LAST POST!!!

Yippee!! It's the last week of regular classes and this is the last post to this blog. I can't wait to go back home and in addition can't wait for summer time! I knew this blog was the last one ever so I figured I would just show my excitement for leaving Durango forever!!! I hope I don't offend anyone with saying that but this is definitely not the place for me. So PEACE OUT FORT LEWIS!!!!

Week Post #12

Whew, finally got the project presentation out of the way. I enjoyed presenting my topic to the class but in addition, I also enjoyed some of my classmates presentations as well. One that stuck in my mind was Jake's power point on credit cards. The information and statistics he provided to prove his point opened my eyes widely to the scary futures credit cards may hold for someone. I was newly enlightened with figures that I had never know before. I think Jake did a great job! Also, I must say that I enjoyed the whole presentation on Buffy on Monday. I apologize, I do not remember the name of the young lady who presented it, but I do remember interesting facts about that show that sparked my attention. It's cool to look at specific television shows through someone else's eyes and view their themes and ideas about that show. I am not familiar with Buffy but after her presentation I felt more intelligent about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" than I was before class started. Overall, I look forward to watching more presentations and adding more information to my brain that I didn't already know about certain media topics.

Week Post #11

Hey there everyone, just wanted to update everybody on my progress on my final media literacy project presentation. My subject I chose to research is the effects "The Hollywood Image" of our famous celebrities have on young teenage girls. I am specifically focusing on the facial image of young Hollywood stars and how pictures of such ladies look in comparison to the average women in our normal societies today. The use of publisher's photo shopping, the intense layers of makeup used, and the amount of money spent on hair extensions and "Botox" injection are all themes and characteristics I plan to touch on in my presentation. It is very interesting to see what a young teenage high school girl might think when she sees her famous Hollywood idol and how much unrealistic dedication she might have to look as close to that idol as possible. Exciting, I know, so I surely can't wait to share my finding and new knowledge on this detrimental, and empathetic, subject to myself I might say with you all!

Week Post#10

I ran across this billboard advertisement while doing research for my final presentation project and loved the initial message it is sending. MY project is all about teenage girl's body image so when I saw this picture I immediately connected it to my research. This Dove ad brings confidence to women of any age and body type and I enjoyed how it makes one feel better inside. I think there should be more advertisements just like this one these days to portray the idea that everyone is beautiful in their own personal way, inside and out.

Verizon Icon

Are you in? Well, unfortunately I am. I'm sure many more of you out there also have Verizon Wireless as your cell phone service and I'm also sure that almost 100% of you will agree that Verizon sucks. This icon deconstruction represents how Verizon works, or actually, how it doesn't work. You can see that in "V" and the "Z" there are spaces, or brakes, just like that are in Verizon's service. In addition, the "R" that has slid down off the fonts original plain represents how calls frequently fade in and out. This idea or problem is also shown with the top corner of the "N", expressing loss of connection as well. Lastly, the final layer made for this icon is the red check mark symbol above the letters. Normally, it would be just simply straight, and unharmed, but I felt the need to disturb it's perfection since Verizon Wireless' phones themselves never contain the consistency of lastly a decent amount of time. Wouldn't you agree?

Week Post #9

"Photoshopping?" How do you feel about it? After we learned about how to use it in class this past week, now we can plainly see how easy it is to skew anything and everything in the media today. Next time you see a new advertisement or are introduced to a new "better" product, examine it's true purpose and maybe think or wonder what it's original icon was. Below is a wonderful and interesting article regarding "photoshop" and what it does to our eyes as the unfamiliar audience. It's definitely worth reading! And it might even help each and every one of you with your "photoshop" project.

"FROM NOW ON":

http://fno.org/dec06/photoshopping.html

Week Post #8

Just recently President Obama was forced to propose his opinion about gay couples and theirs rights:

"As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama said he would “fight hard” for the rights of gay couples. As a senator, he sponsored legislation that would have provided health benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees." -NY Times

(To view full story click on link below)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/us/politics/13benefits.html?_r=3&hp

This surprised me when I read this, not because of him supporting it, but because just thinking back even four years ago a subject as controversial as gay’s rights. It surprising how far we have come as a nation and much we have evolved together to accept everyone no matter what preference they have to gender attraction. Stories such as this, and people such as our own President, support intense social issues like the above just gives a deeper hope to our future in being comfortable with every type of person, black, white, gay, or straight. Just another push for our media!!

