What, When and Where? My top ten Media Revelations

1: Thigh-slappingly Funny.


Political Campaigns are a joke. The media control what we see and how we see it when voting comes up. Whether it’s a debate on the news between politicians, a radio ad promoting one or the other, or a newspaper article stating what the politician is for or against; every aspect of how we gain our “knowledge” of the politician we are voting for is completely controlled by the media. (Media Society, pg 244). As Corey stated in her presentation, the presidential debates for 2008 had a secret 31 page signed contract dictating what would be covered in the debates and what was not allowed to be covered. Basically it held a script for the campaigners to act out. Everything is planned ahead and practiced. There is very little actual thought put into what is said and if it goes against what the media owners believe they will censor it from the public. (Censored 2010, pg 88)

2: Plug In And Touch Somebody

The virtual community is becoming more and more real. The cyber connection is growing at an alarming rate and it seems like everyone is hooked into the Web 2.0 world in some sort of fashion now.
The younger generations are so plugged in that there is no differentiation between what is real and what is real on the internet. Companies and communities are relying on a cyber connection for communication more than any other source of media now. Our world is heading rapidly towards a Feed-based world. Much like the way the feed finished Titus’s thoughts when he couldn’t think of the term himself, we reach out and touch our computers when we want to “touch” someone now. (Media Society, pg 305 and Feed, pg 14).

3: Maybe She's Born With It, Maybe It Will Kill Her

Everyday products have toxic chemicals that haven’t been tested in them. Only 5% of chemicals have been tested in the US before being used in products that consumers use on a daily basis.
The media, when they do cover a story related to this, will automatically place the blame and the spotlight on a foreign country like China. However most of the time the media will completely ignore or censor this story. (Censored 2010, pg 27). Instead the media actually pushes these products on us with a pressure to buy. They use advertising with beautiful, famous people. Even with the medical advertisements that the pharmacies are pushing on the public, they make the side effects sound like they aren’t very significant, even in the case of death. Often now the new drug commercials spend more time listing side effects than the actual product itself. And the advertiser does it with a happy tone of voice. And because advertising is the most substantial source of income for the television studios they will happily push the commercials onto the public at a constant pace. (Media Society, pg 64)

4: Hide The Big Boom

The 9/11 bombing story astounded me. I can’t believe that it hasn’t been reported on that there was evidence of explosive devices in the 9/11 attacks.
The number one media covered event in the history of my time, neglects to inform the public about the other part of that event. As Postman mentions in his explanation of the media event after the movie The Day After, the coverage on serious issues does nothing more than promote the media’s agenda. It does not give the entire story or perhaps the entire truth of the story. In the explosives at the 9/11 attacks case, the agenda was promoting the war and the media coverage accomplished that with flying colors!! (Amusing Ourselves To Death, pg 88, Censored 2010, pg 140).


5: Important Fluff


Censored’s reporting on the actual news events that took place during the Hollywood news events that were actually reported on were amazing. The junk food news that was reported, such as Brangelina’s twins and Britany Spears’s sister were very familiar stories, however the news that Censored paired with each story was something I hadn’t actually heard of, such as the Nuclear Power Plant accident in Triscastin, France. Media Society gives a little insight on why these articles weren’t reported on. In the age of profit, the media knows they will have more followers if they report on the more popular themes. As gatekeepers they decide what is popular and what isn’t. To save money they are cutting back on reporters and relying on fewer people covering larger areas. Because of this the actual news that happens might get missed when Brangelina gives birth. (Censored 2010, pg 148. Media Society, pg 62).

6: It's Not Old VS New, It's Old AND New Together

I agreed with different aspects of both Google articles—Is Google Making Us Stupid and Get Smarter— however I find myself leaning more toward Cascio’s thought process. While I disagree with his acceptance of enhancement drugs, I agree that human nature is to survive and adapt any change thrown at us. I have found Google’s technological tools valuable in research and because the information given to me is a brief version of the text book’s wealth of information, I am able to look for different opinions, facts and reported on evidence of the topic researched. Carr believes that the Internet has taken that trivial aspect and applied to our ability to read and reflect critically. Carr’s statement- “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” –sums up Postman’s theory that television has trivialized every topic reported on. (Amusing Ourselves To Death, Chapter 5). I believe that in the new pace of the information age the responsibility to take the time to reflect on the information thrown at me rests solely on my shoulders. Accountability for how you use the vast knowledge you find on the internet is up to you.



