With regard to a code of ethics in advertising, those involved must be specifically aware of the effects most adverts have on children and teenagers in a psychological sense.
"Research shows that children under the age of eight are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased." (American Psychological Association)
An example of this has to do with the issue of childhood obesity. Children are easy targets for commercial persuasion and most of these commercials have to do with sugary cereals, unhealthy snack foods, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkDpTMGgAoo
Teenagers are also effected due to the fact that their prefrontal cortex (controls impulses and decision making) is not fully developed until the age of 25 and are easily manipulated through advertising. This can be dangerous especially when teens are exposed to video games such as Grand Theft Auto. There was a case in 2oo5 where an Alabama teenager reinacted a scene in the video game and shot two cops.
I understand that companies are interested in profit and that young people are targets because of their vulnerability, but it would be most ethical if companies would consider future problems such as obesity and teenage crime. If young people are the target audience, there has got to be some regulation.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch premiered on ABC in 1969. It began poorly, much like Star Trek, but eventually became one of America's most popular 1970's sitcoms.
The show represented family values like its predecesors "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best." America was dealing with political and social stress during that time period and the creators of "The Brady Bunch" made a point to steer clear from that reality.
Check out The Museum of Broadcast Communications for more insight on this popular sitcom.
Haunted? What do you think?
Is the Amityville house really haunted? MTV takes a deeper look into the film by comparing the movie with real life facts.Check it out for yourself..."The Amityville Horror."
Evolution of YouTube: Age of Personal Media
New forms of video entertainment are on the rise. 35,000 videos are uploaded to YouTube daily and with the advancements in technology, cellphone users are able to send video directly from their phones to YouTube.
"It will be interesting to see what content will be like when everyone who has a cellphone with them can take video of anything," says Chen. (Co-founder of YouTube)
The recent creation of "Spin-offs and video responses" have allowed videos to be posted like comments--very similar to blog responses. This thread of video footage has allowed personal videos to become more like television series.
Exciting times in today's media!
Check out this article on USA Today.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
South Park: Technological Advancements
South Park is known for its mocking nature when it comes to the portrayal of politicians, celebrities, and fads. In order to keep its audience laughing, the production team is known to work 120 hour work weeks and around the clock for nearly 24 hours in order to produce shows in a timely manner.
"Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show's creators and chief authors, need the ability to spoof yesterday's presidential news conference or parody Britney Spears' latest hairdo," writes Dustin Driver, media spokesperson for Apple, Inc.
South Park began its production with the use of construction paper which eventually led to the use of Adobe Photoshop and Maya. As technology advanced, special effects were becoming more and more common through the use of Motion. All these advancements led the team to switch from PCs to Macs. They noticed that alot more was accomplished in a smaller amount of time on a Mac because Maya was more compatible with that workstation. PCs constantly delayed production due to Maya crashing on the Windows workstation which would cause the entire computer to crash.
As you can see, technological advancements have played a vital role in making sure that these animated shows can be created in an efficient and timely manner.
For further reading, please refer to the link below:
"South Park Studios: No Walk in the Park."
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Office
The Office is a documentary-style comedy based off of the original BBC series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. This newly innovated series was created for American television by Greg Daniels and premiered on NBC in March of 2005.
This "docu-reality" portrays the lives of those working at Dunder Mifflin paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The typical 9-5 work day is a huge force of society that has influenced this show. The main characters include the tour-guide and boss Michael Scott, Pam the receptionist, Jim and Dwight the sales associates, and other characters who represent HR, Corporate, the shipping crew, etc. The daily humor and drama found in the typical American office is perfectly laid out through this hit series.
One particular innovation brought about by this series is its documentary-like style. This type of filming is called cinema verite and is done with one camera. Throughout the show, you will notice a single camera following characters around throughout the show. The camera is also a bit shaky which makes you feel as if you are the one doing the filming. The show does a good job in engaging its audience through this unique process.
Another innovation I would like to highlight is the mobile media campaign that NBC did for The Office. This innovation portrays the advances in technology and its important role in current television. The mobile media campaign has allowed fans to further engage in this t.v. series outside their homes through text messages and mobile webpages where they can write blogs, subscribe to newsletters, connect with other fans, shop, play games, read cast bios, and download current episodes. This innovation has allowed The Office to flourish throughout the years because it has enabled each of us to carry this show to work, the coffee shop, school, and the doctor's office through the simple use of our cellular phones. Social networking has become an important tool in the marketing and advertising of popular television series such as The Office.
For more information on The Office, please refer to the links below:
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