Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
CoverGirl ad- VolumeExact and LashExact mascara
I thought the target audience for this ad would all women but especially those who know who Rihanna is. Since Rihanna is the celebrity endorsing the product you have to know who she is in order to be persuaded to buy the product. If you were a woman and did not know who Rihanna was the ad would not mean as much and you would probably look right over it. This ad would be effective because it shows the mascara at work. In the ad Rihanna is obviously wearing mascara and the reader will assume that it is either VolumeExact or LashExact. CoverGirl always uses beautiful and powerful women in their ads. Many fans think that Rihanna is wonderful and has a powerful voice in todays society. She is a good role model for young girls and that is why CoverGirl chose her to endorse these mascaras.
Thinks that the ad could use to improve its quality are; a statement from Rihanna talking about how much she likes the two mascaras, a better discription of what they’re meant to do, and maybe even a sister ad with a “normal” woman on it. Maybe if women see an average woman like themselves in the ad they would be more likely to buy the product. A commercial to go along with the print ad would help as well. That way more people are hearing about and seeing the wonderful new addition to the CoverGirl line.
I believe that this ad I a wonderful piece of advertisement and with a few minor adjustments it will make women so excited about trying the new mascara. Ads for new products don’t always work right off the bat, but I am confident in the Rihanna CoverGirl ad.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Rhetoric of the Media
1. The first ad I looked at was a commercial for Nutrisystem. This made me think of eating healthy and I began to question what I had eaten today. The second ad I looked at was a CoverGirl mascara ad with Rhianna in it. This ad make me think about what mascara I use and if its really achieves what its supposed to.
2. The Nutrisystem commercial is trying to show the benefits of eating their food and that many Americans think they are overweight because they have testimonies in the commercial. The CoverGirl ad is trying to convince women that they should car about what they look like. They do this by putting a beautiful woman (Rhianna) in the ad. She is endorsing CoverGirls product.
3. The use-value of Nutrisystem is that if you join their program you can lose weight. The exchange-value is that using a system is easier than doing it on your own. This is the general theme with weigh loss programs like Weight-Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. The use-value of the CoverGirl mascara is you can use it to make your eyelashes longer or have more volume which will inturn make you pretty. The exchange-value is that CoverGirl is a trusted makeup brand and what woman wantes to use generic makeup?
4. The audience for Nutrisystem would be adults that are unhappy with their weight. I would expect to see this in health magazines, cooking magazines, or home magazines. The audience for CoverGirl would be women/girls starting around the age of 14. This ad could be found in any women's magazines (I found it in Cosmo).
1. The first ad I looked at was a commercial for Nutrisystem. This made me think of eating healthy and I began to question what I had eaten today. The second ad I looked at was a CoverGirl mascara ad with Rhianna in it. This ad make me think about what mascara I use and if its really achieves what its supposed to.
2. The Nutrisystem commercial is trying to show the benefits of eating their food and that many Americans think they are overweight because they have testimonies in the commercial. The CoverGirl ad is trying to convince women that they should car about what they look like. They do this by putting a beautiful woman (Rhianna) in the ad. She is endorsing CoverGirls product.
3. The use-value of Nutrisystem is that if you join their program you can lose weight. The exchange-value is that using a system is easier than doing it on your own. This is the general theme with weigh loss programs like Weight-Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. The use-value of the CoverGirl mascara is you can use it to make your eyelashes longer or have more volume which will inturn make you pretty. The exchange-value is that CoverGirl is a trusted makeup brand and what woman wantes to use generic makeup?
4. The audience for Nutrisystem would be adults that are unhappy with their weight. I would expect to see this in health magazines, cooking magazines, or home magazines. The audience for CoverGirl would be women/girls starting around the age of 14. This ad could be found in any women's magazines (I found it in Cosmo).
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
For the Onion:
American perception of beauty vs other countries' perceptions of beauty
Thesis: America has the most ridiculous, unnecessary, and unreachable beauty goals.
-compare and contrast other countries' ideas of beauty
extremes: rings around necks, stick through the nose, bald, multiple piercings, etc
-highlight american ideas of beauty: stick thin, blonde, full lips, etc
-pictures to help the comparison
American perception of beauty vs other countries' perceptions of beauty
Thesis: America has the most ridiculous, unnecessary, and unreachable beauty goals.
-compare and contrast other countries' ideas of beauty
extremes: rings around necks, stick through the nose, bald, multiple piercings, etc
-highlight american ideas of beauty: stick thin, blonde, full lips, etc
-pictures to help the comparison
Monday, March 2, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNjLUPqckWY
Carolina In My Mind-emotion
http://asil.logicalinsanity.ca/300college%20paper.html
College Paper-funny
Carolina In My Mind-emotion
http://asil.logicalinsanity.ca/300college%20paper.html
College Paper-funny
Monday, February 23, 2009
Topic: How does music influence children/adolescents?
