Fifty Shades of Sketchy

Over the weekend I learned that Fifty Shades of Grey made a movie and it's coming out in 2015.

For those of you who know me, I'm pretty quiet and easy-going. However, there are a few topics I get incredibly passionnate about. If any of these topics come up in conversation, my inner dragon comes out:

1. Child abuse
2. Objectification of Women
3. Sexual abuse due to #2

Well, I got curious and looked up the plot of Fifty Shades of Grey. It looks like it magnifies #2 and #3. And I'm a bit disgusted.

This series is anything but okay. I cannot stand any piece of media that portrays weak women being sexually exploited by powerful men. Furthermore, I cannot stand it when women read it and call it a good book or a good movie! The reason these tasteless books and movies are released is because they target a tasteless audience, which sadly constitutes a wide population of this increasingly tasteless planet.

Can you tell I get passionate about this?

Men are not sex fiends. And women are not sex objects. At least they shouldn't be. The fact that this series is all about a sex fiend who wants to control a women who gives her "consent" to be sexually abused is incredibly horrifying.

I wish I could fight it. But the best thing to do is not give it publicity. How can we make that happen?

If you want to read a really good article about this, look here: https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/to-the-christians-who-think-50-shades-is-all-sorts-of-awesome-please-stop-a

End of rant. :)

Letter to Carl's Jr

So, I know this is a long shot, especially after Dr. Coyne mentioned that she has written Carl's Jr. dozens of times and has heard no reply. This letter also may not be that persuasive. However, it's worth a try. I do like the idea of writing professional letters to clean up the media. Media, however, runs more like a business. It supplies the demand. The real way to clean up media is for consumers to want something more clean and family-friendly. The best way to fight against filthy media is for the majority of the population to ignore it. I don't know how to make that happen though.

Anyway, here is the letter I wrote to Carl's Jr this week.

To whom it may concern,
My name is Brianna Fox and I am currently a student at Brigham Young University. I am writing on behalf of the hundreds of females that have been injured and offended by Carl's Jr's unthoughtful  advertising. I have been shocked by Carl's Jr's recent ads that portray sexualized women in an attempt to sexually arouse male consumers. This objectification of women is harmful, crass, dehumanizing, and offensive; it needs to stop.
There are dozens of studies that analyze the effects of sexual advertisements on consumer behaviors, though there are gaps in the literature. Still, several studies have found that sexualized advertisements do not leave lasting impressions on consumers. Brad J. Bushman, a PhD in the Department of Psychology, conducted a study in 2002 that found that sex advertisements reduced viewers' likelihood of remembering the advertised brand, their interest in buying that brand, and their likelihood of selecting a coupon for that brand, regardless of gender.
Similarly, Ellie Parker and Adrian Furnham of University College London conducted a study in 2007 that found that viewing sexual content in programs reduced the likelihood of recalling advertisements. This suggests that viewers are distracted by sex and put more interest into sex than in advertised products. The Carl's Jr. advertisements encourage consumers to think about sex; the ads may be doing very little to persuade consumers to purchase Carl's Jr. hamburgers. Women especially do not respond well to sexualized advertisements due to their preference for deep and meaningful relationships. Using sexualized advertisements effectively alienates the female population from potential consumers.
I am aware that some studies support the claim that sex sells to male consumers. However, the use of sexualized advertisements is unethical. It involves dehumanizing and objectifying the female population, which subsequently alienates a large percentage of potential consumers. This causes harm to both the company and its consumers. These offensive advertisements have also stirred men to action; they, too, are offended by the sexual ads. Hundreds of men and women have sworn off Carl's Jr. until the offensive ads are removed.
I strongly encourage Carl's Jr. to change its target audience from male adults to families. I came across an article on The Daily Signal which reports that Chick-Fil-A's family values have led to a higher customer satisfaction among kids than McDonalds: their strongest competitor. McDonalds made $55,856 million in net income in 2014. McDonalds is known for its strong appeal to kids; McDonalds targets a wider audience and consequently brings in more revenue. Feeding families will bring in more revenue than feeding single men. By shaming and alienating women, Carl's Jr is chasing away both mothers and children. These populations constitute a vast majority of fast-food consumers.
I politely request the removal of your offensive advertisements from television. These ads glorify the objectification of women, which teaches children the wrong message about how women should be viewed and treated. This may lead to the further dehumanization of women. Women should not be portrayed as mindless sex objects, nor should men be portrayed as mindless sex fiends. Please keep your restaurants family-friendly. It will be beneficial to both your business and your consumers. Thank you for your time.
Best,

Brianna Fox

Political Polarization

I always had the suspicion that Facebook wasn't the best place to discuss politics. Though it seems like it would be a good way for people to stay politically connected, I wasn't surprised when I stumbled upon this study that people of certain parties tend to be surrounded by their own party's material in their own social media.

