Friday, September 21, 2012
Facilitator Group 2
This video is a public service announcement from Above the Influence it shows a group of teenagers at a party, on a stage with their arms and legs attached to strings as if they were puppets. The commercial encourages teenagers to be above the influence and to stay in control of your own life. I found this video, called Above The Influence Stage hands on Youtube.
Discussion Questions:
1. How does the creator's choice to include teenagers who were not drinking affect the commercial's message? Would the message have been as effective without them?
2. How does the commercial's setting affect it's message?
3. Why was this commercials audience more geared towards the teenagers themselves, rather than parents?
4. What is the significance of using puppet strings in this commercial?
5. In the commercial it mentions, "if you're not in control, who is?" What are the creators of this commercial trying to convey with this statement?
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2) The setting of the commercial is from my understanding supposed to be a house party. This is appropriate for teen drinking because the majority of teen drinking occurs at parties. The setting makes the commercial more believable, and the strings simply promote the fact that drinking makes you lose control of who you are and what you do.
ReplyDeleteThe commercial also uses mostly dark tones wi= which signify a grim result. There is also a beginning to the commercial that turns into a grim result. This provides a good contrast and allows teens to understand that what might start out as carefree fun can quickly turn into a bad experience.
ReplyDeleteI think that the commercial was more effective because it used both teenagers drinking and teenagers sober. It shows that not everyone thinks it’s cool to drink alcohol at a party. If you notice, the sober kids do not look happy to be talking to those people who had been drinking. The message the producers wanted to show was not only the effects drinking has on yourself, but it also can affect those around you. I feel that this message would not have been made as clear without the sober people present. It’s easy to show the message of not being in control of yourself when you drink. But, the other message of not all teens think it’s okay to drink would not have been conveyed so easily.
ReplyDeleteThe creator's of the commercial are trying to convey to the audience that when under the influence of alcohol, you are not always in control of your actions. This is demonstrated by the use of the puppet strings, which signify that someone, something, or in this case, some substance is in control. I think the use of sober teenagers helps with the commercial overall because it shows that if you are not under the influence of alcohol, you would not act the way those who have been drinking would.
ReplyDeleteKyle, in this video, one must ask themselves if there is something else that factors into controlling the teenagers. Aside from the substance of alcohol, I think that it is safe to say that peers around you influence one to drink as well, and also can effect people's actions. Moreover, the video displays a variety of teenagers drinking alcohol together, which signifies the submission of every teenager in the room to drink in order to fit in. Alcohol is not the only controlling element in this commercial. However peer pressure also factors into controlling one's actions on whether or not they will do something (drink).
DeletePrompt #4
ReplyDeleteThe ethos of the author(s) is pretty clear in this media. The character of the authors is generalized to stand against alcohol, but there are a few important indicators that may reveal why and how they illustrate this stance.
The beginning features young teens that are well dressed and are shown in a home that suggests various types of success displayed in the furnishings and composition of the people of this setting. This setting alone could be argued to present the ingredients needed to give the best chance of becoming a successful adult as a young teen. The fact that there are no parental figures present may imply a level of trust that they (possibly the authors as well) have for their children. A freeze frame in the opening scene implies the parental or authors establishment of an economically successful environment which may lead to a certain correctness in their ethics.
As the heart of the presentation begins it's noticed that there is a number among the group that does not participate in the consumption of alcohol. I argue that this may be a reflection of the ethics that the parents (or authors) of these teens have. It may be implied that it was not actually a full out "house party" that these teens thought they were going to attend since there were some that did not chose to drink and further seemed bewildered at its presence. It could be the case that the group was called together under some other context that parents would trust, maybe a study session for advanced placement classes, a mischievous few may have seen this as an opportunity to introduce alcohol. Kim did a great job above of pointing out that the sober kids appeared to have a dislike of the others. I argue that this simple display gives us a window into the character of the parents or authors as we see the evidence of the ingrained ethos from the parents to their children, or at least in some of them.
The sober kids are also perplexed by the behavior of the others as the effects of alcohol settles within them. This could suggest what kind of interaction these teens typically have outside of this illustration. This screams the notion that the parents value and demand intelligent and responsible interaction among their teens as it's probably what's also found among the parents and authors themselves.
The strings serve us a few implications as well. It's revealing that the strings disappear into the height of the screen and we are not afforded the sight of the controller. It's implied that it is not the social peer group in control, as there are illustrations that would delineate this better if it were true. The use of strings obviously implies alcohol has the ropes atop. A better understanding may be to look at who does not have the control. The effected are no longer able to use the ethics of the parents that has been taught to them. As a result some bad or regretful decisions are implied. Some are seen clashing together like primates in a suggestion of sexual contact while others attempt to put arms around those near them.
The end of the video shows everyone that chose to drink collapsing to the ground as it asks who is in control if you're not. We're hit with several implications at once when this occurs. One of which is death. A more relevant implication is the comparison of control that we have when we are under the effects of alcohol and of a person who has a similar loss of control. It claims there is no self control in the drunk, and then it throws the comparison switch it's illustrating someone who has equal control. We may relate to the comparative illustration the authors use as someone who is in a state of coma with absolutely no motor, mental, or most importantly, ethical control.
We can interpret that the the authors place no gainful ethical value in the use of alcohol. The authors suggest that its use actually makes you equal in ethics and productivity to a person easily confused as being dead.
Blog Prompt #1
ReplyDeleteThe use of teenagers who are not drinking in this commercial creates a very powerful message. It shows that a person does not have to be drinking to have a good time at a party or a social event. The teenagers who are not drinking also seem to have shocked and slightly disgusted faces while watching their peers. This creates a strong message because it shows that if a person's own friends can not respect his or her decision, who will? It makes the teenagers who do drink really question why they are drinking in the first place. The public service announcement would still be good without the sober teenagers, but including them makes the ad a lot more compelling.
Prompt 3 The phrase “If you’re not in control who is?" is targeted at the teenagers to prevent alcohol use and abuse. This can be seen because the commercial shows teenagers being attached to strings and having no control over their actions. It also shows two sober teenagers watching fearfully from the sidelines. The commercial employs fear tactic to try and prevent the teenagers from using alcohol. The tactic is made stronger by the two teenagers watching. We can see that the teenagers are the intended audience because of the way it asks the direct question to the teenagers and the way that it has teenagers observing other teenagers.
ReplyDeleteThe music pulls the audience in like the idea of alcohol/partying pulls teenagers in. The music conveys a whole different point than the actions happening in the video. The music is also inviting, but while watching the audience wouldn't want to be part of that. The music is also robotic which signifies the fact that they are all puppets doing the same thing because of their alcohol use. The people who remain sober or do not use are able to do what they want and are baffled by the fact that they are all just following each other. Also at the end of the video they all fall down at the same time showing that what one does the others will follow.
ReplyDeleteThe sober people are not having as much fun as the people intoxicated. Although the people under the influence are being portrayed as losing control, they are all having a good time. The people on strings are dancing and smiling, where as the sober ones are just confused and almost frightened by what they are seeing. They are on the outside of the loop, they are different in a place where everyone is doing the exact same thing. Contradicting the whole point of the commercial that drinking is bad. It almost supports the idea of following the crowd and using.
ReplyDelete