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I strongly believe that I can attribute some of the success and thoughtfulness I have included in my blog to my English teacher. I genuinely believe that the enthusiasm that she brought to our class was instrumental in the successful nature of my blog writing. Because my English 225 Instructor the topics of our class relevant to today, I believe it instilled a new-found level of confidence in writing entertaining and engaging blog entries. I have and will continue to take so much away from the rhetorical topics of our class and ideas on audience simply because I think about it when I practically engage in any type of media activity or interaction (for me this means relating class to sports). Usually talking about dull philosophies that 500 year old Psychologist’s or theorists discovered is a set up for, well, boring! But this was not the case as every piece of the puzzle we placed we made relevant to current events and topics of our interest. That is one of the reasons why I found the class so intriguing, engaging and thought provoking. Being able to research and write about topics that we were interested forced us to stay engaged and kept individual class members focused and willing to ask questions.

And this probably ties into Brett making her argument, and presenting it to us by pulling examples that appeal to us as college students. For sake of explaining what Brett’s argument is, I believe that as my instructor, she had to show us why it is important to implement the rhetorical process in argumentative essay writing and that furthermore, awareness of the audience is key. Clearly, (don’t use Clearly or obviously in academic writing) my Instructor has a firm grip and great analysis of her class as the audience because from reading everyone else’s last couple of farewell for the semester blogs, they seem to have been kept interested because of such techniques. For example, as Amanda, a classmate of mine writes in one of her final blog entries entitled “Semester Reflection”, “the ways she presented the material that emphasized its relevance in all fields of study...the excitement of getting to research and write about topics that actually interested me and I desired to learn more about... I began to ask questions that were of sincere interest to me and used the blog as an avenue to explore ideas. I never before had found writing as therapeutic and satisfying as I do now.”

As I have come to realize, the audience plays an even more central role in my writing than anything a textbook could teach me. Beyond the classroom interpretation of audience I have been taught, and the role they play in shaping argument, audience has shaped my revisions in my drafts. In both my Convincing and Inquiry papers, the first thing that I either changed or focused on when writing was making sure that I could be understood by people outside my “field”. I never used to imagine myself writing for anyone other than my teacher and myself. Now, I think of myself as adding in one other important person, somebody that represents much more than an individual—that someone who has absolutely no idea about the issue I am arguing and is constantly on my shoulder nudging me to clarify every class reference I make, as if he had skipped class. I guess that’s a good thing though, because effective academic writing needs to be transferable across disciplines. I have both my classmates and my teacher to attribute this very useful technique. I am so grateful that I have been made aware of the importance of guiding my readers through the logical process of my thinking and without my peers and teachers persistent guidance and constructive criticism, it would have been a lot harder for me to figure this concept out.

Yesterday, in my English 225 class, a fellow student presented her ideas on patient care and the need for Doctors to empathize with the patients situation. Although there were multiple students that gave similar presentations, I think that hers really stood out as effective. The reason I believe Julie’s was very effective in inspiring action by “Medical School board members” was because she continually mad reference to the same visual film.

Audience members are aware that they can find movie clips that support their claim. The reason is because as an audience, every one of us had gone about completing a presentation. Thus, because we all knew the importance of including visual images and movies, we all worked to find clips that highlighted the ideas we were trying to show. However, in Julie’s, because she based her presentation one film in particular, Doctor, the change in attitudes of doctors towards patients became very apparent. All she had to do was fast forward in the movie and the point she was trying to make became very evident. Although I recognize that her movie was overly dramatic, it still was an engaging mechanism that Julie employed to show why there needs to be an updated medical school curriculum. That teaches the drama and emotional complications that doctors need to address daily.

Like I mentioned earlier in this blog, another reason that I found Julie’s topic intriguing was because it brought the relevance of other peoples presentations, such as Payel and Amanda to the forefront. I mean that was the point of why as an audience, we as a class, or whoever needed to take action. For me, because the heightened urgency was so evident in Julie’s presentation I feel that Julie’s presentation was greatly effected in a positive light.

