The “Fifteen Word” Dish _ Blog 10

As I sleepily, I mean patiently, read the assigned packet articles this week, I noticed a relation between them.  The majority, if not all, of the articles brought Iron Chef America to my mind.  As I read about the fifteen word dishes and the opposing views on them, as well as the trials and tribulations of the food critic, I was reminded several times of the dishes, the descriptions, and the judges in Iron Chef America. 

Because I come from a small town with very few “fancy” restaurants, I am more predisposed to the type of food which Baker describes, preparing himself in his own kitchen.  For this same reason, the first time I watched Iron Chef America, I was so amazed by the sheer presentation of the different foods:  the white plates, the rich ingredients which I have never seen before, the different cooking methods, the plating styles, simply the delicacy with which the food is treated.  This show had so mesmerized me in this way that I never stopped to think of what my reaction would be if this type of plate was sitting in front of me.  Would I appreciate it still for its beauty in presentation, or would I yearn for the simplicity of my home-style meals, the foods that I am able to recognize?

Well, in practicing for an upcoming event, known as Paper 3, I suppose that as a critic or a judge for a restaurant or for Iron Chef America, I would argue for those plates which bring up memories of home and to which I can relate, which in my experience tend to be the more simplistic, ordinary plates.  Although watching elegant food plating being presented on television and listening to the creative fifteen word names that chefs come up with is something that I love to watch, it is simply entertainment for my eyes.  What I look for to entertain my taste buds is something different, something that will take me back to my Mexican heritage, to my mother’s kitchen, to my childhood, to my backyard.  This makes the food tastes so much better.  In my opinion, it is the food that makes the experience.  “Fifteen word” dishes tend to have more unfamiliar ingredients despite their beautiful plating.  The more simplistic dishes will more likely have ingredients that we can recognize and thus make the eating experience that much more enjoyable.   

In analyzing my practice piece for this important upcoming event, I realize that I have only used one type of evidence:  personal experience.  It is my knowledge that personal experiences may be helpful evidence for claims but maybe not as strong if used alone.  Other possibilities for evidence for this argument may be an experiment of a “fifteen word” dish vs. a more simplistic, ordinary dish, to see which seems to be the favorite, and possibly prove a point about gravitating towards the family oriented dishes.  Possibly even surveys, questionnaires, and interviews.  But for now, the wheels keep spinning.  Paper three coming soon. April 28. 

Celebrity Chefs _ Blog 9

It is not until a couple of years ago that I started growing an interest for the art of cooking and celebrity chefs I saw on television.  Giada DeLaurentis was the first celebrity chef I watched on the food network, and then came Rachael Ray.  Although my purpose for watching these cooking shows was simply for leisure, I seem to remember always having a critical eye for the way each celebrity chef presented themselves, their choice of kitchens, their styles of food, the way they talked, and similar details.  It is not until I became a student/ blogger in the rhetoric of eating that I finally found some use for my criticisms and judgments towards these celebrity chefs.

Well, since my forte lies with Giada and Rachael I will stick to these to explain my observations.  Ms. DeLaurentis always stood out in my mind for her soft, sensual voice, and constant smiles.  Always beginning her shows with an introduction of her meals to come, she made sure that I knew what the final product would look like.  Giada is probably one of the most technical celebrity chefs I have come across.  I have noticed throughout my journey with her that her cooking shows are silent most of the time and the camera seems to concentrate on her hands and the techniques she is applying to her foods.  In addition, her kitchen contains subtle colors and simply adds to her soft and sensual presentation of her food.

Anybody who has experienced cooking with Rachael will agree that the situation in her kitchen and her presentation of arguments is much different than Giada’s.  Let me just begin by saying that Ms. Ray does NOT have a soft and sensual voice and does not smile much, but instead has a much louder and vigorous voice with a lot of laughs in the mix.  Although this was a bit much in my first few times watching her, she grew on me.  With her style of coining unique terms such as “EVOO” and others, she presents herself as an outgoing and down-to-earth woman.  Her kitchen, as opposed to Giada’s, seems to contain louder colors, such as red and green which contribute to her personality.  The camera angel in Rachael’s kitchen always seems to be of the entire kitchen and of Rachael, as opposed to just her hand techniques.  There is never a silent moment with Rachael. 

Both of these celebrity chefs are Italian but each of them has a distinct personality that they have chosen to present as their celebrity personality.  By using easy to follow language that is simple to be heard by an audience across a screen and using their kitchens as visuals to complement their personalities, and at the same time establishing particular methods unique to themselves, these two celebrity chefs are able to present their desired character to their audience.

