So through the chaos that was mass communication, I wasn't able to complete the activism project or the film/video curation. I was a bit disappointed, because I was interested in both. So I decided I would write a blog about what I would have liked to do, my ideas, my hopes, etc.
I have always had an interest in screenwriting and video production. In Media Studies in high school, we were asked to make a video following a popular television genre. Our group had chosen to do a sitcom, and it ended up being very similar to a Friends episode. I was able to experiment with video editing, as well as adding in effects and playing with the sound. I learned making a 20-minute show takes a lot of effort. The amount of times we yelled, "cut" was ridiculous. I would have enjoyed making a soap opera or something in the horror genre, just so we could emphasize the use of stereotypes that go along with these genres. Not to mention both of them involve a lot of dramatic effect, which would have been enjoyable to create. Now that we learned the effect of shot types and camerawork with regards to semiotics, it would have been fun to try and put hidden messages in our video.
I was not able to take part in any extravagant activist projects this semester. I think I have always had this idea that being an activist means taking huge steps for the greater good. Although I may have not held any interventions or meetings, I took part in Buy Nothing Day last Friday, November 23rd. It felt nice knowing I was one of the many who took part in something that leads the public closer to media democracy.
I strongly believe writing letters and having your voice heard is a great thing. I had a close friend who began writing letters to animal testers when she was very young. Being an animal lover myself, I was greatly inspired by her actions. PETA provides a great article about writing to legislators, businesses, and local newspapers or broadcasts. Along with caring for animals, I also care about what we have done to our planet. Global warming cannot be helped unless people start making an effort to changes things now. David Suzuki also provides a great resource on his website in order to make a difference. He talks about the importance of contacting government representatives and writing letters to voice concerns about the environment.
There are so many organizations out there that need people’s support in order to receive recognition. I think a person can always find one that affects them directly. You don’t have to be a “tree hugger” to make a difference, just do what you can to get your voice heard in some way.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Books, Books, & more Books
Considering this semester has been pretty hectic, I haven’t been able to do my usual reading. The other day when I was in Chapters, I walked by the Media/Pop Culture section and was amazed at all the exciting titles. I even saw some other works by the authors of the books we had to read for this class.
Here are some of the books that I found interesting:
Reinventing Comics by Scott McCloud
Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It by Thomas De Zengotita
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
The Wow Climax: Tracing the Emotional Impact of Popular Culture by Henry Jenkins
The Disappearance of Childhood by Neil Postman
The End of Education: Redefining The Value Of School by Neil Postman
How to Watch TV News by Neil Postman
Girls Make Media by Mary Kearney
Media/Society: Industries, Images and Audiences by David R Croteau, William Hoynes
Culture Jam: How to Reverse America's Suicidal Consumer Binge - And Why We Must by Kaile Lasn
Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Johnson
[this is quite a different look compared to a lot of the other books]
Cell Phone Culture by Gerard Goggin
Most of the books are to better understand media and its affect on culture, but there are also ones that pertain to me directly. If I ever find the time, I definitely want to read these books in the near future.
Here are some of the books that I found interesting:
Reinventing Comics by Scott McCloud
Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It by Thomas De Zengotita
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
The Wow Climax: Tracing the Emotional Impact of Popular Culture by Henry Jenkins
The Disappearance of Childhood by Neil Postman
The End of Education: Redefining The Value Of School by Neil Postman
How to Watch TV News by Neil Postman
Girls Make Media by Mary Kearney
Media/Society: Industries, Images and Audiences by David R Croteau, William Hoynes
Culture Jam: How to Reverse America's Suicidal Consumer Binge - And Why We Must by Kaile Lasn
Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Johnson
[this is quite a different look compared to a lot of the other books]
Cell Phone Culture by Gerard Goggin
Most of the books are to better understand media and its affect on culture, but there are also ones that pertain to me directly. If I ever find the time, I definitely want to read these books in the near future.
One Thing Leads To Another [Timeline of Social/Media/History]
In my group, I decided to focus on the invention of the automobile. I feel as though the birth of the automobile, or car for short, led to a large degree of social movements. Positive things have come out of the invention of the car, but many negative things have resulted from this invention as well.
It was difficult finding early information about the true inventor of the car, mainly because many different men contributed to the final invention. Early attempts used a steam-powered vehicle, such as the first self-propelled car built by Nicolas Cugnot in 1769. The first internal combustion engine allowed a vehicle to run on a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, and was designed by Francois Isaac de Rivaz in 1807. Many designs were created based on the Rivaz combustion engine, but it wasn’t until the 1860’s when Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir built the first two-stroke gas driven engine. This lead to the creation of the four-stroke engine in 1885, by Gottlileb Damlier and Nicolas Otto. The pair didn’t work well together, however, and their partnership fell apart.
It was Karl Benz, in 1886, who created an advanced tri-cycle, which is said to be the first true car. Over in the United States, Henry Ford was busy experimenting with a horseless carriage in 1890. Through many stages, the Model T Ford was created. It was powered by a two-cylinder gasoline engine, and was release in 1908. Ford produced his vehicles on a moving assembly line, and this was the introduction to mass production in the automobile industry.
Although it took time, people began buying cars. Eventually, a strong need for public transit disappeared because people had their own means of getting places. The suburbs were created because people were able to drive long distances, so it wasn’t a concern if things were placed further apart. A lifestyle in itself, the “suburban life”, was created from the invention of the car.
In today’s society, it is easy to see what the invention of the car has led to. First of all, global warming is a huge concern. With the rise in the world’s population, and the mass production of cars, there are seemingly too many cars on the road. These cars emit poisonous gases, which harm our atmosphere. Not to mention the growing concern of obesity, which has greatly stemmed from lack of exercise. Suburban lifestyles have made walking places difficult, especially compared to a city where everything is in walking distance. Why walk somewhere when you can hop in your car and drive? This seems to be the common mentality.
I was thinking about what else cars imply, and I realized something. Cars were invented by men, and it is no surprise that cars are a topic many men enjoying talking about. I’m not saying that women can’t enjoy cars, because I definitely enjoy vintage vehicles, but I’ve come to realize that cars seem to be an invention that encourages stereotypes. It’s similar to the concept that baby boys receive blue blankets and baby girls receive pink blankets. Why is it that toy cars are advertised for boys, while dolls are advertised for girls? Cars are just another invention that makes gender equality harder to achieve.
My studies relate to the ecology of media because cars, a technology, have had a direct affect on people's behaviors and habits. Each new technology leads to so many changes. An invention may seem so minuscule, but it can pack a heavy punch on society. I strongly believe the reason people change is due to the technology around them.
Works Cited:
"Birth of Cars." Car Channel. 17 Nov. 2007.
It was difficult finding early information about the true inventor of the car, mainly because many different men contributed to the final invention. Early attempts used a steam-powered vehicle, such as the first self-propelled car built by Nicolas Cugnot in 1769. The first internal combustion engine allowed a vehicle to run on a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, and was designed by Francois Isaac de Rivaz in 1807. Many designs were created based on the Rivaz combustion engine, but it wasn’t until the 1860’s when Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir built the first two-stroke gas driven engine. This lead to the creation of the four-stroke engine in 1885, by Gottlileb Damlier and Nicolas Otto. The pair didn’t work well together, however, and their partnership fell apart.
It was Karl Benz, in 1886, who created an advanced tri-cycle, which is said to be the first true car. Over in the United States, Henry Ford was busy experimenting with a horseless carriage in 1890. Through many stages, the Model T Ford was created. It was powered by a two-cylinder gasoline engine, and was release in 1908. Ford produced his vehicles on a moving assembly line, and this was the introduction to mass production in the automobile industry.
Although it took time, people began buying cars. Eventually, a strong need for public transit disappeared because people had their own means of getting places. The suburbs were created because people were able to drive long distances, so it wasn’t a concern if things were placed further apart. A lifestyle in itself, the “suburban life”, was created from the invention of the car.
In today’s society, it is easy to see what the invention of the car has led to. First of all, global warming is a huge concern. With the rise in the world’s population, and the mass production of cars, there are seemingly too many cars on the road. These cars emit poisonous gases, which harm our atmosphere. Not to mention the growing concern of obesity, which has greatly stemmed from lack of exercise. Suburban lifestyles have made walking places difficult, especially compared to a city where everything is in walking distance. Why walk somewhere when you can hop in your car and drive? This seems to be the common mentality.
I was thinking about what else cars imply, and I realized something. Cars were invented by men, and it is no surprise that cars are a topic many men enjoying talking about. I’m not saying that women can’t enjoy cars, because I definitely enjoy vintage vehicles, but I’ve come to realize that cars seem to be an invention that encourages stereotypes. It’s similar to the concept that baby boys receive blue blankets and baby girls receive pink blankets. Why is it that toy cars are advertised for boys, while dolls are advertised for girls? Cars are just another invention that makes gender equality harder to achieve.
My studies relate to the ecology of media because cars, a technology, have had a direct affect on people's behaviors and habits. Each new technology leads to so many changes. An invention may seem so minuscule, but it can pack a heavy punch on society. I strongly believe the reason people change is due to the technology around them.
Works Cited:
"Birth of Cars." Car Channel. 17 Nov. 2007
The Results Are In
I don’t even think I could describe how nervous I was yesterday. Mark had said last week that he was going to hand out our semiotics papers the next week, which was yesterday. I tried to focus on what he was saying through the majority of the class, but all I kept looking at were the papers on his desk. Mine was somewhere in there, finally free from the scrutiny it had endured.
Mark finally talked about the papers. He said the class average was 69%, which was the highest a Mass Communication class had ever reached with him. I was a tad bit proud, having always though we had a very bright class, but the revelation did nothing to my nerves. When he finally let us at them, I was hesitant. I was hoping for anything over a 60, and a 70 would be the cause of a celebration. When I grabbed mine from the mess of papers on the floor, I searched for the grade. When I finally found it, I think I took three double takes to make sure I was reading correctly. A mark in the 80s?!
I don’t think I have ever been so proud of a mark in my life. This one meant a lot more than any other ones for sure. Now that I think back, I wish I had been more confident in my work. I was worried about receiving a 60, when I was looking past the fact that I had actually worked hard on this paper. I had taken Mark’s advice and went to the Writing Center, and I have to admit, they helped in a lot of ways. At first I thought writing about something as random as chocolate advertisements might be weird, but I knew that I had learned enough in the course to prove my ideas. Usually it is hard to see how much you learn from a course, and how much you improve, but I think it is quite evident in this class. I went from hardly thinking about my first assignment and receiving a barely passing mark, to working hard to show how much I had taken out of the course and putting it into a well-thought out paper.
This mark definitely helps me believe that I am in the right place.
Mark finally talked about the papers. He said the class average was 69%, which was the highest a Mass Communication class had ever reached with him. I was a tad bit proud, having always though we had a very bright class, but the revelation did nothing to my nerves. When he finally let us at them, I was hesitant. I was hoping for anything over a 60, and a 70 would be the cause of a celebration. When I grabbed mine from the mess of papers on the floor, I searched for the grade. When I finally found it, I think I took three double takes to make sure I was reading correctly. A mark in the 80s?!
I don’t think I have ever been so proud of a mark in my life. This one meant a lot more than any other ones for sure. Now that I think back, I wish I had been more confident in my work. I was worried about receiving a 60, when I was looking past the fact that I had actually worked hard on this paper. I had taken Mark’s advice and went to the Writing Center, and I have to admit, they helped in a lot of ways. At first I thought writing about something as random as chocolate advertisements might be weird, but I knew that I had learned enough in the course to prove my ideas. Usually it is hard to see how much you learn from a course, and how much you improve, but I think it is quite evident in this class. I went from hardly thinking about my first assignment and receiving a barely passing mark, to working hard to show how much I had taken out of the course and putting it into a well-thought out paper.
This mark definitely helps me believe that I am in the right place.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Not Just A Phone Company Anymore [Media Hegemonies]
Christina and I worked together on this project, and we were both pretty confused at where to start. It’s not that I don’t understand the concept of hegemony and media ownership, there just seems to be so much information that it’s difficult to begin. I’m glad that I’ve worked with her for most of these projects, mainly because we bounce ideas off each other really well.
We visited yourmedia.ca and found ten major companies that own a lot of the media Canadians hear, read, and see daily. We decided to pick a Canadian company, Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), instead of one of the big American companies. I was surprised to find that so many of the print I read and television I watch is owned by Bell.
As the map above depicts, BCE owns the Globe and Mail, CTV Network, and The Comedy Network, just to name a few. Last year, BCE bought CHUM Ltd. for $1.4 billion. Allan Waters created CHUM in 1954, with one lone radio station. The company grew to have 33 radio stations, 12 television outlets, and 21 specialty channels. It is interesting to find out such a well-known pioneering company, such as CHUM, was bought by BCE.
It is obvious that these huge companies are always striving to become bigger and receive more, especially with regards to money. The more media an enterprise is able to control, the better. The main problem, however, is that these huge companies are taking over all sorts of media and taking away the voice of smaller companies. How are independent magazines, newspapers, and broadcast channels supposed to survive? A lot of money is going to large companies, which are able to buy out smaller companies. This concept is similar to what happened with BCE buying out CHUM.
The scary fact is that BCE owns so many media outlets, that they are basically deciding what the public is being informed about. If the BCE is doing some wrong, they could make sure their media outlets are keeping it quiet or spinning the story to make it something positive. Suddenly, all their media outlets are seemingly PR representatives. It is also interesting to note that BCE could use product placement and advertising in any television show, newspaper, or Internet site they want. It is no surprise that I frequently see Bell commercials and advertising, probobably more than any other service provider.
A concentrated amount of companies own the media in Canada. All of these companies have too much money for their own good. We, as the public and consumers, are being told what to think and believe by a small group of people who own much of the information we receive daily. I think it is important to recognize hegemony, and try our best to receive information from all types of sources, especially those who are not owned by one single company.
Works Cited:
Robertson, Grant, and Jacquie McNish. "BGM Grabs CHUM for $1.4 Billion." Your Media. 19 Nov. 2007.
We visited yourmedia.ca and found ten major companies that own a lot of the media Canadians hear, read, and see daily. We decided to pick a Canadian company, Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), instead of one of the big American companies. I was surprised to find that so many of the print I read and television I watch is owned by Bell.
As the map above depicts, BCE owns the Globe and Mail, CTV Network, and The Comedy Network, just to name a few. Last year, BCE bought CHUM Ltd. for $1.4 billion. Allan Waters created CHUM in 1954, with one lone radio station. The company grew to have 33 radio stations, 12 television outlets, and 21 specialty channels. It is interesting to find out such a well-known pioneering company, such as CHUM, was bought by BCE.
It is obvious that these huge companies are always striving to become bigger and receive more, especially with regards to money. The more media an enterprise is able to control, the better. The main problem, however, is that these huge companies are taking over all sorts of media and taking away the voice of smaller companies. How are independent magazines, newspapers, and broadcast channels supposed to survive? A lot of money is going to large companies, which are able to buy out smaller companies. This concept is similar to what happened with BCE buying out CHUM.
