Concept #5: Tough Guise

1. The image I selected above is the narrator from Fight Club, with Tyler Durden in the reflection. Masculinity is portrayed in the movie Fight Club because it is all about a club that was created by Tyler and the narrator where men come together to blow off steam and fight. They fight without weapons, just man vs. man.
2. The narrator lives a normal and boring life. The only thing the narrator is interested in doing is attending group therapy sessions for issues that he does not have. He believes this is the only time he can actually release his emotions and be sane. Other than this, he does not do anything exciting until he meets Tyler Durden, one of the most interesting people he has ever met. Later the audience finds out that Tyler has just been a character created in the narrator's mind of everything the narrator himself wants to be, and believes he is not. As the Fight Club progresses, it becomes more and more violent until 'Tyler' has created a team of killers trying to force people to fight and live their lives to the fullest. The narrator thinks what Tyler is doing is very wrong and tries to stop him, until the end when he realizes that all along Tyler has only been in his head, and all of Tyler's actions have actually been his own.
3. Yes, I think the media I selected is consistent with what is portrayed in "Tough Guise", but Fight Club is more exaggerated and I think it stands more as a metaphor of what masculinity in today's society is. The narrator believes the only time he can be emotional is at group therapy sessions that he does not need to be at. In my opinion, I think he might be so pressured to be masculine and be this figure that he is not, that he begins to imagine himself as Tyler in desperation to be a masculine figure and have people fear and look up to him. Obviously in real life, the events would not be this drastic in the end and result in a massive killing team, but I think the narrator has a quality that most men can relate to; the pressure to be tough, emotionless and to be feared.

Concept #4: Product Placement



1. Product Placement Scene from Wayne's World.

2. Products such as Pepsi, Doritos, Pizza Hut, and Reebok are displayed in this movie clip. These products are displayed because Wayne and Garth are explaining to their manager how they will not bow down to any sponsors, meanwhile they already are. Wayne is constantly snacking on these foods and Garth is decked out head to toe in Reebok. Wayne and Garth are making fun of product placement, yet they are doing it at the same time. The target audience for Wayne's World is probably for young adults between 16 to 25 years old. In my opinion, I think product placement works in this movie clip because the target audience would find it funny that Wayne and Garth are making fun of product placement, yet the audience would still want to possibly buy these brands because Wayne and Garth; the funny "don't care about anything" type of young adults, still use the products regardless of if they make fun of them or not.
3. In my opinion I think product placement can be an effective form of advertising, depending on who the audience is. For example, if Justin Bieber was starring in a family channel episode and used product placement, most likely a young girl who already enjoys watching that show and is a Justin Bieber fan would want to use the same product that he was using in the show. On the contrary, if Justin Bieber was starring in an SNL skit and used product placement, the older audience that SNL is targeted at most likely wouldn't be inspired to buy that product because the majority are watching the show for the comedians and the skits, not for the advertisements. I also think older audiences wouldn't be tricked into product placement as easily as younger audiences would be. 



Concept #3- "10 Minutes" Short Film

Having just watched the short film "10 Minutes", the meaning I personally negotiated into the media was how different peoples lives are and how much of a difference 10 minutes can make depending on the life you live. The first man was concerned that his pictures would not be developed in 10 minutes, and that he would be late to meet his family. He was on vacation and just wanted to relax. The store owner assured him that his photos would be ready on time. Meanwhile, the man kicked back and had a cigarette while he waited. The audience was then transferred to a different story line featuring a young boy named Memo who lived in some sort of country that was in war. Memo lived in a terrible apartment building with the rest of his family. His mother sent him to get water, and in this short time period Memo talked to soldiers, got cigarettes and escaped a bombing that was going on in a near by field. With Memo being so young, it was very sad to see him having to go through such extreme conditions just to get water; a necessity that is so easily accessed to people like you and me. By the end of Memo's story, I felt emotionally attached to him and his family and immediately grieved for them. The audience is then transferred back to the man receiving his family photos just on time. Both of these stories were only ten minutes, but were completely different. The lesson I took away from this film was to treasure each moment and not get annoyed as easily by the simple things in life, like the man who was waiting for his photos. Based on the life I live in Canada, a country that is free and is not the site of a war, I think no matter what I am going through, many people will have it worse than I do and it is important to not get caught up in things that do not matter. Next time I am simply turning on the tap to get a glass of water, I will think of Memo and his struggles just to do this exact same thing, and consider how lucky I am to live in a country where I don't have to worry about survival, wars, and violence as part of my everyday life. 

BLOG POST #2. PART TWO

This photo shows the actress Mila Kunis without make up on. It was featured in In Touch magazine, along with many other celebrities without make up including Rihanna, Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie and others. The paparazzi that captured the photo on the left clearly caught the young actress at a bad time, while she was in no way ready for a photograph, while the photo on the right is posed and taken at some sort of event when the actress was expecting the photo to be taken. Many other factors such as clothing, lighting and styled hair also affect the look of each photograph. In my opinion, I think it is very unfair that when celebrities are trying to live their lives normally, they can't even do so without an unfair photograph being taken. Kunis is a very beautiful, young actress who would look this way no matter if she were wearing make up or not. The magazine chose the worst possible photograph to use, and used it for the specific purpose of shutting down the actress. It is pathetic that magazines need to do this, and even worse when consumers buy these products and support articles such as these.  

Holy Toast is a bread stamp that is supposed to portray the image of
the mother Mary when you press it into your bread, and then place it
in the toaster. The photo to the left shows how the bread should look while
the photo above shows the actual results of the bread. Many buyers would
think this is a great, funny product to purchase, when really the advertising
photo has been manipulated in some way to look better than it actually does
in real life. When products are changed to look better in advertisements
I think it is very unfair to the consumer because it tricks them into buying
the product they think will work, resulting in wasted money and time out of
their lives.

BLOG POST #2.

Blog Post #1- Media Literacy

Jane Tallim, an Education Specialist of Eastern Ontario, describes media literacy as the ability to sift through and analyse the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day. To become media literate you must first become aware of the importance of managing one's media. For example, how much television you watch everyday or how much you expose yourself to newspapers or magazines. Secondly, you must learn the specific skills of critical viewing. This means you must learn to understand and analyse questions the media is asking. Finally, after this, you must explore these questions and go deeper into the issues. This means figuring out what profits and purposes are behind these questions. In my opinion being media literate is extremely important. Media surrounds each and every one of us every day, and it is important to understand how it works and how it influences our lives and the decisions we make. Being media literate can help us in our everyday lives in many ways. For example, if you were to obtain a new job where media was going to be incorporated into your tasks, it would be important to understand how the media works. A task like this could simply be trying to grasp a specific audience's attention, like teens for example, and trying to make them interested in whatever field your job is in. Media literacy is fast evolving, and if we understand and are media literate, hundreds of new opportunities will be available to us today.