Understanding Comics

I really enjoyed reading Scott McCloud's, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. It was a fun and interesting way to learn about about comics. He guides us through elements of comic style, time frames, lines, pictures, and the evolutionary growth of comics. This booked is packed with amazing pictures that correspond with words, and it takes you on a magical journey through out the time of comics. This is an unusual and exciting book, that when you finish reading you will never look at comics the same. Read it, it's fun!

Image Curation

One of the 7 tasks for this class is the image curation project. We had to, in groups, collect several images and organize them into a slideshow. These images had to represent visual culture. For this project I worked with Jennifer Kolenc. The first thing we did was brainstormed ideas about what our theme should be. We came up with several ideas, such as death, how women are portrayed, beauty, sex sells, and alcohol ads. They were all good ideas, but we decided to go with sex in alcohol ads. Once we had figured out our theme I started looking for pictures on the internet. It took me a while, but soon enough I had found enough ads to use in our slideshow. I then started to put the images in our slideshow. Once I had finished putting the images in, the two of us got together and went over everything else we were going to add to it. Jennifer, then saved the slideshow to her USB key and took it home to work on. She added some quotes, and did the final touch ups, such as slide transistions and timing, to make our slideshow the best it could be. We brought our slideshow to our next class and it was shown on the projector screen. Our slideshow represents how in today's society everything revolves around sex. Sex is used to sell everything, it is like people are obsessed with it. Companies will use any chance they get to use sex in their ads, because it sells their products. We just wanted to show how much and how inappropriate sex is being used in advertisements today. I, personally think that it has gone too far and some of the ads are way to visual for my liking. For example, who wants to see a man licking a women or a womens breast, that are just barely covered by limes. These are going to far, they are not leaving anything up to the imagination. And they are defintley inappropriate for young kids to see. But they see them because they are all over the place. Whether its TV, magazines, newspaper or billboards, kids are exposed to sex everyday of their lives. They are going to grow up thinking it is the norm and then they will start dressing and acting more sexually because that is what they know. The ads that we selected for our slideshow all display sex and sexuality. I found it really amazing to see how many alcohol companies use sex in their advertisements. An over whelming number of them do, and thats only alcohol companies. I can't imagine how many other companies use sex to sell their products. This world has become sex crazed, and so companies are using it to their advantage. From this project I learned how effective a visual image slideshow can be. Pictures are very strong and can tell better story than words. All you need is a good picture to get your point across.

Learning Commons = Help

Today in class our professor, Mark Lipton, arranged a special visit from the learning commons. This visit was due to the low marks on our papers that we had handed in last week. The people from the learning commons told us about their services and that we should take advantage of it because it will improve our writing. At the end of the class we all got out papers back, and when I looked at mine I was shocked. All that was going through my head was how can I have gotten 60% when all through out high school I got straight A's. I didn't know what to think, but I had to rush back to residence because it was my first day at my new job. After work, I came back to my room and read my paper. And now I know why I got that mark. My paper was not well written at all. It was very simple and didn't show that much time had been spent on it. And well, that's true. I didn't spend much time writing it. I wrote it fast so I could get it done and over with. I was so proud that I had it done a week early, but I now realize that it doesn't do much good to have it done early if it isn't written at your best ability. So, I have learned my mistake and will now spend more time on each of my papers. I will also remember to use the learning commons as a tool. And I would just like to thank you, Mark, for bringing in the learning commons to class because I had totally forgotten about them and I will use them from now on.

The Media is the Music in Me

For my media autobiography, I decided to make a burnt cd that contained several songs that I listen to everyday. These songs aren't just any songs though. They are songs that have some personal meaning to me. It wasn't hard to choose the songs because most songs touch me in some way. Music is everything to me. It is in me all the time and it is how I relate to different situations. When certain things happen to me I associate it to a song. For example, when my grandpa passed away, I took it really bad. I always looked forward to spending time with him, because he treated my sisters and me as if we were princesses. He spoiled us rotten but it felt good to be loved. “Slipped Away,” by Avril Lavigne, expresses my feelings and emotions towards my grandpa and his death. The song talks about how she was completely shocked by her grandpa’s death and how much she wants him to come back. This is exactly how I feel about my grandpa. Every time I hear this song I think about my grandpa and every time I think about my grandpa this song pops into my head. I have connected my grandpa’s death to the song “Slipped Away” because that is how my mind works. Everything revolves around music in my life.
Therefore, it is not a surprise that I have created a mixed CD for my media autobiography. This CD is full of songs that have personal meanings to me. They are songs that have somehow touched me or have inspired me in a way. I listen to these songs on a daily basis and when I do they change my mood. For example, some songs like “Never Stop,” by Hilary Duff, and “Breaking Free,” by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, make me feel happy. They are up beat songs that talk about how everything will be ok and how you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. They both have good messages and they bring joy and hope into me. On the other hand, songs like “Gunnin’,” by Hedley and “Afraid,” by Vanessa Hudgens bring more sympathetic and sad emotions into me. They are about having insecurities and the certain features about you that you’re not to fond about. Every song has a different message in them, which exposes different emotions and feelings into the listener.
The songs that I chose to put on my cd are...

