Harry Potter

When Harry Potter first came out I had no interest in it at all. It wasn't something that I had any interest in. My mom and neice were reading every book that came out and went and saw every movie. When you went to a store, wether it was Walmart, Kmart, Shopko, ect. you saw Harry Potter mechandise every where. It wasn't until my daughter came home from a night with Nana that I saw my first Harry Potter movie. A couple of weekends later, there was a Harry Potter movie marathon on ABC Family. I was then hooked. I have seen all the movies but have not read one of the books. I didn't get sucked into any of the toy merchandise because my daughter saw those as toys for boys. All she wanted to enjoy was the movies.

Buying

How do large retail stores design to encourage and specific behaviors? When a store opens for the first time they bring in exsperts to observe the behaviors of the shoppers in the store. They then give the store advise about where thing need to be arranged in the store. They usually put the most popular thing up front so it catches peoples eyes and draws them into the store. Lets take a popular department store, the thing that catches my eye first is the displays in the windows. That is the deal breaker to get me in the store or if I keep walking. Every store is different and will display what they are interested in selling a particular item. Take Deb's, most of there window displays are total outfits. Shirts, pants and shoes, usually bright colors. RCC western store, there window displays consist of jeans and boots. Now if we shift gears, take walmart they have it to where depending on what door you walk in, that is where you are most interested in shopping. If you need groceries you will walking in the most northern doors. If you need jewelrey you will come in the middle doors, and if you need to close to the automotive area then you will choose the southern doors. Its all about what the consumer wants and is willing to endure to get it.

I am what I buy

I believe people are what they buy. Take for instince TV's, you cant walk into most people's houses now days and not find a big flat screeen TV. It says something about that person, and the bigger the TV the bolder the statement. It is all about what you own and what kind of toys you can show off today. Everybody has to have the next big and greatest thing.

1940's

I chose Casablanca because it was way out of my era and really didn't know anything about it. The film was set during World War II, time when there really was'nt very much to be excited about. It was shot in a town called Casablanca that was located in South Africa. People came there to escape Europe and the German invasion. Casablanca was a place that you had to be at in order to get to America. In order to leave Casablanca you had to have a Letter of Transit. The movie was focused on a man torn between love and virtue. He had to choose between his love for a woman or helping her and her husband get to America. The movie was set in December of 1941 and the song "As Time Goes By" became popular. The movie was not suppose to be released  until spring of 1943 but was released November 26, 1942 so it could coincide with the invasion of North Africa and the capture of Casablanca. I believe the reason this film made a lasting impact it grew in popularity so fast that the film was called "true yesterday", "true today", "true tomorrow". They say that it is the third most successful wartime movie ever made. In Cambridge, MA they show this film every year as part of a old movie series. Casablanca became so popular that the University of Harvard began playing it during final week and they still do it as of today. By 1977 Casablanca was the most played film on American TV.