Sunday, October 30, 2016
Canterbury Tales and Jane Eyre
This is going to be my freebie for the semester :)! Treating myself cause it's the end of the quarter
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Seven Deadly Sins
Advertisement:
- Created by Calvin Klein (taken from video segment)
- Advertising new women's perfume called Reveal
- Posted on YouTube on June 11th, 2014
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enzT6uBZgZQ
Link to ad itself: http://www.nstperfume.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ck-reveal-wide-s.jpg
Calvin Klein is a popular company that sells clothes, accessories, and perfumes. Their perfume ads are typically promiscuous and licentious to help appeal to their audience's sensual and emotional feelings. This particular advertisement, for a women's fragrance called Reveal, a man and a woman, both with model-esque features, are in an embrace. The woman is looking at the reader seductively, while simultaneously holding onto the man's shoulders. To enhance the already-sensual nature of the ad, ambiguous buildings and a sunset are seen in the background, covered by dark rosy pink curtains. The only words on the ad itself are, "Reveal," with both the company name and the product underneath the text. The focus of the image is clearly the product, with the two lovers added on almost as an afterthought to the right of the company and product names.
This ad thrives on ambiguity and mysteriousness because the creators recognize the connection between uncertainty and sexual tension. The name of the product, Reveal, is a nod to lust, as the man is shirtless, and the woman is wearing a revealing shirt. The whole background of the photo is covered in alternating splashes of light and dark, but the light "coincidentally" shines on the perfume, while the two lovers are shrouded in darkness. The contrast between light and dark also creates feelings of passion within the reader and causes them to become envious of the beautiful couple. Another key technique employed by the advertisers is having minimal words on the ad itself; it draws the reader's attention to the product while simultaneously being envious of the lovers in the dark. Color is also used cleverly within the ad. The casing of the perfume matches with all of the colors in the background. This creates a feeling of connectedness between the perfume and the lovers, as if the advertisers were saying, "If you (women) wear this perfume, men will love you." These four varying techniques all subliminally or openly persuade the reader to buy their product.
The intended audience of the advertisement itself is prospective buyers of the perfume Reveal. While the fragrance itself is designed for women, men also might purchase it as gift for their girlfriend, which simply means another target market for the marketing company to acknowledge. They do so successfully by including a man within the ad itself; this addition gives the reader the idea that if they buy their girlfriend/wife/lover this perfume, then she will enjoy it. The purchasers of the perfume would most likely be both economically well off and a high end shopper because Calvin Klein is a popular and expensive brand name for perfumes. The creators of the ad are manipulating the Western ideals about sexuality for both men and women, and playing off of each gender's insecurities. The ad appeals to men because they will be able to please their girlfriend, and it appeals to women because the fragrance will help attract men.
- Created by Calvin Klein (taken from video segment)
- Advertising new women's perfume called Reveal
- Posted on YouTube on June 11th, 2014
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enzT6uBZgZQ
Link to ad itself: http://www.nstperfume.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ck-reveal-wide-s.jpg
Calvin Klein is a popular company that sells clothes, accessories, and perfumes. Their perfume ads are typically promiscuous and licentious to help appeal to their audience's sensual and emotional feelings. This particular advertisement, for a women's fragrance called Reveal, a man and a woman, both with model-esque features, are in an embrace. The woman is looking at the reader seductively, while simultaneously holding onto the man's shoulders. To enhance the already-sensual nature of the ad, ambiguous buildings and a sunset are seen in the background, covered by dark rosy pink curtains. The only words on the ad itself are, "Reveal," with both the company name and the product underneath the text. The focus of the image is clearly the product, with the two lovers added on almost as an afterthought to the right of the company and product names.
This ad thrives on ambiguity and mysteriousness because the creators recognize the connection between uncertainty and sexual tension. The name of the product, Reveal, is a nod to lust, as the man is shirtless, and the woman is wearing a revealing shirt. The whole background of the photo is covered in alternating splashes of light and dark, but the light "coincidentally" shines on the perfume, while the two lovers are shrouded in darkness. The contrast between light and dark also creates feelings of passion within the reader and causes them to become envious of the beautiful couple. Another key technique employed by the advertisers is having minimal words on the ad itself; it draws the reader's attention to the product while simultaneously being envious of the lovers in the dark. Color is also used cleverly within the ad. The casing of the perfume matches with all of the colors in the background. This creates a feeling of connectedness between the perfume and the lovers, as if the advertisers were saying, "If you (women) wear this perfume, men will love you." These four varying techniques all subliminally or openly persuade the reader to buy their product.
