Blog Post #3

  This observation is less one I have about Media and more one that I have had about my self. I have always found myself critical of media I consume, more specifically Literature. Having had Literature classes I found myself capable of understanding the works and analyzing them but when trying to do the same with television or a movie I find myself unable to articulate my way of understanding them. I feel that after the first chapter we've done I am better equipped to analyze these media artifacts as I now have new ways of using some of the same literary devices I was so accustomed to.
   I recognized and applied this understanding to last week's premier of the series Heroes: Reborn, a mini-series continuation of the popular NBC Science Fiction Drama. I found myself categorizing the signs and symbols as they showed up, as well as finding the parallels in the way camera shots were used between this new series by the same director of the old series, made easier by the fact I used the first episode for our paper.  Now that I knew these way to apply my previous knowledge with the techniques we have learned in class it felt more natural and I didn't feel like was trying to stick a television show in a literature sized hole. I hope as this class continues I'll be more at ease analyzing and expressing that analysis through my writing. I can only hope that more practice both in an out of class will be what makes me better understand the media artifacts and what makes them work so that I can learn how to write for them, which is a goal of mine. 

Blog Post #3

I’ve always enjoyed analyzing entertainment I consume by theorizing and noticing symbolism and with this class it’s nice to begin to know how to do so formally and have an outlet for discussion. Semiotics comes somewhat naturally to me, but reading about Marxist analysis has made me look at stories differently. When looking for symbols, I’m looking at it from a story point of view, how the theme is represented visually, foreshadowing, what characters represent, and so on. But Marxism asks an analyst to look outside the story at the society that built it and how that society is reflected in the story. I really enjoy watching sitcoms. They are meant to be fun, lighthearted entertainment that can be consumed passively. But by being passive they subconsciously feed us a fantasy of what our lives are meant to be like. This week I finished rewatching New Girl, a show where a group of friends get into all kinds of antics but are always there to support each other. The five characters who share a loft often have trouble with their jobs, yet they never seem to have financial trouble nor do their jobs ever seem to interfere much with their personal lives. Most of that is probably for convenience of plot, but it also lets many viewers escape from the reality of having their lives run by their jobs. It also gives the idea that “if this bunch of idiots can do this well then certainly I can have that kind of life”. Most sitcoms are like that, they give an idyllic reality with just enough weird unbelievable mischief to remind us that it’s fantasy. 

Media through the Marxist Point-of-View Post #4

 Marxism is the hierarchical and materialistic approach in figuring out who in society and in general groups has more power and who plays what role. When looking into media through a marxist point-of-view, you want to really focus on the characters, rather than the background, which would be under semiotics. You want to study how each individual acts in their role and how they inteeract with other characters. When looking into marxism, you want to catagorize every indivual character into their own elemnt in the story.

Their are four main categpries to put each person in,  Heirachal elitist, egalitarian, competitive individualist and fatalist. In an example, there is always a hierarchical elitist in any TV show group, such as Cory from Boy Meets World. After the hierarchical elitist, you start going down the, as you might want to visualize it, a pyramid of roles the just keeps going down to the bottom of the food chain. After the hierarchical elitist, you have your egalitarian person/people, which are the ones who are the ones who are the in-betweeners and the peace keeps. Next, you have your competitive individualist, who is the one, or maybe even two people in the group who always butt heads and/or the person who is trying to do better than the other. Lastly, you have your fatalist, who basically feel that everything is going to end up in disaster. On the side, you can always have various other categories, such as who is the individualist and who is the voice of reasoning.

All-in-all, analyzing the media with a Marxist point of view is just studying the individual and how the group functions through those individual's characteristics. You can also try to justify this through studying real-life groups and compare and contrast between reality and TV.

Blog post # 3

Since the start of this semester and class I have noticed myself being more perceptive of what I watch and how I watch it.  I have always been one to notice certain things in media such as movies or television shows.  After the first month of taking this course I now relate parts of movies or tv shows together.  I have also found myself watching the news lately and noticing the extreme exagguration they take when giving the news, in order to seem more interesting and gain more viewers.  For example this week I watched part of the political debate and notice many news channels over exaggerating or emphasizing on one specific detail in order to persuade the audiences mind.  I find most of this type of media to be displeasing.  For one they try and tell the viewer what they want them to believe.  It also does no good criticizing or disrespecting other ideas being said.  Other media I have examined this week I saw how editing greatly disoriented reality.  In one show I was watching the previews where shown in a way to make the audience think something bad was going to happen to the character.  But in actuality the two scenes were completely different scenes.  I now know this is to keep the viewer in suspense and watch the episode to find out what actually happens.  It is just another way to gain the audiences attraction.  In a cartoon I also watched I noticed how the developers stilled images to lengthen the time of the episode or dilemma.  In order to keep the story or season going.

