This past weekend was a great one for me. I was able to enjoy the weather. My daughter Eden and I went in the pool on Saturday and then yesterday I went ahead and took care of a wedding photography shoot. The sunset was outrageous, and the broom and bride looked phenomenal. This morning while looking on the news media for something interesting to read I found a link that caught my eye, the link said "Dogs exchange paws in the cutest wedding we have seen this year"(Yahoo!). My first reaction was shocking as I was not able to believe what I was reading. Dogs getting married…really? Is society loosing perspective of what is important and what this means? It might seem cute, but if we stop and analyze this ad from a Semiotics and the Marxist Analysis perspective we will realize that it is all about advertising a new clothing line and a new business trend despite of how it may affect our society. Let's not forget how culture codes can shape a society either for the best or the worst, in this case I would say for the worst. Marriage should be something sacred, no wonder our society is experiencing a decadency in respects to the family and it's values.
“Culture can also be understood as a collection of codes we learn when we grow up in a society that tell us how to think, how to behave, what to eat and when to eat it, and all kinds of other things" (Berger 935). This ad is basically telling us that marriage is nothing but a joke and that making money is more important than family. Advertisers are very creative. However, we as consumers should stop and think how would these hidden codes affect our future descendants as they grow up in a society that feels like this about what is sacred. "Cultures can be thought of as collections of codes that shape our behavior" (Berger 935). If we see this in detail, we can see that what is cute is not the dogs, but rather the dogs clothes being worn by the dogs themselves. What is the message of the ad? It Is a behavioral misleading message with a goal of making money out of something that should be important, like marriage. "Grid-group theory has direct applications to the media. Our media preferences are shaped, in good measure, by two things: a desire for the reinforcement of our basic values and beliefs by watching television programs, going to films, and reading books that support them and, second, a desire to avoid cognitive dissonance by not going to films or watching television shows that challenge our belief systems" (Berger 1692-1695).
Yahoo! News. Yahoo Web. 8 June 2015.
Berger, Arthur A. (Asa)
(2013-10-15). Media Analysis Techniques.
(Kindle
Locations 935+). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.
I have to admit I am a sucker for dogs so my initial thought was 'Oh how cute!' However, i like the fact that you are able to look past the furry faces and small clothing to see what is really at play. It is interesting that in the current battle of marriage equality, that a popular ad would be featured mocking its essential meaning. Good catch!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I am a sucker for dogs so my initial thought was 'Oh how cute!' However, i like the fact that you are able to look past the furry faces and small clothing to see what is really at play. It is interesting that in the current battle of marriage equality, that a popular ad would be featured mocking its essential meaning. Good catch!
ReplyDeleteFIrst of all, your chart is phenomenal! Secondly as soon as I saw this I knew I was going to comment on it because I am a sucker for basically any dog post I see. Other than the cuteness factor this is interesting for the fact that it does not seem to be mocking marriage to me, but promoting it. In a society where homosexual marriage is slowly starting to be embraced it seems to be saying "if we will let these dogs get married, why not two men or two women?".
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