My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

(Yes, I know it recommends a song by Kanye West in the handbook but I have been making this comparison since before then.)

"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is a hip-hop album by Kanye West that was released in 2010 to high sales and critical acclaim. It is a concept album following a character played by Kanye: a rich, cocky socialite  on the surface who is privately an empty shell. The comparisons with Gatsby are immediately obvious, as Jay Gatsby is a similar character: he surrounds himself with shallow people, holds or attends frequent parties, uses money extravagantly and yet does not quite fit into his surroundings.

There are differences between the characters, most notably in personality. Gatsby, while not exactly humble, is not nearly as brash and smug as Kanye, who revels in his success and his enemies ("Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it/ I guess every superhero need his theme music", he muses at one point). However, the most crucial differences are that Kanye's character eventually becomes disillusioned and decides to leave the upper class world in which he lives (as opposed to Gatsby, who is killed) and, of course, the difference in skin colour. Tom Buchanan, part of Gatsby' social circle, spouts racism and refers to himself as a civilized "Nordic". Indeed, there is not a single black member of this circle. Kanye's own social circle, meanwhile, is the opposite - all the characters he interacts with (portrayed by other rappers) are black, and he makes references to racial issues. "In this white man world, we the ones chosen!" he says at one point, and the impression given is a similar one to Tom Buchanan's racial musings: that they have not paid the issue much thought, despite it evidently being important to them. This is the most obvious manifestation of an impression we frequently get of the characters in both texts, thus portraying the rich elite as shallow. It also makes MBDTF an interesting update of The Great Gatsby, as black Americans are not in anywhere near the same situation as they were when it was released; now many are rich themselves. The culture now may be different, but the album is nevertheless speaking about the same cultural issues as the book, thus making it an almost direct modern equivalent.

Gossip Girl: A Contemporary Gatsby

Gossip Girl is an American television drama series that ran from 2007-2012. It is aired on the television channel called the CW, which shows a lot of other teen drama television series. The series is a great representation of a contemporary Gatsby and gives a critique of American life. She show is about a group of high school teenagers from rich upperclass families who live in New York City. It is rich with scandals, parties, love and lies. Just like The Great Gatsby. The characters host high class parties one would typically expect from rich people in New York City to show off their wealth and status. There are also drug scandals, money scandals, and affairs in the show too. You can see from the short video there were at least two affairs with the teens and that there is some sort of drama between the parents of the teens. 

This can be a modern day Gatsby novel, tv series for a couple different reasons. One is the extravagant parties. There are many parties throughout the series from big all out parties, kind of like what Gatsby throws, to small intimate get togethers like the one Tom and Myrtle throw. And to add to it there is a lot of drama at these parties just like the parties in The Great Gatsby. Another reason is the love aspect. In the series there are many people who date and who then cheat on the person they are seeing. For example Dan and Serena are dating and she cheats on him and Blair and Nate are dating but Nate cheats on Blair. In Gatsby there are also love affairs such as Tom and Myrtle and Daisy and Gatsby. Another similar aspect is Dan's character and Gatsby's. They both came from poor families and had to work to get where they are and they also lie about different thinks like where they come from. 

It also critiques America because it shows drama and scandals of the upperclass and rich people who are at the top. It shows that even at the top people can fall since that is what happens to some of the characters and it's very likely to happen real rich people if they lie and cheat their way to the top and get caught. It's also just a general critique about how rich people in NYC act. 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 live-action advert

(link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuzaxlddWbk)

This is a promotional advert for the first-person military shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Naturally, as an advert for a military game it can be expected to include gun battles and explosions but this trailer glamorizes them. Death is portrayed in a humorous light (referencing the ability to "respawn" in these games) while the gunfights are heavily stylised, made to look very unrealistic and placing emphasis on how "cool" the action looks. Throughout it all there is distinctly American, very overtly masculine hard rock playing in the background. The progression of the "noob" (slang term for new, unskilled player) to a veteran is celebrated and with the words "there is a soldier in all of us" at the end it is implied that becoming a good fighter is something to aspire to. In a country founded out of a war, where most of the national heroes are military generals, this idolisation of military prowess is expected but also important. It is also worth noting that not one female is present in the trailer, reinforcing the traditional view of war as a man's job even in the context of a video game.

