Here are some of my past writings, including other assignments from my introductory college writing class at Wayne State,
assignments from different English classes at Stevenson High School and some pieces I've written from inspiration.
Imported From Detroit
"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it, you better never let it go. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime." -Marshall Bruce Mathers, Lose Yourself. This isn't just a line from an offensive song, written by some disrespectful rapper who comes from a crappy run-down city. It is the soundtrack to one of the most revolutionary television advertisements ever made. Chrysler's XLV Superbowl commercial doesn’t feature Detroit as a city full of crime and poverty, but of strength, hard work, sophistication, and luxury. 'Born of Fire' shows not only how great the car being advertised is, but also how great Detroit is, by the audio and visual effects, connecting with the audience's emotions, and using a celebrity that is well known around the world.
The images in this ad, along with the cleverly written text portrays something much larger than just trying to sell a car, it tells the story of a city, my city. The ad shows how a broken down city, being Detroit, can rebuild itself and become so powerful, which only remind us of plenty of times in our nation's history. For example, during The Great Depression, our country was in terrible shape. The economy fell, money was short and poverty was everywhere. For a while, that's right where Detroit was headed. Now, with Kilpatrick out of the picture and numerous organizations stepping in to help, Detroit is finally standing on its own two feet again, just as the United States once did.
The images in this ad, along with the cleverly written text portrays something much larger than just trying to sell a car, it tells the story of a city, my city. The ad shows how a broken down city, being Detroit, can rebuild itself and become so powerful, which only remind us of plenty of times in our nation's history. For example, during The Great Depression, our country was in terrible shape. The economy fell, money was short and poverty was everywhere. For a while, that's right where Detroit was headed. Now, with Kilpatrick out of the picture and numerous organizations stepping in to help, Detroit is finally standing on its own two feet again, just as the United States once did.
Chrysler’s ‘Born of Fire’ commercial, first aired during the 2011 XLV Superbowl, is one of a kind. The very first shot is of a highway that all metro-Detroiters know exceptionally well; none other than I-75. As the commercial begins to progress we hear the narrators voice, Kevin Yon, a voice-over artist from Rockford, Michigan. (Obviously keeping the Michigan theme going here.) He starts off by asking “What does this city (Detroit) know about luxury? What does a town that’s been to hell and back know about the finer things in life?” Believe it or not, Detroit knows more than most.
Many people think Detroit is just a has-been. They just sit down in the morning with their coffees, get their newspapers delivered to their doorsteps, and read all of the crime stories emerging from Detroit written by people who have never even step foot on Woodward or have taken a picture in front of the Pride of Detroit. “They don’t know what we’re capable of.” – Kevin Yon, Born of Fire. But Detroit is capable of so much.
The ad sells Detroit as a city full of hard work, strength, culture, and luxury. As the narrator takes us from the highway to downtown, we pass factory after factory. If you work in a factory, you’re going to have to work hard. There’s no way of getting around it. As we head into downtown, there is a painting shown of men in old-fashioned clothes working in an old factory. That’s what Detroit is; hard work. It’s been built inside of us for generations.
Many people think Detroit is just a has-been. They just sit down in the morning with their coffees, get their newspapers delivered to their doorsteps, and read all of the crime stories emerging from Detroit written by people who have never even step foot on Woodward or have taken a picture in front of the Pride of Detroit. “They don’t know what we’re capable of.” – Kevin Yon, Born of Fire. But Detroit is capable of so much.
The ad sells Detroit as a city full of hard work, strength, culture, and luxury. As the narrator takes us from the highway to downtown, we pass factory after factory. If you work in a factory, you’re going to have to work hard. There’s no way of getting around it. As we head into downtown, there is a painting shown of men in old-fashioned clothes working in an old factory. That’s what Detroit is; hard work. It’s been built inside of us for generations.
As we move to the heart of downtown we see the famous ‘Fist of a Champion’ dedicated to Joe Louis. The statue symbolizes that Detroiters have great strength, especially the great Joe Louis. We also see a football team running in the cold winter temperatures Detroit has, which takes immense strength.
As we look around downtown, we see that Detroit has more culture than anyone could ever ask for. The commercial shows many of Detroit’s most famous statues including ‘Fist of a Champion’, ‘Pride of Detroit,’ and many others. We also see parts of old neighborhoods and their amazing architecture as well as the architecture of the buildings of downtown, which are both very rich in culture. Towards the end of the ad, we see Eminem driving the car being advertised, the Chrysler 200. He ends up at the Fox Theatre, which is a huge cultural icon in Detroit. He walks into the theatre, and there is a choir singing; just another point added to Detroit’s cultural score.
But what about Detroit’s luxury score? A lot of people would probably laugh and say, “Isn’t that in the negatives?” After seeing this ad, a lot of those people would probably change their answer. ‘Born of Fire’ shows just how luxurious Detroit can be. Heading into downtown, we see the skyline of Detroit, which, whatever city you’re looking at, is a luxurious site. Walking around downtown, we see a gentleman wearing a top hat, a nice suede coat, and a suit and tie underneath. Isn’t that what business men in luxurious places like New York wear? Later in the commercial, the car is finally revealed. As it emerges from the darkness of the city, we admire the sleekness and sexiness of the 200. A car made that luxurious must come from somewhere that luxurious. The car, driving down Woodward, eventually ends up at the Fox Theatre. The bright lights, huge theatre, and amazing architecture just screams luxury.
As we look around downtown, we see that Detroit has more culture than anyone could ever ask for. The commercial shows many of Detroit’s most famous statues including ‘Fist of a Champion’, ‘Pride of Detroit,’ and many others. We also see parts of old neighborhoods and their amazing architecture as well as the architecture of the buildings of downtown, which are both very rich in culture. Towards the end of the ad, we see Eminem driving the car being advertised, the Chrysler 200. He ends up at the Fox Theatre, which is a huge cultural icon in Detroit. He walks into the theatre, and there is a choir singing; just another point added to Detroit’s cultural score.
