The picture that I found as my visual argument accomplishes the overall goal. Within my personal argument, something that always made me think more deeply about abortion is the fact that supporters of pro-life are mostly all men, who will never have the experience of being pregnant. This particular picture is strong in it’s own because it puts out direct facts and is relatable for any women who is a believer in pro-choice.
The faces of the men in the picture are not fully shown, but the expressions also help the mood the facts are trying to portray. The placement of the words and the colors really drew me into the picture because it highlights the facts and true meaning of what my argument expresses.
When I first saw this picture, it made me think of who created it. Though I do not now who the actual creator is, the picture itself displays a certain type of personality. I think the person who created this ad was a woman, solely because of how the ad hits an emotional spot for woman when looking at it. The overall reason why I liked this picture was because of the way it shows my argument, and how when looking at it, the mood is strikes emotions in me but also is strong and yet simple.
The argument itself is also strong but simple. I feel that the argument has been overlooked by some when mentioned by politicians. Politicians have made pro-choice and Pro-life arguments, but most politicians happen to be men. The idea that a man is the person who could possibly make the decision for a woman just isn’t right. People often discuss abortion rights and laws and forget that men have been deciding the ways, and could possibly eliminate it. This picture captures the personality of a white male politician who would ultimately be a deciding factor is some of the abortion laws if they were in power.
This picture would be overall more effective to show to women, because of the emotional ties and straight forwardness when addressing the idea that a male could tell a woman that she could not have an abortion. Though the safety and privacy law is very important to my argument and personal beliefs, the gender in the deciding factor is where my pro choice argument starts. The gender in the deciding factor is the shell to my argument in terms of it being one large part with many smaller details inside it.
This picture evoked many feelings when I first looked at it, but it is overall effective. I think it hits a simple obvious point, and displays a certain mood that makes the pro choice side much stronger. When I look at this picture, I see it as if it’s almost like the pro life males being held back by the red facts. They are shut down and powerless by women’s rights.

suburban sprawl critique

Amanda Dalton
Prof Varner
Persuasive Writing
November 25, 2008

Suburban Sprawl Critique


For my visual argument I searched Google and found a picture making a statement towards suburban sprawl. Although suburban sprawl is made up of many different types of issues, the visual makes a generalization of the problems with developers buying what little land may be left, for housing projects. In the background there is the site of a graveyard with a sign in front stating “Coming Soon, Haunted Homes on 60 foot lots”, with a sold sign on top. Towards the front of the picture there is a man walking his dog and seems to be un-phased at the sign. This just goes to show that ridiculous things, like this picture are happening, and nothing is being done to stop it. The graphic is very comic-like, but still remains to hold a strong message. The text has the most powerful and eye-grabbing visual throughout the entire picture. When I first saw the picture I thought that if sprawl goes on long enough, this visual could very well be true. The visual goes along with my argument very well because I believe that suburban sprawl has gone too far and will consume whatever land is left for development. This visual depicts just that, developers taking whatever means necessary to build on land, no matter what is around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiSEk2r3Wl0

For my video I searched YouTube for videos that depicted issues of suburban sprawl. I came across a video titled “Human Footprint Urban Sprawl Deforestation Global Warming”. This video related so well to my topic of how much land is being consumed, mostly for things that are not really needed. The video showed clips of the many forms that suburban sprawl has taken on. First, deforestation was shown with all of the forests that are being chopped down for wood with houses being built on the land. Housing developments are being put up wherever there is enough room, and if there isn’t, space will be made. Traffic is another concern due to suburban sprawl because the more buildings that are built, the more people have to travel to get to these places. Lastly, there is pollution that shows how careless people can be to our planet and the mess that it has created for people and animals. Throughout the video, there were sentences that would describe what was going on with the pictures and music in the background to tie up the visual and make a bold statement. It really made me sit back and realize how terrible some areas are because of this problem. The number one thing that still amazes me is that suburban sprawl has gotten as far as it has, and it seems like it is only now being seen as a potential big problem. The video showed many shots of aerial views with the amount of build up that has been going on. Not only did it show clips from the United States, but Canada and France were also shown. This just goes to show that even though the United States has a problem with suburban sprawl, other countries do as well.

This video on youtube.com features two comedians, one, a women supporter for Hillary and the other, a black man supporting Obama. These two carry on with a very funny political argument about the former candidates polices, political blunders, etc. This video is relevant to my topic because it humorously points out how much Obama and Hillary were at each other’s throats during the campaign but then at the end of the video the two start rolling on the floor fighting and then get up a say “well, I respect you” “yeah I respect you too” Which was kind of how the primaries and the general election debates went, candidates would have say something like “with all due respect” to then say whatever slanderous thing they want to about the other person. It’s all very funny to me, because now despite all that has happened between Obama and Hilary, there is still no bad blood between them, which brings me to my point that in politics burning bridges does not necessarily mean they cannot be rebuilt again, case in point Obama’s decision to make Hillary Clinton the Secretary of State which in my opinion is a wise move.



This is a very funny political cartoon of Hillary Clinton as Wiley Coyote and Obama as the roadrunner. It’s a simplistic cartoon but gets it point across. The point is that throughout the primary Hillary tried to throw everything she could at Obama to get ahead in the polls, but the more elaborate her political stunts were the deeper she sank and the same was true for the McCain campaign. Both Hillary’s and McCain’s campaign against Obama was like watching a tennis match where McCain or Hillary would run all over the court trying to serve the ball back and Obama would simply stand still and lob it back over with ease.

