Final Blog Post of the Semester

For this final blog post, write up a 500, yes 500 word, analysis of this class. Please include an honest evaluation of elements which you liked and disliked, things which you would have wanted to pursue further or not at all, *something you took away from this class* (hopefully there is something that you learned or thought about in a different way, and things you wish you could quickly forget. I appreciate your honesty in this evaluation as it will ultimately help me construct a more effective class next semester.

This is due Friday, December 7th by 10am.

Thanks for being such sweet sour patch kids.
Ms. B

Texting and Driving

When I searched for a English 103 video to use for this blog post, I found the one on texting and driving to be interesting enough to talk about. The reason I initially chose this topic is because I had a friend in high school that got into an accident while texting and it caused them a lot of hardship in the near future after that, so this topic is somewhat personal. This video was posted nearly two years ago, so it is interesting to see the viewpoints of individuals from the past. The author takes an approach of walking around campus and trying to figure out what the opinion of the masses is about texting and driving. The author then use rhetoric to compare texting and driving to the same level of severity of drinking and driving or being under any type of influence. While this may seem like a stretch to some people, the author does a good job of comparing statistics and showing the viewers that they are in fact relatively similar in numbers. The author was focused on trying to change the mindset of those who do text and drive, and to show them just how dangerous it truly can be. Any type of distraction can be deadly while driving, and texting is no different. There was a good amount of ethos in the video, as the author described statistics and shared stories and data. While the video was not of the best quality, or did not have the best acting, it was clear that the message was that texting and driving should not happen. Logos was present when the author claimed that texting and driving is one of the most dangerous things a human being can do while driving. I would have liked to have seen more pathos involved in the video, as it would have made the argument more compelling. All in all, the author conveyed his message appropriately and factually and made people think that if they got a text message while driving if they should answer it or not.

"COPS"

For this blog I watched a video named “COPS” which was satirically portraying the life of a cop, or in this case two cops. These two cops are first of all not dressed as cops but have sunglasses and are trying to remain a stereotypical cop, which goes around doing what people imagine cops are doing, arresting innocent people (or the same person) for “crimes” which aren't really crimes at all. Drinking a monster energy drink, or because that person was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Arrested for being caught near the crime, not really doing it. The video was told in what seemed to be the point of view of the student, although for some part he was narrating. This switch in point of view might have been a bystander view, which allowed us to be there to witness the life of these cops. As they drove around campus, although they didn't have a police vehicle, they pretended to walk to one and transitioned smoothly inside of their own, this display of the videos persuasive power shows how they are capable of lying through effects. One noticeable attribute to the video was that the student himself was just observing it all. Logically the video used these effects to persuade us of the ethos that cops present, the vehicle and arresting power. Pathos was used more heavily as the satire and humor made the video interesting, and most definitely watchable. A key rhetorical device used was the audiences opinions to fuel the satire, what do we imagine that cops do and then portrays those opinions. One observation that I immediately had was that cops seemed to just do bad in arresting the same person, and the videos argument must have been that the police force must be doing the opposite of their job, arresting the innocent and leaving the bad people free.

Smoking

Smoking is a bad habit and this is what the video I watched focused on. The video starts off with a speaker giving some background information on how smoking is bad and can have negative effects on an individual’s life. The first solid piece of visual rhetoric is a cartoon where a man is smoking and the smoke transforms into a gun which points at the woman next to him. The rhetoric makes the viewer see how smoke is not only harmful to the actual smoker but also to everyone around them by second hand smoke inhalation. This appeals to the reader because they realize that they could be effected by anyone smoking. The next thing is a short video clip showing some things that can be cause by smoking around babies. The clip shows a woman smoking and a baby in a crib and eventually the baby disappears giving the hint that smoking could ultimately cause a young death that could have been avoided. The video targets multiple audiences at one time such as teens, mothers, and the other general public by giving information on how smoking can effect daily life for any one of these groups. Therefore this video could be intended for any audience or purposely be meant to be for all audiences. The video is successful in communicating how smoking is bad for you and also how certain movies can make smoking look fun and cool leading to teens trying smoking and then getting hooked on it. The video gave good information that is relevant in society today and also has been in the past. It was also successful in showing how seemingly harmless Disney movies can effect a young person’s life by showing characters smoke. Children then associate smoking as being cool and having fun while doing it while actually it is harming them. The video is a good one and provides a good argument along with a good variation of rhetoric that appeals to the viewer.   

Obesity

            The multimedia project I chose was about combatting obesity and was created by Cody Mizell, Jill Mcnair, and Kayla Lanford http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1NoHCaLvi4 The multimedia project was really catchy and kept the attention of the viewer for the entire video. The authors tried to play upon the emotions of the viewer by relating a serious topic to them and showing them hundreds of others who have the same dilemma. The authors appeal to logos by showing with statistics how their topic relates to countless Americans and people around the world. The authors used first hand accounts of famous people to show support for their argument against obesity. The argument of the authors was to show how obesity is a major epidemic but it can easily be stopped. By raising awareness of the deadly and life changing side effects, people will want to exercise more and eat healthier. The authors even showed a first hand account to raise more awareness and they listed off multiple reasons that plague countless people around the world who are combatting obesity. The authors intended for their audience to be anyone who has trouble exercising or combatting their overweight problems.  The story was told at a 3^rd person point of view where each account was argument was documented and supported by facts.

