3,276 Hours

Go, and Watch This.


http://www.upworthy.com/this-woman-stripped-her-dress-off-while-onstage-in-the-name-of-feminism-point-well-made?c=ufb1

Hello!

I had to post this because it is so ridiculous. We know that models are photo-shopped to an almost inhuman degree but this is the worst I have seen. Just check out this article How could target fail so badly at photoshop?

I'm betting this girl looked beautiful and natural before this photoshop. Now she looks...strange. Another example of the unrealistic images that we see everyday. Stupid thigh gaps.

Ban Bossy - Gender Stereotypes

When a little boy asserts himself, he's called a “leader.” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy.” Words like bossy send a message: don't raise your hand or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood. Together we can encourage girls to lead.

Pledge to Ban Bossy.

Click here to see the website

This happened to pop up on Google right after media class today. I think we should give girls, and boys, more opportunities to be themselves and go after their goals, whatever they may be. We have strict gender stereotypes that are reinforced by the media and I think we need to be careful with how we talk to and treat our children based on gender. This campaign is interesting to me and I am definitely going to look into what they are planning to do to change the stereotype.

Parents Empowered - Utah

I noticed an ad on a garbage truck in West Valley, Utah a year ago and have since seen more and more advertisements on television and radio. Utah has begun Parents Empowered to stop the rising levels of underage drinking. The messages in the videos are awesome for parents but I think as a teenager, I would have listened up as well. The content is attention-grabbing and is really helping parents get involved and become aware of what their children are doing. The website ishttp://parentsempowered.org/ if you wanna check it out. When I was growing up and still today, underage drinking was huge in my middle school and high school. It would be cool to see ads such as these and to see if they are effective.

On President's Day, I went to the Sacred Gifts exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. It was my second time going through and it was still so powerful. The pictures of the Savior are incredible and can evoke so much emotion for the viewer. I enjoyed seeing that the artists, Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann, and Frans Schwartz, see Christ in a very similar way that I do.

I don't think we consider art as media often. I challenge all of you to go to the exhibit and be aware of the emotions you feel and also what the artist was trying to portray about the Savior. Every art form depicts a message to the viewer and in the case of Sacred Gifts, it can be uplifting and spiritual.

 Here is the link. Everyone should go see this while we have the blessing to have the paintings.

http://sacredgifts.byu.edu

Song Content

I work at a residential treatment center for teenage girls. They have dealt with tough stuff in their lives and have failed other programs to help them with trauma, mental illness, and other skills to make it through life. We had speakers installed in our grouphome this week so we have been playing music. I have never had to be so aware of the content in music before I worked here. I knew there was bad stuff but even the songs that seem really innocent on the radio, we can't play because of language, sex, drugs, or alcohol references. If music did not affect us, we wouldn't have to be so aware of what we listen to.

Am I the only one who can't make it through the Olympics without crying?

Media is powerful! Just put music and video together and you can make one dang good 2:00 minute commercial. 

In honor of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

I love my Mom and Dad.

I'll just be over here crying.

In class I had the hardest time picking a song that described me. While I still am not positive what fits me best, "Stop This Train" by John Mayer seems to work well for my current state. Here it is for your listening pleasure. What song would you pick to describe yourself?

First Anti-Smoking Campaign Targets Teens

"They’re not scared of lung cancer and they can’t imagine ever developing heart disease. So the Food and Drug Administration is trying to get at what might really scare teenagers in its first campaign against smoking: looking ugly and stupid." 

I found this news article (link below) online and it could not have been more perfect for what we discussed in class. These new ads to target teen smoking are awesome. The article says it is a year long campaign and will use social media, MTV, and other outlets to get the teen population's attention.

I think we need to switch up how we are advertising to different age groups because so far they have not been effective for healthy outcomes. I am excited to see this campaign and see if the numbers change. The article states that 90 percent of adult smokers picked up the habit by age 18.

"Our kids are the replacement customers for the addicted adult smokers who die or quit each day," said Mitch Zeller, the director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. "And that's why we think it's so important to reach out to them — not to lecture them, not to throw statistics at them — but to reach them in a way that will get them to rethink their relationship with tobacco use."

This quote states perfectly why it is important to act against the negative advertisements and the tobacco and alcohol companies who want to create lifelong customers by attracting youth. Advertising has become more and more inappropriate; regardless of age group or even product. I believe it is really important to do something and limit what our youth see so they do not get in a trap for the rest of their lives. My brother and best friend both do advertising and I have been getting their viewpoints recently on these things. My best friend really focuses on not using sexual content to advertise. Unfortunately, it won't stop because it is effective. Now our generation needs to find a way to stop it.

