Sophia
We all have our own definitions, based on our experiences and expectations, of what could be considered popular and well-known terms. It is important to define these terms for ourselves, in order to become aware of how others view the world around them, better understand the experiences of the people around us, and further establish our own identity in connection to our surroundings.
WHAT DO THESE IDEAS MEAN TO YOU? HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OF THESE?
Other than the above definitions, these terms can show meaning through what role they play in our life, and what relationship we choose to have with them. For me, neighborhood is not as important and significant as community, environment and nature are, because I have never really felt like I belonged to one single neighborhood. Since I have moved throughout my whole life, I have never developed strong ties to the immediate surroundings of the places I lived, as much as I have developed ties to the people, to my community.
The environment has always been important to me because I think of everything I experience as part of my environment, not just in ecological and biological terms. Thus, my relationship to the environment is not only crucial to the establishment of my identity, but also important in viewing my place and role in society, and the world.
Since I have lived mostly in cities, nature has not played a crucial role in my development and growth, although, perhaps, it should have. Despite my lack of constant contact with nature, I like to believe I have developed a strong relationship with it. I enjoy nature every time I have the chance to indulge in the freedom it allows outside of any societal norms and regulations, the freedom to enjoy time without the continuous distractions of our modern era, and simply the freedom to just be.
Overall, I believe the above mentioned terms are crucial to a person's development, and that understanding what they mean to us, how they impact us, and the way our relationships with them form and last, can greatly affect our perception of ourselves and the world around us.
Other than the above definitions, these terms can show meaning through what role they play in our life, and what relationship we choose to have with them. For me, neighborhood is not as important and significant as community, environment and nature are, because I have never really felt like I belonged to one single neighborhood. Since I have moved throughout my whole life, I have never developed strong ties to the immediate surroundings of the places I lived, as much as I have developed ties to the people, to my community.
The environment has always been important to me because I think of everything I experience as part of my environment, not just in ecological and biological terms. Thus, my relationship to the environment is not only crucial to the establishment of my identity, but also important in viewing my place and role in society, and the world.
Since I have lived mostly in cities, nature has not played a crucial role in my development and growth, although, perhaps, it should have. Despite my lack of constant contact with nature, I like to believe I have developed a strong relationship with it. I enjoy nature every time I have the chance to indulge in the freedom it allows outside of any societal norms and regulations, the freedom to enjoy time without the continuous distractions of our modern era, and simply the freedom to just be.
Overall, I believe the above mentioned terms are crucial to a person's development, and that understanding what they mean to us, how they impact us, and the way our relationships with them form and last, can greatly affect our perception of ourselves and the world around us.
HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THESE VARIOUS PLACES? HOW HAVE THESE PLACES INFLUENCED YOU AND YOU THEM?
I see myself as an individual apart from my neighborhood. I do not really associate with either the buildings or the people in my neighborhood, and I have never had a particular interest in actively participating in that neighborhood. Although I think that I still contribute to my neighborhood by doing the "right" things, the influence I play in it, and the influence it has on me is very limited.
The way I see myself in my community is very different from the way I see myself in my neighborhood, mainly because my community is composed of people who, in one way or another, influence me. I believe that people to people interactions are crucial in not only promoting growth for individuals, but for society as well, because one community impacts another, and creates a chain link that could lead to changes, and, hopefully, improvements of the systems currently in action and, perhaps the world. I believe that each individual that is part of a community contributes greatly to that community, and that he/she shapes the community as much as it shapes the individual. We, as individuals, are part of a community at any given moment. Without us and our influence, that community would not be as it is, no matter how large or small our contribution is.
Since I consider the environment to be even more inclusive than a community, its influence on me and my influence on it is even greater. Every thing I do reflects on my environment, just as it is true that everything that happens in my environment reflects on me. Therefore, I see myself as an element of my environment, a factor that contributes to the environment and is influenced by it; an individual who has the chance to impact her surroundings and improve society.
Nature plays a crucial indirect role in my life. Due to the urban surroundings and the very busy schedule that follows a New York City student, I do not have a lot of opportunities to enjoy nature. However, I think nature is such a significant element of my environment, that has influenced me greatly. I always attempt to protect, safeguard and appreciate nature, and influence it as best as I possibly can.
