Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Persuasion Techniques
Over the years I've seen tampon commercials grow from almost non-existent to everywhere. I personally think that tampon, condom, birth control and all those kind of commercials are so awkward. I just want to change the channel or look away when I see them. The Kotex commercial I chose on the other hand just makes me laugh because it's a mock of the other tampon commercials. In the commercial they show clips of other tampon commercial ads and in a pretty sarcastic way there is a "typical girl" talking about how her period makes her want to do all these things. I like how someone finally pointed out how dramatic the other commercials are even though they are still just using the same persuasive tricks on us.
I chose this ad because it's perfect for picking apart and deconstructing. There are so many persuasive techniques in it. Right off the bat I felt like I could relate and I was struck with laughter.
Association: Any female who uses tampons can relate to this girl because we've all seen the other commercials. Not to mention a lot of us are thinking what she's talking about in this ad.
Bandwagon: The bandwagon technique that I see is the implied "everyone feels so bubbly on their period". It's somewhat saying if you use this you'll be so happy on your period.
Humor: The whole ad is based off sarcasm and comedy. It's a commercial that's making fun of how ridiculous other tampon ads are so there is definitely a humor factor.
Intensity: "Me and my period, we're like this", she says as she crosses her fingers... Right in the beginning of the commercial you can see the intensity of it. She's very dramatic and over the top in a very nonchalant way.
Plain Folk: It's easy to relate, they use an "average" looking girl, the setting she's in is her room, etc.. The ad is very plain folk so that girls all over could see themselves using Kotex.
Warm & Fuzzy: In a strange way it's warm and fuzzy because even when you have your period you are free be flexible, dance, play, etc..
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Super Bowl
It's kind of ironic that the super bowl promotes such unhealthy items because it seems like recently warnings about obesity have been common. Although they aren't good for us they are all around us. People in charge of advertising know that we can't resit the junk they throw in front of us so they really want to entice us to buy their products. They know that people watching the game are probably drinking alcohol or could go for some junk food. Because Americans love their alcohol and junk, they promote it on the hugely watched program.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Your vote
VOTE OR DIE! As a woman living in America, I feel very privileged to have the right to vote. We’re in a time much different from the past and I’m honored that one day I will be able to pledge my vote. Everyone wants their opinions heard so I wonder why people don’t participate in voting. The person elected is going to make decisions that affect them personally so to me it seems like a no-brainer. We do have the power to make change happen! For example, the election of President Obama.
It was nearly impossible to avoid last year’s presidential election. With Bush finally about to be out of office, everyone was pumped to learn more about the potential candidates. Regardless the hype, I didn’t really follow the election as well as I could have. The talk I heard around my town was, “We either get a black guy or another stinkin’ republican.” Growing up my mother was a democrat and my father a republican and with the opportunity to learn more about each I would consider myself a democrat if I had to choose a party.
Although I do feel that many people voted Obama for wrong reasons, I would have chosen to vote in his favor as well. It seemed that no matter what his views were everyone loved him and we put a lot of faith in him. Some chose to vote Obama just because he was black and they wanted diversity in the white house. Who knows, it could have been years till the first African American president. Then on the other hand, many people chose not vote McCain just because he’s republican. It all goes back to image. I honestly don’t think that the majority of people casted their vote off of reasoning but either way, now we have Obama as our president and it is what it is.
It was nearly impossible to avoid last year’s presidential election. With Bush finally about to be out of office, everyone was pumped to learn more about the potential candidates. Regardless the hype, I didn’t really follow the election as well as I could have. The talk I heard around my town was, “We either get a black guy or another stinkin’ republican.” Growing up my mother was a democrat and my father a republican and with the opportunity to learn more about each I would consider myself a democrat if I had to choose a party.
Although I do feel that many people voted Obama for wrong reasons, I would have chosen to vote in his favor as well. It seemed that no matter what his views were everyone loved him and we put a lot of faith in him. Some chose to vote Obama just because he was black and they wanted diversity in the white house. Who knows, it could have been years till the first African American president. Then on the other hand, many people chose not vote McCain just because he’s republican. It all goes back to image. I honestly don’t think that the majority of people casted their vote off of reasoning but either way, now we have Obama as our president and it is what it is.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Character
Overtime politics has changed tremendously. Instead of truly judging our votes off the candidates intelligence or plan for change we tend to look at their image. It sickens me to believe this is true because it’s not right in my opinion. This isn’t a necessarily new concept but what is new is the enormous spread that’s taken place. The faces we see in magazines, TV, games, movies and in the cool clique at school all appear to be attractive and it’s shocking to know that’s even spread to our presidential history.
