Abby Gray's Media Blogs!!

In the general sense, I have changed my use of media in very specific ways- and this is only when I view ads. Much of our media unit has been focused around analyzing ads and not so much social media- so, in line with this, I focused much more on my consumption of ads on all platforms- such as TV ads, social media ads, etc. To expand on this, I became much more aware of the implicit and explicit messages and appeals used in each ad that I saw. In addition, I began to observe why certain ads aired on certain stations. For example, I was watching ESPN with my dad, and the only ads that aired were ads for testosterone pills, fitness gear, and for beer. I now know exactly why- ESPN's target consumer is a middle-aged man who is looking to get fit and admires athletes, but is obviously sitting there watching TV, and these offer simple solutions to being like the athletes they see. Now that I have become more aware and attentive to the ads I watch, I have noticed that I consume so much mo...

Recently on various social media platforms, I have noticed a lot of backlash between the body types people, but more specifically women,have. A skinny person is considered "anorexic" and " a try-hard" and that they "need to eat a burger" while bigger people are told to lose weight and eat a salad. This has caused utter confusion for me- what even are the expectations for women's bodies now? I have noticed that recently, there has been more backlash towards thin models/people. The reality is that some people are built that way and I don't have an issue with them dieting and such. If that's what they want to do, then they can do it. The part that gets twisted is the part where skinny can become the expectation- and in reality, it shouldn't. We should not pressure people who are built bigger to get surgery (such as removing a rib) to be skinnier. The same goes for people who are skinny that feel pressure to have an hourglass figure- we shoul...

Like many students, I am a Twitter user and abuser. I got on Twitter frequently, and this week, I had a reality check when I tweeted #wherearethechildren out of good intentions. Many people have heard of the alleged separation policy that Trump has enacted with the border control, better known as ICE, where children are separated from their parents and put into separate detention centers. This is true- but it has falsely been linked to the lost children. I came across a tweet several days after tweeting #wherearethechildren by a lawyer who was experienced in cases like this and has has contact with people related to the incident. She said that we should stop tweeting this- the lost children are very likely to be with their families (she noted it is probably an uncle/aunt/grandparent who is a US citizen) and have not been accounted for as undocumented by the government- and that if the 1,500 children were to be found, they would be sent back to Mexico by ICE. So, she stated it is bett...

The media was abuzz this week with the news that Kim Kardashian was headed to the White House to discuss prison reform. Many people have taken it to Twitter to show their dissatisfaction with Kardashian meeting the President.The New York Post even made their magazine cover a distorted photo of Kardashian meeting Trump, and many criticized the nature of the meeting. However, I strongly oppose the criticism, and I am rather repulsed by the criticism that she's receiving. Kardashian has been an opponent of Trump and was a fervent Hillary supporter during the 2016 election. However, she described, she wanted to talk to Trump about a woman named Alice Walker who was in prison for a minor drug felony. Kardashian put her feelings aside to benefit not just Alice Walker, but many people like her who are in jail for a minor drug charge. That, by itself, is incredibly admirable. Kardashian was looking to make a positive change, and she did so in the right way. She has risen awareness and i...