The intended audience of the advertisement itself is prospective buyers of the perfume Reveal. While the fragrance itself is designed for women, men also might purchase it as gift for their girlfriend, which simply means another target market for the marketing company to acknowledge. They do so successfully by including a man within the ad itself; this addition gives the reader the idea that if they buy their girlfriend/wife/lover this perfume, then she will enjoy it. The purchasers of the perfume would most likely be both economically well off and a high end shopper because Calvin Klein is a popular and expensive brand name for perfumes. The creators of the ad are manipulating the Western ideals about sexuality for both men and women, and playing off of each gender's insecurities. The ad appeals to men because they will be able to please their girlfriend, and it appeals to women because the fragrance will help attract men.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
My first name was given to me because both of my parents liked unique names. Spencer quickly rose to the top of the ranks, but my parents also toyed with the name Xavier, a famous saint in Roman Catholic history (my whole family is Catholic). When I was born, I was officially christened Spencer. While my first name is bland, tasteless, and lacks any sense of metaphorical meaning, my middle name and last name are the remnants of my father and grandparent's culture. In 1970, when my father was 7, he and my grandparents moved from New Delhi, India to Franklinton, North Carolina. In 1970, New Delhi had a population of 3.5 million people and more significantly, a population density of 2358 people per square kilometer, compared to Franklinton, which had a population size of just over a thousand people total. New Delhi had twice as many people in a kilometer as Franklinton had in its whole city.
My middle name, Mohandas, is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, whose birth name was Mohandas Gandhi. My father wanted a part of his culture to be with us wherever we go, and each of my siblings' names is a related to our Indian heritage. Similarly, our surname, Maingi, is a reminder that we, as a family, were immigrants from a poor country, and to be grateful for the life that we live in America. My grandparents were upper class in India, but because of Indian-American monetization, they were lower middle-class when they arrived in America. I think the main reason my father wanted a part of his culture to be with his children is because he knew that we would grow up America and know next to nothing about our real culture. Neither my siblings nor I speak Hindi, and we are not Hindus or a Buddhists, as the overwhelming number of Indians are. We grew up American, but through our names, our past will always be with us.
Because of the dual nature of my race, I struggled with coming to terms with the idea that I wasn't like everyone else that was around me, specifically from elementary school to middle school. I went to a private Catholic school, and it was quite lacking in the racial diversity department. I was one of the only "ethnic" kids there, even though I was born in America and had assimilated into white culture. I was embarrassed by my middle name because I didn't understand the nature of it, and for years I never told anyone my middle name. As I grew older, I understood why my parents chose the way that they did, but it still resonated within me that I was different than others, and I thought different meant that I was worse. In reality, it simply means that I'm unique, but being American and Catholic and not being white, set me up for occasional racist or inappropriate remarks, and I thought for a long time that I wasn't good enough for the rest of the people that I knew. Later on, I was told by my father that America itself is a melting pot, and that everyone in our country came from somewhere other than here. That realization alone helped me be happy with who I really am: an American with Indian heritage.
My middle name, Mohandas, is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, whose birth name was Mohandas Gandhi. My father wanted a part of his culture to be with us wherever we go, and each of my siblings' names is a related to our Indian heritage. Similarly, our surname, Maingi, is a reminder that we, as a family, were immigrants from a poor country, and to be grateful for the life that we live in America. My grandparents were upper class in India, but because of Indian-American monetization, they were lower middle-class when they arrived in America. I think the main reason my father wanted a part of his culture to be with his children is because he knew that we would grow up America and know next to nothing about our real culture. Neither my siblings nor I speak Hindi, and we are not Hindus or a Buddhists, as the overwhelming number of Indians are. We grew up American, but through our names, our past will always be with us.
Because of the dual nature of my race, I struggled with coming to terms with the idea that I wasn't like everyone else that was around me, specifically from elementary school to middle school. I went to a private Catholic school, and it was quite lacking in the racial diversity department. I was one of the only "ethnic" kids there, even though I was born in America and had assimilated into white culture. I was embarrassed by my middle name because I didn't understand the nature of it, and for years I never told anyone my middle name. As I grew older, I understood why my parents chose the way that they did, but it still resonated within me that I was different than others, and I thought different meant that I was worse. In reality, it simply means that I'm unique, but being American and Catholic and not being white, set me up for occasional racist or inappropriate remarks, and I thought for a long time that I wasn't good enough for the rest of the people that I knew. Later on, I was told by my father that America itself is a melting pot, and that everyone in our country came from somewhere other than here. That realization alone helped me be happy with who I really am: an American with Indian heritage.
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