Blog Post 7- Question 3- Tiffany Holts

3. Do you think people today use the mass media differently compared with how people used media 10 or 20 years ago?

I definitely believe the media was used differently 20 years ago compared to today. For example, newspapers were the main source of information since technology was not at the level it is today. The book discusses the importance of historical information when it comes to content analysis. It is important to know what was going on at the time that something was written/created. The media today breaks boundaries that were not as edgy in the past. The media is now about advertising and self-promotion, along with filling the desires of people needing entertainment. The invention of Netflix itself is a major milestone for the media. People are able to pick what they want to watch, when they want with no commercials. The TV shows in the nineties were more family based and less racy. The variety of genres that are available to everyone is remarkable and there is so much to analyze. There are also a variety of social media platforms that were not around 20 years ago such as Facebook. Facebook has become an instrumental platform used to promote and advertise people themselves and products/services. The desires and gratifications that are expected are different now as well due to the increase of technological advancements. 20 years ago, the instant ability to post how you're feeling or upload a new blog was not available. There were computers, but they did not function as efficiently as they do now. The media is continuously changing because of how many new inventions there are. I am curious to see how someone would answer this question 20 years from now.

Blog #7- Question 1

It is always interesting to me to learn new terms when delving into a new topic. These sociological concepts helped me better understand elements of sociological studies and the analysis we had to do as well. To set the stage for these definitions that can be applied when analyzing public arts, I'd like to make clear that sociology is the study of the development and elements of human societies. One type of societal power is a bureaucracy, in which a large society is being run by anonymous people following fixed guidelines that lead that society's largest corporations; this puts these individuals at the top of the hierarchy of authority for that specific society and leads to a less personable connection between leaders and followers. Within these societies, socialization occurs everywhere; this is when members of the specific society are taught the rules and values of their society. People can see through interacting with others and watching others interact what is appropriate and acceptable for themselves and what is not. A common way to place expectations around a society's members is to fit them into social roles; people are included in common social roles such as student, parent, nurse, etc... and must act accordingly to fit into the social norms of that role within that society. These roles also have statuses where someone is ranked within their role; for example a student can be a freshman in college or a final semester graduate student and a nurse could be a family medical practice nurse or an infant intensive care nurse in the ER. Gender can effect societal roles especially with media influencing the norms of a society. If a parent is female, a societal norm from the 50's and 60's was that mother would stay at home and take care of the kids and household. Each societal member has its own prestigiousness and rank within the field or lifestyle. Outside of these lifestyle roles, societies break their members up into different classes, or general groups, based on commonalities; most frequently they are broken up into socioeconomic classes, which rank people based on similarities in education, income, and careers which directly affect their lifestyles. These groups and their differences can cause stereotypes, or generalized signs commonly related to a specific type of person concerning a part of who or how they are; for example, a racial stereotype in America for Jewish people is that they like cheap deals in their purchases and are always willing to bargain down set prices. This tends to define social norms surrounding members of a society but if class structure and regulations in a society break down, the members do not have norms to align with and are left without much moral guidance within their society; this is called an anomie and is uncommon in most present societies. While a society is using these social norms and other tell-tale elements to rank and group its members, marginalization can occur, in which members of a society thats values and beliefs differ from that society's norms are placed in a secondary, lower ranked, status. This lack of acceptance for personal differences often leads to alienation of this secondary group, in which individuals feel detached from their society and the other members within it. This can also be caused by the impersonal bureaucracies that form to lead a society and members feeling like they do not belong or aren't closely a part of their society. If all parts of a society (including all members and their placements within their society) are contributing to the stability and well-being of their society as a whole, it is considered functional; the functionality of a society's parts plays a large role in the success of the society as a whole.  Postmodernism defines a society that embraces their personal differences to the full extent and does not try to categorize their members, instead emphasizing their personal relationships and understandings with themselves. It is a term that denies all religious, scientific, or philosophical truth for all people and instead focuses on each individual's interpretation of their own world around them. 2 major influences to societies are mass media and mass communication. Mass communication uses mass media to get the same message to large numbers of different types of people. This mass communication can relay the different aspects of a society and help individuals learn how to behave within them. There are a variety of elements of societies that define their future success or failure and with the knowledge of these aspects, we can all better understand sociology and the world around us.

Blog Post #1 - Ted Bangs

The above advertisement is a P.E.T.A. support campaign ad, and the subject matter of the ad is quite obviously what makes this particular ad controversial. To a certain degree, a large portion of commercial advertisement hinges its popularity or success probability on the bet that “sex sells”. In this specific case, it was not so much that sex sells as much as it was that sex in this case catches the eyes of the viewers and draws attention to the ad campaign. With the tagline above the image “all animals have the same parts” the reader is somewhat taken back because we as human beings (although technically we are also animals) don’t like to consider ourselves as part of the animal kingdom. We as a species almost believe that we are above that to a certain degree, but this advertisement juxtaposes that comment alongside the body of Pamela Anderson in order to make a point. Their point is to demonstrate that animals are, from a practical and functional point of view, just the same as us. We all have a common denominator in our mortality and that is made especially obvious by the way in which Pamela Anderson’s body is painted. It is painted and sectioned off as if it were a butcher’s guide to extracting meat from a cow.  It is very jarring at first glance, but this image could also be taken in a different way. It could be taken as a type of satire that models and their bodies are objectified in advertisement today, not just by commercial entities but also non-profit organizations like P.E.T.A. that use the models as conduits for their advertisements.

