1F25 post 8: blog response

                After going through some of my classmate’s blogs, It seems that I am not alone in my views of cultural jamming (especially those in the form of news parodies) and I am generally with most of them who see culture jamming as an effective way to get across ‘real’ news.

                The first blog that really got my attention was Jessica znaczko’s and she wrote “Although satirical news reports can be humorous to watch, it gives us different perspectives on many different cultural topics that we are normally told not to question. Using humor in satirical news reports makes this form of culture jamming more lighthearted, easier to understand, and more effective.”. This was one of the main points I stated in my blog about parodies because they use humour to convey their message and everyone appreciates a good laugh as opposed to watching the very boring evening news.http://jessicaznaczko.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/cpcf-1f25-blog-entry-4-is-the-fake-news-real-news/.

                The next blog which I was interested in was Kennedy’s blog. We essentially talked about the same thing in our respective blog’s but what made his more eye catching was when he said “ these programs often only incorporate their own specific reaction and diagnosis’ which, like everyone at home, are to be taken as such and are not necessarily meant to reflect the opinions and ideas of the general public.”. He was referring to the parodies of news by shows like the Colbert report and the daily show. I like how he makes it clear that the parodies are only a reflection of the opinions of the people organizing them, not that of the general public. http://bkennedy94.blogspot.ca/2013/11/is-fake-news-real-news.html

                The last blog I looked through belonged to Adam Tusim. Although Tuslim generally made the same point that I did, he also looked at the negative aspects stating that “ in some cases, these late night television hosts( Colbert report etc.) may address sensitive topics such as a natural disaster or the death of an individual(s) in a condescending or inappropriate manner”…. I hadn’t looked at it from that perspective and in hindsight what he was saying actually had some truth to it and wasn’t just hypothetical because some talk show hosts who present these forms of media have actually ‘crossed the line’ a few times between being funny and being offensive. http://at12nk.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/is-the-fake-news-the-real-news/

                After reading through all these blogs, I have come to my conclusions: firstly, most of the blogs I read only recognized one form of culture jamming, which were parodies. Secondly I feel encouraged because most people seem to really enjoy this method of getting the news across it has very few negatives as opposed to the ‘real’ news we get on tv and most people really seem to enjoy it. From the looks of it, culture jamming seems to have an overall positive effect on our public square and it will still be welcomed generations from now.

1F25 post 7: Is the fake news the real news?

                Cultural jamming, as defined by the text “media and society”, is “simply the viral introduction of radical ideas. It is viral in that it uses the enemy’s own resources to replicate itself” (213). And I believe that, in most contexts, it is a form of mainstream media.

                Cultural jamming is used as a tool to serve many purposes such as raising awareness, subverting mainstream culture through parodies and spoofs etc. Its most popular form is that of spoofs and parodies which generally serve to entertain and provide a certain level of comical relief. The parody can be used as another means of relaying the news and changing the way we view a certain event or it can be used only for comedic reasons or to quote, “culture jamming techniques can simply be used to be clever or funny, without a political or critical motive” (214). The parodies and/or spoofs subvert mainstream culture by shining light on the actual implications of such products or ads and giving the public a different perspective from which they can view any form of mainstream media and I believe that the change of perspective serves to enlighten and educate the public, to some extent. For example, a McDonald’s ad with the ‘golden arches (M)’ turned upside down (W) can signify weight gain and the relationship between fast food restaurants and obesity in our society. Of course there are probably more meanings to be found in such an ad but a change in perspective has clearly been made and “this form of communication uses existing media texts (which normally enforce the dominant ideology) to make an Ideological critique”.

                This topic on cultural jamming is a very interesting one for me as it helped me to realise how relevant these cultural ‘jammers’ are to mainstream society and although I majorly focused on parodies and spoofs (because they are easily relatable and relatively and often times hilarious), the other forms of cultural jamming are very common in society and they help us to better understand the truth that the real mainstream media would prefer that we do not know and I believe It is a useful addition to the public sphere.

1F25 post 6: Blog response

                After reading a lot of my classmate’s blogs, I generally agreed with most of the conclusions that they came to. The first blog I read was about an ad for the video game FIFA 14 written by http://to12ls.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/what-the-hail/ I chose this for two reasons 1) being that I am an avid gamer myself and 2) because I also came to the same conclusion about this ad in that it tries to appeal to a huge audience by showing a different group of people of different ethnicity and races and also different ages playing the game and what this accomplishes is that “it serves to increase their fan base in order to increase sales” which, at the end of the day, is major goal of the company to maximize sales and increase profits and I believe this ad would be very appealing to Its targeted audience.

                The second blog that caught my attention was that of http://at12nk.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/what-the-hail/ in which he talks about the old spice ad and how it appeals to men between the ages of 18 – 50. The ad involves a male model who uses the old spice deodorant and compares him to your average Joe (the viewer) and “The ad naturally attracts my attention because it relates to cultural norms and values in ways that society expects our target demographic to look and feel about our bodies.” – I couldn't have said it any better. One other reason this ad is successful is because while the ad is aimed at a certain demographic (men in general) the model in the ad is actually talking to the women and using phrases like “Hello, ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me.” In this, he is clearly trying to use the female to make the male demographic feel insecure, this also relates to the above quote and how we try to adjust to society.

                The last blog I want to talk about is this one written by http://jessicaznaczko.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/cpcf-1f25-blog-entry-3-what-the-hail/ I which she talks about an ad on drunk driving and the ad only consists of a very disturbing image of a female in a graduation gown hanging lifeless through the glass of a picture frame and she describes the image as “being able to provide  enough shock-value to get the message across to its viewers” and the shock value is a very important strategy in the advertising industry and it is helps to capture your attention and let your imagination roam when you react to the ad and it really helps to convey the message how you, the viewer, want to see it.

