Copyright Laws

I believe that copyright laws do protect the media producers somewhat. These laws do not stop people from downloading movies, TV shows, video games, and software. But I think that it does discourage them. Some people have been caught downloading media illegally and lawsuits with hefty sums have followed.

So I think that copyright laws are there to discourage people than to rather stop them altogether. As for as the lawsuits go, this can encourage or scare people to actually buying the media. It's not worth pirating media just to get fined millions of dollars later and possibly ruin your life. It's way safer to do the responsible thing and buy it yourself.

Critical thinking is a thing of the past.

The technology of today is eliminating the need to think about our daily activities. Just take some time and think, when was the last time that you remembered to do something yourself without looking at your planner or calender on your phone?
With today's technology we don't have to think about what we have to do next, our next move is always a swipe and a button press away. This caters to our fast paced society, thus why they are so popular. We don't want to have to wait and we certainly don't want any complications. Critical thought is slowly dissolving and I don't think that it will ever go back to its original state.

Signifier-Signified

1. The music. This music gives off a feeling of unease and signifies that Mitt Romney is not the right guy.

2. The Penny. This could signify that Mitt Romney needs to be more like Abe Lincoln, a better president.

3. The "Gun Owners Beware" ad attacking Mitt Romney. This lists things that Mitt Romney has wanted to implement in our laws. This could signify that he is unconstitutional.



1. The gun in the beginning. This gun appears to be placed in the ad pointing at the watcher. This could be trying to get the message across subliminally. Making the watcher think that they will become a victim of gun violence if they do not vote for Gary Johnson.

2. The music track. Very eerie music track. Sets the tone for a problem. This could signify that there is a problem that needs fixing.

3. The crime scene tape. This could be intended to scare the watcher in the same method as number 1. Making the watcher think they could become a victim. But there is no gun pointed at their face this time. They are in the perspective of looking at the crime scene. Maybe a family member harmed or killed?




1. The commentary. At some points the commentator talks in a southern or "redneck" accent, also says words like "aint." This could signify that the ad is being centered towards country people and Harry Bertram likes country folk.

2. The song. Country Roads is being played throughout the ad. Another signifier that could appeal to the "redneck" audience and Harry Bertram likes the small town country people.

3. The ending video. This could signify that Harry has a sense of humor, and that was put there for a lasting impression to remember the ad.

Psychoanalysis....Alien

When watching the Alien movies as a kid I never noticed all of the sexual subtexts. Now watching it again recently and reading this article, it made me think. It really has a lot of sexual undertone.

Ripley has many scenes where she is barely clothed, and I noticed a lot of pornographic posters in rooms of the ship. Also the craziest of them all when Ash could have killed Ripley in many, many other ways. He decied to roll up a magazine and stuff it down her throat.......Yeah. No words need to be said, you know what I'm talking about. Lastly when Lambert is trapped up agaist a wall, the Alien seems to being playing with her, its tail moving around between her legs before finally killing her.

Now if knowing stuff like this is making people money and helping them get through life. Maybe more people should take up Media Studies and learn the way!

Social Subjectivity

I have never really thought about this whole topic of why computer voices are mostly female until read this actricle. And once I began to think about it, I wonder how I have never noticed this before? I can't even think of one piece of technology that has a male voice, but I don't have to use or hear thee technologies often.
The only piece of technology that I own that has a voice is a GPS and it is a female. Now hearning this female voice all the time, It's really starting to get annoying. I kind of wish I had  male voice to switch things up a bit. It might be that the female voice in technology is more high pitched and stands out more. (referenced in te article)
It's not the fact that I'm just annoyed at the female voice in general, It's just that we all need a little variety sometime. And hearing the same robotic female voice every day has to get old. And these being designed to have a higher pitched voice to get attention is probably one of the factors of annoyance.

Cyberculture

I would have never thought that almost everyone in the world that uses technology would be categorized into cyberculture, until reading "Why Cybercultire?" by David Bell.

