Advertising

“Advertising is everywhere you look, whether it is in the newspaper you pick up daily or on that billboard you see while driving down the highway. Some people may say that they are not in fact influenced by the advertising that is thrown at them each day, and that they do not fall into it, but everyone does.”

So, according to the text above, advertising is everywhere and everyone is influenced by ads. This is true: everywhere you go, in every country, in every city, there are ads which, for most people, seem invisible. We are used to ads and after some time they do not call our attention anymore, but sometimes, or always I would say, we are subliminally influenced by them. Reading a newspaper, watching TV, listening to the radio, browsing the internet, walking on the street, everywhere you see ads and even if you do not pay attention to them, you are being influenced as some parts of you brain activate while you are unaware.

So, what is the real function of ads? Just stay there and make the landscape look better (or worse, depends on how you see it) or provoke a response in the reader. I would say that the function is to provoke a response and for that objective there are certain techniques which I'll mention briefly describe:

Emotional Appeal

This technique of advertising is done with help of two factors - needs of consumers and fear factor.

Promotional Advertising

This technique involves giving away samples of the product for free to the consumers. The items are offered in the trade fairs, promotional events, and ad campaigns in order to gain the attention of the customers.

Bandwagon Advertising

We can now say that this image is completely false.

This type of technique involves convincing the customers to join the group of people who have bought this product and be on the winning side

Facts and Statistics

Here, advertisers use numbers, proofs, and real examples to show how good their product works. 

There are many other techniques, but in general, all of them help ads to provoke a response in the reader. So now we can say that everyone is influenced by ads, whether they want or not as there are always subliminal messages that make us react unconsciously towards something. 

Iphone Mini Ad

Commercial Analysis

I found a Gatorade advertisement which, in my opinion, seems very interesting as it shows the evolution of the beverage from the beginning in the 1960`s to the present day. It all started in the 1960’s, era in which players were struggling and needed something to calm their thirst. This is why a scientist creates a beverage called “Gatorade” to help them. The commercial then continues showing different sports and players winning or doing amazing movements and drinking Gatorade.

The ad encourages sportsmen or people in general who like to train different sports to buy Gatorade as it going to help them get better and “continue the legend”.

The ad is set in different places and years, from a 1960’s super bowl final to a 1990’s basketball court or contemporary tennis court and baseball stadium. In the ad, lots of people appear according to the setting: football players for the super bowl, basketball players for the basketball court and a tennis player for the tennis court. There is no celebrity endorsement.

Some of the visual techniques used are the long shot, which is very effective to show a whole stadium or a complete football team and the close up, which is used to show specific faces when drinking Gatorade and how they feel about it.

The Enforcement Policy Statement on Food Advertising of the United States is fully respected as the beverage clearly shows its nutrient content as stated in the policy.

The King Without A Kingdom

Once upon a time there was a king without a kingdom. He traveled to far lands and across the seas, but he couldn't find a kingdom. In one of his adventures, he met a gorgeous queen, and he inmediately fell in love. Unfortunately, the queen didn't seem to like him, so the king decided to prove her he was a brave man.
The kings went to England nad asked Merlin how could he prove his manhood. Merlin told him to go to the woods and kill a Blue Dragon, take his eye and present it to the Gods of the Olympus. After doing this, the Gods will intervene and the Queen will love him.
The king rushed to the woods. He found a firendly elf who told him that Blue Dragons came out from their vaces at night, and that he could find them at the fairy pit. The elf rapidly disappeared and the king started searchng for the fairy pit. He walked through the trees following a path of glowing blue flowers. After some time, the flower's path disappeared. The king felt lost, but he inmediately climbed up a tree. From the top, he could see the magnifisent fairy pit at some distance. The pit was a big circle made of colourful glowing flowers, with a huge round rock in the middle. the king waited in the tree to be safe of the coming dragons. as the night fell, he saw how a tremendous and scary dragon entered the pit. it was a blue dragon. at that momenmt, a group of fairies approached him and picked him up. the king was taken to the fairy pit.
the brave king took his great sword and prepared for the battle. the dragon attacked him with his fire breath, but the king managed to avoid it and ran towards the dragon. The king jumped andstabbed the dragon in the neck. The dragon screamed for hisdeath and the king proceded to take its eye. Once he did this, the kingwalked to the middle of the pit and got on his knees. raising the eye towards the sky. The night was interrupted by thunders and the king knew the Gods had accepted his offerings.
The king went out of the wood and to the queen's castle. He entered and she was waiting for him. They decided to marry and have a happy life together. Finally, the king had a kingdom.

Fatelessness Book Trailer

Written Task

Differentness is a matter of perspective

By Imre Kertész

Many times people feel excluded, different and do not really know what they are doing in a certain situation. Sometimes people just feel left apart and do not really know why. So, why do people feel like this? Does everyone else feel the same? No, feeling different is a matter of perspective, it only depends on your own interpretation of the facts.

