Taking Time from Media

Just this weekend I drove with my girlfriend to Idaho Falls, a trip of about three and a half hours. Typically when I drive long distances I always have the radio or my phone playing music to help pass the time. The trip up though we went the whole way without listening to a thing on the radio. Instead we talked and had some really good conversation. It even felt like a much shorter trip! I thought for sure on the way back we would have to listen to music of some kind, but again we didn't have to listen to a thing as we talked the whole way. I'm not saying that listening to music is bad as you drive or that my girlfriend and I are some amazing couple that doesn't need music to pass the time. Rather I just want to point out how much I appreciated using that driving time in a productive way, to get to know each other better and strengthen our relationship. I LOVE music, but I feel like I learned a lesson that sometimes it's ok to take a break from the media and really try to connect with people. It was a good reminder and I hope that I can apply it to other forms of media I use while engaged in different activities.

Real Beauty

This last week was by far one of my favorites in my media class. On Monday we watched a documentary called "Miss Representation" that was about portrayals of women in the media which was fantastic! Although there were some aspects that myself and others in the class didn't necessarily agree with, overall it was an eye-opening and powerful film. I'm attaching a trailer for the documentary with this post for those that would like to find out more about it. But then on Wednesday our class was a discussion related to "Miss Representation", male and female portrayals in the media, and body image. What I found to be one of the most shocking things was how much the media tries to make women feel anxious about their weight while they're pregnant and then about losing weight after their infants are born. It's super sad! Actually after class I called and talked to one of my aunts who I've heard sometimes mention how bad she feels about her stretch marks from having four children. I told her about what I learned in class and that I hope she knew that she shouldn't worry about how she looks because she has done such a great thing by being a mom. It was a really good conversation! So I was very grateful for the things that I was able to learn last week and I truly feel like I can be better at making sure I don't contribute a part in making others feel bad about how they look or how the media tells them they should look. I'd invite everyone to do more research on these subjects as well and find ways to be more supportive of men and women and how despite appearances they are still our brothers and sisters. Oh and tied into one of our class discussions we learned about Dove's Real Beauty campaign which is AWESOME. Hence, the title to this week's post.