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.

Media Meditation #2: I Found LOST

If there is one show out there that makes me say “What the f-bomb just happened?!”, it’s LOST.

Past, Present, Future, Stations, Mangos, Guns, Dead but alive people, Planes splitting, 4 8 15 16 23 42, Jacob.

WHAT? Oh LOST, you’ve done it again, such a mind boggle.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve wept inside for a moment about this being the final season for the epic tale of the passengers of flight Oceanic 815.
I only started watching LOST this summer, and now I am hooked. Every Tuesday I rush out of work at 8:30 in order to get to a friend’s house to tune in to the tube.





WORKING THE BRAIN:

LOST is great at making use of all three parts of our brain. Our reptilian brain is often entertained with the constant mess of love affairs and whenever someone pulls out a gun. Our limbic brain is triggered whenever that reoccurring music comes on, and because it is an image that we are watching. LOST does a great job with stimulating our neocortex brain because we are forced to piece together past episodes and characters, and make sense of what is actually happening on that damn island.

EIGHT TRENDS:

EPISTEMOLOGICAL SHIFT:
Getting sucked into watching LOST is pretty easy, but can you imagine if it was a radio program? Following the plot would be so much more difficult.

TECHNOLOGICAL SHIFT:
Because I don’t have cable, I was able to watch all previous 5 seasons through hulu and ABC.com.

PERSONAL SHIFT:
There is just about every type of website for LOST. Facebook, blogs, wikis, you name it, it’s out there.

CULTURAL SHIFT:
It’s easy for ABC to track and see how many people are tuning in and actually watching their program.

DISCURSIVE SHIFT:
We never know what is really going on during LOST and the truth is always being distorted depending on which character’s eyes we are watching through.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES:

“REALITY” CONSTRUCTION/TRADE-OFFS:
I have wasted so much of my own reality on the “reality” of LOST.

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES:
LOST uses so many different production techniques in order to portray the stories of all the characters. The camera angles and similarities between each episode makes LOST cohesive.

EMOTIONAL TRANSFER:
This show definitely pulls at all the emotional strings. There are problems with kids and marriages, deaths, births, and new loves, LOST is just a soap opera during prime time.



The Famous Love Triangle

PACING:
I think that LOST’s pace is pretty easy to follow, but sometimes I’m happy that I can rewind and watch a scene more than once.

PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES:

SYMBOLS:
LOST is full of symbolism. There are uses of light and dark colors to represent good and evil, there are uses of objects that characters acquire or keep which symbolize who they are.

SCAPEGOATING:
One group of people is always blaming the other for their problems, thus we have 6 seasons worth of LOST. The survivors blame the others, the others blame the survivors, it’s a never ending story.

TESTIMONIAL:
So much of the series is shown through testimonials. Whether it is the past, present, or future, a majority of what we know about each character is through a testimonial.

REPETITION:
The reoccurring music, the numbers, and the overall way that LOST is shot, it is repetitive. And don't forget about the smoke monster.

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE:
Is it me, or are most of the people stuck on the island pretty good looking (cue the swoon over Sawyer), sorry Hurley. But let’s get real, they must smell pretty bad.





Hurley at his best. Not the best looking guy, but we still love him.

GROUP DYNAMICS:
Whenever there is a problem the characters either divide into groups or there is one person who says, “Live together, die alone.”

NAME CALLING:
The “Others”. Just by giving them a name makes them sound more terrifying then they actually are. Sawyer is the king of name calling, he has a list of nicknames for each character.

TIMING:
LOST is all about timing. The writers time when and what you find out about each character.




Number One is so true...

Media Meditation #1: Reverting Back to My Childhood...God I Love Roald Dahl

Everyone has that one favorite author from childhood that they could never put down. Mine was (and still is) Roald Dahl. Everything that this man wrote is absolutely crazzzzy good. There are the classics, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG, which all kids should be forced to read, and then there are the more unknown short stories which happen to be my favorite.





Classic novel turned into a classic movie.


