Nat57 November 22nd, 2007
Malls in America are turning into the center of our economy as well as a place for people to go to leisurely. The overwhelmingly increasing popularity of commercial malls in America is a staple of our generation and of the 21st century. I think that malls help out our economy tremendously because it gives a common, enjoyable and large amount of stores for consumers to shop at . The convenience of malls has and will lead to the success of our economy and continue to attract massive numbers of consumers.
lisathi November 20th, 2007
The author is reasonable in saying that advertising has made people more materialistic but I don’t think that advertisers make ads for this purpose. They simply want to maximize their profits and this materialism comes with it. Ads are meant to appeal to the people and make them want what the advertisers are trying to sell and the more ads there are, the more people want.This also occurs when people see others with things that they want, it makes them want it more. It seems to be a big cycle because material things are a big part of our culture.
jlarkin November 20th, 2007
I don’t think I agree with the idea that a shopping mall is a refuge. Lewis believes that malls should not be considered this either. I have yet to meet a person who thinks of malls as this. When I asked my friends for places they like to escape to they mentioned the movies, their apartments, a favorite cafe, but never a mall!
jlarkin November 20th, 2007
It’s intriguing to think that malls have been around for centuries, just in different forms. When learning about the Greek culture here is a place in the city for an open market, the acropolis. In the Middle East these open markets have been called shuks. In the United States we used to and some cities still do have open markets but we have added technology to this idea to make a teenage girl’s favorite place- the indoor shopping mall.
jlarkin November 19th, 2007
Again this is one essay that opes my eyes. I have never thought to look at malls as an example of American Culture but when I travel abroad I would notice how they would shop. For example, when I went to Israel they shop mostly in “shuks”- little market places that people can haggle to their desired price. I guess you can say that means we get the short end of the stick.
jlarkin November 19th, 2007
This is yet one of many obedience experiments Zimbardo preformed. I have to admit it is quite interesting to learn about. This experiment reminds me about reality television today, more specifically “Kid Nation.” It is amazing to me to see what extremes people can and are willing to go to.
asadecky November 19th, 2007
There have been many attacks against advertising and what it does. Critics have said that advertising is unfair by making people buy things that they don’t need all for the promise of greater status and social acceptance. It is stupid to criticize advertisers for doing their job. The ones who should be criticized are the consumers for believing that they need such frivolous products. Everyone has their own free will and has the power to buy or not buy whatever they want.
asadecky November 19th, 2007
Advertisements are broken down into 15 categories that appeal to consumers. The list is extremely accurate in describing the different aspects of advertisements and how they appeal to a population. The need for sex, affiliation, achievelment, safety, etc. are universal themes throughout the world and connect with everyone. If an advertisement can work to appeal to one of these needs, it has been successful.
asadecky November 19th, 2007
It is frightening that the youth of today are not getting the sleep that they need to function properly. Teens are driving drowsy and falling asleep in class as a result of sleep deprivation. It is important that teenagers get the sleep that they need because adolescence is a critical period for growth and development. If teens don’t get the sleep that they need, they could have problems later on in life as a result.
asadecky November 19th, 2007
It is well known that one needs sleep to go through daily processes and function accordingly, but it is amazing what goes on in the brain while one sleeps. The technology that is available to monitor sleep patterns and other aspects of the sleep cycle is getting more and more advanced. An EEG can measure the stages of quiet sleep and REM sleep to determine how much brain wave activity is happening.
jlarkin November 19th, 2007
I have never truly realized what counts as folklore before reading this essay. The Disney classics for example, I would have never thought could be categorized as folklore. After you research the story you learn to understand there is a background to it… that it is not just a story to entertain you.
jlarkin November 19th, 2007
In psychology we discussed this famous study… what Milgram did was pretend to strap a person into a device that would shock them at different degrees. On the other side of a wall was the random person that they were testing, they would be in control how how high a voltage the person would be shocked. The person doing the shocking could hear everything the “shocked” was screaming. Most people would just continue to elevate the degree of shock no matter what the other person screamed…. It’s INSANE
xgravex November 19th, 2007
Over summer for my Warrington Welcome First year Florida class, I had to do volunteer work at a shelter for battered women and their children. I was angry about having to do the volunteer work because it cut into my Saturday morning sleep schedule. We worked from 9 am to 12 noon digging an area for a parking lot. The day was hot and the work was grueling, but I soon realized that we were doing something important and worthwhile. I believe that there should be a law in America that requires everyone to volunteer at least once in their lifetime.
xgravex November 19th, 2007
This ad was so cute! Whoppers are great! Sometimes I wish my digestive processes were like those of a snake so I could consume my fast food in just one bite! On the other hand, I wonder if snakes actually take the time to enjoy their meals. Swallowing things whole can’t be all it’s cracked up to be. Some things are meant to be savored like fine wine or a triple whopper! This Burger King commercial is a lot better than those lame Transformer car commercials!
