News, trust and “truthiness”

After reviewing many other blogs and examining all the different opinions on the topic, I determined that most students, including myself, believe that satirical news is just as reliable as traditional news. Many posts discussed culture jamming in terms of satirical news sources such as the Rick Mercer Report and the Daily Show. The concept of not crossing the line and only poking fun at topics that are appropriate was mentioned multiple times as well. Through this blog response, I will be discussing three entries that have share a similar opinion on the topic to that of my own.

The first blog post that I will review is Brandon’s. He wrote “for me, personally, I see these shows as a reliable and more entertaining way of acquiring important information that I would not otherwise find out about due to the news’ aforementioned dull and depressing nature” (http://bkennedy94.blogspot.ca/2013/11/is-fake-news-real-news.html). Although not everyone may agree with this, I personally feel the same way that Brandon does. When I watch mainstream news, which is rare, I find that I am bored and depressed. On the other hand, when I watch satirical news programs, I still receive the important information, however I am much more entertained and interested.

Next, I will be discussing Justin’s blog entry. Justin wrote “the problem with the fake news is that there’s only a certain amount of news you can joke about, some stories are just off limits, terrorism, war and death wont be talked about on these show” (http://justingmsblog.blogspot.ca/2013/11/is-fake-news-real-news.html). As I mentioned in my blog post, there are certain topics of the news that are not appropriate for poking fun. There are obvious lines that the creators of these media sources must ensure that they don’t cross, in order to make sure the audience is not offended, or there could be serious consequences. Justin mentioned topics such as terrorism, war and death but there are more topics I thought of including crimes such as robberies, kidnappings or murders and natural disasters like hurricanes or tsunamis. 

The last blog post that I will be reviewing is Allison’s. While I was writing my blog post and reflecting on the idea of satirical news sources, I never really thought about each source having a different demographic, a different audience. However, she stated, “despite the fact that the nightly news has a generally older audience, and SNL’s demographic are young adults…” (http://allisonsparham.wordpress.com/). This is so true. She used Saturday Night Live as the example and I know that myself and many of my friends who are similar in age would prefer to watch shows like SNL and The Rick Mercer Report in comparison to the boring, bland mainstream news. I would make an assumption that younger individuals would be more interested in satirical news, which would provide them with more entertainment, in comparison to older individuals who would be more attracted to the more proper, straight up news (but then again, that’s just my opinion).

After reading the textbook to learn about culture jamming and comparing my opinions to the ideas of my classmates showed me that there are different perspectives on whether or not satirical news would be considered “real news” or not. I do believe that there are no implications when using satirical news as a reliable source of receiving information on what is going on in the world. As long as the audience knows that this is not the most reliable source out there, that although you are receiving information about the news and that the main purpose is a source of comedic entertainment, there is no harm being done.

 

Is the Fake News the Real News?

The media is constantly looking for new ways to incorporate comedy within the entertainment industry. Culture jamming is one way that this can be done. In the Media and Society textbook, culture jamming is described as “a form of media activism that subverts and reworks the intended meaning of existing media texts, or parodies major corporations, public figures, and their media images” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, 213). One example of culture jamming would be certain television shows that create parodies and jokes based on the latest headline new stories. I do believe that it would be legitimate to suggest that satirical news reporting is a mainstream form of culture jamming.

Although many people find these shows as hysterical, others may feel that they are unnecessary and in fact not funny at all. Television shows such as The Daily Show and Rick Mercer Report still provides the audience with the current news stories, however, they portray the information in a way that is comical and more enjoyable. Personally, I would rather watch a satirical news reporting, which would give keep me updated on what I need to know around the world, yet still keep me laughing and intrigued. Viewer’s respond more positively if they are provided with jokes that they can relate to. It is essential that we, as the viewers, keep ourselves updated on what is going on in the world.

Although fake news is creating jokes based on the actual news stories, there are some topics, such as natural disasters, car accidents and crimes, which are not a joking matter. Producers run the risk of crossing the line with certain stories, which could result in offended viewers. There are also advertisements that have been spoofed which leads to companies who feel insulted, who can then take legal action. The textbook states, “there can be serious legal implications. Culture jammers can be sued for brand tarnishment, brand infringement, copyright violation, and even defamation” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, 224).

