Blog #10

The People’s Princess


“Without doubt she has left a superb legacy of bitterness, humanity and caring behind her. A veritable Queen of Hearts and yet fallible. She associated with the wrong people, sometimes put her foot in it with verbal gaffes, sometimes behaved illogically and yet gained wholeheartedly the love, sympathy and understanding of the public” (Thomas 45).

In the twentieth century Princess Diana was one of the most famous and most photographed women in the world. She was a woman of many faces, and expressed issues most celebrated people would shy away from due to public criticism. She pushed through a life living under a microscope, yet existed with a sense of self-respect and determination. Journalist Andrew Morton exposed the story about Diana, with the Princess’s permission, in his book Diana: Her True Story (Taylor 27). Morton disclosed psychologist Erik Erikson’s theory on Princess Diana that she had an identity disorder, which rooted in her juvenile failure to construct an acceptable adult character. Bulimia and self destructive behavior was her pattern before her 1992 separation with Prince Charles, “but afterwards she bravely faces her identity crisis, resolved it, constructed a fully satisfactory adult identity, made public her private pain, applied her herself anew to charity work and her role as a mother, and became a role model for many persons” (Taylor 27). Coming clean with her personal tribulations was an accomplishment among prominent figures in the limelight. Diana expressed her imperfections, which was frowned upon because a woman in her position had a façade to live up to. She was the Princess of Wales; a prominent social figure who was expected to live a life that led up to the standards of monarchy. However, as a public figure broadcasting her psychological affairs she opened the floodgates for others to evaluate themselves. The decision by Diana to publicize her harrowing battle with bulimia resulted in double the number of sufferers coming forward seeking treatment (Lister). “Identification with a public figure’s struggle with bulimia might have encouraged women to seek help for the first time,” the researchers wrote (Lister). Bulimia is often an incredibly secretive disease, and women do not come forward easily, but clearly Diana had enormous influence on people. Diana was aware of the effect she had on people and manipulated it to help others. She used her personal problems and self-interest as a way to evolve social norms at the time in Britian.
Diana’s success with the public, despite her faults, was a first hand example as to why she could be honest with her enthusiasts and the few disbelievers. People adored her not only for her charming personality, but because she was genuine among a group of individuals who continue to live up to an idealistic perfection. The Princess encouraged people not to be afraid to speak up in a time where etiquette required separate domains for men and women, and that sphere approved hypocrisy. The monarchy conserved a traditional double standard that overlooked male adultery while condemning divorce. Adulterous behavior for females was hardly considered possible, much less condoned. It was a way of life that was instilled from the time of childhood; even as little girls royalty knew their boundaries. For example, Marion Crawford, nanny of then Princess Elizabeth, instilled into Queen Elizabeth to preserve the monarchy’s image by respecting the double standard (Taylor 52). This value system carried on into Diana’s term as princess and she was looked down upon for her affair, even after it was widely known Prince Charles carried on his old relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles after he and Diana were married. Diana knew she was breaking the tradition of inequality courtiers enforced, yet she thought the court protocol was ripe for change since public attitudes had already begun to change (Taylor 53). Her adversary was her husband’s department, the courtiers who are the connection between the Royal Court and the outside world (Taylor 47). The court had a deep commitment to image; courtiers threatened her when she threatened the royal image.
Diana continued to disobey the courtiers and the image of the Royal family by informing the public about the behind the scene behaviors of her not so perfect life. She was declared to be “more human than the other royals” (Thomas 46). She embraced her drawbacks and grew from them, she did things most would not, and most of all stood for her own beliefs. She attempted to stay grounded amongst a group of elites who sought only to uphold the royal image. Under these circumstances Princess Diana’s influence was enough reason to aim to revolutionize cultural attitudes. She knew she had the power for social direction, so she spoke out for the benefit of the people. She tried to retreat from the public eye several times, but always returned because she understood that she had power over the public. Diana realized she had a great opportunity if she was able to combine self-interest with a public request on rights for women (Taylor 116). Being princess and so widely honored, it was her duty to make
a difference. Britain was in the process of shifting to values that sanction individual autonomy and self-interest, and Diana lent a hand even whenever feasible. Diana exemplified the shift when she focused public attention on her being asked to surrender by the royal family. Since the monarchy symbolizes British values, her declaration of self-interest became a symbol of changes in British values (Taylor 115). Yet, this did not come easy, Diana would face many obstacles. Princess Diana’s incessant behavior was not liked by everyone, especially the Royal family. They had worked so long protecting the monarchy and upholding it to certain standards; some felt they were losing it with Diana as princess. She was untraditional and self loathing in the eyes of Queen Elizabeth. Diana’s public life left room for scrutiny and disapproval of the Royal family. Diana not conforming to the royal family way of life, and revealing her sufferings to the world, made it possible for the royal family to cast her as a bit unworthy. Not publicly, but out of sight they made Diana feel out of place. In an official interview provided by the BBC, when asked about her depression and how it affected her marriage she responded with, “Well, it gave everybody a wonderful new label - Diana's unstable and Diana's mentally unbalanced. And unfortunately that seems to have stuck on and off over the years”. Then when asked about her issue with bulimia she answered, “You inflict it upon yourself because your self-esteem is at a low ebb, and you don't think you're worthy or valuable. You fill your stomach up four or five times a day - some do it more - and it gives you a feeling of comfort”. The princess loved by so many was living a life of turmoil fueled by the way she was neglected. It was not like royalty to suffer from diseases such as depression or bulimia, especially disclose it to the world. As royalty, you must live up to perfection, and the pressures tarnished Princess Diana’s self-esteem. Communicating with the world about her personal affairs was a sense of redemption for Diana, but as for the royal family it was a smear to the royal reputation. The courtiers had it out for Diana and were often very hostile. The hostility of the courtiers was confirmed by eyewitness testimony by Lady Colin Campbell; she blamed the court for security lapses that endangered Diana (Taylor 54). Diana’s lack of orthodoxy put her at risk; at risk for ridicule, danger and spite.
Princess Diana was trying to set a new standard for the role of royalty that eventually backfired. While Princess Diana did many great things with charity, she led a life of an open book, which caused anxiety and aggression among the royal family. Her self-interest revolution was her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. For it encouraged others to help themselves, it also generated a level of controversy.

