Stereotypes vs. Morality

As a 2015 blogger, it appears to me that advertisements have drastically changed their morality when it comes to using stereotypes to persuade their products. Recently I analyzed an advertisement as practice for our Paper 1 exam, which exposed a cruise called the 'Big White Fleet' with pictures accentuating white wealthy people. It specifically targeted the elite class as the ad reads 'First Class Only', implying that the upper American community is only worth this trip. The ad was published around mid 1900s, which explains the prejudice appearance and intention of the ad. Discrimination was a huge issue at the time, especially in America. Although we have had thousands of campaigns, awarenesses, speeches, and multiple other attempts to dissolve discrimination socially and mentally, it has regained its superiority amongst society. Who to blame? Mass media. People are able to access forms of media where ever and whenever they want. It has become a whole other world to unceremoniously vent your heart and soul regardless of who you might offend. Media yield wonderful impacts on raising awareness, to show understanding and empathize with world issues, however like anything it has a down side which cannot be controlled nor ignored. In context to this blog post, advertisement are part of media and have a great amount of power to grasp the way people think and feel about certain groups in society. If the advertisement exposes a certain ethnicity to be superior, the opposing ethnicities might be offended or upset. This can influence the viewer to indirectly categorize society in diverse social classes or judge people's cultural beliefs based on what the advertisement is conveying.

Print Ad Analysis

For this task, our table group was assigned a 20th century Marlboro advertisement. Back in those days smoking was seen as a social and public custom, which wasn't seen as unhealthy. Indeed, it was a fancy habit that targeted all generations and there were cigarettes especially designed for women who wore red lipstick. The mouth pieces of the cigarettes would be filtered with red, which could blend in with the red of the lipstick. Adding such details to cigarettes, implied that the production of Marlboro would increase to female consumers. As smoking was seen as a mans stereotype, the "red" addition to Marlboro now advertises for both genders, developing the act of smoking as more seductive, especially due to the erotic color red. This completely changes the value of smoking, as it has not upgraded to a "luxury" product that connects men and women, possibly increasing the need to belong and intimacy.

The woman on the foreground of the advertisement is empowered due to the fact that the man figure is lighting her cigarette for her. The message that this action conveys is that the female consumer attracts male attention and therefore advertises the establishment of new relationships due to smoking. By ignoring the mans dominance is this advertisement, it loses its stereotypical recognition thereby placing smoking in a different perspective, which now attracts both genders. The advertisement is trying to expand on its consumers by empowering the female figure. The mountain ranges in the background play another role in empowering Marlboro as a brand that sells products as "a luxury in smoking unmatched by any other cigarette." It implies that smoking coincides with health and a happy lifestyle. It increases the image of smoking Marlboro as an "enjoying" and "superior" habit in comparison to other brands. It enhances its exclusivity and attracts the interest of those who want to smoke "better in every way ... throughout the day!"

Adverinfotainment

This video consists of an advertisement for Nespresso, represented by the popular versatile George Clooney, known for his successful career in acting, producing and screenwriting. Since the first launch of the Nespresso campaigns including Clooney, coffee has never been so seductive in attracting female coffee consumers. The success of Nespresso has considerably intensified the significance of experiencing a ‘outstanding’ coffee. The advertisement clearly highlights the intended audience by suggesting that those who drink Nespresso are mature, elegant, fresh and elite class. Especially the setting and atmosphere are portraying the feels of a ‘rich’ coffee, indirectly referring to the wealth of the people in the advert. Using George Clooney, one of the most privileged men on earth, is a smart tactic to give the intention to those who drink Nespresso that they’re George Clooney. Due to the superiority of females, the advert also points out the coincidence of coffee and women. This message in the advert is interpreted through the following display; women get Nespresso coffee to belong to an elite group of promiscuous house wife’s waiting for men like Clooney to offer another one. But at the same time it’s a coffee that is sensible and offers quality time amongst one’s self: “Experience the quality of Nespresso and you’ll let no one compromise your pleasure.” To conclude, Nespresso is a privilege due to its representative Mr. Clooney and provokes the imagination of Nespresso consumers to feel indulged and potent, especially amongst women. 