I have attached a blog where Julie herself, approaches how she believes the other similar presentations influenced the effective nature of her presentation.

http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/~foucherj/

In her blog entry entitled, “A Holistic Approach to Medicine”, Julie is stressing the need for doctors to take a more holistic approach and treat their patients “with knowledge of their entire identities rather than just their symptoms”. She continues by referencing both Payel’s and Amanda’s presentation, and gives this interpretation of their messages: “Amanda explored this point by arguing for age-dependent treatments for patients with diabetes, while Payel argued that doctors should spend more time interviewing and getting to know their patients.” I think that Julie’s interpretation of the messages behind their presentations affected her presentation. Like Julie says, “I agree with Payel and Amanda that a more holistic approach to medicine should be taken”. She concludes by adding in her own element, the deep acting that she resented, and incorporated how her interpretation of both Amanda’s and Payel’s were all interrelated. “I think that deep acting provides a means for doctors to continue this approach (that Payel and Amanda detail) even when they may be feeling too stressed or exhausted to display convincing emotions to their patients on their own.”




The reason I found this so interesting is because it made me think of how the research I do as a student incorporates the same type of analyzing others work’s. What is an important part of the discovery process, I mean everyone wants to have a discovery in their work, is being able to connect your work to those that have gone before you and presented before, even if it was in the same week. Even if the presenters were your closest friends or English 225 peers!

Tiger Woods, is simply on the biggest players in sports. Now what do I mean by biggest? Wel,, I mean richest, most marketable, popular, energetic, entertaining, and successful athletically. They don’t get much better then him. He is arguably the best athlete at his respective sport on the face of the globe.

Now, if you have read any media source in past week, you will know that Tiger’s name has popped up for something probably a little bit different. Does any of what I said above change now that details have been released. I mean, to be honest, I don’t even need to say what “the details” are because if you weren’t there in Orlando, the media has done a pretty damn good job of placing you at the scene.

For those of you who have been stuck in the books---really stuck in the books—Woods was cited for careless driving and fined $164 by Florida authorities on the morning following Thanksgiving. Both the celebrity and tabloid media, in dramatic timing, unveiled more potent details: a three-year fling with a LA cocktail waitress!! Jaimee Grubbs, 24, told US magazine that she began having an affair with Woods in April 2007 and has since had 20 sexual encounters with the golfer!!
And with this as the back drop, round 5,677,831 begins!!!

Let’s hear Tiger, in his address shortly following the release of this most recent mess in the world of athletes and law!

"Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.” He continues, "But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don't share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions.”

Besides the fact that well, he obviously is pretty ticked off, I wanted to make sure that I brought this up in a blog for one simple reason— this is exactly what I have been saying throughout my Blogs when I was talking about Vick. If you just use a bit of circular logic everything makes perfect sense!!! By having ESPN or whoever release these “breaking news” stories of athletes and then almost immediately the world witnesses a public responses by athlete, I am driving home the point that high-profile athletes are aware of the need to respond. Therefore, athletes like Tiger are making responses because they take into consideration the way they are viewed by the general public. And how exactly are they view by the general public? Well, you gotta ask the media that one!!

But in all sincerity, Tiger’s response definitely shows that indeed athlete’s responses are based on public sentiment. Because media constructs an athlete’s identity that affects the publics view of the high-profile athlete, and furthermore Tiger is addressing situation because of the role of the general public and fans, it makes sense that the media has become intrusive and influenced the whole situation that Tiger is addressing (You might need to read that over again as it is pretty confusing to understand but I believe is as concise as possible. It just happens to be a very circuitous and logical connection that I am highlighting). This gets to the rhetorical situation that I initially highlighted as the reason why “black and white” portrayals by media are unfair and that it is immature for general public to take stance and judge athletes based on these media portrayals of athlete’s legal situations. The short response time illustrates that the portrayal of athletes by media, is indeed important to the athletes. That is why athletes get out and respond so fast to address the situation. So far Tiger’s actions are as textbook as his swing is fundamental. The question becomes, ‘Will he deviate from and separate himself from the other cases I personally have analyzed?'