But what about Detroit’s luxury score? A lot of people would probably laugh and say, “Isn’t that in the negatives?” After seeing this ad, a lot of those people would probably change their answer. ‘Born of Fire’ shows just how luxurious Detroit can be. Heading into downtown, we see the skyline of Detroit, which, whatever city you’re looking at, is a luxurious site. Walking around downtown, we see a gentleman wearing a top hat, a nice suede coat, and a suit and tie underneath. Isn’t that what business men in luxurious places like New York wear? Later in the commercial, the car is finally revealed. As it emerges from the darkness of the city, we admire the sleekness and sexiness of the 200. A car made that luxurious must come from somewhere that luxurious. The car, driving down Woodward, eventually ends up at the Fox Theatre. The bright lights, huge theatre, and amazing architecture just screams luxury.
Besides selling Detroit with things made or from Detroit, the commercial also uses ‘other special effects.’ One of the big concepts of this ad is the narration. The text is written so well and so clever, that you can’t help but feel a little bit of Detroit pride, even if you’re an Avalanche fan. The song that was playing in the background only adds to the effect of feeling that Detroit pride. The song playing is ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem, who, un-coincidentally, was born and raised in Detroit. Most everybody knows that’s; he only references the city in all of his songs. When the guitar riff is added to the narration about half way through the ad, you can feel the intensity building. As the ad continues, the intensity builds even further yet. As Eminem gets closer to the Fox, we hear a choir start singing chords to match the guitar riff. This music at this point in the commercial makes things very dramatic and catches the audience’s attention right before the big finish. The cinematography is also used very well in this ad. The audience only sees one image at a time, for example the I-75 sign or Mr. Stanley. This is such a simple concept but says so much for the city of Detroit at the same time. The cinematography even makes the car look better. By playing with the light and where the camera is positioned, they can make the car look like it is coming out of pure darkness which makes it look very sleek and powerful.
As previously mentioned, the commercial does a superior job of appealing to the audiences senses of sight and sound. Adding on to that, the ad also connects to the audiences emotions in a very special way. Chrysler was given a huge two minute time slot for this commercial which gave them thousands of opportunities to create something amazing. Their creation was to be played during the 2011 Superbowl when over 100 million people would see it, so it had to be something spectacular. With that said, why in the world would they spend over half of their time slot talking about Detroit? Shouldn’t the Chrysler 200 be the main selling point? The truth is, people connect with Detroit; not only people from the city, but people everywhere. The ad points out the finer things about the city, that us Detroiters already know and see every day. Many, if not all of the Detroiters who watched the ad, felt overwhelmed with joy, pride, and gratification. It wouldn’t be crazy to say that some Detroiters probably even cried during the airing of the ad. Viewers everywhere though felt something of that sort Almost everyone, no matter where they’re from, can feel that pride and hope to where they can’t help but get out of their seats and scream “Hell yeah, go America!”
"This is the Rocky story, but it is real," Allen said of Chrysler (Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press). Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? That’s just what Detroit is, the underdog. It’s like the messy, scruffy, dog at the pound that never seems to get adopted, but you can’t help but love and feel for it. As many people know, Detroit never really gets any ‘good’ press. All people were seeing is crime and debt come from the city; until “Born of Fire” that is. The commercial is so powerful and connected with the audience in such a strong way, that many people changed their views of Detroit dramatically and have come to love this great city.
"This is the Rocky story, but it is real," Allen said of Chrysler (Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press). Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? That’s just what Detroit is, the underdog. It’s like the messy, scruffy, dog at the pound that never seems to get adopted, but you can’t help but love and feel for it. As many people know, Detroit never really gets any ‘good’ press. All people were seeing is crime and debt come from the city; until “Born of Fire” that is. The commercial is so powerful and connected with the audience in such a strong way, that many people changed their views of Detroit dramatically and have come to love this great city.
Detroiters depend on the celebrities who grew up here to take action to help in any way they can. The fact is nobody is going to listen to a nobody. Chrysler knows that. That’s why they didn’t go out and just get some nobody to be in the commercial. They went big, real big. Who would be a better suit to represent his hometown, than The Real Slim Shady himself? No one. Every single one of his albums went platinum worldwide and was even named the best-selling musician of the decade. Obviously, people love him. When fans see him the commercial and hear his song playing, it just makes them more excited about watching the ad, which will in turn make it more likely for them to buy the car. Anybody will buy something their favorite celebrity is selling, nevertheless using.
In “Born for Fire,” Eminem is selling as well as using the Chrysler 200. The car is placed into the commercial at just the right time, just when the audience starts to think “Okay, what is this getting at?” Most car companies try to sell their cars by fitting as many facts about them into the commercial as they can. All the audience gets from an ad like that is that ‘x’ car costs ‘y’ amount and gets ‘z’ miles to the gallon. Although this is an effective way of advertising, Chrysler uses a much better, sneakier way of making the car seem like it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. Until the very end, the whole commercial praises Detroit and gets the audiences to feel that sense of pride and happiness. But then, at the last possible second, they slip the car in there. This was a very smooth move on Chrysler’s part; the audience is already happy when the car is first introduced. It is a known fact that if an advertisement gives the audience a happy feeling while watching it, they are more likely to go out and buy the product. Also, with all of the glory Detroit is given during the ad, which only points out how amazing the city is, the audience is bound to think that the car is amazing as well, hence it being made there.
Needless to say, this ad, this little two minute time block on TV, means something to a lot of people. It raises our hopes, makes us incredibly happy, and even manages to sell a car. It does these things so well, that it managed to win an Emmy at the 63rd Emmy Awards.
Now, the city of Detroit can be thought of as full of hope, beauty, culture, strength, sophistication and luxury, just from a two minute TV commercial, which shows just how powerful advertising can be.
