Week 13 - Question the Media

www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3498769

Who created this message? Why?

Dove, Lava, Olay, Caress, & Irish Springs created messages regarding soap and/or bodywash and it's overall ability to make us feel beautiful, clean, and/or sexually attractive with use.

Who is the target audience?

Mostly women, some children

What creative language is used to attract my attention?

"Incredible lather and Incredible skin"
"Before you dress, Caress"
"Wrap yourself in youthful, glowing skin"
"Smell like you're worth exploring"
"Fresh and clean as a whistle"
"Clean is the new dirty"
"Beauty has no age limit"
"Lets make peace with beauty"
"Gets hands clean the first time"

The above phrases are all examples of catch phrases to quickly grab your attention while getting the intended message across.

How does this message make me feel?

The message from the above soap and body wash advertisements makes me feel like I need to purchase one of these brands in order to fully feel refreshed and good about myself after bathing or washing my hands, while making me more approachable to everyone I'm around as well. Cleanliness is beautiful. I ultimately know that it's obviously just a selling point, however it does make you want to go take a shower:)

How might different people understand this message differently from me?

Children could potentially view the message too literally and possibly feel inadequate if they don't have a certain brand due to the message perceived from certain advertisements. They may also feel that they need to look a certain way in order to be "beautiful".

What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or left out, of the message?

I think that the value, lifestyle and point of views represented are:

- People of all ages are beautiful
- Cleanliness is beautiful
- Cleanliness makes you more sexually attractive
- Soap provides you with much better skin
- Soap is what makes a dirty child clean and his/her parents happy

I think the only message that's left out is that soap is for everyone! It's for the overall general upkeeping of every person and is necessary for good hygiene. Men are certainly not the one's we don't want using soap!!

Links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK-qHuBd_h8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAXPGtpZvQI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XtaQAS4dzA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bajBQXNMeY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-d1XmeOtyg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn51amFwmUI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXlrS92XGoM&feature=related

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBZ-8cM8YoU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah3kAlb5xvY&feature=related

Week 11 - The Smothers Brothers

http://www.tvparty.com/smothers3.html

The Smother's Brother's was a very controversial program aired in the 1960's. This series was a second shot given to the Brother's by CBS after a very short lived program they tried to make a hit of previously. The Comedy Hour however, proved to be worth the second chance as it quickly became competitive with the most popular series on television at the time, Bonanza. The "Smother's Brother's Comedy Hour" was comprised of contentious comedy, music, and special appearances. With topics covered such as drug use, opposing views to the Vietnam War, current day politics, censorship, etc., they always rode the line of what's acceptable to say on TV. Although the Smother's Brother's spoke for the majority of rebellious young Americans, they did so tastefully, while being conservatively dressed so as to not stray from the image CBS wanted to represent. However, as they continuously pushed the envelope more and more each show with their debateable humor, CBS eventually cut the cord and removed them from the network for good, resulting in one of the most infamous fights over censorship in history. These types of people are the reason behind where we are today, as they fought for one of the most important rights we as Americans own, our First Amendment right to our Freedom of Speech.

Week 10 - The "Daisy Girl" Advertisement

http://www.heritagepreservation.org/HHI/case46.html

The "Daisy Girl" advertisement was a campaign ad in favor of voting for Lyndon Johnson as President. This advertisement was one of the most controversial campaign ad's in history and used the power of fear to convince voters to vote against Goldwater. Although the ad was only shown once, the message was forever remembered and aided Johnson in his overwhelming defeat as he slid into victory. The advertisement begins with a little girl in a field plucking petals off a flower as she miscounts the number of petals she's plucked. As the little girl reaches nine, the camera zooms in until just the pupil's of her eye's are showing as another voice is heard counting down. When the countdown reaches zero, her pupil's are replaced by a mushroom cloud resulting from a nuclear explosion. A voiceover is then heard stating, "These are the stakes! To make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die." "Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home." This very to the point, exaggerated message was most likely untrue. However, the fear instilled into viewers was felt and most likely naturally took a toll. Johnson became highly criticized afterwards for his choice to use such a tactic to obtain presidency, and it was covered in large within the news. To this day, many have utilized similar tactics to persuade the American opinion, but the extremely bold assumption of potentially false information has been taken down just a notch.

