MY FINAL BLOG POST IN JMC302… I’m sorry if i have some terrible grammar or incomplete thoughts in this one guys… I spent the last 4 days biking from western New Hampshire to the Maine Seacoast and just got back less than an hour ago so I’m about to fall over from being so tired.
I had never actually watched a Felix cartoon before… I recognized the character from t-shirts and mugs and other novalty items that like having retro cartoon characters on them. I knew his name was “Felix the Cat” and that was about it…
Before reading “Cultographies’ Definition of Cult Cinema” I had a general understanding of what a cult movie was. If someone asked me to explain one I would probably just give the example of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” because of it’s hardcore (and somewhat underground) fan following and all of the traditions that go along with participating in the live/interactive showing. This article, though, provided me with an actual set of criteria for which a cult film is defined way beyond just my personal view. After reading it… I confirmed my earlier guess about Rocky Horror because it fit directly into all of the criteria given. For example, fans are “Highly committed and rebellious in their appreciation” with the way they go all out with the traditions and props and dress up, and the storyline (especially with the live cast) definately “transgress common notions of good and bad taste, and they challenge genre conventions”.
Due to the definitions given by Cultographies, I do not believe that “Felix” fits into the catagory of Cult Cinema. I beleive it is a classic cartoon that has moved into being the face of many novalty and retro items that have fans and collectors, but I do not believe that it is in line with all of the criteria needed to actually be in that catagory. Although Felix does have a major following and was amazingly innovative and successful for it’s time, and could be considered challenging genre conventions, it is not “considered bad, aesthetically or morally. Of particular interest are those films being valued for their ‘ineptness’ or poor cinematic achievement”, nor does it have an audience that is highly rebellious in their appreciation.
I am really not a very computer/tech savvy person. I refused to even get an Iphone until the last year because I thought they were confusing and unnessesary. Even now, I feel behind the times with my Iphone 4 while everyone else has the 4S or the 5. I generally feel like I am about a year behind with all of that stuff. I barely have any apps on my phone except for a flashlight app, instagram, facebook, and the maps one.
I do love, however, having the ability to go into my app store on my phone to download an app for pretty much anything I could possibly think of with just a few touches on my screen. I have found the coolest apps before while doing this such as one that told me how long each ride’s line was at six flags at any given point of time. Even the few apps that cost money are usually just a dollar or two and its usually worth it because of how simple it is to download them since your itunes account and credit card information are already in the system. It’s just so easy and so accessable that anyone, including Deidre’s 5 year old granddaughter and my 2 year old nephew can even do it. Because of it’s simplicity, I completely agree with the argument put forth in the panel discussion by Jason Pontin stating “one of the reasons why iTunes was so successful is that it was so frictionless from the point of view of the user. I believe strongly that it’s not that users are habituated to not paying for content. It’s that they have very little patience for any friction, in terms of experiencing content.” If anything takes a lot of effort to figure out how to download (such as jail-breaking a phone… way to complex for me) I wont do it.
If I was in the position to decide whether or not to develop an app for something like KRFH, I think I would support the idea of making a native app, especially over the option of an HTML5 program. Although even after listening to this weeks radio and watching the panel discussion I still don’t feel like I have a great understanding of exactly what goes into creating either of these (mostly because I just am not that tech oriented), I believe that the students of HSU would be able to take more advantage of the radio if it was available to them as an app. The panel puts forth a major point that the better choice between these two forms of media depends on the audience you are marketing towards. Almost everyone I know at HSU has an iphone, and most of us are on our iphones constantly throughout the day. The majority of the music I listen to is through my Pandora app, and I feel like I would be much more inclined to listen to KRFH (which I have maybe twice before) if there was a simple radio app to connect to it. As it is now, I think it is kind of a pain to get on the station through my computer through a mess of links and websites. I feel like HTML5 would be a similar struggle for me to get through, and a native app would just be a better option. I believe that the majority of students would not be bothered by a 99c or 1.99 fee to buy a KRFH or Lumberjack app, so any costs in making the app could easily be offset, since as Pontin points out in the panel, they can be very expensive and end up costing money to the company.
