Visual Narrative

 

 

 

 



To Be Continued........

Rich on Reading

          This article brings up an interesting debate. Just like Nadia, I read for my assignments but rarely do I read as much as I should. I believe that there are both positives and negatives to this article.
          It is true that standardized test scores are lower and lower each year but who is to say that it is all because of the internet. If it is because of the internet then I believe teachers should find a way to make us interact in other forms of communication. For instance, in my Media Literacy class we have blog assignments. My teacher understands that us students spend majority of our time on the computer anyways so why not just make our assignments on computer. That was a smart idea because she is still making us readers. For example, what I am writing about now. Our assignment was to go online to the site where this article was posted and create more of a debate about it on our blogs. We may not be reading out of books but we are still reading and communicating on the topic at hand.
          I believe that more courses and classes should take this approach. It is much more convenient and it saves a lot more time. Who knows? Maybe next semester we will have a class where the assignments are on a social media network like Facebook or twitter.
This was a funny little video posted by a young teen on the topic of Decline in Reading.

Film Styles

          As many of us are aware, there are different types of films and each film has its different style. The first film I will be talking about is Coach Carter. Coach Carter is about a coach that moved schools and will be taking over the new coaching position. Unfortunately, the new team he will be coaching aren't used to being winners and therefore, need lots of help. The first part of the film was about the coach teaching these thugs how to first become young men and second, talented basketball players that win. This took lots of hard work, dedication, and much discipline.
          This film had a unique style. In most films like this one you are used to the new coach coming in and changing everything and transitioning this team into champions. Although this was the case for majority of the movie, there was a litlle contrast in the end. Normally, the team will have been undefeated the entire season and continued on to win the championship. However, in Coach Carter the team went undefeated the entire season and made it to the semi finals. In the semi final game the Oilers were getting killed and made a historice comeback. Unlike most movies, instead of making this comeback and winning the game, the team lost in the final seconds.
          This to me was an interesting film style because in the end the story relays a message back to its audience. It says that it is good to be great but you won't always be the greatest. After the team had lost, the community still had their signs held high and still congratulated the Oilers. The players then came to realize that they didn't only make a change in their winning, they made a change in themselves and in their community.

Advertising

          I first want to start off with a few facts about advertising, given to us by Silverblatt ch. 14 "Overview of Advertising".
U.S. ad spending in 2006 reached a record $285 billion-the equivalent of $950,000 for every person in the United States.
An hour of prime-time network programming contains 18 minutes of advertising, down from 16 minutes in 2003 and 12 minutes in the 1980s.
By the age of 65, the average American has seen two million TV commercials.
American children are exposed to 40,000 ads per year.
When dateline NBC recently asked children to choose between a banana and a rock with a Scooby-Doo sticker on it for breakfast, nearly all chose the rock.
          Just by reading the few facts listed above you can make many statements about the effect of advertising on Americans. By looking at the 3rd fact "An hour of prime-time network programming contains 18 minutes of advertising, down from 16 minutes in 2003 and 12 minutes in the 1980s" we can say that overtime, the shows that we watch are becoming shorter and shorter due to advertising. These are the same one-hour shows but the commercial time is growing, which means that more commercials are being shown and less actual television.
          I will be honest, advertising isn't all bad because sometimes that commercial catches your eye and the item they are showing is highly attractive. For instance, I like cell phone commercials because of the new technology that is being built with the phones. My phone is half broken and I've been looking for the perfect phone to fit me for weeks now. This commercial came on the other day for a Blackberry Torch. I have always been the one that says "I will never buy a blackberry" but the advertisement for the phone fit my specifications so well that I am currently doing everything possible to get one.
          Overall advertising has come a long way over the days and will continue to thrive. Little do many know, but advertising is still an important part of communication.

Journal/ism/ist

          What is Journalism and who are Journalists? Journalism is defined as "the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues, and trends to a broad audience. Journalism dates at least from the Acta Diurna of Rome (a series of public announcements that can be considered the prototype of the modern newspaper), but it was not until the 15th cent. that the invention of printing made possible its rapid growth. Daniel Defoe has been called the first journalist, as distinct from a writer. Modern journalism, however, began in the latter years of the 18th century with each venture serving, as it does in many countries to this day, as the proponent and voice of a political party or social group. Even in the 19th cent. journalists, despite their increased liberties in England and the United States, were largely controlled by political parties. " However, there is much variation in journalism but the overall idea is to inform the people. Jouralism covers government, business, arts and entertainment. Job fields include editing, photojournalism and documentary.
          A Journalist, on the other hand, collects and distributes information about current events, people, trends and issues. The work a Journalist creates is reffered to as journalism. As stated online, "Reporters are one type of journalist. They create reports as a profession for broadcast or publication in mass media such as newspapers, television, radio, magazines, documentary film, and the Internet. Reporters find sources for their work, their reports can be either spoken or written, and they are often expected to report in the most objective and unbiased way to serve the public good. A columnist is a journalist who writes pieces that appear regularly in newspapers or magazines."

