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.