FINAL BLOG.

The photo adventure was pretty interesting. I got there late but luckily, I ran into some classmates and tagged along with them! It was pretty hard trying to find some things to take pictures of that induce pathos, ethos or logos.

This picture is most definitely pathos. These people are on a strike for a certain cause. It makes you wonder what you can do to help and how it effects them. It could also be ethos because they are on strike because of some unfair treatment. They are credible to this cause.

This picture is using pathos. It gives a little story about how a mother saved her son from drowning after he got off a water slide. She used CPR precautions to save him. The poster is bringing up the awareness of pool safety with an emotional story behind it.

I have no idea what I was thinking about when I took this.

Doing the Social Issue paper was fun and interesting. I liked researching my topic of video game violence and how it affects children and people. The articles I read were very informative and interesting. The most interesting article I read had to be the one about the journals of the Columbine shooters. It basically showed you what they were thinking about and their plans leading up to the Columbine Massacre. Very heavy stuff. It was very useful in familiarizing me with the social issue because  had to dig deep for some information. I think the Columbine information is the best part of my paper. I feel like that was a main point that I was trying to get across.

Roger & Me.

I found Roger & Me almost too difficult to watch.  It was very eye opening.  Seeing people live in those conditions was sad.  The parts that struck emotion within me were when people were getting thrown out of their homes.  The person that came to evict them showed no remorse.  He didn’t care what day of the week it as long as he’s getting paid for doing his job.  He previously worked for GM and he had no choice.  Another part that was hard for me to watch was when the woman killed her rabbits for food.  It just goes to show how rough living in Flint, MI was at the time.

It’s hard to tell whether GM was directly responsible for the economic downfall of Flint, MI.  However, I feel like they are one of the main reasons for it.  GM laid PLENTY of people off who depended on their job.  I think one of the faults of Michael Moore’s documentary was the fact that he didn’t clarify whether the people he was showing getting evicted worked for GM.  I’m not sure if he did or not but if he would have clarified that, I feel like that would have had a huge impact to what the purpose of the documentary was about.  

Michael Moore most definitely uses pathos and ethos in Roger & Me.  He is a native of Flint, MI so he is credible for knowing how the closing of GM has affected his city.  His parents and grandparents were also former workers of GM.  The closing probably affected his parents as well.  He uses pathos by showing multiple people getting evicted from their homes.  That has to be a hard time for them and seeing their reactions to getting kicked out of their homes is heart-wrenching.  It definitely struck emotion within me because I felt really bad for them.  I almost cried!

Ehrenreich’s excerpt, Mantsios’ article, and Moore’s documentary all share common themes.  They all show the struggles of being in the lower class of American society.  Michael Moore uses a third person perspective to document the struggles of the lower class.  Barbara Ehrenreich actually indulges herself in the lower class to understand what they go through on a day to day basis.  Gregory Mantsios basically gives us some amazing statistics and contrasts them.  He contrasts the incomes of the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class.

Modern Family.

I knew of Modern Family but I had no idea of how hilarious was! The show uses believable situations that families go through almost everyday. I've been in the situation of having my parents not wanting me to hang out with our old next door neighbor. It was cool because I've been in that situation, plus, it reminded me of my childhood.

If this show was released 10 years ago, I think it would have been as accepted as it is now. Back then, Will & Grace was on television and that tackled the subject homosexuality. Modern Family shows that subject as well but not to the extent that Will & Grace did. So, I feel like if it were released 10 years ago, there would be no problems because of the acceptance of other shows on TV at the time.

I feel like the show does portray family life in America. They aren't your typical families. It doesn't have just that ONE family, this show has three; the "Interracial Family", the "Ideal Family", and the "Gay Family". Although some situations are used for comedy, they are totally believable situations. I've never met a familiy like the families portrayed in Modern Family, but I feel like there culd be some families out there like them.

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Memoir

The feeling of warm anger and steaming frustration was unbearable. Holding these feelings inside was sure to be ticking time bomb, waiting for its time to run out so that it could explode. I love my mom, but this dictatorship from more than 500 miles away wasn't healthy for me. I felt as helpless as a 5-year-old child being told what to do. With frustration in my veins as a familiar feeling, I walked around Morehouse College with a permanent frown on my face. My eyebrows were raised as high as the moon, my nostrils were flared, and my eyes collected tears of anger almost every second of the day. I was alone, no matter how many people I was around. Imagine being alone in a dark corridor and at the end of the corridor was the place you felt was the key to your happiness but it was always out of your reach. That place at the end of the corridor for me was Columbia College Chicago. I dreamed of being there everyday and it helped me to stay sane. The only friends I had at the time were my thoughts and my iPod. They were the only things that made me feel like I was being listened to.

