Man's Man

                        Analyzation of the Man's Man:
                     State Farm's Magic Jingle Hot Tub

    More times than not, the term "man's man" brings to mind the idea of a guy who likes things a man would typically enjoy. Sports, food and women are just a few things to come to mind. In State Farm's "Magic Jingle Hot-Tub" commercial, the viewer is shown many basic clichés of male camaraderie.
    As the commercial begins, the audience of interest, (adult male homeowners), see three men sitting in a living room. Suddenly, what appears to be a ball flies through the window. The friends of the the main male are freaking out, when he coolly replies with "like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." His friends appear to be confused, until a suited woman pops up in the living room with them. The friends question the main male, wondering, "is that your agent?" The male homeowner explains that "it's the jingle." He then proceeds to tell his friends to try it, and- at first- they ask for simple things. A sandwich being the first of the requests. Then, one of the requests is for the "girl from 4E" wherein, an attractive line-less girl appears on the couch, obviously confused. Ending the commercial with a laugh, the "dumb" friend shouts "can I get a hot-tub?"
Although this commercial is a more relaxed version of the "man's man" stereotype, (found in the fact that the woman isn't overly sexy and it's very comical), it still falls in quite nicely. The actions that draw viewers in start with the sudden shock of the broken glass, then the amusing, relaxed attitude of the main male. The nonchalant manner of the commercials gives the audience the impression that State Farm will make insurance simple and convenient Commonly, those two adjectives do not fit together well with insurance proceedings.
    Another appealing aspect of the commercial, is that the males aren't overly-attractive. They are shown as regular guys with regular lives. Men don't generally care for done-up, overly enthusiastic scenarios for commercials or shows- making this commercial ideal for the "everyday man."
State Farm's commercial maintains a calm, carefree mood throughout. The men shown are obviously good friends and the constant lack of worry gives viewers the hope of an easier insurance experience with State Farm, and displays the perfect idea of a "man's man."

Woman's Woman

Analyzation of the Woman’s Woman: LG Electronics Commercial 2012

    Enter: the viewer sees an attractive, mother-like woman with three children surrounding her. The children are helping her create what appears to be a dessert of some sort, when suddenly, the mixer flings the ingredients across the family. The children laugh along with their mother, and she throws the newly-stained clothing into the washing machine, as the announcer poses the question “Is it a twenty-minute shorter wash cycle, or a twenty-minute longer laugh cycle?” The length of time it takes the machine to wash the clothes leads viewers to the idea that the featured equipment creates more family time, less laundry time.
    Cut to a scene with the same mother entering a dining room with enticing food and a lovely, modelesque family, seated around the table. The announcer states, yet again, percentages of time that imply less cooking and more family time; all of the stated “shorter cycles” give viewers the impression that LG’s line of appliances will allow them to enjoy their families more. 
    LG’s new line of “faster”, “more efficient” products lead to the creation of this commercial, targeted at average, middle-class women with basic “American values.” Although it is not stated verbatim, the commercial has multiple implications that this particular family values their time spent together- laughing, eating and enjoying one another. Although the family is not seen speaking, it’s obvious that they are having a nice time being around each other. LG attempts to appeal to women who strive for family time, so that they can sell their product. To the viewers, this product would create less hassle and more fun- an ideal way of time consumption. LG uses the standard ideas of happiness and a basic archetype featuring light, sun and pastels to give the feel of good times. Along with these basic features of contentment, the family, and their home, is attractive and “normal”, alluding to the universal stereotype of an average, yet ideological, family. Implications of this product leading to happiness-in-the-home are blatant and ardent throughout the commercial. The mere appearance of the cast in this commercial pulls viewers in by laws of simple, general attraction.
LG appliances created a commercial that uses all of the basic methods of attracting family-oriented, average people to buy their products in place of their competitor’s.
   The commercial presents viewers with a lovely household that uses LG appliances to make life easier, therein, appealing to everyday women, moms and families.

Woman's Man

Analyzation of the Woman’s Man: Britney Spears “Fantasy Perfume” Commercial

    Typical women of the twenty-first century have worked for their rights, their independence and the fulfillment of an unregimented lifestyle. They have attempted to remove themselves from the common stereotype of being helpless and nothing more than a wife and mother.
   Britney Spears has created a commercial featuring her perfume, “Fantasy,” that displays the fictitious story of a “goddess and a hunter.” Spears’ voiceover reads the commercial lines as though they are a fairytale, “once upon a time..”, giving viewers the feel of the fantasy of which her perfume is named after. The goddess “was beautiful” and the hunter “couldn’t help himself.”

