Jose
Segura
Professor
Marca
English
113B
8
May 2012
Not So Fast, Food
Fast food over home cooking is the issue
that my blog focuses on. Since this is a broad topic, my group and I thought
that this applies to the general audience. This idea was brought up due to the
interesting site visit that I did during the assignment project space – an
assignment to de-familiarize a certain location for the purpose of writing a
paper over an issue seen during the trip. It caught my attention that the
reason why many people visited the place, in my case La Placita Olvera, was to
purchase the foods sold there. Most of it seemed unhealthy and unsanitary. And
that is how fast food came into play.
First, we had narrowed our topic
down to the point that it is culture that affects society with its foods.
Unfortunately though, that wasn’t so direct. So then we narrowed our ideas even
further until reaching an agreement that culture-food is another type of fast
food. It was then that we started narrowing our ideas even further, until
finally reaching the issue that fast food is taking over home cooking.
Ideas came and went. We were stuck
figuring how to deploy our blog. It wasn’t because we couldn’t do it; it was
simply because there were so many important things to mention, and organization
was very troublesome. This was an easy, but at the same time difficult topic to
overcome. We had to portray the three rhetorical approaches of ethos, pathos,
and logos in order for our advertisement to be successful. In addition, the
theme, color, texture, etc. had to connect with the message of the
advertisement. The process of this assignment was very time-consuming. It led
to several in-class and outside discussions. We struggled, but managed to
configure the display of our blog.
To begin, we titled our blog “Not So
Fast, Food.” The purpose of the title is for the audience to recognize that
fast food is taking control over society; therefore, there needs to be an end
to it. To top it off, we posted an image that’s relevant to the title. This is a
picture of fast food running; however, it has a big red circle on top of it
with a slash through it – just like those that you would see in a “No Smoking”
sign. In addition to that, we displayed the title – with bold and capital
letters so the tone could sound stronger – and an image in the left side margin
where the color yellow is used. The purpose of using the color yellow was so
that we could incorporate the same concept that traffic lights use. The color
yellow in a traffic light signifies caution; to yield, to slow down. That’s the
whole concept behind the title and the photo; we want to create an awareness
that fast food is taking control over our eating habits; therefore, it needs to
slow down.
Second, we as a group came up with our
own organization in order to make ourselves sound more credible. We called it
the NAOHC (National Aid Organization for Health Conditions). It’s with
credibility that an advertisement is considered successful. As an “organization”
we posted a photo of ourselves. Therefore the audience has a better idea of who
we are. We then typed a small introductory paragraph which describes both side
of the issue and thereby gives the audience a better understanding of what the
blog will be about. Immediately after
that, we posted a list of questions for the audience to read and answer. In
relation to the introductory paragraph, this also gives the audience a better
understanding of what the blog will go over. Because the audience is unaware
with the message of blog, we transitioned into the fast food topic instead
home-cooked meals; thereby, they have an understanding of how fast food affects
society. Another reason why we decided to do this was so that it does not bore
away our audience with facts about home cooking. Therefore, the attention of
the audience is easily grasped.
To begin, we inserted two links followed
by three images that explain the reasons why people prefer fast food over
home-cooked meals. For this, we did not post any picture headings, but instead we
typed mini-narratives. This was useful in order to not lose the audience’s attention.
One of the images portrays a man who appears to be sleeping with a cooking pot
and spatula on his stomach. This signifies that people are too lazy to cook.
The next picture is an image of a restaurant menu that portrays cheap prices
along with the meals. That is where Logos comes into play. Showing the price
with the meal allowed us to go over the issue that people think it’s more
convenient to eat fast food. Finally,
the third image shows the famous clown Ronald McDonald running with another man
who seems to be on the go. The message behind that is that people don’t have
time to cook because most of the time, they are always on the go. This is where
ethos comes into play. The fact that the famous clown is running along with
another person, makes it more credible.
