There are so many issues that relate to the social understanding of people’s intimate lives.  Social issues make human life demanding, and as a result, people strive to solve these problems. Sometimes it represents how one can love with laughter having a lot of strugglings in his life. They deprive of their rights, fight against, and finally establish their virtue.  The one social issue that I feel interested in is “Corruption.” Corruption means the use of state machinery, authority, and power in illegal and unofficial ways for personal profit in the form of duties and misuse of government stocks or resources. It is a common problem that sits considerately and unequivocally in the field of criminality. I feel interested in this topic because it’s been a big issue in my country, where dishonest people came into political power and typically including bribery. As a result, people are suffering in continuous long term health issues, disruption in transportation, poor education system, and so on. Many people lose their business, and economic growth decreases. They forced people to pay illegal money even; for fair work. It causes conflict and violence in society. Many people are not economically capable therefore, they refuse to do their job for not giving them illegal money. It causes an imbalance between lower are higher classes of people. Corruption mostly affects the poorest, although; all elements of society are get affected in one way or another because corruption threatens political improvement, democracy, economic growth, the environment, human health, and much more. The rich get richer and, the poor get poorer. It is one of the major causes of poverty around the world. I want to know about how the developed countries control their dishonesty and what techniques they use? I believe strict orders, rules, and monitoring can prevent this issue. Also, the corrupt officers who get charges of corruption are proven should be rejected by the government. Being a loyal citizen we should capture the corruption video and post it on social media to create awareness among other people.

Author: “Hong Kong’s huge protests, explained” by Christine Thornell, is a video that explains, in depth, what started these Hong Kong protests and what they mean. The producer is a video journalist for vox.com, where she produces, researches, and makes web videos for Vox Borders, Vox Atlas and Vox Voices.

Rhetorical Situation: The video explains the reasons behind the massive anti-government protests happening in Hong Kong. These massive protests, that started over a year ago and are still ongoing today, are about maintaining Hong Kong’s democracy and independence from China. People began to protest in outrage over a controversial extradition bill they wanted withdrawn. This law would allow extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China. There was massive discontent with this legislation because with it, comes this idea that China would gain more power and control over Hong Kong. Over the past few years, similar protests have broken out over this reoccurring issue; Hong Kong wanting to protect its autonomy from mainland China.

Audience: The audience meant for this video is anyone who wishes to understand what the Hong Kong protests are all about. This video is meant for people who want to know what the extradition bill between Hong Kong and mainland China is and how it might affect Hong Kong’s future. It also engages those who want to know more about the history of Hong Kong and how its judicial system works.

Purpose: The purpose of this video is to “…understand the news coming out of Hong Kong and the history that led up to this moment”, as per the description of this video. Essentially, this video was made to make the public aware about this ongoing social-political issue in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is fighting to keep their democracy and freedom from China. They’ve also added multiple links to more videos and articles, in their description box, for those who wish to learn more about Hong Kong’s history, basic law, and its leader.

Genre: The video is meant to be informative in a video format. On it’s website, under their video’s section, they describe their videos as being “videos that explain the news, and the world around you”. Vox.com is a news website that makes videos with the purpose of breaking down news headlines in a transparent manner.

Stance: The producer is pretty neutral towards this issue so she doesn’t have a stance.

 In the Chapter “Defining Racism” include in the book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? . In her words, the author illustrates experiences from her perspective as a black psychologist who has seen the real world and can connect her argument with facts through her stories that she has witnessed, making the argument and herself a reliable source. The author’s exigence fits perfectly in her view, basically exposing all the world’s injustices and discriminations that are wrong but still is something that we have to live every day with. You can notice the author’s intention by just looking at internal questions with no answers. The author uses to keep her message and, by asking questions, expects the audience’s reaction to her arguments and bias. Tatum’s definition of racism is complex and different from what we are accustomed to hearing in society. Her message goes especially to people from the outside bubble of prejudices and discrimination don’t understand WHO the word “racism” covers. In her way to redefine the concept of “racism” that society has accustomed to, she attempts to change society’s perception of racism. Simultaneously, she explains the ignorance and lack of knowledge of people due to what the own society “teaches”. At the same time, she talks about how people are wrong with the concept of “racism” as something related to the past; she redefines the idea of something that has evolved. Tatum’s purpose of redefining “racism” as something that only affects a specific type of people and does not benefit the people we are taught is supposed to be the real victim in society’s daily lives. Therefore, she does not extend the word “racist” to people of color because they cannot benefit from the system. Similarly, white people who do not possess active evil or malice toward people of color are still racist in that the system helps them whether or not they act. As a personal book, she is trying to expose her thoughts by telling others stories she has seen and her own story behind her words. 

