Digital School Library

The comment that I agreed most was Phyllis DiBianco. His/Her main point was that computers and books can work side by side. She also added that a library is not necessarily a quiet place, it is a place for debating , studying and collabarating most importantly. This statement is true. It is the same in our school. The best example I can give. In our school, students use technology and books are used side by side. As we read before, google is definitely making us stupid. When we search on Google , it might give us exact information, but when we want a specific detail, it can take forever to find a specific information. Even when we find it on web, it is not guaranteed that the information in truth. This is the case where books can be used to clarify the information we find on web. I also agree with few other comments which talked about certain resources suiting certain people. For example, I can't stare at a LCD screen for too long meaning that I can't read twenty pages of History research even with breaks. I am sure many other people face these kinds of problems. Therefore I get them printed, and that is similar to having a book infront of me. Lets look at the cons of having a library- trees are cut for paper. For technology, LCD screens use much more toxic material. And paper can be recycled and can all the plastic waste be succefully recyled. We also need books, because today in our generation, I know my friends and class mates have shorter attenion span and books can help prevent this. Therefore, I support having library and few computers working side by side. I like turning pages of novels and I don't want my lap top to run out of battery if I am rereading Harry Potter. And we don't want kids as young as 5 years pld to get addicted to computer to technology at a young age. Books are portable and books don't hurt your eyes and they don't run out of battery.

Digital Truth

What does digital truth mean? In my own words I would say, anything captured by a multimedia which has not been modified or manipulated through any computer program. In this case what we capture or record is what we get. So, why is digital truth important? Well, the obvious reason because truth is important. According to me, there are certain areas of life where digital truth is necessary. For example newspapers, factual magazines and anything that is supposed to show us the reality. When truth is digitally manipulated, the reality gets manipulated. So simply, what we are seeing is not the reality. But what happens if we don’t know something has been manipulated. When truth is manipulated then it leads to chaos. This is the danger of being in a world where digital truth can be played around with.

For example, it is often used to create a negative effect, TIME magazine made OJ Simpson’s face darker to create the effect of menace. Another example is when Stalin used to manipulate images for the purpose of indoctrination. These are some of the extreme cases of digital manipulation. Today, we see magazine covers which are air- brushed. Sure, we know that it is airbrushed but still it affects us. Because we are tempted to buy all the acne and anti- aging creams. How do models feel when their images are manipulated? Imperfect don’t you think? What about the young girls who look into these magazines are pressured by the untruth?

It’s not all about the images. It is the same with music industry today. A lot of stars have their voice enhanced when recorded. No offense. But, British dancer/singer George Sampson has his voice enhanced throughout his track ‘Body language’. Lindsay Lohan who short lived in the music industry had obviously manipulated all of her tracks because her live performances have never been as good as her voice on CD. In reality, these singers are fooling their fans and the audience. Where is the justice?

Manhood on the Mat

Wrestler John Cena uses his submission move on his opponet and Booker-T taunts the crowd by waving his hands in front of his face meaning "In your face".

Today, wrestling entertainment programs such WWE and WCW have reduced the role of women and men to just simple, understandable, digestible stereotypes. It is an entertainment industry which begs to stay away from real life and complicated situations. As a result we see wrestlers who love insulting one another, taunting and use intimidation, ridicule and humiliate, bully and like to stay in control. And then we also get the image of woman who constantly trying to outwit each other by participating in face offs which include stripping off your opponents clothes till their undergarments. But, the main focus of the article “Manhood on the Mat” is the role of wrestling entertainment in defining masculinity.

I have seen children at young age watch these programs and I have seen them after imitate these very values like taunting, bullying and the moves. As usual, I will give an example from my experiences in India. In the schools, I have seen a lot male students imitate the values taught in WWE which frequently aired in India. No doubt it is quite popular, because I got to hear about the popular matches that took place every other day. I observed the male students who were the most popular were those who taunted the teachers, indulged in bullying and verbally abused each other. Wrestling entertainment is a make believe world and most of us know that really well. But what should be done if the guidelines of being a “man” have already come into trend? Then either we go with the flow or go against the tide, which will end up some individuals branded as “fag”, “gay” and other such words.