1. Big Girls Don't Cry, by Fergie
2. Hey There Delilah, by The Plain White T's
3. Stranger, by Hilary Duff
4. Teardrops on My Guitar, by Taylor Swift
5. Blush, by Aly & AJ
6. Never Stop, by Hilary Duff
7. Gunnin', by Hedley
8. Someone's Watching Over Me, by Hilary Duff
9. Dancing Alone, Ashlee Simpson
10. Slipped Away, by Avril Lavigne
11. Afraid, by Vanessa Hudgens
12. Trip, by Hedley
13. A beautiful Life, by Lindsay Lohan
14. Breaking Free, by Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens

Ways of Seeing

I really enjoyed reading Ways of Seeing by John Berger. It takes you through the years of paintings, pictures, and images. Not only is it interesting to read, it is filled with beautiful pictures. The pictures correspond to what that page is about. Berger discusses such issues as seeing comes before words, the difference between the way men and women are portrayed in pictures, and the way advertisements make you feel.
Seeing comes before words. Every child can look before before he can talk. But there is also another meaning to Seeing comes before words. Everywhere we go we are surrounded by things to see. It is seeing that establishes where we are and whats around us. Before we can describe what we are surrounded by, we have to be able to see it. We have to see things before can know about them.
Men and women are both portrayed differently in images. Men are portrayed as dependent and powerful. He is seen as he is there to do something for you. While women are portrayed as beautiful and vein. She is there for you to do something to her. Women are often looked at as sexual objects that guys can own.
Advertisements tend to make you feel like without this you aren't complete. They use different techniques and images to get you to think that you need their product. Their message is always in the future and it gives the impression that you'll be happy and envied if you have this product. Advertisers use such images in their ads as models and mythological figures, the romantic use of nature, sexual emphasis given to women, materials to indicate luxury, and the equation of drinking and success.
This is a very valuable book and I recommend that you read it.

Harry Potter, a Must Read!!!

If You are going to read any series I suggest you read Harry Potter. It is a fascinating series that takes you on a magical journey. You follow Harry Potter and his friends into the wizarding world as they go to school and try to save the world from the powerful, evil, Lord Voldormort. The 7th and final book just came out this summer, and I finished in just two days. It was an awsome book, and was a great end to the series. Now, before this book came out, there was a lot of rumours going on with who was going to die. Everyone knew either Harry Potter or Lord Voldormort had to die because it was in the prophecy. But Know knew who. There were bets going on in the world, a lot of people thougt Harry, others thought Lord Voldormort, and some thought both of them. And I am happy to tell you that I was write all along, and I knew that was what was going to happen. Now, your thinking who died, right? Well, the answer is....are you kidding? Im not going to tell you and ruin it for you. You have to pick up the book and find out for yourself. Im telling you, you won't be disappointed. In fact, you will probably want to read the other six books, if you haven't already. Now, what I will tell you is...

1. The real truth comes out about Snape
2. The Prophecy or the Deathly Hollows?
3. Professor Umbridge = evil
4. Dumbledore???
5. Ron +Hermoney=?
6. Is Harry going to lose faith in the one person he trusted the most?
7. DEATH

Read it, and you will have taken the journey of you life!

Copyright A Fair(y) Use Tale

As I got to my Mass communication class, on September 12, 2007, I noticed that it had already started. The class was watching a short film on the overhead projector. I looked at my watch and saw that I wasn't late but ten minutes early. So why would the class have already started? Well, it turns out that a student in the class had told the professor the wrong time of when the class started. A simple mistake, it doesn't matter, it's over with. The more important thing was the film that they were watching, Copyright A Fair(y) Use Tale. This ten minute clip is all about the copyright law and fair use. You would think that a video like this would be pretty boring. But, indeed it wasn't. It was not you normal educational video, that bores you to death. This video is made up off hundreds of clips from Disney Videos. The makers of this video have selected small clips of 1-3 words and put them together so that they make a story. A wonderful magical story about copyright. The only problem is, is that you have to pay close attention or else you won't catch what the characters are saying because the clips are very short and quick.

