Reflection

Song for ya'll:) Heart of Me by Green River Ordinance

In this last blog post, I want to reflect on what I’ve learned throughout the Media Studies course. Coming into the class, I had never thought critically about news sources and the mediation of the news. I also did not regularly follow a daily newspaper, radio show, or a news television station. I signed up for Media Studies because I knew that media was something I really needed to focus on in order to gain a more well rounded understanding of the society in which I live. Media penetrates every part of our lives, from driving with the news on to showering and using branded shampoo bottles. Therefore it is critical to learn about the media’s formidable influence and the mediation techniques used to deliver information to the public. By taking Media Studies, I hoped to understand the news, advertisements, and American popular culture from a new, critical perspective.

During the first few weeks of class, I developed a new curiosity about the news, which I hope to continue growing throughout Senior spring, college, and my adult life. I’m the kind of person who gets easily caught up the current setting and situation. For instance, when I have essays to write, integrals to solve, and lab data to analyze, it’s too easy for me to slip into the closed PA world. Before taking Media Studies, I didn’t always keep up with the news and only learned about worldwide events through conversations with others. As a citizen, however, I must focus my attention inside and outside of my immediate surroundings. I must be more actively aware of global events in order to make better-informed decisions. I can’t let myself get sucked into a world shrunk to the size of PA, a college campus, or an office space. Regularly interacting with a news source is integral in expanding my perspective outside of the boundaries defined effortlessly by my current circumstances. It is also just as important that I interact with the news in responsible ways, meaning that I can’t believe everything I read, hear, or even see. Reading Manufacturing Consent and talking about the mediation of news in class has made me realize how complicated it is to interpret the news. Quick journalism tailored for an online newspaper that constantly updates its stories also degrades the quality of the news I read. For instance, in Manti Te’o’s case, the pieces of his story didn’t line up, yet reporters failed to sufficiently fact-check them. Among others, the influence of business and government as well as the demand for speedy news impacts the mediation of the news. These influences distort facts and make it difficult to peel back the layers of crummy journalism to find the nugget of truth underneath, assuming that it even exists.

            The representation of truth via advertisements is also something I’ve learned to think more critically about. Too frequently, advertisements propagate ideas and social constructions that are offensive and not acceptable. But the messages can be so subtle that the viewers don’t consciously realize that they are internalizing them. For instance, before we discussed the Super Bowl commercials in class, I’d watched the Audi commercial where a dad gives his teenage son the Audi for prom night. Since the boy doesn’t have a date, lending him the Audi is supposed to repair the son’s damaged masculinity. The car makes the boy bold and courageous. He strides into the prom, walks up behind the prom queen, and kisses her on the lips as she turns around. When I first saw the commercial, this entire scene did not surprise or offend me. I just thought it was interesting that Audi would center its Super Bowl ad around a teenager when most of its consumers were wealthy, middle-aged men. After discussing the ad critically, however, I felt offended and angry that the boy assertively smooched the prom queen. Moreover, I felt angry that when I first saw the commercial, I didn’t think twice about his disrespectful actions. If a guy I didn’t know walked up to me and kissed me, I would definitely be angry, and I don’t think anyone has the right to control who someone else kisses. The message the Audi commercial sends is that girls are fine with being swept away by guys in physical ways. Without critical thinking, repeatedly seeing messages like this desensitizes my ability to feel justly offended by them. I’ve learned to analyze commercials and not subconsciously internalize what I see as acceptable.

            Finally, I enjoyed examining why society idolizes celebrities. If news sources are supposed to give the citizenry the necessary information to make safe and smart decisions, why are celebrities newsworthy? Why did the Oscars receive constant news coverage and space above the fold in The New York Times? One answer to these questions rests in the glue of American society, consumerism. The glamorous gowns, private jets, and sleek cars of celebrities reflect the pinnacle of consumption back to the laypeople. Since the newspaper needs advertising revenue to continue hobbling along in the news industry, the stories that most people see (the ones above the fold) should ideally inspire consumption. The paper wants the celebrity photos to inspire people to purchase goods in hopes of attaining a life like the stars have. I also think people are obsessed with celebrities because they symbolize many societal values: wealth, physical attractiveness, and power. Because many people strive to attain these traits, they are obsessed with the misfortunes and successes of the stars that have already achieved the goal. Celebrities seem rationally silly, but they are important to us because news sources emphasize them and because they, in myriad way, embody many people’s aspirations.

            Without critical thinking, the media becomes a controlling and manipulating force. Understanding how to approach various branches of the media, including The New York Times, Super Bowl ads, and celebrity culture, is essential for controlling the influence of media on my life.

Female Virtue as Written by Bic

 Here's a song in case you need a break. I rediscovered it while studying reggaetón in Spanish class. Lovumba by Daddy Yankee

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                                  For our final project, JJ and I have decided to analyze the meaning of virtue through advertisement. We are specifically studying how commercials represent virtue differently for men and women. So far, we’ve gathered a plethora of advertisements- some of which people wouldn’t normally think twice about and some of which are blatantly offensive - to form the foundation of our study.

            Up until this point, I’ve looked up the advertisements that show how society defines virtue in women and JJ has focused on those that display male virtue. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines virtue as “conformity to a standard of right: morality” and as “a particular moral excellence.” Most people want to fit in with society and find their niche within the boundaries of predominant ideologies and social constructs. Obviously, everyone is different and people need to feel distinguished as individuals, but there is always a strong, inevitable pull for people to line up their beliefs and actions with society’s ideals. Since virtue is, as Webster says, conformity to a moral standard or excellence, many people strive to be virtuous in the eyes of society; virtuous acts and characteristics align with societal norms.