In conclusion, wrestling programs do show a very stereotyped world to the audience, but it certainly did not create the criteria for masculinity; the characteristics of being a “man” have existed since ever. In stories and legends it is the man who has to show courage and achieve tasks in order to become a man or save the family’s honor. A lot of the values were already established. Popular culture just helps in establishing these values, meaning that it makes it more acceptable. For example, former WWE wrestler “Rock” was adored by fans for his insulting remarks. He didn’t make just normal insulting remarks but funny ones. This creates the idea that it is ok to insult like this because it would make you popular and that it is part of being a man. According to me, the stereotypes are created by the people or communities and then the media picks it up and popularizes it and this is why sometimes we don’t know who is mirroring who. Is the media mirroring the people’s ideas or are people’s ideas being affected by the media?

News Program Analysis

News Channel- NDTV- New Delhi Television Limited

- The Maoists realeased some prisoner of wars
- TheCongress won, Rahul Gandhi won some seats PArliament and is trekking around the country as part of his campaign.
-Seagull enters a news studio.
-Mariah Carrey’s Interview promting her latest album
-Salman Khan’s charity and his charity clothing line(Bollywood Star)
-Rabin, Katrina and Deepika- Love Triangle of Bollywood Stars
-Later the weather updates.


I watch this news channel really often and I finally found out why I am hooked to this news channel. I like this news channel for its accuracy in reporting for the events which are important to people. It is now of the most and accurate channels. I was kind of shocked by what I discovered after watching 20 minute worth of news. More than half of the news segments were just gossip and about Bollywood stars having a love triangle and some actor launching his clothing line for charity. The actor, Salman Khan is knows well for his philanthropy. So, to recognize him for such activities is fine but then the news changes its focus to the possibility of him reuniting with his ex-girlfriend. How is that relevant to me or anyone else? The news items before these were about Maoists releasing prisoners of war which were not as detailed as I would have liked them to be. The Second news item was really brief and talked about a popular politician wining seats in the parliament. Then it was celebrity gossip all the way with a segment on how a seagull entered a news studio. Later, it was the boring weather forecast. According to me did not meet the criteria for being a news channel because the news items which were important were not even as detailed as a conventional TV news report. It was disappointing. I am actually starting to understand, Neil Postman’s idea of “Now….then”. Right after watching the two serious news items, I looked at the ads coming up and they lightened my mood. And it is obvious, that the news channel made up the story of the Love Triangle to keep the viewers hooked, because listening to celebrity scandals is considered entertaining.

Do Stereotypes contain truth? Why? How are they formed?

I agree, the stereotypes are definitely based on some measure of truth. Otherwise how are people able to relate the stereotype to the “stereotyped”. According to me stereotypes are like the early descriptions or the very first perceptions of a group. It might have been completely true at some point of time. But it changed as we got more culturally diverse. For example, taking my own nationality Indian; one of the most stereotyped group. We are most mocked for our accent and the truth is majority of Indian do sound like that! How about the fact that people call us cheap? Believe it or not, when I say we ACTUALLY are cheap, I speak on behalf of myself and all the Non Resident Indians I have met till date. In my defense, I can only say that we Indians are not cheap by nature but because of the situations our government puts us in with the awful wages when we are not on our country soil. I guess this is what created the stereotype. At least one quality of the stereotype can be applied each person of the stereotyped group. I don’t think I can say the same for the other stereotyped groups. Sometimes stereotypes can get off hand for example, most Indian-Americans are taxi drivers, gays can’t be manly, Jews are greedy and the most crude is that all Muslims are terrorists. Stereotypes exist in the society for the sole purpose of insulting the group and entertainment. Unfortunately, a stereotype does contain some measure of truth.

Truthfully, a stereotype is of no use and should not even exist. If the person uses it to hurt someone’s feelings then, the person is very narrow minded. But if it is used for entertainment like comedian Russell Peters and Jeff Dunham use it, then I say- go ahead make us laugh. There must be various ways to form stereotypes. A stereotype is sometimes born out of one person’s hatred for a certain group. If that particular person is able to pass his ideas around and uninformed people are not able to differentiate between the truth and the made-up information then the stereotype gets officially instituted. For example, in ‘Mein Kamp’ Hitler said that Jews were greedy and used inaccurate information to brain wash people. In this case the stereotype did not contain any truth. Stereotypes born out of hatred can be harmful. Television can be credited for popularizing stereotypes about African Americans and Homosexuals.