The visual argument I came up with is a funny way of saying “no one knows how things might end.” What I did for my visual argument was I took a poster from the show “Funny thing Happened on the way to the Forum” and photo shopped Hillary and Obama’s head into it and I changed “Forum” to “White House.” I chose this poster because this particular play is about mistaken identity and funny twists and turns in the plot, much like this election. Despite how much Hillary and Obama looked like bitter revivals, as portrayed in the political cartoon above, they are in reality just doing what was necessary for their own interests at the time. Now that Obama is our President, it is necessary that he surround himself with the best and brightest this country has to offer despite political differences. One of the many lessons that can be learned from the mistakes of the Bush administration, is that its never a good idea to give high-level positions to your buddies who don’t have a clue what they’re doing.

Lowering the Drinking Age Visual Critique

Did you know that the legal drinking age in the United States is 21 years old? If you didn’t know, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. In the first minute of “21 and Wasted: The American Drinking Age,” a clip of a political debate is shown. When asked whether or not the drinking age should be lowered to 18 years old, the first candidate (U.S. Senator, Jon Corzine) replied, “I think it is 18, isn’t it”? Throughout 20 year old Aaron Sheer’s short YouTube documentary, a series of thoughts and opinions are conveyed and a majority are supporting a new lower drinking age. One of Sheer’s commentators, Libby Gronquist, compares the differences between her hometown of London’s drinking behavior with her experience of being around underage drinkers in the United States. Growing up drinking wine with her parents, she thinks that young American drinkers are not as educated about alcohol and can’t simply enjoy one drink. What can you expect though? We, as Americans, were not raised to appreciate alcohol and truly understand how to control our intake. In classrooms, we aren’t told to drink in moderation. Instead, the idea is suffocated by consequences of binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, and death. We’re so busy saying “No! No! No!”, that nobody steps in and says, “Hey! It’s your body and your health. We don’t advise that you go out and have a drink, but if you’re going to, this is how you should handle it.” Let’s face it. It’s immature and naïve to believe that anyone between the ages of 16 to 20 years old will restrain from drinking until their 21st birthdays, so why not educate them the right way? It’s not a matter of maturity. We don’t magically roll out of bed on our 21st birthday noticeably more mature and suddenly capable of handling a beer. We can handle voting, marrying, dying in war, but apparently we cannot handle a margarita. It’s not like these kids can’t get their hands on alcohol. Through fake I.D.s, friends, and even family, there’s always a way around the system. In one editorial cartoon, Signe Wilkinson pokes fun at the flaws of the legal age. In the picture, a young girl is sitting at a bar talking to a guy and saying, “What’s the problem with a 21 year old drinking age? I’ve been 21 for 3 years now!” The bartender happily gives her a beer as she flashes an I.D. with the words “Real Fake I.D” scrolled across the top. The satire demonstrates the ease of illegal drinking. In another clip from Sheer’s documentary, a Skidmore College student shows us exactly how easy it is to buy a case of beer with a fake I.D. He even goes far enough to claim that the woman behind the counter knows that his I.D. is fake, but doesn’t really care. Emily Mattoon and Stephanie Leutart, also students at Skidmore college, suggest that underage drinking behavior is a matter of rebellion. Everyone wants what they can’t have. Unlike Europe, we were not raised with the opportunity to have a glass of wine during dinner or on holidays. Maybe we should take all of these ideas into consideration. Why don’t we better our education and provide a fairer view on drinking? If we’re going to treat and charge 18-20 year olds as adults, why not treat them this way in all aspects? Why don’t we lower the drinking age?

Visual Argument- Stem cell research

Visuals, whether they are videos or images, can present an argument that is more direct and easily taken in by the reader. Visuals stimulate the human mind and are more memorable to most people. The argument that a visual may make can be immediate compared to reading an article, and that has its advantages. People may skim through words but a visual is easily absorbed by the mind and the message of the argument gets through to people quickly. In this way, visual arguments are helpful tools that can be utilized to persuade people. To some visuals may seem to be more truthful than just written text. When reading a paper or an article, people may question the writer’s credibility. With a visual, since the absorption and persuasion of the argument is so quick, there is less to question about it. However, the downfall of visual arguments is just that. Since it is limited and usually absorbed faster, the audience may lose the message of the argument quicker than other forms of arguments.

The two main controversies with stem cell research are well presented in this visual argument. Since stem cell research has developed, researchers have been using stem cells derived from embryos. Many believe that life begins at the point of conception so the use of embryos for research is cruel and inhumane. As this visual argument simply explains, stem cell research kills human life. Another aspect of the argument is one that is less obvious. The old man says that he is on that cloud because he was “waiting” for stem cell research. Stem cell research has had much time and effort put into it without as much evidence and advances shown to the public. Because of this, some people argue that stem cell research is a lost cause that is just soaking up money.

The fact that stem cells are derived from embryos is a fact that cannot be ignored, whether one is for or against the research. However, the fact that an embryo is considered life is arguable. When embryos are taken for research purposes, they are taken from either donated or from an in vitro fertilization process. Not only do these tiny embryos not resemble babies at this stage, nor are they visible to the human eye, they had no chance to develop into life. Because they are discarded embryos, they cannot have the proper nutrition or setting to become life. The cartoon portrays an adorable-looking little talking baby boy as the embryo, and this is the main fault of this visual argument. Granted that this is a drawn cartoon, how can an embryo that consists of a few hundred cells at its later stage be visualized as a walking, talking human? This raises the question of credibility of the artist of this particular cartoon. Was this person biased? Does this person even know what embryos are? Were they utilizing a subjective form of persuasion? From the cartoon, I would think yes, yes, and yes.

