My Last Blog

Celebrities - it seems as if the American culture has been overtaken with them. We all want to be celebrities. We all want to be rich. Jim Carey once said that everyone wants to be rich and famous. Although everyone knows it doesn't bring happiness, they still want to try it. Carey says, "Don't try it. It isn't worth it." Interesting statement coming from one of the richest and more famous actors in Hollywood. Then I had to think of that book we were reading about Bill Romanowski. He claims in there that because of the melodramatic themes that are portrayed in movies, the American people have lost touch with reality. Professor Rudd says that it is important for us to be taught media literacy so that we can discern as Christians what these mixed messages are really saying.
I'd like to tie these three thoughts together and say this....
For myself, in my setting, in my childhood........I did not have a lot of media literacy teaching.........
BUT
I would like to argue that the training that my parents gave me was still an adequate training that helps me discern media. For instance, my dad always told me that if something is too good to be true than it's too good to be true. I really believe that today, which helps me to be cautious when I hear advertisements saying all kinds of great things about a product. My parents never like lies of any sort.......so, i was taught that tv lies and that santa claus does not exist. This helped me to understand the world of television and storytelling. They simply aren't true. Books aren't real life. I've always had a cynical view of melodrama where the hero always wins. I've been taught by my parents that life isn't always just about me. In fact, they've taught me to think about others my entire life.

However, I'm really glad that I had this class because I really did learn a lot, but I also realized that in a strange way, the teachings that my parents taught me have prepared me to take in a lot of the propaganda from the media. My parents didn't necessarily have media in mind, but the concepts that they taught me can be applied to media. This class has really taught me a lot and helped me to realize how important it is for us to use culture and media to relate to the world. I want to be a difference maker and an opinion leader.

My Favorite Medium

My favorite element of mass media would have to be movies. If you're all stressed out over work or some paper that you have to write thats due the next morning, nothing unstresses you like a good movie. For about an hour and half, you forget about the rest of the world, except for your friends that are with you, and you watch another world. A world where your problems don't exist, but somebody's elses problems do exist. They eliminate their problems one by one and conquer the world. Afterwards, you feel invigorated and invincible. You feel that if the hero in the story can accomplish that much, you can too.. (Sometimes)..Yeah, it's bout the most de-stressing thing you can do. And-------------it's a trip.

The history of the romance novel that we talked about today in class kinda made me think. Professor Rudd brought out the fact that the invention of synthetic glue had a major impact on books. It allowed them to be made much more cost efficiently in the form of paperback books. Wow, such an invention affected thousands of people because now they could access books that were more affordable for them. My thoughts went to, "Like, how crazy is that, that an invention like that could affect books with such a large impact. But, then I thought more deeply. Every single part of mass media has been affected by inventions. In fact, were nothing ever invented, mass media would be a term not in our dictionary today. The printing press, FM radio, camera, video camera, typewriters, computers, internet, and, of course, television are all inventions that greatly affected mass media. Each invention brought mass media to another level. Think with me, Is mass media still changing today. Yes, it is. In fact, Professor Rudd's been exposing us to some new mediums in class. One of the biggest changes in recent years has been through the internet.. The invention of the internet is now changing the face of mass media to some extent. Quite possibly, you may be able to stream your favorite shows on the internet someday. Some shows are already on the internet for you to watch if you miss an episode. College football and basketball games are streamed on the internet for a monthly fee. Maybe you thought of other directions that mass media has been taking. Share them with a comment......or lots of comments.....:)