Analyzing Advertisement

Critical Literary Approach:
Whose views are represented? The main view that is being represented or advertised is the Coca Cola, the product. The aim/audience is people who are thirsty or interested in a cold beverage.

What are the intentions of the message? Drinking a cold beverage on a sunny day could help refresh you.

Whose interests are served? Men and women. Men would be attracted from the sexiness of the woman in the advertisement. Women would want to be as sexy and attractive as the woman in the ad.

What are the cultural assumptions being made in relation to content of the piece (in relation to the assumed audience)? Wearing less clothing and revealing clothing is attractive.

What voices or perspectives are left out of the piece? The voices/perspectives that are being left out are the audience’s or other people besides from the members of the same organization of coke.

Aesthetic Approach:
What is your impression of the piece? The attractive lady in the swimming suit sitting on a hot beach holding a coca cola bottle. However, she looks delighted because she has a coke. It is also stated at the top of the poster, big and attract attention, “Thirst asks nothing more”. In addition, they also put coca cola logo at the left bottom corner to remind people of their brand.

What is the tone or atmosphere of the piece? The atmosphere the advertisement creates is a hot weather by using the beach environment and the beautiful lady in the picture (connotations of the word ‘thirst’ relating to the lady)

What is the effect of the particular imagery, diction, metaphor, color or layout? The imagery creates a feeling of lust and sexual hunger for the male viewers and the diction used possesses a hidden context. The color and layout of the advertisement is vintage and classic, with a slogan and captions that capture the main ideas and intentions of the product. The quote at the top and the quote at the bottom holds an attraction towards the audience and catches the audience's’ eyes.

What ideas or feelings does the creator wish to convey?  How are these ideas suggested or portrayed/presented? The creator try to make coke the first thought when thirsty. They are trying to convey the customer that coke is the only choice; the words in the heading itself already provoke “Thirst asks nothing more”. Also, inside the coca cola logo in the bottom left hand corner also state that coca cola is “delicious and refreshing”. In the image, the lady looks like she is sitting on a hot beach, but she is refreshed by coca cola; nevertheless, it is also delicious as you can see from her face.

World Issue: 2057

Issue: Global warming
Intention: Inform, for people to reflect
Text Type: Speech
Audience: human population around the world

Scenario: The world is ending on 10^th May, 2057, due to global issues caused by man. The amount of CO2 emission is too high and has created a huge hole in the ozone layer, too big that it causes it causes crazy greenhouse effects and heats up the world to more 50 degrees Celsius. The North Pole and Antarctica no longer exist due to all the ice melting from the heat. Some areas of the world sink under the ocean, while some areas suffer from extremely dry land from droughts, due to the fact that all the trees are cut down. People can no longer go outside because they would get skin cancer from the excessive amount of UV light emitted from the bright ball of fire in the sky. Scientists of S.T.A.R.S* (Science technology and research sector) has calculated and discovered that the world would last no longer than a month, due to the amount of heat and the ruined ecosystem because all the plants and animals have gone extinct.

A speech was given by the head of S.T.A.R.S*, Yamaseto Leesagawa on the 23^rd of April and was aired on television around the world. The speech given explains the crisis the world is facing and delivers the unfortunate event that would happen in a few weeks. The speech was given to warn the people and reflect the greedy and unethical acts the human race has done just for pieces of paper, or money. It is simply a message for people to brace themselves, and live life to their best while they can.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring unexpected news today. Reports have been sent from the S.T.A.R.S* research department that there has been a major breakthrough that would shape the future of our beloved planet.

Sometimes, without a warning, the future knocks on our door with a painful vision. That has happened no long ago, as our researchers have calculated that in less than a month, this precious planet of ours, will light up in flames.

We are no longer capable of living on this planet and there is nobody to blame except for ourselves, the human population. We have destroyed everything that was given to us in the beginning. We had the most beautiful planet in the solar system and we destroyed it simply for pieces of green paper… money. Greed has overcome the human soul. Luxurious items and dreaming of living wonderful life has planted a seed of desire into the brains of people. People then live their life fulfilling their goals of becoming wealthy and powerful, while forgetting the fact that nature needs our protection, love and care.

But now, it is too late. My dearly loved people of the world, we have hurt this planet, too much, to the point that it can no longer hold on. The worse is expected in the upcoming weeks. We must stay strong and spend our last few days valuably. Spend your last moments with your loved ones, your family, and your friends. Reminisce the wonders of life in your past years and embrace the fact that we are lucky to be alive.

