TOW #24 (IRB) Killing Kennedy part 2

       I finally finished Killing Kennedy, and it was not a disappointment. Few history books captured the same intensity and excitement that this book had. Killing Kennedy, written by Bill O'reilly is mostly about Kennedy's assassination and the events that led up to it, and O'reilly uses dramatic style and a present tense to deliver the history of Kennedy in a thrilling way to the American people.

      What makes this book so interesting is the dramatic tone that O'reilly writes in. At the end of every chapter, O'reilly has a type of dramatic foreshadowing or ending that leaves the reader wanting more or feeling some kind of emotion. At the end of chapter 5, O'reilly ends the chapter with, "Oswald is unhappy that his return to the United States has not attracted widespread media attention...he has no idea that he is being secretly watched by a very powerful concern." At the end of chapter 26, when Kennedy was killed, O'reilly ends with, "He leaves behind a beautiful widow, He leaves behind two adoring young children. He leaves behind a nation that loves him." This style of writing caters to his audience, the common American people. O'reilly wants the American people to know more about Kennedy's assassination, so he has to use an exciting and emotional style of writing that will keep a reader interested and wanting more, a very effective thing to do on O'reilly's part.

      Something really interesting about Killing Kennedy is that it is entirely written in the present tense. "Oswald is unhappy", "Lyndon Johnson does not tiptoe when it comes to foreign relations..", Jackie sobs. Her body jerks as pain courses through her." The present tense makes the entire story realistic, once again appealing to the theme of thrill in the book. A history book written in the past tense makes everything seem long ago and be tiresome and boring to a reader. However, the present tense makes things exciting and action packed. Something seemingly trivial such as changing the tense of the book made a huge impact on the style of the writing and was extremely effective for O'reilly's purpose.

     

 Mr. O'reilly himself

TOW #23 (Visual) WWF Shark Ad

       Pop culture and entertainment has recreated the shark as a savage, blood-thirsty, terrorizing creature, but sharks are relatively passive animals that kill only 5 people a year (compare this to 24,000 people dead from lightning strikes). These animals are a vital part of the ocean's ecosystem and are one of the top predators in the ocean. However, we kill over 8000 sharks a year, mainly for their fins for a favorite Asian dish, shark fin soup. The World Wildlife Fund is trying to put a stop to shark exploitation and uses simplicity to send that message.

     This WWF advertisement's most distinctive element is its simplicity. Simplicity in both image and words. The picture is split into two identical oceans. One has the fin of the shark showing and one has no shark. The audience can instantly tell the difference between the two without much thought because of the obvious contrast between the two pictures. 

     Centered in each of the two images are small white words. The image with the shark says, "Horrifying." The WWF is basing this off of the popular belief that sharks are scary creatures. Although they only kill an average of 5 people a year, the human psyche, because of cultural influences, sees the top fin of a shark and instantly pictures the horrifying shark and the terror a shark causes. 

    The picture with no shark also has white words, "More Horrifying." At first glance, one would wonder, "why would it be more horrifying if there was no shark?" However, an informed citizen, after careful thought, would realize the meaning behind this. The truth in shark exploitation and the rapidly declining number of sharks. The WWF is using this fact as the base in their argument that an ocean with no sharks is even more horrifying than an ocean with sharks. The advertisement is extremely simple, and in this case, with simplicity comes intensity, and the WWF was able to deliver a powerful message because of it.

TOW #22 (Non-Fiction) Protect the Police from Armor-Piercing Bullets from the NYT Ed-Board

America's 2nd amendment allows the right to bear arms. However, there is now less in less need for guns in this developed world. In fact, guns are leading to more problems in America as shootings are becoming more prevalent in the past years. This leads Americans such as one of the authors in the Editorial Board of the New York Times to want gun restrictions. The author uses examples of gun violence and the authority of the federal government to argue for gun limits in America.

The author first uses the recent controversy of 5.56 mm steel core bullets that "can be used in newly adapted handguns to provide lethal force to pierce the vests and body armor used by law enforcement officers" to introduce the topic to his audience by using a current issue. She states that many people are rallying against the production of these bullets since the can pose a great threat to Americans and especially the police force that would have to face these bullets if the bullets got into the wrong hands. The author then reminds the reader of the "schoolhouse massacre of 20 children in Connecticut" that happened two years ago, the Sandy Hook Massacre. By bringing up this horrible incident which was a high point in anti-gun feelings in America, the author appeals to pathos and evokes emotion to further her argument for gun restrictions. The author effectively persuades the reader into seeing her point through both facts and emotion.

