"Easy-Think" Society

This particular cartoon is describing a modern society that has come to accept other people's opinions or beliefs without really thinking about their own. I think this is especially true in regards to today's society because we are constantly bombarded with advertisements that say "Try this new hair product!" or "Call toll free for the Book of Mormons." Whether it is a product to improve (or change) the look of your hair, or a commercial trying to get you to convert to a religion, people ARE trying to change your opinion on countless ideas, beliefs, etcetera. Many people may not even realize-or may not want to admit- that an advertisement, a radio talk show host's opinion, or a new commercial has control over them. I am willing to concede, however, that I am guilty of mindlessly welcoming CoverGirl products into my makeup bag. One day while shopping for makeup I was faced with the daunting task of picking out one tube of mascara out of the never-ending options. I picked up an orange tube-CoverGirl Lash Blast, to be exact- of mascara. Why this mascara you may ask? I saw advertisements in my Seventeen subscriptions, observed it being used in America's Next Top Model, and admired as Drew Barrymore promoted the mascara on national television. So, I picked up what I was most "familiar" with. Had I not seen those advertisements perhaps I would have chosen the second most advertised mascara. Now I use CoverGirl religiously because I was happy with the product, not for the prior reasons.

So what might this have to do with the cartoon? Simply, almost everybody is affected, at one time in their life, by a type of media which tries to change their opinion, belief, or intuition.  Perhaps to emphasize the fact that nearly every type of person is affected in such a way, the cartoonist choose to include different types of people in this cartoon: short, tall, African American, Caucasian, a mother, and a father.

This cartoon speaks to the people who are easily swayed or who believe in something just because it is "cool", it is endorsed by a celebrity, or it is just a new fad. It shows the importance of believing in what you believe and analyzing other ideas and concepts before readily jumping onto the bandwagon. Although succumbing to advertisements is not always negative, as in my situation (the satisfied customer), sometimes it can be. To avoid a negative outcome the cartoonist shows that we must look at what we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell to decide for ourselves if it agrees with what we truly believe.