The second image (which I found online but incorporated my own texts to) is obviously pro-stem cell research. The argument being made here is that stem cell research provides a vast range of medical benefits to people of various needs. The tiny circular mass at the bottom of the poster represents a stem cell. There is a root or a branch growing from that cell into body parts, organs, and medicine. The concept is simple and persuasive. The leaf (which I colored green to pronounce it) is there to incorporate the idea that stem cell research is a growing and blooming process that betters or even creates life. In conjunction with the fact of what embryos really are, this poster makes for a very effective argument.

Throwing Life Away

Visual representations open up a whole new dimension to arguments. They allow readers to instantly get an idea of the creator’s point of view and get a first impression of their argument without the time and effort consuming act of reading through an argument. My topic is the funding of stem cell research and the image that I chose to represent it depicts President Bush talking to a scientist about stem cells and how they hold human life and then throwing them away because it would be more ethical to do that in his opinion than to donate them to scientific use. The comic used an evaluation argument to try to argue what was or was not ethical. By showing Bush saying that the “lives” represented by the embryos should be thrown away it calls his ethics into question and makes the argument that maybe allowing these embryos to be used for research would be a more ethical option than just wasting them. I thought that this argument was successful in getting its point across because it was fairly straightforward and though it was comical it showed an accurate representation of what happened when the laws that President Bush implemented about the use of embryos in stem cell research were put into place. They stopped all government funding for any programs using stem cell research and caused many of the embryos that could have been used in stem cell research to be disposed of.



The video argument that I found was actually very similar to the visual argument that I found in that they both featured President Bush and discussed the idea that throwing embryos away was, in the opinion of the government, a more ethical choice than allowing them to be used for research. The video took it a step further by detailing the ways in which stem cell research could benefit the people of the United States and how we were falling behind in innovations by not taking part in stem cell research. This was a more comical representation of the argument than the comic before was and had more moments where it poked fun at Bush such as when the scientists tried to explain all of the ways in which stem cells could be used and the different uses that the embryos were going to before they were going to research and Bush still thought that throwing the embryos away would be the better choice. The government’s choice to stop funding for embryonic stem cell research is not only putting America behind other world leaders scientifically, but is also making life very difficult for those in the country who suffer from chronic diseases that stem cell research could help cure and who must look outside of the US for some of the treatments that stem cell research has made available.



In response to these two arguments I created a visual argument showing a stem cell thinking about some of the things that it has the potential to be, and then going into a bio hazard container because the government wants it to. I am agreeing with these arguments in showing how throwing away embryos that could be used for stem cell research is unethical. There is so much untapped potential in stem cell research, illustrated by the things that the stem cell in my argument is thinking about, however as long as the moral dilemma over the subject continues it will be impossible for the United States to catch up to other countries in the world who have already been successful in research.

Elise Bautista

VIDUAL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aVyZbLpMZM   

http://www.safe-nz.org.nz/Image/parole.gif

Early Parole 

Initially, the visual argument I committed to really had nothing to do with the reality of early parole, it was just a joke I made up featuring a child eating spaghetti.  After taking consideration into the seriousness of early parole, I decided to take a different route.  The picture is a newspaper cartoon facing the reality that many people, including myself, have lost their confidence with our parole board.  The picture is the board discussing as to why we may have lost our confidence in them.  One of the board members is a clown, summing of the idea of our parole boards across the U.S. being a complete joke.  Perhaps the board wouldn't be looked upon this way if they really researched the criminals that were up for parole.  Many of our prisoners whom were granted parole have committed back into the life of crime.  Just recently, another Philadelphia police officer was killed because of a prisoner whom had 20 charges of crime tattooed to him and our board still decided to let him be back apart of society.  I think that the picture is a witty approach on the viewing we have of these parole boards, and i feel that the cartoon gets the point across very well.

The video I chose to use as my video argument is a positive look on the parole board realizing a mistake they had made and used their power to issue another warrant to have this murderer put back into prison for two more years. The video is courtesy of NBC news of Sacramento, California.  It's not very often that you hear of such a thing happening, and it was good to find out when this video was brought to my attention.  After looking over countless articles of the parole board constantly making errors, it was good to see that they aren't as bad as we make them out to be.  Sara Olsen was imprisoned for bomb threats on police cars and for 2nd degree murder.  She served half of her term and then was up for parole.  As usual, the parole board granted the parole for our criminal serving half of her term.  It wasn't until 5 days later that they realized that Sara still had to serve an additional 2 years.  They labeled the mistake as a "calculation error".  This is the problem I have with our system.  I don't understand why these mistakes are constantly being made.  It's their job to look into every person's background before making a decision.  It seems as if they never really look fully into these prisoners up for parole.  Sara was hiding in Minnesota for 3 decades.  If I were on a board and saw that the person who was up for parole was hiding from officials for 30 years, I'd never let this person out from behind the bars.  It's obvious that our prisoner knew she was in the wrong and our system still lets her go?  I find that to be pathetic.  I'm glad to see they re-did their wrong though. 

