For this summative, we learned about the bias that exists in medias. As the unit is coming to an end, we worked on a summative that is combined by two different parts that are according to bias in medias. For part 1, we are supposed to analyze 1 print ad, 1 commercial, 1 song and 1 tv show. In these analysis, we identified the bias and showed the effects it has on society. For part 2, we are supposed to create a product that is able to demonstrate one kind of bias that exists in the world and the impact it has on society. These are the two parts of my summative:

  • Part one

 

  • Part two

For this summative, Britney and I created a poster that demonstrates bias over brands. In this poster, there is a phone with a broken screen but was produced by a famous brand, many hands below the phone that show many people wanted the phone even it has a broken screen. Lastly, there are two captions that are the most eye catchy among everything on this poster placed on the sides and the bottom, which are “TOP BRAND = BEST QUALITY?” and “REPUTATION?”.

Bias over brands exists in every aspect in our daily lives, the shoes we wear, the clothes we wear, the phone we have, and even more. “Oh! You got an iPhone 7!”, “Oh! You’re wearing Jordan 31!” The point is, do these brands really have a good quality? Or is it popular just because of its name? In this poster, we are trying to convey that people buy the product with a more famous brand, instead of putting its actual quality into consideration, because they value reputation more than the usefulness of the product. In order to show this, we drew a broken screen with a fancy pretty pineapple sign in the middle. The pineapple sign indicates a top famous brand, but the cracks on it show that it doesn’t have a good quality. However, the hands under the phone show that many people wanted it because of the popularity of the brand. As a result, we printed our caption in a bold, eye catchy font and painted it with bright red and green, to represent how this kind of bias is affecting the choice of the society. For the caption painted in red “TOP BRAND = BEST QUALITY?”, we are trying to tell people that a top famous brand doesn’t usually have the best quality. We should buy the product that has a good quality, instead of a good brand, telling the society that quality over brands, not brands over quality. Secondly, for the second caption, “REPUTATION?”, we are trying to show that people buy the product with a better, more famous brand to remain their reputation. We are trying to show the other side of the product that the product makers are not willing to show the customers, telling the customers that your reputation is less important than the quality of the product. By showing these things on the poster, we hope people can understand how bias over brands exists in the world.

Besides understanding how bias over brands exist in the world and how it affects the choice of the society, how should we stop it? Firstly, we have to be more open minded about what we have. We have to understand that having a product with a good quality is way more necessary than having a product with a good brand but probably not in a good quality. Top brand doesn’t equal to best quality. And buying a product just because it’s made by a famous brand to maintain your reputation is foolish. Compared to quality, reputation isn’t that important anymore. People around you got the same product as you but with a better brand, so what? As a result, we have to be more open minded about what we have and understand that reputation isn’t that important. Secondly, we have to carefully select the product we want before buying it and don’t be affected by others, no matter if it’s the people around you or the seller. To carefully select the product we want, which is the same as telling people to put the quality of the product into consideration, instead of mindlessly following fashion. Thirdly, don’t be anxious to buy the newest, best product. As you try different brands, you will find out more about each brand, and eventually discovering the one that is the most suitable for you. The best brand might be visually appealing to everyone around you, but is it suitable for you? Instead of buying the product made by the best brand, buy a product that is suitable for you!