Blog Post #3

Since starting this class, I've definitely become a more cynical consumer of media. I no longer watch anything with rose tinted glasses. I guess this was the goal because I remember that this class was supposed to "ruin" the media we consume. I'm much more aware of the effects, whether negative or positive, the media may have on me. After reading the chapter on marxism and all the ideas of different scholars, I considered whether staying away from media altogether was the solution. I learned that different types of media could control consumers without us ever knowing that we are being controlled by it. We think that our autonomy is still intact when in fact we are part of this collective mind. We receive ideas from the media, they are not our own. The media, for the most part, is controlled by a small group of people. Therefore, a small group of people can "mind control" a large group of people. We see advertising everywhere, and this makes us spend our money in pursuit of happiness and so that we can outdo others and show off our wealth. Everything we buy is a symbol for who we are, but it is not unique. It is all part of the culture in which we live. Marxism says that the wealthy higher class controls the knowledge and ideas that the lower classes consume. Another idea I found interesting was that of alienation. We are alienated because we are told to do work that is separate from ourselves. It is not technically our own work. This makes us unhappy. To distract ourselves from this unhappiness, we buy into media that will make us escape from reality. So we spend our money on the distractions and continue working. It is a never ending cycle. This idea intrigued me because it is so logical yet presents a cynical view of our media consumption. These philosophies may or may not be true but they still explain a lot. We all know that people who make media don't have hearts of gold. Their goal is probably not to make us happy, but to gain profit. So we must stay conscious of who we are in the postmodern society we live in. Nowadays, people are gravitating less towards TV and more towards the internet. Even though social media allows us to have more autonomy, we still see the same advertisements. Only this time, the advertisements are even more pervasive and effective because they are personalized to fit each consumer's wants.

This week, I watched The Cheetah Girls. It was one of my favorite movies on Disney when I was growing up, but this time I was able to analyze it. For many reasons, I still love it as much as I did 10 years ago. I noticed how this movie must have played a role in shaping kid's views about black women and minorities. The Cheetah Girls are ethnically diverse, and their songs reflect that diversity and acceptance. They spoke different languages and had different cultures. I guess that's why I identified with it so much. They may not have been exactly like me, but they were different than the girls I would always see on TV. They each had different issues, including a mom who was never around and being an orphan raised in a foster home. The underlying themes are endless. Another aspect I loved was how empowering it was for girls. One could even argue it had underlying feminism. The dad cooked and the mom worked. The songs they sang talked about girl power and not needing a man to save them. It was nothing like the usual cinderella story. It was the Cheetah Girls, and those girls were fierce.

Blog # 3

It is officially Fall season and although the weather hasn't changed the TV channel listings have. All the great fall shows are back like How To Get Away With Murder, Scandal, and Flash. I have had a lot of opportunity to dissect tv shows unintentionally I've found myself paying attention to the way the camera is shifting to show certain types of emotions and or give us an idea of what the character is thinking. I was watching the different sounds that playing in the background more intently and asking myself what was the director trying to convey by doing this a lot and I'm not not enjoying the shows I'm watching any less, but I'm a thinking more critically.

           So we watched Freaks and Geeks in class and I've watched this show before and made note of certain things about the characters in the past. However, I've never noticed how there could be a different leader or passive leaders amongst a group. I've also never thought about how certain cultural ideas are present in our society and how they effected the way we interact with each other. After looking at that episode through a Marxist lens, I found the most interesting character to be the mother. The way she was battling with her family to continue being traditional and not grow up was very interesting. 

Blog Post 4

When I thought of Marxism I only saw it as the basis of what would become Communism in the early 1900s. Well it does view the basis of classes but it does strictly abolishment of them to make one group equal that has been presented in a political sense. In media it can portray groups in certain classes such as ones viewed in tv shows like freaks and geeks. Hierarchies are established throughout with certain group in a higher status than most others but power can be distributed evenly in an abstract way. While one group may be seen as cool, another one can be established as the role model for all to achieve in life.

In media, a target audience would be approached with advertisement that would catch their attention, which would not attract others. In film, it's common to pick a certain actor for a particular movie to get box office receipts. One does not usually get an action hero as their first pick  for romance film unless the script is well written and suited for that actor. Or lets say that one format can interpret what they market to a certain class to have appeal for something that in situations would not be bothered with like dr dre beats which are seen as a hip hop product. Media can help bridge the gap between classes in many ways to see what all classes can agree on. Each class of people can benefit from each other for there is enough for all who wish achieve a status and success without interceding each others path or we can stay separate and in conflict with each other without a proper resolution to end our issues.

Blog Post 3

I have come to realize just much my life is consumed by media as I think everyone else in class may think the same as well. However, I hardly ever the time to analyze what is being presented until I started the EMAC program and see the way that media is presented in multiple formats. When I started reading Media Analysis it show how depth there is beyond what was subconsciously aware of and someone typed it up for people to know. Most people may not be aware of visual symbolization within shows and movies for we just want to get entertained most of all. When watching Sherlock there were many examples of semiotics that we were pointing out when let watching the pilot episode.