(All the good breaking news releases and coverage from interview has been copyrighted by ESPN so this the best I could do!! Sorry but feel free to go to
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4704066
if you want a detailed breakdown and analysis of the Wood's case!!)

As it probably became quite obvious, I began this blog as a result of my enrollment in English 225 at the University of Michigan. I mean, lets be honest, why else would I have written a blog entry entitled Persuasion Analysis of the film "Triumph of the Will", or thought of incorporating such identity theorists like Mead into a discussion on post-game interviews (Referring to Blog entitled “Credit Them”: Applying Mead to The Useless Nature of Post-Game Interviews!!)

And going along with the theme of audience and purpose, I have to write a blog that analyzes the evolution of my blog and how this illustrates some of the knowledge I have acquired on writing with meaning, evidence, and all of the rhetorical components that I have enjoyed becoming friends with over the semester (The above sentence has way to many clauses!!). Scratch that. This is what I meant to say: I have to write a blog showing why and how I have made an effort to incorporate all the components of our class into my writing.

However, I really don’t feel like I can write a summary of all the things I learned. Not with the purpose being a requirement!! And this is not because we have a few more weeks to go. Rather, it is because I don’t have one quote to borrow from Instructor Griffiths (my teacher) that I always think about it. I have ONE HUNDRED! As I demonstrated to my teacher over the semester, I have at times become visibly frustrated because I was putting so much emphasis on worrying about stylistic changes before I tapped the keyboard. As I learned, get it down first! Don’t worry that the sentences are probably going to be 14 words too long!! Remember when I came to you that time Brett about how I was frustrated trying to make changes for a different classes paper before I even wrote? (I just made a rhetorical decision to directly address one known member of my audience/I know that I have more but I just addressed my teacher for the purpose of highlighting the sincerity and true nature of every word that I am saying!) It’s also because I don’t have three things in my blog that can demonstrate why my understanding has changed and how I feel that my writing has improved! I have THREE HUNDRED. And I’ve got visible changes and recognition for improvement that I will carry with me, with more on the way. It is sentence structure, word choice, attributing quotes to writers, guiding my reader through each connection I am establishing, rather than skipping steps in my logic. It’s more that the voice in my head that tells me to write more like Emails and less like “eduev,duevdu,ev,deu,vde”. But I didn’t learn this in 3 hours a week on Monday and Wednesday. And it wasn’t solely because I went for 5! It is because I have learned and am still learning to trust my peers, LISTENING (not “listening”) to suggestions, learning from friends models that I come to understand and learn why they’re efficient and were successful pieces of writing( I can explain to those interested why the above sentence is ineffective and means nothing due to extraneous language that doesn’t just get to the point!!) I have bought into the Engfish system,

I will not negotiate for a higher grade through a public outlet. That is not an argument for the intended audience I am writing to on this blog. And if anybody is interested, I have spent a good chunk of my semester analyzing why high-profile athletes despise making statements through media and why that ultimately affects both their portrayal by media and they way they are identified by general public. If you don’t believe me, type in “Tiger Woods” to the search bar on top of this internet browser.(Please feel free to check out any of my blogs or attend my Presentation this upcoming Monday at 5:20 at CC Little) But I am not a high-profile athlete--- yet!!! However, I will say this. Of course the premise of my negotiation argument will be based on the changes that I have made in my writing which I can explain why such dramatic changes I now know improved my writing. (Before editing blog, this is what the above sentence looked like for those curious and evidence: For me, of course along with the logical changes that both me and my classmates will show that dramatic improvements and awareness for changes I have made I will document, negotiation for a higher grade, which I will not do through a public, will be loaded and will most certainly include star ideas such as.....YOU GET THE POINT) But for me, I have way more I will need to say. What I need to address goes way beyond the visible continuing and improving changes in my writing. This is going to have to stretch way beyond my effort. It’s going to be more than the office hours, the after class questions, the work. Its showing why I have bought into an academic writing system that I am so thankful and confident will make me a more effective writer. Because believe me, the passion will never vanish!

