Blank Screen

I had a hard time making myself sit in front of a blank screen for that long. I kept thinking of all of the other things I needed to do, and then I remembered I wasn’t allowed to make lists. So then I looked at how reflective my tv screen is. When it’s turned off, I can see a lot of the room. That made me think that I need to clean the living room. I really had to concentrate on keeping my eyes on just the screen. I found myself analyzing how the TV isn’t really in the center of the wall, and the spot of paint I got on the ceiling and never touched up when I painted the wall last year, and where each of the things on my mantle below the TV came from. You get the idea. I was very restless. Usually when I watch TV I’m also on Facebook, or folding clothes, or doing something else, so to just watch the blank screen felt very wrong. I was very uncomfortable, and felt like I was wasting my time. One of the first reflections I wrote for this class was about a show I was watching on Netflix that I saw as a guilty pleasure.  I really felt guilty just sitting here watching a blank screen. Eventually, I ended up just staring at the word “Panasonic” at the bottom of my TV and kind of zoning out. The theme song from the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was stuck in my head (that’s my newest Netflix show) and that drove me crazy as well. Twenty minutes can really be a loooooong time. I try to be aware of how much time I’m spending on screens, but I know that I waste more time than I should. With my boys “screen time” is a phrase that gets used often in my house. (As in screen time’s over!)

Staring at a blank screen is silly, and I feel like maybe the point of this exercise is to try to make you feel ridiculous for spending so much time staring at an object--- whether it’s on or not. But I can’t help but argue that staring at a blank screen is so much different than when it has content on it. When I‘m watching TV, or on the internet, my brain is active and I’m interacting in some way with what I’m watching/reading. However, we should be conscious about how much time we spend on screens instead of interacting with the people around us.

Yahoo then and now

After reading the 2012 Pew Research Report "Future of the Internet, Millennials" and looking at The Internet Archive: Wayback Machine (http://archive.org/web/), I showed my 10 year old son yahoo.com today (https://www.yahoo.com/) and what it looked like in 1996. He said the 1996 version did not have very much information, it was boring because it had no pictures, and that it looked unreliable to him. He said he would be much more likely to use the 2016 version because it showed news, had more information, and he felt like it would be more reliable because of the ads. He said ads mean the website is making money, and it would have to be reliable for people to pay to put the ads there.

Like the report discusses, my son has grown up on the internet. (He learned his abc’s from an online game when he was 18 months old- the website is still up and surprisingly still the same http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/GamesandActivities/onlinegames/the-abcs-zoo-learning-game). I thought it was really interesting that he said the 1996 Yahoo did not seem to have much information. In 1996, that was a huge amount of information on one page, but as the report discusses, people who are “hyperconnected” have vastly different expectations about how much information should be available to them.

I was not surprised that he said it looked boring. (Like the article says, people who grew up on the internet want to be constantly entertained.) However, I was surprised that he used advertisements as a way to make judgments about whether a website is reliable or not. The fact that he is trying to evaluate the reliability of a website shows some sophistication of thought about the internet. He already knows you can’t trust everything you read on the internet.

American Idol

Say what you will, but I’m an American Idol fan. I cheered on Kelly Clarkson when she won the first season and laughed with the guy who sang “Pants on the Ground.” I’ve been watching the last season and I’m sad it’s the last one. I think it’s been so popular because everyone can imagine themselves on that stage. America loves a good Cinderella story.  This article http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2006/04/26/why-is-american-idol-so-popular/

says perhaps one reason it was so popular is because “American viewers get the reward of knowing that they and not some suit in an office somewhere have created the next American superstar.”  Our chapter last week about active audiences is so relevant to this show. The audience sees the contestants as one of them and they are able to interact with the show and vote on the outcome.  

As culture has changed, American Idol has changed as well.  In the first few seasons, Simon Cowell was a judge and he was known for being mean to contestants who did not sing very well. He would say things like “you should sue your voice coach” and then the person would walk out the door and the judges would all laugh at them. With the new focus against bullying, that part of the show has been toned down significantly. The current judges will say things like “I’m sorry, this show is not for you” instead of making fun of people. Here’s an article from 2012 about American Idol making money by bullying people http://www.npr.org/2012/06/20/155358188/facing-up-to-bullies-everywhere-but-on-reality-tv.

What do you think about American Idol?

