TOW #14: Pamela Anderson for PETA (Visual Text)

    In the recent decades, advertisers have used sex appeal to enhance their product by screaming for attention. An almost naked Pamela Anderson will definitely scream for some attention in this ad by PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Anderson poses to be juxtaposed to an animal, creating the comparison that humans are animals. People have drawn barriers between animals and humans thinking they are two different species, but this ad is displaying that humans and animals are the same. The matching color schemes is pleasant to the eye, making people want to linger on the ad for longer and understand the meaning. With a sex icon like Pamela Anderson, the attention is automatically grabbed. Then the viewer notices something different about Anderson's body, and starts to pull the meaning from the image and the text. Comparing a sex icon and an animal may be a bit odd to some people, but it uses the exaggeration that humans and animals have the same parts. They are made up of the same things. No human will want to eat their own parts, so why go to a different animal and eat theirs? The text "have a heart, go vegetarian" allows the reader to reflect on their meat-eating habits and if that is really what is morally right to them. On the bottom left, PETA names itself, which appeals to the credibility of the ad.

TOW #13: I have Asperger's, I play violent video games -- and I'm not going to shoot you

    One year after the tragic Sandy Hook shooting, multiple views have been put out about the gun situation, including this one by Jeff White. Now 26 years old, White was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism, at age 10. Along with having Asperger's, White plays violent video games to help with his hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. He's got the characteristics of a shooter, right? In White's view, that's all wrong. White believes that people need to treat people the way they want to be treated in order to fight the enemy of desperation.
     White believes it is not the guns and mentally ill people we are fighting, it is the enemy of desperation. Too many stereotypes have now been categorized for mass shooters. Adam Lanza, the murderer of 20 children, was believed to have Asperger's as well. Aaron Alexis, who killed 13 in the D.C. Navy Yard shooting had a history of playing violent video games. Now, people are using vague  factors to stereotype others. Just because you have a mental illness and play video games does not mean you are at risk for shooting people. White would like to get rid of those stereotypes and focus on what else can be done do stop the mass murders. He advises to "Stop bullying, support people that ask for help, and care about the people we come in contact with" in order to stop more tragic events. If one lends a hand to someone else in need, that person may remember that forever and want to pay it forward. Nothing will ever prevent something from happening completely, like a seatbelt will not prevent all automotive injuries, but it is a step in the right direction. Fighting the enemy of desperation by providing care and kindness can do nothing but help the situation.
   I think White does a well-done job in achieving his purpose. He uses himself and others as a prime example living with Asperger's that he is not fit into the stereotype, and only a select few do. His idea in a world of cruelty and hatred is giving love to those who need it most, and that is the best idea that I have heard yet. 

TOW #12: The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales (Part 1)

       Imagine being a teenager living in Calabasas, California, an affluent city in the hills of Los Angeles. The average income is about $116,000, more than twice the national average. You could have anything you desired, and more. But for seven teenagers, it doesn't stop there. In 2009, word had gotten out that big names in Hollywood--Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Lindsay Lohan-- had been robbed of clothing, accessories, money, resulting in $3 million stolen. For over a year, the alleged robbers had not been found. So then why would seven wealthy teenagers feel the need to steal over $3 million from celebrity homes? Nancy Jo Sales, a Vanity Fair journalist, took a trip to Calabasas to dig deeper into the alleged group of teenagers referred to as "the bling ring," who risked everything they had to get closer to the real Hollywood lifestyle.
      With the use of detailed imagery, statistics, and anecdotes, Sales reveals the secrets and ambitions behind the greedy teenagers. Without detailed imagery, the book would lack any feel of the Hollywood life. For readers who have never been to Hollywood or have insight into the prosperous homes, they would not be able to visualize the immense wealth of these Hollywood homes. While breaking into Paris Hilton's home, Sales describes to the readers that "There was a lot of pink and there were crystal chandeliers in almost every room" (7). The imagery allows the audience to visualize the scale of wealth the teenagers already have, and what they are burglarizing from. The use of statistics is beneficial to the audience on the insight of the true case. This is a true story. Anecdotes are woven throughout the story, mostly from the view of Nick Prugo, follower of ring leader Rachel Lee. This gives insight into the real teenager thoughts, and why the reasons behind the crazy idea string of crimes. Prugo explained that with every new item stolen, they were that much closer to living the Hollywood lifestyle.
   So far, I think this book is very well-written and Sales is doing an awesome job of following the story as well as following the real case. She seams the two concepts perfectly together. There are parts of the actual burglaries written about, and then it goes deeper into the court case. There is no way for these teenagers to justify what they did, but Sales gives reasoning by including their thoughts on becoming closer to Hollywood.

TOW #11: Article- "$7.25 An Hour Is Not a Living"

     As a high school teenage girl, I demand a lot. Food, clothing, technology, a car, (etc). Except there is one problem. Those demands come with a literal price: money, which I don't have a lot of to satisfy my increasing desires. So, like any parent of a teenager would say, "Get a job" was my parents way of basically telling me I had to pay for the unnecessary materials myself. After a summer job of barely getting paid minimum wage and relying mostly on tips, I realized I should not be complaining of receiving minimum wage with my parents financial support. There are plenty of Americans who rely on getting paid minimum wage to live on. And $7.25 an hour is not a pretty number to be receiving as a salary. Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, and Richard Trumka, president of the AFL- CIO, wrote this article about the ludicrousness of the minimum wage using statistics, comparisons, and examples.
      The article begins with a fact from the U.S. Census Bureau that structures the points that the middle-class has not been well-treated since the Great Recession. Following that, a statistic, "almost all, 95%, of the income gains from 2009 to 2012, the first three years of recovery from the Great Recession, went to the very richest 1%" (Owens) to support the unfair distribution of income gains. Multiple statistics follow to maintain the focus that the minimum wage for 2013 is unreasonable and cannot be relied on for a middle-class American family. Along with statistics, comparisons are used to compare how low the wage is now, to what it should be with inflation. "If the minimum wage had just kept pace with inflation since 1968, it would be $10.77 an hour today instead of $7.25" (Owens). Including this comparison encapsulates the logic as to why the minimum wage price is so unfair, and why it makes sense to raise it. To wrap everything together, the authors include a real example of just how cruel this legal price is to an average American. They introduce Carman Iverson, a 28-year old mother of four working at McDonald's earning $7.35 an hour. She makes about $400-$600 a month, not even able to pay her rent, $650 a month. Including Iverson's hardships in her life due to the low wage makes the audience feel for the Americans that are unable to get a higher-paying job, and want the American economy to be adjusted to help those Americans suffering on minimum wage.    A mother of four like Iverson making $7.35 an hour barely earns enough to stay on time for rent, relying on the government for food stamps. A teenage girl like me, living in the suburbs of Philadelphia, upset about the minimum wage because I want to buy a nice car for myself...well, learning about Iverson was just a small slap in the face. And the article proves itself, living on $7.25 an hour really is not a living.