Political Manifesto: Group 9: Commuters Unite

Group 9, members: Umber Bhatti, Sarah Chanh, Allen Matsumoto, Joseph Montoya, Trung Nguyen

Commuters Unite: Never be late because you can’t find space
Cause: New Parking Garages. SJSU needs to build more parking garages for students because the current garages are not sufficient enough to hold all of the cars. Since students have to pay $200 for a parking pass, they should always have a space waiting for them. Creating new garages would allow students to park within 10 minutes, instead of circling the garage for a long periods of time, or having to leave the house hours before class, just to make sure they’ll find a parking space.
Leader: Allen Matsumoto
Winning campaign slogan: A space we can believe in!

We  made a Facebook and Twitter account, a logo, and two posters. 

Our group came up with two ideas for posters. (Unfortunately I can't upload them on here because the file is not supported) One was created by Sarah Chanh where it shows a parking garage that actually has open spaces, and room for other cars. The other, made by Joseph Montoya, showed a paraking garage that was completely full, and had 3 cars competeing for one spot. It also read "3 cars, 1 spot, 5 minutes" to describe how students get late for class a lot because they can never find enough parking. 

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Environmental agency: Greenpeace USA

Greenpeace "is the largest independent direct action environmental organization in the world." They defend nature, and investigate and expose environmental abuse. They also advocate for the rights of all people. Their campaigns include: Stopping global warming, defending our oceans, protecting our forests, save the arctic, no new nukes, safety from toxic chemicals, and promoting sustainable agriculture. They take action in situations that are dire and effect many people.

the social media platforms they use are:
Greenpeace on Twitter
Greenpeace on Pinterest
Greenpeace on Facebook
Greenpeace on YouTube
Greenpeace on Flickr
Greenpeace on Google+

One of Greenpeace's campaign was very successful. They were able to get Facebook to pledge to move away from coal.

Greenpeace argued that Facebook consumed A LOT of coal, so they started an "Unfriend Facebook" campaign. Many Facebook users participated in this, enough to actually get the companies attention. 

Gender in advertising

Women have definitely been stereotyped and objectified in advertisements. In class we learned that women were first seen as dumb and incompetent. Then they were objectified sexually for cologne and car ads, and then they seem to  be more of the housewife and motherly types. Even today we still see all types of variations when it comes to women in the media, but it is more progressive and leaving these cliched stereotypes behind. 

In class we were shown this Diet Coke ad. Clearly the gender stereotypes have been reversed here. We see the man being "sexually exploited" and the women are the ones ogling at him. (Very exaggerated of course). The class was asked whether this was a negative image of men and if it was harmful to men. Most people agreed it wasn't harmful but they still said it was a negative depiction of men. I agree with the majority. In no way is this ad harmful to men. Men have never been dehumanized like women have in the media and in the real world, therefore there is no way one ad that is obviously suppose to be funny, could ever be harmful to them. It's just how you could never be racist to a white person. Prejudiced? Sure. But never racist because white people have never been institutionally, economically, or socially oppressed like races have been subjugated to. Same as how men never had to face sexism like women deal with everyday. I think its really important to remember that even though society is (in most cases) "progressing" the consequences of sexism and racism in our world and in media/advertisements are still being felt. 

Gender Stereotyping in advertising

There is definitely an issue with gender stereotyping in advertisements today. Women are still seen as objects and sexualized in a lot of ads. But in this post I will talk about kids toys. In an article from the New York Times, The author Elizabeth Sweet interestingly describes that though gender stereotypes have always  been a part of advertising, during the early 1900s there started to be less gender stereotypes. "In the 1970s toy ads often defied gender stereotypes by showing girls building and playing airplane captain, and boys cooking in the kitchen."


However the article goes on to say how by 1995 gender stereotypes were back and now in our current society it is extremely difficult to find toys that are not obviously marked by color or something else.

An article from The Atlantic, also written by  Elizabeth Sweet, goes on to talk about how even though sexism was accepted back in the day, now we actually have more rigid gender segregation in toys. It's ironic how society has advanced and women have made some significant gains, yet when it comes to this topic we are very backwards.

This gender stereotyping can have a really negative side effect on kids. It reinforces gender roles, making kids feel uncomfortable if they step outside of them. And it also can promote boys to think of less than girls. I can even see this in my 5 year old cousin. A lot of times he will tell me I can't do things that he can, and I'll remind him that I'm older and stronger than him he will say its because I am a girl. One time he even told me that hot Cheetos were too spicy for me...because I am a girl  -_-

I think currently we are moving forward in many ways, and advertisements with Nike, Kotex, and Always (#LikeAGirl) have called for more female empowerment. HOWEVER, when it comes to toys it seems to be a different story.

Racism in TV shows

Game of  Thrones

1. I would say Game of  Thrones does a good job with gender diversity. Although there are several powerful male characters, there are also many powerful female characters as well. Both are represented equally.  You won't find the common trope where the male will come and save the day for the female. Instead you have characters like Danny, Arya and Cersi (just a few out of the MANY characters in GoT) who take care of themselves and don't need men to come and save them. Yes, there are powerful men in the show as well, but women are definitely also represented in my opinion too. 

However when it comes to racial diversity, Game of Thrones fails. The TV show was based off of George R. Martins novels, and he even admits that his books don't have enough racial diversity even though its set in a fantasy world.  In the show all of the main characters (and as stated before, there are a lot of main characters) are white. There is only one black character I can think of at the moment who's been in multiple episodes, and he is a pirate (of course the black guy is going to be a pirate, right?) and he is more of a minor/side character. Another side character, Shay, isn't white, but she's just Tyrions (one of the main characters) lover. Even though she does have a strong personality, in the end she is portrayed as a bitch who betrays her lover. 

