the cosby show

My topic for the research essay is The Cosby Show. It has influenced America in several ways, and has also been aired in other countries as well. One way it has influenced America is through providing an example of a happy family going through everyday family issues. Each episode deals with a different conflict that many American families can relate to and use as an example of how to deal with issues in a positive way. By the end of each episode the problem is resolved and people generally stay happy throughout the whole conflict. Although this seems unrealistic it still helps show that you can combat issues in a positive way. This is the central issue that I am focusing my paper on. The impact of being a model of an ideal family can be used currently and in the future because family is continually an important part of society.
Another way the Cosby Show has impacted America is through being an African American based sitcom. Before the Cosby Show there were not many shows featuring African American's. Several episode had African American themes, but the topic of race was rarely brought up. This show led up to more African American based shows, including the Fresh Prince of Belair.
The Cosby Show is unique not only for being African American based, but for also being centered around a comedian. This was one of the first shows centered around a comedian making it original. It also uses clean humor, making it different from several popular comedy shows such as the Simpsons.

"The Dark Art of Description"

In Patricia Hampl's The Dark Art of Description, she writes about how to use description in writing to create your own style. Hampl's purpose in writing this essay is to show the importance of word choice and how description can make all the difference in any piece of writing. Specifically, Hampl states that description allows you to "glimpse the individual consciensness, the creator of the scene" (47). The creator of the scene being the author. Their consciensness is expressed through description allowing the reader to imagine the picture that the author is imagining. Hampl argues that description is the author's voice, drawing in the reader, and can make any story interesting. This is the point of the last paragraphs about one of her students. The student comes to her saying that he has nothing to write about because he came from a small town where nothing interesting happens. She replies by saying, "The field's wide open. Nobody has told what it's like to grow up in Fridley yet" (51). Hampl is trying to prove that you can write about anything and make it interesting. The student thought that his life was boring, but simply using description he could explain new concepts and make the topic interesting to the reader. Hampl uses this to prove that description is vital, and can be used in any circumstance to add voice to a piece of writing and draw in the reader.

Walt and Krakauer

The stories told about Walt is crucial to the story because that gives reason behind Chris leaving to go on his adventure, which is the point of Into the Wild. Chris' background shows readers why he left and what pushed him to want to be on his own. The part about Walt and how much it outraged Chris further shows how Chris just needed to get away. Without this piece readers would question Chris' intentions even more than they already do. Walt's story provides some insight into Chris' head.
Krakauer's story isn't necessarily crucial, but is very important. The addition of his personal experience further provides some explanation to Chris' thoughts. By having a similar background and a similar story, Krakauer's feelings can be paralleled with Chris', helping to fill in some of the blanks that people didn't know.
From the start I thought Chris was a courageous person just for the fact he pursued his dreams at all costs. These stories didn't change my opinion of him, but further justified him leaving. The feelings Krakauer had show what Chris could have been thinking which helps prove that Chris didn't just make a spontaneous stupid mistake. Walt's story futher pushed my positive opinion of Chris in that he was able to take what happened and the anger and use it to pursue his own life and be happy. Instead of wallowing in self pitty or taking out his anger on his family he chose to use it to find himself and become independent. Overall, both pieces helped justify Chris leaving and further prove Krakauer's view of Chris.

Rhetoric and the Media

Out of the three choices for the rhetorical analysis project I think that the ads are the most effective type of rhetoric. Ads can be posted everywhere; in magazines, on bilboards, on posters, etc. People see ads everywhere and may not even realize it. Ads are simple but stick in your mind through using catchy phrases or pictures. Ads can also reach out to multiple audiences. The post secret postcards are pretty effective because they are very personal, but they are only effective to those reading postsecret.com. The video is also effective because it stands out from the other two. In a video you are watching somebody deliver lines that are entertaining, and often show pictures or video clips to make their piece even more memorable. But, like the post cards a person must choose to watch the video. Ads are the most effective because they are posted everywhere and constantly viewed by multiple people.
If I were to re-do my rhetorical analysis project I still would have chosen the same media source (post secret) because it seemed the most interesting to me. I've never been really interested in making movies or shows so the video wouldn't have been right for me. The ads would have been cool to do, but I've done a few projects similar to that in high school when studying the effects of media. The post secret post card was something different and gave me a chance to act as if I were in somebody else's shoes telling getting something off their conscience which is pretty cool. It may not be the most effective type of media, but it was fun to make.

Matt White-Makes Me Happy

So my song of choice is "Makes Me Happy" by Matt White Band. This isn't necessarily my favorite song, and not my favorite artist either. But, it is a song that has stood out to me and my go to song for almost any mood. It can brighten up a bad mood, or make a good mood even easier to express. Sounds a little corny but I like it.
Overall the lyrics are sung by a man who is falling in love with a woman. Throughout the song he talks about the little things that make him happy when he's with the woman. For example, a line that is repeated throughout the song is "One of those days, one of those moments, you just, make me happy." To me is shows the simplicity of being happy. How little things can brighten your day or make you smile. To me it's also not just limited to that "special someone" or being in love. It can be any little thing that makes everything in life seem okay.
Besides the lyrics, the melody is upbeat and catchy. This makes the song one of those that gets stuck in your head, but in a good way. At least for me. When listening to "Makes Me Happy," several images come to mind such as anything that made me happy throughout the day, or just recently. You also can't help but think of the "good ol days" and happy memories of your past considering the song talks about inspiration and being happy. Again, this may sound lame but it always puts me in a good mood or adds to my good moods.

Rhetoric

The most effective form of rhetoric is ethos. Establishing credibility is the basis behind any essay. Without credibility there is no reason for the reader to take in anything that the author is saying, because the author would seem to have no right to be talking about the subject. This type of rhetoric isn't necessarily the most abundant in an essay or always the most apparent. Logos and pathos also help to establish ethos. Adding logic to a statement makes the author more credible and reliable because they are providing evidence to support their claim. Pathos sometimes draws in personal experience which can also add the credibility showing that the author is directly related to the topic.

In Into the Wild John Krakauer focuses mostly on pathos to make his point. By bringing in several outside sources to tell their sides of the story and their positive outlook on Chris, Krakauer is making the reader feel the same way about Chris. For example, Ron Franz in Chapter 6 explains how fond he is of Chris and how much he appreciates Chris sending him letters and visiting. These are examples of pathos because they show Ron's positive feelings towards Chris, giving the reader these positive emotions as their background for Chris's character.

Hitchhiking

I do believe that hitchhiking has changed because society has changed. During Chris's adventure and in earlier times people were a lot more trusting because not as many crimes or crazy people were out there/known about. Picking up somebody along the side of the road was an act of kindness. Nowadays hitchhiking is more dangerous because people in society are more dangerous. Being able to be picked up while hitchhiking is also less likely. There are bunch of movies out and stories in the news about hitchhiking gone bad and killers posing as people who just need a ride. This freaks people out making them not want to pick up people off the road, not out of rudeness but fear.
I for one would never hitchhike or pick somebody because of the fear of being trapped in a car with a crazy person and not being able to help myself. But for those out there who need a ride, can defend them self, and can trust people, hitchhiking can be helpful. It gets you where you need to go and helped Chris continue on his journey. Without hitchhiking I don't think Chris would have made it to a lot of the places along his travels.