A. The planning of the video, the ideas and the script were all discussed as a group effort. My personal job in the group was to bring the props for the video ( Champlain College seal, pictures of the Catamount, Baron, and Beaver) and act in the video as the naive college freshman in need of Champlain!
B. Somewhere between at B+ and A-. I felt I contributed well to the group and always shared my opinions and ideas with them during group meetings. I came prepared to the meetings with my assigned materials so we could productive as a team. I also actively participated in the shooting of the video and got to have my first acting debut.
C. I found the hardest aspect of the video to be finding a time when all four of us could meet for a long enough period to get done what we needed to. We made it work, but it took a lot of communication. We also had some difficulty starting the filming of the video. We all knew what we wanted it to be like in our heads, but it was difficult at first to find the right way to start going about it. But once we got started, it flowed well and we all just had fun playing around with different scenes.
D. Other than finishing, the most rewarding part of the video for me was watching some of the editing. I'm not savvy in anyway with video cameras or editing on the computer. So when we all met in the Mac lab and Dylan worked with the editing software, it was very cool to see what he was capable of doing with the footage. I have a greater appreciation for the creative process that is used to edit videos.
Cosmopolitan February 1965( Photo from collectorsquest.com)
SUNDAY:I am a creature of habit. I have a very strict Sunday routine that I rarely ever stray from . Every Sunday around five, I go to the pharmacy and buy three or four magazines (either tabloid trash or fashion) and a new nail polish. I spend majority of Sunday night giving myself a mani/pedi and reading all the magazines back to back. I use this time as a starting point of my week. I find myself both relaxed and excited at the same time when I read magazines on Sunday. Cosmopolitan is one of my favorite magazines and definitely the one I purchase most regularly. After a rough beginning, Cosmo received a makeover in 1965 from Helen Gurley Brown, a top advertising copywriter. She "molded the magazine around strong, sexually liberated women" ( Culture and Media, 283). This continues to be the strong basis of the magazine. I honestly think Cosmo gets an unfair reputation and is harshly judge by non-readers because of the "sexy" titles printed on the cover. As a result, people tend to shun away from it and even view it as slightly pornographic. But there is something much bigger behind Cosmo that many people don't see. Cosmo simply covers all topics other magazines are too afraid to talk about. Besides being limbically stimulating with pictures and color, Cosmo is extremely relatable, and plays strongly on the persuasive tool of strength. Cosmo has become a part of my Sunday routine because I love how it promotes female empowerment and encourages women to embrace their sexuality. I use the wise words of Cosmo on Sunday to start my week feeling empowered and free to be whatever kind of women I want to be. My relationship with Cosmo is important to me and influential, I trust Cosmo, and look to it for advice and information.
" I get by with a little help from my friend Cosmo."
Photo By Sarah Pedersen
Photo From annasheffield.com
Growing up in the age of technology has had a great effect on the way I interact with different media sources. As a result of this, one media source I don't spend a lot of time with is newspapers. My dad worked for The New York Times for years, and always stressed the importance of reading it- but I never had an interest. However, on Sundays my dad will leave me the style section of the paper, and I'll browse through it. I'll read one or two articles, look at the pictures, and my dad will feel better about himself ( everybody wins). The content is interesting, and I do enjoy it, but I still
feel like there are better, more convenient ways to get the same information. " The United States continues to experience declines in newspaper readership and advertising dollars- while other nations where Internet news is still emerging are experiencing increases" (Media and Culture, 270). This represents the age of the Internet, and I'm an example of that. I would rather use the Internet for news information I'm interested in than read through a huge, messy newspaper to find what I'm looking for.
MONDAY: As Monday morning comes and the real world kicks in again, I begin the routine of carrying my laptop with me basically where ever I go- AKA- constant access to the Internet. Having this has changed my relationship with the Internet greatly. In the past I used the Internet for simple research and social connections such as Facebook. But as I began to use it more often I found multiple Internet sources that I use now everyday. One Internet sight I use daily is Hulu. Hulu is a multi-media platform that combines television and the Internet. " The hallmark of Web 2.0 is media convergence the technological merging of content in different mass media (Media and Culture,51). Hulu is a prime example of Web 2.0's convergence. My favorite things about Hulu is that it allows you to watch full episodes and clips of your favorite shows. Hulu often condenses TV episodes into clips, allowing me to keep up with shows when I don't have time to watch the entire thing. This site both enhanced my relationship with the Internet and changed the way I watch TV.