A Cook’s Tour _ Blog 8

Immediately by looking at the cover of A Cook’s Tour, we are presented with images of Anthony Bourdain’s different pit stops around the world.  What I see on those images is a variety of food, maybe a forced smile for the cameras, contemplations of culture and food, as well as a daring Anthony Bourdain willing to try almost any kind of food (except for monkeys).  However, I have come up with these conclusions because I have already read a part of his book.  Prior to gaining the knowledge of Bourdain’s cultural and culinary experiences in Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Vietnam and other places, I simply had a one-dimensional interpretation of these same images, seeing only the surface values.

At face value, A Cook’s Tour seems to be a book about food from different countries.  The fact that the title is printed on an image of a restaurant check seems to drive this point home.  However, upon deeper analysis of the text, one will come to realize that Anthony Bourdain is experiencing something much deeper than the cuisine and culinary styles of different countries.  He is giving his readers a taste of the countries themselves, their cultures, their beliefs, their principles, their ideals, their values.  Even better, Bourdain provides the connections between the two.  He explains how in Russia, it is considered a disgrace to one’s country if not enough Vodka is consumed.  He narrates the mechanical nature of a pig slaughtering in Portugal, which becomes a grand gathering centered on his arrival.  He recounts his experiences with relearning his table manners in Morocco to conform to Muslim table etiquette of eating only with the right hand and not using napkins.  Essentially, Bourdain tries to make one broad argument by presenting food in the context of these different cultures:  The experiences we remember are further deepened by the foods we eat in those moments.  Knowing these few essential facts about Bourdain’s book will make those images in the front cover a bit more meaningful, giving truth to the idea that the argument made by images depends on the context in which they are presented.

Skinny Bitch _ Blog 7

Skinny Bitch!  If ever there was a book with its own sense of rhetorical STYLE, here it is folks; nothing but a mouthful of attitude and punch on ink and paper.  It is evident from the title alone that this book holds a more passionate tone for those of us out there who still possess virgin ears.   Authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin successfully convey this original style by being awfully particular with their communication style, word choice, language, and even such minute details as punctuation marks.

Readers of Skinny Bitch can attest to the overwhelming use of the “low” style of communication, which can be thought of as every day, informal, humorous language.  Simply a quick glance at the first sentence of the introduction, “Are you sick and tired of being fat?” evidences the use of this style.  In addition, the frequent use of foul language and the negative and somewhat condescending tone created by words such as “lumpy ass,” “pussies,” “fucked up,” “lazy shit,” “fat, unhealthy, bloated pig,” further the informality and at times the humor produced by the “low” communication style used by Freedman and Barnouin.  It is evident that these authors chose these words cautiously in order to create this intentionally offensive tone and fulfill their purpose of persuading women to become skinny bitches like themselves.

Throughout the text of Skinny Bitch, the authors load their sentences with various types of figurative language.  One specific phrase, “Soda is liquid Satan” shows an awfully great example of a metaphor.  Defined as an implied comparison between two things used to clarify an argument, this particular metaphor likens a sugary and essentially unhealthy soft drink to the dark angel, whom in biblical history is known to cause great destruction and mischief.  In other words, avoid soda like the plague.  This particular example may also be considered a hyperbole, an exaggeration used for special effect.  An exaggeration, this definitely is.  In addition, several rhetorical questions are used throughout the text, the very first sentence being one of them, “Are you sick and tired of being fat?”

Even the punctuation marks make a difference with these women.  The variety of letter styles and punctuation marks which contribute to the tone Freedman and Barnouin try to create, range from italics to equal signs to ALL CAPITAL LETTERS to ellipsis points to exclamation points to the familiar question mark.  As evidenced by the following examples, “Healthy = skinny,” “You should not need anything to wake up,”  “YOU CAN EAT BREAD AND FRUIT!”, “Uhm… pathetic!”, “Want more bad news?” the utilization of these grammatical tools further emphasize the sense of one-on- one conversation that the “low” communication style creates.

From the sentences, to words, to the dots on their paragraphs, authors Freedman and Barnouin successfully created a unique style for their book Skinny Bitch with attitude written all over it.

Causal Arguments and Meme Roth _ Blog 6

If I could be a dictionary, I would make “Meme Roth” an entry as an action word, defining it as “the act of proceeding sharply.”  Although watching Meme speak so bluntly about her views on obesity was at times painful and offensive, there were parts of me that found her statements valuable.  And believe it or not, there seems to be an organization to her quick-witted remarks, “a method to her madness.” 

