No spaghetti straps. No short skirts. No midriff shirts. A typical school dress code may be seen as a way to maintain order, but what many don't consider is the message it is sending to female youth. In Laura Bates's opinion article, "How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture", she includes personal experiences from other girls, and appeals to pathos through the feminine tone that she establishes to reveal the negative effects that dress codes are having on young women. While the school may think it is playing a positive role by creating a "distraction free environment", girls are being taught that they are the distraction.
Throughout her article, Bates includes different statements from girls with a similar viewpoint on their schools' dress code. Their experiences with challenging the dress code or being criticized for what they wear result in the discrepancy that Bates is aiming to reveal. One girl shares, "at my school our dress code dictates everything about a girls outfit" but "there's no dress code for men". By including the reality of one girl's school dress code, Bates not only establishes a general idea of all dress codes, but she is also leading into the problem it creates with gender inequality. Another girl shares a more personal experience- "I've been asked whether I'm ashamed of myself because I rolled up my skirt". By associating the dress code with a word such as 'shame', girls are becoming easily succumbed to feeling bad about themselves for wearing what they normally wear or what is comfortable to them. This negative impact on young women supports Bates's argument that the dress code is damaging to female confidence and sends off the message that their bodies are something to feel sorry for.
Bates also calls attention to the issue that school dress codes impose on sexism. Through her feministic tone, she is able to appeal to the emotions of the women in the audience. Some of the girls that she interviewed for her article shared that they had been verbally harassed in a sexual way by boys at school. She then explains that often half the problem is not the clothing, but just "a lack of any attempt to discipline boys for harassing behavior, which drives home the message that it is the victim's responsibility to prevent". In Bates's opinion, the dress code is a way of putting the blame on girls in these situations. By comparing the effects on both genders, she is attempting to reach out to the female audience and make them aware of the injustice they are facing. The pride that she holds in her femininity causes women to think twice the next time somebody places the blame on their clothing choices.
http://time.com/3892965/everydaysexism-school-dress-codes-rape-culture/
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Sunday, October 18, 2015
TOW #6- Visual Text
In this advertisement for Perrier sparkling water, the visuals are the only thing necessary. With its creative alterations, the company is able to make the beverage look like the "coolest" thing in the room. Not only is this done through the contrast of hot and cold, but also ethos that is established through the atmosphere of the advertisement. Through these elements of the visual text, the bottle is the item of glorification and also the only component that was left untouched.
Overall, this Perrier ad is a work of art. There is a significant amount of graphic and computer design that contributed to the making of this image. It also enhanced the eye-catching effect of the advertisement. By making the objects in the picture appear as if they are melting, it takes the image up a level. While creating this ad, they could have left the clothes and the disco balls as they were, and just added some sweat on the girl to communicate that she is hot. Instead, they exaggerated the temperature of the room by making things that can't actually melt, melt. By representing the excessive amount of heat that this girl is experiencing, they are only making the beverage appear to be cooler. Contrasting with the unrealistic heat is the single bottle of Perrier, and the only object that is not melting. Between the choice of a hot and cold drink, it is assumed that most people desire cold, and this image is establishing that Perrier sparkling water is the coolest and most desirable item in the room. As a result of the advertisement, the company hopes that after viewing this ad, people will choose Perrier the next time they need to be refreshed.
Not only does the artistic value of the advertisement support the beverage, but so does the environment around it. The party atmosphere is typically looked at to be an expensive and attractive lifestyle to many. By using this setting, as opposed to somebody's average kitchen table, the Perrier company is able to establish a credibility about their drink. Now the beverage has an upscale reputation which might attract people looking for this lifestyle. This strategy is also used on the model in the picture, not only because of the fact that she is good-looking, but also in her sparkling, (now liquid) gold dress. The color choice makes her look extravagant, and since she's reaching for a Perrier, the drink must be extravagant as well.
This advertisement caught my eye because it reminded me immediately of some of Salvador Dali's artworks, such as The Persistence of Memory. Dali had a very surrealist feel to his pieces, and I felt that this ad captured that as well, through the effect of the melting objects. Perrier was able to not only to make the sparkling water appear to be the only thing cold in a 150 degree room, but also made it look like the fanciest guest at the party. Through the contrast of temperature and appeal to ethos through a party atmosphere, Perrier appears to be a desirable and refreshing drink for any person, place, or occasion.
