Working on these Media Blogs has really opened my eyes to the world of media and has also helped me reflect upon my own life. On average, I consume probably around 2-3 hours (sometimes even four), of media. When I'm just relaxing at home and have nothing else to do, I just turn on the T.V. It provides me with easily-accessed entertainment, and I don't have to do a thing; just lift a finger here and there. Even when I'm doing homework I get distracted and go on my Iphone, or I might look up something on Google to help me solve a problem. The Internet is everywhere and is both efficient and easy to access. However, media has impacted my life in a way that I tend to lose my focus a lot easier than before. It also provides me an easy way out of difficult situations, such as looking something up on Google instead of looking in a book. Luckily, my interaction with media has changed for the better due to my experiences with media.
Even though I still go on the Internet almost everyday, I realize what I'm doing and tell my self that I need to stop being distracted. Before, I never knew how much going on my phone took precious time away from doing something more beneficial. Therefore, I don't use the Internet for as long as I used to. My attention spam has also improved, where I don't get as easily distracted as I did before. Along with this, my perception of media has changed. As I watch different commercials or see advertisements in public, I am aware of the techniques being used or the need because it has become almost automatic for perceive media in this way. Every time I see an ad, I can easily notice the ambiguity, double speak, and weasel words being used. I just think to myself, "Oh wow," and sometimes just laugh at the ads due to my ability to see how each ad is trying to get my attention.
Now that I am an educated consumer, I realize that being one is very important. In the world today, we are constantly confronted with the clutter of media and advertisement. They are all trying to get our attention by using different techniques and appealing to our needs. Many of us become sucked in, where we find ourselves believing what the media has to say. We become totally reliant upon media to tell us what is true or false about the society. For example, media has created the reality assumption that men hold all the power in the society by constantly using and treating women as objects. This has made boys into believing that they have to be better than girls and constantly hold masculine appearance. On the other hand, it has led to girls believing that they can never rise up to power, must rely on men for help, and to degrade both themselves and other women. In addition, media has also persuaded us into believing that appearance is everything for a woman. Girls at a young age are already exposed to the false idea that in order for them to be considered beautiful, that must be as inhumanly perfect as the models on the covers of magazines.
However, as an educated consumer, I am able to ignore all of the false value and reality assumptions that media has about the society.
Before I created this blog, I didn't realize how much it would impact my life until now. Keeping this blog has really opened my eyes to see not only the explicit messages of media, but also its implicit ones. I am now able to see the different techniques ads are trying to use to get our attention and even the needs they are attempting to appeal to. Along with this, it has broadened my perception to realize how much our society has been sucked into the world of media. Our lives are practically shaped by the internet that surrounds us. The false value and reality assumptions created by media have been made into a reality because of us being persuaded into believing in them. It has ultimately had a negative impact on our society, in which the process of moving forward in life has slowed down. Media has acted as the catalyst to our society's downfall, which is why it is so important for us to obtain a media literacy and become educated consumers so that we will no longer be negatively affected by the media surrounding us.
When we think of Disney princesses, we immediately think of various childhood memories and fantasies we once had about these princesses. They made us happy and we admired them, wishing that one day we too could become a Disney princess. However, in actuality, these Disney princesses that we once admired as kids are actually being misrepresented. I did not realize this until I watched the documentary called "MissRepresentation". It may sound weird, but Disney princesses are actually objects being used to convey various reality assumptions and to attract consumer's attention, ultimately keeping women in the society from moving forward.
The ice princess Elsa in the Disney movie "Frozen", is an example of how movie makers purposely create girl characters who are not really human. What I mean by this is that the girls in the movies are inhumanly perfect. Elsa has smooth skin, perfect hair and make up, and is also very slim. Her appearance being so flawless creates the value assumption that girls should also be as beautiful or skinny as her too. When girls watch the movie "Frozen" it makes them feel self-conscious because they start to believe that they should look like Elsa in order for them to be considered beautiful. This then creates the false belief that the value of a person depends on their appearance, rather than their character. It's putting their self-esteem down, which has led to 65% of women to have eating disorders and depression to double among them from 2000 to 2008. In addition, Elsa's dress has a slit on the side, giving off a sexual vibe that consumers want to see. This vibe then attracts more people to want to watch the movie, however, it's also using a woman as a sex object.
Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty both depend on men to save their lives, conveying the reality assumption of women needing the assistance of men. The two Disney princesses don't need to do anything at all to make their lives better, find true love, and achieve happiness. Cinderella is saved from her poor, miserable life; Sleeping Beauty is literally waiting for a man to come and kiss her so that she can wake up. With this, men are usually the ones playing the protagonists roles in movies. They are the ones who come save the day, depicting the reality assumption that men have all the power in the society.
