satirizing

I found a clip on YouTube that satirizes Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama. They are using the song "anything you can do I can do better". They are arguing over who is the better candidate. They speak about the Iraq, whom can get the troops out of the war quicker and trivial topics such as who is a better public speaker.  Also who has done the most good for our country racism and low blows at each other. The YouTube clip goes on to talk about all the lies each candidate spread about each other, and whether the rumors they spread were truth or lies. The video even has George Bush being made fun of and tries to show that either candidates, Hilary or Barak would be better than him.

In the video, it starts off with them both speaking about how much cash they can raise, because that’s all that matters, is who can raise more money for their advertisement. They spend millions for advertisements for their candidacy. Then they go into how many talk shows they can get on, and who is more popular on the television, because that is of great importance.(with great sarcasm) Barak says that he can defend all his votes while Hilary on the other hand cannot because she voted for Iraq invasion. Throughout the entire video they poke fun at their individual candidacies and use sarcasm towards all politics in general. However in the end they actually agree on one subject which is that either of them would make a better president than George W. Bush. The entire video is just dripping with satire. The link is posted below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKe1gUgX5do

Interview with a gamer

I had an interview with a college student about the violence in videogames, and about violence in real life, how they differ and what feeling they induce. The interview was done with Doug Walter.

me:  what violent video games have you recently played?
doug: Halo,Call of Duty, grand theft auto and Uncharted.
me: would you recommend these games to other people?
doug: yea
me: why were you drawn to those particular games?
doug: my friends were playing them
me: did the violence, gore, or blood bother you at all?
doug: no not really
me: what makes you give that response?
doug: because its not real its just a videogame
me: do you find other games with absolutely no violence boring?
doug: not at all
me: do you think that because of all the violence on television, and in the movie theater, you are more accustomed to violence, and consider it a social norm?
doug: yeah, but not all movies need to have violence for us to be entertained.

After this interview, I had him review a clip (below) on YouTube of real violence, in real life, and had another interview about the YouTube clip in comparison with the videogames.

 me: how does this clip make you feel?
doug: happy to not be in egypt
me: is your emotional response to this different from your emotional response to the video games you play?
doug: i see a video of that happening and its sad but its on tv, if it were happening in front of me itd be a stronger response but my response is kind of the same.
me: why do  you think that is?
doug: because it is not actually happening in front of me, the video and call of duty is all happening on a screen so its a loser grip on what is happeing. i have trouble acepting that that is reality.
me: could you put yourself in the shoes of the people from the YouTube clip being harmed?
doug: nope
me: could you put yourself in the shoes of the people getting harmed in your video games?
doug: not at all
me: do you understand the consequences of violence?
doug: yeah, i understand them morally and legally, but its hard to put myself in their place.
me: after having this interview, would you still recommend the video games you play to other people?
doug: yeah because it is not real.

Images,can you believe what you see?

         This top image was taken in Monroeville, it looks like a fairly normal picture, there is nothing to special about this photo, it was just taken while I was driving back from Monroeville mall during sunset. Of course i think this photo is beautiful, I love how the clouds and the sky play off of each other. However, as much as i like this photo, I have the power to change what it looks like. The bottom photo has been altered, it has been photo shopped. As you can see the clouds look more like waves, the overall color of the photo is tinted blue. The pixels in the photo are more film grain. To a viewer of the second photo, it would seem as if it were an image out of a movie, it would seem Dr. Seuss like. Or perhaps the viewer would think it is a picture from a comic book. Depending on how I would like to alter the photo, it would change what the viewer saw. I can control the thoughts of the viewer in a way.  It is great that artists have the ability to alter their photos to look a certain way that is more eye appealing, however, Photoshop is not just for artists, it is for everyone. In my opinion, this is possibly a bad thing. The images we see every day, on the television, in the newspapers, in magazines, online, any photo you see, how can you be sure what your seeing is actually real? The images in magazines of women are all photo shopped, to make the neckline of the woman longer and slimmer, to make the woman bustier, and skinner in the waist, to make her eyes larger and her lips more full. Altered photos can even make you think negatively of someone. For example, the O.J. Simpson picture on the front of TIME. The photo on the left was the first photo shopped image, clearly he looks darker than his actual skin. 

  

         Just looking at the image screams “he did it". There was such a controversy they had to change the image on the left hand side. The image on the right side is not much better, they took a not so appealing picture of him in the first place, put a dark black shadow behind his face, with a blood red color background. as you can see, it is easy to make a picture into something that you want it to be. However, I submit that altering photos in a sense is altering the truth. You need to be smart, and not believe everything that you see, because in today’s world, everyone has the power to change what you see.

