through the environment they grow up in. Anyone can develop the skills needed for humor writing and I particularly enjoyed the exercise where I was supposed to list possible uses for a beer bottle and an ash tray. I was unsure of how difficult humor writing could be, but the exercise helped me and showed me how simple the writing really is.

The benefits of humor writing are brought up and said to involve reward, remembrance, and respect. Humor earns the speaker respectful attention, funny jokes make them remembered, and successful comedy writing helps them receive rewards. The benefits come with success and success comes from the performer using the material and audience to their advantage. The humorist must first weigh up the audience and determine if the majority is teenage girls, young lawyers, or old doctors. The people in the audience help the comedian decide what jokes to tell. Teenage girls will not enjoy the same jokes as old doctors so the comedian must decide what type of people are in audience so he can make sure he has a good show.

In dance I also used the material and audience to my advantage. In order to place well at competitions I needed to get a feel for what the audience and judges liked. Isn’t the key to success finding out what the audience enjoys before performing? I would sit in the audience and see what kind of dancers the judges enjoyed watching. Were they interested in jazz dancing and did they get into the music when an upbeat song started playing? I wanted to see how they reacted to good dancers so I could tell if they liked my performance while I was on stage. If the judges seemed to like sharp dancing right on the movement, then that is what I would do that day, but if I sensed they liked choreography held out to lengthen the music, then I would sustain my choreography instead. I never changed my choreography; I merely moved through the choreography based on the preference of the judges.


Similar to comedy writers, they also base their performance on the audience. For the audience members to enjoy the performance, jokes must be told in their interest of the viewers. Comedy writers must target a certain age range and solely write to keep the reader interested. When performing, you want to keep the audience entertained and that only happens by performing to their liking. Every type of performer has to study the audience and decide what type of performance will be the most successful and enjoyable to the viewers. As long as the performer gets the right feel for the audience's interests, the show will be a hit!

Questions : Do you think the majority of comedy writers inherited or worked for their talent?