The expose makes me feel like folding it up and giving up on reading as the exhilarating nervousness kills me but cannot stop until I finish. I want to know how the bad things end and if they could end up being good things. The authors have made sure that the reader gets tormented but prevent him from giving up. Suspense is just what the doctor ordered.
In death by buffet I first get confused about what is going on since there is the journalist anchoring, talking less about the war since the pictures say it all and there is the one who used to be on the radio but loves watching. I make my conclusion that her interest in watching makes her want to work for television agencies which she does eventually. I get the news set that makes her keep asking is this journalism and feel relaxed as she makes me realize am reading and not in the situation. It is not good how easily it discourages one from a particular interest like the way Sarah feared being a journalist at the war front, wow, love life, how can I forget to say that love is in every human habitation. Gambling her career with love, Sarah gets confused on whether to go back to the loved one or undertake the challenge. I learn that challenges will always come my way.
The next one is life stuff . Tom Wolfe makes sure that people like me read his articles. This one in particular is perfect. Talk of suspense and I will give an answer that tom knows how to do it best. Have you heard about it , this makes me restart reading the article again, teaching me that there are ways of breaking sad news. Jane handled her situation differently. If today I was told the same by my friend, I would ask myself the same questions that Jane asked herself why me and did they have to talk about my husband . I would hate the news kept for long before making them known. While reading, I felt like telling Jane that Pete was dead as the call attendant hesitated to do so, could it have been fear to break the sad news to a person with the possibility of being the wife? I could have exactly done what he did. The expose leaves me in a quagmire and I keep reading it until I take in that I am recalling the words still ahead, hence rating it as well.
When I read Lifes in mama house , I get interested in meeting up with Ted Conover and getting ideas of how he thought of writing such. How the article makes the inmates seem comfortable but having some problems edifies me that whoever is new to a place must go through hardships just like the one who took a bottle of massage oil after starving for weeks, and parties are still being held in the same location. For example when there was a party and the cake was dropped accidentally. It is so good to read that it is my favorite article. The inmates story is so true that I would develop exactly what he talks about. I first thought the prison was an estate as it has many divisions called blocks. I stick it to my head that blocks are like wings.
The Life of Birds is a scientific show about the evolution of birds and the habits of different species. This program is directed by David Attenborough and it has been broadcasted on the BBC since 1998. These series belong to the trilogy The Life on Earth presented by David Attenborough which consists of The Private Life of Plants presented in 1995, The Life of Mammals broadcasted in 2002 and The State of the Planet showed in 2000.
Lets have a closer look at The Life of Birds namely the first episode under the title To Fly or Not to Fly? David Attenborough casts light upon the evolution of birds presenting in a ten-part insight. The program is devoted to the depiction of the period 150 million years ago and presents the dinosaurs, the process of feathering and their first attempts to fly into the air. More than that, David Attenborough highlights those species of birds that dont have the necessity to fly and they dont fly at all. Nevertheless, these species belong to the family of birds.
The program begins with the description of pterosaurs who are the forerunners of birds. Archaeopteryx is considered to be the first dinosaur which had feathers for the flight. Reptiles are the ancestors of birds and the intermediate member between them is probably the flying lizard. David Attenborough describes the process of evolution and then casts light upon the diversity of birds inhabited New Zealand.
The Life of Birds is very interesting and educational program. In the episode To Fly or Not to Fly David Attenborough presents the development of flying and non-flying birds. He presents a lot of facts and fossils explaining the process of changes of reptiles into birds. Why did reptiles begin to fly? He provides the probable reasons of flying. One of the main reasons is searching for food on the different territories.
The program attracts the spectators interest. There are a lot of beautiful sceneries and presentation of different species of birds. The shots are changed one by one and the spectator doesnt be bored. Music and David Attenboroughs commentaries make the program more interesting. The presenter talks about very serious scientific facts in a captivating way.
More than that, the presenter demonstrates all evidences of the bird development. The fossils of dinosaurs, reptiles and the process of their transference into birds are observed by David Attenborough. Nevertheless, if the reptiles transferred into the birds, why does not this process repeat nowadays? What was the cause of such transferences million years ago? David Attenborough explains some of the reasons. He presupposes that the main one was the food. He presents the process of feathering when the skin of reptiles changed into feathers which were necessary for flights. Nevertheless, some birds having feathers dont fly. Whats for the feathers for such birds? David Attenborough provides different reasons for this fact. Some species have feathers to keep them warm in the water. More than that, this episode provides the differences between the birds that fly and that cannot fly. It is pointed out that a lot of birds which cannot fly are not survived. There are some little species observed by the presenter in his program.
The demonstration of facts and evidences proves all David Attenboroughs presuppositions scientifically. More than that, we can observe the wealth and diversity of the nature in this program. Millions of species amaze with its beauty. The presenter touches upon some of the species inhabited New Zealand. We may observe the great diversity of the surrounding world sitting in front of our TVs. This program attracts my attention as far as it is more interesting to travel around the world and know something new watching amusing and colorful programs than reading books.
