As my final project I would like to present a teaching unit of the social and historical idea of consumerization and how the media impacts and affects consumerization. I would like to discuss the historical and social views of advertising and how it is changed over the course of the 20th century into the 21st century. I am really interested in the idea of consumerization and I think it would be a good topic to discuss in its relationship to media. There are also many historical, social and technological advances that have come through media. I also like the idea of how this has shaped America in general and what is so famously called the American Dream.
The first topic within this unit that I would like to discuss with my class would be a brief history of advertisement and the media. When newspapers, journals, catalogues and perhaps even television first came out in the United States there was no such word or concept of media. The advertisements that were around in the beginning of the twentieth were quite different than what we would expect. Although there was such thing as mail and the telegraph, these things were not as common or widely dispersed as newspapers and magazines. During this part of class I would give a brief history of the first American newspapers and magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post that was first published in 1821 and is known as one of America’s first successful magazines. It was also published weekly until 1969 and after that only sporadically. For this topic I was thinking that I could have my students look through the archives online at http://saturdayeveningpost.com/Archive/. For instances, they have many covers from past and historical elections and I could have my students choose an older magazine or newspaper and compare it to one of the covers of a Time, US Weekly, or New York Times cover and see if they spot any similarities or differences and why this might be. Particularly the visuals and captions the students could analyze. The visuals could be what kind of shot is it, up-close, medium, long and what this does for the candidate. Also, what the candidate is doing, maybe the candidates from then and now are doing the same thing, again ask how and why this pose or action is so effective for covers of the magazines. Also, could ask why these covers are not effective in their purpose.
While either reading the captions or articles the students could discuss who the targeted audiences were, could also ask if there are any specific stereotypes of either a certain race or gender and if that stereotype still exists. Other questions that might be relevant to the captions include what was the point of the message? Do they think the message was conveyed properly why or why not?
These types of magazines would give a good historical background of what was shown in the media back in the days before television and the Internet. I would also have them, if possible, to go online and do the same type of exercise as above but with the sears catalogue. Having students look individually and as a class at some of the very first forms of advertisement through magazines and newspapers would give them a historical context of how the media got started.
Not only is the historical context important but also the social impact of these magazines and newspaper. When The Saturday Evening Post was first published many Americans were probably not well educated. Only middle and upper class citizens could read and write and even more importantly most minorities could not read or write. Given this background, many of the newspapers, magazines and catalogues were targeted for the middle and upper social classes in the United States. It is important to have students analyze these old materials and take into context who were the targeted audiences and how that has changed and even perhaps reversed in today’s society. On the other hand, upper class women could read and would go through catalogues such as the Sears Catalogues to choose which products, clothing, and other household items that the family might need.
A good idea for this type of analyzing would have the students break up into groups and each group analyze who would and who would not read what newspapers, magazines or catalogues. Since these were the only forms of media it would be important to understand the cultural and social context of how and to whom the media was being distributed to during these early, pioneer days of the media.
The years leading up to and after the First World War are called the New Era. There were many new ideas and cultural changes taking place in many American homes and businesses. In the economic and business world there were a few changing factors that had an enormous impact on consumerization. First of all there was a new standardized mass production, higher production meant higher wages and there was more demand for consumer goods. The war also stimulated a need for numerous older industries including steel and petroleum and also for new industries like plastic. The worker productivity increased which led to more money in the hands of Americans to become better consumers.
The years after the First World War there were many cultural changes occurring in the United States. The idea of consumption was not all that new. In 1898, an economist by the name of Thorstein Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption” in his book The Theory of the Leisure Class. However, the 1920s was the time period that many of the new technological advances were made available to many middle class households for the first time. Electric appliances such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, washing machines and refrigerators became available for women to purchase. Henceforth women became one of America’s greatest consumers. Such things were no longer classified as luxuries but rather as necessities.
The automobile industry had the greatest mass production rates during this time period. With all of these consumer good becoming available for the mass public there was the novel idea of credit however back in the 1920s it was called the installment plan, in which case many Americans could purchase consumer good thus becoming better consumers. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile but he profited heavily from it and with the use of mass production he become a very powerful man in the business and cultural world. Ford once said the very controversial, “ Americans can have any kind of car they want, and any color they want, as long as it’s a Ford and as long as it’s Black.” Henry Ford was a great man and perhaps one of the most important men during the 1920s, however like many high-end businessmen he was at the center of much controversy during his time. His controversy dealt with his newspaper and the anti-Semitic articles. This goes to show that even the famous businessmen who are in the spotlight can be at the center of such debate in the public eye. Although, the media press was not as bad as it would be today. Along with Henry Ford’s controversial newspaper, there was also a case of two Italian immigrants, Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. These two Italian immigrants were accused and found guilty of robbery and murder. Like many publicized murder trials today, this controversial case was the cover of the newspapers and radios. When Sacco and Vanzatti were executed in Massachusetts in August 1927 there was plenty of protests and mixed feeling throughout the United States and on an international level as well. The students could research this trial or another trial and compare it to one of today’s controversial trials or dramas in the media and report the similarities and differences, including how the media was used and what role did it play and if there were any biases. The next step in the phenomena of media and consumerization deals with the radio, telephone, the early years of television, and all electric record players and radio phonographs. All of these things increased consumerization in different types of media. The telephone was invented in 1876 and the radio in 1895. The telephone did not become a major player in the role of the media until the 1980s. With the industrial revolution and more specifically with the automobile industry the idea of mass production, which is at the core of consumerization began its impact on the American cultural. The idea of mass production has been around in other parts of the world centuries early with the invention of the printing press. One of the most popular forms of media came through electric record players and the radio.
The radio was first used for navigation and communication in the military and government branches but then it spread to businesses and the public in general. In the beginning, when radio was first introduced direct selling of products was not allowed on the radio. One of the first acclaimed radio advertisements came from the Queensboro Corporation in New York City in 1922. It was on the radio station WEAF that was owned by AT&T. The early career start of AT&T and the radio is very interesting especially since AT&T was established as a government sanctioned monopoly in 1913. I could ask the class if they thought this type of monopoly could still exist today? Why or why not? How do you think this would affect its power and biases over the media?
Students could research major news/radio corporation such as Time Warner, Disney, the News Corporation and Viacom. The students would watch a program on the same topic and see if they notice any biases or differences within the different programs. The could write about how and why they think these difference occurred and what factors played into considerations and if they did not notice any differences what factors should be considered. As a project the students could choose a corporation and do a presentation or paper about the different corporations for example Clear Channel and Viacom may have different agendas in terms of who and what they are presenting for the mass audience.
Along with this would be the ideological agendas that were most prominent back when AT&T were first starting in the 1920s. The students could dig into questions such as, what was the social and historical context? How did world war one play into mass production and consumption? What were the major products that were in mass production i.e. cars, radios etc? Are they the same products as today? The years after the end of world war one and before U.S. involvement in world war two, how could one describe mass production and consumption? These concepts were still very new during this time period however; there was a large increase in mass production and with an increase in population especially in rural areas. Also, as social issues came to rise such as women’s rights, much of the advertising and products took on a different and wider audience. During this period the United States was one of the top in the world in terms of technological advances and with these advances more products become more available to people whom would earlier in time would not have gotten.
It was also at this time that the infamous Black Tuesday occurred and put mass production on a screeching halt. During the Great Depression many industries suffered and had to produce massive lay offs. Many businesses were shut down and the economic outlook was not good for the United States. Even with Roosevelt’s work with the New Deal, many people became homeless and were force to sell their goods lower than what it was worth. This depression led up through world war two. During and after world war two mass production and consumption began again. The war helped get the economy and mass production starting again. Many things changed with the Second World War including, higher taxes, labor unions, military draft along with the role of women in the workforce. The war promoted civilian support and the rise of patriotism. Since mass production was a downward slope, the United States government began rationing. Among the rations were tires, typewriters, sugar, gasoline and many other products. Many citizens who were once large spenders and consumers were now put on a tight budget. Many women whose husbands were at war had to find some way to support their family and they did so by taking over many temporary factory jobs especially in the automobile industry.
This war was the first time in which there was a large and/or propaganda influencing the public’s view. There was no direct censorship of the radio, newspapers and magazines but movie scripts did have to be pre-approved. Government agencies and major and local businesses asked Americans to boost production at their work and at their home. There were however, some cartoon characters that were directed to be more patriotic than one might expect. Some were openly anti-German and Japanese. A prime example of this is the Donald Duck cartoon entitled “ Der Fuehrer’s Face” which is supposedly an anti-Nazi cartoon. Another surprising media propaganda during the war was the Disney short film called “ Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi.” These are just two popular media cartoons representing the Nazis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASW3UCc17AI&feature=related This is the Walt Disney’s short film.
Like many celebrities today who decide to announce their political beliefs to the rest of the country, Hollywood celebrities during this time period did the same thing. However, during this war there was much more support for U.S. involvement. Hollywood pursued an active role within the public to support the war. In 1936 the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League was formed with such stars joining as Dorothy Parker, Donald Ogden Stewart and Fritz Lang. This group, although was put out in 1942 promoted anti-Nazi propaganda. This organization also held rallies at the Shrine Auditorium. I was thinking that the students could research different American propaganda. There would be much to research but a lot of it is very interesting and is not normally talked about when one discusses the atrocities that occurred during this war. They could look into cartoons, movies, rallies, and posters and compare it to how Americans and Hollywood today are dealing with Iraq and the war on terrorism. It would be interesting to compare someone like Michael Moore to a Fritz Lang and compare the different types of movies and propaganda they promote. Movies such as The Best Years of Our Lives became very popular and focused on life after the war.
It is at this point in time where the media really starts to play a major role in not only popular culture, but also social and political aspects of the American life. Stereotypes have been around for many years but it was the years right after the Second World War that pressure of the perfect “Leave it to Beaver” family took over the American household. There was a rise of the idealized suburban family. The stereotypical of husband and wife took over, the wife would stay home and cook and clean while the father worked at the office 9-5. This shows the typical middle-class American family. The United States on social and cultural level turned to the conservative lifestyle, which lead to devastating chaos in the following decade. It was also during this time period known as the baby boomer time, more and more people were starting to have families.
