Media Blog Reflection

     My understanding of the media has drastically changed since we began writing these media blogs.  Sure, I knew to some extent that it is a source that feeds us information and influences our decisions.  However, the effect that the media has on all of us goes much deeper than just another thing that influences us.

     People created the media as a way to gain more control over whats happening in our lives, however in reality it is the media that is controlling us.  Merchant's of Cool shed light on the fact that it is not so simple as "the media influences us".  The situation is more like asking "what came first, the chicken or the egg?" in the sense that people and especially teenagers create the foundation of marketing and shape their next move.  In attempts to stay ahead of the game, marketers attempt to sell us the things that we don't know we want.  This feedback loop ensures a solid symbiosis between marketer and the marketed.
     This source exposes us to all sorts of advertising all day and everyday that we think we ignore.  After watching Miss Representation, I've learned that this is not the case and that we, girls in particular, absorb these images that contribute to what we think we should ideally look like.  This documentary has also made me more aware of how much everyone is concerned with a woman's appearances rather than her ability in a high position.
     I've gained awareness of much of the media surrounding me in everyday life after studying marketing techniques.  Mostly when watching TV I can pick out needs or techniques and end up degrading what brand experience they are trying to sell me.  While it is somewhat annoying to be constantly analyzing what's around me without meaning to, it's also nice to be aware that these products aren't actually going to improve the "quality of my life".  I don't think the amount of media I consume will alter all too much because it has been an integral part of our lives at this point.  Despite feeling this way, I also think its important that everyone understands that marketing degrades our confidence in who we are by saying that we are lacking in some way.  By avoiding the creation of such intense love marks, we can shop and consume media safely.
   

YouTube and Marketing

     Youtube is perhaps one of the most well known social networking sites out there.  This site opens up our perspective to the millions of other people out there and all different kinds of places around the world.  When we need a tutorial on how to do something, want to catch up on news quickly, or simply want to enjoy  entertainment, many people turn to this media source to fulfill their needs since it is easy to access and doesn't cost anything However, I understand now marketing has implemented itself on this platform like it has with many other social media sites.

     Youtube includes ads at the beginning of the majority of their videos and if the channel is popular enough and makes money for posting videos, advertisements may appear more than once throughout a singular video.  As annoying as these ads are, they are effective since they are short enough to sit through and still get the point across.  This ensures that marketers get their products publicity without jeopardizing the views of the video.

     Some channels also end up marketing the stereotype of the midriff presented by Frontline's Merchants of Cool in order to grasp the attention of potential viewers.  This can be done by making the thumbnail a picture of a really hot girl and pairing it with some scandalous title.  This clickbait perpetuates the stereotypes created by the media and creates an unhealthy image of women. 

Miss Representation

       "You are treated just the same as your cousins" are the words I grew up listening to with the majority of my relatives being male.  I was always taught that girls and boys are equal and that one is not superior to the other.  However as we get older, I think one of the first things young girls realize is the difference in physical capability.  "You throw like a girl".  The typical phrase we hear that emasculates men and puts down women.  Miss Representation has taught me that it is the influence of phrases like these that teach girls and boys at a young age that women are inferior to men.  This sets the stage for the dehumanization of women.

       These Burger King ads are a classic example of how advertisers use the need for sex to grasp the attention of men as the target market.  They implicitly state that if you go to burger king, women will flock to you because right now you cannot attract women.  However, this also tells girls that this is how they should look and further sexualizes women in the eyes of men.  Miss Representation explained that it was the lack of restriction on advertisements like these that contributes to the increase of violence in rape culture today.  I don't think this is a healthy environment kids to grow up in and ads like these aren't very reassuring when considering how much they absorb from the media.

New Year's Resolutions

       The New Year brings the determination to change and improve ourselves from the previous year. How many people do you know that actually carry out their New Year's Resolution? Now, I'm not saying they need to stick to this goal every single day for a year, but can they get back up and keep going even if they have gotten off track?  More than likely we mostly see people starting off ambitious but that determination often dies the moment we get off track.  Is this actually our lack of determination in the long run? Personally I think a lot of it has to do with how New Year's Resolutions are represented in the media.
   
       Right around the time of the approaching new year, the topic of resolutions dominates the stories on many social media sites.  I was exposed mostly to those on the "Discover" page on Snapchat that features mini article from companies such as Cosmopolitan, People, Buzzfeed, and Daily Mail.  However, I noticed a common pattern among these articles.  They all went along the lines of being really confident in our resolutions on the first day, and then on the day after, we would ditch these changes.  I think because these companies have already created love marks in thousands of people and have established themselves as "cool", many of us absorb this "lazy" stereotype of young people without being tentative enough.  In attempts to become this common stereotype, many of us have taken on the challenge of a resolution just to fail purposely.

