Categories
Paula I Arraiza

“Why Are You Here?”

Type of Progym: Fable

“The universal topic of discussion is ‘Why Are You Here?’ Nobody uses the word ‘pamper’ or ‘luxury.’ The word that gets used over and over is ‘relax.’ Everybody characterizes the upcoming week as either a long-put-off reward or a last-ditch effort to salvage sanity and self from some inconceivable crockpot of pressure, or both.”

“So, why are you here?” a middle-aged man asks to a couple who’s also around his same age. Both families are sitting down by the pool as the cruise ship sails away to a random island in the Caribbean from Florida.

“We’ve had a stressful couple of weeks and needed to get away from all of the chaos.”, the second man responds as they munch on some subpar burgers and sip on fruity cocktails.

“Same thing for us, we felt as if we deserved a break after working for hours on end. You can never go wrong with a cruise for getting away”, the first man says while lounging in his loud-patterned shorts and flip flops.

“Definitely, there’s nothing better than laying under the hot sun without a care in the world”, the first man’s wife responds, taking a break from reading a fashion magazine she purchased at one of the cruise ship’s gift shops.

“If we didn’t take a trip soon, we would’ve ended up going crazy and probably divorcing each other. The stress was too much” the second wife chimes in as she laughs.

“Agreed.” Her husband says and laughs along.

“Well you’re lucky, the relaxation of a cruise can fix everything. You’ll go back home a new couple” the first man tells the couple next to him.

“We can see. We haven’t felt so calm in so long and it’s only been a day. Seems like it’ll be a good week” the second husband agrees while sipping the rest of his drink before leaving.

“We might have to do this go on trips like this more often. It was good to meet you” the second wife says as she stands up and leaves with her husband to their cabin for an afternoon nap before dressing up in some fancy attire for dinner.

The couples continue to run into each other throughout the week, greeting each other every time as if they had known each other for years. However, once the week ends both couples go back to their busy lives to repeat the entire cycle all over again.

 

Categories
Catherine Dodd Corona

Shipping Out

Mimicking Wallace

Progymnasmata: Fable

I have never stepped foot on a cruise ship. I have rode the ferry to Haines, Alaska, a less popular cruise ship destination. I have collected mussels on the shore and watched people file out of a cruise ship. I have seen them look like a bird about to take flight, at the rim of the ridged mountains. I have watched them shop for chachkies, silicon magnets so they can place it on the refrigerator back home and be reminded of the special break they took. I have helped find the right size Xtratuf boot, the guides say rain boots won’t cut it. I have seen them point digital cameras at the ten eagles sitting on one tree. I have felt their fear as my dad explains how cold the water is. If you fall in you can swim for five minutes or go into fetal possession for 45 and hope someone gets you before hypothermia. I have seen them distinguish themselves from one another as the raft threads its way through glacial rivers. I have admired their ability to work together to lift the boat out of sand traps. I have giggled at the less ambitious passengers complaining about the cold, or the minimal paddle work. I have observed one paddle from an ignorant passenger make much more work for the oar-man by leaving it in the water. I have cheered people stiff from the small cabin sizes, pick up a boat and rest it back in the water. I have seen people pet a porcupine, feed a moose with their mouth, and watch rehabilitated Lynx and bears smell their foreign scent. I have picked up their litter and picked blueberries with them. I have never been a cruise ship passenger. I find cramping myself into a materialistic, consumption heavy boat with hundreds of other people unfavorable. I find many of the people that do, curious, kind and respectful but of course in any sample of people that big many are awful, demanding and disrespectful.

Categories
Samuel E Evans

“Shipping Out” by David Foster Wallace

Progym: Fable

“Luxury Megalines’ brochures are always magazine-size, heavy and glossy, beautifully laid out, their text offset by art-quality photos of upscale couples tanned faces in a kind of rictus of pleasure … Every Celebrity staff member takes pleasure in making your cruise a completely carefree experience and treating you as an honored guest (36-37).”

