Okay to start off one interesting fact that I learned while reading this chapter is that advertising was created to make a variety of brands differentiate from each other even if the product was basically the same thing. In doing so, customers would make more demand for a specific product and manufactures could in turn demand higher prices for that products. Now I find this interesting because it makes me as consumer second guess every item that ever thought was better to get because of commercials. Like is it better to purchase any type of cranberry juice or does it have to be Oceansprays cranberry juice? Can I buy any brand of ketchup or is Hienz ketchup the best route to go? I feel like advertisers just screwed with my common sense logic (now what do I buy!).
This brings me to a new term I learned in the chapter called subliminal advertising. Now if you thought you weren’t a victim to subliminal advertising, well newsflash I’m sure you were. I bet you’re wondering what is subliminal advertising? Subliminal Advertising is a fraudulent or misleading ad that spread wild ads about what a certain product can do, when is actuality they can’t. Examples of this would be like the Butt blaster, Slim fast(tried it and it so didn’t work), Joan Rivers QVC foundation was a huge flop! I am writing to you about this so that you yourself will not be a victim to all of these supposedly accredited products. So my message is be careful with your product selections. Good luck and God bless!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Century of the Self (Torches of Freedom)
The topic that I found the most interesting in the movie Century of the Self video in class was how Edward Bernay’s got women to smoke cigarettes also known as “the torches of freedom” in public spaces. I thought this idea of Bernays was brilliant because I would have never thought that public relations could start such a big social change in society. I think what really stumps my head is the fact that his plan was so simple and yet so complex (it was simply genius). Now Before I really get into that, we first have to understand the steps that led to the women’s first puff of the lovely torch.
So back in the 1900’s it was considered very un-lady like to smoke cigarettes in public. It was to the point that’s some states passed laws just to prevent women from smoking because it was seen as defying moral privileges (in other words being very improper). Cigarettes were considered to be very masculine, and around this time America was still going through their little “patriarchal stage” making smoking a big “No no“ for women. So George Hill at the time was the head of a big tobacco company. The name of his tobacco company was Lucky Strikes, which at the time was a popular pack of cigarettes. Just like any normal business man, Hill wanted to increase his profits in his cigarette sales. He wanted to appeal more to the female demographic so, he hired Edwards Bernays (the master of starting trends and capitalizing on profits) to help him accomplish that.
Now Bernays began brainstorming on the different ways to make cigarettes appealing to women, but was coming up dry. So, he contacted a famous psychoanalyst by the name of Abraham Brill to seek advice on how to make cigarettes more marketable to women. Mr. Brill stated that women smoked because it was an oral fixation they had. Now I bet you’re wondering , what does oral sex have to do with smoking? Well, Brill looked at the masculinity of the cigarette as the male private part. So women smoking cigarettes symbolized their suppressed desire to have oral sex. Now Brill explained to Bernays that to make the cigarette marketable to women that he had to present them as the “torches of freedom because it would represent women breaking away from male domination. So Edward Bernays hired some models/ debutants to walk in the Easter parade, and have them lighting up their torches for social change. So Bernays made sure that the press and photographers were there so that this was stir up trouble or in other words get the word out. This march stirred up a talk around the nation inspiring all women to turn their flame on.
Over time Bernays plan of targeting women to smoke was a success. This march was covered in just about every paper in America. The number of lady smokers increased in the United States from a low five percent all the way to a rapid eighteen percent, which is a major jump. What puts my face in awe is how perfectly Bernays executed his plan. I think it is crazy how a simple idea like that could really start a social change to the point of inspiring other females to grab a torch too. This movement went so far that it began to be shown on television/movies. It was no longer a crime of morals for women to smoke in public, it was now a widely accepted fashion trend (in other words the new “it” thing to do). It was getting to the point that new books were being published along with different classes on the proper smoking etiquette. Sarah Gates in her article goes into how the smoking classes taught how to properly stub out a cigarette, and how women shouldn’t smoke at dinner parties (that was considered rude). An interesting section that I enjoyed reading from, “Smoking Etiquette for Women” was learning that Eleanor Roosevelt (the president’s wife of the United States) was the first lady to smoke in public.
