Annie Hall: Too good for the kids now?

Movies have been considered something of a treasure. Allowing us, the viewers, to empathizes or to scorn characters for their actions throughout the film. Of course, in order for one to find if the film itself is good, they must go through certain criteria such as framing, timing, etc. This is what my class, Ollywood, and I are trying learn from films within GCE lab school. Lessons that have also been included would be acting, lighting, and what inspires a film. We have also been brought to certain experiences such as meeting with an official and JollyHouse productions, discovering the  difference between play and film within Goodman Theatre, and much more.

For a project, we had to (with a partner) review a movie within the library of GCE. The review itself being checking out(in our own opinion) contained criteria such as lighting, framing, acting, and costume design. What I enjoyed the most about the project was reviewing the acting since I had the strongest opinion. What I didn't enjoy however was the time it took just to gain the footage. Still, I hope you enjoy BD and my review on Annie Hall.

 

“Photos” facebook.com, Facebook, Web, Date Unknown, Dec 19, 2018

United Artists, "Screenshot from Annie Hall" Vice.com, Vice, Web, 1977, Dec 19, 2018

United Artist "Name Unknown" ign.com, IGN, Web, 1977, Dec 19, 2018
United Artist " Name Unknown". denofgeek.com/ Den of Geek, Web, 1977, Dec 19, 2018

The Rhetorical Canidate

When looking at figure, one should recognize the certain technics in order convince their audience on their position, good or bad. That is what my class, Art of Rhetoric, is trying to understand. These technics being from context, rhetorical tools, rhetorical appeal and much more. We have also went into certain exhibits such as "Remembering MLK" or meeting Troy LaRavie in order to understand their rhetoric. My class and I were had an assignment where we needed to understand and analyze a text that our candidate (which we choose in the last unit) has done. Not only that, but try to conclude if it is successful. What was challenging about this project is the time frame that assignment had. What I enjoyed however was analyzing and stating my opinions on what my candidate meant. Still, I hope you enjoy.

Paul Vallas has been a controversial character since the beginning of his campaign, and challenged multiple people against his stances. From his thoughts on police, education, financial stability, and much more, he has found creative ways in order to achieve the budget for such projects. This is especially a prominent trait shown as he is running for Chicago mayor as of 2018, after Rahm Emanuel (prior mayor) dropped out from being a candidate. Paul, now determined, wishes to reconstruct certain aspects that Rahm’s campaign either ignored or had been work with it in a negative way.

Chicago Tribune, "Mayor Rahm Emanuel..." chicagotribune.com,
Chicago Tribune WebDate Unknown, Oct 17, 2018

During a speech in August, Vallus stated certain policies he wanted to take care of that Emmanuel handled poorly. One of these political issue is that city colleges are structured to teach a certain subjects within the school. An example would be city college Kennedy-King teaching hospitality and culinary, Malcolm X teaching nursing and medical, and many more. What Paul is arguing is due to transportation, time, and placement in the Chicago area limits certain citizens in job positions. He also argues on whether certain job positions taught by certain schools will even be around in 10 years.

Since Paul has been an advocate of schooling, his belief for the system is that there should be core programs instituted within all of city colleges. Giving out less of a identity but allowing access to certain communities. Paul believes that if this policy were due to effect, then it would allow certain unprivileged students gain higher chances of successful occupations within their community. Not only that, but could also help with bring up the application and attendance rate for city colleges.

Within Chicago Sun Times News website, a recording was shown dedicated to show Paul’s opinions on the subject and why Rahm's system must go. To give context, he and Rahm has had a back and forth political argument on the better system that should be used. Paul has also gained some criticism for his policy, such as not having a financial plan on how to pay for these core classes. Another argument against Paul being that Rahm has made improvements within these communities(though forced thanks to the Laquan McDonald incident) by investing in certain buildings or structures. Paul within the video talks about these problems and how he views the whole subject.

