Elle magazine is one of my favorite fashion magazine and it is loved by broad range of international readers, keeping its reputation as the world’s largest fashion magazine founded in 1945. It has survived in the market for over half a century and still stands strong with over a million circulation per month in 60+ countries.

I first encountered with this respectable fashion magazine, and a favorite of mine, maybe about 10 years ago in Korea. My mother used to subscribe it monthly, and as a curious little girl who reads everything and anything that was readable, it was something that I couldn’t resist reading even though I didn’t know half of the things the articles were talking about. It talked about sex, women’s fashion mainly about designers collections, and fashion icon celebrities and their careers and love life. All these topics are what concerns females in majority. Knowing that my mother was one of the target audiences, I could assume that its main target is mid aged- she was in her late 30′s and I think she stopped her subscription after a while, when she had to start tightening her budget for my sister and my education and perhaps she lost her tremendous interest in fashion as well. The advertisements on the magazine has been targeting somewhat upper or middle class females who could afford to buy designer clothes or accessories and I could assume the major age group for the readers of this magazine isn’t too young from that fact- perhaps, a single successful career women or young housewives of a household with middle to high income would be the main audience.

So, I did do a little research and I could find the fact that proves my analytic assumption; The vast majority (82 percent) of Elle’s audience are women between the ages of 18 and 49 and Elle readers have a median age of 34.7 years. Forty percent of readers are single, and the median house income is $69,973.

The reason why they are so successful in keeping the position as the world’s largest magazine is probably their strategies that target well whom to appeal to and what contents to carry to keep those subscribers who take up to 73 percent of the readers.

What to Believe in Media

We live in the fast interacting  global society in which events and crisis happening in other town, state, country, or even continent matter to us as much as those happening in our own little town. Because our daily interaction with people, businesses, organizations, and governments from other places take place in our daily lives, territorial boundary of media has been blurred. And, the media covering news from broader range have become more influential than ever in the past when what happened on the other side of the world didn’t concern us much. For example, if something happens in Arab countries, since they are the suppliers of oil, which is the primary source of energy and transportation today, despite the fact that there are hybrid vehicles, it can affect U.S. economy and individuals who live and drive a car or at least use public transportation for mobility here. If some other state in the country goes bankrupt due to its incapability to overcome continuous and increasing deficit, the state has to borrow money from other states or the federal government has to help them out which affect the rest of us, because that means more burden on us to pay more taxes. This is why the more complex society with lots of interactivity with other regions has more to cover in news. Also, development of technology has enabled us to share information more easily, and there are more tools of sharing information, more newspapers and television stations, commercials ever than before.

This actually made it a little harder for us to choose what to believe in the media since there are more choices for which types of media, which channel or outlet we choose to trust for their interpretation of “the truth” as opposed to having one or two media outlet.  Different medias interpret the truth in different ways, and some may not be as objective than the others but it’s hard to see through their somewhat false objectivity and it’s easy to get caught in their strategies of making people believe what they perceive in media. That is why it’s so important to acknowledge the fact that the media serves a role as a messenger sent by the creator of the messages but not the mirror that reflects the absolute truth. Regardless the hardship and more tricks by media, we all should be thankful that we have more diverse interpretation and more to choose from than before, because at least we can look at things in different angles, not only from one perspective.

For Better or For Worse

Something that I realized about the media here in the U.S. that is different than South Korea is that companies or media persons are not afraid to mention certain products or companies for advertising purpose, which is shown in action of not only dropping competitors’ names or certain products in their lines but also criticizing or comparing to their owns. It is very common in the U. S. to watch television, listen to radio, or read newspapers or magazine and hear about certain brands name description not only on the advertisement but pretty much any time, channel, and any show. In movies or television shows, actors and actresses can freely mention or even describe certain brand-either praise or criticize or wear them for promoting. For example, you can watch or listen to an Ad for an auto insurance company and you hear them mentioning their rival competitor and how they are better than the competitor. And, these were really interesting for me because I haven’t seen something like that back home.

