My Four letter Word

My four letter word is Scar. I find this word fascinating because it can stand for so much more than it is. A scar can be seen or be heard, or can be hidden. Scars show what you've been through and how far you have come. Scars are healed wounds, physically and mentally.

Hansel and Gretel Take on New York

AT&T has come out with a commercial about two young kids who are made out to be Hansel and Gretel, walking through the city and dropping breadcrumbs to make a path to find their way home. Obviously, the breadcrumbs did not last in the city and they found themselves lost. When they realized this, the young girl takes out her AT&T phone and turns on the GPS. 

This commercial was very witty in the sense that it shows how old society is no longer prevalent in today’s world. It is almost as if the breadcrumbs stood for security, you lay it down making a clear path to home, but people step all over it and it is no longer there. They subtly play off of parents’ fear in this commercial, showing, not telling, that there is no longer any security for your children so you should get them a phone to protect them from the dangers of the world. Unfortunately, this is a sad reality. Although AT&T portrayed this in a nonabrasive manner, it is true that today’s society is a lot more dangerous than how it used to be and we now need applications like this to stay safe. All of the “breadcrumbs” of old society are now vanishing right before our eyes with every new piece of technology that comes out. AT&T did a fabulous job scaring you into buying their product in a non-scary way. 

Heineken and Society

In the Ad for the famous beer Heineken, a seemingly young couple are showing off their new apartment filled to what appears to be their friends. A young woman brings her friends to her brand new walk-in closet where they all jump for joy and excitement. They appear to be puzzled when they hear a group of guys screaming for joy as well. When the camera shows what they are doing, the men are ecstatic about a walk in beer fridge. 

This commercial speaks volumes about society. The use of stereotyping is very evident in the sense that they make women seem shallow about clothes, but they make men seem excited over beer. It draws the obvious question which is why can’t the women be excited about the beer and why can’t the men be excited about clothes? When did our society decide that this is the way men and women should act and what we should like? This commercial is the perfect example of how the media dictates how we should act in order to be accepted into our society. Even when the men emulate the screams and hand gestures as the women, we know we are supposed to laugh. Why can’t it be ok that a man gets excited and acts like that without us laughing? 

This seemingly harmless commercial is actually everything that’s wrong with society wrapped up in one 60 second mess. It is 2011, not 1952. It is time to drop the stereotypes and get a little innovative with our commercials.

What is My Writing Process Like?

My writing process consists of many different oddities that would probably only work for my brain. I usually sit down, outside or in a nicely decorated area, and meditate on what it is I’m about to write. I sit and breathe, come up with a few witty sentences, an jot them down. It’s almost as if I write the whole work in my head, see it on paper, then begin to write it and watch it match what I have in my head. After I try my hardest to make it match, I go and get some tea, or eat, or anything really to just walk away from it. I usually have a different conversation, and then something I would want in my work will pop in my brain. I would write it down more often than not on my hand, and eventually make my way back to my computer. Having entered in that tidbit, I reread my work out loud, and try to mimic my professors voice to see if it sounds good coming from them. I then laugh at myself because I laugh at my own jokes all the time and think I am a lot funnier than I actually am. 

My best work, however, is written on paper. As much as I love the internet and technology, nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing a blank page being filled with your best thoughts.