Hey people! So glad that I can finally share my thoughts on what feminism is all about and the different degrees and aspects of this controversial topic.
Our group choose to discuss about the BIC advertisement shown below. This particular advertisement says that all women think like a man among other feminist traits in order to work like a boss. Our point of argument was why should women conform to what society or men tells them to do or think? Many women who are reading this pop-up advertisement would get pretty annoyed and frustrated because of this. Therefore, our group decided to go against this advertisement due to its mild stereotype against women.
In addition, this BIC advertisement created this advertisement to celebrate #HappyWomensDay. But in actual fact, they are actually going against the very fundamentals of what women’s day is all about. Therefore, instead of achieving that they originally planned to achieve, they created such an advertisement that is contradictory in terms of it’s content of the advertisement and the purpose.
A mediated public sphere is basically a concept where media users from all around the world can come together to discuss all kinds of issues together. This should be achieved where internet users can all live together in harmony without the use of hate, racist or stereotypical speech and so on.
In this day and age, more and more people are becoming more and more reliant on the media. We use the media to catch up on the latest news, listen to music, for entertainment purposes and so on. but little do we know that all these reliance on the media has become a necessity in our lives. It has shaped the way we think and how we perceive the world. Take for example the famous TV show called Family Guy. While it is a cartoon show meant for adults, many kids nowadays watch it, along with the subtle racism, violence, unethical behaviour and other bad influences this ‘innocent’ cartoon TV show has on these young minds. What they have learnt from all these shows, they will display certain if not all of the qualities of it in real life.
Another example would be the famous magazine that we all know as Playboy. Playboy magazine has always been known to produce magazines that contain a certain level of nudity in it. This has sparked a lot of controversial debate among many people, including the fact that even children and kids can get their hands on one, thus polluting their innocent minds. What really surprises me is the fact that most countries nowadays do not impose a law to restrict people below a certain age to be reading such magazines.
Whatever images or things that they read in this magazine will be absorbed into their memory, thereby altering their thinking and perception on the way of life.
Therefore, I feel that the mediated public sphere does indeed have a strong influence in shaping our minds and the way we think. This can be seen from the 2 examples that I have listed just now, and many more. Therefore, for avid media users like all of us, we should learn how to filter information and know what to accept and what not to.
References
https://www.debate.org/opinions/does-playboy-magazine-objectify-women
Sean's blog 
Hey Sean.
I really liked the subvertiseent poster you and your team made. It was a very well thought and done. It was also very clear in showing how it went against the BIC advertisement. I like the idea of the lady breaking through the glass to success, I think it was very creative. I do agree with you that mediated public spheres influences us strongly, changing our perspective on things. I think your example on the playboy magazine is great example to show this. In these days, definitely the young would have seen these magazines and may have spoilt their innocence.
Cheers, Thila ((:
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