Without even reading this chapter from "Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator" by Ryan Holiday, it is more than obvious snark is everywhere when it comes to media. In the beginning of the chapter, Holiday explains that he himself used humor when he had to deal with a client who was hit with a lawsuit. In turn, this worked. Holiday was skeptical of the law suit in the first place, so in the end when it worked out in their favor, he felt that it was justified. He mentions how after this event, he noticed how much we can use snark and humor to distract the media from something else going on. Snark is successful for bloggers because the person being called out, can't come back from it. Whatever they say, whether it is to defend themselves or call out the person doing the snarking, they will just be made fun of more. Holiday says the best way to deal with snarking is to not respond to it, as hard as that may be, but responding will only make it worse. Snark also only works on certain people. Making fun of the cast of Jersey Shore won't do anything because they have already embarrassed themselves on television and will take anything as fuel to make them more famous. Snark works on important people like politicians, or respected bloggers or celebrities. These snarky blogs and writings can essentially ruin a person's career, and more often than not they are untrue or twist the truth. The writers who are responsible for these posts are insecure and attack others in fear of being attacked themselves. The chapter talks about one of the snarkiest writers, Nikki Finke, and explains how she rarely leaves her house and there is only one photo of her online and it is extremely old. To sum everything up, bloggers and writers use snark because they will do just about anything to get their names out there, and they are also fearful of being the one called out first. However, snark does nothing positive for media and instead can destroy a person's career.
1 Comment
The first chapter of book I in "Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator" by Ryan Holiday, explained things about bloggers and the media that I never would have known. The influence media has on us today is huge, and we are constantly affected by it. That being said, I never would have guessed how poorly the bloggers are paid. When I think about well-known bloggers, or people considered "Instagram famous", I would assume they were paid a fair amount for the amount of posts they produce. The chapter explained that the only way for bloggers to make decent money is to post and post and post and get millions of views, and even then the reward might be small. However, bloggers are constantly rewarded with perks and free stuff, which keeps the business going. The only "easy" way for a blogger to make real money is to get a job with an old media company and get their name out there. Once they make a name for themselves they could get a nice job with a magazine who tells their shareholders that they are making a come back (seeing as print is a lot less popular than digital media today). So basically everyone is doing whatever is in their best interest, which in turn is helping everyone involved. Holiday also explains how both the bloggers and the blog publishers know exactly what is going on, and the blogger will write whatever the publisher wants even if it is completely false or controversial, because they will do anything to get their name out there. The chapter basically makes this industry sound extremely cut throat, and often times, not rewarding.
Unknowingly, we experience propaganda constantly in our everyday lives. These things stick with us throughout the day without us even realizing it. After paying close attention to the propaganda that surrounds me, I've realized that the propaganda we deal with today is not necessarily recognized as that. There was an insane amount of propaganda used during the presidential election, on both sides. When thinking about the race, the one thing that stands out to me most is Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again." Whether you are for or against Trump, this slogan means something different to either side. I am going to focus more on what the slogan means for the pro-Trump supporters. I think the reason this piece of propaganda was so helpful to Trump throughout his campaign is because it satisfied a lot of Americans' want for change. Since America had 8 years of a Democratic president, Republicans were feigning for change. Even if they did not necessarily agree with Trump, they felt they wanted a change for the country and agreed with some of his views. This is why I think this slogan had such an impact on the race. It simplifies what Trump wants to do and makes everything sound positive, which, to anyone who wants something different for America, sounds like a great idea. It is amazing to see how just 4 words greatly impacted the entire country. TV shows, movies, documentaries etc. are also heavily loaded propaganda. Recently, I watched the documentary, Cowspiracy, which explains how the meat industry is killing out planet and basically tells the viewer the only way they can help is to go vegan. By the end of the documentary I was shocked. I never knew how bad the meat industry is for our planet. They used a bunch of different propaganda techniques to make this into a powerful film. They filled the documentary with statistics and graphs and interviewed reputable people. The film focused on the amount of damage the meat industry does to the ozone layer and environment. The film also used the idea of unity to get the viewer on board. They would tell the viewer what they could do to help and if everyone did help, we could save the planet. Whether or not the whole film was biased, or swayed one way, the propaganda techniques used were successful and helpful in getting their point across. Specifically in the New England, Dunkin Donuts is advertised everywhere. Without knowing why, I automatically think, if you don't drink Dunkins, you're not a true Bostonian. As ridiculous as that sounds, the company uses propaganda techniques which makes people feel this way. They often use celebrities from Boston or just a regular Bostonian with a heavy Boston accent saying "I'm drinkin' Dunkin". I think this is successful because it makes people feel like they belong to a community and that they should give business to them. The company also gives deals the day after professional New England sports team win a game. They push the fact that they are a casual, everyday business, which attacks their competitor. It is the opposite of Starbucks, one of their competitors, which is a more up-scale expensive business. Advertisements on TV, in newspapers and online also use a lot of propaganda. The commercials that stand out to me the most are the commercials trying to get kids and young adults to stop smoking. They emphasize the idea that cigarette smoking costs more than you think. There is one commercial that is played quite a bit where a girl goes into a convenient store to buy a pack of cigarettes. When she goes to pay, the cashier tells her it will cost more and then the girl starts to peel skin off of her face. This type of propaganda tactic attacks the viewers’ emotions. A person who smokes cigarettes might see this commercial and imagine themselves in this situation. These commercials are very uncomfortable to watch which makes the message even stronger to the viewers. Another commercial that appeals to the emotions is the ASPCA commercial. These commercials have been on TV forever. Their technique includes showing sick, injured or abused animals to affect the viewer's emotions. Naturally, someone would feel sorry for the animals being shown on the screen and would probably be more likely to donate money to the organization. They repeat a few times through out the commercial, "They need YOUR help". This tactic makes the viewer feel like it is their job to help the animals. They also often use celebrities to be the spokesperson for the commercials, which also increases the chances of a person to donate. I think that many people have a soft spot animals and this propaganda technique has probably helped the organization immensely in making money. Protests and advocacy events are full of propaganda. The whole point of a protest is to express how strongly the attendees feel about the issue. For example, the women's march that occurred a couple of weeks ago was probably one of the biggest protests I have ever seen. The signs they women held were full of propaganda. The signs mainly targeted how women feel oppressed and feel as though their rights are being taken away. Instead of moving forwards in regards to women's rights, a lot of people feel as though we are moving backwards. Signs were held that directly affected anyone's emotions. The point was to make everyone feel affected. The messages addressed the fact that they were walking and protesting for your mom, sister, friend, wife, etc., so that men would also join the protest. Before the protest took place there was a lot of advertising for it. It was all over Facebook and used the propaganda technique of making women feel united and also made them feel as though they could be a part of something bigger. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |