Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Are You Influenced By What You See?

PLEASE PASS ALONG your thoughts regarding Siobahn's presentation this morning, specifically the notion of imagery in media, including journalism, perpetuating stereotypes.

Can journalism and the media shape who you are?

And with that in mind, now do you think the media share some responsibility for the death of the Wal-Mart worker on Long Island?

22 comments:

Hattie Cheek said...

I feel like the media plays a big part in what people choose to wear and look like. I liked seeing these commercials because in trys to enforce the fact that people should be there own person and not fall to the commercial expectations. But i must say that many people do there hair, makeup, and where clothes that are socially exceptable. When people see barbie or models completely made up it makes them feel inferior and that they need to improve thereselves.

J K Hirst said...

I feel like the media, specifically the advertising industry, has a lot to do with the choices we make. It's is ever present in our society, so it of course has influence.
In regards to the presentation, I like it. I felt like it would all be common sense reiterations in the beginning but I definitely learned from it. I kind of wished she would have spent longer on the male stereotypes. She breezed over it because she didn't agree with it. I didn't care for that too much.

Anonymous said...

i think as college kids we tend to overvthink situations, and let them bother us too much. this being one of those situations. all i can say about today's lecture is boo fucking hoo.
i dont find it fair to blame the media for putting pretty girls on the cover of magazines, having them sell stuff or haveing touch up jobs. honestly im more likely to look at the product if thats the case. advertisers are just doing their job, let em live. its kinda sleezy, but let em live. Moreover, i think we the consumers need to step up our game. if something offends you, or you dont like, just dont buy it. but its a fact sex sells, get over it. im not going to let it ruin my day. Women tend to nag about more things than men i guess....

Kierra Ray said...

Thinking about what the TA said today...
The media does really affect how we view ourselves.
I didn't notice anything physically wrong with me until I started reading Seventeen magazine.
And now I catch myself pointing at various models saying, "If I could look like her, my worries would be over."

But I'm still unsure whether or not the media is the real cause of that Walmart shoppers' death. I honestly don't think so, though.

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GraceMcDermott said...

I thought her presentation was really good. I consider my self a feminist, and by that I mean a girl who thinks she deserves equality, not superiority. It's totally true that the media feeds women and men a negative, diminutive images of a woman's worth which further enforces the idea that women just aren't that important. I thought her presentation was eye opening because I never really thought about the male stereotypes the media perpetuates. Although I don't believe them to be as disgusting or dismissive as the ones associated with women they are wrong as well.
I really do believe that media effects who we all are. Especially the younger more impressionable members of our society. Because of this I really feel that the industry should be making more of an effort to correct the disservice they are doing all of us . That being said I don't think airbrushing and things like that need to stop, but there needs to be more education on what goes into to making someone "beautiful".

Anonymous said...

Siobahn did a great job today, but I think instead of heaping the blame on the industry, which deserves its fair share of criticism, some blame should be placed on the women and men who take these modeling jobs. Without models, this industry would have to change focus, and more time could be invested in making the products seem more attractive on their own. It's just some food for thought, I don't see this conceivably happening in any way in the near future.

Anonymous said...

I thought this was amazing...I loved everything about it! It sent such a strong message.

Bradshaw

Anonymous said...

I'm not much of a feminist, but I thought Siobahn's presentation was touching and incredibly on point. I absolutely love the Dove commercials--they send out such a positive message and they aren't trying to boast their product as much as they are trying to send the message that all females are beautiful, no matter they're weight, hair color, height, etc. I liked how Siobahn added the dangers facing masculinity as well; her presentation wasn't biased and she wasn't trying to force the idea that the media damages the appearance of women...she was simply making it known. I really, really liked this presentation and I think it positively showed how media can sometimes negatively (as well as positively) affect its viewers...just makes us all more knowledgable consumers of journalism!

Anonymous said...

Thank you all for taking the time to comment. I just want to add a few things: I don’t think examining and deconstructing stereotypes has to turn into a blame game (blaming the models or the media). I think it should instead be a way for us to open a conversation about what we consider to be “natural,” who has the power and privilege in our society, and how that power and privilege is culturally reinforced (in the media, in our daily interactions, in our textbooks, even amongst ourselves). The point of my lecture was to open up the conversation, to start everyone questioning the many images, stereotypes, and naturalizations they’re fed every day. Don’t be passive consumers; be critical consumers, and be engaged!

Theresa Regan said...

I thought Siobahn's presentation was great. I'm in no way a hard-core feminist or anything, but I completely agreed that media plays up the sexes, especially women, to the point where its almost embarrassing. I hate sitting with my dad watching TV and having some sleazy commercial come on. Talk about uncomfortable. I think Siobahn was completely right in saying that the media makes women out to be an object, and I thought the leg exercise was a great idea, to show that even vice/presidential candidates are not protected from the materialization of the media. Great job, Siobahn!

Anonymous said...

I think the media does affect how people, especially young girls view themselves. I really liked the Dove video she showed because it opens a lot of eyes to how many advertisements have to do with women's bodies and what they're "supposed" to look like.

Anonymous said...

I also believe the media has affected how people view things. The way we look at our clothes, our hair, our cars, our homes, and even out bodies... all can be affected by how the media has represented them.

Catherine Cannon said...

This moving was incredibly moving and and sends such a true and real message. The media in particular really does effect how people, especially young girls should see themselves. Also it sends a message to guys that your girl should look like those girls in the magazines.

I think if we keep having videos and advertisements such as this one there is hope for the future.

Anonymous said...

I do think the media has a lot to do with how people view themselves. But what is the alternative option? Of course advertisers are going to use attractive people to sell their products...there's no denying that it works. We can't change the images we see daily but we can change the way we view them and allow them to affect us.

Anonymous said...

The media can shape who you are if you don't already know who you are of if your the type of person that is easily influenced by others. The media isn't responsible for death of the Wal-Mart worker. The people who trampled the person are the ones respnsible for the death.

Anonymous said...

I was really impressed by the Dove videos that were shown in class. They were really amazing.
As for Siobahn's presentation, I thought it was extremely interesting. I am actually considering taking a class discussing gender and sexuality now because of it. She went a little fast for note-taking but since blackboard has all the notes, it wasn't a big deal.
I really don't see how the media was responsible, even partly, for the death of the Wal-Mart employee. It was just a bunch of insane people who were so desperate for a bunch of material possessions they didn't care if someone died. It is absolutely horrifying and hard to believe. But I don't see how the media could have been involved...

Jonathan said...

I do think that the media shapes our thoughts about how we look at others. Women are presented as more or less sexual objects. It is a shame because women mean so much and are so much more than that to this world. Hopefully times will change and women will get better treatment in the media.

KevinRGold (j1111 class) said...

I definitely believe that the media plays an important role in the way we live our lives today in terms of being influenced, However I do believe that we cannot blame it all on the media. I say this because we are indivuduals with a MIND to think on our own and to be totally consumed by way the media portrays to us, is a sign of a weak minded individual. So yes, to an extent we are indeed influenced by what we see because of our natural act to feed off of what we see, but I say again that what we see isnt the main source of our actions.