Over the past couple months, I came to a conclusion that people have consumed media everyday. Media is all around us and has created all of this clutter in our heads. Personally, I probably consume up to a few hours of media everyday. From commercials to print ads, and even in movies or the internet, the media advertises what we as consumers want to see or think we should see. This has made an impact on my life by becoming a detraction to the way I'm living. I've realized that media has been involved in my life way too much during this time period. Instead of doing important things, such as doing homework, I would find myself on YouTube or looking stuff up online to keep myself entertained. But after finishing this unit, I noticed how media uses different techniques to find ways for products to be entertaining and relatable to the audience will and forever be involved in out lives.
After learning about the techniques, needs, value assumption, reality assumption, etc., I am able to point out what the media is trying to tell us. Whenever I see an ad come up on T.V. I think of what the advertisers are trying to say. Are they using the need to nurture, the technique of simple solutions? What are their value assumptions about us? These are the questions I ask myself when there is a commercial that is trying to get our attention. I have opened my eyes more in on media besides commercials. After watching the documentary Missrepresentation I have become more aware of what not products are being advertised but how women are being miss judged. The media has its own value assumption that women are just a tool for people to look at. Models are an example that missrepresent of what a woman is seen as in media, than what they should be which is a strong and independent women. Because of the false assumption that men should always be the strongest and hold the most power, or women should be portrayed in having a flawless figure, young girls are losing the confidence in themselves and make them fell less worthy. My media consumption habits have changed after learning about media in Critical Thinking. All of the tricks that we learned in class and how media uses it, made me aware of what advertisements are trying to do to consumers. I am able to not be one of those consumers who are blinded by some ads that make me want to use me "oh's" and "aw's" because I know what methods they are trying to use to reel people in.
Since media has been with us in our lives, it is very important to have media literacy. Being and educated consumer, like myself, about media literacy has allowed people to not to give into what people are trying to advertise. This blog made me able to not see the surface of products advertisers are trying to show, but the value and reality assumptions that they have about people in the world. They use different ways to find things that appeal to the audience in order to come up with an advertisement for people to relate to and consumers to see. I am able to also see the needs and techniques used in the advertisements to attract the consumers. After watching the documentaries and learning about media in class, I have now seen that media is EVERYWHERE surrounding us and has affected the way the world is seen today.
Many pictures, celebrities, etc. influence us everyday with the help of media. In the documentary, Missrepresentation, it explains of what the world's view on people is and how it is being advertised. This documentary mostly referred to women and how they are viewed mostly as an object and not as a strong independent woman. When I was watching this, the first thing I thought of how women are being missrepresented is in clothing, especially the brand Abercrombie and Fitch and Victoria's Secret.
Many models in brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Victoria'
s Secret etc. are mostly viewed as very beautiful and slim women. When I saw the scenes in the documentary, I immediately thought of what this clothing store advertises, which mostly attracts women. Recently, Abercrombie and Fitch haven't had much success in selling their products. This is the effect of what Jeffries thought. He believes that women that are a size zero jeans are what people should be. Jeffries quotes, "That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that." By marketing "good-looking people," he is also advertising that women are only seen as an object. The models that he advertises are very slim and are seen with the "thigh gap" and good looking men surrounding them. He has the value assumption all women and men in the world should be seen like the models that have been advertised for years who are beautiful and skinny.
The brand Victoria's Secret especially advertises women being an object to the world. When shoppers walk into their store, the first thing they would see is the models on the walls or poster boards of models in directly in front of the entrance. By putting these women out there for everyone to see shows that women are the eye of what the ideal women should look like; with their perfect skin flawless figure. An event that really caught my attention that involved the brand Victoria's Secret was the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion show. The thought of women strutting down the catwalk with the beautiful costumes they have on made me realize that everyone that watches the show don't think that these women are being used as tools for men to look at. But in reality, models flaunting themselves to the world can lead to the use of women getting what they want.
These models missrepresent the role of a woman. Women's roles in life are't about branding to being skinny and beautiful. Because of this, it causes women all over the world to be insecure about themselves. This mostly targets the younger generation who are in the ages between their early teens to late 20's. These girls measure themselves with models and think that they are worth nothing compared to them because of what attention they get. These girls give into peer presure and begin to do things that make them want to be thin. Some start hating themselves and get suicidal thoughts and begin self harming. In the real world, we don't need models to show people what they should be. We need role models for people to be themselves.
Whenever I have relatives coming to town, they would always bring in the latest gossip magazines for my mom and I to read. And these magazines advertise so many perfumes. I tend to write a lot about perfumes, such as the One Direction and Justin Bieber perfume, but the reason why I blog about them is because they grab my attention. Whether it's in magazines or music videos, those little things that are in the background or plastered on a page really capture my attention. The recent perfume that has captured my attention is the Nicki Minaj Minajesty fragrance.
