By Robert Goldrich
This black-and-white spot from Bozell & Jacobs, Omaha, shows little girls engaged in fun, constructive activities at YWCA centers–dancing, playing guitar, studying together, reading in the dark by flashlight, playing with bubbles, bike riding and socializing.
This in and of itself would make for a feel-good PSA that promotes the services, resources, recreational opportunities and the sense of community that can be experienced at the YWCA. But the piece takes on an added thought-provoking dimension when these scenes play against a soundtrack of hip-hop and rap tunes that fade in and out, all of them referring to the girls in negative demeaning language (“bitches,” “hos” and telling them to “get out of my face.”).
Seeing the images of the girls in a positive light juxtaposed with the music lyrics makes the songs sound absurd and bizarre, which coincides with what the YWCA does to negative sentiments, as reflected in the spot tagline: “Eliminating racism, empowering women,” accompanied by the Web site address, www.ywca.org.
“Little Girls” was directed by feature filmmaker Bronwen Hughes (Harriet the Spy, Forces of Nature, Stander) of Santa Monica-based Independent Media. Susanne Preissler executive produced for Independent Media. Max Malkin was the DP.
Music producer Nicole Dionne of Primal Scream, Los Angeles, had composer Billy West create seven separate melodies for the spot, turning out music that helps to drive the creative.
The creative team for Bozell & Jacobs consisted of creative director/copywriter Cliff Watson, art director Erica Rowe and producer Nan Pike.
The spot was cut by Meg Kubicka of The Whitehouse, Chicago. Audio post mixer was Dave Gerbosi of Chicago Recording Company, Chicago.TikTok and the U.S. Face Off In Court Over Law That Could Lead To A Ban Of The Popular Platform
TikTok faced off with the U.S. government in federal court on Monday, arguing a law that could ban the platform in a few short months was unconstitutional while the Justice Department said the measure is critical to eliminate a national security risk posed by the popular social media company.
Attorneys for the two sides - and content creators - appeared before a panel of three judges at a federal appeals court in Washington, where TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are challenging the law that is forcing them to break ties by mid-January or lose one of their biggest markets in the world.
Andrew Pincus, a veteran attorney representing the two companies, argued in court that the law unfairly targets the company and runs afoul of the First Amendment because TikTok Inc. - the U.S. arm of TikTok - is an American entity. Another attorney representing creators who are also challenging the law also argued it violates the rights of U.S. speakers and is akin to prohibiting Americans from publishing on foreign-owned media outlets, such as Politico, Al Jazeera or Spotify.
"The law before this court is unprecedented and its effect would be staggering," Pincus said, adding the act would impose speech limitations based on future risks.
The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China.
The U.S. has said it's concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits, that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. The U.S. also says the proprietary algorithm that fuels... Read More