Goodbye 4250

I always think it is important at the end of the semester to assess what I have learned from a class. Here are a few key points I will take with me.
1) stereotyping people in the media with race, class, and gender has always been an issue, and it doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon.
2) TV commercials are loaded with sexual innuendo, no matter what product is being marketed....and I will never be able to look at them the same after this class!
3) while we rely on the media as our most trusted news source-it is almost impossible to get an unbiased story with nothing but straight facts.
4) Most importantly-It is up to my generation to raise a media-conscious family.

I really enjoyed this class and I think that I have learned some valuable information that I can take with me into my career in the future.

Happy Holidays!

Link

Oops...Here is the link to the last post....

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/12/10/face.book/index.html

Here's a good one

I was looking at the CNN website today, as it is a trusted news source for all Americans, generally reporting on pertinent global information, right? Well, today one of the headlining stories read "Young women drink, party, post" in reference to college girls 'gone wild' on facebook. It reports that facebook is a conglomerate of young college-age girls partying all night, then taking drunken pictures of themselves and posting them on the site. As if girls our age dont already get a bad rap for partying--let's post it on CNN!! I am no stranger to facebook, nor will I lie and say I dont have an over-abundance of 'photo albums' full of 'party pics' and witty taglines, so I really dont see the harm in posting funny pictures of you and your friends on your webpage. But after reading this article, I now realize that apparently it is funny to post pictures of girls throwing up, passing out, or urinating in public (how classy!) In the article one girl talks about the issues news coverage--she says something along the lines of-when girls party they are out of control, but when college age guys drink, well they are just being boys! This is another example of how the media uses gender and stereotyping to cover a story! Just a word to the wise-on nights of binge drinking and party-fouls, leave the cameras at home ladies!!

TV advertising

After discussing the controversy going on between Dove and Axe (even though they are owned by the same company) I started thinking more about the way women are portrayed in TV commercials. One of my favorites is the new Virgin Mobile commercial. In an effort to market low rates, loads of minutes, and unlimited text messaging, it encourages sex in the work place! The two actors use their handy virgin mobile phones to send 'meet me in the break room-15 minutes' to each other!! Classy right? Lets go back a couple years-remember the Budweiser commercials-girls mud wrestling- realistic right? How about the car (i think its Infinity?) commercial where Grey's Anatomy actress Kate Walsh is seductively driving her expensive sports car with the tag line "the question is-when you turn you car on, does it return the favor?" At least in this one she appears to be the 'powerful' female stereotype. Women are splashed all over every form of media as sex symbols-especially in TV advertising. Hott women sell products better I guess! The National Organization for Women are outraged about ads like these, especially beer ads and commercials aired during the SuperBowl- claiming these ads 'exploit, ridicule, of sideline women."

http://www.now.org/nnt/spring-2003/superbowl.html

Sex and Fashion

For my final project, I decided to analyze full page fashion ads in three issues of Cosmopolitan Magazine. I guess before this class I was sort of imune to the "sex" oozing out of every major fashion. I mean, I even found a sexy Old Navy ad for crying out loud! It seems that every fashion label, whether it be haute couture or average, mass-produced brands-everyone is using sex to market their products. Who knew things like jeans and perfume could be so seductive right? Most of the ads I pulled featured a single female model, but a couple were men and women together. Nothing new-girl looking provacotively into boys eyes, boy kisses girl- blah blah blah. In every ad, even though the products being marketed are generally geared towards women, they appeal to the sexual appetite of the male audience. The model in the ad is tall, thing, attractive, partially dressed, gazing into the readers eye with that classic 'come hither' look. Same old, same old...Im bored. I would love to see some kind of ad that really grabbed my attention and made me want to buy the product!! But if there is one thing I have learned in this class: Sex sells.