The 1960s was perhaps the most disorderly, muddled time period that the United States has ever seen. There was social unrest in every aspect of the American culture. The enormous issues included the Civil Rights Movement, women’s rights movement, Vietnam War and later the biggest political scandal Watergate. This time period itself could have its own teaching unit and with the media it is very hard to go into depth with how the media portrayed all of these events. What I would do with my class in this situation would allow them to choose a topic of interest or a stereotype, for example the stereotype of a hippie or the Civil Rights Movement and have them look for youtube clips or images of how these things were portrayed in the media. Asking questions such as who is the targeted audience? What are the media biases? Did these media biases change as a result of who was producing the product? How did this affect the United States as a country? How was Hollywood involved? What was the reaction to the war, Civil Rights Movement, and to other issues facing America? How can you relate these issues to today’s societies? Is the criticism that was received far?
During this time of political upheaval there were many technological advances as well. The United States was in a space race with the Soviet Union. The United States had won this race by putting the first man on the moon in 1969. Also the advancement of computers was starting, although computers and the idea of computers had been around for a while computers were becoming more and more capable of doing different things and in 1969 there was the first Internet called ARPAnet. Later on in 1971 the first floppy disk came out. This technological progress led to consumer spending, which was on a rise postwar. It would be interesting to have the students each choose something that was invented or advanced during this time period and see how it was advertised and sold to the public.
This decade set the United States into a cultural frenzy during the 1970s. The Watergate Scandal put a huge hole of distrust with Americans when it came to their own government. Besides the Watergate Scandal that was within the government, 1973 marked a time period in which there was an oil crisis. The United States supported Israeli troops rather than Arab troops which led to the United States and other western countries getting cut off with their oil supply. The United States was in big trouble considering alternative resources had not been that well investigated. Although the shortage of because of political disagreement, the impact of this crisis shows how much oil and what large consumers of oil Americans are.
The seventies also brought about different technological advances and consumer goods. Due to the energy crisis the auto industry had to change the way the produced their cars therefore many automobiles become more fuel efficient, smaller and made out of different material. Consumerization took off and never looked back, commercials for every product available at this time period were running on every channel. By this time most Americans had a television in their household. Once again, things that were once luxuries to the upper class were not made available to the general mass of the American population. Industries and businesses figured out that they could become much more profitable by targeting mass audiences rather than just the rich. A good idea for this section of history would be to have students compare commercials done in the fifties to ones produced in the seventies. Such questions could include how did advertising adjust to the Civil Rights and feminist movements? Are there certain products targeted to certain audiences? In such cases of feminism, how has feminism changed in terms of how it is portrayed in the media from then to now?
Another key aspect of the seventies was the introduction of one of today two most competitive and popular corporations Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft was founded in 1975 while Apple was founded in 1976. However, Microsoft computers and such was the leading and dominating business during the mid-eighties. They have been widely criticized for their business tactics as a result. It is hard to pin point exact details of the advertising companies from this time period up till the present. There are many representations and stereotypes in the media. With Ronald Regan as president the United States had a smaller government, lower taxes and overall the economy faired out well. Commercialism and consumerization also increased. Here is the youtube link to one of the first Apple Computer commercials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtsvrUqW7_Q.
The concept and use of the credit card has been around since the 1920s but the use of credit cards skyrocketed in throughout the 1960s and throughout the seventies and eighties. In the 1960s more and more companies began offering credit cards therefore in the mid-seventies the United States Congress began putting restrictions and regulations on the credit card industry. However, in the 1996 court case Smiley vs. Citibank, the United States sided with the credit card company which lifted the amount of late fees a credit card company could charge.
The business and technological corporations over the last thirty or so years have changed their direction especially with technological gadgets such as computers and video games. With the massive increase in technology and its abilities corporations are targeting the mass audiences and their home lifestyle. Over the latter twenty years or so the advertisement industry has taken control over what is popular in today’s society and what is not. With the new expansion of the Internet with such things as blogs and facebook people are able to communicate much more rapidly and efficiently. Today’s society contains many different facets of life. There is a lot more expansion of what is considered popular and what is not depending on your style. Stereotypes have increased. Since there is such a wide variety of advertising and technology that is available for Americans today it would be hard to give an accurate and descriptive history of how far society has come.
For this last time period I would like to have my students examine commercials, and/or a topic that they find appealing and compare with how it looked in the 1940s and 1950s. How are things similar and how are they different? What is interesting? What do you think the media will look like in twenty years from now?
My goal of this entire teaching lesson was to have the students learn about the history of technology and the media, especially since it is not very often taught in school. Much propaganda from earlier in the century would be deemed inappropriate in today’s standards. Also for the students to take a look at whom, how and why the media industry is the way it is, the cultural background and history is key to understanding this. Consumerization is becoming more and more of an issue especially in oil and the automobile industries
Friday, December 12, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Ad Critique
For our section on advertising I have analyzed three different television and magazine ads, each with their own distinct audience and goal in mind. The first ad I examined was the new “green” Macbook computer. The entire commercial was just of the new macbook laptop and it was spinning in the center of the screen with a man voice in the background along with green tinted light. There are many different things that I noticed about this commercial which why I chose to analyze. The first thing I noticed about this commercial was that the computer was the center of everything, in other words there was no other action throughout the commercial just the computer going around in circles.
The variety of technical aspects of this commercial relate back to chapter three. The producer of this commercial used a medium shot of the computer but used the circles to create different angles to keep attention. Also the lightening was plain white but the macbook laptop reflected a minor green shadow but it was not overwhelming to take away from the message of the commercial. The man speaking over the commercial had a regular friendly man voice and there was also music playing in the background. There were also mini graphics above the computer that corresponded with what the man was talking about in relation to the computer. For instance, the man is describing how this new computer is completely recyclable and above the computer is the three green arrows in a triangle, which is the recycle sign.
I think the intended audience of middle to upper class young people who are “in style.” Apple is the new “it” brand in technological advances in popular culture and within the last few years and the movement towards a healthier, earthly lifestyle; this computer is directly aimed at the young, hip people who are interested in bettering the earth. Most of what the commercial was saying dealt with how “green” this new macbook laptop is, this commercial can also be directed towards a younger generation of students who are environmentally aware and want to be with the newest technology, apple, and to help the earth.
The next commercial I looked at was commercial for build-a-bear workshop. The commercial’s targeted audience was for young kids but also for parents and older adults. The commercial was relatively short in comparison with the macbook commercial. This commercial also had much more movement and more energy. The first thing I noticed about this commercial was that the screen was always moving, the shot never focused on one thing for more than about two seconds. The first scene is designed to attract children because it is of a little girl smiling and holding a teddy bear, the shot then goes by to a group of teddy bears and then a lady coming grabbing a teddy bear appears. The next and last scene shows a mom and daughter walking out of the store with a new teddy bear.
In this commercial there is also a woman doing a voice over. Her voice is very friendly and is appealing to young children. I think that this commercial is designed to attract young children. I also think the commercial was designed for parents and adults too because of the content of the commercial. Besides the advertising of just the basic build-a-bear workshop it also showed a discount on the bears during the holiday season, indicating that it would be a great gift for family and friends who have young children. One of the most popular and studied topic is consumerization, as it says in Beach on page 35, “audiences are socialized by the media to think of consumption as a route to status or popularity.” This time of year commercials push it enhance their product and have higher outcomes of customers.
The last ad I examined came from a magazine called First, which is a women’s health magazine. The target audience would be middle-age women. The background of the ad is bright Christmas red and the woman is modeling signature Levi Strauss jeans. The context and function of this ad is to help women feel good about themselves in a certain brand of jean. One of the interesting things about this ad was that, although it was a women’s ad for jeans the woman in the ad was not super skinny or glamorized. The magazine is targeted at older women who may be a little heavier than 20 year old girls who read Cosmo. Even though some magazines that target older women do show extremely attractive and slim women, the female gender images vary from the different age groups. Young girls who read seventeen and Cosmo, the women on the covers are very pretty and skinny, while the older women on the cover of other magazines may look the same but the captions next to the picture are different.
Magazines for older women usually have attracted women on the cover with captions such as “ you can look this good in 5 days” or “you too can loose 10lbs. in ten days” while magazines targeted for young girls do not usually have such captions by the supermodel that’s on the front cover. This particular ad shows that women can wear tight fitting jeans and look good without being young and thin.
The variety of technical aspects of this commercial relate back to chapter three. The producer of this commercial used a medium shot of the computer but used the circles to create different angles to keep attention. Also the lightening was plain white but the macbook laptop reflected a minor green shadow but it was not overwhelming to take away from the message of the commercial. The man speaking over the commercial had a regular friendly man voice and there was also music playing in the background. There were also mini graphics above the computer that corresponded with what the man was talking about in relation to the computer. For instance, the man is describing how this new computer is completely recyclable and above the computer is the three green arrows in a triangle, which is the recycle sign.
I think the intended audience of middle to upper class young people who are “in style.” Apple is the new “it” brand in technological advances in popular culture and within the last few years and the movement towards a healthier, earthly lifestyle; this computer is directly aimed at the young, hip people who are interested in bettering the earth. Most of what the commercial was saying dealt with how “green” this new macbook laptop is, this commercial can also be directed towards a younger generation of students who are environmentally aware and want to be with the newest technology, apple, and to help the earth.
The next commercial I looked at was commercial for build-a-bear workshop. The commercial’s targeted audience was for young kids but also for parents and older adults. The commercial was relatively short in comparison with the macbook commercial. This commercial also had much more movement and more energy. The first thing I noticed about this commercial was that the screen was always moving, the shot never focused on one thing for more than about two seconds. The first scene is designed to attract children because it is of a little girl smiling and holding a teddy bear, the shot then goes by to a group of teddy bears and then a lady coming grabbing a teddy bear appears. The next and last scene shows a mom and daughter walking out of the store with a new teddy bear.
In this commercial there is also a woman doing a voice over. Her voice is very friendly and is appealing to young children. I think that this commercial is designed to attract young children. I also think the commercial was designed for parents and adults too because of the content of the commercial. Besides the advertising of just the basic build-a-bear workshop it also showed a discount on the bears during the holiday season, indicating that it would be a great gift for family and friends who have young children. One of the most popular and studied topic is consumerization, as it says in Beach on page 35, “audiences are socialized by the media to think of consumption as a route to status or popularity.” This time of year commercials push it enhance their product and have higher outcomes of customers.
The last ad I examined came from a magazine called First, which is a women’s health magazine. The target audience would be middle-age women. The background of the ad is bright Christmas red and the woman is modeling signature Levi Strauss jeans. The context and function of this ad is to help women feel good about themselves in a certain brand of jean. One of the interesting things about this ad was that, although it was a women’s ad for jeans the woman in the ad was not super skinny or glamorized. The magazine is targeted at older women who may be a little heavier than 20 year old girls who read Cosmo. Even though some magazines that target older women do show extremely attractive and slim women, the female gender images vary from the different age groups. Young girls who read seventeen and Cosmo, the women on the covers are very pretty and skinny, while the older women on the cover of other magazines may look the same but the captions next to the picture are different.
