Sigmund Freud Analysis

Biography:

Sigismund (who later changed his name to Sigmund) Freud was born May 6 of the year of 1856 in the Czech Republic. His father, a merchant, and his mother, a housewife, moved to Vienna. Here he grew up and went to school. In the year of 1873, Freud was accepted into the Medical School at Vienna’s University and later worked on the city hospital. He was interested in hysteria cases caused by hypnosis. Later on he went to Paris to learn nervous and brain disorders which he later practiced back in Vienna. During this period Freud got married to Martha Bernays and had 6 children. Later on, Freud came up with the theory of the Three Levels of Consciousness where, most importantly, he talked about the unconscious levels where the deepest secrets and desires hide. Later, he published his book “Dreams”, which analyzed the meaning of dreams. He also published “Id, the Ego.” After World War 1, many of his books were burned. Freud then moved to London where he got diagnosed with jaw cancer and died on the 23rd of September in 1939.





Case of Anna O:
Bertha Pappenheim, also commonly known as Anna , is one of Freud’s most well-known cases. Actually, she was never one of Freud’s patient. She suffered from hysteria, and her doctor, Josef Breuer, limited her physical conditions by asking her and allowing her to talk and remember events in which she felt traumatized. “As soon as she had the opportunity to make these unconscious thoughts conscious her paralysis disappeared,” according to Saul McLeod on the website Simply Psychology. Breuer confided to Freud, and it was within these discussions that seeded the idea that Freud determined to follow for the majority of his life. Freud then wrote a book called Studies in Hysteria, in which he explained that physical conditions, such as hysteria, are rooted to memories within the unconscious mind. This was only the start of his revolution about the human psyche.

















The Unconscious Mind:
The theory that Freud proposed for the unconscious mind is probably his most well-known theory, and primarily the basis of psychology. He used an analogy of an iceberg to explain the three layers of the mind.

The first layer, which is the very top of the iceberg (above the water) is the conscious mind, what we pay attention to on a daily basis, “the now.” The next level is the preconscious, the retrievable memories. Lastly is the un/subconscious, which is the most important and vital layer to this theory. It lives underwater, and it holds traumatic or extremely embarrassing events, dirty wishes or secretes, or anything else that may be unacceptable in society. All of these things are locked away in the unconscious.

Dream Analysis:

Freud is probably most renowned for his work in dream analysis; a theory in which you can interpret one’s unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, etc. through their dreams. These desires, he believed, are usually the ones we cannot admit to ourselves, the ones that are frowned upon in society (this usually meant sexual acts or cruel operations). Freud’s basis for this theory came to him on July 24, 1895, when he dreamt of one of his patients, Irma. Irma had not been responding to treatment the way he hoped, and he blamed himself for this failure. In this dream, Freud encountered Irma at a party and began to examine her. To his surprise, Irma’s failure to respond to his treatment wasn’t because of Freud, but because of another doctor’s dirty syringe. Freud no longer felt guilty of Irma’s post-treatment reaction. Freud interpreted this dream as a “wish-fulfilling dream”, because he did not want to feel badly of Irma’s condition, and this dream relieved him of that pressure.

This theory contains multiple parts, and is rather elaborate. First, Freud identified the manifest content of a dream, what the dreamer actually sees/dreams (which is usually based on the previous day) and the latent content of the dream, what the underlying, symbolic meaning of the dream is. This process in which the manifest content is converted into the latent content is called “dream work.” Dream work allows all of those horrible desires and wishes to be translated into something we can more easily comprehend while sleeping.

This dream work in composed of three processes: condensation, displacement, and secondary elaboration. Condensation is allowing one image to embody two or more ideas. Displacement is the process in which the mind creates symbols for our desires or feelings. Lastly, secondary elaboration is when the mind brings all of the events into a reasonable order, giving the manifest content reality.

One last concept that Freud believed to be necessary in dream analysis was the fact that the symbols manifested within dreams are personal, not universal. “A person cannot interpret what the manifest content of a dream symbolized without knowing about the person’s circumstances.”

Theory of Cocaine:

Sigmund Freud began to study the effects of the new “wonder drug” of the late 19th century, and soon thereafter became addicted to cocaine, unaware of the dangerous and addictive properties it withholds (himself being his favorite experimental subject). Freud’s experimentation with the drug led him to produce a highly-praised paper titled “Uber-Coca” in which he celebrated this “miracle drug.” He made most of his advancements, actually, while on cocaine, including his work with dream analysis and the “talking cure” (which Freud called “loosening of the tongue”). Freud, however, nearly lost  life in the process, and gave up the narcotic around two years later (1896), the day after his father’s funeral.

Theory of Women:

Sigmund Freud’s most controversial theories are probably his theories about women and femininity. These theories are mostly made up of what Freud calls “penis envy.” This is the proposition that during the phallic stage of development (ages 3-5), young girls disassociate themselves from their mothers and connect with their fathers instead. This is because, during this stage, the young girl realizes she has no penis, and regrets her mother for being put at “such a disadvantage.” These theories also include the Oedipal Complex (for young boys) and the Electra Complex (for young girls). These complexes reserves the idea that during the phallic stage, a child wants sexual involvement with the opposite sex parent (for example, a young girl wishes to replace her mother to receive sexual affection from her father, and vice versa). Freud believed that the completion of this stage “involved identifying with the same-sex parent which ultimately would lead to developing a mature sexual identity.”

Bibliography:

Cherry, Kendra. "Sigmund Freud's View of Women." Verywell. N.p., 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.

Cherry, Kendra. "The Oedipal Complex: One of Freud's Most Controversial Ideas." Verywell. N.p., 4 July 2016. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.

"How a Young Sigmund Freud Researched & Got Addicted to Cocaine, the New “Miracle Drug,” in 1894." Open Culture. Open Culture, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.

Markel, Howard. "Sigmund Freud's Cocaine Problem." The Chart RSS. CNN, 22 July 2011. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.

McLeod, Saul. "Sigmund Freud." Sigmund Freud's Theories. Simply Psychology, 2013. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.

Reflection Post

It is crazy to think how fast this semester has passed. I'm writing my last media blog?? EVER?? This is crazy.

Media blogs have allowed me to created, I think, a healthy understanding of the world that surrounds me day to day. Much of that understanding is learning it in class, but media blogs have definitely contributed this thought. They are like the field work of critical thinking--it's our data.

I have noticed throughout this semester when collecting my "data," I realized this bond and new connection with media was forming. I felt incredibly proud of myself, not only for 1) recognizing this bond, but also 2) even creating this bond. It created this feeling like, "I have now developed the same tools that analysts use everyday when analyzing the media. This is cool." I liked feeling this new bond over media, as if I had conquered something, as if I finally found the "true meaning." Writing this blog now, I know I haven't ascended to new heights with my media blogs or transcended this earth with my amazing critical thinking skills. But I believe media blogs have definitely allowed me to create a new outlet, a new perspective.

Before media blogs, I consumed a lot of data. After media blogs, I still consume a lot of data. However, just because my consumption hasn't changed, that doesn't mean my awareness has either. My peers and friends and I have definitely become more aware. On the way to and from San Francisco, we were bombarded with billboards, so why not call out advertising techniques. When I'm out with friends and we see a really horribly obvious ad, we'll point it out. Just through scrolling Instagram, I can point out little things here and there. I think my media literacy has definitely gone from 0 to proficient. I actually think my classmates and I can say our media literacy improved. No one in that class came in knowing the subject matter (I mean unless someone did, you rock dude).

Even though media blogs may have been a pain in the butt sometimes, I'm really glad we had this assignment. It has allowed me to create a new outlook on our hectic, media-filled life, and even though we live in a world where media influences everything we do, there's not another world I'd rather live in.

