In Blog #9 I summarized and analyzed the film Where to Invade Next by Michael Moore. This week we are to choose three topics and provide a research question and argument for each. This exercise will help us in choosing and setting up the initial research for our upcoming research paper.
Topic: Universal Health Care Research Question: What are the benefits of a free universal health care system Argument: Having health care is an internationally recognized human right. America must join other countries in providing health care for all its citizens. Topic: Universal Health Care Research Question: What would be the increase in taxes and costs to taxpayers to have a free universal health care system. Argument: A free universal heath care system would save taxpayers money by making the population healthier and more productive. Topic: School Lunches Research Question: Should school lunches be free for all students, and should parents be on the lunch committee as well as local officials. Argument: If all children had to eat the same food and parents had an equal say in the food that was served to their children, the quality of food would increase. Topic: Police Brutality Research Question: Do American law enforcement officers get enough human dignity training and oversight. Argument: If law enforcement officers received better training and support, the incidences of police brutality would decrease.
2 Comments
In this blog, I will summarize and give a rhetorical analysis of the film Where to Invade Next by Michael Moore. Michael Moore is an Academy Award winning American filmmaker, author, and activist who is known for his controversial documentaries. His films include Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Sicko. Summary In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore visits other countries to see how they have solved some of the most pressing problems facing America. In Italy he visits with top manufacturers and finds that Italian workers receive 8 weeks paid vacation, shorter working hours, and paid maternity-leave. France has school cafeterias that would put some restaurants to shame and have a more practical and effective approach to sex education. Finland is number one in the world in education and he shows us the differences in their system. Slovenia has college that is free to not only their citizens but foreign students. Germany remembers the Holocaust, so they can learn from it and move on. Portugal and Norway have much more effective laws and systems to deal with drugs and criminal rehabilitation. Tunisia held a non-violent revolution and have women’s rights with free family planning and abortion. Iceland shows us that women are more than capable of leading the country as well as major corporations and banks. After the collapse of the economy, Iceland also used an American prosecutor to help them put corrupt bankers in jail, unlike in our country where the bankers were not punished. Moore concludes the film by pointing out that the ideas for these programs were developed in this country, but we just did not use them to their fullest potential. Rhetorical Analysis In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore does a very good job with appealing to our emotions on some very important issues. For example, in the beginning of the film he shows police brutality while former presidents are talking about how we will fight terrorism in foreign countries. Moore show us how successful other approaches to education, prison, and school lunches are in other countries. He shows us with statistics facts that these systems are better as well as cheaper than the systems in use in this country. By meeting with CEOs, Ministers, and the President of Slovenia, he establishes his credibility with the audience. It is no coincidence that this film was release just prior to the 2016 presidential election. Moore was trying to persuade Americans to look harder our domestic challenges, and what the candidate’s policies were on these issues. Showing us possible solutions to problems is an effective way of having the voters question the current system. This weeks blog is a reflection on my growth as a writer midway through the semester. I also will be reflecting on my upcoming goals for the rest of the semester. You can see some of the processes I have developed by reading my Blog #7.
How did you feel about English Composition before the semester started? How do you feel now? All my life I have dreaded any writing assignment, whether it was at school or at work. I would do anything to avoid having to write a paper. I am realizing now that the reason for my fear was that I did not get the proper instruction in how to write. My only instruction was being told what I did wrong and I was not instructed on how to do it correctly. This approach left me very insecure in my writing skills and started a vicious cycle. Having the ability to write each week without the criticism has made me more confident in my processes and products. I am starting to not hate writing. In this class, how do we define composition? In this class we define composition as combining two or more communicative elements to make meaning. In this class, we write so we can make meaning. What have you learned thus far about yourself as a writer? I have learned that the first thing I need to do is get as much down on paper as possible without any filters. After that is done, I can go back and edit it to my liking. If I try to edit as I put it down, I freeze up and begin to doubt myself. The more I relax the more I write. As a writer in this class, do you feel as if you are improving? How so? I feel that my confidence has greatly improved, and this is allowing me to write more freely. Implementing what we learn in class to my blog posts is helping me to learn to be more descriptive and show more than just tell. The more I am practicing writing the easier it is. What are your three primary English Composition I goals for the rest of this semester? My first goal is to do some meaningful revisions to my life-choice memoir. My second goal would be to learn how to write effective research papers. I feel that this is a skill that I will need in my future classes. My third goal would be to stay open to learning and put in as much effort as possible. The more I can learn of the art of writing the easier it will become. As we reach the mid-point of the semester, I look back at how nervous I was to take this class. I came into the class absolutely terrified and doubting my writing and literary analysis skills. Now I am finding that each week the blogs are becoming easier and the life-choice memoir was not entirely miserable to write. I don’t think I am quite ready to say fun, but I can see that as a possibility for the future. That is something I would never have thought possible just a few months ago. I am hoping that my positive attitude will allow me to gain even more skills that will result in an even better grasp of the art of writing. In the first part of this week’s blog assignment, we interpreted and annotated the video Reflective Writing. I enjoyed the video very much, it gave me a lot of information on how to write more effective reflections. The video talked about writing more about your thoughts and feelings on what you learned and not just a time line of descriptions. In the future I hope to write more meaningful reflections by delving deeper into what I learned and how that knowledge will be used in the future. The second part of the assignment was to answer questions about how we wrote our Life Choice Memoir.
Who did you work with to compose your life-choice memoir? Was this a good approach? I wrote the first draft of my lcm alone. I chose to do it this way because I wanted to pour every memory I had of that time into it, and then edit it down to the parts that I felt were important. I did not want anyone else to influence me with the choices. I feel that this would lead to a more personal memoir. What rhetorical mode and genre are you using? I wrote this creative non-fiction memoir trying to use mostly description and some narration rhetorical modes. I wanted the readers to be able to see and feel the story instead of just read it. Where did you write this project? Good approach? I started writing this memoir in three free writing sessions. The first one was in class and was followed by two more at home at my desk. When I was done the free writing, I used the material I had to start editing and forming the memoir at home. I found this to be a good approach because it gave me a lot of raw material to work with. When did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote this over quite a few sessions. I found this to be very helpful to keep me from being overwhelmed by the task and I am planning to use this process for my future writing assignments. Working full-time and going to school leaves me with very limited time and getting in even a few minutes here and there helps to get the job done. Why did you choose to write about your chosen topic? Good choice? I chose this subject because it has happened recently and has had a very large impact on my life. I still struggle with the events that occurred and the fate of my future. How did it feel to write this narrative ("during, after, and since")? Do you have any "if only" moments that can help you revise the draft? I am hoping that by writing about my struggle, I will be able to gain some inner peace. It seems that the more I share it with others, the better I am accepting it. How will you revise your narrative? I am looking forward to my session with Sabatino to work on the editing. I am going to need help with taking out more of the unnecessary details and adding to the more meaningful moments. |
AuthorChristine Siddons Archives
April 2018
Categories
All
|