Presentation Video/Pictures

Faith Hill:
http://jezebel.com/278919/heres-our-winner-redbook-shatters-our-faith-in-well-not-publishing-but-maybe-god?tag=gossipphotoshopofhorrors"

Britney Spears:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1265676/Britney-Spears-releases-airbrushed-images-digitally-altered-versions.html

Dove Evolution:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

Research Topic Short Paper

For my research paper, I want to concentrate on the ambassadorship topic I have been following throughout the semester: body image in pop culture. My starting question for my paper is: How does body image portrayed in the media influence the behavior of adolescent girls? I already know that in the realm of pop culture, there is a constant pressure to be thin for models, celebrities, and other public figures. Adolescent girls look up to these people, and view them as role models. Therefore, this idea that thinness is associated with beauty and perfection has an impact on these girls’ thoughts and behaviors. Being a girl myself, I know the pressures to be thin, and I know many girls who have negative body images. I assume that the manners in which body image is portrayed in the media can have a great influence on their behavior and self-esteem. Sometimes, the influence can even be detrimental to girls’ health; for example, some girls develop eating disorders.

After searching Google for some information regarding my topic, I have discovered some interesting articles from credible sources. The first article at the top of the search is from Web MD, which describes the power of media images and how parents can help to foster healthy body images in adolescent girls. The article mentions that younger and younger girls are beginning to feel the impact of the media on body image as they are surrounded by media images constantly. Another article from USA Today describes the dangers of using too-thin models in fashion shows that are watched by young and impressionable girls. A website called Media Awareness has an article called “Beauty and Body Image in the Media” that has some interesting information regarding previous studies done on the topic. I did not know that even preadolescent girls, as young as five years old, are influenced by the media too. Because of the media, many girls are trying to reach an “unattainable beauty.” Another intriguing piece of information I found from this article stated that “women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.”

After having done this preliminary research, I now want to investigate other studies that have been done on this topic. I want to know which types of media influence the behavior of adolescents more, such as magazines or television, and I want to know which age group is most affected. I think it would be interesting to find out how the differences in behavior among adolescents after viewing body images portrayed in the media—how many of them are susceptible to develop eating disorders, low self-esteem, and how many of them will not. Also, I want to learn how we can prevent people from developing negative body images. There have to be some measures that the media can take to help this cause, and I want to know if any companies are doing so. I believe that my research topic is very relevant to the world today because the portrayal of body image in pop culture affects millions of girls everyday.

The Freshman 15: An Overestimate

Being a freshman in college, I immediately was interested in an article that I found on abcnews.com entitled "The 'Freshman 15' Is More Myth Than Reality -- the 'Freshman 3.5' More Accurate, Study Finds." According to the article, a recent study has been done which shows that college freshmen will not gain a huge amount of weight. In fact, it stated that the average weight gain is 3.4 pounds for men and 2.4 pounds for women. Fewer than 10 percent of freshman gain 15 pounds or more, and 25 percent actually lose weight.

The study covered 7,418 students throughout the country; these students had already been recording their weight and height every year as a part of the 1997 National Longitudinal Study of Youth. This study was more expansive than previous studies that had been conducted on the Freshman 15, which had only looked at small groups of students at one college. It was discovered that the little weight that freshmen do gain is attributed to several factors such as: freedom from parental supervision, high-calorie foods in the dining hall, increased stress levels, and lack of sleep.

However, the largest factor in weight gain for freshmen is heavy drinking. According to the study, this was the only factor that had a significant difference on weight gain. Even so, the weight gain isn't that much-- only a pound or less as compared to those who do not drink as much.

Overall, I find it a relief that college freshmen should not be concerned gaining the dreaded 15 pounds in their first year. However, we should still be taking care of ourselves by trying to eat healthy foods and exercise, even though it may be difficult with cafeteria food and a busy schedule. Jay Zagorsky, one of the authors of the study said, "Don't worry about suddenly going to college and becoming a blob...Don't worry about the freshman 15 -- it doesn't exist."

A Personal Trainer's Journey from "Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit"

Yesterday on Good Morning America, there was a segment about a personal trainer who is going to the extreme to understand his clients. Drew Manning has embarked on a journey in which he makes himself fat over the course of six months, and then becomes fit again during another six-month period. The purpose of his mission, called "Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit," is to understand his clients and the emotional and physical obstacles they need to overcome to become fit. Also, he wants to inspire them to work out and eat right, and show them how to do it on his journey to become fit again.

