The first
reading for this week was a piece by Sut Jhally titled “Image-Based Culture”.
This article brought up many points regarding advertising today and how certain
objects have a meaning behind them due to the images we attach to them. Jhaly
starts his article by bringing up diamonds. Prior to 1938 they were simply a
rare and beautiful gem. Then, they idea of romance was attached to diamonds.
After this time, diamonds became part of engagement rings, and this ring was a
symbol of romance. We often do this in society. We make things into something
that they are not, but then it will always be what we made it. So much of the
world today is shaped by our opinions of things.
“In
Gratitude” shows us what society can do to the image of something. People get
an idea of something due to what society says. It isn’t until someone shows us
the wrong of a way that we see it. This showed a young soldier who returns from
war. After a discussion with his parents, it is revealed that he had a best
friend, Hank, who sacrificed his life to save the soldier’s. Hank had no
family, so Joey asked his family to bury Hank. He quickly discovers that his
parents would not bury Hank in the family plot, as Joey had requested for a
simple reason. He was not white. His parents did not know this when they agreed
to bury Hank, and they were ashamed of what everyone in the town thought of
this. Joey is immediately ashamed of this, and makes sure everyone knows. He
tells everyone that it should not matter what Hank looked like. He was a
soldier who sacrificed his life in order to save another. This points out the
way we are in our society. The town has no reason to be racist, other than the
fact that everyone was. They grew up in a world where black was better than
white. It took a man to go to war and see that it truly did not matter in order
for others to see that this might be true. There are many things in our society
that should and could be changed if people made an attempt to correct them.
Ellie brings up important points from this week’s reading. Sut Jhally’s “Image-Based Culture” brings up information regarding advertising today. He also addresses that certain objects have a specific meaning behind them due to the ideas we attach to them. Jhaly’s article starts off the article with diamonds. Once a rare a beautiful gem, evolved into the meaning of love due to their presence in engagement rings. By putting a label on certain things, we look past what they truly are. The world today is based on the opinions of people, rather than truth. Everything has a deeper meaning, but some people refuse to look past the surface to uncover the meaning.
ReplyDelete“In Gratitude” exemplifies what society can do to the image of something, very similar to that of “Image-Based Culture.” People get an idea of something stuck in their head because of the effects of society. Until someone shows us the wrong idea, it will go unnoticed. “In Gratitude” gave a story of a young man, Joey, that returns from war, and hears the news that his best friend, Hank, sacrificed his life to save his own. Joey wanted to bury Hank, but his family was in disapproval because he was not white. The parents were ashamed of what everyone in the town would think of the actions of their son. Joey tries to tell the town that skin color should not matter, especially since Hank saved Joey’s life. The town’s only reason to be racists is that everyone else was racist. Growing up in a world where white skin was seen better than black, caused people to overlook the heroic deeds performed. Society could make important changes if only people were accepting of it.