Summer Classes for Spring/Summer 2011 was not easy but definately challenging! Thanks for having Mr.Paszek as my teacher, I learned a lot!!
-Viktor
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Legalizing Prostitution in Michigan.
I. “Literature Review”
i. Liberator, Mark. "Legalized Prostitution: Regulating the Oldest Profession." The Liberator -- Iconoclastic Electronic Magazine. The Liberator, 5 Dec. 2005. Web. 28 July 2011..
“Legalized Prostitution: Regulating the Oldest Profession,” is an accurate persuasive positional paper on legalizing prostitution in the United States. The paper uses accurate sources that are footnoted at the bottom of the paper. The source is a great introduction to the topic of legalizing prostitution because it gives broad information on many issues concerning prostitution. For example it compares how the prohibition was a social policy that was a detriment to society and compares it to the illegality of prostitution.
ii. Bovard, James. "The Legalization of Prostitution." Welcome to The Future of Freedom Foundation. The Future of Freedom Foundation, Sept. 1998. Web. 28 July 2011..
“The Legalization of Prostitution” written by James Bovard provides a clear insight and position on why prostitution should be legalized in the United States. It clarifies on how and why the police in the United States are using illegal methods to catch prostitutes and the money spent on catching prostitutes alone is enormous. The piece gives examples of how the police force in the U.S have used entrapment in order to catch prostitutes. Bovard then elaborates on how the police use soo much resource and money on catching prostitutes when it is a victimless crime.
iii. Jeffreys, Sheila. Brothels without Walls. 2nd ed. Vol. 17. Oxford UP. Project MUSE. Web. 29 July 2011..
“Brothels without Walls” is an article written by John Hopkins University. The source provides useful counter-arguments against the legalization of prostitution. The source mainly argues that there is no way of controlling or regulating prostitution because many prostitutes operate privately. In addition, the article argues that there is no way of making prostitution “safe” because even if prostitution was legalized and operated under “Brothels,” it would still have some of the same problems we have with prostitution now. The article describes legal prostitution in Melbourne, Australia and prostitution in Netherlands and explains the problems associated with it.
iv. NA. "Decriminalization of Prostitution." California State University, Northridge. Web. 29 July 2011..
“Decriminalization of Prostitution” article put together by California State University offers numerous useful sources on the topic of prostitution and legalization of prostitution. It provides statistics, and it also explains the difference in decriminalization v legalization and the paper also introduces us to the North American Task Force on Prostitution (NATFP).
v. "100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies” - Prostitution - ProCon.org." Prostitution ProCon.org -- Should Prostitution Be Legal? ProCon, 04 Aug. 2010. Web. 01 Aug. 2011..
“100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies” provide useful statistics and information regarding prostitution laws around the world. There are statistics to back up the argument for the proposal part of the project.
II. “The Argument”
According to ProCon a non-profit public charity organization that collects statistics, over 60% of countries in the world have prostitution legal or limited legality, however in the United States all states except for Nevada have it illegal. Prostitution in the eyes of the public has always been a hotly debated topic. From the definition itself to the morality of the act, it has always been a questionable profession society look down upon. There have been numerous problems associated with prostitution, but most importantly, crime and health issues.
As many have said, prostitution is the oldest profession known to man. It is a profession greatly influenced by religion and historically patriarchal control. In order to understand the legality and illegality of prostitution one must consider the cultural differences in different countries. First of all because prostitution is illegal in the U.S with violators facing up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines (Michigan law), law enforcement spend a significant time and money to crack down on prostitution. The money spent alone on these cases far outweighs the risks these perpetrators might pose towards the general public; it is a victimless crime. Instead of concentrating on cracking down on minor criminal acts such as prostitution, taxpayer dollars should be spent on catching the real criminals, the drug traffickers, human traffickers, murderers etc…
The reason why the U.S and other countries have prostitution illegal and punishable by law is to reduce the problems that surround prostitution and because society do not approve of this act based on religious and moral grounds. Problems associated with prostitution are drugs, human trafficking, rape, pimps and the spread of STD’s. Mark Liberator compares Prohibition during the 20th century to having prostitution illegal in the United States. He argues that when Prohibition was set in place, the demand of alcohol skyrocketed and the number of people consuming alcohol remained the same. More importantly the government spent way more money and resources on controlling alcohol related crimes than before Prohibition was enacted. To put this in perspective, Prohibition backfired on society. Mark Liberator said, “Instead of managing the problem through the medical and social interventions accompanied by regulation of the industry, critics of legalized prostitution would rather adopt prohibition and cold abandonment.” Liberator argues that instead of managing prostitution in the U.S, American society chooses to be ignorant and control the problem by banning prostitution. Society and law enforcement agencies however, fail to understand that the root cause of some of these problems associated with prostitution such as the spread of STD’s and pimps is because we have prostitution illegal in this country.
There are numerous problems associated with prostitution, however some of these problems can be eliminated or eased by institutionalizing prostitution in the state of Michigan. Institutionalizing prostitution in the state of Michigan not only solves numerous issues, but it also provides benefits. If prostitution was legal in the state of Michigan, the state government could tax and gain revenue that can be dispersed back into the public. In addition, by making prostitution legal, law enforcement in Michigan could cut costs and resources, and police officers can take more time on cases that really do matter. Health is also a grave problem concerning prostitutes today. Because there is no governmental control over how these people “work”, many have STDs that could be managed if there was mandatory health check ups imposed by the government.
Prostitution should be legal not only for economical reasons but it could also reduce crime rates, get prostitutes off the streets, improve public health, increase tax revenue and help people out of poverty.
The key word to legalizing prostitution is profit. Prostitution is a moneymaking business and by legalizing it, the state can tax prostitutes. Registered prostitutes will be required to pay taxes for what they do. Depending on how much they make from their work, they will pay a certain percentage of tax for the state of Michigan. This will increase the states tax revenue. With more money in the state hands it will open up doors for many people especially the poor. Prostitutes will be able to receive health care, government assistance and students will be able to go to school with the help of the government. At the end of the day everyone will be happy, just with a little change in the law.
Many critics who argue against the legalization of prostitution argue that prostitution is unsafe and it is the cause of wide spread of sexual transmitted diseases (STD’s). We have come up with a solution for that. Prostitutes will have to be registered in the state and receive weekly or monthly checks up from a specialized physician at clinics. With this in place, doctors will be able to keep up a record for each prostitute. And if the prostitute did acquire a STD, depending on the level of danger the disease poses to the public, the prostitute may have to stop working. An STD such as HIV/AIDS is one that has no cure at the moment, so if a prostitute tested HIV positive, he or she would have to stop working immediately sanctioned by the state of Michigan. This alone will prevent the spread of one of many serious problems with STDs in the U.S. In short, there will be a higher demand for health clinics and specialized physicians and governmental control over prostitution will create more jobs for the state of Michigan, a state in dire need of a brighter future.
