Hello!

My name is Becka Gregory and I am writing this blog for my class Mass Media and Communication. I am a sophomore Professional Writing Major, who would someday like to be a book editor (if they still exist).

My relationship with media today is very love-hate, as I am sure many peoples are. There are aspects of the media I do not like, such as the news broadcast constantly capitalizing fear to get people to watch the news. Or how the magazine industry Photoshop images to perfection, sometimes drastically changing photographs.The Dove Campign for Real Beauty does a great job illustating this in their short film Evolution.

But I do like the convenience of being able to access music through my computer, and being able to watch television on the computer. OH, and Stumbleupon.com. I am absolutely addicted to Stumbleupon. 

WARNING: You WILL waste hours on this website.

In Mass Media and Culture 7, there have been a lot of captivating themes. One of them would be the realization that our postmodern society willingly accepts the paradox of wanting new technology, but feeling nostalgic for the past; simpler times. Like I said before; I and am sure many other people, have a love hate relationship with todays media culture. 

Another interesting concept in the text is the Digital Divide. The term Digital Divide refers to the greater inability for poor, or rural communities to have access to the Internet and other new, expensive technology. In our own county this divide is illustrated by the gap between people who have access to fast, broadband internet, and those who can only afford slow, dialup internet. Internationally, there is a huge divide when comparing countries like the United States to less developed countries. This article from ABC News, Homing Piegon Faster Than Internet? In S. Africa, Yes, illustrates the divide very well.

The section about the bending of gender rolls in the onset of rock and roll I thought was very interesting. They talk primarily about the performer Little Richard, who would dress in extravagant costumes, and that he purposely bent traditional gender rolls to avoid racism. He did not want white people to think that he was a sex symbol to their daughters, so he blurred the line between man and woman. 

Another theme that struck me as interesting was the topic of the authority of radio. The text discusses how in 1938 Orson Welles aired War of The Worlds with only one before program disclaimer. People who tuned in after the disclaimer believed the reading as the truth and some even ran in the streets with towels on their head to prevent the "martians" that had invaded earth from harming them. I found this interesting because in today's culture people pay very little attention to the radio. I've been at the beach before and heard a severe thunderstorm warning on the radio and no one left the beach. There is less respect for the authority of the radio today then there was in the 1930's. 

War of The Worlds original broadcast

The four tool sets that we have learned to analyze, recognize and judge media are working very effectively for me. The Triune brain model has not only been relevant for me in Mass Media, but also in one of my Core classes. These tool sets are definitely one of the things I have learned so far in school that has real world applications. It's fun to turn on the t.v. and try to spot the persuasive technique commercials are using, although I think that they are usually pretty obvious. It's much more fun to do with tv series, movies, and the news. I especially like to consider the Seven Basic Principals more often then before. I find that media is more comprehendible and possibly less influential when your thinking about why it exists.

One question about media I would like to know about by the end of the course is if media is just an extension of the human consciousness. Like since we interact with media, make media, and it is a necessary part of lives and our culture, then does the media always reflect the desires and ideals of the current people? Lambros Malafouris is a Seed Revolutionary who is studying this topic.