Stereotypes: Gender

Although nowadays the strict stereotypes of women and men are decreasing, and they are much more equal, there are still some general assumptions related to gender.

Women
The oldest stereotype of women pictures them working at home, taking care of the children and the house, and being caring and nurturing. In general, they are seen as emotional. Today, women are seen as people that want to be beatiful and sexy. In some cases, the women are depicted as sexually desperate and promiscous, doing anything for love with men.

Men
Men are stereotyped as strong, physical and non-emotional; they bottle up their feelings. Men are also seen as the financial provider of the family, and very career-focused. They are depicted as courageous, and self-confident.

Top Three National News

12/20/11

CBS News:

Philippines flood death toll nears 1,000

The number of deaths by the flood in Philippines gets closer to a thousand. Meanwhile the Government of Aquino declares a state of national calamity, and says he will try to avoid this disaster in the future. The UN is concern and offers support to Philippines.

Deadly blizzard paralyzes Great Plains

Fierce winds and snow that caused fatal road accidents and shuttered highways in five states, crawled deeper into the Great Plains early Tuesday, with forecasters warning that pre-holiday travel would be difficult if not impossible across the region.

Boehner and House Republicans to block Senate payroll tax plan
Republicans in the House of Representatives are set to block a Senate proposal to extend a popular tax cut for working Americans for two months on Tuesday, setting up a showdown between House Speaker John Boehner and his own party in the Senate plus President Obama and the Democrats.

Top Three National News

12/19/11

CBS News:

Kim Jong Il, N. Korean dictator, dies at 69

Death of North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il (69 years-old), has been announced today. The cause of the death is said to be a heart attack; Kim Jong Il had had a long history of heart problems. His son Kim Jong Un, has all the chances to end as his successor.

Kim Jong Il's death puts deal to suspend uranium enrichment in jeopardy
Following North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death, which was announced last night, a significant deal with North Korea that could mean the suspension of their uranium enrichment program is now in jeopardy, a senior administration official said this morning.

Super PAC ad touts Gingrich as Reagan conservative
In the face of attack ads casting Newt Gingrich as less than a true conservative - spots that may be eroding his support - a super PAC supporting Gingrich has released a new spot deeming the former House Speaker a "proven conservative leader." Meanwhile, there are signs that Gingrich's momentum in Iowa may be stalling and possibly reversing

Top Three National News

12/16/11

CBS News:

SEC sues ex-Fannie, Freddie execs for fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying they misled the government and taxpayers about risky subprime mortgages the mortgage giants held during the housing bust.

PSU's McQueary: I saw sex abuse, told Paterno

A Penn State assistant football coach, Mike McQueary, testified Friday that he believes he saw former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky molesting a boy and that he that he fully conveyed what he had seen to two Penn State administrators.

Russia seizes radioactive sodium headed for Iran

Russia's customs agency says it has seized radioactive metal from the luggage of a passenger bound for Tehran. The metal pices contained Sodium-22, which is not used for nuclear weapons, but for other purposes. The source of the nuclear material is not known, and there is discussion on if it has been sold to Iran by Russian companies.

Top Three National News

12/14/11

CBS News

Panetta on Afghan war: "We're winning"

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, standing less than 34 miles from the Pakistan border, told U.S. troops Wednesday they have reached a turning point in the war, even as he demanded that Islamabad must do more to secure its side of the border.

Euro under pressure as summit optimism fades

The euro slid below $1.30 on Wednesday for the first time since the early days of 2011 and Italian borrowing rates rose ominously, as the optimism from a dramatic European summit last week fades with the realization that the continent's underlying debt problems remain unsolved.

Payroll tax cut row threatens gov't shutdown

A Republican payroll tax cut bill that sailed through the House despite a White House veto threat is dead on arrival in the Senate, and it will soon be time for talks on a final package, the Senate's top Democrat says.

Top Three National News

12/13/2011

FOX News:

Obama Pushing Senate to Hold Up Budget Bill Over Payroll Tax Cut
President Obama is pushing Senate Democrats to use a critical year-end spending bill as political leverage to gain Republican backing for his calls to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits due to expire at the end of the year.

