Arguably, the award for most controversial ad
this year goes to Subway. The franchise’ Halloween ad for 2014 succeeded in polarizing
their audience. It featured a young lady wishing to keep her waist slim to fit
into her various costumes, all of which were portrayed as sultry in nature. She
accomplished this goal all by eating Subway. This, of course, is meant to show
that if young women eat subway they will be slim and seductive in their
costumes as well. Many people loved this ad simply for its holiday themed nature.
Many others though condemned it for what they viewed as sexist connotations.
Images like this bombard us every time we turn on our televisions. Products
continually convey the idea that by using whatever it is, women will become
more beautiful and feminine and men will become more handsome and manly.
For the last century women have had
to live up to the expectations put upon them by the media. Throughout history
when we think about women in society we think of small and thin. Today's
current portrayal of women stereotypes the feminine sex as being everything
that most women are not. Because of this depiction, the mentality of women
today is to be thin and to look a certain way. There are many challenges with
women wanting to be a certain size, one of them being mental unrest when they
cannot meet society’s expectations. Female stereotypes in the media tend to
undervalue women as a whole, and diminish them to sexual objects and passive human
beings. Magazine ads show a dismembered female body, with parts, instead of the
whole which turns women into objects. Many classic movies that we show to our
children depict slender, unrealistically curvaceous, and quite vulnerable young
women, who are dependent on male figures for strength and survival, not their
own sense of empowerment. Media stereotyping of women as objects and helpless
beings creates very low expectations for society's girls. When a woman is in a
position of power, such as the rare female boss portrayed in the media, she
tends to be a cold-harted , detached career woman with sociopathic tendencies.
This sends the message that a powerful woman sacrifices a healthy relationship,
family, and possibly even her sanity to be extremely successful at her career.
For the young girl who dreams to run a company, or become a famous journalist,
astronaut, or scientist, the media does not provide enough models for her to
look to for encouragement and inspiration.
One "sexy" girl being submissive to the group of "manly" men that dominate the image. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZRv-5yJpokoQfod5YYhR3_224yHRMATdtHdeutIec3BNdWXsmJNdCxksITbAePbnJfYAK6oyqTCc5QDEXqBw55XeRzyBTEv-2wkc-LhR1Qu6RgoBz26I1rFMl-VIQmvnOuabJLiHldpo/s320/Dolce-Gabbana-Ad-Sexist.jpg
A cologne ad for men, with a skinny naked women. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_DPiUviYhBIInCkqYxbQ4mKKq01QDR72uCL0arPcivWflTkFJUq3G-pd7vt-z7KhmCGxeYQX9jS6uOa_EK2U3YzAOIwduBs47mLafhEY4dHv160WCM1all1W1z1KLSxjGv1aePBdQ80/s1600/Kate-Moss-Obsession.jpg
Men are often the forgotten gender
when it comes to stereotypes but they are no less affected. The commercials of
today show many different products that give the male consumer the image of
being more attractive to the opposite sex should they be purchased and used. The
iconic male stereotype is the provider and strong backbone of the family. The
image of strength has not changed much in the thousands of years since its
formation. There is always going to be pressure put on a man to provide for his
family, but media has not done anything to ease the struggle. Images pollute
the stations that scream out “real” men drive this car, dress in these clothes,
or make this much money. Just like the pressure women feel to measure up to the
impossible ideal form shown to them, men feel pressure to have the bulging
muscles and fit physique of the male models that women everywhere fawn over.
The pressure put upon the male gender is not given the attention it deserves in
the media, but it is no less detrimental to the mental health of our society
than the images of a stick thin woman modeling in a bathing suit.
Extremely skinny women in a "I Love My Body" ad http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/garycope/426196222/1/tumblr_kyqmv7DT831qzqfg2
Although people are aware of the
danger of these grossly in-achievable stereotypes, they tend to be conformists
and would rather submit to the dominant patterns than oppose them and risk the
backlash from others in reaction to these opinions. Though there is hope to
change the current standards of the world. If we become aware of the
stereotypes and teach our children to recognize such depictions, perhaps we can
change the population into informed viewers instead of manipulated and
mechanical consumers. Moreover, the commercials evolve along with the
development of a society and are the answer to many social and political
changes. If we as a society stand up and require the media to change their
portrayal of both men and women they will, their bottom line will require it.
