My Letter to Carl's Jr.

Carl’s Jr. Restaurants, 

My letter is written specifically to those who produce Carl’s Jr. commercials. My name is Hannah, and I am a student at Brigham Young University. I have seen many Carl’s Jr. commercials over the years, and I have never had any hard feelings toward the company. After becoming more educated on the effects of media on human thought and behavior; however, I have learned that your advertisements are likely to have negative effects on those exposed to them. I understand the tactics behind the nature of your commercials. Sexual content is memorable and may cause your customers to associate your food with the pleasure of sex. While this may seem like a strategic move, studies show that advertisements with sexual content do not increase intent to buy. People may remember your commercials, but that does not mean they are more likely to buy your food. 

More importantly, the sexual nature of your commercials can have detrimental effects on women’s psychological well-being. Studies show that women who view images of sexually objectified women are more likely to suffer from low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and even eating disorders. As women are bombarded with images of models with perfect bodies, they internalize these images and believe they will never be able to live up to the standard of beauty that society expects of them. I believe that women are held to too high of a standard for beauty because of the many unrealistic images portrayed in the media. Along with an unrealistic ideal of beauty, your commercials convey the message that women’s value in society is found in their sex appeal. Your commercials only show one aspect of women, without acknowledging that women are multi-faceted human beings with thoughts and emotions. Your commercials tell viewers that women are objects, solely used to satisfy one’s sexual desires. Along with the negative effects on women, it is my personal opinion that children should not be exposed to such content. Parents are largely able to control the movies their children watch, but they have much less control over what they see on television. Children are not developmentally mature enough to handle the sexual content in your commercials. For everyone exposed to your commercials, I believe that the benefits for you do not outweigh the costs for them. 

I understand the need for entertainment to make a commercial effective, but I believe there are many ways to entertain an audience without degrading women. I propose that you simply tone down the sexual nature of your commercials. I believe that just adding more clothing for the women featured could make a significant difference. Still, I hope that you will consider other ways in which you can prevent false ideas and impossible expectations for viewers. You have the power to influence women in a positive way, and I hope that you will take that opportunity. 

Thank you,

Hannah Denney

General Conference

I full-heartedly believe that advances in technology and the increasing availability of media is part of God’s plan to further His work. This weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to watch General Conference and hear from our prophet and apostles. I am so grateful for the messages that they shared, and I felt comforted and inspired to improve my life. The wonderful thing about General Conference is that people can access it all over the world. My little sister who is on her mission in Australia sent a picture of her watching it on a computer with the caption, “Watching it with you.” It was wonderful to feel connected to her even though she is so far away, and it was a reminder to me that everyone on this earth is part of God’s family. Although media can have a destructive impact, its use in spreading the gospel is blessing lives all over the world. 

Easter Season Media

One of the greatest forms of media I am grateful for is music. Yesterday we had our Easter Program in Sacrament Meeting, and I was so touched by the Spirit. We had a piano number, a violin number, and a couple vocal performances as well. Each song confirmed to me the reality of Jesus Christ as my Savior and reminded me how blessed I am because of His atoning sacrifice and triumph over death. I find it interesting that even just music, with no words, can still convey a message so powerfully. Music will always speak to my heart in a way that words cannot. I have also enjoyed all the videos the church has put out this Easter season. Although we often view media in a negative light, I do believe it holds an important purpose to spread the gospel throughout the world. It is neat to see people using media to help and uplift others.

Zootopia

On Saturday I saw the movie Zootopia and I loved it! It was entertaining, funny, and had a great message. It was about the first rabbit to join the police force in the animal city of Zootopia, and how she is able to prove herself to those who doubt her abilities. She is given the assignment to find a missing otter, and she joins forces with a mischievous fox who is known for his unlawful behavior. I loved the message that each person is an individual, and we cannot make assumptions about others based on stereotypes. Never before had rabbits been in law enforcement, but Judy Hopps proved that she could be a successful police officer. The fox, Nick Wilde, grew up not wanting to be mischievous, but as other people pushed the negative fox stereotype on him he eventually became that way. Luckily, he has a change of heart and accepts a job to work with Judy in the Police Department. I love that there are movies like this that can be entertaining for kids and still teach an important life lesson.

The Color of Beauty

This past week I did the coding for our Content Analysis assignment. Our group is looking at sexual objectification of women in magazines. As I looked through each page of Harper’s Bazaar, one of the top magazines for women, I had an unexpected realization. Of course, many of the pictures and ads were risqué, but I realized something about the ethnicities of each woman. The majority of the women were white, and of those that were sexually objectified, I could count on one hand the number of women that were of a different ethnicity. This makes me wonder, is today’s ideal of beauty still the Caucasian woman? I do believe our country has come a long way in establishing racial equality, however, this assignment made me realize that we still have a ways to go. Of course I do not believe that women SHOULD be sexually objectified, but I hope we can get to the point where we can see the beauty in every woman, no matter her color, shape, or size. 