Independent Film Response: "Life as a Movie"

After screening the comedic independent film “Life as a Movie,” I developed a whole different respect for pro surfers, pro skaters, and pro snowboarders. “Life as a movie” did a wonderful job of exposing its audience to the in depth dedication, drive, heart, and hard work involved in these extreme sport athletes. I’ve thought before about what it takes to make it big and accomplish your dreams like such pro athletes do, but never has it been produced in such a way as this documentary does. The overall plot, breath taking landscaping shots, and inspirational action shots from each one of these athletes did a lot for my emotions. Words can’t even express how moved I was after this film.
To begin, the photographic snapshots of the incredible blue ocean waves or the jaw dropping scenes of the sparkling white snow caps were one of the first aspects of this film that I noticed. The beautiful glowing colors of nature and its landscapes were depicted in the best way they could have been possible. Every time they did just the simple scenery shots I felt this deep urge of want to go to each and every location. The director, Mai Miyama, had a great vision for this film and she brought all possible expressions forward while capturing places such as the island of Kandui in the Mentawaiis, the jungles of Japan, the streets of Osaka, and the powder mountain of Whistler, Canada. Truthfully, after seeing all these places, this movie has inspired me to want to travel when I get older. I’ve honestly never ever really wanted to leave the US, but I could confidentially say that I certainly do now!
In addition to the scenery I saw in “Life as a Movie,” the drive and dedication of the pro athletes, Benji Weatherley, Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater and Jack Johnson, also moved me in a whole other way. It’s hard to imagine the hardships each and every one of these men went through in order to reach their dreams of riding, boarding, and skating all the most insane places of the world. They set aside all other facets of their lives and lived, ate, and breathed their sports. Now that’s what you call commitment. It was very cool to see how much fun they have with what they do. It wasn’t all focus and practice 24/7; they joked around and goofed off as well in order to keep life fun and interesting. I loved that about this film because it just goes to show you that if you’re doing something you love, life just comes naturally exciting. My props go to all the athletes in this film.
Concisely, “Life as a Movie” was produced for an audience of all ages and I would recommend it as well to all ages. If you want to leave the theater feeling motivated, pumped up, energetic, and moved, seeing this independent film is perfect for you. I am a snowboarder myself and it was all I could to hold myself back from going up to the mountain at 11 o’clock that night after the movie. I just couldn’t wait to ride and I know for sure that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

Week Post #7

Although we are all required to view at least one showing of the Durango Film Festival’s Independent Films, I still would like to remind you all to get out this weekend and get your butt’s into the theatres! Our historical downtown Abbey Theatre and Gaslight movie theatres have developed a screening schedule for all ages and interests. The event this weekend is a wonderful past time and entertaining occasion so use all those Media Literacy skills that you have learned and go view some films!

Week Post #6

For all you young women who think it's fun to drink alcohol:
(Maybe this might change your mind next time you want to go out and party.)

Response to "The Merchants of Cool"

What do you think is cool? Well, honestly, from past experience, “cool” is what everyone else is into and likes. You “cool” only if your “in with the crowd” and basically fit in with the popular group. I know, it sounds a lot like those years called high school, but for the most part, they are almost dead on. By definition, cool means of a colder temperature, but the times have changed since that was invented and cool now means, “the want to be like or look up to someone or something that is awesome.” Confusing, maybe, but I think with the youth intelligence in our class, this is already engraved in our minds. Teenagers, especially, live by this definition 24/7 in order to function and make friends. The video “The Merchants of Cool” dramatically depicts these intertwining meanings.

