Reflective Essay

Reflection Essay The WRD 110 has been the most interesting and enjoyable 100 level courses that I have taken so far in my college career. The films and the readings provided in this course allowed me to apply what we learned on rhetoric to view the stories differently. The assignment on visual rhetoric is the one that stands out most in my memory, because before the moment I never thought about visual rhetoric or applied it to a visual project like the Last Meal Project. I will say that it didn’t lead me to view the campus community differently, because I had already been undergoing a change in my views do to other experience that occurred before this course. I did enjoy learning the different styles of communication, though I wish we had more time for our group speech. Learning about these styles, and putting them into practice, has improved my public speaking ability, especially my control of body language. The hands on style of Owen’s style pushed me out of my comfort zone and put me in a position to actually apply what I was learning. I would suggest that in future courses maybe have more discussions, but maybe highlight appropriate discussion techniques for the students. Now about the project…my biggest struggle was getting individuals from 4 Paws to respond to our group. Not much we could have changed about that. I have so proud of out documentary though, especially the editing and the quality of the interviews. I wish we could have filmed the families ourselves so we could have added more footage of them to the film. I was reasonable for the logistics such as scheduling interviews and filming times, citing our information, typing up and turning in our group assignments, compiling interview questions, and communicating with 4 Paws. I would say this is the best group I ever worked with! We were all very flexible and eager to help one another during the making of the film. I wish I could have been more involved with the editing and scheduled more interviews. However, I do feel I contributed a fair amount to the overall project, and I feel everyone else did as well. I wish they could be in all my groups!

Donated Videos(From 4 Paws in Ohio)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/efY99zGKjag" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Music Video

The longest shot is about 30 seconds long...maybe just 24.

Cites

References

·         Woodrum, Brittany. Personal interview. 01 November 2014.

Brittany is one of 4 Paws current fosters. She provides insight on how to train the dogs for their future duties. She also shares her own experience as a foster.

·         4 Paws for Ability at the University of Kentucky. 4 Paws for Ability. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

The 4 Paws chapter at UK’s website is where most of the basic information is gathered for the documentary. It has the names of all the dogs currently on campus, tells the history of the group itself, and speaks on the group’s mission. All this information will be briefly used in the documentary.  

·         Bright, Logan. Personal interview. 01 November 2014.

Logan is the founder of 4 Paws at UK. She knows what the dogs of this chapter will be used for after they graduate. Has some insight on what some of the graduated dogs are doing now.

·         Shirk, Karen. Personal interview. 01 November 2014.

Karen Shirk is the founder of 4 Paws. She is also the owner of a service dog for her own disabilities and the disabilities of her children. She has insight into training the dogs and being the owner of one. 

4Paws Group Contract

Group Contract

            This contract outlines the areas of development that the 4Paws group members are responsible for managing. This does not mean that the other members will not perform tasks in each area, but the managing member will ensure that the tasks are being completed correctly and in a reasonable time frame.

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Filming/Editing Coordinator: Betsy Evans will oversee the selection of areas and times for filming and editing. She will make sure that the equipment/shot coordinator has been contacted so that the filming members know what they need for each filming session and know what angles to use. She will check the progress of film editing and ensure the edits are sent to the members who need them.

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Shot/Equipment Coordinator: Alyssa Hiser will monitor the usage of equipment and ensure that any rented items are returned before deadlines. She will consult with group members on techniques to get the shots that are planned ahead of time. She will also make sure that the appropriate equipment is given to members for their specific task.

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Interview Coordinator: Reacheal Dawnson will oversee the development of the questions to be used for the documentary’s interviews. She will book the audio recording rooms at Young Library when needed for the group. She will work with the logistic coordinator to contact the persons to be interviewed and the members that will be performing the interview.

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  Storage/Storyboarding Coordinator: Gabriella Passidomo will oversee the development of the storyboard. She will ensure that the storyline is followed during editing and that all members have contributed to the creation of the storyboard. She will check with members to see if they have backed up information on to the pre-selected storage systems.

