Praise The Onion!

In the world of satirical fake news and citizen journalism, individuals without professional journalism training can utilize modern technology or the internet to produce an opinion or fact-check media. Fake news also known as mock news, is similar to parody displayed in a format that is usually of mainstream journalism. News satires depend on irony and deadpan humour. It is sometimes mistaken for real news, which is exactly why it exists. It allows for the truth or a bias to be understood by an average person through entertainment. Citizen journalism and fake news show bias where as regular news show facts. For example, blogs allow people to interact with the world just like journalists in order to inform, except they are purely opinions and not facts. Fact-checking news in a newspaper article and pointing out factual errors or bias is another advantage. Therefore, both citizen journalism and fake news, in a way, go hand in hand. Personally, I tend to be bias towards news satires. As a media literate, I find myself analyzing brand names, advertising, social issues, and how technology has an impact on people. I found a video on The Onion, which is basically a fake news channel. The channel puts together various actors and actresses in order to display fake news stories which mocks at real life issues. The viewer can then understand the bias or maybe some of the truth and schemes behind corporate companies that make people buy their products. The Onion also pokes fun at social issues and exaggerates them in order to send out a message. Clearly, I am bias towards the fake news. As I am sitting here writing in my blog, a citizen journalist, I think fake news is a good way to have a good laugh and learn something at the same time. For example, check out this Onion video.

Apple MacBook Wheel  (click)

This is a mock of the Apple brand. Every year the company tries something new in order to make more money. They will think of many ways to make life simpler for consumers. What they mock at is how the new "revolutionary" MacBook Wheel will accomplish daily tasks by typing just a few dozen spins and clicks of a wheel. Who would want to do that? I know i wouldn't.The man being interviewed says, " I never realized how much i hated using a keyboard until i saw this thing." What the Onion also emphasizes is how the man spent 45 minutes just to send an email to someone. This laptop provides sentence options so people don't have to think as much while completing work on word (the Onion tries to emphasize how it will only make people dumber). Its a great piece of technology everyone has on their wish list, but in the end, according to Onion, its a piece of useless money wasting product. It just makes life harder and the person dumber. It breaks down the Apple ads in order to expose the underlaying consequences. There is great irony and sarcasm in this news story. Funny huh? 

Next time you can watch out while buying Apple laptops. I recently has a bad experience with the MacBook as well. I bought the MacBook Pro this summer for school as it was recommended. I was really excited to have an amazing new laptop that has advanced features. As I've used Windows all my life, i thought i would simply download MSN and start video chatting. What i didn't know was that using MSN on a Mac didn't allow me to video chat with my friends. I mean, it costs more than my HP right? I thought there would be more options. Not only that, i wasn't able to send offline messages to any of my friends and neither could I receive any from them. In the end i had to resort to other options. Watching this commercial got a good laugh out of me because I could totally relate to their bias. My example is just a minor example of why these satires are important. They are like assassins, killing evil (in their own media literate-ish way). Sometimes people need other opinions to finalize their own. Watching fake news is a great way to influence opinions, which will almost always be cruelly correct.

 Works Cited

Various, "Citizen Journalism". Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia. 10th October 2009. Web.  

Various, "News Satire". Wikipedia -The Free Encyclopedia. 10th October 2009. Web.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_satire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA&feature=related

Theory/Praxis- Importance of Media Literacy

Media literacy is a big part of my life. It is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce media in a variety of forms. Before I became media literate sometime last year, I was just like the ordinary girl walking down the street. I was an example of a media product. I carried and advertised brand names and accessories everywhere. As much as i hate to admit it, even my attitude changed every 6 to 7 months according to how i felt about things. I've been through that Abercrombie and Fitch phase. I've been through that "Gena" phase when i wore head bands and TNA sweaters. Funny thing is, I was never a loser like I think I was now. I was the girl that could "fit in". I was the girl that could move with the time, move with the crowd so i was never criticized. I know the person reading this blog right now has been through certain phases as well. If you haven't realized the phases as yet, then here is your chance. I call them phases because it is something that wont last long. When your subjected to something that will not last very long, it shouldn't be very significant either. Therefore, if it isn't a true trait or a habit of a person, its a phase.