However, in order for this change to take place the world must be ready for it.
In recent years there has been more and more social unrest over the what is
shown to us by the media. Conversely, the negative images have also gotten more
extreme with each commercial shown and each magazine issue released. The world
is polarized with one side calling for a change and the other enabling the
spread of false expectations. It is time for the public to pick one of these
sides.
Beautiful but a bit more naturalistic looking woman. http://rachellljordan.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/1782_pov_s_un_dove_gofresh.jpg
Depicting women that are not idealistic but actually love their body and are not afraid to show it. http://luckyattitude.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/dove-daring-branding.jpg
More empowering http://blogs.uoregon.edu/j350campaignforrealbeauty/files/2013/06/dove_1-1rifawb.jpg
Old Television set http://www.technologyheat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/818cshutterstock_113897983-400x324.jpg
Television is arguably the greatest invention of the 20th century if not the most influential. In the late 1940’s through the 1950’s television became a household staple. The whole family would gather around the earliest television sets and watch Howdy Doody and CBS News. If you were lucky enough to have a one of those T.V.’s you were the envy of the neighborhood. Television brought the family together to look in awe at the moving depictions of the happenings of the world. After World War II television sets became a highly popular consumer product, and the addition of color to broadcast television after 1953 increased the popularity of television sets even further.
Technology has shaped everything in the modern world, television being no exception. Those early televisions would be hardly recognizable to the center pieces of the living rooms of today. The original innovators of the television set could never have imagined the advances modern technology has made to their devices. In the early days there were two or three channels tops where as now we are swimming in options to tune into next. The 1980’s introduced television accessories such as the VCR and gaming consoles like the Nintendo. Three decades later we have seen these evolve into the Blu-ray players and Xboxes of today. We take for granted now that it was not always so easy to watch the latest movies. With the addition of concepts such as AppleTV and GoogleTV, the TV and computer have merged into one device. The introduction of smart phones has reduced the need for television sets at all, since streaming directly to the handheld device is gaining increasing popularity.
Scene from The popular 1947 Howdy Doody show http://midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/The-Howdy-Doody-Program.jpg
The programming that has come into our homes these past 64 years has vastly changed over the years. In the beginning there were three major broadcasting entities that are still around today: NBC, CBS, and ABC. The main focus of the programming in the 50s and 60s were to make viewers laugh with shows that were an exaggeration of what happened at home as well as the original variety show, The Tonight Show. These original shows are the grandparents of the many shows that we have today including drama series, sports programming, cartoons, soap operas, etc. Technology has molded the programming in the sense that the advances in filming techniques and computer generated technology has allowed for the visions of even the wildest imaginations to come to life.
Television is just one of the areas technology has advanced. Like so many other things, however, it came at a price. Watching television is no longer the event that brings a family together to watch the events of the day. A snowball effect started long ago that makes television the background noise of our lives. Instead of bringing people together it is more of a distraction from each other. People focus on the programs behind the screen instead of the life in front of it.
The progression of how we view TV programming. http://blog.mipworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Capture-d%E2%80%99%C3%A9cran-2012-02-13-%C3%A0-16.54.03.png
The music industry is a multi-billion dollar entity that is, in fact, not about music at all. Through a massive effort of promoting, styling, and strategic planning anyone that is chosen can become a celebrity. Media is at the core of what makes these artists a super star. When promoting a fresh faced newcomer in the music scene it is standard practice to put a plan of action in place that includes appearances with established artists, social media campaigns, and creating an image that makes them attractive to the population. They saturate the internet with the product they are selling, and make no mistake these people are products. What decides who gets to be these new superstars though? What lies behind the makeup and designer clothes?
