Web of Connections

Today's society is all about technology and media. We live in an electronic world from our phones, computers, and television. So advertisers have an opportunity to form a basis of our identity and to get us hooked onto their product. They use ethos, pathos, and logos to captivate our attention and connect to who we are. As explained in Making Connections by Anthony J. Green, "we also tend to remember the people and events that resonate emotionally." So in most cases advertisers use pathos to connect with us emotionally so we will remember their product and even want to purchase it too. For example, on t.v. advertisers use celebrities with sad or stories that can relate with many people in order to form a connection and emotionally reside with us. Because of course we seem to be so influenced by the media and how and what the actors are using we will want to use it too! Also in Madison Avenue and Your Brain, Matthew Blakeslee affirms that, "When revved up by a potent emotion-which a good thrumming in the nucleus accumbens will generate-the amygdala stamps the engendering event firmly into memory." Thats why advertisers make it so important to connect to our emotions because we will not forget what they are advertising. Personally I think it's sad they have to go through all that work to connect to our emotions just to buy what they are selling. If it were truly a remarkable product they should not have to go through all that trouble to try and convince us, it should be by the word of mouth.

Mindfulness

I believe some benefits that can be gained from practicing the concept of minfulness in Me, Myself, and I are to be purposeful, attentive, and nonjudgmental. Basically to live in the here and now and accept it as it comes. But our culture discourages the practice of mindfulness because we are so overwhelmed by the media and social networking that we become consumed in it and can not be calm and just be ourselves. Because of this i believe people are so worried with their image and what they drive and how much money that they make that we forget how to be happy with who and what we are in the moment. We are always thinking ahead but never in the now. I know this first hand be cause I over analyze everything I do no matter how insignificant that task I can't stop thinking about the what if's. Honestly I don't really think that our culture encourages mindfulness at all; it is all about the materialistic things in life that seem to be the most important thing not our happiness and being. Like Uwe Herwig researchers studies show that, "By honing our powers of self-reflection, we can actively work to keep our self-image in step with reality." But this day in age it is almost impossible to have a consistent view of ourselves and our image because the discouragement of mindfulness in our media and culture.

What is a "postmodern" world?

According to Anderson a postmodern world is a socially constructed reality. The people of the society can make up, decide, and create their own beliefs. For instance Anderson explains, "As more people suspect that reality can be created, the world becomes a kind of theater in which competing groups offer competing plots, and the people with political aspirations try to get themselves cast in good roles." In which he is talking about the collapse of beliefs and belief itself but new beliefs begin to replace the old. Also, in Miss Brill, the character of Miss Brill realizes that, "they were all on stage. They weren't only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting." Thus expanding the idea from Anderson and even Shakespeare when he had an actor quote, "all the world is a stage." Bringing me to the conclusion that things such as Facebook, blogging, and emailing can allow you to "act" or pretend and create your own identity.