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The following image was a crafted message sent to subscribers by Fashion Nova, the incredibly popular clothing website. The message states, "We SLAPPED 40% off the entire site. It's time to ROCK new spring looks." The decision by Fashion Nova represents theories regarding "Messages and meanings". Those working the marketing and Public Relations for Fashion Nova strategically used techniques to construct a message and encourage sales on the site. They were seeking to portray the company as a knowledgeable, fun fashion brand that not only incorporates celebrity drama into the shopping experience, but indirectly encourages it by reducing the price and enforcing sales. This form of content and media contains certain values that are not directly stated, but can be acknowledged when practicing media literacy! It is important to have the set of knowledge, skills, and habits of mind required to participate in such a media-saturated society. In this case, Fashion Nova knows that using celebrity references would encourage sales, regardless of whether they thought the incident was morally right or wrong. They also understand that the message they are sending will absolutely affect and influence people's knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors going forward!

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This photo relates to the theory "the content of media messages contains values, ideology, and specific points of view". The Nike slogan of "just do it" is famous for its motivating message, which in turn tells its audience what matters to the company. The slogan is simple but inspires the audience to accomplish what they want to, even if it seems difficult or challenging. This can also be associated with their brand, as many would be motivated to become more physically healthy, which Nike creates clothing for. This slogan cements that perseverance and achieving goals matters to Nike as a brand.

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In the Fall 2025 GAP x KATSEYE "Better In Denim" ad, the theory of media literacy, where authors create media for different purposes and target specific audiences, can be seen. This ad highlights Gap's attempt to rebrand itself, appealing to a younger generation. The ad combines nostalgia, diverse representation, and celebrity appearances to encourage social media engagement and position Gap as a culturally relevant brand in today’s fashion world. This matters for media literacy because it shows how ads are carefully designed to influence how audiences see a brand. As dancing trends increase with the younger demographic on platforms like TikTok, Gap uses choreography to grab attention and make the ad feel fun, shareable, and relevant.

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In the Fenty Beauty campaign, the image shows neat rows of 50 models arranged to display a wide spectrum of skin tones. This visual immediately communicates diversity and inclusivity as central to the brand’s identity. However, it also reflects a selective reality. The models are all conventionally attractive, polished, and styled to fit beauty industry standards. By showing inclusivity only through idealized faces, the campaign can make audiences feel seen while still reinforcing narrow ideas of what beauty should look like. For viewers, this may be empowering and validating if they recognize their skin tone in the lineup, but it can also subtly shape expectations by presenting diversity in a carefully curated and aspirational way rather than reflecting the full range of real people’s appearances. This selective representation influences how audiences think about identity, beauty, and belonging within consumer culture.

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I chose an ad that aligns with “messages and meanings”. This Nike ad uses production techniques to deliver a rather strong message about inclusion.By featuring a heavier runner instead of a typical professional athlete, they challenge the stereotype that only certain body types represent athletic success. The ad’s text, “Find Your Greatness” reinforces the idea that greatness is not limited to appearance or elite performance, but something anyone can do. This really connects with me because so many fitness ads set unrealistic standards that can feel discouraging for some.Seeing someone who looks more like an everyday person makes the message more inspiring and relatable, showing that effort and determination are what truly define greatness.

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theory: Representing Dialectic of Protection and Empowerment

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theory: Representing Dialectic of Protection and Empowerment

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The image satisfies both protection and empowerment. The image presents topics that are important to most people regardless of whether they believe in the practicality of palm-reading predictions. It has the safety of critical distance because there's no requirement to click the link but it is an option. Someone who is more intrigued by the oracle viewpoint might be inclined to click on it even if there were fewer details about what could be predicted.

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I chose to explore the theory that "Authors create media for different purposes and target specific audiences." Dunkin recently did this with their product collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter. Sabrina is one of the most popular artists out right now, while Dunkin is one of the top consumed food companies in America.

Dunkin' Iced Coffee is still the same product with the shine of "Sabrina's Brown Sugar Shakin' Espresso." Gen Z and young adult women are the target audience, in my opinion, and it helps that a lot of these demographics are those who tend to consume Dunkin already. It truly was a great collaboration for both brands, and I still see the drink whenever I find myself at Dunkin. The reason these celebrity artists ' collaborations work so well with consumer brands is that they send a message to fans and consumers. It's kind of like a “hey, if you like Sabrina and want to be more like her, come try her signature drink at Dunkin. What Sabrina fan wouldn't wanna be a step closer to their favorite artist?

