Values Of Today Essay, Research Paper

I just discovered that I don?t know anything about todays society. This of course

came as a shock. I had thought that I was an informed citizen but I now know otherwise.

this enlightenment came at great cost in time, and effort. The time was spent in watching

television for an hour. The effort was to not lose my sanity for unlike any other hour of

TV, this time I was forced to actually watch the commercials. The values that TV

presents seem to be different than what I was taught as a child. Advertisers seem to

present their own version of morality and values. Their idea of morality might not

coincide with ours, but it does sell their products.

Wait, I just learned that if I buy my wife an anniversary band she will know that I

love her. But of course the band is a few thousand dollars. Oh wait, easy financing is a

valuable. Darn I missed the small print that was flashed for two seconds on the bottom

of the screen. Oh well it must not have been important. Wont my wife love me even if I

can?t afford to buy her this bracelet? I wonder if this is going to leave an impression on

anyone with an anniversary coming up? Could that be the intention?

If I want to enjoy work I had better listen to the lite fm 93.9., and for lunch I can

run out to Arby?s for 99 cent roast beef sandwiches, but only for a limited time. And if

those roast beef sandwiches get me sick I can go to Osco and get some medicine

twenty-four hours a day. All of these ads just came rapid fire. Is this playing upon my

need for instant gratification? Are the advertisers trying to get me to hurry?

I have to go see a Jeep dealer so I can outrun a bull in heat, but I better be careful

if I get it to dirty the pigs will fall in love with it. Wow is that a nice Jeep, but what is the

price anyway? And is it practical to own a vehicle that can go anywhere on or off the

road? I don?t seem to need the ability in a car to drive up the side of a mountain. But if a

Jeep isn?t my ticket then Taures has the car for me. It?s fast and responsive, just the car

to get me to Arby?s for the 99 cent special. Here again I missed the small print. I wonder

why they flash it so fast? What is in that print anyway?

Oh, if I get hungry I can go to Denny?s or is it Lenny?s? For their breakfast

special. Guaranteed in ten minutes or it?s free. Now that?s a deal! And guess what?

Here it is again, a repeat. I really had better go get that anniversary bracelet for my wife.

And the Taures must be a really good car for all these people on TV to like it so well.

And what is it with the Michael Jordan cologne anyway? I can?t seem to figure out what

it will do for me. Oh well I suppose if I wait they will tell me. I certainly hope so, I

know now that I am not capable of figuring it out on my own. At least that is what they

seem to be telling me. I wonder what happened during my upbringing to leave me so

deficient? Is there anything that I can do to change this inability to make my own

decisions?

Here it is for a very cool price I can buy the car that I need. It will get me where I

want to go. And the babes will stick to it like it was a magnet. Wow I need this car, I

sure am glad they let me in on the secret. Of course I need over twenty thousand dollars

to get it. But the women….. And is this car the only way I can pick up the babes or is

my charming personality enough? Oh well at least my car can get me to school. And

how would I pay for this vehicle? It would be a huge drain on my finances, but that is not

something they stated in the ad. Do I really need this car anyway? Will it do all the

things that are implied in the ad?

Todays society as presented in this hour of commercials seems to be one of

instant gratification, and the need to get sexy women fast. I don?t know if I can argue

with that because it is appealing to me, but I?m not sure it is representative of todays

society. By watching just this one hour I would believe that power, and the buying of

love is the most important thing on a mans mind. Also all of these advertisements seem

to be directed at men. This was of course during a program directed at men.

If you don?t have the cash on hand credit it easy to obtain. Every other ad seems

to be for a new visa card. And if you want you can get a visa to pay off a visa. I wonder

why it is so easy to get credit? When is debt a bad thing? I was taught as a child that if

you cant afford it you don?t need it. Now society, or at least the advertisers version of

society is saying it?s OK to go into debt. I wonder if this is advice that they take, or is it

just for us?

The sale of merchandise, of one form or another, seems to be the single most

important thing on the minds of the advertisers. Whether they are promoting the values

of society or not is not important. The sale of their merchandise must take precedence.

It is an age old adage that sex sells. Well watching this hour of commercials it also

seems that lust is just as important. The lust for sex has been transferred into the lust for

power and gratification.

In this age of technology where toys for big boys are readily available it is

necessary to show some restraint in spending. The advertisers know this, but it is their

job to separate us from our money. It is necessary for them to resort to our base instincts.

For men this requires sexuality and the promise of power. This might not be the reality

of our society, but it is the lure that works best for the advertisement business. To prove

this all you have to do is watch how many commercials have sexy models in them. I can

reason that these are not the values that are prevalent in today?s society. It is necessary to

take the ads with a grain of salt. You can have a good laugh at the ads if you don?t let

them suck you in. Kind of like the Inquirer.

If the advertisers were to present their ads in a more conventional format they

would not have the same effect on us. It is not necessary to judge the values of the ads to

enjoy them. They are only a tool used to get us to buy. This is the entire purpose of the

ads. Don?t take them to seriously. They are not supposed to be representative of our

personal values.