Alec Baldwin speaks on Hulu's convergence of Internet and TV ( comically of coarse) in a Hulu commercial:
I never knew about this site before coming to school, and it has made me more connected and knowledgeable about the many things the Internet has to offer as it continues to become a larger multi-media platform.
Every Monday night, I turn on CW11 and watch Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl is the only show on TV that I watch religiously. The funny thing about my relationship with Gossip Girl is that I watch it every week, but wouldn't say I love the show. Gossip Girl is basically about rich kids from New York and all the drama in their lives. The shows plays strongly on beautiful people and makes viewers wish they could live like the characters. I have a lot of problems with the show, but still watch it because it's something my mom and I have always done together. Since season one, we've watched the show each week together. When I'm at school, she calls me after each new episode and we talk about it. Television is "one mass medium that delivers content millions share simultaneously"(Media and Culture,145). The key word there is share. Television has a role in my life as something my mom and I can share at the same time despite being miles away. Although it's only one show we watch, it's our show. Since it's move into homes across America, TV has been known for being a media source that connects people when they sit down and watch it together. This is something other media sources cannot do. I value TV for this reason and watch Gossip Girl every Sunday because of it.
For a little taste of Gossip Girl.....
One aspect of TV that has always scared me is the news. I try to avoid watching TV at night for this reason. There is nothing worse to me than being home alone enjoying your favorite show when the 11 o'clock news comes on about the " killer in your area on the loose." News channels will flash a scary title like that then say "stay tuned for all the details." This not only scares me, but makes me feel like news channels today will exaggerate stories to make people watch their channel. " Since the 1960's, broadcast journalism has consistently topped print news in national research polls that ask which news medium is most trustworthy"(Media and Culture, 154). I do not feel like the news is a trustworthy source of media because they are more focused on gaining viewers today the simply giving the facts. They find a way to twist the stories to make it more appealing to us. I however am not appealed by the way the news uses fearto gain viewers. I don't watch the news for this reason, and there are so many other sources available to get the same information and I would rather just use them.
This video spoof plays on the large amount of violence in the news today
Part of the Internet that plays a large roll in my life daily is called.........
photo from blog.turnthescrew.com
I use "Crackbook" instead of Facebook because it better describes my love/ hate relationship with the social network. The amount of time I spend on Crackbook daily is mind-blowing. As I stated earlier, during the week I have my laptop with me constantly. Know matter what I'm working on, I will always have Crackbook minimized below it. Every couple of minutes I'll open it up and see what's new in the social network world. The love aspect of my relationship with Crackbook is that I find it comfortable. Looking through pictures of friends my limbic brain takes over and I drift away. It's so effortless. Although the effortlessness is nice, it tends to create many problems. When I "drift away" into Crackbook land, time seems to move rapidly. I'll suddenly realize it's midnight and I haven't started my homework. A very scary aspect of Facebook is also who can view your page. As a Facebook addict, my page is very representative of me. My personal info, status updates, pictures and messages give out immense amounts of information about me- and my Facebook friends are not the only people viewing this. " The US Patriot Act was re-newed in 2006, and grants sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies to intercept individuals' online communications, including e-mail messages and browsing records ( Media and Culture, 60). Clearly Facebook is never really private, and that's frightening to people like me who use it so often- makes me wonder if were beginning to share too much of our lives through Crackbook.
As I move through a typical day at school, naturally books are involved in some way. I use books to find answers to questions, definitions, and complete assigned readings for classes. I find books to be one of the few exceptions to the " convenient" media sources we rely on today. Even though browsing through my textbook is slightly harder than using Google to find the answer to a question, there is something wholesome and comforting about using books to find an answer. Because the Internet is so easily manipulated, books serve as a reliable source of information. " The Chinese began making book-like objects from strips of wood and bamboo around 1000 B.C.E"( Media and Culture, 316). The history of books makes me view them as the "wise old grandmother" of media platforms. Although it's not the easiest way, I trust the information of books much more than the Internet, which is why I take the time each day to find what I need from them instead of using the Internet for everything.