*Head of P.L.A.N.E.T. (Protection of Land Animals, Nature, and Environment Team) research department comes on stage to speak*

To further this explanation of why this is happening to our planet; lets us take a step back and look at what we have done to hurt this planet. Since the beginning of mankind, people have been fighting over things, but as the mind of people expands over time, with new knowledge and technology, warfare advances into a deadlier thing. For example, the development of nuclear power and the atomic bombs that have caused huge threats to nature and the world itself. Other than warring conflicts, humans destroy the world by harming the environment as well. We kill animals for their body parts and take their habitat and food away. We burn and cut down whole forests just for wood and land. We dump our waste onto the land and the ocean without thinking of the organisms living there. This explains why we don’t hear birds chirp in the trees and we do not see colorful fishes and beautiful corals in the ocean. They are all destroyed by the palm of our hands. With wiped out forests and waste-filled oceans, the balance of the ecosystem of the world is shattered and impossible to regain. We are literally the last mammal on Earth and it is not something we should be proud of but ashamed of instead.

We are not certain of how this would happen, but we will keep you update twice a day at 12. Live safe and happy. You Only Live Once.”

I decided to write this paper about world issue through a speech. The reason why I chose this format of literature because I want to create a scenario where the world population’s dreams and hopes shatter in front of them when discovering that the world would end in a few weeks. I used this piece to serve as a way to explain the dangers of how humans treat the world and to persuade them to be a better citizen by trying to do little things that would not put the world to a dangerous state. I also chose this format because it is a formal way to include facts and it is what I imagine would happen if the world was to really end. Lastly, in this piece, I try to threaten the people of the world ending soon and to spread awareness of dangerous human acts towards nature for these acts to stop. This piece could also serve as a piece for people to reflect on their deadly actions.

Metacognitive Journal #5

A Modest Proposal

Responding as a modern reader...

             From reading "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick," I find that this it is a very depressing piece that shows how a helpless mother would do everything to help her infants. It is a very unpleasant and disturbing sight to see a mother in sadness, unable to work, but with hungry mouths to feed; sitting there silently and accepting the poverty upon her. In this text, it mentions that children live in squalor because their families are too poor properly provide food, shelter and clothing for them, which showed that people were poor and did not have enough money to live a normal life. At the beginning of the text, Swift disturbingly describes a one year old child as "the most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome Food; whether Stewed, Roasted, Baked or Boiled." This statement is not to be looked at literally, but is connotated as  the idea of fattening up the starving population and feed them to the  rich people of Ireland. It is also stated that poor tenants see their children as valuables and trade their children at the meat market at the age of one to either pay for their debts or to not have to bear the burden of feeding a child and getting a little amount of money in return. As a modern reader, I find this whole text extremely disturbing and morally wrong in so many ways. Children are supposed to be given love and care, even though when there is no money because it is the responsibility of a parent to look after their child until they grow up. This is something that every living knows and is capable of doing, but in the point of view of people back then, the economy is in ruins and they think that it is necessary to commit such disgusting acts as giving away their child and treating them as unwanted objects. In modern time, it is a very disgraceful act to do so and people will see you as a monster. Even in economic struggles, families live and fight through problems together. As long as they are together, that is all they need.

Metacognitive Journal #4 (1984)

TOTALITARIANISM

Totalitarianism is one of the major concepts in the novel 1984.

          First of all, to discuss this topic, we need to know what totalitarianism is.
Totalitarianism is a form of government where the dictator, aka. the leader, takes charge and controls everything.

          It is clearly seen in the novel that the form of government in 1984 is a totalitarian dictatorship. "The Party" has many characteristics similar to a dictatorship, judging from the way the control the country and they way they treat their people.

          In the beginning of the novel, it is mentioned that "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU" is one of the captions on a poster in Oceania.Winston describes that The Party watches and records down every move a person makes. This is the act of a dictatorship because The Party controls everything the people do. The rights of the people are stripped, making them unable to do anything they wish, and could only follow orders. The people of Oceania couldn't do whatever they wished to or say whatever they want. They couldn't even think their own thoughts, or else they would be punished. The Party wants to plant an idea into the heads of the people and want them to believe in the things they tell them to. They do not want thought process going on in the minds of the people so that there would be no one capable of rioting against them.



