Best Job, P&G London 2012 Olympic Game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXIpPwo1tro

My thesis statement is that in American culture, people think mothers' contribution is more important than

fathers' contribution to children's later achievement.

The source being discussed in my paper named ‘Best job’, which is a commercial made by P&G Company during London 2012 Olympic Game period. The commercial mainly focused on the huge amount of effort and love given by mothers to their children, which finally helps these children become great athletes. 

The first secondary source I found is an academic source. They are a  group of researcher who were interested in explore the impact of mother’s employment and involvement to work  on children’s achievement

 behaviors. They found that  as mothers’ working hours increased, children got lower grades, their got 

poorer work habit, and showed decrease adaptability in the classroom. This finding implied that mother’s

 parenting behavior was critical for children’s development. Less time with children seemed associated with

 children’s poor performance in school. It is not hard to infer that doing poor in school performance may 

further influence the possibility for children to continue their higher education.Therefore, mother’s involvement

 in parenting behavior and time spend with their children do have impact on children’s future life. It might 

influence whether the children will be successful or not in their life.

Another secondary source I found was also from an academy resource. This source compared the the 

contribution between father and mother to their children. They investigated  how family structure such as 

family trajectories, parent gender influence adolescent school engagement, such as GPA, college

 expectations, and school discipline. The finding stated that adolescents school engagement is related to their 

family structures. Adolescents who did not live with both biological parents had lower GPA and were less 

possible to go to college compared to those who with both biological parents. Children who live with their 

biological father and stepmother spent less time in this kind of family than those children who live with their 

biological mother and stepfather. This implied that mother absence had a more severe impact on 

adolescents’ schooling. They also  provided evidence that transitions in early childhood have more serious 

consequences later in adolescence.

I think these two secondary source support my thesis statement that  in American culture, mothers'

contribution is more important than fathers' contribution to children's later achievement.

ADIDAS IS ALL IN

my thesis topic is the spirit of innovation and the spirit of struggle in American Culture. Maybe from this commerical just can show the spirit of struggle, and the the spirit if innovation is hard to find. So, i take the source form the adidas company to inprove my topic.

IKEA: A World Without Textiles

My thesis statement is that people, in American culture, believe rights of men and women should be equal but different.

Toyota Camry 2012 Super Bowl

My main topic is to say that the American culture value the health physical appearance the most, and meantime it encourage people to do unhealthy diet behaviors too.
More specifically, On one hand, American people are all dreaming about good body shape, and they doing hard work out in order to achieve goal. But also, the daily life around them offer them with a lot of unhealthy food. For instance, Pizza, pie, all kinds of desserts. Pops. which offset the effort brought by working out.

My secondary resource are researches from college. The research shows that American people are every concerned with people body weight. And a lot of them even try dangerous ways to lose weight.
The other resource show that the traditional American food are very unhealthy to people. I think these resource strongly support my topic.

Victoria Secret's commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqaHpJlGZko
My thesis statement is that American culture has the familiar sense of beauty with European culture.

Halftime in America- Clint Eastwood

The main focus for my paper was going to be the growth of Racial Equality, Gender Equality, and Class Equality. While looking at America's fight for a better tomorrow.

When doing the research for secondary sources I found that, while racial and gender equality have been achieved class equality is still being fought for. 

I began to think of why this is still a continuing fight in America, and what it says about American culture when we look at the achieved and un-achieved equalizations in this country. 

I now want my paper to focus on what makes racial and gender equality so different from class equality in America and what the reasoning says about American culture.

Thanks guys,

Allissa   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvX71ZbTk-E

my commercial is the axe hair office love

my thesis is about how the media can mirror what values american society sees as important in one gender or another

Welcome--Mercedes Benz Commercials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSQCbWmJ8kU

My thesis statement is that Americans have changed their attitude to the relationship between technology and nature.

Imported from Detroit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc

  My thesis focuses on  that American culture values materialistic wealth.  The ideology is that the possessions of materialist goods indicate the success.

    One of my secondary sources examines the purchase habits of American with some European countries. He found that American are in the leading position of luxury consumption. He concluded that the expression of personal affluence through consumption have remained central to American consumer culture. European country has not developed value system that has promote luxury consumption in the same degree. Another way is through the examination of mass media. Today’s commercials and other TV programs has shown lots of depiction of materialistic wealth. They convince people that the product is good and you should pursue it. And this can have an effect on public’s  view. In conclustion, materialistic wealth is valued by American culture.

  The question is why do you think American value materialistic wealth?

"All For One" - Hyundai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USep_tB_5oU

My commercial is by Hyundai, and it's called “All for One”. The commercial shows a man that is giving up on a new design he is working on, but then people from all over the company he works at come together to encourage him to try again.

My working thesis statement is: America has a predominant individualistic culture, but abandons this culture in favor of collectivism in the realm of group loyalty. The idea of group loyalty is shown multiple times in the commercial, for example when the team comes together to encourage one of it’s members, and when the individual decides to try the design again in order to stay loyal to his group.

In my paper, I would like to look at the different possible reasons why a culture of collectivism is adopted in group or team settings, so the sources I found all talk about reasons why people in America are willing to stray from individualism. 

