Media isn't actually a "thing." It has the same etymological root as "medium"--the size between "small" and "large" as well as "psychic medium." Media, in other words, has no real substance of its own. It's the thing that's in between speaking and hearing; transmission and reception.
By way of articles, studies, and a couple of polls and links, this blog examines the significance of media in American culture. Post your thoughts after the jump.
I know a lot of people are going to have a serious response to this but I found it hilarious. I think people tend to have serious opinions about stuff like this to give the illusion that their not immature or some bull shit like that. I think if you can't laugh at something like this you can't be truthful about what your trying to comment on, but I digress. The reason I though this was funny was the the constant covering of our asses that everyone that she quoted did, and more but moving on. Men and women alike would make a comment then back up their statement to make it seam like they weren't objectifying women or in any real need to bump up their bust. It is so typical of us 'civilized' human beings. We don't want to conform to the gender stereotype but at the same time we want to stay true to it. Both genders go from a state of instinct to a more social response. like society is saying to us inside our heads that we can't blatantly be perverts or idolize a 'perfect' body. That back tracking from true intentions is really fun to read. This is going to be fun to discuss in class.
This article had a lot of contradiction going on in it. The people who were interviewed talked about how they were trying to sell sex without using the models as objects, which is clearly how the models are perceived when men are commenting about how they use these models when their wives are out of town. I also got a good chuckle when one of the people being interviewed mantioned that VS used curvy women (up to size 14!!) and not the too thin "stick figure" models, but anyone with eyes know that is just not true.
While reading this article, I found myself agreeing to most of what the author had to say, but some of it wasn’t necessarily a surprise. I had never thought about it, but the three assumptions that the author made in the article are correct and exactly what Victoria’s Secret follows. The second and third assumption, specifically, are what surprised me the most. On the fourth page when Smith discusses the two assumptions, he says that the product is ‘designed to attract men, but sell primarily to women who presumably are drawn to them to find out what men want or desire in a woman.’ This is true for many women as we all want to look our best for others, and when we know what men are attracted to it’s easier for us to do exactly that. However, I don’t agree that the poses and facial expressions used by the models is primarily geared towards attracting men. I believe that the models use these expressions and portray themselves in this manner to help sell to women, because women may find themselves thinking that when wearing the product they’ll be able to look half as good as the models do. While I see where Smith is coming from with his thoughts on Victoria’s Secret gearing their advertising towards attracting men, I still believe that it is simply the company selling their product. We all know that men will always be attracted to the woman in lingerie catalogs.
I know a lot of people are going to have a serious response to this but I found it hilarious. I think people tend to have serious opinions about stuff like this to give the illusion that their not immature or some bull shit like that. I think if you can't laugh at something like this you can't be truthful about what your trying to comment on, but I digress. The reason I though this was funny was the the constant covering of our asses that everyone that she quoted did, and more but moving on. Men and women alike would make a comment then back up their statement to make it seam like they weren't objectifying women or in any real need to bump up their bust. It is so typical of us 'civilized' human beings. We don't want to conform to the gender stereotype but at the same time we want to stay true to it. Both genders go from a state of instinct to a more social response. like society is saying to us inside our heads that we can't blatantly be perverts or idolize a 'perfect' body. That back tracking from true intentions is really fun to read. This is going to be fun to discuss in class.
ReplyDeleteThis article had a lot of contradiction going on in it. The people who were interviewed talked about how they were trying to sell sex without using the models as objects, which is clearly how the models are perceived when men are commenting about how they use these models when their wives are out of town. I also got a good chuckle when one of the people being interviewed mantioned that VS used curvy women (up to size 14!!) and not the too thin "stick figure" models, but anyone with eyes know that is just not true.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this article, I found myself agreeing to most of what the author had to say, but some of it wasn’t necessarily a surprise. I had never thought about it, but the three assumptions that the author made in the article are correct and exactly what Victoria’s Secret follows. The second and third assumption, specifically, are what surprised me the most. On the fourth page when Smith discusses the two assumptions, he says that the product is ‘designed to attract men, but sell primarily to women who presumably are drawn to them to find out what men want or desire in a woman.’ This is true for many women as we all want to look our best for others, and when we know what men are attracted to it’s easier for us to do exactly that. However, I don’t agree that the poses and facial expressions used by the models is primarily geared towards attracting men. I believe that the models use these expressions and portray themselves in this manner to help sell to women, because women may find themselves thinking that when wearing the product they’ll be able to look half as good as the models do. While I see where Smith is coming from with his thoughts on Victoria’s Secret gearing their advertising towards attracting men, I still believe that it is simply the company selling their product. We all know that men will always be attracted to the woman in lingerie catalogs.
ReplyDelete