On the other hand, this program is considered to be unrealistic by many spectators. They believe that these evidences are not enough to prove things which happened million years ago. Many people dont believe that the reptiles changed into the birds. It is quite difficult to imagine such transferences and great changes. Although, many people dispute David Attenboroughs rightness there are a lot of interesting scientific facts about the Earth and the wealth of its flora and fauna presented in the program which attract the spectators attention.
The Life of Birds is an interesting program which may be used with educational purposes. A captivating and amazing plot supporting with music and commentaries plunge us into the wealth and beauty of the nature. We have such a great possibility to observe the diversity of flora and fauna sitting in front of the screens. Nevertheless, this program is considered to be unrealistic by some people who argue some facts provided in the program. There are a lot of scientific presuppositions about the existence of flying and non-flying birds. David Attenborough presents his theory on this subject. It is your right whether to believe this theory or not but the wide range of evidences provided by David Attenborough in his program make the spectators believe that animals are our ancestors.
In this research paper, the author undertakes a detailed evaluation of a vast amount of written literature mainly of research studies that have been done on the same area with the sole intention of verifying whether indeed the notion of subliminal advertising is effective in marketing strategies and if they are applicable. Throughout this paper, the author objectively discusses in great detail dozens of research studies, both that support the phenomenon of subliminal advertising and those that do not in addition to reviewing marketing models and even psychological studies as well to refute or support the various theories of subliminal advertising that are discussed in the paper. So in essence what the author is doing, in this case, is presenting the evidence, which is then reviewed systematically in a manner that enables the reader to be the judge.
As such, by the end of this evaluation the author can make a strong case on why subliminal advertising has little application in the art of marketing despite the seemingly weak evidence that exists in the several studies that claim so. In fact, the author undertakes a critical evaluation of each component of subliminal advertising strategy and shows in more than one way why it cannot be applied in marketing due to many challenges such as their subtle positioning, interference of other supraliminal stimuli, inability of establishing a standardized threshold concept, practical challenges of embedding subliminal stimuli and inability to guarantee a specific behavior outcome among others.
Critique
This is one of the most elaborately written research papers on the topic of subliminal advertising in which the author objectively presents evidence in very systematic manner for purposes of reassessing the applications of subliminal advertising. This paper has few if any weaknesses for obvious reasons; the fact that it is a desk-based review of relevant literature means that it is not inclined to have any methodological shortcomings in the first place which is the major pitfall for almost all forms of research studies. In my opinion this paper has no shortcoming that I could readily identify except perhaps for the fact that despite the vast literature reviewed there appears to be still more evidence that was not reviewed by the end of it.
Low Involvement Learning: Memory without Evaluation
The focus of this research study focused on determination of the impact that low-involvement Learning has in respect of two factors that were the central issues of the research study; that of the learning process and how this relates with the resulting belief (Hawkins and Hoch, 1992). The objective of this research study was to measure the impact that the level of Learning on subjects impacted on their learning process and the resulting belief that they formed. To determine this, the authors used an experimental research design whereby three experiments were used to measure the various key variables of the research. This meant that each of the three experiments used in the study focused on a specific component of the wider topic that is under investigation in this study. Consequently, the focus of the first experiment was to assess the level of truth in what the researchers describe as a low-involvement learning context and determine how this compares with high involvement learning (Hawkins and Hoch, 1992).
In the second experiment that was derived from the findings of the first experiment, the researchers intended to explore ways in which the memory aspect of the learning process could be manipulated to attain the desired effect. Finally the third experiment of this study further assessed ways in which memory can be enhanced under low-involvement learning that incorporated still more variables (Hawkins and Hoch, 1992).
Critique
Foremost, how this research study is designed, is in such a manner whereby the findings of the first experiment were relied upon by the researchers to guide and design the next two research study experiments. The problem with such a study design is that any errors or weaknesses in the first experiment will be translated to the resulting findings and ultimately the final findings because they will be based on the first experiment. In addition, an inherent weakness of this research study is its focus of study which mainly involves determination of memory among the subjects of the study; this is because memory is essentially relative and widely differs among persons even of the same personality. This means it will be impossible at best to obtain a workable yardstick that can be used reliably to measure the variable of memory across all the subjects of interest that were used in the study.
The Effects of Incidental Ad Exposure on the Formation of Consideration Sets
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact that incidental ad exposure has on the process of advertising by examining various contexts in which incidental ad exposure is found to occur. Thus, the study objective for this paper was to find out whether the incidental advert exposure has any effect on the resulting product or choice that is eventually chosen by the consumer (Shapiro, Maoinnis, and Heokler, 1997). To carry out the study the authors developed the hypothesis necessary to evaluate the primary data collected from the field and thereby determine if incidental ad exposure does indeed influence consumer choice or not.