The first thing we can judge off a person is their looks so it’s natural that we base relationships off that aspect. But this concept has taken a whole new meaning. In some countries women don’t even see their husband before marriage. The arrangement is made by the parent’s judgment of the man’s community status, family name, job title, etc. and neither have a say. Then there’s America, “Land of the Free”, and we do have a say… Yet many of us won’t even glace at the opposite sex if they’re not up to our standards. We have the opportunity to dig deep and really get to know somebody before marriage. So tell me, why is divorce rate so high? Why is there so much infidelity? How can two strangers keep a marriage going when we can’t? Why are so many of us unhappy with our past presidents when we got to choose them?
I feel that we’ve really let our freedom get the best of us. Without even realizing, we’ve created a monster. We need to become aware of this cycle or it’s just going to keep repeating itself. We still have the freedom but we need to use it in a more positive way and stop choosing political figures off their looks and more off reasoning. Needless to say, I firmly believe that Abe Lincoln would not win any political election; he’s a bit too hard on the eyes for us spoiled Americans.
The first thing we can judge off a person is their looks so it’s natural that we base relationships off that aspect. But this concept has taken a whole new meaning. In some countries women don’t even see their husband before marriage. The arrangement is made by the parent’s judgment of the man’s community status, family name, job title, etc. and neither have a say. Then there’s America, “Land of the Free”, and we do have a say… Yet many of us won’t even glace at the opposite sex if they’re not up to our standards. We have the opportunity to dig deep and really get to know somebody before marriage. So tell me, why is divorce rate so high? Why is there so much infidelity? How can two strangers keep a marriage going when we can’t? Why are so many of us unhappy with our past presidents when we got to choose them?
I feel that we’ve really let our freedom get the best of us. Without even realizing, we’ve created a monster. We need to become aware of this cycle or it’s just going to keep repeating itself. We still have the freedom but we need to use it in a more positive way and stop choosing political figures off their looks and more off reasoning. Needless to say, I firmly believe that Abe Lincoln would not win any political election; he’s a bit too hard on the eyes for us spoiled Americans.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Downloading
Now that downloading has become so common I don’t even think twice about doing it. We can download music, movies, software and even games. First of all, downloading is easy to do. It does have some benefits and other negative consequences but some find it worth it. A lot of Americans download music although it is illegal to do so.
Downloading is actually a very easy thing to do, considering it used to not be a possibility. Instead of physically going to the store we can now get what we want online in the comforts of our home. With a simple membership we can download all the free songs we want and sometimes we don’t even have to create an account. With one click it begins to download and is soon yours to keep. There are options to download a whole album or just certain tracks which is also convenient.
When downloading online we get to experience something we might not otherwise in stores. There are a lot of underground artists that aren’t commonly sold. I have found a lot of artists by browsing online that I doubt I would have heard of elsewhere. It can be really difficult to find smaller bands in stores because the racks are packed with records that are likely to sell and bring in profit since there is such high competition. When we browse online it gives us the opportunity to check out the songs before downloading too.
It greatly affects artist when we don’t purchase their albums. They work countless hours putting together their CD and it’s got to be disappointing to know that people carelessly rip you off. Sometimes I don’t really think about downloading from famous artist’s because they are already so rich as it is. I do feel guilty though when I download less popular artist’s music. They aren’t as widely known and it’s harder for them to receive profit.
Although technology has benefited artists to get their music out there it has also backfired on them immensely. I would personally be really outraged if I was losing money because of illegal downloading. I probably would do all I could to change it and prevent it from happening. I’m sure I would have every teenager hating me because of the consequences I would try to get the government to enforce.
Downloading is actually a very easy thing to do, considering it used to not be a possibility. Instead of physically going to the store we can now get what we want online in the comforts of our home. With a simple membership we can download all the free songs we want and sometimes we don’t even have to create an account. With one click it begins to download and is soon yours to keep. There are options to download a whole album or just certain tracks which is also convenient.
When downloading online we get to experience something we might not otherwise in stores. There are a lot of underground artists that aren’t commonly sold. I have found a lot of artists by browsing online that I doubt I would have heard of elsewhere. It can be really difficult to find smaller bands in stores because the racks are packed with records that are likely to sell and bring in profit since there is such high competition. When we browse online it gives us the opportunity to check out the songs before downloading too.
