We always have a choice
Responsibility follows with your action
#1 What is media literacy
From my perspective media is a connection that connects people all around the world.
Media has lots of advantages and yet it can be dangerous. People are too dependent on media and without it we feel empty. We get to know many things through media but sometimes we get to know too much or unnecessary things.We also have lots of fun stuff in media that makes us happy and it seems like we are socializing with people, but instead we become less socialized and all we do is look into the screen of our phones or laptops. Most people these days waste their time spending too much time on media.
People have no control over media; media controls over us, making us its slave. Media literacy seems like learning through media or learning about wide range of media. Education through media makes me think like we’re becoming more like a robot, it reminds me of a movie called “WALL-E”. As a human being we should be able to think on our own but I’m afraid we might end up like a people in WALL-E; lazy, no thoughts of our own and no will power.
We should be more aware of our situation and should not blind. Media seems like it’s a wonderful world but it might end up being a trap that can ruin everything of us.
Everyday activity
What is media to us?
Drained out.
#2 What will you do?
I want this world to stop having people who are addicted to their smartphones so I would make a challenge in the social media in which one person chooses random friends and make them meet at one place and stay together with no phones. One person can choose 5 friends to meet up at random place and that person can film their friends being together for 30 minutes without phone. If they succeed in socializing then they get to choose another friends of their own, and so it goes on like relay. However when they fail they need to donate 10 dollars to U.N.
People want to socialize but they forget how to socialize because they have many friends online when they have no actual friends in real world.
#3 Super Bowl Commercial: Hyundai advertisement.
Hyundai made an interesting, humorous scenery, in where a dad has to send his daughter to a date and so lends his new car to the guy so that the he can track them down and make his daughter's date uncomfortable.
Hyundai in order to grab the attention of the customers, used humor which everyone likes and has made it more interesting and curious to those who are watching the commercial.
Hyundai's specific target of customers are parents with money and has a precious daughter that has a date; but their customers can also be those who often forget where they park the car and those who feel insecure about their car, thinking that it might get stolen.
#4 - How does Gender in Advertising Affect Society?
In the past and in the present, advertisements has always been reflecting our beliefs and stereotypes; Decades ago there were stereotypes that women were weak and had to oblige to men and that men were the head of the house and were dominant to women; The advertising companies mocked women and reflected our stereotypes on the screen . However, now majority believe that women are the head of the house, and are dominant to men, and advertisement now mock men and dad while making the women look stronger, powerful and respectful.
In the past and until now women have always taken out the topic of women’s right and revolted about the issue; Society that includes men, started accepting women’s right and their ability to also do what men can do.
As women got their position in the society people recognized how women were wise, responsible and hardworking compared to men, and this changed the perspective towards women and has turned into one of the stereotype. The advertising companies whose job is to persuade the society in using money for objects or events ,tries to get the attention of the population, and they know who decides what in the household so they try to make women feel better; ending up mocking the men in most of the advertisements.
#5- Media Manipulation
An Ironic world, that's where we live; Place where attitudes and belief exist separately. We smile but sometimes that’s not because of happiness, we cry but sometimes not because we are sad, but all because we want to gain something out of pretending.
Every people have their own mask but some have more than others and some never show their true face until someone else reveals it. Hypocrisies, name of the mask that is too common in this society ; pretending to be all good and caring, not true belief or feeling but just pretense that is all fake. Many big companies like Coca Cola and Kellogg, they always wear this mask to sell their products; This is how they have existed and this is how they will exist. This is just a method to survival, show people they care about customers but in reality all they care about is themselves. It’s not just big companies, we see this in our daily life, in our own life. Our society was always selfish but the selfishness and our greed keeps on increasing simultaneously. People who don’t pretend don’t survive. That’s how our society changed. Sad reality of today’s world: to get to the top we need to wear this mask of hypocrisies.
#6 - Should Apple Fix?
Apple and the FBI have been on the opposite side of each other; matter of security vs. freedom. Centuries ago, when there were lots of rebellions and wars it was all about freedom: People did not have basic rights and freedom as a human being , but now FBI is trying to break that freedom because of some criminals; they want to break into iphone’s encoding system, which can expose millions of people's personal information.
We all know that we have rights to have our personal information just in our boarders, FBI don't have the right to invade into our personal space and we wouldn't want a security to invade into our personal matter.
It's obvious that without security the nation is in vulnerable state, but too much of security can lead to a dictatorship; people will have less freedom and the government will become stronger and people will suffer more and more under the pressure of government. What’s the true meaning of life without freedom? Even if we have the strongest security,there is no meaning of life if we suffer in that cage. Security should not only deal with physical safety of people but it should be considered as both physical and mental safety from outsiders.
