TOW #28: Food, Inc.

   In America, food can be more of a risk than a need today. If one is not aware of the health concerns involving different types of food, that one food choice can quickly be mistaken for fatality instead of nourishment. In the documentary Food, Inc., the food industry behind closed doors was investigated and discussed. In our modern world today, there are thousands of different ways to create a product, most of which can be deemed unhealthy. Many do not know the creation and process of how their food is made, but it is consumed anyway. The documentary brings this issue to the surface and creates awareness for viewers in America. In order to increase awareness in an effective and entertaining way, the filmmakers use verisimilitude, animation, and personal testimony.
  Starting with a verisimilitude at the beginning of the film draws the viewer in and establishes an automatic speaker to audience relationship. The human truth that everyone can connect to allows the viewer to feel connected to the film because right off the bat they can easily relate to it. The narrator films through an average American supermarket, noting all of the products that say "farm fresh." Everyone is familiar with the products shown such as eggs, butter, poultry, and they can relate to buying them and trusting that they are fresh from the farm. Taking the viewer through an average American supermarket connects to their daily life, allowing the audience to relate and be drawn into the start of the film. The commencement of the film is crucial to the decision whether or not an audience will continue watching.
  While describing certain topics in the film, animation is used which betters the understanding of the topics being discussed so the audience can follow along easily. While discussing how chicken has been redefined in the past few years, the film includes an animation for the audience to follow along with. It illustrates the difference between a normal chicken and the chickens that the farmers are raising today, clearly depicting the image of an unhealthy chicken. It shows the sickening process modern day farmers are putting their chickens through, just to get more meat on them and satisfy the consumer in the quickest, most efficient way. Using the animation helps illustrate the major differences that food has gone through, while entertaining and informing the audience of the bad changes happening in the food industry today.
 To also help illustrate the enormous power big food companies have today, the film incorporated personal testimonies of farmers to share their view on the current food industry. Farmers that work for companies such as Purdue, Tyson, and Monsanto were interviewed, and showed the camera their farm and the conditions the companies made them keep. The chickens lived in their own manure with dead chickens around in a dark enclosed shack. One of the farmers who refused to put shutters on her barn was fired from Purdue. A farmer growing his own grains was sued by Monsanto because he was not using their genetically altered grain. Interviewing these farmers for their point of view on the current food industry kept the documentary informative and entertaining, with the sole purpose of informing the public about the activities of the industry behind closed doors. Using verisimilitude and animation also helped illustrate the evolution of food today, which has started to take a negative spiral. Showing this documentary can only make the American public more aware of the food they are buying and what is going into their body.

TOW #27: Reflection

   From my first TOWs written over the summer before the year started, my writing was all over the place. It was unorganized, lacking fluid, style, and deep analysis. My transitions were invisible, as well as argumentative topic sentences and the purpose of my writing. Basically, the components of a great writing piece was no where to be found. In the months around December, it is evident that my writing was being transformed. I started with more interesting introductions, connected my conclusion to my introduction, and started to write with purpose instead of just addressing what the TOW assignment told me I had to. My transitions and argumentative sentences were still a little rocky. By May, the gap between my writing in August and May was noticeably large. I am now writing with fluid, deep analysis, good topic sentences, and purpose, which were all of the things I lacked over the summer. There is always something to work on with my writing, but the improvement is evident.
   I think I mastered interesting introductions and connecting them to the conclusions. I also think I mastered integrating quotes or evidence to support my devices and deepen my analysis. Although my topic sentences are much better than August, I can definitely work on improving them so they are good representations of the point I am trying to prove. I could also work on the "so what?" in my conclusion. My transitions flow a lot better, but those could also use some more work. My writing is constantly evolving so there will always be things to tweak going forward.
  The only time I did not benefit from the TOW assignments when I would write them in a rush on Sunday night to either beat the time, or just because I wanted to go to sleep. When that happened, I did not concentrate on my writing and what I wanted to improve. When I did work on my TOWs, which was often, it was extremely beneficial. I got to practice a mini timed essay every week, and also keep myself up to date with latest news while I was searching for articles to use. It was cool to pick articles I was interested in and enjoy analyzing them. It is obvious from my writing in August to my writing in May that there is beneficial change in my writing.