U.S. Drone Crashes in Seychelles, Air Force InvestigationA U.S. drone has crashed in the island nation of Seychelles, an incident that comes just over a week after a U.S. drone went down in Iran. The cause of the accident is unknown, but U.S. officials declare that the Seychelles authorities were informed inmediatley after the crash.

Sandusky Waives Hearing, Vows to Fight Sex Abuse ChargesFormer Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky opted against forcing his accusers to make their claims of child sex abuse in a packed courtroom Tuesday but then took his case to the courthouse steps as his lawyer assailed the credibility of the alleged victims and witnesses.

Top Three National News

12/12/2011

CBS News:

Iran: Captured U.S. spy drone nearly decoded

Iranian experts are in the final stages of recovering data from the U.S. surveillance drone captured by the country's armed forces. The Iranians consider this as point of advantage for them against the U.S. According to Iranian congrassman, Iran will accuse the U.S. of invasion, amd could reproduce the drone technologie by reverse engineering. American officials assert that the drone malfunctioned although the Iranians claim that they captured it.

Obama: GOP nominee "doesn't matter

President Obama says he's not concerned with who he'll have to face next November. He says that the core philosophy the Republican candidates express is the same. However, Mr Obama, gives his opinion of the two frontrunners for the GOP nominee, Gingrich and Romney.

High court to look at Ariz. immigration law

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide a case involving Arizona's controversial anti-illegal immigration law, S.B. 1070.
Arizona has asked the justices to allow the state to begin enforcing measures that have been blocked by lower courts at the Obama administration's request. Among those provisions is one that requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if officers suspect he is in the country illegally.

 

Top Three National News

12/9/11

FOX News:


Retired FBI Agent Who Vanished in Iran Reappears in Video Sent to His Family
The family of ex-FBI agent Levinson, who had been disappeared for nearly five years, has released a video where Levinson pleads with the US government to meet the demands of his kidnappers. The video was received by the family in November 2010.

No Known Connection Between Virginia Tech Police Officer and Gunman, Authorities Said
Authorities investigating the deadly shooting Thursday at Virginia Tech say there is no apparent connection between the still-unidentified gunman -- who apparently took his own life -- and his victim, a 39-year-old campus police officer and father of five. It is believed that the authorities know who the shooter was, but are being very careful with the information.

Unprecedented Boom Has Jobs Looking for People in North Dakota
North Dakota has unexpected opportunity for people to find jobs. Director of Natural Resources says NOrth Dakota has a twenty year oil boom thanks to new technologies, that will employ thousands pf people. This is causing big moves of people towards North Dakota, a mostly rural and agricultural state. The sudden increase in people working and living there stresses some services but the authorities hope they will manage the situation and reach the estability.

Top Three National News

12/8/11

CBS News:

Gingrich neck-and-neck with Obama in two key swing states
Mr Obama and Gingrich are practically tied in campaign percentages in Florida and Ohio, slightly behind Romney. In Pennsylvania Obama beats both Romney and Gingrich, with more margin on this last one.

Holder: Gun-walking tactic "unacceptable"

Attorney General Eric Holder said it was inexcusable for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to use a controversial law enforcement tactic known as "gun-walking" in an effort to identify and prosecute major arms trafficking networks along the Southwest border.
In Operation Fast and Furious, two of the guns purchased at a Phoenix gun store were recovered from the scene of a shooting that killed border agent Brian Terry on the U.S. side of the border.

Corzine: I don't know where MF Global money is

Former U.S. senator, Jon Corzine, will tell a House committee that he doesn't know the location of client money that went missing when MF Global failed, and that he inherited a company doomed by the risks his predecessors took. HE will also explain how MF had the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and why an estimated $1.2 billion in client funds is unaccounted for.

Top Three National News

12/5/11

FOX News

Under Pressure to Reduce Deficit, Congress Tees Up Year-End Spending Spree
The coming year-end spending spree after so much debate over budget deficits shows just how hard it is to stem the government's flow of red ink. Congress could add $200 billion to the federal ledgre this month.