Blog Post 6

From what I have seen from the documentary, "Miss Representation"it shows how women are depicted in media in a very unfulfilling manner. It also goes deeper into what women would like to happen in order for them to be represented better than they have been throughout the years. However, it usually becomes the opposite whenever someone comes along and does what women have been wanting for them. Like for example when the author of Twilight wrote a novel that help empower women and it represented them very well, it didn't do well in sales at all and instead Twilight got a lot more sales after finishing that novel. Which is very perplexing to think that what women want for better representation is discarded or ignored for something that goes against what they want. For me, what i say about this documentary is that it helps identify the many issues women have with their representation in media. Also due to the fact that while yes women still aren't being represented well in any form of media, but it definitely is better now then it has been in the past. Like nowadays we have more movies focusing on females as the main protagonist or have strong female characters in general. For example, in movies like Frozen, Hunger Games, and a television show like Once Upon a Time the female characters are given very strong characterization in their given mediums and helps represent women well. It also helps give women a role model to look up to depending on the age group the show or movie tries to depict it to. Also another thing to shortly go into is that the documentary does go into is that women aren't being treated well either because of how media abuses them of stuff like products or the news. In this case, yes it is true and honestly as a whole for this documentary, keep spreading the message of misrepresentation in the media. its gotten better over the years, but it is clear women are still misrepresented in other areas.

Blog post 3

What i noticed ever since i took this class was how I viewed commercials and other forms of media differently compared to before i took the class. Like i seen that a commercial from apple is used for as a product for a higher class than say, the low to middle class area since the higher class people can afford it. As for the opposite like a Subway commercial where most classes can afford it while the lower class can struggle if they are not careful with their cash. Same can be applied to movies and tv shows, were I've seen how they separate between elitists and non-elitist or something simple like competitive individualism.

Its also helped me see through the Marxist lens that in television or movies to look at the writing structure more than i have been in the past and find those little details from the characters, motivations, etc. in order to identify the ideas in a easier manner. Like for example, watching some of my favorite shows back when i was a kid or even favorite shows of today I look at how the characters emote and what their motivations are help me understand them more than i did before. I would also look at how each episode is written to see how the writer would create the world for those characters and how the show would wrap itself up in the end. Even though it can help me analyze shows and movies a lot better than i did before, I don't believe it helps my writing since I feel the need to still write it in a simple manner and not in a complicated and over analytical matter. Even though that still won't detract from the real lesson learned on analyzing things i love in a better light.

Blog Post 7: Uses and Gratifications

2. What is meant by uses and gratifications? Which uses and gratifications do you think are the most important for people nowadays?

According to our text book, “Media Analysis Techniques,” by Arthur Asa Berger, the uses-and-gratifications theory is a “sociological theory states that audiences use the mass media for certain purposes and gain certain gratification from the use of those media” (Berger 224). The focus is on how people use, benefit, and gain from the media rather than how the media affects the audience. This theory is further discussed in detail on page 119 of the book and goes into details of different ways the users gain gratification.

For example, people watch a comedy TV show to be amused. The user uses the media to “find things to laugh about, to be put in a happy spirit, and is the source of pleasure” (Berger 119).

Another example would be to gain more information about the world. By using the media, the user gains knowledge, new information, and values. I have a good example of this; recently I watched a documentary on Netflix which informs their audience of the problem in plastic waste that is improperly disposed of. The plastic waste would go into the ocean and then wash up on shore. The document gave stats on the effects of this improper disposal. It really made me conscious of throwing away plastic, how much plastic I use, and now whenever I see small plastic waste on the ground I tend to pick it up to throw away. By using this media, I have been gratified with information and new values.

I believe that with the media growing more and more each year, people nowadays are using the media to gratify themselves in many ways. It’s difficult to choose one out of the twenty-four from the book. I will say that this year I have noticed how users are using the media to promote themselves. What do I mean by this? I am talking about how people use social media to promote and advertise their skills, professions, and bodies. In particular, I am talking about Instagram posts. My original thought of Instagram was that people post up pictures of their life, activities, friends, pets and whatnot. But after actually getting my first iPhone and my first account on Instagram I have learned that a large majority of people use Instagram to promote themselves. From large corporate companies like Target and Nike to small businesses like a calligraphy artist, and even models – they are using social media to be gratified with fame and fortune.

Looking at media through a use-and-gratification theory is interesting because I have read many articles about how the media is affecting us. It is true that the media makes a big impact on how our lifestyles are but we still use it for our benefits. The media gains from the users and the users gain from the media.

