Literature Ratings

Dear Mr. Wheeler, 

I believe some type of rating system is necessary for all forms of media.  As I reviewed your webpage and researched your ratings process, I realized that your committee regulates all interstate and international communications via radio, TV, wire, satellite, and cable.  While this is an incredibly important goal and responsibility for your committee, I am sad to see that neither books nor websites are included in this comprehensive list; however, I have a more difficult time accepting that books do not currently have ratings.  There is enough evidence and research collected to demonstrate the need for a book rating system as well as the consequences for the lack of such a system. 

I am sure you understand this as rating system experts, but the goal is not to regulate the media; the goal of ratings is to provide information to parents to allow them to make informed decisions about media content.  I agree with this goal completely.  However, I want to mention an interesting statistic: Adolescents are exposed to about 30.23 acts of aggression after reading one hour of novels versus the 18.46 acts of aggression after one hour of watching TV (Coyne & Archer, 2004).  I hope you find this as surprising as I did.  This same study also recognized two popular teen books, Tweak and Gossip Girl.  Did you know that Tweak contained intense profanity including 187 f-words, and Gossip Girl included 107 f-words?  Are you kidding?  And these popular books are not rated at all?  Parents have no idea that their children are reading this garbage.  They may know of the general inclination of the plot of the book, but they have no way of knowing that its pages contain excessive levels of aggression and profanity. 

Along with novels and books, there has been evidence found that magazines effect adolescents in impactful, negative ways.  Several studies have shown that magazine reading is related to body dissatisfaction and several other negative outcomes (Shaw, 1995).  Along with body image, it is no secret that magazines, as well as novels, also emphasize sexual behavior and substance use.   

Something needs to change—not necessarily in the content itself, but in the parental awareness of the type and intensity of this content.  I would bet to say that most parents have no correct estimate of just how much aggression, sexual content, and substance use their children are exposed to in literature.  They may assume movies are worse off when, in reality, they could be less harmful in some cases.  It would be beneficial to you and your customer satisfaction if you developed a simple rating system for books and magazines.  I hope this change will be considered or even mentioned to your board.  This is an issue and policy that viewers and consumers of all types of media would appreciate and respect.   

Sincerely, 

Whitney Robinson 

Brigham Young University 

whitneyr3000@yahoo.com 

References 

Coyne, S. M., & Archer, J. (2004). Indirect aggression in the media: A content analysis of british 

television programs. Aggressive Behavior, 30(3), 254-271. doi: 10.1002/ab.20022 

Shaw, J. (1995). Effects of fashion magazines on body dissatisfaction and eating 

psychopathology in adolescent and adult females. European Eating Disorders Review, 

3(1), 15-23. doi: 10.1002/erv.2400030105 

No Ordinary Blessing

General Conference.  Oh, how I've been looking forward to you!

 

As we each prepare to listen to the words of the Lord's prophets, I pray that we each prayerfully seek out answers and direction from their messages.  I have a testimony of the reality of personal revelation, and I know that preparation and attentiveness will allow revelation and answers to come.

 

Here's a great article by President Uchtdorf about preparing for general conference.  I know most of you won't see this post until after the weekend is over.  But it's a great article to keep in mind for future conferences. 

 

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2011/09/general-conference-no-ordinary-blessing?lang=eng

 

Enjoy your happy, spiritual weekend!

Home Improvement Article

You know those random Buzzfeed articles that come up on your Newsfeed on Facebook?  Everyone knows what I'm talking about.  They're articles that start with "10 things you never knew about..." "You'll never guess what....." "25 signs that..." or the like.  Or articles that have totally misleading titles?  Like "Why Marriage Isn't For You," "I Cheated on My Husband," etc.  The misleading titled ones aren't too bad, but they still annoy me on my Newsfeed...

 

Well, I thought this article was going to be the same thing.  So I don't know why I pulled it up.  But this is actually a pretty cool article!  I'm all about making my future home super efficient and functional.  Check it out!

 

http://www.amazingoasis.org/2014/03/here-are-30-relatively-simple-things.html?m=1

CSI Night Watching

 

I was bored last night, and my fiance was out of town.  So what did I do?  I had an awesome night to myself while watching Netflix and reading a novel.  Perfect, chill Friday night!  I really like watching CSI shows, and I've never seen the NY season episodes.  So that's what I watched.  Keep in mind this was around 10:00 pm.  After watching it, I seriously scared myself sick!  I couldn't even shower without getting paranoid that someone was in my apartment ready to kill me when I got out!  I was so freaked out!  It's the first time one of these CSI shows have scared me that bad.  Goodness, that's the last time I watch that show so late...

