Human
One mind
S'more #1
What is media? To me media is any form of communication that sends a message or provides information to people. Media can be used in different forms such as writing, sound, or even just images. Examples of media are the radio, magazines, books, or a books covering. In my opinion the most popular form of media is used on the internet with websites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc. Media can be used in a good or bad way depending on how people use it, it could be used in a form of bullying to bring someone down or make them feel bad about themselves (Ex: Articles on celebrities telling about how they did something embarrassing). Media could be used in a more positive way by informing people with information that could actually be useful in their lives (Ex: Going green, how to save money, making good investments, etc.)
What it means to be “media literate”? The word literate means to be educated having some form of knowledge dealing with reading and writing. Based on the meaning of literate I would assume that being "media literate" means to educate others with information that could be useful in life. A great example of this is the summer reading book I'm reading, "Why Didn't They Teach me This in School"? This book informs readers about what financial decisions are best to make and which decisions would be most useful in life and with saving money. Being media literate is what continues to increase our knowledge as we move more towards the future.
Verbal
Media library
Knowlege
S'more #2
Each day many issues are addressed by people, the person addressing the issue mostly talks about what he/she and the people can do to make change. What the people want to know is what that person will do to bring change. The social issue that I’ve addressed is societies obsession with texting and driving. In the previous essay I explained what could be done to prevent this issue. What I will do to help push towards resolving the issue of texting and driving is let each person I ride with know the importance of focusing on the road. I pledge that if I feel uncomfortable or nervous with someone on their cell phone while driving, I will openly let them know with no hesitations. This is what people struggle to do. People don’t have the guts to stand up to their friends, family members, or anyone; and let them know how you feel about their actions. It’s so hard for people to do this because they feel like they may offend the driver, or they feel like the driver may judge them and think they’re too cautious. Although it may be difficult for me to express my feelings to these drivers about their dangerous actions, I have to keep in mind that I’m keeping the life of myself, the driver, and others around me safe. If more people could just think about the lives that could be saved, it would be easier for people to express their emotions to drivers.
S'more #3
In the Hyundai SuperBowl (2016) commercial, official sponsor of the NFL; Hyundai shows its viewers the new tracking device technology that's installed in their 2016 model; this allows people to locate their vehicle anywhere at all times. Hyundai bases its commercial on a father dealing with his daughter dating; world famous comedian Kevin Hart brings humor to the commercial; he plays the father who allows his daughter to go on her first date; he offers his daughter's date a car to use; not knowing the car has a tracking device on it, the date accepts the offer; the father follows them on the date and makes sure the guy does not make any moves on his daughter; intimidating his daughter's date he avoids getting too close to the girl and rushes to get her home. This commercial exemplifies the way fathers are towards boys; and how protective and strict they are when it comes to their daughters dating; the commercial differentiates males and females by showing how they are looked at when it comes to dating. The intended audience of this commercial are men because it visualizes what fathers would go through to keep their daughters safe; the humorous tone catches the viewers attention and shows off the potential of the new tracking device.
S' more #4
In the past, women were degraded by men. They were used in comparison to make fun of or to express how a person did something. (Ex: You throw the football like a girl). Men were mostly compared this way when thought of as being weak at performing a masculine task. As society heads more toward the future women are being viewed more equal when compared to men. They’re now allowed to perform the same roles as men such as voting, running for office, getting hard working jobs, playing sports etc. Nowadays advertisements/ commercials are used to degrade men. Advertisements impact society by allowing individuals to recognize certain traits or problems that they overlooked. In this case advertisements are more of a reflective societal value, because it's just stating and showing what we've encountered our entire lives. At the same time advertisements can also be dictating towards society because they sometimes persuade people to buy or invest in things that catch their attention. This is what keeps people buying products, it's what keeps companies in business. Think about it, advertising plays a big role in the business industry, and it dictates us by getting us to purchase products.
S'more #5
Advertisements today show off their products and support positive causes to end problems America faces. Although many companies are pushing to end these problems, they don't realize that they are causing most of the problems. With this being said, this shows that companies who are advertising are hypocrites of our society today. For example, companies such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King, when they recommend their fruits and salads as a healthy meal, but also introduce their greasy meals such as hamburgers, french fries, and chicken nuggets; which are quite fattening. Hypocrisy isn’t in all advertisements, it's mostly shown in company’s who try to use their products to support a positive cause. Although many company’s products aren’t very good or healthy for you doesn't mean that they're hypocrites unless they are supporting a good or healthy cause. A more personal example of a commercial that uses hypocrisy is Jennie Craig, this company uses a variety of foods with the exception of exercise to help overweigh people loss weight. This shows signs of hypocrisy because food is the main cause of gaining weight but they continue to use food to loss weight.
