Your favorite movie or advertising space?

The Sandlot, a very popular movie about a boy's journey to play baseball. I have watched this movie well over fifty times and every single time I find something new. I recently watched it again and picked up things I had never found before and I was shocked to find the amount of advertisements within the time frame of one hour and forty one minutes. This movie is set in the 1960s with a group of nine boys who spent the summer together encountering many obstacles along the way. We meet the Sandlot gang but along the way we also meet advertisements for coca-cola, P.F. Flyers, Spalding baseballs, Big Chief chewing tobacco and many others.

Even though this movie was released in the 90's the advertisements within the film still attract the attention of its viewers. Who are these viewers? The younger generation. People who are older have the ability to overlook these things because they know that those advertisements are being put there fir a reason. Children are more likely to subconsciously absorb what's being put in front of their faces without even realizing it's there.

P.F Flyers, to you they may just look like a sneaker, something very similar to a converse. Within the movie The Sandlot they don't just show this sneaker a bunch of times but it is actually talked about. At the climax of the movie as Benny is putting these on we hear the voice over say "P.F. Flyers a sneaker that was guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher." That phrase was incorporated into this story. We see ads for coca cola and that is the only thing the boys drink, Spalding baseballs are the only type of baseballs they used and when the camera zooms in on the baseball we can clearly see "Spalding". Even as the team is trying out chewing tobacco, one of the characters says, "Big Chief the best" and all we see is the package. I am sure that Big Chief is not the only type of chewing tobacco but the character didn;t even need to tell us what it was. There is one point in the movie before the plot comes into play, the voice over of Smalls is telling us about the "biggest pickle they could ever get into" and the camera zooms in to an ad on the side of a building for dog food. For years I never understood that part and questioned myself as to why i never understood the meaning behind that. It was the most recent time that I watched this movie that I came to the conclusion that maybe it wasn't me just not understanding all those years, but that it was just advertising.

Every day we notice new things, whether it be in the movies we have seen numerous times or in our everyday surroundings. It came to my attention that advertising is everywhere, and yes it is more apparent in recent years. In this movie advertising wasn't done in a way that it compromises life's morals, it was just put in there to do it's job. Sometimes we don't realize things even when they are put right in front of our faces, advertising is known for that.

Children and Persuasive Advertising

In life each of us has our own path to travel upon, our own road to journey down, obstacles to hurdle over and sometimes stumble upon. We don't like to watch anyone get left in the dust, left behind. In this world we put blinders on our peripheral vision, like those people in the mall that keep their chins up to the ceiling and use their own children in their strollers like battery rams, we don;t stop to see what is right in front of our faces. The problems that this world is facing everyday, and since the reason we don't see them is because we are all on the computer, watching television, playing with our blackberry, advertisers have to get our attention somehow. It is no secret to the advertising industry that we cater to those who we believe can't stand up for themselves, animals and children. Even though society has turned a blind eye to the problems within these categories advertisers know that if they put it right in front of our faces we will react. If we don't react we always have those familiar faces of Robin Williams, Jennifer Aniston, Ray Romano, Bernie Mac and Antonio Banderas all compiled into one single commercial to help catch our attention.



St. Judes Children Research Hospital uses celebrities, recognizable faces that even if you look up for a second and go to turn you attention back to what you were doing you snap your head back. You have the voice of children and the familiar voices of these public figures put together into one thirty second commercial. Each celebrity interacts with one patient showing that they are not just preaching for some organization but that they are actually participating in it and interacting and changing the lives of these patients. Wouldn't you want to do that too?

Invisible Children, Not Just Any Documentary

There's a documentary. You watch it. You hear what it has to say. You more than not believe in what it has to say. It empowers you. Does it empower you enough to act? Does a documentary usually ask something of you? The answer is no, documentaries are usually made to get a point across but they usually do not expect there viewers to act upon what they've seen. They don't normally ask you to raise money, make bracelets, take trips to Uganda, a movie doesn't normally ask that of you.



