How texting and driving is campaigned and portrayed in the media, does it actually help stop texting and driving?  Can texting and driving be reduced, if not stopped?

 

                After doing some research I have found that the texting and driving campaign is failing and quite miserably if I do say so myself.  A survey done by AT&T showed that," 47% of teenagers admitted to texting while driving and 75% said that their friends texted and drove."1  Within that same survey it was also found that 89% of teens felt as though they had to answer a text within that minute.  It is unfortunate that in today's world of social media and texting that people cannot wait to text and drive. However, I have to admit I would be lying if I said that I haven't sent a text or looked at my phone while I was driving.  It has become part of our culture now and it is causing a lot of accidents and even worse, a lot of deaths.  A big issue with the current campaign is that they keep saying the same facts and telling the same tragic stories of kids who have life altering disabilities because of a texting and driving accident and it's not getting through to kids.  As bad as all of the stats and how gruesome the injuries are, kids are still continuing to text and drive. 

                The way the media is portraying texting and driving is how they should be, but in today's world everyone is addicted to their phones making it impossible for people not to look at their phone at some point while driving.  One big thing that happens to me when I drive is that I have my phone plugged in to my car playing music and whenever I change a song, if I notice I have a text message, I feel obligated to at least look at what the person sent to me.  Another instance I use my phone while driving is for GPS.  Just recently, New Hampshire passed a law that any use of a cell phone while driving is a finable offense is a step in the right direction to try to stop texting in driving.  However, cops have a hard time pulling people over for texting and driving because so many people put their phones in their laps.  Unfortunately, I do not believe that texting and driving can be stopped because of how many people are constantly in contact with one another.  Another reason is that it is very hard to get pulled over for texting and driving because of how easy it is to hide while driving.  In addition, there are a lot of people who use their phones for music and GPS.  Especially with GPS, people are looking at their phones very often  because they do not know where to go and this can lead to accidents. 

                On the bright side, I do believe that texting and driving can be reduced.  It is going to take an effort from each individual person to commit to not texting and driving.  One can argue that making stricter laws is going to stop people and it may stop a few people.  What would really change the game would be if everyone every time driving, tried to use their phone just a little less.  Slowly and surely it would ideally getting down to using one's phone in emergency situations or if they are lost and do not know where to go.  No matter what people are going to use their phones driving in today's world.  At this point it is so engrained in our culture that we cannot stop using our phones, so instead we must adapt to using our phones less while driving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. "Saftey 1st Drivers Ed" http://www.safety1stdriversed.com/2013/08/do-anti-texting-campaigns-really-work/.  2012.  10/15/2015

Bob's Burgers' Ladies

Today, an average animated sitcom family consists of a mother, father and three children. Most of the time there are two sons and one daughter. The daughter is mainly used for jokes and is considered the least popular character among the family. Family Guy can be considered the creators of this set up with its character Meg. Numerous animated sitcoms have followed this method, however there is a show that breaks the norm, Bob’s Burgers. Running since 2011, Bob’s Burgers is not your typical animated sitcom family. The family consists of Bob and Linda and their children: Tina, Gene, and Louise. Yes, there is a show with a family having more females than males, shocking!  Not only that, these ladies break the conventional roles female characters have on animated sitcoms. Bob's Burgers represents women in a strong and non-stereotypical way with its main female characters.

Linda is not your typical mother. Unlike other animated sitcoms, Linda is not a stay at home mother whose only roles are to take care of the kids and please her husband. Linda can be found working along side Bob in his restaurant. If it weren’t for Linda, the restaurant would go under within a day. In season three, Lindapendent Woman, it is made clear Linda is the backbone. At the start of the episode we see Linda balancing an extremely low monthly budget by bouncing checks to certain places. At this point Linda decides to pick up an extra job, even though Bob insist the family isn’t at that point yet. Ignoring Bob, Linda begins work at Fresh Feed, after her first week the job offers Linda shift manager. When she excitedly tells Bob, he still thinks Linda doesn’t need to leave. Feeling under appreciated, Linda accepts the position. After her first messy shift, Linda comes back to the restaurant. Although Linda did not intend to, she taught Bob to be thankful for all the work she puts into running the restaurant and to appreciate what she does. 

