Facebook Suicice

The author of this article makes a stunning point which only goes back to common sense. What are all these people doing when they spend their precious time crafting and manipulating a website to repeatedly seem more appealing to hundreds and hundreds of "friends"? Whether or not we want to admit, it's all ego and narcissism. And a waste of time.

People like to think that if they are not on one of these social networking sites, then they become cut off from the world. Nope. Just cut off from the hundreds of daily mundane updates from people who, most likely, are not their actual friends, which are usually small fraction of their online friends. There is no reason why anyone should be cut off from the world with phones, e-mail, instant messaging, and let's not forget about FACE TO FACE interaction is readily available. What Facebook does is make social connections a spectator sport. People start posting things not because they want to, but because so-and-so will see and write this-and-that on my wall.

I had already been considering cutting down my time on the site, but this article helped convince me that in reality, I'm not losing anything by committing "Facebook Suicide". Only gaining time, productivity, and real relationships.

Modernity

Opening Scene: Mid 20 yr old girl walking into a kitchen. 1 bedroom apartment, single living room and imacculate surface and dish area. Female approaches sink, head falls over shoulder gazes on refrigerator. The places her hand on the doorhandle, painfully struggling to grip. Flexing her wrists, she opens the fridge door. Stares at the contents, then swiftly opens the freezer door. She identifies the ice cream carten and grabs it. Uncontrollably she starts to use her hands in a knife like motion, and starts funneling the food into her mouth. She crumbles to the kitchen floor slobbing, hands cemented to the carten.

Facebook Suicide

I believe that the author raises a strong argument that constant, persistent Facebook checking, viewing, and chatting reflects the standard pass time of the people born in the 80s and 90s. The urge to present personal facts on one's profile through status updates and the vanity gained when other friends write comments on one's dialogue wall have become conditioned pleasure responses for the "Look at Me Generation." (bonus points for esoteric inside jokes) However, I do not agree with the author in thinking that a "facebook suicide" is the best approach this narcissistic tendency.

From a professional business and influence-based networking perspective, Facebook offers a dimension of communication unparalleled by any business card, phone number, or resume. I have seen how peers (people of similar ages, professions, and geographical location) influence each other through simple lines of text. Proper courtesy like congratulating a marriage or writing a birthday message have significant social importance. But even more central to my opposition to the author's action is that by forgetting to send a congratulation message or not even having a facebook profile is seen as a contemporatry social faux pas. I typically raise questions regarding people who don't have facebook profiles because of this fact. I understand that some people may not have one because of reasons like facebook-burnout and I respect that decision. But then I also think that the same person may not have developed the necessary multimedia social skills to operate in social networking.

Blog 9. Wk 5 Modernity.

Scene: Outdoors

Enter a 21 female. Slowly jogging and overweight in the outdoors, sweating and breathing heavily. The young female begins to slow her pace and begins to walk along the sidewalk and streets. She continuosly looks at the fellow outdoor runners that pass her by, wondering if they are judging her for walking instead of keeping a running pace. The female begins to attempt to run and push herself in order to keep up with everyone outside but knows that her body can not handle anymore and needs to recover a little. Her attention shifts to the small child in the car speaking to her mother at the stoplight, where the child appears to be pointing at the girl. The girl believes the child is judging her for being overweight. The girl overlooks this and decides to give up for the day because of her own paranoia that she is being judged for her weight while attempting to exercise. She walks home while still passing by the other runners.

Blog 8/Wk 5 – Facebook Suicide

While I do agree with some of the points raised in “Facebook Suicide,” I believe the blame for narcissism in our culture is misplace, and social networking is merely a scapegoat. Yes, it can facilitate narcissistic attitudes, but it is not the cause. In my own personal experience, I do not believe I use it for narcissistic reasons. All throughout high school, I didn’t have any social networking accounts. About a month before I started classes at UCD, I got a MySpace. I added a few people I knew on there as friends, but barely used it. In December 2008 (3 months later), I signed up for Facebook, because a lot of my high school friends had one. I signed up for the sole purpose of keeping in contact with people I knew, and to this day, that is mostly what I still do. The vast majority of my communication with friends and associates who go to school elsewhere in the state/country happens on Facebook, and I speak with many of them quite frequently.

Now, I’m won’t say that I’m completely free of some narcissism. I do post status updates on occasion looking for a response, and spend a lot of time reading and viewing the content of the other people on my friend list. However, it is wrong to say that Facebook, or any other form of social networking is to blame for narcissism. Humanity has been narcissistic for as long as we can tell. Tools such as Facebook may facilitate this and make it help make it worse sometimes, but by no means are the sources. Humanity’s own desire to be seen and bring attention to ourselves is the cause of this narcissism.

Blog 8 Wk. 5 Ad Busters

Being an avid Facebook user, I will admit that it has become my personal ego boost throughout the day. I get excited when I see that little red alert pop up and I will admit it makes me feel a little better about myself inside. I use Facebook everyday, and my friends and I even joke about how we consider Facebook to be an internet pallet cleanser between different websites, because we always find ourselves back on Facebook just to see if we do have any of those notifications. Facebook does come with many benefits for networking, as many users use Facebook to find old friends and reconnect.

The idea of Facebook suicide personally scares me due to the fact that it is probably one of the cheapest addictions I have developed. Without Facebook, I would probably never get any event invites, or even updates about anyone. It would be literal suicide to me because I would feel so disconnected with the world. I do agree that Facebook has become a lot of users personal ego boost and we have fallen into the habit of believing that everyone wants to know everything we do. With every status update I do, I'm aware that I just made my life a little less private by sharing my status with the copious amount of friends I have. Facebook also does have its downsides in the fact that many users add friends they don't even know, just for the number of friends they want. In order to avoid falling completely into the Facebook of having a million friends and in attempts to maintain that I am not a complete Facebook junkie, I like to delete friends off my list every few months, but this is probably just to make myself feel less egotistical and self absorbed, and create the illusion to myself that I am still keeping it real on Facebook, when the rest of the world is falling into the trap of giving into the lifestyle that everyone wants to portray on Facebook.

Blog 9_Wk_5_Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

1st Scene: College Apartment
Time: 8:00am

1. Cue alarm sounding
2. Young woman (age 17-20) turns it off and gets out of bed and begins to get ready for school.
3. Camera pans across room as the woman rushes to the vanity
4. Camera switches to shot on opened unitrans bus schedule sitting on computer desk, close up on "Cowell Blvd. & Drummond Rd - 8:30", Audience should be led to infer that the girl has 30 minutes for the bus.
5. Young woman finishes getting dressed, should be wearing clothing that is not horribly clashing but not too fashionable.
6. Young woman puts hair into ponytail and gets breakfast.
7. The woman returns to the room to grab her purse, looks at her make-up container, then back to the clock.
8. Camera switches to clock showing 8:26am as the time.
9. Camera back on the young woman who sighs, puts on her black rimmed glasses, and leaves the apartment without make-up.

10. Dissolve to black and then into next scene to indicate some time has passed

2nd scene: College Classroom
Time: around 10:00am

11. The young woman walks into her second class for the day.
12. It was a hot day, the woman should look slightly out of breath, perspiration mist on forehead, stray hairs visible.
13. Classroom should be mostly full, implication that the woman arrived mere minutes before class, should look hard to find a seat in.
14. The young woman should survey the room, coming across multitudes of women with their make-up done, hair done, and very fashionably dressed.
15. The young woman finds an open seat, but must pass over 4 women to get to it.
16. As the woman tries to get to her seat, the 4 women who she must past, who should be the most attractive girls cast for this scene, glance at her infrequently with distaste and disgruntled noises.
17. The young woman sees how well the women are dressed, and feels as if they are look down at her and judging her as she pasts because of how plainly dressed and looking she is.
18. The young woman gets to her seat but is distraught. She looks around the room and marvels at how well polished all the other women in the lecture are. She is ashamed of herself for not caring enough about her appearance. She feels ugly and unstylish, unfeminine. She feels as if these women are staring at her and wondering how she could be comfortable being so homely.
19. The young woman only feels comfortable once the lights are dimmed and the lecture starts.

