Month: April 2018

Research—MyrtleView

I propose that black culture is becoming too mainstream resulting African Americans in losing their culture. Fashion trends from black culture and hip-hop culture has become a common influence in what all celebrities wear today.

Black culture started out first and foremost as a political argument. From the top of the head to the bottom of the feet everything was an expression of resistance and black culture. However, this culture was barely noticed in mainstream until late 1973, otherwise known as, the birth of hip hop. The hip hop era took to the youth like a moth take to a flame. It shocked many around the world and is still a major source of influence today. With the new success and spotlight, black culture was at its prime. Fast forward 17 years later and Brandy, Tyra Banks, Tupac, and The Notorious B.I.G bless the 1990’s with unapologetic culture. This is the era that is currently referred to when looking for the “new” look.

The more black fashion appears in mainstream the less black, black people become. When black fashion is pictured we start to imagine black men and women in gold jewelry, wearing Air Jordan’s, and braids. These are just three things that make black people black and give representation to the black community. However somewhere along the line the public—mostly white celebrities—started to notice the stylish ideas that were being created. Although it is uncertain when this phenomenon started to occur, it was visible when white rappers felt comfortable wearing oversized clothing and when white women decided it was a good idea to wear braids and hoop earring. This was not a big problem until they wore it and it was branded as their own to sell and distribute with no acknowledgment of where it really originated.  This lead to widespread cultural appropriation and people believing that they could be more socially acceptable and grab the media’s attention if they dressed like a black person. For example, Huffington Post article “On Miley Cyrus, Hip-hop, And The Objectification Of Black Women” by DeAsia Paige suggests that Miley Cyrus’ new style and attitude that was influenced by hip hop culture was the sole reason why she is considered to be demeaning and appropriating of black women.

Black fashion has always been a political statement of freedom and fighting against oppression. According to Buzzfeed’s video, “100 Years of Black Fashion,” natural hair, Afros, and African cloth became symbols of African heritage and pride and were further popularized throughout the 1960s.” From the 1960’s and 1970’s black fashion depicted the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. Members of the Black Panther movement popularized afros and dark sunglasses. In the 1973 the greatest contribution to music was created, otherwise known as the birth of hip hop. Hip hop music influenced many teens to sport bright athletic track suits and loose-fitting clothes. Black icons such as Michael Jackson, Salt and Pepa, and Whitney Houston brought their unapologetic style and grace to the 80’s with flaming red leather jackets and matching outfits for couples. Finally, we come to the most inspirational era of black culture the 90’s. During the 1990’s, black women were going back into their roots and wearing a multitude of fashionable braids. Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, and Erykah Badu influenced generations to come that it was okay to be natural and take care of black hair. In today’s era some aspects of black culture are flourishing while others are being taken advantage of completely. According to “Money flowing into the natural hair industry is a blessing and curse for those who built it up” an article on LA Times written by Makeda Easter in 2016, 2.5 billion dollars was spent on black hair care product by black consumers. While natural hair goes up hair relaxers are taking a 36 percent dive in prices from 2012 to 2017, stated by the article “USA: Relaxer sales fall but Black hair care market is booming, thanks to natural hair movement” from the website Brazil Beauty News. Unfortunately, the more black women wear their natural hair out the more attention it grabs as with all black fashion.

“An Illustrative Identity of Fashion and Style Throughout African-American History and Movements” an article written by Danielle James at Huffington Post believes fashion to be a true identity of the black community. Fashion and style has always been the shining beacon of pride in the black community. The black community started to really express themselves by going to church since it allowed them the time to be themselves in an environment which was not subjected to the racism and  hatred of society. Many would dress in elegant suits with matching hats and purses because black people often had to wear uniforms during the work days. In the 1960’s black people started to use African fabric to announce their heritage proudly. The merging of fashion with media was born during the Trayvon Martin case. A plain simple hoodie was then turned into a political outcry for help during this injustice against an unarmed and innocent black teenager. The way black people present themselves to the outside world is not a trend but an identity of who they are and the battles they deal with.

“The Double Standards of Cultural Appropriation” an article on The Bottom Line written by Morgan Bubman explains why cultural appropriation is unjust. Black people have to constantly deal with the “edgy” and “alternative” trends that the majority population find favorable for only them. When white people borrow from culture they only take the thing they believe are fashion forward or could be of monetary value. This is the concern that many black people face because when they wear these same styles, on them it is responded with only black slurs. Examples of this daily occurrence is Kylie Jenner being praised for her surgically induced lips when black women are vehemently badgered for having naturally plump lips. Not only does the public love Jenner’s lips, she made a hefty profit off of them by creating her own cosmetic line. But yet their was backlash on MAC’s Instagram page for having a black model sport purple lipstick.

Last September, the Daily Show criticized how fashion week had appropriated black culture. Dulce Sloan, a guest on the show, said that when white people appropriate culture they do not get any of the negative effects that has to come with the Fashion and styles they steal. She goes on to say that people like the Kardashians, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift do not “Get pulled over for no reason. Get followed through a store.”

Author of Zeba Blay at Huffington Post believes white women should not be able to wear black hairstyles. Her article “Its a slap in the face when white women wear black hair styles” points out that even though the world knows what is and is not racist they have become unbearable insensitive. To support her claim she uses the fashion magazine Allure to prove her point. In the magazine there is a section that is entitled to create the perfect Afro even if your hair type is straight. Blay believes this was a specific article to white people since the picture tagged to the article is of a woman with curls. Blay then goes on to defend that when black women do straighten their hair or dye it blonde that this is a form of assimilation not appropriation. Black women assimilate to survive since so many are attacked for wearing their natural hair out because is it not seen as professional or classy.

Black fashion has always been a major factor in how black people and the world view themselves.  The black community has always suffered from the ignorance, oppression, and racism of others who saw them as less. With that being said, black people remember their history through appearances first. The issue of black fashion becoming more mainstream is that a community of people become muffled and silenced by the others wanting to be like them but not like them. To be truly black means to experience the hatred the world has for them and wait for everything that is considered yours to be stolen from underneath your feet. To be truly black is to feel numb every time the news reports of another innocent black victim dead at the hands of the police. Being black means being told countless times in a lifetime that the world was made to be against you. Being truly black means to be called “urban”, “hood”, “ghetto”, and “scary”. These attributes may also find their way into other minorities, but they can never truly understand the pain and the hardships. The styles the black communities wear is a message all on its own that says to the world, “I have a history and it will be recognized.”

