Commercial Tie-Ins to Movies (And Why They Present Mixed Messages)

When I went to see The Lorax with a friend (it was either that or The Vow), I was severely disappointed. As an animation fanatic I was impressed by the visuals, but that didn't make up for the lazy writing, choppy three-act structure, and two dimensional characters (yes, I know I'm being very critcial of a children's movie, but it was an adaptation of one of my favourite books so I believe I have the right). It didn't even keep the same "anti-corporate" message of the book - it was expressed very plainly in the movie, but it was the commercial tie-ins that displayed the mixed message. A significant message in The Lorax was that slick advertising can compell people to buy things they don't need, a very modern message and very applicable to children growing up in a world revolving around the media. Except commercial tie-ins with The Lorax for companies like IHOP and Mazda, which exploit The Lorax characters for means of advertising, completely neutralize the plain message of the movie. Using characters from a movie portraying an anti-corporate message to advertise products seems very oxymoronic and presents mixed messages to the viewers. It seems as if the very company that created The Lorax, Illumination Entertainment, is using their own anti-corporate characters to fulfill their own corporate greed. And because of this, viewers are becoming more desensitized to messages in movies because they see them contradicted everywhere in real life.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/living/lorax-movie/index.html

Positive Feminist Progress in the Media

Even one hundred years after women have gained the right to vote, it disgusts me how we are still represented in the media. Advertisements featuring passive females, female characters being depicted with stereotypical “women” qualities ….the list goes on and on. In class we focused on the media’s suppression of the progress of women’s representations, but not on the media that has evolved women’s representations positively. The prime example that comes to mind is one of my favourite shows, ABC’s Once Upon a Time. The show features fairytale characters under a curse where they live in our modern world and don’t remember who they are. Fairytales—and more specifically, Disney’s portrayal of them—are often criticized for downgrading women by making the female characters “helpless” and dependent on men. Once Upon a Time, however, takes classic fairytales and manipulates them so that more often than not, it is the woman who is the saviour of the male character. A classic example of a passive fairytale character, Snow White, is portrayed as strong and independent, but also has very human emotions. This differs from some female characters in the media whose only redeeming quality is being “badass”, but has no emotion, making them a very inhuman and unrelatable character. Snow White in Once Upon a Time saves the prince even though he was holding her against her will, showing strength but at the same time good morals, great qualities in the hero of any classic story. All of the other female characters in this show demonstrate these traits to some degree, making them great role models for children growing up with fairytales. Taking previously passive female characters and redefining their roles into strong, identifiable heroines is an example of the positive progress the media’s representation of women.

Snow White in ABC's Once Upon a Time

Tis the Season for Consuming

As important it is to remind our parents how much we appreciate them, I am very cynical against the idea of "mother's day" and "father's day". It wasn't until this mother's day, while at my job at Harvest Moon restaurant I witnessed a line of people going out the door, eager for the day's "mother's day special", that I realized just how big of a marketing scheme these special "holidays" are. Yes, it's nice, even important, to have a special day dedicated to the parental figures in our lives. But that's not what mother's and father's day means anymore. The message marketers send to us is that we must buy something in order to show our appreciation. And sure, buying nice things for our moms and dads is a good way to show appreciation. But when the entire theme in a store for May is revolving around one Sunday in that month...that is when things begin to get out of hand. We live in a consumer society, and when marketers get any excuse to market their product, they jump on it. Mother's and father's day becomes less of a day to ponder why we appreciate these parental figures so much, but what can we buy to demonstrate this appreciation. These days are good representations of our consuming society and its connection with all holidays - Easter, Christmas. It's not about why we celebrate the holiday but what we can do to celebrate it. And our progressing consuming attitudes are playing right into the hands of marketers.

