Natalie
Neighborhood: an amount of people joining together to become one specific, united group
Community: a group of people that feel connected because of common interests, personalities, or characteristics
Environment: everything that surrounds a person or community
Nature: everything that is natural and comes from the Earth
What do these ideas mean to you? - Community is a significant part of anyone's life because it provides comfort and stability. Diversity is always nice, which one can get from his or her neighborhood and/or environment, but community is most important because it allows someone to connect to other people and share their similar experiences. Neighborhood and environment provide diversity and allow people to learn about other experiences, cultures, and communities without feeling like an outsider.
How do you see your relationship to each of these? - Although I have lived in my neighborhood for my entire life, I don't feel any kind of connection with it because it lacks diversity. I didn't realize how much my neighborhood lacked diversity until I started going to school in different areas that were very diverse. I also don't feel connected to my neighborhood because I don't fit into the type of people that live there. I feel more connected to my community because I am able to connect with people on a closer level since I am not expected to fit under a stereotype. I am not involved in the nature of my environment at all because there is not much nature in my neighborhood and not enough to participate in.
How do you see yourself in these various places? - I don't see myself fitting into my neighborhood because of the lack of diversity. There aren't many people that don't fit into the stereotype in my neighborhood, so it's difficult to figure out who I am among the people in my neighborhood. It's easier to connect with people in my community because even though it isn't as diverse as a neighborhood should be, I don't have any expectations or stereotypes to fit into. Because I live in the city, I don't see myself very involved in nature. There are various parks in the area, but there is no sense of community within those parks and not enough opportunities to contribute.
How have these places influenced you and you them? - My neighborhood has influenced me because it made me crave diversity. When I came to a school that was more diverse, I wished my neighborhood had more diversity, and I wished I was able to fit in as easily as I could at school. I have not influenced these places as much as my school community, but through getting to know the people in my neighborhood, I have influenced their opinions and hopefully made them reconsider certain stereotypes.
What are your defining experiences in these places? - My neighborhood is defined by experiences with people of my culture where I didn't really fit in, despite having the same culture as those people. Although this may not be true for my experience with my neighborhood as a whole, it is what I associate with my neighborhood. My community, alternatively, is defined by a place that has diversity and is more accepting of people that fit outside of stereotypes.
Community: a group of people that feel connected because of common interests, personalities, or characteristics
Environment: everything that surrounds a person or community
Nature: everything that is natural and comes from the Earth
What do these ideas mean to you? - Community is a significant part of anyone's life because it provides comfort and stability. Diversity is always nice, which one can get from his or her neighborhood and/or environment, but community is most important because it allows someone to connect to other people and share their similar experiences. Neighborhood and environment provide diversity and allow people to learn about other experiences, cultures, and communities without feeling like an outsider.
How do you see your relationship to each of these? - Although I have lived in my neighborhood for my entire life, I don't feel any kind of connection with it because it lacks diversity. I didn't realize how much my neighborhood lacked diversity until I started going to school in different areas that were very diverse. I also don't feel connected to my neighborhood because I don't fit into the type of people that live there. I feel more connected to my community because I am able to connect with people on a closer level since I am not expected to fit under a stereotype. I am not involved in the nature of my environment at all because there is not much nature in my neighborhood and not enough to participate in.
How do you see yourself in these various places? - I don't see myself fitting into my neighborhood because of the lack of diversity. There aren't many people that don't fit into the stereotype in my neighborhood, so it's difficult to figure out who I am among the people in my neighborhood. It's easier to connect with people in my community because even though it isn't as diverse as a neighborhood should be, I don't have any expectations or stereotypes to fit into. Because I live in the city, I don't see myself very involved in nature. There are various parks in the area, but there is no sense of community within those parks and not enough opportunities to contribute.
How have these places influenced you and you them? - My neighborhood has influenced me because it made me crave diversity. When I came to a school that was more diverse, I wished my neighborhood had more diversity, and I wished I was able to fit in as easily as I could at school. I have not influenced these places as much as my school community, but through getting to know the people in my neighborhood, I have influenced their opinions and hopefully made them reconsider certain stereotypes.
What are your defining experiences in these places? - My neighborhood is defined by experiences with people of my culture where I didn't really fit in, despite having the same culture as those people. Although this may not be true for my experience with my neighborhood as a whole, it is what I associate with my neighborhood. My community, alternatively, is defined by a place that has diversity and is more accepting of people that fit outside of stereotypes.
Throughout the mental mapping process, I was able to connect with people from different neighborhoods and realized I am not alone in feeling disconnect with my neighborhood. People from my neighborhood seemed very connected and involved with it, so I thought that I was one of the only ones who did not connect with her neighborhood. This whole process helped me connect with people all over the city. Many questions arose from the group discussions: How are the changes happening in a neighborhood affecting one's experience in his/her community? What do young people deserve in a neighborhood, and do they feel like they are considered or ignored in neighborhood life? What makes a neighborhood "privileged," and who decides what aspects of a neighborhood are a privilege? Do we make ourselves feel disconnected with our neighborhoods? Do the places people go to "escape" show what the person desires in a neighborhood, and are their ideal neighborhoods (or the "escapes") actually better in any way than their original neighborhoods? If I could share my research, I would share the themes we discussed that occurred throughout my group's themes and how similar they were. We all came from very different neighborhoods, but we all had similar images on our maps (e.g., food, highways, parks) and had similar wants in our neighborhoods (i.e., diversity).
