TOW 28 - The Armstrong Lie (2013)

The story starts out as a documentary recording the comeback of Lance Armstrong in 2009, but after Armstrong was caught for the doping scandal in 2009 director Alex Gibney demanded an explanation. Opening with Armstrong's interview with Oprah in 2013 in which he admitted to using a variety of banned-substances throughout his career, the movie tracks back into his career. Armstrong was constantly accused of doping, and he fervently denied any association with drugs, viciously attacking any who said otherwise. Armstrong burned bridges with colleagues and alienated himself from thousands who believed his guilt, but his experience with cancer made him a saint: people were willing to look past his supposed misconduct because he was a symbol for overcoming crippling odds. Eventually Armstrong was caught. His reasons for doping were justified. His reason for lying was not.

(http://www.impawards.com/2013/thumbs/sq_armstrong_lie.jpg)

The unique narrative structure of this film allowed Gibney to play off the audience's emotions while impartially narrating Armstrong's complex choices. By opening with the Oprah interview, a traumatic moment for the dedicated fans and even the dogmatic accusers, Gibney is foreshadowing that his movie will be emotionally draining. This movie will holistically look at the facts no matter how upsetting they may be. It goes back to explain the history for anyone unaware of what happened, with occasional recent interviews detailing what really was happening. As the chronology goes on and the story becomes closer to the present, Armstrong isn't necessarily relatable, but it is more understood why he did what he did.

Gibney's use of testimony provides credibility to the why Armstrong was cheating and also adds a feeling of indignation from the viewers that he did it for this long and lied about it. The interviews showed that everyone was doping and the only way to truly compete was to join in. The witnesses also showed that some of these people knew what was happening, spoke out, and Lance shot them down. This use of testimony can be interpreted as a hint at Gibney's feelings of hurt but also his slight empathy towards Armstrong.

Overall this movie demonstrated a specific person's history that was so twisted it highlighted the prevalent infamy in a renowned sport. It also exemplifies that nothing is black and white, judging someone without fully understanding their situation is never an accurate perception.

TOW 27 - Reflection

A lot has happened in the past school year, regarding life both within and outside of school. Within this class specifically I can definitely observe a notable improvement in my writing, outstanding in my TOWs. My early summer TOWs demonstrate my extreme effort to sound sophisticated as if I knew what I was talking about without yet taking the class. As the school year starts the texts take on a more simplistic style; I was trying to make sure I understood the basics of these rhetorical analyses before I went on to more eloquence. Towards the latter part of the year, you can notice more organization and better analysis of texts that demonstrate my growth and understanding of the topic compared to the beginning of the year. I think through this process I have mastered taking a piece of evidence, analyzing the rhetorical device, and then divulging on why that device is effective. There is still much I could do to improve, such as creating an effective hook and then a full-circle ending that expresses the, "So what?". These posts were helpful in the sense that they exposed me to different authors and genres while helping me to improve my analysis; however I feel it was a lengthy process that was never fully addressed in class.

TOW 26 - Gardening for Climate Change (James Barilla)

Goldenrod - a plant Barilla often speaks of
(http://www.gpnc.org/images/jpegs/plants/goldenrod_.jpg)

In every corner of the world, in every moment of history, there has always a divide of between social classes. Social mobility is not available to everyone, but many do have the ability to leave in search of a fresh start – including plants. James Barilla’s opinion editorial provides a crafty commentary on the effects of nonnative species, and although he only strictly comments on the nature of gardening, the reader can speculate from his text that there is deeper meaning. Through his two-part arrangement, shifting tone, and central metaphor Barilla urges the audience to embrace inevitable change of people, environment, and lifestyle.

            Barilla’s argument consists of the extended metaphor and then the ambiguous ending, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions. The beginning creates a situation takes a complex situation and simplifies it to gardening. The audience can understand this issue and is less likely to oppose any controversial statements because it seems to be such a humble subject. Then when Barilla makes a more general statement at the end the audience cannot refute it: since readers can understand his argument earlier, they are less likely to disagree when it is applied to society with the same logic.

            Constantly shifting his tone from objective to troubled, throughout his text Barilla creates different appeals to his audience and different levels of understanding. He presents facts to the audience revealing his credibility and elaborates on the repercussions revealing his humanity. The audience can understand the circumstances and then why they are important to each person.

            Overall the metaphor Barilla uses is extremely powerful in its ability to convey a deeper message. Plants are one of the most complex and revered organisms on this planet as are humans; the comparison between the two shows that if plants must adapt to new situations then it is probable that humans must eventually as well.

            Barilla never directly relates his discussion of plants to the natural state of humans. All he says that creates this relation is, “We need to start thinking not just about what used to be, but what could be.” Barilla is urging us to let go of strict habits and customs, with no room for growth and innovation, and to embrace our future: the uncertain nature of certain change.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/opinion/sunday/gardening-for-climate-change.html?rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=article