Reaction to DOVE- Real Beauty Campaign

" No wonder our percerption of beauty is distorted"

Dove “Real Beauty” Campaign is a campaign aimed at all ages, all shapes and all colors. It says it is aimed at diffusing the unhealthy and unsecure environment created by the media such as fashion magazines. It helps young girls increase their confidence and self esteem by ignoring the distorted media images. What we see the Dove Corporation doing here is using good values to sell its brand. It is trying to create this positive image of itself among the consumers. By outreaching girls at such a young age it is instituting its name by the roots and gaining their trust. Of course, Dove Corporation is doing this with a motive. It is a very clever marketing strategy which very few can fully carry out. So by creating a positive image of itself among the consumers it is saying, “We love each and every kind of woman or girl, no matter what, because by imparting good values and a positive image the women will buy our products. This quite ironic because our products despite being chemical made provide real beauty.” In a message concerning the campaign, the company said that they would make all necessary changes to pictures to meet professional standards. That can explain why the girls have light makeup on and no acne at all. Before, knowing about advertising strategies, I would choose Dove over any other brand because of its positive image; I thought the “Dove Evolution” was nice. But now, I just feel like I am being used. So, I was using their products because they promoted real beauty, but now I have started to realize there is nothing real about Dove. They don’t even use natural substances in their products.

The Content Analysis

Name of the Program: Zombieland
Medium: Film
Genre: Comedy, Dark Humor, Drama



Conclusion:


This movie doesn’t have a lot of stereotypes. The character of Columbus, he is a nerdy guy who plays a lot of computer and stays isolated from everyone for most of the time. He talks to a few people. He is shown to cry and whine and say abusive words. He doesn’t like violence in real life, meaning he doesn’t like shooting guns, not even zombies. And he freaks out very easily, meaning that he is not very tough. Like a lot of ‘nerds’ he stands by rules which help him survive zombies and he is thin and has a low confidence level. To some extent the nerdy content of the character is stereotyped but he does break it by the end of the movie by being heroic. I think the main thing we were supposed to be shown is that a nerd has a low confidence level. If they had shown a fit, attractive looking guy with low confidence level, the character won’t be as believable as the present Columbus.

Tallahassee, the tough guy of the movie, is shown as ‘Redneck’ with a SUV. He doesn’t hesitate to kill zombies with his guns. In fact he loves killing, it is like a sport for him. He wears leather jackets, boots and a hat. He is very adventurous. But, the problem is he is not a Redneck. And he doesn’t have a southern accent. He was just a grand father who lost his grandson to an epidemic and therefore he dawns this avatar to look for adventure and forget his sorrow. So, it shows the audience, one way of looking tough is by wearing the right clothes. He again breaks the stereotype by being a father figure to the other characters, and also by crying for his grandson. He doesn’t mock Columbus for being not ‘tough’.



The girl characters Wichita and Little Rock were not at all stereotyped. They were just sisters on the run for survival. The age difference between them made the characters more believable. So, nothing in the movie was completely stereotyped, apart from the zombies, there was blood dripping from each one’s mouth, they ate humans, they did die if they were hit hard enough and they were attracted to light. Nothing in the movie was as stereotyped as much as the zombies.

Tallahassee
Male
Skilled/unemployed
Main
HS
White
Widowed
36-50
1 Child
Attractive
Buffed Up
Tough, Humorous, Emotional-cries, self dependent, sarcastic, straightforward, Nurturing, Intelligent, Comedic Character
Positive Impact

Columbus
Male
Unemployed
Main
College
White
Single
19-25
0
Average
Thin
Emotional-whines, cries, self-dependent, Intelligent, Object of Humor, Intelligent
Hero
Positive Impact

Wichita
Female
Unemployed
supporting
HS
White
Single
19-25
0 Child
Attractive
Slender
Self Dependent, Flirtatious, In control of situation, Abrupt, Passive, Intelligent, Sexual
Romantic figure/villain
Positive Impact

Little Rock
Female
Unemployed
supporting
HS
White
Single
13-18
0
Average
Average
Dependent, straight forward. Sarcastic, Humorous
Supporting character
Positive Impact

406, Columbus's neighbor
Female
Unemployed
minor
?
White
Widowed
51-65
?
Average
Thin
Humorous
Comedic Character
None

Gas Station Owner
Male
Employed
minor
HS
White
Affair
36-50
?
Average
Thin
Sexual, Slow- witted, Flirtacious
?
None

Zombies
Both
NA
supporting
NA
White
NA
All
NA
Disfigured
All
Aggressive, hungry all the time
Comedic
Negative

Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts950

- Informative vs superficial
This article is informative as it discusses whether the present Secretive is still capable of protecting the present President despite the cut in the budget and the rise in the threats against the African- American president. It is a news article which is based on facts and something we can relate to.
- Accurate and truthful vs False and deceptive
Taking into considerations the variety of sources it has included, it can be said that this article is accurate and truthful. For example, it quotes the Congressional Research Service report of August 2009. It also quotes Ronald Kessler who recently released a book on Secret service. It also mentions a study by Simon Wiesenthal Center, telling how internet has increased the threats against the president. The facts mentioned are accurate and whether the Secret Service is inefficient is in the reader’s hand to decide.
- Objective vs Biased
It is objective. Although the article talked how the internal congressional report was leaked to The Boston Globe and what it had mentioned. It went through the whole article discussing how the threats have increased against Obama. It hardly talked about whether the secret agency was actually inefficient or any evidences supporting it. But, it mentioned in the end that The Secret Agency had denied that The Boston Globe was not accurate. So, the reporter was objective but did not actually talk about The Secret Agency’s inefficiency. It did not go for or against that fact because he had nothing to support it.
- Pluralistic vs Insular viewpoint
It has pluralistic viewpoint because it took information from various resources like the repot and the study and the book.
- Balanced vs weighted side
It is balanced. It is not supporting anyone in anyway. It is not blaming anyone. IT did not go against The Secret Agency, but it quote the agency saying that the information presented by The Boston Globe was not accurate. It discussed the reasons as to why the threats against the president had risen, but it did not blame the secret agency for its inability to protect because frankly there is no evidence.

Media Consumption LOG # 7

Sunday, October 11 2009

9am-9pm

- Watch Youtube and Megavideo
-Ads during the pauses and ads spaces
- Using laptop to do homework
- Brands in the bathroom- Nivea, Sunsilk, Dove

Reflection:

Surprising as it might seem, this is how limited my media exposure was. I visit a lot of fan fiction sites and I have stopped ad pop ups and banned the ads because I find them irritating. But it also lets me read confortably. Internet is becoming a hot spot for religious advertising like today, I saw ads for learning to read the biblical text in hebrew. So basically, the only media I use is a laptop. Laptop woth internet just makes everything alot easier, i have dvds and cds but I use youtube. We have a music player, but then ipod is replacing it. All I see is alot useless consumption. I am only attached to my laptop, other wise I hate practically everything that is not dual, like a digital video camera or a non portable music player. I feel that if I buy something with just one function its a waste of money and damage to the enviorment. As technology is advancing so is the media, CDs, DVDs are becoming outdated. Imagine the amount of useful mineral resources it was made of. Why do I feel that, no matter what we do, we are failing badly!!!!

Media consumtion LOG #6

Saturday, 3rd September 2009

10:00am-12:00pm

- Read At Risk
- Read Le Figaro, Vanity Fair, Jerusalem Post Magazine, Instyle
-Ads in the magazines and sites
- Use Laptop for doing homework, blogging, watching videos on Youtube and Megavideo
- Brands in the Bathroom- Sunsilk, Dove, Nivea, l'Oreal, Lux

12:00pm-22:00
- Watching videos on youtube and Megavideo
-Ads on th sites

Reflection:

As predicted, I am less exposed to media on weekends. I think, for an average person it would be more because, he/she goes out on weekend, unlike me. I saw no ads of the movie 'The Informant' this time, and i didn't see many ads of scientology. There were still lots of dating websites, where ever I surfed. There were two things I noticed, online war games have sexual images of woman warrior to attract young adults or atleast catch their eye. I find it very disturbing to think a young boy logs on to these games because he sees imgaes of such kinds. I feel ashamed to confess but, I brought a dress from a boutique called Cassidi and I had no idea it was famous. But, when I saw its ad in the Jerusalem Post Magazine, I was happy that I owned some kind of designer material. Should I have been proud that I owned something branded?

Influence of MEDIA over Cultures

Often media decides the rules and the trends of a society.Ads, as we all know have their side of negative effects. Certain ideas are popularized by the media that get implemented in our minds. For which we are ready to change are core values. For example, let's take the idea of having straight hair or relaxed hair. This is what we mainly find in the ads of fashion magazines and billboards. Do we know the impact of this popularized idea on the people? The African communities where curly, coarse hair is widely prevalent they spend almost $25,000 or more on the hair products. They do this because they feel that, not only is straight hair more manageable but, also it gives you confidence and makes you more appealing. Before it only used to be the teenagers and adults who were into this trend or belief. But what happens if these kind of ideas are taught to girls as young as two or three? Do we want to see those young children crying while the chemicals are burning their scalp? Moreover, do we want them to hate them for what they really are? So, do we still think that corporations are trying to make us feel more appealing by giving us straight hair or are they are trying to snatch our identity?

