Thursday 10 December 2015

Multimedia Communication and it's influence on you and your family

Ever wonder about the effect all the advertisements, promotions and special offers that we are bombarded with daily, influences us? Do you believe the messages you see? Does the media influence your concept of what it means to be a man or woman?

Have a class discussion regarding what you think images from the media define masculinity or feminity?
Are they positive or negative messages?
Do commercial companies exploit these images to sell their product or service?

Here are a few videos that may give you food for thought.They are American but since American media has such a profound effect on the films we watch, music we listen to or clothes many of us wear today in Ireland I thought they would be relevant.

Mass Media Influence On Females

Body image is an important topic for teenagers and young adults.Many want to fit in, yet there is criticism of the media regarding it's portrayal about what is acceptable in society.In numerous women's beauty magazines, there is overwhelming pressure on young women to slim down to weights which are often considered to have health risks.
Is it the magazine's fault for the negative interpretation or the consumer of the magazines?
Should magazines be more responsible for the positive image of women that they promote?
Do you think those magazines would be rewarded through sales?
A magazine company is in the business of selling magazines?
Would this help or hinder their sales?Would you buy the magazine?

This video was made by the Dove Self-esteem fund and has an interesting viewpoint on the beauty industry.
Youtube video
Beauty Pressure

Uploaded by on 2 Oct 2007
http://twitter.com/#%21/tim_piper_
DSEF ad directed by Tim Piper www.pirovision.com
 
Here is a video entitled Killing Us Softly 4 Advertisings image of women by Jean Kilbourne, where it gives a snapshot regarding how advertising is influencing statistics of violence in the USA.Many of the adverts shown we have already been exposed to in Ireland with our ability to access more globalised content through our TV subscription packages and access to the internet.
Youtube Video 
Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women (Trailer)
Uploaded by on 12 Mar 2010
Available on DVD - April 2010
http://www.mediaed.org/

Do you think adverts sell more than a product?
Do you see any adverts with negative effects for influencing children?
What responsibility should the beauty product company have?What responsibility should the parent have?
Are the media providing unhealthy, unrealistic expectations in terms of gender stereotypes?
Mass Media Influence On Males


The issue of masculinity in the media is not discussed as openly yet.Portrayals of what it means to be a man and more worryingly what it means not to be a man are discussed with frankness in this videoclip entitled Tough Guise:Media, Violence and the Crisis in Masculinity made by

www.mediaed.org Jackson Katz argues that widespread violence in American society, including the tragic school shootings in Littleton, Colorado, Jonesboro, Arkansas, and elsewhere, needs to be understood as part of an ongoing crisis in masculinity.
Is there anything in the video you agree or disagree with?
What do you think about the topic raised in this video?
Is media violence linked to crime?
What did you think about the statistics provided?
Do you think these trends would be similar in Ireland or not?

You Tube Video
Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity


Uploaded by on 4 Oct 2006
http://www.mediaed.org/
Children and Mass Media

Can you protect your children from the effects of mass communication?Here is a clip from a documentary entitled Consuming Kids:The Commercialization of Childhood (Trailer)

Are we training our children to be better consumers?
What are the positive and negative implications of this?
Are we making it easier to be brainwashed by media?
Do you think companies are providing cars/holidays targeting children?
Do you think marketing products to children happens often in todays world?
Is there anything parents can do to protect their children?

Youtube Video
 Consuming Kids:The Commercialization of Childhood (Trailer)
Uploaded by on 14 Mar 2008

The News You Watch and Mass Media

The type of news we watch is often dependant on the information we want to find out about. For an extreme example, a militant racist may access news information which corresponds with their viewpoint. Or someone who is primarily interested in showbiz events may bot be as clued into current events. The same can be said if we are searching for unbiased news. You probably have heard of the concept of "spin", a way of twisting a story to match an existing viewpoint. As a result of the internet and satellite TV, we are no longer constrained by Irish news media to get our information. When you choose the news channel for your information ask yourself, is the story being slanted a certain way or is it unbiased?