Furthermore, it seems from the panel discussion that HTML5 is not actually even an option yet. “The important thing for non-technical people in the audience is that HTML5 is not finished. HTML5 is a aspirational set of standards at the moment.”- Jason Pontin. And, as with all new technology, even after it is finished and released, it will have lots of bugs and issues that need to be smoothed out before it can actually work properly.
I have never been a big video gamer… in fact the only games I really like playing are the few old Nintendo game cube games that I have had since I was probably about 8 years old and have developed somewhat of a skill set for. The only reason I really like playing these, (SSX Tricky, Super Monkey Ball, and Super Smash Bros.) is because I generally can beat my friends at them (which is kind of fun). Even then, though, I do not play them that often. My favorite type of games are the ones where the only object is to race your friends.
Games like Mario Kart are fun to me because it is a competition and a simple task that generally only needs one toggle to work on the controller. Once you move into games with lots of things to think about and a ton of controls (one toggle for direction one for movement) I can no longer control my character, remember what I’m supposed to be doing, or succeed at anything anymore. When this happens I’m not really having fun anymore…
Although I was never a big gamer myself, I grew up watching my brother play games. It was almost a way of bonding when I was little because I would sit on the couch or his bed and watch him play for hours while he attempted to explain to me what was going on. Although I really didn’t follow most of it, it made me feel like he was trying to include me. The games that he would play were so detailed and intense that it almost seemed like they would take over his life for a while. World of Warcraft required him to basically make plans around battles and meeting up with other players online to accomplish tasks at specific times. It was crazy to watch how much a video game could play into your real life plans. I remember day after day when he would have friends over to play the game with him and they would be sitting in the same room, facing opposite walls, talking to eachother through a headset. I learned from watching this that people really can mesh their virtual world with the real world to create sometime that can be the center and goal of their day.
Many young people, in fact, do incorporate video games into a large part of their day. They spend hundreds on gaming systems, games, and fancy controllers. They call people that they meet through online games their real friends, even though they will probably never meet face to face. They are embodied by this virtual world. The question that many people are asking now is, how does this affect them?
The American Psychological Association posted an article called Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions written by Craig Anderson, PhD that discusses these affects of gaming, especially when it comes to the modernly abundant and controversial violent video games. Many people currently argue that these games are not suitable for kids or even young adults to be playing because it brainwashes them into violent thoughts and therefore can lead toward more crime.
According to the article, “recent video games reward players for killing innocent bystanders, police, and prostitutes, using a wide range of weapons”. When I read this, it makes me wonder what the person designing the game was thinking when he first game up with the idea to have that in a game? I can see justification and no problem with killing a monster or a zombie or something like that… but an innocent bystander? The article then goes on to argue that “violent video games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased prosocial (helping) behavior” and that “High levels of violent video game exposure have been linked to delinquency, fighting at school and during free play periods, and violent criminal behavior (e.g., self-reported assault, robbery).” I found these facts particularly interesting because, although I have heard many arguments for the increased violence, this is the first that I have read about having less helping behavior.
Although I watched as my brother gave a major chunk of his life to gaming, I never really was aware of the costs and long term risks that the themes in these games could have had on him. I don’t think I believe that violence in games should be completely eliminated, but I do believe it should have limits. Bystanders should not be shot for points, and young kids who cannot yet determine what is real and what is not appropriate for real life should not be allowed to be exposed to them.
I had never really paid much attention to parody news of any kind until I reached my senior year in high school. That year, rather than taking a regular English 4 class, I took a class called Satire. In the course, we looked at many different forms of satirical media and literature including a couple episodes of The Daily Show. I had always grown up with my parents watching what seemed like super boring news shows on T.V. and I never knew about this alternative source of information that was so much more fun and engaging to watch. I have found that when watching this type of parody news, it always seems to me to have less of a political bias than your typical news station. Growing up with my dad watching his clearly conservative news stations made me find this completely different spin to be very refreshing.
One of my all-time favorite parody news channels, just because it makes me laugh, is done by some of the same guys that I featured in one of my first blogs this summer. This show features completely fake news stories but presents them in a way that they sound like they could actually be real. I think this show makes a good point to show us that unless we really pay attention, even things that don’t make sense can sound like truth to us just because we hear it on the news. It teaches viewers to pay more attention and think more critically while watching their station of choice.
