Visual Rhetoric

As we have learned, visual rhetoric is very powerful. I will be looking at the visual rhetoric of a Juice Plus ad.

Have you ever drive pas a McDonald's and on a big print decal on their window is this chicken wrap with all sorts of unhealthy item poking out of it? Alas, that obviously unhealthy item is surrounded with a green background which makes it seem more "healthy" JUST because of it's green surroundings. So here we are with Juice Plus, and as you can see, the two bottles are surrounded by a good variety of fruits and vegetable. Stuff that you would eat and be proud of how healthy you are eating. Red and green are two very important and strong colors when it comes to advertising I have noticed; they seem to try and correlate the item that it is associated with leafy greens and say tomatoes. Look at almost anything labeled as "healthy" and you will see what I am talking about. Juice plus commends to draw in the wanna-be health nut or already health nut by displaying all the goods to get you thinking these pills are good for you. Then at the bottom of the ad you will notice they wrote "the next best thing to fruits and vegetables". Notice the words "fruits" and "vegetables" are highlighted in RED. It is also written in what I could consider a more "serious looking" font. It's cursive or script like how thye have it on the capsule bottle. As I have mentioned red and green draw you in to thinking something in a more healthy manner. Then above on the right (in green.....) they list where you can find Juice Plus on big time television networks perhaps adding to their "credibility".

Basically, this ad (to me) everything a comopny would need to draw in attention about being healthy. A plethora of fruits and vegetables behind a green and red capsule bottle claiming to be the next best thing.

What do you think of this ad by Juice Plus? Did they come across how you think they wanted to?

Juice Plus, or Minus?

One of my scholarly articles I plan on using for WP#3 came from the PubMed.gov. Normally a “.gov” website would be deemed just credible, but this website provides studies, articles and all sorts of texts related to the health field so it more so depends on what you have found while searching on their website.

The article I chose is titled, “Juice Plus of Toxicity Plus”. It was published in The American Journal of Medicine and it was a “study” conducted by three different doctors at The University of Texas MD Anderson cancer center in Houston, Texas. This article is more directed at the fact that sometimes natural or alternative medicine can have unforeseen side effects, especially with those taking prescription medication whilst getting treated for cancer. An elderly woman with endometrial cancer (uterine cancer) and was referred to the MD Anderson hospital for treatment. Her initial assessment showed normal liver function and just days prior to her clinical trials she had started taking Juice Plus. During her trials, the doctors noticed chronic inflammation and hepatotoxicity of the liver; they found the effects on the liver reversible after discontinuing the woman’s use of Juice Plus.

Overall this article does convey a good message. However, this is based on one woman in one clinical trial at one cancer center. There is not a whole lot of research on the subject, but this is certainly a start that might be a real effect of Juice Plus and certainly I will look for more articles on the subject or related topics for backup.

Have any of you ever taken Juice Plus? If you have, have you noticed any differences in your health?

Aggie Agendas

I got a little story for ya, Ags. In case you have not heard, here at Texas A&M University a bill was presented to our student Senate that has left GLBT (Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender) activists and their resource center feeling discriminated. The bill is asking any students "who object, for religious purposes, to the use of their student fees and tuition to fund this center to opt out of paying an amount equal to their share of the Center’s funding from their fee and tuition bills." Yikes. 

The Bill is targeted at the GLBT Center specifically, since we as students do not get to opt out of funding any other student organizations that they do agree with. Chris Woosley, the supporter of the Bill, stated that the bill allocates students "who object, for religious purposes, to the use of their student fees and tuition to fund this center to opt out of paying an amount equal to their share of the Center’s funding from their fee and tuition bills." If we as students were to choose not to give funding to the GLBT Center, it would save us the occasional $2 from our tuition bill. Double yikes. Have the Aggie Conservatives really resorted to using religion as a mask to discriminate? That is one masquerade ball I will not be attending. 

I myself grew up in a Christian household and going on mission trips was as common to my family and I as taking a trip to the mall. Religion is no foreign concept to me, and I am as straight as they come.  With that said, I fully support those who do not believe in the same things that I do. I do not care if you are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, straight, Christian, atheist, or a purple alien, I will treat all people with the same amount of respect and love because THAT is what religion should be about. The fact that a student group is in fact using religion to try and discriminate makes me nauseous. It comes to no shock to me when people scoff at the mere mention of Church or Christians. Some of them are doing the exact opposite of what they should be doing. 

In topics as debatable as this, I try and see both sides to be fair. Now I have to ask, would the GLBT and it supporters want to pay for a center that only supports heterosexual couples and lifestyles? 

Regardless, I really hope this bill is not passed. I do not feel it is reflective of the Aggie Family, nor does its content portray "family" in any way. If I disagree with the Bill and what the Aggie Conservatives are doing, can I opt out of giving them their occasional money? That would be fair. Or if one is an atheist, can they opt of giving money towards religious groups? That would also be fair. 

What do any of you think? Should the Bill be passed? Is it or is it not discriminatory? 

Kiwis

I have never been so intrigued by a culture before as I have been by New Zealand. Both of the times that I have visited this little country down under, I sit and watch in awe of watching its people; two completely different cultures that have fused together over time. 

Let me give you a brief history of the Land of the Kiwi's: Voyagers around 1300 came to New Zealand which was then dominated by solely the Maori (from Polynesian roots). The Maori had founded tribes and were very agricultural. The British began to make consistent contact with the little island around 200 years ago and after British immigration began quickly to New Zealand through out the 19th Century. The new British colonists enormously impacted the Maori, bringing in British culture, religion, and technology, as well as the English language (does this story sound familiar?) The European New Zealanders, who we call the Pakeha, kept strong ties with their Mother Country for a while but due to a loss of access to British food goods, the Pakeha began to evolve into their own identity: a more rural lifestyle. This is still in effect there today, New Zealand has a lot of rural countryside with farms for agricultural means. 

The very first "picture" I saw of anything related to New Zealand was of their professional Rugby team, The All Blacks, something along these lines: 

My immediate thought was, "what the HECK are they doing..." I came to learn that this is called the "Haka" and this dance comes from the Maori culture, which warriors used to do before any wars in battle as a sign of a challenge. I very much admire that New Zealand embraces the original culture so well. Walking around the streets in Tauranga down in the Bay of Plenty, I hear British accents intermingled with the Maori language, and at times, if you listen closely, you can hear a hint of an Australian accent as well. 

My favorite nickname for the people of New Zealand is... the Kiwi's. How adorable is that? This nickname comes from their native bird, The Kiwi bird, which is also the national symbol for New Zealand. Not only that, New Zealand grows the most delicious Kiwi fruits.

Have any of you been to Australia or New Zealand or possibly know a Kiwi yourself?