Truman Show

Truman Burbank's life was aired to the world since he was a baby. Everything he was surrounded by was arranged. The people in his life were chosen, the path that he took was forced and everything that occurred in his life was broadcasted by hidden cameras. The life that he was living in Seahaven was not a real life. He may have believed it to be real but his life could have been completely different if they let him live it by making his own decisions.

In the movie there are many examples of how his decisions are forced. During his schooling he had an interest in a girl in his class. The producers and actors of the show ensured that they did not have the opportunity to see each other. Any time they came close to one another someone rushed in and took her away. The producers of the show had a relationship and a marriage arranged for him, so they did everything in their power to make him fall in love with the one they chose and they did everything in their power to keep him away from other women.

As well as the types of women he dated there were many other things that were influenced in his life. Every event in his life was planned. The producers controlled everything in his day to day life, from something as small as the weather to something as large as the loss and reuniting of his father. Although everything was controlled there were some things were real. The memories he has and the emotions he felt were real. He still experienced the things that normal people did and he was unaware that these things were being decided for him by a producer. He also feels as though his life and the relationships he has are real.

Truman was betrayed because his whole life he was being controlled and watched by people all over the world. He didn't find out about it until he was in his thirties, well into his life and it took him until this age to find out who he really was. He was determined to know things about his -self that no one in his life was willing to tell him. His life was full of secrets and that is not a real life.

jon and kate plus 8

Watching shows like Jon and Kate plus 8 give us a somewhat false image of what families are like. I personally have only watched the show a few times but it seems like the show portrays the perfect family. It shows that the family gets along well and it portrays the image that it is easy for them to raise 8 kids.


I think that it is fine, in this case, to include the children in a reality television series. They are young and even though they are very influenced at the age they are at they are still living a life that seems normal to them. When they get older however they may see things as being normal that aren't. These chlidren have grown up having every aspect of their life filmed. That dosn't occurr in real life. As young children however they are recieiving special treatment, free toys and free trips. They are almost being spoiled by the producers of the show.


I think that shows similar to Jon and Kate plus 8 do give a false image of how easy it is to raise large families. I think that it would be very hard to raise a family no matter how many kids you have. Having a very large number of children would make it even harder. Having them on the show and showing the perfect way to handle every little situation. Also every episode is designed to proove a message, therefore some things may be added or taken out of a situation to make it more interesting or useful to the audience.

Vaughn Mills Mall

I like the Vaughn Mills Mall. I think that is really modern and fancy and I like how big the stores are. I also like that there are a lot of outlet stores. After watching the presentation I learned a lot about the process of the mall being built, why they chose the location and what steps went into placing the stores. I also learned that the mall was separated into 6 sections and each section has a specific theme and feel to it. The 6 sections were lakes neighbourhood, nature, rural, small towns, city, and fashion. Each section had stores that related to the feel they were trying to portray with each section. I think that the stores in this mall are age specified and they do have a specific target audience. For example there are a lot of high end stores for young adult girls such as Jacob and there is a Disney store which is obviously targeted towards younger kids. I think that people go into the mall knowing what types of stores they shop in and like to purchase things from. The stores were very large and had large signs with bright colours. These colours and large signs can help pull people into their stores. Also specific types of stores are usually found in the same general area, making it easier to shop. I think that the mall has a lot of different and exciting elements to it and I don't think that there is anything missing from it. Everyone would have a different opinion though because if there is a specific store that someone shops in that isn't in the mall they may want to add that. I do think that the mall has a wide variety of stores and entertainment. I think that this mall is very appealing to the public and there isn't much that could be added to make it better.

Gossip Sells

Many companies and products use celebrity gossip to make their products seem more glamorous and to make people want to buy them. When a celebrity is spotted wearing something from a certain store or brand it is usually labeled as " cool " from then on and it has a celebrity title. This is an advantage for retailers because when something has a celebrity title it will make some people more apt to buy it. On the other hand sometimes companies can get a bad reputation when a celebrity that makes some bad decisions or has a bad name for them self can give the company a bad name as well. Because celebrities have such an impact on their fans, when someone sees them wearing a specific brand, it may influence them to purchase it as well. This results in stores getting more business and publicity. Now a days celebrities even work with paparazzi to set up shoots where they can be photographed wearing or buying certain products. This is why they are often described as part of the "business plan and business model."

Overall I defiantly think that celebrities have an impact on what people buy. If I looking through a magazine or watching a movie I will often pick out some outfits that stars are wearing that i would like to own. I also think that it affects people on a subconscious level. No matter what you say or do, people are constantly affected by the media.

Advertising

I believe that to an extent everyone is subconsciously effected by advertisements. Some people deny it and say that they can block them out but to be honest you cannot escape them. Advertisements are everywhere and even if you do not make a direct note of an ad that you see, it can still effect your decision about that product subconsciously.

When we did the slogan activity I found that I didn't recognize many of them. I thought that I would be able to remember a lot of them but Whitney and I only got around 16 of them right. Most of the ones that i did recognize, as soon as I read the slogan I got the little jingle stuck in my head so the advertising companies did a good job of making the ads memorable.

I never thought that I was completely unaffected by ads but I really didn't realize how much I am affected by them, especially on a daily basis. After the past few weeks in class I am starting to realize more and more the effects of advertising on people in their every day lives. It is pretty intense.

Brand Loyalty

I own a lot of clothes and other branded products. I spend a lot of money each month on miscellaneous items. For some items there are specific brands that I favour and for other things it doesn't really matter to me what the brand name is.

Some things that I really pay attention to the brand is my personal care products, such as deodorant and shampoo. I have determined my favourite brand of shampoos etc. basically by trying every brand out there until I found one that I really liked and now I buy the same one all the time. Another product I buy based on brand is candy and junk food. I buy it based on the taste, I really love smarties but I don't like M&Ms at all. The last thing that I would buy based on brand is cell phones. I have only had a couple of phones but I have realized which ones are better quality. I would also buy a cell phone based on other peoples recommendations. Even though there are many things I buy not caring what the brand is.

I do not care what brand my socks are. That is one thing that I will just buy not caring what kind they are. I am very selective on what kind of clothes I buy but I do not buy my clothes based on brand. I buy things that I like, no matter where they are from. I also would not buy my sheets or comforters based on brands. I would buy one that was reasonable in price and one that I liked, colours that would match my room and my style.

Since we have discussed brand loyalty in class i don't believe that my opinion has changed. I still like all the same things and I will still buy things that I want.

Product placement

Over the past week we have been looking at product placement and the different ways that companies attempt to sell their products to consumers. I never really noticed product placement in movies and shows and when I did notice a brand name being used in a movie I never thought about it and I didn't realize that companies put their products in movies to increase sales on that product. Now that we have actually talked about the different techniques and target audiences I am starting to notice advertising more in my everyday life. I think that direct advertising is more effective because the companies are really focusing on selling and praising the product. With product placement it is much more subtle and people may have the image or the thought of the product in the back of their head but they are not being told directly that they should purchase it.