                At the end of the day, most if not all companies know how to successfully advertise their products through many tried and tested methods so whether we agree or disagree with how they choose to advertise, it wont change the effectiveness of their methods.

1F25 post 3: The Media We Want

Do we get the media we want or want the media we get? I am strongly inclined to say that we get the media we want because media is practically a controlling force in our lives which dictates how we react to the environment and it keeps us up to date with the culture and so we continually want to be as ‘current’ as everyone else and I believe this causes us to subconsciously seek out the media to guide us in our daily relations. Some teenagers and young adults wake up and one of the first thing they do is reach for their smartphones and log onto their social media websites to see what their friends are up, to not because their life depends on it but because that is what THEY want to do.

Media is all about getting a certain message across to its audience and it helps us connect whether through the news or social networks but, even though we are surrounded by media everyday of our lives, we still decide the ones that have an effect on us and the ones we choose to listen to and we end up relying on it for almost everything like the clothes we choose to wear or the celebrities we choose to follow or even what we end up eating but even though, the media we want actually influences us both ways it just depends on how we choose to view it e.g. It is scientifically proven that eating at McDonalds is not good for your health but each and everyday, McDonalds spend millions of dollars on adverts to try and attract customers. Now this can be viewed in two ways by people, either to get and eat some McDonalds or to stay away from their food. The people who eat their have chosen to see it as a place to be served delicious burgers and salads and the people who were against it see it as a company trying to serve junk food to the masses and believe they should be condemned. Mental interpretation.

We are in a very technological age with very developed and developing nations so whether we like it or not, we will be exposed to all forms of media every day for the rest of our lives, but we would still be the ones to choose and interpret it however we choose.

         

1F25 post 2: Blog response

After reading through some of my classmates’ blog posts, I have realised that many of them also acknowledge that mass media or media in general represents a huge part of our world view and how we perceive the world around us and I also gained some insightful knowledge on how the media affected people in ways I didn’t even realise as well as some odd and interesting examples. Out of the blogs I read, I chose three that I found quite interesting and they belonged to:

http://keenbeau80.wordpress.com/

http://linneaelizabeth.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/blog-entry-1-media-imact/

http://aroobasyed6.wordpress.com/

                In the first post, keenbeau states how he feels media completely controls how we view the world and I completely agree with him on that statement but he further goes on to add that the media does this by withholding information and making us ignorant and after reading through I realised that the point he was trying to make was that firstly not all media was untrustworthy but also for us to “question everything we hear and form our own unbiased opinion.” I completely agreed with that statement and it made it clearer to me that at the end of the day, the media can only present an opinion to us but its still up to us to accept it.

                Now the second post wasn’t completely in agreement with mine but I chose this one because in my post, I generally focused on the negative aspects of media without considering that it also has positive aspects on myself although I feel most of its effect on my worldview is negative and I can only see it in from their perspective, I cant deny that media has impacted me positively also. She mentions how media makes it easy for us to learn about trending topics through social networks and how there are also other good ways media is used like music ( which I absolutely love) and movies and also art. The point is media is a very powerful tool and depending on how it’s used, I can either be good or bad.

                The third blog really interested me because it felt different to the rest in the sense that it was unique from all the blogs I read. In aroobasyed6’s blog she mentions how information, although true, can be problematic depending on how it is presented or how it is perceived and she also states mass media to be a WORLD POWER which was at first confusing but as I continued to read it became clearer to me in her blog especially when she used her view on Africa as an example and how the media affected her view on the continent until she was able to get into university and check out the information herself and realise that their was more to Africa than what was described in the media.

                After discussing about these three I have come to understand that media will always play a major part on my world view and how I understand my surroundings but it is up to me to decide how I should accept the medias influence and how much of it I should believe. Whether to accept their opinion or decide my own.

     

1F25 Post 1: Media Impact

How significant do you think mass media is on your world view?

Mass media comes in many forms and each with a different purpose ranging from social networking sites to news networks and television and all these plays a key role my life and that of those around me. It affects how I see the environment and how I respond to it, I can barely go an hour or a couple minutes without checking my twitter and my Instagram accounts and even when I’m at home, I spend a good number of hours watching television and playing games on my consoles.

Mass media affects my world view very much because whatever is broadcasted on the media is easily taken in by the public and whether it concerns me or not, I too get curious and want to be in he know sometimes just because everyone else knows. I mean Miley cyrus’ twerking video went viral in less than 24 hours and then weeks later she releases another single which sparked controversy in a lot of households and during that same week, the USA are edging ever closer to a military assault on Syria (something I probably would never have known if I wasn't just randomly channel surfing a couple days back) and I’m not even sure why, I know that I should be aware of it but I’m far more versed on the latest music videos that are being released this week and the media just keep on serving me and the people around me news that I just don’t need to know and everywhere you look whether on the internet or on social networks, you only find unimportant events, random videos, ads and all other sorts of information. Mass media no doubt affects a good portion of the youth of day in a vast number of ways, what teenagers see on t.v. can affect how they dress, what they eat and how they relate to each other in essence what I’m trying to say is it affects the culture and generally controls it.

Media on a large practically controls my world view because honestly I believe everything I see on the news on some parts of the internet e.t.c. and if some of that information were to be falsified or twisted, it wouldn't matter because mass media is essentially my medium to see the world, my world view is how the media want me to see it The media has essentially controlled the public and there is not much to be done about it.