In no way am I saying that cultures should stick to their own culture since that would be a terrible world. I am saying that if a person does take ideas or use aspects from a culture they should definitely refer back to their cultural influence.  Many celebrities have stolen from different cultures in the past and have gotten away with it countless times. Even though the black community show strong disapproval towards these celebrities’ actions with no apology. Then the media surrounding these famous celebrities increase the exposure of these “trends”. Cultural appropriation happens when a culture, different then the culture a person is in, is worn and is not acknowledge or is demeaning for others outside that community to wear.

The major contributors to the loss off black identity is famous white women and the media. The media is responsible in showing the public what celebrities wear. However, they also set the tone for how the public should respond using catchy words or phrases. Famous white women find inspiration in black fashion from the hairstyles and clothing we wear then incorporating it into their daily lives. Their mistake is not correcting the media on where they got their style sense. When white women say nothing, a culture is silenced because they are allowing this type of injustice to continue. In stead of black culture being credited the white women are accounted instead.

Black fashion in the mainstream media causes cultural appropriation. The best thing about diversity is being surrounded by people and cultures that can be similar and very different from our own. The world is becoming more and more diverse and unfortunately things like cultural appropriation do occur. Cultural appropriation is when a race steals elements from a culture in an opposing race and uses it for financial gain or re-branded ownership. Usually the race being pillaged holds little to no power. During this time, black women and men are embracing their culture in a most positive way. Black fashion is one of the ways the black community speaks to the world without saying anything and will continue to inspire people. Although, this type of fashion is only acceptable when worn by someone not black. For example, in 2015 Zendaya, a famous celebrity teenager, graced the Oscars with her hair styled in faux dreads. Zendaya was then criticized for looking like she smelled of weed. Kylie Jenner also wore faux dreads for a Teen Vogue story and was labeled “edgy”, “beautiful”, and “raw.” These two examples show that even though one of these women are mixed she is still less than the white women. The more black fashion is exposed in the mainstream the more likely it is that the black community will lose black fashion and with it part of their identity.

Black fashion in the mainstream media causes black people to lose their identity. Since cultural appropriation effects how black people are first perceived it is hard for the black community to recognize what their identity is. A big majority of black culture is black fashion. Black fashion was and is still a major approach used by the black community to fight back against oppression and the conformity of society. The black community has to live with knowing that they exist only because of the 246 years slavery existed. They must also learn that after slavery the black community continued to feel pain because of segregation which lasted about 89 years. Through these years the black community has fought wars and forced laws all to make living a little easier for the next generations. Black fashion is what makes black people happy as well as surviving subjugation and racism. This explains why black people are so passionate and interested in incidents regarding cultural appropriation towards their culture. Knowing that black people would become just like everyone else is what pushes this group of people forward to stop this from happening. If the barrier between mainstream “trends” and black fashion was to be removed many black youths would grow up confused at how to define their style and where their sense of style actually originates.

Popular white celebrities and black fashion causes cultural appropriation. These trends in mainstream fashion do not come out of nowhere. Most of the trends in fashion are determined by popular celebrities who are seen by the media.  They are also more likely to set a “trend” if they are white. The Kardashian family is infamous for cultural appropriation since they draw inspiration from black culture and profit from it or rename a fashion in black history. A recent example would be Kim Kardashian’s “boxer braids” show in Teen Vogue’s article “This Hairstyle Is Not Called “Boxer Braids” and Kim Kardashian Didn’t Make It Popular.” The author Britni Danielle writes that “girls have worn cornrows before, or that most of the early 2000s were filled with celebs like Alicia Keys, Tyra Banks, Ludacris, Bow Wow, and even Justin Timberlake rocking the style” but the reason it received attention “is because white women have finally caught on.”

Popular white female celebrities wearing black fashion causes cultural appropriation which also causes black people to lose their identity in society. White women wearing black fashion does not cause them to be a victim in the negative side effects of being black. Since there is an imbalance in power white women are less likely to be ridiculed or treated unfairly if they wore box braids in the workplace or fashioned an athletic suit on Instagram. This same imbalance in power makes it harder for black women to wear their natural hair at work without “causing a scene” or having offensive demeaning labels attached to them. White women need to understand that society holds them on a higher pedestal than minorities. For this reason, they should be more aware of the message they are putting out into the world to work together to bring growth instead of tearing women apart.

As said previously, black people lose their ‘blackness’ when black fashion is worn by someone more socially acceptable. Contrary to this belief, black people cannot lose their blackness because there are many other factors that make them black. In addition, the cycle of black fashion trends is more beneficial to black people as well as the world. Darcel Rockett’s article “’How to Slay’: Black fashion has made its mark on world culture” in the Chicago Tribune interviewed fashion expert, Constance C.R. White, who had this to say “This moment is very individualistic — it’s very much about expressing your personality, it’s a mashup and melding of different times. It’s more acceptable than ever, and there’s a hundred trends happening at once. We haven’t seen that in fashion — ever.” What White is trying to say is that fashion is about expressing individuality by choosing from the many time periods of fashion while it is still socially acceptable.

When someone more socially acceptable wear trends that are from black fashion it is not cultural appropriation it is cultural appreciation. When people style their hair in dreadlocks or wear earrings with their name on them it is to show that people who are not black can show how much they like the culture. White people capitalize on black fashion because they understand that black people are not appealing towards society, so it becomes their responsibility. When different people come together and wear black fashion they are essentially expanding and spreading black culture.

It should also be addressed that this argument is based off of black privilege. In John Blake’s article “It’s time to talk about ‘black privilege’” on CNN it writes that “white commentators describe how blackness has become such a “tremendous asset” that some whites are now trying to “pass” as black.” This means that white people believe it a societal necessity to wear clothes influenced by black people and enhanced body parts to be accepted. This may be the reason why people like the Kardashians feel comfortable getting plastic surgery but uncomfortable telling the world the reason why.

Black fashion is worn by everyone so by default black culture becomes a natural trendsetter. As soon as society begins to wear the hairstyles and clothing of black people they immediately know it is time to find something else to standout. This pattern is the reason why most trends are born, why some trends go out of style, and why some become revamped. As a result of this phenomena, black people influence the world only by the way they look. If anything, this should be seen as a privilege to black people since not many cultures can say the same. Black fashion has not always been a source of happiness for the black community. In many ways black fashion can hold black people back since it reinforces that black people are “dirty and poor criminals with no intelligence” just by attire. However, this way of thinking is curbed when everyone starts to dress in mainstream black fashion trends. Know people are targeted equally since they are all dressed the same. This also allows for black people to be discreet since society dresses like them and it is harder to be noticed if everyone is following the same trends.