The experimental research design was used to collect data from one hundred and fifty-two students that made up the sample size and subdivided into two groups; the control group and the experimental group. Seventy-four students were used as the experimental group while the remaining seventy-eight were the control group (Shapiro et al, 1997). The research design involved a pre-test component that tested for validity and reliability; the independent variables identified were manipulated to determine their effect on the dependent variable (Shapiro et al, 1997).
The results findings of this study after the data analysis indicated that an advert has the possibility of affecting future buying choices even when the consumers are lost in thought and do not pay attention to the ad or when they do not even remember ever seeing the advert (Shapiro et al, 1997). Thus incidental advert exposure is effective as it was proven that it can boost the probability of a product inclusion to the consumers consideration set (Shapiro et al, 1997).
Critic
One major weakness with this study experiment was the fact that the control group and the experimental group were not equal in number as should have been the case in an ideal experiment; the problem with this is that observable differences between the two groups could be attributed to the difference in number between the two groups. Additionally, in an experimental study the researcher can manipulate the independent variables to suit his/her objectives thus making the experiment subjective in nature. In this case the authors used the experimental design to collect primary data, which raises the question of research ethics. Like all qualitatively designed research studies such as this, the study results cannot be generalized in another context despite their replicability because there is always an element of subjective interpretation of data which makes the study results to be subjective as well.
An Examination of Different Explanations for the Mere Exposure Effect
Fang, Singh and Ahluwalia (2007) examine in this study two different reasons that are given for what they refer to as the Mere Exposure Effect. They assess diverse descriptions of Mere Exposure Effect (MEE) in two experiments through the use of banner ads as incentives to determine which among the two models of cognition-based perceptual fluency/misattribution theory (PF/M) and the affect-based hedonic fluency model (HFM) are best placed to explain the MEE phenomenon (Fang et al, 2007). The reason they used banner ads for the study was that most audiences pay less attention to banner ads and that these audiences help the authors to comprehend how banner ads work (Fang et al, 2007).
Their first research examines the influential effects of banner ads while the second one looks at fundamental process problems in the setting of banner ads. Both studies utilized experimental design to collect the data during this study with the first study using a sample size of 232 students while the second used 304 students (Fang et al, 2007). The identified independent variables in both cases were manipulated to verify the study hypothesis.
In their first study they concluded that repetition of exposure to banner advert improved perceptual ease and as a consequence, there is more positive assessment (Fang et al, 2007). In the second study, they found out that misattribution of experience or signals gets rid of MEE; in general, the study fails to find any evidence of the PF/M model being applicable in the case of MEE but instead identifies the spontaneous affective reaction to being more relevant in the process of MEE (Fang et al, 2007).
Critic
The study used students as the experimental group which may have an influential effect on the experiment results that is normally described as the herd behavior which may affect the researchers general conclusion and which was not appropriately controlled in this case (Fang et al, 2007). The research should have relied on a more diverse sample size to control this phenomenon and also for generalization purposes. Again in this case as well the sample size should ideally have been the same. Finally, this research study did not incorporate enough variables of interest since it was focused on just a few variables that were used during this study.
References
Fang, X., Singh, S. and Ahluwalia, R. (2007). An Examination of Different Explanations for the exposure Effect, Journal of consumer Research, 34: 1-7.
Hawkins, S. & Hoch, S. (1992). Low Involvement Learning: Memory without Evaluation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19: 212-224.
Moore, T. (1983). Subliminal Advertising: What you see is what you get. Journal of Marketing, 46: 38-47.
Shapiro, S., Maoinnis, D. and Heokler, S. (1997). The Effects of Incidental Ad Exposure on the Formation of Consideration Sets, Journal of Consumer 24: 1-12.
Advertisements have a great influence on the people. There are a lot of special tricks that trigger impulse buying. The advertisement of chips Doritos is one of the best examples how the video may influence the peoples consciousness.
Hint on sex and sexuality is an old time-tested trick used in ads. In Doritos Super Bowl advertisement, a sexual girl tries to seduce a young boy but she fails to do it because he is very captured with the football match eating the pack of chips without paying attention to her. Only these chips help her to pull him into the room.
Another trick used in advertisements is sounds. People memorize things better with the help of music. All sorts of audible cues are used to attract the consumers attention. These annoying jingles are very effective to get people to remember a particular product from this advertisement. In the case of Doritos Super Bowl advertisement, the crunch of chips and the sounds from the TV football match are used to catch the audiences attention.
Many companies use absurd situations in the advertisements in order to pass the main idea to the consumers. It is very extraordinary situation when a young naked girl strews herself with chips which are so much liked by her boyfriend. Such extreme comparisons and analogies are very successful at making the consumers be interested in the product. Having watched the Dorito Super bowl advertisement, many young girls find the secret of their sexuality in chips. It sounds inept. Such unusual situations and images play the same role as metaphors and similes in the literature. This absurd visualization makes the consumers remember the product and buy it in order to have the same situation in their life.
