As a young woman in America, I have noticed that the influence of media on our society has advanced and changed greatly over the past decade. During my childhood years, I never noticed that media had such a great influence on people. Perhaps I never took an interest in being aware of these issues because I didn’t realize how deeply ingrained is the mass media in our society. The readings for the week bring up an important dilemma that society as a whole has been facing in recent years. The Baran and Davis readings also point out that people behave in certain ways relating to mass media because they find some sort of gratification in doing so (Baran and Davis 243). Additionally, McQuial asserts, “The needs structure of the child and the functions of the mass media are consequently a dynamic phenomena; they can be altered if other factors, for example programmes, change character” (McQuail 357). I believe that society is seeing a change in the media as time progresses. Recently over the past few years, there has been a great concern for the messages media is sending out to the youth today. Many parents have been concerned because young boys and girls are following trends that are very dangerous to their health and well-being. In the early to mid part of this decade, I remember hearing and seeing on the news reports about teens committing acts that were harmful to their health due to the influence the media has had on them. Take for example the fact that so many teens have had to enter rehabilitation programs to work on their self-esteems and body images. Can the anorexia epidemic that society has seen in recent years, be attributed to television programs such as America’s Next Top Model? America’s Next Top Model is a very good example of how women struggle with their body image and self-esteem in order to compete and make it to the top. Now more than ever before more teens are dealing with problems that affect the way they perceive their body images. I found a very interesting article by PBS where it makes us aware of the problems many young teens are facing with regards to their perception of the body image, http://www.pbs.org/perfectillusions/eatingdisorders/preventing_media.html. The article also addresses the many ways in which parents and young people can combat this trend that seems to be taking over society. I also found this youtube video that will help us understand the magnitude of body image problems many teens and young adults are having to deal with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQLqC_hTT4I. I wonder if sending the message that being thin is the only way one can find success, will contribute to a more productive society or will this contribute more issues among people. The questions I pose concerning this issue is, how much can the media influence people’s self-esteem? Are there ways we as media consumers, can find to divert the attention that is given by the media to body images? How far will this so-called fashion influence young people who consume media on a very frequent basis?
As much as I hate to admit it, I myself can directly relate to Elizabeth’s point about media’s impact on our self esteem. While the first 30 seconds of the YouTube video she posted was more on the extreme and rather disgusting side of skinny, there is still a norm of slightly underweight celebrities, models, and actors in the media. Although we have studied the effects of media on self-esteem, I still find myself struggling with my own self-esteem. Even being surrounded by some of the other girls on this campus has an impact. And it’s not subconscious, either. I will watch TV and deliberately say, “Wow, look how skinny she is. If only I could lose a few inches here…” I am not completely lacking a positive image of myself, but I always feel there is room for improvement. And I know that that is a direct effect of the media! So if I am aware of these influences and it still affects me, what does that say about younger, more impressionable audience members that may not be aware of what is normal? The article written by Celia Von Feilitzen in the McQuail Reader discussed the different reasons as to why children watch television. Under the topic of informative or cognitive functions of television, Von Feilitzen found that “both younger and older children give all of the following functions: ‘you see things that happen in real life’… ‘you learn how to do things’, ‘TV shows what is right and what is wrong’, and ‘I want to try everything’.” It is scary to see how highly children regard what they see on television. The implication of these findings reveals that kids seriously internalize what they are exposed to on TV. This leads to the discrepancy between what average size is portrayed through the media’s eyes, and the real-life average. The more media a viewer consumes, the more their perspective could potentially be skewed.
ReplyDeleteIn the Baran and Davis reading, they touch upon the different situations that people find themselves in that are surrounded by media-related needs.
1. You’re worried about your body image and think you have a weight problem, so you read magazines that give advice about dieting or you watch movies or sitcoms in which characters struggle with similar problems. Or you decide to watch some of YouTube’s anorexic-themed videos.
The countless fitness magazines in print these days directly target active lifestyle enthusiasts, but how many people subscribe to such magazines in search for some kind of way to feel better about themselves? Baran and Davis use this example to describe the notion that “social situations can produce tensions and conflicts, leading to pressure for their easement through media consumption.”
