News, trust, and truthiness

After reading several of my classmate’s blogs I have come to the conclusion that most of us agree that satirical news is in most ways a more reliable source compared to traditional news outlets as well as mainstream form of culture jamming.  These satirical news sources, whether they are the Colbert Report, the Rick Mercer Repot or the Daily Show, provide the general population information mostly about the world of politics in a fun and easy to view manner.  As Hunter Lackey (http://lunterhackey.blogspot.ca/) said, “the addition of comedy does not take anything away from the substance that is presented in these broadcasts,” meaning that a viewer has access to the same or more information that a traditional news source would provide.  In some ways the aspect of comedy does not take away the meaning of the stories being told, but rather engages the viewers to learn more. 

While these shows are connected to their specific television networks, such as how the CBC provides the Rick Mercer Report, they are not connected to a specific sponsor, which means there are few limitations that their reporting has to be wary of.   Whereas traditional news outlets must be careful of the stories they report, highly due to the fact that there is a risk of offending the wrong person or company and losing funding.  As a result, this fear leads to untruthful reporting.  That is why in most cases satirical news reporting’s, as Korina Charette (http://lookingformargo.wordpress.com/) said “create understanding and show the other side of the news stories that they report.”  As I previously stated, this allows for the viewers to have a greater understand of the news around them.  This is mainly centered towards the youth of today.  Most people my age will not pick up a newspaper or turn on the eleven o’clock news to find out about current events.  Frankly most of the time they are too boring, nobody wants to hear about what happened in the government that day unless it is a new Rob Ford scandal or something outrageous.  Which is why comedy is a way to keep the viewers engaged and watching and why it “is very popular among youth/young adults.” Jenny Tran (http://jt11mb.blogspot.ca/)  

The public sphere seems to be continuously evolving, in many ways this may be the new step.  Who knows, maybe in the not too distant future the traditional news that has been around for centuries will no longer exist.  Or maybe the news will become so unreliable and corrupt that viewers will have no choice but to watch satirical news in order to get true information.

Tara Wilken

Blog Entry 4: Is the fake news the real news?

Satirical news, such as The Rick Mercer Report and the Daily Show, are in my opinion, an accurate portrayal of culture jamming.  These shows focus on government news that usually is too boring for average people to be interested in.  Frankly I am not one who reads everything that the government of Canada is doing, but I do watch the Rick Mercer Report on a regular basis.  These shows bring an aspect of comedy to issues within a government system.  Whether it is the American or the Canadian government, there is always some sort of scandal or issue going on.  For example the biggest story right now is the Rob Ford crack cocaine scandal, which has been featured on the Daily Show, Rick Mercer, This Hour Has 22 minutes, and even Saturday Night Live.  These shows are, “raising awareness of social and political issues,” (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, Media and Society, 214) and bringing them to the general public.  By doing this it brings an addition to the public sphere so this information is common knowledge. 

The Rick Mercer Report, being a show that I personally watch, tends to not be centered towards a certain political party.  By doing this, the show makes fun of each and every political party, Conservative, Liberal, NDP, or even the Green Party.  It is not subjective towards one party; each is equal depending on the news that week.  Also the Rick Mercer report allows the audience at home is part of the process of the show, by means of their weekly photo challenge.  This is where they post a picture of a politician, Stephen Harper is a popular one, and the viewers can Photoshop that image in any way.  Within the text there is an exercise of culture jamming where someone can, “take a television or radio advertisement and make up your own alternative or subversive soundtrack to replace the original,” (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, Media and Society, 219) this is basically the same thing the Mercer Report does, only they do it with photos.   If these shows did not exist how many people would actually know what is happening within their government, I for one would have no idea.  The youth of today especially, has had a lower interest in government matters compared to the generations before us.  Most youth would rather be going on YouTube or Facebook than reading the newspaper of what was said in Parliament that week.  By adding comedy, as these shows do, they bring a sense of entertainment to something that would be ignored.  These shows also connect the generations since they are something that everyone can watch.  Anyone can watch an episode with their grandparents or whoever and have a conversation about what was said after; this seems to be the whole point, bringing news to everyone in a fun way.

Tara Wilken

Demonstrable demographics

After reading many of my classmate’s blogs I have noticed a common trend of body image.  Many people, female and male, spoke about how advertisements directed towards our age demographic were telling us that we need to be better, better looking in particular.  How else are we supposed to get a partner if we do not look good? 