" It's Just a Movie"

          Is it just a movie? Many of us have argued or asked the same question that Smith mentioned in chapter 1 "

The question arises almost every semester. My introductory media classand I will be hip deep in analyzing the details of a particular film, andthen a hand will creep up, usually from the back: “Aren’t we readingtoo much into this? After all, it’s just a movie.” Taking a deep breath,I then launch into a spirited defense of our analytic activity." This may not seem like much of a deal but it is actually is an important topic.

          If we look too much into movies now days imagine what kids are thinking when they see these movies about the devil coming out and taking over people or movies about the world supposedly ending in 2012. I believe that there are some movies out there that we should pay very close attention to but some movies are just for fun and amazement and those movies are just messing with your head if you read to closely into them.
          I believe that this is one of the reasons why television shows and movies have ratings for them. I remember we had this conversation in class about how real movies and shows are now days and what happens when litlle children watch them. We were arguing about if it should be the director of the show or movie's fault or the parents. Many of us agreed that it is the parents. If they continue to let their children watch these movies then they know what they are getting themselves into. On the other hand the directors could cut back some on their plots. But the question still remains what is it that we can do?

"Real" Media

            My assignment is to identify and closely examine a media form or program or piece of writing that I feel is "real" to me and that affects me in an emotional way. The main show that is real to me is ESPN. I am so drawn to sportscenter because it has to do with everything I want to be in life.
          I always talk about hopefully making it proffessional in football or basketball. When I tell people this they also reply with the same question. Do you have a backup plan and what is it? This question is always asked because chances of making it pro are slim. The actual statistic of making it the the NBA is 1 in 1 million. My chances of making it pro in football are a little better. But my backup plan is to become an ESPN analyst or broadcaster. This is the main reason I watch sportscenter so often because I imagine myself either talking about the new upcoming superstars or me being talked about as one of them.  I also watch it so I can look closely at what it takes to become an analyst. I look at what teh host talk about today and how well they talk and know about the subject they are commicating about. This is a major reasons I am a communications major. I am trying to get an early feel on how to communicate fluently in front of large crowds and even on television.
          This show is "real" to me because it tells the truth. It talks about coaches' gameplans and upcoming games, athletes, and they even have segments that help you you improve your game and your IQ on the field or court. I will continue to watch this show and continue to work my way on the show. I hope that one day you guys will see me. Maybe as the new face of ESPN.

Concerns of Media

          This assignment was to interview a parent on how they feel about media today and to get their feel on how media is affecting their children. I decided to interview the mother of my high school friend and get her opinion on the topic at hand.
         
          First off do you think that media has more of a positive or negative effect on your children?
I would have to say that media has both a positive and negative effect on my children. Just to answer the question I am going to lean more towards negative. Television , for one, puts so much emphasis on being the best or having the best things or looking the best. I just don't want my kids, especially my younger children, to grow up thinking that they have to be beautiful or rich just to be successful. That's just not true which is why I lean more towards negative.

          How do you determine what your children may or may not watch and is there a certain time limit that they have on watching television?
I try to limit my children from watching lots of TV. I encourage them to join as many extracurricular activities as possible to keep them busy. This includes playing multiple sports at school and joining a number of clubs and organizatinos. This keeps them extremely busy throughout the week and when they get home for the day they are busy studying. They might cut the television on when they are studying but they are so focused on getting their work done so they can get sleep that they rarely pay attention to the show. Majority of their free time like on weekends they are at a game, playing the xbox or wathching games on tv.

          Which media products do you consider good or healthy for your children and which ones are you concerned about?
I really like the Nick channels and disney channel prograns and the shows for family and kids but my children tend to sway from those as they get older. But the shows that they mainly watch, like sportscenter and fox sports, I do consider healthy because it is dealing with sports which they play. On the other hand, I don't like when they watch family guy or south park. I just believe that those show have to much violence and profanity for kids, especially my children, to be watching.

Media ownership and media conglomerates

          After doing some quick research on Media ownership and conglomerates I found that these are the largest media companies in the world:

Disney (market value: $72.8 billion)

AOL-Time Warner (market value: $90.7 billion)

Viacom (market value: $53.9 billion)

General Electric (owner of NBC, market value: $390.6 billion)

News Corporation (market value: $56.7 billion)

Yahoo! (market value: $40.1 billion)

Microsoft (market value: $306.8 billion)

Google (market value: $154.6 billion)

          When I took a more in depth look at google I came to find out that google is a part of majority of the media we use today. The good side of this is that google is steadily growing, and since google is a trusted company in my eyes, I feel comfortable using the other media associated with google. Also if you have investment in google then that could be a great thing because it will be hard for them to fall.
          On the other hand there are a few bad sides to Google being so spread out. If another company messes up or gets sued then it all comes back to google which is why google also has to spend time to approve these companies and trust them not to fail. If, somehow, these other companies did drop then it would bring google's stock lower and lower, hurting not only google employees but also the people that invest in Google.
           After doing this research I have learned many new things. I never knew that all theses companies had as many subsidiaris as they do. I didn't even know google was as big and expanded as it is. This research project has helped me learn new things about media today and it's also helped me to choose my investments wisely and to take a close look at each company before I do.