Princess Jasmine from the Disney movie "Aladdin", is being used as a sex object, classifying women in our society to be only objects, rather than human beings who should be treated equally as men. In this scene, Jasmine is using her beauty to seduce the villain Jafar as a form of distraction. She is using her appearance to get what she wants, showing the reality assumption of how a woman's appearance can allow her to get what she desires. Along with this, Jasmine's midriff is part of her "costume". This is the need for attention that consumers want to see, and therefore, Disney gives it to them by making Jasmine show her midriff practically all the time.
Mulan is the only or one of the very few Disney princesses that is not "missrepresented". Mulan did not let herself being a girl stop her from taking her father's place in the war. She had enough self confidence to go off to battle and risk her own life for her father's. She pretends to be a guy, which shows how girls are just as strong as men. Mulan also conveys how women possess the same amount of power as men. When the other main character Shang tries to kill Mulan when he finds out that she is really a girl, he cannot do it. This scene shows how a man doesn't always have to be masculine or superior over women. Unlike the value assumption of how a man should not be emotionally sensitive, Shang was, proving to boys that they do not always have to maintain that "manly" appearance. Unlike the other Disney princesses, Mulan is not being used or seen as an object. She had to physically work and fight for her success. She did not need the help of a man to help her achieve her desires or goals; just herself. Mulan also doesn't show any midriff or a lot of skin, nor does she like to wear make up. She is seen as an equal to all the men in the movie, even the scary and tough-looking ones.
Like Mulan, we too have to realize that we only need true selves to move forward in life. We don't need to lose weight, wear tons of make up, or rely on a guy or our appearance to achieve want we want. We possess just as much power as men and should not be seen or used as objects just to get attention. Media had caused all of this negativity towards women to erupt, which we have fallen into believing since the degradation has practically become a norm in the society. However, women must become more self-confident in themselves and in other women too, rather than believing in media's degradation of women, so that we can lead our own vision of rising up in power.
The featuring of three outstanding NBA basketball players is using the advertising technique of testimonial. John Wall, one of the three famous basketball players, was the first pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He was named MVP for the 2011 NBA Rookie Challenge and is a very well-known player. Because of this, Adidas purposely includes John Wall in their advertisement due to his popularity. When consumers see John Wall wearing Adidas gear, they desire to wear it too. They start to believe that maybe Wall wearing Adidas shoes is the reason why he is so fast and talented. Along with this, the consumers who admire John Wall want to buy the Adidas shoes due to the fact that John Wall wears them. They appealing to the fallacy of ad populum, since they only desire to buy the shoe because the popular NBA star wears them. Therefore, Adidas purposely includes John Wall and two other famous basketball players to endorse their product because they know that it will attract many consumers. Repetition is evident throughout the entire advertisement. The Adidas logo and name brand is constantly visible on the people and their surrounding environment. The 3-on-3 game is taking place in an actual Adidas shoe. The players in the game are also decked out in Adidas gear. Their shirts, pants, and shoes and have the Adidas name or logo on it. In addition, the basketball court that the players are scrimmaging on has the Adidas logo on it (the three stripes) along with the actual brand name at half court. Almost every camera shot has Adidas in it, which is a sign of repetition. Adidas purposely does this as an attempt to make consumers remember their brand and make it widely known. With the 2010 NBA number one pick draft, rookie of the year, and all-star all on one team, the need to dominate is being fulfilled. In the 3-on-3 scrimmage, John Wall and the two other famous NBA players are easily wiping out the other team. They are crossing the other team, dunking, and flying past their defenders. They hold all the power over the opposing team and can do anything they want, such as cutting are dribbling by their defender. The rapper who is narrating the commercial says, "But when you crazy quick, man, quick ain't fair." This line subjugates the domination that the three NBA players have over their competitors. Their "quickness" from the Adidas shoes that they are wearing is unfair to the other people who are being easily defeated. When consumers see this commercial, they start to believe that if they wear Adidas shirts or shoes, they too can dominate over their competition. The power that they lack to easily defeat their competitors is shown in the commercial, which makes people want to purchase Adidas gear so that they too can dominate over others. The target market for this commercial are boys in their 20's who enjoy playing basketball. The group of athletes playing in the advertisement appear to be around 20 years old. Along with this, they are playing against each other in the game of basketball. The whole commercial is only filming this basketball scrimmage. The players are also wearing basketball gear, such as shorts and basketball shoes. Because of this, the target market that the commercial is trying to appeal to are boys around their 20's who like to play basketball.
