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Alexa Lank

Professor Granillo

English 103

30 May 2019

My Outline (Powerpoint)

I. Opening scene:

Hi my name is Alexa Lank and this is my multimodal project I call Misusing Disabilities

This project is about the Levi's commercial titled “Be Proud and Be Confident.”

Levi’s “Be Proud And Be Confident” claims that customizing clothing will bring families closer

during the holidays, but depreciates the values of family by manipulating emotions using

disabled individuals; nevertheless, by looking deeper with the critical disability theory as well

as examining the heavy use of pathos, ethos, and a lack of logos, one finds this commercial

portrays the disabled individual as the victim making this a prime example of the appeal to pity

fallacy; thus, “Be Proud And Be Confident” is despairing to individuals with disabilities,

because giving clothing during the holidays should not be the only way families express their

love.

II. This is where I will play the commercial

III. Counter: This commercial is meant to inflict an emotional response. Although this

commercial tries to convey that customizing their clothing will bring people together during the

holiday season, after looking past the surface level, this could not be further from the truth.

According to this advertisement it is Levi’s that caused the heartwarming exchange, but in
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actuality it is that sentiment, not the product itself. The man could have easily bought a jacket

that was not made by Levi’s, and added pins to create his vision for his son.

VI. Disability studies: Rosemarie Garland Thomson, the founder of the critical disability

studies explains that “Although the idea of abnormality as an interpretive frame for physical

disability displaced such rationales as divine punishment or moral corruption, the dichotomy of

normal/abnormal nevertheless devalues disability rather than defining it on its own terms.” This

quote means that regardless of one’s beliefs as to why people have disabilities, these people are

not any less than anyone else. With people referring ablebodies as normal and people with

disabilities as abnormal individuals often times do not see people with disabilities as their equal

which leads to feelings of empathy and pity.

The next quote would be “Perhaps the most common stereotype of persons with disabilities is

the victim, a character who is presented as a helpless object of pity or sympathy.” This Levi’s

commercial portrays the son as the victim due to his disability. This leads its viewers to believe

that this commercial was life changing for this family due to his disability.

“One response to the Standard View that has been popular among disability rights advocates

and disability studies scholars is to assert that disabilities (or, at least, the impairments

associated with them) are actually ​neutral​ traits. In the context of discussing well-being, the

term "neutral" is most naturally taken to refer to the space between prudential goodness (what is

good for a person) and prudential badness (what is bad for a person). This is how we will

understand and use the term "neutral." This addresses how having a disability is not a bad thing.

That people with disabilities often times do not feel sorry for themselves, and neither should

other people.
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Finally the last one I chose was, “Disability Culture, Community, and Pride” states that “ Much

of the drive for the formation of a disability culture and community, and for the activism and

creativity within this community, stem from the experience of shared oppression, anger; and

from the determination to express to the nondisabled world those aspects of the disabled

experience that are both affirmative, and counter-intuitive for nondisabled people.” This quote

talks about the need for the disabled culture to educate able bodied individuals so they

understand they are no different from anyone else. People with disabilities are not less than

anyone else, that each have a unique personality with a unique set of skills. These individuals

should not be pitied, but understood.

V. Ethos Pathos and Logos.

Although the creators were very strategic with their choices, the choice of using a disabled

individual may have done more harm than good. The pathos in this commercial is fully

surrounding the fact that the son was disabled. If this commercial featured a healthy individual

with a customized jacket, the audience would not have been as moved. To prove this here is a

video on the audiences reactions Therefore, By having a disabled individual the authors are

manipulating their audiences emotions.

The credibility of Levi’s is strong enough to allow for many people to rely on their

products, as they know the clothing is well made and reliable. The son will always associate

Levis with his father, making this brand last a lifetime. The commercial leaves one to believe
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that since the son is blind, after receiving this gift, he will always rely on Levi’s to feel a sense

of family, never feeling alone.

This commercial does not give any valid reasons to buy their products. Without having

any compelling reasons, they only reason he bought the jacket was to make a grand gesture for

his blind son. In reality, this has nothing to do with Levi’s, yet they are managing to brainwash

their audience into believing Levi’s is the reason for the emotional moment.