At the end, media can be viewed in the way we can interpret in our own free will and alter it to fit one's own opinion. Let's say a video about family life, I can say it's lame while someone else can love it...and I'll say they're stupid. Also it can viewed solely on the medium format it is being presented now that technology is always improving and implementing new ways to view it. Watching a movie in the theater when it comes out is far different than when it comes on dvd or blu ray. You can miss out on the hi definition aspect that it was filmed in unless you have a high end entertainment system which few have.

After a few weeks in the class now, I can now try to find what underlying message media has other than what is directly being presented.

Blog Post 3

Media is everywhere we go, whether it is in the commercial we see before a YouTube video or the print advertisement in the menu of the Cheesecake factory. We are surrounded by discrete messages that if one does not learn to consider, we are influenced by the information we are subjected to and unconsciously incorporate the meaning into our lives. This is one of the main reasons why the fashion industry has imposed an image of the ideal ‘super model’, an unreachable aspect of beauty. Before this class, I considered the media as manipulative, although the media can impose ideas into our thoughts and lead us to classify better with some ideals more than others, it is not all negative.

            The media also helps in spreading positive messages. To take an example from recent pop culture, in the music video “Superpower” by Beyoncé, the overall theme of the video visualizes the quote “love and war” that focuses on the idea that even in difficult times, love always triumphs.

            In high school, the importance in understanding what we read instead of what we see is emphasized. Books have hidden meanings and their success leads them to become pieces of timeless literature. Although the plot “Romeo and Juliet” is unique and has probably never happened to anyone exactly the way to them, their story of the troubles of love can be applied to many situations, both to when the play was published to our current times. This type of media was analyzed and withstood the test of time.

            Learning how to analyze media makes for a better understanding in the culture and ideas that a society has. Personally, wanting to work in the media aspect of advertisement, it is important to keep advertising both relevant to the time period and timeless while attracting the attention of many, otherwise an advertisement is unsuccessful. After learning semiotics, how to analyze media, it is important to me to focus on what media is trying to advertise unconsciously instead of what they are directly presenting.

Blog Post 3- Tiffany Holts

                  This class has made me think about the reason behind small symbols and actions that the creator decided to make in their films. I used to watch a movie and think about the plot, but now I dig deeper into the costumes, lighting, symbols, and even the facial expressions of the characters. For example, when we watched the first TV show with the girl who was stuck in "storybook," I wasn't aware of the hidden symbols until we discussed them in a group in class. I was able to connect small details with the storyline. This passed week when we were watching the show on Netflix I paid more attention to the small details and examined how the episode, which was shot in the past, related to the present. Some of the ways that it related to now included the senior prank, the dangerous Halloween candy, and the typical "Christian" girl. The show emphasized the way some people actually think. The creators were able to keep the viewers engaged because they could simply relate. Although the show was silly, it was still interesting to some viewers, at least for the season it was played for. Overall, I am still learning how to efficiently analyze the media and look forward to my progression in this area. The semiotics paper also helped me become better at analyzing the media. I made sure to pick a show that interested me and replayed the same episode repeatedly to make sure I didn't miss a thing. It took a few times, but I was able to pick out the main symbols and analyze the media critically. Now, when I watch anything I pay attention to all of these things I did not before.

Blog Post #3: Marxism and Media

This class has taught me to analyze media rather than just watching with a blind eye. It’s gotten to the point where I’ll analyze a television show or movie without even noticing, it just happens unconsciously almost like breathing. It’s almost annoying because I’ll catch myself doing it and try to stop, but won’t be able to. I guess this is a good and bad thing however, we need to be able to analyze the things we see instead of just being blind to it. We need to see those signals, codes, connotations, intertextuality, etc. This week, while moving into Marxism we watched Freaks and Geeks, a television series that came out in 1999. I think this show has a major highlight on social roles, because you have the “freaks”, the “geeks”, the smart kids, and the popular kids. You can see a lot about the economy and the way things were during this time period. Lindsey, the main character of the television show, seems to have the typical 90’s family. Her family eats dinner together, talks about their days, typical annoying little brother that she looks out for, and a family that wants her out of trouble. Lindsey used to be one of the smart kids but she alienated herself from that group after her grandmother died. Now, she’s trying to be one of the “freaks”, but struggles fitting in. I this show was a great way to introduce Marxism and I look forward to learning more about it.

Post #4

Marxism may be understood through the social classes of a society which may be solely controlled by the elite.  This makes me question..."who is in charge?" Why are there certain shows that make it on each broadcasting network? Its funny because the movie productions go through such a grueling process on finding the right star to play their movie.  The producers and casting directors originally thought of George Clooney to play in their movie, "Jurassic World" though with specific studying on target audiences the producers knew George Clooney didn't have the youth to pull in a young crowd, therefore they saw the success of upcoming star Chris Pratt and chose him to lead in the summer blockbuster. 

