"Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies.

Scott Smith

Today the fashion industry has a direct effect on how we view ourselves. This is clearly evident in fashion websites. While the internet and newsstands are heavily populated with women’s fashion, I chose to research http://www.mensfitness.com/. At this website I found that men are also under pressure to be fashionable, good-looking, and healthy.


The most shocking thing that I found was that the website gives a definition for looking good. It states: “Looking good means more than having a fit, cut body. It also means possessing a style that’s all your own.” In the same paragraph, it tells you to check Men’s Fitness for articles and insights on what’s hot and how to incorporate great style into your everyday life. So basically, it’s telling you that you should be fit and muscular and you should have your own style, but base it off of the style that they show you.


The website also had an eye opening article on guys using cosmetic surgery and liposuction. This is usually perceived as something women do, but numbers show that men are doing it more and more. While the website did give a balanced view on the subject, it only gave examples of how liposuction and cosmetic surgery benefited certain men. This shows that if you are unsatisfied with your appearance, simply change it.


All of these things show how this website, like others, molds the way we perceive ourselves. Through stories, pictures, and interviews, these websites make us feel that if we are not fit, or thin, or fashionable that we need improvement.

Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies

Michael Gabriel

Mass Communication 102

Research Activity

"Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies"

It is impossible to go throughout our lives and not be effected by the fashion industry. Fashion effects how we view ourselves (especially our bodies) compared to other people. I think that women are effected by fashion magazines and website more than men are. I chose a website http://www.seventeen.com/ that showed teenagers how they should look and how they can hide their flaws.

I found somethings on this website very strange. For example they had tips on how to make a women look taller and have longer legs. This is pretty much telling a young girl that's how the HAVE to have their bodies. "To try to balance out my big hips, I wear flared jeans. They help draw the attention down to the thinner parts of my legs." This quote was made by a 17 year old girl and it is telling other teenagers that it is not good to have wide hips and if someone does they should try and hide them.

The seventeen.com website from the home page shows young girls how they should look. They do this by having models with no blemishes, no weight problems, and no care in the world. Now looking at this website with my eyes wide open there was a link to an article "What Should I Be for Halloween." This was shocking to me because the picture had four young females wearing skimpy costumes and this magazines is supposed appeal to minors. This is teaching our youth a very, very bad lesson.

This website and many others try to tell us who we should be and especially how we should look. The most important thing about this website is that it expresses the idea that looks are the number one most important thing in our lives. No matter what someone does, these websites will always try and point out the flaws in you.

Research Activity

Kjrstin Allen

Mass Communication 102

Research Activity

“Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies.”

Today, the fashion industry tends to mold the way we look at ourselves and our bodies in many different ways. When searching fashion and fitness magazines I came across many different magazines that try to direct our way of living but decided to take a deeper look at the magazine Glamour. Glamour’s website, http://www.glamour.com, listed headings including Do’s and Don’ts, Health, Fashion & Beauty, News, Sex & Men, Horoscopes, and Body By Glamour. In each of these sections Glamour attempted to mold and encourage the thoughts and perceptions of American women.

In the Do’s and Don’ts section I was amazed at what I found. There is one link that is titled Don’tspotting where you can literally add shocking pictures, rate how horrible these people look, and then comment on it. It is like a designated way to bash on other people’s lives. Comments on some of the pictures include things like, “I just threw up a little in my mouth!” and “She is in court for murder because 90% of people that see that picture are now dead.” After looking at these I began to feel very insecure about the way I look. Although I might leave my house thinking I look great, somebody might take a look at me, think I look horrible, snap my picture, and post it where people can laugh at it and make very degrading comments. These people are not treating others with respect. The classic schoolyard bullies feared by everyone have an opportunity to shine in this area.

Under the Health tab there is a lot of useful information. Readers can learn about calories and how to count them, cervical cancer, cautions about antidepressants and much more. I found this area to be very informative and helpful. Many Americans don’t know much about how to diet healthy or cautions with taking medications. This tab provided information that the average person can read and understand. I enjoy the fact that they are not posting information about how to loose weight, but instead how to improve quality of life.

In addition to these main tabs there are many other links throughout the website. One particularly interesting link was a blog titled Life with Cancer, http://www.glamour.com/lifestyle/blogs/editor. This really touches me that women are talking about their experiences and their fight for life against cancer. The amazing thing is that they talk about the wonderful things in life and even make fun of their experiences. These women give me hope that someone can live such positive lives when they are facing death.



















