Clare's Blog

Religion is a hard word to define, but to me religion is anything that someone believes in and guides his or her life.  I think that religion shapes the way you live and how you see the world.  From this definition almost anything can be qualified as a religion so long as it defines that person’s life.  Some people say that religion needs a higher being, but I think it just has to be something that you orient your life around.  You could make a religion out of coffee if you oriented your life around it.

The film “Religulous” is a documentary by Bill Maher about his opinion of religion.  Maher feels the need to redefine religion because he is very unsure of what his beliefs are himself.  He has a lot of doubt and is trying to get other people to question religion.  One of the big questions that he is asking is why does religion affect people the way it does.  Throughout the whole documentary the point is made that religious people are crazy for what they believe and that they don’t think and just have faith.  This is where the term “religulous” comes from, that to Maher religion is ridiculous.  He is mocking religion and saying how stupid it is that people believe what they believe.  Religion and “religulous” are different according to Maher because “religulous” is religion taken to the extreme.  People can be religious and be perfectly normal whereas “religulous” is those that are so radial and crazy that it is not normal.  In his film he is focusing on the “religulous.”

Maher’s argument is that religion is not full proof and that it comes at a price.  This is most clearly conveyed when he is interviewing different religious people.  To me I thought that this was well shown when he was interviewing the truck stoppers.  Maher asked them questions that are difficult to answer and make the person look stupid.  When in reality some of those questions simply can’t be answered because a major part of religion is faith.  Faith is believing without seeing and not having straightforward proof.  The violent images like the terrorist attacks are an excellent display of how religion is destructive.  Maher makes his point that these people who are so called religious are doing such horrible things.  The one statement Maher makes that stands in my mind the most is “religion must die for people to live.”  This is very interesting because most people would say that religion is good for people, but Maher describes it as being destructive.  His target audience is people who are on the fence of religion and are doubting their faith and beliefs.  I think his intended audience would be persuaded by this aspect because it shows that you cannot prove religion and how messed up religion can make some people.  Maher shows the negative side of religion and distorts the positive side to make it appear negative.  The way that he uses satire and makes the film funny helps to persuade the audience as well because it gets them to become more open to his argument.

This documentary reached me on some level because I understand that not everyone is going to believe in religion, but it was hard to listen to what he was trying to say because he is very offensive.  It really bothered me that he compared the Bible to fairy tales.  One aspect that helped his argument was the fact that he didn’t critique just one religion.  The film made me think about how my life would be different if I didn’t have faith in God and if I had doubt.  I think that it would be very lonely and scary because you have no one guiding you, and in a way I felt kind of bad for Bill Maher at the end because he is so lost.

I think the argument that M.I.A’s song “Paper Planes” is arguing is that some people have to sell, smuggle drugs, and even kill to make a living because they have no other options available to them.  The music video shows people walking with suitcases, making me think that the song is mostly referring to immigrants.  She also talks about the borders and trains, which are references to immigrants.  It shows the type of people that you would see living on the streets.  A lot of times immigrants come into the country with little to no education and have a difficult time finding a job where they can make enough money to live off of.  So they resort to hustling, drug dealing, smuggling drugs, becoming hit men, and other illegal activities.  In the video you see deals going down with exchanging of jewelry and something wrapped up in tin foil.  The gun shot noise makes me think it is a reference to killing for money, since right after that is the sound of the cash register and the visual of the cash.

M.I.A became very popular when the movie Pineapple Express came out, because the song “Paper Planes” was in it.  Immediately after the movie was released the song became very popular with teenage to college-aged kids.  I think that is the main audience for M.I.A’s song because that was the main audience for the movie and is where most people first heard “Paper Planes.”  I would definitely consider myself to be in this audience because I have this cd and listen to it all the time.  I think almost everyone around my age has heard this song at least once. Most people older than that generation probably have never heard of this song, so I would not think it is targeting them.  Although I do not think that most teens and 20 year olds actually listen to the words that closely.  I know that I did not realize that this song had such a complex meaning until just now.  I always just though it was about getting high, like in the movie Pineapple Express.  Every time I hear this song it reminds me how hilarious the movie is.  I always think to myself, I really need to buy that movie.  The song just makes me relaxed and chill like after smoking a joint.  You just forget whatever is going on and enjoy life, which is very weird because of what the song actually is talking about and means.  I think that I will just always associate “Paper Planes” though with Pineapple Express.