One year I received a gift card to Barnes and Noble for ten dollars, so I purchased Omnibus, a collection of short stories written by Roald Dahl. I just recently picked up this book again because I didn’t have a new book to start. At this point of my love affair with Mr. Dahl, I should realize that when I start a book by him, I can’t stop. This collection contains 28 short stories that will make you laugh, cringe, and use your noggin.

NOGGIN USAGE:

Omnibus triggers all aspects of our brain. There are plenty of sex and fight or flight moments, which just tickles our instinctive dinosaur brain. One of my favorite stories, The Great Switcharoo, is about two men wanting to sleep with each other’s wives, so they set up an elaborate plan to take place in the middle of the night to have some hanky panky; it’s brilliant, just brilliant. Our limbic brain is provoked because Dahl is great at making you feel right alongside his characters. Although the neocrotex is the hardest part of our brain to use, Dahl makes it a pleasure to sit down and read a book.

EIGHT TRENDS:

Sometimes it’s just nice to turn off the TV, and actually engage your mind with a hard copy piece of literature, AKA the book.

EPISTEMOLOGICAL SHIFT:
We are constantly bombarded with images, but not with Omnibus, although Dahl is the artist for his books, and his style is easy to recognize.




TECHNOLOGICAL SHIFT:
All the stories that are in Omnibus can be found online in synopsis here.

PERSONAL SHIFT:
I’m blogging about a kick ass book that YOU should read!

AESTHETIC SHIFT:
Dahl uses humor, fear, anger, and just about every other emotion within his writing to blend entertainment and human experiences.

ECONOMIC SHIFT:
Dahl creates his stories with everyday people, not big companies or fantasy people, which is refreshing and gives his stories appeal to the average person.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES:

“REALITY” CONSTUCTION/TRADE OFF:
Omnibus creates a different type of reality, in many cases you thank god that you are not a part of the reality that is created, but you are completely entertained.

VALUE MESSAGES:
Within his short stories, Dahl’s overlapping theme is about not underestimating the average person and the creative thought.

EMOTIONAL TRANSFER:
It’s hard not to feel an overpowering emotion once done with one of the stories. In Lamb to the Slaughter, a woman murders her husband with a lamb leg, cooks it up, and serves it to the police who are investigating…WHAT?! IT’S SO GOOD.

PACING:
Dahl is gifted in the sense that he is able to fit so much information within 30 or so pages, the pace is never slow since there is no wasted space.




One of the scariest movies from my childhood, The Witches.
Roald Dahl + Jim Henson = Pure Genius


PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES:

HUMOR:
Many of the short stories use humor in order to capture an audience. Dahl once said “What’s horrible is basically funny. In fiction.”
How can you not love this man?

PLAIN FOLKS:
Using regular, plain old average Joe’s, allows readers to connect with the stories and visualize the people that Dahl writes about.

NOSTALGIA:
All of the stories have been written in an earlier time period giving the sense of the good old days, with simple plots.

TIMING:
Dahl is a master of timing. He creates a sense of mystery and surprise to capture his reader’s interest and keeps them there.

SYMBOLS:
Many tangible things and characters throughout the stories are symbols for overall meaning. A lamb leg is used to showcase a housewife and as a murder weapon, two very different things, but both linking the main character in one story.



One of the best parts of the Omnibus is that it is a collection of short stories, which makes it easy to pick up, read one or two, and then be on your merry way. For about ten bucks, how can you go wrong?

GO READ A BOOK

Media Meditation: State of the Union

Is Obama Giving Away Free Cars?

...No

Then Why is Everyone Clapping?




1. TRIUNE BRAIN

I think that President Obama's address mostly thrived on reaching people's limbic brain. It seems that he focused mostly on what American people are feeling, which I think works in his favor because it is shows that he is aware of what is happening within our country at this time.

President Obama did trigger the reptilian brain, otherwise we wouldn't have seen everyone getting up and down, up and down, to applaud. I think this symbolize that people are willing to "fight" alongside Obama during this time.

Our neocortex brain is also stimulated because we are made to listen to what is being said by President Obama and actually make meaning of it.