Keeping prostitutes off the streets is an important goal by itself. Once prostitution is institutionalized, prostitutes will no longer need “pimps” to manage their shady business and they can register to the state to be legally working as a prostitute. By keeping prostitutes off the street, drugs, trafficking, and other criminal activities might not be eliminated but it could reduce these crimes affiliated with prostitution. In addition, institutionalizing prostitution will ease the stigma associated with being a prostitute. By legalizing prostitution and having concrete definitions of what is and isn’t prostitution, prostitutes will have a more solid place in society, no longer considered the outcasts of society.
III. “Audience Analysis and Delivery”
The argument on legalizing prostitution will be geared toward the general public but especially to the educated public who can vote. Our proposal is a change of law in the state of Michigan, specifically legalizing and institutionalizing prostitution, so putting together a video that persuades as many people as possible is the best outcome we can achieve. In order to persuade as many people as possible, YouTube is used. YouTube allows the free flow of opinions and arguments in the comment section of any video. This allows the public to voice their view or perspective of an issue; in this case it is the legality of prostitution. In addition, because YouTube is modeled after a search engine website, the people who are interested and are supporters of legalizing prostitution in the state of Michigan will search and see the video because of search tags. This allows the unification of people who support this proposal therefore it will only strengthen the proposal in the comment section of YouTube. Supporters of legalization of prostitution will also be able to read about supporting documents on legalizing prostitution and be able to support this proposal.
Not only being able to achieve high number of viewers who support legalization of prostitution in Michigan, posting in Xtranormal format will open the eyes of the general public. Michiganders will realize that legalizing prostitution in the state will improve our economy and potentially ease the economic situation in our state.
IV. “Design”
After searching and checking out Xtranormal.com, we were able to discover many different backgrounds and characters that fit our proposal. First, we were undecided on the background of our video. The first background setting was located in a bar; the other was a bedroom. The bar setting was a good opportunity to show the audience that this could be a prime establishment to pick up costumers for sexual innuendos. We resulted in using a bedroom. A bedroom is a more discrete place to handle business transactions; in this case it is sex for money. It is also primarily the location where sexual activities take place.
While looking through the website, we searched for specific characters that would make a good connection with the background that we selected. We wanted to use a male and a female character. The first character that we discovered was our female character. We looked for a woman who dressed provocatively and fit a description of a prostitute. A half-naked lady was perfect for our video. It is an epitome of a prostitute nowadays. For our male character we used in our short movie, we gave the impression that he is an undercover police who totally disagrees with legalizing prostitution. Overall our male character could definitely pass as an undercover officer, possibly someone who works for the FBI or CIA. Our specified audience is the general public and the choice of characters and backgrounds of our video can easily relate to the general public because the characters we choose are just like anyone in real life, a friend, a family member and so on.
V. “Translation Exam”
Building the theory of online rhetoric through Xtranormal software was a creative challenge. Xtranormal has the option to choose characters from a variety of genres. The characters could be male/female, male/male, female/female, superheroes, robots, even crash dummies. Picking our characters in Xtranormal in a short movie is just like being a director. After choosing our cast, Xtranormal gives you the option of choosing your background and the tone of voice for your characters. There is a sound selection that offers features of background sound and background music. The sound selection must be chosen wisely because it can become a distraction. The tone of the background music and sounds needs to match with the voice so the audience can hear the conversation clearly. The background music should also be relevant to your video and make the video more interesting. And finally, Xtranormal offers the option to add custom motions, facial expressions and pauses to make your video more convincing. The character’s lines must be reviewed with changes in the formatting to decide on which scenes needs adjustments for story lines, sound and background.
In an animated video, humor is one of the best rhetorical strategies. Because it is an animated movie and not a conventional camera shot video, the audience doesn’t expect something too serious. If a very serious argument and proposal was to be presented in cartoon format, one must take in consideration how the audience will consider the video. If the video is presented in a way that is too serious and boring, they will dismiss the proposal before it is even presented. We primarily used humor in the beginning of the video to start off strong and keep the audience watching. No one wants to watch a video with a lousy start. By using humor, the characters connect to the audience, and therefore it will make your rhetoric stronger. In addition, because of the complexity of our topic we tried composing a video that clearly outlines the solution in an easy to understand way, something that appeals to the general public. Keep in mind that the video tries to appeal to as many people as it can because we are trying to change the law on prostitution in the state of Michigan. In short, we wanted to make a short but cohesive video that clearly outlines the issue and proposal in a way that appeals to the general public.
Xtranormal offers many features we can use to translate our project into a convincing movie. In Xtranormal format making the characters act dramatic was a strategy to building ethos. Choosing humans to play our roles instead of robots or crash dummies is another way we incorporated ethos. We chose characters that are just like anyone in the real world; it could be your friend or your family member. This way the video can easily relate to the audience because they feel that the video is relevant to them. Making the characters act out rather than just talk was another one of our strategies. We made the characters perform certain motions in order to keep the audience focused and interested. We were able to type sources from our research in a conversational manner by stating where they got their information. Asking a question in precise wording can catch our audience’s attention because the wording will make the audience to want to answer that question and thereby they’ll become a part of the discussion. The strategies on Xtranormal also allow you to use your own voice as another feature. Composing our video in Xtranormal for the evaluation proposal project was a tricky obstacle. Creativity was key because making the characters act out a controversial topic was a challenge. The writing process of lines for the characters was like putting an actual movie together. But with the digital technology we were able to edit, save, listen, preview before publishing the video.
Many of these rhetorical strategies can be used on different online platforms. Rhetorical strategies such as humor, and just the general composition of your work can be used in many other online platforms such as Facebook, Blogs, and online interest groups. Video format allows the audience to interpret a rhetoric almost instantaneously so it is a necessity to always project a video or argument in a way that is cohesive but fast. We have done that in our video.
