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Media & Social Change Conference: An Interview with Shannon Ward

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Shannon Ward
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Mara Flanagan
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Chatham chapter.

 

Dozens of Chatham students presented original research at the 2013 Chatham University Media & Social Change Conference. With Sarah Ellis, Lucen Li and Katie Maloney, HC Chatham News/Lifestyle Writer Shannon Ward presented, “‘We Can Do It!’: The Impact of Rosie the Riveter.” 
 
Here, Shannon Ward tells us how an era known for its strict censorship and high moral values still produced some of the most shocking media of the last century.
 
 
 
What was the focus of your group project? What interested you in the topic?
 
For our final project, my Media and Society (COM106) class was asked to research some aspect of culture, past or present, where media had a large effect in shaping social events and public opinion. One of the listed suggestions was World War II advertisements, so our group specifically decided to look at Rosie the Riveter and the post-war “Back to the Kitchen!” campaign ads. We divided up the work into four categories: the history of Rosie, the feminist/antifeminist view of the Rosie the Riveter Campaign, the way that men and women reacted to Rosie, and the media’s counter campaign that encouraged women back into their pre-war roles in the domestic sphere. My research was based around the counter campaign. Overall, the project was designed to examine the way that advertisements shaped social opinion towards women in the World War II era—both how society viewed women and, maybe more importantly, how women viewed women.
 

 

Did you do your project as part of a course? 

Our “Rosie the Riveter” presentation was the final requirement for the class Media and Society (COM106) taught by Dr. Katie Cruger.

What did you enjoy about the class? 

Overall, I think that Media and Society is a very interesting course. It examines the role that media plays in human lives, dating all the way back to shadow puppets in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to modern times, with Facebook and the iPhone. The course discusses the varying views on technology: whether it is a blessing that allows instant connectivity across the globe, or a curse that takes away human authority by convincing people that “liking” a status is enough to make a difference in the world.

Probably the most noteworthy part of the class is the two required 24-hour media blackouts that class members have to participate in throughout the semester. In the first blackout, students have to disengage with all forms of electronic media—television, radio, music, the Internet, and their phones. In the second blackout, the ban expands to also cover non-electronic media, including books and magazines. Though it was a very difficult experience for me (as I am connected by the hip to my computer for instant messenger), I think the media blackout was my favorite part of COM106 because it really forces students to realize just how much they rely on modern media.

What was the coolest thing you learned when researching for your project? 

The most interesting part of my research involved the discovery and analysis of post-WWII advertisements. It was absolutely shocking to see just how sexist the marketing strategies were—and how this kind of discrimination was really very acceptable during the time period. Where Rosie the Riveter was (arguably) a figure of empowerment, some of the post-war advertisements showed women in the most awful situations. In a Mr. Leggs trousers ad, a “tiger woman” lies on the floor with her head underneath a man’s foot. In another, a woman lies naked on the ground, gazing admiringly at a man’s shoe. There is even sexism in coffee ads—where a husband is depicted paddling his wife over his knee for not checking the freshness of his coffee. Even though today, many people dislike the way that women are portrayed in advertisements, it is amazing to realize how far marketing has come by comparison!

What do you take away from the experience of presenting at the conference?

The biggest lesson that I have taken away from the experience of presenting at a conference is the importance of quick thinking, particularly in regard to the question and answer section of a presentation. When a student is giving a presentation in front of her class, it is easy for her to fall into a rut. For the most part, everybody in the same classroom will have learned the same information; there simply aren’t going to be too many unexpected questions.

A conference setting is very different. During a conference, people can choose to come and sit in on a lecture if they think that it is interesting. Even if these individuals have not researched the same exact information, they are engaged in the topic—and will likely have insightful questions. Students who present at conferences need to be prepared to play ball with this type of audience. 

 

All ads courtesy of Shannon Ward

 

 

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  Mara Flanagan is entering her seventh semester as a Chapter Advisor. After founding the Chatham University Her Campus chapter in November 2011, she served as Campus Correspondent until graduation in 2015. Mara works as a freelance social media consultant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She interned in incident command software publicity at ADASHI Systems, gamification at Evive Station, iQ Kids Radio in WQED’s Education Department, PR at Markowitz Communications, writing at WQED-FM, and marketing and product development at Bossa Nova Robotics. She loves jazz, filmmaking and circus arts.