Here is a clip from the first part of Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11 movie. The first 7 or 8 mins deal with how the American news media handled the controversial George W, Bush v Al Gore presidential debate


So if you are curious about how the news works here is an example of how the news industry works in the US.
Youtube Video
How the fake news works

Uploaded by on 18 Apr 2008
It is hard to prove bias in the news but some of the following hints may be helpful. When viewing a news story ask yourself:

1-Do the reporters cover the best points of both sides of the issue?
2-Are there facts omitted to preserve a certain viewpoint?
3-Are the studies being reported on coming from just one side?
4-Where is the news story placed in terms of other news story placements? (eg should the coverage of The Queen at a royal engagement be placed before coverage of a natural disaster?And does this relegate the impact of the natural disaster as it is on afterwards?)
5-Are there facts placed with a story to taint a guest?
6-Are the sources selected to cover the story biased?
7-Are certain aspects of Government policy given preference over other aspects of the same policy?
8-Are certain groups of people labelled or nicknamed? How does that influence your perception of who is being talked about?
9-Are reporters giving theor own policy reccommendations to Government?
10- Are minority groups being heard regarding a particularly relevant news report?

Can Bias Be Positive?
For example, an editorial or opinion poll can have a certain slant as it is openly acknowledging a certain viewpoint over another one.
Stories or statements which makes one side of a debate look bad if the information is accurate
Non Governmental policy stories which do not necessarily have to be balanced

Here Jon Stewart, is a guest on the show Crossfire and highlights the importance for news readers to spin stories in particular ways to suit their agenda. What do you think about this clip?

Youtube Video
Jon Stewart on Crossfire

Uploaded by on 16 Jan 2006


Are there examples in Irish news where coverage of a particular story was biased in your opinion?



Pleasse take the time to leave some feedback in the comments section



What was difficult in this task?

What did you learn?

Is there anything else that could have been included in the topic to make it easier for you to understand?

Was the topic explained well or not?

Are there any video links from Youtube that may also be useful?
(if so please copy and paste the link in the comments section with a sentence explaining what it is)

12 comments:

  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQLqC_hTT4I

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here's an example of women being portrayed by media. I can see a lot of negativity in this video. All the women in this particular video are tall, thin and look amazing and are being portrayed as being perfect, almost. Which in turn can have a negative influence on younger women who strive to be just like them. As we've discussed today in class, the majority, if not all of these women have been photoshopped to enhance their figures and looks. This can then lead to young women over exercising, under eating and in a lot of cases they become anorexic or bulimic in an attempt to look just like the women in this video. Larger women may look at this and think, that's how they should look and in more extreme case's can result in suicide as they find it impossible to be just like them.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH43kL1ZGHE&feature=related

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oooop's just to describe my link. Media's portrayal of the perfect body can be very harmful to society and have a negative effect on children. There is no such thing as perfect body.The video also contains a simple homemade experiment carried out with young children and photographs containing so called perfect bodies and not so perfect bodies.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue commercial 2010
    http://youtu.be/ky5xmtWp1_U

    This video is to advertise aftershave/perfume
    But as i watched this it wasn't apparent to me that it was selling aftershave and perfume. I thought it was selling a bikini/trunks range it only becomes clear at the end when the two bottles of Women's & Men's cologne appears on the screen.

    One of the top rated comments on the video says it all about people's perception of the two models in the video "This is what I think the perfect couple looks like..." I think the message that this video relay's is the perfect man has a 6 pack and perfect women has a thin figure, but this is not the case.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great links. It's good to see that you are focusing on how media influences concepts of beauty and gender. There are some great examples included above.

    What does the rest of the class think of the links posted here? What are your opinions of media and how it communicates to us?

    Feel free to post a second time if the subject interests you

    Also have a look to see how media influences males and concepts of masculinity. I know this is harder to find as it gets less media coverage but have a look and see if you can find anything and give your thoughts

    Here's a link about the photoshop retouching process in detail by Rodrigo Bressane. It's received over 13 million views.

    Extreme (Photoshop) Makeover
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHLpRxAmCrw&feature=related

    How ethical do you think images like this are when they are used to advertise products to you?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dave Batista (Wrestler): http://www.pwpix.net/superstars/b/batista/images/dave-batista-3.jpg

    Kelly Kelly (Wrestler):
    http://wwe-raw.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/WWE-Diva-Kelly-Kelly-With-Divas-Champion-Belt-207x300.jpg

    WWE Entertainment in recent years has veered away from more violent types of shows and blood to gain a PG rating allowing the show to be broadcast on prime time tv and have boosted their concentration on attracting a new generation of younger fans.

    The image of these wrestlers seems to show that the bigger and more masculine of a guy you are then you are destined for greatness.

