Blog#4 The Tropes Are Coming!

A Pigment of My Imagination
To date, I have a good handle on C.R.A.P., or maybe an idea of how to apply the principles. My thoughts about C.R.A.P. were limited until I started reading about “C.R.A.P.” principles in Robin Williams book, Non-Designer’s Design & Type Books (13). Understanding the acronym is easy, but spreading the C.R.A.P. around by design is another. I struggle with the learning curve for good C.R.A.P. in design, and hope I get better at spreading the C.R.A.P.
My last project had firm, solid C.R.A.P. principles, but I failed to hold true to the C.R.A.P. rules. Had I applied the visual images of the C.R.A.P. long enough; my audience might have been won over to my C.R.A.P. persuasion. However, I assumed that my C.R.A.P. images could stand-alone. According to Charles Hill (The Psychology of Rhetorical Images), long-term persuasion messages needed to draw a parallel with the relationship with long-term strategies (36). I created my presentation based on visual effects over content, oh C.R.A.P! I failed to take into consideration how the effects of my flashy C.R.A.P. would possibly be short lived. Hill goes on to state, “an emotional appeal will often result in a new conviction or acceptance of a controversial claim only as long as the triggered emotions last” (39). Had I applied that strategy with my C.R.A.P. principles, my presentation would have been more effective. Surely, this meant my content was not well thought out C.R.A.P.
If I have learned anything, it is that C.R.A.P. principles need to share a relationship with any space, medium, or form. One thing I truly missed was the immediate verbal context. According to Birdsell and Groarke (Toward the Theory of Visual Argument), the verbal context acts as an interpreter to the images (6). I learned that without the proper context to back up my images, my presentation doesn’t mean C.R.A.P!
Identity Theft!
I chose to Google “Google” to see what this entity is all about. The commonality of “Google” has seeped into our everyday lives. The mighty entity falls under the trope of identity. The link, http://www.google.org, is fascinating. Their identity is rather clever, a sort of “hypostasized” world if you will. Following the links, one can look to “Google Flu Trends,” or “Google Power Meter.” If you’re not sick of the “third person” analogies, just keep clicking! The term Google is a world with a world of Google! What? According to Ilana Snyder (Page to Screen), identity trope pushes connectivity across domains, cultures, associations, and through people as well (115). It is as if Goggle has multiple personalities! They cast this incredible net of unity by naming everything Google. Google is a household name, possibly in every country that has the Internet. When you surf Google Trends, do you get trends or Googlized [sic] trends? I think I made up the word Googlized! [sic]. Google could really identify with most of Snyder’s tropes as they have normalized the contextual framework of the web.
Google is not the only troped-up [sic] entity out on the web. Chevy Trucks rocks the term “hyperbole” with their official website (http://www.chevy.com). After turning my calendar to “Truck Month,” I found there really is a “thirteenth” month. Chevy has “cornered” the market on truck sales through their allusive tactics. Does truck month fall after the new tax year? Clicking on the link (Read Our Stories), one would think they are all related at Chevy! This passage came from their story section, “Some "toys" used to abuse parts are highly technical: machines that mimic vibration or glorified refrigerators and microwaves to test how parts react to extremes.” What? How can anyone mimic vibrations like a “glorified refrigerator?” Their stories follow the same rhetoric as the advertisements, and one would deduce they make the stuff up! I really wish someone would invent a “Homework Free Zone” at the end of “Truck Month” so I can follow the “Google Trends” and have more time to work on my “Glorified Refrigerator.”
Works Cited

Birdsell, David, and Leo Groarke. “Toward a Theory of Visual
Argument.” Paul Muhlhauser, Ph,Doctor. 1996. Web 17 Sept. 2010.
http://www.paulmuhlhauser.org/355/Readings/birdandgroar.pdf

Google.org - Google Technology-Driven Philanthropy. 2010. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. .
Hill, Charles. "The Psychology of Rhetorical Images." Paul Muhlhauser, Ph,Doctor. 2004. Web 11 Sept. 2010. .

“Our Stories." 2010 Cars, SUVs, Trucks, Crossovers & Vans | Chevrolet. 2010. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. .

Snyder, Ilana. Page To Screen. Paul Muhlhauser, Ph,Doctor. 2001. Web 24 Sept. 2010. www.paulmuhlhauser.org/475/Readings/Burbules.pdf

Williams, Robin. The Non-designer's Design & Type Books: Design
and Typographic Principle for the Visual Novice; Two Award-winning, Best-selling Books on Design and Type. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2008. Print.

