Final Draft

Scotts Valley Unified School District 
 4444 Scotts Valley Drive, Suite 5B
Scotts Valley, California, 95066

 To whom it may concern,
                   My name is Michelle Mayfield, I have attended schools within the Scotts Valley Unified School district from grades K-12 and I am fairly acquainted with the social proceedings. Having seen, and lived through the difficult years of adolescence I have first hand experience and insight into an important matter.  I wish to bring to your attention an issue of national proportion that is affecting the schools within this district. Not only as a whole but most predominately the adolescent females attending your institutions of learning. The matter being negative body image due to the impact of the media which affects all young women, society makes it inescapable for us.

                  Motivation, or desperation no matter what you may call it there is always a driving force pushing us forward towards a goal. Despite the variance of goals amongst people, society itself places a goal for us all. Intertwined into the messages we perceive, embedded into our subconscious this goal we strive for that forever eludes us: perfection. The Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition for perfection is, "being entirely without fault or defect" and "corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept"(merriam-webster.com). The constant goal of perfection whether conscious or subconscious shapes our actions and presentation of ourselves.  Perfection is defined by society in the images it shows to us, and portrayal of such images as 'normal' and beyond that: social acceptable. Exposure to this starts at a young age but does not fully manifest fully until our developmental years. An example of the effect this has not only of the public as a whole but specifically those in adolescence or freshly out of such is body image. This topic is now gaining awareness due to mental and physical disorders directly correlating to one’s exposure to society's standards of body image. Society today has erected unachievable standards for body image through various types of media resulting in negative body image most prevalently in adolescent females resulting in mental and physical disorders. These various types of media psychologically have dire results on the impressionable mind.

           Exposure to this idealistic body image promoted by the media and stemming from society starts at a younger age then most might think and in the most innocent of forms. When you see a young girl playing with her dolls, perhaps a Barbie doll, most think little of it. But to that small child, Barbie is beautiful and perfect. So why wouldn't she want to look like her? Especially if that means looking like Barbie gets you a dream house, hunky husband and pink VW bug. What these little girls do not realize is that no one could ever look like Barbie. Huffington Post released an article addressing the topic back in 2011 stating, "If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5'9" tall, have a 39" bust, an 18" waist, 33" hips and a size 3 shoe" (Huffingtonpost.com). These impossible measurements are what little girls grow up thinking is 'perfect'. This image of perfection becomes imbedded into their impressionable minds and will continue to stay there for many years to come. The image of perfection does not recede as time goes on, but in fact grows more engrained as they grow older and enter a whole new world of societal expectations.

           The influences of media are everywhere, from the commercials you see on TV to the magazine covers you pass at the grocery store; there is no escaping it. Perhaps one of the most prominent sources of this influence is from images shown on television. Professor and PHD holder Marika Tiggemann of Finders University published a study she conducted that was composed of placing 310 adolescent girls ranging from ages 13-17 in front of a TV screen to watch fifteen commercials with actresses that fit the social norm of perfection, or 15 commercials containing none of these idealistic images. Tiggemann found that, "The result for adolescent girls show that viewing thin ideal commercials led to increased body dissatisfaction, and that this effect was partly mediated by the appearance comparison and schema activation processes"(Journal of communications). This study gives evidence to the overwhelming number of adolescent females that suffer from negative body image and or low self-esteem due to the influences of the media. Repetition is a common mode of learning to allow for information to pass from our short-term memory to our long-term memory. By adolescent girls seeing these images of what a 'perfect' woman looks like over and over, everywhere they look, there is such a degree of repetition that it becomes deeply rooted into their minds. Despite this repetition not being a conscious effort the effects are no different. Seeing these images so frequently cements this idea of perfection, translating it into unhealthy expectations towards their own bodies. The unhealthiness of these expectations, and the mental repercussions for not meeting such standards can have detrimental effects on their health.