Fantasy imaginary is another method to influence the consumers. People who are portrayed in the advertisement have exaggerated perfection. A young, beautiful and sexual girl with long shiny and lush hair in her boyfriends shirt looks perfectly. There is no man who doesnt pay attention to such a beautiful girl but her boyfriend is fond of eating chips. The scene when this girl lies in the bed with a heap of chips is also perfectly depicted: a smart white room with a comfortable bed on which such a sexy naked girl lies strewed with chips catches the eye of the consumers. Such exaggerations help to make an accent on the product. The emotions of the young boy have overstated especially his mimics depicting his astonishment and joy. Many young women catch the hint of this ad. They know what is necessary to do to make their boyfriends happy. It is necessary to buy a lot of packs of Dorito. It should be pointed out that one pack is not enough. It will be better to buy a lot of chips at once.
The message that is sent by the creators of the ads is that the consumer will have the same situation or effect when he/she buys this product. Having chosen these young people for the Dorito Super Bowl ad is a clever maneuver. First of all, this ad attracts the attention of all young people including young girls who want to look like this sexy girl in the ad and boys who are fond of football and want to be with such a beautiful girl. Chips are usually liked by young people, thats why first of all this ad caters to this particular audience. On the other hand, the creators of the Dorito Super Bowl dont lose using these tricks to draw attention to their product of other age groups. Middle-aged people also dream about such situations in their life, especially, wives whose husbands spend a lot of time in front of the TV watching football matches not paying attention to their women. There is no doubt that all these tricks of the Dorito Super Bowl ad influence the consumers.
Works Cited
Doritos Super Bowel Commercial Winner. You Tube. 2012.Web.
Leadership is one of the most important components of organizational effectiveness and success. Great leaders possess the knowledge and skills necessary for making difficult decisions and proactively dealing with unfavorable outcomes. It is important to maintain high levels of emotional control while making critical decisions. Effective leaders are set apart from ineffective leaders by their ability to control their emotions and actions regardless of the prevailing situation or circumstance. Lone Survivor is a movie that demonstrates the importance of effective leadership in the attainment of certain objectives. The film explores the mission of a four-man Navy SEAL operation, known as Operation Red Wings. The main goal of the mission is to mitigate militia activity in Afghan and promote peace. Teamwork, courage, integrity, and character are examples of leadership traits exemplified by actors in the movie.
Team-Based and Individual Leadership
The movie explores the concept of leadership from the individual and team perspectives. For instance, it demonstrates the importance of teamwork in the achievement of goals. The leader of the squad is Michael Murphy, who is responsible for leading the team in capturing Ahmad Shah, a Taliban leader in the region (The Lone Survivor). A few hours after commencing the operation, the SEALs face a difficult situation: they encounter a group of herders in the mountains comprised of old and young men. They detain as they ponder the next move. Each of the team members has an opinion on the best course of action to take. The situation is volatile because the herders compromise their mission. A lengthy discussion yields three options: they could kill them, abort the operation, or let them go and request for extraction (The Lone Survivor). As members of a team, they discuss the various options at their disposal. Each soldier presents his opinion and explains why it is appropriate for the situation. They fail to come to a consensus and ask their team leader to decide to end the stalemate.
Murphy is the team leader and has to make the final decision so that they can carry on with the mission. In a courageous act of leadership, he decides to let the herders go, changes his teams location, and reevaluates their options (The Lone Survivor). He makes the right decision because it is against the rules of engagement to kill unarmed combatants unless they pose a direct threat to the safety of the team members. As a leader, Murphy frees them because it is in the best interest of his team and he is not ready to compromise the rules of engagement. His behavior in that situation incorporates key leadership traits that great leaders possess: integrity, confidence, and courage. His team members agree with him because he leads by example, even though their location has been compromised.
Murphys courage and character are evident from his decision because by freeing the herders, he went against the opinions of two teammates who wanted the men killed. Regardless of the potential risks of the decision, he let them leave and embarked on searching for alternative ways to mitigate the risks. On the other hand, he exemplified true leadership because as the team leader, he sacrificed his life, and as a result, led by example. Murphy is killed together with two other teammates: Petty Officers Second Class Matthew Axelson and Danny Dietz (The Lone Survivor). Murphys decision to move away from a secure hiding place to get reception on his phone exposed him to danger. He gave up his life for the sake of his teammates. Great leaders not only lead verbally but also by example. The decision he made risked his life. However, he did it because he cared for his teammates and the completion of the mission.
An encounter with the Afghan militia leads the SEALs to a difficult situation because they are overpowered. In that regard, they stick together to ensure their survival. As a team, they are inspired by their motto you are never out of the fight (The Lone Survivor). Each of the four members regularly checks on the others because they had been badly wounded by the militia. Their team spirit is commendable because they commit to each other that they will keep on fighting no matter their circumstances. The leadership of Luttrell is evident from the response he gave Dietz after telling him that he had all been shot. Luttrell encourages him by telling him that they had all been shot. Their verbal leadership encourages other teammates to continue fighting even though they had been badly wounded.
