Media Writing Portfolio

RECAP

This semester has been an incredible ride, learning what my strengths and weaknesses are. I've had the most challenging semester because of various reasons: Alpha Kappa Psi, family, and friends. Alpha Kappa Psi has turned my world sideways because I recently became president of the chapter. This gives me many responsibilities but I'm learning to take them and lead well. My family has affected my semester because they have pushed me to my limits on what I should do and what I can do. My life was changed forever when my good friend from home died by suicide, and my best friend's grandma (who was practically my grandma) passed away unexpectedly. The semester made me change my outlook on my stress and my management of that stress. I fell into a depression and I'm slowly crawling out. 

As for my process of doing things, I pride myself in doing a good job with having a proper process. My process affects my writing for media in ways that helps me write the best I can. I always love writing more than creating videos. I plan on just writing more articles for the Buzz and showcase the methods I have learned in media writing. This semester could have been better, but the Morning Pages sculpted me into a better writer in the sense that I can write much more freely than I used to before.


PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination is one of the worst problems that college students face nowadays and that has plagued many at Shenandoah University. This can be something brought on by simple laziness or even an illness that plagues the person's mind until the last minute. This causes more stress on the person and possible problems such as anxiety, late assignments, and depression. There are some crazy stories of people writing twenty page papers the night before the assignment is due, and some people writing multiple papers the day the assignment is due. There is a lot of discrepancy over whether procrastination is an actual problem or if it is just laziness. The laziness is something that all college students have, whether we like it or not. On the medical side, people have shut down mentally and have become secluded and away from everyone. On the psychological side, people have become angry or upset with others or themselves, such as people beating themselves up over these little things. Some ways that people can prevent procrastination is by creating a time management schedule that will boost the working schedule with more work being done and less procrastination.

This is an article that brings an understanding to procrastination

This is the medical side of procrastination and how it affects people

This is the psychological side of procrastination

Assignment - Advertising and the Media September 26

             In the Plus is Equal Campaign by the women’s retail store, Lane Bryant, the audience is all women and men. The point of this campaign is to let people know through Ethos that yes, bigger women CAN look sexy and quite frankly, wear whatever they want. If they are just as confident as a stereotypical “skinny” or to be more PC, a woman who can fit into anything in any store, then they are equal and they should not be judged for it. The reason this is so apparent is because the campaign is all about making sure that plus size women are as equal as skinny people in advertisements, fashion weeks, magazines, etc. The advertisers make the assumption that the audience understands the war on plus size bodies and advertising and modeling them.

            This advertisement definitely is populist because of the pure fact that Lane Bryant, in general, supports all women to be confident in their own skin, not just making sure that bigger women get shown in fashion week or in magazine ads. The masses of females understand that men oppress women normally, but to be body shamed is something that started this campaign. It’s to show that yes, we’re bigger, but we’re still female, we’re still equal. This campaign relies on the more accepting role of humans since bigger people weren’t a “trend” or accepted as an advertisement.
            Before I became a teenager, I was shopping at Fashion Bug with my mom because I was a bigger girl, and since then I’ve shopped everywhere that has plus size (and cute, let’s be honest) clothing. The products that they’re showing are cute and confidence-inspiring clothing, which is something I’m attracted to because I would like to dress my age, not my grandma’s age. My knowledge of the advertisement was almost immediate when it came out because I do shop at Lane Bryant and I remember their previous campaign,  #ImNoAngel, which caused a HUGE uproar in the skinny vs. plus size debate since we were sort of attacking the Victoria’s Secret models and women who wear their undergarments and clothing.
            The ad definitely manipulates someone to buy the clothing and support the movement because the women radiate confidence, and if that’s not something that women don’t at least struggle with once in a while, I don’t know how anyone could NOT look at their cute clothes. The emotion that the advertisement hits is anger. The reason I say this is because bigger women are fed up with not being equal in normal life, in the model world, and in advertisements. We (speaking as a bigger girl) are angry that the fashion world doesn’t treat us like we WANT to be cute or WANT to wear sexy lingerie. We are portrayed as these boring and bland women and Plus is Equal really breaks that barrier and stops it from building up more.
            Like I mentioned above, the message that the ad conveys is that Plus is EQUAL. We are sexy, we are not boring, we are confident and we want clothes to match it. Maybe in American culture, we are known for being larger than other countries’ inhabitants, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t be cute. The theme that this ad employs is definitely confidence and power. Those play hand in hand and create a advertisement campaign that many women (since plus size practically starts at size 12 now) can relate to and want to buy the products that make them equal.

