My Reflection

Looking back at the semester, I have learned a lot. I have become a more reasonable and selective consumer. I am very hesitant with what I buy and I am very careful of accepting things and ideas that the advertisers are trying to sell to me. Overall, I'm very aware of my surroundings and it's a good thing. Although this semester was a bit like hell for me (I suck at presentations), I did learn a lot and the things that I've learned has opened my eyes to see the flaws in my decisions and habits.

I try spending less time of the Internet (it's actually going pretty well), I stopped over-shopping (now I completely hate shopping for clothes, maybe it's due to my claustrophobic-self), and whenever I see ads I will talk out loud and try to find out what kind of techniques they are using to make me want to buy their products. You can say that this semester has influenced me a bit; it has taught me things that will benefit me and my future. Because of this class, my media consumption has been greatly questioned by me. I know that I spend a very unhealthy amount of time on the internet but I never really confronted the reality until this semester. I am proud of myself for doing that and yet at the same time I feel kind of guilty for not realizing sooner.

I am happy that I understand the media's literacy and that I've become an educated consumer. With the things I've learned, I can decide what to buy and if what I'm buying is ethical enough to buy it (if that make sense). It's important to have these skills because advertisers are not going to tell the flaws in their products; they are trying to make you want to buy so they'll over-exaggerate while trying to sell their products.

Keeping this blog posted has really challenged my understanding of the media and the tactics they use, it also challenged my brain a bit. I really have to think about what the advertisers used and think back to the things that we talked about in class. This whole experience has made my head hurt sometimes but I did enjoy it.

I just want to take a time to just talk about how I really feel about the media. I think the media is such a hypocrite. This thing may look harmless but it can really have a negative outcome.

Miss Representation: Kristina Pimenova, the prettiest girl model alive?

Kristina Pimenova. This girl was all over the internet a few months ago. She's Russian, tall, and slender, with big eyes, voluminous hair, and an amazing face. She's also nine years old. ONLY nine years old. 

As seen in the pictures above, this girl has been over-sexualized in her photo shoots. Is this healthy for a child who is still growing? No, it is not and it looks like people do not know limits. 

The picture to the left at the very top, Kristina is wearing a very short, blue dress with the straps hanging loosely on her shoulders. Her very long legs are exposed and that's basically the only thing that people could pay attention to. This whole "I'm a super model" thing that the photographer wants Kristina to portray in that picture is promoting the idea that is presented in the film, "Miss Representation", it is that girls are objects and that their body parts are the only things that are valuable. 

Comparing the left picture to the right one, which one would boys and older men more likely to pay attention to? The answer is the left one. Kristina is more covered in the right picture and all we can see is her face. Although she is beautiful, it is not enough to steal the spotlight. On the other hand, the picture to the left has Kristina showing more of her body therefore it captures more of the attention. This picture promotes the idea that women are objects and that the body they possess is the only thing that are valuable because of the way how she is posing. This girl was train to model and looking at the picture, they might have trained her a bit too much to the point where her pictures would lure older men. The picture does not show an innocent, young girl but more like a teenager. With her poofy hair and the way how her dress strap is hanging, gives us the impression that she has done something naughty and that is badly influencing the girl population and giving the boy population the wrong ideas about girls. . In the media, this problem of how kids are becoming more exposed to sexual acts is becoming a huge problem. People need to understand the limitations to how much is too much especially when there's a child.  

This is not a good route for a young model to take. These decisions will eventually affect Kristina's life and she'll probably regret them.