“On television and radio, in print media and on billboards, the consumable life, the buyable fantasy, continually bombards us. Even if we tend to resist a particular message or promise, everywhere the general message is repeated, inescapable”. (Ewen, p.93)

The above passage taken from Stuart Ewen’s chapter entitled Advertising and the Development of Consumer Society suggests that advertising is a powerful medium that is often inescapable. Advertising plays a significant role in society as it surrounds people everywhere they go. People are constantly bombarded with images and these images have contributed to getting people to spend their money.

To some degree, advertising has the potential to be manipulative. From a personal standpoint, i think that my thoughts and feelings have been shaped and strongly influenced by images portrayed in beauty advertisements. I can say that these representations have encouraged my thoughts regarding how an ideal female/male body should look like. I have constructed many of these representations with the help of the many advertisements i’ve been exposed to on television, in magazines, on billboards and on the Internet. Many advertisements result in getting people to believe that there is a hope for a better life. They succeed in getting people to believe that if they eat a certain cereal they will lose weight, or if they use a special moisturizer they won’t get wrinkles.

Over the past semester, I have come to realize that it is practically impossible to escape this powerful medium of advertising. Often without people realizing it, several things are being promoted to them at a given moment.

As a future teacher, one of my goals will be to help my students be less susceptible to believing everything in the media. In order for my students to grow up to be well-informed consumers, I plan on teaching them how to effectively analyze advertisements.


This is a good link to an article concerning how media's representation of men can affect their esteem: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27595678/

Gender

“Many wonder how much the media influence the choices we make about our lifestyles and physical appearance, and to what extent media representations help to shape our perceptions of ourselves and others”. (Duncan, p.82)

When examining the media, we are faced with countless gender representations. It is important to note that these are representations and constructions, rather than an accurate depiction of reality. Reading the above passage in Barry Duncan’s article entitled Seeing Ourselves: Media and Representation provoked me to take a moment for self reflection. I began to critically examine my lifestyle and think about how I perceive myself and the kind of person I strive and yearn to be. Over the course of my lifetime, It has become clear to me that gender is a key concern when discussing representation in the media.

When hearing the word ‘boy’ and ‘girl’, we often think of characteristics which we believe to be suitable for each gender. Dolls are for girls while toy cars and train sets are for boys. To most people, it seems that this statement is accurate and perfectly normal. Often times, the media reinforces these generalizations. Masculinity and femininity are two concepts made up of stereotypes. The stereotypes for each gender differ tremendously and are promoted and advertised on the media. On television, men are typically portrayed as being more assertive than women. Commercials advertising cleaning merchandise always include a female pitching the product. On sitcoms, women are generally the ones associated with domesticity. These are examples of just some of the most common gender representations that can be seen on television, magazines and in newspapers. It is clear that the media plays a significant part in shaping people’s views on what types of behaviors and characteristics deem appropriate for each gender respectively.

I believe that it is important that people do not use gender as a basic group to categorize individuals. Everyone has their own unique identity and people should not just assume characteristics upon people on the sole basis of gender.

Representations of ethnic minorities in the media

   In recent years, a shadow has been cast on the entire Islamic population, the  Muslim community has been subjected to intense scrutiny and have been characterized as immoral and subhuman.They have been taunted and humiliated, Western society has blamed the Islamic people for virtually all acts of terror without full-credibility, sure they have been responsible for some acts of terrorism and violence, but not all Muslims should be held accountable.   

     The media plays a considerable role in shaping our beliefs. It plays a central role in both generating and influencing our conceptions. Professor Shirley Steinberg has remarked that, “Media- based representations shape our consciousness about social groups, sometimes in very subtle ways”(Steinberg, 2004). I am in accordance with this statement, in regards to the Islamic minority.

    

A major factor which contributes to Islamic stereotyping in the West is due to the media's ignorance of selecting their words that describe Muslims. Some common names heard or seen in the news about Muslims are "extremists" or "terrorist". These words are misleading and are mainly anti-Islamic.  The media rarely uses more neutral terms. 

 Below i will include films that represent how Muslims are stereotyped in film and the second depicts why we might have a negative assumption about Muslim individuals. 