In the media, stories always get changed around. It’s like that game called Telephone – everyone tells the story differently; some people add in new information and some leave parts out. This information is useful to the public sphere because viewers are still being provided with the news, its just portrayed through a different, more jokingly way. This way, everyone can have his or her own opinion. Take the Rob Ford story for example. Although the news is providing everyone with rue information, many people twist the story and make jokes off what they’ve heard. People take pictures, add funny captions, make drug related jokes, and so on. Instead of leaving the audience bored, satirical news makes it more fun. 

Demonstrable demographics

I really enjoyed looking at other students chosen advertisements and their blog posts about them. I found that there were a variety of different advertisement topics that were chosen such as drinking, fast food/junk food and cosmetic products. After reading several different blogs I came to the conclusion that I agree with a majority of what my peers said in regards to their chosen advertisement. My ad was about what could be the results of drinking and driving. Being a student, like the girl in my advertisement, where drinking is seen as a norm, the ad was directed towards teenagers or young adults.

The first blog post I am going to discuss is also a drinking ad that is focused on partying teenagers. Jessica’s advertisement is a photo of a girl in her graduation gown, hanging lifeless through a broken picture frame, implying the results of a impaired driving accident. She states, “Personally, I found that the disturbing nature of this photograph is what caught my attention” (http://jessicaznaczko.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/cpcf-1f25-blog-entry-3-what-the-hail/). In comparison to my blog post, I also found that the shocking and upsetting photograph is what caught my attention and would catch the eye of many other people. The concept of using shock value to gain the attention of the audience is very strategic.

Next, I will be discussing an advertisement that is a little different in topic. Liam’s blog post, which is a Nike ad, tries to motivate its audience by stating how you need to earn your rest. He said, “it is also trying to motivate you by saying that, if you workout hard and use Nike products to do so, you too can be build like a refrigerator and have shoulder muscles the size of man-hole covers” (http://dunsey.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/what-the-hail/). I found this to be kind of funny, but very true. Society today portrays an image of men as being big and jacked. In one of my previous blogs, I examined the issue of media impacting females body image, however, I never really considered the medias affects on men’s body image. I think the company did a good job representing the norms as many males are working out in order to fit into the body image seen through media.

The last blog I will be focusing on was a post examining the product called No-No, by Kendra. She discussed the issue in media which views women as hairless and silky smooth skin. In today’s world, men are very turned off and disgusted by body hair. I definitely agree with Kendra’s opinion when she states, “I think “No-No” was successful in it attempts to represent norms, values, and beliefs because every girl knows girls want to hairless everywhere expect for their heads” (http://kendrajss.blogspot.ca/2013/11/what-hail-blog-entry-3.html). This company does a good job at attracting the desired audience, as there are many women that would be willing to try any products in order to achieve the look that is portrayed in society. Personally, I can relate to this advertisement, being a young woman, as I know that having body hair is seen as unhygienic.

It is important for companies to try to target a specific audience in order to attract attention and improve their business. There are many different strategies that a company can use to hail or interpellate its audience. I never really thought about the behind the scenes of an advertisement, but after this blog topic, I will definitely be thinking about it much more now whenever I encounter an ad.

 

 

1F25 Blog Post 3: What the Hail?

A majority of people drink or have drank alcohol before. Whether it’s while on vacation, at a party or celebrating an occasion, there are many situations where you will encounter drinking. Although many people enjoy drinking, there are many dangerous things that can occur from over drinking. In this advertisement, a teenage girl is laying upside down on her bed looking weak and ill. Faintly, you can see a picture of what looks like an operating room. The ad states, “don’t drink and drive.” This advertisement is showing the aftermath of a drunken car wreck. There are doctors and equipment operating on the girl. This image demonstrates what can occur if you have a night of too much drinking. It is convincing individuals who are consuming alcohol to drink wisely and to not overdo it. In the bottom right corner it says, “there is something worse than a hangover the following morning, regret.” This quote really stood out to me, as I know many teenagers who have done things that they have regretted in the morning, many drunk car accidents, after a night of heavy drinking. They used such a deep quote in order to scare the audience away from performing such actions.