In South Korea,  years before I came back to the states, there was a big change in the law regulating activities in media, no person or company can advertise-simply mentioning the certain brand name or putting pictures or even just showing an actor with clothes  with a big logo on them because than can be used for advertising. Basically, advertising for brand was restricted to only certain areas- professionally made commercial advertisements. I am still not sure why, perhaps a number of reasons caused it. Anyhow, It’s really interesting to see the differences. I can watch Korean television shows and see the hosts and hostesses trying to be careful not to mention the certain brand names and be neutral, and i can watch American shows with hidden advertising tectics everywhere. I don’t know the fact that South Korea started having strict regulation on that was for better or worse but, it is certainly true that it gets really annoying when there are a bunch of sensoring on the monitor or hearing beeping sounds every few minutes.

Are We Really Lying?

Driving at 7 in the morning on 10 or 405 freeway near Los Angeles isn’t the most pleasant thing to do when barely awake, because of Los Angeles’ morning traffic and people cutting each other. Perhaps, it happens in every major metropolitan area and it’s a part of city life. So, many drivers tend to listen to radio during traffic jam as it helps them not to get as mad at the other drivers and scream at them- we definitely are almost used to the scenes of angry drivers yelling at each other using insulting words. Anyhow, for the same reason, I enjoy listening to radio while I’m driving in traffic and when I do so, I encounter many interesting advertisement or radio shows.

One of the interesting radio advertisement I heard on the other day was by Verizon Wireless which is one of the biggest telecommunication company in the nation. It was a male talking about valentine’s day. He was saying when a female says she doesn’t want any present for Valentine’s day, she is lying to you. And, he kept repeatedly saying that, and emphasized on how females don’t tell their true opinion on that, and “YOU”-potential customer who is the target for this new promotion for Valentine’s day- need to buy her this phone for her then she’ll be happy and he’ll also get an extra one with price for one. And, he can take it as well. I thought that advertisement was pretty neat because it created laughter on the part that he was exaggerating and repeating “she’s lying to you”, it reminded me of some funny scene I’ve watched on TV plenty of times, that guys struggle to deal with girls because they say one thing but mean the other. And, also the timing was very important for this Ad, because many professionals who own a vehicle goes on the freeway listening to radio in that time range and they are in the age group where people do have girlfriends or spouses, or looking for one. So, they are aiming at target market where they have money to buy the product. And, it’s near Valentine’s day where the sales increases due to the custom of buying a gift for the loved ones for that day. I could assume that pretty many guys would actually listen to the advertisement and go to Verizon to check it out.

 Through activities in communication 10 class, which we had to find the similarities and differences between different news papers and anylising the reason for those two by figuring out the audiences, I had a chance to take a look at this new paper The Orange County Register.  As one of the typical young generation that doesn’t read subscribed news, the fact that I’m relatively new to California took a part for it as well, I have never read this newspapers. And, I found interesting facts about it. When we were doing the activity of finding the number of female and male names and pictures appeared on the first page of different news papers, I realized The Orange County Register had the equal amount of names and pictures of both males and females. When they had three males and three females appeared in the pictures on the front page, I was thinking it would have been coincidence, since all the other newspapers had dominant number of male figures, names in every section- the difference is significantly smaller than that of 1920′s- and the next, when I counted the names as well, I knew it wasn’t just coincidence. From the brief knowledge I have on Orange County- they are more conservative, wealtier, repblican than Los Angeles- I couldn’t understand why they would emphasize on having the equal amount of names and photographs of both sex which probably would be considered as movement of women’s equal right.

  So, that led me to do a quick research on the newspaper and I found very interesting facts. It carries Republican politicians’ views and position and support them and also conservative which is characteristics of Republican party. But, on the other had it opposed the Iraq war and regulatory laws regarding prostitution and drug use. There are opposite of what Republican views on them would be. Also, it’s for Gay Marriage and was opposed to Japanese Internment during the World War II. These all seem like very interesting mixture. It is probably supporting certain republican ideas but also promoting less regulation from the government which is usually the quality of  Liberaterianism which seeks strong personal rights to life and liberty.

Is Sale really sale?

