Media Appreciation #4: the Questions

1. Discuss and review the two BP Oil ads.  Why does BP Oil choose the images/style it does to use in their ads?  What is the target audience(s)?  Which images stick in your mind and why?

The cute BP ad attracts children with the cartoon style of it. It makes it cute and eye catching. The reason why they are aiming towards children is because then they would go telling their parents to choose BP oil. Also it can be very attracting to teens just starting off driving. They use this image and style to make it seem that BP oil is a good thing and by using it, you will be happy like the children in the commercial. Also the whistling gas pump gives off a positive mood about BP oil. The colors and cartoons are attracting to the eye and the song is very catchy. It's something that sticks to your mind. That's good for BP oil because whenever someone sings in to themselves,  they think of BP oil which will make them use it.

In the "beyond oil" ad, the audience is everyone who's different because it makes it seems that those who are different, can change into something that's beautiful. Hence "Beyond a thorn, theres a rose". The images have a big impact because it relates to everyone in some sort of way and it incorporates humor making it entertaining for the audience watching. It's something that catches people's attention because they can relate to it themselves and with this, they will want to go with BP oil for their gas.

The images that stuck in my mind was the cartoon babies driving. I don't understand how babies would drive in the first place. Also the image of the "beyond darkness, there's light". I like that line because it's true to life. In life, whenever there's darkness and someone's in a rough patch, there's always something there to bring light to it and you can always get through it. 

2. In light of the current disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, is BP’s slogan (Beyond Petroleum) and Logo (the flower) appropriate?

I don't think its appropriate because BP is an oil company and the Logo seems to represent something dealing with helping out the environment. It's the complete opposite. Oil is bad for the environment and causes green house gases that deteriorate the ozone layer. That isn't helping the environment out whatsoever. It gives out a false impression of what BP oil is. The logo uses a flower and green/yellow colors. What does oil have anything to do with flowers? Unless it ties in with the environment as well right? Most people would think that BP oil is somehow helping the environment if people use their gas which isn't true. Look at the situation in the Gulf of Mexico. A huge oil leak caused by BP oil caused the ocean to be contaminated and hundreds and thousands of sea creatures to die. BP oil just caused a disaster to the environment then doing any good.

3. Consider responsibility; considering that it was BP’s oil rig that burned in the Gulf of Mexico and the resulting oil spilled would have been BP’s profit, do BP and other oil companies deserve to be ridiculed, made fun of, and/or satirized?  

They should be ridiculed, made fun of, and satirized because its their faults that there's an oil spill. They had the opportunity to get rid of the oil fast but instead, they want to put some kind of tube on top of it so they can profit from the oil spill. People should realize that these people don't care about the environment and the things that will happen the sea creatures. So these oil companies should be made fun of by the people so that a change can happen. These oil companies should feel ashamed of themselves. 

Media Appreciation #3: Media of the Future

MOCOM 2010

1. Find "something" new that we'll see in the future.

Over the past few decades, Mobile Media and Communication has changed drastically start from the first portable cell phone to internet accessible touch screen mobile cell phones. It will transform our economy having different things added on to the mobile phone like:

• Sensorcompany (gps, temperature, lights, humidity, compass-chips through sensors on the cell phone)
• Mobile broadband (bigger capacity)
• Mobile payment 
• Physical personal device (enable physical transformation)
• NY times create "epaper" for 1$ US.  It updates on the go.
• Instant translation on mobile
• mobile agenda (Mobile public security. Everyone will be tracked with numbers)
• Digital Natives
• Cyber Security

Our mobile cell phone will become the largest media because it will be able to do anything and everything.

2. What is the immediate use for the maker's product?

The use for the maker's product will be communication through a mobile cell phone but with many features with it that make it able to a lot more things. From our cell phone, we would be able to read the newspaper (epaper), have security (will be able to be tracked down with codes), sensorcompany (having a sensor that can be a gps, temperature, track humidity, have a compass). Our basic cell phones for internet and communication will change to become many things in one. It will be something different that no one has seen and can enable our lives to be easier having everything in one.

3. What impact will this product have on us, the users, and/or the world?

The world will become lazy and we will be controlled by an electronic device. A lot of people predict that in the future we will be controlled by a "machine" and with this being add on to the simple device as a cell phone, we can be. It can help decrease the violence and killers because the mobile device will somehow be able to become a person's security.

Media Appreciation #2: Buffalo Bill

1. Give at least 2 examples (with details) where the lines between reality (history) and entertainment (media) became blurred during the life of William Cody (AKA Buffalo Bill)

1) He wanted to be a hero in the character of Buffalo Bill. He blurred the line between reality and entertainment by incorporating true facts (reality) with myths (entertainment) of the Wild West. A lot of people have an image of what the real Wild West was and he exploited that. He used the image of what everyone believed the wild west was in his show so that he can seem like the real hero. He used real facts like natives living in Tipis and trying to recreate how the Wild West looks like. He grew up in the real west but he used myths that the media portray of the "wild west". That draws a line between reality and entertainment because he knows what it's like yet he used the stereotype that the media created. He just created it for himself just for entertainment and money.
2) Buffalo Bill wanted to make a story entertaining for his audience so he created a make-believe scenario incorporated with real facts. He made his audience believe how the Wild West is like with cowboys, buffalos, and indians so he could entertain his audience. That isn't reality because that isn't how the real Wild West is like. He only did that because he wanted to become famous. He blurred the line by making people believe that the things he showed, was reality when it was NOT.
3) He forgot reality and life was not important to him. All he wanted to do was act and make his audience happy for money and fame. His job made him away from his family and caused his "Buffalo Bill" character to become reality and him being "William Cody" being less real. He got caught up with the fame and slowly forgot who he was.

2. What reasons do we have to call Buffalo Bill the "original world celebrity"? Explain.

Everyone knew who Buffalo Bill was. He knew how to interact with his audience to make them feel his character. He was globally known. He went on tour worldwide for his fans to see his live performance. If you compare it to how celebrities are now, that is exactly what they do. They are globally known and they have tours worldwide so their fans can see them. Back then, there wasn't a lot of entertainment like music so this was new to everyone and created a hero for people to look up to which gave him the title of the "original world celebrity".

3. How could Buffalo Bill have benefited from new media? Who would have been some of his Facebook friends?

Buffalo Bill could have benefited from new media because people would be able to be updated with him. They would know more about his life and know when his shows were to go and watch it. His audience would be a larger crowd because everyone would have access to the dates he were going to be in their town. He could've used new media as a way of communicating to his audience. He could have used new media as a source of advertisement as well and his popularity would've been larger. It could've been a way of communication to his family and friends when he was on the road. It would help him realize that he's not only "Buffalo Bill" and be able to get a sense of reality. Some of his Facebook friends would be his fans, friends and family. His fans would want to have him on Facebook to be able to interact with him and check different "tour" dates.