For this week in JMC 302, we watched the two part series of The Colbert Report: Fallback Position where Colbert himself takes on a job as a farm worker in part of a campaign to take back farm labor jobs from migrant workers to Americans, it what seemed to me to be almost a test of how many people actually would take them. The woman leading the campaign, Zoe Lofgren, says that this new campaign could be a great opportunity for Americans who are out of work to become employed. She hopes that if Colbert sets a great example, maybe 2,000 people will show up. Colbert, of course, stepped right up to try it out, although he does say that the immigrant job he was hoping for was “Mexican wrestler”. He proceeds to poke fun at her and dance around the ideas that people probably wont take up these opportunities because people genuinely don’t want those jobs… except in a much more joking and difficult way for Zoe.
I appreciate how parody news shows, such as The Colbert Report, can really open up and poke fun and point out the flaws that they see in society. They are less focused on providing news and information that only one specific target audience will want to hear than stations such as FOX or KTLA. I believe that their lack of political bias and willingness to really point out what they believe are wrong decisions and actions enable them to actually spark more change than a non parody type of news station.
Documentaries, if done right, can be a million times more engaging than a film. They have the ability to keep you at the edge of your seat in a way that no movie, even if based on real life events, can because they contain raw footage and real material. I constantly refresh my Netflix page to see if any new ones have been added to the collection that spark my interests. I have learned so much about a multitude of subjects from these videos that I don’t believe I would ever have found from any other form of education or media. These films have had an effect on my life in a major way because they have the ability to enlighten and influence me as a viewer. The original “Invisible Children: uncut” opened my eyes to the issues of third world governance and child warfare and sparked me to research the topic further on my own as well as to become involved in the cause.
The Cove Trailer:
One of the most influential and meaningful documentaries that I have encountered is called “The Cove”. The first time I watched this, I was on a 12 hour Qantas flight from Auckland, New Zealand to LAX. I flipped through the options on wonderful new touch screen tv’s and stumbled across a cover with some beautiful bottle nosed dolphins on the cover so I decided to check it out and kill some of the many hours I was facing in my coach class seat. I have always loved and been incredibly interested in marine life, but this documentary opened my eyes to an underground world of the dolphin trade and mass killings that take place in a small cove in Japan. This film completely changed my view on places like Sea World and other captivity parks as I learned that marine mammals have been captured in violent and unethical ways, transferred, and sold to various resorts, aquariums, and “swim with the dolphins” type locations across the globe.
As famous diver and scientist, Jacques Cousteau, said “there is about as much educational benefit being gained in studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind only by observing prisoners held in solitary confinement”.
I was shocked to learn so many of the things that were explained in the documentary. A fishing organization in Japan started a trade with dolphinariums around the world, but these “swim with the dolphins” type of parks only take the most flawless young females. However, the capture of a dolphin is not so selective so thousands and thousands of dolphins are caught each year, only to be slaughtered if they aren’t exactly what they are looking for.
The methods used to capture these animals are immoral and cause them to endure sixfold increase in chances of death when caught and with each transfer due to stress. One of the biggest, and most violent ways that they are captured is by Drive Fishery. This uses loud high frequency noises to startle dolphins and force them into a shallow waters where those they see as perfect for display are chosen for sale and the rest are killed.
To further the destruction caused by this act, the meat from the slaughtered dolphins, for years and years (possibly continuing today), was being packaged and sold as whale meat. This meat was being served in public schools throughout the country of Japan. This created a huge issue as dolphin meat, unlike the whale meat it was being marketed as, has an incredibly high mercury level that is 1000x over the safe level for humans to consume.
Although there is a Marine Mammal Protection act in place, it is not very effective in what it does. It also puts no minimum standards on where they are kept, as the environment of captive marine mammals is severely limited. No facility can ever provide for their complex behavioral and physical needs as no manmade facility can properly simulate the ocean. Because of this, captivity actually causes them to suffer both physical and psychological damage.
