Nico Strips, too?

What is next, Nico strips? I was skimming through some smoking advertisements and bypassed this cartoon. It was an upfront message to me as soon as I noticed it. This ad is exemplifying the entire ridiculous “smoking relievers” to prevent those who are innate smokers. Nico, the driver of this race car, has patched his car with all the nicotine products there is. It consumes nico patch, nico gum, nico inhaler, nico mints, and if there was any more available room, nico something else would be added. Those individuals who are trying to stop their smoking habits feel that it is necessary to own all those products or at least half of them, too. I believe this is to be an anti smoking advertisement which is counterintuitive. Ironically, the sellers of such nicotine products are promoting the quitting of smoking, yet the products contain tobacco. Tobacco isn’t any better. If the seller’s, such as Marlboro company, message was opposite then it indicates the ridiculous collecting of numerous products, when an individual could just enjoy one pack of Marlboro cigarettes. Yet either way, both products aren’t so great for your health. Someone wouldn’t come to notice that unless they skim the very small print on the back of the box or even listen to the commercial skim through the warning. With many advertising companies, the intent is to grab the audiences’ attention as immediate as possible. Although, sometimes it doesn’t seem as if much thought went into the process. The advertisement here is very clear and obvious to sell their product or address their purpose.

~Krystal Wilson

What a building!

After class I thought long and hard about my blog for this week, and at first I couldn't decide. I have already wrote about pictures, ads, and a variety of cartoons, so its time for a change. After discussing how we will be working with analyzing achitecture, I decided to get an early start. I searched online through various buildings until I came across this one. This building is quite unique. It is designed so beautifully that it seems like a dream or just a painting. I decided not to research this building because I did not want to have a background information on it. I wanted to completely base my analysis only on my observations. The only previous knowledge that I have about the buiding is that it is located in Portugal.

The building appears to be made from stone. It is sitting on a hill, possibly a mountain top overlooking the city. It is surrounded by a lot of grassland and trees. The building has a castle-like appearance. It isn't really modern but it doen't look ancient. One thing is for sure is that it isn't common. So now that I have painted a picture of what I think it looks like, I question what it is used for. It appears to be a tourist attraction rather than a residence. This is like the ultimate vacation. This is definately a place of interest.

-Tawana Daniels

Not the best ad?

After seeing this billboard advertisement, I didn’t know what my opinion was. Did I want to buy this or was it a little too violent. I came to the conclusion that I the text didn’t affect my decision whether or not I wanted an air rifle. It’s just a funny ad, that if you over analyze things than you might be offended. I think that advertising has changed more than ever in recent years. I would have to say that violence is as accepted in our society as it was in the years past. Because of all the fear of guns, I don’t think that this is a good advertisement for today’s viewers.

This advertisement adds the text at the end “Since 1886.” I think this is very funny because often when you see the word “since…date” you think of products that have stayed the same for years. For example, food products or drinks. To me it’s saying that people have been using this product just like you use it 100 years ago. I don’t think this is the case with the air rifle. If a kid was shot by a BB gun I think a lot or issues would be brought up. This is why I think the “Since 1886” doesn’t work for this ad. Because people don’t use air rifles like they used to. Unlike how the “since…date” goes good with like A & W Root beer. People still drink this the same way as they did years ago. This billboard could very much hurt the sales or air rifles. There are more people that would be strongly against using the BB gun to keep kids away than, if the ad would have said “Keeping the pigeon population down since 1886.”

Isaiah

United States as Popular culture success story

It is no doubt that the United States is crazy for its popular culture whether it includes reality show such as Survivor or competition show like American Idol, the American people love it!  The phrase "Vote for Pedro" is a prime example.  It was originally in the movie Napoleon Dynamite with a teen running for president and is transform into this popular t-shirt phrase that everyone is now wearing.  I sometime wonder how or even why we would wear such a meaningless shirt.  It is as if the movie had brain wash us to wear this shirt.  It still amazes me how something that is from the movie can turn out to be so popular in real life.

Thinh

What the heck?

What is religion? This is a question that perplexes the minds of many. Some hold religion near to their heart while others take it as a joke. This very question about religion is what brought me about finding my image. I must say this image definitely captured my attention. At first when I saw it a giggled a little but then I got to thinking and realized how much religion is losing its value. I remember when I was 8 years old and my mother used to force me to attend Sunday school. But know I feel less and less people will be forcing their children to do such things. It doesn’t really matter which religion you believe in be that Hindu, Buddhist or Christian I think they will all become obsolete because of the direction that the world is going in. Think about it really, do any of you attend church on a regular basis? I know I don’t. Do you at least have any religious beliefs? Like me, many people today are confused and just say “well, I believe in god I just don’t go to church.” The big question is why is religion losing its value? I think it’s because partly because our new technological advances. For instance in the medical field where a person can save another persons life and not rely on “god’s will”. Another reason is because people are simply too preoccupied to care about church be that with work, school, or friends. Speaking of friends I’ve never heard any of mine say “let’s go to church it’s the best hangout spot ever.” Well I’ve done enough jabbering about religion I’ll leave it up to you to decide weather or not you think it’s losing its value.