Video/Visual Image Critique - Sex Education

Stepfanie McCaffrey
November 24th, 2008
Persuasive Writing
TR 10:10 – 11:30
Semester Project
Visual/Video Critique

The original visual image I found perfectly went along with my semester topic of sex education. I feel the image of the pair of girls jeans with a padlock attached to the button is very effective and eye catching. The copy on the image adds a great deal of effectiveness in really explaining the dilemma occurring in public schools with the idea of sex education. The government currently only funds abstinence only sex education after a law was passed supporting that idea. Even with this law being implemented in schools, teenage pregnancy rates are rising. The majority of parents say that they would prefer a more comprehensive form of sex education to be taught to their children. Therefore, is the current form of sex education really educating and protecting the health of our youth, or is it just for the good of the government?
Another image I found also ties well into the current sex education predicament. The image is very simple and to the point, which I feel helps add to its effectiveness. This second image of the three students lined up with their grades shows that though students understand what they are being taught, it is not very effective when it comes to sex education. By telling them to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage, they become rebellious and partake in these sexual acts. If students were educated properly on how to protect themselves if they do in fact engage in sexual acts, and the possible outcomes that came happen, such as pregnancy and STD’s.
The video I found was a satire created by students about sex education in schools. The video does a good representing the issue. In the beginning, the principal of the school is receiving phone calls from parents about the problems and ineffectiveness of the current sex education programs. The principal apologizes and says, “I recognize that there are some problems with our sex education program but overall it’s informative; it’s good. The students get to know what they need to know. They aren’t going to get to know what they don’t need to know, and what they don’t need to know is sex.” This statement clearly defines the current sex education programs that are being executed in our schools each day. Students are being taught what the government feels is important, instead of teaching them real life information that can inform, help and protect them.
The principal in the movie also complains that he does not want to revamp the sex education programs, even with the massive amounts of complaints he is receiving from parents and teachers. It is as if the government does not want our youth to be properly educated if they do perhaps partake in sexual intercourse before marriage. Why not actually inform our youth about the consequences and possible outcomes, instead of just telling them not to do it. By informing them about teen pregnancies and STD’s, our youth will most likely be more cautious when engaging in sexual activities. Perhaps teen pregnancy rates will decrease, and the amount of careless hookups occurring will decrease as well. One will not know until they try, so what harm is it to properly educate or students with comprehensive sex education.
Another video I found was from the Sudbury League of Women Voters. The speaker was Susan Fargo, the Chairman of Public Health. In this video, Fargo discusses the current sex education policies. She discusses the problems of teen pregnancies and STD’s, as well as young women being a part of abusive relationships at a juvenile age. Fargo believes that resources have to be made available so that our youth can make their own informative and correct decisions, and schools must provide those key tools. The rebuttal provided at the end of this video adds to the validity and strength of the argument being presented.
Sources:
Visual Image #1 - http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/members/news/2005/August-Images/abstain.jpg
Visual Image #2 - http://www.inkcinct.com.au/Web/CARTOONS/2007/2007-775-failing-sex-education.jpg
Video Link #1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQlgim7-_eM&feature=related
Video Link #2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SR2mVc7jI0

Visual Arguments

Ashley Cirillo
Persuasive Writing sec002
November 25, 2008
Critique #2


Visual arguments can be very effective when used correctly. Simple visuals, graphics, and videos can be an easy way to make a point quickly. Furthermore, an appealing visual argument will capture the audience’s attention more so than a strictly written or oral presentation. An audience will be able to connect more to a visual argument because its creativity will often evoke emotion and stir up thoughts.

My claim on higher education accessibility is as American citizens and taxpayers, we should have equal access to post-secondary education that is affordable. It is said that the more educated a person is, the happier they are. This is most likely due to an increase in their standards of living through better job opportunities from the level of education received. Higher education is almost a requirement to living at least comfortably in today’s society. Now, not even an associates or bachelors degree is enough; one must obtain a masters or doctorates degree for certain careers in order to be successful. However, tuition prices and fees are rapidly increasing. These days, students are graduating college with not only a degree, but also substantial amount of debt. With a declining economy, increasing tuition, and tempting credit cards, it is hard for students not to fall deep into debt. Many people cannot afford college from the start, and most students are forced to take out high interest loans to pay for school.


I had a tough time searching for visual arguments based on my topic. I found plenty of visuals on student debt and others on rising tuition, but hardly any arguments specific to my thesis. It took me long enough, but I finally found a visual argument that I think suits my topic well. It is very simple, yet straight to the point. The student in the hot air balloon is trying to reach his diploma, but the heavy bags of money in the basket with him are holding him down as the diploma moves higher. If he ever wants to have a chance of obtaining the degree, he must throw the money out of the basket to allow the hot air balloon to go higher. In short, the argument this cartoon is making is college tuition is continually rising, and the only way we have a chance at earning a degree is by spending more money. http://www.vandine.biz/Gallery/Balloon.jpg

In response to the above argument, I tried to create a visual argument of my own. Keeping my topic in mind, I wanted to create a cartoon that represented the fact that rising tuition is keeping many potential students from attending college. I think my visual speaks for itself; however a simple explanation would be the wind (college tuition) is blowing away the balloon (education), and the many reaching hands signifies all those who are being held back from an education because of tuition costs, while the single hand symbolizes the few people that are able to afford the rising costs. (I used and edited several different images found on www.google.com/images to put together my visual.)


Additionally, finding a video was just as hard. Most of the videos I came across were just people saying how much debt they were going to be in a few years after school. I finally came across a video of an interview of University of Pennsylvania professor Adolph Reed. While the information in the video is merely his opinion, it supports my view on equal access to higher education. Reed argues that post-secondary education should be free for all those that are interested in attending, and he thinks the government should take care of all the funding. While the idea of free higher education sounds amazing, I do not think our society is ready for it. Many people would abuse the free ride, while others would have a problem with the increase inn taxes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHiOLLPc4es


Just to throw it out there, I found another video that I found amusing, but it was from students in Canada, which is why I didn’t use it. As a response to an increase in tuition, students organized a funeral for “Affordable Education.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhK9iirdR9Y

Jasmine Offor (MWF)

For my reaction picture, I actually created one on photoshop that had all the elements I wanted to incorporate in my paper. This phote depicts one side with two character hipsters smoking trying to be cool with a smoke bubble that cancels out the word hip. The picture is trying to say that the kids arent hip and in a very weird way that is what hipsters want to be, "unhip". To be "unhip" in their terms means actually being "hip". Weird I know. Anyways, the picture on the right is of real life kids a.k.a hipsters just chillin'. The quote that I blasted across their faces says, " The idea is to stand out, be unique, and make a statement against what society seems normal". The funny thing is that this hipster craze seems to be the norm everywhere we turn. We cant help but try and be an individual, but when you have a mass population trying to be the same individual, there really is no sense of origionality now is there?