Magazines for older women usually have attracted women on the cover with captions such as “ you can look this good in 5 days” or “you too can loose 10lbs. in ten days” while magazines targeted for young girls do not usually have such captions by the supermodel that’s on the front cover. This particular ad shows that women can wear tight fitting jeans and look good without being young and thin.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Historical Artifact
For this assignment I am going to describe the historical and cultural importance of Bob Dylan’s song “Like a Rolling Stone.” This song including both the lyrical content and the musical/instrumental line are one of the, if not the most recognizable songs in American culture since it was first released. The writer of this song is also of historical significance. Bob Dylan was known in the 1960s for his political song writing. The 1960s was a time period of social and political unrest in the United States. With the Civil Right Movement and the controversial Vietnam War there was a lot to be said about the drastic changes that were occurring in America. Bob Dylan is one of the few songwriters of that time who is still widely known for song such as “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Time They Are-A Changing.”
The musical line of this song is very popular and majority of people would recognize the song if they heard it. It has been done over by many different musicians over the year and has appeared in many shows and movies as well. One of the reasons why this song is so popular is because of its lyrical content. The main verse lyrics are “How does it feel, How does it feel, To be on your own, With no direction home
Like a complete unknown, Like a rolling stone?” These lyrics brought with them the idea and confusion that many Americans felt during the chaos of the mid to late 1960s. It is very hard to walk away from this song once the first opening notes are played.
To share this song with other students who are unaware of this song and its importance, I would have to explain the importance and severity of the 1960s movement of social and political unrest. The Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War, Women’s Rights movement along with the political tension created chaos throughout the United States. The conservative atmosphere of the 1950s clashed with the massive liberal changes within the culture. The death of John F. Kennedy brought an end to a new-age America. American society was restless and was going through what could be called a cultural and identity change. Among the young Americans at the time, it was a difficult time period many were unsure of what the U.S. government was doing and what part of society they would fit into.
This song is not only very important in the American culture but also in Dylan’s individual music career and music in general. The song was released on Dylan’s 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. This album aided Dylan’s cut with folk music as he went forward with more of a rock sound. It can also be said that maybe it was a demonstration of what confusion Dylan was going through at the time this song was released. One of the main reasons why this song is so important is its significance years after it was first released. Everyone from The Rolling Stones to Bruce Springsteen has done a cover of “Like a Rolling Stone”. Rolling Stone magazine even named this song the number one song of all times.
The musical line of this song is very popular and majority of people would recognize the song if they heard it. It has been done over by many different musicians over the year and has appeared in many shows and movies as well. One of the reasons why this song is so popular is because of its lyrical content. The main verse lyrics are “How does it feel, How does it feel, To be on your own, With no direction home
Like a complete unknown, Like a rolling stone?” These lyrics brought with them the idea and confusion that many Americans felt during the chaos of the mid to late 1960s. It is very hard to walk away from this song once the first opening notes are played.
To share this song with other students who are unaware of this song and its importance, I would have to explain the importance and severity of the 1960s movement of social and political unrest. The Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War, Women’s Rights movement along with the political tension created chaos throughout the United States. The conservative atmosphere of the 1950s clashed with the massive liberal changes within the culture. The death of John F. Kennedy brought an end to a new-age America. American society was restless and was going through what could be called a cultural and identity change. Among the young Americans at the time, it was a difficult time period many were unsure of what the U.S. government was doing and what part of society they would fit into.
This song is not only very important in the American culture but also in Dylan’s individual music career and music in general. The song was released on Dylan’s 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. This album aided Dylan’s cut with folk music as he went forward with more of a rock sound. It can also be said that maybe it was a demonstration of what confusion Dylan was going through at the time this song was released. One of the main reasons why this song is so important is its significance years after it was first released. Everyone from The Rolling Stones to Bruce Springsteen has done a cover of “Like a Rolling Stone”. Rolling Stone magazine even named this song the number one song of all times.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Defending Britney
Defense of “Pop Music”
In this assignment, I will be defending pop music but more specifically pop music from the years 1998-2002. These years are especially important to the cultural identity of pop music. Such acts as N*Sync and Britney Spears drew massive attention from teenagers across the country and the world. This time period was a huge expansion of boy bands including Backstreet Boys (BSB), 98 degrees, and N*Sync and such female artists as Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. These musicians had millions of teenage fans who would flock to Times Squares at TRL (a music-video countdown show on MTV) just so they could possibly get a glimpse of them. Pop mania set in and soon the radios and televisions were flooded with songs, the musicians, and the fans that became obsessed with them, and who still considering Backstreet Boys was recently on tour with sold-out shows.
Many other genres of musicians did not consider boy bands and pop music to be “real” music. Many of the song lyrics by pop musicians were very corny in a sense and did not appeal to most people except 13-year-old girls. This pop music defined a generation of the teenagers of that time period, me included. Pop music received awards and what not but in retrospect and from other genres of music. Many pop musicians did not write their own song lyrics which coming a few years after musician poets such as Kurt Cobain, was a big no-no in the music industry. In the case of the attacks against pop music the most important aspect of how and why these musicians were not taken seriously were because of the media representations of them. Beacher states on page 45 “An alternative approach is to assume instead that media representations ‘re-present’ or actually create a new reality, which in turn mediates or shapes the ways in which people perceive themselves and the world” this holds true for many of these pop stars.
The female pop stars like Britney Spears were very commercialized and were put out for show as major sex appeal. This very ditsy appearance lead critics, to some extent de-value her and other female musicians in the pop industry. Even today, the effects of becoming so famous and having that female stereotype of her has messed with her head considering her relationship with the media and her breakdowns. Another criticism of pop music was that it was only loved by young teenagers, one of the most famous images is when N*Sync was at TRL and hundreds of girls lined the streets hoping to see them. TRL was one of the main ways fans of pop music at this time were able to interact with their favorite musicians. People could call to request their favorite music videos along with other things they could do.
The main criticism of this type of music is its superficiality. Music is “the ideal vehicle for communicating exceptional emotions; perhaps its mediocre moments give the listener room to make sense of all that intensity.” (Powers 238) Even though the lyrics and the music may have been superficial it reached out to a generation of teenagers. I know from personal experience, that every time I hear a certain N*Sync song it brings to the days of my first middle school crushes and school dances. One thing that become much more prominent and popular after pop mania was the fan culture and fan clubs, which was taken to a much higher level. Fans of N*Sync and Backstreet Boys collected magazines articles, posters, videos and even Barbie dolls of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. As Beacher says on page 60, “Being a fan involves active participation and knowledge of a particular media text or event, as displayed through logos, photos, clothes, and so on.” Many of the pop fans collected plenty of memorabilia because of their obsession with their favorite music groups.
In this assignment, I will be defending pop music but more specifically pop music from the years 1998-2002. These years are especially important to the cultural identity of pop music. Such acts as N*Sync and Britney Spears drew massive attention from teenagers across the country and the world. This time period was a huge expansion of boy bands including Backstreet Boys (BSB), 98 degrees, and N*Sync and such female artists as Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. These musicians had millions of teenage fans who would flock to Times Squares at TRL (a music-video countdown show on MTV) just so they could possibly get a glimpse of them. Pop mania set in and soon the radios and televisions were flooded with songs, the musicians, and the fans that became obsessed with them, and who still considering Backstreet Boys was recently on tour with sold-out shows.
Many other genres of musicians did not consider boy bands and pop music to be “real” music. Many of the song lyrics by pop musicians were very corny in a sense and did not appeal to most people except 13-year-old girls. This pop music defined a generation of the teenagers of that time period, me included. Pop music received awards and what not but in retrospect and from other genres of music. Many pop musicians did not write their own song lyrics which coming a few years after musician poets such as Kurt Cobain, was a big no-no in the music industry. In the case of the attacks against pop music the most important aspect of how and why these musicians were not taken seriously were because of the media representations of them. Beacher states on page 45 “An alternative approach is to assume instead that media representations ‘re-present’ or actually create a new reality, which in turn mediates or shapes the ways in which people perceive themselves and the world” this holds true for many of these pop stars.
The female pop stars like Britney Spears were very commercialized and were put out for show as major sex appeal. This very ditsy appearance lead critics, to some extent de-value her and other female musicians in the pop industry. Even today, the effects of becoming so famous and having that female stereotype of her has messed with her head considering her relationship with the media and her breakdowns. Another criticism of pop music was that it was only loved by young teenagers, one of the most famous images is when N*Sync was at TRL and hundreds of girls lined the streets hoping to see them. TRL was one of the main ways fans of pop music at this time were able to interact with their favorite musicians. People could call to request their favorite music videos along with other things they could do.
The main criticism of this type of music is its superficiality. Music is “the ideal vehicle for communicating exceptional emotions; perhaps its mediocre moments give the listener room to make sense of all that intensity.” (Powers 238) Even though the lyrics and the music may have been superficial it reached out to a generation of teenagers. I know from personal experience, that every time I hear a certain N*Sync song it brings to the days of my first middle school crushes and school dances. One thing that become much more prominent and popular after pop mania was the fan culture and fan clubs, which was taken to a much higher level. Fans of N*Sync and Backstreet Boys collected magazines articles, posters, videos and even Barbie dolls of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. As Beacher says on page 60, “Being a fan involves active participation and knowledge of a particular media text or event, as displayed through logos, photos, clothes, and so on.” Many of the pop fans collected plenty of memorabilia because of their obsession with their favorite music groups.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Critical News Analysis
Local TV Format:
I watched the Fox 9 News at 9:00 p.m. tonight. The first story that was shown was the Border Battle football game between the Minnesota Vikings and Wisconsin Green Bay Packers. This was a sports story and lasted approximately three minutes and twenty seconds. The next story was about a domestic situation in Dodge County where the mother, son, two daughters, and father had been stabbed. The mother and son had died; this story was about crime and last about two minutes. The next story was about young couples that were hit by a criminal after being chased by police. The couple was hit from behind while at their car. The couple are still both in wheelchairs and this story last about two minutes and fifteen seconds. Another story after this was about a sex predator at Lake Harriet who has been grabbing and exposing himself to women. This story was a minute and twenty seconds long.
