Visual Rhetoric

The ad is an example of visual rhetoric. This is because it utilizes sensory images to communicate a verbal message in relation to culture. The message it is trying to get across to the audience is that if you drink milk, you will be strong and have a nice body like Wolverine does because he drinks milk. In order to get this particular message to the audience, “Got Milk?” uses Hugh Jackman because he has a body that many people wish they could have. They expose his arms in the picture so that you can see how muscular he is and then attribute this to the milk he is drinking. The style of the ad also appears to make him seem more tough and unapproachable which is also then attributed to the milk. Lastly, they utilize the extremely popular X-Men movie to attract films of the movie. They incorporates parts of the movie such as his powers to regenerate. This is completely fictional and milk has nothing to do with this in the movie, or in real life. However, it helps draw in fans and younger kids that like the fictional powers being associated with milk. 

Double Consciousness

"Double Consciousness" is awareness of one’s self but also an awareness of others. This concept can be applied to super hero studies because of how most superheroes are white. Black superheroes have been greatly excluded from American society because of their civil rights struggles. Therefore there have not been many colored superheroes in comics and movies. Another conflict represented in American comics related to "Double Consciousness" is how the few black superheroes must reflect American culture even though they are technically African-American. This poses a conflict because it is much harder for such an ethnic race to represent such a mainstream society like America. African-American culture is a culture completely separated from traditional American culture because of the struggles the race has been through. The African-American super hero must then represent traditional American society must also remain true to their roots so that they can represent the other side to America. Superhero studies can then be affected because in order for it to be a good comic, it must be well rounded and represent every side of America and yet be a unique individual. African super heroes must be careful to stray away from “Africanizing” America. They should not force their culture on America but rather combine the two cultures harmoniously.

Allegory of the Cave

After reading the Allegory of the Cave by Plato, I believe that it would be better to live on the inside. Even if the conditions were not exciting or particularly favorable for us, the outside world would just be too hard to handle. Physically, the human body would not be accustomed to the different environmental conditions and the excitement resulting from such intense stimuli would be hard to bare for the heart and mind. Emotionally, it would be very difficult to become a part of a world you have absolutely no knowledge of. It would be like placing a child in the world and expecting him to be an adult and know everything going on. Therefore I would prefer to be in the only thing I have ever known and remain in the cave. The cave would not be as horrible to me as it would for other people looking into my life because it would be the only thing I knew about the world. You cannot hate something when you have never experienced something better than it so if I never left the cave, it would just be the natural way of living for me and I would not complain about it.