The scary fact is that BCE owns so many media outlets, that they are basically deciding what the public is being informed about. If the BCE is doing some wrong, they could make sure their media outlets are keeping it quiet or spinning the story to make it something positive. Suddenly, all their media outlets are seemingly PR representatives. It is also interesting to note that BCE could use product placement and advertising in any television show, newspaper, or Internet site they want. It is no surprise that I frequently see Bell commercials and advertising, probobably more than any other service provider.
A concentrated amount of companies own the media in Canada. All of these companies have too much money for their own good. We, as the public and consumers, are being told what to think and believe by a small group of people who own much of the information we receive daily. I think it is important to recognize hegemony, and try our best to receive information from all types of sources, especially those who are not owned by one single company.
Works Cited:
Robertson, Grant, and Jacquie McNish. "BGM Grabs CHUM for $1.4 Billion." Your Media. 19 Nov. 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Technology Through The Ages [Tenth Lecture]
Today we were asked to get into groups and list ten important technologies that had a great cultural impact. If anything, choosing only ten was the hard part. Our group was outside for about two minutes and already threw out far more than ten inventions. The ones we ended up writing down were: light bulb, electricity, television, gun, microwave, wheel, telephone, computer, camera, alphabet, clock, and credit cards. The alphabet and printing press were among the popular picks, which makes sense. If it wasn’t for the alphabet and phonetic alphabet, all the other inventions could not be created.
I am SO glad Mark introduced me to Shameless magazine. As a female, I obviously care about how women are portrayed in the media. I read many female magazines, where I always find contradictions of all sorts. I will read an article about maintaining a healthy body image, and then flip to a fashion spread with frail, anorexic looking models. I’m currently looking for a copy of Shameless to call my own, but I was able to read some of their online articles already. I like their fresh and honest look on females in society, and how they write about issues that appeal to me. Its magazines like Shameless that people need to fight back at the common images the media depicts.
I am SO glad Mark introduced me to Shameless magazine. As a female, I obviously care about how women are portrayed in the media. I read many female magazines, where I always find contradictions of all sorts. I will read an article about maintaining a healthy body image, and then flip to a fashion spread with frail, anorexic looking models. I’m currently looking for a copy of Shameless to call my own, but I was able to read some of their online articles already. I like their fresh and honest look on females in society, and how they write about issues that appeal to me. Its magazines like Shameless that people need to fight back at the common images the media depicts.
Upkeep
I still can’t decide if I would recommend this blog system for the course. I have kept a blog in the past, and I think it is an extremely innovative idea. Blogging is such a modern form of voicing your opinions to an audience, so why not include it in a mass communication class?
At the same time, I always have a voice in my head that is telling me that I must blog. It’s like a never-ending ache. I still think this method is better than having to hand in a big portfolio at the end, but I still wish we had more direction. Due dates for the projects and such. I guess I’m still used to being guided, and this class has put me to an extreme test. I have always been a procrastinator, so I find myself doing these blogs weeks later quite frequently. When Mark said this class would be more than my other classes combined, he wasn’t kidding.
I definitely think these blogs show who we truly are. There are so many things we could talk about in this course: the lectures, group projects, etc. All of them will be so different. Something that I find interesting in a lecture may be completely irrelevant for somebody else. I find myself wondering what sort of impression I make for the other people who read my blog. I also find myself wondering if I’m understanding what Mark is trying to tell us in every class. Even if I am not able to complete every project, I want to make my process in my other projects apparent and really show what I learned from each one. I feel like this class has grown with me as I’ve went through my first semester of university, right down to how I approached my last paper. I appreciate how far hard work will take you, and how working with others instead of competing with them can be extremely rewarding.
At the same time, I always have a voice in my head that is telling me that I must blog. It’s like a never-ending ache. I still think this method is better than having to hand in a big portfolio at the end, but I still wish we had more direction. Due dates for the projects and such. I guess I’m still used to being guided, and this class has put me to an extreme test. I have always been a procrastinator, so I find myself doing these blogs weeks later quite frequently. When Mark said this class would be more than my other classes combined, he wasn’t kidding.
I definitely think these blogs show who we truly are. There are so many things we could talk about in this course: the lectures, group projects, etc. All of them will be so different. Something that I find interesting in a lecture may be completely irrelevant for somebody else. I find myself wondering what sort of impression I make for the other people who read my blog. I also find myself wondering if I’m understanding what Mark is trying to tell us in every class. Even if I am not able to complete every project, I want to make my process in my other projects apparent and really show what I learned from each one. I feel like this class has grown with me as I’ve went through my first semester of university, right down to how I approached my last paper. I appreciate how far hard work will take you, and how working with others instead of competing with them can be extremely rewarding.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A Trip Around The World [Podcasting In The Market]
Christina and I had the idea of making a podcast tour about Kensington Market a while ago, but we didn't do it until now. I definitely wanted to do somewhere eclectic and quirky, and those words basically define the Market. I took on the role of explaining the history of the Market, and special celebrations. Christina decided to talk about all the different clothing shops and restaurants.
I think our main intention with this script was to not only exhibit an amazing place that is normally unheard of, but to talk about the origin's of Toronto. Kensington Market has changed so much with time, and continues to be a historical site. The following script is a LOT of information, but we wanted to make sure our script had a lot we could talk about if we were to actually make the podcast. Obviously not every store, for example, would need to be read, but we could list some and talk about the popular ones, such as the Hot Box Cafe.
Kensington Market [script]
ASHLEY:
Tired of shopping on typical Queen St. West, and in the need of affordable vintage finds, my mom suggested I try Kensington Market. I remember having no clue what she was talking about, until she explained that when she first moved to Canada at the age of 15, Kensington Market was a popular place for Portuguese immigrants. It was a popular place for a lot of other cultures as well, with people residing from Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and other countries in Europe. She said a walk through Kensington is like being introduced to all places around the world. When I finally did find the “Market”, as it is commonly called, I was pleased at how right she was. Located between Dundas and College, west of Spadina, the Market swarmed with a certain vibe that felt unlike any other Toronto community I had visited.
Kensington Market began as the “Jewish Market” essentially, with about 80% of Toronto’s Jewish population living in the area in the 1920s. Many of the Jewish residents sold goods right in front of their homes, creating a booming economy for the residents of Kensington Market. After the Second World War, many original Jewish residents moved to wealthier suburban areas and other immigrants from all over the world made the Market their new home.
CHRISTINA:
Stores
Clothing- there’s a long list of all of the awesome clothing stores Kensington has to offer. A lot of these stores are vintage clothing shops or silk-screen t-shirt shops, it may take a bit more time to search through everything, but in the end you’ll find something you love and that is perfect for your style.
AAA Army Surplus
Astro
Bubblegum
Bungalow
Courage My Love
Cute Stone
D Lovely
Dancing Days
Dean Horn
Ego
Exile
Eye of Shiva
Flashback
Fresh Baked Goods
G&P Fashion
Gale Designs
Ha-Ha Kids
Hardboiled Inc.
Harry David Limited
Iki
Jessica's Season Wear
Kensington Clothing Co.
Shanti
Shoney's Clothing
Sunshine Leather
The Cave
Tom's Place
Trend Setter Company Ltd.
Triple A Clothing
Twice As Nice
Urban Catwalk
Vintage Depot
Zimmerman's
This list alone would be enough to attract consumers and tourists, but it is only the beginning of what Kensington has to offer
Other noteworthy stores include
Orbital Arts- jewelry, home décor
Adrift- a skate shop
African Drums & Art Crafts
Butterfly- Jewellery/purses/hats
Essence of Life- organic items
Mad Scientist-electronics store
Reactive Ink- tattoo shop
Rhythm Corner-record and cd store
Now, everyone’s gotta eat, so naturally there are many restaurants available so we can relax and have a bite to eat.
Akram's Shoppe Middle Eastern foods
Amadeu's Traditional Portuguese
Amato's Pizza,pasta,salads
Ban Vanipha Lao and Thai food
Cloak & Dagger Eighteen types of beer on draft
El Trompo Authentic Mexican
Ideal Coffee Fresh organic coffee
Kensington's Grilled sandwiches, gourmet coffee and tea
La Palette Classic French Bistro, relaxed atmosphere - great selection of wine and beer
Patty King Patties/Bakery/West Indian and Jamaican
Roach-A-Rama and The Hot Box Café-Pipes/papers/hemp clothing, and a pot-friendly cafe
The Bagel All-day breakfast
The Fish Shack/Paradise Bay Fish and juices
The Last Temptation Eclectic menu, reasonable prices
The Restaurant in Kensington Organic,meatless,raw chocolatier
Probably the most interesting is, the Hot Box Café is a pot-positive café that promotes the normalization of marijuana use. Because they can’t legally sell pot, consumers must bring their own. They also have a list of rules for customers to abide by. The rules are:
1. no drinking or being already drunk (or hard drugs)
2. no dealing, asking, fishing, or mooching
3. all patrons have to be 10 years old or accompanied by a legal guardian (your 19 year old friend doesn’t count )
4. This is a restaurant, you must purchase something to hang out
5. seating maximum is one hour
and
6. all dogs must be on a short leash and well behaved
Their menu is quite appetizing as well, and it should be, since it is a restaurant, don’t let their pot-loving attitude fool you, this is a well thought-out service to the public.
And for groceries, just look for one of the 41 grocers to satisfy your needs. Most of these places are run by immigrants, they bring their culture to Toronto and are supported by those of the same culture as well as others.
Kensington is pretty much its own community, and there are many services that support this community; they include:
Chinese Lao Association
Fu Kien Society of Ontario
Hainan Association of Ontario
Red Pepper Spectacle Arts Harvest Festival, Passport Kensington, Festival of Lights
Scadding Court Community Centre Services for the community.
St. Stephen's Community Centre A multi-service, nonprofit agency serving Kensington since 1962.
ASHLEY
The Market itself is an array of narrow streets and alleys, which makes the usage of cars difficult. Usually, people walk or bike. The streets are usually busy with people shopping in some of Toronto’s best vintage stores, or buying fresh bruit and vegetables at stands piled with produce.
Kensington is home to its own festivals and traditions. The Winter Solstice in December is the date of the annual “Festival of the Light”, full of street performers and bonfires.
Car Free Sundays occurs 6 months of the year, where the Market restricts any use of cars and allows pedestrians to wander the streets, where businesses bring their stores outside. If only other places chose to ban cars for certain days of the year, we would surely le
- Kensington Market was named a National Historic Site in November 2006, by Parks Canada.
- Even though it is rich in diversity, there is a certain quality about Kensington Market that makes it very warm and intimate.
If you can get past the smell, Kensington Market is the place for you!
Works Cited:
"Hot Box Cafe." Roachorama.Ca. 2004. 27 Nov. 2007
"Kensington Market." Kensington-Market.Ca. 2007. 27 Nov. 2007.
"Kensington Market." Tourism Toronto. 14 Nov. 2007
I think our main intention with this script was to not only exhibit an amazing place that is normally unheard of, but to talk about the origin's of Toronto. Kensington Market has changed so much with time, and continues to be a historical site. The following script is a LOT of information, but we wanted to make sure our script had a lot we could talk about if we were to actually make the podcast. Obviously not every store, for example, would need to be read, but we could list some and talk about the popular ones, such as the Hot Box Cafe.
Kensington Market [script]
ASHLEY:
Tired of shopping on typical Queen St. West, and in the need of affordable vintage finds, my mom suggested I try Kensington Market. I remember having no clue what she was talking about, until she explained that when she first moved to Canada at the age of 15, Kensington Market was a popular place for Portuguese immigrants. It was a popular place for a lot of other cultures as well, with people residing from Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and other countries in Europe. She said a walk through Kensington is like being introduced to all places around the world. When I finally did find the “Market”, as it is commonly called, I was pleased at how right she was. Located between Dundas and College, west of Spadina, the Market swarmed with a certain vibe that felt unlike any other Toronto community I had visited.
Kensington Market began as the “Jewish Market” essentially, with about 80% of Toronto’s Jewish population living in the area in the 1920s. Many of the Jewish residents sold goods right in front of their homes, creating a booming economy for the residents of Kensington Market. After the Second World War, many original Jewish residents moved to wealthier suburban areas and other immigrants from all over the world made the Market their new home.
CHRISTINA:
Stores
Clothing- there’s a long list of all of the awesome clothing stores Kensington has to offer. A lot of these stores are vintage clothing shops or silk-screen t-shirt shops, it may take a bit more time to search through everything, but in the end you’ll find something you love and that is perfect for your style.
AAA Army Surplus
Astro
Bubblegum
Bungalow
Courage My Love
Cute Stone
D Lovely
Dancing Days
Dean Horn
Ego
Exile
Eye of Shiva
Flashback
Fresh Baked Goods
G&P Fashion
Gale Designs
Ha-Ha Kids
Hardboiled Inc.
Harry David Limited
Iki
Jessica's Season Wear
Kensington Clothing Co.
Shanti
Shoney's Clothing
Sunshine Leather
The Cave
Tom's Place
Trend Setter Company Ltd.
Triple A Clothing
Twice As Nice
Urban Catwalk
Vintage Depot
Zimmerman's
This list alone would be enough to attract consumers and tourists, but it is only the beginning of what Kensington has to offer
Other noteworthy stores include
Orbital Arts- jewelry, home décor
Adrift- a skate shop
African Drums & Art Crafts
Butterfly- Jewellery/purses/hats
Essence of Life- organic items
Mad Scientist-electronics store
Reactive Ink- tattoo shop
Rhythm Corner-record and cd store
Now, everyone’s gotta eat, so naturally there are many restaurants available so we can relax and have a bite to eat.
Akram's Shoppe Middle Eastern foods
Amadeu's Traditional Portuguese
Amato's Pizza,pasta,salads
Ban Vanipha Lao and Thai food
Cloak & Dagger Eighteen types of beer on draft
El Trompo Authentic Mexican
Ideal Coffee Fresh organic coffee
Kensington's Grilled sandwiches, gourmet coffee and tea
La Palette Classic French Bistro, relaxed atmosphere - great selection of wine and beer
Patty King Patties/Bakery/West Indian and Jamaican
Roach-A-Rama and The Hot Box Café-Pipes/papers/hemp clothing, and a pot-friendly cafe
The Bagel All-day breakfast
The Fish Shack/Paradise Bay Fish and juices
The Last Temptation Eclectic menu, reasonable prices
The Restaurant in Kensington Organic,meatless,raw chocolatier
Probably the most interesting is, the Hot Box Café is a pot-positive café that promotes the normalization of marijuana use. Because they can’t legally sell pot, consumers must bring their own. They also have a list of rules for customers to abide by. The rules are:
1. no drinking or being already drunk (or hard drugs)
2. no dealing, asking, fishing, or mooching
3. all patrons have to be 10 years old or accompanied by a legal guardian (your 19 year old friend doesn’t count )
4. This is a restaurant, you must purchase something to hang out
5. seating maximum is one hour
and
6. all dogs must be on a short leash and well behaved
Their menu is quite appetizing as well, and it should be, since it is a restaurant, don’t let their pot-loving attitude fool you, this is a well thought-out service to the public.
