TOW #25: "Castles in the Air" by Emily Nussbaum

Reading goals: understand and correctly identify the author's purpose

Writing goals: include all information about the article and rhetorical devices in a concise, coherent writing piece

     Talking shape-shifting dogs, kidnapping ice kings, scientific candy princesses–author Emily Nussbaum correctly describes all of these things as "dreamlike" but also "druglike." Whoever may come across these adjectives may think that they are being used to describe some crazy dream or a painting by a modern surrealist. However, Nussbaum is describing a TV show that airs on Cartoon Network: "Adventure Time." In her article "Castles in the Air," Emily Nussbaum discusses the complexity in a story that otherwise seems childish and harmless. By using vivid diction, Nussbaum achieves her purpose of illustrating what many may not know about the show "Adventure Time"–on the surface, the children's TV show seems very frivolous and trivial, but the background hints at something much larger and more complex than an everyday cartoon.
     Emily Nussbaum is a writer who previously worked for New York but is now a TV critic for The New Yorker. She writes about various popular TV shows, including "True Detective," "Mad Men," and "Sherlock," telling adults who read The New Yorker about shows they may want to keep an eye on. "Adventure Time" sticks out on her list of reviewed shows because it isn't one that most adults have watched or even heard of. Nussbaum initially describes "Adventure Time" as a light-hearted story in which "a good-hearted human boy named Finn and his dog, Jake, a gruff-voiced wingman type, were brought up as siblings." Sounds simple enough. "But," she continues, "as the series progresses, an eerie backstory emerges." She reveals that the show is actually about a post-war world in which all humans have either died or mutated into something else, besides Finn. She continues this thought by studying some of the eccentric characters the show offers–the Ice King, "who keeps trying to kidnap princesses and marry them," and Marceline, "a punk-goth vampire [who] has a mobster-like dad." Behind what seems like a very quirky and cheery atmosphere is actually a world ruined by war and other conflicts: "the background hints at a ruined world: missiles poke out, and abandoned technology is everywhere. Bodies morph grotesquely–when Marceline's father gets angry, he transforms from a businessman into a demon with an ass face" Nussbaum writes, possibly hinting that no matter how ridiculous "Adventure Time" is, it is still as real as any realistic fiction TV show for adults. By describing parts of a children's show as "goofy" get "grotesque [at points,]" Nussbaum effectively achieves her purpose of showing adults that even a show about a little boy, his stretchy talking dog, frustrated lemon-heads, and southern elephants can have an insightful message.

"Adventure Time," a quirky, colorful children's show, can actually tell you much about the real world

TOW #24: Volkswagen Park Assist Advertisement (Visual Text)

Reading goals: identify many rhetorical devices/strategies present in the ad

Writing goals: keep things consistent and refrain from being too formulaic in writing

     Volkswagen, a popular car company, effectively achieved its purpose of advertising its new precision parking feature in its new advertisement through the use of humor and analogy. The advertisement depicts a single porcupine surrounded by goldfish in plastic bags, with the only text being, "Precision Parking. Park Assist by Volkswagen." By using these animals, the advertisement has a very lighthearted and humorous nature that helps Volkswagen appeal to its audience of drivers of any age. The analogy of a porcupine to the viewer's car and the bags of goldfish to surrounding cars goes hand-in-hand with this humorous nature because although its use of animals is funny, its analogy is very real: parallel parking a car can be as dangerous as trying to fit a porcupine between delicate bags full of goldfish.
     This text also plays a role as an enthymeme: it conveys an argument as its purpose is to persuade viewers to buy Volkswagen cars with the new Park Assist feature. The major premise states that a porcupine has to be carefully "parked" between bags of goldfish while the minor premise states that Volkswagen's Park Assist can park cars between other cars as carefully as the porcupine is parked between the goldfish. By using this analogy, Volkswagen can easily get its point across about its Park Assist feature without being as dull and overdone as other car advertisements.

IRB Post MP 4

     Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife is a humorous scientific book written by Mary Roach about the possibility of life after death. In this book, Roach takes a scientific approach when she investigates what a "soul" is and what happens to it after one dies. There is also research on reincarnation, mediums, and out-of-body experiences. Roach, aside from reviewing books in the New York Times and working with the Mars Institute, writes many best-selling non-fiction books that cover a range of scientific topics, including Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places, and, more recently, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. All of Roach's books, although written about seemingly-serious topics, are very lighthearted and funny.
     I chose this book because I am very interested in the supernatural and I'm interested to see a scientist's view of paranormal phenomenons, since many scientists probably do not believe in those kinds of things. By reading this book, I hope to learn about how Roach uses both humor and logical analysis to achieve her purpose throughout her discussions.