Week 8 - Mass Media

Article: What Your Car Says About You.

In this article on Forbes.com, it mentioned that our car tells others more about us than we think. For example in USA, Honda owners are usually technology savvy and practical, whereas 13% of Chevy owners do not use the internet. Apart from these more common automobiles, the article also mentioned the character and type of people who owns a Mini, Bentley and Rolls-Royce.

Though, the same statistics may not be true in Singapore, the reason and choice of vehicle is similar. It is no secret that Japanese car are the top choice in Singapore - just look at the amount of Toyota, Nissan and Honda on our streets - but luxury European cars like Mercedes, BMW and Audi not only act as just a vehicle, but also showcase the wealth and lifestyle of the owner. This is needless to say for the more exclusive English brands such as the Bentley and Rolls-Royce.

Why then do we have the impression that European car owners are always affluent? Or that the owner of a certain brand of car would possess certain characteristics?

The media hegemony theory suggests that the media is responsible for such misconception.

All car companies would try to identify themselves with a target audience group, be it the masses or the more affluent crowd, by using various marketing strategy such as advertising in media publication. In turn, the media would help these car companies promote their brands or products by portraying their client's product and brand in a very positive light, as it benefits both parties in many ways. This shows that the media usually represent the views of powerful elites, or in this case, rich companies.

On a side note, I would like to thank all those who have given me their insightful comments for

my weekly entry in this blog. =)

Week 7 - Culture

Article: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1011782/1/.html

I'm sure many of you have seen these advertising campaigns that Yasmin

Ahmad has created for our Ministry of Community Development,

Youth and Sports's (MCYS) public campaign.

Such advertising campaigns are created from an institutional source,

which in this case is the MCYS; They are also non-exclusive and

temporal in nature as well, given their cleverly scheduled prime time

screenings on television and in the movie theatres.

Through a unique point of view, they propagate the importance of family

in our society with the use of mass media.

They also function as a form of cultural transmission,

to educate the public about the joy of family and highlight

its importance in our lives.

Whereas in the news article, it mentioned that the newly re-branded

Social Development Network (SDN) now offers dating service together

with accredited private dating agencies at a very affordable rate,

in order to encourage more singles to join the network.

Acting only as the facilitator, the SDN aims to help singles find their

prospective partners.

The SDN even has a website (http://www.marriagecentral.sg/)

to provide marriage related services to help couples strengthen their

marriage.

Though its repeated news coverage and multiple advertising campaigns,

the MCYS hopes to bring forth the importance of family to the

public. (Agenda setting)

Yes, the message that the MCYS wants to convey is loud and clear.

To put it more bluntly - If you're single, get married and start a family.

If you're already married, stay that way and be thankful for what you have.

However, as this is an obtrusive issue to most of us, its effects on the

public may be limited.

I have definitely heard many people around me singing praises of these

touching and well-scripted advertising campaigns when they

were launched, but sadly, these campaigns did not successfully make

any them want to settle down or find a partner after watching them.

As for the dating services which the SDN offers, 65% of the

Channel News Asia's online poll participants are not interested to join the network.

(Information correct on 17/10/09, 1700hrs)

I guess it takes more than just affordable dating services and propaganda

to get single adults to actively search for their partners in life.

Cash incentives always work better in our society. Think baby bonus.

Well, on a brighter note, I believe many young couples still have plans to

settle down and start their own families some day,

even though such plans may be postponed till they are both

financially stable.

This is certainly true for my family, as many of my cousins have

gotten married within the past year.

And in view of that, I believe that the effort made by the MCYS

has some subconscious impact on us after all.

Week 6 - Individual vs Group Needs

Article: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/beautynfashion/view/1003568/1/.html

I believe many of you are familiar with this magazine and it requires no introduction, given that it is one of the best-selling magazines in recent decades.

What about this woman then?

Yes, she's Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue(as seen above), and her name is often synonymous with ice queen or perfectionist.

Indeed, she has been the epitome of Vogue, ever since she joined the magazine in 1988.

Although there has been many criticism of her over the years, such as her demanding work attitude and ice-queen demeanor, the stunning results of her work as the editor-in-chief of American Vogue always put these criticism to rest. She is also often described as one of the most powerful and influential person in the fashion industry around the world.

Why is she able to reign over of this fashion bible for twenty-one years then? That's the amount of time I've been in this world. This is where individual and group needs come into play.

First, on individual need, which in this case, refers to Wintour's personal career goals. Joining American Vogue in 1988 is a big step for her career as a magazine editor, after working as a fashion editor for various magazines in both U.S.A and U.K. There is no doubt that Anna Wintour takes her job as the editor-in-chief seriously and in turn, it definitely satisfied her career goals by providing her with fame as well as power. Evaluation certainly took place where she continuously measures the benefits gained from being the editor-in-chief of this influential fashion magazine, in which she revived from an otherwise stagnant publication in 1988.

