Sunday, May 31, 2015

"Have You Helped Someone Lately?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7ztKqzrwp4

As Cathy mentioned in class, Dignity Health has created this video which is usually seen in commercials (at least that is how I saw it). It has very calming music in the short thirty second clip of a human scuba diving to cut a whale shark free. From my first impression of the advertisement, I found it to be a little too peaceful. Though clearly it seems to have a good message, it is curious to me why they chose such an extreme act to motivate kind actions. It is almost as if they want viewers to reenact kindness though acts such as diving into the depths of the sea to save underwater life. With such calming music, I do not feel motivated to get up and go save endangered animals. I do enjoy the fact that the main catch-phrase is "helping someone," which equates animals and people as somebodies. This further de-objectifies animals and shows the kindness needed to help our world have a balanced ecosystem.

3 comments:

  1. I've seen this commercial as well. My reaction was very different from yours. I didn't take this as an invitation to do a kind deed, I took it for what it is, a commercial. Dignity Health is a non-profit that runs many hospitals across the country. I understood this to be a peaceful advertisement to increase patient flow and subsequent income to their hospitals and ancillary care facilities. The kind act done for the whale is reflective of the kind act they will do for their patients.

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  2. My reaction to this commercial reminded me a lot of how I got my dog Callie. I was driving back home to visit my parents in Modesto and passed this rescue shelter. For some reason my heart lead me to the parking lot and I went in. Once I saw her I fell in love. She was clearly abused, her ribs pertruded through her fur as if they were trying to exit her body. From the moment I saw her, I knew she was meant to be in my life. Now she's spoiled, fat, and a bundle of excitment every day. No more timid, shaking, and hiding in the corner.
    I believe that there is a kindness in everyone. But there is a fine line between having kindness in your heart and acting upon it. I don't think I'll ever get another animal from anywhere else, because being able to watch her grow and turn into a whole new animal was an amazing experience.

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  3. After watching this video, it made me happy to know that there are still humans that are willing to go to such extremes to help animals. It is nice to see, that animals do matter and should be helped just like we help humans. I agree with Dylan that this commercial was made to benefit Dignity Health patients. If viewers feel happiness and are content with a commercial that is released by a hospital it'll motivate them to donate money. This benefits both the workers and patients at the hospital. Commercials are made to allow others to feel a connection to something such as a location or object in order to receive more attention.

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