Lindsey Stirling Dancing and Playing the Violin
Lindsey Stirling First Album Released 2010 http://www.lindseystirling.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Screen-Shot-2013-04-22-at-4.27.12-PM.png
Shatter Me Album Released 2014 http://www.lindseystirling.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/LindseyStirling_ShatterMe_itunes.jpg
There are artists that have a raw and untouchable talent, but unless they fit what is considered beautiful and marketable they are mostly ignored by the industry. Lindsey Stirling is a prime example of this fact. Stirling is a violinist, dancer, performance artist, and composer. She presents choreographed violin performances, both live and in music videos found on her YouTube channel. In 2010 Stirling made it all the way to the quarter finals on season five of America's Got Talent, where she was dubbed the "hip hop violinist." Stirling's performances were well received by both the judges and audience but after her attempt to step up the dance level in her quarter-final performance, judge Piers Morgan told her, "You're not untalented, but you're not good enough to get away with flying through the air and trying to play the violin at the same time.” Stirling has said on many occasions that she was devastated by the reaction and subsequent elimination from the competition but decided to continue to embrace her unique style of performance and through self promotion on the internet has been able to release two successful albums and embark on two world tours. In a 2012 interview she stated, "A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do is unmarketable. But the only reason I'm successful is because I have stayed true to myself."
It’s a no brainer that the voices of Beyonce and Christina Aguilera are some of the most recognizable and powerful in the business. Their talent cannot be denied but why were these two plucked from the population of talented individuals to be shaped and molded into superstars. They answer is simple. The people in charge saw something that they could market. In these two specific cases the talent was there and just happened to come in marketable forms. More often than not the talent is not there and the lack of is hidden behind a smoke screen of glitz and glamour. Comparing Stirling to the major players of the music industry, it’s very easy to see the differences in appearances and marketability. The ones that have hundreds or thousands of dollars promoting them all fit in to basically the same category as far as appearance and demeanor, while Stirling is quirky and a self titled “nerd.” Beyond these superficial differences are ones that go all the way down to the product they are selling, the music. When looking at Stirling’s YouTube page, it becomes apparently clear in about two seconds that this kid is just talented, and seeing her live drives home the fact that there is no gimmick. How is it then that she was over looked by the industry, when there are certain acts on the Billboard 100 right now that can’t stay on the right pitch without auto tune? It comes down to a the politics of who the voices of the industry think will be the most profitable.
2014 Shatter Me Tour http://www.lindseystirling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/tour.jpg
The music industry is not different than any other business in the sense that it is all about marketing. It comes down to how many people will enjoy looking at them, instead of listening to them. This business is not so much about talent as it is selling a product, and the first thing anyone sees on a product is the packaging.
News of the World Newspaper Headline http://carycitizen.com/2011/07/17/editorial-the-long-sad-decline-of-journalism/
"Americans were the world's preeminent newspaper-reading people, with by far the largest per capita circulation of any country" (McPherson 48)
Print journalism was once at the forefront of society. Even
dating back to the Civil War in 1862, the newspaper was the driving force of
public opinion, often exaggerating victories and downplaying defeats. All major
cities had a paperboy on every corner selling the most up to date headlines, as
well as rural areas employing the youth to deliver daily news before breakfast.
In James McPherson’s Crossroads of
Freedom Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes is quoted as saying, “We must have
something to eat and the papers to read. Everything else we can do without . .
. . . . Only bread and newspaper we must have.” That is not the case anymore.
The charm of getting today’s news tomorrow is no longer plausible. Release of
information is instantaneous and with today’s fast paced society, no one wants
to wait the next day to hear what is going on. With the release of new handheld
technology every few months, news stories break in a matter of minutes instead
of days. Every major news station has an app that delivers news to your
handheld device. The newspapers of the world are now relegated to a forgotten
corner of the supermarkets. Radio is used to boost the newest singers ratings
instead of informing citizens of what is going on. Journalism, in its most traditional sense of print
media, is dying.
Social Media as citizen journalism
Journalism as we know it is on a steady declining trend. In
todays society, not just nationally but globally, people are relying more on
alternative means of receiving the latest in current events. All over Twitter,
Facebook, and other social media sites, individuals can find out about anything
happening around the world.