Thanksgiving got off to a very rough start for me. I had security troubles, was subject to inappropriate pranks the night I left, and unfortunately had to wake up at 3 AM to catch my flight. But because of Thanksgiving, I am able to let everything go, and take a much needed break. However, I would like to take a break from school-work but still find myself writing essays and doing masses amount of reading. Thanksgiving is a fun time for my family as I am happy to be writing this blog from home, but to be honest, what I am most thankful for this year is to be out of Ann Arbor for the weekend.

It was great to just leave all of the drama behind and be able to say that I will deal with the mess that I will have to respond to next week. It’s not procrastinating, it’s being smart. This is something that I have learned and spending time with my family is really helping me get my mind off of the problems and stress that living in a competitive and rowdy student community entails.

I feel that these kinds of lessons are connected with the types of family values that you are raised to represent. Like the importance of family, not letting other people distract you or ruin your mindset, and the recognition of needed separation and taking the high road. These are the types of things that are most important to me at this moment and I feel that I get a better sense of this and feel better taking this route knowing that I am spending time with family and high school friends for a few days. By surrounding yourself with people that represent what you want to be, it makes you personally feel more capable and willing to adjust yourself to absorb their values that sometimes can be lost when you are far away. Especially when you’ve got people that come from family’s with drastically different character traits and moral values, and sense of appropriate and acceptable behavior. It is almost as if you become more willing to take the sacrifice when you can feel comfortable acknowledging that you are not the only one. When you are in a much more comfortable environment, and see these types of people, then returning allows for a much smoother transition.

Everyone understands the concept and comfort behind the phrase you are not alone, but it definitely helps when college students return home and can spend quality time with their families and old friends receiving reassurance that there are mutual feelings of confusion, catching up on stories, and of course, eating lots of food and shopping. I am very thankful for Thanksgiving and it is always a very special holiday. I wish all the readers a happy Thanksgiving and hopefully everyone has been able to their hands on some delicious food!

From the past two week’s worth of discussions in my English class I believe I have aquired a very valuable insight into the psychology behind off the court issues of my best game—tennis. The past few weeks my class has discussed some of the concepts behind the art of “persuading” a particular audience.

I think that there is a particularly interesting idea about the nature of tennis dress on tours that I have always noted but have had trouble understanding the significance behind it. When I would go to Tennis Tournaments or watch professionals on tour such as Sharapova. I knew that the particular outfit being worn was a choice made with particular reasons. Although I had always had a keen eye for fashion statements of tennis players when I would either play or watch, it was hard for me to verbalize and grasp the concepts behind why certain athletes would wear styles of athletic cut clothing.

I have been better able to grasp some of the consequences that result from the tennis stars constructing of an audience in a purposeful matter as a result of some of the concepts I now better understand. Much of the features of world fashion are prevalent on the professional tennis circuit. Particularly in the 21st century fashion fueled tennis world, besides the wide range of clothing outlets and sponsors, there seems to have emerged on tour an additional distinction between players: fashion statements within and across the major sponsors.

I have attached a link to a story from 2005 that I think illustrates some of the ideas I am addressing and makes the observations and links between the work within the classroom and general pup culture more easily connectable.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Dress-properly-Sania-Maulvis/articleshow/msid-1219580,curpg-1.cms

In September 2005, as Sania Mirza was powering herself into the quarters of a Grand Slam for the first time, “she [was] also demolishing the stereotype of a third world Muslim girl.” As the article details, the interesting, reflective and controversial debate that news sources in both India and the US addressed was the identity fueled scenario that Mirza was caught up in. As the article begins, “Caught between Sania Mirza’s rising fame and her attire, Islamic clerics in the city felt compelled to comment on both. Urdu papers covering Mirza’s third round triumph in the US Open carried modest legless shots of the 18-year-old, in a mixed sentiment that reflects the mood of the conservatives.”

