TTaylorMedia

Class Highlights

2009-12-01T22:01:00.000-08:00

I'm very glad I took this class, it was a lot of fun but I also learned a lot. One Aha! moment I had was just a few weeks ago when we were learning about electronic journalism and the news. I never realized how uninformative TV news can be sometimes. The on-the-scene reports rarely add to the story at all. When we were reviewing chapter 10 and watched the youtube video with all of the statistics, I learned that 90% of all emails sent daily are spam. That seems pretty ridiculous to me. That's WAY too much. Thank goodness for spam blocker! When we did the media content analysis, I realized that magazine ads really are geared toward the magazine's target audience, as well as the pictures used in magazine articles.

Propaganda in Advertising/PR

2009-12-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, first of all, this is the cheesiest commercial I've ever seen. But it does have some propaganda techniques.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33siZOeLQMs&feature=PlayList&p=9ED5F86495451368&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=4

Ad nauseam: The slogan "P.S. I Love You" is repeated frequently throughout the commercial

Common Man: All of the people in the commercial are everyday, average folk.

Euphoria: Everyone is very pleased and happy with the soup.

Slogan and repitition are also used, as you can probably tell.

Books

2009-12-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

One book that really influenced my life recently was Catcher in the Rye. It was required reading for my senior year ethics class, and I loved it. Holden's refusal to grow up and be an adult is very relatable for me, especially at such a turning point in my life. He's quite misunderstood, but I couldn't help but love his crude humor and strange quirks.

http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769177/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259731932&sr=8-1

Another influential book for me is Night by Elie Wiesel. I read it sophomore year of high school for a book project, and had never really read anything detailed about the Holocaust, other than in history books. It was such an eye opener for me. Some of it was very graphic and hard to read, but it gave me a much better understanding of that time period and the struggles of the Jewish men, women, and families.

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Elie-Wiesel/dp/0553272535

The third of my influential books is Go Ask Alice. I read it when I was 11, and I don't recommend giving it to a younger brother or sister. Looking back, I was much too young to be reading such horrifying accounts. But it did teach me important lessons, I guess. It was very detailed and very tragic, but I think it should be required for all teenagers.

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Ask-Alice/dp/0689817851

Internet

2009-11-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

I found over 11,000 results for "social working websites". I'm only into Facebook, so I don't know of many on the list, and I'm not sure of any that the list does not include. Supernova.com is one website I had never heard of-it's a network for independent music fans and artists. I looked at the actual website and it seems pretty cool. Fans can do a search for shows in their area and can choose what types of music they want to see live. Bands can post shows and updates on the website, as well. If I were a musician, I would probably use this site. I go on Facebook daily and have access to it on my Blackberry. It's not at the point that I'm addicted, I don't think, but I do really enjoy it. I like that I can keep in touch with my friends who are away at college and talk to old friends that I haven't seen in years. I've used Facebook to help me get into contact with someone when I didn't have a phone handy, and also to get homework help from a friend.

Television

2009-11-02T00:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH9b1aXg2Tw

Video Length: 4:30
Description: This video is introducing Hulu to unfamiliar internet-users and navigating around the site. Hulu offers off-network syndicated programs to watch instantly on your computer. For free!
Chapter 9: Television
Question: Does Hulu offer TV shows from all networks? In other words, all TV shows?
Answer: No. Most CBS shows are offered, as well as ABC and other major networks, but not all TV shows from all networks are available...yet.

Movies

2009-10-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

My favorite movie of 2009 was definitely "Up." I didn't get a chance to see it in 3-D, but it was such a great movie. It tugged at so many emotions, as Pixar tends to do. Russel and Mr. Fredricksen are so lovable, I couldn't help but cry at more than a few points in the movie. They share a great adventure and learn a lot in their journey together. It takes a lot to get me to watch a movie more than two or three times, but I am definitely going to buy this one so I can watch it over and over.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/

Media Research Project

2009-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

For my research project, I would like to look further into the influence that the media has on young girls, as far as self image and attitude goes. Barbies and Bratz dolls do not give girls proper role models, with Barbie unrealistic figure and Bratz dolls' promiscuous behavior portrayed in their movies and commercials. Babysitting 8-year-old girls has made me realize that they are very easily influenced by what they see and hear on television, and are likely to mock that behavior at home and at school. Even the name 'Bratz' suggests that they are not the nicest girls in the world. I would like to research the effects that brands and images like Bratz dolls have on young girls, and what it does to them as they grow up. The social learning theory is directly related, stating that people learn by observing others. Young girls learn from Bratz movies that it is cool to wear a lot of makeup and skimpy outfits. They also learn from Barbie that they need small waists and huge boobs (that will give them back problems and incredible difficulty finding shirts that fit normally...) This is not okay. Even by just googling a few words related to this project, I find that many parents disapprove of Bratz dolls and what they are teaching their children.

