AOW #16: Video

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2e3MPI/www.ted.com/talks/rick_smolan_tells_the_story_of_a_girl.html/

Summary:  This presentation was about a girl named Natasha, who was born in Korea and lived with her grandmother.  A photographer named Rick Smolan met the wester-looking girl and her grandmother and began taking picture of them until the grandmother informed Smolan that she was going to die, and needed to find a family for the girl.  Smolan then tells of his journey to find her an adoptive family and move her to the United States.  Natasha grew up to be extremely successful in the U.S, and was given opportunities that she never would have received in her rural town of Korea.
Author/Source: Rick Smolan is a famous photographer who has taken pictures world-wide for TIME, LIFE, and National Geographic magazine.  He is now CEO of Against All Odds Productions.  Smolan told this story in December of 2007 in Los Angeles, which was recorded and is now on the TED website.  TED conferences give people the chance to present their ideas, hence their slogan: "ideas worth spreading".  Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Bill Gates, and Al Gore are just some of the names of people who have presented on TED.
Context/Exigence: The context of this presentation is the young girl, Natasha, who was born in Korea with limited opportunities but given a new life in the United States.  The exigence is how interesting her story is, and how far she has come since she was taken out of Korea in the 70's.  People are fascinated with her progress, which is the reason why Smolan told her her story.
Purpose: The purpose of this presentation was to tell the story of an amazing girl who's life was transformed.  The story was mostly for entertainment, but also to inspire people to give every child a chance at life, because they have the potential to be very successful.  Smolan accomplishes this purpose.
Rhetorical Devices: This story is very emotional, in order for Smolan to make an influence on his audience and to get their attention.  However he also structures his speech so that the audience does not know what happened to the girl, and have a vague view of where she is currently for most of the presentation.  This makes the story somewhat suspenseful, and attracts the attention of the audience.  At the end, he finally ends the suspense and introduces Natasha to the audience.  He also includes images, not just because he is a photographer, but so that the audience can imagine the girl and picture the story in their minds, also appealing to the audience's interest.