I have really enjoyed this class throughout the semester. I've learned the importance understanding how dangerous stereotypes can be, the hidden messages behind advertising in both commercials and print and the unfortunate fact that women are sexualized in the media. It was especially interesting to hear from all the different perspectives that everyone had and I particularly liked the discussion in the beginning of the semester about whether the terms black, white, African American or Caucasian is politically correct or not. I think the most crucial part of this class is to remember to take with me all that I have learned. After taking this class, I notice so much more when I view a commercial or print advertisement. Most recently I have seen an advertisement by Dolce and Gabana which perfectly emulates gay-vague advertising. I know had I not taken this class, the hidden messages in this commercial would have gone completely unnoticed.

I thought the presentations by the graduate students were very interested and covered extremely relevant topics. I particularly liked the study dealing with the depictions of females in music videos based on their dress and the role they play. I felt this group had a substantial amount of factual information to rely on and pieced together their project quite thoroughly. It was particularly interesting to see the trends in female depictions across the scheme ranging from country music to hip hop. This group's discussion regarding who is to blame for the roles placed on or about women really got the class thinking. I personally feel there is a combination of blame shared by both females, and the executives in the industry. These females are willing to be depicted as sexual objects, yet at the same time, music executives know the power of sexing sell and the immense profit it can bring. This is a very difficult topic to decipher, and this group did an excellent job of providing the facts.

Since doing my content analysis on infant and child advertising in print magazines I have noticed how much these children are sexualized in their poses, positioning, and objects they're holding. I conducted my content analysis through five different baby magazines, yet lately I have noticed the same trend through all magazines. Babies are regularly placed with their head near the groin of the adult they are featured with or they are repeatedly featured naked. Many babies are also photographed with sexual placement of object innocently being held by the child. Lastly, the photograph can be centered on the groin or buttocks of the baby. Although I am clearly not an expert in the field, I truly believe that there is a much greater impact on the viewers of these photographs than many consciously realize. Since it is already known that sexual depictions on TV and in print have a serious impact on teen and adolescent viewers. It is only a matter of time before the sexual depiction of babies is found to have an equally serious impact.

I thought last class session's You Tube videos of "A Girl Like Me" and "Slob Evolution" to be both interesting and alarming. To start, "A Girl Like Me" was disheartening to watch and really made me consider how African American women are viewed by non-blacks and blacks. The fact that several of the girls didn't like their natural hair type or the shade of their skin pigmentation was quite disturbing. These statements made me stop and consider the messages and depictions that the media and advertising world is sending to black youths. It is so important for anyone to be self confident and proud of their heritage. If something is counteracting these feelings, a thorough evaluation needs to take place. Secondly, the video of "Slob Evolution" although comical, had a very strong message. It is so true that humans never desire to their own natural progression and aging process on a magazine cover or billboard. Yet the depiction on the "Slob Evolution" video is a MUCH more accurate visual of a human than the rail thin models without any life left in their eyes. The saddest aspect of this entire situation is people prefer to view the attractive model's picture, regardless of the fact that no one physically resembles such people.

I thought the Axe/Dove campaign link quite interesting. To start, I personally do not take anything on the Axe commercials literally, but rather humorous. I find it thoroughly entertaining that women are seen as sexual objects ready to mate with anyone if they're wearing a scent such as Axe. However, at the same time I can see why critics are upset. To begin with, you children and even some teenage girls may find the Axe advertisements enlightening and attempt to follow the example it depicts with a young man. I thought it was even more alarming that both Axe and Dove are represented by the same advertising company yet they appear to be arch enemies. It did not surprised me to learn that the creator of this controversy works for campaigns with both companies and perhaps even had this entire confrontation planned ahead of time. While I do agree that Dove does an excellent job of portraying real beauty and a real women, it is conflicting for people who want to support Dove's campaign but are also indirectly profiting Axe. It takes a child or teenager of thorough understanding that the message depicted in the Axe commercials are not to be taken literally, but from a rather humorous approach

This week's readings were so interesting and so true!!! Don't even get me started, the Disney princess stereotype is pathetic! 90% of them are all white, skinny, vulnerable, and dependent on a man (cinderella, snow white, sleeping beauty, belle) and only recently have we seen a different race with princess Jasmine. Slightly off topic, I was watching TV last night and there was a commercial for DKNY watches and it showed a stunning woman rushing from her taxi cab and a sexy-looking man rushing from his own car. It appears that they are going to meet each other other, but then they ran past each other into the arms of a sexy man and woman. They then show the two women, obviously a homosexual couple, embracing, and the men holding hands if I remember correctly. The whole point of the ad was to say that with a DKNY watch, you won't be late for your date with that "someone special." But it was TOTALLY geared to the gay and lesbian community!! I thought this was relevant since we have been discussing this lately in class. Back to the Disney princesses and commercializing race, I think it's pathetic that Disney has so many stereotypical depictions of their female princesses. Even further, the Mickey Mouse Monopoly has dominated this industry making it virtually impossible to insert any other race depictions or representations. As a result, I think this is totally teaching our children only one dimension of a bigger picture. Little kids are taught to think that only pretty white girls can be princesses.

