Well I guess someone at the chemical plant should get a talking to about where they dump their waste. It is obviously too close to the home of the frogs the cake decorators took pictures of for a model.
If you thought that cake was disgusting or you laughed at the thought of someone getting such a disgusting cake, you need to take a look at http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ . It has a refreshing upbeat way of grabbing your attention and utilizing pictures to get you to look at the blog for hours. (Oh trust me, I have already been prey to this scheme.) The blog is directed towards “anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good” or anyone who likes a good laugh. The blogger, Jen, uses imagery, rhetorical questions, and overstatements to poke fun at all of the horribly funny cakes. The pictures with the text add to the hilarity. She has an accessible sense of humor that can be seen throughout the blog.
IMaGeRy DiSasTeRs
The blog uses imagery, a lot. The imagery in the text paints a vivid picture in your mind and it is what makes the pictures more interesting. When you happen upon text like this,
“I know a lot of people like frogs. Heck, even I think the bright green fella who hangs out on my front door is adorable. (Until he starts jumping in my direction, of course. Then he turns into a slimy hell beast who leaves me no choice but to climb shrieking onto John's shoulders to escape the "hop zone.") Still, I don't really get the whole frog cake thing. Other than my front door buddy, the only other close encounter I've had with a frog was in 7th grade biology, and that one smelled anything but appetizing. You could argue, and rightly so, that cakes in the shapes of animals are nothing new, so why am I picking on frog cakes? Well, geez, man, just look at this thing:” in your mind you start to visualize that nasty oozing frog from biology.
Then you see the picture and it measures up the image in your mind, doesn’t it?
The imagery she creates adds character to what would have just been a pretty weird cake design. Without her imagery the cake still would have been gross, or funny or misspelled, but now it has added depth. Her imagery creates a scenario which furthers the humor within the picture itself.
(Is it me or does this frog look like it has a tongue piercing?)
crAZed RheTOriCaL qUesTioNS
Seeing as I have already used a fair few myself, the rhetorical device Jen uses the most would probably be hands down the rhetorical question. It is perfect for a blog.
The rhetorical question has a way of doing a lot to further the humor. Jen uses the rhetorical device to get the audience thinking. In your mind you answer the question, generally without thinking about it. You read the question and then ponder your answer. It really is a fascinating tool and it usually evokes laughter when she uses it.
She is artful not only with the pictures and cakes, but with her words. She doesn’t even over use it by putting too many question in a row, or overloading the questions themselves. She uses them to get the mind of the reader going.
These examples really demonstrate how she uses imagery to get the reader thinking about the topic she is introducing.
“Some days you've really got to wonder: just what are they doing in bakeries these days?” (I’m thinking these bakers spend their time at the dog races…drunk.)
“He really knows how to espresso himself, doesn't he?” (oh how punny.)
The rhetorical questions lend to the humor of the over blog by introducing the topic in question form and getting the creative juices of the reader flowing. They make the text and the pictures more fun to read and look at.
OVerLy doNE OvErsTAteMentS
On the shelf next to the cakes full of rhetorical questions, she has plenty of cakes with a side of overstatements. I mean who hasn’t exaggerated once, or twice. Maybe it was three times max, right?
Jen uses overstatements for humorous purposes. The exaggerated claims are hilarious and usually at the expense of whoever made or ordered the cake. They really add to the humor of the picture.
Although obviously exaggerated. That is exactly Jen’s point. Whatever is going on in the cake is so ridiculous it can only be explained with an exaggeration.
In one of her January blogs, she talks about how incredibly normal it is for parents to be proud of their little playboy bunny wanna-be 12 year old. What parent wouldn’t want to see their child being tested regularly for aids and HIV.
Is it good hygiene, or perhaps just a bit of an overstatement? Check out this ridiculous find:
‘"I mean, first Holly was asking for thongs for her 8th birthday, and now her very own Playboy-themed party at 12. Wow. Can you believe it? I'm just so...so... proud. [blowing nose] "I mean, every parent wants her little girl to grow up dreaming big dreams, padding her trainer bra, and looking to attract men as a means of personal validation, but to see it actually happening...[sniffle] I'm sorry, it's just a dream come true. Why, in another 6 years she could even be on The Girls Next Door - not that I want to get her hopes up too much, of course; there's no telling how much longer Heff's gonna be around, after all.”’
I would definitely say that is an exaggeration of whatever was happening when this cake was ordered.
CrACkeD CoNclUsIOn:
This blog definitely uses rhetorical devices and both visual and written media to create a hilarious must read. She balances out her humor in writing with the humor of the pictures. If you were to just see a picture of a disgusting cake, you would probably think it was gross, but you would move on. If you saw just the text for a yucky cake, but no picture, you would probably be upset that you can’t see what inspired the writing. Luckily with Cake Wrecks you get both. Her use of rhetorical devices such as imagery, rhetorical questions and overstatements really add to the image she is trying to create. They add texture and life to what could be just a basic description of some awful cakes. They really create an image that you will laugh out loud with and show your friends.
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