Dispatches from Media 180

GIRL TALK--

2009-08-12T18:44:00.002-04:00

Since we watched a documentary that featured Girl Talk, i knew about their free show for awhile, it's a lot of fun, i've seen them before. I'm going and thought i'd inform the rest of you if you're interested... here's a link that provides directions, date and time:

http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/h2oshows/

It starts at 2pm at McCarren park sunday aug 23rd, there's also dodge ball, basketball and of course music! and besides that one sunday they are holding free shows every sunday through the 30th of august. take advantage .. its FREE fun! =)

VIRTUAL REALITY ....does it really impact one's reality?

2009-08-12T18:14:00.002-04:00

ROOTS CAMP

I must say that this is the first time i have ever seen or heard about Second Life and i'm not shocked that there is now such a site that one can go on and be in a virtual reality aka "Second Life." I find this virtual reality to resemble a video game like atmostphere with each island resembling some what of a different bored. I know in wii for example you can create a character that looks like you and thats what it reminds me of.

Getting back to second life, the Roots camp is a good idea only for the idea that it is almost impossible for these people to meet up once a week in reality like they do in second life. This can be effective in reality if these users that are in these activist groups use what they learn from chatting in second life together in their actual reality. So in essence, yes this is a good idea to help throw around ideas from one to another and bring awareness to other people but overall the only way to have an impact on people is to protest in your REAL life.

The downfall of this is that some people may subject themselves to sitting in front of the computer to think that they are actually making a difference by protesting and supporting activists groups. But in reality it all boils down to the mere fact that if you are not doing all of these things in person it may not make any difference. I mean, who knows what the future brings, maybe this second life or virtual reality will have an impact because of groups like the Roots camp meeting online and stirring up ideas together once a week will increase effectiveness in our reality.

Final Exam Part II

2009-08-12T12:20:00.000-04:00

FINAL EXAM
Part II

Choose ONE of the following three media. Circle your choice:
Print/Written Word+Images
Radio/Sound
Television/Moving Image

For the medium you chose, answer only THREE of the following six questions.

Be sure to read the questions carefully and answer fully. Write in complete sentences with proper grammar and spelling. Do not include additional information beyond succinct and complete answers to the three questions you choose. I am looking for clarity, critical thinking and your ability to synthesize information from our course. As a guideline, two short paragraphs should be adequate to answer each question.

Circle the three questions you will answer, and write your answers on a separate sheet of paper. Please write clearly. Do not forget to write your name and number the questions you are answering. You may use your own notes during this part of the exam, but may not have out the textbook or other readings.

1) Describe one example of a technological development in this medium that affected its distribution. How did this development define or change how people access this medium?

2) Describe one major anxiety that arose with the growth of this medium. Describe one new anxiety that has arisen with the distribution of this medium on the Internet.

3) Choose an industry that produces mass media in this medium (for example, you might choose the newspaper industry if you are writing about print). Describe one example of how media consolidation has affected this industry. Describe one example of how distribution of this medium on the Internet has affected this industry.

4) Describe one way that mass media producers in this medium delivered information before the Internet. Describe one way that mass media producers deliver information using the Internet today. How do you think that this newer method of distribution has altered the way people consume information?

5) Describe one way that everyday citizens (who are not necessarily employed by media companies or endowed with big financial backing) were able to participate in this medium before the Internet. Describe one example of how everyday citizens can use the Internet to participate in this medium today. Do you think that an everyday citizen’s voice has more or less influence today? Why?

6) Briefly describe one example of this medium that we listened to, looked at or watched in class. What about this example did you find interesting and why? What does it demonstrate about the relationship between media and culture or society?

what works?

2009-08-12T08:21:00.002-04:00

While taking a second look at Second Life i notice a few thing i didnt before. The virtual world of Second Life seems very much as a video game though it states its not. However, it reminds me of a game when you beat it and theres nothing left to do but travel around. even though, there is over 6 million residents in Second life which still makes it a pretty big place, the size of a "city". Second Life is defently a place where to be creative and interact with other people but is it a good place to protest? I decided to take another look at camp Dafur, I thought this political activism was the most effective. The whole place is a duplicate of a refugee camp which hepos to stand out the cause more. I liked this activist site because as the narrirtor stated its a window to a subject few people know about like myself. Seeing all these pictures of what is going on in these camps and how people are suffering really makes you thik twice and want to take a further deepth into the issue. However personaly i would go to a wesite to find more about this issue in Darfur. Though Second life openned me up to it through camp Darfur, it seems like to much work to try to find more about the cause. I would have to open up an account, create an advitar, and then learn how to use it. At this point i could have been at several websites and learned more about the crises in Dafur. I do like the concept though it allows people to help in there own cretive way. I think it can help because many people are connceted to the virtual world some live in it so much they dont get a chance interact with the outside world, like to turn on the tv and watch the news. So a program like this would help to expose people to political activism. Now the question is would it help towards making a difference? It would all depend on people getting together and wanting to take the fight from the virtual world to the real world. Im sure with the big community that second Life has it does. Now im not big on activism so i cant say of one that is effective or be able to compare the effectiveness between one in the virtual world or in the real world. I can account for a protest i have notice and that is at Hunter college dealing with the school taking away the day care program. now I can't say how the protest is going but I do know while signing a form for the cause i did see lots and lots of signature, which shows that their point is reaching across to plently of people.

NO CALLING FOR HELP, PIRATES!

2009-08-11T20:14:00.000-04:00

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitter_is_not_an_emergency_broadcast_system.php

Final Exam note

2009-08-11T18:09:00.001-04:00

Students,

As stated in class today, Advertising will NOT be covered on your final exam. I will not include terms or concepts from the advertising chapter or the video Killing Us Softly 3, as we did not get to adequately cover those in class.

Tomorrow's topic, copyright, will be covered. The Lessig reading for tomorrow and the class notes are already online for you to study. In addition to discussion, we will be watching part of a documentary tomorrow in class that should help us process some of his ideas.

I will pass out the short answer portion of the test tomorrow in class so that we all receive it at the same time. If you are not in class tomorrow for any reason, you should email me so I can get you the short answer portion as soon as possible. For this portion of the test, you will be allowed to prepare, bring and use your own notes. You will not be allowed to have out any readings, including the textbook.

As you will not be able to have any notes out during Part I, we will take a break between the two parts.

Best,
Sarah Wright

Virtual Activism

2009-08-11T00:31:00.002-04:00

What is “A Better World In Second life”? A brief explanation of “A second life” would be, it is a digital world completely built and owned by its residents. Running on a distributed grid of over 1000 machines, Second Life allows residents to collaboratively create everything from their own bodies, structures, and vehicles to social groups, games, and experiences. It is a machinima documentary about how real-world activists are using Second Life as a platform for social and political activism.

The genocide in Darfur is the destruction of an entire race in Africa for no tangible reason, very much like the holocaust. What interests me about this specific activist project is that they have discussion groups regarding this horrible situation and Second Life members join this group via the program daily in a place called Better World Island. I believe that this digital world can and will affect the non – virtual world because the Internet is one of the major tools of communicating with other people, and advertising. Using this digital world, people from all over the country, even the globe, can correspond with each-other regarding this particular project or many others and act upon their beliefs and allow the world to hear their opinion.

Another activist project which i am familiar with is AIPEC. AIPEC is an organization that that lobbies for American/Israel relationships. In my opinion, protesting or spreading the word on college campus' is one of the best ways to get a message across and inform the public accordingly. Targeting the college age is the most effective because they are the most susceptible to different view points and objectives…they’re still trying to figure things out and their minds are sponges when it comes down to psychographics.

Abraham Dwek

Final Exam Study Guide

2009-08-10T20:14:00.002-04:00

I have now posted the Final Exam Study Guide on Blackboard.

email from Prof. Wright 8/10

2009-08-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Students,

For Tomorrow
I forgot to remind you all to bring an ad that features a woman to class tomorrow/Tuesday. We will be using them for an in-class exercise. These may be any print ad; you can use ads magazines or from the internet if you print them. If you can, bring more than one.

Also do not forget to comment on one of your classmates posts. I will read and grade your posts tomorrow afternoon.

This week's schedule:
I apologize for my lateness today. Thank you very much for waiting. Of course, no one will be marked late or absent for today's class. We did get through a large part of the CONVERGENCE material and will finish up tomorrow before we do Advertising. Wednesday will cover Lessig reading and copyright, including the documentary on Girltalk & Remix Culture.

Notes on the final:
I will send out the study guide for the final tonight and will also post the Internet 3/Convergence class notes (for today and tomorrow) on Black Board in case you wish to use them to study. The second half of Chapter 10 on the Internet will be covered on your final (p. 337-355). We covered the first half of that chapter on Quiz #2.

In terms of readings/preparing for the exam, prioritize Boyd, Jenkins and Lessig over Advertising. As stated earlier, we are cutting out the PR Chapter because of time constraints.

Best,
Sarah Wright

Notes about TV & Minorities Responses

2009-08-10T16:07:00.003-04:00

Hi, Students:

We're probably not going to get to talk about your TV and minorities posts, but there were great discussions on the blog and I added comments to several of them.

I wanted to point out two major themes that came up:

1) the question of humor
--for example in shows like THE FAMILY GUY and even live action shows that are using stereotypes for humor
--How do we understand those shows? Are they the same phenomenon as minstrelsy (racism as entertainment)? Is something different about the cultural climate today?

2) questions of segregation / assimilation / tokenism / characters representing their minority group
--for example Charlie, Ross's black girlfriend, on the all-white show FRIENDS
--What does it mean for a show like FRIENDS to introduce a character like Charlie without addressing the social segregation represented on the show? Is it Utopian (creating images of a perfect world in the hopes of manifesting it)? Or does it harmfully mask the very social divides the show embodies?
-- It is very hard to read Chalie without asking how "black" or "white" is she (which necessarily relies on stereotypes). Why is that? What about the way this character is handled essentializes her identity?

As you continue as media consumers, producers and/or scholars, keep these questions in mind and continue looking for evolving examples of how minorities and stereotypes are represented in media. Is it the same old stereotypes in new costumes or are there new paradigms?

Videos from Internet 3/Convergence

2009-08-10T15:24:00.004-04:00

From Monday:
Tim Berners-Lee on the Semantic Web:

Intriguing video on Facebook, privacy & media ownership (not shown in class):

For Tuesday:
Current/Twitter Debate Hack:
Part 1:
http://current.com/items/89403557_hack-the-debate-iii-part-1-of-3.htm
Part 2:

Part 3:
http://current.com/items/89403571_hack-the-debate-iii-part-3-of-3.htm

Second Life

2009-08-10T13:05:00.006-04:00

There were moments throughout Josh Levy's machinima documentary on Second Life that intrigued me, while there were other moments that I felt were absolutely absurd. The thought of Second Life and social and political activism never really crossed my mind before, and the documentary showcased some fantastic and wondrous ideas about how and where Second Life can go in the future. It blew my mind away to learn that our professor attended a conference in Second Life that she was unable to attend in real life. Situations like that are how I feel Second Life can be beneficial. It is definitely foreseeable that when if you are too ill to attend class (or when Swine Flu has prevented everyone from leaving their houses) we can instead attend in Second Life. The obvious downside to that though is just the sheer disconnect from reality, similar to all of the online dating sites. Second Life and virtual reality can never replace that special human intimacy and interaction that we have with one another. I love that people are doing really cool things in Second Life, such as the Peace and Justice Center which I found fascinating. But I just wonder about all that time and energy placed into setting it up and putting it all together. Wouldn't that time have been better spent building such a center in real life? I know that Second Life is a virtual reality world where you can be a 10 foot beautiful winged-angel with 4 arms and a sword and such places like The Peace and Justice Center are possible, but why can't it be possible in REAL LIFE. I think that the center is a great idea and obviously funding and building such a center in real life would come with a lot of setbacks, it is at least a great start. Now although I found this aspect of Second Life intriguing, I was not amused by the VIRTUAL MARCH ON CAPITAL HILL. What good can come from having your avatar dancing and marching and holding up signs in VIRTUAL REALITY?? Unless your in Iceland and can't physically attend said march, you have no excuse. It's just another sign of disconnect from reality. Unless your discussing issues with other avatars and trying to help bring these issues into focus in REAL LIFE, this virtual march seemed pointless to me. Spending hours on your computer is not going to bring focus to an issue. You're better off helping others out in REAL LIFE. As another blogger on this site said, you have to go and seek out these places in Second Life. Now I am getting a tad bit too cynical in my view on Second Life just because it doesn't really do anything for me. That being said, it actually has the potential for opening up the eyes to a lot of people. The goal is to get people to transition from virtual life to real life in their social and political activism. I can't speak for everyone in how Second Life affects them. Maybe going to this virtual march is a stepping stone for actually doing it in real life, but being the cynic that I am, I am still cautious and skeptical of the positive outcomes of Second Life. Especially with how many people actually use Second Life for virtual protests and building peace centers. I'm excited for the potential of this new technology, but I'm also scared shitless because as I've been saying for years, people are just going to plug themselves into computers one day, similar to The Matrix, and I feel like this new movie coming out in September explains it perfectly. http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/surrogates/

I'm Going to Save the World, Just Not the Real World

2009-08-10T09:51:00.002-04:00

I’m Going to Save the World, Just Not the Real World

By Roxy Haji

After watching A Better World In Second Life, I am surprisingly and uncomfortably confused. I don’t know whether to be repulsed by Second Life or intrigued. I must say that my gut is going with the former, but I hate to disregard altogether the latter.

One of the “activist” projects in Second Life deals with the Darfur crisis. Obviously, since I put quotations around the word activist, I am a bit cynical about just how active the projects are in making a difference in the world. Do I think avatars in cyber space riding on whales can affect change in the real world? Well, my first inclination is to say “Uh, no, duh.” However, after contemplating the possibility that the make believe can affect reality, I am now more inclined to dial down the cynicism and answer “Well, maybe.”

Life is not black and white. Not everybody is affected by the same stimuli in the exact same way. We are not robots, yet. For now, we are still human beings with different mental and emotional processes. One person might be exposed to the virtual Darfur and end up only chatting with other virtual beings while climbing coral reefs or dancing on a giant squid (or, since Sudan is not in the ocean, ride on a lizard). This person might just want to play around. Or worse, this person might think they’re actually making a difference. But the bottom line is that they are climbing coral reefs and dancing on squids (or riding lizards); not taking any concrete action toward saving Darfur. Another person, however, might be exposed to the virtual world of Darfur and be inspired to do something once he or she logs off, or whatever, of Second Life. Once back in the real world, he or she might donate money to the Save Darfur fund or picket Washington to take more action or actually travel to Sudan. Without Second Life, this particular person may not have thought about engaging in a conflict thousands of miles away from his Cleveland, Ohio, or wherever else, computer desk.

It’s too simple to say that the activist projects in Second Life can or cannot affect change, just like it’s too simple to say that a film depicting the horrors of the meat industry will make everyone who watches it a vegetarian. Some, after watching the film, will never touch another hamburger for the rest of their life; others will be in a line at McDonalds within five minutes of the end credits. Some Second Life users will use the program to further real world action. Others will use the program to play.

I believe the best way to be an activist is to already have a passionate stance on something, and then to actively pursue it. And by pursuing it, I don’t mean as HotGuy123 in a make believe world. I mean as John Smith on Planet Earth. Maybe HotGuy123 finds inspiration from his make believe world, but then he returns to being John Smith, a real human being who can really do things. Perhaps John Smith is worried about how the poor in Los Angeles, California have trouble getting legal advice. He can join Justice Corps, an affiliate of AmeriCorps, and donate his time to helping these people in need with their legal woes. Unfortunately, for all those who might be interested in Justice Corps, it does not operate in New York. Apparently, it is only in Los Angeles. But AmeriCorps is another example of an activist program that an individual can volunteer for and actively make a difference through. Activism is for real people. And inspiration for activism can come in all forms.