It could be argued that the lightness with which violence and death is treated is down to the advert being for a video game, where death means little and violence is commonplace. I would offer two counterpoints: firstly, the advert is live-action, thus separating itself from the unreality of video game CGI. Secondly, this is not the common attitude among modern war shooters, which often try to be more realistic in their depictions of war. For comparison, here is the promotional trailer for Battlefield 4: China Rising, a similar game:

(link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7oamJtBpdU)

The music in this trailer is very different, being understated electronic music with a mournful and menacing air. The bloodiness and danger of violence is also emphasised, in opposition to the Call of Duty trailer. War here is portrayed as a horror, if an exciting one in which the player takes part. The Call of Duty advert is thus unusual and yet distinctly American in the way it depicts the violence inherent to the game.

"So American you can taste it".

Ball Park Beef Patty

"Since 1957, Ball Park® has been focused on making hot dogs that are meaty, juicy and bold. Now we’ve gone a step further with our Flame Grilled Beef Patties, Angus Brats and Angus Beef Hot Links. We don’t claim to understand guys any better than you do, but we do know what they like to eat. So when he’s just being himself, good luck. But when he’s hungry, think Ball Park®.

The Ball Park® brand was launched in 1957 in response to a request from the owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. The Ball Park® Frank quickly became such a success, it was expanded nationally. Ball Park® is now a national premium brand of hot dogs with a reputation for great taste and quality. Today, you can find Ball Park® franks in supermarkets, convenience stores and Detroit’s Comerica Park.

Ball Park has always focused on quality and delivering bold juicy flavor. That's why we DO NOT use Finely Textured Beef Trimmings or what has been characterized in the media as "pink slime" in our products." - Found on their about page at http://ballparkbrand.com/#!/about/brand-history

This commercial is for basically a microwaveable beef burger. The use of characters helps sell the product. For example the use of Abraham Lincoln causes the audience to think that if it's good enough for a previous president then it's good enough for them. This also helps encourage the idea that the product is all American. Other elements that also encourage it is the other characters used like the stereotypical cheerleader, football players, salesman and other historical figures. 

The slogan "So American you can taste it" suggests that the burger literally tastes like America and all of it's promises, such as freedom, democracy and success. The overall commercial suggests that a product being American is what makes it sell in America, not the product or the company. That the notion of being patriotic is more important then real advertising. This form of advertising has an overall sense of falseness when not from America, so this product would not sell as much in other countries.

"Whole Again" Jeep Super Bowl Commercial

The commercial above is Super Bowl official commercial endorsed by Jeep. Jeep is a brand of American automobiles that was founded in 1941by Mark A. Smith. The Super Bowl initially began in 1967 and is the annual championship game of the National Football League, which is the highest level of professional American football in the United States.

Jeep's Super Bowl commercial consists of American solider returning home. The advert evokes hope through its shots of children waiting for their fathers, depression through its shots of crying wives and mothers, to joy through its shots of troops finally returning home. The advertisement also consists of a powerful voiceover by Oprah Winfrey in order to showcase Jeeps partnership with the U.S.O.

The advert, "Whole Again", is known for eliciting a range of emotions due to its content which promotes American patriotism and values. The commercial is able to exude American values, specifically patriotism, so effectively through its use of the American Army, the American Jeeps, the familiar 'Anytown' residential streets, the patriotic-themed background music, and through the commercials narrative; the advert opens with the following message across a blank, dark screen: "We wait. We hope. We pray. Until you're home again"- Oprah, and finishes with the underlying theme of the advertisement: "The best of what we're made of." Thus the most distinguishable American value throughout the commercial is America's patriotism.