The mere idea of the female being a “goddess” provides viewers with the notion that the female is obviously above the male, status-wise. He is simply a hunter, likely a peasant, from the style of clothing he is seen wearing, yet he still wants this goddess. She’s beautiful, there are implications of her fame and she runs from the hunter playfully. Although she is out of his league, he will do anything to have her and she doesn’t try too hard to fight it.

She is strong and powerful, but still feminine and has a need to be chased after. The hunter is an ideal male because he’s attractive, he allows her to be powerful, but he still does “something kind of crazy” in order to win her over. Women in general want to be independent, yet needed, all at the same time.

The general market that this commercial is aimed towards consists of strong, independent, working-women. The women that typically fall into this category aren’t completely different from the stay-at-home, motherly figure, simply in the fact that they still want to be wanted by their male companion. There has always been, and will always be, a need for love instilled in every human being. Granted- these women want to be able to take care of themselves, but there is always security found in knowing someone else will take care of them also.

Viewers can easily relate to this commercial, solely due to the fact that many women maintain some sort of "fantasy" that involves the man of their dreams. The way the commercial draws viewers in, however, is through the sex-appeal of both Spears and the hunter, along with a seductively read narration. It creates an air of mystical love and beauty which allows the viewer to feel and grasp the emotions portrayed throughout.

By creating her "fantasy", Britney Spears gave viewers a look into her ideal world- one of which many independent women can relate to. A sinfully gorgeous goddess and a lustful huntsman create a world of wonder and excitement for the women of the world; the women that look for someone to want to take care of them, but allow them to take the lead. A fantasy for the woman's man was presented, and presented well, it was.

Man's Woman

                         Analyzation of the Man's Woman:
                                         Axe Hair Gel


    Women may generally like a man that is sensitive, caring and kind. Men, however, tend to be the opposite. Commonly associated with a typical male is a sexy, voluptuous woman who's interested in him for his sex appeal. Axe Hair Gel has created an excellent scenario that fits this criteria.
    As the commercial fades in, it shows a lovely, cliff-covered beach with many people. The camera zooms in on a young male, with particularly tall, spiked hair. As he gets up and heads towards the water, he walks past a rather sensual, attractive woman. Hoping to impress her, he jumps off the cliff into the water below. When he returns, the hardened gel in his hair has impaled several fish. After an attempted attack committed by a seagul and and disgusted look from the girl, the man is shown at a beach shower, rinsing away the gel and the fish. The camera then switches to a view of him applying new Axe Hair Gel that supposedly harden hair. As he goes back to a now-empty beach and the the attractive girl, the appealing voice of a woman says "lose the gel." It then shows the woman running her fingers through is newly found soft hair and viewers hear "get some hair action."
    This commercial is aimed towards young males looking for fun and attractive women. Axe implies that using this hair gel will get you the sexiest of girls, simply because it's the best.
The way the commercial has no dialogue shows that the man and woman are sexually attracted but don't really care to take it farther than that. The idea that the man can have such an attractive woman, with no strings attached, is highly appealing to most young males. The mere body language shows sexual attraction after using Axe, which is considered a major plus for most men.
Axe Hair Gel creates claims that their product will increase sexual attraction due to an increase in sex appeal. The commercial portrays a common idea of a voluptuous woman being attracted to a man for the product he uses, making her the ideal man's woman.

My Bucket List

 

• Nailed by Patrick Jones

Nailed is the typical story of anti-conformity teen struggle. It's based around a teenage boy, similar to myself, who deals with a disapproving parent and general social awkwardness. This book is extremely appealing to me in the fact that it's relatable. I enjoy books that I can place myself right beside the character, and a book like this is exactly what I look for. I'm extremely picky about my book choice and Nailed appears to be the perfect fit.

• Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank is the story of a monster. Not the average creature-lurking-in-the-closet monster, but a monster that consumes seventeen-year-old Kristina. The monster is crystal meth. I've always been highly fascinated with learning about drugs and the mental, and physical, effects they have on humans. This book falls in with my teen-struggle fixation, but is also strikingly realistic. I've read one other Eleen Hopkins book, years ago, and her writing is incredible. This book looks ideal for my taste.

• Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

This story follows the three separate lives of Vanessa, Tony and Connor. Each of these three teenagers are tossed into a psychiatric hospital after trying to commit suicide, and their lives are dramatically altered thereafter. This book is also by Ellen Hopkins, so it follows in the same pattern of attraction for myself. Her stories are so vivid and life-like, and her writing style is impeccable. I look forward to this roller-coaster story she has created.

