Ok I know we're basically done with the semester and the blogs but I just wanted to share this article because it's currently featured on the very front center of CNN's homepage...I think it really speaks to America's obsession with celebrities... -__-;;

Because Chris Brown's Twitter is REALLY the Breaking News of the Century...?

DTC Ads

I'm always amazed by the amount of DTC advertisements made by pharmaceutical companies on television, and I am even more caught off guard when it is for medications that treat erectile disfunction such as Viagra. It really says something about the things we allow to be broadcast with regard to censorship. The male anatomy is a very taboo topic on television compared to our comfort level with the female body, so I'm always a little surprised that nobody flinches when a commercial comes on TV warning men to seek medical attention if he experiences an erection lasting more than four hours. ED medication is the first thing that comes to mind when talking about DTC ads because I think they are the most prolific, and it is interesting to observe their success. As we discussed in class, the DTC ads usually include a checkbox of symptoms, and by the end of the commercial, the men watching are convinced they are impotent. Granted, I'm sure this drug does wonders for people whose sex lives are on the way out due to ED, but it becomes dangerous when men are using it illegally for recreational purposes.

Using a drug for anything other than its intended purpose is always risky, but the nitrates in Viagra can cause an extremely unsafe drop in blood pressure that can be fatal to someone with a healthy blood pressure. The main cause of impotence in men is high blood pressure, which prevents the blood from flowing to the right places, so the drug aims to lower blood pressure temporarily, so when someone with normal blood pressure uses Viagra, the blood pressure can plummet. The advertisements should focus more on this aspect of the drug that they know exists, but instead they focus of marketing with the idea that the consumer can do it "whenever the time is right".

Technology Incorporated in Media

Different modes of technology influence us everyday. Through new technological developments we are affected by the media. In our world today we are constantly updated with news, ads and events through our cellphones or by some sort of device we use everyday.
It seems like most people either have a IPhone or Blackberry two leading cellphone brands and everyday the people with these devices are updated with news from all around the world.
Media Plays such an important role in influencing what is important in our society. If it wasn't for these new devices that allow us to be informed about what is going on in the world we would not be so much emphasis on news, movies, and tv shows.
The news is framed into a particular way to show more emphasis on certain events which make us believe, that is more important. These frame's may happen because of top executives who cannot report real facts because of their investors who allow their programs to run. If it isn't for advertisers, networks would not be able to air their shows to the public without charging them.
Also, Movie and TV show critics, report more on certain shows to spark the popularity of the show. Through this tactic more people watch these shows because they may seem more popular or appealing. Media effects what we watch and think about in this world. Our perspectives are changed through the way media represents it to the public.

Science with a Racial Slant

Science can easily be manipulated and used for negative purposes, because no one really knows the absolute answers. A new discovery always comes up, and while one can think they know the scientific cure it can always change. For this reason, it can be taken and used for propaganda purposes. It has legitimacy, even though it is still this unknown aspect of civilization. The Nazis used “scientific” explanations to demonstrate why Jews, Gypsies and other groups of people were inferior to the Aryan race. Physicians would measure the eyes, skulls and noses of the Jewish people in order to measure what they said was the Jewish intelligence. They also did very torturous experiments on woman and twins. They basically used Jews as guinea pigs in order to look for new discoveries, and perhaps find more differences between the Jews and the Aryans. The public associates doctors with honesty and having a desire for the common good, so by having a doctor talk about the deficiencies in the Jewish race, the public believed it.

This was also taught in school, thus young kids believed in the inferiority of the Jewish race when they heard scientific research demonstrated it. Putting a racial slant on science has been a common technique throughout history in order to alienate a group of people whether by religion, race, or nationality. It was used against Africans to encourage slavery and make it ok to treat them as less than human. It was used with African tribes in Rwanda and it is still used today in other milder forms. We must always remember that while science contains what are called facts, the answers are never totally absolute since science is beyond human control and can only be studied from a distance. It is a dangerous thing when its’ legitimacy is used to reaffirm pre-existing racist values.

Oh capitalism.

As we have discussed in class, science / scientific "back-up" naturally allows us to feel more secure about a product or issue. The discussion of Yaz and birth control pills made me think twice about how people are advertising these "safer sex" products to women. Most products have extreme side-effects, such as heart attack, stroke, and blood clots in the heart, lung, or brain. Yet no one is outraged, protesting against these pills. We have become so used to hearing the short blurb about possible negative side-effects. Also, the advertisements are strategically ordered and presented so the audience does not really get too riled up about the serious side-effects.

I found the birth control pill information site by Planned Parenthood. It seems like the reason why medical products' websites and advertisements discuss the negative symptoms so casually at the end of the ad (or page) is to achieve maximum profit. The website's information about "the disadvantages of using the birth control pill" does not straight up even say heart attack, stroke, etc. in the list, but after 5 paragraphs, at the end. In our capitalist society, the driving force is money. Is it too harsh to say that the driving force for money is greed? Maybe I'm getting too cynical, but the truth is, many people are deceived and exploited by companies, corporations, and other people, for money and profit. These birth control ads and websites are trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but at the same time, they are doing their best to rake in as much money as they can get. It is difficult to trust anything when you see that our society is based on deception and greed.

