10th RTF Blog Post: Globalization

       Globalization is the process by which different societies and cultures become integrated through a network of communication and trade. It increases opportunities for communication, exchange of material and symbolic goods, and migration of people across national borders. Through it, we are able to see what is going on around our world with the comfort of staying in one place. 

       A part of globalization discussed in class is the glocalization of media products. It is the act of taking an idea or formula that proved successful in one place and adopting it in another. This is commonly seen in books, television series, films, and even restaurant chains where the changes made are simply in the language or slogans, and everything else remains the same.

       An example would be the American comedy television series, The Office, broadcast by NBC. The show is an adaptation of the BBC series The Office, which depicts the everyday lives of the office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.  Although both shows have generally the same plot and characters, the UK version of the show is vastly different from the US version to relate to viewers in their society.

9th RTF Blog Post: Advertising

       The ad I decided to present was the snickers commercial, starring Betty White. It aired during the 2010 Super Bowl. It starts off on a Long Shot, showing a group of guys playing football on a dark, muddy field. It zooms in to show Betty White, running around, looking rather slow. She gets tackled by a guy and retrieves back to her team. While huddled up, he says "C'mon man you've been riding me all day." the guy replies, "Mike, you're playing like Betty White out there." Basically, we're supposed to assume that that is not Betty, but a random guy (Mike) who is not playing to well. His girlfriend approaches and gives Betty a Snickers bar to apparently refuel or gain energy. It transforms him back into a man. I fell that this commercial is powerful because it exaggerates on the ability of a candy bar.

       I feel that the main potential appeal of this advertising was physiological need. A physiological need is the idea of putting your list of needs in a pyramid and trying to satisfy each one in the order of importance. For example, if you are hungry and thirsty, you will tend to try to take care of the thirst first.  After all, you can do without food for weeks, but you can only do without water for a couple of days. Commercials such as this one try to convince us that their product is a physiological need, meaning that we need it to satisfy ourselves.

       The creators of this commercial exaggerate on the fact that Snickers gives you the strength to continue playing. So to be good in football or any sport, perhaps you might want to try a bar to gain your energy. It is a physiological need because this commercial attempts to make the viewer believe that he needs it to be strong, or to win. The ad ends by saying "You're not you when you're hungry, Snickers satisfies."