To fast forward to this day an age, smoking cigarettes isn’t as open as it used to be back then in Bernays time. Now it seems that society is trying to limit/stop public smoking all together in public places for both genders. A good example of this is city councils attempt to ban smoking in 42nd street Times Square located in New York City. Now, I could understand the councils ruling in 2002 from banning smoking in restaurants and bars, but Times Square (they’re crazy if they think that plots going to work). Plus to add on to the madness if you are caught smoking a cigarette in the park, restaurants/bars, and pedestrian areas such as Times Square, you will be fined fifty dollars. If you ask me I think this is just another sneaky attempt for the city cheat people out of their money. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t smoke personally, but I feel that it should be acceptable for people to smoke in a public place. It’s their rights. The government might as well erase the bill of rights while their at it just to seal the deal.
In conclusion at the end of Edward Bernays experiment it was considered sexy, independent and empowering for women to smoke cigarettes in public. According to Wikipedia about 33% of American women were still smoking by the year of 1977, so you can only imagine where the numbers reach into in the year 2011. Granted because of his little plot women now have to suffer the same fate men do with lung cancer, but Bernays will remain one of my heroes. I know that is crazy to say, but I am still shocked about how easy it is to manipulate the mind to make such a big change. Its one of those things you hear about, but don’t believe until you see it (and Bernays helped me see). So to conclude I think Bernays is amazing and I am only talking about one of his many contributions to public relations. You yourself should look him up on Google because you’ll be so amazed at what you find.
So back in the 1900’s it was considered very un-lady like to smoke cigarettes in public. It was to the point that’s some states passed laws just to prevent women from smoking because it was seen as defying moral privileges (in other words being very improper). Cigarettes were considered to be very masculine, and around this time America was still going through their little “patriarchal stage” making smoking a big “No no“ for women. So George Hill at the time was the head of a big tobacco company. The name of his tobacco company was Lucky Strikes, which at the time was a popular pack of cigarettes. Just like any normal business man, Hill wanted to increase his profits in his cigarette sales. He wanted to appeal more to the female demographic so, he hired Edwards Bernays (the master of starting trends and capitalizing on profits) to help him accomplish that.
Now Bernays began brainstorming on the different ways to make cigarettes appealing to women, but was coming up dry. So, he contacted a famous psychoanalyst by the name of Abraham Brill to seek advice on how to make cigarettes more marketable to women. Mr. Brill stated that women smoked because it was an oral fixation they had. Now I bet you’re wondering , what does oral sex have to do with smoking? Well, Brill looked at the masculinity of the cigarette as the male private part. So women smoking cigarettes symbolized their suppressed desire to have oral sex. Now Brill explained to Bernays that to make the cigarette marketable to women that he had to present them as the “torches of freedom because it would represent women breaking away from male domination. So Edward Bernays hired some models/ debutants to walk in the Easter parade, and have them lighting up their torches for social change. So Bernays made sure that the press and photographers were there so that this was stir up trouble or in other words get the word out. This march stirred up a talk around the nation inspiring all women to turn their flame on.
Over time Bernays plan of targeting women to smoke was a success. This march was covered in just about every paper in America. The number of lady smokers increased in the United States from a low five percent all the way to a rapid eighteen percent, which is a major jump. What puts my face in awe is how perfectly Bernays executed his plan. I think it is crazy how a simple idea like that could really start a social change to the point of inspiring other females to grab a torch too. This movement went so far that it began to be shown on television/movies. It was no longer a crime of morals for women to smoke in public, it was now a widely accepted fashion trend (in other words the new “it” thing to do). It was getting to the point that new books were being published along with different classes on the proper smoking etiquette. Sarah Gates in her article goes into how the smoking classes taught how to properly stub out a cigarette, and how women shouldn’t smoke at dinner parties (that was considered rude). An interesting section that I enjoyed reading from, “Smoking Etiquette for Women” was learning that Eleanor Roosevelt (the president’s wife of the United States) was the first lady to smoke in public.