            Striving for an unrealistic body image often results in health issues due to adolescent females turning to unhealthy means to lose weight once realizing conventional methods wont be enough. These unhealthy methods include Anorexia and Bulimia.  Anorexia, also called Anorexia Nervosa, is described by WebMD, a popular online medical site, as being, "...a potentially life-threatening eating disorder that is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss"(WebMD.com) The other common eating disorder, Bulimia, is described by the same source as being, "an eating disorder that involves bingeing on food followed by purging"(WebMD.com). Both of these eating disorders can be life threatening causing those afflicted to be malnourished which in turn leads to other health problems that include but are not limited to kidney disease, and heart disease. These disorders are directly correlated to negative body image. Adolescent females strive to attain the body that they see constantly in the media. These tall models with legs that appear to go on forever, wasp thin waists and flawless skin appear to them as being society's version of perfection. If that is what society wants, must they look like such to be considered 'pretty'? According to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) in a study done back in 2008, "In the United States, as many as 10 in 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder"(AACAP.org). This number continues to rise as these idealistic women get thinner and thinner. The AACAP states that this is due to 'distortion of body image’ which is caused by societal expectations through the influence of the media.

             With so many dire effects due to the media one might think why has nothing been done to stop this? Though this continues at large there are those who wish to combat this by instead of portraying the perfect woman as thin and gangly, replace her with someone who is physically fit and lives a healthy lifestyle. One such supporter of the fit woman is Shape magazine, which is dedicated to encouraging women to be fit and healthy, and through safe means achieve the body they desire. Cover models for this magazine show obvious amounts one muscle mass. Shape Magazine posted on their website back in 2010 stating, "While I don't believe it's possible to look at someone and tell how healthy they are based off their size, I do believe that glorifying images of underfed bodies is harmful"(Shape.com). Shape Magazine is not the only contributor to the efforts of healthy body images many companies now are incorporating plus size models to show that all sizes are beautiful. Not everyone is in support of a societal image; many high fashion brands see nothing wrong with the sizes of their models and show no inclination to change. Iconic brand name Chanel, and the famous owner of the label Karl Lagerfeld said while in an interview with England's Channel 4 News that, "The models are skinny, but they're not that skinny"(Huffington Post.com) Where there is progress there are also set backs and this is very much so true when it comes to promoting a healthy body image to adolescent females. For such a goal to be achieved there must be unification of the media and this sadly is very unlikely.  Though with forces campaigning for healthy body image there is still hope for a future of self-loving adolescent females. However there is something that can be done about this on a smaller scale that when coupled with other equating efforts can make a difference. This effort is awareness. By raising awareness about this topic, and bringing it to the attention of the media, and furthermore all of society this could initiate the change that could diminish the large amounts of adolescent females dissatisfied with their body's. 

             These unachievable standards for woman's bodies depicted by the media and backed by societal influences are causing an epidemic of adolescent girls with negative body images, which often later develop into mental and or physical disorders. Though efforts are being made by some figures in the media there is still not enough influence at present to give convincing evidence to these girls that a malnourished appearance portrayed in the media isn't the right one. However raising awareness about this issue may be beneficial to speeding the process along. Taking action against unhealthy body images in the media will do more than simply make adolescent girls feel better about themselves it will save lives.

Sincerely,

Michelle

Revised Paper

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Scotts Valley Unified School District 
 4444 Scotts Valley Drive, Suite 5B
Scotts Valley, California, 95066

 To whom it may concern,
                   My name is Michelle Mayfield, I have attended schools within the Scotts Valley Unified School district from grades K-12 and I am fairly acquainted with the social proceedings. Having seen, and lived through the difficult years of adolescence I have first hand experience and insight into an important matter.  I wish to bring to your attention an issue of national proportion that is affecting the schools within this district. Not only as a whole but most predominately the adolescent females attending your institutions of learning.

                  Motivation, or desperation no matter what you may call it there is always a driving force pushing us forward towards a goal. Despite the variance of goals amongst people, society itself places a goal for us all. Intertwined into the messages we perceive, embedded into our subconscious this goal we strive for that forever eludes us: perfection. The Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition for perfection is, "being entirely without fault or defect" and "corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept"(merriam-webster.com). The constant goal of perfection whether conscious or subconscious shapes our actions and presentation of ourselves.  Perfection is defined by society in the images it shows to us, and portrayal of such images as 'normal' and beyond that: social acceptable. Exposure to this starts at a young age but does not fully manifest fully until our developmental years. An example of the effect this has not only of the public as a whole but specifically those in adolescence or freshly out of such is body image. This topic is now gaining awareness due to mental and physical disorders directly correlating to one’s exposure to society's standards of body image. Society today has erected unachievable standards for body image through various types of media resulting in negative body image most prevalently in adolescent females resulting in mental and physical disorders. These various types of media psychologically have dire results on the impressionable mind.