Week 9 - All in the Family

http://www.starpulse.com/Television/All_In_The_Family/gallery/ALLINFAMILYTV002/

"All in the Family" was a television series starring a comedic, yet extremely racist gentleman, named Archie Bunker. This series quickly became a very controversial hit with it's permissiveness in language startling many. With the racial slurs often expressed having been previously forbidden by not only broadcasters and producers, but also within public conversation, airing it was questionable. As with the new Civil Rights laws progressing, and equality for all becoming more and more of an acceptable justice, people became very hesitant to say what most still really probably thought. Archie, whom in real life had a father figure whom was a bigot to say the least, never really shared this same opinion. He argued with his father on numerous occassions, but never won. Archie did however feel that the feelings his father expressed were in reality probably shared by many irregardless. He felt that by making light of the situation, that he could possibly bring people together through his comedic efforts. He was trying to make people look at things in a different light, while attempting to expose that through the taboos society had created, only harm was being done. Archie succeeded, change was in the air, and many taboos disappeared. As Barnouw states, "The words were in the open now--and no towers came crashing down." (Barnow, 1990, p.432)

Reference:

Barnouw,Erik (1990) Tube of Plenty The Evolution of American Television 2nd Revised Edition. Oxford University Press.

Week 8 - Media negativity

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16844030@N02/1921123395/

One of the events I noticed which greatly displayed negative feelings from the public about television and it's abilities to impact society, was seen through Lyndon Johnson and the governments opposition to allow the media certain freedoms related to broadcasting. Lyndon Johnson was a very well liked man according to public opinion in his beginning years of office. His reputation was great as he won a huge victory in civil rights, and he fought to maintain his appearance within the media's eye. Television he knew, based on it's persuasive capabilities, could possibly either make or break him during such controversial times which were suddenly surrounding his presidency. As news got out about Vietnam and possible mistakes being made by the government with it's current decisioning process and involvement, Johnson kept very sure that he only did background appearances where only selected broadcasters and journalists were invited for questioning. Johnson would become very stern and condescending to broadcasters whom asked him questions with potential to make him look bad, and he became a very arrogant and overall confident appearance on TV. Johnson was also well known for coming at critics by questioning and casting doubt on their loyalty. Johnson even participated in a heavily censored trip to Vietnam and other international destinations to prove that he was doing the right thing by being involved, and that it wasn't as "rumors" were attempting to make it to be. Soon after his trip, talk arose of a possible travel ban prohibiting travel to particular enemy countries. The ban the government knew would ensure the inability of further unwanted truths to be exposed. It became very clear that the government's indignant opposition of diverse broadcasting was indefinitely striving to control and neutralize the media. Television networks began the fight against government censorship at license renewals where it was stated that, "We recognize that as shown by the complaints here, such provocative programming as here involved may offend some listeners. But this does not mean that those offended have the right, through the commisssion's licensing power, to rule such programming off the air waves." Johnson became so obsessed with guarding his image at all costs, and through censorship of himself, he became as he wanted to appear. This technique of utilizing the media only when and where he wanted to, along with the heavy censorship, really only proved that public opinion was skewed based on such a scattered and manipulated image.

Week 7 - Martin Luther's King "I Have A Dream" Speech

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTb_79X9FJ9QAB3KGjzbkF/SIG=12gt59mg9/EXP=1238544765/**http%3A//tw.streetvoice.com/diary/user-article.asp%3Fdn=170308


Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" Speech will forever go down in history as one of the most controversial yet memorable speech's of all time. Hundreds of thousands of people, both white and black, gathered together to join Martin Luther King and his follower's in their fight for freedom and equality for all. TV Networks across the nation covered this historical moment through their lens' and provided immediate coverage to the American people through what had become the best communication tool of their time. TV was able to aid in the fight for justice of African Americans through displaying freedom movements, and persuasive speeches which became hard to contend with. It had become a time where our society was experiencing such drastic change and growth through the radio and TV, it was time for us all to move forward in other positive directions as well. This battle being fought was for completely just cause. Our forefathers had signed documents stating that there be justice for all, and who were we to judge others just because of their color? Martin Luther King was a martyr to civil rights and he was a huge influence to the world. TV provided the means to get his message to the nation, and provided a very important outlet to demand change and create a difference.

4th Week - Graphical Representation of Early TV

http://www.wannabeswede.com/dfl_009_Senator_Joe_McCarthy.jpg

I chose the above image to represent my overall feeling about early television for a few different reasons. The main reason is, I feel like McCarthy and his "red list" played such a huge role in the development of early TV programming and the way in which shows were broadcast. I feel like this was very well portrayed through the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck", and the fear felt by Americans around the world was obviously very real, and for good reason. Many actors, actress', set crew, etc. were fired due to McCarthy's false communist accusations, and therefore it couldn't help but not to make a difference in what was shown on TV, and by whom. McCarthy used his reputation, his beliefs, and the manipulation of this grand communication tool to try and force people to conform. Even such popular shows as "I Love Lucy" became threatened due to his allegations of Lucille Ball. It seemed to many I'm sure, that no one, nor any TV program was safe from his opinionated allegations.
I also felt this picture, being in B&W, best portrayed early TV due to filming of early programming being filmed in this manner. I think it also provides a good overall feel of the era through the camera equipment shown being used.

Week 3 - What I've learned thus far...

This class so far has been full of extremely interesting, surprising, and new information. I found it to be very interesting that TV evolved from another communication tool such as radio. Radio had such a profound effect on people then as it does now. The history of radio is extensive, with many peoples innovative thoughts contributing greatly to where we are today. It was surprising to me that there was so many amateurs creating this new invention. The excitement over this invention seemed to lead to a great interest in it's abilities by numerous people within society. It seemed to be a snowball effect of creative thoughts and creations over this new harnessed power. It really shows what Americans have the ability to do when they put there mind to something. New information I've learned thus far has been unmeasurable. On top of everything listed above, the ethical issues which began so quickly after the radio was invented definitely made me think about where we are with media censorship and ownership today. Although it wasn't surprising to me that people began to fight about whom should have control over such a powerful communication tool, it was not something I've ever really given a whole lot of thought about, and it was interesting to see the views expressed by both sides back then and the reasons why we are where we are today.

Second Week - "Old" TV vs. "New" TV

This week I watched two "old" TV episodes; One was "Leave it to Beaver" which originated in 1957, and the other being "The Andy Griffith Show" which became televised in 1960. As far as "new" TV is concerned, I watched many parts of various shows, along with an episode of

"Fringe".

http://www.loti.com/fifties_TV/images2/Leave_it_to_Beaver_html_4319f57d.jpg

A quick synopsis of each episode includes a B&W comedic episode of "Leave it to Beaver", where Beaver has a poem due for a class assignment. Beaver's father goes a little too far in helping him with his assignment by ultimately writing the entire poem for him. Beaver wins an award for "his" poem and his Dad feels guilty. His father has a meeting with his teacher to explain the circumstances, and Beaver's teacher is very understanding allowing Beaver a second chance. Beaver writes his poem and shares it at the dinner table believing it's good enough to hold on to that award:) It was a pretty funny poem...

http://www.tcf.ua.edu/classes/Jbutler/T311/AndyGriffith/images/AndyGriffith19_jpg.jpg

"The Andy Griffith Show" came a few years after "Leave it To Beaver" and is a color TV series. In this episode Andy's family asks if they can watch their baby for a week while they are away. Andy is EXTREMELY hesitant, however Aunt Bea is very persistant about not letting down family, and is overjoyed about the possibility of caring for a baby. Andy reluctantly gives in stating he doesn't want to have to take care of the baby at all during it's stay, and Aunt Bea graciously understands. There's only one small problem that gets in the way when the child is dropped off, the child cries hysterically whenever Aunt Bea holds it. Aunt Bea does everything to try and cover this issue up as she is torn up inside, and doesn't want Andy to know she doesn't have everything under control. After numerous insane attempts to cover up the problem, Andy finally figures everything out as Aunt Bea is unable to hide it anymore. Andy feels bad for her as he sees how badly she's upset by this issue, and tries to be helpful. The children however, end up sneaking upstairs and feed the baby blueberry pie filling when no one is around. When Aunt Bea sees the baby's blue mouth, she panics and scoops the baby up to try and get help. After she's made aware of what happened, as she's in hysterics, Andy brings to her attention that the baby is in her arms and not crying. He points out that she was so worried about making sure the baby was comfortable when it arrived vs. now when she's holding it confidantly to protect it, the baby was able to tell the difference. Therefore, the baby didn't hate Aunt Bea after all. As I'm sure you all can guess, Aunt Bea was just ecstatic about this realization which came conveniently before the childs parents came to pick her back up to go home.

