Metaphors In Media

I chose to analyze the song Drops of Jupiter by Train because of its extended space metaphor. Here are the lyrics:

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's a time to change, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey

But tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way
To see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?
One without a permanent scar
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself out there?

Now that she's back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey
She checks out Mozart while she does Tae-Bo
Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
I'm afraid that she might think of me as
Plain ol' Jane told a story about a man
Who was too afraid to fly so he never did land

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way?

And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?
Was it everything you wanted to find?
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself out there

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you
Even when I know you're wrong?

Can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance
Five-hour phone conversation
The best soy latte that you ever had, and me?

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way?

But tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way
To see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?

And tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?
One without a permanent scar
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself?

And did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day?
And did you fall for a shooting star?
Fall for a shooting star?
And now you're lonely looking for yourself out there

My interpretation:

I believe this song is about the emotions a friend or lover feels when their loved one decides to grow apart from them and chooses a different life path. This is made evident through the metaphor of space, such as the first line "Now that's she back in the atmosphere." This line is a metaphor for the singers loved one coming back into his life after escaping reality or "the atmosphere." I interpret it as his lover leaving her smaller life and town to explore the world and getting caught up in all the superficial intricacies only once again to return back to home.

The metaphor of space is extended throughout the song by using diction such as "Milky Way, constellation, and shooting star." These all show how she got caught up in her new life and forgot about her roots down on earth. This is shown in lines such as "And tell me, did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find? And then you missed me. While you were looking for yourself out there." In this line Venus is a metaphor for the new life she was chasing after, and he is asking was it all that it was cracked up to be? He implicitly answers the question because he states that she missed him regardless. This reminds me of the saying “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”

The lyrics depict his lover changing by using a metaphor of the seasons: "She listens like spring" or "She acts like summer." Just as the seasons change so has his lover after her journey.

One last metaphor I thought was interesting was heaven as the destiny she was after: “To see the lights all faded. And that heaven is overrated?” This is similar to the Venus metaphor in that both as her search for the better life, but the use of heaven emphasizes the goal or dream she was after in her new life. Just as some people strive to live a life to lead to heaven. He mocks her dreams by stating that heaven or her dream destiny was in fact over rated and that everything surrounding it, “the lights”, were not as bright, or as great as they seemed from far way.

Iconic Images and Brand Names

I chose the Coca-Cola logo as my iconic image because hopefully my future career will be in Brand Management, and as one of the most widely recognized brands in the world, Coca-Cola is the epitome of an excellent marketing team. The original Coca-Cola logo written in “spencerian script” was designed by Frank Robinson in 1886, the same year the first ad was published in the Atlantic Journal. The logo was also used on oilcloth signs hung up in store awnings, and by 1904 it appeared for the first time in a magazine. What once started as a small, modest company selling an average of 9 drinks a day is now a global corporation selling an average of 1.4 billion drinks a day in over 200 countries. What drove the expansion of the company had much to do with its advertisements and brand image. The signature logo and contour bottle has made Coca-Cola a recognizable name over the past 124 years.

During World War 2, the company’s president, Woodruff offered to give any man in uniform coke for 5 cents a bottle. This campaign not only spread Coke overseas, but also created a great marketing campaign, because since then people have related the Coca-Cola company with the American spirit. On Coca-Cola’s website they explain this effect: “Post-war America was alive with optimism and prosperity. Coca-Cola was part of a fun, carefree American lifestyle, and the imagery of its advertising -- happy couples at the drive-in, carefree moms driving big yellow convertibles -- reflected the spirit of the times.”

Throughout history the Coca-Cola label has been associated with fun, happiness, and good times. In 1985 the mistake was made to change the Coca-Cola flavor along with the design and logo and renamed it “New Coke.” This created a huge demand to “bring back the original” which the company brought back as “Coca-Cola Classic.” This goes to show, that ‘when it ain’t broke don’t fix it!’

The classic “spencerain script” is an iconic image because it is such a recognizable logo that can be seen all over, from little league fields to the Olympic Games. In fact the Coca-Cola logo is probably used in every advertising medium imaginable. I think Coke utilizes new media with brand placement in movies and TV shows as well as online sponsorships. But as always as a company the largest way Coke promotes their products is through sponsorships and community based programs.

Sources Used:

• http://www.dinesh.com/History_of_Logos/Worlds_Best_Brands_and_Logos/Coca_Cola_Logo_-_Design_and_History.html
• http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/index.html
• http://heritage.coca-cola.com/
• http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/chronicle_birth_refreshing_idea.html

Representing the Other

Media has the ability to blur the lines of reality - what was once a tragedy may transform into entertainment once it is published and put into the hands of the general public. This shift from atrocity to spectacle is clearly evident in today’s mainstream media from car crashes, medical dramas, and of course the brutalities of war. Susan Sontag explains this effect in her book Regarding the Pain of Others, “In this view, a beautiful photograph drains attention from the sobering subject and turns it towards the medium itself […] The photograph gives mixed signals. Stop this, it urges. But also exclaims, What a spectacle! “ (76-77). I believe Sontag claims that when people see a war photo they feel a sense of shock, but this shock in turn may diminish the sympathy that society should feel when they are presented a picture of war. War has developed into a source of entertainment, which consequently may make people forget the true pain and suffering experienced behind the battle lines. Clint Eastwood tries to avoid this common misconception in his movie Letters from Iwo Jima, in which he brilliantly portrays the Japanese perspective of the famous battle. He depicts the other so that audience feels emotionally attached to the main character. Eastwood decides to include a flashback of the main characters wife and their unborn son. Instead of just dramatizing war, Clintwood depicts the war from the view of ‘the other,’ and he also brings ‘the other’ closer to home, so the audience can relate to the character. In doing so Clintwood grants the audience the ability understand the pain that the Japanese soldiers and their families suffered. I think Clintwood’s intended purpose was to make a statement about how our culture always turns war into an action packed movie, and by alternatively incorporating a personal account the viewer no longer is being sent “mixed signals” of how they should react.