Blog #7

The third draft of assignment one was far better than the last considering I had many corrections and I took the revision aspect very seriously. This was an awkward paper to write at first because it was the first paper of this class. Also, I was not aware of the writing style which made writing the paper difficult. I was not certain of what you expected, so I completed the first draft on a whim. The last draft was considerably better because I had peer corrections and your input. When I wrote the first draft I did not include the words, ethos, pathos and logos I simply explained how the terms were expressed in the advertisement. So, then when I did the third draft I used the terms, which in some ways made me sound a bit more intelligent, who would have thought! I am not sure if the third draft is a reflection of my best work, but I feel that it might be the best job I could do with the topic.
This was the first time I had to write a rhetorical analysis on an advertisement, so this assignment did not come easy. After I did the peer reviews I was able to get a feel on how the assignment was supposed to be completed. So, after the peer reviews I took the critiques from my peers and what I learned from the other papers and put that towards making my paper more complete. Then after your review I was able to really revise my paper with a professional opinion which helped me organize my thoughts. Also, I was able to analyze the ad from different perspectives which made my paper multifaceted and more creative. Without revisions my paper would lack sufficient evidence and it would contain many blunders.

Blog #9

Contrastive rhetoric came about with the purpose of teaching English to those whose first language is something other than English. It was taught in order to help people adapt to using English as an everyday language; to be creative, read and write successfully, and to have the ability to express their ideas in text. The ultimate goal is to help a person to fully adapt to using English as a primary language. Contrastive rhetoric teaches a person all aspects of English communication, such as conventions, discussion topics, writer’s authority, forms or writing, and the meaning of evidence. While the author explains what contrastive rhetoric is, he is also trying to shine some new light on the topic. He wishes that teachers will gain a new perspective on the teaching style and realize the other useful ways this style can be used. Contrastive rhetoric was intended to teach English, yet it can be used in other areas of teaching; it can be applied to cultural differences.

I consider Sherman Alexie’s article “I Hated Tonto (still do)” as a contemporary adaptation of contrastive rhetoric. Alexie is trying to bridge the cultural gaps between American Indian culture and the American culture. He grew up wanting to be the traditional white man and disliked his heritage because they were deemed insignificant, and Alexie wanted to be the hero that seduced women with his good looks and charm. In his article he is trying to express how Indians were portrayed and the irony behind it. As a child he loved movies with Indians, but as he grew up he cringed at the stereotypical portrayals of his people. Under all the fuss about movies Alexie is trying to explain how he felt growing up as an American Indian and the cultural differences. This article is an example of contrastive rhetoric because of the comparison of the two cultures and the emphasis on the differences from the eyes of someone considered “different”.

