Letter to the FCC

Dear Chairman Julius Genachowski,

Lately, my roommates and I have been watching television in the evenings as we take a break from doing homework. Since we don’t have a DVR to record the shows and then watch them later, we must sit through the commercials if we want to watch shows. This is a bit of a change for me, because at home, we record all the shows we want to watch and never watch them live. We were able to fast forward through commercials and finish shows a lot faster and not have to sit through them. Now, I must admit, I have enjoyed watching certain commercials. Some of them are quite entertaining and even make me laugh. Unfortunately though, I have realized that some commercials are rather offensive.

I know that TV shows have ratings, and I appreciate that. However, commercials don’t. I don’t know if a commercial is inappropriate until after I’ve already seen it. I don’t expect commercials to have ratings, because there are already so many problems with TV ratings as it is. However, I believe that offensive commercials should simply be kept off the air, especially ones that make women into object.

One particularly offensive commercial I saw lately was advertising a pair of Reebok Easy Tone shoes. This commercial consists of a woman telling how wearing this pair of shoes toned her legs, hamstrings and glutes really well. This in itself would be a fine commercial. Unfortunately though, the camera kept focusing on her backside instead of on her face. In another Easy Tone commercial, a pair of breasts is “talking” to each other about how jealous they are of the attention the woman’s backside is getting, and then the camera then goes to show her backside. The whole commercial goes without once showing the face of the woman. These and other commercials objectify women. There are plenty of examples of this in magazines. This is offensive enough, but I was shocked when it was so blatantly displayed in advertising on television.

With many girls developing eating disorders, advertising such as this shouldn’t be allowed on the air. It further objectifies women and makes women feel worse about themselves and their bodies. I think that the FCC should be more careful about what commercials are allowed on the air. These examples are hurting women and girls, as well as society in general.

Sincerely,
Colette

Long car rides...

So my brother and some cousins and I drove to Reno on Tuesday. I definitely wasn't looking forward to the (at least) 8 hour drive, but it ended up working out nicely. I couldn't use my laptop to do homework because it has a HORRIBLE battery life, so I got a ton of books from the library before I left. I ended up reading an entire series (4 books) in one day. It was so wonderful. If I didn't have a bunch of homework and grad apps to constantly do, I think I'd enjoy a lot more reading for fun. *sigh* Maybe one day...

Shift Happens

I found this really interesting. Media and technology have really changed our world... and they are continuing to change it. What will the world be like in a few more years? 10? 20? 50? It's interesting to think about.

Confession

In fifth or sixth grade or so, Neopets was really popular with some of my friends, so I got an account. I was really into it for a while, but then forgot about it as new internet fads came along.

However, I recently rediscovered it and have been spending probably a bit too much time on it. I enjoy playing the games, earning "Neopoints", and getting all sorts of stuff for my pet. (Pictured above...isn't she cute?)

I feel like such a little kid. This is definitely a site aimed at children, but I still enjoy it. Oh well. (Embarrassing confession is now over.)

A feel-good website

So...mylifeisaverage.com seems to be quite popular among some of my friends, and it's fun, so I like to read it. But I also heard about mylifeisg.com and that website just makes me smile. It reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for. Life is amazing!

Disconnected

So the past few days, I was at a research conference in San Francisco. The hotel that I stayed at didn't have free internet... I would've had to pay $10/day for it. And considering the fact that I would've only used it for an hour or so a day, because of everything else I was doing, it wasn't worth it to me. But I felt rather disconnected from the world because of it. I couldn't check Facebook or my e-mail. I couldn't work on papers for my classes, since I couldn't do research online. It was amazing how much about technology and the media I take for granted until it's gone.

SaverTime!

Earlier this year, my dad's company was suffering from low morale. The economy wasn't good and sales were low. Because of this, my dad decided to make a music video for the annual sales rally. It was a huge hit with the employees. (I think they enjoyed seeing their boss and managers kind of making fools of themselves.) Anyways, they begged him to go viral with it. So my dad went through all the legalities and now, I present, for your viewing enjoyment... SaverTime!



(You can also read more about the story behind the video at: http://www.pennysaverusa.com/savertime/)

Sexual Content in the Media

For the assignment, I watched So You Think You Can Dance, CSI-Miami, and CSI-NY.

I really thought So You Think You Can Dance was a pretty clean show, but while watching it for the assignment, I became really aware of how provocative some of the moves and lyrics were. I almost changed the channel during one of the dances. There were at least two different dances that really were quite sexual. The message shown in it was sex is good. Some of the music and lyrics really seem to glorify sex and some of the dancers do really suggestive moves. It also seems to suggest that it’s normative and something teens and young adults should be doing.

In CSI—Miami, there was quite a bit of sex, because a missing person had been to a strip club for a bachelor’s party before he went missing and the plot kept returning to that. It showed scenes in the strip club and kept mentioning lap dances and payment for sex. In CSI—New York, there was also quite a bit of sexual content. There was a party where people rub food all over themselves to become aroused. My roommate and I actually changed the channel during that part because we felt so uncomfortable. The message in both these shows is that sex is normal. It seems to imply that it is expected for men to go to strip clubs before they get married and it is totally normal for both men and women to have sexual experiences outside of marriage. In fact, you don’t even have to know the person that well to be sexual with them. One-night stands are portrayed as normal. The only time sex is portrayed as bad is when a victim was raped before she was killed.

This assignment really did make me more acutely aware of how much sexual content is out there and how careful we need to be about what we consume.

Grad School Applications

I'm in the process of applying to grad schools right now and it's a total pain. I've decided to apply to five different schools and it seems like each one wants something different. Each has very specific prompts for the personal statement so I can't just use the same thing. Some want an expanded resume, others want a regular resume, and others just want you to write directly on the application what experience you have. Some want recommendation letters, others want recommendation forms filled out and no letters. It's really overwhelming to think of all the things I have to do to apply, and once I finally get done with everything, there's still no guarantee that I'll even get in.

But even with all the pain the applications make me go through, I can't help but be grateful for modern media, because it has made the process easier. I was able to research schools that I wouldn't have ever even heard of otherwise so I could feel like I've really made an informed decision of where I'd like to go to school. I'm able to e-mail the schools with questions I have and get answers back immediately. I can even fill out some applications completely online! So I really shouldn't complain too much. At least I'm applying now and not 20 years ago, when it would've all been by mail. A lot more inconvenient. Then again, 20 years ago it wouldn't have been so competitive...