Manifesto - Earthquake Resistant Houses

Imagine yourself with your family in your house having a good time or simply relaxing when all of a sudden you feel the ground shaking and the objects in your house are moving around, falling down, and breaking and as soon as you manage to run outside, your house, full of happy memories, fall into pieces along with the things that were so important for your everyday life. Many people believe that this situation will never happen to them but when you least expect it, an earthquake could strike and you could be the next victim. Now that many natural disasters have occurred, more are to be expected in the near future.  That is why earthquake resistance houses should be constructed.

This manifesto to construct earthquake resistant houses will benefit us all both economically and socially.  There would not be much major destruction to clean up and our families would be safe in their houses. This idea/problem/situation has been considered by some architects to carry out in the near future, but as we all know money is needed in order to enforce the houses. Nevertheless, it is better to feel safe in one’s own house when an earthquake strikes than to lose everything with an unexpected earthquake.

Stereotypes: Gender

Gender stereotypes exist everywhere, but in some places the gender roles have diminished little by little. The gender roles in the United States have taken a different turn. For example, women are now portrayed as strong, independent individuals whereas decades ago they were seen as weak and unintelligent human beings.

However we do still hear some phrases that could be stereotypical today, such as:

§  Women like to get married and have kids

§  Guys love sports

§  Women are nurses not doctors

§  Women are supposed to make less money than men

§  Women are supposed to cook and do housework

§  Women are responsible for raising children

§  Women have no technical skills

§  Women are not meant to be in charge

§  Women are clean

§  Guys are the head of the house

§  Guys do the dirty work

§  Guys are smarter

§  Guys are tougher

§  Guys are messy

§  Men are good at math

§  Men are engineers, doctors or have any high level career

Although many of us know that these assumptions do not apply to all of us, there are people who strongly believe that it is or that it should be that way. Luckily for many females, this stereotyping of genders is changing in American society.

This ad is targeting men in particular. It is telling men to “MAN UP” and take responsibility not just outside of the home but in their personal lives as well.  Since men are considered strong and intelligent beings, they should be strong enough to also be able to take care of their children. Who knows, maybe in the near future the terms “masculinity” and “femininity” would have a different meaning. 

Nostalgia Marketing

As we grow older the happy memories of past events accumulate in our brains. Businesses and advertisers have used the nostalgia marketing strategy to reach consumers in an emotional way; creating a product that would make the consumer revive the “good old days”, which I believe is a beneficial strategy to use.

Nostalgia marketing has its advantages and disadvantages with the different emotions and cognitions that interplay when people are exposed to a brand that draws us back in time, whether it is looking, hearing, or smelling that brand product.

These senses that open up when experiencing nostalgia can create “favorable attitudes” about the products. For instance, they can generate feelings of gratitude, warmth, joy, and affection.

Whenever I watch an old television show from Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, or Disney Channel, the t.v show brings back memories of my childhood. Nowadays the shows that appear on t.v are slightly “negative” and not as good as they were back then. Now, seeing that Disney movies are reappearing in DVDs makes me happy because I could relive those happy moments of when I was a little kid and share the experience with my younger family members.

In contrast, nostalgia marketing in industries such as technology may not be a successful strategy since it is apparent that new changes in technology stimulate consumers’ curiosity and makes them want to have it. Who would want a cell phone with no camera, or who would say no to few applications that could take us a step towards new social experiences? No one I know. We would also want to keep our heavy, thick computers and televisions with us, right? No. When it come to technology, it is best to have something that can benefit us in different ways not just a few ways.

Racial Stereotype: Accents

Advertisement is slowly camouflaging its old ways of racial stereotyping. Nowadays, we see advertisings showing people of different ethnic backgrounds together in order to portray a message to its viewers. However, no matter what the ad’s intention is; whether it is to bring a positive message or a negative one, the ad’s message is still open to interpretation to the viewers.

This ad commercial from COVERGIRL+Olay Tone Rehab Foundation features two women of different ethnic groups working together to present a product called Olay, which helps women have better looking skin. Although the ad used intentional humor to get its message across, the possibility of some people finding this ad offensive towards people with strong accents, in this case Hispanic or Latinos with thick accents, is still there. Ellen is seen making fun of Sofia’s accent and mocking her accent in the end; an act which people could potentially find as racist since it serves no obvious purpose in promoting the product. Also, saying that no one understands what Sofia is saying adds up to the already “racist” portrayal of the ad. The reason to promote a product using an attractive, “sexy and funny” woman is apparent; yet saying she is “incomprehensible” and making fun of the way she talks ultimately makes her “the butt of the joke”.

I do not think this ad was meant to portray a negative message of a certain ethnic group, but given the anti-immigration and anti-Latino climate this may be a problematic advertisement.