7: A Great Solution, Completely Ignored

I believe wholeheartedly The US should adopt Venezuela’s Bottom-up Democracy style. I didn’t know about this style or the conflict America created around it until reading chapter 5 in Censored 2010. The way the policy is explained in the book makes it sound exactly opposite our current form of Democracy where the rich get richer and the poor get forgotten. The cultural and social examples in Feed paint a clear picture of how our democracy is today. Violet’s neighborhood is basically described as the slums, and Violet’s family can’t afford the newer versions of the Feed or expensive trips to alternate planets. Titus’s family on the other hand takes things like this for granted. It I believe adopting this policy would completely reform our country. Instead America funds the anti-Chavez opposition and turns Chavez into a villain.
The American Media reports on the negative side of Chavez and all of the anti Chavez movements. (Censored 201, pgs 210-212, Feed, pgs 112-113.)


8: There Is Nothing "Pretty" About It

One of the most appalling stories in the Censored 2010 book was the sex trafficking chapter. It sickens me that this sort of thing happens and at such high numbers.

I am grateful that this article was written and without the glamour of Pretty Woman thrown in. I couldn’t that victims of sex trafficking cannot receive government aid because of the lack of identification. It has been reported on through research that pimps are withholding their victims’ forms of ID. Aid should not be withheld because of this fact. Without aid being available we are saying that these people aren’t worth our help. And that is exactly what is happening. The information provided in the Media Society chapter entitled: “Some People Are Worth More Than Others”, the media has clearly left certain classes and groups behind and censored. (Censored 2010, chapter 13 and Media Society, pgs 216-224).

9: Control is the new definition of Objectivity

Objectivity in news reporting is amusing. I was surprised at the explanation of a news reporter’s daily routine, defined in the Media Society book as “beat reporting”. The example given about the one reporter covering so many different areas in a single day makes me wonder how many stories that perhaps weren’t quite “newsworthy” were left untold because they simply didn’t have time to cover them all. The explanation on newsworthiness and objectivity resonates with the same core values as Postman, that the news is more than ever before part of the Now…This/Peek A Boo world in the shallowness of the articles covered and the same stories being seen on every paper. The statement that news is considered objective if many different reporters are reporting on the same story and providing the same information is a sad an pathetic attempt to cover up the fact that they control what the public learns about as “news”. The media has shifted the definition of Control into the definition for Objectivity. (Media Society, pgs 126-135 and Amusing Ourselves To Death, pgs 99-113).


10: Why? Who Cares, Just Get 'Em!

I didn’t know what the Palestinian/Israeli conflict was about and after Z and Joe both presented their Censored stories I still didn’t know what it is about. This video explains the conflict’s roots a little bit.

The US has backed Israel since the late 40’s with funding, support and weaponry. As was stated in the Reel Bad Arabs film, America has constantly vilified the Palestinian people in our movies and other mass media. The new reports on the conflict only show the suffering of the Israeli people. As Joe stated there were white phosphorus casings found with US labels on them in the Gaza Strip after Israelis had shot them low enough to cause serious injury to the Palestinian refugees in the streets. Media Society explains this as well with their example of the action-adventure movies giving a clear example of who the villains are. It has become so commonplace that Arabs are our enemies due to the news media and the Hollywood media influence. (Media Society, pgs 172-175 and Censored 2010, pgs 42-46 and 51-56).

Entertaining Nonsense

Because I am a huge fan of anime, I often hope that some of the more popular series get turned into live action movies to give anime a wider fandom. However when someone takes an anime series and completely destroys it, like with the DragonBall Z movie it is very sad. With the new Avatar movie (called The Last Airbender and not to be confused with the movie actually called Avatar), there are a lot of skeptics making criticisms about how Shaylaman will destroy this movie. While I realize Avatar is not actual anime, having been made in America, it is still a huge push forward for the anime culture.

With all the critics out there, this witty reply made me laugh and want to share!

Media Meditation #8 A Different Type of Crowd

I know I mentioned in a previous meditation that the Thanksgiving holiday has been overrun by Black Friday marketing and the Christmas consumerism. I still believe that is completely true. While I did participate in the Black Friday shopping, the consumerism did not interrupt our family holiday and celebration of Thanksgiving on Thursday. I had to laugh at some of the stores opening at midnight for the Friday shopping. While the consumers chose to disregard the holiday, our family did not and instead of standing in the cold and rain all night in line we remained in our warm, dry house.


One of my friends on Facebook was bragging about the new 32” LCD Hi-Def television he successfully acquired during the Black Friday shopping. While he didn’t mention the price he bought it for, I am sure he got a great deal. His status message was flooded with comments ranging from “Congratulations” to “You’re crazy.” I asked how long he stood in line for the television. He replied: 5 hours outside of Best Buy and then 7 hours in the store. After which I agreed that he was crazy. I suppose, for some people, standing in line for twelve hours is worth a really low price on a television or whatever else was on sale. Personally, that twelve hours is a waste, in which I can be doing all sorts of other things. In the past I have stood in line for Black Friday shopping, however the longest I have waited is an hour. My time is worth more to me than a good materialistic deal.