Even with the affect of depressing economy in these days, during the holiday seasons that just have passed, it was easy to find sale signs everywhere that caught eyes of potential consumers which is virtually everybody. Department stores and other retail stores had signs displayed on the show windows and billboards and the grocery stores and electronic stores had coupons and flyers sent to every household, or at least it seemed like it. It was almost overwhelming but at the same time also very tempting even though I knew my pockets were nearly empty and so did other people feel that way. So, I actually ended up in a department store on west side of Los Angeles to buy small gifts for friends and maybe something for myself. But, when I actually went into the stores I would realize the prices weren’t as marked down as they made it seem like on Advertisements. And, then I realized tiny words underneath the big letters; “selected items only”.

Tricks like that are often found today, all these advertisement are often false or sometimes exaggerated as well. This reflects today’s society and the consumer culture that everybody wants to feel as if they got a good deal on discount and the businesses are also happy that they have not actually lowered the price- they are over-priced usually so when it’s on sale that’s the regular price it’s supposed to be normally and thinking of advertisement cost already included in the price we pay, consumers wouldn’t feel as happy as they would have before- when getting the same effect. Being surrounded by all types of medias pouring advertisements at all time isn’t making it too easy for us. But, there are also still hidden gems in the false advertisements and coupons. That’s why I still can’t just pass by them. “Ah ha Anaheim Ducks Scored 5 goals, coupons for hot wings at hooters for free”

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Driving on busy streets filled with billboards, watching sports games with advertisement banners on the walls all around- not to mention those television Ads popping up in between, going through all the junk mails including e-mails advertising something just to get to your important email everyday, going to the movies and being convinced to watch another movie you saw the preview before the movie starts, being stopped by a bunch of signs for sale when you actually had no plan to buy anything, and going to the particular auto shop whose Ad just went on air on radio are what we became used to experience everyday.

We live in this world filled with advertisements everywhere. I can assure that it’s impossible to live a day without having these advertising tectics comings at you in this world, unless you decide to go into some African jungle where no one can reach you without any thing on your body. Because even cellphone has a logo on it and the clothes you have on also have its brand name either on a tag inside or somewhere on the outside that indicates its brand, and also even a water bottle has all these information about the brand and company. Sometimes, I wonder if it isn’t brain washing all of us consumers. Not just direct advertisements like TV/radio/newpaper Ads but there are tiny Ads that we are not aware of the fact that it’s already convincing us and delivering some sort of message to us. So, it is really hard to truly know if you really want something, or if somebody’s making you believe that you want it and you need it. That’s why I loved the exercises from the communication class which brought it into our attention and analysis what they are doing to us rather than just soaking it up as these ads come to us.

Global Response to Internet Attacks

    New York Times today(Jan 21, 2010) carried an article on Hillary Clinton’s speech on her stands on cyber attacks and how those should be dealt with.  She said, “Countries or individuals that engage in cyberattacks should face consequences and international condemnation.”  The article also emphasized on how strong and forceful language she used to express her strong opinion on this matter. As a big figure, well known politician who was a leading  cadidate for Democratic presiential nomination, sesenator of New York for 8 years after serving as First Lady of the U.S, her speech and onions are heavily weighed on its importance. For her to express her strong opinion on a certain issue shows how critical this subject is in today’s society where broad internet use affects not only everybody’s daily life but also international, national business and media.

  In this century, internet does serve various role in running, expanding businesses, education, networking, and billings and so on. There are many classes offered on line and it’s common to read news online- just like how I read this article on New York Time’s internet website-and you can buy and sell goods regardless where you are. Also, internet search engines are used daily for searching all kinds of information and blogs are used to share thoughts between the internet users. As the use of it dramatically increased in the past decade, the problems caused by the use of internet- primarily because of its anonymity which cause it to be very hard to be controlled-also has increased. Even the issue of its anonymity is controversial up to certain degrees, however, most of the time the problem caused by it is because of that. It is so easy to attack other people in cyberspace if used in a harmful way. Clinton called it “Cyber Attack”.