The identification of athletes and what they are “promoting” with their dress is a component of what I think is a persuasive concept similar to what my class has been addressing in the past few weeks. The dress of an athlete is related to the type of audience they are trying to grab the attention of and as a result, I feel that the varying identities on the tennis tour produce a wide range of dress and fashion statements.

Furthermore, when representatives from India first brought up the issue with Sania Mirza, a particular player from India, the main debate that the Muslim community was questioning was the choices Mirza had been making.

According to identification creation of theorists’ like Charland that I have read over, by applying similar logic to the situation of tennis stars as speakers, the nature of clothing can be constructed as a component of identity. But taking it one step further, and applying some of the ideas of Charland in his interpretation of Kenneth Burke (please see last blog entry for details) it is the decisive features of the speaker that makes intended decision’s such as those of Sharapova or Mirza. Such actions, constituting a type of dress or requirement that the athlete has Nike assemble is particularly geared towards “persuading” a particular audience.

This does not make any conclusions on what audience is attracted by which type of fashion and dress is worn, nor does any conclusion about the construction of audience from speaker identity say anything about the ethics and appropriateness of the choice in dress by both men and women on the tennis circuit. However, what has always been in the background of fans and young tennis players’ minds are the concepts that dress is more important than just covering the body. There is statement being made by Nadal, Sharapova, etc. (no insight into nature of statement), and by applying some of the ideas and logic that my class has discussed in regards to speakers being persuasive, the reactions and backlash to certain outfits that continue to shadow the tour at least begin to become more understandable.

An argument creates an audience. An audience does not exist unless the speaker is capable of calling it out. These are some of the fundamental ideas stressed by Charland in a reading for my English class, entitled, “Constitutive Rhetoric: The Case of the People Quebecois”. Believe me, you don’t want to read it unless you are going to have two 1 and a half hours of discussing and breaking down each individual sentence. The writing is certainly not comprehensible for people outside his academic discipline!

Charland’s ideas are instigated by the claim of Kenneth Burke that details the positions of identification of audience and persuading audience. According to Burke, who is cited in Charland’s writing, identifying an audience takes place prior to persuasion. Charland claims that potentially the argument creates the audience, and a speaker appeals to a part of an audience’s identity. This argument implies that an audience does not exist until the speaker calls out to it.

There are a few things that I think can be applied from Charland’s argument. One of them relates to the nature of 21st century advertising and the cognitive nature and brilliance of modern advertising. I feel that the brilliance stems from the construction of an audience that is accurately identified. Such identification ultimately decides the success of products and future of advertising campaigns. The other idea I take away from the journal is that there are consequences to creating your audiences’. As was in the case of the police officer creating the audience of the innocent child by calling him over, by creating an audience, it is a possibility that such construction of audience limits your audience and persuading capabilities.

As Payel, a classmate of mine, brought up in her recent blog entry on her analysis of the construction of audience, she mentions that advertising and the commercial industry regularly apply similar persuasive techniques. These techniques require a creation of audience. I have attached a link to Payels blog that I am referencing, which is titled, “Construction of Audience”.

http://pgang420.blogspot.com/2009/11/construction-of-audience.html

Payel talks about “the deliberate placement of commercials during TV shows that reach out towards an intended audience.” For example, as she references the advertisement campaign of Gatorade that I shared for a class assignment and detailed in my earlier blog “Thirsty? Is It In You”, “if I am watching the Pistons game on TV, most of the advertisements are centered on shoes, Gatorade, or other products related to sports. This is because the TV network knows that the audience watching the game will most likely be athletes. Thus the TV network recognized this part of the audience’s identity and used it to market athletic products in an efficient way.”