http://www.fringetvseries.com/images/fringe-tv-header-mini.jpg

"Fringe" is a relatively new dramatic science fiction TV series. In the episode I watched, there was a bio-terrorist threat which could potentially cause a horrific death to all exposed. Exposure to the chemicals would mutate a human being into a grotesque monster which was ultimately it's demise, along with all that encountered it. A booked airline flight were the first victims which fell to the chemical weapon, becoming an alert for what was to come if not stopped. A team of FBI agents, along with other's, all whom have their various pro's and con's about them make it their responsibility to see to it that this doesn't occur.

As far as differences go between "old" TV and "new" TV go, this is what I noted:

* Clarity of picture - Whether it's B&W or color, "new" TV shows are very crisp in comparison to the fuzzy pictures shown in both "Leave it to Beaver" and "The Andy Griffith Show".

* Dress code and setting - All are representative to their timeframes and the genre they were televised in.

* Dialogue - The English language and the way it's used has continuously changed, and this change is greatly seen between the TV series watched. Again, it is relevant to the timeframe televised, and the audience targeted.

* TV series motive - I don't really think "motive" is the correct word, however, the complexities of TV shows today and what the "drama" is that creates them is so different. Instead of having a TV show about human beings morphing into monsters through bio-terrorism, we had shows about homework assignments, and taking care of babies. Life through a TV just seemed so much simpler back then, as was life in many ways.

* Audio - The Audio in the older shows seemed to have a bit of an echo to it.

This is all I could think of as far as vast distinctions I noticed between the two, but I'm sure there are plenty more. It is amazing how far TV has come in such a short time!

First Week - What did I watch on TV and why?

This week I didn't get to watch too much television. I never really do, however there are some shows that I just absolutely love and try not to miss. I am a huge reality TV junkie so I definitely had to make sure I watched "The City". "The City" is a spin-off of "The Hills", which in itself is a spin-off of Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach was a reality series about a group of highschool students lives as they finished high school, and ultimately went about their futures very separately. A very real, bittersweet TV series about what it's like being a kid and growing up. "The Hills" became a TV series about one of the students, LC, from Laguna Beach, and her journey into the "real" world in LA. "The City" is a brand new series, which is now mainly about one of LC's co-workers, Whitney, and her journey through life as she pursues her professional career, and makes a huge leap moving to New York City to follow her fashion dreams. Reality TV for me is just so easy to relate to whether it's played up or not, many of the situations are very real experiences that we go through in our lives every day. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I've obviously watched this show way too long now to know the history of it as well as I do, but it has so many similarities to things I deal with at times that I can't help but wonder how they'll handle the situation. I'm just easily entertained by these types of shows, and the drama that so similarly occurs...or maybe it's just the drama period, who really knows?

http://extratv.warnerbros.com/images/news/1229port.jpg

Another show I definitley do everything I can to not miss is "House". However, with a DVR it's not too hard to do:) House is a drama series about a pessimistic, sarcastic, pain-killer addicted, and ultimately hilarious doctor whom is naturally talented with solving the most difficult patient cases. He has a set staff of doctors whom work under him as a team, whom he agitates as much as possible every chance he gets. He also has a boss whom he finds very attractive, yet irritating. He can't stand the fact that she has "control" over his practices, and therefore puts her to the test in every situation he can. This show, although repetitive in nature with it's storyline, is well worth the watch. Through the character that Dr. House plays, comes one of the best TV performances on today, and I guarantee that you'll get hooked after one episode. It's not too common that you can enjoy a good laugh about such a serious based subject, but this is definitely one of them!

http://scottking.info/Pics/house.jpg