Active Audience Question 2

2. For me, social context definitely influences my experience of movie and television viewing. When considering how I interpret what I watch and how that’s influenced by those around me, the first thing I thought about was my role as a parent. It makes a big difference in the way I think about movies or television if I’m watching something with my boys, or if I’m watching it with them in mind. If I’m thinking about if something is appropriate for them to watch, I’m much more sensitive to cursing, violence, and underlying themes. My boys will occasionally ask if they can watch a movie that I have already seen, and I have to go back and look up what is in the movie because I wasn’t watching it with my “parent eyes” the first time I saw it. Watching with “parent eyes” is a very different experience for me than watching things for my own pleasure. When watching television or movies with my boys, I’m constantly thinking about how they are interpreting what is on the screen. (When I’m focused on being a good parent anyway haha). This article https://storify.com/Mike_OD42/active-audience-reception-theory talks about movies like Toy Story that have different messages particularly for kids and parents. These types of movies are some of my favorite movies to watch with my kids, because we can all enjoy them.

When I’m watching something away from my boys, I don’t try to analyze it as much, I just enjoy it. I have found that watching Netflix on my iPad with headphones is very immersive, and sometimes when I really want to just turn my brain off and enter a story for a few minutes, I’ll watch tv that way. When I’m watching something completely alone like that and I’m just focused on what I’m watching and not doing housework or anything else, that’s when I’m most able to enjoy a storyline and not focus on being critical.

Hypodermic Model

In researching what the hypodermic model is, I found this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-toj0weAEM, which used advertisements as an example of how the hypodermic model can work. It made me think of how cereal advertisements have changed. In the past sugary cereals (like Lucky Charms) had commercials aimed right at children and they were shown during children's programming. Here's an example from the 90's:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foghWSflbIA. Now, people are more concerned about children's health and commercials like these are seen as irresponsible. Now, more Lucky Charms commercials are aimed at adults. To watch one example, click here. This is because many people firmly believe that if children see a commercial for a sugary cereal, they will have no choice but to beg for the cereal until their parents buy it for them. Here's an article about that: http://domain.me/kids-and-advertising.

I'm torn about how I feel about marketing sugary cereals to kids. We know that the hypodermic model has been proven incorrect, but we also know that advertising does have an affect on people, especially impressionable children. As a parent, I monitor how much screen time my boys have and I have taught them to fast-forward through commercials whenever possible.

What do you think about the relationship between advertisements and the hypodermic model?

Stereotypes and Pitch Perfect 2

I watched Pitch Perfect 2 just a couple of days after watching The Celluloid Closet, and the week after our discussions and readings about representations of race in the media. Pitch Perfect is a comedy about a group of girls who are an a capella singing group. One of the reasons that it is funny is that it over-plays stereotypes of all kinds to poke fun at them. Rebel Wilson plays a character who calls herself "Fat Amy" and her size is a big part of her quirky personality. Hana Mae Lee plays an Asian girl who speaks so quietly you can never hear what she's saying. Chrissie Fit plays a girl from Guatemala who is always concerned about being deported. Ester Dean plays an African American lesbian girl who is very butch and claims to be the biggest minority out there because she’s black, a woman, and gay.

After watching The Celluloid Closet and thinking about our discussions about race and the way people are represented in the media, this movie got me thinking about how homosexual people or people of color might feel about this movie. One of the things The Celluloid Closet pointed out was that not every gay person feels the same way about movies. For example, one man hated the “sissy” characterization and another liked it. This article from the Canadian Centre for Digital and Media Literacy points out the same thing and says that it should be considered whether the makers of the media product are gay and whether the gay community at large has accepted the product.

I would guess that some people of color and some gay people would laugh at this movie and see that it is pointing out the absurdity of stereotypes, while others may feel that it’s perpetuating those stereotypes. What do you think?

Race portrayals in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

I just finished reading the YA novel Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. The plot is basically Greg and Earl befriend Rachel (a girl who has cancer) and make a film for her. The movie based on this book was released last summer. I read it this week, and I was surprised by how much it made the black characters stereotypes. The first thing that struck me was when introducing the “jocks” Greg, the main character, says “they’re pretty much all black, and many of the white kids are afraid of them.” It only gets worse from there.

When Greg introduces his friend Earl, the fact that he is black is one of the first things he tells the reader.  Pretty much the only things Earl says are profane and/or violent. Earl’s family is even worse. There are no men in Earl’s house. Earl’s dad is “in Texas or something” and his half brothers’ dad is in prison. Greg’s dad, however, is a college professor who is an active part of Greg’s life. When Greg goes to visit Earl’s house, Earl’s brother breaks Greg’s arm over a small disagreement because Earl’s family is just that violent. Greg has trouble in school, and a teacher arranges with his parents for Greg to stay after school every day for tutoring. Greg says Earl is in classes where “you could staple a dead animal to your homework and still pass”. Earl’s aspirations for life are to be a manager at Wendy’s. Greg isn’t sure what he wants to do, but the book ends with his hopes of going to film school and it’s clear that he has a lot of options.

