Reflection

Over the past few months, I have grown much more aware of the impact of media. Whenever I see a commercial on tv or hear one on the radio, I immediately notice the strategies or fallacies used in the advertisement. A few months ago, I don't think I would have noticed all the tricks and traps in commercials and all the different ways that companies are trying to subconsciously control me. I never acknowledged the clutter or registered the numerous ads but now I notice them everywhere I go.

My media consumption has also decreased. After acknowledging how addicted I am to social media, I made an effort to put my phone away and not let it distract me. As a result, have been much more productive and less stressed. I never truly realized how much my phone controlled me until after I stopped using it as much. I feel more free when I am not constantly running to my phone every time it buzzes. I still use my phone more than I should, however; I use it much les than I did a few months ago.

I noticed that I am also much more aware of all the assumptions made by media and the negative impact that media has on me and the people around me. Media reinforces stereotypes such as the ideal images for women and men. These ideas are planted into the subconscious of nearly everyone. Eventually, they adopt these points of view without realizing the ideas were fed to them by the media. Whenever I see pictures of flawless models in magazines, I understand how fake the image truly is. No one actually looks like the people on posters. They are just pictures of models that were distorted in to something that is unreal. I know that I am not the only one who notices the artificial nature of media but I wish there were more people who could recognize this. If everyone noticed false images in media, then no one would hold themselves to these unrealistic standards. People could look in the mirror and accept their flaws rather than hate them.

I am glad that I kept this blog because it prompted me to dig deeper and break through the wall of media and expose the toxic messages behind every pretty image. I came to realizations about media that I don't think I would have noticed without this blog. I was also able to read other blogs from my classmates that were very interesting and introduced new perspectives on matters that I never would have noticed. Overall, this assignment was beneficial for me because it encouraged me to grow into someone who is aware of the double sided nature of media.

The Bachelor

I was recently scanning news headlines on my computer when I found an article that stood out to me. it was about a woman on the Bachelor who was sexually assaulted during her time on the show. She claimed she was drugged by a female masseuse who then sexually assaulted her while she was too intoxicated to stop it.

Besides this horrifying act of sexual assault, what really bothers me is why this woman did not speak up sooner: "she wanted to protect the franchise." I find this so maddening because she chose to protect the image of the franchise when she should have put herself first. This an example of a tv show that has created cult like devotion and I am sure this woman is not the only one willing to sacrifice herself for the show. The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have both generated so many followers who obsess over the show to such an extent where it is unhealthy. People are so invested in the show because the producers stage nearly everything so that The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are more entertaining. There is so much unnecessary drama in the show that is clearly staged because it is what the consumers want. Most of the viewers watch these shows because they love the drama which is why the producers create so much of it. This franchise has generated cult like devotion for the sole purpose of making more money which is why they manipulate so many people into blindly trusting the show. 

This woman should not have felt the need to protect the franchise over her own well being. Because she did not report this sooner, the person who assaulted her continued to work on the set which put other people in danger. This proves the serous consequences of cult like devotion. 

Article Link

Fangirls

As I was watching one of my favorite shows, Riverdale, I realized how emotionally invested I was in something that ultimately does not mean anything. It is just a show and it is completely fictional. There are many other people who become so obsessed with tv shows that they create entire cultures surrounding the popular show. They grow obsessed and create fan clubs and little communities that revolve around the media. They create fan fiction, fan art, and so much more. This obsession is not healthy. We treat fictional shows like Riverdale as if they are a part of our reality. Essentially, it distracts us from the real world and makes people detached.

Popular shows like Riverdale also string people along as they take at least a year to release a new season. And to make matters worse, they always end each season with a huge cliff hanger, which makes all the fans remain interested in the show. Once they release a new season, they repeat this process until the people start to grow tired of the show. 

I think the only reason I have not turned into a mindless fangirl is because I have grown more aware of how media manipulates us. After watching so many documentaries about the ulterior motives behind media, I am much more conscious of its deceptive nature. However, I am still affected by some of the tricks and manipulations. I am aware that it is all fake but I can't help but get emotionally invested in these mindless shows. I wish I could flip a switch and not be affected but I still fall into these traps and become obsessed. I allow myself to obsess over trashy tv shows because I look for distractions and excuses to escape from real life issues. I also make rationalizations whenever I watch too much tv. I'll tell myself that everyone else is doing it or I will only watch one more episode then I will be productive but these are only lies. Addictive shows like Riverdale create unhealthy habits that affect many people and ultimately create a negative impact. 

