Media Education

Dr. Leech
Last week we had a presentation from Dr. Leech talking to us about Media Education. We learned about commercials and how all commercials have two layers of menaings. There's the text which is what it says out loud to you, and there is the subtext which is what goes on underneath. The subtexts are what the commercial are assuming or implying. Subtexts are often abd and are what drag a viewer intot he commercial. They scare the viewers into buying the product. Subtext is not acceptable when a need was created that didnt used to exist.
Throughout this peresentation I learned how to identify what the subtext and texta re. I learned to not fall for the subtext that is making me want to go out and purchase the item that i didn't use to need, or even want. That night when i went home, when i sat down and watched TV, when the commercials came on I sat there and analyzed them. I saw a commercial for the H1N1 vaccine saying that if you did not get the shot you would get extremely sick and even possbily die. Before learning about the double layers this commercial probably would have scared me, but instead i took it into perspective and thought aboutt eh facts. The fact is that if 75% of the population were to get the needle which almost that amount of people ahd then 5% of people get the flu and learn how to fight against them then it will be cancelled out. In my family there are 6 people that live in the hous 4 of them have gotten the shot and both me and my older brotehr who ahve not gotten teh shot have had the flu, and thus havebuilt amunitiesto it and knwo how to fight it off. Then i saw a commercial for Axe spray for men, the commercial showed that if you used the spray women would follow you around. I thought about this and this commercial is using women as a game. The media portreys women and men in terrible ways.
I think that after this presentation I wont look at a commercial the same I will think about what it is actually saying and not take it to heart.