When it all comes down to it, body image is relative to what we are surrounded by. In a society where we are constantly surrounded by media images, how those images are portrayed can seriously skew our perception on what is normal. It seems to me that awareness of the unrealistic images in the media is simply not enough to change perceptions. There have been baby steps toward introducing more average and plus-sized individuals to the media world, but there needs to be a more drastic integration in order to have a more significant impact. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is just what our society needs to influence a more positive body image, but we also need to see more widespread changes. http://www.dove.us/#/features/videos/default.aspx[cp-documentid=7049579]
The video says it all.
The uses and gratifications approach provides a framework for understanding how media consumers use what images and ideas they are presented with. In the Baran and Davis reading, they said “The intended function of media hasn’t changed, but its practical consequences have. These gaps between intended functions and observed societal consequences have impressed media critics, leading them to be suspicious of both functional analysis and theories that presume an active audience.” I think that the media has such a strong power, and these days more than ever we are being fed negative images. When it comes to body image, I think the media has a major influence on people and their self esteem. I can’t think of a day that goes by that I do not see a majority of stick thin women in magazines, advertisements, and on television. It’s also crazy how the diet industry has risen so quickly and their profits are growing all the time. What people see in the media that’s being presented as “beautiful” is obviously going to affect how they perceive what beauty is and therefore try to emulate it. The sad thing is is that most of the images we see are airbrushed so they aren’t even real in the first place. The media puts way too much pressure on people to look a certain way, and it’s very dangerous. Eating disorders are very common and a lot of people experience depression from not feeling beautiful or good enough.
ReplyDeleteIn the McQuail chapter it talks about the function of television for children. “In the public debate mass media are often said to have two functions: to entertain and to inform.” In regards to body image, the media is informing children of how they should look. Children learn from what they see, and if they are constantly seeing the same body images over and over it’s going to stick with them. However, Dove and other companies or fashion designers are attempting to change these images by promoting full figured women and relaying the message that beauty isn’t about your body size. But I do not think that it’s very successful at getting the message out there because the current body images are too dominant, and the diet industry is advertising the need for weight loss.
I definitely think that media’s portrayal of body image (particularly women) has a major effect on female self esteem. The average woman in America wears a size 12, but the average runway model wears a size 2! If the media continues to bombard women and young girls with images of underweight models, then they are setting the female population up for failure. Every woman I know, including myself, has some kind of body image issues. I think that the reasons we are so critical of our own bodies is because we see bodies on television that do not look like our own. The media pressures us to look a certain way, and therefore we strive to reach unrealistic standards of beauty.
ReplyDeleteWe read that Hall’s audience research known as “reception studies” refers to the following theory: “Any media content can be regarded as a text made up of signs…To make sense of a text – to read a text – you must be able to interpret the signs and their structure” (Baran & Davis p244). If you were to apply Hall’s “reception studies” to the way media portrays body image, it would go something like this: The media displays women who are super skinny. Young girls then try to make sense of the media content that they are bombarded with on a daily basis. Girls interpret this content/text, and are socialized to believe that they are supposed to be a size 2, just like the girls in the pictures. All media signs point to thin = beautiful.
In McQuail’s chapter 33 we read that “Television’s most important social functions are thus that one can identify…with people on television. [This is] labeled ‘para-social interaction’” (McQuail p359). However, many young girls watch TV and see women who they do NOT identify with because they don’t look like them. Women don’t identify with the images of women on TV because the images are unrealistic. If the media continues to portray the same super skinny images, women and young girls will be doomed to aim for weight goals that are nearly impossible for most women to achieve. Children and teens are especially at risk for developing self-esteem issues and eating disorders.
Over the summer I interned at Wilhelmina Models, a modeling agency in NYC. One of my jobs was to update the models’ portfolios so all day long I would look at their beautiful (airbrushed) pictures. But since I was working on the inside of the agency, I also saw the photos before they were retouched -- and the difference is unbelievable! When the art department is retouching a photo they can change literally anything. If a strand of hair is out of place, you can fix it. If a model’s dress is wrinkled, you can fix that. If a model’s make up looks cakey, you can fix that too. A roll of unnecessary fat? Gone. The modeling agents at Wilhelmina were very upfront about it. They said, “Absolutely 100% of what you see in magazines and on billboards is fake. Everything is retouched.” I think women always have to remember that when you watch commercials or read fashion magazines, you are only seeing what the advertisers want you to see! Next time you feel bad about your body image, don’t! Because trust me – that girl in the ad doesn’t really look like that!
