Feminism

Feminism is a word that most people flinch or laugh at as they picture a self-proclaimed tomboy man-hater. But feminism, real feminism as it is understood by those who believe in it and practice it, is the belief in a system wherein men and women are provided with the same opportunities, the same choices, and the same treatment in every faction of life. It does not disregard femininity, but rather stresses the fact that women have been forced into a specific ideal by the patriarchy that exists in today's society, and they should have the choice to step out of that.

Feminism is often seen as men-hating, or misandry, but real feminists don't deny that men also suffer at the hands of prejudice and stereotyping in the media and in life. What needs to be understood, though, is that what men suffer is often juxtaposed to women's suffering. So if a man is judged for being too effeminate and he doesn't like that, it's because being effeminate or like a woman is bad, weak, or humiliating. In order to fix the lesser problem of sexism towards men, we must first address the vastly different and larger issue of sexism towards women.

In the media especially, women must fall into a specific few categories to be deemed "beautiful" or "sexy", and if they do not, they are often not portrayed at all, or at least not in the popular media as it stands today.

As we learned from Killing Us Softly, Ted Talk by Joanna Blakely, and Codes of Gender, women are portrayed as the weaker, gentler sex and their body mannerisms depict this. In popular media, it is difficult to find women posing for a camera whose bodies aren't tilted or slanted or off-balance in some way, an indirect communication to anyone viewing her that she is not stable, not strong, and not sturdy enough (at least, not without a man's help!). They are leaning, twisting, bending, and stretching their bodies so the focus is on their unsteadiness and their physical attributes instead of what should really matter.

There are men models, of course, and to say that they are not objectified would be a lie, but the positions they are in are ones of power, stature, steadiness, and strength.

It comes to a point where men posing in traditionally feminine ways is seen as ridiculous, unsettling, and even funny. In Rion Sabean's project "Men-Ups!", he has tried to expose this prejudice by taking classic pin-up poses by ladies, such as:

and making men, doing classically masculine things in masculine clothes, pose in these ridiculous ways, thus exposing just how ridiculous looking these poses are, for both men and women.

If all that is making these photos ridiculous is the pose and facial expression, what does it say about a culture that decides that it's okay for women to degrade themselves, but for men it's seen as silly and emasculating? 

This is not to say women cannot be feminine. Classic femininity is seen as beautiful for a reason and wanting to subscribe to that way of thinking does not make a person an anti-feminist. A woman who shaves her legs is just as much of a feminist as one who refuses to, so long as the two believe in the idea that feminism represents: the ability for a woman to choose what she likes, despite what society and the media tells her is socially acceptable.

As soon as we start educating the masses, teaching women and men alike that what we're doing to women, how we're portraying them in the media, is affecting us and has affected us for a very long time, the sooner we can come to an era where men and women are equally taken seriously in every environment, whether that be at home, at school, at work, or in the media.

Comm 406

“Ads are a way for soulless companies to have personality and talk to their audience.”

First and foremost, the job of advertising is not to entertain its potential buyers, but to convince them that they are selling a product or idea that they want and have always wanted. Whether they do that through sympathy or action or mass appeal or entertainment and fun is up to the advertising company and its client. Advertisements, whether they be on billboards or on the radio or on the television, their primary goal is communicating with their target demographic. Sometimes the advertisement is wrong for its demographic and sometimes it is wrong for the company employing the advertising company.

For example, as depicted in Art & Copy, an advertisement that stressed family life for a bank, garnered so many new clients that the bank had to stop the ads from running and turn away clients. Too much success is one thing, but too little is another.

The providence of advertising ideas sometimes do not come from a mindset of entertainment. The Nike catchphrase that is so famous now: Just do it. was taken from a man in front of firing squad whose last words were “Let’s do it.” This shows how advertising companies are willing to skew anything to make their campaign work, so long as it has wide application and makes prospective buyers eager to buy.

The Got Milk? campaign is an example of an advertising campaign that did really well despite what many people thought. Something like milk that was not a brand-heavy product and to market something like that seemed impossible, and yet something that seemed so impossible became so famous – even today.

So although advertising companies’ main goal is not to entertain the public, many times the ultimate product of the campaign is entertaining. 

The Century of the Self

The Century of the Self was a great documentary that followed the role of Freud's research and findings in the age of advertising. He helped advertisers discover how to make people want things they did not need through stimuli and latent feelings and ideas based on instinctual drives in all of us.