Watching the Aflac commercial, the first technique that pops into my head is wit and humor. The Aflac duck is shown working out with a motivational song playing in the background. Everything about the video is just outrageous and hilarious because of how idiotic the commercial is. To me, the duck is being portrayed as a professional athlete who is focusing so hard on trying to get back to full recovery. The music adds to the "intensity in the air" and the trainer is even motivating and pushing the duck to go his hardest. The commercial is extremely out of the ordinary, which is what Aflac intended to do. The insurance company wants to divert the audience's attention to the commercial by giving them a reason to laugh. The second technique that pops into my head as i watch this commercial is gestalt. What's wrong with this picture? Well, for one thing, there is a duck working out at the gym as if he were a regular human being. The duck isn't just walking around, not really knowing what he is doing like other ducks would normally do. Opposed to this, he is actually doing multiple physical therapy activities such as lifting weights or jump roping. Ducks definitely do not fulfill these activities, nor do we ever see them doing them. Because the actions of the duck is extremely out of the ordinary, the technique of gestalt is evident to try to get consumers to remember the brand Aflac. Aflac's display of a duck accomplishing difficult tasks is appealing to people's need to achieve. The physical therapist in the commercial explains to us about how the duck is recovering from his injury. The duck is then shown doing various exercises such as swimming and lifting weights. He does not need to worry about his expenses, and therefore, can focus on overcoming the obstacles on his road to recovery. Although a duck is being shown as achieving difficult tasks, it still appeals to consumer's need to achieve. People see themselves being able to get past any obstacles. They are being informed that they do not need to worry about their expenses when they are recovering from an injury. Therefore, consumer's need to achieve is fulfilled since they can do anything they want without having to worry about paying off expenses. The color scheme of the commercial is being used as a form of repetition. The ad is taking place at a gym that has the colors of blue and white. Every single screen shot has the colors blue and white in it, which are the colors of the Aflac logo. The color scheme is therefore significant because it is trying to get consumers to remember the two specific colors repeated. Aflac desires to do this because they want consumers to think of their brand whenever they see the colors of white and blue. People will then think of Aflac more often and even want to purchase the insurance.
Burger King's latest discover, satisfries, is being advertised in this commercial. Since french fries are food, the need to eat is being used in the ad. All humans need food in order for them to survive. However, nowadays, people are trying to change their lifestyles to that of a healthier. They desire to eat more nutritious foods, but still want to obtain it efficiently. Burger King's satisfries appeal to consumer's need to eat because it is a food product. In addition, it values healthiness since the fries are claiming to be healthier than regular fries.
"A delicious new choice with 40% less fat, 30% less calories..." The technique of facts and figures is being applied with the commercial's usage of statistics. Burger King is trying to persuade consumers to purchase their satisfries due to it being healthier than to other french fries. They want people to choose their fries over the fries of other fast-food places, such as McDonalds or Carl's Jr. Along with this, Burger King is trying to prove the superiority of their satisfries. With 40% less fat and 30% less calories, BK's satisfries are put above other french fries. At the sight of these statistics, consumers are persuaded into purchasing the food product due to it being a healthier french fry.
The commercial shows a slide show of different groups of people. They display a regular family, firefighters, a couple, a cowboy, and a "cool" guy with his girlfriend. All of these people live normal, average lives just like everyone else. With the featuring of different types of people, the commercial is using the technique of plain folks. Satisfries appeals to any ordinary folks who are craving some french fries. The food product is not too high-class for only wealthy people, nor is it too low-class for poor people. It suits any regular person and satisfies their hunger.
The techniques of wit and humor and and repetition are being applied in the advertisement. Rather than just calling Burger King fries "fries", it is called satisfries. The word satisfies and fries are being combined into one word to try to entertain consumers on the cleverness of the combination. Along with wit and humor, different forms of the word "satifry" is constantly being repeated throughout the commercial. "Satisfry this cool guy, Satisfy Tammy, Satisfy frecking everybody. New Satifries from Burger King, are you satifried?" Burger King is purposely repeating the word "satisfy" to try to get consumers to remember the food product so that they will want to try it.
