Blog #6: What fired me up

There are not many videos that I have seen in school that affect me the way the video we watched in class about the media did. It seemed almost unreal! I can't believe the way commercials are taking over young lives by taking advantage of their vulnerability. I think media is changing 'us' in so many ways. By us, I mean people, not necessarily myself and my family or peers. I think as it is getting worse, it is affecting the younger generations more (or at least that is what I prefer to believe...). I think it is making kids grow up faster because commercials appeal to this desire for them. Kids love to play dress up and pretend to be doctors or waitresses or other things that adults do for their jobs. They do this to feel like they are older and as we saw in the video, commercials appeal to this. Commercials will make kids think that their product is just like an adults product and is therefore something the child needs. That's another way that the media changes us. It makes us feel like what we have is never good enough as they are constantly advertising things that are 'better' and better. Also, the discussed brand loyalty in the video and how kids prefer things that involve their favorite cartoon characters or brand over the same item that is not brand name. The experts said this was because they comfort and a sense of understanding with the characters they watch and therefore want to buy things that associate with them. I was shocked to see how advertisements are hidden in video games, movies and more. This even angered me because kids are, as the video said, like sponges in the way that they absorb things so easily that they see. They are being taken advantage of and are to young to know it. Another factor that upset me is how peoples health are affected by the media. The experts on the video said that kids who watched a lot of TV were more likely to be depressed! The worst part is that parents think they are letting their kids relax and have fun in front of the TV but they are really hurting them. This, in turn, affects family relationships because the parents find it very easy to plop their children down in front of a TV so that they can go live their own fast paced life. This is a change from what family relationships used to be and how the SHOULD be because they are weakening.
   I think we don't want this change. I can't think of any way this is good for people except in that it provides jobs for those creating the advertisements. The video showed me how advertisements affect peoples creativity and academics, health, values, and even gave a rise to disorders and I can't see any reason for someone to want these changes.

Blog #5 You Can't Count on Me....

I think dependency is a big thing in America. It is seen as a sign of weakness to have to depend on others.  Americans want to do everything for themselves. I think this also goes back to trust. Americans don't trust others very easily as you can see by the security measures we take. We are weary of people around us. The more people we depend on, and the more things we depend on them for, the more ways we can be crushed. This could also have to do with our value of independence. Being independent means relying on only yourself and basically makes being dependent of people seem unhealthy.Personally, I don't view dependency as an unhealthy thing; I depend on my parents for a lot of things. What I do find unhealthy is when people depend on others for certain things that they should be providing for themselves, like confidence, which should come from within. One shouldn't need to feel confident from praise form others or anything like that, because I think that is when he/she becomes vulnerable to getting hurt. So, I ask people for advice and I have many people in my life that make me feel happy but I don't depend on others for most things. I think being emotionally dependent is very different from being dependent on someone else for a living (like with money), though, but either way, I think it is better to not be dependent on others.

Blog #4.1 Leave the baby outside?

In class we read about a women who was raised in Copenhagen, Denmark who brings her child to New York with her husband. They were arrested for leaving the baby outside this restaurant unattended while they ate inside. They did this because it is a very common thing in Denmark due to the smokey insides of restaurants. In their eyes, they were simply doing what they felt was normal. While the class was arguing about whether or not this was actually wrong, I was having conflicting view points in my head. My parents having grown up in South Africa and moving here a few years before I was born, my home life is far from the average Americans. When friends come over, they are often confused at things my parents and I do or things we have in our house. I've been visiting South Africa every year since I was six months to visit family so I know where my parents come from. Whenever we go there, we fit right in. In America, we seem to be the odd ones out. When we read this story, it reminded me of my family. My parents over the years have adapted to American social norms but it has taken time. I can definitely see my parents leaving me outside of a restaurant if that had been a normal thing to do in Africa. My parents are just people that like to bring their traditions to new places instead of trying to fit in. I don't know if that is what I would do, but it is what I am exposed to.
     I think it all comes down to our perspectives. Someone may look at a baby my himself outside of a restaurant and be alarmed while some one else might not even think twice about it. Similarly, this women who was arrested probably found many weird things in New York hat she would have looked down upon if it were in Denmark. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to adjust to a new place. Whether it is by bringing your own traditions or by changing your lifestyle to fit a new place, as long as you are happy and safe, I don't think it really matters.