The point that I'm trying to make is that when you want to be a REAL individual, you'll break out of the "norm", the type of indiciduality that everyone is used to. You'll become the kid that marches the sound of their own drum...not a hipster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2fazuB3Hhk.. Here's a funny documentary that I found on youtube about the life of a hipster. It lets you know everything you need to know. It actually quiet good and in shot in our good ol' city...ILLADELHPIA! so check it out.

There Ain't No LOVE for LOVE

Kyle Arcomano
Persuasive Writing
Love Park Conflict

The definition of a public park is a place set aside for human recreation and enjoyment for any individual. Here in Philadelphia, there is Love Park, which has earned recognition worldwide from the skateboarding industry. This area is located in center city Philadelphia for the public to access and enjoy whenever they desire. On a daily basis there can be hundreds of people hanging out or walking through the designated area, but other times there can be hundreds of people running from the designated area. These people would be the ones who are restricted from the public park. Society has classified these individuals as unruly and disruptive because they make use of the territory with their skateboards.
Since the year 2000, skateboarders across the nation have been trying to solve the conflict between themselves and Philadelphia city officials. The ongoing battle ended in 2005 when skateboarding was banned at Love Park. Since then, kids of all ages have been getting arrested and fined for trespassing on the public property. What city officials do not understand is that Love Park is a Mecca in the skateboarding industry and has allowed skaters to gain media attention with their progress.
Skateboarders are apart of the public community. Therefore I created a visual argument that represents the battle skateboarders deal with on a daily basis, but I substituted skateboarders with average individuals. Imagine if random people walked through Love Park and got harassed by police because they were trespassing. That is what I wanted to base my argument around, so I placed random individuals getting arrested on the property of Love Park. There will never be a time when average working Americans will be getting arrested at Love Park for being on the property, so why should skateboarders get harassed with $300 fines and jail time for enjoying the property?
To follow up on my argument, I found a commercial that DC shoes produced a couple years ago to advertise for a new shoe called the Verdict. This clip was shown in numerous skateboard videos throughout the world and exposed the conflict with Love Park and skateboarders. It shows Philadelphia skateboarder Josh Kalis skateboarding at Love Park, because he is one of the many riders who got famous in the skateboarding industry because of the terrain at Love Park. The clip brags how skateboarding got too popular in Philadelphia so Love Park got shut down because of the verdict John Street decided on.
Skateboarders tried their best to earn appreciation throughout the city to show John Street we really aren’t bad people. Some individuals established protests at Love Park and City Hall with Edmund Bacon, the architect of City Hall. He explained that he created Love Park for people to enjoy, including skateboarders. What people do not understand is that skateboarders alter the design of a specific landmark for their own enjoyment, and Ed Bacon fully understood that and wanted skateboarders to continue to enjoy his creation.

Visual Argument

Nikki Goldstein

College Tuition

Visual Arguments

My image to the left is a college student "hungry for lower tuition". The image can send a broad message of college students needing lower tuition because that itself is no longer affordable. The deeper meaning within the picture is that college student is actually standing outside a charity food drive, which apparently had a large turnout of college students. Because they are spending so much money on college they cannot even afford to eat sometimes, because all of their money is going towards college. The original image was actually different colors, I made it the neon that it is and changed the letters on his poster. I also added the two phrases on the left and right of the bold I'M HUNGRY on the poster. I put the two phrases on the poster to emphasize the importance and add more for the viewer to sympathize with. The one says "Afford to eat.. Or afford to learn???" and the next says "Don't make us choose!” I think adding these helped fill the plainness of the poster the way it was before I edited it as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1MO61l1BM4

The video that I chose brought up the American dream, and how going to college is a part of this American dream. It went on the display the costs of tuition and high debt levels for schools around the United States, the mass difference between in and out of state tuition and highlights college as a business, which we don’t normally think of. It brings up the issue of the interest rates on our loans that we don’t notice now, but will once we graduate and have to actually pay our debt. I really liked how the video displayed education as a commodity, questioning when it became that way and how. The video goes on to give different examples of people who can’t afford college for whichever reason and then highlights our parents as the ones who carry the burden as well, causing changes in their retirement plans. It also highlights that there has been an 845 percent increase in what we pay in the last 30 years and that 6 out of 10 Americans in debt, and we wonder why. The video played the song Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve in the background, which in my opinion makes the video even more effective than possibly having just the slides of all the information in it. If you can’t catch them the beginning lyrics to the song are:
“'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life. Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to the money then you die. Try to make ends meet. I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down. You're a slave to money then you die.”
The song definitely helps make the point of college debt needing to be decreased and there needs to be a solution found. The only things I would change about the video would be to add more pictures, and slow down the text slides to be more effective in letting the reader have more time to get the whole slide read. Overall though this video is a great support for my topic, and after thinking I wouldn’t be able to find it again, I’m very glad I did! Both of the visual arguments I found make the viewer think and evaluate what the problem is and help in making people aware that something needs to be done about it, which I think is really important.

