TOW Post #26 (Visual): Movie Posters

The Hunger Games, a worldwide phenomenon of a book series has a four movie deal for three books. Written by Suzanne Collins and produced by Lionsgate, teens love these movies. The poster for the Hunger Games really evokes the dark, gruesome ideas of the movie. The whole thing is in dark shades, black, brown, and gray, while the focal point of the whole poster is the burning mockingjay pin in the center, blown up very large and a bright gold color. Katniss' back is turned from the audience as she looks at the pin too. The people from the Capitol, the audience for the gruesome games are seen on the side, also looking at the pin. I think the on fire pin is the whole center of this poster, because it represents the whole revolutionary theme of the story.This poster is trying to sell this movie, and the pin is the most exciting object of the poster. This makes people want to see the movie more, because fire means the movie is going to be exciting and possibly have explosions, which is always a box office booster (see all of the Transformer movies for reference). The audience also comes for the stars. Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most popular young actresses of the era, and fans of her will want to see this movie. The poster taps into this by having her front and center. Even though you cannot see her face, on the mini flags next to her, you can clearly see her face and Peeta's, or Josh Huterson's. Their star power is another thing that really draws crowds in. The final thing that dramatizes this poster is the slogan at the top that reads "the world will be watching". This is a statement that encompasses the movie and the plotline. It gives a sense of jumping on the bandwagon, that everyone is going to see this movie so you must too. As a whole, this poster is very highly produced in a way that attempts to persaude the onlooker to watch the movie.

TOW #25 (Article): Hillary Clinton for President?

In a recent article by CNN, it was announced that Hillary Clinton is announcing her campaign for 2016 president. The interesting thing about the announcement though is that she is posting it on Facebook and Twitter. Instead of having a press conference, Clinton is using social media as a way to communicate. While many people find this as a sign of laziness, others actually like the idea. Clinton is able to reach out to the younger generation who will have a huge say in the upcoming election. Being one of those people myself, I can say with confidence that having someone who is able to reach out to me using my means of communication is a lot easier. I wish I could watch every speech Clinton gives and be there at every crowd rally, but with my schedule, it is near to impossible.  Therefore, I wouldn't view her strategy as lazy but resourceful. As graduating high-schoolers will be able to vote in the 2016 election, she is making the right decision. Another problem that was happening with her campaign is many people view the theme as "women empowerment". The whole idea being "women can be in office too". However, Hillary has been proven to not be the strongest advocate for females. In fact, she is currently involved in a scandal where she takes money from Saudi Arabia, who are known to beat women, through an organization. These types of transactions that are on the books are bound to get her in trouble. As the first possible women president, Clinton needs to be careful of how she is going to set up her campaign. She can't be contradicting her slogan with her current activities. This type of inconsistency will make her lose the election.

TOW #24 (IRB): Picking Cotton Pt. 2

In the second part of this touching nonfiction book, we are able to see Ronald's point of view in the whole situation. It is a really big eye opener because Ronald explains his time spent in prison in such a way that if affects every single reader. I mean from the way he explains what everything looks like to the way he talks about the grief he went through, the readers feel emotionally connected to him. Also, it was kind of cool to see the point of view switch from Jennifer to Ronald because it allows the readers to get an understanding of the whole case from everyone involved. Also, we see the troubles Ronald had and how being wrongfully convicted can really mess up a person. Ronald's experience in prison was extremely emotional. For example, he addressed the physical and mental pain he felt. Due to his skin color, the people around him made assumptions of who he was and what kind of person he was. People assumed that he had to be guilty just because he was black, so a lot of racial judgment was involved. This describes the title of the book, "Picking Cotton". It not only describes the literal action of Jennifer choosing Ronald Cotton in the lineup, but it is referencing slavery which alludes to the racism and prejudice Ronald received. Ultimately, I enjoyed the overall book and saw it as a real eye-opener. I am now more aware of the justice system and how important it is to enforce proper evidence in such cases. Also, with all the current shootings going on, proper justice is really important in stopping racial superiority in today's society. Overall, I would recommend this book to others because of the great details, changes in viewpoints that allow for a better understanding, and emotional connection a reader grows to have with each character. 