PEACE OUT GIRL SCOUT

Can We Talk About Deodorant for a Sec

I was at Rite Aid with my mom a couple days ago getting regular household things (toilet paper, deodorant, the usual) and everything seemed fine until my mom suddenly stopped and just stared at all of the deodorant, both men's and women's. She stood there just staring, and I was starting to get worried. She would look at the men's, then at the women's, then at the men's again. After my questioning, she finally said something extremely simple but would honestly change my armpits' life forever. "Men's deodorant is cheaper than women's." 

At first, I didn't think about the remark, I just thought she was being weird. But after a while, she and I compared almost all of the deodorant brands, prices, and sizes, concluding that not only does men's deodorant come in a larger size, it is cheaper. For example, Secret's Smooth Effects Conditioning Solid Antiperspirant/Deodorant is $7.37 for a 2.6 oz container. However, Arrid XX sells men's deodorant for the same exact size for $2.00. Since when was this ok??

I mean look at the difference!! Men's for 2.7 oz for 73.5 cents every ounce. The women's deodorant, however, is only 2.6 oz and is $1.28 every ounce. This is atrocious. 

Also I am now just realizing I dedicated my entire last blog post to deodorant. Sometimes I really hate myself.

Just a Blog Post About Tevas

When someone says Tevas, what do you think? Do you think old hippie or a young, urban millennial? Do you even think of those at all? What comes to your mind when you hear Tevas?

Well, in my case, I think of a young adventurer, someone who maximizes their weekends for day trips along the coast, and travels across the U.S. during the summer. Why in the world does this picture come to mind? Well because all of their ads universally look like this: 

Walking around my urban town!!

Having a great ol' time jumping off a rafting boat!!

Having fun on da beach!

Jumping off a boat with my fellow adventurers!!

We can all agree they have a similar theme. But why does Teva gear towards this target market?

Well first of all, Tevas are practical to this type of lifestyle. They are durable, waterproof, and they float. They're comfortable and small enough to take up minimum space in a bag or suitcase. They overall make sense for this type of adventurous lifestyle. But the way they actually market their product is only within two stereotypes: the urban "hip" crowd setting themselves apart from the rest, and the young traveler in need of a new adventure wherever possible. Seriously, try to find one ad that doesn't fit either of those categories. 

Teva, in turn, has now created this aura around themselves making this new class of hipster, the hipster outside of the hipster (one of my previous blog posts talks about this as well!). It almost uses the technique of avante garde, but mostly appeals to the need for autonomy. 

(Lily if you ever read this thank you for the Tevas. You inspired this blog post. Shout out to you <3)

Unknown and Terrifying Obsession with Jolyns

If anyone is really close with me, they know I have a slight problem with Jolyns. What is a Jolyn you ask? Well let me fill ya in!

Jolyn is a swimsuit brand the specializes in fitness and exercise for girls who swim, play water polo, dive, lifeguard, you name it. Jolyn is extremely appealing to water sports and water activities, but of course people buy them because they're cute and want of new bikini. 

However, it seems as if Jolyn has taken over not only me life and banking account, but most of the young, female population in Sacramento. It has gone to extremes. During swim practice and water polo practice, I see nothing but Jolyns (myself included! I'm not trying to be a hypocrite!). Girls of all sizes wear them, and to be completely honest, they look confident as heck. Now, this isn't to say Jolyns appeal to all of women's sizes, because they don't. They are appealing to fit, strong, small young women. However, I look around, and I see all of my teammates as strong, fit, beautiful young women. I know people say Jolyn isn't an appropriate swim brand in the way where they are appealing to a very small proportion of women, but I honestly have to disagree. My teammates all look amazing and strong and confident in their Jolyn. I believe Jolyn has the ability to make women feel good about themselves rather than belittle them and make them feel like they're not good enough. 

In all seriousness Sacramento might need a Jolyntervention (Jolyn+Invertention...I'm not even sorry).

Merchants of Cool: 2016 Version

Ah, yes. The early 2000s. What a time to be alive. Of course, I was 1 or 2 years old, so it wasn't extremely the prime of my life. It was, however, a great time to document teenagers and the atrocious way of life they created.