Blog 8_Wk_5_Adbusters

I found the article concerning "facebook suicide" interesting, because I could see a lot of my friends represented by the author of the piece, but personally never considered the possibility of deleting my account. I am not an avid facebook user, I mainly use it as my last resort for procrastination; I rarely update my status or add pictures, could care less how big my friend list is, and primarily use it to see how some of my friends and family members (who I don't have the chance of seeing everyday)are doing. Have I felt awkward doing this before? Absolutely. It's impossible for me to shake off the feeling that I'm prying into someone's personal life, but I suppose more importantly slightly disturbed at times that they'd choose to share that with the world (theoretically). However, I don't know if I'd actually be able to delete my facebook account. It's helped me connect with family members I haven't seen for 3+ years, given me topics to ask about or stay away from when interacting with my friends, feel more connected with my boyfriend who is going to Berkeley (who, even with facebook, I still talk to and text everyday), and most commonly used as a tool to arrange an event for "real life" interactions. If I deleted my account, I would still have e-mail, but it seems to me that more people are motivated to update their facebook profile then take the 5 minutes to write an email, so I would lose this consistent connection with their lives. I'd also lose the access to pictures I wasn't present in, a way of sharing the moment with those who missed the opportunity to experience it. I'd miss being updated of the new play my friend will be staring in, or the new bathroom graffiti found in Berkeley. Ultimately, facebook has been nothing but beneficial in my life, but like all things that cause enjoyment, the problem comes from those who do unfortunately get addicted to it and lose the ability to use it in moderation. I don't feel like my ability to interact physically have suffered, as I still prefer and enjoy talking face to face, but due to the social anxiety I had as a child and still have symptoms of, I sympathize with those who don't possess this ability and rely on the comfort of the computer screen to receive the human interaction we all need to develop healthily.

Modernity .Spectatorship.Power

The scene opens on a 19-22 year old girl emerging from the gym locker room. She feels confident dressed in her shorts and t-shirt with the “runners physique” she always assumed she had. She walks in the cardio room filled with fit men and women alike. Mirrors surround her and reflect the perfect bodies moving in syncopation on the treadmills and ellipticals. These women are tall skinny, muscular and tan, no flab or cellulite in sight. The girl steps onto the elliptical and sets the time limit. She begins to sweat immediately and as she catches her reflection in the mirror she is ashamed. Sweaty, short, with thighs misshapen with cellulite, she feels the perfect bodies in sports bras starring, questioning un-acceptingly. She notices the gaze of the others the tall skinny girls and the muscular chiseled men. She can no longer take the spotlight that is suddenly upon her. She exits as quickly as possible hardly soon enough to escape the mortifying memory. She escapes back to the locker room and catches her reflection in the mirror from the corner of her eye. She wants to run, change, she feels as if everyone is still watching although she does not dare lift her own gaze. She cannot believe that she once thought herself comparable to these other girls. She questions her reasoning for going to the gym, she decides that she does not fit in and will not return. She cannot be seen there again.

Facebook.Suicide

Social networking sites often have the ability to draw one in to an alternate reality a world where one can author their image, and the way in which others will understand them. For many this is true and I think that it is true for everyone in one way or another. Similar to the way we manipulate our bodies and our features as we prepare to venture on our daily routines, through these sights I believe each one of us alter our own images whether we do it consciously or not. Some may take this to a whole new level where they no longer live in reality but in these artificial worlds created through the computer screen with photoshopped images, brainy quotes, and fictitious half-truths that one uses to make his/herself seem cooler or more cosmopolitan. For these people the idea of Facebook Suicide seems like it would be shocking and difficult. I am not arguing that I am much better. I do recognize that it would be difficult to delete my own Facebook page, however, I do not feel as though I live an alternate life through my social networking site. The thing that would be most missed for me is probably the most artificial aspect of Facebook—my “friends”. Admittedly, I do not talk to everyone of my 158 friends on Facebook, but I do however try to edit my friendslist in order to get rid of people I really do not talk to ever. Losing my “friends” in a way is like losing a connection to the places I cannot occupy while I am away. Through Facebook I am able to stay updated with my true friends from all over the place so losing that would mean that I would have to truly make an effort to keep in touch in more conventional and down to earth ways such as phone calls and real life visits. It is really more about the convenience that Facebook provides that I think attracts so many people—but it is also very easy for one to get pulled into the ersatz world of cyberspace.

Blog 9_Wk_5_Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Enter medium sized male, age 17-20. Walks into gym. Full of hard-muscled, well shaped people. The young male walks over to the weight stack and slowly starts to lift the weights. Yet he continuously looks around the gym, not focusing on his own lifting because he is too obsessed and paranoid by what the others are doing in the gym. The bigger men are using more weight the young male thinks. But if he adds more weight, he won’t be able to do it, and then look even more amateurish. He can feel the “Gaze” strongly. The perception that his body is flawed and not good enough. The mirror bounces back an image of insufficiency and a lack of body shape. He spots one of the muscle-bound men with a colorful bottle that seemed to be a tasty supplement. Maybe if he took that, he could be like the others in the gym. But probably not. He leaves the gym without even finishing his workout, and so the cycle continues.

Blog #9- Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Three girls nervously walk into the pool area. They are all in the 19-22 age range. One girl is very blonde, extremely tall and gorgeous. The other is of short stature, curvy and very cute. The last is average build, between the heights of her two friends and has blonde hair. As they enter they take in the whole scene. There are about a hundred other girls lying out. They all are focused on how skinny they are what their hair looks like. They are constantly comparing how flat their stomachs are or how toned there arms may be. They are all trying to be the idea of a picture perfect girl. The one that is not only beautiful but skinny and popular as well. They gaze upon each other critiquing every little thing. “The gaze” is the criticizing look that everyone feels it directed towards him or her when they are put in situation where they do not feel comfortable. It is very common amount girls when there are other people around. It is especially common in an environment where everyone is out in the open. It gives them an opportunity to tear people down and built them selves up or to team them selves down and desire what another person has. But, due to the influence of the media, girls just want the “perfect body” even though it really does not exist. They look for the flaws in themselves and don’t realize that everyone else has flaws as well.

Blog #8- Adbusters

When I first got my facebook it was because my friends told me to. I was never one for social networking. I still hold strong to my belief that text messaging, iming and emails are just a way of keeping the lines of communication open. They should not be used as a primary form of communication unless that’s the only means plausibly for the situation. In the article “facebook suicide” by Carmen Joy King the vanity of social networking, facebook specifically is brought to light. She discusses her experience with deleting her account from the very popular sight and personally I wish that I could do the same. But, although I love the idea of not being a part of this giant social networking movement it is still a good way to keep in contact with people that you would loose contact with otherwise. I have friends in different states and different countries that I am only able to communicate with through facebook. It provides an open platform for communication, a way for people to stay in touch. On the contrary, facebook like any other fad has its down falls. People spend hours upon hours looking through people’s pictures and reading conversations that they are not apart of. Members additionally spend hours posting pictures of themselves and editing there “about me” information to try and create an accurate image of who they are. It is a vain act that just leads people to care more about how they look in pictures or how people perceive them based on their profile. But the real question is if we create an image of who we really are or who we want to be.

Blog 8_Wk_5_Adbusters

As a Facebook user I thourouly enjoyed this article. It pointed out many questions that I ask myself all the time about my use of Facebook and its’ applications. There is a fine line to walk though that is not included in this article, and that is the issue of just basic networking. I first joined in order to keep in touch with people that lived down in Los Angeles, but soon found myself absorbed into it. Facebook is akin to a double-edged sword and it is very easy to fall on the wrong side of it, but how else could I keep in contact with people far away? The phone bill would be off the charts.