I think that such techniques are clearly evident and distinct. Like I get the whole concept about the placement of cereals on shelves at grocery stores: the lower shelves are stacked with the colorful, unhealthy and sugary choices, and one has to almost get a ladder to reach bran products and healthy, dull looking options. However, the only question that still remains confusing is whether or not that audience is brought into existence by such campaigns, or if that audience exists prior to the identification of such industries. Although there is nothing that is contradictory in the work of Charland that we examined, it is important to taken into consideration the concept that the constructed audience is present without identification, as inactive as it is. The main debate therefore is whether or not the audience constitutes the rhetorical “audience” because whether or not they are an audience depends on the speaker and their role as well.

The other concept I would like to stress is based on the idea that by reading above the paragraphs it is likely that I have created my audience and simultaneously gotten rid of readers. It may be difficult to attract readers with some of the nature of my previous paragraphs: talking about rhetorical audience, construction and identity. To be honest, I probably would not read it myself if I was not in the English class where such ideas are debated. Thus, I feel that sometimes, commercial companies additionally limit their persuasiveness when they identify their audience because they are actually decreasing the size of their audience. As is the case with narrowly pitching products to certain people and their particular identities, debating certain topics that are not directly controversial and pop-culture related limits the audience of readers for this blog entry. However, as is the case with most blog entries I have fun writing, the next blog entry highlights my reconstruction of audience by focusing on argument that pertains to the interest of a more global audience as I have carefully analyzed the identity of the audience I will attempt to “speak” to.

I like plain yogurt. Its my favorite. I also like lots of things that are older models and just plainer versions. I sometimes get frightened at all the upgraded technology. I dread the day of having to switch how I use my computer and every time facebook changes the minimal amount of time I spend on it declines even more severely!! The only reason I mention this at this particular stage in my blogging is because for this blog entry, I am going to discuss some of the elements of Angela’s blog that I find particularly intriguing. And for the most part, I always flock to Angela’s blog first because its usually the easiest to decipher. There tend to be no extraneous visual elements, the titles are direct and straightforward, and the context tends to be direct with a clear and concise focus that stays directly related to the purpose of her every blog entry.

Angela always defines her audience immediately. For example, in her most recent blog entry, entitled “Let Me Point You In The Right Direction...” Angela writes, “Today in my English class, we discussed CONSTITUTIVE RHETORIC: THE CASE OF THE PEUPLE QUEBECOIS by Maurice Charland.” The reason I say that her audience is being defined from the beginning is because by directly centering the purpose of her blog to discuss Charland, she is making a conscious decision to limit her audience to people that either have an interest in Charland’s work, are intrigued by her title, or are student’s and friends!! Thus, I enjoy reading her blog because it fosters recognition and acceptance that this is for YOUR entertainment rather than keeping the topic broad and “out there”. This does not at all compromise any of the interest and intrigue that the blog provides to the readers, and in fact I tend to enjoy Angela’s blogs for this very reason!

I have attached a link to her blog for your convenience if you wish to take a personal gander!
http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/~ajargy/

The use of separate paragraphs is very formal in Angela’s blog writing, which I think fits as a perfect piece into the puzzle that Angela has effectively created with her blog entries. Stylistically speaking, Angela spaces her paragraphs to portray a very formal style of writing that features one main idea in each paragraph. For example, in her blog “Refuting Counterarguments” she begins each paragraph by justifying why she is writing it and even includes an introductory note that almost serves the same purpose as an abstract. “In this blog, I would like to examine some of the counterarguments I could possibly use in my convincing paper. I have revised my thesis somewhat, so I will restate it again.” This is a very clear way that Angela’s has consciously contained in her blog consistently and it is a form of writing that I believe makes her blog more effective to a more serious and intense graduate level audience. Another reason why I say this is because, like her paragraph in that blog (which begins with “1) According to the AMA there is ‘tension regarding causing unnecessary harm among healthy individuals.’” The continuing use of scholarly quotes and references to passages highlights a genuine interest that serves to me as a persuasive element of her writing.

