What do C.S.I., Ford Mustang, and Facebook have in common? They all belong to the current set of America’s contemporary cultural icons. C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation) is a drama television series. The show is about a group of crime investigators in Los Angeles. These detectives use minuscule physical evidence, the latest technology, and superior analyst skills to solve murder crimes. The show performed so well it spurred two other take off shows called C.S.I. NY and C.S.I. Miami. Many viewers watch the trilogy and N.C.S.I. also a crime drama, but the investigators are military focus on military murders (CBS, 2009). 
Ford Mustang is an American muscle car classic. The first Mustang was shown to the public in 1964. The Ford company wanted to market to the pop culture of the time now known as the "Baby Boomers". They did not want to drive a car like mom and pop. It was only normal for the some of the crowd to want to race their cars. The Mustang was redesigned in order to compete with the Chevy Corvette thus the GT-350 model was born. For the next few years the car went through design changes staying a firm player in the car industry, but in 1979 the car designers once again hit their mark with a redesign. Drivers loved Ford Mustang again just like they did during its birth. Then in 2005 the Ford Mustang received its latest update (Edmunds,2009). Facebook is a social networking tool, although Facebook would deny this claim. They advertise their service as a means for you to share information and connect with people worldwide. This description describes a social networking instrument whether they want to admit it or not. This tool is used by people worldwide to connect with friends, co-workers, and family. The tool incorporates instant messaging, blogging (wall writing), and email in one place. While using this social networking tool users may add applications for such things as games or groups. They may decorate the profile or get the word out about a cause such as, save the rainforest. Many advertisers now support the web tool to advertise their product or service to more people than traditional websites offer. Facebook does see some competition from other social utilities like MySpace and MyYearbook. Personally I took a quiz on there today named “How addicted are you to Facebook”. My score was a seventy-six percent (Facebook, 2009).
Choosing these three examples is easy for any blue-collar American household. It seems every house a person visits has some form of C.S.I. playing on their television or computer. If asked, “Yuck, C.S.I., how can you watch that gruesome and morbid show?” They would answer in some fashion of “What you don’t watch this show? It’s awesome!” It seems most shows a person watches while growing up always seem to have the main character driving a Mustang or trying to steal one. Then when they look at the cover of any car magazine or try to buy a car model there will definitely be a Ford Mustang, usually the 1964 version. The Facebook networking tool is a new area of technology that the popular crowd uses. If parents want to know what their children are talking about and advertisers want to know what is going to sell their products it is one of the places to be.So, what do these cultural symbols mean to me? Well, I would own a Ford Mustang to show off to my sons. I am not sure if owning a car that depicts speed in America makes sense though. They cannot be legally driven at fast speeds. Unless, they are driven in a foreign country they are more of a representation of a lifestyle. As for Facebook I started to grow my networking abilities with an added bonus of a place to talk to my children when we were not together. Now, I use the application to talk and stay in touch to my extended family in other states, make new friends, connect with current friends, and grow my network. In addition, I grow My Mafia (Facebook, 2009), raise fish, run a Café, send icon flowers and angels, grow trees and crops, and once in awhile post a comment on my wall (Facebook, 2009). Finally, C.S.I. is not my favorite show. However, everywhere I go people are watching it or talking about it. The television in my house is often playing a version of it. Yuck! Yet,I know I must adapt just like any other person. It amazes even the developer when their creation sports such success.
References
CBS. (2009). CSI: crime scene investigation. Retrieved November 16, 2009, from. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/
Edmunds. (2009). Edmunds inside line. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://www.insideline.com/ford/mustang/2005/2005-los-angeles-2005-ford-mustang-convertible.html
Edmunds. (2009). Edmunds inside line. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://www.insideline.com/search/?q=ford+mustang+
Facebook. (2009). Facebook. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://www.facebook.com/login.php
Finklestein. D. (2007). Who will win the election? Facebook fills us in. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/10/who-will-win-if.html
These are good choices. I watch all of the CSI's. I really enjoy that show and look forward to the next episode. Wow, how beautiful is a 1968 Ford Mustang. My daddy had a blue one with black leather seats. Facebook is something that I don't do, I always thought I was a little two grown to participate, then I learned that almost everyone has one. I still think I am to grown to have one.
ReplyDeleteYou have very interesting topics. I used to watch all the CSI's religiously. It was kind of fun to watch them with my husband (a former police officer) and ask if all the tests and procedures were realistic or not. Most of the time the answer was yes but the results took weeks, not minutes standing in the lab waiting.
ReplyDeleteI do love the Mustang too. It kills me that my aunt has a 1965 white convertable sitting under a cover behind her house. They drive it around the block a few times a year - are they crazy? I would be driving it whenever it is over 70 degrees outside!
I just starting using Facebook to get updates on my high school reunion (25th-ouch)next year. After seeing all the people my age and older using it, I am too!