Sunday, December 13, 2009

Top 10 Media Revelations

#1 Economic Shift

According to our four tool sets, an economic shift is described as hyper commercialism and corporate consolidation.

Hyper commercialism can be seen very clearly in Feed by M.T. Anderson. Throughout the entire book, the characters are constantly being advertised to. One part in particular that stood out was on page 293 when Titus order pair after pair of new pants. He put tracking orders on each and "could feel them moving through the system."

Corporate consolidation is readily apparent in that only 6 transnational corporations own 90% of the content out there. Although possibly out dated by now, our text, Media and Society, says on page 337 that CNN broadcasts via 23 satellites to more than 800 million people in 212 countries and territories in all corners of the globe.

The video below discusses a topic we touched on briefly, about deregulation, or re-regulation, of the internet:



On another note, one interesting part of this video clip is around the 2:19 mark when he's talking about choosing your own news and entertainment outlet he says, "even dial-up!" I laughed at this because although I'm part of the generation who grown-up with the internet, I still remember having a dial-up connection and it's astounding how quickly technology progresses.


#2 Technological Shift

According to our four tool sets, a technological shift is described as from analog to digital.

I remember this discussion in class when someone brought up how awful music sounds these days because of this shift. I personally don't have a musicians ear so I can't tell the difference. However, I'm also one of those people who can't see the difference in HD and regular unless they are side by side or I flip quickly between the channels with the same program. So my word may not count for very much here.

The text that most clearly represented a technological shift is obviously, Feed. The entire book shows this just in how different and "advanced" the technology is compared to today. More specifically, however, they too in the book show an advancement in their technology. On page 135, Titus meets Violet's father for the first time. Violet's father has an early version of the feed, which was external. Titus describes it as a big hunchback with special eyeglasses that had foldout screens on either side.

Although not directly referencing analog to digital, in Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, Postman writes about the shift in newspapers to resemble television. On page 111, Postman says the most successful national newspaper, USA Today, is sold in receptacles that look like television sets, stories are short and the design relies heavily on pictures and graphics. This book is now over 20 years old, so the direct translation of analog to digital is not yet found, but the concept remains intact in the simplifying of our media.




#3 Ownership

Although much related to the economic shift in corporate consolidation, ownership is equally as important on it's own.

Media and Society says on page 242 that the news may not tell the public what to think, but it's great at telling people what to think about. With the consolidation of corporations and the small number of media owners, they shape the news.

In our Censored 2010 text, by Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff, on page 251 it says hyperreality is the inability to distinguish between what is real and what is not. They say that corporate media offers news that creates a hyperreality of real world problems and issues.

It's because of limited media ownership that these conglomerates have this power.




#4 Social Construction of Reality

Media and Society explains social construction of reality as that reality exists, but we must negotiate the meaning of that reality. (pg. 7)

Our four tool sets says that media construct our culture and involve trade-offs (good and bads).

One of the most talked about new shows is MTV's Jersey Shore is a perfect example of this. While the reality exists, viewers all over the world can interpret this reality in a number of ways. Some are shaped by the way the medium constructs this for us.




#5 Value Messages


Our four tool sets says that media contain ideological and value messages. Some of these are intended while others are not. These messages can be positive or negative, and messages target specific groups.

Value messages can be seen in Feed in Quendy and Loga. The feed (the medium) targets them assuming that they value trends and staying "cool". On page 21, Quendy and Loga left the group to go to the bathroom because the feed told them that hairstyles changed again.

This commercial for Fancy Feast cat food is a perfect example of this. They are assuming that the potential consumer values wealth, the best, and high quality.




#6 Discursive Shift

A discursive shift is some objective to subjective. What is the truth? In the web 2.0 world, those who were once the audience are now the creators as well.

On page 102 of Feed, Violet decides to question the truth. She plays games with the feed by pretending to be interested in a wide variety of products. Her choices make it impossible for the feed to properly target her.

When we begin to question media we're given, we begin to create our own truths. In the video below you can see just how easy it is to go from consumer to producer.




#7 Flow State

Flow state is when time slips away when your brain is engaged. The brain is the most complex living thing in the known universe. The brain processes 400 billion bits of information every second but is only conscious of 2,000 bits.

The limbic brain is enacted during flow state because it is the feeling brain and processes images and music. Here's a bit of music to tickle your limbic brain while you read the rest of this blog post:




#8 Simple Solutions

Persuading by offering a simple solution to either a manufactured or more complex problem is a simple solution persuasion technique.

Simple solutions can be seen throughout the entire Censored 2010 book in what we WERE told as opposed to the what the book uncovered. One particular stand out is in "Obama's Military Appointments Have Corrupt Past" (pg 32). When Chris presented this topic, he spoke about how the CIA reports eventually became so watered down that the public didn't even care anymore. In reality it was dumbed down to a simple solution when it was much more complex than that.

While a bit off topic, I did find this simple solutions video from Ikea to be quite interesting and helpful!




#9 Beautiful People

Using images of good-looking individuals to sell products is our beautiful people persuasion technique.

Although not my idea of beautiful people may not be the time in the years of the feed, Feed uses this idea when the feed makes lesions popular. On page 11, the lesions come up as not being a particularly good things. The later on, the feed projects them as sexy and all the beautiful people are wearing them. Once that happens girls everywhere suddenly had necklace-like lesions around their necks.

A men's fragrance, Bod Body Spray, uses this technique in their advertising. While searching for a commercial of theirs, I found this even better parody:




#10 Aesthetic Shift

An aesthetic shift is from discrete to convergence. This can be seen in Feed with the feed itself. The fact that a chip in your brain can do anything and everything you want it to, it doesn't get much more converged than that.

To close my top 10 is one of my favorite videos featuring the one and only convergence superstar, our feed of this century, the iPhone:

1 comment:

  1. EXCELLENT Top Ten list, Leah.

    A fine finish to a fine semester for you.

    The Bod Body Spray is so darn funny.

    Thanks for your hard work and good spirit in class.

    And good luck!

    Dr. W

    ReplyDelete