For our media literacy assignment, I chose to focus on the advertising of children's toys. Every channel, at all times of the day, air commercials that portray the newest, hippest versions of children's toys. Everything from Barbie, video games, Bratz Dolls and Star Wars Figurines are represented to be the cool thing to have.
Toy companies such as Mattel are continuously struggling to keep up with the growing market of entertainment for children. Everyday, new products are being explored. The success of the product really depends on the advertising marketing it. The toy companies create advertisements that target a young population. They use things like popular culture and incorporate it into their ads. The music and colors are always attention grabbing as well. In order to hold a child's attention, things need to be loud and colorful. A lot of words will not be appealing to a child. Instead, they use pictures, drawings, flashy things that are hard to miss. They also use catchy phrases, such as "all new" and "latest model"! What child wouldn't want the newest model of the hottest toy?
I think that these types of commercials draw children in very quickly. The product often looks very appealing, and the child instantly needs to have it. This may cause feelings of excitement, anticipation, and may cause the child to become stock on this product until someone is able to purchase it for them. As for the adults, this may make them feel frustrated. Often, new models come out one after another. In most cases, when the parent tries to explain to the child that they just bought a version of that toy, it causes the child to become upset at their parent.
I think that commercials advertising children's toys devalue the use of imagination. There is so much more to life then toys. The commercials have a tendency to cause the children to fixate on one object, disregarding what else is important. Fun is important, but fun can be made in many different ways!
This was a neat project. I had never considered the messages behind any one particular type of advertising before. It really made me aware of how well these marketers know how to grab the attention of their audience. It is funny how oblivious we are to these strong messages that are influencing our thoughts.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Second Reflection
For my second reflection paper, I chose to explore the interest our society has with the lives of celebrities. I found it very interesting, and wanted to share!
As we began to study the more recent years in television, the influence of the media became a popular topic. While some argued that the media had a negative impact on adolescents, most agreed that it was up to the parents to control what their children were being exposed to via the media.
My media watch project allowed me to look further into the messages that the media was sending to young females. Although the article I chose to share expressed concerns over the negative messages, most of the class responded in favor of the media. Whereas most of the class agreed that these messages could be monitored and their impact controlled, I argued that the media sends the wrong messages to adolescents, and it partly to blame for issues such as eating disorders and increased sexuality. I supported my opinion with a list of actresses who find it difficult to act their age, and end up becoming the wrong type of role model that adolescents become obsessed with. With magazines such as In Style and People, it is easy to follow the lives of these actresses and mimic their every outfit and hairstyle. They are perceived as perfect, and soon, every teen wants to be them.
While exploring the topic of influences in the media, I came across an interesting question that I could not seem to sidestep: Why is our society so obsessed with the lives of celebrities? It seems that more and more internet websites and magazines are being created to document the lives of Hollywood’s biggest stars. These magazines fly off the shelf and can be found in the majority of America’s homes. It seems that good news theses days seems to consist of some sort of celebrity gossip.
Some articles suggest that people become intrigued with the personal lives of celebrities because it sort of resembles a magical world. Cary Tennis of Salon.com, a web-based advice column, implies that celebrities “are seen as gods and goddesses”, and “ A strong interest in their betrothals and betrayals, their binges and fasts, their tragedies… indicates an interest in the world of magical characters” (Tennis, 2006).
The world of the internet opens up an endless amount of valuable information, yet, the most searched for terms are those such as Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson. Blogs and television shows are most popular for gaining access into the detailed lives of celebrities. One of the most popular providers of celebrity gossip is Perez Hilton. It provides everything from funny pictures to caught-in-the-act pictures of celebrities. Following the success of Perez Hilton’s blog, TMZ created their own blog to dish out the same information.
So, is celebrity gossip just an enjoyable way to pass our time? Or has it become more of an obsession with the young, rich, and beautiful people in an unrealistic world? Regardless of why people become so intrigued, the addiction that our society has with the personal successes and failures of celebrities is an unworthy addiction.
Reference:
Tennis, C. (2006). Salon.com: Why am I Obsessed With Celebrity Gossip?
As we began to study the more recent years in television, the influence of the media became a popular topic. While some argued that the media had a negative impact on adolescents, most agreed that it was up to the parents to control what their children were being exposed to via the media.
My media watch project allowed me to look further into the messages that the media was sending to young females. Although the article I chose to share expressed concerns over the negative messages, most of the class responded in favor of the media. Whereas most of the class agreed that these messages could be monitored and their impact controlled, I argued that the media sends the wrong messages to adolescents, and it partly to blame for issues such as eating disorders and increased sexuality. I supported my opinion with a list of actresses who find it difficult to act their age, and end up becoming the wrong type of role model that adolescents become obsessed with. With magazines such as In Style and People, it is easy to follow the lives of these actresses and mimic their every outfit and hairstyle. They are perceived as perfect, and soon, every teen wants to be them.