Yet committing “facebook suicide” would definitely be a welcome relief, because I strongly agree, it starts to feel “egotistical” and it is always on your mind. Honestly, how much do you really need to know about someone? It is just one big race of trying to impress someone, and it can definitely add stress to your life and eat up a good chunk of your time. Either way, it is up to each individual person to distribute their time evenly so as to reap the benefits, but not get sucked in. Well, I would write more, but I have to go update my status!

Modernity- blog #9

Setting: Pool. Time: 130pm

Opening scene: A tall blonde girl, 19-22 enters the pool area in a blue sundress carrying a large pink beach bag. She tosses her long hair nonchalantly laughing at a slightly funny statement her short brunette companion says, masking her discomfort at the impending near-nudity that lies before her. She walks past the oiled and tanned rows of pecs and legs that stare at her, praying that no one sees any part of her that appears flawed or substandard. Cue a tan, perfectly muscled man stepping rudely in front of the girls' progress, rushing to the pool. Barely saving them both from collision, he profusely apologizes, to her embarrassment and increasing discomfort. She snidely responds to hide her mortification at the heads turned in her direction. She rushes her companion towards an open space on the grass, trying to retain her composure and uninterested facial expression. In an effort to force confidence she stays standing while removing the dress and despite her slight frame, she feels largely inadequate and flawed under the gaze of her near-by neighbors. After laying down in relief upon a large blue beach towel she looks around and cannot help but notice the perfect tans and physiques which surround her. Under the gaze, or the pressing observation each poolside resident endures she longs to be confident but images of the unattainable ideal flash through her mind. The gaze is the pressing judgments that even those who feel less -than -perfect place upon every other member in their presence. She compares herself not only to those around her but to the images she has seen in the media and on tv; the perfection she knows is manufactured but still longs for.

Blog#9: Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Scene: The Beach
An average looking girl who was stung by a sting ray is being attended to by an attractive lifeguard. Although she is embarrassed from the injury, the girl feels attractive because such a striking lifeguard is flirting with her while bandaging her wound. Enter group of attractive girls in string bikinis. They strategically place themselves next to the lifeguard tower. The girls lay out their towels and begin applying tanning oil. The lifeguard starts observing them and gets distracted from helping the average-looking girl. She then begins “gazing” at the girls as well and can’t help but compare herself to them. Their legs and arms thin and their stomachs toned, with shiny long hair and flawless faces. She then throws on her towel to cover up and limps away from the lifeguard claiming she would rather go to the doctor just in case.

The modern era has painted this standard picture of beauty for current society to be brought up with. It is only natural curiosity which causes humans to “gaze” at other humans and objects of interest, but the thoughts and connotations associated with this “gaze” stem from the ideals of modern culture. Therefore, when people “gaze” at other people who meet these ideal criteria, they cannot help but be transfixed by them, and likewise judge others who do meet modernized standards. This tragedy causes many to feel subconscious and objectified within their own society.

Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Inside a dressing room at Marshals. A 20-23 year old girl walks into the dressing room holding a few articles of clothing. She is very excited to try on the clothing and anticipates the way the clothes will fit on her. She swings open the door to the dressing room and enters the small narrow room. The mirror faces her as soon as she enters the dressing room. She immediate regrets her decision to try on these clothes. The mear image of herself reflected in the mirror sends a sense of dread through her body. The "gaze" of the mirror reflects back to her all the ideas about the perfect body. She knows that her body is far from perfect. She goes through with her decision and starts taking off her clothes. The first article of clothing in a plaid dress size 11. She zips the dress in the back and looks in the mirror to see how the dress looks on her. Her eyes start to well up with tears as she begins to notice every flaw on her body. The sub-conciouness images of the "perfect body" are her guidelines for the way she criticizes her own body. She feels like she will never be able to fit in to the perfect image. The gaze of the mirror is to over-wellming and to much to bear. She is uncontrollably crying and remembering all the reasons why she hates herself so much. The 'gaze' has penetrated into her deeply.

Blog 9_Wk_5_Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Scene: The Infamous Rec Pool at UC Davis

Opening shot-

Three average yet attractive, college girls enter the pool area. Dressed in plain t-shirts and sweat shorts. As they walk towards the beach chairs, they survey the scene around them.

Cut to gorgeous, perfectly toned blonde girls walking past the three heroes. One of the heroes is shown watching them in envy. Close up to hero looking down at herself.

Three heroes walk to chairs and look back at the pool. Cut to muscular, tan, strong featured college men looking their way.

The same hero looks nervous to undress. She does not feel like she compares to the other girls, and she knows that the men will not be attracted to her. She is self-conscious of her body.

Hero turns away from the men, quickly disrobes, and immediately lays on the beach chair. She does not stand up until her clothes are back on.

This represents the gaze. The girl feels pressured to look like the other "model-like" spectators. She feel inadequate because she does not represent the body-type that society considers acceptable and beautiful. The gaze affects her, and she is not able to have a good time at the pool because of it.

Facebook Suicide

Having a Facebook profile is extremely self absorbing. I didn't want to read this article because it articulated the way I feel about Facebook, and I knew It would inspire me to jump off the Facebook cliff and delete my profile. I wish I had never joined and got sucked into this mindless selfish world. I constantly check to see if people have posted comments on my posts. I often wonder "How do I find balance between my online life and my real life?" I wish I had no computer, no Facebook, and no on-line life. I want to live life free of viral connections. Instead I want to live in a world of real connections with other human beings. "How much exposure is healthy?" I don't think any exposure is healthy. I think Facebook distracts people from facing themselves. It detours them from their own boredom and depression. I hate social networking sites because It completely ruins true interactions between people and it promotes alienation. The more people interact on the internet the more they lose the ability to connect with other people. Facebook profiles are constructed out of self-interests and selfness. I still feel like I physically can not delete my profile. If I do that some of my friends will have to actually call me! I need the strength to finally get out of this stupid, ridiculous online world.

Blog #8: Facebook Adbuster

Like so many others, I have given in to the Facebook phenomenon and have become a frequent member of the Facebook community. Concerning the suggestion of “facebook suicide,” the term serves relevant purpose to the act of deleting one’s Facebook; once one becomes addicted to Facebook it integrates itself into one’s daily routine, making it difficult to eliminate. However, I feel like article author Carmen Joy King over exaggerates the self-absorbing aspect of Facebook. She mentions she is really narcissistic at promoting herself on Facebook, but I lead a different Facebook experience than she does. I tend to look more at the profiles and information of others than of my own. I prefer to use the social networking site to do just that, socialize, in other words I take a greater interest in other people than I do my own self. Especially as a college freshman, I do not get to see the majority of my high school friends on a regular basis, and Facebook is a convenient substitute over waiting for breaks and summer vacation to communicate. I am not denying I don’t update my quotes from time to time and switch up my profile picture when I get sick of the old one, but I don’t worry over my own information as much as King seems to stress. As for the ridiculous amount of time Facebook consumes, I openly admit at being a victim of that crime. However, despite the amount of time I spend on Facebook, I still manage to lead a successful life outside that window next to my computer. Furthermore, King mentions that one of the reasons it is so appealing is because it alleviates boredom as well as stress from the issues of modern day life. King implies that this “relief” is unhealthy because the pseudo comfort is just a tease and prevents people from facing reality. However, as long as I engage with my close relationships outside of the internet world and accept reality, I find it acceptable to allow Facebook to temporarily disillusion me from reality and relieve my boredom. True friends, true family, and true experiences are all a part of the real world, and as long as I continue to acknowledge that, I don’t see myself committing “facebook suicide” anytime in the near future.

