Commercials, and brands, and billboards... Oh my!

I.
               Last week I was very curious about advertising on television and billboards. How much time and money do companies spend on making advertisements?  What is the average price of a commercial or billboard? After much research the answers have been found!
               Depending on the market, the average cost per TV spot ranges from $13 to $63. Companies can reach 80,000 households more than 200 times for less than $10,000. These numbers vary though by television station and amount of views per station. Also the show that is playing while the commercial is being shown changes the price too, a half-minute Super Bowl television commercial costs $2.4 million! National TV spots on the final summer "Survivor" episode sold for $1 million. National TV spots on "Millionaire" sold for $750,000. National TV spots on final "Seinfeld" sold for $2 million each. Also the average billboard costs from $500.00 to $8,000.00 per month depending on the amount of traffic on the road.

II.
               Last wek in Ethic's class, we spent a lot of time talking about advertising and brands. We finished watching The Persuaders  and talked about the hassels companies go through to reach consumers at home. Also we had to do a project on one of our favorite brands and do research to find out the history of that brand. All in all it was a pretty interesting week filled with lots of new interesting facts.

               I really enjoyed listening to the Brand Analysis Projects this week, and it was probably my favorite part. Hearing about the unique histories of some of my favorite brands was very enlightening, as well as entertaining! All of the commercials shown were very different, but they all had one mission: to get comsumers to buy their products. Some companies used entertaining, and some slightly creepy, characters to advertise their products. Others used bright colors and flashy words to sell their products. Despite these two, other companies showed their products in use, and they tried to make them look appealing. I see all of these forms of adertising daily on television, some beign more sucessful than others. Another intersting thing I saw in some of the projects was the amount of controversy certian companies had been involved in. I think the skill and strength of a company are shown best by how fast and easily they can get out of controversy. Smaller, less powerful companies would not recover as easily as some of the larger brands like Pop-tarts and Coco-cola.

               One thing that we did not really discuss in class was which style of advertising we thought was most effective. Personally, I think the companies/brands that do not bombard comsumers with outrageous amounts of commercials and billboards are more effective. Certain brands can actually get rather annoying if they can be seen everywhere one looks. Also I think commercials that are creative, but deliver a strong message are the strongest of commercials. I love seeing something new on a television commercial that I have never seen before. Also I think that the commercials that everyone can recognize have successfully won their audiences, such as the Coca-cola Santa, the Geico Lizard, and the dancing iPod users.

III.
               After all of this talk about advertising, I am very curious about the response people have to commercials. Which ones historically have been the most effective? Which ones do people respond to the best?

Please stay tuned for the answers next week!

Sources:

Billboard and outdoor advertising. (2010, December 5). Retrieved from http://billboard-outdoor.com/

Poptarts vs toaster strudel. (2010, December 5). Retrieved from http://www.sodahead.com/living/would-you-rather-have-a-poptart-or-toaster-strudel-for-breakfast/question-60830/?link=ibaf&imgurl=http://www.waterworldrec.com/Pop%2520Tarts%2520logo.jpg&q=poptart

The cost of advertising on television. (2010, December 5). Retrieved from http://www.gaebler.com/National-TV-Spot-Ad-Costs.htm

The cost of renting a billboard. (2010, December 5). Retrieved from http://askville.amazon.com/cost-rent-average-billboard-sign/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=12691479 http://www.gaebler.com/National-TV-Spot-Ad-Costs.htm

 

http://askville.amazon.com/cost-rent-average-billboard-sign/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=12691479

Shake up disappointment?. (2010, November 14). Retrieved from http://aemmp.org/

Advertising Blues

Journal 2-2

I.
               Two weeks ago, I was very curious about the Troop Greeter program and  others similar to it. I was wondering how many troops have they greeted currently? What kinds of impacts are other groups making? After a lot of research, the answers have been found.

               The Bangor Troop Greeters shown in the movie, The Way We Get By,have greeted over 5500 flights with more than 1,140,000 service members and 281 military dogs. Greeting all of these people, and animals too, is an amazing feat in itself and it is wonderful to know that people are willing to give up some of their time to do that. There are many other groups around the country that have similar purposes.Other groups are not as publicized, so specific numbers and information is difficult to find. Some groups simply greet the incoming and departing troops, but some actually donate American flags, cell phones, and care packages as well. All in all, these different organizations, no matter how small, make large impacts in the lives of the troops.

