What do my classmates have to say?

Hello again! I already know what you’re thinking. You are probably waiting for me to discuss something I’ve learned about in my media criticism class but guess what? Today, I’m going to take a different path! I’m going to talk about what my classmates have learned in my media criticism class instead. I am going to go through three of my classmate’s blogs that stood out to me and explain what I enjoyed about their blog, what I learned from them, and what they could improve on. Basically, I’m going to give constructive criticism in my media criticism class.

First, I am going to start by analyzing Brianna Amoroso’s blog, “Lifting the Curtain on Disney”. Her link can be found here.  http://briannacelesteamoroso.wordpress.com/

Brianna, I really enjoyed reading your blog on the ideologies we find in Disney movies. Your creative title, “Lifting the Curtain on Disney” is what caught my attention. Also, I found that your blog was set up in a fun and inviting manner that was welcoming to the reader. I like the way you placed pictures throughout your blog that went perfectly with what you were writing about.

Your blog on Disney reminded me of my blog on Disney because we made the same connections. For example, when you were talking about Disney’s depiction of gender roles and gender representation, you used examples that were similar to mine. You said that female roles tend to be portrayed as beautiful, skinny, and seductive. They bat their eyelashes and use their bodies to get what they want. I wrote about the same thing so I can definitely relate to what you were writing about!

You did a great job discussing how Disney represents women. This website is goes into further detail about how Disney characters don’t send the most realistic messages about life and love. http://madamenoire.com/82236/what-little-girls-learn-from-disney-princesses/ You could’ve went into further detail and used some of their examples but overall, you did a great job!

Also, I like how you discussed Disney’s way of representing different races and ethnicities. I didn’t write about that in my blog so I learned a lot while reading yours. You went into great detail about how the hyenas in Lion King were portrayed under a negative light with their dark fur, street slang, and Latino/African-American voices. I never thought about how Disney is exposing children to racism.

Overall your blog was very impressive but I think you could’ve added more of your own opinion. A lot of your ideas were straight from the movie or the lectures in class. When you used your own opinions, it was powerful and effective. Other than that, I think you did an amazing job and I am glad that your creative title lured me in to read your blog!

Next, I am going to be talking about blog assignment #2 written by Sarah Claus. Her blog can be found here. http://sarahclaus.wordpress.com/

Sarah, my eyes were immediately drawn to your blog about One Tree Hill because it is my favorite show, besides Breaking Bad, of course. You did a great job at introducing the show to your readers and explaining what One Tree Hill is all about. The two videos you showed in the beginning couldn’t have been more perfect. It is great that you showed the readers how different Lucas and Nathan were towards each other in the beginning compared to the end.

Then, you went on to explain how the aesthetic, ritual, and ideological approaches relate to One Tree Hill. Your example of how the aesthetic approach relates to One Tree Hill stood out to me the most. When you explained how One Tree Hill focuses heavily on music, I could definitely relate to that. One of the main reasons why I love this show so much is due to their choice of music. Here is a link you could’ve used to explain how important music is to One Tree Hill. http://www.oth-music.com/ Overall, you really showed that you understood the three approaches.

I also found it interesting when you said shows that depict teen life in a more realistic manner do not do as well. Personally, I like to watch shows that I can relate to. One Tree Hill was much more effective to watch since I could relate to their everyday life situations. When I watch Gossip Girl, it is hard for me to relate because I live such a different lifestyle than characters such as Blair. In my opinion, I think you should’ve given your opinion and said whether you would rather watch a show you can relate to or watch an unrealistic show. Other than that, you did a great job.

This was one of my favorite blogs to read because you gave so many personal examples. You did a wonderful job using examples we learned in class to further explain One Tree Hill. Keep up the good work, Sarah!

Lastly, I will be discussing Eric Arditti’s blog, “Breaking Down Breaking Bad.” His blog can be found here. http://ericarditti.wordpress.com/

Eric, your blog about Breaking Bad was one of my favorite blogs to read. Not only did you do a great job at explaining what Breaking Bad is all about, but you kept my attention the entire time. I can relate to the beginning of your blog when you say that you can’t get into a routine of sitting down every week and watching a television show. Breaking Bad is my one exception. It’s just so great!

