Blog #1

The image depicts a young, white woman with youthful, black hair lying on a clean, white floor. Her green floral-patterned dress spreads out across the floor and her hand rests on the red Hoover vacuum cleaner. There is a green bow on the vacuum; likewise, there are green and red bows on the white presents to the right of the vacuum. From the “Hoover” logo hangs a red bow, which causes it [the logo] to appear as a gift. The woman is reading a card and is content with her gift, as evidence through a slight smile. The Hoover vacuum is colored in a vibrant red shade, often used because it stands out to the human eye on the visual light spectrum. The silver tint of the Hoover’s base suggests its [the vacuum’s] “sleek” style. New items such as kitchen mixers, washers, dryers, and blenders are often made of a shiny, silver metal to convey the fresh, new and modern look, thus appealing to consumers; this vacuum is no exception, as its sleek silver base sends audiences the message that the product is “hot”, urging them that it is a “must have”.

There is quite a bit of text that accompanies the image described above. The Hoover logo at the top is shown in green, complimented by the red bow, to convey the Christmas theme of the ad. Beneath the logo is large text, written in bold red font – because it is the largest piece of text, it is intended to be the focus of the viewer’s attention. In stating that one’s wife will be happier Christmas morning (and forever after) if she has a Hoover, the text is achieving multiple goals. For those husbands who are struggling to find a gift for their wives, it serves as a practical idea. It is empirical for two reasons, the first suggested by the phrase “and forever after”. One of the selling points of the vacuum is its endurance – it can last a long time without needing to be replaced, thus the investment will pay itself off in the long run. The second item of practicality provided by the vacuum is elaborated on in the bottom left corner. The advertisers quickly zone in on their married men through use of the phrase, “P.S. to Husbands,” and suggest that a Hoover vacuum can demonstrate their care for their wives. The vacuum’s intended use of carpet cleaning meshes with societal the “housewife” expectation of women at the time of this ad’s publication, probably in late 1950’s tool magazine. In such a tool magazine, men would be primary readers and would regard the vacuum as necessary as they might a hammer or a drill. Going back to the housewife expectation, the women cooked, cleaned, and kept things at the house looking nice – a vacuum could/can greatly reduce the time needed to clean off the carpet as its suction capabilities are great. Thus, the vacuum was practical for such a housewife, because she would have time to relax and read a book or watch a TV show in the time she normally spent picking fuzz off of the carpet.

            This ad, as mentioned earlier, is probably from the late 1950’s. It is printed in color and the dress/robe style of the woman is modest and classic, unlike later fashions of the 60’s which are characterized by revealed skin in the leg and arm areas. The vacuum did not become popular until the 1950’s, thus this model was likely a new and advanced version of the original [invented about 50 years prior]. The intended consumer audience was primarily men, but also women. Women who saw the ad were taken in by its sleek style, but more importantly the freedom of time that it [the Hoover vacuum] could provide. Men, on the other hand, had jobs and relied on their wives to keep the house clean, so they had no direct need for a vacuum. The ad’s appeal to men, then, lies in the nature of the Christmas season when gift giving is expected among couples. This product was an easy and practical way for men to show their wives that they appreciated the house work and wanted to ease it. The intended audience was middle and upper class white Americans; in these families the wife did not need to work, because the husband had a well-paying job (perhaps as a doctor or a banker) and could support the family on his own. This is where the “housewife” role began to develop, as the woman would stay home, raise the kids, cook the meals, and keep the house in good shape. The price of the vacuum (from $86.95 up) was affordable even for most middle class families, as they could make a down payment and work their way up to paying it [the vacuum] off in full. In lower class and African American/Hispanic families at this time, there was a need for both members of a couple to work and provide income. The Civil Rights movement was underway, but had not achieved full success as many minority groups were still stuck in a cycle of poverty at the bottom of the social ladder. Because of this, there was little room in the budget for luxuries such as a Hoover vacuum. The large majority of consumers, then, were found in the white middle to upper class category.

            This ad teaches an audience of both genders, but specifically males, that a Hoover vacuum can ease household chores thus creating happiness through the freedom to explore new [recreational] activities. Typical to the culture of the 1950’s was attendance at movie theaters, dining at restaurants, playing board games, and down-time reading. Because the Hoover would minimize the time that a wife needed to spend in the house, there would be more time for such activities and thus a great appeal was made to the desire for “fun” inside of viewers. The ad also, as previously discussed, affirms the housewife role of women typical to the late 1950’s in middle to upper class families – it simplifies the previously-established responsibilities for household cleaning. The woman’s content smile, together with the large red text and the sleek, crimson vacuum, convey the above message ultimately creating an appeal [in consumers] for the Hoover vacuum.

           

Blog #3

               Print magazines, a prominent form of mass media, depict women as bold and capable members of society. Women’s health, beauty, and living magazines intend to persuade their female audiences that they will radiate mental/emotional strength if they act and carry themselves boldly. The age range of these audiences tends to be 15 – 25 years; this range is significant as it is the peak "mating" times in a women's life. Motivated by their desire to find a lifelong partner, women want to appeal to what society expects of them and thus go for the “bold” look. Women, as recorded in the Hockenbury & Hockenbury Psychology textbook, tend to have lower self-esteem than men, thus are constantly looking for ways to boost it (482). Women’s magazines prey upon this low self-esteem trend and aim to help women by giving them visual example of spirited beauty. A combination of empowering choice words and images conveys the persuasive message that strength is achieved through bold health and posture/physical gestures to female audiences.