Virtual Darfur

2009-08-10T09:28:00.001-04:00

Is second life effective as a means of activism?

The second life video on camp Darfur brought up poignant questions on the role of virtual worlds in real life. without giving opinions, it raised questions about the effectivenes of online activism and the possibility of online activism actually distracting from real-life problems. I do not believe that virtual activism is an effective means of change for a few reasons. The first being that second life does not reach enough people and does not involve enough people to even begin to make an impact. Second, even if second life was more broad reaching, this information is already all over the internet and the news. The people that are interested in human rights issues and others who are seeking information already have numerous other sources available with even more information and photographs than second life has. third, Second life is too time consuming for your average citizen to get news and information from. One must develop an avatar, log in, earn "linden dollars", build virtual property, find and wait for the right people to talk with, navigate the world, do mundane life activities, etc. All in all second life seems very involving and most people dont have time in the day to explore this world so it really does not reach out to the general public but only a small niche of internet users. It is more of a social game not a news source and certainly not a practical way to learn about current events. Fourth, sitting in front of a computer for several hundred hours may give somone a false sense of philanthropy and may replace someone's real life efforts that could bring an actual change.

A better way to encourage change is to participate in or donate to organizations such as engineering without borders, doctors without borders, peace corps, red cross, and other aid organizations such as these. A person wanting less involvement could even send out an email to friends informing them of the atrocities in Darfur or post links on sites like facebook.

Virtual Activism

2009-08-10T08:51:00.001-04:00

I found the concept of A better world in Second Life to be very interesting. Personally, I do not feel that these activist projects can effect change- I think that they are a good way to maybe spread the word but as for it effecting people I am not so sure. Those who are involved in these second life rallies may feel that it effects change but there are so many people who are not accessing Second Life that I really cant see effecting change in the masses. In my opinion Second Life is a social tool that has gone too far and one that disconnects people from the real world. I think that they only way to effect change is to be proactive- I would think that even talking to one person a day about your cause would have more of an effect than having a rally outside a Virtual Capital Hill jumping up and down and waving around posters- while sitting on your butt in front of the computer screen.

I really liked the concept of the Peace and Justice Center- I like the idea that people can go to one place and find others who may have gone through the same thing as they did and that this can possibly lead to some closure of the wounds through sharing, or just a support system. I also think the fact that Second Life allows people to feel like they are achieving something in life that they could not achieve otherwise. While I think these people should push harder to accomplish their goals in their real life sometimes it is easier for an individual to feel comfortable when it is not their face and voice that goes with the action and it allows more people to be heard.

Second Life VS the Voice of Harsh Reality

2009-08-10T08:39:00.003-04:00

The first words that come to mind when watching avatars march on a computer-generated Capital Hill are: How Futile. A Better World In Second Life explores second life activism and the people who believe this serves as a method of helping a cause. Basically, these people engage in activities that are meant to illuminate and bring real world aid to a specific social or international problem, for example the Darfur genocide. The anti-war protest visited was taking place on “Capitol Hill” with 120 avatars in attendance. Each avatar had a typical anti-war slogan written across a virtual sign and engaged in dialogue amongst themselves or journalists. Now here’s a point, how is this reaching the real world? Frankly it’s not. Only the 120 people involved experienced the direct effect and they are all like-minded so what you have is preaching to a non-existent choir. If one is so motivated to take on a protest, get off the computer and re-enter reality as opposed to evading it in pixels. The response, “Aren’t these people reacting to reality? Clearly these are actual social problems, so how can one say that they are evading it?” This is a lack of productivity where an illusion becomes existence - being “productive” in a fake world does NOT translate into real world activism. You cannot give sanction to these activities because they seem to be socially responsible. I will concede that at least the Roots Camp organization is an actual group where they are better able to communicate in second life and their activities are not limited to that sphere. Of course dancing avatars typing out “Humanity before politics” bares no consequence in the real world. If you actually cared about humanity, you would do this in the human world and forget the digital. This “protest” on “Capitol Hill” is an insult to every person who ever had the fortitude to avidly stand up for their beliefs, despite the potential for physical harm. The National Guard cannot fire on or beat avatars.
An activism project that I’m closely related to is not only run by a media company, but is using media to combat a serious problem in our society. Guns 4 Cameras [learn more] is a non-profit division of Eye On It, a media company that does film, television and music videos. The organization was created by the company’s chairman Hezues R’ after a first hand experience with gun violence and his ambition to eradicate these senseless crimes. Guns 4 Cameras works to decrease youth gun violence in urban communities. This activist group is looking to do after school film projects to teach kids how to use cameras and create their own media. They are heavily involved in community outreach to both educate youths and proactively address the problem. They are not in front of a computer screen simulating gun violence to show the havoc it creates in communities and the dire consequences within families. There can be no comparison between second life activism and Guns 4 Cameras. If you do not see the difference use your rational judgment and answer the question: Do I want to see gun taken out of a child’s hand or a computer-generated firearm removed from a place that exists only on the internet?

Digitally Progressive: RootsCamp in Second Life

2009-08-10T08:21:00.005-04:00

RootsCamp is an organization that coordinates activities to promote and further progressive change. This group has entities in both real life and the virtual world, Second Life. While looking at Josh Levy’s machinima documentary on social activism in Second Life, I was able to see several of the ways in which the Second Life extension of RootsCamp operated. The details shown in A Better World in Second Life? made me wonder to what extent this particular virtual activist group accomplishes social change in reality.

The particular group interested me the most partly because of its broad-reaching ideas. As a progressive group, it can serve to further the ideas of many more niche organizations, as well as garner a large audience for itself. One thing that captured me greatly about this group as well was one of their forms of virtual activism: a protest on Capitol Hill in Second Life. At first, this type of activism seems like a great idea. It’s a spot that is famous in real life, and so should probably have a good amount of visitors in Second Life on a regular basis; it’s also much easier for protestors from around the country to reach this location than in real life. However, when images of the protest were shown, I immediately began to question how much activism was actually talking place. The area seemed to be filled with only protestors; it was as if they were all just preaching to the choir. Also, the “dancing” that users had their avatars doing definitely took away from the seriousness of the event. It was mentioned, though, that protestors had the opportunity to speak with journalists, a great opportunity indeed. And even if most, or all, or those journalists were not professionals, but home bloggers, it is still a great way to spread the word. Still, it seems like a minimal amount of promotion for the amount of time spent.

RootsCamp used Second Life in other ways as well. Though not as immediately striking as the idea of a march on Capitol Hill, these activities actually seem like they would have a greater potential for effecting change. Levy was taken to a site by RootsCamp organizer Ruby Sinreich (avatar Ruby Glitter), where signs created by protestors were put on display. It was a very interesting spectacle, and brought up ideas of the ability to have such work reach many eyes without being published in a popular publication. What was most important to me about this form of activism was its permanence; even after protesters dissipated, these signs would remain, gathered and tall, for any passers-by to see, and contemplate. RootsCamp’s other interesting activity was their meetings. Members meet once a week in Second Life, bringing people from around the country to one place. The potential for this seems great; through this type of meeting, activities could be coordinated in real life across the country. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the meeting that Levy attended as his avatar was low in attendance.

Second Life provides great opportunities for networking and building an audience around a cause. There are many ways to take advantage of this opportunity, and hold activist events both within real life and Second Life. However, activists should remember that their goals ultimately must manifest in real life; the time spent on activism in Second Life should be used in the most effective ways possible to bring about change in real life. At the end of the day, it’s less about where activism takes place, and more about how many people observe it. Wherever it is observed, the issues will ultimately make their way back to real life eventually. However, it seems that RootsCamp has a way to go in growing and using its presence in Second Life to get their activities seen and their words heard.

Activism on Second Life + My Pick For The Most Effective Form of Activism

2009-08-10T03:21:00.004-04:00

The first segment of the documentary about Second Life featured an virtual anti-war protest that Ruby Glitter helped organize. This protest involved many avatars coming together in front of a virtual Capitol Hill and exchanging their dissatisfactions with each other. Ruby Glitter is later shown having a meeting with a group of like-minded avatars on Progressive Island to do more planning and to have more in depth discussions on the topics that were or will be focused on during this and future protests.

What interests me about Ruby Sinreich's project is that she, and people like her, allow one to become an activist from their bedroom. No longer is it necessary to go to Union Square with a megaphone to make your voice heard. It is this level of convenience that I find the most interesting about her project.

While this type of activism does provide a medium for like-minded people to come together and exchange ideas and anxieties, it has thus far not proven to be very effective as far as making an impact on the real world. As somebody brought up in class (my apologies for forgetting who it was), organizing protests even in the real world usually makes very little impact, if any at all. To be fair, I do agree with the person who made the Darfur refugee camp replicas on Second Life that virtual activism does help people become more informed and more involved (which is also very important), but the question asked in this assignment deals with how much real-life impact virtual activism has and the answer is still very little.

In my opinion, the most effective and time-proven for of activism is martyrdom. Traditionally and even today, dying for what you believe in (in as public a manner as possible, of course) is usually the best way to get your message across. I am by no means advocating that anybody do this and I will not necessarily ever go to such lengths myself, but I do feel that this is the most effective form of activism that has ever existed. While people protesting in front of the Capitol building (whether in real life or on Second Life) are very often ignored by politicians and major news networks, terrorists who kill themselves and take others with them usually get exactly what they want from their form of "activism": mass panic and even a 'War on Terror' dedicated especially to them, all while winning the hearts and minds of their target audience. While it is very unfortunate, martyrdom definitely wins in terms of actual results.

virtual life

2009-08-10T03:17:00.000-04:00

About virtual world’s discussion, we use second life on line game as an example. When second life was developed, a decision was made to use primitives, because they are lighter weight. But with respect to collaborative work and saying virtual worlds is a bad substitute for real life – I’m not sure I agree. With the introduction of voice, with shared viewing of objects, collaboration in these environments is extremely powerful. We can say that it was more human then much of what we experienced in the day light realm of live beings. You can hang out with different friends, talking, drinking. It’s wired if you don’t feel you are one of them right now. Even a kid under 15 is very familiar with these worlds, it’s usual for them to sample the thoughts to 20-30s people. As the same time, there are great place to exhibit your thoughts and experience, Such as the charity and memory in the video. They are even link the second life to the real one by using the virtual space the present the idea to people online, which is harder to show for a long time in the real realm and breaks the Geographical limitations to the whole world. So the second life is not just a game or says a bored person who is setting at the computer and tries to find some fun. It actually showing something positive to the world.

Second Life--Gave it a TRY!!!!

2009-08-09T22:41:00.002-04:00

So before I held any real judgement towards the program "Second Life", I thought I should really give it a try. I googled some information about "Second Life" just to be more informed on what it was about. I finally created a Second Life name, and they asked for my Real name. I entered the Second Life world, in which after a few minutes or walking around and occasionally flying, I was confused as to what to do, the tutorial did not help either.

Putting that on hold, I went back and viewed the videos we saw in class and I agree there are some things which are beneficial to Second Life and other things that are useless. I think for the sake of protests, 9/11 remembrance, and other awareness using Second Life would be useful. However as far as just using it to hang out and socialize I don't see the need for it except prohibiting people for meeting others in Real Life. It is hindering people social skills.

I am a firm believer that using Second Life for school purposes would be a great thing. Online classes are ideal to begin with but adding the aspect of Second Life would allow students to be able to have the idea of a classroom without actually being there. Amazing if you ask me!!!

http://secondlifegrid.net/slfe/education-use-virtual-world

After an hour of using or trying to use Second Life, I deleted my account since I had no real use nor joy to use the program. Maybe one day I will if Hunter professor decide to use "Second Life" for online classes, till then I see no need except awareness why people should use "Second Life."

Camp Darfur

2009-08-09T22:04:00.002-04:00

As I saw Josh Levy's 'Camp Darfur' segment, it really brought another light into my thinking. Honestly, when I first saw these clips in class, I really thought this whole 2nd Life thing was a joke and a waste of time. I still somewhat feel the same about it; however, I was humbled on how much the people cared for this cause to spend so much time and effort into making those things happen because I am here doing nothing and just judging them (like IN KENZO) for doing such things.

I do not know if I will now join activist groups to help this cause, persay, but it definitely was very informational where I learned a whole lot even if it was through the eyes & interpretations of Josh Levy. So I cannot say that it will induce physical change & action right away. However, it can totally bring about a emotional & spiritual movement to keep the victims, like in Darfur, in our prayers, which could definitely cajole into radical change in the long-run.

I believe for activist groups to be affective, they must be done in the virtual world where everyone can see and hear, first hand, on what is being said. One example, which I want mention that I do not follow, is the Gay Community. They protested their beliefs out in the open for everyone to hear. They held on to what they believed and as a result, the view of homosexuality has become less negative to the general public. It was because of their zeal and belief of having their voice heard that coming up to this point was even possible. The homosexual view is not something I agree with; However, I do have tremendous respect and love for them, for we are all brothers and sisters from one Creator to love one another as we love Him.

Winged Faeries for Action

2009-08-09T20:41:00.004-04:00

“It’s possible that Second Life builds like this actually detract from activism by offering participants a fake sense of social engagement,” Josh Levy reflects as his avatar leaves Camp Darfur, a simulated protest site within Second Life replete with graphic photographs, RSS news feeds, and statistics on the genocide being committed in Sudan. “But it’s also possible,” he continues, “that by seeing images we’ve never seen before and engaging with each other in new ways, we can be moved by the unique qualities of Second Life to make a difference in real life.” Levy’s commentary on this is insightful, but in relegating his scope to the world of Second Life he neglects the problems of activism at large.

To consider the effectiveness of activism in Second Life, we first must consider the intent of activism as a whole. I have no particular expertise on this subject, but what strikes me about most projects labeled “activism” is their paradox: their professed goal is to effect a specific change; however, they rarely achieve this in any direct, immediate way. So, why do people continue to trample the Central Park grass shouting and carrying signs? Mostly, I think it’s about community and consciousness. So let’s discuss activism in Second Life from this perspective.

Human beings, as we like to say, are social animals. When I went with some friends to Central Park (in real life-2002) and walked around with thousands of people in protest of the imminent invasion of Iraq, the effect on those in government was not as desired. I’m not sure if we expected it to be as desired. It is the first and last time I’ve ever been to a large, organized protest. I didn’t know much about the situation or the politics involved. Here’s why I went: my friends were going. And, in general it seemed to be about social engagement. People were collecting information, distributing information, looking at photos, and talking to each other.

This model doesn’t seem so much different from the one represented by Camp Darfur in Second Life. One of the challenges of activism is to raise consciousness in people who are otherwise not conscious of a problem. To do this, activists must bring the information to the places people live – the places they like to spend their time. One of our prejudices against Second Life seem to be that it offers an inauthentic reality, but whether we like it or not, a lot of people spend a lot of time there. This makes it a reasonable place to expend energy distributing information. People who care will consume the information; people who don’t care won’t. Just like in the real world.

In this sense, Second Life is a better option than a demonstration in Central Park. A rally is an artificial event, constructed for only one purpose, in place people might not otherwise spend much time (how often, e.g., do you ordinarily visit Central Park?). The Second Life build is integrated into a place where people are already hanging out. Your avatar can just fly on over. As to Ethan Zuckerman, the human rights activist who charges that a better option would be to make a website than a 3-D space, he’s right. But this problem isn’t specific to Second Life. Frankly, marchers on Capitol Hill and in Central Park would be better off making a website or donating money or donating more constructive time than shouting and marching. The same can be said for activist demonstrations across the spectrum. But people need to share information socially.

