Super Bowl Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc
Like many Americans on the first Sunday in February, I was watching Superbowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Over the years, the Superbowl has become the most watched event on television; almost everyone in the world tunes in to watch Superbowl Sunday.  As a result of its superior viewership, many companies choose to develop their most expensive as well as entertaining commercial advertisements for the big event.
This year's Superbowl ad campaign was no different.  Companies such as Doritos and Pepsi were dishing out their best advertisements left and right during the event.  One commercial that captured my attention was Chrysler's ad for their new and improved line of Chrysler vehicles.  The commercial starts out very gray and gloomy, portraying the different landmarks of their main hub of Detroit, Michigan.  The scene is followed by a deep and subtle voice that questions what does a city that has been to "hell and back" know about engineering and designing a luxury sedan.  The voice later begins to explain how the city of Detroit, against what critics may say otherwise, is capable of producing fine machinery through hard work and dedication and who the product is for is just as important as where the product is being manufactured.  The narrator begins to compare Detroit to other efficient American cities such as New York City, the "Windy City" (Chicago), "Sin City" (Las Vegas), and "Emerald City" (Seattle).  Throughout the commercial is the famous rapper Eminem who is a native of Detroit driving around the city in a black and shiny Chrysler 200 sedan while his hit single "Lose Yourself" is being played in the background.
This particular uses the appeal of logos, quotations and statistics, as well as ethos, an appeal to authority or other significant figure.  In this case, the ad uses logos with the narrator comparing the city of Detroit which has become one of the more premier American industrial cities in recent past to the actual Chrysler brand.  The ad uses ethos by using a high profile rapper who happens to be from the city of Detroit and one of his most recognizable songs to promote the vehicle.  I thought this ad was very creative in terms of drawing the audience's attention which is directed towards fine and classy Americans who love to drive fancy cars.  It also gave a perspective of no matter where something may come from, it is about quality and whom the product is for.

College Costs

The comic "Welcome to Economics 101, kid..." is an example of Visual Rhetoric where the rhetoric occurs via images combined with words. In the comic, there is a picture of a teenager standing with weights chained around each of his ankles. Each weight reads an idea or statement that pertains to college tuition: "Student Loans" and "Tuition Hike". The weight with "Student Loans" written on it is way bigger than the weight with "Tuition Hike" written on it. It appears that the teenager is trying to go college to get a better education for himself while also trying to figure out how he is going to pay back his student loans. This visual rhetoric suggests that college tution these days can be very expensive, and borrowing student loans from the bank in order to pay for college can be a long journey when trying to pay back the money borrowed along with interest. The title suggests that while sometimes borrowing student loans from the bank may be necessary, it is not always the most economical decison to put yourself into a deep financial hole. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for the average student to afford to go to college without having to borrow huge students loans. Most scholarships may only cover part of the tuition if not all, not to mention there are other fees to consider such as room and board, textbooks, laptops, and other supplies. In order for a student to receive a full ride to college, he either has to be really intelligent i.e. 4.0 GPA and 2100 on his SATs or he has to be an amazing athlete with an athletic scholarship from the institution to cover costs and expenses. Unfortunately, not everyone is born with those qualities, and they have to find other alternatives to pay for college. The best thing to do is to hope to graduate and get a job right after school to pay back all those student loans.

First Day of Classes at Clemson University Fall 2011

From the moment I woke up in the morning until the moment I walked into my first class in the afternoon, I see many different examples of rhetorics.  The first thing I noticed as soon as I woke up was my roommate's collection of Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean posters on his side of the wall.  When I walked to the door to go take a shower, I noticed a bright orange and purple poster of the Clemson Tigers 2011 Football schedule on the door.  As I walked through the hall, there were signs for different rules and policies of Johnstone Hall.  Even as I approached the bathroom stall, I noticed a sign that said "Pee Stall" and "Poop Stall" for the different stalls.  As I got dressed for class, I turned on the TV to watch last night's highlights on Sportscenter.  Then as I walked through the hall to go have breakfast at Harcombe, there were more signs and posters on the wall that advertised events such as "CRU ministries Wednesday Bible Study in the basement".  When I walked into Harcombe, there was a big sign by the door that read "Welcome Back Tigers".  When I walked to my class, I cut across Bowman Field and listened to the big clock located in Tillman Hall tower.  I also noticed other architects such as the statue of Walter T. Cox, Jr. sitting on a bench near Bowman Field.  Many of the students walking to their classes aere wearing many different variations of Clemson Tiger t-shirts along with other Clemson apparel.  When I walked into my first class, there was a handout of the syllabus for this semester, and I am ready to begin my college career at Clemson University.