The aforementioned traits can be made more effective if necessary, by confronting reality fearlessly, proper preparation, seeking feedback, taking timely action, and improving communication. Fear and insufficient information were hindrances to timely decision-making after the SEALs encountered the herders. Poor communication derailed the process of decision-making because time went by as Murphy waited for a response from the base on how to proceed. Moreover, the integrity of the SEALs could have been improved if Murphy took greater control of the situation. Two of the teammates suggested killing the herders even though it was against the rules of engagement. As the leader, Murphy should have reiterated to them that the operation would be based on specific rules and that contravening them was unacceptable.
Theories of Leadership
According to trait theory, people possess certain qualities that make them excellent leaders. For instance, creativity, intelligence, and a sense of responsibility are common characteristics that leaders have. Murphy is courageous, confident, responsible, and has integrity. He can suspend emotions to make rational decisions. The other teammates are also leaders because Their courage allows them to continue fighting after getting wounded. Integrity is another leadership trait that Murphy and Luttrell possess. They are both unwilling to contravene the rules of engagement by killing the herders. Discipline, adaptability, and courage are necessary for successful decision-making. Murphy does not allow fear and anxiety to compromise his ability to think and make the right decision.
Behavioral leadership theories focus on how individuals in positions of authority behave when dealing with their juniors. In that regard, leaders can be autocratic, democratic, transformational, or laissez-faire. Murphy employs both autocratic and democratic leadership. He allows his teammates to give their opinions regarding the situation. However, since the decision needs to be made quickly, he ends the stalemate by giving the team the plan that they would follow. He is a great leader because he allows his teammates to contribute toward problem-solving, but intervenes when they fail to reach a consensus.
Contingency leadership theories suggest that the leadership style adopted by a leader is primarily determined by the situation. They argue that different leadership styles are appropriate for varied situations. Murphy involves his teammates in making decisions. However, when they have to be made promptly, he assumes the autocratic leadership style. As the leader, he offers a plan that his teammates agree with even though they had different ideas on how to address the situation. Murphy is a great leader because he can make decisions without allowing emotions to lead him to analysis paralysis. He uses reason and ethics to end a stalemate that ensues after a lengthy discussion on what to do with the goat herders. The decision to free the men was made based on the rules of engagement that did not allow them to harm unarmed individuals. However, it led to the loss of lives. Effective leaders do the right thing even though the decisions that they make result in unfavorable outcomes.
Conclusion
Lone Survivor explores various traits and behaviors that characterize effective leadership. Courage, integrity, adaptability, and teamwork are examples of traits that the actors exhibit. They fight the militia fearlessly, keep going after getting wounded, follow the rules of engagement, and make tough decisions that put their lives at risk. Murphy takes charge of his team, and even though he allows them to express their opinions, makes the final decision. Great leaders allow their team members to participate in decision-making processes. They value their contributions and do not allow emotions to crowd their judgment. The SEALs work as a team and obey the commands of their leader. They do not argue with him and play their roles by giving opinions and following his instructions.
Work Cited
The Lone Survivor. Directed by Peter Berg, Performance by Mark Wahlberg, Universal Pictures, 2013.
The documentary Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City made its debut in 2012. It was aired to an audience of more than 260 million households. The documentary portrays Baltimore as a city full of young men wasting their future in bleak street corners. It creates a picture of a city characterized by blocks of boarded-up houses, drugs, crime, prisons, and death ( Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City ).
The scenario depicted in the documentary raises a lot of questions. For example, one may wonder whether or not it illustrates what is really happening in the city. The film appears to be a negotiation between reality on one hand and interpretation and bias on the other.
In light of this, the author of this paper will adopt a radical doubt approach in analyzing this documentary. The aim is to come up with an uncorrupted and unbiased understanding of Baltimore as a city and the real issues at hand (Olsson 123). In addition, the author explores a number of aspects in relation to the creation of the film.
The aim of this exploration is to show how a documentary can evolve from a representation of the reality to a negotiation with reality. Consequently, the importance of adopting a radical doubting stance with regards to real-life situations is made apparent.
The Primary Framework of the Documentary
Consensus paradigm is the primary framework applied in the production of the documentary. To this end, the city of Baltimore is illustrated as a community consisting of like-minded black Americans who agree on goals that are important for their survival. In other cities, the society acts as a system of mutually supportive institutions.
Each institution contributes to the existence of the system. However, in the documentary, Baltimores institutions are seen to work against one other. Most individuals have accepted that crime and drug are the only ways to earn a living in the city ( Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City ).
At one time in their lives, most people interviewed in the documentary were involved in drugs. Some were part of the gangs controlling the illegal industry. The documentary shows how the rate of crime involving black American youth has increased in the recent past.
The increase has prompted the authorities to carry out a war against drugs and arms in Baltimore by incarcerating a large number of young men. Patterns that shape Baltimore are clearly seen in the documentary. For instance, in less than 24 hours, Aljazeera reports three crime scenes involving gun shootings and murder. The reporting portrays the city as a violent and unsafe place ( Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City ).