Blog#3-DSM ΙV-Affect Transfer Disorder

One of the best uses of “affect transfer” in advertisement I found comes from the Web Media Brands website. On this site, students from the University of Texas (Advertising Program) designed an Orion Telescope ad.  The students took a symbolic moment in history and exploited it through a series of images. 

  The intent is clear: Orion sells the best lenses and telescopes. The viewer’s eyes are immediately pulled through the images. Looking at the moon with the viewing power of 200x, the image looks original. At the viewing power of 400x, the viewers see an iconic image of America’s first successful moonwalk, the American flag.  Finally, at 800x viewing power, the horrifying reality of the American flag having been produced in China.

  The image is manipulative and invokes many emotions.  However, viewers might form mental images (based on fear) that China was truly the first nation to make their mark on the moon (Hill 6). In addition, viewers might feel betrayed at concept that America has been outsourcing jobs longer than previously thought. Will the image of the American flag conjure up the idea of Orion Telescopes? According to Charles Hill (The Psychology of Rhetorical Images), advertisers want to “Transform” the consumer (7). The idea is to push consumers to purchase their products without thinking. Hill indicates buying “their product” will eventually become instinctive (7).

  Despite what the intentions of Orion or the students from the University of Texas, the image is thought provoking. According to Charles Hill (The Psychology of Rhetorical Images), exploiting images and emotions in advertisement creates relationships (6). The purpose is to persuade viewers to buy their telescopes with effective use of associations. Viewers can only contemplate the many questions of: Does Orion make a telescope that can see the moon? Can anyone buy them? Was the American flag used in the Apollo 11 mission really made in China? Does China know about this? What cultural implication does this have? Has America been outsourcing for years? Is this real? 

   One thing is for sure; the affect transfer process is now complete. As a viewer, I have been consumed with questions since viewing this photo.  I may not buy an Orion telescope, but my thoughts are surrounded by the power of the message and the product. Lastly, Orion drives the point home with the iconic cultural acceptance that their product is American made!

Works Cited

Chump, Matt, and Nancy Jeng. Orion Telescopes: Moon | Ads of the World. Digital image. Ads of the World | Creative Advertising Archive & Community. WebMediaBrands Inc, 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. <http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/orion_telescopes_moon?size=_original>

.

Hill, Charles. "The Psychology of Rhetorical Images." Defining Visual Rhetorics. Ed. Charles A. Hill and Marguerite Helmers. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. 25-40.

            <http://www.paulmuhlhauser.org/355/Schedule.html>.

Figure 1 http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/orion_telescopes_moon?size=_original

Off The Grid

Teachers will soon be returning to higher education; not for continuing educational requirements, but pursuing another career. California is setting a new precedent in the field of education. The “Value-added” model is controversial in evaluating teachers performance on the elementary school level. Teachers will be evaluated solely based on their students standardized test scores in English and Mathematics. I take issue with the constraints of the evaluations and what is not considered.

After working with the impoverished in the field of social services, this is a disturbing trend. The educational system is intertwined with many variables such as poverty, mental health, domestic violence, learning abilities, social status, intercity schools, and money. Teachers today have to be a parent, social worker, a big brother (or sister), a counselor, and be able to wear many hats to educate. The educational system is colliding with a certain populace at a crucial point. It is painting a canvas that is defining and critical to the future of education. Good or bad, the message is clear: The education system is not working.

So whom do you blame? What is the cause? Can children successfully pass standardized testing if they have not eaten prior to the testing? Can one do math homework at a homeless shelter or in the back of a car? Does the educational institution have enough books? Can one drink the water? Are the classrooms overcrowded? What are the social implications? The questions continue to flow about what is wrong with the educational system with no real clear answer.

Do we fire teachers because their test scores are low? Does that define their skills? Unless teachers cannot pass the academic standards set forth by their institution, the problem is more comprehensive.

California’s “value-added” model is nothing more than a “trial-by-fire” process that assigns blame. As a society, we want and demand answers instantaneously. Never mind that the issue is multifaceted, geographical, and generational. Never mind that the media suggests that California is setting precedence, and instilling fear into any student that aspires to become a teacher.

Teachers take notice! Your name is now published online and America is watching! Go back to school and learn new skills. Start a charter school or learn how to adapt to being under-employed. Join the Army, start a business, get a paper route because academia in America is a dying art!