Sidney's The Defence of Poesy and Television Commercials I know that something major has changed in the world of television when my sons refuse requests to turn the set off with the comment, "Just let me finish watching this commercial." I have always thought that commercials were something to endure until the real program came back on. Apparently some of them have now become the form of entertainment par excellence of the medium. What do TV commercials have to do with Sidney's The Defence of Poesy? More than one might think. Faced with the Puritans' attack against poetry who saw it as a secondary form of knowledge, called it the mother of lies and believed that it fed the fires of passion, Sidney responds with a practical argument: by their fruits ye shall know them. Poetry cannot be evil because it succeeds so well in teaching goodness and delighting the learners (Abrams 518). Sidney believed that one could test that assertion by applying Aristotle's saying: "it is not gnosis but praxis" (513) which counts in the end. The power of poetry to move us to exemplary action--to practice virtue--constitutes its best defense. EMU familiar with the terms "faith and praxis" should have no trouble following that line of reasoning. Madison Avenue swears by this truth, combining product knowledge and enjoyment to send us scrambling towards the nearest mall. Again, it is not gnosis but praxis which counts in the end. An argument for economic growth carries far more weight in the twentieth century than a plea for virtuous living. Before we return to Sidney in order to examine more carefully his defense of poetry, I would like to ask myself why I find the topic to be relevant. I grew up in the '50s in a Mennonite world which pretty ... ... middle of paper ... ...ly, a speaking picture--with this end, to teach (sell) and delight." He argues persuasively that the pleasure one experiences in poetry is precisely what makes it so effective. If anything has a chance of nudging humankind towards a more humane existence, is it not the arts? After all, "the final end is to lead and draw us to as high a perfection as our degenerate souls, made worse by their clayey lodgings, can be capable of" (510). The way the artist does that sounds as seductive as modern advertising: ". . . he cometh to you with words set in delightful proportion, either accompanied with, or prepared for, the well enchanting skill of music; and with a tale . . . which holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner" (513). Works Cited Abrams, M. H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol I. 5th Ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1986.
In the end, I find that Robert Scholes is correct in his conclusion that commercials hold a certain power, with which they can alter our decisions whether or not to buy a product. Through visual fascination, we are offered images we could never have on our own; through narrativity, we are told what to think and how to think it; and finally through cultural relativity we connect with the rest of the world. When these three forces are combined by advertising, our brains cannot help themselves, we allow ourselves to become brainwashed by corporate America. This is why Robert Scholes feels that Reading a Video Text should be taught in school.
Smith, C. (2013, September 1). A Legacy of Canadian Child Care: Surviving the Sixties Scoop.
Damrosch, David, et al., ed. The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Vol. B. Compact ed. New York: Longman - Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. p. 2256
Gates, Henry Louis and Appiah, K. A. (eds.). Toni Morrison: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York, Amistad, 1993.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1c. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print. The.
There are different classes, for example, out-of-home, in-store and other, for example, silver screen and shows however these different classes are additionally in nature as they are more constrained in the group of onlookers they reach or can target (Baines and Fill, 2014). TV and radio offer the chance to achieve mass groups of onlookers. It is frequently thought to be costly however because of the huge mass that can be achieved it is a moderately ease and given that it is visual or potentially solid based the interchanges can be brought to life keeping in mind the end goal to pass on the marketing message. Both TV and radio can recount stories and offer to feelings which is harder to do with print based media. Broadcast television can exhibit the product being used however once publicized it can't be referred to again by the consumer not at all like print which can be kept. There are expanding dangers to the viability of television advertising today as individuals can utilize their chronicle advancements to abstain from watching promotions. In the meantime changes in advanced innovations imply that expenses are falling thus even television broadcast can start to be custom-made to littler gatherings of people who can be targeted by land region or specific vested parties (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). There are clear signs that television networks are starting to give careful consideration to the watcher grumblings about the degree of advertising with numerous networks, for example, CBS, Fox, MTV and digital TV as a rule now indicating either bring down minutes every hour in advertisements or the development in minutes every hour backing off. This will expand the cost of advertising as there will be less time and space accessible yet it might
Adam, Robert M. & Logan, George M. ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Fifth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1986.
Marion Military Institute is considered to be one of the best schools for preparing cadets who hope to soon enter a Service Academy. The Institution exposes students to the military “way of life”, academically and physically. The particular way MMI prepares cadets is through its rigorous Service Academy Program (SAP), a personalized program by each service academy that is designed to maximize cadet’s competitiveness for earning a United States service academy appointment. The SAP program provides a challenging academic curriculum, which undoubtedly prepares cadets. However, there is one important aspect of preparation that the SAP program does not provide – active sports and clubs available to participate in. At MMI, only four sports are offered to cadets: baseball, basketball, tennis, and wrestling. There could be many more, but the school does not utilize its resources and equipment effectively. Rather, the resources sit in stagnation. The large indoor pool and the attractive stadium that features a usable football field, fresh track, and soccer goals all sit unoccupied, since there are no teams or clubs playing any of these sports. Instead, cadets are sitting in the barracks watching Netflix, listening to music, or sleeping. A year of inactivity in a sport will decrease the cadet’s athletic performance once they reach the service academy. Even Academics suffers. According to extensive research, schools with strong athletic programs have higher test scores and lower drop-out rates. Marion Military Institute has the resources and equipment to implement these sports, but doesn’t understand the cadets’ desire to expand the athletic department. With my proposal that follows, I hope to gain the attention of higher autho...
The video describes how our society may not even care about the product being advertised, but we still read the billboard or watch the commercial. Also mentioned was the use of colors in a commercial, the marketing effects in politics, and even market research obtained by studying different cults. Frontline takes an in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar “persuasion industries” of advertising and how this rhetoric affects everyone. So whether this is in the form of a television commercial or a billboard, pathos, logos, and ethos can be found in all advertisements.
In the year 1562, there were laws enacted that allowed the placement of poor children into care services until they were old enough to care for themselves. When the idea came to the U.S. not many children liked the idea of being placed into a foster home. They were often abused and exploited. However, this was allowed by law and the homes were considered better for the children because unlike almshouses children were taught different trades, and were not constantly exposed to bad surrounding and immature adults. Various forms of indenturing children persisted into the first decade of the century. Benjamin Eaton became the nation’s first foster child in the year 1636, he was 7 years old.
Abrams, M.H., et al. ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. 2 Vols. New York: Norton, 1993.
Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology Of English Literature. 8th. A. W W Norton & Co Inc, 2006.
Throughout our world, hundreds upon thousands of children are kept in orphanages. These children, who have no home, no parents, and no siblings to play with, are kept in a place where all they have left is their childhood; and even that is taken away from them in these living hells. Most people would define the word orphanage as a public or private institution for the care and protection of children without parents. However, this definition is far from what orphanages actually are. Orphanages do not institute care and protection for the orphans, but instead abuse them and make their lives miserable. But this abuse does not only restrict to physical abuse; mental, emotional, and sexual abuses are also included in their daily lives. With poor and squalid facilities, cribs to sleep in for 11 year olds, minimal food to eat, and inhumane care, these helpless children have no choice but to bear this treatment. Nevertheless, there are orphanages out there that do care for their children. They give them proper food, clothing, and have a clean environment, but still the children are neglected and not given the love and nurturing that they need and deserve. Poor countries like Bulgaria are not capable of giving their orphans the proper environment to live in. The nurses and staff of orphanages are not meeting their responsibilities as proper care-takers either. Orphanages were originally made to give children without parents care and love, but now the meaning and reality of orphanages have changed to a nightmare.
Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993.
Abrams, M. H., et al., The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1986.