Fracking, the abandoned issue.

Fracking is a serious issue that many just seem to overlook. Fracking is the process of initiating a fracture in a rock layer, by means of a pressurized fluid, in order to release natural gas, or other substances for extraction. A problem with fracking that I had no clue about is the issue of abandoned wells. There are about 8,500 abandoned wells across Pennsylvania. According to fracktracker, "unplugged wells release amounts of oil, gas, condensate, or brine, which can kill vegetation, damage fragile riparian ecosystems, and contaminate aquifers." they can also cause injury due to the sudden release of pressure. They also have the possibility of causing sinkholes because of unstable geologic formations. The government is doing something about this; however it does not mean they are doing it right. "A single $25,000 bond currently is the only insurance that an operator will plug all of their wells statewide, once they are no longer in production. In most cases, that is probably adequate, since there are non-monetary incentives for the operator to stay in good graces with the DEP. However, there are numerous smaller operators with wells still in production, including some residents who have their own private wells."(fracktracker.com) you can find a lot of YouTube videos about fracking and how it is being addressed, however the issue of what happens after the well is not in use anymore is a issue that needs to be paid more attention to.  Below are some videos that explain more about fracking and the problems with it. Fracking is dangerous, this is clear; it is dangerous when it is active, or inactive and abandoned. Just because the well is abandoned, does not mean the dangerous issues are abandoned as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNAbMXnfXWY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPe9aQwKoKs

The channel 11 news

              Today I watched a half hour of the channel 11 news. Starting right away the spoke about the weather, however it was not just the weather; it was the weather with the Steelers logo all over the screen. The Steelers play the jags today, and as a way to get their ratings up they tell us about the weather for the sake of how the game will go, and what our tea will be playing in. immediately after the weather they get into some disturbing stories. A truck crashes through a local vochelli pizza parlor, and the truck smashes all the way through to the other side. The next story I believe is to put a bit of panic into the hearts of viewers. A fire breaks out in an abandoned house in West Mifflin; the cause of the fire is unknown. However another fire was set to another home 30 minutes from the scene of the abandoned house. I believe that according to George gerbener that this might display the cultivation theory. The media cultivates fear in the minds of people. The media seems to make us think right away that this is arson and was caused by someone and not an accident due to the fact that a home 30 minutes away was caught fire shortly after the abandoned home was set on fire. The next news story is about a group of protesters camping out at BNY Melon Park. These protesters are the "occupancy protest" they are protesting against the government, in a peaceful manner. The next section of the news seemed to display the mean world syndrome very well. The idea that violence is just a social norm, and to get these stations rating u or keeping the ratings steady you must give the people what they want, disturbing violent stories. They spoke about a murderer back from the 80's in Chicago. The man was a clown for little children parties, he was found to have kidnapped boys and men, sexually assault them, and then murder them in his own home. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection. The reason they put this on the local news was because they may have finally identified ten of the many murdered bodies that remained unidentified for so long. a story like this seems to have no place on our local news channel, just set in the time slot of the news so the viewers of channel 11 have something to keep their attention, according to the mean world syndrome. To strike more fear in the hearts of people and to keep their attention, a baby was kidnapped at the brining of October and a ten thousand dollar reward has been set for whoever returns the missing child Lisa Erwin. The next story was about 4 mentally disabled adults were found locked and chained in a basement in Philadelphia and severely malnourished. The news can show how terrible the world can be.  The next slot in the news was a lettuce recall from giant eagle, regardless of how trivial this may seem in comparison to the other stories, it is still bad news. It gets you thinking "I better watch the news more often to make sure imp going to be safe when there is a food recall." before the half hour of the news ends they lighten it up a little. They get into politics speaking of Obama and his push for jobs act, congress will begin voting on sections of the bill next week. Then they speak about the Rockefeller ice rink being delayed in its opening due to weather, and how a baby zebra escaped its pen at the zoo. They make the transition of horrible news to somewhat alright news, to put you in a better mood before you click off that station. If you only have fear when you turn on the news you will most likely avoid the station. However having somewhat comical news such as the baby zebra, and happy news, such as walmart layaway is back for the holidays, will keep you entertained on the station. The last news story was about a local man who intentioned a stink bug traps that really works. His name is Julian smith; his invention will hit the market in spring when the stink bugs are starting to come back out. I believe I see the news to have displayed the mean world syndrome, and the cultivation theory very accurately.  The commercials also say something about our media world. The commercial in-between the news segments showed mostly healthcare institutions, and ways to take care of your pain. These commercials are more geared toward adults. When I see this, I think of Noam chomskey. He believes in thought control of the media. The news displays all the things going on in the world, and all the bad news, the commercial display good news, how you can cure your own pain, and have cheap healthcare if you call the number on the screen. The companies pay to put their commercials in the news time slot because they are trying to get the viewers to buy their product, and show them how much it can help you. The media can have more influence over you than you think.

what is the REAL message of disney?

