Anna-Alicia Smith
Gladstone effectively makes a compelling argument about how the media influence our everyday life in her book “The Influence Machine”. As she draws the audience in through her rhetorical approach of logic and examples of bias, she supports her argument of how we want the media to influence us.
Touching on the bias situation that the author talks about she doesn’t use just one example of bias but a wide arrangement such as

Roger
Julian

According to the comical novel “The Influencing Machine” by Brooke Gladstone, she believes that society is being controlled by the media, and people are losing their self-identity. In some sense, the media shows us their convenient truths which form a mirror, and peoples thoughts that are seen in the mirror are reflected into reality. Throughout the novel, she mentions that the media is some type of mind control, which shows a type of resemblance to a machine. In addition, she tends to evaluate why the current media is bad for us but we could have better to prove her point, she strongly uses these techniques in the book. She relies somewhat on her ethos her prominence as a part of the media increasing her reputability, adding to earlier her use of stasis in the form of resemblance, through most of the book she resembles the media akin to events and machines which control our minds and influence us, and attempts to form a cohesive argument on how we can be free of it by seeing past the reflection. NOT FINISHED

Rachael LaCroix
Amanda Chetosky
Dylan Szegedi
Travis Tam
The Influencing Machine
In today’s society people’s choices are influenced by media. People are no longer independent thinkers, instead their thoughts and even their actions are based upon the messages media is portraying. Sometimes people are so wrapped up in what the media deems cool or popular that they forget their individuality. Instead of trying to stand out, people are now trying to blend in with everyone else; trying to be like the celebrities seen in media. In the graphic novel The Influencing Machine, Brooke Gladstone argues that media is a reflection of what people want to see. Through using examples of the history of media, she shows how media is an influence on American society as well as policy.

Ethan Walsh
Shavontae Johnson
Nimet Williams
Influencing Machine, by Brooke Gladstone argues that the media is not forcing us do anything but instead holding up a mirror for us to see our reflection. We can CHOOSE to look in the mirror but most people don’t; afraid of what they really look like. But as humans, we are praise – hungry; we never want to be faulted for anything so we need something and/or someone to blame our faults on. So, we choose not to look directly into the mirror but we look at it from an angle in order to get a quick glance of what the truth may hold. The media plays a major role in influencing the American Public because most Americans do not understand that they control the media and that the media does NOT control them. Some fail to realize that without the Public there would be no reason to have media.
There are multiple media sources to choose from including: the internet, television, radio, etc.; and we, as the Public, can control them all. If we do not like what one radio station is discussing or even the music they are playing what do most of us do? Change the station. Although we do not realize it this is us controlling the media. Or if we are watching television and an ad for Applebee’s and they are advertising their two for $20 special some of us might get up and go but that’s because we feel like going. But others might stay and continue watching television because we feel like it. Some may think that Rhetoric is what causes us do things especially in commercials but it really depends on if we, as humans, “want to” or “feel like” being persuaded. The Media Machine has no effect on us unless we would like it .

The media and consumers have a love-hate relationship; the consumer feeds the media but the media bites the hand that feeds it. “Sometimes the press leads the public; sometimes the public leads the press” (Gladstone, xiv). Without a doubt, the media is truly an influencing machine. The graphic novel “The influencing Machine” written by Brooke Gladstone introduces the audience to the ways the media uses their tools to shape consumer behavior.
One way that Gladstone says the media uses their tools to shape consumer behavior is by the use of logos rhetoric. She, herself, tries to shape our behavior when she introduces the part of the presidents; she makes the consumers rethink whatever they thought of past presidents. For example, many people may not realize that Thomas Jefferson tried to discredit George Washington.
To be continued…
Safa
Mike
Ryan

The media is everywhere in the modern world. It is easily accessible from ones cell phone, computer, and some older means such as the television, radio, and print. From early dawn of time there were different forms of media and news then today. What is the drive of the media? Is the media driven or is it the driver? The common view is that the media drives people and controls the masses in what they believe and do. In The Influencing Machine the main idea is reversed. She, the author Brooke Gladstone, believes that people are what drive the media. She uses examples, history, comparisons, emotions, logic, and pictures throughout the book to connect along with support her ideas and feelings by both telling and showing the reader her view of the media