Blog Post 7: If He Says She’s a Girl, She’s a Girl

"How should one define gender? Is gender natural, or is it socially constructed, and if it is socially constructed, does that mean gender is anything someone wants it to be?"

Gender should be defined by its definition, graciously offered by google: “Gender: The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).” Basically, gender is the social conceptualization of what it means to be either male or female, and while it is often assigned at birth, it isn’t tied to physical sex characteristics and can change and evolve with time. Gender should be, on a personal basis, defined by the individual. Having a vagina doesn’t make someone a girl, anymore than owning an oven makes them a five star chef, and gender, then, should be defined on an individual basis. 

Sex, on the other hand, is physical, it can be changed through surgical intervention, but for the most part it is static. Sex is used medically to sort patients into risk categories for things like prostate cancer or ovarian cysts, but for everything else, there is gender. Gender is a natural byproduct of labor division and socialization, so to say it is purely natural or purely construct is a bit misleading given it’s an intersection of both. That said, our strict American definitions of male and female are indeed constructs, as in, what defines a woman in our culture does not hold true universally, so really gender is less of a concept and more of a nebulous cloud of penises and vaginas roving the countryside.

Gender can, then, only really be determined by a society, though it can be selected on an individual basis, but here’s the thing, why can’t it just be anything someone wants it to be? I mean, academically sure there’s all sorts of posturing and theory, but in reality, you can be whatever you want and literally no one can stop you. Even if you can’t get your license changed, or use the bathroom you feel comfortable in, there’s no one in the world that can stop you from being a man or a woman or neither or both, and sterilizing gender into a semantic debate about socialization and biology doesn’t invalidate that you have a penis and are a girl. Does it really matter what the scholars say about gender to the individual identifying theirs? I mean, does our definition of gender really matter on a personal level and or stop someone from being whatever they choose to be? No, not at all, so of course gender is anything someone wants it to be, because people don’t tend to read dissertations when making choices about their personal lives. Gender can be anything to a person, maybe not to academia, but what’s a few stuffed shirts to feeling comfortable in your own skin. Be a girl, be a boy, be a dolphin, why not? Just be yourself, a definition can’t stop you.

Blog Post 6: Bras not Boobs

Miss Representation is not jarring because any of the information is new or surprising, on the contrary it’s impossible to do more than walk down the street without being bombarded by billboards of naked women eating hamburgers and, often embarrassing, displays of camouflage bedecked machismo. Miss Representation is jarring simply because of its sheer volume of information. Sure, most of us outside of places where it’s still acceptable to burn crosses know women are given the short end of the social justice stick, and most of us know, in theory, that there’s a lot of sexism in the media. However, to be confronted with all of it all at once sort of puts it into sharp relief and gives it a more tangible scope. There’s just so much.

I’ve always had an interest in social issues, and being a woman myself, feminism in particular has been very close to me and my experience of being a female in a male dominated society. I like to think of myself as a person who is aware of the inequality that permeates our world, someone privy to all the prejudice all around. While I know on some level that there’s a lot of nonsense that surrounds being a girl, it’s still sort of painful to be reminded of just how much nonsense I have to wade through to simply exist. Even ostensibly female spaces are tailored to males and after standing in Victoria’s Secret, surrounded by material selling boobs and not the bras those boobs are supposed to go into, I have to wonder, why are we marketing utilitarian beige bras to dudes? More importantly, why do I feel uncomfortable in a space supposedly tailored to me? 

Miss Representation was nothing new for me, but it was still a harsh reminder, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed under the weight of closing a gap so massive it’s literally older than the country we live in. I’m supposed to feel empowered, filled with righteous fury over the plethora of injustices heaped upon my gender, but mostly I’m just tired. I’m the dead horse being beaten with the narrow concept of femininity and advertisements telling me I’m ugly and should do something about it. It’s almost immobilizing, how much there is to be done, but I still have hope, and I’ll still keep fighting the good fight. Because if I don’t, I’ll never get that bra without the softcore porn, and I really, really, want that bra.

Blog Post #3 Ted Bangs

Blog post #3 What have you noticed differently about the media since this class? Talk about this week's media consumption and any thoughts and criticisms you may have about what you've consumed this week.

I have always been aware that there are often ulterior agendas within advertisements, the marketing industry hinges itself off of the ability to push its own agenda ever increasingly efficiently. That being said, being exposed to rigid analytical semiotic charts forced me to take some of my abstract prior ideas of how media manipulates the audience and really work to clarify my points and understand the entire process better as a result. My media consumption this week centered around the NFL and small bits of free time where I watched the news. However, I did do a good amount of listening to music on Pandora, and I have come to enjoy the adds that I receive while listening, I feel like commercials keep me in touch with today’s culture. I don’t know if its my interest in the subtleties of advertisements or if learning about the newest Keurig makes me feel at touch with the world, but I enjoy the commercialism of it. That being said, I do make an effort to analyze commercials, and wonder what trend, or occurance would make the setting (for example) of a certain commercial relevant, or why the song choice is an appropriate choice for what I perceive to be the target audience. As it stands in the class, I have tried to absorb some of these ways of looking at advertisements and enjoy adding tools to my analytical skillset each week.