I see myself as an individual apart from my neighborhood. I do not really associate with either the buildings or the people in my neighborhood, and I have never had a particular interest in actively participating in that neighborhood. Although I think that I still contribute to my neighborhood by doing the "right" things, the influence I play in it, and the influence it has on me is very limited.
The way I see myself in my community is very different from the way I see myself in my neighborhood, mainly because my community is composed of people who, in one way or another, influence me. I believe that people to people interactions are crucial in not only promoting growth for individuals, but for society as well, because one community impacts another, and creates a chain link that could lead to changes, and, hopefully, improvements of the systems currently in action and, perhaps the world. I believe that each individual that is part of a community contributes greatly to that community, and that he/she shapes the community as much as it shapes the individual. We, as individuals, are part of a community at any given moment. Without us and our influence, that community would not be as it is, no matter how large or small our contribution is.
Since I consider the environment to be even more inclusive than a community, its influence on me and my influence on it is even greater. Every thing I do reflects on my environment, just as it is true that everything that happens in my environment reflects on me. Therefore, I see myself as an element of my environment, a factor that contributes to the environment and is influenced by it; an individual who has the chance to impact her surroundings and improve society.
Nature plays a crucial indirect role in my life. Due to the urban surroundings and the very busy schedule that follows a New York City student, I do not have a lot of opportunities to enjoy nature. However, I think nature is such a significant element of my environment, that has influenced me greatly. I always attempt to protect, safeguard and appreciate nature, and influence it as best as I possibly can.
WHAT ARE YOUR DEFINING EXPERIENCES IN THESE PLACES?
I have not had any defining experience in my neighborhood, which may be a contributing factor to my slightly apathetic attitude towards it. Although I like my neighborhood and enjoy walking through it with my family, I don't have any specific ties to it. Due to my father's job I have moved a lot since I was a child, changing both my neighborhood and community. After a while, I learned that my experience in a place, that my emotions and relationships were centered around the people, and not around the location. As everything else around me changed, I always had my family and friends to rely upon. They were the things that stayed even though the place varied. They were what allowed me to accept my continuously changing neighborhood. It is because of them that I value people so much more than a single aggregation of buildings that happen to be around my house.
The case is completely opposite in regards to my community. I think that, because I have a variety of different communities, my defining experiences are too numerous to recount. I think that from every moment of interaction in a community, both the community and the individual benefit. This relationship is a symbiosis where I depend as much on my community as the community depends on me.
A similar situation applies to my environment, although I believe that any defining experience in connection to the other terms also applies to the environment, because the environment is everything around me, both the people and the places. Every story and every experience I have had is defining in some way, and has made me the person I am today.
Nature is special and precious for me. I have always lived in cities, where nature is not common. I think that it is because of the rarity of large areas of nature that I have learned to value it so much. I also enjoy the peace and tranquility that stems from spending time in nature, from escaping the busy and fast paced world we live in to relax in the gift that people have forgotten how to appreciate. Since I was little, my family and I went to my grandparents' house in the countryside during the summer. The location is magical, filled with lakes, forests, mountains, valleys, and rivers. Perhaps it is because of my happiness to be reunited with my relatives and my excitement to be in a place where animals and plants lived freely without humans' interference, that I have become accustomed to enjoy nature and look upon it as something sacred and valuable. Something that cannot be replaced. Something beautiful that must be protected.
I have not had any defining experience in my neighborhood, which may be a contributing factor to my slightly apathetic attitude towards it. Although I like my neighborhood and enjoy walking through it with my family, I don't have any specific ties to it. Due to my father's job I have moved a lot since I was a child, changing both my neighborhood and community. After a while, I learned that my experience in a place, that my emotions and relationships were centered around the people, and not around the location. As everything else around me changed, I always had my family and friends to rely upon. They were the things that stayed even though the place varied. They were what allowed me to accept my continuously changing neighborhood. It is because of them that I value people so much more than a single aggregation of buildings that happen to be around my house.
