Paper 1 Intro

Comparing Two text types

The texts, "The Great White Fleet" and “Squatters take on developers" are two different text types with the intention to inform their audience on the general subject of tourism. The first text,  is an advertisement for the cruise company, “The Great White Fleet” published in the early 1900’s; post war years before WWII. This text's sensational tone and aesthetically appealing structure conforms to its informative nature.The audience of high class are  persuaded through the advert’s use of an exotic mood, superlative statements, and strategic structure of persuasive and appealing images. In addition to this, the second text, the article "Squatters take on developers" projects a rather moralistic and concerned tone as the article addresses corporate social injustice within the tourism industry. While both texts revolve around a central theme of expansion and development in South America, the value and style of each is grounded in the intended purpose, target audience and overall differing style found in both texts.

The common theme of tourism and expansion prominent in of both text A and text B is evident in their similar choice of target audience. The first text, “The Great White Fleet” is evidently aimed towards middle to high class aristocrats. This is evident in terms of the use of language used within the advertisement in order to convince the audience of the cruise’s benefits which carried “only first class passengers” to “resorts up north”, clearly identifying the target audience as particularly young and wealthy individuals. Likewise, text B “Squatters take on developers” is aimed towards large group of investors who are considering investing in property in the Caribbean due to their “tremendous lust for the coastline”.

Although there is a notable comparison between the two in terms of their target audience, the purpose of the two are entirely contrasted. In the advertisement “The Great White Fleet”, the intended purpose is to ultimately appeal to the higher standing social class through the use of the company’s new “reduced rates for summer cruises”. In comparison to the positive connotations presented in text 1, text 2 presents a rather negative purpose. While the text “Squatters take on developers” is targeted towards a higher social class similar to text 1, the writer’s purpose is to inform investors whom may not be aware of the impact of their actions within the tourism industry. Hence, in comparison to text 1, this text is rather negative and serves as a call for action instead of a call for tourism.

When analyzing both texts, it is important to consider the fact that they were both published during different time periods, evidently affecting the content. As previously mentioned, text 1 is an advertisement for the cruise company “The Great White Fleet” that travels around Central America and the Caribbean. The ad itself was published in 1922, the post war years prior to WWII. Essentially, the fact that the advertisement is aimed towards high class wealthy individuals further supports the fact that the text was published during a time of economic boom and surplus prior to the Great Depression, hence allowing people to travel. When comparing this content with text 2, it is a statement of corporate social injustice within the tourism industry in Panama published in 2007. As previously said, while both texts surround the same central theme of expansion within the Caribbean, they both present very different ideologies.

Conversely, both texts present contrasting tone and moods which aid in differing their content from another. Throughout the advertisement, “The Great White Fleet” the author presents a rather pretentious tone as a way of targeting the appropriate “first class” audience. In addition to this, the text is read in a very casual and comfortable tone allowing the audience to fully embrace themselves in the aim of the advertisement; appealing to their desires of an affordable cruise. This pretentious tone further supports the exotic mood that the text delivers. On the other hand in text 2, the tone and mood is rather moralistic and concerned as a means of presenting the seriousness of the content in the text. While the cruise is “much cooler than summer resorts” the fact that investors are thinking of spending their money on property in the Caribbean means that “developers have targeted an emerging demographic”.

Regardless of their similar theme, text A and text B are comparable in their style and structure that ultimately conform to their text type. In the advertisement (text A), the audience’s eye is particularly drawn to the descriptive graphics at the top and bottom of the page, drawing attention to the text at the center of the advertisement. Knowing that was published in the post WWI years, we can’t help but notice that the “WHITE” in the title is on a black background, used to emphasize the connection between race and social class. Furthermore, this caters to the mentality at the time of what was considered “high class”, white people being superior. To the contrary, while text A’s text is kept simple and concise, text B is composed of 9 short paragraphs, keeping the audience alert through the use of a traditional article style that captures the gist. There are no images presented, which contributes to the fact that the article takes on serious and concerned tone, further emphasizing its core purpose.

In conclusion, both texts are comparable in the ideologies that they shape and express towards their audience regarding the central theme of expansion and “colonization” of exotic islands in the Caribbean. While both texts differ the most in their ultimate purpose, overall context and style, both bring attention to different subject matters. All in all, both texts are effective in pursuing their main purpose to their specific target audience through the use of stylistic elements, writing techniques, and clever use of tone and mood.

Be a Thinker!