From the very beginning of our lives, the roles that boys and girls are supposed to fit into are pounded into our heads. Without even knowing it, the classic Disney movies we all know and love are guilty of putting us into categories, and if we do not fit those categories, well then we are not good enough. All the princesses of the Disney movies are young and beautiful. They all have flowing hair, makeup, long eyelashes, and are skinny. They are seductive and helpless. Any character that does not have these traits are always ugly, and a witch or the "bad" character. These messages are put into our heads when we are young. When I used to watch these movies when I was younger they seemed perfectly fine. I did not see anything wrong with them, it was just the way movies were, and the way life was. However looking back at them now I see what is wrong with them. Not all the "good" people in life have beautiful skin, hair, and makeup, are perfectly skinny and act like a perfect lady all the time. As a matter of fact, people who seem to be perfect to the eye are very ugly on the inside. They are conceded and selfish. Disney movies don’t show this though. Not only do they do this to females, they also have the same attitude toward men. Men in Disney movies are always muscular, brave, proud, good looking and get all the attractive women. Men are taught to look at women as objects of pleasure in Disney movies. Yes, Disney movies are fun to watch and may be our fondest childhood memories, but if you think about it, you will see the real message of Disney. below are some links for videos on the topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uatrgO5Omfw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWMCt35oFY

The media and women

The way media projects women is a shame. They are not looked at for their strength or smarts; they are simply looked at for their bodies. In the ad above, the women’s breasts are lottery balls; they even cut off her face because that part of her body is not important. This is a very typical example of how women can be looked at as objects, and not as people. A sexual object of amusement is all that this ad displays, and in today’s society no one even thinks twice about it. It is normal, and the worst part of it is women themselves will start viewing their own selves as the same thing. They quickly realize growing up in this day and age that it doesn’t matter to most people how nice you are, or how smart you are, or how hard you work, the size of your breasts matter, and the clothes you wear matters. Women will look at other women and judge them bases off of what a woman is "supposed" to look like. Men are no better, they start seeing beauty and what the media defines it by. Skinny, light skinned, tall, clear skin, straight hair. The natural beauty of the woman will be overlooked because the glam of the television women and the photo shopped magazine women are much more appealing. Regardless of if it is unrealistic, the media has the majority of women wanting to look a certain way, and the men want to be with someone who looks that certain way. all the pressure on women to be "beautiful" is causing mental and physical issues. all the plastic surgeries, all the dieting, all the makeup, all the right clothes, will never be good enough to a woman whose self esteem is lowered day after day after day of being subject to the unreal women on the television. Men will look at women in the wrong light and have no respect for them if they believe what they see on the TV.

Food Porn

I found a video of Rachel Ray in the "Kids Corner" segment of her show. She made a statement in this video that the reason children are picky eaters is because we don’t sophisticate their taste buds enough. So according to her, if we buy expensive ingredients, expensive gadgets, and fallow her wise recipes that our kids won’t be picky eaters and seem somewhat more sophisticated in nature. She declared that we "dumb down our food" She seems to want to make the consumer of the program feel as if he or she is doing something wrong, or neglecting their family and friends if they do not have the same ingredients, or have the same recipes as the lavish ones displayed on the TV. Food porn consists of sensual visual presentation, cooking food and presenting it beautifully is an act of servitude, a way of expressing a gift. Thus the feeling of neglecting your family and friends if you do no present the gift properly. The Food Network blurs the line between advertising and content; there is basically no difference, the show that you are watching is one giant infomercial selling various products. They want their products being sold to intergraded fully into everyday life of the consumer, so instead of wanting a product, it is believed that you need the product in order to have the lavish displays on the TV. Cooking Shows promote an upper middle class lifestyle enhanced by the appropriation of goods. Food Porn is incredibly sneaky and incredibly effective in selling you what they want to see you, most of the time without you even noticing you’re being exposed to Food Porn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qgIb3liUww

BRANDS!