 FDA targets teens in its first anti-smoking campaign

I'm a damsel, I'm in distress, I can handle this. Have a nice day.

 My roommates and I had a girl's night for fun this week and we watched "Hercules". I have not seen that movie for probably 10 years. It was so great to watch again and understand all of the jokes I didn't when I was a lil' kid.

Okay, let's look at a picture of Hercules and Meg:

Look at that BICEP. Look at her HAIR and WAIST.

This class has totally made me aware of what media wants us to see. I do not really care actually, but I just think its funny to notice the gender stereotypes we often talk about occurring in Disney movies. Meg is awesome though...smart and can hold her own. I think she'd be an okay role model, don't you think?

Conscious Media Choices

I have been thinking a lot about what we discussed in class this week. Why do we watch the things we do? It seems there are so many crime and reality shows on TV that do not even teach a good lesson at the end. I was at home the other day and switched to the TV Guide channel. It is crazy how many crime, but also inappropriate TV there is on in the middle of the day. I am grateful for parental controls on all things media...even for myself. I do not want those bad things to pop up and stay in my brain forever.

"The choices we make in media can be symbolic of the choices we make in life. Choosing the trendy, the titillating, the tawdry in the TV programs or movies we watch can cause us to end up, if we're not careful, choosing the same things in the lives we live." M. Russell Ballard

This quote made me examine my life. Shoot! This is from Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk titled "Let Our Voices Be Heard." I am grateful for leaders who know what is going on in the world and guide us through life as we try to do what is right.

Read "Let Our Voices Be Heard" here.

What Defines YOU?

TED talks are the bee's knees. I bet everyone could agree that has ever seen one. I turned 21 last August and I made a decision for my 21st year to make the daily choice to have a good day. I am the one who decides how I feel about my life. Along with this goal, I decided to cut out the things that made me not the best and seemed to make me judge others or worry about what other's thought about my outside appearance.

I saw this TED talk this week given by Lizzie Velasquez. She is a rock star and has an awesome story. I think a lot of the media today causes everyone to see things in an unreal way. The media sometimes makes us define things in a certain way, we define ourselves through comparison, and we forget the most important things in our lives. The debate on the influence media has on the physical appearances of woman, through celebrity photos, pornography, and shopping is clearly a big part of how we have to limit and be careful what we decide to bring into our lives. I am making a more conscious effort while in this class to use the media for good!

http://shockable.com/called-worlds-ugliest-girl-response-unbelievably-beautiful-literally-cried/

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

Said Friedrich Nietzsche. Ain't that the truth.

 I was thinking this week what type of media I use the most in my everyday life. It is definitely music. I use my smartphone quite a bit but I think my Pandora app is possibly one of the best things to happen to me and the most used. I estimated that I spend at least 12 hours a week listening to music. It is a powerful source of emotion that brings all people of different backgrounds together and I think that is so incredible. Here is are a random song I heard in a film class once that I've been feeling lately:

"This is Water"

This is worth watching.

For me, this is a good example of using media for good. This is part of a commencement address for college students and someone put it to a video which helps the viewer understand and connect to it easier. I will be graduating in April and I loved this video. I have been working on making the conscious choice to have a good day and to focus on others instead of myself. I am a sucker for motivational videos and documentaries and books and poems, etc etc. The media is powerful and I like to share things that lift others up whenever I can so that others can focus on the good and less of the meaningless, time-consuming, silly things that we often fill our days with.

This past week I spent a lot of time doing work training so I did not have many opportunities to interact with the media. I did however watch The Truman Show. I had seen the movie when I was younger and knew the basic premise, but decided to watch it again. In light of this media class, I found it really interesting as I looked at it in a different way. Truman has had his entire life created and filmed by producers who broadcast it on television for the last thirty years, all day, every day. I paid particular attention to the producers and the audience that are portrayed in the film. The viewers have watched this man's life almost completely straight and have become involved in his life because they have always been a part of it. They laugh, cry, and rejoice with him as they live through his experiences. The head producer created a perfect world for Truman. He says "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented."

Isn't this true today? I feel that as a society we often get caught up in television and other media because that is how we want reality to be. We must be careful though because just as the producer in The Truman Show, we can be presented with a fake, contrived reality. The damage in this is that we forget what is real and we constantly strive towards an impossible world. 

"I have given Truman the chance to lead a normal life. The world, the place you live in, is the sick place." This is a quote I want to think about as I take this class. Media is good, but it can be bad as well. We live in an interesting time where we are presented with many things that are not healthy if used incorrectly. I am looking forward to learning the good of media and how it can be used to benefit individuals and families.