Because she is so effective in displaying her emotional ties, connections and true passion for her medical topics that she decides to frequently reference, Angela ultimately becomes a more effective rhetor. Mixed together with her clear and dedicated efforts in simply showing the information without distracting visual images and quirks, her writing to me automatically becomes more appealing, and attractive in formulating action that took the form of me writing this promotional blog for her. So thanks Angela, I look forward to continuing to reference your blogs on a weekly basis!!

Although everyone is used to witnessing Dwayne Wade and Lebron James duel out their offensive skills with scoring onslaughts, the general basketball fan base is unaware that "King James" and "Flash" do just about as much "battling" off the court--in an advertising arena on camera rather than the hardwood!

VS VS.

Gatorade is “Great”...but wait...Powerade is “Persuasive”!! According to Gatorade.com, which by the way, has a website that is so cool, it makes me want to be drinking a “Melon” Gatorade as I write, says on its website that, “Gatorade research has shown that no drink gets absorbed into the body faster than Gatorade. It's got the right amount of carbohydrates (6%) and just enough sodium to get it where it needs to be, right away. During exercise, your body works best when it's not getting dehydrated, losing fluids and sodium in sweat which aren't replaced right away. The fluids and small amount of sodium in Gatorade replace what you sweat away (and that can be as much as a gallon an hour), so your body is rehydrated and can continue doing what it does best... get you to the finish line. In fact, tests have shown Gatorade rehydrates better than diet cola or even water.” And now, for Powerade, according to their website, which is fun-filled with incredible technology and professional star athletes and music flying and dancing all over the place, writes that powerade, “the ION 4 advanced electrolyte replenishes all the electrolytes lost in sweat. As you lose hydration you can lose your ability to perform...Not being the type that likes to sit around, our mad scientists immediately went to work on developing a new sports drink formula!!”

Check out both their respective websites if you want to see what I am talking about. It may even make the point I hopefully get across by end of this blog more visible as well!

http://www.us.powerade.com/

http://www.gatorade.com/


As a homework assignment for my English class that I completed this past weekend, I spent time watching television for all the wrong reasons—the advertisements!! The reason was that my assignment was to try and locate an advertisement that appealed to me as an the intended audience. Therefore, the add that best caught my eyes would have elements of persuasion. several advertisements to see which ones had the best appeals to the intended audience and therefore held the highest powers of persuasion. In the textbook, Aims of Argument, much of the analysis of what exactly persuasion is focuses on comparing persuasion to it’s close argumentative friend, Mr. convincing. Persuasions is “convincing plus” which basically means that in addition to applying reason, the argument is constructed to included their senses appealing senses such as the character and audience that is intended, the emotions of the audience, and the artistic use of language that is handpicked. Furthermore, persuasion seeks action and thus as I watched the football game last Sunday night, I saw quite a few advertisements that sought action.

Both Powerade and Gatorade could care less in their convincing argument for one reason. Although as the intended audience I may agree with the need for their delicious and hydrating beverage, they are not shelling in any revenue unless they get me to take action---walk into 7/11 and buy a 32 ounce G2!!

For the purpose of the homework assignment, I cam across the Gatorade commercial of Serena Williams sprawled out, elated after her gratifying victory at the US Open a few years back. However, it is important to note that both Gatorade and PowerAde have undergone massive advertising campaigns for many years and only continue because of how effective they are in their persuasion. What I mean is that I saw this add of Serena during prime0time of the Sunday night football game. Thus, the intended audience would be young, maybe college athletes or aspiring football stars that are watching their future teammates. What they see is stardom, fame, the emotion, the passion and most importantly the Gatorade!! If they want to get to the level of fitness that allows athletes to celebrate in victory the same way Serene is pictured then they got to start drinking Gatorade.