This is a very important aspect of our lives worth analyzing. Everyone is different. Everything is different. There are not two people or two things that are completely the same; they differentiate in at least one aspect. However, if everyone is different, why do people sometimes feel different and feel bad about it? What is the real essence of being different?

First, I would like to explain what “different” means to me. As I said before, everyone is different but not completely different, we are all humans, live in the same world and most of the time we speak the same language as the people near us. We are still different if we see it from this perspective. On the other hand, we are all the same(or very similar, it depends on how you look at it), think fairly similar due to the way we are educated, we do almost the same things people in the past did, and live pretty much       with the same needs.

Because of the example above, we can say that it depends on the perspective you look at things how you interpret them. In addition, by being different we can say it is good or bad. It is good if we want to highlight from the rest. People through history that have thought being different is good, have made the changes that have marked our society. Nonetheless, when we are kids, and sometimes as adults, we think that being different is bad and we try to follow the crowd just so that we do not get excluded.

If we look at our past and search for different points of view about people being different, we can find many examples about people that have invented things or have changed things, and one of the most important examples is the Second World War. During this period in history, Jewish people felt different. Up to then, Jewish people had been living in the world like any other person from any other religion. When the Second World War began, these Jewish people started being persecuted and oppressed by others. They started to feel different because they were different for the Nazi people, but remained the same for almost everyone else.

Let’s take an example from my book “Fatelessness”. Annemarie’s sister starts feeling different because “people’s attitudes toward her have altered, and she can see from their looks that they hate her.” (p.35). At this point in the story, the yellow star is affecting her in a special way, but every Jew is wearing the star and do not really feel excluded as Annemarie’s sister feels. She feels psychologically oppressed and started feeling that being Jewish had started singling her out from that group of people. She thinks she belongs to another category. In the same context, we find Georg Coves who tries to convince Annemarie’s sister that it is not her fault to wear the yellow star and she is only being stereotyped because of the star. With this example, we find two points of view towards “being different” or “differentness”. Georg tries to explain the meaning and the essence of “differentness” so that Annemarie’s sister does not feel different in a bad way. He tries to make her think that in this case, and in many others, being different is something good. Sometimes you feel pride but other times you feel more a shame because of being “different”. 

Georg uses an example of a beggar and a prince, taken from a book he had recently read. In this story, there is a beggar and a prince who look exactly the same, and at the end of the story, the beggar turned into a prince and the prince became a beggar. With this example, we understand that “differentness” is a matter of perspective because, as Georg explains, the beggar had perceived the differentness whereas the prince had not until they swap places. Both look exactly the same and when they change places they see differentness from another perspective. The difference is the same as before but it depends on their point of view how they interpret it.

That is why I wanted to share this opinion about differentness to you. It all depends on your perspective, no matter what everyone else thinks, if you think it is good, it is good for you and no one can take that opinion from you and make you think different. Some people think being different is good, others thinks it is bad. Always remember all that matters is your perspective and if you want to follow the crowd or not is your decision. Everyone is different and if you want to make that differentiation more obvious and think it is good, then do it because that is what our society needs. Remember, “differentness is a matter of perspective”.

Rationale

I decided to write a column for the book “Fatelessness” because with these kinds of texts I can write my own opinion and be creative at the same time. The column was supposedly written by Imre Kertész, the author of Fatelessness, to explain, in my opinion, a very important part of the book: “differentness is a matter of perspective”.

The word choice is crucial in my text. As it is a column, I must only use simple words so that everyone can understand the message. I intentionally repeated some points and counter argued some other points so that the reader gets totally convinced with my message.

In the column, I first explain from a personal perspective what differentness is and how it affects people. I then write some examples for the reader to understand my point in a better way. One of these examples is the exact same part of the discussion between Georg Coves and Annemarie’s sister about differentness. In the context of the book, and the setting of the story, people in general are greatly affected by differentness and in this case, Annemarie’s sister feels discriminated for being Jewish. The problem no only affects characters in the story but also people who actually lived during this period of the Holocaust in Europe. People felt discriminated, just like Annemarie’s sister felt, but it only depends on the perspective you look at things: Georg coves did not feel discriminated or left apart although he lived in almost the same situation as Annemarie’s sister and both belong to the Jewish community.

Image Analysis

In this image, there is a group of people and an imposing figure of what might e Hitler. The rest of them is just standing there. there are some guns near them. The image represents power.
By looking at this image, I can infer that guns were used to kill people as the is a red mark that seems to be blood. It is also possible to infer that the imposing figure is a very important and powerful person because of the cape, and that many people followed the leader.
When admiring this image, you think and ask yourself why did this group of people did what they did and if it was useful or not.
The mood of the image is sadness, because of the guns and innocent people that died in this period of our history.