II.
               The past two weeks in Ethic's class, we have been covering persuasive media and advertising, along with a bit on how to make a documentary and TEDx Conferences. We watched the documentary The Persuaders, which discussed the ever-changing advertising market. All in all, these past two weeks were very interesting and highly enlightening.

                 I found The Persuaders to be very interesting. Before viewing the movie, I had already known that advertisers spent a great deal of time and money coming up with their television and billboard ads. Despite this, I did not realize actually how much thought and research was put into simple 30 second commercials. I still can't believe that certain companies even use support groups and individual questioning to find out crazy ideas. I thought the most wacky of them all was when the researcher asked the man if eating white bread made him feel lonely! Exactly what kind of question is that? I don't think that bread companies target lonely white bread consumers! I feel that companies could save themselves a lot of time and unnecessary struggles by fine tuning their advertisements. Also I feel that they would earn more customers if they spent the money used on advertisements to lower the prices of the goods that they are trying to sell.
               In class we talked a lot about the movie, but we never really answered the question of whether or not we actually pay attention to the swarm of advertisements. When watching television, I actually watch the commercials, unlike some people. I do though, however, only watch the commercials for entertainment only. Normally I do not choose to buy one product or the other just because of their advertisement. I buy things because of quality and reliability, not because of how flashy and unique their commercials are. This past spring break, my family and I traveled to New York City and stayed near Time's Square, which is known for it's over sized billboards and advertisements. Everywhere you look there is another flashing ad trying to make an impact on you. Time's Square, even though companies try to use it as a way to advertise, has actually become a tourist attraction because of the overuse of advertising. No one pays attention to what product is actually trying to be sold; they are looking to see which one would make the best Christmas card background or vacation photo. I sort of understand the advertiser's pain when it comes to advertising. Yes, having your product shown in every other commercial may work, but honestly I feel that quality and low prices are the way to go!

(Above are pictures I actually took in Time's Square this past Spring Break.)

 III.
               After all of this talk about advertising, I am really curious as to how much time and money companies actually spend on making advertisements?  What is the average price of a commercial or billboard?

Please stay tuned for the answers next week!

Sources:

Fanning, Lt. Col. Paul . (2010, November 28). National guard: heartwarming film pays tribute to troop greeters. Retrieved from http://ng.mil 


The persuaders. (2010, November 28). Retrieved from http://identity33.com

The persuaders. (2010, November 28). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/


The way we get by. (2010, November 28). Retrieved from http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/


Welcome to the maine troop greeters. (2010, November 28). Retrieved from http://www.themainetroopgreeters.com/

Who's who. (2010, November 28). Retrieved from http://mainetroopgreeters.com/Site/Home-1.html

The Way We Get By

Journal 2-1

I.
                Last week I was really interested about the elections for the U.S. House of Representatives. I wondered who would win the 7th District? Would the Republicans regain the majority in the House? After the elections on November 2nd, the votes have been counted and the answers have been revealed!

               In Virginia's 7th District, the winner was Eric Cantor who won with a 59.4% majority. He was also promoted to the Majority House Leader position in the House of Representatives after formally being the Minority House Whip. The Republican party did regain control of the House despite the Democrat's efforts to retain the majority. We will have to wait and see how this change in power turns out! For our country's sake, I hope it goes alright.

II.
               In class this week, we learned about the military, the elderly, and a group called the "Maine Troop Greeters". We learned background information and watched the movie The Way We Get By to learn more about the Greeters and their stories. All of these topics were centered around support for our troops and Veteran's Day that also occurred this week.

               I really enjoyed the documentary The Way We Get By , and I am so glad that we were able to watch it. I thought that it had a really great message about love, commitment, and sacrifice. I feel that our troops are not appreciated as much as they should be. Because of this, I totally support the Greeters and think that they are doing a very honorable service for their community. The dedication of Bill, Joan, and Jerry is absolutely inspiring and makes me want to go out and greet troops with them! Hearing their stories, both the sad parts as well as the happy, really made me think about our elderly population. Seeing how lonely they can be and how isolated they are makes me feel really sad. I feel so bad for them, but I know that they enjoy what they do. Greeting the troops keeps them going and helps to bring meaning back to their lives. It is amazing what one handshake can do.

               One question that was not brought up in class was whether or not we would be willing to greet troops just the Troop Greeters do. I think that I would definitely be willing to greet the returning troops and tell them how much I appreciate what they do. On the other hand, I do not think that I would be able to handle saying goodbye to the leaving troops. I don't think that I could emotionally handle it. All of the sadness in the air and knowing that some of them will not be returning would be too much for me. I think others should definitley be there to wish them off, but personally I don't think that I should be there.

