Which Role Will I Take On?

After taking this course there are several things that I have definately become more aware of in my everyday life. The role that I choose to take on is one of change. There's a quote that I once read that said: be the change you want to see in the world. I feel as though that this quote says alot to someone. After taking this cluster, I have realized that in our daily lives we can do something different, make some sort of change that is going to have an overall impact on the way our society works. Everyone knows that our society can be a cruel cruel place but by making these changes, even if they are small, things can slowly begin to change for the better. There is so much more that I need to learn myself about the world. But I realize now that you need to be more tolerant of people and their differences. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a voice and people should be able to use that voice for the better. I never really thought much into the "pictures in our heads" before this class. Now I feel strongly and I am definately more aware of those "pictures" that I have in my head. I realize now that I am in both the dominant and subordinate groups of society. I feel as though now that I havent taken this class I will start to stand up for some of those issues that have been discussed in class. I will now be able to give my opinion with confidence behind it. So like I said earlier, you are the change that needs to happen in your life. If you're not willing to change then how is anyone else supposed to.

In Public Opinion, Walter Lippmann proposes that we need to have professionals (a “specialized class”) that would collect and analyze data and present the conclusions to the decision makers. The decision makers would then take decisions and use the “art of persuasion” to inform the public about the decisions and circumstances surrounding them. Lippmann feels that the control of public opinion is a means to controlling public behavior. He also has very dark views that do not offer much hope for the future on democracy.
The strong views of Lippmann suggest that he would be a very strong supporter of the agenda setting theory. This theory states that the mass-news media have a large influence on audiences by their choice of what stories to consider newsworthy and how much prominence and space to give them. Lippmann feels as though that the media or a higher power similar to the media decides what we think. He feels as though they are the ones that develop the pictures in our heads.
On the other hand, John Dewy is more positive about democracy and public participation. He does not see the media as the higher power that influences what we think. His focus is on communication. Dewey believes that we should all participate in the discussion of these decisions that are being made for us. Lippmann feels as though we should let a “specialized class” make these decisions while we just sit back and wait for the result. Dewey seems to be more of a believer in the gratification theory. This theory is concerned with how people use media to satisfy their needs. People tend to see out the media that satisfies their need, they choose what they want to see or read.
For me personally, I am more of a believer of Dewey and the gratification theory. I feel as though people do seek out what is going to satisfy them. Although the media does have a lot of control over things we read or watch, we are still the ones who are in power of what specifically we want to read or watch. The media competes for our attention but is ourselves that are able to give them that attention. I do feel that it is important to study Walter Lippmann’s views because they are valuable and he does make some very important points. Lippmann has helped me to form an opinion on this subject.

Documentary Time...

Come see "Believing Without Seeing" produced by LEJJ.
When: Thursday, May 3rd
Where: McKelvey Campus Center (Mueller Theater)
Time: 12:45 to 2:00 p.m.
Witness the inspirational and uplifting story of a fellow Westminster student:)

(this event is free and open to the public)

What is TV really exposing us to?

For this assignment I watched a night of primetime television and learned quickly that the reality that TV is exposing us to is one that is not realistic at all. The first show I watched was Dancing with the Stars. Now I personally feel as though that this show is an attempt to sort of be like American Idol but on a different level. The stars that they find for this show are usually no longer popular anymore in the mainstream media. The second show I watched was an episode of the new Bachelor. For some reason I find this show so addicting although in the back of my mind I am saying that this show is not realistic at all. I mean, come on, can you really find the one you’re going to marry in a reality show. These women are put in this “fantasy” that when they come back to reality, is it really going to work out? Both of these shows combined took up the time slot of 8-11 p.m.
By taking a night to watch primetime television, it was easy to see that our world is controlled a lot by reality television. Reality TV has taken over much of regular television both in the daytime and at night also. Whenever you turn a TV on you can most likely be able to find some sort of reality TV program that is playing. Look at what MTV has become now. They used to be a station that only played music videos and things connected to music. Now the station is predominately reality TV shows and rarely ever any music.
The reality that we are exposed to on television is not an accurate depiction of the actual reality that we face in our lives. I mean, how many people do you know that are dancing with a star or finding the one that they want to marry on a television show? Our society has become fixated on the “reality” that is presented to us on these programs. So many people these days base their lives on the things that they see on TV, such as hairstyles and clothes. When most of the time these realities are not an accurate representation of our reality but rather ones of fantasy. For example, the Bachelor shows these girls going on lavish and fantasy like dates when in real life we all know that is not how it usually is on a date with a guy.
Baudrillard’s theory states that “the line between what is real and what the media dictates to us breaks down creating a hyper real world where it becomes difficult to distinguish between real and unreal”. Essentially, illusion has become reality. In watching a night of primetime television, it is clear to me that the situations or experiences in these TV programs are that of a hyper reality that our society believes is real. Society needs to realize that we cannot keep using the “realities” that we see on TV programs to base our lives off of.

