Cara's Thought Box

      One of my favorite shows, Hawaii Five-0, is a partner to and sponsored by the popular computer software company, Microsoft Windows. The company is specified in almost every scene, but has no ads during commercial break. The promoting technique utilized in the scenes of the show is called Madison and Vine. This technique is also known as product placement. Here, you can see the concept of integrating advertisements within entertainment. Yet, how am I aware that Microsoft Windows supports Hawaii Five-0 ? I came to this conclusion, as I can generally see the actors using one of Microsoft’s products throughout their investigations. From tablets to phones, and search engines, it is hard to miss the software’s simple logo, that I consider it to be one of the stars of the show.        Microsoft Windows was smart enough to partner with a popular show in order to make itself well known. It was also smart of them to target themselves in a cr...

      While on Instagram, scrolling through my Explore Page, I found a post showing a fake Starbucks ad on one side and the other showed Starbucks’ response to the fake advertisement.   According to Business Insider, there have been multiple ads posted using the hashtag, #MEBUCKS. The advertisement states that Starbucks will give out free drinks to anyone who streams Taylor Swift’s latest song, “Me”. However, this is untrue, as the famous coffee franchise denied it via their own Twitter account. Starbucks said, “This is not a valid Starbucks offer, and this screenshot is fake. To confirm any Starbucks promotion, you can check your Starbucks app, reach out to our customer care line, or ask your Starbucks barista”. Business Insider shared that these fake deals have happened more than once. What makes customers and fans make these deals anyways? Back in 2018, the same Starbucks scam occurred, using the hashtag, #SHALLOWBUCKS. This hashtag was commonly used via so...

         I have recently become addicted to a famous CW show, Jane the Virgin . The show is not entertaining because of its plot and concept, but because of the political issues of diversity, freedom, and the ability of choice it emphasizes along the way. Having a cast, where majority of the actors are of Latin descent, depicts the reality that America is composed of immigrants. To add to this, the show has three female Latin characters, Jane, Xiomara, and Alba (Jane’s Abuela), who run the house, showing the idea of feminism and women empowerment. In Season 2, the show focused on immigration. Abuela dealt with her illegal immigration, as she fled from Venezuela to the United States without the proper documentation. She finally obtained her green card to become a legal citizen. Yet, the recent change in her status foreshadows that some may view her and non-citizens as dangerous, without even thinking about the considerations in between. In fact, Abuela is so ...

  Thrift shopping is one of the best establishments ever created. That is to say, you can simply buy some expensive name brand item for five dollars or less. It is like the dollar store of clothing. In any case, inside the most recent year particularly, the thrifting industry has risen and vintage clothing has become the basis of what the youth wear. And keeping in mind that I wasn't staying aware of the patterns years prior, something reveals to me that this latest trend was not as popular as it is today.     At the present time however, those old clothing patterns of our parents and grandparents are in.  What we considered to be ugly, is now what we have come to love to wear.   No one wears just a simple T-shirt, jeans, and Converse anymore. Instead, turtleneck shirts, high-wasted belt jeans, old band tees, and scrunchies can be seen everywhere. Do not get me wrong, but almost every student at my school dresses in this vintage style, and I a...

                                             Media is everywhere and as we continue to consume it, we become like what is consumed. This observation has led me to ask, How regularly do I use media throughout my life or on a daily basis? In my view, I don’t think I use media very frequently. I only spend 20 minutes looking on both Instagram and Snapchat. But, taking this question into consideration, I have come to understand that there’s not a moment when I’m not utilizing media or not in place where it surrounds me. At first, I viewed media as what was seen on TV, computers, phones, and social media sights. From this point on, I see that there are so many more forms of media. I just never noticed them. Who knew that music or even billboard and magazine advertisements were associated with media. Because media is constantly around me, I’ve become so accustomed to it, th...