Plug-In to Technology
a hotspot for media literacy
What is Media Literacy?
According to dictionary.com, media is the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines that reach or influence people widely. I believe media is anything to do with technology that informs you about many different things and it means that that you are informed on how media works. Once you understand how everything works in the media, you would be media literate. I think it is very important to be media literate. The majority of things in the world are all carried from person to person through the media. Media is also tied directly in with social media, which millions of people see daily. Our society today is based around the media and social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Yahoo, YouTube, Google, etc. If someone is not media literate, they cannot function in today’s society. Media can be very good or dangerous. It can influence people in different ways. Modeling is sometimes shown as skinny, starving women that are physically “beautiful,” and that makes girls believe that they are not as beautiful as what they see in the media. This is a big negative impact on people through media. Many people just give out their information like it is nothing to be concerned about. Anyone can see these posts and once they are on the internet, they are there forever. Everyone needs to be safe with what they post, and once you understand that, it greatly improves media literacy.
Media Feeds You
Media feeds everything straight into your brain, whether good or bad.
Words About Media
Media can bring negative or positive effects to your life.
Social Networking
Millions of people use social media, and can see everything you post
The Super Bowl XLVIII commercial for Radio Shack (2014), a franchise of electronics retail stores, explains that “the 80’s want their store back” and that their store is no longer a blast from the past, but a modern electronics store where everything from now can be found. Radio Shack illustrates their commercial by showing an employee getting a phone call from an unknown caller and telling his coworker that: “the 80’s called, they want their store back,” followed by a group of prominent 80’s figures (Alf, Erik Estrada, Chuckie, Michael Myers, Hulk Hogan) and themes (Fade haircut, BoomBox, “Working for the Weekend”) coming to ransack the store of all its out-of-date merchandise. By using these popular figures from the 1980s, Radio Shack is using nostalgia to prove that their products are no longer old, used, or junk, and to show that they are out with the old and in with the new. Radio Shack’s audience is people from the 80s that are around 30+ years old because the entire commercial is based on this era of legendary music, memorable characters, and interesting fads to let all of their past customers feel the greatness that came from this time and link it to the amazing technology we have today.
ABC’s “Lost”: Not just a TV Show
Gavin Cagle, Staff Reporter
Tuesday, March 12, 2014
ATLANTA—Recent events have proven that missing Malaysia Flight 370 is actually on the island of Lost, a “fiction” TV show from 2004 aired on the American Broadcasting Company.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared over Southeast Asia on Saturday, March 8 on its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysian officials not only don't know what happened to the plane, they don't seem sure where to look. But why keep looking when there is nothing to find?
Lost is a series TV show aired by ABC, about a mysterious plane crash, where 48 survivors are left stranded on an unknown Pacific Island after their plane goes off course. They not only have to cope with the forces of nature, but also the island’s secrets, such as the Dharma Initiative, the Lost numbers, the hostiles, and the strange black smoke. Everyone is connected in some way and everyone has a purpose to live on the island.
Researchers studying missing Flight 370 have found connections between the passengers on the plane, the missing passengers have the same lifestyles as the characters (Doctor, fugitive, agent, recently won the Lottery, paralyzed, and even a scam artist), numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 (Lost numbers) have been found as the serial number of the missing plane, and evidence of the existence of the Dharma Initiative being created many years ago has come to light. If these facts aren’t shocking enough, a recent interview with one of the creators, JJ Abrams, confirms many other stunning facts.
Abrams: “Numerous planes and boats have crashed on this island over the years, mine included. I landed on the island of Lost in my boat many years ago. I have traveled through time, just like in the show, and based the entire show on my personal experiences. I did not know which flight it would be, but I knew it would happen. The island is real and in the pacific in the same direction that Flight 370 went off course. I hope they survive the horrors and mystery that the island brings. I hope they find their purpose of being on the island.”
More and more facts are being brought to light; but Flight 370 is on the island of Lost. The real question is when the survivors will return from their journey. More details to come.