With the rise in "smartphone" technology,
most major news outlets and all social media sites are right at ones fingertips
with the increase in app developments and constant updates. You do not even
have to actively try to keep yourself informed with the goings on of the world
because those very same apps will send a notification to your phone or tablet
when something note worthy happens.
Journalism has failed to evolve in a manner that keeps print
media a relevant source for news in the modern age. If anyone walks into a
store they will find the checkouts saturated with magazines. They are not, however, filled with current
world news. They are filled cover to cover with images of the most current
celebrities and their antics. The likes of The
National Enquirer and People magazine
ensure that current readers occupy their time and money reading of who wore it
best instead of recent events. Unlike these entertainment magazines, the
newspapers are hidden in little corners of the stores. They are bought mainly
for the Sunday coupons than as a source of news. If someone wants to know the
latest in current events they can turn on a TV or bring up a search engine to
research their topic. Print media has become obsolete because the companies
have not found a way for print media to compete with their electronic
counterparts. How can something that takes hours to print compete with
something that merely takes the time to type and upload.
Comparison graph showing trust vs. no trust http://www.gallup.com/poll/1663/Media-Use-Evaluation.aspx
Nielsen TV Research on Cable TV Viewership http://www.journalism.org/2014/03/26/state-of-the-news-media-2014-key-indicators-in-media-and-news/
Graph showing the decline in news magazine sales. http://www.journalism.org/2014/03/26/state-of-the-news-media-2014-key-indicators-in-media-and-news/
Continual decrease in newspaper sales 2010 (Canada, USA, Great Britain)
Statistics about Print Media http://www.mergeagency.com/digital-marketing/death-of-print-media
Short Film poster for Pixar's first short-film (1986). http://www.shortfilmposters.com/1986/luxo_jr.html
This famous architect's lamp is the creation of, Chief Executive officer, John Lasseter. Quickly becoming the face of a common household name, Pixar. As Anthony Lane, writes it in The New Yorker magazine article, "The Fun Factory: Life at Pixar",
There was a time when movie fans would thrill to Warner Bros., for the sake of Jimmy Cagney, or to M-G-M, for musicals; but who now would go to a picture because it was made by Universal, or Twentieth Century Fox? Most of us, as we leave the theater, can no more remember which company produced the film we just saw than we could tell you who manufactured the hand dryer in the men’s room. The exception is Pixar, the only studio whose products people actively seek out. Everyone knows Pixar.
Company Overview
American film studio: CGI animation and Motion Pictures • Subsidiary company of The Walt Disney Company since 2006 • Headquarters: Emeryville, California • Competitors: Viacom’s DreamWorks SKG and Paramount Pictures, Fox Entertainment, and Time Warner’s Warner Bros. Entertainment • Approximately 1,200 employees • Opened an offsite campus in Vancouver, Canada for 3 yrs. Then shut down to focus operations at one location Co-founders: Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith • Didn’t go public until the November 29, 1995 after the release of Toy Story. • Ed Catmull, President – Ran company for 10 yrs. before Steve Jobs claimed the role as CEO • Alvy Ray Smith, V.P until 1991 – Quit after being bullied by Jobs. – John Lasseter took his position • Steve Jobs is now listed as a co-founder although that information is incorrect Currently: • Ed Catmull, President of Walt Disney & Pixar animation studios• John Lasseter, former director at Pixar, Chief Creative Officer for Walt Disney & Pixar animation studios – Principal Creative Advisor for Disney Imagineering
Facts
Initially, Pixar was a high-end computer hardware company whose core product was the Pixar Image Computer • 15 Short-films since 1986 – LAVA set to release 6.19.15 along with feature film #15 • 14 Feature-films since 1995 – #15 Inside Out 6.19.15 – #16 The Good Dinosaur 11.25.15 – #17 Finding Dory 6.17.16 • All 14 feature films have taken the #1 spot in the box office • 30 Academy Awards • 8 Golden Globes • Grossed $7.8 billion in the global box office since 1995 (Toy Story- Monsters University) • Bought by Disney for $7.4 billion in 2006
A brief history
In 1979, the screenplay writer, better known for the Star Wars films, George Lucas recruited Dr. Ed Catmull and his team including Alvy Ray Smith, from NYIT, to head the computer division at Lucasfilm Ltd.. At this time Catmull and his group were "charged with developing state-of-the-art computer technology for the film industry" (Pixar). Soon after in 1983, John Lasseter, former employee of the Disney Animation Studio (Lasseter was fired from Disney after expressing a strong interest in developing computer animated films) was invited to join the graphics group over at Lucasfilm Ltd.. In 1984, Lasseter would become a full-time employee as an interface designer producing the short film, The Adventures of Andre & Wally B.with help of Alvy Ray Smith. On February 3rd, 1986, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc., made a $10 million investment in the Lucasfilom Ltd. Computer Graphics Division writing his first check out to "Pixar Inc." and the founders Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith. $5 million dollars would allow Pixar to use the software they had developed at Lucasfilm Ltd. The other $5 million dollars would be used to run the company as an independent entity.
