Reflection

      As long as i have been able to see, read, and truly absorb everything going on around me, I have been a target of countless media messages. And from the time i was born, the amount of media we consume has only tripled. These messages shaped who I am and how I perceive myself. At some unconscious level, I was always aware of these messages, but until this year, I never really stopped to think about them. How these messages affected me, and the society around me.
      Recently, when confronted with any sort of media, I am able approach it tentatively and with healthy skepticism. With the skills I have learned i can identify what messages, either implicit or explicit, the media is sending to me. I think about who is sending this message, and what they are trying to get out of it. Once I realize the intent, I can consider the different strategies and techniques used to get my attention and persuade me. For example, when playing an app on my phone, i was shown a video ad for a different app. It showed a women clad in white on a horse encouraging a group of men to charge into battle. I was almost immediately able to recognize that the ad was focusing on satisfying the need for aesthetic sensations, and the need to achieve. Another thing I have noticed is the amount of hidden messages in all of the media we consume.
     It is not always as easy to recognize these messages as it is with a commercial. For example, I have begun to notice the insane amount of product placement in the shows we watch. finding these brands is almost like a scavenger hunt. In one episode of Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia I saw two conveniently placed brands. One for Coors Light, and one for Subway. It never occurred to me to look for them before, but now that I am aware of these messages I can think about them critically, instead of just absorbing them unconsciously.
     Another thing I have observed this semester is the media's effect on women. Close analysis of the media's depiction of women shows a dark picture for our society of how we see women, or how big media corporations want us to see women. My discoveries this semester about the objectification of women by the media has only increased my feminist drive. It has also taught me more about myself, and how i view myself due to the media's depiction of women.
     My new-found media literacy has shown me how important media literacy really is. It's almost like regular literacy. In history, we always learn about how educating the population of a country and improving literacy makes for a well informed democratic population able to make their own informed decisions. The same idea goes for media literacy. It is essential for people, especially young people, to understand how the media manipulates us. Being a consumer is like being on a battlefield, hit with so many different messages at once. It is our job to educate ourselves and know what is best for us, instead of eating out of the hands of corporations with huge advertising budgets.
     Keeping this media log really helped me understand the world around me, better than doing a made up example in class would. I think this log and this class really did something to prepare me for the real world. I believe that the analysis I have done has greatly improved my media literacy.
   

Representation is Rad!

http://www.afropunk.com/profiles/blogs/feature-queens-of-africa-dolls-outsell-barbie-in-nigeria

"What began as a way of giving his daughter an alternative to Barbie - and the european standard of beauty she presents - led to Taofick Okoya creating a line of African dolls that not only celebrate the beauty of black women, but showcase Nigeria's heritage in all its glory. Now Okoya stands as one of Nigeria's most promising entrepreneurs and has seen his dolls even outsell Barbie. Of the dolls, Okoyo remarks in a recent interview with Elle: "African-inspired increase little girls’ sense of self-appreciation and confidence. When little girls play with dolls, they see themselves in or as the doll, they dress it in clothes they like and act out their fantasies. The more of their own likeness they see in the things they like, the more accepting they will be of their looks and culture."

By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor

     Seeing things like this makes me really happy. One of the main ways the media manipulates women is by the images of women they see every day, depicting how normal women should look. These images can start damaging the self esteem of girls from a very young age, in the form of dolls. One of the most famous dolls, Barbie, depicts a blond, white, horribly disproportionate woman. This is the image of beauty all little girls receive. This is why representation in the media is so important. If media is a reflection of society, and you cant find an image like you in the media, does that mean that you don't exist; that you aren't worth existing? People always tell me that I look like an actress. They can rattle off several actresses who resemble me. There is no lack of pale, round faced, bulgey eyed women in the media. However, I cannot say the same about other types of women. If there were no actresses who looked like me, I doubt I would be able to see myself as an actress. representation, especially for women, gives you self confidence and a sense of your identity. Having dolls who look like you and represent your culture should be the norm. 

Product Placement in Movies

     This holiday season I watched one of my favorite christmas movies, Elf. However this year, I noticed something different. Will Ferrel's wacky antics were set among a slew of brands, such as Nike, Coke, Chanel and Clinique. In a technique known as product placement, brands pay Television and Movie makers to put their products in the movie, as a part of the props or set, to subtly (or not so subtly) advertise for the product.