visual argument

Christie Porter
Diane Varner
Persuasive Writing
25 November 2008

Following the Trends

The picture that I found for my visual argument is an example of my semester topic. I feel that the media influences our ideals and views, and even has the power to persuade us to act a certain way, believe in something, or even purchase various items. The picture above shows Beyonce Knowles who is an American R&B singer-songwriter, and all around admired woman by many. Accompanying her is Jay-Z, an American Hip Hop artist. In the picture Beyonce has on a t-shirt with Barack Obama’s face on it and the words “Progress.” This is only a mere image of the stars of Hollywood that supported Obama. Throughout the election, there were songs written about him, t-shirts made, television stations such as BET supporting him. Obama’s campaign consisted of a lot of flashy propaganda, which was represented and worn by America’s favorite musicians and actors. Needless to say, much of America’s younger generation was not active campaign followers of Obama. Despite Barack’s excellent morals and values, many of his supporters from the younger generation, followed the views and beliefs of their favorite stars that came together to support him, rather then the beliefs of Obama himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-2XEQtB_o&feature=related
Jay- Z Makes Call for Obama<---you tube video

The video I found is very similar to the photograph, and is also a prime example for my specific topic of how the media influences our society. It’s a video from the day before Election Day. The video is of Hip Hop artist, Jay-Z making phone calls to citizens, once again encouraging them to vote for Obama. In the beginning of the video is a musical tune that states, “Hip Hop for Obama.” I feel that this video and photograph affect the people of our country in the same way that the media does. The visuals are put forward to persuade us to believe one way because these particular people believe that way as well. Much of what goes on in political campaigns like in these particular visuals goes on with companies all over. Majority of the commercials seen on television have famous stars promoting their products. The key for these companies is that if we as the audience see our idols using those products, we will want to use them as well. In America, we are constantly following the trends that are set for us by the media and the people in the media. They are there the encourage us to look, act, and believe the way that they do. Both of these visuals are examples of the way in which the media affects the way we feel. Although at times, the way we are acting may not specifically be because we are following the trends, for many people of our society, it is. For years our society has followed trends set by the media, and for the future I predict nothing less. However, I feel that at times we have to stop believing everything we are told by the media and its trendsetters, and act on our own personal beliefs.

To make the image different, I changed the picture by adding a poorly created "billboard" for Budweiser and also added a beer can. I also slightly distorted the background, of the buildings. I feel the original image makes a big statement, which is questioning the current legal drinking age in the United States. If we are able to go to war at 18 why then, can we not legally drink? In editing the image, it may give a different impression to viewers. In changing it, the image appears to appeal to the younger generation with the brighter, more fun colors. Also, distorting the background may not be a good idea, due to the fact that it may be associated with distorted vision, an effect of alcohol. The original image is trying to get people to lower the drinking age, so it makes sense it is targeted to older people, because they are the ones needed to make it happen. I think the original image would be effective in portraying the message an older crowd, especially because it references the war.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkz-rxQ2q6I

The above video was taken from YouTube. The video is very simple and amateur. The images, in the video, are of stick figures with bubbles for speech and there is no sound or music to go along to the video. However, the video accurately shows the problem with the current drinking age in the United States. It displays how at 18 we are considered an adult. It then touches on the various things that this includes but that we are not able to get into a bar and drink. The display is shown through the story of "Bob," the stick figure. It starts out with him stating he is 18 and then follows him to a voting booth. He then states how he can smoke, get a tattoo and move out of his parents home. Then it says, "I can go to the bar" and shows him outside a bar, trying to get past the bouncer. It follows him, to buy a gun, shoot the bouncer and then be tried and held accountable for his actions in the court of law, as an adult. It then shows him fighting in the war, come home, and still not be able to get into the bar. The story shows how within a matter of a day, everything changes, and you suddenly have a lot more rights and responsibilities but yet you can not make the decision of whether or not to have an alcoholic beverage. I like the video for the reason that is takes you through a short story. However, I feel as though there needs to be some kind of sound, or music, to capture and hold the viewers attention. Although the images aren’t very good and are rather simple, I think they are fine and get the message across clearly to the viewer and at the same time they do add a little bit of humor.

Visual arguments

Kristina Serge
Persuasive Writing
Diane Varner
November 25th, 2008

Visuals are single representations of problems, issues, moments, history, celebrations, and everything else. They can be used to manipulate, as with propaganda, or sway, as with political cartoons. They are all used to create a larger image in the viewer’s head that stirs up powerful emotions. These emotions are connected to experiences the viewer has had or will have. Each individual picture or video has a point. The point is made with an argument. Visual arguments can be based on several things. Two of which are definitional arguments and resemblance arguments. Only by conjuring up a response does the visual argument work. Without a relatable emotion, experience, or importance the argument will not be strong enough.

This picture shows a person, either a man or a woman, holding the rainbow flag. Based on past experiences, the viewer might relate the rainbow flag to its culturally significant group. This group represents gay rights and gay pride. But, to others, the flag may mean peace because of its use by another group called PACE. It also stands for acceptance of diversity because of unity of colors. By understanding the context in which the photo was found, one would know that it is from a gay rights parade, therefore probably standing for homosexual pride groups.
Ellen begins by stating her personal beliefs and then tries to persuade Senator McCain to agree with her. She believes that marriage should be for everyone. She uses precedent arguments by relating the discrimination that is happening now to the discrimination that women and blacks faced when trying to get the right to vote. When describing how homosexuals can enter a legal contract but not a marriage contract, Degeneres uses the analogy of “Well, you can’t sit there, but you can sit there.” McCain uses a definitional argument about how marriage is a contract and that gay Americans can enter into a contract together that allows many of the same privileges, it’s just not the same contract as marriage. In the video, Ellen’s argument is stronger, has more emotion, and uses relevant facts. Clearly, this is the argument that makes more sense and is stronger than the other.
My updated graphic is a picture with the background whited-out so the only things remaining from the original are the people and the flag. From there, I wanted to relate this picture to America, because the original picture could have been from anywhere in the world. I added an American flag to show where the gay rights parade was and to conjure some thought in the viewer of why they were marching there in the first place. The end image should create an emotion of sympathy and pride. Sympathy towards the fight for gay rights and pride because by being a part of a democracy, American people have the chance to change the country, unlike many other nations in the world.