TOW #23 (Visual): Banksy

       The artwork displayed above is a known painting done by the mysterious artist who goes by Banksy. I have seen tons of his/her work before, but this was one of the main ones I could actually relate to. In today's generation, it seems like teenagers tend to be more concerned with their grades, getting into college, trying to figure everything out that they strain away from their hobbies. In fact, if someone were to ever ask me what I enjoy doing most in my free time, I wouldn't have a proper response. Aside from school and all the activities that come with it, I don't really have something that I feel that passionate about. This kind of deep thinking is what I think Banksy was trying to provoke. It seems as though we put our own hopes on hold to do things that we don't even have an interest in. For example, take a look at an art student. They are really passionate about drawing and creating beautiful pieces of work, yet most of their time is spent towards studying math, science, or history. We prioritize our lives based on what others say, but I think it's about time we prioritize based on what we find to be most important. I'm not saying that classes such as math and science aren't important, but they certainly shouldn't take priority for someone who has a love for dance or music. This painting created a sense of regain for me. Looking at it, you see something everyone always says, “follow your dreams”, covered over such a big red stamp that most would associate with failure or reject. Seeing that right there sort of motivated me into being more bold like Banksy. The painting itself advocates a message that I strongly believe in yet ever followed. I think Banksy’s main goal was to try and push people to actually do something about it.

TOW #22 (Article): Apple Watch

In a recent article presented by Forbes, people are starting to get excited about the reveal of Apple's new wearable technology: a touchscreen watch. This has been an ongoing invention for at least half a year, so for it to be released soon is such amazing news. However, many people feel this new product could end up hurting Apple. Forbes addresses the watch as being too expensive causing many people to not buy it. While many people would disagree, we have to remember this did happen in the past. When Google came out with the Google Glass, it ended up being a bit of a failure. First, people thought it looked ridiculous raising many questions on how wearable technology ever became an attractive product. Secondly, the glass was pretty expensive starting close to a thousand dollars. In the end, Google ended up stopping sales because there was just no profit coming in, so it didn't make sense to continue manufacturing. If the same problem happens with Apple, it could really hurt their stocks and income. Think of all the money put into developing this product, if it fails, all of that goes to waste. However, many people would argue that Apple hasn't failed us yet. I mean every product they have come out with has caused chaos, huge lines, and lots of people spending lots of money. Therefore, I would have to disagree with Forbes and say that this product could end up helping Apple. If it does boom, the profit will be huge and stocks will go up. However, that has to be a risk Apple is willing to take because there is a chance that the whole plan could end up going sideways. Overall, the article does a great job in introducing the pros and cons of Apple's newest invention. 

TOW #21 (Article): The Oscars

One thing that has been getting a lot of attention in the news is the recent red carpet event known as the Oscars. This award show is to highlight our nation's greatest films, costumes, producers, actors, actresses, designers, etc. Every year many social media companies/youtube interviewers/magazines talk about the event in hopes of getting more attention brought to their channel, website, or article. While many people view these pieces, they never really compare one article to another. However, being interested in how different magazines/websites write about the huge event, I decided to compare and contrast the strategies used by different writers. For the first website, I took a look at yahoo news, which many people are familiar with when looking for celebrity gossip. The main attention-seeking strategy Yahoo uses is by categorizing the celebrities into best dressed and worst dressed. This helps to create a connection between all viewers as people start mentioning if they agree or not in the comments section. Also, everybody loves good celebrity drama and participating in the lives of those richer than us. Another article, people magazine, uses different techniques to draw readers’ attention. They focus on talking about who won; this is a good strategy as it draws in the people who didn’t have time to watch the show. It makes them feel like they didn’t miss anything. Also, for people who did watch the show, the strategy acts like a short recap for them in case they missed anything. While the second website was more informative than the first, I feel it better defines what the Oscars is about. While we do get caught up in who is wearing what, it really should be a time to celebrate all the hard work put into so many great, cherished films.

TOW #20 (IRB): Picking Cotton Pt. 1

             Picking Cotton is one of those books that is able to capture something in this world and explain it in full detail. The book is able to describe the emotion behind torture, innocence, and forgiveness. It recreates the events of a true story, and with first person point of view, is able to retell it without skipping a single detail. Jennifer Cannino, the main character and writer, faced an unfortunate event during the summer of college. She was raped in her dorm room, being forced to take part in sexual acts. Even while going through something as traumatic as this, Jennifer still manages to look the rapist straight in the eye and remember everything about his physique. She studies him up and down making sure that after he is finished, he will never get away with the torturous act he just committed. This is the part in the book where Jennifer really describes the emotion of torture. She makes it feel so real and alive as if it has happened to you. You feel so connected to her, so sorry for her. While looking in a line up, Jennifer is asked to pick out her attacker. 100% sure on who he was, Jennifer picks Ronald Cotton, who turns out to not be the attacker. The point of view now switches over to Ronald's perspective as he tells about his innocence. We learn the struggle of how hard it is to prove they have the wrong guy. As a reader, you start to develop this understanding of Ronald. You start to see that sometimes people don't want to hear your side just because of how you look or in this case, the color of your skin. Everybody was so sure that Jennifer had picked the right person just because Ronald was black; they never even gave him a chance. Picking Cotton is an amazing book so far as it lets you understand the characters based on three simple feelings of torture, innocence, and forgiveness.