Question

Choose an article from the Onion, about which to write an analysis essay. 700 words

Answer 1

Answer:

The article exaggerates appeals to authority to satirize and ridicule the use of expert opinions to promote the objective quality of a product. One "expert" that is cited is Dr. Arthur Bluni, "the pseudoscientist who developed the product" (9-10). Dr. Bluni mocks the fake experts frequently used in advertisements to lure in consumers by appealing to authority instead of fact. His name itself, since it sounds like baloney, implies that his testimony is nonfactual . Furthermore, since Dr. Bluni is a pseudoscientist, he has no real scientific basis for his claims. Since he is the developer of the product, his views are naturally biased. However, his status as a doctor mocks how consumers flock to those with appealing titles. Further appealing to biased sources, the article cites "the product's Web site" for information on how "MagnaSoles utilize the healing power of crystals" to heal people (30-31). Obviously a product's own website cannot be a good indicator of its actual quality. Whatever information is on the website would need to be verified by other sources for the product advertised to be considered valid. However, by appealing to such an authority, the article mocks how real advertisements cite flawed sources use those sources as vehicles to manipulate their product. The claim that a product uses "the healing power of crystals" demands sufficient proof that a biased source simply cannot provide. By using such a source, the article mocks how advertisements can disguise their products behind the credibility of false authorities. The article further cites "Dr. Wayne Frankel, the California State University biotrician who discovered Terranomtry," a pseudoscience that attempts to find correlation between the frequency of feet and the frequency of the Earth (41-43). Here, more expert testimonials are used in order to hide the real product and sell a notable name instead. Appeal to authority is sometimes acceptable, but this article mocks the use of false appeal to authority. Appeal to a "biotrician" who discovers a pseudoscience is flawed since there needs to be real scientists and real science in order to verify the quality of products. With regards to real advertising,  the article mocks marketing schemes that use false authorities without credentials to make bad products look good. This exaggerated appeal to authority and credibility used by The Onion article elucidates how many real advertising strategies revolve around manipulating a product behind the masks of false authorities and biased sources.

Explanation:

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