WWII Propaganda

In this picture, most of the paper space is used up with the image of the woman. By doing this, the poster draws the attention of the viewer first most directly to the lady. The result of this being that the propaganda almost immediately distinguishes its audience. The lady is dressed in army garb, which is somewhat unusual as it was not generally the woman’s role to engage in warfare. By this variance, it draws more attention to the woman, thus amplifying their point. The second most noticeable feature on this poster is the American flag that resides behind the woman. By displaying the flag, it accomplishes two primary tasks: first, the flag is a symbol or type. The flag symbolizes respect, freedom, and liberty. So by showing the flag, the poster instills those feelings. Secondly, by displaying the woman standing in front of the flag, it denotes her loyalty to her country. This layout is key as the purpose of the poster is to recruit women, so by displaying a woman who is willing to serve her counter, it creates the same feelings in women viewing the poster, thus making them want to join the army.
In this poster, the words “This is my war too!” are written at the bottom in fairly large font. By using the larger font, the words will draw attention more that the other words would. This phrase combined with the picture of the woman instills an emotion of responsibility into female viewers. This poster does this through addressing the stereotypical fact of many more men joining up with the war than women. By bringing up this point, some women feel as if the men shouldn’t have to do everything with the war but that the women should get involved as well. With the use of the phrase ‘my war’, the sentence introduces a sense of ownership. With ownership of a great issue comes responsibility of that issue. Also, by saying that the war is partially owned by the women, it implies that the women have a say in the outcome of the war. This pushes the emotion of responsibility even further. The point of this poster is to create enough emotion in the women viewers to the extent that they will go out and join the army.

Responsibility

Remember when you were a kid and your biggest worry was like if you'd get a bike for your birthday, or if you'd get to eat cookies for breakfast? Now that I am officially an adult, I'm beginning to think its totally overrated. Don't be fooled by all the hot shoes, the great parties, and the no parents anywhere telling you what to do. Its the responsibility that comes with all that privilege I'm worried about. I mean adults have to be places, and earn a living, and pay the rent. See? Its kind of making bikes and cookies look really really good isn't it? And you know what the scariest part of responsibility is? When you screw up, and let it slip right through your fingers. Unfortunately however, once we get past the age of braces and training bras, responsibility doesn't go away. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. Responsibility can't be avoided, either someone makes us face it, or we suffer the consequences. . And still, I mean adulthood has its perks, your own place, your own privacy, and the no parents anywhere telling you what to do, well, that's pretty damn good.

Also in the unfortunate category, is the inevitability that in life only one thing is certain...apart from death and taxes...no matter how hard you try, no matter how good your intentions, you are going to make mistakes. You're going to hurt people, you're going to get hurt, and if you ever want to recover, there is only one thing you can say. Forgive and forget, that's what they say, it's good advice, but its not very practical. When someone hurts us, we want to hurt them back. When someone wrongs us, we want to be right. Without forgiveness, old scores are never settled...old wounds never heal. And the most we can hope for is that one day we'll be lucky enough to forget.

Fairy Tales

After careful consideration, and many sleepless nights, here's what I've decided: There is no such thing as a "grown-up". We eventually move on and move out, and we will move away from our families, and start our own. But the basic insecurities, the basic fears, and all the old wounds will just grow up with us. We get bigger, we get taller, we get older, but for the most part we're still a bunch of kids, running around the playground, trying desperately to fit in. I've heard it's possible to grow up, I've just never met anyone who's actually ever done it. Without our parents to defy, we break the rules we set for ourselves. We still throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets in the dark with our best friends, we look for comfort where we can find it. And we hope, against all logic, against all experience, like children we never give up hope.

Like you know how when you were a kid and you believed in fairy tales? That fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, Prince Charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You'd lie in bed at night and close your eyes, and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close, you could taste them. But eventually, we grow-up. One day, we wake up, open our eyes, and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is, its hard to let go of that fairy tale completely, because almost everyone still has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they'll open their eyes and it will all come true.

At the end of the day, faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. Its like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well its may not be a castle. And it suddenly becomes not so important that its happily ever after. Just that it's happy right now. See once in awhile, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you. And once in awhile... people may even take your breath away.

Vice Presidential Debate

In the Vice Presidential debate, each candidate was asked the question, "What promises, given the events of the week, the bailout plan, have your campaigns made to the American people that you are not going to be able to keep?" Both candidates used different tactics and strategies an attempt to persuade the audience. They used different methods to reach the people in a variety of ways. Using logos, pathos, and ethos, candidate is effectively arguing or debating their opinions and beliefs.

After Joe Biden's response, Sarah Palin begins to answer the question by saying, "The nice thing about running with John McCain is that he does not tell one thing to one group and then turn around and tell something different to another group." By opening with that particular statement, Sarah Palin is able to effectively give credibility to John McCain using the rhetorical method of ethos; it provides John McCain with the credentials that he is an authoritative figure that is very trustable.

After speaking about John McCain, Sarah Palin then begins to use a different approach and talks of her feelings on the subject. She once again uses ethos by talking about the energy plan, "You know what I had to do in the state of Alaska? I had to take on those oil companies and tell them that their mode of operation was wrong and that it was not going to continue." By providing the audience with this information, she is establishing herself as a very powerful figure that has a lot of control and authority. By using this approach, the speaker's character is persuading, as she is showing what she has accomplished at a position already as a leader. She's trying to show the American people that she is very capable of being in a position at a level of high authority and in control.

Sarah Palin also made several statements about herself that shows the goodwill of her character. She presents information by quoting, "What I had to do was break up monopoly and say that the people are going to come first and make sure we have value given to the people.” This can be considered an ethos because she speaks of the goodwill she has a person but it is also interpreted as a pathos. It may be considered a pathos statement because it also applies to emotion, and it directly relates to the people and it is a subject that the audience can easily relate to.

Finally, Sarah Palin uses ethos to wrap up her main points. She says, "I had to turn around those tax breaks as a governor of an energy producing state, which is my own expertise (energy)." She is showing that she is very experienced in the area of energy conservation, which is very important for her to be able to have even more credibility as a leader. Palin then says, "I do not believe that John McCain has made any promises that he would not be able to keep either." This is a very bold statement that is an ethos, for she is showing the reliability and trustworthiness that John McCain has as a potential President. It puts him in a very high position with a great amount of authority and control. Throughout the debate, there are various examples of ethos that Palin used to attempt to persuade and convince her audience.

Presidential debate

In this clip that I viewed, the question was asked whether or not the budget can be balanced in four years. John McCain, begins the answering of the question by saying," Senator Obama, I am not President Bush," he then proceeds to talk about Obama's voting record, "He voted twice for a budget resolution, that increases the taxes on individuals." By using statistics and defining the budget resolution, he is demonstrating logos. He then proceeds to run around the actual question, of how he would actually do it, and then uses examples of other people's solutions to distract the audience. He says " That American's are hurtin' and upset, and he understands that," which is an example of pathos AND ethos, he is showing that he feels strongly about the American people's well being as well as the fact he is relateable. Obama is then allowed to retort on the subject, and responds by using logos, and talks about all the things that he has supported, such as "charter schools, and paid for performance for teachers, clean coal technology, and says that he has a history of reaching across the aisle."