One of Meme’s several underlying rhetorical strategies throughout her several appearances seems to be causal arguments.  One way in which she structures her causal argument is by first presenting the cause and then elaborating on its effects.  For example, a cause Meme presents in several of her appearances in the media is obesity.  She then goes on to explain the effects of obesity on the individual and even on the nation as a whole.  Health problems such as heart disease and Type II diabetes, higher costs and expenses, premature death, and less opportunity in the work force are among the many effects presented by Ms. Roth as a result of obesity.  She also switches it up by presenting obesity as an effect and afterwards illustrating its causes.  The lack of Americans to display a sense of moderation with regard to food, the absence of physical activity as a daily regiment, the danger of second-hand obesity (a term she personally coined), and junk food are among the many culprits presented by Roth as responsible for obesity becoming so rampant in our nation.

By utilizing personal experience, Roth is further able to perpetuate causal rhetoric within her arguments of obesity.  As a child of two obese parents and as a parent herself, she mentions, if she is able to maintain her weight at a healthy range, then she proposes that any other person in America should have no excuse (including genetics) to be obese or overweight.  As a matter of fact, within this argument, Meme has implied a correlation between two ideas.  How strong is her correlation?  In my opinion, not very strong.  Meme has built an assertion based only upon her health and condition.  Simply because she is able to not be “obese” by her own standards does not mean that another person will be able to maintain weight as she does or even want to consider Meme’s standards of “normality.”  Maybe a person who looks obese to Meme already feels normal and does not wish to change.  This, therefore, underscores the flaw in Meme’s correlation.  There are too many confounding factors, one of them being personal standards.

Roth also utilizes analogies to underscore her causal arguments.  In one of her interviews, she compares a twinky to a cigarette.  Meme goes on to support her claim by saying that a cigarette will eventually kill you, just as eating too many twinkies.  Although some people may agree that her analogy makes a valid point, others may question the extent of her analogy.  Is she reaching too far?  This question may be a bit controversial in itself.  My opinion, however, is that Meme is NOT reaching too far.  A twinky, just as a cigarette is made up of chemicals that cause harm to the body.  A twinky, just as a cigarette may become addicting.  A twinky, just as a cigarette may cause health problems. 

Meme Roth, by using causal arguments, is able to bring about evidence to such a widely discussed topic as obesity.  By organizing her arguments, Roth has shown that her rhetorical abilities are fairly sound. 

 

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle _ Blog 5

I have to admit, before taking this class I knew little to nothing about our present situation regarding the Farm Bill and food in general.  When Mr. Pollan so blatantly educated me on the main ingredient in almost all the foods in my dorm room, I was more than surprised, I was afraid.  Afraid that I would no longer be able to find a single piece of sustenance that would make me feel satisfied in every sense of the word:  physically, emotionally, mentally, and politically.  I don’t quite know yet if I feel comfortable knowing that for the rest of my life I will picture corn in probably ninety-five percent of the foods that I put into my mouth.

However, there is hope for those with my same dilemma yet.  Barbara Kingsolver, in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, uses argument to define a different way of eating that may serve as an alternative to those who cannot seem to fathom the idea of eating corn every day, whatever form it may be.  As our lovely book Everything’s an Argument explains, there are different ways of defining through argument.  It seems to me that Ms. Kingsolver is applying operational definitions throughout her book (at least as far as I have read), to delineate the conditions and ideas that fashion the locavore movement, while simultaneously creating the boundaries which would constitute an industrialized eater.

It is obvious through Barbara Kingsolver’s explanations, for example, that a locavore’s basic definition might be a person who only consumes foods made locally.  With further in depth explanations, Kingsolver is able to extend this definition of a locavore by explaining the methods by which locavore’s prefer to obtain or even produce their food.  In order to set forth the limits and conditions to this term, she along with her family goes through the journey of local eating.  Becoming a farmer herself, she sets conditions for the term locavore and implies a preference for natural, unindustrialized foods, as opposed to foods that have been transported and have thus caused a high consumption of oil.  The Kingsolver’s definition of locavore is made clearly stronger by the inserts authored by husband Steven and daughter Camille, which further provide logical, ethical, and emotional grounds to those conditions.  By providing these explanations for the local eater, Kingsolver is allowing her audience to inference that an industrialized eater is probably consuming much more oil that the local eater as well as eating foods which are unfamiliar to them.