 

Rewrite Rebuttal Argument- Myrtle View

As said previously, black people lose their ‘blackness’ when black fashion is worn by someone more socially acceptable. Contrary to this belief, black people cannot lose their blackness because there are many other factors that make them black. In addition, the cycle of black fashion trends is more beneficial to black people as well as the world. Darcel Rockett’s article “’How to Slay’: Black fashion has made its mark on world culture” in the Chicago Tribune interviewed fashion expert, Constance C.R. White, who had this to say “This moment is very individualistic — it’s very much about expressing your personality, it’s a mashup and melding of different times. It’s more acceptable than ever, and there’s a hundred trends happening at once. We haven’t seen that in fashion — ever.” What White is trying to say is that fashion is about expressing individuality by choosing from the many time periods of fashion while it is still socially acceptable.

When someone more socially acceptable wear trends that are from black fashion it is not cultural appropriation it is cultural appreciation. When people style their hair in dreadlocks or wear earrings with their name on them it is to show that people who are not black can show how much they like the culture. White people capitalize on black fashion because they understand that black people are not appealing towards society, so it becomes their responsibility. When different people come together and wear black fashion they are essentially expanding and spreading black culture.

It should also be addressed that this argument is based off of black privilege. In John Blake’s article “It’s time to talk about ‘black privilege’” on CNN it writes that “white commentators describe how blackness has become such a “tremendous asset” that some whites are now trying to “pass” as black.” This means that white people believe it a societal necessity to wear clothes influenced by black people and enhanced body parts to be accepted. This may be the reason why people like the Kardashians feel comfortable getting plastic surgery but uncomfortable telling the world the reason why.

Black fashion is worn by everyone so by default black culture becomes a natural trendsetter. As soon as society begins to wear the hairstyles and clothing of black people they immediately know it is time to find something else to standout. This pattern is the reason why most trends are born, why some trends go out of style, and why some become revamped. As a result of this phenomena, black people influence the world only by the way they look. If anything, this should be seen as a privilege to black people since not many cultures can say the same. Black fashion has not always been a source of happiness for the black community. In many ways black fashion can hold black people back since it reinforces that black people are “dirty and poor criminals with no intelligence” just by attire. However, this way of thinking is curbed when everyone starts to dress in mainstream black fashion trends. Know people are targeted equally since they are all dressed the same. This also allows for black people to be discreet since society dresses like them and it is harder to be noticed if everyone is following the same trends.

  1. http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/style/sc-fashion-0423-book-how-to-slay-20180405-story.html
  2. https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/nielsen-report-shows-black-women-are-major-trendsetters.html
  3. https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/30/us/black-privilege/index.html

Reflective- Nreina34

Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

During this class I was taught many ways to revise and work in many stages so that it is the best that it can be.  During this process interacting with others to receive feedback on your piece is essential to getting everything just right.  This made me come to the realization of how much feedback is needed to construct a well developed writing piece. This helped develop my White Paper which progressed throughout the semester.  After receiving feedback from my professor in my conference, he really got me in the right direction which really made me focus on the sources needed for my research.  

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.

Using citations in your writing pieces really help strengthen your argument by giving outside sources of information to backup your claims.  In my definition rewrite, I used a research study to show that there is a direct relationship between social media and violence with law enforcement.  The results from the study were clearly in favor and my argument and by incorporating it into my writing piece, it strengthens it even more. Also, by doing this you create the general idea based off the ideas and how you formulate them into your essay.  By reading critically and using the evidence to back up my claims, it made for a better argument.

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.     

When writing my rebuttal rewrite, I decided that I really need to understand the audience that I was trying to get across to and who I was trying to prove wrong.  After analyzing the purpose for their argument, I understood where they were coming from which helped me formulate my rebuttal. Comprehending who you are trying to prove wrong is essential because if you don’t even have an understand of what they are trying to say then your own arguments are probably not going to disprove them.  During my rebuttal I analyzed why people think police officers are supposed to be perfect but they are in fact protected for when they make mistakes.

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

Being able to evaluate and describe illustrations in your own writing piece was a skill that was taught in this class and really helped me write my visual rhetoric.  It was very difficult to describe a 30 second video without any audio, just based off of what I can see on the screen.  This core value relates directly to when you must evaluate the ideas and then get them to the paper so that it is incorporated into your own piece correctly.  The visual rhetoric helped me exercise this core value and will definitely help in future assignments with illustrations.

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation.  

My annotated bibliography is a list of every source that I used in my research on this topic.  By fulfilling my responsibilities I give credit to the authors in my bibliography and make sure that is properly cited.  You must always give credit to the author if you incorporate their work into yours. This semester we were required to use citations in all of our writing pieces and must incorporate them into our writing pieces effectively.  A reference list is at the bottom of each assignment citing where we got the information from, because if not it is not fair to the original author who actually did the work.

Rewrite Causal Argument- Myrtle View

Black fashion in the mainstream media causes cultural appropriation. The best thing about diversity is being surrounded by people and cultures that can be similar and very different from our own. The world is becoming more and more diverse and unfortunately things like cultural appropriation do occur. Cultural appropriation is when a race steals elements from a culture in an opposing race and uses it for financial gain or re-branded ownership. Usually the race being pillaged holds little to no power. During this time, black women and men are embracing their culture in a most positive way. Black fashion is one of the ways the black community speaks to the world without saying anything and will continue to inspire people. Although, this type of fashion is only acceptable when worn by someone not black. For example, in 2015 Zendaya, a famous celebrity teenager, graced the Oscars with her hair styled in faux dreads. Zendaya was then criticized for looking like she smelled of weed. Kylie Jenner also wore faux dreads for a Teen Vogue story and was labeled “edgy”, “beautiful”, and “raw.” These two examples show that even though one of these women are mixed she is still less than the white women. The more black fashion is exposed in the mainstream the more likely it is that the black community will lose black fashion and with it part of their identity.

Black fashion in the mainstream media causes black people to lose their identity. Since cultural appropriation effects how black people are first perceived it is hard for the black community to recognize what their identity is. A big majority of black culture is black fashion. Black fashion was and is still a major approach used by the black community to fight back against oppression and the conformity of society. The black community has to live with knowing that they exist only because of the 246 years slavery existed. They must also learn that after slavery the black community continued to feel pain because of segregation which lasted about 89 years. Through these years the black community has fought wars and forced laws all to make living a little easier for the next generations. Black fashion is what makes black people happy as well as surviving subjugation and racism. This explains why black people are so passionate and interested in incidents regarding cultural appropriation towards their culture. Knowing that black people would become just like everyone else is what pushes this group of people forward to stop this from happening. If the barrier between mainstream “trends” and black fashion was to be removed many black youths would grow up confused at how to define their style and where their sense of style actually originates.