#7 – 1984 Agree or Disagree?
"For and idea to exist, we must have words to express it": This quote is like saying " There was egg before hen". We really don't know which one comes first, the egg or the hen? : the idea or the word? People's opinion and perspective divides into half at this point, we are not so sure which one comes first,but from my perspective, at least ideas can't have life unless expressed by words.
We might have an idea in our mind but an idea that doesn't come out into action is just an idea that is dead. Sometimes ideas could be expressed with actions or drawings, but ideas cannot be expressed or showed more accurately than words. Words are what we use to communicate; even the blinded ones and deaf people use words. Parents first teach words to their babies before teaching any ideas, this shows that words are very basic necessity to us.
From the bible it says that the God created this world with words. If God had an idea but did not have words to make that idea exist, or have a life, then would he be able to make this earth?
I think ideas comes first but ideas that can’t be expressed is like dead ideas; ideas that has no utility.
Ideas and words actually resemble a lot of how our brains and hearts work together.
Brain might form first but for the brain to live, the heart has to keep pumping blood. When the heart dies, eventually the brain dies too and it brings the same consequences when going around the way; When the brain dies then the heart dies too. Our ideas are like the brain and our words are like the heart; Both of them are important and both of them are necessary for us to live.
#8 – Get it Straight
#9 – Ain’t rebellion Fine?
After the American revolution, due to the war, farmers who were out fighting against their enemy lost so much of their lands and properties. The government needed to cover up the budget used on the war and the country was having a difficult time. The taxes were too high and the farmers could not afford to pay that tax while making out a living, so Daniel Shay who was a farmer, made a revolutionary group and revolted against the government by persuading other farmers with same situation.However the revolution was taken down immediately, under the George Washington’s command Benjamin Lincoln lead the military and pressed the revolution down, and no more revolution occurred after that.
Due to this event in history, George Washington made more proper and powerful laws so that farmers could not revolt against the government and so that the laws could help this country into becoming a better, powerful nation.If this revolution had not occurred that time, George Washington might not have been able to prove his power and there might have been more revolutions, more repeatedly.
Today we see many uprisings around the world that includes, Thailand uprising, Syrian uprising, Egypt uprising, and etc…When we look at the uprisings in those country, we can see that there are similarities in those nations: They have a weak government that is very not trustworthy, no good leader, very unstable economy, political corruption, and etc…
When the country has no good leader to lead the country,the country becomes unstable, people feel vulnerable,and people start making independent actions that keeps worsening the situation. When no line is made to keep the rules, people eventually go out of their boundaries to seek safety.In 1787 if Shay’s rebellion had not occurred and if George Washington had not showed the power, then America would have experienced a longer time in chaos and might not formed this country that we see now.
This goes to every country, every nation: if there is no good leader with good leadership and good goals, that nation will start going down towards the bottom and the nation will one day perish. These events all show the importance of leader’s role and we are proud that we had a great leader in our history.
#10 - The Government Wins Again
Edward Snowden and Mr O’ Brien in the book 1984 has lots of similarities in the role they played in their work place; Both of them worked for the governor and both of them knew too much about the truth that lay behind the cover of lies. However Mr O’ Brien and Edward Snowden are very different as a person; Mr O’ Brien always knew what he was doing or in what situation he was in, and he knew that the Big Brothers were doing wrong, but he never took the courage to do something about it. He was scared to go against Big Brothers and he was not willing to do for his, or other’s sake. All he did was break little rules, like buying diaries, having relationship with a woman, etc..
Meanwhile Mr Snowden acted different from Mr O’ Brien; He knew that the government was doing wrong by breaking individual’s personal, private space through surveillance and through technology so, Snowden collected evidences and documents that could prove government’s wrong actions and he bravely took the evidences out of the nation and publicized it even though he had his girlfriend and families to care in his country; He risked his family’s name and his life for the sake of our nation and we can still see that the government hasn’t forgiven Snowden for what he has done even though government are the ones who did wrong and we know that nothing has changed about the government’s action on surveillance but Snowden’s report at least made us aware of government’s action.
Snowden and O'Brien have slightly different situation but we can clearly see that Snowden was heroic while compared to that O’Brien was coward like but that doesn’t mean that O’Brien was a bad person. I’m sure that majority of us are like O’Brien who doesn’t have the courage to make an action even though we know that something is going on wrong.