Not only their captivity damaging to the animals, but it has proven harmful to humans as well. Diseases have been seen to transfer from both humans to dolphins, and the other way. 1/5 of workers have been found to have infections or respitory diseases such as tuberculosis from the dolphins. Many broken bones and other injuries have been reported from Swim With the Dolphins centers world wide. One man had to receive surgery after being struck by a dolphin at the Miami Seaquarium in 2004.
This is only some of the information that I learned from “The Cove” as well as additional research that the documentary probed me to learn. After seeing this film, I feel like my eyes have opened wider and I am now aware and empowered to help spread this knowledge and do something about it. Although I am not sure how independent the producing company was, I do believe (and have backed this up with outside research) that this documentary is honest and productive. It gives real facts and real information that helps motivate people to go online and sign a petition to end this devastating industry which has now (see image below) started to really make a change. I believe that this film is just as productive and motivational, if not more, than Edward R. Murrow’s Harvest of Shame referenced in the reading, “Reality Movies”, which uncovered the poor conditions of migrant farm workers, as it applies more directly to a larger number of people in my opinion. Lots of people go to seaworld every year or go swim with dolphins in Hawaii, and hopefully now they see it for more than just a tourist stop.
The radiolab episode that we listened to this week opened their argument in a very frustrating way to me, since the hosts blatantly displayed their love of the San Jose Sharks. I am a fan of the L.A. Kings and, contrary to the point that they brought up that suggested the Sharks biggest rival is the Anaheim Ducks, they are their biggest rival. Honestly, I really don’t know that much about hockey, nor do I really spend that much time following it, but with the dedication that my mother and brother have put to the cause, I decided to jump on the Kings bandwagon many years ago. I know wear my shirt proudly on the days that their games take place will give a sarcastic comment to anyone I pass wearing Sharks swag. I have had many people, even a superior court judge while I was on jury duty, give me supportive comments like a “Go Kings!” or something to signify that they are a part of the fandom whenever I am sporting the logo. It makes me feel a part of something that is bigger than just me as well as a connection to my city.
In all reality, I really am not that big on following any sport. I do, however, have a team that I have chosen for myself to declare myself a “fan” of. Since my brother is a big Greenbay Packers fan, I decided to latch on and support him when it comes to mocking my friends who happen to be fans of the rival Chicago Bears. When the 49ers were playing the Ravens in the last superbowl, I really didnt care about either team (and honestly most of the time its the only game I watch of the year)… but I jumped in on the 49ers train to go watch the game at the Arcata Theatre Lounge so I could be part of the culture and the near-cult that was created that day in red and gold. I absolutely think that being part of a sports fandom helps create a bond and identity.
As seen in the many riots and fights that have broken out due to riled up sports fans of teams such as the Oakland Raiders, fans can become very heated and emotional about the outcome of their team. Sports fandom really has created a sub-culture that has the power to really influence people. If you live in L.A. you either support the Clippers or the Lakers and the Dodgers or the Angels. You can’t like the both equally, even if you don’t really care about the sport. It is part of your identity as a citizen of Los Angeles.
They raidolab episode brought in a psychologist to talk about a fundamental part of life… the way the children play and the importance of the “tension” that develops between them in the course of this. Kids, even at the age of 6, have found that the tension and rules and ability to win or lose is incredibly important in order to run a game. Without this tension, games lose their value because they lose their interest. For example, checkers has been studied to a point where the best players all know how to play a “perfect game” where they will always tie. How many people want to watch a game where they tie over and over again? Not me…
I found this interesting because it brings in some support of what fans look for and what draws them into a game. They look for the tension that they see when they are watching a good game. They want to see their team have to push and to try and to overcome challenges in order to win a title. If the tension didn’t exist, even on the side of having your team just blow everyone out of the water, the games would not be exciting at all and the fan base would dwindle down to nothing.
It is amazing how much advertisements surround us in every aspect of our daily lives. You look at a bus going by painted with them, they come on in between every couple songs on your Pandora station, they interrupt your favorite shows, and they are approximately half the content of every magazine. My favorite modern form of ads are these flip-book type pictures that line the tunnels of subways so it looks like a moving video as you speed past. These advertisements are all blatant and made for you to have pushed at you and placed in front of you throughout every basic moment of your life. While these forms of advertisements are made obvious, there are others that are much more subtle. Whether we choose to look for them or not, ads are all around us and can influence us even without out knowledge.
