The Impact of Advertising

Killing Us Softly described a real problem, that of advertising and the unhealthy and unrealistic messages it sends. People tend to view themselves in a social context, that is, they compare themselves to others, and compare themselves to society's standards. Advertising is often the vehicle for transmitting such standards, especially standards of beauty. The average person often fills inadequate, especially for women, when they compare themselves to the models shown in ads. This leads to a great amount of insecurity, which is exactly what the advertisers want, as that insecurity drives viewers to buy the advertised products, as a way to feel better about themselves.


One ad that relates to this discussion, and one that I find amusing are the L'Oreal 'age perfect' ads featuring 64 year old Diane Keaton. While the ads don't necessarily promote unrealistic images, it does feed into an obsession with avoiding age, and how to look younger. Diane Keaton being a senior is indicative of the target market for the product. What I find amusing is this, when is it time to give up? When can people admit ageing is natural and stop trying to fight it?

Just CAN'T wait...

Impatience is becoming a growing issue in American society. We can see why it's a problem in a number of areas. For one, relationships have become greatly strained. People often rush into marriage and then become surprised that it didn't work out. This is evidenced by the very high divorce rates that we experience. You can also witness the issue of impatience on the road, full of aggressive drivers in a hurry, leading them to drive like Jason Bourne, constantly swerving in and out of lanes, cutting you off, and honking. You see impatience at the store, with people becoming extremely agitated and bugging their eyes out, even yelling, if they suspect someone might be cutting in line. People can't wait for deals, leading to mad crowds on Black Friday, crowds that undoubtedly end up killing some poor person.

I'm not sure impatience is something we can fix, but it may fix itself. If the economy takes a turn for the worse again, and people are forced to have a better work ethic, impatience may go away. I say this, because I feel that impatience is directly related to laziness. The less lazy people are, the less sense of entitlement people have, the more hard working and courteous they become, at least in my opinion.

New trend in Reality TV

After our discussion of reality TV shows, it occurred to me that most of my favorite TV shows are reality shows. This may sound bad if one envisions I'm talking about Jersey Shore or The Real World, but my favorite reality shows are following a different trend, that of actually (to some extent) portraying reality, and being more educationally based than your typical reality show. This is evidenced by the popularity of American Pickers, Pawn Stars, and Hollywood Treasures. Such shows show genuine people, and genuine historical items, and explain the significance and importance of them. I feel this is a good trend, that of the 'smart' reality shows.

Reality TV

Reality television provides people with an escape, while at the same time offering a hint of realism. It offers an escape in that the situations the people find themselves in are often unrealistic, but the people are real, and not celebrities. This lets the viewer imagine what they would do in similar situations, and perhaps relate to the people on the show. I feel that reality TV can affect people, by giving a skewed view of how one should act to become famous and successful.

Reality television is so successful because it features real people, people we can relate to, and puts them in situations that are entertaining. This allows people to become more invested in the series than they would be in a fictionalized format.

The largest archetype that I see on reality television, is that of the arrogant, self-important, individual. It seems every reality show has these sort of people. This is probably because this personality type is the least desirable for most people, yet entertaining to watch.

Religification

Perhaps the best example of religification comes in the form of sports teams. I think NFL teams are a prime example. Avid enthusiasts for a particular team, for me it's the Kansas City Chiefs, can be described as having an almost religious fervor. The games take place on Sunday, which makes it even more apt for a comparison to religion. Certain star athletes can be seen almost in idolized terms. The coaches can be seen as the religious leaders. When a team is doing bad, people are often told to "keep the faith". Another aspect that makes it similar to religion are the emotions felt during a win, which makes the fans happy, even elated. And a lose, which often equals despair. The people that oppose this "religion" are those that don't like football or sports in general, which is certainly a minority.

Music and Themes of Popular Culture

Music is a very powerful medium through which popular culture is conveyed. As such, I feel that a lot of the concepts we hold today from popular culture can be traced, to some extent, to music. I feel an excellent example of this is the concept linking violence to male masculinity. This is on display in full force in rap music. Rappers talk about violence as a way to solve conflict and get respect. By threatening violence the rappers hope to get across a 'tough guy' image, which too often is associated with being a 'man'.

Country vs. Hip Hop

Country and Hip Hop are often thought of as polar opposites. One seems at place in traditional society, and the other seeks to change and loosen society. At their heart though, both music genres have a common goal. Both seek to relate and speak to the lives of everyday people. Country songs often sing about falling in love, or the love of simplistic life and pleasures. Hip Hop relates to people as well, but often in a different way. It speaks to the struggles of growing up in an urban environment, and seeks to give a voice for those that feel left out of society. The biggest difference in the two is the tones of the two genres, in which country is more light hearted, whereas hip hop can be quite dark.