Representation of gender and races is very important because it's not healthy for kids of color to see only white people, or girls to see only boys on their TV screens. TV and movies should represent what people are really like, and not just what looks good. 

 

2. I think there are a few stereotypes in game of thrones, but The Khaleesis/Dannys story line in Game of Thrones, really uses the common "white savior" trope. First Danny changes the "savaged  and colored" Khal Drogo into a sensitive and good man. Then she goes on to "save' all the colored people who are poorly treated. There was actually a lot of controversy about a specific image in one episode. 

 

Racism in advertisements

1. No, I do not believe its ever okay to racially stereotype people in advertisements. Stereotypes negatively effect they way we look at people around us. They only apply to a small population of a certain group, yet end of impacting everyone in the group. For example, I am Muslim and I have first hand experience of how stereotypes can follow you around, even if they are completely untrue to your situation. In class we were shown an ad for Levy's Jewish bread. Although that ad wasn't obviously offensive, it did play on cliched stereotypes. Not all native Americans or Asians look that way. If you're advertising something to the customers, you need to respect them. No one would want to buy a product if they feel the ad is being disrespectful, plus using stereotypes is old and cliched. Ads should be more creative than that, especially now.

2. Racism in advertising is NOT a thing of the past. May companies still rely on racial tropes and stereotypes to sell their products. For example Pepsico's Mountain Dew had an add that, though created by Tyler the Creator, who is black, still heavily relied on racial stereotypes that black men are "thugs" and go to prison.
Dr. Watkins, a professor at Syracuse University said its, "Arguably the most racist commercial in history." He goes on to say, " Mountain Dew has set a new low for corporate racism.  Their decision to lean on well-known racial stereotypes is beyond disgusting.  This doesn't even include the fact that the company has put black men on par with animals." He further discusses how the fact that a white woman was attacked and almost all the cops are white, so its plays on the whole black people are bad but whites are good.

After finding out that Tyler the creator himself made the ad, I admit I don't see it as racist, because a lot of the time racism stems from people making assumptions about other races. In this case, Tyler claims he just wanted to make a funny ad and his friends played themselves basically. However at the end of the day I do think this commercial plays on a lot of racial stereotypes that are very negative and harmful. 

3. Yes advertisers do have an ethical responsibility. First of all it has been proven that ads effect many people in society. We see they way people are portrayed and feel like we should be like them. I think ads are in some way similar to peer pressure. Whether it be wanting to buy whats advertised, or wanting to look like those people featured in the ads, it really does influence people. In an article from The Atlantic, Nigel hollis wrote the article "Why good advertising works (even when you think it doesn't)." He says, "Instead, the best advertisements are ingenious at leaving impressions." I agree with the claim, but I think many of these impressions, which do stay with us, can leave negative messages. This is why those who work on advertisements should have an ethical responsibility. They are reaching many people and sending them messages that are going to be influential and leave impressions. 

Print ad, TV ad, Billboard

Print Ad
Natalie Portman as Miss Dior
Denotation: pretty white girl sitting on stairs covered in a soft purple. Looks like she's at home. Looking straight at camera. Brown-ish hair. Pink dress, its poofy with flowers on it. The dress is not completely on her, she's holding it up with her hands.Her back is bare.  Awkward hand almost touching her lips. The label "Miss Dior" in black cursive and "Blooming Bouquet." The perfume bottle has a bow on it and is clear/pink/outlined in black.  
Connotation: Natalie Portman IS miss Dior. By putting on this perfume, she is a beautiful girl who wears beautiful elegant dresses. The tones and color used in the picture is soft and pretty. the "typical" girly colors. The fact that she is staring at the camera, makes it seem like this is not an ad. Instead its someone who likes her taking her picture because she is so pretty. The perfume allows her to be who she is.
Mythology: The link between perfumes, and beauty products that make women feel more beautiful, or even more as a person. In today's world both men and women do rely on beauty products to feel better about themselves.

TV Ad
Iphone 5S-Strength
Denotation: A guy putting on music (somewhat upbeat) and jumping on the bed to wake up his partner, a woman swimming and using a device on her phone right after, a woman running on a hill using her phone, a guy checking his weight with an app on his phone, a girl watching her gymnastic performance from video recorded on the phone, two friends golfing and using the 5S to check their speed, a guy exercising on the beach, another at the gym, and a girl at the gym all using their phones. A parent at a soccer game using his phone to check the kids speed, A man on a bicycle using the phone, two friends racing and laughing, their phones visibly on their arms. They're running in front of the ocean. Good shots of gyms, beaches, and outdoor spaces where people usually exercise. At the end of the commercial, while the two are running next to the water, the words "You are more powerful than you think" appear. Then a final shot of the water and tall buildings in the background and it says "iphone 5s"
Connotation: If you're active you're a happy, healthy person. And if you're active, play sports, do any type of exercise, you should have the 5S because its going to help you with your active life style. No matter what type of sport or activity you engage in, you're going to need an iphone 5s to help improve the way you exercise.
Mythology: In today's society exercising is usually accompanied by some sort of technology. Whether its a simple ipod for music, or more advanced devices that can help you record your activities and help you better your performance.

Billboard Ad
Law and Order-Lamp post
Denotation: A dark room except for one lamp. The room has dark bricks as the walls.A black desk and a couple chairs around it. Two men. One  is wearing a collared shirt with a tie. Another, with a baggy black sweater, is sitting down at the desk, fidgeting his hands. The guy with the collared shirt is shining the light on the guy sitting down.
Connotation: A police officer/detective is interrogating a suspect.
Mythology: Law & Order is a popular TV show, and their TV show accurately portrays what its like to be a police officer or a suspect. It is known that police officers usually do conduct interviews in closed off rooms, putting a lot of pressure on the suspect.