The world we live in today has advertisements everywhere from Facebook to the outside of a bus driving by. Young women in particular can be very impressionable, and insecure. As young girls become women, advertisements that are aimed at their insecurities, such as the way you look, the clothes you wear and even the way you smell. The advertisements that are specifically aimed at women want them to feel insecure about themselves so they will purchase the makeup, shampoo, lotions etc. that the companies are trying to sell in order to make the customer feel good about themselves. The problem is that the product will not make them feel better about themselves because self-confidence comes from within. The women being portrayed on the advertisements have been airbrushed and are not a realistic portrait of the average woman in America. The problem with most ads today is that they are brain washing people into thinking they need to look a certain way and act a certain way.

A good example of an advertisement portraying an unrealistic body image of women is Victoria’s Secret: “The perfect Body.” It shows 10 different supermodels wearing their collection of bras and panties, they are of different ethnicity but the same in body figure. They say that these undergarments will be a perfect fit, perfect comfort and perfectly soft. As well as “giving you the perfect body.” What they want you to think is that once you “explore their collection, “and wear their product, you too will have the perfect body just like these Victoria’s Secret models. By looking at these women it can be assumed that they are a size zero to a size two, and according to WebMD the average size for a woman is a size twelve/ fourteen. So by Victoria secret advertising the perfect body, the consumer women and men, will think who ever wears this collection that they or the person they bought it for will have the perfect body.  Unfortunately many women suffer from self-esteem issues and the pressure society has put on them to look a certain way.

This advertisement by Aussie Bodies is portraying that by eating their low carbohydrate protein bar you are going to have better self-esteem, be skinny just like the model, and be happy on a beautiful beach. They show a petit woman at the beach in a bikini who is smiling and or laughing and having a good time. They have in big words “SELF ESTEEM” and then” powered by protein” then the picture of the protein bar. The picture of the protein bar has low carb and it has only so many carbs and it’s the chocolate one which screams eat me I am tasty because who doesn’t like chocolate.   They are portraying that you will have more self-esteem and look like a happy petit model after you eat their protein bar, and by being skinny and beautiful you will be happy. This company knows that so many women struggle with self-esteem and weight  problems and they are trying to use their weakness by saying they will help them to have better self-esteem with their protein bar by making them skinny. The problem with the ad is that they don’t tell you that you need to have a well-balanced diet with the protein bar to be successful in the weight loss and being happy. So many people including women suffer from the pressure society has put on people to worry about the way they look, act and feel. The sad fact is that the average weight and health of the average American is not what they are portraying in the ads. When we look at ads all the time we can’t stop to think what we look like and is it acceptable or close to those people in the ads.

In this Olay Definity eye illuminator advertisement they show an older model Lesley Lawson, who looks flawless and beautiful with her young looking skin. The writing on her picture says “Olay is my secret to brighter-looking eyes.”  There is also a slogan of “Because Younger looking eyes never go out of fashion,” beside her picture. This ad is saying that if you have wrinkles around your eyes you are not young and fruitful looking. The ad is telling you that with wrinkly eyes you are out of fashion and yesterday’s news. You need to buy this Olay Definity eye illuminator, and you will look young and in style. Olay is saying that your eyes will look flawless just like Lesley Lawson’s (In this picture) if you use their product. By saying “Because younger looking eyes never go out of fashion,” they are implying that older looking eyes are out of fashion and undesired by the people of today. This can cause women to look in the mirror and pick apart their imperfections, which makes them feel bad about themselves because they do not look like the flawless model in the ad. The issue with what Olay is trying to portray in this ad is that women that are of older age need to look younger to feel better about the way they look. That in turn starts the vicious cycle of pointing out ones imperfections and trying to find that miracle cure to fix what society and ads consider to be less than flawless. The thing is, people are not perfect, including the models in the ads and we just need to except the way people are and who they are.

The message in all of these advertisements is that people are not perfect but we have a way to make you perfect. The products they are trying to sell to help women achieve that perfect look or body are actually lies and miss direction of what is true happiness. The way society is going we are all going to have to starve ourselves and where a gallon and a half of make up to be considered attractive. Most people put a lot of judgment in appearance and make decisions on those judgements and the old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” comes to mind. However, these advertisers want only one thing, and that is to make money, even if it means making average women feel inferior to airbrushed, flawless looking supermodels in ads that are full of empty promises. As people get older they age, so does their skin, and that is okay! It’s as if they are constantly telling you that it is not okay to look older, or be bigger than the models. It’s almost as if they don’t want you to realize that it’s okay to grow old and not look like you just walked out of a model shoot. They are bombarding women and men with ads trying to sell something to make the consumer think they are making a good choice by buying their product. The problem with society today is that we have become a people of speediness. We want results on the spot and we want things fixed right now. If we all just took the time to educate ourselves on a healthy diet and living then I personally think we would have no need for these products or mind washing ads.  

Working in groups to analyze and then present our findings to the class has helped me out by opening my eyes to what types of procedures I should follow to help me organize three different commercials to work together. I also have a better idea of how to attack this paper and present my commercials with enough detail that I will let the readers know what I am talking about. Having three other minds helping me dissect this one commercial has given me four points of view that I can now use to help me in my third paper. When we had to present it also taught me about the presentation and organization I will need to be successful in my third paper. When I watched my fellow class mates present their commercials and analysis of it I found myself learning more about the organization of it all for this paper I am working on. The presentations also helped me in trying to make a decision on what type of commercial rather than what the commercial is trying to sell. What I mean is what the commercial is conveying, manliness, and sexiness, what women really want that kind of stuff rather than if the commercial is selling the same type of product.

                                The difference in writing the first paper compared to the 2^nd paper.