My friends were also my worst enemies. During my classes, my ears were as closed as a safe at a bank and no one could crack the code but me. I paid no attention in any of my classes. My earbud headphones were attached to my ears at all hours of the day. Listening to music made me feel like I was floating on a cloud, away from society, away from pain, away from reality. I envied this feeling of being free and it angered me every time I thought about it. After being done with classes, I always went straight to my dorm. That place always smelled like urine. I really hated living there with all guys. The bathrooms stayed filthy and disgusting and I had a roommate from hell. My room reeked of marijuana at all times. My roommate sold marijuana and from time to time, he would bring girls into our room to have sex with them. Keep in mind that this was while I was still in the room.

My mom didn't understand what I was going through. What I was going through was equivalent to torture. Morehouse College was a jail, my dorm room was my cell, and as the days passed, I was serving my time. There had been weeks where I didn't talk to my mom. I missed her dearly and I hated that it had to be this way. I really didn't feel like getting into an argument with her because if we did, I would shut down as abruptly as a power outage. I wanted us to come to some sort of agreement so this could be a thing of the past. I knew that wasn't an option, at least for now. So for the time being, I'll stay to myself. Alone in this dark corridor continually reaching for that distance place of happiness.

William Zinsser's Memoir Thoughts

Listening to William Zinsser's thoughts regarding memoirs was very interesting. I feel that his thoughts were spot on. The example characteristics of "bad memoirs" was very eye opening for me. He said that bad memoirs whine and bash people who did them wrong in their lives while a good memoir is about forgiveness and compassion. One saying that stood out for me the most was when he said writing a memoir is supposed to heal. I absolutely love that because a memoir is supposed to be a journey of self-reflection and being in touch with your emotions. I agree with him about excluding self-indulgent thought and experiences from memoir because that would leave room for more fabrication and exaggeration.

In my memoir, I think I will write to discuss the inner struggle I had to go through to stand up to my mom for what I believed in. It was a frustrating point in my life where I felt stuck and felt alone in the world with my thoughts and ambitions. I intend to understand where my inner strength came from to finally emerge victorious and help my mother understand that I have to start making my own choices from now on. 

My First Beautiful Device.

As I enter the store full of potential takers, my stomach flutters with excitement. This would be my first time owning one of these onyx coated devices! The way that the sunlight glistened off of it was astonishing. I knew that this device was mine. Once I made up my mind, I called the tall, fair skinned employee to come to my assistance. He almost looked like everyone in the store. They all had on blue shirts with a yellow name tag. For some reason, the employee that was helping me had the biggest smile on his face. I found that to be a little weird. Anyway, he asked how I would like to be helped and I told him that I would like this little guy, pointing to the onyx device. He said no problem and proceeded to get the box with the product in it. As he was walking towards me, it seemed as if the box had some sort of white and blinding aura around it! Maybe that was just my excitement personifed. I swear, I think I reached towards my box with my short, stubby arms as he walked past me! I didnt know what was going on. He led me towards the checkout counter and that's where he sat the box down. The box was as long as my right arm with the colors black and gold dominating it. There were words on it from about 6 different countries but I was most fixated on the picture of my new and beautiful device that was sure to be in my hand in the matter of moments. As soon as I handed him my plastic card and got the receipt from him, the transaction would be complete. When he wished me to have a good day, I literally snatched my new Nikon D3000 and ran out the door to snap some pictures!

VR PROJECT

Here's the link to my Visual Rhetoric Project.  Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingcarter/sets/72157625953267747/show/

Alice Walker Essay

I really like this piece by Alice Walker! In the beginning, I was kind of confused as to who was the narrator and who certain characters were. However, as I kept reading, the characters were fleshed out and I began to get more involved in the story. The story was about a mother and her two daughters. One daughter lives with her while the other has gone out to get higher education. Walker's style of writing had so much character behind it. She articulated some emotions very well but what I loved so much about it was the vivid details she chose to decribe. I could actually picture some of the images just by her vivid descriptions. For example, when the narrator described how she saved her distressed daughter, Maggie, and how she heard the flames crackling, I could picture it. Also, the way Walker writes seems so natural. It doesn't seem forced at all, it just flows. The character development is awesome! I loved the way I could feel a cultural difference between the narrator & Maggie versus Dee & "The Barber". As for the personal exploration aspect, I think the Dee character was there to challenge the aspect of who the narrator is and what she stands for. The quilt part explains that. When Dee told her mother that she was taking the quilts, that would've been like taking her past away from her. After the narrator came to her senses and stood up to Dee, I grew a smile on my face! She realized the worth of those quilts and gave it to Maggie, who deserved them in the first place.