There are certain ideologies the movie industry incorporate within their movies that are connected with social ideas.  Still woman lead roles are not as abundant as male lead role and the diversification of incorporating a different ethnic group is thin within the movie industry.  What if "Jurassic World" cast a Asian or Hispanic lead?  Would the sales differentiate?  Or even a homosexual individual to star?  There are certain social and political aspects that may have not been broken, though through time our ideas and way of thinking will evolve than fifty years ago.  With Marxism, individuals need to stop and think freely and question everything.  Why are "they" focusing on these certain issues? Why are "they" promoting these certain marketing ads?  What are "they" promoting as distractions so they do not focus on certain issues.  Its the responsibility of the individual to think outside of the box and make themselves informed to make their own opinions.

Post # 3

Within the time in this Media class, I personally noticed how influential media truly plays towards target audiences.  Of course, media is used for entertainment but it also goes more in depth than just for entertainment.  Within understanding the dynamics of Semiotics, I learned that there are symbols and signs that provide substantial meanings toward the audiences directly and especially unconsciously.  The media is connected with political, social and marketing signs that affect audiences. Whether, the audiences notice at all Media plays a vital role in incorporating marketing tools to sell merchandise or even a simple idea.


From watching, "Freaks and Geeks" episode, I am able to ascertain the role Marxism plays by exploring diverse roles characters evolve throughout a day and, especially with time.  In the episode I see how each character change in their specific roles within each social group within their lives.  For instance, an individual may be a leader at work but easily a weaker character status within their family hiearchal group.  The show depicts life in a high school and how status' role change from each clique'.  In my viewing and also in life individuals need the security feeling to belong.  Individuals want to feel a sense of security of belonging to a family in a group. 

Post #4: Marxism

The concept of Marxism boils down to the dynamics of power and shifts in power. Every scene on television is a power play. At any point, a character (or even a group of characters) exceeds another character in power, and that other person automatically responds to that. More commonly, the game evolves into a “give or take” situation, but it’s not always the case. There is a chance for the power to be deflected, rejected, or simply ignored by an opposing character.

Marxism also establishes various roles within a hierarchy in which most characters in a television program or a movie can fit into. The levels of this hierarchy are not arranged in the order of a food chain, but rather as separate but interacting groups. These groups illustrate the basic interests of the characters described in each.

Blog Post #3

This class has given me new lenses with which to view and consume media. As a former theatre/film student, I'm used to analyzing work on screen in a certain way. The methods learned in this class provide a different way to think about the subjects put forth in modern television.

Since moving out of my parent's house last year, my access to cable has been substantially limited. I watch a lot of Netflix, Amazon Prime if I feel like doing something different, and the rest of the time, I'm that person who listens to full albums on my record player. So many new and returning shows premiere new episodes this time of year, so if I want to actually catch one of those, I make sure it's recording at my parent's house or that one of my friends is equally interested in the program so they'll end up recording it. I'm pretty much a mooch when it comes to people who have DVRs. This past week, the only premiering episode I went out of my way to see was Scream Queens, a new Ryan Murphy show that promised to be campy, college-based horror. Scream Queens turned out to be fantastic, but I think it's really funny that the episode just HAPPENED to premiere the night that our class started working with the concepts surrounding Marxism. There are a lot of hierarchal dynamics surrounding the characters (the plot centers around a college sorority).

I'm intrigued by what I have observed so far, and am interested to see how this class further changes my perceptions.

I have become more aware of the content of the television shows that I now watch because this class has made me realize that almost everything that is produced for the general public has been carefully crafted to get and keep the audience's attention. After learning about using semiotics as a tool to analyze media I can now look at a television show and start finding out what the signs are that are being used to get my attention. I now notice the kinds of camera shots that are being used as well as the kind of music that is played to get people to pay attention. I have also started thinking about the way the story is structured whenever I watch any show on television. This week's discussion of Marxist criticism made it seem a little harder to use as a way of analyzing media, since it seems limited in how it can be used in this area.
        This week I was unable to watch much television due to a tight schedule but I did watch the Halloween episode of "Freaks and Geeks" during class, so this is the only show that I can criticize at the moment.  In this particular episode we saw a typical American family that included a mother who was trying to hold on to the family tradition of celebrating Halloween, a dad who seemed concerned about everyone else in the family and a teenage daughter and son who both had grown out of the childish habit of celebrating Halloween. The episode seemed to highlight the complexities that are involved in most group relationships, since the daughter, Lindsay was trying to fit in with a group of her peers that did not share her values while her younger brother seemed comfortable in his group with two other boys who were as awkward as he was. The family seemed to be held together by the mother, who was the one who made all the decisions and who went as far as to buy costumes without giving anyone in the family the opportunity to choose an outfit for his or herself. The episode also highlighted the power structure within the family as well as in each peer group. According to Marxist analysis , the mother's position within the family was that of a hierarchical elitist - the individual who felt responsible for everyone else because of her position as a leader in the family. Lindsay was portrayed as fatalist, someone who was no quite sure where she stood in terms of her group, but who was willing to go along with the other members in order to be accepted.
            Although the episode also touched on the topic of friendships within groups , it was the dynamics that was portrayed within family that helped us to understand why Lindsay decided to abandon her group of friends and return home after she had inadvertently egged her little brother as he went trick or treating in the neighborhood.