III. 
               After all of this talk about the Troop Greeters located in Bangor Airport, I would like to know a little bit more about their impact. Currently how many troops have they greeted? Also what about other similar groups? What kind of impact are they making?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!

Sources

Beyond the results: house of representatives. (2010, November 14). Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/2010-race-maps/house/

Cast and crew. (2010, November 14). Retrieved from http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/cast/

The way we get by. (2010, November 14). Retrieved from http://www.impawards.com/

The way we get by. (2010, November 14). Retrieved from http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/

Virginia congressional elections 2010. (2010, November 14). Retrieved from http://www.andrewclem.com/

To Speak or not to Speak

Journal 1-7

I.
               Last week I was really curious as to how the elections are going in Virginia's 7th District. I had wondered who was in the lead in the election polls? Who is perceived to win? After a lot of research, the answers have been found!
               According to the Washington Post's Campaign Tracker, Virginia's 7th District has historically voted Republican in both the House of Representative and Presidential elections. Incumbent Eric Cantor has consistently been re-elected since the year 2000. He has always won by at least 62.7%, and he won by 75.5% in 2004. Judging by these facts, he is expected to win in 2010. Not only does he have the historical support, but he also has the financial support. (Cantor: $1,408,116; Waugh: $21,610; Bayne: $6,805)

II.
               Last week in class, we talked about a variety of things centered around politics and political parties. At the beginning of the week, we centered our discussions around political parties and how age can affect view points. Later in the week, we watched and finished up the movie The Divided State and talked about issues concerning free speech. All in all, this week was very informative as well as interesting.
               After using 2 different "Political Calculators" to determine my political party, I have mixed emotions about the results. Before taking any of the quizzes, I thought I was sort of divided between the two parties, but I thought I leaned a little more to the right than the left. My results after using "The Political Compass" sort of showed the opposite of this. It showed me being centrist, but actually leaning to the left rather than the right. The "World's Shortest Political Quiz" showed me being centrist but leaning more to the right than to the left. I find these results very interesting. I feel that the difference in the results comes from the amount and depth of the questions asked. The first quiz asked more questions than the second, so I that would lead me to believe that it would be more accurate. Despite this fact, I still think the results from the first quiz may be off because a lot of the questions were confusing, and I think my results might have reflected that.

              

               On Friday of last week, we finished up the movie The Divided State, but we did not have a lot of time to go into great detail about our views on the movie. I think that it was important for the students of UVSC to be exposed to other viewpoints than just Conservative ones, but I don't think they should have had to pay for them. Michael Moore, despite how controversial his views are, is still entitled to his right to speak. As long as he is not harming anyone by his speaking, he is protected under the First Amendment just as everyone else is. That being said, I still do not think that the college had to pay that much money to get him to speak. They could have found someone who would have spoken for free instead, and it may have been less controversial. I still do think that there would people against the Liberal speaker, but I do not think that there would as many people against it.

III.
               After all of our class's discussions about politics and elections, I am very curious as to how the elections will go on November 2nd. I wonder who will win in Virginia's 7th District? Which party will end up with the majority in the House of Representatives?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!

Sources
  
Campaign 2010: congressional house races. (2010, November 1). Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/2010-race-maps/house/

Elections 2010. (2010, November 1). Retrieved from http://www.ccfj.net

The political compass. (2010, November 1). Retrieved from http://www.politicalcompass.org/ 

The world's shortest political quiz. (2010, November 1). Retrieved from http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz
U.s house of representatives. (2010, November 1). Retrieved from http://www.idahoreporter.com

cantOR can ?

Journal 1-6

I. 
               Last week I was very curious about the hostages at the center of the Iran-Contra Scandal. I  already knew that they went through a lot, but what was their day to day life like? What did  they have to endure? What were their living conditions like? After a lot of research, the answers have been found.
               The majority of the people who were taken hostage were Americans, though the rest were mainly Western European. These people were treated quite cruelly, suffering from constant beatings and mock executions. The hostages lived in "cells" and were tortured in ways that should never be mentioned. Several suffered from so much that they actually died. The victims were thrown into the trunks of cars and one captive was once transported in a refrigerator.( Galenet Biography Resource Center) As one can see, these hostages experienced more horror than any person should ever face.