Blog Post 7: Question 6

A major misunderstanding is considering gender and sex to mean the same thing. This is not true as sex refers to the biological identifiers that determine male or female, where as gender is better understood as sexuality and sexual identity of person.  Gender is a social construct. We as people have desires for companionship and intimacy but it is unique what draws one person to another. If asked I would guess that even is a group of men or women have the same feature they look for in a perspective partner their image of the ideal mate will most certainly not match up perfectly. The fact that there are similar ideals and romanticized visions of a perfect mate also feeds into the idea that it is a socially constructed element. A persons sex can be changed but the concept of changing ones sex is a procedure, their identity is that of some who is transgender. This example shows the fundamental difference between two in that one is a scientific term and the other is a social element that can change and evolve through history. Media helps mold these social elements by either enforcing stereotypes or by shedding light on misconceptions perpetuated by faulty information. Though out this course I have learned truly how subtle and powerful the media can be, especially visual media. Its almost impossible to filter through the nonstop stream of information for all directions. So it is very understandable how something like the idea of someones sexual identity and gender can be confused. A further example the medias ability to cause doubt and confusion not out of malicious intent but by a populace not sure how to navigate it. 

Blog Post 7

Do you think people today use the mass media differently compared with how people media 10 or 20 years ago?

I think people today use the same mass media compared with it in the past 10 or 20 years ago. The mass media are diversified media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place vary. Time flies, but the way people use mass media doesn’t change. People are prescribed to receive information that establishes or reinforce the product and how it is currently developing. The mass media - specifically blogs, podcasts, online video, and social networking - to help marketers increasing their exposure by delivering content in formats that the target audience. Present and future customers are also looking for content the way, it can be downloaded an episode of your favorite television program or reading a blog they posted on trends. When I was a little child, I have known the basic function of mass media and what it does. For example, Youtube and Facebook came out around 2004/2005. But before it, there are many ways of mass media that people used it for communications, advertises and connection

Blog Post 6: Miss Representation

Miss Representation is a documentary film exploring how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in influential positions by circulating limited and often disparaging portrayals of women. Why is it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself? I always ask myself that question. Women are seen more powerless than men. Women also have life as men. They are taught to be good at home and in school since kindergarten as men. Women have the right to talk and to lead as men. They must have the right for happiness, for powerful as men. Body images? No one says if you want to be perfect, you have to be as skinny as possible like in those advertisements. I don’t agree with that. The world should consider what inside women’s brain, not what outside women look like. If we look in media world, they are significantly underrepresented. Women own just six percent of the commercial broadcast TV stations in the U.S. And while slightly more than half of local television news anchors are now women, women still make up only 28 percent of local news directors and 16 percent of the general managers at TV stations that air local news. If we look at the political world, women are clearly underrepresented. Out of 197 heads of state around the world, only 22 are women. That means that 89 percent of the countries in the world are led by men. The documentary does a great job on convening the messages for people in general and for women in specific: “Focus on what women can do, not on what women look like.” Everyone should watch this, especially girls.

Blog Post 7

What is meant by uses and gratifications? Which uses and gratifications do you think are the most important for people today?

As humans, we all have needs and desires. They can stem from a range of things: anything for a need for love and companionship, to a desire to be amused after a long day at work, or many more. People search for things to find fulfilment. Without knowing it, many people turn to the media to meet their needs. They then feel gratified for a while because the media met a need. Having found an outlet, people will keep returning to the source that gave them a bit of fulfilment.

Just about any of the gratifications list in the book are important. Since everyone is so different and each one has a multitude of needs and desires at any one given point, it’s hard to point to just a handful of gratifications to encompass the whole of society. One gratification I could almost see common to most people, though, is the desire to find amusement/entertainment. With the prevalence of media in today’s culture and the booming entertainment industry, it’s not hard to guess that many people would want that gratification. With the ever-changing and advancing technology of today, we have crammed more into the day. Every moment we need to fill. This need to constantly be going is causing stress and exhaustion in people. So often we just need a moment to step back and relax. That’s why so many people turn to media for their enjoyment. They need a release from the craziness always swirling around them.

Blog Post 6

Women have been fighting a hard battle throughout the course of history in order to get equal rights. The feminist movement did a lot for women and it challenged many of the stigmas surrounding us. Women no longer just are mothers and caregivers, but they can get jobs and earn a living. Even with great leaps and bounds in social elevation that women have had throughout history, there is still a long way to go. Miss Representation shows a whole slew of things that still need to change. The media tries to lessen the facts and I found myself shocked by the low percentages of women in positions of leadership. I knew there weren’t high numbers, but I didn’t expect them to be so low. However, it’s not actually that surprising when women are bombarded with images that to be in power for our sex means that they are bossy or got their because of their bodies.

