Article of the Week 16: The Bechdel Test

The Bechdel Test is a test for filmmakers to test the role of women in films. There are very few criteria for this test. There must be:

1. two named female characters,
2. who talk to each other,
3. about something other than men.

The idea for this test originally came from a cartoon, but the ideas remain sound. Shouldn't there be films which appeal to females as well as males? While this information on the test did come from a feminist website, the video gained credibility through its examples used. It cited numerous current popular films which did not meet these simple requirements. Today, people view the United States in particular as a place where males and females have equal opportunities, but this test shows that we have a long way to go in order to achieve equality. One element in particular that was effective in the page of the site was the portrayal of feigned boredom. This made the viewer feel that the list was longer than it actually was. In addition, the author gives more resources to the reader for further research. It gives more credence to the potential extremely one-sided views of the feminist organization that produced this video.

Article of the Week 15: IRB Section 3

I really could not stop reading this book. It was extremely compelling in that it showed the dark underbelly of the government. This section was dedicated to Zeitoun's experiences after his arrest by the New Orleans police. Zeitoun was arrested and taken to the city train station where an outdoor prison had been built. Zeitoun was housed in these circumstances with little regards to his medical, dietary or religious needs. Zeitoun was even forced to use part of a can to open up his infected foot to remove a piece of metal which had caused infection.  He was then sent then to a real prison, Hunt, where he was still subjugated to more humiliation and the treatment was only slightly better. After a few weeks there, a missionary called his wife and Kathy finally was able to post bail for Zeitoun after much time spent fighting the judicial system. The book ended mentioning the psychological effects this experience put on Zeitoun and Kathy. Most notably, Kathy at times would lose the ability to interact with the world around her, even losing her understanding of English and memory of what she had been doing a few seconds earlier.

Throughout this section, the reader is struck by the unnecessary dehumanization of the prisoners who did not necessarily do anything wrong. Killers were mixed with petty thieves and all were treated as if they were terrorists. Randomized searches for drugs, pepper spraying if not obeying quickly enough, and the lack of available doctors further the exploitation of these people. Overwhelmingly, however, throughout this section was the idea that no one was in charge. The prisoners were always someone else's problem, even while in prison. There was a lack of communication between all parties, and even the trials of prisoners were kept secret. The imagery and juxtaposition were the most impressive features of this book. The juxtaposition came in many forms, including: American government versus Siberian, American versus Muslim religions and prejudices, the government before and after the hurricane, and also Zeitoun's family before and after he was jailed. Throughout all of this the imagery plays a large role in emphasizing these differences and also making the reader care about the people in the book as it was such a short read. I would recommend this book to anyone. It was excellent.

Article of the Week 14: IRB Section 2

Because of no distinct chapters, this section had three distinct characteristics of which I will mainly focus on one. The book focused on Zeitoun's adventures in the city for some of the time. By far, however, most of the pages were based on Kathy's situation when Zeitoun was taken away. Kathy started having troubles with her family on account of her being Muslim, so she decided to visit her friend Yuko. Yuko lived with her husband in Arizona and Kathy planned on staying with her until she could return to New Orleans. When Zeitoun disappeared, Yuko also provided emotional support for the distraught Kathy.

In the previous part of the book, the author often would jump between Kathy's life and Zeitoun's, but with the abduction of Zeitoun, his end of the story left the equation. This brilliant rhetorical choice left the reader confused and hoping for Zeitoun's safety along with Kathy. This created a heightened sense of emotional turmoil as not only Kathy became worried, but also her children and Zeitoun's family abroad. Most of this 110 page section was based on the family's fears for their patriarch as it even is transformed physically into a white patch in Kathy's hair. This continual worry helps the readers to form a connection with both Zeitoun and Kathy and forces the reader to care about these people, even in such a short book.

Partly to be devious and partly because it only starts five pages before the end of this section, Zeitoun's story will be explained in the next post.

Article of the Week 13: Individualism

I decided to change this week up a tad. I will be drawing this analysis from an article about naming babies from Time Magazine and an article about hipsters from NPR.

Coming from two universally respected sources, these two articles may seem worlds apart at first, but they both mirror a growing sentiment in America today: the need to be unique in a flattening and internet-based world. "The Hipsterification of America" speaks mainly about the spread of the hipster ideology throughout America. Once on the outside of society, hipsters have become almost universally accepted and widespread as the internet has spread their message. Now, more and more being a hipster is -- ironically -- popular. It speaks to trying to be an individual in a large population. The article from Time Magazine on naming children follows a similar thread of individualism. Part of the article is written about how people will judge children based on the spellings of their names. "Alexandra may be spelled Alekzandra; the "kz" combo is almost never seen in middle-class families" This then, would promote people to treat the child with less respect because it is a "lower class" spelling of the word. The article mostly, however speaks to the increased role of the internet on choosing names. When choosing a name parents look specifically for negative associations to the name and the uniqueness of the name.

What struck me the most about both articles is the desire to be unique so much that people are willing to alienate themselves and their children. Both articles continually stress this growing American sentiment. To this end, both articles show a large knowledge of their audience and current culture.

