TOW #7: Male Politicians Shouldn't Make Abortion Decisions

Male Politicians Shouldn't Make Abortion Decisions

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/24/obama-on-mourdock-male-politicians-shouldnt-make-abortion-decisions/?hpt=hp_t2

The author of this article, Kevin Liptak, is a reporter for CNN who is most known for writing about politics. This article was about President Obama's interview with Jay Leno, stating that he does not believe men should make decisions regarding abortion. He references Richard Mourdock, who recently made comments regarding rape and abortion. Mourdock, being a republican and Christian, believes that pregnancy is intended by God, therefore aborting a child is strictly immoral and sacrilegious. I think Obama makes a clear and logical point saying that abortion and rape are actions that should be handled by woman, because the actions are done to them. I think he is very reasonable and intelligent stating that these are decisions a woman should make for herself. The rhetorical devices used in the article are what made it appeal to me, and probably to all women all over the country. The author showed both opposing arguments, but explained why Obama's argument was valid and reasonable. Liptak's diction made the article sound factual, sophisticated, and made me view the author as a reliable and credible source of information. His use of ethos allowed me to understand his perspective and change my previous perspective, which  I think is a very powerful device to use. Overall, I think the article was full of rhetoric, very convincing, and showed both view points in a clear way.

Rhetorical Devices:
Ethos
Argument
Diction

TOW #6: Visual Text- Dove Real Beauty Commercial

Dove Real Beauty Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

This commercial encapsulates Dove's entire campaign/motto in only a minute and fifteen seconds. From a rhetorical standpoint, the commercial is full of juxtaposition and appeals. The commercial, created by Dove which is a personal care brand, is targeting women, but specifically, women who have ever felt insecure about themselves. Given that insecurities and self-esteem struggles are extremely common among women of all ages, this commercial targets women as a whole. The commercial appeals to its audience by juxtaposing real vs. fake, and "beautiful" vs. "ugly." The video shows the transformation of a woman into a supermodel using tons of makeup and photo-shop, which shows how skewed our perception of beauty is. Doves main purpose is to show women all around the world that being beautiful does not require looking like those on a magazine, because, in fact, those women on the magazines are so edited and transformed that it's not even real anymore. In my opinion, I think that the use of juxtaposition and appeals makes the commercial all the more empowering and influential. The creators of the advertisement definitely did a good job targeting a specific audience, and making that specific audience buy-in to their brad.


Rhetorical Devices:
Juxtaposition
Audience
Appeals

TOW #5: Aung San Suu Kyi and the power of unity (Text)

Aung San Suu Kyi and the Power of Unity:

Aung San Suu Kyi is a politician who is known for her "worldwide leadership and commitment to human rights in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma." Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested and sentenced to nearly 20 years under house arrest by the Burmese military rulers. Like Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Aung San Suu Kyi led a nonviolent movement in Burma against the government. The Burmese government is known as being one of the most oppressive, dictatorial  governments of the 21st century. Myanmar has been militarily ruled, therefore the people are, in most cases, living in poverty and oppression. Just recently, Myanmar has become a non-military government, and the country has elected their first civillian as leader of their government. 

The article was written by Jack Healey, who is the director of the Human Rights Action Center, and Dan Adler who is a producer and new media entrepreneur. Both men use pathos to make you feel how horrible life was in Myanmar, and more importantly, to make you understand what a difficult life Aung San Suu Kyi had. The author uses pathos to allow the audience to fully understand everything that Aung San Suu Kyi, and the people of burma, went through. Pathos allows the audience to have an emotional connection to the story, and often think, "what if?" which allows them to put the text into their own perspective. 

TOW #4 (Visual Text): Obama v Romney Debate

President Obama v Governor Romney: Debate
Viewed on CNN 

The debate between President Obama and his running-mate Mitt Romney took place Wednesday, October 3rd. I mainly focused on Mitt Romney's arguments and use of rhetoric because I have seen many presentations and speeches by President Obama. The main topics covered in the first round of the debate were mainly domestic issues: jobs in America, the tax deficit, etc. I don't want to go in to discussing the topics they covered, and who I agree with and who I don't agree with. I want to strictly talk about the way they presented to the audience, which was 40 million viewers.

As far as public-speaking abilities, I think Romney was hands-down the better presenter. I have seen Barrack Obama's speeches many times, and I have always thought that he was a very convincing, and appealing speaker. His diction and use of ethos has always made his presentations so impactful to viewers. Watching Obama against Mitt Romney, it was clear to me that Romney was more prepared, more rehearsed, and most importantly, more knowledgable. Romney not only knew his argument, he also knew Obama's arguments, which allowed him to be able to retaliate so quickly against the President. Obama was repetitive, and tried way too hard to use pathos in order to win his argument. When it comes down to it, and this is strictly opinion-based, I care more about the facts and the words that Obama is saying, than a sob story. I think Romney used his knowledge, and conveyed ethos throughout every one of his arguments, and I think that made his presentation all the more effective.

Obama rhetorical devices:

• Pathos
• Repetition
• Ethos
• Comparison (between his views and Romney's views)
• Diction 

*Expletives

Romney rhetorical devices:

• Syllogism (made his arguments irrefutable) 
• Ethos
• Comparison
• Parallels
• Diction
• Tone
• Voice

*Expletives