IRB Post #3

This marking period I am going to read Bassoon King, a memoir by Rainn Wilson. I am interested in Wilson's life because he played the hilarious character Dwight on the Office and someone who can play a character such as that must have an interesting life. He also belongs to a faith I know nothing about, but this summer I visited an important temple for and would love to know more about it. The life of a famous actor has always interested me.

TOW#16 - An Unquiet Mind

Living life with Bipolar disorder, Kay Jamison explains in her memoir, leavers her with almost no control on her life. Awareness about mental illnesses has been increasing in past years, but she wrote her book to explain to people who do not have bipolar that it is much harder than they imagine. Throughout her life she has had to deal with many unreasonable people who do not treat her with the respect she deserved just because of her disorder. In order to explain this she uses her humor and writes out the sarcastic things she was thinking during an uncomfortable situation. “He broke in to ask me if I knew that manic- depressive illness was a genetic disease. Stifling for the moment an urge to remind him that I had spent my entire professional life studying manic-depressive illness and that, in any event, I wasn’t entirely stupid, I said ‘ yes of course’”(191). This quote shows how even if someone responds some way, it does not mean that is necessarily how they feel on the inside. When speaking to someone with an illness do not be fooled by their exteriors. Also, do not act as if they are stupid or underestimate them. Her sarcasm shows the reader what she has to go through throughout her entire life. Another strategy Jamison uses in her  book is quoting herself, in a way. Jamison will put quotes from her own journal entries. The entries are typically from times in her life where she was very ill, either depressed or manic. these diary entries will show the audience what being ill is actually like. It is usually unexpected by a healthy audience so it brings to light a harsh reality. I believe her memoir was very effective in helping me understand that I will never understand what having bipolar would actually be like. Using her humor and real life examples, her memoir allowed her readers into parts of her life.

TOW #15 - Maybelline Ad

Although some makeup trends can be a bit too out there for some people, concealer is a good choice for anyone. Concealer is only used for covering up small imperfections, but there are various types available on the market. This visual text is an ad from the very popular company Maybelline, made to convince older women to use this specific concealer. It’s trying to convince that this concealer is a very good choice as it has many good effects. This ad shows crows feet and fine lines, which are typically more found on older women, so this concealer is not meant for younger girls. To convince women to use this product it used many devices that would be used in a typical advertisement. Next to the actual picture of the product is logical reason for using it. It states how many years of research has been put into this product and how many patents it has. This makes the audience believe this product is fancy and has the potential to really do as it claims. If many years of research had been put into the production of this product, it must be something special. The advertisement also used contrast between using the product and an average face. The women in the ad has portions of her face using the concealer and spaces without it and there is a notable difference. This shows the concealer working and having a very desirable effect. This will make the audience want to look like that and believe the way to do it is buy this concealer. I believe this ad achieved it’s purpose. Although the woman's face is clearly photoshopped and perfect, I trust Maybelline as a company and they used convincing tactics to make me want this product. This is the type of product I would recommend to my mom.

TOW# 14 - Therapy Wars

Therapy is a very common occurrence, whether it’s for someone who has a mental illness or just for a common person, it’s helpful to everyone. Although, not many people know what therapy really is. Reading the article Therapy Wars by Oliver Burkeman, award winning journalist and writer, helps people who are in therapy or those curious about it understand two different types of therapy. There is the common form of cognitive behavioral therapy, cheap and simple ways to keep yourself happy. There is also the older form of therapy, psychoanalysis, created by Sigmund Freud, based around the idea of finding the hidden reason for your problems. Although CBT is the newer and more common method used, Burkeman offers a contrasting opinion to that CBT may not the better way to go. The language used in this article helps the author to introduce different sides of the argument. He uses strong language to explain a side of the argument. To explain the creator of the psychoanalysis method, Freud, he writes, “arguably no other notable figure in history was so fantastically wrong about nearly every important thing he had to say.” The strong words used in this quote show the that the author leaves no room for debate in this quote, he believes this is a definitive side to the argument. The author also uses rhetorical questions. These questions leave room for the reader to rethink their own opinions. Burkeman is not trying to convince the audience that one form is better than the other, he is just trying to supply a different outlook. These questions force the reader to take what the author is telling them into account. I believe he achieved his purpose. I had only ever known of CBT therapy I did not know there were other ways for it to be done. Although I will stick with it, this article taught me that there are other possible ways of doing things.