The next story was much longer and had any sub stories. It was about unnecessary healthcare. They gave a story of a man who had back surgery and then woke up after surgery blind. This story dealt with many other issues such as the politics of healthcare and how much doctors get paid. After this long story there was a commercial break and then three really short stories about the hurricane in Cuba, the school collapse in Haiti and the space ship with the Minnesotan woman.
Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of News
As a teacher, I think I would do a few different activities to help my students better understand the news and it’s biases. First I would have my students compare different news channels, like we did for this assignment, and see what differences this noticed such as the news anchors, language, story selection, visual images and so forth. I would have them compare and see if one favored more stories or if there was a variety. After we have discussed this I would have them then look at newspapers and do the same thing. I also think it would be a good idea to have the students do news comparisons at all levels of news starting from local news such as channel fox nine here in the twin cities, to country-level news like CNN and Fox News, and then at an international level of comparing our CNN news to the BBC news or the French news.
I would also have them analyze different types of news such as political news, sports news, cultural news and etc. It is important students note language, story selection and the visual images represented in each newscast. I would also try to explain to my students about corporate influences and who owns what news channels and how that can potentially impact what is shown on those channels. Online news and blogs are becoming more and more popular so it would be important to explain blogs and the difference between opinions and news and facts. Also, on a sub-topic when dealing with news on where the newscast received their facts from. Researching the research that is being presented. Many of the medical and other studies are blown out of proportion and need to be more closely analyzed.
I watched the Fox 9 News at 9:00 p.m. tonight. The first story that was shown was the Border Battle football game between the Minnesota Vikings and Wisconsin Green Bay Packers. This was a sports story and lasted approximately three minutes and twenty seconds. The next story was about a domestic situation in Dodge County where the mother, son, two daughters, and father had been stabbed. The mother and son had died; this story was about crime and last about two minutes. The next story was about young couples that were hit by a criminal after being chased by police. The couple was hit from behind while at their car. The couple are still both in wheelchairs and this story last about two minutes and fifteen seconds. Another story after this was about a sex predator at Lake Harriet who has been grabbing and exposing himself to women. This story was a minute and twenty seconds long.
The next story was much longer and had any sub stories. It was about unnecessary healthcare. They gave a story of a man who had back surgery and then woke up after surgery blind. This story dealt with many other issues such as the politics of healthcare and how much doctors get paid. After this long story there was a commercial break and then three really short stories about the hurricane in Cuba, the school collapse in Haiti and the space ship with the Minnesotan woman.
Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of News
As a teacher, I think I would do a few different activities to help my students better understand the news and it’s biases. First I would have my students compare different news channels, like we did for this assignment, and see what differences this noticed such as the news anchors, language, story selection, visual images and so forth. I would have them compare and see if one favored more stories or if there was a variety. After we have discussed this I would have them then look at newspapers and do the same thing. I also think it would be a good idea to have the students do news comparisons at all levels of news starting from local news such as channel fox nine here in the twin cities, to country-level news like CNN and Fox News, and then at an international level of comparing our CNN news to the BBC news or the French news.
I would also have them analyze different types of news such as political news, sports news, cultural news and etc. It is important students note language, story selection and the visual images represented in each newscast. I would also try to explain to my students about corporate influences and who owns what news channels and how that can potentially impact what is shown on those channels. Online news and blogs are becoming more and more popular so it would be important to explain blogs and the difference between opinions and news and facts. Also, on a sub-topic when dealing with news on where the newscast received their facts from. Researching the research that is being presented. Many of the medical and other studies are blown out of proportion and need to be more closely analyzed.
Monday, October 27, 2008
News Representation of the Elderly
The media has different representations of the elderly. The elderly is not always portrayed well in the media. In fact, the media has shown the elderly has sympathetic and naïve in some ways. The elderly people suffer from a negative stereotype. Many times in the media, the elderly are shown with preconceived pessimistic notions about their health, mental state of mind, personality and other characteristics. Elderly people are also shown as out of touch and not as advanced especially with all the new technology. There are some influences in the American culture that could possibly be some of the reasoning for the negative outlook of elderly people. Some of these influences include a general devaluation of tradition and the fact that there is such a strong association with death and old age.
The media has also played a major role in showing the positive ideals and lifestyles of young and lively. Baby-boomers are sometimes depicted as “geezer-like” and sometimes self-pitying. Many political issues surrounding the elderly such as social security and healthcare do not bring out the best presentation of old people.
To get an insight view of what comes up in the media regarding elderly people, I went to youtube.com and typed in “elderly people.” The results that showed were what I expected. Many of the clips were about death and diseases that affected elderly people.
The clips that I watched were somewhat depressing and dealt with saddening issues of becoming old. There was even a clip called “Sarah Silverman-You’re Gonna Die Soon”. I am somewhat surprised by the negativity that is out on the web about old people. There was hardly any positive clips of the elderly that came up right way on youtube.
The first clip that appeared was called “Elderly People and the Cold” It is clip from 1977 in the UK and although it is quite outdated, it was the first match that appeared from the search of elderly people. The clip is only 45 seconds but shows an elderly woman sitting in her living room while a man is speaking about the cold and hypothermia. The man speaking tells how if elderly people are in the cold temperate areas they can suffer from hypothermia but also it says “left unattended they can collapse and die.” This is public information film that was shown around the country. This clip shows that only is the American media somewhat bias in its showing of the elderly but also countries around the world.
The woman in the clip was really old, with wrinkles and did not smile at all. The angles of her face and body posture were also shown so that it made the film more dramatic. It then shows the mailman dropping off the mail and the elderly woman is unable to get the mail because she is too old. The woman looks very depressed and sad in the clip. This supports the stereotype that old people are helpless, sad, and unable to take care of themselves.
The next video on the list is called “ Camp for elderly people with Diabetes” so once again this enhances the connection between elderly people and illnesses. The clip opens up with a woman sitting with elderly people and taking blood of one woman. The music is a violin and is dramatic but miserable at the same time. The setting is on a lake. After talking to the woman for a bit it shows a scenic route of a lakeshore. The woman then goes on to describe what the camp is about.
With the first video clip there was a large use of close-up shots of the woman. This technique dramatizes the symbolic importance of the woman’s wrinkled aged face. This clip also used many low-angle shots, looking up the woman’s face, which again is associating power of her elderliness. The second video clip also uses a few different film critiques. One of the techniques is that the camera goes back and forth of zooming in and out on important details relating to diabetes and elderly people. For example, in one shot the camera zooms in on someone drawing blood to test the blood-sugar level.
These film techniques have placed a large emphasis on the physical aspects of the elderly. It shows that elderly people have a negative view of elderly people.
The media has also played a major role in showing the positive ideals and lifestyles of young and lively. Baby-boomers are sometimes depicted as “geezer-like” and sometimes self-pitying. Many political issues surrounding the elderly such as social security and healthcare do not bring out the best presentation of old people.
To get an insight view of what comes up in the media regarding elderly people, I went to youtube.com and typed in “elderly people.” The results that showed were what I expected. Many of the clips were about death and diseases that affected elderly people.
The clips that I watched were somewhat depressing and dealt with saddening issues of becoming old. There was even a clip called “Sarah Silverman-You’re Gonna Die Soon”. I am somewhat surprised by the negativity that is out on the web about old people. There was hardly any positive clips of the elderly that came up right way on youtube.
The first clip that appeared was called “Elderly People and the Cold” It is clip from 1977 in the UK and although it is quite outdated, it was the first match that appeared from the search of elderly people. The clip is only 45 seconds but shows an elderly woman sitting in her living room while a man is speaking about the cold and hypothermia. The man speaking tells how if elderly people are in the cold temperate areas they can suffer from hypothermia but also it says “left unattended they can collapse and die.” This is public information film that was shown around the country. This clip shows that only is the American media somewhat bias in its showing of the elderly but also countries around the world.
The woman in the clip was really old, with wrinkles and did not smile at all. The angles of her face and body posture were also shown so that it made the film more dramatic. It then shows the mailman dropping off the mail and the elderly woman is unable to get the mail because she is too old. The woman looks very depressed and sad in the clip. This supports the stereotype that old people are helpless, sad, and unable to take care of themselves.
The next video on the list is called “ Camp for elderly people with Diabetes” so once again this enhances the connection between elderly people and illnesses. The clip opens up with a woman sitting with elderly people and taking blood of one woman. The music is a violin and is dramatic but miserable at the same time. The setting is on a lake. After talking to the woman for a bit it shows a scenic route of a lakeshore. The woman then goes on to describe what the camp is about.
With the first video clip there was a large use of close-up shots of the woman. This technique dramatizes the symbolic importance of the woman’s wrinkled aged face. This clip also used many low-angle shots, looking up the woman’s face, which again is associating power of her elderliness. The second video clip also uses a few different film critiques. One of the techniques is that the camera goes back and forth of zooming in and out on important details relating to diabetes and elderly people. For example, in one shot the camera zooms in on someone drawing blood to test the blood-sugar level.
These film techniques have placed a large emphasis on the physical aspects of the elderly. It shows that elderly people have a negative view of elderly people.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Media Ethnographers
Media Ethnography is a fairly new concept and has especially taken off in this media-drive environment. According to Beacher, media ethnographers study “how audiences assume the active role of constructing the meaning of media texts” (Beach 55). Audiences have many ways in which they can participate in media interactions. There are various ways in which people participate in media such as, blogging, virtual social networks, computer/video games, and chatrooms. Even sitting in the living room watching E! News is a form of media interaction.
Audience consumerism is another aspect of the media realm that media ethnographers study. The commercials on television and radio are prim examples of how audiences listen and observe such things and then go into the real world and actually purchase the items. I conducted my observations on the social network Facebook. Facebook has developed immensely over the years and it is adding more and more different types of interactions among people using it. One of the components on facebook is that a member can become a “fan” of celebrities, athletes, or other public figures. I am a fan of Nicholas D. Kristof who is a columnist for the New York Times. On these web pages there is room for a description of what the person does and how they are known. Also, there is a spot to upload videos, notes, discussion board, and a wall for comments.
On the discussion board, people are able to post topics that are open for discussion. There are many discussions open on Kristof’s articles, the usual articles and topics are triggered with political and social issues affecting the world. I have posted the article along with some of the people’s comments, however I have changed the names. These are some of the people’s reactions and comments.
Samantha Johnson*:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/africa-is-giving nothing-to-anyone--apart-from-aids-1430428.html
A friend sent this article around today. It was shocking, depressing, and hard to argue against except for one thing: if we give up hope for Africa, then Africa will truly be lost.