(However, not to be such a downer, I believe advertisements can be used to compel, interest, and bring people together to do things that are good as well.)

1 Less- Gardasil Vaccine

When the Gardasil vaccine came out, I remember many of the women I knew were rushing to have their daughters vaccinated. When I refused the vaccine, first at my primary care physician's and then at a doctor here in New York, they acted like I was crazy. I've just never been one to take a medication or vaccine that is so new and to be quite honest, not really necessary. I find it fascinating that the commercial (above) can't even definitely say that the vaccine does what it is supposed to do. The dialogue keeps saying "may protect" and strains of HPV that "might cause" cervical cancer. We've discussed society's relationship to health care so many times in class and I think that this commercial is a perfect example of American society's irrational need to find a fix for everything. Oh, by the way, the vaccine "may not protect everyone". The thing that jumps out at me the most, however, is the language used to talk about what the vaccine protects against. Cancer is the most emphasized word and at the end of the commercial, the vaccine is called the cervical cancer vaccine. This is clearly playing on America's fear of and obsession with cancer. But the vaccine doesn't protect against cancer, it protects against a few (of many) strains of HPV that might cause cancer. It seems to me that society has an insatiable desire to treat peoples' ailments or potential ailments even when we don't fully understand the nature of the problem and/or solution.

P.S. The vaccine can have some pretty scary side effects... ones that the commercial doesn't mention:




And while we're on the topic of unnecessary medical procedures...

I have never been one to get the seasonal flu shot. Maybe it's a West Coast thing or a California thing or a Bay Area thing, but where I grew up, the only people who got flu shots were ones with compromised immune systems. Since coming to New York, I've met perfectly healthy people who get flu shots every winter and several physicians have tried to persuade me to get it. My worst experience was at the NYU Health Center when I was sick earlier this semester. The physician who examined me suggested I get the seasonal flu shot and when I didn't, he tried to guilt me into it by listing all the different people I could get sick and potentially kill by not getting a flu shot. This was fascinating to me because the argument seemed to be framed around the idea that it was my duty to get the vaccine.

It’s the Most Caffeinated Time of the Year

Lo and behold, amid the twinkling lights and passersby with their brightly wrapped packages and the ten-thousandth playing of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want from Christmas,’ there exists another season on college campuses all across United States: finals season.

And like any major event in the U.S., this season has its corporate sponsors. In recent years, none has been more present than the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. This past week the company’s red, white, blue, and yellow cars with the rotating beverage affixed to the hood have been stationing themselves at various high traffic points around NYU’s campus including Bobst, Cantor, and Silver. Representatives have been passing out free cans of the energy drink along with a small, accordion booklet that is a perfect example of target marketing. With a cartoon bull parody of Sir Edmund scaling Mount Everest, the cover states that “if you want to stay on top of things in this 24/7 world, you’ll need some wings.” Then on both sides of the booklet, the same cartoon bull depicts the many ways Red Bull can be beneficial. One side explains what is in the drink while the opposite shows how different types of people including people in the work force, students, hard partying night owls, and the super-star wonder mom have all realized how Red Bull can help propel them through their hectic lives.

And if Red Bull’s familiar claims to increase performance and concentration, improve reaction speed, increase endurance, and stimulate metabolism weren’t enough, a study at the University of Loughborough incorporation with the British Ministry of Environment and Transportation has cited Red Bull as a positive influence on cognitive as well as reactionary performance. Of course, the sales pitch does its best not to bring attention to the fine print. The study’s results were limited to the improvement in the “efficiency of a ‘functional energy’ drink in counteracting driver sleepiness.’ As we all know anything with caffeine in it will stimulate your body to some extent, and the fine points of the study including the drink’s range of effectiveness in correlation to the driver’s exhaustion are left up to the proactive consumer to pursue.

Interestingly, in the pamphlet Red Bull goes beyond listing its healthiest aspects including taurine and vitamins B6 and B12 to including crouching the carbohydrates and sugars as a “unique mixture of substances [that] results in a dose of pure energy.”

Though this is not necessarily medical based media criticism, I believe that Red Bull operates with the same bill of fare as the ads for Lunesta and Gardasil. They emphasize the benefits of the product, but glaze over the consequences of excessive or improper use. Furthermore, at least most people take prescriptions with a grain of seriousness while with regards to energy drinks; less savory consumers may believe that he or she is receiving an appropriate amount of vitamins. They keep chugging it down without a second thought which leads to its own medical complications such as elevated heart rate as in the case of this University of Lincoln which may have contributed her death. (http://www.heraldscotland.com/red-bull-caffeine-drink-may-have-helped-cause-student-s-death-1.901617 ) Therefore, during this crazy final season, perhaps we should think twice about how many energy drinks we’re guzzling down when ninety minutes—an entire sleep cycle—may be just as refreshing and less harmful.