Overall, this Perrier ad is a work of art. There is a significant amount of graphic and computer design that contributed to the making of this image. It also enhanced the eye-catching effect of the advertisement. By making the objects in the picture appear as if they are melting, it takes the image up a level. While creating this ad, they could have left the clothes and the disco balls as they were, and just added some sweat on the girl to communicate that she is hot. Instead, they exaggerated the temperature of the room by making things that can't actually melt, melt. By representing the excessive amount of heat that this girl is experiencing, they are only making the beverage appear to be cooler. Contrasting with the unrealistic heat is the single bottle of Perrier, and the only object that is not melting. Between the choice of a hot and cold drink, it is assumed that most people desire cold, and this image is establishing that Perrier sparkling water is the coolest and most desirable item in the room. As a result of the advertisement, the company hopes that after viewing this ad, people will choose Perrier the next time they need to be refreshed.
Not only does the artistic value of the advertisement support the beverage, but so does the environment around it. The party atmosphere is typically looked at to be an expensive and attractive lifestyle to many. By using this setting, as opposed to somebody's average kitchen table, the Perrier company is able to establish a credibility about their drink. Now the beverage has an upscale reputation which might attract people looking for this lifestyle. This strategy is also used on the model in the picture, not only because of the fact that she is good-looking, but also in her sparkling, (now liquid) gold dress. The color choice makes her look extravagant, and since she's reaching for a Perrier, the drink must be extravagant as well.
This advertisement caught my eye because it reminded me immediately of some of Salvador Dali's artworks, such as The Persistence of Memory. Dali had a very surrealist feel to his pieces, and I felt that this ad captured that as well, through the effect of the melting objects. Perrier was able to not only to make the sparkling water appear to be the only thing cold in a 150 degree room, but also made it look like the fanciest guest at the party. Through the contrast of temperature and appeal to ethos through a party atmosphere, Perrier appears to be a desirable and refreshing drink for any person, place, or occasion.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
TOW #5- Non-fiction Text 1
David Brook's theory of the baby boomer generation states his belief that people are the product of the generation they are raised in. Not only are these effects associated with the way one is brought up but also include outside factors such as events in the time period. In Brook's opinion article, Children of the '70s, major events such as the Vietnam War, the Hippie Movement, and various crime waves are used to support his generalization that this group of people have been shaped, from these happenings, to be a more experienced generation. Brook uses strategies in his writing such as a comparison between the past and the present and specific facts to appeal to logos.
Starting off his article, Brook introduces the Upper West Side of Manhattan in its current state; you are able to walk around with "such ease and safety that you could get the impression it was always this way". He then compares this to the Upper West Side that he remembers from his youth, home to "one of the most dangerous blocks in the city". Through his comparison, he is able to show the reader both views of the New York City area in order to explain the impact that today's '70s children have made. This generation of people grew up with things like "crime and divorce" impacting their everyday life which is why Brook believes they represent the opposite image as adults. He argues that in today's world, the used-to-be children of the '70s are maintaining peace and safety amongst themselves because of the violent experiences they've witnessed in the past.
Not only does he use personal comparisons of different memories of the area, but he also appeals to logos through his multiple inclusions of statistics and rates. For example, "by 1990, 5,641 felonies were committed in New York City's 24th Precinct, according to Podhoretz. Last year, only 987 were". With this statement, Brook is combining his appeal to logos and his comparative strategy to convey the message of change that he has seen resulted from this group of people. Since the crime rates have gone down so drastically since the '70s children have grown up, Brook draws the conclusion that it is due to the factors of their childhood.
I think that David Brook has made a very interesting point through his article by tracing the roots of change all the way back to the original time period that caused it. His idea opened my eyes to look at the bigger, overall picture when I am people analyzing, and also brought me to question what my generation is going to look like in about 30 years. By looking at the way we are growing up and the things that are effecting us now, I can almost make the prediction that it will be the same things changing the ways we live in the future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/opinion/18brooks.html?_r=0
Starting off his article, Brook introduces the Upper West Side of Manhattan in its current state; you are able to walk around with "such ease and safety that you could get the impression it was always this way". He then compares this to the Upper West Side that he remembers from his youth, home to "one of the most dangerous blocks in the city". Through his comparison, he is able to show the reader both views of the New York City area in order to explain the impact that today's '70s children have made. This generation of people grew up with things like "crime and divorce" impacting their everyday life which is why Brook believes they represent the opposite image as adults. He argues that in today's world, the used-to-be children of the '70s are maintaining peace and safety amongst themselves because of the violent experiences they've witnessed in the past.
