Kids + Branding

One of my favorite topics we covered this semester was branding and how we teach children to recognize brands and how they create their own style through their life from these brands. Corporate America are no fools when they target virtually anything towards kids because most parents will spend whatever amount of money to keep their children happy. So basically the money is in the child’s hands and at their disposal. As a child, I can remember dozens of times my mother would take me and my siblings or our friends to McDonalds to eat a cheap meal and play in the big area. I also remember McDonalds having the beanie baby toys in their happy meals and I would collect them, so I was one of these corporate America children begging my parents to take me to McDonalds so I could them all. To this day, as unhealthy and disgusting McDonalds food is, I go there the most frequently probably because I created a loyalty long ago with McDonalds therefore I choose their cheap, nasty product above their competitors. I remember watching the video of kids and brands in class and being shocked at how little they were yet they knew so many of these brands. The more I thought about it the less shocked I felt because these kids are active spenders in the market. From birth they are exposed to these brands and their symbols so by the time they can start talking it is not shocking that kids are able to figure out which symbol means what.

Gender Roles in Jersey Shore and Guys with Kids

Females In Sports

The video today, Not Just a Game, opened my eyes to various situations in Sports where females are clearly treated unequally. The obvious examples like the ones in class such as the woman who secretly entered the Boston marathon and the female tennis player who made it a point in to prove how tough women could be in sports wither her amazing career. I also think that in so many ways we have come so far but we are still stuck in the past in so many ways. In today’s culture, women are widely welcomed into all walks of sports but in many cases under a different standard. Today if girls play basketball, hockey, softball, and various other sports in many situations they are considered to be “dykes” or lesbians just because of the masculinity of the sport. Who started this crazy ideology? Why are some of the sports only considered to be men sports or if you are a female you obviously are not feminine and chances are you like other women? It is mentalities like this that keep our world from progressing forward. However the sports that are openly accepted society are sports that emphasize the female body for a straight man to be “entertained.” The sports that reasonably cover a female and are more contact/strenuous sports, for the most part society is not interested in and is typically made a mockery of. I hope if I ever have a daughter she is encouraged by society to choose to play whatever sport she pleases and it celebrated for her talents.

Shepard Murder Analysis

While reading the Matthew Shepard Murder article, I was not only repulsed by the heartbreaking hate-crime that took place but by the reaction of many people who learned of the murder. The brutality of the murder was devastating, no one can argue with that. The fact that this young man, Matthew Shepard, was lured out of a bar, only to his demise because of his sexual preference is an outrage. It was just another case that proves how close-minded and hateful people can be. Then to make matters worse, students were teaming up and have Anti-Gay movements and basically supporting the acts of Henderson and McKinney (the individuals who killed Shepard).

Media played no help to this situation. The media focused on the fact that this beautiful young GAY man was brutally murdered for being gay by two high school dropout crime seeking straight men. The media also concentrated on how Shepard was a man that would “look after your grandmother,” someone that could be trusted and one of the “acceptable” gays.  In addition, the media highlighted the heinousness of the crime and how evil Henderson and McKinney were. As soon as both men were sent to prison, the media then concentrated how justice was served and that everything was back to normal. This creates a need for no change.  A change is needed. Unfortunately hate-crimes still happen around the world every day and homosexuals still have to deal with the close-mindedness of the world around them. I have several homosexual friends as well as a family member and I support them and with that they never have to be victims to any type of discrimination. Unfortunately, that will never be the case until the world confronts this issue.

Princess Culture

When I first read the articles discussing Princess Culture/ Superhero Culture I found the whole thing kind of funny. The unread messages of Disney Princesses and how our culture thrusts these attitudes upon us was humorous because I could not understand how things that appear so innocent could have such negative effects on little girls. However, the more articles I read and even more so when we discussed these topics in class were my eyes opened to how ridiculous our culture has become and how obsessed our culture is with children. When I was a little girl I was always considered the princess, seeing as I have two older brothers, so maybe I was not wanting to believe how self centered the term "princess" really is. I now realize how many different things were targeted to me as a child and that I was that ultimate consumer. The first example that I think of are the stores I used to beg my parents to take me to, such as Libby Lou, Limited Too, and Claire's. Stores like these, particularly Libby Lou, were created to make you a princess. You would design your crown, make a bottle of glitter to take home, and put on makeup to top of the look. As a child, I also always wanted to wear the Disney princess costumes and put on makeup. I think these movies and stores and other aspects of princess culture not only make little girls think they are entitled to whatever they want because they run the show but also force them to grow up too fast. I am not saying no little girl should be allowed to play dress-up, but now every little girl is watching shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Toddlers and Tiaras, and they think that is what they should dress up like and become. 

Video- Food Inc.

The video we watched in class today over Food Inc. was an eye opener for me personally. I always knew that unfavorable things happened to my food but I always wanted to keep those disturbing truths in the dark. I enjoyed going to fast food places and shopping at Wal-Mart for the best deals on food, but now I am definitely giving it a second thought. Knowing all the pesticides and harmful chemicals we obviously subject our bodies to just to save a few bucks is ridiculous in my opinion. I am 100% guilty of this myself but that doesn't make it right.
I also never realized how vicious farming can be between the corporations and private farmers. The entire industry is very cut throat—particularly in the examples used in the video for soybean farmers. The way that a corporation can come in and ostracize a farmer and his family based on accusations of saving seeds is outrageous.
Another thing I found disheartening was the family at the beginning of the video who are forced to eat unhealthy foods due to income. This is a classic example of the cheap/fast food cycle, but you could not help but feel for them. Between the father needing medication and only being able to afford roughly a dollar per kid each meal, it would be hard not to fall into the cycle. This part in the film made me realize how grateful I should be that I am able to afford healthier meals and I should do what is best for my body and turn towards more organic foods.