The blowout preventer in the text “Rigged to Blow” by John Ballem is an important narrative element in the story. A blowout preventer is used the event of an oil pipeline rupture and helps to siphon off the oil from the main line and block off the remaining oil to ensure the least amount is spilled. It is a form of containment for the oil. In the literal context of the story, the blowout preventer is disarmed by unknown assailants. However, Ballem suggests that there is also figurative representation for the blowout preventer. The figurative narrative defines the blowout preventer as a form of containment for the negative impact that oil companies have environmentally and socially. “Rigged to Blow” attempts to create a visibility for these issues but naturalizes their role in the problem because Latimer’s involvement in the extortion case becomes a disavowal of Astro’s injustice. Latimer becomes the …show more content…
face for the company to blame their grievances on. It is also unintentionally works as a way to sway public opinion. The device also helps us to understand how and why complex issues are simplified in media and other texts. In relation to other texts, this form of naturalization pushes political stances on racial, gender and class injustices. An example of this form of naturalization is present in Ezra Levant’s speech on petro-culture through his caricature “Zoey”.
The oversimplification of complex issues, as seen in the entirety of the text “Rigged to Blow” and in Levant’s speech, are methods in popular discourse to contain and naturalize injustices by disavowing participation in unjust actions. Latimer as the “villain” in “Rigged to Blow” is a form of complexity in the text. He is a CEO of Astro Oil and has inside knowledge of how all the mechanisms in the oil rig function, specifically the blowout preventer, as referenced in the story. This gives him knowledge which he uses as power to manipulate the other workers at Astro Oil for his benefit. The ending of the text tries to force a clear perception morality in the tale, Latimer being the only one at fault but this is not the case. The involvement of the Scottish workers and the secretary Hillary Burgess begin to muddle the lines of innocence and guilt within the text. Can it be assumed that they are guilty by association? Can Astro Oil as an institution as because of malpractice and enabling greed? When these questions are raised it adds complexity to what was seen as a simple situation. When the blame is solely placed on Latimer, you disavow and naturalize the wrong doings of all these people by using simplicity to contain a complex situation. Ezra Levant similarly simplifies complex issues regards the way oil is perceived in Western society.
“Zoey” is framed as a female university student, agrees with liberal ideologies, and states that her core values are environmental response, peace, human rights and workers rights. He tries to discredit liberal perspectives through “Zoey” by making her the political embodiment of liberal ideology. She becomes a figure in which he can argue against with his conservative political stance. Levant claims that his conservative values allow him to properly see the Alberta oil sands for what they are, a clean source of energy and a necessary evil. He also simplifies the rationale behind why oil production in Alberta is better because he disavows Alberta oil sands grievances by placing blame on OPEC countries because of their oppression of
women. “Rigged to Blow” by John Ballem attempts to create a visibility of issues that are complex by simplifying them and reframing narratives to naturalize injustice. Levant’s speech exemplifies this idea through his liberal personification of “Zoey” and his claims regarding the validity of Alberta oil sands as a clean, non-conflict fossil fuel source. The entirety of the “Rigged to Blow” as a text, oversimplifies complex issues. Media and other forms of popular discourse utilize similar techniques to contain and naturalize injustices by disavowing participation in unjust actions. In the real world, disavowal and simplification are persistently used to condemn racial, gender and class minorities as a challenge to the naturalized Western perspectives. This manipulation of narrative takes root in political ideologies and stances that alter our perception of global news, events and even history.
The discussion on Alberta’s oil is gaining traction among certain groups in Canada. According to Andrew Nikiforuk’s “Tarmageddon: Dirty oil is turning Canada into a corrupt petro-state,” the continuous development of the Alberta tar sands is only serving to adversely impact Canada’s political, economical, and environmental capacities. The article argues that unless the subject of the Alberta tar sands is addressed as poisonous to the nation, Canada will become overwhelmed and unstable. In a similar regard “Ethical Oil: the Puppet Rap” by Caitlin Dodd, David Henderson-Hean, Kai Nagata, Spencer Powell and Emile Scott, is a satirical rap portraying the Ethical Oil group and spokespeople in a negative light. The video targets environmentally inclined individuals and groups, and brings to their attention some logical fallacies surrounding claims made by the Ethical Oil campaign. Although both pieces address the debate over oil happening in Canada and, they use different methods to satisfy their purpose.“Tarmageddon…” uses a persuasive and argumentative approach while “Ethical Oil…” relies on satire and amusement. Both pieces employ the use of pathos to persuade their audiences, the use of which is stronger in “Tarmageddon…” leading to its more effective use of rhetorical strategies.