Merchants of Cool,

     Marketers have one goal. That is to get us, the consumer to buy their products. In the documentary Merchants of Cool, it is stated that the largest market targeted is teenagers.  As a group devoted to being rebellious and different, simplistic marketing don't seem to affect teens.  This is likely because they see the products as "basic" or "mainstream" and to buy them would contradict the "rebellious and different" act.  Marketers instead had to in a way, gain their respect in order to get them to buy their product.  Today, brands have disguised their advertising by adding to the young culture, rather than being seen as another ad.

     
       Nike's line of Michael Jordan's have successfully broken through the "clutter" of the rest of the advertising world and has instead become part of the teenage culture.  By associating their shoes with the famous basketball player, the teenage market is under the impression that by wearing Jordan's, you will become Jordan.  Even in the advertisement above,"gotta be the shoes"shows that people believe that it is the shoes that give Jordan his skill.  This assumption is what has enabled Nike to further their company's respect among teens.  This positive connotation with the shoe brand has also created a love mark within the teenage community that is respected and earned the title of "cool".

Doctors vs. Insurers---Who Do You Trust With Your Health?

http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/not-what-the-doctor-ordered-2/
Recently I had my knee operated on to repair my torn ACL and meniscus.  To anyone who hasn't had a major surgery, the process is a lot longer than it seems and doesn't just happen overnight.  By far one of the biggest hurdles to jump over was getting the surgery approved by my health insurance company.  I would have never been aware of the battle between doctors and insurance companies if my surgeon had not expressed his concern for the issue himself.

He, along with this article I found said that insurance companies are given the authority to tell us, the patients, whether or not they will pay for proper care.  What experience do they have in the medical field? Sure, they might have advisors that inform them of the severity of the patient's condition, but wouldn't it make more sense for the doctor to call the shots on what their patient needs or doesn't need?  Personally, I don't think this is ethical to have the opinions of a medical specialist placed under the opinions of an insurance company.  I would assume that if they used the Role Exchange Test, insurance companies would trust their doctor's professional opinion.  While I was lucky enough to get the surgery partially covered, others with more important procedures that are life threatening are paying their lives away to survive.

The Old Spice Man

Old Spice is notorious for having ridiculous commercials that initially don't make to much sense.  The marketers at Old Spice take the Gestalt route in order to capture the audience's attention.  Because of this odd approach on advertising, I almost enjoy watching these commercials since they come off more as entertainment.  The movement of the camera makes it seem like you are in the commercial with the Old Spice man and creates the illusion that he is talking to you.  Overall, this connects with the audience on a personal level so that it no longer seems like a product is being sold, but that a friend is suggesting a a product for you.

At first, it seems like the commercial targets only women who want their boyfriends /husbands /brothers/uncles/etc. to smell better, since he begins the commercial with, "Hello ladies," and continues on by saying, "Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me."  However, when looking deeper into the second statement, we can see that the marketers are emasculating male viewers by saying that your man is using a "ladies scented body wash".  The marketer's intention is to prompt men to use this product in order to not smell like a lady.  So in essence, this is a male product marketed to women with men in their lives but in-between the lines also addressing those men.  This odd target market can also play to the Gestalt advertising technique.

Who Are We in Social Media?

How many of our social media accounts accurately portray who we are?  Sites like Instagram use pictures as a primary source of attention grabbing.  This is where many of us construct the version of ourselves we want others to see.  However especially with online dating, the profile picture is our initial impression of who someone is and what they are like, despite the fact that we may have never met them before.  After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Chances are, that photo has positive connotations that lead us to have positive assumptions about this person.  These positive images can be in the form of bright lighting, using props such as kittens, or even something as simple as a smile that can trick us into thinking this person is a happy innocent cat lover.  In this way, people are marketing themselves by using glittering generalities.  By only including what we feel highlights the best of our personality, we get others to see us in a positive light.

This works the other way around as well, since how we make conclusions in unique to our past experiences.  By applying previous knowing based on the information given to us, making generalizations about a person is even easier.  Using the same example with the cat, some people might have had bad experiences with cats and may lead them to have negative feelings for someone who enjoys being around cats.

Since most people use a profile picture, we are highly dependent on another's appearance to form our opinions.  This is a fallacy because the viewer is not acknowledging all of the facts about this person, yet they make a conclusion based on what they think they know about them from a picture.  By using this definition, social media perpetuates us to have "hasty generalizations" about people who we might not know at all.