Say What?

The image above is advertising that if you simply sprinkle Sensa on your food you will feel full, lose weight, and look like the photo. Companies know that a majority of people are willing to pay money for anything that guarantees limited effort and quick results. Especially when it comes to weight loss. The advertised photo clearly states “ Get a gym body without going to the gym,” when clearly the woman photographed has muscle definition and is toned. Which in order to achieve, you must workout and use weights. However the photo is implying that if you simply sprinkle some shit on your food, you will drop 30 pounds and look amazing. That's what we all want right? The photo above is misleading and can trigger many emotions. Obviously the photo is unrealistic, and down below I have provided a link that shows the company under fire for false advertisement; in which Sensa had agreed to make changes to their advertisement. I do not know if it ever happened, Sensa is an old product from what I remember, but it sure as hell was popular in the past.

Washington times Feb 11, 2017.

The image above I am sure looks familiar. It is of one of the many protests in California about Planned Parenthood. The women shown in the photo look concerned, and are wanting to share their opinion. The thing that got my attention most is that a majority of their signs say “pray,” which to some people it could come across as if you are in favor of Planned Parenthood, you are not religious, nor do you value God. That is not the case, many men and women rely on PP for medical services, whether they are religious or not. This photo alone could trigger many emotions including fear, anxiety, and to some happiness. One could say that the photo is empowering and brave, or even gracious that people are standing up for their beliefs. On the other side of the fence, many would argue that it is wrong and misleading. Just because you believe in equality for all people, it does not make you less religious or a sinner. PP is a clinic that provides so much for so many people. No one should have a voice when it comes to choosing what you do with your body. For many people in this situation, it is a scary feeling not knowing if you will have somewhere to go for medical services.  

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/11/activists-rally-at-planned-parenthood-centers-in-c/

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/truth-about-sensa

Inspire

For this weeks assignment I came across the Inspire Women Act introduced by congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-Virginia.) The bill is meant to inspire more women to pursue careers in the STEM fields. It was first introduced on January 5, 2017, passed the House vote on January 10, then the senate on February 14, and was signed by President Trump on February 28, 2017. The bill is sponsored by Comstock, and Co- Sponsored by Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas.) This bill benefits women, and is set to inspire and encourage them to develop essential knowledge and skills in the STEM fields of work. Women who work in the STEM fields as of now only make up about 26%. With this, Barbara hopes more women will enter into these sorts of careers.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr321

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr4755/text

https://comstock.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/president-signs-bills-promote-women-science

https://comstock.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-comstock-s-bipartisan-inspire-women-act-passes-house

Fake news has shaped the public's views in many ways, especially during and after the past election. Not only are people influenced by what they think is accurate information, but fake news has also led some individuals to take measures into their own hands, and cause actual harm that could have been prevented had they checked their sources. Many have addressed the importance of checking your sources to avoid being misinformed. Social media for example can be very misleading.

My facebook feed is loaded with my friends sharing news reports by sources that sound so extremely random and fake. From time to time I will click on them and the stories are so outrageous, and what drives me even more crazy is how worked up some of my facebook friends get over what they think is true. Trump has made this whole situation a lot more difficult. Trump has made it a point to call every news source “fake news” if they report on something he does not approve of. He is like a child throwing a tantrum! Aside from political standpoints, I just want news to be true and accurate.

Here are a few things that I found interesting,  

http://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4IHwXjcBes 

Pew Pew...

Growing up I never really played video games, however my brothers did and they always played video games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. They were fascinated with pretending to shoot everything and everyone with their finger guns until my parents made it clear to them that guns were not a toy. I do think that video games glorify violence, but I do not think that all killers and violent people are the way they are because they played video games. Men also always seem to be the glorified character in video game violence, they are set out to look manly and powerful when they are shooting and promoting violence. Don't get me wrong I do think that people have the right to own a gun however after watching a few videos, and films I do see where guns and violence could seem "cool" and "fun" and could be an issue for some people. Gun violence is glamorized but no safety precautions or warnings are ever present in video games.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgFjP8polu4

Happy Violence

Happy violence is the medias way of showing aggression, violence, and careless acts in a cool senseless way that always ends with a happy outcome. For many people it is very entertaining and easy to give into it, often times people feed off of it and cant get enough.
I am a huge Eminem fan, and I know a lot of people get offended by the things he says and shows in his videos (particularly women.) I actually find his songs and videos humorous, I know how to take a joke. However his videos are an example of happy violence. "The real Slim Shady" is an old video and you hear him say something about a man beating a woman worse than before, but the scene is "funny" and then the next scene shows Eminem running around in a Superhero costume laughing.
An example from television is American Horror Story, I am a huge fan of the show. I will admit at times it is a little too graphic, but I can not stop watching. It is loaded with senseless killings and there is never any real consequences, and all of the seasons take place in modern times. Basically most of the characters kill at some point and then just move on to the next. The photo below is from a scene (I do not recall what season) but she has just admitted someone was killed like it was cool and no big deal because they "had it coming" then acted like nothing happened.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFqRyxpgOFI

Week 2 "The Office."

One of my all time favorite shows to watch is The Office. I do not think it shows on television anymore, but it is on Netflix. I found that the show is an NBC production which is one of the many companies under the ownership of Comcast which is connected to GE. NBC owns a number of television networks and theme parks like Universal Studios. What I found interesting was that a huge company like NBC is owned by an even bigger company like GE. I know in class we went over the companies who you could say "rule it all" when it comes to television and production. It is just crazy to think that there are so little networks controlling everything. I did not seem to find anything out of the ordinary with my TV show and its broadcasting company. The Office is a sarcastic, funny show and the NBC company is home to many other entertainment shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show that are similar.

Week 1 Blog Post

In "The Allegory of the Cave" Plato describes the difference between those who truly seek the truth, and those who think they have seen it all. Media is so powerful and there are plenty of examples that show representations as to how we people are so dependent on media, as well as heavily influenced. By that I mean, we tend to get so wrapped up in what we see and hear from everyone else, what about what we think? What do you think? The representation of the shadows demonstrates that if you believe anything and everything you see and hear, you are merely seeing a shadow of the truth. With media surrounding our day to day lives whether it is television, radio, or social media; it is hard not to get tied in. There are all of these misconceptions that because information is in the media, it is true. However everything is not what it is cut out to be. Now the philosophy is in order to find true meaning, we must look outside the box to uncover true knowledge. If you subject yourself to just a "cave" you will never really uncover what is beyond that. There is always truth, and new knowledge to discover.

(I am not a very good artist, but here is my attempt at drawing a cave.)