It is extremely fascinating to walk down the street or to go into a gift shop and notice the different suggestive T-Shirts available. There are shirts with cartoons on them, with quotes from TV shows and even ones with provocative quotations written on them. T-shirts have evolved and have turned into a new type of media. One of my friends has a GTL t-shirt (picture below) and the reaction he gets from people when he wears the T-shirt is pretty funny. Some people who don’t even know him come up to him and start talking about Jersey Shore or ask him how often he GTLs. Wearing certain T-shirts have turned into a way to communicate with people you barely know and to show some of your beliefs.

While it may not be as suggestive as the news or political commercials, I believe that T-shirts can also influence the way people think about certain topics. Chapter 7 suggests that the news and other TV programming can influence people’s views regarding politics and other important topics. A funny or thought provoking T-shirt can have the same influence as they can spark an intense debate about an important issue. For instance, while it may be an extreme example, the T-shirt below with the caption “we are your government” can strike up a debate about the role that the government plays in our society. Some people may argue that the government should be less dominant and controlling while others may argue that they are not influential enough. Either way I believe that T-shirts can influence people’s opinions and can force people to talk about important subjects that they otherwise would not have.