creativity project idea...

I would love to choreograph a dance for my creativity project. I have been looking into specifically doing a dance with Indian choreography. The bharatanatyam style is what I would specifically do, which usually tells stories. I would tell the “story”, the creativity of the Indian people. I don't have enough research done yet to know what story I would tell. How does this sound for a possible creativity project?

i'm baaack!

hello friends!

i haven't used this in forever. the main reason i got and began using this blog is because i needed to rhetorically analyze advertisements, songs and movies for my persuasive writing class. i have not used it since, but have been inspired (by my good friend blake, to start writing here again. and i mean, really writing here. i have endless thoughts plaguing my mind, and would love for people's opinions on certain matters. some days, it might just be a little thing that made me smile. some days, it may be a longer post, but still with nothing but trivial matters posted. on other days, i may just need to post an emo post. (...i'm not gonna go slit my wrists to the song "hey, hey, little razor blade" by the pink spiders or anything, so don't worry.) you can comment on those posts as well, if you'd like, or you don't have to read them at all. this is just a way for me to vent to no one in particular and everyone at the same time. if you have the time and the interest to care, then by all means, do. say what you feel - i'm not easily offended (unless you swear at me... then i might hurt you.) anyway, i'm sure i'll post something more here in the next few days. until then...

kelsey :)

Rhetorical Analysis: Source for Paper C

1. ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – There really was no argument but... one that could be taken from the article is... Affirmative action should be not determine who is accepted into schools or who should be hired because affirmative action is the cause of what it is trying to prevent: racial discrimination.

2. AUDIENCE – There is really nothing to go off of to determine the audience except for the word choice and the sources used. A lot of different court cases and decisions were cited, so the article was obviously directed more toward adults, probably professionals of some kind with lots a great amount of influence.

3. GOAL – The goal of this source is to mostly analyze/inform their audience of the effects of affirmative action on k-12 education and introduce the idea of it needing to be removed before 2028.

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...

Logos & Sufficient - In order to make a logical argument, the authors had to take from a sufficient amount of sources, from both sides of the argument. Because they addressed both sides, but didn't take a side, it was clear to say that they were just putting information in one place for others to see and then gain their own opinion.

5. WAS THE ARTICLE EFFECTIVE – The article took from many different sources. I felt like they weren't trying to persuade me of anything (obviously if they were, they failed...) So i think the fact that they put a bunch of information in one place, it was very helpful and informative.

Rhetorical Analysis: Speech

"Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!"
-Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King)

Video link:

1. ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – If you choose to fight today then we will win because fighting is harder to do than giving in to the temptations that the other side gives you.

2. AUDIENCE – The men that are standing at the gate, (Sons of Gondor and Rohan) willing to give their lives for the fight of good vs. evil.

3. GOAL – Aragorn is trying his hardest to keep his men from being afraid so they will give their all in battle and won't be afraid to fight.

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...

Logos - Aragorn is an innate leader, the son of Kings and Leaders of all different races. Once people are aware of his lineage, they have the utmost respect for him.

Pathos & Relevant - Aragorn recognizes that his fighters know that men falter and aren't always reliable. Evil is ubiquitous and abundant, but if they fight it, it will not win.

5. WAS THE SPEECH EFFECTIVE – The speech was definitely effective. These men continued on to fight a victorious battle, and I believe they understood the importance of fighting for what is right and good and what they believed in after listening to Aragorn and fighting in this battle.

Rhetorical Analysis: Paper A

1. ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – Grade inflation hurts students because grade inflation deprives students of the opportunities to learn the value of hard work.

2. AUDIENCE – The audience is the parents of students, specifically parents of elementary and secondary level students. This is also directed toward parents who feel that their children aren't getting the grades they deserve.

3. GOAL – The goal of this paper is to get parents to see that a little competition is good for their children; they should not get an A in their classes just for being there. The child must be deserving of their grades - hard work and motivation is required on order for a child to receive good grades.

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...

Logos - The author uses very logical arguments. Things are explained in a chronological order, showing how actions and consequences can lead to the creation of habits and habits are hard to break.

Sufficient – Overall, the arguments are backed up well and have a decent amount of sources and support. However, one counter argument - about self-esteem - seems to be lacking in support. The author backs her argument with her own ideas, but there are no other educated sourced to back up her argument.

