Relating topics that one may be familiar with due to the joyous satisfaction or overwhelming sadness experienced has been categorized as a meme. The unique ability of a meme is that it is not only an element of a culture or system of behavior rather; it is a quick and simple form of imitation generally used for ironic situations. With many memes based upon irony an example can be seen with the, “Bad Luck Brian” meme. Bad Luck Brian is a meme that is created for no reason other than entertainment, through the topics of modern day society found throughout sources such as the internet, television and more. By breaking down this meme, the description of which characteristics it takes to fit into certain genres is made clearer to all, as well as, the underlying purpose of the meme.

Rough draft:

The Life and Joy Of Bad Luck Brian

Relating topics that one may be familiar with due to the joyous satisfaction or overwhelming sadness experienced has been categorized as a meme. The unique ability of a meme is that it is not only an element of a culture or system of behavior rather; it is a quick and simple form of imitation generally used for ironic situations. With many memes based upon irony an example can be seen with the, “Bad Luck Brian” meme. Bad Luck Brian is a meme that is created for no reason other than entertainment, through the topics of modern day society found throughout sources such as the internet, television and more. By breaking down this meme, the description of which characteristics it takes to fit into certain genres is made clearer to all, as well as, the underlying purpose of the meme.

            Many memes have different purpose ranging from simply mocking of a celebrity abd their actions, to trying to prove a point through sarcasm and the exposing of an idea; (usually covering government issues). The subgenre of the meme “Bad Luck Brian” is used for nothing more than the laughter and entertainment it brings to its readers. Because Bad Luck Brian is usually purposeful for entertainment of people it must be comical; funny and appealing to its audience; which are usually users of social network and the internet. Many times Bad Luck Brian memes create humor by bringing up a topic that the audience is familiar with such as the latest topics and trends of society. Other times it could be created by some random teenager sitting behind a computer screen who thought of a joke to share.

            If there is one thing that all Bad Luck Brian memes absolutely must include is some sort of plot twist or irony. The plot twist must go from good to bad, hence the name “Bad Luck”. Irony is when one thing happens then the total opposite is the outcome, sort of a contradiction.

Here’s an example of a Bad Luck Brian meme, and of course since it is under the Bad Luck Brian subgenre, it must include some sort of irony, which it does.  The ironic part of this would be while attending a funeral, mourning the death of someone; your phone rings and happens to be the song “staying alive”. Of course this isn’t based on a real scenario so it comes off as humorous to its readers.

The structures of all memes are different depending on their texting structure and pictures for their background. In this Particular subgenre of memes in Bad Luck Brian, the sentence structure includes one sentence on top of the picture, in big bold white words, frequently short sentences, which is usually the good thing that happens to the kid labeled as Bad Luck Brian. And on the bottom of the picture is another big bold white short sentence being the bad thing that happens to Bad Luck Brian. The Transition of these two sentences is where the plot twist or irony happens. Good actions on top, Bad on the bottom. A meme cannot be a meme without a picture in the background, and this is another factor that determines the structure of a Bad Luck Brian meme. This subgenre includes the school picture of an awkward looking kid who supposedly goes by the name Brian. With the combination of the two short sentences which always have something to do with bad luck, and the picture of the awkward looking kid named Brian, created this subgenre, “Bad Luck Brian.”

                Many if not all of you have probably heard of the situation with Ray Rice going around in the news. Well if not, Ray Rice is a player in the National Football League and there has been some controversy surrounding him because of the incident that happened a couple months ago with him and his girlfriend. Ray Rice, Now labeled as, “The Elevator Bully” has committed domestic violence on his girlfriend in an elevator as he struck her in the face and carried her unconscious body out of the elevator.

This is the meme I created that falls under the Bad Luck Brian subgenre. Since it is under the Bad Luck Brian subgenre it must carry over the characteristic that all Bad Luck Brian memes must have; comical, have a plot twist or irony, and the same arrangement. One thing that everyone hates is when they have to wait for the elevator again when you just missed it. So in this case Bad luck Brian grabbed the elevator at the last second, but of course since it is Bad Luck Brian who caught the elevator last second, there must be something bad to happen. In this situation the plot twist would be find Ray Rice aka elevator bully in the elevator. There is no reason for this meme to be made except the fact that it for the joy of society through laughter and the mocking of a celebrity. This meme also follows through with the same structure as the rest in this subgenre do. It includes two short sentences where the one on top is the one where something good happens, and on the bottom something bad. It contains the background picture of the awkward looking kid named Brian.

Simple and to the point; key elements for a meme. Simple and to the point is what makes memes so popular in today’s society. One of the most popular memes on the internet is of the course, “Bad Luck Brian” subgenre, which is created for none other than the purpose to entertain. It entertains through the use of irony and humor. And as long as memes continue the method they use today, they will remain to be a popular trend in today’s culture.

