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 Post 6- Tiffany Holts

Thursdays film really caught my attention. I thought Miss Representation really explained the dilemmas women face even starting at a young age. I myself have a little sister who is not the skinniest in the neighborhood. She sees girls in the media looking perfect and makes comments about her own weight. It's sad to hear, but at the same time she is content with it and does't let that stop her from being a happy 12 year old. Not all young girls can bounce back like that, and this film explained how hard it can be for some. The media repeatedly shows the ideas of a perfect woman and what they should look like. This ranges from social media, commercials, movies, and tv shows. Watching these things gives the idea to not only women, but men on how the perfect girl should look. This makes it difficult for a lot of people. I thought it was interesting to hear real-life stories from celebrities and important figures. They confirmed what many think about the media and agencies. Women even have to get plastic surgery just to fulfill their dreams. It should not be this way and I appreciated the fact that women and men are standing up to stop this trend and start a movement.

We think about how digitally edited a photo is now and some women take hours at a time attempting to look like that "perfect" image. If this continues to happen, there is no telling what technology in the future can do to an image. I think there should be more documentaries like this, showing the falsified ads, pictures, videos. The raw images should be shown so that the growing generation doesn't feel the need to be something that they are not. It's time to get real in society.  

Blog Post 5 - Tiffany Holts

Psychoanalytic theory in the media focuses on the conscious and subconscious meanings behind why we do the things that we do. For example, someone can hate apples and not know that the reason they hate them is because they have a repressed memory from when they were little. Freud says there's an id, ego, and superego that come into play when analyzing the media. The Id is the most seen personality. The ego uses the conscious mind and everyday experiences to react to certain situations.  The superego is the internalized version of ourself.

For example:
The movie Save the Last Dance
The ID- Derek's friend who is very constant throughout the film. He pretty much goes with the flow.
The ego- This would be Sarah. She reacts on everyday situations and is pretty steady in what she wants to do in life. She wants to be a dancer.
The superego- Derek. He believes in something outside of where he lives and lets his unconscious mind do some of the thinking. He didn't realize that the reason he wanted to teach Sarah to keep dancing was based on his past life events.

Psychoanalytic analysis digs deeper into the reason that we do things and why we react to certain circumstances a certain way. We sometimes don't realize that the opinions we have come from the way we grew up or what we were taught. There are some pretty interesting facts on parent-kid relationships in the book. Although, it is weird to hear about it and we don't think that way, the analysis breaks down the way that psychoanalytic theory works.

Blog Post #4- Tiffany Holts

Marxism can be a tough subject to speak about because often times people can confuse it with history and previous marxist leaders. In the media-filled world, marxism does get more involved in the history and political view of things, but in a different way. For example, a TV show I was watching showcased two different types of housing where kids were living. One type was in a fancy neighborhood, a nice house. The other type of housing was not so great, dirty. When it comes to the marxist view of this situation while analyzing the show a few things come to mind. Political signification and the ideologies of different social classes are just a couple of those things. In this episode, a proper way to analyze this media would be to recognize how the creator has manipulated the episode. Did they want the person with less money to seem like the bad guy for the sake of the show? Or was it a reflection of his minds thoughts? Did he want us to think the bad guy was the one with less money? Marxists would analyze the way the media was manipulated to society.                                  Ideology is also a concept that coincides with a marxism media analysis. Some would argue that while exploring the media someones certain view has clouded the true facts of the media. It is very common for this to occur because of the collective unconscious of groups. A person may not even realize that they have fallen into this category. There could be plain and clear facts and they are completely disregarded. Overall, it is important to examine the media based on political and social views to truly create a well written media analysis. 

Blog Post 3- Tiffany Holts

                  This class has made me think about the reason behind small symbols and actions that the creator decided to make in their films. I used to watch a movie and think about the plot, but now I dig deeper into the costumes, lighting, symbols, and even the facial expressions of the characters. For example, when we watched the first TV show with the girl who was stuck in "storybook," I wasn't aware of the hidden symbols until we discussed them in a group in class. I was able to connect small details with the storyline. This passed week when we were watching the show on Netflix I paid more attention to the small details and examined how the episode, which was shot in the past, related to the present. Some of the ways that it related to now included the senior prank, the dangerous Halloween candy, and the typical "Christian" girl. The show emphasized the way some people actually think. The creators were able to keep the viewers engaged because they could simply relate. Although the show was silly, it was still interesting to some viewers, at least for the season it was played for. Overall, I am still learning how to efficiently analyze the media and look forward to my progression in this area. The semiotics paper also helped me become better at analyzing the media. I made sure to pick a show that interested me and replayed the same episode repeatedly to make sure I didn't miss a thing. It took a few times, but I was able to pick out the main symbols and analyze the media critically. Now, when I watch anything I pay attention to all of these things I did not before.

Blog Post 2- Tiffany Holts

Sherlock was a very interesting show to analyze. It was my first time watching it so being able to get together in a group and go over things that I did not catch the first time enabled me to create a better semiotic analysis. I noticed that there were a lot of symbols in the episode. One of those symbols was the cane that Mr. Watson uses. He clearly does not need the cane since in one scene he actually forgot it and got along fine. The cane represented his past and what he misses. The cane gives him the memory and feeling of the adventures he went through when he was in the military. Another symbol is Sherlocks extremely cluttered apartment. The set up of his apartment resembles the way that Sherlock's mind operates. It is all over the place trying to find answers. A few signifiers I noticed were obvious such as the position of the cameras to create different moods. When something was about to happen, the camera shifted. Another obvious signifier was Sherlock's jacket. As far as others, Sherlock had eyeballs in his apartment that created a better perception of the infamous Sherlock. An index that allowed us to get to the next scene was the missing suitcase. If he did not realize the suitcase was missing, then the taxi driver would not of been caught so soon. It was also interesting to connect the book to the show. There was an intertextuality in the episode. For example, Mrs. Watson was indeed the housekeeper in the book, yet in the modernized version of the book, she is the owner of the apartment, the exact opposite. Also, as the class stated, Sherlock smoked in the book, but in the show he is trying to quit. These differences we notice so far create a more engaged viewer. There is one paradigmatic analysis that I noticed and that was how Sherlocks brother is acting concerned, but the way that the show is directed it really looks like he is his enemy. It's hard to tell at the beginning but I am sure there are more clues in the next episode.

Blog Post 1- Tiffany Holts

This is the advertisement for Pantene and their hair products. After research, I discovered that Selena Gomez built up a sense of excitement for the release of this Pantene campaign. She released count downs to the release of her commercial to gather more viewers. The words " Strong is Beautiful" creates a connection between women and empowerment. The goal of the advertisement was of course to sell the product, but to do so using the emotional aspect of women and their strength. All over social media there are women who set out to bridge the gap between men and women. Pantene had Selena Gomez promote this ad all over social media where the majority of her followers are young teenage girls. Thus, the idea that the target audience is women. The literal statement is that if you buy these products, your hair will be strong and beautiful. The underlying message is that strong is beautiful. Even the way that she is posing in this photo, with her hands on her hips increases the message they are trying to send to its users. They also have her hair blowing to the side and a huge smile on her face. They are creating the idea that if you buy this product, you are a strong women. The overall emotion that the campaign is trying to share is happiness. Through encouraging words and the aesthetic view of this ad they are able to turn a promotion for a product into a more serious cause.