To fast forward to this day an age, smoking cigarettes isn’t as open as it used to be back then in Bernays time. Now it seems that society is trying to limit/stop public smoking all together in public places for both genders. A good example of this is city councils attempt to ban smoking in 42nd street Times Square located in New York City. Now, I could understand the councils ruling in 2002 from banning smoking in restaurants and bars, but Times Square (they’re crazy if they think that plots going to work). Plus to add on to the madness if you are caught smoking a cigarette in the park, restaurants/bars, and pedestrian areas such as Times Square, you will be fined fifty dollars. If you ask me I think this is just another sneaky attempt for the city cheat people out of their money. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t smoke personally, but I feel that it should be acceptable for people to smoke in a public place. It’s their rights. The government might as well erase the bill of rights while their at it just to seal the deal.
In conclusion at the end of Edward Bernays experiment it was considered sexy, independent and empowering for women to smoke cigarettes in public. According to Wikipedia about 33% of American women were still smoking by the year of 1977, so you can only imagine where the numbers reach into in the year 2011. Granted because of his little plot women now have to suffer the same fate men do with lung cancer, but Bernays will remain one of my heroes. I know that is crazy to say, but I am still shocked about how easy it is to manipulate the mind to make such a big change. Its one of those things you hear about, but don’t believe until you see it (and Bernays helped me see). So to conclude I think Bernays is amazing and I am only talking about one of his many contributions to public relations. You yourself should look him up on Google because you’ll be so amazed at what you find.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Legal Control & Freedom of Expression
The first point I would like to start with is the fact that Americans take for granted their fine liberty of freedom. What kind of Freedom am I talking about? Well freedom of speech of course! Americans can talk about government, have many religions practices, make our unions to increase our employment pay, and basically stir up trouble in our society (and never get penalized for it). Can we say the same for other countries in the world? No! In other countries if you dare talk about government practices you would probably (and I'm being nice here) receive a life sentence in prison. And religion please, I personally dare you to take a flight to Jamaica and try to preach about the non-existence of God. When I say you're dead I mean chopped up with a machete and rotting in a pit somewhere kind of dead (Jamaicans play no games). However, before you get all sentimental on how proud you feel to be Americans, let’s not forget our government kind of sucks too.
We may have looser laws on the freedom of speech, but our conniving government secretly imposing on that too (you just weren't paying attention). A good example of this is what the book mentions about with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Joseph McCarthy did his own little of version of a witch hunt in making accusations that over 150 musicians and actors were communist. Because of his serious allegations these 150 people were blacklisted from performing their craft. Now, that is just one example. Another example of this is the government trying to control what they believe is misleading advertisements. Now this may not sound like a big deal to you now, but think of this as the beginning of a group of Hitler (okay maybe I'm being a little dramatic). All I'm saying is keep your open on the little government changes and don't play dumb when you notice we have no more bill of rights.
We may have looser laws on the freedom of speech, but our conniving government secretly imposing on that too (you just weren't paying attention). A good example of this is what the book mentions about with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Joseph McCarthy did his own little of version of a witch hunt in making accusations that over 150 musicians and actors were communist. Because of his serious allegations these 150 people were blacklisted from performing their craft. Now, that is just one example. Another example of this is the government trying to control what they believe is misleading advertisements. Now this may not sound like a big deal to you now, but think of this as the beginning of a group of Hitler (okay maybe I'm being a little dramatic). All I'm saying is keep your open on the little government changes and don't play dumb when you notice we have no more bill of rights.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Newspaper
What I feel is a very important fact to know in this chapter is the beginnignand definitions of yellow journalism. What is yellow Journalism you may say? Yellow Journalism were the papers that focused on writing about scandals and crimes (basically all the juicyy stuff I love to read). The men who created this paper on my kind of news were William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Now if you're wondering if the last name Pulitzer sounds so familar its because it is. Joseph Pulitzer created the Pulitzer prizes that are still around today! Now to get back to the point because of Mr. Pulitzer and Mr. Hearst we now today have investigative journalism.
Now todays papers have been suffering for the past thirty years with its customers. Why you may say? I believe it's because newspapers have gotten so expensive! In addtion to that the recession wasn't a big help and then theres the fact that most newspaper have their news online. Why would I spend money for a paper newspaper when I can go on my handy dandy computer, and look up the news when I want for free. I don't know how long paper newspapers will still be around for, but at the rate their declining readership have gone, I'll give it about 10 years(and I'm being generous).
