Thursday, August 28, 2008

Visual Language

The Demographic that I am going to chose is Young White Americans. I considered African Americans but then i realized that much of what I know about their culture is based on stereotypes and I don't want to take the risk of generalizing all blacks as a certain kind or accidently offend someone. I searched for White American Demographic on Wikipedia and found some information and the definition of this important voting group.

"Whites are regarded as the socially and demographically dominant racial group, whose norms and behavioral patterns are seen as the benchmark for normality." Total population of White Americans is 221,331,507 (73.93% of the total U.S. population). Whites are projected to remain the majority in America. Almost all White Americans speak English and Protestantism is the predominant religion.

Though diverse, WHITES still dominate America's racial makeup. And because WHITES turnout disproportionately higher than other racial groups, they compose nearly 80% of the electorate.



"White culture constitutes the general cultural mainstream, causing non-White culture to be seen as deviant, in either a positive or negative manner. Moreover, Whites tend to be disproportionately represented in powerful positions, controlling almost all political, economic and cultural institutions."

Youth Statistics: • THE 2004 ELECTIONS MARKED THE LARGEST INCREASE IN YOUNG VOTER TURNOUT SINCE 1972. Over 20 million young people ages 18-29 cast a ballot (42 million were eligible to vote), an increase of 4.3 million voters. This was a nine point increase in turnout over 2000, more than double that of any other age group. In 2004, there were nearly as many voters under 30 years old than voters over 65 years old.




1. what are some predominately shared values of this group? (broadly in life, not politics)
Being successful, family, education ("Overall, nearly one-third of white Americans had a Bachelor degree"), faith, and justice. 

2. what political policies/issues are particularly important to this demographic in this election? why?
Armed forces in War, the draft, equal rights, etc. Young people are rejecting the failed policies of the Bush Administration and support Democrats on every key issue. The economy and the war in Iraq top the list of concerns among young voters.

3. are there any cultural references your demographic identifies with? what?
Sports (Baseball), white picket fences and the "America Dream", technology, food (hamburgers and fast food), television, internet, etc.


4. what does their graphic landscape look like? 
Internet advertisements, billboards, television commercials, signs, mailers, and other forms of communication. 

5. including the aiga document and other sources, what are the issues cited for this group not voting?
In the 2004 presidential election, 39.7 percent of eligible White voters did not vote—more
than 70 million people. Of that group, more than 30 million were 25–44 years old. In a
post-election study conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the top five reasons given by White
voters for not voting were:
• Too busy; conflicting schedule
• Illness or disability
• Not interested
• Did not like candidates or campaign issues
• Out of town

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