This week, I decided to focus on a cartoon based on something that has been bothering me for some time. This image satires the extremely black and white journalism used in today's international reporting. Our soldiers cannot do wrong, as seen in the image. The American soldier has a list of excuses while the Afghan person who committed the same act has only "Hates Freedom." This kind of unfair treatment is criticized in this cartoon through quite obvious satire. On top of this, the man is shown thinking hard, presumably about the other reasons a person from Afghanistan would kill an American soldier. All of this occurs when one of the excuses for the American soldier is "likes movies." The final statement this cartoon is trying to imply is that as Americans, we give our own troops too much leniency, while other races are discriminated against and seen in an unfair light for the same or similar actions. There is really no reason why this should occur, but it happens all of the time in journalism. Only recently has this finally turned around and less prejudices are shown to foreign peoples. It can only be hoped that this trend continues and that cartoons such as this one are no longer necessary.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Article of the Week 28: Racism Cartoon
This week, I decided to focus on a cartoon based on something that has been bothering me for some time. This image satires the extremely black and white journalism used in today's international reporting. Our soldiers cannot do wrong, as seen in the image. The American soldier has a list of excuses while the Afghan person who committed the same act has only "Hates Freedom." This kind of unfair treatment is criticized in this cartoon through quite obvious satire. On top of this, the man is shown thinking hard, presumably about the other reasons a person from Afghanistan would kill an American soldier. All of this occurs when one of the excuses for the American soldier is "likes movies." The final statement this cartoon is trying to imply is that as Americans, we give our own troops too much leniency, while other races are discriminated against and seen in an unfair light for the same or similar actions. There is really no reason why this should occur, but it happens all of the time in journalism. Only recently has this finally turned around and less prejudices are shown to foreign peoples. It can only be hoped that this trend continues and that cartoons such as this one are no longer necessary.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Article of the Week 27: The Inferno 1 of 3
Dante's allusions to the bible and myth are intriguing. His version of hell is different from others before him, but incorporate various versions of mythical beasts from both Greek mythology and the bible. Written in the style of a poem, Dante's allegory focuses on the journey of one man to overcome his sin through going through the nine levels of hell in order to reach heaven. Dante travels with another poet who is his guide and represents Human Reason. Having read up to the sixth circle of hell so far, it seems that Dante uses himself as a means to introduce the common man to hell. He uses his own ignorance in order to envelop the readers in his world. In this way, he does not undermine the mystical qualities of hell while introducing information. If Virgil, his guide, were the newcomer he would seem less holy as he would be more humanized. Thus, Dante uses himself as a lens by which one learns the lessons of hell.
Virgil as human reason also has limitations. He knows all about hell, but cannot control all of it. When reaching the lower gates of hell, he cannot force the harpies to let Dante and him pass. This exemplifies the reliance and faith the religious should have in God, according to Dante. In this scene, he also shows that one cannot survive without God's help.
With much of Dante's focus on religion, it is surprising that he wrote in his native tongue, when at the time all religious texts were supposed to be written in Latin. Even though he helped to spread religion to the masses, a major cause of his, it is surprising that a man with such a strong conviction in religion would write in a language considered vulgar at the time.
Virgil as human reason also has limitations. He knows all about hell, but cannot control all of it. When reaching the lower gates of hell, he cannot force the harpies to let Dante and him pass. This exemplifies the reliance and faith the religious should have in God, according to Dante. In this scene, he also shows that one cannot survive without God's help.
With much of Dante's focus on religion, it is surprising that he wrote in his native tongue, when at the time all religious texts were supposed to be written in Latin. Even though he helped to spread religion to the masses, a major cause of his, it is surprising that a man with such a strong conviction in religion would write in a language considered vulgar at the time.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Article of the Week 26: Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments
An interesting study has come out from Cornell University, titled, Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments. In a comprehensive analysis of four separate studies, the writers analyzed their hypothesis that the incompetence one has in a certain area leads a person to not be able to recognize his or her own incompetence. This incompetence was measured in areas such as humor, grammar, and logic. The actual results of individuals were compared to their own estimates of their percentiles in comparison to others taking the test. The first through third quartile predicted results above their ability presumably because of their lacking metacognative abilities in this area. The highest quartile surprisingly guessed a lower score for themselves in comparison to others. This was assumed to occur because the highest quartile had none with whom to compare their own results.
This article was written in the form of a scientific report. As such, it was slightly dry by nature. Nevertheless, the topic led to interest. The article was extremely convincing because of the wealth of citations and analysis of data. A full two pages were dedicated to bibliographic citations. In addition, the report made a little appeal to ethos at the end of the piece, making a quip at the authors' own incompetence. "Although we feel we have done a competent job in making a strong case for this analysis, studying it empirically, and drawing out relevant implications, our thesis leaves us with one haunting worry that we cannot vanquish. ... Let us assure our readers that to the extent this article is imperfect, it is not a sin we have committed knowingly." Maybe this is not a joke most would laugh at, now that I see it again, but I found it to fit in with the mood of the piece.
This article was written in the form of a scientific report. As such, it was slightly dry by nature. Nevertheless, the topic led to interest. The article was extremely convincing because of the wealth of citations and analysis of data. A full two pages were dedicated to bibliographic citations. In addition, the report made a little appeal to ethos at the end of the piece, making a quip at the authors' own incompetence. "Although we feel we have done a competent job in making a strong case for this analysis, studying it empirically, and drawing out relevant implications, our thesis leaves us with one haunting worry that we cannot vanquish. ... Let us assure our readers that to the extent this article is imperfect, it is not a sin we have committed knowingly." Maybe this is not a joke most would laugh at, now that I see it again, but I found it to fit in with the mood of the piece.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Article of the Week 25: Watch Out! 10 Interview Questions Designed to Trick You
Watch Out! 10 Interview Questions Designed to Trick You carefully outlines the most important features a company looks for when hiring employees. Coming from forbes.com, this article is reliable and business oriented. It is very informative in an easy-to-read format, but at a few points skirts the line of being a tad bit dishonest. This article is timely as it highlights means of getting ahead in a time of job crises. Meaning to help those applying for jobs, this article attempts to give good interviewees another tool to use when applying. They need not be tripped up by many of the common, uncommon questions.
The main rhetorical element found in this article was the structure. It provided for quick and to-the-point reading quality. Someone looking at this article could focus on the points they needed to know. Also, this format draws readers in because it is more visually appealing than a straight block of text.
It is when one begins to read the article that it becomes slightly less appealing. Though never outright promoting deceit, the article promotes this mind-set in some ways. It states that when asked about previous problems with bosses, one should, "Develop a poor memory for past irritations..." While this may seem innocent, parts of the article written such as this it struck me the wrong way as a reader. It certainty made the article lose credibility in my eyes.
The main rhetorical element found in this article was the structure. It provided for quick and to-the-point reading quality. Someone looking at this article could focus on the points they needed to know. Also, this format draws readers in because it is more visually appealing than a straight block of text.
It is when one begins to read the article that it becomes slightly less appealing. Though never outright promoting deceit, the article promotes this mind-set in some ways. It states that when asked about previous problems with bosses, one should, "Develop a poor memory for past irritations..." While this may seem innocent, parts of the article written such as this it struck me the wrong way as a reader. It certainty made the article lose credibility in my eyes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)