Topic definied: music- includes anytype of music (classical, rap, country, ecclectic, vulgar, christian, etc)
influence- correlation between music listened to and behavior
Sources:
1.The Impact of Music on Children and Adolesccent Achievement (from EBSCOhost)
-This article focuses on the association between music and academic achievement. It takes a clearly positive opinion of musical influence. The article talks about studies done concerning music participation in the school, outside of school, and parental involvement (such as attending concerts)
2. Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Better Be Prepared: An Analysis of the Rare Sexual Health Messages in Young Adolescents' Media (from EBSCOhost)
-This article discussed the very little and very inaccurate sexual health information in the media (music, television, movies, and magazines). It shows a very negative view of the influence of music, along with other media sources, on adolescents, especially concerning their sexual behaviors.
3. Influence of Music on Youth Behaviors (from EBSCOhost)
-This article discusses the possitve relationship between violence and substence abuse in songs and substance abuse and violence in listeners. This article takes the position that adolescents who listen to music which promotes/talks about drug use, sex, and/or violence are more likely to abuse drugs, have sex, and use violence.
4. Rock, rap, and rebellion: comparisons of traits predicting selective exposure to defiant music (from EBSCOhost)
-This article focuses on a study done where adolescents were put in a room and got to choose differenet music to listen to. The choices were recorded and then compared to participants behavior and level of inhibition.
Topic definied: music- includes anytype of music (classical, rap, country, ecclectic, vulgar, christian, etc)
influence- correlation between music listened to and behavior
Sources:
1.The Impact of Music on Children and Adolesccent Achievement (from EBSCOhost)
-This article focuses on the association between music and academic achievement. It takes a clearly positive opinion of musical influence. The article talks about studies done concerning music participation in the school, outside of school, and parental involvement (such as attending concerts)
2. Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Better Be Prepared: An Analysis of the Rare Sexual Health Messages in Young Adolescents' Media (from EBSCOhost)
-This article discussed the very little and very inaccurate sexual health information in the media (music, television, movies, and magazines). It shows a very negative view of the influence of music, along with other media sources, on adolescents, especially concerning their sexual behaviors.
3. Influence of Music on Youth Behaviors (from EBSCOhost)
-This article discusses the possitve relationship between violence and substence abuse in songs and substance abuse and violence in listeners. This article takes the position that adolescents who listen to music which promotes/talks about drug use, sex, and/or violence are more likely to abuse drugs, have sex, and use violence.
4. Rock, rap, and rebellion: comparisons of traits predicting selective exposure to defiant music (from EBSCOhost)
-This article focuses on a study done where adolescents were put in a room and got to choose differenet music to listen to. The choices were recorded and then compared to participants behavior and level of inhibition.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
topic proposal
Elizabeth Spivey
January 29, 2008
Topic Proposal
English 102
I want to write about why ridicule is necessary in humor for my first essay. The questions I want to focus on are 1. What is the purpose of the argument? What does it hope to achieve? 2. What appeals or techniques does the argument use- emotional, logical, and ethical? 3. What are the facts used in the argument? What logic? What evidence? How is evidence arranged and presented? and 4. What are the contexts- social, political, historical, cultural- for this argument? Whose interest does it serve? Who gains or loses by it?
The first question has a simple answer. The point of this argument is to show how useful ridicule can be. It can be both an offensive and defensive mechanism. In Laughing Matters the section on ridicule is entitled “Ridicule: An Instrument in the War on Terrorism” so the whole article pertains to war but is meant literally and as a metaphor. Whoever reads this article can apply the facts and techniques illustrated to their own personal “war”, whatever it may be.
The argument strongly focuses on emotional and logical techniques. Obviously ridicule is going to pull on emotions. Everyone has been ridiculed or laughed at at some point in their lives. Now like I said before this article talks about it on a much larger scale than what happens at recess but the same principles can be applied. J. Michael Waller, the author, tries to get the reader to understand that ridicule is an emotional battlefield. If you’re going to go to war you have to go full force and know how to throw the punches as well as defend yourself from them. He gives plenty of examples to illustrate the emotional effects that ridicule has on individuals as well as whole countries. I also think the argument uses logical techniques because it makes sense that if you laugh at someone their spirits will be down. No one wants to do the stupid thing that everyone makes fun of later, so Waller points out that it is logical that if you want to hurt someone or something ridicule them.