Fatelessness: Chapter 3

The third chapter of Fatelessness is about Georg being taken to what seems to be a concentration camp along with some other Jews.For this chapter I'll analyze some important quotes that state the main ideas of the chapter.
1. At the beginning of the chapter, Georg tells us that he had an "odd experience" that day and all began when Jewish people had to get off the bus in which Georg was going:
"I heard from outside snatches of a voice issuing orders, which the conductor and several passengers relayed on down to me, to the effect that any Jewish passenger who happened to be on the bus should get off"
In this quote, the policeman tells every Jew to get off the bus and after everyone was down the bus continued its way. By knowing the context of the book, we might think they are being taken to a concentration camp. This might be the beginning of the real story the author wants to tell us, but no one, not even Georg, notices what is really going to happen.
2. "I also heard him repeatedly trying the telephone, and every no and then he would even announce the outcome: 'still nothing', but with an almost plainly visible expression of dissatisfaction on his face."
Now Georg tells us that no one knew what was happening and even the policeman was uncertain. Sometimes, the policeman, when asked why they were just waiting, answered they were waiting orders from above.
3."They led us on into a maze of gray buildings, before we suddenly debouched onto a huge open space strewn with a white gravel - some sort of barracks parade ground, as I saw it." With this information, we finally confirm our initial assumption about what was going on: Georg and some other Jewish people were being taken to a concentration camp.  The reader might also deduce that it is a new place for Georg. He has never been there before. This makes us think and doubt on what the story is leading us to and the uncertainty continues.

Fatelessness Chapter 2

Title of selection: Fatelessness, Chapter 2

Author: Imre Kertész

Genre: Autobiographical Novel

Setting: Budapest 1940s, in Georg's neighbourhood

Historical context: WWII. Persecution of Jews. Air raids in Hungary. Antisemitism.

The author wrote this piece to: (author’s purpose): 
Give account of the first days of Georg's new life without his father living with them. There are lots of historical references regarding the way Jewish people were forced to live

The main idea of this piece is: 
Show Georg's transition from being a boy to a working young man

The message (or theme) of this selection which the author would like us to “take away” is: 
The author would like us to take the idea that "differentnesss" is a matter of perspective and feeling different should not bring us down.

Characters: (Major)
Protagonist(s): Georg Koves

Antagonist(s): As a symbolic antagonist, we could say it's the Nazi Regime.

Static characters: older Steiner daughter, because she doesn't understand nor changes her way of thinking. Mr. Sütô also would be a good example, as he maintains his promise of providing money and food to the family, no matter what. Georg's mom as she didn't change her point of view about going out alone.

Dynamic characters: Both Annemarie and Georg can me considered as dynamic characters as both have changes throughout this chapter.

Did the author use any special literary devices in this selection such as: personification, metaphor, simile, foreshadowing, suspense, flashback, imagery, irony, humor, poetic sound devices such as rhyme, etc... List and give specific examples:
There is an example of an allusion: the story of a prince and a beggar that looked very similar, and once they changed their places and nobody noticed, being transformed finally into the other one. Georg tells this when they are discussing about being Jewish and all the, apparently, disadvantages it has. He tries to explain that life is almost just luck. "She had somehow been swapped or got mixed up with a child from another family(...) it would now be the other girl who would perceive the difference and of course wear the yellow star" (Page 37). In the quote, we can appreciate clearly that he's putting the Steiner's older daughter into an hypotetical case, so with this, he can demonstrate that the superficiality of people is such, that they wouldn't care as they do now, if she was Jewish (by blood), but has been swapped and raised by a, lets say, Aryan family.

What was the author’s “tone” toward the subject/person/idea he wrote about? 
The author's tone is a Matter of fact and Straight forward.

What “point of view” was this piece told from? List word clues that indicate this. 
As the whole text, from Georg's perspective. It's a quite unusual boy that doesn't appear to be able to feel. He describes what he is passing through with a peculiar tone that makes this novel unique. There's no need to quote, as the entire book is in first person, and the narrator is the same as the protagonist (Georg).

List the conflicts in this selection (internal and/or external):
As for external conflict we have Georg v/s his mother about belonging and attachment, Georg v/s Annemarie's older sister about "differentness" and a major external conflict between the whole Jewish community and the Nazi Party/Aryan race.

The internal conflict that may be found in this chapter is the dilemma that Georg has after speaking with his mother. He doesn't really know what to do, but as a good teenager, he'll probably go on what he wants and reject what his mother is telling him.

The Mackay School: School Week

Last week it was the School's week. 155 years of tradition have already passed and we celebrated with a variety of activities.

On Monday we had the General Knowledge Inter house Competition where Mr. Barriga and I participated for the Mackay house. We had to answer several questions regarding many different subjects and, in my opinion, we did well overall. We had about 11 right answers out of 13, although I'm completely sure here was an answer that was not correct but we all had it wrong so it didn't affect our final position. After all these tense 2 hours, the final score was Mackay in first place, followed by Somerscales, third place for Sutherland and in last place Robertson.

On Tuesday it was the Sports Day, in which we had to participate in many competitions like long jump, 100m and more.

Wednesday was the 12's grade day and many activities were arranged but the most important and entertaining was the match "Cuartos v/s Restos" (12 grade v/s any other grade) in which, unfortunately, 12 grade won 30-18.

On Friday we celebrated the Teacher's Day and the most exciting activity was the match between teachers and students in which the teachers won.