Tina, the eldest daughter, is a hugely popular character. In the season two opening, The Belchies, the Belcher kids along with their friends are looking for treasure in an abandoned taffy factory. One of the friends, Jimmy Jr., is the boy Tina has a major crush on. During the treasure hunt Tina acts like a damsel in distress in order to get Jimmy Jr.’s attention. At the climax of the episode, Tina cries out in frustration, “I’m sick of acting like a dumb helpless girl just so a hot boy who dances will notice me. That’s not who I am. I’m smart, strong, sensual woman”. This line is still popular after three seasons. Tina reminds women they don’t need to act a certain way in order to get the man they want. It is more important to be who you are and to embrace everything about yourself. At the end of the episode Jimmy Jr. tells Tina he likes strong girls. Tina proudly replies, “Put it on a t-shirt Jimmy Jr. I don’t want to hear it”. It was so important for her to stick to what she previously said. By dismissing Jimmy Jr. her message sticks with the audience and she gains so much respect as well.

The youngest daughter, Louise is also a powerful character. She may be the youngest but she is the smartest, especially when it comes to getting her way. In season one, Bed and Breakfast, Linda gives her room away to the family’s friend Teddy. Louise is extremely territorial and makes it clear Linda has made a mistake by giving her room away. In an attempt to get Teddy out of the room she learns his fear of costumed cartoon characters. While locked in Bob and Linda’s room, Louise steals Linda’s credit card and hires costumed characters to show up to their house and scare Teddy out of her room. Louise only focuses on her main goals and will do anything to get her way, no matter how evil.

Bob’s Burgers is clearly not your stereotypical Sunday night sitcom. Linda, Tina, and Louise crush the traditional roles female characters have in animated comedy shows. If you are looking for strong female characters, you’ll find them in Bob’s Burgers.

Gun Control

Tyler McDonough                                                                                                                                                                             10/15/15

Mass Communications

School shootings have been a huge problem in the United States and occasionally overseas in previous years. Happening in high schools, elementary schools and also in colleges across the nation. The problem has not been solved to stop this terrible thing from happening and the president has not come up with a solution to stop it as of right now. Only time will tell on how long it will take for us as a country to stop the massive tragedies from happening. Until that time comes innocent lives will continue to perish for no right reason at all. 

The most recent United States school shooting was in the state of Oregon at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. There was no reason for the shooting to occur. The shooter was a 26 year old enrolled student. He killed the Assistant Principle and 8 students in a classroom while injuring 9 more students around the campus. The shooter 26 year old Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer had 5 hand guns, a rifle and enough ammunition to have a prolonged gunfight with police. He also wore a police grade Flak jacket but it did not help that much due to the fact the perpetrator was hit in the right side of his abdomen from a gunshot during a shootout with the first two responding detectives. 

No police officers were injured in the process of eliminating the target. The perpetrator was shot once and then retreated to a nearby classroom where he then continued to shoot himself and end the Shooting.  All of the guns the shooter used were legally obtained by the gunman himself or close family members and relatives. President Obama spoke out on the tragedy later that day stating that the school shootings in the United States had to come to an end and something had to be done about Gun Control. 

This enraged many citizens and made them question if Obama knows what he is doing and knows how to stop such tragedies such as these shootings. The questioning of a gun control law came about after these shootings and if it would be the answer. He got multiple responses from multiple kinds of people. Many ex-military members strongly disagreed with the new possible law of removing guns from citizens. Many thought that schools and colleges all over the country should have armed security guards. 

I believe that President Obama should encourage more people to legally purchase their own firearms and use them to keep their families safe from possible threats. I also believe that businesses and schools all over the country should have multiple armed security guards or police officers in attendance. This would lower the rate of school shootings and make a possible perpetrator to re think committing such a crime. The public wants an answer from the president to stop all of the violence in our schools and businesses. Until that day comes people will continue to question Obama as president and continue to live with the fear of a massive tragedy occurring in their area. 