Popular white celebrities and black fashion causes cultural appropriation. These trends in mainstream fashion do not come out of nowhere. Most of the trends in fashion are determined by popular celebrities who are seen by the media.  They are also more likely to set a “trend” if they are white. The Kardashian family is infamous for cultural appropriation since they draw inspiration from black culture and profit from it or rename a fashion in black history. A recent example would be Kim Kardashian’s “boxer braids” show in Teen Vogue’s article “This Hairstyle Is Not Called “Boxer Braids” and Kim Kardashian Didn’t Make It Popular.” The author Britni Danielle writes that “girls have worn cornrows before, or that most of the early 2000s were filled with celebs like Alicia Keys, Tyra Banks, Ludacris, Bow Wow, and even Justin Timberlake rocking the style” but the reason it received attention “is because white women have finally caught on.”

Popular white female celebrities wearing black fashion causes cultural appropriation which also causes black people to lose their identity in society. White women wearing black fashion does not cause them to be a victim in the negative side effects of being black. Since there is an imbalance in power white women are less likely to be ridiculed or treated unfairly if they wore box braids in the workplace or fashioned an athletic suit on Instagram. This same imbalance in power makes it harder for black women to wear their natural hair at work without “causing a scene” or having offensive demeaning labels attached to them. White women need to understand that society holds them on a higher pedestal than minorities. For this reason, they should be more aware of the message they are putting out into the world to work together to bring growth instead of tearing women apart.

  1. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/boxer-braids-hairstyle-history
  2. http://people.com/tv/zendaya-blasts-giuliana-rancic-for-criticizing-her-oscars-dreadlocks/
  3. https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/kylie-jenner
  4. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/an-american-tragedy-the-legacy-of-slavery-lingers-in-our-cities-ghettos/

Bibliography- Nreina34

  1. Adams, J. C., Belin, C., Toucas, B., Roberts, J., Brattberg, E., & Corre, P. L. (n.d.). Forget Criminals, Police Now Fear Activists and the Media.

Background:  This article published by The National Interest provides a case in Alabama where a man was pulled over by a police officer but instead of cooperating he decides to beat the officer as others join in and video the helpless man.  The officer didn’t fight back in fear of repercussions of the media and said, “I hesitated because I didn’t want to be in the media like I am right now. It’s hard times right now for us.”  

 

How I used it:  This article proved that the media has an affect on the mindset of a police officer now and is now altering decisions that can risk their life.  This is a perfect example of how unwanted prejudice leads to attacks against law enforcement, which is happening all around the country.

 

  1. Bejan, V., Hickman, M., Parkin, W. S., & Pozo, V. F. Primed for death: Law enforcement-citizen homicides, social media, and retaliatory violence.

Background:  PLOS ONE was a research studied designed to see if violence exists between the police and the public and see if it has a connection with social media.  They discovered ties between Black Lives Matter movements on the internet and how they were related to the amount of police officers and minorities killed in a certain time district.  

 

How I used it:  I used this article to prove that social media does have an influence on the livelihood of police officers and even the public too.  This research directly backs up thesis in regards to how the media is the fuel to the fire.

 

  1. Carlson, D. (2017, June 22). Exclusionary Rule.

Background:  This article which was published by the Cornell Law School is just a basic overview of the law and everything that it entails.  The exclusionary rule doesn’t let the government use evidence that is obtained during an unreasonable search, which violates your 4th amendment.  Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio was the cause for the exclusionary rule and took place in 1961.

How I used it:  This article was used to support my rebuttal argument that police officers are not allowed to make mistakes.  The exclusionary rule backs police officers on the mistakes they make and protects both them and the public.

  1. Gramlich, J., & Parker, K. (2017, January 25). Most officers say the media treat police unfairly.

Background:  Pew Research Center ran surveys in 2016 to get the opinion of police officers on how they feel the media treats the police.  The results were shocking, with 81% of them saying the media treats them unfairly, and half of that saying they strongly agree.  Also, this survey also showed that about 50% of police officers feel that the public doesn’t understand the risks and hardships they go through and could be another potential reason for their tarnished image.

 

How I used it: This research backs up the theory that media is influencing law enforcement and all of it is undeserved.  Society believes that the news headlines that ridicule police officers do not alter them, but how would you feel if you had to be the “bad guy” all the time when you’re just trying to do your job?  

 

  1. Gwendolyn Waters. Social Media and Law Enforcement. (2012, November 01)

Background:  The impact social media has on law enforcement has made the interactions between them erratic.  A big example is how the police are affected by the attacks on their credibility. Social media gives information to irrelevant people which is how things get escalated, and at the same time police officers are verbally attacked on social media at all times.  In addition, the rise of “questionable” videos online poses a threat to departments and is called cop baiting. By doing this, it makes police officers second guess their decisions which can end up hurting themself.

 

How I used it: This proves that there are people out there on social media that want to expose police officers for their every move.  Cop baiting is a serious epidemic among our country and is

 

  1. Keller, Jared. (2016, December 01). Why Are Ambush Killings of Police on the Rise?

Background:  There is a sudden increase in police ambush killing and it is starting to concern a lot of people, especially police officers.  This releases a mid-year report from the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund which keeps track of officer deaths. The numbers shocked people to see how much the number have increased in just a year.  

How I used it:  Ambush killings are definitely not something someone should take lightly and they are creating a major issue for policemen.  This article goes to show that law enforcement is receiving direct hatred and how much of a major threat to policing this is.

 

  1. Libaw, O. Y. (n.d.). Police Face Severe Shortage of Recruits.

Background:  Some cities around the country are seeing drops in applicants with rates up to 90 percent and it is a problem within the law enforcement industry.  This article recalls some possible reasons as to why people are not as attracted to the job anymore and gives multiple examples around the country where applicant numbers are dropping.

How I used it:  I utilized this article because I felt that it showed that since the police are starting to have more of a tarnished image, people are not wanting to be cops anymore.  The media can be blamed a reason for the low amount of police applicants around the country.

 

  1. McLaughlin, E. C. (2015, April 21). There aren’t more police shootings, just more coverage.

Background:  I decided to utilize this article to show an opposing side to this argument.  This article published by CNN preaches upon that their haven’t been more “controversial” police incidents, there has just been more media coverage on them giving them more exposure.  A big part to this more exposure is cell phones because it gives eye witnesses the ability to record everything that goes on.

