What's the Purpose of the Blog Project?

English 110 hones analytical habits of mind that are meant to be naturalized and used outside of the classroom. Therefore, the Blog Project takes the analysis you use throughout the ARP and Commonplace, and gives you the chance to practice applying it to the public writing you already interact with in your everyday life. As you become accustomed to making this analytical move on your own, you will develop into a more aware, critically thinking citizen of the world.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

"When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama quote on Marijuana



Marijuana swimmer ad
Blog Project
Nick Voyzey
Brynli Scott 
Alyssa Jerek
Michael Ricke


These two ads, dealing with the drug of marijuana, attempt to convey two different sides of the effects of marijuana. Which one do you think is more effective on the audience, and why? Who might these ads be targeting (what is their audience)? Do either of these ads change your opinion on the consequences, both legal and physical, of the usage of marijuana? 

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Heidi Montag Plastic Surgery

 Heidi Montag Before and After

Heidi Montag, is a well renound television actress known for her beauty. Several years ago she decided to undergo extensive plastic surgery on her body, including her face and breasts. She portrays the qualities of a cyborg for using technology to change her body, a shape shifter for changing her image, and a femme-fatale for her beauty.

"I was made fun of when I was younger, and so I had insecurities, especially after I moved to L.A. People said I had a "Jay Leno chin"; they'd circle it on blogs and say nasty things. It bothered me. And when I watched myself on The Hills, my ears would be sticking out likle Dumbo! I just wanted to feel more confident and look in the mirror and be like, "Whoa! That's me!" I was an ugly duckling before."
            -Heidi Montag
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/14/heidi-montags-10-plastic_n_423855.html

Here are additional photos of Heidi Montag during her plastic surgery.
Plastic Surgery Photos

Why do you think someone who is already considered attractive would go to such lengths to change her appearance? What does this say about societies standards of beauty? Do you think our standards of beauty are artificial and unachievable without plastic surgery? Do you think she is more shapeshifter, cyborg or femme fatale?

Quinn McCann
Caleb Zaydak
Andrea Marcus

Monday, February 6, 2012

Lane Bryant TV Ad

First watch this video of a Lane Bryant commercial that was banned from showing on ABC.


Next read this article about why the ad was banned and the argument between Lane Bryant and ABC.

Lane Bryant Article

This ad is of a plus sized model doing a commercial for a lingerie company.  This ad was banned from television because ABC claimed the ad was too "explicit." Do you think this ad is too explicit for television?  How does this ad differ from the Victoria's Secret ads that are on tv all the time?  Is Lane Bryant's argument a valid one?  How does the banning of this ad convey how today's society portray's beauty?

by: Group 4 (Dragan Pantic, Jamyria Holmes, Jiayi Ren, Anam Rehman)

Monday, January 30, 2012

What is Beauty?


Group 3: Jordan Jurgensmier, Michael LeNevue, Xiaoxin Sun, Abby Huelskamp

Take a minute to analyze this photo and determine what his body suggests to you…


This image uses rhetoric of the body to sell Cell-Tech’s creatine (a powerful workout supplement).  The man depicted represents the extremes of the human body. The man seems nearly inhuman and, from what we saw last week, he may partially be. His detailed, popping veins and intense face give the viewer not only a sense of his abnormal muscle, but also his extreme power and determination.  To some he would be seen as beautiful and well-disciplined but to others the extreme muscle and visible veins are just too much. The advertisers are playing the average male’s want to be a successful, attractive person. Advertising companies have created an idea that men are supposed to have big muscles and a toned body. Cell-Tech is hoping that men will buy this product in order to make them bigger and hopefully more attractive to the women in their lives, thus playing on the insecurities that the general population has been dealing with since “fake” people have been used in advertisements and became prevalent in the public eye. With that being said, we would like to pose a few questions for discussion:  Is this ad effective at selling its product to its audience?  Do all people who are willing to take supplements in order to get in shape really strive to look like this? How do you feel about the cosmetic and supplement industries manufacturing the perfect male or female and presenting it to the public?
                Linking back to previous discussions about beauty, and from what is very well proven in our source, is a reoccurring question. Isn’t beauty subjective? Isn’t it truly in the eye of the beholder? If so, how can such a term be exactly defined?