There is no question in my mind that the setting, tone, and atmosphere created by Kingsolver to define the conditions creating the locavore movement and therefore defining the boundaries which create an industrialized way of eating, is one to which I have gravitated more favorably than say, Mr. Pollan.  Both authors have provided me with awareness; however Ms. Kingsolver has further provided me with an emotional connection to the foods I choose to eat.

  

King Corn _ Blog 4

King:  a person or thing preeminent in its class.  Corn:  a tall cereal plant, Zea mays, cultivated in many varieties, having a jointed, solid stem and bearing the grain, seeds, or kernels on large ears.  King Corn.  The title says it all.  Cheney and Ellis work eloquently throughout their documentary to portray to us the unfortunate circumstance that we as a society and as a nation find ourselves in.  We are living in a country that is ruled by the corn crop and its overproduction.  The word king implies omnipotence and supreme power.  And those who have seen the mountainous regions of corn, the immense elevators that can no longer fit all the excess produced corn, as well as the vast fields of the crop that can literally engulf a person and render him useless to himself should he lose his sense of direction, will hopefully agree that we should simply start genetically modifying corn to grow crowns and sit on a throne since it has gained the power to dictate such a large part of our lifestyles.Cheney and Ellis, however, took a major step in the right direction.  After interviewing a man with diabetes who explained how his decreasing levels of grape soda consumption allowed him to lose a large amount of weight, and that practically every member of his family either had diabetes or passed away because of it, the two friends realized that their one acre of corn could mean somebody’s life. 

Their final decision:  to buy the land of a fellow neighbor whose land was about to be sold and most likely used to plant corn, and play baseball on it instead.  By doing so, Cheney and Ellis yelled out to the nation that their king was taking advantage of their bodies and using them as storage for its wastes.  The two friends took a stand and rebelled against an almighty king who had forces surrounding them on all sides.  However, Cheney and Ellis did not seem to mind.  And it is this daring attitude that will serve as the most powerful force of all towards possibly making changes to the overproduction of corn, our king.

Chapter 6 Toulmin Argument _ Blog 3

Claim: Corn is going into everything, which is causing an obesity epidemic in America. Because calories are becoming cheaper, we are consuming more.

 

Grounds: 3 of every 5 Americans is overweight, 1 out of every 5 is obese, since 1977, Americans daily intake of calories has jumped by more than 10%, UN reported that in 2000 people suffering from over nutrition (1 billion) outnumbered the people suffering from under nutrition (800 million), Research has shown that with one dollar customers may buy 1200 calories of potato chips and cookies but only 250 calories of carrots with that same dollar – calories are cheap.

 

Warrant: If the government can allow farmers to nearly go broke over-producing corn to eventually produce unhealthy foods that is causing “a threat to public health”, then they should also be able to produce less food with higher quality and better nutritional value to make America a healthier nation as a whole.

 

Backing:  Because of health risks associated with obesity, diabetes, and other health problems, today’s children are in danger of being the first generation of Americans to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.  The Supersize it method is today’s breakthrough secret to getting rid of corn, and “expanding the (supposedly) fixed human stomach.”  “Since the Nixon administration, farmers in the United States have managed to produce 500 additional calories per person every day (up from 3300 already substantially more than we need)”

 

Qualifier:  “It makes good economic sense” that those with limited money would be the most attracted to spending their money on the cheaper calories, more so since those are the products that make the claims of the most appealing nutritional values.  “Most researchers” found that obesity in America started rising at around 1970, which is also around the same time that America began overproducing corn and gearing toward “cheap food.”

 

Rebuttal:  Along with corn, soybeans are also another source of “cheap energy” in today’s supermarkets – although corn is the most important.  In the end it is the choices that human beings have made throughout the years that have served to make these calories so cheap.  Americans have the free will to use and make of the foods in the supermarket what they wish.  Although foods today are not always healthy, straying from the supermarkets for food supply would not be the most practical.

 

Whole Foods Market _ Blog 2

Driving to Whole Foods Market I truly believed that I would be able to go in, walk around, observe the details, take a few notes, maybe a few pictures, and be out in half an hour.  What actually happened?   I was drawn in, walked around and around and around, stared in so much disbelief at the details that I almost knocked down a bottle of wine, took down more than enough notes, was told by a security guard that Whole Foods does not allow pictures to be taken unless I was “with Whole Foods,” and was actually out in about an hour and a half.  Oh, and one more thing, I also happened to walk out with a full stomach and two boxes of dessert for my family and me. At this point, it would be incredibly safe to say that Whole Foods has utilized a set of markedly sturdy appeals to make quite a convincing argument to their customers that their products are indeed healthy, but more so delicious and filled to the rim with quality.