Facebook Suicide- Blog #8

Until 6 months ago I had no Facebook account. At the pressure and disbelief of my roommate I created one and have been addicted ever since. Upon reading the article "Facebook Suicide" by Carmen Joy King, I immediately began to reflect upon the similarities between her criticisms and mine in regards to the overpowering Facebook phenomenon. The suggestion of Facebook suicide, while to the common user seems quite intimidating and socially damaging, is in its own way quite appealing. Every day, I, like so many others, spend hours looking through people's pictures who I barely know, saying hi to people I would otherwise have no interest in contacting, and rearranging my profile; all in the hopes of presenting a better cyber-image of myself. In the article, King discusses the narcissistic aspect of Facebook, and the constant thoughts of "Me" and "I". Never before have people been able to so readily present the ultimate image of themselves to those they deem important in their lives. Instead of focusing on connecting and actually interacting with friends and family, Facebook offers a self-centered, self-obsessed outlet of social networking. The more I think about how consuming and really how trivial it is, the more I sympathize with king's decision to commit cyber suicide. In doing so, I would merely risk the judgment of friends who's definition of popularity are linked with a profile page, and the resulting separation from my list of friends. The idea is quite appealing in that the cattiness and petty day to day discussions of shopping trips, boys and school would all be erased from my life. Despite all these tempting aspects to eliminating my profile, I admit that I enjoy it far too much to do away with it; if for no other purpose, Facebook serves to fill the moments in my life when I've convinced myself I have nothing better to be doing.

Blog 9_Wk_5_Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Shopping

Open shot at swanky clothing establishment, such as Tilly’s or DKNY.

Male character, ages 18-21, slightly overweight, walks in the front door.

Enter two female characters, ages 18-21, tall, athletic builds, attractive faces. Representations of the kind of women every man, no matter what they look like, dream of.

Male character sees these women and they smile in passing but follow him with their eyes as he walks past.

Young man notices this without looking, has a discontented look on his face.

He sees pictures of male models, media representations of perfection and beauty, and is further discontented when realizing that these clothes won’t look good on him.

He feels inadequate when seeing these posters and even more so when he considers that the posters are locking him in a gaze, gazing at his imperfect body and saying to him “You must look like us to get ahead.” This is further reinforced when realizing that the two women he saw when he walked in are looking at him in a confused manner.

Young man feels necessary urge to leave the store and not submit to the propaganda.

He walks past the girls without even looking at them.

The man leaves the store with nothing, no clothes to purchase, no fulfillment, except the knowledge that he doesn’t need those things.

He goes to see his friends, all different body types and looks, who are dressed like he is and has fun.

This is a representation of what I think the right commercial should be for this situation, where a young man is under the gaze of the mass media and the physical manifestations of that gaze and he resists their power.

Blog 8_Wk_5_Adbusters

I completely agree with Carmen King's opinion that FaceBook is nothing but a narcissistic, time-consuming, stalking device. That being said, I would never commit FaceBook suicide.

I recognize the superficiality of FB. I could not even begin to think about how many hours per week I spend on the site, and what I would be able accomplish without it. But I grew up in a technology age, and fb is a very natural and accepted part of my adolescence (and adulthood.. eek). Myspace, facebook's predecessor, was developed when I was in middle school. This means that I have been using social networking sites for almost 10 years. As horrible as this may sound to someone of an older generation, facebook is a part of my life and identity.

I could not imagine getting rid of my facebook. For me, my primary use for facebook is not necessarily posting pictures or updating statuses. It's more surveying my friends, enemies, heartthrobs, and idols. I love to be "in the know". How would I know if my enemy from middle school gained weight or Jane got a boyfriend or who's throwing parties this weekend?

By deleting my facebook, I would be completely out of the loop. I could not survey the success of parties, know about upcoming events, or reconnect with people I'm too awkward to call on the phone.

I spend way too much time on facebook. I will admit this. But it's been a part of me for almost a decade- it's not that easy to stop. Like anything else that you regularly do multiple time every day for ten years- you develop a dependance on it.

It strikes me that the author is of an older generation than me. I feel as if this is why it was so clear and easy for them to commit facebook suicide.

I, Kristen Knapp, am a social networking junkie. And I intend to stay that way.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1032750089&ref=profile

Adbusters Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgdSq3Gjf8Y

Project link, just in case.

MEDIA PROJECT - Elise and Afshan

AdBusters – Critique of PETA

FULL SIZE

ORIGINAL AD

Seddio/Knapp Anti Ad

Ad Buster Project

Here is the link to our mock advertisement for Gossip Girl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHK8O7S3brA

Victoria's Secret Anti-Ad

Anti-PETA ad

Critique on Dolce and Gabana Media Experiment

Facebook Suicide

I do indeed have a facebook profile but it is no longer something I check and interact on regularly. I originally created my facebook profile as a ay to keep in touch with people I met at a conference in Washington, D.C. and then that expanded to friends at school and so on.

Since a year ago, when I didn’t have the ability to check my profile regularly, I got to the point when I didn’t really need it anymore, not that I had really needed it in the past. Over time, I realized how self-serving and egotistical the whole social networking craze is and how it has labeled our generation and put it in a negative light.

If I were to commit facebook suicide, it wouldn’t really affect me that much because it is something that isn’t that big a deal in my life. I’m not a very social person to begin with and the friends I was able to find on facebook are people I knew from my real life, usually not people that I met online, and then in my real life, as is the case with many social networkers. The thing that I would lose is the ability to communicate with many of the people that are friends on facebook that live in opposite parts of the country.

I am in complete agreement with the article in terms of how social networking has made us the Me Generation times ten. The whole concept of social networking is centered around the selfish belief that everybody cares about what you, one person on a planet with 6.5 billion people, do in your daily life, no matter how mundane the happenings of your life are. This is what has brought about the blog culture and has brought the dream of celebrity to a new level with the advent of youtube, flickr, myspace, etc. Which, in a way, makes this blog post ironic.

Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire+ Adbusters

As discussed in the article, “Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire” the difference between anti-ads and real ads is the concept of reality. Real ads aim to create a vision of life that is ideal, something that everyone wants. These ads create need in people for things they never knew they needed before. However Anti-ads work to do the opposite job. Anti-ads aim to create the sad reality of advertising. These ads uncover the falsities used in advertising to sell products that are not as glamorous as advertisements make them appear.

A set of ads that particularly caught my attention from the Ad-Busters reading were the Absolute Vodka ads. These ads are particularly recognizable in true form or anti-ad ad-busting form, and that makes these anti-ads that much more powerful. The ad that read “Absolute AA” was particularly striking to me. Alcohol use is so glamorized in all it’s advertisements, but what most people don’t think about is the negative effect alcohol is having on so many lives today. Not only are these ads selling to adults, but teenagers see these ads and how cool they are and in return they are sold on the idea that Alcohol is the cool thing to do.

However in our society AA is something that is highly stigmatized. People don’t like to think about the ugly truth behind alcoholism, so the AA meeting style arrangement of chairs in the shape of the vodka bottle has a really jarring effect. With that in mind it is easy to see how easily we can be manipulated by ads whether they are being produced by advertising agencies trying to sell a product, or ad-busting groups trying to sell an idea or message.

Blog 7 Advertising, Consumer Culture and Desire"

The mock ad that caught my attention was the "Absolut Hangover" ad. The design of the ad was to show the actual health risk of alcohol instead of the fun exciting times real alcohol ads show. In "Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire," there was the message that companies tend to make their ad's appear ideal and perfect, that this is the life you will obtain by using their products. The mock ad's used a good example of the same idea by showing what would really happen to your life if you continued to drink by making the vodka bottle a noose shaped. The noose showed the "hangover" that is associated with alcohol, but is overlooked in ads. The mock ads do a good job of showing the negative side of the products, ones that consumers tend to overlook in attempts to achieve this idealistic lifestyle normal ads display. Alcohol ads usually show exciting parties with guys who attract the prettiest girl in the room because they have this alcohol, but they don't show how all the girls would probably leave after the guy gets too drunk and starts throwing up everywhere. We only see the fun part in these ads, and the mock ads offer the negative side effects that are ignored.

