Module 2
Module two’s reading and videos were about lies within images, cyber bullying, dumbing down of America and many more. Although the information varied in subject everything is able to be tied because of the overall media usage. Let’s begin by talking about the Smurfette Principle.
The Smurfette Principle was an eye opener to myself. I have seen plenty of movies where there is only one female character surrounded by male characters but I wasn’t aware of the term created by Katha Pollit in 1991. An example of the smurfette principle is Transformers; where Megan Fox is surrounded by only males. In the second video, The Bechdel Test, the narrator talks about a test that can be used to assess the presence of women in the movies. There are three question that a critical viewer can ask to see if the movie or show have enough women presence. The first question is: are there two or more women I the film that have names? Secondly, do they talk to each other? Thirdly, do they talk to each other about something other than a man? These videos tie up because if one is alert and informed on how to distinguish the smurfette principle then slowly it will diminish and we will see more female leads.
Additionally, inversion of visibility is one of the primary purpose of media education according to Kaia Tollefson. To be honest I tried to understand this article more but I hope that one of my classmates will be willing to further explain it to me. After reading this article I was able to grasp that in order to have an inversion of visibility the 5 core concepts must be understood. Also, I understood that Foucault’s theory is the inversion and that children should have the same achievement regardless of resources. This reminds me of chapter four, What is Dumbing Down America? ;In this chapter it is discussed how there were many media announcements that TV tends to dumb down America, but there is no scientific research behind this claim. I actually have heard of the “research” where someone claimed that watching Spongebob made one dumber. Another claim is that watching Sesame Street or that surfing the web has made it easier for students to look up information and has removed their ability to remember. I agree with the statement regarding the web because when my mom was attending school she had to physically attend the library to obtain information whereas, we are able to ask Siri and she responds in less than a minute. Another false claim that was stated in chapter four was that ADHD was linked to the amount of TV watched. I completely disagree that this is true. Working with students who have ADHD I have learned that if some cannot spend more than 30 min watching TV they have to be active and have a routine to match each individual.
Chapter three, Does Social Networking Kill? talked about cyber bullying and internet predators. I have had past experience in cyber bullying so this chapter really hit home. Although social media is increasing, I think that cyber bullying has decreased. This is because of bills that were passed to hold the proper party responsible for the damage of their cyber bullying. This chapter talks about suicides as well, how they are the third leading cause of deaths from adolescents. Additionally, it talks about how many fear the media because of online predators. I do not agree that the internet gives predators an easier access because there is research proven that usually children are abducted by someone they know. The only problem that I agree with is that there is no sufficient supervision or knowledge of parents on what they’re children are doing on the internet.
Another article that I found very interesting for module 2 was Advertising to Children and Teens. This article talked about embedded advertising where product placement is branded product placed in a production. Whereas product integration is the incorporation of product into the dialogue or plot. I knew about advertising but I found the direct definition of each advertising skill intriguing. I think advertising is taking over the media specially the internet; this is called online advertising. Online advertising is a game changer because it is interactive, immersive, and built data such as interests, location, and demographic characteristics. This article relates to the article NMMLP Tools of Persuasion because it talks about different types of advertisement images.