But, who am I to judge? I wear Birkenstocks and have a passion for yoga and flannels. I tell myself I'm different from everyone and I'm unique "in my own way." Really though, how different am I compared to everyone else?? 

Merchants of Cool addressed the idea that there are those that desire to be on the outside, those that are cooler than the cool. They attempt to be their own brand, to be the fish out of water, but make it (in their view) awesome. Even though painting your face to show your devotion to a band is an extreme, this idea is extremely apparent even today.

We all are fully aware of what I (and many other people) call "hipster trash": flannel wearing, beard growing, Ray-Bans loving characters you can find at any bar downtown. They have somehow created this aura around them in which, well, everyone wants to be like them. Which brings up the question, if everyone wants to be like them, which culture is "cool" culture? Pop songs and flirty dresses? Or is cool culture the hipster path, which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbZzfZQQuro 

If the new cool is hipster cool, is that going to disintegrate and become the cool that no one thinks is cool? And then, what will the "odd one out" type of cool become if the hipster cool is the boring cool? What even is cool??

I'm tired and I like colors

Hello, I am back, and more tired than ever. 

For this weeks' blog post, I will be analyzing a Nike print ad. Much fun, very interesting. 

This print ad caught my attention very quickly, mainly because of it's bright colors contrasted with the black background. Also, the overall effect using liquid and motion is very visually pleasing and eye-catching. 

We can obviously see Nikes use of reification, as they famously do for most of their ads. The only things actually in this commercial is the shoe and the Nike symbol at the bottom left. One basic appeal that this ad conveys is the need for autonomy. It branches out and presents this look that isn't something that you see everyday. It is going beyond what you normally would think of for an ad for an athletic shoe. It says "Look at me, I'm not only different from everybody else, but I'm better than everybody else." Another need that this ad appeals to is the need for attention. Because this shoe is represented as no other shoe (no other shoe is liquid), it immediately catches your eye and says, "Hey look at me. You could be me. You could catch everyone's attention."  It wants you to feel like you need to have attention from everyone else. 

Goodnight.

Buying Books I'll Probably Never Finish and Telling You to Watch Movies You'll Never Watch

Here is a photo of one of the many books I bought a long time ago that I have yet to finish. But let's really think- why did I buy this book? What persuaded me to spend my own money to buy this one book?

First of all, I'm obsessed with Sylvia Earle. She is the most amazing human being and it's like #1 on my to do list to meet her. She is just so inspiring to me and has actually helped me realize what I want to do in life and what I am truly passionate about. Let's start the hashtag #noticemesylvia to get me noticed by her oh my god yes TEAMWORK!

Ok, ok I'm tired and getting off topic. My main point was that probably my main reason why I bought this book is purely because my idol wrote it (tsk tsk Grace, you should know better than that). The designers clearly successfully used the technique transfer/association. I noticed her name and boom, I bought it.

Of course, there had to be other things that influenced me to buy this novel. I did strictly just buy because of her name. It had to have caught my attention first.

Well, my favorite color is blue, and in big, bolded, all-capitalized letters, the word blue sticks right out on the cover. I probably look closer at it and saw all of the pelicans which caught my attention more (pelicans+BLUE=?). I then probably stopped to actually look at it, maybe pick it up and read the back.

I think there are two appeals this cover includes. One is need to nurture, because on the front it reads "How our fate and the ocean's are one," and shows cute pelicans right underneath it. Having a feeling of "I want to save and help these pelicans, they don't deserve to die" come straight to my head, it shows the appeal need to nurture. I think this cover also appeals to the need to escape because it shows the ocean in the background, making me nostalgic of the beach, and the pelicans also enhance this effect, this desire to just go. Also, the little symbol of National Geographic creates an effect on me. Whenever I think of National Geographic, I think of rainforests, the deep ocean, the savannah, nature. These things make me want to get on a plane and travel again.

