Semiotics For Beginners: Well I guess that's me!

Semiotics..okay let’s see if I’ve got this straight.

I reread the 'Semiotics for Beginners' page, and now I think I'm good for my understanding of semiotics, hopefully this expresses my understanding well. Writing my semiotics paper will be so much easier now...

Semiotics is the study of signs with implicit and explicit meanings. Since it isn’t actually an academic study, it’s more of a theoretical study or analysis. It also is the study of distinguishing between :
"- semantics: the relationship of signs to what they stand for;
- syntactics (or syntax): the formal or structural relations between signs;
- pragmatics: the relation of signs to interpreters (Morris 1938, 6-7)." (1)

Also there is the notion of having a connotation, which is different from a denotation, which is also different from a myth about the certain text, so a tv show, image, literature, etc.

“Semiotics is important because it can help us not to take 'reality' for granted as something having a purely objective existence which is independent of human interpretation. It teaches us that reality is a system of signs. Studying semiotics can assist us to become more aware of reality as a construction and of the roles played by ourselves and others in constructing it. It can help us to realize that information or meaning is not 'contained' in the world or in books, computers or audio-visual media. Meaning is not 'transmitted' to us - we actively create it according to a complex interplay of codes or conventions of which we are normally unaware. Becoming aware of such codes is both inherently fascinating and intellectually empowering.” (2)

This is so true. It reminds me of when Britain claimed parts of Africa and imposed indirect rule. Africans thought they had control over the decisions made, but in reality Britain controlled and oppressed them. Soon, some Africans started to study literature and history. With this newfound knowledge, they understood their oppression and eventually realised they were being controlled. Britain is sort of like technology, signs and texts. Semiotics is the way that we, the Africans, can understand our oppression and how these texts influence or affect our social life.


Work Cited:
(1), (2) Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners. Media and Communication Studies. April 3, 2005. Aberystwyth University. November 3, 2007.

P is for Porno

Okay, so obviously I am a little over sensitive, in regards to my last post. So after I left the class abruptly because I was frustrated (and I needed to change my shirt, is that such a crime?) I decided that there was no point in staying away from class and missing out on a lecture. So I reluctantly dragged myself back into class, and I'm glad that I came back, because now I get to post on our class discussion. Yipee!

By the way, I tried SOOOO hard to act like a badass because I was just so bitter. I tried not looking at Mark while he was talking (which I usually do, look at the speaker, because it's just a sign of respect), I text messaged in class (but had to stop because I felt bad) and not writing notes..but I couldn't do it. It's not even because it was super interesting (in the end, it was) but it was just because I felt so bad, and there was really no point of it. Silly, silly me.

When I returned we were talking about the definition of power and hegemonies; about the Pope and how propaganda first started with trying to 'civilize' people from outer nations and essentially, the beginning of evangelism.

notes:(n.b. I'm just being a bitch from here on in because I'm bitter, please don't hold it against me)
We spoke about ideologically based institutions (i.e. school) and how people of power are the ones who influence what means giving an individual culture. That point made me think. Just because someone has a Master's degree of a PhD, does that mean they can tell us virtually whatever they wish because those letters at the endof their name create this status as a powerful person? It was mentioned that these powerful people can influence thinking, so could one say that with these letters, the powerful person can use it for good or evil; fact or theory? That's just my thinking.

Then we talked about how we are always being watched, and the penopticon from Orwell's 1984 was mentioned-one person watching everyone/everything. That makes me want to read 1984 even MORE!

We spoke also about the reasons that school is free for individuals under the age of 18. Among other comments, Adam contributed the point about citizen participation: schools are made so that young people learn not to question authority. That made sense to me, since it's around the end of that free schooling that some children begin to question authority, and some even rebel against it.

We started talking about the point of education. Everyone was totally thinking that it was to get smart and be able to land a job. Then Mark schooled us all (no pun intended) telling us that the point to education is to see something from multiple points of views. Not necessarily to know things, not necessarily to have an opinion, but for that main purpose. But riddle me this: What if we already consider all the views of looking at a situation? Growing up in groups of different types of friends, having mild health conditions as a child, etc. made me a pretty considerate person, even at a young age. I try understanding all the views of others, and I think that it's the reason why I get along well with so many different types of people; I am a person a lot of people can relate to one way or another. So yeah, obviously there is always room for improvement with anything, but I feel that if that's what the point of education is, those of us who have come far in that 'skill' should be challenged. And I don't think that thinking about even MORE points of view would be beneficial to me, only because I already overanalyze everything and have too many thoughts in my mind at once. And I mean that as it is a curse to me. I can't even get through a decision without going crazy and agonizing over every little detail about it. What a nightmare.