Blog #7- Advertising, Consumer, Cultures and Desire

In the Adbuster’s spoof ad the “Absolute end”, they mock an advertisement for Absolute vodka. The ad clearly asserts that alcohol kills. It uses satire to make the point that alcohol can have a very negative effect on a person’s life. They do this by using imagery. In the mock add the vodka bottle is traced in chock. This is a technique that is often seen in old murder mystery movies to show where the body has been after it had been removed. This brings up the issue of death and murder. The ad has a definite opinion that alcohol is negative and has the ability to kill you eventually. This is very true, although its does happen slowly over a long period of time. But more than death alcohol creates negative situations. They want people to get the idea that although alcohol is legal it can result in fatalities not necessarily from consumption but from the actions that are taken while under the influence. They stress that it could end in death if you are not careful. The spoof wants people to see the risk in an add that we would normally think nothing of.

Ads that are trying to promote the product most of the time have a positive connotation or atmosphere that they are presented in. They show beautiful people in large groups a lot of the time in expensive clothing. They try and see the image that they are presenting more than the product itself. They rely on the fact that people connect the product with that image when they see that add. In the spoof add there is a definite negative atmosphere. The chalk line automatically relates the ad to death, destruction, and despair. This is not a happy image, and not an image that could be sold. It makes people think of death. Death in out culture is almost feared therefore it points out the inherent risk. The image that they are trying to sell is the most important thing to the advertisers. They want people to be envious of the people on the screen .If the viewers make the connection that there product will give them whatever the people in the ad had, they are way more likely to buy the product.

Blog #6- Killing Us Softly 3

In "Killing Us Softly 3" Kilburne's argument states that modern advertizing objectifies women, creates an unattainable standard of perfection and promotes violent acts within heterosexual relations.

XTRA CREDIT: Blog 6_Wk_4_Still_Killing_Us_Softly_3

In "Still Killing us Softly 3", Kilburne believes that modern media is dehumanizing women through it's objectification of their body, that leads to physical and sexual violence towards them, and creation of unnatural ideals to try to convince women that they will never be good enough unless they buy their product.

Blog 7_Wk_4_Advertising_Consumer_Cultures_Desire

The "anti-ad" from the Adbusters Culturejammer's website I chose to examine was the anti-ad for Calvin Klein's Obsession perfume. The anti-ad contains the text "Obsession for women" over an image of a naked women kneeling over an open toilet with a hand clutching her stomach. This image is commenting on the "obsession" over weight, commented on in Killing Us Softly, that advertisements inadvertently encourage in women. Advertisement's choice of highlighting a body type that only 5% of women in the world are born with (a type that you must be born into - cannot be shaped by dieting or other means) places unfair and unrealistic ideals of beauty as what all women should strive to achieve, while also pushing the message that natural beauty can never be perfect. This commonly leads to females developing various forms of eating disorders as they try to reach these unreachable ideals. This anti-ad wants us to think about what these brands, CK here specifically, are saying about what a woman should and shouldn't be; that while these brands on the surface may only be trying to sell their product, the underlying message in how they choose to sell it is selling more than just nice smelling perfume.

Blog 7/Wk 4 - "Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire” and the Adbusters

The ad I chose to focus on from the Adbuster’s spoof ads was the one titled “CK Chicken.” The ad shows packaged chicken meat, with the word “ChiCKen” written across the center label, and phrases such as “fresh young chicken,” “extra lean – 7% body fat,” “Great Legs Nice Breasts,” and “Grade A Design” written around it. This spoof ad is a direct criticism of companies such as Calvin Klein (whose logo is used for the “CK” in “chicken”) who use female models with so called “perfect” figures to sell their goods. This plays directly into the idea of commodity fetishism, from the chapter "Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire.” Women are objectified in many fashion ads, and made to be no more than objects of desire. Often, different areas of their bodies, such as legs and breasts, are also visually separated from the whole and used as a tool to sell. This makes their bodies into more of a valuable commodity than an actual human being. In addition, because the women used are portrayed as having perfect bodies, they become the standard that many others struggle to achieve, but cannot possibly ever reach. Their bodies become fetishized in this sense, and become objects that define beauty and sexuality.

The essential difference between the anti-ad and actual ad is obviously the fact that rather than a woman being used, the anti-ad uses meat. This is meant to bring attention to the fact that women’s bodies are treated like commodities, much in the same way that something like meat is. The anti-ad seeks to point out the irony that terms used to describe ideal chicken meat are often used to describe women of an impossible standard. It’s a shocking similarity.

Blog 6/Wk 4 – 'Killing Us Softly 3' XC

Kilburne believes that the modern media objectifies women is such a way that it makes their bodies into a commodity and creates an impossible standard of beauty, which negatively affects the self-esteem of women from the time they reach adolescence and through adulthood.

Advertising, Consumer Cultures, and Desire

The McDonald MacAttack adbuster advertisement caught my eye as one of the more visceral images that the Spoof Ads website offered. The anti-advertisement is selling consumer health knowledge by simply juxtaposing a hospital surgery patient with a flat lining ECG in the shape of the infamous McDonalds arch. The advertisement does not explicitly say that the person under the scalpel has overindulged in McDonald's high fat food, but the viewer makes the association between cause and effect automatically. Taking a longer look, we can see he the cold blue and white color hues drastically contrast with the warm red and gold McDonalds arc. The falling red graph line on the chart by the foot of the table is a nice touch. This anti-advertisement behaves or rather we respond to this image because it taps into humans natural tendency to create meaning from symbols or images. These conditioned responses resonates with viewers in the same way bystanders cringe at the site of a automobile accident; horror, fear, and disgust.

The most significant difference between this anti-advertisement and an actual McDonald's "I'm Loving It" is the consumerism drive for consumption. The reading Advertising, Consumer Cultures, and Desire says, "Capitalism as a system depends on production and consumption of large amount of goods well beyond those that are necessary for daily living." (pg 266) Catchy advertisements show us that McDonalds has embraced the Capitalistic desire to make profit at whomevers cost. Overindulgence in cheap food containing saturated fats leads to consumers who are hooked by an insatiable hunger to eat more than what is necessary. The former "Super Sized" value meals offered more food to their customers at a discounted price. Unfortunately, the extra food can lead to higher obesity rates and other health problems. The anti-advertisement on the other hand, is not driven by a profit motive. Instead, it sells it's knowledge to viewers piecemeal.

I do understand that McDonalds does not intent to send all of their customers to the ER with clogged arteries; in fact, they would love to have healthy customers who will constantly purchase Big Macs for the rest of their long, happy lives. So it would not be fair to accuse McDonalds of intentionally hurting their customers is it a legally viable to prosecute a company for their customer's decisions and preferences.

Blog 7_Wk_4_Advertising_Consumer_Cultures_Desir

One of the mock ads that caught my attention was the "Absolute End" poster, which in reality would be trying to sell vodka, but is really selling people the potential for serious health risks.

The reason these mock ads are so effective is because they are displaying the other side of the equation that the companies hide from the consumers. They will always show you the positives, but never the negative side of things. It is exactly what is stated in, "Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire," in that these companies portray an ideal that is physically impossible to achieve except through the manipulation of media. These mock ads allow a person to see both sides and get a realistic portrayal of the product they are purchasing, and this way they can make an informed and intelligent decision.

BLOG # 7 Advertising Consumer Culture Desires

One of the mock ads that stood out to me most on the Adbusters website is the "Absolut Hangover" spoof. The use of a noose designed in the shape of a vodka bottle, along with the wordplay on "hangover", was disarming to say the least. The message was simple - alcohol kills- but immediately effective because of the careful consideration to design.