After fully searching this magazine online I found that it left me feeling like I can be a confident woman. Even though there are a few shockingly horrible areas, like the people bashing area on the Don’tspotting, I learned many things like how to diet and eat healthy, to be confident and to look forward to the good things in life. I feel like this fashion website can help women to improve their life as long as they stay away from the Do’s & Don’ts tab.

"Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies."

Katelyn Broda

Mass Communication 102

Research Activity

“Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies.”

There are hundreds of magazines in today’s world that target female readers. I decided to focus on the magazine, Cosmopolitan, because I have read this magazine occasionally and it is targeted towards females around my age group. I found information from the magazine’s website, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/.

The Cosmopolitan website is separated into five major categories: Sex &Love, Style& Beauty, Hot Guys, Celebs &Gossip, and You, You, You. All of these categories are targeted towards shaping women to achieve the ‘perfect’ body. This magazine goes beyond the idea of just fixing your hair and applying some lip gloss to improve your looks. Under the Style and Beauty, readers are instructed to ‘Get tan and toned,’ ‘Perfect your complexion,’ ‘Pump up the volume,’ and ‘Sweeten your checks’ to name a few. Women use to think there was only fat and thin imperfections among women but the fashion industry has molded a whole new way to view every element of our bodies and how we need to constantly improve them.

In a Beauty Question and Answer section on the website, women ask how one can make their face look slimmer, and how to eliminate blackheads even though they have clear skin. The women who read this type of magazine are encouraged to strive towards the goal of a ‘perfect body.’ This ‘perfect body,’ however is an illusion that causes many men and women to have a negative view towards their own body. The magazine tries to provide reader with articles full of advice on ways to improve their images and self esteem. Oddly enough, these articles are illustrated with photographs of men and women with the ideal bodies.

Although the Cosmopolitan magazine works towards improving their readers’ lives, their stories, improvement articles and photographs cause readers to feel that they are not fit enough, tan enough or pretty enough to meet the unachievable goal of ‘perfect.’

Research Activity

Kjrstin Allen

Mass Communication 102

Research Activity

“As you watch TV, read articles or listen to songs, write down your impression of methods or concepts that you find interesting. For example, why do you think a character is interesting, or what do you think about a technique used in a movie, music video or a commercial.”

As Americans we are subject to TV, music, articles, and many other forms of media on a daily basis. It is amazing at how these forms of media seem to direct our lives with their unique techniques and abilities to draw us into paying attention to their show or article.

I am a Grey’s Anatomy addict. I have been watching it since the beginning, three years ago, and I just cannot seem to stop watching it. I find myself looking forward to next week’s episode and getting anxious waiting to find out what is going to happen next. If you have never watched Grey’s Anatomy I suggest you check it out at http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/index . Although there are many amazing and captivating characters on Grey’s Anatomy I find Izzy especially addictive.

I have found Izzy to be my favorite character of this show. Izzy has been through many emotional points while on Grey’s Anatomy. Just to give you a few examples, she has revealed that she gave her child up for adoption in order for the little girl to have a better life, fallen in love with a patient, Denny, and become his fiancé, killed her fiancé after trying to save his life, inherited eight million dollars which she later donated to start a free clinic, fallen in love yet again but this time with a married man who was her best friend and much more.

Part of the reason I like Izzy so much is that I feel like I can relate to her in some ways although my life is not nearly as drastic. I too am experiencing hospital life since I am studying to become a nurse while Izzy was studying to become a doctor and is now a resident. She has gone through life altering situations like loosing a loved one, and she also deals with love on a regular basis.

Another reason that I find Izzy so captivating is that she is a powerful woman. She has hit rock bottom and built her life back up from it. Izzy is the perfect example of the American dream since she grew up poor in a trailer home but is now becoming a powerful doctor. She has a giving and loving nature when she performs tasks like donating eight million dollars and bypassing any greed. Izzy just seems to shine for her viewers.

Grey’s Anatomy is a prime example of what makes TV show concepts so interesting. People watch TV shows because they feel a connection or can relate to the show or the characters in some way. They see how people can build up their lives and become someone. In some way it seems to give people hope for a better life but if this fails it can simply just make people smile or laugh.

As you watchTV, read articles, or listen to songs, write down your impressions of methods or concepts that you find interesting.

