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.