Cyberculture is more than just using the internet and other technologies. We use these things to intereact with each other and we form bonds online. We create terminology that is used online, such as abreviated meanings, like "lol (laughing out loud)." And this online terminology eventually makes it way out into the "real" world. People start using online terminology in everyday life, and I have noticed that it has become more prevalent in recent years.

"Sitting at a computer logged into the Internet, for example, we are constantly clicking between the embodied sensations of staring at the screen and typing and the disembodied dream of surfing cyberspace as uploaded consciousness, but also connecting to other stories, other images and ideas-for example, ideas about the "world wide web" as a free source of information on an infinite multitutde of topics, or ideas about the new forms of connectivity between people that the Internet has provided."

This quote from the arcticle says it all. The Internet has opened up a whole new world for us to become a part of. A new culture where everyone is accepted and is just as important as any culture in the material world.

Song Airlines and Eisenhower.

After comparing these two advertising campaigns: Song Airlines and Eisenhower's election campaign, I have found out that one of these advertisers have succeeded more than the other.

Delta Airlines basically went bankrupt and needed a new name to pull them out of failure and start new with success. So they created Song Airlines to hopefully save them from the mess that they were in.

This "new" airline would appeal to a different audience that has never been catered to in the airline business. This audience was women. The Song airline ads relied on a more of an emotional experience to suck consumers in, rather than an outright explanation of the services provided for the consumers. Pathos was used in this campaign and I really didn't see any ethos or logos. I felt that this advertisement was not very strong at all.

Now on the other hand, the Eisenhower campaign was more sturdy than the Song Airlines advertisement. The Eisenhower campaign had pathos, logos and ethos. Boosting up Eisenhower and appealing to the common people of the United states. Telling them they are not going to pay higher taxes anymore in spite of WWII being over. Now this advertisement is way more successful than the Song Airlines campaign. 

The 'New' Facebook (Comm 203)

I don't really like the 'new' Facebook in terms of privacy issues. I really don't want anyone to know which songs I'm listening to or what videos I may have watched that day.
But on the contrary It's not actually a problem at all. All of the sites that let you link your activities to Facebook don't require you to sign in with your Facebook.
Unless there are some internet sites that I don't know about that only allow people to access their site with your Facebook login information.
So I don't think that this will ever be a problem in the future unless it becomes required to have a Facebook to access certain internet sites and enjoy its content.

Cracked

I personally think that the cracked blog, "5 Bad Ideas for Dealing With Bullies You Learned In Movies" is definitely one blog that was written outside of the box. Some parts of it made me laugh a little bit and that was  with the cussing, but that was about it.
I really don't see no real harm in presenting different material every now and then, so I think it was alright to do considering they stick to their old formula and write these different blogs not so often.
I don't think that cracked will suffer too greatly from this blog, but for future reference I think they should stick to funny stuff and stray from the serious topics.

Harry Potter Series

I decided to try something a little different and look for the three acts in the whole Harry Potter movie series.

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone is the first act. Is's the first movie in the story and you, along with Harry Potter are being introduced into this magical world. The conflict is not only trying to find out who is trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, but the existence of Harry himself, Lord Voldemort. This introduces the main villain.

The second act comes into play with the fourth Harry Potter movie. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. In this movie internet conflicts between characters are introduced. But the reason why I think that this movie is the second act is because Lord Voldemort is resurrected in this movie. He is reestablished as the most powerful wizard alive and takes control. Everything goes to shit and the heroes must struggle to live from this point on. This is the rising action. 

The third act, is of course, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. In this movie everything is resolved, things are revealed to answer questions one may have about the series as a whole. A perfect ending, Lord Voldemort is destroyed and the world is once again at rest with peace and harmony.