The facts presented in the argument are a lot of examples where ridicule has been used in the world of politics and warfare. One example Waller gave was of Ceaser when he banned any type ridicule from the people that was directed towards him or his empire. Waller gives a ton of other examples where people in political power ban any sort of ridicule that is directed towards them or their peer leaders.
The contexts in this article are social, political, historical, and cultural. This question kind of goes hand in hand with the third question I’m talking about. Many of the examples Waller gives are historical and political in nature, but I know that it will be easy to find examples dealing with social and cultural ridicule.
January 29, 2008
Topic Proposal
English 102
I want to write about why ridicule is necessary in humor for my first essay. The questions I want to focus on are 1. What is the purpose of the argument? What does it hope to achieve? 2. What appeals or techniques does the argument use- emotional, logical, and ethical? 3. What are the facts used in the argument? What logic? What evidence? How is evidence arranged and presented? and 4. What are the contexts- social, political, historical, cultural- for this argument? Whose interest does it serve? Who gains or loses by it?
The first question has a simple answer. The point of this argument is to show how useful ridicule can be. It can be both an offensive and defensive mechanism. In Laughing Matters the section on ridicule is entitled “Ridicule: An Instrument in the War on Terrorism” so the whole article pertains to war but is meant literally and as a metaphor. Whoever reads this article can apply the facts and techniques illustrated to their own personal “war”, whatever it may be.
The argument strongly focuses on emotional and logical techniques. Obviously ridicule is going to pull on emotions. Everyone has been ridiculed or laughed at at some point in their lives. Now like I said before this article talks about it on a much larger scale than what happens at recess but the same principles can be applied. J. Michael Waller, the author, tries to get the reader to understand that ridicule is an emotional battlefield. If you’re going to go to war you have to go full force and know how to throw the punches as well as defend yourself from them. He gives plenty of examples to illustrate the emotional effects that ridicule has on individuals as well as whole countries. I also think the argument uses logical techniques because it makes sense that if you laugh at someone their spirits will be down. No one wants to do the stupid thing that everyone makes fun of later, so Waller points out that it is logical that if you want to hurt someone or something ridicule them.
The facts presented in the argument are a lot of examples where ridicule has been used in the world of politics and warfare. One example Waller gave was of Ceaser when he banned any type ridicule from the people that was directed towards him or his empire. Waller gives a ton of other examples where people in political power ban any sort of ridicule that is directed towards them or their peer leaders.
The contexts in this article are social, political, historical, and cultural. This question kind of goes hand in hand with the third question I’m talking about. Many of the examples Waller gives are historical and political in nature, but I know that it will be easy to find examples dealing with social and cultural ridicule.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Elizabeth Spivey
January 27, 2009
Short Answer Response
English 102
The point that stuck out the most from our last couple readings had to be the health benefits of laughter. I have heard that ever since I was a little girl and I really enjoyed reading about other peoples’ thoughts on that topic. I especially liked reading about Norman Cousins who was nearly paralyzed in the mid-1960s. He told his doctors that he believed that laughing would cure him and so he refused conventional treatment. Later in his life, Norman suffered a major heart attack and recovered, yet again, by laughing.
In Laughing Matters there are quite a few pages that discuss the neuroscience behind laughter and why it is connected to pleasure zones in the brain. I think it makes total sense that laughing and pleasure go hand-in-hand. I think it is important to discuss the benefits of laughing because it is probably the easiest way to de-stress your life. All you have to do in pop in a funny movie or go to youtube where there are infinite laughs to be found.
The article I found about the physical benefits of laughter reiterates all the points in Laughing Matters and Comedy Writing Secrets. The article describes how and where to find humor. I strongly agree with all the points the article makes.
http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/laughter.htm
January 27, 2009
Short Answer Response
English 102
The point that stuck out the most from our last couple readings had to be the health benefits of laughter. I have heard that ever since I was a little girl and I really enjoyed reading about other peoples’ thoughts on that topic. I especially liked reading about Norman Cousins who was nearly paralyzed in the mid-1960s. He told his doctors that he believed that laughing would cure him and so he refused conventional treatment. Later in his life, Norman suffered a major heart attack and recovered, yet again, by laughing.
In Laughing Matters there are quite a few pages that discuss the neuroscience behind laughter and why it is connected to pleasure zones in the brain. I think it makes total sense that laughing and pleasure go hand-in-hand. I think it is important to discuss the benefits of laughing because it is probably the easiest way to de-stress your life. All you have to do in pop in a funny movie or go to youtube where there are infinite laughs to be found.