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Logistic Coordinator: Lynsey Bates will oversee communication between group members and the individuals who are willing to be in the group’s documentary. She will set up a cloud storage space, email, and google calendar for the group’s use and will ensure that all information is correct. She will summit all information that is due for the group’s project. She will type/send/review all information that is worked on by the group such as the project’s citations. 

My Last Meal

I found the second project, The Last Meal Project, because it not only showed you the last meals but the photos of the individuals. The first one, No Seconds, is photographed so it looks like you are sitting and having the meal itself. While No Seconds gave you the feeling of having the last meal yourself, The Last Meal Project showed the humanity of the people receiving these meals. The placement of the foods on the bottom half of the photos insures that your eyes will be draw to their faces first. The red color and large font draw your eyes to it second, leaving the meal itself last. This set up clearly shows the author’s view of the death penalty. The random facts they add throughout the project also explains their view and the font color and size keeps you interested so you just don’t skip over it.
The first project appears to focus more on the meals themselves, and the author seems to have a more neutral stance, compared to The Last Meal Project.  The font and small and black, the food is the only item in the pictures. The photos of the meals are also larger than the words making it the focus.  As I said before it is shot at an angle that creates the illusion you are eating the meal yourself. The décor in the photo also add to the realistic feeling that you are having your last meal.  While you are having this feeling that you are about to have your last meal your eyes are causally drawn to the words on the right hand side of the photo. It is draw because it is an unusual photo that you associate with old newspapers so it works as a novel stimulus to draw your eyes over.
Unlike the second project, the text isn’t as important in the author’s mind. I say this because the font is a simple black color and very small. It takes several seconds before it catches your eye. I believe this author may have a similar stance on the death penalty as the Last Meal Project’s author…but this one appears to be asking you to reflect, or put yourself in the place of this people who are enjoying their last earthly pleasure.

Reflection

My video ended up being corrupted so I will do my best to assess my speech from memory and the comments you gave me. First off I felt my speech wasn’t as coherent as I would have liked it to be. I had practiced with my roommates, but when I got in front in the class I just blanked. This is the first time since my own freshman year that this had happened. I am use to giving informative speeches on research information so I think I was just out of my comfort zone, which is a good thing. I now know that I am going to have to practice even more when I ever have to give a similar type of speech again. Second, I understand that I didn’t move around as much as I should have. I have a habit of pacing so I was trying to avoid doing that and ended up doing it too well.
Third, I can’t completely remember, but I think I may have used filler words a few times as I was trying to recall my points…after I had blanked earlier. I also, as mentioned in your comments, wasn’t very persuasive in my speech. I spoke about my own excitement and feelings about my topic, but didn’t really ‘tell’ the class why they should have been. I think I was focused more on just getting the speech done and practicing projection/body placement that it honestly just slipped my mind. To better my speech I would have to have analyzed my speech more and worked on making it less informative and more persuasive. I also should have simply practiced it more to find a happy medium between pacing and standing still.

NBA Nerds

I will start with the main point of this article. Wesley Morris is examining how people of color’s self and social identities are undergoing a kind of evolution today. He points out that these new attitudes are being symbolically represented by the new styles (clothing styles) of NBA players. You normally wouldn’t think of changing the clothes you were would be a political statement, but it has been used many times to get points across. For example: when woman first starting wearing pants they were symbolically showing their demand for equality; Native Americans began wearing traditional clothing, or items of clothing, to protest the assimilation that was forced upon them…the list could go on. These small changes speak volumes on an unconscious level, and Morris is pointing out this is happening again.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand visual rhetoric, but I try to think of it almost like an installation piece in the fine art community. The images someone chooses to present to us be it a painting, sculpture, or the clothes they wear can speak to use as much as a speech can…just in a more unconscious level. This change in style of NBA players, and rappers as Morris also pointed out, is a visual way to combat stereotypes. It speaking two different old attitudes at once: it is saying that people of color are and can be successful, educated individuals’ not just athletes and that being rich/successful etc. isn’t selling out or abandoning their racial identity.

