Reading Response #5

My argument essay was focused on overpopulation and trying to get people aware of the problem that it has become and the problem that it will be in the near future unless we do something about it. I basically talked about some of the problems that come from overpopulation and then things that we can do to slow down the process because it's basically too late to completely stop it from happening. I talked about how with overpopulation comes the loss of arable and natural land. Because there is an ever-increasing amount of babies being born everyday, we will need to make more houses and living areas for the new families. The land used for the new houses will take up more of the natural land and will give us less land for use in making crops. This means that there will be more people covering more land and less land available to make food for the growing population. This will eventually result in a food shortage. Also with making houses, buildings, and entertainment for the new towns, we cut down a lot of trees to help us build these things. This leads to the overharvesting of timber which destroys more natural land and the natural habitat of the many animals living in the rain forests where they cut down the trees. There really aren't two sides to my argument. You just either realize that its a problem now and try to do something about it or you just ignore that the problem even exists, which is crazy! I posed a few solutions that are decent that will help to slow down the process of overpopulation. One of the ways that I thought of would be to have a limit on the number of children every family can have. I thought about limiting it to only two children per family which seems like a reasonable amount. This will cut down on the amount of space, food, money, and basic needs required per family. I talked about how China was already implementing this and how they are only allowing each family to have one child, two in certain situations. Another way I thought about to slow down overpopulation is to start building up and having more and more apartment complexes built to house new families. There is almost an infinite amount of space to build upwards, but not very much space left to build outwards. If we built up, we could save more land for crops and also save more natural land and preserve habitat. This could also help to make people more social because they are living so close together that they would almost be forced to interact with each other. This would also be a way to help people start using public transportation more often. Because the people would be more social, they would be more comfortable in using public transportation. This would also be more cost effective for everyone, and it would also cut down on the air pollution because it put less carbon emission in the air.

I thought about changing my medium to being a magazine ad that focuses on female teenagers and young adults. I thought about encouraging women to use contraceptives to help with the unwanted baby population control. Witht he current advertising in magazine, billboards, and on tv and with the way that our culture is portraying pleasure and sex, I think society has become more prone to having sex before marriage. I think that a lot of people already use birth control, but I could encourage more people to use it. This would help to cut down on unwanted babies that were either an accident or were caused from a horrible rape victim case. If more people were using birth control, there would be less abortions and less babies put up for adoption. There would just be less babies period which would definitely slow down the process of overpopulation because people wouldn't have babies until they really wanted them which is probably when they get married. I could possibly come up with some snazzy name for a new pill that had only amazing side effects like cutting down on the pain of periods that worked 100% everytime and that had no horrible side effects like increased blood preasure or seizures or death or anything like that. I would have a really interesting looking pill that was either lime green or hot pink and that had a symbol of a baby on it or something interesting that pertained to birth control. As far as my magazine ad would go, it would have a large image of the pill on it, say something quick and simple about birth control, and then a web address to refer young women to our website. I would use bright colors to attract the eyes of young females that are flipping through the magazine and say a phrase just short enough to stick in their heads and to encourage the use on contraceptives.

I actually learned a lot about the rhetorical process. I learned that people don't just sit down and throw an ad together. They actually think a lot about things during the entire production of an ad. They think about what kind of ad it's going to be like a billboard, magazine ad, commercial, etc., who the target audience is going to be like women, men, old people, young couples, children, hungry people, etc., what kind of visual appeals are they going to use like bright and contrasting colors, beautiful women, beer, toys, food, etc., and other things like the type of community its going to focus on as in an urban community, rich community, hick or farmer community, etc. There are so many things to think about when making an ad to try and focus on persuading a certain group of individuals to buy something or to change the way they do things or whatever it is. I never really thought about all of that until we talked about it in class and talked a little bit about it in my art classes. It might be a good thing to know because as of right now I'm a graphic design major.

Reading Response #4

What are each of the central claims in Mangu-Ward, Joh, and Quarmby? Analyze the kinds of research (primary, secondary) and evidence (personal experience, facts) the authors use in support of their claims. How much are you influenced by the kinds of research and evidence provided? Why or why not? How do your prior values and beliefs affect how you read these essays?

