How do you think you went with Assignment 2?

Putting BCM110’s Assignment 2 was a struggle. Researching and putting together the assignment took me longer than usual because I was extremely unmotivated to even begin. As I have never heard of or written an annotated bibliography, I was very unsure of what I was doing and if what I’ve done is even correct. Once I was past reading and researching and had completed my annotated bibliography, I found that I enjoyed creating the rest of the report. Overall I feel like I have completed a decent job. I have taken the guide on how to construct an annotated bibliography to complete the task.

What points were difficult or easy?

I truly did not like writing the annotated bibliography. I find it quite confusing especially when we also have to construct a reference list. Finding motivation to write a report in a structure I’ve not use before was both frustrating and un-motivating. I would have much preferred to write an essay because I don’t feel as though I have written enough especially with the 1000 word limit. The only thing that was easy to do was reaching the 1000 word limit but I would have preferred a slightly larger limit.

What do you believe you’ll do for your presentation, based on the sources you’ve already analysed?

I believe I will end up creating a slideshow type of video presentation and uploading it to Youtube. That way others who may want to look into the topic I’ve studied are able to watch the video and use the sources I referenced to conduct their own research or report. My sources had quite a few graphs and tables to show their findings which I may include in my presentation and hence why a video presentation will be the simplest and most effective format to present my research.

Selena Gomez has been in the spotlight for years, with many of her fans having watched her develop into the woman she is today. Gomez uses her battle with lupus to inform others on the seriousness of lupus.

Is this a cause worth following? Is the celebrity the most ideal to promote this cause? Why/Why not?

This is a cause that is worth following. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects multiple organ systems in the body. The cause of lupus is yet to be understood but is thought to be multifactorial, meaning the disease could be dependent on a number of different factors (Roberts 2015, p. 22). Lupus affects 1.5 million Americans and a minimum of 5 million people worldwide, with 90% of those affected being women (Lupus Foundation of America). Lupus is a disease with many of its symptoms resembling other diseases making it difficult to diagnose straight away. The disease does not have constant symptoms, it flares up. One day you may feel fine but the next you’re in pain and unable to move. On average it can take up to 6 years to fully diagnose from the initial time you notice symptoms.

Selena Gomez is a perfect celebrity to promote the cause as she has been directly affected by the disease. Gomez was diagnosed with lupus back in 2015 and due to complications, needed a kidney transplant in 2017. As a female, Gomez becomes an even better candidate to promote the cause. The disease has caused her joint pain and at times has left her unable to complete simple daily tasks.

On the 14th of September 2017, Gomez announced her kidney transplant to her then 126 million fans on Instagram. In the caption for the post announcing her transplant, she linked lupus research to allow her fans to educate themselves on lupus. This sparked a large outpour of fans searching the terms “What is lupus?” into Google. The first time Google saw a large rise in its search engine for “what is lupus?” was back in 2015 when Gomez announced her diagnosis on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The second time was September of 2016 after her interview with People Magazine and the third time being the week after announcing her kidney transplant. The graph below (Rahmani, G, 2017) shows the search pattern for the term “what is lupus?” between the years of 2012-2017.

This shows us how perfect of a celebrity Gomez is to speak about the cause. She has one of the largest followings on Instagram with a total of 175 million followers making her the 3rd most followed person on Instagram in 2020 having dropped from 1st in 2018. Due to her large fan following, she is able to promote awareness of the disease much quicker than other celebrities with smaller fan followings.

References

Lupus Foundation of America, 2016, “Lupus facts and statistics”, Lupus Foundation of America viewed 4th of May 2020, https://www.lupus.org/resources/lupus-facts-and-statistics

Rahmani, G. 2018, ‘Selena Gomez, lupus and the impact of celebrity health disclosure on public awareness’, Lupus, 27(6), pp. 1045–1046. doi: 10.1177/0961203317742714.

Roberts, L, A 2015, “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: An Update on Treat-to-Target”, Journal of the American Academy of PAs, vol 28, issue 9, pg 22-28, https://journals.lww.com/jaapa/FullText/2015/09000/Systemic_lupus_erythematosus__An_update_on.4.aspx

Today Show USA 2017, “Selena Gomez’s Extended Interview With Savannah Guthrie About Her Kidney Transplant TODAY”, online video, 31st October, TODAY SHOW USA, viewed 4th of May 2020,

The Public Sphere is generally thought of as the social space in which different opinions are expressed, problems of general concern are discussed, and collective solutions are developed communicatively (Oxford Bibliographies).

“By ‘Public Sphere’ we mean first of all a domain of our social life in which such a thing as public opinion can be formed.”- Jurgen Habermas

Where is your public sphere?

The quote above mentioned our ‘social life’, a concept I thought I lacked because I don’t really “go out”. Even though I don’t “go out” and socialise with people face to face, my social life is online and mainly on my phone or my laptop. I love social media and therefore I spend majority of my time on there. Watching videos, commenting, learning new skills, making content, it doesn’t matter what it is that I’m doing, I’m always on it! To ask me where my public sphere is, the only answer I feel is most accurate to give is- online.