Manning initiated this project in May 2011 at 193 lbs. Today, he is in the 25th week of the process at 269 lbs. This Saturday, November 5, he will begin the journey from "Fat 2 Fit." Throughout the past six months, he had an unrestricted diet, eating junk food in huge portions, and he did not exercise. On his blog, he always accepted "Food Challenges" from his followers, which challenged him to eat large amounts of food such as doughnuts or corn dogs. Overall, he has gained 76 pounds. When he begins the reverse journey on Saturday, he will invite his followers to join him; he will post his meal plan and exercise schedule so that they can participate and lose weight as well.

During his interview on GMA, Manning addressed the effects that this journey has had on him so far. He stated that he underestimated the mental and emotional consequences; he had thought it would mostly be a physical change. However, he realized that he was becoming more self-conscious about his body, even in front of his wife. He also became too exhausted to keep up and play with his two-year-old daughter, something which had an emotional toll on him. His health obviously declined as well, with his blood pressure skyrocketing. However, Manning said, it was "definitely worth the risk."

Overall, kudos to Drew Manning for going through this difficult journey. Even though there are many health risks associated with his project, I think that the benefits will outweigh the risks. Already, he has inspired so many people, and many of them are bound to follow his program back to being fit. Also, I think it's important because he now has better understanding of the struggles that his clients face. It's easy for personal trainers to tell their clients what to do and not realize how difficult it really is for them. I definitely will continue to follow Manning's progress as he works his way to becoming fit again.

Presentation Link

http://www.youtube.com/user/enews#p/u/36/3xDDu5uTtR0

This clip from E! News illustrates how celebrities' bodies are being constantly analyzed and criticized in the pop culture public sphere. This particular clip is about how Snooki was bullied for being overweight, and how she overcame it. I think the way in which the news is presented is interesting. For the majority of the clip, it details Snooki's difficulties and problems with being bullied. For example, it uses three quotes that relate to the harsh criticism she received and her negative self body image. On the other hand, there is only one quote at the end which applies to her newfound positive self body image. The clip doesn't seem to focus on the positive aspects, such as her new healthy outlook on life, until the very end. Also, the news clip is comprised of mainly glamorous images of Snooki, and they seem to be photos from after her weight loss. The photos are primarily used to support her new positive body image and possibly inspire others to rethink their own body images as well.

The Consequences of Splitting Reality

In his book True Enough, Farhad Manjoo warns against the dangers of splitting reality. He shows that through different thought processes, such as selective exposure, selective perception, and central and peripheral routes to decision making, people can choose what to believe and can even create their own truths. The consequences of this division and creation of truth are especially interesting to me. In the epilogue, Manjoo describes a concept that I found intriguing: the difference between generalized and particularized trust. The decrease in generalized trust and the increase in particularized trust are consequences of splitting reality.

Generalized trust describes “how likely it is that two strangers from a given community will be willing to trust each other” (223). The level of this trust among Americans has plummeted in the last fifty years. For example, in 1960, “nearly 60 percent said they trust most people,” while in 2006, that number dropped to “32 percent, the lowest ever” (223). This drastic decline in trust amongst each other has led to a decrease in participating in civic activities, such as different groups and volunteer work. I think that this falling trust is a consequence of the increasingly split reality. The advent of new technology, such as television and the Internet, in the past few decades has given people too many options for their news and has altered their perception of reality. Therefore, it is easy to see why by the twenty-first century, not many Americans are willing to trust each other; because the media offers various understandings of the news, they can choose one to believe and distrust all others.

The other type of trust that Manjoo describes is particularized trust, which describes “how we feel about people who are like us—in our families, in our ethnic groups, in people at our company, or in other groups we may belong to” (225). The classic example of particularized trust is the small town, which reminded me of my father’s hometown of Reinbeck, Iowa, which has no more than 3,000 people. Whenever my family visits, it amazes me how trusting everyone is; nobody locks their doors when they go out, and everyone knows and cares for each other. However, there is a problem with this type of trust in that it destroys generalized trust. Because people tend to trust others who are similar to them, then they tend to distrust people who are unlike themselves. Manjoo supports this point with the examples of the Ku Klux Klan or a street gang because they involve high levels of trust within their groups.

