Hayley Rathburn’s Blog

1. Although Stephen Jay Gould’s argument focuses on research about women’s brain size, the more important thing is what he says about the nature of how scientists think. He brings up the point that data and statistics can make a point valid, but they can easily be misinterpreted by the scientist according to which group [...]

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The film Mean Girls serves as a perfect example for Denby’s argument in his article “High School Confidential”. One of the main characters in the movie, Regina, fits Denby’s description of the popular, queen-bee of the school. She has two friends who are basically clones of her, and she dominates her realm because of her beauty, [...]

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1. Both Gerbner and Gitlin agree that “the main problem behind violence is virtual commercial monopoly over the public’s airways.” Gerbner states their agreement perfectly when he says, “The problem goes beyond violence, ratings, or any single factor, to the heart of the system. Television is driven not by the creative people who have something [...]

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1. The purpose of Anthony DiVivo’s poster is to motivate people to participate in TV Turnoff Week. The illustrations clearly address this purpose by showing a man changing from watching his television to going outside his house with his child.
2. The poster creates a very sarcastic tone through the small text at the bottom of [...]

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1. The interview does address the threat that “culture jammers might be disrupting a sports bar near you” by discussing situations in which people might turn off TV’s in public places. The interview also addresses appropriate times and places to turn televisions off.
2. The interviewer has a negative bias toward the device. Her bias is [...]

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1. In the first paragraph, Trubey makes an obvious attempt to appeal to his audience when he says, “…those of use who prefer our entertainment live, interactive and complete with DJs, vinyl and 30-foot speaker stacks…” This shows that he assumes his audience is college students who like to have a good time and party.
2. [...]

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1. By including a scene in a Woody Allen movie, Johnson succeeds in supporting and reinforcing his argument. Woody Allen is a smart, witty writer who actually follows Johnson’s point. By using one form of popular culture to examine another form, Johnson greatly benefits his argument.
2. The charts accompanying the essay illustrate Johnson’s point about [...]

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1. Robert Putnam establishes his credibility by referencing studies that have been made or other researchers, such as John Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey. And towards the end of the selection he includes a quote from a social critic named James Howard Kunstler.
2. Robinson and Godbey are cited in the selection. Their text is entitled Time [...]

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I agree with the representation of the relationship between the self and society. However, I think that an individual is influenced externally as well as internally by society. For instance, in Frontline’s video essay Merchants of Cool, the “midriff phenomenon” is brought up. Basically, entertainers and singers such as Britney Spears began wearing revealing clothing [...]

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1.      In “Corn-Pone Opinions”, Twain’s purpose is to make known his position on how people’s thoughts and actions are tremendously influenced by others.
2.      By changing from using the personal pronoun “I” to using “we”, Twain succeeds in first making known his opinion and then addressing everyone as a collective group in order to support his [...]

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