           Exposure to this idealistic body image promoted by the media and stemming from society starts at a younger age then most might think and in the most innocent of forms. When you see a young girl playing with her dolls, perhaps a Barbie doll, most think little of it. But to that small child, Barbie is beautiful and perfect. So why wouldn't she want to look like her? Especially if that means looking like Barbie gets you a dream house, hunky husband and pink VW bug. What these little girls do not realize is that no one could ever look like Barbie. Huffington Post released an article addressing the topic back in 2011 stating, "If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5'9" tall, have a 39" bust, an 18" waist, 33" hips and a size 3 shoe" (Huffingtonpost.com). These impossible measurements are what little girls grow up thinking is 'perfect'. This image of perfection becomes imbedded into their impressionable minds and will continue to stay there for many years to come. The image of perfection does not recede as time goes on, but in fact grows more engrained as they grow older and enter a whole new world of societal expectations.

           The influences of media are everywhere, from the commercials you see on TV to the magazine covers you pass at the grocery store; there is no escaping it. Perhaps one of the most prominent sources of this influence is from images shown on television. Professor and PHD holder Marika Tiggemann of Finders University published a study she conducted that was composed of placing 310 adolescent girls ranging from ages 13-17 in front of a TV screen to watch fifteen commercials with actresses that fit the social norm of perfection, or 15 commercials containing none of these idealistic images. Tiggemann found that, "The result for adolescent girls show that viewing thin ideal commercials led to increased body dissatisfaction, and that this effect was partly mediated by the appearance comparison and schema activation processes"(Journal of communications). This study gives evidence to the overwhelming number of adolescent females that suffer from negative body image and or low self-esteem due to the influences of the media. Repetition is a common mode of learning to allow for information to pass from our short-term memory to our long-term memory. By adolescent girls seeing these images of what a 'perfect' woman looks like over and over, everywhere they look, there is such a degree of repetition that it becomes deeply rooted into their minds. Despite this repetition not being a conscious effort the effects are no different. Seeing these images so frequently cements this idea of perfection, translating it into unhealthy expectations towards their own bodies. The unhealthiness of these expectations, and the mental repercussions for not meeting such standards can have detrimental effects on their health.

            Striving for an unrealistic body image often results in health issues due to adolescent females turning to unhealthy means to lose weight once realizing conventional methods wont be enough. These unhealthy methods include Anorexia and Bulimia.  Anorexia, also called Anorexia Nervosa, is described by WebMD, a popular online medical site, as being, "...a potentially life-threatening eating disorder that is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss"(WebMD.com) The other common eating disorder, Bulimia, is described by the same source as being, "an eating disorder that involves bingeing on food followed by purging"(WebMD.com). Both of these eating disorders can be life threatening causing those afflicted to be malnourished which in turn leads to other health problems that include but are not limited to kidney disease, and heart disease. These disorders are directly correlated to negative body image. Adolescent females strive to attain the body that they see constantly in the media. These tall models with legs that appear to go on forever, wasp thin waists and flawless skin appear to them as being society's version of perfection. If that is what society wants, must they look like such to be considered 'pretty'? According to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) in a study done back in 2008, "In the United States, as many as 10 in 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder"(AACAP.org). This number continues to rise as these idealistic women get thinner and thinner. The AACAP states that this is due to 'distortion of body image’ which is caused by societal expectations through the influence of the media.

             With so many dire effects due to the media one might think why has nothing been done to stop this? Though this continues at large there are those who wish to combat this by instead of portraying the perfect woman as thin and gangly, replace her with someone who is physically fit and lives a healthy lifestyle. One such supporter of the fit woman is Shape magazine, which is dedicated to encouraging women to be fit and healthy, and through safe means achieve the body they desire. Cover models for this magazine show obvious amounts one muscle mass. Shape Magazine posted on their website back in 2010 stating, "While I don't believe it's possible to look at someone and tell how healthy they are based off their size, I do believe that glorifying images of underfed bodies is harmful"(Shape.com). Shape Magazine is not the only contributor to the efforts of healthy body images many companies now are incorporating plus size models to show that all sizes are beautiful. Not everyone is in support of a societal image; many high fashion brands see nothing wrong with the sizes of their models and show no inclination to change. Iconic brand name Chanel, and the famous owner of the label Karl Lagerfeld said while in an interview with England's Channel 4 News that, "The models are skinny, but they're not that skinny"(Huffington Post.com) Where there is progress there are also set backs and this is very much so true when it comes to promoting a healthy body image to adolescent females. For such a goal to be achieved there must be unification of the media and this sadly is very unlikely.  Though with forces campaigning for healthy body image there is still hope for a future of self-loving adolescent females. However there is something that can be done about this on a smaller scale that when coupled with other equating efforts can make a difference. This effort is awareness. By raising awareness about this topic, and bringing it to the attention of the media, and furthermore all of society this could initiate the change that could diminish the large amounts of adolescent females dissatisfied with their body's. 

