Girl Power

"Rosie the Riveter" has become an iconic image showing a woman curling her arm up in strength in a working uniform shouting, "We Can Do It!" I have no doubt that just about everyone has seen this picture before. This image has many different appeals and audiences. It appeals towards both women and men because it shows the power women have and subliminally states that women are not the "inferior sex." At the time the image was created women took over for men in factories during World War II so more men could be sent over-seas to fight. The factories would have been shut down had it not been for the women who stepped up and took the mens' places at work. Logically it is an appeal stating the capability that women have to do "men's work" and that they are able to run a household as well as a factory. Ethically it is an appeal because it shows the importance of a woman in society not just in the home but in the work force and not just across America but also world-wide. Emotionally it is an appeal to both the senses with the bright colors which shine excitement but it also gives every woman a sense of pride towards the things that we have accomplished. This iconic image has been posted everywhere from schools to bedrooms and I believe that it is an image filled with POWER if nothing else. 

In Class: What is Rhetorical Analysis?

When reading Chapter 5 in Everything's An Argument I got a better feel for what rhetorical analysis really is rather than just hearing the phrase and recognizing that I had heard it before. I think of rhetorical analysis as analyzing all the arguments a subject is trying to make whether it be a tv advertisement, a bumper sticker, a t-shirt, a moral or ethical debate, etc. Whatever the case may be the rhetorical analysis of it is everything you see in the argument, ethos, pathos, logos and then some. The thing that struck me about the chapter was the spectrum of analyzes that can be made from the subject being observed. It can be as unimportant as appealing to an audience of a lingerie add or a plea to save lives and pain of victims of drunk driving accidents. Rhetorical analysis to me is a broad term defining the points everyday objects or things we view every second of our day that could actually be making a point and our observation of what point it is trying to make through its existence. I'm not sure if I still completely understand the phrase to a "T" but I feel like I have a better idea of what rhetorical analysis is.

V-DAY

I was not expecting the Vagina Monologues to be quite so vivid, humorous, or moving. I was presently surprised that the performance included not only serious topics but amidst those monologues there were also comedic ones and very honest monologues. As I sat down at the performance I took a quick glance around me and saw that the auditorium was filled with mainly females and what it looked to be very few boyfriends who had been undoubtedly dragged along with their girlfriends for a "fun" Valentine's Day performance. As the women entered the stage they sat in a very comfortable arrangement on two couches surrounding coffee tables which made me feel as though this was more of a discussion with my long time gal pals. The beginning shocked me because the hosts went over all the names a vagina could be called and many of them were extremely funny sounding and unfamiliar to me. Being a nursing student I am used to hearing the word vagina but I am still very apprehensive to say the word myself because I feel like it is such a personal subject to be talking about and a topic that should be kept within closed doors. The ladies on stage however were not at all shy using any variation of the word...not at all. My favorite monologue was the one about the different types of moans women make because it made me laugh out loud in my seat. I loved the show and I will definitely be seeing another performance when the time comes around again.

Appeals of a Cowtown Tradition

After my first few observations at the Fort Worth Stockyards I realized that there is a much wider variety of appeals than I once thought.

The first appeal that really stood out to me was an emotional appeal. As anyone in the country even dare I say it, the world, can see Texans are a very proud group of people. Anything to appeal towards the history of Texas is of course a go in whatever part of the state that can be made historic. I think the Stockyards are a perfect example of this emotional appeal because they appeal to the pride each Texan has for the many people who came before them in their state.

Another appeal I saw within the Stockyards was a logical appeal. The largest honky-tonk in the world is of course right here in Fort Worth. Billy Bob's is just the place where you will find it. This is a logical appeal because it appeals to the many tourists of our vast country. Who wouldn't want to come check out the largest honky-tonk in the world? This is a major logical appeal for the city of Fort Worth because tourism is one of the largest forms of revenue in the city and if there were no tourists much of that revenue would be lost to other cities in the nation.

The ethical appeal I observed in the Stockyards was the abundance of Texas hospitality. Being from another state this is one of the things that appealed to me right off the bat when I came to tour TCU. Whether you are in a store, a hotel, or a bar (the Stockyards has plenty of each) people greet you with that wide smile and southern charm. Even on the streets people are friendly and mingling over a pitcher of beer (yes, you can carry your drink right along as you are site seeing and it is completely legal which astonished me). This image of friendliness appeals to people of every walk of life because the hospitality of everyone shows a genuine goodness and a positive morality of the Fort Worth community.

There are many more examples of each appeal that I saw in the Stockyards but I think everyone should experience the Stockyards for themselves at least once.

In Class: Analyzing Visuals

Candy Cigarette
Q:What about this image initially draws your attention and why?
A: What initially drew my attention to the image was that such a young girl was holding a cigarette. If I had not known the title of this image I would have thought that this young girl was actually smoking a real cigarette. It is an appeal to my ethics because I do not believe that a girl of her age should be smoking.
Q:How does this initial point of vision connect to the rest of the image?
A: She looks very stern and that was the first thing that I realized after the initial part of the image that drew my attention. I noticed that the girl next to her looks far younger with her hair in a very high pony tail and innocent compared to her friend holding the cigarette. She looks old beyond her years because of the way she is standing with her arm crossed over her body and the way in which she holds the cigarette in her hand.
Q: What is this image about? What emotions and ideas are portrayed in the image?
A: I believe this image is about the young girl holding the cigarette and the stigma surrounding the image of her doing this. Most people would not expect such a young girl to be smoking and you feel sorry for her because even at such a young age she looks like she has had a hard life.
Q: What is the purpose of this image?
A: The purpose of this image, I believe, is to show the audience this girl's loss of innocence. The world around children these days induces premature growing up and this image is a perfect example of the loss of a child's youth.

In Class: Confusing Concepts from Logos

One of the things that confused me in Chapter 4 of Everything's an Argument is the use of surveys and polls as a logical appeal. When I think of surveys and polls I think of a very inaccurate measure of the public's feelings. There are many biases surrounding the use of surveys and I feel that they are not a good representative of a logical appeal. My question is, why did they include this as an example in the chapter if the readings and data obtained from the source are inaccurate? I realize polls are used to persuade people towards a certain view on the topic that is presented but would the inaccuracy deter people from using this form to appeal to people?