In this film, the merchants are trying to find what is “cool” to the head boy or girl of the popular group in order to try and sell that product or idea to them so their interest with spark other interests as well and create a downward spiral of money profit to this merchant. This plot becomes rather interesting because this idea doesn’t really come out they way these workers hypothesized it to be. The kids, first off, don’t tell them exactly what’s “cool” or what’s “in”, and whenever these workers do figure out what is “cool,” it’s too late and the ship of popularity on that product has sailed. I found this very entertaining and funny because it just seemed like a big rat race and these merchants ended up just running around in circles. The “cool” factor in society is forever rapidly changing, and I can back this fact up personally. For example, I don’t know how many songs I go through on my ipod just because I get sick of them or hear something new that has come along that sounds more appealing. I guess this is just how we kids are, short enjoyment characteristics or something.

I personally liked this film because it used our country’s youth’s likes to shape the future of everyone. They way the producers use this appeal to tell the story made the documentary way more aggressive and appealing to a wider audience. The people or kids that they chose to use for the film couldn’t have been better. I liked the variety of different kinds of kids they used, such as the cool “gangster-ish” boys in the beginning or the girl that would do anything to look good so that she can become a model. In addition to all of this, the commentating provided an easier medium for the audience to comprehend all of the material together. This film could easily be used in a classroom setting for students to appreciate the evolution of “cool” from our societies past, present and future. I would recommend this film to any teacher who might be struggling to Memetics to their students, no doubt.

Response to "The Corporation"

Although this film had depicted a very real and unrelenting side to our television media, it scared me half to death. I began to worry deeply throughout the film about what I should and shouldn’t believe anymore. I no longer have a tight grasp on the fact on whether if a story being presented to me on the television screen is honestly truthful or not. This utterly frightens me because I do not feel as if I can’t even trust anyone to describe real life facts and stories to me anymore. After viewing this documentary, questioning every piece of evidence that backs up each individual story is the first precaution I feel I must take. I, personally, cannot just leisurely watch the news to get my information now; everything has to go through a filter because of the case presented in The Corporation.

To my previous knowledge of corporation, I knew very little of how such businesses worked. I thought that a corporation was just the “top dogs” of every company who does nothing at all but still makes the most money out of every employee even though they do nothing to earn it. However, my assumptions have been proved dead wrong. A corporation is more of the “head of the household” who dictates completely what is said when, how that thing is said, and who it is said by in what tone of voice, etc. For example, like the story we were exposed to in this film, the story about the hormone-using cows and how those chemicals were getting into our milk supply and potential hurting us humans as well as animals that drank it. These facts came up on the table but because the big corporation was paid by that hormone company to keep quiet about these harmful facts, the two broadcasters had to immensely water down the story and were even secretly offered money to keep “hush hush” about the whole thing and burn it entirely. This is ultimately wrong and frightening. What other kinds of stories are out there similar to this that could be negatively effecting our health yet are not being published just so a company can make money? I have no idea and don’t think I even want to know.

These kinds of instances just make you wonder why? Or to what extent so corporations can keep making the big fat paycheck? Our lives? Possibly, I just do not know. This whole film kind of goes towards the whole childhood rule, “Do as a say, not as I do,” where a task is put at hand but there are maneuvers and detours that must be taken in order to fit the rules of the owners, bosses, businesses, etc. Corporations are forcing people, like broadcasters for instance, to come up with stories to sell their pieces to the public which in turn gets put into that “big bosses” pocket, yet they, the broadcasters, are limited to what they are able to publish. I just, for the life of me, cannot wrap my head around this concept. It seriously appalls me to no end and even brings out anger in me to here of problems like this film documents about.

Week Post #5

So you think you're a bad spelling, think again. How embarrassing would it be to design a video game cover and misspell one of the World's most popular rock bands of their time? Well, according to Yahoo! news, the Rolling Stone caught a major spelling error on the new Guitar Hero video game cover of the famous band, Lynyrd Skynyrd. How stupid could you be? I just found this story very funny and entertaining. This just shows you that, although many of us might think it, media isn't perfect!!

Reading Response to Simulacra and Simulation

The article on Simulacra and Simulation was, put lightly, mind boggling. Throughout the whole article I felt as if my mind was disappearing and being mixed up both at the same time. In other words, I was utterly confused and really didn’t know what to think these two subjects. It’s as if they were just concepts on this Earth that were meant to thoroughly baffle any human being who decided to try and understand them. It’s so hard to explain Simulacra and Simulation; I don’t even know where to begin.