Leadership

When I watched Miss Representation, there were many concepts and facts that stood out to me, one of which was the lack of female leadership. The vast majority of our government leaders are made up of men. And the small percent of women who do appear in leadership are not taken seriously. Women are judged and ignored as the general public rally behind men. Women are judged for what they where, how they look, how they speak, and what they say. If a woman leader wants to be taken seriously, she must wear something fashionable but not too revealing, wear just enough makeup so that her appearance looks "pretty" but not too artificial. She must do everything perfectly and once she has done this, she will still be criticized. As I said in my previous blog post, it is never enough. She will always have a certain flaw that makes her less qualified than the male opponent even though they are equal. Women fight so hard for a chance to help lead and contribute to society but they must work ten times harder in order to have the same opportunities as men. But why is misogyny so prevalent especially with female leaders? It is because the media spreads these ideas and plants seeds of doubt into or subconscious. There are so many people whose initial response to female leaders is doubt but are they even aware of why? If people were aware of their subconscious decisions, would they still identify with this sexist mindset?

This same concept appears in news reporters. Almost all women who work as news reporters are pretty by societal standards. And just as women leaders, they are not taken seriously. They too are scrutinized and ignored. No matter the job, we always see this theme where women have to fight to be heard. To be understood. To be recognized. And though we have made progress there is still so much more that needs to change before everyone is considered equal.

Never Enough

The documentary: Miss Representation, Was vey enlightening. Before, I was definitely aware of these issues, however; I did not know the full extent of misogyny within the media. Women are portrayed as objects rather than people and men are conditioned to accept and contribute to the stereotypes of women.

What I find so unfortunate is how the vast majority of people are completely unaware of how affected women are by the media. Our perceptions of our own bodies are warped by the unrealistic expectations created by media. We become consumed by these expectations to such an extent where we are unable to find anything we love about our appearances. This leads to a variety of unhealthy habits. Women develop eating disorders, depression, and more. 

The entire concept of beauty is a social construct. Why is it that the perfect hourglass figures are considered beautiful? This idea of beauty was created by media and reinforced by consumers who add to the pressure for girls to look beautiful. The images of women in media are not even real. As if the carefully selected models were not gorgeous enough, their images are then altered into something entirely unreal. The pictures of models are airbrushed, made skinnier, and overall completely transformed. The pressure of becoming these images become so great that we do everything in our power to change our appearances but it is never enough. No matter what we do to change who we are or what we look like, there is always something else that needs to change. We always find a new flaw to scrutinize whether it is our own flaw or someone else's. People spend thousands of dollars on plastic surgery so they can have an appearance that is societally acceptable. But no matter what we do, it is never enough. 

Do We Have Our Own Culture?

The Merchant of Cool prompted a very good question: do we have our own culture? Media is a part of everyone and sometimes it is hard to tell whether we influence the media, or the media influences us. Maybe it is a combination of both but either way, these two factors cause people to constantly change their views and opinions.

There is a common pattern in the cycle of culture. People (mainly teens) find something they like or identify with and once media discovers something that is popular, they overuse it until it is no longer appealing. An example of this is music. One of my favorite bands was Twenty One Pilots and I used to listen to their music before they were so popular. The first time their song, "Stressed Out" was played on the radio, I was super excited because it meant that more people might share a similar taste in music. However, their song was played so many times that eventually, I cringed every time it was on. Then I was just disappointed because this song that I really enjoyed was twisted into something I hated. Afterwards, I looked for new music that I would like and stopped listening to Twenty One Pilots. I still like the band but now it is much less appealing.

This same scenario happens all the time. We find something interesting from the media or vise versa but then we obsess over it until we move on. This happens with songs, clothing style, movies, and so much more. Something is cool for a while but we always move on to something else. It's debatable whether this is good or bad. Even though we grow tired of things easily, we are always open to trying new things.