For example, no one event of the Civil Rights movement was responsible for its success in improving conditions for minorities in America. And, of course, that success is not unqualified. But that’s how these thing work. Information is handed down, social gatherings and small acts of defiance contribute to the collective consciousness, and slowly, change becomes impossible to deny. If that information needs to be handed down in a 3-D space, so be it. That space is a reality of our current world. The point is that, without the information being available in Second Life, many Second Life escapists would not be apprised of conditions in Darfur. The point is that it’s better for the weird multi-colored faerie lady to share information in Second Life than not to share it at all.

Virtual Activism- Why Not?

2009-08-09T20:38:00.004-04:00

According to a dictionary definition, activism is "the use of direct, often confrontational action, such as a demonstration or strike, in opposition to or support of a cause". And virtual activism is not an exception of activism. When people have a strong opinion towards a particular matter, they have to show in public. And they want more and more people to notice and think of the movement they are trying to move. Chances to be seen will be better if activists take a place in many places. This doesn't matter where it takes place. This can be online, at school, in front of White House, it is very important to be noticeable.

The activist project I chose is Center for Water Studies, and this organization is a group of people who are interested in keeping water clean. Following one of the avatar from this group will take you to many places to see nature like deep into the ocean, and big lakes. The purpose is to make people curious about water, and they want to give us opportunity to be interested in nature.

Many people think we destroy nature since there are many people who do not care about the nature. So, the point is that they want more and more people to know nature is great, and making water dirty kills those cute animals! So, those people are try to provoke our consciousness. People sometimes forget that we are relying on water, so they always want to remind people. Just like we put sticky notes everywhere on the fridge, on agenda, set the alarm with cellphone in order not to forget something important.

These days more and more people use social networking sites such as My Space and Facebook. And those are not too far away from Second Life. Even though the biggest difference is that we know our friends most of the time on social networking sites, but it is easy to create our characters which differ from the real life. I sometimes the image I have towards a friend is different in Facebook. They become more friendly. They also can make communities like groups of fans and they can share their opinion with somebody else, and other can agree with that.

I do not know too many people who do Second Life, but if there are enough people involved, it can affect real world. Just like social networking sites have a big impact on our life now, but nobody could have imagined 10 years ago.

Virtual Activism - Waste of time?

2009-08-09T14:32:00.001-04:00

Activism in many ways helps provide society with a deeper view of reality. The causes that people support today tend to have a goal, which usually changes a portion of society for the better. People most of the time support causes through first-hand activism; however, a new type of activism is arising through virtual reality. Is this new form of activism more effective or less effective?

The project that I am going to discuss is the “Anti-War Protest and RootsCamp” project. This project was about a real life organization named RootsCamp, who decided to take their protest against the war to the virtual world. This project serves the same purpose of a real life protest, which is to get more supporters; a statement from one of the characters in the video displays: “Invite others. Keep the movement strong.” The project also had a lot of other issues which involved George Bush, fascism, and generally war. This project interests me because I find it controversial as to whether these virtual war protests have any effect in reality at all. I can sort of understand that in reality it may be hard to reach protestors of war in the country in which the war is taking place; and the only way to reach them is through a virtual world; however, in my opinion trying to gain supporters from a person’s own country through a virtual world seems sort of pointless.

Here’s an example of why I think it is pointless. In the virtual world, where there are many users who are cut off from their real lives, with the substitution of their virtual lives, do show a promising number of users in which a group can gain support because it was pointed out in one of the videos that the number of users did increase drastically; however, even if an organization does gain the support of many users, how many of those users will actually disconnect themselves from the virtual world to actually join the same organization in the real world because we all know that supporting an organization in a fake world has no meaning due to the fact that politicians probably don’t use Second Life and/or don’t have the time to use Second Life because of their priorities in their real lives.

An organization in the real world named the Breast Cancer Foundation proves to be effective in gaining support because Breast Cancer can occur in about half of the population of this world (I don’t know the ratio of men to women in the world). However, my point is that if the Breast Cancer Foundation was to use Second Life or any other virtual world to gain supporters, it would be a waste of time, because spending time in the virtual world takes away from the real world; if the supporters are willing to spend more time in a virtual world, they are obviously willing to spend less time in the real world where the support really has an effect because like I stated earlier, how many of the supporters will actually leave the virtual world to spend more time in the real world’s organization.

Second Life Activisism: Does it Translate to Real Life?

2009-08-09T14:22:00.003-04:00

After viewing the Levjoy videos on activisism in the virtual world "Second Life" I started a conversation with my husband on activisism and what constitutes real activisism. Our conclusion was "if what you do effects real changes in your world, then you have activisism".

Although I was intrigued by the Peace and Justice Center, a Second Life Build that focuses on both memorials for those who have passed because of war and/or tragedies (a nephew died on 9/11/2001) and information on the situation in Iraq (including emails from Iraqi civilians on daily life in Iraq and Baghdad), I was struck by how few people seemed to be there, and how little real information was available for another person visiting the center to get involved back in their real world.

None of the projects in the video really grabbed me as far as being interesting enough for me to want to know more. My husband and I continued our conversation while I re-watched the videos, and we came up with an idea based off of the style of the Peace and Justice Center.

My passion is breast cancer awareness. It runs in the family (grandmother, aunt, mother) and my mother-in-law has also had breast cancer. Too many others that I know have had it. A woman I work with lost a cousin to the disease this year because she didn't get diagnosed early enough.

What if I could build something in Second Life that would allow others to post pictures, videos, audio and emails from those they know who have gone through or are going through treatments for breast cancer? What if I could link into other places on the web that give places to donate real time and money in people's own real life communities to breast cancer awareness? There could be video on "how to check for breast cancer"; there could be links to cancer centers in various locations so that people could get more medical information. There could be links to real world gatherings like the "Run for Awareness" that happens in Central Park in the spring.

If you can take the virtual world and link it back to real world doing, then you have real activisism. What is happening in Second Life now is a start, but it isn't translating into real world change just yet. Perhaps, as people begin to link sites together, and more people around the world get both access and web-savvy, there can be real changes made to the world we have to live in.

2009-08-09T14:20:00.001-04:00

Within this virtual world, one can make a digital 3D character and maintain a lifestyle of their discretion. During the video in class, we saw Josh Levy come to an anti-war protest at a virtual Capital Hill. In 2^nd Life, this activist project interested me because of the possibilities of what can be created through the imagination. As he talks to Roots Campers, Ruby and Drew, he finds how places like in Progressive Island, groups can meet and chat through 2^nd Life in an embodied manner and discuss important issues. I think personal, yet virtual, means of communication like these can greatly affect the change in non-virtual life. Through these secondary life characters, one can convey the ideas of what could or should happen in reality. If a person was to venture further into the life of these virtual beings, it is possible that one can convey a story through the 1^st person. If a film was produced with virtual characters, about the life of college student, one can put connect the digital to that which could take place in reality. In 50 Cent’s “My Buddy” video, the idea of 2^nd life is also portrayed. Through the music and the virtual characters of G-Unit, an aspect of their “reality” is conveyed. I think that this idea can be used in a various ways to stimulate a change within entertainment, as well as the non-virtual world.

50 Cent's "My Buddy" Official Music Video

Time To Unplug?

2009-08-09T14:00:00.006-04:00

Second Life, an internet phenomenon that came to my attention at the beginning of our Media 180 course, is without a doubt an interesting, albeit slightly disarming, phenomena.

Being well aware that there are millions upon millions of people across the world who invest a substantial amount of their time in the virtual world, whether that be in video games, alternate realities such as Second Life, or simply their involvement with the internet, it seems a valid concern to evaluate the effects of these increasingly time consuming activities.

In Second Life, the idea of 'virtual activism' is far reaching. Users and real life charities alike have created their own sections or areas to provide information on topics as far ranging as environmental sustainability to the crisis in Darfur.

The simulated Darfurian refugee camp was of particular interest to me while watching the documentary on Second Life. Josh Levy, the creator of the documentary, takes notice that there were only several avatars in the camp at the time. While I do believe there is potential in the effectiveness of this method to inform the public about the crisis at hand, my instinct is that the time used to even create these virtual areas could be spent in a more productive and substantial manner.

Activism and charitable giving, whether online or through real life activity, is overwhelmingly needed and a greatly overlooked necessity. According to UNICEF, over 80% of the world's population lives in poverty and 25,000 children die daily of hunger. These statistics are staggering.

Perhaps, instead of spending hours programming code to create virtual 'areas' of an online game such as Second Life, one could spend just a few moments researching the endless local and international opportunities available to lend a hand in an extremely life-changing method.

One such organization, with whom I have had the wonderful opportunity of working with, is that of Doctors Without Borders. Sending doctors to areas with little or no health care, especially concerning infants and children, this organization assists in providing life saving vaccinations and treatment. They need volunteers and donations at all times and the lives you are helping to dramatically change is greater than anything, in my opinion, that could ever be done in Second Life.

Virtual Capitol Hill !!!!!!!!

2009-08-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

The emergence of the entertaining game “Second life” in the virtual world, has led to various controversies over whether it would distract its users from the real life instead of amusing them. However, what many people didn’t expect from “Second life” is the fact that it could possibly become an arena where social and political activists try to persuade the public to stand for their goals and causes.In the close study project “A better world in second life”, a virtual anti-war protest is organized by a progressive group in front of virtual Capitol Hill drawing more than 120 avatars. Who are calling for the end of the Iraq War and promoting peace throughout the world.What interests me the most about this activist project is the fact that it drew as many as 120 people to be present and protesting virtually, with anti-war and anti-Bush signs and slogans. Which in my view is disappointing and an unfortunate waste of time.Not that I think expressing your freedom of speech or protesting against the war is a waste of energy, but the fact that it is being done through “Second life” is what disturbs me. I strongly doubt and believe that such virtual activism will lead to any significant change of war policy or even affect real life events, which is the most important thing to achieve in terms of activism. If only those 120 people could duplicate their efforts in front real Capitol hill, maybe and I emphasize maybe there could be significant results.From my perspective, I find that global warming activist groups such as “wecansoveit.org” are a great example of a growingly effective and influential assembly. This organization has over 2 million members and is actively working in the REAL WORLD to raise more awareness about the climate crisis issue, and the proof of its success can be sensed by the various change in governmental policies throughout the world from raising caps on carbon emissions and promoting hybrid and electrical car technologies.That’s what I consider effective activism.

NOT FOR ME but COULD BE GREAT FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION

2009-08-08T11:13:00.001-04:00

The internet routing table has been growing rapidly for the past few years; this growth continues to see substantial acceleration. The hottest place in the internet seems to be in a “Better world in second life,” – a new revolution in the way we could live, shop, work, and interact with anyone, turning yourself loose and explore other worlds.
This “fake” world – as we all know, is different from the real world we live in. I live in the present and have no time whatsoever to live in a “second life.” I do my “reveries” either during the day or at night and that’s plenty for me. Whatever time I have available, I socialize with real people in real life. We just do not pretend living in the real world – we live it.

This digital world is built and owned by its residents; allowing residents to create everything from their own bodies, structure and vehicles to social groups, games and experiences. It has become a culture that is - learning from each other. In the real world, we still have borders, displaying the signs of “no entry,” and in the second life, it seems the borders “space” continue to exist as they are being re-introduced. One would think about removing those borders in the second life, where we would finally live freely, without any borders.

Universal issues, like, global warming, discrimination, racism, feeding the homeless, helping the children in poor countries, together with all our social issues, should be voiced in the real world, not in the “fake world.” If you personally want to do something good for the world we live in, do it now with the help of real people in real organizations, not in the “Second life.” An alternative would be to use the newspaper to voice political opinions where non-users of the internet would have immediate access. On the other hand, if we have time, or feel depressed or lonely, and want to have some fun, we can continue our “reverie,” by visiting “Better world in second life.”

Second Life - Darfur

2009-08-07T01:19:00.001-04:00

The Darfur camp interested me because I think that most people turn away from these images and if a story isn’t on the front page of whatever they are reading, it gets lost. Darfur has been in the news so long that unfortunately I think it has become an ‘out of sight out of mind’ thing.

That people can run into this crisis and learn about it in a world that is ostensibly just for fun should bring home that this isn’t going away and that it is indeed a grave issue that needs attention. I’m not sure that the camp in the virtual world will actually affect change in the real world in any major way, but at the minimum it can expose more people to the issue. Out of all the people that come across this area and listen to the stories or see the images, if even one goes out and does something then it has served a purpose.

I would consider effective activism to be things like raising money to send supplies there, actually taking food there, helping refugees who have arrived here (in the States) and need help learning the language or learning marketable skills. There are various charity organizations and NGO affiliated outlets that work towards this, and there are volunteer organizations (like NY Cares or the IRC) that help immigrants that are newly arrived here.

I don’t know of online activism other than web petitions but I'm sure there are many. The reach of the net is useful for spreading news of events or causes that otherwise many people wouldn’t know of. Though I don’t know how much direct activism comes of it, using the net for informative and humanitarian purposes is a great use of its capabilities.

email repost

2009-08-06T14:07:00.000-04:00

Since some people seem to not get my emails, I'm re-posting the email I sent you here:

Dear students,

Here is the link in case you needed to review any of the parts of the Second Life machinima documentary we watched in class.:
http://levjoy.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc

I look forward to reading your responses.

Also, I realized I should have clarified: activism does not mean leftist or liberal causes, even though that is what we saw in the film. Examples of causes that are centrist or conservative are of course also welcome and provide variety for us to examine. (One thing I've looked into is using technology to spread Christian messages -- in fact I just read that there is a group of people translating the bible into LOLcats!).

QUIZ #2 is graded and almost everyone improved. I will hand them back on Monday if possible.

In case you want to get a head start for class this week and studying for the Final, it will cover the second half of Chapter 10 (on Internet), the Boyd reading, the Jenkins reading (for MONDAY), Chapter 11 on Advertising, and the Lessig reading (for WEDS, on Black board). We also have three great in class screenings. I'll get the lecture notes and videos for this week up on Sunday.

As previously stated, we are no longer doing the PR chapter for this class. Monday=Convergence, Tuesday=Advertising, Wednesday=Copyright and Thursday is your exam.

I will re-send writing assignment grades to those who wrote me. If you haven't received any writing assignment grades by the end of the day, you should email me.

Have a good weekend,
Sarah Wright

--
www.sarahnelsonwright.com

Not An Assignment, But I Thought It Might Be Interesting...

2009-08-05T15:16:00.003-04:00

Stats Confirm It: Teens Don’t Tweet

Mashable is a web site covering news in online social media. Hop around the site if you're interested, or want to learn more about online social media, how they are used, and the different ways they are changing our society and how we operate.

-Curtis

Skinny Geeky and smart!

2009-08-04T09:04:00.004-04:00

while looking through TV shows trying to find a form of stereotype I flipped through and came across "Save by the Bell". As i enjoyed my old childhood TV show i begin to realize that it too had a stereotype. Screech! Screech who was the clown of the bunch was a very obvious stereotype. Screech Was the smart one from the group but what made him funny was the fact he was skinny very geeky and clumsy. Over and over the show built on these characteristics to make Screechs character funnier. It seem that in order to be a genius you had to fit in those charcteristics. Even a few of the other students who were extrememly smart were extremly geeky. I started to think where else did TV sitcom do this and I remembered "Family Matters".

