Blog Group #6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BtZY3z72jY

This is a clip from the movie "Requiem For A Dream"

How do the visual images contribute to the video?
How does the camera angles contribute to the message?
Does this video provide a positive or negative portrayal of drug use? Why?
Does the director use any pathos, logos, or ethos in this clip?
What effect does the racial tension have on the video?

Group 6

i found this image from typing in drugs in google. The theme of this picture is about what happens if you stop drugs.

What do you think the artist was telling in this photo?
How do you think the visual images given helps the reader understand the theme?
Does this have a positive or negative feed?
Do you think meth is the only drug the artist believes you can stop covert from?
Is there any pathos, logos, and ethos in this description?

Blog Group 5

I found this ad by searching "anti-drug ad's" in Google. I choose this ad because I feel like it does not have the same message most anti-drugs ad's have. Most ad's just show users the dangers that drugs have on them. This ad shows them that not only does using drugs personally affect them but affects all of the people that surround them in their everyday life. 

1. How does the author use pathos to influence the audience?

2. What do all the pictures on the boys head represent?

3. At the bottom of the ad above the main caption the words "Abuse, Violence, Traffic Accidents, Injury at work, Crimes" are present. What do you think these words represent? Why are they affiliated with a drug ad?

4. Do you believe this ad is targeted more at drug users? Or people who are affected by those who do drugs?

5. In what ways does seeing the boy in the ad doing drugs affect the people who are viewing the ad?

Blog Group 5

I found this ad using the wonders of google and searching anti drug poster.  I choose this ad because I liked the parallel it created with a popular television commercial.  I also thought that the cartoon nature of this ad was different than ads we had previously analyzed.  The overall message of this poster was also powerful to me.  Overall I think the various qualities of this poster will create and interesting discussion. 

1. How does the relation of this ad with a popular ad for lollipops make this ad stronger. 

2. Most of the ads we have previously discussed have used a dark color sceme.  This ad instead uses a pretty blue color.  How does the use of this color scheme inhance or take away from the ad? Do you think this ad would have been made stronger by the use of different colors?

3. How does the question this ad asks employ irony? This can be by asking an "owl" who are usually portrayed as wise characters or the irony of the question asked. 

4. Is this ad directed at a specific audience? If so who, and how can you tell?

5. This ad does not directly mention a specific drug yet it is obviously and anti drug poster.  How does this affect the ad?

Blog Post #5

****Use caution of your surroundings when viewing, this video contains the use of strong language.****

How are drugs portrayed in this video?
-What tools do the authors use to modify how a person may receive the message?
-What other details are you seeing or hearing that may further modify how viewers receive the portrayal of drugs?

Does there appear to be a target audience?
Are there suggestions that may attempt to identify the type of people who becomes active in the involvement of drugs, if so, what are they and how are they implied?
Is there a relationship between the two actors having fun among themselves and the business that may appear to be failing?

Blog Post #5

I found this poster when I googled "anti-drug posters" on google images. I chose this poster because I felt like it can be interpreted in many different ways. It is saying that drugs are bad for people in a unique way.

Questions:

1. Why is "cool" spelled out in cigarettes? 
2. Does this poster have a strong or weak message by just using words instead of showing the affects on a human being?
3. What demographic is this poster targeting?
4. How is pathos used in this ad?
5. Does the background impact the message in any way?

Blog Group 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YjrkBYDDQM

This is an anti-smoking commercial in which a woman clearly affected by nicotine expresses her sincere concern for nicotine addicts.

Blog Prompts:

1) Does the woman's appearance directly affect the commercial? How so?

2) What demographics does this commercial target?

3) Is there anything else this commercial can do to make nicotine addicts more aware of their addiction?

4) Is this commercial to graphic? Does it diminish the commercial's main point at all?

5)If you were a nicotine addict would this commercial persuade you to stop smoking? If so, why?

Facilitator Group 4

I found this advertisement by typing "anti drug campaign" into Google. I chose this poster because it focuses on a different drug than we usually discuss in class and it focuses on the effects of the drug rather than just saying not to do it.

Discussion Questions

1) What is the effect of the poster not specifically saying "don't do this" but instead just saying "not even once"?

2) How does this poster try use pathos to appeal to the audience?

3) Why did the creator only chose to show one of the girls affected physically by meth?

4) How does the creator use gender to catch the audiences attention?