You did a wonderful job at describing what Breaking Bad is all about to someone who may never have seen the show before. I loved the video clip you showed because my all-time favorite quote throughout the entire show was “A guy opens his door and you think that of me? No, I AM the one who knocks.” That was my favorite quote because it is so real and so powerful. Breaking Bad as a whole is such a powerful show so this quote just paves the way for what comes next.

I enjoyed the part of your blog where you described the visualist approach. You are correct when you say this show is very visually appealing and is known for using unique shots. As if this show isn’t unique enough already, some scenes start out with views from inside a microwave! It’s truly amazing.

In my opinion, I don’t think there’s anything you could’ve done to improve this blog. You did an amazing job at explaining the television show, relating it to concepts we’ve learned in class, and then giving your personal opinions and examples. Great job, Eric!

So what did I learn from critiquing my classmates blogs? Well, I’ve learned that an entire classroom of students can get assigned the same exact blog assignment, and there will always be different responses. After working hard on my own blog, it was amazing to read the exact same blog from the perspective of one of my classmates. It was interesting to find similarities in our writing styles but it was even more interesting to see the differences. I love the fact that we can all sit in class and listen to the same lecture but then walk out of class with different lessons learned. Overall, I had an amazing experience in this class. I’ve never written a blog before but it has truly taught me a lot. My writing skills and comfort level have grown tremendously and I am thankful I got the opportunity to improve!

Extra Credit- Codes of Gender

In media criticism, we watched a film called The Codes of Gender. This film is an analysis of advertising that explains how ideas of masculinity and femininity have come to seem natural and normal over the years. It shows a pattern of masculine and feminine displays and poses. It looks beyond advertising as a medium that sells products. It looks beyond gender as just a biological difference. I found this film to be very interesting because it shows images that are so normalized and subliminal but explains that on a deeper level. This film made me view advertising from a different perspective.

This film started out by explaining the difference between sex and gender. In class, we learned that sex refers to biological differences and gender describes the characteristics that a society or culture sees as masculine or feminine.

Sut Jhally, a communication scholar, explained “The point is that while we are born with a set of different individual physical and biological characteristics, these traits are then made sense of through the categories of culture. In this way, there is nothing natural or biological about gender or our gender identities. We learned to inhabit the gender category that we have been assigned from outside, from the culture.”

In other words, he is explaining that nothing is natural about gender identity. It is simply a part of a process where we take on certain attributes. For example, if I took on certain attributes such as athleticism and strength, I would be seen as a tom boy. There are certain characteristics that are considered masculine and certain characteristics that are seen as feminine. I believe that advertising creates these messages in our head of what we believe to be masculine versus feminine.

The film also explained that gender display is the idea that we perform the roles expected of us. Over time, it seems natural for women to wear heels and walk a certain way and for men to be strong and powerful. We are so used to these ideas due to the repetitious masculine and feminine images.

For example, this picture shows a man with a feminine stance. It is considered feminine by the way he is placing his hand over his body.

This picture is very similar but it seems more natural since it shows a women with a feminine stance.

This proves that ideas of femininity and masculinity go unnoticed and unchallenged over time.

The way the body is displayed in advertising communicates normative ideas about masculinity and femininity. Sut Jhally said, “It is only when we start to look at advertisements carefully that we begin to see how strange and weird they actually are and begin the process of thinking independently, for ourselves, about what the culture holds up as normal.”

While I was watching this film, I didn’t even realize how strange it is for a women to have one leg up, showing that she is off balance and powerless. Men often have both feet on the ground, showing that they are emotionally in control and prepared for what will come their way. The film explained that the body is a text and a means of communication. A person’s stance can say a lot about them. For example, if I had my hands on my hips, it could show that I am determined or powerful. If I had my head tilted, it could show that I am unsure or insecure. There are reasons why models are told to stand a certain way and it is something that we rarely think about until it is presented to us.

The film also explained that women never leave girlhood behind. Little girls and grown women are presented the same. Whether they are wearing similar clothing, doing the same activities, or standing the same way, they are similar. An advertisement of a young girl could be extremely similar to an advertisement of a grown women.

For example, this image shows a women with her hand playfully in her mouth.

 

This image shows also shows a little girl with her hand playfully in her mouth.