Renata Salecl and George Takei

    The two speeches I chose to blog about are Our Unhealthy Obsession with Choice presented by Renata Salecl and Why I Love a Country that Once Betrayed Me presented by George Takei. The first speech was okay, the main point is that we are so worried about our own future that we make choices that hurt our society as a whole. The second the speech was a wonderful speech, the main point was how George’s love for our country came from a very horrible act that America committed. They both did better than I will probably ever do, but George did a better job than Renata in my opinion.

    Renata had some very positive aspects presenting her speech. She had a very strong introduction, creatively highlighting what she was going to be discussing in her lecture time. She used stories to keep the audience attention because they could relate to it. She makes pretty good eye contact with the audience and had a good conclusion that tied her points together. On the flip side she swayed a lot while she spoke, making it really difficult to watch her. It was almost overwhelming. She also didn’t have very decisive movements with her hands…sometimes it seemed she was just moving, to move. Not to emphasis points or keep audience attention. The body was also unclear. It seemed to be a lot of filler to use the time given to her…kinda like this blog post.  In the future, I feel Renata needs to work on her body language, so that her audience will focus on the information and not her constant movements. She should also work on the ‘meat’ of her speech, so that her point is noticed before her conclusion.  

     George on the other hand did a wonderful job, probably because he is an actor and trained to do monologues. His introduction was immediately engaging and began the extremely vivid language he uses throughout the speech. He does stand in one place, but when he does move it is decisive and emphasis his points. He doesn’t use any visual aid, but the vividness of his language made it unnecessary to use one. The body of his speech was also very clear, easy to follow and to understand how he was tying the details into a bigger picture. His conclusion was also very strong and highlighted the points made in his speech again. The only problems I saw in his speech where the random pauses he has while he is speaking, and how he would begin a word then switch to a different one. I’m sure these were ways he avoided filler words such as ‘umm’ and ‘like’. However, it confused me at certain times and I thought my computer was messing up. It also called his confidence into question at times. To improve in the future all I think he needs to do is practice his speech a little more to avoid these problem. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/renata_salecl_our_unhealthy_obsession_with_choice#t-786762

http://www.ted.com/talks/george_takei_why_i_love_a_country_that_once_betrayed_me

'Leaked' Nude Celebrity Photos

I could honestly hug Scott Mendelson for writing his piece Jennifer Lawrence Nude Photo Leak Isn't A 'Scandal.' It's A Sex Crime. His article discusses how the 'leaking' of these photos are a crime because they were stolen, not accidentally posted on social media. Leaked is a passive word used by mainstream media to divert the guilt of the individual who stole the photos of these women, and shame the victims for taking/letting these photos get into the public sphere. It may seem silly, but word choice can really effect the way we as the reader interpret the the story. An example would be if I wrote that personal celebrity photos have been stolen, compared to nude celebrity photos have been leaked. In essence I'm saying the same thing, but my choice in words change the way the reader feels or understands the story.
Scott Mendelson did a wonderful job telling, in my opinion, the true story. He discusses how everyone has the right to privacy. Whether in the home or in their storage files on their computers. These women didn't post these pictures on a social media site, it appears they were never intended for public use. Yet, we don't shame the thief who stole them. Instead we, as a society, blame the victims for what happened. How dare these beautiful women take naked photos of themselves and let them get stolen. I agree with Mendelson, that attitude toward the situation is absurd. The blame lays wholly on the thief. Pure and simple.
Again I want to applauded Mr. Mendelson for writing this piece. I can't get over how refreshing it is to read a piece that calls out mainstream media for the way they are reporting this crime  and discusses how this crime isn't the victims fault. We all have the right to privacy, and when that right is violated it is the fault of the person who violated it...not the victims. Also, these photos weren't leaked, and this isn't a scandal. They were stole and posted on sites against these women's wishes, making it a sex crime.

Intro and Icebreaker

Hello!
My name is Lynsey Bates and I am a second semester Junior here at UK. I transferred here from Northern Kentucky University, and because of that I am having to retake this course...though this will be the first time I have taken ENG 101 via blog. I am a psychology major and on track to attend grad school here for Clinical Psychology. I am originally from a small town called Grayson, Ky which sits so far east it's almost in West Virginia. For the icebreaker I chose the song On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons. I chose this song because I'm very excited to be back in school and on track to achieve my academic goals.