In “Born for Fire,” Eminem is selling as well as using the Chrysler 200. The car is placed into the commercial at just the right time, just when the audience starts to think “Okay, what is this getting at?” Most car companies try to sell their cars by fitting as many facts about them into the commercial as they can. All the audience gets from an ad like that is that ‘x’ car costs ‘y’ amount and gets ‘z’ miles to the gallon. Although this is an effective way of advertising, Chrysler uses a much better, sneakier way of making the car seem like it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. Until the very end, the whole commercial praises Detroit and gets the audiences to feel that sense of pride and happiness. But then, at the last possible second, they slip the car in there. This was a very smooth move on Chrysler’s part; the audience is already happy when the car is first introduced. It is a known fact that if an advertisement gives the audience a happy feeling while watching it, they are more likely to go out and buy the product. Also, with all of the glory Detroit is given during the ad, which only points out how amazing the city is, the audience is bound to think that the car is amazing as well, hence it being made there.
Needless to say, this ad, this little two minute time block on TV, means something to a lot of people. It raises our hopes, makes us incredibly happy, and even manages to sell a car. It does these things so well, that it managed to win an Emmy at the 63rd Emmy Awards.
Now, the city of Detroit can be thought of as full of hope, beauty, culture, strength, sophistication and luxury, just from a two minute TV commercial, which shows just how powerful advertising can be.
Generation Me
Everyone's had that talk with their parents. In fact, it's probably part of most family’s daily conversations. Now I know what you’re thinking; what in the world kind of family talks about sex on a regular basis? A very open one, and that's not very many. All families have had the success talk before though. You know, the one where the parents tell their child that he is very special and can grow up to be whatever he wants, as long as he studies hard, graduates the top of his class, and gets into the best college out there. After all of that praise and encouragement, the child walks away annoyed saying, "Yeah, right. Whatever."
This isn't an uncommon situation today. Kid's part of "Generation Me," born in the 1980's and 90's, constantly have their self-esteem boosted, believe in themselves more than any other generation, but turn out to be quite the cynics, hence the 'whatever.' Jean M. Twenge’s book, "Generation Me," explains this incident. The very cover of the book itself states that today’s youth is becoming more and more confident, assertive, entitled, and more miserable than ever before. In a rhetorical analysis of the book, we see that Twenge implies this through ethos using several scientific studies and research, the pathos of her own personal experiences as well as others ideas and thoughts and the logos of naturally advancing with time.
“Generation Me” is clearly about, yes, you guessed it; Generation Me, more often called the Millennials or Generation Y. For this purpose let’s just call them GenMe. Throughout the book Twenge explains how GenMe has grown to become such a strong generation as a whole. Collectively, they are more motivated, confident, accepting towards others and have a higher sense of self-worth than other generations. Although this is all very true, GenMe is also the generation filled with misery, angst, depression and loneliness.
This isn't an uncommon situation today. Kid's part of "Generation Me," born in the 1980's and 90's, constantly have their self-esteem boosted, believe in themselves more than any other generation, but turn out to be quite the cynics, hence the 'whatever.' Jean M. Twenge’s book, "Generation Me," explains this incident. The very cover of the book itself states that today’s youth is becoming more and more confident, assertive, entitled, and more miserable than ever before. In a rhetorical analysis of the book, we see that Twenge implies this through ethos using several scientific studies and research, the pathos of her own personal experiences as well as others ideas and thoughts and the logos of naturally advancing with time.
“Generation Me” is clearly about, yes, you guessed it; Generation Me, more often called the Millennials or Generation Y. For this purpose let’s just call them GenMe. Throughout the book Twenge explains how GenMe has grown to become such a strong generation as a whole. Collectively, they are more motivated, confident, accepting towards others and have a higher sense of self-worth than other generations. Although this is all very true, GenMe is also the generation filled with misery, angst, depression and loneliness.
All of these qualities have to do with how us GenMe’ers have been brought up. Ever since we were children, maybe only three or four years old, we’ve been having our self-esteem boosted on a regular basis. Our parent’s would tell us just how special we were even when we thought it would be funny to flush a whole roll of toilet paper down the toilet and watch it overflow. Even in school, kids are repeatedly encouraged to love and believe in themselves. There are special self-esteem classes, assemblies, and workshops in every elementary school across the country now-a-days. Being taught this is exactly what leads them to be so miserable, depressed, and lonely.
After being told time after time that we are special and that we can do whatever we want with our lives, we start to believe it. When GenMe’ers start college and leave the protected world of “You can be anything you want to be,” everything changes. In college, graduate school and especially in the professional world, it’s all about competition. No one is going to go around and constantly say “you are special” and no one is going to wait for you if you are lagging behind. Because of this, GenMe is more stressed out about grades and work so they can get into that perfect college or land that perfect job. Being so stressed over school and work only leads to loneliness since you are always preoccupied studying or going on interviews. And when things don’t go your way and you get a rejection letter or don’t get a promotion, you start to feel depressed. We were told that we could do anything we wanted to but the competition set into today’s economy doesn’t really let us do that, does it?
After being told time after time that we are special and that we can do whatever we want with our lives, we start to believe it. When GenMe’ers start college and leave the protected world of “You can be anything you want to be,” everything changes. In college, graduate school and especially in the professional world, it’s all about competition. No one is going to go around and constantly say “you are special” and no one is going to wait for you if you are lagging behind. Because of this, GenMe is more stressed out about grades and work so they can get into that perfect college or land that perfect job. Being so stressed over school and work only leads to loneliness since you are always preoccupied studying or going on interviews. And when things don’t go your way and you get a rejection letter or don’t get a promotion, you start to feel depressed. We were told that we could do anything we wanted to but the competition set into today’s economy doesn’t really let us do that, does it?
Twenge takes time to explain many of these points. One of the rhetorical techniques she uses throughout the book to explain those points is logos. Twenge, as well as most of the United States can clearly see that GenMe is different from every other generation. She uses logic when comparing GenMe to older generations to show how GenMe has naturally advanced with time. Twenge most commonly compares us to the Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964 and are the parents of GenMe children.
In a section about GenMe’ers who don’t conform to society’s rules, she gives an interesting example. Trying to teach her (Lynne Lancaster) young stepsons better table manners, she said, “You see, when you’re part of a family system, in which all the parties have mutual respect and caring, it’s important to recognize the cultural norms and behave appropriately.” When the kids stared back with blank looks, their father-who knew how to relate to this generation-barked out, “Dammit! You both need to use a fork!” It worked (p 40). This family shows one of the major generational gaps between GenMe and the Baby Boomers. The stepsons, part of GenMe, obviously have horrible table manners, whereas Baby Boomers would never dare but act proper at a meal around their parents.
