Facebook

Facebook was first started in June of 2004. with only 5 years under their belt facebook has over 175 million users. facebook has had incredible success and continues to grow. (Wiki)

Facebook is an internet site that allows people to network all around the world. The easy setup allows for all ages to navigate. It also allows you to search for people that went to your school, live in your town, or share your same interest. When you establish a friend base you are able to take a glimpse in to their lives. You are able to view pictures, comments, messages, and their friends. You are capable of commenting on pictures, messages, and status report.

The audience would have to be ages 16-25 because the focus in more on networking rather than fun and games like MySpace. MySpace is very similar expect for the more freedom you have on MySpace to make the page look like your own. Face book is very simple and does not require a lot of prior computer knowledge.

Facebook is the new and improved simple way to find relationships and stay in touch.

Shape

Shape Magazine is targeted towards fast pace 18-30 age women. The use of bright colors and catchy slogans like "4 weeks to your best butt" attracts the buyer. The cover has older celebrities that are more recognizable by an older female audience rather that in Cosmo or Elle that has younger celebs that a younger female crowd could recognize and indentify with.

The inside is swarmed with advertisements relating to health, fitness, and beauty. The articles are short and to the point with a few longer ones concerning relating topics.

The audience can be described as a single or married busy woman. With phrase like “dress 5 pounds lighter” shows that these woman need results quickly. The array of workout pieces shows that this female audience does not have time to make it to the gym. Shape also has workouts regimes for woman with a family showing that on of its target audience members are family woman.

Shape is guide to lose weight fast and become healthy with a busy schedule

Fresh Prince

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air starred Will Smith as a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to live with his wealthy relatives the Banks in a Bel-Air mansion. His lifestyle often clashes with his the Banks. 148 episodes were produced over six seasons, first aired in 1990 and lasted till 1996. (Wikipedia)

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a storyline that followed the typical family with the one rotten runt. The idea that they were black was easy for them to have a rich family face the same discriminating issues. In one episode, "Mistaken Identity," where the Banks head to Palm Springs along with Carlton, Will’s cousin and Will are pulled over in a Mercedes, because the police suspected them of car theft. This is a common issue that blacks face when it comes to them having expensive things. Carlton says that he lives in Bel-Air, has a butler, a 3.95 GPA in Bel-Air Academy, and other acclaimed "credentials" that are not seen in the African-American stereotype. (Wikipedia)

The fresh prince gave light to African American families living American dreams. The Banks family is a high class family with a lot of money and respect. They speak properly and carry themselves with dignity. They could be compared to any white television family. Will is the contrast and follows the typical black stereotype. Throughout the show he begins to see that class and money is just a “thing” in life rather than a need. Meaning when he first met Carlton he believed him to have lost his black roots because he talked and acted “white”. Money did not create Carlton rather the access to the finest of finest. The funny part is that allow Will did not lose his black roots he did become “white”.

Family guy

Family Guy a mainly adult-oriented TV Show, has become quite the spark of controversy With topics like AIDS, terrorism, Nazis and disability, Family guy seems to push the show a little to far. The Parents Television Council listed Family Guy as the “worst prime time shows for family viewing”. FOX, where the show was first broadcast, has tried very hard to put a cage around this ball of fury but has failed because networks like Cartoon Network have allowed airtime. FOX now airs edited version with some of the explicit and extremely controversial content removed. The reason the show causes so much commotion is because of the nature of how things are presented. If Peter, the father in the TV program, was to see a disabled kid on the swing set he would most likely address him as the retarded fat boy hogging the swing. The characters say what some of the world is thinking but is afraid to say whether about politics, terrorism, or homosexuality.

The Office

The Office is a soap opera sitcom, meaning it is filled with tons of bizarre concepts that come together to create comic relief. It follows the interaction of employees in an office space. Dunder Mifflin is a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. With an array of characters that have very different ideals and beliefs, they seem to never have a dull day. The Office allows the characters to say and do what most people admit they would want to say or do. For example the main character Michael Scott, the Regional Manger of the Scranton branch, always says what is on his mind no matter how racist, inconsiderate, or arrogant it is. He makes sure to acknowledge everyone’s race and sexual preference in every conversation. Jim Halpert is a sales rep and is a lot more level headed than Michael. Their personalities working together balance each other. Pam Beasley is Jim’s girlfriend and the receptionist. She is usually the one who helps finish Michael’s schemes. Dwight Schrute is the assistant “regional manger”. This is a position that was made up to make Dwight feel better about himself. All Dwight wants is for Michael to appreciate him.

The audience is female and males, ages 20-40, that can in some way relate to working in an environment with a lot of different personalities. They have a crude sense of humor. They want absurd and out of this world situations to happen. With the setting of the show in an office space it gives the show more modality and is relatable. The audience wants to laugh at what would not be otherwise socially accepted, like a woman getting run over by a car, lighting an office building on fire, or putting a raccoon in an employee’s car. All these scenarios can be found on The Office. The characters follow through with what most of us only think about. The audience is able to laugh at events that would normally bring an awkward moment of silence. The audience likes to be engaged by the show and consistently watch every week. This kind of show appeals to the more educated well rounded individual because some of the jokes and humor come from current issues and events in news. People who watch this show get a comic relief with someone else’s daily problems, taking them out of their own. It has a sense of relativity because they see they are not the only ones who have problems.

The audience must have a high commitment to the show, meaning they are sitting and ready to watch at 10pm on Thursdays. You can tell the commitment is high because of the rating and amount of people that enjoy the show. You have to watch the show religiously because that’s how you learn all the different character’s personalities. If you do not know the premise and ideals of the characters the show will not interest you and you may take offense to what is said. For example, Andy, a sales rep, just recently got his heart broken by his fiancée, and now he is anti-women. He says degrading and sexist things all the time. If you had not seen how Andy was before and after the break up you would flip the channel and never watch again because you would think the show was supporting these thoughts and actions. When watching the show the audience must have a high engagement, putting forth all their attention. There are jokes and interweaving events going on through out the show. This show can not be watched like a show on MTV because those shows are meant to captivate the channel flippers. The Office’s audience is ready to watch with their popcorn and only moves when there are commercials. They are glued to the TV to catch every joke and plot line.

Warning: Airbrushing Kills

Warning: Airbrushing Kills

Where do we draw the line when it comes to image manipulation? When a 13 year old girl looks at the image on the right she sees a flawless woman and feels bad about her own appearance. But what would her mind set be if the magazines published the image on the left. The 13 year old girl would have something to relate to because the image is realistic.