Killing Us Softly: Advertising

The average American sees 3,000 ads per day.  That is a lot of ads that we don't even realize that we are seeing.  They are full of subliminal messages that we don't even realize. Like this ad for example.  It shows a women and she is wrapped around in some sort of ribbon where she wouldn't be able to move or even speak.  When you see something like this you don't even think twice about it normally but when you actually look at the ad you wonder why they would make this an ad?  It's like she has been kidnapped and not allowed to talk.  Like she is being taken advantage of or even bondage.  It's a scary thought to think that our children are seeing these types of subliminal messages and don't realize that there's something not right about them.  There are plenty of other ads out there that do the same type of advertising.  Just go through any magazine and you will find tons.  The problem with these types of ads is that they are sending messages that say that women are supposed to be submissive.  That they should not have control of a situation.  That they should be quiet.  A lot of ads show women with their mouths either covered by their hand or some other object.  That's not right.  I thought women gained their rights a long time ago.  There are certain types of ads that I think shouldn't be allowed to be released to the public or even be thought of. It's not okay. 

Patience is a Vertue

One major thing that our society is lacking nowadays is patience.  We want everything NOW NOW NOW and don't care how we get it as long as we don't have to wait for it. We want fast results, fast food, fast cars, to get on the fast track to success, we want a fast pass at amusement parks, high speed internet, faster downloads, everything NOW.  It is a problem with America because the more impatient we get, the more stressed we get and the more frustrated we get.  If we don't take the time to do something right the first time then in the end it's still just wasting our time.  Our country has one of the highest stress rates in the world because we are always on a time crunch.  Someone above us is always wanting something done fast and efficient.  Time is money.  Due to the high stress rates we also have anxiety and insomnia.  How are you supposed to sleep when all you can think about is getting something done fast?  You don't.  Chronic stress also is one of the leading causes of a heart attack.  When you are stressed you have adrenaline that kicks in that is going to be making your heart pump faster and faster, causing your heart to be over worked and your pupils to be constantly dilated and the bronchial of your lungs to be open all the time. This is something that I think can be fixed but it's not going to happen over-night and probably not with my generation because we are so used to having things fast.  It could happen with the next generation though.  We need to stop trying to be so efficient and focus on what we are trying to do. 

How Real is REALity TV?

Reality TV is one of the most popular types of TV in America.  There's all sorts of shows that are game type shows like American Idol and Road Rules and Deal Or No Deal.  Then you have the shows that just throw strangers into a house and let them live together like Real World and Jersey Shore.  Then you have the shows that are Celebrities that are in "reality" like Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and Dancing with the Stars.  
Personally I watch reality shows just because they are entertaining and hilarious.  My favorite is Jersey Shore.  I just think that it's hysterical because of all the drama and funny stuff that happens on the show.  I don't think that it's that great for a child to watch because there's a lot of sex and partying.  I was watching the Maury show the other day and on it was a 14 year old girl and her mom thought that she needs help because she is a sex addict and Maury asked her who her role model is and she said Snooky.  Now, generally the role models in peoples lives are athletes and older siblings but we have gotten to the point where children watch these shows and think that it's okay to act like that.  The only reason it's okay for them is because they're good TV.  I would never let my child watch something like that.  It's not good for their mold-able minds.  

Jersey Shore - MTV Shows

Religification: Party Like A Hawkstar

Sports teams are something that is very religified, especially football.  The main religified team that I support is the Hawkeyes.  I am a supporter of the Hawks and go tailgating on the weekends that I don't work but I definately don't belong to the group of people that are the die-hard fans that have season tickets and are there every game rain, snow, or shine who bring tents with heaters.  Those people who take being a fan to the next level.  Those who go on party buses to the away games and no matter how minor the game is, they're there.  I see those people everywhere in Iowa City on game days.  They have tricked out RVs with TVs that pop out of the side and had specially made emblems on the side of the RV.  It's almost as if following the Hawks is their religion.  They have all the black and gold apparel and have the bumper stickers and everything just as any religion would.  They meet somewhere on Melrose to drink and dance and support their team.

Popular Music Encouraging Violence

One of the most popular music especially in my age group is rap/hip hop music.  It seems that a lot of the generations ahead of us aren't too fond of this music because they say that it is very vulgar and this tends to be true.  When you listen to the actual lyrics of a song, you read about how the artist wants to be better than someone, has lots of girls used ONLY for sex, and has lots of money to flaunt.  There is a lot of songs that use "bitch" referring to women or talk about killing someone.  

I am definitely a fan of hip-hop and rap music but I don't always agree with the lyrics.  One of my favorite songs is "Love the way you lie" by Rihanna and Eminem.  The song is about the guy (Eminem) beating his girlfriend.

Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that's alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

Now I know we said things
Did things that we didn't mean
And we fall back
Into the same patterns same routine
But your temper's just as bad
As mine is You're the same as me
But when it comes to love you're just as blinded
Baby please come back
It wasn't you Baby it was me
Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems
Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is I love you too much
To walk away though
Come inside Pick up your bags off the sidewalk
Don't you hear sincerity
In my voice when I talk told you this is my fault look me in the eyeball
Next time I'm pissed I'll aim my fist at the dry wall
Next time, There will be no next time
I apologize even though I know it's lies
I'm tired of the games I just want her back
I know I'm a liar if she ever tries to fucking leave again
I'mma tie her to the bed
And set the house on fire


In these lyrics he talks about how he felt when he was beating her.  Eminem has always been the headline for controversy with his songs and this is one of his that I actually like, but some of the stuff he says would be inappropriate for some little kid that hears the song and they had this song playing on the radio for a while.  I think our world is just less censored than it used to be.  We are so used to hearing things like this that it doesn't really even phase us anymore to the point where we don't realize what we are singing about when we memorize lyrics.  I never really thought about the meaning of this song until I watched the music video and really paid attention to the words. 

Rap vs. Country

Rap and country music are totally on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to the musical style of the two.  Country is generally slower and you can understand what is coming out of the artists mouth.  Country is more focused on the lyrics than on really the beat of the song.  On the other hand, rap is faster paced and the lyrics are usually pretty hard to understand and even if you do look up lyrics to a song online, you STILL sometimes won't even understand what they are talking about or the point they are trying to get across.

On the outside, these two generes seem completely different, but when you look deeper into it they have a lot of similarities.  When you look at the die hard fans of rap compared to the die hard fans of country, they are actually a lot alike.  I can pretty much bet that 95% of the fans of rap HATE country and the fans of country HATE rap.  Another similarity that they have is that the fans are also both sterotyped a lot.  When you picture a rap music fan or artist, you think of someone who is a gangster type who wears baggy clothes and lots of bling and flaunts their money.  When you think of a country star or fan you think of the cowboy who wears flannel and tight jeans with the big belt buckle and cowboy boots.  Another similarity is that both of these music types originated from the south.  That is something that a lot of people don't even think about.

Popular Culture Media

The Popular Culture media in our society is a good and bad thing. It can be a good thing because anything and everything that we have ever thought about or wondered can be accessed in 2.3 seconds on GOOGLE, Yahoo!, or any other search engine that we have. We also have so many people that are involved with Networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. We can find people that we haven't talked to since elementary school or keep in touch with relatives that are 2,000 miles away and send pictures back and forth that would have never been seen if it weren't for Facebook.  My 70 year old grandparents have Facebooks and comment on my things that I have and understand the basic knowledge of how it works.  I also have an aunt that lives in Korea that used to live with me and we can keep up with each others lives and can see each other live on Skype.  Also it has become more and more common to use internet dating sites.  According to Match.com 1 in 5 relationships are started by an internet dating site.  It's amazing what our world has become.

But on the other hand it's not all clouds and rainbows.  Facebook and Twitter have evolved into cyber-bullying central.  There was a story that I read in a magazine about a kid who was a freshman in high school who committed suicide because his roommate left his web cam on and recorded this kid kissing another guy.  The roommate displayed the video on facebook and Twitter-ed that his roommate was in fact gay.  Since when has being a homosexual become a taboo again?  Who cares?  I really think that this roommate of his is just so bored with his own life that he tries to get into this kids life and try to ruin it.  He is not the only victim of cyber-bullying.  It's sad that something that was supposed to be a good thing has turned evil.  There is also the problem with older men pretending to be younger and talking to younger girls and getting caught for it on Dateline's To Catch A Predator.   When I was younger and used AIM, my parents would be crazy about pounding into my head to not talk to anyone that I didn't know personally.  There is also a HUGE problem with kids being addicted to video games at such a young age.  My brother is 11 and since he was like 9 he has had a Nintendo Gameboy thing and the PSP.  He would go through days where that was all he would do WHEN HE WAS ONLY 9!  When I was 9 years old I was a dirtball who was always outside catching bugs and making tree houses.  And the worst part is that my parents have a pool and a trampoline in their backyard that would never be used.  Then my parents decided that enough was enough so they stopped buying him all of the games that he wanted and took his hand held games away and he has yet to have them. Now he will go outside and play from the morning until it's dark.  I think that a lot more parents need to do the same thing.  I also dated this guy in high school that would spend hours and hours playing this real life game called WOW.  Obviously I am not with him anymore, but when I was he would ditch me and not want to hang out because of this stupid game.  And he would spend like $30 a month on his membership for it. He was literally addicted.  This isn't an abnormal situation and it's really sad.