There are not many differences when it comes to advertisements of older women and advertisements of young girls because women never leave their girlhood behind.

This film also shows that girls are growing up way too fast. Since there are no major distinctions between advertisements of young girls and advertisements of older women, it is safe to say that young girls are growing up too fast. For example, this photo  shows a young girl dressed like an older women.

 

She has her hair done and she is wearing a lot of makeup. She looks so much older than she is actually is. These days, young girls are growing up too fast.

Another example is the Copper-tone advertisements. The innocent advertisement for sunscreen has been turned into a sexual advertisement. The film explains that it is normal to see innocent advertisements with a provocative side.

 

 

This movie made me think outside the box. I learned a lot from it and now I won’t be able to look at advertisements without looking at the model’s bodies as a text. I will note their poses and the signals they are sending out. I’m glad I got the opportunity to watch this film because it really opened my eyes to the way advertisements portray gender roles.

 

It’s a whole new world

Hello and welcome back to my blog!

This week I will be talking about ideological criticism so put your thinking cap on and enjoy the ride!

First, let me refresh your memory by giving you a brief definition of ideology. Ideology refers to a set of ideas that gives some particular account of the world. It is an instrument dominant elites use to extend control over others. More specifically, an ideology is the process of how we, as the viewers, make meaning from what a text presents to us.

When you think ideologies, you should think power. For example, corporate conglomerates have the power to make certain ideologies, that they think should govern society, seem normal. This power is directly related to the political economy theory because it examines how media institutions exert power over the masses through texts.

Elites are able to sustain power over the masses through owning so much of the media. If the masses are only exposed to certain stereotypes or social norms, then that will undoubtedly shape how they will think and behave.

Hopefully that definition of ideology will help you better understand what ideological criticism is! So, let’s get down to business!

Ideological criticism examines….

• how these ideas are embedded in and circulated through texts
• how they reflect and serve the interests of the dominant elites
• how the systematic representation of these ideas becomes accepted as normal and natural
• how these ideas go unnoticed and unchallenged

Ideological criticism is not just looking at the text itself but rather how the text is produced and structured. It helps us see how these texts interact with our life experiences. It helps us to understand dominant ideas and values that are circulating in our social world.

Mickey Mouse Monopoly, a movie that we viewed in Media Criticism, is a great example of ideological criticism. This movie explained that Disney creates childhood culture all over the world. For example, since Disney is a transnational media conglomerate, it owns television and radio networks, cable systems, internet sites, music studios, magazines, sports teams, theaters, theme parks, and more. With that being said, Disney has a big influence on popular culture. Since Disney is such a large corporation, these stories will help form a children’s imaginary world.

The movie explained that when parents show their children Disney movies they are allowing Disney to shape their children’s imagination. The movie examines Disney’s power to shape mass culture. It takes a close look at the messages these disney films create and the stories they tell about race, gender, and class. Eventually these ideas about race, gender, and class become natural, obvious, and common sensical since we see them so much. Today, these ideas often go unnoticed and unchallenged. Disney sounds great so far, right? Well, just keep reading.

When you think of Disney, you think of images of innocence magic and fun, right? Well, just when we think that Disney movies are wholesome family entertainment, we must remember that these movies are a whole lot more than that. They are really shaping children’s imagination. Disney is criticized by many for their continuous stereotyping of women and race. This is a concern because Disney is teaching young girls that they need to be skinny to be beautiful. Also, they are showing their audience that African Americans are uneducated.

Initially, we don’t see how this is wrong or how it will affect how we perceive race and gender. We watch films and television shows to be entertained. Until we stop to analyze the material that we are viewing, we don’t realize how it can affect young children.

Most people don’t realize that Disney is giving off negative messages because Disney hides behind innocence. They are able to do and say whatever they want because their characters, plots, and messages, are all wrapped up in a fantasy. Disney is viewed as the ultimate form of fantasy that can’t be questioned.

It is also interesting to note that the messages I grew up with as a child have not changed at all. At a young age, I was surrounded with images of Tinkerbell’s tiny waist and beautiful flowing hair. Now, I open a magazine and see skinny models with perfect skin. I don’t even question these images because they seem normal to me at this point. It’s what I’ve seen at a young age and it’s what I see today.