Will He or Won't He? Cain Camp Denies Gingrich Endorsement is Imminent
A spokesman for Herman Cain denied a report that an endorsement is imminent even as a source declared that the former Republican presidential candidate will offer his backing to former House speaker and fellow Georgian Newt Gingrich.

Putin Suffers Setback in Russian Parliamentary Vote
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party saw its majority in Russia's parliament weaken sharply, according to preliminary election results released Monday as the Communist Party appeared to benefit most from the protest vote.

Top Three National News

12/2/11

NBC news (msnbc.com):

Employment growth picked up speed in November; jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent
The employment grows fast in November, making the nation's unemployment rate fall to its lower rate since March 2009. More than half the jobs added last month were by retailers, restaurants and bars, a sign that holiday hiring has kicked in.

Concern grows for American kidnapped in Pakistan
Concern was growing Friday for the safety of American development expert Warren Weinstein, who was kidnapped from home in Pakistan in August. Weinstein has been kidnapped because it had aided Pakistan since the sevnties, Al-Qaida claims. Al-Qaida demands the liberation of Guantanamo prisoners.

Up to 876,000 cars at risk from deadly exploding airbags
Hundreds of thousands of Honda vehicles sold the United States are being recalled or will be inspected by the company because their airbags could potentially explode causing injury or death, the company said.

Top Three National News

11/30/11

CBS News:

Stocks surge on central banks' liquidity plan
Stocks soared in morning trading Wednesday after major central banks acted together to support the global financial system by cutting short-term borrowing rates. The central banks take pressure off the banks in order to increase the reliability between trading partners.

Cain may not call it quits after all
After Cain set off speculation he was about to withdraw with a Tuesday morning conference call in which he said he was "reassessing" his candidacy after one woman's allegation of an affair with Cain, signs later in the day seemed to indicate that the candidate it is not willing to quit yet. He has assured several times that he will stay in the campaign.

200 arrested as cops raid Occupy LA camp
More than 1,400 police officers, some in riot gear, cleared the Occupy Los Angeles camp early Wednesday, driving protesters from a park around City Hall and arresting more than 200 who defied orders to leave.

Top Three National News

11/21/11

FOX News:

Congress May Try Blocking Cuts if Debt Panel Fail
The Congress will have to get a plan by the end of today to cut $1.2 trillion. If the don't get to a deal, the cuts will be made from the defese budget and from entitlement and domestic spending. Republican senator accused Obama for not involvement.


New York City Police Arrest Alleged Terror Suspect
A supposedly Al-Qaeda sympathizer has been arrested in NYC, and it remains in police custody. He is considered to be a "lone wolf", as mayor Bloomberg has said. 


Police Search for Missing Orlando Mother Who Disappeared After Appearance on Court TV Show
The police is looking for a woman from Florida, mother of three children. The woman, Michelle Parker, has dissapeered last Thursday being on TV, in a Court show.

Top Three National News

11/15/11

CBS News:

Occupy protesters regroup in NYC 

The Occupy Wall Street movement has vowed to reorganize and occupy Zuccotti Park after being removed in the morning. Apparently the police is not willing to let the demonstartors reenter the park. There is a strong support and belief in the movement that makes it strong. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had stated that the park won't be open until the city adresses the restraining order.

Girl trapped 2 days in wrecked car with dead dad

In North Carolina, a girl has spent two days inside the crashed car, after an accident in the highway that killed his father. The 9-year-old girl, Jordan Landon was sent Sunday to a hospital. An apparent cause of the accident could be the excessive speed, but family members completely disregard that fact, saying that dad Doug Landon was a good father.

McQueary on sex abuse: "I made sure it stopped"

The Penn State football assistant coach Mike McQueary complained about the criticism against him and his teammates because the Sandusky sexual scandal. In an email to former teammates, McQueary says that not all the truth has been told and that he did the possible to stop any sexual abuse when he saw it, back in 2002. On the other hand Sandusky denies all allegations.

