Knowledge = Being Aware
Melanie Savage
Smore 1
Melanie Savage
1/7/16
Mrs. Danley
2nd block
SMORE #1 https://www.smore.com/schgf SAVAGE
I think “media” is anything I see on the television, hear on the radio, or read on a magazine/billboard/book/ad. It is any form of advertisement regarding entertainment, education, religion data, or promotional messages.
“Literacy” most basically means the ability to read and write.
Now if you put those together you get media literacy. The ability to read and understand different types of media has become an essential skill in the 21st century. Media literate youth adults are better likely to succeed in the world because they can understand the sometimes complex messages we get from television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, video games, music, and all other forms of media.
Media literacy is about helping students become more aware of the world and giving them the ability to understand media in all forms. It builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as important skills of inquiry (asking questions) and self-expression necessary for any human. If you are media literate you can control the interpretation of what you see and hear rather than letting the interpretation control you.
Being media literate does not mean that you have memorized facts or statistics. It means you are able to raise the right questions about what you are watching, reading, or listening to. It means you do not let others think for you and you formulate your own opinions and ideas on the subject matter at hand.
Without this fundamental ability you are depriving yourself of basic human rights in democratic society. As a citizen of the United States you should be able to understand and contribute to the debates of the time.
Taking notes
wordle
Watching TV
Smore 2
Transgenders
Melanie Savage
5 February 2016
Mrs. Danley
2nd block
Smore #2 What Can I Do
What can I do for trans-genders?
· To support the trans-gender community I can spread awareness and ask people to join me in spreading awareness. I can use social media as a medium to get through to people/create a blog. I can let people message me and ask any questions they may have and to the best of my ability I will answer their questions in a way that will hopefully have them become more understanding.
· I could speak at public places about the matter, church would be a really good place to start.
· I could petition to have a Trans gender pride event held in my community.
· I could start a local support or education group for trans gender people.
· Volunteer with an LGBT advocacy group
· Engage media coverage of trans-gender issues
· March as a trans contingent in the Gay pride parade
· Hold a trans pride event in my community
· Collect and share stories of discrimination – this kind of goes along with what I said about spreading awareness.
· Start a discussion group on gender related books
· Support or create a radio show or podcast that talks all about trans-genders and equal rights that they should have.
· Petition Gwinnett county schools about the bathroom rule (how trans people should be allowed to go into the bathrooms of the genders they claim they are)
· And the biggest thing of all that I can do is to just be nice to trans people and show them that not everyone is horrible and there are people out there who care about them and the problems they face.
smore 3
Melanie Savage
Danley
12 Language Arts
8 February 2016
Ryanville Commercial
In the Ryanville commercial that played during the 50th super bowl (2/7), produced by the agency Innocean, Ryan Reynolds stops traffic with his good looks; he asserts himself all over the scene in order to distract the women in the car, but Hyundai proves that even when you have someone as distracting as him in front of you, your car will keep you safe. In the commercial Ryan walks in front of the car, but is saved by the fact that the car has auto emergency breaks with pedestrian detection. The purpose is to show the safety measures this car can go to in order to keep you safe even when you are not paying attention. The intended audience is potential car buyers, mainly women, with a sexy tone.
smore 4
Melanie Savage
Danley
12 Language Arts
12 February 2016
Smore #4
Today in society, women have become more empowered. In advertising, there are tons and tons of commercials where men are perceived as stupid, lazy, or inferior to women, but not many vice versa. Is this wrong when for so long women have been the ones being put down by men? Back in the day, advertisement used to show women as housewives merely catering to their husbands. Lately, with many feminists groups’ fighting for equal pay and treatment, society has become very sensitive to anything derogatory towards women. I think it’s safe to say many women are just plain and simple fed up with the way they have been portrayed throughout the years. So, again, is it wrong to portray men as inferior? Or is it justified because of how we women have been treated? If I had to answer this question, I would say it is justified. It is time for the world to see what women are really made of, and I think it is great that the media is starting to show that. It dictates societal values and shows that women can do anything men can do. Now, this is a very controversial topic lately because there are people saying that if women claim they can do anything men can do then they should be drafted into war just like men. Is that fair? If we really do want equal rights that does make sense, but is that worth it? I personally know I do not want to fight in war. So, this type of advertising and its impact on society has definitely made a difference, but whether or not that difference is for the better is yet to be determined.