The first type of advertising technique that was exemplified in PBS’s “The Pursuaders” that really interested me is called emotional branding. These are ads where you are trying to be drawn into the experience of the product. Delta’s Subdivision, Song, for example used this form of branding. Their commercials were targeted to draw in interests and make people want to be part of the experience their product provides, however it doesn’t even feature a plane or anything about the actual product itself. Nike is another company known for participating in this type of advertising. This commercial of theirs, for example, doesn’t even show the product that they are trying to sell throughout the commercial, but instead shows exiciting clips of fast animals and champion runners that make the viewer excited and interested to be part of the experience. These are probably my favorite type of commercials because they are exciting to watch since they are actually made to have you drawn in.
The next strategy of advertising that I really found interesting in the film “the Pursuaders” is product placement. As discussed in my earlier midterm post, youth today are much more interested and influenced by what they see in popular media than they are by the news and therefore by commercials and advertisements they would see in that environment. Product placement is huge in the film and television industry because it provides a subtle yet incredibly effective outlet for a product to be seen and publicized. For example, in the movie “I am Sam”, the main character played by Robin Williams works at a Starbucks. That movie was a huge opportunity to get the name of starbucks out in the public and then people who liked the film will be drawn to use the product. Product placement is something I always look for because I find it interesting. Everytime anyone uses a product I look to see if the brand name is present on a show or film. Even in youtube videos I notice it! The “Why You Askin All Them Questions” video that was on the top videos of the year list, for example, has a pizza hut box in the beginning that is blatantly showing the logo. Its so interesting to me how subtle and obvious it is at the same time.
The final piece of “ The Pursuaders” that really reignited with me was the topic of market research and understanding learning to understand people in order to sell them a product and know what type of advertising will work best to draw their attention. I think this is particularly interesting because in the past year I have met several people who have decided to pursue a business career, but rather than getting a business degree, they have gone into the subject of Sociology. I believe it is definiately important to understand people and their thought processes to be able to convince them of anything. “The Science of Selling” chapter was fascinating because it really was just that idea of understanding the emotional needs of the customer. This is something that is behind the scenes and not seen directly by the consumer but really can have a huge effect on the success of the ad.
Throughout the 2013 State of Race conference there is a lot of really important information that all revolves around the influence of media on our society today that is presented throughout all of the speakers’, (José Díaz-Balart, a news anchor for Telemundo, Thomas Williams, an author and hip hop scholar, Anna Deavere Smith, an actress, and Brian Yang, an actor), arguments. In our modern world, media and pop culture more important than the news, especially when you are looking at the younger generations. They all agree on the points that young minds today are always watching and absorbing what they see in the media and therefore the media can have a major effect on their development and culture.
One of the first things brought up in the video was the idea of music and how it influences cultures. Thomas Williams, mentions how criminal activity and being a thug is romanticized in today’s society. There is also a notion of ones proximity to street is often equated to black authenticity. So this means that there is the idea that one isn’t truly black if they are hitting the books and studying and trying to stay away from the criminal activity. He expands his idea by explaining that “Hip Hop is Aspiration to a very cynically materialistic view of human life and human possiblity”. By this he is explaining that the ideals that are romanticized by what he calls this “secular religion” are negative and pessimistic ways of life. As someone who loves hip hop music, I understand the point that he is making in that many songs and artists look and act in a way that shows they support the streets. Just think of 2pac’s “Thug Mansion” and “Ghetto Gospel” and the image that resinates for young listeners who feel like they relate to him. His lyrics promote living on the street and in the ghetto and, being one of the most influential and infamous black hip hop artists in history, it creates an image that that is what it means to be a real black man.