My Media Autobiography

2009-09-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

The more I think about it, the more I realize how big a role the media plays in my day-to-day life. When I was very young, I loved to read. I was an only child so books were my way of entertaining myself when my parents got tired of playing Barbies with me. Even when I didn't know how to read, I would look at the pictures and create stories myself. Maybe that's why I have such a vivid imagination now...In elementary school I got really into a few series of books. The Boxcar Children, Magic Treehouse, and The Bailey School Kids were my favorites. But then middle school and the dreaded "Required Reading" came along and I started to shy away from books, mostly because I was not at all interested in most of the assigned books. My senior year, however, the summer reading book was The Catcher in the Rye. I instantly fell in love with Holden and his strange personality, and since then have become much more interested in reading.
I can't say I read the newspaper much at all. My dad reads it every morning at work and usually finds some article that he thinks would be beneficial for me to read. So he cuts it out and gives it to me to read, but I usually just leave it on my desk and pretend to have read it.
Magazines are a huge part of my life. I love them. Since freshman year of high school, I've wanted to be the Art Director of Elle. I subscribe to Elle, Vanity Fair, Teen Vogue, Nylon, and Glamour. I've developed a very strange way of reading magazines, simply because I can't get enough. I read every magazine I get three times over. The first time I open the new issue, I just skim it over, bookmarking pages and ads that I find interesting just by appearance. The second time, I read the whole thing, every single page, bookmarking more pages and articles. And the third, I reread the articles and look at the pages that I loved the most, observing all of the small details very carefully. I never throw out my magazines. I have issues of Teen Vogue from March 2005 and even before that. Magazines are my passion, I guess you could say.
I'll be the first to admit that I watch horrible movies. A few days ago, I was looking at a websites list of the "Worst of the Worst Movies" in the past decade, and I found a few of my favorites on it. It was quite embarrassing. I'm totally okay with it, though. I have no problem admitting that I love the Lizzie McGuire Movie or that I saw the midnight premiere High School Musical 3 while mostly everyone was watching the premiere of Saw V. I find that my interests tend to be those of a seventh grader, but I'm okay with that. I do like some normal movies, though. Almost Famous and Garden State are two of my favorites.
As with movies, my musical preferences aren't always suited for my age. I love the Jonas Brothers. I will admit that I like them almost solely because of my love for Joe Jonas, but I do listen to their music as well. I love Taylor Swift and I will always support Britney Spears, no matter how crazy she may be. I also like a few lesser known artists and groups, like Steve Moakler and The Script. I highly recommend both. I tend to go for more relaxing, acoustic sounds. I also love John Mayer.
My car is a heap of junk that falls apart a little more each day. One of it's recent fall aparts was my radio. I have no FM radio in my car anymore, so it's not really a huge part of my life. I can't say I really listened to it when I had it, either. I don't really like a lot of the music on the radio...except maybe Radio Disney...
I watch WAY too much television. My DVR overfills almost weekly. I own the complete series of Friends and The OC on DVD, and could probably recite most episodes by heart. I follow the Real Housewives of every city and talk about them as if they're all my best friends, wish I worked in an office like Dunder Mifflin, and I want to be famous just so I can be a guest star on Entourage. So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, 30 Rock, Gossip Girl, 90210, and Grey's Anatomy are some other favorites, but the list in endless.
The internet is another huge part of my life. I love Facebook and incessantly follow Perez Hilton's blog. I have yet to get into Twitter or any of those things, but I may soon. I shop online and I love that Yahoo! gives me Text Twist. It's addicting.
I think I would really enjoy having a career in either magazines or television. Unfortunately, a lot of magazines are folding due to the economy, and some are switching to online only. I wouldn't want to work for an online magazine. To me, it's completely different and just doesn't give the same satisfaction that tangible magazines do.
I just realized how long this is...I'm sorry. I like to talk about myself, I guess.