             These unachievable standards for woman's bodies depicted by the media and backed by societal influences are causing an epidemic of adolescent girls with negative body images, which often later develop into mental and or physical disorders. Though efforts are being made by some figures in the media there is still not enough influence at present to give convincing evidence to these girls that a malnourished appearance portrayed in the media isn't the right one. However raising awareness about this issue may be beneficial to speeding the process along. Taking action against unhealthy body images in the media will do more than simply make adolescent girls feel better about themselves it will save lives.

Sincerely,

Michelle

Final Paper Rough Draft

Scotts Valley Unified School District               
 4444 Scotts Valley Drive, Suite 5B
Scotts Valley, California, 95066

 To whom it may concern,
                   My name is Michelle Mayfield, I have attended schools within the Scotts Valley Unified School district from grades K-12 and am fairly acquainted with the social proceedings. I wish to bring to your attention an issue of national proportion that is affecting the schools within this district. Not only as a whole but most predominately the adolescent females attending your institutions of learning.

                  Motivation, or desperation no matter what you may call it there is always a driving force pushing us forward towards a goal. Despite the variance of goals amongst people, society itself places a goal for us all. Intertwined into the messages we perceive, embedded into our subconscious this goal we strive for that forever eludes us: perfection. The Merriam-Webster dictionary perfection is, " being entirely without fault or defect" and "corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept"(merriam-webster.com). This constant goal whether conscious or subconscious shapes our actions and presentation of our self.  Perfection is defined by society in the images it shows to us, and portrayal of such images as 'normal' and beyond that: social acceptable. Exposure to this starts at a young age but does not fully manifest fully until our developmental years. A crucial, and detrimental example of the effect this has not only of the public as a whole but specifically those in adolescence or freshly out of such is body image. This topic is now gaining awareness due to mental and physical disorders directly correlating to exposure to society's standards of body image. Society today has erected unachievable standards for body image through various types of media resulting in negative body image most prevalently in adolescent females resulting in mental and physical disorders. These various types of media psychologically have dire results on the impressionable mind.

           Exposure to this idealistic body image promoted by the media and stemming from society starts at a younger age them most might think and in the most innocent of forms. When you see a young girl playing with her dolls, perhaps a Barbie doll, most think little of it. But to that small child, Barbie is beautiful and perfect. So why wouldn't she want to look like her? Especially if that means looking like Barbie gets you a dream house, hunky husband and pink VW bug. What these little girls do not realize that no one could ever look like Barbie. Huffington Post released an article addressing the topic back in 2011 stating, "If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5'9" tall, have a 39" bust, an 18" waist, 33" hips and a size 3 shoe" (Huffingtonpost.com). These impossible measurements are what little girls grow up thinking is 'perfect'. This image of perfection becomes imbedded into their impressionable minds and will continue to stay there for many years to come. The image of perfection does not recede as time goes on, but in fact grows more engrained as they grow older and enter a whole new world of societal expectations.

           The influences of media are everywhere, from the commercials you see on TV to the magazine covers you pass at the grocery store; there is no escaping it. One of the perhaps most prominent sources of this influence is from television shows. Professor and PHD holder Marika Tiggemann of Finders University published a study she conducted that was composed of placing 310 adolescent girls ranging from ages 13-17 in front of a TV screen to watch fifteen commercials with actresses that fit the social norm of perfection, or 15 commercials containing none of these idealistic images. Tiggemann found that,"The result for adolescent girls show that viewing thin ideal commercials led to increased body disatisfaction, and that this effect was partly mediated by the appearance comparison and schema activation processes"(Journal of communications). This study gives evidence to the overwhelming number of adolescent females that suffer from negative body image and or low self esteem due to influences by the media. Repetition is a common mode of learning to allow for information to pass from our short term memory to our longer term memory. By adolescent girls seeing these images of what a 'perfect' woman looks like over and over, everywhere they look, there is such a degree of repetition that it becomes deeply rooted into their minds. Despite this repetition not being a conscious effort the effects are no different. Seeing these images so frequently cements this idea of perfection, translating it into unhealthy expectations towards their own bodies. The unhealthiness of these expectations, and the mental repercussions for not meeting such standards can have detrimental effects on their health.