How does it operate?

My online public sphere operates differently depending on the online/social media platform I’m on. My favourites are Youtube and Instagram. I love them both for the same reasons. I can communicate with others in comment sections of posts or the comments on my own posts, I love creating my own video content which I feel has helped me build my confidence and I love how there is always something that I can learn or something to keep me entertained. Considering our current circumstances, these platforms are great for anyone to use!

What are the issues that come up?

Privacy is something that people may have an issue with as they may want to keep their lives private. Another issue, the more obvious one, technical difficulty or lack of internet or WIFI. Although these may seem obvious, they are a major issue that prevents millions of people from being a pert of this public sphere. Of course in order to use the internet or WIFI, a device is crucial. Without it is impossible to be part of this particular public sphere.

Who is included (and excluded)?

Anyone who chooses to be part of the online public sphere is included and anyone who chooses to stay away is simply choosing to be excluded. 18 million Australians currently have at least one active social media account (Talkwalker Blog, 2019). This shows us that more Australians choose to be part of the online public sphere.

What role does ‘the media’ play in all of this?

My public sphere can also act as ‘the media’ as long as I choose to follow the accounts or I actively search for the media accounts. I prefer to filter my public sphere and keep clear from traditional media and keep my public sphere as my happy place.

-Olivia

References

Dan, 2019, “Social Media Statistics in Australia”, Talkwalker, [online], 31 July, viewed 20th April 2020, https://www.talkwalker.com/blog/social-media-statistics-australia

Freudenthaler, R. , Wessler, H. , 2018, “Public Sphere”, Oxford Bibliographies, [online], 11 January, viewed 19th of April 2020, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756841/obo-9780199756841-0030.xml

Thornham, S. , Bassett, C. , Marris, P. , 2009, Media Theories: A reader (Chapter 5- The Public Sphere Jurgen Habermas), Edinburgh University Press, [online], viewed 19th of April 2020, https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/stable/10.3366/j.ctvxcrv1h.9?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=the&searchText=public&searchText=sphere&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dthe%2Bpublic%2Bsphere%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_SYC-5152%2Ftest&refreqid=search%3Af00a78507b80235eac4db8a701e4e59f&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

We interpret images differently simply because we use our past experiences to shape our future interpretations. When I interpret things I tend to be literal in my understanding of what is trying to be conveyed. In terms of semiotics I denote what is trying to be conveyed whereas others may look at the image and connote. In saying that, my interpretation is neither correct or horribly incorrect, it’s simply MY interpretation. Consider the image below.

By looking at the image above my first denotation is that mum life is glamourous. This is simply without me reading the image. Of course having seen family and friends with babies and children and having heard all their horror stories, I know that motherhood is not glamorous. It may have its glamorous moments but it is not entirely as the image depicts. Which leads me to my second denotation of the image- motherhood is a choice and once made, you have committed yourself to it.

Conducting my own research I discovered that neither of my initial denotations were what the advertiser- Equinox intended their audience to have.

Equinox is an American fitness company with gyms scattered throughout the U.S. They pride themselves on their “innovative, results-orientated training techniques” (Equinox 2020) . Having learnt this, the slogan on the image “It’s not fitness, It’s life” makes more sense to me. Their gyms teach you how to better improve your life through fitness training.

This advertisement’s denotation (the literal meaning) may seem obvious to some. It is advertising breastfeeding in public in the aim to show audiences of the ad that breastfeeding is normal. But not everything is a literal as it appears. The image connotes that their gyms support breastfeeding women as they understand the commitment of breastfeeding children and the commitment needed for gyms. Hence they are saying that they support the women who breastfeed and want to still be able to participate at their gyms.

Many people have many opinions on the topic of breastfeeding in public, with many women shaming other women who breastfeed in public today. Do you support what you see? Are you completely against the topic? Do you understand or receive the encoded message?Do you feel as though this advertisement effectively encodes their message? Or do you receive (decode) a completely different one?

Personally I decode very differently from what the intended message is meant to be as I stated earlier in the post. But this does not mean I am wrong. It means that the advertiser and in this instance, (in my opinion as I did not decode the message they intended) Equinox, has not effectively encoded their message in their advertisement.

-Olivia

References

Falzone, D 2016, ‘Equinox milking controversy with breastfeeding ad?’ Fox News, January 5th viewed March 23rd 2020, <https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/equinox-milking-controversy-with-breastfeeding-ad >

Curtis, R, 2016, ‘Luxury US gym Equinox uses images of a breastfeeding woman in ad campaign, “Commit to something.” MamaMia , April 19th, viewed March 23rd 2020 <https://www.mamamia.com.au/equinox-gym-commercial&gt;

Chandler, D 2017, ‘Semiotics for Beginners’ May 7th viewed March 23rd 2020,<http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem06.html?LMCL=DEsqXA&LMCL=Judqsf>