Here is my first year experience video! Enjoy!
Here is my first year experience video! Enjoy!
1. A dog is supposed to be smarter than it’s tail so normally, the dog wags it’s tail. This movie suggests that the tail is smarter than the dog and can make the dog wag the tail. In this movie, the media would be the tail and the population of people who watch media would be the dog. They should be smarter, but for some reason the tail (media) is.
2. Mr. Fix-it’s real name is Conrad and he is played by Robert Dinero. He handles public relations issues for the president.
3. The size of the house shows that because the producer’s is larger, he has more real power of controlling society than the President does.
4. “War is showbusiness.” We don’t remember the war because we do not see it happening whereas these slogans are drilled into our brains.
5. We rely on the media for information and we believe them to be truthful and accurate even though as this movie shows, it is very possible for them to make up everything that they tell us.
6. The producer because he is orchestrating all of this in order to save the President. He writes him a speech and makes him give it even though he originally does not want to.
7. American Idol supports Coca-Cola by having the brand all over the television, athletes who are connected to brands such as Nike and Under Armour, and when Grace’s mom brings her home a Neutrogena Morning Burst Facial Scrub on The Secret Life Of the American Teenager.
8. People like to follow things that support a positive message and also things that everyone else is doing. During the Kony 2o12 campaign, people plastered posters all over in order to raise awareness. Also after the Newtown shooting many people tied green ribbons on poles and outside to show support.
9. Media construct reality: actually creating the war even though it was not real, Media present ideaology & value messages: we should not trust the media because they have the power to make up complete lies and convince all of us that they are true, Commercial interests: using 303 Burger in the movie, Codes and conventions: the video of albania.
10. The News media was portrayed as not near as trustworthy as people believe them to be by showing all of these clips that never even actually happened.
This summer has been one that I am definitely going to remember for the rest of my life. I have met so many awesome people who have really impacted me and I cannot wait to spend the next four years with all of them. Penn State really has become my home. I find myself calling this place home instead of my house in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, which is so incredibly strange. It really is true though. I love everything about this school and the campus and everything good and bad.
When I came here, I thought that this summer was just going to drag on and on and that I would be miserable. When my boyfriend and parents left that first day I was so heartbroken and I thought that I would spend the whole time sitting in my room missing them, but to be honest, I don’t even really think about them or home that much. Yeah, it would be nice to see them, but I don’t really have the time to sit and miss them. College keeps you pretty busy and I am very excited for fall when I will have the chance to meet thousands of new people.
As for the rest of summer, I’m going to be at the beach a week from today. So that’s pretty fantastic.
magine one day waking up in your home of Xiamen, China, with your family and then the next day waking up in a hotel in State College, Pennsylvania all alone. This was what happened to Fanfan Fu. This was her first time outside of Asia and she was left all alone with no one from home to comfort her. I can’t even imagine what that could have possibly been like. I cried when my parents left during move-in day at school, and they only live 2 and half hours away by car. The next time Fanfan would potentially see her parents would be if they accompanied her to California in order to see her family who lives there. We had that similarity because I also have family in California. It’s funny how even though we are so incredibly different, we do have some little things in common like that.
In China, Fanfan was an only child. She had a dog named Kelvin and a nanny that took care of her for her whole life. Her father owns a trade business and her mother works with the Women’s Federation. She told me how she misses her mom and her dog very much, but not her father. She said that he is very controlling and that the reason she is majoring in accounting is because that is what her father approved of. My dad did not care at all what I wanted to major in. Both him and my mom just wanted me to happy with my college life. I couldn’t imagine having such a controlling parent. A large part of the reason Fanfan chose Penn State over her other top school University of California, San Diego was because she thought that there were too many Asians in California and she did not want to be surrounded by that many. She also did not want to go there because she had family there and she wanted to be independent and take care of herself. I admire her for that considering she has never taken care of herself before, and because I know if it was me, I would probably go where I had family.
In China, Fanfan would talk on the phone with her friends, go to see Korean operas, listen to her favorite Hong Kong artist Khail, and play piano. I’ve been to operas before and I actually really enjoyed them. Fanfan also travels with her family all around Asia and has been to Thailand, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, and Singapore. She actually had to travel to Singapore every time she took the S.A.T.’s because none of the schools in China offer them. Fanfan also practices Tai Chi. She is very good at it because she has been doing it for over 12 years, but she also hates it. The only reason that she does it is because her parents want her to and think it is good for her. Last year, she went to Hong Kong and competed in a Tai Chi competition where she took 1st prize. I used to play softball and volleyball just because I liked them and my parents let me stop playing when I didn’t want to play anymore even though they still wanted me to. I loved theater more so I quit so that I would have more time for it and my family accepted that. Fanfan’s parents, on the other hand, don’t let her make any decisions for herself.
When it comes to school in China, Fanfan says that it is very rigorous, which I had expected. They have a set schedule for each day with 10 minutes to get to their next classes. They also have a half an hour break in between the morning and the afternoon sessions. I asked her if all of her friends and classmates also spoke English and she said that they did not. There were not that many kids there that can actually speak it, but most of them can read and write in our language. I found that pretty interesting and figured that Fanfan is probably one of the smartest ones over at her old school since she could speak English so well. There are some slang terms that she does not understand, and when I say them, I always need to figure out something else to say so that she will understand.
