The modernization of technology is a constant struggle that the entertainment world must adapt to. "The Freeloaders" is an article written by Megan McArdle with The Atlantic on May, 2010, illustrating the need for adaptation of the entertainment world to the constantly advancing technology. Notwithstanding the correctness of the facts in this article, it is extremely poorly written. McArdle, throughout the article, does not seem to have a fully formed opinion about the subject, thereby making her writing very difficult to follow. While I understand the necessity of this article, I disagree with the overall point that McArdle is making. McArdle 's writing is quite complicated to follow, but she makes powerful use of the first person narrative;
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She seems to have trouble picking a side, "In fact, industry revenues have been declining for the past 10 years." (McArdle, 2010) and "And people who admit to downloading music illegally may actually spend more money on recorded music than people who don 't." (McArdle, 2010). This sends a mixed message to her readers; McArdle is arguing that downloading music is the reason for declining revenues, and yet, according to her, illegal downloading brings in more revenue than expected. It does not seem to be clear as to which opinion, McArdle prefers her readers to associate with. Her sporadic way of covering this subject is of equal importance. McArdle mentions the music industry, the concert industry, the movie industry, and finally the publishing industry. Intellectual property as a concept, is of course similar in any field, however, the facts for intellectual property theft and illegal downloading differ in various entertainment fields. McArdle focuses on the declining revenue from each industry due to misused intellectual property. It is very hard to follow her train of thought as she introduces new irrelevant facts as she goes on. In order to have developed a flow in her article, McArdle should have provided a smooth transition between each subject. If there was a segue between the topics of various industries, McArdle would have been able to connect her thoughts into one coherent …show more content…
On one hand, McArdle 's utilization of first person narrative is extremely powerful, and very effective. She uses that style to her advantage, so as to connect with her audience. She creates a foundation for her story to reach the readers, by appealing to their sense of empathy, "But I doubt that YouTube can substitute for Hollywood in a world where "cheap" indie films can cost millions" (McArdle, 2010). I agree with the way she chose to write this article, first person narrative is quite persuasive. I also enjoy the way she incorporates humor into her article, "Children 's films might be made at a loss to sell action figures - but how do you finance the Godfather? With a co-branded line of frozen cannoli?" (McArdle, 2010). This supplements the first person point of view, by intensifying it. Humor is the natural language, everyone understands it. If the key is to create a bond with the reader, humor is usually a good starting point. McArdle blends humor into her article, thereby strengthening the already established bond with her readers. Notwithstanding this, McArdle 's article is written in a very irregular way. She leaps from one subject to another, "As for the publishing industry, a year is a long stretch to spend typing without some prospect of financial return" (McArdle, 2010), without a flawless transition. The publishing and music recording industries are very different areas, its aspects completely
She seems to have trouble picking a side, "In fact, industry revenues have been declining for the past 10 years." (McArdle, 2010) and "And people who admit to downloading music illegally may actually spend more money on recorded music than people who don 't." (McArdle, 2010). This sends a mixed message to her readers; McArdle is arguing that downloading music is the reason for declining revenues, and yet, according to her, illegal downloading brings in more revenue than expected. It does not seem to be clear as to which opinion, McArdle prefers her readers to associate with. Her sporadic way of covering this subject is of equal importance. McArdle mentions the music industry, the concert industry, the movie industry, and finally the publishing industry. Intellectual property as a concept, is of course similar in any field, however, the facts for intellectual property theft and illegal downloading differ in various entertainment fields. McArdle focuses on the declining revenue from each industry due to misused intellectual property. It is very hard to follow her train of thought as she introduces new irrelevant facts as she goes on. In order to have developed a flow in her article, McArdle should have provided a smooth transition between each subject. If there was a segue between the topics of various industries, McArdle would have been able to connect her thoughts into one coherent …show more content…
On one hand, McArdle 's utilization of first person narrative is extremely powerful, and very effective. She uses that style to her advantage, so as to connect with her audience. She creates a foundation for her story to reach the readers, by appealing to their sense of empathy, "But I doubt that YouTube can substitute for Hollywood in a world where "cheap" indie films can cost millions" (McArdle, 2010). I agree with the way she chose to write this article, first person narrative is quite persuasive. I also enjoy the way she incorporates humor into her article, "Children 's films might be made at a loss to sell action figures - but how do you finance the Godfather? With a co-branded line of frozen cannoli?" (McArdle, 2010). This supplements the first person point of view, by intensifying it. Humor is the natural language, everyone understands it. If the key is to create a bond with the reader, humor is usually a good starting point. McArdle blends humor into her article, thereby strengthening the already established bond with her readers. Notwithstanding this, McArdle 's article is written in a very irregular way. She leaps from one subject to another, "As for the publishing industry, a year is a long stretch to spend typing without some prospect of financial return" (McArdle, 2010), without a flawless transition. The publishing and music recording industries are very different areas, its aspects completely