The Persuaders

          Before watching the documentary, The Persuaders, by Frontline, I noticed how advertisements have plagued our everyday lives. For example, before watching Youtube videos, you normally have to sit through a 15-second ad before you are allowed to watch the video itself. After watching the documentary, it opened up my perception to how many ads are actually produced nowadays. It feels like the advertisement world has become a competition to see which company can produce more ads. In the video, it states that the more one advertisement company advertises, the more another rival company tries to put out. The more these companies create, the more they need to make to get through to us- the public-, thus resulting in a lot of clutter. Because there are so many ads, we've become immune to them. I found it interesting how many companies have developed new techniques to overcompensate for our immunity. One way is that companies are creating ads to try to communicate with us on a deeper level; they are targeting our emotions rather than our minds. Companies also have used pseudospiritual marketing, where they are trying to connect ads to nature. For example, a commercial for Haagen-Dazs ice cream shows soothing clips of nature rather than someone enjoying the ice cream. They are also creating ads that the public wants to see, in terms of entertainment, with the products. It's no longer about the message of what they are trying to sell, but what makes us entertained. To me, it's crazy how there are so many advertisements I have seen that don't even relate to the product the company is trying to promote. Advertisement companies have focused on making ads appeal to the sense of identity with their products to make consumers feel as if they're special. 

          What surprised me the most was how many companies, such as Facebook, actually sell their customers' information to advertisement companies. The advertisement companies then, in turn, use the provided information to create ads targeted for certain customers. I think it is scary how much of our private information is revealed to random people we don't even know. This creates a large issue around how much privacy we actually have. I feel like we don't get to choose whether or not we want our information disclosed, and I think it sucks how companies put it in their long agreements; no one has the time to read through that. I think the measures of how far advertisement companies are willing to go to produce ads for our society, is definitely extreme. 

Chance the Rapper Attacks Heineken's Racist Ad ?

          In a recent March ad of 2018, Heineken launched an advertisement in the U.S.A, Australia, and New Zealand for their new Heineken Light beer, which has only 99 calories. This resulted in a large outbreak to occur amongst its viewers, including musician- Chance the Rapper. In the ad, an observant bartender uses a pair of binoculars to look at a distant female who is disappointingly staring at her glass of white wine. He then proceeds to open a Heineken Light beer bottle and slides it down the bar. On the way to the woman and her wine glass, the bottle passes two black women and a black man. Heineken's tagline "Sometimes, Lighter is Better" flashes on the screen as the woman with lighter skin picks up the bottle and examines it. The message that viewers took away from watching this ad was that Heineken promoted and favored lighter complexions over dark complexions. It was deemed a racist advertisement, and in response to the controversy, Heineken ended up dropping the commercial.

          In an article by BBC News, a spokesperson for Heineken U.S.A said, "Heineken has developed diverse marketing that shows there's more that unites us than divides us. We missed the mark, are taking the feedback to heart and will use this to influence future campaigns." A handful of people were angry with the company for creating such an advertisement that focused more on the color of people's complexions rather than the Light beer they were supposed to be promoting. Chance the Rapper decided to reach out on Twitter and express his criticism through a series of tweets.

He suggested that "some companies are purposely putting out noticeably racist ads so they can get more views".  A number of his fans also agreed on this ideology. Because Chance the Rapper had slammed the ad on social media, it caused a lot more people to be aware of how racist the ad really was. This thus resulted in Heineken apologizing for its mistake. The company tried creating an emotional appeal that Light beer is something, everyone- male or female- can enjoy, but instead displayed a controversial message about colored individuals.
          Heineken is not the only popular company to have created racist adverts. Another ad that I remember seeing was the Dove ad from October 2017. In the ad, it showed a black woman taking off her shirt and after, transforming into a white woman. Many people were upset at Dove for creating a message that depicted black women as being dirty and white women as being clean. Many thought that this was hypocritical of Dove because their message was "the beauty of diversity"; as part of the beauty industry, it was disappointing to see that Dove created an ad that basically shamed certain people's body images. It seemed as if the ad had nothing to do with the body soap they were trying to promote.
         The continuation of companies' racially insensitive adverts gives off a negative image and impression to viewers who actually utilize these products.

One Event, Two Perspectives

  These are the two articles I will be scrutinizing in this blog post. Both news outlets, Fox News and New York Times, have covered the Georgia Neo-Nazi rally that took place on Saturday. Each article uses different language, in order to make their stance seem valid and to persuade its audience.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/us/neo-nazi-rally-georgia.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/22/neo-nazi-rally-near-atlanta-remains-mostly-peaceful-officials-say.html

          From skimming both articles, they seem to be very similar. However, their titles are both different, which reveals that Fox News and NY Times evidently have different opinions on the Neo-Nazi rally. 

          In the first article, "Neo-Nazi Rally Draws About Two Dozen People and Upends a Small Georgia City", Jacey Fortin utilizes specific diction, in order to make the event appear in a negative light. The first thing that stood out to me was that in her title, she chose to use the word "upends". The dictionary definition of "upends" means "set or turn something on its end or upside down". From this, the readers can get a feel that Fortin believes that the Neo-Nazi rally left a negative impact on the small town of Georgia. Fortin also says, "Members of the National Socialist Movement, a white nationalist organization that has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center..." By her including that this group is known as a "hate group", she is using connotation so the readers can feel some sort of resentment towards this group. She goes on to say, "... Jeff Schoep... criticized illegal immigration, skinny jeans and the removal of Confederate monuments, adding that was 'standing on behalf of white nationalism, white patriotism and our history as American people.'" By including this statement, Fortin is targeting people of color to feel anger towards his speech because "American people" can include all sorts of diverse people, not only whites. What makes someone American is not the color of one's skin, but one's dedication and love for the country. 

          On the other hand, in the second article, "Neo-Nazi rally near Atlanta remains mostly peaceful, officials say", Amy Lieu uses diction and connotation to make the rally seem more positive. Even in her title, she decided to use the word "peaceful" to describe the event. She is trying to persuade the audience that Neo-Nazi rallies do not cause major disruptions. According to Atlanta's Fox 5, "Local officials were determined to avoid the level of violence seen at similar events held elsewhere." Lieu includes this statement to convince her audience that there was limited violence at this event; she is trying to convey the message that it is safe for one to express his or her ideas freely in America. Lieu goes on to say, "A row of officers wearing riot gear formed a human shield to prevent groups from clashing." The readers can interpret this as the author saying that rallies are mostly under control, and there should not be any fear because officers are preventing any violence from occurring. This evokes the emotion of safety in the minds of readers. 

          After reading both articles, I have noticed that there are many other cases in which different news outlets have covered the same topic but have twisted the message by using different diction and connotative words. This leaves the outcome of the Neo-Nazi rally in Georgia to be interpreted in varying perspectives. It gives the readers two different points of views on the same coverage.

This is a picture of the officers setting up before the rally and keeping the groups from clashing.

My Relationship with Media

          I find myself not completely hating media, nor do I love it. I am always somewhere in between. When I look at my current relationship with media, I realize it's going to be long-term, and no matter how hard I try to stay away, I cannot escape from it.
          I use media every day, whether it's scrolling through Instagram or watching a new show on Netflix. An aspect of media that is heavily present in my everyday life is music. Although it may not seem like it, I am constantly struggling with anxiety, and it has been quite debilitating to my mental health. A way that I cope with this is through listening to music on my phone or Mac; it helps me take my mind off things. Before school, during passing periods, and through the long nights of grinding on homework, music has always been there to drown out the silence. We are lucky to live in a generation where we have immediate access to songs on our handheld devices, instead of carrying a bulky radio around. Social media (Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.) has given me a platform that allows me to reach out to and communicate with my friends and family, who live in different parts of the world. For example, two of my best friends live in Oahu, Hawaii, and I am only able to see them every two to three years. However, through social media, it is easier to keep in touch with them and to see what they're up to. I think it is amazing to see how the transformation of media has allowed millions of people around the world to stay connected with their loved ones. On a larger scale, media gives us an opportunity to stay updated on the various events that are occurring throughout the world. By simply turning on our TVs, we can easily be informed with the latest news from England or Syria. In a way, media keeps the world interconnected.
          As any good thing, media also has its negative qualities. There is no doubt that social media has played a large and important role in my life. Just as I start my mornings, I find myself subconsciously sending "streaks" to my friends on Snapchat and liking pictures on my Instagram feed. Personally, whenever I go onto social media and see what others are doing with their lives, it makes me want to re-evaluate my own life. I think that social media also holds society's expectations and standards of beauty, happiness, etc. On my Instagram explore page, I constantly see pictures of the "idealistic" woman: tall, curvy yet slender, and tan. I start to believe that the way I portray myself is not "good enough", and I become more self-conscious about my appearance. Sometimes I feel as if social media becomes a place of competition, where people try to prove that they are better than others, rather than an outlet to express our individuality. Even though media promotes communication, it can also be used to spread fake, harmful news and lies. These lies that are told can ruin one's reputation and affect him or her negatively for the rest of his or her life. Words are powerful. The media utilizes certain tactics that twist their words around to make the stories appear one-sided. Therefore, we should not assume that the media is always right. It is good to keep an open mind and take note of how others perceive
the same news.
          It is inevitable to be unaffected by media. However, I do believe that we have a choice on how we want media to affect our lives. We can either see it for all of its positives or negatives; better yet, somewhere in between.