Sunday, March 14, 2010

Midtermin' It Up

It seems quite anticlimactic to be writing about a midterm on the last day of spring break, but alas, that is what I get for waiting until the last minute. Actually, this is probably the best midterm I’ve ever taken, how can I really complain about writing a blog? It’s not going to happen.



Let’s get crackin’.

Question Uno:
After studying media for eight weeks in this class, what have you learned?

The biggest thing that I have really picked up on is how we are ALL affected by media, whether we would like to admit it or not. Being bombarded by media is something that is so natural to our culture that it really is nice to be able to come to a class twice a week and talk about it.

Question Dos:
What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a critical reader, writer, and thinker in this class so far?

What this class has taught me about myself is that we can never be too critical of our information sources. It's important to be able to critically read sources in order to break them down and really see what they mean.

Question Tres:
What’s one think you would do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?

I wouldn’t have missed a second class without seeing the school nurse. : (

Question Quatro:
What’s one think you would like me to do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?

I would like more personal blogging assignments.

…and a little yak sausage wouldn’t hurt.

Question Cinco:
Please comment on the usefulness of the following as learning tools:

Personal Blog:
Kick ass. Blogging makes the class relevant to today’s media culture. It’s easy, fun, and interesting.

Our Textbook:
I think that the text is easy to read, has useful information and case studies, and actually pertains to media in today’s society.

Tune in Tomorrow:



This film shows how useful and rare community based radio stations are. I guess I had never really thought about radio stations in a way that this film made me. This film just shows how few corporations own the sources that we get our information.

Dr. W is a movie star.

Michael Wesch Web 2.0:
This short film shows how as a society we feed into the ever-growing monster of the internet, which both helps and hinders us. It’s kind of scary to think about how much information we can find on the web, including about ourselves. It will be interesting to see the implications of the web and the changes that are inevitable.



The Persuaders:
As consumers we need to be aware of what advertisers do to grab our attention and shape what we think about products and ourselves. In simple terms: Buyer be wary.

Reel Bad Arabs:
Hollywood is capable of consciously and subconsciously classifying and generalizing one type of group. This film made me realize even more how powerful entertainment can be on how society portrays one demographic.

Propaganda of News:
This film pissed me off. It makes me upset to think that as citizens we only know what big corporations and filters want us to know. I think that it is easier to control people if you only share with them the news that you want showcased, I don’t think it’s right, but I see why corporations do it.



Obama’s State of the Union:
This being one of the first pieces with using our tool set made me realize how all media is trying to reach out and make a connection with it’s audience. There are so many ways of making use of our brains and persuading us.