 The ethos in this advert are notably appealing to the authority of Clooney’s character and his relationship to determining the quality of good coffee. Therefore the credibility of the advertisement has increased, in other words using a famous person to represent an advert results in a more persuasive image.
The use of pathos is very much present in this advert and contributes most to the persuasion powers of the Nespresso campaign. The setting and characters in the advert are elegant, the exceptional location and the sensible gestures all provoke an emotional response to the intended audience. The viewer is triggered into the seductiveness of Nespresso coffee and will now belief in the conventions of drinking it. This includes feeling empowered and sensual.
Lastly, the logos spotted in this adverb suggest that for the perfect coffee experience, you need to drink Nespresso because you will feel privileged and meet famous people who will then offer you another drink. This, seen from a logical perspective, can be effective as people will actually be triggered into going to the Nespresso shops and buy the perfect coffee because the ad is globally presented, meaning more Nespresso consumers who will be there too. However, much more logic than that can’t be spotted in this advert, that’s why they focused more on the pathos.

Language and Technology

To the Editor,

Technology nowadays has a huge impact on social and academic communication amongst the younger generations. Growing up with a standard pack of devices has led to this ‘concern’, which in turn has been aggravated by a set of frustrated language purists and leading head teachers who dramatically claim to see a decrease in academic and grammatically correct writing skills. The ‘erosion’ of standard English is supposedly the cause of text speak and therefore the influence of technology as a whole as well. However, the arguments that Ms. Clark states have limited value to support her argument and are irrelevant as she ignores the skills of youths code-switching nowadays and neglects the evolution of language parallel to the increase of technological advancements. On the contrary, its usage has had a positive effect as people spend less time communicating in a creative way. In a sense, text speak is a language on its own, giving it the right to be part of someone’s cultural identity. Younger generations master the technological language whereas the older generations (who were introduced to technology a bit later then we were) have difficulty understanding it, and since its impact will keep expanding it is important that the youth keeps up to date with the use of text speak. How would you expect people to develop socially, technologically and culturally if text speak is off limits? Youngsters are very much aware of their use of language in relation to a certain context: “we know when to use technological language and when to speak and interact from an academic perspective,” said by one of the students in Al Raha International School during English class. In order for one to use text speak; one should be familiar with the original spelling. In addition to that Ms. Clark, you mentioned: “If youngsters are not reading in the same way, and if they are spending a lot of time using social media, I wonder how much new vocabulary they are exposed to.” Highly recommended and respected schools as the Private Girl’s School in Oxford should be responsible to remain formative communication in both wittingly and oral forms amongst the younger generations. Text speak and Standard English are both separately utilized, just like one’s self adjusts their language and/or dialect in the context of one of the four identities. In conclusion, the next time Ms. Clark you make such biased assumptions ask yourself ‘Why might people change the way they speak and write in various contexts to express themselves?’ instead of declaring the offensive directly on social media and technology. There is always a reason if you're willing to perceive ideas from different perspectives, in this case the impact of technological use of language in comparison to academic grammar is much more coherent then you might think. 

A Cultural Memoir

Interview: Madonna  

Integrated Approach

The “Queen of Pop”