After all my classes are done each day I like to go for a run. This is the time I use to unwind and let my mind not think about school for 30 minutes. But even during this time I'm still connected to media sources. I run with my ipod, and inside the school gym I'm connected to the Internet. My ipod is a great example of media convergence. While working out, I can check my email, Facebook, YouTube, and the weather. Digital communication is to thank for this and is responsible for" making media convergence possible by enabling all media content to be created in the same basic way"( Media and Culture, 51). Convergence has allowed me to do so many different things at one time with one device. This also plays a large roll in my life. Multitasking is a necessity in my life, and I do all day long with the help of these devices. Even though working out is my time to relax, I still feel the need to be connected to media and technology.photo from obessable.com
photo by Sarah Pedersen
I realize how surrounded I am by media each night as I fall asleep. My television on mute serves as a night light for our room. I fall asleep each night listening to my ipod, my laptop charging on my bed, and my phone in arms reach. My media sources shape my world day to day. The personal shift in our media culture today has caused me to feel a need to participate with media sources constantly. Between Facebook, texting, blogging, and Internet, so much of my day is based on constant connection. " Culture links individuals to their society, providing both shared and contested values, and the mass media help circulate those values"(Media and Culture,6). The media we surround ourselves with each day speaks a lot about who we are as a person. My experiences with media sources daily shape the way I live my life in a large way.
I had the pleasure of catching up on the most recent season of Gossip Girl today. I'm usually a religious follower of the show- but after discovering Hulu, I have a hard time watching the show when it's actually on TV, so I have missed the first six episodes of season four. Hulu allows me to watch the full episodes online, any time I want, plus the ability to pause in the middle. I tend to be very sceptical of all the technological convergence happening, and I miss the simple days of VCRs, but even I literally think Hulu is the best invention EVER. As a college student, I can't afford to watch TV whenever I want, photo from freeonlinetvshows.net
so watching my shows around my schedule is amazing.
After watching the first three episodes of Gossip Girl season four, I began to wonder how I ever even watched for the first three seasons. This season began with the two main characters Blaire and Serena during the end of their summer vacation in Paris- where Blaire falls in "love" with a Prince, but then her ex-boyfriend suddenly appears on the same street at the same time in Paris ( WHAT ARE THE ODDS?) with a new girlfriend on his arm, and all hell breaks lose- setting the stage for the drama filled episodes that follow. This is just a small example of the ridiculous plot line that the Gossip Girl producers have set up because they're running out of ideas for the characters. Basically every character has slept together, feuded, or gotten married at some point throughout the series. The entire show is literally based around the beautiful people persuasive technique.
During the show, the characters never go through any type of personal growth or deal with any real life issues. The entire show is about rich kids who live in New York City, blow all their parents money on clothes and parties, and look really good all the time. The entire show is based around making the viewer intrigued about the fabulous life of manhattans elite- but there's so much focus on doing that throughout the show that there is in fact no actual plot or real story line as the driving force behind the show. If you take away all the fancy materialistic items, the show is just a bunch of college kids who complain a lot about their "tough lives."
APPARENTLY IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO PICKED UP ON HOW RIDICULOUS THE SHOW IS....GOSSIP GIRL SPOOF- WATCH THE FIRST MINUTE
The entire idea behind the whole series plays on a very interesting aspect of media in our society. The name gossip girl comes from a unknown character that sends anonymous text messages to each of the characters when some juicy gossip is revealed. This plays on the personal to participatory aspect of technology. None of these characters lives are personal because of gossip girl and her ability to spread information about the characters so rapidly. Shows the scary downside of how new media platforms are making it easier than ever before to share information so quickly. ( Not to mention no single character seems creeped out by the fact that some unknown person watches everything they do??) This just adds to the ridiculousness that is "GOSSIP GIRL." Exploiting the materialistic side of our society in a VERY scary and depressing way. Gossip Girl needs to step up their act if they want people to keep watching!
