Clearing the Stereotypes Through Public Speaking from our Perspective

“Can I see a show of hands from anyone here that didn’t make a mistake or do something they regretted at 22.”

In our day and age public speaking through videos such as TED talks, or interview shows, or even news stories, has become a forum. These videos provide a way for celebrities or those who are in the public eye to share their stories and clear the air from gossip, fake news, and lies the public has created. Monica Lewinsky is a perfect example of this. After her scandal leaked in 1998, the public took action in publicly humiliating her through the internet and newspapers. After staying out of the public eye for almost a decade, she returned, speaking out about her mistakes and giving herself a platform to share not only her stories, but the stories of others who had to bare humiliation exactly as she did.

     Although it it is brave for those like Lewinsky to speak out, questions can arise. Some wonder just how affect this is for the public or if it is affective only to that of there person speaking. In this blogpost we will give our personal opinions on the pros and cons of these thoughts.

What awareness are these public speakings and announcements really bringing to the public?

Pros: In the case of Lewinsky TED talk she was able to use this platform as a way to bring awareness to the public on just how hurtful the newspaper articles, and internet posts about her personal life were to her and how they directly affected her lifestyle. Lewinsky mentioned in this speech that her mother was often afraid of leaving her alone to shower, or scared to let her leave her home. For the public to hear this can be extremely eye opening. Many when they hurt those on the internet, especially celebrities, they don’t often realize that there is a person behind the screen that they are affecting. Lewinsky in this TED talk brings up the case of a college freshman who was secretly webcamed by his roommate while being intimate with another man. Just like in Lewinsky’s case, the internet took immediate notice to this case, ridiculing the student and shaming him publicly. The importance of this case is that this student took his life at the age of only 18 years old. The fact that Lewinsky spoke out, not only about her personal experience in the public eye, but about Tyler’s death, creates room for change and awareness of what is going on behind the scenes of the internet, an important lesson many still need to learn.

Cons: Although many of these celebrity speeches or interviews have brought light to important subjects, such as cyberbullying, some have only made more of a public platform for themselves. It is hard sometimes to distinguish between whether by speaking out they are trying to better society or better their personal reputation. One example of this was that of The Streisand Effect. In this case Barbra Streisand was trying to get pictures of her home that were taken without her knowledge off the internet for privacy. Taking this case all the way to court, the internet and public soon became aware and it caused for both her and her home to get even more attention and publicity than before. These examples show that although celebrities and those in the public eye, try to recompense for wrongdoings or being exposed to the public, many times it just causes more of an issue for them in the long run.

Questions we leave for you to think about next time you see a tabloid, or read an article about a celebrity scandal:

1. What is the individual doing to better themselves after this instance?
2. What are the public and those on the internet saying about this individual and why?
3. Has the individual spoken out about their case to the public? If so what did they address or platform their speech around?
4. What stance do you take? Do you believe the individual choosing to speak out on behalf of themselves help them, or do you think silence is sometimes the best answer?

E-T-H-I-C-S ETHICS! (Super Bowl addition)

Commercial Break Timeline of the Super Bowl

Commercial Controversy

ETHICAL ISSUES OF THE SUPER BOWL DAY: I interviewed my friend and neighbor, Pat. He is an avid Eagles fan and has been his whole life. I asked him about a few ethical issues, yet I was most interested in what he had to say about the post game “celebrations”, is they were very violent, yet some people tried to justify their actions.

ETHICAL ISSUES OF THE SUPER BOWL DAY: After the Super Bowl was over I interviewed my roommate Caroline O’Hea on her view of the commercials that took place during the game. She had a great insight on the many ethical issues the commercials presented and opened my eyes to information or ideas I hadn’t thought about when watching.

Super Bowl Game

KATHERINE’S VIDEO — END OF GAME: The fourth quarter of Super Bowl LLI had fans everywhere on the edge of their seats. With one minute left in the game, Eagles Kicker Jake Elliott completes a 46 yard long field goal to secure the Philadelphia win. For the first time in Eagles history, the Super Bowl would be the home to the City of Brotherly Love.

 

Super Bowl Celebration

The city turns green as the 2017-18 Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl on Sunday February 4, 2018.

 

 

Parade Celebration

At 6:00 am, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway begins to fill with “E-A-G-L-E-S” chants as fans wait for the Super Bowl Champs parade to begin at 11:00 am.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Queens “We Are the Champions” was heard throughout the streets of Philadelphia as millions sung along in excitement for the Super Bowl champions.

 

 

Controversies in Super Bowl Ads

The Groupon Tibet Ad

This ad aired during the 2011 Super Bowl. While the ad is only a brief thirty seconds, it does not take long for the viewers to question, “Wait, did they really just say that?” The ad features Timothy Hutton’s voice over videos of Tibet. He explains It’s a beautiful place, but their culture is in big trouble. Rather than the commercial proceeding to tell viewers how they can help Tibet, Hutton announces that they “still whip up an amazing fish curry.” Groupon offers discounts, as consumers are getting “$30 worth of Tibetan food for only $15” at a Tibetan restaurant in Chicago. The ad was slammed for being insensitive, and just for Groupon’s profit. However, I think the ethical question lies in the way the ad was presented. Groupon’s intention was not shown in the ad. They allegedly wanted it to be a parody of Public Service Announcements featuring celebrities, says CEO Andrew Mason. It just seemed as though they wanted consumers to save their money, ultimately using their service. There was quite a lack of transparency in their message, and it took Groupon seven years to put out another Super Bowl ad. Yikes. Why didn’t Groupon make it more apparent that their plan was to raise money for Tibet’s recovery?

