Yun Shik Park's E-Portfolio

WELCOME

Welcome to my e-portfolio, my name is Yun(Yoon) Shik Park. I will put my collection of works from classes through this website.

Starting from spring 2012, I started writing blogs practiced writing essays and public speeches from LA101H class. To tell the truth,  I was really uncomfortable about the idea of writting my thoughts and posting it online to share with other people. Maybe because I am not confident enought to show my thoughts out loud. However, as i got use to writing blogs everyweek, my writing process got faster and more organized.

Most of the posts are from that class but I will continue to post more of my works as the years pass.Through this website, I’d like to demonstrate my improvement of writing skills and personal growth as well.

This is the link to my e-portfolio: http://www.wix.com/josephpys/josephpys

A Great Camera

You know I like taking pictures, and to take good pictures also means good camera. Those who take photography as a serious hobby prefer the DSLR, but to many affordable compact digital cameras are good enough. Also, for the majority of people, a good camera means a camera that, with just a click, any picture that you take will come out as if you are a professional.

google.com

That is what this advertisement is telling its audience: "invisible assistance in every picture." This is the phrase that you can find on the right lower corner, right above the image of the camera. The "invisible assistance" here are the people you see in the ad, the one in black suits. On a rope or leaning on the stairs, there are people adjusting artificial lights. There is even one person squatting next to the "models" and mirroring the light on them. If you notice, these adjustments are normally done for professional photography. The lights, the round mirror, the setting is like it is taking pictures for an expensive photo shoot. In other words, with this digital camera, this little device will do all this assistance just like a scene of a professional photography. Eventually, the picture will turn out as if you are a great professional.

What is also another luring aspect is that it shows a hand that is actually holding the product, taking the picture. This is actually a visual comparison of the camera and the hand, showing how small and compact it is.

Lastly, to advertise the company that is producing this camera, Nikon(the company) has placed their label on the right top corner of the ad.

"Narco-Trafficking"

Recently, I learned about narco-trafficking in Mexico from Political Science class. Extensive research has been conducted exploring the relationship between narco-trafficking organizations and political institutions. Many researchers focus on Mexican drug cartels, which have become increasingly influential in the past thirty years. This paper unpacks and synthesizes research from eight peer-reviewed articles. It identifies and analyzes the methods used by these cartels to influence institutions in Mexico and the United States. Three main types of influence are discussed, including violence, bribes and family connections. First, a correlation between increased violence and augmented cartel power was established. This showed that violence is being used to influence a variety of institutions including politicians, the police force and the government as a whole. Then, the use of bribes and family connections was analyzed. Cartels use these technique to curry favor with the aforementioned institutions. Overall, the researches show that political changes in Mexico have led to an increased reliance on violence by Cartels, and a decreased importance of traditional patronage systems. Even though, U.S.A government and Mexico government kept saying they will determine these problems, it won’t be that easy. In the past ten years, violence in Mexico has risen exponentially. Both quantitative and qualitative research points to the growing prominence of Mexican narco-trafficking organization as the source of this increase. The purpose of this violence is influence. Narco-trafficker’s actions compel political institutions to decrease anti-drug aggression.  A political institution is a structure that performs a function of the political system.  Politicians, political parities, the military, and the police are all political institutions that are typically targeted by DTOs. The violence used against these institutions can be classified into two types: retaliation and coercion. Overall, cartels use a combination of these two forms of violence to influence political institutions at an increasing rate.

“If only women spent less time cooking"

Nestlé‘s soup brand, Maggi, was promoted by McCann Erickson, Romania with an advertising campaign, “If Only Women Spent Less Time Cooking”. These print advertisements suggest what might have happened if people were able to make use of ready-made soups: four USA presidents on Mt Rushmore and The Godmother.

Can we assume that these women have become what they are because the men in their lives got stuck in and shared their load in the kitchen? According to this ad, maybe. Of course it is an exaggeration, giving it a laughable aspect for the people who see this to enjoy.

Basically, the ad is selling its product. How? By implying the idea that you do not have to take up a lot of time is preparing for soup, for this product is all prepared. Therefore, all the mothers who are stressed about working and taking care of household chores, this product will reduce your worries so you can do much bigger work that will fulfill your ambitions.

The deep idea is this: "Women have been suppressed by so many house chores, and that is why men, not the women, have dominated many things in the world. If men and women had the equal chance, it would have been a women's world." This can be a very touchy concept, with some saying that this is feminist, and the debate over this ads can go awry(Well, if you are an anti-feminist). However, by giving it an exaggerated twist to the idea and putting them on the poster of "Godfather" and the president's faces on Mt Rushmore, the seriousness of the whole message is downsized.

