Deconstructing the World Around Us

 

 

 

 

 

Directions Select any advertisement and use your sociological imagination to analyze it; apply concepts from the chapters you have read so far. In your response, you should address the following questions:

1. What social group is the ad intended for? What social groups are represented in the advertisement?

2. Does the advertisement reinforce or violate social norms? Explain.

3. In addition to the product or service, what is the ad selling? Think about the time of day the commercial is running and on what channel. If your ad is in print, consider the source is it being advertised in. What does that have to say about the intended audience? What type of emotion is the advertisement trying to invoke?

4. What does the ad convey about race, class, and gender in America?

Sample Solution

This advertisement is from Mercedes-Benz and appears in many print magazines, digital formats and billboards worldwide. It features a black car on a white background with subtle yet powerful text that reads “The best or nothing”. This ad is clearly intended for wealthy, upper-class individuals who have access to luxury items such as cars. The text implies that owning this high-end vehicle will bring one closer to perfection while simultaneously reinforcing the idea of exclusivity associated with Mercedes-Benz products.

The social group represented in the ad can be viewed through multiple lenses – those of gender, race, age and class – all of which are closely related when considering how this advertisement shapes the identities of its viewers. For example, it is no coincidence that the main figure in this ad is male: men tend to be over-represented in ads for luxury cars as they are seen as symbols of wealth, power and success (Thompson & Hirschman 2019). Furthermore, by featuring an older model – likely between 30-40 years old – rather than younger models suggests an implied message regarding maturity and wisdom associated with ownership (Erdogan et al., 2017). Race also plays an important role here; despite being a multinational corporation operating across many countries globally ,the majority of their advertising campaigns feature White models which further reinforces notions about Eurocentric beauty standards (Mastro & Sternthal 2020). Finally, although many people may initially disregard class given that most car advertisements use similar aesthetics regardless of cost, there exists an underlying theme which speaks directly towards affluent groups possessing not only financial resources but also one’s own sense status/self worth (Visconti & Wojnicki 2018 ).

In conclusion, this ad from Mercedes Benz attempts to construct a particular identity or image amongst its target audiences primarily through messages related to gender, race, age and class. By using representations like men wearing expensive suits driving luxurious cars combined with subtle yet powerful slogans such as “the best or nothing” sends strong signals about what type of person should own these specific types of product while simultaneously implying certain ideals surrounding beauty/worth associated with their respective demographic groups .

Why The U.S. Should Leave Iraq.

We have been in Iraq since President George Bush propelled the intrusion on Iraq in March 2003. From that point forward the war the U.S. has spent around seven hundred million dollars. While regardless we are in battling to attempt to remake Iraq when we ought to attempt spare the U.S. from the defeat of our own economy since March of a year ago. From the National Priorities Project site I discovered this diagram demonstrates the expense by year the cash we are spending on the war in Iraq just as Afghanistan.

Another motivation behind why remaining in Iraq is only a terrible thought, as John Weiss states, “We face a Catch 22 in Iraq: the more we remain, the more grounded our adversaries become. We can’t vanquish either the uprising or the common war coming about because of our intrusion and occupation; indeed, both have become more grounded. Nor would we be able to secure the Iraqis we came to spare. A degenerate Iraqi government squanders the billions we have dispensed for modifying, while the white collar class escapes to keep away from the peril. The Pentagon trains Iraqis to battle, yet we likely could be preparing the military of our future enemies.”(Weiss) The more we are there the more the general population there will figure out how to hurt the U.S. get familiar with the approaches to work our very own military powers. The more we leave our troops the more extended the general population of Iraq have room schedule-wise to perceive what we do amidst war. The more we remain the more drawn out our country remains unprotected, consider it we have every one of these troops crosswise over oceans battling when and if there is another fear based oppressor assault we in a way have our shields down. It will take more time for us to get arranged or attempt to reassemble what simply occurred.

Likewise I ask the inquiry for what good reason would we say we are sending more troops? Costing the country more cash, jeopardizing the lives of more Americans? On the off chance that we are doing what should be done and we are carrying out our responsibility why send more? On the off chance that they are battling back more diligently than we are squandering our time endeavoring to spare an acts of futility. Harming our own country to help a nation just so oil costs will drop is by all accounts somewhat much some would state. Like Cenk Uygur says. “In case we’re progressing admirably, this is a result of the additional troops so we shouldn’t haul them out. In case we’re doing inadequately, clearly we need more troops. In any case, we need more troops and need to remain in Iraq longer. This supposition is clear hogwash, yet we’re paying attention to it.”( Uygur)

Then again I surmise you could state a motivation behind why we should remain in Iraq is, by leaving our troops in Iraq and leave a couple there set up a base to look out for tasks of what is happening. In one article Marcus Fryman puts it “a few people are only unequipped for deduction long haul. When it’s all said and done, it’s smarter to keep US troops in Iraq to make sure they’ll be prepared to go into battle activities in Iran. That is to say, doesn’t it appear to be silly presenting to them right back home just to send them back onto the avenues of Tehran a month later?”(Fryman) Plus it could have the chance to set up more occupations later on.

