Revised Four Modes

My visual and textual elements are all describing the struggles that college student have with the illicit use and abuse of prescription stimulants, primarily the prescription medication Adderall. Because of the pressure in our society for students to be over achievers in all aspects of their lives (both academically and socially), the use of these drugs is becoming increasingly tempting and more popular among students.

 

Visuals:

I included two pictures for my visual that are on my poster and in my power point. My first picture includes a pile of several different pills with a caption underneath stating “Medication – Sometimes the world just needs a break from the real you”. The concept of this photo is that medication is stripping us from our own individual self and turning us into what society thinks we should be.

This photo relates to the appeal of logos because you realize how overmedicated we are as a society and realize that these medications are taking away peoples individuality. It also deals with Ethos because ethically the over use of these medications in our society may go against many peoples values. We are so worried about being perfect that we will go to any resort to fix what we consider to be “flaws” by constantly taking medication to correct them even though these flaws may be typical human behavior.

            Another photo I used was a photo of a student studying, a book opened in front of him with a pile of pills pouring out on top of the text. This photo shows a situation that many college students endure. Sometimes when students have to study they are faced with the choice to take medication in order to keep them up and concentrate late into the night.

This shows the ethos appeal because you realize that students are so focused on being overachievers that they resort to taking pills in order to feel that they can succeed, although this is not at all the case. The fact is that taking these medications may be in fact harming them instead of helping them.

 

Book: Prozac Nation, Elizabeth Wurtzel

            The book I chose is called Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel, the book is a memoir about what Elizabeth went through as a young a woman in college.

Elizabeth was a talented writer at Harvard University and dealt with these pressures by abusing drugs and alcohol. This book is a good depiction of what college students can go through if struggling with the pressures of school and life all together. Elizabeth tried to balance her schoolwork, her newspaper column, her family life, her love life and her partying life until finally breaking down and going into a depression where she began to depend completely on medication.

The book deals with Ethos appeal because the credibility is very apparent within this book. The book is written by Wurtzel herself and through her own experiences that we learn from as readers.

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Movie: Prozac Nation (2001)

            Although reading the book can be very impacting, actually visualizing it is a great way to understand the character as well. The character Elizabeth is played by Christina Ricci whose pain you experience throughout this film.

One quote in particular that really struck me in this film was when Elizabeth was at the doctor’s office and stated, “I call this the crack house where I come to score, and Dr. Sterling is my dealer. Seems like everyone’s doctor is dealing this stuff now… sometimes it feels like we’re all living in a Prozac nation.”

This quotation expresses the fact of how easy it is to gain access to prescription drugs. The reference to the doctor being a “drug dealer” shows that people are using these medications not only for health reason but for recreational purposes as well.

Although the movie doesn’t deal exclusively with Adderall, it does deal with the issues of how stressful college life is for students and more importantly how overly medicated we are as a society. Although some people really do need it, it seems like these days anyone can get their hands on these medications.

This movie definitely has a pathos appeal to it because you feel for Elizabeth who seems to have it all until it all just comes crashing down. You see her achieve, you see her make mistakes, and you see her become dependent on drugs that are available to all of us.

 

Song: Amphetamine by Everclear

My other textual is the song Amphetamine by Everclear. This song describes the life of a girl who has changed so much because she is dependent on amphetamines (an ingredient in Adderall). The writer could tell she “used to be happy”, however now she is just a hollow shell of someone who used to be happy. Now she thinks she continue using in order to make her life better. This also will show how serious this epidemic is and how more awareness should be shed upon this issue.

 

“Yeah, you just take your pill

And everything will be all right

She looks like a teenage anthem

She looks like a magazine girl

She looks like a teenage anthem

Like she used to be happy in another world”

 

This song deals with pathos because the writer feels bad for this girl who once was happy but now must rely on a pill in order to make her feel like everything is okay.

 

           

           

 

Volunteer Blog!

Volunteer Blog:

For my volunteer work I was able to help my brother who is an Assistant District Attorney in Nassau County, Long Island. More importantly than helping him during the day was what I able to observe during this entire experience. By looking at his every day life at his job, I was able to receive a better understanding of the legal system and how it relates to my project on prescription medication.

At the Nassau County Court house I reviewed my brothers drug cases and afterwards was able to actually witness how the criminal system worked from arrest, to an arraignment, to how a file ends up on the desk of an ADA.

My brother and I first went to arraignment court to observe where people who have been newly arrested are brought before a judge to decide weather or not bail or how much bail should be set. Here I observed numerous cases of driving under the influence as well as the sale and possession of narcotic drugs including prescription medication.

