Listicle 2 - Unique Advertising in Sports Media

For this listicle, I was inspired by the advertising I saw in American Airline Center at a Dallas Stars Game. Therefore, I will be reflecting on the unique advertising techniques found in the professional hockey industry and how they may produce stereotypes we have discussed in class.

First, I found that the advertising found in sports media tends to produce gender stereotypes.

In the above photo, the Dallas Stars "Ice Girls" are depicted performing on an elevated stage, were scantily dressed and the stage had a cage-like fence around it. The stage was also not anywhere near the rink, where the actual sport was being played. This is a unique strategy that the Stars and many other professional sports teams use to entice people to come to games.  I thought this was extremely stereotypical of women. It categorized them more as material objects for sexual idolization than actual people, especially with the fence surrounding them. 

http://www.dallasnews.com/incoming/20141116-stars_devils_hockey_40442098.jpg.ece/ALTERNATES/w320/STARS_DEVILS_HOCKEY_40442098.JPG

At the Stars game, I also noticed that the crowd tended to cheer more when there was a fight about to break out. This emphasis of violence and aggression reflects the stereotype discussed in the video "Tough Guise". It is encouraged for the players to fight and show their manliness through violence. This is often a publicized part of hockey games in both the public relations and advertising strategies of many teams. 

Second, I looked at unique ways in which advertisers produce content in the hockey industry.

This particular advertisement was displayed in the mirror of the women's bathroom at the American Airlines Center. It has a motion detector on it so that when you stepped in front of the mirror, the image would minimize. This was extremely eye-catching and was a unique way to get people to read your company's advertisements especially since so many people go to the bathroom in between periods at sports games. 

  
http://www.dn3austin.com/system/pieces/previews/174/medium/txstars_print2_med.jpg?1313720709

These are two unique advertising techniques also used by the Dallas Stars. Since hockey is not necessarily a traditional sport in Texas, they integrated Texan culture with the sport of hockey to intrigue people to try it out. It also is the kind of advertisement that catches your eye and makes you look at it again due to its simple yet unconventional design.


http://www.totalprosports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Advertising-At-Its-Best.jpg

This is another unconventional way of advertising in a hockey arena for a razor company. They attached a large razor on the back to make it look like it was shaving away the ice. It is an extremely unique and creative way to get your message across. 

Mad Hot Ballroom

One movie that really inspired and challenged me to think differently was the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom". It is about students in New York City's most poverty-stricken elementary schools who learn and compete ballroom dancing for gym class. I first watched this movie when I was in 8th grade. It was one of the first movies that really made me think about others and how much of an impact the arts can make. Dance and music has had a strong impact on my life. It has been a way to express myself and lead a healthy life. Therefore, after seeing this film, I realized how much it can be used to help others lead a healthy and better life. I also enjoyed that this film showed such a diverse group of students. It allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for their culture and eliminate stereotypes.

Marjane Satrapi Lecture Reflection

Overall, Satrapi's lecture in the BLUU auditorium on November 4th, 2014 was extremely interesting and related to this class a lot. She reflected upon the Islamic religion, death, suffering, reactions to her book and politics. She also reflected upon diversity and how we as individuals can gain a more worldly perspective. 

When discussing Islamic faith, she stated that "Muslim is not an identity, it's religion. If you do not practice, fast or pray, you are not Muslim". I think that this is an extremely accurate statement when it comes to the Muslim faith and the stereotypes that often go along with being Muslim or even originating from the Middle East. It is important to be aware of grouping Middle Eastern people who live in a Islam-dominated area into the same group as Muslims, when they do not actually practice it. 

I really enjoyed her discussion about death. It was very eye-opening to me. She basically said that our awareness of death overall suppresses pleasure. She said our culture is constantly concerned with what's the best to eat or what is the best thing to do by society's standards and we suppress pleasure. I agree with this statement. I think that we often are concerned with being successful more than what makes us happy and what makes us truly come alive. Although I do hold certain values strongly enough to suppress from certain activities, it was nice to hear her perspective and consider not just what society deems as success, but what I believe success is. 

She discussed how the Chicago schooling system tried to ban Persepolis from the classroom because it depicted torture and suffering. Overall, I disagree with the schooling system because Satrapi was experiencing that violence and suffering as a child, therefore, children should be able to handle just depictions of the violence and suffering. 

Lastly, she reflected that political figures do not necessarily reflect what the people want and need, they are more focused on policy. This allowed me to develop a clearer view of the problems in the United States' political system and realize why it is so important as individuals to reach out to the community because the government does not always have the best interest for humanity.