You Say You Want a Devolution?

This article discusses how a technologically advancing society, the United States, still falls back on the past  with certain cultural aspects. For example, if a person scrutinizes the 20 year span of 1992-2012, there are no significant differences with fashion nor music- bigger stars just happened to fill in the spots that the 90's singers once had but are now not socially accepted due to their "older age." Many instances like this are discusses in the article which comes to the conclusion that America has not changed over the past 20 years, and this obscure indifference makes society wonder when the next change will be. This article was published by The Vanity Fair Magazine- a pop culture, and international magazine with issues in four European countries as well as in the United States. The writer of the article, Kurt Andersen, is a very well-known author of cultural books such as the New York Times bestseller HeyDay. The context of this piece is causal because the halt to changes in social culture has brought forth the purpose for writing this article and pointing out the indifferences between the 90's and today. This article was written to convince the audience, women interested in fashion and pop culture, that fashion, music, and other cultural aspects are very similar to the 90's and the pattern of evolution has been thrown off because there has not been a dramatic indifference since the 1800s where culture has not differed from its neighboring generation. The pattern of development of this piece is exemplification because each paragraph consists of an explanation of an opinion made by the author that supports his claim that American culture has not changed since the 90s. The author appeals to pathos as well because he sets up a personal scene for the audience to relate to and create connections between the writer and reader to lure the audience into believing his claim is correct. Also, the use of logos establishes the author's credibility because it proves he has a wide knowledge of the concept and he can be trusted. Kurt Andersen accomplished his purpose through the numerous examples to help the reader form their opinion of whether or not they want to accept or reject the claim.

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/01/prisoners-of-style-201201