The Merchants of Cool- No.2

I am come from a country where a lot of the films produced are commercial. Not in the sense, that it shows any brands in the movie. But, it is much glamorized and not really connected to reality, although it is enjoyable. The Indian audience has just started getting doses of so-called reality shows like singing competitions and Indian versions of Fear Factor and Survivor. The concept of advertising upcoming movies through television shows did not exist until past several years. So, now whenever new movies are released, the actor of the movie becomes of the guest judge of the reality show or comes to give some kind of advice. A trailer of the movie is aired during the show or during its commercials. Even ads of the brands sponsoring the movie are shown. So, it is a win-win situation for the corporations.

This kind of intertwined marketing does bother me a lot, and one thing I have noticed about such movies is that they turn out flop ninety-five percent of the time. It also indicates to me that the movie is not of my taste no matter who the actor is. The other five percent do turn out pretty well. It does not really influence my opinion of the artist or the actor because they are doing their job and trying to achieve their goal the best possible way. They are trying to reach as big audience as possible and in India; television is the best way, then comes the radio. Basically, they are advertising themselves.

If the film or actor or actor is supporting brands that I don’t approve of, and then I feel that it is trying gain money in a cheap way, without caring for the public. Therefore, it describes the character of the person or the corporation and it does influence our opinion.

Media consumption LOG # 5

Saturday, September 27 2009

09:00am- 9:00pm

A) Working on the laptop
-Using YouTube
-watching movies
-pop ups before a movie and while watching a movie
- Ads in a magazine

B) While traveling
- Ads inside and outside the bus stop
- Ads on vehicles like bus and car
- Ads on the Billboards
- Ads on the street lamps
- Ads in street TV
- Logos of several companies

Reflection:

-I have to admit, that week by week my media awarness is increasing or maybe I maybe I am just starting to admit what I noticed a along time ago. If you take a certain area for example, the whole of Ramat Aviv, I think the ads change on a weekly basis. I noticed that ads usually belong to at least 3-4 different companies. Those ads are repeatedly placed in the whole area. For example, this week was full of ads by Diesel, Bezeq and two other brands. I had seen them everywhere so many times, that I was completely SICK of it!!! I had them by heart. Advertising in Israel is amazing, the corporations here book a timeslot for their advertising and achieve to implant their message in our brains by repeatedly advertising themselves. It was scary.

-All the pop-ups were on the same subjects like cell phones, tarot cards, dating websites etc. But, I found something that freaked me out, over the week I have seen a scientology advertisement at least 5 times each day. Since when did religion started getting advertised?!!! Overcome by curiosity, I clicked on their video and it was nice and heartfelt like a some discovery channel documentary. I didn’t go on the main website, because I was seriously scared that it might hypnotize me. I found thses ads mainly in website ad spaces.

-I also noticed product placement in several places. A) Beyonce’s song Diamonds advertises the perfume called by the same name which actually under Armani. In fact, many singers actors whoever launch perfumes advertise it somehow in their songs like Hilary advertised her perfume ‘With Love’ by placing it in music video. B) I am a fan of cricket, so I saw during the IPL, the corporations owning the teams always had Bollywood movie star with them, and the supporters as well as the owners were wearing shirts with the corporation name on it like The Kingfisher.

-I saw the ads of the movie Informant just about on every website I went. It’s the fisrt time I have seen a movie advertised so much on the web.

- The ads which I found explicit were the dating sites and the Diesel ad which were the usual girl-boy image. The target audiences were people above the age of 17. And some ads were subtle like the perfumes featured in the music videos. And the Kingfisher ad in the cricket matches. While buying clothing items, I would probably chooses Diesel over some other brands, because I know it’s widely advertised, which proves me the level of quality. As fir the dating sites I have no interest in them. Here a lot ads don’t influence me because they are mostly in Hebrew and I don’t know what they are advertising.

The Corporation Vs. The Ad and the Ego

Consumerism affects our media environment in negative way because it manipulates us and further exploits us emotionally and sets up unhealthy trends, this often bars the public’s ability to remain informed as they are being bombarded with distorted ideas. The corporations use consumerism to make us believe that they are helping us whereas it is quite the opposite. The level of damage caused to environment as well the people by the corporation has increased because of its greed to earn more and to increase its influence.