The last thing anyone in the United States wants is to fear their children going to school and if they will be safe or put in harm’s way. I believe things are going to continue to happen until someone in power puts their foot down and makes a stand against this issue. As much as I hate seeing these tragedies occur there is nothing I can possibly do to stop it or contain the tragedies. But I do believe people will start standing up to Obama and giving him more problems while he stays president. Until Obama makes a move to stop the madness then we will continue to see these things occurring from time to time. 

If the president was to pass a new law to remove guns from citizen’s control I believe only bad will come out of that decision. I am neither on Obamas side nor against him in this current situation do I just want to see massive tragedies stop occurring and our students and citizens stay safe and not have to worry about waking up and going to school. Until the time comes I will stick to my opinion and continue to pray for the ones that have been affected in these tragedies. 

Body image portrayed by Gossip Girl

TV and films have a serious effect on how young women portray themselves. TV shows that are geared towards young women typically the actresses in the show are young, very pretty, and skinny. Shows like Gossip Girl, Friends, and Pretty Little Liars really portray young women as wealthy and slim. The problem with this is that since these shows are geared towards high school audiences, the girls watching these shows believe that it’s only okay to look the way the actresses do on these shows. For example in many episodes of Gossip Girl the two main characters Blair and Serena are portrayed to be two best friends who have a lot of money and live on the upper east side of Manhattan. They are always wearing very expensive outfits that show off how skinny their bodies are. Particularly in every episode there is at least one time where either Blair or Serena is standing in front of their mirror in just a bra and underwear typically talking about how they want to not be as “fat”. There is one scene where Blair is sitting in the bathtub eating cookies and as soon as Serena comes in Blair hides her cookies so that way she won’t think that she is fat. The problem with this is that girls watching this show see that and think about how they aren’t as skinny as Blake Lively (Serena) and Leighton Meester (Blair) and see how Blair was complaining that she was fat. This becomes an even bigger problem because they see a girl complaining about how fat she is even though she is actually underweight. For me at least, I know this was very upsetting because it puts a certain expectation in your head that to be happy, you have to have lots of money and you have to be skinnier or underweight to look normal. Blair’s character on the show is actually bulimic, but they do not show this as a bad thing. Being bulimic is a serious issue but on Gossip Girl they show it in a way that makes it seem like it’s a good option to lose weight. Blair will eat apple pie on thanksgiving and then go in the bathroom and throw it back up because she doesn’t want to gain weight from it. The problem with this being on a TV show geared towards a high school age is that girls watch Blair eat fattening foods and then think that being bulimic is something that you can chose to do or that is a great way to lose weight. This goes along with body image because girls are seeing these two perfect girls who complain about their body weight when they are actually skinnier than they should be. People ages 13-20 see this and think that they should also be the size as Blair and Serena.

This picture is a great example of how skinny the two of them are and on the show the characters are constantly complaining about how they have to stop eating so much. According to an article on Media Smarts Gossip Girl is constantly reinforcing the idea that being underweight is better than being a normal weight. It also added that girls who watch reality TV shows are more likely to believe that a girls looks are the most important thing about her.

                In conclusion Gossip Girl has many flaws that go along with body image. On this show they only have the best looking people that play characters that believe they are not good enough or skinny enough. This affects the audience because girls start to believe that they need to be just as good looking and skinny as Blair and Serena. 

