Final Essay

Matthew Wiest

Ad analysis paper

3/12/15

                                                Leaving us wanting more

            Most days, we find that our lives are just passing by in seeing ads, not caring as to what is there on the screen or in the paper. Some companies, like the ones who publish and advertise video games, know how to grab our attention via empathy by making us feel and want more out of what we see on screen or in a poster. Various commercials nowadays focus on showing as much of their product as they can within so little time easily, so the contrast is startling in where commercials move and change their own points to giving us more to go off of in not showing us some, giving us just a taste so that we as consumers want more. The base desire to know something is what gives us more drive towards wanting these games, and is exploited by the video game industry around just about every corner. What kind of immersion do video games give us in just the small amount of time in their commercials? I hope to explore this in the advertisements for Dying Light, Dead Island 2, and Resident Evil: Revelations 2.

            Starting from the Dying Light commercial, titled “Run Boy Run”, they show us the start of a city with construction zones all around. The shot takes us to a view of a group of people of varying ages, genders, and ethnicities, with tight clothing and backpacks on along with irregular and makeshift weapons. They climb and jump and run across rooftops to the song “Run Boy Run” by Woodkid. The group stops and looks over to see a plane dropping down some form of crate with a parachute guiding its descent, the plane flying off into the distance above the city. The man in the front of the group looks briefly to them and runs off towards the drop crate, the group following quickly as they continued on from rooftop to rooftop, scaling scaffolding in the process. While still in the construction zones, the leader flamboyantly jumped and grabbed a wrench to kill a zombie which had come around the corner, getting excitement flowing and keeping a constant flow of action. While they still ran, the leader jumped off of the building only to fall through a makeshift roof made of cardboard and plywood, only for the action to change into an underground area with damaged walls with the same man in yellow to be holding a door shut, the fact that he’s still holding the wrench signing that it is still the same day. The door burst open with zombies piling in, the group starting to run as the infected overwhelmed one of their friends and briefly seen biting into him, some viewers feeling sorry for the death. The group still ran as one stayed behind to fight back at least one of the zombies, only to be tackled down and eaten. The leader gave a passing glance back while zombies still ran, where another angle changing like before was met with more zombies running towards them. The leader, like before, turned the other way to see one of their friends being attacked by a single infected, lighting up the wrench with some form of electrical modification and striking the zombie, which convulsed after being struck. The run continued through the sewers with various kinds of deadly infected roaring at them, leading to a jump which the last two of the group attempted, the leading man from before being the only one to make it as his last friend was hit and knocked down into the darkness of the sewers. After climbing a final ladder, he found the crate, only to be caught off guard when a man struck him in the head with a bat, knocking him unconscious to see the man walking up to the crate, the advertisement ending with a flash of the quote “Good night, Good Luck” in large letters overcoming the screen and showing the title of the game, “Dying Light”

Fig 1. Dying Light poster

            The advertisement itself is a full two minutes long and has a lot of exciting action within it, getting the viewer’s blood pumping as they watch and await what could happen next, always changing it up to see what could happen and who would go next. They change from place to place to give a feel for the open world of the game and excite the viewer with the freshness of parkour, a form of free climbing across rooftops. The death of the leader’s comrades is a narrative point that the world is dangerous, and that the player can help overcome this and wants them to help. The commercial’s main demographic seems to be people who enjoy action and want to do something for others, and attracts people from all ages and genders. The Gaming Industry as a whole uses this tactic well in describing what you could expect from the story and gameplay in even just a CGI commercial such as Dying Light’s. The same company uses the constant change in the action to keep the reader’s attention, which brings in the next commercial by the same game developer.

            Dead Island 2 is a sequel to Techland’s zombie action game, and the commercial they provide for the game is very illusionary. We start out by seeing a man getting ready for running: Getting his shoes on, making sure his music’s playing, pumping up and going on a jog. We briefly see a bite on his wrist before he covered it with a sweatband. This continues on with him jogging and people in the background being attacked by zombies all around, running while people are being bitten and attacked and killed all around him, a limousine skidding along before crashing, as we then see his body change with skin being ripped and bleed to show that he was really a zombie, only to end with him and most of the horde being killed by a large beefed up van, adding shock value to it while showing there are people surviving.