When I realized that it is important to analyze the media, no matter how much it may benefit us, I realized a whole lot of other things. Before, I never stopped for a second to think where I was going, and what was leading me. "I will always be my own person", or at least thats what I thought. I started to think about things I've never noticed about myself like the way I talk, the way I approach people. It was as if i was approaching people exactly the way my best friend was, or her friend, or even her friend's friend. I started to think about McLuhan's words, technology and the world around me. I learned the true meaning of being media literate. I learned that, "Media literacy is a new expanded view of traditional literacy which acknowledges and includes the role and impact of mass media. It is an essential basic skill for our future as individuals and as members of a democratic society".(Aspen Leadership Conference on Media Literacy,1992). I suggest we all need to know media literacy, especially those, just like myself who aim to pursue a career in media which will lead to creating many other forms of media. It is important to know how the minds of our society think and understand that ,"Today's technologies represent a startling fusion of sight and sound that frequently make it difficult for us to discern illusion from reality, fact from fiction."(Introduction to Media Literacy,1995). This quote describes how I was so caught up in my made up world of "coolness" and many of us still are in the illusion that the technologies create. In my opinion, what the technology and media produces becomes an ideology we follow and they eventually become principles we live off if we aren't aware of our surroundings. 

Works Cited

Considine, David. "An Introduction to Media Literacy: The What, Why and How To's".  Mastering the Media at Appalachain State University. 10th October 2009. Web.

Center for Media Literacy. "Research and Theory (Media Literacy)". CML: Empowerment Through Education. Web. http://www.medialit.org/focus/rsch_home.html

Sex Sells - D&G!, PETA?

I am not a feminist. Neither am I one to judge easily. However, the violence of any kind doesn't manage to pass me by. As I intend to pursue a career in the media industry (perhaps advertising?), it's painful to see the kinds of actions being made to sell a brand name product. What surprises me the most is that not only brand name organizations but also charity causes like PETA have now become a part of the "sex sells" clan. The reason why I mentioned feminism earlier is because most of the violence occurring in the advertising world is targeted towards women in sexual ways. Women are hugely targeted to influence in different ways due to the way advertisers portray their message. Now a days, it is possible to look at a photograph and guess the underlaying meaning behind the visual. However, the advertisers have the right to answer to questions and change the way people think about the photograph. This is what the people need to think about- their misconceptions of high-end advertising. To explain, I picked out 4 different pictures from 2 different companies to show the underlaying meaning of these ads. I'll explain each of these pictures and how woman have become a sex project in them. They also look flawless, thin and vulnerable no matter what product the advertisement is produced for.

1) Dolce and Gabbana- A high-end fashion line that makes millions of dollars off of their products. What do we see? A bunch of sweaty hunks posing confidently and a sexy girl posing provocatively on the ground. How creative? Don't think so.This is an ad of shoes by the way, not gang rape. This ad indicates that men are on a more superior level than the woman in the picture. There are 4 of them, and one of her. She is pinned down to the floor as all the men angrily stare her down. It is very degrading for the female in this photograph.The shoes are the selling product, but we barely notice them. If one doesn't think this photograph spells violence towards women, there is something wrong with his or her mentality. Literally. This ad was band from France as a result of the government stating, "This is not what we want our nation to follow."(The Girl Revolution).

2) Dolce and Gabbana- I had a weird time analyzing this ad because for one, the violence is obvious, but the violence toward the female is not obvious at all. There is more than one meaning to this ad. You see a bunch of attractive men wearing Dolce Gabbana clothing involved in gang violence. It emphasizes the "power" of their product. However, there is a lady, literally butt naked, sexually embraced to what looks like the leader of the stronger pack. He is the man who committed the murder. The woman is the price, but is made to look vulnerable because while they are all covered in expensive Dolce Gabanna wear, she is wearing nothing but a pair of boots (degrading to the woman in the picture). Also, what the ad wants us to see is the perfect flawlessness of her body. The man has got everything he has ever wanted through his power. He has the naked woman. In the end, sexuality prevails.