            The authors did a nice job piecing the project together by mixing in videos with the normal text. By adding the history channel and the documentary on the one 500lb man, the viewer was kept entertained and wanted to keep watching. The music added to the video was extremely successful in keeping the viewer occupied because most people, if they have to read just some boring text, will skim it and miss the entire argument. The authors did a great job in limiting the amount of text in each slide, yet keeping in extremely informative. This kept the attention of the viewer. 

Redfern is bananas

After watching a few videos that were filmed on iphones I found a video talking about (and mostly singing about) the  horrors of Redfern. in the first few seconds I was going to close out of it because of the poor acting and almost zero commitment to character of the 3 girls in the first scene. But I kept watching because in the second scene they show a Redfern "doctor" telling a student they have a crack in their skull and have to go to hospital. I've never been to Redfern personally but from what I heard students have been told things just as audacious as a cracked skull before. In following scenes they show multiple students going to Redfern and having ridiculous things happen to them like a male being asked if hes pregnant or a girl being given numerous prescriptions for a cold. As the video progressed I realized how good it was, not for its quality or validity but because these students were openly insulting a campus service and going to some length to do so. Whether or not what they were actually saying was true or not i do not know but some of the problems mentioned overlapped with things I had heard. Really the actual reenactment and talking scenes take up about 1 minute the rest is a full song mocking Redfern set to the tune of gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" which is a song most if not all people have heard. the song wasn't too bad either because the chorus was solid and somewhat fit the same as the original lyrics but the verses were somewhat repetitive and poorly executed. The video is successful in relaying the message that Redfern is bad, and its successful because it's set to a popular song that people in college would listen to.

Clemson dining halls

            The argument of the article was that Clemson dining halls are not as nice and good as they initially seem for a top rated university such as Clemson.  One way the author proved this is when he asked other students what they thought about the dining halls and the way the students described many of the problems with the dining halls.  One way the author used logos is by showing how dirty the plates and cups looked in the dining halls.  Then the author asked if Clemson is supposed to be a top rated university then why are the plates and cups so dirty and other of the aspects that the students stated wrong with our dining halls.  Another way that the author uses logos is through the use of the showing the ground and the ground has a bunch of food and debris on it.  Not to mention the fact that the ketchup and other sauces were all over the place and the dining hall was quite messy.  The video succeeded in explaining the argument but the examples they used of students talking kind of counteracted the argument that was trying to be made.  Also, the final statements of the video completely took back what the video was trying to argue because it said that the dining halls weren’t that bad.  The video was told from an outside point of view, but the video was shot from the camera angle of first person or a Clemson student just walking around campus.  I think that the video could have had a lot more examples that would have proven the argument a lot better.  That is why I think that the video was made decently, but there were definitely a lot of improvements that could have been made to improve the argument a lot.

Smoking. Is It deadly?

     The video I watched focused on smoking and second hand smoking. They used several advertisements that focused on the harmful effects of second hand smoking. In these ads, rhetoric was used through real life examples where people are harmed due to smoking. The advertisements used use words such as "deadly" to describe the harmful effects of smoking. Also, in this video, several examples of movies where popular characters are show smoking was another point made by the video. The video explains that smoking can be seen as cool when it is actually dangerous. Also, another compelling image they used was one that focused on celebrities that have died from smoking. Even Disney children movies were shown to include smoking. Severe examples such as a man hooked up to a breathing machine because of his past actions. Another image shows a healthy image of a lung on one side and a decayed smokers long on the other. These drastic images make the viewer scared about smoking because of the drastic effects shown. The video ends with of the speakers saying that it is your choice to live, and If you smoke you will die. Although this may not be entirely true, it does show the listener even more scary information about the negative effects of smoking. Another key point to think about is the lack of a counter argument in the ad. All of the facts and information being stated are for the argument. There is not any examples given that make the argument they are trying to convey look weaker. This is rhetoric in a way because it keeps the listener from thinking about the positive attributes to smoking while watching the video. Overall the video uses many different rhetorical methods to alter the viewers perception of the project. I felt that this video did a good job at conveying a point and having the information and proof to back it up. This video came appeared as well made and gave me some ideas for our presentations in class.

Ermahgerd Turxtin n Dervin

I watched a Clemson multimedia project about texting and driving. It was produced using many different methods to show how dangerous texting and driving is. My project group coincidentally is also preparing to make our multimedia project based on the same topic, so this video caught my eye when searching for videos to review. Their main argument focuses on how unaware people are of how dangerous texting and driving is and that it should be illegalized.

The authors use a number of methods to get their point across to the viewers. One of the methods used by the authors was a survey. During the survey, the authors would ask random Clemson students about their thoughts on texting while driving. Some of their opinions were very interesting; some would oppose the action while others would claim it wasn’t a big deal. In fact, their statistics had shown that 70 percent of students asked had claimed that texting while driving was not that big of a deal while 85 percent of students admitted to texting while driving.