When asked about the culture differences between China and America, Fanfan said there are a lot. She said that the food is incredibly different. Even the “Chinese food” that we have here tastes nothing like the actual food that they serve in China. She says that ours is a lot sweeter than theirs and that her and none of her other new friends she met who are also from China enjoy it. Another large difference is the clothing that people wear. She says that Americans dress a lot simpler than people in China, and I definitely agree with that considering she lives with me and I wear a t-shirt and shorts basically every single day of school.
When it comes to prejudices and the differences between our lives, it surprisingly isn’t that much different. We’re both currently working hard to get god grades and get ahead of the people coming in the for the fall semester. One of the worst things for Fanfan is her having to take an ESL class that she doesn’t like. She has becomes very close with other international students, especially Jinjin, a girl who lives two doors down from us. Those two are nearly inseparable and it makes me very happy that she has someone that she can talk to about home and really connect with while she is here. Even though my home is a lot closer, I’ve done the same thing by always being with people who are from the same county as me who I can connect with about our home. Overall, Fanfan has not had any negative experiences on the Penn State campus, and that makes me very happy. The only real prejudice she complained about was the typical stereotype that all Asians are smart. She works very hard in order to achieve and she gets frustrated when people think that it just comes naturally and that she doesn’t need to work hard when she does. I would know. She’s up later than me doing work and studying every night and also gets up hours before me. On a much smaller and opposite scale, people always made fun of me for being blonde and called me a dumb blonde even though I was in the gifted program for my whole life and would try very hard to get all of my good grades.
Even though Fanfan and I come from completely different worlds, there are some similarities between the two of us. We can connect because of these similarities showing that any two people, no matter where they are from, can have something in common with one another. Interviewing and getting to know Fanfan also made it easier to live with her. I admire her for her ability to feel comfortable when she is thousands of miles away from home in a place that she has never been before, and for how hard of a worker she is. I believe that she is going to succeed very well in her time at Penn State.
So today was one of my Penn State bff’s birthdays. Our little Jordan is all grown up and turned 18 today! She was awoken at midnight by Danielle hitting her with a pillow, it’s completely out of love, though. The three of us plus Reese went to T.G.I. Friday’s to celebrate and afterwords went back to Jordan and Danielle’s room to have cake and ice cream. Danielle and I had a pit stop to make first though. We headed downtown to search for a present for the birthday girl and after seeing that the store Dwellings was closed, we had to come up with a plan B. We headed to Mclanahan’s which we’ve quickly learned is more than likely going to be our college life saver. We found a cute necklace, candy, a megaphone, and an infamous Happy Valley shot glass and made it look all cute and stuff. We got back to the room to enjoy this beautiful cake:
Notice that the name says Cara. Apparently Jordan saw a girl that she met the other day who has the same birthday as her in the elevator holding cookies and a cake and she told Jord to pick one because she would never eat it all. Jordan chose the cake and we thoroughly enjoyed eating this Cara girl’s cake. Thank you to Cara’s family and happy 18th birthday to the forever asleep Jordan!
Media’s Influence On Society
How many times have you caught yourself looking through a magazine and seeing all of the awful things that celebrities who are supposed to be role models are doing? How many times do you catch yourself getting upset with your significant other people he isn’t exactly like Ryan Gosling’s character, Noah, from The Notebook? How many times do you find yourself feeling insecure about your appearance or your body because you don’t look like the stars on the cover of magazines? The media gives us a very unrealistic view of what society is like. Real role models do not do drugs and go out and party and get arrested all the time. Real men do not look or act like the characters that Ryan Gosling plays. Real women do not look stick thin like the women on the magazine covers who have been photoshopped. Media gives everyone, but especially kids and teens, an unrealistic and unattainable version of what things should be like causing them to feel inadequate and insecure.
The common saying “monkey see, monkey do” applies to children and teens who see these celebrities who are their role models drinking and doing drugs all the time. They make it look cool and according to John’s Hopkins Children’s Center, “in a study of ninth graders in six public high schools in San Jose, Calif., each increase of 1 hour per day of television viewing was associated with a 9 percent average increased risk of starting to drink alcohol during the next 18 months, and each increase of 1 hour per day of music video viewing was associated with a 31 percent average increased risk of starting to drink alcohol during the next 18 months.” There is a direct correlation between the amount of media that a teenager is exposed to and the percentage of them starting to drink within the next 18 months. These kids see it everywhere and it makes it seem like it is okay for them to drink and do other drugs because they see it so frequently. Contrary to their popular belief, there is a reason that there is a drinking age and that drugs are illegal. These celebrities and characters on television are not sending the correct message to these impressionable teens.
