Popular Baby Names

I came across this hilarious news article titled "To the Mom that Names her Baby Hashtag". My only response is wow! (well other than my initial thought, is this for real?) What was she thinking? I have heard of babies being named after characters in books, movies, or songs, but Social Media lingo? What is this generation coming to? And is there seriously a baby out there named Facebook? Poor thing! I think I will be sticking with the traditional John, Jim or Mary :)

Letter Assignment

For my letter assignment I wrote to the CEO of the MPAA. I expressed to him my strong belief that the current rating system does not give an adequate content description. I mentioned my experience with Brave (which I wrote about in a previous post) and even offered a couple suggestions for improvement. 

We'll see if I get any response! 

Brave

My husband and I watched Brave over the Thanksgiving break. I thought it was cute. I especially enjoyed the 3 little brothers. However, I was a little surprised with some of the content. Particularly the busty housemaid who stuffs the key down her dress. And the unnecessary image of the naked butts on the men. I know they are just animations, but I don't know if I would want my kids to watch this film someday. Far too often I feel that animated films these days are slipping in these little things that adults understand, but they think kids won't. It makes me think twice about what movies I will let my kids watch someday. I have a feeling there will be a lot of Classic Disney films in our house :)  

Has anyone else seen Brave? How did you feel about these scenes? 

YouTube you never disappoint!

A little something to make you smile over the Thanksgiving Break! I spent probably a good hour watching these Studio C clips. This is what happens when I don't have any homework due for a week. There are lots more from Studio C, but these were my top 3 favorites. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Hurricane Sandy & Mormon Helping Hands

My husband and I don't have TV so I haven't fully comprehended/understood how bad the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is/was. I came across this video on the blog The Rockstar Diaries and I feel like it really helped me realize how bad it truly is for the people of NY. I also loved hearing the comments of those who are benefiting from the Mormon Helping Hands. I love the good things they have to say about the members, it just warms my heart to see the young adults, families, and missionaries all out there working together. Please watch it! Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to post it directly on the blog, but here is a link to it. I love this Church and the positive example the members are to the world!

Ratings

There is a lot I could say about ratings, but during our class discussion I kept thinking about an experience I had with the movie Hairspray and my niece (who was probably 8 or so at the time). I love this movie, and so one day when my niece was at our house we decided to watch Hairspray. It's rated PG and she loves musicals so I didn't even think about all the civil rights and racism in the movie. Man, was I grateful my mom was there to help some of my niece's questions after it was over! This is a perfect example of how a better content advisory description would have been really helpful. Although, it was rated PG there was some content in there that was a  bit too much for my little 8 year old niece's understanding!I feel the current rating system is a good start (and better than nothing), but there is still room for a lot of improvement.

The "Mormon Moment"

I came across this extremely interesting article [click here]. It chronicles how our religion has grown in popularity and recognition in the US culture over the past 60 or so years. The author called this growth the "Mormon Moment". While reading it I kept thinking how much the church has grown in just my short life time. It makes me excited to consider how much more it can grow in my (future) kid's lifetime! Thinking about how well known our church is and how (for the most part) respected it is makes me proud to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

What do you think about the article? 

Texting

I was talking with a coworker the other day and he was shocked to find out that I don't have texting. I have never had texting in the entire 7 or so years I have had my cell phone. I definitely have had my moment's of begging with my parent's to let me get texting. But now I am used to it, and content to wait another year until my husband and I get on the same plan. Actually, (this might sound weird) but I will be proud to admit that I survived all of high school and college without it! I know it can be really annoying for people to get a hold of me, but I always warn them when I give out my number- "Don't be surprised when I never respond to your text" But most of the time they forget :)

Is there anyone else out there who doesn't have texting? 

Do you think texting is a necessity to succeed in this media/technology saturated world? 

Poking Fun at Facebook

After our discussion about Facebook I kept thinking about this hilarious Youtube video. I haven't watched it since it was first posted in 2009 and I had to laugh at how "dated" some of the things were- like the top friends list, flair and bumper stickers. 

