Abby Gray's Media Blogs!!

If you've been living in a cave, and you haven't hear about the royal wedding, here is a summary. Meghan Markle, and American actress, married Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth and the son of the most photographed woman in the world, Princess Diana. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to St. George's Chapel in Windsor to witness the extravagant royal wedding. But- is the love mutual? Do Americans fuel the royal obsession from overseas? Do the Brits even like it? The answer is simple- no, they don't. Many British folk have revealed that their taxes paid for every part of the royal wedding- from the crown and dress Markle wore to the flowers that donned the front of the chapel. They believe that the Americans are the only thing upholding the years-old tradition. So, in the end, it is the American obsession fueling the publicity of the wedding. Taxpayers were enraged by the fact that they paid for the wedding and reception, but they were not given priority vi...

I was very satisfied with the intentions of Miss Representation. However, there was a very large issue within it- the film barely discussed the roadblocks that women of color and trans women face on top of being a woman. The film talked about women of color a considerable amount, and did touch on the issues they face on top of being a woman, but this was mentioned once or twice. Trans women were completely excluded from this film, and they count as well. The film was made in 2011, and trans folks did not have as much recognitions as they do. now, but that does not excuse the lack of representation. I also believe that the film did not talk enough about how women tear down other women as well. A lot of blame was put on the media and men, and while some men and much of the media are responsible, women do force expectations on eachother and tear each other down just as equally. Most of the comments I have gotten, my mom has gotten, and my grandmothers have gotten are from other women who ...

Miss Representation was a movie with plenty of good intentions behind it. It pointed out the media's fault and our fault in making a woman's life difficult. However, I do not believe that there were enough causal links in the movie that would readily convince each and every viewer that each aspect ( media, behaviors, etc) connected to a woman's web being or the lack of. For example, at one point in the movie, there is a comment made about how media can be destructive toward teen girls. Then, a giant boom and explosion plays out on the screen for around 7 seconds- but they failed to show WHY the media had brought it to that large of a magnitude. This, in fact, was the largest issue with the movie. They exaggerated the magnitude of each issue and didn't link it back to the issue at its core. For example- how is the media THAT damaging to girls? How does it end our existence, like a nuclear bomb would? They make assumptions about the magnitude of each issue and fail to est...

On Friday, there was a shooting at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas. 10 people died, and many more were injured. Their names are A aron Kyle McLeod, Angelique Ramirez, Chris Stone, Jared Conard Black, Kimberly Jessica Vaughan, Shana Fisher, Christian Garcia, Sabika Sheikh, Cynthia Tisdale, and Ann Perkins. The shooter will not be named, as we should forget people who choose to take human lives out of their own hate. To expand on that point, the media has done extensive coverage on who the shooter was, where he was from, how many guns he owned, etc. His mugshot and Facebook profile are all over the internet, and I am sick of seeing his image on the internet. We should remember the victims and their lives, who are now silenced. The shooter will be alive and will be able to tell his story for the rest of his life, while the victims will not. I refuse to memorize his name or look at his mugshot.  One of our classmates, Arin, said something that stuck with me. Instead of making...

This PBS documentary was quite shocking to me. I never even thought that the marketing business was so interested in children and teens. They are no longer interested in our well being, but more so in our pockets. The stereotypes that the media and advertisers enforce on us is saddening. For example, the idea of "the Mook and the Midriff" are gateways for teens to become the adult stereotypes that the ad companies enforce on adults. The world adolescence has become even more clear to me through this documentary- the ad companies want us to conform to the Mook and Midriff to make their job easier, (so they can target to more teens, as they will be conforming to either the Mook/Midriff) and to get us obsessed with material products before we become adults. They create people that we should be and want to be- and this is harmful to the teen's perception of themselves. I would like to say that I am a better consumer from watching this video, but every day and and home I am ...

In Making Cents out of Teens: Merchants of Cool , one discussion question from our packet stood out to me- it reads " What is meant by the remark by the remark that when an advertiser finally finds a cool ad, the ad will self-destruct?" Teens (ourselves) are constantly struggling to make ourselves different yet fit in. By making a trend, we make ourselves different but we also stand out- especially to marketing companies. Teens are an incredibly desirable market, and we account for around $100+ billion of total sales in the market. Advertisers are desperate to market to teens, and they have found that by getting the trends from teens, they can market to us best. So, there have been "cool spies" and experts on teens that are looking for the trends. However, this takes a long time to recover the trends and get deep into teen culture. So, once an advertiser gets hold of a trend, it is likely to become old and un-cool. Part of the makeup of a trend is its uniqueness and...

Let's face it- our standards are based off of things we all deem to be "cool" or "idealistic". High School Musical was the standard for how High School should be for many years- and this is obviously not true. Instagram models are who many girls and women try to be- but we all cannot adhere ourselves to these standards. There is one reason why this false representation hurts girls and women a great amount- the trend of natural-looking plastic surgery among models. A lot models are famous for their beauty and their bodies- for example, Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. It is obvious that these women have gotten plastic surgery to enhance their look- but they will not confess it to anyone who comments on their posts or asks them in person. Kylie credits her looks to puberty, and Kim claims she's always looked the way she has. This is detrimental for two reasons. One, it creates standards that one can look like that because of puberty, and two, it causes peopl...

Social media is a very risky thing to use- we release photos of ourselves voluntarily to the disposal of anyone who has the same app. I have constantly heard from my friends that their parents restrict their use of social media, and that they discouraged their use of it because of this. However, this was never the case for me. My parents, in fact, encouraged my use of social media. My parents have to update their social media (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, all of the sort) around twice each day to maintain a relevant presence for their work. If they fail to keep up with it, they will be punished at work. Social media is a lifeline to who they are on air and how well they are doing their job. Social media is like a prison- they are glued to their phones, trying to rack up as many comments on Facebook as they can. They really don't recognize this, and have encouraged me to stay on social media to keep in touch with their lives and those around me. In fact, they made me a Faceb...

As many people know, I am completely basic so I love Grey's Anatomy. One character that stood out to me, while she was on the show, was Christina Yang, played by Sandra Oh. She began as an intern at Seattle Grace, but then (spoiler alert) became a cardiothoracic surgeon and director at a major hospital in Sweden, where she was reunited (coincidentally) with her ex-husband, who gave her the job. While this may sound like a cliche hero's journey, there is so much more to Cristina Yang that captivated audiences around the world. Cristina Yang is so complex, that it forces us to think about who she is and why she acts a certain way- all. the. time. She manages to achieve so much and makes so few mistakes in the operating room, but she is so complex- behind the books and her knowledge, she is a person who craves a normal life, but has so many limitations and expectations that she can't live a life she wants to. Her mind pushes her forward in her career, but completely sets her ...

Following the death my Great-Grandma Fagan in November of last year, the media, specifically social media, influenced my reaction to her death. I am not one to cry often, but my Great-Grandma was incredibly influential in my life. In many of the situations I encounter on a day to day basis, I try to think of what she would do and put my own tendencies to the side. Many people in my family felt the same way. All four of her daughters are on Facebook, including my Grandma, and I did my best to reach out to her sisters, regardless of the family drama occurring. Below is the story of just how much social media can impact one person. My Great- Aunt Mary Kay was flying to South Bend, Indiana, where my Great- Grandma lived. She was in an airport, all alone, waiting for her flight in a busy airport, and trying to control her grief. I did not know this was happening at the time, but what I did know is that she was greatly affected by her mother's passing. I Facebook messaged her, in ho...