TOW 13 - V is for Virgin (George Watsky)

Virginity can be an awkward topic, but George Watsky uses it to emphasize the importance of loving yourself. At the Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam of 2006, Watsky opens his prose with a rhetorical question that everyone must relate to: “How many people in here have ever been a virgin?” Building on the connection to his audience, Watsky plays off of the cultural memory of his audience, high school students of the 90s, and the highlights from their youth. He not only alludes to nostalgic shows like Star Trek and Fresh Prince, but also asks the audience to remember them in a different way, like empathizing with Carlton. Watsky presents those aspects of high school that made you geeky and asks you to “toss this perky misconception to the dogs.” Watsky redefines the word sexy with the repetition of that word: “I’m talking That’s some sexy peach fuzz sexy; picked last for kickball sexy, check out the curves on that parabola sexy; regular kid sexy.” Making fun of topics that were at some point uncomfortable makes them all the more comfortable; Watsky makes it clear to every member of his audience that we’ve all experienced similar feelings and there’s no need to be embarrassed of who you were or are. On the contrary we should be proud of we are. Even now, Watsky feels at times the need to say, “Girl you’re flying solo tonight because I’m gonna go hang out with four of my friends and drive around the city bumping biggie;” Watsky’s crude diction is humorous enough to resonate with the audience, insightful enough to be thought-provoking. Proud to be who he is, a high school virgin, Watsky pronounces he has no regrets and wouldn’t have had it any other way.

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TOW 12 - Frida Kahlo (Gannit Ankori) pt. 1

Photo of Frida Kahlo
By Guillermo Davila

In his biography of Frida Kahlo, an underrated artist whose personal obstacles go unappreciated, Gannit Ankori compiles all the rumors, struggles and milestones of her life into an accurate depiction of her as a person, enlightening and inspiring his readers in the process. Ankori’s most appealing rhetorical device, as his text is informative, would be his didactic tone. Sticking simply to the facts, multiple annotations and citations on the page, Ankori explains the life of Frida Kahlo with nothing but the truth. He’s able to seam together a paragraph of eloquent words and simple without his sentences becoming inconsistent and unsophisticated. The structure of Ankori’s book elevates it to a new level entirely. Each chapter delves into a different segment of Kahlo’s life, not necessarily a specific time period but a period defined by how she defined herself. Quotes from family, friends and lovers, each applicable to the chapter’s era, add to the text’s credibility as these primary sources support Ankori’s interpretation of how Frida defined herself at the time. Ankori goes a step further by analyzing Kahlo’s paintings from various time periods and using those to prove his interpretations. After Frida’s tragic encounter with a tram crash, Ankori interprets that the crash and the traumas and injuries it created “became a defining aspect of her identity” and from that point on she lived “with a great passion for life beyond her sickness” (p. 55). This so far was one of the only points in which Ankori created an emotional appeal that so clearly demonstrated not only his passion towards Frida Kahlo’s life story, but also illustrated Kahlo’s desire to thrive. Much of Kahlo’s life is known to be full of sickness and depression, but Ankori portrays her accident, a defining moment for the future of Kahlo, that sets her up for, and almost in a way foreshadows, her success as an artist.

TOW 11 - Frontline Advertisement

(http://www.pleated-jeans.com/2012/03/07/22-funny-and-clever-advertisements/smashingtips/)

If I were in this mall, walking across the golden sea of a retriever, I'd be in love. This advertisement, creatively interactive, speaks to me as a dog enthusiast, lover, and owner, therefore successfully appealing to its audience. The multitude of people, the throng of symbolic fleas, sets a fear in dog owners that their pet is infested with fleas. The overwhelming amount of fleas across this dog creates an analogy exemplifying what a dog experiences. By exaggerating what its like to have fleas, by putting it in such a bold and public setting, Frontline grabs its audiences attention. It’s as if they were yelling at you and saying, “Hey! This is an issue you need to pay more attention to! Go to our store and buy some so you can be a good dog owner!” The ad evokes a sense of urgency within dog owners, playing on the need to care for their pet like a family member. The creativity and simplicity of the ad, and even just the phrase “Get them off your dog,” make it striking. However I question the effectiveness of this ad to those actually walking in the mall; unless you were to walk straight across the entirety of the floor, I highly doubt that you could piece together the meaning of the ad. This ad is good for others to reflect on after its been photographed and put in a magazine, but I don’t think it would cause an immediate response in its audience. In that sense I think the ad fails since it is directly trying to prompt its audience to buy medicine from the store in the mall, but overall it’s an effective ad for the company. This ad appeals not only to dog owners, but anyone who appreciates a clever ad that clearly has had a lot of thought has been put into it.