TOW#13 The Lie About College Diversity

The topic of college is highly relevant in my life and the lives of my peers. There are many different factors that need to be taken into account when choosing the right school to go to, one of these factors is diversity of the staff and students. Colleges are using their diversity as a reason to convince student to attend. Frank Bruni, an author for the NY times for many years, believes this is a good thing although it is not carried out as it should be. Bruni believes that the student body being diverse is not enough, self segregation is still happening and the colleges must combat them in order for the diversity to be a good thing.

Bruni explains this opinion in his NY times article, The Lie About College Diversity. he uses devices such as rhetorical questions to achieve his purpose. Using these questions allows the audience, students looking to go to colleges and even their parents possibly helping in the process, to become more involved with the text. They stop for a moment and think of an answer before continuing to read which will make them come back to the text with a greater understanding and deeper curiosity. Bruni also uses has very interesting organization in this article. Many paragraphs are only a single sentence. This allows for emphasis on that statement. It’s broken up from the rest of the article so it stands alone to make its own point. These rhetorical devices helped me stay interested while reading. It put emphasis on how important these issues are, especially today. I believe this article achieved its purpose. I now understand that what i read about colleges is not always true. I also see that the issues of diversity are not as easily solved as it seems.

TOW #12 The Song of a Man

The Son of a Man is an extremely interesting painting as the subject's face cannot actually be seen. It is actually to be expected, as this painting was created by René Magritte, who is known for his thought provoking paintings. They are known to change the viewer's perception of reality. This painting was made so that its meaning could take relevance in any time period. Magritte’s argument is about his perception of humanity, he believes that humans always hide things from others, but wants to know what others are hiding. He tries to use this painting to convey that to anyone who wants to view his painting in  philosophical manner.

In order to convey this message Magritte utilizes shadows. In order to hide the man’s face, he places an apple in front of it and it displays a shadow. There is also a shadow around the man’s right hand. This shows that the hand is behind the man’s back, away from the viewer's ability to see. This shadow makes the viewer curious about what is in the man’s hand, portraying the argument of the painting. Magritte also uses simplicity in the background and surroundings. Keeping the background simple it draws attention to the subject. Also keeping the apple simple, but with a bright color, draws attention to it, ensuring the audience will notice that the face is not able to be seen. I do not believe exactly that this painting achieved Magritte’s purpose. I did not immediately feel his purpose was shown. I was at first confused and did not understand there was an underlying message. It took me more time than I would have spent if looking at it in a museum.  Even spending much time analyzing did not lead me to an exact idea of what Magritte is trying to convey.

Tow #11 - An Unquiet Mind (IRB)

Bipolar is a common mental disorder that is also commonly misunderstood. Even people who have it can easily believe misconceptions about it. Someone working to help those with the disorder to understand what they’re going through, is Kay Jamison, a popular psychologist and author living with Bipolar disorder. Through her book An Unquiet Mind, a memoir explaining her struggles living with Bipolar, she helps others who suffer to understand they are not alone in what they’re going through.

Throughout the book she uses different devices to help the reader. One of these devices is logical reasoning and facts. Jamison is a psychologist and knows enough about about mental illness to explain it all. She also explains rational events such as how mania can lead people to make impulsive decisions or purchases. After mania, depression normally begins to settle in. The bills or consequences of the mania give a greater reason for this depression. Through explaining this, a person with Bipolar that can relate to this will feel relief that they are not the only one. They will also understand better why they feel the way they do. Another device Jamison uses is personal narrative. In her memoir she shares specific stories such as one where she went to a party when she became a staff member at a university. At the time she had believed to behaved normal but later was told by a friend she had seemed manic, dressed provocative, and been way too talkative. Sharing her perspective of the party and then giving the story from another person’s perspective allows the audience to understand that when a person with Bipolar is manic, they do not realize they are making bad decisions. I believe these devices allow the reader to have a much greater understanding of the mental illness. After reading this book so far I have more knowledge and a deeper curiosity for Bipolar disorder.