The Following is the link to the video. Watch it. It will be the most entertaining educational video you have ever seen. Come on, it's Disney. Everyone loves Disney!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pUPsfYJONrU

Amusing Ourselves to Death

This controversial book, by Neil Postman, talks about the ever changing world of technology and how it effects our culture. Media and culture have a close relationship to one another in today's society. Whatever happens in culture happens in the media and whatever happens in the media happens in culture. Media companies work together to create movies, television shows, and many other forms of media that represent what is happening in society. These are not only to inform the public of what is going on, but as well as to entertain them. Therefore, the companies alter the shows to make them more entertaining. But, when they do this they are giving a false representation of world events and so the public is uninformed about what is going on. Because of this, people don't take news seriously anymore and act as it's a source if entertainment.
Postman frames his arguments with two warnings from Orwell and Huxley. Orwell warns us that we will be defeated by an externally forced oppression. On the other hand, Huxley warns us that we will come to love our oppression. We will take joy to the technologies that feed us information so we don't have to think for ourselves. Postman supports Huxley's case because he believes that people enjoy not having to think.
Different mediums can change certain aspects of a culture. Print as a medium encourages thinking, analyzing, and writing and creates a well knowledge society. They are well informed and have a strong understanding of what is happening in the world. When print is the primary means of communication, then the culture as a whole has a strong public discourse of important issues. Television as a medium is essentially effortless. You don't have to think about anything when you watch a movie or a show, you just sit there watching the television portray images onto the screen. When a commercial comes on the viewer can either like it or dislike the commercial, but they can neither accept or refuse it because there's nothing to accept or refuse.
These arguments I have discussed are not of my own, but of Neil Postman. I, myself, agree and disagree to his opinions. I do agree that people prefer not to think. If you look at most people today, they would rather spend time watching television, playing video games, and going on the computer, then to reading or writing. But, at the same time, people can learn a lot from watching television or going on the computer. Society is changing to a more technologically inclined culture and this is neither good or bad. It is what it is, and we should just go with it and take advantage of it.

Playboy Interview with Marshall McLuhan

As I read this article, I began to think what in the world is this guy talking about? Marshall McLuhan comes up with some of the most ridiculous predictions of what is going to happen to this world. For example, he states how American Negros and Indians are going to be exterminated because White Americans are taking over the world, or how everyone is running around like "little chicken" because they are over whelmed by technology.

I personally don't agree with him at all on most occasions, and still when I do it's only a bit. White men definitely have power in this world, I'm not going to lie, but other ethnic groups still live a great live in this society. They can do everything white men can, with some exceptions, but they are certainly not exterminated.

People today, in society, are technologically savvy. Meaning they are familiar around it and it's a part of their everyday life. Technology is used all the time, whether it's used for researching on the computer, watching a show on television, or listening to music on the radio. It certainly does not scare many people in this world.

The one thing that I did agree with him a little is that kids these days are watching to much TV. Parents just throw their kids in front of the television set so they don't have to entertain them. It is a problem, but it's not as big as a problem as he says it is. I mean, kids aren't all of a sudden becoming cyclops because they watch too much TV.

McLuhan thinks very highly of himself and his world wide predictions, but exactly how many people actually take him serious?

Mass Communications

I am in Mark Lipton's Mass Communication class at the University of Guelph-Humber and as an assignment I have to write a blog expressing my thoughts and feelings of our class discussions, assignments, and books. Although I have only attended one class I really think I'm going to enjoy it. Mark really knows what he is talking about and he tries to make things entertaining so we can relate and understand the them better. I am really looking forward for our next class!
But, on the other hand, I am actually kind of nervous for this class. It's just that he is giving us so much freedom and I'm really not used to that. At high school my teachers told us exactly what they wanted us to do for every assignment and project. But, in this class, it is totally different. He has given us a list of the assignment and that's all. We don't even no how long they are supposed to be. When someone asks about how long something is supposed to be Mark responds, "As short as possible and as long as necessary." Like, what is that supposed to mean? I don't know. I guess I'm going to have to wait and find out what this class is really like.
All I can say is, it's definitely a different class then what I have ever had.