The documentary Invisible children does. It asks it's viewers to do more than just see it and feel and then go home and go on Facebook, it asks you to act. This documentary was not made by some middle aged man with a hired camera crew and a simple message of "This is how bad McDonald's is for you", not that that documentary didn't impact me because I got sick afterward and won't eat it, but Invisible Children asks you to feel enough to do more than just feel for them. Today's generation, we don't act enough, we don't get up off of our new found technology and go out and make a change. This documentary was made by teenagers, some of you may wonder "why would they do a stupid thing like just get up and go to Uganda?", but I'm asking you why not? Why is it so hard to believe that if someone believes in something enough that they can get up and do something about it?

My senior year in high school I was in a class called Senior Experience and we started raising money for Invisible Children. No we did not have the funds nor the permission to go over to Uganda but we didn't just throw our hands up in the air and do nothing. We made the bracelets they sell online, we put on a fashion show, we locked a boy in a show case (willingly), we went around to every classroom and explained the concept of Invisible Children. Word of mouth goes a long way in the advertising world but this Documentary asks you to act. We raised money for Schools for Schools where your school competed against other schools to raise money to give these children new schools and textbooks. The class of 2007 started a trend in Calhoun High School because three years later it's still going on and one student one the trip to Uganda.

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php

The website of Invisible Children shows you all the different ways to fund raise as well as to donate. Each color bracelet they sell represents a different child that had been a part of this movement. This isn't any old documentary, it's an advertising documentary, advertising it's product as well as it's fund raising aspect.

Current Events and Advertising

In today's world we are often looking for substantial reasons to buy a product, this economy prevents a majority of society to go out and buy something because it's pretty. Persuasive advertising is the only tactic that seems to be working to get consumers to buy a product. In this world we have had a series of events occurring that are sparking advertisers attention, oil spills, cyber-bullying, animal cruelty. If advertisers use these current events are we going to be more likely to buy their product?

The recent oil spill sparked the attention of Dawn, an outlet for them to come up with a brilliant new commercial.


There are no words spoken in this commercial just a happy sounding song and by the advertisement being 90% visual it catches your attention. Without saying a word this commercial guarantees you that every bottle you buy, one dollar will go to help save animals. This society caters to those who cannot help themselves and we see that to be children and animals. How can you deny this helpless little creature from going from oil covered to it's happy original state? Most of us can't. A Pedigree commercial tells you a story a very powerful story and takes Dawn's story one step further.


In other advertisements for Pedigree we meet furry friends like Echo, Bailey, King, Archie, Mary Grace, Maggie, Oliver, Dixie and buddy, to name a few, the first parts of their commercials show us their sad story about not being adopted, may it be last picked in the shelter, or a family moves away from home. What we get to see in their next commercial is their success story of adoption, the viewer finds the happy ending that we were all searching for. This shows the consumer the idea of promise, the idea that, "sure if I buy a bag of Pedigree dog food, money will go to an organization, but now it will definitely make a difference". In life we are all searching for something to believe in, this commercial grants us that, the idea that we can make a difference and I can see how.

Are the childhoods of our future world being lost to computers?

When you think of the word "childhood" what comes to mind? Playing outside, perhaps the idea of imagination? Is the first thing that popped into your head internet? For many people I would have to say the answer would be no, but on the contrary the internet is becoming something a child's world revolves around. In elementary school it was exciting to come up to the overhead projector and clean off the transparencies, but more likely than not you won't find that in today's classrooms. In classrooms while some are being taught "the golden rule" others are being taught internet etiquette. What is internet etiquette? Internet etiquette is all about how to teach children how to act responsibly using computers. I, personally was taught to treat others the way you would want to be treated face to face, I wonder if maybe internet etiquette should be taught to the older generations as well.

We know that smoking is dangerous or at least now we do but it wasn't always like that. I knew that smoking was dangerous and disgusting which is why I never knew at a young age why a certain family member would be furious with me when I flushed their cigarettes down the toilet...oops. Smoking, drugs, and alcohol, things society considers addictive behaviors but the computer? Many stand "wowed" at the idea that the computer can be addictive and in turn dangerous. Korean students at the mere age of six years old learn how to use the computers responsibly through songs that tell them: "While chatting first greet happily" and "I am the internet guardian angel, I want to be the first to protect". An elementary school in the mid 1990's located in Merrick, NY was teaching me catchy songs about respecting your neighbor and how to clean up, it seems we've come a long way. You might be thinking, "Well what is so bad about this?" Nothing is bad about this if the computer must be a part of their six and seven year old worlds but why does it have to be?