Grey's Anatomy!!

My favorite t.v. show right now and has been for a while is Grey's Anatomy. I think alot of other people, girls in particular, would agree that this is a good show. The show originally was on on Sunday nights right after Desperate Housewives. This season the show moved to the Thursday night line-up at 9 pm. Since the move, the show has not suffered at all in ratings since the move. This goes to show that Grey's Anatomy has a group of loyal fans that will watch the show no matter what day and time it is on. Grey's is now up against CSI which airs on CBS during the 9 o'clock time slot also. It seems as though thus far that Grey's Anatomy is not having trouble competing agains CSI. The Nielsen Media Research website shows that for the week of March 19th, Grey's Anatomy was in third place behind the two nights of American Idol that is aired on FOX on Tuesday and Wednesday. Grey's has a 14.4 rating for this week. This means a household rating is the estimate of the size of a tv audience relative to that total universe, expressed as a percentage. As of September 26, 2005, there are an estimated 110.2 million television households in the U.S. A single national household ratings point represents 1% or 1,102,000 households. Grey's 14.4 rating is not too far behind American Idol's two ratings of 17.4 and 16.1. Grey's showed that it had 22.304 viewers for the week of March 19th. The viewers are measured in millions and includes all persons over the age of two. American Idol had viewers of 29.961 and 27.081. This means that Grey's Anatomy had roughly 22,304,000 viewers on Thursday night. The Zap2It website shows that ABC has been able to win the ratings war on Thursdays for the most part. Grey's Anatomy has been ruling the 9 o'clock spot pretty convincingly. So I guess it's safe to say that Grey's Anatomy has the ability to do well whether its on a Sunday night or a Thursday night. This show has loyal enough viewers that have given it the ability to stay atop of the ratings. For more information on Grey's Anatomy...go to ABC's website.

North Country

North Country is the name of Academy Award-nominated film directed by Niki Caro and released in 2005. This film is a dramatic story starring Charlize Theron, Josey Aimes, as a female worker at a mining company. The film is based on the case Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. brought by Lois Jenson, although Theron’s name in the movie is Josey Aimes. Many of the other characters in the movie are consolidations of several real-life characters
What Josey Aimes wants is a decent job so she can put food on the table and take care of her kids after she leaves her abusive husband. Instead she gets threatened, insulted, belittled, attacked and called dirty names. Ultimately, Josey ends up getting sexually harassed. Josey’s boss tells her to “take it like a man” but instead she takes it like a human being. In the end this all leads to a class-action lawsuit against her employer for failing to protect her and other female employees. North Country is a story of a woman who broke the gender barrier laboring in hazardous Minnesota iron mines. She also breaks legal ground with the nation’s first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit.
This film is an emotionally charged look into the life of a woman who is just trying to provide the best life she can for her children but in turn receives harsh treatment. North Country leaves the viewer continually wanting to see more into Josey Aimes’ life. Caro does an excellent job of telling the real-life story of Lois Jenson. North Country tells an emotionally potent story told with great dignity. This film gets an A+ rating for its ability to tell such a gripping story while keeping the audience’s attention.

Crash

The film, Crash, is an Academy Award-winning drama directed by Paul Haggis and stars several well-known actors. The film attempts to explore racism and social tensions in Los Angeles. The film depicts several characters living in Los Angeles during a 36-hour period. Each of the characters lives are intertwined through events such as car accidents, shootings and carjacking. Most of the characters in the film are racially prejudiced in some way and are forced to examine their own prejudices through conflicts they encounter. It is a dramatic story of a DA and his wife, an African American film director and his wife, a Persian Storeowner, an African American detective, a Mexican locksmith, two African American carjackers, and a Korean couple. The film shows how each of their experiences impacts one another.
The movie begins with the scene of a car crash and flashes back to the characters’ lives on the previous day. Throughout the movie, the characters crash into each other through different situations. Many of the characters are misjudged because of their racial or ethnic background. Because of this, the characters are forced to examine the prejudices they face in everyday life.
One example in the movie of prejudice is when the Persian storeowner, Farhad, is robbed and vandalized because people assume that he is Arab. Earlier it is shown that Farhad purchases a gun to protect his store-the only thing his family has. The storeowner not only receives prejudice but also gives off prejudices to the Mexican locksmith. This is just one example of the several incidences that occurs in the film.
The main theme of this movie is clearly racism. The movie demonstrates that each of us are influenced by the stereotypes we hold. Haggis does an excellent job of creating many twists throughout the movie that keeps the viewer wanting more while maintaining a realistic feel to the film. Crash keeps the viewer’s attention. The viewer gets consumed with the heart-wrenching tales of the characters. Crash is very deserving of its three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing of 2005. This film is worthy of an A+ rating for it’s easy to follow yet complex story line of interesting characters that make you want to keep watching.