There are two quotes in the textbook that relate to this advertisement. One states that “we live in a culture that stresses individuality, encourages us to believe that every person has unique qualities, and puts forward the view that we have control over who we are, what we do, and how others see us, but this view is questionable” (189). This can relate to a drunk driver. We live in a society where believe that we have control over our actions and ourselves. Therefore, we should be able to control ourselves from making such horrible decisions and instead making the right decisions. Another quote on page 190 says, “…actions are predetermined or subject to influences beyond our conscious control.” This quote is discussing how our actions can be influenced by other factors affecting the quality of the decisions we make. Again, this is stating that we have power over our decisions and should be avoiding these mistakes.

Although the person in the advertisement is a white female, I do not believe that it is focusing primarily on Caucasian girls. Although it has been proven that males can drink more and handle their alcohol better than females, it is still possible for regrets to happen to boys. I believe that this ad is focusing on either males or females, of any race, primarily around the teenager-young adult age. The audience is left to use their imagination to create the story behind such a terrible incident. With idea of drinking and driving is connected to a girl who is critical condition after a horrible intoxicated crash, it leaves the viewers thinking about what could have led up to this.

This advertisement is not trying to sell you a product, or try to convince you of something, it is simply just attempting to save the lives of you and many others. It is trying to pass on a helpful message. They want to demonstrate that although drinking may be enjoyable and a good time during the night, the morning can be the total opposite. Things happen that make individuals regret what happened, so think about if it’s really worth it. I do believe that this ad did a very good job using their strategic methods to represent partying and drinking, which is a norm in our society, especially with students. The girl in this ad looks like she would be about the age of a university student; therefore it helps portray the message. The targeted audience are the ones that the media is trying to connect with. Many students are interested in alcohol and partying, so when they see this ad, it will be something they are interested in and will be willing to try to understand. The idea behind this article was portrayed through a meaningful photo with a quote that will leave the audience thinking whether it really is worth it in the end.

O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media And Society. 5th ed. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2012. 179-191. Print.

The Media We Want Response

Do we want the media we get, or do we get the media that we want? This is a very controversial topic as there are many points for each side. After reading many other students’ blogs, I found that there are many mixed feelings about this issue. The main point I shared in my blog post was that the media would give us, the audience, what we want. Personally, I believe that we get the media as we want since media relies on us to provide them with popularity and profit. In my blog I used examples like Miley Cyrus, to prove how her crazy acts have us talking and giving the media all the attention that they want. Braiden’s blog post was also very similar to mine. He wrote, “the media constantly spits out new content everyday, but it is up to us as the audience to decide whether we like it or not. The media sees that the audience is enjoying a certain content and focuses more on that” (http://braiduhn.wordpress.com). As I mentioned, the media waits to see the reaction they receive from the audience. If it is a good one that will give them a lot of attention, they will continue doing it. If they are unsatisfied with the reaction, they will stop it and try something else until the reach something that gets a response they like. Shelby, also sharing a similar concept in her blog post, used an interested analogy to describe the connection between the media and us as the audience. She stated, “the relationship between the media and the audience is like a fisherman and fish. The audience and the fish only bite when they’re interested. A fisherman must put some thought into the bait they’re hoping will ensnare the fish” (http://shelbylafreniere.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/blog-entry-2-the-media-we-want/). This relates to the real world of humans and media. The audience gives attention to the media if they’re interested. Therefore, the media will try to provide us with what we are interested in so that we can provide them with the popularity and money that they are looking for. A post that contradicts with my own article and the previous two articles is Eric Gervais’s blog. He says, “we want the media that is given to us because it can make us feel as though we are fitting in and are approved by those we look up to” (http://cpcf1f25convo.blogspot.ca/2013/09/cpcf-blog-entry-1.html). I definitely do agree with what Eric is stating. The media makes us feel like we are fitting in with all the hottest celebrities. Although, I do not agree that we feel approved by those celebrities. All the different blogs made very good points explaining why we either get the media we want or want the media we get. After reading different blogs I am stuck in the middle of the two views. I now believe that we want the media that we get and we also get the media that we want.