Since many of her studies and comparisons compare GenMe to older generations it is easy to see how much things have changed over time. It is only logical that over time certain traits are more likely to be acquired. For example, GenMe is more accepting to other races, religions, and even sexual orientations because that’s what we have grown up around. Kind of like evolution, huh?
In a section about GenMe’ers who don’t conform to society’s rules, she gives an interesting example. Trying to teach her (Lynne Lancaster) young stepsons better table manners, she said, “You see, when you’re part of a family system, in which all the parties have mutual respect and caring, it’s important to recognize the cultural norms and behave appropriately.” When the kids stared back with blank looks, their father-who knew how to relate to this generation-barked out, “Dammit! You both need to use a fork!” It worked (p 40). This family shows one of the major generational gaps between GenMe and the Baby Boomers. The stepsons, part of GenMe, obviously have horrible table manners, whereas Baby Boomers would never dare but act proper at a meal around their parents.
Since many of her studies and comparisons compare GenMe to older generations it is easy to see how much things have changed over time. It is only logical that over time certain traits are more likely to be acquired. For example, GenMe is more accepting to other races, religions, and even sexual orientations because that’s what we have grown up around. Kind of like evolution, huh?
Another way Twenge proves many of her points is through pathos. She uses quotes and memories that connect to the readers because they are from normal everyday citizens. For example, this quote comes from a young girl part of GenMe, Erica, age 18: “I have gotten down on myself for not trying as hard or doing as well as I should have. I put all the pressure on myself. I knew I needed to do well to get into a good college. It seems to be very difficult to get a decent paying job now-a-days without a college education" (p 117). Thousands upon thousands of people can relate to Erica, no matter what age they are. Today’s economy is growing so competitive that even the most qualified people can’t live their life how they wish to because they can't get a job or get into college.
The book also contains many quotes from some of today’s most popular movies or even short summaries of those movies. One of the movies she references is the classic ‘Back to the Future.’ When Marty McFly travels from 1985 back to 1955, he finds that his father George lacks assertiveness and mumbles a lot. Marty teaches George to stand up for himself, and, in a fit of sudden self-confidence, George punches the local bully and gets the girl who will become Marty’s mother. When Marty returns to 1985, his parents are now successful, rich, and still in love with each other (p 21).
'Back to the Future' was a hit throughout all of the generations. There have been multiple times when my sister who is now almost 30, my mom who is a Baby Boomer and I have sat down and watched it together. Since people of most every age group has seen the movie, more people can relate to it. Not only can they relate to it because they’ve seen it, but the situation is very common. People from older generations didn’t have that sense of self-confidence or assertiveness that Marty taught his father. After George gained those qualities, he felt “invincible.” It just goes to show that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
These movie quotes do not only apply to pathos, but ethos as well. When Twenge relates one of her arguments to a famous movie, the audience relates to the movie as well as feeling a sense of credibility. After seeing one of her arguments shown in a movie, the audience isn’t going to doubt her. After all, no one is going to doubt a film maker, actor, or any other celebrity of the sort.
The book also contains many quotes from some of today’s most popular movies or even short summaries of those movies. One of the movies she references is the classic ‘Back to the Future.’ When Marty McFly travels from 1985 back to 1955, he finds that his father George lacks assertiveness and mumbles a lot. Marty teaches George to stand up for himself, and, in a fit of sudden self-confidence, George punches the local bully and gets the girl who will become Marty’s mother. When Marty returns to 1985, his parents are now successful, rich, and still in love with each other (p 21).
'Back to the Future' was a hit throughout all of the generations. There have been multiple times when my sister who is now almost 30, my mom who is a Baby Boomer and I have sat down and watched it together. Since people of most every age group has seen the movie, more people can relate to it. Not only can they relate to it because they’ve seen it, but the situation is very common. People from older generations didn’t have that sense of self-confidence or assertiveness that Marty taught his father. After George gained those qualities, he felt “invincible.” It just goes to show that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
These movie quotes do not only apply to pathos, but ethos as well. When Twenge relates one of her arguments to a famous movie, the audience relates to the movie as well as feeling a sense of credibility. After seeing one of her arguments shown in a movie, the audience isn’t going to doubt her. After all, no one is going to doubt a film maker, actor, or any other celebrity of the sort.
Twenge most commonly references scientific studies or surveys to show that her arguments are valid. For example, a section on self-confidence said: A report from the Tarrant County, Texas, school district found that 93% of 39 schools agreed kindergartners have “more emotional and behavior problems” than they did five years ago (p 76). Another poll in 2000 said: 70% of high school seniors said that race relations at their school were good, and 72% said that they have a close friend of another race (p 184). This is in a section about equality.
Some of these studies are even done by the author herself. Jean Twenge has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan which is a very prestigious school. Since she has a Ph.D. and has done countless amounts of research and surveys, she can use herself as a source of credibility. As a part of my doctoral dissertation, I gathered data on 40,192 college students and 12,056 children aged 9 to 17 who completed measures of anxiety between the 1950’s and 1990’s. Anxiety increased so much that the average college student in the 1990’s was more anxious that 85% of the students in 1950’s and 71% of the students in the 1970’s. The trend for children was even more striking: Children as young as 9 years old were markedly more anxious than kids had been in the 1950’s (p 107). Can’t argue with that!
