Women Portrayed in the Media- EVALUATION

Name: Emily Sherman

Partner(if applicable): Shelbi Hauer

Issue: Women Portrayed In The Media

1. What I was trying to get across to the class about my issue?

My presentation was meant to spread the awareness of the way women are displayed in the media. This affects everyone, as the media cannot be escaped. Constant images that seem non-attainable are affecting women everyday, and the majority of this influence is definitely not positive. The message I was aiming to spread with my presentation was proving that the media objectifies all of us, and we soon begin to objectify ourselves. This has lead women to believe that nobody can be perfect the way they are, and there is always going to be room for improvement.

2. Production Elements Organization -research, -presentation, -creative process

When gathering research about women in the media, Shelbi and I split up sections for us to complete on our own, and decided to write the introduction and conclusion sections together. We exchanged each other’s notes as well as adding to each other’s notes. We also set up deadlines for certain days we should have research done by, which really helped. I think the presentation was very organized. It was really great to have practiced a bunch of times before, so we wouldn’t be figuring things out on the spot. We tried to be as creative as possible with our presentation. We knew most people would already be doing videos and power points so we decided to add to our visuals and make a collage, a timeline and showed a few examples to pass around the class, such as a picture and a Barbie doll. We also thought of the idea of creating a quiz for people to learn from our presentation, where chocolate bars would be given to people who asked questions correctly.

3.   Participation. Comments about co-operation, diligence, support. To what degree partners contributed to the overall work and success of the project?(if applicable)

Working with Shelbi was really good because we both had a lot of amazing ideas to combine into a successful presentation. Shelbi and I got along very well and I found that she was always there if I needed help with anything. However, I felt as if I had completed most of the visuals on my own. Shelbi was very considerate to helping out with all visuals, but in the end she could never get together to do them. Soon enough it became closer to the date the project was due, and I am a very organized person so I took it into my own hands because I knew I could not wait until the last minute. She knew I had completed them and insisted she could have helped, but she could never get together to do them together, so this was the one problem with our project.

4.   What aspects were most successful? Least? What I would do differently?

I think that the information we gave was really important, and the way we divided our information into sections really benefitted us in the end. I was really happy with the way our presentation went along with our visuals, power point and movie. I think the movie was a very smart idea, as we asked girls all around York Mills what they least liked about themselves. We never said it had to be a physical characteristic, and we found that the majority of girls answered about something physical having to do with their bodies. A few other good aspects of our presentation were the collage and the quiz. The collage showed girls all these words in magazines today. We decided to cut out words that girls may feel about themselves and put it into a huge collage, showing what the media has done to women of all ages. In the middle of the collage we put a mirror with the words “Not good enough” in lipstick. This symbolized the unattainable body image that the media is constantly displaying. The quiz went really well as most people were able to answer our questions, which meant we had succeeded in passing on the information.

5.   Theory: How did we use a variety of medias to get our point across? Why did we choose what we did? What worked? What didn't?

Focusing on our topic of women portrayed in the media, we incorporated many different types of media into our presentation. This showed how the negative image of women is expressed through all types of media. As we have learnt in class, you cannot escape the media. It is everywhere. With our time line, we showed famous celebrity icons over the years, which are defined as role models to girls and women everywhere. We also included the Miss Representation video that tied in with our discussion on how shows and movies can influence women, as well as girls at such a young age. An example of this was the television show “Toddlers and Tiaras.”

6.   How did we explore the use of technology/media concepts in relation to our issue?

I think that while completing our project, we just learnt that the media could literally never be escaped. With technology continuously improving, access to media is only becoming more and more often. We also explored the aspect of the body of a model being altered on the computer before being promoted. An example of this was a situation like the Barbie doll we showed. The majority of girls owned or has owned Barbie dolls and they are advertising a body that could never survive in the real world.

7.   Analysis: How much of our presentation was based on research? On opinion? (whose?) INCLUDE A LIST OF RESOURCES, CITATIONS

I think that 99% of our presentation was based on research and the other 1% was just common sense, relating things to our world today. Shelbi and I spent a fair and equal time finding research for our presentation.

-handed in bibliography

8.   Depth of content: To what degree did we introduce new ways of looking at this issue, new information? Was this class 'educated' or just 'entertained'?

