Graduating With Class

What is social class in the States? What things really divide the class?

In "Class Matters," New York Times authors provide the information about how social class in U.S has been changing through various categories.
The articles reveal that although the American social class seems to disappear just based on possessions or appearance, it has actually grown based on income differences, academic background, job placement, and fortune.
Class affects our lifestyle, health, longevity, child care, immigration, and neighborhood differences.
The article conclude how this social scale influences an American's living style and mobility: it is representative of the American Dream.

Every person has a chance to move up to higher class if you work hard. This encourages us to keep our motivation high for developing our knowledge and skills. Since reading this book, it has reminded me to work hard for improving my abilities to have a fulfilled and meaningful life.

LOOK !

What is this advertising? When selling something for men, a company's advertisement uses a young sexy woman to get the customers' attention instead of primarily showing just the product.

In the May 2008 issue of "Wired," a vodka company called Belvedere is selling imported vodka. The advertisement inserts a man who stands up and shows only the front of his pants, and a woman who has big green eyes, sits down in front of him, make up with red lipstick, and shows her surprised face. The title is "Luxury Reborn." We do not immediately realize what is being sold because the bottle of vodka is shown on the lower right corner of the page.

Do you think this is OK? In looking at the page the first time, I felt some shock come out from my mind because I was not used to seeing ads like this in Japan, in which there is too much sexual implication. Is this really appropriate to show in a public magazine? It is kind of pornographic to me! Although it might be a national custom in the States, these ads will influence viewers' mind and behavior more harmfully and possibly cause a higher rate of sexual problems in American society.

A Letter From San Francisco

Hello !

Welcome to my blog!

I'm going to write about living and working in San Francisco from the point of view of a Japanese, exploring the fascinating cultural differences between Japan and America, and how that plays out here in this famous American city.

Please check out my Japanese blog here: http://ameblo.jp/viviansf/