In movies, there are certain techniques that are used that affect the audience. Sometimes, the audience does not necessarily know that they are being swayed one way or the other. I recently watched Transformers and was interested in the differences in looks between the heroes and the villains and the effect it had on me.


There are very subtle differences between the Autobots (good guys) and the Deceptions (bad guys). First of all, the heroes were in bright, cheerful colors, while the villains were in dark, drab colors. Second, the Autobots were in civilian vehicles, while the Decepticons were in Law Enforcement and Armed Forces vehicles. Lastly, the good guys in this particular movie had blue eyes, while the bad guys had red. These differences can be seen by comparing just two characters. The Autobot named Bumblebee is a yellow convertible with blue eyes, while the Decepticon named Starscream is a grey fighter jet with red eyes. These differences can be seen if you navigate through the website, http://www.transformersmovie.com/.

While people might not think about these differences, they are put in place for a reason. These differences make it easier to root for one side instead of the other. In this case, these small details trick us into siding with the Autobots. Plus, the Decepticons are trying to wipe out the human race which makes them easier to root against. It makes me wonder what would happen if the colors and vehicles were switched. Would it makes sense to see a yellow car named Bumblebee trying to wipe out the humans? It wouldn’t to me.


I find this interesting because these details tend to go under the radar when we watch movies. It is almost like we are programmed to know what represents good and bad. These differences can bring out all different emotions when we watch these movies. For instance, feeling sorry for a big robot because he is being captured, or hating another big robot for not caring if he killed innocent humans. They are fictional robots in a movie, but because of these techniques and attention to small details, we feel like we can relate to them.

“As you watch TV, read articles or listen to songs, write down your impression of methods or concepts that you find interesting.

“As you watch TV, read articles or listen to songs, write down your impression of methods or concepts that you find interesting. For example, why do you think a character is interesting, or what do you think about a technique used in a movie, music video or a commercial.”

Television has become a very common form of entertainment. There are literally hundreds of channels that a viewer can choose to watch from. These channels have their air time full of television shows that strive to acquire more and more viewers. Some of these shows interest viewers so much that the viewers base their weekly schedule around the air time of these shows. I can say that I have fallen victim to this addiction. Each year the television show that I must watch every week changes but my current television addiction is NBC’s “The Office.”

“The Office,” is filmed as a documentary about a paper company, Dunder Mifflin, that is based in Pennsylvania. The corky office boss, Michael Scott, serves as the tour guide throughout the show. The wide range of personalities that make up “The Office,” bring a lot of drama and humor to the show. From Dwight Schrute, the know-it-all assistant to the regional manager to Kelly Kapoor, the young associate who is in love with Ryan the Intern. There is never a dull moment and the show displays a ridiculous side of office work.

I became addicted to “The Office,” when my college roommate bought the first 3 series of the show on DVD. After watching the show’s pilot episode, I became addicted. I was able to catch up on the past 3 years of the show in a few short hours and now find myself fixated in front of the television every Thursday night at 8. Sometimes I even visit the show’s website, http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/ to read about the upcoming episode.

I believe “The Office,” is successful because viewers can relate to its humorous office environment with a boss who never wants to work and continuous office romances. My favorite office couple to follow on the show is Pam and Jim. Their relationship is very complex and the show’s writers keep the viewer’s attention by creating obstacles the two must overcome in order to be happy together. I enjoy Pam’s character because she is a realistic person who has relatable ups and downs throughout her life.

Overall, I think that “The Office,” is a great television show because it gives viewers a different perspective of a office environment. It creates a view for individuals who may thing they have a terrible office to work in that things could be worse.. This concept is shown through humor and “The Office” remains successful into its 4th season.

Research Activity

Michael Gabriel

Mass Communications 102

Research Activity

“As you watch TV, read articles or listen to songs, write down your impression of methods or concepts that you find interesting. For example, why do you think a character is interesting, or what do you think about a technique used in a movie, music video or a commercial.”

Media today influences our lives more than anything else in the world. There are many methods that media uses to get us to listen, watch, or read whatever the product is trying to get across. These medias have a tendency to almost take over our lives and we schedule are lives around them.

A television show that I pretty much make sure I watch every week is South Park on Comedy Central. I find this show absolutely hilarious! I make sure that I schedule doing my homework around this show and I cannot wait until the next show comes on. South Park has many characters but the show is mainly based around four grade school students named Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny.
www.allsp.com

Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny are all friends even though they all have different personalities and backgrounds. Stan is a laid back child that always tries and find the morals behind all of the experiences they have, even though some of the adventures these kids have are insane. Kyle is an uptight person that always fights with Cartman about everything. Cartman is probably the biggest jerk ever. He is the one that has all the ideas that normally get them into trouble. Kenny is poor and normally always dies in every episode. These characters are hilarious in every way.

