Sup, college?

SO, I'm copying Bada and writing in this blog still because I need some way to express my emotions, and I'm too lazy to keep a journal. I love it at Augsburg, and my classes are fun AND interesting. I have great teachers who are very forward thinking...and very liberal which is a plus ;]. I just don't have many friends. Going to a small school, it's still VERY clicky. Like, all the jocks go after the jocks. And all of the theater people stick together. And apparantly being a freshman is like having lepracy[sp?] It just sucks socially. I miss all of my friends and seeing everyone happy at college is making me kinda sad. I mean, I'm happy for them, but I can't help feeling that I'm doing something wrong here. But, I'm friendly, I'm active in the community, I participate in everything I should be participating in...I'm missing something. I'm starting to think that it's confidence. I've always been pretty insecure in my body, but being thrown into this completely new world I've tried to make myself less weird in order to make friends...but I'm finding it makes me kind of boring. I really WANT to sing in the showers...but now I feel weird doing it because I haven't for two months. Singing in the showers is just an example of my strange ways. It's just been difficult because the only people I really hang out with are people that I already know. Like, Lauren Butler and Marie Stousland. I was never close with Marie in high school so it's been really fun getting to know her, but something is NOT right, and I hate not knowing what it is. *SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH* I have to write a paper still and it's 12:30 am. Lol, being lazy ROCKS. I wish I would have ahd a room mate I clicked with more....or who stayed in the room more often. She's cool when she's here, but she is NEVER here. Like, not even to sleep. She only stays in here when I'm gone...which makes me sad.

Blog Numero Siete

I'm going to reflect on that new "We Made You" song by Eminem. It is specifically targeting all of the celebrities who are in the tabloids. He raps/sings about Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Aniston, John Mayer etc. and all the gossip that goes along with them, but in the chorus it says something along the lines of "Who can really blame you, cause we're the ones who made you." It really made me stop to think, because we did create this monster. It's something we allow, because we are the public. We like to hear about celebrities and who is dating who, or who is going to rehab. If we didn't, it wouldn't be happening. I suppose this all ties back to advertising because deep down we all know what will and won't work. If we REALLY didn't like the way we were advertised to, it wouldn't be there. As a population, we're a lot more influential than we give ourselves credit for. Lately, all this tabloid stuff has gotten out of hand, but there is something we can do about it. We just have to take the intitiative to step out of our comfort zone and try to do something to change the direction we are headed.

Blog 6!!!!!!!!!!

I think product placement in TV shows is rather superfluous. I always notice it on American Idol and I think to myself K, I don't like Coca-Cola...SHUT UP! Because Ryan Seacrest always says how delicious it is. In reality, those dumb judges are probably not even drinking Coca-Cola, they just have glasses that say Coca-Cola on them. I also see a lot of phone advertisements in movies. They'll get a text and it will zoom in on the nice looking Nokia phone. It hasn't really worked for me because I don't know that I'm the target market. I usually spot the advertisements, but some of them are pretty sneaky. I never see them in one of my favorite shows, LOST, but that's because they're trapped on a desert island. Another place where I do see them a lot is The Biggest Loser. They have these hints about how chewing EXTRA Gum will make you not be hungry. But they make it seem like only the brand EXTRA will make you not hungry, when in reality, any gum will make you not hungry. I think that it's kind of effective, but if I see a Coca-Cola glass, I get thirsty, and go get a glass of water, or crystal light. I don't go buy a Coca-Cola from SA.

Blog #5?

Okay, so I've been listening to this radio ad called for this product named "Essure". I've heard it several times and finally looked up what it is: It is a type of permanent birth control, and it seems a little frightening. They put these coil things in the fallopian tubes and your body tissue just grows over them, blocking off the egg. It's actually kinda cool, but anyway, that's besides the point. I think the advertising is very effective because they avoid talking about WHAT it is and high light the fact that there is NO anesthesia(sp?) and NO under-the-knife kinda stuff. They peak your interest. I mean, I looked it up. The target market is probably like 40-50 year old women who are done having kids but don't want to...worry about...you know. This is kind of awkward. This ad takes the Compliment the Consumer approach because it talks about how it's understandable that the husbands don't want to go through all that horrid surgery and blah blah blah. They make it seem very simple and easy to do. Over all, I'd say this ad was very effective.