I know that the majority of the class already knew about most of the information we were giving out because most of it is common sense. I think that both the boys and the girls in our class understand the unattainable beauty consistently displayed in the media. I do not, however, think anyone understands the extent it has come to. Being teenagers ourselves, the majority of girls in our class are affected by the media and I’m sure that many of them could relate to the information given in our presentation. I believe that the presentation educated the class on how serious the issue of women in the media has affected the overall image of women. Through speaking about body image, stereotypes, health concerns, and history of women, we put the point across that the image of women hasn’t changed and is only getting worse. We came to the conclusion and proved to the class that the best thing women of all ages can do for themselves is ignore the media and enjoy what makes them unique. By showing the movie Miss Representation, we wanted to inspire women to rise above the media so they can impact others.

9.   How well did our examples reinforce and illustrate our points?

I think our examples really helped and inspired the class. We tried to relate all of our information given in the presentation to things girls and boys in our class would see daily. Our first visual was a timeline that displayed four famous celebrity icons. Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy, Britney Spears and Victoria Secret models were examples of how the media hasn’t changed over the years. All four examples are known for their skinny, gorgeous bodies, and idolized by women all around the world. Our video we created was mainly shown to indicate the way that girls feel about themselves. Using girls from our school, I believe that this technique made the overall presentation more impactful. Our collage was taken out of a bunch of magazines that are recent, showing all the words that can stand out to the reader while flipping through a magazine. Sentences like “Lose 20 pounds and you can have it all!” were pasted onto the board overlapping one another showing how self-conscious women can be and all the improvements they think they often need. The movie Miss Representation helped explain that everything in the media has to be about someone’s looks, never their brain. This has caused people to not accept others who do not match the standards of the media, or to automatically judge them.

10.  What new skills did I develop during this project?

I think I really learned how to be time manageable. I know that I usually am with schoolwork, but I think I organized the amount of work really appropriately. Shelbi and I set deadlines for when we would have things completed by and this helped the quality and overall presentation in the end. I also developed creative skills that lead to our hanging timeline and collage. Our main goal was to do things that other groups wouldn’t be doing.

11.  What new things did I learn about myself in the process of working on this project? (related to the content and/or process)

What might I do differently if I were starting over? What skills can I transfer to my next assignment in this class or others?(or life!)

            I think at the beginning of the project Shelbi and I were so interested in the topic because we’re at the age where these women in the media can even affect us. I know for a fact that the media has personally impacted me and the majority of times it has impacted me in negative ways. Although this is not a realistic conclusion, I learnt that girls should just be happy with who they are and not always need to look or be like someone else. It is so unfortunate that all girls care about are the way they look, rather than the million other aspects of themselves. I think I have just come to further outcomes that it is quite impossible to not be affected by the media when it is always going to be surrounding us. I have already begun looking at the media in a different way. I now find it more pathetic and ridiculous, rather than idolizing the women I used to always want to be like. I hope I can continue to do so and inspire my friends and people around me to do the same so they can all learn to accept themselves.

            There really are not too many things I would do differently for this project. I was extremely happy with the content and overall presentation in the end. If anything, I would have worked out the workload with Shelbi better. Unfortunately, it’s hard working with your friends because they do depend on you for everything. We did split the research but it was very hard splitting the work up to make the script and visuals. I felt as if I had done the majority of it. A few skills I will transfer to future assignments and even life is my organizational skills and time management skills. These two skills are essential to the majority of work I will be doing in my future. I hope to continue using those skills as they guarantee success.

