Jersey Shore... The Modern Gatsby?

Day time on the Jersey Shore coast line of New Jersey is a place for young families, fun, sand and sea, a place for indulgence and a great place to let your hair down... until night fall and then it becomes a mixture of sex, drinks, parties and fights which I believe is the new Gatsby. The one thing we must highlight before I go any further is that Gatsby is fiction which touches on the realities of middle class America however this is a reality show and although some of the scenes may be cut out as they are not very dramatic, the clips I am about to show you are completely real and did happen.

First of all I aim to talk about the alcoholism, the key to America has been through alcoholism, Gatsby era found itself in a prohibition where the country seemed to be within a meltdown, we can see in Jersey shore however that alcoholism is also a meltdown, 50% of the members of the cast have been arrested for being 'drunk and disorderly.' It is shown through a negative portrayal of alcohol in both that alcohol is a problem that is as much at large as Gatsby era and has the same effect, the parties may seem glitzy and enjoyable but when you scratch the surface there is nothing but problems in alcoholism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klN6ywRRcns

Secondly, fights and anger seems to be a trait that comes hand and hand with a party life style, we see in Gatsby, Gatsby starts to lose his mind and also his temper and loses his polite reputation, although we know through bad press that this is not similar to Jersey shore, the amount of fights of passion through drunken and adrenaline filled nights end very badly and make them all lose out. At the end of the day, most have a horrific reputation and have received bad names for themselves, just like Gatsby did when he lost his temper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzySTltiMXY 

Finally, a relationship, the next clip is very uncomfortable as I would not expect any acts of abuse to be televised on air, but the relationship of 'Sammy' and 'Ronnie' was a whirlwind of anger, because of their party lifestyle they could not communicate properly as a couple. Also when they got mad, they got very mad, because alcoholism heightened their arguments, an abusive relationship was formed. This could be seen as similar to Gatsby, of course, the representation of a man having a physical control over a female at this time was normal where it seems very uncomfortable to see now in a modern setting, there are similarities between the relationships in Gatsby too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QQ87wlaFqg

In conclusion, I feel like the modern day Great Gatsby is Jersey shore, it shows the issues of 'high living' and alcohol and shows the demise in a persons reputation and their relationship with others. Although Jersey Shore is very dramatic and entertaining to witness, we cannot hide the underlying issues that lie within allowing a lot of the abuse and fights to be aired. We can argue that Americans may be very similar to those of Gatsby era however with the development in society in the meantime it is shocking to see that there has been very little development in morals, and even perhaps even less morals to begin with.

American Consumerism... Is America just a product?

When looking for advertisements for American products I can remember an advert I saw myself on television why caught my eye and interested me. A visit California advert, ironically not a specific product you would find in a factory or within a persons house or on a persons body however it made me think that the Globe itself is becoming a product that everyone can own just a little bit of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmkSUq_yDHI

Within this advert what caught my attention was the use of 'dream,' something ultimately American, the use of 'space' as they were the first allegedly to explore space, but what really caught my eye was the things that were more covert. A black family, a tipi in a tree which would have been used by Native Americans, a surf board. Although most of the advert seems typically American, actors, explosions, the sun, sea and sand, what caught my eye was the fact that they almost unknowingly added about everything that was wrong about America and California within the advert too. Using a Black family although odd seems to sum up the progression of America, the surf board a symbol almost stolen from Australia and New Zealand seems to be a symbolism of America. Using a Native American symbolism is also odd, something that shocked the world so much about America has become a symbol of positivity, being at one with the nature around them, it is almost like they are using the ideas and life of native Americans to show how America is at one with the nature around them even though in many ways this may be seen as false.
However, the most important question to ask is has consumerism become so much that it is not just products that are being sold across the globe, it is also the countries themselves, come have a slice of California pie for two weeks and consume some memories from it too. Consumerism is becoming so much that we must advertise the best parts of our own country and America seems to be pioneering the way for this new consumer product... their own country!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2qLwdyFInc I choose the Christmas M&S advert because it is advertising M&S the branding. The advert itself is a consumer culture as it makes the audience desire the clothes that are being advertised in the trailer. The trailer uses many methods to get its point across like celebrity endorsement which will make the audience want to buy the things that are in the advert. But by showing the clothes in a fairy-tale like world it is expressing a differentuality to the audience by saying if they buy these clothes from this brand they will feel like they are in a fairy tale and have the chances of meeting there prince charming. The value of the advertisement is to maybe show the male generation some clothes that they would possible buy for their girlfriends or wives. The branding is known world wide so when they see the iconic symbol in the corner they know exactly where to go to buy these products, the adverts are like advertising for Christmas shopping due to it’s theme. The brand even gives itself a more Christmas name “magic and sparkle” which is still similar to it’s actual branding (M&S).

Starbucks

Starbucks is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 20,891 stores in 62 countries, including 13,279 in the United States, 1,324 in Canada, 989 in Japan, 851 in the People's Republic of China, 806 in the United Kingdom, 556 in South Korea, 377 in Mexico, 291 in Taiwan, 206 in the Philippines, 179 in Turkey, 171 in Thailand, and 167 in Germany.

Starbucks locations serve hot and cold beverages, whole-bean coffee, microground instant coffee, full-leaf teas, pastries, and snacks. Most stores also sell packaged food items, hot and cold sandwiches (and mugs and tumblers)

From Starbucks' founding in 1971 as a Seattle coffee bean roaster and retailer, the company has expanded rapidly.

Starbucks, which is one of the largest coffee chains in the world, also has a loyalty program with the most success in the United States. Millions of consumers around the world drink coffee daily and Starbucks continues to cash in on the popularity of this energy drink. More people go to Starbucks for a coffee, the more they are rewarded with "My Starbucks Rewards" which is the famous Starbucks loyalty program.

Creation of Starbucks App, on iTunes.