Generation Like: Reflection and Critical Response

 Empowerment- a word you hear a lot when kids talk about social media. Does social media really empower people?

Earlier this week in class, we watched a documentary known as "Generation Like" that addressed the subject of advertising and entertainment in the media. Throughout the documentary, we had to chance to have a further insight on the world of social networking and the relationship between the producers and consumers of social media, as well as outside influences used to target and appeal towards a specific audience. One of the main points that was addressed several times throughout the documentary was one of "self-empowerment" and the possibly that social media can actually empower people's daily decisions online.

"Your consumer is your marketer"

When one is confronted with social media, they automatically become apart of a much larger aspect of the world that technology can identify us with. As a means of becoming more socially and culturally aware of the world around us, we take on the responsibility of being apart of the social media/networking community worldwide. How do we take part in this you may ask? What do we do exactly that makes us so important and essential to social media? What links us? One of the most common uses for social media today is advertising, as a means of reaching a broader audience and allowing companies to engage with their consumers on a higher and effective level. The worldwide web contains a never ending list of ways to interact with each other and broadcast people's identities. This could be through simply sharing a photo, a song of interest, or advertising yourself on websites such as YouTube or Twitter. When it all comes down to a simple answer, we use social media to advertise who we are along with our beliefs and values. This sense of empowerment comes from within and is branched out to a much wider audience.

Tyler Oakley is an international worldwide web sensation who advertises himself by sharing his interests, thoughts, and basic identity through commonly known websites such as YouTube, Twitter, etc. His audience reaches out to him by watching these videos and possibly even being inspired by what he does. At times, Internet sensations such as Tyler are offered the chance to sponsor certain companies, such as Doritos, as a means of reaching out to a larger audience and putting their name out there. Looking at this situation from the YouTuber's side, it gives Tyler Oakley a sense of responsibility knowing that has the power to influence people's thoughts. Producers often use this pipeline of connected pieces as it allows their audience to market the product even more due to it's recognition.

In conclusion, the point that I'm really trying to get across is that social media most definitely has the power and judgment to empower us. We put ourselves out there to share our thoughts and values with a larger community, in this case, advertising our interests and beliefs. We feel the responsibility from within to create online identities and profiles with the intention of reaching out to a much larger audience; a particular audience with specific interests. Social media uses it's users as their marketers, as they will be the ones who will ultimately make a identity out of them, provide personal feedback, and eventually influence other members in the media.

A Critique of Eminem's "Stan" and Music Video

Being one of the leading rap/hip hop artists of the 21^st century, Eminem continues to engage, empower and connect with his fans. Back in 2000, the release of Eminem’s third single “Stan” on the album The Marshall Mathers LP peaked number one on the top hits charts worldwide.  The song itself tells the story of a fictitious character named Stan who claims to be Eminem’s biggest fan. In hopes of showing his affection and dedication to Eminem’s music, he writes a series of letters to Eminem, found in each verse of the song, gradually and progressively becoming angrier at the lack of replies he receives. The song itself is very much powerful and delivers a sense of Ethnicity and Community. 

The video opens with the sound of loud rain and crashing thunder that surrounds the window of a house. As the camera zooms in, we see Stan’s girlfriend laying in bed, pregnant, who then gets up and rushes to the bathroom which is locked. On the other end of the bathroom door, Stan is inside bleaching his hair in hopes of resembling his idol Eminem. After continuous pleading to let her in, the two get into an argument, ending a loud slam of the door, furthermore symbolizing anger. As soon as the door slams, the music begins with a verse sung by Dido; this verse is sung several times throughout the song between pauses.

In the first verse, Stan walks down to what seems to be a broken down basement, sits down at his desk and begins writing to Eminem for the third time, hoping that he will write back. He expresses his devotion through lyrics such as “I know you probably hear this everyday but I’m your biggest fan (…) I got a room full of your posters and your pictures man.” Stan also empathizes over personal family loss such as the death of Eminem’s Uncle Ronnie. Rain and thunder can be heard in the background as well as the sound of rough pencil scratching on a page throughout the video.

As the song continues, in the second verse Stan’s voice tone is elevated as he expresses his anger  and frustration over the fact that Eminem hasn’t replied to his letters. Thus, “Dear Slim, you still ain’t called or wrote, I hope you have a chance, I ain’t mad – I just think it’s F***** UP that you don’t answer your fans.” Stan mentions his personal struggles and expresses how he relates to his idol’s pain sometimes; “ I even got a tattoo with your name across the chest. Sometimes I even cut myself to see how much it bleeds (…) I can relate to what you’re saying in those songs.” He then goes along to talk about his little brother, bringing back a memory of when they both waited outside Eminem’s concert in hopes of meeting him. He expresses how his brother Matthew might be  of an even bigger fan than himself, and shares his hurt feelings and disappointment in Eminem’s character.

The third verse is portrayed as an audio recording of Stan in his car as he is driving under the influence, with his girlfriend in the trunk, in the midst of committing suicide. The thunder is becoming progressively louder and at this point, Stan is in rage. He refers to Eminem in a mocking way by saying, “Dear Mister-I’m-Too-Good-To-Call-Or-Write-My-Fans.” And clearly states that this Is a bold, suicidal act when he says “this’ll be the last package I ever send you’re a** (…) I’m in the car right now, I’m doing 90 on the freeway. Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?” As Stan vents further, the car speed begins to speed up, symbolizing the anger and rage in his voice. By the end of the tape, Stand realizes that he will be unable to send the tape to Eminem, aka Slim, resulting in a deadly crash into the river.

The fourth and final verse opens with Eminem sitting at a table writing belated letters back to Stan. As Eminem writes, he apologizes about the inconvenience of not meeting him or his brother. As this is being said, the image of a funeral arises furthermore displaying the irony of the situation. Flashbacks occur of moments mentioned in Stan’s letter, as well as Eminem’s advice and help for Stan, “You got issues Stan, I think you need counseling.”  Further on into writing the letter, Eminem mentions a news story that caught his eye and says, “I just don’t want you to do crazy shit. I seen this one shit on the news a couple weeks ago that made me sick. Some dude was drunk and drove his car off the bridge and had his girlfriend in the trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid and the car they found a tape, but they didn’t say who it was to.”, Only to realize that the news story was about Stanley’s death. “Come to think about it, his name was…it was you. Damn!” After Eminem’s final words, the music stops as well as one final thunder strike.

“Stan” is a very literal music video that tells the story of the lyrics and displays the meaning and intention of every verse towards the audience. This kind of music video has a direct relationship with it’s lyrics, which creates a “beginning and end” effect while watching the visual interpretation of the song.

Written Task #2 Blog Post

Power and Privilege 

How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?   

When analyzing advertisements, it is essential that one takes in the context of the time period in which the particular ad was advertised. Towards the late 1800 and early 1900's, society's views on African Americans were negative as they were seen as a minority group in comparison to the "whites" of society. As this growing stereotype has continued to emerge in our daily lives in various forms of media, we as individuals cannot help but be exposed to this reality in the way society has shaped our thinking and views on racism found in advertising today.

An advertisement made in 1875 by N.K. Fairbank's Company advertises there product "Fairy Soap". The advertisement features two young girls, one African American child and the other a "white" child. The text found at the bottom of the advertisement says, "Why Doesn't your mama wash you with fairy soap?", the white child asks the African American young girl. This is a malicious line and a subtle proposal from the "white child" to the  young African American girl to wash with Fairy Soap so that she can be as white as she. As previously said, the context in which this advertisement was advertised is relevant towards that topic of interest.

When looking at the characters in the advertisement, we notice a significant difference in the way each is represented. The white child addresses the other, she is dressed in elegant clothing with neatly rolled up socks and clever looking boots. She seems very much clean and is holding a bar of Fairy Soap in her hand, whilst the rapper is on the ground next to the other child's feet. When we look at the young African American girl, she is dressed up in old dirty rags and barefoot, whilst holding onto her ripped and tarnished clothing. As the young girl who is advertising the soap is "speaking" the African American girl gives her a questioning and despised look as to what she is saying, therefore expressing her "cluelessness" in the situation. Therefor the purpose of this advertisement is clearly a direct hit on the African American community labeling them as a minority group and enforcing a "dirty", "uncivilized and uneducated" stereotype upon them.

In conclusion, this particular advertisement is a perfect representation of a particular social group in society. When looking at the context of the advertisement, during the late 1800's society's views on the African American community were shaped as viewing them as a minority group in comparison to the whites of society. When looking at this topic with a broader vision, the way in which a particular social group is represented is merely dependent on society's beliefs and values on ethics; the difference between what is thought to be right or wrong.

FOA Reflection

I presented my first FOA on possible signs of evolving racism found in the media over the years. I was to Identify the prominent signs of racism that are targeted towards African American minority groups that were found in advertising and social media, by presenting a series of advertisement in which I felt established direct connections towards the topic of racism. I chose to explore my topic by making a presentation consisting of 3 advertisements from 3 different time periods: the late 1800’s, late 1900’s and early 2000’s.

Throughout my presentation, I was able to meet a series of learning outcomes I had set out for myself. For example, being able to clearly identity the link between the audience and purpose of certain advertisements as well as being able to connect text types and language use as a means of communication in order to appeal to a certain community.

The overall feeling of my presentation was well structured and organized as I felt confident in front of my peers, presenting my collected information. By the end of it, I did feel successful, although there were some things that I would have changed If given the chance to do it all over again. For example, I would have shortened the notes that I brought up to the board to read off of as I felt like it was a distraction from my presentation. I knew my content rather well, meaning that I didn’t need to read off my script the entire time, but ideally, I should have brought a smaller script up to present with me.

I believe that everything we do in life is a learning experience not only for us, but for others around us. While completing this activity, I have come to a shocking conclusion that racism is still present in advertising today. Although signs of prominent racism remain subtle, It was still a shock to me and made me question society’s motives and ethical ways of living and thinking.

Overall, I felt confident and pleased with my first FOA next time, and know for sure that preparation and motivation is key to delivering clean and efficient work.