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    

Hidden Gem Self-Evaluation

Name: Emily Sherman Name of Production Team: ZELS Inc. Role in Production Team: Editor/Sound Editor and Credits  Roles of the other production team members: Emily Sherman- Editor/ Sound Editor Shelbi Hauer- Director Lindsay Silverberg- Administrator and Project manager Zach Forsythe- Storyboard Artist 1. How do you feel about the title you were given and how well you did your job in this project? Give specific examples of your experience. I was very happy with the title I was given for this project. I do the majority of my school work on my computer so I really enjoyed editing and assisting my group by teaching them certain editing skills I used. I find myself a very organized person so I kept all files, videos and music on my computer quite clear, allowing editing to be an easier process. We filmed all clips on my camera which easily transferred the videos to my computers and used my iTunes to select our background music for the entire video. My group found it very convenient that I had the right programs on my computer to get our video done and done well.  2. How did you contribute to this project? Give at least 2 specific examples. I contributed to this project by contributing my ideas to my group for video. We all agreed that we should have one character who is impacted by what may seem to anyone as an ordinary place, but may mean much more to this one person. After figuring out our final ideas, we filmed all clips in one day and I immediately started editing to get ahead, rather than leaving anything until the last minute. I began editing and my group members helped edit for the next few days in class as well. I put all clips, sound effects, music, and credits together in the end. 3. How do you feel about the contributions from other members of your group and the division of labour (work) for the project? Be specific to each team member. I think that all of my group members contributed an equal amount of work for this hidden gem project. Shelbi was the director. She helped film many clips and contributed to editing as well. Lindsay was the Administrator, filing out daily logs everyday, recording our process of the project. Lindsay also assisted me to create our video script and artistic statement. Zach was in charge of completing the storyboards and did an amazing job. He was also a great sport for being the main character in our video. 4. When it comes to dealing with differences of opinion within your group:  We had a few differences in opinion when it came to figuring out when to film and where to film. A lot of us were stressed out over school and work, which is never an excuse to not work out a project at school that must be done. We could not figure out a date to film that could work for everyone and in the end not everyone was truly happy with the day we chose to film. In the end, we were all proud that we ended up getting it out of the way. Also, nobody was offering up their house to film at which started an argument that was very unnecessary. I believe I just came to the understanding that school is school and no matter how much work and stress we have, creating unnecessary problems are not the right way to deal with these situations. I came to the compromise that my house would be fine to film at and our filming was quick and efficient. 5. In dealing with group members who were not fulfilling their responsibilities: We fortunately did not have this problem in our group. All members fulfilled their responsibilities and anyone who was late for a deadline, due to our schedule we made, we would continue reminding the person to get things done. This was never truly a problem in our group though. Ratings: Overall, I would rate our group's ability to remain on task as: GOOD Overall, I would rate our group's ability to be open, respectful, and communicative as: GOOD Overall, I would rate our group's ability to use the strengths of all of our members as: GOOD How successful is your project? Give specific examples for your reasons. EXCELLENT In the end, I think our project turned out extremely well. I think we chose a different direction to this project, relating our hidden gem to someone who wanted to release stress by going to a place that is special to them, whether or not it means something to anybody else. In our society today, there are too many problems that teenagers and kids must go through with their families and are forced to be treated unfairly. As teenagers ourselves, we thought we could relate to those people experiencing these problems and display how these people can find an escape as a way to express their feelings when they feel they cannot. Though we had a few problems, my group ended up cooperating very well through the filming and editing process of this project, creating an overall amazing product.

Social Media Debate

Overall, I think that our debate went very well. My group's topic was Social Merits Affirmative. There were many pros and cons of our topic. Some cons were that from T.V. and advertisements through Facebook, Youtube and other sites can make violence almost seem acceptable. People see videos or pictures of riots or actions being committed that can make people think that these actions are okay to commit. An example that they used was the G20 and the riots downtown. There were Facebook pages, videos on the news and on Youtube that displayed people lighting cars on fire, smashing windows and more. Many people saw these sites and thought that because it was chaos and not disciplined, it wouldn't make a big deal if they contributed. I found that there were many benefits to our topic including technology, charities and campaigns and revolution. Our group believed that a main aspect of our topic was technology, constantly improving, allowing more and more ways to get a message across to a big group of people. Through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and more, we are able to form groups and opinions. Charities such as Movember have been advertised through social networking sites or even your own television, getting people involved while informing people. A campaign called "It Gets Better", encouraging people to feel comfortable with their sexuality, has been advertised and promoted by their own website, television shows, and more. Without the media, it would be harder to get messages out to many people. An example of this is global change. We create awareness with so many people, becoming more powerful than the actual government. To be honest, I don't think of these issues when I am using these social media outlets. I see them often, and I definitely look into them when I do see them, but they don't seem to be my main priority when using social media outlets. There are certain pages on Facebook that have to do with charities, campaigns, or even just a company that I will like on Facebook to show my support or interest in. I think that all of my peers will always have an issue with privacy but some more than others. I see some of my friends updating their status about themselves everyday, even talking about personal matters. I also have friends who are very private but upload a few pictures once in a while. What I don't agree with are the people who allow everyone to see their profile, even if you are not friends with them on Facebook. There are certain security options that can allow people to search your name but not see your profile until you accept them and some people unable that so that anyone can see everything they have on their profile. 