Now todays papers have been suffering for the past thirty years with its customers. Why you may say? I believe it's because newspapers have gotten so expensive! In addtion to that the recession wasn't a big help and then theres the fact that most newspaper have their news online. Why would I spend money for a paper newspaper when I can go on my handy dandy computer, and look up the news when I want for free. I don't know how long paper newspapers will still be around for, but at the rate their declining readership have gone, I'll give it about 10 years(and I'm being generous).
Film
To kick this off I would have never imagined Thomas Edison to have anything to do with film. When I think of Edison I think of light bulbs, but thats beside the point. Mr. Edison produced the first large screen system called the vitascope. This new invention helped to show longer films at better quality. So let us give kudos to Mr. Edison for improving our film quality.
Another point that stuck out in the chapter was the creation of Nickelodeon. When I was a child I watched Nickelodeon everyday. It was the network to find legendary cartoons such as Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, CatDog and so much more. I find it very interesting that Nickelodeons in this time period were considered movie theaters for silent films. One of th e first people to create and direct a narrative film was Georges Melies. He was the begining of films actually telling a story instead of showing repetitive action (an example of this was horses galloping, no real plot).
In conclusion these two point were the most interesting details to know in film (well for me anyway). Learning about George makes me even more thankful of the films we have today because Lord knows I couldn't sit through any movie with no plot line.
Another point that stuck out in the chapter was the creation of Nickelodeon. When I was a child I watched Nickelodeon everyday. It was the network to find legendary cartoons such as Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, CatDog and so much more. I find it very interesting that Nickelodeons in this time period were considered movie theaters for silent films. One of th e first people to create and direct a narrative film was Georges Melies. He was the begining of films actually telling a story instead of showing repetitive action (an example of this was horses galloping, no real plot).
In conclusion these two point were the most interesting details to know in film (well for me anyway). Learning about George makes me even more thankful of the films we have today because Lord knows I couldn't sit through any movie with no plot line.
Magazines
Ok the first point that my interest when I read this chapter was the term magazine. I had no idea that the term magazine in french means "storehouse". This name suits the name magazine because it is a compiled storehouse of stories, article, and a variety of advertisements. However that definition I just gave suits the updated version of what the magazine became, but back in the day magazines were mostly used for politics and social reform.
Speaking of social reform the chapter mentions one group by the name of the Muckrackers. The muckrackers were a group that exposed the unfair practices of businesses and the corruption of the government (an example of govt corruption was at the time Great Britain). The book goes on to say that the age of muckrackness(my funny term) came to an end and started the beginning of photojournalism. The rise of photojournalism doesn't surprise me because honestly sometimes when I buy a magazine I don't read it, I just look at the pictures (because you know what they say a picture can speak a thousand words).
Speaking of social reform the chapter mentions one group by the name of the Muckrackers. The muckrackers were a group that exposed the unfair practices of businesses and the corruption of the government (an example of govt corruption was at the time Great Britain). The book goes on to say that the age of muckrackness(my funny term) came to an end and started the beginning of photojournalism. The rise of photojournalism doesn't surprise me because honestly sometimes when I buy a magazine I don't read it, I just look at the pictures (because you know what they say a picture can speak a thousand words).
Televison
What I found very interesting in this chapter is the creation of cable and how it all it all came about. The chapter talks about how CATV, which stands for Commnity Antenna Television was one of the first small cable vision system. These systems were set up in places that were remote or near tall buildings that blocked boradcasting systems. I found that to be an interesting point because I've heard of the term CATV, but I did not know that that was one of the first cable systems (thats kind of cool).
What I found hilarious to read in the chapter was when television programming only having two distinct genres on tv. These genres were entertainment and information channels. This is interesting to me because todays television is the same way with the added bonus of a lot of reality tv shows. Television is constantly changing and adapting to new technology. It makes me curious to know how television will be ten years from now!
What I found hilarious to read in the chapter was when television programming only having two distinct genres on tv. These genres were entertainment and information channels. This is interesting to me because todays television is the same way with the added bonus of a lot of reality tv shows. Television is constantly changing and adapting to new technology. It makes me curious to know how television will be ten years from now!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Cool-Hunting Presentation!