                One of the more prominent women’s magazines, Women’s Health, recently ran an article about preventing sun damage. The article on their website is accessed through clicking on a cover picture, which displays a blonde young woman with a sun hat on her head and her hands on the hat. Her shoulders are spread apart and her smile radiates content – she is happy and appears to be completely “free”. This picture was strategically placed next to other non-human objects, such as a picture of carrots and another of the beach, in an effort to bring attention to the bold girl (she is appealing to societal standards and put on display as an example). As mentioned earlier, she is young and thus has a youthful aura about her – this youth appeals to young women who wish to prolong their child-like soft skin and facial features. The article goes on to include phrases such as “be a healthy woman” and “fight the sun.” The first phrase is rather explicit in meaning, referring to the “healthy women” depicted on the article’s cover – the audience is taught that they too can acquire that satisfied smile and high self-esteem by following the article’s advice. Thus, eating certain fruits, vegetables, and types of nuts becomes a more persuasive suggestion. The second phrase about “fighting the sun,” puts power in the hands of women, by suggesting that they can control their own exposure and reaction to the sun. Together, these textual phrases and the cover image convey the bold social trend and expectation of women.

                Though this is only one of many examples, it is evident that women’s magazines have an agenda to declare women as bold and capable. They achieve this, as suggested in the previous paragraph, by strategically placing images in their magazines and then picking out text that compliments the message being sent through the image. Ultimately, print magazines use images and words to teach young female audiences that emotional and mental strength can be obtained through bold actions and gestures.

Blog #2

                Bob Mondello, in his article Our Media, Ourselves: Are We Headed For a Matrix? states, “It’s as if we’re deciding en masse that when it comes to the arts and entertainment, we can do without the actual object that is the object of our affection," (Mondello, 1). After looking at two entertainment mediums, the e-reader and the cell phone, it does become evident that we are [collectively] replacing the “real” with the “close enough.” The potential problem with this mental method of substitution was foreseen as early as 100 years ago by writer E.M. Forster. In his short story The Machine Stops, Forster’s character Vashti thinks to herself, “The civilization [prior to her own] that had mistaken the functions of the system, and had used it for bringing people to things, instead of for bringing things to people,” (Forster, 4). In Vashti’s society, a car could be summoned to transport a person even a short distance. There was no need for fresh air, as the air in the rooms was automatically replenished on a regular basis. As she stated, things came to people. The irony, then, is that our American civilization has begun to walk down the same path.

                The replacement of objects of affection with a substitute medium has become increasingly common in the area of books. The use of the public library and bookstores has dwindled greatly in the past four years, due largely in part to the introduction of such e-readers as Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook. In his article, Mondello reports, “Sales of physical books dropped 30 percent last year [2011], while e-book sales more than doubled,” (Mondello, 1). Though from an economic standpoint this shift in resources only results in the decline of book-producing companies, this shift has huge implications for the American population. It is proof that affection for books is being replaced with impersonal object mediums. We are no longer appreciative of the luxury that accompanies an afternoon spent questing for the perfect romance novel. Nor are we inclined to enjoy the soft, yet “well-traveled” smell that pastes itself onto the pages of a Shakespeare classic. Though an electronic reader has no personalization or scent, we settle for it because it is convenient and time-efficient.  Secondly, in terms of cellular device usage, we are replacing humanity with text. The omnipresence of cell phone service has created a powerful, yet dangerous network for communication. For teens and young adults, the ease with which a five sentence text can be sent is beginning to outweigh the “hassle” of face-to-face contact. There is something to be said, though, for the bond formed when two friends, two lovers, two siblings speak side by side. This “something” includes vocal inflection, eyebrow wiggling, and hand gestures that convey messages in a method exclusive to humankind. When we put our conversations into text lingo, there is no room for humanity – sure, there are emoticons, but the happiness of a yellow cartoon face cannot bring warmth to a heart like the smile of a friend.  When we use cell phones to bring those we love close to us, a text becomes the object and the people that we once held affection for become mere pictures on the other end of the line.

                In closing, it is important to recognize that not all technological developments have replaced our affections for people. For example, the social networking site Facebook has made possible many relationships that might not otherwise exist. These relationships, including but not limited to members of a high school class, distant relatives, and childhood friends, are hindered by distance and Facebook has allowed for the closing of this communication gap. Likewise, it has developed a resource [as opposed to an object] for finding affection in those [physically] far from us. While there is a definite flip side to Mondello’s argument as exampled through this social network site, there are still many devices out there that are teaching consumers that affection for the person can be discarded, as long as the texting relationship stays alive. As explained previously, this mentally destroys everything that humanity is and settles for what is good enough. With this in mind, Mondello’s claim must be heeded as warning and should provoke an appreciation for the uniquely human qualities that can be found outside of the entertainment provided by technological devices.