Local Issue

 What does it take

            The human mind is an enigma unlike any other mystery known to mankind. There are skills available from within in which individuals can learn to harness and demonstrate on a daily basis. If not taken advantage of, the brain will not grow or improve on any level of intelligence or complexity. But the one question that I find myself asking is of a local issue. It is an issue so close that it pertains only to me and my friend group. The issue is, focusing, and what type of issue it is. Is it a medical problem that must be handled by drugs, or is it a personal trait that can be handled by will power? Why is it so easy for some people to get distracted, while others can buckle down? Is it practice or hereditary? Is it mastered or acquired? My local issue is focusing on why my brain sometimes chooses to do other things instead of to focus on the task at hand. And what does my friend group have to do with it, nothing or everything?

            An average day consists of me waking up, going to classes, getting lunch in between, and usually some type of nap before my evening rituals. At night, usually starting around seven, I will take a shower and get a second dinner. I will get back to my room around nine and to no surprise, there is about nine people hanging out, doing who knows what (video games, music, talking, watching football). All I am certain about is, at that point, I have no drive to complete my homework. My mind gets sucked in by the energy and charisma of my friends and I’m lost until the late hours of the night. My head will finally hit the pillow around four in the morning, which explains my need for that nap in the afternoon.

            I know why I have a hard time focusing and my argument is that it is not medical. You can train your brain to do anything, from memory storage, to quick reaction time, to time management. But there is a reason for why it will not focus other than the obvious fact, which I haven’t ever made it focus. It has been scientifically proven that one’s brain is naturally attracted energy and is drawn to, or will be more inclined to choose the option which leads to a perception of having a better time. This is a problem in both men and woman, but usually happens only in certain cases. For example, since I do not have a set in stone routine for when to do homework, I easily fall victim to distractions because my brain does not think about getting things finished at a required time but rather just to complete them “later.” This procrastination is consuming my life.

NYC

Owen’s essay on NYC approaches a current situation and rising problem, in a different light. He approaches the problem with a different perspective. He uses NYC as an example to show going “green.” When first hearing this, I was unsure what he meant because my mind immediately thought of all the pollution, people and waste. Then, reading further, he establishes and shows how NYC is one of the most populated areas and that if it were spread out, the damage would be far worse, so by actually having such a large number of people in such a small area, there is no way NYC could do more damage than suburbs do to the amount of energy output. It was a very interesting concept and enlightening to think of this outside of the box, but also logically. He also used ethos very well in this passage with his strong facts, which helped to understand him more because it did not seem like an opinion.

redepiction

To view my video you can search “aaron goes to walmart” or use this url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozThKRsJTtk

enjoy

redepiction analysis

Walmart Remix

            Walmart is one of the most renowned super stores out there. To find a way that is superior to their own, in any depiction is a task almost as difficult as it would be to escape from a lion’s den unscathed. But to my surprise, I found a couple of things Walmart fell short of presenting. With any depiction, emotion is strongly suggested, and almost vital, to make a connection with the audience. Walmart lacks the energy, movement, and good vibes that are essential to be witnessed by its viewers. In order to create a better depiction, I decided to include those qualities, but still hold on to some of theirs. I held on to things such as, their wide range target audience, and the proof of good prices, quality, and quantity.

            First off, establish the name and show dominance. To do this, I used several altering photos of Walmart stores around the world (from the United States to Japan), and as they hit the video, they would begin to zoom in, to create a feel as if it were growing. Once in the store, I wanted to show two things: the energy of the store and people, and the personal traits. Several different key factors went into play while doing this: music, movement, repetition of themes, and emotion.

            Five departments or qualities inside the store are the cause of the excitement. With each department, there is a different target audience. With the bikes, it was children. With the video games and plasma televisions, it was teenage and adult men. With the groceries at unbeatable prices, it was the newly-weds, and shopping mothers. But with all of the departments, the people reacted the same, by jumping for joy. If I could show that every department is pleasing someone, then I could show that Walmart is doing its job.

