Save the Children

The textbook defines enargeia as the "figure in which rhetors picture events so vividly that they seem actually to be taking place before the audience." An online textbook defines it as "a rhetor's goal of arousing the passions within the audience to move them to act". This online textbook also references the Save the Children campaign and its use of enargeia.

Save the Children is a charity dedicated to enabling children caught in political turmoil and establishing long term recovery programs. I'm not sure how appropriate it is to parallel images and enargeia, but I will try to do so anyway. I found dozens of images from the Save the Children campaign that shook me. Here are some of them:

I believe that these images capture enargeia. They are packed with raw emotion, heartbreak, and fear. They are terrifying. These pictures absolutely arouse passion. They evoke incredible emotions and paint vivid pictures (literally) to the audience of turmoil. These photographs and the Save the Children campaign exercise the use of enargeia to bring to light tragic realities in the minds of a person.

In class this week, we focused a lot on advertisements of companies trying to convince a consumer to buy their product. I think there is an opportunity for deeper analysis of advertisements from charities. Save the Children is one of countless examples of these charities. This organization publishes photos in magazine ads and creates commercials to raise awareness. Save the Children uses enargeia to present striking photographs of children in need. This campaign is successful in a way that is different from the ads we analyzed in class. Becoming aware of the importance of Save the Children will motivate an audience to give to a cause; while promoting a product in an advertisement will simply motivate an audience to buy a product.

Photo sources: Save the Children

Coke vs. Pepsi

The United States soft drink obsession is dominated by Coke and Pepsi products. There is no doubt that these two companies are geniuses in marketing. Coke and Pepsi battle it out in taste tests and consumer satisfaction, seemingly trying to persuade their buyers about the better product. However, the ingenuity of these companies does not lay in their taste tests or consumer satisfaction. It relies in their polarization of the product. Consider this: Can you name any other soft drink company? Sure, grocery stores offer house brands. However, Coke and Pepsi not only dominate the world of soft drinks, they insinuate that it is either Coke or Pepsi- and nothing else.
If our choice is solely between Coke and Pepsi, then there should be a clear winner. Is it Coke? Or is it Pepsi? It's debatable. Both companies are highly profitable. Oddly enough, both companies have survived significant product failures...
In the late 1980's Coke launched a product called "New Coke" that was a complete marketing failure. New Coke should have been enough of a failure to let Pepsi grasp the reins of success, but it wasn't. Pepsi released Crystal Pepsi shortly after the New Coke fiasco. It failed miserably as well. Coke and Pepsi failed to properly analyze their audience, therefore failing to properly establish ethos.
I decided to take a closer look at the ethos behind New Coke and Crystal Pepsi. Coke hired Bill Cosby, the comedian of the decade, to endorse the product. Here is one of his commercials:

 Coke succeeded in hiring Bill Crosby. He asserts himself as an expert on Coca-cola. Bill Cosby was an excellent choice to represent the product.
In contrast, Pepsi used another facet of ethos. In one commercial, they interview everyday people about their reactions to Crystal Pepsi. These testimonials appeal to credibility of the product. Here is the commercial:



The success of these new products was minimal. Both New Coke and Crystal Pepsi had short lives on the shelves across America. Both companies failed to analyze their buying audience, yet succeeded in utilizing expertise and credibility in their ads. This is a great example of the complexity of ethos because we can succeed but ultimately fail, just like New Coke and Crystal Pepsi.
...Despite these failures, Coke and Pepsi remain the "super powers" of the soft drink world. What are your thoughts?

Obama & Energy Innovation

Barack Obama. Penn State. TODAY. I'm still pretty shocked that I had the opportunity to be there.

Liz, Michael, Sandra

Through a service, leadership, and social justice organization, I volunteered at the event. The volunteers were led by a White House staff member with a stunning Southern charm named Michael. Right off the bat, I noticed Michael's, what I call, "political attitude." When asked questions, Michael rarely gave clear answers. Time frames were indefinite. "I can neither confirm nor deny" was often stated. Although Michael is just a minor White House staff member, he still embodies the political attitude.

The "political attitude" is the use of the indefinite and wishy-washy. Politicians are geniuses at manipulating their language to dance around a point. Politicians make big promises with incomplete plans. Politicians assert ideologies but don't work to establish them in society. Michael, the White House official, embodied the political attitude on a minor level. President Barack Obama, however, is a trained professional.