My Devine Devotion

In honor of the blog lecture we had today, I want to feature one of my favorite blogs of all time!  I'm sure some of you have heard of Brad and Hailey Devine.  I discovered them a few years back when Hailey released this video of Brad coming home from his mission:

 

http://vimeo.com/31673669

 

Aren't they adorable?!  And I related even more to Hailey then because my missionary was in Brazil.  I just fell in love with this couple and their life!  Then they got engaged:

 

http://vimeo.com/33248704

 

Then married!

 

http://vimeo.com/43582451

 

Those videos still make me so happy!  Now both Hailey and Brad travel the world making videos for different companies and agencies around the world.  Best job ever!  And Hailey has a blog where she does giveaways and featured posts (just like Stacy Risenmay from class).  And now they're having a baby!!  If you haven't seen her blog before, then check it out now!  And you'll get the Devine devotion, just like me! :)

 

http://www.somethingdevineblog.com/

Welcome Baby

I've been incredibly blessed to work with the Welcome Baby program at United Way for my internship this semester.  It's such an amazing program, and I wanted to share a little bit about what we do to help first-time parents in Utah County.

It's essentially a free home visitation program.  A family can register for the visits or can be referred through a number of different ways.  We send a trained volunteer to their home and teach them about infant development, post pregnancy issues, parenting concerns, and anything else a first-time parent would have questions about!  We also have free weekly playgroups with other families in the community which allows parents and children to interact and build friendships.  We also teach free monthly parenting classes at the Health Department which are phenomenal.

We work really closely with the Help Me Grow program at United Way as well, and I love keeping updated with their blog to review what I can do for my future children to help promote their development.

If you or any of your friends might be interested in getting home visits along with learning about different resources and activities for their baby, check out the Welcome Baby website and see if it's something you'd like to do.  Like I said, it's an amazing program and I've seen it benefit so many parents' lives and increase their confidence as a parent.

Photoshop is FINALLY caught!!

I realize that this is essentially the same post as Dr. Coyne's, but I saw this article earlier today and really wanted to share it as well!  Apparently, there were a few mishaps on the Target website regarding Photoshop.  And after JUST having our lecture in class about sexualization of women and thin ideal body image, reading this article drove me crazy!!

 

First off, here's one of the sloppiest Photoshop jobs I've ever seen.  Take a look at her right armpit and her crotch.  Ridiculous!!

 

And here's another:

 

 

And the close-up of her crotch.  Oh, and look at her hip:

 

 

Seriously?!  Ugh this makes me really mad!  Girls compare their bodies to these fake legs and obsess with having an unrealistic, perfect body.  So frustrating!  I agree with Dr. Coyne, I'm just glad the media is making a big fuss about these images and making them known.



Best "Frozen" Cover Yet

Ok, so I guess this really isn't considered a cover.  They're just lip syncing.  But still, this is my favorite "Frozen" performance I've seen!  It's adorable!  Usually when people do "Frozen" covers, they sing "Let It Go."  But here's a cute couple singing to "Love is an Open Door."  It's probably the cutest song in the movie!  My roommate showed me this video over the weekend, and it's just perfect!  Enjoy!

 



Thin Ideal Awareness

So here I am, lounging on my Love Sac and doing my media chapter reading while watching the WCC tournament final with BYU and Gonzaga.  Such a good time, right?  When out of the blue, two girls in their skanky bikinis show up on my TV screen!  It turns out it was a Corona commercial.  But it was one of the most sexualized commercials I've ever seen of women and the thin ideal.  I was shocked, so I immediately wanted to write about it haha!  I know I focused my last post on Miss Representation, but I just want to reiterate the importance of being aware of this sexualization of men and women.  It's literally everywhere.  I'm glad that this class and the past few lectures have increased my awareness of this issue.

