THE NEWS Part II

Looking back on these memories I see how important the News really is. I think my dad is a very well rounded person, much due to exposing himself to the news and what is going on in the society that surrounds him. My dad has shown me that the news truly does make a person more articulate, contextual, and capable of sophisticated and elaborate arguments. My dad is one of the most opinionated people I have ever met and he has made me realize that I have most certainly not done a good job of exposing myself to the news and it is time that this changed.
Through my years in high school, I did watch the news in the midst of doing homework, and I did find enjoyment and interest in watching, but I just never had the time to sit and watch it, and or, read the paper. But I have realized that in order to be a well-rounded person and be truly effective in the kingdom of God, I must expose myself to the news and the problems within our society. I know that as a college student, I don’t have time to sit down, kick my feet up, and read the paper or watch the evening news, but I do have the advantage of technology which provides me with many opportunities to watch clips of the news and its time I started taking advantage of this opportunity and using technology in a way Neil Postman would approve of.

THE NEWS

I have enjoyed learning about Neil Postman and his views on technological advance. I have realized that being involved in print media and the news is key to my role in the kingdom of God. I have realized that I have not done a very good job of being involved in print media and the news AT ALL. I remember as a child, we would always get the evening paper. My dad would come home from work, have the dog fetch the paper and then he would sit down on the old, worn out recliner, that was clearly labeled his seat from 5-6 every night so he could kick his feet up and read the paper for at least an hour. I even remember there were times when I needed help on homework, but dad HAD to finish reading the paper before he could do anything else. Oh, and of course, he had to watch the News too; he couldn’t just read the paper! I thought this was crazy! And on top of all that, he would listen to the news on the radio when he took me to school in the morning! I didn’t understand the news as a child, but what I did know was that this thing called, NEWSPAPERS and watching the news, were very important to my dad.
I remember sitting down and watching parts of the news with him, and as a child, I just thought, “What in the world is interesting about this?!” And I remember seeing the Newspaper thinking, “Why in the world would he want to read something without color and so big and so noisy when you flip the humongous pages?!” But, I do remember him telling me how important it was that he knew what was going on in these things that I so didn’t understand and had no interest in. I somehow knew that the news was making an impact on his life. I always have looked up to my dad. It seems to me like he knows EVERY SINGLE question that I have ever asked; from homework questions to everyday problems, and he always gave me advice and was never afraid to tell me when I am wrong. He always encouraged me to get good grades, and told be to stive to be successful in life. I think one of the things I admire most about my dad is that he is a very good arguer. I can’t remember a time where I haven’t seen my dad outwit someone in an argument....(to be continued)....

TV Genre continued...(part II)

“Secret Life of an American Teenager” involves many different syntigmatic and paradigmatic meanings. Within this show, the producers have portrayed the life of a young 15-year-old girl who gets pregnant. Through struggling with this pregnancy and having to tell her family, she "falls in love" with a guy who wants to support her through the pregnancy and wants to marry her. I think this show portrays the idea that this doesn't happen very often in society- that many people aren't willing to sacrifice their life to help another person with their problem; this situation most certainly doesn't happen very often with 15-year-olds. It makes us wonder if “true love” can really occur at age 15? (I don't believe so.) This TV show, shows that love can have different meanings. It does mean sacrificing yourself for the one you love, but at the same time, we have to wonder what the true meaning of love is. It is pretty amazing to me that TV shows can influence us so much. It is Hollywood's goal to keep showing us ideas and meanings through shows until we stop questioning them. I hope that as I watch TV shows now, I will be able to identify what genre a show is, look at paradigmatic and syntigmatic meanings, recursitvity and hybridity, and that I will see that TV shows do have power and control through these genres.

TV Genre (part I)

Everyone tends to have his or her favorite TV genre or genres. I have many different TV genres that I enjoy. I remember when I was growing up, that I had certain genres that I enjoyed more than others. Which is really interesting to think about....I like different genres depending on what is happening in my life and what mood I am in. For example, I don't enjoy watching Romantic TV shows or movies when I am going through a hard relationship. Or, I may enjoy drama when I need something that will bring me into the show so much, that I forget about the problems or worries around me. I enjoy sitcom, usually in times where I am not so worried and uptight, and I usually sitcoms when I can sit down and watch them with friends. So, as I think about genres and different meanings within them, I think it is first important to analyze genres and how they can affect our own lives.
I haven't had much time to watch much TV this semester. When I do watch TV, its usually on one channel, that being ABC family. I enjoy this channel because usually it is filled with "family friendly" TV shows, which I usually tend to enjoy in any mood. One (very corny, soap opera, dramatic, like show) called, “Secret Life of An American Teenager,” is one that I have enjoyed watching- for what reason...I am not really sure. It is typically in the genre of family friendly show, but it does have recursivities within it. It also has genres such as drama, romance, and (is supposed to relate to real life situations in American teen life.) I think the show is over dramatic in its acting, and therefore doesn't get all its messages and themes across to teens with similar problems, such as the pregnant girl in the show. However, through this drama, the producers are doing their job, and they are attracting a large audience. (I would be curious to see what critics think of the show.)