To anyone who is interested in this book or Sylvia Earle or really anything about oceanic environment rehabilitation and conservation, you should really check out Earle's movie Mission Blue, which is available on Netflix!! It really changed my perception and really how extreme this problem is... and how we just aren't noticing (I may or may not have cried during this film).

I guess my media blog about ads has turned me into an ad!! I'm serious though go watch the movie.

Puppies and Cute Guys

To be completely honest, I had no idea what to do for this weeks post!!! So here I am, posting about my boyfriend, Andrew Hozier-Byrne.

You probably know him as Hozier, and he is famously known for is incredible song, "Take Me to Church" *heart eyes*. However, today I will not be taking and evaluating that song. I will be analyzing his music video and lyrics for his song "Cherry Wine", which is raising awareness about domestic violence, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdSCCwtNEjA (Please watch it!! Show sum love <3)

This video (and the overall song) is really sweet, or so it seems. When I first watched/ heard this song, I thought it was beautiful. I still think that, but I find it beautiful in a new light. It's a very simple song and a very simple video, but an overwhelmingly powerful message.

The video starts out as a young woman staring at herself in the mirror, with her hair slightly covering her left eye. The song starts with the light notes on the guitar, and is all acoustic. The lyrics begin.
Her eyes and words are so icy
Oh but she burns
Like rum on the fire
Hot and fast and angry as she can be
I walk my days on a wire.

Here, he is explaining his relationship with this woman. By saying he "walks his days on a wire", this is implying he is always on the look-out, he never feels safe. He has to watch his balance, because if something goes wrong, he will cause her to flame up and cause a "fire." What I like about this stanza is that he does acknowledge that domestic violence comes in verbal form ("words so icy") and not just physical form.

His lyrics go on to say
It looks ugly, but it's clean,
Oh momma, don't fuss over me.

This is implying that he got hurt, and received some sort of physical trauma, like a bruise. He is using an excuse like "I'm fine", "Don't worry about it", "Don't fuss over me." 

He then says the chorus for the first time
The way she tells me I'm hers and she is mine
Open hand or closed fist would be fine
The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine.
Batterers tend to see people as objects, possessions rather than as human beings with individual wills. They can do what they want, but the beaten party cannot. The abused must listen very precisely, an obedient servant, or their means of enforcing compliance, physical violence, will come out. The looming threat ensures compliance, their complete possession of their property.


Meanwhile, battered parties tend to see being beaten as a sign of love. The passion of the anger is interpreted as indicative of exactly how much, how passionately their abuser cares about them. 
The really terrible thing about this is that with enough exposure, if an abused person is attempting a relationship with someone who isn't abusive, they tend to interpret the lack of cutting words and beatings as apathy -- as a lack of love on the part of their lover. Hence, it's very specifically getting hit and abused and "corrected" that makes battered people know that they're loved, that their abuser's heart is theirs. They couldn't feel so angry, so passionate about their failures if they didn't really, really love them.

Gosh it ain't even Emo Friday yet!! What the heck Grace??

Here's a really adorable puppy eating a tiny biscuit and a tiny cappuccino to make yourself happy. :D 

Modern Family or MADISON Family??

I always knew that product placement within TV shows was undeniable. You unconsciously see it everywhere, in every show. When I was brainstorming for Madison and Vine examples, I immediately went to this for some reason:

Has anyone thought why on every single season of American Idol they drink out of Coca-Cola cans?? For all we know, they could be drinking Pepsi!

??????

I mean, honestly. 

But I'm not going to talk about the outrageous product placement in American Idol. I am, however, going to talk about another beloved family TV show... Modern Family!!

Modern Family is probably one of my favorite TV shows (mainly because I wish my dad was as cool as Phil Dunphy :/). I used to watch it all the time, but I have to admit I've been slacking. When I was looking up examples of Madison and Vine, I saw one of Modern Family. I then looked up only Modern Family product placement, and I could not believe what I found! It seems as if every single scene has product placement, whether it's Oreos in the kitchen, or the kids on their iPhones. The show has managed to put a product  in every single scene, and I didn't notice! How sneaky!

