Saturday, October 20, 2018

Blog #3 (10/20/18)
                                   Axe . “The Cleaner You Are, the Dirtier You Get.” 2018.
This advertisement pictured above, published in 2018 by the company Axe, exemplifies one of the Seven Deadly Sins, lust. The advertisement displays two people, a man on the left, and a woman on the right. The man on the left is seemingly, and quite obviously, naked in the shower with soap covering the majority of his back side. At first glance the woman also appears to be in the same setting but when you take a closer look, you realize she is not. The woman, who also has her back facing the audience, is wearing a corset.
The phrase "The cleaner you are The dirtier you get" is titled across the bottom of the advertisement. This, coupled with the primarily naked man and woman, portray the idea of 'lust' in the advertisement. After interpreting the concept of 'lust,' you can begin to see the different portrayals of this idea. The goal of an advertisement is to sell a product and in this case, the product is axe body soap. The man on the left can be seen using this soap to wash himself while showering. On that side of the image is the first part of the phrase, "The cleaner you are." This is then followed by a woman on the right, who also has the upper part of her backside exposed, who is seemingly unlacing the corset she is wearing. On the right side of the image is the last part of the phrase, "The dirtier you get". Axe is a company with an intended audience of men of every race, wealth, and age. With that being said, the makers of this advertisement tempted men with the idea of sex, or lust. The image is saying that if you use this body soap to wash in the shower, than you will have all women 'unlacing their corsets' for you.
Using sex, or other pleasurable temptations, has become a common way for advertisers to entice both men and women into buying their products. This has always been a thriving concept throughout the development of our society, as can be seen from the creation of the Seven Deadly Sins some hundreds or thousands of years ago. For some reason, people are intrigued by the mere idea of pleasure more so than the things that would actually serve to benefit their lives. This advertisement for Axe body soap is just one example of this pertinent aspect of our society today.  

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Blog #2 (10/7/18)
The name Emma comes from German descent, which is ironic because it is more commonly found in the United States. The name in the German language means 'universal'. I do not think the literal definition of my name defines me. My name is something I was given when I was born. I would never change my name but I do sometimes wish it was something more unique. My name is important to me because its what I am known as. This means it could follow either a negative or a positive connotation. My goal is make sure that there is no negative connotation surrounding my name. However, this does sometimes prove to be difficult seeing as how common the name Emma is. There will always be a sense or 'boringness' surrounding my name due to its commonality. This is something that I will live with for the rest of my life but that does not mean I am going to let it define who I am. I am different than the thousands of other Emma's that you will find in the world. So, rather than me being defined by my name, I am pushing to define my own name. 

The concept of being 'two' is something I can relate to immensely. I definitely have 'two sides'. There is the side of me that adults see and the side of me that my friends see. During school when I am speaking to adults or other administrators, I am very respectful and speak with proper grammar. It, to me, is the right thing to do when speaking to superiors. Similar to when our teachers are being observed by their superiors, they become more studious and behave to the expectations they are upheld to. The other side of me is the one that talks and interacts with my friends. I am much more open and behave like myself around them. There is not an obligation to act different or act to a certain standard. This side of me isn't afraid to make stupid jokes or have a good time. I think having two sides is part of our society today. Whether it is a 'good' and 'bad' side, 'school' and 'home' side, or 'adult' and friend' side, there will always be sides of you regarding different situations.

Every person is there own individual. We say and think what we want, and do what we want, to a certain extent. This leads to the various personalities seen across the globe. We all lead different lives and will most likely never interact with one another. It is crazy to think that we are still all connected. We are part of the 'larger whole,' which is the Earth. Every action we partake in has some sort of consequence. There is no determination of the extent to which this consequence reaches besides its effects on us. If we choose to throw a plastic bottle out of the window it leads to a build up of plastic waste and pollution on the Earth. This could cause damaged wildlife, ocean life, and even human life. Although we are all separate individuals, we still contribute to the over arching 'larger whole,' the Earth.