Communication technology and Westernization Essay

Communication technology and Westernization - Essay Example Although the democratic value of the internet has been cherished, on the contrary, the cyber culture is breaking the boundaries of ethical parameters in many aspects. Initially, it affects the moral perception of the new generation as they are exposed to uncensored websites. They are likely to be influenced by various misanthropic ideologies and racism (Clichà © & Bonilla, 2004, pp.32-33). Education is another notable area that has been affected by internet. In fact, the positive effects of communication technology have opened new opportunities in the field of education and employment. On the other hand, the technology has been widely used for academic misconduct which will have adverse effects on our education system as a whole. Another argument against the technology is that it has a westernizing effect on other cultures. As stated in Forbes & Mahan, (Eds.) (2005, p.135), since the primary language of the internet is English, it would transmit the elements of Western values including emphasis on material goods, entertainment, sex and romance. The other side of the argument is that though internet has a cultural and social influence, it does not necessarily eliminate the values of indigenous cultures. As Nakamura L (2007) states, internet has the potential for challenging western influence; and moreover, it can turn to be an effective device for non-western users. The author points out the example of New Media Center Sarai New Delhi which has developed software for indigenous non-literates. However, the so called potentiality of the technology needs to be further utilized. Obviously, a cyber society that has deep root in Western culture has emerged globally. People participate in the cyberspace social networks and interact with others who have similar interests and tastes. They express their feelings and ideas (whether right or wrong) without the fear of legal restrictions. The effect is that the more

Democracy though media Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Democracy though media - Article Example The new media has exponentially augmented the access to information and has dramatically expanded the scope of free speech. The global flow of information has enabled people around the world to test and contrast the archaic models of civic life with the emerging trends and influences. The pivotal question in this context is that is the new media ubiquitous and if it is so, does it have the potential to contribute to the cause of democracy at a global scale? I s new media contributing to democratic values in Castro’s Cuba or in war ravaged Afghanistan? A general perusal of the history establishes beyond doubt that one or other form of media did play an essential role in the dissemination of political values and ideologies in the 20th century. Lenin’s smuggling of Iskra into Russia, nine decades ago is an apt example of the subversion of a regime through the usage of media (Leighley, 2003). The ground for the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1978 was possibly laid down when the supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini managed to smuggle audio cassettes into the mosques in Iran (Leighley, 2003). Actually, in many cases, the media was able to impart an aura of credibility to the political content transmitted through it, thereby manifold increasing its effectiveness and impact. For example, when the B92 Radio Station in Serbia was banned by the Milosevic regime, it managed to remain on air by closely associating with the international news organizations like CNN, BBC and Voice of America (Leighley, 2003). The net result was that the cover age of B92 being transmitted into Serbia from outside began to be regarded by its recipients as more credible and authentic than before. The recent Spring Revolution in the Middle East had an inevitable new media element associated with it. The same stands to be true for the recent uprisings in Indonesia. To a great extent it is true that though media has already been a part of most

The Origins and History of Punk Fashion

The Origins and History of Punk Fashion The time and birthplace of Punk movement is debatable. Either the New York scene of the late sixties or the British Punks of 1975-76 can be given the honour. Conventionally, it is thought the New Yorkers invented the musical style while the Londoners popularized the attitude and the appearance. For our purpose, we will just watch over the British punk because it was just in the late seventies that the movement gained some importance and formalization. Punk in Britain was a movement essentially made of deprived working-class white youths. There is a strong connection between the punk phenomenon and the economic and social inequalities in Great Britain. The aim of this work is to show where the punk came from and how the movement developed its own style, quite different from any other else, up to making it a proper fashion recognized worldwide. In the fist chapter, it will be introduced the concept of subculture. The punk was in fact one of the many white youth subculture sparkled after the Second World War. It will be explained why youth subcultures emerged and they will be delineated the main features of some of them. A deep analysis of Punk movement origins will be carried out in the second chapter. Here it will be possible to understand the social reasons which led to the creation of punk and the many different sources of style which contributed to the formation of a punk aesthetic. The main feature of the punk aesthetic, then, will be exposed and commented in the third chapter. This chapter focus on the use of shocking and glowering clothes and accessories as a way of rebellion against the mainstream and the society. In the fourth chapter, it will be discussed the role of media in the spread and acceptance of the punk subculture. As we will see in this chapter, little by little media changed attitude toward punk. There was a shift from fear to integration of punks which can be explained through the analysis of two forms of incorporation, the commodity form and the ideological form. Yet in this chapter, it will be presented on of the main pillar of the punk ideology, the Do It Yourself (DIY) philosophy, which influenced everything in the punk subculture from the music to the fashion. In the fifth chapter, then, it will be drawn the story of what can be considered the real birthplace of the punk fashion, the 430 Kings Road, where Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren started their careers. It will be delineated the evolution of the different shops that followed each other at this address and, what is more important, the evolution of the styles proposed by these shops which became the point of reference for the most important punk fashion addicted. In the sixth and last chapter, finally, it will be pointed out how the commodity form of incorporation struck the punk made it fashion available and accepted by the vast public. The 1977 couture collection of Zandra inspired to punks may be identified as the final blow for a pure punk style and the beginning of its exploitation as a fashion trend. From that time on many fashion designers inspired to a punk aesthetic for their collections. Recently the whole fashion system seems to have rediscovered the punk: From Jean-Paul Gaultier to Moschino up to low-cost retailers as Zara or HM. Chapter 1 Youth subcultures:  The source of style The term subculture came up for the first time around the second half of the 1940s in anthropological and sociological writing. As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished between a majority, which passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings, and a subculture which actively sought a minority style (hot jazz at the time) and interpreted it in accordance with subversive values. Thus the audience [] manipulates the product (and hence the producer), no less than the other way round (Riesman, 1950). From that time on, many different studies were carried out and various interpretations on the meaning and the function of the subcultures were given by estimated personalities as John Clarke, Phil Cohen, Walter Miller, Matza and Sykes, Peter Willmott and Stuart Hall.   