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Big Girl You Are Beautiful / Exploring Media Assignment

Size discrimination is an important social issue. I have chosen to comment on an article I read that concerns this subject matter.

Every day we are exposed to images that affect our ideals and values, we are weighed down with ideas of what people should like, what we should all look like. Pop culture has desensitized us and now we are in acceptance of what has been ingrained within us. We can’t help but become entranced by what’s objectified as ideal, and it is in this moment that we are all condemned. Fat has been cultivated into an evil.

I read an article by Mary Ray Worley. The article is called “Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance”. This is an article that formulates arguments in protection of the obese. The author cites that in contemporary American society, being fat has been ascribed as a serious personal, social, and medical liability. I believe that many are in accordance with that sincere admission. The author indicates that many believe that fatness is a serious health risk and addresses how individuals denigrate people whom are overweight, and candidly exclaims that our society praises thinness and denounces full-figured. Thin is correlated with self-restraint and self-respect. Whereas heavy indicates self-denigration and a lack of discipline. These predominantly held views impinge on the mental psyche of the vulnerable overweight being.

Social ostracism and self-hatred are a habitual part of most fat people’s lives. In our society today there is an unremitting insensitivity and humility that leaves the overweight hopeless. They are apprehensive to exercise in public for fear of ridicule, and they neglect to seek medical assistance because they will be scrutinized on their size irrefutably. She insists that “pressures like these must certainly contribute to the shortening of many fat people’s lives”. [1]

Her article sheds light on the medical and scientific communities’ take on fatness. Researchers from these disciplines conclude “that body size is primarily determined by one’s genetic makeup,” [1] but despite their own findings, they recommend that fat individuals should try to lose weight, based on societal preoccupations with thinness and the difficulties scientists endure when making recommendations that are not congruent with their conclusions.

In contemporary society, individuals are “bombarded with images of pencil-thin women, and size discrimination is a common occurrence that constitutes much more than name-calling or staring.” [1] Her literature revolves around a central theme, the rejection of fat, and how our society tries to manipulate in its quest to assimilate. Her argument that fat is not a medical liability is justifiable. Paul Campos, author of “The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health”, is among the most vocal critics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He remarks on a press conference where Dr. Gerberding, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a rare and curious apology. She apologized for the mixed messages and contradictory studies regarding the dangers of obesity, acknowledging that flawed data in several CDC studies had overstated the risks. Campos believes that the efforts to portray fat as unhealthy and unacceptable are driven by junk science, hatred of fat people, and a profit-hungry dieting industry. Campos charges that "almost everything the government and the media [are] saying about weight and weight control [is] either grossly distorted or flatly untrue,". [1] These statements are all in agreement with what Worley is affirming.

Additionally, Mary’s discovery of self-love and refusal to “conform to someone else’s ideal” [2] is encouraging. She voices that being fat isn’t a handicap rather a disposition and cites that size correlates primarily to genetic makeup. Her entire article focuses on learning to appreciate one’s self regardless of skeptics, Worley sermons to eliminate shame and self-hatred.

On a final note, I am in agreement with the goals of the NAAFA to educate, advocate and support in effort to end size discrimination in all its forms. Their plight to reshape society in which people of every size are accepted with dignity and equality is important. Our cultures priorities and preoccupations need to be cast into the limelight and examined. The societal message that obesity is the mark of a defective person has to be changed. If we can collectively change the perception of fat people, we will be doing a great service for all humanity. The psychological consequences of weight bias are so grave, that as future educators, we must address the issues of body image within our classrooms, and illustrate that everyone is beautiful regardless of difference.[1]

The images above both reflect Mary Worley article and represent full-figured women embracing their size. Fernando Botero, the famous Colombian painter creates beautiful oil works of robust women; I appreciate his vision, so I thought I would include some of his pieces. I also included an image that depicts the standard of beauty from earlier times, when shapely women were idolized and considered fertile and affluent. I, additionally added a video, this video addresses that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and ethnicities.