My mother and I decided to head to Joann Fabrics for Black Friday. Like every other store they had a flier in the newspaper with a three day sale and Doorbuster items each day. There were two distinct differences from other stores however. The first was the store itself. Joanns attracts a certain type of crowd like any store. Most of the Joann shoppers, however, aren’t the type to stand in line all night or get up super early for the deals. My mother and I left our house at 9AM on Friday after enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee and breakfast. When we arrived at Joanns there were a lot of people in the store. However the second difference is the crowd attitude. Most of the people shopping at Joanns were an older crowd. The attitude of the shoppers was light, jovial and happy. When looking for fabric there was no fighting over a bolt of fleece or who got the last color thread spool. Because of the great deals my mother and I piled up bolts of fabric to buy. While standing in line at the cutting counter we chatted with the other shoppers about our projects and shared ideas. In some cases there was swapping of fabric before cutting and sharing the bolts. The line for the checkout was long, however it didn’t wrap around the store several times, as I have seen in Best Buy previously. I think we spent around 30 minutes in line before checking out with the cashier. Our trip was a completely enjoyable experience, lacking the stress, attitude and rudeness of hurried shoppers.

Media Meditation #7 Take a Breath, Relax and Look Around

My brother, Ned and his wife, Kristen came up for Thanksgiving this past week. They live in Foxboro, MA and are socialites to the extreme. Kristen commented more than once how much she enjoyed spending a few days away from the city, in the quiet country. My brother found it boring most days. Despite the lack of commotion, we had a very enjoyable holiday visit.

During our few days together Ned was connected to the television and his laptop. Whether it was sports, a TV show, the news or a movie the television never seemed to get shut off until it was time for bed. Often, he would sit there with the TV on and his laptop on his lap, surfing the web at the same time. Even during the Thanksgiving dinner, my father found a music station on the satellite and played it through the TV while we were eating. For the most part I found myself joining the rest of the family in the living room, surrounded by the media. We watched two different movies this week, Star Trek and Public Enemies. Neither of which I found very interesting, yet I stayed for both because I was with my family.

One of the conversations that came up during their stay was the different media available now. We discussed how you can now connect to the internet through your gaming consoles like the Xbox, the PS3 and the Wii and you can stream things like Netflix and the like straight to your television.
My parents have yet to switch over to the newer Hi-Def TVs and still have one of the older Tube TVs. My brother explained which brand and type of television they should get when they do switch. We also talked about other media such as cell phones, black berries and Macs vs PCs. At one point Ned and Kristen were playing a game on the Wii while my father watched. I was able to keep up with the pace of the conversations we were having and participate, however I was watching my parents and during many of them they would nod and smile but really not understand the new technological world.

At one point my brother and I discussed the Kindle and argued on the pros and cons of having one. While my brother thinks they are great and innovative, he couldn’t understand how I didn’t want one and preferred an actual book instead. Another topic came up as well, when I went to purchase a newspaper to get the Black Friday ads. Ned told me it was a waste of money and I could look at all the deals online at each website. I explained to him that I spend way too much time on the computer as it is and there are some things that would rather step away from technology for and do the old fashioned way. I do enjoy the ease and access the internet, computers, gaming consoles, cell phones and television give me. I keep up with many of the different devices, even if I don’t own them personally. However, I still like stopping every once in a while and looking around. I enjoy the view that my parents have of the mountain. I take pleasure in living away from the city and the constant noise of it. My parents house has no cell phone reception and I find that a nice break from being constantly attached to it. My brother doesn’t understand the relaxed pace my parents’ house and setting offers, which is fine. But every now and then it’s nice to be unconnected.

Media Meditation #6 Is She Real?

After sitting through the holiday commercials (and the bad Black Friday commercials) for the past week I have started to really think about Hollywood image. In one of my other classes we discussed how Hollywood has skewed the perception of how a woman should look. With all the hype of America’s obesity problem, weight has become something constantly dwelled on. Many American women compare themselves with the models and Hollywood icons that show up in fashion magazines. Most women find themselves completely out of the “norm” when they compare themselves to the plastic faces and bodies marketers throw at consumers.

One of the videos shown to our class really points out how the finished picture of a model is usually completely different than the start of the photo shoot. In a very short time this video shows how our perception of what we consider beautiful is completely fabricated.

With the vast use of strategic cameras and angles, lighting, makeup and Photoshop, the end result usually is completely altered and unreal. Have you ever wondered what Angelina Jolie looks like without a pound of makeup on? Yet most of us are deceived by the glamour of the glossy pages and believe that is real and that is what real beauty is. When women compare themselves to these plastic images, they naturally find themselves unequal.

