True Confessions

In Chapter 6, "Diction," Trimble talks about different aspects of writing. He breaks it down like so:

• conciseness
• vigorous verbs
• freshness

Definitely, I need to work the most on conciseness in my writing. I tend to think in circles, and I express myself better orally rather than writingly (that's probably not a word). This usually shows in my writing, and often I don't have the patience or attention span to edit properly. Soooo yeahh.

How to Close a Short Essay

• Talk about your main argument

 Ohheyy, there you are:

Haven't seen you here before Main Argument:

• Put in one new creative twist

Creative twistiness:

What is this newness you speak of?:

• Close with something emotional

Awwww, c'mere man:

Now that's a good closer right there:

(2 Par. RE: My Own Commercial) Slogans: A reflection of a company or society?

The McDonald's commercial this post refers to can be found here.

The slogan presented in this McDonald’s commercial is “come as you are,” implying that everyone is welcome at McDonald’s. In this commercial, a boy is portrayed as being gay, although it is not clear as to whether or not his father knows. Analysis here can go one of two ways; (1) a look at McDonald’s and culture or (2) a look at McDonald’s attempt to re-brand itself in the recent past.

While one might see this commercial and think McDonald’s is trying to show solidarity with the LGBTQ* community in taking a stand for equality, another perspective is looking at this ad as a reflection of the society it runs in rather than that of the company. This ad runs in France, not in the US. Although LGBTQ* awareness has been raised all over the world, especially with the struggle for equality in the US, one must question why this ad has not run in the US. Is it generally more accepted in France to be gay than in the US? What does this say about the consumer culture of France versus that of the US? It is this kind of questioning that makes one wonder at what this slogan really means, and if McDonald’s is really carrying it out.

(2 Par. RE: Heineken) Wish Fullfillment & Gender Roles (FINAL)

The commercial this post refers to can be found here.

If the dream, as presented in this Heineken commercial, of women is a walk-in closet, full of jewelry, shoes and clothes, a parallel is immediately found in the “dream” of men, as presented in this commercial, being a walk-in fridge filled with Heineken.

The Heineken commercial portrays a group of women screaming and generally acting quite excited over a walk-in closet, while a group of men is quite excited over a walk-in fridge of Heineken. One must question, however, why only men get excited over Heineken in this commercial; why don’t women as well? Although Heineken sells to a particular audience, namely ESPN, one might say Heineken could be seen as less desirable if both men and women get excited over it. Upon questioning this, one can see this line of questioning going deeper and well beyond a Heineken commercial. What does stereotyping the beer to a man’s dream say about the society as a whole? It highlights the societal and cultural construction of gender roles, and the association of masculinity and femininity with particular gender roles. It has been established throughout history that femininity is less desirable than masculinity, and as such, one may be considered “less of a man” for possessing feminine qualities. This relation goes so deep that even portraying women getting excited over Heineken as well as men associates femininity with men, making the product (Heineken) less desirable to the aimed audience (men).

(2 Par. RE: ATT) Globalization & the Age of Information Technology (FINAL)

The commercial this post refers to can be found here.

In this ATT commercial, two children (presumably Hansel & Gretel) are portrayed walking down the street of an imaginary city created by ATT. Both children are young and their clothing style seems to be rather out of place in a city such as the one cast by ATT. They are alone, and appear to get lost. The city is portrayed to be more dangerous after they get lost, with a shot of the high rise buildings looming over the children, and a man closing down a shop with bars across the front. A few things should be noted here; (1) these children are quite obviously out of place, most likely from another country; (2) the [foreign] city they are travelling through is portrayed as dangerous, until they look at the GPS on their cell phone (implying that ATT saves the day).

This commercial implies that it is the technology, provided by ATT, that saves these children from ending up horribly lost. There are a couple of different ways this commercial fulfills its aim, namely to sell the idea of ATT to consumers. The first, and most obvious, is the play upon a mother’s fear of losing her child. This ensures that a mother will at least think twice before not buying her younger children cell phones. The second is through the representation of the children as the “loss of innocence” to technology. As more and more technology is reaching younger and younger audiences, one must question how it affects children such as the ones in the commercial. The younger children are when introduced to technology, the more dependent upon it they become. They don’t know another way of living, which is represented in the initial dropping of the bread crumbs to find their way back home. This “other” way of living is quickly dispelled, however, in the consumption of the bread crumbs. Although new technology such as this fuels the increasing globalization of people, less and less people actually know where they are without this technology. This increasing dependency upon technology ensures the continuation of companies such as ATT.

Quickwrite RE: McDonald's (observations/questions)

The McDonald's commercial this post refers to can be found here.

slogan = "come as you are" => all are welcome(?)

=> McDonald's has been attempting to re-brand itself for the past however many years, is this another ploy in advancing the re-branding of this franchise? To take a stand with an issue in an attempt to connect with consumers?

=> is this commercial meant to "take a stand?" is the intent to showcase McDonald's moral/ethical stance, or just to keep consumption up?


=> why hasn't this commercial been played in the US (it is a French commercial)?


=> is this a reflection of McDonald's "opinion" or upon that of the society it comes from (France)?

***=> In the US, a hate crime was committed at a McDonald's in which two girls brutally beat a transgender woman. The girls received up to 9 years in prison, with 5 years taken off (with probation), and it is highly contested as to whether this should be considered a hate crime. DOES THIS HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHY COMMERCIALS LIKE THIS ARE NOT PLAYED IN THE US? If the goal is to re-brand a McDonald's, why would commercials such as these NOT play in the US?

=> does the kid's father know he has a boyfriend?

=> why is everything so implicit in this commercial? - nothing directly links boy as gay, if he has a boyfriend, or if his father knows about any of it

Quickwrite RE: ATT re-draft/pre-final draft

*pick one line of analysis & stick with it!

#5- children represent the "loss of innocence" to technology

      =>by playing on the fear of mothers', ATT ensures their technology will reach younger & younger audiences

            => how does this technology affect children at such a young age/of this generation?

                 => they become dependent upon it; they don't know another way of living

                       => although new technology such as this fuels the increasing globalization of people, less & less people
                             actually know where they are or where they would be without this technology


=>THIS ensures ATT's continuing existance (the higher & higher dependency upon this technology, sold by ATT)