Can't Cultivate Me.

     The cultivation theory explains the infection spreading itself throughout humanity, much like an STD from a sorority house.  This theory also assists me in my perpetual confusion as to America's obsession with tanning.  It has helped me realize that the media could be to blame for all the walking leather chairs and recent rise in Lexol's stock prices.  Or maybe that's just Pauly D doing Pauly D.

     The cultivation theory attempts to analyze media's long term effects on its audience.  Because the media is so prevalent in today's society, its hard not to become consumed in it all.  From violent television shows to scandalous Victoria's Secrets ads, the media is subliminally implanting lasting ideas into the minds of children and adults alike, as if they thought they were Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception.  Films such as "Tough Guise" and "Killing Us Softly" capture this phenomenon perfectly, showcasing how the media is successfully instilling stereotypes, like strong guys must be strong and pretty girls must be pretty.  Another example of cultivation is the frequent cast of ridiculously tan television stars.

     Popular television shows such as The Jersey Shore seemed to be filled to the brim with tan people.  Hell, even their main slogan "GTL' has tan right in the middle.  So its no wonder that teens, young adults, and desperate old timers are hopping on the band wagon and straight into the tanning bed.  When a person's life is mostly absorbed in media, and that media stock's itself with people who look like wanna be brownies, the media is sending the message that to be cool, you must be tan.  The cultivation theory explains this frequent occurrence with perfection.  Basically, society is advertising's bitch. Don't be that bitch.