Enjoy! 

Halloween

I have been thinking a lot this past week about Halloween and how the media influences this holiday. Gone are the days of dressing up as witches, ghosts or pumpkins! Now many people are choosing their costumes from characters from popular tv shows or movies. 

For example:  

My husband and I dressed up as Shawn and Juliet from one of our favorite shows, Psych.

And my good friend was Flo from the popular Progressive commercials. 

How was your Halloween costume influenced by the media?

A Positive Media Message About the Election

I will be quite honest and say that I hate this "Election Season"! There is just so much negativity in the media and I can't watch it for very long without it putting me in a bad mood. However, a friend of mine posted this clip on Facebook and I was impressed with the positive tone of this discussion. Watching it feels like a nice breath of fresh air. I like that they are commenting on positive characteristics of Romney instead of belittling the candidates, like is often done. 

Enjoy and don't forget to get out and vote on November 6th! 

Motherhood

My group decided to promote motherhood for our family ad assignment. I believe that the role of motherhood, as outlined in the Family Proclamation, is deteriorating. Too many women in our society are putting off their responsibility to be mothers. They desire successful careers and want to experience the world before being "tied down" by children. I will be quite frank and say that I believe this is selfish, and not in line with the desires of our Heavenly Father. Granted there is a wide spectrum of views on this topic. Some might consider me selfish since I am waiting until I have graduated to have kids. The important things is that you have a desire to be a mother of Heavenly Father's children. And if, for some reason, you are not able to bear your own children you, as a woman of God, can be an example of righteousness to other children. This is the message that we hoped to promote through our advertisement. 

ENJOY! 

The Thin-Ideal

I really enjoyed our class discussion this past week on gender in the media, and specifically this idea of a "thin-ideal". Throughout the class period I kept thinking about this show I got started watching over the summer, Drop Dead Diva. It is all about Deb, an aspiring model that dies in a car accident and then has the chance to come back to earth, but ends up in the body of an over-weight, intelligent lawyer, Jane. I used to be a little embarrassed for watching such a girly show that on the surface seems very superficial. However, the more I watched it the more I was able to recognize the deeper messages and I was able to see the main character develop as she finds her inner-beauty and realizes that it is okay to have a different body type. This show goes against the norm in the media that beauty is defined by your weight. After our discussion and watching Miss Representation it makes sense to me why Lifetime, a network specifically for women, would air a show like this. They are trying to promote ideals that are not popular in the media. The idea that you do not have to be thin to be beautiful. It is the kind of person you are, the things you stand for, and the people you help that make you beautiful.

Dating

My best-friend from high school attends a small private university in Southern California called California Lutheran University (CLU), where she is an editor for the school paper. The other day on Facebook she posted a link to an article that a mutual friend had written on their website. After reading the article I was exploring the site and can across this fascinating article on dating. It made me laugh that we are not the only University that publishes articles on dating. However, this one takes an entirely different approach to dating than we do here at BYU. It got me thinking about how culture and location influence the content of our media.

Take a look at the article HERE. (don't worry it's short)

How do you feel about the article? Do you agree? Or do you prefer how our BYU newspaper portrays dating?

Miss Representation

WOW! This was an amazing film! (Dr. Coyne, if you are reading this please let us finish it). It really opened my mind to the many different ways that women are portrayed in the media, some that I had never even considered before. One thing that I thought was really interesting was the way the media portrayed Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. And also the news anchor (I forgot her name). I had never realized how much the media emphasizes these women's looks and not the news they are sharing, or the content of their political platforms. It was astounding to me!
I was also intrigued by the idea that it is okay for women to watch action movies, but men can say no to chick flicks. Now, I don't believe that this is a universal concept and my husband is good about watching the occasional chick flick with me. But we certainly watch a lot more action films! And when I do watch a chick flick I tend to do it on a girls night or when he is gone. It is just amazing to me how much we are, in a sense, brain washed with this trends of the way women should act or be viewed by society. Such an interesting aspect of the media, and although I usually cringe at the idea of research, I think it would be really interesting to do more research on this topic.