The final author’s stance goes to portrays racism as something that we continuously avoid. Hence, it is easier for us to think that discrimination is only based on prejudice about our race or gender. Because we are continually trying to protect our feelings, we all want to believe that “The United States Country of Opportunities for everyone” is right. Still, the reality behind that is other; there is always a gap. That’s why it is to understand that this system of oppression, disadvantages, and injustice will continue until people truly understand the difference of genuine racism, as a system where the real oppressors don’t take advantage of the system as if it should be. 

http://seattlequest.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Why-Are-All-the-Black-Kids-Sitting-Together-in-the-Cafeteria.pdf

Author: The article “Belarus’ leader helicopters over Minsk with a rifle as protesters below demand his resignation” by Mary Ilyushina, CNN is written by Mary Ilyushina to inform people of what is going on in Belarus and how the president or more accurately dictator addresses the demands of his people.

Rhetorical Analysis/Exigence: So this article from a side view doesn’t focus on any specific social issue, however if you dig deeper it is displaying how corruption within governments subdues the desires of people often to a point that crosses moral standing. According to the article the president of Belarus “Alexander Lukashenko responded to huge anti-government protests and calls for his resignation by posting video of himself flying over Minsk in riot gear, with a rifle hanging from his shoulder.” The main point of the article is to inform people that revolting against oppression and corruption such as the government within Belarus is important for the freedom of people.

Audience: This article is primarily meant for people that want to know what is happening in other countries and want to help. From the way the article is focusing on the actions of the president and how he treats his people. It is almost designed to get anyone involved and speak out about it. It is targeted towards people that would see this and speak out against this oppression whether they are Belarusian or not. It also to a degree can be targeted towards society as a whole and could be compared to the actions of our current president in regard to his time in office and actions during the recent pandemic we have all been affected by.

Purpose: The main purpose of the article is to capture the oppression and injustice currently taking place within Belarus and to get people interested and to find out more about what is going on. As well as to show the point to which corruption and oppression can grow within a government. Almost as a warning. For people around the world to not wait to fight for their freedom and justice like the people of Belarus did by allowing Lukashenko to remain their dictator for 26 years. To stand up and fight for one’s country is something that can also be inspiring for other countries around the world. Lukashenko isn’t the only dictator out there and maybe someone in another country will see what is happening in Belarus and decide to take action within one’s own country to fight corruption and oppression.

Genre: the genre of this text is an informal article that is telling people about how far governments can go and what it can mean for people around the world. Its mostly informative and has little opinion if at all regarding the actions of the president however it feels like it is designed in a way to get people to get involved almost. For a president to walk out into protestors with a machine gun, that will get anyone riled up. Which goes back to the article we had to read which talked about how the way words are structured and change how people interpret them.

Stance: Since this article is almost free of opinion, it has no stance. It is however slightly biased in the opposition of Lukashenko.

Source:https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/europe/lukashenko-belarus-helicopter-rifle-protests-intl/index.html

In our society, gender inequality has become a prominent issue. Society has standards on how each gender should behave and act in a specific way. The speech Emma Watson gave to the UK was effective in conveying the issue of gender inequality to the audience. She argues the need to end these gender stereotypes by launching the campaign called “HeForShe” because if we don’t, gender inequality will always exist which will be detrimental towards our society. Emma utilizes an emotional appeal to develop her argument on the issue of gender inequality. She uses her personal life experience to create a sense of emotion that relates to the issue of gender inequality. She states, ”I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society despite my needing his presence as a child as much as my mothers. I’ve seen a young man suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear it would make him less of a man. Watson’s life experience has shown us what we as humans have done to our society. We created these gender stereotypes that have been pernicious to our society. We have made standards of how a male and a female should behave and act in a certain way. For example, we believe it is a women’s job to take care of children more than men, but in Watson’s case, she needed her father’s presence just as her mothers. Furthermore, we as a society believe men are supposed to act strong and asking for help wouldn’t make them more manly. Again in her case, the young man was suffering, but didn’t ask for help due to the gender stereotypes we as a society established. This generates powerful emotions of sorrowfulness because of the constant rejections the man had from society and how he suffered from it.  Emma also states, ”If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we just are.” Watson is addressing a potential solution to our gender inequality problems by asking us to stop focusing on each other, but rather ourselves. We need to ameliorate our society to make it more welcoming and comforting for everyone. Everyone should freely express how they act and behave without us implementing these gender stereotypes onto people. If we can unite and work together to end these gender stereotypes, then we can have a promising future that welcomes everyone to express themselves in whatever way they want.     