Thoughts after "Miss Representation"

After watching "Miss Representation" in class on Wednesday, I came home and actually looked up some more information about the video and its director/narrator.  For the most part, it got positive reviews.  The video won several awards as well, which I thought was great!  I even looked up some general conference talked addressing the topic of misrepresenting women.  And I found this amazing talk by Jeffrey R. Holland.  It's called "To Young Women."  Starting at 8:05, his talk is directly relevant to the material presenting in the "Miss Representation" video.  Listen to the last half of Elder Holland's talk:

 

 

What'd you think?  Isn't he incredible?!  He speaks so plainly and simply.  I have a testimony of the divine worth and nature of women in God's plan.  We are all different, but that's what helps the kingdom of God grow and reach the whole earth!  Women can be a powerful and useful tool in God's hands.  We are definitely nurturers as well as leaders and examples in the Church.

 

Oh, and Happy International Women's Day!

Rainy Mood

I really loved our music lecture back in the beginning of February.  One of my favorite findings Dr. Coyne shared was that listening to ANY music or noise is better than silence.  I think this is so true.  This semester, I've started taking my midterms in the music room in the testing center.  And I feel a lot less stressed and anxious while I'm taking it.  It's amazing.  And I've always done my homework to Classical music or rain noise.  I can't study in silence.  Pandora is great!  I have a "Classical Music" radio and a "Solo Piano" radio that are really nice.  Then I have a website that I love where I play my rain noise:

 

http://www.rainymood.com/

 

If any of you are anything like me and like to study to music or rain noise, check these stations and the website out!

The Amazing Race

 

In dedication to our lecture in class today, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite reality TV shows, The Amazing Race!  I do realize that my very last post was about one of my other favorite series, Downton Abbey.  But I promise I do more than rave about TV shows, so visit my blog again!

 

I love this show.  I've watched almost every season since I was in junior high.  I get so thrilled by the drama and challenges and travel throughout the episodes!  It's legitimately on my bucket list to be on The Amazing Race with my husband someday, so he better prepare himself. 

 

The Amazing Race is a race around the world.  The season starts with 11 pairs.  In each leg of the race, teams need to complete "Road Blocks," "Detours," and other challenging tasks related to the culture of the country they're in.  The teams get to see and experience some pretty incredible things while they compete!  For example, in the episode I watched today (Season 24, Episode 1), teams started in LA and flew to China where they got to experience China's tallest tower, the longest street of wedding dress shops, and the stadium where the Beijing Olympics opening and closing ceremonies were!  And that's just one leg!  Ah it would be such an awesome experience to be a team on this show!

 

And just so you all know, the 24th season (the All Stars season!) just started this past Sunday.  So if you've never seen this show, now's your chance!  And know that if you need anyone to talk about episodes with, I'll be available.  Enjoy!

My Emotional Release

I'm so glad this week is finally over.  It's been a stressful week full of both tears and smiles.  I've been taking more naps this week and trying to relax my mind and just reboot more often. 

 

This week, I'm so grateful for my favorite show, Downton Abbey!  It's been a lifesaver, or at least keeping me sane.  I can immerse myself into their world and into their drama, and I momentarily forget about the struggles I'm facing in my life.  I love the story.  I love the romance.  I love their relationships.  I love the time period.  I love everything about Downton Abbey.

 

I owe the conquer of this week to my wonderful fiancé and Downton Abbey.  Bring on Monday.

His Grace is Sufficient

In my Pearl of Great Price class today, we were discussing Moses 6, specifically Enoch and his teachings.  We briefly talked about how the Atonement works as Enoch taught.  This devotional by Brad Wilcox kept playing in my head throughout the discussion.  It's one of my favorite devotional talks!  If you haven't heard it, you need to!

 



Thank You, Mom. And Dad.

I'm sure most of you have noticed that during the Olympics, P&G comes out with commercials thanking moms for their sacrifice and dedication.  Here's one for the Sochi Olympics:

They're really touching!  I get chills literally every time when I watch these commercials.

But in the back of my head, I've always wondered why they don't publicly thank dads for all their hard work too.  In these P&G commercials, dads are definitely under the radar.  Then Zions Bank came along.  Check out their commercial for Sochi:

What are your thoughts?

Darkness and Sadness Will Not Endure

I gave a talk in church two weeks ago about overcoming trials and how to respond to life's difficult circumstances.  Here's a quote by Elder Hales that illustrates perfectly what our attitude should be during trials:

I have come to understand how useless it is to dwell on the "whys," "what ifs," and "if onlys" for which there likely will be given no answers in mortality.  To receive the Lord's comfort, we must exercise faith.  The questions "Why me?" "Why our family?" "Why now?" are usually unanswerable questions.  These questions detract from our spirituality and can destroy our faith.  We need to spend our time and energy building our faith by turning to the Lord and asking for strength to overcome the pains and trials of this world and to endure to the end for greater understanding.