    And the more attractive, skinny, and photogenic you are as a female, shows how you can succeed too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Additionally, in the past 5-6 years there have been no examples of "out of shape" wrestlers since the PG era has begun compared to the 90's when anyone could be top of the company.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Re: John Stewart on Crossfire.

    This interview was conducted at a time when the solid support for Bush's wars in Afghanistan and particularly Iraq began to wane. No weapons of mass destruction had been found, the American casualties were mounting and the scandal of the Abu Graib prison had people incensed.

    Up to this point the right wing side of the media had enjoyed a playing field where they could push any agenda and spin any story to best suit their ethos. But the cracks had formed and you can see the more aggressive defense of the right wing pundit on this show.

    Guest John Stewart is simply calling for a less polarized American media to encourage viewers to discuss issues without such animosity. So the right wing pundit tries to break down Stewarts call for proper journalism and debate with a series of inane comments and crass jokes. He fails of course because John stewart stays with reason as his argument and you can see this in the audience reaction.

    It's interesting to note that the so-called democrat/left wing in the debate is relatively quiet during all this discourse.

    ReplyDelete
  9. i found this advertisement interesting, in that it is an ad for a product for men, but is directed towards women. it uses comedy and things that would appeal to women as its selling point (i.e. the yacht, tickets to a play, diamonds etc.)
    the link is:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

    ReplyDelete
  10. I found this video that points out the false advertisements in food commercials such as Wendy's or McDonald's. It simply shows of how delicious food can look which would intentionally attract the viewers eye if they ever want a delicious meal, when in fact there food in reality is no were near as tasty looking. meals are a vital point in human life and about 80% or the viewers "eat with there eyes" as some people would say, so this particular topic in the marketing industry is abused with a tremendous amount of false advertisement and video effects.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnFhfjTAoIA&feature=fvsr

    ReplyDelete
  11. During todays class we saw Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) talked about how crossfire spins the truth about politicians views.
    Here is a clip of a politician called Herman Cain talking about a joke Jon Stewart made about him and how it turned into a racist joke. This also shows facts about Herman Cain while he's talking.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15nCViATBrc&feature=related

    Here is Jon stewart on Fox talking about Media and responds to the Herman Cain, There are a few parts.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKLRmVYk0-s&feature=relmfu
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUfugJfsiyc&feature=relmfu
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr580Ql44QQ&feature=relmfu

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great to see your posts.

    Wrestling has been criticised in the past for it's unrealistic portrayals of masculinity and feminity. Here is quite a shocking video about how the image of wrestlers does not always correspond with the reality.

    Wrestlers who died under the age of 50 (Chris Benoit etc.)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZMybi4K1H8

    The Old Spice ad is certainly a refreshing take on traditional concepts of marketing a man's deodorant to women. Why do you think it is so popular, it's received over 35 million views?

    Regarding the fast food industry, there are numerous complaints regarding fast food and how images of food are not always a realistic portrayal of what you get.

    Here is a clip from the documentary film Supersize Me. This clip has received over 8 million views:

    McDonalds Food - The Truth
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-ljW5YEdao&feature=related

    Here is a clip from Jamie Oliver's show on School Dinners where he shows kids in the UK how chicken nuggets are made:

    Jamie Oliver Shows School Kids How Chicken Nuggets are made
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKwL5G5HbGA

    Interesting links about John Stewart and Herman Cain. Is John Stewart's Daily Show similar to Fox News but from the other side of the argument or do you think it's fair and balanced?

    Here is a clip from the same interviewer, Chris Wallace, from Fox News interviewing Bill Clinton. The video is alot more popular on Youtube under a different name but I am including this one because there is less bias in the title

    Bill Clinton on Fox News Sunday (Part 1 of 3)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnyrCVwGyK4&feature=related

    Bill Clinton on Fox News Sunday (Part 2 of 3)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxWUA764H7E&feature=related

    Bill Clinton on Fox News Sunday (Part 3 of 3)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2-nILTO3dc&feature=related

    Was this interview fair and balanced?


    If you find any news articles relating to the topics discussed in this section, feel free to leave a link here. Youtube facts are not always correct because anyone can post about anything on the site. You will need to begin researching articles regarding some of these topics, so it would be advisable for you to keep a record of your links. It will make it easier for you to write about your assignments.

    Does anyone else in the class have any other thoughts about the videos posted in the comments section?

    ReplyDelete