Blog Post # 3

Blog Post # 3

      There has been so much that I have noticed differently as a student in this course. I am concentrating in Psychology but my minor is in Communications, and prior to being in this course I never ever noticed in media everything that I notice now. I never analyzed media like I do not before it was just receive everything and not notice the little details whether it was news, television shows, documentaries, and social media. Now I have to admit that I pay attention to the semiotic concepts to those signs that tell us, the audience, what is trying to be transmitted to us that we ignore. 

     From all those different examples we were shown in class I learned how to watch a television series and actually point out things. Watching Sherlocks and learning how to semiotically analyze a whole episode was so exciting for me. I have learned something very important from Dr. Johnson and something she erased "So what?" So what if there is thunder in this scene? So what if the woman is dressed in black? So what if the room is empty? Asking myself this question provides me with a significant amount of answers to those signs that I have ignored in the past. Now I look at an advertisement, a magazine, and a commercial and realize that there is a message behind this. I realized that without noticing there is more to a product than just selling this actual product. For example, now I realize that there is a reason as to why the model who is wearing a cute skirt is thin and does not have a different body image. That is because semiotically analyzing this those signs are there to send us the message that today every girl should be skinny and that if you are not the skirt will not look good as it does on the model wearing it. 

    Marxism taught me that there is a hierarchal status that exists in media. I learned that if I am watching a series each character has a different role and they are all different. As well as learned how ideology in media has a great impact without even realizing it. 

  Learning so much already teaches me that there is more to media than what many including myself can even imagine of.

Blog # 3

I already loved analyzing movies and TV shows before this class. I’m the type who watches a movie the second time just to catch symbols, foreshadowing, or filming inconsistencies. If I have seen the movie before, I’m the friend who can’t stop mentioning analyzations during a movie night. I’m also the one who stays up late at night reading analyzations behind movies like The Lion King. I do it because it’s entertaining. I wouldn’t say taking this class extended my knowledge about symbols, semiotic characterizes, and Marxism traits more than I have ever thought about but I definitely understand Marxism from the everyday social life point of view now. 

After watching Freaks and Geeks: “Tricks and Treats” I understand how the terms learned in the Marxism chapter were applied to the show’s setting. There were characters that were strong and characters that were weak. It was interesting to see how a character’s lifestyle changes depending on what the situation is or what group they were with. For example, Lindsey was strong hierarchical elite at the beginning of the episode. However, at the end of the episode she was a weak fatalist. It seemed at the beginning of the episode she had more confidence. This confidence slowly went away by the end of the episode. It was also interesting to see how Lindsey alienated herself from certain people. She alienated herself from Millie at the beginning of the episode when Millie was eating the candy and when the teacher was talking to her. When she found out that Millie had a boyfriend, it was as if Millie had alienated her for not having a boyfriend. 

It is interesting to see how Marxism is used as a basis for analyzing and criticizing culture and mass media. Taking this class has so far taught me how to view the media and life situations in an analytic way and to always see the big picture.

Blog Post #3

With only a couple of weeks into the course, I've already learned so much about analyzing media. Before taking this class, I was disconnected to the media I  viewed. When I was watching a show or a movie I was just thinking of if I'm enjoying it or not. As for advertisements, I was only looking at what was being sold in the advertisement, not looking at why they said this or did this to sell the product. I never challenged the medias ideas. Now I have learned to pay closer attention to small details such as lighting or camera angles, as play major roles in exposing the theme presented by the media. Since now I'm not so disconnected to the media I consume, I find myself using semiotic analysis strategies when looking through magazines, watching TV, or even at the movie theater watching a movie.  After this week's class, we will now be combining are semiotic knowledge with the Marxism theory. When watching Freaks and Geeks in class this past week, I looked for semiotic techniques along with incorporating the Marxism concept of ideology and hierarchy of power.

Unlike shows such as Gossip Girls, or Pretty Little Liars, Freaks and Geeks is a great depiction of what high school life really is. Sam and Lindsey and not rich kids going to prep school or involved in a murder mystery, but instead are two middle-class kids just trying to find their place while in high school. I noticed the use of intertextuality right at the start of the show, referencing the That 70's Show. Though, through the dialogue, the viewer can tell the show is based in the early 80's, there is That 70's Show aesthetic throughout the show. As we talked about in class, there were many ideologies being used throughout the Halloween episode we watched. The ideology of not handing out candy that is not wrapped was seen in the show. The hierarchy of power is very present as well. When it comes to Millie, Lindsey is at the top of the pyramid in their friendship, but she finds out that Millie has a boyfriend and feels that she is losing her "top of the pyramid" statues. This of course, pushes her to go out with the Freaks on Halloween, instead of hanging with her mother. I must admit, I was instantly captivated by the Freaks at the start of the show, but I can see why the show only lasted one season. Besides the low budget quality that showed, easily noticed when using semiotic analyzing strategies, but the concept of a regular high school life just is not worth watching. Viewers want what most of us can’t have, meaning vampire boyfriends, going to a prep school, or being involved in a murder mystery. There are always exceptions of course, such as The Cosby Show or Boy Meets World, but I'm sure timing played an important role as well.