Oreo Cookies Advert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YJ-GghSqHA

The Global American brand i chose to talk about is Oreo Cookies. Oreo as a brand was first developed and produced by the national biscuit company (Nabisco) in 1912 in New York City. Throughout the years it has been named various names such as 'the Oreo sandwich' in 1921, 'Oreo creme sandwich' in 1948 and finally the 'Oreo chocolate sandwich cookie' in 1978, which remains its name today. Within the 21st century there have been a few changes to the original Oreo cookie. For example in 2011 the company released a special edition cookie filled with blue cream in promotion of the animated film Rio. Another special edition cookie advert was released in 2102 to commemorate Gay Pride Month, which consisted of a rainbow coloured cream filling. The Gay Pride ad was followed during 2012 by a series of ads commemorating other holidays and events, including a red, white and blue cream Oreo for Bastille Day, a stream of cookie crumbs for the appearance of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower, and a cookie with a jagged bite taken out of it for Shark Week.

Oreo cookies are distributed worldwide through a variety of means. They were first sold in the UK in 2008 in Sainsbury's store's and then later distributed to the rest of the country. They were repackaged and a £4.5 million television advert was made for the UK audience around the "twist, lick and dunk" catchphrase. Kraft also recently partnered with McDonalds and KFC to produce the Mcflurry and ice creams made with Oreo cookies.

For my example of an advert i have chosen two different ones. The first is a television advert from June 2013, advertised in America and the rest of the world. The advert has a theme song that was written by the Band Owl City specially for the advert.  This advert is primarily based at the American target audience as it was first produced in America. The advert has strong positive comments from the audience. The advert is more 'American' in its nature as it has a more positive energy than many English Adverts. For example the UK advert for Oreo cookies is centred around a young child not wanting to share the cookie yet the American one has a positive energy and the message of sharing is a common theme throughout.

The second advert i have chosen is a screen shot of a tweet, which was put onto the social networking site Twitter in February 2013. Oreo Cookie tweeted an advert with the slogan 'You Can Still Dunk in the Dark' when the lights at the Superdome went out for nearly a half hour during the third quarter of the Superbowl game this year. The company acted quickly to the problem and the tweet was retweeted over 12,000 times and favourited over 4,000. This shows Oreo's dominance in the American culture and in particular on social networking sites. This also shows that when the television isn't available people can turn to the internet and social networking sites and advertisements for consumer goods will still be shown and seen by the public, ensuring its dominance .

Victoria's Secret Advert

This is a commercial for Victoria’s Secret, which is a very popular company in the United States of America. The company was founded in 1977 by Roy Raymond. The company is best known for selling its bras and underwear. It also sells makeup, perfume, and even clothing. They have a separate line of clothing from the company called PINK!, which is also very popular. Victoria’s Secret, PINK! Makes billions of dollars a year and has many stores around the country. It has even expanded to other countries, but there are not as many stores as in the USA. For example in my shopping mall back home we have two right across from each other. One is Victoria’s Secret and the other is PINK!. The company is a good example of America because capitalised and expanded which is what one thinks of with American companies.

The commercial is for the miraculous push up bra Victoria’s Secret came out with. It has women modelling the bra in different sexy poses. I thought this showed American culture because of how sexual it is. I’ve asked some English friends and they’ve told me they would never see an advertisement like this one their televisions. I see many like this back home. In America we make many things very sexual. We’re hypocrites in a way because we sexualise many things but we also make sex out to be bad because our society is so rooted in its Christian roots.

American women will be persuaded to buy this because they will feel sexy. They see the models wearing the products and doing sexy poses and unconsciously women think they will look and feel sexy like the model if they buy the product. Men will want their girlfriends to buy this because they will think they will look sexy like the model. Many of our advertisements do this to convince people to buy their products including advertisement for makeup and shampoo.

A lot of American advertisements sell sex in one way or another, but they disguise it by not coming right out and saying it. Mostly it's women who are sexualised, but occasionally men are as well.