Smore #5
Melanie Savage
Language arts
Mrs. Danley
Smore #5
Media Manipulation
There is a lot of hypocrisy in advertising everywhere. For example, coca-cola admits and addresses the fact that it contributes to obesity, but has not changed the way they advertise to fix this problem. Another example is Kellogg’s ad saying “Ever thought of coco pops after school?” Parents are furious saying this is going to cause childhood obesity, one parent stated “Kid-targeted candy advertising at its worst.” Media manipulates everything we watch, but children are especially susceptible to it. They don’t pay attention to the sugar intake, or how many bad ingredients are in a coke, they see how refreshing it looks on TV and immediately want to go buy one. Children obesity is a serious problem and not to be taken lightly. There are very simple solutions they just haven’t been done yet. It is as easy as simply making the sugar intake and calories in LARGE PRINT on the coke bottles, and removing vending machines from schools and public areas or parks. Kids grow up drinking sodas without realizing this is what is causing them to feel tired, gain weight, or get headaches. Vending machines in school need to only include water bottles or juices. It is time to make a difference and stop the rapid growth of obesity we see in America. It starts with the children.
smore 6
Melanie Savage
Mrs. Danley
Language Arts
22 February 2016
Smore #6 should apple fix?
Based on the articles that I have read, I can see this is a strong matter at hands. Although, I can’t decide what I think is the right thing to do. I can see pros and cons to both sides. Obviously it would be great if we could track down the terrorists from San Bernardino, but do we really want the FBI to have access to our phones? The FBI claims that they would not have access to everyone’s phone, just one phone for this one time use only, but I just don’t know if I believe that. Then again, it’s not like I have anything to be worried about if they were to have access to phones. In my opinion, I think that apple should help the FBI out, because if we have the capability to find the terrorists responsible for the attack then we should. Now, that being said, I think if apple does decide to help they should make sure there’s no way for the FBI to use this against everyone, only for this one phone and one time like they have promised.
Smore #7
Melanie Savage
Language Arts
Mrs. Danley
Smore #7
Agree or Disagree
With the quote given, “The only way to prepare for peace is to be prepared for war.” At
first preparing for war and preparing for peace seem like two things that wouldn’t go together but
once you think about it, it makes sense. Preparing for war you are building up your protection.
This doesn’t mean war is the key, but the power from preparation can make the enemy flee, and
result in peace. If your country is weak and has no protection, lesser powers are more likely to
attack. Leading to war, so if all the world’s military's were to vanish, people would rise to power
and start a revolution of war if there is no one to stop them. It would happen in multiple places in
the world because people are always power hungry. I agree with this quote and this is being
carried out today by the US. We have our military to prepare for the worst but hope for peace.
This carries on to even smaller scales. If there was someone breaking into your house you would
pull a weapon. This is just a threat and a warning to leave, but if it was ignored then the treat
would turn into “war” but the objective is to end with peace, the gun represents the message of
strength that the military gives off.
smore 8 get it straight
Melanie Savage
Mrs. Danley
12 Language Arts
5 May 2016
Politifact
Trump quote: "(Cruz’s) father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald being, you know, shot. I mean the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right, prior to his being shot? And nobody even brings it up,"
He said this on Fox and Friends on the morning of the critical Indiana primary.
Cruz tore into Trump after this calling him a pathological liar. After reading the rest of the article it is clear that trump did indeed make this up. Trump’s charge appears to be based on a National Enquirer report alleging that Rafael Cruz is the man standing next to Oswald in a photo from 1963. But technical experts told PolitiFact that no such firm conclusion is possible given the quality of the photograph, and several historians of the period told us they’ve never seen Cruz’s name come up in connection with Oswald.
In order to make an informed opinion on this you must know what trump and Cruz had to say.
My thoughts are that Trump is crazy and I am in agreement with Cruz that he is a pathological liar. He will say whatever he can to win over votes no matter how lunatic it is. Trump has no mercy.
Cruz’s quote: “Donald Trump wants to let male predators masquerading as women in the same bathrooms as your wife and daughter.” - According to an ominous black-and-white ad from presidential rival Ted Cruz.
Though, this is not exactly true. Trump’s comments on HB 2 suggest he doesn't really see allowing bathroom choice for transgender people as a problem. But by prohibiting people from using the bathroom they feel is appropriate, Trump said, North Carolina has hurt its business potential.
In order to make an informed decision about this you have to know what trump really said in North Carolina.
My thoughts are that Cruz is stupid for trying to come at Trump about trans-genders. Lately, trans-genders are all the rage, and they are very sensitive and don’t take being made fun of or out casted well. If I was Cruz, I would not have talked about this at all.
Hilary Clinton says Donald Trump wants to pull the U.S. out of NATO
-Campaigning in Milwaukee on March 28, 2016, Clinton declared that the Republican front runner "wants us to pull out of NATO."
Her statement is mostly false. While Donald Trump has stated that NATO is very expensive and costing the U.S. too much money, he has not directly stated that he would pull the U.S. out.
My overall thoughts are that if I was Hillary I would have said he WANTS to pull us out, I wouldn’t lie and said he made a statement that he did not.
Bernie Sanders said “I would love to run against Donald Trump, and I’ll tell you why," Sanders said. "For a start, … not all, but almost every poll has shown that Sanders vs. Trump does a lot better than Clinton vs. Trump. … And, that’s true nationally."