While exploring the topic of influences in the media, I came across an interesting question that I could not seem to sidestep: Why is our society so obsessed with the lives of celebrities? It seems that more and more internet websites and magazines are being created to document the lives of Hollywood’s biggest stars. These magazines fly off the shelf and can be found in the majority of America’s homes. It seems that good news theses days seems to consist of some sort of celebrity gossip.
Some articles suggest that people become intrigued with the personal lives of celebrities because it sort of resembles a magical world. Cary Tennis of Salon.com, a web-based advice column, implies that celebrities “are seen as gods and goddesses”, and “ A strong interest in their betrothals and betrayals, their binges and fasts, their tragedies… indicates an interest in the world of magical characters” (Tennis, 2006).
The world of the internet opens up an endless amount of valuable information, yet, the most searched for terms are those such as Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson. Blogs and television shows are most popular for gaining access into the detailed lives of celebrities. One of the most popular providers of celebrity gossip is Perez Hilton. It provides everything from funny pictures to caught-in-the-act pictures of celebrities. Following the success of Perez Hilton’s blog, TMZ created their own blog to dish out the same information.
So, is celebrity gossip just an enjoyable way to pass our time? Or has it become more of an obsession with the young, rich, and beautiful people in an unrealistic world? Regardless of why people become so intrigued, the addiction that our society has with the personal successes and failures of celebrities is an unworthy addiction.
Reference:
Tennis, C. (2006). Salon.com: Why am I Obsessed With Celebrity Gossip?
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Great Debate...
One of the most controversial issues about the media, is whether or not the news stations discuss too much bad news, and not enough good news. Some people feel that broadcasters should focus on more positive news topics, while others feel that bad news is what brings in the profits. This was the topic I chose to do my first reflection paper on, and wanted to share:
The process of deciding the precedence of news topics is a difficult and lengthy process. More often then not, the current developments are those of tragedy, placing bad news on the front pages around the community.
My first thought on the above topic is that the majority of television viewers enjoy drama, thus, taking pleasure in bad news. Bad news is often conflict, and makes for favorable stories. Controversy, violence, and disasters are popular topics among viewers, and grab people's interest. I think the reason behind this, is that people are more impacted by bad news, and it tends to stay with them longer. Whereas good news does not require you to think beyond the situation, bad news tends to make us dwell on the impacts in other areas. Some types of bad news create a sense of excitement.
My next thought is that the reporter can sometimes report good news negatively, thus, the news is perceived as bad news. For example, if someone were to commit a minor crime to help another in dire need, the reporter may only focus on the crime committed, and discuss very little about the benefit that came from the crime.
Most people will argue that the media is not to blame for the over representation of bad news. The news stations look at their coverage as airing what sells, and bad news sells. So, is there justified reasoning that news tends to be geared more so towards the negative? Well, in the end, the mainstream media favors whatever news brings in the most profit. And, understandably, if the media did not focus on what sells, who would be left to watch their programs?
The process of deciding the precedence of news topics is a difficult and lengthy process. More often then not, the current developments are those of tragedy, placing bad news on the front pages around the community.
My first thought on the above topic is that the majority of television viewers enjoy drama, thus, taking pleasure in bad news. Bad news is often conflict, and makes for favorable stories. Controversy, violence, and disasters are popular topics among viewers, and grab people's interest. I think the reason behind this, is that people are more impacted by bad news, and it tends to stay with them longer. Whereas good news does not require you to think beyond the situation, bad news tends to make us dwell on the impacts in other areas. Some types of bad news create a sense of excitement.
My next thought is that the reporter can sometimes report good news negatively, thus, the news is perceived as bad news. For example, if someone were to commit a minor crime to help another in dire need, the reporter may only focus on the crime committed, and discuss very little about the benefit that came from the crime.
Most people will argue that the media is not to blame for the over representation of bad news. The news stations look at their coverage as airing what sells, and bad news sells. So, is there justified reasoning that news tends to be geared more so towards the negative? Well, in the end, the mainstream media favors whatever news brings in the most profit. And, understandably, if the media did not focus on what sells, who would be left to watch their programs?
Peace, Little Girl...
The Daisy Girl ad, also referred to as Peace, Little Girl, created an important turning point in the history of politics and advertising. Although Johnson's attempt at pushing for peace was favorable, the Daisy Girl as was perceived as vicious by many Americans. Johnson's ad was meant to provide Americans the a visual of the tragedy that nuclear weapons could cause.
I think that many people became irritated with Johnson's advertisement because is appeared as though he twisted the words of his opponent to suggest that Goldwater wanted to start a Nuclear war in Vietnam, and tried to use this to frighten voters.
The Daisy Girl advertisement has now become widely known for the effect it had on politics and advertising. It has also become a part of popular culture.
Johnson spoke these words after the blackout in the Daisy Girl ad:
"These are the stakes! To make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die"
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