Blog #6

Young or Old, Still Beautiful
Beauty was once in the eye of the beholder, yet now beauty seems only to be found in the hub of youth. Universally beauty and youth are coupled and being attractive is currently defined as youthfulness. This is apparent especially in beauty product advertisements; the models are continuously young, beautiful and thin, and according to Jean Kilbourne in her article Beauty and the Beast of Advertising, “The ads sell a great deal more than products. They sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be.” However, the Dove advertisement in Time magazine there is an older woman posing, with confidence, tastefully nude; she is not tremendously thin and nor is she what someone would expect to see in a beauty advertisement. This advertisement is attempting to break the bond of beauty and youth, and encourage the idea that beauty has no age limit, while disregarding the typecast of “normal” beauty ads. Dove is arguing that there should be no constraints on beauty, and that women should be allowed to age gracefully, as intended in the advertisement and seen on the Dove website. Instead of another advertisement promoting anti-wrinkle cream that claims it has the power to make you look younger with three applications, with a young “beautiful” model, Dove is advocating the need to realize that beautiful potential lies within us all, despite age. The rhetoric of the argument breaks this bond with successful advertising techniques.
Across the model’s body in the advertisement reads “too old to be in an anti-aging ad”, then at the bottom continues to say “but this isn’t anti-age. This is pro-age”. This statement is unfortunately true, if this were an anti-aging ad this woman would be considered too old, but it is not an advertisement that discourages aging. Most beauty advertisements portray the idea to women of a perfect body and face, which is ultimately unobtainable. Kilbourne states, “This image is difficult and costly to achieve and impossible to maintain, no one is flawless and everyone ages. Growing older is the great taboo. Women are encouraged to remain little girls ("because innocence is sexier than you think"), to be passive and dependent, never to mature”. Using an analytical method called TRACE (text, reader, author, constraints and exigence) this ad can be critiqued on all grounds. For example, test in this ad is testifying the opposite of most beauty advertisments; it is about growing old and enjoying the best years of your life, according to the Dove pro- age website. The model is not young and neither are the models on the website, but you can sense their calm nature within themselves. They are comfortable in their skin and the urgency to be young is not present. Being directed towards aging woman readers, Dove provided a well put together advertisement that pushes away all constraints. The author is Dove a company that promotes true beauty and even sponsors a Campaign for Real Beauty, which is meant to endorse that each woman or girl is uniquely beautiful (Dove Campaign for Real Beauty). This is where ethos, credibility, is found. Because Dove is a company that is devoted to making all women feel beautiful, they are not just using the tactic that beauty lies in us all to sell their products. They are a company that cares about their consumers and are in tune with their needs and wants in a real world.
Dove is trying to make a difference and make each female proud to be who they are in a time where society’s pressures are extremely hard to ignore. We are facing a period where people are afraid of growing old, and almost everyone is seeking to find the secret to eternal youth. This advertisement is trying to reach those that are compelled they must be young in order to be beautiful. There is great underlying emotion that attracts all women when they come into contact with this ad; the urgency to be beautiful, young, and thin or they will be forgotten. The pathos is the feelings present when a woman reads this ad; all women share common reactions to this ad because they are all faced with the same problem. There is logos in the ad because this is currently a dominating cultural issue and Dove is attacking it from a positive viewpoint. It is not stated anywhere in the ad that growing old means you are doomed to ugliness and disparity, it simply provides the audience with the notion that maturing should be seen as another great milestone in a woman’s life.
The logic behind the ad is incredibly good marketing skills which mark a change of direction in the anti-age movement. Anti-age has a negative connotation while pro-age is seen as in support of aging, which is appealing to woman because aging is inevitable and it is better to embrace the idea than fight it off. Instead of communicating with a better known symbol for beauty Dove takes a different approach and shows a real woman who has aged gracefully, and not ashamed of the way she looks. According to Foss, in the book entitled Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric, “How we perceive, what we know, what we experience, and how we act are the results of our own symbol use and that of those around us; rhetoric is the term that captures all of these processes. For us, rhetoric is the human use of symbols to communicate”. Dove is trying to exaggerate their argument using the opposite symbol we would normally see in a beauty advertisement. They are using rhetoric to manipulate the audience’s mind with images we do not associate with the symbol we are expecting. Dove makes their argument have deeper meaning than a regular beauty ad because it exemplifies a real woman, not someone who is paid to look “beautiful”. Dove uses rhetoric to their advantage and in turn gives you a different outlook on your current symbol for the subject.
Dove’s advertisement was incredibly successful and the argument was clear and concise without being pompous. Dove was bold, daring and I believe this ad could catch any woman’s eye. It approached a current issue in a positive way that caused light to shine down on the act of aging. This advertisement criticized an existing argument and formed a new and improved fresh argument on the same issue.