What went first through my head was, "No, this isn't actual product placement. This is just to enhance the effect that they are 'real-life people': they're a working class family with kids and a mini van..." and then I realized, well duh, that's exactly why the products are in there: to advertise with the "plain folks" technique. If Claire Dunphy can get through her hectic day with her Toyota, well by-golly I better look into a Toyota mini van! This is exactly the reason why the products are placed within the show, to make you unconsciously realize "I need this product because it will make my life easier. I need this product because it will make me look cool." Or even, "I need this product strictly because I saw it on a show."

An example of Phil trying to brainwash you.

An example of EVERYONE trying to brainwash you.

An example of Claire trying to brainwash you.

Wake up, America!! The Dunphy's are trying to brainwash you!

Sorry, but I don't need a car company to tell me I'm awesome.

Ah, the Super Bowl. America's favorite time to break out the queso and bean dip and sit on the couch and the only time we pay attention to commercials. How can you not?? They get so good!

For some reason, and I will literally never understand why, I have an extremely good memory with brands and jingles and commercials. For some reason it runs in my family (my cousin has the same gift). Whether this is really a super power or not, I can easily remember most of the commercials from this past Super Bowl, including the Pokemon commercial, Colgate commercial, and who can forget the #puppymonkeybaby commercial for Mountain Dew. 

However, out of all of these, the one that made the most impact on me was one for a car company, Mini Cooper, which you can see here:

This made such a huge impact on me and actually the way I view commercials because what Serena was preaching had absolutely nothing to do with Mini Coopers. Nothing. How??

The video starts off with Serena explaining what labels she has been called and then goes on to explain how "you need to define yourself" "motivate yourself to be the best that you can be." I totally agree with you girl, you do you, you go empower women and emphasize how we all need to be ourselves. I have absolutely nothing wrong with that. My problem is, however, why they are using this speech for a car. Why does it take a car company and football to make this message conveyed and heard?

As a girl, I was super into this commercial and like, "Yeah, Serena, you rock, you tell the haters." But the minute she says, "Mini is a car brand..." I can't help but just roll my eyes. It infuriates me that it has to take a bunch of men rolling around and punching each other trying to get a ball just so a women can preach and say what is needed to be heard: Empower yourself. You are you. Define yourself. I appreciate that Mini Cooper is even expressing these words, but it shouldn't take the Super Bowl for them to make this type of commercial. 

Ok, now let's get some appeals in here. This commercial screams need for autonomy which is good, especially that an African American woman (minority) is expressing it, explaining being yourself is all good! Need to achieve is also prominent in this commercial-- Serena literally says "just go out there and do nothing less than win." 

I am glad that I was finally able to express my anger (and also gratitude???) for this commercial because I think that it was one of those that kind of got unnoticed. Yay for individuality!!

Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice

The two articles I will examining are arguing against the big controversial topic of abortion. Pro-choice: http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/abortioninfo/misconce.shtml and Pro-Life: http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/politically-incorrect/abortion/10-reasons-why-abortion-is-evil.html

I'm pretty sure we all can assume anything on this topic will have some very strong language. Let's dive in!

Well, first off, the strong language is very clear just within the title of Pro-life; it uses "evil" giving off the immediate connotation and tone that this is going to a heavy article. It gives off the sense right off the bat that anything remotely related to abortion is nothing but "evil." The article decides to prove their case through a number of specific arguments, and the first is "Abortion Offends God." It then goes on to explain that everyone should put God first, whether or not that person is struggling or even has an opinion. It explains that "There are no exceptions allowed, no compromises possible." By using this language, the author(s) are clearly and very honestly saying that no one is entitled to have their own problems, because God endured so much more than any of us. No compromises means rape and molestation are just a part of life, something that someone has to go through. I'm sorry, are my morals and ethics showing? 