The slogan of The Party:

          
"War is Peace
   Freedom is Slavery            
    Ignorance is Strength"




shows that The Party is trying to manipulate the people of Oceania to believe in ideas that are wrong. The slogan is very contradicting and is made of antonyms. The Party wants to control the minds of the people and turn them brainless, meaning that the people only obey what they are told but have no thinking process of their own. This is probably one of the propaganda used by The Party to brainwash the people of Oceania.

          Even all the things in Oceania are named with the word 'victory'. There is VICTORY mansion, VICTORY gin, VICTORY cigarettes, which is probably one of the ways to promote nationalism and patriotism in a totalitarian government.

          The last piece of evidence that proves to us that Oceania is governed by totalitarianism is the government. The government is suppose to improve the lives of people and create a good society, however, it is ironic that the government in 1984 is used to threaten and harm people. Oceania is controlled by 4 ministries: the Ministry of Peace (Minipax), which deals with issues of war. the Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty), which deals with rationing and starvation, the Ministry of Love (Miniluv), which deals with torture, and finally, the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue), which deals with propaganda. No democratic government of republic would deal with the country using torture and manipulation. It is clearly shown that the Party governs the people through fear, manipulation, and violence to make them obey the rules.

          Looking from what The Party has done, I think that they are trying to turn the people into thoughtless robots, only ready to listen to orders or what is programmed into them. As mentioned in my earlier post, I believe that people should have freedom and rights. By The Party controlling the people in this way, the people would be unhappy and would one day try to create a revolution to destroy the government. Unhappy people will rebel and the government won't stand a chance. In the case of 1984, The Party control Oceania, but are only a very small percentage, while the civilians make up most of the population. Oceania is made up of:

• Inner Party (The upper-class) - the elites ruling the minority
• Outer Party (The middle-class) 
• Proles (The lower-class/proletariat) - uneducated working class that make up 85% of Oceania's population.

          If one day all the people revolt and protest against The Party, then The Party would stand no chance against them because there is a significant difference in number and if they were to revolt and would probably succeed easily, but the problem is that the people of Oceania are SO manipulated by the government because of the propaganda and everything else, making them unable to think of ideas and plans such as a revolution.

Metacognitive Journal #3 (1984)

          If was to define freedom, I would have to say that freedom is such a beautiful. It is the taste of fresh air when going out of a enclosed area for a long time. It is the sensational feeling of being able to do anything you want without being restricted. BUT, if a man is given too much freedom, the desire of obtaining power will take over his soul filling him with greed and gluttony. With too much freedom, a man would not obey any law and the world would turn chaotic.

          John Locke, a well-known philosopher, states that every human being has three natural rights: Life, Liberty, and Property. People should have limited freedom, meaning that they should have the freedom in some things while they are restricted into other things that could cause a negative impact. For instance, I, myself have a lot of freedom. I have the freedom to do whatever I want or say whatever I wish, as long as it doesn't interfere or harm any other individual. People usually know what is right and what is wrong by their ethical and moral standards, but there are also laws made to ensure that things don't get out of hand. Law and regulations take away parts of a person's freedom to prevent them from doing things that could lead to anarchy. The government create laws to prevent people from causing disgraceful acts such as stealing, killing, selling drugs and dangerous weapons, and many many more. I strongly agree that people's freedom should be restricted for the safety of civilians and society as a whole. The only thing I disagree is the ability to express our point of view to public. The ability to shout out how we feel or how we think to public can be denied by the government because of their fear that the people would take over the government. Even though there is a reasoning behind why we could not have the freedom to express how we feel about everything, I believe that everybody should be able to do so to create a change.

            The government intrudes upon privacy in many ways, and they are able to do so because they are 'the government'. The government intrudes on personal information of a person and keeps track of everything about them. The government knows information such as the home address of a person, personal records, and other information that is personal. The government knows the amount of money a person makes and taxes the person. Personally, I do not feel intruded or aware because I believe that it is the job of the government to keep track of these issues and collect taxes to improve the environment (well, unless if the government is corrupted) to improve the lives of civilians.

          In 1984, the party motto "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorant is Strength" is used. This motto is unusual because the motto is very contradicting and filled with antonyms. War definitely does not make peace, freedom is not slavery and ignorant is never a strength. This shows that there is a sense of contradiction in the party and gives us a sign that the party wants to brainwash and take advantage of the people by sending the wrong message and believing in what is extremely not true.