Final Draft:

The Life and Joy Of Bad Luck Brian

     Relating topics that one may be familiar with due to the joyous satisfaction or overwhelming sadness experienced has been categorized as a meme. The unique ability of a meme is that it is not only an element of a culture or system of behavior rather; it is a quick and simple form of imitation generally used for ironic situations. With many memes based upon irony an example can be seen with the, “Bad Luck Brian” meme. Bad Luck Brian is a meme that is created for no reason other than entertainment, through the topics of modern day society found throughout sources such as the internet, television and more. By breaking down this meme, the description of which characteristics it takes to fit into certain genres is made clearer to all, as well as, the underlying purpose of the meme.

            Many memes have different purpose ranging from simply mocking of a celebrity abd their actions, to trying to prove a point through sarcasm and the exposing of an idea; (usually covering government issues). The subgenre of the meme “Bad Luck Brian” is used for nothing more than the laughter and entertainment it brings to its readers. Because Bad Luck Brian is usually purposeful for entertainment of people it must be comical; funny and appealing to its audience; which are usually users of social network and the internet. Many times Bad Luck Brian memes create humor by bringing up a topic that the audience is familiar with such as the latest topics and trends of society. Other times it could be created by some random teenager sitting behind a computer screen who thought of a joke to share.

            If there is one thing that all Bad Luck Brian memes absolutely must include is some sort of plot twist or irony. The plot twist must go from good to bad, hence the name “Bad Luck”. Irony is when one thing happens then the total opposite is the outcome, sort of a contradiction.

     Here’s an example of a Bad Luck Brian meme, and of course since it is under the Bad Luck Brian subgenre, it must include some sort of irony, which it does.  The ironic part of this would be while attending a funeral, mourning the death of someone; your phone rings and happens to be the song “staying alive”. Of course this isn’t based on a real scenario so it comes off as humorous to its readers.

     The structures of all memes are different depending on their texting structure and pictures for their background. In this Particular subgenre of memes in Bad Luck Brian, the sentence structure includes one sentence on top of the picture, in big bold white words, frequently short sentences, which is usually the good thing that happens to the kid labeled as Bad Luck Brian. And on the bottom of the picture is another big bold white short sentence being the bad thing that happens to Bad Luck Brian. The Transition of these two sentences is where the plot twist or irony happens. Good actions on top, Bad on the bottom. A meme cannot be a meme without a picture in the background, and this is another factor that determines the structure of a Bad Luck Brian meme. This subgenre includes the school picture of an awkward looking kid who supposedly goes by the name Brian. With the combination of the two short sentences which always have something to do with bad luck, and the picture of the awkward looking kid named Brian, created this subgenre, “Bad Luck Brian.”

                Many if not all of you have probably heard of the situation with Ray Rice going around in the news. Well if not, Ray Rice is a player in the National Football League and there has been some controversy surrounding him because of the incident that happened a couple months ago with him and his girlfriend. Ray Rice, Now labeled as, “The Elevator Bully” has committed domestic violence on his girlfriend in an elevator as he struck her in the face and carried her unconscious body out of the elevator.

     This is the meme I created that falls under the Bad Luck Brian subgenre. Since it is under the Bad Luck Brian subgenre it must carry over the characteristic that all Bad Luck Brian memes must have; comical, have a plot twist or irony, and the same arrangement. One thing that everyone hates is when they have to wait for the elevator again when you just missed it. So in this case Bad luck Brian grabbed the elevator at the last second, but of course since it is Bad Luck Brian who caught the elevator last second, there must be something bad to happen. In this situation the plot twist would be find Ray Rice aka elevator bully in the elevator. There is no reason for this meme to be made except the fact that it for the joy of society through laughter and the mocking of a celebrity. This meme also follows through with the same structure as the rest in this subgenre do. It includes two short sentences where the one on top is the one where something good happens, and on the bottom something bad. It contains the background picture of the awkward looking kid named Brian.

            Here’s a look at another example of a meme that falls under the subgenre of Bad Luck Brain.

     This Meme has all the characteristics of the Bad Luck Brian meme; Two big bold white sentences where the one on top is something good and the bottom is something bad, a plot twist and of course the most important thing the background of the awkward looking kid Brian.

     Simple and to the point; key elements for a meme. Simple and to the point is what makes memes so popular in today’s society. One of the most popular memes on the internet is of the course, “Bad Luck Brian” subgenre, which is created for none other than the purpose to entertain. It entertains through the use of irony and humor. And as long as memes continue the method they use today, they will remain to be a popular trend in today’s culture.

(pictures didnt show up when edited, pictures are included in word document sent to email.)