Both articles from the NY Times present debatable topics that are not easily answered. I thought the class discussion was very interesting in the sense that some people truly felt video games, music videos, hip hop and other forms of media truly had adverse effects on teenagers. I happen to strongly agree with this argument. After reading both articles, the chapters in the text for this week, and considering the discussions in class from last week, I really think there needs to be a change in certain types of media projections. Hip hop for one thing constantly portrays women as oriental flowers or brown sugar, while men are depicted as wealthy, controlling and they consider women to be sexual objects; nothing more. I really think that with continuous exposure to such images, as well as violent video games, the effects on teenagers are detrimental. Although this debate will continue to flourish until solid proof is available for either side, until then I hold my ground!

First off regarding the reading materials about the absence from advertising; let me say I cannot agree more!!! I RARELY see any advertisements that depict Native Americans, except prior to an election or potential ballot and then Native Americans are seen as poor, looking for handouts, or finances for their reservations and casinos. I have only seen them depicted once in a positive light, and that was during last week's class with the Native American girl placed on a college university advertisement. I also rarely see people with disabilities, the elderly or the poor in any positive light if at all. When I do see elderly people, it's always showing them discussing a new pain reliever or self-help remedy that makes their 'somewhat deteriorating' life easier. I have a hard time looking at the world of advertising now that I am so much more aware of the discrepancies. Also, I know we discussed gay-vague advertising last week, but I saw a commercial this week and it completely fit the categories of the gay-vague website!!! I wouldn't have even picked up on this had we not previously discussed the fact that these types of ads are only aimed for people looking for them. Lastly, when I was watching CNN last night, there was a feature story about a woman who hung what appeared to be a 'dark skinned' dummy from a noose in her front yard as part of her Halloween decorations. Nonetheless, many people in her community were outraged saying that this displayed white supremacy and racism. Although I do not think this was the lady's intentions, it was interesting to see the debate.

As discussed in "Media Texts and Gender," content analysis is defined as 'a research technique for the objective, systematic adn quantitative description of the manifest content of communication." The article goes on to discuss how women are usually portrayed as housewives, secretaries or nurses with very feeble, weak or vulnerable characteristics about them. This subservient portrayal of women was alive and well among feminists in the 1960s, dropped off by the 1980s, but has regained its momentum in criticizing advertisers who conform to these stereotypes. The article also discussed the fact that wehn the research in the area of gender and media is scarce, as for instance in most developing countries, content analysis is instrumental in providing a general imporession of the representation of women and men. While this may sound useful, it is quite harmful in the sense that it fails to truly represent a community or society factually, and therefore sends a misconstrued message to other audiences or viewers. Seminology or semiotics has become quite popular in feminist media criticism because of its ability to unravel structrues of meaning beyond the mere presence or absence of women in cultural forms. Furthermore, I found it interesting that the article stated 'As a concentrated form of communication, advertising needs to present its message in an extremely short time span, and depends heavily on the successful exploitation of the connotative power of signs.' I could not agree more with this statement because most commercials only have about 30 seconds - 1 minute to sell their product. In that short time span, advertisers are willing exploit anything to get the message of their product conveyed to the consumer effectively. In the "Sex and Consumer Culture" readings this week, it was also interesting to read about the ways homosexuals are viewed by the media and portrayed by advertisers. Their lifestyle and mannerisms truly are marginalized and slated most times in an untrue light.

I found it very interesting in Chapters 8 and 12 from our text the impact of sex used in advertisements today. It is disturbing to realize that kids and teens are turning to the media for information about sex because they are not able to find adequate information or answers to their questions elsewhere. I also found it very true as discussed in Chapter 12 that it is questionable whether there is even any merchandise for sale in many advertisements today. For example, the advertisement from Bebe discussed in depth looks harmless upon first glance. Then again perhaps I am simply far too used to seeing such seductive poses insinuating sexual desire and conduct. Many advertisements are even moving toward the usage of nude models in the advertisements. This comes down to the question of pornography and what constitutes pornography. I agree with the author that pornography has become more and more acceptable over time in the use of advertisements and this has a detrimental effect on kids and other youth. Pornography used to be defined as having to appeal to the prurient interest; however, now the definition appears to be slowly but surely changing depending on the arguments and motives put forth by advertisers.

