TOW#10: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games has been a huge phenomenon for a few years now and earlier this week the second movie, The Hunger Game: Catching Fire, was released. Prior to the premier, many people were made aware of this movie through commercials and posters. In this particular poster, Jennifer Lawrence who stars in the movies as Katniss Everdeen is depicted with a bow and arrow, her famous weapon of choice.  The strength and power that she possesses in this poster shows that the battle that she won in the first movie is far from over. The overall plot to the second movie is a battle between the victors of previous Hunger Games, a fight to the death. Across the top it reads, “Remember Who the Enemy Is” to describe that this battle is not necessarily between the victors, but against the government who enforces these barbaric games. The title is printed in the largest font to draw attention, then the names of cast members so illustrate the high profile many of the actors have, and finally the “November 22” is written a bit larger and bolder then the cast to clearly show when the movie would be premiered. The purpose of this poster is to encourage people old enough to watch the violence included in the film to become aware of the movie’s release and plan to attend it. This poster was most likely created by a team of design artists to form a perfect balance of visual and practical appeal to make it as influential to the audience as possible. I believe that the people who developed this poster were able to influence their audience into attending the movie due to the vast amount of theaters that were full of a variety of people. The first movie was a huge hit and I predict that second and third one will as well.

Catching Fire
URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/11/20/review-the-hunger-games-catching-fire-is-just-too-ironic/

IRB#2: The Most Controversial Decision

For the second marking period I will be reading, The Most Controversial Decision, by Wilson D. Miscamble, C.S.C. This book is about the American decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in efforts to end World War II. In the text many different issues concerning the decision will be accounted for and extensive research will be used to defend Miscamble’s well-developed view on the controversy. The causes and effects will all be presented to give me full vast image of how Truman came to his decision and how it changed the lives of so many people. I came across this book when my older sister cam home from college. She is studying to become a high school history teacher so she often brings home many book such as this. Last year I wrote a two-part research paper for this topic where I had to both defend and criticize this action. Since I already know a lot on this topic I was interested in looking at other aspects I may have overlooked last year as well as gaining more knowledge concerning such a well-known topic. This book is much different from my normal genre choice so I am interested to see how Miscamble approaches such a controversial topic in his writing and style. The back of the book consists solely on reviews which all lead me to believe that this will be a well-developed and informative text so I look forward to seeing what he includes and whether or not a bias is presented. That is one particular aspect I plan on looking for because in a topic like this, it is difficult set aside one’s own opinion.

Atom Bombing Japan
URL: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/abomb.htm

TOW#9: Are Vans Anti-Semitic?

In the article, “Are Vans Anti-Semitic?” by Jenna Zimmerman it is described that the shoes by Vans contain concerning designs. On the sole of the popular Vans shoes, the Star of David has been discovered towards the ball and middle of one’s foot which seems to suggest that those wearing the shoes, “ ‘step on’ Judaism”. Later, a video was released on YouTube that illustrated that inside the sole of the show contains a hidden swastika symbol. The combination of these two design aspects leads many people to distrust this company and lose interest in their products. Vans refutes these anti-Semitic claims be explaining the functional purposes to their design. The geometric patterns on the bottom of the shoes are strictly to provide skateboard-friendly traction.  In response to the swastika symbol, they claim to be unaware of that aspect and currently investigating it. Zimmerman explains how this altered her view of Vans, she once owned multiple pairs, and now she chooses not to wear them at all due to this issue. She writes this to encourage all Vans customers to research this topic and form their own opinion on the matter and decide on whether or not they should purchase or continue wearing this brand. She supports her purpose by providing the audience with both sides of the argument. Also, she compares the swastika symbol found inside the sole of Vans to a similar situation with a Steve Madden shoe. By comparing the differences in approaches of the issue shows that the Steve Madden ones contained a backwards swastika which is claimed to be a Chinese character so that was a bit more believable of a story than Vans. I believe that Zimmerman achieved her purpose due to the strong evidence presented as well as the inclusion of personal opinions as well as opinions of others.  

Article: http://observerjchs.com/2011/02/25/are-vans-anti-semitic/

Vans
URL: http://observerjchs.com/2011/02/25/are-vans-anti-semitic/

TOW#8: The Glass Castle

In the last section of, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls the dysfunctional family life that Jeannette grew up continued to occur.  The family moved to Welch, West Virginia where Jeannette and her siblings met their grandparents for the first time, much to her father’s dismay.  While in Welch the kids are enrolled in school where Jeannette and her brother is severely bullied, creating a small war between them and the school bullies. Also, Erma molested Brian and their father’s reaction lead Jeannette to believe that she may have done the same to him and that may have been why he did not want to return to Welch. Eventually, Lori and Jeannette move to New York City to finish off high school and pursue a greater life style. Back at home chaos continues among the family, however they are able to create a steady life and success. However, after her father’s death her one blossoming career and lifestyle came to a halt. Again, this book as aimed towards people of a less privileged background to encourage them to pursue success and avoid allowing their upbringing to limit their future, however, the end of the book ties in the idea that although you must overcome your past, you cannot severe ties with your family completely, despite the difficulties that the family may cause, they are irreplaceable. One particular device that Walls includes in this section of the text is the symbolism in the town, Welch. They viewed this town as very dull and, “worn” (130) since their very first impression of it. The beat-down town represents that the family itself will fall apart during there time here. This was the final town that Jeannette spent with her family so by being a very unwelcoming sight at first foreshadowed that this town would cause problems amongst the family. Through the town itself as well as the conclusion of the story Jeannette was able to fulfill her purpose.  

The Glass Castle
URL: http://www.amazon.com/The-Glass-Castle-A-Memoir/dp/074324754X