Group 6 - Does God exist?

Debates for and against the existence of God have been going on for thousands of years, and no one seems to stand out as a winner. This is not very much of a religious question but rather a philosophical one, just to clarify, as different religions do have different Gods of different identities and different functions. The controversial idea of God arises as there are ultimate questions which we human beings are not capable of answering with convincing evidence. Examples could be where did we, or even the universe come from? What is the meaning of life as we are all going to die anyway?

Plenty of arguments proving that God does exist have been raised. Some classical examples would be 1) the Cosmological Argument argues that everything has a cause, the causal chain does not go back forever, so God must have been the first cause; 2) the Ontological Argument states that God is the greatest thing ever by definition, if it didn’t exist, we could think of something greater, but our definition of God tells us that it is impossible to think of anything greater, so God must exist; 3) the Design Argument brings up the idea that if you saw a watch in a jungle, you must have believed that someone must have lost it here instead of it was there since the beginning of beings because of the complexity of the design, so as everything works well in our universe and in our body, someone must have designed the universe and us, too, and that one must God. As we think about these arguments, they are not flawless, and so debates against them are also brought up. Counter-arguments could be, but not limited to 1) what caused the first cause in the Cosmological Argument? 2) a problem with the Ontological Argument would be the definition of something does not prove its existence; 3) who created God in the case of the Design Theory?

The debate has not yet been settled and is likely to go on for a while. Even though people hold different opinions towards the problem, all religious beliefs should be respected and valued.

Group 5 - Abortion

Abortion has been a controversial issue in America for many years. There are several questions to be asked when taking a position on whether or not one supports it or does not. First, whether or not the fetus is actually human or not. Second, does a woman have the right to decide whether her unborn child lives or dies? Third, what repercussions happen when a woman actually has an abortion? Last, is the child better off being dead rather than living a life of 'unwantedness'?

People argue as to when a fetus is actually human. At 3 weeks, the baby's heart begins beating. At 6 weeks, brain waves are traceable, and at 11 weeks, all of the baby's organs are present and functioning. Doctors recommend that an abortion is perform at or before 12 weeks into the pregnancy, to make it easier for the mother. The mother can technically have an abortion at any time before birth, but debate is there as to when the time is appropriate to have an abortion.

As for the second question, debates again arises as to when the fetus is a part of the mother's body, and when it is a separate being. One can also question when the change between those two states happens. If the fetus is considered simply a part of the mother's body, is it okay for her to remove that part at will? If the fetus is alive, does it not have a say as to whether it lives or dies?

The third issue deals with problems a woman can face after and during an abortion. Medical issues can arise during the procedure and cause issues after the fact, such sterility. Also, severe mental or emotional problems can be caused by the abortion. The mother has to deal with the fact that, depending on her beliefs, she has killed her own child.

The last question deals with whether or not the child is better off dead rather than having a bad childhood if the mother does not want it. If the child is born and raised by mother who does not want it, many issues can arise in the child's life, such as behavioral, emotional and criminal problems caused by a lack of affection from the mother.

The debates still rages over abortion, and likely will for many years to come.

Group 4: K-12 Teacher Tenure

Tenure is a form of job protection given to teachers. A teacher who is tenured cannot be fired, barring certain violations or misconduct. The first tenure laws in the U.S. were passed in the early 20th century. These laws prevented teachers for being fired for racial bias, change of local political party, or personal bias. Additionally, tenure laws allowed a sense of academic freedom. Tenured teachers could teach potentially unpopular subjects which they believed were important without the threat of being let go. Assuming teachers were productive, they could teach in any manner that they wished. Recently, however, controversy has been raised over the issue of tenure. It has been blamed for the under-performance of U.S. public schools, and has also been related to school budget crises.

Those who support tenure have many arguments in their favor. The practice of firing experienced “senior” teachers and replacing them with younger teachers who require less pay has become relatively frequent in some areas. Those in favor of tenure realize that one solution to this practice is tenure. If a senior teacher is tenured, they cannot be fired simply to make more money available to the district. Another argument is that tenure itself draws many teachers into the education field. It can be argued that without tenure, potential teachers would take their talents elsewhere, leaving a shortage of teachers and subverting the educational process. Tenure itself also encourages a more careful hiring process. A school board which knows that a teacher will be teaching in their district for years to come will likely me more particular, being sure to choose the best teacher for the job. Tenure also protects teachers from false accusations of misconduct by students or parents. A teacher who is not tenured could be quickly fired to prevent potential scandal, even if the accusation is false. Tenure forces a fair investigation of the matter. Lastly, tenure gives under-performing teachers a better chance to improve.