I say they did a pretty good job in making this ad fun and effective.

RCL #12

"Thing Called Love... Really?"

Samsung commercial usually makes fun of Apple and their fan boys which happened since their release of the new Smartphone series of Galaxy S. This 90-second ad that aired during the Super Bowl game last February is about Samsung’s new Galaxy Note, mocking, yet again, the iPhone.

The basic point is similar from its past commercials. We are better. The phrase they use in this commercial directly addressed their point at the end: “No more waiting, The next big thing is already here.”

The commercial starts with people all over the states, waiting for a new Apple product to be released. They should be excited about a new product, but if you see their attitude and faced, it is easily noticeable that they are not. They are bored for waiting so long.

That is when the "hero" comes along to save the day. A guy in line sees someone with a new electric device and gets interested, noticing its cool functions. Now, the camera takes close ups of the gadget with the man doing his thing.

“Wait it has a pen? This is awesome,” says one of the characters as he starts drawing on the Galaxy Note. With the man talking about the pen, one can see this in one of the aspects that Samsung wishes to show the audience. A young woman next to him in line looks on impressed mumbling, “I don’t know what I believe in anymore” because, it's implied, she feels betrayed by Apple.

And suddenly,

“Freedom!” one shouts after he joins others fleeing a long line of bored hipsters tired of waiting in line. Busted out with song and dance and this is followed by a marching band, a hot girl singing “I want to kiss you every minute, every hour, every day,” Justin Hawkins, lead singer of The Darkness, appears out of thin air to sing the 2003 hit song “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” Random celebrities, like Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr, Chicago Bears defensive player Brian Urlacher and professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez (P-Rod), appear briefly and out of place throughout the clip and lastly a guy shot of a canon to convey excitement for Samsung’s new device.

That is probably what the ad is trying to send to the audience: that this device will free you from the boredom of waiting and actually give you more.

My reaction after I saw this commercial was “What just happened…?” It was really entertaining but I don’t think Samsung did good job bringing the subject looked more interesting and make people want to buy it. It was just bunch of thing going on at the same time and didn’t really talk about the product that much. Everything was just, well, everywhere. Only thing they talked about in commercial is the new galaxy note has a pen.

A Car with Swag

Cars, cars, cars.....

When you think of a car commercial, what do you think of? Heavy, serious, sleek, smooth, like a cool white collar businessman.... pretty much these stuff. Or, on the other hand, it might be more family centered, about safety and comfort. However, this commercial, on about Kia's new SOUL car,  takes an interesting take on the image of cars. Hip hop dancing Hamsters.

First of all, this commercial finds its perfect in that first, this commercial was shown during the MTV Video Music Awards, a perfect event that you can lure the young, music loving audience with hit music. Also, the commercial uses a trend setting music, LMFAO's "Party Rock." The kind of dance the hamsters do is called shuffle. To have this kind of music and this kind of dance, it is sure enough to attract the TV viewers.

The big question is, why hamsters? If you think of people dancing, it might have been dull, because we basically think of dance=people. However, animals don't dance. This fact makes the dancing hamsters funny and interesting. Thanks to this imaginative commercial, it is all the more fun and playful to watch.

The last thing that makes this ad the more effective is the fact that they made a contrast between the fighting deadly robots and the hip, cool dancing hamsters. This is an interesting thing because, eventually the ad is selling a machine, which is no different from a robot. Cold, no mercy... However, they are linking the car with warm-blooded animals. This indicated that the car is no ordinary car. It is no cold, heartless machine. It is actually a "soul"ful thing, full of fun and quite trendy.

By taking an approach as such to a car eventually resulted in a great acknowledgement from many all around the world.

Visual Brain Freeze

     This week has been quite warm, sometimes very hot that I was sweating a lot. Thanks to the warm weather, I was craving cold drinks that could quench my thirst under the sun. The one I craved the most: ice-cold slurshies.

     Speaking of slurshies, I have come across an interesting advertisement on this drink. Specifically about the Seven-Eleven Slurpees.

google.com

     Just by looking at her face you can see that she is certainly surprised by the drink that she is holding. Her eyes seem like they are going to pop out just by staring at her drink, her mouth does not seem like it will ever close, and her neck is so tense that you can almost feel the immense chill. Even the way her body is tilted shows that she was so surprised by the drink that she suddenly lost her balance. How surprised is the lady in the picture? Just look at her head. In all directions, there are icicles spreading out of where there are supposed to be hair. Assumingly, her hair has been frozen by the chilling taste of the slurpee. Summing things up, while her facial expressions initially shows her feelings, the numerous icicles enhance her expression with exaggeration.

