Blog 4: Domino Effect on our Filipino Culture

I hope,one day, that I could see all Filipinos wearing the bahag and patadyong, or the Barong and Baro't saya for these clothes remind us pure Filipino culture before the Spaniards,Americans and Japanese came. However,due to cultural diversity overload, Filipinos forget how to be true Pinoys and most of us,forget what our culture truly is. This can be observed now,especially in today's generation, in which K-pop,J-pop and other foreign pop cultures greatly influence Filipinos' lifestyle and mentality. Not only in lifestyle, even our educational system adapts to American's strategy of learning because books and materials we used are just recycled knowledge from westerners. Philippines is a rich pot of melted culture but we are ignoring and despising it. This blank cultural appreciation of Filipinos is destroying our culture and life and it is up to us to revive it for the benefit of all.

Blog 3: "Ads Turning Point to People's Judgement: Analysis of a Newspaper Ad"

Flipping through the Philippine Daily Inquirer,Tuesday,July 21,2011, the "universal beauty" ads use,on the contrary, is not applied on the ad I saw from a surgical and beauty company, Marie France. Breaking the common advertisement tradition, advertisers take a leap of faith, by using human insecurities to make beauty unattainable. It is rare to see Marie France using a headless,fat,half-naked guy exposing his flabs in the Fat Mobilization System (FMS) Marie France for men. These "flabs" are marked by broken-lined circles to correct these imperfections to proudce the slim and physique body men crave in having. However, the reality is, fat individuals can get these rock-hard abs in photoshop imagery. Their slogan, " With FMS, you effectively reduce your fat and pounds,allowing you to do more and be more". Are they saying that people can't do more than anyone?. In contrast, fat people do things confidently,without judgement and insecurities than thin,slimmer fellas. Fat people possess a strong persona in which they fight for what they believe in and are satisfied with everything. Advertisers especially surgical companies should take note of this fact because there is more to look for inside each individual than to valiantly show their insecurities to promote products.

Blog 2; When Two Worlds Collide: Slang vs.Formal

Every generation has different traditions and perspectives as the world changes every second and the English language isn't an exception to this truth. Before the 20th century, people prefer being answered by the rigid,yes-and-no reply,because it is direct and fast. Now,kids' use of "slang" terms like "duh", "yeah,right",and "like" exhibit versatility and flexibility. However, these terms puzzle and interrogate adults because they don't know what kids actually feel about a certain issue or statement. Old-fashioned yes-and-no commends respect and a strong,stable and critical answer. Yes means yes and No means no. Flexible "duh" and "yeah,right" is either both,depending on how someone expresses it. It is also considered as the "limbo" or middle answer. Yes-and-no does not depend on how the speaker conveys and replies it. The slang terms are understandable on how the speaker say it-whether it is good or bad. Both languages describe the variety of people from generations. Moreover,due to the diverse culture mark on people,they tend to argue about it and compare how things are before and after. However,the English language (or any other languages),is always there,and like people,language tends to diverse too.

Blog 1: Kids and Slang Equals Confusion

If a teacher asks,"Why would you throw that laziness of yours?", the answer of an 11 year old will be," Duh, I don't have any choice",or "yeah,right!". Imagine how the teacher will react when he or she will hear this reaction. Either the teacher will be angry or confused to the 11 year old. Today's use of slang languages exhibits confusion and puzzlement to the older generations.This mumbo-jumbo,undefined terms disrupts the mutual communication between the 1900's,1800's elderly to the cyber kids of the 20th century. In addition, the use of these terms triggers disrespect and misconceptions to adults. The reason why today's generation is considered the most confusing kind because when adults interact with kids today,the answer they will get is the "gray"kind,meaning the either "yes or no" answer. So, if an 11-year old answer a question, expect to be confused at first because their replies will be packed with dictionary-free terms. Furthermore,kids should realize to stand on the different side and use their common senses to be direct and precise. Finally, they must practice to avoid these terms for as they grow up,these slang languages are useless in the grown-up world.