As long as the Rolling Stone magazine has been recording the greatest music artists and their astonishing (sometimes daring) impact of society, the iconic female music phenomenon Madonna has ultimately reached beyond the social-cultural significance in the music industry. The “Queen of Pop” has built a legacy that extends to scientific, sociologic and historic interest, resulting in multiple studies upon the three scientific fields. It was an unforgettable experience to have the global cultural icon herself around our table for this week’s headline! As we asked her what the “key to (her) success” was, she enthusiastically started to share her devotion to female rights. She shared her emotional relation to the subject and said to have “broken the boundaries of what’s considered acceptable for women to empower the female body and embrace their individualistic characteristics.” As the first female role model Pop Star, she opened the gate for other female singers to contribute to the music industry with great endeavor. Madonna claims to not “bow for other people’s opinions and (I) entirely aspire to my own norms and values of living as an equal figure to mankind” giving music artists such as Beyoncé the inspiration and courage to ultimately strive for global appreciation as a female artist. The impact of Madonna’s music started to be internationally recognized at a very young age, especially with her single “Papa Don’t Preach” released 1986, causing heated discussion considering the lyrics and the theme behind the song. Some claimed that the song encouraged teenage pregnancy while others saw it as a positive pro-life message against abortion. We asked the creator herself  “what (was) the intention behind Papa Don’t Preach” was. She sighed while explaining that Papa Don’t Preach was a “rebellious response” to communicate that no one could tell her what to as a form of “liberal self-expression to encourage society to be free in their opinion.” She is modernist pop icon, diverse in her rise for feminist appreciation and owner of many other titles such as the symbol of sexual freedom. She is also a symbol of contradiction: the woman we got to know in the film “In Bed With Madonna” where she is very open about her sexual relationship with her young male dancers significantly opposes the woman who desperately wanted to visit the pope in a chaste dress and named her daughter after the French pilgrimage place “Lourdes”. The controversial journey of Madonna led us delve into the next question “how do you cope with all the contentious criticism,” to which Madonna admits that for her it’s not a big deal she has been “used to it” and has dealt with nasty criticism for almost all her life, referring to these comments with “b**** I don’t care”. This is not the only time where her excessive use of language reveals how she feels about negative criticism, the pop stars general use of offending terms defines her careless character. The cultural pop icon will continually contribute to society’s ideologies with her eventual goal to “encourage those who are captured in their search for self-expression” and evolve global liberalism. “I will never succumb to peer pressure.” – Madonna   

Eid Mubarak Everyone!

I’m wondering how many blog posts we’ll end up with if we continue to reflect our personal and analytical perspectives at this speedy rate. Although these blog posts are mandatory and have specific deadlines, I feel surprisingly relaxed when writing them, #nopressure. Not only have these blog posts helped me to readjust to the English language after a long break (summer), it has given me the opportunity to analyze more texts and improve upon my interpretative and rational writing skills. There is a certain security bound to this expressive method of inquiry, I feel more confident in the English Language and Literature course as it gives firm guidelines to its content. Anyhow, I shall get back to business and provide three paragraphs regarding three different texts that I have read, summarized, compared and contrasted over this short but enriching break.

The article “Yorkshire named top twang as Brummie brogue comes bottom” published by the Guardian, demonstrates dialectal superiority associated with one’s intelligence amongst British dialects, mainly focusing on Yorkshire Twang and the Brummie dialect in Birmingham. Research stated that “people who said nothing at all were regarded as more intelligent than those with a Brummie accent,” which encouraged Dr. Lance Workman (who led the research) to navigate perceived intelligence with regional stereotypes into a more impartial direction. He claimed that criminal offense is most likely to be correlated to Birmingham folk, which in turn is joined to a lack of sufficient education. The main purpose behind the study shows to be “to investigate regional stereotypes” and their prejudiced relation to “elite education.” As concerns to one of our own studies in class, this article refers to the topic identities, specifically devoted to the characteristics of master identities (national and regional origins). Language use and master identities are commonly bound together due to the perception of cultural provenance being closely related to language, or vice versa. The dialectal stereotypes within the article inform how people tend to associate one’s regional origin and dialect to physical, ethnical and mental prejudices.