Visual arguments legalize weed by shanae

Marijuana is a natural herb that has been around for centuries. It has many positive and non-harmful affects. However, these affects are never discussed. It is always the negative side that people choose to see.
So my visual argument is a remake of an already existing ad from www.abovetheinfluence.com. This website is dedicated towards educating people on the dangers of smoking marijuana, cigarettes and other substances commonly used by teenagers. In the original ad, which reads “Jane I know why you’ve been skipping the gym. We need to talk Luv Sarah”, the girl Jane is obviously a frequent marijuana smoker and her friend Sarah is concerned for her. The ad is clearly trying to say that smoking marijuana has negative affects on your social life and relationships. It is blaming this on one of the side affects of marijuana: short-term memory loss. Above the Influence has many ads such as them that seek to illustrate the negative side affects of smoking marijuana. Other ads show the negative side affects it can have on those who may look up to you such as a younger sibling, while others just try to guilt you out of smoking. All of their ads highlight the negative affects of marijuana.
My visual argument is the same ad, only mine highlights a positive aspect of smoking marijuana. My ad reads “ Ja’nai, great bonding yesterday gotta do it again soon love nae.” The green box says "Live your own life. Do what makes you happy. Stay with who you love. Be your own influence". My argument is that when people smoke together they spend quality time together and strengthen their relationship. I know from the experiences of my friends that some of the most heart felt and personal conversations they have ever had have occurred over a blunt. I chose to use the words in the green box as my logo to go against the "above the influence" logo I believe that people need to be responsible for their own actions and everything that a person does, whether under the influence or not, is at some point exactly what they wanted to do. To make my image I used a picture of my and friend I already had and just followed the layout of the original ad. I basically wanted it to illustrate that friends who smoke together, stay together. Although marijuana may cause some relationships to fall apart, it brings others closer together. But in life relationships come and go anyway. It is just a natural cycle of things.



For my video argument I used a song by Rick James entitled “Mary Jane”. Mary Jane is a colloquial term used for marijuana. I used this song because it is one of the most well known songs about marijuana. The song personifies marijuana as a loose female. It is illustrating other positive affects of marijuana such as its ability to make a person feel good. I chose this song because I feel as though it is a great illustrator of the postive affects and generally feelings of people who smoke marijuana for recreational purposes.



I also used a song by Peter Tosh called “Legalize Marijuana”. In this song he states some colloquial names for marijuana. He also points out how widespread marijuana usage is and how diverse the group of marijuana users is. His line “Doctors smoke it, Nurses smoke it, Judges smoke, even my lawyer too” points out just how un-harmful marijuana is. If people with such high-powered careers can smoke and still be successful, how harmful is it really? This song was made back in the 1970’s. the longevity of it and of marijuana shows how futile the war against it is and how hopeless the efforts of the opponents of marijuana are. It is and always will be a cultural phenomen and all the time and effort used to stifle and destroy it are a waste that could have been used elsewhere.

Visual Argument: Racial Identity for the Black American

African American is a phrase commonly used to identify black Americans, and society has tried to prove to us in many ways that this is the correct terminology to categorize black people. I, however, believe the phrase African American should be eliminated from everyone’s vocabulary in its uses to identify the black American people. There is nothing immoral about calling blacks black, just as there is nothing wrong with calling whites white.

For my visual argument, I came across this picture by searching the phrase “black history month” on Google. It did not really surprise me to find an image of this sort because it is not uncommon for the black American community to try to identify themselves with the continent of Africa. Black History Month started in 1926 in the United States as a tribute to African Americans (how ironic, that Black History Month is a tribute to African Americans). So therefore, the image is backwards, because they have images of famous black Americans (or as they call African AMERICANS) in a background of Africa. Shouldn’t this be a background of America? Not only is Black History Month, an American celebration (Canadian as well), but it is also an acknowledgment to the struggles and triumphs black Americans, not Africans, experienced and the good they have done for the United States.

Peculiarly, there is actually only one African in this picture, and that happens to be Nelson Mandela. Even though, Frederick Douglas was a slave, not only was he born in America, but his father was also white.

It just interests me that this image would try to associate an American celebration, with American people, minus one, to Africa. This image just does not display a very feasible description of Black History Month.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjrnvGgeaxc

When I found the video "The Term 'African-American' Sucks" on Youtube, I was really excited because at first I could only find blacks commenting on the phrase African American, and I finally I came across a white guy who shared the same opinion as I do. I apologize for the slight use of vulgarity heard in this video, but I feel he was just relating to today’s young adults. However, I feel his video was rather bland and lacked creativity, as did most of the videos I came across on this topic.

It seemed as though this video was just a person’s effortless and simplistic attempt to express his feelings; on the other hand, with time and creativity, his video could actually be effective, especially to those who may strongly disagree or those who really have no opinion on the topic at all. The speaker really stated some solid facts on the opposition to the phrase African-American in his video, and the fact that he is white, could display to others that some blacks are not the only ones that are opposed to this phrase, and that it really is invalid.

City of Brotherly Love?