The first thing I noticed when the page came along was her.The advertisement has Nicki Minaj in a ball gown and behind her a throne looking as if she was a queen. Advertisers wanted the singer to be the main focus point for the consumers so that it can capture their attention. In the lower left hand corner is her perfume bottle. Even though the ad is promoting the perfume, it isn't dominant compared to Nicki. What advertisers think is that superstars are what attract the audience the most in order to buy their product and with Nicki as the focal point, we as consumers notice her before the product. This makes us want to know what the superstar is trying to give us.
The need that is being used in this ad is the need for prominence. Nicki Minaj is seen in this ad as a queen which relates to her fragrance Minajesty. If the people buy this product, they would be respected as if you were royalty. Nicki is wearing pearls and diamonds and her facial expression is as if she wants to be respected, indicating that the perfume can be admired. The technique that is being used is glittering generalities. Advertisers show that if you buy this product, the. It will make you feel like royalty. Consumers would want that feeling of royalty, which relates to the need for prominence.
Out of all of the perfume ads I have seen in magazines, this is the most extravagant advertising, but it doesn't make me want to buy it. Minajesty's advertisment uses the help from the creator of the perfume to get people to buy their product. Because she is so famous and is shown wearing glamorous clothing and expensive jewelry, it will get the consumers attention to get the fragrance so they can be respected as of they were royal just like how Nicki is being shown in the ad.
During the holidays, families come in from other places to enjoy the company and love from one another. The little things such as going to the snow, decorating the tree, baking cookies, etc. brings happiness to those you love. And while watching holiday movies on TV with my family this year, Christmas commercials come up. In this commercial the Brand Apple brings happiness to these families.
The commercial starts with a boy and his family going to grandparents house for the holidays to spend Christmas with them. He is on his phone the entire vacation and misses out on family outings because he is too busy looking at something else. My first impression of this commercial was that it is rude not to spend any quality time with your family and are missing out on the the activities. Towards the end of the commercial, we see the boy on his phone and then turning on the TV. In the background, the father was mad at his son for his actions. But little does the family know, the reason why he was on his phone was because he was capturing the moments he was spending with his family on his phone and turned it into a slide show. And the phone that he was using was the iPhone. When the clips are finished, the whole family begin to shed tears of happiness and thank the boy for making the video.
Many families love being able to capture these memories, especially during the holidays, and what the advertisers are trying to target are loving families that want to cherish these moments. With the help of apple, people are able to keep these memories by using their product to document each and every event that is happening.
A need that is being used in this commercial is the need to nurture. When the boy is showing the video, the family begins to feel very happy and this makes the audience see that it is very sweet to watch family members get teary eyed from happiness and kind to be able to watch families get together and enjoying each others company. It makes us, the consumers, to think that because of this product, we will be able to do the same thing and bring happiness to our families and possibly see them have tears of joy.
The technique of plain folks was being advertised in this commercial. Apple is showing a very humble and loving ordinary family that are enjoying the holidays, like most families in the world. Because an ordinary family was using the product, this helps the audience know that they are able to use the product and record their family events.
What Apple is trying to advertise is that family is very important, and a great way to bring families closer is to use one of their products, such as the iPhone, to capture these beautiful moments and be able to share it with their entire family.
We all listen to the radio when we're in the car. Every song that we hear changes the mood that we're in, such as a slow romantic song that makes us want to be loved or an up beat song that makes us want to dance. But there is a song that was on the radio that made my mood change to be strong and be myself.
The song "Brave" by Sara Bareilles makes the audience want to get up and be themselves. The producers and writers, including Sara herself, of the song want the people that are listening to not be afraid to be themselves. The song targets people, mostly her fans, that are insecure and are afraid to show to people who they are.
"Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out honestly I wanna see you be brave." These lyrics stand out to me because it seems to be the message that the song is giving. the audience take in these words of wisdom and keep in mind through out their days that it's okay to "say what you wanna say" and be who you are. The song advertises that it's important to be brave because by doing that you also give others impression that they can do the same.
A need that is being used in this song is the need to dominate. The song provides domination that allows the audience to gain power that was bundled up inside of them and to let it all out. Another need that is being used is the need for guidance. In the bridge she sings, "And since your history of silence, won't do you any good, did you think it would? Let your words be anything but empty. Why don't you tell them the truth?" Sara guides the listeners with these lyrics by telling them to be more open about themselves and express what they feel.
Techniques that are used are simple solutions and repetition. In order to have others hear what you have to say, the solution is that you have to conquer the fear of what others think and say whats on your mind. Throughout the song she continues to say "I just wanna see you" before the second verse and it sticks in our heads at the end when she says it again. The repetition of the lyrics lets us remember that it's great to be brave.
The song to me makes me change my perspective on things. It reminds me that it's good to have my opinion on and word on things and that it's better to leave things said than left unsaid. "Brave" is an up beat and powerful song that not only wants to make you sing along to its important message, but it also tells us that being yourself is the bravest thing of all.
It's that time of the year again, and one of my favorite times of the year. With the smell of Christmas around the corner, presents are ready to be given to to the ones that we love. One product that most girls would love to have is anything Justin Bieber, including his fragrance. I'm not a huge fan of Justin Bieber but I do like his Christmas song "Mistletoe" which features his fragrance "Someday." The needs and techniques that is being used in the music video is the need for affiliation and testimonial technique.