I learned that paperwork on these cases are then turned to files for the ADA to handle, my brother handles exclusively drug cases and he was able to show me files and arrest reports indicating what crimes took place. I was also explained the process in which a lab report is created in drug cases in order to convert a misdemeanor complaint, which is the accusatory instrument usually used to start a criminal proceeding, into a misdemeanor information, which is the accusatory instrument needed to bring a case to trial.  However, if the crime charged is a felony a grand jury must be convened and the case must be presented to them in order to obtain an indictment which is the accusatory instrument needed to prosecute a felony charge. For many people selling and using these drugs, a felony charge was granted.

Some things I learned about prescription drugs such as Adderall is that it is a schedule three controlled substance and is a class C felony which means a heavy fine and jail time as well as a criminal record whether you are selling or giving it away to a friend, because in the eyes of the law giving away is equivalent to selling the substance. I also learned that driving while under the influence of these medications if not prescribed is a felony as well because it is considered a DUI. I had no idea that the law had considered this to be such a serious issue up until now.

This was a good opportunity for me to observe the legal process and understand the gravity of using prescription medication illicitly. By seeing regular people who were held in jail go to court for these instances was a very impressionable on me who sees these crimes take place on a regular basis and now understands the gravity of what can occur if someone is caught using, selling, or giving away prescription medication.

Preparation for project three

In preparation for my project three I have created an interview that I am conducting back home with a friend of mine who has had a personal experience with this topic. She is a student who has dealt with selling and using Adderall illicitly which took a serious toll on both her body and mind. Her experience could help others who are dealing with this issue and inform those who don’t know much information about this epidemic.

            What I am planning to do in the future for my project three is volunteer at a Children’s daycare. I believe it is important to invest time with children and understand their own individuality instead of medicating them in order to become the ideal child who is calm and cooperative. These days I think that children are over prescribed and overmedicated because parents think it will help them even though sometimes children may not need it at all and doctors are ready to hand them out quite easily as well.

            I am also planning on polishing my Ethos Pathos and Logos as well as creating a visual poster to create a better presentation that the audience can actually see and understanding the ideas I’m presenting.

Vogler # 11

Summary:

 

            In this section of Vogler he expresses the similarities between the writers journey and the heroes journey in that the writer experiences a journey while writing his story. He will encounter allies and enemies that support as well as hold him back, he will find the “shadow” within himself as well as the “mentor”, he will have “near death” experiences and will survive it in order to continue writing until he comes to his “elixir” once he has finished his story.

            Vogler then goes on to speak about how stories are “alive.” Stories are there to inspire you, to make you think, to motivate you, and comfort you. Once you see a film, you become part of that character and begin his journey with him and see his thoughts, desires, and ambitions throughout the journey and hope that he can make it to the end to achieve his dreams. He goes on to speak about the power of wishing, as how we human beings wish for things just like characters in a movie or book, and we hope that they can achieve that wish because we can relate to that character wanting something and striving to earn it. The wish the hero has soon becomes the wishes of the audience, and when he finally achieves that goal we are content. As the audience, we live through this character through his journey.

Vogler also describes the difference of wishing and willing. We as human beings constantly wish for things, weather its reasonably in reach or far fetched, but aren’t always willing to go after what we wish for because its too difficult or we don’t believe enough in ourselves. The difference between the audience and the heroes in movies is that the heroes are willing to go after what they want no matter what. I believe we like watching movies so much because of this, we like seeing someone go after their dreams, save the world, and fall in love because sometimes we aren’t able to or aren’t willing to.

 

Reaction:

I thought that Vogler did a really good job at describing the wishes within a story and was accurate in saying that every story involves some sort of wish from the characters. We as human beings can relate to this because every day we wish and hope for things, and by reading and watching movies and plays we can actually see people accomplish those things that seem so impossible for us to do.

            I also liked his insight into Rumpleskiltskin because I never really understood that story as a child and even more now as an adult. It’s hard to tell who’s the villain or the hero in a story like that, but the doors are open to many interpretations. Nonetheless, the story of Rumpleskiltskin remains “alive” in all our minds.

             

1. What is something you have seen a hero do in a story that you wish you could do? Are you willing to do this? Do you see yourself doing it in the future?
2. What is your personal interpretation of Rumplskiltskin? Who are the hero, the villain, the mentor, and the shape shiftor?
3. What is an example of a wish in the movie that turned out badly (“be careful what you wish for”)?

Four Modes

My visual and textual elements are all describing the struggles that women have with the illicit abuse of prescription stimulants. Because of the pressures of current society for women to be beautiful as well as be overachievers, the use of these drugs is becoming increasingly tempting.

 

Visual: Woman With Pill Between Lips

 

My visual is a photograph of the lips of women who has a capsule between her lips. This is supposed to look attractive yet it is promoting something extremely dangerous, thus promoting something that seems harmless although the substance actually is.