The main issue that the author's Mangu-Ward, Joh, and Quarmby are talking about is our right to privacy. Each are concerned with the ways that our privacy is slowly, but surely, being taken away from us with the new forms of technology available to the government. In Katherine Mangu-Ward's Is Privacy Overrated? The Merits, Drawbacks, and Inevitability of the Surveillance Nation, she talks about the ways that cameras are being used more and more as a form of protection, but also take away our privacy. She uses New York as an example and says that as far as cameras go, there are "more than 4,200 below 14th Street"(p 11). That is a BUTTLOAD of cameras to have in just one area. She also claims that the government wants to put more cameras up and to have them required in clubs. With credit cards, EZ passes, and GPS naviagation, the government already knows basically everything about us and knows where we are at all times, which can be a little unnerving. She talks about her personal experience with using a credit card and how she likes the fact that she can view what she has bought with it over the past years. She basically says that we are moving towards a zero privacy nation and that it will help to protect against terrorism and police brutality. In Reclaiming "Abandoned" DNA: The Fourth Amendment and Genetic Privacy, Elizabeth E. Joh talks about all the ways that police and government have easy access to our DNA that we leave behind everyday. She says that "we leave traces–– skin, saliva, hair, and blood–– of our genetic identity nearly everywhere we go"(p 30). Wether it is touching a penny, licking an envelope, leaving a cigarette butt, spitting on the ground, or drinking from a cup at a restaurant, police have access to our abandoned DNA in all of these situations if they aren't obtained from us forcibly. In The Case for National DNA Identification Cards, Ben Quarmby is focused on the national use of a card that has all our genetic code on it. This is being thought about as a way to fight terrorism in our country. He uses a secondary source that says that "he current identification system, based on the social security number, driver’s license and signature, is no longer adequate" (p 37). He talks about how the government needs a better system to control and monitor what goes on inside the borders of our country. DNA databases have actually already been introduced, but were used "only individuals convicted of serious criminal sexual crimes" (p 38). He thinks that September 11 has affected us more than we know and could lead to some serious changes in our right to privacy.

For me, privacy is not actually a huge concern as far security goes. I'm not going to steal, do drugs, blow up buildings, or break the law on purpose for any reason. I'm not worried about being caught for illegal actions because I don't try to break the law. So having more cameras in places in not really that big of a deal to me. And I guess I really didnt' think about the whole GPS and credit card thing or the abandoned DNA. The government really does have a lot of access to our daily lives. Again, I'm not really worried about them looking at where I've been or what I've bought because I don't commit crimes. They wouldn't have any reason to focus on me or track me. So, it's not really a big concern for me. A concern that I do have is with the whole DNA identification card. Being a Christian, this concerns me a lot because the bible talks about the end times will come when everyone starts using the same currency and becoming one. With the DNA card, it will make it easier to identify everyone and everone will have one. They could probably tie it to our money somehow and make it to where everyone could just have this one card to do everything they need to do in a day. It also concerns me because it makes us seem like a bunch of cattle. We become branded with this card and that's all we are. We lose our sense of individuality when we become one and are identified only by our DNA.

Reading Response #3

Both Casassa and Dudley use a lot of the things that I've learned about the ethnography from reading Chapter 10 in The Curious Writer. The writers of these stories both go along with what Ballenger talked about concerning the features of an ethnography. They both focus on a certain group of people that are a part of a group, they observe this group over time, they gather information and research from the natural setting of the group, they focus on a few groups for an idea of the group as a whole, and they are openly subjective. Casassa focuses on the people that come into the coffee shop where she works and Dudley looks at some of the head shops in Boston. In the essay by Casassa, she talks about all of the different groups that come in over the course of several hours. She talks about one man named Dennis. She describes him as "a grand marshal leading the parade." He tells her, "Fill it right to the rim... with just a little bit of milk. Just a little bit, dear"(B33). She describes other times when baby carriages and soccer moms come in and "disrupt the ebb and flow of a more demure clientele" (B34). Describing the man in this way and talking about the moms cleaning up spilled coffee and toys covered with cream cheese help me understand the different types of people that come in different waves throughout the day. With different people having different lives and many different routines and jobs, a wide range of people are going to come into the coffee shop at various times when its available to them. Dudley does an excellent job of showing how these head shops just blend in with other stores and have an appealing look to them. He tells about one store The Hempest that "stands amid such stores as Chanel and Armani in the most exclusive shopping district on Boston" (B40). What could be so bad about that store if its in a very popular shopping area? This shows just how well the stores can hide their actual intentions and stay under the radar when it comes to the real reason behind what the store is based on. Dudley also said that the main people that shop there were high school age and college age students. In order for me to do some specific research on my topic, Scene kids, it would probably be best for me to go to a local hardcore show and see what all goes down and what happens when the kids listen to the music and watch the bands play. In going to the shows, it shows me what kind of kids actually go there, how they dress, how they talk and act around each other, how they act before, during, and after a how, and it helps me understand why they might actually want to go to a show in the first place. I could also use the internet to learn more about scene kids and how they look because a lot of them have myspaces. They even have websites devoted to their own look.

Research Essay Topic

Tentative Topic: Music

Tentative Research: Does anyone not like music?

Rationale: Music has such a huge impact on our culture. I was wondering why people like music so much and why it moves us. Most things in the world you either like or dislike, but music seems to be something that everyone can enjoy. Are there actually people in the world that don't listen to some form of music? If they exist, what kind of personalities do these people have?