This was during the Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Mich., on March 6.
After looking at polls of Hillary VS. Trump and Sanders VS. Trump it is clear that Sander’s statement is mostly true.
Smore #8
It is VERY important to check if what you are hearing from candidates is true, because as we just saw candidates lie about their opponents in order to get ahead all the time. We definitely can never rely on the media to tell us the truth. The media is always manipulating the truth or hiding things in order to make sales. Living in such a technologically advanced society, it is important to not let the technology control us. We can’t fall victim to media manipulation, we should ALWAYS research what we are being told and check out the back stories. I know that if lies were being told about me on TV I would hope that citizens are smart enough to make decisions for themselves and not just believe everything they are being told.
I’d like to hope that most people fact check their candidates, I believe we have a pretty well educated society in America so I think it is safe to assume they would research who they are voting for. Then again, you never really know.
The problem with not looking up the truth is you could fall victim to the lies and the manipulation. Then you are considered ignorant because you did not take the time to look up people who could possibly be running your country. It is never good to just blindly follow the crowd.
Smore #9 aint rebellion fine
Melanie Savage
Language Arts
Mrs. Danley
Smore #9
Aint Rebellion Fine
Between 1941-1943, underground resistance movements developed in approximately 100 100 ghettos in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe. Their goals were to organize uprisings, break out of the ghettos, and join partisan units in the fights against the Germans. The jews knew the uprisings would not completely stop the Germans, and they knew the chances of them actually escaping were very slim, but they could not simply do nothing. They had to fight back; it is human nature to stand up for yourself. You cannot just stand by and let someone abuse you.
What makes rebellions so powerful is the passion people have to escape their abuse. When people join together to rebel it is usually because they are being mistreated. Not always, but usually the number of people being mistreated out-weigh the people abusing them. When they join together and stand up for themselves you see the power they really do possess.
In the particular article I read, people were inspired to act because they were being held against their will in ghetto camps, abused, killed, starved, and deprived of their basic human rights. The Nazi camps were by far one of the worst things to ever happen in this world, I think anyone in their position would be inspired to rebel.
Techniques they used in their uprising were sneaking weapons into the ghettos. Inhabitants in the ghettos resisted with force when the Germans began to deport the ghetto populations. The Warsaw ghetto uprising in the spring of 1943 was the largest single revolt by Jews. Hundreds of Jews fought the Germans and their auxiliaries in the streets of the ghetto. Thousands of Jews refused to obey German orders to report to an assembly point for deportation. In the end the Nazis burned the ghetto to the ground to force the Jews out. Although they knew defeat was certain, Jews in the ghetto fought desperately and valiantly. Under the most adverse conditions, Jewish prisoners succeeded in initiating resistance and uprisings in some Nazi camps. The surviving Jewish workers launched uprisings even in the extermination camps of Treblinka, Sobibor, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. About 1,000 Jewish prisoners participated in the revolt in Treblinka. On August 2, 1943, Jews seized what weapons they could find—picks, axes, and some firearms stolen from the camp armory—and set fire to the camp. About 200 managed to escape. The Germans recaptured and killed about half of them.
So although there techniques weren’t really much help to them, they still did their best. They stuck together and they resisted orders no matter what outcome they got.
In society today, you could technically say Trump is an uprising. He has caused riots and outbreaks and fights between protestors. Who knows what more is going to come from his running, and if he were to actually be nominated, I think half of America would go crazy.
smore #10
Edward Snowden worked for the NSA and was allowed access to top secret information. He used his level of intelligence to turn against the government and reveal the truth to the people of America. He collected documents and important information that revealed the secret methods the NSA uses to spy on the American people. He then flew to China where he was out of USA jurisdiction and met with journalists from the U.K. publication, The Guardian, as well as filmmaker Laura Poitras. Later on Snowden says, "I'm willing to sacrifice [my former life] because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building," On June 14th, 2013, federal prosecutors charged Snowden with "theft of government Property," "unauthorized communication of national defense information" and "willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an
unauthorized person." Snowden remained in hiding for slightly more than a month. The following month, Snowden made headlines again when it was announced that he had been offered asylum in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia. Snowden wanted to seek temporary asylum in Russia and possibly apply for citizenship later. Russia agreed to this and Snowden thanked them and said "in the end the law is winning." it's no secret that governments are able to intercept telephone calls and text messages. Many activists specifically avoid using the telephone and instead, they use tools like Skype, which they think are immune to interception, but they aren’t. Rather than intercepting the communications as they go over the wire, instead they now hack into your computer, enable your webcam, enable your microphone, and steal documents from your computer. The police can sort of sit in an air-conditioned office and remotely monitor someone without them having any idea that it's going on. You know, your webcam light won't turn on. There's nothing to indicate that the microphone is enabled. Hacking Team's software is being sold to governments around the world. The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States does have the budget to build their own surveillance technology. Like Gamma and Hacking Team, the FBI also has the capability to remotely activate webcams, microphones, steal documents, and get web browsing information, the works. We all use the same kinds of computers, so when governments go into hacking for terrorists, pedophiles, drug dealers, journalists and human rights activists they not only have the capability to hack into the computers of the real bad guys, they also have to have the capability to hack into our devices too. Soghoian ends this talk by saying that there have been no congressional hearings. There's no law that's been passed specifically authorizing this technique, and because of its power and potential for abuse, it's vital that we have an informed public debate.