 

How I used it: This could prove that this type of behavior from law enforcement can be a recurring thing dating back way farther to Eric Garner and Ferguson, Missouri.  Maybe more exposure to these incidents will educate the public about what is really going on in our police departments around the country. Starting to make police officers question if things are a set up sometimes, it’s really sad.  Social media makes police officers the biggest public figures it also comes along with the fact that the barrier between their professional and personal is no longer existent.

 

  1. Rieder, R. (2013, July 15).Column: Media got Zimmerman story wrong from start.

Background:  This article posted by USA TODAY  recalls an instance during the time when the George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case was buzzing everywhere.  This instance involved NBC News and how they edited Zimmerman’s comments on television to make them sound racist.

How I used it:  I used this article to prove that major news outlets, such as NBC News, skews information on television.  They do this to create more publicity and make the story explode because that is what they do, they are the news.

 

  1. Utah State University. Retaliatory violence between police and citizens is primed by social media. (January 11, 2018.)

Background:  This was another article regarding the research study PLOS ONE because it was so vital to my research essay.  This study proved that when there were deaths with minorities there were also deaths with officers, which ties the both of them together meaning retaliatory actions took place.

How I used it:   This study helped persuade my readers that social media negatively impacts the violence in the streets against police officers and the public.  If this is not put to a stop then violence will just continue and that is no way to live.

 

  1.  Vandita. The Real Reasons Nobody Wants To Be A Police Officer In America

Background:  The main point of this article is that numbers in the police force have been declining rapidly around the country.  Entrance exam numbers have gone down tremendously, for example in Fairfax County, Virginia, there were 4,000 applicants for their exam in 2011, but now will only catch the eye of 300.  

 

How I used it:  There must be a major cause to this 90% drop of applicants and people are now looking to the media to be that influence.  Ultimately, this is proving that not only does the media affect day to day officers, it is trickling down into the young minds making them not want to pursue their dreams anymore in law enforcement.

 

 

Visual Rhetoric Rewrite- jdormann

Don’t Judge a Bull by His Cover

0:00-0:01 There is a grey cartoon bull in a light blue colored room with potted flowers hanging on the wall. There are also flowers hung on a strand across the ceiling. The bull is looking down and looks like he feels bad about something.

0:01-0:02 The bull picks his head up and seems to be happy now. The screen shifts to an old lady holding a pot of flowers in a window and the bull appears on the other side of the window and is happy to be smelling the flowers.

0:02-0:03 The old lady looks up and sees the bull and looks to be in shock. The bull takes off running and knocks the potted flowers off of the old lady’s outside window. It is clear to see the bull is outside.

0:03-0:04 A man is outside of what seems to be his house and the bull is looking at him face to face and the man carefully goes back in his house out of fear.

0:04 -0:05 When the man shuts the door, the bull becomes sad. The bull is running fast and looks angry. There is a hole in what looks to be a large dirt field.

0:06-0:07 The bull jumps and looks like he regrets it. He then looks scared and the camera shifts to a rabbit that looks terrified. I would assume the bull is jumping towards the rabbit.

0:08-0:09 The bull lands over the rabbit’s hole with his horns on either side, not injuring the rabbit at all. He then is standing next to the hole with a goat and they are both looking at the rabbit as it jumps back into the hole. The bull looks like he feels guilty.

0:10-0:11 The bull is looking at a waterfall in a valley and then the screen shifts to an animal transportation trailer and I would assume the bull is inside of that trailer.

0:12-0:13 There is a landscape of a tree on a hill and then the screen shifts to the bull surrounded by animal-shaped balloons. The bull seems to be happy.

Research- jdormann

Can Serious Head Injuries be Prevented in American Football?

Many athletes and their families lives have been altered forever or ended because of concussions or spinal injuries due to playing football. When a person plays a high impact sport, their chances of a life-changing injury dramatically increases. Repetitive head injuries have been proven to cause CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Football is a popular sport across America, and research on brain damage from playing continues to prove the dangers it has to a player’s health.

When watching a football game, at any level, spectators can expect to see powerful hits that radiate through the athlete’s head and spine. The high energy hits are thrilling for both the fans and athletes, but cumulative hits cause serious damage to the player’s health. NFL players are the highest level football players in the world, and they are the ones that receive the highest number of head injuries causing the most damage. CTE is a disease that slowly kills brain cells and will completely alter someone’s mental state and thought process. It causes increased aggression, susceptibility to dementia, anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. Studies have proven that playing football at a young age increases the risk of brain damage tremendously. Boston University conducted research on the damage that football has on developing players. In an article by the Washington Post, they wrote, “Those who started playing contact football before the age of 12 suffered more behavioral, cognitive and emotional problems than those who started playing after they turned 12.” This is hard evidence of the detrimental issues football can have on young players. Society needs to be careful about allowing young athletes to participate in football. Children do not fully understand how playing a sport can affect them in the long term. All football players are susceptible to serious brain injuries, but children are much more vulnerable to these life-altering injuries. As more people become aware of the dangers, they are less likely to support the game or allow their developing children to play. If there is a way to prevent or entirely eliminate concussions, people would feel more comfortable with allowing their children to play football.

The risk of concussions and serious injury are prevalent in full contact sports, but other sports do not have the same life-altering injury rate as football.Rugby does have concussions, but it is typically from improper tackling technique. Safety of the player being tackled is also of high importance. There are rules in the game that do not allow unsafe tackles. If a tackler is to spear, tackle above the runner’s shoulders, tackle a player without the ball, or lift the player from the ground, the result will be at least a yellow card removing them from the game and possibly a multiple game suspension.

Certain teams and players have adopted techniques that reduce the chances of serious head injuries. The professional football league has worked towards implementing new rules that keep players safer.Teams like the Seattle Seahawks have adopted this rugby style of tackling and it has improved player safety and tackling efficiency. The different tackling technique may not be accepted by all teams, but the game will eventually have to do something about the head injury epidemic. An article published by The Telegraph states:

Several American colleges have studied this way of tackling. The Seattle Seahawks have worked with Fijian rugby sevens star Waisale Serevi on “taking the head out of the game”. Rugby techniques have subsequently been introduced at Washington, Florida and Michigan State – whose head coach Mark Dantonio extols the benefits of rugby–style tackling.