1] http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/about/Brochures/WeightBiasPolicyRuddReport.pdf

[2] The Obesity Myth, by Paul F. Campos

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Drunk Driving

Driving and drinking a lethal combination. People always say if your going to drink don't get behind the wheel, but the rate at which people ignore this rule is alarming. I suppose it has to do with the fact that people don't have a full grasp of how much they actually consume, and tell themselves oh it's alright i can have 2 drinks, my weight will compensate for the alcohol content and then i'll line my stomach, so everything will be just dandy. Who's kidding who? One drink becomes two, two becomes three, and then the wheels get a rolling. The dangers that accompany driving intoxicated are endless, but people seem to ignore the severity of what can actually happen. An example is the story of Katie Flynn and Stanley Rabinowitz. This video shows actual footage from the tragedy and chronicles Stan & Katie's final day. He was a loving husband and father, and she was an extroverted 7-year-old flower girl in an ivory party dress with a pink sash the color of the rose petals she tossed on the beach the day her aunt was married, a day that ended with his instant death and her decapitation, in the grisly crash that the police say was caused by drunken driver Martin Heidgen in a pickup truck.

Drawbacks of the Media 2

Not only does the media send out messages concerning weight, but violence is also a central theme. Many television shows today are full of graphic images, which can have an upside and a downside. For the most part, these shows are educational, they demonstrate the risks that can accompany certain behaviors and advise people about how to avoid high risk situations. Although in contrast, the downside is that these shows in their intent are to appeal to us for entertainment value, but their intentions can backfire. These programs can instruct people on how to commit acts of violence, and provide ideas for viewers on how to mimic what is being presented. An example is Showtime networks television series Dexter.

Dexter is a program which chronicles the double life of a serial killer/ forensic specialist in the police department. This program has been linked recently to a crime. An Edmonton filmmaker named Mark Andrew Twitchell, fascinated with the television series, plotted a murder and carried it out in similar fashion to what has been depicted on the show.

This clip below discusses how North American media encourages copycat suicide killers, take a look and enjoy!

Drawbacks of the Media

There are many negatives aspects that accompany broadcasting, In recent headlines there has been critical speculation regarding Singer / Actress Jessica Simpson's weight. This controversy sparked by recent photographs of the celebrity infuriates me. It is sad that this is even news worthy, our culture's fascination with size is alarming, plus sized women used to be glorified and embraced as beautiful, whereas today if you aren't a size 6 or under your treated like an outcast, victimized by the public.

Jessica is a petite girl, it is unfair that she is persecuted and criticized for gaining a few pounds. This is relevant because the media sends a negative message to both young and old. They regard rail thin as beautiful and curvy as fat, which then triggers numerous problems for our youth. Young women and men alike strive to be perfect and in quest battle eating disorders and even become abusers in effort to become ideal.

Here is a video that discusses advertising and the obsession with thinness, and offers an in depth analysis of how female bodies are depicted in advertising images and the effects that these image have on women, we have to challenge these images and change the way the media glamorizes unnatural thinness and this promotion of beauty and encourage a new vision of beauty.

Another drawback is a preoccupation with beauty. This leads to an obsession with plastic surgery. Today's society is so focused on appearance, it's causing people to get caught up in obsessing and changing what they look like. People of all ages are influenced by the representation of beauty in the media, the entertainment world feeds on our souls. Nowadays networks have shows entitled Doctor 90210, extreme makeover, the swan just to name a few. These shows follow the lives of people who are in pursuit of beauty and allow us to see their transformations. They present the glamorous side but fail to show the risks that accompany going under the knife.

This kind of programming can trigger body dysmorphic disorder, which is defined as a preoccupation with a slight or imagined defect in appearance. Often, the preoccupation creates serious disruptions in the person's daily activity. It has been noted, that many people with this illness have trouble sustaining social relationships and have trouble maintaining a job.

Oprah Winfrey had an episode called broken reflections, this segment dealt with BDD. It is a very troublesome disorder and many individuals are victims of it.

To some degree, advertising has the potential to be manipulative. The media has influenced me to a degree, some of my thoughts and feelings have strongly been swayed based on images portrayed in many advertisements.

This video below is a favorite of mine. It depicts how what we see in magazines isn't real, the images are manipulated by airbrushing and other methods of altering.