Media Effects

Reading this chapter on Audiences It got me thinking about how much what I watch on TV effects me in my life? When I watch a certain movie and I really it, it tends to stick with me for a few days and I think about it a lot.  But I never want to go and act like the person in the film, it doesn't effect me in that way! I saw twilight recently and I don't want to go be a vampire now! haha 

But it did get me thinking about other types of media and how that effects me.  For instance I like to follow celebrity gossip (I know lame) but I do...That effects me only in that I tend to know whats going on in that world and am often telling my friends did you hear about so and so haha and it just gives us something stupid to talk about for a few minutes.  I also like to see what people are wearing cause I am interested in fashion like that and I love shopping so if i like a certain outfit someone is wearing in a picture, I might try and find something similiar...It's not that I try to dress like a celebrity because I don't and I really don't like when people do (big sunglasses etc) I am just using that as an example of how the media effects me, because I can't really think of another way it effects me in life.  I was just curious how the media effected people if just in thought or physically etc.  

It also got me thinking about a research paper I did for my comm 396 class on celebrity endorsements of products.  If a celebrity uses a product are you more likely to trust that product and use that product than if it was just a no name brand?  I think celebs effect us more than we think.  

The Good Old Disney Days

While I was reading another blog about Disney it got me thinking about the good old days with the old Disney Classics like Lion King, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid!! They just don't make movies like that anymore! 

Of course they make better quality movies now with all the new animation technology and CGI etc.  Animated movies these days always have some hidden jokes that only adults would get (Shrek).  I still love the old disney classics...simple stories that in some cases have been redone over and over again in countless other movies.  I don't know how many different versions there have been of Cinderella!  I think kids today are to immersed in new technology and new animated films that they wouldn't even get the old animation, they would look at it and think it was so "fake" looking maybe haha! 

I have little cousins and they have never seen The Little Mermaid! very sad!

Twilight Phenomenon

So I finally gave in and rented Twilight the other day.  I had never read the books so didn't have that many expectations but since it seems to be everywhere and it seems to be bigger (dare i say it) than Harry Potter! I admit I was curious to see what all the fuss was about! I have to say...I didn't hate it! But I still don't know if I would call myself a Twilight fan. I don't think I quite meet the criteria...I am not a little teeny bopper girl between the ages of 12-16 haha! But I did like the movie and I can start to see what all the fuss was about!

This got me thinking about our culture or pop culture and how something like Twilight or Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, Narnia etc. can just have this mass following.  It is usually a book series usually involving fantasy elements and it just gets people hooked! All of a sudden there are tshirts, lunch boxes, happy meals, other memorabilia related to the thing and it is everywhere! Once you have something that people love then businesses, advertisers and movie studios just want to maximize on it and its like they hit the jackpot.  I feel like you could be selling toilet paper and as long as it had Edward Cullen on the front it would sell way more than any other toilet paper.  Okay I'm ranting but you know what I mean?

I'm sure we have all been hooked by something like this at one point in our lives.  I can't wait to see what the next phenomenon will be that will have all the girls screaming!!!