Palpitations: 2012

2012년 2월 27일 월요일

Directv and ET

The advertisement that I analyzed was one done by a company called Directv. In this ad, Directv is advertising its satellite TV, with which people can ‘watch it when we want to’. This advertisement sets its main focus on emphasizing the satellite TV’s accessibility to the shows and movies, meaning the ability to see those shows whenever people want to. In order to emphasize its satellite TV’s accessibility, Directv takes a scene from the movie ET and twists it into a delicately different form. Now, in the original movie poster, we can see ET flying in the air, riding a bike. The same thing happens in the advertisement, where ET still rides a bike and flies through the air on it. However, there is a major difference between these two pictures. It is that in the original movie poster, the background is night, yet inside the advertisement, the background is a very sunny day. By cross-pairing well-known ET’s biking scene with a different time set, Directv has shown that with their satellite TV product viewers can see what they want to see whenever they want to see it, and while doing so leaving a big impression upon the viewers.

One thing that I wondered about this company’s advertisement was why it only dealt with movie scenes in which the background is dark. E.T.’s biking scene is in the middle of a night, and we immediately picture a dark night when we think of Batman standing over the Gotham City. So why is it that the creators of these advertisements based their advertisements only on such situations? One possible explanation that came up to my head was that by contrasting dark to bright, the seller could increase the sale of the product by relating the product on the advertisement with light. By having the potential customers unconsciously associate ‘light’ with goodness, the advertisers influence the viewers to subscribe the ‘good’ satellite TV.

Another thing that I would like to point out is the size of the letters. I loved the fact that the advertiser used small and concise letters. I always thought too many letters in an advertisement only result in obstructing the messages of the advertisements from getting through. Besides, advertisements that just verbosely explain what the product is will fail to last in people’s memory. I believe that this advertisement having a smaller letter made a great difference. It gave the viewers a chance to really think about what the advertisement is trying to convey. Then, as we realize with an ‘Aha’ what the picture means, we look for the explanation within the picture. It is then that we see the tiny letters written across the bottom right corner. By having the viewers actually ‘look’ for their advertisement, the advertisers not only leave the memory of the advertisement deeper inside the viewers head, but also have the viewers participate actively in the advertisement, making them a part of the whole process.

Directv and ET

2012년 2월 7일 화요일

Bakunin and Liberty

Today I was told by a teacher that freedom needs to be restricted.

I am sure that he meant something along the lines of 'Don't misbehave or I am going to scold you.', but it reminded of the reading I did during the vacation.

It is a short article written by Bakunin, one titled the 'ethics of the state'. Well, overall it was on the total moral decadence of state itself and how it is something that should be reproached, but the part that today's conversation sparked was the part in which Bakunin explains the wholeness of liberty.

Liberty cannot exist as a part. You can't give person a partial liberty, because in parts, it is not a liberty. Say, that I give a person the liberty to do anything except to eat pizza. Now that is, in some people's view, liberty. I have set restrictions, but that person has the liberty to choose anything else to do. However, thinking conversely, I directed, no ordered, that person to eat something else than pizza.

Now, suppose I extended this restriction on food to every food except pizza. The person with 'partial freedom' to choose what he or she wants has no choice but to choose pizza, regardless of their taste. Does it really make a difference if I set the restriction on every food except pizza and hamburger, giving them the option of choosing between the two? I believe not, as the fundamental action of limiting the choice is taking place already. It does not really matter that the person has the choice of pizza or hamburger because they are living within the walls that I have set for them. It isn't fair that the walls having been set in the first place, not the room within those walls.

Am I an anarchist like Bakunin? Well, frankly, I love the idea of destroying the conventional things and bureaucracies, but I am not entirely for anarchism.

All I want is that the walls be set by the people who will be living inside the walls. Now when you think about the law, you might likely believe that you are a part of it, and that you agree to the reasons behind that law. You might be prone to believing that there is someone smarter, or more knowledgeable than yourself that set those laws for your sake. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