In particular, Dick Hebdige gave one of the biggest contributions to the study of subcultures in his 1979 book Subculture the Meaning of style which encompasses all theories from the above mentionated authors and uses them to analyze the youth subcultures. From hipsters to teddy boys, from skinheads to mods, from glitter rockers to punks, the youth cultural styles consecution is here reinterpreted, reposing on Gramscis notion of hegemony, as symbolic forms of resistance; as spectacular symptoms of a wider more generally submerged dissent which characterized the whole post-war period (Hebdige, 1979) The origins of youth subcultures are, thus, to be found after the Second World War when the traditional patterns of everyday life were completely upturned. The emergence of the mass media, modifications in the structure of the family and in the organization of school and work, shifts in the relative burdens of work and leisure, all contributed in fragmenting and polarizing the working-class community. In this contest, also the role and the relative importance of the working-class youth experienced a deep change: their purchasing power enormously increased (during the period 1945-50 it was estimated that the average real wage of teenagers increased at twice the adults rate) and, consequently, it was created a new youth market in order to take up the resulting surplus. From then on, the youth started to express and impose its own identity against the parental one. According to Cohen youth subcultures can be defined as a compromise solution between two contradictionary needs: The need to create and express autonomy and difference from parents [] and the need to maintain the parental identifications (Cohen, 1972). That is to say, the latent function of subculture was to express and resolve, albeit magically, the contradictions which remain hidden or unresolved in the parent culture (Cohen, 1972) As Hebdige pointed out, skinheads, for instance, undoubtedly reasserted those values associated with the traditional working-class community, but they did so in the face of the widespread renunciation of those values in the parent culture at a time when such an affirmation of the classic concerns of working- class life was considered inappropriate(Hebdige, 1979). But it is also the case of mods: in fact they were negotiating changes and contradictions which were simultaneously affecting the parent culture but they were doing so in terms of their own relatively autonomous problematic by inventing an elsewhere (the week-end, the West End) which was defined against the familiar locales of the home, the pub, the working-mans club, the neighbourhood (Hebdige, 1979). Nevertheless, we must be careful in stressing the importance of integration and coherence between youth and parent culture because one of the most relevant feature in the definition of a subculture is its dissonance and discontinuity with the most largely accepted culture. This is particularly evident if we take in consideration the punk subculture. As Hebdige writes in fact we should be hard pressed to find in the punk subculture, for instance, any symbolic attempts to retrieve some of the socially cohesive elements destroyed in the parent culture (Cohen, 1972) beyond the simple fact of cohesion itself: the expression of a highly structured, visible, tightly bounded group identity. Rather, the punks seemed to be parodying the alienation and emptiness which have caused sociologists so much concern, realizing in a deliberate and wilful fashion the direst predictions of the most scathing social critics, and celebrating in a mock-heroic terms the death of the community and collapse of traditional forms of meaning. Even if each subculture strives to be different and unique among other ones, they all share a common feature: they are all cultures of conspicuous consumption. This term indicates the practice of abnormally spending on goods and services with the main objective of flaunting the belonging to a social status, a particular group or, as in this case, to a specific subculture. It is through the distinctive rituals of consumption, through style, that the subculture at once reveals its secret identity and communicates its forbidden meanings. It is basically the way in which commodities are used in subculture which marks the subculture off from the more orthodox cultural formations. (Hebdige, 1979). The style can be defined as the self-image that a person creates representing his or her personality. Style, however, is not built at an individual level but it is strongly dictated by the subculture rules. Everyone identifying in a specific subculture is unconsciously constrained in the adoption, use, dissemination, and the rejection of a certain style of clothing or even acting. That because of the so-called social pressure: the behaviour of a single person is so much linked to the influence exerted by the social groups that the individual identity muddles up with the collective identity. Accordingly, the identity of the individual is recognized just as his or her membership to the reference group is recognized and accepted by all other members. In this contest, the apparel assumes a key role becoming the most evident sign of affiliation and, thus, one of the principal mean of social avowal. Considering the clothing in the sense of a common communication code, it becomes important to identify the symbolic value of different clothes. Actually, they always carry a message about the style of a group, and to a more precise analysis, they can tell us everything we need to know about norms and values of a specific group and even about its formation processes. Thus, the apparel adopted by a subculture should not be seen as a transient fashion but as a visual image of what are the values and norms characterizing that specific subculture and distinguishing it from parent culture and from the other youth subculture too, and inasmuch symbolic representation, it needs to be carefully analyzed to be properly interpreted. Chapter 2 The Punk: a Mix of heterogeneous youth styles I can play punk rock, and I love playing punk rock, but I was into every other style of music before I played punk rock.  (Travis Baker) This quotation from one of the most famed punk-rock drummer of the recent years well summarizes what was the punk movements background. Punks origins are blended and even conflicting, coming from a wide range of different musical and fashion styles. Influenced by David Bowie and glitter rock, combined with the main features of Southend rb rhythms, inspired by American proto-punk, twisted with northern soul and with reggae, the punk can be described as a patchwork made of distorted reflections coming from almost every previous post-war youth culture stuck together with safety pins. (Jon Savage, 2007) It is like punk unearthing and renewing entire wardrobes belonging to different ages with the aim of proposing them in revitalized cut-up form. Glam rock contributed narcissism, nihilism and gender confusion. American punk offered a minimalist aesthetic (e.g. the Ramones Pinhead or Crimes I stupid), the cult of the street and a penchant for self-laceration. Northern Soul (a genuinely secret subculture of working-class youngsters dedicated to acrobatic dancing and fast American soul of the 60s, which centres on clubs like Wigan Casino) brought its subterranean tradition of fast, jerky rhythms, solo dance styles and amphetamines; reggae its exotic and dangerous aura or forbidden identity, its conscience, its dread and its cool. Native rhythm n blues reinforced the brashness and the speed of Northern Soul, took back to the basics and contributed a highly developed iconoclasm, a thoroughly British person and an extremely selective appropriation of the rock n roll heritage. (Hebdige, 1979) However, the link between these so heterogeneous styles is to be found in the social contest in which the punk movement emerged. We are dealing with the late 1970s in Britain, with its massive unemployment, with its continuous warlike violence episodes (as ,for instance, the tragic one happened during the 76 Notting Hill Carnival to which the punk group The Clash dedicated the song White riot), with its changing moral standards and its rediscovery of poverty. It was exactly in this period that the race relations became fundamental. On the one hand, there was the urban black youths, living and working in Britain but dreaming and finding an imaginary refuge in an elsewhere (Africa, the West Indies, etc.) through the reggae and the Rastafarianism. On the other hand, there was the white working-class youth, placed at the same social level as the black ones but stuck in their present time, having no foreseeable future and no places or means