Source https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too

In the narrated excerpt “1960s Social worker interview with abused child and abusing parent” made by the National Medical Audiovisual Center, we watch a social worker interview a child, mother, and doctor Henry Kempe. The child was abused by his biological parents for wetting the bed, thus moved to a foster home. In this video, we learn that although the abused child suffers, the abusing parent is suffering as well, and both need medical help. 

The producers of this video are addressing the issue child abuse. They do this by presenting a situation of child abuse, interviewing those involved, and inlcuding a narrator and doctor who provide insight on the topic.

The National Medical Audiovisual Center, also known as NMAC, which drew from the book “The Battered Child” by Henry Kempe to make this film, provided public health and clinical training as well as medical films on account of the United States government. NMAC is a credible source because this organization is directly linked to the U.S. government and contributed to America’s medical world.

Because of the matter of the subject, how the information is displayed in a monotonous way, and how adults have power in our society, the intended audience are American adults. This video shows the defenselessness children feel in these situations by interviewing an affected child in order for adults, the audience, to do something about it. The producers assume those who watch this video can understand the language used and grasp the subject matter. 

This video is meant to be educational and persuasive. Although this subject can be emotionally triggering, it is presented in an informative and factual way. The narrator contributes to this as she describes exactly what is happening and gives information on child abuse cases. Because an abused child is interviewed, it compels the audience to feel for those hurting in these situations. The point of this video is to raise awareness and challenge the established morality of the American people.

This is an informational video, complete with a narrator, experts on the subject matter, and participants in the issue. The author includes all of these aspects to present their point completely.

The producers want their audience to become aware of the issue of child abuse so they can want to fix this issue. It is highlighted in the video that many Americans see no problem with parents treating their children how they please. The producers want otherwise, and include a real child affected by abuse to persuade the audience. At the end of the video, the narrator mentions how the abusive parent is in need of tools and resources as well in these cases.

Author

The author of the New York Times article is Maggie Doherty. She appears in many other publications as well. She has a Ph.D. in English from Harvard and teaches there currently. This makes her a credible author. 

Rhetorical Situation/Exigence

The article was published on August 26 which is the anniversary of Women’s Equality Day. It marks the passage of the 19th amendment giving women the vote. The author is shedding light on the hardships women had to go through to achieve this success while also nodding at the process made acknowledging the inequality that remains. Especially as the election is drawing near it is a reminder that voting has not always been a given.

Audience

The target audience for this text is primarily for women to celebrate the day. The author assumes that readers are reading to gain historical knowledge. The title, “Feminist Factions United and Filled the Streets for This Historic March”, alluded to that fact.

Purpose

The purpose of the text is to inform readers of how the celebratory march took place 50 years ago and still remains a big step of progress. The central point to outline the obstacles that had to be crossed for progress to be made.

Genre

The genre is a newspaper or magazine feature. The author mirrors this format by taking a serious tone and a developed vocabulary. The author writes in third person.

Stance

The author’s stance on the subject is supportive as she openly praises women and advocates for further change in the future. 

Source

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/us/womens-strike-for-equality.html

Author: The article, “I am Pro-Life. Don’t Call me Anti-Abortion,” by Charles C. Camosy who explains how she is Pro-Life and not Anti-Abortion despite the majority of people assuming her stance in the pro-life and pro-choice debate.

Rhetorical Analysis/ Exigence: This article was written to inform people of the difference between pro-life and anti-abortion and to clarify the reason why she specifically is pro-life. In her article, she explains how she “…strongly support rights and protections for mothers and children, including prenatal children, and other vulnerable populations.” In this quote, the term “prenatal children,” is described as what she uses to describe what others call “fetus”

Audience: This article is mainly for people who have a misconception about the perspectives of pro-life activists and people who want to educate themselves more about the debate between pro-life and pro-choice. In addition, this article has extreme relativity towards mothers or would-be mothers, and people deciding on whether or not they should abort their child.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to educate the people who have misconceptions about the perspective of pro-life activists and to inform what the goal/ideology pro-life activists have on abortion. Camosy stated in her article that critics often times would describe the “prenatal child” in terms such as fetus, parasite, potential life, or tissue, and she wants to clarify what exactly is “the cluster of cells” in the mother’s body.

