Blog Post 3

Each week in the media we are bombarded with messages. Things we should buy or do, how we should dress and act and even eat. It is hard to get through the day without passing media that tries to change who you are. Facebook is full of advertisements most people don’t even see anymore. It is so integral to our daily lives that most days we hardly consciously notice them. But subconsciously we take in everything around us. When we go shopping for groceries we have a tendency to buy name brand items because we have heard of them and we trust one over the other. Or when buying clothing, there is a reason styles come and go and it is not because suddenly everyone thinks crop tops look good on them.

Because of our study in semiotics I look much more closely as I am passing an advertisement to see what it is really saying about its product. The way an actor is standing in the photo and the colors they are wearing are meant to be attention grabbing. Colors are used to make different aspects stand out in print articles as well as on the television. I am an Art and Performance major with a music concentration. I have a tendency to pay close attention to the music choices television advertisements, as well as television shows, use to create the mood they want to convey. An excellent example of this is the well known SPCA add that uses Sarah
McLaughlin “Angel” an incredibly sad song that when partnered with images of sad puppies will wrench the heart of even the toughest among us.Through this class I have learned to look more closely at the images surrounding me every day; to stop and think what is it really saying.