  

For this project, we will be talking about his rhetoric. Such being on how he handle himself in the emotion of the subject, the logic of the subject, and the ideas of trust the audience gains from this interview. We will also be talking about certain rhetorical tools used within his speak. Examples being analogy, metaphor, and much more. Finally, we will be analyzing if this speech was a success in rhetoric.

Here is the annotation of the speech itself.

"I think we should get elections every year, because then we get a quick response. You know, everything becomes a priority. In election year, right around election year. So that’s number one. Number two, this isn’t, this isn’t a redistribution of the wealth, this is a effective, infrared allocation of resources. “Yock, give me magic johnson and 10 million dollar contract,” it’s not MBEWE in my book. You know, giving money to the alternative schools network so they could serve more children, is the way you invest that money. Building a Wind-Trust Arena..su, for 175,000,000 dollars. While not investing in the, the a poles and roles area. So, uhm, it’s a question of, it’s a question of priorities, and it’s not a redistribution of the wealth strategy. There are areas of this city that are contracting and you see them. I was at Anglewood yesterday. Walking..you know, walking down the street. And, and the store fence, the store fence has been torn down or vacant, and I could find, at least in the section I was in, couldn’t find a hard price press to find a fast food joint-so that you can go find and get a cup of coffee. Or michigan avenue, gately people’s store has been shut down for three decades. I used to ride my bike in the five story high parking garage that they had. There deep tour around the parking garage. But, you know..the entire block is almost abandoned. So this isn’t a redistribution of the wealth issue. So you don’t wait until 2016 to allocate money, and you don’t allocate money just on the mero of wims. 250,000 dollars can be allocated without even cityconcil’s approval. You could just simply dispense the resources as you see fit. Usually driven by politics, not by me.”

Logos

For most of his speeches or talks,  its always seems Paul always decides on doing logos before anything else. We recognize this at the very ending of the recording, were the candidate talks about money being allocated. 

Fran Spielman "Mayoral challenger Paul Vallas unveiled..." chicago.suntimes.com,
Chicago Sun Times News, Web,  Aug 23, 2018, Oct 16, 2018

“ So you don’t wait until 2016 to allocate money, and you don’t allocate money just on the mero of wims. 250,000 dollars can be allocated without even city council’s approval. You could just simply dispense the resources as you see fit.” 

Notice that he references to the audience rather than Rahm himself. Almost as if he speaks about the common viewer, who doesn’t understand politics compared to politicians who do. From a certain understanding, Paul is stating that this position allows a person to personalize a project rather than help the city. The evidence to harden this idea would the line “as you see fit”, as well as the impression that Rahm has invested in the black communities only because he needed a better image. Thus, it make the logos of the conversation more impactful because it gives of the impression that the information stated could be personalized by anyone, and that it is already happening.

Pathos

The greatest source of pathos would be the middle of the speech with his grievances and distress within the lots of Chicago. 

“Or michigan avenue, gately people’s store has been shut down for three decades. I used to ride my bike in the five story high parking garage that they had. There deep tour around the parking garage. But, you know..the entire block is almost abandoned ” 

This text right works for two reasons. One being that it isn’t “I feel” or “I think”, but rather “I’ve been”. The idea that you experience the problem and compare it on how it used to be is strong. The reasoning being it gives of an idea that you, the speaker, have a story with this place. Thus, allowing the audience to be empathetic to you. The second reason this works is that it has a sense of logos with this in the information and the way he talks. These communities have been existing with this problem and giving a sense of urgency.

Ethos
Whenever one thinks about ethos, opinion states it cannot survive or doesn't exist on it’s own. That it needs a sense of either pathos or logos in order for it to work. Going back to the quote from pathos, one could get an idea that Paul came to look at the city first hand, and state grievance from it. Thus, showing our trust in him as he actively goes out into his community trying to stop this.