Who can forget Steve Urkel. He was the star and back bone of the show and his main charcteristics were the same as Screech. Extremely smart, extrremely geeky and of course extremely clumsy. Through out the whole show Steve would always break something, it seem like he had no control over it. As smart as he was he was equivaliently clumsy. And this was humorous to all of us. He was smart enough to make robots, machines to ulter his DNA but yet he couldn't get across the living room with out breaking something.

Though not an obvious stereotype like race or sexuility nevertheless it was one. And now that i think about it i can recall many times back in grade school or J.H.S how many times we would use the term "Screech" or " steve Urkel" to describe someone who was geeky and smart.

Stereotypes Fat and funny

2009-08-04T08:29:00.003-04:00

In television there are many stereotypes played out in our programs that are mostly watched for entertainment. To research the presence of stereotypes in Television programs, I went to a couple of web sites streaming some of my favorite television programs such as Hulu.com and Tbs.com. I watched multiple episodes of some of my favorites including The Simpsons and Family Guy, and noticed that a overweight people are repeatedly stereotyped in both a positive and negative way. The Fat characters are portrayed as being both stupid and comical. They are usually the most hilarious and admired people in the shows.

In Family Guy, Peter Griffin is portrayed as clumsy, annoying, and irresponsible and is constantly pulling pranks to anger the other characters in the show. In one episode of Family Guy, Peter is going out to drink with his friends on Christmas Eve, but their new buddy Joe, who is a cop, forces Peter to be the designated driver. Peter is bored being sober while all his buddies are having a good time drinking and wants to go home. He is supposed to drop off one gift to the toys for toddlers donation before they are through but instead, he frantically donates all of his family's Christmas gifts so he can get back home. In another episode Peter is asked to spend more time bonding with his baby son Stewie. Peter and Stewie start to enjoy teasing and playing pranks on Louis together. They trip her, make her drop things in the kitchen and go as far as locking her in the car and pushing it into the lake. They laugh the whole way home and agree "oohh she will be fine."

In The Simpsons Homer is another overweight character who is also portrayed as dumb and irresponsible. In the episode "No Loan Again" Homer takes out several home equity loans and doesn't understand he will have to pay the money back. Thinking his house will be stuck with the bill, he throws a big Mardi Gras party. Homer squanders his money and the family is evicted from the house. While the house is going up for sale Homer strips the copper wiring out of the walls, hides it under his shirt and gets electrocuted.

Peter and Homer both have dumb moments that people love to watch. It provides good comical situations and often sets the storyline of entire episodes. These television programs definitely reinforce and preserve the common stereotype of fat people being stupid, clumsy and funny.

Minorities and American TV today

2009-08-04T00:36:00.001-04:00

It is no wonder as to the reason why the hit HBO TV. series "entourage" has won numerous amounts of awards. The story line is outstanding, the setting is spectacular and the cast has been chosen perfectly. An actor by the name of Rex Lee plays the character of "Lloyd", an Asian homosexual secretary/assistant to a very successful, overly confident, eccentric entertainment lawyer who takes advantage whenever possible. In the season currently airing, "Lloyd" has approached his boss "Ari" with a proposition to be promoted from desk boy to super agent! His only hardship is surviving through his boss' rigorous 100-day training regimen.

I think the reason why “Lloyd” has been portrayed as a stereotype is because the network wants to show that barriers can be broken; that there’s no such thing as a glass ceiling anymore. His personality and sexuality defines “Lloyd’s” characters’ actions and personality as well as his sexuality reinforcing and defying the stereotype of a homosexual man in American media however, the show elaborates on the fact that demographics don't affect the outcome of successful people.

In today’s world, regardless of a persons race, sexual preference, gender, or even religion and aside from the few that are against equal rights, at the end of the day a human is a human and if that person is qualified then they will be elected to perform those duties.

Internet 1 videos

2009-08-03T18:19:00.001-04:00

The video I showed in class (THE INTERNET IS SERIOUS BUSINESS) is available on the People's Production House YouTube Channel in parts:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PPHDEI

Free Press' Save the Internet Project explains Net Neutrality:

Tim Berners-Lee on Net Neutrality

Pan-Foreignism

2009-08-03T17:57:00.001-04:00

“That 70s Show” is one of the few situation comedies on television which sometimes makes me laugh aloud. Even when I’m alone. Why is this? Mostly, I think it’s what I’d call the “naturalism” of the cast even as they deliver carefully scripted comedy. The timing is good and they seem like they’re having fun. In spite of this, “That 70s Show,” like almost any television show you might choose, does not always stand up to scrutiny when we consider its take on gender and race.

A separate thesis might be written about gender roles on the show – its sunny revisionist history of women’s sexual liberation, it’s problematic presentations of body image, marital relationships, and romantic relationships in general - but here I’ll limit my scope to its treatment of Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), its lone “ethnic” character. That Fez was written at all seems ostensibly to be a jab at the role of the “token” ethnic character in sitcoms, and much of the mistreatment of his character must be considered in this light. However, while he is an integral personality among the cast, the show is exhaustive in depersonalizing him. It remains difficult to tell the exact intentions of the show’s creators.

Here are some thoughts:

Fez does not have a name. On the show, Fez stands for “foreign exchange student” and his other nicknames include Hadji, Ali Baba, Boy With the Accent, Tonto, etc. Some of these nicknames are accorded him by the unremittingly nasty father character, Red, whose actions are not necessarily condoned. But it remains a structural element of the show’s comedy that Fez’ real name is unpronounceable and unknown.

Fez does not have an ethnic or national identity. We never learn his origins. In one sense, this parodies the tendency of television to downplay ethnic distinctions. In another sense, once we’ve gotten the joke, we spend the entire series with an ethnic character to whose specific ethnicity we are ignorant. Fez is indistinctly “brown” with an inscrutable accent.

Fez is a bumbling idiot. Yes, so is Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), but Kelso is also a sex symbol. Fez is the subject of continual embarrassment and misunderstanding. He has unusual habits, lending to the notion of the dopey, perplexing foreigner. He is at once oversexed and sexless. Though enthusiastic about pornography, his real-world sexual exploits are usually thwarted by his hopeless naïvete. Like many brown men depicted on TV, he lusts after the beautiful white women (though, admittedly, 70s Wisconsin seems bereft of other options).

In the rerun I happened upon on daytime cable, Fez is peripheral to the storyline. It is late in the series, the characters are preparing for college, and they are busy enacting their long-established sexual dramas, of which Fez has little part. He appears only to make a few obtuse comments. In a plot twist I can only guess at (not having seen the entire series), he is married, but he and his wife are not romantically involved. These features of the episode are in keeping with the show’s dominant treatment of Fez.

So, to what extent is “That 70s Show” commenting on token characters on television and to what extent is it making crude jokes at the expense of the foreign exchange student? Fez functions to exemplify a few vague ideas of the foreigner, as detailed above. Pan-foreignism. Maybe the show is just saying that: to a bunch of high school kids and their parents in 70s Midwest America, all foreigners seemed pretty much the same. One funny thing is though, Fez’ lack of a specific ethnic identity renders it impossible to assign him very much specific stereotyped behavior. And that’s one of the other things about the show that makes me laugh aloud – its simultaneous adherence to and irreverence toward television conventions.

Its Always Sunny In Philidelphia

2009-08-03T10:19:00.001-04:00

Its always sunny in Philadelphia is a comedy based on a group of friends in Philadelphia that own. Work at a bar. The 5 main characters Charlie, Mac the tough guy that’s not so tough, “sweet” Dee who constantly being picked on and as superficial as her older brother, Dennis who thinks he is the most intelligent beautiful man in the world. They don’t only stereo type gender, race, religion but themselves as well. Being 5 kids that grew up in catholic school, they make many remarks mocking Catholicism. Within the first season, they cross the line quite a few times, but evidently with the ratings people love it.
An episode in particular is from season one “The gang gets racist”. Dee enters the bar and tells the “gang” that she has met a guy from her acting class, and then an African American man walks in the bar. Mac, Charlie and Dennis automatically get up and say “ Hey we don’t want any problems” totally stereotyping not only an image of an African American man causing problems but the white men being scared to death. Once they have learned this man is the guy Dee is dating they befriend him. Anytime he talks about his brother or his sister, Mac asked “do you mean your brother or do you mean your brotha‘” poking fun to the “slang” terms of some cultures and eagerness of Mac trying to fit in. Also Charlie proving that he is not racist , asks out an African American girl.
The writers of its always sunny in Philadelphia use stereotyping as a huge part of there comedy. Sometimes I think it can be offensive but they put them self’s down as much as anyone else.
Besides this episode, the writers really attack the characters. They use topics like abortion, welfare, homosexuality , incest but audience members are responding pretty positively to these touchy subject. I think this show really pokes at everyone. I enjoy this show a lot and I think its defiantly different then other sitcoms in the past but at the same time its interesting to see how being offensive to a race on national TV is so entertaining to people. I wonder if this is going to cause more racial profiling or does it show people how ignorant they look when the judge on skin color, religion or lifestyle.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/6705/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia-the-gang-gets-racist

Finally, a Black Person on Friends

2009-08-03T09:53:00.001-04:00

Finally, a Black Person on Friends

by Roxy Haji

I’m an avid watcher of Friends. In fact, I own every season. Due to the fact that I have no Internet or television, I thought it best (and most convenient) to profile a minority character that guest starred on the sitcom.

Her name is Charlie and she is African-American. She is a love interest of Ross, but Joey gets her first, until she dumps him and goes for Ross (sorry if I gave anything away). She appears in more than one episode, but maintains the same characteristics throughout her multiple appearances.

Charlie is the first African-American love interest of any of the six friends. One of the big critiques of the show Friends was how there were no main African-American characters. Finally, in its ninth season, the second to last season, they introduced Charlie.

Charlie’s character is not at all stereotyped. There were no references to her race or ethnicity. She is simply the hot girl Ross and Joey like. Charlie is very tall, very slim and very attractive. She dresses professionally, plays a paleontologist who dated Nobel Prize winners and is portrayed as an intelligent woman. Her character is an example of an individual assimilating into a very well-respected, high-status class of American society.

While observing the episodes Charlie appeared in, it occurred to me that it is very rare in American television to see an African-American person on the TV and not be blatantly reminded of his or her race. Charlie didn’t talk a certain way or look a certain way or act a certain way that would adhere to any of society’s preconceived notions of how black people are. She was an attractive paleontologist more than she was an African-American.

Friends has had African-Americans on its show before. But they played super-tiny roles and were extremely stereotyped and, in my opinion, negatively so. Charlie was a refreshing change.

Now, I have one last comment, and I hope this comes off as politically correct as possible. My last observation about Charlie is that she is very “white.” She has straight hair, a not-so-curvy frame, and talks very “proper.” Certain words are in quotations because in no way am I trying to associate white with proper. The bottom line is: if someone asked me if I thought Charlie matched America’s stereotype of a white woman or a black woman, I would say a white woman.

Unfortunately, Charlie doesn’t last long on Friends and the six friends go back to their regular, white social scene for the duration of the sitcom.

The Latino Stereotype Reinforced

2009-08-03T09:41:00.002-04:00

In Season 3 of the Showtime series "Dexter", Jimmy Smits guest stars as Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado. Prado is of Cuban heritage, and acts very similar to what would the stereotype of a Cuban living in Miami. He places great value on friends and family, his faith is important him, and he is a bit of a hardliner in his prosecution of criminals - an aspect of himself that he personally transcribes into being passionate about his work. Prado befriends Dexter early in the season, and rather quickly learns about Dexter's "talent" of killing people and leaving no trace of evidence.

Prado befriends Dexter and does nothing short of accepting Dexter into his own family, as Prado's inner circle consists mostly of his family anyway - a very popular stereotype of Cubans living in Miami and Latinos in general. Prado then trys to get Dexter to assist him in carrying out his vigilante justice and ultimately trys to have Dexter teach him his craft later on, as Prado becomes fed up with the bureaucracy and inefficiency of the court system. This passion and hotbloodedness is also very consistent with the stereotype of a Latin male.

Towards the end of the season, Prado has an affair with another woman and his wife finds out and leaves him. This again is another popular Latino stereotype, which says that Latino men are very sexual and that this often leads to infidelity. Overall, when analyzing all the aspects and actions of Jimmy Smit's character, he is almost entirely constructed of the classic stereotype of the Latin male. This form of stereotyping, however, was essential to the character and the series, since if Miguel Prado was of another ethnicity of a female, the series could not have transpired the way it did. Dexter might have already been turned into the police had it been someone else and not Prado that found him at the scene of the crime one evening.

Gays, Blacks, And Vampires Oh My

2009-08-03T09:13:00.006-04:00

The show True Blood on HBO is a great example of a program that is filled with many characters that are often underrepresented and often stereotyped in the American media. When a friend of mine first turned me on to the show I was a bit apprehensive at first until I learned that the show was created by Alan Ball who also created the show Six Feet Under which I absolutely loved. From the moment I watched the show I was hooked, and was also glad to not have the only gay characters on the show be evil blood sucking vampires. While the show does have a gay vampire character, he is portrayed as sweet and even non-threatening, which came as a big surprise for me. One of the main characters on the show is a black, gay chef named Lafeyette who is wonderfully played by Nelsan Ellis with such pazzaz and bitchy humor. The character of Lafayette is immensely fabulous, usually wearing makeup, and works as a prostitute. You might think oh great, another show where the gay character is some big queen, wears makeup, sells drugs, and has sex with vampires, but it is much more complicated than that. The reason I feel that Lafayette is not such a typical stereotype is because there is so much depth behind his character. His character is given a lot of rich dialogue and he doesn't take shit from anyone and actually gets some bigoted men kicked out of the establishment where he works when they were being a bit too rowdy. The show is filled with a variety of characters and it's nice to see a show where the gay character is not just about being gay. Lafeyette being gay is not really central to the storyline. Although it is apart of who he is, it's not the ONLY part of who he is. The show may be supernatural and filled with vampires, telepaths, and a freaky 2000 year old maenad who likes to have big sex orgies, but the characters on the show are all interesting, unique, and vastly entertaining. Kudos to HBO and Alan Ball for adding another show to their lineup that is filled with such a diverse cast that play such multi-faceted characters.

Simple Explanation...Or Not

2009-08-03T07:33:00.004-04:00

**I feel like this shouldn't be necessary, but just in case...SPOILER ALERT! This post is about House, btw.**

*Unfortunately, I cannot find either an online copy of the episode or a transcript, so forgive me if my retelling of the story is at all inaccurate.*

The twentieth episode of the fifth season of House, titled Simple Explanation, is centered around the death of Dr. Lawrence Kutner of Dr. House's diagnostic team. Though the death is ruled a suicide, and this explanation is accepted by most, it does not sit well with House. The episode continues with House trying to determine what caused Kutner's death, or why he committed suicide.

Eventually, House ends up at the home of Kutner's parents, along with Dr. Hadley (Thirteen) and Dr. Foreman. As Thirteen and Foreman try to express their sympathies, House is still in investigative mode, and as blunt and insensitive as ever. Here, we learn of Kutner's past, including how he came to be adopted by his parents. We learn that Kutner was born Lawrence Choudray and was adopted, by his white parents, at the age of six. He does not begin to refer to them as his parents until he is nine, and eventually decides to take on the name of his parents. The scene gets interesting as House suddenly begins to state that Kutner's suicide must have been due to some internal conflict regarding his race. House essentially implies that Kutner, being raised by white parents but recognizing his difference, felt a pain that he never allowed himself to express, until he ultimately took his own life.