#aeriereal

To any women who have watched a Victoria's Secret commercial and thought, “Wow I wish I looked like those women”;  well think again. Most of the girls you are seeing on those commercials or in those magazines are photoshopped to get consumers to buy their products. Everyone holds a standard, whether it’s a man or a woman, as to what they should look like.  A woman's sense of body confidence is so often influenced by the images of female beauty they see in media. aerie has started a new campaign called “aerie real” (Krupnick) which has been grabbing the attention of both genders. This campaign is where women who are not “rail thin”, the stereotypical women models, are being shot in aerie’s lingerie and are NOT being photoshopped.  This means that the professionals who photoshop the pictures after being taken, usually minimizing their love handles, paint on abs, make their legs thinner, slim their faces down, etc., are not doing this anymore due to the new campaign they are trying to promote towards women. aerie believes that all women, no matter what shape or size, are beautiful and deserve to be shown off to the world with as themselves. They are responding to the public’s backlash against photoshop and joining the movement for change. Every girl and woman should be happy in their own skin no matter what size or shape they are.  

Photoshop has been around for many years and has had brought about huge controversy. In a youtube video, you see a middle aged woman who is not rail thin go from having no makeup and not having her hair done to being a full blown rail thin model.  Photoshop is a very powerful tool that should be used for the good of people, not to hurt people's body image. I am not saying that photoshop is a bad at all, I am trying to say that the way it is used is wrong.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKlVyUJw3TM

Over the years, advertisements have used female physiques to persuade an audience to purchase the company's products, despite the gender it’s marketing towards. Companies market their products through it’s best form of advertisement; photos. This is the best way for companies to get their merchandise and products out there. Photos are convincing and motivating tools that can persuade people to purchase products.

No woman should have to look at an advertisement  and think, “This is what I have to look like to wear that to impress my significant other”. Victoria’s Secret is at fault for instilling this mentality. Victoria’s Secret Angels are models that are to the point of almost being sickly thin. Some may not agree with my opinion, and that's fine,  but in my eyes every Victoria's Secret model needs to eat a cheeseburger.  Every year when the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show airs, it proves the point that I am trying to make…. some women after watching this hour long show feel down about their appearance, no matter what body type they are. Every woman wants to feel great about themselves. These models, do not get me wrong are beautiful, but they put a stereotype in some men’s heads that their wife or girlfriend needs to looks like that.  

Body acceptance over the years has changed drastically since the 50s. At one point in time the stereotype of being “rail thin” was unheard of.

Those days and that acceptance of body type is coming back.  In NY Fashion week this past month there were plus sized models strutting down the runway in lingerie. These models are equally as beautiful as the models who are thinner.

(Krupnick, Ellie. "Aerie's Unretouched Ads 'Challenge Supermodel Standards' For Young Women." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.)

YouTube: Social Media & Social Justice

By Sue Ung 

YouTube: HDCYT - "Charlie bit my finger - again !" (2007)

In the past, YouTube was only a social media platform to share funny videos, but recently, it’s been a way for people to reach out by discussing social justice issues like racial stereotypes, religious stereotypes, coming out as a part of the LGBTQ community, feminism, and mental health.

Videos like the one above, posted in 2007, is just a snippet of what YouTube videos looked back then – something silly and funny to watch. This video went viral and still is popular to this day. But, today, we frequently see videos geared towards awareness of different issues around the world.   

YouTube: BuzzFeedYellow - Asian Americans Respond to Racist Comments (2015)

Yes, I am an Asian American, but no I am not who you probably think I am. I define myself, you don’t. This video breaks Asian stereotypes by showcasing those of Asian background and they call out all haters. Going from a pubic to private Catholic schooling and being Asian, I’ve definitely heard it all. Watching this video responding to racist comments against Asians, I constantly nodded my head in agreement and at one point I even said to myself, “YES! Amen to that!” This video shares that no one should be ridiculed because of their race because it’s not like they can change it. And, no one should have to hide and change themselves because of their race. Again, they can’t change whom they were born to be or to look like. This video stands up against racism and it has motivated me to stand up for myself and to stand up for others. No more biting back my tongue and thinking, “Oh, well they don’t know better.” Sure as hell, they’ll know better after I school them.            