This type of tackling emphasizes player safety and not allowing the head to be put in danger during contact. Rugby players do not wear padding or helmets, so tackling must be controlled and properly executed. The players must be cognizant of their body position and in complete control of the tackling movement. When using proper technique, athletes executing a tackle will make contact with the shoulder and drive through the opponent.

The way that football players tackle is careless and does not usually follow any specific technique. Players will throw their body into a tackle because their padding gives them a false sense of security. The head is not protected and there is not enough absorption of energy to protect the athlete’s brain. Young athletes are taught some techniques, but proper technique often gets thrown out the window during play.

Intense impact on the shoulder and neck area can cause a stinger. A stinger occurs when the neck is pushed to the side and the main nerve from the brain to the arm is pinched. This can cause the sensation of an electric shock or burning/stinging. Although a majority of the time this injury resolves between hours to days, it can become frequently occurring and could become a lifelong injury. In an article about stingers and the possible health hazards by Alexa Royston and Lindsay Ramey, it reads,”Terminal stingers/burners are characterized by severe neurotmetic injuries, where incomplete reinnervation may lead to permanent weakness and atrophy.” Motor weakness, loss of muscle, and paresthesia occur in extreme stinger cases. There is a number of rugby players that have had stingers, but the statistics are far less than football. The probability of stingers and nerve damage increase when the tackler and runner are playing with the false sense of security that padding gives them. When players continue to participate despite their injuries, they put themselves and others at higher risk because their technique deteriorates.

Athletes put themselves at higher risk of injury when they are involved in full contact sports. The seriousness of their injuries is not always known until it is too late to help them. The players that are affected may not be aware of the complications until it is too late for them to recover or get help. Diseases and debilitating injuries can lay dormant in the athlete for years with little to no symptoms. Studies in the past ten years have begun uncovering numerous diseases and injuries football players suffer. Athletes and families lives are negatively affected and even ended by terrible injuries that could have been prevented.

Rugby players do not suffer as many concussions as football players because of their body awareness on the field of play, use of safe techniques, and the strict enforcement of safety rules. They are taught to tackle differently and not use their heads as a device to bring down the opponent. Players need to be keen on their body awareness and careful of their position when going into contact. There are rules in rugby to protect the players from being exposed to serious injury. High tackles, dangerous tackles, unnecessary contact, and many other penalties are in place to keep players safe. Chris Bodenner wrote an article for The Atlantic that states, “An equal one is the ‘culture of respect’ that’s one of the game’s foundations and most carefully guarded traditions. Players rarely deliberately hurt one another; when they do, they are banned for months on end.” The culture of respect between rugby players is a known agreement to leave the fighting and differences on the field. It is a rough sport and has a sense of brotherhood for all players, regardless of the team or skill. Safety is of the utmost importance for the referee. When a player commits a dangerous penalty, they are sent off of the field and must stay off for a time range of two to ten minutes. If the official overseeing the match deems the action seriously dangerous, the athlete in the wrong will be suspended anywhere from one week to indefinitely. Participants understand the results of their actions and take extra precaution to keep themselves and their opponents safe.

Naturally, football has a lot of contact and physicality involved. The problem is not the physical nature of it, but the unnecessary and unsafe techniques players use. The basic contact in football is blocking and tackling. Football players risk career-ending, even life-threatening injury every time they slam into an opponent. Even worse, recent studies have shown that injuries to the brain may lie dormant and symptomless for years. Cumulative injuries that could have been prevented if detected in time result in mental illnesses ranging from depression to dementia and even suicide.

Football players can receive “mini” concussions over one-hundred times throughout a game when they slam into an opponent. These mini-concussions are small, unnoticeable concussions are caused by repetitive blows to the head causing the brain to slam into the skull, but without any symptoms of a concussion. Players that are blocking and tackling often have more of these mini-concussions. The complications that come from cumulative mini-concussions do not show up for years. Down the line, a person may begin to have symptoms of dementia, aggression, and personality changes. They will not be aware that they are changing, but their family will notice. This is CTE. CTE is caused by repetitive head trauma that cumulates and slowly destroys the brain. It may not show any symptoms for ten or more years. Doctors have no real cure for CTE, and it can result in life-ending consequences.

Elite level football athletes are more likely to end up with horrific complications from concussions compared to any other elite level athlete. For example, NFL players, like Junior Seau, have taken their own lives because of CTE complications. Junior Seau was a linebacker in the NFL that was recognized for his passionate play and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He received countless blows to the head throughout his football career and was found to have suffered CTE. CTE does not show a person’s true emotions and personality, but it distorts their thinking and turns them into someone they never would have become. According to Mary Pilon and Ken Benson, “Researchers at Boston University, who pioneered the study of C.T.E., have found it in 33 of the 34 brains of former N.F.L. players they have examined.” The disease can only be identified after death with the close eye of a trained doctor and a microscope. The NFL has turned a blind eye for too long and left these traumatic injuries and complications to the wayside. The techniques used in football must change, or future and current players will follow the footsteps of those that suffered before them.

People that participate in football and other high-impact sports are accepting of life-changing injuries when they agree to play the sport, but they do not expect it to be life ending. Football players are padded, and they do not receive as much of an immediate effect from high-impact head injuries. The small amount of pain or “ringing” is brushed off as a good hit. The player then goes on to receive countless of these impacts which eventually manifest into permanent brain damage and at the worst, CTE. Football fans and players can be ignorant of the facts, but outsiders do not desire to stop them from participating. The conversation about football and life-altering injuries only pushes to make it safer, not eliminate it.

When good techniques are used, it is not always good enough. Bringing down an opponent at full speed is not easy and can be extremely unsafe. Rugby players also receive head injuries, but it happens less than football players. The pure inertia of stopping someone running full speed can compress the spine and cause havoc on the skull. The symptoms are not always immediate but can cause future, unforeseen complications. Overall, contact sports display numerous possible injuries, and the players are not always able to avoid them. The decisions players make on the field, and the techniques they employ are a deciding factor in most injuries. No athlete is safe, but every athlete should think about themselves and their health before pushing too far and engaging in dangerous play.

American football players have been plagued with concussions, unknown to them for years. Typically, these concussions occur during tackles. The padding that players wear gives them a false sense of security and some players use their head as a tackling device. Rugby also gets a lot of criticism because of injuries players receive, but the concussion rate of rugby players is far lower than football. They wear no padding or head protection, yet there are fewer concussions. The difference comes down to the technique. The tackling technique rugby players use is safer for the head and spine. There are some football coaches and teams that have adopted the rugby-style of tackling, but not all coaches believe it is practical for their team to follow suit.