TV online

We finished the video "Merchants of Cool" today in class. As I reflect back on the feedback loop, the mooks and midrifs, the media conglomerance, and just they way pop-culture affects people in general, I have focused on the idea that teens can create their own culture. Generations today have so many different ways to create and develop a new culture, compared to earlier generations. Teens have the ability to choose to lean into pop-culture, or they can choose to make their own decisions and their own individualistic life. Some people say, "If something is going to happen in pop culture, there is nothing to stop it." I do not believe this claim to be true. To a certain extent, as a society, we do not have control over what’s produced and what is distributed in media. But, we do have the ability to choose to lean into it and make it popular within society, so I do believe that this claim is true in a sense. I personally hate to think that pop-culture has so much influence on us, that we can't stop it. We all have our own views and opinions and these opinions should be voiced, so that maybe each of our separate views on media might just have an impact and affect on people with opposing views and opinions.
Thinking about having my own view on media and how it affects me, made me think of a semiotic domain that I am not a part of. I just walked down the hall to visit a friend and she was watching the "Real World" episodes through the Internet on her computer. I realized that I am not a part of the Semiotic Domain of "Internet TV watching." Many of my friends are a part of this domain and I have thought about taking part in it. It is very convenient to be able to sit down and watch episodes to an addictive TV series where we have missed and episode and now, heaven forbid, we can’t watch it because we are behind! Now, since I am not a part of this domain, I only have an external view, but from this external view I see that, once again, our culture is exposed to media whenever and wherever we want; it seems to be an addiction. Allowing TV to be on the Internet is also hurting the TV production. People don't have to rely on the Television set to provide them with their missed episodes, instead, they just have to reach out to the next technology source to find their media.

Initial Reaction to Pop Culture Video

I have to admit, I was hoping that the movie wouldn't work today and that we would end up getting out of class early. :) But once we finally got the DVD, I really was intrigued by the video. I think I found it so interesting because it was around the time I was growing up. Although I wasn't yet a teenager at the time it was made, I remember seeing the things the video showed. I was probably in elementary school, getting ready to go into middle school, so I wasn't quite in the midst of my teenage years, but I did look up to many teens. The movie just intrigued me, in the fact that media impacts our lives more than we often realize! It kind of scared me in a way. As I watched the video and saw how teens were influenced and affected by pop culture and their surrounding of media, I realized that the current generation of teens is probably even more influenced by the media. As technology grows, we are exposed to more and more ways to access media. We are constantly surrounded and tempted by the ways of pop culture. Whether we want to know about what is going on in celebrities’ lives, we are exposed to it, and most likely are influenced by it in some way. I can currently see in my life how pop culture influences me, whether I choose to or not, and it kinda scares me! I sit and watch commercials and am always influenced in some way by them. I can either reject what they have to offer or be persuaded. I can see the ways that celebrities are living their lives through reality TV, magazines, and the news. I can choose to be influenced to live my life in a similar way or I can reject it. In a way, we are all living our lives through the influences of pop culture and media surrounding us. It is scary, and we do need to realize the effects it has on future generations, but it is possible to live a life outside of pop culture and media. We can create our own individualistic lives, and we need to show future generations this is possible.

Critical and Active Learning

As I am learning about critical and active learning in Mass Media in Society, I am also learning about critical learning in many of my other classes. In my Literature in Society class, we are currently working on writing a Critical Analysis Paper. As I have been studying texts and learning the different techniques of what it really means to critically analyze a text, I have realized what it truly means to "critically analyze media." I have always had teachers that have told me, and currently do have professors now that tell me, "Be sure to use a higher level of thinking and critically analyze what you are reading." My psychology teacher says this all the time, and I kept thinking, "What in the world does that really mean?!" This semester I have made the goal to really try to apply my studies to my daily life. I don't just want to go through the motions anymore. I want to study and do work and try to find meaning behind it all, bringing meaning to my life in a new way. I realized that the only way I can do this is if I really critically analyze what I am reading and learning. I have realized that all classes connect in some way. As I am learning about symbols and mythological stories, etc. in Mass Media, all these things apply to the way I am critically analyzing literature and developing an essay from these symbols and stories. In Psychology, I feel like I have been better able to understand concepts because I am trying to connect what I am learning outside of class. I have even noticed that Statistics class connects with some ideas in Psychology. As I am engaging more in this abstract learning, I am finding it to be tough, but very meaningful. It is a great to finally be able to connect studying and media texts to my everyday life.
I plan to be a teacher in the future, so therefore it is important that I understand the difference between Active and Critical learning. I realize that Critical learning does not apply to everyone. Young kids are not going to be able to critically analyze things, rather they will learn by being engaged in activities, such as coloring, writing. There are many processes to learning and as our minds develop overtime, we are then better able to critically analyze media and our surroundings.