TOW #26: Image

    Places all over the world are constantly going through hardships, ones that some of us are oblivious to. Most people would never guess that starvation strikes countries all over the world, even smaller countries that do not make it into the news. The problem of starvation in this picture is taken place in Yemen. A poor 9-month old infant diagnosed with acute malnutrition, is laying helpless in its mother's arms in a al-Sabyeen hospital. The photographer uses rule of thirds and color contrast to portray the hardship of starvation.

  Rule of thirds is a photography term to describe a subject that lays on the gridline of a picture. If a grid lied on top of the photograph, it would be divided up into 9 boxes. The infant would line up with one of the lines. This draws the viewer's attention right to the baby, to assess its unhappy face and the situation going on. The effective use of rule of thirds allows the viewer to immediately direct its attention on the baby as the subject, and then realize what the baby is going through and how starvation is affecting it. The mother's hand also lies on one of the grid lines, showing the viewer that the mother is trying to do the best it can to comfort the baby, but it is quite obvious that the damage is already done.

  The mother's hand also acts to create a color contrast with the baby's skin. The infant's skin is so pale and evidently unhealthy, it draws attention to the situation at hand. The black background also contrasts with the baby's light skin, making the subject more dramatic. This picture is very drab, reflecting the gloom tone of the photo. The only pop of color seen is the baby's hat, which is probably the mother's attempt of doing what she can do console her baby. 

   The use of rule of thirds and color contrast not only grabs the reader's attention to the baby, but creates an appeal to pathos, by honing in on the infant and the depth of the situation. The situation of a starving baby is very serious and tragic, and the photographer portrays that to the audience by crafting her photograph the way she did.

TOW #25: Dear Parents, You Are Being Lied To

Reading goals: Interesting article, read for the article and not for devices
Writing goals: Interesting intro, smooth transitions

   Only 100 years ago, getting the influenza virus was an immediate death sentence. Merely even a sinus infection could leave someone bed-ridden for a week. Today, when someone comes down with a sinus infection, a few pills for the week and they are on their way. But for many people around the world, the mindset of western medicine is changing. Instead of a push for antibiotics, many are resisting them, opting for more "natural" approaches to cure diseases. Is the Western world pushing for antibiotics too much? Is the resistance beneficial for humans today? Jennifer Raff, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas with a Ph.D. in genetics and anthropology, delves deeper into this debate. Using anaphoras and imperative sentences, Raff takes a stance that antibiotics are necessary for a human's immune system and advises parents to take action to protect their children.
   Raff opens with a series of phrases "They say that..." and follows with arguments made by anti-vaccine activists. She responds with simple clauses such as "But it is," refuting the claims made by anti-vaccine activists. This introduces her stance that everything anti-vaccine activists have said is wrong, and it is disproven by scientific evidence. She quotes a recent saying by an astrophysicist, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Despite what the natural-medicaters believe, science is backed up by proven experiments and studies. Studies show the dangerous effects of not getting vaccinated, and the evidence the anti-vaccinaters are using is based merely on opinion and experience. Raff uses this to convince the parents to continue researching the truth to vaccines and their good potentials. She advises for parents to become informed and not listen to anyone except the proven facts.
  As well as anaphoras, Raff uses short, imperative sentences. This makes it easy for the reader to understand what Raff wants them to do. The sentences are clear and to the point of declaring what to do. The sentences are used to tell parents to act for their children, and educate themselves. She mentions specific scientists to listen to, specific studies to look in to, advises for parents to learn about the immune system, and stay up to date with new scientific studies. The use of the declarative sentences creates an easy claim of policy for readers to follow.
  Raff refutes claims made by anti-vaccine activists effectively by using anaphoras, and advises readers to take action by using imperative sentences. Raff supports her purpose that anti-biotics and vaccines are vital for humans to live in this day and age effectively.
 

Intro Post #4: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot

 

Poor, African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks went to the doctor back in the 1950's for a simple sample of her cells to study more about her cervical cancer. That day, the doctor did not just take some cells, he took billions and billions of dollars as well. In 2014, we now know that Ms. Henrietta Lacks had a rare, abnormal cancer cell line. It is still around today known as the HeLa line, responsible in the advancement of the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping and more. Lacks's cells are still around, and can circle around the Earth three times. Although her cells are widely known, her name is not. Her remaining family cannot even afford health care while their mother's cells are circling around the Earth making doctors millionaires. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot goes deep into the bioethical issues of our world today, as well as the story of Henrietta Lacks.

I hope to gain a better understanding of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cell line, as well as the bioethical issues that our world is currently dealing with.

