Topic Proposal for Essay #4

Topic: How Social Networking is causing a growing obesity in people of all ages. 

Media: Powerpoint-Videos, Pictures

Not only is this topic funny, but also it is becoming a major issue in America. We are using Powerpoint in order to get our point across. The inclusion of pictures and video will show how serious this problem actually is.

SWA 9

Dear Skechers,
First and foremost, I want to apologize for the discontent that I brought upon the company. When examining your ad for the first time and giving my approval, I did not think through the effects, or more so, the lack of effects that this ad would have on viewers. I approved your ad because I thought an attractive woman, Christina Aguilera, as the shoe modeler, would gain immediate attention. Both women and men I thought this would be effective upon. Women for the fact that an attractive woman looks good in these shoes and therefore, upon purchasing this brand of shoe, buyers will also gain beauty. For men, this ad I thought would be more of a viewing pleasure and catch their eye, making Skechers brand a better known brand to them. However, none of what I hoped would come out of this ad, did. Viewers seem to be confused to why the model, Christina Aguilera is posed as a scandelous nurse, and also the patient(the one wearing the Skechers). Viewers did not seem to understand what this advertisement was trying to portray and therefore, did not find this to be effective enough for them to buy the shoe. Sure, women claimed the shoe was flashy, but the advertisement gave them no further information on how the shoe felt, and the advantages to purchasing Skechers brand sneakers.
Therefore, to fix this solution, some immediate changes need to be put into effect for this ad. Instead of a nurse-patient scene, I propose to show whoever is modeling the shoe, to be in action. Whether walking or running, Skechers shoes need to portray that they are both comfortable yet stylish at the same time. Sure, an attractive woman can still be used to model the shoes, but what will be different is the type of setting we put the shoe in. And Skechers are not only for women to wear. Men can wear them too. Instead of having only a woman wearing the Skechers, a male model should also be in the ad, showing off his Skechers too. This new idea will draw both men and women's attention to this ad and encourage them to buy the shoe that seems to provide comfort and style.

Once again, my apologies for the letdown. Hope this proposal adds more emphasis to selling the shoe, instead of the model.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Hartmann

#7 The Rhetoric of the Market

1. Advertisements serve the purpose of persuading potential buyers that their product is the best one out there and that with the purchase of this product, one will be guaranteed satisfaction.
2. The first advertisement that I chose is for Skechers Footwear. Starting with the explicit, this advertisement is trying to sell comfortable-looking shoes. However, for the implicit, the chosen costumes can be said to attract attention. The model is very attractive, dressed in a nurse suit, but portrayed a bit scandalous. This aspect will draw men to this advertisement. For the women, an attractive woman, modeling these shoes, encourages women to buy them also because they in a sense want to be like the model in the advertisement.
http://www.adpulp.com/archives/sketchers_print.jpg
The second advertisement I chose is for Hydroxycut, the weight loss formula. The ad shows before and after pictures of a woman dropping 21 pounds. Although the woman is shown to have successfully lost weight, it cannot all be due to this formula. Women get tricked into thinking this weight loss substance will immediately get them results, however, they must work out and eat right to effectively lose the weight. Hydroxycut is just an aid.
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/raim0007/gwss3307_fall2007/Ahydroxycut-thumb

3. For the skechers, it is all about the label. If an attractive woman is wearing skechers, then other women want to wear skechers. Wearing a generic brand name of sneaker makes people feel less confident about their style. Any other sneaker, however, may just have the same amount of use than the Skecher brand. The ad portrays Skechers as being the shoe that will make women more attractive.
For Hydroxycut, potential buyers of this formula are tricked into thinking that this formula will make them lose the most weight the fastest. However, there are many other weight loss pills and diets out there that all seem to say the same thing. Using photos to display the “rapid weight loss” of one buyer, gives potential buyers more hope.
4. The audience for the skechers is primarily young women, those that want to buy the shoe. For men, this ad is more of just something to look at.
Hydroxycut is also aimed more towards women, since the photo displayed is of a woman who lost weight through this formula. However, men may want to try this formula also.

Topic Proposal 3

On the last essay I focused on the exploitaiton of one's privacy if a social network user of Facebook. Instead of focusing on the issue of lack of privacy, I will focus on an issue that many active Facebook users come across: an addiction for Facebook. Some people will find themselves going on Facebook not only once a day but up to five times a day, causing them to waste valuable time doing pointless things. My proposal is to limit time on Facebook by giving each Facebook user a total of 2 hours max on Facebook per day. How this will work is that once signed on to Facebook, an automatic timer will go off and the two hours will be counted down. It doesn't matter how many times one gets on Facebook, however it cannot exceed the time limit of two hours. This will allow users, mainly college and high school students, to succeed better in school and complete homework on time. Limited Facebook time will significantly lessen procrastination.