This is really troubling, especially because the film adaptation was widely acclaimed and received awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Not surprisingly, I’m not the only one to write about Earl’s portrayal. If you’re interested check out these links:

http://www.metro.us/entertainment/me-and-earl-and-the-dying-girl-is-all-about-white-people-problems/zsJofi---ZlqAeehp5HY/

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/whats-missing-from-me-and-earl-and-the-dying-girl

Ideology in Novels

One of the genres of novels I talked about last week was Christian Romance Novels. These books unabashedly push an ideology. They are written by Christians, about Christians, for Christians. I’m a Christian, and sometimes I like to read these. For a while, this was my favorite genre. I like reading about people who share my faith, and I like a happy-ever-after story.

However as I matured, I realized many of these books promote ideas I don’t agree with and find to be troubling.  For example, many have a perfect ending. This blogger discusses that problem in Karen Kingsbury books (she’s one of the most popular authors of the genre). It is nice to read a story where everything works out for the protagonist, but if these authors are truly trying to present how someone can live out a faith in Christ, they are doing their readers a disservice by neatly tying up all the endings. Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean everything will work out for you, and I’m concerned that these books could make immature Christians feel as though if only they were better Christians, things would work out for them like they do for characters in the novels they read.

Another problem I have with books in this genre is the idea that every woman needs a man to protect her and be her happy ever after. This isn’t unique to Christian Romance novels, of course, but it is heavily portrayed in many of these books. The book known for beginning the genre is Love Comes Softly by Jeanette Oke. In this book set in the 1800’s, the protagonist’s husband dies on their trip out West and she must marry a stranger in order to survive. The book details how their marriage of convenience becomes a marriage of love. This is a sweet story, but it’s been repeated ad nauseam by other authors who only change the details. I would love to read more novels with strong Christian female protagonists. Anybody know of one I haven’t read? Let me know!

I still occasionally read a Christian Romance novel, but now I like to read novels from lots of different perspectives. Novels are one of the few ways we have to climb into someone else’s thoughts and see the world the way they do. I try to choose books from a wide variety of ideologies. Some I agree with, some I disagree with, but I always learn something from seeing the world from someone else’s eyes.

Do you gravitate towards media that promotes ideologies you agree with?

Oh So Conventional

As I may have mentioned before, I'm an avid reader. I like to read all kinds of things from almost every section of the library.

There are two types of novels, as explained in this article:genre fiction and literary fiction.

Some people read only one genre of fiction. At my library, we even have stickers to go on the spines of books so that patrons can easily know what genre the book belongs to. We have Sci Fi stickers, Mystery stickers, Romance stickers, and stickers with crosses on them to identify Christian Fiction. 

I like to read both genre fiction and literary fiction. Sometimes, I'll pick a book out of a certain genre just because I want to know what to expect. Like the article says, it’s an escape from reality. For example, sometimes I'll be in the mood for a mystery novel because I want to get wrapped up in a mystery to solve and have everything explained and settled by the end. Sometimes I read a sappy Christian Romance novel because I know it will end happily ever after. Usually I go for these kinds of books when I’m stressed about school or other stuff going on because I like knowing what to expect in the book.

When I’m not using up all my available brain cells on school, I like to read literary fiction. In these books, I don’t know what to expect, and they often teach me something or help me see someone else’s point of view.

                    

Most bestsellers are genre fiction. Often times, people like to know what to expect from their entertainment.

What about you? Do you gravitate towards a certain genre of books, movies, or music because it’s familiar?

Bernie Sanders and His Views on Media Conglomeration

This election season has brought some surprising characters to the forefront. The American people are tired of the usual politicians and some unexpected candidates are being taken seriously. For example, Donald Trump on the Republican side and Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side.

Sanders has spoken out against the conglomeration of media companies. As we learned in class, 6 corporations control 90% of the media in America: http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6

Here is a link to a discussion Sanders had with Bill Moyers: Bernie and Bill Moyers. I believe this was filmed in 2012, but he has posted it on his campaign page feelthebern.org because he and his followers still find it relevant. In this discussion, he makes some good arguments about the fact that very few Americans think its a good idea for just a few companies to own all of the news outlets, whether they be TV, newspaper, or radio. He says "it will be bad for minorities, it will be bad for women, and most of all, it will be bad for democracy." 

One thing I learned from this video that really surprised me was the fact that sometimes several news stations share offices, people, and sometimes even the same scripts. It is scary how few people are in charge of the news the American people hear. Sanders argues that major issues get very little discussion, and the FCC has got to create a situation in which the American people are hearing a diverse range of ideas so that our public world has the kind of debate that our public needs.

I don't agree with Bernie Sanders on everything, but I agree with him that we should be concerned about the conglomeration of media. What do you think?

Book Rating System????

