Marriage and Media

For Better or Worse

MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• Mass media- television, radio, the movies, newspapers and magazines – strongly influence our choices.

• For better or worse, corporations depend heavily upon media as one of the greatest influences in suggestions planted in consumer minds.

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Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• As catchy advertising, documentaries, and intense dram have all been used to reach key audiences, the South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage Demonstration Project has crafted an M&M Campaign, to include slogans and messages to follow in this presentation, public service announcements, and specialized film in our outreach to multiple generations.

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Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

• South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage Demonstration Project has chosen a generational and multi-cultural approach to marriage education with media as one of multiple strategies.

• We use media to include history and recall severe risk factors yet documented and celebrated resilience of marriage through couples like the Walls and Carters.

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• Marriage and media are united to capture the faith and focus of Rev. Carlvern and Mrs. Paula Dunn, as married mentors as part of the PEN OR PENCIL M.O.V.E.MENT to stimulate dialogue and touch thousands of lives who face “for better or worse” before, through, and following the incarceration of one or both partners.

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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• PEN OR PENCIL allows us to use media and other tools to discourage the PEN(itentiary) and encourage education (the pencil) by cultivating the skills and will to excel beyond the risks they face, even as teenage fathers and the distractions and death to future success and relationships along their journey into manhood.

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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Our film presentation, public service announcement, and supplemental media tools compliment PEN OR PENCIL, our highly innovative curriculum approach with special outreach to black and Hispanic court-involved/foster-care/teenage males to assist them in becoming men of valor.

MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• Through the experiences of Maura Sanchez and Israel Villalobos captured on film, we use media to explore marriage and multi-cultural experiences in blended family environments.

• Their story and that of many similar couples is presented in our general courses and further examined in our PEN OR PENCIL: “Til Death Do Us Part Series (Death By Distance).

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• Our marriage mentors, Herbert and Janet Leflore and Tyrone and Teresa Glover, allow us to benefit from the longevity of marriage and when marriage is enriched by a second chance.

• Their experiences as couples on film help to build a bridge between our historic past into our present and future survival as families.

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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As a precursor to either of our programs and media presentations, we ask viewers to consider the variables of better or worse in building relationships by offering a few key points which have been used successfully in other media campaigns:

For better or worse, here is our commercial advice

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• Energizer batteries made popular the slogan, “He keeps going, and going, and going, . . . “

• The reference was to a pink bunny with a drum.

• While physical intimacy is a vital part of the marital experience, it should not be the exclusive criteria determine a life-long mate.

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• Best Buy made famous, “Thousands of possibilities. Get yours.”

• Technology has now entered into the date/mate frenzy making, “I do,” as simple as asking whether you have access to a computer .

• The decision to get married is not as simple as downloading a file.

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• Since 1988, Nike has said, “Just do it.”• It would be wise to give marriage more thought.

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• There are instances when it should be clear, without the assistance of Johnny Walker, to decide it is best to, “Keep walking.”

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• We are generally on our best behavior during the early phases of dating.

• As time goes by, we become more “real” to one another.

• Over 30 years ago on his show, the late comedian, Flip Wilson, made popular the pre-marital reminder that, “What you see is what you get.”

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

Being rational and realistic about reasons for marrying is not easy. But people who marry mainly for positive reasons are more likely to have a happier marriage than those whose marriage is based on negative reasons.

When the choice is better rather than worse, Toyota said it best, “Oh what a feeling!”

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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MARRIAGE AND MEDIAFor Better or Worse

• In summary to the questions we have raised in this presentation, we echo the voice of reasoning and Verizon – “Can you hear me now? Good!”

• . . . And to further convey our desire to influence healthy marriages, we have more points we would like for you to see and hear in the following film presentation . . .

04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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04/10/23South Los Angeles Healthy Marriage

Demonstration Project in cooperation with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice

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