Weekly Written Analysis 5

Popular Culture
HUMN 341 – E1WW
Elisabeth Nixon, Ph.D. Candidate
Assignment 5-1
Weekly Written Analysis - 5
Jamie Hinson

One major current popular culture topic is nutrition and dieting. There are so many advertisements in today’s world offering different ways of dieting and eating healthier. All of the fast food restaurants, such as Wendy’s, McDonald’s, and Subway, offer different options on the menu that are more nutritious than ever. They offer a variety of salads, fruit, vegetables, and all white meat chicken; which is much healthier than a big fat juicy cheeseburger. There are even advertisements on television for different weight-loss and nutrition programs; such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem. Also, there are numerous amounts of diet pills available as well.
People today are constantly counting carbohydrates and calories. However, “there are several kinds of diets:
Weight-loss diets restrict the intake of specific foods, or food in general, to reduce body weight. What works to reduce body weight for one person will not necessarily work for another, due to metabolic differences and lifestyle factors. Also, for a variety of reasons, most people find it difficult to maintain significant weight loss over time — among individuals that have lost 10% or more of body weight, only 20% are able to maintain that weight loss for a full year.
Many professional athletes impose weight-gain diets on themselves. American football
players may try to "bulk up" through weight-gain diets in order to gain an advantage on the field with a higher mass.
Individuals who are underweight, such as those recovering from anorexia nervosa or starvation, may adopt weight-gain diets which, unlike those of athletes, have the goal of restoring normal levels of body fat, muscle, and stores of essential nutrients”, (Wikipedia.com, 2008).
Society has led people to believe that everyone should look a supermodel. There are so many people in this world who were not built like a supermodel and who try anything and everything to try and look like a supermodel. Even celebrities try all of these different types of nutrition tips and dieting plans to try and look a specific way. For this reason, nutrition programs and diet plans are very popular in today’s world.

Reference
Wikipedia.com. (2008). Dieting: From Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on June 16, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieting.

Weekly Written Analysis - 4

Popular Culture
HUMN 341 – E1WW
Professor Elisabeth Nixon
Assignment 4-1
Weekly Written Analysis - 4
Jamie Hinson
June 9, 2008

A very popular social networking web site called, Facebook, was created by Brian Zuzkerburg in 2004. Brian was a student at Harvard when he created Facebook and has since dropped out of school to run the company full time. Facebook was first meant to be for college students only, but now there are tons of high school students and adults who have joined and created their own page.
One great thing about Facebook is that it is a great way to keep in touch with old friends that have moved far away to go to college or who got married right out of high school. There are even a lot of military who have a Facebook page for that reason as well. It is also a great way to communicate with other people and see an update on their lives. Facebook users can upload pictures and videos of what is going on in their lives to keep their friends up to date.
There can also be some negative effects of Facebook. Today, there are more and more stalkers on there who can be very creepy at times. It is possible, however, to block those accounts from your Facebook page. Another issue is that people are creating fake pages and using picture and information from other people and acting like someone that they are not. This is one reason why online dating can be dangerous.
I believe that it is okay to have a Facebook page for the right reasons. However, it is not a good idea to put a home address, work address, telephone number, or any other traceable information in a personal Facebook page because there are a lot of creeps in today’s world who will take advantage of that information and it could possibly be dangerous.


Reference
Facebook.com. (2007). Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you. Retrieved on June 9, 2008, from http://www.facebook.com/.
Youtube.com. (2006). Facebook Interview. Retrieved on June 9, 2008, from http://www.youtube.com/.

Weekly Written Analysis - 3

Popular Culture
HUMN 341 – E1WW
Elisabeth Nixon, Ph.D. Candidate
Assignment 3-1
Weekly Written Analysis - 3
Jamie Hinson