The first documentary ‘The Corporation’ talked about how the corporations have started exploiting their aim of “just” serving the people. It has now become a race for acquiring money at any cost. For example, the milk corporation started the factory system of farming where the corporations try to fit as many cows as possible on a plot of land. Then they are injected with hormones into the cow so that it produces as much as milk as possible. But this means that we are not getting a good quality of milk. Another example for greed of money is the Walt Disney Company. Disney is known for the clean and general content material it provides the children. Who could have guessed that the Disney also caters to a higher age group and under different names? Hollywood Records music label owns Miley Cyrus and various other artists. Touchstone Films produced the movie ‘The Pearl Harbor’. Yes, they are all Disney owned. In fact, Coca Cola was so eager to spread its drink in Germany during the holocaust that it changed its name to ‘Fanta’ to avoid any shame. Therefore, the corporations get so involved in their race for money that public healthcare and eco-friendliness loses meaning for them.

The documentary ‘The ad and the Ego’ shows us the effect of advertisements as well as how they function. Today, certain trends have been set up advertisements which are impossible to break. It is exactly what Neil Postman mentioned in his book ‘Amusing ourselves to death’, the media decides the culture. Over the past several years, advertisements have set up the idea of what an ideal woman should look like. She is someone who is blond or brunette and slim with perfect skin and hair. In India, there is a trend of having fair skin. The advertisement always starts of with a girl who doesn’t get a job or doesn’t get married because she has dark skin, but, after using the skin fairness cream she accomplishes her goal with pride and dignity. Ads are made to make the target audience feel incomplete or insecure unless they get that product. They target our acne, our non-silky hair etc. A visa card shows that all the money spent is priceless in comparison see our babies smile with cake on his face. And if we really think about it, it’s very unrealistic. Ads often just show what we want to see, and they are in no way related to the product. For example, what is the connection between family happiness and a car, or the connection between a pack of cigarettes and Cowboy riding horses? It does not only negatively affect us but also the environment because advertisements drive consumerism.


In conclusion, ‘The Corporation’ and ‘The Ad and the Ego’ show that today corporations have deviated from their original. We cannot live without some of the necessary products like milk, rice and vegetables. But, when corporations look over the public welfare start using us, then what do we do? They have no right to degrade us by defining imperfection let alone pointing at our imperfections. Therefore, documentaries such as these two help us to remain informed of the reality.

Media Consumption Log # 4

Friday 18 September

8:00am- 12:00pm

- Using Laptop to finish the homework
- Watching videos of Youtube
- Ads of games and apple products and Tarot card readings

12:00pm-9:00pm

-Ads on the Internet
-Watching movies on Internet

(During a walk)

-Ads on the streetlights
- Ads on Huge TV Screen
-Ads on Billboards
-Ads inside and outside the bustands
-Ads on the side of the bridges

-Using products of different brands such as Lux soap, Dove soap, Nivea lotion, Colgate Toothpaste, Sunsilk shampoo and Conditioner.

- Connecting Laptop to Wide Screen TV
-Using CD player, listening to only one CD
-Using Ipod touch to surf on Youtube

Today I took notice of media stuff that I don't usually take notice of such as the different products that I use. I also mentioned different technology such as Sony tv and Cd player that I usually use during the weekends and never on weekdays.

Comparing reviews of ‘Supersize Me’

‘Supersize Me’ is a documentary blaming the McDonalds fast food industry for the increasing obesity in United States of America. The director, Morgan Spurlock undergoes a 30 days diet of McDonald’s fast food. It shows the drastic changes to health caused by the fast food industry and how this industry encourages poor nutrition among the population. This documentary received generally positive reviews. But reading the negative reviews was as interesting as reading the praises about the film.

According to New York Times, “The movie goes down easily and is worth losing the appetite for”. But, TCS Daily opposed the documentary saying that the movie was wrong in blaming just the fast food industries for the growing obesity in the country. Let us see, the point of the movie was to show why the fast food industries should be blamed. The negative review claimed that there were other constituents also to be blamed for this such as desserts, salty snacks and Mexican food. I agree that there are things to also be blamed for it but we can also say that no other industry has greater outreach than the McDonalds. Therefore the higher the influence, the more it is to be blamed. It is natural human behavior to pinpoint at the big powers. The documentary showcased one of the biggest reasons for growing obesity; it never said the only reason. TCS Daily was right in saying that it was not just the cheese burgers and fries that was making everyone fat; it was also the calorie dense food which was being in eaten in excess.