Have you ever heard of an Internet Rescue School? When I first watched the PBS documentary "Digital Nation" and came across this I laughed at how ridiculous it seemed, but the fact of the matter is in some cases this course of action is obviously necessary. How sad it is that people are being sent to these places and being detoxed from the internet, it sounds unfathomable but it's unfortunately true. Is it necessary at such a young age to be exposed to the harsh addictive reality of the internet? What happened to the times where you wanted to go bike riding and be outdoors? Now all you here is, "So and so made me go bike riding." This world is changing fast enough and kids are growing up faster than ever before even without the internet, but with the internet they might as well skip from six to twenty. I fear that with computers being the prime source of interaction children won't be able to interact naturally face to face. I wonder if something so simple and natural as talking to someone next to you, will the idea of that in ten years be absolutely mortifying?

Is media taking bullying to the next level?

What is bullying? Bullying used to happen face to face, one on one, five against one. Most people would agree that was how the majority of bullying was done, not today. Today's world is much more complex then that, you can bully someone without them even knowing your real name, or even what you look like. No, today you can conveniently hurt someone via text message, e-mail, and internet, more specifically Facebook and other social networking sites, cyber bullying. Some might say, "Well why would you care if it was someone you didn't know, someone that meant nothing to you?" Bullying is still hurtful and mentally harmful whether it's coming from your best friend or someone across the country, a person is still coming after you.

People are getting hurt all the time via text message, e-mail, facebook, maybe not necessarily being bullied but things are misconstrued 24/7. It doesn't help that very young kids are now allowed on facebook where they can gang up on others the same way you would face to face but now it's easier and there is usually no one around to stop them. There has been a trend emerging on Facebook called Formspring.me where anyone can anonymously ask you anything they want. Recently cyber bullying has been leading to suicides, how far is too far? Media is becoming increasingly powerful but it is because of society. Media is compelling and dynamic all by itself but we activate it, we bring it to the next level because it is so present in today's world.


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What's up with 3D?

New trends are emerging in the media every day, it seems as if today's generation is upping the anti on technology. New things are approaching faster than ever, the itouch, ipad, the kindle, internet on cell phones, and 3D movies. Wait, is 3D new? Surprising to most and even myself at first to find out that 3D movies are not as new as we think. The new part is that the 3D world is surviving and even more than that, thriving. Why all of a sudden is this "new" (or maybe not so new) world of 3D becoming the next big thing? Some say it's because this generation, this world we live in, our society is wanting everything bigger, better, more spectacular, more out of the ordinary, just more. I definitely agree that, that reason is absolutely true and 100% correct, but I also believe that are other factors to be calculated into this equation as to why 3D is becoming so successful.

Was the movie Up portrayed as the same fantastic movie in 2D as it was in 3D? For most the answer was yes but what about Avatar? Somebody told me that when they saw Avatar in 3D it wasn't just a movie, it was an experience, some even said it made them dizzy. Every person I asked about Avatar who had seen it in 3D said nothing about the story line but about the special effects. We are seeing that the movies that are in 3D fall into more of an action based catagory because what use is it to see Valentine's Day in 3D? A 3D action or adventure movie is keeping people on the edge of their seats and more stimulated than ever before.

Another reason I believe that 3D is maintaining such a high status in the media industry is because of the money it is taking in. Going to see a movie is certainly not as cheap as it used to be and the rates seem to just keep rising making people in this economy stay away from movie theaters. The internet being one of our main sources of media capturing other media within it, newspapers, music, TV shows, and even movies. There are many sites that stream new movies for free, so why pay $11? When it comes to 3D movies they have yet to find a way to stream those for free, but they have come out with the new 3D televisions which is bringing them more money. According to CBS going to see 3D movie in IMAX is going to cost the average New Yorker $20. In this economy will it stop people from going to the movies? I believe that until 3d movies are streaming online for free or until everyone can afford a 3D television people will continue to go to the movies, maybe not all, but most.



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What is a smart commercial?