The picture shown displays Jeff Bezos advertising Amazon's new Kindle on the cover of Newsweek Magazine. The Kindle is a fairly new device that allows people to download and read books on a small, thin, and light device. It also has the ability to download documents as well as connect to the internet. The Kindle combines many media platforms into one small device, and is a clear aesthetic shift from discrete to convergence.There's a definite convenience aspect of the Kindle that makes it appealing. But I think the Kindle has taken the world of media convergence too far.
We live in world where our technological devices are constantly changing and being updated. Computers, ipods, and cell phones have each been changing since they were created. Not one single technological device stays the same for very long, and we as society have become accustomed to that and we embrace that change because we are used to it. But changing the form of books is something that
Photo from worldpress.com has yet to be messed around with.
As a young-adult, I grew up in the generation when technology took off. As a generation we have been the guinea pigs for all the new technological devices that are placed on the market. We're expected to keep up with all these new advancements as the " technology generation", and be able to use them on day to day basis in school and the workforce. So when the Kindle threatens to take the ONE technology free aspect of media away from us- we're naturally going to put up a fight. There is wholesome feeling associated with books. Reading a book engages our sense of touch when we hold it, our sense of smell when we walk into a library- both emotional aspects of books that make reading them so important- and both which the Kindle lacks.
THIS KINDLE VS. BOOKS VIDEO FURTHER PROVES THE KINDLE CANNOT REPLACE BOOKS- AND DOES SO THROUGH THE USE OF COMEDY- CHECK IT OUT!
The idea that the Kindle could possibly take the place of physical books is both scary and depressing, and says something sad about what technology has done to our society. The Kindle shows the personal shift created by technology and media in our society. So much of it has moved from personal to participatory, that we seek out the participatory devices and stray away from the personal ones like books. When I think about being a child and having books read to me, I cannot possibly imagine having that been done on a Kindle. The action of a baby pointing at a big picture in a book and smiling, or learning to turn the page by themselves is not something that could done on a Kindle.
Losing special moments like that because we're to lazy to go out and buy books is depressing to me, and something I can honestly say I hope I never have to witness in my lifetime. The Kindle expresses our societies obsession with convenience. There are so many parts of reading that are lost through the Kindle that out weigh convenience aspect. Because of this- I believe that books will never make the move to being fully digital- books are too unique to be portrayed correctly in any form but their original.
THESIS: The Week Magazine assembles and delivers the important weekly issues. These incisive viewpoints will fascinate and entertain you, while helping you develop a sophisticated perspective that your peers will seek out and respect.
FIVE FACTS: The Week backs up their thesis of delivering the most important weekly issues and tells their readers how they accomplish this on their website:
1)World- at- a-Glace- report summarizes the most important events, opinions, and ideas from around the globe.
2)The controversy of the week and the different perspectives and opinions of those who covered it.
3)A look at what's happened this week to important people, plus summaries of the significant events in Health, Science, Leisure and Business.
4)Full access to convenient daily news and information on their website
5)The best of the U.S. and International media distilled into 44 easy-to-read pages
TRIUNE BRAIN: Like all magazines, The Week is very wordy, which engages the NEOCORTEX by reading the words and processing them. The cover of the magazine always contains a large, color, IMAGE that draws the LIMBIC brain right to the beginning of the magazine because our limbic brain likes photos and is drawn to them. The cover usually contains RACY or thought PROVOKING images in the form of a cartoon on the cover to drawn the audience’s attention in.
EIGHT TRENDS: The Week works to move its magazine from the discrete media world to the world of CONVERGENCE by allowing people to view the magazine on the web, subscribe online, and follow them on Facebook. The Week is both a personal and participatory magazine. PERSONAL, in the sense that the articles published are versatile and relatable to readers throughout the globe. PARTICAPATORY, because they welcome feedback from readers, and readers can post questions and comments on their Facebook page.
SEVEN PRINCIPLES: The Week uses strong value messages to engage readers. They come right out and state that their magazine is created through value message with their slogan “ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS” – which is stated on the cover of each magazine. Thought provoking slogans are often used in the magazine to create an EMOTIONAL transfer from the audience. Slogans like” Do too many Americans take antidepressants?” are used to make the audience feel nervous, intrigued, or angered. The PACE of the magazine is defined well by the clear separation of each article and column with boxes and different colors. Makes the heavy volume of words on each page seem less over-whelming to the reader.