She uses these tools very strategically throughout her book. For example, the first chapter of the book is entitled ‘You Don’t Need Their Approval: The Decline in Social Rules.’ Here, the title says it all. GenMe obviously doesn’t need anyone’s approval for anything; they do what is good for them. In this chapter Twenge brings up the issue of dress code. GenMe’ers no longer wear business suits, girdles, gowns, and white gloves every day. Over time, the dress code has changed to what it is today. It is only logical that over time, people have realized that it is ridiculous to wear clothes that suck in their belly so much they can barely breathe and make them terribly uncomfortable. Today, there is no need to conform to a certain model or stereotype. GenMe’ers wear clothes to make themselves comfortable, to express themselves and most importantly, they wear whatever they want. To support her argument, Twenge uses many different quotes and pictures of normal everyday people. On page 18 and 19, she shows a picture of two different Christmas cards; one from 1955 and one from 2004. The one from 1955 has the family in not only formal clothes, but the posing and demeanor is formal as well. The picture taken in 2004 has the family smiling, hugging each other, and has a happy get–to-the-point message. This shows that it is more important to be comfortable and happy with yourself than to be socially accepted and to follow society’s rules. In this chapter, she also uses the results of many research projects, experiments and surveys to argue point. In a recent study conducted by one of Twenge’s students’ and herself, it was found that the need for social approval has slid downward rapidly since the 1950’s. ‘The average college student in 2001 scored lower than 62% of college students in 1958.’ (p. 42)
Gen me will soon grow up and will run the nation. This book, through the use of these rhetorical tools, show just how great that nation will be if we keep raising children like we are today.
Some of these studies are even done by the author herself. Jean Twenge has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan which is a very prestigious school. Since she has a Ph.D. and has done countless amounts of research and surveys, she can use herself as a source of credibility. As a part of my doctoral dissertation, I gathered data on 40,192 college students and 12,056 children aged 9 to 17 who completed measures of anxiety between the 1950’s and 1990’s. Anxiety increased so much that the average college student in the 1990’s was more anxious that 85% of the students in 1950’s and 71% of the students in the 1970’s. The trend for children was even more striking: Children as young as 9 years old were markedly more anxious than kids had been in the 1950’s (p 107). Can’t argue with that!
She uses these tools very strategically throughout her book. For example, the first chapter of the book is entitled ‘You Don’t Need Their Approval: The Decline in Social Rules.’ Here, the title says it all. GenMe obviously doesn’t need anyone’s approval for anything; they do what is good for them. In this chapter Twenge brings up the issue of dress code. GenMe’ers no longer wear business suits, girdles, gowns, and white gloves every day. Over time, the dress code has changed to what it is today. It is only logical that over time, people have realized that it is ridiculous to wear clothes that suck in their belly so much they can barely breathe and make them terribly uncomfortable. Today, there is no need to conform to a certain model or stereotype. GenMe’ers wear clothes to make themselves comfortable, to express themselves and most importantly, they wear whatever they want. To support her argument, Twenge uses many different quotes and pictures of normal everyday people. On page 18 and 19, she shows a picture of two different Christmas cards; one from 1955 and one from 2004. The one from 1955 has the family in not only formal clothes, but the posing and demeanor is formal as well. The picture taken in 2004 has the family smiling, hugging each other, and has a happy get–to-the-point message. This shows that it is more important to be comfortable and happy with yourself than to be socially accepted and to follow society’s rules. In this chapter, she also uses the results of many research projects, experiments and surveys to argue point. In a recent study conducted by one of Twenge’s students’ and herself, it was found that the need for social approval has slid downward rapidly since the 1950’s. ‘The average college student in 2001 scored lower than 62% of college students in 1958.’ (p. 42)
Gen me will soon grow up and will run the nation. This book, through the use of these rhetorical tools, show just how great that nation will be if we keep raising children like we are today.
Reality TV
Here’s the world of reality television. The cast members bear little resemblance to your usual television actors (but they also seem quite unlike you and me). In exotic settings and high-stakes competitions, strangers are stranded and banded together, elevated to star status as long as they are willing to do and say things we could never imagine. Video editors whirl through raw footage, past the mundane, in search of incidental lusts or brawls. Promises are bound and broken in a single breath. Triumph is declared over enemies who, moments before, were friends who, days before, were strangers. True love may or may not be found, depending on whether the check is real. (Jaffe)
This is almost an exact picture of what reality shows have come to be. Over the past thirty or so years, reality television has become quite the oxymoron. These shows are not reality. Reality TV shows are a horrible source of entertainment because everything about them is indeed fake, not reality, and they provide bad morals to their audience.
This is almost an exact picture of what reality shows have come to be. Over the past thirty or so years, reality television has become quite the oxymoron. These shows are not reality. Reality TV shows are a horrible source of entertainment because everything about them is indeed fake, not reality, and they provide bad morals to their audience.
The fad of reality television started way back in the 1940’s and 50’s with Allen Hunt’s “Candid Camera” and the more ‘talent search’ type show, “Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour.” Just a few years later, throughout the 60’s and 70’s, reality shows were turning regular everyday people into normal celebrities. The first show to do this was a documentary style show called “An American Family” which followed a family going through a divorce. Also during the 60’s and 70’s, dating shows started to appear where people would give anything, including their dignity just to be on TV.
The 80’s and 90’s are when things really started to heat up for the reality television industry. The show “Cops” was the first to introduce the camcorder look, which is now a huge phenomenon. One of the most famous reality shows as well as well as one of the longest running also came to be: “The Real World.” This show brought strangers from all around the country and put them in a house together. Everything these strangers did, including the partying, fighting and hooking up were recorded. It introduced the concept of unscripted drama which many reality shows now rely on. The strangers were recorded 24/7 for five months which produced thousands of hours of video which had to be cut down to less than a hundred hours of film to fit into a season of one hour episodes. Production studious like Avid Technology made that happen. They were able to cut days and days of footage into a small amount of time. This was later caught on by shows such as “Survivor” and is needed for nearly every reality show now-a-days. In the summer of 2000, there was a huge blow up for reality TV. The finale special of “Survivor” had over 51 million viewers (almost as many as the Super Bowl has). Categories for reality TV shows were added to the Emmys. There were even television channels that started devoting every time slot to reality shows. MTV is now one of these channels. (Doesn’t MTV stand for music television? Hmm…) Since the blow up in 2000, people have become addicted to these shows. They have literally taken over. You might as well switch the M to an R to stand for reality.
