TOW #16: A Dark History: The Roman Emperors by Michael Kerrigan part 2

            This week I completed my reading of A Dark History: The Roman Emperors, by respected historical author Michael Kerrigan. The detailed accounts of the scandals in the everyday life of an ancient Roman emperor are just as riveting throughout the second half of the book as they were in the first. The latter half of this historical discourse covers the “Five Good Emperors”, Rome’s notorious emperor Commodus, and the “Year of Shame”, amongst other things. Published recently in 2008, this book gives the common first-world reader a modern look on some of history’s most storied rulers and ancient events. With astonishing descriptions and vivid imagery, the second half of A Dark History: The Roman Emperors powerfully wraps up hundreds of years of historical accounts, and leaves the reader with a lasting impression of the grandeur and complexity of ancient Rome. Though the purpose of the first half of the text (to provide the reader with a modern account of ancient Roman history) carries through to the end of the accounts, another purpose also emerges in the second part. Through usage of vivid imagery, the author aims to show that the scandals of the ancients, while sometimes shocking and socially inappropriate by current standards, are not such a far cry from modern life. Kerrigan’s elaborate descriptions of political upheavals and tempestuous relationships can be very reminiscent of affairs in relatively recent times. For example, the details of the reign of the murderous emperor Titus invoke some similarities to 20^th century political figure Adolf Hitler. Both harbored a deep hatred for Jews, and set out on a personal quest to exterminate the “Jewish problem”. Being able to make this connection due to Kerrigan’s imagery allows the reader to see how being informed about the ancient Roman emperors can be very useful and relevant in modern times. Being that I was able to make this connection, I would definitely say that Kerrigan was effective in his usage of rhetorical strategies to achieve his purpose.  

TOW #15: Happy waitress even happier after receiving astounding tip by: Lauren Tuck

            As I opened up my Safari browser to begin work on my post this week, an uplifting-looking article on the Yahoo homepage caught my eye. “Happy Waitress Even Happier After Receiving Astounding Tip”, written by Yahoo Shine Staff member Lauren Tuck, turned out to be a sunny little article highlighting a random act of kindness. Last week in Lincoln, Nebraska an 18-year old server at a Cracker Barrel was rewarded for her positive attitude and touching life story with a 6,000 tip from two unnamed male patrons. After asking for the restaurant’s grumpiest server and being told that no such server was present, the two men were directed towards Abigail Sailors. Sailors, known as the establishment’s happiest waitress, confided in the men that she was a student at a college in North Dakota, struggling to pay for her own education. Upon hearing that Sailors was going to be unable to return to school for her spring semester due to her inability to pay tuition, one of the men revealed himself to be an alumni of the same college and presented Sailors with the astounding gift of 5,000 for tuition and an additional 1,000 for any other needs. Sailors is the most recent recipient in the nationwide craze of leaving extremely generous tips for servers as a random act of kindness.

            The text is directed towards members of the general American public. Tuck appeals to the emotions of the average American in this piece through the usage of an anecdote taken from waitress Abigail Sailors, describing her difficult childhood being shuffled through the foster care system. Sailors’ tale, which she had recounted to the two men, involves being split up from her siblings multiple times and abused before being adopted by Susi and John Sailors. The inclusion of this anecdote is particularly effective in conveying the author’s main purpose, which is that random acts of kindness by strangers are an extremely positive thing to put out into the world, and can really change someone’s life. Tuck is attempting to give readers of this article a renewed hope for the goodness of mankind. I was inspired and moved by this article, and therefore would definitely say that the author was successful.   