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I know a couple other classmates already chose this ad, but this is the first thing that came to mind when reading this assignment. I think the Sydney Sweeney “Great Genes” ad plays heavily on stereotypes by featuring her as the ideal image of beauty—blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slim figure—implying that looking like her is the standard for having “good genes.” The ad’s play on words between "genes" and "jeans" sends a subtle but powerful message: that physical attractiveness, especially a very narrow and Eurocentric version of it, is something you’re either born with or you don’t have. It reinforces outdated beauty ideals that prioritize whiteness and conventional features, suggesting that in order to be desirable or fashionable, you need to look a certain way. While the ad may seem lighthearted on the surface, it contributes to the ongoing issue in media where beauty is often defined by one specific look, ignoring the diversity of bodies, races, and features that exist in real life. It’s a reminder of how advertising can shape harmful perceptions under the disguise of style or humor.

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I chose "Authors create media for different purposes and target specific audiences," even though I probably could have applied any of the theories to this social media post. The authors represent an account that is dedicated, by definition, to have a particular focus, bias, ideology. Their intention might be to "educate," although I imagine (given their target audience) there is also a conscious or unconscious intention to "trigger" (because, who exactly are they educating?). Two things that jump out at me as particularly interesting. (1) It is not just the authors who are targeting specific audiences, it is Instagram's algorithm as well. I do not follow accounts like this, and I find them toxic -- and yet Instagram keeps trying to ram them down my throat. (2) Also interesting is that I could find no such account as Carl Ginsberg, the supposed share. They do not follow him, nor was he tagged, nor could I find that account anywhere (maybe it's out there somewhere and I just couldn't find it). But it did make me wonder if this whole post is fake.

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The theory is that chose was the actor "Jeremiah Fisher" from the viral show "The Summer I Turned Pretty" aka Gavin Casalegno he did an ad for Dunkin's summer "golden hour refresher," which was a spin-off of the also viral Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad, as he talks about his genes and being "King of the summer." Inviting everyone to try the refresher. Implying that if you have the refresher during summer, you'll find yourself refreshed with a tan. While everyone has been talking about these ads that use the term "genetics," I feel these ads are just for those who are white. Those with tan skin, good hair, and nice eyes have good genetics. While it is discriminating against those of other races.

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This advertisement clearly represents a situation where digital media uses stereotypes to convey their message. This specific example is an advertisement for cleaning products from Mr. Clean which is a huge brand who we probably all know well. This means that this ad probably reached a huge number of people some of us maybe even have seen it ourselves. The underlying message is that women should clean and even here it says do the job that matters on Mother's Day which seems clearly offensive. Mother's Day being a day that should celebrate mothers and the absolute last day of the year where they should have to clean. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter how big the brand is or what the context is its just about selling. They saw that Mother's day was close and women have been stereotyped to clean so they combined those and made a cliche ad which is also hurtful and inconsiderate.

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I chose to look at the Sydney Sweeney advertisement for American Eagle where the tagline was "Sydney Sweeney Has Great (Genes) Jeans". I believe that this is a good example of the representation and reality theory of media in the way that it is constructing a version of reality where being white and having blonde hair and blue eyes equals "great genes". American Eagle is creating the narrative that if you want to have great genes, you have to look like Sydney Sweeney and wear the jeans that she is wearing. In this advertisement there is no diversity whatsoever, further pushing the narrative of white supremacy. Due to the lack of diversity, this piece of media is conveying meaning that only white women who have blue eyes have good genes. This advertisement was shocking to me in the way that it even made it to social media. It attacks all minority races and highlights the belief that people who are white are above everyone else in society.

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This ad “You do the girl boss thing. We’ll do the SEO thing” is a good example of Representations and Realities theory. The theory explains that media messages don’t show life exactly as it is; instead they pick and choose parts of reality, often using stereotypes, to make ideas simpler or more marketable. In this case, the ad uses the stereotype that women are more about being “girl bosses” (a phrase focused on style or leadership branding), while the technical work (SEO) is something separate and needing help. It implicitly suggests that women lack some of the technical ability or domain, which isn’t true in real life many women work in tech, run complex digital marketing, etc. So the ad is a selective representation, reinforced by popular stereotype, not a full or fair picture of what women do or are capable of.

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I chose this image because I think it powerfully demonstrates the topic of Representation and Realities under the subtopic of ‘how media messages use stereotypes to express ideas and information’ (and in this case, it’s beauty). The woman’s face is covered in surgical markings with tools pointing at her as if she’s about to be reshaped. And the barcode on her forehead really struck me, it’s like beauty has been reduced to something you can scan and sell. This reminds me of how often media represents one ideal face or body type as if it’s the only standard worth striving for. Growing up I didn’t think twice about comparing myself to these types of images, even when I knew they were heavily edited and unrealistic. The words “am I pretty now” captured that constant questioning that media pressures so many people into making beauty feel like a product instead of something that’s actually individualistic. For me, this image makes the stereotype visible in a way that’s impossible to ignore. It also connects back to why media literacy is actually very important as it teaches us to see how these types of representations are constructed in the first place. From then on, we can actually stop measuring ourselves against them and begin defining beauty in our own terms.