How much do you get out of the media?

Do you ever just read something and then realize that you didn't get one thing out of it? I do this all the time, especially with my text books and the scriptures! I am currently taking Rel 333 Teachings of the Living Prophets from Brother Lloyd Newell (you know, the Music and the Spoken Word guy). I love this class, please take it if you can! But it is really making me realize how often I just read the scriptures, and particularly the General Conference talks, with out truly reading them. I allow my mind to wander and just don't put my whole concentration on their messages. This is something that I am really trying to work on. I think it can also be applied to other forms of media as well, like our text books or television, or even just books we read for fun. How often do we just watch TV without a true purpose? How often do we read a book without really grasping its true message? I am certainly guilty of this too! This week I am going to challenge myself to really focus on the messages of the various media I consume, and not just view/read it to fill time.

A remote designed for young kids?

While perusing Pinterest I came across this remote that is designed specifically for kids. Parents can program 7 channels in and then the kids can channel surf at their leisure. 

I am not entirely sure of my opinion of it. On the one hand I think it is great to ensure that the kids don't come across any non-kid friendly channel. But then on the other hand, I don't know if I want my kids watching enough TV that they would need their own remote. 

What do you think? Would you buy this for your kid? 

My least favorite type of media

Usually I know exactly what I want to write for my 2 blog posts. But not this week! I was trying to figure out why and I realized it is because this week has been filled with my least favorite type of media...exams and papers. This week I had 3 papers due, 1 quiz, and 3 exams. I am hoping that a weekend of uplifting media, like General Conference, will help relieve some stress. And Monday morning, after I take my last exam, I will (hopefully) be feeling amazing since I survived an extremely busy/stressful week! Anyway, I am certain I was not the only one feeling this way this week, so I hope everyone else who is feeling some stress will be able to enjoy the uplifting messages of Conference!

Anne of Green Gables

I just finished re-reading my all time favorite series, Anne of Green Gables. In my opinion these books should be considered a classic! They are entertaining, heartwarming, and clean (no sex, violence or foul language in these books!). The writing is superb! And all the characters unique and dynamic. There is no other book where the characters seem so real to me. And there are so many life lessons that you can learn from the experiences of the characters. I truly believe that some of the stories are probably from the author, Lucy Maud Montgomery's, own life and experiences. I dream of some day traveling to Prince Edward Island. Hopefully my daughters will love these stories as much as me and we can take a "girls trip" someday. 

Does anyone else love these books? 

And if you don't ever read the books, please watch the movies. They are excellent and perfect for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. Although, I will admit the 3rd one is a great movie, but does not follow the books one bit! So maybe you should just read the books :) 

Aren't they adorable? And Gil is not too bad on the eyes either! :) 

I would love to name one of my kids Gilbert, but my husband isn't to keen on that idea. I have no idea why! Is there anyone else who has considered naming a child after a favorite book character? Or anyone named after one? 

Laughter

I recently heard this quote about laughter, "A day without laughter is a day wasted." I started reflecting on the past few days of my life and how much I had laughed. And I was reminded of a movie that I had just watched on Netflix, I.Q. This movie made me laugh more than any I had seen in a very long time! It takes place in the 1950's and is about a uneducated mechanic who falls in love with Albert Einstein's niece, played by Meg Ryan. This young man becomes friends with Einstein and his 3 buddies, and together they device a plan to make this man appear brilliant so that Meg Ryan will fall in love with him. Well their plan works, for a while, and I am sure you can guess their ending. But one of the funniest parts of the whole movie was when Einstein and his buddies "assist" the mechanic with an IQ test.

Please tell me you laughed as much as I did?! 