Insert facebook post here

IV. After viewing this commercial one discovers how through the use of pathos and ethos

Levi’s uses pity to move their audience. Making this commercial a perfect example of the

appeal to pity fallacy. Levi’s uses the disabled son as a way to blind its viewers. By using pity

the audience falls into the trap Levi’s created without having any factual reasons to buy the

clothing

VII. All in all Due to the character being disabled many people find themselves instantly feeling

empathy for the son, but in reality Levi’s has nothing to do with the emotional endeavor the

father and son went through. The father and son duo should continuously express their love

throughout the year, rather than with one gift of a jacket. Looking at this commercial though the

critical disability studies one finds this commercial will do more harm than good.

Works Cited
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Alexa Lank

Professor Granillo

English 103

30 May 2019

Abstract

Levi’s “Be Proud And Be Confident” claims that customizing clothing will bring

families closer during the holidays, but depreciates the values of family by manipulating

emotions using disabled individuals; nevertheless, by looking deeper with the critical disability

theory as well as examining the heavy use of pathos, ethos, and a lack of logos, one finds this

commercial portrays the disabled individual as the victim making this a prime example of the

appeal to pity fallacy; thus, “Be Proud And Be Confident” is despairing to individuals with

disabilities, because giving clothing during the holidays should not be the only way families

express their love. By using pieces from Rosemarie Garland Thomson, the founder of the

critical disability studies, as well as using articles that add to this argument, one discovers how

this commercial relies on pity to persuade their viewers. With the overuse of pathos, the

audience of this commercial needs to be able to see past the victimization and realize there was

no actual persuading reason to choose the Levi’s Brand. Therefore, Individuals need to come to

the realization
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Alexa Lank

Professor Granillo

English 103

30 May 2019

Self Reflection

This project had many different ways for me to show my creativity. At first I wanted to

do a movie, but then I realized that wasn't quite the vision I had. Then I decided to make it into

a Prezi, which is so complicated I could not figure out how to do. Then I decided to turn it into a

powerpoint and that's when my ideas started coming. I figured out how to add in videos make

them to be as long and where I want them. This project allowed me to be creative in the way it

is designed. My strengths pertain to being creative with picking colors and formats to make an

aesthetically pleasing argument. I have always enjoyed creating powerpoints and being able to

show my creativity in that.

Although I enjoyed making this assignment I had a few challenges. I felt very lost with

this project in terms of structure. Even though there was instructions, I still was confused on

what needed to go into this project. Whereas with a linguistic assignment, structure is a main

focus. I feel as though for my project to have been better I would have needed more detailed

instructions in terms of structure and a detailed explanation of exactly what needs to be in the

project as well as the order. It is also difficult to create this to sway away from a traditional

essay as it is all I know. Being able to unteach yourself is not an easy skill, but will have to be

done at some points throughout life.

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I hope to accomplish with piece that I am diverse enough to turn a traditional essay into

something fun and exciting for the audience. Being able to take something and turn it into

something else is a skill everyone should know how to do. This being my third english class at

COC I have learned a tremendous amount. I have learned how to craft a thesis. I have learned

how to incorporate quotes seamlessly into my argument. I have learned how to use the

databases to strengthen my argument. Overall my writing has improved dramatically, and I hope

to keep growing in the future.

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Works Cited

Campbell, S. M., & Stramondo, J. A. (2017). The complicated relationship of disability and

well-being.​ Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 27(​ 2), 151-184.

doi:http://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2069/10.1353/ken.2017.0014

“Common Portrayals of Persons with Disabilities” ​Media Smarts

http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/persons-disabilities/common-portrayals-persons-

disabilities

Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. ​Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American

Culture and Literature.​ Columbia University Press, 2017.

Levi’s. “Be Proud And Be Confident.” ​Youtube,​ 22 October 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_mWNSSlXHc

“LEVI'S: Be Proud And Be Confident Commercial 2018 Reaction” ​Youtube, ​26 October 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhYHDPwpjvI&t=166s

Robertson, B. A. (1994). Disability culture, community, and pride., 1-11. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2048/login?url=https://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2457/docview/6

2576467?accountid=38295