TOW #16: IRB (I Am Malala)

An activist for education and women's rights, Malala Yousafzai has run a blog for the BBC, starred in a New York Times documentary about Pakistan, and been nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize. Only fifteen years old, she was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban in October 2012. She survived the assassination attempt and became even more successful; she was named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World" and nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. With help from Oxford-educated British journalist Christina Lamb, Yousafzai wrote I Am Malala as equal parts autobiography and memoir.

The best parts, in my opinion, are when Yousafzai uses anecdotes to let the reader know what her life really feels like. Even when not much is occurring, the writing becomes more detailed and relatable when Yousafzai writes a first-hand account. For example, she writes, "That morning we arived in the narrow mud lane off Haji Baba Road in our usual procession of brightly painted rickshaws, sputtering diesel fumes, each one crammed with five or six girls" (3). Because she experienced this herself, Yousafzai is able to convey the event better than if she had simply researched it. The anecdotes often include imagery and sensory details that allow the reader to imagine the smell of diesel fuel or the sight of the brightly colored rickshaws.

Although the autobiographical information is interesting, Yousafzai (likely with some prodding from Lamb) sometimes gives a lot of information that I, as a reader of a book about Malala Yousafzai, do not find necessary. She dedicates a large section to her father's background and beliefs; the information seems both impersonal and slightly irrelevant. (After all, the book is not called I Am Ziauddin.) I realize that Yousafzai and Lamb are trying to inform readers, but I feel like it was distracting and forced. Other than that complaint, the book is generally well-written and the authors are entertaining and informing in the way that they wanted to be.

TOW #15: Article (Want to See China's Latest Top Secret Military Site? Just Google It)

Time Magazine published Dan Kedmey's article, "Want to See China's Latest Top Secret Military Site? Just Google It." on September 15, 2013. Kedmey appears to have written for Time since June 5 of last year, but that's all the information that can be found. His article topics have ranged from North Korea to internet in the Pacific Islands to One Direction. His only credit is that he has been consistently published in Time Magazine for a few months. This is the first strike against the article.

Kedmey begins by comparing the use of spies and satellite pictures during the Cold War to the Google Earth images of military intelligence we can access today. The comparison effectively shows how current technology far surpasses anything we have had throughout history. He explains that Peter Singer and Jeremy Lin, two military technology enthusiasts (experts?), wrote an analysis of the production of the first Chinese military aircraft carrier based solely on images found on public blogs. The reader learns more about the analysis and the current technology available to us, then is stuck with five hundred words of background information about Jeremy Lin and the online military forums he uses. Kedmey offers some information about the internet's ability to find and interpret confidential information, but focuses mainly on Lin, calling him a "digital-age Pocahontas, who could lead old-school intelligence experts through the unfamiliar terrain of crowd-sourced pictures." The allusion, in addition to going into far too much detail about a man the reader doesn't care about, is also inaccurate: Kedmey likely meant to compare Lin to Sacagawea. Strike two.

Fortunately, the article does not receive a third strike; it was neither fantastic nor awful. Kedmey's goal was to show the readers of Time Magazine the shocking ease with which military intelligence can be leaked. However, I believe he should have further explained the significance of this availability of information. In his final paragraphs, he quickly describes the CIA's center for open source intelligence, to which the general public submits information to be reviewed as possible evidence in threat assessments. Had he included more of this type of information and less on the background of the barely relevant military enthusiast, this article would have more impact on its readers.

Aircraft Carrier Production

The top secret Chinese aircraft carrier isn't so secret after all.

http://world.time.com/2013/09/14/wanna-see-chinas-latest-top-secret-military-site-just-google-it/

TOW #14: Article (When I'm Sixty-Four)

The New York Times writer Roger Cohen firmly believes that technology will soon create human lifespans of up to 200 years; he also believes their are many reasons why we should not take advantage of this particular opportunity. Cohen claims that "limited natural resources, already aging populations, spreading megacities, a dearth of jobs in the developed world, severe strains on health services, disappearing pensions and growing inequality" are issues that would reach a critical state if humans started to routinely live 30+ years longer than they do today. The only information he uses to support this claim is a study conducted by Pew Research Center which found that "56 percent of American adults said they would not choose to undergo medical treatments to live to 120 or more." This, of course, does not support the claim in any way. Unfortunately for Mr. Cohen, he does not seem to have enough evidence to make his argument convincing.