And for groceries, just look for one of the 41 grocers to satisfy your needs. Most of these places are run by immigrants, they bring their culture to Toronto and are supported by those of the same culture as well as others.
Kensington is pretty much its own community, and there are many services that support this community; they include:
Chinese Lao Association
Fu Kien Society of Ontario
Hainan Association of Ontario
Red Pepper Spectacle Arts Harvest Festival, Passport Kensington, Festival of Lights
Scadding Court Community Centre Services for the community.
St. Stephen's Community Centre A multi-service, nonprofit agency serving Kensington since 1962.
ASHLEY
The Market itself is an array of narrow streets and alleys, which makes the usage of cars difficult. Usually, people walk or bike. The streets are usually busy with people shopping in some of Toronto’s best vintage stores, or buying fresh bruit and vegetables at stands piled with produce.
Kensington is home to its own festivals and traditions. The Winter Solstice in December is the date of the annual “Festival of the Light”, full of street performers and bonfires.
Car Free Sundays occurs 6 months of the year, where the Market restricts any use of cars and allows pedestrians to wander the streets, where businesses bring their stores outside. If only other places chose to ban cars for certain days of the year, we would surely le
- Kensington Market was named a National Historic Site in November 2006, by Parks Canada.
- Even though it is rich in diversity, there is a certain quality about Kensington Market that makes it very warm and intimate.
If you can get past the smell, Kensington Market is the place for you!
Works Cited:
"Hot Box Cafe." Roachorama.Ca. 2004. 27 Nov. 2007
"Kensington Market." Kensington-Market.Ca. 2007. 27 Nov. 2007
"Kensington Market." Tourism Toronto. 14 Nov. 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Yin & Yang
I have to say that these blogs are really helping me understand things. Most of the time when Mark does a lecture, I am left leaving the room with a headache. Maybe I just don’t understand his vast vocabulary, or all these theories and principles take a while to really get used to. Either way, I’ve noticed that one of the best things to do is go back to things once I’ve learned more about media in general. I think I’m one of those people who needs to see the whole picture before I can understand it. A lot of topics in media really do link back to each other though. I have a better understanding of the ecology of media after looking at the history of media, and the history of technology. After I completed my semiotics paper, I was able to look back at the icons, symbols, encoding/decoding, and the role of ideology lectures and understand them a lot better. I am starting to also understand where we are going, because media activism and culture jamming has occurred due to media ownership and convergence.
There always seems to be another side to media, an opposite. To every new technology comes advantages and disadvantages. With media ownership comes those who crave media democracy. I feel as though media is all about the yin and yang.
There always seems to be another side to media, an opposite. To every new technology comes advantages and disadvantages. With media ownership comes those who crave media democracy. I feel as though media is all about the yin and yang.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Busting Advertising [Ninth Lecture]
Mark mentioned Abraham Maslow’s five areas that structure human needs. He listed:
1) Survival
2) Safety (varying degrees of protection, both emotionally & physical)
3) Belonging (isolation is an effective way to torture someone)
4) Esteem
5) Self actualization
The more I look at these five areas, which make absolute sense; I realize that it is these needs that advertisers frequently play on to sell their products. They know that people crave to belong, for example, so the uses of “popular” products are what draw consumers in. If they have something that everyone else has, then they have a greater possibility of fitting in with society.
I was so glad to finally hear Ian speak! I’ve studied culture jamming before, so I was excited to hear his views on it. Mark Derry describes culture jamming as, “the manufacture of consent through the manipulation of symbols.” Derry also says that culture jamming, “introduce noise into the signal as it passes from transmitter to receiver, encouraging idiosyncratic, unintended interpretations.” Culture jamming is meant to go against the dominant views of media and show another side or way to view a subject.
Ian showed us some interesting billboard advertising, which is very similar to the ads that Adbuster’s create. Many of the ads had symbols that are well known in society, but added text or other images introduce a new meaning. These “anti-ads” are a form of subvertising. Mark mentioned the Guerrilla Girls, who are a bunch of feminist artists who make witty posters asking why there aren’t more female artists in museums.
Ian properly defined irony, which I had been assuming meant a strange or humorous coincidence. In actuality, it means to say one thing and mean another. He also defined parody, and talked about one of my favourite television shows, The Simpson’s. The 90s was a time of delightful family sitcoms, and The Simpson’s came along to essential parody the typical family that was portrayed. It’s interesting that the show has been around for as long as I’ve been alive, and continues to be popular. It is obvious that society accepted a show that redefined the word “family”, and showed a different side than what people were used to.
There is one thing about culture jamming that can be confusing. Adbuster’s and other organizations are making fun of advertising, through the medium of advertising. Does this take away from their desired affect? Are they really doing anything differently in the end?
Works Cited:
Derry, Mark. "Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing and Sniping in the Empire of Signs" http://www.levity.com/markdery/culturjam.html
1) Survival
2) Safety (varying degrees of protection, both emotionally & physical)
3) Belonging (isolation is an effective way to torture someone)
4) Esteem
5) Self actualization
The more I look at these five areas, which make absolute sense; I realize that it is these needs that advertisers frequently play on to sell their products. They know that people crave to belong, for example, so the uses of “popular” products are what draw consumers in. If they have something that everyone else has, then they have a greater possibility of fitting in with society.
I was so glad to finally hear Ian speak! I’ve studied culture jamming before, so I was excited to hear his views on it. Mark Derry describes culture jamming as, “the manufacture of consent through the manipulation of symbols.” Derry also says that culture jamming, “introduce noise into the signal as it passes from transmitter to receiver, encouraging idiosyncratic, unintended interpretations.” Culture jamming is meant to go against the dominant views of media and show another side or way to view a subject.
Ian showed us some interesting billboard advertising, which is very similar to the ads that Adbuster’s create. Many of the ads had symbols that are well known in society, but added text or other images introduce a new meaning. These “anti-ads” are a form of subvertising. Mark mentioned the Guerrilla Girls, who are a bunch of feminist artists who make witty posters asking why there aren’t more female artists in museums.
Ian properly defined irony, which I had been assuming meant a strange or humorous coincidence. In actuality, it means to say one thing and mean another. He also defined parody, and talked about one of my favourite television shows, The Simpson’s. The 90s was a time of delightful family sitcoms, and The Simpson’s came along to essential parody the typical family that was portrayed. It’s interesting that the show has been around for as long as I’ve been alive, and continues to be popular. It is obvious that society accepted a show that redefined the word “family”, and showed a different side than what people were used to.
There is one thing about culture jamming that can be confusing. Adbuster’s and other organizations are making fun of advertising, through the medium of advertising. Does this take away from their desired affect? Are they really doing anything differently in the end?
Works Cited:
Derry, Mark. "Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing and Sniping in the Empire of Signs" http://www.levity.com/markdery/culturjam.html
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Lure Of Chocolate [Final Semiotics Paper]
The Lure of Chocolate
Images of half-naked and scantily clad people have graced advertisements for decades as a way to sell products of absolutely all types. It is no secret, sex sells. It is a topic that stirs controversy, but continues to entice people’s wants and needs. Those who create advertisements understand that people crave more in life, and yearn to be socially accepted. In the world of television, advertising in the form of commercials use sight and sound to attract people’s senses. Neil Postman believes in the power of television by saying, “television … is largely aimed at emotional gratification. Even commercials … are exquisitely crafted” (86). A commercial is not put together blindly; everything is there for a reason.
I will be analyzing and comparing two television commercials selling different chocolate. One advertises Aero chocolate and the other, Kit Kat chocolate. A deeper look into both commercials will reveal embedded signs and codes, and their affect on society. I want to focus on how strategically using sex in both commercials may affect a woman and her self-understanding. These two commercials play on a woman’s insecurities and ever-present fears about her social status, and offer chocolate as a replacement for a man.
In the commercial for Aero, a man talks about chocolate, dressed in only a towel around his waist. He is muscular and good-looking, an image that is usually associated with the “ideal man.” He walks around a large house, which is nicely furnished and up-scale. Aesthetic codes connote a rich and modern setting with a very sexual atmosphere, especially with the use of a nearly nude man. The house is decorated in warm colours including brown, orange, and beige. These colours are normally associated with sensuality and romance. It is apparent that the commercial is trying to exhibit a certain romantic tone.
The meaning of the commercial is largely brought out by the textual codes within it, such as the camerawork. The first shot of the commercial is from the outside of the house. The shot is from the ground, looking up at a window where you can see the man drying himself off with a towel. This is the first time we see the man in the commercial. Daniel Chandler refers to connotations with the vertical compositional axis saying, “up has come to be associated with more and down with less”. The fact that the intended audience of the commercial, which is obviously women, is looking up at the man through the window indicates power or a higher-status for the man. Women are essentially on the outside, looking in at something they cannot have. In reference to the sections of the shots, Chandler also mentions that, “the upper section tends to … show us ‘what might be’; the lower section tends to be more informative and practical, showing us ‘what is’”. The man has a high status, exhibiting a level of importance with where he stands on the vertical axis of the shot. Although the remainder of the commercial is inside the home, this idea of the man being unreachable has already been established. Another shot of importance is during the man’s narration, before he lies down on a couch. He is walking and the camera moves to a close up of a fireplace, with wood burning. The shot connotes the sensuality of the commercial, since fireplaces are connected with warmth and romance. Television and movies are known to use a lighted fireplace in the background of a steamy sexual scene or a passionate date. This pushes the idea of the ideal romantic moment. When the man does lie down on the couch, the camera focuses on his whole body instead of his upper-half like the rest of the commercial. He holds the chocolate in front of his genitals, forcing the audience to look in that general area. This is the shot that exudes the most sexuality in the commercial.
The Kit Kat commercial is for a special type of reduced-calorie chocolate named Singles. The commercial is similar to the Aero commercial, but the chocolate itself acts as a man. The commercial is animated and takes the form of an online personal ad. The ad is for the Singles chocolate, which speaks about itself, metaphorically. Although it is a cartoon chocolate talking about its great qualities, it parallels a man doing the same. The method of using the chocolate to represent a man works because, as Scott McCloud says, “we humans are a self-centered race … we see ourselves in everything” (32). The chocolate has a simple set of cartoon facial features and its “clothes” consist of its wrapper. McCloud believes that, “the more cartoony a face is, for instance, the more people it could be said to describe” (31). Unlike the Aero commercial, where a real person is used, a cartoon version of a man is based more on his meaning rather than his specific look. However, the aesthetic codes are similar to the first commercial. The Singles chocolate is in the foreground and the background consists of a bedroom scene. The furniture is modern and the room consists of brown and warm colour schemes. Once again, the idea of romance and sensuality is suggested. The chocolate is wearing a red wrapper, which is slightly folded back to look like a collar. This sharp colour red connotes a fierce and sexual man, and sets him apart from the rest of the background. Textual codes are not as apparent as the Aero commercial, mainly because there is no camerawork or different scenes. The shot stays the same in the background, with the bedroom surrounded by a fake browser meant to look like an online personal ad. The chocolate is the only thing that moves and talks, and he stays primarily in the center. This is to keep the audience, intended to be women, focused on the chocolate man.
Social codes are important in the understanding of both commercials as well. In the Aero commercial, the man displays very sexually suggestive body language. He also speaks with a tone that is very flirtatious. He begins by mentioning how chocolate melts uncontrollably at body temperature. There is a close-up shot of him as he delivers the word “uncontrollably,” where he grins into the camera. When he is lying on the couch, he directly refers to the audience by saying “ladies” before mentioning how the pleasure is more intense with Aero chocolate melting in your mouth. At the end of the sentence he eats some chocolate and raises his eyebrows at the camera. His body actions and words are so sexual that the focus on the chocolate is nearly non-existent.
The same sort of sexual implications can be found in the social codes within the Kit Kat Singles commercial as well. The chocolate man states from the beginning that he is single and available. He raises his eyebrows and leans forward when he mentions having a nibble on a break, which has various connotations. For the purpose of this commercial, it is a play on words with Kit Kat’s slogan “have a break”. It also connotes a sexual mood, which is obvious with the raised eyebrows and passionate voice used while speaking. Similar to the Aero commercial, using sex is a strategy that both commercials use to gain attention from their female audiences.
There is much more to be said about both commercials from a social point of view. It has been established that women are the intended audience of these commercials, especially by the man in the Aero commercial speaking to women directly. Even the font of Aero is curvy and round, which connotes femininity. Other audiences would not gain much from both commercials. Most men would find them to be either humorous or just unappealing, and a child would not understand the sexual implications. It is also safe to assume that the commercials are intended for single women. The use of an online personal ad in the Kit Kat commercial takes on a modern form of dating, and the chocolate man is single. The lure of romance and lavish taste in the Aero commercial would appeal to a single woman who is looking for a relationship. Women in relationships may be looking for the same type of things as well, but the idea of chocolate being the substitute for an absent man does not apply to them if they are already in a relationship. Both commercials are constructing a reality that women should look for muscular and aggressive men, as well as luxurious romance.
There is a cultural assumption that women eat more chocolate than men, so it is not surprising that both commercials appeal to the same sort of audience. Chocolate has been called an aphrodisiac, and can be viewed as pleasurable to consume. These commercials are trying to send out the message that chocolate can provide the same sort of pleasure that a man can, especially to single females. The inability to find a man, let alone the ideal man, makes single women feel insecure. Chocolate advertisements use this fear and insecurity to sell their products. These commercials are basically demeaning single woman by using a muscular man in a rich house and showing he has power. Even though the man is being put on display for his appearance, which usually happens to females, he is not being degraded. He still holds a power that seems unattainable by a woman. The commercial is putting out the idea that since women cannot find this “ideal” man, they can at least have the chocolate.
Older single women would be very affected by these commercials, such as those who have been struggling with relationships for a long time. Or, those who fear they will be unaccepted by society because they are not already married in their 30s or 40s. These women may have possibly tried online dating or made a personal ad, which has the connotations of being the last attempt at finding someone. The Kit Kat commercial is literally making the chocolate a man in a personal ad. This further proves the idea that chocolate can be the replacement for a woman who is without a significant other. It is also interesting to notice that the man in the Aero commercial is actor Jason Lewis. His other prominent roles include acting in the television series Sex and The City. This show is known for its honest portrayal of four older, single women and their troubles with love and relationships. It is no surprise that those behind the Aero commercial chose an actor who is related to a show with a similar audience that they intended to make the commercial for.