3) PETA - PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Their main goal is to end fur and leather use, meat and dairy consumption, fishing, hunting trapping, etc. I saw this ad and was confused at first. The first word that came out of my mouth while thinking about this ad was, "What?". I questioned,"are you serious?" as i starred at it some more. The photograph is taken from a high angle to make the woman look vulnerable and helpless as her beautiful locks contrast the red chilly peppers in the back. She is completely naked starring up at the audience, which happens to be me at this point. Her desperate look can trap anyone. "She looks like she has anorexia nervousa! :-( This isn't a good image for the promotion of vegan life." sent in anonymously as a comment. While promoting PETA, this ad also promotes beautiful physic and sexuality.

4) PETA-  Again, There is a woman with red chilli peppers surrounding her. She is viewed on a high angle so she seems vulnerable. The picture is demeaning. Naked, her body shape is skinnier than the usual female frame. This is for an animal cause, why is there a girl stripped naked on the ground surrounded with chilli peppers, that cover her private parts? The whole point to this is going vegetarian isn't it? Why cant they have happy, healthy people sitting at a table posing with delicious looking vegetarian food? It is because PETA now has a style. The style indirectly indicates that sex sells. Most of the people that pose for it are celebrities. Depicts reality right in front of us to see. Sexuality and a stick thin body is what everyone needs right? I think its degrading and doesn't get the point across clearly. There is no sign of animals, or the act of preventing the harm and killing of animals anywhere. The advantage for this cause is that they have higher chances of bringing contributors and volunteers to their program.

Selling is a business and many techniques make the businesses successful. Sexuality just happens to be one of them. It is important to be media literate so we are aware of how it can influence us. We need to make sure that media does not illustrate reality for us.

Works Cited

Tracee, "Sex & Violence in Advertising". The Girl Revolution. 5th October 2009. Web.

Unknown (Various), "Ad Sneeze". Ads by Google. 7th October 2009. Web.

Mass Media

According to the most common definition, mass media is a system designed to reach a large number of people. These include prints such as newspapers and magazines. However, types of mass media such as books and manuscripts have been around for centuries. I think the specific form of media that has transformed societies into what McLuhan calls the "global village" is the public media. Public media is the total of public mass distributors of news and entertainment across media such as newspapers, television, radio and broadcasting. Mass Media includes internet media such as blogs, message boards, podcasts and video sharing. The communications audience has been viewed by some commentators as forming a mass society. This means any society that possess a mass culture and large scaled impersonal institutions.

My opinion on the mass media is similar to McLuhan's point of view. He once quoted, "There are no passengers on spaceship earth, we are all crew."(McLuhan) As i sat there fascinated by this quote, I thought to myself that we all work together as a team to influence ourselves. We created the mass media, and in turn, the media has influenced us. As we are constantly swayed, we are doomed as passengers . Passengers symbolize individuality, where as crew workers exist only for the spaceship and not themselves. Crew workers also look and dress the same. The medium has taken control of our lives to the extent where it is almost like we have lost out distinctiveness as passengers. This is because when one tries to emulate his or her role models (which are presented through the mass media) of the glamour industry, is that person thoughtful to distinguish between right and wrong? Can that person differentiate between who he or she is and who he or she wants to be? In the end we all become the same. We balance the effects back and forth from one person to another. For example, on Facebook, individuals describe themselves only the way they want to be perceived and not  who they usually are. Are they doing this  for themselves or for the world around them to see? The whole reason is, they want to become good citizens of the global village. This may be because we subconsciously need to please each other. In other words, work for each other. Are we shaped based on how our friends are shaped? Maybe so. Or are we shaped based on the way media moulds us? That is another possibility. Since most of us want to feel, look and act the same (which we do), we are not passengers but the crew of "spaceship earth". Personally, I agree that mass media has shaped us into crew members.

Works Cited

McLuhan, Marshall. "Marshall McLuhan Quotes". Brainy Quotes. 2nd October 2009. Web.

Coleman, Brenna. "Media Literacy". suite101.com - The genuine article. Literally. 5th October 2009. Web.

