Reflection

Though I haven't really changed my media consumption, I am more aware of what is being sold to me, whether it be a product, an idea, or an experience. Now I just watch commercials and list the needs they attempted to appeal to or the techniques they use. Occasionally I will pin the high concept they try to sell. When watching TV, I note the different concepts from Merchants of Cool and Miss Representation, such as the mook and midriff, or the portrayal of women.
I think it is important to have media literacy because otherwise, people would just accept whatever media explicitly tells them. When there is no push back against media, people lack any real personality, as they would just be what media tells them to be. A culture that completely accepts advertising is not a culture at all. Having media literacy would prevent this, as then people would be able to discern between their own needs and wants instead of what media tells them their needs and wants are. They would then be able to have a personality beyond media.
Being an educated consumer is also important because otherwise, people would just buy everything sold to them, no matter whether or not they actually need it and end up bankrupt.It would also cause people to become overly materialistic, as they would take what the advertisements say to be true, that all they need to do to be happy is to buy things. If people were educated consumers, they would avoid this. They would be able to see through the advertising and figure out if they actually need the product.

My Use of Media

(Now no longer me)

As a result of my study in media, I have become more aware of the companies behind the messages thrown out, allowing me to investigate the real intent behind them. It is clear that all media messages are manufactured for a certain hidden purpose, usually to make money or attract consumers. I can also now see through certain attempts at persuading me, either to buy a product or watch a show. I have become more aware of how much media is used to sell not only products, but ideas. Even news articles show bias with their phrasing of events, making one source's message vastly different from another's. While I always knew that ads sold products, I have only just begun to see how many ads sell experiences and concepts with them. My media study has allowed me to see through and understand beyond just what is shown to us. Now, I am able to break through the direct messages companies send out through media, and see what is really going on. Of course, I have still a lot to learn, but for now, I will settle for dissecting media messages.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Recently, Netflix has released a new series, the TV adaption of A Series of Unfortunate Events, a book series by Lemony Snicket. Seeing as I thoroughly enjoyed the book series, I was delighted to watch the TV series, especially since Daniel Handler, which is Lemony Snicket's real name, was going to be one of the executive producers and one of the writers. 
One of the lines I noticed in the show went along the lines of:
"Nice girls shouldn't know how to do such things."
Klaus: "My sister is a nice girl and she knows how to do all sorts of things."
I suppose it caught my attention as I remember being told to do or not to do certain things, because "girls shouldn't do those things". Of course, most of those claims were ridiculous (like my mother telling me I shouldn't whistle). 
Another line would be:
"It's the friendliest snake known to man-- and woman."
A lot of the time people just reduce all of humankind to "man", really just excluding women.
In both of these lines, there is an appeal to feminism, but also a representation of their values. Perhaps it is an attempt to grab more viewers, or perhaps it is an actual genuine representation of values. Either way, impressionable viewers who are watching will be affected, and hopefull for the better. 

Parks & Rec: Strugles of a Woman in Politics

In the episode of Parks & Recreation, "Pie-Mary" (S7E9), the main character, Leslie Knope, faces what it is like to be a woman in politics. Though it isn't her first time dealing with unfair bias during an election, it is the first time that she is presented as a Congressional candidate's wife. Even when she wasn't running, she was still put out on display and dissected by the press. 
The episode begins with a meeting with her husband, Ben Wyatt's, campaign manager, who warns Leslie not to seem too smart or strays from stereotypical femininity. Sure enough, when Leslie chooses not to enter the pie making contest, a tradition for candidates' wives, she is immediately bombarded with questions, completely overlooking Ben's actual campaign. A conversation with a reporter goes as followed:

Reporter: Leslie, you made it pretty clear that you don't think homemaking is important. Do you ever cook for your children? And who's even watching your children right now while you're out God only knows where? 

Leslie: What are you talking about? I'm standing right here in front of you.

Reporter: Okay, take it easy. Let's not get emotional.

Afterwards the reporter also says:

What other traditions are you against, Leslie? Baseball? Hugging your children? How much did that haircut cost? 

Here we see an issue addressed in Miss Representation, where women in politics had focus turned away from any actual issues on to whether or not they were good mothers and their haircuts. We also see the portrayal of women being overemotional and therefore unfit.

Throughout the episode more conflicts turn up as Leslie and Ben decide what to do for the Pie-Mary, distracting from Ben's campaign. Eventually, Leslie finally gives her speech, as follows:

Leslie: I'm now gonna give you permanent answers to all the silly questions that you're gonna end up asking me, and every other woman in this election, over the next few months.

"Why did I change my hairstyle?" 

Oh, I don't know. I just thought it would look better. Or my kids got gum in it.

"Are you trying to have it all?" 

That question makes no sense. It's a stupid question. Stop asking it. Don't ask it.

"Do you miss your kids while you're at work?" 

Yes, of course I do. Everybody does. And then, you know, sometimes I don't.

Ben: And by the way, no one's ever asked me that question. 

No one asks me, "Where are your kids?" Or, "Who's taking care of them?" 

So, maybe Leslie doesn't fit your personal idea of what a candidate's wife should be.

So what? That's good, because there shouldn't be just one idea anyway.

Leslie: That's right. If you wanna bake a pie, that's great. If you wanna have a career, that's great, too. 

Do both, or neither, it doesn't matter. Just don't judge what someone else has decided to do.

Again there is an understanding of the many insignificant questions women are asked, all things men who run are never never asked. Leslie then goes over the danger of stereotypes, and the representation of only one type of woman. In Miss Representation this was symbolic annihilation, where people look towards what is advertised, and when they don't see diversity, it is slowly believed that there is only one correct way to be someone. Any deviation from the stereotype is attacked, and compliance to a stereotype is a invitation to being reduced to just another object to be judged. 

Though the events of the episode are exaggerated, it portrays a very real struggle for women, according to Miss Representation. The show puts this struggle into perspective and makes them seem ridiculously unjust through humor and having a character the audience has spent years watching and understanding face it.

Teens and Tech

In her article "Why Teens Are the Most Elusive and Valuable Customers in Tech", Issie Lapowsky goes into detail describing the importance of marketing to teens in the tech industry. She first goes over why teens are an important target group. First, teens are less likely to have formed any brand loyalty yet. Second, like in Merchants of Cool, she claims that teens have a lot of money to spend. She adds that because teens today were born into this tech infested society, they had a better understanding of it. For this reason, it is mostly teens that buy tech not only for themselves but for their parents as well. They are a gateway for trends and new tech. 
Lapowsky then goes into what teens want in their tech and social media sites. This shows how even in tech, teens still have the ability to choose what they want instead of being spoon fed new trends from brands. According to the author, teens have moved from certain brands to others based on what they see as important. In terms of Merchants of Cool, teens still have the control over what cool is, and brands must follow. 
Finally, Lapowsky discusses how tech should be marketed to teens. She observes that, like in Merchants of Cool, brands must not market to teens too directly. Doing so limits the brand's authenticity. She instead says that brands must "do it organically by meeting teens on their turf". Brands must show that they understand teens. In Merchants of Cool, this is described as a marriage between the company and the culture. Even after gaining trust from teens, brands must still change with what they want in order to keep their trust. After all, cool stays with the kids.