Advertising can tell people how to improve their lives, or what they are missing out on. The Aero and Kit Kat commercials succeed in doing both. As John Berger says, “the purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of life. It suggests that if he buys what it is offering, his life will become better. It offers him an improved alternative to what he is” (142). This holds true to both commercials, which make women feel insecure at the prospect of life without a gorgeous man and a life full of romance. The suggestion of chocolate as an alternative for some type of satisfaction or pleasure makes the impression that women cannot be happy in their lives, whether they are single or with an “average looking” man. There must always be some sort of alternative or better standard, whether it is chocolate in the place of a man, or even “the perfect” man as illustrated in the Aero commercial. Addiction to chocolate has stemmed from advertisements that promise false realities and have led women to believe that chocolate can actually fill a void in their lives.
Works Cited
"Aero Bubbles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972.
Chandler, Daniel. "Syntagmatic Analysis." Semiotics for Beginners. 29 Oct. 2007
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.
"Nestle Kit Kat Singles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007.
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Images of half-naked and scantily clad people have graced advertisements for decades as a way to sell products of absolutely all types. It is no secret, sex sells. It is a topic that stirs controversy, but continues to entice people’s wants and needs. Those who create advertisements understand that people crave more in life, and yearn to be socially accepted. In the world of television, advertising in the form of commercials use sight and sound to attract people’s senses. Neil Postman believes in the power of television by saying, “television … is largely aimed at emotional gratification. Even commercials … are exquisitely crafted” (86). A commercial is not put together blindly; everything is there for a reason.
I will be analyzing and comparing two television commercials selling different chocolate. One advertises Aero chocolate and the other, Kit Kat chocolate. A deeper look into both commercials will reveal embedded signs and codes, and their affect on society. I want to focus on how strategically using sex in both commercials may affect a woman and her self-understanding. These two commercials play on a woman’s insecurities and ever-present fears about her social status, and offer chocolate as a replacement for a man.
In the commercial for Aero, a man talks about chocolate, dressed in only a towel around his waist. He is muscular and good-looking, an image that is usually associated with the “ideal man.” He walks around a large house, which is nicely furnished and up-scale. Aesthetic codes connote a rich and modern setting with a very sexual atmosphere, especially with the use of a nearly nude man. The house is decorated in warm colours including brown, orange, and beige. These colours are normally associated with sensuality and romance. It is apparent that the commercial is trying to exhibit a certain romantic tone.
The meaning of the commercial is largely brought out by the textual codes within it, such as the camerawork. The first shot of the commercial is from the outside of the house. The shot is from the ground, looking up at a window where you can see the man drying himself off with a towel. This is the first time we see the man in the commercial. Daniel Chandler refers to connotations with the vertical compositional axis saying, “up has come to be associated with more and down with less”. The fact that the intended audience of the commercial, which is obviously women, is looking up at the man through the window indicates power or a higher-status for the man. Women are essentially on the outside, looking in at something they cannot have. In reference to the sections of the shots, Chandler also mentions that, “the upper section tends to … show us ‘what might be’; the lower section tends to be more informative and practical, showing us ‘what is’”. The man has a high status, exhibiting a level of importance with where he stands on the vertical axis of the shot. Although the remainder of the commercial is inside the home, this idea of the man being unreachable has already been established. Another shot of importance is during the man’s narration, before he lies down on a couch. He is walking and the camera moves to a close up of a fireplace, with wood burning. The shot connotes the sensuality of the commercial, since fireplaces are connected with warmth and romance. Television and movies are known to use a lighted fireplace in the background of a steamy sexual scene or a passionate date. This pushes the idea of the ideal romantic moment. When the man does lie down on the couch, the camera focuses on his whole body instead of his upper-half like the rest of the commercial. He holds the chocolate in front of his genitals, forcing the audience to look in that general area. This is the shot that exudes the most sexuality in the commercial.
The Kit Kat commercial is for a special type of reduced-calorie chocolate named Singles. The commercial is similar to the Aero commercial, but the chocolate itself acts as a man. The commercial is animated and takes the form of an online personal ad. The ad is for the Singles chocolate, which speaks about itself, metaphorically. Although it is a cartoon chocolate talking about its great qualities, it parallels a man doing the same. The method of using the chocolate to represent a man works because, as Scott McCloud says, “we humans are a self-centered race … we see ourselves in everything” (32). The chocolate has a simple set of cartoon facial features and its “clothes” consist of its wrapper. McCloud believes that, “the more cartoony a face is, for instance, the more people it could be said to describe” (31). Unlike the Aero commercial, where a real person is used, a cartoon version of a man is based more on his meaning rather than his specific look. However, the aesthetic codes are similar to the first commercial. The Singles chocolate is in the foreground and the background consists of a bedroom scene. The furniture is modern and the room consists of brown and warm colour schemes. Once again, the idea of romance and sensuality is suggested. The chocolate is wearing a red wrapper, which is slightly folded back to look like a collar. This sharp colour red connotes a fierce and sexual man, and sets him apart from the rest of the background. Textual codes are not as apparent as the Aero commercial, mainly because there is no camerawork or different scenes. The shot stays the same in the background, with the bedroom surrounded by a fake browser meant to look like an online personal ad. The chocolate is the only thing that moves and talks, and he stays primarily in the center. This is to keep the audience, intended to be women, focused on the chocolate man.
Social codes are important in the understanding of both commercials as well. In the Aero commercial, the man displays very sexually suggestive body language. He also speaks with a tone that is very flirtatious. He begins by mentioning how chocolate melts uncontrollably at body temperature. There is a close-up shot of him as he delivers the word “uncontrollably,” where he grins into the camera. When he is lying on the couch, he directly refers to the audience by saying “ladies” before mentioning how the pleasure is more intense with Aero chocolate melting in your mouth. At the end of the sentence he eats some chocolate and raises his eyebrows at the camera. His body actions and words are so sexual that the focus on the chocolate is nearly non-existent.
The same sort of sexual implications can be found in the social codes within the Kit Kat Singles commercial as well. The chocolate man states from the beginning that he is single and available. He raises his eyebrows and leans forward when he mentions having a nibble on a break, which has various connotations. For the purpose of this commercial, it is a play on words with Kit Kat’s slogan “have a break”. It also connotes a sexual mood, which is obvious with the raised eyebrows and passionate voice used while speaking. Similar to the Aero commercial, using sex is a strategy that both commercials use to gain attention from their female audiences.
There is much more to be said about both commercials from a social point of view. It has been established that women are the intended audience of these commercials, especially by the man in the Aero commercial speaking to women directly. Even the font of Aero is curvy and round, which connotes femininity. Other audiences would not gain much from both commercials. Most men would find them to be either humorous or just unappealing, and a child would not understand the sexual implications. It is also safe to assume that the commercials are intended for single women. The use of an online personal ad in the Kit Kat commercial takes on a modern form of dating, and the chocolate man is single. The lure of romance and lavish taste in the Aero commercial would appeal to a single woman who is looking for a relationship. Women in relationships may be looking for the same type of things as well, but the idea of chocolate being the substitute for an absent man does not apply to them if they are already in a relationship. Both commercials are constructing a reality that women should look for muscular and aggressive men, as well as luxurious romance.
There is a cultural assumption that women eat more chocolate than men, so it is not surprising that both commercials appeal to the same sort of audience. Chocolate has been called an aphrodisiac, and can be viewed as pleasurable to consume. These commercials are trying to send out the message that chocolate can provide the same sort of pleasure that a man can, especially to single females. The inability to find a man, let alone the ideal man, makes single women feel insecure. Chocolate advertisements use this fear and insecurity to sell their products. These commercials are basically demeaning single woman by using a muscular man in a rich house and showing he has power. Even though the man is being put on display for his appearance, which usually happens to females, he is not being degraded. He still holds a power that seems unattainable by a woman. The commercial is putting out the idea that since women cannot find this “ideal” man, they can at least have the chocolate.
Older single women would be very affected by these commercials, such as those who have been struggling with relationships for a long time. Or, those who fear they will be unaccepted by society because they are not already married in their 30s or 40s. These women may have possibly tried online dating or made a personal ad, which has the connotations of being the last attempt at finding someone. The Kit Kat commercial is literally making the chocolate a man in a personal ad. This further proves the idea that chocolate can be the replacement for a woman who is without a significant other. It is also interesting to notice that the man in the Aero commercial is actor Jason Lewis. His other prominent roles include acting in the television series Sex and The City. This show is known for its honest portrayal of four older, single women and their troubles with love and relationships. It is no surprise that those behind the Aero commercial chose an actor who is related to a show with a similar audience that they intended to make the commercial for.
Advertising can tell people how to improve their lives, or what they are missing out on. The Aero and Kit Kat commercials succeed in doing both. As John Berger says, “the purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of life. It suggests that if he buys what it is offering, his life will become better. It offers him an improved alternative to what he is” (142). This holds true to both commercials, which make women feel insecure at the prospect of life without a gorgeous man and a life full of romance. The suggestion of chocolate as an alternative for some type of satisfaction or pleasure makes the impression that women cannot be happy in their lives, whether they are single or with an “average looking” man. There must always be some sort of alternative or better standard, whether it is chocolate in the place of a man, or even “the perfect” man as illustrated in the Aero commercial. Addiction to chocolate has stemmed from advertisements that promise false realities and have led women to believe that chocolate can actually fill a void in their lives.
Works Cited
"Aero Bubbles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972.
Chandler, Daniel. "Syntagmatic Analysis." Semiotics for Beginners. 29 Oct. 2007
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.
"Nestle Kit Kat Singles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Utopian / Dystopian
I am a huge fan of utopian and dystopian novels. Postman has referenced Orwell and Huxley, both of which wrote novels fixated in a future world very different from ours today. The interesting thing about these novels is how extreme they may seem, but the scary possibility that our future may become something like them. Just look at it this way, how would people from the past (hundreds and thousands of years ago) feel about our present? I’m pretty sure it would be a very frightening reality.
This past summer, I was fortunate enough to read the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. I had been meaning to read this book for quite some time mainly because I knew it was a dystopian (essentially a “nightmare” world) novel. The story is set in the future world of Gilead, where women’s only job is to breed. Women who are not able to reproduce are considered useless, and usually act as servants. Women are not allowed to form friendships, read any sort of book, or have a career. The protagonist is Offred, who frequently thinks about her former family and wants to escape the life she leads.
Atwood is an incredible writer. Even though the story is startling, she manages to add in her own form of wit. I thought the story itself is eerily remarkable. Just the thought of living in that type of world sends chills down my spine. It’s as if everything women have worked hard to achieve is completely ripped apart from them, and they are reduced to specifically reproduce. I would recommend this book to anyone, mainly because it is a great example of a dystopian novel.
Works Cited:
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1985.
This past summer, I was fortunate enough to read the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. I had been meaning to read this book for quite some time mainly because I knew it was a dystopian (essentially a “nightmare” world) novel. The story is set in the future world of Gilead, where women’s only job is to breed. Women who are not able to reproduce are considered useless, and usually act as servants. Women are not allowed to form friendships, read any sort of book, or have a career. The protagonist is Offred, who frequently thinks about her former family and wants to escape the life she leads.
Atwood is an incredible writer. Even though the story is startling, she manages to add in her own form of wit. I thought the story itself is eerily remarkable. Just the thought of living in that type of world sends chills down my spine. It’s as if everything women have worked hard to achieve is completely ripped apart from them, and they are reduced to specifically reproduce. I would recommend this book to anyone, mainly because it is a great example of a dystopian novel.
Works Cited:
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1985.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Who Owns The World? [Eighth Lecture]
It is shocking to know that a small group of people [7%] own 97% of the global wealth. It makes me wonder how limited my information from the media may be, considering the world’s largest companies own so many of the things I watch, read, and hear.
I find it interesting to study Disney. We The Media list Disney as the second highest company in the world by media revenue. It owns ABC, tons of theme parks, State Farm Insurance, Hollywood records, various magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, and a lot of other companies. One of the interesting things about Disney is the fact that one of their motion picture movies can do poorly at the box office, but end up making billions in other revenue streams. Considering Disney can advertise their movies through all their various streams, it is not a surprise Disney does so well.
Theyrule.net is an interesting way to figure out which companies share the same board of directors. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of women on the boards. Many of the people who are a part of multiple companies are men. These are the people who make decision that affect our lives, and there is an obvious lack of equality in all senses. I remember learning a while back that the men who own the world are Christian, heterosexual, white men. No wonder minorities continue to be underrepresented in the media.
For fun, I decided to search McDonalds. I am not a fan of McDonalds and do not eat their food. Who exactly is joined with McDonalds, however? For starters, Mattel, which makes children’s toys. Not so surprising. It is even possible that the McDonalds kids meal toys are based on what is popular with Mattel. I also found Nike. I find this humorous, just because the fast food industry is what I believe to be one of the causes of obesity, and Nike is an athletic clothing and accessories company.
Works Cited:
Hazen, Don and Winokur, Julie. We The Media - A Citizen's Guide to Fighting for Media Democrazy. New York: The New Press, 1997.
I find it interesting to study Disney. We The Media list Disney as the second highest company in the world by media revenue. It owns ABC, tons of theme parks, State Farm Insurance, Hollywood records, various magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, and a lot of other companies. One of the interesting things about Disney is the fact that one of their motion picture movies can do poorly at the box office, but end up making billions in other revenue streams. Considering Disney can advertise their movies through all their various streams, it is not a surprise Disney does so well.
Theyrule.net is an interesting way to figure out which companies share the same board of directors. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of women on the boards. Many of the people who are a part of multiple companies are men. These are the people who make decision that affect our lives, and there is an obvious lack of equality in all senses. I remember learning a while back that the men who own the world are Christian, heterosexual, white men. No wonder minorities continue to be underrepresented in the media.
For fun, I decided to search McDonalds. I am not a fan of McDonalds and do not eat their food. Who exactly is joined with McDonalds, however? For starters, Mattel, which makes children’s toys. Not so surprising. It is even possible that the McDonalds kids meal toys are based on what is popular with Mattel. I also found Nike. I find this humorous, just because the fast food industry is what I believe to be one of the causes of obesity, and Nike is an athletic clothing and accessories company.
Works Cited:
Hazen, Don and Winokur, Julie. We The Media - A Citizen's Guide to Fighting for Media Democrazy. New York: The New Press, 1997.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Draft/Ideas [Semiotics Paper]
I am analyzing these two commercials:
Aero Commercial
Kit Kat Singles Commercials.
My main point in my paper is to explain how chocolate advertisements play on single women's insecutirites and how they say their chocolate is a replacement for a man.
OUTLINE
Introduction:
Sex sells
Studying the signs in advertisements
Codes
Affect on culture, women
textual & aesthetic & colour codes
what is he dressed? Where does he live?
KIT KAT: QUOTE FROM UNDERSTANDING COMICS
-Camerawork
-QUOTE FROM SEMIOTICS SITE
-paradigm sets (shot size: long shot, mid shot, close up)
-Colour
Social codes
Body language of both men, what are they saying?
