500 Days of Summer

500 Days of summer isn't exactly the traditional love story we all have come to know and love. It has the twists and turns of an average relationship, but at the core it is very different. It does however, despite all the jumping back and forth in time and the relatively non-linear story, follow a traditional three-act structure.

1. The dynamic introduced in act one is when Tom meets Summer, he instantly feels attracted to her but hears from his friend and co-worker that she may not be the nicest of girls. He begins to feel frustration and despair as he trys to get her attention, which he finally does. They go steady for awhile but then things begin to go downhill..

2. The rising action is Tom attempting to get Summer back after he hits a low point in their relationship, he emails her, he calls her, he grieves over love lost, he even quits his job; all in an attempt to get the woman he thinks he loves back. In the end he meets her at the park and finds out she married someone else, which leads to the climax of the story.

3. The climax of the story is when Tom goes for his new architecture interview and he meets Autumn. This love story ends at an unusual place for a relationship to be portrayed in a movie, the start of it.

Cultural Object

   Ideological versus Mythology

• The ideology of this product is showing off the golden beauty of a fine piece of jewelry. There isn't necessarily any marketing techniques being employed here, it just shows the piece of jewelry and all of it's elegance up in front, showing the potential customer(s) exactly what they will get if they purchase it.  
• The aspect of mythology comes into play when looking into the deeper meaning of the cross. It is a symbol of spiritualism and Christianity. 

   Denotation

• The denotation of this product is just blatant showing of the beautiful jewelery. There are really no ploys being used it is just up front representation of the prodcut.

   Connotation

• The connotations are highly spiritual and religious, as well as having some economical and social implications. Seeing as the cross is made of solid gold, it is likely that the price of it is quite high.

"Bulletproof Love"

  The video I will be analyzing is "Bulletproof Love" by the pop/punk/rock group Pierce The Veil. This song features an all male band and is a video that tells a tale of a woman and a man. The video is unique for several reasons.

• The usual objectification of women that occurs in most modern videos is absent

• The man in this video seems to be the one who is under control of the woman as opposed to the usual scenario in which the woman is trying to get the attention of the man

• The situation where the saddened, heartsick woman walks in on her husband cheating on her doesn't occur here, instead the opposite occurs.

Towards the end of the video the role of the woman switches gears as she is shown waiting in the bedroom trying to seduce the man, a portrayal of woman that is very typical of pop-culture. Instead of objectifying the woman and falling prey to her seduction like so many other people.

Another interesting thing about this video is the representation of a divorce or a breaking off of  a relationship, and while the song is supposed to be a sad one about the turmoil of a shattered relationship I think in some ways it makes a statement about women's and in some ways men's independence.

This video to me is a prime example the way women should be portrayed in media. While I am not opposed to the idea that "sex sells,' to me, I think it is more important to portray women as figures of power instead of always showing them as "objects" or "toys" to be utilized by the men. 

This video is an example of a diamond in the rough, a needle in a haystack, or in the case of societal norms for the portrayal of women in media, a piece of hay in a needle stack.

An advertisement you can't refuse.

Semiotics gives us an insight into the inner workings of the brain of the advertisers, the audience, and even the advertisement itself.

SIGN: There are two signs in this advertisement, the coke tap, and the pepsi can. The pepsi can is the sign of the fresh taste that is preferable to coke, atleast as represented in this particular advertisement.

SIGNIFIER: The signifier in this advertisement is the little girl. She starts off innocent and simply asks for a Pepsi. Upon receiving the wrong beverage she quickly changes and adopts the voice of an Italian mobster. The point of this is to really drive home the fact that Pepsi is supposedly better than coke, and if you don't agree you have to deal with the "Godfather."

SIGNIFIED:  The signified is the concept that is reinforced/represented by the signifier, in this case, Pepsi cola is better than coke, appealing to all ages and walks of life.