Stereotypes

         Stereotypes play a large role in our society. Whether you believe it or not, everyone stereotypes. No one really takes the time to think about it but it is amazing how many times we characterize an individual based on their social class, intelligence, clothing style, body art, hairstyle, clothing choices, body language, cars and other possessions. I remember I had a class assignment about stereotypes in high school. My group came up with a great idea. Our plan was to send me into a store on the first day dressed in baggy pants, a tank top and a skully. My other group members acted like random customers coming in one by one after I had gone into the store to monitor what the clerks were doing. After watching the tape from day 1 we noticed that the workers followed me closely watching every move I made and going back to check everything I picked up to make sure I wasn't stealing. On day 2 I dressed in church attire with glasses and a new hair cut. The workers barely looked up from their post to see what I was doing and I wasn't followed once. That experiment just went to show that there are stereotypes everywhere you go and that you are being classified by the clothes you wear and the people you are with.
Im sure many people stereotype Lil Wayne as a thug or a gangster but have no clue that this young man held a 4.0 GPA in high school and could have went to any college of his choice.
Many would look at this picture and assume he is a weight lifter. This is actually one of the most popular bishops in America.
You might look at this and think it's just a nerd sitting on top of a ragedy car. This is Bill Gates, one of the richest men on the planet.

Digital Natives

          In my own opinion, Digital native refers to the generation that was born into new technology. Wikipedia's definition of Digital Native is " a person, mainly a young person, who was born during or after the general introduction of digital technology, and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its concepts. A digital native may also be identified as a person who understands the value of digital technology and uses this to seek out opportunities for implementing it." In this case with such a high degree in the advancement of technology in modern times, every child born in or after this decade will automatically have the title Digital Native.
          The term digital immigrant overlooks the fact that many people born before the digital age were the inventors, designers, developers and first users of digital technology and in this sense could be regarded as the original 'natives'. Today's students from kindergarten through college represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. Today's average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives.
          On the other hand, you have Digital Immigrants. A Digital Immigrant is an individual who was born before the existence of digital technology and adopted it to some extent later in their life. Therefore, majority of our parents can be classified as Digital Immigrants. This definition raises question. What exactly is the starting and ending point for a person to be classified as Digital Native or Digital Immigrant?
   

Media Literacy

          What is Media Literacy? Media Literacy enables people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres, and forms. I believe that in this world today it is extremely important to be media literate. There is just so much technology that runs our world that if you aren't media literate then you might just get left behind.
          As stated in our media literacy book, "Media literacy education has been an interest in the United States since the early 20th century, when high school English teachers first started film to develop students' critical thinking and communication skills. However, media literacy education is distinct from simply using media and technology in the classroom, a distinction that is exemplified by the difference between "teaching with media" and "teaching about media." With the many sites today like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace or any other social media network it is a necessity to be media literate. Even in vehicles now days the technology that is being placed in them is unbelievable. If you don't know how to operate a simple computer it will be hard for an individual to even purchase a car made in the past two or three years and they will only improve with more, faster, better technology. These are just a few of the reasons of why it is so important to become Media Literate.

Self Intro

          For my Media Literacy class, Com 103, each classmate had to create their own individual blogs and we have blogging assignments due each week. For our first blogging assignment we have to give a self introduction just to welcome ourselves into the course.
          My name is Ira George Hughley III. I am from Warner Robins, GA but I currently reside in Henry County where I graduated from Union Grove High School. My favorite colors are red, black, and white. I am obsessed with Nike. Anytime you see me I will have at least one Nike product on. It even went as far as almost getting a Nike tattoo but I didn't think that would benefit me in the business world so I didn't go through with it. I also love food and basketball. I have been playing ball since the age of 5. So far I have played every level of basketball from elementary to middle to high school and that is the reason I am here at Reinhardt University on a basketball scholarship. I did play football but I decided to continue with basketball in college. I love having fun but when its time for business then it's time for business. I am a freshman so I hope this year will end well for me.
          So this is my first time ever blogging. I've heard many great things about it and hopefully I will get the chance to experience them. I've read a little about how to blog and the many tools that come with blogging. I am excited that this is actually a class assignnment, to blog and comment on friends' blogs. This should be an interesting semester and hopefully I will become a more experienced blogger as the semester continues.