"Crying Shame"

RA: Song Lyrics, Word Count: 426

Emily Krebs

September 24, 2010

1.     Argument: The government is out of control because the war in Iraq is built out of fear and isn’t accomplishing anything.

2.     Audience: Anyone who will listen to Jack Johnson.  His audience is probably more earth-loving, government-hating Americans.

3.     Goal: To convince the American people that war is ineffective and that the American people should stand up for what they believe in. His goal could also just be to express his frustrations about the American government.

4.     How:

a.     Pathos: Jack uses mostly emotion in his song to trigger the American people to see the fallacies of war.  The emotions that he targets are: shame/guilt (i.e. “By now we should know how to communicate instead of coming to blows”) for supporting war, shame/guilt (“We could close our eyes its still there”) for being neutral, and empathy (“A number of people are numbers who ain’t coming home”) for lost soldiers.  He tries to draw attention to the idea of shame and guilt, even in the title.  In this way, he calls his fellow Americans to action, since he makes them feel guilty for either supporting or not caring about what is going on.

b.     Logos: Jack also uses logic to convince his audience that we should care more about what is going on in the world today.  He calls our government “a tired game” and that even though we call it “a war for peace, it’s the same old game.”  He asks a question near the end, “Who we gonna blame now?” which is poignant and logical.  He argues that war is an ineffective way to communicate or to improve our own situation. He calls attention to the number of people lost in the war and calls it “a terrific price to pay” for essentially nothing.

c.     Sufficient: Jack doesn’t provide any real evidence, while he alludes to real situations.  Almost no song quotes statistics or sources, which weakens their argument to a personal opinion. 

d.     Relevant: Jack’s argument and evidence is clearly relevant to his audience considering when this song was written (2005).  He focuses on war in general and the situation that America is currently in.

5.     Effectiveness: I think his argument is effective in it’s own way.  While he doesn’t use any real sources, it is heavily weighted in pathos, which works very well as a song.  He asks us to look at our own opinions and see what we can be doing better.  I think that as a rather lukewarm citizen, it could sway personal opinions and could call someone to action. 

 Crying Shame, by Jack Johnson

Its such a tired game
Will it ever stop
How will this all play out
Upside out of my mouth

By now we should know
How to communicate instead of coming to blows
We're on a roll
And there ain't no stopping us now
We're burning under control
Isn't it strange how
We're all burning under the same sun
By now we say its a war for peace
Its the same old game
But do we really want to play?
We could close our eyes its still there
We could say its us against them
We can try but nobody wins
Gravity has got a hold on us all
We try to put it out
But its a growing flame
Using fear as fuel
Burning down our name
And it wont take too long
Cause words are burning same
And who we gunna blame now?

And oh, Its such a crying crying crying shame
Its such a crying crying crying shame
Its such a crying crying crying shame, shame, shame

By now
Its starting to show
A number of people are numbers who aint coming home
I can close my eyes its still there
Close my mind be alone
Close my heart and not care
But gravity has got a hold on us all
Its a terrific price to pay
But in the true sense of the word
Are we using what we've learned?
In the true sense of the word
Are we losing what we were?
Its such a tired game
Will it ever stop?
Is not for me to say
And is it in our blood?
Or is it just our fate?
And how will this all play out
Upside out of my mouth
And who we gunna blame?
On and on
Its such a crying crying crying shame
Its such a crying crying crying shame

Are You in Good Hands?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtP-S9OS0o0&p=F7311E58999A0576&playnext=1&index=68

Emily Krebs

RA #2: TV Commercial (All-State)

September 17, 2010

Word Count: 402

1. Argument: All-State Insurance cares about you and will protect you from mayhem.
2. Audience: All car drivers who need car insurance, who don’t like their current car insurance, or who are considering changing their car insurance.  The audience is also probably older and concerned about young drivers.
3. Goal: To convince the audience that All-State Insurance is the best car insurance and to get the audience to buy All-State insurance.
4. How:
1. Pathos: The man acting as a young teenage girl (i.e. driving a pink SUV, wearing pink sunglasses, texting on a pink cell phone) appeals to our humor.  Because the commercial makes us laugh we are more likely to continue watching it and to have good feelings about the product that they are selling.  The man is concerned about trivial things (Becky kissing Johnny) while driving, which is something that appeals to our own experiences and to our sense of humor. 
2. Logos: The last line of the commercial is “dollar for dollar, no body protects you like all-state.”  This appeals to our logic because we want to know if they really can protect us better.  The dramatic demonstration of a teenage girl running into us makes us wonder if that would be covered under our own insurance. While it isn’t a strong appeal to logic, it does make us consider other options as opposed to our own “cut-rate insurance.”
3. Sufficient: While this commercial is funny and represents a real situation, it doesn’t provide a lot of evidence for All-state insurance.  While it encourages us to have insurance, the benefits of All-State over other insurance companies are lacking.
4. Relevant: This dramatic representation of what really happens with teen drivers is definitely relevant to the audience.  Most drivers are concerned about young drivers and even new laws have been made about telephone use in cars because of the danger it is.  Thus, appealing to real life situations is very relevant and connects to the audience.
5. Effectiveness: I think this commercial is very effective.  It is short enough and funny enough that it doesn’t annoy us when it comes on.  Also, the humor appeal is a smart one for many products because everyone loves to laugh.  Also, representing a real situation about young drivers appeals to many drivers who have personal experience (through themselves, their children, or their friends) with young drivers doing silly things while driving.

Nike is AWESOME (RA:Still Ad)

Here's the photo...sorry :)

Nike is AWESOME (RA:Still Ad)

353 words

September 10, 2010

Nike Still Advertisement

1. Argument: Nike products are the best exercise products because they will make you stronger, faster, and better at any sport or activity you do.
2. Audience: This ad is targeted to those who work out routinely, those who try to work out routinely, and those who wished they worked out routinely.  Since this ad encourages exercise it hits almost all groups of health-conscious people.
3. Goal: Nike is striving to convince their audience to buy Nike products.
4. How:
1. Ethos: Nike relies on its well-known and well-liked reputation in this article. The ethos of this article is subtle, but is evident in the angle of the photo and the caption.  The viewer is looking up at the runner (who has the Nike swoosh imposed prominently), which illustrates Nike’s dominance in the exercise world.  The caption is a demand, which also allows the reader to infer Nike’s superior knowledge on fitness.
2. Pathos: Nike connects to the viewer with a religious command: “Test your faith daily.”  With such a personal demand, Nike is associating exercise with religion.  This can evoke many different emotions in the viewers depending on their religious opinions as well as their current fitness.  Some of this may include: remorse for not being more fit, proud for being fit and healthy, or apathetic to exercise or religion.
3. Logos: Nike also uses logic to persuade people to work out with Nike gear.  Nike acknowledges the diligence, perseverance, and hard work required by exercise both by the photograph (the runner looks determined and is going up hill) and the caption (by using the words, “test” and “daily”).
5. Effectiveness: I believe this advertisement, as well as other Nike ads, are very effective.  They don’t focus on the “selling” points of the gear, but rather on its superiority in reputation, and the viewer’s fitness capabilities.  I think this is why they are so effective, because they target a large audience who, when they view the ads, don’t feel like they are trying to be “sold” on something, but rather being recognized for their good fitness, or encouraged to be more fit.