Sex Sells (see, your eye was most likely drawn to that while scrolling down the page)
I definitely did not know that sexual industries are the largest underground economy. It really doesn't surprise me though, and it also doesn't surprise me that its success is because of the internet. Mark mentioned that algorithms are made by pronographers, so that they scout out what people want. I am just thinking now, isn't it ironic how algorithms are formulted by looking at things such as blogs, and yet I'm writing about them in one?! Trippyyyy...

After talking about Little Red Riding Hood, which started out as a morality tale in France, [There is a 16th century version and 18th century version] I really want to read The Great Cat Massacre. That book is now added to my book list...is it by Robert Dartin or Martin? Anyways I really want to read it. It seems like it combines a history lesson with nursery time fun. Sick.

I liked the literacy point about how 50% can read directions on a perscription bottle, 25% who can't and there is another percentage that is a literate who can read but choose not to. Before we linked it to politics and the apathetic individuals who can vote but don't, I was thinking that this showed apathy. I didn't know what we were about to link to, but I knew something was coming about that.

Then after Mark explained how being able to read and choosing not to read is the same thing as not contributing to society, not participating in public discourse, which results in consenting others to make decisions for you. That's how hegemony works, to get you to consent to someone ELSE.

I was going to vote regardless of our discussion in class the other day about the importance of voting, but I wondered, how is it that people push push push this talk about when you don't vote, you let others make the decisions for you, when you might not even get your way. It's pretty messed up.

When we ended the class with Mark letting us know that we have to ask ourselves if we want to make money or if we want to 'change the world,' it made me think a lot. I think there's a spectrum, it's not black and white. I don't want to make loads of money (I wouldn't mind) but I don't want to set a goal like 'changing the world' and then get disappointed when stuff doesn't work out. I understand thinking about priorities, I just think that it's hard to think about that stuff now when it still takes me 10 minutes to decide what cereal to have in the morning. That's all.

Blogging on Lined Paper. In class. While Mark Lipton is talking.

Please note the hostility and frustration demonstrated in my frantic writing...click on the pictures to enlarge.

Lesotho, Basotho, Sesotho

Oh man. I cannot wait to start figuring out the documentary and activist project. My group, Katherine, Lisa and Vanessa and I decided to sort of put the two projects together from a documentary I showed them. It is called the Invisible Children, and it's about displaced children in Northern Uganda. When I was shown it for the first time, I cried for the first time I have ever cried for a movie. And I remember I watched it again that same weekend, and cried again. And I have always wanted to go to Africa, I actually wanted to go to Lesotho (pronounced le-su-tu) because my sponsored child lives there, Morepeli. Such a cool kid. He and I are so alike! It's weird that it just so happens that I get to sponsor a smart, leadership-oriented kid when I'm like that too. And I am actually so against charity organizations because I know a lot of the funding goes to administration costs. Not through Help Lesotho or Invisible Children.

As a group at first we were skeptical to watch the documentary about the Invisible Children for two reasons:
- We thought, "this is just a typical ‘children in Africa’ movie"
- How would they get this footage, a lot of shots look professionally done

But after much scrutiny, we realized that it documented the literal ‘unbelievable’ truth about these young children in Northern Uganda.

We commented on how it was ironic how this documentary was actually intended to show three friends’ friendly trip to Africa, and it showed the real, heartbreaking facts about these children. We learned that not only are they living in poverty and sickness, but also with fear. Children as young as eight years old are trained as killers or live in fear, those are essentially their choices. We also learned all the history of the war and how the Rebel movement started, and we did some further research and concluded that it’s basically a terrible sacrifice of these children’s freedom for some eccentric leaders ways of thinking.

We were wondering why it says ‘rough cut’ when it shows up on the desktop of my computer. Then we realized that it was the subtitle of the film and thought that it was very fitting-the film shows the rough, raw, accurate portrayal of these children’s lives. It was pretty weird when we started to think about how this film was not made by professionals but by regular young adult-aged college students.

We also recognized the connection to media and why the documentary is relevant to watching in class-the way that children are portrayed on Television commercials for charities is not how they are. Children, as an age group, are generally pretty resilient, according to the film as well as according to people I know that have been to Africa.

The Invisible Children reminds me of HelpLesotho because it is another charity that I am involved with. You see, Help Lesotho is a non-profit organization created by two family friends, Dr. Peg Herbert and Carolyn Kennedy. Among other helpers and volunteers, these two ladies go to my church in Ottawa. They informed everyone of Lesotho and the dangers for the residents there. Completely surrounded by South Africa, Lesotho is the country projected to have the most AIDS victims in the world if their lives aren't intervened by other countries. Only 8% of the students graduate from high school, and the Basotho (residents of Lesotho) are forced to live with very little water. After hearing of this, and sponsoring a child there, I decided that I would really want to go to Lesotho to volunteer and help out.

It is for that reason why I first wanted to get a degree in International Development (ID). There are so many problems in the global community that individuals fail to recognize. After I learned that the program of International Development at Guelph could include going to another country to study, I was sold. I was so excited to go to Guelph, go to another country during my studies, and then later on work for an organization that visited countries in need each year.

But what was more practical? Going through ID and pretty much only ever being able to the same type of work? Or going through the Media Studies program at GH and being able to travel the world, helping out where I can, and have a pretty concrete background because of the PR..? My family and I regarded the outweighing factors between Guelph and GH, and then in the end decided that it was in my best interest to do up GH. It made the most sense, and I am continuously glad with the decision that I made. There are so many opportunities that could be available to me through Media Studies and PR, including going to Lesotho and Uganda.

Anyways, back to me talking about the documentary...

My friend Nick was a fellow co-prez of a different school, as well on the Eastern North Ontario Secondary School Students Association (If you remember Corbin Smith from Media Studies last year, this association is how I came to know Corbin and essentially, how I came to know GH) with me. Every May we have a Conference for high school students who wish to acquire leadership skills, held at a campground. I have attended 'May Conference (MayCon)' once and planned it once. Now this MayCon was really special for me because it was here where I was first introduced to the Invisible Children.

Now we decided to have sign-ups for interest sessions at MayCon. This meant that there were 4 or 5 different things for students to do around the camp site, such as capture the flag, yoga, arts and crafts, etc. Since I was head of all the events, I decided to sit in on Nick's documentary session where he had decided to screen the Invisible Children.

I didn't think anything of the movie as I watched it for a few minutes while preparing materials for a game during dinner. Then I remember hearing a little boys voice speaking about his brother being killed when the two of them were abducted by rebels in their town. He said that he couldn't cry because if he did, he would be killed, too. I immediately stopped what I was doing and began watching the movie. Then I remember watching a part in the movie where the camera pans over a hospital village and there are SO MANY children sleeping there who had commuted from their homes to sleep together, so that they would be safe from the abducting rebels. I literally burst into tears and had to leave the room. All I could think of was 'How could things be THIS bad somewhere and I didn't know about it? How is there nothing going on for these kids?' I didn't even exactly know what I was crying about, I just remember thinking I had to do two things 1. watch the rest of the documentary, and 2. do something about these children. Later on, in the cabin for the executive (the planners of the conference) we watched the documentary together. I cried again for the second time, except it was pretty much for a good half of the movie. I was just blown away by the fact that there was no fancy camera work or gimmicks. This was just real stuff. These were just some amateur documentary-makers who had no idea what they were doing. And I think that was why I was so drawn in.

I already did a quick summary of the film, but I just wanted to give a background about my relationship with this film, and the impact it has had on my life. In fact it's a good reason why I'm even in this program at school. I hope our activist project can raise the awareness that can help these children. Through all the different things I've gone through in my life, I always wondered why I was still existing today. There had to be a reason, after all, I believe that everything happens for a reason. After watching this documentary for the third or fourth time I thought about the idea of a global community, and how we are supposed to help each other around the world. I think that this is the reason I'm still around. I love helping people and that's what drives me to help internationally, whether it will end up being with the World Health Organization, United Nations, or an organization I could possibly start up on my own. I really hope everyone wants to be informed of this!

P.S. Here are the links for HelpLesotho and the Invisible Children, please take a look and allow yourself to be inspired.