 

I love that quote.  It's more meaningful to me because I gave this talk at a critical time in my life.  My grandma was diagnosed with cancer last year, and her health has been declining rapidly in the past few months.  My grandpa (the same grandma's husband) had a stroke last week and will be in the hospital for a month for physical therapy, trying to learn how to eat again and move any part of the left side of his body.  My supervisor at work passed away last week due to lung cancer and a heart tumor.  And then Ashleigh. 

 

For whatever reason, I'm experiencing a lot of heartache and sorrow right now.  In our lives we will have our dark days, but because of Jesus Christ we can have hope in overcoming our trials and ultimately returning to live with our Heavenly Father.

 

In class today, Dr. Coyne shared a quote from the Ensign that really touched me.  And I found a Mormon Message based off that same talk by Elder Wirthlin.  It's an amazing, uplifting message.  May we all have the faith and strength to turn to Christ in our heartaches and hardships.  And remember, darkness and sadness will not endure.

 

Going for Gold

Well, here's to my next two weeks.

 

I'm completely enthralled with the Olympics--summer or winter.  When I was younger and going to school, I would come home and sit in the family room with my family and watch the Olympics all afternoon into the night.  It was a bonding experience for us.  We get emotionally attached to all of the US athletes, I swear!  They become family by the time the Olympics are over. 

 

While I was making dinner today, I had KSL on in the background, and they were featuring different stories like "History of Sochi" and "Road to Sochi."  Man, it got me so pumped up!  I'm so ready for these Olympics!  I even downloaded the NBC Olympics app for my phone to get updates throughout the day.  I'm ready!

 

Just in case any of you are as obsessed as I am, this will keep you busy:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

Mormonads

I really loved our lecture and discussion yesterday about advertising.  And I got thinking of some of my favorite Mormonads in the past.  This is one that I had hanging in my room for as long as I can remember:

 

 

Oh, and this one:

 

 

I had a lot of fun looking through the Mormonads website and being reminded of those really popular posters (https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/categories/mormonads?lang=eng).  I think that Mormonads are an effective and memorable way for kids, as well as adults, by providing us a simple reminder of what's important and what our priorities need to be.

 

What are some of your favorites?

Getting Informed

 

So I've been sitting in the Kennedy Center for the past two and a half hours doing some reading for classes (the black couches are the best).  And for anyone who's been in the Kennedy Center before, you've notice the news is constantly playing.  Today it's CNN.  Here have been the top stories today: the Georgia governor apologized for not responding well to a recent Atlanta storm; the Boston Marathon bomber may receive a death penalty; because the petition to deport Justin Bieber has received over 100K signatures, the White House must respond; the Super Bowl this Sunday is a big deal.

 

I hardly watch the news.  To be honest, I'm not that interested in politics and governments which I feel consumes most of the news time.  But today, I was reminded how important it is to be informed in one way or another.

I'm a Hayniac!

Ok guys, time for a confession.  I'm a country music girl through and through, I'm so crazy for Hunter Hayes!  And for those who don't know who he is, check him out.  He writes all his songs, which is pretty cool.  But the coolest thing about him is that he performs EVERY instrument and EVERY part on his album!  He plays over 30 instruments on his album alone!  Talk about a talented guy!  And I can seriously listen to his album for days.  I discovered him when I found the song, "Wanted."  I'm sure a lot of you have heard it before.  It melts my heart.  Every time!  I can't stop smiling when I hear those lyrics.  Ah they're so good!  Then there's "I Want Crazy."  Man, he did it again!  That song is my jam.  When I'm alone driving in my car, that song is blasting 9 out of 10 times.  It's such a happy love song!  His debut CD, as well as his Encore CD, are must-haves in my car.  Mmm I just love him.

 

And then, Facebook decides to surprise me and tell me he has a new single!  Yay!  This one isn't quite my usual style (lovey, adorable, heart-melting), but this song is really, really good.  Even if you're not into country music, you'll like it.  It's a very powerful song with great lyrics.  What do you guys think?

 

What would I do without you, Google?