Jacob Anderson*
I couldn’t agree with you more. On the world stage Africa brings up the rear. It’s more of an after thought, and makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons. There is a lot more happening there than political strife and bloodshed. I should know having lived there.
Francis Arold*
Such a sad article and yes from the world’s viewpoint, it’s on target. But if we decide that we will only do the right thing when it is expedient, then we have lost a part of our humanity. Sometimes we have to keep on doing the right thing even in the face of insurmountable odds. And every once in awhile we are given a glimpse of hope that keeps us going (e.g. the fall of Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu in the 1980’s) Never let utility trump compassion.
Kristof is well known as a humanist and quite liberal. The audience that reads Kristof’s editorials are usually very liberal and very into world cultures and help in a global sense. The young woman who posted this article was addressing the problem of Africa as a whole. I believe that one of the shared agendas was that of showing the type of ignorance and lack of compassion that some people show towards the issues within Africa but also just what kind of media that can be published. Although the author may have actually believed what he was writing and publishing but it could also have the shock value. It could be that some of what the author wrote was just for shock value in the media, to get a reaction.
The responses of this posting were all generally the same, that is author and article are ridiculous, but on the website he does have people who did agree with him but not on the facebook discussion board. The shared discourse of this article is that one of disbelief that someone could write something so negative about millions of people but also that of hope that the United States and other world leaders. It is humanistic discourse and world issues agenda that is being addressed.
Media participation in this situation has a few different circles. The young woman who posted the discussion board article had been participating in another media interaction by browsing other websites and what not. She then found information that interested her and posted it, thus participating in another media interaction. Audience participation is very interactive and one source can be turned into another source of participation. There are no boundaries with media participation.
Audience consumerism is another aspect of the media realm that media ethnographers study. The commercials on television and radio are prim examples of how audiences listen and observe such things and then go into the real world and actually purchase the items. I conducted my observations on the social network Facebook. Facebook has developed immensely over the years and it is adding more and more different types of interactions among people using it. One of the components on facebook is that a member can become a “fan” of celebrities, athletes, or other public figures. I am a fan of Nicholas D. Kristof who is a columnist for the New York Times. On these web pages there is room for a description of what the person does and how they are known. Also, there is a spot to upload videos, notes, discussion board, and a wall for comments.
On the discussion board, people are able to post topics that are open for discussion. There are many discussions open on Kristof’s articles, the usual articles and topics are triggered with political and social issues affecting the world. I have posted the article along with some of the people’s comments, however I have changed the names. These are some of the people’s reactions and comments.
Samantha Johnson*:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/africa-is-giving nothing-to-anyone--apart-from-aids-1430428.html
A friend sent this article around today. It was shocking, depressing, and hard to argue against except for one thing: if we give up hope for Africa, then Africa will truly be lost.
Jacob Anderson*
I couldn’t agree with you more. On the world stage Africa brings up the rear. It’s more of an after thought, and makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons. There is a lot more happening there than political strife and bloodshed. I should know having lived there.
Francis Arold*
Such a sad article and yes from the world’s viewpoint, it’s on target. But if we decide that we will only do the right thing when it is expedient, then we have lost a part of our humanity. Sometimes we have to keep on doing the right thing even in the face of insurmountable odds. And every once in awhile we are given a glimpse of hope that keeps us going (e.g. the fall of Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu in the 1980’s) Never let utility trump compassion.
Kristof is well known as a humanist and quite liberal. The audience that reads Kristof’s editorials are usually very liberal and very into world cultures and help in a global sense. The young woman who posted this article was addressing the problem of Africa as a whole. I believe that one of the shared agendas was that of showing the type of ignorance and lack of compassion that some people show towards the issues within Africa but also just what kind of media that can be published. Although the author may have actually believed what he was writing and publishing but it could also have the shock value. It could be that some of what the author wrote was just for shock value in the media, to get a reaction.
The responses of this posting were all generally the same, that is author and article are ridiculous, but on the website he does have people who did agree with him but not on the facebook discussion board. The shared discourse of this article is that one of disbelief that someone could write something so negative about millions of people but also that of hope that the United States and other world leaders. It is humanistic discourse and world issues agenda that is being addressed.
Media participation in this situation has a few different circles. The young woman who posted the discussion board article had been participating in another media interaction by browsing other websites and what not. She then found information that interested her and posted it, thus participating in another media interaction. Audience participation is very interactive and one source can be turned into another source of participation. There are no boundaries with media participation.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Portrayal of the Elderly in the Media
The Portrayal of the Elderly in the Media
The media represents different things in many ways. One way that interests me is how elderly people are viewed and portrayed in the media. There are many stereotypes of older people in the media, there is also the difference in how female and male elderly people are viewed. Elderly men are often viewed as grumpy while some elderly women are shown as hostile; both are shown sometimes as lonely, depressed, poor, sick, wisdom, and coming back to life. Often in the newspaper and the news channels they show elderly people who are sick and cannot afford their healthcare, or they show them getting robbed or something else terrible. These clippings tend to construct an idea that elderly people cannot take care of themselves. It also has a tendency to make other people feel sorry for them.
With the recent financial crisis and the number of abuse of elderly people in nursing homes tends to make younger people feel sorry for them, while other shows depict elderly people as being angry, old, and not up to date on recent technologies and cultural practices. As like with any stereotypical depiction there is some sort of basis or truth. People find it easy to pity elderly people especially when it comes to social security, healthcare and other issues that effect them directly. With this angle also being shown in the media, it is hard to believe or hear about when an elderly person commits a crime or does something bad. There are hardly ever cases of when elderly people are the ones committing the crime or wrongful deeds. In many stories and literatures a lot of the elderly people also represent wisdom and are shown as very knowledgeable.
Elderly people are viewed a little differently in psychology than they are in the popular media. “More important, we can inform students confidently that most older adults are not lonely, isolated, sick and frail. Rather, the elderly live independently and maintain contact with their families. We also know, contrary to the depression myth, that community-dwelling older adults have lower rates of diagnosable depression than younger adults” (http://www.apa.org/monitor/aug98/aging.html) Some psychologists view aging as a good thing rather than a negative thing, which the media portrays. The number of elderly people is rapidly increasing yet the portrayal of them is still the same. Although some elderly people are sick with specific disorders because of old age not all elderly people are as helpless as the media portrays them to be. The discipline of psychology takes different approaches to the elderly depending on the context and area of psychology one is studying. However, the psychology discipline does take a much more humanistic and authentic view of the elderly and often views them with more respect and less sympathetic for them unlike the popular media.
The media represents different things in many ways. One way that interests me is how elderly people are viewed and portrayed in the media. There are many stereotypes of older people in the media, there is also the difference in how female and male elderly people are viewed. Elderly men are often viewed as grumpy while some elderly women are shown as hostile; both are shown sometimes as lonely, depressed, poor, sick, wisdom, and coming back to life. Often in the newspaper and the news channels they show elderly people who are sick and cannot afford their healthcare, or they show them getting robbed or something else terrible. These clippings tend to construct an idea that elderly people cannot take care of themselves. It also has a tendency to make other people feel sorry for them.
With the recent financial crisis and the number of abuse of elderly people in nursing homes tends to make younger people feel sorry for them, while other shows depict elderly people as being angry, old, and not up to date on recent technologies and cultural practices. As like with any stereotypical depiction there is some sort of basis or truth. People find it easy to pity elderly people especially when it comes to social security, healthcare and other issues that effect them directly. With this angle also being shown in the media, it is hard to believe or hear about when an elderly person commits a crime or does something bad. There are hardly ever cases of when elderly people are the ones committing the crime or wrongful deeds. In many stories and literatures a lot of the elderly people also represent wisdom and are shown as very knowledgeable.
Elderly people are viewed a little differently in psychology than they are in the popular media. “More important, we can inform students confidently that most older adults are not lonely, isolated, sick and frail. Rather, the elderly live independently and maintain contact with their families. We also know, contrary to the depression myth, that community-dwelling older adults have lower rates of diagnosable depression than younger adults” (http://www.apa.org/monitor/aug98/aging.html) Some psychologists view aging as a good thing rather than a negative thing, which the media portrays. The number of elderly people is rapidly increasing yet the portrayal of them is still the same. Although some elderly people are sick with specific disorders because of old age not all elderly people are as helpless as the media portrays them to be. The discipline of psychology takes different approaches to the elderly depending on the context and area of psychology one is studying. However, the psychology discipline does take a much more humanistic and authentic view of the elderly and often views them with more respect and less sympathetic for them unlike the popular media.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Critical Approaches
Critical Approaches to Media Texts:
Students should be taught a variety of critical stances and approaches they can take to analyzing media texts. The prominent approaches to such critiques are rhetorical/audience, semiotic, poststructuralist, critical discourse analysis, psychoanalytic, feminist, postmodern and postcolonial. Each critique brings new light to the media text that students are examining.
The first approach investigates how media texts use language, images and signs in relation to the audience, in which case is used to adopt certain responses or beliefs. This approach uses audiences as active participants in part of symbolic or imagined communities within the media text. Another part of this approach is how audiences are socialized by the media and may prefer that the media are safe and perhaps predictable. One example give from Richard Beacher’s book A Web-Linked Guide to Resources and Activities is the media’s portrayal of the invasion of Iraq and the little information from the media given about civilian causalities.
The next approach to analyzing media texts is the semiotic approach. This approach analyzes the social and cultural meaning of signs and codes. One of the key aspects of this approach is that meanings of these signs are cultural and therefore can change depending on the cultural context. Audiences of that specific culture will be able to draw together the cultural contexts from analyzing the codes and signs. One example might be that when most drivers in the United States see a sign or light that is red they more often than not refer to it as a sign to stop where as in another part of the world it may not mean stop.
Taking the postructuralist approach requires that the students examine how language is put into categories and then is influences audience’s perceptions. It examines opposites as simplistic categorizations of the characters of the media texts. Students would study opposites such as male and female but also good/evil and real/artificial. Students would note the contradictions and how these affect the performance and context of the media content that they are studying. An example of this would be to have students analyze and discuss the males and females in a certain movie such as There will be Blood.
Critical discourse analysis deals with the larger ideological perspectives that shape the world. Discourse is what is normal in the social world. Two major discourses discussed are class and race. A major part of the discourse of race deals with Marxism and “ how discourses of class serve to define the meaning of social practices or artifacts as class markers and to maintain or challenge” (Beacher 36). The idea of working-class and middle-class and identifying them in media texts is important to this approach along with the message as to why and how the director or creator is showing these specific classes in those ways. The discourse of race works similar to the discourse of class only it relates to race. An example that could depict both race and class would be the movie with Hilary Swank called Freedom Writers, which deals with a white woman teacher in an urban neighborhood.
