Bua's Style

Justin Bua has an abstract style in that he doesn't try to portray realistic dimensions of people. The people in his paintings are bent, distorted, and reminiscent of a cartoon style of drawing. His work is highly active and engaging, always depicting people in the middle of an activity, whether it be playing an instrument or dancing. He makes heavy use of light and shadow, as the focal points of each painting appear to be the brightest spots; as he works outwards, the amount of light decreases and the corners are heavily shadowed. Finally, Bua avoids using straight lines in favor of more distorted angular or curved lines, thereby discarding any sense of realism and creating a deeply imaginative feel in his work.

Kroll and Mencken Articles

I find the Kroll article more persuasive. Its use of pathos has more of an impact than Mencken's weak attempt at logos. Mencken fails to use any hard facts that would tend to persuade the logos-minded, rendering his piece ineffective. Kroll, however, has mastered the use of emotion to persuade. He makes every effort to paint Harris in the light of a victim, and depict the families of the victims as cruel and heartless people. He effectively describes the whole scene as "indescribably ugly", and leaves the reader with a disturbed feeling that works much better than Mencken's attempt to persuade.

"Sixteen Military Wives" by the Decemberists

What is the song talking about (subject matter)? 
The overt subject matter of the song is sixteen wives whose husbands go off to war and die there, and the widows are left to mourn their deaths. The song goes on to describe celebrities, and the final stanza depicts a group of "cannibal kings".

What is the theme (about what is the audience supposed to think)? 
The theme is that the American people have come to thrive off depressing news and become attached to the media, but aren't actually emotionally impacted by the harshness of what really goes on in the world. The newsanchor talks about the widowed women without showing any real signs of caring about them, and the song depicts America going to war without the people really caring about its impact.

"Race for the Prize" by the Flaming Lips

What is the theme of the song?
The theme is that individual people can take action to benefit the whole of humankind, but it requires taking risks and the dedication of one's life to the cause.


Write a paragraph to persuade as to what the theme of the song is.
The lyrics that support the first half of the theme are "two scientists were racing/for the good of all mankind/both of them side by side/so determined/locked in heated battle/for the cure that is their prize". The two scientists are racing to find the cure for a disease, "for the good of all mankind". These two individuals were not much different from anyone else, as evidenced by the lines "they're just humans/with wives and children", but they still had the ability to change the world. At the same time, their endeavors are accompanied by great risks. This is evidenced by the lines, "but it's so dangerous" and "forging for the future/but to sacrifice their lives/both of them side by side". Their "forging for the future" is what's creating danger for the both of them. The second half of the theme is also shown through the lyrics "if it kills them/they're just humans/with wives and children". These lines illustrate that the two are at risk of losing even their wives and children.

JFK Speech Fallacy

1) Write a quote from the speech that commits a fallacy. 2) Tell what fallacy it commits and explain why it is guilty of committing that logical flaw. 3) Explain why a speech that blatantly commits so many fallacies can still be so effective and so famous.  


1) "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." page 1, paragraph 8

2) This statement commits a non sequitur fallacy because there exists a disconnect between the premise ("a society can't help its poor") and the conclusion ("therefore, it cannot help the rich"). While the two statements both discuss an economic class, and therefore may appear to be related, in reality they have nothing to do with each other. A society being unable to assist the "many poor" does not guarantee that they will also be unable to help out the "few who are rich".

3) JFK manages to use rhetoric in such an inspirational, patriotic manner that people are riled up before they even have time to think about the many fallacies in the speech. The speech is designed to breed feelings of "Americanism" and pride for both the president and the country; listeners aren't exactly looking to the speech as a source of evidence-supported argument. Finally, after a president is elected, the majority of people are still focusing their attention and topics of discussion on the president himself and what they think he will do in office; they aren't absorbing the inauguration speech critically, looking for logical errors.

"Duck and Cover" Video

What is the overt message?
The overt message is instructions on what to do if an atomic bomb is about to hit.

What is the covert message?
There is no covert message, because this video is not quite propaganda. It is meant to be informative in nature.

Is this propaganda or persuasion? 
I don't think it is either. I don't see any message that the video is trying to convince people of, nor is  there any below-the-surface message that would make it propaganda. I think the video is just trying to instruct children in a memorable way what to do if an atomic bomb hits.

"Destination Earth" Propaganda Video

What is the overt message and how do we know?
The overt message is that making products with oil and competition between oil companies both promote the wellbeing of a society. This is demonstrated through the alien's praise of American society for making products with petroleum and allowing competition in the oil industry.


What is the covert message and how is it known?
The covert message is that oil use and oil competition equates to patriotism and anti-petroleum industry sentiments equate to communistic thinking. The use of petrol is noticeably paraded as a distinctly American achievement, while the alien leader, who opposes the competition between oil companies, is personified as a communistic dictator. Before the Martian society is introduced to oil, everyone looks and acts like one another (a reference to communist society). After being introduced to oil, they diversify and begin to resemble American society, and subsequently are made to look much happier.


How is it propaganda?
This video is propaganda because it contains a hidden, covert message that isn't communicated on the surface level. It also uses propaganda techniques, such as transfer (patriotism -> oil), to get across its message.