Anna brings up the reality that the ghost of white supremacy haunts everyone. Even she, as an accomplished professor of both NYU and Stanford, feels it on a regular basis. She feels so strongly about this idea that she says that we are in a moral crisis for the number of people we are “throwing in the trash” in this country.As a 100% caucasian American, I believe that no matter how much research or time I put into understanding this idea, I will never be able to fully feel or comprehend this feeling just by the nature of my own culture. When they went to do a doll study to see how blacks reacted to seeing only white dolls they wanted to make sure they covered every demographic. However, they were not able to find a rich black school which is an example of the ghost of white supremacy. Modern day hip hop brings out this notion of living in the ghetto and being thug-like. This also is an example of the ghost of white supremacy and forcing blacks to live in less desirable locations because they cannot get the jobs they need to live anywhere else. Hip hop is often seen as a way to break out of the ghetto and become a role model. Anna mentions T.I. and how he used to be seen as a typical hip hop artist but utilizing another media source, television, he is able to show that he is a family man who deeply cares about his family making his public profile more rounded and wholesome. I found it interesting that even a woman as successful as Anna still felt like she was being held down by the pressure of the ghost of white supremacy.
Brian Yang then branches off with the topic of non-whites using different sources of media to get themselves out there. He mentions that 5 out of the top 10 Youtube “entertainers” are Asian Americans. He says this is because there is such a lack of representation within our television shows they seek other ways to get known. With new media sources becoming more credible like Youtube shows/channels the internet is now leveling the playing field for non whites. He concludes his argument by stating that media is so important because it defines how you tell America who you are as a culture and, especially for Asian Americans, the internet is leveling the playing field by chipping away at stereotypes by giving them a name in comedy and sports (as well as other things) and branching away from the classic asian stereotypes like academics. I found this very interesting and agreed that in the recent years, many Asian Americans have made a big name for themselves through media. People like Sandra Oh have shown the world that they have many diverse talents that should be celebrated. I believe that media outlets, such as youtube, really are what has made this new awareness and cultural development come to life because it is an outlet that is accessible to everyone and allows a diversity of voices to be heard.
Jose Díaz-Balart then calls out the fact that in America the only TV that is shown on a mass scale is white TV. There is very little representation for blacks and even less for Asian Americans. Latinos have been able to get there channels somewhat broadcasted in the higher Latino populated areas but no where near the scale of white TV. Jose also states that latino television is a lot more news and family focused than the pop. Culture focused white TV.
As discussed in my earlier blog about pop culture, Storey has defined ideology as “a systematic body of ideas articulated by a particular group of people.” This definition, in my opinion, directly corresponds to the ideas that these speakers have presented. In the example of hip hop music, it’s content and themes as well as the look that goes along with it has articulated a system of ideas and standards for many people of the black culture. We also need to tie this into another idea of Storey’s, that ideologies found in cultural texts and practices can “present distorted images of reality” and can present a “false consciousness”. I believe that this ties directly into the arguments as well, for example, Thomas Williams commented that the ideology that the hip hop culture has created has made it seem like the more distance from the streets and the ghetto that a black man makes for himself, the less of a man he is. This is completely a distorted reality and a “false consciousness” for those who have fallen into and believe this and because of their belief have given up the strife to move up in the socio-economic world.
There is no question that values have changed and that was is socially appropriate has become more explicate and scandalous over time. The bar for what is modest and acceptable his lowered, the bar for language has lowered, and with it the bar for media has lowered. I see this on a daily basis with my campers (I am a camp counselor right now) and what they think is appropriate for 14 and 15 year old girls. They try wear the shortest shorts that their butts can hang out of, and crop top shirts where you can see their belly. They speak with excessive cursing and about explicit topics. It just makes me wonder what it would have been like to to see these girls if they were growing up 20 or 30 years ago.
TLC was once known as “the Learning Channel” and played shows that were specifically designed to teach.