I was riding on the 4 train and I saw these two lovely candidates come on train at 14th street. Their styles were very unique so I said why not. The name of the person to the left was Brianni Bell. The person on the right was her friend Denika, but Denika showed no interest in the survey so I focused on Brianni. Below is a Q & A of our conversation:
M: Brianni who is your fashion icon?
B: I would probably have to say Blake Lively
M: Who is Blake Lively:
B: Have you seen Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants?
M: Yes I’ve seen it.
B: She was the blonde one who played on of the main characters.
M: Oh okay. That’s nice
M: Why did you choose her as an icon
B: Because her style is laid back yet glamorous.
M: Why did you pick the outfit that you are wearing now?
B; Because its simple and sexy. Black and white is always the best way to go when you are unsure of what to wear because it looks so polished.
M: Well that’s good to know
M: Are you wearing a particular name brand right now?
B: A mix of Forever 21 and H&M.
M: Are those your favorite retailers?
B: No.
M: Then who is?
B: I would probably say Urban Outfitters and American Apparel.
M: Why did you choose to do an up-do hairstyle for tonight if you don’t mid me asking.
B: I do actually…
M: Oh I’m sorr-
B: Just playing (laughing). I actually wanted to show off my leopard bra through my see through top.
M: (laughing) I definitely see it. Well thank you for your time Brianni!
B: No Problem.
Brianni was a fun candidate to interview and her style was very unique to me. I hope you enjoyed our conversation because this concludes my presentation!
Website Report
The website I chose to write about it is www.pbs.org/wnet/expose/, The website was produced by Thirteen WNET New York in association with the Center of Investigative Reporting. This website is reporting on how investigative reporters are surely, but slowly losing their jobs and how we the public are in the dark about certain that are in our household that is harmful to our health. Is the government keeping secrets from the people a surprise to you? I hope not because it is not a surprise to me. Our lovely U.S.A. was born on secrets and lies, but besides the obvious let us take a deeper look on the Laura Frank Expose.
The story that I focused on was “The Withering Watch Dogs Part 11” by Laura Frank. In this article she started off by saying that about 35 million Americans have a harmful toxic substance in their household called Asbestos. This substance apparently causes damage to the lungs, and eventually leads to the individual having cancer or being unable to breathe. The EPA said they wanted to put flyers in local department stores and go on talk shows to warn the public of the danger they may be in, but until this day the public is still not fully aware on the issue. The reason I believe this issue is not being publicized is because it would be a big financial loss to businesses, which basically correlates to our government. The government’s job is to promote “social welfare” a perfect Utopia. If people found out that our government knew about this Asbestos and still didn’t act it would make them look bad (so my best bet is their probably going to keep this issue contained for as long as they can).
Another issue that Laura brought up is the decline on investigative reporters. Investigative reporters are losing their job from left to right. Why? Hmm I know because government sees them more as a menace then a solution to our society (that is my theory at least). However, investigative reporters has brought plenty of awareness to us consumers like for example reporters reporting about the dangerous chemicals that were in baby bottles or the report on fixing the rudder control problems on jets. Then their was Torres’s work on how high temperatures, high taxes, and lack of infrastructure left Floridians paying some of the highest gas prices in the nation. That story landed Torres her to be the finalist for the “Green Eyeshade, until once again she was also let go as reporter t the famous Sun Sentinel newspaper. Now Torres is just one out of many investigative reporters that have been let go from the their job. It is said in the article that one of every five people were let go from the Sun Sentinel, and that is just one newspaper company. The same continued in that same rate with other newspaper brands leaving an estimate of 25,000 new investigators being laid off. Now the question remains, where does this leave the public? Oh I have an answer! This means they’re will be no one digging up scandals that are being hidden from us and we the people continuing to be uninformed about issues and walking around dumbfounded.
