I found an advertisement on Youtube.com featuring Paris Hilton. In the commercial, she is seemingly advertising a six dollar BBQ burger from Hardees, but other visual elements suggest that she may be selling otherwise. Paris Hilton is a sex symbol in Hollywood today and is admired by both male and females. The commercial starts with Paris entering some sort of garage; she is wearing a revealing bathing suit and an expensive fur wrap. It then shows her begin washing a very expensive car and you can see on her finger that she is wearing a large diamond ring. The actual sandwich Hardees is trying to sell does not appear in the commercial until seven seconds into it, where it only makes a brief two second appearance. The burger does not show up again until nine seconds later. She continues to wash the car and splash herself with water and soap in a very sexual manner. In between Paris washing the car and washing herself, the burger makes few appearances and only for brief seconds at a time. Throughout the commercial there is a song playing by Peter Cincotti called "I love Paris". The ending slogan for the burger flashes during one of the last frames of the commercial saying "That's Hot". I think that the commercial is not selling the sandwich as much, but more so selling Paris herself. The song is advertising her name and how people admire her and the slogan is a phrase that Hilton coined herself. The sexuality she is displaying appeals to men, obviously for the reason that the commercial is raunchy, but also towards women. I think it appeals towards women because Paris Hilton is (unfortunately) a sex symbol and girls often look to her as being the definition of "sexy" or "pretty". If a face, and body, as famous as Paris Hilton is eating a Hardees BBQ sandwich, it will give people who want to be like her or who admire her to go get the sandwich as well.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P82hABWq1To
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Observation 6: Peer Review Process
I learned from my partner how to strengthen my argument by going further into detail about the opposing side and then refuting it. He also pointed out phrases that may have been clear to me as a writer, but were confusing as a reader.
I specifically need work with discussing both sides of my argument and then using stronger more sound evidence to prove why my side is right. My paper would be a lot stronger if I discussed both abstinence-only and safe-sex education and then elaborated on why abstinence-only is wrong and safe-sex is right.
I knew before the peer editing process that my paper needed a lot of work and that my major issue would be that my paper seemed only to discuss one side of the argument. Peer editing did help point out smaller flaws that I did not notice or looked over.
My partner did not help me see a different side to my paper. He agrees with my side 100% but we did discuss how I should incorporate the opposing side
I am willing to chance anything about my paper to make it better.
There were minor things pointed out that I disagreed with like how I word choice or punctuation. Sometimes his choice of wording did not agree with the point I was trying to get across. For the most part I thought the peer editing helped me see flaws in my paper that I had not noticed.
In Matt's paper, I saw that he did a great job thoroughly researching his topic and he made it very clear what side he was on which is something I feel I did well in my own paper. We both had the same problem sometimes with the way we worded things. I think this mutual problem is something that is very common; often times what you write makes sense to you because it is your own work but it is unclear to others.
I did not use the peer review sheet but if I had a hard time finding flaws in the paper myself I'm sure it would have been helpful in guiding my editing.
Now that I have read the sheet and edited someone else's paper, it is easier for me to find the mistakes that I have made in my own and what areas need work.
Observation 5: Martin's Big Words
Visual Elements:
One visual element that I noticed throughout the book is that every picture looks like a collage. All of the people, stores, and backgrounds of the pictures are all made up of small pieces but come together as one picture. I think that this technique is used to portray the message of togetherness that Dr. King was trying to express. Collages also remind me somewhat of stained glass windows that are seen in church. Dr. King was a preacher and he got much of his hope and inspiration from God. I think that by making the pictures look as though they are stained glass windows from a church represents the hope and faith people had in Martin Luther King Jr. and his movement. Another visual element that I noticed was the page that showed a little girl standing alone in front of an American flag. While we discussed the appearance of the American flag on every page as being significant, I find this page to especially stand out. The American flag is made up of all sorts of colors which is similar to the way that American is made up of people from all different cultures and races. The little girl standing in front of the flag has a somber look on her face and the colors of the American flag are reflected in her. She looks as if she is one with the flag which makes me think that she is representing the future generation; she is the future. A final element I noticed was the cover of the book. While we discussed in class that the title was on the back because his face is a statement in itself, I noticed his actual facial expression. While many of the pictures in the book show him looking very serious, his smile on the cover sends a brighter, more hopeful message that people in America ultimately heard his words and because of him we live in one unified society today.
The Book vs. the Letter
The children's book has many similarities to King's letter in chapter 8. Some of the "big words" on each page are similar to phrases that he put in his actual letter. On one page his big words say, "Wait! For years I have heard the word 'Wait!' We have waited more than three hundred and forty years for our rights." In his letter to Birmingham, he talks about how he has heard the word "wait" for years and how it seems to mean "never". He also references in his letter past events that have occurred and people he has learned from as he mentions learning from Ghandi in the book. He mentions in his letter the unjustness of the colored only signs just as little Martin in the book points it out to his mother. In both texts he constantly references church and God and refers to whites and blacks as being brothers and sisters. The book does an excellent job in portraying the child's version of what his letter to Birmingham says; it is not exact but sends the same message.