In addition to showing substance abuse as a not bad thing to teens, the media also gives women very unrealistic expectations of men and relationships. This is more than just women wanting romantic gestures due to their romance movies. Watching many romantic movies can have a not so loving outcome. “Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, released a study suggesting that romantic comedies can ‘spoil your love life’. Fans of movies like You’ve Got Mail and Runaway Bride were more likely to believe in unhealthy ideas like predestined love, fate and destiny, and that it’s not necessary for partners to verbally express love for each other (“Does Media Create Unrealistic Expectations of Men?”). These women are eventually going to suffer from serious communication issues and may even result in them not being able to stay in a committed relationship due to their belief that men should be able to read a women’s mind. They think that watching these movies gives them good ideas of the type of guy that they should look for, but instead it just causes them heartache in the long run when they can never find him.
One of the largest problems among teenagers in America is their lack of self esteem and their increase in body issues. When the media is constantly putting up pictures of these bodies and appearances that are impossible for the average girl to healthily attain, they are promoting this standard of beauty. When girls do not have this same standard of beauty, they do not find themselves beautiful, which is not the case. There have been several studies such as one from Florida State University which found that the more time a women spent on Facebook, the more “disordered thought-processes around snacking, weight, and exercise” they had (Waldman). Girls are constantly comparing themselves to other girls, especially celebrities. They feel the need to look like them so that they can be as loved and adored as they are. Without the media being so impressionable on our society, much more women would feel beautiful with how they are even though it is not the same as the women in Hollywood.
Overall, I believe that the media needs to take a step back so that our society can everyone it can reevaluate and focus on themselves. By trying to be like or find people like these celebrities, they are only hurting themselves. Celebrities and everything else in the media do not depict real life. If people pick role models who are people around them, accept the fact that men will make mistakes because no one is perfect and love them anyway, and appreciate the body and appearance that they have, I believe that we will all be happier and better off as a society.
References:
“Does Media Create Unrealistic Expectations of Men?”. The Masculine Heart. 9 Feb 2009. Web. 30 July 2014.
“Media and Adolescent Substance Abuse”. John’s Hopkins Children’s Center. 16 March 2011. Web. 30 July 2014.
Waldman, Kate. “Social Media And Self Esteem”. Slate. n.d. Web. 30 July 2014.
An Analysis and Criticism of the Stereotypical Portrayal of African Americans
in the 2013 Tyler Perry Movie Peeples
Thesis
The film Peeples, which is a Tyler Perry Presentation is an American comedy directed towards an African American audience. When observing this film in depth there are many facets that differ from its “white” counterpart; this is most easily seen through common African American stereotypes that include behavior, language, accesories, and social situations.
Step 1: Detection
Identification
The entire 2013 Movie Peeples is the subject of this analysis and criticism. The movie is available on DVD, Blu Ray, pay per view, on demand, and Netflix which is what we observed it on. The movie was released in theaters on May 10th, 2013. Peeples made $9 million in the box office which is the least made from any Tyler Perry film.
Step 2: Description
Detailed Description
The film follows a couple, Wade Walker and Grace Peeples. Wade and Grace live together in a city and Wade has yet to meet Grace’s very virtuous family, the Peeples. Wade is a children’s performer and Grace is a lawyer. Grace goes home to her rich east coast family’s vacation home for Moby Dick Day. Wade tries to surprise the family and wants to propose. Once he arrives it becomes apparent that the family has never heard of Wade. He meets the family, Virgil the over protective father, Daphne former musician and mother, Gloria the reporter and closeted lesbian sister, Chris the thug life wannabe brother, and Meg the lover and co-worker of Gloria. The rest of the film follows how Wade tries to win Virgil’s approval and the family’s secrets become apparent. Through a series of events Virgil feels that Wade will never be good enough for his precious baby girl and runs Wade out of the family. In the end Virgil realizes that Wade is a decent guy and finally accepts Wade as a part of the Peeple family. In the end Wade proposes to Grace and they live happily ever after. The movie ends with the entire family on stage to perform for a bunch of school aged children.
Creator; Creator’s Purpose
This is a Tyler Perry presentation, the point of the presentation is to be an american comedy similar to that of Meet the Parents, but following an African American family.
Function/Purpose and Genre
The purpose of this movie is to give a comedy that is supposed to be more relatable to the African American community about a boyfriend meeting his girlfriend’s overprotective father for the first time. The genre of this movie would be a comedy.
Step 3: Deconstruction
Underlying Myths and Stereotypes
Throughout the film, there are several underlying myths and stereotypes including: Wade talking to a group of children as part of his job in a preachy gospel tone in the beginning of the movie and also Wade, Simon, Daphne, and Virgil all being very musically gifted, the character Simon wearing a lot of big flashy jewelry and attempting to be sort of “hood” because he thinks that is how he will be manly and attract women, and Wade being the product of a childhood with a single mother.
Evidence for Linking Myths/ Stereotypes:
Specific Examples of Content and Form that Represents Embedded Values
A major Myth throughout the entire film is the use of jazz and gospel music. Although this music does come from African American roots it is stereotypical to say that all black people listen to gospel and jazz music all the time. This is seen in the first scene of the movie where Wade is ‘preaching’ to a bunch of little children about how not to pee on the seat. He uses music in order to get children to overcome any development issues they may be having due to psychological reasons. The father also plays the saxophone and the mother was also a musician who had her own album put out. Their son, Simon, can also play several instruments and raps.