The case is completely opposite in regards to my community. I think that, because I have a variety of different communities, my defining experiences are too numerous to recount. I think that from every moment of interaction in a community, both the community and the individual benefit. This relationship is a symbiosis where I depend as much on my community as the community depends on me.
A similar situation applies to my environment, although I believe that any defining experience in connection to the other terms also applies to the environment, because the environment is everything around me, both the people and the places. Every story and every experience I have had is defining in some way, and has made me the person I am today.
Nature is special and precious for me. I have always lived in cities, where nature is not common. I think that it is because of the rarity of large areas of nature that I have learned to value it so much. I also enjoy the peace and tranquility that stems from spending time in nature, from escaping the busy and fast paced world we live in to relax in the gift that people have forgotten how to appreciate. Since I was little, my family and I went to my grandparents' house in the countryside during the summer. The location is magical, filled with lakes, forests, mountains, valleys, and rivers. Perhaps it is because of my happiness to be reunited with my relatives and my excitement to be in a place where animals and plants lived freely without humans' interference, that I have become accustomed to enjoy nature and look upon it as something sacred and valuable. Something that cannot be replaced. Something beautiful that must be protected.
Mental Mapping
The process of mental mapping has taught me a lot about my peers and classmates that I did not know before, and has opened up my eyes to a wide range of experiences and neighborhoods previously unfamiliar to me. We discussed a variety of topics in class, and I was able to gain insight into other people's opinions and perspectives on the world, which I found fascinating. I think the process required a lot of listening and analysis, which at times made it a little dry, but I was able to gain a lot of knowledge. I learned about the asset and deficit perspectives, and how often society focuses on people's flaws and what a neighborhood may be missing, instead of focusing on all the things it does have. I also learned that we had a lot of common themes between groups, which shows how similar our experiences as young adults can be in a busy metropolis; however, as Taylor pointed out, there is no one single story of what it is like to be a teenager in NYC.
Some of the questions that emerged were: are stereotypes strengthened by diversity, or does diversity stifle them? Why are the image and reputation of a neighborhood so important to others' perception of the people who live in that neighborhood? Why do our and society's expectations of people vary based on the neighborhood where they come from? Why is there so much inequality and so much discrimination in the world? Will the world ever be equal or equitable for everyone? Will we ever be able to say that there is no inequality, and truly mean it and know it to be true? I think these questions are best addressed through research and discussions, and a lot of in depth thinking and analysis. And I think that for some questions we may never know the answer, although we can speculate.
If we were to share our research in a formal way (publishing), I would share what our group themes were, what we had in common as well as what differed. I would not share our personal experiences if they included a lot of personal details, because even if we use aliases, it is still personal information . The main people I would informally share my research with (talking and discussions) are the people in our neighborhoods, because we would be able to show them what our perceptions of the neighborhood is, and perhaps determine what can be done to fix the negatives about which we talked about.
I think mental mapping is a useful methodology in exploring ourselves and our relation to our neighborhood; however, I think that it did not fully address the answers to our research question. I think in order to answer those questions, we must do an in depth analysis of our answers, our themes and our maps. I think that by explaining themes in groups we were able to collect different information regarding ourselves and connect to others through similarities and learn to appreciate others' differences. I think the class discussion was a little dry and repetitive in terms of how we analyzed each group's map. We did not spend a lot of time talking about the connections between the themes as much as we spent retelling our personal experiences. Another way that I would address our questions about neighborhoods is through interviews with people from the neighborhood and through analysis of the neighborhood (maybe moving around the neighborhood without interacting with it, but acting as an observer, taking pictures and notes).
Some of the questions that emerged were: are stereotypes strengthened by diversity, or does diversity stifle them? Why are the image and reputation of a neighborhood so important to others' perception of the people who live in that neighborhood? Why do our and society's expectations of people vary based on the neighborhood where they come from? Why is there so much inequality and so much discrimination in the world? Will the world ever be equal or equitable for everyone? Will we ever be able to say that there is no inequality, and truly mean it and know it to be true? I think these questions are best addressed through research and discussions, and a lot of in depth thinking and analysis. And I think that for some questions we may never know the answer, although we can speculate.