The article I found about the physical benefits of laughter reiterates all the points in Laughing Matters and Comedy Writing Secrets. The article describes how and where to find humor. I strongly agree with all the points the article makes.
http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/laughter.htm
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
reflection 2
Elizabeth Spivey
January 22, 2009
Reflection 2
English 102
Since I am a pre-med psychology major I was very interested in tonight’s reading. Everyone knows what laughing is, but I liked reading about the actual science behind a laugh. The paragraph in Laughing Matters that discussed the limbic system and the neurological process of a laugh was very informative. Also something that I had never heard before was the laughter is caused by the release of tension. In other words laughter is figuring out that something that you thought could be potentially harmful is not harmful at all. The example of the baby seeing a big, dark, hairy creature standing over them rings true to my heart. When I was a little girl I was deathly afraid of tall men with dark hair. That was unfortunate because almost every man in my family is tall with dark hair. I would cry and hide in my bedroom during family functions. Finally the men rallied together and found out that I had a love of M&Ms and tickle fights. Once the men were able to make me laugh with candy bribes and tickle fights I realized that they posed absolutely no threat.
I loved the section in Laughing Matters about Patch Adams. I’ve seen the movie a hundred times and even though the book makes fun of it I think it’s a wonderful movie (a little sad at the end though). “Comic relief is a major way for happy folk to dissipate pain. In a healthier world, humor would be a way of life. People would be funny as a rule, not an exception. One of the best aids in the transition from a ‘heavy’ to a ‘light’ existence is to open up the comedian in oneself” is a quote from Patch Adams. I agree with this theory one hundred percent. I think that the world would be a much happier place if people just let go and made fun of life. Too often our society is so completely wound up in the seriousness of life that no one can enjoy it. Everyone should be able to make a joke but it seems to be a trying task for way too many people.
The first reason for laughter that Comedy Writing Secrets gives is surprise. After reading through some to the examples in the book I realized that that reason is completely true. No one wants to know the end of a joke because it just is not as funny. This happens with funny movies too. Take Knocked Up for example. If you watched Knocked Up once a week for a year the jokes would become mundane and it would be hard to get a chuckle out of you let alone a full blown laugh. Leading the audience off track right before the punch line is genius. Because then not only do they think the joke was funny but they also laugh at their own stupidity for thinking they knew what was coming.
Question to the class:
-Do you think that all laughter is a release of tension after finding out that something is not threatening?
January 22, 2009
Reflection 2
English 102
Since I am a pre-med psychology major I was very interested in tonight’s reading. Everyone knows what laughing is, but I liked reading about the actual science behind a laugh. The paragraph in Laughing Matters that discussed the limbic system and the neurological process of a laugh was very informative. Also something that I had never heard before was the laughter is caused by the release of tension. In other words laughter is figuring out that something that you thought could be potentially harmful is not harmful at all. The example of the baby seeing a big, dark, hairy creature standing over them rings true to my heart. When I was a little girl I was deathly afraid of tall men with dark hair. That was unfortunate because almost every man in my family is tall with dark hair. I would cry and hide in my bedroom during family functions. Finally the men rallied together and found out that I had a love of M&Ms and tickle fights. Once the men were able to make me laugh with candy bribes and tickle fights I realized that they posed absolutely no threat.
I loved the section in Laughing Matters about Patch Adams. I’ve seen the movie a hundred times and even though the book makes fun of it I think it’s a wonderful movie (a little sad at the end though). “Comic relief is a major way for happy folk to dissipate pain. In a healthier world, humor would be a way of life. People would be funny as a rule, not an exception. One of the best aids in the transition from a ‘heavy’ to a ‘light’ existence is to open up the comedian in oneself” is a quote from Patch Adams. I agree with this theory one hundred percent. I think that the world would be a much happier place if people just let go and made fun of life. Too often our society is so completely wound up in the seriousness of life that no one can enjoy it. Everyone should be able to make a joke but it seems to be a trying task for way too many people.
The first reason for laughter that Comedy Writing Secrets gives is surprise. After reading through some to the examples in the book I realized that that reason is completely true. No one wants to know the end of a joke because it just is not as funny. This happens with funny movies too. Take Knocked Up for example. If you watched Knocked Up once a week for a year the jokes would become mundane and it would be hard to get a chuckle out of you let alone a full blown laugh. Leading the audience off track right before the punch line is genius. Because then not only do they think the joke was funny but they also laugh at their own stupidity for thinking they knew what was coming.
Question to the class:
-Do you think that all laughter is a release of tension after finding out that something is not threatening?
