The Power of Thirty Seconds

http://lahori-fun.blogspot.com/2010/06/funny-wallpapers.html

When I try to persuade people, I assert a lengthy argument to haze their minds. However, more I try to convince people with my logic, more they run away from my argument further. Probably, my logic may not be convincing but the major reason would be the fact that people don’t want to listen to other people for the most of time. For this reason, sometimes, a short, brief, and direct message can appeal more strongly to the audience than a 45-minute-lecture does and the commercials on TV and Internet prove the power of thirty minutes to attract people.

While I was trying to pick the best commercial for the my analysis project, I had a hard time to find the one that I like most, since the majority of the commercials were so powerful and impressive. I used to think of those commercials as just fun attractions until I learned how to analyze those ads in LA101H class. Briefly speaking, I have to say that those brilliant ads appeal not only to people’s ethos but also appeal to pathos, and logos in thirty seconds. In order to get people’s attention, some commercials illustrate some sexual contents, such as the car commercial that is provided below. Due to the limited time offered, we can’t blame on the companies that make those sexually expressed commercials.

Throughout the huge impact of the mass media, we are being exposed to the commercials and ads all the time and those commercials became a part of our life and culture. As we know, Super Bowl festival is not only about football but we also talk about which commercials were the greatest in that year.

These commercials are fun and give the important lesson for us. A short, but powerful message can be more efficient than a long, logical argument in many cases.

Rhetorical Critique on Advertisement

Reference: Ch.11, Rhetoric and Civic Life

I get annoyed whenever there are some ads on the side of the web sites (probably I'm not the only one). Some of those ads even pop up in the middle of the page and you can't close it unless you click the 'x' button at the corner. However, sometimes those 'x's are so small that you sometimes end up visiting the website. I don't like those ads not only because I'm not interested in what they are trying to say but also because of the quality of those ads.

According to the textbook, there are many ways to support your ideas with evidence. You may support your idea, or ads in this case, with facts, definition, examples/testimonies, and statistics. I know it could be hard to attract people within a few seconds and the companies are only given small spaces to advertise themselves. However, the ads should not misrepresent intentionally to encourage people to misunderstand what the companies are advertising. Here is the example:

Did Good really pay you $150/Hour? I know it is a joke but there are some people who actually believe those advertisement and get hurt financially. Those internet-based ads have been misrepresenting their ads for a long time, and I think ads lost their credibilities and their voice. In this case, we could relate this to ethos. Those ads used to be valid but they gained bad reputation therefore those ads don't really appeal to our logic. Moreover, they sometimes use inappropriate photos of naked women to draw more attention from people.

My point is that their obnoxious behavior hurt not only themselves but the internet-bade ads market itself. More it gets bad reputation, more it will lose its credibility. It would be better if the government put some regulations on the internet-baded ads market so that it could benefit both sellers and buyers efficiently.

Efficient Way to Take Advantage of Ethos

Brilliant Way to Be a Cool Parent

I would say it is a social norm for a parent to be rational, righteous, and wise when she is with her children. Of course, it should be this way, since the children will learn from what their parents have done and said. Though I am not parenting any child(I do not have one yet), I can feel the pressure the parents may have in the situation; and, I would say, the pressure exists until the day she dies. In order to keep that life-time responsibility, the parents should find a way to be more engaging with their children, and be good examples for their children. However, human beings are meant to be make mistakes and it is really hard to not make any mistake for the entire of life after someone has a baby! BUT, don't panic. I have a one advice for you.

I have seen many parents who tend to order their children to do something rather than persuade or ask their children to do things. Facing the problems (exigencies) with childrens, parents are given a choice to speak up or not say anything; but they usually speak up to fix the problems they found from their children. In this situation, if they speak out, the parents are feeling obligated to use their situated ethos which is a parenting position. Parents speak out not necessariliy because they fully understand the situation their childrens are situated, but because they think it is supposed to do as parents and they know it will work since they are parents.

I understand it is difficult to understand where their 3 years old children are situated but you can do better job if your children are more grown up. By the time when the children are old enough to understand your intention, it is better to talk with them instead of speak to them. In this case, I would say, it is efficient to create invented ethos to appeal to the children. For example, when you talk to your high school kids you could say:

"When I was in highschool -"

Remind your children that you were also a highschool student back in those days.

Then the next part is critical. The parents are better to speak with a first person vocie rather than a second person voice. In other words, it appears to be more humane, humble, and humane to say "I," than "You." By saying "I" while you are speaking, it will shorten the distance between you and your children. Then, try to tell some personal stories to them when you have a trouble with them. I personally feel that it would have been better if my parents could have told me about themselves more than they did (I heard and learned about them more from my grandparents than they told me directly). Since I am not a parent, so I clearly don't hold an authority speak out to the parents, but being as a child, I might have a weak situated ethos to suggest my idea!

Think about it! Adjust to in your situation! Try it!

An Exigence Needs Its Kairos

Martin Luther King Jr. was a smart rhetor

Photo & History Reference: The King Center

We use rhetoric to deliver a message to a person or a group of people. When we deliver the message to people, we focus on a particular issue for a specific group of people; then, the chosen group sense an exigence in the provided rhetoric. In this process, appealing an exigence to the audience requires some efforts not only to clarify the audience but to find an appropriate timing which we call "Kairos." A rhetoric should deserve a fitting response for an exigence as long as it is delivered to the rhetoric audience at the right moment. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the good rhetors who took advantage of the power of kairos.

In the early-mid nineteenth century, there was a man who took a great advantage of the kairos for his issue. His name is Martin Luther King Jr. and he is known for his famous speeches, such as, I have a dream. How could he have done so many works and became a main figure of African American activist? His life routine explains how the things have worked out well.

Martin Luther King Jr. and His wife, Coretta Scott King

Being an exceptionally smart student, Martin Luther King Jr. went to a college when he was fifteen years old. Then, he was mentored by Howard Thurman who was a civil rights leader. Martin Luther King Jr. learned about the civil rights from Mr. Thurman and Gandhi's non-violent activism inspired MLK later when he went to India. In this process of recognizing the world, he recognized the exigence for him (active perceiver) and decided to call for the change (active rhetor). MLK believed the exigence could be fixed through discourse. By the time, when MLK was building up his social connections, the basic human right for the Blacks was raised but not fixed. Under Jim Crow Laws, which is known for its "separate but equal" policy, MLK created organizations, such as, SCLS (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), to raise the attention of people who are his rhetorical audiences. The size of a group of his rhetorical audiences was significantly large due to the work of other activists, such as Rosa Park, also raised the attentions; moreover, his exceptional writing skill was also a plus factor for his success.

Martin Luther King Jr. raised the attention for the exigence at the perfect time with his powerful voice. I dare to say MLK wouldn't have been as successful as he was if he was born little earlier or little later. This case teaches us the importance of kairos in a rhetoric situation.

Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)