 

The 84 Lumber Ad

84 Lumber is a building material company that got a lot of attention from their super bowl ad. In the ad there is a visual of the highly debated wall brought up by Donald Trump. The scene in the ad is a mother and daughter opening big doors in the wall and crossing the border from Mexico to the United States. The ad raised controversy because some people were very triggered and insulted by it and others thought it was inappropriate and unnecessary because this is a legitimate conversation in the country right now and a sensitive subject, it is too soon to glorify the wall or make a commercial about it. The ad was then not allowed to be aired.

 

The Veterans Ad

The National Football League denied the recent submission of a Super Bowl ad by the AMVET. This proposal depicted a veteran holding an American Flag, displaying the hash tag #PleaseStand as a movement to stand during the National Anthem. The recent controversy over standing or kneeling during the National Anthem before professional games has swept the nation this past season and has caused debate over whether the ad should be displayed. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy released a statement that the NFL games were never a place for political statements. This response elicited fans to question their support for American war heroes versus denying veterans to share their right to stand for the anthem. How did a game of football become political? Advertisements sweep Sunday night television and the Super Bowl is no exception. Super Bowl LII will be filled with food, rivals, fans, halftime shows, and commercials viewed by millions. With the hundreds of advertisements and commercials, whom will you be rooting for – the Eagles, Patriots, the NFL’s decision to deny political tags or the Veterans silenced?

Top 10 ways to keep an open mind when reading news and social media:

In our constantly evolving world logging in, reading up on, and following news as well as media is extremely important. However, when doing this we need to constantly be reminded on how to keep an open mind in order to learn more about the world around us. Here are 10 ways that we believe will better help you approach the internet and news forms in your daily life

1.  Make sure the news you’re reading is credible!

Fake news has recently been making major headlines due to bloggers and journalists publishing news that has been blatantly false. Because of this it is important to make sure that the news and social media that you are viewing is in fact credible and true. Ways to do this are by checking what web site its coming from, as well as who the wrote or published it. This may seem simple but many of us tend to get caught in the traps of fake news.

2. Form your own opinions first if you are working to broaden your beliefs!

If you want to work towards knowing more about the topics you are passionate about then form your opinions before and stand strong besides them. It’s always a good idea to be more informed, especially when you have strong feelings about a subject, or topic that can typically be controversial. By doing this you will not only be more informed, but you will have even more of a colorful perspectives on a subject or topic of discussion you had only thought about in black and white.

3. “Think Before You Speak,” ….. maybe “Think Before You Read”
     Headlines, tweets, Instagram captions and filters, and Facebook statuses all fill your head before 8am. Before you open up that notification of Becky’s new hair cut and quickly judge it based on one picture, last night’s theme for your local frat party, or the upcoming political agenda of education, stop, sip that coffee, and understand that screen isn’t the full picture. Think, is this a primary or secondary source? Is the person discussed able to state their opinion? Do you know the antecedent of these actions? If you can answer these questions, like and comment away with an informed view. And if you aren’t, just ask! Let’s think before we read these posts and critically ask ourselves those who, what, where, when, why, and how questions?

4. Don’t Just Read, React!
     With increasing likes and follows, the world is at our fingertips. With this limitless knowledge, use it! Take a look at the headline report notification from the news and inform yourself on the decisions that are affecting our society. The best news is well….informed news. By reading more articles, you are engaging in the community. See a video on an upcoming trial gone viral? Don’t just sit back and assume everyone is fighting for the victim, stand up and critically take a stance. Who know’s, your professors and friends just might be impressed by all of this knowledge.

5. Challenge yourself.

     Take a look at some sources that you would not normally click on. Because we are up with media biases, it can be a good idea to take other outlets into account. If you’re reading a news story, make sure you get a few different angles. This allows us to avoid the hostile media phenomenon, as it will make it easier to form your own opinions with lots of information.

6. Talk to your friends.

     Your friends can offer you new perspectives and maybe even change your opinion on something you were unsure of. Although you might not agree on things at first, with a bit of discussion, you might come to find some common ground. Reading articles from different sources will work well with this step, as your favorite place for news might differ from your friend’s.

7. Remember that everything isn’t always as it seems.

     A constant thing to keep in mind is that what is portrayed on social media is not always real life. Social media is often an exaggeration of what goes on in a person’s day to day life. You should take things with a grain of salt, because someone’s intention can also be misinterpreted. Because we are not able to hear someone’s tone of a statement, or sometimes even the context, we don’t always have all of the necessary information to make an ethical judgement on what’s in front of us. Social media is not always a credible source for information.

8. Know your audience!

     When posting something on social media it is important to be aware of your audience, which is potentially everyone. With technology these days, your posts are not only limited to your followers, people have the power to save, screenshot, send, share, and much more with whatever you post on the internet.

9. Gain new perspective.

It is so easy to only read and look at posts that interest you and coincide with your opinions. For instance, with politics, it is so easy to only read democratic articles as a democrat and republican articles as a republican. You should try to break out of your comfort zone and try to be influenced by other opinions, in a positive way. Learning to embrace everyone and their opinions is a great opportunity that social media and news outlets offer.

10. Overall, embrace it!

     Social media has so much to offer and can really impact today’s society in such negative ways. It is important to use it in the best way possible, knowing that it is a great way to learn and share. Social media should not be used to bring others down or as a way to hide. It should be used in a way to embrace ourselves and one and other.

 

Lets Talk Ethics