There are also an analogy that helps with his ethos

“Yock, give me magic johnson and 10 million dollar contract,” it’s not MBEWE in my book”

This analogy is especially important because it shows that Paul has researched certain figures within the communities he his talking about, and is to the eyes of said communities not completely blind. Thus gain trust through not only one specific communities, but multiple who can appreciate those who have taken the time to research. 

Stylistic Devices

Allusion

“Yock, give me magic johnson and 10 million dollar contract,” it’s not MBEWE in my book”

In this quote, Pual references a famous pastor within the African-American community, Conrad Mbewe. He also talks about another well known African-American title, Magic Johnson. All to mainly emphasize the point that Rahm isn’t using his resources to the community in a correct way. Rather, is giving out money to the areas and specialities he believes will benefit him. This could also be considered a metaphor since Rahm hasn’t endorsed Magic Johnson, or hasn’t given out million dollar contracts. It still brings a good connect to what Rahm has been doing to the city overall.

 Craig Wall "Candidate for mayor Paul Vallas..." abc7chicago.com,
ABC7, Web,   Aug 23, 2018,Oct 16, 2018

Analogy

“I used to ride my bike in the five story high parking garage that they had. There deep tour around the parking garage. But, you know..the entire block is almost abandoned”

Rather than comparing two different cities and taking the ideas that Chicago isn’t as great as one city, he talks about the comparison of the past and present. This, one could conclude, is better than talking about two different areas. It gives of an idea that the city used to be good, or at least functional. But now, thanks to a certain force, it is ruined. It better rhetoric because it alludes to a current problem without saying it and  also gives off the idea that it’s possible to return the community to its original form.  Finally, it gives an idea that it will either spread or get worse unless the city takes action within the long term.

Repetition

“it’s a question of, it’s a question of priorities”

“this isn’t, this isn’t a redistribution of the wealth”

“to allocate money, and you don’t allocate money just on the mero of wims”

Though some people would find these repetition of words sloppy, one could find it has good rhetoric. For what it does is it gives of the impression that the speaker had isn’t pre-researched. Rather, it is something that the speaker genuinely cares about, and shows he/she is confident to keep talking even after mistakes one could criticizes Thus, bring in a good idea of ethos that is subtle, but can go a long way.

Conclusion

The reason I chose this text was mainly because Paul talks about one of the few good policies I agree with. Even though it is expensive, I believe there should be different core classes to open opportunity for different students rather than to force them to travel or pay extra expenses. Not only that, but this speech shows that Paul understands what is needed in order to gain his rhetoric to a certain audience. Using logos, ethos, and pathos perfectly and making seem as if it was all from his personality. Even with the policies I find disagreement in, I still find Paul Vallas rhetorically successful.

Citations

Fran Spielman "Vallas wants to dismantle Emanuel’s City Colleges makeover" chicago.suntimes.com

Chicago Sun Times,  Web,  Aug 23, 2018, Oct 16, 2018

The Grand Question

Socrates(Father of Western Philosophy) was executed because the Athenians accused him of "tormenting/corrupting the youth". His trial was transcripted and later called "The Apology". He used what was known as the Socratic Method as a defense. The Socratic Method is a series of questions meant to contradict the opposing side in an argument so the other side could see the flaws in their own views . For his case, it was with one of the senators, Meletus, who accused Socrates. Socrates multiple times made Metelus contradict himself, as well as the Athenian government. He was unfairly executed, though his ideas and method will live on for centuries to come.

Hello everyone, my name is JN, and I am taking a class called Forbidden Books. In which we learned about the banning of books, why they were band, and very few philosophies. We had also gone to multiple Field Experiences, such being Women and Children First Bookstore. For one of our assignments, we had to act out the Socratic Method, and record it with a partner. Because I did not find a partner, I acted as both people. The main point of this video is to show the dangers of the Socratic Method, in which one could turn an the opposing side's argument against them. The trouble I had with creating this assignment was the recording during which I was interrupted multiple times. What I enjoyed about this was the characters and the conversation they had. Still, I hope you all enjoy my the video, as well as learn how the Socratic Method works.

