TOW#16: THe Most Controversial Decision

In the book, The Most Controversial Decision by Wilson D. Miscamble, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War I was described and researched. As previously described in my blog the first half of the book was strictly fact based to provide a specific record of events leading up to the bombing. In the second section, the actual event was described along with the aftermath including the importance of the Japanese surrender as well as the brutal effects of the radioactive bombs.  The sections in which these aspects of the event are described maintain an unbiased point of view and provide numerous sources in the footnote of each page. This allowed readers to collect straightforward, factual information and create their own opinion regarding the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chapter seven entitled “Necessary, But Was It Right?” while this seems like it would be an opinionated section, it was not; rather it defended the bombing as well as critiqued it. Just as Miscamble had in the recaps of history, he maintained the large amount of reliable sources in the footnotes to show the credentials of him and his writing.  After that section which vastly focused on immediate results of the bombing, he went on to describe long-term effects of the event such as the Cold War. The purpose of this book, to educate intellectual adults on the controversial bombings in Japan to allow them to form their own opinions on the matter, was achieved through Miscamble’s strictly fact-based writing. By writing without incorporating his personal views on the event he allows this book to be very reliable and provided a well-rounded perspective of the bombing. This book is an effective recap of the events before, during, and after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing which allows readers to make educated decisions regarding whether or not they agree with this event.

Cover Page
URL:http://www.tower.com/most-controversial-decision-truman-atomic-bombs-defeat-japan-wilson-d-miscamble-c-paperback/wapi/117398971

TOW#15: Keeping Music Real

The article, “Keeping Music Real”, was written by a teen under the name of Abby H. to discuss her opinion on what the music industry has evolved into. Unlike most teenagers, she does not support recent rap and pop music; in fact she finds it to be shallow and more about image than music. She speaks about the emotionless lyrics written by professional songwriters to be artificially performed, inappropriate music videos, and attention seeking rumors. She uses a personal experience from camp when she tried to introduce her bunkmates to the type of music she listened to and she was turned away being told that no one liked that music and only she didn’t like the music they played. This piece was written to encourage teens to find more meaningful music than the stereotypically popular music this day in age.  This article is much like the timed essay that we wrote for class about entertainment’s potential ability to ruin society, except this specifically focuses on the music industry. The behavior of some artists is rather inappropriate and some lyrics do not containing any meaningful purpose. However, this article fails to present any specific evidence of this argument and therefore leaves it underdeveloped and therefore depreciates Abby H.’s credibility. There are plenty of examples of her opinions that she could have incorporated into the article but did not. With the lack of evidence this article did not convince me to agree with her viewpoint, it actually provoked me to think of examples that contradict her argument. I think it would have been a much more effective piece if she included some examples to support and verify her point because I wide range of evidence does exist on this topic. While music has in some cases taken a turn for the meaningless and inappropriate there are still plenty of artists who value the musical side of the industry rather then just their image.

Article: http://www.teenink.com/opinion/all/article/17164/Keeping-Music-Real/

The "Music" Industry
URL:http://www.businessinsider.com/why-miley-cyrus-we-cant-stop-is-actually-the-saddest-song-of-the-summer-2013-8

TOW #14: Barilla

Barilla, the pasta company, released an ad to go along with the time of the New Year holiday. The background of the advertisement is a royal blue, which is also the color the box; this will allow consumers to not only notice the ad but to make a connection between it and the product itself when they are in a store. The main focus is the large firework shape made out of pasta; this presents the product in an interesting and festive way, the text, “HAPPY NEW YEAR” clarifies the occasion for this advertisement. The unique shape firework shape that the pasta is in makes it memorable, both drawing attention to the ad and being so distinctive that the audience will remember it while grocery shopping. At the very bottom is the Barilla logo and slogan to specify the brand of pasta being represented. The purpose of this, like any ad, is to sell the company’s product to adults that grocery shop. During this time of year it is typical for holiday related commercials, however they are typically more oriented towards Christmas, which alienates audiences of other religions. By approaching the customers through New Years, it can be accepted by people of all backgrounds making this ad inclusive to a large variety of people allowing it to be more effective. The use of the yellow pasta on the royal blue background draws attention to the pasta therefore greatly presenting the product itself. The slogan of Barilla is, “The choice of Italy” which appeals to logos. This phrase describes the Barilla pasta of extremely high quality because even in Italy, the home of pasta this brand is typically chosen. It is through these various aspects of the advertisement that it is so effective and achieves its purpose of getting people to purchase Barilla pasta.  

Barilla New Year
URL: http://www.zulucreative.co.uk/blog/21/12/2012/xmas-ads-volume2/