- Introduction:1st Point: Audience and Purpose• Topic Sentence:• Both Text 1 and Text 2 target the literate and middle class audience, despite being temporally separated.• This is seen in Text 1, with the persuasive language and the use of the 'bandwagon' technique.• In Text 2, the article is placed in the "Business Monday" section of the "Miami Herald", a news agency. This indicates that the audience would have to be literate. The lower class would be uninterested in these matters, and it is most likely the the upper class would be the developers seeking to take over the Caribbean island.• However, Text 1 and Text 2 contrast in their purposes.• The purpose of Text 1 is to persuade the target audience to buy their product, their summer cruise. This is seen through the various advertisement techniques used such as the 'bandwagon' technique, repetition of establishing Ethos and the selective omission of detailed facts such as the exact, numerical price. Using these techniques, they associate the product with exoticness, affluence and social status which becomes their main selling point.• The purpose of Text 2 is to raise awareness to their audience, on the issue of squatters vs. developers. This is seen throughout the entire article.• However, they both try to sell and reinforce an ideology.2nd Point: Content and Theme• Topic Sentence:• Text 1 is a print advertisement from the 1920s for the cruise liner, "The Great White Fleet". The advert compromises of both visual and literary elements. It includes a map portraying the cruise's trajectory and destinations, a list of all the exotic destinations such as "Jamaica, Cuba, Panama Canal, etc.". The main written body is a persuasive description on the reasonable cost, the cool temperatures and the luxurious lifestyle provided. It concludes with a list of 3 addresses of their branches for bookings and a drawn illustration of wealthy people enjoying a cruise. The significance of all these elements will be further discussed in style and structure.• Text 2 is an article written in 2007 for the Miami Herald describing how developers are coming to these Caribbean islands to purchase the beach front for future tourism development. The article specifically focuses on the squatters living there and the eviction they are facing.• In terms of content and temporal, they are disconnected. However, when placed parallel to each other, they reveal a common theme.• Both texts are placed in the Caribbean and both address the opportunities there. Text 1 brands these places as exotic in order to sell their product. On the other hand, Text 2 persuades that these homes should not be considered as holiday spots. In brief, Text 2 talks about the exploitation by tourists while Text 1 offers tourism in the Caribbean.• These texts are viewed with a colonial and a post-colonial lens respectively. They share a common topic but are oppositional in regards to perspective.3rd Point: Tone and Mood• Topic Sentence:• In Text 1, the author uses descriptive and persuasive language in order to create a mood of exclusivity and exoticness.• With the statement "Only First Class Passengers Carried". The tone of this phrase alludes to a certain exclusivity to the product being sold. In doing so, it becomes more effective in its persuasion using the 'bandwagon' technique. In targeting the social elite, the advert marginalizes and excludes the middle class. Consequently, the product becomes associated with social standing and makes the excluded group crave the product in order to achieve this social status. This is further enforced through the bold and enlarged subtitle "Reduced Rates For Summer Cruises" and the use of language such as "The Coolest Ships Afloat". The reasonable prices makes the product more attractive to the target audience and the middle class lingo makes it more relatable.• In Text 2, the author uses graphic language in order to create an atmosphere of pity and sympathy for the squatters and cultivates a dislike towards the developers using language that stirs up imagery of colonization.• The author starts by using very descriptive and graphic language to create an image for the audience that moves us to empathize with the squatters. The author associates the developers with imagery of colonization with language such as "Indigenous, displace, charges of "colonialism" and "Developers and speculators will use any means necessary to get the land from the people."". This implied bias by spin where the reporter's selective manipulation of the facts and tone, makes one side's perspective look better. In this case, it further gains empathy for the squatters.4th Point: Style and Structure• Topic Sentence:• Text 1 is a print advertisement from the 1920s for a cruise. It compromises of a large and bold title,”The Great White Fleet” with a subheading in italics “Only First Class Passengers Carried”. As mentioned previously, the phrase below the title exudes an atmosphere of exclusivity to the product. “The Great White Fleet” is a popular nickname for a US Navy Battle Fleet. Using this name, established Ethos and a sense of patriotism. This is further enforced by the word “White” being in white in contrast to the black background. We can assume that the intended audience is Caucasian. Furthermore, if we look at this from a