Reflection Post

This semester has been really eye opening onto the true messages in media. What I have learned this year has changed the way that I look at media. Whenever I watch TV, during the commercials I find the critical thinker coming out in me. I will whisper a technique used in the commercial that I saw in the images. Despite this I look at media in a different light than I used too. Before taking this course I thought of myself as an individual that doesn't fall for the media society. I realize that my ideas I thought of to be individual were really brought on by images I had seen in the media.

Since the beginning of our study of media, I have become more aware of the subliminal messages that are in all sources of media I use. The media literacy I have developed over the course of our studies I believe is very important. I will carry the knowledge that I have learned this semester. It already is helping me in my everyday life. Just the other day my mother and I were at the grocery store. She wanted to buy some almond milk single serve cartoons. When we got to the area where they were sitting on the shelves, our eyes were immediately drawn to the bold advertisement saying "4 for $5." We almost got sucked in to the weasel words. Later we read the fine print on the advertisement and saw it said "single sale $1.25." After some simple math we realized that 1.25 times 4 equals 5. The advertisement wasn't giving us any deal it just pointed the obvious out to us. If I had not learned what I had learned about media this year than my mother and I would have fallen to the tricks of the advertising company.

I don't think my media consumption habits have changed over the course of the media unit. I still do the same things I did when we started this unit. However, I have not taken nothing from this unit. I consume the same amount of media but I look at it in a different way than I would have before. Before this it was a world of colorful pictures and persuasive words. Now it is beast that tries to trick you at every corner. With the media literacy I have developed I can outsmart the advertising beast.

Media Crazed Elections

This is election season. The election is on June 3rd. This makes this time of year full of political ads. Every politician sends out multiple ads to degrade its competitors in their election race. This year is even more special for the city of Sacramento because we have 4 political races going on. Three of those races have multiple candidates running. in them.

When I get home from school everyday I take in the mail. I have been taking inside the political mailers for months. I realized on Friday this would be perfect media blog material. So instead of recycling the 8 mailers we received I kept them to look at the advertising techniques they all use.

From the 8 mailers, 6 of them had quotes from Sacramento Bee articles. The sender of these mailers wanted to improve the ethos of their argument by putting a Sacramento Bee quote. When some people see a Sacramento Bee quote in a mailer they will instantly be persuaded to vote against or for this person because The Sacramento Bee never lies.




One mailer I received was arguing against Kevin McCarty. It had a line of text on it that read, "Kevin McCarty is a weasel doing weaselly things." This was accompanied by a picture of a weasel. I think you can see what I'm getting at. This argument uses weasel words. We don't know what the campaigner means by 'weaselly things.' You have to project your idea of a weaselly thing a politician does and assume McCarty does it. The campaigner wants to portray him as a lying, sulking weasel.

I received three different mailers concerning Dr. Richard Pan. To start he really is playing the doctor thing. On every campaign I have seen for or against him, the Dr. title has always been there. His main issue he wants to cover is healthcare and making sure all Californians are covered. He is trying to show he is certified to be a politician and talk about this subject because of his Dr.status. Also the pictures that are on his ads that are for him usually show him with his family. He is trying to express that he is a family guy ans not just aspiring politician.

These and many more in-home mailers we have received play on the idea that the opponent is a corrupt politician. They scrounge around to find little things like Dr. Richard Pan taking a per diem even though he only lives 10 minutes from the capital. Or how Anne Marie Schubert took pay raises year after year despite budget cuts and people being laid off. Or. how Roger Dickinson went on multiple tax payer funded trips despite budget cuts. All these and so many more are sent out to persuade the receiver to vote in their favor.

But the real problem here is not the politician themselves its our world that is so over run by media that campaigners will have to send out so much just for their voice to be heard. It makes running for government which should be available for all people more of a rich persons job so they can pay for advertising to win their election.

Women in power

The number of women in the legasilature in the United States is astoundingly low. The narrator of Miss Representation gave a statistic I found very interesting. She said that only 17% of Congress is women. This movie was made back in 2011. Since then the percentage of women in Congress has grown to 18.5%. Still despite the marginal growth men far out weigh women in the political realm.

So after hearing this I went home and looked up the number of women in the California legislature. I was surprised to find that 11 of the 40 representatives in the Senate were women and that 21 of the 80 representatives in the Assembly were women. Now with some simple math, (ugh math! I know just bear with me.) we can calculate that 31 of the 120 California legislators are women. That equals 25.8% of the representatives in Californias legislature are women. Alright not bad California thats more than Congress but still it isn't equal. In a nation of democracy where our main doctrine is equality for all, this doesn't add up. In a perfect world, which I know this isn't, the number of represnetatives would be split 50% men and 50% women. But it isn't nor is it even close to that number. Instead it is way lower than that equality.


After looking at all the legislators nationwide women make up just 24.2%. That is less then even a fourth of all legislators. Women are out numbered completelty throughout our country. So instead of getting laws made by the people for the people we get laws made by the men for the people. Not saying that all men are defincent but they lack the imoportant view of the women that should be present when making laws.

The United States is ranked 98 in the world for the percentage of women in the legislature. This is lower than in 1998 when the Unites Sates was ranked 59. This is not a good example to be setting if the United States wants to be setting an example as the leading world power. I think it is a problem more of the people. We have been told for so long that women can't be as good as men in politics. We think that a political career is a mans job. We should follow more of the mindset in Rwanda, who is the leading country for the percentage of women in parliament. Rwanda's parliament is 51.2% women.

As a young girl if I was asked if i wanted to be a member of the legislature I would say no. I would much rather prefer to be a doctor. Before I saw this movie, my reasoning was I'm not good at writing speechs and speaking in public really isn't my calling. But afterward, I think it is more because i haven't seen a large number of women at the capital. My mom is a lobbyist so throughout my childhood i have found myself at the capital more times than I can count and I have met many people at events. If you can guess the majority of the people my mom would introduce me too would be men. There was the occassional women but I didn't meet them in the numbers that i met the men of the capitol.

This inequality in the politcal realm needs to be resolved. Women need to believe that they are just as powerful as men.

The Home Stretch

As we all know this is an important time of year for us high school students. I don't know if any of you guys are keeping a countdown, but we have three more weeks left of school. (13 school days to be exact.) So exciting. Time to celebrate. Summer is almost here. All of these we say with enthusiasm and joy because it has been a long year. But hold those notebooks fellow students we aren't done yet. We still have (as I already stated) three more weeks. These are probably the toughest weeks of a school year and the media doesn't make it easy to focus on school.

Right around the beginning of June, companies start to rev up their summer ad campaigns. Most schools get out for summer break at the beginning of June rather than mid-June like us. Companies start their campaigns now so they don't lose precious days on selling their summer stock to the teenager.

These companies put out alluring ads that try to distract us from finishing the year out on s strong note fighting until the last bell rings. I know the temptation set out by companies. Over the last week I have been having a struggle with myself to do my homework. All I want is to be on summer break and have the ability to sleep in, read my choice books and hang out with friends. I have to keep telling myself that giving up now won't help and to keep fighting on.

Prada just released their 2014 summer ad campaign. Lets take a look.

The actresses in this commercial are doing things you would do in summer. now i know this sounds a little weird let me explain. So they aren't explicitly at these things but certain clues hint at what they are doing. In the first third it looks to me as if they are at a baseball game but that also could be what i am projecting on the image. (I'll get back to that.) In the second third they are at a movies theater apparent by the popcorn they are holding. In the final third they are at what appears to be a concert. These are all very summery things they are doing. People commonly associate going to baseball games, movies and concerts with summer. Now coming back to the projection thing. It is very vague what is actually happening in the ad despite my observations. When I watched it a second time the first third actually looked more like watching tennis then baseball. But I sill told you baseball because i don't think of tennis as a summer thing. Prada wants you to project your emotion into whatever scene draws you more. You project your idea of summer and then associate it with Prada. Which I also noticed that no Prada products (hehe that rhymes) were ever shown during the ad.

I'm not trying to tell you all that you aren't working hard enough. I am making you more aware of the medias insistent pull towards giving in to the summer fever.

Modern Family

Modern Family is one of my favorite shows on television (right in there behind NCIS.) I always find myself laughing at some point during their episodes. It is one of the shows my family will watch together. But despite the humor and the laughs it brings up some very important topics.



For starters, it breaks barriers. There are many different dynamics to the family portrayed in the show. One of the couples, Cam and Mitchel, in the show is a gay couple. Already they reach into that area of things not traditionally shown on TV. Being gay has only recently begun to be excepted. Likewise in TV shows they appear very rarely and even if they do appear they normally follow the stereotypes that surround gay people. They are usually portrayed as flamboyant, happy and with a great sense of fashion. This gay couple on modern family is not like that. They have these traits at times but it is not their identity. They are more than that gay model. They are loving fathers to their adopted daughter, Lily, and both are hard working at their jobs.

Another one of the couples is multicultural. The father of Mitchel, Jay, divorced his wife and married a young Latino woman, Gloria. Now at first this is annoying because it seems like she is just a trophy wife to Jay. But in reality she is not. She is a very independent woman and doesn't  let any of the characters in the show stop her from what she wants to do. She also brings a very important topic about multiculturalism. In one episode she is upset over the fact that her son, Manny, is forgetting his Spanish. She spends the whole episode making sure that he does not forget his heritage. This is an important idea for viewers to take away from the show. It isn't just about fitting into the American society you also have to remember what you come from.

The family is very close in the show. They are always doing something together as a family. Whether it is just having dinner or going on vacation together this family is always connected. I think this strong family connecting is really lacking in our modern society. With all of our so called technology it is easier to pick up the phone and call your grandparents rather than driving to visit them. I am happy to see how close this family is. That's why my family likes to watch it together rather than when it is most convenient for the individual.

Some of their episodes center around sensitive subjects. They solve the problem throughout the episode with humor and lots of laughs, but there is always a deeper meaning viewers find in these hilarious episodes.

My family likes to watch Modern Family because it is different then other TV shows and isn't afraid to talk about sensitive subjects.

Beauty Pegents...ugh

Pardon me on this next post. I'm going to use Merchants of Cool as a reason for me to tell you how much I dislike beauty pageants.

The whole idea of a beauty pageant is sexist and stupid. Women voluntarily parade themselves around a stage in expensive dresses, swimsuits and executing "talents" to prove what exactly. These girls are making women into a sex symbol that has no other purpose then to flaunt her body around.

Why for a woman to be beautiful they have to wear skinny bikinis that cover the least amount of skin possible? Actually most of these swimsuits have no purpose. They are really more for show. They can't function in actual physical activity because it would fall down. But many girls wear them anyway because they show off their body and is what all the celebrities are wearing.

These girls do bad things to their body to make themselves skinny. The positive spin on what they do is go on a diet. But we all know that's a lie. The reality is that they starve themselves so that they can fit this definition of beautiful with the curvy body that has not an inch of fat. Also the scary fact is that they purge before every pageant. Yes you read that correctly purging aka throwing up the contents of their stomach. This seems scary an image of 100 girls huddled around trash cans throwing up but hey everyone's doing it so why shouldn't I (common rationalizations).

Pageants also are harmful to a girls self esteem. If she loses she feels insecure about herself and her body even though she is most likely beautiful. So maybe she doesn't fit the mold of a socially accepted beautiful person. Maybe her boobs are a little smaller or her hips a little wider but it doesn't mean she isn't beautiful. In my mind it actually means quite the opposite. I think you are more beautiful because of the aspects of you that stand out and are different then everybody else.

The media sets up this perfect ideal body that all women must fit for them to be accepted. Nobody's body is perfect. Everyone has little flaws in themselves. Because of the media's and beauty pageants idealistic woman, every girl focuses on their flaws and not the good things about their body. Being a girl I have an insight into the minds of my fellow peers. It seems like to be a girl you have to hate your body and love somebody else's body over yours. You complain your boobs are too big or too small and want the opposite. You complain your fat when really you are skinny. Everyone has to find something about their body to complain about or else you are weird. This idea you have to hate your body even shows up in the media. I'm sure most of have seen this clip from Mean Girls because who hasn't. (Actually lots of people. I didn't first see this movie until this year. Is that bad? Don't judge me.)

Besides if we are beyond help at least we need to save the younger generation. Shows like Toddlers in Tiaras are not a good sign for the future. These stuck up little beauty queens are between the ages of four to six. The way that they act and treat the people around them is not OK for that age or any age at that matter. Also then our little girls think it is OK to act like Honey Boo Boo the most annoying person in reality television. (Well everyone in reality television is equally annoying but for my purposes Honey Boo Boo is the most annoying.) She only got discovered because she went on Toddlers in Tiaras and people thought she was funny so some company gave her a TV show to be crazy and act completely stupid. 

Advertising in Sports

The other day while watching my favorite hometown team, the LA Dodgers, I realized how extremely integrated advertisements are with sports of all levels.

Advertisements are everywhere at all sporting events. There is the general detritus of advertisements that circle the stadium throughout the game. They are on flashy signs with moving images to grab your attention during the game. But also sometimes the name of the stadium is an advertisement. The Minnesota Twins stadium is called Target Field. If that isn't the most blatant advertising then I don't know what is. Target pays the Twins millions of dollars to have their name and the target symbol on the stadium. This automatically to any dedicated baseball fan connects Target with the Twins. But Target Field is really new to the Twins. Back in 2010, the Twins changed the name of their stadium from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metro dome to Target Field. They did this for the consumer, everyone knows what Target is. However raise your hand if you know who Hubert H. Humphrey is...none of you...exactly my point. (FYI he was a long time senator for Minnesota.) The Twins benefited from this switch because Target pays them more for their name to get advertised on their stadium.

Not only is it on their stadium's an advertisement but it is also on their uniforms. This issue is more potent in the European soccer leagues. It has gotten to the point where for someone to recognize what team is playing the have to know the company that is advertised on their jerseys. On their jerseys a large advertisement across the front of their chest is always present along with a little tiny patch above their heart advertising what team it actually is. Shouldn't it be the opposite way around? The advertisement should be the little patch in the corner while the name of the team should be front and center. It makes no sense except for in our media crazed society companies will have to find any way to get the message to us about their products.

Not only is this crazy advertising on uniforms in the professional leagues but it is also in little league. As a little girl, I played on my neighborhood east sac little league softball team. They would give us the uniform at the beginning of the season with our appointed team name on it. On these jerseys they have your number on the back but written above your number is the name of a local company. These companies have probably provided money to the little league program and in return they get free advertising on the backs of little nine year old's. When I was little I accepted this because I didn't think there was anything wrong. It was the way it had always been. Looking back now I think this is just slightly messed up. All they want to do is have fun and play baseball/softball and then some companies wants to turn you into an advertisement, not cool bro.

Things aren't going to change any time soon advertising in sports has become so intertwined that their is just no way around it. Every sport has its unique way of showing advertisements. We accept these because we have grown up in a society where constant advertising is part of the relative "normal."

Doberwawa

The Super Bowl is the largest advertising outlet of the year. Every year millions of Americans tune into their television sets and watch the big game. Many people have large parties to watch the game and enjoy a good time of friendly competition with their friends. The majority of viewers are loyal football fans that have a passionate love for the game. Some however tune in for the double edged sword attached to the super bowl. That other edge is the commercials.

Super bowl commercials over the last few years have been built up to be the sudo advertisement of the year. Companies will spend thousands for a 30 second time slot in this prime time show. They will spend careful time planning out their smashing new commercial just for this occasion.

This year as always my family sat down to watch the super bowl with some close family friends. We focus more on the football aspect but if there is a funny commercial who is going to stop us from laughing. There was one commercial that especially caught my attention this year. This commercial was the doberwawa audi commercial.

I thought the interesting looking dog was hilarious. Audi in a way was using our need to nurture but not in the traditional sense. It wasn't like an "Aww this dog is so adorable I want an Audi becasue i can have an adorable dog too." It was more of an "Ugh that dog is so ugly I don't want a dog like that so I should get an Audi because they look so beautiful in that close up of the car."

It also uses the technique of wit and humor because whoever came up with that doberwawa thing is some smart cookie. I had no idea it was a car commercial until the end of the ad. Instead I focused on the funny doberwawa story.

Lovemarks

I believe every family has those special brands of products they always buy.

In my family we have certain brands we always buy for products. For laundry detergent we always buy tide. For our weekly grocery shopping we always go to the same neighborhood Savemart. For my running shoes I have always gotten Brooks. For breakfast cereal we always buy honey nut cheerios. This list goes on and on.

These products are my families lovemarks. They are the products we loyally buy without a second thought. We have become a part of the loyal clan that follows these products.

We have bought tide for as long as I can remember in my family. For our laundry we always wash with tide to get the tough stains out. But is that the only reason we continue to buy it? I don't think so. Maybe its because we've never had a problem with its performance or because it does a better job than the other leading brands. But after watching the persuaders I have a different idea. I think tide has not only become a regular part to our laundry but it also is a part of our family. I can not imagine washing my clothes without tide. In my brain I would feel a difference in my clothes (they wouldn't be quite as clean) but this difference is only my uneasiness about not loyally using tide on my clothing.


This same loyalty is not only in the laundry detergent we buy but also in our regular grocery store. Ever Sunday we go grocery shopping in my house. We have gone to the same grocery store since I was a little kid. This grocery store used to be called Albertson's but then it was sold and renamed Savemart. Despite the change in ownership we still were loyal customers and went back to store there. When I asked my parents how long we had been going there they told me they had been going since 1989. I had not realized how attached we are to that store. It would seem something so insignificant just the grocery store we happen to shop at but it really is much more than that. We know that store inside and out we don't have to wander the store searching for an item we can walk in and know exactly where it is.


Since I was a young girl my morning breakfast has always been the same. I have had toaster eggo waffles on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and honey nut cheerios on Tuesdays and Thursdays for my entire life. My morning routine would be blown to pieces if I ever changed one of those two products in my life. I can't imagine having breakfast during the week and it not being either of those things. I can not love a cereal any more the way that I love cheerios. Even when i'm on vacation or at a friends house other cereals just never taste right. I will eat them because when I am hungry is not a good thing but it will never hold the same place in my heart as cheerios do.



Even unconsciously I connected to my brand of running shoes. At fleet feet whenever you go to buy shoes they will ask you what you  are looking for, measure your foot, and then bring you shoes that fit both of those descriptions. They bring out a wide range of options for you to try on and choose which works best for you. This whole approach is so you don't try to choose a shoe based on its brand or flashy color. But despite this I have magically found a way to break the system and am now on my third pair of magnificent Brooks running shoes. Every time I go in, I go through the same process and I won't look at the brands of the shoes that I am trying on but somehow the ones I like the most end up being Brooks. I say it is because I like how they feel on my feet, but now I think it is me subconsciously pulled towards my lovemark.

I have been a loyal user of these brands for too long that I don't see myself changing my ways anytime soon.