Football requires a team to move the ball a minimum of 10 yards for a first down and they have four tries to do this. Each and every yard in a football game matters. Stopping an opponent from getting one more yard can make or break a game. Football players will dive head first into opponents crushing their neck, compressing their spine, and smashing their brain against the inside of their skull just to stop them from getting one yard. There is no first down in rugby, so there is nothing bad about giving up a couple yards. Rugby players can sacrifice yards and it will not affect the game. Not all rugby tackles involve tackler stopping the runner immediately. The runner will normally get another one to five yards during the tackle. The goal between the two games is to score at the end of the field, but it should not require players to destroy their brains in order to win the game.

In a rugby match, the attacking player will not try to squeeze every last inch out of a run because it will not greatly affect the game, and they do not want to risk getting injured. Football players need to push for the extra inches and get the most out of every play. The battle for that extra little bit can cause injuries and unsafe play. Although it may be dangerous at times, football players must hold the attacking team to the minimum amount of yards on every play. The tackling technique football players employ is to stop the runner as soon as possible, with them gaining the least amount of yards. This requires tremendous force to be output by the defender and does not always result in safe play. The risk of personal safety is a price that football players pay to be good athletes. If a player is giving up the slightest amount of yardage, they are not doing their job to the best of their ability. The Seattle Seahawks have adopted the rugby style of tackling, and they are one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Ohio State University Buckeyes have also adopted the rugby-style technique. Jeanna Thompson wrote an article on sbnation.com that reads, “Ohio State’s defense jumped from No. 47 in the country in 2013 to No. 19 the next year. In 2015, the Buckeyes boasted a top-10 defense, surrendering just 311.3 yards per game.” For any college football team to move up twenty-eight spots for defense is very difficult. The team attributed their success to the newly adopted tackling technique. A safer and more effective tackling method did not lose a collegiate football team any games.

When rugby players attempt to make a tackle, they are risking their body without padding, and are careful and follow the proper technique. Players risk gruesome injuries in a tackle that could be prevented by using proper technique. The rugby tackle is a wrap technique that is not aimed at stopping the attacker immediately but by safely stopping the attacker and keeping the defender in a safe position. It eliminates the use of the head in the tackle and does not force excessive pressure on the spine. Living With Sports Injuries, a book written by Elizabeth Shimer Bowers and Clifford D. Stark, reads, “Players frequently experience concussions, as well as neck and shoulder injuries, usually as a result of open field tackling.” Open field tackling typically results in high-speed collisions and poor technique. When an attacker is running full speed and the defender must make the stop, they will do it by any means necessary and not pay attention to technique. The lack of a safe technique often leads to injuries. The injuries that football players suffer from include fractured bones, dislocations, concussions, and “stingers”, the loss of feeling and inability to move the arm.

USA Rugby is the national governing body for rugby in the United States. They oversee national, collegiate, and high school teams. The organization is always working towards educating themselves and athletes to make the game more competitive and safe. A study done by USA Rugby compared concussions in collegiate rugby and collegiate football. Out of one thousand players in the study, an average of two percent of rugby players received concussions and four and a half percent of football players received concussions. Based on USA Rugby’s study, football’s concussion rate is more than double that of rugby’s. The rugby tackling technique is effective for tackling the player and keeping them safe.

Although the fate of a football game may be decided from a few yards, the impact of how players tackle can leave a mark on them forever. Football has a major concussion problem because of how the athletes tackle, and the false sense of security equipment gives them. Every inch matters to them, but not every brain cell. If careless tackling techniques continue to be utilized by football players, the sport may not exist due to the health hazards it poses.

People that do not support football could argue that players accept the risk of serious injury upon participating in football, but walking away with a life debilitating injury is not a thought for any of players. A high contact, high impact sport that risks permanent injury to the brain, spine, and skeletal muscle system needs to support safer rules and techniques instead of pushing players to create bigger and harder hits.

The rugby style of tackling is much safer for the brain. Rugby players suffer from concussions and will continue to do so, but it is the fault of the tackler and the improper use of safe techniques. Players can be taught and encouraged to use the safest method of tackling, but they may continue to resort to easier approaches. Safe technique starts with the coaches not accepting laziness and dangerous tackling at practices, then it continues to the referees game-time decision to remove players or penalize a team. If football adopts the rugby-style tackling technique, it may result in the loss of a couple yards, or even the loss of a game. The sacrifice of losing one game can save a player the sacrifice of destroying their brain.

References

Bodenner, C. (2016, October 14). Which Is More Dangerous, Rugby or Football? Retrieved April 1, 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/10/rugby/504143/

Pilon, M., & Belson, K. (2013, January 10). Seau Suffered From Brain Disease. Retrieved April 1, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/sports/football/junior-seau-suffered-from-brain-disease.html

Royston, A., & Ramey, L. (2013, September 20). Stingers and Burners. Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://now.aapmr.org/stingers-and-burners/

Stark, C. D., & Bowers, E. S. (2010). Living with sports injuries. New York: Facts On File.

Thomas, J. (2016, September 06). Rugby-style tackling could be the future of a safer NFL. Retrieved April 5, 2018, from https://www.sbnation.com/2016/9/6/12341916/nfl-rugby-tackling-concussions-seahawks-falcons

Tmg. “Is Rugby or American Football More Dangerous?” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 25 Jan. 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/concussion/is-rugby-or-american-football-more-dangerous/.

“USA Rugby Injuries” [One slide in a presentation received by email]. (n.d.). Referred to a study purported to have been conducted by USA Rugby. Origin unknown.

Wilkerson, R. (n.d.). Our knowledge of orthopedics. Your best health. (S. J. Fischer, Ed.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/burners-and-stingers/

Self-Reflective Statement – AmongOthers13

Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

I did extensive research and discovery during the course of this semester. You can tell from my White Paper 1 that I visited many websites and looked at multiple sources in order to find the ones that best fit my argument. I started off with just 5 sources, and then as each new short argument assignment emerged, I added another 5. Some sources I learned in the end were not exactly the best fit for my paper, but they did offer me insight as to what direction I wanted to take my research. From each source I picked out facts and insights that would suit my paper in a beneficial way to make my writing stronger. Through this research I feel as though I have been able to identify reliable sources with strong backgrounds to develop my writing skills.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

In my Rebuttal Rewrite argument, I synthesized ideas from two opposing sides and introduced both in a way that made my side of the argument stronger. I was able to analyze the meaning behind the opposing side, and the ideas they had, and tell my readers about them while also defending my side. I made the arguments contrast by doing so, and was able to create an argument that had a lot of depth and information while persuading my reader. I found the rebuttal argument difficult, as it was new to me, but I talked to my professor who helped me distinguish a path I should take to go about my ideas. He was very helpful, and I was very confident after speaking with him that I could conquer this assignment with ease.