Fig 2. Dead Island Game poster.

            The Dead Island 2 commercial is in stark contrast to the Dying Light one, because it is more quirky and humorous than a dark reality. They give it the setting of a tropical place or Miami to set the feel of a faster pace and fun to be had, while simply throwing in zombies here and there to crush the paradise that there is. The advertisement also presents a good feel to making the most out of a situation in that the people in the van seem to be having a good time fighting the zombies to survive, appealing to the viewer’s sense of humor. It tells us that not all action or zombies need to be horror or dark and brooding, and make people want to know what it’s like to kill zombies and have fun doing so to see them flying and flopping around.

Fig 3. Resident Evil Revelations 2 poster      

To contrast the action form of zombies and killing, another company named Capcom made the Resident Evil series, and the most recent game this company made was Resident Evil: Revelations 2. The commercial drags the viewer in with a view of a dark room, indiscernible voices calling out and speaking with flashes of gory images while blood drips from a wall as the main footage. The shot then cuts back to a dinner party where people are having fun at the nice establishment before cutting back to a bloodshot eye seeing the main character through cameras, the power going out where she is kidnapped by men in combat gear presumably, returning to the dark cellar or dungeon where she wakes up with an odd device on her wrist, only to be forced to explore the area, making the viewer feel sorry for her. This continues on with views of locations in the underground, only passing by for a few frames each to keep the viewer active and engaged to see and wonder what it was that they saw, ending with the statement “Evil is watching” with the title of the game being spoken out loud in the end.

            The Resident Evil commercial draws veteran horror gamers back into the nostalgia of feeling lost and alone, and having to work to overcome those trials and possible failures, allowing people to feel excited and scared without the actual danger that the game shows. The commercial ultimately gives the goal of finding out what happened, and discovering how to survive and feeling afraid in the cold depths of the underground. All of this is shown very quickly in brief images of pain and fright that the commercial breaks with views of actual gameplay and locations.

            The commercials together all follow zombie themes, something that when shown, people typically seem to have no sympathy for; and, from a gaming point of view, the games all have their tastes for different levels, but all follow the same movement of a constant flow of action for the consumer to be immersed in, encouraging them to buy the game and find out more themselves and to feel compelled to help and do better than those before them. It’s all about little heroic achievements and various tasks that help the consumer feel accomplished versus actually get a real reward out of the product. Ultimately, video game publishers in the modern day continue to draw the viewers in with a constant and upbeat change with a sense of mystery that encourages us to buy the game in order to answer the questions posed to us.

Draft answers

The guiding question is "What does today's video game industry use to draw in consumers?" which is presented well in the current Draft in that it analyzes such.

The opening captures the audience by showing them a strong truth, helping to draw them in.

The subject is built on the foundations of the intro paragraph, and set up to be easily ready to present the analysis.

I've considered the advertisements in comparison to the final product and their target audience, and not much was fully learned other than what was already known.

The point is to show how the game industry pulls in its consumers by poking at the human psyche, so yes it is clear.

The evidence is in how the advertisements carry themselves out, therefore it is more subjective as evidence.

The sources are the advertisements themselves, and the sources are going to become possible interviews with the publishers' advertising division.

There is no counterargument to the analysis.

My tone is more informative and calm than demeaning.

The analysis is designed to present more vivid details and will provide posters in the final draft on paper.

The analysis is going to have transitions between the themes of the different games and how they connect.

I've given a lot of formal rhetoric and speak to a matured audience while trying to tailor my style to those who need a simpler demeanor and rhetoric

The draft has no conclusion yet.

