Jersey Shore: The "Rhetorical" Situation

     It's a Thursday night, and I'm preparing myself to become virtually mindless for an hour.  It's something of a tradition- my friends all come to my room, we make popcorn, forget about the Physics test we took this week that may not have gone ideally, forget about the homesickness we feel and the homework due in the morning we haven't started, forget about that guy we met at the frat last weekend whose "playing mindgames with me."  We all crowd on my bed and watch the clock, and once it reads 10:00, our complaints and our laughter are silenced.  We are settling down to watch Jersey Shore.

     Jersey Shore is...interesting.  The appeal is strange- why do we get so excited to spend an hour of our lives watching these future skin cancer victims shout bleeped-out obscenities at each other and others?  They aren't intellectually stimulating, they make no political statement and are a very poor, skewed cultural representation (yes, I am Italian.)  They aren't producing anything like other reality shows- there will be no fancy cake at the end, no remade home for a family in an unfortunate financial situation, no dress to be worn on the runway.  They are not trying to reach any goal- there are no tests of physical endurance or attempted weight loss or trivia questions to answer.  They are just a group of individuals with sub-par intellect who have a penchant for going to the gym, tanning, and doing laundry.  Oh, and pre-gaming all day then heading out to the club around midnight.

     I have to wonder...what about these people has captivated me?  Why do I block out 10-11 every Thursday night just to watch their melodramatic lives unfold?

      The answer, I believe, lies in a populist appeal.  The targeted audience of the MTV viewer- most likely in the pre-teen to early-twenties range- are clearly interested in MTV's other, equally unintellectual classics- Teen Mom and Super Sweet Sixteen among them.  This audience has shown that they enjoy watching "average" people deal with problems that could be considered somewhat believable.  Conversely, they also enjoy watching rich kids party all the time and lead lives free of commitment (see Laguna Beach and The Hills).  Jersey Shore is a manifestation of both- though these people are (somewhat) ordinary, it is also clear money is no object and their commitments are minimal.  Their ordinariness lies in the problems they undergo: Sammi and Ronnie are constantly fighting, which many adolescent couples can relate to.  They also work at their local t-shirt shop, which gives them a relatable quality.  These characters are not the rich brats we saw in Laguna Beach or Super Sweet Sixteen, nor are they facing the real problems of the Sixteen and Pregnant crew.  They are solely interested in having a good time, and isn't their life something of every college kids' fantasy? Sleep til' noon, go to the beach, drink all day, go clubbing at night, repeat.  Admittedly, the lifestyle would get tiresome.  But not tiresome enough to not keep me entertained every Thursday night from 10-11.

Damn Good Speech-Giving

    Since we just received a rubric detailing the next speech we'll have to give in class, I've already been thinking about my presentation.  And by that I mean I've spent the past two RCL classes cringing every time the speech is mentioned and envisioning speaking in front of the entire class while they all either a) gaze back at me, obviously bored and disinterested b) all check their cell phones constantly, willing time to go faster or c) get offended by something I say and begin to plot and carry out an uprising throughout the duration of my speech.  

    The aforementioned worries sound like the ramblings of a severely self-concious public speaker, and such is not the case.  I am lucky to have escaped the unfortunate grip of stage fright- I feel relatively comfortable speaking in front of groups.  In high school, my extracurriculars gave me the frequent opportunity to consistently address large groups of people, and I developed a comfort level speaking publicly.

     Until I got to this class. And my speech affects my grade.  And the kids in the class don't actually know me, and can't laugh with me afterward if I mess up or say something stupid.  And I'm not in a power position, unlike my former public speaking experience when I was Editor-in-Chief of our school paper or a leading role in the play or musical.  Instead, I am at the mercy of the audience, praying my visual aid works and my voice doesn't betray the nervousness I feel.

     My outlook, obviously, is terrible.  I need to realize some key things about how to give speeches effectively and how to feel confident about my abilities before I get up there.  So, I resorted to the only reasonable source of knowledge.  Google.

  Out of all the websites I found, I found one to be especially helpful:  http://www.shakethatbrain.com/stb-damn%20good%20speech.html.  The title, Damn Good Speech, obviously caught my attention immediately and I clicked.  To summarize, the advice stressed the importance of knowing the topic you're talking about thoroughly, prepare and organize, hook your audience, practice, and the piece of advice I found the most valuable: BE VULNERABLE.

     Suddenly, this whole speech-giving thing doesn't seem so bad after all.

Appalling Advertising

ORIGINALLY POSTED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2011.

