"The past three weeks have been a lot of fun. We learned a lot about the powerful effects of advertising through videos, discussions, and activities where we took a closer look at the ads in magazines presented to us as young preteen and teenage girls. Many of us realized that the music videos, magazines, and commercials supported the idea that women shouldn't be powerful." - Victoria "I learned a lot of stuff about video recording and editing from this camp. I learned how to face my fear of being on camera - now I am not shy or afraid to be on it." - Deniah "In CMP, I learned about how to use cameras, and about how the media affects the public. The media affects teens, kids, us, by lying, and showing us what we wish we looked like. Smoking ads make it look like if you smoke you will get the girl or you will have slender legs." -Natalie

Overview Magazine Counter Ads Counter PSAs 10 Things About Me I Love My Body

CMP educators led young women through a three week program in which participants learned how to critically evaluate mainsteam media. The program focused on tobacco advertisements designed to glamourously present smoking and the portrayal of women in the media. Participants examined advertisements and then discussed them, researched tobacco facts, and learned video and editing skills so that they could produce their own PSAs and other short videos in response to the ads. Groups utilized the CMP produced textbook Smoke Screens: From Tobacco Outrage to Media Activism in their research as well as library and internet resources.