-Fernand

Let me start by telling you how big of a Walker Texas Ranger fan I am. Recently, while I was browsing the Internet to learn about the candidates for the upcoming election, I came across this advertisement for Mike Huckabee. I thought it was pretty funny and persuasive at the same time. Everyone has heard of the Chuck Norris slogans about how Chuck Norris is invincible and better than god. I had to find out more about Mike Huckabee’s campaign and his ideas about our society because it was Chuck Norris approved. Now this doesn’t mean that I will vote for Mike Huckabee just because he has Chuck Norris on his side, but it did make me want to find out more about his campaign. This advertisement appeals to people who are curious about Chuck Norris’ jokes and people like me, that as soon as they see Chuck Norris, they have to find out what it’s all about. The advertisement featuring Chuck Norris, obviously had an impact. If it makes you read more about Mike Huckabee because of his friendship with Chuck Norris, the advertisement served its purpose. It affects the emotional part of a person when trying to persuade them in voting for Mike Huckabee. It featured something/someone that a person might like, so curiosity got the best of the person and they investigate to find out more about the campaign. So while I don’t know yet who I am voting for in the upcoming presidential election, I now know more about one of the candidates, Mike Huckabee, thanks to Chuck Norris.

-Thomas Callahan

PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals. I found this advertisement among the thousands of PETA advertisements the most interesting. Peta is the largest and most successful animal rights group in the U.S. It has many famous public faces that are members and actively help with advertisements. Growing up on a farm and raising livestock I can say I've had first hand experience raising these animals. During a national junior swine show in Louisville this summer there was a handful of PETA demonstrators holding signs. Thats when I realized just how ignorant some animal rights members are. The show pig industry is much like the modeling or acting industry for humans. They get washed, groomed, and pampered to the fullest extent at these shows but these demonstrators had no idea what was going on.
This advertisement shows the face of an animal that we raise for food as well as income. However it is very unfortunate that during the boom of so called "factory farming" it is less common to find animals raised on small family farms, instead it is run by huge corporations who have almost cornered the market for meat. PETA thinks that all farmers are cruel to their animals by locking them into small confined places. In this picture you see a pig on a bright sunny day in what looks like an open range pasture. The caption "Did Your Food Have a Face?" tries to make you connect to the facial expression of this pig which has no idea that it will be harvested for the nourishment of others. Although I greatly disagree with animal rights groups such as PETA, in very rare instances they do bring up cruelty issues that take place in "factory farms" that are very disturbing and help that industry to treat these animals more humanely.
-Will

Is it a Slide or a Building?

Today in class, I liked how we were talking about modern architectures and their meanings behind the structure. I searched Goggle to find cool architectures and this one apartment complex in Denmark caught my eye. The building is modern with its curvy structure. The humps of the building makes it look like a cool slide that you would want to go on as a kid, but you were to scared to. This beautiful design seems like a dream place to live in with the water right near by and an amazing view with a balcony I wouldn’t find it hard to believe if these people would never want to leave their homes. The building is made up of metal for the roof and windows, which adds a sense of more space. Also, I think that this futuristic look is to attract young people. These people obviously need to have money to stay in this area because from the background it seems like a lot of people do not live there. Trees and water surround it. The architects who built this building were hoping to convey a different kind of living. Who says living has to be a necessity now it can be a luxury.

Later has I read on I found out that the new building is called “The Wave” and at the top of the building they have solar panels to make it economic friendly. This implies that buildings for the future are functional as well as beautiful. Lastly, each complex will range from 2 to 2.5 million dollars in American money.

- Sophia Damtew

Appealing CD covers

This weekend as I was getting ready to pop in my Kanye West CD, I got to thinking, how artist come up with a creative concept for their albums which they think would properly represent it. I also began to think of any creative album covers which I felt were eye catching but didn't seem to fit the overall album title or theme of the sounds of the song on the CD. I also wondered what could be the message the artist hopes to convey with their album cover and the content of the album in general. We've all seen the common CD cover with a picture of the artist behind some kind of neutral background. Either they are just posing or it is a head shot of them looking right into the camera. I know what you’re thinking, it might just be logical for an artist to do by having a picture of them on the cover since, well it is their album, yet it is the creative ones that really get us thinking about the character of the musician and the message they might possible be conveying. I found that this new Kanye West CD Graduation was one of those CD’s with that unique album cover with an almost indecipherable message which every time as I listened to the album and looked at it, could never quite figure out. I knew that the album was as it was titled, a representation of his graduation in the music industry and the fact that he worked hard to be able to graduate to a new level of success. This might be the significance of the bear shooting to the top or rising to the top as he is being propelled from the college like structure. I just don’t seem to understand how the symbolism of the bears which he commonly uses on his album covers, ties into his kind of music. The cover as well seems to be a light- hearted humorous drawing of yet hyperbolic imagination of college which seems whimsical while the album is mostly set in a serious and more realistic tone of life and his life experiences and struggles. Perhaps he strikes this contrast to be sarcastic as the artist himself is quite a sarcastic and outspoken person at times. Or maybe it was just a cover he liked or thought was cool, yet one thing’s for certain, he definitely leaves it up to the listeners to make the connects and find the message.