Personally, I believe Cohen just barely accomplishes his purpose, if at all. He starts to get his point across, but in the critical final paragraph, he decides to become a poet instead of a journalist. "Immortality — how tempting, how appalling! What a suffocating trick on the young! Death is feared, but it is death that makes time a living thing. Without it life becomes a featureless expanse. I fear death, up to a point, but would fear life without end far more: All those people to see over and over again, worse than Twitter with limitless characters." I hate to quote so much of the article, but I felt it necessary to demonstrate the use of exclamation points and vaguely philosophical phrases. A reader is able to skim it briefly and determine that he fears hyper-lengthened lifespans, but the conclusion is written in such broad terms that it could not possibly sway readers onto his side.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/opinion/cohen-when-im-sixty-four.html?ref=editorials&_r=0

TOW #13: Visual Text (Beyoncé Pepsi Commercial)

PepsiCo is no stranger to celebrity endorsement. From Michael Jackson's in 1984 to Britney Spears's in 2001, many Pepsi commercials have featured pop culture icons. One of the most recent in the lineup, Beyoncé's Pepsi commercial aired in April of 2013.

The advertisement features a present-day Beyoncé Knowles in the middle of a set of mirrors. She drinks a Pepsi, and each mirror suddenly contains a younger Beyoncé from earlier in her music career. The personas reach as far back as 2001; Pepsi recreated her pink costume from the Destiny's Child "Bootylicious" music video, before she was even a solo artist. They all dance to a song that at the time had yet to be released, culminating with Beyoncé breaking away from her past selves and drinking a Pepsi. The slogan "Live For Now" is displayed on the screen and a voiceover states, "Embrace your past, but live for now."

The commercial relies heavily on the audience members' cultural knowledge; they must realize that Beyoncé is confronting past versions of herself, or else the advertisement makes little sense. Luckily, Beyoncé is popular enough that the average American would recognize her and make the necessary connection to the slogan. Even if they didn't, however, the commercial would still be effective due to the entertainment value of the singing, dancing, and animation.

I think the commercial was most likely successful in fulfilling its purpose of selling Pepsi products. PepsiCo was wise to choose Beyoncé as its spokesperson, since she is about as popular today as Michael Jackson was in 1984. Prior to this commercial, Pepsi sent her to perform at the Superbowl to put her back in the public eye despite being between album releases. The fact that the commercial features an unreleased song creates even more talk about Beyoncé and the commercial, thus making it more well-known and more likely to sell its product.

TOW #12: IRB (I Am Malala)

An activist for education and women's rights, Malala Yousafzai has run a blog for the BBC, starred in a New York Times documentary about Pakistan, and been nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize. Only fifteen years old, she was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban in October 2012. She survived the assassination attempt and became even more successful; she was named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World" and nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. With help from Oxford-educated British journalist Christina Lamb, Yousafzai wrote I Am Malala as equal parts autobiography and memoir.

The best parts, in my opinion, are when Yousafzai uses anecdotes to let the reader know what her life really feels like. Even when not much is occurring, the writing becomes more detailed and relatable when Yousafzai writes a first-hand account. For example, she writes, "That morning we arived in the narrow mud lane off Haji Baba Road in our usual procession of brightly painted rickshaws, sputtering diesel fumes, each one crammed with five or six girls" (3). Because she experienced this herself, Yousafzai is able to convey the event better than if she had simply researched it. The anecdotes often include imagery and sensory details that allow the reader to imagine the smell of diesel fuel or the sight of the brightly colored rickshaws.