However, Powerade also runs a star-studded campaign that over the years has generated a huge and heated rivalry with Gatorade. As I attempted to point out, if you read the contents of their ingredients, there is not significant difference to the point where an outsider can make any conclusive remarks on whether there is a significant amount of formulated difference that would generate a certain consumer demand. Thus, the successes of each company relies heavily on the market campaign and utilization of persuasion through athletes as their gateway for revenue. So basically, it doesn’t come down to if the young aspiring athlete is watching football would rather go through his daily workouts hydrated or no. What has ultimately been a major player in consumer decision is if because MJ’s on the bottle or Dwayne Wade is in the advertisement, who are you rooting for in tonight's game. Whose fan are you? Because the ultimate 1.25 that’s either going to Gatorade or PowerAde is going to be heavily influenced into action based on what the emotional appeal shouts out at you and how effective that triggers action!!

A new company would have a hard time breaking even if their “newly engineered formula” for rehydration featured this guy as their promotional figure.

Earlier today, in my English 225 class, we watched the film Triumph of the Will, which was produced by Leni Riefenstahl in 1934. The film was originally commissioned by Hitler and it chronicles the National Party Days in Nuremberg during the time period.  It is important to note that Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and that the movie was released in 1935, meaning that there were four years between the time the movie was released and when World War II began. I note this because this time period, which was the main message I recieved from the film was that this time period was utilized to highlight some of the features that Hitler was preaching for national unity and pride that could incrase wealth, and overall status of the livelihoods of the citizens of Germany.

The visual elements of the film are central to understanding the purpose of the movie. For most of the film, the producers focus on building up national pride in Germany by highlighting much of Hitler’s work and vows to the labor community prior to World War II. For example, the producers implement persuasive devices such as the opening scene credits that are chalk full of scenic representations of a unified Germany and the visual representations through the ornate architecture, bustling streets and happy citizens. Furthermore, the evidence that is provided by the producers are the personal relationships, accessibility, and feminine side of Hitler that the movie is trying to display. This would obviously tie into the main purpose behind the film because it is attempting to persuade the audience or voters of Germany and citizens that their vote, if they indeed were nationalist and wanted Germany to succeed, should vote for the National Socialist Albrecht Party or Labor/ Worker party that was headed by Hitler.

One scene in particular, where Hitler experiences a warm reception at the child and youth development rally, highlights both the connection between the verbal elements of the argument and the visual parts. The laughter, eager shots of children, excited close-ups of little school girls and respect by the young boys prior to Hitler’s arrival at the rally, is visual evidence that the producers utilize to persuade the voters of Germany that basically if you look at their platform, there is more improvement to come and even better times that lay ahead. The progression of Germany is a reason for voting, yet the evidence is embedded in the tangible visual elements that the audience or citizens of Germany can appreciate. However, furthermore, there are elements in the verbal language of Hitler’s address that are being echoed and repeated to persuade the young children and women of progress and unity in Germany. Ultimately the respect that they felt they were obligated to show to Hitler originates from some of the characteristics that Hitler was trying to instill in the German population. The movie is focusing on how his success would be for the better of Germany, and not that his success stemmed form the persuasive and linguistic and passionate forms of speech that he became associated with.

This view of Hitler that is being portrayed as a persuasive element for the citizens of Germany, provides the current audience with a stark and less well known view of Hitler’s attempt to gather us support, or “rally the troops” behind a common goal that was twisted to be viewed as beneficial for  Germany as a whole. However, less clear was the resulting affects the policies would have on world peace. The movie seems to be less persuasive for audiences currently because much of the pursuausive elements that I noted when I first introduced the film were effective because they served with the  function of the time that had not yet elapsed before the ultimate results that followed these National Party Days and nationalization of Germany. The persuasive point of the argument would lose a portion of voters based on the fact that it would no longer be able to present the images such as the introductory scenes and the soldiers bathing and shaving each other with the same pursuasive purpose, had the results that followed and the actual outcome been documented and the time period of which the actual results took form.