reflection

media is everywhere... and pretty much everyone is exposed to it. i think doing these blogs has helped me become more aware of the subtle or not-sosubtle messages different forms of media portray to their audience. being more media literate has definitely made changes in the ways i see things on tv, the radio, and my phone. with both these changes, i still heavily consume media everyday...this past week i have been on my phone for an average of 5 hours and 44 minutes a day. that doesn't include the music i listen to or the amount of tv i watched. last saturday i spent 7 hours on my phone....thats so sad considering that's almost as long as i sleep for.... this intense amount of media consumption has basically taken over my life (mostly negatively). like what was shown on missrepresentation, media is a root cause for many body insecurities that people face. so the more media i consume, the more stereotypical tropes i see.

 although i did not decrease my media consumption, i did become more aware and focused on what media tries to portray. for example, i look at certain colors, music, and people in different advertisements to see what the brand is trying to sell. i think it is very important to have media literacy to know if a company is trying to sell you a product or the supposed lifestyle that comes with joining the bandwagon. knowing the different techniques and tricks companies use is helpful so you won't fall into their advertising trap.

overall, i enjoyed keeping a blog this semester since it allowed me to express my opinions on things that are relevant and it made me dig deeper on media consumption. keeping this blog was also pretty fun since i got to speak casually on subjects. i now feel more knowledgeable and aware of the media we are surrounded in.

missrepresentation :(

growing up, it was made clear by media that females are to look a certain way or else they're not pretty enough. i remember i didn't know how to fake smile for a school picture when i was in kindergarten or first grade, and the photographer was telling me to smile for him "like a barbie or bratz doll"...at the time i had no idea what that meant, but it is quite shocking that he would compare a 5 or 6 year old to a 20-something year old barbie doll. if i'm growing up surrounded by sexualization and objectification of girls, it is no surprise that i am insecure about my physical appearance, making me apart of the 78% of girls by 17 that are unhappy with their bodies. 

media portray women as basically nothing but a sex object to appeal to (mostly) men, which is apart of the huge problem. "men love boobs until they're used for their actual purpose". media has sexualized natural body parts like boobs to the point where we almost forget their actual purpose. breastfeeding in public is still a big taboo. there are many products where their goal is to make this natural process as discreet as possible. what is wrong with a mother feeding her baby? 

i think women are also apart of the problem... "girls support girls" is an untrue saying in today's society. girls are quick to judge other girls, even though they are insecure themselves. it's like a loop. when media pushes beauty standards onto their audience, those standards are practically ingrained. people feel insecure when they don't meet these high standards. these insecure people feel bad about themselves, so let's talk about that person over there who also is "ugly". 

as much as it hurts females, i think media also has a negative effect on males. parallel to the helpless dumb blonde, there is the super buff aggressive dude. when guys grow up seeing only this as a representation of what a man should be and act like, they are likely going to also feel the societal standards. and if men in media is shown to objectify women, can we guess what male audience members are going to think about women? 

media's reputation has once again been shattered by the misrepresentation of both females and males.

 

"social media seriously harms your mental health"

in the past couple of months, iv'e seen this quote plastered on phone cases on instagram (the irony). i found out that this phone case is made by a brand called "urban sophistication". they make apparel and phone cases that use pop culture to display the negative effects of being online.

here are some products i found the most relevant to what we talked about in class

this phone case includes the classic "social media seriously harms your mental health" and a medicine label that implies that likes on social media is what people use as a "loneliness reliever depression reducer". i like how they used satire to execute the message that focusing on getting likes is the cause of poor mental health such as anxiety and depression. it's clever to use a medication label bc the way i see it, striving for a certain amount of likes is addictive. i was curious about the simple black and white design for the social media label, and i found out that this is based on a cigarette pack health warning label that says "smoking seriously harms you and others around you".

i think this design would appeal to the growing teenage and young adult audience that is realizing that social media does harm their mental health. i find it interesting and kinda ironic that people that buy this case most likely still heavily use social media and focus on likes....