Third response

     Everyone has their own opinion on the controversial topic in today’s society, “the war on drugs”. Authors Theodore Dalrymple and Gore Vidal both argue their opinions in their articles through the use of many rhetorical skills.

     Both of these Articles use many rhetorical skills throughout their argument to persuade the reader. In the article “Don’t legalize drugs” by Theodore Dalrymple, he talks about why drugs should not be legalized. He does this by attacking the use of drugs. On the other hand, in the article “Drugs” by Gore Vidal, Vidal indirectly talks about how drugs such as marijuana should be legalized. Vidal appeals to the audience by referencing to his personal experiences with drugs in the past. “For the record, I have tried - once - almost every drug and liked none, disproving the popular Fu Manchu theory that a single whiff of opium will enslave the mind. Nevertheless many drugs are bad for certain people to take and they should be told why in a sensible way.” He positions that although drugs are bad for certain people, (the extreme drug abusers) legalizing drugs would make the world a safer place in many ways.

Vidal uses logic in his paper to show that drugs aren’t what make people bad, instead it because the nature and mindset of the drug user. As he state; “Is everyone reasonably sane? No. Some people will always become drug addicts just as some people will always become alcoholics, and it is just too bad.”

     On the other hand, in Dalrymple’s article “Don’t legalize drugs” he also uses logic to argue the opposite of Vidal. Obviously Dalrymple states he is against drugs completely by the name of the article. As Vidal argued that the legalization of drugs will reduce the crime rates, Dalrymple debates the exact opposite; legalizing drugs will raise crime rates. Dalyrmple connects his argument to countries where drugs are legal, to statistically validate his point of crime rising as drugs are legalized. “Amsterdam, where access to drugs is relatively unproblematic, is among the most violent and squalid cities in Europe. The idea behind crime—of getting rich, or at least richer, quickly and without much effort.” Dalrymple connects drugs with theft, rape, murder, etc. So being is drugs are legalized; theft, rape, murder rates will all rise.

     Both of these articles show strong arguments against and for “the war on drugs” through the use of many rhetorical skills, appealing to the audience and correlating things to what has happened in the past.

Fourth response:

Statistically, the fastest growing genre of movies in the film industry in today’s world is the topic of horror films, scary movies, etc. Why? Many people enjoy the thrill they get when they ride roller coasters, speed race, and other actions that get the heart racing. One of these things would of course be horror films. In Stephen King’s article, “Why We crave horror movies.” He discusses why people enjoy horror films by relating them to other actions in society and through the use of metaphors.

     King uses real life situations to compare to the thrill of horror movies. He compares them to the thrill someone gets when they ride rollercoasters, “When we pay our four or five bucks and seat ourselves at tenth-row center in a theater showing a horror movie, we are daring the nightmare. Why? Some of the reasons are simple and obvious. To show that we can, that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster.” He implies that it is not just horror movies that humans get a natural thrill from, but like I said in the introduction, horror movies are just another thrill-seeking heart-racing thing that humans desire.

            There are many other things in today’s world that are much more dangerous than watching a horror movie. Things such as; Driving a car. I don’t think anyone has died in result to watching a horror movie. On the contrary, many people have died in car accidents. So if this is the case why are more people afraid to watch a horror movie than step into a car? The reason being that horror movies bring a thrill and that is their main purpose, while on the other hand people think of car accidents to be one of those cases where, “Oh I’m not going to get in a accident, I’m a safe driver.”

      Again, King uses ethos by bringing up many things that happen in today’s society. Pathos are used as he refers to Freda Jackson; the actor in one horror film called Die Monster Die, "

Freda Jackson as the horrible melting woman in Die, Monster, Die! confirms for us that no matter how far we may be removed from the beauty of a Robert Redford or a Diana Ross, we are still light-years from true ugliness."

     King supports his arguments of “People are mentally ill” through the analysis of why we crave horror films. He analyses this argument through metaphors to today’s societies and more.

Response #6

1. What is being proposed?

-The topic being proposed is that we need to fight ebola.

2. Does this proposal prioritize the problem or the solution? Why?

-This article gives evidence and what we could do about the problem.

3. What does the audience know about this topic and how do they feel about it?

-The audience knows about Ebola being a deadly disease. The audience could also get information from other things such as news.

4. Are any other stasis issues (definition, resemblance, cause-consequence) used?

-The article states that if we don't start fighting it now, over 300,000 people will soon be infected in the next 12 to 18 months. This gives us a reason to start fighting Ebola

5. Does the author do a good job of identifying positive consequence that will occur if the proposal is enacted and/or negative consequences that will occur if the proposal is not enacted?

-They state that the Ebola outbreak could possibly help out other countries with their health system issues too.

6. What are the most effective strategies used by the author in making their proposal persuasive?

-The numbers are the most effective things in this articles. Statistics are always proof to showing the problem.