Primarily, Simulacra and Simulation go very deeply into the idea of reality and the signs in which are embedded inside that idea. The definition of reality is “the state of things as they actually exist.” This is saying that everything in this World that humans classify as “real” or “true” is seen as reality, as opposed to something that is imaginary. Everything that we can prove with unquestionable evidence to be factual is defined as reality. However, Jean Baudrillard took this concept and stretched it and expanded in order to prove the “realness” of “reality.” He believed that reality was just a simulation of reality expressed through symbols and signs, meaning that there is really no such thing as reality. What? Can this subject get any more confusing? Jean would rather look too hard into one complex subject than just let it be what it is and let it go. In my opinion, he was just a weird, lonely man with a lot of time on his hands and nothing to do but think.

In my frame of mind on this subject, I just think that reality is what us humans think of as everything that is “authentic” and “true” around us. We have to have one word for everything we want to describe because that is just how human beings have found language. If you really wanted to, you could break down every single word in the English dictionary and make up or pretend it is of something from a different realm. I find it as a waste of time and rather preposterous, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Simulacra and Simulation just seems like a bogus subject that was produced to contract realism itself. I honestly do not agree with this whole article, hence the utter confusion and bewilderment.

Although many intellects may think this intense subject is one that should be elaborated on more often in society, I would have to disagree. Some things are just better left on a simple playing field, and Simulacra and Simulation is one of them. My full reaction after reading this article included, as I said before, complete confusion, obsessive focus on the beyond, and a rude awakening to over thinking. I guess I just can’t wrap this idea around my mind but, in a positive way, I see no reason that I should have to. I will, however, give major props to this deep thinking author for his profound thinking on reality in addition to symbols and signs.

Media Consumption Log Assignment

Time of Day /Type of Media /Time Spent /Affect on me

6:00 am TV 1 hour Start to my day

7:00 am Ipod 30 minutes Brings out my mood for the morning

8:00 FLC posters About a minute Just advertisements for the school
Biology textbook 1.5 hours Boring but important for my education

9:00 am Cell phone 5 minutes Text to catch up on gossip during class break
FLC posters About a minute Just walking to class, doesn’t really affect me

10:00 am Women’s Literature textbook 1.25 hours Makes me think about authors, also my writing goals
Cell phone 5 minutes Call friends to meet up for lunch

11:00 am Food label 30 minutes Advertising for brand, makes me hungry
Drink label 30 minutes Quenches my thirst

12:00 pm Internet 1 hour Aides my homework, exposes me to the real world
Cell phone 1 minute Texting is a necessity to me
Drink label 15 minutes Advertising for Starbucks, my weakness
Ipod 10 minutes A pass time in my car

1:00 pm Novel 30 minutes Just mandatory reading for class

2:00 pm American Literature Textbook 1.25 hours Bores me but opens my eyes to our nation’s history

3:00 pm Movie 20 minutes Watched in class, not too important
Cell phone 1 minute Just checking in between classes
FLC posters 1 minutes Again, just passing by

4:00 pm Internet 1 hour You Tube videos for class, conjures up questions
Drink label 1 minute Green Tea label
Cell Phone 1 minute Text a friend
Ipod 5 minutes Riding in the car, readies me for workout
Clothing brand 2 minutes Nike shoes, brings back soccer memories

5:00 pm Novel 1 hour Read during workout, class work
Ipod 1 hour Listen to music while working out, motivates me
Television 1 hour Watch every so often during workout, distraction

6:00 pm Cell phone 5 minutes Check messages
Ipod 20 minutes Listen driving home, passes the time

7:00 pm Television 2 hours Used to wind me down, an escape from reality

8:00 pm Text books 3 hours Homework for the night, bores me

9:00 pm Cell Phone 15 minutes Talk to dad, catch up

10:00 pm Television 3 hours Background noise to homework and getting ready for bed

*Times are an estimate and more than one type of medium were used at the same time; in other words overlapping was constant.*
*Hours of the day are also not exact but are as close as they could have been.*