 

 

1F25 Post 3: Getting the media that we want

Many people believe that the media, a huge part of everyone’s daily life, has become such a negative influence on the lives of society. But my question is, why? Why do we constantly talk about media in such a negative manner? Why do we bash all the latest celebrity stories? Why do we continuously follow all the most recent news with who has gotten into trouble with the law and watch all the performances online when society thinks so poorly of it? We are constantly doing this to ourselves, as we want the media that we are getting! The media can be seen as part of a purely self-serving and profit-motivated consumerist culture” (O’Shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J. Media and Society: Media Studies. Page 13). We are getting what we want when it comes to media, although everyone involved in the production of it is using it for profit and popularity. “The media have to sell themselves successfully to large numbers of the population: they have to win big audiences in order to be economically viable and survive” (O’Shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J. Media and Society: What Do the Media Do to Us? Page 32). Think about how popular Miley Cyrus has become. Everywhere I go someone is talking about her most recent media debuts. It all started with her video posted all over the web of her smoking salvia on her birthday. One post on YouTube had almost 4 million views, and that is just one of many videos. Her video for her song “We Cant Stop” has a lot of dirty dancing, booty shaking and crazy partying. The music video went viral and had many hits online. Then there was the VMA performance where she was seen in a nude bikini with a foam finger, which she used provocatively through out the song and was “twerking” on Robin Thicke. The performance took the title of the most tweeted about performance at the VMA’s, where it brought in approximately 360,000 tweets a minute! People today are still talking about that performance! Her most recent music video for her song Wrecking Ball, which involved her nakedly swinging from a wrecking ball and licking a hammer, has much over 250 million views! Everyone is talking about Miley Cyrus, her crazy life and how poor of a role model she has become, but yet we are so caught up in the media that we cannot stop watching it! She is the role model of many girls and her outrageous life is not a good one to follow. Miley and her production team, know how big of a reaction her performances are getting from society and will continue to give us what we want in order to continue being the trending topic in society. Miley Cyrus is just one of the many celebrities who uses this to her advantage. The media wants as much attention as possible and will continue to produce what they know we will want to see.

      

1F25 Post 2: Media Impact Response

Media is all around us. At home, at school, at work, everywhere we go we are exposed to mass media. With being constantly surrounded by media, a very controversial question arises; does mass media have an impact on society’s worldview? After reading several other blog posts answering that exact question, I have discovered that many students believe mass media does have a significant affect on our daily lives. With that arises another question; is the impact that media has on our societies view a positive or negative one? I have found that many other bloggers agree with my theory posted in my previous blog; that media does in fact affect society in a negative way rather than a positive one. Through comparison, I found that the ideas I shared were very similar to those in other students’ blogs. In Haley’s blog, she wrote “Personally, I can relate to this as one of my friends in high school dealt with anorexia. Between the pressure of media and her own personal thoughts she began to restrict herself from eating in grade 12” (http://www.hb123na.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/the-influence-of-media-a-blog-for-cpcf-1f25/). This story compares to the one I shared in my previous post about the girl from my school being bullied over her looks and committing suicide. Both blogs show that the impact of media is truly more severe and detrimental than perceived by most and is in fact a serious issue that affects people all the time! Reading multiple other posts and being able to see that many others agree with my views, have now strengthened my initial thoughts on this issue.

Being surrounded by media affects young women and their body image, which is negatively influenced by the images that are portrayed. This topic was extremely popular for this assignment. My blog post, focused mainly on the affects that Facebook has on young women, whereas other students focused on mass media as a whole.