    Color plays a big role, too. The overall color that is used in this ad is the color blue. The drink, the background, and even her face, they are all blue or blue-ish. We all know that blue represents cold temperature. In effect, all the blue that is used in this ad intensifies the chilling feeling that they are trying to demonstrate through this.

I say that this advertisement did its job by selling the coldness of the slurpee. In other words, the "visual brain freeze" has been sent successfully out to the audience.

"Dunking over the car"

    Blake Griffin dunked over a Kia Optima during last year’s NBA Dunk Contest. Ever since that, he became a spokesman for the KIA Optima commercial. This commercial which I posted is just one of his many Optima commercial series.

       Blake Griffin is a famous basketball star. He is a great example of ethos. Especially because of the fact that he dunked over a Kia Optima, it is easy for the audience, who will mostly be basketball fans, think of Blake Griffin when they see the Kia Optima. Also, at the end of the commercial, it says "Not your average spokesman.", meaning that because he is a star athlete, he has the credibility to be worth listening to. Also, right after that, the phrase "not your average midsize sedan." appears. By using a similar structured phrase it links Blake and the car, showing that these two have something in common; they are special.

        Also in this commercial, a man complains that he cannot fold the bed sheet right and Blake Griffin says, “You know what easily fold Phil? The side mirrors on 2011 KIA optima… with a push of button, it fold automatically.” He acts really seriously without a change in his facial expression. The only change in his face is at the end when he stares at the camera and raises one eyebrow, nice and slowly. Normally, being serious has to bring a sense of weight into the whole atmosphere. However, in this particular situation, the seriousness does the exact opposite; it makes the ad funny and light. This is because he is being serious for not much of a big reason. He did not really have to be serious in a situation where a man is struggling with folding laundry. That awkward situation made the ad not heavy but funny. This enlightenment of the ad makes it easier for the audience to remember the ad thanks to its sense of humor.

RCL Blogging #8

Soft Drinks in Action

When we think of soft drinks, there is a certain number of images that come in mind. Sweet, fresh, cool... Of course there are differences in the particular beverages that people prefer, but the overall image of these kind of drinks are limited.

This can also be seen in soft drink advertisements. Despite the difference in the way they initially look, they all eventually are sending the same message through similar strategies. Let's look at the few ads below.

1. Cover up the ad with the main color of product

     Notice the four ads that I have put up. They are all different colors and structures. However, they are all demonstrating through one huge aspect: color. Each product line has their own distinctive color. Coca-cola is red, Sprite is light green, Pepsi to blue, and Mountain Dew to lime green. Even just by looking at these ads from afar, one can pretty much notice from the color what product it is. What is more interesting is that, except for Coca-cola, the products are bright, "refreshing" colors. The reason Coca-cola is not in the trend is probably because that color has become more of an identity, therefore it would be more effective to keep the color than changing it to a different refreshing color.

2. Use water

     All four have water. It is not just there, but it is the one thing that covers up or surrounds the product in the advertisement. This use of water around the bottle or the glass cup indicates the temperature of the product. It looks like the product just came out of a clod refrigerator, refreshing and cold, just how a soft drink should be like. This kind of effect will reach its peak during the summer, when it is extremely hot and sweaty. You can actually see this in other drink ads such as beer. However, don't forget that it is not still, motionless water; it is active, splashing water that does the trick.

RCL blogging #7

    
   Whitney Houston, the pop star, died at the age of 48. Her funeral was held last Saturday.

Several celebrities spoke to honor her, Tyler Perry, Kevin Costner, Alicia Keys, and Stevie Wonder.

      Among those honoring Whitney Houston, Kevin Costner perfectly used the pathos, by using storytelling and associated emotions with audience.

      Kevin Costner spoke at length about his experience with Houston. He told the story of how he got to work with her in that film, what the two had in common and what it meant to him to lose her. Sharing stories of getting in trouble at his Baptist church and how he delayed filming the film to wait for her to stop touring, and consoled her when she felt insecure of her ability to nab the role that made her a superstar.

      Costner first called for the audience to “suspend our sorrow, just our anger, just long enough to remember the sweet miracle… never forgetting that Cissy and Bobbie Kristina are still among us.”