The 80’s and 90’s are when things really started to heat up for the reality television industry. The show “Cops” was the first to introduce the camcorder look, which is now a huge phenomenon. One of the most famous reality shows as well as well as one of the longest running also came to be: “The Real World.” This show brought strangers from all around the country and put them in a house together. Everything these strangers did, including the partying, fighting and hooking up were recorded. It introduced the concept of unscripted drama which many reality shows now rely on. The strangers were recorded 24/7 for five months which produced thousands of hours of video which had to be cut down to less than a hundred hours of film to fit into a season of one hour episodes. Production studious like Avid Technology made that happen. They were able to cut days and days of footage into a small amount of time. This was later caught on by shows such as “Survivor” and is needed for nearly every reality show now-a-days. In the summer of 2000, there was a huge blow up for reality TV. The finale special of “Survivor” had over 51 million viewers (almost as many as the Super Bowl has). Categories for reality TV shows were added to the Emmys. There were even television channels that started devoting every time slot to reality shows. MTV is now one of these channels. (Doesn’t MTV stand for music television? Hmm…) Since the blow up in 2000, people have become addicted to these shows. They have literally taken over. You might as well switch the M to an R to stand for reality.
Over the course of reality television’s rise to popularity, the messages the shows give have changed drastically. What used to be all about fun and real life problems has turned into drinking, fighting, having sex, humiliation and people trying to be “beautiful.” These reality shows don’t even try to replicate real life anymore. These worlds that these “characters” live in are completely fabricated. These people are thrown into unreal environments and are told to act a certain way. The producers specifically select the participants of the show and carefully design certain scenarios, events, and settings to encourage particular behavior. Mark Burnett, creator of “Survivor” has agreed to this and makes sure to avoid the word ‘reality’ when describing his shows. “I tell good stories. It is not reality TV. It’s really is unscripted drama.” –Mark Burnett (Wikipedia).
Almost everything on reality shows are planned, even though they are said to be unscripted. The film editors search and search through hours of footage to find drama worthy enough to be on television and often combine audio and video from different times to get the results they want. They even make the characters re-do a fight, kiss, etc. if the camera angles weren’t good the first time. As you can see, these shows are far from reality, but that’s not what the audience thinks.
The primary audiences of most reality shows are pre-teens, teenagers and young adults. (So, ages ranging anywhere roughly between 11 and 30.) Although that doesn’t seem like a very large age group to be directed towards, you would be surprised with how many people actually watch these shows. Reality television shows have topped the charts since the big blow up for the genre in 2000. In particular, two of those shows are “Survivor” and “American Idol.” “Survivor” led the rankings in years 2000 to 2002 and “American Idol” took over the top spot every year after that until 2010. These two shows as well as many others such as “Big Brother” and “America’s Next Top Model” have had such high success rates, that they have been syndicated in countries all over the world.
These millions upon millions of teenagers, children and young adults that watch these shows believe what they see to be identical to real life. As already mentioned, these shows are carefully planned out but are made to look like they aren’t. The audience is essentially brainwashed to think that what happens on reality TV is normal.
Almost everything on reality shows are planned, even though they are said to be unscripted. The film editors search and search through hours of footage to find drama worthy enough to be on television and often combine audio and video from different times to get the results they want. They even make the characters re-do a fight, kiss, etc. if the camera angles weren’t good the first time. As you can see, these shows are far from reality, but that’s not what the audience thinks.
The primary audiences of most reality shows are pre-teens, teenagers and young adults. (So, ages ranging anywhere roughly between 11 and 30.) Although that doesn’t seem like a very large age group to be directed towards, you would be surprised with how many people actually watch these shows. Reality television shows have topped the charts since the big blow up for the genre in 2000. In particular, two of those shows are “Survivor” and “American Idol.” “Survivor” led the rankings in years 2000 to 2002 and “American Idol” took over the top spot every year after that until 2010. These two shows as well as many others such as “Big Brother” and “America’s Next Top Model” have had such high success rates, that they have been syndicated in countries all over the world.
These millions upon millions of teenagers, children and young adults that watch these shows believe what they see to be identical to real life. As already mentioned, these shows are carefully planned out but are made to look like they aren’t. The audience is essentially brainwashed to think that what happens on reality TV is normal.
One thing on reality TV that the audience thinks is real is the relationships. Whether you’re watching “Tila Tequila’s: A Shot at Love” or “Survivor,” you’re bound to see relationships form. Most, if not all of these relationships, are mindless. On the competition shows like “Survivor” or “The Amazing Race,” friendships are formed just as fast as they are broken. These friendships are often referred to as allies. They stick together and team up against the other contestants to stay in the game. Sometimes, things don’t go as planned for these packs. Many times, as I have often witnessed on “Survivor” when I was younger, these people turn their backs on each other way too many times to even consider themselves friends. If one vote was needed to eliminate someone, that persons allies would quickly have a change of heart and eliminate them. “The tribe has spoken;” a member of the ally was eliminated just so the other members could be closer to the prize. What could have been great friendships are ruined daily by reality shows. Undoubtedly the audience catches on to this act of befriending and unfriending. It is seen everywhere. People use other people to get what they want. The second they get that big promotion, scholarship, the popularity, etc. they’ve been waiting for, they drop their so-called friend faster than a drug dealer drops dimes.
When I was younger and in Junior High, I witnessed this first hand. I had been best friends with a girl for three years when she made friends with a new group of kids. Suddenly, I became this horrible person that she didn’t want to be friends with anymore. As a result, all of her friends thought the same way about me. I was exiled from my group from friends just because one person had decided that her new friends were better than me. I guess she was just using me until something or someone better came along, just as contestants do in reality shows but with money. The tribe had spoken.
When I was younger and in Junior High, I witnessed this first hand. I had been best friends with a girl for three years when she made friends with a new group of kids. Suddenly, I became this horrible person that she didn’t want to be friends with anymore. As a result, all of her friends thought the same way about me. I was exiled from my group from friends just because one person had decided that her new friends were better than me. I guess she was just using me until something or someone better came along, just as contestants do in reality shows but with money. The tribe had spoken.