As we moved on, we transitioned into the
advertisements that the media displays to society. In doing so, we posted one
picture and two video advertisements that are very common in our current
television commercials. The whole purpose behind that is to explain or better
yet for the audience to understand why many advertisements affect society.
These videos portray erotic scenes which consist of half-naked women eating a
hamburger in a sexy manner. It is ads like these that grasp the male’s
attention. Adding that issue into our blog is useful because it plays the roles
of pathos and ethos. It portrays pathos because the scenes expose some type of sexual
emotion, and it portrays ethos by making many men believe that the food is just
as hot as the model eating the burger when in reality it is not true.
Going over the issue of false
advertising from the media towards society, helped us transition to the real
deal. By this we mean the reality of fast foods. For this part, we posted an
image that displays both versions of a hamburger; the media’s version and the
real version. We also posted a video that follows the same concept. This is
where pathos comes into play. The use of that image and video creates unwanted
revolting emotions and thereby a new perspective is set towards fast food. Soon after that, we inserted extra links that
show videos of how fast food is made. This is useful because it gives the
audience a better understanding of why we stand for home cooking. In addition,
it plays a powerful role of ethos, for it makes it more credible, looking at
the real version compare to the one that the media displays.
It is then that we transitioned into
home cooking. But in order to make the transition, we had to follow this structure
for the purpose of saying something like, “Yes, fast food can sometimes be
convenient, but as we just mentioned, you don’t get the real deal; it’s false
advertisement. On the other hand, you don’t see that in home cooking; for you
are the one that makes your own meal.” In addition, we inserted a short music
video that we got from youtube.com
which goes over the issue of fast food versus society. This short clip includes
both logos and pathos. The lyrics of the song portray logos because it repeats
various well‑known fast food restaurants, as the pictures display the results
of eating those foods. Towards the end of the video, the flow of the song
reaches its final remark. It reaches the issue of death. In doing so, the
famous McDonalds quote of “i’m lovin’ it,” was changed to “I WAS Lov’in it.”
This is where the rhetoric approach of pathos is revealed. In addition, the
happy melody of the song begins to slow down. This is signifies that death is
no joke. It’s from there that we moved into talking about the benefits of home
cooking – which are: it saves money, keeps traditional family recipes alive,
includes more balanced meals, contains less trans-fat, uses healthier
ingredients, avoids food poisoning, maintains a healthier life, and finally,
you lower the possibilities of death. To do so, we posted several images to
better explain them. In the benefit of saving money for example, we inserted a visual
of the famous food pyramid compared with a fast food pyramid; and both appear
to have money signs around them. However, the difference is that fast food
pyramid deploys more money signs than the actual food pyramid. This is where
logos come into play.
Considering the fact that the pyramids
are informative resources for one’s own health, is already enough logic. But by
adding those money signs, it gave the image another meaning. The message behind
it is that home cooking is actually more convenient, for it saves more money
and decreases the possibilities of illness. It’s from then on that we focus on
the benefits of home cooking. Soon after that, we created a “To Do” list. The
purpose of that list was so the audience can be aware of different methods that
they could follow to maintain a healthier life. In addition, we included a link
for further information. This link provides a whole range of meal recipes that
people could consider when cooking. After that, we concluded our blog with a
picture that contains the two choices; fast food and home-cooked meals. It’s up to the audience then to decide what
food to consider.
After everything was done, we moved on
and designed our blog’s display. We designed the theme with clear bright
colors. The reason for that is to show how alive it feels to eat fresh home-cooked
meals. We displayed a background designed with fruits. The border color where
the images, text, and videos stand on is green. There is a significance behind
that. Normally a fast food restaurant has its design with red coloring to
attract customers; so that they feel more comfortable and hungry. However, the
use of the color green portrays nature, and something that is good, fresh, and
alive. And that’s the whole concept of this blog; we want to approach the
audience and make them believe that home cooking is the healthier decision.
Link to blog:
