In our society today there are many things that shape and defines our culture. Some of these aspects are clearly beneficial to us while others may temporarily adopt this appraoach but in the end has the ability to prevent many positive aspects that occur in our lives. Fr. Kavanaugh is an individual who emphasizes and focuses on this prevention. As he does this he attempts to explain this prevention as advertising, and how the essence of advertising is such a prominent influence in today's society. He continues by highlighting the ways in which it effects our societal values, our personal images and the importance of contentment. This examination, as a result, is furthered by a group of "The Merchants of Cool" who prolonges various aspects that deals with our lives today.

Fr. Kavanaugh worries that advertising is the transformer of our culture due to this idea of information and formation. In our lives we, as humans, tend to adapt other beliefs or for that matter ideas, to base our daily lives. We essentially adapt them as true partly due to the agreement of the masses or simply because it has been so fixed as true in our history, that it introduces no argument. From this arises the event in which this information becomes widespread throughout our culture, reaching some prior generations but mainly the teenage generation today. From this occurence comes Fr. Kavanaugh's idea that the teens soon become in tuned with the media and what it is about. This is when various aspects, like advertising, is presented to us and begins to inform us. As it fill us with this inforation concerning our personal beings and the world in which we live in, it starts to "shape" our preconceived ideas about realness. This is similar to Fr. Kavanaugh as he states that "whoever gives us information about our lives and our world actually forms our notions about what is most real." By saying that "Information is formation" he sums up his concern regarding our values in culture. This is succeded by our personal images and the essence of happiness.

As advertising continues to effect our country it also effects the understanding of an individual. Fr. Kavanaugh indicates that we, essentially, are not wanting the product in its physical state. Instead we long and yearn for the values that are depicted when a product is purchased. We want this value because it is the essence that brings about popularity and recognition. As I think of this idea I imagine an individual walking into a store in a mall and spotting a pair of shoes that he/she may want. Upon purchasing them he/she says; "Man, I can't wait to wear these I know everybody is going to like them and ask where I got them from." This example in a way illustrates Kavanaugh's view that this product, in this case the shoe, will bring "prestige" ("Advertising, Consciousness & Culture: The Depersonalization of American Life") and respect. It also highlights this relationship between human beings and "things." Kavanaugh furthers his concern by implying that our meaning occurs when we relate to things rather than people and from this arrives "our primary means of self-expression and self-acceptance" ("Advertising, Consciousness & Culture: The Depersonalization of American Life"). Due to this instance, Kavanaugh explains that happiness, in this sense, is absent unless we as a people possess materialistic products.

In this sociey one seems, in some eyes, to be most happy when we obtain numerous consumerist goods which the media constantly probes us to partake in. Essentially there message is that we are "unhappy" and "meaningless" (Advertising, Consciousness & Culture: The Depersonalization of American Life") if we do not center ourselves with products and what they are capable of assuring. These aspects are some of probably many that Fr. Kavanaugh is worried about and what we should realize as well, even if we don't delve deeper into it as Fr. Kavanaugh so willingly does.


Another organization that examines this concept of advertisement/media and what it causes goes by the name of "The Merchants of Cool." This orginazational report highlight how the aspect of bein eith the "in-crowd can play a major part in the eaning of life. They further this by illustrating the way in which parent and other authorities obtain an "innate feeling to please the teen." This branches off into that idea of morality as it basically emphasizes a relationship (parent to teen) and the moral standards of the parent's actions towrds the teen and whether or not that teen is acceptive of this. It also highlights these ideas of a "mook" or a "midriff." A mook is in reference to a male that shows him as an individual who will do anything for attention. A midriff refers to a lady that shows her as a type of "go get it female" who desires to be recognized and adored. In addition to this they indicate that this idea of cool keeps changing which relates to the question of whatit means to be human. Reason being is because like the constant change of "cool", humans change or adapt to their surroundings which could alter their previous lifestyle, due to the fact that they are focused on finding and acheiving that cool.

Upon analyzing these aspects from Fr. Kavanaugh and the report on the "Merchants of Cool" I think that these two are in common because they essentially illustrate views that lead up to the same idea that advertisement within the media prevents individuals from being the creative and unique individuals that God has called us to be.