House's sudden deduction brings about questions of interracial adoption and whether it could ever truly work. The idea that because Kutner was not of the same race as his parents he could not experience a proper family environment and a full life is clearly a troubling one. In a society in which ideas of family are so prevalent, especially ideas of the conventional family, this critique of Kutner's family is problematic. It is interesting to see how the episode handles this issue throughout.

House's racial deduction is immediately considered grossly inaccurate and unreasonable. House too seems to come to the conclusion that this deduction was incorrect, as, through pictures, he sees that Kutner was open about his difference and close to his parents. Yet, the reason for the suicide remains undetermined, and the thought still lingers: why did Kutner commit suicide? For the viewer, the questions move from the plot to the producers and writers of the show.

The producers seem to attempt to take the idea of racial struggle within interracial adoptive families and condemn it. Yet, why was suicide the chosen method for writing Kutner out of the show? Though it was necessary that he leave the cast, the producers chose a dramatic ending. In addition, they not only saw the issues that may come about with a suicide ending for Kutner, they gave the issue of race a significant amount of attention in the episode. It was not an idea that was quickly addressed and heavily dismissed. It was brought up by the most intelligent character of the show as a viable and logical conclusion for Kutner's suicide. And even though it was shown that, in Kutner's case, the conclusion did not fit, the episode did not fully communicate that such an idea was highly presumptuous and baseless in general. By making it a seemingly strong possibility, the producers essentially portrayed it as a strong possibility for interracial adoptive families in general. It the end, the way that the show addresses this issue is sloppy and incomplete, and does nothing but perpetuate the idea that interracial adoption has possibilities of devastating endings.

American dad

2009-08-03T01:48:00.001-04:00

If you paid attention to those Americans most popular cartoon shows, you would find there are lots of stereotypes such as racial, gander, educational and age. Even some of the children TVs also have the stereotypes.

The “American dad” has an episode about Francine’s Chinese adopted parents stop by for an unannounced stay, Stan is furious that they refuse to assimilate to his “man of house” ways. They irritate Stan and family with stereotypes about Chinese people. And then Stan finds Francine’s family, and Stan feels Francine’s real parents are the kind of in law he wants.

I feel a little bit insulted by watching this episode, which jokes on people who have herpes and stereotypes Chinese people in the past. Racial stereotypes serve to justify white control and authority. Without whites' having to claim superiority explicitly, stereotypes work subtly to maintain domination and disenfranchise minorities; it is easy to conclude that people who are "inherently inferior" will end up in a subordinate position in a fair society.

Over all, this episode is the worst show in a long time, and it’s not a show you want to introduce people to. Now, we can predicate how they going to make in the next season. Hopefully, they won’t make bigger complain.

Minorities & American TV Today: PSYCH

2009-08-03T01:42:00.009-04:00

Psych is a current television drama on air going into its forth season of programming. In the series, one of the leading characters is, Burton "Gus" Guster who is played by American actor, Dule Hill. In the show, Gus is a Pharmaceutical rep who has a vast knowledge of drugs. With the help of his practice, he manages to identify poisons and other drugs use in crime cases. Best of friends with Shawn Spencer, he also provides advice and support in the co-ownership of a detective agency.

In the show, Gus tends to be the more cautious and straight-laced, functioning as the man for Shawn's antics. Gus is portrayed as an academically advanced African-American. In past series, his character has reluctant and seemed to be consistently dragged by the collar into these "psychotic" adventures. As time progressed, he became one who is more relaxed and able to stand his ground.

In this USA Network production, Hill plays a character unbound to the common stereotypes of Black males in American media. Neither race nor gender defines his character's actions, personality or possibilities. Gus manages to break the stereotypes of black men. Typically represented as being irresponsible, against the law and unintelligent, the character seems to refine the image betrayed by media today.

Psych Season 1 “Gus' Terms” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JmLqS67J5U

Psych is like The Mentalist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qf8M57we1I

WILL & GRACE…. homosexuality portrayed through the media

2009-08-02T23:56:00.002-04:00

WILL & GRACE…. homosexuality portrayed through the media

Will and Grace is a popular television show but it’s become a bit outdated. It’s a really funny show that includes four main characters, Will, who is gay but not so flamboyant lawyer, Grace, Will’s best friend but once girl friend for a long time, Jack, who is also gay but very flamboyant constantly switches jobs and lastly, Karen, Graces’ assistant/best friend who barely works because she is married to a millionaire who has never appeared in an episode and she constantly drinks. I’m choosing two characters, both Jack and Will because Jack reinforces the common stereotypes that are portrayed through American media and Will on the other hand defies these stereotypes.

*When a person uses some kind of an expression for example, “That guy is acting gay.” What characteristics and/or tendencies are attached with the term “gay.” How does someone act gay or is seen as gay?

The media portrays gay men as girly, likes to shop, higher pitch voice, eccentric, outgoing, talks a lot, etc. etc…Jack from Will & Grace has majority of these generalized traits. Most non-ignorant people are aware that this is completely untrue and that’s where Will’s character comes into play throughout this TV show. Most of these traits do not relate to him although in the end they are equally as gay as one another haha. If the audience was unaware of Wills’ sexuality I don’t think people would be quick to assume that he is gay. Why is that? Jack’s role reinforces the common stereotypes that are made of a gay man in society. Why is it that the qualities Jack has is what the general public relates to homosexual men and majority of the time if there is a gay man on TV the media tends to attach these characteristics to a character to distinguish or depict that this person is gay and not straight

*Is that the reason why the media has a stereotype of a gay man? because these qualities distinguish the difference between gay and straight?

I personally think it's great that this show provides the viewers with both the stereotypical "gay" guy and an average person whom is a homosexual. Why does it even matter to anyone else what sexuality a person is?

The Office: Basketball

2009-08-02T23:15:00.001-04:00

The Office is an Emmy Award winning comedy-drama television series that portrays the everyday-office-life of a local paper company(Dunder Mifflin) located in Scranton, PA. The show very often makes racial, ethnic, and sexual stereotypical jokes in most of their episodes; exploiting almost every character on the set. One character I want to focus on is Stanley Hudson (played by Leslie David Baker), who is the only African-American working in the office as one of the branch's sales associates. Michael Scott (played as Steve Carell), ignorant and blunt, always assume things of Stanley just because he is black and then eventually makes stereotypical & racial comments to him, as well as to other characters on the set. (By the way, the show has more to offer than racial jokes. It's a great show!)
One of the earliest depictions of this was in the 5th episode of the 1st season called Basketball. The plot of the episode was that the office workers and the warehouse workers bet on a game of basketball on who would be working that saturday. So Michael automatically chose Stanley as one of his main players. Everyone was confused because people and their mothers can tell, just by looking, that Stanley was not quite the "sporty" type. But because of the stereotype that African-Americans are good at sports, Michael refused to think otherwise and made him play anyway. One scene of that episode that captured that situation was when Stanley arrived last to the game and was stumbling down the stairs (emphasizing that he was not athletic) with his knee-high socks; Michael yelled, "SECRET WEAPON! SECRET WEAAPPONN~!!" (It was hilarious!)
All throughout every season 1-5, Stanley did not falter and was totally comfortable with who he was. Also, Stanley doesn't like Michael too much and, frankly, doesn't really care for what he has to say. So I guess that plays a lot into helping Stanley ignore Michael's stupid comments and what not.

MINORITIES & AMERICAN TV TODAY

2009-08-02T23:04:00.003-04:00

I would like to write about the under and misrepresentation of the Latin woman. If she is young she is often depicted as the sexy girl, the man-eater, the sexual predator. If she is not young then she is pigeonholed as old and is usually a maid. There does not seem to be any in between for the Latin woman- there is no Claire Huxtable type middle aged successful woman that I know of on TV. In Desperate Housewives, there is a character named Gabrielle Solis played by Eva Longoria that is an ex-model, portrayed as a gold digger that basically uses her looks to marry into a life of luxury. She forgives her husband (also Latin) his philandering, and herself had an affair with the teenaged gardener. The representation in both cases is that of the hypersexual and overly emotional Latin.

Race is unclear to me as a concept for the character, as ‘ethnicity’ seems to be the tag most often used to categorize people. If ‘race’ is based on color then there is even less representation- though Latin comes in all shades, the ‘Latins’ on TV always look Caucasian. The sexuality depicted is almost always as constant, a rabid heterosexuality- I have not seen gay Latins in mainstream TV though we do see them more often now in Spanish telenovelas (usually in very comical over the top personifications). In My Name is Earl, there is a character played by Nadine Velazquez that combines sexuality and inferior socioeconomic status into one: she plays “Catalina, the sexy, hotel maid with a heart of gold” as the NBC.com website itself describes her. Neither religion nor gender make much difference in either series.

There are various other TV shows that have ‘Latins’ but lack a complex Latin character; most adhere to the accepted stereotypes of women as sexpots or maids, and men as thugs or lotharios. I think most of the characters on commercial TV reinforce common stereotypes in American media. The only show that I have seen that veers from these stereotypes is the George Lopez Show, which purports to show a ‘typical’ middle class Hispanic family in the United States. However it is presented in a very pre-packaged serial sitcom way, and seems more to appease non-Latins to demonstrate there exists a ‘Latin’ show than to being a true Latin show, even in a comical sitcom way. There is nothing on that show that touches on realities for Latins in the US, it is rather a ‘white’ middle American show that simply uses Latin actors.

Simpsons--Mr. Smithers!!!!

2009-08-02T22:35:00.002-04:00

It has been the talk of many Simpsons fans, is he or isn't he gay???? Mr. Smithers has been written up by the shows producers, as having gay tendencies, but never coming out the closet. He is stereotyped as the closeted gay man. The producers have not said if he is gay or not, they just put him in the category of "Burn-sexual." Smithers is Burns' assistant and devotes all his time and care into Mr. Burns, maybe a little too much. Although Smithers has never come out, throughout the seasons he has had gay friends, went on a vacation to an all male resort, and visits Springfield's gay village. Smithers has occasion fantasies about Mr. Burns. In one episode for Smithers birthday, he had a dream that Mr. Burns was naked singing to him and pops out a birthday cake. Another example is when we see his computer turning on, it shows a nude Burns with an audio montage saying: "Hello Smithers, you're quite good at turning me on." In another episode when Mr. Burns is in search for a women Smithers becomes jealous and disgusted since he can't have him for himself. In the episode when Lisa tells everyone the world is ending, Smithers kisses Mr. Burns on the lips. After finding out the world is not going to end Smithers apologizes to Mr. Burns and tells him he kissed him out a sign of respect. There are so many more examples, from the way he looks at Mr. Burns to the way he treats him.

Smithers' characters sexuality definitely affects his characters actions and personality. Since he is a closeted gay everything Smithers does is looked at whether or it is gay or not. Since Smithers has not yet come out, a lot of what his character does is very humorous especially when he fantasies about Mr. Burns. I think his character does indeed define common gay stereotypes because of the yearning to kiss Mr. Burns, the way he dresses, to his jealousy of women paying attention to Mr. Burns, down to the way he acts. I wonder if the writers will ever out Smithers, but then again if they did it might not have as many fans of Smithers nor would be as funny.

Gay and Black in True Blood

2009-08-02T22:10:00.008-04:00

True Blood, set in the fictional town of Bon Temps in Louisiana, tells the story of society after vampires have come out of hiding due to the creation of synthetic blood that can sustain them.

Several characters in True Blood represent different minorities, with two of the main protagonists being African-American. Lafayette, one of these characters, is also gay.

Being that True Blood is set in the deep south, several factors come into play concerning the portrayal of Lafayette. Deep-seated racism, which is very much still alive today in this setting, is compounded with the discrimination that gay Americans experience across the country, but much more so in these historically conservative and religious locations.

Lafayette represents a certain sect of homosexual culture, wearing makeup and revealing clothing, but at the same time possesses very masculine traits, physically defending his friends and loved ones when necessary. Experiencing racist remarks in the restaurant where he works, Lafayette does not stand idly by, but instead confronts those patrons and forces them out the establishment. He is praised and supported for these actions, as the discriminatory behavior is looked upon as ignorant and unacceptable.

While Lafayette could be considered stereotypical in many respects, his character is shown to possess great mental and emotional strength; he is intelligent and caring. His femininity is not shown to be negative or a drawback in any way, which goes against many portrayals of gay characters in mainstream media.

Alan Ball, the creator of True Blood and Six Feet Under before it, is openly gay. This certainly must contribute to the creative choices made during the filming of the series, but it doesn't negate the fact that True Blood helps to reinforce the acceptance and celebration of strong minority figures. To be black and gay in America is not easy, but television shows like this one will no doubt assist in bringing greater knowledge to areas of the country that are otherwise unexposed and inexperienced with these cultures.

American Dad! "Daddy Queerest"

2009-08-02T21:54:00.003-04:00

I felt very interesting that I have seen many sitcoms focusing on the different minorities, but I do not see as many as past decades ago. People may have become more sensitive about stereotypes. I couldn't think of any other sitcoms and dramas which show stereotypes about minorities(although I found those comedies. ex. Pablo Francisco, the stand-up comedian), so I hope i can read what other classmates wrote.

There is a new episode called "Daddy Queerest"on "American Dad!". There is a character whose name is Terry and he has just got married to his gay partner, Greg and has a baby. Terry's father doesn't know that his son is a gay or married to the same-sex partner. Terry's father is a former football player, very masculine, and not open to gay relationships. So, they all have a hard time to tell his father about their marriage. The episode focuses on how to convince him to accept his family. This shows how certain people discriminate homosexual people, and how the others respect them and try to help them to be happy. When people have their strong opinion about the issue, it is hard to change it. In this show, some stereotypes are shown such as their hair styles and their hair and the way they talk. This couple both have the tight outfitters, and neat hair styles. Also how they like to go out for dinner everyday to enjoy nights and meeting new people and going to social party was shown. At the end, Terry's father decide not to accept his son's family just because his son is gay. However, Terry and Greg noticed that they do not really need the grand father if he can not accept the way they are out of all the effort they made.

American Dad! Daddy Queerest
http://www.hulu.com/watch/72481/american-dad-daddy-queerest

Rescue Me from Political Correctness

2009-08-02T20:26:00.003-04:00

Rescue Me is one of the few shows, like South Park, that doesn’t hide behind political correctness. In one of their more famous sketches multiple characters proceed to name each different racial slur pertaining to ethnic groups [watch clip]. Rescue Me is primarily about the lives seven firefighters, most of whom survived the 9/11 attacks. A running theme throughout its five seasons has been the profession’s reaction to the events. This does not stop the show from being a top rated comedy program. While most people won’t admit that there are truths behind stereotypes, Rescue Me accepts and challenges society’s attempts at a “color blind” multiculturalism. For example, one of the recently added characters is referred to as Black Sean brought into the house for only his ability to play basketball. Franco is a young Puerto Rican firefighter who combines the Latin stereotyped machismo and skillful Casanova. Exerting Franco’s machismo, while often assumed to be a Latin stereotype, doesn’t necessarily pertain to an ethnic only characteristic. The show is about men who run into fires, each character exudes heightened masculinity. It does have to be noted that a current plotline is about Franco’s entrance into the firefighter’s boxing league. Like Black Sean’s athletic talent, Franco is used to the same end of positive stereotyping. While it is never mentioned that Franco’s gallant bed hopping is specifically because of his Latin descent, it does shape his character. The Casanova image has been used as a positive stereotype of Latin men for decades, as pointed out by the Bronze Screen. Franco continues the tradition by being the man in the firehouse who not only has the most sexual partners, but also is relied upon to provide advice on picking up women. In an earlier season, he becomes a kept man by a character played by Susan Saradon dictated by his sexual prowess. This further reinforces the long-standing image of the Latin male. Media portrayals of families have become more egalitarian in this respect, but Franco is also a single father as the result of one-night stand. Minority characters are often presented as coming from or creating some sort of broken home, consider The Wire, whereas white characters are subject to dramatic divorcees or widowing thus becoming a single parent.
Does Rescue Me use both positive and negative stereotypes in the creation of characters? Yes, absolutely. Does this undermine the show and prevent it from being an excellent series? No, absolutely not. It does not hold back the reality of how people and society respond to racial tensions by creating a fictitious world where everybody gets along and stereotypes are removed for the sake of political correctness. When media optimistically dramatizes underrepresented stereotypes it works to the disadvantage of their cause – it actually sends the message that sensitivity is required ONLY because we are all so different dictated by ethnicity, race or socioeconomic status.
[Author’s note for those who don’t believe how much Rescue Me deviates from the politically correct norms - Franco is currently dating a woman who the other firemen refer to as a lesbian because of her aggressive and masculine tendencies. Tuesday’s episode focused on her “bull dyke” friends and their schism from the “lipstick lesbians”. In portraying the “bull dyke” friends mullets, trucker hats and man hating fisticuffs were involved.]