 I don’t think it’s any exaggerated expression since I have seen, heard people suffering from these online attacks, which is very unfortunate since this shows the misuse of very useful tools that can be used in better ways.Some argues that it is violating human rights to censor and monitor every activities on the internet. And, I do agree that when it’s overly restricted it can violate freedom not to mention it’s nearly impossible to monitor every single internet users, however, I am thinking the only way would be raising our conscious on what we say and do on the internet as we do offline.

The Weeds: the reasons for its success

Showtime’s successful television show The Weeds was nominated for a notable 19 Emmy Awards and 10 Golden Globes and the actress who played the main character on the show won a Golden Globe for her performance on it. I rarely watch any TV shows and it has been this way since my mother got rid of all the television in the household when I was 10. So, it’s extremely extraordinary for me to watch one show in series of times. But, this show I started watching was attention catching and a bit addictive. Why was the show so successful that is drew 1.3 million viewers to showtime during it’s fourth season? I think there are a number of reasons. First, its main subject-usage, consumption of marijuana, and illegal sales of it-  is very sensitive and controversial since marijuana was illegal and still illegal in the other states today and that attracts viewers since the senate bill 420 was passed in California only a few years ago and it is still controversial in many ways. It appears in the media frequently and definitely it grabs the audiences interest as the first show that depicted this matter in the way they did.

It has very interesting intro with a catchy theme song that makes TV watchers- who have accidently stopped on the channel while turning channels to find something interesting- to stay on the channel. It shows the kids in the same outfits including their back packs getting out of the school bus, the men in the same business attire getting coffee and getting on their cell phones, and the females jogging around the neighborhood in the same work-out outfits. And, the theme songs talk about how they all look the same.

It also shows a few important scenes from the last episodes to refresh the habitual viewers memory and help the new viewers to get into the show even when they missed the episodes before. Ending the episode at the climax also is the key reason for the returning viewers. This techniques are frequently used in the series of the shows and it has a great effect. And, that’s probably the reason why I’m glad that I have every episode downloaded and so curious what’s going to happen in the next episode and going to put it on the laptop now.

Is It “Pop Art Master and His Muse” or “Exploitative Demon and His Victim”

I don’t recall when or how I heard of Andy Warhol for the first time.  Perhaps,  it was too long  ago for me to even remember, but I’ve heard the name numerous times, especially since I moved to the  U.S. Every time I hear his name, it reminds me of that famous art work of his, Silkscreen printed of repetitive, identical faces of Marilyn Monroe in variety of color. In the media, his artworks are often presented and his iconic characteristics are discussed. That is probably  why a foreign girl like me who was born and raised from the opposite side of the world after his life has ended, the name Andy Warhol doesn’t sound too unfamiliar. Even though I didn’t know too much about him, I knew of his name and his art style and that is how much influence he had on this world through his art.  Master of Pop Art, Andy Warhol made big foot steps that remained for decades and I think it will last for centuries. His muses made great impact in fashion, like Eddie Sedgwick.

My friend from High School was visiting me for a few days last week, and she brought a few movies to watch. One of them was this movie called Factory Girl. She strongly suggested the movie and said that I’d love it since I’m really passionate about fashion and all, well at least I used to be.  The main character Eddie Sedgwick tells us the story about how it all has become since she met Andy Warhol and how he has influenced her and the people at The Factory- it is the original New York City studio of Andy Warhol from 1962 to 1968- and how they were abusing various drugs. Also, Andy Warhol is depicted as a cruel, almost untalented man who pretends to be gifted by tricking many people.

It is amazing what media can do depends on whose eyes you are viewing the world through, who creates the message of the same person or incidents happened, the audience gets totally different message. As a viewer who thought of Andy Warhol as the master of Pop art who is amazingly talented and the most expensive of his art-Eight Elvise was sold for $100 Million- was worth its price sold, it was a total shock. And, the movie actually made me doubt if he really was as talented as the media made him appear to be. Even though I knew the movie was just a movie it’s also like a biographic piece and that’s the power of media that can change or alter the viewer’s thought on something by convincing them into believe what they show since the media has somewhat credibility on its audience whether it is true or not.