On the other side of the argument are those who wish to abolish tenure. Tenure, they say, causes complacency and keeps under-performing teachers in schools. A teacher who knows he or she cannot be fired has less incentive to work hard. Even if a school tries to fire an under-performing teacher (which is a legal action), they usually choose not to. The reason for this is the bureaucratic red tape involved with firing a teacher. This process can take up to a year, and costs most districts tens of thousands of dollars per teacher. Additionally, the requirements for receiving tenure have changed significantly. Initially, receiving tenure was based on a teacher’s performance. In the present day, tenure is simply given to teachers after only 2 to 5 years in the classroom. According to critics of tenure, this is not enough time to determine whether a teacher is actually performing at a level which makes him or her deserving of tenure. Those against tenure also cite the fact that not having the ability to fire teachers prevents schools from being financially responsible in a time when schools are already struggling financially. Even worse, they argue, tenure is no longer necessary. The recent increased focus on standardized testing has in and of itself limited academic freedom-- because teachers have to teach more to the test, there is less room for teachers to teach potentially controversial materials. Also, many other due process laws exist which prevent anyone from being fired without just cause.

Tenure laws remain in many states, but are being challenged in many. Is tenure still necessary? Should it be reformed? And does it do more good than harm, or more harm than good?

Group 4: Knowing Death?

There has been a large degree of controversy over certain medical practices dating back to abortion and beyond. One of the newest examples to arise is the idea that a medical center can perform a test that will give a person an estimate of how long they will live. The test is done by taking a blood sample and measuring the length of the telomeres, or protective caps, on the end of a person’s chromosomes. Generally, these protective strands of DNA are used to keep the chromosome from fusing with nearby pieces of DNA and mutating but they serve a dual-purpose. The second purpose is to keep the cell from deteriorating; every time the DNA replicates, a little piece of the telomere is lost. Telomere research has been a high priority in recent history due to its link to cancer. In a cancer cell, it is possible for the cell to lengthen its telomeres rendering it invulnerable to normal cell death and making the cancer cell almost invincible. This relates to life span because a person can only live as long as their cells. When telomeres begin to run out and crucial DNA is cut off of ones chromosomes organs and bodily functions begin to fail. Researchers are now able to test the length of someone’s telomeres and give an educated guess on how long they have before they experience cell failure and eventually death, but is this information a good thing?
Information concerning a persons death is a rather controversial issue. There are two opposing sides to knowing when you will die. There are obvious upsides and downsides to knowing the time of your death. The upsides would be being able to get your affairs in order or getting treatment to delay the process of death. The downside would be focusing on your dying day, being afraid of the results being wrong and suddenly dying. Another downside would be paranoia, as well as trying every way humanly possible to cheat something as natural as death. There are some religious groups who do not use science to lengthen their lives or cure them if they are sick. The same people who inhabit those religious groups would most likely also not want to use science to know when they are going to die. The possibilities would be endless, but the repercussions could be deadly.

Group2: Immigration

Nowadays, there are more than 200-million immigrants around the world. United States has hosted over 20 million immigrants till 2005, and became the second largest country of immigrants in the world. Most immigrants come from Asia and South America. I am from China, where a lot of people want to get the green card of America. According to the statistic of the number of immigrants to US in 2009, the number of Chinese immigrants is the second largest number, followed behind Mexico. There are three waves of Chinese immigration to U.S. in the history. Three waves have different reasons, but all the immigrants have the same dream that is seeking for better lives. The main reason of the first two Chinese immigration waves is avoiding war and unsteady social environment. The majority of Chinese immigration in the third wave, which started from 1980s to today, aim to get better education in U.S.. America can gain a lot of benefits from it. Well-educated immigrants have the ability to produce social wealth. It is no doubt that native Americans can be influenced by immigration, like hard to find jobs. However, everyone is equal in front of opportunities. Chances only show appreciation for qualified people. Employers will not hire employees based on you are native people or immigrants, but based on your ability. With the improvement of immigration laws, America can accept more highly qualified immigrants from all over the world. The benefits of immigration gained by American will far outweigh  the disadvantages.