I think this could lead to a serious problem. A lot of political topics are discussed over Facebook. A lot of controversial topics are discussed over Facebook as well. From what I've seen, Facebook discussions don't really help anyone. People just get fired up and verbally tear others apart because they forget they're addressing a real person. No matter what you say to these people, they are hard to sway. They seem to walk away with a greater conviction than before, whether right or wrong. I think this fire is fed by their feeds; the majority of the posts and tweets they see are in agreement with their own political views. This could lead to serious political polarization.

I wonder how social media will continue to change the way that campaigns are run. It would be interesting to see studies that analyze the impact that social media has on voters. For those who want to learn about both parties from a non-biased source, I would stay away from social media. And the internet.

Food for thought!

E-Books: Friend or Foe?

I remember my first response to E-readers. I think it matched the typical reaction that the average person generally has to new media. When I was in 11th grade my mom got a Kindle for Christmas. I wrote an entire paper about why I thought this wasn't a good idea. No, I did not show it to my mom. It was for class.

But even then I had a hard time writing that paper. I poured out my love for books onto those pages as I wrote. I described the feeling of euphoria that accompanies picking up a new book and smelling its fresh pages while fanning them out in front of my face for the first time. I described how I loved the simple act of turning each page to let the story unfold before my eyes. I loved books.

I still love books! But I actually don't mind E-readers anymore. At first I thought they were a terrible idea. I saw them as a threat to my beautiful books. I saw them as mediums that could not convey the same message as a book, even if they contained the same words. I thought that the world would become a world of solely e-books and that I would have to build an underground shrine to my Harry Potter collection.

That actually sounds kind of fun. But I no longer think it's necessary.

I still agree that the message feels different depending on the medium. I have yet to read one of my favorite books online, but I have switched to online Gospel study. I have noticed that as I have read the Book of Mormon through the Gospel Library App that I feel the exact same Spirit that I feel when I read a hard copy. I learn just as much. I love how I can quickly mark and make notes into the text, go back and add things, delete old notes, and revise my writings. That would be kind of a fun trick for an e-book.

So, if I feel the same Spirit while reading the Book of Mormon online, I wonder if that would hold for my other favorite books. I will always love the smell and feel of hard copies. But it might be kind of fun to put my entire library online and carry it around with me on one device.

How Kids Want to Change Their Bodies

I love kids. We as adults have a lot to learn from their childlike innocence. My fiancé showed me this article that I absolutely love. The video portrays both children and adults responding to the same question: what would they change about their bodies? The adults responded almost automatically and focused on what they did not like about their bodies. The children, on the other hand, would give themselves fantastical superpowers. This serves as a reminder that beauty certainly isn't everything. We should be grateful for the bodies that we have been given. And, if we find ourselves daydreaming about changing our bodies, we should focus more on our desire to sprout wings and fly. That's what I've wanted since I was a child!! 😊

Enjoy!

http://time.com/3558383/video-adults-kids-change-bodies-question/

Disney Princesses with Real Waistlines

I came across this article the other day that I thought was really interesting. Artists went back and drew in realistic proportions for several Disney princesses, and they all look great! I think the realistic human body is much more beautiful than the body portrayed with no waist at all. Seeing the pictures side by side is fascinating too. You don't realize how unrealistic their waistlines are until you compare them with what a normal waistline looks like.
I think drawing Disney characters with a realistic waistline would also help the characters be more relatable to young viewers. It may also help with self-image by giving little girls an accurate idea of what an average body looks like.

Read it! It's fascinating. :)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/30/disney-princess-real-waistline_n_6076634.html

Interstellar!!!!

This post may not even be coherent because it is super late and all I want to be right now is unconscious. BUT. I have to post about Interstellar.

That movie is so good. It is one of my favorite movies directed by Chris Nolan thus far, though I still say Inception remains my favorite. However, there are so many things about Interstellar that I absolutely loved.

First, I saw it on Imax. So it was even more beautiful because I got to watch it on a giant screen. The filming was fantastic. Each scene was beautiful, and I was so impressed with the special effects. Secondly, the music was phenomenal. The music itself conveyed themes portrayed in the movie. When you watch it, pay attention to the music. The two-tone music reflects a binary theme. Pretty appropriate, no? Genius.

Thirdly, the themes of the movie were beautiful. I love how it weaves in love of family between a father and a daughter, the power of love in general, the importance of overcoming fear, of choosing love over survival, and more. I love the dynamic of each individual character. Almost every character in the film was incredibly well-written, and they all act upon different motives, which diversity reflects the different characteristics  of the human race.