Facilitator Group 4

I chose this piece because I have had previous situations where my friends have had to tell their parents where they are at all times before being permitted to go somewhere. I'm also sure that as students, we have all faced a similar situation where our guardians have asked us more questions than we felt were necessary.
Discussion questions:
Why does the creator choose the color scheme for the photo?
How does the use of a child (someone too young to have a driver's licence) help amplify the effect of this image?
How does the setting of the image affect its impact?
In what ways do the features of the image (child, bicycle, background) frame the setting of the photo?

Facilitator Group #4

I found this ad while searching for an ad online to show the possible effects of prescription drug abuse. I feel that this is a good representation of how much one can say with such a simple picture, which is why I chose to use this as my topic.

1. What is your initial feeling just after you see the word death. How about after seeing Rx?

2. Why do you think the person who created this ad chose to put death in white and Rx in red?

3. What might the goal of the creator be in terms how this ad affects you?

4. If the ad uses logos, ethos, and/or pathos which one is used and how is it represented?

5. Do you think that this ad might be more effective at getting the author's intended message around than an ad that might be more complex? Why?

Blog Group # 4

 

 

Above the Influence | Sick

I first saw this commercial on television. It is an anti-alcohol abuse ad focused on teenagers. I chose it because I thought it was an interesting way to present an anti alcohol ad. It paints drinking in a negative light during the entire ad.  I feel that it has a powerful message against underage drinking.

 

1)      Does the female’s appearance (runny make-up, disheveled clothes etc) have significance in the overall message of the ad?

2)      What is the significance of using a female getting sick rather than a male? If it had been a male stumbling into the stall, would you have the same reaction to the commercial?

3)      Is the producer of the commercial trying to say anything by not having any actual words spoken in the ad?

4)      Could this ad be targeting an age group other than teens?

5)    Does the overall setting/ atmosphere contribute to the message of the ad?

Facilitator Group 3

I found this advertisement on the internet by typing in anti drug abuse posters. It appealed to me because I like the overall design of the poster.

Questions:
1) Why does the creator of the poster choose to fade the word "down" in the poster?

2) Why is the color of the words "Drugs" and "Till You're Under the Ground" red?

3) Who is the intended audience for this ad?

4) What does the hand in the poster represent?

Blog Group 3

                                   

I found this poster by typing in "anti-drug posters" on Google. It appealed to me because cigarettes don't come up in class too often, but indeed are still a deadly drug. 

1. Why does the author use different colored font for the words "drugs" and "your life"?

2. What is the purpose of having the person be made out of the word drugs?

3. Why do the words change from drugs to death as the smoke goes up?

4. What is the effect of the author saying it is not funny or a joke? Why does he choose these words?

Facilitator Group 3

I found this poster on a website with motivational posters. It came along with an article with an article about attention-getting drug awareness posters, which stated that putting up posters like this one helps to keep workplaces drug-free. I think the reason This poster is attention-getting is because of its rhetoric and context. 

How does the maker of this poster use pathos to appeal to the audience?

How does the maker of this poster use the idea of the American Dream to emphasize the effects of drug use?

What do you think is the meaning of the blurriness of the top of the picture?

How do you think the environment around the shredder and the angle at which the audience sees the shredder helps emphasize the effects of drug abuse?

Facilitator group 3

I found it on a quitting adderall website. It attracted me because it's about adderall, and there was also a documentary video posted by group one about adderall. I like this picture. It's visualable and verbal.
I can see the effects of abusing adderall directly and straightly.
Discussion questions:
How the creator represent the result of abusing adderall in this picture?
Why does the creator use the hands holding on the rail in the picture?
How is this picture connected to the documentary video posed by group 1 also about the adderall?
Does it have the answer to the question of whether adderall should be banned to use?
What is the effective of using numbers in this picture?

Facilitator Group 2

This is a poster from an anti-drug campaign. I found it after typing into google "anti drug posters". I liked it because it was straight to the point, and visually interesting.

1.) Why do you think the author used the word "beauty"?

2.) What effect does the black and white theme have on the message?

3.) Why was only half her face "on drugs"?

4.) Why did the author put the word "drugs" in a larger and different colored font?

Blog Group 2

http://my.opera.com/qos/albums/showpic.dml?album=1172131&picture=15799451

This is a link to a picture of words arranged into the shape of a beer bottle. I found this picture by typing in anti drug advertisements into google. I liked this picture because it is plain but still makes a strong impact on the viewer about the negative effects of alcohol. The message is that alcohol destroys more lives then natural disasters and all the wars combined.