Blog Post #3

The focus of the media watched in class was power and ideology. We watched an episode of “Freaks and Geeks” to serve as an example. Rather than focusing on themes and signifiers like in semiotics, the focus was more on the characters themselves and what their choices reflected in the society they were in. One of the biggest examples is the mother, Jean, in the show. 

In the beginning and throughout much of the episode, Jean was enthusiastic about Halloween, which was quickly approaching. She bonded with the entire family during the dinner scenes, singing and acting goofy, and was eager to spend time with her daughter Lindsey on Halloween night. The Weir household becomes festive with creepy and cute decorations, and to top it off, Jean decides to make tons of homemade Halloween cookies to pass out instead of candy. Jean during these scenes is an example of a hierarchal elitist- one who holds the dominant power in the group. She is in control of her household and her husband, who goes along with her antics despite not wanting to. However, her role changes for a bit come Halloween night, when Lindsey decides to leave her alone to handle the trick-or-treaters. If that was not enough, Jean became humiliated and slightly distraught after learning that the homemade cookies were being thrown away by parents that believed them to be dangerous to their children. That newfound ideology was foreign to Jean, but is a widespread belief even until this day.

After being “defeated” like this, Jean decides to do what everyone else did and get candy to pass out, which she eventually stops doing because she’s having a miserable time. It is during this part that her character shifts to that of a fatalist- one who is out of luck in society. She reflects on how her childhood was not like that. But at the end of the episode when Lindsey decides to get into her costume and help her mom out, Jean bounces right back up, returning to her hierarchal elitist status. The episode was able to portray those focuses of power types and ideology even in a side character such as the mother.

Blog Post 3: Competitive Salad Making

Media is everywhere, like it or not (usually not), it’s impossible not to be inundated with nearly every form and fashion of media there is. Sitting in the doctor’s office, there’s a soap opera playing in the corner. Waiting at the bank, there’s a rack of glossy magazines. Driving out into the desolate countryside to try to escape the ever present hand of the media…there goes a billboard for Billy Ted’s truck stop/funeral home.  Media. It’s everywhere. It’s all the time. It’s an inescapable side effect of living in an economy driven by consumption and at a technology level that includes not dying of the plague. And while it’s not by any means the worst thing that’s ever happened to humanity, it’s certainly one of the most annoying. That, and UTD parking.

Being a media consumer is just a fact of life, and really it’s always been a necessarily passive act. Until, of course, it’s framed within the context of a literary analysis. Now years and years of being trained to find simile and metaphor and symbolism has all come flooding back on a vengeful tide of English teachers and term papers. Every show on Netflix is now akin to Shakespeare, every advertisement a sonnet. Suddenly all that time spent underlining the work of Mark Twain has been translated into something far more ubiquitous and twice as hard to ignore. Like it or not, now I’m not just a consumer of media, I’m an active consumer of media, and it’s a real headache.

You wouldn’t think Chopped had any sort of deeper meaning but you would be wrong. The logo, the music, the lighting, the edits, all of it has a purpose and all of it makes what equates to four adult men and women trying really hard to make a salad into an action packed highly tense competition of the gods. It’s ludicrous, it’s absolutely ludicrous that Chopped, a competitive show that almost always ends in a grown man making ice-cream out of raw fish or boiled beats, can be made to seem on par with something Bruce Willis would star in. But that’s the power of timing, camera angles, and sleek steel graphics. And now Chopped is ruined for me. Ruined. How can I ever take bread pudding seriously again, knowing it’s all just a sham of color manipulation and sound effects and that in reality it’s just a very high energy episode of Martha Stewart? I can’t, that’s how. The nerve of this class.

I really liked Chopped.

Blog post 3 Media

In my thoughts, media was just a way to connect people all over the world through technology, but since I have been talking this Reading Media Critically class, media was more than that. Mass media is generally understood as a process oriented to mass communication to the target audience by means of mass media for the purposes outlined. The mass media is the medium used to convey information in a public manner, broadly, that is capable of bringing information to a mass audience target. Need to distinguish between media content and media. Accordingly the mass media is an intermediate element capable of containing the media content, they differ from the content itself the mass media. There are 5 types of media: print, radio, television, online journalism and public relations. And I already know how to write essays on semiotic analysis on a movie. This week I studied about Marxist Analysis. It gave me an indeed look on why the director created the scenes on the movies. I would never know the details of the grid-group theory if I just focus what happen in the movie without notice what made the movie. The alienation, I thought it’s just in the movie, but it has in a real world too. In one episode that we watched in class on Freak and Greeks, there were so many concepts about Grid group theory that we wouldn’t never realize if we don’t analysis it. On the Halloween’s day, there were adults acting like kids, and kids try to be grown up. Two different category in here were if you don’t have a boyfriend, you are a loser. That was why Lindsey wanted to be at home at the first time, but then she was pushed by her friend, she had to get on a car running around the town.

Blog Post 3

Each week in the media we are bombarded with messages. Things we should buy or do, how we should dress and act and even eat. It is hard to get through the day without passing media that tries to change who you are. Facebook is full of advertisements most people don’t even see anymore. It is so integral to our daily lives that most days we hardly consciously notice them. But subconsciously we take in everything around us. When we go shopping for groceries we have a tendency to buy name brand items because we have heard of them and we trust one over the other. Or when buying clothing, there is a reason styles come and go and it is not because suddenly everyone thinks crop tops look good on them.

Because of our study in semiotics I look much more closely as I am passing an advertisement to see what it is really saying about its product. The way an actor is standing in the photo and the colors they are wearing are meant to be attention grabbing. Colors are used to make different aspects stand out in print articles as well as on the television. I am an Art and Performance major with a music concentration. I have a tendency to pay close attention to the music choices television advertisements, as well as television shows, use to create the mood they want to convey. An excellent example of this is the well known SPCA add that uses Sarah
McLaughlin “Angel” an incredibly sad song that when partnered with images of sad puppies will wrench the heart of even the toughest among us.Through this class I have learned to look more closely at the images surrounding me every day; to stop and think what is it really saying. 

Blog Post #3: marxism

This week, I watched Zack Snyder’s 300 (2006) and David Fincher’s Seven (1995), in addition to the episode of Freaks and Geeks we watched in class.

The film 300 has a very clear divisions of power as it focuses on King Leonidas of Sparta. In the grid-group analysis, Leonidas would be a fatalist because he defies the oracle and Spartan law and sets off with his army of 300 to war against the Persians. His wife, Queen Gorgo, is an egalitarian because she is independent, abandoning the stereotypes of a submissive woman and standing up for her husband as she tries to convince the council that Leonidas is right in his decision.

In Seven, the power divisions are slightly less clear-cut. Throughout the movie, viewers see Detective Somerset as having more power in his department, even though he is not the captain, because of his age and experience. He displays mannerisms similar to Sherlock that are contrary to the typical behavior of a police officer (i.e. does NOT take notes in the crime scene, jump to conclusions if the crime seems obvious, or take coffee from Detective Mills). Detective Mills is seen as less powerful in comparison to Somerset in skill and experience, but their partnership evolves as they investigate the seven deadly sins murders. This evolution expands their character profiles to overlap each other in some aspects.

After gaining insight on the purpose of this class, my media consumption has become keener to break down elements of the story, think about it in terms of what happens behind the scenes, and dig deeper for underlying meanings and themes.

Blog Post #3

Before taking this course, I never truly analyzed the media I was consuming. Whether it was ads, commercials, or even movies, I never took the time to dissect the signs and meanings within the content. Now it is almost as if my eyes have been opened. I have slowly begun to pay closer attention to  subtle details and implicit messages, which all come and aid in the creation of the entire dynamic of the content being presented. What has surprised me the most has been the amount of thought that goes into media. The creators of the content fine tune down to the smallest detail. And I believe that the only way the user will able to understand the entire experience of the content, is to be able to recognize all of these elements. I will admit that when we first began learning about Semiotic concepts in class I was slightly lost. But once we began applying these concepts to the examples, the advertisement and the Sherlock series, everything began to make sense. Many of the Semiotic elements were visibly present and once you knew what you were looking for, it became so apparent within the media content. The same applies to Marxism. Marxism analyzes the hierarchical status within media. In class we watched an episode of Freaks and Geeks. After watching this episode through a Marxist looking glass, I was able to differentiate the different groups within the episode. Additionally we analyzed the type of role that each member in the different groups held, and how they as individuals and as a unit contributed to the story of the show. Now that I have learned to pay attention to Semiotic and Marxist concepts, I will be able to fully experience all of the media around me. I believe this broadens my spectrum, and will allow me to become more aware of the type of content I am exposed to.

Marxism Blog Post 3

When I have began reading the chapter concerning Marxist analysis, I have been consuming the media, whether be from the news, internet, or newspaper, as a conscious reader rather than a passive member of the audience. According to Marxism, the media is designed to spread and propagate the illusions sent unto the minds of the masses by the so-called ruling class as a means of justifying exploitation and victimization. Clearly, I have seen the 1990's show titled Freaks and Geeks, which features Sam, who is portrayed as a fatalist, Lindsey, who is the older sister who ends up joining a group of teens who throw eggs, bash down mail boxes with bats, and smash pumpkins for entertainment, and their mother, who happens to be the traditionalist with a sense of hierarchical elitism and temporarily acted as a fatalist when people in her neighborhood are given this ideology about unwrapped cookies having razor blades inside them. Of course, one can at least consider the fear of dangerous items being hidden within Halloween cookies as a form of false consciousness. According to Marxism, there is also the concept of alienation, in which Sam and his friends, whether they know it or not, are targeted as being outcasts in the social hierarchy. To be honest, I am uncomfortable with this week's conversation, as it is clear to me that whenever I hear the word "Marxism", it reminds me too much of the far-left, totalitarian ideology of communism, which was practiced within the Soviet Union, Cuba, Mao's China, and North Korea. Indeed, even the idea of power in Marxist terms, as depicted by a typical stereotype of high school athletes being at the top and the nerds and freaks being at the bottom, tends to be a ridiculous conception that might as well convince people into fearing the idea that it would encourage and agitate the envious "outcasts" into forming an uprising. As opposed to the symbolism of semiotics that I have enjoyed for the past weeks, especially how it is helpful in finding indexes and icons within every show like South Park, I do seem to be showing criticism for the Marxist analysis of the media and I personally felt better when I looked over advertisements and the symbols and signifiers that offered me an interesting way of looking over popular culture as opposed to Marxism. Although, I do admit that it allows me to place characters into certain archetypes as a means of understanding their progression, but nevertheless, I do not like hearing or saying the word Marxism.