• Cinder by Marrisa Meyer

Cinder is- of course- a story about a struggling teen, but this story has a bit of a plot twist: Cinder is a cyborg. Loosely based off of the classic tale, Cinderella, Cinder is a sixteen-year-old cyborg who has an incredible knack for fixing things. Generally, I immediately put futuristic books back on the shelf after a glance, but something about this Beijing fantasy caught my attention. In the description, the style of writing Meyer has done is unique and a little bit odd. I love books with a twist, and this definitely has what I search for.

• Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess

This story is the tale of a girl, named Sayre, who was unplanned and unwanted. She grew up in the shadow of her mothers spiraling addiction and abuse. Now that her mother has self-destructed herself to the point of near death, Sayre is at her bedside with one simple question: did her mother ever love her? This story hits so close to home, because I've seen my mother experience similar pain caused by my grandmother. This story appears as though it would reflect such heartache as accurately as possible, and accuracy is something hard to come by.

• Why We Broke Up by Maira Kalman

This story is written as a letter from a box. Min is giving her ex-boyfriend, Ed, a box with all the reasons they broke up. This book is extremely compelling to me. The idea of learning the story of each item found within the box draws me in like a magnet. It appears to be one of those stories that you can't put down, no matter how hard you try. The stories-within-the-story are always so unique and usually rare, but they're also the most riveting, in my opinion. To me, description is key, and this appears to have intricate detail and explanation.

• Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

First and foremost, Where Things Come Back, is set in Arkansas. As soon as I read that line, I was hooked. This story is about a boy whose life drastically changes the summer before he is a senior in high school. His cousin overdoses, his town is obsessed with a supposed sighting of an extinct woodpecker and his gifted younger brother goes missing. It also follows a young missionary in Africa, who is in search of a meaning that has "far-reaching" consequences. Although these two stories seem to be set so far apart, I believe that the book will intertwine the stories excellently. I love the description on the back of the book and the diction is very appealing.

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chebosky

The set-up of this story, alone, has me hooked instantly. I love books that have poetic or written-letter formats, and that is exactly what this book consists of. The story is written as a series of letters from Charlie. It appears that the book doesn't reveal who Charlie is or where he's from, but he discusses what it's like to grow up in the hell-hole known as high school. It's a coming-of-age type story, and it pulls you through Charlie's journey as if you're right by his side. I can't wait to read this book. On Amazon, readers of Looking for Alaska, by John Green, often bought these two books together. I'm a major fan of Looking for Alaska, so I have a feeling that The Perks of Being a Wallflower should be just as good.

• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

In this story, a girl named Lily has written a series of dares in a book at the local book-store and is waiting for the right boy to come along and obey. Dash finds this book and decides it's his duty to accept the challenge. The story pulls you into these strangers lives and the challenges they send each other. I like the level of anticipation this story has set up, just pushing readers to keep turning the page until they finally come face-to-face. The story format and structure is very intriguing to me. I've also heard that Rachel Cohn books are very well written, and that is very appealing also.

• Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

I've heard countless good reviews about this 1967 story. It's about a girl who is whisked away to a mental hospital where she spends the next few years of her life. The detail is what caught my eye initially. The way Kaysen describes fellow patients and their care-givers with "razor-edged perception" is right up my alley. I look for books that display things as realistically as possible, and this book is said to have done a fantastic job of such. I have never read or heard a negative statement about this book, so I look forward to reading it soon.

Titanic: What Would You Do?

In my opinion, being a female, I believe that forgiveness would be hard- although, not impossible. There would have been so many things going through my mind at the time, and honestly, forgiveness wouldn't have been one of them. I would like to believe that, as a Christian, I would forgive the people who led to the wreck. Yes, there were warnings about the iceberg, but no one ever truly knows. It's very possible to forgive, and I believe I could.

Forgiveness: A Soldier's Decision Between Morale and Self-Interest

   If a parent tells the child to do something and the child refuses, it is often punished- therefore, the child obeys. The same basic principle follows in the example of a commander telling a soldier to kill an unarmed mother and child. Following the orders of the commander does not result  in the happiness of the soldier, necessarily. A soldier obeying his commander should be forgiven, with the reasoning that- just as all humans do- the soldier was protecting his own self through obeying. Yes, the soldier committed an atrocious act, and that's something that he will be forced to live with for the rest of his life. Yes, he should be forgiven. Self-interest is human nature and will automatically be followed due to instinct. He was protecting himself. The mere fact that he will live with the pain of such an act is punishment enough; not forgiving him would be a pointless form of punishment that is completely unnecessary.