In general, the new divergent realities that are appearing everyday are having a serious effect on people’s levels of trust. The escalation of particularized trust is creating prejudices and exclusivity, while the decline of generalized trust is causing suspicion and skepticism among Americans. I think that these consequences can be dangerous because they are detrimental to our country and its sense of community. If people cannot trust other people outside of their own groups, then they will not be able to understand others’ views or cooperate with each other, leading to a lack of unity.

Decision Making

In True Enough, Farhad Manjoo describes two psychological methods, the central and peripheral processes, which help us make our decisions. I think that these two mechanisms are important, especially in the context of this book, because they explain how we make decisions. They help us choose what experts to trust and listen to, and this factor plays a part in what we consider to be the truth.

The first and more rigorous method, the central route, "describes a diligent attempt to investigate the facts of a case" (118). This takes up more time, and we will use this strategy when we really want to analyze something. I think that this method is also probably more valid, because we are researching the information in-depth ourselves. On the other hand, the peripheral route uses "'cues'- like emotional reactions or what an expert or a celebrity or some other trustworthy figure thinks- to guide us toward a decision" (118). While this method can be great when we have no free time to analyze the decision ourselves, I think that this method can be particularly dangerous; by using peripheral cues, we are putting all our trust in a person or group.

Overall, I found these two concepts to be intriguing because before, I had never really noticed how I make certain decisions. Now, I will be more aware of which method, the central or peripheral, I tend to use in different circumstances.

Selective Exposure & Selective Perception

Even thought Farhad Manjoo's novel True Enough mainly focuses on the different truths in political events, I find the psychological aspects that he brings up to be fascinating. Specifically, Manjoo explains the phenomena of selective exposure and selective perception. I found these two concepts to be particularly interesting because they explain how we use our existing beliefs and biases to shape our own realities. Both of these ideas can show why people may develop divergent truths over the same concept.

According to Manjoo, selective exposure says that "in an effort to avoid the cognitive dissonance that comes out of receiving news that challenges our beliefs, we cunningly select the messages we consume" (30). By selectively exposing ourselves to certain sources, we are creating a small comfortable sphere in which we can obtain news that confirms our biases. To me, this idea can be somewhat disturbing. If we are not willing to listen to all sides of an issue, including beliefs that contradict ours, then we are becoming too narrow-minded. Instead, we should be open-minded, and we should take into account all views to get a better and more balance perspective on an issue. In this way, we can better understand other people and the world.

Selective perception says that "even when two people of opposing ideologies overcome their tendency toward selective exposure and choose to watch the same thing, they may still end up being pushed apart from each other" (71). I think that Manjoo provides us with great examples of this concept, from the 9/11 attacks to the Princeton-Dartmouth football game. Like selective exposure, this idea is disturbing, more so especially since both sides are exposed to the same thing. If we cannot perceive the same reality, then it will be harder to understand other people and their views on the same event.

Overall, these concepts show why groups can be fragmented, creating tension and lack of unity. Furthermore, with today's overwhelming amount of news sources and technology, selective exposure and perception is even easier to achieve. Although we have a wide range of options, we are still narrow-minded in our choosing.

Obliteration of Opposition in 1984

George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 recounts the journey of Winston Smith, a man struggling to survive under the oppressive dictatorship of the Party in a country called Oceania. The Party yearns for absolute power, and they utilize psychological manipulation techniques to successfully control the minds and bodies of its citizens. The goal of the members of the Party is domination of all facets of life, from society in general down to the individual mind. By writing this novel, Orwell is warning the world that the danger of the desire for power lies in the strength of psychological manipulation. Through eliminating all outlets of opposition from the sociological level to the personal level, including memories, language, emotions, and intelligence, the Party can eradicate any possible source of rebellion.