The strongest form Brooke Gladstone uses in her novel is the pictures. The color pattern and panels convey her argument in a truly unique way that captures the reader, keeps then turning the page, shows emotion while teasing out the readers emotions, but does not loss their attention with over coloring of the pages and to abstract of pictures. People have been hooked on pictures and like easy access information, which is why the news and media is so needed, has evolved, and stayed alive throughout human history. The colors she uses, blue, black, and white, are interesting but do not take away the reader’s attention from the purpose of her book. The pictures range from abstract views to more realistic looks. She depicts herself throughout the novel as a person and other creatures throughout the entirety. The different creatures tease out the view of the target and plays with people’s emotions while emphasizing the intellect needed to find the humor in the creatures that were chosen. While the human faces show emotions and depicts plainly on her, and others, faces what the reader should be feeling toward the subject at hand. The color, emotion, and intellect that is used to compose the book creates a truly unique and inquisitive book that depicts the role of the media as a supply of what the people want to hear and see from years of development.

Society has been known throughout history for basing its opinions on visual or narrative influences. Therefore, “Believe none of what you hear and only hear of what you see”, Benjamin Franklin.
In Brooke Gladstone’s “The Influencing Machine”, Gladstone argues that society is influenced by many types of biases around us. Gladstone spends a considerable amount of time relating to how a narrative and visual bias effects how society makes its decisions.
Gladstone visual aids on how media and social networking sites are forming societies mental thought process is very true, she uses three artistic appeals to keep her audience interested and entertained at the same time. Gladstone uses this stasis as her background to further support her argument.
Asma
Brittany
Crystal

Rachael LaCroix
Amanda Chetosky
Dylan Szegedi
Travis Tam

The Influencing Machine Part 2

Gladstone's use of historical events in media, and wonderful graphics to go along with them, helps us see how dependent we are on the media. While using the examples of media in the book, the pictures portray more than what is being said. The characters that are telling the history are showing different emotions and most of them are talking about the historical events in a matter of fact way. They come off as we should know these events that they are talking about and are baffled that we don't understand what is being told to us. Gladstone uses logos throughout the novel by using many historical events. The event that reflects what we the people want to see was the section about bias. All these bias are in the media today and they are in the media today because they tell us what we want to hear and what we want to see. Gladstone uses logos to show use that we tend to do things the media tells us to. Shes mentions technology with facial recognition, and this is our society is Facebook, Twitter, etc. Everyone one basically has one, and this is because the media talked about it so we have to do it to fit in. Having a social network profile is like a policy in our society today, and this is because of the influence of media. As Gladstone says, "But the technology that expands our worldview can also diminish it." She's right technology and media diminishes our worldviews as individuals, we seem to just copy one person in our society today. As you can see media is a huge influence on our day to day lives.

Gladstone effectively makes a compelling argument about how the media influence our everyday life in her book “The Influence Machine”. As she draws the audience in through her rhetorical approaches of logic, credibility, and comedy she supports her argument of how we want the media to influence us.
Through out the article she talks about how the media controls our thought process. I believe she chose the title of the book the “Influence Machine” because it really described what the book is about. As she makes the argument about how the media is controlling our everyday life and decision making she has pictures of robots in the book. I think the robots are supposed to a symbol of us.
She goes on to say that we want to be controlled by the media. We would love to follow the media because we would rather follow somebody else’s opinion then follow our own. That way if something goes wrong in our life we would have someone to blame but ourselves. Her comical approach in the book is all of the cartoons and drawing she uses to draw in the reader instead of being so serious like some authors can be. She is very passionate about her writing without being so serious.
Her logical approach in the book is how she uses the examples from history to back up her theory of how the media controls us and how big of an influence they have on us. Her credibility comes from her uses of bias. My favorite bias which is the media bias and is also the one which I believe is used the most. Whether you are on the internet, listening to the radio, watching television, or even reading a magazine. You see the bias of the media and how just because a certain celebrity wears an outfit we have to wear the same thing if not something similar. Overall the “ Influence Machine” can put us on the right track to thinking for ourselves again.