Group 2: Immigration

There are many things that make up a great country like the United States of America, such as culture, art, food, landmarks, strong economic foundation, and the list goes on. However, one of the most important factors that distinguishes the U.S. from other countries is it's diversity. People come from all around the world just to be a part of the American society. They immigrate for many different reasons whether it be to avoid war, to gain the right to be independent from corrupt leaders, or to earn better jobs to support their families. No matter the reason, they're motivated by the thought of living a better life. America is "The Land of Opportunity" and a melting pot of culture, created by immigrants who all sought the same thing. This idea is contradictory of some of the things we see in the media today, in the sense that there are numerous debates and arguments on the issue of illegal immigration. A crime is an act that is considered wrong, but seeking a better life is just instinct and completely understandable as to why they would risk punishment by the law to be here.

Goup Post 1: The Westboro Baptist Church

In honor of the Westboro Baptist Church’s announced visit to the Ohio State University I wanted to help everyone come to a better understanding of this group. The Westboro congregation travels around the country protesting at various events, which are likely to receive media coverage, in order to spread the word about how “god hates fags.” Events they have attended include military funerals, funerals of homosexual-hate violence victims, celebrity funerals, and Holocaust memorials. The congregation attempted to protest at the funeral of Christina Green, a 9 year-old victim of a shooting in Tucson, AZ, but was prevented by city officials. They also tried to hold demonstrations at a memorial in Joplin, Missouri for victims of the tornado on May 22, 2011, but were prevented by local residents. Many community organizations, such as the Patriot Guard Riders, were established to protect funerals from the Westboro Baptist Church. Even The Ku Klux Klan, a racial hate group has denounced the Westboro Baptist Church as “hatemongers”.

This is a very large amount of information to take in all at once, but the main thing is that this group is extremely devoted to expressing their belief that “god hates homosexuals” and wants to convey it to the public. However, their claims that disasters and deaths are caused by increasing acceptance of homosexuality, are unsound considering the myriad of activist groups that oppose them. The Ku Klux Klan, regarded as one of the most hateful organizations, described the church as “hatemongers” as well as “destructive to society.” Such an event would be similar to Josef Stalin telling a modern world leader that he is not treating his people with enough kindness. Needless to say, it should be cause for alarm if one of the largest hate groups identifies a church of god as harmful and malicious to the general public. On the other hand, the congregation is not completely bizarre. Their beliefs are primarily based on scripture in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 which respectively state, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable” and “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” At face value this does seem to give credit to their dislike of homosexuals. However, the Westboro Baptist Church made a point of protesting at various Holocaust memorials and museums, denouncing people of Jewish faith and exclaiming “God hates Jews.” The hypocrisy is that the scripture from which their hatred was derived was written by Jews whom they hate. In fact, their Lord Jesus Crist was himself a member of the Jewish faith.

Furthermore, the Westboro Baptist church has claimed to be among the religious category of Primitive Baptists. Others who share this categorization though, do not consider themselves at all akin to the Westboro Baptist Church, and very much wish not to be associated with them or their beliefs. Ultimately, the Westboro Baptist Church has come to spite homosexuals simply because they do not understand them and view gays as sinners. They have no concrete purpose for hating people of different sexual orientations, but just do it out of fear and misunderstanding. The Bible may state specifically about gender relationships, but they defamed the same group credited with writing that book. Wholly ascribing to a book written by a group who is “hated by God” does by transference make these people hated by God themselves.

Binary Oppositions: Light & Dark

     In this TV commercial, there is a binary oppositions, which are the light and dark. The inside of the coach of the train is much lighter and more colourful than the outside, because the TVs that replaced windows bring the colourful light and various views. With the switch of the outside and inside, the light and dark scenes are switching. In this commercial, I saw even though the views of the outside are grey and inanimate, the inside is full of light and colorful images.
    I think the dark makes the light more obvious, and the light and happy atmosphere stands out comparing to the outside. Also in this commercial, all characters are having big smiles when they are watching the TV. They all involve in the amazing views shown on the TV screens. Those screens are connected to make a huge  screen, which creates the amazing scenes. This creativeness makes the commercial very impressive.

