Please note that this blog post is a school assignment, but it's a good one!
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE & THE MESSENGER
I first saw this video on my best friend's Facebook wall. Watching it has reaffirmed the world I grew up in. It's overwhelming how much of my life I attribute to messages and images I've been handed by the media. The majority of the images flashed are a part of my childhood and teenage years; products I've purchased, movies I've watched, even news stories I've followed.
MODEL OR ROLE MODEL
Then it struck me. There is such a stark contrast to the women I actually aspire to be like (...Lisa Ling), and the images of women that the media bombard me with. Guess which one is perpetually shoved in my face daily, many times hourly? It's astonishing how unavoidable these photoshopped, over-dieted, fountain-of-youth, pre-packaged messages are. Although new media is a beautiful tool (you wouldn't be reading this post without it!), the social landscape has a dark side.
IT'S ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION OF YOUNG GIRLS
I'm not a feminist, an activist or an advocate for women's rights by any measure, however watching this video was a grave reminder of what women are subjected to over, and over, and over again. Media, and most especially new media, is a seriously powerful tool. It just broke my heart listening to those little girls share their struggles about their self-esteem and how they value themselves, largely thanks to messages and imagery in the media.
WHO'S THE BOSS
I can tell you that the amount of messages we are being subjected to has increased thanks to new media. Via Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, Myspace, You Tube (among many, many others) - these messages have crept into virtually every aspect of our lives. The pervasive nature of media directly affects the way we view ourselves, dictates the way we spend our money, and has just as much influence as our parents, if not sometimes more.
RECAP OF MISS REPRESENTATION'S STATS
Women hold only 3% of clout
positions in telecommunications,
entertainment, publishing and advertising. (USA)
___
Teenagers are spending 10.5 hours
a day consuming media. (USA)
___
Women comprise of only 15% of all
writers, directors, producers,
cinematographers and editors. (USA)
Now, what kind of message is that sending? I'd really like to hear your thoughts, so please, comment!