The people of Oceania are conditioned to repress any significant cultural and historical memories from the past. The Party even has a specific institution, the Ministry of Truth, which specializes in changing history. With the constant alteration of past events, it becomes literally impossible to distinguish between what was real and what was not. Then, the public has no choice but to believe whatever the Party tells them is the truth. Winston believes that the proles, the common working class of Oceania, are the key to rebellion; however, even they cannot conjure up any meaningful memory that would be destructive to the Party. Throughout the novel, Orwell emphasizes the significance of historical and cultural memories because they threaten absolute power; if some memory can be used against the Party to prove that the actions of the Party were wrong or misleading, then that could be detrimental to their regime. For example, Winston finds a photograph that proves the innocence of three former Party leaders. The photograph “was enough to blow the Party to atoms, if in some way it could have been published to the world and its significance made known” (81). If the public could have seen this photograph and realized that the Party had explicitly lied to them, then they would have questioned the motives of the Party and lost their allegiance to them. Furthermore, this skepticism could have eventually sparked rebellion. Therefore, because history and culture are seen as such threatening channels of resistance, the Party needs to quell all memories of everyone in society.

Another outlet of opposition, language, is closed off by the Party through the development of Newspeak, the official language of Oceania. Newspeak seeks to repress language through shortening phrases, simplifying words, and eliminating synonyms and antonyms. The old language of Oceania is threatening to the absolute power of the Party because it allows for freedom of speech, creativity, and expression of new ideas. Orwell stresses the importance of language in this novel because without it, resistance is hopeless. According to Syme, who is working on developing the latest Newspeak dictionary, “The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect” (54). He tells Winston, “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it” (53). By creating a language in which one is limited in what he or she can say, it will be impossible to defy the Party. Furthermore, the critical period for language development is at a very young age; if children learn Newspeak during this time, then it will be nearly impossible for them to learn any other language later in life. This will assist the Party in creating future generations of acquiescent and loyal subjects that know no other way of expression of thoughts or ideas. It is necessary that the Party create this strict and simplified language so that they can eliminate another major threat to their dictatorship. Overall, manipulating language is another important psychological technique that is essential in reaching absolute power.

While removing the outlets of memory and language pertain to a more sociological level, the Party also reaches down to control the personal emotions and family relationships of the individual. Family bonds and the emotions that result from these bonds are another threat to the Party. If the citizens of Oceania were allowed to have strong familial relationships, then that could serve as a foundation on which to build resistance movements. Also, the Party desires to divide families; they created the Junior Spies League, which encourages children to report any traitorous acts by their parents or relatives. Through organizations like this, the Party creates mistrust amongst families, decreasing any chance of opposition. The Party also condemns any sexual acts, eradicating any sense of intimacy or connection between people. The Party needs to manipulate all relationships so that people cannot bond; otherwise, opposition may form and become stronger through these bonds. Winston represses memories of childhood trauma, which begin to recur in his dreams. He stifles these memories in order to alleviate the suffering he felt towards the disappearance of his family and the shame he felt for having stolen chocolate from his sister. Suppression of these memories is necessary because they would have allowed Winston to feel emotions towards his family; he could have felt upset, angry, and guilty about their sudden and inexplicable disappearance. Possibly, he would have directed these emotions towards the Party, and blamed them for these traumatic events. This situation poses danger to the rule of the Party, and therefore, they must close off this outlet of opposition through repression of emotions and division of families.

The ultimate form of psychological manipulation through the elimination of outlets of resistance is self-repression. By conditioning citizens to repress their own intelligence and minds, the Party can achieve utter control at a completely personal level. Self-repression requires that the individual restrain his or her logic and reason so that he or she does not question the motives or acts of the Party. Like memory, language, and emotion, Orwell shows that intelligence is a major threat to absolute power. Repressing one’s intelligence “needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors. Stupidity was as necessary as intelligence, and as difficult to attain” (289). Even though it seems ironic that one needs a certain level of flexibility of the mind to reach stupidity, it is a crucial part of the Party’s rules. The citizens need to rid their minds of any knowledge that will threaten the dictatorship; they need to learn to be ignorant. Besides that, they need to force themselves to believe things that go against their logic. If people can self-repress common sense and believe in absurdities, then they can more easily accept the principles of the Party, transforming them into obedient citizens. Through the ideas of self-repression and escalation of stupidity, Orwell proves that psychological manipulation of one’s mind and intellect contributes to absolute power.

Psychological manipulation is a main theme of 1984 that recurs throughout the book. By cutting off all outlets of resistance on all levels, any person or group can attain total power. This strategy shows that the desire for power by anyone can be extremely dangerous to humanity in general. This concept is applicable to the world at large; for example, psychological control techniques are used to indoctrinate prisoners of war. During the Korean War, the Chinese in North Korea utilized such methods to eliminate any resistance from the American prisoners. By psychologically conditioning people through fear and pain, anyone is susceptible to losing his or her human nature. Orwell’s novel serves as a warning against totalitarian regimes, and creates awareness about the effects of their desire for power.