VI. "Xtranormal"
VII. “Platform Analysis”
Xtranormal is a site that brings movie making to the people. It allows every one to make a movie using customized script and animated characters on the site without the need of an actual video camera. Xtranomal has numerous amounts of settings, actors, and music you can choose when making your movie. The subject of our movie is prostitution, and in it we have a prostitute convincing a police officer to “buy” sex. The police officer turns her down and tries to take her to jail after he explains to her why it’s illegal. Then the prostitute explains to him why she thinks it should be legal and the officer agrees. In the video we use an exotic female in bra and panties and an undercover officer dressed in street clothes. The setting we choose was a bedroom setting. The default characters and settings both contribute to creating an authentic environment and situation just as it happens in real life. Xtranormal is a convenient site to use when making a movie but it does have some downfalls. Xtranormal might not be the best video making technique because it’s animated. Depending on your audience, animated characters might not be the best tool to convince your audience of a certain issue. The audience might not take the video seriously because of the very reason that it’s animated. However, this all depends on what your topic is. Prostitution is a very serious topic and the animation in the movie makes it hard to take it too seriously but we did balance this out quite well by claryfing our arguments and proposals. There were many items that we wish we could have done in our movie that were not available on the Xtranormal site. Some items we wished to have were to be able to choose from more characters and settings, and also to create our own characters and settings. In addition, having characters being able to move more, and be able to choose from more scenes would of made our video more versatile and much more convincing. Creating our own characters from head to toe, dressing them, picking the type of body, hair and facial features would have improved our video. Having more scenes and camera angles during the movie would make it just like a real movie. The use of low angle shots, high angle shots, etc… is one of the many methods filmmakers use to spur emotion in an audience. One of the biggest pitfalls of Xtranormal however is that the characters have no pitch in their voice. This creates a video that has creative characters, backgrounds and information, however the voices of the characters have no pitch, and sometimes they are incoherent. Instead of using Xtranormal video, we might of used a real video camera, and professional video editing software such as Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects to create our video. But due to our time constraints we were not able to make that decision. By creating a professionally put together video, the audience might have been more convinced that prostitution should be legal. Many professionals who create advertisements, short films, and informative videos use Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects to edit their video. Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects can help generating a video that is professional depending on the skills of the editor. By using the programs such as the ones mentioned, the editor is capable of creating effects, transitions, and edits that would of made the video look professional thus creating ethos. These video effects and edits would have been able to catch the audience’s attention and interest.
In all, Xtranormal is a economical platform to make a video without the necessity of an actual video camera. It is convenient and fast; perfect for people who need to put a video together in a short period of time. For our topic, the use of an actual camera and the use of the video editing programs mentioned earlier would have been a better pick, however the project came in a short notice, and Xtranormal was there bail us out.
i. Liberator, Mark. "Legalized Prostitution: Regulating the Oldest Profession." The Liberator -- Iconoclastic Electronic Magazine. The Liberator, 5 Dec. 2005. Web. 28 July 2011.
“Legalized Prostitution: Regulating the Oldest Profession,” is an accurate persuasive positional paper on legalizing prostitution in the United States. The paper uses accurate sources that are footnoted at the bottom of the paper. The source is a great introduction to the topic of legalizing prostitution because it gives broad information on many issues concerning prostitution. For example it compares how the prohibition was a social policy that was a detriment to society and compares it to the illegality of prostitution.
ii. Bovard, James. "The Legalization of Prostitution." Welcome to The Future of Freedom Foundation. The Future of Freedom Foundation, Sept. 1998. Web. 28 July 2011.
“The Legalization of Prostitution” written by James Bovard provides a clear insight and position on why prostitution should be legalized in the United States. It clarifies on how and why the police in the United States are using illegal methods to catch prostitutes and the money spent on catching prostitutes alone is enormous. The piece gives examples of how the police force in the U.S have used entrapment in order to catch prostitutes. Bovard then elaborates on how the police use soo much resource and money on catching prostitutes when it is a victimless crime.
iii. Jeffreys, Sheila. Brothels without Walls. 2nd ed. Vol. 17. Oxford UP. Project MUSE. Web. 29 July 2011.
“Brothels without Walls” is an article written by John Hopkins University. The source provides useful counter-arguments against the legalization of prostitution. The source mainly argues that there is no way of controlling or regulating prostitution because many prostitutes operate privately. In addition, the article argues that there is no way of making prostitution “safe” because even if prostitution was legalized and operated under “Brothels,” it would still have some of the same problems we have with prostitution now. The article describes legal prostitution in Melbourne, Australia and prostitution in Netherlands and explains the problems associated with it.
iv. NA. "Decriminalization of Prostitution." California State University, Northridge. Web. 29 July 2011.
“Decriminalization of Prostitution” article put together by California State University offers numerous useful sources on the topic of prostitution and legalization of prostitution. It provides statistics, and it also explains the difference in decriminalization v legalization and the paper also introduces us to the North American Task Force on Prostitution (NATFP).
v. "100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies” - Prostitution - ProCon.org." Prostitution ProCon.org -- Should Prostitution Be Legal? ProCon, 04 Aug. 2010. Web. 01 Aug. 2011.
“100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies” provide useful statistics and information regarding prostitution laws around the world. There are statistics to back up the argument for the proposal part of the project.
II. “The Argument”
According to ProCon a non-profit public charity organization that collects statistics, over 60% of countries in the world have prostitution legal or limited legality, however in the United States all states except for Nevada have it illegal. Prostitution in the eyes of the public has always been a hotly debated topic. From the definition itself to the morality of the act, it has always been a questionable profession society look down upon. There have been numerous problems associated with prostitution, but most importantly, crime and health issues.
As many have said, prostitution is the oldest profession known to man. It is a profession greatly influenced by religion and historically patriarchal control. In order to understand the legality and illegality of prostitution one must consider the cultural differences in different countries. First of all because prostitution is illegal in the U.S with violators facing up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines (Michigan law), law enforcement spend a significant time and money to crack down on prostitution. The money spent alone on these cases far outweighs the risks these perpetrators might pose towards the general public; it is a victimless crime. Instead of concentrating on cracking down on minor criminal acts such as prostitution, taxpayer dollars should be spent on catching the real criminals, the drug traffickers, human traffickers, murderers etc…
The reason why the U.S and other countries have prostitution illegal and punishable by law is to reduce the problems that surround prostitution and because society do not approve of this act based on religious and moral grounds. Problems associated with prostitution are drugs, human trafficking, rape, pimps and the spread of STD’s. Mark Liberator compares Prohibition during the 20th century to having prostitution illegal in the United States. He argues that when Prohibition was set in place, the demand of alcohol skyrocketed and the number of people consuming alcohol remained the same. More importantly the government spent way more money and resources on controlling alcohol related crimes than before Prohibition was enacted. To put this in perspective, Prohibition backfired on society. Mark Liberator said, “Instead of managing the problem through the medical and social interventions accompanied by regulation of the industry, critics of legalized prostitution would rather adopt prohibition and cold abandonment.” Liberator argues that instead of managing prostitution in the U.S, American society chooses to be ignorant and control the problem by banning prostitution. Society and law enforcement agencies however, fail to understand that the root cause of some of these problems associated with prostitution such as the spread of STD’s and pimps is because we have prostitution illegal in this country.