-AveMaria Okolo

Appealing CD covers

This weekend as I was getting ready to pop in my Kanye West CD, I got to thinking, how artist come up with a creative concept for their albums which they think would properly represent it. I also began to think of any creative album covers which I felt were eye catching but didn't seem to fit the overall album title or theme of the sounds of the song on the CD. I also wondered what could be the message the artist hopes to convey with their album cover and the content of the album in general. We've all seen the common CD cover with a picture of the artist behind some kind of neutral background. Either they are just posing or it is a head shot of them looking right into the camera. I know what you’re thinking, it might just be logical for an artist to do by having a picture of them on the cover since, well it is their album, yet it is the creative ones that really get us thinking about the character of the musician and the message they might possible be conveying. I found that this new Kanye West CD Graduation was one of those CD’s with that unique album cover with an almost indecipherable message which every time as I listened to the album and looked at it, could never quite figure out. I knew that the album was as it was titled, a representation of his graduation in the music industry and the fact that he worked hard to be able to graduate to a new level of success. This might be the significance of the bear shooting to the top or rising to the top as he is being propelled from the college like structure. I just don’t seem to understand how the symbolism of the bears which he commonly uses on his album covers, ties into his kind of music. The cover as well seems to be a light- hearted humorous drawing of yet hyperbolized imagination of college which seems whimsical while the album is mostly set in a serious and more realistic tone of life and his life experiences and struggles. Perhaps he strikes this contrast to be sarcastic as the artist himself is quite a sarcastic and outspoken person at times. Or maybe it was just a cover he liked or thought was cool, yet one thing’s for certain, he definitely leaves it up to the listeners to make the connects and find the message.

Bathroom Art

I love bathroom art. It is pure, raw and uncensored democracy. Here you can have a range of information from promiscuous scribbles to political propaganda. Too bad i am away this weekend and cannot upload some of the Illini finest from my cam, but here is just another good picture from some anonymous men's bathroom. It is interesting to think about what it says. It is clearly written against the white/southern conservatives, due to the syntax. Here a man is trying to say that he likes a free country because although he is of a different color he can peacefully live within it. And to those white people who believe in pure/nazi-like white society he advises to leave the country and create incest on the island, where they area alone. The message here would be a political one. It is interesting to sit in that bathroom and actually read what it says. And also i wonder how many people read this expression a day. In a way bathroom with drawings like these is like a newspaper by common men. It clearly expresses the inner world of the everyday Joe who takes a chance of catching some unknown disease by sitting on this disgusting toilet.
Val

The Irony Behind Political Cartoons

I have always been fascinated by political cartoons and trying to find out what political statement lies between the drawings in these cartoons and whether the artist did a good job of declaring this message in a clear and convincing way. It is also most interesting to note how all of this political cartoons seem to work as caricature do: to exaggerate not only the artist's personal political perspective, but also how the artists' highlight the weird distinctive figures of the political figures which base their cartoons on. We've all seen many political article which for example, portray Bush as a monkey like figure giving him big ears and a big head. Are such exaggerations only for the appeal to the readers, to grasp their attention or can it be to emphasize a political point which suggests that Bush is an incompetent president. It might just be a little bit of both. The artists intentionally exaggerate the cartoons they draw to grab the attention of the readers in order to lure them into viewing their drawings and ultimately seeking out the meaning behind them. These exaggerated images which might emphasize that Bush has monkey like features serve as a hyperbole which helps to compare not just his physical appearance to that of a monkey but also his presidential qualities and competency. What I do wonder is whether the artists method of exaggeration in their cartoons might also mean an exaggeration in their political message? Well, the great thing about such cartoons is that they leave the reader to decide what the message is through a subtle suggestion of it yet it is important as well that the draw a line of distinction between what is real and what is made up to catch our attention. Although many see Bush as someone that does have a monkey- like disposition as well as appearance, (I would agree) it is important to note that although these cartoons have symbolic arguments and messages behind them, their first purpose is to be humorous as they are parodies which are often times a product of our embellished image.
- AveMaria Okolo

Full Metal Jaket

I was watching "Full Metal Jacket" a film by Stanley Cubric, and i began thinking about the war propaganda. Like in above image derived from the movie you can clearly see two binaries of the war. On one hand you have "Born to kill" a radical teaching about the ruthlessness of war. And on the other you have an opposing peace sign. I was also checking out some older Soviet Union Propaganda posters that really project pathos into your head. They capture your imagination with words of honor or quotes of freedom. Many contaminate your mind with ideals of right and wrong; the enemy and the protagonist. Just as the opposing forces on the helmet above, there are many opposing forces in life. What i am trying to get that is that art can be used as a means of manipulation. Such strong power as government can take advantage of you by capturing your imagination with sense of adventure, and purpose. For example the commercials from todays National Reserve. They always portray the army as a changing life experience. They never project the negative side of the army like death of a friend or murder. That is why i like the image above, because it gives you a clear idea about what you are getting in when you join.

Val

..IT BRINGS LAUGHTER

I found this picture while exploring one of my friend's pages on myspace.com. This is an example of twisting innocence. The picture begins as an adorable infant praying, and as you scroll down, you find a little text that suddenly changes the message of the picture. Even though, the text at the bottom of the picture pertains to drinking, which is often linked to the death of others while driving under the influence, the way it is used in this picture is as harmless fun. The whole picture overall takes you from smiling at the beautiful baby at the top, to laughing at what is said at the bottom. I think the creator of this picture accomplished their goal, which seems to gravitate towards getting a laugh out of the audience. I think it worked because I laughed. What about you?

-Farrah

I was reading online Korean news this morning and found a shocking news.