Seth MacFarlane is really funny !! (The Family Guy)

2009-08-02T18:26:00.001-04:00

“The Family Guy: Peter impersonates Mel Gibson”
Created and produced by Seth MacFarlane
Friday, July 31, 2009, Channel 11, 6:00-6:30 p.m.

Television tends to be dominated by white talent, despite the fact that we live in multi-ethnic society, where the public is continually being educated against racism and any type of discrimination or name-calling. Yet, the media continues to portray stereotypes, which are used to often present as a one-sided and negative image of a specific character.
“The Family Guy” portrays a put down of a “foreigner or “alien” wherein an Asian reporter, Tricia Katanawa, is not allowed to enter in the Park Barrington Hotel located in Manhattan. Whether this kind of discrimination exists or not, the audience is made to believe that this kind of practice takes place, and that, an Asian reporter cannot enter the hotel. She is limited and has to stay outside the borders created by the White race, because she is of a different race. When she tried going inside the hotel for the second time, the doorman denied her entry and chased her out. In fleeing, her behavior is stereotyped by the producer as being an image of some people that Asians are passive. People enjoy putting down those who are different or who look different, more so when white is not the color.
Racism and stereotypes have always been portrayed in movies and shows as a means of entertainment. Asians have been oppressed, segregated and ostracized since they first came to America and this episode of “Family Guy” clearly tries to indicate that it still continues, whether it is true or not. It is clear that assimilation is a very long process and may never be successful. Maybe we, as the audience, are made to think that Park Barrington Hotel is to be associated with racism.
The Asian reporter clearly confirms this statement by saying “I’m standing outside the Park Barrington Hotel because they don’t allow Asians inside.” Borders within borders still exist; our society will not let other races integrate within it. No matter how degrading the racist jokes are, the production team gets away with almost anything as long as it is funny, it is called, entertainment television or comedy.

"You may now Kiss the...Uh...Gay"

2009-08-02T12:46:00.002-04:00

I watched an episode of Family Guy called "You may now kiss the...Uh...Guy".. In this episode we are introduced to Brian's (Brian is the dog) friend Jasper. Jasper gets off the plane wearing a pink shirt, with an earring in his right ear accompanied by "Ricardo, from the Philippines and my kitchen floor". Upon his arrival Jasper announces that he and Ricardo are getting married at Lois's house. Chris, Lois's son who has joined the Young Republicans is appalled and says "The Bible says gay marriage is an abomination."

In the mean time the mayor spent all the towns tax money on a gold frog statue and he wants to create a diversion so he decides to ban gay marriage. Brian wants to be there for Jasper so he becomes an activist for overturning the ban on gay marriage and goes all over town trying to get people to sign a petition. Lois is not sure how she feels about gay marriage and does not want Jasper to get married at her home, she refuses to sign Brian's petition and says "There's something about gay people getting married, I don't think its right".

Brian ends up getting the signatures he needed but the mayor still refuses to overturn the ban so Brian holds him hostage. During all the hoopla Lois realizes that if two people love each other they should have the right to get married. The episode ends with the mayor deciding he doesn't need the bill now that everyone is distracted by the hostage situation and Jasper and Ricardo getting married at Lois's house.

I think that this episode of Family Guy depicted every gay stereotype that the Media has ever depicted, from the way that Jasper spoke and dressed to the religious and political debates about gay marriage today. We watch Lois transform from being against gay marriage to having the wedding at her home. The end of the episode was a very idealized way of watching someone's views change and of the future of gay marriage which is very current to our time.

House:Acceptance

2009-08-01T21:17:00.003-04:00

Dr. Cameron: Black defendants are ten times more likely to get a death sentence then white.
Dr. Foreman: Doesn�t mean we need to get rid of the death penalty � we just need to kill more white people.

Dr. Eric Foreman (as played by Omar Epps) is one of the team of doctors on the TV show "House". His character is an African-American doctor who has, by virtue of an education, risen out of his origins. It's hinted at in this episode that he stole a car once and might have done some jail time as a juvenile. The character is also shown with a tattoo that is described by the episode's patient, "Clarence" (played by LL Cool J) as a 'gang' tattoo.

This episode "Acceptance" shows the ambivilence that Dr. Foreman feels for the African-American people as a whole. On the one hand, his looks peg him as African-American. On the other hand, his speech patterns are 'white' and he dresses "corporate doctor". He feels that he is above the Clarence character:

Dr. Foreman: Aren�t there better ways to spend our time?
House: Good question. What makes a person deserving? Is a man who cheats on his wife more deserving than a man who kills his wife?
Dr. Foreman: Uh� yeah. Actually, he is.
House: What about a child molester? Certainly not a good guy, but he didn�t kill anybody. Maybe he can get antibiotics, but no MRIs. What about you? What medical care should you be denied for being a car thief? Tell you what: the three of you work out a list of what medical treatments a person loses based on the crime they committed. I�ll review it when I get back.

House feels that no matter what, he is going to diagnose this patient, Clarence. As a death-row inmate he's not even supposed to leave the prison, but House gets him to the hospital by his usual round-about shenanigans. Dr. Foreman, as part of House's team, goes along with all the testing being carried out, but you see the animosity in him when he has to do the tests himself on Clarence. He even stops working on Clarence when the character's heart begins to fail.

It's clear though, that Dr. Foreman 'knows' where this character comes from:

Dr. Chase: How does an inmate on death row get his hands on heroin?
Dr. Foreman: Are you serious?
House: Man knows prisons. When we got a yachting question, we'll come to you.

At the end of the episode, its revealed that the Clarence character has a tumor on his adrenal gland that is causing his rages that made him kill people. Removed, he's just another African-American male on prison's death-row. No more rages. Dr. Foreman, who had been opposed to even treating Clarence, decides to testify at an appeal for him.

The Dr. Foreman character is caught between 2 worlds - the world of his upbringing and the world of his making. As a doctor, he is respected. As an African-American male, he has something to prove to everyone around him. This episode neatly handles his "acceptance" of Clarence's crimes, as well as giving the character some deeper background.

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND!!

2009-08-01T17:41:00.002-04:00

By looking thoroughly at various media outlets and especially in television and movies, we can easily notice that social minorities in America are very often depicted in a way that is based on stereotypes rather than true cultural aspects of such social groups.
Coming across an episode of one of my favorite shows "Everybody Loves Raymond", I couldn’t help but notice a recurring event that we all see over and over in many American comedies and movies. The episode was the one in which Raymond joined his cop brother Robert and partner Judie in one of their nights on the job as police patrol.
Judie’s character reflected the stereotyped and misrepresented African-American woman in comedies. Who most of the time have to be portrayed as significantly overweight, talking slang, rude, authoritarian and aggressive in order to be funny and hilarious.
Surprisingly, the American society and audience in general seems to be positively responding to such a depiction by the media, and many movies that based their story on such a portrayal like "Big mommas house" and "Norbit" have been pretty successful, resulting in a common unfortunate trend in American comedy.
In "Everybody Loves Raymond", the character of "Judie" does not break free from the usual misrepresentation and portrayal of overweight African-American women. Instead it reinforces it as much as possible, which is most often the case in every comedy that reflects such a character, by being bossy and funnily rude to Raymond who happens to be disturbing her inside the police car.
In my perspective, I see a lack of innovation and intelligence in the American media when it tries to draw and produce comedy simply by stressing social stereotypes or misrepresenting a minority. But what is more alarming is that most of the American audience rarely seem to be disturbed by such a thing and don’t mind encouraging it as long as it makes them laugh.

Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

2009-08-01T16:06:00.003-04:00

Stereotypes often arise when a group of people is portrayed in a certain way in the media, most often in TV shows. TV shows make assumptions about groups of people all the time; as consumers of television we are drawn into these assumptions of a certain group, which helps us inaccurately define that group. The television comedy/drama that I chose is called “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, which is about an urban teenager (Will Smith) from Philadelphia, who is sent to live with his rich uncle so that he can avoid the problems at home and get a good education. I chose Will as the character that belongs to a group who is underrepresented because his character is very loud and outspoken, which is negative stereotype on African Americans, in which we see a lot of in many comedies today, even though Will is the backbone of the show with his humor.

Will’s actions seem to be defined by his gender. The character he portrays seems to always be confident when approaching a female, which sort of fits the stereotype that all men are players and that the only thing that men want is sex. I also believe that Will’s character’s personality is defined by his race because he always comes up with clever jokes that relate to his race and background.

I believe that Will’s character reinforces as well as ignores common stereotypes in American media today. The portrayal of Will’s use of slang and his actions tend to reinforce common stereotypes of African Americans today. However, his character’s laid back personality and his ability to make jokes about common stereotypes, shows us that, stereotypes can be ignored and used as positive humor because when a person is able to stereotypically make fun of one’s self or one’s own race/ethnicity, it just proves that stereotypes are not always bad.

(P.S. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is my favorite show. Will is my favorite character and I love his clever jokes.)

Levels of coverage.

2009-07-29T22:33:00.002-04:00

For the second homework assignments I decided to compare between the Newspapers an article about the death of a US - Mexico border agent which occurred last Thursday. what caught my attention was the way the article were covered.
In the USA TODAY the article stood out more and even had a picture of the killed border agent. It went more into detail and even went a step furthered and had quotes from actual officials. The NEW YORK TIMES in the other hand, was very short and brief. It didn't have any quotes or official statement's in its report. As well, I had trouble finding the article which had no photo and was 1/3 of the size. The BBC really surprised me being it wasn't an American based company and had more detail and pictures about the story. It had quotes , official statement's, a map of the border between the countries and even took it a step further, the actual reason for the shooting, not just the aftermath. The NEWSDAY just like THE NEWYORK TIMES, was very brief and short about distance national story.
The sources and coverage from the local metropolitan newspaper (Newsday , The New York Times), where the least from all of the news sources. They weren't very dense and seem more of a recap. while the national paper , the USA TODAY was more reportful I understand why since its supposed to touch base on all corners of the country. The biggest shocker as i stated before was the BBC. The international newspaper had the best coverage and yet wasn't as densful and long as the USA TODAY , it provided a broader angel of the story, which would be great for someone from another country to understand and comprehend.

How does the coverage compare? Contrast the articles in terms of slant, sources, density and focus.

Videos from TV Class

2009-07-29T16:54:00.002-04:00

I Love Lucy "Vitameatavegamin":

Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, 1952:

Trailer for Marlon Riggs' TONGUES UNTIED:

Montage of Public Access Television in Manhattan in the 1980s:

Trailer for Paper Tiger Reads Paper Tiger:

Videos from Movies Class

2009-07-29T16:43:00.005-04:00

Zoetrope:

Muybridge's racehorse photos as a movie:

Edison's Early Films
Man Sneezing:

Sandow the Strongman:

Princess Ali from the Midway:

[database of Edison Films, for those interested: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edmvalpha.html ]

Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory:

The Great Train Robbery:
http://www.archive.org/details/the-great-trainrobbery

Henry Louis Gates

2009-07-28T18:02:00.002-04:00

The story i chose to research was about Henry Louis Gates Jr, who's house was broken into in Cambridge MA, and was arrested and some say it was a racial attack. This story was pretty big considering Obamas response and the racial issue.The New York Post was the first news paper i read the story from. In the Post online they had the full 911 recorded call wich was pretty interesting, concidering the 911 call or the fact someone broke into this mans appartment was not the head line of this story. The Post gave qoutes form the police officer and Obama saying it was "stupid" but i think they definatly were really highlighting the racial issue instead of the cold facts like the New York Times did. From reading the post to reading the times, the story got more detailed. The Times gave real facts and touched all issues from the debate of weather or not it was a raccial attack to Obamas responce.
The other newspaper i read was the BBC. I was confused after reading this becuase it said that Gates door had been jammed, wich is a detail that was not given from the other newspapers. There was a lot lacking in detail, and i feel really gave a twist to the story, and made it seem like racial profiling was common in the states.

most memorable media experience 9-11

2009-07-28T10:23:00.003-04:00

When the 9/11 "bombings" of the World Trade Centers took place I was in 6th grade. I'll never forget sitting in my double period of English/Reading class with my teacher Mrs. Wood. We were about to take that weeks spelling test when the room phone rings and then Mrs. Wood lifts her eyebrows and says, "Hm, okay", and she hangs up the phone looks at me and tells me I am dismissed for the rest of the day. I found that really surprising and didn't question anything, I just grabbed my things and went down to the office. My mom was standing there in the midst of chaos. The principles and vice principles were all acting really weird but trying not to say too much because a student was present (me). I looked at my mom and asked her whats going on .. and she just sat there and said I'm waiting for Erin to get down here too, I'll tell you guys after we pick up Eric from school too. Eric is my little brother. Finally, Erin, my cousin got down to the office and looked almost as confused as I was. After we picked up my brother my mom started asking us if we knew what terrorism was and none of us really understood. So she remained quiet and drove us to Sandy Hook in NJ. I was always very familiar with NYC growing up because we used to go with friends out on their yachts and stay by Chelsea Piers. So when my mother got us to Sandy Hook the sky was filled with smoke. That's when she told us, the Twin Towers were purposely hit by suicide bombers. My heart imediately sank, I started crying a little then got control of myself. We went back to the house and I must have sat in front of the tv for 4 hours straight eating an entire bag of Wintergreen Mints. My cousin and I were so freaked out by the whole thing. We would watch both towers get hit and then see them collapse at least 5 times in 10 minutes. It was extremely tramatizing for my to watch and to this day, almost 7 years later i can still invision that image in my head like it was only yesterday.

French President Sarkozy Faints

2009-07-27T20:23:00.002-04:00

I was browsing through the news online and found it quite funny that the main point of the article in the BBC news of the president of france fainting was the mere idea of jogging. The harms and risks that may occur with keeping on a strict diet plan and jogging a few times a week. I compared it to the Australian news and the description that they gave about the same exact article was an actual reference to the President and it spoke about his life style and much more about the actual president and what happened to him. BBC happened to be extremely extremley brief and more concerned about the harms and details about how to work out the right way and what to do before and after jogging so this won't happen to you. Meanwhile, the title of the article was talking about the president.

Who Cares About California?

2009-07-27T09:48:00.000-04:00

Who Cares About California?

by Roxy Haji

One of the big news stories of the week was about how my home state, California, finally came to a “solution” for its enormous, 26.3 billion dollar (and growing and every day) deficit. After what seemed like forever, the Republicans and Democrats collectively agreed on a new budget deal to plug the state’s financial gap, leaving only The Governator to give his autograph before the new deal can be passed. I analyzed the reporting on this big story using four news sources, all of which had their articles online. The New York Times, BBC, USA Today and The Los Angeles Times had quite different ways of informing the public about the California budget deal.

