Category: Uncategorized

“What’s right isn’t always popular, and what’s popular isn’t always right.”

After reading over the list of movies that were given to us as options in my social problems class, I chose to write about the movie Hairspray because I believe there are many social issues that are pinpointed in this well known film that can be addressed in numerous ways, ranging from categories of body positivity, poverty, racism, and student and community activism. One of the most major social issues pointed out in the film, would be the never ending, but extremely tragic issue of racism. Throughout the movie, they demonstrate multiple instances of racism and show what life was like back in the 1960’s in segregated Baltimore, Maryland. Throughout the movie, you can see the clear divide between the wealthy Caucasian population and the less wealthy African American populations. The movie provides a clear example of what life was like back during those times and how serious racism was in areas such as Baltimore and many other cities. 

In the opening of the movie, the first scene shows a clip of a newspapers from May 3, 1962 that says “Barnett Defies U.S., Bars Negro From University” which introduces at the very beginning, how relevant racism will be throughout the film and especially with the use of the word “Negro” in a public newspapers. You can also see the divide in poverty by the scene at the beginning that shows the African American’s shining the Caucasian’s people’s shoes and the white women walking with their shopping bags. Within the first couple clips of the movie, you can already see the massive divide and major social issue by these, short, foreshadowing events. All throughout the movie, we see the battle of fighting racial segregation and how difficult times were made for those of different color and race back in the 1960’s.

For my research paper proposal, I chose a commercial, specifically, the first Nike “Just Do It” commercial, created in 1988. A commercial can be described as a type of ad that is designed to prompt an audience or to attract people to buy certain products or to attend attractions, in order to make a profit, via videos or on a television screen. The Nike “Just Do It” commercial features an older man who is smiling and running. The meaning behind the commercial is to motivate people of all ages, to get up and “just do it.” Nike conveys this message by showing that if an older man can get up and go for a run, then anyone can, therefore motivating people to buy their shoes and workout clothes. The commercial is set on a boardwalk with a sunset in the background, to create a pleasing image for the audience to convince them to go outside and enjoy the pretty scenery. Nike reuses the slogan “just do it” in all of their billboards, signs, commercials, ads, and much of their clothing and items, to keep a constant pattern that people recognize. By repeating this pattern and slogan, along with the notorious Nike “swoosh,” Nike has created a very famous reputation among athletic companies and is now known worldwide for their slogan and emblem. So when you ask, “so what?” to put it into perspective, according to the Micro Trends website, Nike originally started out making less than $2 million a year, and now makes about $49.107B in a single year, which continues to increase. In my opinion, Nike had a brilliant marketing strategy by making memorable and motivating commercials, which still have a great impact, considering Nike is one of the most successful businesses that are still continuing to grow.