The analysis is clear in title about Video Game ads

Comparing analyzing to presenting

Presenting the analysis of the commercial was a very exciting experience in that more than just our group would get to see and hear the opinion of the matter, and working with others on what single topic to do was very fun in that I could enjoy doing so whilst still keeping a semi-serious tone. There were more opinions, more different points of analysis, as well as many more ways we can go about the matter. I think this will allow me to go into asking others what they think of my essay while I'm in the process of writing it, and make it much more fun to do in that people will make comments, good or bad, which will effect and change my essay. On top of that, the present experience will make it much easier in that it won't be a first-time analysis.

Summaries, paraphrases, and quotes! (Oh my!)

I chose 170-175 for this assignment

Heather starts out the essay with a statement of the constant strive of progress and productivity that corrupted and changed the american dream. She uses several instances of the TV show Mad Men in her argument as a stand, going from the third season onward as her primary drive. She argues that the show well states the reality of the American dream and its progress, constantly using the characters as her drive for her position, closing off with a message of our decline and loss.

Heather constantly uses characters in the contexts of opposites and their pros and cons, with using "Female-side" or "male-side" as different descriptions of conflicting characters.

"Betty represents the female version of this lack of foresight" Heather describing Betty's contrast and difference.

Page 181 exercise: Rubin's Essay

1. Rubin believes that Coca-cola is very lucrative and effective in tailoring their ads to the modern day culture, and that we can gain insight into trends of today by analyzing the ads that companies provide us with. The evidence is shown mostly in her first ad, just after World War 2, supporting military and a male dominated society of the time.

2. The context Rubin provides is in World War 2 and just before the Korean War, which is her biggest example which she refers back to repeatedly in the essay. The information shows how her argument is valid continuing from then on and into today's society.

3. We can see what the culture and politics of the day think of their people in ads, but we cannot generalize too greatly with these evidences as the companies are trying to appeal to specific demographics. We can really see what companies are hearing about from the media by seeing what they put in their ads, though we still would need further analysis of the media than an ad to answer the questions about how our culture is.

4. I could not find a contemporary ad as I do not watch modern day contemporary or TV commercials as much, and most are idealized video game commercials.

5.An ad I know of is the ad for the video game Dying Light, a parkour oriented game where the player is able to climb and move about through the world while zombies creep below. It shows the thrill of movement and parkour that many Americans see and wish for, pumping the adrenaline and going through fighting. The words in the ad "Good night, Good Luck" present a feeling of the night being dangerous in the world that the player inhabits, wishing them luck to bring a more personal attachment.

How I use analysis

Decision	How much I’ll eat in the day	What time to go to bed	How much time to play video games	Career
Factors	What I like, what we can get easily, and what is there.	If there’s something tomorrow I have to do, what time I need to be somewhere.	If I’m bored, if I’ve got time, if I have everything needed done.	If I want to, if it’s attainable, if it’s sustainable.
Personal effect	Satisfaction	Level of rest and revival	Entertained and relieving stress	A job having fun in would make me happy
Professional effect	Could effect workplace breath	Higher focus if slept a good time	Able to focus later in work if I have a goal from playing	Experience for future advancement and happiness
School effect	Good appearance if healthy amounts	Good learning ability in a rested mind.	Takes time away from schoolwork	Pays for education, or just living expenses.