In the reading "Advertisement, Consumer Culture, and Desire", we learn that advertisements are a promise of an abstract future, or the way things "should be" if whatever product, service, or event is being sold is incorporated into our lives. By mocking an advertisement for hard liquor, the "Absolut Hangover" highlights the way excess alcohol intake is a type of suicide. It takes something that is perceived to be glamorous and fun and puts a morbid spin on it to highlight the dangers of overindulgence. The mock ad is a promise of a future, but this promise serves as a warning. The key difference between this and the original is that this is a future nobody wants.

BLOG # 6 Extra Credit Blog - Afshan Khan

Kilbourne's "Killing Us Softly" is a criticism of the mass media's objectification and dismemberment of the female body and worth in advertising, as well as the decaying effect this has on the esteem of most woman who do not have the attributes of the 5% of woman depicted in these advertisements as being the standard of normalcy and attractiveness.

Blog 7_Wk_4_Advertising_Consumer_Cultures_Desire

On the Ad-Busters website, my favorite ad was the "Absolute on Ice". This ad showed a dead body (well, just the foot), and had statistics about the number of deaths caused by alcohol consumption. This anti-ad is trying to warn people about the dangers of alcohol. Many people see vodka as a social, fun, and harmless drink. They do not see it as the mind and body damaging and death causing drug that it is. "Absolute on Ice" aims to challenge the stereotype that getting drunk is glamorous and safe.

According to the "Advertising, Consumer..." chapter that we read, this ad differs from regular consumer ads because it does not "aim to present an image of things to be desired, people to be envied, and life 'as it should be'" (265).

Dead people are not who we envy, death is not desired, and death isn't how "life should be" because.. well.. it isn't life at all.

Advertisements use spokes-models to help attract consumers. Advertisers want people to think that they could be like the model if they consume the product. This ad does the opposite. It uses this spokes "model" to deter consumers. People don't want anything to do with the product if it will make them like this model. That is where the advertisement becomes powerful. It takes the elements of advertising and images in the same way, but this time in order to make an opposing statement.

Imaging in advertisements are very closely associated with the product:

happy model in a diet coke ad- "Diet coke will make me happy... LIKE HER!"

dead person in an absolute spoof ad- "Absolute will kill me... LIKE HIM"

This ad is very powerful because it also has sarcasm and satire, much like John Stewart. This ad creator is a critical thinker, and causes consumers to critically think about alcohol consumption.

Killing Us Softly 3

Kilburne's main argument is that media advertising has created ideals or people that we as society cannot possibly live up to because these people simply do not exist in reality, and thus they have us self-degrading ourselves in order to buy products for a problem that is self made or nonexistent.

Killing Us Softly

Kilburne believes that today's advertising promotes the objectification of women through overly sexual and degrading images, which ruins the self esteem of all females.

Ad Busting- Blog#7

The spoof ad titled "Joe Chemo Bed" is mocking the marketing and selling of Camel brand cigarettes by highlighting the devastatingly harmful effects of smoke inhalation. The camel, Joe, is laying in a hospital bed, clearly undergoing chemo treatments due to cancer caused by smoking. In the article "Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire", the idea of ad busting or mocking a particular ad to demonstrate its flaws or that which it over looks, are addressed. The Joe camel ad may be viewed in terms of this article's arguments in that it serves as a perfect example of critiquing society's blind belief of and allegiance to media's messages. Similar to the actions of the "Situationists", who altered the messages of billboards, this ad takes the usual characteristics of a camel ad and forces the reader to see it in a different manner. In another parallel, just as the magazine Adbusters alters the messages of ads in order to illuminate the harmful and politically incorrect implications, so does this poster highlight the negative effects of smoking. Not only does it demonstrate the lies which are fed to the common public about the coolness and attractiveness of smoking, but it forces the viewer to comprehend the true dangers which accompany it.

The concept of branding and its implications is also relevant to this ad: the effects of advertising have allowed for globalization, in particular "outsourced" industries. In lieu of cigarette campaigns becoming successful, the need for expansion and the spread of business grew, meaning the implementation of outside labor. This allows for the incorporation of underpaid sweatshop workers into production, a fact which protestors such as Klien (author of "No Logo"), vehemently remonstrate.

This spoof ad, while directly related to ads promoting the same product, differs most greatly in that it shines a negative light rather than a positive light on the results of using the product. A normal camel ad would illustrate a cool or suave man, or in this case a camel, casually smoking while reaping the benefits of an easy life. This mock ad does just the opposite: it shows the downside of smoking plus the side effects and the risk of illness or death.

In conclusion, the act of mock-adding or implementing 'detournement' is an attempt at awakening and making the public attentive to an alternate message or fact to which they may previously may have been unaware. The Joe chemo ad forces the consumer to recognize the risks and dangers of smoking, while overlooking the debonair image which accompanies it.

Blog #7: Advertising, Consumer Culture, and Desire

The spoof ad of the Calvin Kline Reality Man is selling the “product” of a male body. This ad is so refreshing because it promotes a realistic body as opposed to an idealistic, fantasy-prototype most likely presented in the ad it is mocking. Because of this striking difference, the ad contrasts with what society has classified as normal and is inevitably more likely to attract consumer attention. The article mentions that many of today’s consumers have grown so accustomed to advertisements that they can tune them out, and advertisers are now trying to invent new, unique ways to maintain their consumer audience’s attention. These spoof ads are a prime example of a different form of advertising that will catch consumer attention because they contrast with the structure of typical advertisements. By marketing products in a seemingly truthful or negative manner, advertisers can address the realistic aspects of a product that ads commonly tend to omit. Although this act of spoof ads may seem slanderous to the world of advertising, the Billboard Liberation Front claims that “To advertise is to exist,” their intentions are not to destroy advertising, but to keep the business interesting through the incorporation of fresh ideas. These cultural jams and puns on false advertisements can illicit truth, humor, political messages, or simply force the consumers to look at the ad from different perspectives. This Calvin Kline spoof ad promotes the idea that having a little extra weight around the middle is perfectly acceptable; this ad is advocating a more accurate depiction of normalcy. If people feel they can relate to ads, they may be just as prone to buy their product as opposed to if they were striving to achieve something the ad models have that they lack. Although in current society many people pride themselves on earning their own achievements, even the most ambitious can become discouraged when the dreams they strive for are unattainable. Because of this, advertisers who promote unrealistic products will eventually loose consumers from fatigue over their “failures” to match the advertised ideas of perfection. Some small portion of the advertising world is finally recognizing this flaw in promoting unattainable products, and is taking action through the creation of spoof ads in order to promote more truthful advertising.

Still Killing Us Softly Extra Credit

In the movie "Killing Us Softly" advertising is exposed for its harmful and devesting effects on the human psyche. The portrayal of women in advertising are often objectified and de-humanized. Advertising often focuses on the breasts and buttocks of the female body and by doing this they reduce women to objects of lust. Violence is easily used upon women if they are viewed as objects and not as humans. It is a subtle way to reduce the value of women in society. Advertising also creates an unrealistic ideal picture a women's body. Models are skinny and their bodies are picture perfect. Women constantly compare themselves to these models and hate themselves for never being able to measure up. Women are brainwashed to never be content with themselves and their bodies. Advertising creates an illusion of discontent and dissatisfaction with the world. Products promise happiness and deliverance from unhappiness. Products never truly full fill people.

Advertising, Consumer Culture

The Absolute spoof ad shows a line of chairs facing each other and forming an outline of an Absolute bottle. The caption below the image states “Absolute AA”. Spoof ads use the same consumer recognition and recall strategies that regular ads relying on. Absolute ads portray a lifestyle of wealth and sophistication. Absolute sells a promise of happiness and well-being. The Anti-ads expose the reality of alcohol consumption. This technique is called culture jamming it is “a metaphor for stopping the flow of spectacle long enough to adjust your set”. The spoof add critiques the marketing strategies of Absolute, and exposes the truth. Absolute vodka intoxicates users and abuse of this product has profound life changing effects. Spoof ads are an effective way to advocate against these destructive Ads.

