Blog Six: The Choice Between Two Worlds

Surrounded by darkness that appears in the hue of matte black; silence consumes the essence of sound. It is here in this shapeless, soundless, and completely dull black schism that I have to make the choice between two worlds. In one direction which can only be described as forward from my current standing position is the strange and perverse and twisted world of sexual displays and innuendos in visual advertising, also known as Sex and Food. The other direction conversely being described as behind me, is the strange but intriguing world of what is known as Motorcycling: A Man's World, For Now.

I make haste towards the world that not only promises carnal delights, but sustenance as well. Not only is this world at my ready disposal i.e. I currently have the paper in my possession, but the fact that it is seemingly more complex and better structured. It also seems to be more stable and worth my time that which will soon be completely taken over by my undertakings within this once visited, but soon to be revised world. The original insight into this landscape of ideas was fairly smooth albeit extremely trying. The thought of re-entering this world has my senses on high alert as I make my way towards it, only to realize the encroaching difficulties of an annotated works cited page.

I'll definitely be choosing my first paper as I mentioned by the above paragraphs because it just seems like a better put together paper that had more thought behind it. That and the fact that I already have a graded copy of it in my hands. I felt extremely restricted by my topic in project 2 and don't really think that the papers are even close in comparison to each other. The topic seems to be researched by others fairly in depth, so it should be easier to find the sources needed. I'll probably end up rewriting my second project with a whole new topic for project four.

blog seven, the blog that defines awesomeness

I’m pretty sure that I’ll be using Jenkins’ perspective to examine my website because it regards motorcycling which is predominantly a male dominate lifestyle. The raw power, the camaraderie, the rush, and the “addiction” that you get is almost completely exclusive to males. While there are females out there that are crossing that gender border, it’s only happening within the past year or so and they represent less than 1% of the motorcyclist culture. Motorcycling lends itself towards males needs of exploration and conquering new territory, the thrill of new things whether they be sights, sounds, physical sensations, and even emotions.  I’ve been sky diving, bungee jumping, I’ve blown stuff up with explosives, I’ve shot animals, and nothing will ever compare to the feeling of tearing around a corner at full lean, knee dragging on the pavement, literally inches away from what you know is your demise, only to rise up away from it, crank your throttle hand down and take off like Satan himself is on your ass. The same exuberant feeling that boys get after conquering an imaginary foe from the fort the constructed out of logs in the woods, or a little shack they built in the middle of nowhere. They return home with mud and sometimes blood on their skin and clothes with a complete disregard for the pain or discomfort they might be enduring for the simple fact that they know they accomplished what they set out to do upon the concoction their idea. They fought tooth and nail in an imaginary sense just like today’s modern gladiators do on the race track. Every ounce of their soul can be consumed by the task at hand, willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to reach their goal. The developmental patterns of motorcycling and the childhood boy culture are completely intertwined in just about every aspect. It’s almost like leading a life of a motorcyclist is to never grow old. You constantly encounter scenarios that you would as a child but in different garb.

Tentative comments, what in the world does that mean?

I wish I would have seen this earlier instead of taking care of it at 2am. It would have given me a chance to ask the question that the title of my blog is asking instead of me now, obviously blogging about it. Don't get me wrong, I literally understand what tentative comments are; I just don't know exactly what I'm supposed to be commenting about the website. It says we're supposed to say why we chose this particular website but I honestly don't know why other than the fact that after a quick skim of the homepage the website is motorcycle related and I happen to know quite a bit about motorcycles.

http://www.motorcyclesafetyinfo.com/

This website seems very basic but possibly full of really helpful information to new and inexperienced riders. Just from the picture of the motorcycle they use and the fact that they have an MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) locator on the right hand side of the page tells me that this is not a website that would be frequented by riders that have any kind of track background, anywhere from track days to amateur racing events. Even the aggressive and talented canyon carver would possibly be beyond the knowledge that they probably are displaying and utilizing on this website. There’s a lot of statistics that I can see without really reading into any of it so it is probably meant to inform someone with text via a knowledge database than teach them any real techniques that a new or inexperienced rider could visually grasp and understand and actually apply to their riding.

On the left hand side of the page there a link for suggested gear to wear, riding skills and techniques, safety studies, and a resources and links section as well. I could definitely be proven wrong about there not being any visually learned and applicable riding techniques from this site, but I really doubt it based upon the extremely simple design of the website. The color combination used is awful, it completely reminds of an orange hazard road sign, which is actually probably the intent behind the color scheme sadly. You would figure if they’re designing a website towards new and inexperienced riders, they would try to make a website that was eye catching and that would keep their attention so they actually took in all the information that was being made available from the website.

Some things are just worthless

like the OWL's link for online documentation. The MLA update is SO much easier to follow through the index and find, not to mention it actually just gives you a solid breakdown of "this goes here, and this is next" instead of just giving you 100 different examples expecting you know to know wtf they're talking about. Irritating to say the least when you've spent 9 hours doing math, went to sleep, woke up, and now you have a bunch of english assignments to bang through before you can even get started on the four + hours of world history homework you have. For having 12 credit hours of class, I really doubt I'm supposed to be spending 20+ hours on school work in the span of 3 days.

