RESPONSE ESSAY 3 QUICK AND DIRTY IDEA LAYOUT

    Video games have made their way and proven their worth in popular culture over the past few decades. From the early linear, simple pong to today’s advanced graphics and intricate story lines. In today’s video games, character development and story telling are the most important factors that go into making a successful game. However, there are few video games that have transcended simple entertainment and have presented strong statements about culture itself, weaving these ideas throughout the story lines and through character development. Probably the most prominent example of one of these3 games would be Rock Star Games’ “Grand Theft Auto V.” In it, there are endless references to popular culture and a shining light on the flaws that are within society today breaking popular cultural myths by presenting the cultural ideas associated with them.
    Those who have played any previous “Grand Theft Auto” (GTA) game knows that Rockstar has come a long way in its character development and story telling. With GTA5, Rockstar attempts to incorporate character development with three characters simultaneously, where the stories of each individual are a part of the game as a whole, yet stand a lone to represent different aspects of society and the diverse mindsets of individuals within society. The game features the lives of 3 characters: Trevor Phillips, Michael De Santa and Franklin Clinton. Rockstar uses these characters to break popular cultural myths. Trevor Phillips is the most insane of the three. His character acts on emotion rather than logic. His strong sexual presence, drunken binges, rage filled rampages and the repeated instances of “act first think later”  represents the deeper side of every individual, the deep animal instinct within us that deals with out impulses, our inner demons which we are too scared to present to the outside world. Trevor’s character is a symbol of the inner demons and his character is associated with the consequences that are attributed with letting those demons run wild. He is constantly finding trouble and ending up in weird places (when you switch to his character in the middle of the game you can find him drunk somewhere, even on top of a mountain) proving to be a clever way of saying you may inevitably “lose yourself” when you act the way he does.
    Michael De Santa is the embodiment of greed and lack of fulfillment and the willingness to escape your past. His actions are justified by his good intentions in hoping to get his life back together after just “one more big score,” being the heist of the Union Depository. Michael’s life is close to perfect before he gets mixed up in the life of robbery again with is old partner, Trevor. Being that he owns a multimillion dollar house, a wife and two grown kids, Michael is a symbol of the elite, he is what society believes to be the top of the financial food chain. We are presented with the cultural myth that when you have money you have it all however, Rockstar breaks that myth by using Michael actions as a vehicle to prove that happiness isn’t in the amount of money you have but the stability that surrounds you be it in family or friends.

Im Sold Pleasure, Not a Product

Advertisers and ads themselves have changed over the years. Today it seems as though instead of selling a product they are selling a lifestyle that is associated with the product. An important factor in this way of advertising is the audience that the ad is being targeted to. In the advertising world the audience can be anyone from the stay at home wife to the up-and-at-em husband (and vise-verse). The emotion most associated with the products being sold by companies is Happiness or pleasure, and lets face it, what is considered happiness for a man is completely different from what is considered happiness for a man or a child. However, is the way that these ads play on the emotions of the audience harmful or beneficial to both the consumer and the seller? Well, the truth of the matter is: it depends. As a guy I notice many commercials that are directed toward me (or the certain audience i happen to be in). One of my favorite commercials are the Men's Wearhouse commercials, most notably the "Walk of Fame" commercial. Now think about what the Men's Wearhouse sells, and examine the commercial. they aren't just selling a suit. They are selling you idea of pleasure and confidence. Pleasure in the form of a beautiful woman passing you buy and shooting you a glance of "damn you're sexy" and confidence in the way you look which caused that woman to shoot you the aforementioned a glance. However, are these two things a cultural myth that is associated with the items Men's Wearhouse sells? well, one is and the other is not. Confidence can be found in anything that yo find represents you, whether it be the way you look or what you do for a living. but confidence alone wont get a woman to find you attractive, especially if you are a complete ass. That is the thing about companies and the advertisements that they put out there on television land. They aim to sell you a lifestyle and an idea of what that product might make you feel about yourself. In some cases this approach can be good or bad. It just depends on the product being sold and how it is being sold to you.