Overall, the process of mental mapping was a good way to answer the majority of the questions we were interested in. Although not every single question was addressed or fully explored, a lot of them were discussed in depth in a general sense. Rather than relating to only one person, the discussions we had were expanded to include other people in the class and focus on our collective experiences. One benefit of collecting data through mental mapping was that people were not forced to think about their connections with their neighborhoods; they were just told to make a map of their neighborhoods. People subconsciously drew their connections, relationships, and feelings about their neighborhoods, which doesn't force people out of their comfort zone and allows them to just think about how they see their neighborhood and not what it means. It was effective because we did not have to focus on the analysis immediately and were allowed to just think about how we view our neighborhood. However, it was slightly ineffective because people also left out many aspects of our neighborhood that they may not have been able to capture in a map or people did not focus on what each structure means to them and had trouble explaining why they put it on the map. I would improve this method by addressing that each part of the map must have a meaning or explanation that the person must explain. This way, the person will be aware why they put specific images on their map and will make the analysis easier, but it will not hinder their subconscious connections on the map drawings. We could also capture what we are interested about learning in our neighborhoods by drawing maps of other neighborhoods that we don't belong to and comparing it to a map of someone who does live in that neighborhood. I would share this mostly with other young people, so they can feel more connections with people even outside of their neighborhoods, and with adults that control what happens in our neighborhoods, so they can incorporate our opinions in their decisions. Through this method, we can see how other people view our neighborhood and whether their view of our neighborhood is similar or much different than our own.
Overall, the process of mental mapping was a good way to answer the majority of the questions we were interested in. Although not every single question was addressed or fully explored, a lot of them were discussed in depth in a general sense. Rather than relating to only one person, the discussions we had were expanded to include other people in the class and focus on our collective experiences. One benefit of collecting data through mental mapping was that people were not forced to think about their connections with their neighborhoods; they were just told to make a map of their neighborhoods. People subconsciously drew their connections, relationships, and feelings about their neighborhoods, which doesn't force people out of their comfort zone and allows them to just think about how they see their neighborhood and not what it means. It was effective because we did not have to focus on the analysis immediately and were allowed to just think about how we view our neighborhood. However, it was slightly ineffective because people also left out many aspects of our neighborhood that they may not have been able to capture in a map or people did not focus on what each structure means to them and had trouble explaining why they put it on the map. I would improve this method by addressing that each part of the map must have a meaning or explanation that the person must explain. This way, the person will be aware why they put specific images on their map and will make the analysis easier, but it will not hinder their subconscious connections on the map drawings. We could also capture what we are interested about learning in our neighborhoods by drawing maps of other neighborhoods that we don't belong to and comparing it to a map of someone who does live in that neighborhood. I would share this mostly with other young people, so they can feel more connections with people even outside of their neighborhoods, and with adults that control what happens in our neighborhoods, so they can incorporate our opinions in their decisions. Through this method, we can see how other people view our neighborhood and whether their view of our neighborhood is similar or much different than our own.
Ad Project
Methodology
Data Collection
I gathered my advertisement images by taking images of advertisements that I see on a daily basis in my neighborhood. I took pictures of advertisements that were typically on my commute to school because I am exposed to them constantly but never paid much attention to their messages. I decided to stick to mostly images in my neighborhood because they are the ones I see constantly, even when I am not going to school or leaving my neighborhood. The advertisements around school are ones that I don't see as frequently and pay even less attention to.
Data Analysis
I chose the categories based on patterns I saw before I did my analysis, and then when I began to analyze the ads, I began to see more patterns that I did not necessarily expect. Additionally, I left a lot of categories out that I expected to put in (e.g., women, cigarettes) because they did not appear often throughout the ads in my neighborhood, even though I expected them to be a big part of the advertisements and often see ads that fall onto these categories in other neighborhoods or even through other forms of advertising. My categories were mostly focused on messages that were common throughout the ads or specific mediums that were being advertised. Advertisements of music, television, etc. were grouped into one "entertainment" category, and this was typically the case for all the categories made. To analyze a specific advertisement, I analyzed what was being sold and organized the general product type into separate groups.
Findings/Results
Content Analysis
measured in percentages
Entertainment takes up the majority of the advertisements found in my neighborhood, while both fashion and travel make up a very small percentage of ads. I was not necessarily surprised that entertainment made up the whole part of my data because the music scene in my neighborhood is very big, and there are many young people that are interested in the forms of entertainment that I found on the advertisements. I was also not surprised that fashion is so low because the people in my neighborhood usually only wear fashion from local stores. However, I was surprised that alcohol and cigarettes were not part of one separate category (only one ad advertised alcohol and none I found advertised cigarettes) because I remember seeing many alcohol and cigarette related ads, not just around my neighborhood necessarily, but in general.