#11 – Is Technology sent from Heaven?
Is technology from heaven?
In the book 1984, even though the Oceania had very strong surveillance, their technology and scientific progress in other fields were very very poor. Science can advance when someone keeps experimenting or develops new idea or logic however in Oceania, people who could think in genuine way or have ideas were all vanquished; and this shows why Oceania have poor scientific advance. Oceania stopped developing scientifically because Big Brothers were scared that any person with new idea could overthrow them from their power. A nation where no one is allowed to think out of their box, or have fresh new ideas, cannot develop into better place. Oceania is like a world where everything has stopped, everything has been destroyed and is about to vanish like those who tried to think out of the box. Indeed Mr Orwell described Oceania as more primitive place than 50 years ago because no one had normal life where they could freely express their ideas or develop new objects or technologies.
Mr Orwell is saying that even though the technology exists in Oceania the science which developed technology can no more live in this nation.#12 – Happiness Vs Freedom
If someone asked me to choose between freedom and happiness, I would definitely choose happiness because we want freedom to achieve happiness. If we look at our world now, even we have rights and freedom, many people don't live a happy life and even the millionaires or billionaires don't achieve real happiness. What is the meaning of life without a smile and without joy? True happiness is achieved when someone is selfless and can consider others over themselves. Freedom is not what brings us the meaning of life, we hope to live because of that moment of happiness, to feel warm and happy. So therefor I agree with Winston that I would choose happiness over freedom.
Entry #13 – Gaslighting
Gaslighting originally was given a name through a movie called “Gaslight” and this is a technique used very commonly amongst the politicians across the world, especially in U.S ; It’s a method in which a person lies and keeps insisting one’s point, that the opponent who even has evidence starts doubting himself and the evidence.
In early days before the technology was developed and before the T. V was common, gaslight was known to be used between two people: person to person. However since the media developed, politicians took advantage of the media and started using gaslight against the whole population and it indeed was and is very effective.
Today Donald Trump is very famous for gaslighting, lying directly to the face of the people, yet has majority of nominations in the Republican Party but it’s not only him who uses this technique, most of the politician including the President he himself gaslights and this time even Hillary Clinton, the candidate of Democratic Party is also trying to use this technique. Hillary is now quite famous for the lies she made up that insults Bernie’s name,so that she could get nominated from the Democratic side. Politicians know that they lie, however they are very confident because they know the power of gaslighting.
The problem is in us, our belief and confidence is not as high as those politicians and that’s why we get wavered, shaken by those lies; Even if we know what they were telling are all false, we tend to believe those lies because they are overconfident than us and I think that people should have their own belief and faith in themselves to not get shaken by those lies and they should also ignore those lies to not get tempted to listen more.
#14 Performance Final
Part1:Can We Autocorrect Humanity?
As our social media world develops and modernises more and more, we human become more involved with the network world, and have more open connection with the entire population. However in reality, in our physical world, we become more departed from each other and we do not want this to become our eternal faith.
As a human being, we were born with the right to choose our own path; Right now most of our population choose to utilize the social media as much as they could: Enjoy their life by getting likes and number of friends, complete their works in faster way, etc. However we started depending on social media to an extent to where we have gotten addicted to it, and now we have forgotten the sole purpose of why network was created. Network was created as our tool but now they are no more our tool, they have become our life: We spend more than half of our time holding our phones instead of holding the hands of the loved ones and our time keeps ticking while we don’t know what we have lost and is keep on losing right now: our emotions, our attachments to the loved ones, our humanity, and all of our basic humanistic characters. We have the right to choose and every choice we make are followed by consequences and responsibilities, and I believe that no human can change their life unless they realize what they have lost and unless they make a change to their behaviors. Change is never easy and our change in behavior is only followed when we have the strong will and determinisms in ourselves.
Part II: Reflection
This language class was very different from what I have experienced in the past. This class always talked about our reality and it kept waking me up from the deep sleep I had in the social media world. It kept waking me up from the illusionary world that I have been addicted. Through this class I have realized that social media will always be there as a trap and I have to be very cautious throughout my life. This class had good selection of books we talked about, it was again very meaningful because it brought more thoughts into our mind and gave us the chance to think about our world again, and the discussions we had were the topics we had to really talk about in this world. I wish we had more activities but it was still a very good class and it had brought me a new perspective and thoughts into my life that includes the realization of the worth of the people around me. It would be a good if the language classes in our school could wake up the other kids from the illusionary world they are living in, so that they can get the chance to rethink about their life once again.