      

  The grand Question from Death Kon on Vimeo.

 

The Fox and the Gator

My name is J.N., and I study at GCE Lab School. In it, I have been taking a Humanities class known as stories. What we do is we study about literature and subjects such as symbolism, metaphors, and much more. For an assignment, we had to write a fable that had a symbol, anthropormophic or non- human characters, and moral for the story. I just want to say that I'm proud this project with the illustration created by myself. I am also proud of the story itself, and how it gets straight to the point. What I had struggle however is the symbolism in the story, which is consistant but is hard to find. Still, I hope you like it and that you can be able to find the moral.

There was once a group of young alligators and their father who went into a lake and ate most of the fish. The woodland creatures wanted to tell the large alligator to stop, but they were all too scared to do so. So, for the first time ever, both prey and predator went to the center of the forest to talk about what they were going to do. An owl, on the highest branch, became the leader of the group. Before the meeting began, she told everyone that no one was to be eaten nor killed. All the animals agreed and started with the meeting.

At first, nobody knew how to deal with the alligator. It wasn’t until a bear came up from the group. “I can certainly beat the scoundrel” said the bear. “But in order to do so, I wish to have another cave of my own, as well as all the honey I can eat”. Now, some the animals though the bear could do it. He was known to win, sometimes with just one swipe of his claw. The owl and other animals agreed that the bear was the right choice.

Before the fight, the sun had set, and it was so dark that most of the animals couldn’t see the event. When the fight was over, the bear had wounds from his shoulder to his belly. He was in agony, and said, “ I came up to him, trying to resolve this conflict peacefully, and he attacked me with full force. I came running back for safety.” All the animals shivered in panic for the upcoming future. The owl screeched and told everybody they would all have to adapt to the situation. They all agreed until a mouse came running in and stated that the alligator scared him off when he was taking a drink from the lake. Realizing that their largest water supply was taken hostage, the owl decided that whoever could beat the alligator could get the promised cave.

The stag tried, but he couldn’t run on water. The wolves tried, but the water was unclear at night. Over and over, challengers tried to fight the alligator, but they were always in the dark whenever it happened.

As the animals were ready to accept their fate, a small fox came around the corner and took the center of the group. “ Maybe I could help.” said the fox in a calm voice. “but only if you give me the cave for myself. ”

Now, the forest residents hated the fox almost as much as the feared the alligator. When he was young, he was a trickster. He would trick critters all day and would leave at night. But seeing how they didn’t have a choice, the animals all voted and gave the fox a chance.

At the sunrise, the fox proceeded toward the gator. The alligator looked fiercely towards the fox, ready to attack. The fox only smiled and said, “Gee, you seem tense. What, fox got your tongue?” .Now ,to most, this would seem terrible. But alligator laughed so hard that he almost forgot to breathe .

JN "Storybook" 2018, blogspot

As the sun rose, the fox laid down on the shore of the pond, speaking one joke to the next. Gradually, the gator trusted the fox and felt calm near him. After a long period of jokes, the fox tried to suggest something. “ You know… There’s a really nice pond a couple miles away. It has all the fish in the world, and if you go there, no creature would ever bother you again.”

The gator looked sternly at the fox and spoke. “So that’s why you'se here. You'se tellin me to git out like all the rest of them critters. Well, Ah would, but one of my kin died ‘cause of a ruthless bear. We was just mindin our own beeswax, when dis big old bear came runnin toward us, and tried kill me. I fought back, of course, but right before he was tuh leave, his claw swipes at my son and took his dear life. I won’t stop til I get justice.”

When the fox got back, he told the animals everything. At first, they all didn’t believe him, until he brought the alligator himself and explain his side of the story. They told the bear to leave the forest. As the sun rose, the bear was able to gain justice from the crime, while the fox got his cave. The sun had rose high into the sky, and the forest was able to see a lot clearer.