TOW #24: Volcano Image

Reading Goals: Find a unique picture
Writing Goals: Smooth transitions

    Even after a horrid disaster, beauty has to come from somewhere. Or, the viewer needs to refocus its viewpoint, and look at the situation in a different way. On November 19th, 2012, a monstrous volcano erupted from Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, shooting a 26,247 foot plume into the atmosphere. This picture was taken after the eruption, focusing on a hibiscus flower that just bloomed around ash covered vegetation. The photographer used rule of thirds arrangement and juxtaposition to portray that light will always shine on dark situations.
   The rule of thirds arrangement is a photography term used when a picture is put on a grid, and the subject falls on one of the intersections of the grid line. In this case, with the hibiscus flower being the subject, it falls on the intersection of the upper left grid lines. This draws the viewer's eyes to the subject, while also being aesthetically pleasing. If the flower was placed randomly anywhere in the picture, the picture may not have caught the viewer's eye as well as this one does. While being drawn to the subject, it makes the viewer notice what is going on in the background and around the picture. The viewer will notice that the flower stands out, creating the whole purpose that because the pretty flower is growing out of the dark ash, it can be inferred that good things will come out of bad situations.
    To also draw the viewer's eye to the photograph, the photographer uses juxtaposition to contrast the two colors: the hot pink flower, and the dark, black ash. The use of the juxtaposition creates a contrast of colors and also draws the eye to the bright pink flower. Because the flower is so bright, this shows the bright, pink, pretty flower coming up from the dark ash. The eruption is a horrible natural disaster to have to happen to a country. This photo represents that even after natural disasters, the earth survives from it and continues to live on, even producing beautiful vegetation right after it. If the viewer were to look at the lower right side only, they would not see the subject portraying the goodness coming out of the situation. This can depict that a person can look at bad situations in different ways, but looking at it in a optimistic way can be the best way.
  I think this photograph achieves its purpose well using the rule of thirds and juxtaposition to contrast the colors in the photo. The purpose includes a good moral that everyone should learn. Goodness can come out of any situation, one just has to look for it.

TOW #23: Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream by Jennifer Ackerman (Part 2)

Writing goals: -smooth transitions
Reading goals: -interesting novel about science

     The human body is a marvelous, convoluted, intelligent organism, but does the human actually know how their own body works? Do you know what happens when you are coming down with a cold, or what happens when your adrenaline levels skyrocket? Did you know that you can tell time in your sleep, and that all of your body's activities are based on its circadian rhythm, a built-in biological clock for your body? Well, Jennifer Ackerman wrote Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream to take readers on a journey through their bodies on an average day, from wake-up in the morning all the way until they wake up again the next morning. Ackerman's intriguing and entertaining book makes the reader think of their body in an entirely new way.
   Ackerman appeals strongly to ethos, quoting many scientists and studies that she has found pertaining to the subject. This shows that she has done research in order to sound credible. But this is not just one or two hours of research. Ackerman backs up her claims with multiple studies from many credibly universities and research centers. The back of the book includes a 40-page bibliography citing all of the sources she used, as well as an index to look up anything she had talked about in the book. This creates a relationship with the reader because the reader will now trust the author, and believe most of what she is saying in her book. This helps support Ackerman's purpose of informing her readers about the functions of their body. She also includes personal anecdotes within most sections. These anecdotes bring back the information to a bodily level, including a normal human giving their own experience on the topic. The reader can relate with Ackerman, and really apply the information she is giving to their own life. This also supports Ackerman's purpose of informing her readers, because they can now take this information they have learned from her book and apply it to the real world. For example, she includes an anecdote about her friend who is an insane runner and can tackle almost any course if she is prepared for it. One day, she was not prepared for a hill at the end of her marathon, and could not finish the course. She had ran that many miles so many times before, but just because her mind was not prepared for that one hill, it failed on her. This can be prepared to many people living a healthy lifestyle. If they do not prepare themselves for the workout they want to endure, they will never reach their goals.
    Ackerman does a phenomenal job of keeping her book practical, informative, and entertaining. Every section in the book including various interesting tidbits about the human body that can be applicable to any age of living. She talks about the best time to drink a cocktail, to take a nap, to run a race, to take medication, along with many other things. I think Ackerman achieves her purpose well of using her book to inform her readers about their body. I have an entirely new look on my body, looking at life in a different way, and really striving for a healthy lifestyle.