to escape the reality. In fact, the model proposed by the glam rock made of literary influences (from Rimbaud, Burroughs, Lautrà ©amont and Huysmans) and underground cinema, focused on the concepts of polymorphism, perverse sexuality and obsessive individualism resulted too remote from the majority of working-class youth. They were imprisoned in a vicious circle. They felt as aliens, rejected not only by the rest of the world but also by the any existent music genre. They had no reference models, no hopes for the future and neither perspectives of improvement. Therefore, they started to act out alienation, to mime its imagined condition, to manufacture a whole series of subjective correlatives for the official archetypes of the crisis of modern life: the unemployment figures, the Depression, the Westway, Television, etc. (Hebdige, 1979) The awareness of this crisis led to the conversion of what was an inner malaise into tangible icons (the safety pins, the ripped clothes, the spikes, the hungry look, the combat boots, etc.) reflecting in an enhanced way the perceived condition of exile and alienation, which is, nevertheless, voluntarily assumed. Punks, thus, moved back to earlier, more vigorous forms of rock (i.e. the 50s and the mid-60s when the black influences had been strongest) and forward to contemporary reggae(dub, Bob Marley) in order to find a music which reflected more adequately their sense of frustration and oppression. (Hebdige, 1979). They saw in Rastafarian history of exile a point of contact and it was exactly for this reason it was the only accepted subculture alternative to punk. Richard Hell, a punk musician, interviewed in the popular music magazine New Musical Express declared, punks are niggers (NME, 29 October 1977). An inevitably feisty claim but it is indicative of what was the real situation at that time. As Hebdige writes, the punk can be seen in part as white translation of black ethnicity. (Hebdige, 1979) In addition, this unstudied identification with black British and the West Indian tradition was a way to oppose actively to teddy boys, their hated rivals. In fact, punks used to modify and wear elements from the teddy boys style and it was perceived as an outrage by the teddy boy revivalists because they felt as punks stealing and fooling their way of clothing and, in a sense, their ideals. Punk style was perhaps interpreted by the teddy boys as an affront to the traditional working-class values of forthrightness, plain speech and sexual Puritanism which they had endorsed and revived (Hebdige, 1979). Concrete evidences of this tension between the two subcultures could be found every Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1977 along Kings Road where punctually a throng of punks and teds met to fight. Therefore, Reggae, notwithstanding its apparent distance from punk music, started to be present in a number of repertoires of punk bands as The Clash, The Slits, The Jam, and many others. In the majority of punk clubs, they used to play regularly heavy reggae music between live acts and, moreover, the song Punky Reggae Party by Bob Marley The Wailers, is the evident and overwhelming proof of this contamination. Chapter 3 Punks rebellion through style Rebellion is the heart of the punk subculture. Rebellion against society, rebellion against social inequalities, rebellion, in last instance, against conformism. Everything the punks did, everything they wore, dance to, fight for, everything can be consider as punk has the only aim of convey a message of nonconformity. Conformity can be defined as a change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or a group of people. (Aronson, 1972) Therefore, punks rebellion was essentially against the prevailing modes of thought; what common people took for granted that is to say the necessity to have a good and certain job, the blame on homosexuality, the mistrust in other race, it was simply not accepted as the only and the best code of conduct. However, punks were young, poor, and completely helpless in effectively struggling for changing the reality. Therefore, the only weapon they found to react was to transform themselves in directly offensive and threatening beings. Punks, like previous post-war youth subculture such as teddy boys, the mods, the rockers, the skinheads, the beats, the zoot suiters, and the hippies created, a coherent and elaborate system of body adornment that expressed their estrangement from mainstream society and that horrified the general public. Having little access to dominant means of discourse, punks displayed their disaffiliation and their subcultural identity through such adornment, which was for them an accessible and direct channel of communication. By manipulating the standard codes of adornment in socially objectionable ways punks challenged the accepted categories of everyday dress and disrupted the codes and conventions of daily life (Wojick,1995) Early punks, probably unconsciously, used most of the rebellion techniques typical of the early avant-gardists: unusual fashions, the blurring of boundaries between art and every day life, juxtapositions of seemingly disparate objects and behaviours, intentional provocation of the audience, use of unstrained performers and drastic reorganization (or disorganization) of accepted performance styles and procedure (OHara,1999) In this contest, it is not surprisingly that the main features of punk fashion were so extremely impressive and shocking. Objects borrowed form the most sordid of contexts found a place in the punks ensembles: lavatory chains were draped in graceful arcs across chests encased in plastic bin-liners. Safety-pins were taken put of their domestic utility context and worn as gruesome ornaments through the cheek, ear or lip. Cheap trashy fabrics (PVC, plastic lurex, etc.) in vulgar designs (e.g. mock leopard skin) and nasty colours, long discarded by the quality end of the fashion industry as obsolete kitsch, were salvaged by the punks and turned into garments (fly boy drainpipes, common miniskirts) which offered self-conscious commentaries on the notions of modernity and taste.(Hebdige, 1979) Even the conventional ideas of beauty and attractiveness were refused. Hair was dyed with bright colours and straightened up in spikes and Mohawk. Body piercing degenerated in self-mutilation: studs and pins prinked eyebrows, cheeks, nose and lips. Make-up was used by both boys and girls in a massive and impressive way: cosmetics became as paint to be used in creating alien masks to hide behind. As Hebdige argued, beneath the clownish make-up there lurked the unaccepted and disfigured face of capitalism. Claiming to be anarchists and nihilists, punks felt free to offend as many people as they could. They wore terrorist/guerrilla outfits, directly offensive T-shirt covered in swear words or fake blood, along with desecrated religious object and sexually deviant accessories. The perverse and the abnormal were valued intrinsically. In particular, the illicit iconography of sexual fetishism was used to predictable effect. Rapist masks and rubber wear, leather bodices and fishnet stocking, implausibly pointed stiletto heeled shoes, the whole paraphernalia of bondage the belts, straps and chains were exhumed from the boudoir, closet and pornographic film and placed on the street were they retained their forbidden connotations. Some young punks even donned the dirty raincoat the most prosaic symbol of sexual kinkiness- and hence expressed their deviance in suitably proletarian terms. (Hebdige, 1979) For the first wave punks, each adornment used had a precise meaning: The safety pins and bin liners, for instance, symbolized a material and spiritual poverty in an exaggerated form, which could be really experienced or just acted out. In other words, the safety pins, etc. enacted that transition from real to symbolic scarcity which Paul Piccone (1969) has described as the movement from empty stomachs to empty spirits and therefore an empty life notwithstanding [the] chrome and the plastic [â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦] of the lifestyle of bourgeois society. (Hebdige, 1979) One of the most controversial symbol used by punks were surely the swastika. This symbol was made available to the punks through Bowie and Lou Reeds Berlin phase. It evoked a decadent and evil Germany, an idea of no future strictly linked to the punks mood. Therefore, it had nothing to do with the Nazisms ideology in the punks vision. Quite the opposite, punks firmly supported the