HelpLesotho
Invisible Children

Yakkity Yak

It is amazing the things parents will do for their kids. This girl on my floor had problems with her internet and she was complaining like there was no tomorrow. She decides to call her dad and tell him that there's something wrong and that she needs it fixed right away, because she really needs the internet to do her homework.

She thought that there was NO way that her dad would be able to get her internet so fast. I told her good luck and left her to her dilemma. 10 minutes later I get a phone call. It's her, telling me that apparently her dad had called the front desk, and they said that someone would be up in five minutes. I guess her dad thought her getting the internet was a life or death ordeal.

Now I guess there are two ways of looking at this.
(1) She was resourceful and asked her father to help her out. This wasn't an abuse of anything since she used what she knew to help her situation.
or:
(2) She was completely unwilling to accomodate herself. She could have used someone else's computer, hooked up to the internet in the lounge, etc. There were other options.


I guess the reason I'm looking at this so critically is because I would have just held out. Yeah, it's an inconvenience, but it would be time to get creative.

I don't know if it is something incredibly unique, but I think it's at least a little bit unusual. I don't know if this will screw her over in life; if she'll be unable to function on her own, independently. I really don't know. I just know that when things like that happen to me, I make the best of the situation, using myself and my own mind to fix the problem. Yeah sure, my dad would jump at the chance to help me, but how am I supposed to be able to live independently if I'm constantly being helped? For me, I like to see the challenge to adapt to the situation. Maybe I'm just thinking too much? Is there even such thing as thinking too much?

10.10.10! Oh, it's only 10.10.07.

Where did I come from?
Where am I going?
How do I get there?
What is cheese?
How small is the average peanut?

But the real question is: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Hmmmmmm...

I apologize for my mockery. Although it is quite amusing to me, and I love amusing myself!

Anywho, the first three questions are the ones that define your meaning of life, Mark said. This is very interesting because I remember when I was about seven or eight I always wondered why I existed. I was so filled with anger so early on that I was like what is the point of living if I'm not here for a reason? And that is when I started talking to my mom about God and why I was baptized and all that jazz. Religion is an interesting topic for me because I am Christian, I attended an Anglican church for my whole life, a lot of my friends are Muslim or Jewish, I've known Buddhists...I just think religion is such and interesting topic. So anyways, eventually my philosophy is that God has a reason for everything, even if he doesn't reveal the reason to you right away. I honestly live by this rule.

In class we talked about other rules...rules as metaphors and how love is one of many rules. I didn't really get it, butttt I'm not too worried about the whole thing...

Actually now that I think about it, I do understand. Since you originate from your parents and a lot of their views are passed on to you, the rule of love for yourself derives from the voice that originates from your parents. It's like because they once said something about your partner being strong or something like that, whatever you think about a partner will originate from 'where you came from' and your parents' voice in your head.. That is going to be so annoying, to hear the voice of your mom and dad for every situation/decision...lame.

De Saussure said that text is anything you can name. I find De Saussure's thoughts to be very interesting, so that might be a follow-up read I may end up pursuing.

It's so true how there is no connection between most words and objects. Sometimes there is some kind of connection between a word and an object, but rarely. I can't even think of one now.


BAH THIS HELPS SO MUCH WITH MY SEMIOTICS PAPER...Definitely keeping this just as notes for myself:
sign 1) signifier, tangible things
2) signified mental concepts

Signification=meaning

There are 3 levels of meaning:
denotation
connotation and myth
ideology

Meaning is made up of 3 parts: the object, a reference, and the interpreter

Reading, or all meaning making, is a negotiation:
-hegemonic or dominant
-negotiated
-oppositional/aberrant (wrong)

The opening credits of 6 feet under is the apparent inspiration for some semiotics papers..although I'm not getting an idea yet, but I assume it will be revealed to me all in due time..as in, long before the paper is due..so I can get it in on time.

And as my last note of the day: synecdoche. What a cool word.

Rhyme of the Day: Is J-Lo Preggo??