“The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare along with NASA founded what was meant to be an informative and instructional network in 1972. The channel was to be distributed for free via a NASA satellite.” As the years passed since the early 70’s, the bar for television has dropped to the point where The Learning Channel has to switch is name to simply it’s acronym “TLC” before adding new shoes to replace the education ones including “Jon and Kate plus 8”, “Sister Wives”, “Little People Big World”, and of course, “Honey Boo-Boo”. I’m not going to lie, I thoroughly enjoy watching many of these shows because I think its interesting to see a glimpse of someone else’s world that is totally different than my own. I think its so interesting to watch Little People Big World and see how differently little people have to deal with life’s challenges since I have never experienced or known anyone who has experienced that life. “Sister Wives”, a show about polygamy, is interesting to watch because I can never imagine being able to share the love of my life equally with other women and it seems so interesting to me that these women are able to do that so comfortably and still embrace the other women as their family. However, I do understand that these shows are a huge drop in the level of educational value from the shows that used to be on this channel, and I don’t really have any redeeming qualities for Honey Boo Boo except that it probably makes us all feel good about ourselves in comparison.
Kathleen Parker actually wrote an article about Honey Boo Boo in the Washington Post. “Obviously, people watch because it is so awful,” she says. “You can’t believe it and so you keep tuning in. But is it right to watch? Only to the extent that it is acceptable to accompany strangers to the restroom.” In her opinion, this show has no positive effect on society, and I don’t disagree (while I did mention a couple reality shows that I do appreciate). I don’t believe that reality t.v. as a whole is something society needs to step away from because I think it can be really informative, but I do think it is something that needs to have a bar set a little higher itself.
South Park, which has an amazing way of poking fun at society, brings up the idea of “shamelessness” being a result of this lowering of the bar. They poke fun at the sadly true reality that people who are obese get special treatment and benefits for their weight. Cartman, in the episode, realizes that he his fat so he gets himself a mobility scooter and tries to reap the benefits of cutting lines and pre-boarding planes. Obesity, which is an epidemic and a trend in America is not a disease and should not be treated as such. They also move on in the episode to explain how society as further lowered its bar of what is entertainment by making fun of Honey Boo Boo. After the bar was raised up by James Cameron, all of the high members of society were knocked sense into and were found wondering why on earth they were watching something like “fat kid sketty wrestling”.
Act 1: It is so incredible to me that it is possible to hijack a radio station. Pirate Radio stations have found a way to take over the airway and channels in an effort to mass broadcast information that is unregulated by the government or a major station. They are unregulated and illegal stations that are generally aimed to broadcast either political information or just for entertainment. They started out with many offshore stations coming from ships, but now many pirate stations are being transmitted out of homes or buildings like warehouses. These stations, being unregulated, provide a really great opportunity for people to be able to speak uncensored to a wide range of people. Although they are traceable by the strength of the radio wave, it can also be fairly anonymous so it provides a great outlet for free speech. The podcast, “The American Life”‘s 100th episode touches on the fact that these radio stations can have a significant influence and widespread listeners. The podcast explains that some of these stations become big enough that “everyone in the city knew the number to call in”. However, the nature of a Pirate Radio station means that it is not well documented or advertised (besides some graffiti or something like that). Because of this, when the station would cut out from time to time, there was no way to find out what happened or where the DJs went.
Act 2) These Pirate Stations are not just something found in big cities like the one that Iggy Scam describes in his podcast “This American Life”. We have multiple pirate radio stations just in our own area alone. I know several people who have gotten to dj on a local Eureka pirate radio station from time to time. Although these stations don’t have a very wide range that they can transmit to, it is still incredible that people have found a way to play music and talk about whatever they want on the radio from just the upstairs of a grimy building near the Jail. It makes me wonder just how difficult it is to get on the radio, and therefore just how hard it is to be able to get your words and thoughts out to the public in a completely unregulated and uncensored way.
Act 3)Radio has the ability to reach out to people where many other modes of mass communication cannot. On Catalina island where I used to work in the summmer, we had no service and no T.V., but as soon as we turned on a radio we were able to tune in to all of the major stations from the Los Angeles area. Where I am currently in the White Mountains of New Hampshire has very very limited internet, no T.V., no cell phone service, and hardly any form of communication at all. However, we do have radio! It is amazing how, even though we put such a big emphasis on the use of our cell phones, we are unable to find a way to get wifi or service but we are fully capable of getting a full and clear radio signal. If pirate radio stations continue, they could grow to be able to take over stronger signals and then they would be able to bring their free speech and thoughts to people who are unable to get any other forms of communication.
Shannon Barger 