anti-fascism and anti-racism movement. In the punk wear, the swastika lost its classic meaning and it was worn just because it was guaranteed to shock. Conventionally, the swastika has always signified enemy and hate, and to be hated is exactly what punks wanted. Chapter 4 Role of media and DIY As it was showed previously, punk was surely a spectacular subculture and it would have been very difficult for media not to pay attention to it. Although many others groups had paved the way for punk through 1975, it was not until the advent of the Sex Pistols that punk began to take shape as a noticeable style for the vast public. The  New Musical Express  gave the  Sex Pistols  their first music press coverage in the 21 February 1976 for their performance at the Marquee. From then on punk rock began to attract critical attention of the specialized press, and criticism from all the rest of the world. Moral panic began emerging clamant after the accident happened at the punk festival at 100 Club in Soho in the September of the same year, when a girl was partially blinded by flying beer glass. Punks were angry, wore absurd and offensive clothes and openly claimed they wanted to fight the society and to be heated. It is not surprising that in few months all the British press was focused on this new subculture frightening the middle class. Punk was described as a big social problem and the deviant and anti-social act (as vandalism, swearing, fighting etc.) did nothing but worsen the situation. Their style was used as counter-evidence of the danger they represented: They infringed the sartorial codes in the same way they disrupted the civil and social codes; they dress in an inhuman way because they are beasts acting as animals without moral. Therefore, punks were demonized in the press and depicted as folk devils. They were a threat to adjure before it led to a degeneracy of all British youth: concerts were cancelled, the Sex Pistols song God save the Queen was banned by British radios, and moral barricades were raised by editors, politicians and other right-thinking people. However, nothing of the above could stop the punk movements diffusion. For the first time in the history, there was an attempt by a working-class youth subculture to provide an alternative critical space within the subculture itself to counteract the hostile ore at least ideologically inflected coverage which punk was receiving in the media. (Hebdige, 1979) An alternative punk press was created: the fanzines. Punk fanzines were non-professional and nonofficial journals edited by an individual or a small group consisting of reviews, editorials and interviews with the most important exponents of the punk scene. These publications were produced on a small scale as cheaply as possible and distributed through a small number of sympathetic retail outlets. The language in which the various manifestos were framed was determinedly working class (i.e. it was liberally peppered with swear words) and typing errors and grammatical mistakes, misspellings and jumbled pagination were left uncorrected in the final proof. Those corrections and crossings out that were made before publication were left to be deciphered by the reader. The overwhelming impression was one of urgency and immediacy, of a paper produced in indecent haste, of memos from the front line. (Hebdige, 1979) The fanzines are one of the most notable expressions of the punks Do It Yourself (DIY) concept. The  DIY ethic, in general terms,  refers to the ethic of being self-reliant by completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for you. The DIY ethic is tied to  punk ideology  and  anti consumerism, as a rejection of the need to purchase items or use existing systems or processes. Sniffin Glue, the first fanzine and the one which achieved the highest circulation, contained perhaps the single most inspired item of propaganda produced by the subculture the definitive statement of punks do- it -your self philosophy- a diagram showing three finger positions on the neck of a guitar over the caption: Heres one chord, heres two more, now form your band. (Hebdige, 1979) Nevertheless, the Do it yourself philosophy was not confined just in the press world. Emerging punk bands began to record their music, produce albums and merchandise, distribute their works and often performed  basement shows  in  residential  homes rather than at traditional  venue, in this way they could to avoid  corporate sponsorship and to secure freedom in performance. To be honest, these emergent bands had no many other choices because most of venues tended to evade more  experimental music, and so houses were often the only places at which they were allowed to play. Obviously, also punk fashion followed the DIY ideology: The clothes suited the lifestyle of those with limited cash due to unemployment and the general low-income school leavers. Punks cut up old clothes from charity and thrift shops, destroyed the fabric and refashioned outfits creating a very innovative way of clothing never existed before. This stylistic innovation attracted the medias attention provoking two different responses: In the fashion pages, the newness and the creativity of the punk fashion began to be not only accepted but also celebrated, while there was a big part of the British press still stigmatizing the punk as ridiculous and offensive. Starting from an initial acceptance by the fashion magazines, little by little all media began a sort of process of recuperation and incorporation of the punk: obviously, young punks still represented a deviant way of living but the medias attitude, and so of the whole society as well, slowly shifted from a demonizing approach to an exorcising approach. This was made, as Hebdige explains, throughout two different forms: The ideological form and the commodity form A Ideological form Through this form, media tried to neutralize the differences between punks and common people. Young punks family assumed a new role. The punks tended to be resituated by the press in the family, perhaps because members of the subculture deliberately obscured their origins, refused the family and willingly played the part of folk devil, presenting themselves as pure objects, as villainous clowns. [â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦]. For whatever reason, the inevitable glut of articles gleefully denouncing the latest punk outrage was counter-balanced by an equal number of items devoted to the small detail of punk family life. (Hebdige, 1979) During the summer of 1977, several articles were published on punk babies, punk-ted weddings and on a lot of other common daily situations involving punks and with titles like Punks have mothers too: They tell us a few home truths (Woman, 15 April 1978) or Punks and Mothers (Woman s Own, 15 October 1977) All these articles served to minimize the Otherness so stridently proclaimed in punk style, and defined the subculture in precisely those terms which it sought most vehemently to resist and deny (Hebdige, 1979) B Commodity form This second form of incorporation is the most interesting for the purposes of this research. It is trough this form that subcultural signs (clothes, music etc.) are driven to the conversion into mass-produced objects. Therefore, it is here the key to understand how the punk way of clothing, born from the rebellion against the whole society and characterised from the beginning by an anti-fashion attitude, could be transformed and largely exploited as a proper fashion trend. But first to get to this, it will be necessary to draw the story of what could be consider the cradle of punk fashion The 430, Kings Road. Chapter 5 430, Kings Road Everything started in the October 1971 when Malcolm McLaren and his art-school friend Patrick Casey opened, here in the heart of the Chelsea district, a small stand in the back room of a shop called Paradise Garage. They sold at time original rock n roll vinyl records, specialized music magazines, vintage items from the 1950s and some garment. The young McLaren was convinced that music and fashion were two inseparable things and so, when in 1971 he obtained the proprietary rights on the store, he renamed it Let It Rock and transformed it in a clothing store stocked up with second-hand and new teddy boy clothes designed by his girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. The shop wavy iron facade was painted black with the stores name written in pink letters, while the interior followed the typical stylish period details, such as the so-called Odeon wallpapers. Westwoods designs sold in the shop were outrageous and outlandish, inspired by bikers, fetishists and prostitutes. Brothel creeper shoes, drape coats, and skin-tight trousers were designed by Vivienne Westwood (but also by McLaren itself) and then made up by an East End tailor and by a local seamstress.   