The news was that Korea's number one national treasure was burnt down last night. The treasure was a gate consisting of two floors and it was located in the middle of capital city Seoul. Everybody in Korean is now shocked and people are trying to find why and how such a conflagration was made. According to a witness, there was a man putting a fire on the second floor of the gate and as the fire ignited the man ran away. As a Korean, I feel really shameful for such a incident, but what is more shameful is that when the witness called the police, the size of the fire was very small and located only on the second floor so the fire could have easily been extinguished if a portion of the roof was removed throw water through. However, the government ordered the firefighters to minimize the damage to the gate and not to break the roof. As a result, the fire was not easily put out, and resulted in such a complete disaster.

Min Gyu (Peter) Kim

Public Displays of School Affection

Universities are all prime outposts for the world's supply of fan gear to that particular school. From key chains to bottle openers, these stores can fill almost any collegiate need you can muster. I noticed through these events, combined with the reaction of students after comments made by a few popular journalists after the Illinois vs. Indiana game, how important showing our school colors truly is at this University.
We see it everywhere, in the quad, the stadiums, the bars, the dorms, I-Pride is something that this school does very well. It is a definite use of persuasion by our student body to show everyone how much this university means to us, and how proud we are to be here. Universities around the nation share similar traits, but when you are wrapped up in your own school, it's hard to notice anything but ORANGE. That is actually a great example of subconscious persuasion, when everything else becomes less important once you are wrapped up in what is around you. Facebook is another example of my point. There are countless groups devoted to showing our pride in this university. Recently a few sportswriters made the mistake of taking shots at our school, causing a Facebook outcry for emails to be sent in complaint to these writers. The message is clear, and is spoken loudly on campus loudly every day of the semester. Can you hear it? I-L-L-I-N-I

Brad Vonck

Personally, even though it might have worked in this article, I will not delve into the topic of the Chief debate, due to the fact that I disagree with the use of the mascot as well.

Politics....

Well, I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. Here are two political cartoons that I found very intriguing. The message pervade throughout the cartoons are very much straightforward. Both authors had a particular purpose to create such cartoons that are available for all individuals to view throughout newspapers and the web. Regarding both cartoons, I believe the authors were trying to persuade their audience, U.S citizens, to understand their opinion and perspective on this year’s election. In the first cartoon, the rhetoric is very much obvious. More than likely, the cartoonist is probably not a huge fan of McCain’s. He or she alludes that the purpose McCain withholds isn’t very much strong. There also can be other interpretations of this cartoon. As far as the second cartoon, the message here seems to very skeptical. This cartoonist alludes that some citizens are very much in tuned with the election, candidacy, the debates and so on. While others, they aren’t huge fans of such political awareness. The details of both photos are persuasive as well. The McCain cartoon shows an elephant with no feet. Obviously this animal can’t “take charge” with no FEET! This would be humorous to some people. The nonchalant cartoon, if you want to say, has details also. The newspaper in one of the characters hand entitles “Oh, Dear, Primaries.” A message with this one holds the same disregard of such politicians. Despite these two cartoons, there are various political cartoons that have the same or a different specific intent. Most are for entertainment and/or praising and others are for criticizing.

Krystal Wilson

Don't Waste It!

I wanted to find a persuading message, so I searched Google under “persuading posters” and found this old poster during World War II. I thought it was cool because just by looking at it you can tell that this poster was not made recently. The colors of green and tan are faded and old. Also, you would never this advertisement like that because we do not need to rationalize food anymore. “Don’t waste it!” this was the message that the government sent out to American citizens; only eat the basics to survive because men in the army could use the supplies more. During this time men in the army were America’s first priority. If you did not eat your food then you were considered selfish and not patriotic to your own country. It was highly looked down upon. I found it interesting how the government emphasized that “Food Is a Weapon.” They said this because if they did not rationalize food such as butter, sugar then we would not be able to win the war. A war isn’t only about fighting and weapons, but it is survival. You need to have food in order to have energy to fight!

Sophia Damtew

Boy Soldier

I found this ad on the Google website when I typed in “racist ads”. Noting that the soldier in the picture was actually a little boy is what really caught my attention. The ad is promoting support for Israel’s fight against those who seem to terrorize them. Saying that the little boy already knows what he wants to be a soldier makes us as the readers assume that the little boy of six years of age will in the future be a man who terrorizes the life of the Israelites. The ad goes on to say that different countries hate Israel because Israel shares the same ideals as the United States. It list many of the elements that our country has found pride in such as women rights, democracy, freedom of religion, and free press are some of the few that they distinguish in the ad Then toward the last paragraph of the ad in highlighted letters it says, “You are helping defend the cause of freedom”. I just don’t understand why out of all the images that they could have portrayed in this image why it had to be one of a little boy. This little boy is probably being suppressed by his own government to do the things such as joining an army at a young age. The little boy in the image is only six years old at that age it is difficult to realize what is right or wrong let alone stand up to your government and say that what they are doing is wrong. In a way this ad is not as successful as it would have liked it to be because if they were truly fighting for freedom like the United States does I don’t believe that they would simply want to find freedom for their own country but rather help the people of the countries that terrorize them like this little soldier. If you want to learn more about the actual struggle go here...http://http//bodyontheline.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

-Jacqueline Gonzalez

text in public

This is a very interesting billboard to me. A lot of times people ask for signs and don't really expect to get one, but if you were to be driving down the road and see this, it would make you think. You know that God didn't physically put this text on the billboard but it would make you think. Maybe its not just my chance that you drove by this sign, maybe it was planned?? This text would really grab the attention of a viewer. It has so many elements to it. It's very plain and and gets to the point. I like it because it leaves you thinking. You can't just pass this sign up and not think about if you saw that for a reason. Seeing this simple text could impact your life in a big way. A lot of times people look for signs and this is literally a sign that could be a sign in itself. I think that the hidden meaning is that it says "you did ask for a sign" and God is giving a real sign, an actual billboard. But its a different kind of sign that you were looking for, it was a sign that gives you an answer. Maybe this billboard is infact two signs in one.