The texts and today's audience
I think that the texts are still very relevant to today's audience. While race segregation is not as prominent or supported by the government, it is still alive today. This type of discrimination has spread from not only whites and blacks, but to all races, cultures, and religions. The texts still teach a valuable lesson about how we all need to come together and love one another for both our similarities and differences.
My thoughts:
While I was reading the letter, I found it to be at times confusing and sometimes lost the message King was trying to send out. I felt that the children's book was less informative than the letter, but still left a strong impact. The book made it easier and clearer with the pictures and text to understand King's reasoning behind his movement. I think that a kid would probably not notice the pictures as being anything more than illustration, however, when I look at them I see the messages that they send apart from the words that go with them. It made me think more in-depth about the sincerity of the issue and made me relate more about the battle African Americans fought for their rights. I think that the pictures did capture my attention more than the text because there are so many messages you can see within them while the text usually only sent one. The impression I received from the children's book left a little bit more of an impact on me because it is a book for kids. This book educating kids about the civil rights act made me realize how innocent kids. Kids cannot see hate in the world or differences in people because their childhood innocence prevents it. The impression the book left on me was that it was the way that kids needed to be educated about the hate in the world; they can only see it through pictures and brief summaries of what King actually stated. I think that both the letter and book were affective though, and the parallels between the two of them increased my understanding of Dr. King's journey.
One visual element that I noticed throughout the book is that every picture looks like a collage. All of the people, stores, and backgrounds of the pictures are all made up of small pieces but come together as one picture. I think that this technique is used to portray the message of togetherness that Dr. King was trying to express. Collages also remind me somewhat of stained glass windows that are seen in church. Dr. King was a preacher and he got much of his hope and inspiration from God. I think that by making the pictures look as though they are stained glass windows from a church represents the hope and faith people had in Martin Luther King Jr. and his movement. Another visual element that I noticed was the page that showed a little girl standing alone in front of an American flag. While we discussed the appearance of the American flag on every page as being significant, I find this page to especially stand out. The American flag is made up of all sorts of colors which is similar to the way that American is made up of people from all different cultures and races. The little girl standing in front of the flag has a somber look on her face and the colors of the American flag are reflected in her. She looks as if she is one with the flag which makes me think that she is representing the future generation; she is the future. A final element I noticed was the cover of the book. While we discussed in class that the title was on the back because his face is a statement in itself, I noticed his actual facial expression. While many of the pictures in the book show him looking very serious, his smile on the cover sends a brighter, more hopeful message that people in America ultimately heard his words and because of him we live in one unified society today.
The Book vs. the Letter
The children's book has many similarities to King's letter in chapter 8. Some of the "big words" on each page are similar to phrases that he put in his actual letter. On one page his big words say, "Wait! For years I have heard the word 'Wait!' We have waited more than three hundred and forty years for our rights." In his letter to Birmingham, he talks about how he has heard the word "wait" for years and how it seems to mean "never". He also references in his letter past events that have occurred and people he has learned from as he mentions learning from Ghandi in the book. He mentions in his letter the unjustness of the colored only signs just as little Martin in the book points it out to his mother. In both texts he constantly references church and God and refers to whites and blacks as being brothers and sisters. The book does an excellent job in portraying the child's version of what his letter to Birmingham says; it is not exact but sends the same message.
The texts and today's audience
I think that the texts are still very relevant to today's audience. While race segregation is not as prominent or supported by the government, it is still alive today. This type of discrimination has spread from not only whites and blacks, but to all races, cultures, and religions. The texts still teach a valuable lesson about how we all need to come together and love one another for both our similarities and differences.
My thoughts:
While I was reading the letter, I found it to be at times confusing and sometimes lost the message King was trying to send out. I felt that the children's book was less informative than the letter, but still left a strong impact. The book made it easier and clearer with the pictures and text to understand King's reasoning behind his movement. I think that a kid would probably not notice the pictures as being anything more than illustration, however, when I look at them I see the messages that they send apart from the words that go with them. It made me think more in-depth about the sincerity of the issue and made me relate more about the battle African Americans fought for their rights. I think that the pictures did capture my attention more than the text because there are so many messages you can see within them while the text usually only sent one. The impression I received from the children's book left a little bit more of an impact on me because it is a book for kids. This book educating kids about the civil rights act made me realize how innocent kids. Kids cannot see hate in the world or differences in people because their childhood innocence prevents it. The impression the book left on me was that it was the way that kids needed to be educated about the hate in the world; they can only see it through pictures and brief summaries of what King actually stated. I think that both the letter and book were affective though, and the parallels between the two of them increased my understanding of Dr. King's journey.
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