It is also no secret that she dictates what is hot and what is not, in the ever-changing fashion industry.

On the other hand, the publisher of the magazine(American Vogue), which is the group here, needs Wintour and her team in order to maintain their advertisement sales and magazine circulation. In this case, both the individual and group shares many similar goals, resulting in a harmonized effort to success.

However, collective rationalism usually takes place in the group, whereby sometimes they favor monetary benefits over more intangible factors such as image. It is in these situations that Wintour would act as the devil's advocate to ensure that the magazine's best interest is served. Though advertisers are very important to American Vogue - 727 out of 840 pages are advertisements in the September 2007 Issue - Wintour has declined the advertising offer of several firms on various occasions, as their products and services are not in sync with the magazine's image. This is probably one of the reasons why she is able to hold her position for over two decades and has no plans to step down anytime soon.

Lastly, for those who are interested to find out more about American Vogue or a more personal side of it's editor-in-chief, "The September Issue" would certainly be a great way to start.

Hope you enjoy it.

Week 5 - 500 Days of Summer

Official Website: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/500daysofsummer/

Synopsis: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel star in director Mark Weber's wry, non-linear romantic comedy about a man who falls head over heels for a woman who doesn't believe in love. Tom (Gordon Levitt) is an aspiring architect who currently earns his living as a greeting card writer. Upon encountering his boss' beautiful new secretary Summer (Deschanel), Tom discovers that the pair have plenty in common despite the fact that she's seemingly out of his league; for starters, they both love The Smiths, and they're both fans of surrealist artist Magritte. Soon, Tom is smitten and all he can think about is Summer. Tom believes deeply in the concept of soul mates, and he believes that he has finally found his. Unfortunately for Tom, Summer sees true love as fairy tales, and isn't looking for romance. Undaunted and undeterred by his breezy lover's casual stance on relationships, Tom summons all of his might and courage to pursue Summer and convince her that their love is real.

As seen in the film, Tom and Summer had their first conversation due to their similar taste in music for The Smiths(similarity). Apart from Summer's beauty, having the same liking for The Smiths was one of the reason that left Tom to believe that Summer was 'The One' for him. As Tom and Summer worked in the same card company(proximity), it was definitely much easier for them to get to know each other, much to Tom's delight.

Though this is still a boy-meets-girl type of Hollywood film, the catch here is that the man in the show is the one who believes in love at first sight, whereas the woman does not share this belief. It was due to such different perspective of love and relationship(conflict) that caused Tom his heartache and also led to the end of their relationship in the end. In one of the scene, a random man tried to hit on Summer at a bar, and Tom eventually ended up in a fight with the man. Tom felt that Summer should not be chatting with random guys at a bar since they're in a relationship, but Summer felt that Tom was being possessive. Such conflict was caused mostly due to their different needs from their relationship (relational needs). Tom wanted to be with Summer all the time, but Summer preferred to have her own personal space and freedom.

Personally, I feel that this is a very interesting take on the difference in perspective of a relationship between a man and woman, especially with their role-reversal. Relationships between people, be it love or friendship, are often complicated and require much effort in order to maintain it. However, if we handle them carefully, these relationships often give us great satisfaction and provide us with some much needed support, as they form an essential part of our lives.

Week 4 - Non Verbal Communications

Perhaps many of you may already know that a large part of our interaction with others takes place through non-verbal communication. And this is true for people of all ages, whether you are a toddler still learning to express yourself, or an insecure teenager desperately trying to seek attention, or even a mature adult who is articulate and well-mannered; We are all constantly expressing our feelings and opinions via different non-verbal signals, like a nonchalant shrug or a look of surprise. More often than not, these non-verbal cues reflect our emotions more accurately than carefully constructed words. Such non-verbal cues can be used to enhance our verbal speech or may let slip our disdain for someone veiled by polite words.

Many print advertisements convey their messages to their target audience through non-verbal cues of the spokesperson or model. Like in the above print advertisement, although there isn't any verbalized exchange of words, it is able to give light on the situation based on the usage of various types of non-verbal communication. From the body language(kinetics) of the woman on the bed, to the furious look on the man's face(oculesics), and also most importantly, the exposure of the man's feet from behind the curtains(physical appearance), it's probably safe to say that we can all give a fairly accurate guess on what is happening in the picture.

Below is another print advertisement of a fabric softener that emphasizes on the effectiveness of its product with a great sense of humour. For the uninitiated, the puppets are made of fabric. The displeasure on the female puppet is depicted clearly from her upset glare(oculesics) and crossing of her arms(body language), a usual indication of anger when coupled with an infuriated look. Similarly, the frustration of the male puppet is also shown by his facial expression and body language. The tension between the two puppets is exhibited in a more subtle way with the distance(proxemics) between them.

We are constantly being surrounded by a myriad of print advertisements, but the success of these advertisements depends largely on how well it conveys its message with the use of both explicit and subtle non-verbal cues and also its ability to relate to the masses.

Like this latest advertisement from L'Oreal, what exactly is it trying to portray then? Apart from the obvious, I believe it is open for our interpretation.

Week 3 - The Ugly Truth

Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/theuglytruth/site/

Synopsis:

Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a morning show TV producer in California. Coming home from a disastrous date one night, she happens to see a segment of a local television show, "The Ugly Truth", run by Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), whose cynicism about relationships prompts Abby to call into the show to argue with him on-air. The next day, she discovers that the station is threatening to cancel her show because of its poor ratings, and the station owner has hired Mike to do a segment on her show to bring them back up.

At first, the two have a rocky relationship; Abby thinks Mike is crass and disgusting while Mike finds Abby to be a control freak. Nevertheless, when she meets the man of her dreams, a doctor named Colin (Eric Winter) living next to her, Mike persuades her to follow his lead. She agrees to his helpful advice and if he can get her the man she wants, proving his theories on relationships, she will work happily with him, but if Mike fails, he agrees to quit.

Our perception of others is usually influenced by a plethora of psychological and social factors. As seen in 'The Ugly Truth', Mike is deemed by Abby as uncouth and obnoxious, while he feels that she is a naive and uptight idealist. Their view of each other is built mostly upon first impression. Such tendencies are common in our perception of many things or people around us and are hard to be corrected or altered. Many of us are guilty of such behaviour as we only select and process information that we want to see, whether consciously or otherwise.

Based on cognitive schemata, Abby labels Mike as a 'Man whore', and such perception is based solely on his successful television programme, which involves Mike being constantly surrounded by scantily dressed woman and spewing ugly truths about men and women's relationships. However, judging one's character solely based on one's job is usually fairly inaccurate. Such stereotypes on social roles or professions are something we should avoid, as they often fail to give us truthful insight of one's character.

Colin, the man of Abby's dreams, is an excellent example of a prototype of the 'perfect guy', as deemed by our society. Tall, handsome, has a fantastic job and great personality, he is depicted as one with all the qualities most women seek in a man these days. In most romantic comedy, or at least those that manage to achieve box-office success, the presence of such a character is essential, as it allows the viewers and fans to indulge in their own little fantasy of being the character in the film. But who can blame them for that? Sometimes, a little indulgent does gives us all a little more optimism and hope in our own romantic department and lives.

Week 2 - Perspective

Web Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xri13KnD4Hs

Source:Youtube

Advertising Agency: NASCOM, Brussels, Belgium

Director/Copywriter: Frank Devos

This commercial advertisement for Sony VAIO W Series Notebook provides comical insight into the tormenting world of social media addicts. It brings forth the issue of popular Internet social media, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, taking control over the daily lives of many addicted users around the world.

Such drastic effects on the lives and behaviours of these obsessed individuals can be viewed from the cultural studies perspective of communication. As the use of social media becomes more widespread and varied, it very quickly transformed itself from a leisure activity to an important aspect of our lives. People start to communicate with their friends, or even strangers, online via these social media/networking websites more often; Sometimes, too often that real life face-to-face interaction is reduced or worse, deemed unnecessary.

The Sony VAIO advertisement not only highlights the negative impact of addicts being enslaved to these Internet applications, but also insinuates a more serious underlying problem they create in our society. A national study on college students by a psychology professor, Jean Twenge, from the San Diego State University shows that 92% of the students being interviewed use Facebook or MySpace regularly, while 84% log in to these websites several times a day. In the case of the social media addicts, these cyberspace tools have anchored themselves so deeply in their users' lives that their lives now revolves around these tools instead. The over reliance of social media is an increasingly widespread phenomenon, and contrary to common beliefs, it does not only affect teenage users but also many working adults.

With its astronomical rise in popularity, social media has also become a great platform for users to showcase their talent to a global target audience. A good example would be Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat, whose wildly popular MySpace websites kick started their successful music careers and catapulted them into stardom. Many advertising and events companies have also started to make use of these social media websites to reach out to a larger target audience in the past few years. All in all, I believe that all these social media platforms should be utilized to benefit us as a more convenient way to communicate with one another or to express our opinions on issues that interest us instead of governing our lifestyle.