One of the most representative example of the kind of garments sold in this first-phase Let It Rock is the Bones T-shirt: Using chicken bones acquired from a local takeaway, Westwood boiled and drilled the bones and attached them with chains and studs to spell keywords such as Rock and Perv. The idea originated in the skull and crossbones of the bikers, but it gave the garment a primitive, talismanic power. [1] Nothing similar ever appeared in the entire fashion world scene: the store with its creation attract the attention of the international press, from the Rolling Stone to certain Japanese magazines. It was a real success but McLaren was not completely satisfied with the style of the shop: their main customers were teddy boys and he had huge problems with them. For these reason the next year, he travelled to New York for a boutique fair where he met the emergent American rock band the New York Dolls. It was here he started to take his first steps in the rock music system. In fact he took over their management, he dressed them in red leather clothes supplied by his London store and promoted them using Soviet iconography. The Dolls broke up soon after, but served their purpose as a dry run for the management style he would soon deploy to spectacula

Why Hamlet Needs To Die Essay -- Literary Analysis

Hamlet's view of death morphs through the course of the play as he is faced with various problems and troubles that force him to deal with life differently. This holds particular significance for a modern audience who, unlike the predominately Christian audiences of Shakespeare's time, contains an assortment of perspectives on the subject. For the majority of the play, Hamlet yearns for death, but there are different tones to his yearning as he confronts death in different circumstances; from his encounter with his father's ghost to the discovery of his beloved Ophelia dead in the ground, Hamlet feels an irrepressible urge to end his life. There are obstacles that get in his way, both internal and external, and Shakespeare's play is an account of Hamlet's struggle with them. When we first meet Hamlet, he is moping around Elsinore Castle on account of his father's recent death and his mother's more recent marriage to his uncle. In the first act of the play, it has been two months since King Hamlet was laid in the ground—a fairly short time ago in terms of grief, but not so long that family members could not conceivably begin their lives again, as Hamlet's mother has done in marrying her late husband's brother. Hamlet is still in mourning clothes, is wholly fixated on the loss of his father, and is positively mortified and revolted by his mother's apparent indifference. In the play's first conversation between Hamlet and his newlywed parents, they chide him for his "obstinate condolement" for his father (1.2.93). They believe that "Hamlet's long mourning for his father is against not only the rule of nature, grace, or grace, but also heaven" (Hassel 612). Thinking of death makes Hamlet an unpleasant person for the newlywe... ...zlw4MBx3Rc3yxAK4i00QEjo#v=onepage&q=&f=false>. Gottschalk, Paul. "Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge." Shakespeare Quarterly, 24.2 (1973): 155-170. JSTOR Database. 13 Nov. 2009 . Hassel, Chris, Jr. "Hamlet's 'Too, Too Solid Flesh." The Sixteenth Century Journal, 25.3 (1994): 609-622. JSTOR Database. 13 Nov. 2009 . Russell, John. "Dust and Divinity: Hamlet's Fractured World." Hamlet and Narcissus. Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1995. 39-50. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 92. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 39-50. Literature Resource Center. Gale. 14 Nov. 2009 . Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Jacobus, Lee A. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 340-393.

Major regions of the brain and their functions on behavior Essay

The brain is a complex structure that is divided into specialized parts or regions that perform specialized function. The importance of specialization and brain parts division is not only in brain processing information and generating responses, but the specific impact on behavior of an individual generated by each specialized part. In this regard, the brain has three main regions: cerebral cortex, limbic system and the brain stem (Charles, 2002). The brain stem is the most primitive part of the brain that is located at the joint where the spinal cord enters the brain (Charles, 2002). This part of the brain contains such sub-parts as reticular activity system, medulla and the Pons. The main function of this part of the brain is for autonomic functions deemed as necessary for survival such as health, food, shelter and security seeking behaviors. For instance, when a person falls ill, the brain stem triggers off the course of action to seek medication or health care, thus such an individual shall move towards the hospital premises than to any other direction of food or security. The cerebral cortex is brain region that is on outer part that covers the brain (Charles, 2002). By virtue of covering the brain, the cerebral cortex is considered as the largest part of the brain. The behavioral function of the cerebral cortex involves higher cognitive processes such as memory process that enhances language, thought and learning. Therefore, behaviors such as performance in academic work, ability to retain and remember, verbal fluency and speech development are controlled and generated by the cerebral cortex. Limbic system (Charles, 2002) is the third region of the brain with structures such as hippocampus, thalamus, amygdale and hypothalamus. This part of the brain is responsible for emotional related behaviors of individuals such as motivation, memory functions, and physiological functions. For instance, amygdale is responsible for behaviors such as anger, fear and aggression. The hippocampus sub-structure involves the functions of memory such as information coding and processing into short term and long term memories. Hypothalamus is responsible for emotional behaviors such as hunger, sexual feelings, thirsty and reproduction behaviors. The sensory process as these scenarios unfolds The process and action of hitting the ball produces a cracking sound that travels through air to the ears as a sound sensory organ. The sound message is received and conveyed by ears sensory nerves to the central nervous system (CNS). The central nervous system in return initiates nerve impulse to send the message to the brain. In the brain the thalamus located within the limbic system received the message through sensory receptors found in peripheral nervous system and then forwards the message to the cerebral cortex for analysis and interpretation and then generate feedback message to the sight sensory organs (Albert, 2002). After interpretation of the of the ball sound in the brain by the cerebral cortex, the message is generated back through the same avenue that to the thalamus that will send impulse to the sight sensory organ: eye. The eyes muscles shall be involved in a reflex action to adjust and pay attention to the ball that has been hit. Therefore, ball movement is traced by the eye. However, since the eye does not have the capacity to catch the ball apart from observing it; the sight sensory nerves within the eyes send a message to the brain to prepare necessary mechanism to catch the ball (Albert, 2002). Once the message has been generated by the sight sensory nerves to the brain, the brain through thalamus receives the message through the sensory receptors found in peripheral nervous system and then forwards the message to the cerebral cortex for analysis and interpretation. After analysis and interpretation, the cerebral cortex sends back the message to thalamus which in turn stimulates the concerned organs through responsible neurotransmitters to prepare muscle action to catch the ball as it land. The timing of the ball is entirely an initiative and is dependant on cognitive abilities of the individuals (Albert, 2002). Reference Albert, B A. (2002) Molecular Biology of the Cell: New York, Garland. Charles, GM. (2002), Psychology: An introduction: New York, Prentice hall.

