REFLECTION JOURNAL 2 ( MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY)

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISEMENTS

This video is an advertisement and has a stereotype that blonde women are dumb. Commercial companies use stereotypes in order to make their advertisements more funny and effective. They do not create new stereotypes, but they reinforce the stereotypes which people have already known. In my opinion, there are two important points to be mentioned and emphasized in the video.

The first point is about effects of the stereotypes on advertisements. Think about the advertisement in the video. The stereotype which is used in it insults blonde women, but the people who watch this advertisement have fun like us involuntarily. In addition to make ads fun, using stereotypes affects consumers. And also, it may make the product which is introduced in the advertisement more attractive. In my opinion, the companies use stereotypes deliberately because people can find something which is familiar with them. When they watch advertisements in television or internet, finding a slice of their life makes the advertisements more reliable. For example, when a man watch an advertisement in which a woman speaks too much, he says she is just like my wife. This may make the advertisement more reliable and funny for him. In conclusion, because the stereotypes in advertisements affect and attract consumers, the commercial companies make profit thanks to the stereotypes.

The second point is about the opposite situation that is effects of the advertisement on stereotypes. As I mentioned before, commercial companies reinforce the stereotypes which is already known. Because stereotypes are generalization about a group of people or gender, they affect people’s thought about the group. They mostly affect people negatively, and they may make people give a bias to the members of the group. In order to overcome the stereotypes and their negative effects we should forget about them, but it is harder to ignore them because we can encounter with them again and again in a day due to advertisements.  

To sum up, because advertisements use and reinforce the stereotypes, advertisements have more effects on us and may prevent us from overcoming and forgetting about stereotypes. Stereotypes may increase the profits of the commercial companies, but the commercial companies negatively affect our lives and thoughts by using stereotypes in my opinion.

REFLECTION JOURNAL 2

EFFECTS OF THE STEREOTYPES

Stereotype is an oversimplified generalization about a group or a gender. For example, women are bad drivers, or blacks are good at basketball. It can be true in general but cannot be true for each member of the group which is stereotyped. It can be positive or negative. In both case, it affects the people who are exposed to it. This effect may decrease the performance of the members of the group and also may increase it.

In the first case, a negative stereotype may decrease people’s performance because they worry about confirming it, so they may feel pressure on them. As a result of this pressure, they realize the negative stereotypes which they exposed to. This is stereotype threat. For example, when a woman who is good at math or science but also knows the stereotype that women cannot do math has a math test, she feels pressure on her because of the fear of confirming this stereotype. Therefore, she may perform in this test badly just because of the stereotype and this pressure.

In the second case, people’s performance may increase just thanks to a stereotype. While the stereotype which I mentioned in the previous paragraph decreases the performance of women, it may increase the performance of the men because even if they are bad at math, they have self-confidence thanks to the stereotype. This is stereotype lift.

Both stereotype threat and stereotype lift affect life and performance of the people who are stereotyped. Now we know what stereotype, stereotype threat and stereotype lift are. The aspect of the topic which I am interested in is how we can overcome stereotypes especially stereotype threat because it is a problem to solve. I think there is just one way to solve this problem. It is ignoring the stereotypes.

In order to be able to ignore stereotypes you have to know your abilities and limits. That is, you need to know the subjects and areas which you are good or bad at. Knowing yourself makes you self-confident. This is the first and the most important step to solve this problem in my opinion. Then, you can ignore it just as you ignore the people’s thought about you or your act when you know you did well or you are right. To sum up, think stereotypes as the thoughts of the people who want to judge, limit and envy you and just ignore them.

In conclusion, stereotypes affect our lives, but the important point is the way of this effect. When their effect is positive, you can believe and adopt it, but you should ignore the stereotypes which may affect you or your performance badly and try to turn them into an advantage.

ARTICLE ENTRY 1 : RAPPORT-TALK AND REPORT-TALK

  COMMUNICATION DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

Like the differences in their interests and lifestyles between men and women, they are also different in terms of conversational styles. In the article entitled, ‘Rapport-talk and Report-talk’, the writer indicates that men talk for information, whereas women talk for interaction. As a result of this, men do public speaking comfortably, while women feel comfortable doing private speaking. I agree with the writer because either women or men can speak more and comfortably, which changes according to the issue which they talk about and the person who they talk.  

         Firstly, women talk about their feelings much more than men because they are more hypercritical and even pretty details are worth to tell and discuss. On the other hand, men talk to give information or talk about news more than the details or the reasons of the situation because they are result-based instead of hypercritical. Even if a man is emotional, he do not like talk about his life, feelings or problems. For example, think about two people coming from a wedding. One of them is a man and the other one is a woman. When the man is asked how the wedding was, he just says that it was nice and he does not tell the details because just the result is important for him. When the woman is asked the same question, she tells and criticizes any details from bridal dress and groom’s suit to the design of their wedding rings. For another example, when a man read newspaper, he wants to share the news which is about the government and he can discuss it for minutes. In this case, his wife just says that she agrees with his husband. To sum up, both women and men may talk more. It changes according to the subject. In my opinion, the difference in conversation between men and women is the result of their interests and lifestyle.

Secondly, conversational styles of women and men also change with regard to person who they talk in my opinion. Women feel more comfortable and confident doing speaking with her friends and familiar people, while men can talk comfortably and confidently with anybody they do not know. I think its reason is that women need to have shared something with the person they will talk in order to express their feelings and thoughts, but men can talk about current news even if they did not share anything in advance.

