Urban Legend Essay

Urban Legend Essay



Mountain Dew lowers your sperm count, the mixture of coca-cola and pop rocks explode your stomach, and a six year old act’s out the birth process, just three urban legends that many are skeptical about. An urban legend is a story a popular story alleged to be true which is spread from person to person verbally or through e-mail. Urban legends typically tell about, humiliating, humorous, terrifying, or supernatural events and have an implied message. Seeing as these stories are told person to person no two versions of an urban legend are exactly the same. Some people believe that urban legends are true and others believe that they are false.
An urban legend about the color of Mountain Dew lowering a male’s sperm count was going around, in turn causing teenage boys to stop drinking Mountain Dew. One reason people are skeptical of this urban legend is that the Food and Drug Administration has claimed that the yellow 5 dye that everyone thinks is causing this sperm count to be low it is safe. Also the fact that this dye has been in use since 1916 and we would most likely know by now if something was up with this dye. Another reason people are skeptical is because many other foods use this yellow 5 dye so more people then just those who drink mountain dew would notice these effects.
Another urban legend about mixing coca-cola and pop rocks causing and explosive effect in your stomach that will cause your stomach to explode went around at one point in time. It started with the inventions of pop rocks and parents getting concerned about the slight explosion in the mouths of the people eating this candy. The Food and Drug Administration opened a hotline to reassure everyone that the candy was safe, even though the FDA did this children continued spreading these rumors. What makes people skeptical about this legend is that the pop rocks contained less gas then half a can of soda and wouldn’t do much more then cause a harmless belch in those who consume them. The company that made pop rocks stopped marketing them in 1983 and most people took them doing this as further evidence to the idea that pop rocks were dangerous, but, the truth is that Kraft bought the rights to the product from General Foods in 1985 and then sold it as “Actions Candy.”
The last urban legend is about a second grade girl who acted out the process of giving birth as her show and tell one day because her mother had recently given birth to her baby brother. Some of skeptical of this event because they believe that even if the child did witness the fact, a child of six years old would be highly unlikely to act out everything that happens in the exact order. On the other hand, though, some believe that kids do some pretty crazy things that maybe this could have happened. Another thing that makes people so skeptical of this event is that the child referred to the baby being fed through an umbrella cord in contrast to the umbilical cord, or the middle wife in contrast to the midwife, and last the yucky stuff the baby came out covered in after playing the in center or the placenta.
Mountain Dew lowers your sperm count, the mixture of coca-cola and pop rocks explode your stomach, and a six year old act’s out the birth process, the three urban legends I researched. People should always be skeptical of what they hear or read, with the internet and people being able to access things so much easier these days it’s also a lot easier for false information to be spread around. And when this happens sometimes it hurts more people then it helps.

Pictures That Lie

The five pictures that stood out to me the most are the picture of Katie Couric, the picture of Oprah Winfrey on Ann-Margret's body, the picture of O.J. Simpson on the cover of time, the picture of Martha Stewart on Newsweek, and the picture of the shark attacking the U.S. Air Force helicopter.


The picture that stood out most to me would have to be the picture of the shark attacking the U.S. Air Force helicopter because the Air Force is so well known and such a major orginization. I would think that they would try and be more professional. Instead of letting something like this get around the internet. I feel that if the Air Force thinks it's okay to do this then anyone could think it's okay. And if anyone thinks it's okay they could edit pictures that could get themself or others in a lot of trouble. I think that the media has to much power among people they persuade to many people to think a certain way, and maybe people shouldn't be so guliable.

Violence in the Media

One effect of violence in the media is from video games, people of all ages around the world play video games and they are fillied with blood and guns making it seem like no big deal to go around killing people. Some people get more out of video games then others, and just like people act different when they are around different people. When people are exposed to different games the games rub off on different people different some people just play the games and others act out what they see in those games. Another effect of violence in the media comes from movies, take gangs for example they have movies that show gangs and how people get jumped into them it makes people think that it's okay to jump people and once they are in that gang they beat people for doing the right thing, like if someone testifys in court to put the right person in jail they will get beaten up. The media also effect violence through the internet you have all these people online posting videos on you tube about how they got in a fight with this person or how they did whatever to another person. And then all these people watch this video and think well...if he/she got away with it so can I, when really all they are doing is causing more trouble not only for them as a person but for people in general.

Rap music, like movies, is untimately entertainment and should not be taken so seriously.

I agree with this statement because young adults and adults across the nation are listening to rap music and they take all of the stuff that happens in these rap songs to heart. They live it and when they live in tough neighborhoods where they think they need to be like those rap stars and carry that gun or get high, that is when that person is going to get themself into a whole heap of trouble.

"It's only-at the end of the day. It's only entertainment." What Jadakiss is possibly insinuating by this statement is that if someone really took the time to ponder what the rapper is really like then they would realize the rapper in that song or in that music video is different from who they are in real life. And that when that music video is over those people who got shot or got arrested for having drugs on them aren't really dead or in prison. It's not real but when that young adult, adult, or child even goes and shoots someone or gets caught with marijuana or cocaine or whatever, they are really killing someone or carrying around something that is illegal and they will be sent to prison.

Tough Guise vs. Killing us Softly

Tough Guise was a very controversial video. I thought that some of the things narrator said weren't exactly true. Overall I really enjoyed the video it was interesting and had a lot of facts in it that I did now know of. I think that it had a really good way of brining up how men don't have to be that tough guy, one who's doesn't cry and doesn't show emotion in situations when it's okay to show emotion. The video was true you see in all the movies that we watch people telling there children, friends, family that are males real men don't cry or real men are tough. That statement is not exactly true. It's okay for men to cry and be compassionate it takes a stronger man to be do these things then it does to act tough.

Killing us Softly was also a very controversial video. It illustrates many different ways women are used in the media. Like how they airbrush women on magazines and make there skin look flawless. In truth they are creating a world of women that will never exist. I think that this video would help a lot of people in the world who have self esteem issues because most of the time the people you see in ads have been photoshoped to make his/her body look better for that ad. This video made it very clear how the media are truly in it just for the money because the prettier and the skinner the person they have the more people who will be fooled into thinking, oh well if I but that product I will look like him/her. And when that person buys that product the company just makes more and more money.

Superbowl

I learned that people pay way to much money for super bowl commericals. Most of the the commericals shown during super bowl are to make money off of you, for example Bud Light you can't really do anything else but buy it, and drink it. They aren't showing these commericals because bud light is good for you, all they want is your money! I also learned that commericals can be funny. I usually hate them but some super bowl commericals are pretty funny.

Key Concept

The concept that I understand most is how media messages are made using a creative language that has it's own rules, for example the Target logo or a Nike anyone would be able to know that a message was trying to sell those products without the name actually having to be on the ad. Media also use bright colors and fun fonts to grab your attention. I just find this concept really fun and interesting and it's easy to understand.