Check signed by Steve Jobs to Pixar Inc
Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith were co-founders of the Lucasfilm Ltd. spinoff company. During their first year, Lasseter directs and successfully develops the first short-film produced by Pixar, Luxo Jr. airing at SIGGRAPH in August of that year. Luxo Jr. will be the first 3-D computer animated film to be nominated for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar. 1987 - 1989 three more short films were created and released: Red's Dream, Tin Toy, and Knick Knack. Tin Toy from 1988 will be the first computer animated film to win an Academy Award in Best Animated Short Film. In 1989, Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton join the company, making the employee count a mere 46 individuals. Also, in 1989 Pixar began making commercials for Listerine, Lifesavers and Tropicana, which would add to their growing list of successes; they won the CLIO Award twice.
In 1991, Disney Animation Studios and Pixar "announce an agreement to make and distribute at least one computer-generated animated movie" (Pixar). A $26 million dollar deal that neither company would have thought to be their saving grace. Pixar was struggling financially and Disney was at a standstill with the quality of the films. In the agreement between the two companies, Disney would handle production and promotional costs while Pixar took care of the content and animation aiming to produce a "quality" film. this agreement will later be amended, permitting Pixar to produce three more quality films.
Despite their successes, the company still struggled to make ends meet.
In 1994 they reported a loss of $2.4 million. Pixar did not report a
profit until 1995 after the successful release of Toy Story. Toy Story
1st computer animated film – Created solely through computer graphics – Directed by John Lasseter • $30 million budget • Grossed $29 million in first weekend • Grossed $191 million nationally, $361 million internationally – First sign of a profit: $3.1 million on revenues of $10.6 million
November of 1995 was the first time the company went public, after the release of their first feature-length film, Toy Story.
Pixar went on to produce A Bug's life, Pixar's first sequel Toy Story 2 which was more successful than the first, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, the most successful pixar film until the release of Toy Story 3 in 2010.
Blog Graphic to emphasize points in entry. http://mediatheorystudies.com/2013/02/27/gauntlett-the-media-effects/
Media effects the thoughts and actions of humans everyday. Some people are effected by it more than others. For several years researchers have studied and conducted tests/experiments in order to yield results that might explain how and why media effects culture.
Book used in class and cited in entry. www.amazon.com
Due to the common belief that media has a powerful effect on people, media researches focus on two types of research: cultural studies research and media effects research (Campbell). According to Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, cultural studies focus on "how people make meaning, apprehend reality, articulate realities, and order experience through their use of cultural symbols". They also keen in on the way "status quo groups" use media to circulate their messages and sustain their interests. On the other hand, media effects research tries to "understand, explain, and predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society" (Campbell). Essentially the main objective is to reveal the connection between aggressive behavior and violence in the media, if any.