National Health and Social Care Essay

The aim of this unit is to act as a focal point for all other units in the programme and embed the vocational nature of the qualification. In addition to the requirement for work experience and the opportunity to relate theory to practice, the unit will enable you to bring together your learning from other units. You will initially explore factors that affect learning, then plan and monitor your own personal and professional development and reflect on it. You will also gain key understanding of the health and social care sectors, including aspects of service delivery, and the fundamentals of research methodology. This unit explores the different ways in which learning can take place and how learning from individual experience can be used to enhance the quality of knowledge, skills and practice. You will initially explore your own knowledge, skills, practice, values and beliefs in relation to working in health and social care. You will then draw up a personal plan for self-development over the duration of the programme. The unit also  introduces you to health and social care service provision. A minimum of 100 hours work experience is required for successful completion of this unit. P1 Explain key influences on the personal learning processes of individuals Task 1 At the beginning of this unit you need to think about what the key influences on learning are. There are various theories of learning, which you need to explain eg Honey and Mumford, Kolb. Write a short explanation of 2 theories about how we learn (not more than 300 words) Task 2: Consider the wide range of influences that may affect an individuals learning. Write an explanation of how the following different influences can affect the ability to learn successfully : – previous learning and experiences – specific learning needs – formal versus informal learning – learning style – time – learning environment – access to resources – attitude and self discipline – aspirations and motivation – priorities in life – health – responsibilities – relationships – others as appropriate (space for study, funding for study) M1 Assess the impact of key influences on the personal learning processes on own learning Task 3: Sketch a timeline to help you collect your thoughts about the factors that have influenced your learning from childhood, school, work and other life experiences. Place significant events and experiences such as starting school, moving house etc on the top of the line. Write the effects on the bottom of the line. Use the timeline to write a personal statement/ analysis of how your own learning has been influenced by the factors listed in task 2 D1 Evaluate how personal learning and development may benefit others Task 4: Carry out some research on PPD and its benefits in health and social acre. Use your placement for information by talking to staff about their learning experiences and career backgrounds. How have these helped them in their work. Consider how your learning has helped others so far. P2 Assess own knowledge, skills, practice, values, beliefs and career aspirations at start of the programme Task 5: This task looks at your own knowledge, skills, practice, values, beliefs and career aspirations at the beginning of the course – consider your strengths and areas for development. The report could help you develop a suitable action plan for pass 3. Skills for learning: These fall into 2 types – study skills and research skills. In the 2 boxes below describe what skills you think you already have in this area. Study skills: Describe what skills you have in the 3 areas of – Literacy – Numeracy – Information and Communication technology Research Skills: Describe what skills you have in the following areas: – Observation – Questioning – Use of the internet – Using feedback – Reflection Support for learning: Describe what kinds of support for learning you could get if you needed it. Eg from tutors, peers, supervisors, mentors, meetings, increased self-awareness, how and where to access information and support on knowledge and best practice Learning opportunities: Describe a variety of opportunities you think you will have to learn during this course eg: Formal learning Informal learning Knowledge gained from classroom activities, placement experiences, independent studies, life experience, employment and voluntary activities. UNIT 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care Assignment 2: Be able to plan for and monitor own professional development This assignment will be aimed at the following grading criteria for this unit: P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 M1 M2 M3 D1 D2 Grading criteria will be indicated for specific tasks. Students are reminded of the importance of the correct use of grammar and punctuation. Delivery date: __________________ Assignment due in: __________________ P3 Produce an action plan for self-development and achievement of own goals Task 1: Write an action plan which needs to contain at least 10 short term (up to 6 months) and at least 5 long-term goals (minimum of 18 months). Your action plan must be specific, measureable, actionable, relevant and timely. You will monitor throughout the course for your own self-development and achievement of your goals. You need to include: current knowledge and skills, practice, values, beliefs, career aspirations; self-awareness. Knowledge: review, plan and monitor eg relevant formal and informal learning to date, current contemporary issues, understanding of theories, principles and concepts, understanding of potential careers; gained from a variety of learning opportunities Skills: Communicating: language – verbal, non-verbal; Working with others: eg service users, professionals, peers; Technical: eg IT, use of equipment, creative/craft skills; Research: eg primary, secondary, data handling; Personal eg organisation skills, personal presentation Practice: review, plan and monitor, eg respect for the value base of care, professional interactions with others, co-operative working with others, team work, influence of personal values and beliefs, awareness of need to develop personal value base to support and promote good practice, awareness of the impact of legislation, codes of practice and policies on own practice, responsibilities and limitations Values and beliefs: eg personal values and beliefs, value base of care Career aspirations: career options, preferred choice P4 Produce evidence of own progress against action plan over the duration of the programme Task 2: These goals, in pass 3, need to be monitored at throughout the course – this will usually be after work experience and will involve you describing the progress you have made so far in achieving these short and long-term goals. When you make a change to the plan, enter the date on which you made the change. Write a statement summarising the challenges and circumstances that have affected your progress against your personal goals. Include reasons for any changes you have made to the goals. M2 Assess how the action plan has helped support own development over the duration of the programme Task 3: At the end of the course you need to write an explanation of how your action plan has helped support you personal and professional development over the 2 years of the course. D2 Evaluate own development over the duration of the programme Task 4: Write an evaluation of your own development over the duration of the course. UNIT 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care Assignment 3: be able to reflect on own development over time This assignment will be aimed at the following grading criteria for this unit: P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 M1 M2 M3 D1 D2 Grading criteria will be indicated for specific tasks. Students are reminded of the importance of the correct use of grammar and punctuation. Delivery date: __________________ Assignment due in: __________________ P5 Reflect on own personal and professional development Task 1: On work experience you will keep a professional practice portfolio of your development, which will form part of your personal and professional development portfolio. The Professional development portfolio will contain: professional practice log book, structured appropriately for assessment of unit and nature of evidence, indexed, authenticated records to demonstrate personal progression in developing own knowledge, skills, practice and career aspirations over time, variety of contexts for learning and development Task 2: using relevant evidence from the list below write an account of your personal and professional development. Relevant evidence: formal, eg assessment, observations, witness testimony from direct observation, placement reports, feedback from tutors and supervisors, tutorial/career records, certificates, personal