Social semiotics
Cultural assumptions?
What is the preffered reading?
What reality does this text construct?
What assumptions does it make about its readers?
QUOTE FROM WAYS OF SEEING –power of advertising
Man from Sex and the City
Kit Kat personal ad, modern approach, women marrying later?
Word AERO is very feminie, female audience by far
I plan on using quotes from:
Daniel Chandler, who talks about camera shots and their signfiicance
Neil Postman, who mentioned the power of televsion
Scott McCloud, and his belief that we see ourself in everything & in cartoons
John Berger, who says that advertising plays on people's fears and need to fit into society
UPDATE: Here is my introduction
Images of half-naked and scantily clad people have graced advertisements for decades as a way to sell products of absolutely all types. It is no secret, sex sells. It is a topic that stirs controversy, but continues to entice people’s wants and needs. Those who create advertisements understand that people crave more in life, and yearn to be socially accepted. In the world of television, advertising in the form of commercials use sight and sound to attract people’s senses. Neil Postman believes in the power of television by saying, “television … is largely aimed at emotional gratification. Even commercials … are exquisitely crafted” (86). A commercial is not put together blindly; everything is there for a reason.
I will be analyzing and comparing two television commercials selling different chocolate. One advertises Aero chocolate and the other, Kit Kat chocolate. A deeper look into both commercials will reveal embedded signs and codes, and their affect on society. I want to focus on how strategically using sex in both commercials may affect a woman and her self-understanding. These two commercials play on a woman’s insecurities and ever-present fears about her social status, and offer chocolate as a replacement for a man.
Works Cited:
"Aero Bubbles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972.
Chandler, Daniel. "Syntagmatic Analysis." Semiotics for Beginners. 29 Oct. 2007
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.
"Nestle Kit Kat Singles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007.
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Aero Commercial
Kit Kat Singles Commercials.
My main point in my paper is to explain how chocolate advertisements play on single women's insecutirites and how they say their chocolate is a replacement for a man.
OUTLINE
Introduction:
Sex sells
Studying the signs in advertisements
Codes
Affect on culture, women
textual & aesthetic & colour codes
what is he dressed? Where does he live?
KIT KAT: QUOTE FROM UNDERSTANDING COMICS
-Camerawork
-QUOTE FROM SEMIOTICS SITE
-paradigm sets (shot size: long shot, mid shot, close up)
-Colour
Social codes
Body language of both men, what are they saying?
Social semiotics
Cultural assumptions?
What is the preffered reading?
What reality does this text construct?
What assumptions does it make about its readers?
QUOTE FROM WAYS OF SEEING –power of advertising
Man from Sex and the City
Kit Kat personal ad, modern approach, women marrying later?
Word AERO is very feminie, female audience by far
I plan on using quotes from:
Daniel Chandler, who talks about camera shots and their signfiicance
Neil Postman, who mentioned the power of televsion
Scott McCloud, and his belief that we see ourself in everything & in cartoons
John Berger, who says that advertising plays on people's fears and need to fit into society
UPDATE: Here is my introduction
Images of half-naked and scantily clad people have graced advertisements for decades as a way to sell products of absolutely all types. It is no secret, sex sells. It is a topic that stirs controversy, but continues to entice people’s wants and needs. Those who create advertisements understand that people crave more in life, and yearn to be socially accepted. In the world of television, advertising in the form of commercials use sight and sound to attract people’s senses. Neil Postman believes in the power of television by saying, “television … is largely aimed at emotional gratification. Even commercials … are exquisitely crafted” (86). A commercial is not put together blindly; everything is there for a reason.
I will be analyzing and comparing two television commercials selling different chocolate. One advertises Aero chocolate and the other, Kit Kat chocolate. A deeper look into both commercials will reveal embedded signs and codes, and their affect on society. I want to focus on how strategically using sex in both commercials may affect a woman and her self-understanding. These two commercials play on a woman’s insecurities and ever-present fears about her social status, and offer chocolate as a replacement for a man.
Works Cited:
"Aero Bubbles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972.
Chandler, Daniel. "Syntagmatic Analysis." Semiotics for Beginners. 29 Oct. 2007
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.
"Nestle Kit Kat Singles." Advertisement. 30 Oct. 2007
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Hope in the Fight For Media Democracy
There are some books that hold so much information that seemingly every page shocks you in some way or another. We the Media does just that, with pages filled with facts, figures, and charts. Much of the information is scary, because I’ve come to realize that minorities are still being ignored or severely underrepresented. Society doesn’t realize the huge problems in media, mainly because large corporations make sure their secrets stay secret. Don Hazen and Julie Winokur say that by simply reading the book, you can help in the fight for media democracy.
Since there is so much great information in the book, I decided I’d list some things I found extremely interesting throughout the book:
-“Americans continue to rely overwhelmingly on television for news about presidential election campaigns. Asked how they get the “most” of such news, 81% said television, 48% said newspapers, and 21% said radio” (28)
If anyone is just watching one news channel, I think it’s important to realize which company owns that television network. Most likely, you are not getting all the information there is.
In regards to advertising, “one minute of air time during the 1996 Super Bowl cost $2.4 “million” (40). This number has surely gone up, especially since that number is over 10 years ago.
-“Each day, 260 million Americans are exposed to at least 18 billion display ads in magazines and daily newspapers [and] 300,000 television commercials” (40).
In a typical newspaper, 60% of it is advertising. For a magazine, 52% is advertising. Is it even worth buying a magazine anymore if half of what you’re paying for is advertising?
-“Advertisers are excited not only by the growing numbers of potential teenage readers but by the increase in teen-agers’ disposable incomes … and the only people they spend it on is themselves” (51).
Advertisers are now targeting the younger crowd, right down to small children. They know parents will buy their children things, and teenagers have part-time jobs, and they jump at the opportunity for that money.
-One of the main reasons journalists may not cover a negative story, is the fact that advertisers my pull ads because of negative coverage. The public is not hearing all sides to the story.
When it comes to television, “the average American spends more than four hours a day watching television,” and owns an average of 2.24 TV sets in their household (63). Kids are watching more television than sitting in a classroom, and most kids watch shows filled violence and sex meant for adults (64).
Public Relations is on the rise, with the number of representatives exceeding the number of working journalists. What we are seeing and reading is no longer news, it is PR products (72).
Finally, the lack of representation for people of colour and women is forever ongoing. People of colour are only provided with 11% of prime-time television, and the disabled only make up 1.5% (and are usually never shown in a positive light) (110).
As a female journalist, it is hard to hear that newspaper articles written by women continue to decline, with only 26% of opinion pieces being written by women. Women in television are also lacking, with only one in three roles in prime-time television (120).
We the Media isn’t completely negative, it has a lot of information about people and organizations that have tried to change the negative aspects listed above. I only wish I could list them all, because the facts above are scary and surely need to change. Maybe if media weren’t controlled by a limited number of huge companies, we would have fairer representation. I believe any person interesting in media should read this book; mainly because it tells us the facts that media has been hiding from us.
Works Cited:
Hazen, Don and Winokur Julie. We The Media - A Citazen's Guide to Fighting For Media Democracy. New York: The New Press, 1997.
Since there is so much great information in the book, I decided I’d list some things I found extremely interesting throughout the book:
-“Americans continue to rely overwhelmingly on television for news about presidential election campaigns. Asked how they get the “most” of such news, 81% said television, 48% said newspapers, and 21% said radio” (28)
If anyone is just watching one news channel, I think it’s important to realize which company owns that television network. Most likely, you are not getting all the information there is.
In regards to advertising, “one minute of air time during the 1996 Super Bowl cost $2.4 “million” (40). This number has surely gone up, especially since that number is over 10 years ago.
-“Each day, 260 million Americans are exposed to at least 18 billion display ads in magazines and daily newspapers [and] 300,000 television commercials” (40).
In a typical newspaper, 60% of it is advertising. For a magazine, 52% is advertising. Is it even worth buying a magazine anymore if half of what you’re paying for is advertising?
-“Advertisers are excited not only by the growing numbers of potential teenage readers but by the increase in teen-agers’ disposable incomes … and the only people they spend it on is themselves” (51).
Advertisers are now targeting the younger crowd, right down to small children. They know parents will buy their children things, and teenagers have part-time jobs, and they jump at the opportunity for that money.
-One of the main reasons journalists may not cover a negative story, is the fact that advertisers my pull ads because of negative coverage. The public is not hearing all sides to the story.
When it comes to television, “the average American spends more than four hours a day watching television,” and owns an average of 2.24 TV sets in their household (63). Kids are watching more television than sitting in a classroom, and most kids watch shows filled violence and sex meant for adults (64).
Public Relations is on the rise, with the number of representatives exceeding the number of working journalists. What we are seeing and reading is no longer news, it is PR products (72).
Finally, the lack of representation for people of colour and women is forever ongoing. People of colour are only provided with 11% of prime-time television, and the disabled only make up 1.5% (and are usually never shown in a positive light) (110).
As a female journalist, it is hard to hear that newspaper articles written by women continue to decline, with only 26% of opinion pieces being written by women. Women in television are also lacking, with only one in three roles in prime-time television (120).
We the Media isn’t completely negative, it has a lot of information about people and organizations that have tried to change the negative aspects listed above. I only wish I could list them all, because the facts above are scary and surely need to change. Maybe if media weren’t controlled by a limited number of huge companies, we would have fairer representation. I believe any person interesting in media should read this book; mainly because it tells us the facts that media has been hiding from us.
Works Cited:
Hazen, Don and Winokur Julie. We The Media - A Citazen's Guide to Fighting For Media Democracy. New York: The New Press, 1997.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Public Relations At Its Finest [Seventh Lecture]
We started talking about Public Relations today. It comes at a time when I’m primarily confused as to what specialization I want to pursue. I decided on Journalism before I had even really heard about PR, and what exactly it is. Mark has talked about the job security and availability of jobs in the field, and I have to admit, it’s tempting. The more we learn about how to write for PR in our other classes, the more intrigued I am. I technically have until January to switch courses, since I choose Journalism for now. I guess we’ll see.
So we talked about the book Toxic Sludge is Good for You, and how it is essentially out of date. People have already accepted that it is good for them, mainly because of how amazing PR practioners can be. I think now it’s the realization of this and what to do about it. It’s also scary to note that 35% of news has been produced by PR companies. In reality, news isn’t even about providing information anymore. It is basically hidden commercials and a head nod toward companies that may not be doing the best of things for consumers.
We also talked about education systems and how they came to be. Before the 18th century, there was no such thing as children. There were young adults who learned what their parents did early on and followed on with the family tradition. Now there are all these stages in a person’s life (infant, toddler, child, adolescent) that have to be taken into consideration when growing up.
I wasn’t surprised to hear that sexual industries are the biggest underground economy because of the web. Sex is everywhere, and this fact reminded me of a book I saw at Chapters regarding how sex is constantly present in today’s society. It’s called A World Made Sexy: Freud to Madonna, by Paul Rutherford,and it is seems to be pretty interesting.
On another note, I decided to go with analyzing two chocolate commercials for my paper. I found another really good commercial, along with the first one I talked about before, which will better explain what I want to say. I figured analyzing these two commercials are different than the normal “female body image” topic, and yet I still plan to talk about women and society.
Works Cited:
Stauber, John and Rmpton, Sheldon.Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry. Monroe MA, Common Courage Press, 1995.
So we talked about the book Toxic Sludge is Good for You, and how it is essentially out of date. People have already accepted that it is good for them, mainly because of how amazing PR practioners can be. I think now it’s the realization of this and what to do about it. It’s also scary to note that 35% of news has been produced by PR companies. In reality, news isn’t even about providing information anymore. It is basically hidden commercials and a head nod toward companies that may not be doing the best of things for consumers.
We also talked about education systems and how they came to be. Before the 18th century, there was no such thing as children. There were young adults who learned what their parents did early on and followed on with the family tradition. Now there are all these stages in a person’s life (infant, toddler, child, adolescent) that have to be taken into consideration when growing up.
I wasn’t surprised to hear that sexual industries are the biggest underground economy because of the web. Sex is everywhere, and this fact reminded me of a book I saw at Chapters regarding how sex is constantly present in today’s society. It’s called A World Made Sexy: Freud to Madonna, by Paul Rutherford,and it is seems to be pretty interesting.
On another note, I decided to go with analyzing two chocolate commercials for my paper. I found another really good commercial, along with the first one I talked about before, which will better explain what I want to say. I figured analyzing these two commercials are different than the normal “female body image” topic, and yet I still plan to talk about women and society.
Works Cited:
Stauber, John and Rmpton, Sheldon.Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry. Monroe MA, Common Courage Press, 1995.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Liar, Liar
Reading Toxic Sludge Is Good For You was interesting, because I'm debating whether or not I want to switch into Public Relations for my specialization. I understand the book is a negative analysis, but it made me wonder if PR is the sort of career for a person like me.
Public Relations companies seem to be taking over. Our news is not as honest as we believe, with a lot of it coming from the roots of PR. The most shocking information I learned was about a store I've always loved. The Body Shop is known for it's animal-free products, promoting charity, and using natural ingredients without chemicals. I have shopped there for quite some time, mainly because they seemed to be a company that cared about more than just selling a product.
Is that facade completely false? When journalist Jon Entine began researching, he found that it was. His discoveries on The Body Shop included:
-"Used animals-tested ingredients"
-"Used many outdated, off-the-shelf product formulas filled with non-renewable petrochemicals"
-"Had a history of quality control problems, including selling products that were contaminated and contained formaldehyde" (74)
The even scarier aspect is what happened when Entine tried to contact The Body Shop's PR Department and what happened when his article was published. Instead of sending Entine proper claims, they became extremely angry with his questions. When Entine's article ran in Business Ethics magazine, editor Craig Cox said the Body Shop had found the magazine's mailing list in order to send each subscriber a letter attacking Entine's article. The Body Shop's PR guru worked for Hill & Knowlton, which is the most powerful PR firm in the United States. One magazine article was ripped apart by The PR department for The Body Shop, making sure thier image was not tarnished.
It is not just The Body Shop that makes environmental claims, while in reality, uses animal products and hires big PR firms to cover up their lies. Other companies do it too. Entine says, "The Body Shop had deceived the public by trying to make us think that they are a lot further down the road to sustainability than they really are. We should recognize and encourage corporations that are moving in the right direction; but no longer should the public lionize The Body Shop and others who claim to be something they are not" (76).
This part of the book really shed a new light on big corporations. It makes me wonder if other companies who say they do not test on animals or use animal by-products are actually lying. It really is about selling the product.
Works Cited:
Stauber, John and Rampton, Sheldon. Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry. Monroe MA, Common Courage Press, 1995.
Public Relations companies seem to be taking over. Our news is not as honest as we believe, with a lot of it coming from the roots of PR. The most shocking information I learned was about a store I've always loved. The Body Shop is known for it's animal-free products, promoting charity, and using natural ingredients without chemicals. I have shopped there for quite some time, mainly because they seemed to be a company that cared about more than just selling a product.