What is "cool"

In recent times, one of the largest targeted demographics for advertisement are teens. Teens are so important to large industries because if they find a certain product or brand to be "cool," then everyone will buy it. And for various reasons, many teens also have a decent amount of spending money. The goal of advertisement for teens is to target people like me. Even though I don't have a job or any way to make money for myself, I am usually able to buy things because my parents are willing to lend me spending money. This allows me to waste money on pointless things that I have seen in advertisement.

Teenagers are a good audience to target because if they find something to be "cool" it spreads like wild fire. There are so many teenagers who feel like they need whatever is "cool" which is why we all copy each other. An example of this is the iPhone. When I started to find phones appealing, it was not because I thought it would be practical or I thought it would make me safer, it was because all of my friends had iPhones. I thought it would be cool to have one because everyone else did. When I look back at how I felt, it seems shallow pointless. Just because everyone finds something appealing, does not mean it's better.

It's tricky to find something that teens like because what we consider "cool" frequently changes. Even though we are so challenging, teens are such an important consumer for big industries that people go to extreme measures to find what is "cool" for teens. In the video we watched in class, there was a group of people who made it their job to interview, photograph, and study teenagers so they could sell that information to companies. This information was so valuable to companies because they could use this information to create appealing advertisement.

Met Gala

An event that was recently all over the news was the 2018 Met Gala. I saw numerous videos about it on Instagram, Snapchat, and on TV. This year, the gala was Catholic themed, which inspired amazing outfits that many fans loved. This event was an opportunity for celebrities to make a fashion statement that everyone would remember. Many of the outfits were designer which gave publicity to some huge fashion brands. These companies at the Met Gala gained publicity because they were mentioned in the news and tagged in social media posts from the celebrities that chose to advertise for the designer brands. The most popular brands at the Gala were Versace (which was tagged in many celebrity photos such as Katy Perry and Blake Lively), closely followed by Gucci, Tommy Hiliger, Balmain, Chanael, Prada, and many other companies.

At the Gala, all of the costumes were amazing however, a few really stood out, dominating all the news on social media. One of the best costumes was worn by Lana del Rey who coordinated her outfit with Jared Leto. They were both dressed as ethereal figures and their clothes were designed by Gucci. Lana del Rey's costume was great but what put her outfit over the top were her accessories. There was a large three-dimensional heart along with a dramatic head piece that looked like wings. Another great outfit was worn by Katy Perry who had a golden dress and boots along with gigantic white feather wings attached to her back. Katy Perry was one of the celebrities I saw all over social media and her outfit was made by Versace.

This event is one of the biggest opportunities for celebrities to show off how popular they are and designer brands to get publicity. Brands that appear in the Met Gala know that everyone will be talking about the event and if they create an amazing outfit, then the company will get even more advertisement. The brands and celebrities are mutually beneficial because while the celebrity advertises for the brand, the brand makes the celebrity seem more important. This is why the Met Gala is such an important Social Event for anyone trying to gain publicity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiiEzDrFkil/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiiopP7AEt5/

Pop-Up Ads

I hate Pop-Up ads. They show up everywhere and make it so challenging to look up anything on my phone or computer. I often have to find articles on the internet for different school assignments which is so frustrating because it slows down my research.

I also find it annoying when the pop-up ads start playing videos on my computer even when I don't click on them. Then I cannot continue to read the article without having to listen to the irksome commercial. I don't understand how the ads are able to play videos even when I do not click on them I have absolutely no control over the ads and it seems like they will never stop showing up.

Occasionally, I accidentally click on them, then I cannot delete the ad until it loads and it creates such an inconvenience. Once I accidentally clicked on an ad and it made my computer freeze so I had to wait until my computer was done rebooting. Even though pop-up ads do not actually waste a bunch of my time, they are still extremely annoying because I did not ask for them, and they never seem to go away.

I understand that companies use pop-up ads to spread advertisement, however it's not a very logical technique because most people find them annoying and don't click on them. It creates unnecessary clutter that everyone hates. It's possible that people occasionally click on them out of curiosity but I believe that most people just find them irritating.

