Journal #7

When reading Michael Lassell's poem "How to watch your brother die" seemed more of a poem about opening up about your sexuality more then the death aspect of the poem. I enjoy talking a lot about this topic because I think it is important for all people to open up about their sexuality. Why hide who you are?
I think that the narrator didn't really look into it all that much and was very unaware of his brother's sexuality. I also think that overall, the situation was uncomfortable weather they were around each other, the  brother's wife, or the kids. Clearly us readers were able to feel the tension between the two and the situation overall. He didn't really know how his wife would feel about him being around his brother who is homosexual. She also portrayed an attitude of the gay brother being around the young kids.
I think the hospital part was most important and really brought it all into perspective for the brother. He walked in and saw his brother laying in the hospital bed being comforted by his partner/lover. I think that at that point, life or death, fake or real, he was able to accept his brother for who he was put the difference aside as he laid there about to go.
The clip we watched in class that most stood out to me was the seven year old girl who was once a little boy. I thought that like the brother watching his brother go, he was able to put the sexuality in the past. And like that, this little girl was talking so maturely about being different and saying it is all ok.

JOURNAL #6

After seeing all the groups present their advertisement, I think I now view commercials differently. Since class on Wednesday I feel like every time I see a new commercial I analyze it and think what that company is really trying to get across to the viewers. I think one of my favorite groups and commercials shown on class on Wednesday was the pepsi vs. coke commercial. I thought it was so neat how they found almost identical commercials but years apart. I thought the group really broke down the meaning and appeals of the commercials which I found so entertaining.


I chose the American Airlines commercial "late nate" because I thought it was funny, appealing, and had a good story behind it. Nate is late to everything, but he is in a situation at work where he needs to make his flight and cannot be late. I thought American Airlines did a great job by showing all the personal experiences in Nate's life and then at the end having it all come together. It was showing that Nate was early and chose to fly with the best. I think the main argument the company is trying to make is that flying with another airline other then American Airlines wont allow you to have the fast service that Nate got. I think they are trying to prove a point to their audience that American Airlines is the best choice and even though Nate tends to be late with everything he does, american airlines helped him be early and make his flight. Also, it helps make their company stand out and makes a clearer argument when they show the other crowded line at the airport. It also has a strong emotional appeal because since its a commercial it helps portray imagery and makes the argument stand out with personal experiences and strong evidence.

I really enjoyed this assignment and I think its important for us to sometimes think outside the box and try and see what commercials, ads, and the media are trying to show us.

JOURNAL #5

When reading both Sloans text in the book and online, I found a few things that made a significant difference. First, I felt that although the pictures really helped me see the images I was trying to portray in my head, it also caught me off guard and got me distracted from time to time. I really liked seeing exactly what she was describing, but to me reading a book with no pictures allows you to use your imagination more and paint a different picture even if its off of the subject. I think it makes it more imaginative and fun when I compared both because the picture I painted in my head was not exactly what she showed in the actual photos. Also, the links made it hard for me to keep track and continue to read. I always found myself going back to the links and then loosing my spot in the text. On another note, reading a text of just writing it is hard to keep an interest in the story and plot of what you are reading. I think that the hypertext allowed me to keep an interest in what I was reading by reviewing the links, and pictures so that my mind didn't wander off in another direction. I think that both texts were effective in the way that they both got the point across, just used their format differently.