I watched ET Weekend for the FIRST TIME tonight. It amazes me how they just pull you in with their late-breaking news that just seems so juicy. I can honestly tell now why I don’t like watching stuff like this. People just make assumptions about Britney Spears and how she feels about the paparazzi and not being around her kids, and how she hasn’t had a real childhood which is now effecting her life, etc. Okay fine, Dr. Phil does have a PhD, but at the same time, has he even met Britney? Yes, he understands having children and wanting to be with children all the time, but please, give me a break. You can’t just analyze something and tell the public about it, regardless whether you’re right or wrong. People need to make their own decisions about what they think about celebrities and their situations. Even so, people shouldn’t even be judging them. It isn’t your job to judge anyone. There is just no point except to make yourself feel better or because you have nothing better to do.

Seriously, who cares that Oprah’s newly exposed garden expert used to be an ‘exotic dancer’? Everyone, I guess. The story is just so juicy that you want to know the story behind it... and before you know it, you want to know the circumstance, quotes...just some assurance that the story is true. You get hooked. But that’s another thing that I think is a bit different about me. I didn’t get hooked as much as I tried to get. I actually tried to let myself be succumbed by popular culture but it just didn’t work. I’m just too different I guess. I’d rather watch Seinfeld for Pete’s sakes. I’m pretty sure I’m just not your typical (or stereotypical, depending on how you look at it) 18-year-old girl.

Now don’t get me wrong, I personally have no problem with news. I think its important to know what’s going on around the world, nationally, and locally. I just don’t see the point of caring about other people’s lives who are exactly the same as me or any other regular person. All I can do is laugh.

Get into the Groove

Man, I totally hate blogs. I mean, when I first found out this is what we had to do for this class, I have to admit I was totally skeptical. When I think of blogs I think of pre-pubescent teenagers who think their lives are just so unbearable that they have to write about it. I guess blogs have a whiney connotation. Even now I just feel like I’m constantly whining. I sort of wish we could fast forward to a time when I have a microchip implanted into our brains so that we have our thoughts of that time to later record into our blogs. Get to it, neuroscientists!

I definitely enjoyed yesterday’s class. Politics is one of those discussion topics that aren’t always acceptable to talk about in public. I registered to vote the other day. I figure, if I want to be able to complain about the government or how it’s run, I have to have contributed to the decision process in order to rightfully be able to do that. So I was happy about that part of class.

Of course the fact that we used up about an hour on politics on top of the hour debating something that the whole class grasped except for one if not three people didn’t surprise me. When the girl in class yesterday didn’t understand the fact that it was a privilege to be in university, or any post-secondary education, I wasn’t really surprised. I wasn’t even angry with her, and how inconsiderate I thought she was being. The only thing I could think of is the fact that there are so many people that completely disregard circumstance and special situations that other individuals might be in. People hardly ever choose to sit back and try to understand that not everyone is in the same situation as he/she is in. There are so many factors that could stop someone from going to University or College. It's not always money issues either. Even when that was explained to her she couldn't understand that even if you work hard enough you may still not be able to get what you want. And yes, even thought that is what parents, teachers, and elders have been telling us since we were young "Do your best and you will get what you want!" This is not always the case. There were so many things that I wanted to say, and for that reason I had my hand up for quite a while, but apparently I'm not allowed to participate in class. There were times when I would be the only one with my hand up and I still wouldn't get to say what I wanted. How am I supposed to be marked on class participation when I am not able to do so..? I guess that's the downside of being in a massive class, but at the same time I can't help but wonder if there is another reason I'm not being heard...

After that long, unnecessary (but somewhat interesting) conversation, we looked at the Gap jeans commercial that Mark showed to demonstrate that nothing in advertisement is by accident. There were signs of Madonna showing that she was a dominant character in the music industry, and perhaps symbolically showing the dominance of white artists over black artists. But, little did we know, this is not the commercial showed to the actual public. The shorter, 30-second commercial contains none of the racial or dominant themes that we discussed in class, except for at the end when Madonna does some ballerina move and Missy does the splits. I find it a bit biased how we didn't know that the commercial shown to us wasn't the one that was on TV. It was obviously the one that we would use to analyze, because even I would rather analyze the seemingly racist one than the TV-used one. I just wish we had been told about the uses of this certain commercial versus the edited, shorter one.

Here, see for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-XA2lsbgjA

It's like catching shoplifters. If you're looking for ethnic (be they black, brown, yellow, etc.) shoplifters, that's all you're ever going to catch.