Reality shows are overflowing with all of the love and sex scandals; it’s hard to keep up with all of them. That’s why you shouldn’t. On shows like “Tila Tequilas: A Shot at Love” or “The Bachelor,” the contestants are actually competing for love. Tila, the many different bachelors, Bret Michaels, and every other person that has their own quest for love reality show are really not on a quest for love at all. They are given, yes actually given, twenty or so people ‘in hope’ of finding true love. (Yea, right.) Every episode, the celeb or person looking for love eliminates one of the contestants, narrowing down his/her choice. Tila Tequila, famous for being in numerous men’s magazines, had both male and female contestants on her show. Every episode was full of hooking up, both guys and girls walking around more than half naked, lots and lots of drinking, and even more fighting. After many eliminations of her hopeful lovers, she ‘fell in love’ with Bobby Banhart who became the winner of season one. Bobby stated that after the show finished filming, he never saw or heard from Tila again and he never even got her number. Obviously, she wasn’t in love with him; less than a year later, season two aired.
These “compete for love” shows make love seem like it is nothing to its viewers. Contestants hook up with other contestants, the person looking for love, and even random people off of the street. A majority of these hook ups are meaningless encounters where the two (or more) people involved don’t care for each other. These actions of meaningless sex make it seem acceptable for its audience to have negative, non-personal relationships. It is almost encouraged.
These “compete for love” shows make love seem like it is nothing to its viewers. Contestants hook up with other contestants, the person looking for love, and even random people off of the street. A majority of these hook ups are meaningless encounters where the two (or more) people involved don’t care for each other. These actions of meaningless sex make it seem acceptable for its audience to have negative, non-personal relationships. It is almost encouraged.
The thought process of a normal teenager goes somewhat like this: monkey see, monkey do. Teenagers see people on the shows the love hooking up and having sex, therefore, they must too. Partying and having sex often leads to the one thing dreaded and feared by all teens: pregnancy. The numbers of teen pregnancies has risen so much that documentary style reality shows were made to follow pregnant teenagers around. These shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” were supposed to show the hardships of having a baby at such a young age. What started out as that, soon turned in to a one way ticket to fame. The girls on these shows are mostly doing it for the fame, not for the sake of helping and informing other teens in the same situation. 60% of teenagers have either watched or follow these shows and are being sent the wrong message. Most of what is shown of “Teen Mom” now is all drama between the mother and her new boyfriend, the mother and her own mother, or the mother and school. The main focus has become the mother, not the mother and the child. Every teenager goes through hardships like these; these shows make it look like having a baby while still in high school is no big deal. They make it look easy, acceptable. (Obviously we know it’s not.)
Reality TV shows, over the years, have lowered the values and morals of today’s society. Not only with relationships and sex, but. Since the target audience of these shows is particularly young, they will catch on much easier to what the show is selling them. Shows such as “Jersey Shore” or as previously mentioned “Tila Tequila: A Shot at Love,” have the cast/contestants going out and drinking every night. It is seen as one of the only activities (besides hooking up) that is fun. Reality TV shows drinking and getting drunk as normal but only sometimes shows its severe consequences such as alcohol poisoning.
Violence is also another big criteria needed for reality shows. The arguments and back-stabbing may claim to make the show more interesting, but really, it is just teaches its audience how to be mean. The children and teenagers watching these shows are slowly becoming desensitized to all of the violence. By the age of 18, most children will have seen over 200,000 acts of violence of TV alone. All this is doing is teaching our future aggressive attitude and to believe violence is ok. Furthermore, it is proven that the violence and drama on reality TV stress the audience out. Because people watch these shows so much, it is causing people to have high blood pressure and sometimes it can even lead to a stroke.
Reality TV shows, over the years, have lowered the values and morals of today’s society. Not only with relationships and sex, but. Since the target audience of these shows is particularly young, they will catch on much easier to what the show is selling them. Shows such as “Jersey Shore” or as previously mentioned “Tila Tequila: A Shot at Love,” have the cast/contestants going out and drinking every night. It is seen as one of the only activities (besides hooking up) that is fun. Reality TV shows drinking and getting drunk as normal but only sometimes shows its severe consequences such as alcohol poisoning.
Violence is also another big criteria needed for reality shows. The arguments and back-stabbing may claim to make the show more interesting, but really, it is just teaches its audience how to be mean. The children and teenagers watching these shows are slowly becoming desensitized to all of the violence. By the age of 18, most children will have seen over 200,000 acts of violence of TV alone. All this is doing is teaching our future aggressive attitude and to believe violence is ok. Furthermore, it is proven that the violence and drama on reality TV stress the audience out. Because people watch these shows so much, it is causing people to have high blood pressure and sometimes it can even lead to a stroke.
Many of the reality shows that are not the competition type, have more to do with beauty. They consist of people getting makeovers, losing weight, having plastic surgery done, and even changing their entire wardrobe to look ‘hot’. For example, let’s look at a reality TV show hit, “America’s Next Top Model,” or ANTM for short. The girls on ANTM have more in common than just aspiring to be models; they are all super skinny. The millions and millions of girls watching these insensitive makeover shows are brainwashed to believe that the models are what they are supposed to look like. This causes many girls to lose weight and change their appearance in a drastic way: eating disorders. Reality TV doesn’t much about how destructive eating disorders are though. During a season of “The Real World,” one of the girls in the cast admitted to having bulimia. The airing did not stop though most of the cast agreed that it should to allow their housemate time to get better.
Reality shows never seem to show the harmful effects of the cast’s actions. One many makeover shows, the person being made-over is often done so by plastic surgery. Although the odds of something going wrong during the surgery are very slim, complications still do arise. On these shows, all of the surgeries go perfectly and don’t even mention the side effects or the things that could go wrong to the patient. Makeover shows are partially responsible for the increase in number of plastic surgeries. These shows give off the message that you will only feel good about yourself and be like if you look like ‘this’ (insert picture of model here).