This media consumption log was a very, very eye opening experience for me, personally. After writing everything down on paper and looking over all the types of media, how much was consumed, and the total amount of time media exposure occurs to me on a usual day, I was appalled. I’m sure this is rather normal for a college student similar to myself, but still, I can’t believe how affective media is on our world’s daily lives. Television seem to be my main source of media exposure, but that can be explained by my off-campus living life and seclusion from other student’s due to my distance gap from town. It’s not like all I do is watch TV, but whenever I’m home, doing homework, cleaning, etc. my television is on just simple for the company of a familiar noise. Nothing too terrible, but I was again, very surprised by the results.
Looking back on my chart of my personal media consumption, it’s weird to think that these mediums are, for the most part, the only subjects in which I receive and analyze my culture. Using any of these mediums is not the best way to locate and learn about my community and the world news around me. In saying this, you can conclude that I do not get enough of my cultural knowledge at all. I’m not complaining when I say this but if you were to assume I am a “typical” college student, what does that say to the cultural intelligence of every college student across the US? Not a whole lot, that’s for sure. This just goes to show you that our generation has other priorities in our lives and get what we call “news” from other, younger sources. You could also say that we particularly don’t care about our culture today and would rather steal tracks off of lime wire on the internet. I’m sorry, that’s harsh, but it’s so true.
On another hand, I did enjoy doing this assignment immensely. I found myself looking harder into the consumption of daily media and over analyzing every aspect of it. This, normally, was never the case before this log. Before this I would have never looked this hard into what I watch, listen, or see and how much, when, and where I utilize it all. In addition to that with the same frame of mind, it was kind of funny to do this project because instead of just absorbing the media itself, I started focusing on the type of media I was influenced by and the source it came from. Never would I have guessed at how deep one can truly look into the foundation of their daily knowledge and intelligence. I can honestly say that this media consumption log journal has changed my perspective on media today!

Week Post #4

Is your loved one on your mind this Valentine's Day? Show your affection to this special person by treating them to an educational, entertaining, and overall interesting presentation of The Vagina Monologues showing at The Fort this weekend. Guys, treat your girl to a one-of-a-kind show about the her own gender, and girls, convince your man to come see these monologues to possible better understand you as a female! I, personally, have not seen this show myself but have heard that is is definitely worth your time! For more information, just check out the Fort Lewis Website, as well as show times and ticket sales. Cupid is watching!!

Week Post #3

"Of course, Mr. Ledger died more than a year ago, so one may be inclined to ask where the photo came from.
The answer: 2005. The shot of Ledger was apparently taken while he was promoting "Brokeback Mountain." Editors digitally added Mr. Nolan and voilá. Some might say the digital redux is in questionable taste, but magazine reps insist they took great care and worked "with permission." We're a little fuzzy as to who, exactly, gave the OK. A Ouija board, perhaps?"

-Excerpt from Yahoo! Buzz Log by Vanity Fair's Digital Reduxby Mike Krumboltz

I came across this story while checking my email the other day and though it was very appropriate for this week's post. I was just thinking how protective some people are about their media. Something as simple as an old picture that has already been published, such as Heath Ledger's, becomes such a controversy. Do you think it;s really that big of a deal? I certainly don't. I personally think they went too far with this media medium but who am I to judge!

Week Post # 2

As this weekend comes closer, so does the well known Snowdown celebration of Durango. Be sure to be part of the fun! Whether you plan to be just a spectator or are interested in entering in some of the events, don't miss out on our community get together. There are plenty of posters posted all throughout the town, along with advertisements on the radio and web, so there is no excuse not to participate! Hope to see you all this weekend.

Week Post #1

Although I know everyone on the face of the Earth knows that we have a new President, I'm going to announce it anyways. President Barrack Obama was sworn into office on Tuesday, January 20th, in front of all of America, and the World as well. Numerous amounts of television stations broadcasted this important event on their stations. This enabled the public audience to have several different media point of views to watch from.