When looking at Simon’s character, it is clear that he is making fun of all the young African American men who idolize this ‘rap’ behavior and overall social status that comes with it. Simon who is the youngest and only boy sibling of the Peebles. Simon is the stereotyped black teenager who wants to be a rapper. This is shown through his actions such as stealing, lying, and also the way he dresses. In one scene Simion is seen making a music video where he is exemplifying the rapper lifestyle. In this music video, Simon has his pants hanging down low, is rapping and using a lot of effects and autotune like some rappers do, he holds up very expensive watches and throws cash all around the room, and also objectifies women. Simon did not have any actual women with him during this music video, but he did have a women’s thong and a poster of a women’s butt in underwear in the background that he references throughout the song while talking about how he is tired of waiting to be with a girl and wants to know “what’s a brother gotta do”. Simon also contributes to this “thug” lifestyle by being a kleptomaniac and stealing a lot of very expensive things. He is trying to get himself a “bad” (which in his eyes is good) reputation.
Another large stereotype found in the African American community is coming from a family with a single mother which is the type of family that the character Wade came from. This stereotype is by far not true for most African American families, but for the ones that it is true for created this stereotype.
Significant Omissions
What is left out of this movie that is important to consider? In real life a girl like Grace who is a lawyer would probably never fall in love with a guy like Wade. If anything was left out of this movie it is how the two of them met. Wade comes from a very different background than Grace. Wade was raised by a single mother and for most of his life he was poor. While Grace on the other hand was raised by two very successful parents and was always taught to reach for perfection. Wade never really achieved his life goals he never even got a college degree which was his goal to be a child psychologist. Grace has multiple degrees and followed in her fathers footsteps of being a lawyer. In my personal opinion in real life this is a very unlikely couple.
Step 4: Diagnosis
Meaning and Possible Interpretations
Throughout this movie, the writers show several very unrealistic scenarios such as an overprotective father who has turned down every single one of his daughters finally letting in the one in who had done the most damage to him and his family. They also show that a man who had little to no college and let go of his dreams will wind up with a woman who comes from an incredibly successful family while she, herself, is also incredibly successful. She is also incredibly beautiful and he, on the other hand, is not so attractive. This would be the oppositional reading of these scenarios.
The writers show their preferred reading that love is only skin deep and that nothing else about a person or their background matters. The dad forgives the daughter’s boyfriend because he realizes he was wrong even though the boyfriend did cause him a lot of pain and suffering during his stay with them. They also show that at the end of the day there will always be a happy ending where the guy gets the girl and everyone joins together and puts on a concert for a bunch of young children who are having problems peeing on a toilet.
The film also shows that the African American son of a very successful family wants to be a thug and live up to every stereotype about African American “thugs” and “gangsters” that has ever been made. In real life, African American boys who come from a successful family with money do not try to be like a group of individuals who do not come from the same class as he does. Every African American that I know of who came from a successful family does not try to be part of the “thug life”. They embrace the fact that they come from success and use it to their advantage so that they can be successful, too.They don’t throw all of that high status and class away to try and become a rapper and steal from people. This is the oppositional reading of the character Simon.
The preferred reading of Simon that the writers see is that this son who lives in this perfect family cracks under the pressure and wants to be something different than everyone else with the last name Peeples. He wants to be like other kids in his age group and not have to be so serious so he adopts the “thug life” as a way to cope with all of the stress of being a member of his family.
Comparison With Rational Models
There is universal stereotypes and models represented in this film as well. The main plot in general is not a new idea. One person seeking the approval of their partner’s parents, and having an overprotective father is very common theme in this film. This theme can be found in hundreds of film. On the site Imdb there is a short plot summary of the 2000 film Meet the Parents:
Greg Focker is a male nurse, who is ready to propose to his girlfriend Pam. However, he discovers that Pam’s father, Jack prefers to be asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage before the proposal. Greg and Pam take a visit to the Burns home, so that Greg can secretly ask Pam’s father for his daughters hand in marriage, before proposing. Jack was a former agent of the CIA, and through his own experience dislikes Greg very much. Greg, must now try to win back Jack’s trust and liking, through a visit that just can’t be any worse. Through all his efforts of trying to befriend Jack, Greg ends up losing Jack’s rare cat, giving Pam’s sister a black eye, and lightings the Burns’s garden on fire – just to name a few!. (Claudry 5)
This description is very similar to the one we wrote of the film we examined Peeples, and this film is just an example of how common this theme in films is. The film follows almost the same course as this film, ending with a happy ending because they family becomes unified. Another theme that is less common in films, yet a stereotype of all lesbians, is that to be a lesbian one must be very manly. For example the character Meg and Gloria met by playing on a Rugby team together. Another universal stereotype represented is that the overprotected daughter had past relationships with many older men of authority, the character Grace exhibits this with one of the relationships mentioned which was her relationship with Skip her plastic surgeon
Potential Effects (Harm)
If a person has a constant belief that life is like the movies and that the guy will always get the girl and that everything has a happy ending, they are going to have a very rude awakening when that is not the case. Also, believing in all of these stereotypes shown throughout the movie such as Wade having a single mom and little to no college education, Simon being a wanna be thug rapper, and all of the other racial, derogatory stereotypes, people will have no idea about what a person of that ethnic background is actually like. Stereotypes are not true for most people and it is crucial that people from other cultures recognize that. Believing stereotypes to be true is detrimental to cultures getting along and getting to truly know one another.