The above is a propaganda poster targeted towards the general public as a means of delivering an empowering message about the power that true “thinkers” have over the world. Throughout the poster I have used several efficient propaganda techniques that further support my intended purpose. Firstly, to the far right of the poster an outstanding picture of Steve Jobs along with a quote alongside him. This effective use of a picture of someone that was influential in the world and well respected clearly displays this piece of propaganda as a testimonial. Ultimately, by displaying an image of an inspirational figure such as Jobs will further encourage people to perform in a particular fashion. In addition to this, I think that it is important to point out the strategic use of language used in this piece of propaganda along with it’s effect. By using inclusive language such as “We” and “together” evokes a sense of belonging to the audience, hence emphasizing the main message highlighted in the poster; founding a bandwagon effect. 

In terms of the style and structure of the poster, both the use of text and image is equally proportionate to one another. As seen above, the words highlighted in yellow are used to stand out to the audience. The display itself is minimalistic in terms of images used, in order to emphasize the text found on the poster such as the image of Steve Jobs. In addition to this, the words highlighted in yellow are also enlarged as a means of standing out to the audience; they have a deeper effect on them. 

Propaganda 4 Corner Reflection

The term propaganda always refers to a negative message.

The documentary Control Room is a film about Al Jazeera and their relations with the U.S. Central Command  as well as other news organizations that covered the Iraq war in 2003. Throughout the documentary, Rushing elaborates on Al Jazeera's bias perspective of the Iraq war, and comments on how no unsettling images of Iraqi military disasters and atrocities are often presented. While Al Jazeera's main goal is to show the costs of any war, certain developing news stories such as the situation in Iraq may promote bias in journalism. Considered to be one of the most controversial news channels in the Arab world, censorship in the media raised a considerable amount of questions. In response to negative attacks against the news channel's choice of graphic footage, they responded by saying that they owe it to their audience, and it was up to them to tell the truth and face that facts.

Al Jazeera who was constantly being accused of producing "American propaganda" against the proud nation, were simply displaying both sides of the story and presenting an unbiased view. At the time, President George Bush shared his thoughts and ideas on Al Jazeera's actions by bringing their "constant pattern of playing propaganda over and over again" to light. In this case, the term "propaganda" seems to be referred to as a negative message. There is a thin line drawn between propaganda and ideas of fact VS perfection when addressing possible signs of media bias in a news story. As a journalist, it is their responsibility to deliver the information to the public in a factual manner and distancing themselves from personal bias.

Overall, I disagree with the prompt to a certain extent.Yes, certain news stories will naturally trigger emotional reactions, but the information presented will aid those in need of facts, henceforth diverting from this idea of the use of propaganda as a defense mechanism. In addition to this, I think it is important to address the term "objectivity" as it is almost portrayed as a mirage and great illusion. By this I mean that if there was true neutrality in media and journalism, information would be welcomed from both sides of the story with open arms. 

Bias Techniques used in the Media

 Series of shootings at Parliament Hill leave 2 dead, 3 fatally injured

Tom Mulcair calls Ottawa gunman's attack a "criminal act"

Canadian Police Forces surrounding Parliament Hill, Ottawa Ontario

This past Wednesday, October 22^nd, 2014, a series of shootings occurred in and around the Canadian parliament complex. At the Canadian National War Memorial, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a Canadian solider on ceremonial sentry duty that morning. The motivation for the attacks remains unclear, but potential links to radical homicide and an act of terrorism remain very prevalent.

“I would put this immediately at the top of the white board back at headquarters: ‘Grass-roots jihadist activity,’ probably inspired by the Canadian government’s admission that they intend to assist in bombing ISIL targets,” says Fred Burton, a former U.S. Diplomatic Security special agent and deputy counterterrorism chief.

Earlier this October, the Canadian parliament voted to contribute war planes to the US-led international coalition, who are currently conducting aerial attacks on Islamic State group positions on fighters in Syria and the Islamic State Group –also often referred to as ISIL, for the Islamic State group, often referred to as ISIL, specifically threatened Canada. They urged its followers to target Canadian citizens in a recording released this past September. Authorities along with the government are on high alert, the main priority is to protect their fellow Canadians.

“We are very aware of the large presence of military personnel in our community, and I want them to know we are committed to their safety,” said Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordereau, who spoke at an afternoon press conference alongside his officials.

The Police responded to reports at roughly 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning that a ceremonial-duty solider had been shot while standing guard at the Canadian war memorial across the street from the main parliament. Shortly after this, security officers inside the parliament complex got into a shootout with a gunman, eventually killing him.

At this point in time, it is important that all Canadian citizens remain highly vigilant and to report anything that they see as suspicious. At this point, authorities are not stating that the safety and security of Canadians is at risk, just that it is essential for everyone to remain calm and conscious.