We see ads everywhere; on televisions, radios, and streets, in subways, local libraries built by some company, restaurants, and hair salons, and even at school. They all urge us to buy some product, to call a counselor, to donate money, to finish what's on your plate, or to recycle properly. Such advertisements greatly influence the way people think, both positively and negatively. Either way, advertisements block people's ability to resist the conveyed beliefs that may or may not be true, subjecting them to manipulation. Such influence is most effective for those who are not aware of the claims made in advertisements.
For example, although we may not call the red cross immediately after spotting a picture of crossed band-aids and a paragraph below explaining the advantages of blood donation, we would think that blood donation is desirable. We would not be able to consider that there are people who are opposed to donating blood, or that donating blood can bring any negative side effects. The ad itself may seem like, and is, a positive propaganda. However, it can be quite dangerous because we never think that this 'advertisement for a good cause' intends to manipulate our behavior, thus accepting any belief suggested by advertisements without criticism.
A more typical example that shows the influence of advertisements would be the success of cigarettes. In the 20th century markets for cigarette continued to rise, because the advertisers knew how to attract the individual consumers to a particular brand that would suit their needs. When people saw a handsome man in suits getting out of a tall building carrying a certain brand of cigarettes between his fingers on TV, they would have associated the brand with good looks, success, working ability, and break time, not with lung cancer or death. The positive and popular image of cigarettes created by such ads stopped consumers from thinking that they should avoid smoking, or that the number of people who smoke might actually be smaller than what they know.
Schrank claims that although people deny of this fact, such influence of advertisements are especially strong when people are not aware of the message that advertisements try to convey. In both examples stated above, people do not concentrate on what the intentions of ads might be. Instead they just take the information in their subconscious, keeping all the messages in the back of their mind. If you had picked out a random consumer of a certain brand of cigarette,
2011년 3월 20일 일요일
2011년 3월 14일 월요일
material for synthesis essay
It's a famous video clip that shows the life of an average high school student in Korea
2011년 3월 7일 월요일
Pink Plastic Flamingo
In the essay Jennifer Price brings up two major reasons why the pink plastic flamingo was such a phenomenon in America. Instead of directly stating her opinion, Price weaves it into the usual facts through her careful choice of examples and words, setting signs here and there that lead to associating the pink plastic flamingo with certain natures of the American market.
Price starts the essay by letting the readers know that she will be discussing two major characteristics of the pink flamingo that made it so impressive. 'It was a flamingo' in lines 2 and 3 seems so obvious that it catches the reader's attention quite effectively. Giving some information on what flamingo meant in America, Price particularly uses the words 'flock' or 'wealth and pizzazz' and the example of hotels, creating a somewhat comic image of a group of 'eager' consumers ready to 'flock' to hotels, and so prepares the readers with a basic idea of what the pink flamingo may symbolize. Then she adds that this commercial popularity of plastic flamingos came after the indiscreet hunting of real flamingos, suggesting that it is 'a little ironic' which is an understatement. Now the readers would think that whatever the Americans love about pink plastic flamingos has nothing to do with the real flamingo, nature or life. The example of Las Vegas, the ultimate symbol of extravagence and entertainment in America, makes the idea quite concrete. A simile in lines 28 and 29 compares the appearance of services employing the image of flamingos with 'semiotic sprouts' which adds to the image already set with hotels, tourists, Las Vegas etc.
Price then moves to the second point, again with a very obvious observation, that the flamingo is pink. She uses quotes from Tom Wolfe and Karal Ann Marling that effectively emphasizes on how much the generation that overcame the great depression loved to comsume bright colors. Price uses the phrase 'celebrate its new affluence' in lines 38 and 39, which suggests that the popularity of flashy colors is closely related to blind consumption of goods. Along with examples of many bright colored products that were sold at the time, she mentions a pink Cadillac that Elvis Presley, a huge icon of American culture, has bought. Reading until here, the reader would now think the pink plastic flamingo as a symbol of a commercial culture, and on the negative side, which is exactly what Jennifer Price seems to have intended. She then explains how much flamingos stand out in any environment; with a metaphor in the last few lines that flamingos were sent 'wading across an inland sea of grass', which probably is an indirect mention of American lawns decorated by plastic ornaments.
Overall, Price appears to be analyzing the reasons for the popularity of the pink flamingos, however she is actually going much further than just giving objective information. She sees the pink plastic flamingo as a symbol of extravagant American culture, and so carefully chooses vocabularies and examples to support the idea, emphasizing on the artificial and commercial feature of the pink flamingos.
Price starts the essay by letting the readers know that she will be discussing two major characteristics of the pink flamingo that made it so impressive. 'It was a flamingo' in lines 2 and 3 seems so obvious that it catches the reader's attention quite effectively. Giving some information on what flamingo meant in America, Price particularly uses the words 'flock' or 'wealth and pizzazz' and the example of hotels, creating a somewhat comic image of a group of 'eager' consumers ready to 'flock' to hotels, and so prepares the readers with a basic idea of what the pink flamingo may symbolize. Then she adds that this commercial popularity of plastic flamingos came after the indiscreet hunting of real flamingos, suggesting that it is 'a little ironic' which is an understatement. Now the readers would think that whatever the Americans love about pink plastic flamingos has nothing to do with the real flamingo, nature or life. The example of Las Vegas, the ultimate symbol of extravagence and entertainment in America, makes the idea quite concrete. A simile in lines 28 and 29 compares the appearance of services employing the image of flamingos with 'semiotic sprouts' which adds to the image already set with hotels, tourists, Las Vegas etc.
Price then moves to the second point, again with a very obvious observation, that the flamingo is pink. She uses quotes from Tom Wolfe and Karal Ann Marling that effectively emphasizes on how much the generation that overcame the great depression loved to comsume bright colors. Price uses the phrase 'celebrate its new affluence' in lines 38 and 39, which suggests that the popularity of flashy colors is closely related to blind consumption of goods. Along with examples of many bright colored products that were sold at the time, she mentions a pink Cadillac that Elvis Presley, a huge icon of American culture, has bought. Reading until here, the reader would now think the pink plastic flamingo as a symbol of a commercial culture, and on the negative side, which is exactly what Jennifer Price seems to have intended. She then explains how much flamingos stand out in any environment; with a metaphor in the last few lines that flamingos were sent 'wading across an inland sea of grass', which probably is an indirect mention of American lawns decorated by plastic ornaments.
Overall, Price appears to be analyzing the reasons for the popularity of the pink flamingos, however she is actually going much further than just giving objective information. She sees the pink plastic flamingo as a symbol of extravagant American culture, and so carefully chooses vocabularies and examples to support the idea, emphasizing on the artificial and commercial feature of the pink flamingos.
피드 구독하기:
글 (Atom)