Mickey Mouse Monopoly also explains how the image of a female has not really changed at all. Disney shows the same messages that we see today. We still see the tiny waist, long and fluttering eyelashes, coy expressions, and seductiveness.

Here is a video to show you examples of the messages that disney gives to the public. It shows stereotypes of gender representation.

If disney says that women should be domesticated, innocent, pretty, and be willing to change for men then why wouldn’t young girls believe that? Disney has a large impact on young girls identity.

Disney would never show an image like this. Disney princesses are not flawed or silly. They are simply perfect, stunning, and collected.

 

Instead, Disney shows us pictures like this….

I admit that I fell victim to Disney’s messages. When I was younger, I can’t recall any movies that I watched more often than Disney movies. After seeing the story lines filled with magic, the princesses filled with perfection, and the happy endings before the credits rolled down the screen, how could I not be hooked? I was hooked as a child and I’m still hooked throughout adulthood. I would watch any Disney movie right now and still enjoy it just as much as when I was a kid.

Many of my readers are probably thinking that if I still love Disney movies then why does it matter if they have negative stereotypes embedded in their films? I think it is important to address the issue of ideological criticism because of the unconscious affect it has on the viewers. These messages are unconsciously registered in our heads, which later affects our thinking and behavior.

I still love Disney and I always will. Now, I just have a better understanding as to why I love Tinkerbell so much 🙂

 

 

We live in a semiotic world

Hello! Welcome back to my blog! Today, I will be talking about semiotics 🙂

First, lets take a second to think about the signs that we see every single day. We are surrounded by millions of signs. Signs are everywhere we look whether they are found on television shows, billboards, banners, or commercial advertisements. Signs are embedded in all texts. They are a way to understand the meaning of a text and to understand how reality is socially constructed.

So, what is semiotics?

Semiotics, by definition, is the study of how social production of meaning is constructed through a system of signs. Texts are constructed from signs using codes commonly interpreted in a society

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Lets look at some common terms to help us better understand semiotics!

• sign = signifier
• meaning = signified
• process = signification
• field of signs = code

Here’s a picture to go along with the terms.

 

Want to hear a fun fact? Signs are everywhere!

I love fashion but I can’t help but to notice all of the signs and images involved in the fashion industry. Semiotics in the fashion industry describes a sense of identity. Common signifiers in fashion are high status, sexuality, and young beautiful woman. Hair color, hairstyle, eye color, body type, makeup, age, and race are all signifiers involved in fashion advertising. For example, long dark hair can portray a sexual woman. Women with long, blonde hair are considered perfection in our society. Short hair represents a sophisticated woman. The fashion industry uses print ads filled with codes to advertise their products to their consumers.

 

 

 

Now, lets take a look at Drew Barrymore’s CoverGirl advertisement. “We partnered with Drew because she emulates the iconic image of CoverGirl with her fresh, natural beauty and energetic yet authentic spirit,” says Vice President of CoverGirl.

When I first saw this advertisement, it was easy to see a beautiful, natural woman but once I looked deeper, it was clear that this advertisement is made up of signs.

This advertisement is filled with the color red, which is a symbolic sign for bold beauty and sex appeal. Her lips, bracelet, logo, and lipstick stand out because they are red. According to http://www.smalltimemarketer.com/using-color-for-better-results, “red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, want, and love. Blue-based reds are associated with more expensive products. Red brings text and images to the foreground. Use it as an accent color to stimulate quick decisions. In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings.” Red is very effective when it comes to advertising because it makes the viewer think and feel a certain way. It also helps to give the advertisement personality.

She is wearing a black, sheer shirt which makes me think of elegant, high fashion. Her hair and makeup are very naturally styled which shows that CoverGirl focuses on natural beauty. The layout of the advertisement is very simple and relaxed which signifies that when using CoverGirl, you don’t have to try too hard to look beautiful. The white background shows that CoverGirl is associated with wealth and sophistication. It is common for advertisements for expensive products to be filled with white space.

The meaning of what each signifier represents is the signified. Signs have shared, common meanings and they can be interpreted in multiple ways. This advertisement generally appeals to the female audience but individual readers will interpret images in different ways. The meaning of signs can differ based on who is producing the signs, as well as who is interpreting them.

