Defending GTA: Project Propsal

The controversy over the Grand Theft Auto video game series is unprecedented; it’s name has evoked debate on the political and judicial levels.There is no doubt that it’s highly elaborate, extremely violent, yet rather farcical gameplay can be perceived as disturbing, but to assume direct correlation between playing GTA and real life crime is absurd. As the controller, one plays out the hijinx of young, American gangsters in the city, indeed raiding, stealing, and killing to advance. Obviously, the lack of limitations and general plot structure of the multi-billion dollar series are scrutinized for encouraging violence and gang behavior, especially in young adults, and there is no denying the concern. However, I am now going to argue against the general opinion, for I do not believe that a video game, specifically this one, can solely influence a person to commit real acts of violence and/or crime. Nor do I believe that GTA should be banned or censored to the public, considering it is already rated for peoples 18 years and up. The whole game is purposely satirical, accentuating stereotypes and even exaggerating, purely for entertainment value. Rockstar created a game to please the public, and to make money, and it has been successful. Millions of people around the world enjoy wreaking havoc around the virtual city without walking out of their front doors ready to steal a car. In an analysis of legal cases in which GTA is addressed as a possible cause, we can almost guarantee previous conviction or outlying variables that outweigh a video game. My plan is to continue gathering all of my sources, and work with my partner Jack to develop an argument in defense of GTA.

Project 4 Mini-Proposal

As an economics major, I have decided to explore the topic of BitCoin and the possible movement towards a digital currency. BitCoin is a young system, with its fair share of flaws that have stinted its popularity, the main being security. However, many financial goliaths have taken a shine to this new financial innovation and have begun heavily investing. A decentralized, free, and incredibly quick money transferring system could take away the need for third-party intermediaries and eradicate fees, putting more money in the pocket of the consumer while rendering many jobs obsolete. Already, resources are being put towards the research of this concept and fixing its drawbacks. For project 4, I am going to develop an argument based on the possible future for this innovation; whether or not it shall sink or swim. I will also be discussing the impacts on world economy and society if this were to be adopted. Having almost finished reviewing amples scopes and contributions to the argument, I am going to write a literature review for March 25. From here, I will be able to come to a conclusion on a thesis and how I will make my own contribution.

Project #3

Deciding what to write about is always the hardest part of my writing process. Where do I start? What would make a good argument? To be honest, writing this entry, I really have no idea what I want to study for Project 3. Considering this, my road-map has encountered an obstacle almost immediately. Generally, I try to write on the top of my head to get my “creative juices” flowing (something I unfortunately tend to lack). I am currently studying economics and spanish. The subject matter of a world language is rather limited, so lets stick to economics. With a quick search on economist.com, I notice that a trending topic currently is bitcoins, a new unregulated currency that has transformed the online marketplace and has generated quite a bit of popularity on the world’s political and economic platforms. And now, we have topic. A BitCoin is the same as a dollar, a pound, a euro, a krona, etc...  except one keeps them in an electronic wallet on a computer program. Currently it is estimated that the value bitcoins in circulation is around $1.5 billion dollars with millions of dollars worth of bitcoins traded every day. Over the last 5 years, people have acquired them by “mining”. Bitcoin miners are simply workers, backing up centralized hardware by proofing equations. The currencies demand has spiked in recent years, indicating a great increase in demand. Soon, this currency will dominate international trade. Our society is continually advancing and networking through the power of the internet. Soon we will break the shackles of domestic monetary policy and paper transactions in favor of international, one-touch payments. Now, my search begins for support to my argument.

Project 1

I felt quite comfortable with Project 1 because it is something I had a good amount of experience with in high school. The majority of the pieces we wrote in English class were persuasive essays, but mostly on literature. So, analyzing a song did come with its hardships. With only a fraction of the text, and broken vernacular, conducting a dissection of “Stairway to Heaven” was no piece of cake. I must say that at times I found myself lost for words. Usually, I would re-read my text, look at the focus of my paragraph, see where the two connect, and write from there. I also think that I took a lot from my partner, Jack, who peer edited my essay and provided me with some really constructive advice. Jack guided me with a couple of my body paragraphs, and gave me his insight into the song’s lyrics from a perspective that I had not seen. From this, I was able to develop my argument much more fully. The drafting process, however, I still believe is not for me. When I try to force a first draft, I usually run a blank. While writing, I struggle to set myself in a chair and spew anything onto the page just to have something there to work off. Rather, I prefer to take my time with each sentence, and what is created I would consider a little more than a “shitty first draft”.

El Primero

This week’s classes marked the beginning of my second semester at college and the beginning of my blog. My name is Joe Illsley and I am a freshman at Clemson University. I am currently studying Economics and Spanish, and I am a brother of Sigma Pi Fraternity. For the seven years prior to my new life as a college student, I called Ridgewood, New Jersey my home. However, my true hometown is across the pond in Nottinghamshire, England where I was born and where my family has lived for as long as can be remembered. To my family and friends still in England, I am an author. I share with them, both in text (for which Facebook and other social media has proved to be an extremely effective median) and in person, telling of a new place and a new way of life. In school, I am an author. I write lab reports, literary analyses, research papers, and a plenty of other works to display my thoughts or findings in a persuasion, or rhetoric.  Online, I am an author. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, I learned this week, are all forms of authoring. One does not have to be on the NY Times’ bestseller list to be considered an author. As humans, we are hardwired to communicate, and so we naturally look to gather information and develop a response. We are all taught at a young age in school how to write persuasive essays. This skill is constantly stressed throughout all of our schooling because the ability to effectively communicate ideas is imperative to almost every field. Informal forms of expression can be just as influential. The internet is a vast network of people who can connect to one another, and therefore proves to be a means for change in the world. I am excited to see how my writing will develop throughout this blog as we learn a greater understanding of the rhetoric and gain different perspectives in our readings.