Judgement/evaluation
Even though Tyler Perry was not attempting to appeal to me while he was writing this film, I found it to be enjoyable. There were several very funny moments and even though they use a lot of stereotypes, specifically with the character Simon, they demonstrate them as almost making fun of people in the “thug life”. Simon wears a women’s diamond earring in order to look cool, and instead just looked silly for wearing something that belonged to his mother. The music video that he made was also hysterical in how ridiculous it was.
However, for many people who watch this movie, they believe these stereotypes to be true and almost expect African American people to act the way that characters do in that movie. People also develop the feeling that everything works out in the end, no matter what happens, and that true love conquers all, which is also not true.
I believe that for as for stereotypical movies go, this movie could have been a lot worse. I have already seen movies that make much harsher and out right judgements than Peeples did. If the person is watching with an open mind that stereotypes are more often than not wrong, then this could be a comedic and fun movie to watch. If they do not have an open mind, on the other hand, then this movie could be even more detrimental to their belief in stereotypes.
Step 5: Design
Realistic Reframing
There are a few moments in the film that are simply blown out of proportion and the use of realistic reframing could do the plot some good. What are the chances that Daphne, a mother of 3, would have been a One Hit wonder from the late 1970s and Wade would have no idea? Now she is a recovering Alcoholic that is still a drug addict. Along with there is no explanation of how Daphne obtains drugs and takes them without the family even noticing, yet they can tell when Wade, a much larger person, ingests it. To correct these problems Daphne’s drug use could have been more readily addressed, or described. Virgil, a federal judge and a man that prides himself on values, is a very opinionated man in the film. The family lets Virgil use them and be very mean to them, for example Wade presents him with the a family heirloom of his grandmother’s that Wade wants to use to propose to Grace and Virgil asks, “with that chip?” and when he tried to defend the ring Virgil said, “all I see is a man who can’t afford to buy his own ring” and later says “you [Wade], for example are her loser phase”. Virgil is not a intimidating character he is just very unnecessarily cruel. I think the filmmakers should tweak their approach to these unrealistically overpowering characters, they should take a milder approach. Secondly, Grace is a very successful lawyer with many things going for her, she is successful, very attractive, and young. Why does she choose to be with Wade, unsuccessful, older man, with little going for him? This is where Virgil mentioning phases comes in play, yet the film took too extreme of an approach. Time and time again the characters remain oblivious; there are many facts that the Peeples family over looks for dramatic effect, yet it is way too unrealistic to relate to. The family is blatantly unaware of their mother’s drug problem, Simon’s theft issues, Grace’s second life, Gloria’s sexuality, and Virgil’s nudist involvement. Every character is too dramatized along with the story line. If the film placed more emphasis on comedic coincidences I think the message would have been stronger.
Likelihood of Use
Realistically many of the events that we believe should happen would most likely never happen to that extreme in a Hollywood film.
Existing Reconstructions
One reconstruction that comes to mind is Meet the Parents which is essentially the same movie just geared towards a white audience. In this film the plot is almost identical, except that there are none of the stereotypes being made.
Step 6: Debriefing
Personal Impact of Dis-illusioning
Comparison of Personal Belief Before/ After (Change/ Reinforce)
Personally my team and I always knew that there were stereotypes in movies. So our dis-illusion of this film just reinforced what we already knew and believed. Before the film in class we watched a documentary about African American men and there need to keep up with the hip hop lifestyle. This film definitely makes fun of that and shows a that this is a very serious problem facing the African American community. Before the film we never thought that those problems were a real threat but after I can see that they are. Before watching this film I never really knew the stereotypes and biased views that these movies could posses.
Personal Harm From Myth
None of the members in our group believe in stereotypes, and we have never been victimized due to them, so we have never had any personal harm due to them. There are others who have been which makes them completely not acceptable.
Step 7: Dissemination
Advocacy Action Plan
Due to my belief that stereotypes are not accurate, nor nice, I have a plan to not contribute to the success of these types of movies, and also advise other people not to do the same. I believe that stereotypes should no longer be something that is so widely accepted in society because they are hurtful to the groups of people that they are about. The create barriers between different cultures, and all culture should not be separated. I will contribute to stopping the spread of stereotypes by proving people wrong when they say one by giving them a direct example of a person who defies the stereotype and tell people to stay away from them. They are not helpful, only harmful.