The main purpose of “The Withering Watch Dog” is to keep the public informed on the many issues they may not be aware of because of the lack of investigative reporters. As I stated in the previous paragraph, this article wanted to emphasize the many cases reporters have kept the public informed on as well as show how they themselves were the basis for change in society. In addition, if the employment of investigative reporters continue to decline there will be no voice for the people. Although having reporters report on certain issues didn’t always fix the problem it brought enough attention to help bring about a change. The main objective of the website is to help all the wrongs that were being made by our supposed leaders be corrected. Without reporters, who is going to keep us informed about faulty nursing homes or chemicals in baby bottles, or the massive housing scandals in Miami. I can’t think of any at the moment, can you?
The story that I focused on was “The Withering Watch Dogs Part 11” by Laura Frank. In this article she started off by saying that about 35 million Americans have a harmful toxic substance in their household called Asbestos. This substance apparently causes damage to the lungs, and eventually leads to the individual having cancer or being unable to breathe. The EPA said they wanted to put flyers in local department stores and go on talk shows to warn the public of the danger they may be in, but until this day the public is still not fully aware on the issue. The reason I believe this issue is not being publicized is because it would be a big financial loss to businesses, which basically correlates to our government. The government’s job is to promote “social welfare” a perfect Utopia. If people found out that our government knew about this Asbestos and still didn’t act it would make them look bad (so my best bet is their probably going to keep this issue contained for as long as they can).
Another issue that Laura brought up is the decline on investigative reporters. Investigative reporters are losing their job from left to right. Why? Hmm I know because government sees them more as a menace then a solution to our society (that is my theory at least). However, investigative reporters has brought plenty of awareness to us consumers like for example reporters reporting about the dangerous chemicals that were in baby bottles or the report on fixing the rudder control problems on jets. Then their was Torres’s work on how high temperatures, high taxes, and lack of infrastructure left Floridians paying some of the highest gas prices in the nation. That story landed Torres her to be the finalist for the “Green Eyeshade, until once again she was also let go as reporter t the famous Sun Sentinel newspaper. Now Torres is just one out of many investigative reporters that have been let go from the their job. It is said in the article that one of every five people were let go from the Sun Sentinel, and that is just one newspaper company. The same continued in that same rate with other newspaper brands leaving an estimate of 25,000 new investigators being laid off. Now the question remains, where does this leave the public? Oh I have an answer! This means they’re will be no one digging up scandals that are being hidden from us and we the people continuing to be uninformed about issues and walking around dumbfounded.
The main purpose of “The Withering Watch Dog” is to keep the public informed on the many issues they may not be aware of because of the lack of investigative reporters. As I stated in the previous paragraph, this article wanted to emphasize the many cases reporters have kept the public informed on as well as show how they themselves were the basis for change in society. In addition, if the employment of investigative reporters continue to decline there will be no voice for the people. Although having reporters report on certain issues didn’t always fix the problem it brought enough attention to help bring about a change. The main objective of the website is to help all the wrongs that were being made by our supposed leaders be corrected. Without reporters, who is going to keep us informed about faulty nursing homes or chemicals in baby bottles, or the massive housing scandals in Miami. I can’t think of any at the moment, can you?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Media Economy
What I found interesting in this chapter is learning the differences between a monopoly, a limited competition, and oligopoly. A monopoly is an industry that is dominated by one person, in other words the seller has a unique product that no other company has. An oligopoly is when a few sellers have a product, a good example of that are cereal companies such as: Kellog or General Mills. An oligopoly has a strong product differentiation and has barriers to enter for new firms. A limited competition is a market with many producers and sellers, but few products.
The chapter continues by showing how the world to transitioned into an information economy during the 1950's. This time period was the beginning of companies marketing TV programs, computer software, and so much more through out the world. A concept that stuck out to me in this section was the term hegemony. This term according to dictionary.com means the aggression by large nations in an effort to achieve world dominance. So basically politicians/companies try to convince us comsumers that they have great judgement of everything so that we, "the consumers" don't protest it(crazy right).
So to conclude that last statement is to say that the righteous and trusting companies/politicians we came to know are corrupt. However, if citizens like ourselves become more knowledgeable in this topic of media we can have a critical discussion of how our media companies correlate with the effect on our democracy.