Works Cited:

http://www.doveproage.com/being_proage.asp

Foss, Sonja K., Foss, Karen A., Trapp, Robert. Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric.
Third edition. Waveland Press, INC.; Chapter 1- An Introduction to Rhetoric

Dove Advertisement. Time 3 September, 2007

Kilbourne, Jean. "Beauty...and the Beast of Advertising." Center for Media Literacy 17 September 2007 .

Blog #5

Peg Tyre in the article “Bringing up Adultolescents”, is making a claim about twenty something year old children still living with their families. Tyre is focusing on the fact that adults are relying on their parents for everything from, living at home, paying their rent and choosing their careers. These “adultolescents” are comfortable with being dependent on their parents and putting their independent nature on hold just to get a few extra years from the parentals. It is not just the children to blame; the parents are so involved in their children’s lives they are letting the dependency continue. In fact, they enable their children consciously. Some break their banks to support their children to attend grad school so they have the upper hand when entering the real world. They want their children to have everything they did not have and more. This is creating a generation dependent on what their parents can do for them, not what they can accomplish on their own. Tyre states, “Relying on your folks to light the shadowy path to the future has become so accepted that even the ultimate loser move-returning home to live with your parents- has lost its stigma”. People are integrating living with their parents after college as part of the grand plan. Instead of moving on after college to bigger and better things people fall pathetically back on their parents.

Tyre, Peg. "Bringing Up Adultolescents." Essentials of Argument 133-136.

Blog #4

Warrants are the general beliefs about an argument. They are the commonly accepted attitudes about subjects. They do not have to be written out in the argument because the warrants are assumed, and spelling them out would be redundant and boring. So, it is best when the warrants are shared between the author and the audience. In the book Essentials of Argument, the author states, “if the audience shares the warrants with the arguer, the audience will accept them, and the argument is convincing. If the warrants are in conflict and the audience does not accept them, the argument is not convincing to them.” (102) Warrants provide connections between the reader and the arguer attempting to make the argument more convincing. So, when there is discrepancies between the two there is little they can relate to which makes it difficult for the argument to be successful. The warrant unites the claim and the support so that the audience can accept certain assertions. To provide an example, someone from Japan might not understand a certain warrant about our president, but an American citizen would hold similar assumptions about the president with an American author. As long as cultural values are the same and it is a big enough generalization, the arguer and the audience can share warrants.

Wood, Nancy V.. Essentials of Arguments. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.

Blog #3 Visual Argument

Visual argument is an effective way of posing a stand on an issue because of the emotion an image can evoke. I feel the emotional responses that are caused by visual arguments are the most important features. In Essentials of Argument it states that “visual argument operates more directly on the emotions than written argument because images communicate more directly than words”. An image can provide an audience with an immediate response that is less critical than print. While reading a person will tend to be more analytical than if they were simply looking at a picture. It is easy and quick so people do not have to take a lot of time thinking about what they are experiencing. Emotion is then important because it gets to the root of a person and trigger feelings that can persuade your audience to agree with your argument. Provoking emotion in your audience is vital to the successfulness of your visual argument.

Images surround us and we put labels on all of them. McCloud put it perfect when he called them icons rather than images or symbols. Symbol is a subcategory for the term icon, but icon is a better term to describe images because it is more general. I found that the most important feature of visual images because if you understand icons you can better understand the meaning of visual images. Icons can be used to represent anything using pictures, letters, faces, cartoons, etc. They can be generic, yet there are icons that are universally understood to be the same. The generalness of images is crucial to the idea of visual images, but also understanding the specificity is important.