29 PERSUASIVE TEQUNIQUES: Many persuasive techniques are shown throughout The Week. TESTIMONIAL is presented often in The Week. The caption at the top of the website where you can subscribe to The Week says “THE WEEK is the MUST READ for politicians, world leaders, celebrities, CEO’s… and now YOU.” DIVERSION is also used throughout articles found in The Week because a controversial article will be written about a topic in terms of the opinions and ethics of the magazine, and will not show the opposite point of view on that article topic.
1) I think the most important thing I have learned this year thus far is that media is constantly moving and transforming into new mediums. Watching TV transform into new mediums like Hulu for example shows how the media world is going to continue to change and it's important to understand where it's going because it will be important and necesarry skills for future jobs, and knowledge is power! Where media is moving in the future is un-predictable, but it's very important to keep up.
2) As a critical reader, I've learned that it's really important to read the entire chapter even though they can be quite lengthy. You can miss a lot of important information by just scanning the pages, and it sort of defeats the purpose because all the information is connected and cannot stand alone. As a writer I've learned that writing on a blog requires a different style of writing in order to keep people interested in what your talking about. As a critical thinker, I've learned to think outside the box when viewing forms of media like television, advertisements, music videos, and concerts. I'm more aware of the strategies being used to engage the audience, and less of a passive viewer.
3) I would memorize the power tools the first week. I assumed that being in class using them they would eventually just sink in, and although using them in class helps, I really had to take time to memorize them one by one. I wish I had done it earlier because it would have benefited me a lot. I was in the library one day with the power tools work sheet out on my desk and the student next to me asked if I was taking your class. I said yes and asked if she had any helpful advice. She told me to memorize the power tools and go to class, so after that I made it my goal to really study them, but I still wish I had earlier in the year.
4) I only thing I felt un-easy about was blogging and using twitter. I wish that we had spent more time understanding the websites so we could feel more comfortable using them to our benefit in class. I understand that playing around and discovering the website ourselves is important, but it was pretty over-whelming for me at first.
5a) I like the power tools. They're very easy to use once we started playing around with them in class. They make critiquing a medium much easier. 5b) I love the course blog. I think it's fun and really easy to use, really nice change of pace from traditional ways of handing in work. It also makes me feel more connected to the class which is cool. I also like seeing what other people wrote about something. When you have to re-read people's posts so you don't repeat info for the chapter blogs, it's like a mini-chapter review which is helpful. 5c) I love my personal blog. It;s awesome being able to write about what I like and have interest in, makes it feel a lot less like busy work. I have a friend that's spending the year in Kenya, Africa and she blogs everyday about her experiences, and I use my personal blog to follow her and keep in touch which is a really nice benefit. 5d) Quizzes are fine. They keep me on my toes each week. 5e) The way that the book is set up isn't boring or difficult to read, I just think the chapters are very long. I highly doubt many people actually read the entire chapter which is a bummer because it's valuable information, it's just painfully long.
Overall- class is going really well for me, I am enjoying myself p.s- LOVE the cider, keep it comin'
Once upon a time, there was a lonely naive college freshman in search of love, acceptance, a great education, and fascinating people. One day, as she was coming back from downtown Burlington, she came across a catamount, a baron, and a beaver named Chauncey.
First, they all offered her a place to stay with love and acceptance. The catamount’s school had people that were far too cold while the baron’s school had people that were far too mundane, but she found that Chauncey’s place was just right.
Second, they all offered her a great education. The freshman found the catamount’s classes to be cluttered with far too many students and found the baron’s classes to be far too boring, but Chauncey’s classes were just right. Third, they offered her fascinating people. The catamount’s people were far too numerous while the baron’s people were far too small in number, but Chauncey’s people were just right.
As a matter of fact, all of Chauncey’s school was just right. It was Champlain College, of course, where the teachers always there to help and the students refuse to be just a number. It’s where the characters come to play. Go now!
