TOW #3- Most Shocking Second a Day

Honestly, I would say that I am extremely critical of TV advertisements because I feel as if most of the times the directors demonstrate life in a false way, or it’s always “hey jump on the bandwagon!” For example, a Proactive commercial, a commercial where the spokesperson varies from Julianne Hough to Jessica Simpson to Katy Perry to some other famous female; the commercial, I feel, basically says “hey if you use proactive your skin will be as clear as Selena Gomez”, when in fact they most likely pay hundreds to get their face to look that way. They deceive their audience with Photoshop and a lot of makeup with the ultimate purpose to make money. Just because a majority preach falsely, doesn’t mean they all do. So, I chose “Most Shocking Second a Day” a commercial directed by Martin Sterling and the foundation Save the Children. It was incredibly effective for me. Martin Sterling is well-known due to this commercial, but other than that he has done little videos here and there. Basically, the commercial addresses the life of a little girl living in a war in London, however it’s actually based off the war in Syria and the children being effected, which could be hard to spot because it’s in the background. He spreads little hints throughout like the guy screaming about the war in when she is exiting the car, or her father holding a newspaper with a headline pertaining to war while she is watching television. Within a year it shows how she becomes homeless and a fatherless refugee. It then ends with “just because it isn’t happening here doesn’t mean it isn’t happening”; the purpose is to display how disastrous events are going on everywhere in the world, and even though sometimes we do not face it, doesn’t make it less important. Personally, I thought it demonstrated more than to donate to their foundation. It shows that just because we don’t understand something, does not mean we get to judge it. Obviously, its audience is towards everyone because not only donating helps, whereas so does being aware. Sterling uses a great amount of pathos, tone, and mood through the characters. It’s effective because it doesn’t make the viewer feel guilty or saddened, but more conscious about their surroundings. As well as it isn’t as forceful as maybe a SPCA commercial. Overall, it allowed me to become aware of how thankful I am and to be more empathetic of others situations.  

TOW #2- Once More to the Lake by E.B White

Once More to the Lake, written by E.B White, is a short story that demonstrates the relationship between his son and him. White tells tales from his childhood lake house, where he then brings his son many years later and ultimately faces his internal conflict. E. B White is known for writing children books such as Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and is a contributor to the New Yorker magazine. For most of the story he is at the lake with his son, which acts as the constant through the story; a symbol that he reinforces several times. From the beginning he presents a very playful and positive tone towards the readers, which is accomplished through his word choice. His general audience is people who struggled with moving on that can relate to what he was going through, which in his case is moving on from his memories. Despite the fact that he writes a very interesting and detailed packed autobiography he could have caused confusion due to the quick time jumping. He tends to jump from his experiences as a child to his son’s experiences; this allows confusion because it may be difficult to distinguish the two characters. The reader’s quickly learn that he is scared to go back to the lake in fear that it has changed and his son won’t get the same experience as he did as a young boy. I found the story line to be confusing to follow and he could have used better rhetorical devices than he did. I felt as if his whole story was made up of imagery, and did a great job including the five senses, but because it was difficult to follow I didn’t know what character he was using. The conflict that White faces is distinguishing himself from his son and realizing that he is growing older, getting closer to death. He notices that the lake hasn’t changed, but something is different, with that being said the readers learn that he is the changing variable. Ultimately his purpose was probably to entertain his reader, and to demonstrate the struggles he faced in hopes to connect with the readers, which is some ways he successfully did.

TOW # 1 Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.

     Martin Luther King, Jr. is a well known activist and leader during the African-American Civil Rights Movement in 1955. In the Letter from Birmingham, Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses the issues during the civil rights movement to clergymen, who had previously criticized his actions. At the time the letter was written is was of course to the clergymen, but as it is read to day it can be addressed to just about anyone. In the letter he reveals his ambitions behind the actions he took for justice and why he took part in non-violent protests. Also his purpose is to show the universal justice he was trying to achieve. One rhetorical device he used often was an allusion, basically referring to the bible, as well as connecting to the bible. I think this can allow him to connect with his readers, which might evoke the readers interest. Ultimately, he was trying to help the clergymen better understand where he was coming at, hoping they would the reality of the situation. He essentially did a good job presenting his thoughts in a structured way, but overtime I know he did revise the letter multiple times due to other complaints.

IRB # 1- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

     I have decided to read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell for a couple of reasons. I was extremely clueless on what I wanted to read, so I, of course, asked around. While asking around I came across The Tipping Point. I also became very interested in it because I have read bits of Blink, another book by Malcolm Gladwell, and from the little blurbs I read I enjoyed the message/meaning behind the word "blink". Last but not least, I am very interested in the study of the mind and psychology and from the description of the book on the back, as well as other Malcolm Gladwell books, it tends to revolve around that. Hopefully the book will turn out as good as I expected!