Class Highlights

I think one of the things I learned the most is to be wary of the way media affects me. When I remember stuff  like the media placing a certain expectation on women as to how they should look and advertisers surveying people to find the most effective way possible to draw customers in. Also how it can create negative perceptions of certain types of media, such as hip-hop or rock and roll in the 50s and 60s.

The impact of media is another thing I learned. The War of the Worlds broadcast showed me that if you work hard enough you can make something seem like a legitimate piece of news. We are susceptible to believing most things we are told but in fact it could be false. The importance of the First Amendment was something I already knew about but this was more in-depth look at why it's so important for journalists and citizens alike.

I love this clip. It's just another example of how I'll pay attention to what I'm being presented.

Media Ethics - Fox Aired Video of a Man's Suicide

Last year Fox was broadcasting a police chase and kept filming the incident after the man being chased started running on foot and then eventually stopped and shot himself. The entire incident was aired on TV and the children of the man were watching and witnessed it all. Now the mother is suing Fox News for causing emotional distress to her children.

Now I'm not a fan of Fox News but I can honestly say this was a error in judgement more than anything. Police chases being filmed live isn't exactly new but you have to take into consideration that a man killing himself as you film it is a possibility. While I don't want to defend Fox for this, the mother also shouldn't have had her kids watching the broadcast. If she was with them then she should've sent them to another room. It seems like an error on both sides but quite honestly I don't see a point of Fox even broadcasting this sort of thing anyway. It feels like they just wanted some quick ratings.

http://www.imediaethics.org/News/3990/Fox_news_aired_mans_suicide__children_sue_for_emotional_distress.php 

Internet Shopping

The first time I found out about buying things online I was amazed at all the options. Amazon became my premier site to buy things. I never bought excessively but there was a bigger variety of video games I played so I bought them online. When I was 18 my mom got me a Amazon rewards credit card that I could use. So when I bought things that I needed, it added up to my amazon points that I could use to buy things.

I never knew anyone who was addicted to shopping on the internet, gaming I'm sure there have been people who have become addicted to MMO's (Massively Multiplayer Online Game). I used to play a online role playing game and while I did play it a good amount, I was never addicted. It's a fun way to pass time though.

The Significance of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Length: 5:26
Description: A look at the history of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and it's significance to the beginning of the Civil War, and how it became America's first national best seller.
Chapter 3: Books
Quiz Question: Uncle Tom's Cabin
Answer: helped lead to the Civil War

Favorite Recordings

I have two favorite records from 2012. The first one is Cityreal and Wes Mackey in "Good Morning Blues". It's a hip-hop blues/jazz album which completely swept me away. I can honestly say I'm tired of the same old crap that I get feed by so many rappers, so this was a breath of fresh air.

 
The other one was the new Linkin Park album. I grew up listening to LP and their last two albums haven't really been up to standard of their first two classics. So this album was a return to form. They implemented the nu-metal sound they are known for from the first two albums, with the more rock oriented sound of their third album. "Powerless" is easily my favorite song.

As far as oldies go, I'll say "NY State of Mind" by Nas because it's my favorite song off arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time. I also have to mention this little gem called "World Cell" by composer Susumu Hirasawa. Something about this song takes me back to my childhood.

 

Magazine Proposal

The name of the magazine I came up with is "Anime and Manga Monthly". Since anime and manga is a niche piece of entertainment, there's not that many magazines covering the topic. The only other one I know of is "Otaku USA", so people will be intrigued by a new magazine on the topic. Obviously the market it would go for is people who read manga and watch anime. Along with that we would include coverage on various anime conventions throughout the country so that's another demographic we would want to bring in. Age, gender, income etc, all that doesn't matter, as long as you enjoy anime or manga you can enjoy this.

Five advertisers
-Distributors of Anime DVD's in the US
-Anime Convention Organizers
-Online stores selling anime & manga
-Manga distributors
-Video Game companies (similar hobbies)

First Five Articles
-Psycho-Pass - The Best Show of the Year thus far
-"The God of Manga" - A look at the career and significance of Osamu Tezuka
-The 25 Greatest Anime Villains of All Time
-Is Toonami Still Relevant?
-"Ode to Kirihito" Revisiting a Classic  

Books That Moved Me

I don't read much, I figured I should point that out, but from the few books I have read I think I can honestly say that some of them have really moved me. 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - I read this back in middle school and it's one of the few books that really made me care about the main character. It deals with real situations and without spoiling it, what happens to Hassan is still one of the most shocking things I've read in any book. It's a very human book and I love it for those aspects which made me root for the characters. 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Kite-Runner-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/1594480001/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367045647&sr=8-1&keywords=the+kite+runner