Throughout the entire article, the writer(s) address the same thing over and over again: that the lives of more than 57 million innocent babies [are] cruelly torn from their mothers' wombs. Not by only using this strong and forceful language, the repetition is also a useful tool. Every time they say that abortion has "killed 57 million babies," I am reminded that that is 57 million lives lost. I am forced to feel the pain of those who have been killed, I am supposed to feel the pain within the families and the mothers. That is what this article is great at doing. Making me feel guilty, making me genuinely feel like I have done something wrong. But then they go on to say the gay marriage is sin, and that's when I have to stop reading. 

The language used in the Pro-choice is much softer; I don't feel like I'm being yelled at or punished. This article also uses the same format just without numbers. It presents arguments that are said by Pro-lifers, but then it explains the fault within it. For example, a common argument for Pro-life is Abortion is dangerous and medically risky. It is not as safe as natural pregnancy. Abortion increases the risk of miscarriage in future pregnancies, and infertility. However, the pro-choice argument goes on to say "The risk of dying from childbirth is about 13 times that for early abortion, and the overall abortion complication rate is extremely low, about 25 times lower than for childbirth." It uses actual data and proof, and to me, this is much more compelling than just repetition or yelling at me. This language is strong in the way that it is credible, rather than strong is the sense with tenacious connotations. 

Clearly, these two arguments are compelling, but definitely in their own ways.

Is this a Makup Tutorial or Makeup Ad?

As a 16-year-old, it almost seems like a requirement to watch at least 20 videos in a row on Youtube, when I really only had the intention of watching one. However, that is not the point to my story. The point of this blog is for me to vent out my feelings on really how much we all get overloaded with ads, specifically on Youtube.

Youtube is like the motherland for all ads. I had recently just been on the Marc Jacobs website because I'm getting low in one of my perfumes. I was on the site for 10 minutes, maybe 15. I go to Youtube maybe like an hour later to watch a makeup tutorial, and the first thing that pops up before I start my video is a Marc Jacobs perfume ad. Slightly irritated, I go and proceed with my makeup tutorial (which you can find here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gikwcLuUli4). Andrea Russett, who is one of my favorite Youtubers, is someone I wouldn't take for intentional vagueness, yet when I start the video, I can hear it from the beginning. Throughout the entire video, she says that "Oh this product is definitely the best one out there," or "I have never seen any mascara better than this one." Throughout the clip, the vagueness is extremely prevalent. I then thought to myself, "Does every Youtuber do this?" I then clicked on some random tutorial makeup video in the sidebar to test my hypothesis, and sure enough, within the first minute she explains that she's "obsessed with [this] product." (the link to that video is here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaVw6qwOox8)

Now when I think about it, most Youtubers do this at least once in their video, whether they reference to their furniture or their clothes and or anything else, it's actually really astounding how I never really noticed before Critical Thinking. Thanks Mr. Starace!

My Relationship with Media

My relationship with media, and I'm sure my classmates can agree, is a tricky one. We are all pressured from parents and others that we need to "go outside and smell the roses." But in today's society, some would argue, "Why can't we just see a picture of the flowers taken by some hipster on Instagram?" I guess I would be somewhere in between these two. I expose myself to as much wildlife as I can, and one of my favorite things is just hanging out with my friends in the park. I'm a part of Eco Club and I limit myself to plastics and palm oil and what not, but this generation (well actually, ALL generations), we can't kid ourselves, myself included. I can't ignore my relationship with my cellphone, it's probably the strongest relationship I have besides the one with my parents and friends. I have my cell phone with me 24/7; when I sleep, eat, swim, learn, etc. On my cellphone is my media. I therefore have media with me all the time, including Instagram, Netflix, Quizlet (you know, the usual necessities of a high schooler). I can't connect without my media, I can't talk or text or DM. I can't interact, or socialize. I make plans with my friends on my phone. I study on my phone. I watch TV on my phone. I wouldn't be able to express myself without media, give my voice without media, heck, I wouldn't be who I am today without media. Media is a necessity for me, without a doubt.