There are numerous problems associated with prostitution, however some of these problems can be eliminated or eased by institutionalizing prostitution in the state of Michigan. Institutionalizing prostitution in the state of Michigan not only solves numerous issues, but it also provides benefits. If prostitution was legal in the state of Michigan, the state government could tax and gain revenue that can be dispersed back into the public. In addition, by making prostitution legal, law enforcement in Michigan could cut costs and resources, and police officers can take more time on cases that really do matter. Health is also a grave problem concerning prostitutes today. Because there is no governmental control over how these people “work”, many have STDs that could be managed if there was mandatory health check ups imposed by the government.
Prostitution should be legal not only for economical reasons but it could also reduce crime rates, get prostitutes off the streets, improve public health, increase tax revenue and help people out of poverty.
The key word to legalizing prostitution is profit. Prostitution is a moneymaking business and by legalizing it, the state can tax prostitutes. Registered prostitutes will be required to pay taxes for what they do. Depending on how much they make from their work, they will pay a certain percentage of tax for the state of Michigan. This will increase the states tax revenue. With more money in the state hands it will open up doors for many people especially the poor. Prostitutes will be able to receive health care, government assistance and students will be able to go to school with the help of the government. At the end of the day everyone will be happy, just with a little change in the law.
Many critics who argue against the legalization of prostitution argue that prostitution is unsafe and it is the cause of wide spread of sexual transmitted diseases (STD’s). We have come up with a solution for that. Prostitutes will have to be registered in the state and receive weekly or monthly checks up from a specialized physician at clinics. With this in place, doctors will be able to keep up a record for each prostitute. And if the prostitute did acquire a STD, depending on the level of danger the disease poses to the public, the prostitute may have to stop working. An STD such as HIV/AIDS is one that has no cure at the moment, so if a prostitute tested HIV positive, he or she would have to stop working immediately sanctioned by the state of Michigan. This alone will prevent the spread of one of many serious problems with STDs in the U.S. In short, there will be a higher demand for health clinics and specialized physicians and governmental control over prostitution will create more jobs for the state of Michigan, a state in dire need of a brighter future.
Keeping prostitutes off the streets is an important goal by itself. Once prostitution is institutionalized, prostitutes will no longer need “pimps” to manage their shady business and they can register to the state to be legally working as a prostitute. By keeping prostitutes off the street, drugs, trafficking, and other criminal activities might not be eliminated but it could reduce these crimes affiliated with prostitution. In addition, institutionalizing prostitution will ease the stigma associated with being a prostitute. By legalizing prostitution and having concrete definitions of what is and isn’t prostitution, prostitutes will have a more solid place in society, no longer considered the outcasts of society.
III. “Audience Analysis and Delivery”
The argument on legalizing prostitution will be geared toward the general public but especially to the educated public who can vote. Our proposal is a change of law in the state of Michigan, specifically legalizing and institutionalizing prostitution, so putting together a video that persuades as many people as possible is the best outcome we can achieve. In order to persuade as many people as possible, YouTube is used. YouTube allows the free flow of opinions and arguments in the comment section of any video. This allows the public to voice their view or perspective of an issue; in this case it is the legality of prostitution. In addition, because YouTube is modeled after a search engine website, the people who are interested and are supporters of legalizing prostitution in the state of Michigan will search and see the video because of search tags. This allows the unification of people who support this proposal therefore it will only strengthen the proposal in the comment section of YouTube. Supporters of legalization of prostitution will also be able to read about supporting documents on legalizing prostitution and be able to support this proposal.
Not only being able to achieve high number of viewers who support legalization of prostitution in Michigan, posting in Xtranormal format will open the eyes of the general public. Michiganders will realize that legalizing prostitution in the state will improve our economy and potentially ease the economic situation in our state.
IV. “Design”
After searching and checking out Xtranormal.com, we were able to discover many different backgrounds and characters that fit our proposal. First, we were undecided on the background of our video. The first background setting was located in a bar; the other was a bedroom. The bar setting was a good opportunity to show the audience that this could be a prime establishment to pick up costumers for sexual innuendos. We resulted in using a bedroom. A bedroom is a more discrete place to handle business transactions; in this case it is sex for money. It is also primarily the location where sexual activities take place.
While looking through the website, we searched for specific characters that would make a good connection with the background that we selected. We wanted to use a male and a female character. The first character that we discovered was our female character. We looked for a woman who dressed provocatively and fit a description of a prostitute. A half-naked lady was perfect for our video. It is an epitome of a prostitute nowadays. For our male character we used in our short movie, we gave the impression that he is an undercover police who totally disagrees with legalizing prostitution. Overall our male character could definitely pass as an undercover officer, possibly someone who works for the FBI or CIA. Our specified audience is the general public and the choice of characters and backgrounds of our video can easily relate to the general public because the characters we choose are just like anyone in real life, a friend, a family member and so on.
V. “Translation Exam”
Building the theory of online rhetoric through Xtranormal software was a creative challenge. Xtranormal has the option to choose characters from a variety of genres. The characters could be male/female, male/male, female/female, superheroes, robots, even crash dummies. Picking our characters in Xtranormal in a short movie is just like being a director. After choosing our cast, Xtranormal gives you the option of choosing your background and the tone of voice for your characters. There is a sound selection that offers features of background sound and background music. The sound selection must be chosen wisely because it can become a distraction. The tone of the background music and sounds needs to match with the voice so the audience can hear the conversation clearly. The background music should also be relevant to your video and make the video more interesting. And finally, Xtranormal offers the option to add custom motions, facial expressions and pauses to make your video more convincing. The character’s lines must be reviewed with changes in the formatting to decide on which scenes needs adjustments for story lines, sound and background.
