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.
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.