For me personally, anytime I go purse shopping I always check and see if there are any Kathy Van Zeeland purses where I’m shopping. If you step back and think about it, what makes a Kathy Van Zeeland purse any different from any other purse? Yes the style of the purse is a difference, but all purses do the same thing. They all hold what you want to put in it. It is a bag, nothing more. Yet you would almost never see anyone walking through the mall with a plastic bag around her shoulder or in her hand in replace of a purse. It’s all about being fashionable, stylish and having an expensive brand. Most brand name purses sell for an average of 100 dollars. Would anyone purchase a hundred dollar plastic bag? No, however if you put a label like Baby Phat, Kathy Van Zeeland, Guess, Rockawear on it, people would look at it differently. The media plays an important role in this way of thinking pattern. The reason why I got started into liking Kathy Van Zeeland purses was because my friend showed me hers. All the media has to do is get one person started on something and then it will spread like wildfire. The media did not directly get me into this certain brand of purse, the media got my friends directly, and I caught on to it because of them. In other words the media does not have to have everyone watching all their commercials and looking at all their ads, they just need a single person, a trend setter to notice it, then it will catch on to  other people indirectly without them even knowing they were affected by the media. We may know in our heads that it’s just a brand name, and is exactly the same as the cheaper version of the product however we are still drawn toward the more expensive product for the fact of the name. people greatly underestimate the power of brands.

does the media depict you? or who you should be?

I believe the media doesn’t go out in search of what people truly are, discovering how people live their lives, how people solve problems on their own, and the different reactions people have to certain situations. I believe the media rather goes out and decides how the people should behave, how to react when in a certain situation, what music they should listen to, what clothes are considered “cool", and what jokes should be considered funny. The media to me is a trend setter; the media is a leader, not a follower. The media does not depict me and who I am; the media depicts who I should want to be. It is almost impossible to escape all the outside influences, for example the television. If I choose not to watch an episode of the jersey shore, I will still know what happened in that episode due to the rest of my friends watching that episode. Everyone talks about it, the cute little catch phrases will be repeated, all the hilarious moments will be laughed about. Before I know it I will be laughing along even though i did not see it, and then will have the urge to go home and watch it on Hulu. That is how strong the media has a grip on people. Even if you yourself want no part of something, that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is going to have the same opinion. The media shapes our thoughts and perceptions, even if it’s not directly; it can be though our friends under the influence of the media. For example, if someone starts humming a song, you will start tapping your foot without even realizing your doing it. As mentioned before, I do not see any type of media that adequately depicts me; however I do see that it depicts who I should want to be.

the values of todays society

most people can tell you who won the super bowl,  who the newest celebrity couple is ,and what happened on jersey shore last week. however, most Americans will find themselves puzzled when trying to remember  our governors name, what the last speech our president gave was about, or any of the important ongoing social and political issues in our world. what is the cause of this? some would say the media. throughout our days we are fascinated and captivated by the radio, the television, magazine articles, and the internet. Walter Lippmann was an American journalist, he believed that the people are more willing to believe images that they see rather than think and judge critically for themselves. in other words, propaganda works. In a sense Lippmann is correct, its easier to just go along with the flow of what the media wants us to think rather than think for themselves about a debating issue. Another point is that the people simply don’t care about political/social/environmental issues. I am not speaking for everyone but there are massive amounts of people in this world who would rather watch MTV than CNN. they are more concerned with things that are amusing to them, they don’t want to hear discouraging news or worry about global warming. It is a choice of what you want to do with your spare time, what issues you want to be concerned with( ex. missing an episode of teen mom or registering to vote) I believe people need to be brought aware to the fact that the media is changing the values of today’s society.

the media

Media plays a very strong role in everyday life if you ask me. How we act, what we wear, who we associate ourselves with are all influenced by media.for example nobody wants to sit with the nerdy kid in the lunch room because it is not consisdered "cool" they would rather sit with the popular kids who are wearing name brands such as Hollister or Abercrombie and Fitch. Media is also found everywhere, you see ads on the sides of buses, on bilboards, on the television, even the clothes we wear repsresent a brand name. Almost undoubtedly media is one of the largest influences on everyday life. I would probably say I consume media more than I produce it. i find myself watching music videos and the televison consuming what they feed me uncountiously.  Even when just walking around i seem to buy things just for the sake of buying things, Which in a way in itself is me producing media.I walk around with a shopping bag with the name of the store on the bag, i wear brand name jeans that you can see the specific design on the back pockets. So i suppose i both produce and consume the media, if i did not consume it i would not be able to produce it. The media course i am taking this semester at pennstate seems to be interesting, what i hope to get out of this course is being able to recognize how media affects the way people think, and how the people controling the media use it to get people to act, look, and buy things how they want then to.