post-colonial lens, we see that this advert informs us about the relationship between the colonized and the colonizer in the Caribbean. The use of a parallel name that alludes to the militia emphasizes the colonizer’s victory in conquering the Caribbean. Furthermore, the emphasis on the “White” informs us that superiority was determined by skin color. Anything other than white was deemed inferior and as “Other”, consequently, marginalizing and oppressing this group. The advert compromises of both visual and literary elements. It includes a map portraying the cruise's trajectory and destinations.” This map suggests that the audience may not be familiar with the geography. Through this, we see that the advert further emphasizes the ‘exoticness’ as it suggests to the audience that this cruise will go somewhere different, a place not like home. This aspect of the advert is both informative and used as a means of selling the product. The main written body is framed using the map above and the picture below, thereby giving it more focus and an overall balance to the composition. It compromises of a persuasive description on the reasonable cost, the cool temperatures and the luxurious lifestyle provided. The bold and enlarged subtitle "Reduced Rates For Summer Cruises” makes the product more appealing to the targeted audience through reasonable prices. Below, is a list of all the exotic destinations such as "Jamaica, Cuba, Panama Canal, etc. In bold, they reinforce the product’s selling point of exoticness. “Sailings, every week, from New York, Boston and New Orleans”. This highlights the accessibility of the cruise ships. Furthermore, serving from top capitals only, emphasizes the exclusivity of this cruise. “It is cool in… much cooler than”. This use of language puts themselves in a position of superiority over any other holiday destinations. Using an empty claim such as “Official temperature records prove this”, established ethos. The author also uses manipulation of facts through word choice. This is seen for instance in “The thermometer at Jamaica…seldom touches 88 degrees” where the author manipulates one fact to persuade the audience. The author then goes on to describe the luxurious lifestyle provided through glittering generalities such as “Built especially for tropic travel…Extra large staterooms…Cuisine noteworthy for its excellence”. This luxurious lifestyle is used toIt concludes with a list of 3 addresses of their branches for bookings and a drawn illustration of wealthy people enjoying a cruise.Conclusion:
Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Paper 1 Practice: Comparative
Sunday, 15 November 2015
Rationale:
The Yin Yang in traditional and ancient Chinese medicine, good health is directly related to the balance between yin and yang in oneself. The Yin Yang is a universal symbol of balance nowadays. Using this as the central and lone icon for the poster puts emphasis on it. The use of the Yin Yang further emphasizes the importance of balance in life as it is a symbol and ideology that has been passed down and survived through generations/centuries. The background is white and simple. It does not distract the audience and it keeps the focus on the slogan and the Yin Yang. The white background and the black font parallels the Yin and Yang, consequently, emphasizing it yet again. The slogan “They knew it was the key. Why don’t we?” directly asks and interacts with the audience, making them question themselves and acting as a call to action. The slogan uses rhyme to further imprint itself in the audience’s mind.
Rationale:
The tall cliff juxtaposed with the long and empty gap gives a sense of ‘nothing or all’ for the audience. It gives visual weight to the words “Rise High, Don’t Fall”. Mountains have long been a common visualization of the path to success. Juxtaposing the highest point with the potential for the long fall emphasizes the value of the words. It instills fear in the audience as it only allows space for two polarizing options. The top phrase "Balance enables Independence" uses rhyme and short length to further imprint itself in the audience's mind.
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Reflection on "Control Room: Propaganda of the Iraq War"
Prompt: It is acceptable for a government to try to shape public opinion through information campaigns.
Position: Disagree
The Iraq war is an appropriate example of how the same news can be reported with bias based on the different cultural and political ideologies of different media institutions. In my opinion, it is not acceptable for a government to try to shape public opinion through information campaigns. The government aims to shape the public opinion in order to gain public support by justifying their actions. However, it is something commonly done today, especially during the Iraq war. This is demonstrated in the documentary Control Room: Propaganda of the Iraq War. For instance, American media during the Iraq War almost never showed images of Iraqi civilian casualties, of American prisoners of war, or of American dead. Al Jazeera showed all of these things. Control Room might have raised questions about American media policies, how they have changed, what forces were at work in changing them, and what the consequences of such changes have been.