In an animated video, humor is one of the best rhetorical strategies. Because it is an animated movie and not a conventional camera shot video, the audience doesn’t expect something too serious. If a very serious argument and proposal was to be presented in cartoon format, one must take in consideration how the audience will consider the video. If the video is presented in a way that is too serious and boring, they will dismiss the proposal before it is even presented. We primarily used humor in the beginning of the video to start off strong and keep the audience watching. No one wants to watch a video with a lousy start. By using humor, the characters connect to the audience, and therefore it will make your rhetoric stronger. In addition, because of the complexity of our topic we tried composing a video that clearly outlines the solution in an easy to understand way, something that appeals to the general public. Keep in mind that the video tries to appeal to as many people as it can because we are trying to change the law on prostitution in the state of Michigan. In short, we wanted to make a short but cohesive video that clearly outlines the issue and proposal in a way that appeals to the general public.
Xtranormal offers many features we can use to translate our project into a convincing movie. In Xtranormal format making the characters act dramatic was a strategy to building ethos. Choosing humans to play our roles instead of robots or crash dummies is another way we incorporated ethos. We chose characters that are just like anyone in the real world; it could be your friend or your family member. This way the video can easily relate to the audience because they feel that the video is relevant to them. Making the characters act out rather than just talk was another one of our strategies. We made the characters perform certain motions in order to keep the audience focused and interested. We were able to type sources from our research in a conversational manner by stating where they got their information. Asking a question in precise wording can catch our audience’s attention because the wording will make the audience to want to answer that question and thereby they’ll become a part of the discussion. The strategies on Xtranormal also allow you to use your own voice as another feature. Composing our video in Xtranormal for the evaluation proposal project was a tricky obstacle. Creativity was key because making the characters act out a controversial topic was a challenge. The writing process of lines for the characters was like putting an actual movie together. But with the digital technology we were able to edit, save, listen, preview before publishing the video.
Many of these rhetorical strategies can be used on different online platforms. Rhetorical strategies such as humor, and just the general composition of your work can be used in many other online platforms such as Facebook, Blogs, and online interest groups. Video format allows the audience to interpret a rhetoric almost instantaneously so it is a necessity to always project a video or argument in a way that is cohesive but fast. We have done that in our video.
VI. "Xtranormal"
VII. “Platform Analysis”
Xtranormal is a site that brings movie making to the people. It allows every one to make a movie using customized script and animated characters on the site without the need of an actual video camera. Xtranomal has numerous amounts of settings, actors, and music you can choose when making your movie. The subject of our movie is prostitution, and in it we have a prostitute convincing a police officer to “buy” sex. The police officer turns her down and tries to take her to jail after he explains to her why it’s illegal. Then the prostitute explains to him why she thinks it should be legal and the officer agrees. In the video we use an exotic female in bra and panties and an undercover officer dressed in street clothes. The setting we choose was a bedroom setting. The default characters and settings both contribute to creating an authentic environment and situation just as it happens in real life. Xtranormal is a convenient site to use when making a movie but it does have some downfalls. Xtranormal might not be the best video making technique because it’s animated. Depending on your audience, animated characters might not be the best tool to convince your audience of a certain issue. The audience might not take the video seriously because of the very reason that it’s animated. However, this all depends on what your topic is. Prostitution is a very serious topic and the animation in the movie makes it hard to take it too seriously but we did balance this out quite well by claryfing our arguments and proposals. There were many items that we wish we could have done in our movie that were not available on the Xtranormal site. Some items we wished to have were to be able to choose from more characters and settings, and also to create our own characters and settings. In addition, having characters being able to move more, and be able to choose from more scenes would of made our video more versatile and much more convincing. Creating our own characters from head to toe, dressing them, picking the type of body, hair and facial features would have improved our video. Having more scenes and camera angles during the movie would make it just like a real movie. The use of low angle shots, high angle shots, etc… is one of the many methods filmmakers use to spur emotion in an audience. One of the biggest pitfalls of Xtranormal however is that the characters have no pitch in their voice. This creates a video that has creative characters, backgrounds and information, however the voices of the characters have no pitch, and sometimes they are incoherent. Instead of using Xtranormal video, we might of used a real video camera, and professional video editing software such as Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects to create our video. But due to our time constraints we were not able to make that decision. By creating a professionally put together video, the audience might have been more convinced that prostitution should be legal. Many professionals who create advertisements, short films, and informative videos use Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects to edit their video. Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects can help generating a video that is professional depending on the skills of the editor. By using the programs such as the ones mentioned, the editor is capable of creating effects, transitions, and edits that would of made the video look professional thus creating ethos. These video effects and edits would have been able to catch the audience’s attention and interest.
In all, Xtranormal is a economical platform to make a video without the necessity of an actual video camera. It is convenient and fast; perfect for people who need to put a video together in a short period of time. For our topic, the use of an actual camera and the use of the video editing programs mentioned earlier would have been a better pick, however the project came in a short notice, and Xtranormal was there bail us out.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Legalizing Prostitution.
So far this is what I have come up with for the group final.
Part One: "Literature Review"
So far I have found one good source for our project. Pretty much all information on the site is cited correctly and many of them are from academic sources.
http://www.liberator.net/articles/prostitution.html
Part Two: "The Argument"
*rough outline*
1. Evaluation: Problems with having Prostitution Illegal in the U.S.
I. Promotes and/or supplies Crime
-Trafficking
-Drug use
-Rape, Incest etc...
-"Pimps"
-Money generated to criminal organizations
II. Social Problems
-Stigma
-Transmission of venereal diseases such as HIV
-Issue of morality, right v wrong, or argument based on religious grounds
III. Definition itself
-What is the meaning of "Prostitution" itself?
2. Proposal: Institutionalizing/Legalizing Prostitution in the U.S (Consider if we should legalize just by state laws (Michigan), or legalizing at a federal (U.S) level.
I. Legalizing Prostitution in Mich or U.S would solve many problems
-By institutionalizing prostitution, income would be generated for the state or federal government
-Reduce drug use and some crimes
-By legalizing prostitution, you would require "Prostitutes" to do mandatory health visits thus preventing and or reducing the spread of venereal diseases.
-By legalizing prostitution, it will reduce stigma and be introduced as a actual job or profession.
-Having legal rules, definitions, laws regarding "Prostitution," it will become a more concrete item in society, (becomes less of a vague term).
Some things to consider:
-Many countries have already legalized Prostitution such as Germany, Netherlands, Nevada (legalized at a state level) etc...
Connect it to our proposal and say how it has solved certain issues.
*statistics & facts* http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000772
-Historical/Religious grounds
-Issue of morality
arguments - someone shouldn't pay someone for sex. It is ethically or religiously wrong.
- sex should not be sold as an object, it is more than that.