smore #11
Melanie Savage
Language Arts
Mrs. Danley
Smore #11
Is Technology Sent from Heaven?
By “science and technology” I believe Orwell is referring to the advancements we have in the world today. For example, iphones, televisions, computers, radio, etc. Advancements like these require a prestigious person with a smart and thoughtful mind. In the society that Winston lives in that is not possible because the people around him are mostly thoughtless. All of their thoughts are directed towards big brother and not towards inventions and advancement in the science and technology field. In Winston’s society, the world has been affected by a long series of war and revolutions that has caused much impoverishment. Humans naturally evolve and advance, and Orwell believed that science and technology was on a fast track to continue developing, but because of the conditions of the world this was not possible.
Smore #12
Melanie Savage
Mrs. Danley
2nd block
4/19/16
Smore #12
I do agree that having a happy society is better, but in 1984 the society is not actually happy at all because they cannot think for themselves. How can you be happy if you are watched by your every move, and told what you can and cannot read or eat or watch? The answer is you cannot be, but you can pretend to be as long as you live in a “happy” peaceful society. So, mankind gives up their freedom for happiness which in turn means they gave up their freedom for nothing. They have all been brainwashed to think they love big brother and the party when in reality they are all terrified.
I couldn’t really tell you if I see that choice in today’s society, but I don’t believe anyone in America would willingly give up their freedom to obtain what the government refers to as happiness. America’s whole motto is being a free country and having the right to say and do whatever you want (to a certain extent). I cannot ever imagine anyone in my country giving up the right to protest or say freely what is on their mind without consequence. The people in this country are way too headstrong to go down that easily.
You could compare snowden to the character Winston in 1984. He worked for the government, but woke up and leaked information. He is not comfortable with merely standing by and letting the government snoop through everyone and anyone’s business, and he wanted everyone else to be aware. I do not blame him or think of him as a “rat” or “snitch” or any other mean names he has been called, I thank him, and I hope for more people like him out in the world! I, personally, am NOT okay with the government being able to see everything we do. It is not fair, just, or right in any way. There needs to be more people out there like snowden so we can stand together and not let this injustice take place. It is in violation of our simple human rights! Privacy cannot be discarded!
S'more #13
Melanie Savage
Mrs. Danley
12 Language Arts
1 May 2016
S’more #13
Gaslighting is a form of mental and emotional violence in which the abuser says and does things with the intention of making victims doubt their feelings, insights, perceptions and even their own sanity. Basically, just a way to manipulate people. It is very easy for people in power to say and do whatever they please and get away with no consequences, so it is no surprise that the top republican candidate Donald Trump uses the gaslighting technique all the time. After much research it has become clear that Hillary Clinton shares this negative trait of lying with Trump. She uses it against her opponent Bernie Sanders often, manipulating and twisting the truth in any way she can so that she can come out on top. Gaslighting is a very abusive technique and standing up to people who are trying to use it on you can be hard. The best way for us to win against people in power who lie to us like that is to stay informed on everything regarding the matter they are trying to manipulate and keep an open mind. Always know in the back of your head that what you are hearing just might not be true.
smore 14
Smore #14
Part 1: I can’t lie, social media and my cell phone are big parts of my life. I’m always on my phone, texting or snapchatting or posting pictures, and I’m always worried about how many “likes” I’m going to get on a picture. Although, this year, after turning 18 and going through some family problems I feel like I’ve gained more perspective on what life should really be about. I think our addictions to social media can definitely be controlled. For example, I deleted my social media account ‘Twitter’ in hopes that it will keep me off my phone. At first, I felt lost without it and wanted to download it back immediately, but after a couple of weeks without it I was sooo glad I did it. I never realized how much time it consumed until I didn’t have it anymore. I felt more in control with my life and my time. I just wish I could get all the time ive wasted on that account back. Social media can be a very useful tool to help the world and spread awareness about crime and news, or to help you connect with people around you. Unfortunately, these days it seems like it’s only used to hate on people and make negative/mean comments. There’s no way to particularly “solve” this, but you can help by being someone who does NOT do that. Be a positive influence on social media and spread love and kindness, and perhaps it could have a domino effect.