this phone case has a expiration date label that is found on food items. the label says "best before sep 2018 iphone release". the clear case with the simple sticker makes it seem like the sticker is directly stuck onto the phone. this is a tease for people who care about getting the newest and latest technology. even though their iphone 8 is still working fine and is practically the same as the iphone x, they want the iphone x to get that “dual optical image stabilization" instead of the lame "optical image stabilization". the average person doesn't even know what that means (unless im dumb and everyone knows what that means). people who buy the new iphone just for the heck of it are probably people who buy apple's lifestyle not the actual product. 

back

front

this is a sweatshirt that focuses on product placement. the description for this shirt on the brand's website says "Product Placement is a visualization of social media's commercial potential. Rather than limiting the sponsored content to the logo space, the entire sweatshirt is divided into several advertising spaces". urban sophistication speaks on the commercialization and capitalistic values of companies. on the back of the shirt, there is a definition of product placement, which we talked about in class for a little bit. it's embedding advertisement in things like the background of tv sets, music videos, instagram posts, and of course, clothes. the front of the sweatshirt just has advertising for advertising. there are two signs that say "YOUR AD HERE" and one that says "ADVERTISING SPACE AVAILABLE", all with the stereotypical phone number to call, dimensions, etc. this shirt brings awareness to people who are oblivious to the product placement in the tv shows and movies they watch and how it can affect what consumers want.


i really like this company and their many relevant messages about media and how they use pop culture references to convey these messages. on the urban sophistication website, the founders say that they "offer a way to perceive the fantasy we live in, without changing anything about it", which i think they do a good job doing. when i first heard of their brand a few months ago, i saw that they had an instagram which is ironic considering the messages they send out. but now their account is gone, so i guess they took their own advice. 

https://urbansophistication.boutique

natural makeup! (except it covers your acne, birthmarks, and any imperfection)

"guys like girls with natural makeup or no makeup at all"

there is so many things wrong with this statement. it makes so many assumptions. not all guys like girls. and who is speaking for ALL the guys in the world? why should girls control what they do with their face based on what guys prefer?

i've seen so many videos about "natural makeup" but it covers any blemishes, acne, scarring, pretty much anything that doesn't make you skin completely smooth and "perfect". this ultimately implies that any blemishes is not natural and should be covered up. these "natural" makeup routines take just as much product as "glam" makeup.

here is a list of product a youtuber used in her video "HOW TO EASY EVERYDAY MAEKUP TUTORIAL-Fresh and Natural!"
Mac Fix+ Matte It Cosmetics Anti Aging Armor Dior BB Eye Cream Tarte Shape Tape concealer Bare Minerals Matte Foundation powder Tarte Park Avenue Princess palette Hourglass Diffused Bronze Light Becca Champagne Pop highlighter Essence Satin Coral Blush Benefit Precisely My Brow Pencil Hourglass brow gel Anastasia Pro Pencil Hourglass Caution Mascara Mac Oh Honey lip pencil Mac Boldly Bare lip pencil Tom Ford First Time lipstick the Dior Lip Glow

this, in my opinion, isn't really "natural". there is nothing wrong with wearing makeup but people who prefer "natural" makeup or no makeup are really just preferring this. the youtuber covers all her freckles and lines her lips to make them look bigger. she even uses "anti aging" cream that is supposed to minimize wrinkles, so apparently aging and wrinkles aren't natural.

the problem with "natural" makeup is the fact that it implies that certain things like acne should be covered to even be considered natural. it preaches to people that their birthmarks, blemishes, etc should be hidden or you're not natural.

an article similar to this blogpost
https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2016/mar/23/men-women-less-makeup-bad-research

do we control media or media control us?

while watching frontline's making cents out of teens: merchants of cool, we noticed the marketing feedback loop. companied research teens and every aspect of their lives and then advertise their lifestyle back to teens. teens aspire to reach that lifestyle, reach it, media takes over, and it's not cool anymore. then teens find something new. then companies come flocking back. this is the everlasting cycle and the reason why trends come and go so quickly. so do we teens really control what we like? or does media tell us what to like?

before media became our main source for inspiration for clothing, beauty standards, and an overall lifestyle, people used their peers (at least that's what i think). as teens got more power and money to spend, companies took the chance of advertising for teens. as the years went on, as media played a bigger role in teen life, teens began seeing teens represented. except these teens look prettier than you! and they have expensive cars! you're not cool if you don't look like them! teenagers then change to fit these standard of living. but mainstream = not cool, so when too many people start dressing like sharpie from high school musical, it's time to move on to something different and unique. here comes disney channel again on its way to make a movie about edgy outcasts. and this whole thing restarts. it's kinda crazy how what teens want, we get.