Through the media, women are just portrayed as objects. Beauty standards glare at us from everywhere we look. Constantly we see those photoshopped images of models that tell us exactly how we should look. Seeing this, we feel inadequate when we don’t fit the mold. Women spend tons of time and money just trying to achieve the unattainable perfections we are told that will make people like us and give us fulfilment. Media is a machine that tries to keep us consuming it and it knows just how to keep us interested. Sadly, wholesome media isn’t always what sells, so we are constantly surrounded by images and narratives that are negative to us.

Blog Post #7

What is meant by uses and gratifications? Which uses and gratifications do you think are the most important for people nowadays?

Uses and gratifications is the idea that the reason people watch or take part in some types of media is because it provides something, whether it be to meet the “gratifications individuals seek… [or] people’s needs.” (Berger 119) Some of the important types of uses and gratifications are the need to be amused, to gain identity, to reinforce belief in romantic love, and to affirm moral, spiritual, and cultural values.

To be amused seems like one of the main reasons as to why people take part in different forms of media. People all over the world pay attention to music, social media, movies, television shows, etc. to be entertained. 

In recent years, the idea of belonging to a group and feeling united has become very important. With emerging media comes the emergence of fan bases that are groups of people who love a particular media (for example the Twilight series or Game of Thrones) that come together to share their experiences and ideas with the world. This feeling of belonging somewhere reassures our identity because we can identify with others.

Relationships take work and sometimes when relationships fail, they can change a person’s views on how love (in this case, romantic love) works. Although very oriented towards women, usually romantic comedies or romantic movies are based in the story of how two characters are destined to be together despite all the obstacles that may come between them. Reinforcing the belief of romantic love sells to both men and women, but having that idea in children movies teaches the young that romantic love exists. For example, Disney movies such as Cinderella and Snow White have been teaching generations about the journey of a woman who is destined to be with a certain someone.

Different cultures have different values and morals, but when the media they are exposed to validates those values, then we pay attention to that certain type of media. The documentary Miss Representation had a section where it revealed how certain TV shows such as I Love Lucy reaffirmed the beliefs of the American people to why being a housewife was great, especially since after WWII when women wanted to continue working in the factories like they had when the men left for war. I Love Lucy paved a pathway into reaffirming the moral, spiritual, and cultural morals that the American people had.

These are what strikes me as the most important reasons as to why people engage in different forms of media although it is almost impossible to ignore them. Different cultures and different people have their different reasons as to why they choose to watch what they watch and listen to what they listen. Different aspects of their social surroundings and their internal thought process goes into play when contemplating why people’s uses for the media and the gratifications they receive vary.

Blog Post #6

Blog Post 6: Miss Representation

Miss Representation showcases the way that the media whether intentionally or accidentally portrays women.

As a feminist [wanting to have equality between genders and closing the current gap between them] I found myself somewhat surprised when watching Master of None, a comedy series on Netflix, when one of the episodes featured a female president. I felt confused for a second, and although currently we have Hillary Clinton running for president, the fact that in the media I have never seen a female president, and now I have surprised me a bit. I know that there are many women in political power all over the world, for example Dilma Rousseff as Brazil’s current president, but it was still a surprise to see it within the media, especially a popular Netflix show.

Films are [usually] a representation of the current society, and movies have been more and more liberal when representing important figures in society such as the president of the United States. From having Harrison Ford playing the president of the United States in Air Force One in 1997, to Morgan Freeman in Olympus has Fallen in 2013 to finally De'Adre Aziza as a female president in Master of None in 2015.

In the beginning of the semester, it was very clear that women are portrayed as sexual objects in magazines, advertisement, but one would think that now, in 2015, the portrayal of women would be better, but it is not as good as I thought. In past decades, women reached the standards of beauty with makeup and cosmetics, but with increasing technology, the standard of beauty is almost impossible to reach due to the photoshopped features of models in advertising and other forms of media. 

Miss Representation does a good job at pointing out the way that the objectification of women by both men and women themselves leads to a decrease in political participation, and when women do participate politically, the only aspects that people pay attention to is their appearance. 

In the end, everything relates and comes back to capitalism and how media companies and advertisers are looking at ways to make profit. Michael Eisner, former CEO of Walt Disney Co., stated in an internal memo that “we have no obligation to make history, we have no obligation to make art, we have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective.” Although it may unconfirmed, the media may be sharing these unideal ideas of beauty and showcasing an excessive amount of negative portrayals because that is what catches people’s attention. Miss Representation discloses these ideas and makes an audience member reflect about whether or not the media has impacted us, and how we can change or take part in the improvement of how the media affects public views.

Blog Post 7

Do you think people today use the mass media differently compared with how people used media 10 or 20 years ago?