Part One: "Literature Review"
So far I have found one good source for our project. Pretty much all information on the site is cited correctly and many of them are from academic sources.
http://www.liberator.net/articles/prostitution.html
Part Two: "The Argument"
*rough outline*
1. Evaluation: Problems with having Prostitution Illegal in the U.S.
I. Promotes and/or supplies Crime
-Trafficking
-Drug use
-Rape, Incest etc...
-"Pimps"
-Money generated to criminal organizations
II. Social Problems
-Stigma
-Transmission of venereal diseases such as HIV
-Issue of morality, right v wrong, or argument based on religious grounds
III. Definition itself
-What is the meaning of "Prostitution" itself?
2. Proposal: Institutionalizing/Legalizing Prostitution in the U.S (Consider if we should legalize just by state laws (Michigan), or legalizing at a federal (U.S) level.
I. Legalizing Prostitution in Mich or U.S would solve many problems
-By institutionalizing prostitution, income would be generated for the state or federal government
-Reduce drug use and some crimes
-By legalizing prostitution, you would require "Prostitutes" to do mandatory health visits thus preventing and or reducing the spread of venereal diseases.
-By legalizing prostitution, it will reduce stigma and be introduced as a actual job or profession.
-Having legal rules, definitions, laws regarding "Prostitution," it will become a more concrete item in society, (becomes less of a vague term).
Some things to consider:
-Many countries have already legalized Prostitution such as Germany, Netherlands, Nevada (legalized at a state level) etc...
Connect it to our proposal and say how it has solved certain issues.
*statistics & facts* http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000772
-Historical/Religious grounds
-Issue of morality
arguments - someone shouldn't pay someone for sex. It is ethically or religiously wrong.
- sex should not be sold as an object, it is more than that.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Evaluation Proposal Final.
So far for the class we have come up with a couple of topics.
-Legalizing Prostitution
-Gas Prices
-Institution of Marriage
-Legalizing Prostitution
-Gas Prices
-Institution of Marriage
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Definition Paper: "Terrorism."
"Terrorism"
Winston Churchill once said, “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” In the world of global politics, things are seemingly black and white. However, that is not the case when uncovering the truth behind the clever tactics used by politicians and the news media, reflecting the several shades of gray in between. This scenario is especially visible in the world of politics in Western governments. The media often bends the truth behind events to label certain governments or faction groups with different political perspectives as evil or many times as “terrorist organizations”. The term “terrorism” and “global terrorism,” are phrases used by the media and western governments alike to justify military actions. From a neutral standpoint, the terms “terrorism” and “global terrorism” are politically and emotionally charged, but they are also highly ambiguous. From a western standpoint, however, the term “terrorism” allows certain actions performed by western governments deemed politically correct. For example, the War in Afghanistan bluntly labels opposing governments or faction groups as “terrorists.” In order to fully understand how the two terms work, the public must know the history behind them, as well as the truth in how western governments use biased and/or ambiguous language to further their agendas of reaching certain political goals.
The diction western governments choose in their political advancements is always chosen for a specific purpose. This powerful, rhetorical strategy is administered to align the public to think and feel a certain way. An example is the misuse of the word “jihadi” or “jihadist” during post 9/11 times, when both the U.S government and news repeatedly labeled “global terrorists” as “jihadist” or “jihadi”. The U.S government and news media used these particular words to portray the opposing forces as religious extremists. When informing the general American public about religious terms, most will not know what the words truly mean, but they may have preconceived notions of what the definitions could actually be. For many, “jihadi” or “jihadist” is a term for one who will do anything in order to terrorize or make a point to certain groups of people, even if it means to commit suicide for a “holy war”. However, the actual meaning is much different from the one created by society. “Jihad” literally translates to “struggle.” Every Muslim has within themselves a struggle, categorized into a greater and lesser struggle. Greater struggles for a Muslim is are spiritual conflicts: a struggle for self-improvement, against vices such as greed and selfishness. Similarly, lesser struggles are wars in defense of Islam, which can be only waged if the enemy has struck first. During post-9/11 times, the U.S government and media labeled the entire Muslim population of the world as “terrorists,” significantly aiding the U.S in the war against so called “terrorism.” By broadening the scope of the enemy by simply stating that the U.S. military opposed “jihadi” or “jihadist”, it was convenient for the U.S. to unjustly label all Muslims as terrorists.
Aside from current examples, the words themselves have a history of their own. The term “terrorism” was first introduced in the 1790’s during a period known as the Reign of Terror in the French revolution as Terrorisme (In French). It was an onset of violence started by two rival faction groups fighting for the revolution, the Girondins and the Jacobins. The two forces fought for the Revolution, primarily against the old tyrannical leaders of then France.
During the Afghan-Soviet war in the 1970’s, the U.S government fully supported the Afghan people against the Red Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At the time, the U.S was ready to fight another war against a superpower and political ideology, Communism. This war is also known as the Cold War. The U.S government supported local Afghani freedom fighters called “The Mujahideen” by providing billions of dollars in military support. Ironically, at the onset of the “War on Terror” around thirty years later, the U.S. currently wages war with the same country that accepted financial support. As a result, “The Mujahideen” that were once known as “freedom-fighters” are now labelled as a terrorist organization along with the Taliban. To reiterate the point, the term “terrorism,” is used by western governments to label a certain faction or group of people as the enemy of the state who will commit atrocious crimes against humanity. In this case, however, the term lacks any real legitimacy because of the inconsistency and the significant subjectivity of the term for the interpreter.
The term “terrorism” is surrounded by much controversy and debate in recent times. The terms “terrorism” and “global terrorism” are obscure terms because there are no absolute definitions, reflecting that world issues are indeed not starkly black or white; rather, a multitude of greys. Additionally, in a study done by Jeffrey Record for the U.S Army, there are over 109 different definitions for “terrorism.” However, George W. Bush implemented the term “War on Terror” to describe the deployment of troops against extremist organizations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The choice of words Bush decided to describe the war in Afghanistan was greatly debated on, because of the broadness of the term “War on Terror”. Even Donald Rumsfeld, one of the masterminds of the war in Afghanistan, attempted to persuade Bush in using a less subjective term. In fact, he proposed the phrase “global struggle against violent extremism,” which remains a much more precise description of the who or what the U.S was fighting against. As of now, President Barack Obama’s administration has stopped using the term “War on Terror” to describe the current war in Afghanistan; instead the administration has started using the term ‘overseas contingency operations'. Obama’s administration has realized that the previous administration has misused or abused the language, especially the terms “terrorism” and “jihadi,” in order to gain the upper hand of the people. In addition, Reuters news networks has banned the term “terrorist” because of the term’s subjectivity and biased connotations.