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1 apr 2025 - Questo Pin è stato scoperto da Chu Chu. Scopri (e salva) i tuoi Pin su Pinterest.

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I think this image perfectly exemplifies the Media Literacy theory of “How does context shape how the message is interpreted?”. In 2017, Dove came out with a short video advertising its body wash. This video shows a Black woman removing her shirt to reveal a white woman. This campaign quickly enraged viewers. Dove claimed this ad was supposed to portray how their product is for all women of all backgrounds. But, people posted on social media accusing Dove of being racist and suggesting that Black women could “wash” their skin color away. The shortness and poor editing of this ad led to a huge misinterpretation and for it to be taken out of context.

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this is an example of digital literacy/ media. In this image we see that this add is promoting "less wrinkles in only a minute," which is completely not true and is giving false hope and misinformation to elderly women by saying that they will become more beautiful, and look and feel younger again. When in reality they would be wasting there time and money on a fake miracle cream that would perform miracles for them. It is a shame that companies to this day try to take advantage of the elderly and spread misinformation to them because they are more vulnerable in this generation, and take money out of there pockets because they know they can.

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I chose this image of a diverse group of people because it really connects to the idea of Representations & Realities in media literacy, which is about how media messages are selective and shape what audiences believe about who belongs or even what is normal. This picture fits perfectly since it shows people from different backgrounds together in a positive way . This challenges stereotypes and the portrayals we can see in media. Media usually decides who gets represented, and images like this can help shift those choices toward something more real and inclusive.

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I think this image is a perfect example of (kind of obviously) a message that uses a stereotype to convey information. This is seen an egregious amount in advertising, which is unfortunate, but it gets the job done most of the time. For decades, companies have been using widely recognized and oversimplified notions about certain groups, so the audience easily understands what the product is. It is true that this method is effective, but it deepens the existing biases. This makes it harder to expunge ridiculous ideas like this, so the trend will continue.

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Colin Tennant - Messages use stereotypes to express ideas and information. 

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Colin Tennant - Messages use stereotypes to express ideas and information. 

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This image might be a bit on the nose, but On the left, the female character is labeled with negative terms. Which reflect gender stereotypes that often frame women’s assertive behavior as undesirable or unfeminine. Her facial expression also looks unhappy or upset, reinforcing the negativity of the labels. On the right, the male character is described with positive terms. These words reflect stereotypes that men’s assertiveness is admired and valued. His smiling face reinforces the positive framing. Both figures are in the same posture, holding the same papers at their waist, yet the message is constructed differently depending on their gender. These contrasting labels show how society communicates their ideas about behavior in a biased way, criticizing women for the same actions that men are in turn praised for.

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I think this image very clearly shows how "production techniques are used to construct messages". It is obvious illustrators/editors put a ton of time and effort into the design layout of every paper or media they release. Not only does this image show different font sizes and small images to aid the text, but what stands out to me is the color. Every color has tons of contrast and stands out against the background. All of these production techniques were done very deliberately to pass the authors message across to it's consumer as efficiently as possible (which happens to be the goal of a newspaper).

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Messages affect peoples knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. This is the theory I decided I wanted to illustrate for this assignment. The ad above is something I have stumbled upon a few times and I chose to ignore. I've ignored it because by taking a quick glance at it I become offended. But this assignment gives me a second to think about it. This could very well be a case of faulty advertising. But even so it effects the consumer. No matter if you are thin or not, if you eat these pretzel crisps or not, seeing this ad might influence your mind in some way. Attitudes and behaviors can be very negatively effected by this ad as mine was personally. People nowadays get offended very easily and something like this can set someone off. How are they supposed to know if this was an accident??

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The theory that I'm going to be using is "Messages affect people’s knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors." Coca Cola made an Christmas ad in 2024. Normally ads don't really bother me. But as a theatre major, the one major thing that bothers me in today's world is the use of AI. The arts is constantly in danger of AI taking over more and more jobs- whether it's creative writing, actual art, or any sort of design process. Everything is at risk. Last year, even a movie that won a Golden Globe & Oscar used AI architectural recreation instead of hiring an actual architect to make blueprints, or hiring a scenic designer to make some pieces of scenery. It was done with AI. Coca Cola openly admitted that the entire ad they had created used 'Real Magic AI' instead of their normal use of reality, it caused a lot of controversy. Not to mention it being a holiday ad. Instead of hiring producers, film majors, assistants, graphic designers- they made it all with AI. It's crazy to think how easily a job can be replaced with something that doesn't exist just to do what? Save a company money, that's usually what it comes to. There's nothing put into this ad when you know there's nobody with creative intention actually working behind it.