Top Three National News

11/11/11

CBS News (cbsnews.com)

Poll: Cain tops 3-way race with Romney, Gingrich

In the Republican race for presidential election Herman Cain goes on top followed by Romney and Gingrich, who are tied. Gingrich still winning votes slowly while Cain and Romney have lost support. For most republicans is still early to decide and the electoral race is open to changes.

Report: Paterno sought criminal defense lawyer

Joe Paterno is thought to have contacted an attorney to protect him. Although there are no charges against him related to the sexual scandal in Penn State he could be involved in a civil case.

Veterans Day: Tax credits and tips for job seekers

The new Obama's jobs plan seem to be succesful in congress, and it would help veterans, who have difficulties to be integrated in labor market. The bill will give economical help to companies hiring veterans. The skills of veterans can be important for business.

Top Three National News

11/9/11

CBS news (cbsnews.com)

Paterno retiring amid child abuse "tragedy"
Joe paterno, the Penn State football coach, has declared that he will retire at the end of the season. Paterno feels frustrated and devastated  by the consequences of the sexual scandal of Jerry Sandusky, assitant coach, who has been charged with sexual harassment of children. Paterno has not been accused or charged, but along with other staff from the athletic association of the school, he has been thought to have a lack of "moral responsibility" for not stopping Sandusky. The school board of trustees might make Paterno leave inmediately.

Mississippi's "Personhood Amendment" fails at polls
The "Personhood" iniative in Mississippi, which stated that life begins in fertilization has been rejected by more than 55% of voters. The iniative would have done changes in the free-abortion rigth.
The different social and religious sector have been divided because of this initiative. There is a special concern that the anti-abortion laws would affect fertility treatments.

Voters across nation stick largely by incumbents

A big group of new law proposals have been rejected by a high percentage of voters. For example, the "Personhood Amendment" in Mississippi, or new Ohio initiatives related to bargaining rights of public employees, have been defeated by the voters.

Manufacturing Consent

11/4/11

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media is a documentary film production that shows and explains Noam Chomsky's ideas related to the Media. Noam Chomsky is a linguistic and philosopher, considered one of the most important thinkers in our era.
The film illustrates the ideas shown on Chomsky's book Manufacturing Consent, which basically consists on the analysis of today's media based on the propaganda model.
Its main thesis is that the Media, instead of serving the audience with reliable, true and balance information, is used as way of gaining profit and as an instrument for the elites to control the mass.

The documentary covers deeply some examples of this biased media, and Chomsky's arguments. For example, Chomsky shows how the media gives more coverage to one story than to another very similar to it, because of different reasons related to politics. This is the case of the coverage of the genocide in Cambodia, which was greatly covered by the American media, compared to a similar massacre that was going on at the same time in East Timor. East Timor was being invaded by Idonesia, with economical and military help of the United States. The Media did not want to cover a genocide in which the US was involved.

This and many other examples are given in the film, illustrating how the media in the democratic system shapes the image of the world's reality that the audience gets.

My opinion of the movie is that it helps us to look at the media with other perspective and shows the big corruption of it. But I also think that the documentary was dense and a bit too long, and at some points it gets boring for the average viewer.

My weebly

Here is my weebly page
themediabymiguel.weebly.com

We feel fine

10/18/11

http://wefeelfine.org/

In my opinion, We Feel Fine is an incredibly interesting new way of media. It is something I would never think of make possible, something new and creative. It is another example, along with other new projects in the Web, of the almost endless possibilities of todays' technologies.
For me, We Feel Fine, is a point where the frontier between the usual media and the imagination is trespassed. I am amazed with the way Harris and Kamvar (developers of We Feel Fine) have made such a wide exploration of the people feelings posted on the Web.
Of course, when talking about something as open and free as human feelings, no one would imagine a classification of them, as if they were another kind of data. But, We Feel Fine renews the Web's Media and definitely impressed me. And it is not a perfect classification or a strict mathematical database, but a new way to look at the world, and maybe get closer to each other.