The author also appeals to ethos as he refers to the federal government and the action it is taking to place limits on guns in America. Concerning the 5.5.6 mm steel core bullets mentioned earlier, the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives"  sensibly propose[d] banning it in the name of greater gun safety." Also, "the gun lobby is marshaling gun owners and legislative allies to oppose the ban, falsely accusing the Obama administration of exceeding its authority through some backdoor attempt at gun control. The law, however, is clear: Armor-piercing handgun ammunition has been banned since 1986, and the firearms agency has the responsibility to regulate the law’s enforcement." The government is also working on a bipartisan proposal between "Representatives Peter King, Republican of New York, and Mike Thompson, Democrat of California" to extend the government's reach in gun sales and gun checks. By using the American government, the author builds an incredibly strong ethos that cannot by argued against easily. 

                                    5.56mm bullets

TOW #21 (Non-fiction) Mr. Obama’s Historic Move on Cuba

      Towards the end of 2014, America and Cuba broke down the political, social, and economical barriers between the two to begin a new history of America-Cuba relations. Although there are many people in the United States who disagree with what America did, The Editorial Board of the New York Times believes it was the proper move and an important change to American foreign policy. The Editorial Board of the New York Times used quotes from the leaders of both nations and factual evidence to show how America made the right choice in opening up to Cuba.

      The New York Times uses quotes from both Obama and Raul Castro, the Cuban president, to praise this new step to America-Cuba relations. Obama says, “These 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. It’s time for a new approach”. This shows how practical Obama was in his decision and how he made the right decision. Obama made the right choice to open up to Cuba. Castro says, “We must learn the art of coexisting with our differences in a civilized manner". This quote from the Cuban president shows Cuba's willingness to cooperate with America and escape from the isolationism that hindered the nation's growth for 50 years. By using the words of the two leaders of both nations, both willing to cooperate with each other, shows how America-Cuba relations might turn out for the better.    The New York Times also use evidence that appeals to logos to show the leaps America and Cuba are making in diplomacy and policy. The Obama administration said the the changes in relations have, "the potential to empower Cuba’s growing entrepreneurial class by permitting commercial and financial transactions with the United States. The White House also intends to make it easier for American technology companies to upgrade the island’s primitive Internet systems, a step that could go a long way toward strengthening civil society." The Cuban government also released, "unnamed American intelligence agent who had been imprisoned for nearly 20 years and Alan Gross, a 65-year-old American subcontractor who had been imprisoned in Havana since 2009." While the US, "released three Cuban spies who have served more than 13 years in prison. The prisoner swap paved the way for a policy overhaul that could become Mr. Obama’s top foreign policy legacy." Factual evidence like this shows the effort the two nations are putting into the relations and commending them for the work they are doing to establish healthy connections with each other. The New York Times' Editorial Board believes that Obama made the right move in ending America and Cuba isolationism and, "in all likelihood, history will prove Mr. Obama right."

President Raul Castro addressing the Cuban public on the new policies with America

TOW #20 IRB Killing Kennedy by Bill Oreilly

     So there was a slight change to my IRB. At first I was going to read Killing Lincoln, but I found out that I didn't own it, but I did own Killing Kennedy which is from the same series as Killing Lincoln. Killing Kennedy, written by Bill Oreilly who is a political commentator and author, is about the events that led up to Kennedy's assassination and the effect it had on America after Kennedy's death. The book also contains information on the Cold war, the rise in communism, and the Mafia which all had an impact on Kennedy's presidency and death. In Killing Kennedy, Oreilly elaborates on Oswald and details the daily life of Kennedy in order to completely disclose the life and assassination of Kennedy that is often shrouded in rumors and mystery. Oreilly believes it is a story "all Americans should know."
    Oreilly's narrative tone really helps keep the book interesting and realistic. The book itself is in a chronological order, and not only does it narrate the life of Kennedy, but also the lives of the people around Kennedy and Kennedy's killer, Lee Harvey Oswald. Most history books tell the reader that Oswald killed Kennedy and move on. However, Oreilly elaborates on Oswald, "a former U.S. Marine Corps sharpshooter... in the Soviet city of Minsk... a defector at age nineteen,... the slightly built, somewhat handsome, enigmatic drifter,... convinced that his socialist beliefs would be embraced in the Soviet Union." Oswald is now given a more human characteristic than the barbaric image the average American has of Oswald, giving the book a more historical perspective and less biased view. This historical perspective allows the reader to learn the truth of Oswald and further understand the circumstances of the entire situation between Kennedy and Oswald.
      Oreilly also details the daily life of Kennedy in the White House which gives Kennedy a more human characteristic and shows the facts of the Kennedy that many do not know. President Kennedy had an, "aching back" which caused him to "the indoor pool-always heated to a therapeutic ninety degrees." He received, "regular injections of the anesthetic procaine to ease his suffering." Kennedy took, "naps for exactly forty five minutes. Other great figures in history such as Winston Churchill napped during the day. For Kennedy, it is a means of rejuvenation." These details about Kennedy unveil the facts of Kennedy that are unknown to many. Kennedy becomes a real person more than just an assassinated president and explains to people of this time why Kennedy's assassination had such a tremendous impact of the course of American history.