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David Okula- Targeting Specific Audiences 

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David Okula- Targeting Specific Audiences 

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The theory that I'm highlighting with this image is that "authors create media for different purposes and target specific audiences." I chose an image used during an ad campaign from Nike that was titled "Dream Crazier" targeted at female athletes. In this specific ad, there is a picture of star tennis player Serena Williams expressing the message to show people what "crazy dreams" can do. This ad campaign was designed to take some negative things said about female athletes, such as them being crazy or unrealistic, and turning that into a good thing. In this ad, they're spreading the message towards younger female athletes that it's great to have lofty dreams, and for anyone who thinks you can't achieve them, make it a mission to prove them wrong. As I mentioned, this campaign was targeted specifically at female athletes, hence why one of the greatest female athletes of all time, Serena Williams, is pictured here. As we learned in chapter 1 of the book, authors typically have an audience in mind when they're creating any sort of media and carefully craft their message to try and appeal and catch the attention of that specific audience. I think this is a perfect example of a company honing in on their audience and successfully spreading their message. As I mentioned, female athletes typically get doubted or disrespected much more commonly than male athletes. Nike recognized this and turned it into an inspiring series of advertisements, while utilizing various different athletes who have achieved these "crazy dreams."

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I chose this image because it illustrates the "constructedness of media", the idea that all media messages are created using specific tools, code, and systems designed by people. In computer engineering, we literally build the hardware and software that make media possible. Understanding how these systems are designed reminds us that media isn’t neutral or automatic; it reflects human decisions about design, algorithms, and purpose. This connects to media literacy because it shows that behind every app, video, or social platform is engineered technology that shapes what we see, how fast it reaches us, and even what we don’t see.

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Seriyah Smith- Stereotypes and media messages

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Seriyah Smith- Stereotypes and media messages

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The theoretical idea I am going to discuss is “Messages use stereotypes to express ideas and information.” This image created by Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom was illustrated during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The image combats the stereotype that Asian people are the reason why the coronavirus came to the US. Her drawing was inspired by the social media movement #IAmNotAVirus. A movement that spread the message to stop the racist stigma against East Asians. Her drawings are helping people to be more sensitive to the matter and making more people aware of what's going on.

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I wanted to discuss the representations and realities component of the theory of media literacy. The first thing that came to my mind when I read, "Media messages are selective representations of reality" was the recent controversy sparked by the brand American Eagle and their ad campaign with Sydney Sweeney. American Eagle titled this campaign with the tagline "Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans". In the ad itself, there was a very sexualized view of Sweeney, rather than focusing on the product itself. I bring this example up because American Eagle had a severe selective representation of reality. In that ad, they represented an emphasis on her genes- blonde hair, blue eyes, with a very sexualized undertone revolving around her body. Obviously, this sparked major controversy because it felt as though they were marketing solely to that decription of humans and the male gaze- despite the fact that the product was women's jeans. The controversy shows how audiences are quick to recognize when an ad feels more like objectification than authentic representation. Ultimately resulting in a questioning of the brands motives- questions about credibility, intention, and the impact these selective images have on culture.

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Chrissy Teigen’s reaction at the 2016 Oscars is a strong example of media literacy through the lens of political economy, as it illustrates how a fleeting, authentic moment can be transformed into commodified content. What began as a brief facial expression quickly went viral as a meme, spreading across Twitter, Instagram, and entertainment sites, where each repost and remix generated engagement and ad revenue. In this process, digital platforms profited from user participation, the Oscars gained extended cultural relevance beyond the broadcast, and Teigen herself reinforced her personal brand as witty and relatable. The case reveals how media industries monetize attention and how even spontaneous human reactions are integrated into broader systems of profit and power, a phenomenon that media literacy helps us recognize and critically examine.

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The concept I am aiming to illustrate is how "Authors create media messages for different purposes," as mentioned in chapter 1 of Media Literacy in Action. The best example I can think of that almost all of us are familiar with would be The Hunger Games. When Rue was killed with a javelin by Marvel, the author's intent was to provide the audience with an abundance of messages. Some of these messages include the will to fight, the power of a totalitarian dictatorship, and, most importantly, to show how important human life is. The reason why these messages were created was to set the stage for the entirety of the Hunger Games franchise and the rebellion, as without Katniss humanizing Rue's death and ultimately creating rioting in the districts, Katniss would have never taken her place as the Mockingjay. Not only that, but Rue's dying words, "You have to win," are a double entendre for Katniss winning The Hunger Games as well as the rebellion. Overall, these media messages allow the audience to further understand the characters, their actions, and their purpose in the story.

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Find an image that illustrates one of the theoretical ideas of media literacy. Post it to the Padlet Wall, explaining which concept you're aiming to illustrate in your own words.

Be sure to include your name so you can get credit for your work.