Saturday, September 25, 2004

finally... a topic

I think I have decided on a topic, on the Saturday before it is due! Not so great, but I'll run with it anyway. I initially thought I would use the web for my first critical analysis. I really do not read any media outside of the web (I read news online, and other than that I am pretty much out of the loop). I've decided now that the web is a little broad, for a small project, magazines would be the best medium to use.

I thought I would compare ads in secular publications as opposed to Christian publications, but I quickly decided that there would be a major difference & I didn't know what parallels I would find. As far as mainstream, well-known magazines, I can't think of what I could compare. I could look at Cosmo, a sex-driven publication (in my mind), and then look into Relevent (focuses on God, You, and Progressive Culture), but these magazines have such different target markets. Sure I would find differences, but I thought this wouldn't be a very interesting study. Hmm...

I really couldn't think of what I wanted to dig deep into, something that interests me & something that goes along with one of the chapters we've read. After visiting many magazine stores & spending a couple hours in Barnes & Noble & online, I think I am going to look at women's magazines compared to the "teen" publication of the same magazine. Like: Elle, & Elle girl, Cosmo & Cosmo girl, People & Teen People, etc. I am going to look at how the women are portrayed differently in the magazines, if they are. I am going to see if there is more "sex" in the women's magazines as opposed to the teen publication. I am going to look at the advertisments & see if in women's magazines there is more sexuality. I am also hoping to find out of in women's magazines there are more suggestive ads, maybe hidden messages. I surely hope that magazines geared toward women, sexually active women, are filled with much different content then ones aimed at younger girls. Everyone seems to think that kids are growing up faster today, so I'm excited to see what advertisers are putting out there! Ok, I'm just rambling. Now I will go & find out! Off to search!

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

chapter nine

Kilbourne got me to think about women in advertising. I agree with many of Kilbourne's opinions. Young women are used as objects, and no real intimacy is ever displayed. I don't think real intimacy should be on display. Why isn't sex something that America keeps private? Is that even possible? Media's representation of sex is fleeting, careless, pure fantasy, and void of all committment.
Sheesh. Kilbourne throws some reality at us. Models in "sexy" advertisments really don't even look at eachother. They don't. That is crazy. No human personality is ever shown. We see an image of a "perfect" body and interaction that is purely physical between sex objects. They look upset, or confused. They make sex seem rough, temporal, and only self gratifying. I hope that is not what sex is all about. Sex isn't about two people sharing themselves, it isn't about love, or committment. It's gross & self-centered.
Television is something I don't spend to much time watching. I don't have time for it, and I don't make time for it (with the exception of the olympics). And I thought I was unaffected by these kinds of advertisments, but I am obviously affected in that I am partially desensitized by these images. I don't think about the long term effects. I have not truly understood how sex is viewed as a result of advertising. I've never even thought about some of this.
I can think of a couple of companies that advertise clothing in a postive way, in ways that I enjoy. The Gap for instance, colorful people are portrayed having fun with eachother. It seems wholesome. The "perfect" body image is still present, but this model has personality, looks happy, and seems to be having fun!
http://www.gap.com/asp/shops/gap/sjp.asp?wdid=2678&tlocation=20&inst=1
In these ads the models don't look at eachtoher. They look very serious, bored, dark, and fake. There seems to be no emotion. It's just all about sex.
http://www.candies.com/ - this girl just got out of highschool
http://www.guess.com/Advertising/ - click on the vanity fair link
http://www.vuitton.com/ - it's just dark
http://www.maximonline.com/girls_of_maxim/ - yeah, what else do we expect from maxim?

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

here i am blogging. www.kcrill.blogspot.com check me out.