In recent events, Osama Bin Laden, the symbolic leader of Al-Qaeda was found and shot inside his compound in Pakistan. One of the operational leaders of Al Qaeda, Ilyas Kashmiri, was also killed by a U.S drone. Thus the question arises, after the deaths of these leaders, are we still waging war against these so called “terrorists” or are we fighting something else now? The Americans’ sole presence in Afghanistan certainly incites Afghani civilians to rebel against U.S. forces because of the unwanted intrusion of foreigners. If American troops left Afghanistan and surrounding areas, there stands a hope for peace in the contingent areas of Afghanistan.
As mentioned previously, the terms “terrorism” and “global terrorism” have no universal definition. As many say, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” which holds true in every logical sense. The term “terrorism” is simply a tool used by western governments to create an emotional appeal of the public to fight against a faction group or government that the western governments agree on. The U.N and other organizations have contemplated on a collective definition of what terrorism is; however no universally accepted definition has emerged for over 30 years. The news media and western governments practically spoon feed their ‘news’ to “educate” Americans as to what to think and what to believe in. Many students and college educators must fully understand how both governments and news media bias their information to make the public think one way or another, even if it may not be true. In short, the educated should mind the words portrayed in the media and reported by the government, instead of believing everything the government and media releases as the truth.
Works Cited:
Burkeman, Oliver. "Obama Administration Says Goodbye to 'war on Terror'"Guardian.co.uk. Guardian News, 25 Mar. 2009. Web..
Kinsley, Michael. "Defining Terrorism - By Michael Kinsley." Slate Magazine. Slate Magazine, 5 Oct. 2001. Web. 20 July 2011..
"Hamas: Government or Terrorist Organization? : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. National Public Radio, 6 Dec. 2006. Web. 20 July 2011..
Ganor, Boaz. DEFINING TERRORISM: IS ONE MAN’S TERRORIST ANOTHER MAN’S FREEDOM FIGHTER? Vol. 3. Herzlia, Israel: Routledge, 2002. 2002. Web.
Winston Churchill once said, “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” In the world of global politics, things are seemingly black and white. However, that is not the case when uncovering the truth behind the clever tactics used by politicians and the news media, reflecting the several shades of gray in between. This scenario is especially visible in the world of politics in Western governments. The media often bends the truth behind events to label certain governments or faction groups with different political perspectives as evil or many times as “terrorist organizations”. The term “terrorism” and “global terrorism,” are phrases used by the media and western governments alike to justify military actions. From a neutral standpoint, the terms “terrorism” and “global terrorism” are politically and emotionally charged, but they are also highly ambiguous. From a western standpoint, however, the term “terrorism” allows certain actions performed by western governments deemed politically correct. For example, the War in Afghanistan bluntly labels opposing governments or faction groups as “terrorists.” In order to fully understand how the two terms work, the public must know the history behind them, as well as the truth in how western governments use biased and/or ambiguous language to further their agendas of reaching certain political goals.
The diction western governments choose in their political advancements is always chosen for a specific purpose. This powerful, rhetorical strategy is administered to align the public to think and feel a certain way. An example is the misuse of the word “jihadi” or “jihadist” during post 9/11 times, when both the U.S government and news repeatedly labeled “global terrorists” as “jihadist” or “jihadi”. The U.S government and news media used these particular words to portray the opposing forces as religious extremists. When informing the general American public about religious terms, most will not know what the words truly mean, but they may have preconceived notions of what the definitions could actually be. For many, “jihadi” or “jihadist” is a term for one who will do anything in order to terrorize or make a point to certain groups of people, even if it means to commit suicide for a “holy war”. However, the actual meaning is much different from the one created by society. “Jihad” literally translates to “struggle.” Every Muslim has within themselves a struggle, categorized into a greater and lesser struggle. Greater struggles for a Muslim is are spiritual conflicts: a struggle for self-improvement, against vices such as greed and selfishness. Similarly, lesser struggles are wars in defense of Islam, which can be only waged if the enemy has struck first. During post-9/11 times, the U.S government and media labeled the entire Muslim population of the world as “terrorists,” significantly aiding the U.S in the war against so called “terrorism.” By broadening the scope of the enemy by simply stating that the U.S. military opposed “jihadi” or “jihadist”, it was convenient for the U.S. to unjustly label all Muslims as terrorists.
Aside from current examples, the words themselves have a history of their own. The term “terrorism” was first introduced in the 1790’s during a period known as the Reign of Terror in the French revolution as Terrorisme (In French). It was an onset of violence started by two rival faction groups fighting for the revolution, the Girondins and the Jacobins. The two forces fought for the Revolution, primarily against the old tyrannical leaders of then France.
During the Afghan-Soviet war in the 1970’s, the U.S government fully supported the Afghan people against the Red Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At the time, the U.S was ready to fight another war against a superpower and political ideology, Communism. This war is also known as the Cold War. The U.S government supported local Afghani freedom fighters called “The Mujahideen” by providing billions of dollars in military support. Ironically, at the onset of the “War on Terror” around thirty years later, the U.S. currently wages war with the same country that accepted financial support. As a result, “The Mujahideen” that were once known as “freedom-fighters” are now labelled as a terrorist organization along with the Taliban. To reiterate the point, the term “terrorism,” is used by western governments to label a certain faction or group of people as the enemy of the state who will commit atrocious crimes against humanity. In this case, however, the term lacks any real legitimacy because of the inconsistency and the significant subjectivity of the term for the interpreter.
The term “terrorism” is surrounded by much controversy and debate in recent times. The terms “terrorism” and “global terrorism” are obscure terms because there are no absolute definitions, reflecting that world issues are indeed not starkly black or white; rather, a multitude of greys. Additionally, in a study done by Jeffrey Record for the U.S Army, there are over 109 different definitions for “terrorism.” However, George W. Bush implemented the term “War on Terror” to describe the deployment of troops against extremist organizations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The choice of words Bush decided to describe the war in Afghanistan was greatly debated on, because of the broadness of the term “War on Terror”. Even Donald Rumsfeld, one of the masterminds of the war in Afghanistan, attempted to persuade Bush in using a less subjective term. In fact, he proposed the phrase “global struggle against violent extremism,” which remains a much more precise description of the who or what the U.S was fighting against. As of now, President Barack Obama’s administration has stopped using the term “War on Terror” to describe the current war in Afghanistan; instead the administration has started using the term ‘overseas contingency operations'. Obama’s administration has realized that the previous administration has misused or abused the language, especially the terms “terrorism” and “jihadi,” in order to gain the upper hand of the people. In addition, Reuters news networks has banned the term “terrorist” because of the term’s subjectivity and biased connotations.