            While the qualities and emotion are visually hooking the audience, music is an imperative asset to lure them in. The music commands emotion from the audience. I wanted it to be bouncy and fun, yet elegant in the sense that Walmart is always providing the best, of everything. So I chose a piece played by an orchestra in order to show class. The tricky part though, is to match the audio with       the motion of the video. If focusing on tempo, whenever there is a sudden drop or incline, I switched to another photo; in turn creating a natural flow yet still bouncy feel.

            Only one thing left to do, the smiley. This is the customer friendly smiley face, which every person connects with because it creates the feeling of warmth and allows shoppers to shop comfortably. And according to Sam Walton, this is key to customer satisfaction.

“The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good-quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.”

- Sam Walton (1918-1992)

 

activism

The definition of activism that i have grown up to know and understand is:  a theory that the relationship between the mind and the objects of perception depends upon the action of the mind. I think that this shows that activism is based on an individuals perception of the situation and what they are doing to help improve or take a stance on the matter. The discusson, or dilemma throughout the reading seemed as if the activists had a problem with volunteer work. In a sense this makes sense because with vounteer work, it is usually mandatory; therfore, causing the workers to be unconnected to the work. This is a problem because if they do not know why they are there,  the communiy service means little to nothing. Activists are so strongly connected with what they are standing for, that it makes sense to downpla volunteer work and encorage their own philosophies. But at the same time activists are promoting service of some type, so it is quite contradictory to say that they downplay or despise any type of volunteer work. Every little bit counts.

UNBEATABLE!

Unbeatable!

“Save money. Live better.” This is the phrase we commonly hear today because of one super store that will stop at nothing to expand their market, product line, and profit. This phrase is seen right beneath the magical blue Wal-Mart logo which now has yellow rays off to the right as if it were a sun shedding light on its consumers. It has expanded across the globe by allowing us to access any store location in the country and around the world on their online website. With very little information, you can select a store near you and visually look at everything that that store withholds.  “The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good-quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.”

- Sam Walton (1918-1992)

This super store targets middle aged- mothers based off of their slogan.  Typically, mothers are the ones to shop for the kids’ clothes, food, and accessories.  By establishing the FACT, that they can save money, directly relates to a better life.  Wal-Mart works very hard on their visual advertisements, making sure consumers understand just how much they will save. With every product, there is a scratched out price and usually a sign next to it reading,

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“Unbeatable.” They want consumers to feel as if they are getting the best deal with them and that there is no need to go to any other store for anything, because Wal-Mart has it all and at better prices. Also, by establishing that only this store is needed for all of your shopping, they have connected a solution to other frustrating problems that buyers deal with. They have presented a solution to saving time, more efficient purchasing and less stress, due to ONE TRIP!

Besides the shopping moms out there, Wal-Mart targets teens as well. It lures them in with visual enhancements, of which display the most modern technology today at lower prices. This was more of a difficult task though. Wal-mart had to spend big bucks in order to expand their market in order to meet their demands, as well as trying to sell it cheaper than its competition, or at least make it look like it. If Wal-mart can’t beat its competitors, it matches them and makes the same product look more appealing.

And that is not the only thing Wal-mart has mastered. They have also been able to use all three rhetorical devices: ethos, pathos, and logos, which is no simple task. First, with pathos, wal-mart wins their audience by showing them a better life (more money in their pocket and less stress in their lives). Also, speaking of the store in general, you will always interact with or be greeted by an employee as soon as you step foot in the door. Second, with logos, it clearly displays the facts. With any product, for example, the Wii, you will see original price=$250, next to the “Unbeatable” price, $199. This shows the exact amount you will save on that particular item at hand. Third of all, ethos is effectively displayed in Wal-mart’s depiction online. At the bottom of the page, “© 2009 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,” is shown, along with a link that leads to any

 

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further information you would desire about when, how, where, and why, Wal-mart ever came about.

There is little to no flaw in their depiction, but it does downplay and ignore the idea of small businesses. Can Wal-mart legally outsell/price all of its competitors? Yes, it can, but at the expense of business ethics and the idea of allowing other small companies to coincide in almost any market. And based off of the quote stated earlier by Sam Walton, he clearly wants to ignore how this continuously growing store is helping him make more money, by focusing on making sure the consumer believes that they are all that matters at Wal-mart!