Have you at any point known about the term PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder)? It is characterized as a serious tension issue can create after introduction to any occasion which results in mental injury. This occasion may include the risk of death to oneself or to another person, or to one’s very own or another person’s physical, sexual, or mental uprightness, overpowering the person’s mental guards. Manifestations incorporate re-encountering unique injury, by methods for flashbacks or bad dreams; evasion of improvements related with the injury; and expanded excitement, for example, trouble falling or staying unconscious, outrage. Formal symptomatic criteria necessitate that the side effects last over one month and cause noteworthy debilitation in social, word related, or other critical regions of working, which means endeavoring to fit once again into society or attempting to return to work after experience PTSD. In a test given to 2525 officers coming back from a year-long visit in Iraq, 124 (4.9%) announced wounds with loss of awareness, 260 (10.3%) revealed wounds with adjusted mental status, and 435 (17.2%) detailed different wounds amid arrangement. Of those detailing loss of cognizance, 43.9% met criteria for post-horrible pressure issue (PTSD), as contrasted and 27.3% of those announcing modified mental status, 16.2% with different wounds, and 9.1% with no damage. Officers with mellow awful mind damage, essentially the individuals who had loss of awareness, were fundamentally bound to report poor general wellbeing, missed workdays, restorative visits, and a high number of physical and post concussive side effects than were troopers with different wounds. Notwithstanding, after alteration for PTSD and despondency, mellow awful cerebrum damage was never again fundamentally connected with these physical wellbeing results or side effects, aside from migraine. I found a tale about a fighter call him Mr. K, a 38-year-old National Guard trooper, was surveyed in an outpatient mental facility a while after he returned home from a year organization to the Sunni Triangle in Iraq, where he had his first introduction to battle in his 10 years of National Guard obligation. Prior to organization, he worked effectively as a vehicle sales rep, was a joyfully hitched dad with kids ages 10 and 12 years, and was socially cordial with a vast friend network and dynamic in metro and church exercises. While in Iraq, he had broad battle presentation. His unit was intensely shelled and was trapped on numerous events, regularly bringing about death or damage to his pals. He was a traveler on watches and caravans in which roadside bombs obliterated vehicles and injured or slaughtered individuals with whom he had turned out to be close. He knew that he had murdered various adversary soldiers, and he expected that he may likewise have been in charge of the passings of non military personnel observers. He censured himself for being unfit to keep the demise of his closest companion, who was shot by an expert sharpshooter. At the point when gotten some information about the most noticeably awful minute amid his sending, he promptly expressed that it happened when he was unfit to intervene, however just to observe weakly, while a little gathering of Iraqi ladies and kids were killed in the crossfire amid an especially wicked strike. Since returning home, he has been on edge, crabby, and nervous more often than not. He has turned out to be distracted with worries about the individual wellbeing of his family, keeping a stacked 9-mm gun with him consistently and under his cushion during the evening. Rest has been troublesome, and when rest happens, it has regularly been hindered by distinctive bad dreams amid which he flails uncontrollably, kicks his significant other, or bounces up to turn on the lights. His kids griped that he has turned out to be overprotective to the point that he won’t let them out of his sight. His significant other revealed that he has been sincerely removed since his arrival. She additionally trusted that driving the vehicle had turned out to be risky when he is a traveler since he has here and there come to over abruptly to snatch the directing wheel since he supposes he has seen a roadside bomb. His companions have wearied of welcoming him to parties since he has reliably turned down all solicitations to get together. His manager, who has persistently bolstered him, has detailed that his work has endured drastically, that he appears to be engrossed with his own musings and fractious with clients, that he regularly commits errors, and that he has not worked adequately at the car dealership where he was beforehand a top sales rep. Mr. K recognized that he has changed since his sending. He announced that he some of the time encounters solid floods of dread, frenzy, blame, and lose hope and that at different occasions he has felt candidly dead, unfit to restore the adoration and warmth of family and companions. Life has turned into a horrible weight. Despite the fact that he has not been effectively self-destructive, he detailed that he once in a while figures everybody would be in an ideal situation in the event that he had not endure his visit in Iraq. Do we need more troops returning with things like this event when they don’t even what our assistance any longer? Is it justified, despite all the trouble?

I end up asking a similar inquiry. With everything going on here in the United States I don’t think we have the cash and are coming up short on the assets to continue battling a fight that just might be as of now lost. By hauling out bring the vast majority of our troop’s home back their families, spares lives, and makes a more grounded country. We can keep a few troops there you know a little base let our presents be known. I think we have to watch out for them, yet this battling for acts of futility simply needs to end.

Sources.

Weiss, John. “Why We Should Leave Iraq Now”. History News Network. 10-9-06 .

Uygur, Cenk. “Three Reasons Why We Should Leave Iraq”. Mo Rocca 180. 4-10-2008 .

“Cost of War”. National Priorities Project . 2008 .

Fryman, Marcus. “10 Reasons Why US Troops Should Stay in Iraq”. Marcus Fryman’s 10 reasons why… . 2-27-2009 .

“Gentle Traumatic Brain Injury in U.S. Warriors Returning from Iraq”. The New England Journal of Medicine. January 31, 2008 .

Friedman, Matthew. “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Military Returnees From Afghanistan and Iraq”. Treatment in Psychiatry. 4, April 2006 .

This question has been answered.

Get Answer
WeCreativez WhatsApp Support
Our customer support team is here to answer your questions. Ask us anything!
👋 Hi, Welcome to Compliant Papers.