The media seems to constantly focus on ideal styles and behaviors through the choices of models used. Skinny, flawlessly beautiful women are portrayed in size zero outfits not only in fashion magazines but in tv commercials as well. It is almost impossible to find the people of average sizes(10 and above) in advertisements.
Take perfume ads where popular models are featured. This stirs emotions to viewers at home, inspiring them to achieve such an image which they deem as confidence. Magazines also portray stick thin models parading down runways in beautiful expensive outfits while the audience cheer with envy.
The media has a powerful control over broadcasting or advertising whatever they please. Unfortunately, this also means that it may be biased as images of the real world are not justifiably portrayed. Photos used in magazines too are sometimes doctored so that models appear unrealistically flawless and skinny. For the audience, having seen such pictures and ads repeatedly may cause them to feel worse about themselves as such desires are almost unattainable. Even with the subconscious knowledge of knowing such photos may be altered, the manipulation of emotions causes feelings of jealousy and unhealthy dieting.
To emphasize beauty with success, advertisements and commercials usually attach slogans or wealthy lifestyles to such images.
The media has a powerful control over broadcasting or advertising whatever they please. Unfortunately, this also means that it may be biased as images of the real world are not justifiably portrayed. Photos used in magazines too are sometimes doctored so that models appear unrealistically flawless and skinny. For the audience, having seen such pictures and ads repeatedly may cause them to feel worse about themselves as such desires are almost unattainable. Even with the subconscious knowledge of knowing such photos may be altered, the manipulation of emotions causes feelings of jealousy and unhealthy dieting.
To emphasize beauty with success, advertisements and commercials usually attach slogans or wealthy lifestyles to such images.
Dove conducted a survey in the UK and found that almost two thirds of women have low self esteem because of beauty ads. Women of different shapes and sizes are pictured in their underwear for the Dove Firming advertising. This caused a positive stir in people's reactions as using women of such sizes are against the norm. The fact that viewers find the 'Dove' advertisement unique and real shows how rare it is for the media to depict such women as the ideal image of beauty success and confidence.
The media does have incredible power of shaping public's perceptions, as well as determining trends of thinking in pop culture; for instance, you could mention the huge impact that MTV has had on popular culture in the US and overseas, helping shape fashion trends for teens, preteens and even small children (maybe find a statistic or news report describing the disturbing rise in the sexualisation of children). No matter what ethical boundaries advertising media is breaking, it is a successful format: potential customers are buying these brands, listening to this music and watching these movies. In a way you could say it is a reflection on the market, as well as a reflection on the media itself.
ReplyDeleteMoving away from popular culture, it's worth mentioning the media also has power regarding public news events, and can shape the perceptions of the public regarding world events. Governments have used their national media to great extent for propaganda, nation-building and promoting whatever national values they feel is in the best interests of the nation.
Media is any tool used to deliver information, and as you said, has a powerful influence on shaping people's perceptions. I think you'll find in time as the audience becomes more sophisticated in the use of communication technology, media will eventually become more user-generated. This is already happening: think of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Hey decotta (: ,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the media (movies, television, advertisments, youtube) is essentially what has fueled popular culture around the world. It is the main tool for cultural globalisation (or any aspect of globalisation in general), and along with that all the negatives examples of "the perfect life/body/being". However, I must say that (although more rarely) mass media is also a powerful educational tool. It is through books, movies and television shows that we are now learning about the climate problems around the world and what we can do about it. The awareness that has been generated would not have been possible without the media.
I think that the role of the media has changed since its birth and that is also worth discussing. It used to be a tool that few had- the days when only journalists could publish their thoughts and opinions- but is now available to just about anybody who has access to the internet (like us publishing and sharing ideas like this now).
It is with this change that the users of media (the general public) will also have to learn to be discerning of the information thrown at them. For example, encyclopedias used to be sacred books of knowledge which nobody doubted, but now with things like wikipedia, we are all warned about how anybody can post anything as a wikipedia article. With these changes, readers and the public have to learn to refer to different sources and use a little bit of common sense in soliciting information.
Personally i think that despite the negative influence these sort of advertisement may have on the general public, the intention of certain comercials or programs (e.g. America's Next Top Model, etc) do this for the simple reason that those modes of advertising are what viewer, in paticular men like to see. The media cannot please everyone. Infact, in our daily lives it is very difficult to do that. Some action may please some and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteHowever having said that, I definitely feel that people should be exposed to such media as media serves educational puposes as well. For example, certain programs hav discused effects of unhealthy diets because of the people displayed in these programs. Hence the public is aware of such dangers.
It is only normal for one to want to be as thin as models featured in the media but i feel that by sensoring or prohibiting those programs or advertisements, it will not change the mindset of people. meaning to say envy and jealousy exist at work, school, and sometimes even at home. Prohibiting such media will not completely solve anything. But maybe, having a variety of people with a spectrum of different physical attributes will be a better choice.
I do agree with you all that the media is also another tool to shaping our knowledge and not all programmes are bad influences. Some channels (discovery and nat geo) teaches and broadens our minds in cases where books may prove to be limited in conveying a particular message.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is true that the media cannot please everyone as it is bascially business where attracting as many viwers as possible seems of high piority.
it has been known that mass media has been a main cause in people having low self confidence and feel inferior because they are unable to match up to the world's accepted opinion of beautiful, and some have even gone to the extreme.
ReplyDeleteI do not deny that the mass media is useful and has allowed many to have broadened their horizons through documentaries and educational shows. The influence it has on society is great.