My mother and I were discussing body type one night as we were watching Wheel of Fortune. Most people know and love Vanna White. An ageless beauty, she has been a beautiful addition to the show for many years. When we were young, my brother used to say he wanted to marry her. However, if you really study her body type, she has no definition.
If TV adds 15 pounds to your image, she must be anorexic to still look as thin as she is. She has no muscle definition in her arms; they are the same shape all the way down. As with most other stars, when you really start to look at their image, piece by piece, most of them are not beautiful, but skinny and unhealthy. I believe that obesity is a problem, especially when it affects your health. However I also believe that America doesn’t focus on the other end of the spectrum, opting to delude young women into a warped mental image of what their body should look like.

Media Meditation #5 Great Success!!

Last weekend I entered one of the costumes I made into a costume contest at the convention I was at. My friends were able to take still pictures and video of the judging. The judges were surprised by my techniques used to make parts of my costume. They complimented the dedication I had to put 15 coats of sealant on my weapons (I talked about this in my first media meditation). Throughout the whole costume judging I received useful tips and advice on what I did well and what I could do better.


I had to wait for the results of the competition until Saturday night at the Masquerade. Sitting through all the walk-ons and skits for the audience portion of the competition was extremely enjoyable although tense, as I was waiting for the results of the contest. One of the greatest skits of the night was this one, with a mixture of stage combat, dancing and fun.



Once the Masquerade was over the results of the competition were announced. When the judges called my name I was surprised and excited! I won second place in the contest and received an award and prizes in front of everyone at the convention. My hard work paid off and I was rewarded, not only with recognition but also with commissions for other costumes. I wanted to call all my friends and family and tell them the good news but my cell phone didn’t have great reception. So I turned to Facebook. As I was uploading tons of pictures and updating my status message to inform everyone, I thought of our class and once again enjoyed the fact that I am able to communicate with people all over the country so quickly.

After four days of pure fun and energy, the convention was over. Pictures and video had been taken, friends had been made and information passed along to keep in touch. My friends list on Facebook increased by 20 in one day. Most of them are in this group picture of the Soul Eater cosplay photo shoot.



Since the convention, I have had nonstop conversations with the people I met. We all still have the afterglow of the convention and the excitement of looking forward to the next one in April. More costumes have been discussed and ideas tossed about with four or more people at once through chat and messaging. My best friend, who lives in Ohio, and I have been able to plan another group cosplay for the next convention and send pictures and details, tutorials and links to other cosplayers to each other. In conclusion, I am grateful for the technology I have and am able to use today to be able to connect to so many people so quickly.

Media Meditation #4 Will We Ever Know?

I will be the first to admit that I do not keep track of the news. After the discussions in our Media class I avoid it all the more. Before our Media class I believed that the news was always depressing. It was rare to see stories with a positive message reported on. Now I believe that most of the messages aren’t correct to begin with so why should I follow depressing AND misleading stories?

However, my attention was grabbed at one of the latest stories. The mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas interested me because of my history with the military. I first heard about it on a talk radio show that the shuttle bus was playing. I had no idea what they were talking about, but they had some interesting interviews from “top military officials” about the shooting. The more I heard the more confused yet angry I became. One of the things said was that lower ranking military enlistees often make racial remarks and slurs to others, and we discourage that. There are two things very wrong with that. The first was singling out lower ranking enlistees from officers and higher ranking. That statement in itself is very untrue from a lower ranking enlistee’s past experience laden opinion. I rarely encountered racial remarks however when I did, they were spread from all ranks, officers and enlistees. The second was that the “top ranking officials” did not actually discourage it. While everyone is taught the same class on equal opportunity, when the remarks and slurs occurred, no one addressed them. In fact, much the opposite, they would laugh right along with the person making the comments and the whole thing would blow over.

I did some research on the topic and found out the “media specifics” on the shooting. A Muslim officer in the Army had opened fire on fellow troops. Within three days of this event the news media had linked this man with terrorism and on a jihadist mission. When this was reported on, I simply laughed. I knew the stories would state that he was linked to terrorism. This event is a very serious issue for the military. A high ranking officer, who was also a psychiatrist, opened fire on fellow soldiers on US ground. The public was outraged and the Army has a lot to answer for. However I could predict they would place a terrorist label on this fellow because it is easier to apologize for missing a terrorist infiltrating our military than it is to explain the event was due to lack of proper actions and treatment to the warning signs that were there prior to the shooting.


The media has now shifted the attention of this “investigation” to the emotional side of saying goodbye to the victims and moving on. The story has passed and while it is still mentioned, it is considered old news. There is the promise of an internal investigation and a senate committee meeting, however the energy behind the story has dissipated in true infotainment style. Despite the media’s surge forward, I am still shaking my head at this coverage. I find it sad and depressing and will never truly believe 100% that the shooter actually has links to terrorism.