Blog #6: Still Killing Us Softly (Extra)

Advertising is inaccurately depicting normalcy as an attainable state through various products and misrepresentations of the ideal female body; however, advertisers are presenting a very skewed definition of normalcy and consequentially making consumers feel inadequate when they are unable to achieve this supposed norm.

Killing Us Softly- Blog #6 Extra Credit

In Killburne's "Killing Us Softly", she aims to critique the constant pressure implemented upon society by the media, especially in regards to the tendency towards objectification of the female and the resulting self-confidence and self-worth issues women suffer.

Blog 6 Wk 4 Still Killing Us Softly

The media has given women unrealistic goals and expectations to reach in regards to beauty and causes the objectification of women and their bodies.

Blog 7_Wk_4_Advertising_Consumer_Cultures_Desire

I chose the Tommy Hilfiger ad that had the sheep and at the bottom of the ad it says “follow the flock.” The “product” that this ad is selling is not the Tommy Hilfiger clothing line but the concept that because of the idealized view of life that is provided by the models that show off the clothing people must buy these clothes in order to achieve that lifestyle, which is ultimately unattainable; this is similar to Charlie Chaplin’s thematic montage in Modern Times as workers come out of the subway he cuts to a shot of sheep coming out of the same subway suggesting that these workers are sheep to the corporations.

The essential difference between this anti-ad of Tommy Hilfiger and a real Tommy Hilfiger ad is the characters portrayed in each of these ads. In the anti-ad, there are multiple sheep, which are not the most beautiful or cutest of animals when they’re full-grown, and they are dressed in their natural clothing: their wool. In contrast, the real Tommy Hilfiger ad would have one fit, trim, handsome man wearing the clothing that he is modeling that is shown as natural on his body, because, in most cases, the clothes are made to fit that type of body, not the bodies of real people. Another thing about both characters is that they are both food. The sheep are precursors in our society to lamb chops, which many people enjoy; the model is something to feast your eyes on while you digest the thought of whether to buy those clothes or not, even if you aren’t as appetizing as the model in the ad.

Blog 6_Wk_4_Still_Killing_Us_Softly_3

The media constantly objectifies women (the body) and in turn dehumanizes them to the point that they become merely body parts subject to being bought and sold.

XTRA CREDIT: Blog 6_Wk_4_Still_Killing_Us_Softly_3

The modern mass media has created an image of women that turns them into sexual objects and depresses them by giving them an ultimately unattainable goal of beauty.

Still Killing Us Softly 3 1999, J. Kilburne

Kilburne argues that media advertisements are placing extreme stress on women (and men)by creating an perfect image of beauty; one in which they can achieve if they only try harder to transform.

Art, Entertainment, Entropy

According to Wallace Stevens, the main difference between entertainment media and Art derives from the intention behind the act of creation. Entertainment media, much like Art, use common devices to manipulate the emotions of the audience. But entertainment media does not intend to make the audience think, or react, or process ideas. People go to movies, or watch Fox News in order to escape from the every day ordeals of mental and physical effort. In contrast, Art makes the audience fundamentally reassess its understanding of the human experience.  To appreciate Art, you must fully commit mentally and engage with a piece, critically examining what it means in relationship to your life.

Entertainment media perpetuate the “destructive habit of unthinking response.” It does adheres to specific, proven formulas of entertainment. The audience knows it will not have to fully engage to understand what is happening. Wallace goes on to say that human life is neg-entropic, “because its subsystems feed energy back into one another and thus are self-enriching, regenerative.” 

If we were to apply Wallace's standards of entertainment and Art to today's society, television shows like those on Fox News, as well as the vast majority of Hollywood blockbusters, would obviously fall under the category of entertainment. Fox News especially is not interested in bringing up critical, life-altering questions common within Art. Instead, its goal is to have its audience unquestioningly absorb its message as a reaffirmation of preexisting notions, repeated ad naseum. 

Websites like Youtube and Facebook, would have to be considered Art. The audience in these cases actively engage in the creation and appreciation of the media. Web 2.0 sites have taken Wallace's idea of feedback to the extremes. There is now more feedback (chats, likes, comments and wall posts) than there is actual 'content,' making it very difficult to draw a line between content and feedback.

Chomsky and Marx

Chomsky and Marx share similar views regarding the process of control and retainment measures. Chomsky describes the "Propoganda Model" and how the social elite can control the media institutions, literally create history, and control the cognitive process of each viewer/reader of that publication. Equally, Marx describes the negative influence that the elite class, bourgeoisie have over the lower proletariat. Marx's philosophy however, is based on the call the action and belief that the lower class needs to ultimately rise up through revolution and take what is ritefully theirs. But based on Chomsky's documentary, he does not see such a violent means to the common end.

Wallace Stevens - Commercial Media

Wallace Stevens describes a call to action from the "mind numbing" , formula driven media environment that engenders entropy in each viewer. Commerical entertainers, motivated by their desier to make a profit, manipulate their audience by perpetuating conditioned respones and inhibiting self-awarness. Stevens mentions that the main tool for commercial entertainers is the use of, what our guest lecturer called "feedback loop" entertainment; movies that conform to the the standard diaglogue and plot of their genre. The remake of the "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" for exmaple, had no unique elements from the previous film that orginiated it. Art, however is one of the only counter tools to commercial media because by definition it is radical, revolutionary and original.

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube do not fall directly within Steven's analysis of commerical media. These social networking sites create a fun and convenient medium for college students, business people, and even politicians around the world. Being a user of the three website, I do admit that they literally suck people's time from their day. Ther is nothing more distracting than a viral video posted on YouTube's front page. But the convenience and accessibility also aids people in creating original content and allows for imaginative ideas that were unheard of 10 ears ago. I use to make video movie projects in high school using borrwed camera recorders and played them on VHS tapes for class presentations. I only with that I had the technology of today back then.

Blog 5 - Chomsky v. Marx

Noam Chomsky’s idea of a “Propaganda Model” shares many similarities with Karl Marx’s views of the economy in his Communist Manifesto. One of the key similarities is the idea that those in charge are supported by a very large amount of people upon which they build. The media very heavily relies on its ability to control its audience. It controls what they see, how they are entertained, what information they are given, how they react, and often as a result, what they think. The media constantly seeks to increase and expand its influence over society, and at the same time, it is reliant on those people. Without their support and following, the media can’t exist. The same is true of the bourgeoisie. Without the proletariat, it can’t exist. The bourgeoisie sets a value on everything the proletariat makes and owns. It is also always looking to expand its markets and expand its control over the proletariat. However, it also needs the proletariat to exist. Without the work they do, the bourgeoisie’s power would crumble.

Another key similarity is the fact that both Chomsky and Marx speak of the media and the bourgeiosie’s desire to change the world to fit their standard and needs. As stated previously, the media seeks to extend its influence and control on everyone and everything. This also means that it wants everything to fit its ideas, which would lead to increasingly more and more homogenous societies in terms of thought and information. In a similar way, the bourgeoisie seeks to expand its markets and dominate in its own lands and abroad too. This would homogenize the markets and values of things. This is further evidence of what Youngblood mentioned in his article. Homogenization is entropy.

Blog 4 - “Art, Entertainment, Entropy”

Youngblood’s main argument in “Art, Entertainment, Entropy” is that the entertainment media is vastly entropic, in the sense that it resists change and is supports a constant status quo. He argues that this makes somewhat of a stagnant culture, populated by masses of blind and unthinking people. Entertainment media operates by creating movies, television programs, magazines, etc. that cater to the media’s interests while fulfilling the audience’s expectations at the same time. Quite often, this process involves finding a formula that works well to both fulfill the media’s need and keep people interested, and then mass producing different forms of entertainment with this idea. Examples of the can be seen in everything from game shows to the ever-popular and massive trend of so-called “reality television.” This is also evidence of Youngblood’s claims that today’s entertainment media lacks creativity. The whole entropic process of mass producing entertainment to satisfy a current status quo and the established expectations of an audience requires very little creativity. Youngblood argues that this is a bad thing, and the best way to counter this trend is to introduce negentropy in the form of art. Art is creative and constantly evolving. Art challenges the norms and pushes the boundaries of the status quo, which will ultimately break it and move a society forward. It is “a catalyst to change” (65).