Isaiah

I went searching for funny ad's and I ran across this billboard on somebody's blog. He had many pictures of billboard ad's but this one really caught my eye. The top billboard looks like an ad to a strip club and the bottom is one for a church. The top billboard's text is more conversational, she is almost whispering to you. It is very persuasive with the picture and the text is almost trying to lure you into her "trap". You know that you don't want to listen to her but you just cant help it. Then you glance down and read the bottom billboard your almost guilty that you looked at the top one first. The billboard suggests that you have a problem and are a bad person if you pay more attention to the top billboard but how can you help it there is a half naked woman in a very provocative pose trying her hardest to get you to come see her. However the Dallasburg Baptist Church can help you fix your problem if you choose to attend. Just because you visit a "gentleman's club" every now and then doesn't make you a bad person in the eye's of Jesus does it? This billboard suggests that you should not give into temptations of the devil and concentrate on good Christian views. By looking at these two advertisements I thought to myself which one would be more effective in attracting people to come. I would feel guilty to visit "Racers" because of the church billboard.

-Will Hornback

Symbol and its meaning

There are things that we see everyday and we know what it means and what it stands for without being told. We associate a nation's flag as a sign of patriotism. We associate symbols to a meaning, in other words, we give symbols its meaning without realizing it. But how are we doing it and why would we do it to ourselves? The word "we" is rather vague as because it is use to generalize the entire population. Its rather a group of individual or an individual who wants to insert a meaning upon something. It is achieved by repeatedly showing the symbol with its definition either directly or indirectly by metaphors. For example, the flag is view as a sign of patriotism, how? Because at every government building, there is an American flag. When you enter a school, there is an American flag. In recent elections, pictures and television broadcast of candidate all show with an American flag in the background. The picture of the flag raising on Iwo Jima during World War II being use as propaganda to fuel war efforts. So when we, the general population, see or think of the American's flag, we associate it with government buildings, heroic victories of battles, democracy and etc. When you repeatedly show or assign a definition either directly or through metaphor with a symbol, it becomes that meaning.
-Thinh

Recently, I attended the University of Illinois’ Men’s Basketball game at Assembly Hall against rival Indiana. While there were some signs with vulgarity not appropriate for this blog, I saw a sign that a student was holding that really caught my eye. Everyone knows about the controversy surrounding Chief Illiniwek and the schools adopted symbol, but most people don’t know that the school is still trying to bring back the mascot. During halftime of the game, the students did their normal cheering and clapping to the song that Chief Illiniwek used to dance to during the intermission. But because of the ban placed on the chief, he is no longer allowed to perform at halftime. I glanced across the court to see a student holding this sign:


This sign immediately caught my eye because of some of the hidden elements of persuasion. For example, the I in chief is the University of Illinois’ symbol. It incorporates the idea that the chief is a part of the University. If you take the I out of chief, you no longer have the same word, just like if you took out the I in Illinois, it wouldn’t be the same school. The sign was to the point and in the schools color, orange. It had the chief’s logo so that you know what chief the sign was talking about. The sign was very effective because even my friend that was visiting from Illinois State asked me if the chief is close to coming back. While this sign didn’t need to persuade me because I didn’t want the chief to go, others might not have known the compassion the students have for Chief. I want to find a place to buy this sign and hang it in my dorm room window, where everyone will be aware that Chief Illiniwek will hopefully be back.

-Thomas Callahan

More cartoons

Last week I wrote about political cartoons which are obvious examples of rhetoric, but I realized that other cartoons could be just as persuasive. We are sometimes exposed to rhetoric and don’t even realize it. You would think that the artist would try to send a clear message however this unconscious absorbing of knowledge can be beneficial to their rhetorical motives. Since everyone knows that advertisement can be seen everywhere we try to avoid that persuasion. At least I do, especially since there is so much propaganda. Well, now I know for a fact it is inevitable. Since I was a child I would grab the newspaper just to read the “funnies”, comical cartoons found in newspapers. I always thought it was innocent humor, but is there a hidden message in them. I will let you be the judge. Check out this site,http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2006/03/barber-shop-7-readability.html I chose a well known cartoon called, "The Blondie" which is a good cartoon about family. I notice how many cartoons have the paternal figure always involved in a sport particularly golf. Is this persuading us that a lot of men play golf. I thought about this cartooon when my dad recently decided to pursue this hobby. So while he goes golfing, his wife stays at home just like in the cartoon.
-Tawana Daniels

new writing vs. old writing vs. permanent writing

So here are three pictures/examples boiled down into one post. But they are all related, so I guess it's cool. My first example (sorry its blurry) is what I am calling "new" writing--but it could also be called "throw-away" writing. New writing is ubiquitous on campus. It almost always is geared toward announcing upcoming events. When they are over, the writing decays into uselessness. I wonder when and how it catches your eye. I'm always looking at it--my interests have to do with ads for upcoming rock shows, but attention is also drawn by other striking announcements. When those events come and go, they are replaced by new throw-away writing.