I am so grateful for Google!  For countless reasons!  There were a few moments today when I was especially thankful:

1)  Google Maps.  My fiancé drove to Midvale today for an interview, and he had brought his laptop to use for directions.  I got a call from him explaining that his computer died and he lost the directions to the interview.  So I pulled up Google on my Android, found the facility and address, and gave him directions.  I'm grateful for Google's convenience and for its easy navigation.

2)  Google Docs.  Need I say more as a college student?  They are so awesome for study groups, study guides, group projects, and so much more.  Again, this feature from Google makes studying and college life a lot more convenient and simple.

3)  Google Doodles.  There wasn't a Doodle today, but I love when there is!  Especially the ones that are interactive.  I can be so easily entertained with those Doodles and they help brighten my searching experience.

Thanks for everything today, Google!

I Finally Heard the Call

I did it.  I finally watched Duck Dynasty.  Jumped on the bandwagon!  Over the long weekend, my fiancé and I took a road trip up to Meridian, Idaho to visit some extended family.  And over Thanksgiving break, he and his family watched this constantly.  The show seemed weird and didn't appeal to me at all.  But when he asked me to give it a chance, I agreed.  Just because I love him.  And you know what?  I laughed pretty dang hard!  Those men and their relationships with each other are hilarious.  And the best part is that I have never seen my fiancé laugh as hard as he did when we watched this show.  It was so entertaining. 

I'm not going to be a true follower of this program.  Aside from how everything seemed to be staged and planned, the show was great.  It made me laugh, and I just can't help staring at their beards.  Their morals and values represent pure patriotism and what it means to be American.  I liked the fact that every episode ended with a family prayer and dinner.  I believe the Robertsons' values are just what some people need to be reminded of.  Family is everything.  And these folks understand that. 

I'm a fan.

Game Over

What can be more fun than spontaneous dates with your fiancé?  Almost nothing!  Last Saturday night, we went to dinner and the BYU basketball game.  Afterward, we wanted to go to the dollar theater.  The only good movie that even sounded interesting was Ender's Game.  I've never read the book.  Scratch that, I've never finished the book (I started it a couple summers ago and couldn't get past page 30).  Because I wasn't super interested in the book, I didn't know how I'd like this movie.

But I did!  I think my favorite part about it was the graphics and special effects.  I can't help but think this was the perfect time to make this movie in terms of programming and effects.  They pulled off the 2086 world perfectly.  It wouldn't have seemed as real had they made the movie any other time.  I also thought the actors were brilliant.  Little Ender.  Wow, his intensity and emotions drew me in.  I consider myself a very empathetic person, so I was hooked on his emotions right away.  Harrison Ford can literally pull off any role he plays.  He was so perfect for the Captain.  And Viola Davis.  And Abigail Breslin.  Man, all these Academy Award actors helped the movie a ton!

My only critique is timing.  The bulk of the movie takes place when Ender is in commander school.  When the movie finished, I felt like he was in school for a matter of days, or even hours, and then he's expected to become a commander of the entire fleet.  I don't know how they could've made it any better, but I just felt rushed.

Overall, great movie with incredible effects!  I'd say it's worth the $1.25.

Seminoles > Tigers

Here goes my first post.

I'd say I'm a pretty decent football fan.  It may be the cheerleader genes and experience in me, but I get sucked into the competition and rivalry of it all.  This is especially true when it comes to BYU football.  College football in general.  When I'm watching a football game where I don't have any preference for any team playing, I quickly pick one right at the beginning of the game and root for them.  Not necessarily the most strategic or logical way of doing it, but it works for me.

This was the case this past Monday night.  My fiancé and I decided to have our FHE at The Wall and watch the BCS Championship.  His idea.  But I agreed quickly.  Sounds like a fun-filled Monday night.  I quickly noticed that I was the only girl there actively watching the game.  Everyone else was, of course, fanatic boys cheering against each other of who would win the game.  Quite entertaining to watch.  As a part of my usual routine, I quickly picked Florida State as my team.  Mostly because I was kind of sick of hearing Auburn's name shouting across the room.  And my fiancé was rooting for Florida State.  So I did too.

The game was so exciting!  Florida State played an embarrassing first half, and I was sure that Auburn would win it..  But to my surprise, the Seminoles pulled through and beat the Auburn Tigers 34--31.  Such a fun championship game!  The atmosphere at The Wall was so exciting and energetic, and I loved it.  The other competitive boys, the continual shouting to the players, the constant yelling over the karaoke night, and having my team win the championship made for an exciting night of a media- and advertisement-filled night.