Obama pleaded with the audience at Rec Hall to win the future. He asked that we channel our passion into the sciences, paralleling our passion for football. Obama called for the "better building initiative" to reduce the 40% of energy used to power homes and buildings in the breakdown of US energy consumption. He discussed an energy hub in Philadelphia that Penn State is partnered with to develop advanced technology.

I was definitely inspired by Obama. However, in class, we are encouraged to use precision and clarity in our language. We must present our ideas in an organized fashion to convey the strongest message. After today, I’m certain that politicians rely on a different rhetorical method. I believe politicians are their own sect of rhetors. Politicians are rhetors that use the "political attitude" to win over their voters.

The “political attitude” is without a doubt inspiring. However, I think that politicians are effective rhetors only against other politicians. We learn a discipline of rhetoric that demands precision and clarity, while politicians stray from that path, asserting ideologies and making big promises.

Michael, the volunteer supervisor, is already employing the “political attitude”. President Barack Obama is an expert at it. This morning, I not only volunteered my time to put on the President's Speech, I volunteered my time to learn a clear distinction among rhetors like me, and rhetors like politicians.

Eggs, Bacon, Toast, and My Hero.

This I Believe:
Enjoy :)

The Will of the Tunisian People

In Barack Obama's SOTU Tuesday night, he said of the Tunisian citizens "the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator." I just finished reading many articles on CNN about the current protests in North Africa. In class, we are writing This I Believe essays. These are concise, organized statements about our personal values. In North Africa, citizens are asserting their beliefs through a different medium: protest. The power of protest is inspiring, especially when citing the country of Tunisia.

The country of Tunisia formally presented itself as a Republic. Former President Ben Ali (ousted just recently from his 23 years in office) committed acts of corruption against the ideals of a Republic. The protests of Tunisian citizens began in mid December. Protesters are voicing their outrage against many faults within Tunisian society. Protests have escalated and led police to use brutality to control civilians. Despite the protests that have ended in violence, I am inspired by Tunisia.

I consider myself lucky to be a citizen of the United States. I believe I have access to many opportunities and the ability to voice my opinion. However, I don't know that I have ever done just that: voice my opinion. The oppressed Tunisian citizens managed to voice their opinions via protest and are in a complex process of improving their country. I'm not oppressed. I haven't protested. Reading these articles reminded me of my duty as a citizen and not just my privileges. I must protest what I view as unjust. I must model my own actions after the people of Tunisia.

I wish I could road trip to Washington DC right this very moment. However, I can't. I do know that the news coverage on these stories has brought to my attention the dire need for me to use my voice. Perhaps one day I will deliver a concise, organized speech in front of hundreds, calling for change. Perhaps one day I will spontaneously protest in my nation's capital against an unjust act. Until then, I'll follow news coverage on North Africa protests closely, edit my This I Believe, and store my knowledge of a citizen's duty in my mind.

Read up! Tunisia

The Art of Asking for Money

 As a part of Penn State Dance MaraTHON, I actively participate in fundraising. I am a member of an organization called Domani THON. Each year, students address THONvelopes to family and friends, asking for donations. I fell a bit behind and missed the deadline to send out THONvelopes. However, I can still reach out to family and friends via online donations. The operative phrase in that sentence is reach out. I have to decide what the best approach is to writing an email that will motivate my family and friends to make a donation online.

 This experience is reminding me of rhetoric's ethos and pathos. I am writing many drafts of this email that will reach dozens of loved ones; asking myself which method of rhetoric is more appropriate: ethos or pathos. If I employ ethos, I will focus mainly on the credibility and character of THON. I will explain its financial success, the overall mission, my personal involvement, and the practical need for fundraising support. If I employ pathos, I will focus mainly on the emotional appeal of THON. I will explain the grueling treatment of pediatric cancer, the overwhelming statistics for victims, and some of the individual stories of a Four Diamonds Family. Which rhetoric is more effective? Which rhetoric is more appropriate? Is a combination of ethos and pathos the best approach? It is surprising how complicated a simple plea for money can become. I am struggling to decide which is the best rhetoric approach. I do not want the email to be an inexpressive, boring plea for donations if I lean too heavily on ethos. In contrast, I do not want the email to be an overemotional, zealous plea for donations if I lean too heavily on pathos. My ultimate goal is to reach out to the my loved ones in the most effective way so that they can help me in my fundraising goals for THON.

 It boils down to this: Will my family and friends be more affected by an email that is sprinkled with ethos, or freckled with pathos?