Because of the technology we have today and the sheer amount of media entertainment available to us, it’s inevitable that we use mass media differently. I think that because of the internet, there are more people who are unafraid of having opinions that vary from “the norm”. In other words, television programs no longer represent a consensus of Americans opinions, because there is so much more variety. At the dawn of television, shows like Leave it to Beaver showed the ideal life – and most viewers believed they should strive for that status quo. Now there is content that caters to almost every genre and interest and content that caters to different ways of life. Before, there were only a few television channels and everyone with a TV watched them and likewise were influenced by them. Now, viewers can choose what they watch according to taste. Also, because of streaming, there are many consumers who don’t watch television at all and are separated from the influence of advertisements on TV. When there is a new program premiering, they have to find out about it differently and they are less likely to be convinced to watch just by the sheer amount of trailers they see. They’re more likely to look into reviews of a show and read descriptions before they decide to watch it.

Blog Post 6

Miss Representation was a beautifully executed visual essay on sexism in media. The objectification of women in media is a well-known fact, but seeing so many concentrated examples at the beginning of the documentary was sickening. It’s upsetting, because I know there’s nothing I can personally do about it other than be angry about it and point it out to others. We can’t control the advertisements that are sent to us, and we have little control over what movies are made. Basically, to enjoy anything, we have to suspend our standards and morals otherwise we’d have to avoid almost every piece of media. I do believe that it’s possible to be critical of a media and still enjoy it. For instance, I really like the recent movie Kingsman for its humor and cool cinematography in its fight scenes, but I was disheartened to realize that all of the secret agents were white and mostly male while the two villains happened to both be people of color with disabilities. But, when you realize how frequent it is it becomes really upsetting. Every movie you see you think, “Why is the lead of this film a guy? Why is there only one girl? Why are they straight? There are so many options, so why?”.  It’s hard to be excited about new Batman movies when there have been like 8 Batman movies, but absolutely no Wonder Woman movies. Or any female led movies from DC for that matter. Why does Wolverine get three terrible spin off movies, but Storm or Rogue or Mystique doesn’t?

Blog 5

Psychoanalytic theory is concerned with the interaction between a person’s mind and their identity. The three most common techniques used to interpret media artifacts using psychoanalytic theory are to examine the Oedipus complex, the id, ego, and superego, and defense mechanisms. Within psychoanalytic theory, the Oedipus complex states that “every individual passes through a stage in which he or she desires the parent of the opposite sex...most people learn to master [theirs]; neurotic individuals are plagued by theirs.” Though it may seems strange, the Oedipus complex can be seen in many media artifacts today. Perhaps the most popular theory within psychoanalytics is the id, ego, and superego. To put it simply, the id is the most basic part of the personality, the instincts. The ego is attempts to make the instincts socially acceptable, and the superego decided if the ego’s decision is morally right. Within popular media, these three concepts can be seen represented and personified by characters. For example, the characters McCoy, Spock, and Captain Kirk from Star Trek can be viewed as the id, ego, and superego respectively. The final concept that can be examined within psychoanalytic theory is defense mechanism. This is perhaps the best concept to look at when examining media artifacts, specifically when observing characters. There are a total of eleven defense mechanism: ambivalence, avoidance, denial, fixation, identification, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and suppression. By using these concepts to inform psychoanalytic analysis, you can examine popular media in a new light.

Blog 4

Historically, Marxism is the a philosophy based on ideas that view social change in terms of economic factors. Within popular media, Marxist analysis is used to determine how those factors influence the media. In order to view media through a Marxist lens, one must understand some of the key terms associated with the topic. The terms include ideology, alienation, and grid-group analysis. Within Marxist analysis, ideology is viewed as a discovery that has emerged from political conflict; we see these ideologies everyday in the media we consume. To put it simply, every piece of media has an agenda that it is trying to push based on a core belief. The term alienation refers to a separation between creator and audience. Media, particularly news media, creates this separation by reporting on news that the audience deems unimportant. This is seen a lot when news stations choose to report on celebrity gossip instead of current, major world events. Finally, the grid-group analysis allows us to place characters from popular media into defined groups. These groups are well defined and are seemingly in conflict with one another, though they need the others in order to function. The first group is hierarchical elitist which believe that it is the duty of those in power to look out for those below them. The second group is the egalitarian who believe that everyone is equal and that any differences are social constructs and not natural. The final two groups are the individualist, who believe in the freedom to compete fairly while still being protected by authorities, and the fatalist, who believe in luck and opt out of the system. It is important to recognize that while these groups are well defined, characters may fit the criteria for more that one.