Unit 2 Reflection: Synthesis Essay

All societies insist that a citizen follow written laws. While the people are the power in any natural government, they give their power up to leaders who then must embody the ideals of their country. The Romans were not far off when they began to call their ruler the “First Citizen” of Rome. As a leader is the “First Citizen” of their own government, it is his or her duty to publicly abide by the written laws of the government. When these requirements are no longer met, it is the right and duty of the masses to correct this problem and regain the power they vested in their government.

It is Locke’s belief that the people give their power to their government. This government is natural when all people as equals elect a representative. Locke writes, “…these men, it is evident, were actually free… [and] by consent were all equal, till by the same consent they set rulers over themselves.” In this way, it is naturally logical that there should be one ruler to organize a government, one who rules by the will of the people. Even Machiavelli in The Prince concedes that there is power held in the people.  “…it is necessary for him [the prince] to  be sufficiently prudent  that he may know how to avoid the reproach of those vices which would lose him his state.” Much of The Prince is based on keeping the common people content. Even though Machiavelli promotes negative actions like deceit, he still recognizes the power of the common people.

While Socrates was never a part of his government, he was a leader in his own right because of the support of people who looked up to him; he was truly a “First Citizen.” As such, he felt he was not only responsible for his own actions, but also that of those who followed him. He argued for his own death in Crito because in escaping, he would harm his society. Socrates asks Crito, “Do you imagine that a state can subsist and not be overthrown, in which the decisions of law have no power, but are set aside and trampled upon by individuals?” (Plato). By escaping, Socrates, as a public figure, would incite more disobedience of the law. Although wronged, Socrates’ escape would wrong others and could potentially hurt his own society. Therefore, he would have rather died an honest man, than live as a criminal. His influence in society would have crumbled because he no longer would have the power of the admiration and respect of the masses who had originally given him importance.  

There is power held in both the rulers and the ruled, but when the rulers get out of hand it is the duty of the citizens to speak up. Locke spent much of The Second Treatise of Civil Government speaking on the tacit contract. He believed that if one did not disband from the government into which they were born, then they were obliged to follow the rules of their current government. In this way, Locke equates silence to agreement. Similarly, not speaking when something unacceptable occurs is like accepting the event. This then puts the responsibility of maintaining society as well as power into the people’s hands. It is the duty of the individual to maintain order by speaking on the behalf of what is correct. Furthermore, a citizen hurts society when he or she stays quiet about a concern.

Article of the Week 12: Advertisement

Despite their small stature on the page, compared to other flashing and moving ads, the advertisements found on Facebook can be some of the best on the internet. How does this compare? Well, if you know me you might already have a guess. The advertisements on Facebook cater to the account. I love hockey as well as photography. The most effective part of these ads is that it focuses on all three basic parts of the rhetorical triangle effectively. The web site gathers advertisements from companies (rhetor). The companies wish to get their message out and this website gives them a medium to advertise to about 1/3 of the world population. These advertisements are then relevantly matched on a content to audience basis. They take information from your account (what you talk about, your "likes" ect) and feedback on previous advertisements and match them to what they think you would like. And what if this advertisement does not appeal to you? You can "hide" the advertisement; but you can only hide it if you give them feedback for future advertisements. This eventually helps the program to make advertisements even more specifically catered to the individual. This makes these small ads more enticing to a customer than a random advertisement on a random web site.

For the class work regarding advertisements, I will be using the following ad:

Article of the Week 11: IRB Section 1

The author of Zeitoun, Dave Eggers, has had much experience in publishing. He has written six books, with this one being his most recent. He is also the founder and editor of a private publishing company called McSweeney's.

Zeitoun was written in 2009, but focuses mostly on the few days surrounding Hurricane Katrina in 2005. is a story about a Syrian-American man and his experiences in New Orleans and with Katrina. In this section, the author sets up the conflict in the main storyline. Zeitoun is a relentless worker who owns a handyman business. He offers pretty much any job such as painting, paving, or plumbing. His wife hears about the storm on the news and decides to leave the area, but Zeitoun stays to take care of his company. When the storm hits, Zeitoun is not worries, but eventually the levies start overflowing. This causes a major flood and Zeitoun's first story is flooded. Soon, Zeitoun decides to leave his house and he takes a canoe he bought a few years ago around the city. Always working, Zeitoun visits his various properties and on the way saves eight people from being trapped in their houses. The section ended with Zeitoun telling his wife that he wished to say in New Orleans to help save people. Other parallel stories are also told as flashbacks. They mostly tell the hardships of two Muslims running their own business in America.

This book was written for people with open minds. It brings up some controversial issues such as religion and sexual orientation. Nonetheless, it only speaks to Zeitoun and Kathy’s points of view and does not push a certain belief at the reader. Also, it was written for people interested in Hurricane Katrina and the struggles it posed to families. Most interesting, however, are how Muslims are treated in such a situation. Both adults have an interesting point of view, because Kathy converted late in life and Zeitoun lived in a wholly Muslim area for his early life.

One device I thought was interesting was the way that the author refers to Abdulrahman Zeitoun mainly by his last name. It was stated that he was referred as Zeitoun because most people could not pronounce his first name, but I believe this to be almost a commentary on present-day America. People are so little invested in other people that they are too lazy to learn a man’s first name. This then is juxtaposed with Zeitoun’s accepting demeanor. He is willing to forgive people who slight him and many of his clients do not even learn his first name.