RA 3: Visual Art

Visual Rhetoric needs to evoke an emotion or plea to logic or authority insomuch that the viewer does something afterwards. This picture did more for the cause of refocus and rebuild after 9/11 than any other single depiction. Like the Iwo Jima flag raising did for renewed patriotism after the country went through a very long and painful war, the flag raised by some of the most courageous and patriotic professionals in America hit every persuasion with a single image. Most people have seen this image as it was broadcast on newspapers magazines and almost every other printed medium whether electronic or palatable. It targeted every American; young, old, rich, poor, male, female… every American is needed to complete unity. It unifies the country with a single purpose, to rebuild and refocus our collective efforts with the depiction of raising the flag above the turmoil that has beset us. The flag by itself evokes a sense of patriotism and pride; we have all been indoctrinated with this sentiment and respect over a lifetime of history lessons. One may disagree with current political policies but to disagree that America is a great place to live would exclude them as an audience because they would live in another country not flooded with this image. The rubble behind the flag raising and the dusty and dirty clothes worn by the flag raisers reignites the passion that each felt when the towers fell. It reminds us that the towers truly fell and the thousands truly died. The firemen are an authority as they are among the few who ran into the falling towers and not away from them. They subject themselves day in and out to dangerous situations for the betterment of the society, they know that this country is great and strive to return quickly to a great America, obviously done with devout cooperation. A cynic may attack the image and say that the firemen received some kind of compensation for this action to raise public awareness and amiability toward government and America. One of those or any fireman would probably punch that cynic right in the face for his lack of faith and disrespect. The logic in raising or building up after a crisis is overwhelming but sometimes difficult for the normal person. It takes a large amount of insight and perspective to do something rational after something so irrational happens. The renewed patriotism and faith and cooperation were the best thing that could have happened post 9/11 because it could have easily become chaotic and unruly with distrust and accusations and apathy running rampant.

Outraged renter

As long as there is a credit system there will be renters. People who make bad choices with their finances will be forever beneath the shadow of bad debt and therefore ineligible for decent mortgage rates. There are of course other reasons for renting, such as short term stay situations, bad real estate markets or transitions between purchases and of course low income or student housing as well as just like renting to have someone else take care of all the problems and work associate to owning property- I may fit in multiple categories. In my four years of renting a place after emancipating myself from my parent’s fourth bedroom, I have seen bad to worse renting situations and most are attributed to living south of BYU campus. I have experienced and heard of countless horror stories of landlord neglect, price gouging and immoral deposit compensation, enough so to take a stand and begin at least a citywide renting awareness group to perhaps fix some of the problems that renters face. My dream, if I ever had the money, would be to buy up a bunch of properties and fix them up to livable standards and actually take care of them on a case-by-case basis. I would also assess and fix damages caused by previous tenants and not charge the next guy for problems they didn’t cause. I would clean the carpets if I charge each tenant 25$ for carpet cleaning each semester I lived there. Affordable and nice student housing doesn’t really exist here in Provo because students are so accustomed to living in a dump and don’t really know what to say or do to get anything fixed. BYU has really tied our hands making an approved zone for housing so the dirty 500 sq ft sardine cans can make an upwards of 1700$/mo. That is more expensive than Chicago, New York and Boston for the same size apartment and they live in Boston, Chicago and New York.

RA 2: Commercial

Commercials sometimes utilize celebrities to pander to an audience's desire to be more than they are. Wear a shoe and play like a pro. This makeup makes you shine like a star. Eat a burger that is fit for a legend. The bigger the name, the more credible the advertisement. This seems counterintuitive unless you truly understand pop culture. An appeal to ethos among the general public consists of giving them testimonials of the person they have seen the most and grown to trust, not necessarily from the most credible source. Also an appeal to pathos, they have followed that character through the roles and achievements that they have won and now are emotionally invested. Anytime Michael Jordan sells a product the sales go through the roof for a few weeks/months/years afterward. Now, not every person flocks to the store and buys everything that he sponsors, but those people that he panders to see the product as reliable, cool, game enhancing and worth the extra money. Jordan hasn't really played basketball in almost a decade and his shoe is still a best seller. Almost all “any year old” males will spend 40-70 dollars more for a pair of shoes that were assembled by Chinese slave children because of that Air Jordan logo. Now this is a large intro for the commercial I chose, but there is not a lot to the commercial itself. Without background info on marketing and Jordan commercials, the ad seems lethargic and drab and almost depressing, but this commercial was a smart move by Nike; instantly credible because everyone's hero, MJ, testifies about overcoming adversity and which company was there to help him through it. Everyone can relate because they all fail much more than Jordan and in comparison their failures are much worse. Nike sponsors second chances and third and fourth... Not everyone is a star athlete; Nike would have you believe otherwise with the right amount of dedication and sporting equipment. This is precisely what the target audience wants to hear because most already believe that they are the best. Those customers who have reached that age or place in life where they want to give it up just need to hear a semi retired Jordan say that he keeps going after he’s “failed over and over and over and that’s why he succeeds” and instantly they add ten years of consumership to Nike sports products.

