In this exercise I read through two articles, "The Actual Hollister", and "The Pleasure Project" and analyzed who the writers were appealing to, what their message was, and how they used travelling conventions to their advantage in their rhetoric. Practicing analysis on articles helped me in the RA essay to find good secondary sources to work with in my RA essay, and also helped me to identify Pico Iyer's audience and how his message was appealing to them.

Skiing & Hollister

Skiing

1) Neville's essay appears in Ski Magazine.  Go to their website (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Links to an external site. and explore its features.  Based on what they publish, how it's designed, and any other details you notice, who do you think is Ski Mag's intended audience?  Describe this audience's concerns, interests, and assumptions, education level, and socio-economic status.  Avoid broad stereotypes!

• Ski magazines audience are likely adults ranging from college years to middle aged who are actively invested in the skiing community, or have a background with skiing. I came to this conclusion because this magazine publishes stories about professional skiing as well as reviews concerning skiing gear, which only experienced skiiers would care about, or desire to purchase. In terms of socio economic standing, these people are likely middle to upper class, because many articles talk about skiing resorts around the world, which would require traveling money, and the skiing gear that they review is on the higher end of the skiing spectrum. I would assume that people who have the time to purchase such luxury items and use them in exotic locations that they would have a high level of education, bachelor's degree to a masters degree worth, and a good paying job. The articles that the website primarily writes about also implies that the readers enjoy learning about new and different skiing resorts, some in exotic locations.

2) As you read "The Great Pleasure Project" list as many conventions of travel writing as you can identify from the beginning of the essay to the end.  Make sure to note paragraph numbers and quote passages as needed.  Refer to the chapters we've read in Thompson as needed--especially this week's assigned chapter "Representing the Other."

• The author often uses the concept of “othering” to demonstrate how different and cruel life in North Korea can be. He mentions the elderly he accidently saw “Back in the elevator the doors crash open into darkness again. This time the air rushes out as a herd of shriveled people rushes in. They are elderly Koreans, barely four feet high, their bodies gnarled by a lifetime of hunger, disease, and deprivation. I have no idea who they are or why they are here. They move in such a tight, protective pack that their heads bash together like livestock in a chute.” (P.7). By describing them as “livestock” the author conveys just how wretched these people are relative to the comfortable middle-upper class skiers that are likely reading this article.
• The author conveys to the reader a conflicted perspective, one that acknowledges the immense beauty of the ski resort “Inside, the lobbies twinkle with recessed spotlights and flat screen monitors. The woodwork is elegant. The tiles sparkle under our heels.” (P.23), yet also the reality of the situation in North Korea “United Nations report lists a prison camp not so far away, a place called Kyohwaso No. 8, where escapees say they expected to die.” (P.24). However by saying “The cognitive dissonance is so loud I make a deal with myself: See Masik for what it is, not whose it is.” (P.25) the author promises both himself and therefore the reader that his report of the ski resort will be based on objectivity, and that further criticisms of the evil regime will be kept out.

3) Now that you've finished reading the essay, consider its rhetorical effects on the audience.  How does Neville's use of conventions (identified (in #2) affect his audience (described in #1)?  What specific response(s) do these conventions elicit from this audience?  

• By creating a realistic image of North Korea using the technique called “othering” the author is attempting to convince his readers of the potential dangers and cultural differences that could lead to danger, dissuading those who may incur due to their unconditional beliefs in western ideologies such as freedom and equality equaling justice an incident, to not go to Kim Jong Un’s Ski resort.
• By admitting the faults of the North Korean regime, and describing his conflicted feelings, the author is able to take the moral high ground. Which allows him to seem like a good and trustworthy individual who while being horrified at the tragedies that occur in North Korea was begrudgingly able to enjoy his time skiing on the slopes of a ruthless dictator’s personal resort.    

4) What is Neville's message about skiing in North Korea?  What is his purpose for writing? How does this intended response (explained in #3) from the audience serve Neville's purpose?

• Neville writes this article partially as a novelty to entertain the readers of ski mag, as North Korea is an extraordinarily closed off country with few visitors and even fewer of those visitors being tourists with the intent of skiing. We know this because he briefly describes the history of the country's brutal dictators, and also mentions how the number of tourists to enter the country since the end of the Korean War was under 5,000. Neville’s purpose also takes the second form of reporting on the quality of the ski resort that Kim Jong Un has created, which he only starts talking about once he finishes writing about how the facade of prosperity is covering up the cruel and brutal reality of a totalitarian government.
• Neville’s articulation of the fact of how different North Korea is from a safe western culture adds to the exotic mystique of his work entertaining his more affluent and curious readers. And by denouncing the injustices of the Kim’s regime before critiquing and applauding the quality of the Korean ski resort, he prevents himself from looking even remotely like a communist sympathizer.

Actual Hollister

1)

• The readers of the New Yorker seem to be of a higher level of education, with liberal political leanings, and of higher or middle class socioeconomic status. I came to draw these conclusions because the New Yorker discusses both world events, politics, and cultural issues, many of them with left leaning political arguments. I assume that the target audience is of the middle to higher class because in order to read all the stories this magazine has to offer you need to continually purchase a subscription which not everyone in today’s day and age is willing to spend money on. This audience will likely be interested in topics concerning social justice, cultural constructs, and also President Trump.

2)

• Dave Egger’s article “The Actual Hollister” lists events mainly conducive to the real town of Hollister in California, not the more commonly known clothing brand. By attracting his audience with something that they already know about (in this case the Abercrombie and Fitch clothing line) he is able to connect that idea with something more obscure, specifically a rural farming town in central California that has been plagued by gangs and drugs. “fifteen years ago, the word “Hollister” meant little to anyone. Now it’s hard to walk around any city, from Melbourne to Montreal to Mumbai, without seeing it stitched on someone’s shirt or hoodie. Abercrombie & Fitch, which launched Hollister in 2000” (P.11). And by describing Hollister the clothing brand as false saying “None of this is true.” (P.14) Egger entices the reader to want to know the real truth behind the actual town of Hollister that he happens to have  a personal connection with.
• Egger makes his story concerning Hollister personal by saying “The rise of the Hollister brand has been especially strange to me, because it was my great-great-grandfather T. S. Hawkins who helped found the town of Hollister.” (P.19). This gives him credibility as an author, and also allows him to incorporate facts that most likely only he and a spare few members of his family would know about the true story of the town of Hollister. Meaning that the reader’s injection of knowledge no matter how obscure is rare and unique.

3)

• The author, by initially drawing in his audience using a big and commonly known name elicits a sense of familiarity, and intrigue from his audience. When he overturns Hollister’s fake story for his own real one he captures his audience, who want to learn more about the truth of the matter. As more educated people who most likely have a soft spot for a good history tale, and also people who have most likely heard of if not worn Hollister clothing Egger’s offering piques his readers fascination with what he has to say and commits them to reading until the end.
• By describing his personal history and also his personal experiences in the town Egger, draws a parallel, where in he has a personal connection to both the past and the present. This ethos is powerful, it gives Egger credibility not only with the townspeople, but also the readers to perceive his opinions concerning the town as accurate and credible.  

4)

• Egger’s final tone for his article ends up being a positive go get em type of message, one that inspires hope, that despite hardships, like those that the town of Hollister has suffered through, hard work and dedication can create a means of improvement, open to anyone he has the heart to try. The purpose of his work however was not just to inspire his audience, but educate them of the “real” variation of Hollister, a town in the middle of California that has a surprising background story regarding its creation, and educate them of a false version of the name “Hollister”.