Wednesday, October 27, 2004

a true reflection?

I would really like to know what anyone thinks about this! In my advertising class, we get into how nasty & raunchy advertising can be sometimes. The defense is, in some aspects, that advertising doesn't create an audience, they appeal to an existing one. They might exaggerate, over do themselves a little, but they've got to start somewhere... Sex is everywhere. Everywhere. All around us. I'm not in any way implying that the media/advertising are a clear representation of who we are, but I am wondering - who are we? Do we give just enough to get started & let the media run wild with the rest? Take a look around, in some cases, what you see in all media isn't so different from what is seen at our jobs, in our schools, in our shopping malls, in our homes.

where can any of us go?

Wow. It has been quite some time. I have been meaning to write about this for a while now! About three weeks ago, maybe longer, we talked in class about where women can go & "be women." Some women would answer Cosmopolatin Magazine. I think that a man considering Maxim Magazine, or The Man's Show on television, is about as backwards as women going to Cosmo. It was funny how in class it was sort of accepted that, yeah, Maxim is for men, Cosmo isn't so great for us, where can we go? I failed to comment, my thoughts take time to process & I don't speak sometimes unless I can clearly convey myself. Well, I went away from class thinking, "Please, don't let us settle, Maxim is NOT where men can go & be men!" Or the Playboy mansion. Ughh...not what I think of when I think of a man. I think of a true man as one who can practice self-control, who is respectful of all people, who can be a loving leader, who treats people equally, who seeks serving others as opposed to filling his own pleasures. This is not reflected in Maxim magazine in any way. I don't want to think of Cosmo as a place where I can go & thrive as a woman, because it's simply not true. Same case for men & Maxim magazine.