Since the dawn of the information age, there has been a strong push to encourage society to have a more nuanced understanding of mental health. History has shown that when people are in trying conditions, their mental unwellness can push them to various extremes. Currently, society has partially acknowledged the need for an emotionally stable population if it wants to remain productive. There have been several different means of mitigating the consequences of poor mental health, whether it be asylums, heavy medication, or forced compliance. These have all proven to be highly ineffective as well as actively harmful to society. Recently though, research has shown that education and support are the most helpful ways of preventing many problems.   Continue reading

It is widely accepted as a fact that movie trailers are advertisements meant to generate anticipation for a film among a large portion of consumers. They highlight the best parts of a film or showcase the scenes that are most appealing. Yet, we, as consumers, know that the intended audience for every movie is different. Whether marketing teams are speaking to a demographic of consistent viewers or an under-utilized demographic of the potential viewers, there can be a surprising amount of information to be learned purely by analyzing how these groups are appealed to. Thus, we can more closely understand the language that is uniquely identifiable by the in-group being targeted. An easy example of this is the film “Run, Hide, Fight” which is currently being hosted by the Daily Wire. It extensively uses dog-whistling tactics to send controversial messages to the audience, only some of which may receive that message. To use these tactics, the creators assumed that the messages “will be unpalatable to some segment of their audience but… yield some advantage when communicated to some other segment” (Henderson 231). By analyzing the subtextual messages of the promotional footage for this film, the audience can more consciously engage with the substance of the advertisement and the intentions of the creators.  Continue reading