Like many guys, I keep watching this show because it has very crude humor. I never know how they will push the envelope in the following episodes. For example an episode had to with Tom Cruise being "trapped in closet." This episode was so funny because it made fun of Scientology and Tom Cruise because he believed that Stan was a god reincarnated. Stan told Tom Cruise that he did not like any of his movies and Tom freaked out and locked himself in Stan's closet. The stupidity in this show makes it so funny. Even though there is a lot of stupidity in South Park, the people who write this show actually get the correct information of what they are teasing.

I also find South Park to be hilarious because of the things that Cartman does. For example in a past episode Cartman pretends to have Turrets Syndrome so he can swear at everyone he wants. Cartman is not a nice person but he always ends up making the show funny. Cartman will say things (especially to Kyle) that no one would have to guts to say. Cartman is what makes South Park so funny.

South Park is an example of a comedy that forces people to keep watching it because of what will happen in the next episode. Anyone who watches television is wanting to be entertained. Television is the main form of entertainment and the plot of the show intrigues everyone that watches the program. Every show has a method to get certain people to watch the program and South Park's method is to intrigue younger adults with stupid humor.

Research Activity

Katelyn Broda

Mass Communications

Research Activity


“Make note of a particular media campaign, billboard, ad, commercial, or others and explain the relative merits or weaknesses. Pay special attention to what appeals or irks you about it, this is sometimes helpful in figuring out why it works or doesn’t.”

Commercials were originally designed to sell a product but lately individuals are discovering commercials to be another form of entertainment. Many companies use emotions in their commercials for viewers to make a positive or negative connection to the item these companies are trying to sell. A commercial that has left a positive connection with me would be the “English Football Streaker,” commercial that was designed by Nike to promote their new line of Nike Shox shoes. This particular commercial never fails to make me laugh and can be viewed by visiting the following link,

http://funnycommercials.in/2007/06/28/nike-shox-funny-commercial-english-football-streaker/

The commercial is based during an English Football game that is disrupted by an unexpected streaker. The game’s spectators cheer for the streaker as he runs around the football field only wearing a long scarf and Nike Shox. A close- up of the shoes does not appear until 30 seconds into the commercial. I think the shoes are shown half way through the commercial because it gives the viewers time to enjoy the humor of what they are seeing and then they are forced to make the connection to what the commercial is selling.

The subtle comments from the sports announcers add another element of humor throughout the entire commercial. The announcers also reinforce the Nike Shox product by stating, “I think he has the shoes to thank,” which allows the viewer to connect the commercial back to the shoes. The announcers state this because the Nike Shox seem to keep the streaker just beyond the reach of the police and security personnel. This idea allows the viewers to make the assumption that Nike Shox will make you run faster or be “off like a bull with gas! “ as the announcer claims at the end of the commercial. The commercial ends with the screen saying, “More Go- Nike Shox,” to reiterate the purpose of the commercial and what the company is trying to sell.

I think this commercial appeals to viewers because having a streaker during an actual sporting event has happened to many individuals. The commercial immediately grabbed my attention because I had a similar experience of viewing a streaker at one of the home Packer games last year.

Overall, I thought Nike did a nice job of using a lighter side of humor to promote their new shoe line.
.

"Make a note of a particular media ad or commercial"

Scott Smith

Commercials can bring out a wide range of emotions. They can make us laugh or they can really annoy us. A lot of times we don’t even know what is being advertised until the very end of the commercial.

One such commercial that I love to hate is the Wendy’s ad where the people are jumping into a giant hole. In this ad, Wendy’s is claiming that other fast food restaurants don’t serve fresh burgers and anyone who eats at these places is a mindless drone and is only following trends. It takes you back to when one of your parents told you, “If so and so jumped off of a cliff, would you?” That is until the guy in the freaky red wig turns around and decides that he wants a fresh sizzling burger.

This ad really annoys me, but I do respect the fact that it works. The first time I saw it, it grabbed my attention. Although a guy in a red wig doesn’t make me think of fresh burgers, I do recognize that it is a Wendy’s trademark. This would suggest that I have seen this symbol before and I have been influenced by mass media. The main point is that I will not soon forget the “freaky red wig guy” and who it stood for. However, the worst part is that there are more of these commercials which can be found at http://www.wendys.com/ads/.