The director highlights the controversy the film raises on the role of propaganda during the 2003 Iraq war. There is no narrator to provide an argument about the war. Rather, Control Room relies on the arguments made by its subjects and constructing the film by integrating behind-the-scenes of the media sources such as CentCom, the US central military command and the media hub in Doha, Qatar. This perspective reveals the struggle for power and control over creating and controlling the narrative of the war.
The film itself promotes an ethos by grounding in reasonableness and balance in opposition to bias with this didactic perspective. However, no matter how objective the director tries to be, there is still bias. Control Room repeatedly emphasizes how small Al Jazeera is compared to the might of the U.S. military. It sets up its audience to “root for the little guy.” The Al Jazeera staff members are hardworking and ordinary. They are overweight, balding, chain smoking, unglamorous. They seem particularly vulnerable as well. Thus, Control Room dramatizes the work of journalists in a war environment, thus framing them as heroes too.
Position: Disagree
The Iraq war is an appropriate example of how the same news can be reported with bias based on the different cultural and political ideologies of different media institutions. In my opinion, it is not acceptable for a government to try to shape public opinion through information campaigns. The government aims to shape the public opinion in order to gain public support by justifying their actions. However, it is something commonly done today, especially during the Iraq war. This is demonstrated in the documentary Control Room: Propaganda of the Iraq War. For instance, American media during the Iraq War almost never showed images of Iraqi civilian casualties, of American prisoners of war, or of American dead. Al Jazeera showed all of these things. Control Room might have raised questions about American media policies, how they have changed, what forces were at work in changing them, and what the consequences of such changes have been.
The director highlights the controversy the film raises on the role of propaganda during the 2003 Iraq war. There is no narrator to provide an argument about the war. Rather, Control Room relies on the arguments made by its subjects and constructing the film by integrating behind-the-scenes of the media sources such as CentCom, the US central military command and the media hub in Doha, Qatar. This perspective reveals the struggle for power and control over creating and controlling the narrative of the war.
The film itself promotes an ethos by grounding in reasonableness and balance in opposition to bias with this didactic perspective. However, no matter how objective the director tries to be, there is still bias. Control Room repeatedly emphasizes how small Al Jazeera is compared to the might of the U.S. military. It sets up its audience to “root for the little guy.” The Al Jazeera staff members are hardworking and ordinary. They are overweight, balding, chain smoking, unglamorous. They seem particularly vulnerable as well. Thus, Control Room dramatizes the work of journalists in a war environment, thus framing them as heroes too.
Sunday, 8 November 2015
Media Bias Pastiche
For this exercise, we were to identify a news article that contains bias towards a social or political issue and as a result displays a specific ideology. Then rewrite the article demonstrating the use of bias techniques from a different ideology. This is the article I have chosen to re-write: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/23/451208663/why-hurricane-patricia-cant-be-blamed-on-climate-change
After seeing the incredible data gathered by hurricane hunter aircraft overnight, a few meteorologists have argued that Patricia could be thought of as a Category 7 hurricane—though the official Saffir-Simpson scale only goes up to 5. Here’s the official description of likely damage from a Category 5 hurricane—like 1992’s Andrew in Florida, and 2013’s Haiyan in the Philippines—suitable for your nightmares.
The original justification for cutting off the scale at 5 is that no human-built structure could withstand winds above its 155 mph threshold. So essentially there was no point in differentiating between storms once the winds were above 155. Right now, Patricia’s core winds are estimated to be 200 mph—with gusts to 250 mph—as strong as the tornado that destroyed Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, but at least 15 times larger in area. Patricia, at its current strength, is close to the theoretical maximum strength for a tropical cyclone on planet Earth. In fact, at one point on Friday morning, Patricia actually went above its maximum potential intensity.
How did Patricia get to be so strong? The answer, quite simply, involves human-caused climate change. Hurricane Patricia is exactly the kind of terrifying storm we can expect to see more frequently in the decades to come. Although there’s no way to know exactly how much climate change is a factor in Patricia’s explosive strengthening, it’s irresponsible, at this point, not to discuss it.