2. EIGHT TRENDS


Epistemological Shift:
President Obama's speech has changed from just being a speech to a televised event, and then being put on the Internet.

Technological Shift:
I was at work when President Obama gave his State on the Union message, and it really didn't matter because I was able to watch it the next day online on my laptop.

Personal Shift:
We are BLOGGING about President Obama's speech...! We take part in expressing what we think about the State of the Union message.

Aesthetic Shift:
President Obama was able to use some humor within his speech which somewhat blurs the lines between news and entertainment.


Economic Shift:
President Obama addressed his concerns about big businesses and how small businesses should be able to thrive just as much.

Discursive Shift:
There are definitely things that the government does not want us to know, and they are also able to only tell part of the story and get away with it.

Cultural Shift:
Throughout President Obama's speech I couldn't help but wonder how much information the government actually has on me.


3. SEVEN PRINCIPLES

"Reality" Construction/Trade-offs: What are more of the challenges that the United States will meet before things actually get better? I think that it is hard to address the entire story when you are trying to keep morale up.

Production Techniques: I think it's interesting to show different camera shots and when they are being used. It is a little hokey when the audience is being shown, and it looked like First Lady Michelle was about to fall asleep when they first showed her.

Value Messages: President Obama was trying to send a positive message that the United States is back on our feet and that it is only going to get better.

Ownership: The President wants more people to stand behind him and his choices, and is trying to portray himself and his administration in the best light.

Individual Meaning: What I find most meaningful from President Obama's address is the fact that it actually seems that he genuinely cares about all Americans, and wants to make changes that will benefit the country as a whole.

Emotional Transfer: This medium reaches the emotion of patriotism. President Obama is talking to all Americans about what is happening and what needs to be changed in order for America to be on it's A game.

Pacing: I think that the pacing was slow compared to what we are used to normally viewing. I think that this is on purpose, that way it is easier to focus on what is being said, and not what you are seeing.


4. TECHNIQUES OF PERSUASION

Rhetorical Questions:

Humor: Stating the fact that he hated the bailouts for banks, and that they were as popular as a root canal. Oh, Obama, so silly!

Repetition: "We cut taxes for...", President Obama stated this before each group of people he listed.

Plain Folks: President Obama talked about where he has visited across the nation to talk to everyday Americans.

Warm Fuzzies: President Obama talked about the letters that he reads from children who ask about when they can go back home.

Group Dynamics: Using "we", "us", and "together", throughout his entire speech.

Strength: President Obama stating that we are a nation of strength and that no matter what the U.S. will prevail.

Scientific Evidence: Giving stats about how many Americans are out of work, how many jobs have been saved, and how much money has been spent and/or saved.


5. THESIS:

President Obama's State of the Union message stated that although times have been tough, and will be tough, things are slowly getting better, and the most important part of his presidency is creating jobs for Americans.


6. THREE FACTS:

-A State of the Union has been given for the past 220 years.

-Income Tax has not risen a single penny for anyone over this past year.

-Banks are lending mostly to large companies and corporations rather that small businesses, even if they are profitable.

Hola, Blog

Hi everyone, my name is Rachel LeFave. I am currently a senior here at Champlain majoring in Business with a concentration in Marketing. I am originally from a small town called Rowley in Massachusetts, which is about an hour north of Boston and about ten minutes from New Hampshire.

One specific media interaction that I had over break was to the Museum of Science in Boston and seeing the Harry Potter Exhibit. I'm kind of a geek when it comes to HP, so I was in my glory.


Here I am casting some sweet spells (maybe the water into wine spell). A big thumbs up if you spotted that it's actually Voldemort's wand and not Harry's (I told you I was a HP geek).

One thing that I do like about our media culture at this point is how easy it is to get information. On the other hand media has downfalls when it comes to information overload and being able to separate what is relevant and what is rubbish.

When I graduate this May I've just decided to go back to school for my Nursing Degree. My passion is in helping people, and I would ultimately love to be a pediatric nurse.

Speaking of helping people, this is an easy way to donate to the less fortunate while avoiding that paper you've been trying to write.

Looks like these smart guys might need my help.