The reality of the Conflict in Baltimore City
After watching Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City , one is left wondering whether the portrayal of the city is the reality or it is just a wisely crafted documentary to generate social buzz and short-lived press attention. It is evident that the film focuses only on the negative aspects of the city.
Such elements include crime, high incarceration rates, and drugs. Such portrayals are a common trend in contemporary documentaries. The reason is that the associated negative and untold stories are more likely to attract peoples attention than those reported in conventional documentaries focusing on normal issues (Olsson 102).
It is important to look past the intentions of the producers and into the major issues addressed in the documentary. An analysis of the film from this perspective raises doubts with regards to how the issues were addressed. A case in point is the state of prisons in the city. Most of the facilities are full to capacity. In addition, it is not surprising that most of the inmates in these institutions are young men of African American descent ( Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City ).
The authorities try to explain the high rate of incarceration. They claim that is the only way to deal with drugs and crime in the area. However, a critical look into this issue reveals that mass incarceration is a cleverly plotted scheme by the government to address prevailing social and economic problems.
When convicted individuals serve their time, they are denied public housing, health insurance, and access to certain jobs by the government. Such practices contradict the administrations assertions since they deny the ex-convicts the chance to earn an honest living. As a result, they resort to crime and drugs. While this may be the case, producers of the documentary appear to blow the issue out of proportion.
The documentary shows that the war on drugs and crime is a set-up in which poor black people are socially controlled in a way that is equivalent to slavery ( Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City ). As such, one wonders about the real intentions of the war. It is not clear whether it is against drugs or African Americans. The cover-up for the faulty social reality is seen in the misleading speech given by the mayor as she tries to portray Baltimore as a safe city in spite of the rise in crime.
Conclusion
Practicing radical doubt is important given that testing the validity of information helps one to make critical decisions. In addition, it is clear that radical doubt should be supported by facts. It would be meaningless to doubt everything while looking for the hidden truth.
Works Cited
Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City. Fault Lines., Aljazeera, Washington. 21 Aug. 2012. Television
Olsson, Erik. Not Giving the Skeptic a Hearing: Pragmatism and Radical Doubt . Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 70.1 (2005): 98-126. Print.
Language is an amazing yet scary tool. It has been utilized in so many different ways, whether as speech, text, and other formats. Words can be arranged in such abundant fashions that their meaning or goal determined by the author or orator can have either nefarious or positive reasoning behind them. We rarely find a discipline with so much darkness and light at the same time. Even more intriguing is that there are so many shades of grey as well. What other type of art form allows for Nazi propaganda and Cinderella to be in the same category? One of the most observed and unfortunate occurrences in writing are illogical fallacies. Illogical fallacies are arguments that are as their name states, illogical. One type of illogical fallacy is called a sweeping generalization . An example would be if a student at college were part of a very rich fraternity. Other students would be exemplifying an illogical fallacy by ascertaining that this individual was rich, which may or may not be true. It does not matter if they are rich or not. Even though we are aware of these extremely false arguments they occur all the time in our society, whether it be politicians, TV and radio personalities, or the average citizen. What is even more horrifying is the fact that many prevalent individuals rely on illogical fallacies to boost their beliefs. One of these people is Rush Limbaugh. This man is a strong conservative influence that often has very opinionated ideas and has been viewed as evil to some and as a pioneer to others. Rush Limbaugh is repulsive, especially for the way that he utilizes illogical fallacies daily. However, Rush is relying on something that many that fall into this type of behaviour possess. The illogical fallacy sweeping generalization is reliant on individuals beliefs or emotions regarding various elements to have become a truth for them.
Rush Limbaugh is a toxic individual. Anyone who employs illogical fallacies to boost their ratings and beliefs is a disgusting individual. He feeds off of bolstering negative views of his opponents, no matter the cost. The real twisted aspect of Rushs arguments is that he realizes that he is using illogical fallacies to bolster his points and does it anyway, with no regard to which he is hurting. Furthermore, a large percentage of the United States believes what he is saying to be true. The power of the media is extremely influential. As aforementioned, it is Rushs political beliefs and ideals that spurn the garbage that leaves his mouth. Rush has capitalized on many different illogical fallacies; especially sweeping generalizations, but one of his worst to date is saying that the NAACP should have a riot rehearsal, where they would become inebriated and rob stores. This is an illogical fallacy for various reasons. Firstly, the NAACP, which is a society for the advancement of African-Americans, is filled with African-American citizens. Rush in essence is using racist stereotypes to belittle the NAACP, which is wrong and hurtful. Moreover, it shows how simple Rush is at his core. He is so obsessed with keeping everything the same, obvious from his strict conservative beliefs that he still thinks that racist humour is appropriate, even though it never was. He then goes on to typecast African-Americans as a whole, insinuating that all they do is get drunk and steal. It is astounding that this man has not faced any job security issues in his lifetime. Unfortunately, the United States is such a money-driven country that although from time to time Rush may have a sponsor drop him, he will find others very quickly, if not already satiated from the current establishments.