Work Cited
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1949.

Arizona Shooter Feeling Remorse

Jared Loughner, the man behind the January 8th Arizona shooting spree, is starting to show signs of mental improvement and stability. The other day, a federal judge ordered that Loughner would go through four more months of psychiatric treatment to see if he can recover enough to go to trial. In January, he had murdered six people and injured thirteen, including Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

According to the website Jezebel, Loughner was diagnosed with schizophrenia in May and seen as psychologically unfit to stand trial. Before, he had believed that he had killed Giffords, and he was always smirking in his court appearances. However, now his attitude has changed, and he has begun to feel regret for his actions. According to his psychologist Christina Pietz, "He understands he's murdered people ... He feels guilty." Furthermore, she said that in court, "his demeanor is distinctly different ... His smirk is gone. He appears to be paying attention."

According to Time, his recent court appearance on Wednesday was remarkably different than when he appeared in court last May; during that time, he had seemed oblivious to everything and had to be dragged out of the trial. At his latest hearing, he sat there emotionless and seemed to show signs of mental progress. Whether or not he will continue improving is still uncertain, but according to Pietz, he should be ready for trial in eight months. Since this was such a big story last January, I think that it is important to continue following Loughner's state and the trial. It will be interesting to see how this case unfolds in the upcoming months.

True Enough Reflection

I thought that the first 25 pages of the book True Enough by Farhad Manjoo were really fascinating and eye-opening. Since I am very interested in the media and journalism, Manjoo's points about how people distort news to fit their own beliefs really made me question my own interpretation of the news. Right from the beginning I was engaged in the book when he stated, "No longer are we merely holding opinions different from one another; we're also holding different facts" (2). At first, this idea sounded ridiculous to me, since facts are basically set in stone. However, I think that Manjoo proves that this statement is actually true.

In True Enough, he uses several different cases to show how people can manipulate the truth. I was especially appalled at the case involving the girl who died of a disease related to AIDs; it was sickening that the mother didn't get her daughter proper treatment just because she didn't believe that HIV caused AIDs. This example definitely shows how dangerous it can be when twisting the truth. Manjoo also discusses the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and their plan to portray John Kerry as a dishonorable traitor during the Vietnam War. It amazed me that despite a total lack of evidence, many Americans still believed the veterans' campaign.

While reading this book, I was reminded of a concept that I learned in psychology class called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias basically says that humans tend to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms their own beliefs. In his book, Manjoo states, "Although information now flows more freely than it did in the past-- and this is certainly a salutary development-- today's news landscape will also, inevitably, help us to indulge our biases and preexisting beliefs" (17). I think that this quote shows how confirmation bias is playing a role in how we choose our news. Because there are so many media outlets today, we can easily pick what sources we want to follow, and usually these sources share the same views as us.

I am excited to continue reading True Enough to see what other real-life stories Manjoo will tell that exemplify how people can manipulate or create the truth. Like the author, I am curious as to "How can so many people who live in the same place see the world so differently?" (7).

Toddlers & Tiaras

While beauty pageants across the world have always caused controversy over the degradation of women, a new realm of beauty pageant has been brought to light with the TLC hit reality show, Toddlers and Tiaras. For almost three years running, the show details the lives of young girls and their parents as they prepare to compete in beauty pageants. In the latest issue of People magazine, the cover story features the show, and describes how it has sparked outrage over the shocking world of child beauty pageants.

The article in People illustrates the ridiculous extremes that the young children must go through in order to be ready to participate in a pageant. Such extremes include fake hair, fake teeth (called "flippers" in the pageant world), spray tans, padding, and waxing. Clinical social worker Mark Sichel told People that all of this tedious preparation "causes the children tremendous confusion, wondering why they are not okay without those things." This confusion can have a negative impact on these young girls' body images, especially as they grow older.

In a Fox News article, childhood behavioral health psychologist Dr. Mike Bishop agreed, "Toddler beauty pageants set a superficial expectation about what makes someone beautiful – that beauty is primarily about your pose, your smile, your hair, and the clothes you wear. Self-worth should not be tied to competitions." Supporters of the pageants argue that the competitions increase self-esteem and confidence. While this may be true, there are other more effective ways to help young children do so.