Blog 2

The BBC show Sherlock gives audiences a modern retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary works. The show uses many visual cues in order to signify the thoughts and actions of its characters; this allows the audience to pick up on certain character descriptions without the need for unnecessary exposition. Watson, for example, is framed throughout the episode in ways that indicate his uneasiness and uncertainty. Examples of this include handheld (shaky-cam) closeups as well as moments when the camera slowly pans back while slightly tilting. In addition to this we see that, in many scenes, Watson’s face is half lit. This shows an internal struggle with Watson, one that originates from his time in the military. Perhaps the biggest signifer for Watson is his cane. He claims to need to cane to help support his bad leg, but it is revealed later on that he does not need it at all, he simply has a psychosomatic limp due to his time in the military. On the flip side, Sherlock is a character who gets his fun from solving murders. When we are first introduced to him, we hear a loud, grand musical accompaniment which cues the audience into the fact that he is an overly confident, somewhat brash character. What’s most interesting about Sherlock as a character, is not what he says or does, but what is located in his flat. Visually speaking, the flat is very cluttered. Nothing seems to have a place within it, but this is exactly what you are meant to think. The flat as a whole is used to represent the mind of Sherlock Holmes; a mind that is full of information that seems nearly impossible to recall, but is in a place familiar to the one who needs it, it is organized clutter. Sherlock makes great use of camera techniques, lighting, and set design to visually tell the audience who these characters are, without the need of exposition.

Blog 1

Launched by the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA) in 2009, the Backbone Zone aims to educate individuals on the harmful effects of homophobic and sexist language. To do this, the Backbone Zone gives individuals other words to use and encourages them to become active bystanders in the hopes of ending gender stereotypes and end sexual assault. The campaign features a series of seven posters; each features a harmful word accompanied by a photo on both the top and bottom of the image. The ad that we will examine specifically is this one:

Within the ad, the above photo depicts a pug with the caption “This is a bitch.” The inclusion of this shows us a few things: the first shows us the actual, dictionary definition of the word “bitch”, which is a female dog. The inclusion of the relaxed, unintimidating dog serves to create an emotional rise in the viewer. This emotional rise is one that tells the audience the dog in the photo is anything but a “bitch”, which is a word that society has given a negative connotation to.

The second image and caption combination used in the ad depicts a young woman, with a disdained look. The text below her image which reads “This is a girl who speaks her mind” shows us what she is, someone speaking her mind (nothing more, nothing less). Often times in society, we are told that a woman who is unafraid of speaking her mind is considered hostile, evil, and a “bitch”. This is simply not the truth. It is this sexist line of thinking that the Backbone Zone aims to remove from society.

The two seemingly unrelated photos used in the ad campaign serve to show the audience the ways in which society has transformed words that once held little to no negative connotation into words that can be used to hurt individuals emotionally.

Blog Post 6

The documentary "Miss Representation" thoroughly shows the struggles of media pressure when it comes to women in media whether they be actresses, models, or even politicians. I think it's good that they brought up the important issue of eating disorders and societal expectations of women's figures. It provided the concerning large statistic that "65% of women and girls have an eating disorder." The documentary says "How you look is equal to your worth," and it seems to be a true statement of what we see today. Women are expected to be beautiful and thin with exaggerated parts or facial features rather than being able to contribute to society in some way without regards for their appearance. It brought up the point that computer/digital editing is having dangerous consequences by making impossible people for mass consumption. The model themselves who are photographed cannot even look as they do on the cover. I had never really focused on the media's portrayal of women politicians and their reception based upon their looks until "Miss Representation" brought it up. The demonization of Hillary Clinton based primarily upon her looking different from the standard woman in media such as an actress or model. The fact that how a woman looks somehow limits her ability to lead a company as CEO or lead a country as President is ridiculous. The documentary mentions the double standard of how the clothes are important with a woman but not with a man. That a woman cannot be too revealing but also cannot be fully covered and modest. It shows examples from both end with Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. It doesn’t start with politicians though, it starts with even newscasters. They need to be wearing revealing clothes just to draw in viewers and prove worth for the news station rather than having good intellect like a man. This documentary has really just reaffirmed what I already knew overall; the media doesn't treat women equally and expects things from women that it doesn't from men when women are more than just their looks. 

Blog Post #7

1. Explain the following basic sociological concepts: bureaucracy, role, alienation, anomie, class, functionalism, marginalization, mass communication, mass media, post modernism, sex (gender), socialization, status, stereotypes.

Bureaucracy: A bureaucracy is a group of people who follow a guideline of rules and structure in running organizations.

Role: In sociological analysis, role is relating to the concept of social role. One's social role can be determined by the place they hold in society. The older we get, the more we learn our role in by growing in experience with the various roles.

Alienation: Alienation is the feeling of isolation, or not belonging. In other words, referring to the root of the word, it is when a person in fact feels like an "alien". These feelings can often be linked to the bureaucracies within an environment or society.

Anomie: Anomie is when an individual or groups desires no longer are determined by the rules in place, but these groups or individuals lack moral guidance from society. Groups that are anomic are typically formed by those who are trying to avoid alienation.

Class: In the sociological context, “class” refers to a person’s place in the classes of the society. Such as, upper-upper class, lower-lower class.

Functionalism: Something is seen as functional when it increases the stability of a unit.

Marginalization: Marginalization is when individuals and their beliefs are different from what is referred to as “normal” within a society, these individuals are seen as beneath those who are normal.

Mass Communication: Mass communications is the study of how people and companies use the mass media to relay information to the population at large at the same time.

