Sex in the Media - Media-Centered Perspective

Credible Bloggers?

In class today we talked and discussed quite a bit about bloggers and if we find them to be credible news sources. Most people did not think that they were because blogs are mostly opinion based. I personally do not know how to feel about this. I keep a blog myself, and yes, it is completely opinion based. I base my arguments on articles (which I link to) I have read giving my readers my opinion. I am not saying that I would consider my blog a credible source, because it is not, but there are some blogs I would consider to be credible. If you go to any news website, I guarantee you will find blogs by the news anchors or journalists who work for that particular news outlet. These are the types of blogs I would consider to be reliable news sources. I say this because first off, reporting the news are these peoples' jobs so I would HOPE I could trust them. Also, I would consider them credible because I feel like you can gain so much more from the blog. On their blog they have free range of what they can say which gives them the opportunity to elaborate on a story or provide details, which were cut from the story accepted by the editors. Because of this, I do not think we can just lump all blogs together and say none are credible news sources. There are quite a few that really are credible. Even though the opinion of the one writing will show through, how is this any different than the bias that can be seen on any news program?

Vanilla Ice and Ellen

I know we talked about this awhile ago in class but I would now like to share my thoughts. Starting with Vanilla Ice, it is really hard for me (as well as many others) to take him as a serious artist. From the fake biography to simply being a product designed to sell, there is no way I can see him as a serious recording artist. That being said, I do believe that he opened up many doors for other white artists who eventually emerged in the hip-hop scene. I do believe that Vanilla Ice made it easier for artists who came after him. I say this because he really did, in a way, take a bullet for those who came after him. If it hadn't been Vanilla Ice, it would've been some other poor schmuck. Ellen did this also. Although she took a lot of criticism for her coming out, she made it possible for other stars and television shows to address the issue of homosexuality. Take the sitcom Will and Grace for example. If Ellen's show had not got the ball rolling would we have had a show like Will and Grace? My guess would be, yes, eventually, but had a show like Ellen's not come before it, I doubt it would have went over as well as it did. Even if you do not agree with what Vanilla Ice or Ellen did, it is important to see the contributions both of these individuals made to their selected fields and see the impact that they still have today.

Cool...

Merchants of Cool is one of the videos that we watched in class after discussing the "cool" culture. It was interesting to see the way companies and agencies were constantly hunting for what is (or was) cool. These companies are always trying to stay on top of what is cool because the money that teenagers have really drives a portion of our economy. Teens seem like they always have money to spend, and usually spend it on frivolous things. I can remember some of the stupid things I bought as a teenager because it is what everyone else had, or I saw it in a magazine, so it was automatically cool. The bad thing is, as soon as something cool is discovered and marketed, it is no longer cool. Like the movie said, cool is quickly shifted to something else as soon as it is made mainstream. So then here comes my dilemma, is anything really ever cool? I say this because if something is only cool as long as mainstream media does not get ahold of it, then how is something in mainstream "cool". I'm sorry if that does not really seem to make sense but I don't really know how else to say it. This whole cycle of what is and is not cool just seems like it is exactly that, a cycle. Things come and go and then come back around again. For example, popular fashions of the 1980's are once again seen as cool. Will this cycle ever end? No, but it is interesting to study. I'm sure there are tons of companies who already know what the next "cool" thing will be, but none of us will know what it is (or was) until it is no longer cool again.

The Child Market

Until reading the last two articles for class, I never realized how much of today's advertising really is geared towards children. I mean of course I realize it and see it when the commercials are selling toys, but things like cars and gasoline never really came to mind. The one commercial that really caught my attention was advertising BP gasoline. I did not even realize that it actually is marketing more towards children until I saw a clip from one on the YouTube clip we watched in class. This sparked my curiosity and I came home and looked at a few more from BP. It is quite alarming to me that BP gasoline is more concerned with marketing their product to my 5 year old niece, who is years away from buying gasoline, then gearing their commercials towards someone like me who is 21 years old and purchases gas quite often. It really is amazing though that at the age of 5 and even younger than that, companies are already marketing products irrelevant to this age group as a means of building product loyalty later in life. When I was that age it seemed like the only companies marketing towards children were toy companies (i.e., Mattel and Fisher-Price) and fast food restaurants (i.e., McDonalds and Burger King). I am not really sure if all this irrelevant marketing to children will make a difference in their adult lives, but I guess I will have to wait until my niece is of driving age to see if the BP commercials rubbed off, making her a loyal customer.

Parasocial Relationship

I know that this concept was discussed a while ago in class, but it was never something I really gave much thought until this past week. I remember talking about it in class and wondering to myself if I had a parasocial relationship with anyone and pretty much convinced myself I did not. I did not actually realize until Spring Break that I really do have a parasocial relationship with someone famous. I came to this realization while watching a music special on PBS with my dad. The special was a Michael Buble performance, who happens to be my favorite performer, and the subject to my parasocial relationship. As he was singing, I found myself rambling off random facts about his life, where he grew up, his parents, his favorite hockey team, how he got started in music, etcetera. It was not until about half way through the show when my dad looked at me and said "You really know a lot about this guy and he doesn't even know you exist," that I realized it was a little weird. It seemed odd at first but the more I thought about it, I knew I was not alone. I think that everyone has a parasocial relationship of some sort. Even if someone does not come to mind automatically, I am sure that if you think long enough, you can think of some celebrity or sports star or musician that you know way too much information about and secretly think that if you were to meet someday, you would be the best of friends.