Differences

I was really impressed when I see the three different kinds of wonderful images in the video. At first, an image of several horses running in the breathlessly beautiful scenery shows up on the television. A young lady watches the image with an enjoyed smile on her face, and the television gives a close-up lens to the horse. It is like the horse can make an eye-contact with the lady. After that, the train is like in the Indian train station. We can see a boy jumps off the ladder and says hello to a little girl in the train vividly on the screen. They even interact with each other. Finally, the train is lightened up by the light from the TV. Everybody see the sun on the screen. The train is like in the space.

What’s more, there are also different kinds of people appear in the video---the lady who see the horses, the girl who interact with the Indian little boy, and a lots of people who see the sun.

In my point of view, the three different beautiful images showing up in the video is not only used for attracting people to see the advertisement, it is also as a tool to deliver a message.The message is that: we can enjoy the wonderful nature and communicate with animal using Samsung TV; we can learn about different people and cultures through Samsung TV; Samsung TV can help human learn the universe better. The first scene represents the nature. Lady and horse making eye-contact with each other means human and nature live in harmony. In the second image, the little girl and the little boy come from different countries. It represents the communication between different cultures. In the third image, all the people together means human. This image mentions the relationship between human and the universe. 
Besides, there are also different kinds of people appear in the video---the lady who see the horses, the girl who interact with the Indian little boy, and a lots of people who see the sun. I suppose the Samsung company want to imply that everyone can have a enjoyable experience using Samsung smart TV, no matter you are a child or adult, no matter you are male or female.

SamSung commercial(interesting)

This SamSung commercial is really attractive to me. This form of advertising is different from others. The first interesting thing that the little boy outside the train can see the little girl which is in the train. This little girl surprised to watch this boy who has different cultural and language. Also has different the skin of the colors .This screen stimulates my curiosity to this product. I think this sense of feeling is not only for me. I think this commercial mentions that the people who have different cultural background, language or races are not the problem to make friends establish the relationship with each other. This product has shortened the distance between people.

Another interesting thing attractive to me is the music. When I first time heard the music, it made me curiosity to this melody. This is a very unusual melody. This will affect people more and more interested in this product. Music plays very important role in this product. This will made people continue to watch this commercials.

A Binary of Samsung Advertising

I focused on the binary part of the Samsung advertising, specially the light. It shows the dark and bright images when scene is changed, and this part of the advertising is very impressive and catch my attention. One of the examples about the binaries is the part of first scene. When people who on the train seem to be unhappy at the first time, they just look tired and board with in the dark place. However, when TV is turns on people focus on the TV and watch the screen with happy and comfortable face. It seems deliver the message about having Samsung TV makes you happy.

Moreover, the light from the TV screen makes vivid color to people on the train, and I think this also gives audience to message of the benefit about having their product, like if you got our TV set, you would be much lively. Besides, I feel like the light from the screen shines itself at the first time turns on, so I assume that the advertising tries to imply the value of their product (or the company itself).

comments for "Samsung Advertisement: Revealing (Posted by Ron at 1:55 PM)"

Your ideas are very insightful indeed. It's true that Samsung trys to satisfy every potential consumer with issues that most people care recently, like the connection between people and nature and interpersonal communication. They try to touch people by possible meanings in order to sell their products. It seems that you are a really rational consumer!

Interesting-people's reflects&smart TV

While watching the SAMSUNG advertisement, things I found most interesting are people's reflects toward those screens. Every time when the screens are turned on, all people turn their faces to them smiling peacefully or seems very interested in the images shown on. Images on the screens look so real that people in the train all look absorbed, just like they are having a real journey and are looking at the real world outside the window instead of watching TV. The little girl even trys to touch the boy's hand when they see each other. For the reason why it's called smart TV, I think, beside of its high quality and lifelike images,  another reason would be it's thinner, lighter than others and easy to carry. In the beginning of the advertisement, each worker carry a TV screen and can easily put them in the train, even women.

Thinner and lighter but with higher quality and technic. That's what the company trys to tell their potential customers and attract them to buy their products. They implied that people can seat in one place but have a vivid journey to the real world or even the universe by using their products. As we can tell from people's reflect to the TV screens in the advertisement, it's not just visual enjoyment but happy infection that the smart TV brings to them.