There are three different forms of signs.

 Symbolic = arbitrary connection to its meaning

 

 Iconic = resemble what they stand for

 

 

 Indexical = casual link because its sign and its meaning

Understanding semiotics and the different forms of signs are important because it teaches us that reality is a system of signs. Semiotics helps us understand messages and ideas through signs and the codes into which they are organized.

Before we go our separate ways, lets take a look at a video that further explains semiotics. It starts off showing common signs that we see every single day. It explains that the signifier is an object or image being seen. The signified is a message given off by an image or object. The video goes on to explain that we are surrounded by street signs, signs on apparel, and signs in our media. Signs and symbols are everywhere and they all signify meaning to the viewer.

Semiotics helps us better understand the world around us.

What is media criticism?

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first blog post about media criticism! My name is Chelsey Selleck and I am a senior at Towson University. I am a mass communication major with a track in advertising and a minor in business. Since my major is mass communication, I will be taking a media criticism class this semester. I look forward to learning more about the media that surrounds us each and every day! 🙂

When I was picking my classes for this semester, the class title “media criticism” really stuck out to me. So many questions were running back and forth through my head.

• Why are we criticizing the media?
• How do we criticize the media?
• What will we learn from criticizing the media?

and then I came across this quote “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”

After reading that quote, it finally hit me that we HAVE TO criticize the media! The media is all around us and we will never be able to escape its powerful force. It invades our time spent with friends when our cell phone buzzes from a text message, it throws advertisements in our faces and tells us how to think, what to watch, how to dress, and it excites us when we find someone on Facebook that we haven’t talked to in years. It’s everywhere.

Also, one way to see just how important media is to us, is to think about our lives without it. We wouldn’t follow sports teams in the newspaper, watch our favorite television shows, or go to the movies for fun. Our perception of ourselves would be different as well. Since we wouldn’t have television characters or advertising images to compare ourselves to, we wouldn’t be as concerned with the latest fashion trends or the idea of how we “should” look. We would simply dress for ourselves instead of dressing like advertisements we see on billboards or on commercials.

A movie that I think relates to this class is called Josie and the Pussycats. It is a movie about a girl band that was created by a trendy record label called MegaRecords. The label gets teens to buy their records and follow a new trend every week by putting subliminal messages into their music. The band, Josie and the Pussycats, becomes so popular and eventually reaches the top of the charts. Josie finds out there have been subliminal messages placed in their music when she uses a mixing board to hear the messages. Eventually, they run from their new celebrity life and realize that the media messed everything up.

This movie does a great job at satirizing today’s pop culture. The movie is filled with logos and you see millions of advertisements placed in the background of every scene. The movie shows just how quick people are to conform to new trends. The video below shows that the media really does make people want to dress, look, and act a certain way. It shows the band walking into a make up studio and from the moment they entered, the makeup artists were so quick to change them. They changed everything from their hair to their makeup and almost made them unrecognizable. This is a realistic scene because it happens every day with new artists. First, they start out singing music that relates to them and the next second, they are having songs written for them just because it’s what people want to hear.

If a media critic were to say, “Oh, you’re reading way too much into that movie — get over it, it’s just entertainment”, I would say “It’s not just entertainment. This movie is realistic and shows the powerful effect that the media has on us. We are quick to follow new trends and this movie does a great job of showing that.”

How will we ever be ourselves if the media is always telling us what to do? We are so quick to do what is “cool” and “popular”. I don’t even remember what life was like before we made our own decisions without letting the media influence us. Sometimes I ask myself, “Is that really what you want to wear or are you just wearing that to fit in?” I admit that I like to keep up with new trends but I try not to follow every single thing the media tells me to do. Sometimes it’s “cool” not to follow trends and make your own trends instead.

I am looking forward to learning more about media criticism throughout the semester. The media will never disappear which is why I think it is important to understand the role it has on our lives. I hope to learn ways to avoid some of the media messages that are thrown my way each and every day.

Check back on my next blog because next time, I will have even more knowledge on media criticism! Now excuse me while I go check twitter, download some new, trendy music, and watch television with millions of interrupting commercials that will make me want to go out and buy new clothes. 😉

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