I believe that both the reviews are right in their own terms. I can see how Spurlock’s documentary can be misleading because it shows the fast food industries as main culprits. A small portion of the population might have McDonald’s for their daily meals otherwise we all know that we have other things such Hershey’s chocolate bars and cookies, Doritos, cheese balls and cans of Coca Cola and Fanta stacked up in our kitchen cabinets. If the documentary is to be rated on showing the effects of fast food industry and its manipulative nature, then it should be given a top grade but blaming only McDonald’s for the increasing obesity is wrong. Although, we would love to slam to McDonald’s with worst possible accusations, blaming it alone is wrong judgment.

Media Consumption Blog # 3

September 12 Saturday

10am-4pm

-Watching Movies on Internet
-Advertisements coming in between before opening Megavideo
-Listening to music and watching vidoes on Youtube

4pm-10am (On my way to school for Spaghetti Dinner)
- Advertisements on the Bus
-Ads on the bustops
- Multiple-Ads on the billboards
-Ads on street lights
-Logos of restaurants and cinema halls and boutiques on mall buildings
-Listening to CD in the car
-Replica of Pepsi Max on a factory along with names of other drinks.
- Using Laptop to finish homework

Normally on Saturdays my only source of meida is the laptop and the internet. But since we went out, it was comparitively more.

Media Consumption Blog

4th September 2009

Before Reaching School: 3:00-8:00

- Cellphone Alarm
- Physics textbook
-Ads on the bus
-Perfume and Clothing ads inside the Bustops
- Food Ads outside the Bustop
- Ads on the street light poles
-Billboard with multiple ads on the side of the road
-Ads on the Flyovers- maily in Hebrew
- Listening to radio in the van- Hebre station- lots od ad jingles
- Ads where multiple roads connect has been changed
- A Life size model of Pepsi MAX can in Netanya
- A poster of Gilad Schalit near school
-AIS logo on the school Building

During School: 8:00-15:00

- School Textbooks- Precalculus, Physics Textbook
- Using Webspiration and the laptop for Biology
- Watching 'The Corporation' for English
-Using computer for Yearbook
-Using Smartboard for Precalculus

After Dismissal till I reach home: 15:00-16:00

- Cellphone Alarm
- Physics textbook
-Ads on the bus
-Perfume and Clothing ads inside the Bustops
- Food Ads outside the Bustop
- Ads on the street light poles
-Billboard with multiple ads on the side of the road
-Ads on the Flyovers- maily in Hebrew
- Ads where multiple roads connect has been changed
- A Life size model of Pepsi MAX can in Netanya
- A poster of Gilad Schalit near school

After I reach home:- Using internet to watch movies

- Lots of pop- ups were appearing when I either started the movie or paused it. They were mainly about Ipod cellphone, and some weird games and Tarot card reading, going to Vegas and winning lottery, Dating websites, Some sites wanted me to fill a survey if iwanted to watch a movie.I really get irritated with all these pop-ups. Some sites are completely filled with and I always get scared that I might acidently click on something. Because last time I accidently clicked one and the virus broke dowm my computer.

- Watching Indian News for 20 min

Reflection:
I have noticed on Fridays I am more exposed to Media because I like to watch movies on Friday and movie sites are filled with ads. I don't wacth news alot, I mainly read through headlines. I also noticed the billboards with multiple ads which flip after few seconds and how they are maily situated near the Traffic Lights so taht people can spend their time looking at it when stuck in the traffic.

The Corporation

After doing some research on the statement given by 'The Corporation', I am seeing the world of corporations in a new light. How ignorant have corporations become today? I had say completely ignorant. Money has the corporations doing things we would never imagine. And I must say they are doing a great job of covering it up. Millions of dollars are spent on advertising the products in a good light. For example, McDonalds with its appealing red and yellow colored advertisements and tasty burgers is able to attract millions into their restaurants. I mean, comeon who would think twice before grabbing one of their burgers?!! But those consumers who think out of the circle figure out that their is something suspicious about the mass production of meat. And when they question the corporations about the truth, I am sure the corporation would not hesitate throw another milllion dollars into staging how beautiful and clean their farms are.

So who will stand up for public good? Ofcourse there are ways. But some can get you in trouble. The corporate owners can be bad, but that does not mean those working within corporation are also bad. But if they raise their voice then they will lose their job. The media sorporations are interconnected in so many ways that it is like saying that it is keeping an eye on each and every rebel. So McDonals might have a contract with Fox News, and those persons within the agency who want report about animal abuse might not be able to. The government can help but unless and until there are stricty guideline this is not possible. A country might have against animal abuse, but they are only of use when implementes properly.But I think the main force which can really work is the force of the consumer. The public when united like PETA can help in overturning situations. It will take some time but if documentaries like The Meatrix are widely circualted, then it woll create more awarness. Just like protest in Bolivia against privatisation of water helped to stop it, public unity can work pretty well in bringing down animal abuse.