Binary: Light & Dark

In the Samsung add, the concept of light and dark played a substantial role in the attempt to sell the smart T.V. The primary source of light throughout the add was the television. The passengers on the train, although, wearing very bleak and dark colored clothing, did not seem unhappy in anyway. In fact, they seemed pleased. In my opinion, this is to make it seem as though they are now all happy because they have the television to watch the magnificent things that are occurring on it while they are traveling. In all of the scenes of the add where the train is traveling, the coloring consists of neutral colors, such as, browns, greys, and greens. However, when it is inside the train, on the televisions, it is very bright colors, such as, blues, pinks, reds, and oranges. In my opinion, this is done to make the contrast even greater. Had the people on the train been wearing brighter colors, it wouldn't have made the picture on the television screen appear so bright.

Furthermore, the light to dark contrast also allowed the passengers of the train to embrace the world and reality. For example, the scenes with the horses running in Iceland and the people in India were just considered normal things for those places.

This concept was used to make the viewer believe that the picture will make you feel as though you are right there, in the moment.

SamSung advertisement. (Interesting)

I think the commercial is really appealing and attractive because the approach way to advertise television is little different. The windows on the commercial acts like medium connecting to the rest of the world. That is, people just sit down the chair and watch some curious scenes and enjoy everything that they want. Also, some people especially, a girl on the commercial looks like surprised because her circumstance is absolutely different from a boy’s one. That scene allows viewers to think that by using only television, she might experience something interesting and meet diverse people who have different culture and languages. In my opinion, their intention that everyone could connect and communicate each other even though their physical location is far and distant is quite good and the most important thing is that television is responsible for that.

Furthermore, the music is really appealing since it sounds like not ordinary one. So, that music stimulates people’s curiosity about the products. One of the interesting is that that music matches well to any scenes such as running horses and markets and so on. It makes me amazed. Also, that music is little dreamlike, not contemporary music, so it appears more attractive. In general, background music plays a significant role in a commercial. In this sense, the music in this commercial has a huge role.

Interesting

At first I found it strange that people were installing TVs on the train instead of windows, but I started to understand the key idea it was trying to give us as the commercial went. By replacing windows with TVs, the commercial shows how thin the TVs are. And it also used the window concept to show that TVs let people connect with the outside world.

I found it interesting that at first it was dark in the train, but after the TVs were turned on, all the colors and lights appeared. People in the train were excited and they enjoyed the realistic visual effect that the TVs brought. Another thing I found interesting is that when the little girl in the train and the little boy who was coming down from the ladder were waving at each other. And when the train moved, they put their hands on the window or the TV screen as if they can see each other. I like the fact that they put all the basic concepts and elements into the commercial and made an interesting short story out of it without making it boring.

Strand- Connections

The Samsung Smart TV commercial uses a common strand of connections in order to market the product. At the beginning of the commercial, each person carries their own TV onto the train and installs it in the window, which enforces the idea that the people are connected via their similar actions. As the music starts, we hear the lyrics “traveling north to find you.” The words “find you” are also repeated later in the commercial. This usage of words relating to connection continues the theme. The first real connection in the commercial occurs between the woman sitting on the train and the horse which gallops on the screen. A close-up image of the woman’s face precedes a close-up of the horse’s face, showing that the two have connected, and possibly that the woman has connected with nature. Next, the little girl on the train relinquishes focus on her homework in order to look at a scene on the TV: a city in India, and a boy waving at her. They smile and place their hands on the train window, indicating that the two have connected through the window. Lastly, a vivid image of the sun appears on the TV screens. When this happens, everyone on the train stands and/or leans toward the image, a common action which depicts that the television image has captivated everyone on the train.

In utilizing the theme of connections, Samsung is attempting to showcase the capabilities of their product. They hope to show that their “smart” TV can easily make connections in the consumer’s life. Through the connection strand in their commercial, they attempt to show that through the TV, a consumer can become better connected to people, places, and the world around him or her. Samsung does this rather effectively in the commercial, repeating words and visuals which suggest that the TV can make connections in the consumer’s life.

Anomaly-the only moment of interaction

The only moment of interaction in this Samsung TV commercial was when the train came to stop at a town in India, a local little boy showed up outside the train window coming down a ladder upside-down. He was smiling at the girl sitting inside the train, and when the girl saw him, she smiled back at him. The train started to move a few seconds later and the boy was walking with the train outside and put his hands on the window glass so that he could take a last glance at the girl. The girl was smiling at him the whole time. This is an awkward but oustanding scene in the commercial because throughout the whole advertisement, people were all doing there personal things and no one even said a word to other people.
As a commercial of a TV, this one has strong visual stimulation for the audience, its music also gives a feeling of hamony to the audience. From my point of view, I think this short moment of interaction between the boy and the girl is improving the commercial by giving the audience a feeling of involvement, so that they would have a better impression for the TV and feel that the product is close to their lives, which would improve the possibility for them to buy it.

Samsung TV Commercial Repetition (Binary)

Throughout the entire commercial, Samsung advertised their TV by showing its picture quality and how the TV can connect people around the world. A primary example of how Samsung delivers this is through the use of binary repetition regarding the train's location and the color schemes through the TV. The first time this can be noticed is when the train is in a dark forest-like region and the TV displays a bright, arctic area with horses running. What will be repeated is the similarity of the settings and the contrasting color schemes. In this case, the setting is overall nature. The train is in a nature-rich environment, as are the displays on the TV's. For the color scheme, the colors on the TV are bright, although the actual train is in a darker region.

The next repetition is when the train is in a gloomy, nearly colorless city. On the TV, an Indian city is being displayed with vibrant colors and there are people walking around. As you can see, the matching settings are repeated, as are the contrasting color schemes of these settings. The colors of the city with the train are mainly brown and gray tones, while the city on the TV is colorful and alive.

The last example of binary repetition is when the train approaches a tunnel. As it enters the tunnel, the train is eventually in a very dark and empty looking area. This is when the TV displays outer space, so the passengers seem to be traveling through space. Both of these settings are very dark and ominous places. What sets the color schemes apart is that the TV is showing the awe-inspiring sun and its immense luminosity. There are many forms of repetition in this particular commercial, this is just one example I picked up on. This form of binary repetition, I believe, aided the commercial for what it was trying to deliver, despite the lack of advertising of the actual television.

Revealing: Global Images/ Images

The role of the images on the television played a large role in the commercial. The images being a part of the television make them importnat. A television being what it is, some thing that allows us to view images, the images we see would be important. The context of the images, along with them being very vivid show us that what we are viewing is important. The fact that the global images used appeal to the global market, let the consumer know that the demographic Samsung is trying to reach is quite large. The imagery being clear and very eye-catching made me feel as if it was important. Another reason that imagery is a matter of importance is the simple fact that the commercial is for a television. In my opinion the imagery is the most important aspect of the commercial simply because the product of the commercial is a television on which we watch images.

Binary: Light/Dark

Throughout the advertisement for the Samsung Smart TV, there is a focus on contrasting light and dark. Within the train itself there do not seem to be many, if any, sources of light except for the screens of the TVs. This makes the TVs out to be the sole sources of light for everyone on the train, demonstrated especially when a little girl does her homework by the light of one of the TVs. Connected to the TVs as the source of light, is the fact that there is minimal color within the train as well. The TVs are also what primarily color the advertisement.

The point of focusing on all this light is to paint a picture of the Samsung Smart TV as a source of knowledge, interaction and even happiness. There are no points at which anyone on the train looks particularly displeased, which is further stressed when every facial close-up is of a person smiling. Samsung is attempting to equate the use of their new interactive television with happiness. The darkness is not necessarily unhappiness though, as those in the dark do not look unhappy, but merely bored.

The idea then is that Samsung is not suggesting that other TVs are bad, but boring. This would be a cardinal sin then for TVs considering their sole purpose is that of entertainment. The overall demonstration is that with the new innovations these Smart TVs create, other TVs simply seem boring. Samsung is effectively conveying that this new Smart TV is a must have product which is the key to successful advertisement.

Differences in Images

While I was watching this commercial, I saw a few key things that were similar throughout.  What I noticed has to do with the images that Samsung uses to advertise their television.  The first time this occurs is right after the people get on the train and the train starts moving.  You see the image of the train moving through a grassland that seems rather gray and dull.  We are then shown the inside of the train where people are watching images of horses running across a tundra.  Even though there are a limited amount of colors in this image it seems to pop out more than the grassland. 