Finding My True Worth

This post is dedicated to my feelings about the past couple class periods. I was very impressed by our lesson in class about gender and media. I was amazed by just how much the media strives to promote the ideal of what men and women should look like and be like. Women are left feeling like they will never be beautiful because they will never compare to the unrealistic ideal of beauty that is shown in the media. These images that we see on a daily basis are not real, and in reality striving for physical beauty is not that important. Like Professor Coyne said, there will come a day when we will have gray hair and wrinkles. We will not have the 25 year-old bodies that we do now. When that day comes, I hope that we can see that we are of great worth because of who we truly are—because of the talents we have developed, the knowledge we have gained, the people we have helped, and the many other things that we have accomplished. Young women today should feel that they have the power to achieve and be whatever they want. Ultimately, I hope that I can always remember that my value comes from my divine nature as daughter of God. 

Media Effects on Culture

Last Monday my FHE family played a game called celebrity. In the game, players wrote down names of celebrities and other famous people and characters on three small pieces of paper. Then everyone divided into two teams and players took turns pulling names from the bowl of papers. In the first round they had to describe the famous person, in the second round they had to use one word to describe the person, and in the third round they had to act out the person. I was a little worried in the beginning that I would not know the people I had to describe, but I soon found that the actors, singers,  and movie/book characters were generally well-known to me and the rest of the people playing the game. This made me realize just how much media influences our American culture. Although each person comes from a unique background, everyone generally knows who Selena Gomez, Katniss Everdeen, and Harry Potter are. Because these types of media characters are well-known to us, we talk about them in hopes of building connections with other people. Additionally, popular merchandise often times contains celebrity content or strives to mimic what they use. We consume media, talk about media, and base our lives based on what it glorified in the media. Media definitely impacts our culture and can be a way to unify a country full of a variety of people. 

Education in Movies

This past week I learned how valuable the media can be in education. I had to create a presentation on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder for my psychology class. In order to make our project more interesting we decided to include some movie clips that demonstrate someone with symptoms of PTSD. Our most valuable clip came from the movie American Sniper, a true story about a man named Chris Kyle who was one of the best snipers in U.S. military history. As I watched the clip and various others that we found, I realized that through movies I am able to witness things that I would not normally see in my own life. I have never known someone with PTSD, nor have I ever seen the symptoms of it. Through movies I was able to see what someone with PTSD looks like and what it is that they actually go through. Of course movies tend to dramatize; however, they can still give more of a perspective on things. I am grateful that through movies I am able to see new places, new experiences, and get a closer look at what it's like to be someone completely different than who I am.

The Martian: Overcoming Trials

Last week I saw the movie The Martian. The movie is about an astronaut who is stranded on Mars after he is separated from his team during a massive storm. The team assumes that Mark Watney is dead, and they decide to leave the planet. Realizing that it would take years before others could save him, Watney takes action to survive and make contact with NASA to help bring him home. The majority of the movie follows Watney’s attempts to grow food and scavenge parts of previous missions to survive. I found this movie both entertaining and inspiring. What impressed me the most was Watney’s proactive and positive attitude toward his situation. It would have been easy to get discouraged and give up hope trying to survive, but he immediately took action and found ways to be productive with his time. On top of it all, he still managed to keep a positive attitude and even find the humor in his situation. I think we can all learn from Mark Watney’s example. We will all be faced with different challenges during our lives that are out of our control, but we do have control over how we react to those situations. We can choose to get discouraged and give up hope, or we can choose to be proactive and make the best of our situation. In the end, it was his proactive attitude that saved Watney’s life. I hope that I can face challenges in my life with the same determination to overcome and still be happy in the process.

Leslie and Ben

When I started watching Parks and Rec last November I was hooked. I fell in love with the characters and the unique and hilarious way they each react to the daily struggles of working for the local Parks Department. I became especially intrigued when Leslie Knope is introduced to Ben Wyatt, a visiting state auditor that later becomes a permanent character of the show. At first Leslie and Ben butt heads, but as they work together they eventually fall in love. That is not to say that the road to happiness for Leslie and Ben is easy. When Leslie decides to run for city council they break up because the scandal of dating a fellow employee could ruin her campaign. Ben resigns from his position at the Parks Department and they get back together during Leslie’s campaign, but after Leslie wins Ben accepts a job in Washington D.C. For a while they date long distance, which definitely takes its toll on their relationship. Leslie and Ben’s relationship is full of obstacles, but what I love about them is that they choose to make it work. Ben gets offered a job to run another campaign in Florida, but he declines the offer and goes back to Pawnee, Indiana to propose to Leslie. Ben realizes that his relationship with Leslie is more important to him than anything else. I will admit, I got a little emotional watching this touching scene. I think there is a lot we can learn from Ben and Leslie. As a college student, I have seen and personally experienced many obstacles related to marriage and dating relationships. What I have learned is that in order to have a successful relationship, I have to be flexible and willing to sacrifice. With any relationship there will be challenges, but it is up to me whether or not I will keep my relationship as a top priority. I hope that I can keep this perspective in my dating relationships and one day in my marriage as well.

