Map

Here is a link to the spot on that advertising map that my group did. My group what the Cafeteria Hallway group.

Pop Music Website Analysis

                In my opinion Modest Mouse is one the most amazing bands that are together and still performing today.  Their style is kind of American indie rock or alternative. They were created in 1993, and their first album was released not even a year later in 1994. They were formed in Washington but are now based out of Portland, Oregon.  The music they create is simplistic, yet very creative and unique. I have never heard another band, or type of music that even compares to how great Modest Mouse is. Six albums, and many singles later they are still one of the most famous bands in the world. That right there says something about how amazing the music is that they create.

Their website and the way that it is set up goes hand in hand with the style of music they create.  At first glance it looks a little bland, it’s only a couple of colors and there isn’t much going on unlike many other bands web pages. The more you pay attention to it though, the more you realize that although it may be simplistic with not a lot going on it is very unique. The main thing you see is a big black and white fly, which at first glance might not be to interesting until you notice that it is moving slightly around on the page.  There are also three other types of bugs in the upper right corner that when you move the mouse over them they move and when clicked on they take you to different sections of the website. The big fly on the front page reminds me of a song that they did called Fly Trapped in a Jar, because the beginning of the song is just the sound of flies.

Scrolling down further on their web page I noticed two things. First off, it’s very easy to navigate. There are big bolded letters telling you the different place on the website to go and different things to see. It is set up vertically so not a lot of information is on one line so it is very easy to follow. Second, it is very visually appealing (that is to me at least). Every section uses the same simplistic font so nothing gets jumbled and hard to read. The headings of the sections are also in the same font, but they are slightly bigger and bolded which makes it easy to identify the different announcements and posts.

Although very easy to navigate and uncluttered they still have a couple of weird out of place things on their webpage, which exactly mirrors the way that their music is. A song can be going very smoothly, not a lot of change and then all the sudden BLAM, something weird that doesn’t belong happens, but it is done in such a creative way that it only makes the music sound that much better!  I never thought about how something so simple as a webpage could help define a band and what their music represents. 

Dueling Pop Culture

       When looking at today’s pop culture it’s easy to see how easily influenced we are by messages portrayed by the media. Even messages that make no sense like “I only ate chocolate for ten days and I still lost weight!” still have a profound impact on the way that we think and feel about certain products. Even statements like the one above convince people to buy this magazine, or special product that will help you lose weight no matter what you eat. Many advertising tricks are used to sells products that will make us thinner, happier, or even live longer, when in reality they aren't what they seem to be at all. Now, I’m not saying that all advertising is bad but we tend to believe what we want to think is true over what we actually know is true.

For example, something we see commercials for every day, it’s in our grocery stores, it’s on the web, and sometimes we actually use them ourselves, or know someone who has. Diet pills. Advertisements for diet pills are extremely misleading. They tell us that if we use them we can shed off 20 pounds in two weeks the “healthy, fast” way. Overall people know that losing weight that fast is not only unnatural and unhealthy but it can also be life threatening, yet we still see people everyday buying and taking them in hopes for a miracle. The advertisements for these products show skinny, sexy women and men in bathing suits, or looking good in that dress that used to be a little too tight to wear. What they don’t show you or tell you is the profound negative effects that these pills have on our bodies. They don’t want us to know that there are extremely harmful chemicals that could potentially kill us because then the product wouldn’t sell.

Another absurd advertising scheme is one of the biggest in the world. We see it everywhere every day. Alcohol. According to the media not only will alcohol make us sexy, fun and energetic, but it also gives us a great excuse for that really stupid thing we did last night.  Any person in their right mind knows that drinking too much makes you sloppy, sick, and sometimes even violent or depressed, yet it still is one of the biggest money making businesses in the world. It’s not to say that 100% of people who drink are bad, and that drinking can’t be fun, but the negative effect of alcohol far outweigh the positive. People die every day as the result of alcohol. It’s one of the main causes of teen death, and car accidents.

Although there are so many organizations that put forth the dangers of things such as diet pills and drinking they are still portrayed in our media to be good for us. Organizations like DARE or the Live Above the Influence commercials put out the exact opposite messages that diet pills and alcohol do. They show us the dangers of drinking, and the show pictures that are meant to scare us, and make us think twice about the substances that we put into our bodies.  They teach us from a very young age that drugs (even legal) and alcohol are things that we should stay away from. If these organizations spend millions of dollars a year to promote the dangers of drugs and alcohol then why do so many people still use them? It’s all because advertisement like ones for Hydroxycut or that great bottle of Patron are sending a message that we want to think is true so we accept them, but organizations like DARE and Live Above the Influence are sending a true message that we don’t want to believe is true so we don’t accept them. 

Lovemark- Vans shoes.

       A Lovemark is something that consumers like and buy for other reasons besides what the product does for them. We see them in our everyday live, Nike's will make you jump higher, Gatorade will improve performance. People buy these products because they think that it will be more than just a shoe, or a refreshing drink. We almost feel an emotional attachment to the product that causes us to buy the name brands, even if the off brands look, or taste the same.

       Personally, I can only think of two lovemarks that I have and those would be Apple products, and Vans shoes.
     
       One of the main reasons that I prefer and Apple products over anything else is the fact that in my eyes they represent the future. Apple is always coming out with new technology that blows our minds, and all their products are very visually appealing. To me things such as Macintosh computers are better built, longer lasting, more visually appealing, and more environmentally friendly than any other computers out there. Also when comparing the iPod to the Zune, the iPod is much more technologically advanced, they had touch screens first, you can get free apps on the iPod Touch, and they are easier to get music onto because most music is bought and stored in iTunes. When looking at any products whether its a new computer, a music playing device or a phone I will always choose Apple products over everything else.