Timetable of Specific Activities (Personal/Public/Professional)
For both personal and professional reasons, I would like to join some sort of club that helps people of every culture and joins them together so that they see just how similar they are. On a college campus, we all have similar goals, and people in your classes are even interested in the same things that you are, regardless of the difference in your race. I believe that all races should be treated the same way and that a person should not exclude people from another race because of stereotypes that they may believe. This is a fight that has been going on for ages, and I would like to contribute to stopping it, not supporting it.
References
Chaudary, Mekaeal. “Plot Summary.” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. kkkkk<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212338/plotsummary>.
Here is a link to my favorite scene in the entire movie due to it’s ridiculousness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSQsWlZiuI8
The sense of innocence is something that is very highly valued in America. The color white like freshly fallen snow, babies or new beings, virgins, and the bird the dove are all representations of this innocence. The Dove Find Your Scents of Confidence 2013 campaign wanted to highlight this light hearted innocence that Dove already exploits and take it a step further. Dove has $65,572,000 to make their campaign work for “Find Your Scents of Confidence”. They want to encourage women in particular to promote a more positive self image and confidence. The target audience for females is 18-34 and the secondary target audience is males of the same age. Targeting will most likely occur in the south and western regions because that is where this product sells the most.
The use of previous research was where they decided to begin new research. First of all they are promoting more communication between client and company. Dove came to fruition in 1955 and is now considered one of the leading cleansing brands. The “dove for True Beauty” 2004 campaign which first started to try to reverse issues of self esteem and body dysmorphic disorders, yet this was geared more towards women. In 2010 Dove released their first product meant specifically for men. They used surveys to see how the target audience perceives Dove as a product. They surveyed what their customers value in a body wash, in order they are scent, moisturizing, price, performance, and sensitivity. They also made a survey based on how ideal Dove is to what they want based on importance and they matched the ideal body wash quite nicely.
The main objectives of the campaign are Body Wash Awareness, Male Customer Awareness, Twitter Activity Increase, and Environmental Initiatives Awareness Stimulation. They would like to make all people in the target audience, males and females ages 18-34, more aware of the product and everything it offers. Along with that they would like to make men a main target, they now have a male line, yet men know very little about it. To measure the increases in twitter activity they are following certain hashtags, #LoveForDove and #DoveForAll; furthermore Twitter is a great forum for this kind of advertisement because the target audience is extremely active on this medium. The environmental initiatives awareness is meant to show the costumers, which of this time period are more health and environmentally conscious, that they use recycled materials.
The research they did was in a larger focus group of 58 participants, using both male and female. Then they mainly use Multi-Attribute Models to show off how this data applies to their campaign. They use a specific formula to interpret the Multi-Attribution Model in numbers and a more pattern driven way, the components being:
Pb = is the consumers overall percept of Brand b
n = number of attributes
Ii = importance of attribute i
Bib = belief that attribute I is delivered by Brand
They use this to show how this info applies to the company and its rank as compared to other companies of its kind. These models are in the forms of pie charts, bar graph, and comparative tables.
While examining their data there is a few clear points that show through. First being people rate scent higher than anything else when consuming products of this nature, in turn Dove added more scents to their previous line. Second most important thing to consumers is moisturizing aspects of a product, Dove already uses a lot of moisturizing they just have to promote it better. Third they are pricier than competitors so they want to improve the amount of promotions they make on websites such as facebook and twitter which will also make them branch out on these new advertising forums which is perfect for their demographic. Finally, fourth, they have to expand their mens line, they found that their next leading competitor stands a chance against them because of their extensive mens line. They choose to compare how much they will allocate for spending, based on other competitors, around $65 million has been set aside for spending.
Media forums are the main ways to get a consumers attention. TV, Internet, Radio, and print are the main media outlets they are choosing to allocate money too (33% print, 35% TV, 17% radio, 15% for internet). Internet is a newer forum to use, they claim:
Our internet advertisements will be featured on Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, and internet radio websites such as Pandora and Spotify where viewers have to listen to the advertisement in order to continue watching or listening. We will specifically promote Dove’s Men+Care line on websites geared towards men such as ESPN, videogame websites, and men’s health websites. (Cole, et al.)
For print they are well aware that Females enjoy magazines they most so they would like to use magazines such as Seventeen, OK Weekly, American Baby, Cosmo, Baby Talk, InTouch, Elle, US weekly, Marie Claire, and Parents. On Television they plan on targeting:
Channels with the high index numbers for viewership in our primary target audience are Bravo, Style, E Channel, TLC, and Oxygen. For our secondary target, we found high index numbers for Adult Swim, ESPN, Comedy Central, TBS, and G4. (Cole, et al.)
They went for a lighthearted, cheerful, confident approach for this campaign on all media.
