http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBtgjIwiFvI&feature=endscreen&NR=1
This link is to an anti-drug ad that focused on meth. I thought this video was very interesting because it used many of the techniques such as shock value and youthful actors. How does this video play on the stereotype of children being naive? Is it more believable for the producer to use a young person than say an older person for when the actor assumes he will just try it just once? How does the scene add to the commercial? Is this where the video gets the most shock value or is it with the other actors and their appearance? Does this seem like a realistic scenario for a young person or do you think it is exaggerated quiet a bit? How might the over exaggeration downplay the message of the commercial and cause people to not take it as serious as it is trying to be?
Prompt #1: The creator of this anti-meth advertisement implies that once somebody tries meth for the first time, they automatically become addicted to it. This is represented by when the boy says he is doing meth "just this one time", and all of the older and dirty actors all stare at each other and laugh in unison. This ad also implies that meth causes people to be engaged in other illegal activities, such as robbery, when the guy says he and the kid can "steal together". The overall trashy, bare, and dark background suggests that if you are doing meth, you are throwing your life into the trash.
ReplyDeletePrompt 1. Probably the most striking aspect of this commercial to me was the way that all of the meth users laughed at the kid after he proclaimed that he was only trying meth "just this one time." It emphasizes meth's addictiveness, and ties in with the "not even once" ads we've been studying in class. Overall, this commercial is very effective in getting its perspective across without exaggerating too much.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that the laughter at the end of this ad was very ominous. They point was blatantly clear how truly powerful a drug meth is. However, I thought that the most shock value point in the clip was how young the kid was. It affected me because he reminded me of my younger brother. This fact shows that one of the audiences for this ad is people with younger siblings or children about that age and older. One of the comments on YouTube really stuck out to me. "Its sat that people who are my age (13) do meth where I live...13! It's way to young....stick with weed for now kids" This comment was shock value its self. As I was reading it at first I was thinking "How sad, wonder where he/she lives?" But then I was totally caught off guard by the fact that doing meth is so bad that he/she was saying please do another drug instead!
DeletePrompt 1. I think this commercial is really emotionally intense. The commercial is so dark but it the little boy looks so innocent and the guy giving him meth doesn't look that bad. When the other older addicts come into view, the scene is horrifying. The younger boy looks so helpless. These people have horrible teeth and their skin looks awful. The poor boy looks so scared when he was trying the meth, almost as if he was pressured into it. The people tell him that he is one of them now and he looks so trapped. The audience can see the regret on his face immediately and everyone just laughs at him almost like they are saying you've tried it once, you're stuck now and you're not getting out. You're forced to live here with us and you're going to be just like us in a few years. All these people are stuck together because they are dependent on each other and they see the young boy as fresh meat and like maybe he could help them get meth better than they can get it themselves. The makers of this commercial did an excellent job of portraying extreme fear and disgust to their audience to get the message of not doing meth across to their audience.
ReplyDeleteI think that this commercial is effective in getting its message across. It's definitely more shocking when the creepy old people meth addicts come in and start talking to the younger boy saying all of the things they can now do together. I think it is dramatic to say that trying something once will destroy your life but I also think it is safe to say that a lot of drugs are very addictive and most people who are willing to try them once are willing to keep doing them until they get addicted. It was shocking how young the actor was and I think it is good to show someone that young because a lot of young people are easier to pressure into trying new things in order to seem cool or just for the experience. Overall this commercial was awful.
ReplyDeletePrompt 1: The commercial uses implicit associations made with the boy and the junkies in the room, to say that, no matter what, that the boy will end up like those in the video. This a strong way to make a point, as it contrasts/juxtaposes life before and after the use of meth. The collective laugh of the junkies.
ReplyDeleteInference: I think that the juxtaposition of life before and after a drug is a strong and common way in which anti-drug commercials try to make their point.