Camaraderie

Forced camaraderie in large group settings has always seemed to me to be a chintzy notion. Everybody do the introduction game and hold hands and become best friends. Saying hello as assignment is one thing in which I respectfully will not participate. I am by no means antisocial. I may, in fact, have received a few too many hibitions and don't know when to stop. This evening I went to a Men's Chorus retreat. Now if you know nothing about the "Brotherhood of Men," a quick intro is required to fully appreciate the irony of my situation. Everyday we clap and cheer in warmups/announcements if a fellow brother has any important declaration ie marriage, baby, mission, second date.... We have our own lingo and inside jokes and may be one of the more camaraderous bunch on BYU campus. I feel torn when in this group of men because deep down I am quite repulsed by the mechanical introductions and get to know you games. Some would call this snobbish, but I have always had no trouble making friends and when it feels like i am forced to make them i resist with all my might. We had all these games and introductions at our retreat and for some reason I got into them and had fun without judging the activity and sulking. Now this may mean I am making real progress and growing up or it may mean that i care about my grades more than i originally thought. I don't think i will write down their phone numbers and become their best friends but maybe the activity is to help the people that aren't social butterflies, like my wife, to make a friend or study partner. I won't dig my heels in quite so far next time the magic talking marker is placed in my hands and i am supposed to give the room a quick synopsis of my dreams and sordid past.

Film in the Curriculum

I recently took a course on film analysis where I learned to appreciate the less exciting movies by determining what their actual worth was by evaluating different characteristics such as lighting, scripting, costuming, directing, themes,... Oftentimes the boring Black and White movies have intrinsic value, more so than the contemporary blockbusters parading through theaters today. Having a new appreciation for films and not just labeling them as good and bad anymore, I still, being human, dislike some choices that our professors decide we need to watch as part of our grade. I've been "asked" to watch Elephant Man, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, Rashoman, An Inconvenient Truth, Grapes of Wrath among many others. Yes, they can teach you something about something, but honestly, these movies should be optional at best. It's really not the type of movie for a class that I watch that disturbs me, although the boring B&Ws make me squeamish. When you pay for your own tuition and your time and money are scarce, you shouldn't have to devote two plus hours to a movie that is part of the grade. I don't watch the news because 90% of what they say doesn't amount to a hill of beans. You wait the entire hour waiting for the story that you care about and then it ends up leaving something to be desired. I read my news, and I would like to read assignments. Assignments should take as long as the individual doing it. Like in the workplace, if you can do more in less time you get more money. If you can do more of the assignment or excel above the rest in less time, that should be an option.

RA 1: Advertisement

Some people meditate in their sand garden or sit down and read a good book when they're stressed. Other people buy German-made automobiles. Displaying the VW beetle as a cure for the common cold is the new marketing campaign for selling this incredibly well known product. And what an incredible turnaround! A few years ago before the big comeback, the VW "bug" evoked the economical, retro starter vehicle that would run forever if you didn't mind your feet falling through the rusted-out floor. Now the Volkswagon Beetle is the sporty convertible for the playful "yellows" who, frankly, only read far enough in the parachute book to take the test because their deficit attention turned quickly to their yapping toy poodle or the "People Magazine" where they undoubtedly saw this ad and immediately clipped it out and scrap booked it with her pictures of said poodle For symptoms including angst, bitterness and incessant brooding... buy this "pill" and swallow it in 60 easy payments of only 449$. This is a very persuasive advertisement for its target market of 30-50 year old woman who want to have the cute toy that they wished they had 35 years prior. This packaging emulates the design that made sleek, sexy products for Macintosh: rounded and simple, completely different than the product of yesteryear, but somehow, comfortably still the same. And in the decades of generation RX, what better than to persuade subconsciously that their product will feel good and cure the blues caused by credit debt and general unfitness accrued in a lifetime of impulse buying? With so many options and colors and extras the only question left to ask is will she need a refill of this prescription for the newest model in 2010?