Another group's debate I was really interested in was the Facebook debate. I think that their debate went very well and both the negative and positive side had good points. I think that some of the advantages of Facebook include keeping in touch with friends and family, finding old friends, sharing our interests with others, creating discussions with others and you can promote business. Though these are only a few benefits, they really contribute to the many users of Facebook. You can upload photos, videos, notes, and update people of your choice on your life no matter where they live. Though this seems worth it, there are a few disadvantages to Facebook. When I think about the cons of Facebook, I think of two main things; security and cyber bullying. If you don't set up your security settings carefully and properly, anyone can see every picture, video or piece of information you upload about yourself. This can be very dangerous and people must be aware of their settings as well as who they accept as a friend. Cyber bullying has played a huge aspect in Facebook as well. Kids being made fun of, through pictures, statuses, videos and more. For example, when I was in grade eight, there was an application on Facebook called "Bathroom Wall". This was probably the most ridiculous application that put up a discussion topic where anyone could comment. The most viewed discussions were things like "Ugliest Girls at Windfields" or "Sluttiest Girls at Windfields" and obviously every girl, being so obsessed with drama at that age, visited each discussion and gave in their opinion, knowing it was anonymous. Many girls from my school were hurt by what others said about them and created more tension at school. This is only one example of cyber bullying as these types of situations happen daily and cannot be erased by the person being bullied. People believe they have more power while on their computer, posting things they wouldn't always say in person and having more courage to say it to a computer screen. Unfortunately, there are both positive and negative influences from this site but I believe that if you use it properly, it can be a great site. 

Viral Video Evaluation

Name: Emily Sherman
Name of Production Team: ELIS Inc.

Role in Production Team: Editor

Roles of the other production team members:

Shelbi Hauer- Production Manager

Lindsay Silverberg- Director

Irina Ene- Storyboard Artist and Administrator

1. How do you feel about the title you were given and how well you did your job in this project? Give specific examples of your experience.

I was very happy to be the editor of our viral video project as I enjoy using the program iMovie on my computer. I found my job to be very straight-forward as I've edited videos before. I think that I completed my job very well as I had plenty of time to edit our video clips into creating a great video. My group was very helpful as Irina created the storyboards that made filming much easier for Lindsay, Shelbi and I. We stayed on the time plan that Lindsay had created during our first brainstorming class. This kept us on task and gave us plenty of extra time to edit any imperfections, not leaving it until the last minute. 

Next time, I would continue to stay on the time plan and film based on the storyboards as these things allowed us to take our time in creating this project, and getting it done well. 

Next time, I would not film at such a late hour. Our group purposely wanted to film when it was darker out, as our video was supposed to take place outside at nighttime. Unfortunately, we came to the problem that it was a little too dark out to see everything clearly when filming. 

2. How did you contribute to this project? Give at least 2 specific examples.

As the editor, I put all of our filmed clips together to create our video. I had to lengthen and shorten certain clips to fit in with the music which took up a lot of time, especially by adding a reversal into the end of the video. When I first started editing, I began by shortening the karaoke version of "Almost Lover" to fit our clips according to the music. This impacted each clip being placed into the right time frame in the song as more fast, stronger parts of the song were heard over the more serious clips we filmed. After shortening the clips, making them look smooth, I edited the effects of certain clips to make them look cooler. A few examples of this was adding a darkened version of the all the alcohol in our video, as the clip was really bright but the inside of a party would usually be darker. Another example is adding transitions during our video, representing Lindsay blinking while seeing Shelbi over her body. Lastly, at the end of the video, I took many of the clips from the beginning of the video leading up to the crash and reversed them as well as slowing them down to show the true impact of drinking and driving and how it can easily be preventable. 