Countless companies use celebrities in their commercials and advertisements so sell their product, and they are clever of who they pick to represent their company.  These companies tend to choose someone who is extremely good-looking, like Beyoncé, not someone like Steve Buscemi who is less attractive than others.  Karly McInnis wrote, “Beyoncé comes off a sex icon, since she is a very sexually attractive woman,” (http://mcinniskarly.wordpress.com/) this is proof that sex sells.  Women of all ages tend to idolize Beyoncé because she has it all, a career, a husband, a child, as well as flawless curves and hair.  If women, mostly young girls who dream of a similar future, buy this product that is being sold maybe their chances of having it all will increase.  Almost every girl my age that I know finds a flaw within themselves, whether it be not being skinny enough, or having acne, or having stretch marks.  However these are just what the media tells us what flaws are, and if we want to be perfect we better get rid of them.  Makeup companies are extremely guilty at pointing out our imperfections and how their product can fix us.  Justin Reesor wrote how girls, “think they have to own that product in order to be prettier,” (http://justinreesorblog.wordpress.com/) and he is tremendously accurate with this statement.  I for one, enjoy wearing makeup because it does make me feel prettier, and I think that maybe a guy may find me more attractive if I wear it.  I am a victim of advertising on young women.

Furthermore as I continued to read more blogs I became more aware that young men are also victims of advertising.  While young women are told that we have to be skinny and silent, young men are told that they must be muscular are strong in order to be accepted in society.  However unlike the image of women which has basically stayed the same over time, the image of men has changed in some ways.  If you look back to the 70s and 80s men like Tom Selleck were idolized because they were hairy manly men; however now men who have absolutely no hair are seen as sexy.  In some ways this feminizes the image of men, because traditionally women were the ones who were sexy when hairless.  Similar to makeup commercials for women, razor commercials for men show the life you could have if you used their product.  Simon Turkel wrote, “With the gillette razor shaving off our body hair that will help us even further to get any women we want,” (http://turkelsimon.wordpress.com/) women are often seen as prizes to be won if the product is used.  This gives men a false ideology that women are prizes to be won, and that they can win the prize by using that product.

These advertisements, whether they are for men or women, give false hopes of a better future by use of their products.  Women will not become more beautiful if they use Covergirl over Bare Minerals.  Men will not have their pick of beautiful women if they use Axe or Gillette.  Maybe instead of only focusing on external beauty, or lack thereof, maybe we should consider the old cliché “it is what’s on the instead that matters.” 

Tara Wilken

CPCF 1F25: What the Hail?!

Topic: Advertising and interpellation

The advertisement I chose for this blog cycle was for a Swedish eating disorder clinic.  It features a teenage girl who looks into a mirror and sees herself as the opposite of the perfect image that the media portrays.  However in reality she is drastically underweight, here is a link to the image. (http://adfeminem.typepad.com/adfeminem/2008/07/swedish-ad—help-for-eating-disorders.html)  This advertisement is an accurate portrayal of the pressures that are thrust upon young girls.   I have personally been affected by the “perfect body” being the only accepted body type in society.  I am not a super skinny girl, but I have accepted my body for the way it is, I like my curves.  However I know that it is not as easy for others to accept themselves.  The need to be skinny can completely change a person’s mindset and change who they are.  Looking at the advertisement, chances are the girl featured has changed her entire way of life, most importantly her eating habits.  “Identity can also be formed by things such as height, weight, attractiveness, and so on,” (Media and Society, O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 184) in a sense victims of eating disorders have lost their sense of identity and only focus on their weight.   

Unfortunately even though many people, girls and boys, are affected by eating disorders, the image of the perfect body is not going to change.  The media is always going to portray this body image because that is what sells, whether it is magazines, or movies, the image of a so called “sexy” body are what make money.  I’ll admit it; I will go to a movie just to see certain actors because they are good looking.  Channing Tatum will most likely never win a major award, but yet he is one of the highest paid actors, why, because he is good-looking; the same goes for Sofia Vergara.   Also video games have become highly sexualized, mainly those targeted towards teenage boys.  Many of these video game characters have an extremely dominate role over the female characters within the game.  This allows boys to have a “fantasy of conquering the perfect woman,” (Media and Society, O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 185).  This gives boys a false image of how girl look and behave, but yet they still sell copies.  Although I personally believe that I have overcome the media’s image of the perfect body regarding myself, I still am subject to the perfect body regarding the images around me.  That is just the world we have become accustomed to, and sadly that is not going to change, even though people have become ill from it.

