Exploitation of Food and Animals

Exploitation of Food and Animals via Food Production in the US

Companies ultimately exploit animals and food in the US. Their goal is to always grow it faster, bigger, and cheaper no matter the consequences. They shut up farmers by threatening business contracts and fees. Meat fillers and substitution causes fast food to be so cheap. But it makes natural vegetables and healthier foods more expensive compared to the unhealthy foods. The good costs more than bad, which causes people to be unhealthy. The production of food caused the food society to be skewed. People are trying to engineer new food from corn and other materials. I think it is wrong the way the animals are treated and used for mass production. The companies do not care about anything but their profit and production. Animals are harshly treated. They feed chickens so they are fat for people to eat. The chickens become so obese and unhealthy though that their weight overcomes their ability to stand. The chickens' feet breaks and can't walk. Then people herd the chickens; they grab them from the pen and throw them into a truck. I don' t think I will be able to eat chicken or meat for a while.

Tough Guise

Megan Lee

9:00 Class

Tough Guise

I think that the film, Tough Guise, made some valid points. I never realized that there was a specific connection between men, violence, and the media. Most people are influenced by mass media. Something interesting that the film said was that to understand culture, look at the mass media. In society, the constant message of men being violent has been conveyed over and over again. So much that the association of violence and men has become normal. The way men are displayed in sports, television shows, commercials, and movies give an ideal image of men. In order to be a man, he has to be athletic, strong, independent, rugged, and powerful. He has to be dominant and feel in control.

According to the movie, in an effort to look masculine, men put on a front or a disguise. Men never want to look weak physically and emotionally or immasculated. The fear of being different and not being a man causes men to pose and use a disguise. The disguises and ideas used are gathered from the media. In movies, men are displayed with lots of muscles and a sense of authority. Regular men try to be the illustrated man from media. For smaller and scrawnier men in media, they use guns to even the playing field. The struggle for power is a main theme for men in mass media.

The need to become stronger, bigger, and more aggressive has developed over the years. The sizes of guns in movies have grown throughout movies. It used to be a small handgun that was intimidating. It developed into a medium sized gun in the James Bond movies, then rifles in western movies. Then in Rambo, a huge machine gun is used. A gun used to be a symbol of power and control. Now the body is also considered a means of power and intimidation. The bigger and more muscular, the better the man is.

Through media and society, men have associated masculinity with violence. Men are more likely to be violent than women. One in four men will commit some kind of abuse. Eighty five percent of murderers are men. Statistically speaking, men are just more violent. The desire to be the definition of masculinity, men follows the ideal man portrayed in media. People are not surprised when men commit violent crimes, but are astounded when women commit the same crime.

Sports instill good qualities like teamwork, discipline, and sportsmanship. But sports in general have become more aggressive and strong. The fights in hockey have become more violent. Fights even incur in baseball and soccer. The tackles in football have become more vicious, where people would gain a concussion or even become paralyzed.

The mass media defines what the present culture is and how people think. The media currently shows men with big, strong bodies, a tough guy attitude, an aura of dominance, and a feeling of independence and power. Throughout history, movies, shows, and sports have become more aggressive and power. Often times, violence is now correlated with masculinity. Men put on a disguise to look masculine defined by society.

Spoof Ads

McBaby

The advertisement is promoting that McDonalds will cause people to be unhealthy and on the chubby side. The baby is wearing a McDonalds bib and a French fry hat. Eating McDonalds starts as young as a baby, which also means that unhealthy habits could also start at an early age. Today in society, people are becoming too lazy to cook meals for their babies and instead eat at fast food restaurants. It is playing towards the laziness in society.

Absolute End

This advertisement shows how alcohol can lead to bad decisions. The advertisement shows a case in which alcohol ended with death. There is an alcohol outline with investigators surrounding it. In tiny print, it says, “Nearly 60% of automobile fatalities are linked to alcohol. 17% of North Americans are alcoholics.” The overall impression is that alcohol is bad.

Joe Chemo Bed

This ad explains how smoking is a bad thing. It can lead to things like Joe Chemo and how he gets cancer. He use to think he was cool because he smoked, but now he is stuck in a bed from cancer probably caused by smoking. He did not age well because the smoking caught up to him and now he looks like an old fart, and he is bald and wrinkly with an IV in his arm.

Nike

This ad explains a lot. Really. It is an ad against Nike because it wants to make us think how sneakers are really made, as in they are made in a sweatshop, in a poor country. Nike takes advantage of the people working in the sweatshops. People work hard to get the shoes while people who make the shoes work even harder while trying to stay alive. They want us to think about all of this globally and how Nike is bad.

How Does Media and Propaganda Manipulate Culture?

9:00

Propaganda and Culture

The mass media and propaganda manipulate culture by influencing people through psychological, emotional, and physical means. Propaganda is when information is used to promote people to think one way or another. Media and advertisement could be considered to be propaganda in the way that it is used. The government also uses propaganda too. They can encourage certain things through the media.

Throughout history, different forms of control were used. There was brainwashing in China. Propaganda was evident in the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union both used propaganda to persuade the citizens of each country that the other country is the enemy. They used the fear of nuclear weapons to scare people into thinking the way the government wanted; believing the other country was evil. In the present, mass media is the source of propaganda.

Companies and corporations research and investigate the human mind and what makes people tick. They exploit people’s insecurities so they can sell products. The way advertisements are used to sell things create a sense of what a perfect person in culture is. The products they would buy and use would define the ideal person. People would follow the described characterization by buying the brands. Commercials and advertisements some how sway people and influence their decisions.

Everybody sees many advertisements every day. Because so many people see the ads, people feel they have to listen to them. The way people are portrayed in commercials gives people an idea on what they should be. The ways ads describe the perfect person in an ideal life make people feel self conscious about themselves. Ad companies then take advantage of these insecurities. On the shampoo commercials, shampoo makes girls pretty and have a happy life. Without that brand girls can’t get glamorous hair. If they don’t have nice hair, they won’t have friends and then wouldn’t be happy.

News reporters physically tell and show people what is going on in the world. We can’t be sure that what they tell us is true though. What they report is considered news to people no matter what it is. The statuses and actions of celebrities are centered in news a lot of times and people consider this news. What one famous person does should not be more important than domestic or world news. Posters and billboards are also a part of the mass media and propaganda. During the Cold War, posters were displayed in support for the war and against the Soviet Union. Seeing and hearing the same thing over and over again would cause the idea to stick.

Propaganda and media convince people to do things mentally and maybe sublimely. Advertisements convince people to buy products. They play with people’s feelings and prey on their lack of confidence in themselves. Branding causes people to buy sometimes expensive and unnecessary products. There are different reasons for propaganda. In the Cold War, people were controlled by propaganda in the form of fear. Currently through media and technology, advertisements have been used as propaganda.

How Does Mass Media Shape Reality?

9:00 Class

Mass Media's Influence

The mass media is powerful and influential. It can pressure how we think, sway our actions, and how we perceive ourselves. The media shapes our perception on what being perfect is and defines the meaning for us. If you don’t conform to what the advertisements say, then you will not fit into society.

Companies and corporations have specific groups and scientists to figure out what makes people work and how they can manipulate them to buy or use something. Mass media and advertisements are some ways to, exactly that, control human behavior. The mass media is a functional myth. They study psychologically and mentally the human mind with the end goal to find ways to influence consumers to consume. Companies research and study to understand people’s desires, standards, and insecurities. Then they try to explore them, exploit them, and then get people to buy their products.

Commercials are directed to target consumers to alter their ideas. They give the idea that people are far from perfect. They tell consumers that if they purchase the product, then they will be complete or better off then without the product. Eating a specific brand of food will allow people to make friends and make them fit and healthy. Drinking a certain brand of flavored water will give you athletic abilities and driving a special car will transform you into Derek Jeter.

Commercials and advertisements create a sense of what a perfect person is. The ideal woman is shown as being skinny, tall, and pretty. Using a certain shampoo would give girls perfect hair and make them pretty. The ideal man is pictured as tall, athletic, having muscles, and handsome. Using a certain brand of deodorant will give guys special powers, attract dozens of pretty girls, and become the picture of the ideal man.

Media through the news outlet is especially powerful. The news they do tell us, we have to believe. We do not know if it is true or not. The government could be controlling what is being told or not. The news reports that are reported are chosen because they are interesting. Reporters would provide information that is only interesting and not necessarily relevant. More time would be spent on a small story. They might embellish a small story instead of reporting a big story due to the fact that the small one is more attention grabbing than another. For example, stories about celebrities are on a lot instead of world hunger. Because of this, we think that the celebrities’ life stories are important news instead of foreign and domestic problems. Each news station is also bias toward their own belief. For example, fox news is favored toward the republican standpoint.

Advertisements manipulate the human mind into thinking what the ideal person is. Corporations exploit people’s insecurities and provide products to fix the insecurities. Consumers buy the products though to make themselves feel complete and idealized. The mass media plays an important factor in our decision to buy a specific brand or eat a certain food.

Advertisement

9:00 Class

Relationship with Advertisement

Advertisements are in everything and are everywhere. They are unavoidable. People see them on the Internet, the television, music videos, magazines, and the radio. We see hundreds of advertisements every day. They try to make consumers want what they are selling by appealing to the target consumers’ style, senses, and ego. Seeing famous celebrities wearing that brand or eating that food could influence people to want the same brand or food. On commercials a lot, people take a kind of medication and seem happier and have more friends because of it.

Companies and corporations put a lot of thought into advertisement to entice the customers. They use visually stimulating images and logically appealing ideas. They use statistics and data to persuade customers one way or another. In commercials, they try to name everything that is good about the product. Then at the end, in small print, companies put everything that is bad about it. They also talk really fast to keep the emphasis on the positives. Advertisements also try to appeal to the five senses.

I know I see advertisements every day, but I don’t realize the amount that I actually do see. Walking out of the building, there are multiple fliers and posters for various things on the wall. When surfing the Internet, advertisements pop up. Some commercials are repetitive to the point where people remember the ad. The commercials could also be entertaining like the Old Spice commercial, where everybody knows about it.

My relationship with advertisements is an ok one. Most advertisements do effect me whether I know it or not. Sometimes the catchy tunes get stuck in my head, like the Meow Mix jingle. If I had a cat I would by Meow Mix over other brands because I remember it. When I watch a Subway’s commercial, I usually crave an Italian sub. Subways advertises their healthy options and their variety of choices. The five dollar menu sounds reasonable and appealing. The car commercials are visually and auditory stimulating. I would always want to own and drive the car, but I know I can’t. The producers make the cars seem like it has many functions and is in its own league.

I consciously think that advertisements do not effect me as much as other people. It depends on what the product is. When I watch television, I do not like watching the commercials. Usually I flip to another channel to avoid the commercials. The commercials that I do watch are usually interesting. I like to watch ones that are colorful and have a good song I know. If the advertisement is compelling, I might consider getting it. Advertisements do not influence me one way or another. If I see an ad for a product, I would not instantly go out and buy it. The product would be in the back of my mind though. The next time I see it, I would remember that I saw it before. Advertisements do help me make decisions though. I pick the products that I remember hearing or seeing before.

Free Write 10/7/10

I am one in a about a hundred in the bag. We all sit comfortably in the cool dark bag, until someone decides to open the bag and disturb us. Multiple grubby and oily hands reach in and touch everything and everybody. I am a pretty clean chip. I don't want someone's fingers touching me especially when I don't know where they have been. I know I am salty, crisp, and delicious, but why can't the person only stop with one? Am I that irresistible like it says on the package.

Rutgers Student

I think what happened at Rutgers was sad. The kid committed suicide because he felt afraid of coming out. He felt uncomfortable in his situation. I think what his roommate did was horrible. The roommate used the Internet to try and play a joke on him, which went too far. Clementi was so embarrass to a point that he committed suicide. The roommate violated Clementi's privacy and what he did was morally wrong. The media hurt Clementi, but also publicized him into a celebrity.