Advertising

I find that while women are the primary victims of advertising, men are also victims at times of advertising. While not as severe, men still look at magazines and are pressured to look a certain way. Most won't admit it and I certainly try not to but there is that pressure to look a certain way in order to be perceived as "attractive". Its a foolish thought to simply roll with the punches and accept the norm. Everyone is different so why should people feel a need to be like everyone else? That defeats the purpose of being an individual. the message is clear for both men and women. Be yourself and if people dont like you, you'll find someone better.

kilbourne article

I thought that the Kilbourne article we read was very interesting. I agreed with most of the article but there were parts that I felt were far fetched. I agree with her that women have been exploited in order to sell goods. It really is sad that people are impacted to heavily by the media and these magazines. These ads really portrayed women as merely being tools for trade. I thought she was rather selective with the ads she chose. I don't feel that all the ads in the world are this sexually driven. The ad of a little girl in a cherry dress was of a girl in a cherry dress. Why would you try to think of it in a sexual context? Unless there was writing that implied something sexual, it is pretty awful to think of that in a sexual way. Interpretation is the key word in these ads. Some people perceive these ads as being one thing when really they are not portraying that message.

In response to Brianne's post about stuttering, i must say that i agree with what she is saying. It would drive me insane to not be heard as i want people to hear me. I know there are other ways to say how you feel through writing but it isnt the same as speaking what is on your mind. Sometimes it isnt what you say but how you say it. That is something i think i forget sometimes and i take for granted that i do not stutter. I dont know what i would do if i stuttered and it must take a lot of work to keep it under control.

I thought that writing this first essay was pretty difficult. It's hard to write about some part of your body because of all the memories that are tied to it. It was a personal journey for me and a big step in accepting a lot of things in life. Sometimes you put some of these memories in the back of your mind and forget them. Writing this piece brought those memories out, both good and bad. It is important to never forget your past experiences even if they are not the greatest. Those experiences are what shape and define you as a person. To forget your past is to forget yourself.

In response to Danielle's blog, it is very true that we rush life away at times..It is hard to take the time and enjoy life because we are all so young and want to move on to the next point in our life. We want to grow up. We should be enjoying every moment that we have because you cannot get yesterday back. Time is one of the hardest things to cope with because there never is enough of it. I think that at times we need to just take a step back and enjoy the moment, even if that means not doing anything at all. I think it is important to enjoy the time that you have with your family too. Regardless of whether or not you agree with them, they still are your family...

One of the hardest things in life is becoming an orphan....enjoy every day like its the last time you'll be with them...

Andre Breton response

I thought that Free Union by Andre Breton was interesting and thoughtprovoking. The objects and situations Andre used to describe his wife are very different compared to the normal way that people describe someone they love. I personally would not have described my wife this way, for fear of losing my bed for the night/indefinitely. It makes me wonder if he really wrote this about his wife or actually was writing about women in a more general sense. Upon further research, I noticed that he was married three times throughout his life. Although it may be interesting and funny to read, it obviously did not help his love life out at all.

Silence question

The question of silence, as we talked about in class, was pretty interesting to think about..I never thought of the word silence as being negative but i can definitly see how it can be taken that way...i dont think that silence is always a bad thing but being silenced is definitly something that is not good...By personal experience, i have been brought up under the thought that "talk is cheap...silence is golden"...so if i have nothing to say, i generally do not try and say something that does not pertain to the situation..that does not mean i will not speak what is on my mind...i just try and think before i speak...sometimes i feel that silence is more comforting than anything else..words have a tendency to do certain situations injustice...so why say anything when the silence screams volumes?