I feel as if this advertisement conveys an accurate portrayal of the teenaged mindset and the need to be perfect.  Many young people, boys and girls alike, should look at this and realize that size does not matter.  What matters most is being healthy, not being skinny. Hopefully in the future every size will be accepted into society, and everyone can just be who they were born to be.

Tara Wilken

Blog Response 2: Is the media we want the same as the media we need?

After reading some of my classmate’s blogs I have discovered that almost no one has the same opinion that I do, but I guess it is good to be an individual.  Most of the blogs talked about how the media makes us, the viewer, believe that we actually want what is being advertised.  I have come to conclusion that I, like countless other people in our society, have become almost addicted to the media.  As I talked about in my second blog entry, there is always a new fad coming out and the media plays off of it, and almost exploits that fad.  That is why “The media is simply catering towards us, the target market” (Ryan Mallat http://ryanmallat.wordpress.com/about/) the media keeps feeding us the things we think we need.  By feeding us what we think we desire, a major profit can be earned from the companies that produce those products. 

Furthermore as I continued to read the other blog entries many people talked about the news and how it is no longer trustworthy.  I had spoken in my first blog entry about how the news has become more watered down and is no longer hard hitting.  Hunter Lackey wrote “Many years ago, the media had a reputation as a very dependable news source, but has recently abandoned that status,” (http://lunterhackey.blogspot.ca/), I believe this is very true.  No longer is it possible to find a news story that is actually informative.  More often than not most of the news is on either some sort of celebrity gossip or a type of crisis going on somewhere in the world.  “It is only ever tragedies, wars and despair” (http://brockbadger.wordpress.com/), now the stories on a war crisis are important, but when you hear about it every single moment it gets repetitive and slightly boring.  There never seems to be a story on something that can touch a person’s heart.  Where did the stories go on the couple who celebrated their 65^th wedding anniversary, or the kid who is going to the national science fair?  Those stories disappeared because they are apparently boring and unimportant.  They may not be as fascinating or crucial as the latest Hollywood news or the war crisis, but they are still important.  During my blog post the news was not something I had considered writing about, but it is very vital.  The sad thing is though, is that if this type of media continues then the media known as a reliable and meaningful source will disappear entirely.

 

Tara Wilken

• Title: (CPCF 1F25 post 2: The Media We Want)

• Topic: Do we get the media we want or want the media we get?

Within today’s world the media has changed in such a way that it is always striving to please the audience, or in other words we get the media we want.  The media always seems to be trying to grab onto the latest fad.  Right now one of the biggest crazes is the ‘redneck culture’ which is seen through shows such as, Duck Dynasty and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.  Those types of shows allow all types of audiences to see into what those people’s lives are like.  Frankly most people watch those shows to have a good laugh and feel better about themselves.  In complete contrast to those shows, a few years ago The Real Housewives were the biggest shows on T.V. to watch, which represents how our interests as an audience have changed. Furthermore “the media give space to the voices of different social groups and cultures,” (Media and Society, O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 12) that is why there are so many different television stations and shows for just about every ethnic background imaginable.  They have even gone on the televise Hockey Night in Canada in Hindi, as well as many other languages, just so they can get a larger following.  The big networks no longer care about originality but rather how they can get people to watch, “they have to win big audiences in order to be economically viable and survive” (Media and Society, O’Shaughnessy, Stadler, 37).  The major networks rarely take risks anymore to bring in a new original show, because chances are it will be cancelled within a few months.  This results in every year new shows come out and most are just play offs of another show because they are must less risky than something new.  Such as how there was CSI, CSI: New York and CSI: Miami, apparently because the original was so popular that they must make similar ones just like it.  I simply do not understand why there is a constant need for more.  Movies have also started to take the route of having no original stories.  Most recent I saw the movie Prisoners with Hugh Jackman which is the story of a father trying all things possible to find his daughter who was kidnapped.  Unfortunately I had figured out who had done the crime before the movie was even half over because the story was very similar to an episode of Criminal Minds that was shown in season five.  It is frustrating for me as a viewer to see the same things done over and over again, where I crave something new and exciting.  But then again the media does not play towards individuals but rather to the masses.  So if everyone wants to see Vampires and Zombies, that is what there will be.

 

Tara Wilken

Blog Response 1: How significant do your classmates believe that impact of the mass media is on their worldviews, and does this change you impression of the media’s impact on you?