Who am I

Last class caused me to reflect on the songs that have impacted me throughout my life. I thought of one song called, “Who am I” that really helped me during a difficult time of my mission. The work was difficult, and I found myself getting frustrated that I wasn’t being rewarded for my efforts. I was being prideful, and this song made me realize that I needed to forget myself and focus on loving others as Jesus Christ did. As a missionary I experienced a lot of rejection, but this song reminded me that every person I came in contact with was a child of God and that I was no better than they were. It made me want to go out and share the message of God’s love with everyone. It is incredible to me that one song can have such an impact. It also makes me think, if one positive song can do so much good for me, how much damage can one negative song cause? We may not go out and live the lifestyle that is glorified in popular music today, but negative music does not motivate us to be happy, proactive, and charitable. I want to make more of an effort to listen to music that inspires me to be better. I am grateful that through music I can receive revelation and feel God’s presence in my life. 

The Power of Youtube Videos

For this post I've decided to talk about the power of funny Youtube videos. We've all seen them, and we all have that one youtube video that makes us laugh like we're seeing it for the first time. Some of my favorites are BLR's, Boys will be Girls, and (my absolute favorite) my sister's wisdom teeth video. There is something so therapeutic about laughing hysterically, especially late at night with some of my favorite people. The other night I showed my roommates a video of a slightly overweight child dancing like no one's business, and instantly we were all rolling. We always talk about how media hurts our relationships, but I can honestly say that watching that video brought us closer together. This makes me wonder, can quality time be more diverse than just sitting around a campfire or engaging in a deep conversation? Is it possible that just being with others and laughing together can have the same power to bond us together? I don't think anything can match the power of meaningful conversations, but I also believe that experiencing media with others can have a bonding impact. Not only can the media bond us in the moment, but it can continue to bond us every time that Youtube video is brought up in conversation. We will always remember when we stayed up all night watching stupid videos and how fun it was. Additionally, even talking about media can lead into more meaningful conversations. For example, last night I went ice skating with some friends and I got talking to one of the guys in our group. Our conversation started with talking about music and movies. As time went on; however, we got talking about more meaningful things that helped me to know him on a deeper level. I don't think that conversation would have happened if had we not started the conversation talking about media. In talking about media we became more comfortable talking with each other, which led us to open up about ourselves. Of course media use can be taken to the extreme, but when used in the right way and with the right people it can bring us closer together.

Is Media Your Best Friend?

Alright, here it goes. My first blog post EVER! Although this blog is for an assignment, I’m excited for an outlet to express my thoughts and feelings about something that does so profoundly affect my life each day. Media definitely has its pros (I don’t know how I would get through school without it), but we can all agree that it can prevent us from creating and maintaining authentic relationships and experiences. We become so enraptured by our phones, laptops, and other electronic devices that we become completely unaware of what’s going on around us. Heck, I’ve even had media distract me from experiencing other media! For example, the other day I put a movie on the tv, got comfortable on the couch with my laptop in front of me, and then two hours later the movie was over and I didn’t pay attention to any of it. I don’t think I’m the only one that’s had that experience. So yeah, media can be distracting.
We can all think of these little experience when we’ve seen the negative effects of media, but I had an experience earlier this week that opened my eyes a little more to the severity of this issue. I was scrolling through facebook and I came to a post from one of my best friends. Her and I were roommates before our missions and we have remained close ever since. Although school keeps us busy and we don’t live together anymore, we still talk on a pretty regular basis. Her post was about her brother--how after a long hard journey he was finally able to leave on his mission. Her post was long and heart-felt, and it was clear that his departure was an exciting thing for her. It was an inspirational post, but instead of making me feel warm and fuzzy, her post just made me confused. I had never heard about this brother before. In fact, I didn’t even know this brother existed. I didn’t know anything! I wracked my brain trying to think of the times we’ve talking about her family, but I came up empty. There are only two explanations for this--either she told me and I don’t remember it, or she never told me about it except for this time on facebook. Both explanations left me disconcerted. I don’t think there is anything wrong with sharing about your life on facebook, but when it starts taking precedence over our real-life communication with friends and family, it becomes a problem. Then I wonder, what if she told me and I wasn’t paying attention? What if at the moment she told me my phone buzzed and my thoughts immediately turned to who was trying to reach me? What if I was half-heartedly listening while scrolling through my News feed? Bottom line, we can all be better at giving our full love and attention to the people in our lives that matter most.