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Iconic Photo: Fire On Marlborough Street

"Fire on Marlborough Street" was shot by Stanley J. Forman on July 22nd, 1975.  He was working in the newsroom of the Boston Herald American newspaper when a police scanner picked up a fire emergency on Marlborough Street.  Forman rushed to the scene, where multiple fire crews were battling an intense blaze. There was a distress call for a ladder team to the rear of the building to help a stranded woman and child. That's when Forman followed.  He climbed on top of a fire truck to get a better view.  Forman's attention was directed to a young woman, Diana Bryant, and a very young girl, Tiare Jones.  They both were seeking help from fireman, Bob O'Neil, located on the roof right above them.  O'Neil moved to the fire escape and motioned for the truck's ladder to be brought to them. The flames came closer to the fire escape as Forman continued to shoot.  Then, at the very instant the ladder reached the trio, the fire escape gave way.  O'Neil clung to the ladder, but Bryant and Jones fell. Forman snapped a last picture before turning away, knowing the bodies were falling to the ground.  Diana Bryant was pronounced dead at the scene but the young girl lived. 

This photo is trying to show the poor fire safety codes that were practiced at that time.  This photo that Stanley J. Forman took paved the way for Boston and other states to mandate tougher fire safety codes.  The message in the picture was a very strong one.  Forman caught a shocking moment on film of a woman and child supposedly falling to their death.  It brought a huge awareness to the lack of safety of fire escapes and demanded something to be done about it.  The reception and perception of the photo was rather large.  Like I said before, the photo brought awareness to safer fire precautions, which was well needed.  Also, this photo from the tragic event garnered Stanley J. Forman a Pulitzer Prize.

Visual Rhetoric Project Ideas

I’ve decided to do my project on life with diabetes.  I am a diabetic myself and I wanted to showcase what necessary precautions I have to go through in order to live a more healthier life.  I feel like this would be good for my soul!  I don’t want to be too serious about this project as far as content goes; I want to have a little fun with it!  I plan to take pictures in the weird places I take my medicine in, the tools and necessities I need to take care of myself, etc.  As I said before, I want to have fun with it but I will not lose sight of the importance of what I’m trying to convey.  I plan to use PATHOS obviously because this subject is VERY dear to me.  Diabetes has changed my life for the better and I am glad that I have control over it.  The context will show the steps I have to take everyday in order to stay healthy and basically how all of this is unnecessary as long as you live healthy.  In some of my pictures, I plan to use mixed media to make it more visually appealing.  I’m going to use a combination of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.  I can’t wait to see my finished product!  I’m so excited!

Guy Tillim

Grande Hotel, Beira, Mozambique, 2008

Courtesy of Kuckei and Kuckei, Berlin & Michael Stevenson, Capotown

Guy Tillim's exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Photography was an interesting one.  At the beginning, I felt that the pictures were lacking something but I couldn’t figure out what it was!  That’s when I decided to read about what the whole exhibit was about.  The description said that Guy Tillim’s gallery of photos were meant to record the architecture and infrastructure of colonial and post-colonial Africa.  That’s when my mind began to work!  What I thought the pictures were lacking were people but they weren’t the actual subjects.  The building’s were the subject and that’s why I chose the pictures shown above.

The pictures are taken of the Grande Hotel.  What I immediately noticed about these pictures were the decaying buildings in the foreground as well as the background.  It gives you a feel of some of the living conditions that these people live in.  I feel like this is a good photo because it serves the purpose of what the exhibit is all about.  The exhibit is focused on the architecture of colonial and post-colonial Africa.  These pictures show the damage and decaying of the building while the building tells us a story.  

It tells us the struggles that it has been through.  It tells us that it is still remaining strong even after the wear and tear of conflict.  To understand the aesthetic of this picture, I asked myself, “What is the beauty of this photo?”  I thought that having little splashes of people in the background at totally different places serves as the soul of the picture.  The exhibit doesn’t focus on individual lives but this picture shows a little bit of that.  It shows that from the kids playing by the pool, to the old man sitting in his chair and to the woman doing laundry on the rooftop.  I feel like this picture is more social than personal because it documents the buildings and how it looks after the result of social change.