After reading a few of my fellow student’s blogs I have come to the comforting realization that I am not alone in my thoughts and beliefs.  Many of you expressed similar thoughts and views as my own.  Almost every blog I read stated how in today’s modern society that there is a constant need for information and how we are almost addicted to it.  I fully agree with this, because frankly I am addicted to the constant craving for information, whether it is about news, celebrities, or even what my friends are doing.  Korinna Charette http://lookingformargo.wordpress.com/ – had a similar opinion to my own when dealing with recent activities throughout the world, and how it is difficult to only look at one source.  She said “I looked at many different sources, including articles on the internet, reports on the news on television, and most recently a video.”  I find this an excellent representation of how we can no longer believe a single source, as I stated in my previous blog post.  With so many false reports in the news and media, no one can truly trust a single source, even if your local news anchor seems trustworthy.  This habit of checking multiple sources still does not help with my addiction to social media.  Brandon Lewis, http://brandonlewis94.wordpress.com/ stated, “For instance, I check my phone constantly per day with hope of some sort of new story in the sports world, only to find the same news I had read 20 minutes prior.”  I feel as if this is an accurate representation of how our generation functions.  I feel as if most people are constantly checking their updates, as I stated earlier how it is because we have a constant craving for information, even if it is something we already know.  Whether or not it is sports, celebrities, or even your own friends, we all have an urge to “be in the know.”  I also stated earlier how many sources of information or media are not entirely truthful one hundred percent of the time.  Hunter Lackey http://lunterhackey.blogspot.ca/ wrote “When I watched “Mean Girls” for the first time as a 10-year-old boy, a then 25-year-old Rachel McAdams, playing Regina George, set the standard for my visions of what girls should look like in high school” this was something I had not considered but seems very relevant.  I never thought about how movies, Mean Girls as a perfect example, can shape our beliefs of an everyday situation into something false.  I know when Mean Girls first came out every girl in my class became almost obsessed with acting like the girls in the movie, even going as far as wearing pink on Wednesdays.   But the movie is projected to show how if you do not dress and look a certain way then you are unpopular, which to young girls like myself at the time, was a bad influence.  As Hunter said, that image of high school is not accurate at all.  I know some girls do act and dress that way, but most of us such as myself, have our own styles and comfort levels.  I never thought of how movies and T.V. can mold us with false images, but now I have realized how true it is.  After reading those blog posts I guess my own world view has changed slightly, which I guess is a good thing because our world view is not meant to stay the same.

Tara

◾Title: (1F25 post 1: Media Impact)

• Title: (1F25 post 1: Media Impact)
• Topic: How significant do you think to impact of the mass media is on your worldview?

Without even realizing it, mass media is a part of our everyday lives.  By going into my bathroom I realized that almost everything I had was a brand-name item, for example: I have Colgate toothpaste, and Secret deodorant.  Every day we are bombarded with ads and information, and because of this constant overload we have actually started to believe that most of this matters.  Shows like Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood prove to be our daily inside look at the celebrity lives that most of us long to have, since they are more glamorous than our own lives, and to be honest I am one of those people who watch daily.  In addition, over the past ten years or so technology has changed incredibly, for example when I was growing up nobody had a cell phone or anything like that.  If you wanted to hang out with a friend you would actually have to call their house phone to see if they were home.  However, now young children have cell phones, iPods, tablets and they never seem to communicate to anyone unless it is over a social media form of communication.  As time went on I have realized that I stopped communicating the way I used to, now if I want to talk to someone I text them or I send them a Facebook message instead of actually speaking to them.  Every few years there seems to be a new social media website, like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and they take over our lives.  Most people cannot go a full day without checking one of those sites at least once.   The news has also changed and is no longer about hard hitting stories that really matter, but rather what Kate Middleton wore on her latest outing with Prince William, or how the latest I-phone sales are going.  With the addition to the internet the world of media has changed drastically.  Now there are countless information news websites, and no one truly knows which ones are reliable.  For example with the recent Navy Yard Shooting, to find out more information I had to look at different news websites;  CNN, ABC, NBC,  in order to get the full story and with each site there were differences in each report, no two were the same.  It is almost impossible now to look at just one source and get the full information, due to the fact that there are so many untrustworthy sources.  As technology and society grows, mass media will continue to expand into our lives until our worldview is no longer our own, but rather what the media wants our view to be.

Tara Wilken