Visual/Filmic Literacy

After watching the “Thrillicious SoBe Water Commercial for the Super Bowl”, I discovered any signs and symbols. The first thing I noticed about the commercial was the lighting as the girl was walking through the door. The lighting was sparkly and bright with a "pretty" girl walking in with a rather revealing outfit on. Right away, the commercial grabs our attention with the catchy lighting and flashy girl. The angle of the camera changes from showing her whole body to showing her feet, with a gecko running across the floor toward her and a SoBe water in her hand. After grabbing our attention, they direct our attention to the SoBe water. The angle of the water continuously changes as it gives a close up of the girl and then back to her feet as she is walking on the white floor. Then we suddenly get a close up of the girl drinking the SoBe water and then we see the gecko lick his lips and jump for a dribble of water. After he drinks the water, he gets an evil look a look in his eye, and then the next thing we see is the camera switching to a bunch of different colored geckos dancing to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. Then the girl begins dancing with them. They are all dancing on the white floor. No other colors are involved but her shiny outfit, and the color of the geckos. As they continue to dance, we get different angles of the girl and the geckos. Then we see the girl laying on the floor with the geckos all over her and then we here a "snap" of a camera and then the camera switches to a bunch of different colored SoBe waters lined up and then one of the geckos jumps into it, with the song ending and a voice saying, "Thriller."
I think this commercial was very creative. It immediately caught my attention with the lighting. They used a girl in a skimpy outfit to capture the attention of both men and women, assuming that men lust and women want this type of body. After they catch our attention, the camera switches our attention to a colorful SoBe water. I think the white floor and lighting tries to focus our attention on the rather small, but colorful object, the water. One syntagmatic meaning could be the music, as most of recognize the song "Thriller" and are anticipating something, thrilling and enticing, perhaps. After she takes a drink and the gecko gets taste of the SoBe, they are filled with energy and happiness as they dance, showing us that SoBe provides this "Thrill." So, a paradigmatic sign could be the water= energy and fun. Also the camera snap at the end, may signify that this water is something that we all want and will find pleasure in and pass on to other people, just as pictures help us pass on things we want to remember and show to others.

Media Diet

As I have analyzed the pass three days of media usage, it turned out to be a bit different then I first envisioned it would be. The past three days, I have been limited to my media usage. I went to watch my teammates run at a track meet in Finley, Ohio. A few of my teammates and I stayed at one of our teammates grandparents house in Findley. We were all hesitant as to whether or not we should go because we had a lot of homework and studying to do. We wanted to bring our computers along, but of course, we didn't' have internet access at the house. We wanted to bring homework, but we knew that it would be dark most of the trip, so we wouldn't be able to get much done during the ride. We knew once we got there we just wouldn't want to do any studying because we would just want to hang out, watch a movie, enjoy each other company, and watch our teammates run the following day. But, things ended up turning out a little differently. First, of all, I knew this trip would be a good thing for me- that I wouldn't have the ability to get on Facebook 24-7, like I usually do. I have been trying to not get on it as much this past week, and this weekend was a great time for me to go without it. Its not that I am obsessed with it, its just that whenever I am in my dorm room, I have the ability to get on it, and I usually do. I would say I usually am on it 2 or so hours a day (ridiculous, I know.) It so often distracts me from social interaction or studying. After spending time with my teammates and not getting on Facebook, I have felt so much more productive. On the way to Findley, I wrote some family and friends letters. We watched a movie (Fireproof), that evening. We went to the meet the meet on Saturday and I read some psychology and literature texts and wrote a paper. Looking back on my media usage this past weekend, I am very pleased with it. I got the studying I needed to get done, without Facebook being a distraction or any other type of media that I have in my dorm room. I have also begun reading a book called, "Reedeming Love." Although I don't really have time to read because of other homework, I decided to start reading on the elliptical. I guess as I look back on my media usage over the past few days, I have learned that there are ways to not let it consume me and distract me. I can limit myself and get more important things done, such as spending quality time with friends and family instead of being consumed in Facebook and watching TV. Media is designed to bring us pleasure, and it is enjoyable. I do think media is great in moderation, and this weekend gave me a little taste of how I need to moderate my media diet.