ADS THAT JUST DON’T WORK

            So since we were assigned the task of choosing an ad to use for our speeches, I’ve begun to leaf through a bunch of advertisements to see if any caught my eye.  Though I did find several that would work for the purposes of the project, and worked in general as successful advertising, I found a whole bunch of ads that didn’t appeal to me whatsoever.  For this week’s blog, I’m going to include some of those ads and explain why they don’t work.

            First, let’s establish what makes an ad “good.”  Credibility is one thing an audience subconsciously searches for with ads- they want to believe the source its coming from, whether it’s a well-known company or a well-known celebrity spokesperson.  The credibility makes us feel more comfortable, and gives the product being sold more of a “tried and true” feeling.  The organization of the ad is important also- it has to be visually appealing rather than overwhelming or hard to look at.  The text must be an appropriate size and appropriately placed, where it draws attention to itself but doesn’t detract from the image. 

            Okay, you get the idea.  Now here are a few ads that just didn’t do it for me…

http://www.tbcontinued.com/book/print_19_files/tnf_holiday.jpg

North Face…what?  Okay this chick looks exhausted and seriously unhappy. Not to mention FREEZING.  Where are her gloves?  You’re a multi-million dollar company that manufactures snow gear and you couldn’t give this poor girl gloves?  Her hands must be freezing! That circular metal thing is covered in ice! And the gear depicted…I wouldn’t want it.  What color is that jacket, anyways? And she needs chapstick.  This ad makes me fearful…if I buy North Face gear will I find myself in a similar predicament- freezing up on a mountain wearing a puke-colored jacket without gloves?  Look how cloudy it is! I don’t want to be this girl, I want to stick her in front of a fireplace and give her hot chocolate. Nice try, North Face, but you’re not gettin’ me up on that mountain.

http://www.designyourway.net/diverse/fastfood/mac-baby-ronald.jpg

No McDonalds.  Just no.  What were you thinking?  There’s basically no text on this ad, the tiny writing in the upper right hand corner makes me guess its an advertisement for a just-opening McDonalds.  But seriously?  A clown baby?  This image has unfortunately stamped itself on my brain, and I’m already having nightmares.  And I’m awake.  This ad does nothing for the product the company sells- show me a Big Mac, show me some fries.  Make me want to come to the new opening of McDonalds Kimaya, wherever the Hell that is. Instead, you’re making me want to stay far, far away.  I would write more but that baby is staring at me and I have to minimize the page.

Detriment to Debate

ORIGINALLY POSTED: Friday, January 28, 2011

Have We Lost the Concept of Debate?

     "Those are times you'll never forget- those debates you have at 2am with people on your floor."  Davin has brought it up in class a few times, and each time I wonder...when will these debates occur?  Will they ever?  Why haven't they yet?  So far the most constructive dialogue exchanged between me and other girls on the floor is something along the lines of "Oh my gaaahd, I wish they had paper towels in the bathroom."  After hearing that these debates do indeed exist and are a key and enjoyable component of the college experience, I began trying to spark some debates among my friends.

Simmons Dining Hall, 1/22/11, dinnertime

Friend #1: What is couscous, anyways?

Me: What is abortion, anyways?

Verdict: Unsuccessful.  My attempt at debate was shot down with a curious glance and an explanation of how Friend #1 thinks couscous is a protein.  Further research proved she was wrong, its technically a carb.

5th Floor Hiester, 1/24/11, afternoon

Roommate: This really cool show is coming on E! about women who like kill their husbands.  It looks trippy.  We're totally watching it.

Me: What do you think should happen to those women?  Do you think they should be given the death penalty?

Verdict: Unsuccessful.  My roommate then saw a commercial for a heart-shaped necklace and proceeded to rant about how she better get the "best Valentine's day present ever."

     One night at dinner my efforts finally paid off, and I was able to spark some debate about abortion.  Except no, to call it "debate" would be to use the word inaccurately.  It was more "people meekly stating how their parents feel about it, how the political party they identify with feels about it, stating that in that situation they would 'have no idea what to do and therefore can't judge' and then concluding by saying 'but whatever you guys believe is fine too!'"  Why have we become so hesitant to step on each others' toes?  To state what we think, how we feel?  Perhaps in a society that is becoming increasingly judgmental- about looks, about where you received your degree, about how many AP classes you took and how many extracurriculars you participate in- people are increasingly unwilling to dish out personal beliefs for fear that they'll be scrutinized as much as their SAT scores.  

     This fear to engage is any sort of impassioned exchange about our ideals is, ultimately, hurting us. Debating is an excellent way to exchange information and to broaden one's mind.  Without it, we will be left only with our narrow scope of half-formed ideas.