 

Move: Prozac Nation

 

My other visual is movie called Prozac Nation, about young a woman who is a talented writer in Harvard and deals with these pressures by abusing prescription medication. This movie is a good depiction of what a woman can go through if struggling with this issue. One scene in particular I would like to use is when she says the hospital is like her “drug dealer” which shows how over prescribing these medications to an individual can cause serious drugs problems.

 

Book: Prozac Nation

 

My textual is the book Prozac Nation that the movie is based upon. I will use some specific text here to show my audience the burden of someone having this drug problem and what they are going through. Words can be a very powerful thing, and actually reading it can have a huge impact on my audience.

 

Song: Amphetamine by Everclear

 

My other textual is the song Amphetamine by Everclear. This song describes the life of a girl who has changed so much because she is dependent on amphetamines. The writer could tell she “used to be happy”, however now she a just a hollow shell. This also will show my audience how serious this epidemic is and how more light should be shed upon this issue. 

Vogler # 10

Summary:

 

             In the next section of the Writers Journey, Vogler puts the Journey to the test by explaining how its used in very successful and popular movies such as Titanic, The Lion King, Pulp Fiction, and The Full Monty. By examining these movies and the hero’s journey within each of them, we can understand more accurately why these movies are so famous and enjoyed by the audience.

            The most depth Vogler goes into is when explaining Titanic and the hero’s journey within it. It shocking to see that movies that we love have this storyline that was never recognized before until after reading the Writers Journey. Although Vogler emphasizes before going into the Titanic that the Journey is not a “formula” but a “guideline” and Titanic along with the other movies are a perfect example of this.

            Titanic doesn’t have the exact steps in the exact order, and the characters aren’t simply defined (except for the Villains such as Cal, which is actually a flaw that Vogler pointed out within the movie) and take place as multiple archetypes such as being both a hero and a mentor and mentor and a villain. Throughout the story the character unfold and go through different challenges and when looking deeper into the movie you can find a full trace of the writers journey.

            Vogler does the same with the Lion King, and shows how a Disney movie was transformed into a journey that children, teenagers, and adult can enjoy and relate to. Samba’s journey is one of growth and experiences that teach him how to stand up to the future and defend those that he loves most. Samba, along with the rest of the cast of the lion king (including Timon and Pumba as his allies and Rafiki and his father as his mentor), work together in order for the hero to develop and complete his quest.

            One thing I liked about the Lion King is that it is relatable to Hamlet, and Vogler was actually able to have an input on this film and suggested using Hamlet as a sort of guideline. Within the Film you can see touches of the Shakespearean play, but not too much that it is a replica. I like the idea that you can gain inspiration from past films, books, and plays in order to create a whole new story and idea, because all these stories are journeys who involve some sort of hero and therefore we can gain inspiration from all sorts of stories.

            Vogler goes into criticism about both these films and speaks about how some sections should have been switched around or eliminated and some characters should have been more developed. No story is perfect and it’s easy to take a look at someone else’s work and critique it. However, his insight will help us all take a better look at our own work and see what can be done in order to improve it.

 

Reaction:

 

            I really loved these sections of the Writers Journey because I was able to look more closely at two films that I love and see the reason why I was drawn to these films, it was because of how the created and structure to create a complete journey that I was content with and characters that I could relate to. These films had all the right elements of sadness, happiness, suspense and action more importantly it created stages that kept our attention and got us involved in the journey.

            I never saw Pulp Fiction or the Full Monty, so it was a difficult read for me because I didn’t fully understand the characters or the plot. However this made me want to see both those films and see if I can follow the journey and understand throughout. I’ll see it and remember, “hey this is where the Ordinary World is” or “here’s the innermost cave!”

            Overall I really enjoy analyzing movies that I thought just came from pure talent and not inspired by some sort of structure. I realize now that there is a structure to everything you write, or else it just comes out bad.

            I especially liked the tad bits of humor wrapped into intelligent insight that Vogler used throughout such as when he is describing how the Titanic is relatable to all audiences saying “Despite our foolish attention to superficial differences of birth, wealth, and status, we are all trapped by the absolutes in life, all alike to be subject to inevitable forces like gravity, fate, death and taxes.”

 

1. What makes Pulp Fiction’s Journey different from other hero’s Journey? Why do you think this has created such an effective film?
2. Do you think Titanic would have been less successful if it wasn’t based upon a love story?
3. Vogler discusses “Universal Fear”, why do you think that we as an audience are so attracted to seeing characters frightened and being scared ourselves?

 

 

Four Elements

Song: Amphetamine - Everclear

Movie: Prozac Nation

Book: Prozac Nation, Elizabeth Wurtzel

Picture: