It's Time to Sign Out

     Before taking this critical thinking class, I thought I was aware of the thousands of media messages thrown at us on a daily basis. I thought I had it all figured out by blocking out many of the bland messages and filtering the ones that I liked. I assumed that I was media literate, but after taking this class where we dug much deeper than I would ever go on my own, I found that I was definitely media illiterate. I thought I was numb, if not immune, to all media that surrounds us each day. Unfortunately, there is no way around it.
     The amount of media I consume impacts my life in ways that I'm not quite aware of. But I do know that the media influences some of my opinions, the way I dress, the music I like, and some of my expectations about life.

     This class has made me realize all the explicit and implicit messages the media is attempting to tell us. Instead of the messages passing right through me, I find myself instinctively analyzing them and trying to determine the message and the messenger. So I think it's safe to say that now I am media literate. Being more aware of my media consumption definitely changes my interactions with media. I'll never look at a print ad or watch a commercial the same way again without calling out its flaws, appeals, or advertising techniques. For example, I can pick out the techniques or appeals and say what the target market is. I don't know if that has ruined the media for me or made it better, because I won't fall for the faulty, unrealistic messages it is trying to send us.
     I feel that analyzing the media has made me more critical towards it, because I've found that each ad has another message to it that isn't explicitly told to us. Keeping this media blog has helped me uncover these hidden messages. The media is never quite as it seems. Each blog post I wrote and each advertisement I came across made me realize that the media is basically lying to us. But most people usually don't realize that, because most do not sit down for thirty minutes to analyze the meaning and implicit messages of one bit of media. Nevertheless, this blog helped me understand the media much better and why it does the things that it does to reach out to viewers. This blog drew me into another realm that I thought I was immune to, and it exposed me to the marketing and advertising that I never would have paid much attention to before this class. 

     I realized how powerful the media is when it comes to warping and defining our values. I'm not saying that the media is evil or anything (although in some instances it can be), but we just need to know that the media isn't in charge of us. It's our job to analyze, or at least realize that the reality it's presenting to us isn't all that real. We can't accept everything the media throws at us. We and the media are responsible for our consumption and understood messages. We can't put all the blame on the media for changing the way we view reality, because it is only a mere reflection of all of us.
     It is important to have media literacy and to be an educated consumer, because we don't want to fall into the trap of following blindly and wasting our money away. The same reasoning goes for being an educated consumer. It helps us realize what is being advertised to us and why that is. If we become more educated, advertisements will have a harder time targeting us to buy their product Sure, it's okay to buy stuff--that's what ads want us to do, but there is a limit.
     I would like to say that I detest the media because of all the lies, unrealistic assumptions, and expectations. I would like to say that because of that, I will cut back on my media consumption to save myself from the constant stream of media messages. I would also like to say that my media consumption habits will drastically change for the better, but to be honest, I will probably still consume the same amount as I did before taking this class. Media is part of life and society. We can't get around it, and it's always going to be here, getting stronger and stronger. I honestly like getting my daily dose of TV and Internet. That might be true, but I know that I'll be more skeptical and tentative when it comes to the thousands of messages media presents us with. I know that I will be more aware of it and not let all the messages pass right through me as they did before.
     Thank you, critical thinking for making me understand the media so much better and realize that the media isn't all as it seems. Now, there's only so much media that I can take in one day, but signing out is just the start of cutting back on my media consumption. 

Elementary School: Then and Now

     On Friday, I went to an elementary school to help out at the school's carnival. As I walked on campus, I was brought back to happy and easygoing childhood memories. It seemed like nothing had changed--there were still kids screaming and running around the blacktop. But as I was setting up for the carnival and standing at my booth watching the kids hurry past me, I knew that elementary school was definitely not as I remembered. What especially caught my eye was how the elementary school girls were dressed. I saw short shorts, flat sandals, flashy tank tops, and colorful t-shirts. Girls walked by with their group of friends carry around a nice, thick wallet containing what I could only guess to be $2 and "caught-you-being-good" tickets. I am usually a bad judgement of age, but the way these girls were dressed made it so much harder for me to guess what grade they were in. They looked like sixth graders, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually in fourth.
     When I was in elementary school, I remember basically wearing  the same thing everyday: jeans and a plain t-shirt. What is up with this generation? Is it that these girls grew up in a new age where the only thing they know is a life surrounded by the media? I think so.
     In Miss Representation, the narrator was worried about the life her daughter would have in a generation that is heavily influenced by the media. Did her daughter have a chance against the media without changing who she really is? Today, I can understand how the media impacts girls' lives. In my last blog post, I discussed the effects of the media on teenage girls, but now I would like to talk about its effects on young girls.
     From the moment they are brought into the world, girls are surrounded by media that is constantly throwing "acceptable" and "ideal" people, clothing, and lifestyle at them. Do we ever catch a break? Even TV shows and movies explicitly tell us what kind of life we should have and how we should dress. And if that's not how we roll, then we will probably be ridiculed because we choose not to conform to society's standards. No wonder girls feel pressured to change to fit the ideal girl in society's eye. Thanks a lot, media.
     So all forms of the media is shaping how young girls view themselves and how they choose to present themselves as well. I'm not saying that it's terrible for them to dress older than they are, but they don't have to grow out of their childhood so fast by reaching so far into the future. It's what is presented to these girls on a daily basis that influences how they dress. I've sat through enough episodes of Jesse and Liv and Maddie on Disney Channel that I can only guess that those shows are the base of young girls' change into dressing like teenagers. Not only do they focus too much on looks, but they also address relationships and worrying about other peoples' judgments--sure, like those things are so important. So now it's easy for me to understand why young girls are dressing the way they do. This is exactly the impact media makes even on younger girls as discussed in Miss Representation. Media shows us what is acceptable and expected in society, so girls try to fit the reality that is presented to them.
     Overall, the documentary made a strong argument about how girls are being influenced by the media. I never realized how big a role the media took in shaping how we view ourselves and others, and this documentary changed the way I look at the media and the messages it tries to send us. I liked how this documentary gave the women a voice, so they got to express how they really felt about this issue. I know that the main idea how women are affected by the media, but I feel like men are affected in the same ways. We see the influence more in girls, because we are more expressive of how we feel, so we can all see the effects. We are a reflection of the messages in the media. By the end of the documentary, I was thinking about the effects on men. We don't see the effects as easily as women, because the media makes it seem like men are weak for being emotional. Instead, they are taught to suppress their emotions at a young age, so it's harder for us to see how the media is shown in them. Either way, this documentary stated that we are all affected.
     As for me, I would like to say that I am real and not another reproduction of the media. But I feel like that would be hard to say, because the media has burrowed its way into our life one way or another. I don't particularly stay up with the latest trends, nor do I wear whatever my heart desires. I'd like to think that I grab something off the rack because I like it, but let's face it, I probably picked it up because I knew that's what was "in" and "acceptable." I like to do my own things, and I can get a kick out of the latest trends, so I'd like to say that I don't conform so easily to fit the media. I guess there's in in-between of me versus the commercialization of me. It's hard to tell sometimes, because life and the media seems to have morphed into one giant blob, so it's difficult to separate real from reproduction.

#thigh gab

     Last week, we brought up "thigh gap" in class. Mr Maxwell said that those two words are top searches on Tumblr and Pinterest. At first I thought that was hard to believe, because there are better things to think about than that thigh gap. Out of curiosity, I went home to search thigh gap on Tumblr. I found that the thigh gap tag was blocked:

     For that, I appreciate you, Tumblr. But that didn't stop girls from posting an overwhelming amount of pictures of or relating to the thigh gap under the new tag "thigh gab."

     Just scrolling through this tag made me realize that this is what some girls think is all that matters. When we watched Miss Representation, it said that the majority of women are unhappy with their body. I instantly thought about this idea of the thigh gap that so many girls seem to be fixated on. But according to these pictures, it's more than just the thigh gap, but prominent collar bones and jutting hip bones. 

     In this generation, we are constantly surrounded by media. We get the idea that beauty is being thin, collar and hip bones--basically having the "perfect body." Media has warped the way we view women and how we perceive beauty. These thigh gap pictures on Tumblr is just one way that the media is defining beauty. It seems unreasonable, though, because no one really looks like these girls in the pictures without questioning their health. As the media is feeding us these images, we look at ourselves and realize that we aren't these girls. That's when we start that self-objectification. We start to see ourselves as less than human, but rather an object, where we call ourselves degrading names and target our every insecurity. It's unbelievable that the media is presenting us with this unrealistic reality. 

     Media has a huge impact on women, especially. Imagine a never-ending page of pictures just like these--scrolling through social media and this is all you see. It's no wonder that this very thin body image is ingrained into our heads. Beyond social media, all we see in TV, movies, and magazines are women with the "ideal" body. And if that's not it, magazines ridicule or point out every natural flaw. It's called being human.

     If this is the case that media is feeding us the ideas about beauty, then what does that say about us? Does that mean that we as a society value beauty, thigh gaps, and perfect bodies over intelligence and skill? I wish that wasn't how it is, but that's what's been being presented to us on a daily basis. I think this is an issue that needs to get the attention of people. We can't ignore the media and blindly follow its ideas that are being given to us. I hope that we can see past the objectification, because it's holding us back from achieving and getting to issues that really matter. 

     If thigh gaps are the main issue here, then we really need to step back and reevaluate too many of our values. I think one of the simplest ways is to address this issue is by realizing how the media warps reality and that we are individuals who do not need to conform. We shouldn't be changed by the media or be told what's acceptable. Media is targeting our insecurities, but that doesn't mean that we should accept it and change who we are to reflect the ideal image. 

     

Allstate Won't Hang Up Any Keys

     At first glance, we see car keys personalized by key chains. The thing that caught my eye was that all these keys are hung up, tacked to a white background. The caption reads in bold: "Thousands of teen driving deaths can't be ignored. But they can be prevented." This is probably the most powerful Allstate ad I have ever seen. 

     This ad represents of the tragedy of teen driving deaths. The caption lets us know that these are the keys of teen drivers. The keys on the white background is so simple, but the keys themselves speak louder than the caption ever could. We realize that these are keys all teens' car keys that will be hung up forever and never used again by the driver. The hanging keys are each and every teen driver that has lost their life.

     Because I found this ad in a Better Home and Garden magazine, the target audience would mainly be moms of teen drivers of any social class. Moms want to make sure that there children will be "in good hands." They also want to rest assured that they have the best insurance to take care of them when worse comes to worst. This pairs with the message that Allstate has got your back when it comes down to teen driving. It will be there to protect us and prevent teen driving deaths. The message that it communicates to moms is that their children will be safe, so there will be nothing to worry about.  Much like the caption, we cannot ignore all those hanging keys, because it takes up the whole ad, but Allstate can prevent more keys from being hung up. It's implicitly telling us that other insurance companies can't always be there for us as much as Allstate has always got our back.

     The simplicity of this ad adds to its effect. The lighting looks natural, and nothing stands out more than anything else. This simplicity makes this ad seem like it could easily be just another key that hangs on the wall of a grieving family. It looks too real that it emphasizes the message and makes parents, especially concerned moms, realize that they never want to be in that position, so they will get Allstate.

     The realness of this ad is mostly expressed through the plain folks advertising technique. As I said, any of those keys could be of any teen driver. It can fit into any family. With that being, Allstate would be a practical insurance to have for an ordinary family, especially those with teens. It makes sense to moms to have this insurance, because they all share a common concern in protecting their children. The other technique that is used in this ad is simple solutions. Allstate sends us the message that by simply trusting their insurance, then will be promised to be in good hands. Moms won't have to worry about anything because teen driving deaths will be prevented. 

     The biggest appeal that is used in this ad is the need to feel safe. This appeal is mainly directed to mothers who want to make be sure their children are safe on the road. This is need is promised by Allstate, because it will prevent teen driving deaths. All concerned moms want to be sure that their children are free from any threats that they may be faced with. Another appeal is the need for guidance. Although this ad does not have the Allstate guy to explicitly tell us that everything will be okay, the caption does that for us. It appeals to our need to feel as if we are all taken care of. But I can imagine the Allstate guy telling us "You're in good hands." Either written on the bottom corner or being told by the Allstate guy, this ad assures us that there is nothing to worry about. Moms especially won't have to worry about having to hang up their child's keys, because Allstate will protect them. 

     I thought this ad was very powerful and did a good job in conveying the message. If I was left with a strong impression of this ad, then I am sure that other audiences felt the same way. Parents may have felt the urge to protect their children just by seeing this ad. 

Dennis Likes GrubHub

     This is Dennis. He is a man that requires many options, which is why he has three hot tub, 73 self portraits and an unnecessary amount of hair dryers. Dennis turns to GrubHub to provide him with thousands of different restaurants. 

   

     When I first watched this commercial, I had no idea what GrubHub was or was trying to tell me. All I remembered was that it showed this guy who had an unreasonable amount of stuff in his house. Why did he need 73 self portraits? And hair dryers just for styling? You okay, buddy? Only when I searched this commercial to watch it again did I realize that the message was that if you like having a lot of options, when it comes to choosing your food, GrubHub is your go-to website. It has thousands of restaurants to choose from right at your fingertips. I know that Dennis is pushing the boundaries to show us that we all like to have an array of options, but his unreasonable amount of stuff clearly sends us that message. We watch this commercial and realize that we aren't living it up like Dennis who has a life of options, and that's what we want to have. This is what GrubHub is implicitly telling us, and all we need to do is to use their website to get the kind of options Dennis lives for.

     I think the target audience for this commercial is middle class adults. Even though Dennis has too much stuff, he is an average-looking guy. The stuff he has isn't too luxurious that it is not out of reach. The brand is GrubHub, a website to find thousands of restaurants, so you don't have to have a glamorous lifestyle. This target age based on this commercial can be adults of any age. Options are good, especially when it comes to food, so I think everyone would appreciate the options that this website can offer. 

     The main appeal used in this commercial is the need for prominence. This commercial is trying to tell us that all the options we can have will give us high social status. Although Dennis doesn't look extravagant, he has a lot of the same things that can make people envy him. By the end of this commercial when you realize what they're actually selling, it fulfills our physiological need to eat. Even though the food is only shown briefly, when we hear that we can choose from a wide array of food, we are drawn to that factor. 

     The biggest technique that is used is transfer/association. The commercial makes a comparison between having so much stuff and a lot of options to the options we can get from GrubHub. Having a lot of options has a positive connotation, and when we watch this commercial, we associate living a fulfilling life of options to GrubHub, therefore, the brand seems very desirable to us. Another technique is simple solutions. If we use this website then we can have any kind of food we want at our fingertips. 

     After watching this commercial several times, I thought that it was very effective. Although the brand was only mentioned at the end, it clearly made us realize that we need options, and the brand will be there for us. The exaggerated amount of stuff that Dennis had shows us how many food options that can be provided to us. 

Rice Krispies Brings Back Our Childhood

     Although Easter was last month, I still remember this commercial, because it make me reminisce about my childhood. This commercial shows a mom and her two young children spending time in the kitchen together making Rice Krispies Easter eggs.  I feel an emotional connection to this commercial because I used to do the same thing with my mom when I was a child.

     Even though this commercial is all black and white except for the Rice Krispies box, this lighting seems natural. It is simple enough that we aren't distracted from any intense lighting, and instead focus on the mother and her children. The cereal box being the only thing in color draws our attention and makes us better remember the brand. It is the color that cuts through the simplicity of the commercial.

     The target audience for the commercial is aimed at young moms who live for and love those special moments with their children. We see the mom in the commercial having that same connection. Another target audience could also be to older kids who is brought back to their childhood while watching this commercial, because I think most children have made Rice Krispie treats with their mother at some point in their lives. This commercial can help bring back childhood memories to older children.

     The biggest appeal in this commercial is the need for affiliation. The message from the brand is saying that Rice Krispies brings mother and children together. Being that the mother is the only parent figure in this commercial shows that the brand stresses her role. The need to nurture is also achieved in this commercial. The mother and her children spending time together in the kitchen give moms the feeling that they should be doing the same. Sharing those moments makes moms go "aww.." and make them want to spend more time with their kids or cherish the time spent. The sweet song in the background also makes the commercial sound more welcoming--as if everything will be taken care of by the mother.

     Plain folks is used as an advertising technique, because this commercial shows ordinary people and an average relationship between mother and children. The lighting also helps to show the simplicity of the people shown. This technique shows that Rice Krispies belongs in every average family. It makes sense that the product fits into a family, because this same situation can happen in every household. 

     Here, Rice Krispies did a good job in showing the simplicity of the product while also bringing a smile to ones face by reminiscing on these memories. I mean, I can't be the only one who made Rice Krispie treats with their mom as a child.  

Please Do Not Eat Essie Nail Polish

     As I was flipping through an Inside magazine, I came across this Essie ad. I was attracted by the nail polish dripping down on a spoon. Then I read the quotation, "want a taste of luxury? then get your hands on my belugaria." I'm not sure what bothers me most: the lack of capitalization at the beginning of each sentence or the fact that Essie is basically telling us to taste their nail polish. Um... No, thanks. I'm good. Even if their new belugaria nail polish tastes like luxury, I don't want to risk my life trying that out.

     The block of sentences on the left also reads, "My encrusted treasures take nail art to a whole new level of taste and refinement. Sweep on my sophisticated, on-trend textures in just one stroke to put multi-faceted prismatic luxury right at your fingertips." I was lost at "multi-faceted prismatic luxury." Because of that, these are jargan words. All that got through to me was that this nail polish means luxury, sophistication, and trendy. The jargan words are fillers to confuse the audience and most likely draw more attention to the luxury aspect of the product; however, the use of jargan made me think that this product is the best thing ever.

     Words like encrusted treasures, sophisticated, on-trend, and luxury all have positive connotations. Don't we all want to feel classy and trendy? Essie claims that this nail polish is the answer. This ad also makes a faulty analogy between the nail polish and luxury. It can't actually taste like luxury, or can luxury have a taste; nevertheless, this analogy is misleading because it is not possible--but possibly harmful to the body upon digestion. 

     This visual appeals to viewers through the need for prominence. The nail polish dripping down on the spoon looks like glitter and little black jewels. The spoon even looks pretty fancy. We get the feeling that if we have this product then we will be living the life of luxury and sophistication. We need life in order to feel admired. The need for prominence also pairs with the advertising technique of the snob appeal. This product suggests that the consumer will be part of an elite group that is basking in the life of luxury. Those jewels that appear to come in ever bottle of nail polish will be able to offer the consumer with that life. 

     The need for attention is also used. The glittering nail polish will attract that attention we crave. With all those different colors to choose from, we can be noticed for the luxurious jewels painted on the tip of our fingers. This ad also appeals to our need for aesthetic sensations. The background of the ad is all white, which draws attention to the black, glittering nail polish. That with the black bottle as a pedestal for the spoon cradling the nail polish looks pretty. We are attracted to beautifully simple aspect. And the fact that we can wear it is even more appealing. We can have the same beauty as shown in this ad.

     Avante garde is used here by saying that the product will "take nail art to a whole new level of taste and refinement." The product claims that it is the newest thing out there. It suggests that the new level of this product will also provide the consumer ahead of the nail polish game. 

     This ad reminds me of the "cool" aspect that marketers are trying to sell to teens, as discussed in Merchants of Cool. I read "on-trend textures," and I thought about how teenage girls are attracted to the newest trends. This ad appeals to us because the product gives us that trendy aspect, which will consider us "cool." Cosmetic, such as nail polish in this case, and clothing ads always seem to appeal most to us because they fulfill our needs as discussed above. These kind of ads tell us what is cool, so we consume those products. It's a vicious cycle, the feedback loop, where advertising companies observe what is cool to teens, market that same idea us, and we consume the product.