Writing Assignment #5

First text:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmHiUjr_iMg&feature=channel
Kenny G's songs seem to me to create a sense of pleasure and are relaxing.

Second text:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZM94aBsvwA
I find every Friends episode to be hilarious, but this is one of my favorites.

Topic Proposal # 2

Is Facebook risky or an overall fun, safe social networking site ?

Facebook, the most popular social networking site, may or may not be seen as a risk for those who use it. The amount of privacy one feels they have influences they way they feel about the site.

Northamption Now "Facebook: The Pros and Cons"
The amount of information a user wants to share can be controlled by that individual. One can change their privacy settings in order to control who can and who cannot access his/her personal profile. It is very important to mantain who has access to your profile, for job interviews for example. You can control what networks can view your profile, therefore if a potential employer is an alumni of your own network, there is a privacy setting in which no alumni can access your info. If you pay attention to what you post on your page to a minimum and refrain from posting things such as address, phone number, or class schedule, you can enjoy the fun features of Facebook without having to worry about stalkers. There are plenty of options to keep your profile limited and only accessible to certain people, which makes Facebook o.k.

"Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck: Exposure, Invasion, and Drama"
People using Facebook feel their privacy is taken from them due to the amount that their personal information is exposed and invasion of other Facebook users. The "news feed" can expose every single detail of what one does on Facebook, from what one posts on friends' Facebooks to what groups one joins. It is very common that not every friend one has on their "Friend list" is actually a close friend and therefore many people don't want all their personal information shown to people who they hardly know. In terms of invasion, Facebook is a "hot-spot" for gossip. The latest breakups or hookups can be announced through Facebook which then leads to gossip. Therefore, Facebook user's personal profiles are somewhat invaded by other people who thrive on gossip. What one posts on their profile forms their identity. Some people may feel controlled by Facebook because they try so hard to impress those who can access their profile.

Ars technica" "Facebook not safe enough for minors"
Although Facebook is advertised as a safe site, sex offenders are active on the site. Minors can gain access to pornographic material such as photos or through groups encouraging pornography. Although this issue was brought before the Facebook administers, they took no action to keep pornography off the site. Aside from suggestive pictures and risky groups, sexual predators may friend request a Facebook user, and if the user accepts their request, it could lead to potential sex crimes.

Cnet News: "Hackers Target Facebook Apps"
Those who develop Facebook applications are unaware of privacy issues, and therefore hackers can gain access to people's personal information who add these certain applications.

Essay 2 topics

1. privacy and Facebook
2. Lowering the drinking age

No Justice, No Foul

A lot of the cases that were mentioned I didn't know enough about to understand how the game of basketball related to the outcomes. Near vs. Minnesota, Hirabayashi vs. US, and Bakke vs. California are the cases in which I was the most confused with. For the other cases, however, I could understand the relation. I think comparing court cases and basketball is a very clever and unique approach. It helps that I used to play basketball and know the rules and regulations, but for someone who knows hardly anything about the game would have a difficult time following any of this.

Outline of first topic proposal

· What is the purpose of the argument? What does it hope to achieve?

Carr and Greeves ask the audience:” Does our ability to laugh make humans fitter to survive, and has it helped us to become the number one ape?” Carr and Greeves bring up this argument to support the claim that human laughter makes humans successful species. Laughter must serve some sort of purpose and this is what Carr and Greeves are trying to figure out. They hope to achieve success in their theory by arguing in favor of humans.

· What appeals or techniques does the argument use – emotional, logical, and ethical?

It is emotional in that it provides the visual image of animals laughing which is appealing to the audience.
Logical in that we are provided with the theory that animals have the ability to laugh also, which acts as a contradictory to the argument Carr and Greeves are trying to prove right. The theory that animals laugh, is backed up by examples of research that was done on gorillas and rats. These tests on animals apparently proved that animals do laugh.
Ethical in that human laughter differs from animal laughter due to the different types of humor that each responds to. It is ethical that animals do not have the same sense of humor as humans for humans are better educated and understand more concepts.


· What are the facts used in the argument? What logic (logos)? What evidence? How is evidence arranged and presented?

Facts: Research that gorillas chuckle when tickled, but a chimp’s laugh isn’t the same as a human’s. In a lab rats have been tickled and in effect they chirrup. More sophisticated beasts have a sense of humor that allows them to appreciate simple practical jokes-chimpanzee made the sign for “funny”. Apes may have a sense of humor but cannot compare to human’s sense of humor. The complexity of our jokes would confuse chimps. Humans can claim the ability to make jokes and make others laugh. Although animals may do something funny they can’t actually express it verbally which may make it less comedic. The evidence comes from research and is presented in a manner building up to the conclusion that humans are the number one apes.