S'more #6
On December 2, 2015 there was a terrorist attack in San Bernardino California which killed 14 Americans and left families devastated. The government has been working to uncover the case and find the people responsible for this tragic incident. The person responsible for this attack supposedly used an Apple iPhone device for communication. Because of this, the FBI asked Apple to put out the personal data of all iPhones in the hands of the government so that communication can be tracked between the terrorists and allow them to find out who’s involved. What the government doesn’t understand is that Apple uses encryption to protect their costumers’ personal data, which includes personal information, private conversations and photos, music, etc. (A Message to Our Customers). Apple even put the personal data out of reach from themselves. Apple should not allow the government to use people’s personal data because it’s what holds peoples personal and important information. Allowing the government to access this data can cause disruption between people’s personal lives and make it effortless for hackers to access people’s important information. Although allowing the government to access people’s data may help track the terrorist involved in the San Bernardino shooting, this could affect the personal and financial lives of millions of iPhone device users.
S'more #7
Ideas are thought of and sometimes expressed to either solve a problem, improve technology, or symbolize a major events. However ideas are expressed, people argue wether or not they can only be expressed with words. I disagree with the statement (“For an idea to exist, we must have words to express it.”) (Anticipation Guide), because ideas can be expressed not only with words but also with art (Ex: paintings/drawings, dancing, and sculptures). Art can be used to express ideas with cultural movements or symbolic pieces that represent a specific event or cause. A good example of how art is used to express ideas are the Martin Luther King monuments in downtown Atlanta. These MLK monuments express the ideas of equal rights and the long period of segregation and slavery that African Americans went through. The ideas expressed through this type of art allows the people to remember the times of struggle and to acknowledge how far society has come. Art is what brings change and improvement to the problems our world face today.
S'more #8
S'more #9
The Nat Turner rebellion was a slave rebellion that occurred on August 22, 1831, what made this slave rebellion so powerful was the irony of it. The rebellion was led by an African slave named Nat Turner who encouraged about 70 armed slaves and free blacks to rebel against slavery. Doing this his group took action by slaughtering the people who enslaved them. Turner’s master and his master’s wife and children were beat with axes and killed along with about 60 others. In total about 15 homes were invaded and attacked by African American rebels. What inspired others to act in this rebellion was their relation to what Nat Turner’s problems. During this time slavery was big in the south, and blacks wanted freedom, so they would do anything to gain that freedom, because of this it wasn’t hard for Nat to gain followers. After this uprising many more African Americans planned on joining the rebellion until Turner’s men began to get attacked by white militia causing other slaves to realize that his cause was bound to fail. Most of Turner’s rebellious group was captured quickly with the exception of Turner, who fled and hid for months. On the day of Sunday, October 30 of that same year, Turner was found and captured by a local white man, which led to his sentence of hanging. Turner’s execution was gruesome and harsh, angry white took turners body, skinned it, and distributed his body parts for people to keep as souvenirs. Of Turner’s followers/rebels, 21 of them went to the gallows, while another 16 of them were sold to owners away from the region. The Nat Turner rebellion caused the states to enforce harsher laws controlling African Americans, and caused many freed blacks to leave Virginia for good. In today’s society African American rebellions continue to up rise to fight for a cause or right, for example, the killings and harassment on African Americans from white police officers has brought African Americans together to lead and form groups and organizations to bring the issue to an end. Although things in today’s society may not be as hash as it was in the past, people still continue to take the action to rebel against similar problems faced in the past. Whether the cause of a rebellion is as simple as a product being sold in stores, or as serious as religious rights and freedoms, rebellions are what bring groups of similar individuals together to solve problems.
S'more #10
Winston, the character in the novel “1984” who works as a clerk in the records department of the Ministry of Truth, and Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor both reflect and reveal the issues of government surveillance activities in their country. Having high surveillance positioned jobs in the government field allowed Winston and Edward to gain true and top secrete information about their government, and allowed them to see what was concealed from the people. Winston and Edward’s uncovering of government information was differentiated by risk, timing, and the way of getting it out to the people. In the “1984”, with the risks of high surveillance screens, unknown thought police, and traitors, it was difficult to tell what the out come of revealing the governments secretes would lead to in the dystopian society. Winston’s rebellious actions increased his risks of being terminated, but he managed to protect himself from any harm so far. As far as getting the information out to the people, Winston continues to uncover the secretes of the government himself. Knowing the truth behind government surveillance left Edward with feelings of guilt and disgust which convinced him to uncover top secrete information about the National Security Agency to citizens around the world. After his revealing of the government, he was looked at as a traitor, a hero, and a criminal by some, it varied depending on each person’s aspect. Edward constantly moved from place to place to gain help and protection for his actions. Edward does not regret his act of revealing the governments secretes, he looks at it as a way of helping the people become aware of how they’re being observed. Edward continues to fight for his actions and still considers himself a citizen of the United States.
S'more #11
In the the chapter 9 passage by Orwell in the 1984 novel, he explains how science and technology failed to develop and is possibly more pre historic than the pass. Orwell’s reference to science and technology is the dystopian society’s way of living and their unawareness of the more developed societies in the outside world. This societies failure to develop was because of the series of wars the country faced and their strict government control. The government played an immense role in the undeveloped country, the development of science and technology is based on the empirical habits of thought which was strictly prohibited in the 1984 society. Thought is a necessity in order to better and improve a country. The lack of thought in the society is what held the dystopian country back from any present and future improvements.