Amongst my readings, I found a few points I found extremely interesting. Although Allie stated that she does not feel that the mass media influences her worldview, her blog says, “For example, Pink being in a commercial for Cover Girl’s newest mascara that everyone just has to go and get right this second because it is the newest and best – and hey look Pink has it and she’s famous and you want to be like her, don’t you – she’s famous, how could you not want to be like her – everyone wants to be famous – well, if you go and get this mascara you could be like her too!” (http://allietown1613.wordpress.com). I feel like the point she made was contradicting as she stated that media does not influence society yet later wrote that people want to be just like the people they see on television commercials. If media did not impact society, then why would anyone even bother with the commercials that are shown on TV? Why would people want to be like famous celebrities, if they were not influenced by mass media?

While reading Veronica’s blog, I came across another interesting point that I never really considered but found it to be true. Her blog says, “no one wants to watch a television series about a chubby fourteen year old girl who goes to a crumby high school in an even crumbier town. Nobody wanted to read a book detailing the life of someone who pretty much did what everyone else did to get by” (http://veronicatmeow.blogspot.ca). A majority of the television shows we watch star skinny and pretty rich girls with great fashion sense and nice cars.  Many people wonder why their lives are nothing like the shows or movies they watch. It’s because these lives aren’t real, it is impossible for everyone to live a lavish life. They are made up by producers in order to keep viewers constantly entertained and watching. The way the media portrays these celebrities make it very difficult for young women to feel comfortable in their own skin.

All I can say is, us young women need to understand that beauty isn’t defined by how skinny you are, what colour hair or eyes you have, what clothes you wear or how perfect your smile is. We need to stop letting media define who we are. Everyone is beautiful; we just have to realize it for ourselves.

1F25 Post 1: Media Impact

“Facebook is making it easier for people to spend more time and energy criticizing their own bodies and wishing they looked like someone else,” said Doctor Harry Brandt, director of the Center for Eating Disorders. The world we live in revolves around mass media. It started as a way of communication and a form of socializing, but it has turned into one of the biggest social influences in today’s society.

Facebook, one of the most popular social media websites, influences young women by portraying a certain body image that they must obtain in order to be considered beautiful. An article by CNN questions whether or not Facebook has become the “encyclopedia of beauty.” This website gives girls easy access to other girls photos, just to end up comparing them to their own. More than half of 600 participants who took part in a study stated that looking at uploaded Facebook pictures added to their self-consciousness. Another study found that the more time spent on Facebook, the more likely young women are to develop an eating disorder. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/04/05/the-true-costs-of-facebook-addiction-low-self-esteem-and-poor-body-image/)

Myself, being a young woman addicted to Facebook; has experienced what it is like to compare my own photos to those of girls who happen to have the “perfect” look portrayed by the media. It is very difficult for myself, and other young women, to look at pictures of girls with perfect hair, flawless skin and a slim body while not feel insecure at the same time.

Now, there is something that all these girls have in common, they all have a large number of “likes” on their photos; which in turn poses the question what does it take to get a “like” on Facebook? You will find that it is usually the more popular hotties that have all the likes. Normally they are the girls with big boobs, a tiny waist, perfect smile, perfect hair, and who are posing half naked in the majority of their photos. Society portrays this to the masses as being “beautiful” but what is truly beautiful about demeaning yourself just to get a “like” on Facebook.

I remember back in grade ten, a girl at my high school was cyber bullied over Facebook. She was always insecure about her looks as she was harassed online for not being pretty enough. But what I don’t understand is what wasn’t pretty about her? Was it because she wasn’t a size 0, didn’t wear brand names or didn’t wear skimpy clothes in her photos? I wonder how the bullies feel now, knowing that their hurtful words and constant put-downs caused someone to end their life.  But then again, who is really to blame for all the problems occurring with girls’ body issues? For if it is not the girls themselves then the only thing left to blame would be the media, especially websites like Facebook!

Beauty shouldn’t be defined by a size or a specific look, every woman should be able to be comfortable in her own skin and feel nothing but beautiful. As Marilyn Monroe said, “to all the girls that think you’re ugly because you’re not a size 0, you’re the beautiful one. It’s the society that’s ugly.”