“Vacation is the ultimate form of relaxation,” says a man. He basks in a reclined deck-chair upon the deck of a massive sea vessel floating upon the Caribbean sea, somewhere between Miami and Kingston. He appears to be in his late 50s, is coated in sunscreen, and wears only a pair of swim trunks and flip-flops. He holds a magazine up before him, largely blocking the sun from hitting his face.

“Yes, and cruises are the ultimate vacation,” responds his wife, who lays on a similar chair next to him, her face shaded by an oversized sun-visor as she reads something on her tablet. A man staggers past, his face looking somewhat green from seasickness.

“The ocean is the best place to truly get away from everything, isn’t it,” says the man, as his phone buzzes and he turns instinctively to look at it.

“Undoubtedly,” responds the woman, not looking away from her iPad, “it really is the top-flight luxury experience as well, isn’t it?” As she is speaking a roar of laughter from a nearby onboard bar erupts, nearly drowning her out.

The man nods, and adjusts himself in his chair, flipping the page of his magazine. “We’re just here to pamper ourselves, and the staff is here to make our experience the best it can be,” he says, and looks up slightly as a Filipino waiter offers him a drink, “no, no thank you.” The woman sighs and sits up in her chair, setting down her tablet and turning to look at her husband.

“Let’s go sit in the cabin for a little while, I’ve had enough of the heat for now.” The man nods in agreement. The pair begin gathering their things, and as they get up, the man drops a flier. “Royal Antilles Cruises,” it reads, “Vacation is the ultimate form of relaxation, and cruises are the ultimate vacation. Come on your perfect trip with Royal Antilles Cruises, and escape to the ocean, the best place to truly get away from everything. We offer a top-flight luxury experience, and we allow you to pamper yourself, assisted by staff who are there to make your experience the best it can be.” The leaflet flutters gently to the ground.

Categories
Catherine Dodd Corona

Visual Rhetoric

The Analysis of a Lucky Cigarette Advertisement.

Progymnasmata: Fable

Audience

This advertisement is targeting people who are debating quitting smoking. It highlights the new aspects of Lucky cigarettes that will mitigate the reasons to quit. It’s long words, the older physician and the product shows that the advertisement is targeting an older generation. 

Context

If you have ever seen Mad Men you may recognize this slogan and the background of the advertisement. Cigarette brands started losing sales when research groups published journals proving cigarettes harmful effects. Advertising companies started to combat media and scientists. One way they worked around the evidence against cigarettes is by showing a smiling physician holding a pack of lucky’s and a slogan that infers there are less harmful effects, coughing and irritation. They also reinforce the advertisements company own research saying that 20 thousands physicians say luckies are less irritating. 

Purpose 

The purpose of this photo which is an advertisement is to sell Lucky Cigarettes. 

Tone 

The advertisement is displaying a calm but exciting tone. It gives off the impression that there is new news. The smiling healthy physician gives a comforting tone and holds a neat inviting pack of cigarettes. Nowadays it has a vintage look but back in its day it would have fit in with other advertisements nicely.  

Arrangement
     Location

The photo is split in half the top half showing the jolly faced physician and the bottom half shows the slogan. The arrangement is nice and forces the eye to go to the slogan first, then with the surrounding information complimenting the information and tying the image up nicely.

     Scale 

The scale works, the consistent red color ties the top half with the bottom half. I do wish the words were a different size so they fit together nicely. The words seem a little misplaced, and childish.

Font 

The font changes quite a bit in this advertisement, which makes it look haphazard. There are lots of smaller symbols like quotation marks, which while necessary are distracting when displayed like such. The change in color while trying to highlight the important words, in my opinion is also quite distracting. I like the advertisement but the words and font are not my favorite. 

Connotation

The red that is presented in several places on the image ties everything together. The red is also a very exciting color. It infers blood pumping, warmth or power. The rosy cheeks of the physician is also a signal of warmth along with his comforting grip. The subliminal messages are all leading towards an exciting but comforting new release. 

Readability 

 This image is very readable. It has a point and all the different aspects are trying to prove that point. Besides some small distractions this advertisement is clear, concise, and effective.