Scientists who study the link between hurricanes and climate change have long predicted, and debated, the trend of stronger tropical cyclones. The latest science seems to have settled on climate change boosting the frequency of the strongest hurricanes, even as total hurricane numbers may remain flat. Basically, storms like Patricia fit closely with these predictions, though they happen so infrequently that it’s almost impossible to definitively prove.
Even though it may not make sense from a wind speed perspective to create new hurricane categories, the fact that super hurricanes like Patricia may be becoming more common and that storm surge is a far deadlier threat anyway means that, from a public warning perspective, it may be time to revise the Saffir-Simpson scale. Patricia has made it clear: Climate change means we need a Category 6.
Hurricane Patricia Undeniably Made Worse By Climate Change
Hurricane Patricia—now the strongest hurricane ever measured—is expected to make landfall in Mexico late Friday. According to the latest official forecast from the National Hurricane Center, Manzanillo, a city of 100,000 people, appears to be in Patricia’s direct path.After seeing the incredible data gathered by hurricane hunter aircraft overnight, a few meteorologists have argued that Patricia could be thought of as a Category 7 hurricane—though the official Saffir-Simpson scale only goes up to 5. Here’s the official description of likely damage from a Category 5 hurricane—like 1992’s Andrew in Florida, and 2013’s Haiyan in the Philippines—suitable for your nightmares.
The original justification for cutting off the scale at 5 is that no human-built structure could withstand winds above its 155 mph threshold. So essentially there was no point in differentiating between storms once the winds were above 155. Right now, Patricia’s core winds are estimated to be 200 mph—with gusts to 250 mph—as strong as the tornado that destroyed Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, but at least 15 times larger in area. Patricia, at its current strength, is close to the theoretical maximum strength for a tropical cyclone on planet Earth. In fact, at one point on Friday morning, Patricia actually went above its maximum potential intensity.
How did Patricia get to be so strong? The answer, quite simply, involves human-caused climate change. Hurricane Patricia is exactly the kind of terrifying storm we can expect to see more frequently in the decades to come. Although there’s no way to know exactly how much climate change is a factor in Patricia’s explosive strengthening, it’s irresponsible, at this point, not to discuss it.
Scientists who study the link between hurricanes and climate change have long predicted, and debated, the trend of stronger tropical cyclones. The latest science seems to have settled on climate change boosting the frequency of the strongest hurricanes, even as total hurricane numbers may remain flat. Basically, storms like Patricia fit closely with these predictions, though they happen so infrequently that it’s almost impossible to definitively prove.
Even though it may not make sense from a wind speed perspective to create new hurricane categories, the fact that super hurricanes like Patricia may be becoming more common and that storm surge is a far deadlier threat anyway means that, from a public warning perspective, it may be time to revise the Saffir-Simpson scale. Patricia has made it clear: Climate change means we need a Category 6.
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Sunday, 27 September 2015
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Alice Munro and Women's Literature
These first few lessons of our senior year, reminded me why we study literature. Literature gives an insight into anything, it allows us to obtain a bigger and richer experience with the world. To me, it was always an act of empathy. Whenever I read, I've always imagined what it's like to be someone else. You suddenly have a fuller understanding of lives other than your own. We learn more about those around us, those who come before us and we learn more about ourselves. A quote that's always resonated with me and perfectly captured this is: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”― George R.R. Martin.
While discussing this with our peers, it proved to be a little more difficult than anticipated. There is no strict definition. There were questions such as: Is WL only for woman? Can men write WL? Does WL need to convey feminist messages? Firstly, we looked at how women should be classified as a social group since they've been marginalized and oppressed. For example, it wasn't until the 19th century that female authors were able to publish and even then, it was under a pen name. A lot of their works seemed to share their own personal experiences and struggles from the perspective of being a female specifically. This in turn relates to consciousness-raising, turning the personal into political. This created a new language of theory, one that had been previously been defined by the oppressors. So no, WL is not only for woman, but rather for anyone who reads it. Through immersing the readers into their memories, they are better able to understand their oppression and empathize with woman. In this light, you could argue that women's literature was a tool for feminism. However, Alice Munro herself does not identify as a feminist writer and yet she provides insight into life as a women. With the simplicity of raw truthfulness and subtle symbols, Munro has managed to create a story that allows the reader to converse with the characters and find a new viewpoint on the female identity. So no, WL does not need to convey feminist messages.
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