Media Consumption Log 1

Before I got to school- 6:00-8:00

Cellphone alarm
Advertisements painted on Bus
Advertisements on Streen Lights
Advertisements on the bus stop
Huge Billboards beside the rods
Listening to MP3
French textbook
A Mall advertising cinema hall and McDonalds and a toy store
AIS school logo on shirts
AIS school logo on the school building

After I get to School 8:00-15:00

School Textbook- History, Physics
Radio
Radio Cassette
Internet surfing of college websites
Historical movie
Lots of handouts

After and before I get home 15:00-23:00

Advertisements painted on Bus
Advertisements on Streen Lights
Advertisements on the bus stop
Huge Billboards beside the rods
Listening to MP3
Cell Phone
Internet Surfing on Youtube
Reading Fanfiction

War of the Worlds

After listening to the excerpts from the radio show “War of the Worlds”, I agree with the statement. It was very realistic for the 1930s. The sad part is that these kind of deceptive illusions are even possible today and they can create mass panic even today. Media is the most influential thing on this planet today. Media is our only source of global communication. I believe that part of the reason we fall into this illusion is because we trust the media. We watch news channels such as BBC and CNN because we know they are reliable and they give good and accurate and non-biased coverage of events. But if these news channels report that they are UFO sightings and show us images, then we are going to likely to fall for it depending on how realistic it seems. ‘Seeing believing’ is the motto of the media today. The other day I was watching this video on YouTube about alien life form under going post mortem. The video was so realistic that I fell for it. It had such good special effects and acting, that I couldn’t believe it was a fake video. We are truly powerless to the influence of media. The question is- If we don’t believe them, then whom should we actually believe?

Who owns the MEDIA?

Who Owns the MEDIA?

The world is a circus and I believe the cunning and the entertaining joker of this world is the Media Industry. Although almost every person today reads newspapers or books, watches news channels or reads online, on being asked who owns the media, pretty much all of us would be dumbfounded. Research shows that only ten major companies own the media, we daily use. Two of them are the hugely popular Walt Disney and Sony. This revelation cleared my doubts on why Disney lets Miley Cyrus sing for Hollywood Records. As a matter of fact, that music label is owned by The Walt Disney Empire. The media has grown a lot over the past few years.

So what does this mean for us? The fact that only 10 companies control the content of our viewing is very odd. It means that we are watching or hearing selected pieces of information over and over again because the companies are competing against each other. Suppose if CNN shows footage of some bombing, BBC has to show it too, otherwise its ratings will go down. This then becomes a game of ratings; CNN was convicted of staging a fake bombing. Why was this done? To increase the viewership. This completely shifts our focus of being truly informed. While these companies are going against one another, we are missing the news that is of minor importance. This can have negative impact on path to be “truly informed”. Another negative effect is that the media over emphasizes on controversial news articles. For example, a father is accused of murdering his daughter. Several news channels will make it breaking news. News channels in order to get viewers will project the image of the father as guilty without confirmation. This can ruin the individual’s life. The media needs to use its powers responsibly.

Another example of companies controlling the type of media that reaches us are the Major recording Label. These recording labels, often tries to choose what the listeners should to listen instead of letting the music artist record a song of their choice. The music label tries to manipulate the artist’s image so as to sell the music and this in turn affects the artist’s music. This artist doesn’t have much of choice except to accept the offer. But, Ani DiFranco, a folk rock singer chose to start her own independent music label- Righteous Babe Records. Not many artists choose to take this path because it is very costly. Therefore, not having lot choices is one of the cons of the media industry.

But, today, not all is controlled by these big companies. The cell phone camera has given the viewer power of showing what cannot be shown by the mainstream media. For example, Saddam Hussein’s hanging was recorded on cell phone. It automatically makes an ordinary person into a photojournalist. This power can be harmful when it starts exceeding the limits. It is alright to have a tsunami recorded on cell phone camera, but what right does the owner of the camera have to take pictures of celebrities during their private moments? The limits of what should and should not be reported are being redefined by this easily portable device.

Therefore, we see that the media when owned by only few companies is very selective of what should be shown. This control often limits our knowledge of our surroundings. It can be helpful when it shows us an important news and destructive when it starts media judgment against an individual.