Blog Post N° 4

Posted 15 Sept., 2014 on "http://jour20313.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world/"  by a user "awalk6"

Denotative: Upon first glance, the advertisement plugs the beer brand Dos Equis at the bottom. The straight-forward goal is to have the viewer be familiarized to the brand. The second part that stands out is that the "being boring" is a "choice" implying that by not choosing this brand it is a conscious choice to be boring.

Connotative: In the ad, the deadly sin lust is portrayed. The hedonistic and lascivious behavior depicted is perpetuated by the provocatively dressed women and by the plenty of beer. A woman is on either side of the man. Both of the women are staring lustfully towards the man. Everyone is dressed opulently implying a state of indulgent wealth. The audience is the average, straight male. The fact that women are sexual objects to a wealthy, distant man leads one to believe the ad is playing on the fragile, straight-man ego. The stereotype that straight men have a strong desire to be desired and to feel important is furthered by such words as "most interesting man in the world" and "boring is a choice". This ad relies on the follies of them. It wishes to persuade the viewer into wanting to become interesting and desired like the man shown. If he drinks this beer, then he, too, will be the envy of women and men alike. The dark colors and formal attire bring the audience into a world of sophistication. This also enforces the stereotype of straight males that they constantly desire to be wealthy and of importance. Without these assumptions, the ad fails. The media style used by this ad leads straight males into a feeling of inadequacy is they do not too have women fawning over them while they are driving in their fast, new cars. The implications of advertising like this teach them that in order to be an important man that they must too be wealthy and have women.

Question 2

The central idea of this passage was introducing and defining the characters Mr. Brocklehurst and Jane. Each character is presented differently. The message that the author wishes to give about Mr. Brocklehurst is that he is the one causing the problems. He is evil by being a hypocritical boss. He chastised the girls for wearing nice and flashy clothes, yet it could be argued that he is guilty of the same crime. He then forces religious standards upon the girls that he doesn't follow. Jane, who is new, is made an example of by being punished over a simple offense. The author describes Jane to be against his hypocritical rule.

The passage that exemplifies this is, "A careless girl!" said Mr. Brocklehurst, and immediately after--"It is the new pupil, I perceive." And before I could draw breath, "I must not forget I have a word to say respecting her." Then aloud: how loud it seemed to me! "Let the child who broke her slate come forward!" It depicts Mr. Brocklehurst as a cruel and hateful man by his patronizing word choice. His diction shows that he feels he is superior in that he must be the ultimate authority and what he perceives and knows must be true. This also introduces Jane's rebellious nature by her breaking the slate.