The chapter continues by showing how the world to transitioned into an information economy during the 1950's. This time period was the beginning of companies marketing TV programs, computer software, and so much more through out the world. A concept that stuck out to me in this section was the term hegemony. This term according to dictionary.com means the aggression by large nations in an effort to achieve world dominance. So basically politicians/companies try to convince us comsumers that they have great judgement of everything so that we, "the consumers" don't protest it(crazy right).
So to conclude that last statement is to say that the righteous and trusting companies/politicians we came to know are corrupt. However, if citizens like ourselves become more knowledgeable in this topic of media we can have a critical discussion of how our media companies correlate with the effect on our democracy.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Chapter 2 The Internet and New Technologies
To start off I did not know that back in the day the internet or the book term "ARPAnet" was only for the use of the military and researchers(thats kind of cool). The chapter goes into how the internet started to boom in the 90's because of this guy name Tim Berners who basically developed the world web, which is the computer language that creates Web pages and links(at least thats what Campbell says). Now leaving that history lesson, let us get a better understanding of one the most booming trends in 2011 known as media convergence. Media Convergence in the book refers to the technological merging of different mass media content on fewer platforms. In english this means our computers being able to use skype(to make and recieve calls), watch TV shows, movies(some may be bootleg at times), and downloading music. Chapter also gets into the evolvement of how videogames have skyrocketed since the 80's. Now videogames are a $45 billion dollar industry(now thats a lot of money). This change has happened ever since they made the gameplayers into smaller units so that kids can play them in their house. Critics had their arguments about how addictive videogames have been becoming, but the lovely spinoff is the introduction of "educational" games(good luck getting your kid to play that). To end on a good note the internet is a fast paced epidemic right now and is a major necessity in the way our economy functions. So if you don't have one get one, I mean HELLO!
Chapter 1 Mass Communication
What I believe you should know about this chapter is for starters you must truly understand the definition of culture. Culture can be thought of as the symbols of expression that individuals, groups, and socities use to make sense of daily life and articulate their values.Whats funny is the book says that we "the people" are assigning meaning to the songs, books, TV programs, or Websites we visit. In other terms when we look at something and it invokes a feeling we connect it with whatever is going on in our lives. I know when I listen to Aerosmith "I don't want to miss a thing" I connnect it to me not having a relationship or me missing a significant other. I felt that this definition was important because I never thought of culture in that terminoloy. When I think culture I think backrounds, peoples ethinicity not something people use to make sense of their lives. The rest of the chapter just basically talks about the five phases of how communication has evolved starting with oral, written, print, electronic and digital(our lovely world today). The chapter begins to break down how communication works. First, the sender sends the message into what is know as a mass media channel(this could be the internet for example) ,and then the reciever "the audience" gets the message. Not to skip over anything, but what I also found interesting was the steps on how to have a critical perspective on things:
1) Description: you have to be very attentive, you have to take notes and do plenty of researching on whatever the topic is at hand. For example the rise in celebs cheating on their spouses:
i.e.: Tiger Wooods, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse James, and so much more (on the low).
2) Analysis: focusing on the patterns that come up from the description page.
3) Interpretation: the fun part of trying to figure out the meaning with whatever dots you connected in the first stage. Like with my example I am discovering that the husbands of hollywood are cheating bastards that can't be momgamous.
4)Evaluation: in this stage you begin to make your verdict on the subject and I think with my example my judgment on them is pretty clear.
5)Engagement: lastly connecting our findings to make our points/questions to all media institutions.
So apparently everything on the top helps us to better recognize the highs and lows of media forms. Now isn't that interesting folks!
1) Description: you have to be very attentive, you have to take notes and do plenty of researching on whatever the topic is at hand. For example the rise in celebs cheating on their spouses:
i.e.: Tiger Wooods, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse James, and so much more (on the low).
2) Analysis: focusing on the patterns that come up from the description page.
3) Interpretation: the fun part of trying to figure out the meaning with whatever dots you connected in the first stage. Like with my example I am discovering that the husbands of hollywood are cheating bastards that can't be momgamous.
4)Evaluation: in this stage you begin to make your verdict on the subject and I think with my example my judgment on them is pretty clear.
5)Engagement: lastly connecting our findings to make our points/questions to all media institutions.
So apparently everything on the top helps us to better recognize the highs and lows of media forms. Now isn't that interesting folks!
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