The Cleveland massacre was the beginning of Rockefeller’s career and an end to many of the small oil refineries in Cleveland, Ohio. Frank Tarbell was one of those people. For 2 years, Tarbell searched for illegal activities that Rockefeller had committed and one of the major ways that Tarbell gained information from was interviewing businessmen and even senior officers of Standard Oil. At first, only a small amount of businessmen would talk because they were afraid of Rockefeller and his massive company. One man had even told Tarbell that Rockefeller was going to destroy McClure’s Magazine if she kept investigating Standard Oil (Ida Tarbell, 1857-1944: She Used Her Reporting Skills Against One of the Most Powerful Companies in the World). Soon she found evidence of the illegal methods that Rockefeller used to take over the oil industry. After she wrote an article about the illegal methods, many people began assisting her in exposing Standard Oil. With the help of Mark Twain, Tarbell was able to interview the most powerful senior executive of Standard Oil, Henry H. Rogers. During this interview with Henry H. Rogers, who was surprisingly open, Tarbell confirmed the information that she learned from other businessmen and published it in McClure’s Magazine. For over the next two years, Rogers and Tarbell held long interviews regularly and Tarbell was
In a Thousand Acres, appearance versus reality is a recurrent conflict throughout the book. Caroline is disowned when she disrupts Larry’s pronouncement to split the farm amongst his daughters. Larry from is presented as a prosperous farmer and a respected man within his community. In reality he is deceiving and ill-advised person who sexually molested Ginny and Rose. Caroline is ignorant of her father’s sins and is not in favour of Ginny and Rose. Ginny says to Caroline: “We did everything for you! We saved you from Daddy” (Smiley, 245), Caroline replies with, “Did I really have to be saved from Daddy? From my own father?” (Smiley, 245). Obviously, Ginny and Rose retain the presence that everything is satisfactory to defend Caroline from the anonymous harms of Larry. Smiley progresses the conflict of appearance versus reality through Caroline’s character. In comparison to the book A Fine Balance. The Prime Minister is perceived as a holy and spiritual man whom wants the best for the people of his country. When in reality he has psychotic tendencies, similar to Larry from the book a thousand acres. “Perfection lacks here with these undesirables in our nation” (Mistry, 345) this signifies his discrimination amongst the ‘chamaar’ untouchable’s class and Muslims in a private conversation with the deputy chief Sanjot Premi. When for the media, the prime minister is quick to spread false remorse and guilt amongst the deaths that took place in Gujarat, India of his planned genocide. The Prime Minister is pathetically deceiving and disgusting, people in society are prone to the way he dictates because it is deemed as the norm. “To gain a successful nation, we must let the undesired ones roam off to hell”. No one is prone to the discrimination and the extreme mindset of the Prime Minister other than the people that are close to him. In
On April 20, 2011, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded on British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon. As a result, of the 126 BP crew members aboard, 11-15 were reported missing. Six days later, underwater robots reveal at least two leaks are dumping 1,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf per day. Consequently, this would become one of the worst oil spills in the history of the United States and perhaps the petroleum industry. This recent Oil Spill portrays one of many dilemmas BP has faced as it scrambles to expand and globalize itself as a transnational corporation in the world economy against other oil and gas companies. Although this disastrous event has affected BP negatively, the company has found a way to overcome it, while still becoming the 6th largest in the world; it continues to do this by offshoring, outsourcing, and merging with other oil and gas companies, three key strategies BP has been using since its establishment in 1909.