Popular Culture Media

There is no doubt that rise of technology and the evolution of popular culture media has drastically affected our society. Social networking sites such as facebook, and texting technology have become almost indispensable to the social experience. To be sure, there are both positive and negative effects of the changing media. I feel that as a culture, however, this technology has gotten us to be more aggressive, and meaner. When you interact with someone on the Internet, you feel empowered and are more apt to be blunt, because you don't have to be in face-to-face contact with that person. I have friends who act a certain way in person, but when I talk to them using instant messaging, I notice a distinct personality change. They are much more prone to start arguments or word things in an aggressive manner. This change is especially apparent with anonymous posting on the Internet, as the feeling of anonymity makes one feel as if there are no consequences to what's being said, and this often results in reckless language.

Looking back...

I believe the most important article that we've read early on is Chuck Klosterman's take on Porn. Not only was it interesting and provocatively written, it was honest and blunt. This culture has an undeniable obsession with porn, and the Internet has certainly fueled that. The people we look towards as sexual icons also serve as a window into ourselves, revealing not only how we look at sex, but the traits and qualities we look to in a sex symbol, like Pamela Anderson. As such, I feel the information was very important to any reader, as it gives them something to ponder and reflect on.

Violence and Masculinity

I feel the articles we read and the movie we viewed both contained some interesting points on violence and how we view masculinity. It does seem undeniable that masculinity is often associated with a 'tough guy' persona, and thus is shown in tandem with violence in various media imagery. This can, and surely does, lead some men to have a warped view of what masculinity is, feeling they have to behave in a violent manner to gain respect and be thought of as a real man. From that standpoint, I do feel that it is cause for concern that so many boys associate violate behavior with masculinity. I think this is best fought, not by government regulation, but by more complex and honest media portrays, which can be very effective. The video gave a good example in Good Will Hunting, and as a movie buff, I can attest to the fact that film and television is taking a more complex look at what it is to be masculine.

Masculinity and Society

What does it mean to be masculine? What attributes does one need to have in order to be thought of as masculine? According to our class survey, the top two traits of a masculine person are having muscles, and having an interest in sports and athletics. I wasn't surprised by the results, but that doesn't mean I agree with them completely. Society tends to place value in superficial things, and I can see why having muscles and being into sports gives the appearance of masculinity. And it's fine to have those traits, but I don't view them as necessarily crucial. Being crucial to masculinity, in my opinion, is having that basic instinct to protect the weak and innocent, and that drive to provide for ones' family. Those are the the things we should be looking toward in regard to masculinity, as I believe those traits define what it is to be a man.

Evolving Porn Industry

I just came across this very interesting article from ABC news. One way to boost porn DVD sales? Celebrity scandal. The article talks about one specific company that is enjoying good sales because of its unique celebrity and spoof content. It makes sense. People are willing to pay for exclusives, something that can distinguish it from the 'normal' free porn found on the internet.

Porn and Society

The question of what the proper role of pornography is in our society is a difficult one. To start off with, I'm not sure there is a "proper" role of porn. Porn, at least my conception of it, is never really proper. It has no conceivable social value. That said, it's not going anywhere. Porn is always gonna be around. I think that we need to recognize that fact, but also set some boundaries. For one, porn should only be intended for and target toward adults. Those depicted in porn need to be doing so of there free will, and of legal age. Other than that, porn should not be made illegal. We live in a free society, and I feel porn is therefore protected under the first amendment.

I'm not sure anyone benefits from pornography, aside from those who profit from it. To be sure, people can be, and are, harmed by pornography. Children and young adults can become exposed to such material, making them deal with concepts and actions not befitting their maturity level, causing confusion and possible psychological problems. Porn can become an addiction, and lead to relationship strain. Men may develop a warped sense of sexuality, and therefore want to engage in rather bizarre practices, or look outside of his relationship for fulfillment. Ultimately porn is a vice. It's something that will never go away, thus efforts to prohibit and restrict it can be counterproductive. The implications of it, however, are very real, and should not be ignored.

Starting off...

I found both "Why don't we like our bodies?" and "Only 2% of Women..." fairly compelling. Our view of beauty, our cultural definition of it, is not healthy. It's not realistic and therefore almost impossible to achieve, which is surely the point of the media in pushing such a standard. If real beauty is never completely achieved, you have a continual consumer segment for products that aid in the quest. Therefore I don't find it surprising that only 2% of women find themselves to be beautiful, what normal intellectually honest women can say they are beautiful compared to the likes of Natalie Portman or Keira Knightly?

Physical appearance surely goes a long way in making one beautiful, that can't be rightly denied. At the same time, our fixation on it has diminished the other important aspects that go into making a women beautiful, namely personality and character. Perhaps in that way, the beauty we strive for should be less of that of a model, but more of a Jackie Kennedy type.

I don't think it's a stretch to argue that, as "Why don't we like our bodies?" argued, these unrealistic expectations we've placed on ourselves has led us to almost hate our bodies. I don't feel it's the primary motivation behind horror movies, people just have a fixation on violence, but it's certainly a factor in the increasing levels of such horrific depiction, as the Saw series is evidence of.