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

In my Definition Argument I feel as though I had a clear purpose throughout my writing and made arguments that were visible to the reader. I analyzed the purpose of education and how valuable it is. I also discussed how low-income students are suffering from low-income areas and more importantly for my argument, unequally funded schools. I made my best effort to use a lot of sources that talked about the effects these schools have on the students, their success, and their lives. These areas provide the students with the bare minimum, their home lives are not the greatest, and they deal with social-emotional disadvantages as well. I included various sources that all portrayed how detrimental the effects are of low-income schools in this argument to make it clear to my reader that this is  not the way things should be. I tried to really reach out to my readers by using ethos to demonstrate the tolls on the students and how difficult their lives are.

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

In my Visual Rewrite assignment, I demonstrated the power of illustrations and evidence to support my ideas and interpretations. I watched a video that had to do with smoking and lung cancer screening, and through my work, I analyzed clip by clip and second by second what was happening in the video, what could be inferred, what could be determined, and the message the ad was trying to spread. I pointed out specific details in the video while giving my interpretations to a full extent. I analyzed the video over and over again to see if there was anything more that I could add. I dug deep into the literal meanings of the video to portray my ideas to the reader so that they, too, could see why my ideas were as so.

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

In my Causal Rewrite  I respected my responsibility to determine the cause of the achievement gap in schools all around America by discussing a fair reason along with many sources that verify my thinking. I stated that the achievement gap is due to the property tax funding of schools and the amount of money given to the rich community schools versus the poor communities. I made sure in my writing to cite my sources correctly and I used each source to my advantage. I found sources that not only verified my thinking, but offered me more and more information to use in my writings to back up my ideas even further. I took this assignment as my way to point out a distinct problem in our society as well as identify the cause in a confident, mature manner. I am someone who believes strongly in equal education, so this assignment really meant a lot to me and I put a lot of effort into the assignment, as well as my final paper.

 

Self-Reflective statement- jdormann

Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

Throughout the semester I used feedback from the professor and other peers to hone my work. I received feedback on the blog posts from the professor and revised my work accordingly. Sifting through my own work to correct what others recommended also opened my eyes to other improvements that could be made. The difference between my definition first draft and the rewrite is a clear example of my recursive development over the semester. I explored many sources that supported my claims and also ended up being of no use by my final revised research position. These sources have been compiled in the white paper over the semester, and are now part of my annotated bibliography.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

The sources I used to compile my final research essay come from a broad spectrum. I used websites, brochures, peer-reviewed studies, and other types. The information I utilized from my sources helped me develop my overall conversation and explain my points with factual information to support it. An example of these sources put to use would be the quotes I used in my causal argument rewrite. The way I synthesized my sources may not have been the same way that someone else would have, but I used textual clues and interpreted the author’s message how I believe it was meant to be.

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

The visual rhetoric assignment is an example of how I analyzed the purpose, audience, and context of a visual argument. I watched an advertisement and explained in detail each couple of seconds and what happens to develop the argument. The purpose was directed at a broad audience and had the purpose to open people’s eyes to learning and attention issues. Watching a video second by second and explaining each frame can be confusing until the viewer reaches the end and reads back on what they wrote. There are small details that are skimmed over and seen as insignificant, but they all play a part in the overall message of the visual argument.

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

In the stone money assignment, I demonstrated academic writing by incorporating the ideas of the NPR broadcasters with my own ideas. I incorporated the words of Milton Friedman from the NPR podcast. I was able to locate specific evidence within the podcast to help support my ideas. Friedman explained how the American dollar no longer was back by gold. I used his explanation to help support the idea of money having no actual value and only being a piece of cotton fiber paper.

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

In my rebuttal rewrite argument, I was able to think ethically and explain my ideas thoroughly with supporting evidence. The evidence I used was cited properly using APA formatting. I used the information provided by a database article to support and help explain my argument in a logical way. The author made a statement about the dangers in open field tackling and I used their words to support my claims on why it is dangerous and what can be done to prevent it.

Visual Rewrite- AmongOthers13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3oCZYvtB8

 

0:01-0:02- The camera starts at a long distance away, portraying a large mound and a woman climbing up it. Then, the camera zooms in, and we see a woman is struggling to  climb up what looks to be a large pile cigarettes. There are large mountains of cigarettes behind her as well. Perhaps the creator of this video made it this way to look as though she has already climbed over those, and now she is headed up another. She is trying to accomplish something.  Mountains often symbolize an obstacle someone wants to overcome. Maybe she is trying to quit smoking, or at least to smoke less.

:0:03-0:05- We can now see that the mountain is made up of cigarettes, still fuming with smoke rising into the air.  The cigarettes look full size, almost as if they are taunting the woman into smoking a fresh cigarette. The woman ignores them, however, and is struggling to climb up, but she is progressing. This gives us an idea that maybe the woman has smoked before and now she is trying to overcome it.

0:06-0:10- It opens up with just a shot of the cigarettes themselves. We can infer there must be thousands of cigarettes in just one pile. Are these cigarettes she has smoked in her lifetime? As she tries to climb up her shoe kicks down lots of cigarettes, revealing that the mountain has multiple layers. The clip ends with her hand trying to grasp a hold, but all she gets is a handful of cigarettes.  She is struggling with climbing due to these cigarettes, and perhaps she is struggling to quit smoking as well.

0:12-0:15- The woman’s face looks determined. She looks up, perhaps towards the top of the mountain. Maybe she is close to the top. She pushes herself up more and more with determination and strength. It is taking a lot out of her.

0:16-0:18- The woman can finally stand on top of the mountain. She did it! She turns her face to the camera.

0:19-0:21- The woman looks around at the view from on top of the mountain, and then looks at the camera and smiles. Perhaps this means she has overcome the urge to smoke, for she has just passed up thousands of cigarettes on the way up, has quit, and is looking out on the life she can now live.

0:22-0:25- The camera zooms out gradually as the woman still stands on top, smiling. This shows just how massive of a mountain it really is, or, symbolically speaking, how big of an obstacle she just overcome.

0:26-0:30- A machine is on the screen used for lung scans. The woman can take a lung scan to ensure she is still healthy and not at risk for lung cancer, or she can get screened and realized because she smoked so many cigarettes it is too late to prevent cancer. Either way, this commercial promotes quitting smoking and to start getting lung scans.