Next time, I would stick to our time plan as this allowed me a lot of time to get all of this editing done, which was a huge advantage, not rushing. 

Next time, I would not change the song idea so late into the project as this added a little confusion to the clips. Thankfully, all clips went well to the song and the situation really worked out. 

3. How do you feel about the contributions from other members of your group and the division of labour (work) for the project? Be specific to each team member.

I think our group worked really well together. At the beginning of our project, we instantly created a plan of our idea, props needed, possible songs, a time plan and possible actions for each scene. This really gave us a head start as we stuck with our original plan and worked everything out smoothly with not many problems. Lindsay created the time plan that kept us on task while Irina drew our storyboards. Shelbi filmed herself, Lindsay and I performing each scene that I would end up editing. Overall, I had no real problems with my group and was happy with the division of work per group member. 

4. When it comes to dealing with differences of opinion within your group:

I don't believe our group had any real problems having to do with differences in opinion. We all had different ideas at the beginning of the project but we basically fed off of each others suggestions and created a main video idea together. We had a few difference in opinions over when we should film but it was nothing serious as we got filming out of the way early, leaving everyone in the group happy with plenty of time left before the project was due. 

Next time, I would organize our night to film at a time to everyone's convenience. Unfortunately, Irina could not come to film the one night we all could. Everyone had things to be doing each night of the week so it was hard to find a night that was convenient for all of us. 

5. In dealing with group members who were not fulfilling their responsibilities:

We did not have this problem in my group. Our group was very easy-going and had no problem finishing each part of the project well and on time.

Next time, I would choose a trusting group and make sure everyone is aware of their responsibilities and deadlines for work. 

Next time, I would not let things slide and accept doing someone else's part of the project, rather than allow them get marked on what they have completed in the end. 

Ratings:

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to remain on task as:

EXCELLENT

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to be open, respectful, and communicative as:

EXCELLENT

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to use the strengths of all of our members as:  

EXCELLENT

How successful is your project? Give specific examples for your reasons.

EXCELLENT

I think our project ended up being extremely successful. We had plenty of time to finish things and we stayed very organized which is how all projects should work. Everyone was satisfied with their jobs and our video in the end. I was really happy with my group as they all contributed to make this video, supporting everyone else's ideas as well as sharing some of their own ideas too. We worked very cooperatively and stayed on task at all times, leaving us with a successful video.

Next time, I would be sure to stay focussed within the group, getting things done faster and not leaving you stressed at the last minute. This project showed the true effect of getting a project done with full potential, staying on task.

Next time, I would not settle for waiting to do certain things when they can be done straight away to get them out of the way, in order to move on. I feel like for many projects people want to wait until certain days to do things that can be done instantly or that day. I prefer getting things done right away so I will introduce that idea to my future groups.

Peer/Self-Evaluation: Spray n' Grow Product

Name: Emily Sherman

Name of Production Team: SEEN Inc.

Role in Production Team: Filmed and edited both radio and t.v. commercial as well as making the scripts

Roles of the other production team members:

Evy- Created storyboards and print ad

Shelbi- Filmed commercial, contributed to radio ad, made script for presentation

Nela- Filmed commercial, contributed to radio ad, made and edited script for presentation

1. How do you feel about the title you were given and how well you did your job in this project? Give specific examples of your experience.

I enjoyed creating and editing the radio ad as well as the t.v. advertisement though it was a lot of work. When we were first trying to create an idea for our commercial ad, we basically just put everyones ideas together, and shortened clips to make everything on time. I believe I did very well on this project as I explored the movie program on my apple computer in further depth.

Next time, I would make the music lower so that everyones voices in the commercials are loud and clear.

Next time, I would not count on the time from the movie program as it was completely inaccurate. 

2. How did you contribute to this project? Give at least 2 specific examples.

My answer above basically answers this question but I can add more detail in what I did. I contributed idea through our brainstorming in class as well as creating the scripts for both commercials. I uploaded the videos onto my computer and edited both commercials as well as putting voiceovers in each commercial. 

Next time, I would like to be there for the preparation classes for my group. I was gone because I was sick but even when I came back, my group still had not started the project.