In recent events, Osama Bin Laden, the symbolic leader of Al-Qaeda was found and shot inside his compound in Pakistan. One of the operational leaders of Al Qaeda, Ilyas Kashmiri, was also killed by a U.S drone. Thus the question arises, after the deaths of these leaders, are we still waging war against these so called “terrorists” or are we fighting something else now? The Americans’ sole presence in Afghanistan certainly incites Afghani civilians to rebel against U.S. forces because of the unwanted intrusion of foreigners. If American troops left Afghanistan and surrounding areas, there stands a hope for peace in the contingent areas of Afghanistan.
As mentioned previously, the terms “terrorism” and “global terrorism” have no universal definition. As many say, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” which holds true in every logical sense. The term “terrorism” is simply a tool used by western governments to create an emotional appeal of the public to fight against a faction group or government that the western governments agree on. The U.N and other organizations have contemplated on a collective definition of what terrorism is; however no universally accepted definition has emerged for over 30 years. The news media and western governments practically spoon feed their ‘news’ to “educate” Americans as to what to think and what to believe in. Many students and college educators must fully understand how both governments and news media bias their information to make the public think one way or another, even if it may not be true. In short, the educated should mind the words portrayed in the media and reported by the government, instead of believing everything the government and media releases as the truth.
Works Cited:
Burkeman, Oliver. "Obama Administration Says Goodbye to 'war on Terror'"Guardian.co.uk. Guardian News, 25 Mar. 2009. Web.
Kinsley, Michael. "Defining Terrorism - By Michael Kinsley." Slate Magazine. Slate Magazine, 5 Oct. 2001. Web. 20 July 2011.
"Hamas: Government or Terrorist Organization? : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. National Public Radio, 6 Dec. 2006. Web. 20 July 2011.
Ganor, Boaz. DEFINING TERRORISM: IS ONE MAN’S TERRORIST ANOTHER MAN’S FREEDOM FIGHTER? Vol. 3. Herzlia, Israel: Routledge, 2002. 2002. Web.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Rough draft of my Definition Paper.
Exigence-> Due to the unfolding events recently in the “War on Terror,” namely Osama Bin Laden’s death, What is the U.S fighting now, after the death of Osama Bin Laden and Ilyas Kashmiri (One of the top leader of Al-Qaeda)? What is “War on Terror” now that these leaders are dead?
Intro-> (Two or Three Paragraphs) Focusing on giving background on the term “Terrorism” specifically on how the term “War on Terror” was used in order to justify the U.S’s military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then explain because of the ongoing controversy of the term, why was the term removed from use from the U.S government. (Use the source from the Guardian Article that talks about how this term was discontinued in Obama’s Administration). Explain how situations in the global arena are never ‘black and white,’ or ‘good’ v ‘bad,’ and explain how governments around the world facilitate many emotionally charged terms in order to control the public.
The term “Terrorism” and “Global Terrorism,” is a phrase often used by the media and governments alike to justify their actions in war. From a neutral standpoint, the terms are politically and emotionally charged but more importantly more ambiguous than they seem.
Body Paragraph One-> Explain the term “Terrorism” and “Global Terrorism,” in a historical context. Use examples such as the Iraq-Iran war from 1980, and the Afghan-Soviet war from 1979 and explain how back then we use to help these groups that we now consider to be “Terrorist” organizations. Use many other examples to further elaborate on how the term “Terrorism” and “Global Terrorism” was used historically.
Body Paragraph Two-> Possibly look at the controversy and problems the term “War on Terror” has caused and what are the criticisms against the term and why has the Obama administration and numerous other organizations have stopped using the term.
Body Paragraph Three-> Investigate on what is “War on Terror” now, after the death of two of the top leaders of terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
I’m still thinking about the third body paragraph and my conclusion, however I have already have created some thoughts on how to write my paper, especially my introductory paragraphs.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/25/obama-war-terror-overseas-contingency-operations
Intro-> (Two or Three Paragraphs) Focusing on giving background on the term “Terrorism” specifically on how the term “War on Terror” was used in order to justify the U.S’s military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then explain because of the ongoing controversy of the term, why was the term removed from use from the U.S government. (Use the source from the Guardian Article that talks about how this term was discontinued in Obama’s Administration). Explain how situations in the global arena are never ‘black and white,’ or ‘good’ v ‘bad,’ and explain how governments around the world facilitate many emotionally charged terms in order to control the public.
The term “Terrorism” and “Global Terrorism,” is a phrase often used by the media and governments alike to justify their actions in war. From a neutral standpoint, the terms are politically and emotionally charged but more importantly more ambiguous than they seem.
Body Paragraph One-> Explain the term “Terrorism” and “Global Terrorism,” in a historical context. Use examples such as the Iraq-Iran war from 1980, and the Afghan-Soviet war from 1979 and explain how back then we use to help these groups that we now consider to be “Terrorist” organizations. Use many other examples to further elaborate on how the term “Terrorism” and “Global Terrorism” was used historically.
Body Paragraph Two-> Possibly look at the controversy and problems the term “War on Terror” has caused and what are the criticisms against the term and why has the Obama administration and numerous other organizations have stopped using the term.
Body Paragraph Three-> Investigate on what is “War on Terror” now, after the death of two of the top leaders of terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
I’m still thinking about the third body paragraph and my conclusion, however I have already have created some thoughts on how to write my paper, especially my introductory paragraphs.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/25/obama-war-terror-overseas-contingency-operations
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Thoughts for the Definition Paper.
Definition Paper.
1. Defining “Terrorism” or “War on Terror”.
2. My audience is the educated public.
3. Exigence. Due to the unfolding events recently in the “War on Terror,” namely Osama Bin Laden’s death, What is the U.S fighting now, after the death of Osama Bin Laden and Ilyas Kashmiri (One of the top leader of Al-Qaeda)? What is “War on Terror” now that these leaders are dead?
I haven’t come up with a concrete thesis yet, but I will soon.
One source: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2009/05/19/chomsky
1. Defining “Terrorism” or “War on Terror”.
2. My audience is the educated public.
3. Exigence. Due to the unfolding events recently in the “War on Terror,” namely Osama Bin Laden’s death, What is the U.S fighting now, after the death of Osama Bin Laden and Ilyas Kashmiri (One of the top leader of Al-Qaeda)? What is “War on Terror” now that these leaders are dead?
I haven’t come up with a concrete thesis yet, but I will soon.
One source: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2009/05/19/chomsky
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