TOW 16: "Maus" by Art Siegelman, Part 2.

              In the second half of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” he continues to tell the story of his father, Vladek, and his holocaust experience through visual texts and rhetoric. The events included in this section include Vladek’s release from a Nazi PoW camp, his attempts to hide himself and his family from the Nazi Gestapo, and his attempted escape to Hungary. The fact that this novel is derived from first-person accounts, as well as visual texts, makes for a reading experience much more powerful than it would otherwise achieve.

              Like many WW2 novels, this novel is aimed at bearing witness to the atrocities of the war, specifically, those committed against civilians. The graphics and visuals make it evident that this novel is targeted at a younger generation, a generation that may not have experienced the fear or hysteria that Spiegelman’s father had. Very few holocaust survivors remain, but Spiegelman’s interpretation of his father’s story is able to carry on the message.

              In addition to the ongoing extended metaphor of the Jews as mice and the Nazis as pigs and cats, Spiegelman implements visual representations in the second half. One example occurs on pg. 125. After Vladek’s neighborhood is emptied by the Nazi’s (they took all the Jews to concentration camps while Vladek and a few others successfully hid in secret places), the cartoons depict the roads in the shape of a swastika. This symbolizes how the Nazi’s did not only rob the Jews of their physical possessions and, in some cases, their lives, but they also transformed their identity and the way people think. This is also evident in the way the children chant “Heil Hitler.” Overall, the rhetoric is extremely powerful. Very few novels depict the genocide with the level of empathy that “Maus” does. It goes beyond being an eyewitness account, it puts the reader in the Jew’s place.

TOW 15: "Explosive Speed" Nike Advertisement (Visual Text)

              This advertisement features Neymar, one of the popular soccer players in the world, wearing the (then) new Nike Mercurial Vapor 8s. While explosions come from his footsteps, the slogan “explosive speed” is written beside him. The creators of this advertisement were the most shoe brand in the world, Nike.

              The audience intended for this advertisement is clearly soccer players. Who else would buy soccer cleats? The potential customers are supposed to look at the explosions coming from Neymar’s feet and think “Those cleats will make me run faster!” and look at Neymar himself and think “I want to be like him, so I should buy the cleats he wears.” This ad was launched at the same time as Nike released the Mercurial Vapor 8s. At the time, these were their latest soccer cleats. In order to attract the attention of customers, Nike employed rhetorical devices like hyperbole and ethos. The phrase “explosive speed” written on the side of the advertisement, along with the explosions under Neymar’s feet, are used to indicate that the wearer will be able to accelerate faster hen wearing these particular cleats. Explosions can expand at rates of up to 10,000 meters per second, much faster than a human could ever imagine running, and so this is a hyperbole. Nike also employs the ethos of Neymar. They try to imply that if Neymar uses these cleats and he is one of the best players in the world, then we should use them too.

              Nike’s add, while striking and admirable, is not very effective. Most of the audience knows that the only reason Neymar is wearing Vapor 8s is because Nike paid him too, and that does not make them any more appealing. Also, the “explosive speed” slogan is somewhat meaningless. The advertisement provides nothing to indicate that the cleats will actually make an athlete run faster. This advertisement is, like most of Nike’s, a way for them to flex their financial muscle.

TOW #14: Bernie Sanders and the Defeated Democrats (Visual Text)

         

               

               This cartoon features a trio of defeated donkeys (democrats) pondering how it would have been possible for them to win the election when their opponent, Donald Trump, was so good at connecting himself to the working class. While they conclude that nothing could be done, a worn and tattered poster of Bernie Sanders eyes them from a building behind them. The artist behind this cartoon is David Horsey, a graduate of the University of Washington and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

               Shortly after Hillary Clinton seized the Democratic Party’s nomination, it was revealed that the DNC intentionally rigged its primaries in her favor, and against Bernie Sanders. When Clinton lost the general election to Donald Trump, many pointed fingers at the DNC for nominating an “unelectable” candidate. Horsey’s cartoon expresses an idea that Sanders, who had shown fantastic skill at uniting himself with the people, would have fared better against Donald Trump than Clinton. Horsey uses this cartoon as an attack towards the DNC. In their effort to keep the nomination away from Bernie Sanders, they only hurt themselves.

              The artist uses dramatic irony in this cartoon to portray how obvious the DNC’s wrongdoings were. The donkeys, representing democrats, are wishing that Clinton had qualities that were specific to Sanders. If they knew that Sanders was watching them from the poster behind them, they wouldn’t be complaining. I think this cartoon is effective for a few reasons. Firstly, Clinton lost to Trump, this means the DNC’s evil paid off to nothing. Also, the leak showing that the DNC rigged its primaries hurt their nominee. Few people want to vote for someone who they felt was “cheating” in their campaign. Lastly, the cartoon emphasizes how Bernie’s advantages mirrored those of Trump, and how the DNC ignored the general anti-government feelings swelling in American voters.

TOW #13: "‘Black Lives Matter’—but Reality, Not So Much"

http://www.wsj.com/articles/black-lives-matterbut-reality-not-so-much-1441755075

This article was written by Jason L. Riley, an acclaimed African-American journalist who writes for The Wall Street Journal, the most trusted news outlet by both liberal and conservatives according to Business Insider. This article, titled “‘Black Lives Matter’—but Reality, Not So Much”, describes the flaws in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that has surged in popularity recently. The author, being black, has automatic credibility in being able to openly criticize the movement without public backlash. He goes on to explain why the movement is counterproductive by creating more problems for the people it supposedly helps as well as explain the dishonesty behind the movement’s motives.