 II.
               Last week was a very interesting week full of politics , elections, and speakers. We watched and learned about different political campaign ads, and we discussed how they can be used to persuade audiences to vote a certain way. Also we took a closer look at the Congressional races in Virginia this fall, and we examined the different candidates' websites and campaign ads. Lastly we started our unit on The Divided State by researching some background information and beginning to watch the movie.

               Out of the three main topics this week, I thought that our discussions on the political campaigns in Virginia were the most interesting. I really liked learning about things that are relevant to us and are relateable. Going into this topic, I was rooting for Eric Cantor, and after spending time in class learning more, I support him even more. He is one of the most powerful men in the House of Representatives and has been through a lot to get there. I totally respect him and wish him the best of luck in the future. When looking at the other two candidates' websites, I thought they looked very unprofessional when compared to Cantor's. I know that these two gentlemen are trying to make a difference in their community, but I just don't think that they stand a chance against Eric. I almost feel that they just got up one morning and said, "I think I will run for Congress today." I feel that because of that, they do not have the proper amount of experience required to be a great Congressman.

               In class, I felt that people were very critical towards Eric Cantor. I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I feel people were just making judgments base on the fact that he has campaign money and Congressional power. I think with any election, people just make their decisions based on the television commercials and who has the best argument. If people were to actually get to know the candidates themselves, I think they would be very surprised at how they really are. I know Eric Cantor personally and know for a fact how honest, kind, and humble of a person he is. Yes he does have a secret service agent that walks around with him, but he still acts like a normal person. I feel that if the class actually got to know him like I do, they would not be so judging.
               On my way to swim practice this afternoon I saw something that was very relevant to this class. I was driving by a huge Eric Cantor sign and saw Floyd Bayne himself putting up 4 small signs for himself around Eric's sign. It reittereated the point that he most likely bit off more than he could chew and is in a little over his head in this camapign. It also shows how unprepared Floyd is and how he is lacking crucial resources.

               After having talked so much about politics, I just want to talk about the issue of free speech that was brought up in The Divided State.  I totally support the fact that everyone has the right to speak, but I do disagree with the fact that the school was paying $40,000 for Michael Moore to come and speak. If he was coming fro free, I would totally be alright with it, but I feel that Moore was being greedy on his own part by asking for so much money from a school.

III. 
               After talking about politics for the majority of the week, I am really interested as to how the elections are going. Who is in the lead in the election polls for the 7th Congressional District? How much ground have the candidates made so far? Who is precieved to win?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!

Sources

Congressional district 7. (2010, October 24). Retrieved from http://wrhammons.com

Eric cantor. (2010, October 24). Retrieved from http://thedailyinquirer.net

Floyd bayne. (2010, October 24). Retrieved from http://www.floydbayne.com/

Lebanon hostage crisis. (2010, October 24). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon_hostage_crisis#cite_note-Galenet_Biography_Resource_Center-19

Lebanon hostage crisis. (2010, October 24). Retrieved from http://www.mongabay.com/history/lebanon/lebanon-the_hostage_crisis.html

Lebanon hostage crisis. (2010, October 24). Retrieved from http://fixtheworld.us 

Politics, Politics, Politics

Journal 1-5

I. 
               Last week I was curious as to how Oliver North, who was involved in one of the most controversial government events of all time, was able to win the Republican nomination for the Senate. How did he make it so far if he was surrounded by the dark shadows of his past? After much research, the answer has been found.
               According to "The 20th Century", by David Wallechinsky, Oliver North displayed himself as an antiestablishment politician and drew a lot of support from conservative groups. He gained a lot of popularity, but many key Republicans refused to support him because of the past. Despite this fact, he still had enough popularity among the people and some other conservatives to earn the Republican nomination for the Senate.

