7 things:
1-Credible sources are sited in all (ethos)
2-The Marijuana essay also gave the reader a timeline and background info on the topic.
3-The Marijuana essay ended strongly, tieing up everything that was mentioned in the story and addressing "Ms. Healy"
4-The transitions were smooth, adding to the flow of the essay
5-In the steroid essay, the writer addresses the reader at the beginning of the story, asking him/her to picutre a scenario.
6-Stories evoke emotion for the reader (pathos)
7-Marijuana essay presented us with statistics.
5 things:
1-I need to clear up the author's main point I am rebutting.
2-Rewrite my introduction to make my paper's purpose less ambiguous.
3-I need to work out a couple transitions (flow)
4-I need to establish ethos.
5-Stronger conclusion.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Lady Gaga
In this article, Camille Paglia writes that Lady Gaga is not a sex icon for many reasons. She is labeled as a fake for her wardrobe and hair choices as well as her fabricated loser persona. She wears crazy outfits topped with outlandish wigs. Surely someone who dresses like this doesn't belong in the category of sexy. She is a sensation in night clubs and bars (where her young fans typically are) and looks the part as well. She claims to want to help everyone love themselves and be comfortable in their bodies. She calls them her "monsters" and she says that she can relate to feeling like them; however, she went to an expensive private school that Paris Hilton attended in New York. She also criticizes Gaga's videos and the content within them. Samantha Cohen kind of helps Gaga out in "The Gaga Stigmata" blog. She relates Gaga's video content to literary aspects and Chinese symbols, increasing her credibility.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Proposal
I am evaluating the show "The Biggest Loser" as a bad influence on viewers because:
-it adds to negative stereotyping on Americans and overweight individuals.
-it preys on people insecurites, adding to the media's influence/pressure that people should be thin.
-it discourages healthy weight loss by making it seem imperative and something that needs to be done harshly/immediately (trainer's attitudes/techniques).
Oliver, J. Eric. Fat Politics. New York, NY:Oxford University Press, 2006. 120-73. Print.
-This book provides insight on how the panic over obesity is actually the problem.
Sisson, Mark. "The Biggest Loser… Is the Audience ." Mark's Daily Apple. The BlogStudio, 29 10
2009. Web. 1 Aug 2011. <http://www.marksdailyapple.com/biggest-loser/>.
-This blog talks about how people are affected by the show in general.
Thomas, Samantha, Jim Hyde, and Paul Komesaroff. "'Cheapening the Struggle:' Obese People's
Attitudes Towards The Biggest Loser." Obesity Management. 3.5(2007): 210-215. Print.
-This journal provides a scholarly overview of how viewers are psychologically influenced by the show.
-it adds to negative stereotyping on Americans and overweight individuals.
-it preys on people insecurites, adding to the media's influence/pressure that people should be thin.
-it discourages healthy weight loss by making it seem imperative and something that needs to be done harshly/immediately (trainer's attitudes/techniques).
Oliver, J. Eric. Fat Politics. New York, NY:Oxford University Press, 2006. 120-73. Print.
-This book provides insight on how the panic over obesity is actually the problem.
Sisson, Mark. "The Biggest Loser… Is the Audience ." Mark's Daily Apple. The BlogStudio, 29 10
2009. Web. 1 Aug 2011. <http://www.marksdailyapple.com/biggest-loser/>.
-This blog talks about how people are affected by the show in general.
Thomas, Samantha, Jim Hyde, and Paul Komesaroff. "'Cheapening the Struggle:' Obese People's
Attitudes Towards The Biggest Loser." Obesity Management. 3.5(2007): 210-215. Print.
-This journal provides a scholarly overview of how viewers are psychologically influenced by the show.
Cultural Interests
The Biggest Loser is a popular show where overweight people compete to lose weight. If they lose the most weight and win the contest, they win a cash prize. Appropriately, it aired first in America in 2004. Globally, Americans are associated with being overweight. This show adds to that stereotype. Also, it adds to the media based/social pressure to be thin. This show teaches viewers that being heavy is a quality that should lower their self-esteem and feel bad about themselves. While it is argued and proven on some accounts about health benefits of weightloss, who said that being skinny should be the norm? Author Eric Oliver argues in his book Fat Politics that "it's not obesity, but the panic over obesity, that's the real health problem." This show is a prime example of this.
Cosmopolitan Magazine has been a popular read for 125 years. While there are many topics addressed between the pages, the primary focus is on sex and sexuality. I have mixed feelings about this and so does the general public from what I gather. On one hand, it is a good thing that women can read about other people's experiences with sex and gain information on different aspects of sex. For a long time, sex and sexuality were kept hush-hush. As time progresses, it is important that we become more liberal and accepting instead of stuck in our conservative ways that breed shame and fear into things we should celebrate...like our sexuality. On the other hand, Cosmo feeds America's need for stereotypes. All of the women are portrayed as thin, neighboring articles about how to lose weight. The men are all portrayed as muscular and "ideal." Women are the main audience for this publication, and the impact it has on them is crucial. While they are promoting open mindedness and self awareness, they are also pushing those who don't fit the stereotypical mold into a corner.
Heidi Montag is a reality star from "The Hills"-a show documenting (though scripted) the daily lives of wealthy, beautiful people in California. She began her stardom as a thin, small-breasted, attractive girl, but now has a completely new appearance. She has undergone 10+ plastic surgeries, and some of them twice. While many people think she is a bad example of someone to show their kids, I think she is a great teaching model for young women. Because her life is over-documented in the media, it is easy to find out about her endeavors. In an interview with Life and Style magazine, she discusses her surgeries and how they have impacted her. Through this interview and some internet research on Heidi, it is easy to gather the message that altering one's body to fit a certain image is not worth it. She talks about how it damaged her career, her personal life, and how she actually looked and felt better about herself pre-plastic.
Cosmopolitan Magazine has been a popular read for 125 years. While there are many topics addressed between the pages, the primary focus is on sex and sexuality. I have mixed feelings about this and so does the general public from what I gather. On one hand, it is a good thing that women can read about other people's experiences with sex and gain information on different aspects of sex. For a long time, sex and sexuality were kept hush-hush. As time progresses, it is important that we become more liberal and accepting instead of stuck in our conservative ways that breed shame and fear into things we should celebrate...like our sexuality. On the other hand, Cosmo feeds America's need for stereotypes. All of the women are portrayed as thin, neighboring articles about how to lose weight. The men are all portrayed as muscular and "ideal." Women are the main audience for this publication, and the impact it has on them is crucial. While they are promoting open mindedness and self awareness, they are also pushing those who don't fit the stereotypical mold into a corner.
Heidi Montag is a reality star from "The Hills"-a show documenting (though scripted) the daily lives of wealthy, beautiful people in California. She began her stardom as a thin, small-breasted, attractive girl, but now has a completely new appearance. She has undergone 10+ plastic surgeries, and some of them twice. While many people think she is a bad example of someone to show their kids, I think she is a great teaching model for young women. Because her life is over-documented in the media, it is easy to find out about her endeavors. In an interview with Life and Style magazine, she discusses her surgeries and how they have impacted her. Through this interview and some internet research on Heidi, it is easy to gather the message that altering one's body to fit a certain image is not worth it. She talks about how it damaged her career, her personal life, and how she actually looked and felt better about herself pre-plastic.
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