Is that facade completely false? When journalist Jon Entine began researching, he found that it was. His discoveries on The Body Shop included:
-"Used animals-tested ingredients"
-"Used many outdated, off-the-shelf product formulas filled with non-renewable petrochemicals"
-"Had a history of quality control problems, including selling products that were contaminated and contained formaldehyde" (74)
The even scarier aspect is what happened when Entine tried to contact The Body Shop's PR Department and what happened when his article was published. Instead of sending Entine proper claims, they became extremely angry with his questions. When Entine's article ran in Business Ethics magazine, editor Craig Cox said the Body Shop had found the magazine's mailing list in order to send each subscriber a letter attacking Entine's article. The Body Shop's PR guru worked for Hill & Knowlton, which is the most powerful PR firm in the United States. One magazine article was ripped apart by The PR department for The Body Shop, making sure thier image was not tarnished.
It is not just The Body Shop that makes environmental claims, while in reality, uses animal products and hires big PR firms to cover up their lies. Other companies do it too. Entine says, "The Body Shop had deceived the public by trying to make us think that they are a lot further down the road to sustainability than they really are. We should recognize and encourage corporations that are moving in the right direction; but no longer should the public lionize The Body Shop and others who claim to be something they are not" (76).
This part of the book really shed a new light on big corporations. It makes me wonder if other companies who say they do not test on animals or use animal by-products are actually lying. It really is about selling the product.
Works Cited:
Stauber, John and Rampton, Sheldon. Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry. Monroe MA, Common Courage Press, 1995.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Semiotics 101 [Sixth Lecture]
Today’s class gave a lot of insight into semiotics. We talked about semiotics being based on a system of linguistics. The signs equal language or text. A sign consists of two different things: the signifier (which is a thing, tangible, real) and the signified (which is the mental concept). Different signifier’s can mean different things, depending on their context.
There are three different readings or meanings that a text may have. I remember talking about this in Media Studies in high school, but instead of dominant reading we called it preferred reading. This is usually the reading media companies are trying to sell us, on a face value. Then there is negotiated reading, and oppositional / aberrant.
We also talked about the three levels of meaning:
(1) Denotation
(2) Connotation
(3) Ideology
So for example, a dog’s denotation is canine. That is what it is, by definition. Although a dog may connote a friend, dumb, service animal, dumb, etc. Lastly, the ideology behind a dog may include “[wo]man’s best friend”. This is what we believe to be “dog”. Sometimes it is difficult to understand something’s meaning because it can be different for everyone.
Mark showed us the opening credits for the show Six Feet Under, and said that in regards to semiotics on television, everything is in the opening credits. It seemed to hold very true to the show, which I had never watched or knew about. After watching the opening credits about ten times, I had a good understanding of what the show may be about, and a chat with a friend who does watch the show proved me to be right. It makes sense really, considering the opening credits are like a first impression. Someone’s first impression is crucial to how a person will view him or her. A bad first impression will make a person not want to get to know you or even be around you. The same holds true to television shows.
I started thinking about one of my favourite shows, That 70’s Show. The opening credits tell a lot about the show, such as the setting, the characters, the overall mood. You can see what type of relationships people have with each other, and their own personality types. Even the exact year in the 70s is given, with the final shot being the license plate of the car with a 78’ sticker.
I came up with more ideas for my paper. I decided to scratch the idea of analyzing a magazine, it just seems too overdone. Or maybe it just isn’t appealing to me as much. Either way, I was thinking of analyzing two female characters on That 70s Show, concerning character stereotypes.
I also saw a chocolate commercial on television the other day that just struck me as extremely odd and thought about how I could possibly twist that into a paper. I want to make sure I can find it in the first place though, and I want to watch it again.
Either way, I’m getting a lot more ideas for the paper now! I just need to organize them and decide on which one will suit me best.
There are three different readings or meanings that a text may have. I remember talking about this in Media Studies in high school, but instead of dominant reading we called it preferred reading. This is usually the reading media companies are trying to sell us, on a face value. Then there is negotiated reading, and oppositional / aberrant.
We also talked about the three levels of meaning:
(1) Denotation
(2) Connotation
(3) Ideology
So for example, a dog’s denotation is canine. That is what it is, by definition. Although a dog may connote a friend, dumb, service animal, dumb, etc. Lastly, the ideology behind a dog may include “[wo]man’s best friend”. This is what we believe to be “dog”. Sometimes it is difficult to understand something’s meaning because it can be different for everyone.
Mark showed us the opening credits for the show Six Feet Under, and said that in regards to semiotics on television, everything is in the opening credits. It seemed to hold very true to the show, which I had never watched or knew about. After watching the opening credits about ten times, I had a good understanding of what the show may be about, and a chat with a friend who does watch the show proved me to be right. It makes sense really, considering the opening credits are like a first impression. Someone’s first impression is crucial to how a person will view him or her. A bad first impression will make a person not want to get to know you or even be around you. The same holds true to television shows.
I started thinking about one of my favourite shows, That 70’s Show. The opening credits tell a lot about the show, such as the setting, the characters, the overall mood. You can see what type of relationships people have with each other, and their own personality types. Even the exact year in the 70s is given, with the final shot being the license plate of the car with a 78’ sticker.
I came up with more ideas for my paper. I decided to scratch the idea of analyzing a magazine, it just seems too overdone. Or maybe it just isn’t appealing to me as much. Either way, I was thinking of analyzing two female characters on That 70s Show, concerning character stereotypes.
I also saw a chocolate commercial on television the other day that just struck me as extremely odd and thought about how I could possibly twist that into a paper. I want to make sure I can find it in the first place though, and I want to watch it again.
Either way, I’m getting a lot more ideas for the paper now! I just need to organize them and decide on which one will suit me best.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Finding Our Identity [Documentary]
Christina and I figured this would be the easiest project out of the bunch, so we decided to get it completed earlier on. We went to Blockbuster after a failed attempt at any library documentaries, but we wanted to stay clear of any Michael Moore movies (he's great, but it's been done). So we were searching down the aisles and Christina came upon a movie named, Souvenir Of Canada by Douglas Coupland. She said she had read some of his books and that he was a great Canadian author. The movie seemed to be about Canadian identity and pride, and it was different from any documentaries we had previously seen. So we decided to pick it up and watch it that night.
As we watched the movie we couldn't help but be amazed at how proud Coupland was of Canada. He begins by talking about the things that make him feel Canadian. He remembers his mother's cupboards, which would be full of no name brand and Loblaws food. He talks about growing up watching government funded movies in elementary schools, and how difficult it was to draw the Canadian flag when he was young. Canadian games shows didn't have extravagant prizes like cars, it was mostly cheep stuff.
There are many things that are true only to Canadians. All Canadian airport codes begin with a Y, which is a secret insider only handshake in Canadian terms. Legendary hockey games and Terry Fox bring us together. Canada is a huge country with a beautiful landscape, such as the Canadian Shield. These are the images of Canada that those who live in cities don't get the chance to see.
Coupland moves on to question why Canadians don't experience our own culture until the Queen arrives, which is a humorous thought. Christina and I were shocked to hear that there used to be a national mascot and our own way to say hello. Ookpik, native owls made of seal skin, was something only our parents had heard of. Chimo ("chee-mo") was the government's attempt at a native welcome, but that vanished as well.
The most interesting thing Coupland decides to make in the movie is project "Canada House". He wanted to make a house that only Canadians would understand. The house included:
-Buoy Lamps
-Button Blanket ($1000 loonies)
-Canada Geese
-Hydro transmission tower made out of hockey sticks
-Imitation Terry fox Leg
-Canadarm (space station)
-Kraft products
-Beer Cans
-Quilt (Confederation 1967)
-Hockey Table
-Windsor Salt
He also painted the entire house white.
Christina and I definitely thought the house was really interesting. I think that in the present, you could add even more to a Canada House. Possibly movie posters or records from Canadian actors and musicians, as well as inventions that Canadian's have created.
I think sometimes it is easy to get lost in other cultural traditions apart from Canadian ones. Why is it that someone from the United States will say they are American, but someone from Canada will usually say their ethnic background? I think our Canadian identity is just as important as our ethnicities. Being diverse is what makes Canada the great country that it is. I think this movie is important in realizing Canada's unique traditions and values. As a country, we need to work together and be proud of how far Canada has come. I think this documentary was really positive and it put a smile on my face. I think any Canadian should watch this movie, because even if Coupland's experiences are different than theirs, at least they can reflect on what is means to be Canadian on a personal level.
Care to know more? Visit the Souvenir Of Canada Website
As we watched the movie we couldn't help but be amazed at how proud Coupland was of Canada. He begins by talking about the things that make him feel Canadian. He remembers his mother's cupboards, which would be full of no name brand and Loblaws food. He talks about growing up watching government funded movies in elementary schools, and how difficult it was to draw the Canadian flag when he was young. Canadian games shows didn't have extravagant prizes like cars, it was mostly cheep stuff.
There are many things that are true only to Canadians. All Canadian airport codes begin with a Y, which is a secret insider only handshake in Canadian terms. Legendary hockey games and Terry Fox bring us together. Canada is a huge country with a beautiful landscape, such as the Canadian Shield. These are the images of Canada that those who live in cities don't get the chance to see.
Coupland moves on to question why Canadians don't experience our own culture until the Queen arrives, which is a humorous thought. Christina and I were shocked to hear that there used to be a national mascot and our own way to say hello. Ookpik, native owls made of seal skin, was something only our parents had heard of. Chimo ("chee-mo") was the government's attempt at a native welcome, but that vanished as well.
The most interesting thing Coupland decides to make in the movie is project "Canada House". He wanted to make a house that only Canadians would understand. The house included:
-Buoy Lamps
-Button Blanket ($1000 loonies)
-Canada Geese
-Hydro transmission tower made out of hockey sticks
-Imitation Terry fox Leg
-Canadarm (space station)
-Kraft products
-Beer Cans
-Quilt (Confederation 1967)
-Hockey Table
-Windsor Salt
He also painted the entire house white.
Christina and I definitely thought the house was really interesting. I think that in the present, you could add even more to a Canada House. Possibly movie posters or records from Canadian actors and musicians, as well as inventions that Canadian's have created.
I think sometimes it is easy to get lost in other cultural traditions apart from Canadian ones. Why is it that someone from the United States will say they are American, but someone from Canada will usually say their ethnic background? I think our Canadian identity is just as important as our ethnicities. Being diverse is what makes Canada the great country that it is. I think this movie is important in realizing Canada's unique traditions and values. As a country, we need to work together and be proud of how far Canada has come. I think this documentary was really positive and it put a smile on my face. I think any Canadian should watch this movie, because even if Coupland's experiences are different than theirs, at least they can reflect on what is means to be Canadian on a personal level.
Care to know more? Visit the Souvenir Of Canada Website
Saturday, October 6, 2007
The Results Are In
So we got out media autobiographies back in the last lecture. I had figured this class would be difficult but a barely passing mark on my writing was hard to take. It makes you wonder why they tell you that you are a “great writer” in high school. I definitely think we are all babied in high school, and one of the greatest things to get used to in university is realizing you are among a lot of really intelligent people. You instantly become “average”, and standing out is a lot harder to do. I guess I’m just trying to find my place in all of this still.
All my other classes have been surprisingly good, but this one is still kind of hard to get used to. It is definitely very different from my other classes, since the teachers are more laid back and enjoy explaining every detail about an assignment. I think Mark wants us to learn how to do a lot on our own, and find our own way to do things. He said we could write a letter to him explaining our media autobiography and possibly change our marks, but I honestly have no idea what I would say. I feel the best thing I can do is work harder on the rest of the work for this course, especially the semiotics paper.
All my other classes have been surprisingly good, but this one is still kind of hard to get used to. It is definitely very different from my other classes, since the teachers are more laid back and enjoy explaining every detail about an assignment. I think Mark wants us to learn how to do a lot on our own, and find our own way to do things. He said we could write a letter to him explaining our media autobiography and possibly change our marks, but I honestly have no idea what I would say. I feel the best thing I can do is work harder on the rest of the work for this course, especially the semiotics paper.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Who Said Anything About Jeans? [Fifth Lecture]
Class has been interesting but it has been scattered in its topics. I think Mark has so much to say and not enough time to do so. Today, however, we did something I have been waiting to do for quite some time. I had heard that semiotics was intense but really interesting, and our introduction to it today proved this entirely. We watched this Gap commercial starring Madonna and Missy Elliott:
Seems like a typical celebrity commercial, something we see all the time. In truth, it is much more than that. There are a variety of hidden messages and codes that we may only notice subconsciously, unless it’s studied further. The commercial begins with Madonna on a Hollywood-esque set singing, and then introduces Missy Elliott. They sing/rap together and have a dance off at the end. The song is vintage Madonna sung to new lyrics.
Mark proposed the thesis that the commercial has nothing to do with jeans, and is about racism instead. After watching it multiple times, I started to realize little things I had previously missed. As Madonna walks by, a backdrop of a nice sea design can be seen behind her. When Missy is rapping her part of the song, the same type of backdrop is pushed behind her, but this one is completely blank. The class also mentioned how Missy seems to dance equally with her dancers, while Madonna takes on a dominant role in her dancing. Mark mentioned how everything in advertising is there for a reason, and the commercial was paused on a part when Madonna is walking by a road with “STOP” written on it but only “TOP” is visible. The word seems to be pointing at Madonna suggestively.
Even though Mark’s points make sense, I think you can argue a positive side to the commercial as well. Madonna will always be Madonna, and of course she is legendary. I think it is possible to look at the commercial as Madonna paving the way for new, different musical artists. Missy Elliott’s style is very different from Madonna’s, which would explain their different “set styles” in the commercial. Perhaps Missy has a blank backdrop instead of a nice sea one because it is symbolizing a clean slate. As a female rapper, she is much more new compared to Madonna. The fact that they meet up and dance together can symbolize old and new coming together and representing a new sound. Remakes of older songs are popular for a reason. In the end, must everything come down to race?
Analyzing the commercial made me begin thinking about what I may possibly do for my semiotics paper. There are so many things I can do, but I’m thinking along the lines of studying a certain type of magazine. I’m still going to see what ideas come up during class and through readings, but it is due in about a month. Considering my media autobiography paper didn’t go too well, I want to get a head start on this paper and seek out as much help as possible. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need it!
Seems like a typical celebrity commercial, something we see all the time. In truth, it is much more than that. There are a variety of hidden messages and codes that we may only notice subconsciously, unless it’s studied further. The commercial begins with Madonna on a Hollywood-esque set singing, and then introduces Missy Elliott. They sing/rap together and have a dance off at the end. The song is vintage Madonna sung to new lyrics.