Media Ecology- Television Vs. Postman

I have been questioning myself about the media's impact on society for a bit now. When I think about the technology that has effected us innocent human being's the most, I came to the conclusion of television. Long before the television, the most direct visual media were paintings. Everyone perceived the paintings a different way. Imaginations were soaring when assuming the purpose and meaning of a painting. The "Assumptions concerned: Beauty, Truth, Genius, Civilization, Form, Status, Taste, etc."(Berger,11) The television on the other hand, limited our imagination. It shows us exactly what the evil mind gamers (companies, producers, advertisers etc.) want us to see. I think I went a little too far by saying evil mind gamers though, as it is a helpful source of information. Anyways, back to the argument, in time, television has made most of the population in North America visual learners. It has proved that "it is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it."(Berger,7)

I thought about how the television can be explained in different ways. The television can enhance yet has change us from normal to abnormal. I will explain what I mean.

 Television's role is to enhance the source of entertainment and allow access of information across to a large public at one time. For example, news stories and weather. Now with sound and visuals, people are happier than ever. The news educates us about important decision's being made around the world . The weather is always updated to inform us of how the atmosphere will appear in advance so we are able to make plans if wishing to go out. The reality show's and music video's keep us entertained and the advertisers keep us buying and owning newer, more advanced and latest products. Hence, the television enhances the effect of how people can be plugged into one channel at once. We think television is an enhancement because it makes information available to a number of individuals at one time at various timings. I wont lie, I think the television is an extremely convenient piece of technology, but being the Postman fan that I am, I will argue against the medium. Television shows content that will eventually teach reality to its audience. It is basically a story teller. From cartoons and soaps to advertisements and films, people gather together to tell stories to reveal messages whether they are moral or immoral, real or unreal. No matter what it is, it becomes the new truth. As Postman says about television, ‘Has the power to fly far beyond (its original) context into new and unexpected ones…It imposes itself on our consciousness and social institutions in myriad forms. It sometimes has the power to become implicated in our concepts of piety, or goodness, or beauty. And it is always implicated in the ways we define and regulate our ideas about truth.’ (Postman,1985). For example, the new soaps like "90210" or "Gossip Girl" indicate that being stick thin is the new beauty. Reality shows like the "Real World" or "Big Brother" emphasize that everyone has one distinct trait that sets them apart from everyone else. A person can only have one kind of effect on people, the "good girl" effect, the "bitch" effect, the "bad boy" effect, the "Emo" effect, etc. Dialogue, camera angles and sets are all used to bring these fake characteristics to life on screen for the everyday average viewer. As the main stream television shows change, so do the people watching.

Works Cited

Goldstein, Jonathan. "Neil Postman's Criticisms of the Television Medium". Aber. 2nd October 2009. Web.

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 1972.

Academic Blogging- The Start!

It is so amazing how all of us North Americans become a part of the media, no matter what we do. A lot us are involved as informers, and most of us are the ones being informed. Most of my life, I've devoted my time informing others through Facebook, MSN, charity events, music events, songs, print media and advertising. It is the first time I will allow the whole world to access my thoughts through an internet homepage. I think blogging is one of the best ways to voice opinions.It's all about sharing ideas for me. I now belong to a group of more that 22 million blogger's on the global map. I have officially expanded my public sphere as I will share facts and talk to you a little more about my bias.This means it is the first time, I truly don't know who my reader's will be. Other than my peer's in my Mass Communications class, there are millions of individuals who log on to the internet in search of blogs to read. With this in thought, I question myself as to exactly how I will convey my complicated yet meaningful thoughts. The answer to my question is to simply question! A topic isn't complete without contradiction's and questioning thoughts. I have planned to discuss all of my topic's through questioning myself and making sense of things, not just to myself but others who will read my blog. Therefore, i now play the public figure of an informer, thinker and blogger. :-)

I have made my page very media oriented. At the top right, there is an option to search any other present blog. At the bottom right, you can access the top video's of YouTube. At the bottom there is an option of following my blogs. It's all about sharing! :-)

Works Cited

De Argaez, Enrique. "World Internet Usage Statistics - Internet Market Research" Internet Stats Today. 29th September 2009. Web.