February 19, 2013 (Video Propaganda)

1. Tony Heyward
Propaganda Technique: 
Card Stacking. He doesn't say anything about how BP caused the oil spill or all the damage it created, but it only mentions the good things that came about.

Logical Fallacy: Argument ad populum. He doesn't make any sort of argument about what happened, but he expresses sentiment for the victims.



2. Emeril
Propaganda Technique: 
Testimonial. They use his credibility as a chef and his fame to make themselves look better.

Logical Fallacy: 
Argument from omniscience. He says that everyone is doing their best and helping, when it's not possible for anyone to know that.


3. Olympics

Propaganda Technique: 
Transfer. They attach the positive feelings people have toward the Olympics and the athletes to their company, which really doesn't have those qualities.

Logical Fallacy: 
Red herring. They change the subject, and mention other things rather than the oil spill (which they don't want to talk about).


4. BP Commitment

Propaganda Technique: 
Plain folks. The person who was talking was just a "regular Joe", and he could remind you of yourself or someone you know.

Logical Fallacy: 
Observational Selection. This commercial shows only the good things that happened after the oil spill, not all of the negative consequences.


5. Gulf Coast Tourism

Propaganda Technique:
 Glittering generality. They use meaningless "glad words", like"great" and "best tourism in years." These can't be quantified or proven; they just make themselves look better.

Logical Fallacy: 
Confusion of causation and correlation. They say that the region has benefited from the oil spill because the tourism is doing well. This doesn't necessarily mean that it is because of the oil spill.

February 12, 2013 ("The Death of Ball Turret Gunner")

The subject of this poem is the death of the ball turret gunner. I know this because it is the title and the poem says, "When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose." 3 words or phrases with the same connotation are "sleep, woke, nightmare, dream", "from my mother, in it's belly", and "I fell into, washed me out". The first group of words have to do with sleeping, which is regarded as a state of helplessness. The second group of words has to do with birthing and coming into innocence. The third group of words has to do with then entrance into the world and loss of innocence. The theme of the poem is the loss of innocence due to the effects of war.

February 7, 2013 ("This Land is Your Land")

Woodie Guthrie's main point is that America is for everyone, not just a certain few. America should be shared with all people, and freedom is one of the best things about our nation. He also expressed the thought that America is beautiful and rich in both history / tradition and in its geography. Some examples of how we know this are:

-his mention of geographic features
   -"from the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters"
   -"to the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts"
   -"When the sun came shining, and I was strolling / And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling"

-his constant allusion to freedom and not being restricted / held back
   -"As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting: this land was made for you and me"
   -his constant use of the phrase "this land was made for you and me"... which causes the listener to realize that God made the land for people to share, not to claim ownership of over each other, and kick people off of their own land

-the mention of the potential we have without boundaires
   -"As I went walking I saw a sign there / And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." / But on the other side it didn't say nothing"
   -"Nobody living can ever stop me / As I go walking that freedom highway / Nobody living can ever make me turn back"... especially the phrase "freedom highway"

  

January 16, 2013 (Commercials)

Country Corn Flakes

Appeal- By having the two people represent the famous painting, "American Gothic", this commercial uses pathos. Pathos appeals to the audience here because people are familiar with this painting, so therefore they would think of pleasant memories, causing them to buy Country Corn Flakes.

Fallacy- This commercial uses confusion of causation and correlation. It tells people that they will be happy and healthy with country corn flakes, two things which aren't necessarily related.

Alka-seltzer

Appeal- By showing images of people with different sized stomachs, this commercial uses pathos.  By comparing the different kinds of body shapes, the commerical appeals to people's of all shapes and sizes, and makes them want to buy alka-seltzer so that they can have the ideal stomach. It also makes them believe that even they can use alka-seltzer.

Fallacy- This commerical uses confusion of correlation and causation. It tells people that if they use alka-seltzer, they will have a great looking body, two things that aren't necessarily related.

Delk:

Appeal- This commercial uses logos when it said, "Here are two primary facts..." What it said made logical sense, because he was just presenting facts to convince us to buy his product.

January 24, 2012 ("Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?")

In "Where Have You Gone Charming Billy", the mood and setting cause the reader to feel sorry for PFC Paul Berlin. There is a sharp contrast in two different moods from the beginning and end of the excerpt. At the beginning, the author creates a mood that is lonely, dark, and the cold, empty feeling one might expect at a hospital. At the end, the author creates a mood that is optimistic and happy, which also matches the mood of the section in which he reminisces about his childhood. Obviously, this leads us to conclude that he hates that war and wishes that he could leave the lonely, dark reality that is war. Thus, the audience feels sorry for his character because we feel empathy for him.

January 10, 2013 ("Chain Gang")

      I think that the message of this song is that there are a lot of men working hard and being stuck in a rut. By alluding to a "chain gang", he's showing how they can't get out of this situation and how they're sort of stuck working for their whole lives. They are trapped in this work that they're doing and cannot get out, which is symbolized by the chains.