TOW 14: Rent Original Broadway Promotion Poster

In light of the recent cast list posting and subsequent start of rehearsals, the subject that most interests me for rhetorical analysis this week is Rent, our school’s spring musical for 2014. In the spirit of choosing new and interesting types of text to analyze, I selected to use the musical’s original Broadway promotion poster as my visual text. The poster features eleven solo photographs of the eight lead characters (Mimi, Roger, Collins, Angel, Maureen, and Joanne) in various poses. The photographs are arranged in three columns and four rows revolving around the word “Rent” in the center of the poster. The author of this visual text can be identified as the production team of the original Broadway production of Rent. This includes Jonathon Larson, the writer and composer, and Michael Greif, the original director. As the writer and original director, Mr. Larson and Mr. Greif respectively are the most qualified sources in producing a visual to accurately convey the message of the show. The promotion poster’s target audience at the time of its release was the theater-going community, specifically those who may not have been aware of the new show coming to the Nederlander Theatre. The purpose of the poster, obviously, was to persuade people to come and see Rent.

Juxtaposition is extremely prevalent in this poster. The eleven photographs feature the leads in unique and contrasting positions. Placing these photographs side by side to create one big rectangle displays the differences between the characters, while also showing in a larger sense that they are all interconnected. This message is a preview of many of the themes in the show. This interesting and striking visual work pretty well towards attracting an audience for Rent. I believe that this poster is effective in achieving its purpose of promoting the show Rent and attracting an audience. However, I feel that a few words pertaining to the shows content or an important line from one of the songs would have enhanced the poster and given the viewers a more direct preview of the musical’s content. 

TOW 13: Dance shoe fund benefits young children at Lawrence Arts Center by Nadia Imafidon

Published in a literary journal based in Kansas (Lawrence Journal-World), this article by featured literary contributor Nadia Imafidon covers a topic about that may not be very familiar to the masses of America. People who are not involved with the arts may not realize how time-consuming and costly of an activity that dance is. With a culmination of tuition for weekly lessons, the cost of attire, and the price of the all-important dance shoe, yearly costs for a young dancer normally amount to several thousand dollars. With such a high price, it is a sad truth that young girls who come from less affluent families may have trouble pursuing dreams of a career in dance. For this very reason, foundations have been established to aid aspiring dancers to achieve their dreams. This article describes one such organization, the Candi Baker Shoe Fund, started by the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas. This foundation primarily collects gently used dance shoes to pass on to girls who are not able to afford them on their own. Additionally, it offers financial aid towards the training of talented young students in need. Reading about this organization is inspirational to the target audience of members of the dance or arts communities, but also to any average member of American society. The fund that is described in this article was given life by an amazing sense of community and desire to support the advancement of talented youth. As the author describes the genesis of the Candi Baker Shoe Fund, she portrays to her audience how wonderfully rewarding the outcome can be from supporting your community and helping others. Ms. Imafidon conveys this theme very effectively, specifically through use of an anecdote. At the very end of the piece, she includes a recollection by the founder of the fund, which describes a young girl who was helped by the fund to pursue a dream that she refused to give up. The girl is now performing a featured role in the arts center’s production of the Nutcracker. This anecdote was very effective in appealing to emotion, especially to a passionate dancer such as myself.

            

TOW #12- Lyceum Theater Liner Notes by Chris Jones

            It’s interesting to realize that, despite widespread notoriety and what can only be described as a cult-like following, much of the music of the Grateful Dead has never officially been released. However, every so often, Grateful Dead Productions officially releases a recording from a certain show or collection of shows. In 2011 three discs were released, combining music from the stint of the Grateful Dead at the Lyceum Theater in England during their legendary Europe ’72 tour. The inside of the packaging is covered with the personal accounts of one Chris Jones, detailing his experiences at three out of four of the exalted Lyceum shows. This week, I chose to analyze these liner notes.

            Jones is a great source for information about the Lyceum shows, being that he attended three out of the four. He begins his accounts by describing his longtime love for the Grateful Dead, before launching into description of the concert venue and his own attempts at taping the concerts. Jones’s purpose in writing a personal and nostalgic account for this official release is clear: to show that the magic of the Dead’s music has endured timelessly over the past 40 years. This text is undoubtedly intended to be read by hardcore Grateful Dead fans. Only devoted fans would truly be able to understand the enduring beauty of the music that is captured in Jones’s accounts.  

