11. Find two critical texts from the semester and discuss how they relate to or expand the arguement of your overall topic of the semester...

The two critical texts from this course that I can relate to my argument of my overall topic of the semester are:

1. Ghosh - "Con-fusing Exotica..."
2. Radway - "Women read the Romance: The Interaction if Text and Context"

This ad is a destination wedding advertisement from Cayman Islands. This ad is trying to attract the viewers, particularly the bride and groom. Its portrayal is very fantasy like and extremely exotic. It is trying to get the viewers to envision a fairytale come true at Cayman Islands.

Even though Ghosh has been used for the previous blog, Ghosh also ties along with my argument for this semester. That is, the female fantasy is not all true or possible to achieve. The media as Ghosh has emphasized, has such a strong and powerful impact in convincing its viewers what they want is possible and that is "perfection". But in reality "perfection" does not exist. The media constantly portrays this idea of utopia over and over again and it almost brainwashes people. But that is why the media is so successful because people want to believe their dreams are possible and they want to see it happen.

The West has constructed this "orient" through many disciplines such as artistic and design representations. In this ad, the attraction of "orientalism" is found with these Caribbean aspects, such as the beach, brown sand, palm trees, and even the exotic male partner who is dressed in old fashioned clothing making him also appear out of the ordinary, like a dream, like he is a prince taking her away to someplace magical. The bride is also darker skinned. Although we can tell she is white, she is not a "deer stuck in the headlights". Instead, "exotic" traits have been added to her in order for her to fit this picture of "orientalism".

In relations to Radway, this ad depicts the mental picture many females (I am sure) envision in their minds of a perfect "get-away" when times in reality are rough and difficult. We could all use a day at the beach right? Well, like this ad says: "Cayman Vows - To stop the world for a day..." That is exactly what the women Radway studied would want to read about in their romance novels, according to their fantasies. This ad depicts a man devouring the bride, he wants to take her away with him - it is a romance - he is her hero and making her feel "loved". It depicts passion, devotion, and love. It is completely gratifying. Perhaps when a woman like the women Radway researched looked at this ad, one would say: "My body may be in that room, but I'm not! (69) - meaning women who dream of this romantic fairytale tend to drift into space and live a temporary second life in their minds - very much like role playing. It keeps them preoccupied and provides them the satisfaction that they can't find in real life.