This video is an advertisement for build-a-bear workshop; however in my group’s video we will have an advertisement for build-a-baby. We will have the same type of format as this commercial, but in ours we will have a couple talking about how they were able to build their baby just the way they wanted. The infomercial will be comedic similar to the child in the commercial, but we will also be discussing how the actual process works.
The Mean Kitty or Sparta Cat video may not seem like it is making an argument to some viewers; however, there is a deeper meaning to this comedic song. The director zooms in on the singer as he makes funny faces at his kitty showing how he and his cat have a very crazy relationship. The video also zoomed in on quick video cuts of the kitty biting its owner. These image examples are used to reinforce how his kitty is bad and causes him harm. Now this kitty seems pretty mean (hence the name) and it seems like a nuisance. So questions such as: “Why is this guy keeping such a crazy kitty? What is the point?”, keeps the reader interested in the situation at hand and possibly how they can control their mean kitty.
In addition, the director pans left and right when the kitty is in “attack mode”. This creates the sense that the viewer himself is actually searching for a kitty that is likely to come out and bite him. The use of the camera acting like eyes draws the viewer in to the video to see what will become of the man and kitty’s relationship. Finally, the lyrics and images displayed go together rather well. This further enforces the meaning of each scenario (such as the kitty biting, the kitty stalking, the kitty under the couch, etc.) and shows just how mischievous this kitty is and how paranoid and frustrated the owner becomes.
The overall message that the owner is trying to display for the audience can be easily viewed at the end of the video. Just because a kitty acts evil does not always mean that the owner has a bad cat. Instead it’s the kitty’s way of asking for attention and love. The director of the video, through many image shots, shows that although a kitty can seem very bad and the owner can get frustrated, you should still love and take care of your pets even if they can be nuisances.
The United States impacts other countries both positively and negatively in globalization. By expanding businesses into foreign countries the US benefits economically as well as for the people in that country. The US businesses gain more profit by expanding their business to more consumers, while the foreign country benefits by having more jobs created for them. The social expansion of the US and lifestyles impact other countries by displaying a different kind of lifestyle that seems suitable for the population. For instance, women’s rights are taken very seriously in the US, and this positive outlook on women can be viewed by other countries and adopted for better lifestyles.
A more negative outlook on globalization is some ideology that goes along with it. Media is viewed as very negative because it ruins the countries natural appeal and instead replaces it with overpowering markets. These large corporations are looked down upon in the US because it takes small businesses out of the market. This also occurs in other countries when the local businesses make less profit due to the newly placed American business. Many countries have adapted to these large corporations by changing the appearance of the building to fit into the atmosphere, changing the products they sell to fit different tastes, and changing marketing strategies to fit the culture. The last negative outlook of US globalization is that it will drastically change the culture of developing countries, making them too similar to the US.
In the future I think that the US will become more Hispanic based and Spanish will be a more prominent language. I also believe that more ethnicities and languages will emerge in the US and it will become more of a melting pot. Traditional cultures should be preserved in different countries because it is people’s way of life and their past, which should not be changed; however, I believe cultural change is inevitable due to media, communication, and easy travel.
The game I played was Energyville by Chevron. This did not really seem like a game and I did not consider it to be very fun. However, I understand the point that the is trying to make and I can see how people’s unput could help spark ideas of what the company could do in the future. I was asked to set up devices to power my made up city and different information would pop up to let me know of disasters that would be occuring in my city and what I needed to do to lower the problems. I set up wind turbines, solar energy, biomass, petroleum, conservation, hydro power, and geothermal energy means by which my city could run. I also had to be aware of my level of security, economic impact, and environmental impact. I made it through all 3 rounds of the game and my final score was 599947951. This score placed me a little over the half in comparison to all of the final scores. I did beat the game, only because I did not lose; however, just by following the directions it would be easy to beat the game. I felt that I did relatively well, but it is difficult to feel like you did the best because there is no right answer when questioning how to power a city and be the most economically and environmentally friendly. I accomplished up to the highest difficulty level, but it was a short and simple game.
The information and questions could have been presented much more plain and boring, but by making a city’s energy impact into a game the information is easily comprehended. The information about energy impacts could have been presented in an essay format or in a chart that labeled the different mechanisms to produce energy and those impacts on the city.
For my research paper discussing artificial colors and their effects on children and causing ADHD, I used Wikipedia and Tumblr as representations of my topic. Tumblr represented my topic somewhat poorly. There was not much scientific and well thought out information on the topic of ADHD. Instead there were lots of opinions about how people believed they had ADHD, discussions about medicines people are taking for their symptoms, and the negative effects of those medicines. There was only one document that discussed food colors in depth; however, the author only stated that using natural colors is healthier than artificial colors. Wikipedia offered much more information and more resources. Wikipedia displayed the reason food coloring is used, FDA regulations, currently used colorants, the delisted colorants, and the criticism and health concerns. This information is very helpful, especially the last point, because it stated that experiments have been trying to prove that colorants can aggravate ADHD symptoms.
My research paper would change greatly if I only had these two sources for my research paper. I would not have enough trusted, scientific information and research to back up my specific analysis and I would have to trust the reliability of the sources used and changed by non-experts. The Tumblr community does not represent my topic because I am not looking for the opinions of people. Wikipedia represents my topic more than Tumblr, but it still does not give specific experiments and diagrams that I would need in order to analyze the facts. Both sites are limited because they are written by regular people instead of experts in the topic. They both only allow the researcher to look up specific words instead of the overall picture that they are trying to research. In order to have a factual research paper, these sources should only be used as the basis for finding other research documents.
My research paper will be very biology based and will discuss the affects that artificial colorants have on children and the possibility of those colorants causing Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. This paper will encompass the past means by which companies used to color their products and also delve into whether the switch to artificial colorants has had no effect at all or a negative effect on the consumers. The possible thesis of my paper will be: Past research completed by scientists shows that a diet free of artificial colorants can limit the effects of ADHD in children. I will be able to specifically discuss colorants and use any research I find to figure out if the artificial product can cause ADHD. Since this thesis may be too broad, I will most likely have to find specific colorants to research.
The sources that I intend to use in my paper will come from books (in order to explain older experiments) as well as online articles which may show newer questions or continuing problems with artificial colorants. I will need book sources with a lot of data in order to compare behavior before and after the consumption of colored products. I will also need to analyze well developed experiments which will most likely be found online. The Feingold book will definitely be used in my paper because he sparked the questioning of the harmful effects of colorants. His book describes the diet he uses for ADHD children as well as procedures he has tested and the outcomes of those procedures. In addition to his book, it is necessary that I find opposition to Feingold’s ideas in order to make my paper unbiased and as specific to the topic as possible.
It may be difficult to narrow down exactly what colorants I will choose to research since there are millions of combinations and shades of colors put in food. In order to do this, I will need to find the most prevalent colors that are used in the greatest amount of products. It may also be difficult to find articles that specifically discuss colorants since there are many other possible causes of ADHD such as heredity, allergies to foods, too much sugar, and artificial flavorings and preservatives. However, I recently saw an article online that discussed colorants as a possible cause of ADHD I am hopeful that more interest and research has been sparked about the topic which will allow me greater access to reliable documents.
