Wednesday 31 December 2008

" The struggle for beauty" (Task A of the exam)

Today we live in a world that strives for perfection. People have cosmetic surgery from toes to noses, all in the name of beauty. It seemes that society's so obsessed with what they want to be that they're not interessted in what they are. My personal thoughts on this topic are quite different. I'm not for plactic surgery but I'm also not against it. Let me explain some advantages and some disadvantages to you, before I reach my decision.

This topic is of course a mixed bag of positive and negative aspects. Let's look at the arguments of the advocates of plastic surgerys first. They say that we're living in a free country and so everyone should be allowed to do with his/her body whatever he/she wants, which is quite true I think. They also argue by saying that we should be thankful to have all those possibilities - so why shouldn't we use them? When you're disfigured because of an accident you've got the possibility to get (or nearly get) your look before back. When you're inborn with something (e.g. hair lent) you could have a more normal life after a surgery. And when you're ill (e.g. breast cancer) they're able to rebuilt parts of your body. Therefore making use of any of this means may help you to get rid of mental or psychical problems. Many people who had such operations say that they got the feeling of being accepted and integrated now, which also means that they've more self-confidence now! All those options make it easier for lots of people to live a "normal" life.

But as can be expected there are also people who see this differentely.
What is the real price we have to pay for keeping or achieving this beauty? In fact these "new" possibilities changed our opinion of what we find beautiful. Our society changed and we forget that having a nice charismatic personality and a healthy dose of self-esteem is really beautiful. In addition lots and lots of dentists do a botched job. Which means that you've got a body full of scars and that the people who had a plastic surgery do often look much worse than before! The new possibilities also lead to psychical problems. More and more people feeling to fat also they look quite healthy and normal. It's a body distortion and exactly this wrong opinion leads to anorexica and bulimia.

To sum up I personally think that a plastic surgery is a good option when you're disfigured in course of an accident, when you're inborn with something or when you're ill but not, if someone want's to look like Da Vincis Mona Lisa or someone else. Then i find the result always worse than before because it costs the persons personality, which is the basis of a character.
If we go on like this, we'll have a soiety with a completely wrong sight of what is beautiful. In a world where everything can be modified for the sake of pefection, it's going to be impossible to see the real face of a person, because NOTHING seems real anymore.

Thursday 25 December 2008

My own idea of a perfect family (exam correction - Task B)

Nowadays there exist many different kinds of families. But in most cases you’re not able to choose, in which family you would like to live. The different kinds of families are a mixed bag of positive and negative aspects but which type is the best to live in? I personally think of the traditional family, the nuclear family, consisting of a male breadwinner, a female homemaker and in most cases 2.2 children.

From this perspective the family that is presented in ‘Virgins’ seems to be ideal, but only at first sight. The roles they play in their family are exactly the opposite of what I presented of a nuclear family. But this family shows some positive aspects of a nuclear family, other kinds of families may not offer. For example the advantage of their children to have both sides, their father and their mother, to discuss with, which is quite good, because I personally think that you normally need both sides. Primarily Jack shows how important it is to have siblings. He doesn’t get along with his father all the more his sister plays a important role in his life. She’s someone he can ask for advice and support which is the reason why he trusts her and is very thankful to have her (more often than not).

I think roles in a family are quite important. In the play Suzy’s the provider and Nick cares for the children and is in charge of the household. It hasn’t to be exactly like in this family, I think it’s only important that there exist some roles and a certain kind of structure which automatically leads to respect, which is very important. And that’s also what I miss a bit in a single parent household. There the single parent has to be breadwinner, provider and the one who calls the shots at the same time. That means that a single parent is often too busy and has no time for the children anymore. Then you may have the same problem, as the family in the play has: no one has time to listen and speak to each other – as a result also no one understands the other one! Therefore I think it’s much better when the work is split and when the parents both have equal rights in a family, because otherwise it may seem to live in a dictatorship, where also only one person calls the shots!

The role children play in a family is very, very, very important and it’s the main reason why I think that a nuclear family is normally the best! In my own experience I know that in the end it’s positive for a child to grow up with brothers and sisters. I already mentioned that in the play Jack shows how important his sister is for him and how important it is to have her as a father figure. In my opinion you need someone you can ask for advice and support. That’s so important!

In my essay I tried to show that it’s the feeling of being part of a community which a nuclear family (normally) offers you. And that it’s important to have both a common history and a kind of father figure. In my opinion it’s easier to achieve these points in a nuclear or extended family, which is the reason why I personally support this type although I unfortunately don’t live in such a kind of family.

Friday 5 December 2008

How are women presented in comercials and adverts?

Mösleweg 16
A-6840 Götzis

December 4th, 2008
BBC
c/o 11718 Barrington
court # 508
C- 90049 Los Angeles,USA
Dear Sir,

The presenting of women in commercials


Everyday millions of people worldwide see your adverts . I personally noticed that most of them show a totally wrong sight of women, which is the reason, why I’m writing to you.

I’m a person who’s not easy to convince of something, but out of my experience and from the people around me I know that advertisement influences people all ages a lot! Therefore we both know that the message of an advert is very important and so I think it shouldn’t be a lie; how it’s unfortunately in most cases and especially in your adverts. It’s unacceptable how you present us women. I noticed that on the one hand you often show anorexic women, on the other hand very pretty, beautiful and half naked women; which both absolutely doesn’t respond in reality! In most of the cases those flawless women and the products promise eternal beauty. But come on, you know exactly like me that all those promises are a huge lie. Nevertheless people bye and bye your products, because they’re all unconsciously influenced by your (and of course thousands of other) hole promises. You also show women often in a silly and clumsy way, which is for lots of people in some cases just discriminatory! You present women in a way, which is just dishonest and often offending!

Therefore I hope that you at least think about what you really express in you adverts. Your imagination of silly and flawless women isn’t just an advert because that really does influence our society. Stop immediately lying to us and all the world and try to be more realistic!

Yours sincerely

Anja