One less statistic may not be everything.
While I was waiting for my favorite show to come on, I saw the TV advertisement for Gardasil once again. This made me think of the content analysis we did during class, and led
me thinking deeper about the “symbolic system” of our culture. Recalling from the heated debate on Tuesday, the TV ad clearly targets to young women and pose to stir their emotions. By displaying series of active young women (they’re skateboarding, jumping ropes, painting, etc) with serious faces, the message clearly strikes you that if you care enough, you can be one less person to suffer from the disease that annually kill thousands of women in America. By emphasizing the phrase “one less” throughout the whole commercial, there is a prevalent tone in the message that if you do not get vaccinated, you fall behind from the current trend, which happens to be a social suicide for teenage girls. As Wes pointed out with his (rather confusing :p) graph chart, the message in the commercial is structured so that it provokes enough anxiety to make the target audience concerned about the issue, but prevent outrage by giving them an option to act upon. While it is important to provide a point of action during risk situations in order to prevent outrage, the intentions behind this certain vaccine is questionable because the manufacturers are (were) lobbying to state legislators to pass the bill to mandate it for schoolgirls (NYT).
The NYT article notes that Merck has stopped lobbying to pass the bill when objections towards their acts rose beyond their anticipation. Merck is saying that this fueled objection may hinder the adoption of the vaccine. According to the article, public health officials do favor the vaccine, but feel that it is “too early” to make it mandatory; they fear Merck’s lobbying damaged the intention to “reach and educate as many females as possible and prevent cervical cancer.” However, considering the fact that the majority of American’s were not aware of cervical cancer threats in the previous year, Gardasil advertisements did a great job setting the issue forth.
It is no surprise that many people are concerned surrounding the vaccine; the vaccine itself, bombarding amount of product advertising, and the legislation acts. Parents are noting that mandatory vaccination preempts their rights and are concerned that the vaccine will encourage promiscuity among young females. Many are concerned of the long term effects of the vaccine that has yet to be proven. Like many newly introduced vaccines and medicines, not enough research has been conducted to know if the vaccine is applicable and effective enough to be taken. I’ve heard that the research done regarding Gardasil was 5 years, and this is too short in my opinion. It is said that there needs to be at least a 15 year period in order to ensure minimum level of safety of the medical product, and Gardasil doesn’t even come close to this. Our class discussion brought up the topic of the three series of shots being too expensive; hence, people who may need it the most may not receive the benefits of it. This cost issue can also be tied in with the fervent legislation act since Merck holds exclusive petition for the vaccine only for a short period of time.
A final factor that strikes me is the men’s perception of the “women who get the shots.” In my culture, discussing sex and being sexually active before marriage is considered a sin. Only promiscuous women with thin morals would engage in such behavior. If you approach your parents informing them that you would like to take the shots, many of them will in turn preach about the importance of “staying a virgin” before you marry and emphasize the fact that “a normal girl” like you do not need the shot. I did a little research on my own and discovered an interesting statistic. According to a health report in 2001 conducted by National Institute of Health, 23 women out of a million are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually, and this is three times more than America, which happens to be 7. The report notes that while HPV examination is available in Korea, MDs do not mandate this due to economical reasons. Alongside with the report was a newspaper article that emphasized that more than 47% of the prostitutes are infected with HPV. Returning to the symbolic structure of the society, it is clear that the Korean society almost automatically relate the vaccine with promiscuity, which brings guilt to those who wish to protect themselves from potential life threatening danger.
The various issues surrounding Gardasil isn’t just about making money or preventing loss from death related to HPV. This is, in fact, an issue that carries mixed messages and intentions that act differently upon cultural structures and socioeconomic systems.
me thinking deeper about the “symbolic system” of our culture. Recalling from the heated debate on Tuesday, the TV ad clearly targets to young women and pose to stir their emotions. By displaying series of active young women (they’re skateboarding, jumping ropes, painting, etc) with serious faces, the message clearly strikes you that if you care enough, you can be one less person to suffer from the disease that annually kill thousands of women in America. By emphasizing the phrase “one less” throughout the whole commercial, there is a prevalent tone in the message that if you do not get vaccinated, you fall behind from the current trend, which happens to be a social suicide for teenage girls. As Wes pointed out with his (rather confusing :p) graph chart, the message in the commercial is structured so that it provokes enough anxiety to make the target audience concerned about the issue, but prevent outrage by giving them an option to act upon. While it is important to provide a point of action during risk situations in order to prevent outrage, the intentions behind this certain vaccine is questionable because the manufacturers are (were) lobbying to state legislators to pass the bill to mandate it for schoolgirls (NYT).
The NYT article notes that Merck has stopped lobbying to pass the bill when objections towards their acts rose beyond their anticipation. Merck is saying that this fueled objection may hinder the adoption of the vaccine. According to the article, public health officials do favor the vaccine, but feel that it is “too early” to make it mandatory; they fear Merck’s lobbying damaged the intention to “reach and educate as many females as possible and prevent cervical cancer.” However, considering the fact that the majority of American’s were not aware of cervical cancer threats in the previous year, Gardasil advertisements did a great job setting the issue forth.
It is no surprise that many people are concerned surrounding the vaccine; the vaccine itself, bombarding amount of product advertising, and the legislation acts. Parents are noting that mandatory vaccination preempts their rights and are concerned that the vaccine will encourage promiscuity among young females. Many are concerned of the long term effects of the vaccine that has yet to be proven. Like many newly introduced vaccines and medicines, not enough research has been conducted to know if the vaccine is applicable and effective enough to be taken. I’ve heard that the research done regarding Gardasil was 5 years, and this is too short in my opinion. It is said that there needs to be at least a 15 year period in order to ensure minimum level of safety of the medical product, and Gardasil doesn’t even come close to this. Our class discussion brought up the topic of the three series of shots being too expensive; hence, people who may need it the most may not receive the benefits of it. This cost issue can also be tied in with the fervent legislation act since Merck holds exclusive petition for the vaccine only for a short period of time.
A final factor that strikes me is the men’s perception of the “women who get the shots.” In my culture, discussing sex and being sexually active before marriage is considered a sin. Only promiscuous women with thin morals would engage in such behavior. If you approach your parents informing them that you would like to take the shots, many of them will in turn preach about the importance of “staying a virgin” before you marry and emphasize the fact that “a normal girl” like you do not need the shot. I did a little research on my own and discovered an interesting statistic. According to a health report in 2001 conducted by National Institute of Health, 23 women out of a million are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually, and this is three times more than America, which happens to be 7. The report notes that while HPV examination is available in Korea, MDs do not mandate this due to economical reasons. Alongside with the report was a newspaper article that emphasized that more than 47% of the prostitutes are infected with HPV. Returning to the symbolic structure of the society, it is clear that the Korean society almost automatically relate the vaccine with promiscuity, which brings guilt to those who wish to protect themselves from potential life threatening danger.
The various issues surrounding Gardasil isn’t just about making money or preventing loss from death related to HPV. This is, in fact, an issue that carries mixed messages and intentions that act differently upon cultural structures and socioeconomic systems.
posted by Min at
4/04/2007 10:33:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home