In my opinion, companies aren’t trying to make a commercial that will necessarily sell there product. Instead, they want something entertaining that will stick in the viewers mind forever. This one, unfortunately, will forever be engraved in mine!

Research Activity

Kjrstin Allen

Mass Communication 102

Research Activity

“Make note of a particular media campaign, billboard, ad, commercial, or others and explain the relative merits or weaknesses. Pay special attention to what appeals or irks you about it, this is sometimes helpful in figuring out why it works or doesn’t.”



Commercials have become a part of our everyday lives in America. It is impossible to sit down, turn the TV on and not see a commercial. They are always trying to influence us to buy something, go somewhere, or watch something. A commercials main goal is to gravitate our money toward their businesses. Even though Americans see so many commercials they usually are not happy about having to sit through them unless they are going to get a good laugh out of the commercial, like during the Super Bowl.

One company that has commercials that really make me laugh is Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. Their commercials are part of a series called Messin’ With Sasquatch. Their website features four of these commercials including one titled Joy Buzzer, which you can view at http://www.messinwithsasquatch.com/. This commercial starts out with a couple walking through the wood where they come upon Sasquatch trying to catch a butterfly. The man pulls out a gadget, cranks it up and goes to shake Sasquatch’s hand, but when they shake Sasquatch gets zapped by the gadget so he decided to rip the man’s arm off of his body and threw it into the woods. The punch line, “feed your wild side”.

One thing that I really enjoy about this commercial is that it is funny. It will never fail to make me laugh because it is so ridiculous. Stupidity seems to be the perfect word to describe it, and who does not laugh at stupidity? Since Sasquatch is not real the directors had the opportunity to develop him however they wanted so they made him ignorant when he fell for someone’s practical joke and got shocked. His reaction was pure anger when he ripped the man’s arm off.

Something I really do not like about this commercial is the way Sasquatch was picked on. When the couple came across him they found him trying to catch a butterfly, performing an activity that is portrayed as womanly. The man reacted by zapping his hand, and the woman just observed. I feel like this was trying to tell us that Sasquatch was doing something that he should not have been. If Sasquatch was cutting wood with an axe I do not believe that the man would have zapped his hand, but instead he would have probably shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk.

Even though I find this to be a funny commercial I believe that it suggests that men are superior to women. The man felt the need to harm Sasquatch while he was performing a feminine act. This was intentional violence toward a feminine figure suggesting to the public that it is okay to be mean to feminine individuals. This commercial is trying to send the public a message that it is okay for men to pick on me because I am a female.

Research Activity

Michael Gabriel

Mass Communication

Research Activity

“Make note of a particular media campaign, billboard, ad, commercial, or others and explain the relative merits or weaknesses. Pay special attention to what appeals or irks you about it, this is sometimes helpful in figuring out why it works or doesn’t.”

No matter how hard we try we will never be able to escape commercials. Commercials and people are in a never ending love hate relationship. Some commercials make people laugh, some make them think, and others can just plain annoy them. Commercials main goal is to try and sell their product or have you gravitate to what they want.

A commercial that I really like is a Nike Football commercial that features NFL superstars linebacker Shawne Merriman and running back Steven Jackson. This is a very unique commercial because it is all linked together. The commercial starts off with Shawne Merriman making a tackle then gets up and it changes to a different game after every tackle he makes. It all somewhat flows together. Shawne Merriman's part in the commercial commercial ends when a ball is pitched to Steven Jackson. Just like Shawne's part Steven Jackson keeps breaking tackles and the opponent he is playing against changes by a zoom in or someone running in front of the camera. The ending quote is "Leave Nothing. http://www.nike.com/index.jhtml#l=nikehome&re=US&co=US&la=EN

This commercial does a great job in catching my attention and I am sure it does for other people as well. The whole time watching this commercial I wondered where they were going with this. I also like this commercial because of the special effects they had. It had almost a video game or digitally animated look to it. They also did a good job in this commercial with the music they used. The music is a catchy Irish sounding tune. The ending quote is very good because the commercial showed that both players never gave up and like quote left nothing on field.

Commercials now a days are trying to sell two things. They are trying to sell there product (nike football gear) and trying to sell their business. By having creative commercials it forces someone to remember the company and the item they are selling. This will help someone remember the product later on when they might want it.