I love to read. I read all types of books-- I still love to read kids’ books and I love to read novels from lots of different genres.  This week in class, we’ve been talking about the effect of politics on media. We discussed rating systems for music and movies and it made me wonder why there is no such rating system for books. I found a couple of book rating systems online here: http://ratedreads.com/book-review-ratings-guid/ and here: http://www.compassbookratings.com/ . Obviously, some people are concerned about the content in books, but there has not been a nationwide ratings system adopted or enforced.

If there were a ratings system, would there be an age requirement to purchase explicitly sexual or explicitly violent books? As a parent of a 10 year old who loves to read, I monitor the content of what he is reading. As he gets older, I want to stay involved in his reading choices, but I think I might be more likely to allow him to read a book with more mature content than I would allow him to watch in a movie. For example, I am considering allowing him to read the Hunger Games novels, but I don’t think he’s ready for the violence of the movies yet.

Even though I monitor the content of what my children are reading, I’m glad there is not a government ratings system for books. Most of the books I read come from the public library- either through their e-book collection or physical books on the shelf. At the public library where I work, the manager is in charge of collection development. She decides which books are appropriate for our shelves, mainly based on popularity. The library is funded by local, state, and federal monies, but they do not censor what kinds of books each library can have. If there was a ratings system, books could be “rated” out of the library.

What do you think about the idea of a book rating system?

Sneaky Advertising

One of the ways I spend my time on the internet is on Pinterest. I am a wife, a mom, (we have 3 boys ages 10, 8, and 6), a student, a Sunday School teacher, and I have a part time job at a library where I'm a librarian's assistant and children's programmer. I have boards on my Pinterest page for all of these things. I have cleaning boards,  home decor boards, teaching and craft idea boards, bulletin board ideas, rhymes and songs for storytime boards.... you get the idea. If you wanna see it, here's the link: Renee's Pinterest Boards

Before studying media and advertising in my Society and Media class, I never thought about how much information I was giving away by using Pinterest. Our textbook Media/Society by Croteau and Hoynes says “Social networking sites have been gold mines for advertisers. Users often voluntarily supply a broad range of information about themselves that is of great interest to advertisers.” I’ve built an advertiser’s dream profile. I’ve pinned all the things I’m interested in and the specific things I want in the future.

When I first started using Pinterest, there were no ads. Now, ads show up on my home page where things are posted that my friends have pinned, along with things Pinterest thinks I will be interested in. At first I did not realize that they were advertisements. For example, one pin was for what to pair with Digiorno Pizza. It had pizza and carrot sticks, pizza and salad, and on and on. I was confused, thinking which one of my friends posted this? Then I saw at the bottom it said “Promoted by Digiorno Pizza”. It was an ad acting like a pin that would organically be there. Here’s an article about the Pinterest CEO talking about how people don’t opt out of their ads as often: http://marketingland.com/pinterest-ceo-our-ads-are-more-effective-144806 .

I wish that Pinterest did not have advertisements, but it won’t keep me from using it. Now I will be more aware of the fact that everything I post can and will be used against me in the realm of advertising.

Do you ever feel "tricked into" giving advertisers information? Have you noticed any sneaky advertising lately?

To Soap Opera or Not to Soap Opera?

I just finished watching Life Unexpected on Netflix. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442109/ It’s a TV series with two seasons that aired in 2010 and 2011. It’s about a girl, Lux Cassidy, who grew up in the foster care system and then found her biological parents when she was 16. They had always assumed she was adopted, and when they found out she had bounced around from place to place in the foster care system, they decided to parent her. Of course, drama ensues.

This show explores the topics of the foster care system, adoption, forgiveness, and identity, but it’s also a TV drama. It is all about who is sleeping with who and will Lux's parents end up together and can Lux and her boyfriend stay together when her life has changed so drastically and now she's a "normal kid" with a family and he still isn't. Television can’t accurately reflect the foster care system in its one-hour episodes, and the main point of these types of television shows is to entertain, not educate. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/arts/television/movies-and-tv-shows-examine-issues-in-foster-care.html?_r=0

I am drawn to shows like this but I feel guilty when I watch them. When my husband asks me what I’m watching on my Ipad, I make a joke about me and my dumb soap operas. Why is that? Why am I embarrassed that I enjoy getting wrapped up in a drama? I often feel as though I should be doing something “more productive” with my time, or that I should be watching something more educational. I also feel guilty about watching it because it reflects a lifestyle I don't want for myself. The adults get drunk every time they have a problem and cheat on their spouses and they allow 16 year old Lux to drink as well.

Should I feel guilty about watching these types of shows? Where does this feeling come from? Is it something I place on myself or did I get that from society? Probably a mixture of both.

What do you think? Do you watch/play/read things and feel guilty about it but do it anyway?