Ad Deconstruction Assignment

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k309/thepopculturejunkie/091006/beckham-lg-milk.jpg

This "Got Milk?" David Beckham Ad has been known to be printed in many well known magazines as well as even popular billboards around the world. There for, this image can be any size and appear to the public eye at any time of the day. It seems to me that the target audience of this particular advertisement should be towards anyone and every one of all ages since, it is indeed, for milk. However, this can very well be argued because, after all, this ad contains a shirtless David Beckham. I think that due to this fact, the target audience is then shifted over towards more of the female fan based audience of David himself. What woman isn’t going to take a second look at this half naked picture of the amazing Mr. Beckham? Exactly. So, in other words, just because this ad is supposed to be for milk, doesn't mean that's what our audience is directly focused on and it isn't where our main attention is on. Milk is the product being presented in this piece, but not necessarily the primary intention of the viewer.
Now, looking at the primary informational message in this ad, it is very clear that the advertiser/company of this print is trying to sell milk. It actually isn't very obvious to see what product is trying to be exposed to the public because the only evidence of milk is the simple "milk mustache" upon David Beckham's upper lip. However, throughout many years of production of these "Got Milk?" ads, it is assumed that most of our world's population knows by now that the milk mustache on a celebrity is directly correlated with milk ads. This individual ad is using David Beckham's beautiful looks, toned physic, and known athleticism to show what or who you could become if you drink just simply three glasses of low fat milk a day, as stated on the ad itself. All "Got Milk?" ads use a variety of different celebrities to show both young and old how beneficial milk is in your diet.
Using a different type of vision to deconstruct this advertisement can break it down into even more underlining pieces. For example, several secondary messages are used in this milk ad to form a more emotional level and association with the product and the consumer. The most openly apparent secondary message on this print would be the usage of David Beckham himself. First, and foremost, he is an attractive public icon and with his celebrity, almost anything can be sold to an audience just by using his name. Putting Beckham shirtless on the front of this ad opens a lot of doors of "seduction" to the viewer. Heck, it's David Beckham for crying out loud! Do I really need to elaborate anymore than that? Basically just understand that the advertiser, or milk company, wants the public to know that if you drink more of their product, you will become a healthier person all around and will lead a more successful, skinnier life, if you will.
In extracting more of the structure and language of this piece of advertisement, I couldn't help but notice the different techniques that were used in the production of this print. One of the first things that jumped out at me, obviously, was the usage of a shirtless David Beckham. As I said before, just using him and his almost perfect body catches enough eyes to begin with, so enough said about that. Secondly though, I noticed how relatively simple this whole ad was. If you look at it, all it is is just David with a milk mustache and a soccer ball posing on what seems to be some kind of a stool. Natural, relaxed manner was all that was needed from our male model to get the point and product across. If you notice, the background is just a plain gray surface with no design or any sort of distraction from the main focal point. This tells the viewer to focus only on the model and nothing more. Words were also used to present the product deeper, just in case the milk mustache wasn't enough evidence. They explain how drinking milk can build muscle and add a significant amount more of protein to a teen’s diet. As long with telling the audience to eat healthy, stay active, and "get into the game." All of these techniques were used to produce a better advertisement, as seen here.
On a more personal level, this ad appealed to me in several different ways, both, I'm sure, that were intended and unintended. For the most part, just seeing David Beckham without a shirt on did the deed for me. I am an avid Beckham fan, have always been, and so that is the main reason why I choose this ad to work with. It doesn't hurt to look at him every so often and how much does it suck to have to analyze him further than usual? Darn, life just sucks now doesn't it? Anyways, along with the image of this celebrity, I also found the facts about milk used in writing very interesting to myself. A fun fact every so often in life can be useful and I could definitely say that I did not know that studies show that milk in a teen’s diet has proved to make them thinner. Bringing that out in the open positively worked for me on an advertisement level. Along with everything else, the simplicity of the piece appealed to me, a casual magazine reader. I don't think that an excessive amount of words, colors, lighting, material, people, etc. is needed to get a point across. A picture is worth a thousand words so let that image speak for itself. Layers of explanation are unnecessary in my mind. So, conclusively, this "Got Milk?" ad did do justice and did accomplish all if it's advertiser's intentions to me.