5. WAS THE PAPER EFFECTIVE – Overall, I felt the paper was effective. There were a few arguments that cold have been developed a little more, but the author was direct in her arguments and had good, strong quotes to back up her arguments.

Rhetorical Analysis; Visual Art

Maynard Dixon's The Forgotten Man
1. ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – The Forgotten Man will change how we see the world because the expressions seen and the colors used in the painting help the audience to see the world and possibly their lives in a different way.

2. AUDIENCE – Painted in 1934, it goes out to those affected by the Great Depression. Dixon knew that this piece of art would continue on after the Depression, so he directed it to anyone going through a rough time

3. GOAL – Dixon lived through the Great Depression. This painting was one in a series depicting the Great Depression. This was probably a common sight seen in those days. (<--- also ETHOS) He also wanted to show that though people were having arough time in those days, hope was easy to find.

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...

Pathos - Between the title, the color scheme and the picture itself it is obvious that Dixon wanted this painting to evoke sympathy from its viewers. The dark color palette and the downward look and facial expression on the man are used to portray emotion. The man's position on the ground (next to the fire hydrant) and the feet of the people walking past the man show that he is either seen as or feels like the "dog" in society; but judging from the fact that his clothes don't appear to be too different from those walking behind him. It is obvious though from the bold shadows that the sun is shining from above. If the man were just to look up, he would fell the sun hit has face, see his blonde hair glowing and know that his brilliant blue coat is not such a dreary color.

Typical – The most obvious thing about this painting is the color scheme. the browns, purples and blues are dare colors that can relate to the sense of depression that this man is going through. The contrast in colors of what is in the shadows and what is in the sun (and the close proximity of both) is to show the audience that one thing can make such a difference in your mood.

5. WAS THE ART EFFECTIVE – If the painting's viewers are able to see and focus on the bit of happiness depicted in this picture, they will know that it is a painting of hope and happiness. However, even if they don't see that, the viewers will still feel sympathy for this man and hopefully try to pay more attention to "the forgotten men" they see everyday. Either way, I feel the painting is effective.

Rhetorical Analysis: Source for Paper B

LINK TO ARTICLE:
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/nsync/albums/album/301447/review/5944278/celebrity

1. ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – 'NSync's last album, Celebrity, is going to be a good album because Celebrity branches out from their previous albums and experiments with new sounds.

2. AUDIENCE – The readers of Rolling Stone Magazine; based in the USA it focuses on politics, pop culture, and music, though it is directed more to a younger audience, ages 15-25 or so...

3. GOAL – This article is a review of 'NSync's third album, Celebrity. The goal is to give people an accurate idea of what their next album is going to be like, so the audience knows whether to purchase it or not. With this review, they give the album a good rating, so they are telling the audience that it will be a good album and trying to get them to buy it.

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...
Ethos – Since the review comes from Rolling Stone magazine, chances are the authors are know more about music than, say, TV Guide magazine.

Logos - The reviewer compares this album to things that the readers already know: the previous 'NSync albums. He talks about how the group has progressed or regressed in terms of sound and quality of music.

Typical – The audience needed to hear that the newest 'NSync album was enjoyable - and since it got a good rating, chances are good that this review made up some minds of undecided 'NSync listeners.

5. WAS THE ARTICLE EFFECTIVE – I think this review is very effective. Chances are that mostly 'NSync fans looked at this review, but if a reader of Rolling Stone Magazine wasn't a fan of 'NSync already, they probably at least gave this album a thorough listen before they bought it... which is still good :)

Rhetorical Analysis: Encounter

1.ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – Rosetta Stone works better than any other language program because Rosetta Stone builds off of things you already know and uses your five senses.

2. AUDIENCE – I was the audience; a female college student interested in learning the Hindi language because of her obsession with India.

3.GOAL – Once I told the man, James, that obviously my hopes to go to India probably wouldn't come to fruition any time soon, he knew that I wasn't going to be buying anything he was selling right then and there. His main goal was to just explain to me about how the language program worked, and why learning in a school setting never worked very well for anyone.

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...
Logos – James explained everything very logically. He began with asking me why I wanted to learn the Hindi language, and even told me that if I was really interested in learning about and traveling to India, that it was best to just stick with English – that's what they all speak there anyway. Obviously he knew that a lot of people didn't buy the program right away. It took a little bit of introducing and just talking about the program enough to show them how it worked differently than other programs, so that people could think more on their own weather the program was something they actually wanted to do.

