Shelley's Blog

The Disney Empire

2009-12-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

I see the Disney corporation as an empire of entertainment today. It is also kind of like a legacy because of how long it has been around and been greatly appreciated, for that matter. This is slightly overwhelming to consider because it is scary to think of how much power just one company can have in the world. It is also a prime example of media convergence. Disney plays a part in not just movies now, but television, magazines, theater parks, games, resorts and the list goes on. To me, it is daunting to think that one company can take control over so many aspects in our everyday life. On the brighter side, it is probably not a goal of Disney to take over or become overwhelmingly powerful, but just to be a major entertainment conglomerate. Some say that it is polluting the ideas of young children when they grow up watching Disney movies, because of how women and men are portrayed. It is very clear in almost all of the movies that the women are damsels in distress, waiting to be saved by their knight in shining armour. I think that we should be showing our children that women and men can be equal and that women are capable of rescuing themselves, but on the other hand it is just a Disney movie. It should be watched lightheartedly (an attitude I would assume most children attain) and not taken as reality. Disney provides an escape from reality just like any other entertainment source, and I believe that it can also have a very positive effect on a child's upbringing. I would much rather my children be watching wholesome cartoon Disney movies than playing violent video games or things along that matter.

Facebook discussion

2009-11-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

The discussion in class was not a very enlightening one, but it was interesting to hear everyones opinions on something that we now consider part of every day life. The fact that there were a number of people actually on facebook during the class was not completely surprising. I see this occur often in all my larger lecture hall classes. Just the other day a guy sitting in front of me was literally on his facebook for the entire class period. To me these actions are a dissapointing result of our generation. Why bother coming to class if you're just going to spend the whole time facebooking or on another social network? I think that the more time a person spends on social networks such as Facebook, the less interactive they are in their interpersonal social life. As for the question of whether these networks are replacing any face to face communication, I believe that it is more an addition to communication today, unless it is being abused. Facebook is a positive aspect of the future of technology. It helps us stay in touch with old friends, family members or coworkers, and also we can update all of our friends with what is going on in our lives. So as long as it is not being used as the only source of communication or is distracting us from paying attention in school too much, it is an enriching addition to life today.

Fashion Blogging

2009-11-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

"Young Bloggers have ear to fashion heavyweights
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/technology/14youth.html"

The blogging industry has opened up many opportunities to the whole world, or at least anyone with access to internet. Some feel that bloggers are not "true" journalists. In my opinion this is not entirely true. Seeing as anyone can start a blog, how are we to know who is behind the entry? It could range from an educated person with an actual degree in journalism to an average high school student. I see journalism as sending a message to the people and informing them on issues or really anything for that matter. The creaters of magazine "Dirrty Glam" in Paris, France run a renowned established business at the ages of 19-21 years old. It is there attempt at sharing their opinions and information on fashion with their readers. They also blog in correlation to their fashion magazine. This might be seen as not "true" journalism by some but I think that they deserve considerably more credit. They should be respected for creating such a well established corporation at such a young age, and having the aptitude to maintain a blog on the subject. This is not to say that they are technically recognized by society as journalists because they blog. I believe that bloggers are journalists to a certain extent because they still are sending out a message to the world, it is just a matter of what their educational background consists of.

2009-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Audience fragmentation is an interesting phenomenon. On the one hand, it could be seen negatively as an event that is tearing us apart as a society, but also could be seen as positive because technology is expanding to satisy each person's media needs. The wide spectrum of media outlets provides more opportunities to be involved in the world around you. I believe that this adds a sense of hope in a community because it is a step forward in the world of communications. Many think that this "erodes" society's shared experiences, which I agree with to an extent but I also think that it is somewhat inevitable therefore communities wll adapt. The concept of community has definitely diminished gradually over time as new media outlets have been introduced. However, I am positive that a sense of community still exists in most places in the world. More media outlets makes it possible for more people to be involved and that is what I think brings a community together most.

2009-10-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

A topic that I find very interesting is the controversy involving illegal immigration to the United States. In hopes of finding out more information on the subject I looked into two sources. The first, an alternative media source called democracynow.org and the second, mainstream source CNN.com. Information on democracynow.org was detailed and straight to the point. It covered the key aspects on the issue and was overall an informative source. However, the articles that I came across were for the most part only a paragraph or so long, which led me to believe that they were basically snipets of the actual story. On CNN.com I found many more articles on immigration and were fairly more recent than those on the alternative media source. CNN provided the reader with an extensive amount of information and included several quotes in each article. While quotes are helpful, they are not always necessary in such excess and I felt that democracynow.org provided enough information without quotations. Anyone can imagine that CNN is a much wealthier organization, therefore is able to gather more information and be out in the field more frequently. Both sites led me to a basic understanding of the issue and if I were to search for more information on another subject I’m sure that either site would suffice.

The future of Book Industry

2009-10-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Books have been around for centuries, and even though the excitement about them has died down immensely, I cannot imagine a world without them. They have been a crucial aspect of society in the past and the present. As a resource, books are clearly being substituted by the Internet in most cases, however as an entertainment device nothing can match up to a decent book. Although it has been said that almost any book can be found on the internet and read there, I do not see my peers or myself utilizing the internet for that reason specifically. Books offer a classic way of escaping reality that not many other experiences can achieve. On that note, if books were to completely vanish from our world today, something would clearly be missing. I think that if this were to happen, society would suffer. Would the concept of learning to read be replaced by learning to navigate on the Web? In addition, would this make the rates of illiteracy soar to unbelievable heights? I believe it would. If books were to go, I can imagine that it would only be a short while until newspapers were deceased, and magazinges, ultimately resulting in an entirely digitally run world. We would lose a whole group of proffessions and subject areas in school such as english, because there would hardly be a need for it. For these reasons I cannot see the book industry collapsing especially anytime soon. It is a neccessary component of life today and as much as we probably don't appreciate them anymore, they will always be a helpful and entertaining resource to have.

Week One (on TV/Movies)

2009-10-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

I have always been a fan of television and movies, but I don't watch them religiously. I like to watch a wide variety of different shows, ranging from comedy to reality TV, from informational to plain old sitcoms. Some of my favorite movies also vary as much as the categories above. I'd have to say that my favorite shows are reality TV, including Real World, America's Next Top Model, Run's House, etc. Although I am aware these shows aren't necessarily intellectually stimulating, I find them very entertaining. These choices are generally based on common interest with what is portrayed on the show, but most of the time I seem to just stumble on certain shows that end up growing on me. Although Reality TV is the category of TV that I gravitate towards most, one of my ultimate favorites is Heroes which would be under the realm of science fiction. When I turn on my television I don't usually put too much thought into what I am going to watch unless a few of my favorites happen to be on at the same time. That is what is so nice about relaxing and watching TV or movies, it generally doesn't require much of a thought process. I see it as something to occupy my time while I have nothing better to do or while in anticipation of doing something else.