Nostalgia in the Media

In my opinion, there is hardly a feeling more complex than the emotions associated with nostalgia. There is the happiness of innocent memories but also the sadness that those times have passed. But, as complex as it is, nostalgia is a feeling we all crave. We all want to return to a simpler time, and marketers know this. A recent example I noticed was a Wendy's commercial, re-using the old catchline from when my parents were in high school, "Where's the Beef?" Nostalgia as a marketing tool is usually in advertisements targeted to an older audience, as that Wendy's commercial would not be understood by my generation (unless your dad has a story of getting kicked out of a Wendy's for saying that line to the manager when the server forgets to put a patty in his burger). I've noticed this tactic being used as a marketing technique in mediums other than advertisements. Movie or television remakes of nostalgic things are very effective. For me personally, The Avengers and the television show Once Upon a Time are hugely nostalgic for me and also happen to be some of my favourite things to watch. Sometimes I wonder if it is the quality of the shows or movies that influence my consumption, or if it is the reminder of simpler times they give me.

Wendy's used nostalgia as a marketing tool in its current Where's the Beef? commercial

Is Originality Dead?

Seeing one of my favourite TV shows from the UK, BBC's modern rendition of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, in Maclean's magazine got me very excited. The show has won several awards and is gaining mass audiences. How often do you see British television in the mainstream North American media? That is why I got really excited to see it in Maclean's, because it is truly proof of the gaining popularity this current 6 episode mini-series is getting. It is not surprising, then, that other television corporations are eager to ride on the coattails of Sherlock's success. A very prominent example is CBS's upcoming show, Elementary, which will also feature a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, except in New York rather than London. There is already a lot of spite among the Sherlock fans towards Elementary, after the co-creators of Sherlock consulted the creators of Elementary saying they did not want them to continue because they were the original creators of the modern-day Sherlock Holmes idea. It is instances like these that raise the question - is originality dead? Is there literally no unique ideas out there, or has the media taught us to take the easy route and rely on the success of others? It seems to be making television companies money anyhow, so why make the effort of being original?

Elementary Vs. Sherlock 

"It's Not For Women"

I remember a while ago seeing Dr. Pepper being advertised in a sort of satire action film commercial. It advertised the drink as being "manly", and suggested that action films are strictly for men and women's interests are strictly to romantic comedies. This commercial actually made me very angry. I am a fan of superhero movies, and I am sick of society telling me I should prefer Nicholas Sparks films. When my dad and brother were planning to go see The Avengers, my dad was surprised when I said I wanted to go see it too. Why? Because commercials like this Dr. Pepper ad are continually reinforcing gender segregation. I can't believe that it is the 21st century and the media is still telling us how we are expected to act because of a biological difference. I also can't believe that something as simple as watching an action movie or drinking a Dr. Pepper is considered defying the media's expectations for me as a girl.

Doctor Pepper commercial labelled "It's Not For Women"

Disclaimer: Sorry Ben! I didn't realize you had already written an entry on this commercial.

Streaming - Not the Threat Music Corporations Make It Out to Be

When we first started talking about streaming's role in copyright infringement in class, I was pretty on the fence about my opinions on whether or not it was a major threat to the future of the music industry. Now, after introducing myself to streaming on CBC Music and browsing such a large streaming site, I have begun to lean towards the idea that streaming music is more helpful than hurtful to music corporations. For one thing, a common factor I've noticed on CBC Music is that no albums released in the last couple months are available for streaming. It's not like every song by every band you like is available to listen for free--if you really like a band and want to listen to its newest album, you cannot stream it. Fans who want to listen to the music immediately have the choice of buying it and supporting the artist or illegally downloading it for free. Flash is also required to stream music, at least from CBC. So even if I was willing to use up my data on my iPhone to stream music on the bus or walking or whenever I listen to music, I wouldn’t be able to stream the music because Flash is not compatible with my iPhone. These factors make streaming inconvenient compared to buying or downloading the .mp3 file, and fans will always pay money for music made by an artist they wish to support. Not only do consumers realize the convenience of owning the music, but streaming is a great opportunity to introduce music to an audience that would never have been introduced to it in the first place. To me, streaming acts more like an advertising tool than a replacement for paid-for music.