Not only does he use personal comparisons of different memories of the area, but he also appeals to logos through his multiple inclusions of statistics and rates. For example, "by 1990, 5,641 felonies were committed in New York City's 24th Precinct, according to Podhoretz. Last year, only 987 were". With this statement, Brook is combining his appeal to logos and his comparative strategy to convey the message of change that he has seen resulted from this group of people. Since the crime rates have gone down so drastically since the '70s children have grown up, Brook draws the conclusion that it is due to the factors of their childhood.
I think that David Brook has made a very interesting point through his article by tracing the roots of change all the way back to the original time period that caused it. His idea opened my eyes to look at the bigger, overall picture when I am people analyzing, and also brought me to question what my generation is going to look like in about 30 years. By looking at the way we are growing up and the things that are effecting us now, I can almost make the prediction that it will be the same things changing the ways we live in the future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/opinion/18brooks.html?_r=0
Sunday, October 4, 2015
TOW #4- IRB
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is the retelling of three Sudanese boys' experiences during Sudan's Civil War, and the miraculous journeys they went through in order to stay safe from the central government. When the Dinka tribe gets word of nearby villages being attacked by government troops, the families are torn apart in the turmoil. With no direction to turn, Benjamin finds himself traveling with a large group of boys his same age, eventually finding his cousins including Benson. Out of desperation, the boys left their village on a trek to Ethiopia, leaving their families behind and never looking back. So far, Benson, Alepho, and Benjamin have successfully been able to show the hardships of the Sudanese people and the "Lost Boys" through the unique transitions of their different perspectives of the situation, and the shocking reality of their many anecdotes.
Separated in the midst of the chaos, the story alternates between each of the boys and their point of view during the war. Although each of the boys are experiencing many of the same feelings- confusion, desperation, grief, and distraught- it is very effective to see each individual perspective. With each boy traveling on a different route and persevering through different obstacles, the effect of an rotating viewpoint allows the reader to have a more open outlook on the Sudanese Civil War and its impact on innocent, everyday civilians. It also gives the audience an advantage, for example, to know that Benson had just crossed the Nile River, a long way from home, while Alepho and his family are still in the village and "went looking for him" because "nobody had seen Benson" (95). Being able to see the overall effect of chaos and trouble that was brought amongst these people has a greater impact on the reader emotionally, allowing them to have a better sense of the situation.
The whole book, being basically one big collection of anecdotes, had an immediate impact on me as an outsider to the war because I could not wrap my head around the fact it was true. The life that is described in Sudan by these boys who were around the same age as me is so contrastingly different that it causes me to question the reality of the stories. I think that we, being human, can become so involved in our own lives that it is sometimes hard to remember the diversity of other people's experiences. To read that they witnessed "'a skulls tree where you can see all types of bones from a lot of people'" (80), and were so hungry as to "pick[ed] up the bones of some fish that had already been eaten by a fisherman" (70) really acts as an eye-opener to me, which I think is the reason the boys shared their stories through the book. They are not only able to show me what it was once like to live in their part of the world, but they also made me think about how I live through our very different experiences.
Separated in the midst of the chaos, the story alternates between each of the boys and their point of view during the war. Although each of the boys are experiencing many of the same feelings- confusion, desperation, grief, and distraught- it is very effective to see each individual perspective. With each boy traveling on a different route and persevering through different obstacles, the effect of an rotating viewpoint allows the reader to have a more open outlook on the Sudanese Civil War and its impact on innocent, everyday civilians. It also gives the audience an advantage, for example, to know that Benson had just crossed the Nile River, a long way from home, while Alepho and his family are still in the village and "went looking for him" because "nobody had seen Benson" (95). Being able to see the overall effect of chaos and trouble that was brought amongst these people has a greater impact on the reader emotionally, allowing them to have a better sense of the situation.
The whole book, being basically one big collection of anecdotes, had an immediate impact on me as an outsider to the war because I could not wrap my head around the fact it was true. The life that is described in Sudan by these boys who were around the same age as me is so contrastingly different that it causes me to question the reality of the stories. I think that we, being human, can become so involved in our own lives that it is sometimes hard to remember the diversity of other people's experiences. To read that they witnessed "'a skulls tree where you can see all types of bones from a lot of people'" (80), and were so hungry as to "pick[ed] up the bones of some fish that had already been eaten by a fisherman" (70) really acts as an eye-opener to me, which I think is the reason the boys shared their stories through the book. They are not only able to show me what it was once like to live in their part of the world, but they also made me think about how I live through our very different experiences.
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