blog post #3

After learning about Semiotics and the tip of the iceberg about Marxism I noticed that I see news and media in a different light. Marxism is all about hierarchy and in class we discussed this at length using high school as the example. There is such a pecking order in high school which makes it the perfect example to describe Marxism. The popular kids (the hierarchy elitists) are the athletes, cheerleaders, jocks or the wealthy kids who maybe buy friends and control. They have a tendency to call the shots and are at the top of the food chain in high school. In class I noted that "in any social situation you have hierarchy" and so I'm noticing semiotic details and Marxism are everywhere. Take social media for example- the people with the most "likes" or followers are the trendsetters. When somebody posts something and it doesn't get very many likes, it is less validated by the people who see it. When somebody who gets a lot of attention (the jocks) post something and it gets a lot of comments and attention, people are more likely to stop and read or look and then mimic. Let it be a fad style or a new restaurant. 

Blog Post #3

Before starting this class, I never really analyzed the media I consumed. I watched something on Netflix, and I wanted to be entertained out of the show/film I chose. When looking at advertisements, I looked at what they were trying to sell; I didn’t think about how they position everything to convey their message. After learning about Semiotics the past couple of weeks I now try to analyze the inner workings of the media I consume. In shows, I am more understanding of how the syntagmatic analysis is formed, and I notice how influential symbolism could be. I started to pay attention more to the foreshadowed clues and I try to make sense of it by the end. In regards to advertisements, signifiers and symbolism have a huge influence on the message they create. It’s not just about the product, it’s about the audience they are targeting, and the message they illustrate. Knowing about how semiotics affects the media brings a whole new level of “entertainment” I’ve never experienced before. In the last class we were introduced to Marxism and that’s whole other level of analysis within the media. When we watched Freaks and Geeks I was already focused on determining what semiotic techniques I can gather, but using Marxism to determine the hierarchical status of characters was interesting. It gave me a greater appreciation of the characters and observing how they act around different types of people. Now that I know and understand semiotics and Marxism, it is hard to go back to the way it was. I can’t just watch something for pure entertainment; I have to analyze and figure out why the media is the way it is. 

Blog 3 - chinenye

As I have said before, I really appreciate this class. I, myself, am trying to be a movie critic. I not only want to critique films, but also videos games, TV shows, comic books-- essentially anything related to geek culture. I had no idea of the concept of semiotics before I joined this class. I have to say, watching my favorite movie in the WORLD, The Dark Knight, over again and having to actually think a LOT deeper about what I was watching was an interesting experience. I saw so many things after learning about the rules of semiotics and watching this time around than I did when I had watched it at earlier times. It was almost as if I were watching a completely new film. As if I were seeing the movie for the first time. It sounds bad to say, but I really can never watch that movie the same way again. I started to understand a lot of the characters that I didn't even like before. I have not started picking apart every line and ever seen, every camera pan. Now, I have learned that there might actually be a reason behind a lot of the scenes you watch. That certain things very well can symbolize something important. I definitely will not be able to appreciate movies, shows, cartoons or any form of media the same way again. Now, I will think harshly about everything I see, and wonder a little bit more about what the writers were thinking.

Blog Post #3

Going into this semester, I was under the impression that this course would be like any other course: we look at some form of media, examine it, and then move on to the next topic. I was wrong. Throughout my month in this course I have been able to look at visual media in a way I never thought to. By examining media as if it were a written text, by reading it, I am able to appreciate the media on a much deeper level. I can now appreciate it from the stand point of the message the media is trying to convey, in the ways characters interact with one another, and the ways in which the story reflects some aspect of society at a given point in time. I am no longer seeing just the surface of the media. In particular, this week's lesson on Marxism has helped me identifies characters by a new set of archetypes. This new set of character archetypes is not as cut-and-dry as the previous set I am use to. This new set allows for characters to fit into multiple archetypes as a way of showing character progression beyond the linear narrative we are consuming through television and film on a weekly basis. As a consumer of media who loves to look at character progression (and is often times disappointed by perceived "poor" writing), I will be able to use these new tools to appreciate what I have otherwise seen as inappreciable.