One of the more interesting pieces I liked was the advertising campaign attempting to get women to smoke. The idea that an advertisement, something inane and ultimately meaningless, could convince women and men, for that matter, that women were capable of smoking cigarettes is incredible. Even though it was considered almost taboo for women to smoke at that time, this advertising campaign showed women if they smoked, they were more free and independent. Of course, that was not true, but by linking emotion and want to an object, they had created a fool proof idea that, unfortunately, worked. Edward Bernays was behind this and found that appealing to the emotional side of humanity is far more effective than appealing to the intelligent side.

In the early 1900's, the idea of women smoking was detestable and, frankly, gross. But with this ingenius ad campaign, suddenly it was okay. In fact, it was better than okay! Of course, the ad campaign wasn't the only reason. The women's fight for suffrage and equal rights as men further pushed the idea that if men can smoke, women can, too. The women portrayed in these ads were independent and strong, like Amelia Earhart, the pinnacles of the ideal free American woman.

Today, the idea that women should not smoke or should not be seen smoking is still a common one, particularly in countries where women do not hold high places in their societies, such as in Gaza where for a short time women were not allowed to smoke in public.

The Persuaders

The Persuaders is a great documentary that delves into the world of media and advertising. It first approached the topic by discussing how advertising functions today and one of my favorite quotes from the piece sums that idea up nicely: “Every effort to break through the clutter is just more clutter.” The idea that advertising creates this mass of information that a consumer must sift through to find what they are looking for feels incredibly accurate, and as that clutter builds, ads are becoming more and more outrageous and innovative.

One particular advertising campaign The Persuaders followed was that of the airline, Song. Song is a subsidiary of Delta airlines opening in one the worst markets at the absolute worst time. And yet the team surrounding Song was determined to make it work through advertising. What I found most interesting about the piece was how they geared it towards women. They highlighted comfort and minimal stress while flying, with the inclusion of a TV for every passenger and other such commodities. I felt that the language surrounding the company was a bit cult-ish, which is, as The Persuaders later discussed, kind of the point. Researchers have found that making a brand almost cult-like will garner a loyal following that will then attract more people who, ultimately, only want to be included. And yet Song did not quite have what it takes. Their advertising seemed to not go so well. Many were confused by the TV ad and did not know that Song was an airline at all. A mistake many companies make is overt product placement. Shoving a product in consumers’ faces is too abrasive and can send prospective consumers running, but Song’s approach of almost no product placement had just the same effect.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Persuaders and how it depicted advertising and its role in today’s society, though it did leave me questioning whether advertising is for the public’s benefit – to inform and teach and assist – or simply to hide the truth and entice idiots to buy products they don’t need. 

Comm406 Favorite Ad

 

#MyJihad is an ad campaign that first caught my attention because of my newfound interest in Indian culture, religion, and the disputes therein. An Indian cinema course I took last semester opened my eyes to the reality of Islam and the often wrong stereotypes surrounding the religion and those who practice it (Muslims). #MyJihad is aimed at "Taking Back Islam from Muslim and anti-Muslim extremists alike" through several different media types, their foremost being bus ads in major cities such as Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco. Those behind the campaign are also reaching out on Twitter by asking their followers to tweet and retweet their Jihads with the hashtag MyJihad. Their goal is to have their voices heard in order to educate those who believe that Jihad is something claimed and used by extremists only. #MyJihad can also be found on Facebook and YouTube. They also have live speaking events and other initiatives.

Jihad for a lot of uneducated people, particularly following the aftermath of September 11th, 2001, was seen as a negative word used by the terrorists, but for most Muslims, Jihad (translated: "struggling in the way of God") is a way of looking at life's struggles as something to overcome through peace, compassion, goodness, and passion. Muslims, like many who practice religion (and even those who don't), use Jihad as a reason to fight against the obstacles life gives them, whether they be loss, debt, injury, or relationships.

#MyJihad is being recognized by big leaders of the Muslim community, like Imam Mohamed Magid, the president of the Islamic Society of North America, the largest Muslim grassroots organization in North America. There are also many other Jihad-positive campaigns and organizations like #MyJihad, though #MyJihad is the first to really make a public statement through media, like the Grameen Foundation, Celebrate Mercy, and Sabeel Pantry.