Believe Me.. This is 1984
[chorus]
I guess
That this is where we've come to
If you don't want to
Then you don't have to believe me
But I won't be there when you go down
Just so you know now
You're on your own now believe me
I don't want to be the one to blame
You like fun and games
Keep playing em
I'm just saying
Think back then
We was like one and the same
On the right track
But I was on the wrong train
Just like that
Now you've got a face to pain
And the devil's got a fresh new place to play
In your brain like a maze you can never escape the rain
Every damn day is the same shade of grey
Hey
I used have a little bit of a plan
Used to
Have a concept of where I stand
But that concept slipped right out of my hands
Now I don't really even know who I am
Yo, what do I have to say
Maybe I should do what I have to do to break free
What ever happens to you, we'll see
But it's not gonna happen with me
[chorus]
I guess
That this is where we've come to
If you don't want to
Then you don't have to believe me
But I won't be there when you go down
Just so you know now
You're on your own now believe me
Back then, I thought you were just like me
Somebody who could see all the pain I see
But you proved to me unintentionally
That you would self-destruct eventually
Now I'm thinking like the mistake I made doesn't hurt
But it's not gonna work
Cause it's really much worse than I thought
I wished you were something that you were not
And now this guilt is really all that I got
You turned your back
And walked away in shame
All you got is a memory of pain
Nothing makes sense so you stare at the ground
I hear your voice in my head when no one else is around
What do I have to say
Maybe I should do what I have to do to break free
What ever happens to you, we'll see
But it's not gonna happen with me
[chorus]
I guess
That this is where we've come to
If you don't want to
Then you don't have to believe me
But I won't be there when you go down
Just so you know now
You're on your own now believe me
[bridge]
[chorus]
I guess
That this is where we've come to
If you don't want to
Then you don't have to believe me
But I won't be there when you go down
Just so you know now
You're on your own now believe me
Do what i have to do
You're on your own now believe me
What ever happens to you
You're on your own now believe me
What do I have to say
You're on your own now believe me
It's not gonna happen with me
You're on your own now believe me
The novel 1984 by George Orwell relates to the song "Believe Me" by Fort Minor. A section of the song says “Hey, I used to have a little bit of a plan. Used to have a concept of where I stand, but now that concept slipped right out of my hands. Now I don’t even know who I am. Yo, what do I have to say. Maybe I should do what I have to do to break free, Whatever happens to you, we’ll see, but it’s not gonna happen to me.” This section of the song shows the entire book. It starts with Winston having a plan of bringing down Big Brother with the help of Julia and the brotherhood. He knew he hated Big Brother and couldn't take it anymore, but as times went on "the plan slipped out of his hands" when he got caught by the thought police after many meetings with Julia. After much torture, "he doesn't even know who he is anymore." After he thinks that he can cover up hating Big Brother, O'Brien brings him to Room 101 and makes him face rats eventually betraying Julia because he needed to “do what he had to do to break free” to save himself from his fear. He tells O'Brien, “’Do it to Julia!...Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not Me! Julia! Not me!’”(Orwell 799) in order to save himself because “it’s not gonna happen to him,” resulting in his realization of his love for Big Brother.
Recap of the Semester
Throughout this media literacy course, views on media literacy have deepened. Media literacy is the understanding of everything to do with media and technology. Every day, all over the internet, everyone absorbs knowledge both real and forged that changes perspectives on certain ideas. All of these persuasions come from media, whether from news, newspapers, or social media. Our society today is based around the media and social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Yahoo, YouTube, Google, etc. and one cannot get the plethora of knowledge without these mediums, therefore if one does not have understanding of up-to-date technologies, the information will be watered down. Media can be dangerous. All of this can be linked to privacy concerns, media standards, and social media which were greatly expanded upon throughout this semester. The class has learned everything from slacktivism to electronic tattoos to events around the world. The class is also a part of the elite group that has read 1984. The class has learned how to deal with the present and the future by using caution in what is said and done on the internet. This class is very different from other classes in that it is dealing with things that will actually be used one day opposed to DGP and writings from ancient times that will never be heard again. The information learned in this course will be carried on through the future. This class actually has meaning and it is useful. This class was very well put together and not much could be changed. If anything, reading another book like 1984 or watching another movie like V for Vendetta to learn more about how the future can change would be beneficial.This was a very interesting class to have taken and I am glad to have had the opportunity.