YouTube: BuzzFeedYellow - I'm Muslim, But I'm Not... (2015)

“I’m Muslin, but I’m not a terrorist.” It is really sad that Muslims feel the need to say this. There are people out there that are so quick to judge those “who look like their from the Middle East or look Muslim”. What does that even mean? What does looking like a Muslim mean? Last time I check, you can’t determine someone’s beliefs by looking at them. In the video, Tom states, “I’m Muslim, but I’m not stopped at airports because my name is Tom and I’m white.” This just proves that religion and beliefs are far beyond looks. This also shows that those “who look Muslim” are stopped in airports or are avoided in pubic areas. This is without a doubt because how the news and the media views Muslims in the Middle East. The U.S. news skewed what has happened in the Middle East and to be quite honest, that’s arrogance right there. The news always wants it to seem like the U.S. is this perfect country without war and that “the Muslims are the bad guys”. It boils my blood because the U.S. is far from perfect - for starters: “collateral damage in the Middle East”. Muslims aren’t bad people. Understand that there are radical groups out there, but that doesn’t directly correlate with their religion. So stop making fun of people wearing a hijab, a turban, or for wearing more cover-up clothing.  

   

YouTube: lacigreen - SHE ASKED FOR IT. (2014)

“She asked for it.” Especially living on a college campus, I hear this way too often and I always say, “Well, just because she wants to wear a lot of makeup and dresses that way doesn’t mean she wants the attention. She just likes to wear that stuff and you should just let her live her life.” Laci Green says, “The problem with blaming the victim is that the predator was the one who caused the crime, not the victim, their clothing, or pictures.” She goes on saying that predators choose to commit those crimes and shares examples for cases involving men and women.

In college, we often hear about “hook-up culture”. And with this culture, there are two sides – “female” and “male” (because there are people who identify as being neither, but that’s a different story). In the case of a straight male, if they choose to hook-up, how ever you choose to define it as – holding hands, kissing, cuddling, or having sex – if they choose to hook-up with several females in a short period of time, the straight male is considered “a bro” and someone who “can get it easily”, which are titles that reward the male. In the case of a straight female, if she decides to hook-up with several guys in a short amount of time, she is seen as a “slut” or a “whore”, which are titles that dehumanize woman. Why is it that men are rewarded and women are dehumanized? Because that is culture now, but we have to change that and people around the world are taking strides towards gender equality.  

YouTube: JacksGap - Lets Talk About Mental Health (2015)

This is more of a personal video where Jack Harries briefly accounts a time when his friend confided in him and when he himself was depressed. He hits the nail right on the head when talks about how mental illness has such a negative stigma surrounding it because it “suggests that something’s wrong with the brain and the brain is our control center”. Jack quotes Kevin Breel by stating, “When we break our arm, everyone runs forward to sign the cast, but when we say we have depression, everyone runs the other way”. This really puts things in perspective because it is so true. It’s true that we are so quick to mend those in physical pain, but with mental illness, people are hesitant. From what I’ve learned and experienced myself, you can change someone’s attitude a day simply by smiling at them are asking who their day is going. These simple acts are all it takes to change someone’s life. And it may seem silly, but it’s true. Mental illness is a problem and the stigma that surrounds it doesn’t make it any better. Merrimack is now making moves to squash the stigma by adding a Wellness Education Office run by recent hire, Megan O’Hara. This coming week will be Merrimack’s first Wellness Week to create awareness of mental and physical health - “be well, body and mind”.       

Ultimately, it comes down to acceptance. And acceptance doesn’t mean agreeing with everyone and everything, it means being aware of the beliefs and experiences that people go through and have. I’m an Asian American. I’m Catholic. I believe in gender equality. I believe that mental health is an issue. And I believe that I can make a difference.     

Works Cited
BuzzFeedYellow. "Asian Americans Respond to Racist Comments" YouTube. YouTube, 10 May 2015. Web. 

BuzzFeedYellow. "I'm Muslim, But I'm Not..." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Sept. 2015. Web.

HDCYT. "Charlie Bit My Finger - Again !" YouTube. YouTube, 22 May 2007. Web. 

JacksGap. "Lets Talk About Mental Health." YouTube. YouTube, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 

Lacigreen. "SHE ASKED FOR IT." YouTube. YouTube, 6 Sept. 2014. Web.