Tiffany Gamboa
Professor Caçoilo
Media 384
2/11/17
Who Do You Think You Are?
My name is Tiffany Gamboa and I am an Emerging Media major with a with an emphasis on Web Design. This has caused me to consistently consume media, all throughout my classes. Media is ubiquitous to me. It is constantly around us in the form of video, advertisements, pictures, newspapers, etc. I admit that I am a heavy media consumer even when I am outside of Hunter. I recently learned that average American consumes an average of about 15.5 hours of media per day. This includes both traditional and digital media and I completely agree. You can read more about how much media we soak in, by clicking the link below, or clicking this.
I feel that the only time we are not consuming media is when we are asleep, but even then the pictures, words, and videos we see can linger into our subconscious. As media students, we are constantly required to create projects that comment or give light to a subject or topic. For example, last semester I was required to choose one of the presidential candidates and create a GIF demonstrating how you view them. That assignment allowed me to demonstrate my views on Trump and criticize him based on the character he has displayed himself as in the news and media.
 |
| Tess Holiday |
As a woman, I feel that the media has a lot to say on the female figure and the mannerism of females. For example, a lot of magazines use Photoshop to filter and make the female figure appear thinner and more petite. Also, magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, talk about ways to lose weight rapidly, or methods achieve the ideal female proportion. which often causes me to roll my eyes and think 'What does that even mean?'
It wasn't until a few years back when a woman named Tess Holiday decided to promote the #effyourbeautystandards movement which helps to encourages body positivity. This is a movement that I can agree with. I feel that if you look hard enough on the internet or on social media, you can find evidence from the media to support or contrast your views and beliefs.
Sadly, I do not think that I am actively involved in shared media events. I heard that the Women's March happened a while back, which I unfortunately did not know about until after it happened. I am open minded and take more of a Pro-Liberal stance on things, but I am not really involved in these issues unless it involves signing and sharing online petitions. That is where I am more comfortable being heard.
Media has had a pretty significant effect on my life and identity. The media helps to shape our attitudes and perceptions of people and things. In addition, the media can warp somebody's perceptions of social reality. Throughout life, we are constantly thinking about the person we want to be which can cause us to seek out figures in the media that have those attributes and characteristics. For example, I admire flamboyant and gaudy people, therefore I look up to RuPaul and other drag queens from the show RuPaul's Drag Race. However, we must remember that what see on the television and on the news, should not cause us to create stereotypes in our minds. The drag queens that I see on the show are not how all drag queens dress and act. This is something that I try to keep in mind whenever I am watching the news or reading an article. I try to remember that what I am seeing and hearing may not be the final verdict of that topic. It could have been manipulated by anyone in order for us to agree with that point of view. Media is often biased.
Yet, I must admit that I am a child growing up in a world of media and technology. I constantly use apps to enhance my life and organize my thoughts. I cannot live without my phone or some sort of electronic device for too long or I begin to feel incomplete. I constantly need some form of media to occupy my life which can be very problematic in the long run, which is an argument a lot of people have nowadays. How much is too much? How insensitive have we become to the media around us? Are we being our genuine selves or have we been brainwashed by the media and news? These are all interesting things to think about.
No comments:
Post a Comment