TOW #14 Advertisement analysis

An advertisement for wood stain couldn’t be trying to trick its viewers, could it? This add for Minwax wood stain features an older man standing next to a chair with the words “Show&Tell” above. The man standing in the advertisement is an older man who is well dressed and handsome. This ad appears in the magazine publication “This Old House” a magazine very popular among older women. This ad juxtaposes the strapping older man with a chair, presumably stained with its product, to attract the eye of the women reading the magazine and to make the chair look more handsome in comparison. The average reader of any magazine doesn’t spend lots of time picking through the articles, they usually just flip through until they find a title or an image that catches their eyes. This article has a simple background, which makes the chair and handsome man pop out. The model is completely unrelated to the polish but is included to attract its female audience. This article abuses the use of a model to catch the wandering eyes of unsuspecting readers. The juxtaposition of the handsome man and the chair also plays a factor in the appeal of this ad. One could say that this attractive man has “chiseled features” and “in good shape”, the makers of this stain hopes to say that their polish will make the reader’s furniture look the same. They say that this stain makes the chair look “in good shape” and will bring out it’s “chiseled features. While this article has legitimate, underlying reasons for adding the model into their ad, it also had ulterior motives to unfairly catch the eye of a reader who would have otherwise not given a second thought to this picture.  

TOW #13 E-Sports Article

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-competitive-world-of-esports/2/

With the rapidly evolving world comes rapidly changing technology. When this technology is not being used to advance the world, people use it for recreation in the form of video games. This form of entertainment has gotten so popular in recent years that competitions have begun to be held, and they have gained a sizeable following. This article by CBS explains the new phenomenon of “esports” or competitive video gaming. This text hopes to inform the older generation about this new craze and to help them accept it as a form of entertainment through the use of expert testimonies. This originally aired on CBS’s television program Sunday Morning whose primary audience is adults. Many older people in this time period are confused by young people’s fascination with videogames and this article hopes to at the very least provide some factual basis for esports to stand on. They first compare videogames to golf, saying, “my wife can't understand people watching a golf game, because she's not a golfer… So if you're not a gamer, that's not gonna appeal to you.” This thought at least gives the older generation something to base their opinions off of. The next few testimonies offer statistics on the new following and players of these new sports. They give insight on the lives of professional gamers, referencing one Call of Duty player who made over 1 million dollars last year. They also offer statistics on the quickly expanding following for these esports. This not only gives the adult readers the idea that this is a serious profession that really makes money. It also presents the fact that even though some people might not understand it, these are serious sports with a serious fan base. If anything this article makes the older people of this generation appreciate competitive video games as a serious sport.

TOW#12 IRB post the Tao of Pooh

“The Tao of Pooh”? More like the How of Tao. Benjamin Hoff’s novel, “The Tao of Pooh”, explains the ins and outs of Taoism though his talks with a popular character of literature, Winney the Pooh. By alluding to this well-known children’s book character and including many anecdotes from his stories, Hoff offers a more approachable view of Taoism for the common man. Throughout the entirety of this book, Hoff is often having conversations with Pooh bear. Every time Hoff talks to Pooh, Pooh has questions about Taoism, and Hoff answers him by explaining it in simple terms. For example, in the first chapter Pooh asks what Taoism is, and instead of answering him by explaining the different social policies and lifestyles that apply to Taoism he shows Pooh a paining and build off of the visual representation. This puts the ideals of in easy to swallow tidbits. Most people are afraid to step out of their comfort zone of western religion, let alone consider Taoism. Hoff talks to Pooh, a very popular figure in many children’s lives, to lighten the mood to make it seem happier and funnier than a social idealism. By alluding to Pooh it makes Taoism seem simple, something that even the simplest of living things can do. Pooh also changes the way that Hoff explains the practices of Taoism to make them seem simpler. By dumbing it down it not only makes it easier for Pooh to understand, but also easier for his audience to comprehend. He also includes many excerpts from Winney the Pooh stories. These anecdotes serve almost the same purpose as Pooh himself, to give the audience something to identify with. By comparing the Taoist teachings to something from their own lives, it makes the material much easier for the audience to digest. This insight into the workings of Taoism would not have been effective at all without the inclusion of one of the most well know figures in childhood literature.

TOW #11 magazine ad

This advertisement for some form of laundry product from a magazine contains a message that is apparent even at a moment’s glance. The ad uses a simplistic layout to attract the eyes of the readers of the magazine and incongruity to add a humorous element to it. The layout of this ad is very easy to look at and interpret. The two wrestlers dressed in solid colors take up most of the picture and the background is blurred to keep the focus on the two men. This kind of set up attracts the eyes of magazine readers who are skimming through and easily conveys the ad’s message to it’s observers at a moment’s glance. This simple ad mainly employs the use of incongruity. This article takes wrestling, a very intense and violent sport, and put’s a smile on the face of one of the wrestlers when a wrestler should usually look like they are struggling. Because of hoe bizarre this scene looks, it creates incongruity and satire. This incongruity also shows the power of the product. The uniform that the red wrestler is wearing is obviously dirty with sweat stains all over it, but when the blue wrestler smells it he still smiles. This shows that the product is so powerful that even through sweat cloths still smell pleasant. This ad effectively conveys a message with as little interpretation as possible. The simplicity of it suits its placement in a magazine where people just gloss over advertisements.

TOW #10 Article Analysis

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30076629

            This article is reporting in the recent execution of a Syrian aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig. A recent video released by Syrian militants showed a man with a hood over his head being killed, further investigation confirmed that this man was indeed Kassig. This article while reporting on appeals to pathos to turn the readers against the Syrian militants and convince the reader’s that the militant’s motives are pure evil. This article provides several images of Kassig and his family. These photos are interspersed throughout the article to elicit an emotional response from the readers. The photos of Kassig’s parents are meant to make the reader believe that these militants are malicious and mean to tear families apart. The author also includes words from Kassig’s parents. Some of these are meant to make the reader feel pity for his parents. His parent’s talk about his legacy saying, "Today we grieve together, yet we also recall that the indomitable spirit of goodness and perseverance that burned so brightly in Abdul-Rahman Kassig," These quotes appeal to pathos and make the readers feel bad for their loss. Their other testimonies are meant to show resilience, his parent’s are quoted saying, "We are incredibly proud of our son for living his life according to his humanitarian calling," they said, "We will work every day to keep his legacy alive as best we can,” these quotes are meant to think that no matter the adversity, it will be overcome with hope. This article quotes President Obama when he says that it was an, “act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity". The fact that this came from the president of the United States gives the speaker automatic ethos, and appeals to pathos to make the reader think that it is an act of pure evil.