Although the autobiographical information is interesting, Yousafzai (likely with some prodding from Lamb) sometimes gives a lot of information that I, as a reader of a book about Malala Yousafzai, do not find necessary. She dedicates a large section to her father's background and beliefs; the information seems both impersonal and slightly irrelevant. (After all, the book is not called I Am Ziauddin.) I realize that Yousafzai and Lamb are trying to inform readers, but unless this information becomes necessary later, I feel like it was distracting and forced. Other than that complaint, the book is generally well-written and the authors are so far entertaining and informing me in the way that they wanted.

Malala's School

Included in I Am Malala

TOW #11: Article (Catch a Cold, Go to Prison: The Recidivism Debate)

"Catch a Cold, Go to Prison: The Recidivism Debate" appeared on the Los Angeles Times website on November 26, claiming to have been written by "The Times editorial board." Because I do not live in California (as most of the Times' readers do) I was previously unaware of the problem of high recidivism in the Californian criminal justice system. Recidivism is the rate at which previously paroled prisoners partake in additional illegal activity. Attorney general Kamala Harris recently opened a division to reduce California recidivism rates, an action which the authors say was pointless and unnecessary.

The article's main rhetorical strategy is to define the word "recidivism." By defining the subject, the Times editors can make their argument seem more relevant and accurate based on the descriptions that they themselves gave. "Because 'recidivism' has so many different meanings [...] it has no meaning at all," the authors write. "Clearer language is needed to produce clearer results." The topic can be spun many different ways based on how one describes it, a fact that the authors cleverly noticed and effectively used to make theirs appear to be the only rational argument.

The definition is given through a comparison of two people: a man who missed a probation appointment after being paroled, and a cancer patient who developed a cold. You would not say that the cancer patient relapsed, the authors reasoned. Similarly, missing one appointment should not mean the criminal "relapsed," as is implied with the current, broad definition of recidivism. Juxtaposing these two people led the audience down a logical path: if the cancer patient did not relapse, and the criminal is in a very similar situation, then it holds that the criminal did not relapse, either. This current miscategorization drives up recidivism measurements.  "When technical parole violations are stripped out and the measure of recidivism is a new crime with a new arrest and a new conviction," the authors argue, "California's recidivism rate is [...]  just about the same as most other states." This logical argument was strong and seemingly effective at persuading the audience that Californian recidivism is not as urgent as it appears from the measurements.

CA Attorney General Kamala Harris

TOW #10: Article (Fixing Schools to Fix Chicago)

19,905 students graduated from Chicago public schools in June. In the same class, 9,310 students dropped out after ninth grade. This shocking statistic is the first used by the anonymous author of "Fixing Schools to Fix Chicago" in order to prove that the Chicago school system needs a drastic overhaul. He or she continues that only eight percent of public high school freshman in Chicago will go on to earn a bachelor's degree by their mid-twenties. After using these statistics to prove that dropouts are major problem in the city, the author lists reasons why the typical Chicagoan reader should care. The author explains, "Why should this matter to all Chicagoans? Because crime, joblessness, poverty — many of this city's ills — take root at home and fester in the classroom." He or she then goes into detail about how the high number of dropouts contributes to each problem. For example, dropouts are "140 times more likely to be in correctional institutions than their peers with college degrees." By using facts and examples, the author proves that this problem is both widespread and relevant to common interest.

The author ultimately wants readers to participate in a series of editorials the Chicago Tribune is running to plan a better city. Although the lack of a name attached to the article detracts from its credibility, the fact that it is part of an official Chicago Tribune project shows that the research and opinions presented are probably valid. I believe that the author's argument was convincing enough that many readers would have wanted to contribute to fixing the education system through this editorial series. Even if a reader has no children in the school system and does not have a personal interest in it, everybody wants less crime on the streets and wants to fund fewer food stamps. The author's argument was coherent and persuasive.
 
 

 

 Gerould W. Kern, Chicago Tribune Editor

This guy wants you to fix Chicago.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/plan/ct-edit-xproject2a-educ-1013-20131013,0,3575610.story