20 minutes to midnight

Well this is a blog, so I'm going to blog. It's currently 20 minutes to midnight and we're supposed to have blog assignment number three due by the turn of the hour and I just got home and I'm currently searching for three new advertisement pictures to complete the assignment about.

I found these three images which brought up the idea of using sexual themes in the food advertising market.

Of course we all know that sex sells but after running into several of these advertisements in addition to some that weren't so subliminal. In the first picture you can see a female opening wide for Burger King's "Super Seven Incher". I don't think I would classify seven inches as super, but whatever does it for the company. After all, there is the foot long from Subway. In the second picture it says "O Now" then in smaller print below says "EATING ORGANIC FOOD IS ALWAYS YOUR BEST CHOICE". Due to today's pop culture "O" or "O'ing" can and is referenced in movies, television shows as a slang term for having an orgasm. If you pick apart the words and piece them together, first line and last, you get "O now is always the best choice" which is easily readable as a message of instant sexual gratification instead of waiting.

I have four minutes left, on to the third image. This image is blatantly using a sexual related image using the classic hand bra to cover two of Arby's products saying that "We're about to reveal something you'll really drool over." when normally in that position would be a woman's breasts.

I'm going to publish this, then add to it below this so it can be submitted on time.

For this particular third blog assignment we're supposed to decide what we want to argue about our three images that we chose, conveniently mine are about sex which I thoroughly enjoy I might add. So here I would guess is where I need to kind of ask myself questions as to what I could argue, or what issues these images bring to mind.

So hmmm, what situations do these pictures bring about?
1. Sex being linked with food advertising seems to be increasingly common.
issue: I think is a very effective method for getting the teenage/young adult market to try new food products.
question: How effective is this advertising technique?

2. Subliminal sexual messages can be presented as well as blatant sexual thoughts are passed in these advertisements.
issue: I feel that these advertisements could be inappropriate for certain audiences, mostly children.
question: Where are these advertisements being displayed and to what extent is the message of said advertisements being taken?

3. There are subliminal messages in food advertisements or things that can be observed as subliminal messages present.
issue: The companies that have some of the less obvious messages in their advertisements could be taking away some of their avenues of advertising based upon how consumers might interpret their advertisements.
question: Do these companies actually mean to include these messages? or are they just making mistakes because they're not considering all possible means of interpretation because they're being thought up in a think tank and not being bounced off of real world consumers for feedback?

4. Some of these companies are obviously catering to a certain audience with this type of advertising.
issue: Said companies might not be reaching their key demographic.
question: What are the key demographics for these companies that they're trying to lure in to try their new products? teenagers and young adults? young parents? parents in general? older adults that like the appeal of the sexual side of things in life?

All these questions can be answered through a thorough amount of research it seems, but I'm not here to answer all these questions. I'm here to try and think of a point or a spectrum of closely related points to argue in an essay. That being said, my main claim should at least answer or provide insight into some of these questions. As a young adult consumer I would have to say that these advertisements aren't for everyone. I really don't think a mother out looking through a magazine would want go out and buy her kids or herself a food product that is advertised via a sexual related theme and I really don't think that they need to be posted on billboards or other very public advertising places that are commonly and easily viewed by children especially ones that have a blatant sexual theme that might cause the children that see it to ask questions or that would start to imprint certain thoughts or stereotypes into their thought processes.

I would have to say the following main claim would be one of policy.

Food companies need to realize when advertising that they have an extremely wide base of consumers of all ages, even if the children and young adolescents that eat their food aren’t actually purchasing it, they’re still being exposed to the more adult themed advertisements that are being thrown at their young and impressionable minds. These companies need to take responsibility for what they put out there and should be mindful of everyone that might encounter their ads.

Above are a couple older advertisements for firearms and one for gun rights. All three of these play towards one's ability or lack there of without a firearm to effectively protect your property and/or family should the need arise. Not only they flaunt words like "the most effective" or "accidental discharge impossible" to help try and convince you that you're making and buying the best possible choice but also making a safe decision deciding to purchase their firearm. The first advertisement even shows a child handling said firearm. Every one of these advertisements lean towards the same idea that you need a firearm to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your property. They sell the feeling of security and well-being as well as the idea that it's your right to do so.

I would have to say that these advertisements are aimed at property owners or renters and household heads since those are the individuals normally tasked with providing a safe living atmosphere for anyone else to include themselves that live in said residence.

My first blog post. EVER.

The things I would like to learn and improve the most from taking English 102 is to further my ability and to try and master the academic writing style. Despite already passing English 101 with flying colors I still feel that I don't have any real command over using proper grammar and punctuation, nor do I know any of the rules in regards to our language. I've been out of school for almost a decade and do not really feel that my writing ability and vocabulary are really on par to properly convey my personal level of intelligence.

As much as I despise blogs and peoples' need to share everything that they're thinking, I can say that I've already learned how to create and use one in this course.