Post Modernism: Postmodernism is essentially our study of the media, typically including explanations of culture, literature, art, philosophy, history, economics, architecture, fiction, and literary criticism.

Sex (gender): Sex/gender within sociological concepts commonly refers to the roles they play. Gender roles are commonly stereotyped within the media.

Socialization: Socialization is the process one undergoes to learn the rules, roles, and values of society.

Status: Status refers to the place one holds within an organization or group of some form, and the standing of that specific position.

Stereotypes: Stereotypes are a collection of beliefs and impressions held about a group and its members. Stereotypes can be negative or positive, and can take many forms from racial to gender roles, etc. 

Blog Post 3

I have noticed that I look at media as vehicles for messages rather than just general entertainment to be consumed. I am more capable of seeing characters and their motivations throughout shows and movies. The media is more dynamic and well thought-out than it originally seemed. Previously I could only give a deep analysis of purpose and message with literature and only picked out things unique to that when reading but never with watching a tv show. I can now do that with a tv show without too much conscientious effort. Watching the media in class and then analyzing it has helped when it comes to doing so on my own. The group effort to input ideas has really helped me think from different angles when I do it individually for the papers.  

Blog Post 1

This is an ad by the French Ministry of Health for obesity and it is a bit shocking to look at initially. It only has one line of text on the bottom that translates to "obesity starts at a young age." The ad has one main focal point that is front and center, pink ice cream on a cone stylized so that the ice cream looks like are large belly featuring a belly button and skin like texture. The only other thing within the ad is the official logo of the French Ministry of Health within the lower right corner. The text at the bottom literally says the point of the ad but it is just as clear and obvious without the wording. It is easy to see that it is a warning about obesity and health, specifically diet and things that can cause weight gain like ice cream. The pink color of the ice cream allows for to draw attention and still show the skin like texture openly. The cone is similar to an arrow as it takes attention down from the ice cream to the wording at the bottom. When it comes to the text the viewer reads from left to right and ends at the logo for the French Ministry of Health. The image is similar to a metaphor, saying ice cream makes you fat. Even though it is stated that this is for a French audience it is clear that it is not meant for an American one given that our culture isn’t typically exposed to weight loss and obesity prevention campaigns that feature large bodies, symbolic or otherwise. 

Blog # 7

I would like to take a look at question # 6 in the textbook, Media Analysis Techniques. This question asks how we should define gender. I personally believe that gender is a it's core is natural. We are either born as a male or a female. There are rare instances where we  see examples  people being born  with both reproductive organs, and I could see how in in those cases defining gender would be a tad more ambiguous. But in general, I think that it is something that is naturally assigned to us. I would like to acknowledge the fact though, that some people may identify with an opposing gender. And in those instances I can understand  the arguments that support the idea that gender is something that is socially constructed. In those instances, people are taking it upon themselves to assign their identity with a certain gender, despite of the sex they were born with. Years ago, I believe that this would have been something heavily rejected by mass society. But nowadays we do see a movement towards this progression and there is more support on the issue. I don't think it is fair to outwardly repress these individuals since the majority of people can not relate to the situation, but I think that it is important to take a look at how this gender identity crisis progresses internally among these individuals. Nowadays there are many different types of ways a person can identify themselves in terms of their sexuality and sex, so given this fact I would say that though gender is something that is natural, it has taken a new position in society as has become something that can be altered by the individual. People have the freedom to decided how to identify themselves and now technology has  advanced enough to support and further those decisions. While I do choose to remain neutral on the subject, I do find it fascinating how this new era of gender identity has begun to emerge. I also question whether this is something new, or whether this is an issue that has going on for quiet some time and has just been repressed. Possibly the reason we are seeing more instances of this occurring now, is because society has made great moves at being more welcoming and open minded towards these individuals.

Blog Post 7

Question #3: Do you think people today use the mass media differently compared with how people used media 10 or 20 years ago?

I think people use mass media the same way they used it 10 or 20 years ago. The only thing that has changed is what’s used because the type of media is obviously different and ever changing. But I believe once it’s broken down, the motives will still be the same.  The newspaper was the first mass media used. That is how everybody would receive his or her news. Even the illiterate would receive their news this way because those who could read would pass it on. The radio was the next medium introduced after the newspaper. Once it became affordable, it allowed for wider audiences to hear the same news segment at the same time. After the radio, came the television. The radio and the television were the two mediums that began to introduce national, and even international, news to many audiences. In the sense of world occurrences, they allowed for the world to get smaller. After the television, came the Internet, the era where we find ourselves in today. Nowadays, current events can spread in a matter of minutes across the world. The way we receive our news is vastly different than how those who lived during the newspaper era would receive their news. But like I stated above, the reason why we use the mass media is still the same. We use it to stay updated with what’s going on around the world. We use it to hear the latest gossip or scandal that has occurred. I believe our longing to be up to date with what’s happening around us is embedded in our human nature. The way we use mass media will probably never change.