In conclusion, not only women but also men can talk more with regard to the topic which they talk about and the people who they will speak with, but in my opinion the important thing is to respect and listen what is talked instead of complaining by saying that he does not speak or she speaks too much.

THE SECOND TERM- REFLECTION JOURNAL 1

THE MAIN REASONS OF THE CULTURE SHOCK

Culture shock is a stressful situation that most people may experience in any part of their lives. I think if the reasons of this problem are determined, it can be overcome. It may be encountered in the cases of going to another city in the same country and abroad. In the first case, the factors which cause culture shock may be food, climate, and unspoken rules. In addition to these elements, there is another factor called language which can lead to the shock in the other case. That is, its main reasons can be categorized under four headings: food, climate, unspoken rules and language.

First of all, food consumption has a really important effect on human’s physical and psychological health. In order to be healthy and happy, balanced nutrition is necessary, so you should be careful about the selection of food. The taste of the food varies from culture to culture, so it may be hard for you to find mouth-pleasing food in abroad especially if you are a discriminating person in terms of food. As a result of cultural differences, food can be one of the main factors of the culture shock.

Secondly, adapting to cold climates is challenging for those growing up in mild climates. For example, they can feel depressive in overcast weather or overdressing can be irritating for them. Some people may think that getting used to climate is easy, but it is as hard as at least adapting different tastes in my opinion.

Another factor of culture shock is about the rules of behavior in the society. Each society has the rules which are not spoken and written but known by those in that society in my opinion. For example, most people walk in the right side of the pavement in order not to collide with each other in Eskişehir. This is not a written rule, but people living there know and obey it.

Language is the last and the most powerful element of the culture shock in my opinion because it is really difficult for a foreign to learn a new language and use it in all areas of his life. Listening and speaking in a foreign language may make you feel tired and alone. 

In conclusion, as I said in the first paragraph, culture shock can be overcome when you are aware of its reasons. You can easily adapt to a new culture by not hesitating to try new tastes, trying winter sports in cold climates, trying to discover the unspoken rules of behavior in the society and making friends through your new language. You should benefit the advantages of discovering a new culture and meeting new people by overcoming culture shock.

JOURNAL SET 3 MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY (REVISED VERSION)

HUMAN GENETIC ENGINEERING

This video is about human genetic engineering and it states that genetic engineering may be beneficial for curing lifelong and deadly diseases, give a chance to parents to choose their babies' gender and people may live longer thanks to it. On the other hand, it may cause discrimination in a society, super diseases and new species of human. That is, its consequences may not be predicted, so what is ethically right and where we will draw the line should be thought before genes are modified.

I agree with the speaker in this video because genetic manipulation may be beneficial for curing some diseases, but it may cause socio-economic differences in the society. In addition, there are some unanswered questions about this manipulation. For example, ‘Which traits are good or bad? ‘Should people live longer?’ Firstly, the possibility of being able to cure deadly and lifelong diseases through genetic manipulation can be a hope for people especially parents having a child with the diseases. However, it may cause more dangerous diseases because of unpredictable consequences of genetic experimentation. Secondly, genetic manipulation may be expensive, so only rich people can reach it and just they can choose their children’s traits like intelligent, skilled in any areas. As a result of this, there may be discrimination between genetically modified people and the others in the society.

In conclusion, on one hand, genetic experimentation may provide better lives for people; on the other hand, it may have negative and unpredictable consequences. Therefore, especially its possible consequences must be thought seriously before genetic experimentation is applied.

JOURNAL SET 2 SOME EFFECTS OF ADVERTISEMENT (REVISED VERSION)

In my opinion, advertising is a double-edged sword. People may buy both the products they need and the things they do not need through advertisements, so they are both beneficial and harmful.

          Firstly, one of the most important advantages of advertisements is that they give information about products to us, so we can remember a product we need and we may have an idea about it thanks to them. However, the aims of the advertisers are to sell the product and make a profit, so they may misrepresent their products and present them as if they were ideal or they may introduce only the good aspects of their products.

Secondly,advertising establishes competition among companies. As a result of this competition, more quality and cheaper products are manufactured. Nonetheless, consumers prefer branded goods because of advertisements although there are the others which are cheaper and more quality. The reason of this is that they do not watch the advertisements of the others in televisions or internet.

   Finally, advertisements enable consumer to be more consciousness. Through advertisements, they may choose the best one for them, because they have already known their options for a product and the qualities of the options. However, advertisements affect people especially children negatively. The children under eight years of age cannot evaluate them critically, so they may easily believe the information which is presented in advertisements.

      In conclusion, advertisements have both advantages and disadvantages, so we should be aware of its benefits and harms, and we should watch them consciously.

MY COMMENTS ON MY FRIENDS' JOURNAL AND MULTI-MEDIA ENTRIES

           

I             I have commented on Gülçin's and Dilek's journal entries. The links:

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            >>http://gulcindudukcu.blogspot.com/2012/12/journal-set-1.html#comment-form

            >>http://dilekfazlioglu.blogspot.com/2013/01/journal-set-2-why-do-people-tell-lie.html#comment-form

              I have commented on Nur's and Osman's multi-media entries. The links: 

            >> http://gokdemirsddkanur.blogspot.com/2013/01/journal-set-1_10.html

            >>http://osmangulgun48.blogspot.com/2013/01/set-1-multimedia-entry-this-videois.html#comment-form

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