            Jones leaned almost exclusively on use of personal anecdotes to convey his purpose. His accounts of his amateur taping attempts are amusing, and then touching, once he tells the reader that he is listening to those very tapes as he writes.

            In my opinion, these liner notes are very effective in giving the reader a sense of the timeless influence that the Grateful Dead’s music has continued to have on listeners, even now, a generation after the height of the band’s success. 

TOW #11: Dark History of Roman Emperors: From Julius Caesar to the Fall of Rome by Michael Kerrigan

For someone who nurtures a great passion for history, Dark History of the Roman Emperors: From Julius Caesar to the Fall of Rome by Michael Kerrigan is an extremely compelling read. The content of the book is essentially covered in its title. Kerrigan covers the life and times of each legendary emperor of Ancient Rome starting from the very beginning and proceeding with great detail. The information that the author uncovers pertaining to the goings-on of Ancient Rome in this book is shocking by any measure. Kerrigan reveals the outrageous mental instability of many fabled rulers and power-seeking ancient families, bred by a longstanding tendency towards incestuous marriages and parental neglect. From a modern-day standpoint, the inner scandals of Ancient Rome seem all the more despicable and often inhumane. Author Michael Kerrigan does a thorough job throughout the first half of this book in his coverage of such storied historical figures as the emperor Caligula and Julius Caesar. Mr. Kerrigan has covered numerous historical periods at great length and is well established as an author, having published more than a dozen books (many exclusively focusing on Ancient Rome).

            After reading roughly half of this book, one recurring theme stands out clearly from all authors. Kerrigan’s purpose in covering the history of Ancient Roman emperors in the manner that he does in this book is to impress upon his audience of modern-day American readers the dangers of having power. Emperors who clearly used every bit of their limitless power such as Caligula and Domitian are portrayed as overwhelmingly sadistic and evil, while more moderate rulers such as Vespasian are shown in a more kind and generous light. The author purposefully includes many short anecdotes detailing a specific and shocking abuse of power, such as the usage of the elderly and handicapped in gladiator battles by Domitian, to appeal to his audience’s emotions. By the end of the first half of the book I would say without hesitation that Kerrigan has been successful so far. The disgusting abuses of power that he details in anecdotes of emperors’ lives have definitely made me consider the extreme responsibility that comes with having power.

TOW 10: Revlon makeup advertisement

            This week I chose to go a new route with my choice of visual text to analyze. Anyone who has browsed on the Internet or watched television for any length of time knows how abundant cosmetic commercials are today. In accordance with this trend, I chose to analyze an online advertisement for Revlon makeup. This particular advertisement is depicting the company’s brand of “skin-matching” foundation. The model for the makeup in the ad is famous actress Jessica Alba. Pictured next to Alba’s image is a photo of the makeup as well as a brief summary of the product.

            The speaker of the advertisement is the Revlon cosmetic company, a globally known and respected corporation. The Revlon brand is recognizable all around the world, and has been trusted by consumers since its formation in the 1930’s. This advertisement is directed at the company’s consumer base, primarily made up of appearance-conscious females.

            The main rhetorical device employed in this advertisement is the usage of Jessica Alba to endorse the product. This celebrity testimonial appeals to the audience in many ways. Endorsement of an idolized celebrity adds an extra layer of credibility to the product. Also, Alba’s beauty appeals to the emotions of the female audience. Revlon knows that female consumers will see someone that they regard as beautiful endorsing a product and consider buying the product with the hope and desire to emulate this beauty themselves. Finally, the slogan “naturally glamorous, never overdone” appeals to the consumers’ sense of reason: if the product creates a perfect balance for the user’s appearance, what could go wrong?

            Although this advertisement has all of the components of an effective advertisement, I do not find it effective. Simply the fact that every major makeup company today produces hundreds of ads yearly that are exactly like this one diminishes its impact on me as a consumer. A makeup advertisement in the industry today would have to do something more extraordinary and unique to capture my attention.