If we were to share our research in a formal way (publishing), I would share what our group themes were, what we had in common as well as what differed. I would not share our personal experiences if they included a lot of personal details, because even if we use aliases, it is still personal information . The main people I would informally share my research with (talking and discussions) are the people in our neighborhoods, because we would be able to show them what our perceptions of the neighborhood is, and perhaps determine what can be done to fix the negatives about which we talked about.
I think mental mapping is a useful methodology in exploring ourselves and our relation to our neighborhood; however, I think that it did not fully address the answers to our research question. I think in order to answer those questions, we must do an in depth analysis of our answers, our themes and our maps. I think that by explaining themes in groups we were able to collect different information regarding ourselves and connect to others through similarities and learn to appreciate others' differences. I think the class discussion was a little dry and repetitive in terms of how we analyzed each group's map. We did not spend a lot of time talking about the connections between the themes as much as we spent retelling our personal experiences. Another way that I would address our questions about neighborhoods is through interviews with people from the neighborhood and through analysis of the neighborhood (maybe moving around the neighborhood without interacting with it, but acting as an observer, taking pictures and notes).
Advertisement Is Our Environment
Methodology
COLLECTING DATA
Our assignment was to walk around our neighborhood and take pictures of whatever advertisement caught our attention. It was a random process; there was no specific intention behind the pictures that I took. I walked around my neighborhood and I tried to take varied pictures without repeating them. I noticed that some of the ads repeated every few blocks, such as the one for iPhone 5, and that some, while different in appearance and structure, advertised the same item or service and repeated as well.
CONTENT ANALYSIS
I set categories based on similarities between the advertisements, and the patterns that stuck out. There were a lot of entertainment-focused ads (10), advertisement promoting a service (12), as well as ads featuring a woman (12). I noticed that none of the ads were negative. Pain, suffering, poverty, hunger were some of the things that were not included, in addition to controversial ideas or concepts that could arise negative emotions in the viewer. Most advertisements fit into several different categories, indicating that they represent numerous themes to appeal to as many types of consumers as possible. For example, the first ad features a couple kissing to appeal to single people who are looking for a partner, and it features an attractive woman to catch attention; it focuses on Thanksgiving in the text, connecting the dating website to something most people like and enjoy, while it is selling a service, which is not even the focus of the advertisement. The least represented category is religion, of which there is only one ad. Advertisements featuring women and advertisements promoting a type of service appeared the same number of times, often in the same image. Most images featured large colorful images. Text was the main focus only for some of the ads, mainly in the Money/lottery category. I categorized Fashion/beauty as anything that marketed clothing, make-up or even advertisements of the brand on clothing itself (walking advertisement). Money/lottery referred mainly to ads featuring a bank or the lottery, and, more often than not, these ads incorporated an outside idea as the main concept of the ad. Food and drink is a category featuring any obvious marketing of food, such as Dunkin' Donuts. As for the Price category, it was any ad that explicitly features a price. Initially, I thought of making Transportation just ads about cars, but I also decided to include ads that were on cars, such as ads on taxis or buses. I thought it was important to notice what we saw on our way from one destination to another, and what they featured, given that they were targeted towards people who drive.
Our assignment was to walk around our neighborhood and take pictures of whatever advertisement caught our attention. It was a random process; there was no specific intention behind the pictures that I took. I walked around my neighborhood and I tried to take varied pictures without repeating them. I noticed that some of the ads repeated every few blocks, such as the one for iPhone 5, and that some, while different in appearance and structure, advertised the same item or service and repeated as well.
