Disney is one of the greatest examples of advertising and cross promotion. Everywhere we went in Disneyland, there was some sort of advertisement. Some of the main ones I saw were Coca-cola, Perrier and Ben & Jerry’s. I noticed that many of the cross promotion came from the food areas. It’s probably easier to do subtle cross promotions with food, especially big brand names, because we tune it out. This shows how important media literacy is because some people can’t tell that Disney is pushing them towards specific products and brands. Ethically, corporations should be transparent in their cross promotional deals. There’s two sides of it when dealing with media ethics and media literacy. There needs to be a balance between the publics recognizing advertisements and the companies being open about what they are advertising.
Author: llee2
Media literacy ad/pr analysis
I found this ad/ pr sign at the Atomium in Brussels. The Atomium organization created this message. They used interaction to increase awareness of the ad. It was strategically placed right where the queue is so that people who were waiting would pay attention to it. I think most people found it fun to see the likes go up but I could also see people being annoyed about having to go on Facebook to see it work. People who have social media and technology like smartphones are represented by this ad. Perhaps older people who aren’t tech savvy or have social media are omitted from this ad. This ad was made to increase engagement on Atomium’s social media. Ethically, I think this ad is good. There is no harm caused by it and the Atomium is an interesting museum for people to see so engagement is good.
One souvenir that I found slightly ethically concerning in the values of this artist was the “soak me” bobble head of Claude Monet. He is reduced to a means to an end. He is no doubt known for his paintings of water lilies, but it could be argued that it isn’t ethically right to only refer to him with a water lily. He is an artist and should be taken seriously for his craft, so I think that this gift is almost making fun of him. The buyer has to actively put the figure into hot water to change colors and get the use out of the product but we can’t be sure that Monet would’ve wanted that as his legacy.
A souvenir that I found ethically sound was the plates. I even got one for my mom. The reason behind my thinking is that it’s not degrading the artwork but rather using it as a way to beautify an ordinary object. I could see it being questioned since the buyer would be actively using the plate to eat food off of it but I don’t think that printing the pattern on the dish ware cheapens the quality of the real artwork.
Orsay and Louvre Reflection
I personally liked the musée d’Orsay more because of the art styles it had. But I do think going to the Louvre is a must when visiting Paris. In the Louvre, I learned on my own of what elements are featured in Grecian sculptures. For example, Aphrodite or Venus is commonly featured with her strap off of her left shoulder. In the Orsay, I also learned a lot from the tour guide like what constitutes an impressionist painting. I really enjoyed listening to the tour guide’s knowledge on the painting but I love walking around with my music playing and just looking at the art on my own. I felt more emotionally moved by the impressionist paintings in the Orsay because I don’t know much about Renaissance paintings. I thought the flow of the Orsay moved better but both museums used aesthetics and flow to satisfy the public’s experience.
Normandy reflection
Normandy as a town was so beautiful. When we visited, it was calm and scenic. Going into the day trip and being aware of the history behind certain places, it was definitely a somber day. To be completely honest, the cemetery was when it truly hit me of the realness of the history. I appreciated watching of taking down the flag in the cemetery. I also appreciated connecting parts of history with actual places. I was surprised that people swam at Omaha beach because I thought the history would be overwhelming for people to enjoy it. But after thinking about it, I think it’s nice that people are able to understand the history but still enjoy a beautiful area. Most likely I will remember the cemetery and the rows of white crosses. I will remember the five senses of being there.
Picasso Museum
This was the first time going to the Picasso Museum, and it was probably the best part of my trip so far. I learned so much about Picasso, especially his relationships. I never really paid attention to the emotional aspect of his work, but specifically his pieces during wartimes elicit such sadness and darkness. He also is able to portray such love and tenderness for his daughter. After learning about different art and from the tour guide talking, I learned that Picasso made his art to be looked at and for the audience to experience something from looking at his works. Picasso is remembered for his cubism art, but I found that some of my favorite pieces from the museum weren’t even from that era. It was interesting to see how where in his life played into what he created because you can see his thoughts in his paintings and sculptures.
Semiotics
Aesthetics
Duties and Consequences
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events
In this book, Boorstin argues that America is built upon and runs on images and this has affected the way Americans view certain events, products, people, et cetera. With the rise of what Boorstin labels the Graphic Revolution, pseudo-events have taken over the place of spontaneous events. He outlines pseudo-events as planned events, produced specifically to be seen and reported on.
One example that Boorstin gives to prove how images have distorted the public’s expectations is the news. With the coming of the Graphic Revolution and the use of media, American news has transitioned from morning or afternoon news to a 24 hour news cycle. So, to please the public’s expectation of news, news organizations plant pseudo-events and merely by placing them in the news, make these events newsworthy.
Another example is through travel. People have gradually turned from being travelers to being tourists. Tourists expect to see and experience certain things when they travel away from their homes. Rather than being immersed in an active role of experiencing different cultures, tourists take a more passive role of observing. Travel has become a pseudo-event because the experiences tourists seek are usually planned now to insure that they have a good trip.
“The Image” has made me aware of how accustomed we are to pseudo-events and the expectations that have come out of the rise of pseudo-events. Specifically for traveling, it made me painfully aware of how tourists look and act when they’re traveling, including myself. We walk in herds, take pictures of everything, and clog up walking areas. We have gathered high expectations of foreign lands through the media and flock to places we think are important to see. The images we conjure up of places dictate where we go and what we do. I can see media literacy coming in play so we are able to separate pseudo-events from the real places.