It greatly affects artist when we don’t purchase their albums. They work countless hours putting together their CD and it’s got to be disappointing to know that people carelessly rip you off. Sometimes I don’t really think about downloading from famous artist’s because they are already so rich as it is. I do feel guilty though when I download less popular artist’s music. They aren’t as widely known and it’s harder for them to receive profit.
Although technology has benefited artists to get their music out there it has also backfired on them immensely. I would personally be really outraged if I was losing money because of illegal downloading. I probably would do all I could to change it and prevent it from happening. I’m sure I would have every teenager hating me because of the consequences I would try to get the government to enforce.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Music and Me
Throughout time we’ve seen music change tremendously. While many teens seemed to be absorbed with the poppy hip-hop they repeatedly played on the radio my friends and I listened to more authentic music. Drawn to the funky beats, underground raps and indie style music, I considered the music I listened to as a reflection of my character. It was habit to be plugged into the soulful sounds and as a teenager I remember always blasting my tunes. When it came to music I definitely knew what I did and did not like and what came with that was a wide variety of songs.
There was a time when I was really into some weird music. CocoRosie is a sister band that has such unique style. You will never find another group that compares to them. I was always interested in them because of their funk. Half of their songs I had to look up the lyrics not only because I couldn’t understand but if I could I was thinking, did she really just say that? They were considered to be an indie, freak folk kind of music and I loved it.
Growing up I was also taken by the overpowering interest of rap music. There was a small selection of raps played on the radio but they all sounded so lame to me. Most stations played the sissy, I’m in love, hip hop songs. If not, they were all about how much money they had or how many girls. I find that type of music to be annoying and fake as it’s all for record sales. Mac Dre and Andre Nickatina were area rappers that were just pure fun but also not very known to the kids in my town. The beats were unique and passionate, much different from the popular radio rhymes.
Lastly I was moved by the upbeat sounds of Gypsy punk. I couldn’t help but be put in a good mood by bands like Balkan Beat Box, Cibo Matto or even reggae singer Tanya Stephens. I’d be sure to blare it throughout the house when forced to clean because even then it brought my spirits up. This upbeat cultural music put the best twist to hip-hop music I had ever heard. I could dance, sing and be silly to it, and didn’t care one bit.
Although I chose to listen to this kind of music, you wouldn’t catch my parents listening to it. They never told me I couldn’t listen to something because that was my right. Regardless, my mom referred to it several times as creepy or obnoxious. I could understand why she appreciated the music she did and she tried her best to wrap her mind around the music I listened to. The time from when I was growing up and when my parents grew up had a lot of change. It went from my parents hiding their albums from their parents to me openly listening to my music, however “obnoxious” it was. As most kids are, I was greatly affected by the music I listened to. I think everyone needs music in their life that they can express themselves through and relate to.
There was a time when I was really into some weird music. CocoRosie is a sister band that has such unique style. You will never find another group that compares to them. I was always interested in them because of their funk. Half of their songs I had to look up the lyrics not only because I couldn’t understand but if I could I was thinking, did she really just say that? They were considered to be an indie, freak folk kind of music and I loved it.
Growing up I was also taken by the overpowering interest of rap music. There was a small selection of raps played on the radio but they all sounded so lame to me. Most stations played the sissy, I’m in love, hip hop songs. If not, they were all about how much money they had or how many girls. I find that type of music to be annoying and fake as it’s all for record sales. Mac Dre and Andre Nickatina were area rappers that were just pure fun but also not very known to the kids in my town. The beats were unique and passionate, much different from the popular radio rhymes.
Lastly I was moved by the upbeat sounds of Gypsy punk. I couldn’t help but be put in a good mood by bands like Balkan Beat Box, Cibo Matto or even reggae singer Tanya Stephens. I’d be sure to blare it throughout the house when forced to clean because even then it brought my spirits up. This upbeat cultural music put the best twist to hip-hop music I had ever heard. I could dance, sing and be silly to it, and didn’t care one bit.
Although I chose to listen to this kind of music, you wouldn’t catch my parents listening to it. They never told me I couldn’t listen to something because that was my right. Regardless, my mom referred to it several times as creepy or obnoxious. I could understand why she appreciated the music she did and she tried her best to wrap her mind around the music I listened to. The time from when I was growing up and when my parents grew up had a lot of change. It went from my parents hiding their albums from their parents to me openly listening to my music, however “obnoxious” it was. As most kids are, I was greatly affected by the music I listened to. I think everyone needs music in their life that they can express themselves through and relate to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