· How does the language or style of the argument work to persuade an audience?
Carr and Greeves first present us with the actual argument and then go on to explain possible factors in which humans and animals share the common characteristic of laughter but conclude with the idea that the humor that animals and humans respond to is not comparable and therefore human laughter is much more successful.

Writing Assignment # 2

Throughout the chapters I have read so far in Comedy Writing Secrets, the author emphasizes the most on connecting with the audience in order to be a successful comedian. I found this most intriguing because many aspiring comedians tend to overlook this concept and in effect offend their audience. I was introduced to the MAP method, material, audience and performer, which forms a triangular shape that puts the audience at the top. Focusing primarily on the audience gives any comedian the insight to what type of material to present. For a comedian to be successful he/she must be able to connect with the audience. Not all material is suitable for different audiences. What an audience full of sophisticated lawyers thinks is funny, an audience of teenagers/young adults may find boring. One thing however that will attract any crowd is the use of realistic humor. The extent to which one uses reality however, is where the audience comes into play. Reality is one of the most favored topics by any person because all individuals can relate to it in some way. This is how a comedian connects with his/her audience. To use reality correctly, one must understand what reality is and focus on the type of reality that the audience pertains to. The reality of one type of audience cannot be used successfully for another type. For example, conservatives versus liberals: their views are obviously different. Sexual jokes or poking fun at politics or religion are topics that a comedian must be very careful with.
The reason I chose this concept out of all the others taught throughout these chapters is because as the author said, the connection with the audience is the most important. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on using reality as a base for one’s jokes, but exaggerating them a bit. Learning this gave me new insight to what type of things I should focus on when writing my material. I, however, was left confused on how I could master the technique of talking about reality by expanding on it with exaggeration. One thing the author could have done possibly is give different methods of approach using realism plus exaggeration all in one.
My favorite comedian is Dane Cook. In my eyes he has mastered the technique of connecting with the audience. Dane Cook uses real-life situations in every one of his shows because he knows that this type of humor is most appealing to them. The majority of his audience consists of young to middle age adults. Dane Cook can relate with his audience because he himself is also a young adult and the things he experiences closely relate to the daily lives of his audience. Beside the material, however, his success also comes from the way he presents his shows. Dane Cook is successful because he actively engages in his jokes, mainly by acting out his stories. He knows exactly how and what to present to his fans.

One of Dane Cook’s shows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftznGL-qkzk

Aside from the facts taken from Comedy Writing Secrets and the videos of Dane Cook’s performances, I could further support this claim by doing research on other famous comedians and analyzing their approach on how they please their audiences.

Writing Response #1

In chapter one of Comedy Writing Secrets, we are presented with the idea that anyone can acquire humor. Chapter one gives us several exercises to strengthen our imagination. An easy exercise that gets one’s imagination flowing is simply to ask oneself “What if” and think of all possible answers, no matter if they sound ridiculous. This chapter focuses on the importance of becoming humorous in both speech and writing. Humor is vital to life because it is the easiest way to make a conversation successful. Humor oftentimes acts as the “ice-breaker” for a conversation. People who are viewed as being humorous are said to gain “respectful attention”. From lectures in class to advertisement, using humor gets attention. But it is not only the way that one presents information that is important, but also the type of audience one is trying to persuade. In any type of comedy, either in print or stand-up, if the type of humor used does not match the audience’s interests, the audience may be offended. By using the MAP process: Material, Audience, and Performer, one can become a successful comedian easily.
In Laughing Matters, the author is trying to portray to readers that understanding comedy is the key to becoming a successful humorist. We are introduced to a deeper look at what laughter actually means. When a comedian is applauded by laughter, he/she has successfully gotten through to the audience. Comedy acts as a corrective to social behavior. When the audience responds with laughter to a humorous upbringing of a social problem, they are accepting the problem and becoming better people. However laughter does not like to be in isolation. Laughter rather enjoys company; therefore, an idea will seem more humorous if presented to more than one person. Furthermore, the author presents us with different situations in which he finds humor.
In response to both readings I found myself to understand more clearly what Comedy Writing Secrets had to say. To me Laughing Matters tended to use richer words that were harder to comprehend. Although several points did catch my attention, oftentimes I was confused to what the author was trying to get across to his readers and ended up reading pages several times to try and grasp the basic concept. I liked how in Comedy Writing Secrets, readers were introduced to exercises that encouraged humor. What also kept my attention were the funny quotes throughout the chapter. It is true what this chapter points out: the use of humor in reading or listening captures the audience and gets the point across easily. After reading the chapter I feel more encouraged that I can become a successful comedian, simply by following the steps this chapter presents.

Question: Besides what I picked up from the reading in Laughing Matters, what else was the author trying to tell us?