Genre: This article is a personal essay written by Charles C. Camosy on her experience as a pro-life activist and her experience with critics. In her article, she clarifies on areas where people would have misconceptions about her perspective and why she is a pro-lifer.

Stance: Ultimately, the writer  Charles C. Camosy is a pro-life activist, this doesn’t mean she is anti-abortion but simply she values life, and especially the life of mothers and prenatal children.

In the article “The 7 biggest challenges facing refugees and immigrants in the US” author Christian Nuñez describes her experience with refugee people when she was working with several refugee camps. She has encountered the hardships immigrant people face even after moving to the states. Which starts with difficulty speaking English, helping their kids with school and better education, securing work, accessing service, securing housing, transportation, cultural barriers.

Coming to the states with little to no knowledge of English is the biggest struggle for most immigrants. It is already hard to move to a different country and build everything from scratch, not knowing English just makes it extremely difficult. The struggle behind immigrant parents raising their children is extremely difficult. Raising their children in a different culture is devastating for them because they feel like the kids are quickly becoming more Americanized. The language barrier also keeps the parents away from their kids school life, where kids face bullying very often because of the difference in culture.

Everyone comes to the country with more hope about having a better and secure future. Many of them tries to start with a simple job, however a lot of them struggles to communicate because of the language barrier. Most of them face discrimination because of the differences with everyone else in the workplace. Living in a country like America seems like the best opportunity a person can get but the struggle they have to go through while trying to fit in gets washed away in others eye. Living in a tiny apartment with a big family is not the best way to live but that is the reality of many peoples life.

Even though immigrants and refugees face challenges throughout most of their lives, they work hard like no others. They are grateful for the opportunity they get and use it make a better future for their children.

Nuñez, Christina. “The 7 Biggest Challenges Facing Refugees and Immigrants in the US.” Global Citizen, Global Citizen, 12 Dec. 2014, www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-7-biggest-challenges-facing-refugees-and-immig/.

Author: Author and activist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is known for her many works of literature and for inspiring men and women around the world to become feminists and to fight for gender equality. Adichie has spent almost her entire life fighting for her own equality and trying to move away from the gender standards which were very present in her everyday life as a Nigerian woman. Within this text specifically, she speaks about significant events in which she experienced gender inequality, which mainly was used in very subtle forms, how she has learned from those experiences, and how she plans those standards.

Rhetorical Situation/Exigence: In her speech, Adichie speaks about her own experience with gender inequality and how prominent it is in our everyday lives. As per the title of the speech, she attempts to convince her audience why we should all be feminists and why the fight for gender inequality is fundamental for the overall development of our society. Chimamanda Adichie is responding to the problem with gender inequality and how it impacts women all over the world.

Audience: Adichie’s target audience would be both women and men who believe there is an issue within society and its approach to gender equality. As she speaks, she does not try to force feminism upon those who don’t want to be informed about it. But she speaks as though her audience contains people who are already knowledgable about the subject and are willing to attempt to change the situation for the better. Adichie speaks about her experiences as if her audience can already relate and connect with them. Thus, convincing the listener that her audience has prior knowledge on the subject.

Purpose: The purpose of this text is simply to convince the audience why becoming a feminist is so important. Within her speech, she is trying to explain the impact of gender inequality on society by using her own personal experiences. Adichie wants to make the effects of gender inequality known in order to make life easier for future generations. She states how she would want others to raise their children to be themselves and have their own identity rather than being forces to conform to the gender standards with their cultures or within the world in general.

Genre: The genre of this speech would be considered a persuasive speech. Adichie uses her own experiences and the perspectives of someone on the other side of the argument in order to persuade the audience. She attempts to persuade the audience to become feminists and support the movement for gender equality.

Stance: Chimamanda Adichie makes it very evident how supportive she is about the women’s movement and how she too is a feminist. She explains what feminism is and how all of the experiences she faced throughout her life and how they motivated her to try to bring about the change she wanted to see in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc