Monday, November 19, 2012


Blog Advertising
Galina Rolf

                What is advertising media? Advertising is a word that describes the form of communication in which persuasion is used to convince a target population or populations to buy goods, products or services.  Advertising can be dated back to the middle ages but it is hard to believe that civilizations such as the Egyptians or the Romans as advanced as they were in other areas did not advertise.  I am primarily interested in advertising in the United States in the last two hundred years because advertising is so important and so prevalent in modern society that there is both a positive and a negative effect on modern society.  

Consumption of goods and services is good for a free market society.  If advertising assists in the creation of profits for companies it ultimately helps the economy.  Advertising has changed our economy and society in many positive ways.  First, prior to the twentieth century the producers or manufacturers drove the buying in the economy.   The use of advertising increased a demand for new products and allowed for the recovery of production costs quickly. Therefore the economy saw a shift from producer-driven buying to consumer-driven economy. Second, advertising helped promote technological advances. Just fifty years ago when new technology was introduced to the public many consumer felt it was prudent to wait to see if there were adjustments that needed to be made to the product.  The consumers now want the latest and newest technology has to offer. An example would be the Samsung Commercial which shows the two men touching phones to exchange play lists while there are hundreds waiting for the Apple 5 trying to get the “newest thing”.  Cars are not only being sold by gas mileage and mechanical soundness but by a radio with hands on and voice activated phone capabilities. The advertising guru’s have done a wonderful job convincing the population that they need the newest in technology.

Another type of advertising that affects American society including its government is political advertisements.  Prior to World War II the Federal Government bought blocks of advertising space to encourage the US’s entrance into World War II.  Political advertisements can affect who is leading our country and who is not.  I worry that the winner of elections will be the candidate that has the most money in advertisements.  The Political Ad can be slanted to meet the needs of the candidate paying for them.  You would hope that the Ad’s are true however many are an embellishment or twisting of the truth.  I think that there should be a bi-partisan committee that checks the reliability of the Ads.  If not our society is being influenced by the Ad’s that spin the best propaganda.

Another negative result of advertising is the advertising targeting teenagers and children.  We are fighting a health war in our country.  We have many children who are obese and not active.  These children are targeted by the manufacturers of sugary cereals and snacks.  They are targeted by the manufacturers of sedentary electronic games.  They are also targeted by fast food chains that serve fatty, unhealthy, foods.  In the documentary Supersize Me (Spurlock, 2004) children shown the pictures of the President, Jesus, and Ronald McDonald were overwhelmingly able to identify Ronald McDonald than a picture of Jesus or the President.

Teenagers and young adults have also been targeted by companies that manufacture products that pose a health risk.  Alcohol and cigarettes are two of the products that targeted specific groups even though the health risks are high.  In 1971 under pressure from Congress and the FCC the cigarette advertisements were banned on television.  The Marlboro man who portrayed cigarette smokers as a rough, handsome virile man was a thing of the pass.  Virginia Slims was a brand that targeted young independent women.  Finally Camel Joe, even though not on TV, was the spokes camel for the cigarettes camel. He wore contemporary clothes and was a cartoon character. After a loss in court against a cigarette manufacturer not only was the plaintiff awarded financial damages but part of the settlement prohibited cartoons to be cigarette mascots and marketing could not include free sample give aways or tobacco brand clothing. This settlement also prohibited outdoor billboard advertisement and transit advertisement.  Globally tobacco manufacturers have no such restrictions.

   Advertising has forms, from classified ads, business to business, political ads, TV. Radio, and the newest for of advertising, the internet.  The internet is effective and inexpensive.  The internet has the potential to collect information about target populations that some consider an invasion of privacy.  Social networking not only provides a new stage for advertising it provides critical information to companies which can be collected for free.  The internet allows companies to distribute coupon, run mini commercials and plaster their name in screen after screen.  Ad’s are in email, twitter, even academic research sites. I think that all will recognize that internet advertising is here to stay. Ads that guides by giving detailed information to specific items and products. Advertising in general had had a profound effect on our lives.  It influences even the laws that we pass and the politicians that we elect.  The FCC and congress do have limited controls over the advertising media.  The question we should ask ourselves is when is protection from abuses in advertising necessary and when is that protection a violation of our first amendment rights? When we discover the answer to this question we will solve many of the negative aspects of advertising media.

 

Monday, November 5, 2012

Movies

BLOG:  MOVIES&FILMS

Galina Rolf

What are films and movies?  Films are a series of pictures and images that look like    movement when passed through a projector. It is the camera that records the actions of the film participants. The viewers are given the impression that they are not only seeing movement but that they are observers, even participants in a story or event that the camera has captured.  It is difficult to believe that strips of celluloid can record current events that are actually historical events like the Zapruder film.  The Zapruder film recorded the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  Not only was the assassination of one of our Presidents caught on film but major weather events such as Hurricane Katrina and very recently Hurricane Sandy has been recorded as well.  There are not only tragic events that have been filmed but events that are beautiful and romantic such as the wedding of Prince William and his wife to be Katie.  Wars, fires, death, destruction, weddings, criminal trials even the birth of babies are recorded although no longer on celluloid. Technology has progressed, the quality of our recordings has progressed, and the equipment used to record our history and memories has progressed. Not only are films recordings of history while it is being made, it is also a medium used to preserve our literature.  To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and 1984 have all been made into movies.  There are also many movies that are made from plots developed by screen writers.  This medium has served as a creative outlet for many of our brightest and most talented artists.
                             

The History:
An invention with as much influence as movies and films is usually not created by just one individual but many people.  The idea of a device that could reproduce reality was first theorized by Leonardo DaVinci in the late 1400s. In the early 1800’s the inventions of the thaumatrope and the zoetrope illustrated how images could be made to simulate movement. In the late 1800’s Hannibal Goodwin invented Celluloid the material used to develop film. Finally, Thomas Edison, the American inventor of the  light bulb,  is given credit for the invention of the motion picture and sound recordings. Edison lost interest in combining sound recording with moving images but he directed one of his assistants, to combine the light bulb, celluloid, and  the camera to produce a movie camera.  The result was the Kinetograph, a motion picture camera. Next, brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere developed the Cinematograph which combined camera, film, and projector.  Once again Edison became interested in moving pictures.  He developed the vitascope, this invention enabled films to be projected for longer periods of time without interruption. There was an actual showing of waves rolling on a beach and parts of a boxing match shown in New York at the end of the 1800’s.
Edison's Greatest Marvel: The Vitascope | American History Lives at ...
http://www.americanheritage.com/content/edisons-greatest-marvel-vitascope
            Movies Throughout the Generations: The development of films has had an extraordinary affect on our culture, mores and norms.  The films of each generation also reflect the values of that particular generation.  The movie, From Here to Eternity for example had to hint at the fact that two unmarried individuals had sex on a beach.  Just as soon as the camera fades the audience is sure that the couple is doomed for their sins.  Star Wars was an example of the technological advances that had been accommplished in the film industry.That was not the only significance of Star Wars the movie reaffirmed the support and need for Space Program at Nasa.  Norma Ray was a movie that endorsed the rights of factory workers to unionize and demand better working conditions.  Another affect that this movie had on the American public is that it identified the women as part of the work force that requires their voices to be heard. Movies became the medium to express our political, social, moral and views.
            Movies gives individuals the opportunity to life in another person’s shoes, to experience another’s culture, and to understand the barriers in their lives to keep them from obtaining successes. For instance, West Side Story, gives average Americans a peek into the lives of the Hispanic American, their challenges and trials as they attempt to fit into a culture that is not accepting of their differences. It is important that people who watch movies recognize that many screen writers use this medium to promote their own values and opinions.  Just as in research it is important that you consider the source and the purpose of the research when a movie is watched it is important to determine what is fact, fiction and opinion.