The second genre of writing I have here displayed is also signage--though it is strangely outdated. Like throw-away writing that was too high to take down, and too well made to decay. It gives directions to an audience 60 years departed. Who knows, maybe its message will be relevant again and the audience will be reunited.


The last writing type here is permanent--yet also a sign. It says something about the building upon which it is mounted--forever acknowledging its purpose and design. It reminds me of vaguely of some of the writing that has been engraved in stone on some of the buildings in downtown Champaign (and other citites). Unlike the writing on the church, that writing, though permanent, has now been outdated. The buildings now house modern, commercial establishments but have contradictory signage (Newspaper, Bank, Grocery) written forever on their outside edifices.


The church may also decay and be used for some other purpose. But I doubt it.

-Jon

I should say... I really love what you guys are doing here. I hope you are reading one another's posts. They are really excellent. How about commenting on them a little?

Political Cartoons

A form of rhetoric that I recently found interesting is political cartoons. When I was in high school we had to read and interpret a lot of them. I found the assignments interesting but I did not pursue that interest. It seems like every day I see something about the upcoming presidential elections on television/news. Although the presidential elections are important, I would like to learn more about it in other ways besides through public broadcasting. So based on this quest for info I searched the internet for political cartoons. I used this site for my quest for knowledge, http://www.time.com/cartoonsoftheweek.html. This site was the best choice. Not only did I use political cartoons to find out about the election, but I read about several other issues. Political cartoons are informative and persuasive. Through a picture accompanied with text a powerful message is conveyed. The cartoonists are creative and passionate about their work as a writer would be about their writings. Sometimes they even use humor in their drawings. There is a intended purpose of every political cartoon, however, they can be read/ interpreted in many different ways. In order to effectively read and understand a political cartoon, you must be open-minded and willing to think critically and analytically. The message is not always obvious. Look for the deeper meaning.

-Tawana Daniels

Their big, bright and are meant to steal our sight......

Their big, bright and are meant to steal our sight......

Have you ever driven on the freeway and seen an ad out on the billboard that you just can't help but notice. All of a sudden, out of the collage of trees and express way signs, you happen to see an ad which catches your eye so much that you can't stop staring at it. You might have had to pry your eyes off of it and remind your self to look back at the road. One can't help but wonder what it takes to draw this kind of effect from drivers. Every year, advertisement agencies invest billions of dollars in billboard ads which are supposed to appeal to us and catch our attention. They might seem to be no different from commercial ads since both are about comunicating some kind of information to us about a company or product, yet instead they might take more effort to put together. Why might this be so, one might ask? If you think about it, these ads must be designed to catch our attention within a short amount as we are driving at 60 miles an hour. For this reason they must serve the purpose of a typical advertisement which is to display a company or product, as well as to be quick with an eye catching picture or slogan which can catch our attention in the few seconds we get to look at it. That might explain why advertisement agencies use might sometimes go to the extent of using weird and outlandish piture or statments which wil stand out to us an catch our attention. Yet many might wonder as I do, why spend so much money on something that's going to be placed in the middle of nowhere, for people in moving vehicles going about 60 miles per hour might only get to see for a couple of seconds? Now I say, why wouldn't we? If you think about it, when your driving out in the middle of pretty much nothing but trees and monotony, with nothing else to catch your eye, wouldn't any interesting, big bright, image catch your eye. Wouldn't that image also stick in your memory as you pass it back and forth on a highway. Perhaps it's the advertising agency's subliminal way of making sure that there message stick's with you. This can be a very effective strategy. So next time when you see an ad that catches your eye just remember, you might not need to stare at it so long, it might just stick with you...
- AveMaria Okolo

I received this picture for an 8th graduation present. The text on the picture really helped me through high school sports and life in general. It says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This text really goes well with the picture that it is printed on. I really like how the kid in the picture is staring down at the ball, it seams as if he is just dreaming. I was like this as a kid. I dreamed making that game winning shot, or striking a great hitter out or throwing a touch down pass in a huge game. But I wasn’t super athletic, and how could a kid like me accomplish all these goals. As I started my senior year of sports this text from Phillippians 4:13 helped me in all that I did. The verse gave me hope and confidence, just like the kid in the picture wants; he wants hope. I played every one of my football games with this verse written on a small piece of paper in my sock. I had it to fall back on when things weren’t going my way as a quarterback. I really look back and am very thankful how things turned out with my athletic career, and I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it with out God’s help. This text in this picture may mean more to me than another person, but that’s what text is for. This picture doesn’t only apply to baseball, but it applies to everything that I do.
Isaiah Olson

Endless War?

In class last Wednesday we viewed two pictures: one was Barrack Obama and the other was Hillary Clinton and on Friday we viewed two propaganda pictures dealing with a solider and war. Those pictures sparked up a very important topic in the presidential election the war on “terrorism”. When searching the web I found a cool bumper sticker that I thought had a good message. I found it interesting how the artist decided to scratch out the less and add this because it seems like this war is never going in. Yes, we always hear in the presidential campaign that the new president will pull out troops from Iraq as soon as they come into office, but how realistic is that? If we leave Iraq then who will protect Iranians from terrorists? This war is a long process and it’s not an easy topic to have a clear answer on. The majority of Americans want the war to end it is costing the economy a lot of money and many loved ones are risking their lives to protect our country. That is why I think the artist put endless war because of right now it does not seem like we are in any position to leave Iraq even though government officials talk about it. He also wanted the public to know both sides of how he feels about the war in a short statement and I have to agree with him because that is the way I feel too. I think that this image was persuasive it makes you realize how much time has gone by with a little of progress; there is still a lot to be done to Iraq before American troops leave safely.