i don't think that this feedback loop is just for companies advertising their product, but it spreads to social media like tumblr,  instagram, and pinterest. "influencers" inspire their followers by showing off their lavish lifestyle with their cars and clothing. when all people see is success in materialistic items, it is no doubt they will feel insecure that they don't have what others do. this is the same for beauty standards...people just can't help but compare their bodies to someone else's. so people would change themselves to attempt to fit these artificial standards.

i personally it's just a combination of both, but teens play a bigger role in what companies advertise.

i agree with this person's caption...

"ugh this would look so good on you"

"ok u DEFS need this in ur life" "DON'T REGRET IT" "GEDDIT SIS" "you're totally worth this" "SPEND MORE SAVE MORE"

those are just a few of hundreds of email subject titles i see from forever 21, a popular clothing company for teens and young adults. i literally tried unsubscribing from their mailing list multiple times and it doesn't work...its a trap. i have noticed that stores have been "trying to save the environment" lately so to save paper, they've been asking for customers' emails to "email the receipt". yeah hollister emailed me my receipt from a year ago and those emails never stopped. emailing is one of the new and upcoming most annoying advertising technique. not only does it flood my inbox, it also distracts me from what i was actually trying to do.

forever 21 is treating me as if i am their friend to convince me to open their emails to see what would look good on me or what i DEFS need in my life or what something i don't want to regret. they want their customers to think "oh, forever 21 is my friend. i can trust them, they know what i like". most importantly, it attracts my attention. i never really payed attention to their emails but "ugh this would look so good on you" really caught my eye because it was a straight up compliment that was sent to their whole email list, implying that their clothing would look good on anyone.

urban outfitters is another company that sends their emails to me, but they never catch my attention because they all are "FLASH SALE" "HURRY: 30% off..." "LAST CHANCE: 20% off..". my brain has practically traded itself to ignore and scroll thru those emails because i know there's no hurry, it's not my last chance, and that urban outfitters has a flash sale almost every week. this use of time pressure technique has gotten old as people have started to notice that sales come and go. i think the next email technique would be sweet talking the consumer.

i'm just tryna be different

in the frontline episode "merchants of cool", the idea of what teenagers think is cool is brought up. they mention how teenagers think something is cool until it becomes mainstream, which have become more true this past year. i agree that the reason why teen consumption is crucial to america's economy is because of our exposure to entertainment and media. we see how her teenagers look and their lifestyle and often consciously and unconsciously aspire to be like them. then we go for materialistic, superficial items to become them. of course, this attracts the attention of companies, who then produce things to please us. i never really realized the power of our preferences and trends. 

for the past few years, the way to go was being basic: victoria's secret pink clothing, starbucks, messy buns, uggs all day everyday baby. this was what was popular for awhile and started to die down last year. now what is cool is being different and quirky. 2000's style is back... wearing neon colors, strips of rainbow hair, short sleeves over long sleeves, butterfly clips, cheetah print, etc. it went from fitting in to making sure to stand out from the crowd. 

companies definitely do a good job following these trends...fast too. the second a trend starts urban outfitters and forever 21 are the first to hop on the train to make their own version to sell. it clearly works for teens who want to follow the sudden 2000's trend but for the people who started to wear 2000's clothing doesn't want it to become mainstream, so they stop and move on to something else. and then eventually 2000's style would become outta trend and another trend would come in. this is a constant cycle companies are following. 

the thing i find the most interesting about this social phenomenon is how much people are willing to pay for "trendy" things. and much companies charge. i remember wearing barrettes, butterfly clips, and scrunchies when i was in elementary school.  i would get packs of these sparkly accessories from the dollar store. now urban outfitters is charging $12 for a 5 pack of scrunchies or $8 for 6 barrettes. are you buying the brand or buying the product? it's just very odd to see things from your childhood that your parents forced you to wear being overpriced at "trendy" "contemporary" stores.

2015-2017                                                            2019 (or 2000's)