I need some help...

[MrCLRider]

I'm taking my first year of college right now, been out for 11 years. In my English class we are doing a Division/Classification essay right now. I am pasting a copy of what the essay should be based around. I am having issues trying to think of a topic to write my paper about, any help with this would be greatly appreciated.


Many of the essays in this section include the theme that what you see--whether in entertainment, advertising, or fast-food restaurants--is not all you get. Think of something that you have used, seen, or otherwise experienced that made you suspect a hidden message or agenda. Consider, for example, a childhood toy, a popular breakfast cereal, a political speech, a television program, a textbook, a magazine, a video game, a movie or a visit to a place like Disney World or
Graceland. Using the essays in this chapter as models, write an analysis of your subject, making sure to divide it into distinct elements, and conclude by reassembling these elements into a new whole.

so yea..any help would be appreciated.. TIA

[Carfire]

Re: I need some help...

Auto Detailing????

[MrCLRider]

Re: I need some help...

LOL, I already did that...he said it was not part of pop culture...butt head!

[MrCLRider]

Re: I need some help...

I spit out 800 words no problem about detailing..only to have him tell me it wasn't exceptable..

[Mike Phillips]

Re: I need some help...

Lots of hidden agendas in politics, should be easy to go down this path and come up with an essay pretty quick and easy.

[CieraSL]

Re: I need some help...

In my sociology class, we were talking about gender and about how women are "exploited" in movies and advertising. Even in commercials about cat food or air fresheners, women are always shown as being beautiful and "perfect". So you're not just seeing a commercial for Purina Cat Chow or Air Wick Air Fresheners, you're getting this idea that women are supposed to look and be a certain way. We watched this video, and it's not exactly "family-friendly" so I won't post the link here, but you can google Killing Us Softly 3, click on videos, and then watch the 34 minute video there. Hope this helps!

[MrCLRider]

Re: I need some help...

WOW, that might have been the finger to turn my light switch in my head...my gears are turning hard right now..thank you!! I can really understand what example you provided to me..now only time will tell if I can put it on paper and make some good sense of it all. Maybe I could start it out with something about commercials through the years..

[CieraSL]

Re: I need some help...

I don't know if you decided to use my idea or not, but I thought I'd throw another thought in there. You might note how this idea of a "perfect woman" is instilled in girls when they are still little, with toys like Barbie and Bratz, etc. As they get older and grow out of toys, the message is still there, hidden in advertising and such. You might even mention how this message contrasts with cultures such as Islam, where women are taught to keep themselves covered except for their husbands, whereas in America the message seems to be "If you got it, bare it!" In fact, to oppose the Western Ken and Barbie, some Islamic businessmen came up with Dara and Sara, to encourage their children to be conservative in their dress and appearance.


Dara and Sara

vs.

Ken and Barbie



As you can see, very much different from each other. I don't know if you want to play this into your paper or not, but I think it would help support your main idea. Just a thought.

Note: you can google "Dara and Sara" if you would like more information on them.

[akimel]

Re: I need some help...

LOL. The first thought that came to mind is the assignment itself. What is your professor's hidden agenda? Why assign this topic in an English class? The looking for hidden agendas is a critical part of all Marxist-grounded ideologies. These ideologies promote a hermeneutics of suspicion. If one can convert a person to a hermeneutic of suspicion, one has in fact created a convert to Marxist-style ideology. Is your professor secretly seeking to make converts to his hidden political philosophy? Contemporary English departments are full of ideologues. Ideology is a lot more fun than reading and enjoying good literature.

[sleepy]

Re: I need some help...

I showed this to my wife who works at a college near by and is currently working on her masters in teaching. This is what she said: when she was in high school and had to do a division/classification paper, she did it on drag racing. She described and contrasted the 3 different divisions--pro stock, funny car and alcohol dragsters. She said something similar could be done with NASCAR/Busch series, etc.

Good luck!

[CieraSL]

Re: I need some help...

I just think that Western cultures have this fascination, perhaps even an obsession, with developing the "perfect person", the idea that every man is supposed to look like Brad Pitt or Dwayne Johnson, and every woman is supposed to look like Angelina Jolie or Eva Mendes. Why this obsession exists is beyond me, but I was just pointing out the fact that it is engrained into us from the time we are kids until get old. Think Viagra commercials, LOL! In the 60's the perfect family was the Cleavers in Leave it to Beaver, now it's...well, I don't know who it is now. There are undoubtedly hidden messages everywhere, but I think body image is the one that is seen and pushed the most.

[CieraSL]

Re: I need some help...

LOL. The first thought that came to mind is the assignment itself. What is your professor's hidden agenda? Why assign this topic in an English class? The looking for hidden agendas is a critical part of all Marxist-grounded ideologies. These ideologies promote a hermeneutics of suspicion. If one can convert a person to a hermeneutic of suspicion, one has in fact created a convert to Marxist-style ideology. Is your professor secretly seeking to make converts to his hidden political philosophy? Contemporary English departments are full of ideologues. Ideology is a lot more fun than reading and enjoying good literature.

I'm not so sure the professor has a hidden agenda. I think this assignment is to get students to think about the perhaps thousands of hidden meanings that are out there that we don't really even think about, yet we are subjected to them every single day.

[rgcurtis]

Re: I need some help...

Akimel, actually the answer is right in front of you....think about the "Show of Your Latest Detailing Work" section. Some of us look at the work Bounty, Mike P., Tuck91, and Presidential Detailing post and we say "Shoot I can do that. All I need is a bunch of Meg's products, a Saturday and my car will look just like those." So, you could write your paper on the expectations you had when you first purchased Meg's products and how your first project turned out (good or not so good). Hope that helps. Oh, how many references do you need? You might have a hard time finding crediable references from this arena, but you could if you expand it to the "world of auto detailing". Again, good luck. You will feel so much better when you walk across the stage and get the diploma. I did!

[3Fitty]

Re: I need some help...

Depending on how politically active and or astute you are, I would just pick up a newspaper and read articles.

The CIA (for example) is well known for creating and posting phony articles in reputable Newspapers for the sole purpose of conveying a hidden message. It's also done by pretty much every Countries security services on the planet.

Ever read a story and you were thinking... "huh, what's this all about"? There is rarely a day that goes by where I don't read something that makes me believe it is a planted article.