Blog #4: Option 1

How do the media images & stereotpyes of men & women impact how we view each other professionally (at school, at work, in politics, etc.)?

We're affected daily by the things we see and the people we talk to. We've discussed this in class, but there are these gender roles that we buy into because from day one that's what we're told is "right". For example, the fact that women should know how to cook better than men. That all is derived from the fact that women used to stay home and make meals for the family while men went out and earned all of the money. Today is different, but we're still stuck in that same mindset. I definitely think that women have a more difficult time gaining respect because of the negative connotations our gender is attached to. It's definitely one of the reasons we have not had a female president yet. I've heard people from my own class say that we are not ready for a female president and that "girls are too emotional". This is frustrating, because it's simply untrue.

Also, at school I feel as if girls are trained to act stupid and idiotic to get attention from boys. This is just annoying, because we don't have to be stupid to be approachable. Since day one, my parents have taught me to value knowledge over ignorance. Being opinionated and smart can get you in trouble, but it also gets you somewhere. It's disappointing knowing that there are girls and women across the entire world that think they aren't good enough to do the things men do, because we are good enough. This is something I wish could be different, but it wont change in the blink of an eye. That's why we need to focus on this issue, and not stay willingly ignorant. The way we interact with each other is an important role for the survival of our nation, and our world. Men shouldn't come before women, and women shouldn't come before men. I don't see how it's so hard to be treated equally.

Uhhhhhh KBYE!

Blog Numba Three

I really enjoy watching the show "The Biggest Loser", and when you asked us to do this blog, I immediately thought of this show. It has so many inspirational stories, and such a wide variety of people, you almost can't be human if you don't relate to this show in some way.There were three American Core Values that stood out to me in "The Biggest Loser"

Achievement and Success: This was the number one American Core Value that stood out, because each person is working hard to lose large amounts of weight in short periods of time. Each week is a journey and a challenge for each contestant, and by the end they have started a new life for themselves
Individualism: This show instills Freedom because each contestant is breaking free from the binding put on them by themselves and society. They're learning to be themselves and celebrate who they are while being healthy.
Progress: The last American Core Value this show exudes is Progress, because not only are the contestants making physical progress, but also mental progress. They took the steps to becoming better people and healthier.

Blog No. 2!

Okay, so after watching this video, I was a little offended. I just want to say that children are not just these brainless zombies that go around doing and taking WHATEVER they're given. It's not fair that no matter what WE the CHILDREN say, no one listens to us, but they still say we're so "impressionable" and "taken advantage of". What I don't like is that as "children", no one really cares what we have to think because society has been trained to think teenagers/kids can't form true and honest opinions on their own that make sense. While this is true for many of the kids I see, it's really frustrating to have this sweeping generalization of kids. They talk in the video about how from the time we're born we're being advertised to, and that we need to be protected. The thing is, this has been happening since the beginning of "mass media". Yes, it has grown, but it has grown as our nation grows. Of course it's going to get stronger and of course it's going to become more targeted. When you first start playing a sport it takes some time to become a better player: You have to learn the technique, the rules, the strategies. One can apply that to this situation, and as the viewers, we have to get better at learning to be the defense, as media has taken the role of the offense.

Note Card Assignment

For the notecard assignment I interviewed; a thirty-nine year old white female, a forty-seven year old black male, a twelve year old white female, and a fifty year old white female. Each person I interviewed came up with very different results.

The thirty-nine year old white female thinks that the media provides proper coverage of important events in our world today. She thinks that media provides valuable information not otherwise given to the people. On the contrary, the forty-seven year old black male found that it sets unrealistic standards and gives too many poor examples of how young people should behave.

The fifty year old white female found the media helpful because it gives the populous a voice, and allows deliberation between people of different backgrounds. She saw it as a more educational benefit than anything. The twelve year old girl saw the media as a nice way to keep in touch with the newest gossip and styles of clothing. She uses the media to keep her fashion in check.

I found a prevalent feeling of positivity in seventy-five percent of my interviewees, but my dad, the only man, was the one person who found the media negative. Either way, I found that the media impacts us whether we like it or not.