Yachting is a great example of popular culture that I am very passionate about. Millions of people around the world share this same passion. Boating is something that has been a part of my life, as well as many other people’s lives, since the day I was born. My ultimate dream is to be a Naval Architect, or Yacht Designer.
There are so many different types of yachts out there today. Some people believe that their 30-foot pontoon party boat is a yacht to them. Others stereotype yachts as a cruise liner. The most popular yacht of all time is known as the Titanic. The Titanic is a great example of a popular culture artifact, not only because of the movie that was made about the sinking of the Titanic, but because of the facts about how the ship hit an ice burg and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable; however, a few short hours after it randomly hit an ice burg, the ship sank and killed thousands of people aboard.
Boating and/or yachting is one of my favorite past times. Boats and other watercraft come in all shapes and sizes. They range from jet skis all the way to ships. Of course anyone who owns a ship is typically a very wealthy person. As shown in the yacht tour video above, there are yachts that are nicer than a lot of houses. Some yachts have marble floors, hot tubs, helicopters, jet skis, multiple state rooms, etc.
There are many wealthy celebrities in the world today who believe the statement: You haven’t made it big until you own a yacht. I believe I have heard P. Diddy say something along those words when he was talking about his private yacht on television. When you see someone who owns a mega-yacht, like the one in the video, you know that they are very wealthy.


Reference
Youtube.com. (2008). Broward Marine 120: Raised Pilothouse Yachts. Retrieved on June 3, 2008, from http://youtube.com/watch?v=ALmsFyajPBU.

Journal Article Analysis

There are millions of women in the world today that strive to be beautiful. They worry about everything from their hair to their toes. Whether it is spending thousands of dollars each year on hair products, manicures and pedicures, spa treatments, or products that promote younger looking skin, these luxuries are not effective enough which then leads to cosmetic surgery.
One very popular type of plastic surgery is known as breast augmentation, or breast implants. There are many different reasons women have for wanting their breasts enlarged. Most women have breast implants to have a higher self-esteem. They believe that larger breasts will make them feel more like a woman. Other women decide to get breast implants simply because it is a trend; when someone has something valuable, everyone wants it. Women face the pressures to be beautiful and perfect each and every day, and it is only getting worse as the years go by. Tabloids and media are the means of the majority of the pressures to look beautiful. Television, magazines, newspapers, movies, etc.; the pressures to look a specific way are posted everywhere every single day. “The dissatisfaction many women experience with their body image is so profound that they respond with obsessive eating disorders or cosmetic surgery,” (Mellican, 1995). “Women are, in fact, at war with their own bodies,” (Mellican, 1995).
There are many dangers that women face with breast implants. Some of which were never described back in 1963 when breast implants became popular. Today there are two main kinds of breast implants: silicone filled and saline filled. Silicone filled implants, which were invented approximately forty-five years ago, are firmer to the touch and can be dangerous to the body’s organs if the implants would leak. Saline filled implants are the safest implant because if they would leak into the body, it would not be harmful to the organs because it is simply saline solution. However, the shell of a breast implant is made from silicone. Studies have shown that there have been a few women whose bodies have rejected the implants because they are allergic to the silicone. In this case, the organs in the body will slowly shut down and not function to their full ability. This is a very scary issue and something that many women who have had the surgery have experienced. The only choice is to leave the implants in and eventually die, or have the implants removed in hopes of fighting off the allergic reaction. One good fact about breast implants is that there has never been a case, thus far, where the implants were any cause related to breast cancer.
There are two choices when it comes to placing the implants under the breasts. Most women choose to have the implants placed under the pectoral muscle. This is usually the choice when there isn’t much breast tissue, which helps make the breast look more “real”. However, some women who already have a substantial amount of breast tissue have their implants placed over the muscle, which in turn lessens the recovery period. There are also different textures and shapes of implants to choose from. The shapes range from round to teardrop. There are also textured and smooth implants.
Any insecurity that women deal with is brought on by themselves. Being a woman myself, I understand the statement: We are our own worst enemy. We critique our bodies more than anyone else. Coming from experience, I was lucky enough to not have any complications during surgery or following surgery. I chose to have breast implants for a few reasons. First of all, I did want to feel more like a woman. Now that I have them, they did not make me feel more like a woman. Secondly I wanted to feel more proportioned. Again, I am my own worst critic. It has now been three years since my surgery and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t. Honestly, I don’t enjoy the extra attention that comes with large breasts and I know that I was absolutely fine just the way I was. We should all be thankful for our health and stop taking so many beautiful things in life for granted. Life is too short to be worrying about trying to be perfect. The truth is no one is perfect and everyone is beautiful in their own way.


Reference
Mellican, R. E. (1995). Breast Implants, The Cult of Beauty, and a Culturally Constructed ‘Disease’. Journal of Popular Culture Issue 4, 7-17. Retrieved on May 27, 2008, from Health Source: Consumer Edition.