When will my (media blog) reflection show, who I am inside?

           In the hit Disney movie, Mulan asks herself, "When will my reflection show who I am inside?" Although in disguise as a catchy princess song, this question is an accurate representation of the interplay between media and society. Our thoughts are so processed by media, so does our reflections really show who we are on the inside? This is just one of the few things that this semester focusing on media has taught me.

As far as social media goes, I found myself using it less as a means of trying to prove that I was somehow different than the majority of teenagers these days that are glue to things like Snapchat and Instagram. In reality, I was trying to use it less to avoid being just another number in the ridiculous stats about teens these days who live and breathe social media. Learning about the negative effects and qualities of media made me want to turn away from the obvious apps on my phone, but I ended up just turning to other “less obvious” outlets of media like Spotify and YouTube.

With all my interactions with media, I suddenly became very aware of the implicits about women. I noticed how majority of the ads on Instagram and Twitter that I saw had to do with slimming this or tucking that for girls in order to achieve the ever so sought after Kardashian look. I would hear lyrics to a song that I used to like and then start to think, “What kind of message is that to send to young girls and boys?” or “God, that is so degrading towards women.” I couldn’t even enjoy the new Wonder Woman movie without asking why the hell she needs to be wearing high heels when she’s fighting or what is the purpose of making her costume so short that her butt is just about out for the world to see? I knew before this semester that women were still portrayed as inferior sex objects in the media, but I didn’t realize how bad it was. I think this semester has made me more of a feminist, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

This semester of dissecting media in combination with our media blogs has made me more aware of how processed and unoriginal our thoughts can tend to be. Majority of us, myself included, are heavily surrounded by various forms of media every single day. These shows, movies, commercials, songs, etc. were all created by someone else with their own motives in mind, not yours. This is why I believe it’s important for people to have media literacy. We should all strive to think about how and why we make certain decisions. For example, if I bought a top, I should try to ask myself if I just like it because of the attention it will get me and because that’s what everyone else likes or if it’s truly something for just me that I like. I feel that approaching the world of media with a sense of metacognition will be a helpful way for all of us to be ourselves without the meddling of media and it’s creators. Then, maybe we might be able to get the happy ending that Mulan does that allows her to be herself, by herself.