Glossy Garbage, an article on American Family association, follows the same trend as other articles found on this website. In general, the website expresses the need for "traditional" family values and has only one point of view. This creates a very biased and controversial effect. Glossy Garbage is no exception. Through its use of diction, imagery and detail, this article drives the conservative and limited "traditional" family values home.
The use of diction in Glossy Garbage is mostly pejorative connotation. When talking about the layout of the checkout isle, the author talks about kids being a"target," which is true. The word "target," however, has a very negative light. It points out that candy and kids are synonymous but then pushes on to say that kids are targeted to sex when they see magazines in the isle. To back this up, the author also uses words like "bombarded' "cattle" "inappropriate" "lascivious"
The author also uses imagery to paint the picture of kids being cattle. "Kids corralled like cattle and force fed doses of porn" is the opening simile that sets the scene for the rest of the article. This imagery is used to exaggerate the idea that magazines shouldn't be placed in the grocery check-out line. From that point on, kids are shown to be in a "chute" (or isle) that slowly ruins the ideas of the american values. This image gives the reader of a one-way street that cannot be avoided. This is meant to convince the reader that this is what is ruining the home.
The use of detail in the article also adds to the ignorant idea that check-out lines are threatening the ideals of the american values. The author chooses to include information and quotes like "Look, Mr. Manager, we're not ignorant. We know you strategically place dozens of kinds of candy here for a purpose. Kids and candy go together like peanut butter and jelly. What doesn't "register" is the gratuitous display of trashy magazines with lascivious cover photos and salacious headlines," paints a picture that sends a warning signal to parents and tells them what to think about magazines. There is also detail that includes the way we can "save" our children from the oh-so-horrendous check out lane at the grocery store. "Fortunately, parents are beginning to speak out and complain to their local store manager, with exceptional results." That quote is added to indirectly show that it is good that parents are speaking out and that this real problem can be solved with something simple.
Glossy Garbage uses diction, imagery and detail to show that the values of the traditional american family are in harm. Obviously this is a real problem; kids aren't paying attention to the stacks of delicious candy. Instead, the sex-driven children of our generation look at pictures on vogue and see porn. Those 10 steps to being a healthy human being? No... nude pictures of women that little boys are paying too much attention to. The obvious conclusion? Grocery stores are ruining the traditional values of the American Family.
*Warning* Extreme use of sarcasm. People are ridiculous. But, the point is the same, the article has an extreme bias and uses parts of the rhetoric to make its argument.
I like what you have to say here! I also think this article is a little ridiculous. Some people make such a big deal out of the littlest things and it makes you wonder how they have time to worry about stuff like that. Despite your feelings about the article, you make accurate observations about the effectiveness of its arguments. However, your thesis mentions traditional family values, but the subsequent paragraphs don't touch on it. It might be better to focus more on how the author thinks that grocery store magazine aisles are prematurely polluting the imaginations of children. Nice job, though!
ReplyDeleteWow--you really took in and processed your peer review comments from last time. Excellent work on this, Alexis.
ReplyDeleteNice! This article does seem to have a strong bias, and you covered that well. I do think you were somewhat repetitive, but other than that, I feel like you drove home the article's point well and showed how the article achieved what it wanted to. Maybe you could have added a little on what "typical family values" are, and maybe how this does the ruining?
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