CONTENT ANALYSIS
I set categories based on similarities between the advertisements, and the patterns that stuck out. There were a lot of entertainment-focused ads (10), advertisement promoting a service (12), as well as ads featuring a woman (12). I noticed that none of the ads were negative. Pain, suffering, poverty, hunger were some of the things that were not included, in addition to controversial ideas or concepts that could arise negative emotions in the viewer. Most advertisements fit into several different categories, indicating that they represent numerous themes to appeal to as many types of consumers as possible. For example, the first ad features a couple kissing to appeal to single people who are looking for a partner, and it features an attractive woman to catch attention; it focuses on Thanksgiving in the text, connecting the dating website to something most people like and enjoy, while it is selling a service, which is not even the focus of the advertisement. The least represented category is religion, of which there is only one ad. Advertisements featuring women and advertisements promoting a type of service appeared the same number of times, often in the same image. Most images featured large colorful images. Text was the main focus only for some of the ads, mainly in the Money/lottery category. I categorized Fashion/beauty as anything that marketed clothing, make-up or even advertisements of the brand on clothing itself (walking advertisement). Money/lottery referred mainly to ads featuring a bank or the lottery, and, more often than not, these ads incorporated an outside idea as the main concept of the ad. Food and drink is a category featuring any obvious marketing of food, such as Dunkin' Donuts. As for the Price category, it was any ad that explicitly features a price. Initially, I thought of making Transportation just ads about cars, but I also decided to include ads that were on cars, such as ads on taxis or buses. I thought it was important to notice what we saw on our way from one destination to another, and what they featured, given that they were targeted towards people who drive.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I selected an ad that was in the Technology category. It was a double ad of the same product across two sides of the phone booth, which I saw when I was walking towards midtown to meet with my sister. It was positioned at a rather busy intersection, targeting both sides of the street. I also saw the same ad on a bus stop just several block away, and became interested as to why the producer would place these ads so close to one another. The ad itself was really bright, with just one large image, and barely any text (only "iPhone 5"). I thought it would be interesting to analyze in depth the reasons behind the design of the ad, as well as its placement.
I selected an ad that was in the Technology category. It was a double ad of the same product across two sides of the phone booth, which I saw when I was walking towards midtown to meet with my sister. It was positioned at a rather busy intersection, targeting both sides of the street. I also saw the same ad on a bus stop just several block away, and became interested as to why the producer would place these ads so close to one another. The ad itself was really bright, with just one large image, and barely any text (only "iPhone 5"). I thought it would be interesting to analyze in depth the reasons behind the design of the ad, as well as its placement.
Findings
Table I is an aggregation of the data accumulated from the ads. For the first column of data, I tallied all the advertisement by categories, with each color representing the same ad that might fit into several categories. A lot of advertisements fit into different categories, because those ads are aimed at different groups of people for different purposes. Chart I is a visual representation of the data accumulated in Table I, and it makes it easier to view and read the information.
The lowest number in any category of advertisement was 1 ad in religion. It featured small angels, and it was reminiscent of a Renaissance Italian painting, promoting an Italian restaurant. It is interesting to notice that "religion" was so low in number because, while it is very widespread and possibly a very persuasive argument, it could also inspire a lot of contradictory feelings, and could dissuade some customers from paying attention to the product or service, as well as rejecting it because of its religious connection. The largest numbers of ads were in the Service and Woman categories, implying that seeing a woman, who is probably selling a service, will compel more people to buy it. One of the ads that did not feature a woman, yet still marketed a service, was the advertisement for Stonehenge 65, a rental agency, which, however, used an entire building as its advertisement. By placing a rather plain banner at the side of the building, the company gives off the message that it owns the apartments in that building and is willing to sell them to anyone, no matter how incorrect this assumption may be. I took pictures of two lottery ads, both featuring Christmas as the main idea "Jingle all the way to the bank" and "'Tis the season," which shows how advertisers can use something that is meant to inspire compassion, charity, love, forgiveness and family, into something that persuades people to waste money on gambles. One bank focused on "ideas" to appeal to masses, calling itself, "a bank for your ideas," not even mentioning money, so that it would appear to care more about people and not about how much cash they have on their accounts. The ad featured clean, bold text on a white background, suggesting honesty and straightforwardness, even though it is advertising a bank, which is an institution that is not often known for those qualities.