I think the issues you bring up revolving around the main issue of body image, are the perfect example of how the media can influence our perceptions. Body image has become such a problem, specifically within I think our generation, and I agree that the media has a lot to do with how young women are perceiving themselves and to what they are defining as beautiful. I think the links you posted show excellent examples of how body image and media influence can be, and most often times are directly related. America’s Next Top Model is a good example of a program on television that is pretty much based on the quality of being stick-thin, and simultaneously is bombarding viewers with the concept that this is what’s beautiful. A young girl isn’t going to understand that this may be beautiful in one aspect, within the high-fashion industry, and that it doesn’t mean that they may not be beautiful in their everyday lives. But how would they know that?
ReplyDeleteI think an important distinction has to be made however that sometimes the company’s main purpose isn’t always to cause these negative effects on young girls, but to sell a product. However, it doesn’t change the fact that these advertisements can have dire consequences. Companies have to start realizing the effect their advertisements and campaigns can have on young women and people in general. It’s something that’s mentioned in the reading where the “aim of the source is not always the function” (Baran & Davis 235). Their overall intentions may simply be to make a profit, but the consequences of that profit are proving to be more substantial than any monetary gains in my opinion.
However some of the reading talked about how the change in these types of research has been made to acknowledge that the media can use their influence for a positive impact. The studies done by the Swedish children show that one of their main reasons for resorting to the television as their medium of choice, was because “you get new thoughts and ideas” and that “you learn a lot” (McQuail, 359). Knowing that these studies are showing that these are some of the primary reasons, companies should use this to their benefit. If children watch television to learn something, teach them that beauty comes in many shapes and sizes. If they watch to get new thoughts and ideas, make them ideas that boost self-esteem.
One company that comes to mind that seems to have grasped this concept and that the media influence can be used in a positive way is Dove. I’ve seen numerous ad campaigns that target women of all ages and their main goal or “aim” is to change how we define beauty as a society. Using this influence in ways such as this can have tremendous effects on society seeing as that many of the reasons body image has become such an issue is through the media itself.
I think that is interesting to read Leigh’s comment that said “Every woman I know, including myself, has some kind of body image issues. I think that the reasons we are so critical of our own bodies is because we see bodies on television that do not look like our own. The media pressures us to look a certain way, and therefore we strive to reach unrealistic standards of beauty.” I obviously can’t talk on a woman’s behalf but from a guys perspective I think there are similar issues. This is why you can go down to the athletic building and see 20 guys working on their biceps at 9pm before going to the bars.
ReplyDeleteNot to steal everything that Leigh wrote but I think she made a very good argument in her comments and analysis when she said “We read that Hall’s audience research known as “reception studies” refers to the following theory: “Any media content can be regarded as a text made up of signs…To make sense of a text – to read a text – you must be able to interpret the signs and their structure” (Baran & Davis p244). If you were to apply Hall’s “reception studies” to the way media portrays body image, it would go something like this: The media displays women who are super skinny. Young girls then try to make sense of the media content that they are bombarded with on a daily basis. Girls interpret this content/text, and are socialized to believe that they are supposed to be a size 2, just like the girls in the pictures. All media signs point to thin = beautiful.”
Who first was the one who said skinny in attractive? I think that because the media portrays thin to be attractive then the majority of society follows. This almost coincides with framing in media because its almost like the media stereotypes thin to be attractive and we just agree with it. In McQuail’s text it says “Television’s most important social functions are thus that one can identify…with people on television. [This is] labeled ‘para-social interaction’” (McQuail p359).
From reading the comments above, I agree with what Matt says about how the media in particular makes people believe an image is right or wrong. In Baran & Davis page 244, the theory of reception studies fits in well here, "its central features is its focus on how various types of audience members make sense of specific forms of content." I think this is particularly useful when looking at body image.
ReplyDeleteSince becoming a media studies member all I used to do was marvel at how beautiful all of the women are and that was the only thing I noticed. Everyone on the television is either a model, or aspiring to become one. Truthfully compare how often you see a women with a larger build on any skin, clothing, or jewelry commercial to one that looks like a model. I think this can cause some real problems about what the media is trying to portray women to look like or be like, and this is where you start to see eating disorders. The advertisement in the media is all about how good someone looks and if they're not good looking then the perception is that there is no success.
I do think though that women are far more likely stereotyped in the media and rarely do men have any such effect. In fact I think that men are the exact opposite of women. I think that people would rather see a fat funny man to sell a product then a muscular hunk. The media definitely has a strong impact of what people see and what they believe in.
In the McQuail reader on page 358 the impact of the media on children is mentioned and there is 30 different functions for children. I think this is important because the people growing up watching these programs and these commercials have a strong impact about what children want to become and look too for guidance. It's hard when say a girl growing up is looking at a beauty product and the women in the show is skinny as a twig. In conclusion either media needs to mix up what is portrayed as right and wrong or we just need to accept that television isn't reality.
In Chapter 9 of Baran and Davis, it talks about the behavioral (social market theory) and affective effects (entertainment theory) media has on individuals. The two theories describe the ways audiences’ feelings are influenced by media and how they react after exposure. After watching the youtube video of unhealthy images of female models and the unrealistic bodies of Barbie dolls I thought about the target audience. Baran and Davis described targeting by saying, “by identifying the most vulnerable segments and then reaching them with the most efficient channel available, targeting strategies reduce promotional cost while increasing efficiency,” (Baran 261). At a young age, girls who play with barbies already have a the mindset that there is nothing wrong with the way the doll looks. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen or held and actual doll, but after watching the video I was shocked by how unrealistic the body images are. Media markets are only concerned with their profits and reaching those who are most vulnerable. The simplest method for arousing audiences is through appealing images and that is what our younger audience is interested in.
ReplyDeleteAmerica’s Next Top Model is a perfect example of a media market that poses harms to women’s bodies. Majority of the contestants on the show weigh close to 100 pounds and are 5 foot 10. If you look at statistics, these women are already above average height wise and under weight. Many of us are already aware of the strains and negative impact model agencies have on women. I have a friend that was pursuing a model career and was 5 foot 9 and already very slim because she was told to lose 15 pounds before she came back. After losing 15 pounds, she was told to lose 10 more. Angela brought up a good point in which model agencies and television are not the only places portraying underweight women, but magazines are as well. Another thing to think about is when are we reading these magazines? One specific time is when we are laying out. Right away we notice the difference between our average bodies and the girl on the cover with a larger chest and tighter stomach.
In conclusion, the Baran and Davis text made a good point by saying, “entertainment theorists assume that most of us don’t think enough about this content to have very useful insights about it. We’re just doing what feels good- after all, it’s only entertainment,” (Baran 249).
In Chapter 9 of Baran and Davis, it talks about the behavioral (social market theory) and affective effects (entertainment theory) media has on individuals. The two theories describe the ways audiences’ feelings are influenced by media and how they react after exposure. After watching the youtube video of unhealthy images of female models and the unrealistic bodies of Barbie dolls I thought about the target audience. Baran and Davis described targeting by saying, “by identifying the most vulnerable segments and then reaching them with the most efficient channel available, targeting strategies reduce promotional cost while increasing efficiency,” (Baran 261). At a young age, girls who play with barbies already have a the mindset that there is nothing wrong with the way the doll looks. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen or held and actual doll, but after watching the video I was shocked by how unrealistic the body images are. Media markets are only concerned with their profits and reaching those who are most vulnerable. The simplest method for arousing audiences is through appealing images and that is what our younger audience is interested in.
ReplyDeleteAmerica’s Next Top Model is a perfect example of a media market that poses harms to women’s bodies. Majority of the contestants on the show weigh close to 100 pounds and are 5 foot 10. If you look at statistics, these women are already above average height wise and under weight. Many of us are already aware of the strains and negative impact model agencies have on women. I have a friend that was pursuing a model career and was 5 foot 9 and already very slim because she was told to lose 15 pounds before she came back. After losing 15 pounds, she was told to lose 10 more. Angela brought up a good point in which model agencies and television are not the only places portraying underweight women, but magazines are as well. Another thing to think about is when are we reading these magazines? One specific time is when we are laying out. Right away we notice the difference between our average bodies and the girl on the cover with a larger chest and tighter stomach.
In conclusion, the Baran and Davis text made a good point by saying, “entertainment theorists assume that most of us don’t think enough about this content to have very useful insights about it. We’re just doing what feels good- after all, it’s only entertainment,” (Baran 249).