The second segment of the video consisted of different scenarios and simulations of how texting and driving can be both dangerous and land a driver in trouble. The first scenario was a driver swerving and being pulled over by police officer after being distracted from his text messaging. The second scenario consisted of a driver who was distracted by texting, hitting a pedestrian and causing injury.

The video didn’t necessarily contain many rhetorical strategies however the scenarios and situations in the video could suggest what a person would be subjected to if he or she was texting while driving. The video argued that it is dangerous and illegal. The topic is argued very well for the fact that they used accurate statistics and provided a visual for which the viewer can relate to.

Texting & Driving

I found a Clemson 103 video project on the danger of texting and driving. The video was uploaded nearly two years ago so I wasn’t sure of the quality, but I went for it. The author uses many different rhetorical strategies to support his argument on how dangerous texting and driving can be. The author also goes around campus interviewing multiple people and seeing what their opinions were on texting and driving. The author’s argument is that texting and driving is very dangerous, in fact more dangerous than people who are under the influence of alcohol and/or marijuana. The video succeeded communicating his idea clearly. He breaks it down by few facts and statistics in the begging, then leads to the interviewing, finally concluding into getting pulled over for the offense. The video also was intended for all of those who do text and drive, and to spread the awareness of the severity of the risk. The video doesn’t have the best acting, but it gets the message correctly passed on. It is illegal to do it, just like any other felony in this country. This video appealed to pathos because the driver in the last season starts to feel very hostile towards the policeman. The author also used ethos in the beginning with his statistics and facts, showing he has some knowledge about the danger of texting and driving. Logos is used widely in his argument that texting and driving is amongst one of the most dangerous and death coming acts one may do. Last, the point of view from what was told changed around throughout the video, which I thought helped in a sense of organization and creativity. The author could have showed his face and introduced the topic in the beginning, but he uses propaganda like criticism to help raise his argument in awareness. 

CUPD

                The Clemson English 103 video project that I watched was about the Clemson police officers.  The video was mainly a satirical piece, with a student following around two police officers (played by other students) in a day of work.  The officers drove around and arrested the same student three times for seemingly harmless activities, such as drinking a Monster energy drink and reading the plaque on a statue.  The aim of the video was to poke fun at the work of the Clemson police officers, suggesting that they are too strict in enforcing the laws. 

            The main way that the students accomplished this was through humor.  They portrayed the officers doing ridiculous things in an effort to show that they can go too far sometimes.  I think this was a fairly effective strategy.  Many people watching the video can probably relate to incidences where they have witnessed or heard about someone at Clemson having to deal with police officers.  By using humor they were able to keep the audience interested, while also making their point in a light manner. 

            One of the shortcomings of their argument may be their logos.  Since their format was mainly satirical, it really only focused on comical examples that were mildly ridiculous.  While this was effective in engaging the audience and keeping the subject manner light, it does have its downfalls.  The lack of real examples is a bit of a hole in their argument.  It is tougher to side with their point of view when the only evidence that they have on their side is comprised of unlikely scenarios. 

            Overall the video was a very funny and comical look at the Clemson University police force.  In the end though, this was a bit of a downfall, as the humorous nature of the video made the argument slightly less reasonable.    

Textbook Cost

The English 103 multimedia project video that I watched focused on the costliness of textbooks and argued that textbooks are too expensive. The video was done in a breaking news story format where the anchor presented the problem of the costliness of textbooks, interviewed people about their textbook expenses and did a follow up of one student to reinforce the idea that college textbooks cost too much. Finally the anchor presented the Patterson Act as one solution to the problem. The video was very effective in presenting the problem and convincing viewers that textbooks are overly expensive through their choice of format. Anytime there is any kind of breaking news, people tend to pay close attention, so formatting the video like this defiantly would catch viewers’ attention. Interviewing people on the cost of their textbooks helped strengthen their argument and would help convince viewers that textbooks are too expensive because everyone that they interviewed had a textbook cost around $1000 dollars. The fact that the reporter said things such as, “my gosh, I can’t believe this,” in response to numerous student’s textbook cost would help convince the audience as well. The follow up done of one student showed how excited she was initially to be at Clemson, how worried she was when she found out the cost of her textbooks, and finally how sad she was two years later when the cost of textbooks had nearly caused her to have to drop out of school. The emotions seen in this student would defiantly help in convincing viewers that textbooks are too expensive. The music and sound effects used in the video also helped strengthen the argument. The breaking news sound effect in the very beginning of the video catches viewers’ attention. After interviewing multiple students on the cost of their textbooks a list of the before mentioned prices appeared on the screen with an alarm sound, which obviously suggests the alarming cost of textbooks. After the reporter mentions the Patterson Act a description of it comes on the screen while John Mayor’s “Waiting On The World To Change” plays, which suggest that even more should be done to cut textbook cost. All these elements make for a very effective and convincing video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKcxLxV9-yo