90 minutes

My dad and step mom created a new household rule where my sisters and I have to put our phones away for at least 90 minute while we do homework. This rule was not very unreasonable because, if I'm being honest, my phone definitely distracts me from my homework. However, when they first told me that I could not use my phone, I was very annoyed. It felt like a huge deal. This sparked an argument between me and my parents. Unfortunately, this further proved their point that my siblings and I were too attached. Ultimately, they did not listen to our arguments and they implemented their rule. 

Ninety minutes is not a very long time however it felt like forever. I never realized how much my phone distracted me. While I did my homework, I constantly wondered if someone might text me or what I might miss in a group chat. I also wanted to check my social media or distract myself with a funny video. I hated feeling so controlled by my phone. It's odd how my phone distracts me even when I'm not using it. I kept looking at the time and counting down the minutes until I could check my phone.

I realized my obsession with my phone was very unhealthy. Even though checking my notifications is very unimportant, that's not how it felt. I constantly use my phone as an excuse to procrastinate and I should really stop. But if I'm being honest, I probably won't stop because I'm lazy and don't have the motivation to stop. 

Makeup

Why are some makeup brands so expensive when the quality of the product is basically the same as a less expensive brand? I'm don't know that much about makeup but I still notice this common theme throughout different brands. For example, when I walk into a store for Mac or Clinique, I notice that all their lipsticks are very expensive. The cheapest lipstick often starts at $20 dollars but the majority are much higher. Meanwhile, if I walk into Walgreens and go into their makeup section, I could buy a very similar product from a less popular brand such as NYX or Essence. The difference is the price which is often at least half as expensive as the well-known brands.

I am not saying that the quality of a popular brand and unpopular brand are always the same because typically the more expensive brand is slightly better, however; the difference is not significant enough to make a large impact. Some people may say there is a huge difference which is why they only buy from the more expensive brand but personally, I have never noticed a significant difference in quality. For example, I once purchased a highlight from Sephora that was $30 and a few weeks later I found a very similar highlight that was $8 but I did not recognize the brand. I was curious so I bought the makeup and compared the two products. They were almost identical which was annoying because I spent over three times as much money on the highlight from Sephora.

Why are the popular brands so expensive? Because the popular brands have much more advertisement. A few days ago I went to Arden Fair Mall and I saw a huge poster advertising Mac lipstick. The poster was very aesthetically pleasing and after looking at the poster I continued to think about the advertisement. Another example is Covergirl. This brand has numerous commercials with famous people such as Zendaya Coleman and this makeup brand constantly appears on America's Next Top Model. Popular brands charge more for their products because even if their prices are unreasonable, people still buy them because they are popular.

Clutter

I found the video on advertising very interesting. The clutter from advertisement has polluted all media. No matter what we do, we cannot avoid it. Some advertisement is obvious like giant billboards while some advertisement is subtle yet it still affects our subconscious. Giant companies put so much thought into how they can get into our heads and control our thought process when we make purchases. 

Something I found interesting about the Persuaders was how big industries try to acquire "devotion beyond reason." Companies actually feel that they can provide a sense of community for people or even help understand the meaning of the world. This is ridiculous because people don't find the meaning of life through buying merchandise from a popular brand or traveling with Song Airline. People find meaning in life through experience or learning from mistakes. 

I think it's sad how people feel the need to identify with certain brands. We live in a society where brands can define a person. Associating with popular brands is part of the problem. We feel like brands express who we are when really they confine us. When we identity with a popular product or company, we all become the same. Instead of trying to figure out who we are, we ignore our individuality by becoming like everyone else.

Spoiler Alert!

On April 27, the new Avengers movie came out. I just saw the movie a yesterday and the most shocking ending. Unfortunately, I already knew how it would end because I previously saw a spoiler on someone's Snapchat story. One of my friends actually filmed the entire ending of the movie and posted it (which is illegal anyway). I was so annoyed because I did not get to experience the ending while in the movie theatre. 

Whenever I want to watch a new movie or tv show, I always have to be careful to avoid spoilers in social media. It is so easy to have the entire movie ruined by some post or story and even though it's illegal, people film movies on their phones and post it about it on social media. It's almost impossible to watch something without it being spoiled. 

I should not be this invested in a movie in the first place. It's not real and it the film does not affect me. It's a little alarming how so many people including myself, get so invested in a movie. I should not be angry that the ending of the Avengers was spoiled but it still bothers me. Marvel is just one example of how people can get obsessed with something that ultimately does not matter.

