maxim/cosmo

First off, reading either one of these magazines is probably equivalent to making your mind into a garbage dump and filling it half way. That is, depending on how much you let it effect you and the way you choose to have sex or tilt your head. Talk about falsity. I guess it works for a number of people and thats fine, I'm just quite glad I'm not a victim of being imposed upon by people who create right and wrong ways of doing things that are completely subjective. Yes, everyone has an opinion surrounding what looks good etc., but really, there are potentially more stylish dresses then the ones they choose as 'have to have'. Also, I don't think men look much more desirable if they carry a bottle and drive a hot rod. I mean, is that what turns people on these days? It may be for the women that they place in maxim...talk about creating stereotypes. It's quite interesting how these magazines obviously cater to a specific gender, although they both seem to demean women a bit. In maxim women seem objectified, and in cosmo women seem to be told how to cater to men as if that is the only desire women have in life. It's basically all about how to look better, act better, and know just what to do that'll drive him/her wild. I mean, is this for real? Sex and consumerism are what keep these magazines going, and it sells oh so well.

11.12.13

What is most interesting to me is the overabundance of advertisements that we're bombarded with on a daily basis and contemplating how effective they are. Considering the history behind advertising and all of the statistics I've come across in these chapters, it seems that they have served their purpose- to make people want, desire & need products. One of the most perplexing products that seems to have gotten a higher number of sales due to T.V. advertisement is prescription drugs. To me, it just seems wrong to have an advertisement influence someone to go on a certain medication, although I suppose it can be beneficial to their health.  I wonder..... does it really take an advertisement for someone to finally get help in an arena as serious as mental health? If so, I think it's a bit concerning.
Another concerning topic is advertising to children. As they banned it in Europe, they should do so here as well, even just limiting it a bit more if not banning completely. In a way, advertising to children is manipulation for the reason that children don't have the funds to buy all of these exciting toys, so once again, it is actually directed to the adult consumer. At the same time, it is creating children to become consumers of mass production. It makes them want, and upsets them because they can't get what they want/see, and children are especially expectant of instant gratification.
As advertisements are created to make people want products, I think it's an entire new ballpark when they create image issues in people. Most advertisements have models selling products, giving off the idea that 'This is what You'll look like if you use our products,' which is false manipulation. It makes people that his or her skin is perfect due to this product, although it's not true- they most likely came to the photo shoot looking like that without ever using the product. People are paid to make a product look like it's worth purchasing and many people, myself included, fall for it and have a burning desire to buy buy buy. They have indeed succeeded.

Chapters 8 & 10

Something that grabs my attention while reading these two chapters about the decline of printed media is that it is still widely used by older generations as a form of news. Though my generation may get news and books via digital sources, many people over the age of 60 are not very computer savvy and may very well become uninformed if newspapers become obsolete. Or, they'll have to become computer savvy enough to attain the information they used to read in printed forms. I understand that it is that much more convenient to read a book on a kindle and read the new york times online, but it is quite sad to think about not having the ability to read a nice hard copy of something, which thankfully we still have. When reading a book, the physical book itself aside from the content within makes the experience a bit more rewarding and personalized. At least for me. I enjoy having an old copy of something that has a bit of a history and has been in public circulation for years, opposed to the kindle which seems to offer a sterile reading experience. Though at the same time, you can have multiple different books on a kindle which is convenient and saves space if traveling. Online news sites do the same, they make it convenient in many ways. Online sources also have the ability to update news stories almost immediately, whereas the physical newspaper has to be printed and distributed which is a much more laborious process.
This laborious process is one that requires a large number of employees to take on the many different tasks, and with the decline of printed matter many people in this industry have lost their jobs. As saddening as it is  to think about books/newspapers becoming close to obsolete, it is also very concerning to think about the business side of things. Huge corporations such as Time Warner end up buying smaller news/publishing corporations that can no longer afford to stay alive on their own. Not only can the bigger publishing houses/ newspaper corporations not afford to carry on, retail book stores are also shutting down. Why would most people go to a book store when you can quickly, easily, order a book from Amazon while still in bed? The thing you can't do while ordering books from bed is physically browse, and become informed, which you can also do online, probably at a quicker rate. So who knows whether or not the decline of printed matter is a negative or a positive, because it seems everything available in these forms is more available for you in some sort of digital medium.
I prefer printed matter, just saying.

Female Robot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFVlzUAZkHY&feature=player_embedded

Female Robot