The visual argument I found that was similar to my semester topic was in the Philadelphia Daily news close to a year ago. The visual argument was the best I found for my topic and was very captivating. The visual really grabbed my attention and made me think about Philadelphia and how many people were killed. The color of the visual was effective because, newspapers normally don’t have any color ads. The ad was blood red with black and white text, which made the text stand out a lot more. The ad asked the question City of Brother love? It is a question I asked within my paper as well because that is the slogan of the city, but it hasn’t really been that brotherly lately. There is no love for one another anymore just complete disregard for the life of another human being. In the middle of the ad there is a picture of a .45 caliber handgun. Handguns are the main problem to why so many people have lost their lives on the streets of Philadelphia. The bottom of the ad states passionately “Stop the Violence!” and shows a small chart next to the text of the fatalities to gun violence in Philadelphia. The most effective part of the ad is the background. As I have already stated the body of the text is blood red with black and white text. The text within the body of writing is effective because, it shows the names of every person who was killed in Philadelphia during the past year. It was very thought provoking, because readers put names to the people who have been killed by the guns like the one seen in the ad.

For the video I searched YouTube and I found a couple videos that were similar to my topic. The video I chose was the documentary “Stop this killing and put the guns down.” The video is very interesting, informational, and gritty. At the beginning there are scenes of children, women, and men united. There is the strong voice of man telling people to “Fight this war put the guns down there is a war going outside and we must stand up and take a stance.” This is very effective statement because it makes people want to be apart of the fight to combat the violence in Philadelphia. The most effective part of the documentary is the different perspectives the directors get from people from Philadelphia. The most intriguing were the perspectives of the Black people who lived in the areas infested by crime. They seemed to condone it and to be enthused to be called the “murder capital”. Although, there were some who were sympathetic, they also felt as though there was no other way to survive in the Philadelphia. It was interesting to me because I knew a large number of the people featured in the documentary and it was eye opening to see their opinion on the topic. The documentary’s gritty style and willingness to show the true side of Philadelphia was key. Finally, the documentary ends with a trip through a cemetery and the voice women speaking at an event where she states “of all the people killed 85% were black males.” This was an effective way to end the documentary, because black males like me need to be at the forefront to stop the violence. It is up to us to protect the future of the youth of Philadelphia and if we don’t act now the problem will not discontinue.

Visual argument in the United States interference in other countries

Dong Joo Yi
11/24/08
Prof. Varner
Persuasive Writing

source of video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkMe669Hqlo

My topic is about the United States interference among other countries. Although, the United States claim that they are holding such actions for the goods of other countries, many discontented views towards the United States is inevitable to dodge. For one example, in Iraq, the United States intervened and created a war that damaged whole lot of people both in the United States and Iraq. The main purpose of the war was to kill the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, but even though Saddam was executed, the war is still going on. The image above is the current president George Bush pledging on the Iraq flag. Directly, the picture has been divided out, when George Bush was pledging to the American flag, but, by cutting of the American flag, and paralleling the Israeli flag and leader of the United States, George Bush, is contrasting how George Bush is basically adulating Iraq. This image also shows the tight alliance between the United States and Israel. This photo was taken when Israel was having thoughts and intention of using the United States military to conquer Iraqi oil to the Haifa refinery. The United States built airbases to protect this strategic pipeline. The pipeline is used to send oil to Israel, paid for the blood of American soldiers that die in Iraq. The image can be also translated as the creator of the image criticizing George Bush for not caring about his own people, but he is giving more care towards other country people.
The video is from Youtube, and this video shows many incidents where the United States interfered in other countries and exercising their power they have since 1953. One ironic incident that video showed was that withdrawal of democratically elected Guatemalan president in 1954. Even though the United States portraits to be the paramount democratic country in the world, by using force, they overthrown a president that was elected by peoples will. Also, in the middle of the video, it shows how the American army slaughtered 4 million people throughout the time period of 1963~1975. Majority of the casualties were from the war in Vietnam, but still, it was a war that the United States did not have to interfere in, causing enormous casualties among the American line too. In 1975, another ironic incident of the United States occurred. By assassinating the Chilean president and putting a dictator on the stage for the Chile government. Also, there are incidents of the CIA paying Osama Bin laden to work for the United States, and Osama Bin laden back stabbing the United States in return. The video is connected with the actual appearance of the person concerning with the event, and many of them are filmed in a bad quality. The video gives many uncovered stories that are not boldly presented in the news, but a fact and prediction that people made. Also, by presenting only the harmful actions that the United States has done, it bias the whole situation that everything was fault of the United States.

http://www.bluegrassreport.org/McCainAttacks.png

The McCain campaigns have been noted for taking a nasty turn. Instead of battling qualifications he as began to attack race, religion, etc. This treads the ethical boundaries. The candidate is subject to his race and religion in its sense shouldn’t soil his reputation like the ads aim to do. Ethics however in this manner is questionable because some might believe that in a race anything goes and others believe that there is a right way to run a race.

This ad tries to reach the patriotic spirit of Americans indirectly labeling Obama as some kind of terrorist or committing some kind of treason is dealing with anti-American leaders. The ad also conveniently chose an Arab leader. In actuality, nation leaders need to meet without whomever to handle business and more importantly settle disputes with anti-American leaders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BnLozS-TnM

Barack Obama Makes Shocking confession!!

This video pulled a weak argument form out of the woodwork to try to prove that Obama’s resume was lacking or not up to par to run for presidency.

In Obama’s defense he was elected for three terms as Senator for Illinois. He also practiced as a civil rights attorney and taught constitutional law at the law school in Chicago. He was a member of the Democratic minority in the 109^th Congress.

Can Obama therefore be not fit for the presidency because years earlier he said at the time he doubted his qualifications and so chose not to involve himself? If experience makes him fit for the job what then do his previous position make him?

Obama’s hesitancy to rush to such a big responsibility without feeling comfortable or qualified doesn’t denounce his abilities but rather announces his integrity.