Brainwashing or Advertising?

From an early little girls are taught by society that their looks matter. Think of the three year old who is constantly praised for being "so cute". More and more kids are spending long hours in front of the television where the media continuously bombards us with messages like how to lose weight, being thin and beautiful, what type of clothes make you look thinner, and so on. The media rarely shows average females who represent our reality instead we see supermodels who appear to be getting thinner and thinner. For instance, overweight females are almost never shown and if they are, they're  typically portrayed as lazy, and the ones without friends while thin women are the successful, popular, sexy and powerful ones. How can we tell girls and young women that it is what's inside that counts, when the media continuously contradicts this message?  

Furthermore, popular magazines have been repeatedly accused of using anorexic models who weight about 25 percent  less than the average women and maintain body weights that are 20 percent below what is considered healthy. What message does this send to young women and girls? Do you think the media plays a role in the development of eating disorders? If so, why?

Also, some of these models undergo plastic surgery to create the 'perfect body', and many photos are air brushed before being printed. The images that the media tries to sell and advertise as normal are NOT normal and the body types that are constantly shown are unattainable for most people but because we are continuously shown these images we start to believe it is. What affects do these images have on children especially tittle girls who don't necessarily understand or know that the images presented to them are fake? 

Finally, I would like to know what solutions you would pose to counteract the media's negative influence?

  

 

Happy Mother's Day!

I like how Futureshop's ad for Mother's Day include a kitchen appliance on what to buy for her. Especially that both the kitchen appliance and headphones are pink as well they are stating that all female mother's like the colour pink. My mother hates pink...so should I still buy these gifts for her? 


What do you guys think about this ad for Mother's Day by future shop? Do you think many mothers would be offended by this ad? 

The following poll was part of a Guardian newspaper located in the UK. This poll is quite recent and talks about whether the government should abandon plans over whether or not to allow gay marriage within the country. As you can see, there were far more votes for stopping it, as opposed to going along with it, as previously planned. Should the Government have even allowed a poll like this even to be published? Especially knowing that it could get negative feedback from the public?

Within our media, and the certain types of shows that we see, we often come across episodes that seem to have some homosexual tendencies, or parts were the characters 'act gay'.

For example, in Spongebob Squarepants, it is undetermined whether Spongebob is Patrick's partner, or if they are just extremely close friends. There was much controversy over whether they should be confusing young children like this, and thee was even talks of canceling the show altogether.

CAN YOU IMAGINE YOUR CHILDHOOD WITHOUT SPONGEBOB?

Do you agree with the skeptics by saying Spongebob should be cancelled? Or do you think that people are just over thinking the whole issue and should let it slide? 

Is this a change I see?

In the movie The Hunger Games we see a switch in the typical gender stereotypes.  In this movie Katniss, the female protagonist, is the strong, powerful individual compared to the male protagonist Peeta.  Peeta is smart, calculative, good with strategy and very artistic.  However when compared to Katniss, his physical strength is nowhere close to hers.  She is powerful and knows how to survive, not that Peeta doesn't but when it comes to fighting Katniss has the upper hand.  Suzanne Collins, the author, did a fantastic job in showing a change in stereotypes.  Normally the male is strong and protects the woman however in The Hunger Games, Katniss fights to save Peeta, she takes on the challenge to fight the other contestants (Tributes) to get the medication Peeta needs to survive.  It is not like Peeta doesn't try to save Katniss; he pretends they are in love, and he joins the other tributes to pretend to attack her.  However it would normally be expected that the female is good at strategy and convincing others but it is the opposite here.

Do you think that as a society we are moving away from the typical stereotypes and changing them?
How is the older generation accepting this change in stereotypes?  Is Collins taking a step in the right direction or is her action to portray a change in gender not going to do much?  Is the normal girl in today's world like Katniss or are the females in today's generation still following the stereotype that girls are weak and need a man to protect them?  From what lens is this movie being shown?

Know Your Role!

  Ignore the song, and any footage after 2:23

Haven't you notice that in most movies, and television shows the female and male characters are always or similarly portrayed the same in each movies/television shows.