 II.    
               Last week in class,  we talked and discussed several different interesting topics. We learned about different styles of political propaganda, such as Word Games, False Connections, Special Appeals, and Logical Fallacies, and we found examples of their use. Also we watched the rest of The Perfect Candidate and discussed several points about the movie. All in all, it was a very interesting and informative week!
               When reading about the different styles of political propaganda, I actually recognized many of them. I had seen a lot of them before in election seasons, but did not know what they were called nor their formal names. Out of the 8 specific styles, I have probably seen "Name Calling" the most often. It is a tactic that politicians use a lot to make their opponents look horrible! It can always be seen on the numerous campaign commercials on the television! I personally think that this style is wrong. I don't think elections should be a time for name calling, but rather a time to find the best candidate for the people. Personally I feel that it is very childish and reminds me of something that a Kindergartner would do! Nothing is ever solved by making someone else look bad!
                After doing research and watching The Perfect Candidate, I have learned more than I ever thought I would know about Oliver North. If I was able to have voted, I am not sure if I would have voted for him or not. Without doing research , I can see how easily people can be persuaded to vote against him. He had a lot of influential politicians totally against him, but he still somehow managed to get 43% of the votes. I feel if people would have actually learned more about the Iran -Contra Scandal, more people may have voted for him. I applaud the fact Oliver North's courage to try to rebuild his life after such a disaster in the past, but I think the U.S. Senate might have been to big of a jump too soon.

               We did not really have a chance to discuss our personal opinions about Oliver North, so I will do that now. I think that he is an okay person who was just seriously misunderstood. Yes, maybe some of his decisions were not spot on, but he was just doing what he thought was best. If I was a hostage being held in Iran, I would have wanted Oliver North to get me out of there by any means necessary! I don't think people understand what horrible things the hostages had to go through! If they were in their position, they would want to be rescued too!

III. 
               After learning about Oliver North and the Iran-Contra Scandal, I am very curious about the hostages that were captured in Iran. I know that they went through a ton of horrible things, but how exactly were their living conditions? What did they have to endure?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!

Sources: 

Iran. (2010, October 17). Retrieved from http://mideastweb.org 


Oliver north. (2010, October 17). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_North#Politics

Oliver north. (2010, October 17). Retrieved from http://2conservativewomen.blogspot.com

The united states senate. (2010, October 17). Retrieved from http://treehugger.com 

Wallechinsky, David. (2010, October 17). The iran-contra scandal. Retrieved from http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/reagan.htm

Less of Moore

Journal 1-4


I. 
               Last week I was curious about the critical response to Michael Moore Hates America. I found out that it actually wasn't a very popular movie and not many people actually reviewed it. It didn't receive any outstanding awards like Bolwing for Columbine did, but it did receive an average rating of 6.2 out of 10.  After seeing the title, many viewers thought the movie was going to be in a completely angry tone and were really surprised when it wasn't. One critic even commented that the movie was "just an honest attempt of a young film maker to examine Moore's controversial methods and to question his politics." All in all, the people who saw the movie responded a bit better to it than Michael Moore's movies , but it did not make a huge award-worthy impact.

II. 
               This week was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. We finished up our unit on Michael Moore Hates America and began our unit on The Perfect Candidate.  We discussed our final thoughts on our "Moore Related Series" of videos, and we also briefly covered the background information in our next unit.

               One topic thst raised a lot of disscussion in class is whether or not it was possible to make a 100% truthful documentary. Everyone had mixed views on this subject. I can not think of a single documentary that has been, in my opinion, completley truthful. I feel that editing can be a form of lying; it leaves out certain parts of conversations, so the audience can not see the full truth of the situation. Film makers always edit out the parts they feel would not support their topic in order to save time. This is true in a documentary too. If they never edited, movies would be months long! I know that this is very unreasonable, but I feel it is the only way to make a completley true documentary. It would litterally show everything that happened so that audiences could see the true story. Since no film maker in their right mind would ever make a movie that was months long, I feel that it is impossible to to make a documentary without lying.

         One really interesting quote that we covered in class this week was said by Penn Jillette. He said, "Fearing that I'd become my enemy in the instant that I preach.." This quote really made me think. He was trying to say that he wants to get his point out, but he doesn't want to do it by stooping to his enemy's level to do so. If he sinks to his level, then he is just as bad as his enemy. This makes me wonder how many times I have actually become my enemy when I was trying to prove my point. Now that I really sit down to think about it, I totally agree with Mr. Jillette. I do feel that you shouldn't turn into the person who is doing you wrong in order to make them look bad. Two wrongs do not make a right, and sometimes it is better to be the bigger person and just let things go.
               My final thoughts on this film are kind of mixed. I do think that his film was much better than Michael Moore's, but I do disagree with some parts of it. I felt he sort of became Michael Moore (his enemy) when he was trying to disprove him. He used several of the same techniques and styles but just in a different point of view. I do think that seeing  both Bowling for Columbine and  Michael Moore Hates America was very benificial in showing two different poits of view and how persuasive the media can be.

