Reflection Blog

I look at media now in a very different way than a few months ago when I didn't know anything about media. To me, media had just been a part of my life. I never took the chance to try and observe everything that goes along with media. It was easy to be passive with media but cause they were selling me stuff and I only had to choose if I wanted to buy it or not. But now, I see what is being used in order to try and persuade me to buy something. There are words, appeals, and techniques that marketers will use in order to capture our attention. Everything that I see was planned ahead so that they were targeting a certain group. As I reflect on what I’ve learned with media, I see that there were so many ways to break through the clutter in order to advertise to me. 

Whenever I see commercials now, the first thing that I will do is watch to see which from of advertising they are using. The most common form I will see is Madison and Vine because there are so many companies that try to combine their product into places that would be appealing to teens. But with this, I like to see which appeals and techniques that the company uses with their ads. A lot of them I never would've known until I learned about them. Like the fact that humans are greedy, so we are attracted to offers that gives us more for paying less. For an appeal, need for affiliation is very popular because it seems like to be normal, you need to have a social life. As I’m constantly seeing media everyday, I take this into consideration because of the things I’ve learned this semester. 

To go along with how I see media, I have also been intrigued at the implicit messages that companies will give about their products. I didn't expect that every marketer was going to have an impact message embedded into their ad, but I’ve seen plenty of them to change my mind. The implicit messages can be controversial, but I think the main thing that I get from them is how it reflects the society we live in. There are some messages that I didn't know were true until I saw ads. So in a way, I now learn more from ads and how they influence people to do something or to be certain people. The downside to this is how ads can portray people that you aren’t. They do this so that you feel like you need to be someone different. This is where I have a problem with the messages. It’s a marketing tactic that I don't agree with because it forces people to change to shape themselves on what companies sell as cool. The only thing they want is your money. They ruin young kids lives because they create a high social expectation on who you should be. I don't try to be tempted by these ads but its frustrating to see media making false images of people. 

By being educated in knowing about media, it allows one to be careful about what to consider when looking at products and how we base our choices on commercials. When one is more educated to understand the ways a company will try to sell you their product, then you become more aware of what’s actually true and what is fake. Everything that I've learned from the media blogs and from learning about marketing strategies will allow me to see what big corporations will try to convince to buy. There are many ways they can do this, so its great that I’m able to look at all of them and know what to be weary of. 

Final thoughts I have to this quarter with media is that I don't think I’ll ever forget the messages that big companies will give to make us feel like their product is superior. The second marketing project helped me see how there are a lot of similar themes that media has in order to make us want to purchase their products. Like a feeling of safety, or family, or being unique. As much as I struggled to learn about media so early, I now see how this will affect and stay with me through my life. 

Probably my favorite poster from the Think Differently Campaign, just showing how I will always look back at my experience I had with the media projects and how I see the experiences that are trying to be sold with companies. 

Positivity and Change

A song that showed me that there are positive messages in songs is called "Sit Still, Look Pretty" by Daya. When I first heard this song and realized what she was saying, I was extremely happy to know that to the people who listened to it would think about the flip side to what society is right now. She has lyrics like "Could dress up, to get love, But guess what? I'm never gonna be that girl, Who's living in a Barbie world" This line shows how Daya doesn't want to conform to what society expects women to be like. It shows that she wants to be different. The way that the world has put high social expectations is very demanding, so Daya says that she and others should choose what they want to be instead of following everyone else.

Another verse that I think is very important is "Mr. Right could be nice, for one night, But then he wanna take control, And I would rather fly solo." This shows how men expect women to be and how women can fall into the trap of being dominated by men. This isn't what should be expected of women in the world because they should be able to control who they are and what they do. Some guy may seem nice for a day, but could then turn into a controlling person. As a woman, its seen to accepted that they will simply obey men because of the patriarchal society we live in. So Daya is trying to break this mold and show girls as they are growing up that they have a choice in their lives. It shouldn't be up to the men that control their lives. With this, I fully support the idea that girls and women should have the right to choose what they do in their lives without the influence of men telling them what to do. That's why I felt that this song was necessary to talk about. It connects perfectly as a contrast to everything we've learned about critical thinking about the way women are portrayed and expected to be. Its a great message for kids to be learning and accepting at an early age so we can break the current trend. 

Sit Still, Look Pretty Link Link to the video

That's What I Like

A very popular song on the radio right now is the song by Bruno Mars "That's What I Like". I've heard it enough to realize that there are certain messages in the lyrics about a certain lifestyle. One part says "Baby girl, what's hatnin'? You and your ass invited". This is sexualizing women and by saying not only she is invited but her body is, it reinforces the idea of men seeing women as only for their looks. He then says "Go pop it for a player. Pop, pop it for me. Turn around and drop it for a player. Drop, drop it for me." This further adds onto the idea that he is expressing the idea of how women should be looked and treated. He makes it seem like its a women's responsibility to please a men and its ok because they are supposed to do this already. Not only does Bruno Mars promote how women should act, but also how men should expect women to be to them. He influences both side with what he says in the song. 

One part of the chorus goes "Gold jewelry shining so bright, strawberry champagne all night, lucky for you, that's what I like, that's what I like." In this, he talks about what a woman wants in her life or something that she likes having frequently. Bruno then says that luckily for her, it's the same thing that he happens to like. So the only reason that he is letting her have it is because he likes it too. There's an obvious assertiveness of dominance. The man has more power over the woman in society and is the ultimate decider on what happens. I also see it as a way of showing what woman should like and how they should live because they should expect gold jewelry and champagne. To wrap it up, woman should expect to live luxuriously. Right after this part of the chorus, he says "sex by the fire at night, silk sheets and diamonds all white." This is just further proof of what he addresses as a standard for women to have. And it also makes men expect to be able to provide this type of luxury to women. It hurts both males and females at certain, expensive lifestyles that are expected to be for everyone. 

The rest of the song has similar lyrics or repeating the chorus, which continues to add onto the idea of certain expectations. Bruno Mars gives young kids and teens a certain, rich lifestyle that is enjoyable to them. And by explaining what they live, he makes it seem like others should live like this. All he does is create a wrong interpretation for young kids on how to live and expect of others in the world. You shouldn't sexualize women and see them as a man's possession. The type of way to live in this is not accurate for everyday people and shouldn't be how others who are growing up expect to live. 

Song Link to the song