Upon my many observations inside Whole Foods, the first was made upon my encounter with the security guard regarding the camera in my hands (which was not in use by the way).  It took me a moment but I realized that Whole Foods really holds their customers and products in high regard.  By not letting me use my camera, Whole Foods made a bold statement that allowing pictures to be taken of their store and of their products would cheapen their quality.  Personally, I don’t see the problem with taking pictures of food.  It somehow made me think that Whole Foods might have something to hide by not allowing someone else to study their products on a permanent picture.  Nonetheless, Whole Foods made its argument successfully educating me on their ethos upon my encounter with the security guard.

As I mentioned before, I walked out with more than enough notes in hand.  However, the one thing that has stayed with me since I left the Whole Foods world is the Cakes and Handcrafted Pastries section.  Judging from the fact that I walked out with two desserts on hand, this would come as no surprise to anyone.  I probably returned to this area about three times throughout the observation process.  And each time I noticed different things.  This section just as all the other sections around the store, whether it be the meat, fish, produce, or bread section, has its own personalized theme.  Walking around the Cakes section, you will know, you will see, and you will smell that you are in that section.  The reason, I think that I was so drawn to this area was that so much color was presented.  Rich colors, dark chocolate colors, vanilla colors, pastel colors, sweet colors, sour colors, rough colors, smooth colors, and the list keeps going.  All my senses were poked at, made aware.   Whole Foods definitely knows who they are dealing with when it comes to their buyers.  They know that people who love desserts will be attracted to such colors.  They know this and they attack it with exaggerated force that you cannot help but give in.  So we now know that Whole Foods knows how to work with pathos. 

Prices I noticed seemed to be a bit on the high side.  A gallon of milk for example, which in my experience usually costs about $4.25, was priced at $5.69 at Whole Foods.  Higher quality, higher prices?  Customers are having to pay for that extra something that, say Unwhole Foods cannot provide.  But it seems as if we the customers are saying “It’s OK” to the prices.  It seems as if we WANT to cough up those extra cents for those extra morsels of natural health.  To make their case even stronger, as if to add an exclamation point to their already tight argument, a biodegradable shopping bag!  What else can I say?  Whole Foods Market has succeeded in making such a great argument out of their business that at times it seems too good to be true.  Organic everything?  Even their bags?  Is that even possible?  It seems as though anything is possible at Whole Foods.

Eating and Argument _ Blog 1

The first time I laid eyes on the book Everything’s an Argument, before having been enlightened by its argument that everything is an argument, I was unusually drawn to the cover, mostly to its bright colors, interesting pictures, and overall unique style.  I would like to emphasize that the meaning of the title, which by the way was written in bright yellow letters, had not yet quite sunk in.

As I began reading the book throughout the week, learning about arguments in different contexts and how they are used to appeal to the heart, to the character within, and to our reasoning, I soon realized how this book’s cover, this blue piece of carton was so blatantly arguing with me!  Yes, an argument was made and I was suckered in by all the aforementioned tactics.  It is quite clear to me now, after reading only the first five chapters of Everything’s an Argument, how the authors were sneakily and quite cleverly awaiting to establish a great set of ethos by providing supporting evidence their claims.

Therefore, having at least a basic knowledge of how to identify an argument, I would like to revisit Gaffigan’s use of humor to argue against the nationally known Hot Pockets.  It is clear, as he is a comedian, that he is appealing to our hearts, pathos.  He is making us laugh and simultaneously, whether we would like to or not, making us agree with him at that particular moment that Hot Pockets are indeed essentially unhealthy and a poor food choice.  At the same time, his usage of humor in getting his message across is also an appeal to ethos as is could be the determining factor of whether he can connect his character successfully with his audience.  Will he turn off his audience by going too far or will this joke be just as funny as the others if not more?  Pathos and ethos are not the only rhetorical strategies utilized by Gaffigan of course.  The comedian goes on to use a variety of tools, most obviously, the repetition of the jingle of the product, which changes with the context of his argument.  By utilizing this dynamic repetition he is able to emphasize and reemphasize the point that he would like to make:  Hot Pockets are unhealthy and are mostly eaten by the lower classes. 

I do have to admit that although we have been bombarded by claims and extremely supporting evidence that our language seems to be dominated by argument and that everything is an argument, I still have lingering doubts.  I find myself asking, just as the book does, “If everything is an argument, is the clothes we wear also an argument, the sports we love, the statement “I Love You” ?