       Apply also puts out that they have better values and morals than other competitor companies. They are always coming out with some new environmentally green batteries that won't help in the depletion of our ozone. Or a new recycle program so old pieces that could be reused aren't filling up our landfills. When I see someone with a Mac one of my first thoughts it "If they chose to have that mac over a PC they are probably more inclined to recycle."

       There is also the idea that people who prefer Mac's, or Apple products in general are more "hippies" and "environmentally friendly, because at least in my experience, when I walk in to Prescott College, or the local, "fair trade" coffee shop I see the majority of people using Mac's. The reason for this can go both ways. Yes, maybe some of those people to care about the environment, and want the best for our earth. But also, who wants to be the odd one out? A lot of the reason that people choose Apple products is because other people choose Apply products and no one wants to be the odd one out.



       Now the reason that Vans are a Lovemark for me is more personal. When I first started caring about my appearance, and I was beginning to figure out who i was as a person, my mother took me shopping for the first time where I was able to pick out clothes and shoes that I liked. I remember walking into Journeys shoe store and seeing the section of vans. They were all very visually appealing to me so I decided to get my first pair. I ended up loving them so much it was almost like a comfort thing to me, every time from then on out when I bought shoes they were always Vans.

       Over the past 10 years vans have been very popular shoes, they are comfortable, lightweight, and stylish. Van's company has done a very good job at keeping up with incoming and outgoing trends also. Van's are such  versatile shoe that there is almost one fore every kind of person. For the California surfer or the local skate boarder there is the original, for the goth kids there are black ones, for the scene kids there are bright colored ones, and for the hipsters there are ones with little designs or old fashioned floral patterns. No wonder they are one of the most popular shoes brands, they know what people want and they give it to them. That's why Vans are my favorite shoes out there.

                                                                                               








                               

Terrorism PSA

To watch the video section of my PSA click here.  After watching read below.


Did your child do this? Teach your children to play nice.


Visit www.antiterrorism.org for more info. 

Pop Culture Tour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfhwqhrEAus This is the URL to my Pop Culture Tour Video.

Book vs Movie (Where The Wild Things Are)

Where The Wild Things Are

           

In today’s culture books and movies are two of our most prominent forms of entertainment. There are constant changes in books and even more so in movies. Movies are remade and digitally altered to be more appealing to the people watching. Good movies are turned into books and more often good books are turned into movies. Sometimes audiences are disappointed in the change from a book to a movie like the first three Twilight movies. The Twilight books got people hooked, and the movies were just eh. Other times the movie remake of a book is just as good as the book if not better like the Harry Potter movies, or the Lord of the Rings. One of the most amazing transformations from a book to a movie, in my opinion is Where The Wild Things Are. (If you would like to watch the trailer click here.) What originated as a twenty page, ten sentence children’s story (Click here for a link to read the book online) was turned into a full length movie. There is a lot of controversy over the movie, but there is a reason why so many changes had to be done during the creation of the movie.

One of the biggest changes done to the story is the addition of many extra scenes that were not in the book. They added scenes of Max playing in the snow outside, his mother having people over, and Max’s older sister being mean to him. They also extended scenes to make them longer, like the scene of the wild rumpus that was two pages long in the book and was much longer in the movie. The main reasons for these changes are that a twenty page children’s book would most likely turn into a really horrible five minute film. The changes had to be done in order for the book to be turned into a full length movie.

The producers also made changes that made the movie more appealing to a different audience. Where The Wild Things Are the book is a children’s story that almost any aged child would enjoy, while the movie is a little m ore in depth and geared towards a different age group. The movie is also a little scarier, there is much more hatred, violence and depression which makes it more appealing to an older audience, from teens to adults. They probably did this because making the movie more appealing to a larger audience brings in more revenue.

Other changes were made to the movie because they just made more sense. For example it makes more sense that Max gets angry with him mom, runs away and finds the boat that takes him to the wild things than it does that his room just began to turn into the forest. Also, in the book when Max finally gets more he has a hot bowl or porridge waiting for him, while in the movie he has a slice of cake.

Although overall most people were disappointed in the turn out of the movie ( I wasn’t at all) we have to give some credit to them for turning  such a short children’s story into a movie. Not only were they very creative with adding details and extra scenes they still kept the same message – Don’t’ disrespect or disobey your mum because if you do giant monsters will threaten to “eat you up”. 

Compare and Contrast

 Where the Wild Things Are Book

·         He eats porridge at the end of the book.

·         The book is 20 pages, 10 sentences.

·         He literally sees his bed turning into trees and his walls turning into the forest.

Where the Wild Things Are Movie

·         He eats cake at the end of the movie. 

·         They build a large hut out of stick and rocks.

·         The book goes way more in depth about Max’s emotional issues. (fear, hatred, depression)

·         They add many more plot lines to the movie.

·         He runs away from home and finds the boat to take him.

Both the Book and the Movie

·         There is an epic wild rumpus.

·         Boy is misbehaving and goes to the island of the wild things.

·         The wild things look the same in both. 

·         The wild things make Max Their king

·         Max gets hurt (emotionally) learns a life lesson and decides to go back home.

·         Wore his wolf costume

·         Terrorized the dog

·         Threatened to eat his loved ones.