In regards to our last class session where the media coverage on the three different female victims who were killed during the fall 2007 semester, I found myself very much on the side of the NT Daily journalist who was in charge of such coverage. He understood the responsibility for meeting a deadline with reasonable and creditable sources without sacrificing the impression of the newspaper by quitting so abruptly. I think that a good number of the people in class believed that the media coverage was not evenly distributed among the three girls not present. The fact that the media published very vivid details regarding how they (the victims') were thought to be dangerous drug dealers caught between jealousy and a lesbian relationship was incredibly damaging and hurtful for the family's of the ones who died.

It was very interesting to read various articles regarding Ken Burns' "The War" film on PBS. I didn't really know much about Burns or the fact that he openly admitted he wanted a specific point of view about his film to be portrayed. I think it was disappointing that Burns made a conscious effort to no to include the 'Latino' perspective when initially questioned. Has Gus Chavez not spoken out on behalf of the Latino soldiers who dedicated their service and some even their lives for the war. I really think that Burns' initial cut of his film was very stereotypical in that he only showed a limited perspective to his audiences. Burns' basically showed audiences a viewpoint that was not only limited, but not complete. I hope this controversial debate will encourage future film-makers and all people who work in the media to strive for an unbiased perspective that represents true accuracy of events.

I thought the discussion regarding the events of Jena as well as the Professor's journalism career quite interesting. I enjoyed the fact that many different students held various opinions regarding the Jena 6 events. Many of the opinions I would not have even realized. I also found it interesting that people in the class felt they were called to support or protest for the Jena 6, whereas others felt no connection whatsoever. I hope this case will continue to make headlines and that it will not simply fade out of the limelight just because it is no longer 'immediate breaking news.' I also thought the Professor who visited with the class had very interesting personal experiences. Her years of journalism work were incredibly educational and I hope to be able to experience even half of the things she did.

Friday 9/21 class lecture

I thought today's class discussion very powerful and thought-provoking. I personally never realized that labeling an individual as "black" or "white" could be taken offensively! Perhaps this is simply because I've always used such terms and never had anyone express any offense taken. Yet the more I think about these labels, the more I understand that they may be hurtful. Race is an incredibly sticky subject to deal with. It's SO difficult to properly label someone in a news story when necessary. As a journalist myself, I am always questioning whether my words are politically correct, and since AP Stylebooks are constantly changing and updating, it is difficult to know how people will react to labels. Since there is no specific way to label a racial group that will please everyone, it is best to at least attempt the majority of people you are labeling. I think that this is a topic seldom discussed, primarily because it is so sensitive and difficult to find agreement. Hopefully our class discussions will continue in a productive manner so that everyone feels comfortable expressing their opinions without unintentionally hurting a fellow colleague.

How I get my news

I used to hardly ever watch TV because of my busy schedule; however, I've started getting up fairly early before class and work so that I can briefly here the major local and international news on TV in the mornings. I try as much as possible to read at least one newspaper each day, yet I'm afraid to admit sometimes that doesn't even happen. Since I in front of a computer all the time due to work and school, I do turn to various internet news publications for my sources of information. I always try to read about what's going on in the international community, around my area, and of course what's going on in the entertainment / celebrity world. I have to admit if I primarily start my day out getting my news on the internet, I'll end up focusing in more on trivial, shallow celebrity and entertainment news. However, if I pick up an actual newspaper, usually the Denton Record Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News or the Inside Collin County Business newspaper (the one I work for) I'm much more likely to read much more in depth features. I always spend at least 30 minutes each day once I do finally sit down to either read the newspaper or search via the internet. I'll end up seeing a headline that grabs me or a captivating photo and then I'm hook on the entire paper. I usually assume that when I'm reading an important story regarding a serious issue, the primary sources will be men, and I rarely expect to see women quoted unless the feature is more 'female related.' Although I don't notice it intentionally, I have to admit I usually assume that African Americans are covered in a more negative light, rather than focusing on those African American individuals who are quite accomplished and resourceful to the greater community. I usually assume that a news source will always cover a person or group that has a disability in a sad, depressing light more on the emphasis of sympathy rather than narrowing in on their progress or accomplishments. I've never really noticed these assumptions that I have until I sat and thought about them.