Mark proposed the thesis that the commercial has nothing to do with jeans, and is about racism instead. After watching it multiple times, I started to realize little things I had previously missed. As Madonna walks by, a backdrop of a nice sea design can be seen behind her. When Missy is rapping her part of the song, the same type of backdrop is pushed behind her, but this one is completely blank. The class also mentioned how Missy seems to dance equally with her dancers, while Madonna takes on a dominant role in her dancing. Mark mentioned how everything in advertising is there for a reason, and the commercial was paused on a part when Madonna is walking by a road with “STOP” written on it but only “TOP” is visible. The word seems to be pointing at Madonna suggestively.
Even though Mark’s points make sense, I think you can argue a positive side to the commercial as well. Madonna will always be Madonna, and of course she is legendary. I think it is possible to look at the commercial as Madonna paving the way for new, different musical artists. Missy Elliott’s style is very different from Madonna’s, which would explain their different “set styles” in the commercial. Perhaps Missy has a blank backdrop instead of a nice sea one because it is symbolizing a clean slate. As a female rapper, she is much more new compared to Madonna. The fact that they meet up and dance together can symbolize old and new coming together and representing a new sound. Remakes of older songs are popular for a reason. In the end, must everything come down to race?
Analyzing the commercial made me begin thinking about what I may possibly do for my semiotics paper. There are so many things I can do, but I’m thinking along the lines of studying a certain type of magazine. I’m still going to see what ideas come up during class and through readings, but it is due in about a month. Considering my media autobiography paper didn’t go too well, I want to get a head start on this paper and seek out as much help as possible. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need it!
The "Media Effects" Model Questioned
It is difficult to understand media effects. Do the media truly make a difference in our behavior? Is there a direct correlation? David Gauntlett argues in, "Ten Things Wrong with the 'Media Effects' Model", that the reason where we do not know how the media has affected us is because the wrong type of research has been conducted. I want to talk about some of the points he mentioned, mainly because I see a lot of validly in what he is trying to prove.
Gauntlet’s first point is that, "the 'media effects' approach, in this sense, comes at the problem backwards, by starting with the media and then trying to lasso connections from there on to social beings, rather than the other way around.” Instead of looking at media as being the problem, one must look at an individual’s background first. With regards to violent of television, said to be the cause of violence in reality, Gauntlet’s studies showed a different outcome. He looked, "not to the mass media but to social factors such as poverty, unemployment, housing, and the behavior of family and peers" and found many violent teenagers actually watched less television than "normal" teenagers.
Although I believe the media does have an affect on us, especially emotionally, I do not think one can put the blame on media entirely. Societal factors play a big part in how someone turns out in life, whether that is positive or negative.
Gauntlett says that another problem with the ‘media effect’ model is that it, “treats children as inadequate”. I completely believe that this is wrong as well, especially since children of today are extremely knowledgeable. Why can’t they understand mass media and be cynical of its messages? Gauntlett explains that psychologists believe in the idea that children do not have the logic of an adult and are viewed for what they cannot do, rather than what they can. Gauntlett says,
Most laboratory studies of children and the media presume, for example, that their findings apply only to children, but fail to run parallel studies with adult groups to confirm this. We might speculate that this is because if adults were found to respond to laboratory pressures in the same way as children, the 'common sense' validity of the experiments would be undermined.
I find this quote really interesting. I do wonder what would happen if the same tests were run with both children and adults. The findings could be quite interesting.
In the end, Gauntlett points out that the ‘media effects’ model is in no way grounded in theory. People tend to think about the specific effect that will be produced by the media, but “the basic question of why the media should induce people to imitate its content has never been adequately tackled”. A lot of other things have been assumed instead of answered such as, “the media (rather than people) is the unproblematic starting-point for research [and] that children will be unable to ‘cope’ with the media”.
Works Cited:
Gauntlett, David. "Ten Things Wrong with the 'Media Effects Model". Oct 4.
Gauntlet’s first point is that, "the 'media effects' approach, in this sense, comes at the problem backwards, by starting with the media and then trying to lasso connections from there on to social beings, rather than the other way around.” Instead of looking at media as being the problem, one must look at an individual’s background first. With regards to violent of television, said to be the cause of violence in reality, Gauntlet’s studies showed a different outcome. He looked, "not to the mass media but to social factors such as poverty, unemployment, housing, and the behavior of family and peers" and found many violent teenagers actually watched less television than "normal" teenagers.
Although I believe the media does have an affect on us, especially emotionally, I do not think one can put the blame on media entirely. Societal factors play a big part in how someone turns out in life, whether that is positive or negative.
Gauntlett says that another problem with the ‘media effect’ model is that it, “treats children as inadequate”. I completely believe that this is wrong as well, especially since children of today are extremely knowledgeable. Why can’t they understand mass media and be cynical of its messages? Gauntlett explains that psychologists believe in the idea that children do not have the logic of an adult and are viewed for what they cannot do, rather than what they can. Gauntlett says,
Most laboratory studies of children and the media presume, for example, that their findings apply only to children, but fail to run parallel studies with adult groups to confirm this. We might speculate that this is because if adults were found to respond to laboratory pressures in the same way as children, the 'common sense' validity of the experiments would be undermined.
I find this quote really interesting. I do wonder what would happen if the same tests were run with both children and adults. The findings could be quite interesting.
In the end, Gauntlett points out that the ‘media effects’ model is in no way grounded in theory. People tend to think about the specific effect that will be produced by the media, but “the basic question of why the media should induce people to imitate its content has never been adequately tackled”. A lot of other things have been assumed instead of answered such as, “the media (rather than people) is the unproblematic starting-point for research [and] that children will be unable to ‘cope’ with the media”.
Works Cited:
Gauntlett, David. "Ten Things Wrong with the 'Media Effects Model". Oct 4.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Fashi[c]on[s] Through Time [Image Curation]
My first group project involved a lot of people. Christina, Laura, Kyle, Olena, Simon, and I had a lot of different ideas that all revolved around fashion through time. I made the suggestion of showing how celebrities influence fashion and instantly become icons with their clothing, and our image slideshow began to work out. Each of us had a time period (two decades each), and we had to pick a female and male icon for each decade. Kyle and Laura offered to make the slideshow, so we all sent our images to them. I didn’t get to see the slideshow until we showed it to the class, and when I did see it, I was extremely impressed! The fashion icons ranged from Grace Kelly to Paris Hilton, and James Dean to 50 Cent. I also like how they added popular fashion designers in text throughout the timeline as well, much of which used celebrities as their muses.
I choose to do the 80s-90s. I am a big fan of the 1980’s, mainly because I believe a lot of the fashion that is popular now greatly stems from 80s fashion. I think the era was a time of experimentation with clothing, and everything was big and bright. Two of the greatest musicians of that time, Madonna and Michael Jackson, had a big affect on fashion. Simple images of a white glove or a cone-shaped bra have a lot of meaning in the world of fashion. I think the key to fashion icon is their ability to turn one simple item of clothing into a necessity or an iconic image. Compared to the clean-cut clothing of the decades before, the 80’s introduced wild and outrageous fashion that matched the attitude of the time. Madonna made a lot of unpredictable choices and sung about taboo topics, and her fashion matched her attitude completely. The picture of her is on stage, with her hands in the air in a dominant stance. She was looking for attention, and her method of dressing definitely let her achieve this.
For the 1990’s, I choose two people who dressed very differently from each other. Princess Diana and Kurt Cobain were my fashion icon selections for the 90s. The point I’m trying to prove with my selection is that there were many people who followed different cultures, and therefore dressed differently. The 90s is known as the grudge era, which was greatly due to bands like Nirvana. They weren’t thinking about their clothes, they were moved by their music. People adopted this attitude and the grudge way of dressing became popular. At the same time, Princess Diana was the “peoples princess” and a lot of people looked up to her for being such a good person in many ways. She had a classy style that could be compared to Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. She was put together, and a lot of women who strived to excel at all areas of life, similar to the Princess, copied her way of dressing. Her picture of her standing in an elegant pose, hands clasped together. Along with her clothing, her pose makes her look very elegant as well.
I think the reason why celebrities can easily become fashion icons is because the public frequently sees images of them. When people are looking for fashion inspiration, it is not that difficult to find, considering the public are usually bombarded with pictures of celebrities. If a person enjoys a type of music or specific movies, it is no surprise that they may begin to admire the musician or actor. Mimicking their style is just a form of flattery.
We were not able to upload the image curation on Youtube due to technical difficulties.
I choose to do the 80s-90s. I am a big fan of the 1980’s, mainly because I believe a lot of the fashion that is popular now greatly stems from 80s fashion. I think the era was a time of experimentation with clothing, and everything was big and bright. Two of the greatest musicians of that time, Madonna and Michael Jackson, had a big affect on fashion. Simple images of a white glove or a cone-shaped bra have a lot of meaning in the world of fashion. I think the key to fashion icon is their ability to turn one simple item of clothing into a necessity or an iconic image. Compared to the clean-cut clothing of the decades before, the 80’s introduced wild and outrageous fashion that matched the attitude of the time. Madonna made a lot of unpredictable choices and sung about taboo topics, and her fashion matched her attitude completely. The picture of her is on stage, with her hands in the air in a dominant stance. She was looking for attention, and her method of dressing definitely let her achieve this.
For the 1990’s, I choose two people who dressed very differently from each other. Princess Diana and Kurt Cobain were my fashion icon selections for the 90s. The point I’m trying to prove with my selection is that there were many people who followed different cultures, and therefore dressed differently. The 90s is known as the grudge era, which was greatly due to bands like Nirvana. They weren’t thinking about their clothes, they were moved by their music. People adopted this attitude and the grudge way of dressing became popular. At the same time, Princess Diana was the “peoples princess” and a lot of people looked up to her for being such a good person in many ways. She had a classy style that could be compared to Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. She was put together, and a lot of women who strived to excel at all areas of life, similar to the Princess, copied her way of dressing. Her picture of her standing in an elegant pose, hands clasped together. Along with her clothing, her pose makes her look very elegant as well.
I think the reason why celebrities can easily become fashion icons is because the public frequently sees images of them. When people are looking for fashion inspiration, it is not that difficult to find, considering the public are usually bombarded with pictures of celebrities. If a person enjoys a type of music or specific movies, it is no surprise that they may begin to admire the musician or actor. Mimicking their style is just a form of flattery.
We were not able to upload the image curation on Youtube due to technical difficulties.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
One-Dimensional Beauty [Fourth Lecture]
Today we viewed some of the image slideshows. There was one showing the similarities of America and Canada, and another exhibiting the world of stereotypical alcohol advertisements. In many, I had no idea what the advertisement was even selling, since a picture of a nearly naked woman took over much the screen. When it comes to alcohol, and many other advertisements, they are pretty much trying to sell a specific lifestyle. There was one really unique curation that portrayed how beauty has changed with time for different ethnicities. The slideshow exhibited woman who are Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian, Hindu, African, etc. Woman who were considered beautiful because of their cultural traditions have now been replaced by images created by media. Our idea of beauty is so one-dimensional now, and the slideshow made me realize how different countries can display beauty in all forms.
Mark brought up an important idea today. As he said, “all grammars leak concept”. Meaning, for example, you can never fully tell someone how you feel. Words cannot capture emotions or feelings entirely. A message will somehow loose some of its information when it is passed, similar to playing the game broken telephone.
We also received a handout about The Principles of Perception. I think the whole point of the handout is that our perceptions are based on our inner selves. We learn through time what to perceive, since we are obviously not born perceiving. Perceptions can be called predication, because we need to feel secure and lead ourselves away from uncertainty. Perceptions fulfill our needs, wants, and values.
Works Cited:
“Principles of Perception”. Lipton’s Lecture Notes. Sept 2007.
Mark brought up an important idea today. As he said, “all grammars leak concept”. Meaning, for example, you can never fully tell someone how you feel. Words cannot capture emotions or feelings entirely. A message will somehow loose some of its information when it is passed, similar to playing the game broken telephone.
We also received a handout about The Principles of Perception. I think the whole point of the handout is that our perceptions are based on our inner selves. We learn through time what to perceive, since we are obviously not born perceiving. Perceptions can be called predication, because we need to feel secure and lead ourselves away from uncertainty. Perceptions fulfill our needs, wants, and values.
Works Cited:
“Principles of Perception”. Lipton’s Lecture Notes. Sept 2007.
Understanding Comics
When I bought all of my books for this course, I was the most excited to read “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. What a genious way to talk about comics, and much more for that matter, by actually making it in a comic book format.
Having a box of over 100 Archie comics somewhere in my basement, I was once a big fan of this type of art. I suppose I had moved away from comics once I was a teenager, but I still haven’t moved away from symbolic images and icons. That is pretty much impossible. I think that is what McCloud is trying to prove with this book. There is so much more to comic books than what people usually assume. It is surely a type of art, and there are many secrets that go behind the making of a comic book. Reading it made me want to go back and analyze one of my many Archie comics. Who knows, maybe I’ll read one again for old times sake?
McCloud makes symbolic icons (representing ideas and concepts) and pictorial icons (resembling their subjects) very easy to understand. No wonder comics are so universal and I was always able to choose between being Veronica or Betty. Cartoon images can be stripped down so the meaning is more apparent than the drawing itself. A simple cartoon smiley face can be anyone our minds want it to be.
Looking into the mind and its capabilities are what McCloud explains with the many things humans do to understand a sight-based medium such as comics. Between the panels of comics we make closure, and make sense of what we don’t see. It is something we do all the time in every day life. With colour and lines, we understand motion and emotions. We are even able to grasp the concept of time frames.
Books with pictures should not be considered “childish”. Why must literature and pictures be pushed away from each other? McCloud proves that words and pictures can work together to make an enjoyable, yet informative, work of art.
Works Cited:
McCloud, Scott. Underrstanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
Having a box of over 100 Archie comics somewhere in my basement, I was once a big fan of this type of art. I suppose I had moved away from comics once I was a teenager, but I still haven’t moved away from symbolic images and icons. That is pretty much impossible. I think that is what McCloud is trying to prove with this book. There is so much more to comic books than what people usually assume. It is surely a type of art, and there are many secrets that go behind the making of a comic book. Reading it made me want to go back and analyze one of my many Archie comics. Who knows, maybe I’ll read one again for old times sake?
McCloud makes symbolic icons (representing ideas and concepts) and pictorial icons (resembling their subjects) very easy to understand. No wonder comics are so universal and I was always able to choose between being Veronica or Betty. Cartoon images can be stripped down so the meaning is more apparent than the drawing itself. A simple cartoon smiley face can be anyone our minds want it to be.
Looking into the mind and its capabilities are what McCloud explains with the many things humans do to understand a sight-based medium such as comics. Between the panels of comics we make closure, and make sense of what we don’t see. It is something we do all the time in every day life. With colour and lines, we understand motion and emotions. We are even able to grasp the concept of time frames.
Books with pictures should not be considered “childish”. Why must literature and pictures be pushed away from each other? McCloud proves that words and pictures can work together to make an enjoyable, yet informative, work of art.
