Advertisements...

I found this advertisement online today and it was an example of what we had talked about in class. Why is the girl being held down? Why is she wearing next to nothing? Why must she wear stilettos? We talked in class about how demeaning it is towards women. When you take a step out of reality and look at all the different advertisements with women being put down it makes you resent some of the advertisements that are out there.

Views on Advertisements

 Respond to the film Killing Us Softly.  What impact does advertising have on how people view themselves?  Can you describe or include in your blog an ad that perpetuates some of the messages Killborn describes?

EXAMPLE

I feel like a lot of women look at the advertisements and think they need to look or act like what they see. A lot of girls aren’t satisfied with their own body, and who they are as a person that they think they need to look like the people they see in magazines. Because people think this way they do use that to make money on advertising the thing they know people are going to look at. I think that the way they make women look in advertisements is demeaning and puts women down. They make us women look like an object, and a product. While we looked through magazines in class I noticed a lot of pictures of men and women in pictures together. The pictures that had both women and men in them always had the women in positions in where they looked to be overpowered by the man. Why is this? Why do advertisement companies use this as a way to sell magazines? 

Patients People!

How is impatience a problem in America?  How do you imagine this problem can be fixed?

The amounts of people who are impatient has increased. There are so many times that I’ve gotten honked at for not going RIGHT when the light turns green. There are many people who zoom by me to pass me because I’m going the speed limit. I also can’t say I have never been impatient, but I try to relax and let things happen with time. We talked about people who tried to rush through school. To do what? Pay bills, and grow up. We also talked about how we felt about people who had gotten their degree online compared to the people who sit through class to get it. I feel like having the class time and a real professor to go to means more than someone who get it online. I feel like they work harder and may even have more education. I think that people need to take a step back and realize that rushing or being impatient isn’t going to do anything. What is one more second at a stop light? What is a car length in front of me going to get you? 

Reality Television

How does reality television relate to and affect people who watch it?  What makes reality television shows so popular?  What is the largest archetype that you see being used in reality television shows?

I think that reality television does affect people. I think that many people find it entertaining, and then there are some people who see a reality show, and try to become someone that they saw on that show. I think that reality shows are so popular because people can relate themselves to the people on the show. I think that some of the reality shows on MTV are more directed at the people in their early twenties. The most common archetypes in reality television are the group of people who are competing for money. There are a lot of reality shows that have people of many ages on them.

Religification...

Select a popular culture artifact (company, celebrity, brand, sports team, etc.) that you can discuss in terms of "religification."  How has this artifact been "religified"?  How do people discuss this in reglious terms?  What people follow this particular "religion"?  Who are the people who directly oppose this popular culture "religion"?

There are many things that I have religified, but there is one that sticks out in my head. McDonald's or Burger King. These two fast food restaurants have been competing against each other for a very long time. However I do enjoy both, but I go to McDonald's a lot more. They have more of a selection, and you know what every things going to taste like because they have always had the same things. But when they do change their menu a little, Burger King thinks they need to update theirs to stay on top of things. Recently McDonald's changed their breakfast menu around, and not that long after Burger King changed there's as well. I have definitely made McDonald's religifed in my own life.

Popular Music 2010

Make a connection between popular music today and one of the other themes we've talked about this semester, such as women & sexiness or men/masculinity & violence.  Can you find examples of popular music either support the standard message of those themes or working against them?  How important do you think popular music has been in spreading these ideas?

I feel like music today makes people feel like they need to fit the group that they hear singers sing about. For example, there are all kinds of hip-hop songs that  talk about girls with big butts, or big breasts. Some girls feel as if they need to fulfill that type of person. Being a girl I haven't really thought about how guys feel when music videos come out with half naked girls. If you are a male please comment and tell me how singers that have this attitude make you feel as a man. When I see videos with girls shaking their fannies or grinding on men, it makes me feel ashamed as a women. I think that a lot of women look at the videos in disgust almost.

Hip-Hop and Country Music

Look at readings for hip-hop AND country.  Where do you see similarities and/or connections between these two music genres?  What do they have in common?  Where are they fundamentally different?


There are a few similarities between hip-hop and country music. They both sing about things that have to do with life. Although hip-hop is known for talking about murder, misogyny, and materialism, they do talk about some of the same things that country singers sing about. I've heard rappers sing about losing their girlfriends, and I've also heard MANY country songs about losing girlfriends. However I feel like country songs try not to offend people. Where as hip-hop songs are meant to offend certain people. That is one major difference in the types of music. I enjoy both types of music. However I like country music a lot more, because i feel like there is always a song to fit how you feel that day.