Sophia Damtew

Tattoos: More Then Meets the Eye

By Brad Vonck

When I decided to get a tattoo I wanted it to be something special. I wanted my tattoos to mean something, rather then to just get one to look “cool”. I thought about the parts of life that mean the most to me. Family and friendship were the first aspects of my life to come to mind. I decided to get the number 36 tattooed on my left shoulder. The special meaning of that number is the fact that it was my father’s high school football number as well as mine. This number is more then just a symbol of our football years, it is a token of our friendship, and how truly close we are to eachother. I cherish that tattoo because I know that I am extremely lucky to have such a great father. My second tattoo is the picture of a Panther holding a barbell. I met one of my best friends in our freshman year of high school during football practice. We spent a lot of time in the weight room getting ready for the season and became great friends. We got this tattoo together at the same time to show our loyalty as friends. My father is also getting the tattoo I mentioned earlier for similar reasons of displaying loyalty and trust. I believe that tattoos and body art in general can be a great tool in sending out a message to the world. Many tattoos have strong meanings behind them that are matched with the strong dedication it takes to get one. I have thought of other parts of my life I would like to highlight through the use of tattoos, and plan on getting more in the near future. There are many different genres of writing and expression in the world, I believe body art is one of them. There is a group of people it includes (those with tattoos), and each tattoo has its own unique story.

Daily Advertised Products

Well for starters, I wanted to simply discuss something very interesting, something out of the ordinary, or something random. But, I didn’t quite know what to discuss. I woke up this morning watching a bit of television, and came across one of the ridiculous commercials. It just so happen to be about weight loss. Now, I am almost sure that as a New Year resolution, many people wanted to lose weight. Okay, I see no problem with it, but think smart. As I am watching these commercials or noticing the pills in the aisles of convenience stores, I begin to speculate the easy accessibility. Personally, I am against such products because they are seem artificial and unhealthy. In a sense, many are struggling with emotional, physical, psychological, and other issues regarding their weight or anything else oriented to change. Yet, I don’t understand the justification of the product itself. In particular Smart Burn and Cylaris (more than likely the most popular of the bunch), these indicate that the process is very easy. You go to the doctor, get approved, take pills daily, and there you are...stress free. It hasn’t been as clear but most of this doctor approved or expert based products and treatments advertised, have the most outrageous side effects to bear. Speaking of such matter, this reminds me of birth control pills that give women 4 periods a year, relieve stress, and bloating, you name it, they claim it...it is all gone. Sure! I am not a health expert myself, but I am stating my opinion. If you are going to make a physical change, please be healthy. The health problems won’t be obvious in the beginning; though I am sure no one wants a health problem in the end. There are many other ways to achieve your goal, such as weight loss. I believe research could be the first.

Krystal Wilson

Super Bowl

Since this is super bowl Sunday I thought it was only appropriate to find a picture that says it all. Almost everybody around the country was glued to the TV tonight to watch the greatest game of the year. Even people who haven’t watched a football game all year gather round the TV to partake in the hype of the Super Bowl. Parties, food, friends, drinking are all common practice for these evenings’ festivities. I found this picture on ESPN’s website which to me has a lot of meaning to me. It shows the emotion and competitiveness that the players exert on the field. The expression on Eli’s face is one that shows extreme emotion. However, the emotion for the other side could be quite the opposite as the Patriots were on there way to an undefeated season only to be stopped one game short. The game of football on this night plays a huge impact on people’s lives. Die hard fans are on the brink of elation or extreme disappointment. All of this can be drawn from one simple picture, it just depends on how much you look into it.

-Will

Cartoons or messages?

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word cartoon? For most of us perhaps it’s the images of bugs bunny, daffy duck, Mickey Mouse, or tom & jerry. These images pop into our minds in an instant. However, not all cartoons are made for the soul purpose of entertaining children. Some, like political cartoons are meant to deliver a strong message to the people who observe them. This very point is what made me decide to look up some political cartoons until I came upon one that I saw in my history text book. It was the famous Benjamin Franklin’s join or die cartoon. The image depicted a snake chopped into bits and pieces next to each piece there was an abbreviation of state names, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia to name a few. So what does all this mean? Well, the way I interpret is Franklin was urging the colonies to join together or if they didn’t they would have to suffer severe consequences. Take into consideration that during this period the French and Indian war (seven years war) was going on. This was actually one of the first political cartoons in American history and a very powerful one at that. As you all may know lately there has been uproar of political cartoons due to the upcoming elections. I think that these although they can become controversial are helpful because they can give us an influential opinion. So, next time you hear the word cartoon you will think past the bug’s bunnies and more to the Benjamin franklins type of cartoons. Here is a link to the website which I found the cartoon in and it also has many other incase anyone wants to check out more. http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/cartoon/snake.html

-Fernand Perez

Random*

Okay so let me just start by saying that I found this sticker on a garbage can next to CRCE. I never thought that throwing a bottle away could spark so much interest on a specific topic. Excited because I had found an element that actually related to class, I took the picture and continued toward my destination. The next day I saw the stickers everywhere! Not sure how long these stickers have been on the surrounding areas I assumed that they had been up for at least a couple months. This piece caught my attention because of its location. For many people the war in Iraq has been a tiptoe issue with many against and others for the war. Although the war has been raging on for more than 6 years now, my stand on the entire thing is still uncertain. The war started when most of us were only about 12 or 13 not truly understanding the entire situation. The authors intent, in my opinion, was to say that he was opposed to the war and telling people to think twice before they give their support to the causes of what our troops are fighting for. By placing this sticker on the trash, a common place that attracts people, perhaps the person who placed it was trying to say that he or she does not care at all about the cause or maybe that the whole situation is old news and he threw out the subject because it has been so overly analyzed in every aspect. As I said before my stand on this issue is really uncertain, but after seeing this image I could say that I was persuaded to lean somewhat towards being against the war....