Photo 1: http://missglayiii.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/to-once-again-begin-%E2%80%93-before-it-all-ends-harry-potter-and-the-sorcerer%E2%80%99s-stone/

Photo 2: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire_(film)

Photo 3: http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/14325037/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows---part-2/images/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-2-20110701015046953.html?page=mediaFull

Bloggers Gone Bad (Comm 203)

After reading the article and watching the video I am very shocked. What happened to those people is never heard of. Even if these 2 people weren't bloggers expressing their views on Mexican drug cartel, the cartel basically said that the bloggers are next.

     This brings a state of fear to bloggers across the internet, maybe these people posting about it might think they are next and stop. This gives me a feeling that the internet is no longer safe. You are never safe behind your computer screen anymore, you have to think and watch what you say, much like in real life. 

     Even though I am not involved in any way this makes me feel unsettling. I just can't believe that some people are capable of harming and dehumanizing other people in this way. It's disgusting. 

Framing (Comm 403)

Framing is when a word is spoken or read and it puts a picture of something in someones mind. It's basically a sterotype, and when a person hears someone say a word or phrase, they associate that word or phrase with the stereotype.
    For example, in a criminal court case, they defendant says, "I did not kill my wife." Keep in mind that he says this after loads of evidence has already been compiled on to him. The jury already knows that he is guilty, and this just puts the image of him killing his wife into the jury's heads.
     The defendant should never use the same language that the other side uses to describe or associate with him. That's just a very easy way to create framing.

Scott McCloud (Comm 203)

Scott McCloud has revolutionized the way we look at comics by showing the reader ways to get more emersed into a comic.
    One way is to show the reader that there are things going on inside the panels, but make the reader invision what is going on between the panels. There are always things happening between the panels because they are pictures. There is only so much of a message that a writer can convey within a comic. Which Scott has shown that the readers can look for a sense of what happened in between the comic panels.
    Another way is with computers, comics can be created on an infiinite canvas. So the way that the comic flows changed dramatically. Now comics can be told in a spiral or they could be told through a staircase pattern. You could now do a turn in a story that litterally made the panels change direction. This new jump in comics spawned endless possibilities.

Denotation, Connotation, Mythological/Ideological significance Verizon advertisement (Comm 403)

   Ideological/Mythology

• The ideology in this advertisement is the depiction of how much for 3G coverage Verizon Wireless has over AT&T. The advertisers are using a simple graphic image to explain to the customer who is better, and It's obvious who has more 3G coverage. So who will the customer go to? The Mythology is "bigger is better." Which is represented through the picture comparing Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

   Denotation

• Two maps of the United States. One representing Verizon Wireless' 3G coverage. The other representing AT&T's 3G coverage. And "5X More 3G Coverage" is written at the bottom to remind the customer that Verizon Wireless is bigger and better than AT&T.

   Connotation

• The connotation is that the map on the left, representing Verizon Wireless is far more superior than the map on the right, which is AT&T. The map has far more areas supporting 3G connectivity. 

     Photo credit: http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2009/11/4/saupload_att_sues_verizon_over__there_s_a_map_for_that__ads.jpg

     

Graphic Novel (Comm 203)

   A graphic novel can help the creator to communicate with his audience in a number of ways. To start it off everyone likes pictures, it makes certain things less painful to read. This is effective especially with the right amount of pictures mixed with the actual text.

   When people read graphic novels they don't always get the meaning of the novel through the text, but they also have to find meaning from within the pictures as well. I guess this could be a way of learning the same thing twice, which sounds good and there could be benefits to it. Maybe this could be a way to retain information better?

   I personally think that is a very good and significant want to go about a learning process. 

To Hell and Back

   The music video that I am going to analyze is entitled, "To Hell and Back" by Blessthefall.
The story of the video is that of a suffering woman and this video has some similarities of the mainstream music video portrayal of women.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LRrV_GQ62w


   To start this off her life sucks and she is very helpless and relies on drugs to get her away from her painful life. She is also anorexic and in result, she is constantly worried about her appearance which leads her into a deeper, darker hole.
   One other similarity she has is her helpless and very dependent on her man. When her man isn't there with her she is hysterical and in constant need of him. But when he IS there he beats her. It's obvious that he is in total control of her and this hopelessness is driving her over the edge.
   She injects herself with a syringe which I'm assuming its heroin. One thing that I would like to point out is that she injects the heroin into one of her wounds caused by her man. This is a sign that she could be doing heroin because of her man. The wounds she has are caused by him, another reason why she is not in control.
   At the beginning and end of the video a butterfly is show. At the end of the video the butterfly is dead, she once was a butterfly but now that butterfly is dead and gone.
 