The film explores how resistance, to the Israeli occupation, has taken on an identity characterized by violence, bloodshed, and revenge in Palestinian territories. Khaled and Said buy into the widely taught belief that acts of brutality against the Israeli people is the only tactic left that Palestinians have to combat the occupation. In an effort to expose the falsity of this belief, Hany Abu-Assad introduces a westernized character named Suha who plays the voice of reason and opposition. As a pacifist, she suggests a more peaceful alternative to using violence as a means to an end. Through the film “Paradise Now,” Abu-Assad not only puts a face on suicide bombers but also shows how the struggle for justice and equality must be nonviolent in order to make any significant headway in ending the cycle of oppression between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Gillard’s Misogyny Speech is filled with copious examples of these appeals, but most importantly, she heartily creates credibility for herself as a public speaker by using strong examples of ethos throughout her speech. Usually messages from public figures of high authority are more likely to be heard by the audience. Julia Gillard is an example of political authority, being a former Australian prime minister and head of Australia’s Labor Party. Gillard’s authority is an example of formal authority, and in result not only allows her voice to be heard across the continent. In addition, when speaking about such a controversial topic like feminism, listening to injustices from the oppressed group increases credibility. In comparison, if a white man speaks upon the issues women face, it would feel a tad less “real” because they simply do not have personal accounts of this mistreatment. In addition, the prominent use of direct quotes from Tony Abott’s speeches increases her credibility. Using direct quotes to strengthen an argument shows the audience that these are factual, real life accounts of statements from someone. These quotes are not altered, so they really illuminate Abott’s true colors. When Gillard brings up quotes from Abott that state, “What the housewives need to
Because of her lack of knowledge and experience of Carmen’s culture, Allison assumed that Carmen shares similar values. Corey et al. (2011) called this assumption the “tunnel vision”. Corey et al. (2011) referred to the tunnel vision as a perception of reality based on the assumption that all cultures are basically the same (p. 109). In the case of Allison, she assumed that Carmen shared her American values about women’s independence of choice. Allison imposed her own values on Carmen based on what she believes to be a feminist, disregarding Carmen’s values around the role of women in her
it raises in a complex and provocative way the major critical issues posed by all her important
Joyce, James. "Araby." Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. By X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 316-21. Print.
Neytiri, the love interest of Jake Sully is the daughter of Mo’at, the spiritual leader of her tribe. She believes that “a network of energy, flows through all living things. All energy is only borrowed and one day you have to give it back” (Cameron & Cameron, 2009). She is positioned to follow in her mother’s footsteps as the spiritual leader and interpret the will of Eywa. This view of life allows for no repercussions from a theistic God who will one day judge them for their immoral
One major theme of the movie is thing aren’t always as they appear . The major character Briony in many instances misinterprets what she has witnessed and these misunderstanding ruin the life of the people she cares the most about. The first misunderstanding took place in her back yard where she finds her elder her sister played by Kiera Knightley undressing and jumping into a fountain .in front of her garden taker Robbie played by James McAvoy. Briony’s wild imagination allows her to believe Robbie and Cecilia were having a lover’s quarrel. When actually, Robby just broke the most expensive piece of china they owed and Cecilia jumped in to the fountain to retrieve the broken piece. This is exacerbated when Briony later intercepts an erotic letter written by Robbie, intended for Cecilia’s eyes only. This letter and the fact that she caught Robby and her sister having sexual relations in the library, makes Robbie appear to be “sex maniac”. So later on when her cousin Lola Quincy was raped she automatically assumes it to be the sex crazed gardener.
" Oil is the life blood of our modern industrial society. It fuels the machines and lubricates the wheels of the world’s production. But when that vital resource is out of control, it can destroy marine life and devastate the environment and economy of an entire region…. The plain facts are that the technology of oil-- its extraction, its transport, its refinery and use-- has outpaced laws to control that technology and prevent oil from polluting the environment…" (Max, 1969). Oil in its many forms has become one of the necessities of modern industrial life. Under control, and serving its intended purpose, oil is efficient, versatile, and productive. On the other hand, when oil becomes out of control, it can be one of the most devastating substances in the environment. When spilled in water, it spreads for miles around leaving a black memory behind (Stanley, 1969).
Webb, T 2010, BP's clumsy response to oil spill threatens to make a bad situation worse, The Guardian, accessed 28 March 2014,
The oppression of women in the Middle East and North Africa was commonplace, with women often beaten and deprived of fundamental rights. Entrapped by social constraints, there was little hope for opposition, as the patriarchal perspectives of society were enforced by everyone, even women themselves. One of the most prevalent ways was through the use of hypocrisy and double standards to cast an illusion of justice and equality, when in reality, women were disadvantaged in nearly every aspect. The hypocrisy of society is demonstrated in Nawal El Saadawi’s novel Woman at Point Zero, where women such as Firdaus are dominated by double standards. She finds both initial hope and consequent
The book begins with an attempt on Zainab’s life, presumably by Nasir’s forces. Later, the Muslim Ladies Group is banned when Zainab refuses Nasir’s offer to join the Socialist Union. She then engages in secret meetings with Muslims in h...