Media Writing Story - August 31

It was a bright and sunny day, and like every sunny day, Titty Boy and Freaky parlayed at the park. They would go to the park to partake in herbal medication, a past time passed down through both of their bloodlines.

Titty Boy and Freaky had their usual spot - a secluded rock formation that was hidden from any security cameras in the park or buildings surrounding the park. As the years have passed, Titty Boy grew tired of this past time in their family. He developed a strong dislike for the herbal medication and started a newer tradition - harder and stronger medications.

"What is up with you and these snacks," Freaky asked? "I'm getting worried about you - worried about your cholesterol."

"I can't stop," said Titty, "The way I feel when I eat the Kit Kat - it just makes me sooo happy."

"But what are you gonna do now that you can't get them in Winchester."

"Well, I guess we go on a road trip."

The duo pile up a weeks worth of munchies, 2 suitcases, a blow up mattress, and a german shepherd Titty stole from the park, into Freaky's Cobalt and headed to California. Because it was a bloodline tradition, Titty and Freaky participated in herbal medication on the road, but this time Kevin snuck some she-she in the medicine.

Titty Boy and Freaky drove across the country, avoiding any interstate to see everything that the United States has to offer. The she-she turned out to be a better alternative to the herbal medication that Titty Boy had not altered. Titty Boy, Freaky, and Kevin made it to California and made it big as rappers known as the Remy Boys, who continue to partake in herbal medications while creating new alternatives to the original family style.

Advertising and the Media Assignment Week Two

Intrusion - McPick Two McDonald's commercial invaded YouTube videos and became the cause for my annoyance whenever it comes on. I make it a point to mute the commercial before the video. This is intrusion because commercials should be advertisements that make you want to buy the product or go to the place. Every time I see a McPick Two commercial from McDonald's, I would rather go to Wendy's than McDonald's afterwards out of spite.

Deception - For this Campbell's Chicken Vegetable soup, we all know that there is never that many vegetables in that one soup can. This was actually a major deception court case, since Campbell's got in deep trouble for showing way more vegetables in the soup bowl, but after buying cans, students at a university challenged that they did not have as many vegetables that they were showing in the commercials. Turns out they put marbles underneath the soup so the vegetables popped out of the liquid part of the soup.

Shake Em Up Fries from Burger King were super unhealthy and added an even more unhealthy aspect to fries - powdered cheese. This, however, did not last long at Burger King. The unhealthiness - and many reviews - gave reasons as to why they did not stay at the burger chain. Many commercials nowadays show the unhealthy foods and never healthy foods. I can't remember the last time I watched a commercial for healthy food.

This commercial was offensive on so many levels. No woman is REQUIRED to shave for a "fun" night, if at all, and if a man or woman complains that a woman's legs are prickly, they can go, quite literally, fuck themselves. This was offensive also to men because of the fact that it gives off the notion that ALL men care about what a girl's hair length/prickliness is, when in fact, a lot of guys could care less. This commercial could have been done better considering it is a Nair commercial.

This commercial hits any female or male that can't lose weight in the time frame they want or at all. This ties into low self-esteem because it's a "take a pill and you'll shed pounds" as if that actually is healthy.

No words needed. Guess who won the election that year? This has to do with the secular critique from the Bush/Dukakis election. Bush critiqued Dukakis for allowing prisoners weekend cards which Willie Horton raped and killed a guy's girlfriend. Election attack ads are especially normal nowadays

SAVE WATER - Funny commercial but it gets the point across.

This is about how poverty shouldn't happen and talks about the organization's benefit.