Walter Lippmann, a journalists that began to operate as a scientific researcher, gathering data and analyzing the material; he is commonly recognized for the rise of modern research methods. Research methods developed in the 1920's: propaganda analysis, public opinion research, social psychology studies, and marketing research. Through these research methods three popular theories of media effects developed.
First came the hypodermic-needle model. This method, also known as the "magic bullet" suggests that the media shoot their formidable effects directly into trusting targets like an injection. In other words, the powerful media could take full control of weak audiences that were susceptible to anything the media said.
The next method is called the minimal-effects model aka "the limited model". After several studies began to disprove the hypodermic-needle model having an affect on a larger population, scientists started discovering that some individuals engaged in selective exposure. This meant that media alone could not have a full affect on an individuals behaviors.
Media such as movies, video games, and television shows have been known to be the main causes of change and influence. Such media is meant to evoke different feelings, be it sadness, fear, anger, or even love. Violence and video games and movies have been on the forefront of conversations and studies about the effects they have on society, especially children. Children are easily swayed and influenced by what they see and hear. Commercials for toys are geared at children, even though they are not the ones buying the product. Video Games are created for game systems that are in the possession of minors, and although these games have age appropriate ratings, parents are still buying them.
Video Game Ratings From: http://www.tower.com/games/esrb
Clip from Psywars: Definition of Psyops (Propoganda). http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=189112.0
After recently watching the hour long documentary, Psywars, for my communications class, I wonder about the trust I as a citizen put in my country. Should I believe in the idea that our government does what they do for the greater good of this nation? or are they just simply taking advantage of our trust and doing what is best for them (politicians and elites)?
Documentary Film cover Psywars: Scott Noble http://metanoia-films.org/psywar/
Propaganda is a way of swaying the publics opinion about a situation or idea. In the documentary, many examples are presented such as the propaganda the Nazi's used to convince the public that what they were doing was good and that the real evil ones were the Jews. Other examples include Rosie the Riveter, Uncle Sam's Army recruiting posters and Ivy Lee's Public relations campaign that were meant to cover up the wrong that the Rockefeller family had committed. With the name of Rockefeller tinted with blood after the Ludlow Massacre, there had to be a way to convince the public that they were humanitarians and what happened was not their fault.
In more recent years we commonly know propaganda as advertisement. Although we perceive propaganda to be a negative way of grasping the attention of the public there are ways that Public Relation companies can use propaganda/ advertisement in a positive manner. examples of positive advertisement are Coca-Cola's global share a Coke with a friend campaign, General Electric's energy efficiency campaign, and currently the number one campaign sweeping the internet worldwide, the ice bucket challenge for ALS awareness.
2014 Coca-Cola "Share a Coke..." promoting happiness
and friendship around the world. http://www.brandsynario.com/news/cocacola-brings-global-share-a-coke-campaign-to-pakistan-in-ramadan
"Take the challenge, donate and help us create a world without ALS!" http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html
General Electric's campaign to combine imagination and the ecosystem. http://globe-net.com/ge-global-ecomagination-innovation-challenge-reduce-ghg-emissions-canadas-oil-sands/
Through Coca-Cola's campaign to promote happiness through drinking their refreshing beverage, they have done much more than sell you their product. They have convinced the public that drinking a Coke can bring the world together in peace in unity. Coca-Cola's efforts have sparked a movement that has been changing the world since their 1971 television ad that introduced the song I'd like to teach the world to sing. Several different share a coke with a friend ideas have been put to the test, from the India/Pakistan small world machine, the Coca-Cola sharing can, the Coke happiness machine placed on a college a campus, to the innovative friendly twist.
The Friendly Twist
Small World Machine
The Happiness Machine
The Sharing Can
As a graphic design major, it will be be my job one day to do the very thing I speak about. It will be my job to grasp the attention of the public and in a clever yet concise way, get you to believe in the product, idea, or person. I believe that as long as "they" control the media they control us, so we have to take control and be cautious of what we allow ourselves to believe true or false. Do the research and listen to both sides, we as humans are fully capable understanding the truth from the lie.
Despite the negatives and the positives propaganda and media are always present.
