Media Literacy
Media has been around for centuries. Being media literate is about knowing about media and understanding that everything you see is not always true. Since the beginning of time, people have been interested in what is going on around them and about things that are happening in the world. Although mass media has not been around forever, media has. Media is a means of communication. Now a day, there really is not a way to escape media. There are so many different types of media. For example, one of the most widely used forms of media is social media. These are the different types of websites which can be used to connect with people, see what is happening around you, all over the world, and ultimately consume all of your time. Some of the most popular social media websites are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vine, and LinkedIn. These websites can be accessed by mostly anyone with a web browser, so essentially it is very easy to be connected all around the world. Some of these were created for entertainment purposes only, but almost all of them can be used for communication, finding out information around you and all over the world, and networking with other people. Other forms of media are newspapers, magazines, and television. Before the time of mobile phones and internet, people listened to the radio, and read the newspaper for media. These methods are still used today, but because of advancing technology, there are an infinite amount of options. I think websites and search engines like Google have had a huge impact on media today because all you have to do is type in what you want to know and it is accessible. Although media is all around us, remember not to believe everything you see in the media.
Social Media
Everything Media
Whether you are connected by reading the paper, social media, or watching in on television, you are using a form of media.
Media
Doritos in the commercial, Time Machine, makes the suggestion that if you eat Doritos, you will become bold like the taste. Doritos supports their assertion by demonstrating the confidence of the child after eating the chips. Doritos purpose is to convince the public that their eating their product generates boldness in order to promote sales. The Doritos commercial was in a humorous tone to persuade people who enjoy eating Doritos to buy them.
The Perfect Pastime
Playing volleyball is what I have a pure passion for. People presume that it is a pretentious pastime, and personally, it infuriates me. You have to perform at a professional level to please universities. I love playing to the highest of my abilities and pushing through the pain. Coaches prepare future prospects to play the at the most preeminent level they can possibly play. Passion perform play pain pastime
Satire on Cell Phones
A study that concluded last weekend revealed some psychological effects of cell phone usage. Dr. Rod Goddly saw social issues associated with cell phone use: "We first put subjects and their cell phones (turned on) in a room with other people and gave them light topics to discuss and with hidden cameras observing their behavior." It seemed like a normal social setting, but every few minutes each person would pull out his or her phone, look at the status screen. When each one was interviewed later and asked about their behavior, they each said they wanted to make sure they were in range.
The first discovery was an noticeable angst that developed when one who was a steady user was asked to turn the power off for 2 hours.
One woman said she was having a great day without her electronic leash and thought it was nice to have one adventured filled day without the distractions that come from modern electronic toys. Nobody else seemed to agree, and she was soon treated as an outcast from the group, like the only sober person at a crack house.
At the end of the experiment, the subjects were asked to wait in a room while their phones were retrieved. On the coffee table were left pictures of drug addicts and alcoholics. Also addiction recovery literature was left out on end tables. Before long many were talking about drunks and addicts they knew and the sad lives they lived. One added that there is so much more they could be enjoying if their happiness didn't depend on their addictions.
"Some people just don't get it." They agreed.
Rewriting History
Adolf Hitler was an orphan who lived in an orphanage until he was eighteen years old. He was born in Germany in 1914. All his life he wondered why his parents gave him up. This created a spirit of hate in him. He was a very angry boy. In the orphanage, he constantly got into altercations with the other children. He was constantly put into isolation. Being put into isolation so much as a child is believed to be the reason for Hitler’s madness. In 1932, Hitler was released from the orphanage. He vowed to make everybody else in Germany to feel the same pain that he felt. He did not want to be the only one. So, in 1933, Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany. Hitler was in love with the power that came with this new position. He loved the fact that with the point of a finger he could control a human being. He led the country by instilling fear in the citizens. By becoming the chancellor of Germany, he planned to make children orphans just like he was. Hitler began his plan first by reuniting all families with each other. He made the children who had already moved out of their parents’ house move back in even though some of them were full grown adults. He even reunited some abandoned children back with their families. Then Hitler waited one year after all the families were comfortable and acquainted, and ripped all the parents away from the children. After families would get separated, Hitler would lie and tell the children a location they can go and get their parents back. But in reality, they would be sent to a camp where they were forced to watch their parents being killed. Hitler would make sure that the children stayed alive by keeping them in separate camps and removing all ways they could possibly commit suicide from the premises. He did this so that they would have to stay alive and think about their lost family members. Women that were pregnant had a separate camp. They were nurtured and taken care of so that they would have a healthy baby, and as soon as the baby was born he would murder the mother and father so that the baby would never know them. There were orphanages all around Germany. He made sure they were all the same as the one he grew up in. Nobody was aware of what Hitler was doing for fifteen years until a brave group of rebels got the message out to other countries. The United States realized what was going on and invaded Germany and proceeded to assassinate Hitler in a sneak attack. They then freed all the people that were being held captive and tried to reunite as many families as they could.
Public Enemy - Fight The Power
The song I chose is Fight the Power by Public Enemy. In the lyrics, Public Enemy talks about how “our freedom of speech is freedom or death”. This relates to 1984 because of the people of Oceania were constantly under surveillance and were not able to do and say what they wanted to say. When Winston wrote what he wanted to say in his journal, he was reprimanded for it. The song really just talks about how we need to stand up to the man and fight the power. We all have natural born rights and should be able to do what we please. Winston agreed with this point of view, but when he tried to do something about it, he was caught and the government tried to change his view completely. We are lucky to live in America where that is not possible.
1989 the number another summer (get down)
Sound of the funky drummer
Music hittin' your heart cause I know you got sould
(Brothers and sisters, hey)
Listen if you're missin' y'all
Swingin' while I'm singin'
Givin' whatcha gettin'
Knowin' what I know
While the Black bands sweatin'
And the rhythm rhymes rollin'
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power
[Chorus]
As the rhythm designed to bounce
What counts is that the rhymes
Designed to fill your mind
Now that you've realized the prides arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
from the heart
It's a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothin's strange
People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say...
Fight the Power
[Chorus]
Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant anything to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother freak him and John Wayne
Cause I'm Black and I'm proud
I'm ready and hyped plus I'm amped
Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps
Sample a look back you look and find
Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check
Don't worry be happy
Was a number one jam
Damn if I say it you can slap me right here
(Get it) lets get this party started right
Right on, c'mon
What we got to say
Power to the people no delay
To make everybody see
In order to fight the powers that be
(Fight the Power)
Reflecting on Media Literacy
Although I came into this class thinking it was a joke, it has actually taught me many things that I did not know before. During the social media unit I learned to keep my things private on social media and that anybody can see what I post because it will be on the internet forever. When we learned about the government that chapter really surprised me. I had no idea how big a part the government plays with national security. I thought that we really had privacy, but it turns out that we don’t. It really just makes you think what other kind of government secrets that there are. I have also learned that media is a huge part of this world, and not to believe everything I see because it can easily be manipulated. This class was very different from other Language Arts classes that I have taken because we did not just sit around reading and annotating ancient literature all day. I did not enjoy doing that in other Language Arts classes because it has nothing to do with preparing us for the real world we are about to enter. In this class, we learned about things that will help us in real life. You shared your personal life with us, and I can say that I will learn from your mistakes. I will try to focus when I am in college so I can be successful in all my endeavors. Looking back, I really would not change a thing that I did in this class. I really enjoyed having you as a teacher this year. (Even though you were so anal about us not having our phones out) I will really miss you Zopf!