The female are always shown as doing chores such as cleaning, lauding and cooking, are known to be sex object for the purpose of serving men, and are victims that can't protect themselves from harassment, sexual assault and murder without their man, weak mined, skinny, lady-like, and beautiful.

Male on the other hand are shown as independent, strong willed, muscular body, have no emotion at all, very aggressive and violent at times, always have a past history, and for some reason are single. They usually meet their lovers in the movie/television show.

What i am trying to say is, why hasn't the media done anything about this? I am certain they know all these stereotypes are occurring, and they are still turning head away. Once you go see a movie you like, you wish that the main character was you, and thus you start to regret your life. Do you agree with the fact that the movies/television shows that your going to see in the future need to change the role of men and female. The video also states that at a young age you hear about gender roles. For an example a female ALWAYS has to play with Barbie, Polly pocket, and Disney princess. While a male ALWAYS has to play with Lego, Star Wars and Hot wheel. I think it ridicules to the amount of stereotypes we have as a kid and growing up watching movies/television shows that strive on gender stereotypes as mention above.             

Steve?

“God Made Adam and Eve, Not Adam and Steve.”

Many claimed that this quote came from a homophobic, and others claim that it came from a devoted Christian man. This has been in my head for a long time and I wanted to research how it came about, but sadly thus is all I got.

Do you have the media literacy skills to consume and deconstruct this media text which often times is heard on a medium such as religious radio network or across many other medias like religious television networks or the internet?

What specifically is the dominant discourse of this quote that the originator intended, and in what lens would someone view this quote?

If you believe in God or even if you don't, how you do feel about this quote?

Does it make you feel any different against Christianity or any other religions?

Or does it give you a stronger feeling towards homosexuality?

Homosexuality is the new sexy

Everyone (or at least I think everyone) knows the new popular teenage British boy band, One Direction (1D). These boys were the winners from the British show, X Factor and have now officially released two songs that hit the billboards as number #1 for 2 weeks on going.

The reason many females and males appreciate this boy band is because of their voices, their songs, their looks ... and their "homosexuality" act.

Now many people find this entertaining, confusing but yet still attractive. Many fans question the sexuality of the boys, however in interviews all 5 of the boys have either concluded with themselves as currently dating a female, or defined their sexuality as straight.

Here is a video of the boys acting homosexual and having a really close “bromance”. Video is 10minutes long, not necessary to watch all of it. Search up One direction - video diaries if you want to see more variety within the boys. 

Does this mean society is slowly starting to accept homosexuality?

How do you think homosexual people feel about this?

Do you think it eases off on the tense of "coming out" now that One Direction is being admired and accepted for their “homosexuality behaviour”?

Think about it .... 
Now that this boy band is accepted by BOTH genders, and are a big part of media, they contribute a new "trend" to society. There are individuals who look up to these boys, and this may conclude in society continuing on their trend.


Do you think it will then be easier for men to not be questioned about their close "bromance", or like Mohamed's post questions about two straight men hugging, would that then be considered "normal"?

A Jihad for Love

Hello everyone!

As promised, I am starting a discussion thread for A Jihad for Love.  Feel free to find it on YouTube.  The entire film can be viewed there, or on Netflix.  I look forward to reading your questions and comments.

Advertising: product or sex

Have you ever noticed that most advertisements that plague the world of commercial breaks while you patiently wait for your show to start again, mostly promote sex rather than the actual product? Even popular brands, which have world-wide recognition, use this ‘gimmick’ in their ad campaigns. 

I went on YouTube and typed in 'Calvin Klein commercial' and clicked a random video. (on the right). How is this even advertising a perfume, when the product is only mentioned in the last two seconds?

Most commercials showcase their product as something that helps men or women get sex. Is that really what people need to see, when buying let's say a pair of jeans, or even perfume for that matter?

Is our society so obsessed with physical attraction that showcasing such crude 'gimmicks' is the only sure shot way to advertise, or bring to attention a particular product?

