Three Articles

The article “Extreme Reality: How Media Coverage Exaggerates Risks and Dangers” give insight on the way the media exploits the publics lack of knowledge. The media owns all of the information that it expels. Because of this, they can twist the story in any way they want to. Depending on what network, some news can be twisted to benefit its networks personal beliefs or wants. The article talks about the 2001 shark attacks and how the media put the nation, not just those who actually live near the ocean and sharks, into a panic. A more recent example of this is the swine flu epidemic. It seems that recently no one can turn on the news without seeing a horrific headline about swine flu. I believe that the news networks have blown the epidemic so far out of proportion that the nation is in a constant panic over it.
The second article is called “The Female Fear Factor.” This article talks about how news programs aimed at women follow specific guidelines that are meant to catch women’s attention. They pinpoint things that seem to make any women, especially those with a strong motherly instinct, afraid not to purchase something. It says that the three things that cooers women into purchasing things or feeling a need to get something are fear, endangerment to a child, and a distraught mother. In the article, she discusses that she had seen a commercial for a flame-retardant mattress. By portraying that if there is a fire, that the mattress will burn, this constitutes the fear. Then the commercial shows how this can endanger a child, which in turn makes mothers and women everywhere distraught. These ads, stories, and commercials manipulate women’s minds into thinking that the really need something in order to be safe and to keep their families safe. This article has many true and strong points. Companies know how to manipulate our minds. The play off of our fear in order to make a profit.
The last article is titled “Growing Up in a Culture of Fear: From Columbine to Banning of MySpace.” This article discusses how the media only portrays the bad in our world. In doing so, they have created a nation of fear. We all live in constant fear of the next horrific thing. In the article, it uses the Columbine shootings as an example of this. After the school shooting, the nation went into a constant fear that this would happen again and often. People lived in fear to send their children to school. The article really proved how fearful and scared the media makes all of us.

Multi-Modal Essay Reflection

The topic for my multi-modal essay was the decline in the value of marriage in the twenty-first century. I really believe that I did well on this paper. I was very interested in the topic which I believe helped me write it. I really do believe that the value of marriage in the twenty-first century has gone down greatly since that of the twentieth century. Although I do not come from a divorced family, I have a lot of friends who have. I think that that is what sparked my interest initially.
My two additional textual supports were pictures and a Youtube video. The pictures were of cake toppers from weddings that portray marriage as a torturous and pain-staking experience. I believe that this portrayal adds to the decline in the value of marriage. The second support was a video of a clip form a show called “Divorce Court.” This clip showed how passé divorce is in our current world.
After reviewing my paper I truly feel that this is one of the best papers I have written. I really believe that I got my point across and backed it up the entire time.

Article Summary

The article that I read was titled “Half of sickest H1N1 patients had been healthy: Previously, most hospitalized were believed to have underlying condition” by Associated Press. The article examines the growing number of people who have swine flu and how it is affecting them. When swine flu first invaded and began taking the lives of many unsuspecting victims, it was thought that those who died of it had underlying conditions such as heart conditions or asthma, but recent research shows that not all of the victims had underlying problems. Half of the swine flu victims were actually in good health.
The article also examines the H1N1 as an epidemic. I believe that the flu is being perceived as somewhat of an epidemic but is not as overpowering as it seems. I believe that the reason so many people are scared and are freaking out about it is because of the media. The media seems to blow everything out of proportion. The news can take the smallest blurb of news and blow it up into something huge. By doing this they put so many people into a panic that people overreact and are convinced that they have something that they do not. I am not saying that swine flu is harmless but the way the media portrays it I believe is far worse than it actually is. Every year the flu virus gets a little bit worse, I think that this is just a normal flu virus just more progressed than last years.

Reflective Essay 2

The second essay that I wrote was a collaborative essay. The four people in my group decided on the topic of abortion. We each took sides, two wrote about the pros of abortion and another group member and I wrote about the cons of abortion. The topic itself is such a controversial subject and I found it very hard to collect and organize all of my thoughts into a well structured essay.
I did however feel that this essay was much better than my first. I believe that it was well written. I feel that my argument was more structured and that I took a more clear and prominent stance. I also enjoyed working in a group. Each of us had our own individual beliefs and ideas that all worked together and mixed together to form our final product. I think that working together really gave me a new prospective on the topic. Talking in our group helped us all take our stances and strengthen our arguments.

Is Fast Food Responsible for a Crisis in Public Health?

The two articles that I read from chapter eight were, “Bare Bones” by Emily Wierenga, and “Fast Food Isn’t to Blame” by R.A. Ames. These two articles explore the causes and effects of obesity and poor health due to obesity in our present world. Both essays pointed the finger of fault, but each to different things. They each gave valid reasons and points as to why more than ever, Americans health is failing due to obesity.
In “Bare Bones,” Wierenga talks about how the media is to blame for the craze in weight and appearance. She talks about how the access to magazines and T.V. shows where girls are portrayed as skinny and beautiful is affecting our image and perceptions of ourselves. We think that we need to be stick thin in order to be accepted. She believes that if the media were to show people how they truly are, there will not be as much of an issue with weight and obesity. In “Fast Food Isn’t to Blame,” Ames has a different perception. Instead of blaming the media, Ames blames the overweight and obese people themselves saying that they know what they are putting into their bodies therefore they are responsible for the way they look. It is not the fast food industries fault that people are dying due to illnesses caused by obesity, it is the obese persons own fault. If you are overweight, you have no one to blame but yourself.
I agree with both articles although the first article has a very convincing argument. As a young female adult I find it very hard to feel comfortable in my body. Everywhere I look I seem to see magazines and T.V. shows with celebrities and models that are all very thin. I do believe that the media is portraying the average girl or boy as a perfectly sculpted and skinny person, but that is not always the case. Not everyone is perfect but the media only shows us those few people who are. I believe that the media should ease up on glamorizing being perfect and just portray normal average people.

Can religion and science coexist?

The two articles that I read from this chapter were “Say it ain’t so…” by Karl Giberson and “Remove Stickers, Open Minds” by Kenneth Miller. I found Miller’s argument more persuasive because he was the one who actually wrote the original textbook that was altered and he clearly states in the textbook that evolution is a theory. He also expresses how evolutionists have more evidence to support their theory. Although I agree with Giberson’s statements regarding how not everyone can accept that we have come from lower beings, I do believe that the pro-evolution theories have much stronger support and evidence than that of those who believe that we are all created individually by God. I believe that we as students should be taught both evolutionist theory and creationist theory and use our own minds and beliefs to decide what we believe are right.