The food and drink category was very broad, but it represented food popular among teenagers, such as donuts, ice cream and smoothies. The Dunkin' Donuts in my neighborhood had a very large cup above its main entrance, so that it would be visible several blocks away. Their lattes were also advertised on the side of a bus that always passes in front of the store. There were a lot of entertainment ads, often featuring women as the prime "subjects."Ads on two nearby taxis promoted movies and music awards, and, of course, the main person pictured in them, was a woman. I saw an ad of the new game "Assassin's Creed IV - Black Flag" which is about pirates who are assassins as well, featuring violence and murder as its prime factors, and no woman in the picture. Two different restaurants featured a large banner about the upcoming NFL games, advertising both the football games, as well as their restaurants (by appealing to a broader audience of people who are interested in football or are looking for a place where they can watch the game). Numerous ads were featured on some sort of transportation, of which the main ones were the ones that were fully covered in advertisement, such as trucks and RVs. All of the advertisement about fashion/beauty featured really "pretty" women, who had clear skin, perfect teeth and shiny hair. If it so happened that the ad featured a male, it was only because he was with a woman, and they represented the so called "it" couple, who is always trendy and happy, even though the feelings are obviously false.
The lowest number in any category of advertisement was 1 ad in religion. It featured small angels, and it was reminiscent of a Renaissance Italian painting, promoting an Italian restaurant. It is interesting to notice that "religion" was so low in number because, while it is very widespread and possibly a very persuasive argument, it could also inspire a lot of contradictory feelings, and could dissuade some customers from paying attention to the product or service, as well as rejecting it because of its religious connection. The largest numbers of ads were in the Service and Woman categories, implying that seeing a woman, who is probably selling a service, will compel more people to buy it. One of the ads that did not feature a woman, yet still marketed a service, was the advertisement for Stonehenge 65, a rental agency, which, however, used an entire building as its advertisement. By placing a rather plain banner at the side of the building, the company gives off the message that it owns the apartments in that building and is willing to sell them to anyone, no matter how incorrect this assumption may be. I took pictures of two lottery ads, both featuring Christmas as the main idea "Jingle all the way to the bank" and "'Tis the season," which shows how advertisers can use something that is meant to inspire compassion, charity, love, forgiveness and family, into something that persuades people to waste money on gambles. One bank focused on "ideas" to appeal to masses, calling itself, "a bank for your ideas," not even mentioning money, so that it would appear to care more about people and not about how much cash they have on their accounts. The ad featured clean, bold text on a white background, suggesting honesty and straightforwardness, even though it is advertising a bank, which is an institution that is not often known for those qualities.
The food and drink category was very broad, but it represented food popular among teenagers, such as donuts, ice cream and smoothies. The Dunkin' Donuts in my neighborhood had a very large cup above its main entrance, so that it would be visible several blocks away. Their lattes were also advertised on the side of a bus that always passes in front of the store. There were a lot of entertainment ads, often featuring women as the prime "subjects."Ads on two nearby taxis promoted movies and music awards, and, of course, the main person pictured in them, was a woman. I saw an ad of the new game "Assassin's Creed IV - Black Flag" which is about pirates who are assassins as well, featuring violence and murder as its prime factors, and no woman in the picture. Two different restaurants featured a large banner about the upcoming NFL games, advertising both the football games, as well as their restaurants (by appealing to a broader audience of people who are interested in football or are looking for a place where they can watch the game). Numerous ads were featured on some sort of transportation, of which the main ones were the ones that were fully covered in advertisement, such as trucks and RVs. All of the advertisement about fashion/beauty featured really "pretty" women, who had clear skin, perfect teeth and shiny hair. If it so happened that the ad featured a male, it was only because he was with a woman, and they represented the so called "it" couple, who is always trendy and happy, even though the feelings are obviously false.