Why does the creator of this picture choose to hold off saying that he is talking about alcohol till the last line?

What effect does calling alcohol "the slickest thief" have on the overall message?

How does the personification of alcohol impact the viewer’s perception of alcohol?

Would the image be more effective if it had more visual elements?

How does this image appeal to the pathos and logos of the viewer?

Facilitator Group 2

This video is a public service announcement from Above the Influence it shows a group of teenagers at a party, on a stage with their arms and legs attached to strings as if they were puppets. The commercial encourages teenagers to be above the influence and to stay in control of your own life. I found this video, called Above The Influence Stage hands on Youtube.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the creator's choice to include teenagers who were not drinking affect the commercial's message? Would the message have been as effective without them?

2. How does the commercial's setting affect it's message?

3. Why was this commercials audience more geared towards the teenagers themselves, rather than parents?

4. What is the significance of using puppet strings in this commercial?

5. In the commercial it mentions, "if you're not in control, who is?" What are the creators of this commercial trying to convey with this statement?

Facilitator Group #1

This is a rap song by the group Cypress Hill called Dr. Greenthumb.  The whole theme of the song is that Cypress Hill love the drug Marijuana. In the video they are shown being doctors at a hospital treating Marijuana plants as patients. They have a whole section of the hospital with multiple Marijuana plants and the crazy experiments they are conducting on the drug. 

1.  How does Cypress Hill portray marijuana in their song by calling themselves "Dr. Greenthumb"?

2.  Why do you think Cypress Hill chose to use the term "doctor" instead of another job title in their song?

3.  Does the video send a positive or negative view about Marijuana?

4.  What do you think was the overall message of this song by Cypress Hill? Why did you think this was the message?

Facilitator Group 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ExMJkqHAw

This is a documentary video based on the use of adderall, a pharmaceutical drug, and the increasing availability to students. It is directed towards college students who are considering getting tested for Attention Deficit Disorder or ADHD just for the perks of using adderall that allows them to focus better in class. It also emphasizes that people with an ADD/ADHD disability are abusing adderall by selling it illegially. It is intended for this clip to inform the viewer about adderall abuse for the prescribed and unprescribed user. I found the video named Adderall Documentary on Youtube. 

Discussion: 

1. Should there be tighter restrictions on the quantity of prescribed adderall? Should patients be required to revisit their doctor before the next prescription is picked up?

2. Should there be legal criteria for a diagnosis of ADD to make sure patients have it?

3. Do you think that people who are prescribed adderall abuse the drug more than people who aren't prescribed adderall? 

4. In your opinion, with people who are familiar with adderall, is their incentive to abuse it (get a high) or for educational purposes?

5. Should adderall be labelled as a performance enhancing drug? 

Facilitator Group 1

This video is a public service announcement against alcohol abuse.  It shows a young girl at a support group, describing how she will become an alcoholic in the future.  The girl talks about how having a problem with alcohol will cause her to have other problems.  The commercial encourages parents to talk to their children about alcohol abuse in order to prevent them from becoming dependent on alcohol. I found this video, called AFN Commercial – Stop Alcohol Abuse on YouTube.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the creator’s choice to use a young girl in this situation affect the commercial’s message?  Would the commercial have been as effective if the main character had been a young boy or another adult?

2. Is the commercial effective in its goal to raise awareness of alcohol abuse?

3. How does the commercial’s tone affect its message?

4. What type of audience is this message geared towards?

5. In the public service announcement, the young girl mentions that, in the future, alcohol won’t be her only problem. What type of message are the creators implying by this comment?

Facilitators #1

I liked the idea of choosing a piece of media that many people come in contact with, and I know twitter is huge for social networking these days. I chose to use a tweet from rapper Wiz Khalifa. The tweet was posted in the morning, and Wiz is describing what he is doing since he's awake and ready to start his day. Wiz puts his own spin on the phrase "the finer things in life".

What is Wiz implying from his phrase "Smokin On The Finer Things In Life"?
What does this phrase mean to Wiz?
Is there significance to the rest of his post (after he says "Smokin On The Finer Things In Life")? Or is there no significance?
Does the rest of his post affect his phrase "Smokin On The Finer Things In Life"?
How does his word choice impact his audience?