Controversy surrounding the show has escalated in recent episodes of the past month, which have featured toddlers dressed up in inappropriate adult costumes. The September 7th episode of Toddlers and Tiaras even ignited uproar from the Parents Television Council (PTC) when it showed 3 year old Paisley wearing Julia Roberts' prostitute costume from the movie Pretty Woman. PTC member Melissa Henson told Entertainment Weekly, "For years we’ve seen adult sexuality being inappropriately and aggressively foisted on innocent young children, but children today are being sexualized at younger and younger ages.”

Overall, I think that the concept of child beauty pageants is completely disturbing and unnecessary. Throughout the public sphere, critics of the show are expressing their outrage over the sexualization of these toddlers. I think that these pageants are robbing the children of their childhood through all this intense and costly preparation and competition. Even more damaging is the effect that these pageants will have on their body image.

People article:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20527816,00.html

Fox article:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/06/03/tlcs-toddlers-tiaras-returns-critics-say-parents-exploitive/#ixzz1ZH2KzM5E

Entertainment Weekly:
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/09/07/ptc-slams-toddlers-tiaras-for-pretty-woman-costume/

Psychology in 1984

While reading George Orwell’s novel, 1984, I was intrigued by the psychological manipulation techniques that the Party successfully utilizes to establish complete and utter control over its citizens. After having taken Advanced Placement Psychology last year, I found myself analyzing the Party’s different strategies in dominating important psychological aspects of the human mind, such as language, memory, learning, intelligence, and behavior.

The Party uses a variety of tactics to control the minds of its citizens. I think the most important is the telescreen; the telescreen constantly streams propaganda designed to influence their thoughts, and the citizens have no choice but to listen to it. Besides that, the telescreen monitors all behavior, and this forces everyone to act in a way that appeases the Party. Concerning manipulation of language, the Party uses Newspeak, a language that erases all creativity and limits expression of speech. As future generations learn Newspeak during the critical period of language development, they will not know any other language, thus being incapable of any thoughts that oppose the Party.

I especially found the repression of memories and intelligence fascinating. Winston represses so many memories about his mother and sister that ultimately surface to consciousness. This reminded me of Freud’s psychoanalytical approach in that Winston had repressed these memories to his subconscious in order to alleviate the suffering he felt towards the disappearance of his family and the shame he felt for having stolen the chocolate from his sister. The other citizens have repressed memories of their childhood too, for fear of possibly committing thoughtcrime. Besides restraining their memories, the citizens also need to restrain their intelligence. Winston says, “It needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors. Stupidity was as necessary as intelligence, and as difficult to attain” (289). I found it interesting that they needed to acquire a level of stupidity, so that they don’t question the Party.

Finally, the conditioning of the citizens captivated me. The Party mainly uses physical punishment to condition its people. As shown in the conditioning of Winston at the end of the novel, he cannot withstand any physical pain from the dial. He thinks, “Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop” (246). Therefore, pain is a very effective tool in conditioning the people to obey them. With such strict and horrible conditioning methods like this, it is easy to see why the people always obey the Party and have no desire to rebel.

Overall, I think that one of the main purposes of 1984 is to show how powerful psychological manipulation can be. It proves that everyone is susceptible to being influenced psychologically, and even the strongest people, who try to defy it, such as Winston, will surrender in the end. Psychological manipulation is essential for absolute power—what the Party is striving to achieve. I think that at the end of the novel, it is clear they have achieved their goal after Winston has been broken down.

Children's Book Encourages Dieting

I have been following the topic of body image in pop culture. In today’s world, many pre-teen and teenage girls constantly are pressured to be thin. Media outlets, such as the Internet, magazines, and television, bombard these girls with the idea that one has to be skinny to be perfect. While this problem has been prevalent in mostly teenagers, it will have reached even younger children with the release of a new children’s book called Maggie Goes On A Diet by Paul M. Kramer. The book, scheduled for an October 16 release, tells the story of a young girl’s struggle with being overweight. According to the website, Jezebel, the description of the book reads:

“This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.”