Propaganda Techniques on Advertisements

10/13/11

The first ad i found with propanganda techniques is a Target commercial. In this, a music teacher wants his students to wear with "style", using a funny song. One of the techniques used is the salience, clearly visible in the catchy song that makes the viewer relate the song with the brand (target). We also see the humor, as a very important part of the ad: it makes us forget about what the product really is and, since the ad is funny for us, we relate this to the product.

The second one is an advertisement from the automobile company Ford. In it, a suppossedly real interview to actual owners of the car shows the benefits of it. We clearly see the plain folks technique, since the ad uses real and common people to talk about the product. I also found the avant-garde, technique: the product is an hybrid car with new an modern characteristics. At last, the card stacking is in some way present in the advertisement because the people talking about the car only focus on its good and most attractive qualities (style, for example).

My Advertisement

10/5/11

This is the ad I created. Now I will analyze it, using the mef deconstruction guidelines.

Step 1

This ad is strong, persuasive, red, simple and suggestive.

There are no people depicted in the ad.

The picture in the ad seems to have been taken with a close camera in straight angle. The lighting is natural, and the main picture (burger) and the titles are highlighted.

The colors used are basically red, white and black, warm colors that give strength to the ad.

A main part of the ad is the text. There are different texts in the ad. First there is the product name (Miguel's Burgers). Then the slogans and the rest of the text: "Listen to your needs!", "The best burgers on town", etc.

The font for the name of the service (Miguel's Burgers) is different from the rest of the text and this gives personality to the product. The other font used is simple. The colors, sizes and styles change, making the ad look full and less monotonous.

Step 2

What is sold in the ad is more a service than a product. The service sold is a hamburger restaurant. I finde the product appealing because it seems to taste very good, and the price is low.

I think there is not especial target audience in this ad.

The ad associates eating a burger to a main human need, and it tries to make feel the audience hungry.

Step 3

There are no assumptions in the ad related to gender. There are not assumptions related to race or class either.

Step 4

Possible consequences of the ad, if it was real, could be a rise in tha demand for the restaurant depicted, or not maybe not. Anyway, the consequences don't go much further than that because the product sold has not such a big social responsibility. The ad could create a false expectaion in the audience in the sentence "The best burgers on town", since it could be untrue. But that is also an opinion so we cannot say that it creates a complete false image of the product.

Advertisement Deconstruction 3

9/27/11 Third Ad

Step 1

The ad is elegant, clean, modern, shiny and symmetric.
There aren't any people depicted in the ad.
The camera is at a close angle over the object, although I think there has been a modification by some computer application.
The lighting in the ad, which is artificial, is very clear and it makes the product shine with a dark background.
The main colors used are black, white and silver. They are clear and bright. There is a great contrast between the white and black, and the bright screens colors.
There is text in the ad, in a simple font in white color. The main headline says 'iPhone 4', the name of the product. Below, in the same font and color but with a smaller size there is the slogan: 'This changes everything. Again.'


Step 2

The product that is being sold is the smartphone iPhone 4.
I finde this product appealing because it offers plenty of applications and services in such a small device, with great audiovisual quality. It is one of the best products in the amrket right now probably.
The target audience of the ad can be anybody, as long as they have contact with this kind of technology.
The ad sends to the consumers a feeling of modernity and avant-guarde in technology. I think it works, in part because the product has had different earlier versions, and it is known by the audience. New technologies are always appealing, because they make us more modern, like if we updated ourselves.


Step 3

I don't find any assumption made in this advertisement, related to gender, race or class. It makes an assumption related to the success of the earlier versions of the product, which is actually a realistic assumption, because the iPhone has been a revolutionary product during the last years.

Step 4

The consequences of this ad would probably be a great response from the audience who is interested in this New Technologies,.
There is not a real general expectation for people in this ad, but the ad makes people wonder about the new applications or services that the product may have. Since there is nothing explicit, I can't talk about unrealistica expectations in the ad.
This product has a great importance on society, as being part of the New Technologies, that are developed faster and faster this nowadays. But, after all ,it still is a newer version of an original product, so this specific version won't have an impact as great as the whole idea and the original product had.
There is not any controversial or bad connotations in tha ad, so it has not a Social Responsibility in that way. However, it is Socially Responsible, because a lot of people will consume it, and it will become one of the products and ideas with more influence in society.

