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.