Romance

One of the readings this week was "This is Emo" by Chuck Klosterman.  He talked about how no woman will never be able to satisfy him.  He also says that he will never be satisfied by a woman.  "Mass media makes it impossible to fall in love with any acumen of normalcy."  Klosterman talked about how he  created a prefect girlfriend in his head.  The girl was a friend of a friend who he hadn't even met yet.  In class we talked about how the expectations don't actually measure up with the reality of how things go in a real relationship.  In movies and TV shows we see fancy first dates, big beautiful weddings, and perfect children, but in reality we get a not so fancy first date, a wedding we can afford, and children who are exhausting and have temper tantrums.  When we don't get these perfect situations the stress of the relationship increases (some people even start having second thoughts and end it).

We want a relationship that is just as good and just as easy as the media portrays relationships to be, but that never happens.  In real life, relationships take time, work, and commitment.  It's not always a walk in the park.

Advertising

This week we watched the video "Killing Us Softly."  Jill Kilbourne showed some advertisements that were bothersome to her.  I would have to agree with what Kilbourne said.  Girls are made to look super young and vulnerable in most ads we see.  This Calvin Klein ad is for a pair of jeans.  When I first saw this ad, I'll be honest I barley noticed the jeans.  The fact that she looks as if she is a defenseless twelve year old, half naked, and an unbelievably thin (notice her spine protruding from her back) girl is what Kilbourne talked about a lot in her video.  Why do women have to be so ungodly thin and look so vulnerable in advertising?  Just as Kilbourne said men advertisements are no better.  The men have to be macho looking and most of the time they are shirtless.  Why have companies decided that this is the way they want to display their products?