Reading Response #2

The essays written by Amy Garrett-Brown and Jay Holmquist are definitely more about discovery than just being traditional research papers. They both set out to answer a question that they’ve had instead of trying to prove a point or argue their side on a certain topic. In Garrett-Brown’s essay, she seeks the reason why white people like to tan so much when there are numerous health issues involved in fake tanning. Holmquist wanted to find out if the drugs he liked to use at raves were actually harmful to the body when so many people thought they were safe. They both find the answers they need by doing extensive research on tanning and drug use. Amy found that “2/3 of teens say they look better with a tan and feel healthier” and that “50% say they looked more athletic” (460). Besides the fact that you get “prematurely leathered and wrinkled skin and a much higher risk of developing melanoma or other skin cancers,” people tend to care more about their look than their health (459). People would rather pay money to get a fake tan, possible cancer, and not spend time under the actual sun just because having a tan is very much in fashion. She also found that health industries suggested not being in the sun at all. With all this in mind, Amy finally comes to the conclusion that “there must be some middle ground” meaning that there has to be a way for people to get an actual tan from the sun without having to worry about cancer (460). Holmquist discovered a lot about the three drugs that were commonly used at raves: LSD, MDMA, and GHB. LSD can cause “flashbacks” and makes people think that “they can break the laws of physics,” MDMA “can involve severe depression, loss of appetite,” and “death” from being “overheated,” and GHB can inhibit “loss of bladder control, temporary amnesia.… sleepwalking… seizures, and cardiopulmonary depression” (B27-B28). Through these discoveries and his friend’s heart almost stop “pumping three times on the ride” to the hospital, he decides not to go to raves anymore because he now know the deadly effects of these drugs. Although both essays involve research, the authors still put their voice into the writings. Amy establishes her voice in the essay by showing her thought processes and how she wondered about things and then asked herself multiple questions which lead to other questions and more answers. She started off my asking herself about fake tanning which lead to “why [people] completely gyp themselves of the pleasures of the sun to be rewarded with a battle with cancer at worst and saggy skin at best” (460). This in turn lead to her wondering why people didn’t like being in the sun and that “the health industry sure doesn’t like or condone it” (460). Jay establishes his voice using his personal experience with the raves and party drugs and his reasons for not attending raves anymore. During his essay, Jay tells us that he like raves so much because “a rave is a place where [he[ can escape from reality” and “where [he] can get out [his] aggression through dance and music” (B25). This is helpful for me personally because I’ve never been to a rave and this helps me to understand his personality a little bit and the aspect of why other people might go to raves. At the end, he decides not to go to raves anymore because his friends “didn’t act like themselves” and “the temptation to do these drugs [was] way too high” (B29). Through this we again can see part of his personality in that he likes real friends and that he truly cares about his well being. These essays and Ballenger’s suggestions have helped me to realize that research essays don’t have to be boring and that it really is more about discovering something interesting, rather than just doing research with no reason in mind. Both Garret-Brown’s and Holmquist’s essays are very informative on their topics, but also very interesting to read. I guess instead of thinking about all the research that I might have to do in order to write the paper, I will ask a question to something I’ve always wondered about and find the answers through my research.

Charlotte Hogg and Catherine Black both demonstrate many of the forms of writing a personal essay that Ballenger talks about in his book. Both of them wrote their essays in first person. Using first person makes the essay “very intimate” and “invite[s] the reader to share in the writer’s often concealed world” (93). In Hogg’s essay, she brings you into her life and tells you about her personal love of Davy Jones from the Monkees. Talking about this in first person showed her true emotion about Davy Jones and was more meaningful than telling about someone else’s feelings. Black shows personal experience while working with the lo’i, describing it like “stepping into a vat of chocolate syrup, only cooler, and pungent with the fresh, damp smell of nutrient-rich soil” (B12). No one could have described this in the manner she did unless they could have experienced it for themselves like she did. Both of the essays also rely on memory and observation expressed in Ballenger’s form. Hogg tells that when she would listen to Davy speak on the Monkees Greatest Hits album, she “believed this was some kind of privileged access [she] had” to him (B1). Hogg showed her remembrance of how she felt when she was 15 years old and her love of hearing his voice. Black tells of how she disliked living and being a part of Hawaii and how much she learned and associated herself with foreign ideas and cultures. She is expressing her memory of the things she wanted to be so different when she was younger and growing up in Hawaii. I find a lot.
Black also has a very “commonplace” subject in her essay. She talks about working in the lo’i which is a very simple and easy topic she used to connect her readers to a part of her life. Something that I thought was different about the stories than in Ballenger’s form was that you knew exactly what Hogg was going to talk about at the very beginning her essay. She started talking about Davy Jones and that she wanted to meet him at a young age and you knew it was only going to progress from there. Her essay also, to me, was not very commonplace. She talked about her slight “obsession” that she had over Davy Jones which is not exactly something that I’ve ever experienced. I know that I haven’t ever been obsessed over anyone so much that I would want to listen to their voice all the time and watch every show that he or she was on. Black’s essay seemed to follow Ballenger’s form almost perfectly in my opinion. I think the “so what” of Hogg’s essay was to show that her entire life she felt like she wanted to meet Davy because she felt like she was so close to him. When she actually me him though, she realized that he was a completely different person than she thought and that she actually didn’t know him at all. Black’s message was just to show how much she disliked Hawaii until she came back years later and worked in a field that was twenty minutes from her house. She is trying to say that you never know if you enjoy something until you’ve experienced what its all about.