Using music and music videos is a very creative way to get your message out and to have it heard by many people.  I think that is why she chose to make a song about this argument and then a music video to go along with it.  Music videos just make the song itself that much more powerful and moving.  I think that it is very effective in reaching its target audience because teens and young adults love music and music videos.  My generation is very influenced by what we hear and see entertainment wise.  I think that if she had tried to make her argument any other way to this audience it would have not worked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGKVpTRe8GM

The video clip that I chose to use for this second blog is a music video from the Into the Wild Soundtrack.  It is for the song “Society” sung by Eddie Vedder.  I think that the target audience for this music video and the song “Society” is anyone who feels that our world has completely become off track and for those who have a special appreciation for nature and getting away from what we call “regular life or the real world”.  The target audience could be someone of any age, they just have to have a deep understanding and drive to get out of the society and the mess that we live in today.  The audience member could be somewhat considered an outcast or loner because they do not want to participate in all this shit that goes on in our world.  I would consider myself a part of this audience because sometimes I just want to go off on my own.  Obviously I am a part of society by going to school, working, and everything else, but sometimes I want to give it all up to just go and be out in nature.  I used to want to be a park ranger in high school and live in Montana or Wyoming away from everything.  I have a park I go to at home that overlooks a river and I go there a lot to just think and be alone. That is kind of like my mini version of this song.  The audience that Eddie Vedder is trying to reach is a rare breed, but they are out there.

I think the argument that he is trying to prove is that society is so messed up.  The world, especially America is so obsessed with material things.  People are never satisfied with what they have.  They are constantly wanting more and more.  He is saying that is wrong and a bad way to live life.  This song was written for the soundtrack, Into the Wild, which is about Christopher McCandless.  Eddie Vedder is singing about how Chris feels and it explains why he decides to leave and go to Alaska and live off the land for 113 days.  The story of Christopher McCandless is a true story, which has been turned into a book and a movie.  The music video is clips from the movie.  McCandless gave up his whole life, gave away and burned his money, invented a new name for himself.  He graduated from Emory University and was supposed to go to graduate school, but he had other plans for himself.  He did not want to live in our society, instead he chose to hitch hike and live off of almost nothing but the clothes on his back and whatever he carried in his backpack, which was mostly books.  This is the ultimate story of leaving society.  I think the argument that Vedder sings about is a very moving and touching one.  At least for me, it makes me want to stop my life, and go do something similar to what Christopher McCandless did.  Especially after watching the movie or reading the book, I just want to go be in nature alone and be away from the rest of the world.

The primary rhetorical strategy used in this music video is pathos because the song really hits at the viewers emotions.  After seeing the video it makes the viewer realize how messed up society really is.  People don’t normally think about society in this way, but it is true.  We are a greedy people.  It makes people think about how gluttonous they are, and that they should either change or leave society like McCandless decided to do.  I think that Vedder uses pathos as his primary rhetorical strategy for his intended audience because his audience is those who already realize how screwed up society is, so he wants them to feel that even more and do something about it.  Emotions are very strong motivators in getting people to change.  I do not think that I would consider Eddie Vedder apart of his intended audience because he was in Pearl Jam, is a famous singer, and therefore is a major part of society today.

I found this ad on Google by searching different topics that interest me.  I was searching Petco ads when I found this one, but the place where the ad is actually found is on a Great Dane breeder’s website. It is an advertisement for Petco to take your pet on Valentines Day and get a photograph taken of them to have, and then you receive a free Valentine for someone special.  The target audience is anyone with a pet, but most likely dog owners.  I would be considered a member of that audience because I have three cats, two dogs, and a horse. Basically I am a huge animal lover.

I think that this ad is an appeal to pathos because the picture is so adorable and any animal lover would be attracted to it.  Seeing the giant Great Dane holding a valentine in his mouth as if he is giving it to the smaller dog dressed in a dress, touches your heart.  The viewer cannot help but fall in love with the picture.  The poster itself is very simple with a white background and writing.  It is the picture of the dogs that makes the ad grab the viewers’ attention.  This is done on purpose because people would rather look at a delightful picture of two dogs than plain text.  I really love this ad and can relate to it because I used to have a Great Dane, and so anytime I see a Great Dane I get really excited and it reminds me of what an amazing animal it is.

The ad’s objective is to make dogs and pets in general be considered like family and people.  This is something that many pet owners do already, and so by seeing this ad that is just intensified.  People have very strong emotions towards animals and specifically pets.  It is hard to say no when an animal is staring you in the face saying take me home, and this advertisement works the same way but instead making the owner take his or her pet to get their picture taken.  The advertisement accomplishes it pathos appeal because the viewer thinks, “Wow that is so cute.  I want to go and take my pet to get their picture taken at Petco for Valentines Day.”  The viewer visualizes his or her own pet as the one giving or receiving the valentine.  For me, I see Cooper, my Great Dane and Great Pyrenees mix as the one giving the valentine to another dog friend of his.  This ad is very happy, makes almost anyone smile, and just brightens the viewer’s day.  Even if the owner decides to not go and get their pet’s picture taken, the next time they have the choice of Petco and Petsmart, they will likely pick Petco because of this ad.  This ad does a very good job of getting people’s attention and getting its point across because of its use of pathos.

http://www.pchgreatdanes.com/Funpics2.htm     You have to scroll down to see the picture.

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