Sufficient – James walked me through a few lessons of the program, and was very thorough with everything that he showed me. He was very clear about the fact that you could work through the program as fast or a slow as you wanted to. James showed me all of the possible ways that the program works faster or slower, and how it was better to learn this way and how this program was built differently than others were.

5. WAS THE SALESMAN EFFECTIVE – I would say, yes, he was! Of course, I'm always a sucker for these salesmen; they're very good at what they do, and I'm a sucker for things that I really don't need! However, I will probably look into Rosetta Stone if I ever really plan to learn a language and planned to speak it fluently.

Rhetorical Analysis: Music Video

LYRICS:
I'm thinking about other things I heard about today / All this week and tomorrow
And how these hands can create some better things for bettering
but you see for now I got my own things
I can't help it / I got too many issues I own / So I cannot help I'm afraid
But keep on preaching, preaching and heal the world / Lip service makes us look great

CHROUS:
Do you feel / The weight of the world singing sorrow
Or to you is it just not real / Cause you got your own things
Yeah we all have our things I guess

I guess my mind wanders off / from time to time
Sometimes I convince myself / that all is fine in the world
It's not mine / Why should I have to try to fix things I didn't create or contrive

Have the habits / Had you / Has it been for long
Can you feel the souls behind what's going on

Do you feel / The weight of the world singing sorrow
Or to you is it just not real / Cause you got your things
Yeah we all so many things / And I can't get past these things

1.ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – We may be too busy to impact the entire world, we can help those around us, essentially change their world, with the love and compassion that we already innately have inside us.

2. AUDIENCE – The Rocket Summer is not a big name in the music industry – at all. However, because of the genre of music that they play (christian indie/piano rock) it is mostly christian teenagers that will hear this music and will listen to the lyrics.

3.GOAL – “I want to impact the world, but I can't do it alone.” This is the last phrase that is written on people's hands. It implies that the songwriter wants and needs help in his quest to help the world, and those that hear this song are able to offer just the kind of help that he is looking for. Also, with the use of a single hand, the writer/directer wants its audience to understand that a single hand can make a difference in someone's life, and change their world.

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...
Pathos – There are different parts in the video where stories of individual people are told. Their lives were hard, but by some kind of help, their lives are now better. It wasn't a large group of people that helped them, but a single person or a small group of people were able to help them, and change their world. Because they were helped, chances are good that those that have been helped will continue on to help others any way they can.

Relevant - This music video connects to the argument that the lyrics are making: even if we don't have time to 'impact the world' we can change an individual person's world by helping them how we can.

5. IS THE MUSIC VIDEO EFFECTIVE – The Rocket Summer is one of my very favorite bands. Every time I see this video or even hear the song, I always feel so empowered. Like I can do what I put my mind to and that I can make a positive difference in someone's life. So, yes, I would say that this music video is very effective!

Rhetorical Analysis: Film Trailer

1.ARGUMENT/ENTHYMEME – If you like chick flicks then this is a great movie for you to see because Valentine's Day is filled with plenty of famous actors/actresses and they all have their own love story.

2. AUDIENCE – Usually any movie about love is a chick flick and this is no exception. Though it is a romantic comedy and can attract some men to see it, mostly women are going to see this. This movie has so many big actor names in it, including those who have been around for awhile like Julia Roberts, and Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift who are big names to teeny-boppers. Fans of these actors will come to see this movie.

3.GOAL – The goal of this film trailer is to get the audience to see the movie. The advertisers even ask them to 'save the date'!

4. HOW THE ARGUMENT IS MADE - ethos, pathos, logos; sufficient, typical, accurate, relevant...
Pathos – the age of the people portrayed to be “in relationships” range from children to senior citizens, so the age range of the audience is the same. Also, because of the age range, the situation of the character's love life is going to vary greatly. This means that there is more of a chance that people will find a character to relate to, which will also draw in more audience members.

Sufficient, Typical – The clips shown in this trailer are sufficient, meaning that there are just enough clips / its just long enough to intrigue the audience to make it so they want to see the movie. The trailer has typical evidence, because it is just what the audience needs to see – the names/faces of their favorite actors/actresses and the humor , the irony, the sarcasm, and (potential) romance that is promised in the movie.

5. IS THE FILM TRAILER EFFECTIVE – I fit right into the audience in every way possible: I'm a female, I love chick flicks and Taylor Lautner... of course I'm going to see the movie!!