In contrast to the first article, “You Say Up, I Say Yesterday”, writer Joan O’C. Hamilton specifically focuses the text on the research of cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky revealing explicit conclusions regarding language and its interconnected link to what the speaker of that language thinks, perceives and remembers about an event. Its study is very psychologically based, performing investigations that test the perception of a certain event with its corresponding usage of language to describe so. Boroditksy demonstrates her arguments through the use of several languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, Russian and English, to indicate how verb forms and intentional point of views regarding an event differentiate their cognitive perceptions. “She has shown that speakers of languages that use “non-agentive” verb forms – those that don’t indicate an animate actor – are less likely to remember who was involved in an accident (p. 464),” which supports Boroditsky’s argument regarding her study of language in connection to remembrance. Her passionate and extroverted learning in the fields of cognitive science exposes Boroditsky to go beyond the subject matter, as she takes her investigation to another level by introducing the relationship between linguistic features and cultural concepts including space, time and gender. Borditsky’s concepts strongly relate back to language rules studied in class and the role of language being shaped by social nature of human beings. Inquiring how a language is activates meaningful communication and using the importance of code-switching to demonstrate how the ‘breaking of a cup’ is communicated differently when translated.

The last text “Bilingual Mind: Understanding How the Brain Speaks Two Languages” by Jeffrey Kluger, examines the impact of bilingual and multilingual minds through mental and physical studies. Throughout the text Kuger associates the positive aspects of being bilingual predominately, as Sean Lynch states “that these students [bilingual students] seemed to show a greater facility with skills that relied on interpreting symbolic representations, such as math or music.” Apart from the fact that the multilingualism provokes “profound effect on the brain, from improving your analytical skills, to enhancing your cognition, to protecting your brain from dementia later in life,” different studies claim to see a downside to multilingualism throughout the linguistic development of a child. They grow up with a smaller range of vocabulary in both their languages, causing incomprehensive cognition due to the constant switching of their languages “choosing the words they feel the children will have an easier time understanding or reproducing.” This consistent shift in languages is also known as code-switching, which links directly to our discussions in class about code-switching. Even though code-switching might cause unstable competence between two languages, it does achieve conceptual/linguistic gaps and establishes an identity different from on that can exist in either language.

Mother Tongue Originated post

We all grow up with a language related to the country we live in and perhaps your origin. Whether that’s English, Spanish or Dutch, idiolect's contribute an important value to the cultural and social development of one’s self. Through the use of idiolect's particular individuals are encouraged to communicate in a creative, unique and expressive manner, which creates more diverse people. It shapes strong bonds with family members or friends, establishing an exclusive relationship. That idiolect's build on intimacy and individuality is one, it certainly shapes your identity too. A language often says a lot about your ethnicity and cultural background, we use language to communicate and overcome barriers. Idiolect's have a similar function; we use them to ease communication except idiolect's are designated to very limited people. Nevertheless, home languages can cause preconceived opinions determining your linguistic skills and strengths. A native speaker may associate the usage of an idiolect with a lack of grammatical and morphological sense in a particular language. Based on the derivation of an idiolect, prejudices assumptions regarding intellectual and comprehensive competency impact the academic accomplishments of an individual in a certain language.

Being a non-native speaker myself but having to adjust to an international community has had a major effect on my domestic linguistic communication. I’m a fluent Dutch speaker, however my engagement and advancement within the English language demonstrates quit fluent attributes as well. I think, talk, write and reflect as a native English speaker would but my mother tongue language will always be devoted to my Dutch origination. Anyhow, since I’m persistently communicating in English to an extent where my brain has mastered the English language as good as my Dutch, I have unconsciously created an idiolect based on the two. It’s a ‘home language’ spoken between my mom and I due to our international interactions as experienced employee and student and Dutch origin. The idiolect assembled from English and Dutch consists of Dutch grammatical rules with English adjectives using a Dutch prefix. Sometimes half the sentence will be spoken in English and the other half in Dutch simply because that first half of the sentence is explained way more clear when pronounced in English whereas the second half sounds more understandable in Dutch. The purpose and ambition of this idiolect is to reflect our embracement of both languages in equal terms and express ourselves through an exclusive medium of communication without the complexity of having to speak in one language.