Media- Connects The World
A step into what media really is
Believe it or not?
Communication has become a vital part of our existence. News, chats, posts, pictures, articles can be broadly considered ways of mass communication, also known as media. To meet the needs of the contemporary world, each individual must connect to the media in one form or the other. It may be through the internet or the television.
As the world grows, we as humans are becoming more and more dependent on the internet to connect to each other. Social media makes is convenient for us to keep in touch with people all around the world. It broadens people’s perspectives and encourages people to accept each other, despite the differences. However, does only bring benefit to it? No. Social media has been our enemy as well. Considering it user friendly, many people tend to share their personal lives to the extent where it can harm them. 63% Facebook users are visible to the public. Identity thefts and privacy leakage has been common drawbacks of social media.
Keeping pace with what is happening around us is fundamental; hence, television is watched by people to keep up with the daily news. It alert us about the situations that people are facing around the world, kidnappings and thefts, wars and disputes, advertisements and new products. Internet has replaced television in many households to please the needs, but still television holds its importance. Nonetheless, it has its own weaknesses. Bias opinions on the news may lead you to think one way, and accept opinions as facts.
Media, according to me, is a very helpful, but we cannot ignore the harmful effects of Media. Therefore, being media literate is crucial. This means that each of us should consider the pros and cons before posting anything on social media and listen to both sides of the argument before believing one perspective. We must analyze and evaluate media to gain a better understanding and to protect ourselves from the dangers of media.
Social media
Media
Televison
SuperBowl Precis
Coca-Cola Company, in the advertisement played during the Super Bowl explicates that a young child runs to a real football field with his ball and shouts out "touchdown". Coca-Cola supported their explanation in a humorous way by demonstrating the kid having coke after scoring a touchdown and feeling proud of him. The company’s purpose was to bring up the feeling of accomplishment that comes with Coca-Cola in order to encourage the desire of having Coca-Cola during the Super Bowl and achieving satisfaction. The company presents in an informal and entertaining tone for the people of ages 12-35, who watch and enjoy super bowl with family and friends.
Satire: Modest Proposal
When you leave for work, drop your kids to school, what’s the first thing you are concerned about? What if you don’t get to see your kids or loved ones ever again?
“Terrorism”, an extremely scary and deplorable word that makes us have goose bumps. What feelings, what people it brings up in our minds. If someone can find a solution to that, they would deserve presidency of the US. All we want is to end this, to save lives. But what does it take to end this?
I appreciate the measures Obama is taking. We all believe in him and support him. He knows that it wouldn’t be hard to go on a war with the “Muslim countries”. This will not only finish terrorism but also give us so much oil. We will be rich and oil prices will decline. But I think he’s been trying too hard for a really long time but it isn’t really helping much.
Why not have peace treaties? They might solve the problem without any bloodshed and violence. But my friend, John Smith, said it wouldn’t be a good idea as Islam teaches them to be violent and arrogant, hence, they wouldn’t understand the meaning of peace.
So I decide to propose an elevated fool prove plan: we should consume all the Muslims in the world. Here, in America we all agree that Muslims are the major cause of problems, from hunger, to illiteracy, to having a belief system. Why just Muslims? Let’s kill and eat all “brown” people on the face of this planet and consume them with BBQ and buffalo sauce.
This honorable step will not only end terrorism forever but also make this world as better place for all of you. Every year American Government spends millions in trying to demolish terrorism and protect others from the harm. We will be able to save all that and money to pay off the debt America owes since ages.
Advantages of this proposal are countless; from happy lives to higher bank balance, from no fear to fewer problems. I can see a perfect world in front of me and I personally think no one should have problems with this marvelous idea.
Nonetheless, I have heard from a reliable source that brown meat is extremely thick and delicious. Trust me; it is just finger lickin’ good!
Passionate about Photography
The Original "9/11"
The most tragic event, known as 9/11, was a major disturbance in our history. The mystery is unseen, unspoken, unheard. Not known to many, but this was a conspiracy by our own government. The Government of Bush, who we trusted to protect our families. This betrayal has left proves all around, because negative actions cannot be perfect, wrong doings do pays off in the long run.
It was an attempt to rage hatred and spread fear across the nation. Nothing better to prove this would be the fact that Osama Bin Laden, who was considered to be the “master mind” behind this incident, was a trained agent by the US Government. He was trained to fight against the Russian army, when America needed help to protect itself from the powerful Russians. Bush was scared to face the Russians because he didn’t want to lose more people from his own army. However, he couldn’t care less about the afghan people, hence, having an army closer to Russia with no cost of men power sounded very reasonable. Those years Bin Laden served and risked his life for the US government weren’t enough. Bush had to plan out something to blame Laden because they of personal issues. Lives of many innocents were put to risk, just to complete Bush’s revenge and honor his extraordinary ego potentials.
This planned attack by Bush and his supporters in the US Government, aimed to change the phase of the nation and change people’s perspective of each other. It was to promote hate and distress within the innocent citizens. Compared to the generous government we have today, we cannot be any more relieved and happy. Obama’s Government not only talks about protecting citizens’ rights, but also shows and proves their words.
Moreover, a point of notice is that many US officials were not present in the World Trade Center at the time of this incident. And we wonder why? Maybe because they could see the event occurring wide and clear: it was all planned.
After the attack, Bush and his government acted as if they had no idea of what just happened, they seemed so shocked and traumatized, but in actuality, they themselves wrote the future. This fake attitude demoralizes Bush in the eyes of the citizens and makes us realize how lucky and blessed we are to have Obama as our President and leader, who works day and night to secure us and protect us from the unexpected dangers in todays world.
Scapegoat theory can best explain this beautifully played drama by the former government, who encouraged the citizens to place their confidence and trust in them but didn’t prove their abilities in the years they served the country. Abuse of power can best describe Bush’s Presidency. His government is a disappointment to each of us here. Obama and Bush, both will be known throughout the history of US presidents. However the difference being that Obama will be known for his greatness, while Bush for his evilness.
Hopelessness in 1984
The main theme, I believe, is to make us realize that in the end, we all surrender to the power. Power is above all, it is what controls our minds, thoughts, decisions, and even our breath. This song demonstrates hopelessness within an individual. It shows how one finally gives up on life; because once a person starts drowning in his own fear, guilt, and betrayal, everything else looks impossible. The struggle doesn't seem worth it, life seems to betray.
Winston first believed that he would be able to change the world, but soon that thought began to disappear into the wilderness of the powerful party. Similarly, in the song Hopeless Benjamin says, “suddenly the light begins to fade,” which portrays how the inner light inside Winston started to deteriorate. Winston starts losing control over his consciousness; he believes what he is told to believe, because ultimately, that is eternity. Towards the end of the book, Winston finally gives up, accepting defeat of his initial thoughts and being one with the party, “I cannot hold on” (Benjamin).
"Hopeless"
Here I lie forever
Sorrow still remains
Will the water pull me down and wash it all away
Come and take me over
Welcome to the game
Will the current drag me down and carry me away
Suddenly the light begins to fade
HOPELESS
I'm falling down
FILTHY
I can't wake up
I can not hold on
I will not let go
WORTHLESS
It's over now
GUILTY
There's no way out
I can not hold on
I will not let go
Silent I go under
I am not afraid
I can see the daylight shine
And slowly drift away
Safe to say it's over
Sink into the grave
There is nothing left inside
But I am wide awake
I can hear the devil call my name
HOPELESS
I'm falling down
FILTHY
I can't wake up
I can not hold on
I will not let go
WORTHLESS
It's over now
GUILTY
There's no way out
I can not hold on
I will not let go
Reflection
As I look back, it all feels like yesterday. Not knowingly, I learned a lot in my last semester at Peachtree Ridge High School. The videos, books, articles, smores, précis, and even essays that we wrote in class helped me prepare for college. I learned the value of media in our lives. Without the luxury of media, we would have been like a barren land. I take away the miraculous opportunity to learn and understand satires. Even though I found it really difficult at first to understand the parody or sarcasm behind some of the satires, I believe that I learned how to tell the difference in a real story and a satirical story. This class was utterly different from all other language arts classes I have ever taken because in this class we took a step into the real world. In Media Literacy, we got a chance to look over the past, study the present, and prepare ourselves for the future. The most important thing I learned was that social media is like a permanent tattoo, once something is in the air, it can never be hidden again. Personally, I looked over the mistakes previously made which could affect me in the long run, such as posting inappropriate pictures or comments on any social media. I would not repeat those mistakes again because now I am aware of the consequences and I also share this with others to protect them from making such mistakes as well. To make it a better experience for others to follow, I think there should be less reading and more discussions. The book, 1984, was an amazing book but the ending was disappointing. Also, it was extremely lengthy and some point into reading the book, I felt like it was a waste of our time, energy, and attention. Thank you Coach Zopf for all your time and effort into making this class a success!