              In 2014, Michael Brown of Fergusson, Missouri was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson. This event caused the BLM movement’s popularity to increase exponentially. All around the country protestors chanted the “Hands up, don’t shoot!” slogan that Michael Brown shouted before he was killed. The thing is, Michael Brown did not say this. As Riley explains in his article, “The reality is that Michael Brown is dead because he robbed a convenience store, assaulted a uniformed officer and then made a move for the officer’s gun.” Despite this story being a known lie, BLM continues to protest around the country two years later about rampant racism in America’s law enforcement. Riley writes this article to the protestors to show that their anger is unjustified.

              Some of Riley’s strongest rhetoric comes in his rapid-stating of facts. He says, “The reality is that a cop is six times more likely to be killed by someone black than the reverse. The reality is that the Michael Browns are a much bigger threat to black lives than are the police. Every year, the casualty count of black-on-black crime is twice that of the death toll of 9/11,” He then goes on to explain how the spread of BLM’s falsehoods has a negative impact on Black Americans. He says “New Orleans to Baltimore to St. Louis and Chicago. The Washington, D.C., homicide rate is 43% higher than it was a year ago.” He is overwhelmingly effective in his argument simply because he is able to eliminate his opponent’s (BLM’s) credibility, but also their support, which he does by explaining their falsehoods and their negative impact.

TOW #12: "Maus" Part 1

              Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” describes Art’s sessions with his father, Vladek Spiegelman, who tells him the story of his experiences as a Jew during the Nazis’ invasion of Poland in WW2. As someone who experienced the war himself, Vladek has the greatest Credibility possible, a first-person account. Art shares Vladek’s story of his engagement before the war, his call to action following the 1939 invasion of Warsaw, his capture by the Nazi soldiers, his time in the POW camp, and his liberation from the camp, all in the first half of this novel. Vladek’s incredible story, combined with Art’s artistic talent, got “Maus” the first ever Pulitzer Prize awarded to a graphic novel.

              “Maus” was written for a post-Holocaust world. The purpose, as is the case with most accounts of war, is to bear witness. Vladek’s story aims to give the average civilian an idea of how traumatic war truly is. “Maus” was published in 1991, 52 years after the German invasion. Expectedly, memories of the event had been slipping away ever since it happened, and Art aimed to use his father’s story to remind society of the dangers that it holds.

              This being a graphic novel, the rhetorical devices appear, for the most part, in picture form. The main use of rhetoric is the extended metaphor of Jews being depicted as mice (hence the title, “Maus”). The imagery used shows the Jews as a helpless minority at the mercy of not only the Nazi soldiers, but eventually their neighbors. This imagery is also used to depict the Nazi soldiers as pigs and cats. The lack of any human pictures conveys the dehumanizing nature of war. The imagery is so effective because of how well it utilizes our tendencies to associate the assigned animals with certain characteristics. This is aided by Art’s ability to depict emotion through facial expression on the creatures.

TOW #11: Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis"

              “The American Crisis” by Thomas Paine is written as an argument to why America should want independence from Great Britain. The majority of the first chapter consists of anecdotes from Paine’s experience in fighting battles and how the soldiers who were currently fighting in the revolutionary war should learn from them. Paine establishes his credibility early on by stating that he served as a soldier. He shares his stories from the battle of Fort Lee, in which the Americans were forced to retreat by the British in 1776.Thomas Paine is most widely known for his book “common sense” which outlines why it was logical for America to be independent from Britain.

              The audience of Paine’s book is quite clearly the American citizens, specifically soldiers, fighting for independence against the British. This becomes evident no later than the first sentence, “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” It is clear that this book was meant to be read during the miseries of war, times when the soldiers were freezing and hungry during the winter at Valley Forge.

              Paine motivates the soldiers with powerful diction that appeals to the readers’ pathos while also managing to connect with the soldiers reading it. He says “I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories.” This reassures the miserable soldiers that there is an end to their sufferings and that there is a purpose meant to their misery. This motivates the soldiers to push through and be victorious. One can only imagine the effect that such strong words would have had on someone shivering in their hut in Valley Forge. Paine’s writings are certainly a partial reason for America’s victory.

TOW #10: Jeff Sessions Could Reverse Years Of Progress On Marijuana Policy

Jeff Sessions Could Reverse Years Of Progress On Marijuana Policy

              This article discusses Jeff Sessions, President Elect Donald Trump’s choice for Attorney General, and his position on the legalization of Cannabis. Generally, the article criticizes Trump’s choice as Sessions has expressed very anti-cannabis ideas that contradict ideas set forth by Trump himself. This editorial was written by Matt Ferner, a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles who specializes in writing about drug law. He has written four pieces on the subject of cannabis so far this November.

              This article was written for the American People in a time of great turmoil. Protest regarding Donald Trump’s victory have taken place around the country. The author of this editorial criticizes one of Trump’s actions (appointing Jeff Sessions as the Attorney General) and speaks to Trump’s critics.

              Although the editorial criticized Trump, the author uses rhetorical devices to maintain credibility and eliminate the sense of bias. This is seen when the author quotes Representative Earl Blumenauer, who believes “Trump likely picked Sessions because of the senator’s views on immigration, not weed.” However, the author compares Trump’s decision to step back on Drug policy. He says “Donald Trump’s decision heralds a return to the worst days of the drug war.” He also criticizes Sessions himself with an anecdote that claims Sessions was accused of believing that “the Ku Klux Klan was acceptable until he found out members smoked marijuana.”

              The author’s point in writing this text is clear, to encourage people to take a stand against politicians who are fighting for what so many people (and a rapidly increasing number of people) don’t want. The author is successful in doing so by emphasizing Trump’s hypocrisy in appointing someone he doesn’t agree with, Sessions’ highly questionable opinion that smoking cannabis is the worst thing the KKK does, but also by recognizing another side of the issue and appealing to the opposition of the argument by explaining that Trump may not be that hypocritical after all.