Entertainment takes up the majority of the advertisements found in my neighborhood, while both fashion and travel make up a very small percentage of ads. I was not necessarily surprised that entertainment made up the whole part of my data because the music scene in my neighborhood is very big, and there are many young people that are interested in the forms of entertainment that I found on the advertisements. I was also not surprised that fashion is so low because the people in my neighborhood usually only wear fashion from local stores. However, I was surprised that alcohol and cigarettes were not part of one separate category (only one ad advertised alcohol and none I found advertised cigarettes) because I remember seeing many alcohol and cigarette related ads, not just around my neighborhood necessarily, but in general.
Critical Discourse Analysis
Readiness Challenge Public Service Announcement: The visual message being presented is that there is a girl sitting down and ignoring a natural disaster behind her. She seems like she is being careless, but she also seems upset. Essentially, the ad is saying that this is what people that are ignoring problems seem like when the disaster actually occurs. The message is overt because the girl is clearly in danger but doesn't really seem to care. The advertisement says that "YOU're putting THEM in a disaster": it is referring to the advertisement as you to specifically refer to them and make them connect to their own lives. "Them" refers to family members, or specifically children, since the image shows a little girl. The message is covert because it is a message that everyone will internalize and think about once they see it (i.e., they will think of their own children and feel worried that they will be in disaster), but it is not something that is explicitly stated. One stereotype of this advertisement is that children and/or young people cannot act on their own or they are stupid (not smart enough to realize what to do in a natural disaster). The social relations that are being presented as "normal" are that people are responsible for the safety of their families. The subconscious ideologies embedded in the advertisement are that white children's parents do not have to be reminded to take care of their families, but families of nonwhite children have to be told by advertisements to protect their families.
Discussion
I learned that advertisements that may seem harmless around me are actually sending me messages about society, even if I don't care about the product or have no intention of buying the product. Even looking at the advertisement might affect my way of thinking about people, stereotypes, etc. Additionally, I learned that advertisers use specific words like "you" and "them" to personalize an advertisement and make a connection form between the seller and consumer. By adding these words, the consumer is able to connect the advertisement to his/her life. I also learned that the advertisements that typically stick to me are not the ones that I am exposed to often. I expected to see a lot of sexist advertisements and ads of alcohol and cigarettes, but I found that was not the case (at least not in my neighborhood). I also did not think of entertainment advertisements, especially music ads, because I am so used to seeing them around in my neighborhood that I just block them out.
The messages towards young people in advertisements vary throughout the ads that I have seen. A lot of the entertainment advertisements are ads about music and concerts. Young people might pick up the message that they cannot have fun without attending concerts or participating in similar events. However, young people may not be allowed at these type of events or similar events may be limited to adults. Some other advertisements feature people of a certain race that will create and perpetuate stereotypes in some way, even if that is not the implication. For example, the advertisement analyzed in the critical discourse analysis that seemed harmless to me at first was able to be interpreted to create stereotypes. These messages matter because they are coming to us from so many different angles, and we don't even realize. We are subconsciously taking these messages in and accepting them as reality when that isn't the case.
Some new questions that emerged from this research were: What kind of messages am I picking up everyday from advertisements without noticing? Can anyone live a life without being influenced by the advertisements around them? What kind of messages am I receiving from advertisements outside of my neighborhood? Do sellers think about the messages they are sending through advertisements and whether or not they are positive, or do they just care about selling the product? How can someone look at advertisements without allowing them to consume his/her thoughts? How can we change the messages in advertisements, and how can we adjust ourselves to avoid the advertisements from sending us subliminal messages? Is being critical of advertisements enough to change how they affect us?
The messages towards young people in advertisements vary throughout the ads that I have seen. A lot of the entertainment advertisements are ads about music and concerts. Young people might pick up the message that they cannot have fun without attending concerts or participating in similar events. However, young people may not be allowed at these type of events or similar events may be limited to adults. Some other advertisements feature people of a certain race that will create and perpetuate stereotypes in some way, even if that is not the implication. For example, the advertisement analyzed in the critical discourse analysis that seemed harmless to me at first was able to be interpreted to create stereotypes. These messages matter because they are coming to us from so many different angles, and we don't even realize. We are subconsciously taking these messages in and accepting them as reality when that isn't the case.
Some new questions that emerged from this research were: What kind of messages am I picking up everyday from advertisements without noticing? Can anyone live a life without being influenced by the advertisements around them? What kind of messages am I receiving from advertisements outside of my neighborhood? Do sellers think about the messages they are sending through advertisements and whether or not they are positive, or do they just care about selling the product? How can someone look at advertisements without allowing them to consume his/her thoughts? How can we change the messages in advertisements, and how can we adjust ourselves to avoid the advertisements from sending us subliminal messages? Is being critical of advertisements enough to change how they affect us?