Advertisements reflect social norms by showing people what’s cool, acceptable, and ideal in a given society. They employ this strategy to convince people to spend money in order to fit into society. In other words, watching an advertisement is like sampling a smoothie at the ridiculously expensive but yummy smoothie shop in Quincy Market. The smoothie is a mix of blended up fruits, juices, and yogurts, but it has its own predominant taste- its own unique flavor. In the same way, American society is a blend of many ideologies, beliefs, and opinions, and these ingredients combine to form an overall flavor- the American mainstream culture. Advertisements capture the ideologies of mainstream culture and reflect them back to people as virtues.

For Her pens by Bic

Given that advertisements show societal definitions of virtue, the role of women in many advertisements is disturbing. For instance, in a Bic Pen commercial, a helpless tween girl anxiously asks the nearly empty halls of her middle school, “Does anybody have a pen?” The girl is classically white and girly with light skin, blonde hair, and a ruffled pink shirt and backpack. After she asks for a pen, five boys hurry over and offer her their blue and black writing implements. She rejects all of them. Sudden, however, the Bic Boy (a person dressed up as the iconic Bic figure) offers her a pink pen decorated with hearts and swirls. She excitedly accepts it, and the Bic Boy puts his arms on his hips, greatly satisfied that he won the girl’s favor. The schoolboys stand around Bic Boy in awe admiring that he just scored. Then the line of Bic’s “For Her” pens appears in the ad, and each has pink or purple color. The male announcer’s voice says, “With its fabulous styling and smooth writing, Bic For Her is the only choice.” The ad closes with the girl pecking Bic Boy on the cheek in gratitude for her super-duper pink pen.

At first glance, this commercial is simply cheesy, but how does it participate in defining virtue for females? First, the protagonist is a girl in need of rescue. When she calls for help, a flock of boys come to try to save her. This aspect of the commercial tells people that society expects girls to wait for boys’ help instead of solving problem independently. The girl’s physical appearance and clothes also immediately display the societal ideal of whiteness and un-challenged conformity to female stereotypes, like wearing pink. Then Bic Boy comes to the rescue, and the girl accepts the pink “For Her” pen he offers because of its “fabulous styling and smooth writing.” The language of this slogan tells the audience that the pen embodies ideals about what a woman should be: stylish and attractive as well as smooth, unflawed, and un-confrontational. Finally, the girl kisses Bic Boy to express her gratitude, which demonstrates that society values the girl more as a sexual entity more than a sincere, thinking human being. Simply saying thanks was not enough to show real gratitude because girl’s value comes from her physical attractiveness, not from her thoughts. If thoughts mattered most, expressing her gratitude with words alone would have been sufficient. This Bic commercial defines female virtue as helpless, docile, and obsequious.

Approaching this advertisement through Klein’s perspective, it is valid to argue that advertisements create the brand of woman. Klein defines a brand as “an attitude, a set of values, a way of life, a look, and an idea.” Even as advertisements create brands for products, they construct the brand of females. Commercials like the Bic Pen one abound. Some subtly and others blatantly define the female “way of life,” “set of values,” and virtue thereby branding what it means to be a girl or woman in our society. Should people, the beings that invented brands, be subjected to their stifling definitions along with products like pink Bic Pens?

Andover's Fashion

        I saved this blog post for Friday evening for one reason: the West Quad North Charity Fashion Show. Every year, the Phillips Academy students transform from Calculus and Latin nerds into designers and chic models. All of this designing and strutting down the runway is supposedly done in the name of charity, but is it really? Do people participate in the fashion show because it is a charity event, or because they want to to show some and some funky clothing? And do people attend to cheer on their friends or to watch people clad in more risque clothing than usual?
        From my experience tonight, I have to say that the fashion show is really not an event geared toward supporting the charity. Yes, the money earned from purchasing the $5 entrance tickets goes to a therapy horse back riding center in New Hampshire, but the charity part of the show is not stressed. The announcer informed the audience about the cause that the money would support, but that was the only time during the show that the cause was mentioned. The rest of the show featured about thirty girls and two boys strutting, and in some cases wobbling, down the runway in uniquely designed clothing. Even though there was a huge screen projecting the designers' names and the name of their clothing line, that screen advertised nothing about the horse back riding therapy organization. Furthermore, nobody spoke to the audience about ways to get involved with the cause of the benefiting organization. Nobody stressed the importance of serving others besides telling everyone where the funds would go in the show's initial speech. I agree that the event was a benefit fashion show, but I think it's a stretch to call it a full blow charity event.
        I was actually a model in the fashion show tonight, and while getting ready back stage, I heard a  few comments that really surprised me. Not everyone was focusing on being skinny and beautiful by that narrow (literally haha) definition, but there were definitely a few who were. While we waited in line to go on stage, one of the participants said, "When you stand with your feet together, your legs shouldn't touch at the top of you thighs." The person said this as if it should be the goal of every girl to eat and work out in such a way that her legs wouldn't touch. Skinniness was the definition of what made a girl beautiful and valuable in the fashion show, at least for this person. What he or she said reminded me of Baudrillard's idea of sign value. For some people at Phillips Academy, skinninness = beuaty = worth. The person is objectified and judged based on that idea of sign value. So do people participate in the fashion show to display their value, as defined by Baudrillard, in front of a crowd, or do they do it for the charity purposes? In my opinion, based on the comments I heard and the amount of advertising for the charity, the fashion show actually exemplifies Baudrillard's idea of female sign value.