Currently on the Dove website, the Real Beauty Campaign is still going strong and there is a lot of information about it. The target has changed throughout the years while also staying under the same principle, as shown through the timeline of events since Dove started their campaign in 2004. Throughout the years, Dove has focused their real beauty campaign to specifically target certain groups. Some of the issues tackled include challenging the stereotype of only thin women being beautiful, wanting to make the next generation of women happy about the way they look, exposing unrealistic expectations such as photoshopped models, spreading knowledge that age has no restriction and that women over 50 are still beautiful, and reminding women to not be camera shy and be innocent like they were when they were younger. The main focus of the campaign is for women to be “happy and confident,” and the one statistic that stuck out was that only 4% of women worldwide believe they are beautiful. Another statistic that stuck out was that 6 out of 10 girls are so concerned with physical looks, that they don’t participate in normal daily routines, such as sports or even school, because they are so self conscious. This is what Dove is trying to fix and change; they want all women to feel beautiful and make them realize that everyone is beautiful, and that our society sets unrealistic standards. The current 2014 campaign is to take selfies that portray women in their normal state, and how they are beautiful no matter what. The current goal is to reassure women that they are in fact beautiful and that they should always feel comfortable taking a selfie; self confidence is always going to be an issue, no matter what gender the person is, but Dove wants everyone to feel confident and comfortable with who they are. Dove also created a hashtag to use on social media that will connect everyone involved with the campaign together in unison. #BeautyIs is all over social media networks and can be used for women, and also men, to express what they believe real beauty is through Tweets, YouTube videos, blog posts, Facebook, and Instagram pictures.
As the PR Newswire article states, “Nearly half (45%) describe themselves as ‘average’ and ‘ordinary’ with a further 10% feeling ‘plain’, ‘unattractive’ and ‘ugly’” (Self-Esteem Issues Impact Women’s Future Success). This horrible statistic of how women view themselves affected Dove tremendously causing them to start the “Real Beauty” campaign to show women that they are beautiful even though they feel that they are not. In this campaign, Dove also started a study that showed, “‘92 percent of teen girls would like to change something about the way they look, with body weight ranking the highest’” (Self-esteem is a problem for many African-American girls). They created a documentary showing how women describe themselves as people much less beautiful than what they really are. An artist who cannot see the woman listens to her speak of what she looks like and later has a person who only saw the woman once describe what she looks like and the results are much different. The shortened version of this video is the most watched advertisement on Youtube with over 64 million views. They also started #BeautyIs which many women use on sites such as Twitter and Instagram with a photo of themselves that they believe that they are beautiful in. Dove has had a lot of success with their campaign and other companies are following their trail. Aerie, the lingerie line from American Eagle Outfitters, started the #AerieReal campaign where they do not airbrush any of their models promoting the fact that women do not need to be airbrushed to be beautiful. The difference between this campaign and Dove’s is that Dove actually use real women who represent the average American woman and Aerie uses models who are still an unrealistic version of average. Those models do not need to be airbrushed in the first place so choosing those girls not to airbrush almost defeats the purpose. They may be “real” in the advertisements, but they are still models who do not represent real women. These two companies do attempt to show women that the real them is beautiful, and that is a beautiful message. The feminine product company, Always, also has started a campaign to build up the self confidence of women. They have started the #LikeAGirl campaign which is trying to overcome the fact that people use “like a girl” as a derogatory expression. They say things like “You throw like a girl” or “You run like a girl” in order to offend someone. Always is trying to change the stigma of that phrase by having people upload photos of themselves doing some pretty awesome things on networking sites such as Twitter and Instagram using #LikeAGirl. Both Always and Dove are trying to build up self confidence with Always trying to make a woman feel strong and powerful instead of Dove’s approach of making them feel beautiful. All three of the companies have very good intentions in trying to raise awareness that women are pretty great.
It’s pretty crazy how there are only 3 weeks left of my first semester of college. There are only 3 papers left in English class, 1 exam in comm, and 3 projects in comm standing in between me and going to the beach for a long weekend as my second part of summer. Part 1 of summer vacation before summer session was a cruise to Bermuda with my boyfriend and my family and it was wonderful.
The party scene has also been pretty bumpin’ for me. And by party scene I mean hanging out, doing homework, and watching TV in Jordan and Danielle’s room with Reese and whoever else comes along for the night. We really turn up while we do homework.
I finally went to the library for the first time since my initial visit to Penn State yesterday and it was great. The study group rooms are pretty sweet and my group got a lot of work done for our upcoming ad campaign project. I love the advertisement that we are doing, the Dove “Real Beauty” campaign. I love all of the videos, I love the reason behind it, and overall I just love the fact that this large company is taking the time to show women that they are beautiful.
Overall, I’m really starting to get the hang of college and I am just getting more and more excited for the fall semester.
Here is my cultural analysis paper for English class on why I believe Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect role model for girls and teenagers in our American culture:
In Hollywood, there are countless super-thin stars that are incredibly beautiful, talented, gracious, and sometimes even a little conceited due to all of their fame and success. It has become incredibly hard to find a celebrity that young girls and teenagers can not only look up to and aspire to be like, but also someone who they can relate to. With the emergence of the wildly famous Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook star, Jennifer Lawrence, the search is now over. The purpose of a role model is to have someone that a person can look towards in order to try and become a better person. Things that used to be considered bad such underage drinking, drugs, and eating disorders have become so prevalent in our culture that I believe that it is necessary for young girls to have a role model to teach them that even though these things may be popular, they are not right and you can be pretty cool without doing them. Jennifer is someone who would be a great influence for these impressionable girls and teens. Lawrence is very well known for teaching girls to be confident with their bodies, being an overall caring and compassionate person, never being on a tabloid for parting or doing drugs or any other illegal activities, and also for never taking herself too seriously. I believe that for all of those reasons Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect person to use as a role model.
