THE POWER OF MEDIA & MEDIA LITERACY
January 13, 2014 #1 Smore
Media is the connection of people through different mediums like the internet, newspaper, or TV. It helps a society create a network of information, news, and social interactions, which establishes unanimity between societies. Media also makes it possible for organizations, Interest groups, or individuals to get their message or point out to the public. Media influences society tremendously in ways like trends, relationships, and behavior. Individuals are swayed drastically by the actions by people who the media is reporting about. For example if a respectable celebrity were to start wearing his/her shirts backwards it could possible change the entire fashion trend of a generation. During the Vietnam War, TV broadcasters were in the frontlines filming their entire massacre of a generation of American men while their friends and family were watching in the safety of their living rooms. The power of media sparked fury across the country starting the hippie movement. To be Media literate is to be able to understand and use the media for your own advantages. If a person is unable to comprehend what the media is trying to get out there, it is the equivalent to living under rock and being oblivious to what is going on in the world and around them. One has to also be able to use the media to get what they need to be done, done. The people of Egypt can be seen as an example of being media literate; they were able to orchestrate a huge revolution simply by connecting the people and spreading the word of freedom.
Broadcasting team
TV
Media in 25 words
Superbowl Précis
Axe in the commercial for “Axe Peace Body Spray”, which during the 2014 Superbowl, communicates to viewers that the Axe brand supports global peace and love, and their products therefore associated with the pursuit of these values. Axe promotes Axe Peace Body Spray by depicting what is perceived to be totalitarian governments on the brink of violence, but ultimately shows emotionally tying acts instead. Axe attempts to get viewers to agree with this belief and associate this want in the world with their brand in order to increase positive liking and consideration for the brand in a completely different perspective. This commercial uses an emotionally appealing tone which connects with not only men but, even women who typically are not considered in their target markets
Man breaks into house once every week but steals nothing
Kurt Sabnani, Staff Reporter
17 March 2014
OMAHA- A 26 year old man broke into a small Omaha home every week for one year and was recently just found, convicted, and put on to death row in a matter of three and a half days. The owners of the home didn’t know what to think of the continuous break ins and it tore the family apart.
The man and his accomplice, Robert would break into the family’s house once every week for one year but never actually stole anything. In an interview with the owner of the home, “we would come home for dinner and see the door kicked in along with the closet door right next to the front door.” “One night we came back to find a lava lamp just sitting on our counter.”
The man had seem to be trying to make these people go crazy by busting in their door very week. However, one week the homeowner got a little smart and instead of fixing the door they put some beads instead, but despite these efforts the man just came up to the doorstep and ripped out the beads from its string.
“Once he even went as far as to replacing our TV remote batteries with crap ones, and that was the last straw and was also where I divorced my kid’s mother.” Said the homeowner. After months of tracking, the man was arrested in a ACE Hardware and in desperate efforts has swiftly been put on to death row.
Kinetic Typography
Music is the most important part of my life. The bass, the drum kicks, the melodies, and the drops amaze me every time I hear them. Music has become one of my favorite past times, whenever I feel bored or down I put on my headphones and tune out the rest of life. I started listening to electronic music in 2012 and it has over the years become my genre of choice. Between to melodic rhythm and the deep bass drops, electronic music excites me in every way possible. However, live music is even better. Going to see your favorite artists live and seeing the lights and hearing the loud music is live a feeling of no other. The crowds roaring cheers fueling up the artist’s energy fueling up the crowd’s energy in return.
Smore # 5 WWII 3/31/14
In 1940, The Nazi regime in an old territory led by Adolph Hitler plotted to take over the world. He threated of the people of Oceania’s peace and freedom. Many territories allied with Hitler and his regime and against his regime. Hitler got rid of and vaporized people who he believed to be committing crimes and thought crimes against his party. He put in place hundreds of laws making his country a police nation. Once his people were brainwashed to the point where they supported him to the fullest, he began his take over. Big Brother and the allies that were against Hitler immediately began fighting to stop the madness. Hitler began killing millions of people through means of torture and electrocution. He targeted Oceania as to be his capital city; however the people of Oceania stayed loyal to big brother and stayed peaceful the entire time to allow the military to take care of the problems. Big Brother however had a secret weapon; the scientists called it an atom bomb. He used this bomb on another territory killing 100,000 people in seconds. This bomb dramatically changed the face of peace and war, and had Hitler truly frightened. Hitler then began to call of his troops from Oceania as a sign of surrender to big brother. This created a sense of fear towards big brother and the government of Oceania. People have since then have been challenging Oceania and big brother as the leader of the world in war, but no one has prevailed. No one else has used the atom bomb since that day, and it is believed that no one else on the globe has an atom bomb. The other allies and Big Brother eventually defeated Hitler, and Big Brother himself vaporized Hitler.
I chose this event because it had just recently happened during the time Orwell wrote this book. World War two may have been a huge influencing factor in the writing of 1984
Smore# 6 1984
1984 left me Yearning for more. George Orwell left his audience in the dust with the ending of ’84; the entire book built up to what I believed to be the Prole revolution, but instead ended with Winston giving into Big Brother. However, the majority of the book kept me interested and wanting more. This being said I definitely enjoyed 1984, but I didn’t enjoy the way it ended. Any piece of literature or film that makes the audience connect with the main character, then at the end just have them neutralized is simply depressing. Like I mentioned previously I guess I would have ended the book with Winston winning and leading a prole revolution to reclaim the government to the people. The book tries to criticize the government of the modern world, however I believe this is way too exaggerated for it to be a legitimate comment. There were a lot of instances that were actually legitimate, like the telescreens watching the public, but only to a certain extent is this true. Also I believe that our government isn’t just in it for the sole purpose of power. One message I took from this book is probably to be more aware of your surroundings, because at the end of the day the only reason they were caught was because of the telescreen behind the picture.
Smore #7 Total Course Reflection
Media literacy has been one of the more interesting courses I have taken in my High School career. We learned about things from Facebook to Instagram to Advertising and to of course British Literature. When the class began in January, we talked about social media for about the first two week or so, this came to a surprise to me as I had believed this class to be solely a British Literature class. However, when Facebook, twitter, and Instagram came up I immediately got interested and couldn’t help but pay attention and enjoy the class. In a normal class, the teacher would stand up in front of the room and lecture about topics that are, for the most part, irrelevant to the majority of the students’ lives. However, Media literacy relates closely to the personal and social lives of teenagers today. Also not having a textbook is pretty cool as well.
There have been many things that I have learned from this class, most being from the topics of social media than from the pieces of literature that we have read. For example, I have learned that Social media plays a huge part in the marketing aspect of business. Advertisements on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and other websites are just as important if not more important than TV and Radio. Also, I have learned about how our privacy is being greatly reduced by many of these new technologies that has arisen in recent years. When we log onto Facebook, we put out a ton of information out there that dramatically gives people, governments, and business precious information about you
The class does have much to work on however. One of the biggest aspects is the separation between British literature and media literacy. These two subjects should be more integrated and created as more of one course instead of two separate subjects. The addition of V for vendetta was a perfect example of the integration of media literacy and British literature. If this problem could be addressed, this course would be a near flawless one.