lisathi November 18th, 2007
I admit that my favorite pasttime is shopping. This is also very characteristic of many Americans today and has become a major part of our culture. People like to shop for different reasons, because they love fashion, want to spend time with the family, maybe take their mind off things, or sometimes, for younger americans, its a place they can be with their friends and stay for as long as they would like. It is an American hobby and continues to grow as more shopping centers and oversized shopping malls are added to cities. Shopping is definately not what it use to be and it will be interesting to see where time will take the industry.
babytee07 November 18th, 2007
Everyday life in America, in the past three decades, has been critically affected by the evolution and spread of the shopping mall as the central concept in American retailing. According to Lewis, the regional shopping mall has become a kind of civic center, a point of attraction for millions of Americans, whether they choose to buy something there regularly or not. The mall is a central life setting for many elderly persons who frequent it on a regular basis. Teenagers visit the mall on an almost daily basis. The mall is one of the few places teenagers can go in this society where they are allowed to stay without being asked to leave.
roseboss November 16th, 2007
Lee Bollinger, the President of Columbia University, had an interesting welcome toward the President of Iran. Its odd how he would invite the Iranian PPresident to speak at the University and then ridicule him in front of everyone. He did not introduce him in a repectable manner, but rather antagonized him with personal attacks to his intelligence. As I recall, Bollinger called the president an “uneducated coward”. Bollinger used a lot of logical fallacy to appeal to the audience. In the end I did not agree with the way Bollinger presented his speech.
roseboss November 16th, 2007
James J. Farrell’s, “Shopping for American Culture”, reveals to the readers that mall is hust not a place to shop, it’s an American culture. We fail to realize that shopping has become more complex than just a simple act of purchase. It is a way we live. There is a cultural pattern in the mall. Farrell explained the way Americans have incorporated shopping into their cuture.
roseboss November 16th, 2007
Advertisements are so ridiculous. Most advertisements promote sex and women especially advertisements about cars,men cologne, or any items that would appeal to the male influence. There are some that seem almost opposites of each other just to prove certain points such as “doctors smoking”. They make it seem like because doctors are smoking it must be okay. It must be cool. People should not be swayed by false adertisements.
roseboss November 16th, 2007
The authors, Courtland Bovee and Williams Arens, make valid points about how many items are advertised on the T.V, radio, newspaper, etc. Advertisements make society materialistic. They appeal to our desires, our wants, and make even the most ordinary item seem extraordinary. It is also a manipulative method where advertisements impress upon a lot of individuals to buy unnecessary objects. It seems that people are rather interested in the unrealistic notion that a deoderant will attract females or if you buy this shampoo, when you walk into a room everyone will notice you and bath you with compliments. We need to realize that we’re just buying these items to look and smell good. All the extras may or may not come.
aamend November 15th, 2007
In the United States shopping is a favorite American pastime to some extent even a “cultural phenomenon” bringing in trillions of dollars in revenue every year. In this article James J Farrell looks at what the mall means to Americans, and how understanding this can help on understand Americans. Farrell contends that shopping centers can reveal social patterns because while shopping individuals subconsciously follow cultural patterns. Studying malls can also reveal commercial culture because in the mall it is a carefully controlled commercial center whose main goal is to sell products, filled with advertisement s to further sell the products. By understanding the culture of malls, a large aspect of American life, one is one step closer to understanding American culture.
aamend November 15th, 2007
Although enclosed shopping centers have been around for ages they have been developed in America as “the best symbol of our abundance” far more so than in times past. In this passage they look at many of the early shopping centers including the Crystal Palace and Galleria, which share many of the same characteristics of today’s modern mall. And in the tradition of grand designs, many more magnificent malls are being constructed around the globe. Malls are even being constructed below ground to save its patrons from the harsh seasonal weather conditions. With shopping malls growing popularity their composition began to be control and increased parking was added to further shape malls of today.
babytee07 November 15th, 2007
Shopping centers are the common denominator or our national life, the best symbols of our abundance. By 1992, there were 38,966 operating shopping centers in the United States, 1,835 of them large, regional malls, and increasingly they were featuring the same products, the same stores, and the same antiseptic environment. But, the shopping center and even the shopping mall are not entirely American innovations. At the end of the twentieth century, the shopping mall has become a global phenomenon.
babytee07 November 15th, 2007
Shopping centers are the common denominator of our national life, the best symbols of our abundance. By 1992, there were 38,966 operating shopping centers in the United States, 1,835 of them large, regional malls, and increasingly they were featuring the same products, the same stores, and the same antiseptic environment. But, the shopping center and even the shopping mall are not entirely American innovations. At the end of the twentieth century, the shopping mall has become a global phenomenon.
rivangel November 14th, 2007
I agree with Arens that ads deceive people into being more materialistic and psychologically thinking that a certain object can affect them in specific ways. I wouldn’t have half the things that I do if I hadn’t originally seen them in ads on t.v. They try to attempt people to buy an object based on the affects of the object. For example, itmes such as axe, tag, and red zone give the impression that girls will be uncontrollably attracted to any man who wears it. They purposely find ways to psychologically manipulate people into wanting the object being advertised.