statements, application forms or CVs; informal eg diary, peer reviews, reflective accounts, records of events, Support for development: from tutors, peers, supervisors, mentors; meetings; increased self-awareness; how and where to access information and support on knowledge and best practice Reflect on own development: linking theory to practice; linking practice to theory; achievement of personal goals in terms of knowledge, skills, practice, values, beliefs, and career aspirations; influence of personal values and beliefs; impact of others on evoking development of self M3 Use three examples to examine links between theory and practice Task 3:you need to write about three examples from your work experience that explain how what you have practiced in the workplace is influenced/linked to a theory. The theory could be from psychology eg Bowlby’s theory of  attachment and the importance of settling-in policies in nurseries or from other units studied UNIT 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care Assignment 4: know service provision in the health and social care sectors This assignment will be aimed at the following grading criteria for this unit: P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 M1 M2 M3 D1 D2 Grading criteria will be indicated for specific tasks. Students are reminded of the importance of the correct use of grammar and punctuation. Delivery date: __________________ Assignment due in: __________________ P6 Describe one local health or social care service provider identifying its place in national provision Task 1: Write a description of one of your placements and identify how it fits in with national provision. You could use a diagram or chart to show this. You will need to describe the following: Type of provision (what service does it provide, what are its aims and objectives) Who funds it Who can go there (access the service) Any barriers there are to accessing the service The organisation’s Policies and Procedures How the service fit in with national provision Task 2: write an introduction to a plamflett for the above named placement on Provision of services within the UK: national framework relevant to home country; primary, secondary, tertiary; regulators Local health or social care service provider: eg type of provision, funding, access, potential barriers to access, organisational policies and procedures; how the service fits within national framework P7 Describe the role, responsibilities and career pathways of three health or social care workers Task 1: Write a brief description of the following roles, responsibilities and career pathways. Health and social care workers: health and social care professions, eg nursing staff, social workers, professions allied to medicine; technical support professionals, eg medical and non-medical laboratory staff; other support professionals, eg managers, administrators; role of professional bodies; career pathways, training and qualifications, workforce development; codes of conduct, roles and responsibilities; multi-disciplinary teams Task 2: You then need to find out about the roles, responsibilities and career pathways of three people who work there. You may like to interview them about their jobs, responsibilities and careers. To do this you will need to prepare a questionnaire beforehand. The questionnaire/notes taken must be submitted as evidence for this task.

Deconstruction of a Web Page Advertisement

Deconstruction of a Web Page Advertisement Since its conception, the media has been hugely influential in the development of the society. The media can be used to drive public opinion, report on current news and advance some social values. The media is at best a complex genre which may be broken down into a large number of sub-genres e.g. news stories, opinion columns, advertisements and horoscopes to name but a few. One of the key facets of the media is the advertising sub-genres.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Deconstruction of a Web Page Advertisement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Croteau and Hoynes suggest that the heavy emphasis of advertisements in media is due to the fact that advertisers are the dominant sources of revenue for most modern media[1]. The influence that advertisements have on the people is colossal as can be inferred from the rise in sales for corporations that engage in large-scale advertisement. Most advertisements are therefore ke en to include messages that are beneficial to the advertisers. Texts represented in advertisement can signify a myriad of meanings apart from the very obvious message that the advertisement image purports to sell. An image can denote varying directions and be made to evoke deeper sentiments from the viewer and from simple image, one can build up an entire story. All this is in an attempt by the creator of the advert to persuade the consumer to think, feel or act in a predetermined manner. This paper shall set out to deconstruct and discuss a particular advert so as to show how it relates to a wider set of issues. This shall be in an attempt to articulate that advertisers normally embedded a lot of ideas and sentiments into an advert so as to manipulate the intended consumer into acting in some manner that is desirable manner. Description of the Advertisement Advertising is defined by Lester as any form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, good and services by an iden tified sponsor[2]. In this particular scenario, the advertisement is of a software application called â€Å"The Box† that allows users to make video calls over the internet. The primary objective of the advert in this case is to promote the sale of the product being advertised. The product is sold online in a website and therefore the advertisement will exist within the context of a website. The text analyzed consists of a rectangular bold lined frame which is surrounded by a faint shade of gray. Within the frame, there is an illustration of a box and an oval.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The box contains significant landmarks such as the tower of Eiffel, the Statue of Liberty and the Big Ben clock tower. This is connected by gradually increasing size rings to an oval containing the image of a mother and two children looking on to a computer screen on the top lef t is written a short message Let them see who theyve been missing. The Deconstruction Process Lind and Brzuzy suggests that owing to the adverse effect that advertisements can have as they influence the opinions of people and sway peoples attitudes, being media literate is of importance[3]. Media literacy includes being able to actively deconstruct what is seen in the media and particularly pertaining to advertisements. The deconstruction process involves a breaking down of the complete whole into various components so as to enable a deep analysis and criticism of the text or image contained[4]. n the advertisement context, this shall enable one to understand the two levels of meaning i.e. the denotative meaning which is the obvious message that the advertisement contains and the connotative meaning which has to do with the symbols and the association of this symbols with some experience of knowledge shared by the targeted audience[5]. The first step in the deconstruction process is to recognize that owing to the fact that the media message, web advertisement in this case, was constructed, there has to be someone responsible for its construction. Hence answering the question who created the message? or â€Å"whose message is this?