-Jacqueline Gonzalez

Animals

ANIMALS

I've been observing this plant for a while. People are reasonable and noble creations of our infinite and balanced universe, but most importantly we are animals. Our flesh is similar to apple, and bough like one in the Summer time. What makes us unique are our decisions and our inescapable impact on the world around us.
Many of you are familiar with Pink Floyd's notorious album "Animals". It is an album depicting the corrupt side of the intricate and webbed human mind. On the cover is an image of coal plant that represents not only a crucial environmental catastrophe, but also a contamination of human conscious by external forces such as politics and money. It is intriguing because the picture on the left is Abbot Power Plant that is located near six-pack complex here in our town of Champaign (any similarities). It is across the street on which i and many other people live. Every morning i have to wake up and smell the fresh air. In 2001 plant experienced a malfunction that resulted in minor explosion. Numerous students were deprived of heat, electricity and warm water for hours. After the plant was repaired the first action taken by the school was to call an insurance agent and estimate the loss of money(stated at the bottom of the article). I am not a historian and i am ignorant as to how this establishment came to be placed in the mids of the city. What I know is that it is above my head. No birds fly over it, and the morning's lazy sunlight is distorted by ominous column of smoke. If reasonable and thoughtful human being is not responsible of such an irresponsible location, then who is?
One of the songs featuring on the Floyd's album is called "Sheep". Sheep are afraid of dogs, who are guided by the pigs. If you connect the dots, you may get the picture. Students go to and fro' the building's on the North and South, and no one cares. I asked my friend if she had knowledge about this mysterious structure. She replied "As long as it's not coal their burning I'm fine". In irony, what they are burning is exactly what she was afraid of. Now, some people say ignorance is bliss. If so, then how this building have survived for so long without any opposition? Not even that, in 2000 a board of education decided to double its productivity. I am not just simply criticizing the feeble foundation of institution but revealing the rhetoric that is hidden beyond reason. We can substitute all of our paper towels for heat dryers and call environmental agency while pleading innocent, yet there is an enormous plant standing outside and peaking in. Well i guess as long as it’s not baby's they are burning I'm in it.
-Valera Chekmazov

I always had an interest in planes ever since I was a kid.  But there has always been something that I couldn't really understand, and that is with the old era planes such as World War II era. The plane always seems to have some kind of pictures or writings on it, but has nothing to do with the military or being patriotic.  But rather, to put it harshly "unprofessional" and in a way would have been forbidden in today's military aviation.  Take for example the above photos, at the front of the air-craft there is a picture of a girl that looks as if she's a prostitute or a male "sex" symbol.  There are more of this kind of photos in older planes just like this.  At first I wondered why the AirForce even allow it to be posted on, later I realized it is something like a personalization of the plane by its crew.  A way of boosting morale because during World War II, these are the bombers of the war.  It would fly deep into enemy's territory to deliver its payload, and a lot of these bombers would never make it back and so although the pictures is "unprofessional", it does its job at promoting morale.

-Thinh

I always look at the graphic T-shirts whenever I am somewhere with other people. Some of these T-shirts are hysterical, while others are offensive. T-shirts can say so much about a person’s likes or dislikes. For instance, I have often seen shirts that have a New York Yankees logo and have a giant X across the logo and say, “Yankees suck.” They can also show in insight into a person such as where they went for high school or what activities they participated in during their high school tenure. But clothing can also be a very effective form of advertising. Whenever you look at someone’s shirt and it has a band logo, the person is promoting that band. I know that if I see a band on someone’s shirt that I have never heard of, I go home and look up some songs by the band. By this person wearing a shirt with a band printed on it, they effectively promoted the band because it made me go home and listen to their music.

My all-time favorite shirts have to be the ones bought at Steve and Barry’s clothing outlet. I have a friend who literally shops for all his clothing at Steve and Barry’s. Every time I see him I look at his shirt and read the slogans on it. I didn’t even realize I read his shirts until I gave him a hard time about some of the shirts that he purchased. So the other day, I bumped into him and told him that I had to take a picture of his shirt.



As you can see, many things can be taken from this shirt. It implies that he is the pimp. But I told him that until he stopped wearing shirts advertising his cockiness, I wouldn’t even entertain the idea. Who is the one that has to wear ridiculous shirts just to get people to notice him. But because of him wearing the shirt, I have to go to the graphic T-shirts in Steve and Barry’s to ready the funny ones. So in a way, the “Major League Pimping” shirt was an effective advertisement for Steve and Barry’s. And I have to admit, a lot of women go up to him laughing at his shirt, so maybe he’s on to something.

- Thomas Callahan