The psychoanalytic approach is influenced by subconscious desires, wants, needs, and fears in which define one’s identity. A way to describe psychoanalytic thought in media texts would be how underlying themes recur throughout the media, students can discuss subconscious fears and desires and how they affect the characters and how and why they are there in the first place. An example of applying psychoanalytic lenses would be to analyze a Simpson’s episode and have the students dissect the character’s actions and how they are shaped by their desires, fantasies, and fears.
Feminist media criticism relates to not only how women are portrayed in media contexts but also how males and gender in general are perceived. New ideas on feminism is and gender all together, is fluid and free-floating rather than being defined to a body. An example of this could be to have the students analyze a movie and discuss how gender and women are portrayed and the message the director or producer is trying to give away.
Postmodern analysis challenges the modernist’s “master narratives” that are connected to truth and art. The postmodern analysis debunks the idea that these narratives will lead to greater life happiness. This approach deals a lot with media and reality and whether or not media constructs its own reality. An example of this would be to have the students watch postmodern films such as Pulp Fiction and have them discuss the role the nature of the events in the plot.
The last approach discussed is postcolonial, which examines the imperialist views of third world countries in literature and media texts. Imperialism plays a large role and history of European countries and dominance. Colonial power and its affects on the country are important concepts. Especially important today because of the large influence of international community. An example of this would be reading a book or watching a movie about colonism.
Students should be taught a variety of critical stances and approaches they can take to analyzing media texts. The prominent approaches to such critiques are rhetorical/audience, semiotic, poststructuralist, critical discourse analysis, psychoanalytic, feminist, postmodern and postcolonial. Each critique brings new light to the media text that students are examining.
The first approach investigates how media texts use language, images and signs in relation to the audience, in which case is used to adopt certain responses or beliefs. This approach uses audiences as active participants in part of symbolic or imagined communities within the media text. Another part of this approach is how audiences are socialized by the media and may prefer that the media are safe and perhaps predictable. One example give from Richard Beacher’s book A Web-Linked Guide to Resources and Activities is the media’s portrayal of the invasion of Iraq and the little information from the media given about civilian causalities.
The next approach to analyzing media texts is the semiotic approach. This approach analyzes the social and cultural meaning of signs and codes. One of the key aspects of this approach is that meanings of these signs are cultural and therefore can change depending on the cultural context. Audiences of that specific culture will be able to draw together the cultural contexts from analyzing the codes and signs. One example might be that when most drivers in the United States see a sign or light that is red they more often than not refer to it as a sign to stop where as in another part of the world it may not mean stop.
Taking the postructuralist approach requires that the students examine how language is put into categories and then is influences audience’s perceptions. It examines opposites as simplistic categorizations of the characters of the media texts. Students would study opposites such as male and female but also good/evil and real/artificial. Students would note the contradictions and how these affect the performance and context of the media content that they are studying. An example of this would be to have students analyze and discuss the males and females in a certain movie such as There will be Blood.
Critical discourse analysis deals with the larger ideological perspectives that shape the world. Discourse is what is normal in the social world. Two major discourses discussed are class and race. A major part of the discourse of race deals with Marxism and “ how discourses of class serve to define the meaning of social practices or artifacts as class markers and to maintain or challenge” (Beacher 36). The idea of working-class and middle-class and identifying them in media texts is important to this approach along with the message as to why and how the director or creator is showing these specific classes in those ways. The discourse of race works similar to the discourse of class only it relates to race. An example that could depict both race and class would be the movie with Hilary Swank called Freedom Writers, which deals with a white woman teacher in an urban neighborhood.
The psychoanalytic approach is influenced by subconscious desires, wants, needs, and fears in which define one’s identity. A way to describe psychoanalytic thought in media texts would be how underlying themes recur throughout the media, students can discuss subconscious fears and desires and how they affect the characters and how and why they are there in the first place. An example of applying psychoanalytic lenses would be to analyze a Simpson’s episode and have the students dissect the character’s actions and how they are shaped by their desires, fantasies, and fears.
Feminist media criticism relates to not only how women are portrayed in media contexts but also how males and gender in general are perceived. New ideas on feminism is and gender all together, is fluid and free-floating rather than being defined to a body. An example of this could be to have the students analyze a movie and discuss how gender and women are portrayed and the message the director or producer is trying to give away.
Postmodern analysis challenges the modernist’s “master narratives” that are connected to truth and art. The postmodern analysis debunks the idea that these narratives will lead to greater life happiness. This approach deals a lot with media and reality and whether or not media constructs its own reality. An example of this would be to have the students watch postmodern films such as Pulp Fiction and have them discuss the role the nature of the events in the plot.
The last approach discussed is postcolonial, which examines the imperialist views of third world countries in literature and media texts. Imperialism plays a large role and history of European countries and dominance. Colonial power and its affects on the country are important concepts. Especially important today because of the large influence of international community. An example of this would be reading a book or watching a movie about colonism.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Scene Analysis
The scene I am going to analyze from Law and Order and is a scene with one of the lawyers Serena. It deals with an American jihad courtroom. A man is on trial and the prosecuting lawyer Serena is asking him questions. The scene begins with a middle distant front shot of Serena asking the man questions. The shot quickly switches from Serena to the man and back to Serena and then once again back to the man on the stand. As Serena intensely starts to question the Muslim man the shot shows him from behind her, showing the back of her head but focusing on the man.
The questioning and talk between the two gains bigger tension the shot moves closer to the man’s face while he points his finger and raises his voice. At the very end of the scene the shot solely focuses on the man staring back at Serena. The shot sequences in this scene are relatively simple they go back and forth between Serena and the man she is trying and then at the end, at the most intense parts the scene zooms in on the man’s face.
The sound is also a key part of the Law and Order. As questions of the murder the man is accused grow more suspenseful the music begins to grow louder with what seems to be louder and almost creates a very intense background to enhance the dramazation of the exchange between the Serena and the man. The lighting of the scene also remains the same throughout the interview.
The key to this scene is the use of how the music increases as the tension and significance of the questions increases and the switching between the up-close shots of Serena and the man. Serena has an important part where she asks the man; “ so whoever actually pulled the trigger would be the true slave to Allah and should be honored to accept the consequences of that act, is that correct?” and then the man shakes his head yes, and then Serena states, “yet you keep denying it, is that because you’re scared.” It is at this time point that the music is loud and the shot is clearly focused on Serena’s face.
The use of the up-close shots and increasing music are dramatize the importance of this entire scene, the scene is very effective in building suspense and hyping up the most important of the show.
In my classroom I would show different clips of the same scene and compare and contrast the different techniques and would ask my students why do you think the producers of each clip did what they did. I would also ask my students to discuss how these different clips of the same scene produce different effects on the viewer. For example, what are the effects of close-up shots and long shots, and which do they think is better for what scenes. I also would like to discuss with my students the importance of audience positioning and lighting, which were key to my scene described above. Identifying the purposes for why producers and directors choose the scenes and other film techniques is key for students to use and transfer their “developing visual literacy analysis skills that will transfer to their analysis of film techniques” (Beacher 22).
It is also important for my students to know the terms and definitions of the different types of film techniques and having being able to correctly identify them when they see them. I would encourage my students to do a project where they create their own video and then have them explain how and why they used the techniques that they did.
The questioning and talk between the two gains bigger tension the shot moves closer to the man’s face while he points his finger and raises his voice. At the very end of the scene the shot solely focuses on the man staring back at Serena. The shot sequences in this scene are relatively simple they go back and forth between Serena and the man she is trying and then at the end, at the most intense parts the scene zooms in on the man’s face.
The sound is also a key part of the Law and Order. As questions of the murder the man is accused grow more suspenseful the music begins to grow louder with what seems to be louder and almost creates a very intense background to enhance the dramazation of the exchange between the Serena and the man. The lighting of the scene also remains the same throughout the interview.
The key to this scene is the use of how the music increases as the tension and significance of the questions increases and the switching between the up-close shots of Serena and the man. Serena has an important part where she asks the man; “ so whoever actually pulled the trigger would be the true slave to Allah and should be honored to accept the consequences of that act, is that correct?” and then the man shakes his head yes, and then Serena states, “yet you keep denying it, is that because you’re scared.” It is at this time point that the music is loud and the shot is clearly focused on Serena’s face.
The use of the up-close shots and increasing music are dramatize the importance of this entire scene, the scene is very effective in building suspense and hyping up the most important of the show.
In my classroom I would show different clips of the same scene and compare and contrast the different techniques and would ask my students why do you think the producers of each clip did what they did. I would also ask my students to discuss how these different clips of the same scene produce different effects on the viewer. For example, what are the effects of close-up shots and long shots, and which do they think is better for what scenes. I also would like to discuss with my students the importance of audience positioning and lighting, which were key to my scene described above. Identifying the purposes for why producers and directors choose the scenes and other film techniques is key for students to use and transfer their “developing visual literacy analysis skills that will transfer to their analysis of film techniques” (Beacher 22).
It is also important for my students to know the terms and definitions of the different types of film techniques and having being able to correctly identify them when they see them. I would encourage my students to do a project where they create their own video and then have them explain how and why they used the techniques that they did.
Shot by Shot Analysis
Shot Analysis: CI 5472
Allstate Ad w/Jason Wade song from Lifehouse and Dennis Ha.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMExQgje9ck&feature=related
Shot Description Shot Analysis
The first shot shows a desert road in the plains with hills in the background It is here that the Lifehouse song « From Where You Are » starts playing. This song is melodramatic and gives the sense of calm yet intense emotions.
The commercial then goes straight into showing cars driving on a desolate road with a dark skyline with clouds. The tone is very mellow and almost sad and shows life driving by us as people.
The next scene shows a woman in a passenger seat reaching out towards the sky window in the car and it has the sun shining in and the scene is shot from behind her. It shows a happy woman because it shows how good life can be, and since the ad is done by a car insurance ad it shows that life is very precious.
Here the shot goes back to a side view of various cars driving in the country It is important to go along the theme of life is a journey along the road, which is the reason why there are many seasons of cars driving along the road of life.
Shows a convertible with four passengers laughing-two teen girls in the passenger seat taking pictures on their cell phone. The ad is about teenagers driving safely so the ad wants to depict teens having fun and enjoying life.
Close-up of two young teen girls taking pictures of themselves on their cell phone The purpose again is to show the appreciation of young life.