The Devil Wears Prada

I LOVE the movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’ I think I’ve watched it way too many times, but it has such good lines in it and it is so relevant to the life of a media student. I think the job in it would be interesting to have. The main character, Andee, is a smart young girl with a journalism degree that ends up landing a job as the second assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of a top international fashion magazine. "A million girls would kill for that job" is the phrase that Andee hears repeatedly from countless colleagues of her boss. Except she's not in it for the fashion. She just wants to endure the position long enough to put it on her resume. She doesn't care about fashion to a point where she wears random pieces of clothing to her office.

The part when Miranda completely tears up Andrea about this sweater that she’s wearing. Oh man. Miranda and someone who I assume is an art director are picking out a belt for a photo shoot or something, they have to decide between two similarly colored belt. "They're just so different," the art director says with such desperation, and Andee chuckles as she writes in her little notebook. Miranda turns to her and asks why she's laughing. Andee replies that the two shades of blue are quite similar. Miranda just kills me at this point. She goes off on a spiel about how the precise colour of blue of Andee's sweater has symbolism and how it's ironic that even though she had just thrown it on in the morning almost as if to represent she didn't care what people think, that specific colour of blue has special symbolic significance in the fashion industry. She essentially TEARS her apart. And the fact that NO ONE cares about Andrea because she's just a second assistant, that kills me. When she’s even crying because she couldn't help her boss, Nigel (a coworker) does not even pity her. In a way he helps her by not feeling sorry for her, and essentially calling her unfashionable, ugly and fat.

It kind of reminds me of what Mark said in class about people who are interested in fashion are not the ones who will be getting jobs in fashion. When Miranda is interviewing Andrea, Andrea starts to explain how she did her fourth year thesis on something about the janitor’s union, and Miranda just completely cuts her off. She doesn't even care what Andee has to say about herself. All she sees is the fact that she has horrible fashion sense and doesn’t even really know about the fashion magazine she is getting hired for. It sort of reminds me of myself in a way because I don’t pay much attention to fashion, and I am just one of those girls that doesn’t like shopping the way other girls do... I don’t know. I think that’s one thing that makes me special. There are so many things that girls, err.. 'young women' occupy themselves with that I don’t find relevant or helpful to my development as a person. Take body image for example. Yes, sometimes I can have problems with my body but I’ve pretty much accepted myself for who I am. I don’t know, I guess I figure I would be the girl that gets a job in the fashion industry because I would mention my paper on environmental awareness or the 17-year war in Northern Uganda that is making the lives of children there very difficult. Those are the things that interest me now, at this point of my life, ad I’m pretty sure that in 3-4 years from now I’ll still be interested in similar things. I just think a job like that, working for someone who they call the 'Dragon Lady' would be hard, especially if you hardly know anything about fashion, and I'd be up for the challenge.

“Well, let me know when you’re whole life goes up in smoke.” -Nigel

Just a word of advice... plus, finally, something REALLY original!

Juicebox would be SUCH a good rap name. Well, for a joke, amateur, comedial rapper.

''Hope it's real pulp 'cause the fake stuff's buggin',
If you got a cold get to the Vita-C chuggin'.

Juicebox comin' in with the dope dope orange,
They see us comin' in, wow we almost broke the door hinge!''

Well as a word of advice, if your rap name ever is Juicebox, you would have to remember to NEVER mention orange in your songs because orange only rhymes with door hinge. Just thought I would point that out in case you ever wanted to become a rapper.

Speaking of oranges, I am being reminded of a commercial that I saw the other day, and I thought I would mention it because it was pretty unexpected. So it's for Herbal Essences Shampoo. Totally irrelevant to me since I have no hair, but on this particular day I decided to watch it. There was a typical shower shot of the girl washing her hair, as if she's saying to herself "Oh this shampoo is so great, and it smells nice too!!:D" Later on in the commercial she flips around her hair, yada yada yada. And then, I guess since her hair has so much body that she won't need to wash it for a week, she hands off the shampoo bottle to this biker that happens to be walking in the opposite direction. Perfect timing, I think he was on his way to the shower. Anyways, the biker also washes his hair with this same shampoo apparently, and then he decides to not only flip around his hair, but show how full of body his hair is to all his biker buds. I was impressed by the originality of the commercial, but I don't really feel like analyzing it right now. Maybe at a later date? Well, most likely not. But I just wanted to point out how I think I saw an original shampoo commercial. They are finally coming up with something different.