     The audience cheered as he noted that he, too, was in a Baptist church, that he had gotten in trouble for stealing small cups of grape juice used for Communion, for being dragged out by his parents for misbehaving. He noted that he shared this with Houston and that he could see her getting in trouble similarly as a child, and then told the story of how he got Houston to play the lead role in The Bodyguard.

     “Why don’t you think of another singer, maybe somebody white?” he noted that many studio executives implied to him, when they asked why he was so dead set on having Houston in the movie. “I told everyone I had taken notice that Whitney was black, the only problem was I thought that she was perfect for what we were trying to do.” He postponed production for a year while she was on tour.

     “Her greatest setback and greatest strength”, Costner said, was her insecurity. “Am I good enough, am I pretty enough, will they like me?” he said she wondered, then speaking to her to say “you set the bar so high that professional singers, your colleagues, don’t want to sing that little country song, what would be the point? Little girls like you who dream of being you someday sing that song.”

     He left the audience with the knowledge that, now, “there is a lady in Heaven making God Himself wonder how he created something so perfect,” and spoke to Houston to tell her to never fear again that she was not the great she was on Earth.

     By sharing very special experience between Kevin and Whitney, which was very personal, Costner was able to engage with the audience. Because of this, audience could understand how much the Whitney meant to him and they all shared sorrow together.

"Rhetoric in international politics"

From google image

      International politics concern relationships among the world’s government. They cannot understand in isolation so many countries form some kind of alliances or organizations to share the collective goods. Therefore, countries have been struggling with the conflict and corporation mix in relations among nations and to solve how to provide something that benefits all members of a group, regardless of what each member contributed to it. This is especially true where there is no central authority, such as a world government, to enforce on individual nations the necessary measures to provide for the common good. The study of rhetoric and politic examines the role of persuasion in the political process. Classical scholars conceived of rhetoric as “a practical art involving the performance of public oratory in the contexts of politics, law, and ceremonial occasions.” When these kind of conflict begins the actors(presidents and diplomats) of each states(governments) hold a committee and try to find a resolution.

     For example, all countries share an interest in the collective good of peace and stability. However, when few countries like North Korea tested its first nuclear bomb and Iran continues uranium enrichment that could lead to a nuclear bomb, intergovernmental organizations like UN tried to convince them to give up their nuclear experiment. This is when the rhetoric plays its role. To solve this problem “The big five” (USA, France, England, Russia, and China) send the delegates to prevent potential threat the world security. Well, here is the kicker; few years ago “The big five,” with the largest nuclear arsenals, held veto power on the UN Security Council. Through agreements like the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Proliferation Security Initiative, the existing nuclear powers actively try to keep their exclusive hold on these weapons and prevent smaller nations from getting them. They are eventually using a form of logos, and considering their status in the international level ethos as well, in order to fulfill their point.                                                                                                                         

"Kobe System, Beyond Success"

Few months ago, Nike released the Kobe system, which basically is a Kobe VII sneaker with two separate inserts, in other words, two different bottom layers inside of the shoe.

As a former basketball player and Big Lakers/Kobe Bryant fan, I had to watch the whole commercial series, seven in total, as soon as they were released. However, they didn’t make sense at all!!

In the videos, Kobe Bryant plays a motivational speaker to guide people who have already achieved success, even beyond success. Kobe starts speaking in front of these successful people like Kanye West, Serena Williams, Virgin CEO Richard Branson, Chinese mega star Hong Lee, and more.

Kobe gives one simple message,

“The Kobe System is about adaptation: attacking fast and strong," Bryant says. "How do you know when you're in the Kobe System? Look at your feet. How do you use the system? Listen to me."

 And with that, Bryant dunks a basketball, and behind him, the highlight reel of his memorable plays are shown on a large LED screen. But it goes beyond that. Bryant asks a question that truly defines how he never remains satisfied: "Where do you go from the top? You go over the top."

The commercials make no sense to anyone but Kobe. It is funny and ridiculous but strongly symbolic. It asks a question; what comes next, after you achieve success?

During the class yesterday, we discussed about the role of successful celebrities in commercials. This Kobe System commercial emphasized more on the success compare to other commercials: success at success, and beyond success. It is a great example of Ethos by using Kobe Bryant. The commercial puts Kobe above all the other successful people, which stresses ethos over ethos. Through this strategy, if people buy the product which is advertised by a successful celebrity, they feel like they can achieve success like that person in the advertisement. People know that this is not true, but at least they can have the feeling of Kobe’s “success.” The audience wants to feel it too.