For example,:
One of my sources is looking at culture through the lens of power, or hierarchy. The article says that humans have the basic need to be in a group, so the traits and goals of the individual should reflect the goal of collectivism, such as making self-sacrifices in order to keep strong relationships with the group. So, in the commercial, the man’s decision to try again could be because he thinks it’s the decision he has to make to stay a part of the group, or it could be because he feels pressured by the people who are higher up in the company that are telling him to keep trying.

Another one of my sources said that individualists stay in groups as long as the benefits of being in the group outweigh the costs and commitment to the group. It said that they leave groups to find new relationships as their personal goals change. The man in the commercial that is encouraged to try again might be trying again was because his relationship with the company is beneficial to him right now, so the benefit of keeping his job outweighed the cost of trying again.

Please let me know what aspects of my argument or thesis statement I should work on, and if there are any additional pieces of information you think I should look up to make my argument stronger. Thank you very much for taking the time to comment!

-Melissa

Aging in American Culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kur5uBCfbj4

Im sooo sorry about the delay everyone.
But my presentation was about how American culture feel about older aged citizens. I really need suggestions on a good arguement that will be interesting for the paper. The arguement that i had in mind was about how American feels about elders is just to broad. So if i can get a little feedback on this i would greatly appreciate it.

Thank You
DeMeeshia Marshall

Halftime in America-Chrysler

The central theme for my argument for the commercial involves the view of "traditional" gender roles and the view of a "traditional" family (view of heterosexual and homosexual couples or single-parent families) in American culture. Please let me know what I can improve on. Thanks!

Jess

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PE5V4Uzobc 

Coca Cola Security Cameras

My commercial is Coca Cola "Security Cameras" which is Coke's celebration of the altruistic, brave and foolish behaviors. And this advertising ties in nicely with Coke's "Open Happiness" campaign, which features other such scenes of spontaneous delight from around the globe.

However, my argument is that the system of video surveillance in this advertising exorbitantly exposes people's private life in public place and hence infringes their legitimate rights. Displayed by the commercial, the watchful eye of the surveillance camera is inescapable in squares, streets, stores, and other public places in our modern society. 

As a consequence, the Coca Cola "Security Cameras" Commercial reflects that the widespread use of video surveillance represents a significant threat to anonymity and therefore privacy in public spaces.  Although the presence of a surveillance camera may not in and of itself destroy anonymity, the fact that systems of video surveillance are capable of taking pictures that can later be used to identify particular individuals undoubtedly does.  Under the gaze of video camera, it is simply impossible to blend into the situational landscape, or to be confident that one is acting anonymously.

As we know, the main idea of the paper should be related to "American culture". My problem is how can I connect my argument with "American culture"?

"You Can't Overlove Your Underwear"

My commercial shows a lot of humor but shows how family's interaction has changed over time.  My argument or thesis is American culture believes fathers are more likely to interact or play with their kids compared to the mother.

Do you feel that fathers have always interacted with their kids or do you feel that it is becoming more likely in American culture and today's society? Back than it was mostly the wife watching the kids while the dad went out and supported the family with the money. I feel that has changed today a little bit but many are trying to keep the traditional family style.

What are some routes you think I can take that will help with my final paper?

The Dog Stikes Back: Volkswagen Commercial

Here is my post I know it is a tad late, I couldn't figure out the blog thing because it said I couldn't accept the invitation.

However, it somehow let me in randomly?? So here it is.

My paper is about the Idolization of youthfulness in America. My main thesis is that, Americans idolize youthfulness and will go to extreme measures to acheive this youthfulness.

All State Mayhem Commercial Teenage Driver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtP-S9OS0o0

Think Fast Official Big Game Ad for Hyundai Genesis Coupe Super Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKecZwmsKws

       In the commercial the desert appears 4 times, it is a symbol of isolation, and the driver is an individual who relies strongly on himself instead of waiting for others to help when in an emergency.
My paper consists of two parts in individualism: first, making one’s own choices, and taking responsibility, second, pursuing and maximizing individuals' goals and interests.
        In the commercial, the young driver shouts out: “Stay with me ” and then accelerates and brakes repeatedly to generate a heart resuscitation power to save his boss life. The driver takes immediate actions based on his own thoughts and determination instead of waiting for some one else to tell him what to do. He makes his decisions, takes responsibility for his actions, and saves his boss.
       The second part, The driver uses a method that no one used before by changing the speed of the car , which serves as a heart pounding machine.He is taking risk, breaking the old rules and creating new ideas all by himself. Risk taking, innovativeness and proactiveness are highly encouraged in Individualism.
      I feel like my thesis statement is kind of broad by focusing on the big idea: individualism in America. But thank you all for listening my presentation and those who gave me feedback today!

Ellie

Alcohol in American Culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enfJEibY1nY

Eternal Optimism Budweiser Commercial- Ryan Little

Welcome to our class blog! The purpose of this project is to give you the opportunity to share your ideas with the class and receive feedback from a number of people before submitting your final paper.

Please make your posts focus on the tasks of problem solving. Posters should link their commercials, give a short summary of their argument, and direct readers to the issues they've found most problematic or challenging. Responders should answer the poster's questions, and share ideas that relate to the central argument of the paper on the conceptual level (the identification of grammar and spelling errors are not particularly useful here). Please also comment on any elements that seem unclear.

Please comment on each presentation in a timely manner. Have fun, and let me know ASAP if you have any problems/questions.

Nicole