Rhetoric from 'Across the Pond'

So, since this is my last blog post here, I thought I'd leave you all with a laugh.

Maybe.

You know how sometimes you can hear a joke and laugh, before you realize you have no idea why that joke was funny?  It's happened to me lots of times, and it's because the delivery  is so good that you can't help but laugh.

We didn't cover tone of voice very much in our class, not surprising since we were more involved in static digital rhetoric, but I thought it'd be interesting to see how much it does or does not contribute to our understanding, or in this case, amusement.

Rhod Gilbert, a Welshman, manages to be one of my favorite comedians, despite the fact that my not-at-all extensive knowledge of Great Britain's slang and/or terminology and/or pronnounciation (for instance, they say 'controversey'  con-TROH-versee, instead of CON-truhvursee) should by rights have made him harder for me to access.

Check out this clip of Rhod Gilbert's issues with inter-city trains, and see if you can still manage to find it funny without the aid of an American English/ English English dictionary:

Multiple Ethos

Since the fact that Cracked.com contains more than articles about video games and the pixelated boobs therein was challenged in class once, I decided I'd compile a short list just to exhibit the levels of diversity on Cracked, not only in subjects, but in intended audiences and authors as well. 

Keep in mind, this list is only so short because a more extensive one would require a lot more time than I'm willing to devote to this.  I don't love y'all THAT much.  We'll make this one a list of ten. 


Here we've got some good lines of personal advice!

Animal lover?  You reconsider after reading this.  Try not to let it scare you too much though.

That's what this article is for.  Just TRY to think of weather in the same way (for the next hour XD).

Let's lighten the mood a little shall we?  No, I don't think we shall.

Well, at least a look back on old children's toys might be more uplifting.  Or not.

Okay, okay, for real this time.  Going through Cracked's series on images that are 100% NOT photoshopped, and 1,000% amazing was the best worst hour on the Internet I'd ever spent.  These ones are actually pretty fun to share!  Amuse family and friends alike!

This one's more one to giggle about, if you're into coarser (somewhat SFW) humor about potentially dangerous sex advice.  Just when you thought you could trust these people...

An article like this one about logical fallacies, might just make you check yourself the next time you're in an argument. 

Cracked even has articles on sports.  Even for all my defending its diversity, I'm probably just about as surprised as you are .

The last one is an article about superhero costumes.  But before you jump up and say 'AHA!', it's written with professional input from ZOMG, a real live GIRL!

So there you have it!  I know loads of text isn't a very convincing argument, so I'll leave you all with this:

That's from part 7 of their Images that Aren't Photoshopped series.  Well what are you waiting for?  Get Cracking!

Largely without content

This link is basically my whole post (so this won't be all you hear from me this unit).

Witness the birth and death cycle of the mighty meme in this Cracked chart! 

Pathetic Pathos

I'm an advertising major.  As such, I get loads of flak from the "less consumerist than thou" idiots that think buying free-trade makes them an instant nominee for saint-hood.  When I told one person my major, they responded with 'Oh, so you want to be evil.'.  He was joking, but only just.
This kind of ad makes it so much easier to THINK advertisers are all unscrupulous manipulators.

It's a well known fact that ads play off of people's insecurities, especially, say, the home security ones.  Outside of the realm of the 1950's period, however, I didn't think that clothing ads did so so explicitly with the subject of finding a suitable mate!  Not only does this ad manage to attempt to tug at the insecurity of the single, it manages to do so while insulting BOTH sexes on more than one level. 

The insult to women is the most blatant- the implication that the best reason to dress yourself nicely is to snag a boyfriend and not JUST a boyfriend, that might be compatible with you on a personal level, but a HOT one.  Men aren't left out, though.  Basically, it says that if you're an attractive guy, all you care about is the shallow bits of stitched cloth on the outside.  Not only that, but it implies that "ugly guys" can or should only be attracted to girls in inexpensive or unstylish clothing.  Seriously? 

On a deeper level, it perpetuates the stereotype that women are nothing but tricksters- slathering on things that make them seem prettier in order to con a man into taking care of them.  Not only that, but it also relies on the myth that all men will fall for said tricks!  It almost seems like this little button ad gives no credit whatsoever to our inteligence as a species!  Somehow, I can see aliens reading this post and just whispering in shock- "They're onto us!".   

This ad takes 'lookism' far too far.  We all know it exists, and of course no one wants to be thought of as unnatractive, but this pushes on that insecurity much too hard, especially considering the sinister "Am I pretty enough to be loved/ Is she pretty enough for me to love her" context. 

Rainbow Adventure Meme

The "Adventure Meme" started completely unintentionally on a social networking/ art site, called deviantart.com. This is the original iteration . These are two of the website's clubs this meme has started based on how it's taken hold : here and also here .  My favorite iteration is this one .

For the last few months, it seemed like every iteration of this meme made the front page (most popular pieces) of DA, even though the original went up in 2009.  A fan of the artist made a blank page for people to fill in on her own page in February of this year, and the meme skyrocketed into popularity.    

Super old news by now-

But it amuses me nonetheless.  Enjoy or don't.

EDIT: Forgot to say why this amuses me.  I think it's fashionable to hate hipsters because they spend so much money on not looking like they spend a lot of money (which to my fundless self is extremely irritating)- so naturally, they're lampooned a lot, and I enjoy that.  I also enjoy watching...er...reminiscing about children's movies, so put the two together and there you are:  something April B enjoys.  

http://www.urlesque.com/2011/02/25/hipster-disney-villains-meme/