Much of Youngblood’s criticism of entertainment media is still relevant today. The rise of the Internet opened a new world for the media, and many of them take advantage of YouTube and social networking sites to carry their message and reach even further than ever before. Almost every form of new entertainment media has content on a variety of sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter. Do you want follow the news on a popular movie that’s coming out soon or your favorite television series? It’s sure to have a page on all those sites? How about the latest news on that pop singer? He/she is sure to be on those sites too. Feel like catching the news? Visit their site, or one of their social networking pages. In many ways, entertainment media has a stronger and broader grip on its audience than ever before, and this allows it greater control over what people see. However, there is some hope out there. The Internet has also given the artists and freethinkers new grounds to grow on and expand. The Internet allows many to freely express themselves, and it is an outlet for their creativity and their messages. They have nowhere near the power that the media has, but they have great potential to spread the word.

Blog 5 Marx and Chomsky

Chomsky's propaganda model in relation to Marx's manifesto both show the power of money and how it has an ability to force us to conform and change. In Chomsky's model, we see how the corporations and rich have the ability to control our media, just as Marx points out how capitalism and such control the market and the workers. These concepts both have the same ideals in which we lack control over our lives because we are driven to conform. Marx states that the the bourgeois and the proletariat are forced to conform into one group, just as Chomsky views media as a way to force conform. Since both are controlled by the rich, the public then looses control over what it believes and becomes. With media, we believe what we see especially in the news, and as Chomsky pointed out the news is usually augmented in a way to cause us to sympathize with the controllers of our media which is the rich which drives us to hold the same values and ideals as they do. These ideals begin to translate over into the ideals of economy and thus falls into the idea of Marx's and control. Once we begin to fall into the the same ideals as the higher class, we begin to stop making decisions that are best for us, but best for them, and thus become controlled. Marx sees how the joining of the bourgeois and the proletariat will lead to the change in economic decision making because the proletariat will be making their decisions based on the good of the bourgeois, but this is only due to the fact that they are forced to join.

Week 3 - Art, Entertainment and Entropy.

After reading the article by Wallace Stevens, I have come to realize a few more things about how media has affected our way of thinking and perception. Stevens raises an important question of how media lacks insight and is merely a tool for entertainment. Media does not hold the same value as before because it lacks meaning and is more focused on what society wants. Which leads to the idea that art and media are different. Media doesn't evoke feelings or thought the way art is suppose to and thus lacks the same value. Instead we view new media as a way to instant gratification without questioning its value or meaning. I do believe part of the reason we do not value media as art is because media lacks the "aura" of art.

With this in mind, new forms of media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, I believe Stevens critique would not necessarily fit. I do admit there are MANY useless tweets and statuses but there are also the few that have evoked change. There is art within YouTube, I think more than on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook and Twitter seem more to be useless forms of media in terms of art as they do not allow for as much artistic expression, but they do offer a medium for artists. Many artists now hold Facebook pages and such to reach their fans, and even one of my own favorite artists posts inspirational statuses up on a constant basis and I feel that counts in a way as artistic expression. With YouTube, I see more artistic value and emotional involvement. People use these types of media for self expression and Stevens idea that media lacks value holds some truth, but also lacks insight that new media can also be turned into artistic mediums, if one chooses to do so. I do not deny the fact that there are a lot of useless material on sites such as Facebook which lack value and partly conform to the idea of what we find socially acceptable.

Manifestoon

Chomsky’s idea of the propaganda model is simply this: the media is controlled by a few and produced for the masses, through this process the controlling oligarchy that are the media conglomerates are able to send the point that they see fit for the current population. This ratio of few to masses creates a society that is oppressed and molded into believing (or at the very least constantly seeing) the message the media wants to send. The problem with this theory set by the media is that we are all different, individuals in our beliefs, our wants and desires. Those desires for some may create the ability to see through these subliminal messages and realize what is truly happening.

One person who could see through the very propaganda (so to speak) in the economics of society was Karl Marx. Marx addresses a similar issue to Chomsky’s in the Communist Manifesto. He says that the bourgeoisie are the feudal lords of this society and accordingly we are merely the peasants. We continue to be raped with the ideas of the bourgeoisie. We are helpless and vulnerable. The respected thing we call political power is merely a mask for the oppressors to filter what we know and present what they want us to believe.

However bad these separate but similar ideas may sound, there is a silver lining that both authors send out. While oppressed, we may have nothing, but by fighting back we also have nothing to lose. Both Chomsky and Marx dispatch a call of action to stand up and question everything and everyone. And in the words of Marx, “Workers [/consumers/citizens] of all countries, unite!”

Blog #5- "Manifestoon"

Both Marx and Chomsky discuss the idea of conformity. While Marx talks about conformity within the bourgeois and Chomsky talks about the influence of mass media, they both strongly agree with the idea that people are conforming to one likeness. In the text excerpt from the “Communist Manifesto” Marx explains how everyone is becoming one. He focuses on the idea that several classes meshed in two very distinctly different classes, the bourgeois and the proletariat. He argues that all the classes are being told to conform to fit one standard. Chomsky’s argument basically says that we are becoming what the media wants us to be. Both arguments verbalize that people are conforming to be something that they are not.

In the summary of “Manifestoon” directed my Drew he pointed the deceiving nature of children’s cartoons. People perceive them as just funny little skits that entertain children but what they don’t think about is the hidden message. Drew points out that an overwhelming amount of children’s cartoons empower the “ "trickster" and they use such assets such as wit to overpower a character that is physically stronger. This plays up the use of your brain and goes against some of the ideas of conformity cause it is not even close to the norm. People are used to the stronger of the two winning and this presents an argument that not all things are necessarily what we are taught to conform to and believe.

Marx concluded his argument with the phrase “Workers of all countries, unite!” Due to the increase influence of mass media people that have access to common amenities such as television and the Internet are all becoming one in the sense that we are being swayed by the propaganda that is now part of our everyday lives.

Blog #4- Art, Entertainment, Entropy

Art is something that is creative and if it is not new and different than it is not art. Entertainment is just the media using art to sway people’s thoughts and opinions. Art is always the catalyst of change while entertainment remains a constant. Entertainment is other people’s ideas being presented to you. Its something you can relate to and follow. Based on this critique, media is just the expression of ideas to an audience. With new interactive media such as Youtube and Facebook this argument is proved even stronger.

Youtube has a collaboration of mainstream media productions as well as people’s own personal creations. This media is now all available at the click of a mouse. People spend hours looking through videos and reading others peoples comments regarding what they have just watched. It gives people a forum to respond to the ideas that were presented to them and be somewhat critical. People have the opportunity to break the norm of just following what entertainment says to and create your own opinion.

Social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, on the other hand give people an opportunity to pass off the happenings of their lives as media over the Internet. Some people post the every happening of their lives on these sites, their lives are now no longer art but entertainment for other people. Facebook enthusiasts spend hours looking through peoples’ statuses and viewing photos. The art that was their lives because of each different persons interpretation of their personal experiences has been turned into a form of entertainment for others viewing pleasure.

It may connect people but it also takes away from real interpersonal relationships. Over the Internet you can say or do pretty much anything you want and know that the person is not in the proximity. The days of meeting people for coffee to catch up care coming to a slow halt. But, in the case of long distance relationships it serves to keep the lines of communication open. Art and entertainment frequent our lives and we have become accustomed to living in a world where people and information are available at the click of a mouse.