TOW #19 (Visual) Naruto: the Last trailer

     Here's a topic a little new to my TOWs, anime. I have a passion for manga and anime, especially a manga called "Naruto" that recently ended after 14 years of popularity. Naruto is considered one of Japan's greatest mangas and has been within the world's top five best selling mangas since 2001, the year of its first release. In commemoration of Naruto, there is a movie even coming to America on February 21, in which Steven Sung and I will watch in New Jersey. The trailers for the movie are extremely exciting to me and I've been watching them and preparing myself for the movie for the past week and a half. One particular trailer uses scenes from the manga and a timeline of the entire story to remind viewers history of Naruto and how much they love Naruto in order to get more people to watch the movie.

     This trailer uses scenes from the manga to remind viewers of their love Naruto. Naruto has many epic moments and the trailer tries to capture all of it. Every person that has read Naruto through the mangas knows the scenes that appear on the trailer, the scene where he learns his first ninja jutsu, the scene where he blocks a punch with his head for his friend, his battle with Sasuke, his first attempt at sage mode (that's the part where his pupils turn into blocks), and his emergence as the Sage of Six Paths. Now this undoubtedly will not make sense to people who don't know Naruto, but for a fan, this is 14 years of his life that he dedicated to Naruto and lived with Naruto. The trailer captures these nostalgic and emotional moments through the actual scenes in the manga which makes the Naruto loving audience have the need to watch this last movie of Naruto.

      The trailer also follows a timeline format where it starts with the young Naruto and as the trailer goes on, the story of Naruto also goes on. The very beginning of the trailer shows Naruto being born and his young self. As time went on, Naruto grew and Naruto got stronger. The trailer shows the momentous moments in Naruto's life, the suffering he went through, the enemies he faced, the friends he made, the friends he lost. The fan is reminded of his life with Naruto and 14 years of growth. To myself personally, this trailer made me sort of sad since I knew that the anime and manga that I loved for my whole life was ending and this movie was going to be its last mark in history. This made me want to watch the trailer even more because the timeline system reminded me of Naruto's growth and my growth with him which made me really need to watch this movie. I know it may sound silly to "grow with a fictional character," but when something has been a part of your life for almost the whole of it, it becomes very real, and this trailer wants to remind me of that.

     

TOW #18 Non-fiction Editorial "ISIS is the enemy"

ISIS is becoming a more real threat every day. Just a few days ago, they burned a Jordanian pilot and released a video of it. These sort of grotesque and inhumane acts that ISIS is committing require leadership from the global community, and according to the Washington Times, America needs to lead the charge towards eradicating ISIS. The Washington Times uses experiments to show that America and specifically Obama has to take actions to stop ISIS.

Most of the editorials evidence comes from an experiment that was conducted by Ari Horowitz that shows why America's leaders have to take charge and crush ISIS. Horowitz conducted the experiment at UC Berkeley where he walked around the campus waving the black flag of ISIS, but "only a few turned their heads or muttered a few words of lethargic protest. A few students raised their hands in salute with the clenched fist of the “revolution.”A little later, he walked across the campus waving the flag of Israel with cries of praise for the Jewish state. This aroused the lethargic students. Boos, hisses and cries of “child killer” and “Zionist genocide” followed him across the campus green." 

Through this experiment, the author is trying to show that even the best and brightest of America are unaware of the true atrocities of ISIS. The author then quickly brings up the point that, luckily, it isn't the students at these colleges that are making policies, but it is the powerful people in the government. If the best and brightest are not fit enough to lead the charge against ISIS, who will? Obama has to bring in a competent overseas militant leader that take effective action and back that person with powerful determination of his own in order to end one of the greatest threats of this generation.

ISIS Beheading, showing the cruelty and barbarism of ISIS