The problem with individuals such as Rush Limbaugh, and other different types of political spokespeople is that they are so involved with their political beliefs and emotions that they disregard the oppositions entire. They feed off their emotions and in reality, are communicating how they feel with their negative words. The problem is that after time, these people are blinded by their emotions, and the emotions that they rely on to fuel their opinions become truth. They have been arguing these points for so long that they tend to believe in the demonization that they give their opposition. Rush Limbaughs views are abhorrent, but the same thing could happen to an individual who opposes him. They become so focused on arguing against conservatism that they tend to have the sweeping generalization that all conservatives have only negative elements, which is not true.
African-Americans in the US have often suffered from negative stereotypes, as portrayed by different media outlets. Gedeon (4) says that common adjectives used by the media to describe African-American women include gold-diggers, baby mamas, uneducated, angry, mean, and unhealthy. These adjectives reinforce the views of a study conducted by Meyers (143), which sampled a group of women, aged 18-29.
The study showed that 80% of media representations of African-American women were negative (Meyers 143). Essence magazine also reported similar findings after finding out that more than 80% of media representations of African-American women were negative (Meyers 50). Although many people hold this view, people have contradictory opinions regarding the effects of these negative images on the African-American society.
Some say it is inconsequential to portray African-American women negatively, while others believe that society should not condone the medias negative portrayal of African-American women (Meyers 50). After exploring the pros and cons of these arguments, this paper argues that society should not tolerate the negative representation of African-American women in America because such depictions are incorrect and baseless.
Supporting Arguments
This paper has already shown that some people say the negative portrayal of African-American women in the media is not necessarily a bad thing because, historically, the media have ignored this demographic (Meyers 144). Therefore, they say the negative imagery is an improvement depiction of the gender because there was a total media blackout of African-American women.
Therefore, these groups of people say negative media representation is better than no representation at all (Meyers 144). In the same regard, using this logic, Meyers (144) says that African-American professionals (journalists, actors, musicians and the likes) do not have to present a positive image of African-American women because it does not matter what representation is out there.
People who support the above views also support the negative portrayal of African-American women in the media because they believe such representations are true (Gedeon 3; Meyers 50). Some of these people support this idea, based on their personal experiences, while others believe that such representations are true because of what they see in the media (Gedeon 5). A small section of this population believes that such representations of African-American women are authentic and natural.
They also perceive the same representations as real (Gedeon 5). For example, Gedeon (6) says the original depiction of Oscar Award winner, Lupita Nyongo as true African beauty is the medias representation of true African beauty in its authentic form.
She also says such representations, although undesirable to some people, represent the true essence of African-American beauty. Collectively, people who hold these views say it is not bad to portray African-American women in their true essence because such representations authentically depict the peoples character (Gedeon 3; Meyers 50).
Non-Supportive Arguments
Some people have a counter-argument to the above analogy by saying that the negative portrayal of African-American women in the media is a bad thing (Meyers 143). Although they also acknowledge that the media have always ignored black women, they say it is important for African-American professionals to portray a positive image of their women by changing the negative stereotypes that have characterized this demographic (Francois 3).
Failure to do so means they approve the negative image of African-American women portrayed in the media. Harris-Perry (2) holds the same view after saying the negative portrayal of African-American women in mainstream media is lacking, misguided, incomplete, or wrong.
Harris-Perry (2) and Gedeon (3) further caution people from embracing the negative stereotypes of African-American women (portrayed in the media) by saying that it reinforces negative stereotypes of the population because people often resonate with what they see. Therefore, if they continue to perceive African women as angry or uneducated people, they are likely to believe this is true. Consequently, she argues that society should not condone such perceptions (Harris-Perry 2).
Conclusion and Recommendations (My View)
Doubtless, the image of African-American women has changed in the past few decades. In the past, the media portrayed this demographic as sexual objects of their masters (usually during the slavery period). The media also portrayed them as mammies who dedicated most of their lives to taking care of the well-being of their masters families, as opposed to their own. Over the decades, this image has changed by desexualizing women.
However, the new image still puts African women in a mental cage of racial prejudices and stereotypes. Although some people may view this change as progressive, it is important to understand how it reinforces negative racial stereotypes of African-American women and promotes discrimination in the same regard. If left unchecked, these negative representations may further erode the values and identities of African-American women in the society, thereby creating a bigger identity crisis for the women.
Therefore, it is wrong to allow the negative portrayal of African-American women to continue (merely) because it is an improvement of historical media depictions of the demographic. Overall, although it is crucial to allow authentic representations of gender, the media should exclude racial prejudices in their representations of African-American women.
Works Cited
Francois, Tiffany. How the Portrayal of Black Women has shifted from Slavery times to Blaxploitation films in American Society. 2013. PDF File. Web.
Gedeon, Kimberly. Where Are The Authentic Black Beauties? African-American Women Yearn For Better Media Representation. 2013. Web.