† is the first stage in deconstruction. In this scenario, I am the creator of the message and the message is meant to advertise a software application for making video calls over the internet. Having identified the creator of the advertisement, one can then positively identify the goal behind the creation. The goal for this advert is to elicit people to purchase and use the online video calls software product. The second phase in the deconstruction process involves identification of the target audience. This phase can be expansive since one has to look at various attributes of the target audience. This will include their age, ethnicity, profession, etc. In the Box advert, the targeted audience is people who have long distance r elations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Deconstruction of a Web Page Advertisement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The age group mostly covers young children and young couples. In the image presented in the advert, we see a young mother and two little children hinting that the ad might be targeting young families who have one of their relations at a long distance. The picture portrayed depicts an entirely white family which might infer that the ad might be targeting people of Caucasian ethnicity. The next step involves looking at the text of the message. This calls for a simple review of the words and images portrayed in the advert so as to confer the most obvious suggestions made. In this advert, there is a box containing various landmark features, an oval encircling a mother and her two children who are all staring at a computer screen and the words let them see who theyve been missing†. From the message contained in the advert, the following subtext can be inferred:- The box contains landmark features from London (the clock), Paris (Eiffel tower) and America (the Statue of Liberty). This suggests that the application being advertized possess the ability to interlink the locations that are represented by the various features despite the locations being far apart geographically. The theme of reconnection is also advanced by the wordings which suggest that the family in the picture is finally afforded a chance to interact with their distant relation as a result of the application software being advertised. Galpin suggests that when deconstructing a text, the primary objective is to draw attention to conflicting logic or to offer insight into what may not have been explicitly represented in the text[6]. The next step therefore involves trying to discover what the advert may have implied but not explicitly stated. The message suggests that from using the Box, the family will be drawn cl oser. This is depicted in the image of the mother and her two little children who are all in close proximity even as they use the product. The advertisement also suggests that the use of the products results in the happiness of users on both ends of the line. While the faces of the mother and her children cannot be clearly made out, a look at the computer screen reveals smiling faces which implies that the people are happy as a result of using the Box. Thomas Mickey asserts that one of the core aims of advertisements is to have the consumer identify with the product[7]. To this end, the image of the young family with the husband away for some length of time is one that most people prospective users can relate to. The advert portrays a modest lifestyle by its depiction of an average family.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The images are not glamorized or highly classy and the family in the picture is young and average looking. The family is photographed under the background of neatly stacked rows of books and files. This is a study room setting that most people in the western world can relate to. This familiarity will appeal to the prospective customers who will mostly be middleclass families. In addition to the main objective of promoting a product, most advertisements express some values that may be held by the society or by the advertiser. Some of the values expressed in this advert are that being happy comes as a result of being connected with loved ones. However, this advert also expresses some values that have been deeply entrenched in our society. The media has over time been accused of propagating the patriarchal theme in the society. This has mostly been done by making the male figure play a dominant role while keeping others (women) in the shadows[8]. This advertisement in a subtle manner p lays this stereotyping role. The images presented show a mother with her two children which implies that the female figure is the one who is left at home to tend after the children as the male figure goes out to fend for the family. This stereotypical view of the female as the home maker is detrimental to the women empowerment efforts. Key to the selling of an ideal is the use of various tools of persuasion. Persuasion in advertisement makes use of knowledge or beliefs that the consumer holds. However, consumers have an idea about how advertising tactics work to affect persuasion and therefore subtle tactics must be employed for effectiveness[9]. The Box advert engages the use of a homely looking family. The setting is also not lavish or glamorous thus creating an appeal to a wider class of people. The wordings of the advert are also persuasive as they incite the viewer to reconnect with the person whom they have been missing by use of this particular product. The box in the advert is given a warm and engaging colour which suggests that using the product can indeed bring about a warm feeling to the person. This advert suggests that a family that is in constant communication is a united and happy family. While this may not necessarily be true, this is a positive message that is advanced by the advert. In addition to this, the advert show cases a health looking simple family thus suggesting that one does not require to be sophisticated so as to be happy. However the Advert fails to incorporate people of various racial and ethnic identities thus propagating the theme of racism. Neglecting of the other races is negative as it may lead to animosity amongst the other races who may feel sidelined. The final stage in the deconstruction process involves gauging the totality of the advert presented[10]. The Box advert fails to tell a conclusive story as there are various important pieces of information left out. From the advert, one cannot tell of how much the calls wil l cost or if there are any negative effects that may arise as a result of the usage of the software product. One could obtain more information on the product by visiting the website which will provide a more detailed description of the product. Conclusion Because of globalization and the ever increasing influence of media outlets in our lives, we need to possess the skills necessary to process and evaluate the constant barrage of media information that is presented to us. Deconstruction of advertisements presents an important front from which to initiate this critical assessment of the media so as to enable us to recognize and therefore avoid the negative influences and/or misinformation that media may cause. This paper set out to deconstruct an advertisement of a software product called The Box so as to critically analyze the advert and show how it relates to a wider set of issues. This paper has undertaken a detailed deconstruction of the advert and it has been observed that the a dvert can have far reaching messages embedded in that the lay person can detect. It is clear from the discussions presented that even a simple advertisement can have stereotypes and untruthful sentiments contained therein. From this paper, it can be authoritatively stated that media criticism empowers an individual and helps them to shun any negative influence that the media may present. These skills are especially relevant in today’s world where newer technologies are continually widening the reach of the media therefore making us more exposed to advertisements than ever before. Bibliography Croteau, D Hoynes, W. Media society: industries, images, and audiences. Pine Forge Press, 2003. Galpin, R. Erasure in Art: Destruction, Deconstruction, and Palimpsest. 2008, viewed on richardgalpin.co.uk/archive/erasure.htm. Roman, A. Critical De-construction of Media Messages. 2008, viewed on fabc.org/offices/osc/docs/pdf/Critical%20De-Construction%20of%20Media%20Messages.pdf./ Media L iteracy. How to Deconstruct A media Message. New Mexico Media Literacy Project, 2007 Lind, A Brzuzy, S. Battleground: women, gender, and sexuality. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. Thomas, M. Deconstructing public relations: public relations criticism. Routledge, 2003. Leiss, W, Kline, S Botterill, J. Social communication in advertising: consumption in the mediated marketplace. Routledge, 2005. Haugtvedt, P., Herr, P Kardes, F. Handbook of consumer psychology. CRC Press, 2008. Lester, P. Visual communication: images with messages. Cengage Learning, 2006. Footnotes D Croteau W Hoynes. Media society: industries, images, and audiences. Pine Forge Press, 2003, p.70. P Martin Lester. Visual communication: images with messages. Cengage Learning, 2006, p.75. A Lind S Brzuzy. Battleground: women, gender, and sexuality. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008, p.319. A Roman. Critical De-construction of Media Messages. 2008, viewed on fabc.org/offices/osc/docs/pdf/Critical%20De-Construction% 20of%20Media%20Messages.pdf. Ibid. R Galpin. Erasure in Art: Destruction, Deconstruction, and Palimpsest. 2008, viewed on richardgalpin.co.uk/archive/erasure.htm. M Thomas. Deconstructing public relations: public relations criticism. Routledge, 2003, p.53. W Leiss, S Kline J Botterill. Social communication in advertising: consumption in the mediated marketplace. Routledge, 2005, p.284. C Haugtvedt, P Herr F Kardes. Handbook of consumer psychology. CRC Press, 2008, p.556. A Roman. Critical De-construction of Media Messages. 2008, viewed on fabc.org/offices/osc/docs/pdf/Critical%20De-Construction%20of%20Media%20Messages.pdf.