What is illegal?
A simple answer could be that it is something people find to be undesirable so that they have agreed not to do it. But that does not swearing illegal. It does not make lying illegal, except for certain cases. There are all kinds of behaviors that are considered undesirable by society yet not restricted. How can we compare the undesirable things and define what is worse? Can we honestly compare, say, not wearing seatbelt and lying? Which is worse? Why is one considered illegal and the other not?
Simply, the definition of illegal is entirely up for the minority group of the society. Plus, they do not define illegal based on objective basis, as there can be non. Their compare and contrast is entirely subjective, and it shows from the fact that laws in each state vary. How come, if gay-marriage is a commonly undesirable thing, is it that some states ban it yet some states don't? It just shows how there is no objective standard as to something being worse enough to be banned. Take marijuana and tobacco for instance. Numerous medical studies have shown that tobacco is not a single bit better than marijuana, and even more are finding it even worse than marijuana. Yet one is banned and considered as a drug, and the other people can do in public places like it is something cool. What in the world was the objective standard when the lawmakers decided that marijuana was dangerous enough to be banned but even more hazardous tobacco should be allowed?

Even suppose that all mankind agrees upon something to ban. Then comes the question, how are we going to punish someone who does not honor that agreement? This question once again shows the lack of objective standard for an action's badness. Murder trials in Texas is likely to end in death penalties. In Massachusetts, there is no death penalty but 25 to life sentences. Can we really say that killing people in Texas is worthy of being punished by death, whereas doing the same thing in Massachusetts makes it less punishable? It just doesn't make any sense to punish differently for a same indictment.

Law as it is now makes really no sense. It is determined by the wills of only few although it is applied to all. It gives different punishments to same crimes. It just makes no sense.

2012년 1월 24일 화요일

Insomnia

님 생각에 뒤척이진

않았습니다

다만

뒤척이다 보니

어느덧 님 생각만 날 뿐입니다.

참 얄궂습니다

그 환하신 웃음은

달빛보다 밝으시어

오늘 저는 차마 잠에 들 수 없습니다.

새벽 세시

거룩한 침묵을

숨죽인 흐느낌으로 얼룩 지우는 이 짝사랑은

후회보다 깊으며

이 밤보다 어둡습니다.

Dragon-Text

At the start of this year and during the Lunar New Year celebration period, people have been sending these texts known as 용문자, or Dragon-Text in English.

Here goes:

뿔 뿔

뿔

이 마

머 \ / 리

머 ㅁ ㅁ 리

머 ㅡ 리

머리다

용이다용

꼬리다

꼬리

꼬

리

꼬

리 리 꼬

꼬 꼬 리

리 리

꼬

[출처] 용문자|작성자 HKS 세츠나

It is a text that is designed to show an animated dragon moving upward.
People have been sending this text to each other wishing good luck for each other next year. I thought it was quite funny as well until I saw an episode of 감사합니다, a comedy show.

In general, this comedy show makes puns out of the situations in which people feel thankful for their good luck. For instance, there is an episode in which a boyfriend finds a dead fly in expensive meal that he bought on a date with his girlfriend. The boyfriend is secretly very 'thankful' to the dead fly because he was worried about the price of the meal, but no longer has to pay it since a dead fly was found inside it.

The day before Lunar New Year, I was mindlessly watching television when 감사합니다 came on. I was intrigued that the topic was the Dragon-Text. In the show, the comedian thanked the Dragon-Text because he was able to wish many many many friends on his cell phone good luck without really bothering to think what kind of good-luck text to send to each of them. Dragon Text made it easier for people to wish good-luck for others without thinking about relationship with others on personal level.

I was mindlessly watching that show when I began thinking.."Is that really something to be thankful of?"

Putting the show aside, I took out my cellphone and scanned my phone-book. More than hundreds of friends I couldn't really make any real personal comments- I had nothing person-to-person with that person. There were some people in my phone book that I had no idea who it was- how was I going to wish good-luck to them?

Yeah, it seems that Dragon Text really is convenient.
But once again, is it something to be thankful of?

After that little search on my cellphone, I realized that to someone, I could be the unknown guy; the person that somehow disappeared from that person's memory and leaving only the phone number behind.
I looked at my inbox, and looked at all the Dragon Texts that I had received. What if they all didn't really know me? I mean, I cared and knew most of the people who sent me that Dragon Text, but what if to them, I was worth nothing more than a 'Dragon Text'?

That got me a bit offended and somewhat embarrassed- I meant nothing more to them than a Dragon Text.

So somehow, that comedy show combined with my thinking too much ruined my day and
got me a bit upset.

But can you really throw off that feeling? What if that person who sent you that Dragon text doesn't really know you? How could you tell if someone really knows you or not?
How in the worth could you tell how much you are worth to that person?
For all you know, you could perhaps mean nothing more than a single Dragon Text.