Monday, November 24, 2014

Final Project Proposal: Advertising in America

1)      Lears, T. J. Jackson. Fables of Abundance: A Cultural History of Advertising in America.New
York: Basic, 1994. Print.
Ward, Lynd. Vertigo. New York: Random House. 1937. “Print”.
Ware, Chris. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. New York: Pantheon,
2000.Print.
Wepman, Dennis. "Lynd Ward." American National Biography Online. N.p., Oct. 2008.
Web.24Nov. 2014
-         Using the sources about I will attempt to make the connection between Lynd Wards life and his use of advertising throughout Vertigo, as it is a clear point he is trying to make since it offers some of the very few words throughout. I will also use the history of advertising to connect the importance of advertising in the history of America in general with Jimmy Corrigan as another reference point, as vertigo and Jc do similar things with regards to background.
2)      My argument is that advertising is paramount to the history of America and how our society has been shaped. I may also tie this in with my jimmy Corrigan revised essay on the alpha and beta male argument, as advertising often has a very clear image of what a man should be like. Vertigo is an important tie in because it offers another point in history/varied (or not varied) view on what advertising means. Both Ware and Ward implement the signs and such throughout the background. I intend to highlight their points and show why it is important
3)      I want to begin my paper with the introduction, that will show the connection between books and the reasons why they make advertising out to be so key to the background of society, however, they really want to make a point that it is in the forefront. The body of the essay will then begin with the history of advertising, with me painting the picture of what it means, including (possibly) some sociology and gendering aspects (to tie into JC). It will then go to the bio of Ward to discuss why he feels so strongly about advertising and what it does to society, which will finally morph into Ware’s views to show how Wards coincide with his and Ware expands by using it as a point for the alpha v beta male dynamic.
*** This argument is worth making because advertising is everywhere in American society. It means, whether one realizes it or not, everything to our lives. It determines how we dress, what we eat, even so much too how we sleep. It paints an image of the way one should look, and often this ideal is unattainable, which creates many social issues. Ware and Ward are profoundly interested in this, despite making it part of the background. Yet, the background is the point, we believe it is also in the background of our lives while it really is not***




1 comment:

  1. I like your last paragraph - it helps me a lot.

    The other thing which needs clarification for me is this: are you making an argument about advertising, which will use JC & Vertigo as sources, or are you making an argument about JC & Vertigo and how advertising is depicted in art?

    I think you're making an argument about advertising which is simply using this two books as sources. That's ok, but it does have at least one potential problem - you need to find a specific way of approaching such a broad topic. So what are the *specific* ways in which Vertigo and JC can help us understanding advertising in America?

    I think that's a question which has an answer, and that if you can find a reasonable answer for it - but your challenge here will likely be keeping the project narrow and specific enough to really work well.

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