Although Maggie is a teenager, the book is geared towards children between the ages of four to twelve. After seeing the cover of the book, showing an overweight girl looking into a mirror and holding up a pink dress that clearly will not fit her, I was somewhat disturbed. Even though the cartoonish illustration looks like it is meant for juvenile readers, what message will this image send to children who pick up this book at the bookstore, especially if that child is overweight?

I know that childhood obesity is a very serious topic that affects thousands of children everywhere. However, there are other ways to correct this issue besides encouraging them to follow a meticulous diet. Also, dieting is a rigorous process that requires a lot of commitment; young children should not be committing themselves to an eating regimen. Instead, they should be devoting their time to normal childhood activities. For example, by becoming involved in sports, they can use their energy to dedicate themselves to that sport while getting proper exercise as well. I think that parents also can help in motivating children to lead healthier lifestyles. By eating healthier and staying active themselves, their children will look to them as role models.

According to Jezebel, after receiving tons of criticism, Kramer defended his book in an interview on Good Morning America, "My intentions were just to write a story to entice and to have children feel better about themselves, discover a new way of eating, learn to do exercise, try to emulate Maggie and learn from Maggie's experience." Even though these reasons are good-natured, it does not make up for the fact that the book’s title is suggesting dieting in young children.

The realm of pop culture is already filled with publicity pressuring teenagers to be thinner. It is unnecessary to urge even younger children to lose weight as well. Therefore, children’s books, such as Maggie Goes On A Diet, will do more harm than good. While it may strive to teach children to have a more positive self body image, it does so in all the wrong ways.

Pop Culture & Body Image

Pop culture covers such a broad spectrum of different topics and issues. However, one particular area of pop culture that I find to be very interesting and important is health and body image. Entertainment articles and magazines are always either praising or criticizing a celebrity's body and health. Some issues that revolve around this topic are eating disorders and plastic surgery. Body image portrayed in the media also has an effect on the general public's perception of their own health. Some people, particularly adolescent women, may feel pressure to look like a celebrity, and this problem can have serious consequences. However, body image in pop culture also may inspire people to get fit and eat healthier. Therefore, there are pros and cons to the manners in which the media address body image. The sources I plan to use to investigate issues about body image and health in pop culture include The Huffington Post and the website of People magazine.

"After Class, Skimpy Equality" Response

Overall, the issues in the article "After Class, Skimpy Equality" did not surprise me. The situations mentioned can be applied to virtually any college throughout the country. However, this does not make the inequality of college women okay. I think that it's hypocritical for women to act respectable in class, and then completely change their demeanor at parties. Part of the problem is that women feel they need to live up to the social expectations. It's difficult to not try and meet these expectations because of the pressure to belong. Having just arrived at college a few days, I know I can relate. Since it can be hard to meet people, it's easier to give in and follow the crowd. But, this can be damaging to women's sense of self-worth. I find it interesting that even though women have fought long and hard for their rights throughout history, they still resort to behavior that suggests inferiority. In the article Belkin states, "In social settings and in relationships, men set the pace, made the rules and acted as they had in the days when women were still 'less than.'" I think that young women need to overcome this obstacle of inequality. They need to find a healthy balance between their academic and social lives that does not compromise their morals.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Paul Farmer brought both physical and spiritual relief to the central plateau in Haiti. Since Haiti had been suffering for so long, it is difficult to say which type resulted in greater success and happiness for its less-fortunate inhabitants. However, I would have to say that Farmer's contributions to increasing and improving the available medical resources helped the Haitians the most. The attention that they received from Farmer and his staff for their physical illnesses and needs was the top priority for Farmer. Partners In Health (PIH) "believed in sending resources from the United States to Cange, down 'the steep gradient of inequality,' so as to provide services to the desperately poor--directly, now" (101). This approach, called "pragmatic solidarity," emphasized helping the Haitians' physical needs. Although Farmer did provide them with a newfound hope, this hope amplified when the Haitians started to trust Farmer and see results from their treatments. The physical and spiritual relief that Farmer provided was not only limited to Haiti; he also helped others in Russia, Peru, and other poor countries. I believe that in these cases too, the physical treatments helped the most. For example, after successfully treating Christian, a child with MDR tuberculosis, Christian's parents found hope after their son was healthy again. Christian's mother approached Farmer and said, "I want to say many thanks," and Farmer replied, "For me, it is a privilege" (158).