Critical Analysis
The advertisement features the new and improved iPhone 5. The ad, spread on two sides of the phone booth, only has the brightly-colored phone on it and a title that announces the product's name, as if that was enough to declare how successful and great it is. The ad follows the trend of focusing on visuals, instead of on text; however, it has reached a whole new level. It assumes that everyone knows what that gadget is, and what benefits it has, and why people should buy it, carrying with it a notion that, if you don't know that the iPhone 5 is amazing, you are not in trend, and are suddenly marginalized. The colors are a little bleak on the picture because the camera used is not the best and it was a cloudy day, but they are so bright in real life that it is hard for a person not to notice the ads. Plus, the placement is really strategic. It is on a busy intersection where a lot of people can see it from several sides, and, given its bright colors, it will definitely attract attention. Also, there is another ad about the iPhone, structured in a very similar way, just a couple of blocks away from this one, implying that the advertisers assume that people in my neighborhood are more likely to buy an iPhone 5. But what the worst thing about this ad is, and the main reason that it caught my eye, is that it provides an image of "normalcy." It is advertising technology, but it is also selling standards of what is considered to be okay, what is considered to be the norm. The phone also shows a wide variety of apps on its home screen, advertising those as well, and fitting them into this overly-inflated, overly-perverse definition of "normalcy."
Discussion
I learned a lot about my neighborhood, and the type of people that are assumed to live there, by observing the advertisements and noticing trends and patterns. I also learned how to be more critical about images I see everyday, that there is far more depth to an ad than what appears on the surface, and that it can be far more influential than I thought. In addition, I learned about the process of content and critical discourse analysis. It was interesting to perform this new method of analysis I had never previously done, as well as to think about the methodology behind similar research.
The advertisements that I looked at all had some form of "perfection" around them, whether it be a so called "ideal of beauty," or the "concept of normalcy." The advertisements featuring people all represented the standard good looking individuals, even if the advertisement was about an animated movie. This continuous exposure to "beauty" and the emphasis on its attributes in comparison to the average person, distort young people's vision of themselves and affect their self-esteem. The idea of consumerism, and the marketable appeal of products and services have made young people more greedy in terms of their consumption, but also more vulnerable to outside influence and pressure. This idea matters because everywhere we go, we are exposed to these images. In the street, in the subway, on TV, even in our emails, these images subtly haunt us, until they become a part of the way we think about ourselves and the way we look upon our bodies and minds. It is important to show people, especially the youth, that these images are not perfection. That they are retouched and manipulated so that they will make the consumers feel envy, guilt and shame.
What I really could not grasp throughout the analysis is how have the advertisements around us become so influential? How could we, as people and human beings, allow generations after generations to suffer due to images and messages that other humans have created? How could we allow one part of society, the capitalists obsessed with profit at no matter what cost, to take over and impose false images of ideals and perfection and normalcy on us? Don't we have some say in it as well? And, if we do, why don't we attempt to change it, to improve it? Why don't we emphasize ads that say "Everyone is beautiful" and do not employ it as a way to sell some kind of make-up or perfume? Why can't we have positive messages of reinforcement for young people who are in the stage when everything seems wrong, even if it is not?
The advertisements that I looked at all had some form of "perfection" around them, whether it be a so called "ideal of beauty," or the "concept of normalcy." The advertisements featuring people all represented the standard good looking individuals, even if the advertisement was about an animated movie. This continuous exposure to "beauty" and the emphasis on its attributes in comparison to the average person, distort young people's vision of themselves and affect their self-esteem. The idea of consumerism, and the marketable appeal of products and services have made young people more greedy in terms of their consumption, but also more vulnerable to outside influence and pressure. This idea matters because everywhere we go, we are exposed to these images. In the street, in the subway, on TV, even in our emails, these images subtly haunt us, until they become a part of the way we think about ourselves and the way we look upon our bodies and minds. It is important to show people, especially the youth, that these images are not perfection. That they are retouched and manipulated so that they will make the consumers feel envy, guilt and shame.
What I really could not grasp throughout the analysis is how have the advertisements around us become so influential? How could we, as people and human beings, allow generations after generations to suffer due to images and messages that other humans have created? How could we allow one part of society, the capitalists obsessed with profit at no matter what cost, to take over and impose false images of ideals and perfection and normalcy on us? Don't we have some say in it as well? And, if we do, why don't we attempt to change it, to improve it? Why don't we emphasize ads that say "Everyone is beautiful" and do not employ it as a way to sell some kind of make-up or perfume? Why can't we have positive messages of reinforcement for young people who are in the stage when everything seems wrong, even if it is not?