17 Miracles

It has been a while since I have watched a truly inspiring film. But this past Sunday my husband and I watched 17 Miracles. Neither of us had seen it before and man did it pull at the heart strings! I enjoy church history and have read a few books on the pioneers, but this movie made their story truly come alive for me. The emotions of the actors were so real and poignant. I don't usually cry during movies but I was pretty near balling, and my husband's eyes were glistening a bit (although he wouldn't like to admit it). I kept thinking of the mothers that lost their husbands or children along the trail and the determination they had to keep going despite these terrible trials. If there are couple things I can take away from this film it is that through faith in our Heavenly Father we can do anything- things beyond our physical capabilities. These Pioneers truly conquered the impossible! And in the words of our dear friend, Albert, You are Superb!!! And don't ever forget that :)

And as a side note with this film: Dallyn Vail Bayles, who sings one of the songs in this film, has such a beautiful voice. I had the opportunity to attend President Monson's Birthday Celebration and Brother Bayles was one of the performers. He was amazing! I am kind of obsessed! :)

Media at Work

I work for the Circulation Desk for the Law School Library. One of our responsibilities is to digitize old court briefs for the State Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. The pages of these briefs fade and rip, but through today's advanced technology we are making this one type of media available to future generations and preserving important records. I know this is a very exciting form of media, but it is still media, and I am grateful that I can have a part in preserving it. Go Media!

Advertising at its Not so Finest

Now, we all know that there are really good commercials, and really bad commercials. And Commercials that are so stupid they are actually funny, like the Geico ones. 

A favorite Geico commercial of mine is the Possum one. I love the "its just playing possum" line. Makes me laugh every time! 

Has anyone seen the new Velveeta commercials? I don't have TV, but they keep playing on Hulu and they are terrible. You don't even know what they are advertising until the last couple seconds on the commercial and they make absolutely no sense. 

See? In my opinion advertising is supposed to compel you to invest in their product, not leave you wondering  what the heck just happened. 

Geico: 1 Velveeta: 0 

                                                          

Advertising at its Finest

Lately advertising has been on my mind. Probably because I never really considered it as a form of media so now I am seeing advertisements in a whole new light.

Now we all know Old Spice has an excellent advertising team. Their recent commercial is proof!

But I never really considered the advertisements they have on their actual deodorant until the other day when I saw my husband's deodorant on the bathroom counter.

Now this is advertising at its finest, at least in my opinion. If this would female deodorant I would buy it just for how funny it is!

Well done, Old Spice. Well Done!

Columbo

I always love when I come across a random jewel of a show on Netflix. My most recent find, Columbo, a homicide detective show from the 70's. I don't know exactly what it is that I love about it, but I do. The cinematography is certainly nothing to rave about, nor are the supporting actors or plot lines. But it is a nice breath of fresh air to find a show with little foul language, or gorey murder scenes (although I do love those ones, like Bones or Castle).

And Peter Falk, does an amazing job of playing quirky Lt. Columbo. Your non-traditional police officer, who is always wearing his trench coat, with a cigar in his hand and hair that, more often than not, looks like he just rolled out of bed. To some he might seem not so bright, and his methods not the most conventional, but he always solves the crime! I love watching the show, knowing that Columbo has known from the very beginning who the murderer is, but trying to figure out just how he knows. Plus, he is always talking about his wife, nephew, cousin or some other family member, proof that his family is an important part of his life (or at least I like to think so).

Some Columbo highlights:

 And nothing beats the music they play right before something bad happens:

Columbo is no White Collar or Burn Notice, but it is a classic show that you might just end up loving. So give it a chance and let me know what you think!

Welcome!

I am a college student taking a media class that studies the effects of the media on families and human development. Did you know that media includes all of the following?

Newspapers - Television - Films - Books - Magazines - Art - Play - Advertising - Internet - Blogs :) - Mobile Phones - Video Games - Music - and Podcasts! 

THAT'S A LOT!! When I think about it, most things that I do on a daily basis involve the media! Some day I just might have to calculate exactly how much media I consume each day. 

This blog will highlight my thoughts on the different types of media that I consume throughout the week. So take a look, leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts on these things!