               Towards the very end of the week, we started to cover The Perfect Candidate. I find it very interesting and fascinating that the movie takes place in Virginia. I feel that this is extremely beneficial to our class in particular because I feel that it makes it much more relatable. In some of the backgroungd information, we learned that Oliver North was involved in a lot of legal issues and national problems, but still managed to attain the Republican nomination for the Senate seat. He lost in the long run, but I am amazed that he actually made it as far as he did! I would think that all of the controversy surrounding him would have prohibited him from making it anywhere close to where he did! I feel that nowadays, he wouldn't have! I know that I am not an expert in this subject, and I do hope that I will learn more over the next week or two as we watch this documentary!

III.
               As we are beginning our next topic, I am really curious about Mr. Oliver North. I would like to know a little bit more as to why he was chosen for the Republican nominee for the Senate? If there was so much controversy surrounding him, how did he make it as far as he did?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!

Sources:

Michael moore hates america. (2010, October 10). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moore_Hates_America

Michael moore hates america (2004). (2010, October 10). Retrieved from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1183735-1183735-michael_moore_hates_america/?critic=creamcrop#contentReviews

Penn jillette. (2010, October 10). Retrieved from http://downshoredrift.com
The perfect candidate (1996). (2010, October 10). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117320/

Truth. (2010, October 10). Retrieved from http://informedvote.ca

Michael Wilson Loves America?

Journal 1-3


I. 
               Last week I had wondered about the suspicious statistics in the movie Bowling for Columbine. After much research, I have found out that the statistics are mostly false. The United States does have the highest gun ownership in the world. The US has 270 million of the 650 million civilian-owned firearms worldwide. This number can be a bit misleading because "it is not 9 people that have one gun, it is one person that has lots of guns." Also even though Americans have a lot of guns, they actually do not have the highest gun related homicide death rate in the world. In the US per 100,000, there are 6.24 gun related homicides. This may seem like a large number but Brazil had 25.78, Jamaica had 18.23, and South Africa had 26. 63. 6.24 doesn't seem like such a bug number now does it?

II.

               This past week in class we have been covering the movie Michael Moore Hates America by Michael Wilson. This is a movie that is almost as equally controversial as Bowling for Columbine. In the movie, Michael Wilson is trying to prove that Michael Moore is full of lies, deception, and doesn't deserve all of the credit people are giving him.

               One topic that Moore always focuses on is the fact he is from the small and unfortunate town of Flint, Michigan. He does this to "prove" to people that he is just your "average joe" from a small town. He portrays Flint as a decrepit town that is litterally falling apart. This is a terribly one sided view of Flint. In Wilson's movie, he actually goes to Flint and shows the viewers a completley different city. Yes some parts are pretty bad, but a lot of it is nice communities and houses. Wilson also finds out Moore's real hometown is actually Davison, Michigan, not Flint. Davison is just your ordinary American town, very similar to parts of Virginia. It is only located about 10 miles away from Flint! Moore probably used the town of Flint as his hometown instead of Davison because Flint is in a little worse of shape, but still isn't the worst town I have seen.
               One issue that has raised a ton of arguments and discussion in class was the fact that Michael Wilson used a lot of the same filming and editing styles as Michael Moore. Both of the stars and directors use questionable editing styles to prove a point with the specific footage they show. They both go into interviews trying to get certain words or information on tape. The only difference is that Michael Wilson sort of has a guilty conscience about doing this thing this. He even admits to his wrongdoings on camera to the viewers.  Michale Moore just uses it and never second gueses himself, while Wilson does. He even felt bad enough to write a person whom he had interviewed in Moore's hometown to appologize and ask permission to use the footage. I do applaude this notion, and I am very glad that he is at least trying to correct some of his wrongs. This makes me feel like I can trust him a little bit more the Moore.

               Just because Wilson tries to repent his wrongdoings, does that mean that what he is doing is right? I feel the answer is "no". I am happy that he does at least tell us about his mistakes, but it does not make them right. If someone was to hurt someone else and they say that they are sorry, it does not make the action they did correct. It is still worng and forever will be. Along the lines of this, in the movie, an interviewee stated that  it was impossible to make an unbiased documentary, and that all documentaries have to use choppy editing to prove their point. I sort of agree with this statment only because I have never seen an unbiased documentary before. This does not mean that one does not exist, but as of right now, I do not know about the existance of one.


III.
               After watching parts of the movie Michael Moore Hates America, I was very curious about the response to this movie. I know that both this movie and Bowling for Columbine  were very controversial, but I would like to know more about it. Bowling for Columbine received an Academy Award, but what happened to Michael Moore Hates America?