 If you like the commercial, check out youtube. There are 7 more of them.

This I believe Yun Shik Park

http://www.personal.psu.edu/yxp5053/blogs/yxp5053%20podcast001.mp3

RCL #03 "Please comment"

"PLEAZE COMMENT!"

     Last week during class, we shared about how to make good comments on blogs. Since we are writing blogs and leaving good comments can be good civic engagement through the technology. I’d like to discuss some tips I use to avoid making bad comments.

1. Make a useful comment

     Being useful is the most specific way to be valuable to the readers and to the blogger. There are many ways to be helpful to the bloggers and readers. If you feel the post is missing something, or just want to add some additional information to the post, comment about it. If you leave a beneficial comment on people’s blogs, the blogger can take advice to make their post better and the other readers can understand the post more clearly. So it is win-win situation.

2. Do not go off topic

     Be relevant to the topic and the post, or your comment will make no sense. I said ‘and’ because the post might not be what you thought it was, so you have to read the post several times and understand the topic before you comment.

3. Explain why you like or dislike the post

     Do not leave one or two word comments like “I like this so much.” Or “This is great.” If you want to tell that the post is great, explain more details so the blogger can get some feedback. Isn’t it the point of commenting? Be more precise.

4. Think deeply…plz

     Think before you post a comment. Ask yourself, “Should I post this comment?”, “Is this comment useful?”, “Does this comment affect the readers?”. By commenting without thinking, your words can hurt the writer or other readers. Be considerate!

     Let's think about why we need good comments. :)

RCL #02 "Miss Turkey on turkey burger commercial."

"Miss Turkey on turkey burger commercial."

While I was searching for a commercial, which I can use it for my next rhetoric and civic life post, I found another ridiculously funny commercial that was made by Carls Jr. The company continues its tradition of rhetorical, over the top food porn commercial (That’s what my dad said). It puts Miss Turkey in a bikini. Yeah, the real Miss Turkey, who held the title since April 1, 2010. With the tiara and red dress, a beauty queen nibbles on a burger while strutting along the poolside in a recent new Carl's Jr turkey burger.

During the commercial, Miss Turkey drops her red pageant gown to reveal a bikini that had tiny turkey burgers all over. The narrator says "We had fabric custom-printed with the image of our new Charbroiled Turkey Burger… and then had it made into a bikini."

In this commercial, the Rhetoric is about persuading customer to buy their turkey burger. They start out with the turkey burger. For people to remember it, they hired Miss Turkey. So they can also remember Miss Turkey, they put her in a bikini. That bikini had turkey burger patterns on it and that goes back to the turkey burger. It makes a circle, starting and ending with the main product, the turkey burger. This turns out to emphasize on what the commercial is trying to sell: the burger.

Oh, and don’t forget how good looking Miss Turkey is. (I know you loved it too :) )

RCL #1 "Engaging Civic Life through Facebook"

 "Engaging Civic Life through Facebook"

Did you know that Facebook has more than 800 million active users? And more than 50 % of  their users log on in any given day?

source: google image

Facebook has affected the engagement of civic life and activity of people in countless ways.  There are some advantages to Facebook. With Facebook, people can

continuously stay in touch with families and friends no matter where they are, as long as they have Internet access. It unites people with similar interests, beliefs, and opinions.

I don’t like Facebook. There is a lack of emotion in online communication and I am not comfortable with random people (my Facebook “suggested friends”, for example, most of which I’m certain I have never met in my life. I have no problem making my own friends in real life without Facebook’s “suggestions”) reading and commenting about my opinion on something.  There are definitely issues about privacy, because Facebook encourages people to post personal information on their profile where many people can read it.  

Despite this, I’ll admit I have a Facebook account and I used it a lot while I was in junior high.  Over the years, I’ve realized that if I really care about someone, I should call them and ask how are they doing rather than posting “what’s up” on their wall. I know that social networks like Facebook and Twitter will continue be a part of our everyday lives as technology develops, and I will have to remain engaged to keep up with my generation. 

Like LA101 blogging…I am not use to it but I plan to use this blog as an opportunity to explore this idea. I think technology can be used in a way that is both modern and personal.  My goal this semester is to learn to write this way.

Here is an interesting stuff to read, even President Obama agrees with me, read below:

President Obama Banned His Daughters to Use Facebook

http://sickfacebook.com/president-obama-banned-his-daughters-to-use-facebook-total-respect/#more-559