Blog # 3

A) "Within each broad category (formal, business, informal) there are choices which are considerably different one from another, and the sense is that one may as well try out various possibilities to see what comes of it- as though life where a series of costume balls. Thus one can occasionally mock one's own appearance, for identification is not deep (Goffman, Gender adds 217-23) I find this quote significant especially the italic part because identity is not deep but character is, and in this way advertisements manipulate people into purchasing products by relating to its viewers. Example: "most American women go into ecstasies at the sight and smell of the tables and cabinets that have been lovingly caressed with long lasting satin finish, lemon scented, spray on furniture polish (Komisar 1972: 306-307). Women enjoy having a comfortable setting, elegant shining furniture to make the neighbors green with envy. I call this manipulating through relating.

B) "It only becomes a public matter when we force the public to pay for the consequences of those choices. If policymakers want to fight obesity, they'll halt the creeping socialization of medicine, and move to return individual Americans ownership of their own health and well being back to individual Americans (Baltko pg 159)" this quote if signigficant because it represents the orginal idea of capitalistism, for if the government must intervene even into such matters as what the public should eat then it eliminates personel responsibility and makes the gorvenment into a big nurse who must nurture its patients. "Kids taking on Mcdonald's this week, suing the company for making them fat. Isnt that like middle-aged men suing porsche for making them get speeding tickets? Whatever happend to personal responsibility? (Zinczenko pg 153)". This qoute basically shows as that it is a matter of freewill, there will always be things to tempt man-kind but it is our decision whether we should fall into these temptations.

C) Goffmans and Baltkos analysis holds up well in todays world because not muc has changed except that everything has simply expanded, things have grown past the borders of America and the western world and have spread throughout the world. For example advertisments of McDonalds and other fastfood chains are more common now in eastern Europe which was once seperated from the western world by the wall of communism. Women in adverstisements have grown into major roles, when you see a woman on a billboard advertising some sort of make-up product, she has a regal like sense eminating around her. I believe not much has changed except for the fact that things have become more international.