"Dove" and "Axe": Conflicting Standards

Our class discussion today was very interesting. I was shocked to find out that the sentimental Dove campaign based around the importance of talking to your children before the biased advertisers can was created by the same company that owns and produces the Axe campaigns. It aggravates me because when I first saw the new Dove advertisements that were aimed toward a more realistic representation of women, I believed them to be somewhat revolutionary and I was pleased to see a positive change in the media. I was wrong. There is no positive change. Maybe a valiant effort, but to represent one idea only to hypocritically negate it in another campaign, Axe, it only reinforces my initial judgment that the media is only concerned with one thing- to sell.

To recall, we have the Dove commercial showing a young girl in the midst of thousands of advertisements that objectify women with a tag line "Talk to your child before They do". Then there is the Axe campaign, funded by the same company with advertisements focused on women in lingerie dancing rather sexually. They even went far enough as to add in some useful props for these ladies to use: an iron and ironing board and a vacuum. These two campaigns reflect two completely contrasting views. I think the Dove commercial, I mean, if they really wanted to speak the truth, should have changed the tag line to read, "Talk to your children before WE do."

It's upsetting to try and perceive what the future of mass media will hold. If we continue to allow this complete lack of regard to ideal and accurate representations, what will be next?

Sexual Content on Television

After reading chapter 8, I became more aware of why I hate MTV. I've always disapproved of this network and everything from its programs, commercials, and music videos. When I was younger and up until the age of 18, my father would block this channel from our television to keep me from tuning in. I would often be upset at this because, of course, that's all you're friends are watching and that's what I had socially learned to be a current representation of pop culture.

I wince now at the fact that I depended on it for entertainment as much as I did. I now cringe whenever I turn and see the demoralizing of youth advertised in an entertaining way to the majority of the youth in this country. I am appreciative that my father was in tune and cared about me enough to want to keep me from being persuaded by this trash. I wish more parents would do the same.

MTV may be a joke to you and I, but it is not one well received by adolescents. All, if not most, of the programs aired are dramatized situations between young adults based around sexual instances, partying, and fighting. This is not including videos aired which are also expressively, if not directly, sexual in content. The growing viewership worries me in that this is the generation that will be leading the next. If television continues to become more liberal in content and holds back more and more in censorship, we should definitely fear for the future of youth. A study by mediawise.org adds these findings:

Sexual Imagery, Violence, Alcohol and Tobacco Portrayal in Music Videos [On MTV]

• In one study 75% of concept music videos (those that told a story) involve sexual imagery and more than half involve violence - usually against women (Pediatrics, 2001).
• An analysis of music videos found that nearly one-fourth of all MTV videos portray overt violence and depict weapon carrying with attractive role models being aggressors in more than 80% of the violent videos (DuRant, 1997).
• One-fourth of all MTV videos contain alcohol or tobacco use (DuRant, 1997).
• A longitudinal study found a positive correlation between TV and music video viewing and alcohol consumption among teens (Robinson, 1998).

If we continue to have negative findings when researching the correlation between television and teen behavior, what will be enough before media responds?