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"When Will My Reflection Show..."

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     If I've obtained anything this semester, it has been a whole new point of view on the media and how manipulative the industry is. My whole life I've been consuming, from T.V. to radio, newspapers and now the digital plane. Now, I can really see through their obscure messages and underlying control, and analyze how I have been completely influenced! Today, I spend way to much time on my phone, mostly Snapchat and just texting in general. This addiction has effected my focus, and changed even my relationships due to the power of suggestion held over my head by social media. You can always keep tabs on people, but is it always a good idea to constantly know when people are ignoring you on purpose or doing regrettable things? It's similar to a discussion on superpowers, you want something that will allow you to have an edge, many people like invisibility due to the possibilities, malicious or other wise. They could eavesdrop, steal, play pranks, but people cannot s...
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It's a Wonder that Women Have a Role at All

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     Why do women who kick ass have to be clad in scandalous clothing? It's always great to have a new heroine that isn't in search of a man (but still somehow ends up with one...), but why do they have to wear a bikini and skin tight clothes into battle? Even when block-busters like Wonder Woman inspire young girls and women, there is still glaring stereotypes. Tell me why an all powerful woman warrior falls in love with a sub-par soldier, and why, as she marches though "no man's land", has underwear and a corset on? It's great to see she's "no man," but at the same time she has been constructed to appeal to the male audience. For what reason? All in an attempt to gross more and more money from as many people as possible. It's hard to see if there is any solution to our woes, as no matter how hard we try the clutches of capital driven studios. Should we sacrifice our dignity to whip up role models for young girls, or should we cast these a...
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I Teel Ya, a Mistake Was Made at Ikea

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Link to advert at the bottom      Sadly, our favorite Swedish brand has fallen to the clutches of sexism, and it's a lesson to us all how easily our societal view of women seems to resort to a second class citizen. In the advert from China, the mom is displeased with her daughter, until she suddenly brings home a boy friend! The whole basis of their ad is that life for a woman is only easy and complete with a man by her side. Not only is this stereotype present, but the stereotype of a mom being nitpicky and annoying is also included. This isn't the first time that I’ve seen  a woman’s existence portrayed as dependent on a male counterpart. The sad thing about seeing ads like this is that we are not only exposing the bias against women, but are exploding it further by spreading imagery like this around to not only adults but also the youth- the most influenceable and important group in our society. If we want to eventually live in a world where indepe...
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The Fast and the Sexist: Audi Crashes With Ad

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     Last summer, Audi released an ad in China for their cars. The point seemed to be that the fine details of their cars would be accepted by any particular person, but they sadly missed the mark by comparing a human woman with a car . This advert is an amazingly obvious example of the prevalence of objectification in the media, and how it can so easily spill into our daily lives, and even precious moments. The ad displays the classic archetype of the over analytical mother-in-law, and how much of a nuisance she can be. It also portrays a very old-fashioned idea of marriage as ownership by the husband in order to continue a controlling patriarchal dominance. What is most shocking of all though, is how this reflects real life, or actually how real life reflects the media.      Our entire identity is based off of what we consume, and the all powerful ruler of what we absorb is the media. Advertisements have so much influence on what we like, di...
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The Fault In Our Youth Culture: Okay? Not Okay.

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Entrance to the Aokigahara Forest      Recently, YouTuber Logan Paul uploaded an insensitive vlog exploiting a man who had hung himself in Japan's Aokigahara forest. His friends and him are in shock, and instead of using the off button, they continue to gawk at the sight and share snickers because for some reason respect is not a trait they are familiar with. Even after filming this and editing the video, he didn't seem to ever think posting the video was a bad idea. The video reached the top of the trending charts on YouTube before it was taken down, and an army of pre-pubecent teens had seen the graphic imagery and the horrid reaction of the vloggers. Paul's reaction to what he found has been seen as disgusting by all (and it is), but is it all that abnormal?     In the film, Merchants of Cool , they cover the whole premise of the "mook." This obnoxious, insensitive character has been perpetuated for decades by the media, creating endless enter...
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Disney Or Dat Knee? Disney Bought Part of Fox News!?!

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     Today, the Disney corporation purchased a huge portion of the Fox network for $52 billion. This is a huge change, and news sources like the BBC BBC Analysis say it's an attempt to rally against streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The strategy is understandable, but with the instability of the staff and the uneducated bias of the network, Disney's true values become questionable. Yes, they do need to branch out to reach a whole new audience and market, but at what cost? Besides the $52 billion, their investment could leak Fox content barf into Disney creations. Their purchase only includes 20th Century Fox, sports networks, and some subsets, but its not like Fox News doesn't touch any of this. Besides the possible poisoning of Disney content, the same goes for the other side. Franchises such as Avatar and The Simpsons are at risk too. The content we love could soon be a vessel for advertising, ready to make us consume more at the sake of our welfa...
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You Racist, Or Naw? -Dove Ad Campaign FAIL

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     Mid-October, Dove released a new ad to of course sell their soap. There isn't much material in soap advertising I suspect, as they seem to revert to old tactics to keep the creative department fresh. I don't understand why Dove didn't learn from their last mistake (the transition from black to white women, and dirty to clean) and why they decided the 'woke' year of 2017 was a good time to pull a similar stunt. In the ad, a black woman takes off a skin color shirt and then turns into a white woman, who the turns into another woman (whom people claim is Filipino) They claim their purpose was to be inclusive and equal, to represent all women. They could have easily changed it around and put the white woman first who could take her skin off and change, or just all together not include the idea of changing someones skin .      I suspect they attempted to narrow cast the millennial market, as these new adults are hip and 'woke,' and want equality...
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