                                                                                                                                                               

Snickers Ad (Comm 403)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkT_d2OTgv0&NR=1&feature=fvwp

There are signs in this advertisement, the first is when Mr. T. busts through the house to go after the speed walker and the second is when Mr. T. starts firing Snickers at the speed walker to get him to run. It's showing that Snickers is not to be taken lightly and you better be serious if you want a Snickers.

The Signifier  in this commercial is Mr. T. He sees that the guy speed walking and it angers him. To correct the speed walker with firing Snickers at him. Mr. T. is "correcting" the speed walker with a Snickers. This could be interpreted as the speed walker needs the Snickers to become more manly.

The Signified is Mr. T. Showing the speed walker how to be more of a man, and that is through the path of Snickers.

Arby's Advertisement

 


The ad has two "Roastburgers" with hands over them. The background is a pinkish color. It has the Arby's logo on it with the Arby's catch line. It also has a red stripe with the information regarding the new Arby's food about to be revealed. 
The sales message is that the advertiser is trying to get across that new things will be arriving at Arby's soon and they are amazing so go and try them. The advertiser wants the customer to think about sexual stuff. This can heavily influence whether the customer is enticed enough to go and try the food. Men could subliminally think that they will get girls if they eat Arby's food. 
This advertisement is definitely centered towards a male audience. First off, the burgers are subliminally representing female breasts. And the phrase, "We're about to reveal something you'll really drool over." Is a play on men liking a woman's breasts. Also with, "what a tease." Arby's is teasing the customer by making them wait until a certain date, just as a woman might tease a man. 
The hands on this advertisement are Caucasian and are very clean and well kept. These are a woman's hands. These clean and well kept hands could indicate that the advertisement is associating with people from the middle/upper class. It could also be centered towards whoever eats their food can be as successful as middle/upper class people. People in the lower class could see this as an opportunity to advance a social class. "I could be like this if I eat at Arby's." 


Photo Credit: http://www.galleryofabsurd.com/2011/01/roast-beef-knockers.html

The Web Is Dead??? Long Live The Internet.

After reading the article and really taking some time to look back at the past year I have to agree with this prediction. The main point is that we are still using the internet, but our use of web pages is declining. The majority of us use applications to check news, Facebook and Twitter. Now with that said, my own online interactions have stayed the same over the past few years. I rarely use apps at all. I always access the internet through my computer through web pages. The only app that I can say that I use is Xbox Live.

Now on the other hand, I see almost everyone with iphones checking Facebook and Twitter everyday around campus. I can really see that apps are dominating the internet now and in another year who knows how much more prevalent they may be. I predict that in the next few years some efforts will be made to even further the use of apps with more convenient means.      

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exacq/5512501730/
Original Article: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/all/1

Jack Link's Beef Jerky

My favorite ad campaign is definitely the Jack Link's Beef Jerky commercials. Not because I like beef jerky, but most of the commercials are hilarious! Especially the First aired.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqpRjdgQDQM

Exactly. Hilarious.

I think that advertisements that are funny really can make the consumer buy the product. It makes them laugh, they have a connection with the ad, and finally they go out and try the beef jerky. Maybe these ads are a reason why Jack Link's is so successful.

My expectations of Comm 203

I expect to learn the basics of the Mass Communications major here at Shepherd University. This is my second Comm class and so far I really like it. So hopefully this class will make me even more excited! I'm also hoping that this class will make me realize if this is the right path for me! Oh, and I'll get used to using a Mac, which I basically know nothing about.