Advertisement Deconstruction 2

9/26/11  Second Ad

 Step 1

It is passionate, joyful, sensual, warm and suggestive.

In the ad there is a young and white couple. They look happy and in love, they have a fresh and summer style.
The camera that has been used in the ad seems to be in a mid angle, close to the couple.
The lighting in the ad is natural and fresh. And the colours used are black and white for the main picture, and then golden colours for bottom of the ad.
There are different text lines. The main one says 'Pursue your daydreams', in black. On the bottom of the ad there is another text: 'Vive Cuervo' in black, too, with the brand name (Cuervo) in a different font. There is also a small line of text, advicing consumers to drink with moderation.


Step 2

The product being sold is 'Cuervo Rum', an alcoholic drink.
I don't find the product appealing, because I don't drink alcohol.
The target audience of this advertisement are thae adults over 21, but younger than 35 mostly.
This ad associates love, relax, happiness with the product that is being sold. I don't think it works, at least it does not work on me. But there is a joyful sensation that comes to the consumer as first impression.


Step 3

I think there is not any assumption related to gender or race in the ad. There is anyway an assumtion beyond the ad message which considerates that the alcohol gives good things as success on relationships (and confidence), happiness,...


Step 4

The message of the ad creates an expectation for the people that could be unrealistic. This is the expectation of success in relationships and love. By using this, along with the text, that tries to exhort the consumers to be in some way 'rebel', the ad tries to sell the product, which has very little to do with this expectations actually.
Since we are talking about alcohol, the ad is probably socially responsible, because the product has harmful consequences for health, so it should not be sold and advertise as other product.

Advertisement Deconstruction

9/23/2011 First Ad.

Step 1

It is creative, different, nice, suggestive and simple.

There is no people in the ad.

I suppose it has been made with a combination of computer design and, maybe, an initial picture taken by a camera, close to the object.

Because of this the light seems to be artifficial, without any special highlight, but with the natural shadow at the left of the tree.

There are bright and warm autumn colours combined with a clear blue for the sky.

The only text used is the 'Porsche' sign in the small logo in the upper right corner, in the usual black and elegant font of the brand.

Step 2

The product is the general automobile brand, not a specific model.

I find this product appealing, but not necessarily because of this ad.

I think the target of this ad is mostly adult men, in from thirty to sixty years-old.

The advertisement uses a very creative way to show the power and speed of the cars they are producing. The ad also gives a feeling of well being and freedom beyond this. I think that, more than the fact of the speed and power of 'Porsche' what most influences the consumers is the cretive and suggestive way of showing it.

Step 3

One principal assumption in the ad is the general thought of the power that driving this kind of cars gives to men. Although it is not shown in it directly, I suppose that it is oriented to men. In some way it is realistic, because a lot of people still thinking of driving as a mostly men attraction.

There is probably another assumption related to the class. The wealthy people can afford buying a 'Porsche' and they have elegance and power with it. It is real that the 'Porsche' cars are very expensive, but they are very good cars, too.

Step 4

Although the ad uses a funny and creative image, which is not real, that is only the medium to express the real message that is sent. This means that the creators of the ad don't want us to believe that the leaves of the tree will get stuck to the tree when a Porsche passes by, but they want to make clear the power and speed of the car.

I don't think this ad is Socially Responsible, in the way that it does not include any controversial or transgressive information. Anyway, there is an inclination to consumism beyond tha ad intention.

What Jean Kilbourne means is that we should be ethical consumers, instead of consume goods unnecessarily and without thinking of what we are doing.

Media in my Life

As most of the people, the media I am most close to are the internet and the tv, that are a great part of our life. I think there is a huge mass media in society now.

I am not just talking about the TV advertisement but all the information, sometimes hidden, that all of us are exposed to when watching a movie, reading an newspaper or magazine, or listening to the radio.

Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khD1dMJk_s0

First

This is my very first blog. Nothing more to say right now.