There are constantly stories on magazines of celebrities with some sort of eating disorder trying to make themselves go from being thin, to unhealthily skinny. Jennifer Lawrence is never one of those celebrities. One of her most well known quotes concerns her want to be fit and not stick-thin: “I’m never going to starve myself for a part. I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner.’ That’s something I was really conscious of during training, when you’re trying to get your body to look exactly right. I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong—not thin and underfed.” One of her main concerns is to not try and be something that is unhealthy. She wants girls to not look at her as the typical Hollywood starlet that they need to develop some sort of eating disorder in order to attain that same standard of beauty. She wants girls instead to see her as a fit and healthy woman and encourage them to exercise and eat healthy instead of starving themselves. She also believes every woman should appreciate their own body instead of trying to live up to someone else’s idea of beautiful in saying, “You look how you look. Be comfortable. What are you going to do? Be hungry every single day to make other people happy? That’s just dumb.” She supports all different bodies and believes that every woman should be happy with what they have.
Jennifer is known as being a very sweet and generous person who takes the time out to acknowledge her fans by giving them autographs or taking pictures with them when she sees them. Not all stars do this anymore with the exception of when they are at large promotional events. She also keeps a very level head and does not ever want to become one of those celebrities who think that they are some sort of God send because they are rich, famous, and successful in their career. Jennifer has said, “I like the financial security because I know how hard it is for so many people who struggle to earn a living. I’m grateful I don’t have to worry about money and I can live very freely and do something I love and get paid very well to do it. I tell my friends to slap me if they ever think I’m getting full of myself.” She realizes all that she has and does not take any of it for granted like many people, especially celebrities, do.
When you look on the cover of a tabloid and see headlines about celebrities getting DUI’s or going to prison for possession or use of drugs, you never see Jennifer Lawrence being the subject of those headlines. In this day there are so many other celebrities such as Miley Cyrus that young girls idolize even though they are constantly connected to partying, drinking, and drugs. These girls need someone like Jennifer who goes to an Oscars after party and instead of getting herself drunk, gets her parents drunk and then leaves. She has said, “I don’t like going out that much. I’m kind of an old lady. After it’s 11, I’m like, ‘Don’t these kids ever get tired?’ When I’m out, I think about my couch. Like, ‘It would be awesome to be on it right now. I bet there’s an episode of Dance Moms on. Am I missing a new episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians?…I like people to come over to my place. It’s like a reality TV show cave. I just learned how to work TiVo. That changed my life. Reality TV is my silver lining. At the end of the day, there’s probably nothing that makes me feel better than junk food and reality TV.” Jennifer is a real person who does real things like eating junk food and watching reality TV. That has become part of American teenage culture and she fits it perfectly. Girls such as myself are able to relate to her want to just stay in and eat food that is terrible for you while watching a show that is equally terrible for you. No other celebrity admits that sort of thing.
If you tripped and fell in front of millions of Americans watching at home, and in front of hundreds of the most important people in Hollywood, chances are you would be mortified. I know that if that were me, I would probably run away backstage and start to cry. Jennifer Lawrence does the exact opposite. When she tripped at the 2013 Oscars while going up to receive the Oscar for “Best Actress” for the movie Silver Linings Playbook, Lawrence was full of poise and got a standing ovation out of it. When she got to the podium she said, “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell and that’s really embarrassing, but thank you.” Her ability to accept her embarrassment was not just a one-time thing. Lawrence also had a wardrobe malfunction at the SAG awards where the top layer of her dress rode up and showed everyone a lot more than they were expecting to see. When she got to the podium she was able to laugh it off and say, “Well, at least I had on underwear.” Most people would be completely mortified and would most likely pretend that the entire incident had never happened. Jennifer Lawrence is the last person you will ever hear about taking herself too seriously, and she sends a good message for every young girl and teenager to do the same. Learning to be able to laugh at yourself is one of the greatest things in life.
Before Jennifer Lawrence, I completely idolized Anne Hathaway. She is beautiful, talented, and full of grace. She is an incredible woman, but I was never able to relate to her like I can with Jennifer Lawrence. She is much more outgoing towards her fans and isn’t afraid to show everyone the real Jen, whereas Anne Hathaway and many other celebrities would never dare say something as silly as what comes out of Jennifer’s mouth. Even if you don’t like her, it is obvious that she is a great person at heart and logistically is a great influence for girls and teenagers everywhere. Lawrence is the perfect role model due to her being relatable to young girls and teens, her encouragement to love your own body, her compassion as a person, her lack of activity in the party scene, and her ability to never take her self too seriously as a person regardless of her fame and success.
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