This makes the impression that, we in the more 'civilized' countries, are only attracted by sex. What is more telling though is that these ad campaigns or commercials rarely depict men in any promiscuous or degrading manner.  Often, there's a woman in a wanton position (barely showing the product itself) talking or acting in an inciting manner.

As in the picture on the left, can anyone even tell what it is that's being advertised? The woman is clearly in a rather licentious position, and while she's being held down by a man, the other three men are staring at her in their 'Greek God' brooding way (that is custom to models).

How, exactly, is any of this supposed to make a person remember the actual product, when there's an onslaught of these kinds of commercials, on after another? Is an average person to actually remember the product mentioned in the last few rushed seconds of ads, when most of it is just the same old, everyday innuendoes, rather than something unique to the product?

Breaking the Boundaries

 Last year, I came across an article in the Toronto Star about a couple in Toronto who do not want to reveal the gender of their baby. If you would like to read the full article, here is the link: http://www.thestar.com/article/995112.

 Their family consists of five members, the mother, father, the genderless baby Storm, and his two older brothers. Only a very limited amount of people actually know the gender of the baby and they are, Storm’s brothers (Jazz 6, Kio 2), a close family friend and the two midwives who helped deliver the baby. The main purpose of not revealing Storm’s gender is because the family wants Storm to figure it out on his/her own. They want Storm to challenge the social norms and be who he/she wants to be, not what Storm has to be because of his sexual parts. I feel that even before the child is born we place so many stereotypes on them such as the colour to paint the child’s room once they are born. Dominant discourse represents colours such as blue for a baby boy or pink for a baby girl. As they are growing up each gender is given a specific type of toy to play with. For a girl they have their typical Barbie dolls and are for a boy, cars or action figures. How come “action figures” are not considered to be dolls? Is it because dolls are for females and action figures are for boys. Is that the manly name for dolls?

At such a young age children are told to act a certain way, to dress a certain way, to play with certain toys because of their gender. It makes me question what it truly means to be a woman or a man.

In this article we are exposed to how the parents treat their children, how the two boys behave and how they choose to carry themselves. The parents believe that kids are capable of making meaningful decisions for themselves at a very young age. I was wondering if you agree with this statement why or why not. Furthermore, we learn that Jazz and Kio have a lot more freedom compared to other kids the same age. Their oldest son Jazz prefers to keep his hair long, he likes to wear it in three braids, his favourite colour is pink, he enjoys painting his nails, and he also wears a pink stud in one ear. The fascinating aspect of this is that his parents have short hair, they don’t own anything pink, and they don’t wear jewelry or nail polish.

Here are some questions to consider:

What do you think about their decision to allow Storm to discover on his/her own what gender he/she wants to be.

Can you picture yourselves having this opportunity to challenge the gender norms and to figure out your own identity?

How do you feel about Baby Storm? Do you think his/her parents are doing Storm a favour or just leading him/her to a life filled with struggles?

 

Would you ever consider not revealing the gender of your baby?

If  Storm grows up and chooses a gender that doesn't match his sex, what kind of tolls do you think he/she will experience? and will it be worth it?

Ray-Ban Print Ad

Hello all,

Keep up the great comments.  The blog is shaping up nicely.  Just a friendly reminder that it will close next Friday, May 4th, so get posting! 

The following is a print ad that was recently released by Ray-Ban (the company behind the infamous wayfarer sunglasses).  The brand has had a surge in popularity with a new generation of consumers - partially because of a increasingly trendy "hipster" or dorky look (exaggerated, thick, large frames).  The ad, set in what looks to be the 40s, features two men in suits (one wearing Ray-Bans) nonchalantly holding hands while walking down the street.  The slogan is: Ray-Ban. Never Hide.

 

What do you think of the use of the slogan?  Ray-Ban has other ads in the same campaign that also use the same tagline.  Check out the other one, below, that challenges dominant discourse.  Why do you think the manufacturers of the previous ad chose to set it in the past?  What is their implied message?  How does it challenge stereotypes, and how does it reinforce them?