The first paper we were challenged to write was a narrative peace about a writing experience we had encountered at some point in our lives. I found it a little easy to come up with an idea to write about and could probably fill a couple of pages. The format and lay-out was pretty easy to follow since it was like telling a story and I am pretty good at telling stories. The only thing that I had a problem with and as always its grammar and spelling but nun the less I liked writing the first paper.I think i like being more descriptive and being able to use my own knowledge of the facts rather than having to look them up and cite them and make sure they are accurate. After all that you have to make sure its in the right format as well. I don't like to write that much so the less rules and restraints the better for me. I also liked the narrative over the argumentative because it brought me back to that hell hole they called great lakes naval station. I enjoyed the bad and the good memories that writing that peace brought along with it. The second paper was an argument paper where we had to choose two relative topics and tell the reader which one you thought would be the better choice and why. With this paper I found myself not as enthused about it, not sure if it’s due to it being later in the quarter or that I had less free range and had to follow a few guide lines. Once again it’s pretty easy for me to come up with a subject to write about but having to follow the few guidelines I felt less enthused about it. Although I liked the subjects and had a personal connection with the peace it’s just something about the narrative I liked the best so far. T he argumentative paper made me feel like a robot because of the material and the way I had to present it. Yes the narrative has some guidelines but it doesn't feel as restrictive as the second paper did. I guess i just like to be able to write the way I talk. I am one who doesn't like to write a whole lot so if i can find pleasure in writing a peace it goes by a lot faster and easier. when the subject I am writing about is one of particular interest and one i can relate to on a personal level it make writing a paper easier for me.

THINKING AOUT THE TEXT PAGE 175

1.       I would say her main insight is how we compare our dreams to the American dream and what it actually means. I think the last passage put it all together, she gave good examples of each character and the role they played in the show and how it depicts where we are now verses back then.

2.       She establishes her authority in the first paragraph where she talks about people always wanting and upgrade and how it’s a sickness. She also sheds light on how we as a nation are never happy with the simple things and we always want more than what we need.  

3.       Once again she appeals to readers in her first paragraph but also in her second and then last passage. She conveys to the simplest where having a car, a house and a job to pay for it all was the American dream but now we have super unattainable goals that we almost kill ourselves to reach them.

4.       I have never watched the show before but had a general idea that it was depicting how it was back in the 50’s and 60’s . The way she describes the characters and their roles it fits into what I was thinking of the show. I am also somewhat familiar with the way things where back then from old movies and such and it sounds about right. The American dream being sold away by cheap advertisements telling you what you should and do with your life

Health and mental disorders have been around since the dawn of man but man has only begun to understand what and how they are caused. That has caused human race to set out and search for the answers to the puzzles that cause people to get sick. Scientists and doctors over the years have discovered ways to combat these illnesses by using manufactured drugs in recommended doses to combat disease and mental disorders. The issue that arises when taking these medications is what side effects they come with and how much will it impair an individual.  Throughout the years people have used other means besides prescription pills to try and cure the same types of health and mental disorders. Marijuana has been one of those outlets to help treat many health and mental disorders people suffer from and have had great success. The issue that arises from taking medical marijuana is what sided effects it comes with and how much it impairs an individual. So should prescription pills and prescription marijuana be in the same category when it comes to punishment at the work place.

Medical prescriptions have generally been viewed as a harmless solution to a health or mental disorder. When a doctor prescribes a patient some sort of man-made product to combat the stress of everyday life, that so called patient is trusting that doctor to help and not further hurt or just put a band aid on the problem. This has been the problem for generations of people having to go through the health system and has somewhat brain washed people into thinking that prescription pills are the only answer to what the medical problem is and that it’s okay to do everyday activities while on these prescriptions. Doctors have been treating patients for decades from the common cold to cancer using modern technology and science. One of the innovations of the medical world was the discovery and then the manufacturing of prescription drugs.  Some of the early explorers in modernizing the natural properties found in nature where, Doctor pepper, Coca-Cola and anyone else who believed in there concoctions to help heal what ails you. Doctors have been pushing prescription pills since the 40’s to help the house wife with her daily chores around the house or to help relax her after the hard day of work.  This is where the problem starts because they make it seem okay to use these drugs for when and where ever you need to calm own or its directed you to take it a certain amount a day at certain time intervals.

Should prescription pills be viewed in the same category as medical marijuana in the work place? Medical prescriptions have generally consisted of little multi colored pills of some sort that a doctor prescribed to you to help with pain or some type of health disorder. Over the years people have become reliant on prescription pills and the side effects that come along with them. People take prescription pills before they go to work so they can deal with their anxiety or pain issues. It makes me wonder why people look so harshly at medical marijuana over prescription pills due to that medical marijuana does the same thing as the prescription pills.

                Medical marijuana has been legal since __________ and people have been using it way before that for its healing properties. 

Thinking about the text page 100.           

1.       Spriggs states many facts about why local farming and buying from those farms is a good idea and it will help out local economy. She makes her argument a little confusing those because she puts the opposition’s side in too but doesn't make it a 100% clear which is better due to the good examples of the good and wrong the both can cause.

2.       Spriggs tosses the other side’s story into by mentioning that the third world workers will suffer as well as the people across the United States who won’t be able to get cheaper produce or strawberries during the winter.

3.       I am not too sure how I feel the whole peace was a little confusing. She starts out with talking about how nice it is to get certain fruits and vegetables at different times of the year but then goes into why local farming is good. Throughout the peace she goes back and forth not really declaring which is the lesser of the two evils.

4.       The photos take your attention and focus it on what she is talking about. It also provides the visual to explain better what she is trying to say.