Monday, January 19, 2009
reflection 1
Elizabeth Spivey
January 20, 2009
Reflection
English 102
There were two things that really caught my eye while reading Chapter 1 of Comedy Writing Secrets. The first was a quote by Steven Wright, “What if you tell a joke in the forest, and nobody laughs? Is it still a joke?” After reading that I for some odd reason automatically thoughts of the ever looming question, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around the hear it does it make a sound? I have no idea why I thought of that but it somewhat follows the same pattern. If you tell a joke and there isn’t anyone there to laugh would you still consider it a joke? I believe that as long as something makes you smile it can be a joke. I come up with jokes all the time and keep them to myself. I guess they help me through the day sometimes. But those jokes don’t ever make anyone laugh because I don’t usually end up telling them. They make me smile though, so my answer to Steven Wright’s question is that yes a joke is still a joke if no one laughs.
The second thing that caught my eye in Chapter 1 was the blurb about laughing doing for the psyche what running does for the body. I remember reading and hearing from numerous sources that the more a person laughs the longer they are expected to live. Now of course this cannot be counting when things like freak accidents come into play. But I definitely agree that laughing is good for the mind, body, and soul. Nothing brings a person out of a slump like a good, belly-shaking laugh. In my favorite movie, Sex and the City, Carrie is left at the altar. Her three best girlfriends accompany her to Mexico on what should have been her honeymoon. Carrie one morning, after sleeping through the better part of the trip, asks if she will ever laugh again. Her friends assure that when something is really funny she will laugh. A few scenes later something hilarious happens and sure enough Carrie laughs. I’m not saying the laughing made all of her pain go away but it definitely started to mend some of the wounds.
While reading “Relaxing the Rules of Reason” by Robin Hemley in Laughing Matters, I found myself nodding my head along with most everything she was saying. To me her most resonating point was that funny is where you find it. Everyone is so different so of course an 18 year old sorority girl is not going to find the same thing funny as an 80 year old retired man. What you find funny depends on how you were raised, how old you are, your race, your socio-economic standing, and many other factors. I am someone that finds racial humor very rude and offensive, but many people think it is the height of funny. I think people definitely need to know their audience before they start shooting off jokes.
Question for the class:
-Do you think it’s easier to make jokes when things aren’t going well or when everything is great?
-“A humorist tell himself every morning, “I hope it’s going to be a rough day.” When things are going well, it’s much harder to make jokes”
Alan Coren
January 20, 2009
Reflection
English 102
There were two things that really caught my eye while reading Chapter 1 of Comedy Writing Secrets. The first was a quote by Steven Wright, “What if you tell a joke in the forest, and nobody laughs? Is it still a joke?” After reading that I for some odd reason automatically thoughts of the ever looming question, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around the hear it does it make a sound? I have no idea why I thought of that but it somewhat follows the same pattern. If you tell a joke and there isn’t anyone there to laugh would you still consider it a joke? I believe that as long as something makes you smile it can be a joke. I come up with jokes all the time and keep them to myself. I guess they help me through the day sometimes. But those jokes don’t ever make anyone laugh because I don’t usually end up telling them. They make me smile though, so my answer to Steven Wright’s question is that yes a joke is still a joke if no one laughs.
The second thing that caught my eye in Chapter 1 was the blurb about laughing doing for the psyche what running does for the body. I remember reading and hearing from numerous sources that the more a person laughs the longer they are expected to live. Now of course this cannot be counting when things like freak accidents come into play. But I definitely agree that laughing is good for the mind, body, and soul. Nothing brings a person out of a slump like a good, belly-shaking laugh. In my favorite movie, Sex and the City, Carrie is left at the altar. Her three best girlfriends accompany her to Mexico on what should have been her honeymoon. Carrie one morning, after sleeping through the better part of the trip, asks if she will ever laugh again. Her friends assure that when something is really funny she will laugh. A few scenes later something hilarious happens and sure enough Carrie laughs. I’m not saying the laughing made all of her pain go away but it definitely started to mend some of the wounds.
While reading “Relaxing the Rules of Reason” by Robin Hemley in Laughing Matters, I found myself nodding my head along with most everything she was saying. To me her most resonating point was that funny is where you find it. Everyone is so different so of course an 18 year old sorority girl is not going to find the same thing funny as an 80 year old retired man. What you find funny depends on how you were raised, how old you are, your race, your socio-economic standing, and many other factors. I am someone that finds racial humor very rude and offensive, but many people think it is the height of funny. I think people definitely need to know their audience before they start shooting off jokes.
Question for the class:
-Do you think it’s easier to make jokes when things aren’t going well or when everything is great?
-“A humorist tell himself every morning, “I hope it’s going to be a rough day.” When things are going well, it’s much harder to make jokes”
Alan Coren
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