Reaction to Spin the Bottle

I think that watching this video was time very well spent. Teenagers are constantly hit with the media images that drinking is cool and invitations to parties where there's drinking. It's hard to say no to something that all of your friends like to do. Even the negative effects are hyped up. I've had friends brag to me about how they couldn't remember anything from the night before or how bad their hangover was. The thing is, the only people telling us that drinking is bad are those older than us; parents, teachers, etc. Obviously, not a very 'cool' source of what is actually the right information. So this video takes a good approach by giving the audience first-hand accounts of people a little older than us who have gone through the experience. Showing clips of actual commercials after pointing out what the alcohol industries do is also very effective. It makes the viewer see right through the content of the commercial, and for me personally, I become disgusted with it.

Reaction to Teen Alcohol Advertisements

It's hard to believe that teen alcohol advertisements should even be allowed. And yet, most alcohol commercials are scenes with beautiful people at parties playing teenage music on channels that teenagers watch. Industries could fight that the advertisements don't target teenagers, but anyone can see that these commercials obviously appeal to a wide age range from teenagers to people in their late twenties.

Reaction to PBS site

This site is able to point out the major tricks of advertising in a fun way so that young kids can gain awareness without becoming bored. Although the site doesn't necessarily make one an expert about how advertising really works, it does a good job of giving one enough knowledge to protect himself from media tricks, such as what is actually sold in boxes of toys. The section about the cost of clothes was effective as well, as many of the expensive clothes looked just like the cheaper ones. I also liked the section where it showed where all the money gained from buying a product goes. It seems crazy that only 50 cents of 50 dollars goes to the actual maker of a pair of jeans. I think the site does a good job of giving the public helpful information.

Chapter 10: Books and the Power of Print

The movement of books was first advanced by priests and monks. Scribes had to record by writing different types of books about culture, history, as well as religious books, particularly the Bible. I was surprised to learn that scribes were the ones who first developed punctuation rules such as capitalization and spaces in between words. Printing machines first popped up in China, although they used one thousand different types of characters. With books, people were no longer limited to what their leaders told them; they could learn for themselves and become more educated about what went on round them.
I also never realized the success of book clubs and how they are beneficial to both the readers and the publishers. Before books even come out, they can be popularized. The two largest book selling chains in America are Barnes & Noble and Borders-Walden. I am not surprised to see that reading has declined over the younger generation. I personally find myself choosing things such as interent and video games over reading.