Next time, I would not hand out the jobs as unevenly.

3. How do you feel about the contributions from other members of your group and the division of labour (work) for the project? Be specific to each team member.

Our group had many problems as a few of us were sick and we could have been much more organized. This taught me a lot for future groups. As for contributions, everyone gave in what they were supposed to but it was a little uneven. I felt as if I did the most in the project and didn’t get much help from Nela, Evy and Shelbi.

4. When it comes to dealing with differences of opinion within your group:

Next time, I would add everyones interests and suggestions into one idea so no one person was in change. I believe our group compromised well.

Next time, I would not settle for things like filming so late as oppose to getting it done earlier.

5. In dealing with group members who were not fulfilling their responsibilities:

Next time, I would continue to be on top of group members to get their jobs done as well as making sure everyone has an even portion of the project to do. Unfortunately, I was sick for a week of this project which could have contributed to the disorganization. However, there were also three other group members in my group who could've gotten started and let me know what I could do from home. 

Next time, I would not allow group members to leave things to the last minute.

Ratings:

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to remain on task as:

GOOD

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to be open, respectful, and communicative as:

GOOD

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to use the strengths of all of our members as:  

FAIR

How successful is your project? Give specific examples for your reasons.

EXCELLENT

Our project turned out to be extremely good. Our commercial turned out to be very funny and entertaining. I was very happy with our descriptive presentation as it covered all the facts of Spray n' Grow. Next time, I will count on all my group members to help out with many aspects of the project. Next time, I would not wait until so late to start the project. 

Next time, I would count on all my group members to help out with many aspects of the project.

Next time, I would not wait until so late to start the project. 

Social Media Campaign- Budweiser

Budweiser created a campaign this summer in cooperation with the Folds of Honor Foundation to honour the sacrifices of the fallen and support their families through scholarships and other opportunities. Budweiser is dedicating the 2011 baseball season to recognizing their sacrifices with the "Here's to the Heroes" program. For every home run hit during the year's major league baseball season, Budweiser will donate $100 to Folds of Honor. Their goal was raising $2 million dollars through all home runs and cases of Budweiser cans sold (Budweiser is donating $0.05 for each case of beer sold). Budweiser has chosen to send out the message about Folds of Honor through creating a custom Facebook page with a total of how many home runs have been hit this year, and how much Budweiser has donated to the foundation. The partnership between FHF and Budweiser has significantly expanded the mission of FHF to help these important military families. Combining one of the most popular American brands with the most American of sports for a devoted cause has led the campaign to great success. Budweiser is not making a good copy out of a tragedy, but they are putting the power of social media to great use and creating a memorable campaign in the end. This is just one of the examples of brands turning to social media to engage a social media audience for support.

Home run tally from Facebook page

"Miss Representation"

After watching this video, I am truly frustrated. I have seen many advertisements, movies, television shows and articles portraying women in sexually offensive or demeaning ways. I think that through media, there has been zero appreciation for women intellectuals. Everything displayed through the media has to be about someones looks, never their brain. I personally believe that it has caused people to not accept others who do not match the standards of the media, or to automatically judge them. It's just sad that this is what our world has come to if this is how we live our lives everyday, continuously comparing ourselves to an impossible state of beauty. I remember being in elementary school and girls my age were feeling insecure about their weight or body, wanting to look like a certain celebrity when they were older. It is so unfortunate that kids at such a young age don't feel confident with themselves or don't think they're good enough. Even nowadays, nothing has changed since elementary school, everything has gotten worse. I have friends who are constantly working out, or focussing more time on their make-up than homework. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't care about my looks or I don't focus on trying to look good often, it's depressing that our media has to create our consciousness. At one point the video mentioned that at the rate we're going at, women may not be able to achieve parity for 500 years. After learning about gender equality in a bunch of my classes, we still have problems with women equality years and years later. I agreed with the last part of the video, stating that in order to rise above the media we must write our own stories for others to be impacted so we can finally awaken people and change minds. How many women will really stand up to the media and do this though? Overall, this video has proven how the media has strongly impacted all women and even young girls. Unfortunately, our media is everywhere and cannot be escaped. I hope we come up with a better plan to defeat the power our media has on us.