The adaptation and change between Essay #1 and Essay #2 experience

       I found that writing the first essay was new and almost foreign as I'd not expected it so soon after the beginning of the year. Though, I will say it was exciting to be able to express freely my own thoughts and story for others to see, it nearly invigorated me to the point of prime happiness. It was fresh, fast, and fun to do while seeing the growth of others around me and how they saw my own growth.
       To contrast, I found that the second essay was much more relaxed to the pace that I grew accustomed to. The initial draft was a good size, corrections were made readily, and we started writing it much earlier than the first essay. The fun factor increased in that more outside input was gathered and I had a better understanding of the outside viewpoints around me and those whom I met were very critical but not harsh about their responses. I can't tell what I would've done given the same experience with number one, but the third and final essay will definitely rise in excitement just as #1 has to #2.
       The difference in reasons and motive for the two essays was a much larger change, because in the narrative I was simply telling from my point of view and what I saw from a factual and witness statement. However, in a position paper I was forced to go out and get what others had seen and done, and the interpersonal contact and some interviews I had arranged made it more emotional than the narrative, granting a much bigger freedom and exciting outlook on the essay.
       Though a larger difference between my essays was their topic, I found that the blogging tool allowed me to look back on drafts from anywhere I wanted and had more stages, which filled me with a sense of accomplishment and gave me more motivation to continue onward. Each in-between assignment also helped fill in and refine the second essay to a more professional level, whereas the first was simply a "What are we capable of" in a sense, at least it was how I felt.
Where the essays had the greatest difference in was the time-frame that we did them. The first essay was still well into the winter, whereas in a position paper we're in winter to spring, a time of change and to move on, to see new things blooming. I found it symbolic and very uplifting to fill the page with words of wisdom and guidance to the positions I spoke out for.
       The similarities now of the two are that they had both been done in at least one draft on this blog, but the more there were in this second one, the more stages there are to look back on and adjust the essay to. Plus, we had each other to speak to and rely on for assistance in varying points that we didn't notice in both times. The only difference in that being how many times we as a group did so.  There is a more personal impression in seeing the writings and opinions of your friends while they are reading and accrediting yours in any manner. At times though, I still feel as if I wasn't going easy enough into a topic which I was passionate about, and it might harm my credibility later on, but I cannot judge or tell until the final call comes.

Havrilesky's essay analysis and answers

1.) Heather's main insight is how Mad Men approaches the reality and truth of what the "American Dream" really is, and uses it heavily in her essay so much that she rides on it the whole time. She shows to be passionate about the show and loves it to the point that she flawlessly uses the details of it in her essay.

2.) She establishes authority by talking down the wide fantasies of the american dream and talks about how down-to-earth that Mad Men is, thereby trying to put herself on equal footing to talk about it to us in a conversational term.

3.) It appeals primarily in the first paragraph how the american dream has become very broad and not tailored to the individual's own goals, thereby making the reader interested in what alternative there might be.

4.) I've never watched Mad Men, so I cannot understand the deep connection to the characters and their points and depth, but Havrilesky made me think that the show is worthwhile and that I may just watch it myself to get a good view and insight on what she believes is the "reality" of the American Dream.

Position Essay

Why homeschooling should not be placed on a higher standard than public school

I went into some deep thought about how homeschooling is thought of by the world as well as in America in various states. The state governments in the extreme corners of the states do not seem to be very allowing of any regular homeschool regiment. Speaking from a perspective of living in the four corners of the United States at some point in my homeschooling life, I can say that homeschooling is a very efficient process when properly used and enjoyed, but can be diluted by the system surrounding it which is regulated by the state government's school board which has mostly public school oriented administrators. Homeschoolers should not be placed on a higher standard than public school students and both should have equal opportunity in all fields, from military to educational, and even to get out of high school.

Georgia state legislation, according to the Home School Defense and Law Association, requires that every homeschool student have at least a single four and a half hour unbroken session of learning each day, and requires a detailed report on how much the student only seemed to learn. Though this as a concept isn't bad, the sheer fact that it needs to be an unbroken session (meaning no breaks and constant "Learning") just restricts the freedoms of a homeschooler to make them work more to get a proper education on their schedule. Florida has less of a time frame but still requires that the session be unbroken and uninterrupted even with family emergencies. In order for homeschoolers to have a stable curriculum with effective learning, they need to not be forced to sit and wait and be unable to work in the manner that works best for them, rendering homeschooling useless. The forces at work over in the Georgia legislative branch have made it undesirable to homeschool, and therefore are just adding to the issue of homeschoolers getting diplomas and college scholarships.