S'more #12
In the part 3 Chapter 3, Winston acknowledges that the choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness, and he believes that happiness is freedom. Ones opinion varies depending on their thoughts of happiness and freedom because some may believe that freedom leads to happiness and is the only way to reach that state of mind. As far as my opinion goes, I completely agree with Winston because of the greatness and advantages that happiness has over freedom. Happiness is what gives people that extra push through tough times and it motivates one to never give up. No matter how bad things get, a bit of happiness is always beneficial toward getting through those times. Freedom, for those who believe it’s better than happiness, are you really free? Do you sometimes question yourself on whether you’ve experienced actual freedom or not? I’ll tell you one thing, we’re not free, and we’re stuck in a society where our government wants us to think that we’re experiencing freedom. Although our people have the ability to make some decisions on our own, we still have certain rules, regulations, and invasions which take away some of our freedom unknowingly.
S' more #13
In today’s society Gaslighting is a form of lying which is most commonly used by politicians. It is the act of stating something false with such intensity and conviction that whoever is on the receiving end is confused and begins to doubt their own perspective (Donald Trump Is Successfully Conning the Entire Country). According to the article the term Gaslight comes from a 1938 play, in which a husband drives his wife crazy by secretly altering things in her house and making her question her grip on reality. Politicians who use gaslighting as an advantage generally don’t admit to, or take the responsibility for any of their actions which could make them looked down upon. Gaslighting today has become so popular for people in power to use against the American public because those in higher authority have the power to gain the public’s trust through their thoughts and the actions they make. Another example of how Gaslighting is used in politics today is how Ted Cruz was questioned about being a Canadian citizen and supporting trade promotion authority, and he tells the media “I didn’t know I was a Canadian all my adult life. I never supported Trade Promotion Authority; I’ve always been against it. You must be mistaken”. One way we can combat Gaslighting and hold people responsible for the things they say is by gaining supportive evidence, but not written evidence, verbal evidence from video footage. Another way is by fighting fire with fire, so by using Gaslighting against politicians who use gaslighting, this will allow the media to become confident of their perspectives.
S' more #14
Part 1
Society’s use and development of unhealthy technology is pushing us more and more away from humanity as we move towards the future. The use of our phones, pads, computers, and tablets has left us unconscious of the problems these devices bring. People are unaware of how antisocial technology has made us, although we communicate over texts, emails, or social media networks we’re not actually communicating because it’s not face to face. Trust me, there’s a difference between communicating over text and communicating face to face. With face to face communications you get the chance to see an individual’s personality, and physical features. We’ve become so use to communicating with these devices that we’re so awkward and nervous when meeting up face to face. To ensure that this relationship we have with technology doesn’t become a permanent reality, we must bring back the past, when phones weren’t as advance as they are today, where people would talk over the phone for hours instead of texting, and most importantly, where individuals would actually meet up face to face to have conversation. Each time we continue to allow our technology to take over us, we become more disconnected from the world and the people around us.
Social media plays a large role in the development of technology, it allows businesses and people to advertise and promote their products or organizations, although social media has a positive effect on society, it also has its down falls. Users of social media networks are likely to become addicted, but are these addictions controllable? In my opinion, these addictions are not controllable. I mean think about it, I’m sure that nearly everyone is aware of how dangerous it is to use your cellular devices to check a text or social media page while driving. Most of us know this but refuse to put down our phones while behind the wheel, some of us just can’t wait to check that notification or text so we risk our lives and others’. The implications responsible for our uncontrollable addictive behavior is the development of technology, the more advanced our technology is, the more addictive it becomes.
One way to harness the power of social media and technology is to limit the availability and the variety of options that they offer. This will make social media less attractive to users. Today what attracts most users are the options that social media offers (Ex: messaging, number of likes,, followers, commenting, filters, ect.), by eliminating some of these options social media could become less addictive in society.
Part 2
My views of media literacy have deepened more versus when I first started the course. I’ve learned more about the advantages and disadvantages of media literacy and the effects that it has on our society today. Throughout the year of this course I’ve realized that media literacy has more of a bad effect over the people instead of a good one (Ex: addictive behavior, cyber bullying, car accidents, control over thoughts, change over reality, ect.), and it will continue to worsen as the development of technology gets better.
In British Literature I’ve learned how technology is gaining more control over us than we have over it, and how this could lead to a not so bright future. Im leaving this course with the awareness of the harm that technology and media literacy can cause towards myself and others. What differentiated this course from other language arts course was the connection that each unit had. Everything in this course we’ve learned related to the previous units. Also, the formats of the test were different then the formats I’m use to. What could be done differently in the course to better it is to teach us more about the positive effects that technology has on society.