Please stay tunned for the answer next week!

Sources:

Deaths involving firearms, per 100,000 persons, by country (1997). (2007, June 30). Retrieved from http://www.allcountries.org/gun_deaths_by_country.html

Identifying guilt. (2010, October 3). Retrieved from http://www.cindysense.com


International violent death rates. (2003, May 5). Retrieved from http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvintl.html

JT. (2009, July 6). Gun death statistics in other countries. Retrieved from http://bowlingfortruth.com/page/2/
Michael Moore hates America. (2010, October 3). Retrieved from http://www.veiled-chameleon.com

Us highest in gun ownership. (2007, September 12). Retrieved from http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2007/09/12/us_highest_in_gun_ownership.aspx

Bowling for Truth?

Journal 1-2

I.              
               Last week, I was really curious about the outcome of the Ficus Campaigns in Virginia.  I have researched and researched to find the answer to this question, but have unfortunately come up empty handed. The election occurred in the year 2000, and at least 4 ficus plants ran for Congressional seats in Virginia. In the Awful Truth episode, Michael Moore had a lot of trouble getting the ficus to be a candidate. I feel that the plants in Virginia faced the same, if not more problems. On the Virginia State Board of Election's website, the election results do not even show "Ficus" running. This leads me to believe that either the Ficus Campaign fell through, or it didn't even get enough votes to be counted. According to several sources, the Ficus Campaigns did cause a lot of controversy in Virginia and in other states as well. I have not found any information to lead me to believe that any of the campaigns were successful.

II. 
               This week we have continued to explore the world of fallacies, persuasive media, and Michael Moore. We have been watching a movie by Michael Moore called Bowling for Columbine. This is an extremely controversial movie that addresses the Columbine shooting, gun laws, murder, killer bees, and a variety of other terrible things. This movie possess the classical Michael Moore touch, and it is filled with extraordinary amounts of examples of fallacies, sketchy editing, and persuasive filming.

               The main topic of this movie is centered around the Columbine shootings. This is a very fragile topic that still saddens many people years after it happened. Two 12th grade students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, opened fire on the students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20th, 1999. They killed 12 students and 1 teacher, as well as injuring 21 others. Many people believe that violent games and movies, Marylin Manson's music, and the easy access to guns are to blame. In this movie, Michael Moore tries to point the blame at each of these and uses sneaky editing to prove his point.
               After the Colombine Massacre, gun control laws became a big issue. Michael Moore showed the viewers how "easy" it was to attain a gun. He got one from a bank by opening a bank account and bought ammunition "easily" at Walmart. He used his editing "skills" to cut out most of the background checks and extra precautions involved with owning a gun. He did this to mock and make fun of the laws. The NRA was also brought into the picture,and it was shown in a very negative light. He even edited the film of two different speeches together to make Charelton Heston  and the NRA look really bad. Moore used many different fallacies to use the NRA as an excuse for the shootings at Columbine.

               Also Moore addresses the music of Marylin Manson to see if he is the reason for the shootings. He interviewed Mason, who I thought had a very interesting appearance. From a first glance, one would think that Manson has trouble written across his forehead, but once you listen to him talk, you realize that he is actually a very caring person. He said he would have just listened to what the killers had to say and try to talk to them about it afterward.  I was completely shocked after hearing what he had to say! It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by it's cover!

 

               One more thing that was addressed was the topic of violence in America causing murder. According to Moore's statistics, the US has the highest murder rate in the world, when actually we do not. He leaves out certain details so that things appear in a different way. Also, apparently all Americans believe that Canadians are very peaceful people. Moore exploits this so called fact by actually going to Canada and interviewing people to show how similar their cultural influences are to ours. They watch the same movies and play the same violent games. Also according to Mr. Moore, all Canadians own several guns and never lock their doors at night. He showed this by interviewing people at a gun firing range, talking to people in a bar, and walking up to random people's houses. He once again edited out the parts that would disprove his point. As one can see, Mr. Michael Moore is becoming less and less of a credible source of information. 

               Michael Moore's videos always stir up some intense debate in the class. His work stirs up people's emotions, whether or not it is in a good way or a bad way is still to be decided. I honestly wonder how many people have been decived by his work? Also I wonder if I would have been fooled if certain things weren't pointed out to me in class? I wish I could say that the answer would be "no", but honestly I am not sure.