            Striving for an unrealistic body image often results in health issues due to adolescent females turning to unhealthy means to lose weight once realizing conventional methods wont be enough. These unhealthy methods include Anorexia and Bulimia.  Anorexia, also called Anorexia Nervosa, is described by WebMD, a popular online medical site, as being, "...a potentially life-threatening eating disorder that is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss"(WebMD.com) The other common eating disorder, Bulimia, is described by the same source as being, "an eating disorder that involves bingeing on food followed by purging"(WebMD). Both of these eating disorders can be life threatening causing those afflicted to be malnourished which in turn leads to other health problems that include but are not limited to kidney disease, and heart disease. These disorders are directly correlated to negative body image. These adolescent females strive to attain the body that they see constantly in the media. These tall models with legs that appear to go on forever, wasp thin waists and flawless skin appear to them as being society's version of perfection. If that is what society wants, must they look like such to be considered 'pretty'? According to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) in a study done back in 2008, "In the United States, as many as 10 in 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder"(AACAP.org). This number continues to rise as these idealistic women get thinner and thinner. The AACAP states that this is due to 'distortion of body image' which is due to societal expectations through the influence of the media.

             With so many dire effects due to the media one might think why has nothing been done to stop this? Though this continues at large there are those who wish to combat this by instead of portraying the perfect woman as thin and gangly replacing her with someone who is physically fit and lives a healthy lifestyle. One such supporter of the fit woman is Shape magazine, which is dedicated to encouraging women to be fit and healthy, and through safe means achieve the body they desire. Cover models for this magazine show obvious amounts one muscle mass. Shape Magazine posted on their website back in 2010 stating, "While I don't believe it's possible to look at someone and tell how healthy they are based off their size, I do believe that glorifying images of underfed bodies is harmful"(Shape.com). Shape Magazine is not the only contributor to the efforts of healthy body images many companies now are incorporating plus size models to show that all sizes are beautiful. Where there is progress there are also set backs, many high fashion brands see nothing wrong with the sizes of their models and show no inclination to change. Iconic brand name Chanel, and the famous owner of the label Karl Lagerfeld said while in an interview with England's Channel 4 News that, "The models are skinny, but they're not that skinny"(Huffington Post.com) Where there is progress there are also set backs and this is very much so true when it comes to promoting a healthy body image to adolescent females. For such a goal to be achieved there must be unification of the media and this sadly is very unlikely.  Though with forces campaigning for healthy body image there is still hope for a future of self-loving adolescent females. However there is something that can be done about this on a smaller scale that when coupled with other equating efforts can make a difference. This effort is awareness. By raising awareness about this topic, and bringing it to the attention of the media, and furthermore all of society this could initiate the change that could diminish the large amounts of adolescent females dissatisfied with their body's. 

             These unachievable standards for woman's bodies depicted by the media and backed by societal influences are causing an epidemic of adolescent girls with negative body images which often later develop into mental and or physical disorders. Though efforts are being made by some figures in the media there is still not enough influence at present to give convincing evidence to these girls that a malnourished appearance portrayed in the media isn't the right one. However raising awareness about this issue may be beneficial to speeding the process along. Taking action against unhealthy body images in the media will do more than simply make adolescent girls feel better about themselves it will save lives.

Sincerely,

Michelle

        

annotated bib

Dittmar, Helga, and Sarah Howard. "Thin-Ideal Internalization and Social Comparison Tendency      as   Moderators of Media Models' Impact on Women's Body-Focused Anxiety." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 23.6 (2004): 768-91. Web. 7 May 2013.

This scholarly journal goes into depth on how women compare themselves to these extremely thin models they see in the media. By comparing themselves to such an unrealistic body image that society has deemed 'beautiful' to cause 'body anxiety' and or depression. In this journal there was a case study done to show the effects of normal women exposed to different types of body images and there reaction which classified them to either to internalize differences in their body to what the media portrays or to make social comparisons to these thin models shown in the media. The study finds that the negative reactions to the thin models in correlation to their own bodies out weight the positive reaction to the average sized models.