The last type of reality shows that are ruining today’s society are ‘stunt devil’ shows. This has a huge phenomenon since the beginning of “Jackass” in 2000. What started out as a television series soon turned into a blockbuster hit. The show consists of the all-male cast running around and hurting themselves for fun. There have been many spinoffs of this TV/movie series including “Viva La Bam” and “Nitro Circus.” I’ll admit, when I was younger I would try to recreate some of the stunts that these “professionals” did. (Never too the point where I was seriously injured though.) Some people take their reenactments way too far. Jason Lind, only 13 years old, was hospitalized in critical condition after he poured gasoline all over himself and caught fire. He was trying to recreate a stunt where “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville turned himself into a human weenie roast. There are many many other reports of these kinds of incidents, some even ending in death. Shows like this are encouraging dangerous behavior and make it seem like they are safe to do.
Though easy to see what kind of horrible morals these shows provide it's audience, some people still believe that they are not harmful in any way; they are just another form of entertainment much like any movie or song. Many of the shows younger viewers claim to not live their lives by the examples the characters give them. One instance of this is a younger teenager, Marlena Roman, who is 16 years old. "It's basically real life, like if you were in the real world. It shows how your friends would disobey you and betray you with lies and deceit." For Marlena, it's pure entertainment. She doesn't go out and stab friends in the back as a result of watching the show. (Cleveland) If this is so, then why are the incidents like teen pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, casual sex and violence that are shown on reality TV becoming more and more popular and a regular part in everyday life?
With every new reality show that’s aired, society’s morals, values and beliefs go a little further down the drain. If we have any respect at all for ourselves and hope for the children of the future to amount to anything, something needs to be done to stop the sending of these horrible messages that reality shows give. As a way to possibly eliminate these effects caused the misleading content of reality TV, I propose that cable companies start treating these shows as special presentations.
Personally, I believe that most reality shows should be banned from television for good. When I say most, I mean the ones that I have previously talked about that provide bad morals as well as the ones that are similar. Certain shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “American Idol” provide no harm whatsoever but I do think they have overstayed their welcome and have encouraged too many other shows to be made such as “So You Think You Can Dance” or “America’s Got Talent.” Now I know that these as well as other reality shows will never be banned from television all together, but there is a way to get them off of cable television where people of all ages can see them. I suggest making special pay per view channels devoted solely to reality shows. Many many programs on pay per view channels are as popular as programs on regular cable channels, even though the viewers are required to pay extra to watch them. People pay up to fifty dollars just to see one UFC match and sixty dollars every month for channels like Starz and HBO. Clearly, these channels are comprised of shows that people really want to see.
Personally, I believe that most reality shows should be banned from television for good. When I say most, I mean the ones that I have previously talked about that provide bad morals as well as the ones that are similar. Certain shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “American Idol” provide no harm whatsoever but I do think they have overstayed their welcome and have encouraged too many other shows to be made such as “So You Think You Can Dance” or “America’s Got Talent.” Now I know that these as well as other reality shows will never be banned from television all together, but there is a way to get them off of cable television where people of all ages can see them. I suggest making special pay per view channels devoted solely to reality shows. Many many programs on pay per view channels are as popular as programs on regular cable channels, even though the viewers are required to pay extra to watch them. People pay up to fifty dollars just to see one UFC match and sixty dollars every month for channels like Starz and HBO. Clearly, these channels are comprised of shows that people really want to see.
Since reality shows are so incredibly popular, being on a pay per view channel shouldn’t matter much. A sixteen year old girl said this about reality shows: “It's addicting, it's exciting to know what happens next. You can think about it, if you were in that person's shoes." (Cleveland) This is how the majority of the people who watch these shows feel; they are simply addicted. The need to see what happens next is much like the need for nicotine. If people will pay ridiculous amounts of money for a box of cigarettes because they are addicted to them, people will pay ridiculous amounts to watch reality shows because, likewise, they are addicted.
Putting reality shows on a pay per view channel will eliminate a lot of vulgar content on every other cable channel. The cable networks that have given most of their time slots away to reality shows like MTV or VH1 can go back to what they are supposed to be showing: music. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a music video on MTV and incorporating music back into television would greatly improve the music scene and give hope to all the young musicians and bands out there.
Putting reality shows on a pay per view channel will eliminate a lot of vulgar content on every other cable channel. The cable networks that have given most of their time slots away to reality shows like MTV or VH1 can go back to what they are supposed to be showing: music. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a music video on MTV and incorporating music back into television would greatly improve the music scene and give hope to all the young musicians and bands out there.
Also, many a great shows on channels such as ABC like “Ugly Betty” or “Detroit 1-8-7” have been canceled and their time slots replaced with reality shows. No doubt that these shows were popular, “Ugly Betty” was nominated for 27 Emmy awards and America Ferrera won the award ‘best actress in a comedy.’ Clearly, people still like shows that are scripted and tell a good story. Eliminating reality shows on cable networks will give these shows a chance to make a comeback; some shows that have been canceled may even be signed to make another season. Having more of these ‘regular’ shows back on cable will increase a need for script writers and actors/actresses. As many people aspire to have these professions, this will allow them to actually find a job and most likely keep it. (Instead of spending thousands of dollars to go to a fine arts school in New York and then work as a waiter because of the lack of opportunities available.)
Although reality ‘stars’ will get paid extra money for having their shows on pay per view channels, I believe the switch is worth it. Let them go spend their money on big hair, tan skin, gaudy clothes and other useless things. At least we don’t have to see it anymore. In this case, the benefits outweigh the cost. It's the situation.
Although reality ‘stars’ will get paid extra money for having their shows on pay per view channels, I believe the switch is worth it. Let them go spend their money on big hair, tan skin, gaudy clothes and other useless things. At least we don’t have to see it anymore. In this case, the benefits outweigh the cost. It's the situation.
Works Cited
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Jaffe, Eric. "Reality Check."observer. association for psychological science, 03/2005. Web. 14 Nov 2011. <http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=1742>.
Christianson, Peter, and Maria Ivancin. "The “Reality” of Health: Reality Television and the Public Health." the henry j. kaiser family foundation. the henry j. kaiser family foundation, 10/2006. Web. 14 Nov 2011. <http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7567.pdf>.
"Reality Television." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Project, 2011. Web. 10 Dec 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television>.
Reiss, S., and J. Wiltz. "Why america loves reality tv."Psychology today. N.p., 2001. Web. 10 Dec 2011. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200109/why-america-loves-reality-tv>.