IRB Intro #3: Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)

As a change from the history-related books I've been reading, I have chosen to read Let's Pretend  This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson. It's supposed to be a rather comical account of Lawson's life. Lawson is a journalist, author, and blogger from a small town in Texas. I chose this book because it will hopefully be an easier read than my previous IRBs and something that I will enjoy picking up.

TOW #16: The American Patriot's Handbook (IRB #2, Part 2)

For the second half of this marking period, I finished The American Patriot’s Handbook, a compilation of important American historical documents by George Grant. After reading the first half, I discussed Grant’s purpose, to inspire American patriotism, and how he achieved that through the book. For the second half, as it covers America’s history from Columbus to September 11, 2001, I will discuss the evolution of American rhetoric as it relates to God.

It is interesting to note the constant presence of “God” in American rhetoric. It would be natural to assume God would be a common topic in early America, where communities were often based around a church, particularly in New England, and in other colonies based on their specific religious tolerations. However, the use of “God” persists throughout all of American history covered in the book, showing America’s largely Christian history, particularly in positions of power. The role of the “God” card, however, has changed greatly from the early days, when He was a symbol of ethos, to the present day, where He serves largely the purpose of pathos. Beginning with Columbus, God was the ultimate source of credibility and justification. The Italian explorer noted in his “Apologia” that “[God] unlocked within me the determination to execute the idea [of navigating to the Indies]” (4). God’s Will is thus the justification for his voyage, and later the subjugation of the native peoples. Backed by this divine destiny, his rhetoric pleads that he can do no wrong. Another such early document in which God is used for credibility is John Winthrop’s “A Model of Charity” sermon. Winthrop, a Puritan preacher, opens with the statement that “God Almighty in His most holy and wide providence hath disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich and some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in subjection” (9). In other words, the function of God in the statement is to give authority to the claim that some must be socially, politically, and economically in higher positions than others. For his Puritan audience, the use of God served to build the trust of the lowly in their superiors. However, at some point in the book, which is quite difficult to pinpoint not having finished studying US history, God transitioned from a credibility trigger word to an emotional one. The results, however, are clear in George W. Bush’s address of the nation on September 11, 2001: “We cannot know what lies ahead. Yet, we do know that God had placed us together, to serve each other and our country” (394). God, here, is no longer a symbol from which credibility is derived – Bush does not use God to justify himself or any condition of the nation, but rather uses Him to give the people hope stemming from the deity in which most Americans believe.

Though I do not yet know enough to mark this transition on a timeline, I plan to continue to explore it through my study of US history this year.

TOW #15: AP Chemistry Prep Book (Visual Text)

An AP chemistry prep book is just about the last place I would think to look for a visual text, except that there was one on my desk. Sure enough, this class has made me more aware of the subtle advertising strategies around me. The creator of the cover I do not know, as it is not listed, but it is clearly someone aimed at the promotion of a the book, targeting the obvious audience of AP students and their parents by making the book, if not visually appealing, at least attention-grabbing, clearly displaying the book’s credibility, and giving logical reasons why an AP chemistry student should choose that book.

To make a good cover, there must be something that attracts one’s eye to that particular book. For this aspect, the bright yellow color plays a role. Many of the other books are white with blue or red, so the brilliant highlighter color certainly sets this prep book apart from the crowd. Though not at all related to chemistry, there is also a pretty, smiling student that adds to visual appeal. It leads a viewer to believe that he, too, will be as happy as that girl if he purchases the prep book (and perhaps he will, but only if he gets a 5 – not while studying, as is implied). Now that the potential buyer is attracted to the book, he must know what exactly makes it credible and what it has to offer.

The cover is clearly divided into sections: the region above and below the title, Cracking the AP Chemistry exam. The top portion is taken up by the words “From America’s MOST POPULAR college prep company” and next to that “The Princeton Review.” Thus, the first thing a potential buyer sees when picking up the book is that it is the most popular in the country (highlighted in blue), making it a choice preferred over other prep books that surely line the Barnes and Noble shelves. The name “Princeton” is another strategy for automatic ethos. The Ivy League name immediately brings to mind intelligence, and perhaps even prompts one to make the connection that if he does well on the AP exam, he might be able to make it into an Ivy.