Screen quickly for about half a second goes white as in blank like a flash out of a camera. This gives the ad an edge and acts like a camera taking a picture into the glimpse of one’s life.
The same girls in backseat laughing in the convertible taking pictures and giving the peace sign Teens having fun while driving and riding.
Goes back to cars driving on the road in the country with the dark cloudy sky. Showing again the road of life.
Young man in backseat with seatbelt wearing a yellow soccer jersey tossing a soccer ball up and down Shows friends riding in the car on the way home from a soccer game enhancing the idea of family and friends and the road of life.
Teenagers in yellow soccer jerseys as the same as above giving each other high-fives from backseat to front seat Shows friends and family enjoying life in a safe car protected by Allstate insurance.
The shot quickly goes back to teen tossing soccer ball in the backseat-shot slows down More of the importance of protecting family with proper car insurance.
Far distant-cloudy skies car driving on the road from far away The dark skyline adds to the drama of having important car insurance.
Shows from passenger side view mirror the reflection of a young woman smiling. This also shows that it is also family and young people that also need to be protected not just teens.
Shows young man driving with girlfriend/wife looking happy and smiling as he is driving. Again, same as above the family needs to be protected by the proper car insurance.
Goes back to hilly front view of cars driving with headlights on and it is dark with very cloudy skies The transition between family and the scenery adds suspense and drama to the idea of getting Allstate car insurance.
Very quick view of half a second top of car with some sort of sporting equipment. Adds to the importance of family life.
Family side picture inside vehicle with man and woman laughing with dog in backseat. Again, adds to the importance of family life and being able to drive safely with no worries.
Gives to front view of family/friends laughing and driving on the road Shows the importance of being able to drive safely with your family.
View goes to road of cars driving really fast. Adds to the excitement of driving while still being secure in case of an accident.
Quickly switches to front view of road with all different types of vehicles Also, add to the excitement of driving.
Quickly from back side of all vehicles driving-skyline dark hills in front. Adds to the drama and suspense of driving.
Two boys around the age of ten, one with a headset on his shoulders, smiling pretending to play the drums with hand gestures. Like earlier when they showed two girls having fun they show two boys having fun and relaxing while driving.
Quick flash of light like previously in shot seven. Adds to the idea of life and adds a variation in the feel of the ad.
Goes to the same boys only different views and this is a from view with them dancing with hand gestures. Shows the happiness and peacefulness of being able to drive safely.
Same boys dancing with upper body and singing Shows the happiness and peacefulness of being able to drive safely.
Shows one of the boys resting his head while he sleeps on the other boy’s shoulder. Shows how the family can be happy and can rest and depend on each other while being safe in an Allstate car insurance.
Goes to windy road distant view of cars on the road- the scenery is still the Midwest look with plains and some hills and it is still dark. Shows the road of life, which is one of themes in this commercial.
Quickly goes to fast view of cars racing by Racing through life
View of cars driving in the hills from back angle and go until the edge of the screen. Using the theme that cars gets you from one place in life to another and with proper car insurance you can be safe.
Shows thunder lightening while cars are driving by and this angle is from the front side. Using the same theme of going through life and the idea of life on the road and being secure with your car insurance.
Close up of guy driving and the river being able to look out his back window (like in a truck) at the other vehicles drive behind him. The shot slowly moves to the face of the driver but he is not smiling but looking ahead with a curious look. With this close up it shows that there is something important coming up and then the man speaking on the commercial begins talking within the next few shots with the main message of the commercial.
Shot zooms in on the guy’s hand that are on the steering wheel. As the shot zooms in on the guy’s hand the speakers of the commercial begins to speak “Every year nearly 6,000 teenagers go out for a drive and never come back” The close up of the teen driving shows the importance of the teen safety driving. The man speaking states the fact about the number of teen deaths/accidents and states that parents should be careful and the close up adds to the tension and significance of proper car insurance for your teen
While the man is speaking, the shot shows a young man driving.
Shows front angled view of cars driving along the road-cars are a bit blurred and then as they continue talking, the visions of the cars clear up. This shows that choosing Allstate as your car insurance makes things a lot clearer in your life.
The shot is looking up at the cars as they go driving by. There are dark skies as the cars drive, there is also some flashing light for about a second or two. The cars show life on the road and how cars get you from one place in one’s life to another place in one’s life.
Shows three girls in the backseat laughing and talking. As the speaker says, “never comes back” the shot is angled up to a young girls face with the closest one then the middle one and the girl on the far right is at the center of the shot. Shows how good life can be and how much life young teens have so they should be very safe while driving especially with Allstate insurance.
The song playing in the background becomes more prominent as it sings “I’ll miss all the little things” the shot shows the same car with the same girls with the previous girls that was the center of the previous shot looking out the back window as the car drives away-and the men is speaking, “just talking to them can change that” as the car drives away lifehouse sings “ I never thought that they would mean everything to me, yeah I miss you” as the shot changes. Shows a cute young girl who is riding in a car and the ad shows that with the amount of teens that die while driving don’t let it be your teen and the song lyrics at this time are also sad.
The screen changes to all black except in white it states in the center of the screen “Start the Conversation” first it is dull and then it brightens up Talks about parents and teens talking about driving safely.
The screen is still black but then in blue the Allstate symbol appears along with Parent-Teen Driving Contract-Call an Allstate Agent-and then there is singing that says, “I wish you were here” Talks about the deal that Allstate offers and how important it is to keep the teenagers alive and safe while driving.
The Allstate and Parent-Teen Driving Contract stays the same but at the bottom is states allstate.com/teen Gives Allstate the chance to state where to find their information about their offer online.
The statement allstate.com/teen stays the same at the bottom but the Allstate symbol appears with big letters Allstate You’re in Good Hands appears. This is showing the important motto of Allstate and what the ad is about.
Allstate Ad w/Jason Wade song from Lifehouse and Dennis Ha.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMExQgje9ck&feature=related
Shot Description Shot Analysis
The first shot shows a desert road in the plains with hills in the background It is here that the Lifehouse song « From Where You Are » starts playing. This song is melodramatic and gives the sense of calm yet intense emotions.
The commercial then goes straight into showing cars driving on a desolate road with a dark skyline with clouds. The tone is very mellow and almost sad and shows life driving by us as people.
The next scene shows a woman in a passenger seat reaching out towards the sky window in the car and it has the sun shining in and the scene is shot from behind her. It shows a happy woman because it shows how good life can be, and since the ad is done by a car insurance ad it shows that life is very precious.
Here the shot goes back to a side view of various cars driving in the country It is important to go along the theme of life is a journey along the road, which is the reason why there are many seasons of cars driving along the road of life.
Shows a convertible with four passengers laughing-two teen girls in the passenger seat taking pictures on their cell phone. The ad is about teenagers driving safely so the ad wants to depict teens having fun and enjoying life.
Close-up of two young teen girls taking pictures of themselves on their cell phone The purpose again is to show the appreciation of young life.
Screen quickly for about half a second goes white as in blank like a flash out of a camera. This gives the ad an edge and acts like a camera taking a picture into the glimpse of one’s life.
The same girls in backseat laughing in the convertible taking pictures and giving the peace sign Teens having fun while driving and riding.
Goes back to cars driving on the road in the country with the dark cloudy sky. Showing again the road of life.
Young man in backseat with seatbelt wearing a yellow soccer jersey tossing a soccer ball up and down Shows friends riding in the car on the way home from a soccer game enhancing the idea of family and friends and the road of life.
Teenagers in yellow soccer jerseys as the same as above giving each other high-fives from backseat to front seat Shows friends and family enjoying life in a safe car protected by Allstate insurance.
The shot quickly goes back to teen tossing soccer ball in the backseat-shot slows down More of the importance of protecting family with proper car insurance.
Far distant-cloudy skies car driving on the road from far away The dark skyline adds to the drama of having important car insurance.
Shows from passenger side view mirror the reflection of a young woman smiling. This also shows that it is also family and young people that also need to be protected not just teens.
Shows young man driving with girlfriend/wife looking happy and smiling as he is driving. Again, same as above the family needs to be protected by the proper car insurance.
Goes back to hilly front view of cars driving with headlights on and it is dark with very cloudy skies The transition between family and the scenery adds suspense and drama to the idea of getting Allstate car insurance.
Very quick view of half a second top of car with some sort of sporting equipment. Adds to the importance of family life.
Family side picture inside vehicle with man and woman laughing with dog in backseat. Again, adds to the importance of family life and being able to drive safely with no worries.
Gives to front view of family/friends laughing and driving on the road Shows the importance of being able to drive safely with your family.
View goes to road of cars driving really fast. Adds to the excitement of driving while still being secure in case of an accident.
Quickly switches to front view of road with all different types of vehicles Also, add to the excitement of driving.
Quickly from back side of all vehicles driving-skyline dark hills in front. Adds to the drama and suspense of driving.
Two boys around the age of ten, one with a headset on his shoulders, smiling pretending to play the drums with hand gestures. Like earlier when they showed two girls having fun they show two boys having fun and relaxing while driving.
Quick flash of light like previously in shot seven. Adds to the idea of life and adds a variation in the feel of the ad.
Goes to the same boys only different views and this is a from view with them dancing with hand gestures. Shows the happiness and peacefulness of being able to drive safely.
Same boys dancing with upper body and singing Shows the happiness and peacefulness of being able to drive safely.
Shows one of the boys resting his head while he sleeps on the other boy’s shoulder. Shows how the family can be happy and can rest and depend on each other while being safe in an Allstate car insurance.
Goes to windy road distant view of cars on the road- the scenery is still the Midwest look with plains and some hills and it is still dark. Shows the road of life, which is one of themes in this commercial.
Quickly goes to fast view of cars racing by Racing through life
View of cars driving in the hills from back angle and go until the edge of the screen. Using the theme that cars gets you from one place in life to another and with proper car insurance you can be safe.
Shows thunder lightening while cars are driving by and this angle is from the front side. Using the same theme of going through life and the idea of life on the road and being secure with your car insurance.
Close up of guy driving and the river being able to look out his back window (like in a truck) at the other vehicles drive behind him. The shot slowly moves to the face of the driver but he is not smiling but looking ahead with a curious look. With this close up it shows that there is something important coming up and then the man speaking on the commercial begins talking within the next few shots with the main message of the commercial.
Shot zooms in on the guy’s hand that are on the steering wheel. As the shot zooms in on the guy’s hand the speakers of the commercial begins to speak “Every year nearly 6,000 teenagers go out for a drive and never come back” The close up of the teen driving shows the importance of the teen safety driving. The man speaking states the fact about the number of teen deaths/accidents and states that parents should be careful and the close up adds to the tension and significance of proper car insurance for your teen
While the man is speaking, the shot shows a young man driving.