When I heard about the song, I knew that a lot of girls would want to see the music video. As I watched this I noticed something that was the main focus for a couple of scenes. And it was focused on his fragrance. Honesty, I was't shocked to see this because every celebrity that has created a fragrance/makeup line or clothing line has introduced their product to the audience somehow. In this case he shows it in his music video. The technique that advertisers use is testimonial. Just like in the One Direction fragrance ad, a high charted celebrity endorsing his/her own product automatically gets fans to want their product. The audience is consumed by the fact that it is made by someone famous and aren't worried about the quality of it. The fact that a super famous celebrity is advertising his own product makes number 1 fans want to buy it.
In the music video, his perfume is being featured and has captured the attention of Justin Bieber and his leading lady. The girl is being adored by Justin when she begins to use the perfume. Advertisers use the need for affiliation for consumers to notice that if you buy and use this product, then you can gain a friend, or in this case a boyfriend. Any girl would die to have guy like Justin Bieber as a friend or a boyfriend and this helps advertisers get people like them to buy their product in order to get the attention from others like Justin. The music video appeals to mostly girls because majority of the fan base is girls. With the help of the video, the girls will notice the fragrance and have to get it for their Christmas present.
Advertisers are very clever to include a product that is made by a celebrity into one of their works. I know that many girls will enjoy finding that present under the Christmas tree and hopefully get something under the "Mistletoe" with the help of the fragrance.
Majority of what we see on TV, and movies or celebrities and music videos contain mooks and midriffs, or also known as obnoxiousness and sex. These two factors have taken over our generation and has made influences on most of us. Even when we were very little, TV programs have been advertising this. In the documentary "Merchants of Cool," the people that were being interviewed or were researching found that the factors of obnoxiousness and sex have taken a huge step in our lives.
For my two years that I've been at McClatchy, I have noticed that there are some boys in the hallways that are mooks. When it's messing around in class or playing pranks these boys are most likely influenced by their surroundings which involve video
games or television. TV shows on MTV such as "Silent Library" and "Jackass" use these types of obnoxious actions. These men, or boys, do crazy and immature things such as riding in a grocery cart and crashing into the food stands. Another most recent group that do these stunts are You Tubers called the "Janoskians." These group of guys are in the same age groups as teenagers today. With over 1 million subscribers on their channel, teens find their pranks amusing and want to do these things. Because of the age, that is so close to ours, teens are wanting to do these obnoxious stunts as well. Producers or You Tubers of the have been thinking for years that the stereotype of teens is loud and crazy. Because of this, they have created shows that what they think teens crave for. They not only think we want obnoxiousness but also violence.
Not only do audiences like to see mooks, but they also like to see midriffs. Midriffs are occasionally girls that like to show off their assets. Many movies have these types of girls that are consumed by appearances and is seen not being afraid of showing off her sexuality. Mostly movies show midriffs for entertainment just like mooks. Producers have done this for years, thinking that the audience wants more of this because this is what generations have been watching for so long. If they stopped advertising this, then there wouldn't be much to watch. Our generation has grown to this characteristic because that is what we have known ever since we were very young. But it doesn't have to be in films or shows. Celebrities are the most common people that are midriffs. Brittney Spears, who is having a comeback, is one of those celebrities who girls "idolize." What she advertises is that "Your body is your best asset. Flaunt your sexuality even if you don't understand it." This message is pointed to most girls out there. By watching them and movies, girls get the idea of doing the same thing, wanting to grow up faster.
Based on what I have seen in the documentary, this is what we have grown up with and all we know. These are the things that we want to see according to producers. If there weren't shows, movies, etc., then there wouldn't be much things to watch on TV and teens wouldn't be influenced to be a mook or midriff.
Over the past couple months, I came to a conclusion that people have consumed media everyday. Media is all around us and has created all of this clutter in our heads. Personally, I probably consume up to a few hours of media everyday. From commercials to print ads, and even in movies or the internet, the media advertises what we as consumers want to see or think we should see. This has made an impact on my life by becoming a detraction to the way I'm living. I've realized that media has been involved in my life way too much during this time period. Instead of doing important things, such as doing homework, I would find myself on YouTube or looking stuff up online to keep myself entertained. But after finishing this unit, I noticed how media uses different techniques to find ways for products to be entertaining and relatable to the audience will and forever be involved in out lives.
Since media has been with us in our lives, it is very important to have media literacy. Being and educated consumer, like myself, about media literacy has allowed people to not to give into what people are trying to advertise. This blog made me able to not see the surface of products advertisers are trying to show, but the value and reality assumptions that they have about people in the world. They use different ways to find things that appeal to the audience in order to come up with an advertisement for people to relate to and consumers to see. I am able to also see the needs and techniques used in the advertisements to attract the consumers. After watching the documentaries and learning about media in class, I have now seen that media is EVERYWHERE surrounding us and has affected the way the world is seen today. 