1984 by George Orwell - I loved this look at a scary future of a false utopia in which people live under a false sense of security. Big Brother & The Thought Police brought fear into people. This book makes you wonder just how much we might be being monitored and how we might eventually lose our individualism. http://www.amazon.com/1984-60th-Anniversary-Plume-George-Orwell/dp/0452262933/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367045839&sr=1-1&keywords=1984

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - Teenage angst, I could really relate to it when I read this book in high school. I felt like I could relate to Holden, not because I lost a sibling or anything, but I didn't want to lose my sense of youth. I always want to be young whenever I can be. I don't want to wake up in the morning and be a stern adult who doesn't know how to have fun anymore, I want to hold on to the innocence the most young people have.  

http://www.amazon.com/The-Catcher-Rye-J-Salinger/dp/0316769177/ref=pd_sim_b_8

Media Impact

I remember the Virginia tech shooting quite clearly. I was too young to understand what was going on during the columbine shootings and I didn't really pay attention to it. So the virginia tech shootings was something that I followed. About 3 days after the shootings though I remember hearing about how the killer had seen the film "Oldboy", a 2003 South Korean film that the killer may have been inspired by. Seung-Hui Cho, who shot and killed 32 people and left 17 wounded on April 16, 2007, was supposedly a fan of the film and even  took a picture of himself in the infamous pose of the main character of the film.

The news broke and comparisons were made and there were several people who stated that the film caused Cho to go through with the killings. CBS in particular ran a short report on it.

However there has been no real evidence that Cho even watched Oldboy, and the professor that initially made the connection that Cho may have been influenced by Oldboy has since discounted the theory that he was influenced by the film. 

Even when I first heard about this in 2007 I realized that the media was just trying to find a scapegoat to place the blame of these shootings on. I was 15 when I first saw Oldboy myself. I understood the character and why he was doing the things he was and even at that age I realized that while in some ways I agree with him, it doesn't mean I'm going to go around plotting revenge on every person who I think has done me some sort of wrong. 

A violent film didn't cause Sueng-Hui Cho to go on a shooting spree, his unstable mind did. I never understood how people try to blame violent films, television, and video games as the cause for these violent outburst. Sure it's true that a suggestible mind could be triggered by seeing violence and perceiving that it's alright to do it yourself, but that person has to already be mentally unstable to arrive at the conclusion that the violent scene they see in a film is something they would want to do people in their own lives. Take it from me, I've seen so many violent scenes from so many different mediums but I never get the urge or idea to go out and reenact what I saw on screen to people who I don't like or get bothered by. And we all know that there weren't violent films and video games around in 30's and 40's when there was still violent crimes being committed (The Black Dahila murder being an example). So before we place blame on a piece of entertainment we should really analyze the individual and why they would ever be suggestible by that kind of thing in the first place.

Media Autobiography

• Books- I've never really been into books. I have read books that I really liked but I'll usually never go out and get a book to read in my spare time. If manga goes in this category then I spend a lot more time reading that than anything else. It's not that I dislike books or anything but I prefer something more visual than just words to read.
• Newspaper- I don't read the newspaper. I only check the ads section every Friday or Saturday to see what sales are going on but that's about it. I know I should be reading it because there is so much there but the internet has made it so much easier and convenient to get so much more information on the topics they list. 
• Magazine's- I don't subscribe to any magazines but I'll pick up and read one when I'm at the dentist or anyplace like that. I do buy some special editions of certain magazines. For example I recently purchased a reissue of Life magazines biography of Audrey Hepburn. 
• Movies- I love movies. I've been a film buff even since high school. Genre's don't matter to me, I'll watch anything that looks interesting. I took a film class for two years in high school and for a long time I thought that's what I would major in until I recently changed it to journalism. I usually help my friends with production of short films they work on so it's a big passion of mine. I don't watch as many films as I did a few years ago but I still pay attention to the media and I always look forward to some good work.
• Recordings- Music is huge in my life. I'm pretty sure if my computer's hard drive ever crashed and I lost my entire collection I'd probably cry for days. Ever since I was ten and I started going online to listen to music it's been a huge part of my life growing up. I was born in India and moved here when I was five, so music really helped me master English in a way.    
• Radio- I usually never listen to the radio. I don't like most the music they play so I just stick with my own. I also don't listen to any news stations so I almost never have it on. It's never been an important part of my life so I can't say I have any memories of it. 
• Television- Another huge part of my life growing up and even now. I still remember when my parents first got cable. It was after I came back from spending my summer in Canada and it was amazing. These days I don't watch too much live television but I do watch several shows but I think in the future I won't have a need for cable because everything I watch will be online.       
• Internet- Easily the biggest time consumer in my life. Everything I listed above is available on this source. I get everything here, films, music, anime & manga, television, news, books. I've been going online since I was nine and it's crazy how much it grew since then.