This specific situation was especially maddening because I was really looking forward to watching the movie and the ending was so unexpected. If I look at this objectively, I know it's not a huge deal however it's still frustrating.

Verne Troyer

On April 21, Verne Troyer died from suicide. When I first read about his death on the official site for People, I read about how loved Verne was and how he would be missed. The article starts out by briefly informing the reader on how he died then it switches to a more positive tone. Verne's accomplishments were mentioned along with a statement from his family. The article mainly focuses on Verne's greatest qualities and why he was so loved. 

When I read the article from Fox News on Verne's death, only facts about his death were mentioned. the article did not talk about Verne as a person but more as an object. There was not mention of his character or accomplishments. If I had only read the article by Fox New, I would not know that Verne was good at making people smile and despite his many challenges in life, he managed to create many opportunities for himself which led to his success. The article merely states facts such as the amount of alcohol in his system and the 911 call that authorities received from Verne that night. Fox News discussed Verne in a very impersonal way by completely glossing over his life and accomplishments.

These two articles are similar in that they present some similar information but they are also extremely different based on the way they talk about Verne Troyer. The article from People talks about Verne with passion and sadness while the article from Fox News only mentions facts about Verne's death which could be seen as disrespectful to Verne's colorful life. I think It's really interesting how two articles on the same topic can be so different based on how the information is presented.

Articles:http://people.com/movies/verne-troyers-death-possible-suicide-very-high-level-of-alcohol-in-his-system-says-coroner/
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/04/23/verne-troyer-reportedly-had-3-times-legal-limit-alcohol-in-his-system-at-time-his-death.html

Work by Rhianna

A few days ago, I was eating lunch with one of my friends and we started talking about the song "Work" by Rhianna. When she mentioned the song, the first thing that popped into my head was the catchy lyrics that everyone knows. She started ranting about how awful the song was and when I asked her why she was so angry, she told me to look up the lyrics. 

Later that day, when I came home, I remembered what my friend told me and I researched the song. Once I looked up the lyrics, I understood why she was so upset. In the lyrics, Rhianna mentions how she was really hurt by someone however; the lyrics go on to say that Rhianna still wanted to be in a relationship with that person.

There are so many problems in the logic behind the song. Why would someone want to go back into a relationship where they were constantly hurt. It points to signs of emotional manipulation and other problems within relationships. That whole situation is extremely unhealthy however this popular song was advertising it. 

What bothers me is that I unknowingly would listen to a song that was advertising unhealthy relationships because I was so caught up in the catchy part of the song. And even when the song was stuck in my head I still never really listened to what was actually being said. This is just one example of how media advertises things that are unethical without anyone realizing. The unethical message is hidden behind something that is popular or attention-grabbing. We unknowingly fall into this trap and allow the media to profit from our mistakes. 

My Relationship with Media

Social media affects me more than I would like to admit. Without even noticing, I check my phone constantly to see if I received a new snap chat or iMessage. I go on Instagram and like meaningless posts for sometimes up to an hour without realizing how much of my time was wasted. When I go on Instagram, I know, deep down that I probably won't do anything productive for the next hour yet I ignore the thought because it is the easy thing to do. I also waste much of my time on snap chat, sending or opening streaks. Recently, I lost many of my streaks on accident and even though streaks are pointless, I still felt guilty that I lost so many. It's crazy how something so pointless has so much control over my actions and how I feel.

Social media is also one of the main factors of my lack of sleep. I usually use social media as an excuse to procrastinate on my homework which means I start much later than I should. I also check my social media before I go to sleep which is not wise because I often get distracted and once I actually go to sleep, social media is still on my mind.

Social media isn't all bad. It allows me to stay in contact with one of my best friends who lives in Australia. I also see what she's up to on her story and occasionally I get to call her. I also have stayed in contact with a few people from my middle school through social media which is nice because I remain friends with more people.

Overall, social media is really great but also counterproductive and causes a vast amount of unnecessary anxiety. I already have enough on my plate and social media almost feels like a chore. If I stopped using social media or if I even reduced the time I spend on it by half, I think I would become much more productive.