Campus Map

The start of my journey starts in Hyde Park beginning at my apartment.  Daily, I make my way to my neccessary bus stop because I commute using the #6: Jackson Park Express bus.  I always make my way to the back of the bus and sit in my favorite seat right by the door for easy exiting purposes.  Everyday, I notice a certain ad that I know has strong emotional value behind it.

This particular ad may not particularly be focused towards me but I know the pain.  My mother was pregnant as a teenager and she expressed her feelings of what she was feeling while she was pregnant with me.  The ad is asking are you pregnant and scared.  It then assures the reader that they aren't alone and tries to get you to call them if you need help.  The ad is most definitely using PATHOS because of its emotional appeal.

This is one smart ad.  I saw it when I got off the bus on Jackson & Michigan. The message that it is trying to convey is to not include yourself in "sexting".  "Sexting" is when you send someone nude pictures of yourself.  They are trying to get the reader to protect yourself and your reputation by not sexting.  I haven't sexted before in my life!  However, I feel that this is pretty cool advertising.  I feel that this ad is using LOGOS. 

This ad is about the extinction of Tigers.  I saw it while walking towards the 33 East Congress PKWY Building.  It tries to bring awareness of the situation.  They are basically giving us information about the number of tigers that are left in the wild daily and that those numbers are shrinking.  They are trying to provoke sympathy within me for these tigers.  It makes me wonder what I can do to help this cause.  This ad uses PATHOS.  It kind of made me sad because tigers were my favorite animals to watch at the zoo.  I don't want to see them go away!

After class is done, I quickly head back to the bus stop, get on the bus and make my way home for some good ol' SLEEP.

"Please move to the rear of the bus."

Dead Space 2 Advertisement

     

This video is an advertisement from Dead Space 2, a video game for the PlayStation 3.  I literally laugh out loud seeing the reactions of the mothers in this video. PRICELESS!  

     In the commercial, mother's are told they are part of a study and are asked to give their opinion on a video game that is under development.  They are then showed clips of the video game that shows the violent content.  After they see the videos of the video game, the mother's hate it.  That's exactly what the commercial was trying to convey!  Have you ever thought something was cool and your mom disagreed with you?  Yeah, you probably thought she didn't know what she was talking about.  That's what the context is.

"A mom's disapproval has always been an accurate barometer of what is cool."

 I see this as GREAT marketing.

The sender of the message are the developers of Dead Space 2.  The game was developed by EA (Electronic Arts) and Visceral Games.  The receiver of the message are kids like me!  Haha.  No, but the receiver of the message are anyone above the age of 17 who are into great video games.  The exact message is sort of complex.  The commercial says that mom's disapprove of this game.  The commercial is really talking to people with mom's out here in the world!  What could be cool in our eyes might not be cool in our mom's eyes; that's what makes Dead Space 2 a good game. That's the point that the commercial was trying to make.  This commercial doesn't show ethos or pathos in my opinion.  It doesn't show a highly emotional story and could be seen as a good persuasive strategy for some, not all.  I think this commercial is mainly logos.  It shows factual data and statistics and informed opinions mainly from the mothers.

I think this commercial achieved what it was going for!  I say this because it made me go out and...

...BUY THE GAME!

Now, all I need is my mother's approval. 

=]

Allow Me To Introduce Myself.

What’s up everyone?!  My name is Eugene Carter III and I am from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I am a graphic design major, however, I have plenty of things that I love to do!  

First off, my favorite thing to do is to take photographs with my Nikon D3000.  I fell in love with photography ever since I got my first camera, which was in the shape of Pikachu holding a Poke’Ball!  

I also LOVE to play video games, especially survival horror games like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame.  I have the Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo video game consoles.  No room for the Xbox in MY apartment. YUCK.  

I have some writing experience with the help of my middle school teacher, Mrs. Gonzalez.  She really believed in my writing skills and even let me be one of the commencement speaker at my 8th grade graduation.  Ever since, I guess I have been an okay writer.  

The hopes I have about the course is for me to stay focused and maintain a good balance between my classes.  My fear is to lose those priorities that I have set for myself.  I plan to keep my priorities in check this semester and get my grades up!