This is especially so when the people who feed on it are impressionable. Such as people who already have low self esteem, and may see conforming to what is seen as cool to be a way out instead of truly accepting themselves for who they are.
Yes i go agree that media plays a huge part in our life and even to the extent of influencing our life.
ReplyDeleteProducts like Slim10 has used the power of media to potray how Slim and Attractive one can becomes when consumed. However consumers do not know the harmful effects of the products as they are blinded by the fact that they can become more attractive. Eventually it has caused a huge stir in singapore as those who has consumed it has found themselves having liver problem. Question is would all these have been avoided if the media doesn't potray how Attractive one can be when consume these pills?
I agree that media is indeed a good tool in today's world. Be it the disseminating of information or advertising a product, it has been widely used. However how the viewers use these information would require them to be discerning enough to know the differences between what is being portrayed and the real persons. This does not just apply to the advertisments we see but also all other forms of media we encounter. The information that we want to believe in should be backed up with evidence either from the source itself or from our experiences.
ReplyDeleteAs for the image concerns and the comparison between screen models and ourselves, what is most important is being self satisfied and believing in oneself. If one doesn't feel good about his/her own body, little can be done to help as such people will set hard to achieve targets to obtain the perfect body they so desire and believe in, be it healthy or not. After all, beauty is only skin deep and while everyone wants to look good, it's just a fine line about being presentable and being obsessivly vain.
Hellohello(:
ReplyDeleteYea, media can prove to be an important tool in shaping our perceptions. Be it good or bad. I love the Dove campaign ad by the way!
Then again, I love the Heineken beer ad too. But that doesn't necessarily mean I would buy more Heineken. Okay so maybe I might(:
But movies, especially Hollywood ones, usually makes us create an impression of a certain issue. One such phenomenon would be the romanticizing of America as a land of opportunities. But there may be more to it than what we see on TV.
And this is where the news, documentaries, newspapers and radios come in. They provide us with the right info we need, unlike heavily fantisized movies or soaps.
So yea I agree media plays a huge role in our lives(:
Marilyn,
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic. The problem with the media today is competition and money. We can get information from so many sources today, as you pointed out through the newspapers, TV, radio, magazines and the quickest way, the Internet.
Each medium needs the constant inflow of money to continue operating or they will have to shut down. The key source of income is advertisement. The competition from all sorts of media to get companies to advertise is stiff. Newspapers must not only compete with other newspapers, but with TV, radio, the Internet and other mediums, and the same goes for each of them.
But the problem with each advertiser, say Dove in your example, is that they have limited number of money to spend and won’t be able to advertise in every medium or else they will probably go broke.
But Dove will also have to compete with its rivals who are selling the same product as them and this is where the problem arises. To make themselves stand out, they do all kind of stuff to convince people to buy their products and will use all kinds of deceptions, like telling consumers they could look like the models in their ads. Of course this is not true and result like you say in low self-esteem in people who know they can’t be like that.
Yes I agree that mass media makes a big difference in our life. It provides us with the information that we need but often, it only shows the good side or rather a fake image of the products. Most of the foods that advertise on the television look extremely tasty and the size has increased but often, you will find that it does not tally with reality. Advertisements like showing how bad smoking really is are banned cause of the gross scene that may terrified young children. Therefore it is always safer to believe the comments and opinions from the 3rd party instead of judging it by watching the advertisements.
ReplyDeleteWe should not easily fall into the trap of believing everything we in advertisements in the media. Even big companies make all kinds of false promises about what their products can do to help change people’s lives. Many people are even so take up by these companies’ hyped-up messages that they end up buying the products even when they have no need for it.
ReplyDeleteThe rule of thumb is that we should buy only products when we need them and refer to advertisements to see what is available in the market and not pay too much attention to pretty models, whose pictures are mostly anyway corrected by computer graphics.
it is true that the media influences what we perceive. however, channels such as nat geo and discovery are based on facts and sciences and aims to educate the public on real events. thus, the media isnt always a bad thing, depending on the pragrammes being watched. comparing america's next top model to mythbusters has great contrast. one serves to provide knowledge while the other is basically aired for entertainment purposes.
ReplyDeletehey babe, i totally agree with you that the media plays an important role in our lives. the media often portrayed extremely skinny models and gave out the notion that being skinny is the only way to look beautiful. as you can see, females are generally affected by it. hence, if only the media changes its direction or the mindsets of most females, especially teenagers, won't change for now.
ReplyDeleteI think we should not forget what good media can do. It keeps the public informed of important events, especially disasters. Many public agencies also buy advertisements to send out important messages of public interest, and we won’t be able to find what jobs are available if no company advertise available vacancies.
ReplyDeleteWe can never avoid the development of media and what we need to do is to take control it and learn to spot what are the right messages and what are misleading.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I think this is a topic that is way too over written about and where there's not enough being done. We all know the influence of the media and there has been debates for decades about the distortions and prejudice it causes yet we don't do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteI think Dove is doing a really ace job in using the very tool that warped the world's sense of beauty to bring about a more realistic view of this ideal but I still its not enough. We as consumers of the media shouldn't be buying into all of this!
There's only so much the media can do to influence us. We have to learn to make better judgements and help others do the same. Only then will the world be a much less artificial place.
i agree, media does play a big role. thus the increase in the number of girls trying to be stick skinny. personally, i know alot of girls who are not overweight and are extremely insecure about their weight. i give two thumbs up to dove for putting a positive spin on this influence though.
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