Mislead By The Media

The Boy In the Striped Pajamas - The best video clips are here

In today's society what we hear and what we can actually see can sometimes get blended together. Now with all this new media at our fingertips giving us information faster then ever we can now see it even before it is rumored, but it wasn't always like that. Some people believe that media didn't have any affect on societies up until recently, but that definitely was not the case, just because they didn't have televisions or internet doesn't mean people were not influenced. Some tend to forget that although certain technologies weren't available there was still newspapers, and more importantly newspapers with pictures. An example that comes to mind is the Holocaust, people, more specifically children believed what they saw.

A movie that was made not too long ago, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas, set in World War II and told through a child's perspective, provides a perfect example that media can make the world seem like a completely different place. The main character was misguided to believe that a concentration camp was nothing more then a big playground for Jewish children. Why did he think that? Because that was what he was shown on a projector. His sister, a girl who used to play with dolls traded them in to hang up pictures of Hitler because that's all she read about.

This poster was printed by Der Strumer who specialized in anti-Semitic cartoons. He created the slogan in 1923 that the "Jews are our misfortune." This poster was designed to dehumanize the Jews who were posed in distorted and humiliating positions. Der Strumer also set out to give the impression that the Jews were different, less human and not nearly as good as the German people.

Media, no matter in what form, when or where, is vital and impacts society more than I believe people ever realize. When events are happeneing I think it is hard to take yourself out of your world and be able to see the difference of what is actually happening vs. what the media is showing you and perhaps it just isn't feasible. Is it possible that maybe it has to happen first and then we can look back and realize the damage it has caused? In the movie, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas being mislead cost the boy his life. I believe media has the power to do good and bad, it is society who needs to figure out the difference.

Ultimate Control

Growing up when it came to the media you either conformed to the schedules of others or, "oops, sorry you're out of luck." Present day that way of life is almost mocked, you see groups on Facebook, become a fan of "When you were little having a reason to wake up early on a Saturday morning to watch cartoons", who does that anymore? Even young kids understand the concept of DVR, they don't have to wake up at 7AM, they can wake up at 10 play Wii Sports and then watch Spongebob. Society is not conforming to the media anymore we are taking control and the media is conforming to society. Most people these days, even kids are running around with a million things to do and don't have time to be restricted to the schedules of television shows but don't want to be without them either.

We control the media, you can gain internet access on almost any cell phone and now even your ipod. Someone has a question, no you don't have to wait until you get home to figure out the answer you can Google on your phone or your laptop. You don't want to wait in line to buy movie tickets log on to fandango and print out your ticket online, same thing with concert tickets just go to Ticketmaster.com. This society is a mobile community, always on the run but more connected to the media than ever. Even grocery shopping, something people years ago would have said there is no way that the internet and grocery shopping can be connected, wrong. Now we have Peapod.com, you can grocery shop online and someone from your nearest store will deliver it to you.

The phone in present day is even being used less and less, you can order clothes online, you can order food online. Infomercials, "call now and we'll take ten dollars off your purchase," they now have websites too. Even though the actual calling process isn't being used so much you still can't be without a cell phone, but now our cell phones are being used more than ever but not for calling but for texting and internet.

Ashton Kutcher not too long ago did a little experiment on the television v.s. the web through Twitter, he talks about the television and the web becoming one. Ashton took on CNN to see who could reach one million followers on twitter first, to show the power of social media that we create the content that we want to see. As years go by society wants more and more at their fingertips, we decide, we control what we see and when we see it.

Below is one of Ashton Kutcher's Ustream videos about his Twitter Duel:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1393560

Just Google It

Have you ever noticed how much time you actually spend on the computer when all you went to do was get an answer to what had seemed like a very simple question? I fall victim to it pretty much every single day. Don't know the lyrics to a song? Google it and being that driving takes up a lot of my time traveling Monday through Thursday from Merrick to Oakdale I am always wondering who sings that song? Or what was that second verse? Lyrics and a name that's all you can be looking for but three hours later not only do you know the answers you went in searching for but you also know they live in Studio City with two kids and a dog. Google is for lack of a better word "hypnotizing", you started out on google but ended up on itunes buying all their latest hits, so now not only did this take up three hours of your time but at least a $1.29. It gets better when your trying to write a psychology paper and just wanted to know the name of a theorist and come out of your google frenzy a psychologist yourself diagnosing yourself with about fifteen different diseases. Google has a great power over its users, myself being one of them, but why? Why isn't it simple to go in with one question and come out with one answer? Google it.