     This is possibly the most prominent product placement in the movie. Buddy's little brother, Daniel, wears this hat for a large chunk of the movie and the Nike symbol is always facing the camera. It's hard to miss.

     This coke bottle is also hard to miss, as the label is also conveniently facing the camera. Its hard to believe that that was a mistake. 

     These product placements for Clinique and Chanel are less obvious, and are visible for maybe a second or two. 

These examples show how products advertised can be part of the sets, the props, or even the costumes. these products are on a long list of product placement appearances for this movie alone. I was surprised to notice these appearances after watching this movie countless times. but if these expensive placement deals go unnoticed, then why bother. Does product placement effect the products we choose to buy? I don't really think so, but they must have a reason for doing it.

Keke Palmer – See The Real Me | Clean & Clear

     This commercial is for Clean and Clear, a skin care line. The commercial targets mostly teenage girls. This is obvious because of the core explicit media message conveyed by the  commercial. The ad is focused on Keke Palmer, a teenage actress who has been in children and teen movies and starred in the Nickelodeon TV show True Jackson, VP (true jackson vp was filmed in front of a live studio audience). Keke talks about being a teenager and being pressured into being someone you're not, and trying to live up to peoples expectations of you. She goes on to encourage people to be who they want to be, and be unique. The explicit message is that you can be yourself and be proud. The implicit message is that Clean and Clear will help you reveal your real self. The commercial starts and ends with #SeeTheRealMe, telling inspired girls to go online and on twitter, and into a whole new set of media messages aimed on convincing her to use Clean and Clear products to see her "real self".

     I think it is good that girls are being encouraged not to change their identity for approval. However, my overall reaction to the commercial is that it is pretty vague. Keke never talks specifically about her "real self" that was being covered up, or how Clean and Clear helped her uncover it. Its this vagueness that really looses me. The message reaches out to girls on a large scale, but none of it reaches out and touches me. The whole thing seems kind of cliche.

Paco Rabanne - 1 Million Intense

     This commercial is for a cologne called 1 Million Intense by Paco Rabanne. The first thing that came to my mind while watching this commercial was the use of snob appeal. The color scheme switches from black and white to gold, and the male model in the commercial literally gets everything he wants with a snap of his fingers. I think this commercial aims to satisfies the need for prominence, the need to dominate, and the need for sex. The commercial establishes prominence by the lighting, the party music, the prominent appearance of the people and setting. The commercial satisfies the need to dominate by giving the male model in the commercial the power of getting everything he wants with a snap of his fingers, removing the clothes of his female counterpart and turning her gold. The presence of the female counterpart in the commercial satisfies need for affiliation, possibly even need for sex. Her whole presence is meant to give the implicit message that if you wear this cologne, you can get women to have sex with you by merely snapping your fingers. The commercial also uses imagery to associate money with the product. The commercial takes place inside what seems to be a bank vault, and everything is fancy and gold. The product itself even looks like a gold bar. In short, the commercial tells you if you buy this product, you will be a rich guy with the power to get anything you want, like sexy rich ladies.
     This commercial is pretty stupid to me. You cant smell commercials, so they have to rely on extravagant images to give you some sense of what you are getting when you buy this. But is this really what you're getting?

Sprint "cuts your bill in half"

http://youtu.be/d4CZtsHN3l4 

      This is a Sprint commercial that played while I was using Spotify. It is a short 13 second ad with a man using an electric saw to "cut his bill in half". A peppy male voice informs you that if you bring in your AT&T or Verizon bill and turn in your phone, Sprint will put you on a new plan at half the price. I think the image of a man with an electric saw is an interesting choice for Sprint. This visual sets forth an implicit message that halving your bill will be empowering, which satisfies the need to dominate. You have the power to change the price of your cell service, and you are essentially dominating your phone bill.
     Another thing I found interesting was the offer to cut the bill in half only if you are switching out of an AT&T or Verizon contract. This is an example of the bribery technique, one often used by these sorts of companies. Sprint is trying to tempt cell users out of their brand loyalty with low prices. but which is more powerful, greed or the love-mark?