Harris-Perry, Melissa. Where are the positive representations of black women in media? February. 2013. Web.
Meyers, Marian. African American Women in the News: Gender, Race, and Class in Journalism, London, UK: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin are often compared and counterposed. The main similarity between them lies in the fact that they are legendary figures and comic actors who contributed greatly to the development of the silent film. Importantly, these two actors starred in slapstick comedies, which are characterized by exaggerated physical activity. Nonetheless, the works of Chaplin and Keaton are quite different in so that Chaplins movies are rich in comedic facial expressions while Keaton is famous for his Stoneface . His facial expression was effective as it turned his characters into stoic heroes, who could remain inscrutable in almost any setting (Da218835, 2015). This manner also allowed Keaton to use his eyes to express the feelings and emotions of his character. Apart from that, the work of the two actors and filmmakers is different in the themes and content they emphasized. Charlie Chaplins movies brought various social and political issues to the forefront. Meanwhile, Keatons films placed a particular emphasis on acrobatic performance and content that could be easily deconstructed by the viewer.
The author of this paper identifies with Chaplin more than with Keaton. On the one hand, the writer was carried away by the dinner episode in The Scarecrow ; the scene was full of action and minor but important details (Orange Cat Blues, 2013). On the other hand, Chaplins movies raise important social topics and provide room for speculation. The author of this writing appreciates content supported by the visual imagery, which is more characteristic of Chaplins movies. Keatons stunts in Steamboat Bill Jr. remind me of films with Jackie Chan in which the actor also showed absurd, humorous, and, at the same time, extraordinary stunts with ease. However, the main difference is that Keatons characters never showed any emotion.
Advertising is a marketing tool that aims at persuading target customers to buy a certain product; they are also designed to differentiate a companys products by a glance (Hsuen-Ho & Jia-Wei, 2010). Subway is a leading world fresh-made sandwich provider with 33318 restaurants distributed in 92 countries. Other than itself operating from a central point, it franchises its name.
The restaurant was established in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck; the company has a robust marketing team that uses different marketing channels to sell its products. Advertising in the company is managed by Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust (SFAFT); some of the media used include electronic and print Medias (Subway official website, 2011). This paper analyzes the effectiveness of an online advert for a companys sandwich posted on its official website.
Subway official website. (2011).
Adverts communication
The advert clearly defines the components of the companys sandwich, with the advert; potential customers can be able to differentiate the product from those offered by competitors. The components can be correctly predicted and the size of the sandwich can be predicted. Looking at the sandwiched vegetables, a potential customer can tell they are fresh, to reinforce the advert, the company has a tag with the advert.
Differentiation of the product
Looking at the advert, customers can see some unique feature with the advert that is likely to differentiate it from competitors; the shape and the components of the sandwich portray some unique; the advert tag on the other hand creates a difference when it says subways eat fresh, which is a registered tag (Hsuen-Ho & Jia-Wei, 2010).
Market segment targeted in the ad
According to the philosophy of SFAFT, adverts are targeted to people between the ages of 19 and 49 years; the advert meets the target market expectations as it is clear and creates a real picture of the product. The positioning and the tag reinforce each other to improve the effectiveness of the advert; it is directed toward the appropriate market segment.
Resigning the advert for universal appeal
The tag with the advert is in English, this tends to keep off countries that do not speak in English, and to make the advert more universal, the statement Eat Fresh should be dropped. To ensure that dropping part of the tag does not reduce the effectiveness of the advert, the management should ensure that the company has a strong name tag associated with freshness and quality products; this will serve in place of the tag (Mullins, Walker, 2010).
The aspects that might trigger negative emotions
Although the product seems to advocate for fresh eating as it is the policy of the company; to some extent, the advert can be interpolated to be advocating for junk eating. Junks have been condemned in the United States and other countries as they have been blamed for the increased obesity rate among children and adolescents. The adverts seem to have carbohydrates foods and vitamins, however, for a balanced diet, there is a need to have proteins included; this notion may create a feeling that the company does not offer balanced diet food.
Recommendations for a new (and improved) advertisement
Looking at the advert, it has ignored the economic market segment element by not including a price tag. The marketing team should acknowledge the role played by prices in marketing; they needed to include a price tag with the advert. Price would have been another tool of product differentiation.
In most cases, sandwiches are taken with a drink; the advert is silent on the kind of drink that someone visiting the company should expect. It would have been of higher effectiveness if the advertising team on the side of the advert had a certain soft drink that they feel does well with sandwiches (Goldfarb & Tucker, 2011).
References
Goldfarb, A., & Tucker, C. (2011). Advertising Bans and the Substitutability of Online and Offline Advertising. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 48(2), 207-227.
Hsuen-Ho, H., & Jia-Wei, T. (2010). A Model of Marketing Strategic Alliances to Develop Long-Term Relationships for Retailing. International Journal of Business & Information, 5(2), 151-172.
Mullins, J. W., Walker, Jr., O. C. (2010). Marketing management: A strategic decision making approach. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
