Visual Analysis

 

          The ads that I have chosen to analyze are both car ads, one being for the Lincoln MKZ and the other for the Nissan GTR. They are both found in the July 2011 edition of Automobile magazine. This magazine is intended mostly for men who are interested in cars. In the Lincoln ad, it is a picture of the front of the car in what seems to be a warehouse. The largest print says “NOBODY’S FOOL.” in thin letters across the top of the page above the car. Other text describes how normally the terms “luxury”, “41 city mpg” and “reasonably priced” normally are a contradiction when it comes to discussing cars. The Nissan ad has much more text then the Lincoln ad does. In summary, the text details the improvements made to the car’s engine, the improved performance on a track, and includes Nissan’s motto “Shift_the way you move”. There are also what appear to be sketches of Germany’s Nürburgring and performance charts. These sketches are a reference to the main text at the top, which reads, “We didn’t just go back to the drawing board, we went back to the track.” The reasons that I chose these ads are that I have a strong interest in cars, the Automobile magazine was sitting on my desk, and they were on the front page and back page of the magazine. Though the ads are both for cars, they could not be more different. The Lincoln ad is geared to an older audience that is concerned with style, luxury, efficiency, and reasonable affordability. The GTR ad is aimed at a younger generation of males who are looking for a thrilling car which performs at a high level and can compete with super cars such as Lamborghinis and Ferraris for a fraction of the price. Both ads are most likely aimed towards men, specifically men who are interested in cars enough to buy a magazine such as this. Therefore they are assuming that these men care enough about cars to invest upwards of almost 90,000 dollars in a car such as the GTR. 

American Ads

A) http://www.beercommunity.com/img/corona_ad.jpg 

-In this ad, Corona is claiming that if you consume their product anywhere that you will immediately be as relaxed as you would be on vacation at the beach. 

-The audience of this is anyone who drinks, legally 21 year olds and up but in reality that isn't the only audience. 

B) http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/commercials/2006/11/geico-caveman-airport.jpg

-In this ad, Geico is claiming that their services are so easy to sign up for and become a client of that even the simplest minded people could do it. 

-The audience of this ad is anyone looking for insurance but doesn't want to spend too much time shopping around and comparing prices. 

C) http://www.adamseal.com/Portfolio/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/mcdonalds_finals.jpg

-In this ad, McDonalds is claiming that everyone loves mcdonalds food and you will too. They draw in customers by including coupon offers on the ad. 

-The target audience for this ad, although it may seem to be everyone, is actually adults and teens. Kids cannot buy food because they have not money, they're directed at parents and teens who can purchase the food. 

D) http://style.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Kellan-Lutz-Calvin-Klein-Ad-Campaign.jpg

-In this ad, Calvin Klein is implying that if you wear their boxers that you will have a greater sex appeal and look better overall. 

-The target audience is men who want to look better in boxers, and women buying boxers for men. 

Post Secret Card

The secret was supposed to be that at times, even Jesus did not believe the words in his sermons. I conveyed the message in an open and explicit manner. In the background of the text I drew the 3 crosses on a hill with the center cross being the largest. I did so because I wanted to strongly suggest that the man behind the secret was Jesus without overtly stating it. The text was hand written and the font and positioning didn't have much to do with the message. I did however include dots at two points in the message, this was to create a feeling that Jesus never wanted to admit this but it weighed heavily on his mind. The way in which I portrayed Jesus was as hesitant and uneasy about revealing his secret. I didn't want the viewer to be shocked about the message, but I wanted to put the thought in their mind that this might have actually been a thought of Jesus. I don't necessarily believe this, but I still think it's important to question what we've always been taught.

Hungry Planet

The photography by Peter Menzel is an illustration of the gap between nations when it comes to food supply. Foreign nations are depicted as having to ration out a few bags of grain and some fruit for a whole week while American families have a plethora of meats, pizza, junk food and candy at their disposal anytime. People in other countries are forced to make do with rotten fruits, entire pigs, and whole fish as a meal. Although some of this is cultural and people of nations such as Japan are accustom to eating raw fish, it still shows how much of a devide there is between the availability of food around the world.

EC 9/27

In the response I read, the author states that they were skeptical at first because of Wrangham's one-causal approach to human evolution. Eventually she goes on to say that she was impressed by the amount of information that Wrangham gathered in support of his theories. I was not so skeptical about this article going into it. I have read that the development of farming was the worst invention by man, so this is not too "out there" for me. Overall I found it more interesting than scientific. He did not bore me with facts on top of facts but he simply states his beliefs based off of research. I thought it was a well written piece and an interesting theory.

Sept 27th Assignment

CR Prompt #1

            The effect of food supply on the development of humans is exemplified through gorillas and chimps. Basically the humans that were willing to eat a broader range of food, such as the gorillas, grew more and became more dominate. The main development in humans however was when cooking was introduced. Humans who ate raw meat had to expend time and energy to break down all of the indigestible parts of their food. When cooked, the food took less effort to chew as well as increased the amount of useful energy gained from the food. As a result humans were able to spend less time actually eating and digesting and were able to hunt and gather more in addition to having more energy to do other things such as travel. In addition to more energy, the human body grew physically because of the increased amounts of protein and energy acquired. The most important of these increases was the human brain. The brain expends a lot of energy, but because the cooked meat offered so much more energy the brain grew.

            In order to cook, humans first needed to learn how to control fire. Wrangham believes that the first cooking took place over naturally permanent fires. This is because while humans were scared of fire at first, eventually they became curious and began experimenting with it. This lead to the cooking of meat and vegetables which made them softer and easier to eat. Eventually they learned to make and control fires of their own which mobilized cooking. This mobilization lead to earth cooking on heated stones and slow steam cooking. Overall cooking caused men becoming dependent on women and also caused children to become dependent on their parents. Lastly, cooking allowed humans to live longer lives because of their well improved diets however it also allowed them to over consume which can have a negative impact on human health.

CR Prompt #3

1.     Though there is no way to grow one’s own food in a dorm, it is still important for college students to research and become well acquainted with the growing process and to know the processes behind organic food growth.

2.     With the limited supplies allowed in college dorms, it is important to still gather ingredients that one can use to prepare quality meals. A microwave is about the only cooking appliance allowed but cold items such as sandwiches can be assembles with organic lettuce, tomato etc.

3.     With the availability of internet on college campuses, it is still important to learn the origins of ones food. Research the source of the ingredients which you buy.

4.     With few local farms around city campuses, it is hard to buy locally grown produce. In place, students can purchase organic produce from local markets.

5.     When purchasing food, it is still important to read package labels and determine what has been added to products and the overall nutrition facts of such products.

6.     Again, it is important to research what it takes to grow and harvest produce.

7.     Find out the history of the food that you eat most commonly, that way you know how such foods have developed over time and how that can benefit you most. 

Draft Workshop

I am concerned about the structure of the paper. There are a few long paragraphs which might need to be split into two, however deciding where to split them was difficult because the entire paragraph is a fluid idea about the same topic. I very rarely mention the argument actually being made by Plato, I know that the paper is supposed to be about the rhetorical effectiveness of the piece but I'm not sure if I should mention the piece's argument more. Overall I am mostly concerned with fluidity and the cohesiveness of my paper as a whole.