Semester 2 Blog 3 Learning Outcome 3

The soul purpose of any kind of mass media or advertisement is to persuade and inform.  Each type of media can be done differently. One very forceful claim that has been adopted from learning about mass media is that one type of advertisement is usually directed towards one type of specific audience, and the images have a stronger impact than the text.  The main focus of the author or publisher when making an advertisement is their audience.  These people are the only people that will generally be interested in what they have to offer, therefore they usually only focus on appealing to them.  Also, almost all advertisements are bias towards any other product out there that is even remotely similar to theirs.  This makes the audience believe that their product is the best, whether they’re tried it and compared it, or not.  Women often view advertisements and feel as though they will look like the model in the picture if they use that product.  What really goes on behind the scenes of making that specific advertisement, are all the touch-ups and Photoshop that real women do not see.  Text in many advertisements for women are to make them feel like if they do not buy the product then they will not look or feel beautiful.  All advertisements are based on who the audience is and the majority of the time, they make their audience feel as though their product is definitely better than any other product.  In conclusion, many advertisements are more focused on the text and the image of their product, instead of the product itself.

Semester 2 Blog 2

We live in a world where everything you do is judged and criticized.  Too often people will get in silly arguments over difference of opinions.  One of Mondello's claims many people may disagree with is that the next generation to come will be isolated because of the lack of CD albums, paper back books, and old school items.  Mondello states in his article titled Our Media, Ourselves: Are we headed For a Matrix? that without these things, life will have no value.  Too frequently people will get caught up in the past and the history, and not focus on what new inventions we all have been gifted with.  New technology is what shapes and changes the way we all live and learn together.  One of Mondello's points he made in this article, was "Won't the next generation be isolated without them-cut off like Vashti, staring at screens all day?"  This can be easily argued that old ways will not be isolated, but new ways and new ideas will be considered as well.  The more renovations and ideas that are introduced to our world, the more advanced we will be as a whole.  This claim can competently be disagreed with because the discovery of new ideas and new products are invented to improve something that already exists, or improve our standards of living.  Without the invention and renovations of things that already exist, our world would always stay the same and the theory of evolution would not exist.  Society easily gets lost in comparing the good with the bad.  New inventions and new technologies are only taken on if society accepts them and moves forward with them.  As stated in The Machine Stops, E.M Forster writes, "I have called you before, mother, but you were always busy or isolated.  I have something particular to say.  What is it, dearest boy? Be quick.  Why could you not send it by pneumatic post?"  This quote clearly shows the way people receive information and how they have taken on a new way of communication through something more advanced, technology.  This is why Mondello’s claim can easily be disagreed with because the generations to come will not be isolated from the world, they will just be more advanced than previous generations.  The world has come a long way since the beginning of time, and its all thanks to new concepts and new products.  The next point to address regarding this claim is that new electronic components have benefited the world greatly.  Without the invention of medical appliances, and medicines, our average life span would be the same as it was 85 years ago.  More people need to step back and learn to acquire the advancements and changes that our world is naturally supposed to go through.  Just like humans grow and develop, our world does too.  In conclusion, Mondello’s claim about the isolation of future generations is effectively disagreeable to the point that computers and music players have not taken the place of paper books or records, but instead they have just been renovated and progressed to accommodate the changes that happen to our world every single day. 

Semester 2, Blog 1 Hoover Advertisement

At a first glance of this image you see colors associated with Christmas or the Holiday Season.  The only colors on this image are red, green, white, and black from the text.  Many of us think of Christmas as a time to exchange and receive gifts.  In the image you see a middle aged attractive woman with a long, green dress that seems to be covering most of her body.  The only part of her body that is exposed is her face and the lower part of her arms.  This makes me immediately think back to how times were in the 50's and 60's when most women did not wear very revealing clothing and played the role of the "housewife".  Many women did not have the rights that they do now.  The product in this advertisement is the vacuum itself and its bright red color, with a large green bow.  The logo for this product is also placed in the upper right hand corner with yet another bow on it, which again ties the image to the Christmas season.  The boxes in the bottom right hand corner are significantly smaller than the vacuum and they are wrapped, yet the vacuum is not.  This also signifies that what is in the smaller boxes may not be as important, which adds attention to the product.  The woman in this image is grabbing onto the vacuum as if it is her favorite present.  Her facial expression shows that she is pleased with her gift, and thankful that she got it.  Although, going back to what I mentioned earlier about women’s roles during the 50's and 60's, she is gifted a cleaning supply.  This shows that women were responsible for chores such as cleaning, yet they are somewhat forced to be thrilled with getting a cleaning device for Christmas.  Also, if you look in the woman's right hand she is holding what seems to be a card that is a part of the present.  Her smile is not a full smile like you would see with a young boy getting a new toy or a young girl getting a doll set.  It looks like a small smirk, or smile of contentment.  The text says "Give her a Hoover and you give her the best".  This implies that most men want to give their wives the best of the best, and giving them a Hoover would be the best vacuum they could get.  The text in parenthesis "(and forever after)" shows that the feeling the wife will get of having the best of the best will last forever.  The other text that states, "She cares about her house, you know, so if you really care about her....wouldn't it be a good idea to consider a Hoover for Christmas?"  This shows again that wives during this time really prided themselves over how clean their houses were and this text makes the connection between the wife's caring of her house, and the husbands caring for her.  These are two different types of caring though, yet this advertisement compares the two as the same feelings to sell the product.  The text also implies that the Hoover Vacuum is the best, and it is the only vacuum that can make her feel the same way about cleaning her house, as her husband feels towards her.  The purpose for this ad is to persuade husbands that by giving their wife a Hoover Vacuum, they will feel like their husbands really care about them.  The main audience for this product is husbands that want to show their love to their wife on Christmas.  The main tactic in this advertisement was using persuasive appeals implying that their wife would be happier on Christmas if she received a Hoover Vacuum.