Texas is one of the few states that actually understands homeschooling and frees it up to where someone just needs to say they are homeschooling their child to qualify and be able to graduate. According to the laws in Texas, a homeschooling parent would only need to submit a letter of intent to homeschool in order to be granted the rights to homeschool. Granted, this may just add to the false stereotype of "Dumb Texans"; however, there are plenty of intelligent people who have come out of those systems because they were able to achieve more by recalling detail of what they learned versus what a manuscript from a public high school had told them in interviews. Frank Mattosh, a retired Marine and survivor of Pearl Harbor, said “Homeschooling helped me develop the problem solving skills and decision making that helped me get my men to safety on that day.” Several Commanders and Captains in the Navy in modern day America came out of homeschooling programs, including: Commander Chad Hennings, Commander Andrew Wiest, and Captain Douglas Perry.

Though there are instances where homeschoolers and parents of those homeschoolers end up abusing the system to "Make up" a diploma so that they're not forced into spending more money or having to send in the actual reports and various paperwork involved to make sure education is being given to the child. Though, this mindset still creates a problem of homeschoolers having to do more to get their diploma and to apply to colleges and various other organizations, such as the military. Personally, I’ve had trouble moving about the states and getting the letter of intent to homeschool into the school boards as they do not agree with homeschooling proper. The instances of peoples’ own choices into faking homeschooling are part of what makes it more difficult to advance in most careers in life, and only serves to worsen the reputation of Homeschoolers. Though, if any school board or administration had faith in the families and not wanting just more grades into their system, homeschoolers would have a much easier time living their daily lives.

The Military applies more harsh standards to homeschoolers by making them jump through more hoops to try to enlist or even get on commission to be an officer. They have to make better test scores in both PT and the ASVAB to enlist in any portion of the military, while public schoolers have to make much less score points to pass and enlist. These tests are respectively the physical fitness and training and the actual test, much like the SAT or ACT, to get into the military. This unfairness results in both a rejection of the homeschoolers who met the public school standard, and only brings more competent homeschoolers into the military itself be it Marine, Navy, Air Force, or Army. A manner to make the military equal opportunity with filters is to make the scores equal for all walks of life, not making any mandatory pre-requisites or certifications to attempt to join the military. After all, the military was designed

            Homeschoolers themselves are not incompetent, or even unfit for college. Many Ivy League colleges take in a decent amount of homeschoolers yearly. Each year Harvard University takes up to 10 applicants who have had some home schooling. “In general, those kids do just fine,” says David Illingsworth, senior admissions officer. He adds that the number of applications and inquiries from home schoolers is “definitely increasing.” A Havard administrations officer also stated that homeschool students “have done very well. They usually are very motivated in what they do.” Where the students still have to do more even to apply. Though any Ivy League would be cautious about who they allow into the system, so it makes sense to double check homeschoolers in areas of confirmation. Results of the SAT and SAT II, an essay, an interview, and a letter of recommendation are the main requirements for home educated applicants. On top of that, we have Jon Reider, Stanford’s senior associate director of admissions. “Home-schoolers bring certain skills – motivation, curiosity, the capacity to be responsible for their education – that high schools don’t induce very well,” which is further reinforcing that homeschoolers need to be taken seriously and placed on the same level of public schoolers.

            All of these facts are important because homeschooling has proven to be an effective learning system, but a homeschooler as smart as a public schooler is forced to do more to get into any kind of recognition or job outside of high school. The truth is skewed by the lack of knowledge and understanding put out by school boards and various teachers who want more students to acquire a higher pay by taxes or raise, or even for better chances at tenure. Getting down to the basics, Homeschoolers are generally accepted by the world in college primarily, but have trouble in every other area if they have chosen not to get a college degree, mostly seen in the military and various states. So no, homeschooling shouldn’t be forced to do more in order to accomplish the same goals of public schoolers in everyday life and should be given an equal opportunity in every respect to advance their own education and career goals.

Sources: hslda.org, interview of Retired Marine 1^st Lieutenant Frank Mattosh, review of Texas Legislation (Unmarked)