Shows front angled view of cars driving along the road-cars are a bit blurred and then as they continue talking, the visions of the cars clear up. This shows that choosing Allstate as your car insurance makes things a lot clearer in your life.
The shot is looking up at the cars as they go driving by. There are dark skies as the cars drive, there is also some flashing light for about a second or two. The cars show life on the road and how cars get you from one place in one’s life to another place in one’s life.
Shows three girls in the backseat laughing and talking. As the speaker says, “never comes back” the shot is angled up to a young girls face with the closest one then the middle one and the girl on the far right is at the center of the shot. Shows how good life can be and how much life young teens have so they should be very safe while driving especially with Allstate insurance.
The song playing in the background becomes more prominent as it sings “I’ll miss all the little things” the shot shows the same car with the same girls with the previous girls that was the center of the previous shot looking out the back window as the car drives away-and the men is speaking, “just talking to them can change that” as the car drives away lifehouse sings “ I never thought that they would mean everything to me, yeah I miss you” as the shot changes. Shows a cute young girl who is riding in a car and the ad shows that with the amount of teens that die while driving don’t let it be your teen and the song lyrics at this time are also sad.
The screen changes to all black except in white it states in the center of the screen “Start the Conversation” first it is dull and then it brightens up Talks about parents and teens talking about driving safely.
The screen is still black but then in blue the Allstate symbol appears along with Parent-Teen Driving Contract-Call an Allstate Agent-and then there is singing that says, “I wish you were here” Talks about the deal that Allstate offers and how important it is to keep the teenagers alive and safe while driving.
The Allstate and Parent-Teen Driving Contract stays the same but at the bottom is states allstate.com/teen Gives Allstate the chance to state where to find their information about their offer online.
The statement allstate.com/teen stays the same at the bottom but the Allstate symbol appears with big letters Allstate You’re in Good Hands appears. This is showing the important motto of Allstate and what the ad is about.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Justifying Media Study Curriculum
I plan to teach high school English. There are many benefits to teaching and incorporating media studies into our curriculum. My school does not believe that media studies should be studied separately but rather incorporated into the already established curriculum. The school does not recommend or promote the use of studying media studies unless it is used to enhance the lesson plan. Since my school district is under a lot of pressure to return to the basics of education, there is not a lot of emphasis on studying or becoming familiarized with the media. The media is viewed as a distraction to schoolwork and rather than working with it and using it in the classroom.
I would like to provide a framework for my justification for why media studies and literacies should be promoted in the classroom. The content of my curriculum would not only satisfy what should be covered by the English standards but also use the Internet options such as blogs and online instant communication to increase participation and better understanding of the texts that we would be reading at the time. For one example, lets say we were studying To Kill a Mockingbird I would have my students research online articles about the book and perhaps to why it is so popular yet controversial. The Internet, if used in the right way, can be a very useful tool in doing research and creating more discussion about the topics that I would be teaching. I would also have my students talk online once a week, since some students are shy in class they might be more talkative while chatting online in the privacy of their own home.
Providing media in and out of the classroom would benefit the students. Understanding the course content is one of the most important aspects of the student’s education. This understanding can be brought about through other ways besides basic lecturing. The idea of media will not go away therefore instead of being afraid to use teachers and students to use it to their advantage. Using clips from youtube about the book or the author would offer different perspectives about the topic in which we are discussing. Giving the students various forms of information not only keeps their attention but in light that the number of hours outside of school that students spend on television and the internet is significantly increasing. Adding these types of tools increases the student’s attention in class and would help them better learn and want to learn.
One of the departments that deserve more attention is the language arts. Basic grammar and learning of other languages is important. In a world that is becoming more international everyday it is important that students learn another language besides English. Language and basic writing skills is very crucial to any job and deserves more time in the curriculum. There are many amazing ways that the internet can be used to help students learn English and another foreign language. One example of incorporating media and foreign language is using programs on the computer to automatically correct sentence structures of students after they type on the computer and having them listen and repeat it. One of the most beneficial arguments for using media and media studies is that the media is not going away anytime soon, and although it is very crucial that students are able to do the basics of reading and writing it is just as important to stay up to date and use new ways to communicate and develop student’s education. It is important for all departments of the student’s education to stay up to date and get the proper amount of curriculum time.
I would like to provide a framework for my justification for why media studies and literacies should be promoted in the classroom. The content of my curriculum would not only satisfy what should be covered by the English standards but also use the Internet options such as blogs and online instant communication to increase participation and better understanding of the texts that we would be reading at the time. For one example, lets say we were studying To Kill a Mockingbird I would have my students research online articles about the book and perhaps to why it is so popular yet controversial. The Internet, if used in the right way, can be a very useful tool in doing research and creating more discussion about the topics that I would be teaching. I would also have my students talk online once a week, since some students are shy in class they might be more talkative while chatting online in the privacy of their own home.
Providing media in and out of the classroom would benefit the students. Understanding the course content is one of the most important aspects of the student’s education. This understanding can be brought about through other ways besides basic lecturing. The idea of media will not go away therefore instead of being afraid to use teachers and students to use it to their advantage. Using clips from youtube about the book or the author would offer different perspectives about the topic in which we are discussing. Giving the students various forms of information not only keeps their attention but in light that the number of hours outside of school that students spend on television and the internet is significantly increasing. Adding these types of tools increases the student’s attention in class and would help them better learn and want to learn.
One of the departments that deserve more attention is the language arts. Basic grammar and learning of other languages is important. In a world that is becoming more international everyday it is important that students learn another language besides English. Language and basic writing skills is very crucial to any job and deserves more time in the curriculum. There are many amazing ways that the internet can be used to help students learn English and another foreign language. One example of incorporating media and foreign language is using programs on the computer to automatically correct sentence structures of students after they type on the computer and having them listen and repeat it. One of the most beneficial arguments for using media and media studies is that the media is not going away anytime soon, and although it is very crucial that students are able to do the basics of reading and writing it is just as important to stay up to date and use new ways to communicate and develop student’s education. It is important for all departments of the student’s education to stay up to date and get the proper amount of curriculum time.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
CI First Paper
My informal response is about videos one and four and chapter one of the classroom textbook. While reading the first chapter and watching the videos there were many ideas and things that came up in my mind. The chapter brought up a much more serious and real issue of media literacy within education. The chapter listed many useful and good reasons why the use of the media is so crucial to the education system, both for teachers and students. The chapter helped me to better understand media literacy in detail rather than a brief overview. The video clips also provided me with a more visual approach to media problems and useful ways to use the media.
As I watched the video clips, the one of the voter involvement and the other one with the media issues, I realized that there are many different ways that people can use media and what effect it has on our daily lives. The first one with the two young men getting people involved with the 2004 election has various ideas that it is portraying. The first thing that ran through my mind was how people get use the media to inspire other people to do things such as vote. The young men in the video were trying to get different sides of the political spectrum and young people involved in the election. By interviewing the different politicians the people were using the media to show that politicians are normal people too. The idea of choice versus chance was also important I thought along with music. The different cultures coming together to recognize either their similarities or differences and how they used the media to do it was important and I think is one of the most important factors of media. I agree with this video and think it important that people are involved with issues. The rap music especially was noted to go along with a specific culture of African Americans and the idea of knowing the politicians and making informed decisions.
The second video that I watched was not actually real people but cartoon-like people. I think that this video showed an important message of frustration and lack of control that young people might feel by the media. The video portrayed high school students and even at that young of age should get involved in current issues that affect them. One of the key things that stood out to me the most while watching the video was a few times the camera would zoom in for about two or three seconds on a pair of lips talking. I thought this was pretty neat and a subtle hint of the main idea that talking about issues is crucial to creating a better society. Media is one of the most popular ways to communicate with people besides actually physically talking. I agree that is video is a good example of how students can stand up if they are misrepresented and how frustrated they might feel if the media displays them in a wrong view that they do not agree with.
One thing that I did notice quite about it was how important the role of music was in both of these videos. I agree that playing certain types of music affect a specific group of people. The videos played music for young adults rather than older adults; both videos were targeting young people to get them involved. The music, the narrowing in on the lips, and the interviewing of politician gave me a positive response to the videos, they made me want to watch other videos similar to those. I personally feel that through my background that getting involved with not only political issues but other community issues as well is important, I feel that the more you get your voice heard the better off you will be. If you do not get involved then you cannot complain, being educated about media issues or even using the media to portray your message is vital to improving education and society itself.
As I watched the video clips, the one of the voter involvement and the other one with the media issues, I realized that there are many different ways that people can use media and what effect it has on our daily lives. The first one with the two young men getting people involved with the 2004 election has various ideas that it is portraying. The first thing that ran through my mind was how people get use the media to inspire other people to do things such as vote. The young men in the video were trying to get different sides of the political spectrum and young people involved in the election. By interviewing the different politicians the people were using the media to show that politicians are normal people too. The idea of choice versus chance was also important I thought along with music. The different cultures coming together to recognize either their similarities or differences and how they used the media to do it was important and I think is one of the most important factors of media. I agree with this video and think it important that people are involved with issues. The rap music especially was noted to go along with a specific culture of African Americans and the idea of knowing the politicians and making informed decisions.
The second video that I watched was not actually real people but cartoon-like people. I think that this video showed an important message of frustration and lack of control that young people might feel by the media. The video portrayed high school students and even at that young of age should get involved in current issues that affect them. One of the key things that stood out to me the most while watching the video was a few times the camera would zoom in for about two or three seconds on a pair of lips talking. I thought this was pretty neat and a subtle hint of the main idea that talking about issues is crucial to creating a better society. Media is one of the most popular ways to communicate with people besides actually physically talking. I agree that is video is a good example of how students can stand up if they are misrepresented and how frustrated they might feel if the media displays them in a wrong view that they do not agree with.
One thing that I did notice quite about it was how important the role of music was in both of these videos. I agree that playing certain types of music affect a specific group of people. The videos played music for young adults rather than older adults; both videos were targeting young people to get them involved. The music, the narrowing in on the lips, and the interviewing of politician gave me a positive response to the videos, they made me want to watch other videos similar to those. I personally feel that through my background that getting involved with not only political issues but other community issues as well is important, I feel that the more you get your voice heard the better off you will be. If you do not get involved then you cannot complain, being educated about media issues or even using the media to portray your message is vital to improving education and society itself.
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