III. 

               After watching parts of Bowling for Columbine , I am very curious about the gun ownership  statistics in the US, Candada, and other major countries of the world. I wonder which country actually has the largest number of guns and whether or not it is related to the murder statistics? 

Please stay tunned for the answer next week!

Sources:

Arnold, L. (2000, June 1). "ficus for congress" takes root in 24 congressional campaigns. Retrieved from http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/060100-02.htm

Bowling for columbine. (2010, September 24). Retrieved from http://www.cinemagora.co.uk/images/films/29/28729-b-bowling-for-columbine.jpg&img
 
Gop congressional primaries-election results. (2000, June 13). Retrieved from http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/ElectionResults/2000/June/default.html

Lopsided congessional races.(2000, November 11). Retrieved from http://archive.fairvote.org/op_eds/cong2000.htm

Marilyn manson. (2010, September 24). Retrieved from http://www.sodahead.com/entertainment/this-week-on-lady-death-presents/blog-76575/?link=ibaf&imgurl=http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00179/Marilyn_Manson__179474m.jpg&q=marilyn%2Bmanson

Meet morton-the ficus of the week. (2010, September 24). Retrieved from http://www.theficus.com/

National rifle association. (2010, September 24). Retrieved from http://couponkatie.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/nra_logo.jpg&img

And so the Ethical Journey Begins!

Journal 1-1

I.           Since this is the beginning of my Ethic's Blog, I unfortunately do not have a question from last week to answer nor summarize.

II.          Last week was my first full week in Ethic's Class, and I have been loving it so far. Last year I would always ask people what they learned in that class, and they would simply reply : "Ethical Stuff." Of course this gave me no real sense of what went on, but after this week, I feel like I am starting to get the concept of it. I have really enjoyed having this class as my 1st Period, and I hope that the year continues to be this great!
              This week we discussed Loaded Language, Fallacies, Power Words, and their use in society. I knew briefly about  some of these things before we really studied them, but I never really knew how much use they have in modern day society! After searching for them in current news articles and ads, I realized how easy it was to be persuaded or fooled by them. I truly wonder how many times I have fallen for some of these writing techniques!
               In class we also watched two related episodes of The Awful Truth with Michael Moore.

               This is a controversial show that stars Michael Moore, an average "Joe Six-Pack", as he goes around the United States showing Americans "what the government is really like". After watching the first couple of minutes of an episode, you can tell that he is a very strong Democrat. He uses suspicious editing, ambush interviews, and several fallacies and loaded language to make the government look bad, especially Republicans. This series is an excellent example of how loaded language is used in our society. In one of the episodes, Moore tried to get Republican Presidential Candidates to jump into his mobile mosh pit. He always caught the candidates off guard, so their answers never came out quite the way they would have wanted them to. He also used editing to make their responses look even more bad. One candidate actually agreed to do it, but it totally backfired on him in his campaign.

               In another episode, Michael Moore tried to have a Ficus plant run in a Congressional Election. In the episode, he tired to find all of the loop-holes in hour government to justify this plant running for office against an "unopposed candidate". One major fact that Mr. Moore skimmed over was the fact that it was just a Primary Election for the Republican candidate to run in the November Election! Mr. Moore made a big stink over anything that didn't go his way, and he edited the film to make these things seem more drastic. This episode brought up a ton of debate in class that day!
                I sort of understand his point, but I don't think that I would go to the extreme that he did. I agree that a little healthy competition is good for an election, but running against a Ficus is just insane! If it really won, how would it preform it's Congressional Duties? Also I wonder how many people actually knew that it was a plant running for office, and not a person. On campaign posters, they only put the last name of the candidate. If someone saw the name Ficus on a sign, they may assume that is is Mr. ______ Ficus. (ex: Mr. John Ficus) He could really be misleading hundreds of people!

III. 
               In class this week, after watching the Awful Truth  episodes, we learned that at least four "Ficus Candidates" ran in the state of Virginia. Since this occurred during the 2000 election, I do not remember anything about  it coming up in the news. I wonder how the "Ficus Campaigns" went in Virginia and what controversy the caused? Also, I wonder if any of them actually won?

Please stay tuned for the answer next week!


Sources: 
(2010, September 19). Retrieved from http://xprezz.dk

Lankford, R. (2010, September 19). The Awful Truth - Michael Moore. Retrieved from http://www.documentaryfilms.net/Reviews/AwfulTruth/