Final Project Presentation

For my final project, I decided to do an analysis of a couple of speeches by President Bill Clinton. These speeches interested me because I was only nine-years-old when all of the controversy with Clinton and Lewinsky was occurring and I hadn't really watched the speech since then. As far as presidential speeches go, this one is definitely one of the most interesting to me. I find this speech quite funny just because it is a well-delivered speech and President Clinton is doing quite well with it until he completely shifts his topic to his allegations.

Despite his obvious distress over the allegations being held against him, President Clinton is still a very talented public speaker. He seems to have notes he reads from, but he relies a lot on memory for this speech. He uses inartistic and artistic proofs to try to emphasize his point.

"Every child needs someplace to go after school. With after-school programs, we can not only keep our kids healthy and happy and safe, we can help to teach them to say no to drugs, alcohol, and crime, yes to reading, sports, and computers. My balanced budget plan includes a national initiative to spark private sector and local community efforts to provide after-school care, as the Secretary of Education said, to half a million more children."

Although it is not what this speech is famous for, this is all about improving educational standards and the welfare of the country's children. He has states many issues with our school systems during this time and he uses logos and pathos quite a bit throughout this speech to appeal to his audience. The above quote is just one example of how he used these proofs to appeal to his audience. The audience here would be the American people, but the people initially watching were most likely middle and upper-class citizens.

I feel as though the President's credibility and ethos as a speaker really came into question during the time this speech was delivered and during the months following. In another speech, he later came out and admitted that he was guilty of the allegations and was put through impeachment trials for lying under oath.

This speech became famous after its delivery and has been parodied many times.

Blog Post #10

We all have different identities throughout our week. For me, they are constantly shifting to suit my surroundings. I would say my main roles are friend, daughter, sister, girlfriend, student, waitress, and co-worker. 

I have just gotten this job at a newer restaurant and I really want to make a good impression. I've only been working here for about a month and I try my best to be the most polite and efficient waitress I can be. Obviously, I'm not going to act the way I do at home towards my tables. They want someone to take care of their needs first and maybe entertain them as well. I am still a little shy at my new job because I am still getting a feel for everyone's personalities and how the restaurant runs. I always show up to work in a good mood and try my best to speak to every table and co-worker with the same happy disposition.

At home, I am a daughter, sister, and girlfriend. This is where I feel the most comfortable, with my family. I can say anything to my family and boyfriend. They love me just as I am and I have never felt the need to censor much of anything or change my mood for them. If I'm upset, they know; if I'm happy, they know.

As a friend, I feel as though I am different around each group. One of my friends has a six-month old son. When I spend time with her we usually just lay low and spend time with the baby. My childless friends prefer to go out to restaurants and stay up fairly late. 

As a student, I want to finish my degree as soon as I possibly can. I changed my major a while ago and I set myself back a year or so. I'm usually all business when I'm on campus. I come to class, participate, and go back to Chesapeake to do homework and go to sleep. I used to be more concerned with meeting new people and having fun on campus, but I have gotten a lot more focused the last couple years.

Technology definitely influences my personas throughout the week. I feel like my computer really helps me to focus on my schoolwork throughout my school day. I usually do my homework during my breaks and I am able to see emails from professors so much quicker with my blackberry. My phone helps me keep in touch with family and friends throughout my week. I'm not sure if I could say that television really influences me, just because I hardly have time to watch it. 

I think just about everyone can say that their cultural environment affects the way they act and talk throughout the day. I really can't think of any everyday specific examples, but when I spend time with my family from Wisconsin I end up speaking as though I never left the dairy state for days. 

Blog Post #8

I chose to analyze an entertainment website found at this link
Collegehumor is an entertainment website that is mostly aimed towards college students, many of them male.

What is the most important feature of an effective website? I feel that, first and foremost, a website needs to be easy to navigate and have good usability. A website can look awesome with fonts, graphics, and colors, but if it is really difficult to figure out how to navigate then no one will use it. I feel that collegehumor is relatively easy to navigate, but it may require some previous knowledge and use of the site in order to be able to expertly navigate it. For example, they post the featured articles, pictures, and videos on the home page of the site but, in order to see all of the articles and other features, you have to find the link for what you are looking for.

Hypertext can make an article slightly confusing when it is overused. If an article constantly has links and photos throughout the text, it can take away from the point the author is trying to convey. I was confused about this site when the article I was trying to read took me to another site entirely when I clicked on the link. This site also has advertisements everywhere they can manage to put them; so when you accidentally click on the space to the left of your article, you will be taken to another site.

Hypertext can really help a website cite their sources or seem more legitimate when publishing their articles. If the site has a few links at the end of the article to the author's website or perhaps similar articles, this can make the article seem more legitimate as well. Collegehumor always has a link to the author's page and usually recommends other works within the site to further one's experience at the site. Many articles have pictures that reveal something if you scroll over them, which seems to help make the article more interesting.

Blog Post #6

The commercial I chose to analyze for this post can be found at this website or below and is advertising for Old Spice body wash and other deodorant products.

   "We're not saying this body wash will make your man smell into a romantic millionaire jet fighter pilot, but we are insinuating it."

The commercial definitely relies on making people laugh but it seems to try to make any man who uses any other hygiene products to be inferior. This commercial is definitely negating this demographic by making them feel inferior and need to be more "manly" by buying old spice. The commercial (in its ridiculous way)  is trying to say that a man is not manly unless he uses these products and if any other product is used, you're just not quite as awesome as the man in the commercial. This is also aimed at women, not for them to use the product themselves but for them to encourage their men to use it. The title of the commercial says it all: "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like," therefore women whose men do not use these products are made to feel a little inferior as well.

These aren't fair standards because they are making ridiculous claims. This was obviously the aim of the writers (judging especially by the description of the clip), but the advertisement gives no proof of these outrageous claims. The commercial aims to use humor to make men who use alternatives to old spice inferior and less manly. The commercial is basically saying that you too could live up to your full manly, awesome potential.