Enayati, Amanda. "Facebook: The Encyclopedia of Beauty?" CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Mar. 2012. Web. 08 May 2013.

This article published by CNN delves into social networking sites, specifically Facebook, and how they cause girls of all ages to constantly compare themselves to others. This causing anxiety, and depression which often in these cases leads to eating disorders. The story is about Amanda Coleman, a college student and head of her sorority, who began to notice alarming unhappiness as well as changes in the girls around her. All of this unhappiness and insecurity would stem from Facebook she told CNN where girls would compare their body's, popularity, etc to other girls on the social networking cite.  This was such an extreme that pro-eating disorder groups began forming to support each other in not eating so that they might be able to attain the body image they desired based on what they saw in others on the site. The article also offers insight into the popularity of eating disorders and how common they have really become. From support groups for eating disorders to those in the spot light such as Miss America opening up about it, this is a cultural problem. Coleman opted to delete her facebook to remove herself from such negativity.

RA#3

          American culture is easy to deem as a globally adopted by countries across the world. This topic was addressed by Todd Gitlin, a published author, in his article "Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co." where he describes the ways in which American culture is influencing and infiltrating into other societies on an international level. Throughout his writing Gitlin is using varying writing techniques to persuade his directed audience of his point.

Gitlin's purpose in writing this was to persuade his intended audience to agree with his claim. In this article he is claiming that American culture has become a global influence to countries everywhere, so much so that in fact there is hardly a place you can go that some form of American culture has not reached. The intended audience is a broad one, ranging from the every day person in America not realizing what an influence their culture has on an international level, to someone who does live in another country but never has given much thought to the foreign imprint on their own culture.

This was written in more of a casual way, though very organized and thoughtful the word choice was simply enough that it would be an easy read of an engaging topic, just what Gitlin needed to hold the reader long enough to persuade them of his point. At the beginning it was more formal with many fact and evidence given to the reader early on to validate the claim, which Gitlin restated many times throughout, but from there became more interesting to the reader with examples that though may not be backed by evidence paint a picture for the reader to help convince them. 

         Gitlin uses general persuasive techniques, those classified by Aristotle, to win over the reader so that they might also agree with his point. Logos is used to give his audience facts so that his argument seems well backed and valid. This was easy to see as he mentioned, "In 1999 in fact, film, television, music, radio, advertising, print publishing and computer software were the top export, almost $80 billion worth"(825). This piece of verifiable evidence backed up Gitlin's claim that American culture is in fact so popular with other countries that the revenue from such is vastly convincing of the international phenomenon of our culture.  Ethos was yet another rhetoric appeal used by Gitlin with his mentioning of American culture affects a begrudging France, "Less well know, and rarely acknowledged by the French, is the fact that terminator 2 sold 5 million tickets in France the month it opened"(825). This is factual evidence that is given context, with this example his point is backed up not only by fact but by giving the reader an example of his claim. Lastly he incorporated pathos to give that emotional appeal to the reader, for these rhetoric appeals are at their strongest when used in conjunction to one another, exemplified by his writing while speaking of a tribe of Tungusians living by the Arctic Sea, "In a community store sits a grandfather with his grandchild on his knee. Grandfather dressed in traditional Tungusian clothing. Grandson has on his head a revered baseball cap."(826). This story may not be factual but appeals to the readers while triggering an emotional response. All these persuasion methods used with a certain juxtaposition making for a convincing argument. 

         A prominent method used to develop Gitlin's claim was his use of exemplification which was used many times throughout. By giving the reader examples of what he claims was happening, instead of overloading them with facts, the reader is able to see on a broader scale of what he really means. In one case he has so many examples he simply lists them for the reader, "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Bob Dylan, Micheal Jackson, Madonna, Clint Eastwood, the multicolored chorus of Coca-Cola, and the next flavor of the month or the universe..."(826). This was the most commonly used method of development throughout the reading. 

       The article "Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse&Co." is such a persuasive piece to read due the Gitlin's constant integration of rhetoric and developmental process in this writing coupled with the restating of this claim throughout. Due to all these properties of his writing the reader is easily convinced of the integration of American culture internationally in the world today.

 

What I Would Change About Society.

           Society everywhere places a set of standards to be upheld by those who wish 'fit in' or conform to the social norm. This holds true for our community as well where a very prevalent, and hard to achieve standard falls upon women: being thin. This standard of being thin set by the media causes girls to have an unhealthy body image which can lead to mental, as well as physical health issues.

