Blog #4

Option 1:
Women and men both suffer from the stereotypes that are attached to their gender. Women in the workplace may not be respected as men would. They are often passed up for promotions simply due to their gender. This is because of the stereotype established so long ago that women belonged at home and not in the workplace. Women are also not expected to hold certain jobs that often involve mathematics mostly because women aren't expected to thrive in the subject. A lot of times in politics, people don't think that women can hold the positions that men can because they tie everything into their emotions.


On the other side of the spectrum, men sometimes are questioned when they hold positions such as nurses and other jobs that are predominately female. Men are supposed to be tough and able to act without emotion, so when a man is in touch with his emotions, his ideas are discredited. At school, some male athletes change to fit the mold of the dumb jock. Even if they are smart, they may not do their homework or skip class just to keep up the facade.


Both men and women suffer from stereotypes. They limit every one's potential by forcing people into preconceived notions of what they're supposed to be.

Blog #3

Show Watched: The Office
Episode 515: Lecture Circuit

The Office portrays the following American Core Values in no specific order:

Achievement and Success: Micheal is able to go on the lecture circuit because of his office's success with sales. Also, everyone in the show has a job which ultimately deems them successful.

Activity and Work: The setting of the show is in an office. It shows the everyday work that average people do. It also shows the busyness of the office and portrays all the action that takes place within its walls.

Efficiency and Practicality: Michael uses a mnemonic device in order to remember people's names. It is absurd, but it makes him more efficient at remembering names. He does lack practicality which is why Karen stops his presentation.

Progress: After the basic failure that Michael is completely oblivious to he just continues to think about the rest of the tour. He is putting the first office out of the way and looking to the future.

Material Comfort: Kelly is upset that the office forgot about her birthday. Jim and Dwight start to put together a party for her with balloons and a cake feeding off her comfort for material comfort. Also, the car and luggage used in the beginning is common with luxury and high end at that too.

Individualism: Michael and Dwight are both characters that are valued for their odd ways of working. Michael uses his individualism to "teach" everyone at the lecture circuit. It doesn't work, but he still tries.

Freedom: Micheal and Pam decide in the end of the episode to not go on the rest of the tour and just skip off to see Holly. They exercise their freedom to branch off on their own.

Humanitarianism: Pam is the most humanitarian character in the show. She hates the idea of Karen hating her. She even hates the idea of Al Qaeda hating her. Pam is also humanitarian because she puts up with Michael's ridiculous ideas constantly.

Youthfulness: Michael Scott represents a child in this show. He even brings a toboggan with on his business trip. The beginning scene with him imitating different sayings over the phone PA shows his juvenile tendencies.

Blog #2

Option 1:

The video presented many ideas that I hardly have ever taken the time to consider before, which in a way just further proves the point that our lives are completely media saturated. It is ridiculous, the amount of advertisements that are targeted toward children. Of course, it is quite logical to target the most impressionable part of our population. The part that I don't understand is how people are okay with basically corrupting the innocent. Today the amount of advertisement made specifically for children greatly outnumbers what was found in our grandparents' and even our parents' time. This may be simply because the sheer number of advertisements has greatly expanded, but I believe that the companies are trying to place their logos into minds at the earliest possible ages.

Kids are being targeted in everything they do. Video games they play have advertisements everywhere. Comics they read have discreet symbols plastered in random places. TV shows such as American Idol, blatantly place their products in easy to see places (Coca-Cola glasses on the judges table). There is no escaping the advertisements.

These days, every place we look is plastered with some form of media. I don't like the fact that media is placing so much value on outer appearance because this directly reflects back on the impressionable minds of children. Making dolls such as the Bratz dolls only add to the idea that you have to look and act a certain way in order to make friends and be successful. TV shows that feature twenty or thirty-something-year-olds as high school students once again form false images and misconceptions for children. Through media saturation as a whole, including advertisements, children are being targeted and being presented with ideas about the way life ought to be. As a culture, I think that we are taking a nosedive if we continue to allow the corruption of our youth. Our youth are our future and their desensitization to advertisement may lead to our generation's downfall.