A visit from Marshian Mary.

Say an alien came from another planet, her name was Mary. She picks up a magazine and flips through it to find out more about America. What does she learn from this magazine?

Let's use the magazine "Maxim" as the example.

The first thing Mary will see, is a half naked, airbrushed woman on it. The headlines would be along the line of, the hottest woman, then best body, and all about looks and sex. As Mary flips through the magazine, the articles are all about women, women, and more women. Every article has somthing to do with vanity, sex appeal, the prfect body, and advice for men. Mary must be thinking that a womans body and appearance are one of the most important things.
As Mary takes a closer look at all of this, she starts to notice how the models look, and dress. All the models are dressed in swimsuits, revealing clothing, and some of them aren't even dressed at all. They're all beautiful and sexy. By now, Mary must be thinking that American women should all be perfect looking, showing off their great bodies. If she were to go to any public place, it's unlikely she would ever find a woman to meet these standards.
Mary is now starting to come to the conclusion, that all Americans want is beautiful women, to look great, and sex. Based on how important this theme is in the magazine, Mary comes to the conclusion, it is VERY important in America.
I'm petty sure she is right.

Mary examines the women, wondering what it is that makes them feminine. What is it to be feminine? To be beautiful and sexual? To have a perfect body that gets you noticed? Flawless makeup? Without any of those, it could not be possible to be feminine, right?

If I were Mary, I'd be headed straight back to my home planet. Just from looking at that magazine, with no other knowledge of our culture, society, or anything else. Us American's must seem pretty shallow to her. Beauty, attraction, perfection.... or nothing.

Prime Time Essay

Bones has been a hit TV show since it began airing on Fox network in 2005. This show is about a very successful forensic anthropologist, and her role in helping solve crimes with an FBI agent. In the cast of Bones, there are three main churchgoers that are women, and one of those women, has the leading role. The other three main charcot are men, and one of those men has the next leading role in the show. There are two characters that are forty years old, and all of them are healthy and in good shape. The ages of the actors are; Emily Deschanel (34), David Boreanaz (40), Michaela Conlin (32), T.J Thyne (35), Tamara Taylor (40), and John Francis Daley (25).
The women in the program are dressed with stylish clothing when not in their lab coats, or work suits that they may have to wear. They don't wear clothing that is too sexual or revealing, but their clothing is not plain in any way. This program is actually very empowering for women, because the leading role, and the female main characters, are all successful and strong. One of the main characters is considered to be bi-sexual, and she also comes from a mixed ethnic background. Another of the main characters is also half African-American.
The intended audience is broad because the show appeals to so many different groups of people. Both men and women, old and young. I believe this show does accurate portray women, showing how successful, strong, and powerful they can be if they are dedicated to their work and determined.

Ad Deconstruction

When I was younger I ate almost anything for breakfast, but as I got older I grew picky about what I wanted to eat. Most breakfast foods didn't sound appetizing, and most cereals were loaded with sugar and very unhealthy, and the ones that were healthy, rarely tasted good. I knew I needed to eat something in the mornings, but there was nothing that seemed good to eat, and I didn't want to eat too many unhealthy foods.
I saw the Special K commercials on TV, and saw how they promoted how good their cereals and other products tasted, and how healthy they were. Eating good tasting cereals and snacks, and losing weight? Sounds great to me.

ASSOCIATION: Anyone, generally women, seeing this commercial, would be attracted to, because it is associated with staying healthy, staying fit, and losing weight. With this product, it seems like you could do all of that, just by eating a bite of the great tasting food.

BRIBERY: If you eat this product, you can lose weight and stay healthy.

EXPERTS: None shown in the commercial

PLAIN FOLKS: It shows a regular, or plain, looking woman, that could depict anyone watching that commercial. If she can resist cravings and eat something healthy instead, so can we.

REPETITION: "The Difference is K" is one of the catch phrases of Special K cereal.

My Response to Super Bowl ads

Question:
The two most frequently advertised items during the Super Bowl are alcohol and fast food/pop. These items are bad for our health, but are advertised in a fun, positive way. Why does the Super Bowl allow this type of advertising? EXPLAIN... Write 5-10 sentences.

My Response:
The Super Bowl allows this type of advertising because they are what sells and they are what is popular. Despite being unhealthy and having known negative effects on our health, fast food, junk food, sodas, and alcohol are all very big sellers. Especially during super bowl season, when these are big "necessities" to have while watching the game, and when stores push these products by advertising them on TV for the "big game" and adding special sales to them. Knowing this, the producers of these products are willing to pay large amounts of money to get their merchandise advertised on the super bowl. Health isn't what is on their minds, money is.