Works Cited:
McCloud, Scott. Underrstanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
High School All Over Again [Third Lecture]
I had mixed feelings about class today. As nervous as I was to present a CD (which, by the way, is kind of difficult to do when you aren’t even playing any music), I was curious to see the other ways our class viewed media in their lives.
The class was chaotic and I truly do not know how we got through so many people, but it left me with some memorable presentations. There were two in particular that I thought were extremely creative. One was a human stomach, with compartments inside. One section had silly information that she excretes first, such as celebrity gossip. Another had important information that she inhales first. I loved the metaphor and it worked out nicely. Another presentation I enjoyed was the random banana taped to a black bristle board. It was so far from anything I would have thought of and it was something that stood out completely.
So why did I make a CD? Music really does dominate my life, and I feel as though there has constantly been an ongoing soundtrack accompanying the many experiences I have went through. The songs on the CD range from pop music to indie. All of the songs reflect a time in my life when I yearned to fit in or stand out. Music influenced my moods, my activities, etc. Therefore media has forever influenced the person I am.
I noticed a lot of girls did how the media presents woman and body image. Originally I was going to do something similar, but I knew it was a topic that would be well covered. That isn’t to say that I don’t care, considering I could relate to almost everything the girls had to say regarding how media makes them feel about their bodies. It reminded me of the Dove commercial that has been around for some time and I’m sure many have seen, but it still makes me stop what I’m doing to stare in awe and disgust.
I love this commercial for so many reasons. Not only does it help woman realize how fake and distorted beauty is in media, it takes us one step further in understanding. A critical eye is needed when media continues to spew out untruthful information.
The class was chaotic and I truly do not know how we got through so many people, but it left me with some memorable presentations. There were two in particular that I thought were extremely creative. One was a human stomach, with compartments inside. One section had silly information that she excretes first, such as celebrity gossip. Another had important information that she inhales first. I loved the metaphor and it worked out nicely. Another presentation I enjoyed was the random banana taped to a black bristle board. It was so far from anything I would have thought of and it was something that stood out completely.
So why did I make a CD? Music really does dominate my life, and I feel as though there has constantly been an ongoing soundtrack accompanying the many experiences I have went through. The songs on the CD range from pop music to indie. All of the songs reflect a time in my life when I yearned to fit in or stand out. Music influenced my moods, my activities, etc. Therefore media has forever influenced the person I am.
I noticed a lot of girls did how the media presents woman and body image. Originally I was going to do something similar, but I knew it was a topic that would be well covered. That isn’t to say that I don’t care, considering I could relate to almost everything the girls had to say regarding how media makes them feel about their bodies. It reminded me of the Dove commercial that has been around for some time and I’m sure many have seen, but it still makes me stop what I’m doing to stare in awe and disgust.
I love this commercial for so many reasons. Not only does it help woman realize how fake and distorted beauty is in media, it takes us one step further in understanding. A critical eye is needed when media continues to spew out untruthful information.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
What Is Copyright? [Second Lecture]
We began the class by watching an interesting clip about copyright, called “A Fair(y) Use Tale”, using parts of Disney movies.
As the clip mentions, it is in no way a copyright infringement on Disney. The nature of the work and the amount borrowed gives it legal protection. I’m not surprised we watched the clip; it was quite informative given the nature of this program. I always remember my dad saying, “Oh I bet they paid a lot to use that one” whenever musicians’ re-made older songs. I never really understood the world of copyright, but its something I’m going surely going to need to understand.
Mark mentioned two things I wanted to talk about today. First was how different mediums changes the processing of the brain, and essentially reprograms it. He used the example of reading a book versus reading something online. They are definitely two very separate experiences. I always prefer reading a long passage on paper rather than online. The way the world is going, however, I will probably have to become used to reading things online instead of printing them out. I think in thirty years children will receive their text books in disc format and will read all of them on their computer. At least they won’t have the back problems of the generations before them.
Mark also spoke about the four ways in which a person can look at media and culture:
• Media and culture have no relation
• Media determines culture
• Culture determines media
• They mirror each other
I have said before that Postman is a media determinist. He believes the media and its mediums bring upon the culture of today. I tried to think of how I view these four options, and I stand on media and culture mirroring each other. The media would have nothing to work with if it didn’t have different cultures around the world, yet media exaggerates and embellishes to eventually change cultures. New technological advances have changed cultures, but it is still up to us what we do with media. Not everyone reacts in the same way to a message from media, hense why media is different around the world. I don’t think one could completely detemine the other, and to say they have no relation would be illogical.
As the clip mentions, it is in no way a copyright infringement on Disney. The nature of the work and the amount borrowed gives it legal protection. I’m not surprised we watched the clip; it was quite informative given the nature of this program. I always remember my dad saying, “Oh I bet they paid a lot to use that one” whenever musicians’ re-made older songs. I never really understood the world of copyright, but its something I’m going surely going to need to understand.
Mark mentioned two things I wanted to talk about today. First was how different mediums changes the processing of the brain, and essentially reprograms it. He used the example of reading a book versus reading something online. They are definitely two very separate experiences. I always prefer reading a long passage on paper rather than online. The way the world is going, however, I will probably have to become used to reading things online instead of printing them out. I think in thirty years children will receive their text books in disc format and will read all of them on their computer. At least they won’t have the back problems of the generations before them.
Mark also spoke about the four ways in which a person can look at media and culture:
• Media and culture have no relation
• Media determines culture
• Culture determines media
• They mirror each other
I have said before that Postman is a media determinist. He believes the media and its mediums bring upon the culture of today. I tried to think of how I view these four options, and I stand on media and culture mirroring each other. The media would have nothing to work with if it didn’t have different cultures around the world, yet media exaggerates and embellishes to eventually change cultures. New technological advances have changed cultures, but it is still up to us what we do with media. Not everyone reacts in the same way to a message from media, hense why media is different around the world. I don’t think one could completely detemine the other, and to say they have no relation would be illogical.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Amusing Ourselves to Death
While it was grueling to get through the entire book, Neil Postman made some fantastic points in “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business”. I can not say that I agree with his “hard” media determinist viewpoints, but it would be difficult to disagree that public discourse has changed with technology, especially television.
We begin to think and express ourselves in different ways when we are exposed to a new medium. Postman says, “in every tool we create, an idea is embedded that goes beyond the function of the thing itself” (14). With the shift from the magic of writing, to the magic of electronics, humans were automatically introduced to something that would change our culture in ways outside of the obvious.
Postman believes the age of television has presented shriveled and absurd information, while discourse in our print-based past was serious and rational. He uses the example of political debates of the past, where the audience could sit and listen for hours on end. The audience had longer attention spans compared to those of today, and understood complex thoughts and speeches. I agree with his thoughts completely, considering hours of political debating would be torturous for me. I do not view the people of the past to necessarily be “smarter” than those of today, but our mode of thought has definitely changed.
Postman moves on to talk about how the telegraph led to the rise of irrelevant information. People were exposed to news that hardly related to them, and therefore had so much information and nothing to do with it. It is ironic because in today’s society, some one who is not informed about what is happening in the world is said to be ignorant.
There is one point, however, that Postman fails to render my views on. Postman calls photography a “fierce assault” on language. Why is it negative for a photograph to speak a thousand words? Why can it not accompany, rather than compete, with written word? A photograph can show something that may not be easy to express in words. A photograph can be concise when conveying a message.
In a television word, Postman believes newscasters are beautiful people that mislead us with entertainment. Although I do agree that the news does seem very schizophrenic in the way it deals out information, there are news outlets that provide news that is necessary. Of course there has been hard news that has been sensationalized, but television is a way many people hear about timely and local news. Newspapers are essentially about yesterday, while television is quick enough to talk about today.
Politics, Religion, and education are three institutions Postman says have changed in their public discourse due to television. Politics has lost its seriousness, Religion has lost its “enchantment”, both replaced by entertainment. Growing up as a Sesame Street kid, Postman says that I have basically learned how to watch television, not count to ten. It is a difficult concept to accept, considering I feel as though I have learned at least some things from television shows. Postman goes on to say that the school curriculum is being threatened by television because students expect entertainment in the classroom. I do agree with this, and teachers who understand this concept are usually able to captivate students with ease.
Fast forward to the present (considering this book was written over 20 years ago). Although he barely touched upon the topic of the Internet, mainly because it was still considered a baby in the early 80s, I am curious to know what Postman would think about the growing popularity of the World Wide Web. Personally, I am now on a computer more than I watch TV. I also believe the Internet provides us with much more information than television. Of course not all of it is true, and the Internet is still a great medium for entertainment, but is it a completely different experience. People can focus on a story for as long as necessary while on a computer, instead of being told when to stop, which happens with television. Similarly to how television changed our culture and the way people think, I believe the Internet is slowly doing the same by reprogramming our brains.
Works Cited:
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. New York: Penguin Books, 1985.
We begin to think and express ourselves in different ways when we are exposed to a new medium. Postman says, “in every tool we create, an idea is embedded that goes beyond the function of the thing itself” (14). With the shift from the magic of writing, to the magic of electronics, humans were automatically introduced to something that would change our culture in ways outside of the obvious.
Postman believes the age of television has presented shriveled and absurd information, while discourse in our print-based past was serious and rational. He uses the example of political debates of the past, where the audience could sit and listen for hours on end. The audience had longer attention spans compared to those of today, and understood complex thoughts and speeches. I agree with his thoughts completely, considering hours of political debating would be torturous for me. I do not view the people of the past to necessarily be “smarter” than those of today, but our mode of thought has definitely changed.
Postman moves on to talk about how the telegraph led to the rise of irrelevant information. People were exposed to news that hardly related to them, and therefore had so much information and nothing to do with it. It is ironic because in today’s society, some one who is not informed about what is happening in the world is said to be ignorant.
There is one point, however, that Postman fails to render my views on. Postman calls photography a “fierce assault” on language. Why is it negative for a photograph to speak a thousand words? Why can it not accompany, rather than compete, with written word? A photograph can show something that may not be easy to express in words. A photograph can be concise when conveying a message.
In a television word, Postman believes newscasters are beautiful people that mislead us with entertainment. Although I do agree that the news does seem very schizophrenic in the way it deals out information, there are news outlets that provide news that is necessary. Of course there has been hard news that has been sensationalized, but television is a way many people hear about timely and local news. Newspapers are essentially about yesterday, while television is quick enough to talk about today.
Politics, Religion, and education are three institutions Postman says have changed in their public discourse due to television. Politics has lost its seriousness, Religion has lost its “enchantment”, both replaced by entertainment. Growing up as a Sesame Street kid, Postman says that I have basically learned how to watch television, not count to ten. It is a difficult concept to accept, considering I feel as though I have learned at least some things from television shows. Postman goes on to say that the school curriculum is being threatened by television because students expect entertainment in the classroom. I do agree with this, and teachers who understand this concept are usually able to captivate students with ease.
Fast forward to the present (considering this book was written over 20 years ago). Although he barely touched upon the topic of the Internet, mainly because it was still considered a baby in the early 80s, I am curious to know what Postman would think about the growing popularity of the World Wide Web. Personally, I am now on a computer more than I watch TV. I also believe the Internet provides us with much more information than television. Of course not all of it is true, and the Internet is still a great medium for entertainment, but is it a completely different experience. People can focus on a story for as long as necessary while on a computer, instead of being told when to stop, which happens with television. Similarly to how television changed our culture and the way people think, I believe the Internet is slowly doing the same by reprogramming our brains.
Works Cited:
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. New York: Penguin Books, 1985.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Introductions [First Lecture]
Mass Communication. I had heard the most about this class long before I had even stepped into my first day at Guelph-Humber. It wasn’t so much about the course load, but rather, about the professor. Mark Lipton seemed to be one of the favourites among the older students. Everyone said the class was absolutely amazing, but to be prepared for a lot of work. And I mean a lot. I figured it wouldn’t be too bad. I mean, this is what I love to learn, right?
Wednesday’s class was not at all what I expected. Actually to tell you the truth, I didn’t really know what to expect. When we were handed the course syllabus, I definitely got nervous. It wasn’t so much the readings or papers, but the group work. I had had my share of lousy group members in high school, and was not in the mood for a repeat performance. Mark talked about how we shouldn’t look at each other as competition, but to work together as much as possible. When we’re all out of university, there are going to be a lot more people striving to get where we want to be.
Mark sparked my interest mainly because he seems to have such a profound love for anything media. He’s not trying to make us believe certain things, just putting everything out on the table and letting us decide. He spoke about the ecology of media, and how an environment where a culture grows is a medium. Media starts by looking at a specific medium. He used the analogy: a technology is to a medium as the brain is to the mind. Mark spoke about how one invention can chance a culture, whether positively or negatively. This made me think about the invention of cell phones. They evolved from the regular house phone, making communication much more easier. You can talk to anybody, anytime. They are great in emergencies, and come with dozens of features. I have one that is turned on and with me at all times of the day. On the flip side, they can be absolutely annoying, not to mention dangerous. Driving while on a cell phone has led to accidents, there have been students who cheat on tests via text messaging, and there is no such thing as perfect signal, all the time. It can be extremely annoying to hear about one’s love affairs while on a crowded subway, or to hear a cell ring in the middle of an interesting lecture. As good as a cell phone may be, it is in no way a perfect invention.
Mark mentioned entropy, and how all things tend towards chaos. I can already tell this class will be chaotic. If anything, it just makes me more excited to begin.
Wednesday’s class was not at all what I expected. Actually to tell you the truth, I didn’t really know what to expect. When we were handed the course syllabus, I definitely got nervous. It wasn’t so much the readings or papers, but the group work. I had had my share of lousy group members in high school, and was not in the mood for a repeat performance. Mark talked about how we shouldn’t look at each other as competition, but to work together as much as possible. When we’re all out of university, there are going to be a lot more people striving to get where we want to be.
Mark sparked my interest mainly because he seems to have such a profound love for anything media. He’s not trying to make us believe certain things, just putting everything out on the table and letting us decide. He spoke about the ecology of media, and how an environment where a culture grows is a medium. Media starts by looking at a specific medium. He used the analogy: a technology is to a medium as the brain is to the mind. Mark spoke about how one invention can chance a culture, whether positively or negatively. This made me think about the invention of cell phones. They evolved from the regular house phone, making communication much more easier. You can talk to anybody, anytime. They are great in emergencies, and come with dozens of features. I have one that is turned on and with me at all times of the day. On the flip side, they can be absolutely annoying, not to mention dangerous. Driving while on a cell phone has led to accidents, there have been students who cheat on tests via text messaging, and there is no such thing as perfect signal, all the time. It can be extremely annoying to hear about one’s love affairs while on a crowded subway, or to hear a cell ring in the middle of an interesting lecture. As good as a cell phone may be, it is in no way a perfect invention.
Mark mentioned entropy, and how all things tend towards chaos. I can already tell this class will be chaotic. If anything, it just makes me more excited to begin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)