The second occurence of his happens right after the first; you see the train traveling through a very urban setting.  Everything is very bleak and dark and seems very depressing.  But we are then shown the inside of the train where the people are watching images of a colorful and lively city that could be in India.  The images shown on the TV are radically different than those happening right outside the train; there are people bustling about their lives, the peoples' clothing and the buildings are very vibrant and colorful, and one is filled with the sense of happiness or joy in watching television. 

The third instance of this similarity is when we see the train pass into a tunnel underneath a mountain.  Under a mountain you think of only darkness or dampness and dirt.  But inside the train, the people are watching a magnificent image of the sun blazing on the screen in front of them.  This is interesting because they just went inside a tunnel, which one could argue is the exact opposite of the sun.  Underground, there is no sunlight, and yet inside the train there is nothing but sunlight. 

In my opinion, this repetition of contrasting images is suggesting that watching the Samsung television could be better than seeing things in person for yourself, using incredible images like galloping horses on a tundra and a close-up of the sun.  It gives people a feeling of power to see whatever they want without restrictions. 

Samsung Advertisement: Revealing

The goal of any global brand is always one thing, and that is to sell their product to the consumer. In order to do this, companies need to inform the general public about what products they have to offer and how those products are neccessary in the lives of the consumer. Therefore, these companies must already have insight as to what it is that causes people to buy things, and what type of things they want to buy so that they can produce those goods. However, through various forms of media, such as advertisement in commericials, these companies gain an advantage by manipulating the thoughts of their consumers. The way they do this is through repetition of a message that they want to get across that after a while, becomes ingrained in a person's subconscience.
In the Samsung advertisement, the unsaid arguement that Samsung is pushing is that their new "Smart TV" is something that everyone wants(or at least, should want). They convey this idea by conveying their product in a way that fulfills things that most people want. For example, humans are social by nature, and want to have connections with other people. Samsung claims that their tv helps people acheive this by showing how a little boy and girl, from across the world touching hands by means of the television screen. They reveal to the consumer the reasons why they should buy the product.

Interesting - Colors inside the train versus colors on the televisions

The colors of the images displayed on the televisions differ drastically from the colors of the interior of the train itself and the people on the train. The TVs are showing very bright, vibrant, attractive colors each time they are shown, from the beautiful, detailed horses and white snow, to the scene in India in which most of the people are wearing bright colors and fabrics, and finally to the scene in space with the bright sun looking as beautiful and detailed as if one were very close to it.

In comparison, the people watching the televisions are wearing dull, neutral colors such as browns, greys and blacks. The design of the train itself is similar, being a dull silver on the outside and mostly dark on the inside. The interior of the train itself is hardly lit at all except for the light being emitted by the televisions. Samsung is obviously trying to show that their product is capable of showing high definition, gorgeous imagery that can take you places more interesting than the actual place you are in when watching the TV. Contrasting two different things is a powerful way to sway a person's opinion in one direction or the other, and Samsung seeks to do this by showing the differences in the visuals of the real world versus the visuals of the televisions.

Strange - why they showed their product from the beginning

The one thing I felt strange with this commercial advertisement was that this advertisement starts with the scene sticking televisions on the window. Most of commercial advertisements I have watched they didn't show their products from the beginning of the advertisements but show whatever scenes can draw my attention. I may think the purpose of showing the specific product at the end is that they try to stimulate consumers' curiosity and maximize the effect. However, this one showed what their product is from the beginning of the advertisement. Consumers may get curiosity such as "why they are sticking all the televisions on the window?" but sure that they will realize this advertisement is all about television.
In my opinion, the director tried to make better understanding of their product through showing their product from the beginning but it would be better if they started their advertisement from the scene where televisions on in the tunnel. If the advertisement began with the scene from the tunnel, it may draw and stimulate more attention and curiosity from consumers. For example, viewers may have questions like "why the people see different view from actual places?" or "what is the Samsung logo at the bottom of the window for?". When these kinds of questions come up in mind, viewers will pay more attention to the advertisement and the product will give stronger impression when viewers get answers for their questions at the end. Furthermore, viewers may remind the advertisement even later they watched and when it gives strong impression, it is going to remind the contents and product when consumers see the brand. Therefore I think that is weird that director showed their product from the beginning of the scene and let viewers absorb the contents passively which can reduce the effect of the advertisement.