The bottom portion of the book focuses on the logical reasons why one might buy it, with the words “If it’s on the test, it’s in this book!” and “Revised and updated for the NEW EXAM,” which both share the same blue highlighting or font color as was used at the top, creating a visual balance and drawing the eyes from the top to the bottom so that a viewer notices both its credibility and the most logical reasons to buy it without needed to read the entire cover. In large font, it also brags two practice exams, but other than this, it resorts to small, out of the way, font for the details of what the book contains in terms of exam preparation, showing that the marketing strategies of appealing to authorities on the subject (Princeton) and being eye-catching over the actual value of content, which is likely to be shared with every other AP prep book. I bought it, so it must have achieved its purpose.

TOW #14: Pastor T's Penultimate Sermon (Written Text)

On her penultimate Sunday at our church, our pastor of more than ten years gave her sermon on the journey through life. It ties to the occasion given that she is entering a new stage of her own life (retirement), and the church is entering a new stage of its existence (searching for a new pastor). She seeks to aid us in the new leg of our journey with the reassurance that God has always provided instructions.

The most important rhetorical strategy she uses is beginning the sermon with an anecdote in which she describes her recent travel on an airplane. Humorously, she tells the story of how she paid an excessive amount to check her luggage when she could have red-tagged her bags for free and carried them herself to the next connecting flight. “Here’s the kicker,” she says, “ at the end of the trip, doing it this way, you don’t have to go to baggage claim and wait till your luggage comes spinning around on that ramp, then fight off rude people who hog the spaces next to the thing, so you have to say, ‘Excuse me can I get my bag,’ and there goes your bag for another trip around.” She knows the image of a pastor fighting off a self-important crowd of vacationers at a baggage claim is sure to humanize her. Oftentimes preachers are seen as stuffy or more pure in their thoughts than any other person. By presenting herself as a true human being who experiences the same baggage claim annoyances as everyone else, she makes her audience much more open to receiving her sermon as a lesson they can apply to their own lives, rather than just to the life of someone of elite moral character. 

This strategy is probably most effective in the present world, in which the new generations are moving away from the church. It appeals to emotion through humor rather than fear, as has been used by preachers of the past, which is significantly less intimidating. After such an introduction, when she says that God is not like an airline and provides fairly detailed instructions, her audience will be prepared to hear her out.

TOW #13: Facial Blindness (Written Text)

Facial recognition is a skill most of us have had since birth, a skill, given its commonplace nature, that we often take for granted. However, for some, this ability would seem completely foreign. Kate Szell, a former partner in a law firm, recently won a science writing contest on the subject of prosopagnosia, a condition that makes it extremely difficult for a person to recognize faces. She aims to spread awareness and foster an environment of understanding for those suffering from the condition.

As even our smartphones are learning to recognize faces, it is difficult to imagine a world without such an ability. That’s why Szell, in her piece, rather than overburdening her audience with scientific terms, offers an analogy so that they might understand how it feels to suffer from prosopagnosia. She suggests to her audience to try recognizing people by their hands rather than their faces (paragraph 2). Through this, it becomes easy for a reader to perceive the difficulty. If faces appeared as similar to us as hands, it would certainly be tough to differentiate between people.

To compound the level of understanding obtained through the analogy, Szell also offers insight from a person who suffers from the condition. A fourteen-year-old girl tells about how she once asked her best friend of many years who she was. “[S]he’d had a haircut, so how was I to know?” (paragraph 1). The testimony gives her credibility on a personal level and makes her reader feel sympathy for those suffering from prosopagnosia. A simple level of emotional connection to a real case of the condition facilitates the level of acceptance and patience Szell hopes to achieve.

Beyond personal testimony, Szell provides the logical appeal through facts she has collected and expert testimony to the reality of the issue. According to studies, she writes, around two percent of the population has prosopagnosia (paragraph 3). While the percentage seems small, it is not. Out of every fifty people, one has prosopagnosia. Such as statistic helps her audience to see how vital understanding is. Most people interact with at least fifty people in their lives, so awareness of the condition should be much more widespread than it is. As she, a former partner in a law firm, is not an expert in the subject, she references professionals to give her cause credibility as well. Researcher Kirsten Dalrymple from the University of Minnesota makes known that in her studies, while some children with the condition cope with their condition, others become withdrawn. Some cannot differentiate between friends and strangers and put themselves at risk (paragraph 4). Through Dalrymple, Szell thus indicates the importance of awareness for parents, teachers, and other children.