          There is a difference from being fit and healthy than being thin, this fine line causes some girls to strive for a weight goal that is unhealthy for their height as well as body type.  We all have a healthy weight range for our age and height; this can be determined by using a BMI or body mass index calculator. However this healthy range is not what girls strive to achieve. What society has deemed beautiful is not a muscular fit body, it is a wasp thin waist, protruding hipbones and pronounced collar bones. This however has not always been the case. Years ago being thicker and robust was a sign of wealth, status and beauty in society. Women sought to gain waist to have curves and a sexy voluptuous body. To be thin at that time was to be under fed and not socially or financially well off. Back then there were advertisements to gain weight for women, unlike today's diet pill and rapid weight loss promotions.

          The social media through advertisements such as commercials of thin, seemingly 'perfect' girls or magazines that have them plastered all over it has become so engrained into daily life it has become what is thought of as 'normal'. No matter where you turn you see headlines of 'weight loss', 'I lost 30 pounds' and the social media bashing those who have put on a few pounds. It is a sickening cycle for women in society there is no happy medium with criticism waiting around every corner from ones peers and even worse: one's self.  These 'perfect' girls all over the media, many of them airbrush and virtually altered to appear as they do, cause normal girls in every day life to have unrealistic, but most of all unhealthy expectations for their own bodies. These expectations lead to girls have negative body images which cause them to feel the need to improve themselves through drastic measures.

           These drastic measures can range from skipping a meal, to not eating at all. At first they might try to approach changing their body to be more like the one socially acceptable by dieting and exercise but many become discouraged by the lack of instant gratification. This discouragement leads them to finding alternate methods of weight loss which is the reason behind the eating disorder epidemic of today. Girls feel the need to starve themselves to look the way society expects them to look like. This can start as early as elementary school for these girls, what happened to a care free childhood? It has been tarnished by the unhealthy expectations of the media. These expectations are literally killing girls everywhere and yet this image is still so coveted.

           This is to me one of the worst elements of society for it affects girls of all ages not only in our own community but in others. This image leads to health issues and in some extreme cases death. It is something that the media needs to address and fix through the promotion of a healthy women who is proud of her body, not a under weight one. There is a fine line between healthy and unhealthy and society needs to realize this not only for the sake of girls today but for the future generation that will look to ours for advice and guidance.

RR#3 Under the Sign of Micky Mouse&Co.

                  Around the world there are many stereotypes pertaining to cultures of countries but no reputation is better known than that of America. Whether considered a famous, or infamous culture the stereotypical lap of luxury, carefree lifestyle of America is known, and an influence across the globe.  Todd Gilton, a published author and faculty member of Columbia University, addressed this world spread influential American stereotype by writing Under the Sign of Micky Mouse & Co. Gilton painted a picture of American culture and what it means to different countries around the world.  Written to a broad audience with the hope of showing others how America has shaped the world we live in today, it is an insightful article.

                American culture affects counties across the globe; from entertainment to trends other countries mirror this culture whether they want to or not. Gilton uses the French as an example who stereotypically do not have the most positive opinions of Americans as a country that despite not wanting to be has been affected by American culture. For example Gilton tells the reader, “Less well known, and rarely acknowledged by the French, is the fact Teriminator 2 sold 5 million tickets in France the month it opened”(825).  France was not forced into showing this film; they did so due to the knowledge they possessed about the popularity of this American film and the revenue that went along with it.

               Yet another prime example given by Gilton to show this influential culture Americans live in was, “...The little Japanese girl who asks the American visitor in all innocence, ‘Is there really a Disneyland in America’”(826). Despite there being a Disneyland in Tokyo she still wonders about the Disneyland in America, the originals that was such happiness and splendor surrounding them in advertisement and reputation. Such places in America have reputations that are known worldwide.

                However influential and well-known Hollywood and American attractions are there are aspects of more simplicity such as brands and fashion trends that also dominate the globe.  American originated brands such as Coca-Cola have spread to nearly every country as well as American trends such as baggy, low riding pants for men and the stereotypical causality of the backwards baseball hat.   

                The message of influence by American culture is not negative, it is stated quite positively that this universal adoption of the American ways give us all something to connect upon and relate to one another. In a sense the knowledge of American culture and adoption of such is a world spread bonding aspect, something we all can relate to. So whether one likes, or dislikes American Culture Gilton shows that it is an unavoidable influence most places in the world.