Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Above is Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's "The Jockey" painting.  As you can see, the two are clearly in a race, however the perspective of the painting rests more into the horse, and his display of power.  The jockeys are in their stances, looking like normal jockeys and are not the focus. However the horses both have heads down, and the leftmost horse has his legs ready to hit the ground to gain more speed.  You can see the muscles of its legs emphasized with the most detail, and this gives a very real, very intense feel to the piece's meaning.  In addition to the power in the legs, the scene is even more epic by how frigidly cold it looks outside, however the horses are still performing at maximum potential.

Unplug the TV's? Well... not quite.

If we could unplug all the TV sets in America, our children would grow up to be healthier, better educated, and more independent  human beings.  Do you agree or disagree?

In actuality, think of how many TV shows or commercials advocate being healthy?  Many food shows are of healthier and cheaper options of food.  Even fast food restaurants try to convince you that they are more than just fast food.  Two words you will "eat" if you unplug the TV's across America: Biggest Loser.  Displaying ways and motivating others to be healthy will help combat the hours you waste in front of it.  Yes, I will look back on my life and laugh at myself for sitting in front of my box that does nothing but display light and sound for hours on end, however cable contains much more than entertainment, and I believe it does as much good as it does harm in terms of making one obese.  Each individual must still take responsibility for their actions and lifestyles, and TV's mass communications help display many alternate lifestyles, influencing viewers.  Commercials of all types are everywhere, every channel, and every couple of minutes.  One who even tries to only watch dramas or soap operas about being fat will eventually see a commercial advertising a bow-flex machine or a Wendy's salad. 

FACT:  Even kid and toddler TV shows help develop a child's brain when used and monitored appropriately by adults.

I also believe the same is true for one's education.  TV can give so many ideas to someone to choose a new career or college they may not have thought of before.   

As for independent members of society, I think that if you are that easily trapped into obsessing over TV that it makes a major change in your lifestyle or maturity level as an adult, you have some serious issues that would come out in some other way without TV even if it ended up being unplugged.  As for cable's younger audience, shouldn't the adults and parents be monitoring their general use anyway????  Food for thought.  My point is that cable or video games is not a problem for responsible mature adults, and these adults should be helping the younger audiences

The Power of Advertising

In my opinion, advertising is not the fundamental drivetrain that keeps the U.S. moving, however it still is the main factor which helps us as Americans choose which products we use and the amount we use them.  It also can affect the subconscious decisions many young and easily influenced people make.  Without advertising, however, we would still function as a society. 

In my dorm room, the cable is busted, therefore the only main source of ads that I see is on the internet, which I am usually oblivious to as I am working on something or socializing, not debating which brand of toothpaste or cologne to buy.  However, even without advertising, I still manage to function through my everyday needs, buying generic toothpaste, dish soap, coffee, which is therefore nonpartisan to advertising.  If I had a major influential source of ads, then I might use a cologne every day in addition to deodorant, not just every once in a while.  I might pause before picking a brand of toothpaste because one claims to have better cavity protection over the other, but I would still use toothpaste.  My point is that in some situations, the power of advertising is limited, yet has the power to possibly be informative and influential in daily decision making. 

The same is true regarding new products and technologies.  I currently own an LG Rumor 2, which is nice yet has its setbacks compared to the technology of today.  Advertisements I see prepare me in what I want and what options are out there for when I do go looking for a new phone.  Without them, I might be oblivious to what the technology of phones can do today when I'm not entirely focused and aware of its options.  Again, I may be off with a less awesome phone, yet I would still survive in today's society without its advertisements. 

While it is true that advertisments affect the easier decisions we make, it is also well known that many young people are affected by the influence of advertisements.  More and more, I see young middle and high school girls obsessing over the way they look.  Shorter shorts, tighter shirts, and even more and more makeup and perfume, I believe, are partially contributed to the advertisements of today (Granted this demonstration only applies to girls thus far, however I will trust you see my point).  Older advertisements never had perfectly gorgeous, and occasionally fake, models.  As more and more of these types of ads appear, including sexual ads, more and more young women add to their stress loads the need to look and feel pretty.  This is another strong power that advertising has.

Without advertising, with the exception of a loss of a business market, we would see some changes to our everyday lives, such as no commercials, however I do not believe that advertising in its current state is a drivetrain of the American society.