Kate Szell’s contest-winning essay certainly takes the prize for helping people to, in her own words, “recognize the face of prosopagnosia” (paragraph 10).

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/23/faceblindness-prosopagnosia-kate-szell-wellcome-trust-science-writing-prize-face-blindness

TOW #12: The American Patriot's Handbook (IRB #2, Part 1)

Recently I have been reading The American Patriot’s Handbook, a compilation of American historical documents arranged by George Grant. Grant is a proud patriot and a pastor at the Parish Presbyterian Church in Tennessee. Thus, I made the prediction before reading that the documents he compiled would be largely positive about America’s history, and that they would reflect the progression of American religious views. His purpose would then be to guide Americans to be proud of their country.

So far, the documents have reflected the ideas I predicted they would. One way Grant ensures that his audience will get the message he aims for them to receive is through giving each document a brief description, in which he often applies logical reasons as to why America is great. For example, in his description of The Mayflower Contract , he strategically places one significant line immediately before the document: “Thus the Pilgrim Fathers had anticipated the covenantal social contract seventy years before John Locke and 140 years before Jean Jacques Rousseau” (7). This asserts to the reader, through apparent fact or logical evidence, that Americans had developed the social contract theory before the Old World, thus making Americans superior. Though that last claim seems far-fetched, in the fleeting moment after reading the statement, there is some American pride evoked that makes one glad to be American rather than European. It is thus significant that this is immediately followed by the text itself. The last idea an American has before reading the document is that it had made them better, more democratic, more socially intellectual, than Europe.

Another way Grant ensures that his purpose is achieved is through his own descriptions of significant American figures. For about sixty pages, there are no documents, but rather descriptions of Americans written by Grant himself. The texts are factual, giving Grant support through rationality as to why one should be proud to be an American without ever directly stating it. However, he derives his support only from selected evidence, carefully omitting any fact that would break his logos. For example, in his description of John Jay, he hails the Jay treaty as having helped to “avert a renewal of hostilities with Britain” (156), but fails to acknowledge that the treaty was sabotaged by another founder, Alexander Hamilton, and that the treaty consisted predominantly of sly promises from Britain, such as that they would pay for recent impressments of Americans, but said nothing of future impressment. Such evidence would undermine presentation of early American strength.

For any American audience that is somewhat uninformed about the ins and outs of American history, Grant is likely successful in increasing their patriotism.

TOW #11: Run Like an Animal (Visual Text)

Pearl Izumi, a running gear company known for their controversial advertisements, has used the slogan “Run like an animal” to define a true runner. On one ad for their shoes, they stated in bold white font that a marathon is “a race to be run, not a box to be checked.” Though perhaps not as controversial as their previous “dead dog” ad, in which the man in their shoes apparently ran his dog to death, this one still employs powerful, inspiring rhetoric. 

The ad uses a black and white image of a road race as the background to their ad, displaying the blurred, fast-moving legs of competitors. The color scheme makes the photo appear old and the marathon appear as a timeless event that deserves the average runner’s ultimate respect. This pairs well with the small text on top of the image, which presents a certain group of people who run marathons as “finishers” as opposed to racers. Finishing, they say, is good, but racing is the purpose of a marathon. So “next time you’re toeing the line, respect the marathon.” For some viewers of the ad, this would command respect. Probably, for the dedicated running community they aim to reach, the words would be inspiring. Most coaches tell their runners that they are not there to run, but rather to race. Most dedicated runners know the difference between the terms. However, for some marathon “finishers,” the message could be offensive, as it undermines the achievement of merely completing the 26.2 miles. In this way, Pearl Izumi holds true to their typical style of advertising. A slight air of controversy perhaps makes the loyal customers all the more loyal through their pride, even if it alienates some others.

To stand boldly in front of the black and white background and primarily white text, the ad uses red as an accent. The shoes have red highlights, which, given their position before the racing legs, makes them appear to be the elite of the many other shoes seen racing by, just like the audience Pearl Izumi aims to reach. Additionally, their slogan, “Run like an animal” is written in bright red text at the end of their paragraph-long description of finishers versus racers. Combined with the rest of the text, this stands out as the primary message. To respect the marathon, one must race to their fullest capacity, delving into their animalistic instincts to make themselves more than human. The words command a certain power and inspire the true racing community, making them effective as a method to convince runners to buy Pearl Izumi running shoes.