One of my favorite types of commercials are the Swiffer advertisements with the 90 year old couple. Every time is see the commercials, they always make me feel happier during and after the ad is done. The grandma and grandpa are so innocent, making the commercial so cute and enjoyable to watch. Without the old couple, I probably wouldn't really pay attention to Swiffer ads. Swiffer Commercials are appealing to the need to nurture. Although there isn't a featuring of a puppy or a little kid, the advertisement is still appealing to our maternal or paternal instincts with the usage of an old couple. Along with the caring of our children, we also have to care for our own parents when they get too weak and old to care for themselves. Our grandmas and grandpas usually hold that special place in our hearts. They are the ones who have cared for us for the longest and because of this, our heart melts whenever we see grandmas or grandpas. When consumers see this commercial, they think of their own grandparents. They then feel that they should purchase the Swiffer duster to make their grandparent's lives easier. Their maternal or paternal instincts are catalyzed because they want to purchase a product to help them care for their grandpa and grandpa. The technique of plain folks is being applied in the Swiffer advertisement. An ordinary old couple is shown included in the advertisement. The scenery is not that of a large mansion, but of a regular house. With this, Swiffer is trying to suggest that the duster acts as a good value for ordinary people. It's simple, yet useful, especially in those "hard to reach" spots. Anyone could use the product because they do not have to be rich or of a higher-class. Because of this, consumers are more persuaded into buying the product to the idea that it is suitable and useful for ordinary people. The second advertising technique being used is simple solutions. Everyone comes face to face with those "hard to reach" spots, whether its in the house or somewhere else. These spots causes people to have to go get a chair or ladder to stand on if the dirty area is too high up. However, if the area is between, behind, or underneath and can only be reached through a small opening, normal dusters are not able to clean up the spot. Swiffer attacks these multiple issues with the simple solution of their duster. It has an extension handle that allows people to reach the spots that were too high to get and it's also thin and light enough to reach in between the small cracks. The duster pleases many consumers with its simple solution, causing them to want to purchase it because it makes cleaning that much easier. The target market that the commercial is trying to reach are senior citizens with a simple lifestyle. As we get older, we naturally get weaker and become more reliant on others. We no longer have the ability to do specific things that we did in the past, such as stepping up on a chair to clean off the dust on a cabinet. It's scarier for senior citizens to do this because they might fall off and break multiple bones or possibly even die. Swiffer is therefore, trying to reach senior citizens with a simple lifestyle because they know that old people desire products that will help them fulfill tasks that their age no longer allows them to do. Along with this, the simple lifestyle is being targeted because the product is very useful for ordinary citizens. It isn't overly complicated to prevent plain old folks from knowing how to use it. Senior citizens are looking for products like the Swiffer Duster, and because of this, the target market for this commercial are simple-living senior citizens.
Pop culture media's reality assumption is that teens crave action and violence, which it why they provide them with it. Call of Duty is a video game packed with guns, shooting, bombs, and other dangers. It is filled with nonstop action, making the game seem irresistible to teens. When teens become connected to the game however, they are influenced by it. They may become more violent themselves, reflecting what pop culture media's reality assumption of them was in the first place.
Call of Duty is fulfilling consumers' need to dominate. The video games allows people to have the control over what's going on in the game. They are the ones with the gun in their hands who has the power to shoot anyone and anytime they choose to. They could decide what weapon they want to choose, what mission to accomplish, and how they are going to accomplish that mission. Unlike reality in the battle fields where soldiers only have one life to defeat their enemies, the game provides consumers with a feeling of invincibility. Although people can die in the game, they could just restart and try the level again. The game never ends for them until they actually beat it. They have the ability to dominate all of the levels in the game, which attracts many consumers.
The need to escape is also being addressed in the advertisement. People can escape from their boring, quiet lives to one that is filled with nonstop action and violence. The game is an adventure that makes people feel excitement and powerful when playing it. The escape sounds extremely fun due to it being an easy outlet from a boring life. Although the game isn't an escape to a relaxing paradise, it still is desirable by consumers who are seeking an escape to action. In our world, multiple peoples' lives are filled with homework, school, and studying. There is no action nor excitement present, which is not pleasurable for many consumers. Because of this, Call of Duty provides the perfect escape of action and violence.
The advertising technique of testimonial is being used to persuade consumers to purchase the video game. The popular NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant is featured in the commercial to endorse the product. Kobe has an extremely busy life of nonstop basketball and work outs. However, in this commercial, the famous basketball player still has time to play Call of Duty. Along with this, consumers are more persuaded into purchasing the product just because Kobe plays it. He is looked up to by thousands due to his great basketball skills, determination, and focus on the court. A lot of consumers want to do the things that he does so that they could become like him, and because of this, Bryant is featured in the commercial. Consumers are persuaded into believing that since Kobe plays Call of Duty, they should too.
Working on these Media Blogs has really opened my eyes to the world of media and has also helped me reflect upon my own life. On average, I consume probably around 2-3 hours (sometimes even four), of media. When I'm just relaxing at home and have nothing else to do, I just turn on the T.V. It provides me with easily-accessed entertainment, and I don't have to do a thing; just lift a finger here and there. Even when I'm doing homework I get distracted and go on my Iphone, or I might look up something on Google to help me solve a problem. The Internet is everywhere and is both efficient and easy to access. However, media has impacted my life in a way that I tend to lose my focus a lot easier than before. It also provides me an easy way out of difficult situations, such as looking something up on Google instead of looking in a book. Luckily, my interaction with media has changed for the better due to my experiences with media.