The first article I read was from the BBC webpage. Its length was the first thing that caught my eye: it was rather short. But I wasn’t too surprised, considering news about California must not be of grave concern to people in a completely different country with completely different accents thousands of miles away.

Then I read the USA Today version and was shocked. Its article on California made the BBC’s article look like a PhD dissertation. It was two sentences. In fact, here it is:

“The California Assembly has approved a plan to close most of

a $26.3 billion deficit. The legislation now goes to Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger, who is expected to sign it.”

After reading USA Today’s report, if I can even call it that, I read The New York Times’ article. The New York Times was nice enough to devote a whole page to California’s crisis, but I did notice a cynical tone and felt more like someone with a slant was giving me the news, not an objective reporter. Words like “nebulous” and “oddities” found their way into the article in, what I thought, were inappropriate contexts.

The Los Angeles Times was the last paper I read and, of course, its report on its home state was much more detailed. And one would hope so. The article was very in-depth and very impartial. I couldn’t tell if the individual writing it was a Democrat or a Republican or was for the budget deal or not for the budget deal. All in all, it was informative and unbiased.

Out of the four newspapers, my favorite is The Los Angeles Times because USA Today is too hasty and shallow for me, the BBC is a great source for global, objective news, but not so much for American news, and The New York Times is too biased and has a not-so-subtle slant. I used to read The New York Times exclusively and mock those who read The Los Angeles Times (when I lived back in L.A., since nobody reads The Los Angeles Times out here), but a few months ago I began to recognize more and more its sometimes cynical and partial tone and it turned me off a little bit, so I turned to The Los Angeles Times, which is actually quite good, in my opinion.

Rampant, Unprecedented Corruption; What part does ethnicity play, if any at all?

2009-07-27T09:14:00.003-04:00

In the July 26, 2009 issue of the New York Times, an article about the 44 arrested NJ officials was published, where the main point of the article was to show how engrained corruption is into the system. The article points out that over the last decade, over 150 NJ officials have been arrested on corruption charges. This time it was three mayors and even one rabbi who were arrested.

The link to the NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/nyregion/27jersey.html?_r=1&hp

An article published on the same topic in the ethnic Russian newspaper called "Novoye Russkoye Slovo" (The New Russian Word) also explains the facts in a fashion similar to the New York Times. When covering Tri-State Area news, this newspaper offers a very similar slant to the New York Times, as this is the same newspaper that I brought to class which translates New York Times articles into Russian.

The link to the article from the Russian newspaper:
http://www.nrs.com/news/front/usa/240709_203808_88373.html

I noticed two major differences in how the article was portrayed in the Russian news as opposed to the New York Times. First, this article made the front page of the Russian newspaper, while this was not the case with the New York Times. The reason for this, as far as I understand, is that many readers of the Russian newspaper come from the former Soviet Union which, as far as my parents told me, was horribly engrained with corruption. It is the opinion of many Russian people, like my parents, that while corruption does exist in the US (as pointed out in two articles), it is more possible to prosecute because the American criminal justice system is supposed to be less biased and less nepotistic than the Soviet one. Also, the Russian community generally tends to have a distasteful outlook on politicians who are caught pocketing their tax dollars, and for this reason sees political corruption as a very serious crime that is worthy of outrage and a front page article.

The other major difference that I noticed was that in the Russian article, it was mentioned very specifically that most of the public officials that were arrested for corruption were of Syrian-Jewish decent. While the New York Times does try to be as ethnically neutral as possible (especially when the article pertains to a legal case), the Russian ethnic press is very preoccupied with ethnicity. This is perhaps because in the Soviet Union, one's ethnicity was listed in the one's passport - making it a lot easier to ethnically differentiate people. I guess this is what is the most responsible for such an ethnically-differentiated outlook on society by many Soviet expatriots.

Read All Over

2009-07-27T08:58:00.002-04:00

The turbulence, protests and accusations of voter fraud in Iran have been extensively covered in the news for the past week. Each source, the New York Times, BBC News, USA Today and the China Post, had multiple articles on the escalating instability in the country. In the Sunday Times an article about immoral practices against protester had under the fold mention in a boxed synopsis. The article focuses on an open letter that both undermines Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election victory and called out the vicious psychological and physical abuse of protesters. While the Times focuses on the violation of civil rights, the BBC looks at how Mir Hossein Mousavi will move forward after the potentially fraudulent election. The final four paragraphs, which are brief, discuss the cause of the protests. There is a very vague mention of the physical abuses suffered by arrested protesters; they merely point out the twenty deaths that occurred at the beginning of the protests. The BBC attempts to put the situation into a positive context where Mir Hossein Mousavi expresses his desire to give the current opposition a legal backing rather than challenging the system as a whole. The Times coverage goes more in depth in it’s focus, but a common thread between BBC and the China Post is Mousavi’s wife talking about her brother’s detainment. The source is the same, but the BBC uses the singular reference to the arrest. The China Post goes farther with her perspective on the situation as the focus of the article, specifically her anger at the militarized response. Mousavi is also quoted in the China Post, but unlike the BBC paraphrase, it is direct and certainly not put into a positive context. The China Post gives a unique view in using Zahra Rahnavard, Mousavi’s wife, as the main source because she is closely attached to the events by way of her marriage. While the protesters’ opinion sourced in the Times and USA Today are important, their role is from an outside perspective, not as a person who bore the direct affront in the hypothesized fraud. This is not to say that the proceeding election did not affect them, the ensuing protest proves that, rather that an official’s perspective provides greater significance to the reader. USA Today and the Times synonymously use Human Rights leaders as sources throughout their articles. All three, unlike the BBC, give longer accounts with more in-depth coverage on the outcome of June 12th. However, USA Today is similar to the BBC in that the coverage is meant to be more hopeful as opposed to strictly exploring the abuses of power. USA Today looks at the global response to the protests and the international unity evoked by the election’s outcome. In looking at these four accounts the reader has to consider the question: which aspect is more important for me to consider? By reading the parallel accounts, the reader becomes better suited to judge the causality and therefore see the importance of a worldwide effort to support the protests of Iran. The gravity of the events as a whole calls for more than a singular source and makes objectivity difficult to judge. This isn’t true in all circumstances; a report on who won Saturday’s Yankees game leaves no room for subjectivity. However, the reader who is looking to be fully informed should do so by utilizing multiple news sources for reasons expressed throughout.

Arrest of prominent professor blows up in officer's face

2009-07-27T08:25:00.004-04:00

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a well-renowned professor at Harvard University. After returning home from a trip he found that his front door was jammed (possibly from someone else as there had been recent break-ins in the area) and so he employed his driver from the airport to help him pry open the door. A woman happened to see these two men trying to gain access to the apartment, and called the police to report a possible break-in. After the police showed up, Gates ended his night by being hauled off in handcuffs for disorderly conduct and the resulting media circus and accusations of racism by the Cambridge Police Dept have come out of the woodwork.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/us/27gates.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

The NY Times had a 3 page article detailing the arrest, including the 911 phone call where apparently the woman did not factor in race, and did not state that there were two black men trying to break in to an apartment. It was a very well-written article showing both views of the professor and of the arresting police officer.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-07-26-obama_N.htm

The Media Circus raged on for days, and it seemed that everyone had an opinion on the matter. Even President Obama chimed in, stating that the Cambridge Police acted stupidly in arrested Professor Gates, a friend of his. USA Today had an article about how this incident and all of the subsequent media reports surrounding it would be a good way to get a conversation going about race, and racial profiling in America.

http://newsday.com/news/nation/cambridge-police-race-not-mentioned-in-911-call-1.1328978

There was an article in Newsday that mentions how race was not a factor at all in the arrest of Gates. "Lucia Whalen placed the 911 call July 16, saying she saw two men on Gates' front porch who appeared to be trying to force open the front door." Apparently she was trying to be a good citizen by reporting the break-in as she was aware of recent ones in the area.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8166278.stm

By far the most interesting article I read regarding this issue was by the BBC. Oh the good ol' BBC, always giving us articles that seem to really delve into the story. They were perhaps the only article I read that gave us a history of racial profiling in the US. In their story, they highlight why the arrest was such a big deal. They also talked about the Rodney King incident in the early 1990s which ended up leading to race riots in Los Angeles.

I wasn't there when the police showed up, but I do believe that the police were initially responding to a call about a break-in to an apartment and that their intentions were good. That being said, after producing his ID and proving that this was his apartment, the police had no right to arrest him. I'm sorry but the last time I checked you can say FUCK YOU to a police officer and not be arrested for disorderly conduct. I understand and I would be angered too if I was being arrested for breaking into my own house. Should Professor Gates have not been rowdy? Maybe. But it was his own house and he was obviously getting more and more annoyed when the officers would not tell them their names or badge numbers. You have every right to know a police officer's name and their badge number. I know too many people who have been threatened with arrest for merely not having an ID or talking back to an officer. This is not a police state the last time I checked. The police are employed to protect and to serve the people. In my neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn I can't even count how many times I've seen people, stopped on the street simply walking about their day and thrown into the back of a police van. Racial profiling is still a big problem in the United States today, and hopefully there can only be positive things that come from this incident. Like President Obama said, there will hopefully be an opportunity for a national dialogue on race.

Read all over Palin resigns

2009-07-27T07:33:00.004-04:00

Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska today. Her resignation was covered by the four news sources I have chosen, the BBC, the New York Times, USA Today and the Juneau Empire. The reports had many similarities as they all used the same source for their information and covered most of the same facts, but there were differences in the scope, slight variations of focus, and major differences in length of the articles. In one instance, the factual information in two papers conflicted.

Mainly, the papers reported very similar stories. They all covered her resignation and saay what this means for her career and what her future plans are. They all speculate she may go into television or radio show broadcsting and possibly make a run for President in the next election. All three U.S. newspapers used the Associated Press as their source of information, therefore much of the content and most of the facts were the same in all articles. Even the BBC reported most of the AP content.

While the four news sources were reporting on the exaxct same event and using the same source (AP), there were many differences in the articles. There were differences in scope, focus, the time of reporting, and minor differences in emphasis and information in the articles. In one instance, the same fact relative to time remaining in Palin's term was reported differently by the BBC and NY Times.

There was a difference in focus between the papers even though each used the AP as a source. USA today seemed to be more concerned on where her future career was going. The BBC seemed to be a little more shocked that she had actually quit and focused on reasons why. The New York Times didn't initially report much more than a few basic facts which showed they had little interest in the topic. The Juneau Empire, as expected, had a more "close to home" approach and focused more on the impact her leaving will have on the community.

As far as publication timing is concerned, the BBC had a in depth coverage posted very early following the breaking of the news. The New York Times was later in reporting and at first only had a small blurb on the fact and a link to the AP. They later updated the story with the exact same wording as published by USA Today from the AP. On the otherhand, Juneau Empire included not only AP releases but added extensive coverage from local reporters. The Juneau coverage was very thorough.

I was somewhat suprised that the BBC, being a foriegn source, had such in depth coverage. I was also surprised that the New York Times was somewhat late with their coverage.

In conclusion, the articles all had slightly different focuses, slants, and depth of coverage, but they were more similar than dissimilar. I find it very interesting that people often read papers that they are comfortable with for news, when many of the papers go straight to the Associated Press and repost the words almost verbatim. I thought newspapers were much more independent and had no idea the AP had that much influence on what they say in terms of both content and exact phrasing.

More Of The Same From "The Soprano State"

2009-07-27T03:32:00.004-04:00

The excitement of classic stories of New Jersey's history of corruption has been challenged by a new extreme addition to the canon. In the past week, over forty individuals, including New Jersey public officials and rabbis, have been arrested in connection with a two-part, large-scale, international money laundering ring. The arrests come after a ten-year probe of the activities of the groups involved.

Coverage of this sweep has been widespread, the activities of members of this state reaching news outlets around the world. As this story is one that is full of detail, it is often very easy to see what is emphasized and what is essentially ignored in an account. Though they all tell the same general story, the New York Times, USA Today, BBC News, and The Australian accounts are very interesting in their differences.

The New York Times provides a concerned outlook on the situation in which this case has placed New Jersey residents. It goes beyond stating that this case reinforces stereotypes surrounding New Jersey and corruption; the Times article expresses concern for the people that are surrounded by this culture of corruption. The Times article continues with a large amount of detail regarding the development of the case. Throughout the article, plenty of incriminating quotes are provided for the reader; however, quotes from the accused parties, claiming their innocence, are also present. This account seems to put little energy into attacking the accused parties, placing more energy on the feeling of this being a sad time for New Jersey.

The USA Today account provides significantly less quotes of self-defense from the accused parties. This account also stands out in its emphasis on the political party affiliation of the arrested public officials, and other relevant individuals as well. Though it is stated consistently in all reports that this case involves two distinct sectors with a connecting individual, the USA Today seems to focus on only the political implications of this incident.

BBC News provides a very straightforward account of the corruption case. There is much less history presented than in the Times article, and there is much less mentioned regarding more specific political implications of this case. What is present is a very unsympathetic emphasis on the culture of corruption that clearly remains in New Jersey. Most of the quoted text of this article addresses the fact that corruption is rampant in the state government; little note is given, however, to the social implications of such a presence of corruption.

Interestingly, The Australian provides the most well-rounded account, though at the risk of possibly lacking in detail. The account provided includes the general overtone of disappointment in corruption, while showing a bit of the social concern seen in the Times, and the political emphasis seen in the USA Today account. The Australian also rounds out its article with a small description of public reaction, implying overall support for the crackdown.

Though The Australian seems to provide all of the lenses that I would like to view this story though, its account feels like it was a bit lacking in details from each area of focus. Though an impartial news seems to be what most consumers desire, the value of a somewhat biased news source, that will go into extensive detail of one aspect of a story, cannot be denied. By collecting information from several biased sources, one may gather much more information than would be practical to provide in one impartial source.

Read All Over about the NJ corruption

2009-07-27T01:48:00.004-04:00

I was looking at the New Jersey Corruption this past week. I first found about this in the New York Times, and checked at other sources as well.

First of all, the New York Times was focusing on the fact, and the article had so many pages. I did not feel the article was biased or written with the strong feeling about this matter. It is more like showing the fact and summarizing what police investigation says about this matter.

Then, I read the same article in USA today. It had facts as well but not so detailed as NY Times. Also I felt it was more targeting the opinion of the people who live in the town, or the people's attitude and feeling about this matter more than the actual event that happened.

I found NY Post interesting. They only had a big picture of a rabbi and very simplified fact and they focused on the exact words that rabbi used to imply the "cash" in Hebrew. Other than that trivial information, they did not focus on the news as much as the other sources.

Then, I've read BBC news. I got the sense that it was the shortest and a little oversimplified. For example, other source clearly said 44people were arrested, but only BBC said more than 44 people arrested. Maybe it was because they were not sure about the number at the time, but there weren't updated news about this. On the other hand, I would say this source is the most non-biased article out of all the sources that I've read.

I tried to find the ethnic press, but I was not able to find one. Since corruption is not a surprising event in our long history, this may not be the hottest topic in foreign countries. I also noticed that each news source has its target and particular readers. So their advertisements showing up to the margins of the news are also interesting. When a certain word is searched, the add also correspond with the searched word.

NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/nyregion/24jersey.html?scp=1&sq=nj%20corruption&st=cse

USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-23-nj-corruption-probe_N.htm

BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8165607.stm

NY Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07252009/news/regionalnews/the_talmudic_traitor_rabbis_181314.htm

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

2009-07-27T01:12:00.002-04:00

Michael Kim

A little over a week ago, President had his first racial controversy since he stepped into office through his commenting on the Henry Louis Gates' arrest. The whole situation grew to this big mess within hours after he commented that the police 'acted stupidly' in that situation. That the issue of race having to do with a lot of the arrests was still disproportionately prominent. The President's comment offended many police officers around the country that Mr. Obama's comments make their job harder than it is. That the officers would have to be mindful with every action they make, especially to minorities.
After much unwanted publicity, President Obama addressed the press briefly expanding what he meant and individually called both Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley to talk it through over a cold beer.

So, The New York Times really went in-depth to the whole to story from beginning to the most recent information. The article described (in greater detail than other news) the arresting of Professor Gates to the President's comment and why he would have said those things to how the President called both people that were involved to talk it over. I felt the article was unbiased to a certain side, but simply explained the whole situation based on facts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/politics/25gates.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

USA Today's article was really focused on the police force as a whole (Cambridge & the nation). It explained the side of the officers on how they felt that President Obama was "way off base" commenting without knowing the full details. The article was relatively short, but it was all about how the police department felt a little hurt by Mr. Obama's comment, but they have to do what they have to do and not be discouraged of what they need to do.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-23-cops-reaction_N.htm

The BBC focused on Professor Gates and the topic of Racial Profiling. That this has been and is a problem even now and it focused on how the President was always focused on eliminating "Racial Profiling." The article was written for the point of view of the receiving end of Racial Profiling. It really helped me feel what most minorities feel when they are disproportionately "accused" for a crime and angered how it hasn't been completely eliminated even at this day of age.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8166278.stm

The Daily News was a very 'light' article to read in the sense that it did not focus on the heavy controversial situation, but on the brighter topic of how they (President Obama, Prof Gates, & Sgt Crowley) are trying to personally meet each other to talk it over and move on. It gave me a sense of relief that they are on the right track to help bind the wounds of racial profiling that is such a deep past-time scar, which we should take note of and strive to do.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/07/25/2009-07-25_harvard_professor_.html

about it case of Henry Louis Gates Jr.

2009-07-26T23:29:00.000-04:00

Lately, the issue of arrest of Louis Gates, Jr. covered all the major headlines. The story was basely about a Harvard scholar of African-American research arrested by a police by changed refusing to calm down after Crowley demanded him to show his ID and after he proved he lived there. The case has bought the one of the most sensitive issues, and catches the attention of almost all the attention of the major news paper.

BBS News:
“Harvard row highlights US tension”, By Max Deveson. The article starts with a quotation from president Obama, which declares there are still racial issues in today’s America. The tone of the author is pbuiously bias in Hery Louis Gates Jr. and the police action against him is pure folly. In addition, the author cites examples of the past to prove his point of view.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8166278.stm

USA Today:
“Obama remark on Gates' arrest angers cops” The article pointes out that their criticism of the president Obama led to the widespread dissatisfaction with the police officers across the country. They appeal that before any judgment has been made, get all the facts first. The artic points out, Hery Louis Gates Jr. was arrested because of racial bias and refused to calm down after Crowley demanded him to show his ID and after he proved he lived there.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-23-cops-reaction_N.htm

The New York Times:
“Obama Shifts Tone on Gates After Mulling Debate”. It points out that Harvard University professor gates was mistakenly arrested by police led to a heated race debate, president Obama has also been involved into the vortex. After that, president Obama praised the police officer Crowley was a good man, and invited him and Gates to White House and have some beer and talk. Hoping calm this storm as soon as possible. Obama believes that the based on what he has heard, both side have overreacted. The article also pointed out, Sgt. Leon Lashley, an African-American officer at Gates house 100% supported Sergeant Crowley’s actions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/politics/25gates.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=Louis Gates&st=cse&scp=5

Singtao New:
A Chinese daily local news reported very similar to Times, and focused on what the government had announced. It said president Obama still considered the arrest “an overreaction,” and unfortunately gave an impression that maligning the police officer specifically and he could have calibrated those words diiferntly.
http://www.singtao.com/breakingnews/20090725b141438.asp

Mianlei Zhang

A Conversation of Record

2009-07-26T23:11:00.005-04:00

New York Times: I’ve alighted upon a story that is “fit to print.”

BBC: Ah, yes. Quite an ado. Kidney trafficking, money laundering, religious leaders and political leaders all involved.

USA Today: Oh, yeah sure. I got it, too. I got the AP story.

The Jewish Week: [shaking head woefully] My outrage knows no bounds.

NYT: Indeed. You’ll be pleased to know I have all the details covered: extensive quotations abound – grotesque anecdotes, too. Did you know, for example, that money once changed hands in a box of Apple Jacks cereal?

USA: Delicious!

BBC: It’s a microcosm of U.S. culture at large, if you ask me. It’s international; it’s local. It’s a prime example of those who should be leading instead preying on the vulnerable.

USA: [nodding knowingly] Now, you all out in the U.S. of A may have heard of New Jersey. Very well known for its corruption. For example, it’s where the hit HBO series “The Sopranos” takes place. Also the American classic, “On the Waterfront.”

BBC: It’s curious. My readership doesn’t even live within the States and nevertheless I don’t feel compelled to couch this story in pop culture context.

TJW: It is clear that we’ve reached a crisis of Jewish morality.

NYT: Well, Jewish Times, that’s an interesting perspective. Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra has some valuable thoughts on the matter. He calls politics in New Jersey an “ethics-free zone.” And it's true. The seediness is everything you’d imagine – paranoia of informants, meetings in diners, meetings in boiler rooms, of all places.

BBC: Quite. But it's all rather sensational, isn't it. I seem able to convey the story and include the pertinent facts without all the moral outrage and quirky detail. Maybe it's just that I'm "across the pond," so to speak.

NYT: I interviewed a New Jersey street sweeper for his opinion, as well.

USA: Peter Cammarano, the new mayor of Hoboken was arrested. Did I mention that Hoboken is Frank Sinatra’s hometown?

TJW: Forget Sinatra! Apparently, our orthodox leaders believe that the laws of man do not apply to them. They think they can be good Jews while at once being bad people.

USA: Eli Manning lives there, too!

BBC: Is he what you call a footballer? Will you just quiet down, USA Today?

TJW: While I was at Yeshiva University, I witnessed this type of behavior firsthand. The orthodox community is too concerned with keeping pork out of people’s mouths and not concerned enough with basic human decency. There is a special place in Hell for these individuals.

NYT: And the kidneys. Nobody can help being fascinated by the kidneys. Now, how much would it cost in pounds sterling to actually purchase a kidney?

BBC: Oh! I have the conversion here. Let me see: 6,000 pounds to buy from a vulnerable and not-quite-willing donor, and they’ve been turning them around for 97,000 pounds. Quite a markup, I dare say!

NYT: Hmph! Note my split infinitive above - more evidence of our alarming cutbacks in the copyediting department.

BBC: Tut, tut!

New York Times
BBC
USA Today
The Jewish Times

SECOND TITLE FOR CONTADOR!

2009-07-26T22:56:00.002-04:00

Unlike many sporting events, the Tour De France is the hardest bicycle racing tour in the world. Many perceive it to be the pinnacle of achievements regardless of the fact that the best racers in the world regularly use doping tactics to give themselves an edge over their competitors. Lance Armstrong is arguably considered to be the premier rider the sport has ever seen. With 7 strait victories and having fought through numerous life theatning experiences, he is considered to be the Michael Jordan of cycling.

Having dropped out of the tour for the past 3 years, he returned to the sport to attain his 8th Tour de France victory although a teammate of his, the spaniard Alberto Contador, seemed to be the strongest rider when he sealed his second title in todays final stage. "It has been an especially difficult Tour for me, but I savor it and it is more special because of it," he said after the prize ceremony.

Contador and Armstrong were both members of team Astana, a team based in Kazakstan, this year and it was a fight to the finish between the two of them. With more than a 4 minute lead coming out of the mountains, it was an easy finish for Alberto Contador to take home his second win. "I'm realistic, I did everything I could," Armstrong said to a New York Times reporter before the final stage. "For me, and even more for my kids, it's probably a healthy thing for them to see, because they saw their dad that never lost, and the kids in their class (say) 'your dad never loses,' so it's good for them to see dad get third and still be cool with that and still be happy."

A bbc reporter states "Contador, the 26-year-old, proved to be the strongest rider in the mountains and in the time trials". Being that this event is the largest of all cycling races, reporters from all over the world, writing for many different papers, have been covering these heart palpitating 21 stages and a total of 23 days.

One of the major controversies of this years Tour De France has been close to epic as ironic as it sounds, Contador was on team Astana while the majority of the team were using drug doping enhancements to increase their probability of winning. Unfortunately for Contador, his team was banned from the '08 tour and had to sit out with the rest of his teammates. This year surprisingly enough, there weren't any cases of doping.

Most of the major newspapers covered this story similarly although, some were more concentrated on the fact that Lance Armstrong will not be riding for team Astana in the next years Tour De France instead he will be leading his new team of riders for team RadioShack, a team based in the United States.

Abraham Dwek

READ ALL OVER

2009-07-26T20:34:00.001-04:00

The articles I have chosen relate to Sufi Mohammad and his detention in Pakistan. Sufi Mohammad is the cleric who in February of this year negotiated a deal in the Swat area of Pakistan that in effect gave governing control to the Taliban. The deal collapsed in April when the Taliban broke their promise to not advance. This in turn brought a military offensive followed by retaliatory attacks by militants in the northwest and beyond. Sufi Muhammad is also the father in law of the Taliban leader in the area, Maulana Fazlullah, and the founder o f TNSM (Tehrik Nizam Shariat Mohammadi), a group banned and branded militant by the government.

I didn’t find much slant though I did feel the focus was different for each. The BBC was more of a general article, with some light background to it. USA Today was focused more on the carnage aspect- referring to suicide bombers and eyewitness accounts of "Human body parts were lying there, there was blood and people were crying in pain…”. The NY Times focused more on the Pakistani army versus Taliban militants angle, portraying it as a battle being more strongly waged and incrementally won by the Pakistani government. The Pakistani News focus was very clear: demands for Muhammad and a government leader believed to have been collaborating with the Taliban, to be taken to trial. The article is basically a press release statement from the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.

With respect to sources, the BBC used only one (named) source, the Pakistani provincial information minister, Iftikhar Hussein. USA Today used 4 sources, quoting from local villagers as well as a University professor and military sources. The NY Times quoted 7 sources: Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Minister Iftikhar Hussein, Mahmood Shah, a former security chief in the tribal region, Investigator Malik Tariq Awan, police spokesman Naim Khan, a Mingora villager (Shaukat Ali), and a Pakistani army Brigadier (Brig. Tahir Khan). The Pakistani newspaper only used a press release as their source. It was the most pointed of the articles, with no background. But as it is a local paper, it makes sense that those there are keenly aware of all the circumstances and do not need multiple sources or explanations of the conditions there.

USA Today does not have a more recent article that discusses the cleric than one from June 2009. The events leading to the murder of Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, top aides to Sufi Muhammad, open this article. They had been detained by the Pakistani government for participating in Taliban activities that were classified as terrorist, and contrary to government authority. It is debated whether their murder was accidental as the military claims, or if it was calculated, as a political scientist at Lahore University believes. The Taliban may have murdered them themselves to avoid their giving out any information that would endanger future Taliban operations. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-06-06-pakistan_N.htm

The BBC opens with much more recent news: announcing the Provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussein’s news conference announcing that Sufi Mohammad had been detained for encouraging terrorism and violence. The cleric was detained after holding meetings in Peshawar after being warned not to. The article describes some of the background of the players, and the peace deal that was brokered allowing the Taliban to take control of the area. There is also mention of Maulana Fazlullah, who the Pakistani government insists was harmed in an air strike. Per usual, each side claims they are strong and healthy and will neither admit any casualties nor frailties.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8169385.stm

The Times gives quotes from the information minister for the North West Frontier Province, Mian Iftikhar Hussein, who stated that ''At this critical juncture, we cannot allow, we cannot let a person walk free, a person who has supported terrorists''. This article talks about the failed peace deal negotiated in February that ended in April but also gives the opinion from people in the region (like a tribal security leader) that the Taliban are demoralized and the arrest of Muhammad will not make much impact. The article notes however that the Pakistani authorities seem to be stepping up their efforts at stamping out the Taliban, and that in the Swat town of Mingora, they had ‘rescued’ several teenagers forcibly recruited by the Taliban. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/07/26/world/AP-AS-Pakistan.html?scp=1&sq=sufi+muhammad&st=nyt

The News is a local Pakistani paper, and ironically, had the shortest article about the detention of Sufi Muhammad of the four papers. It mainly discusses the demands of a nationalist party called the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. With Muhammad in detention, the party has demanded that he as well as former commissioner of Malakand, Syed Muhammad Javed, be taken to trial for their involvement with the Taliban as well as the bloodshed of the region, (mainly caused by TNSM).http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=190071

RACE AND ARREST

2009-07-26T20:05:00.000-04:00

RACE & ARREST

The eye-catching front page of New York Times online entitled “Obama Shifts Tone on Gates After Mulling Debate,” portrays a big picture of the President showing a sad face, acknowledging that his own “comments had inflamed tensions and insisted he had not meant to malign the arresting officer.” This two-page article mentioned that the police had “acted stupidly” and that the arrest was “an overreaction,” but also that, “Professor Gates probably overreacted as well.” Attached to this article are two videos with colored pictures showing separately Sgt. Crowley and the President. One entitled “Support Officer in Gates Case,” whereby police unions and other law enforcement groups said that “Sgt. James Crowley’s actions in the arrest of Professor Gates were justified.” The second one entitled “Obama on Gates Arrest” giving the President’s views on the arrest.
BBC’s front page displayed a very small picture of Professor Gates and devoted a full page article entitled “Race Tensions: Professor’s arrest highlights US ‘racial profiling:’ Unlike the New York Times, BBC refers to history of African American mistreatment, as stated “There is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.” It gave a description as to what happened on Thursday, July 23, when Professor Gates was trying to enter his house and the details which led to his eventual arrest. On the same page, in a tiny box was a remark made by Ta-Hehisi Coates, “I would say that this is the sort of thing that angers upper-class black people even more than it angers anyone else.” USA Today’s front page was dedicated to the arrest of Professor Gates, entitled: “Scholar’s arrest raises racism questions.” It also contained a colored picture of the professor with links leading to other sites on ‘racial profiling,’ and views of different black politicians. It covered over 75% of the front page. These quality presses are more informing and formal in the manner they convey information and news stories.
The front page of “The Root,” a black ethnic paper, displayed a large picture on its front page of Professor Henry Louis Gates, under the title “The Root's Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. Appealing to the black minority, Root criticizes the professor’s arrest and the outrage of “racial profiling in America.” This four page article covered an extensive interview with Professor Gates regarding the details of the arrest. It came as a total shock to the professor that he was arrested after he had shown the officer his identity documents and explained that it was his house. Root, unlike the other publications, stated that it was “clear that the police officer did not follow police procedures” while doing his job, and had merely presumed that the professor was guilty, not because he was trying to enter his premises, but because he was black. Root further stated that the officer, using the power of his uniform, took Professor Gates’ belt, wallet, keys, and handcuffed him, under the pretext that the professor was loud in a pubic place; and that the officer who made the arrest, “did it out of spite, and knew that the black professor was going to file a report because of his behavior.” This paper contains diverse emotions and ideas. The front page of all the newspapers focused on Professor Gates and ‘racial profiling.’

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/politics/25gates.html
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/Americas
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-24
http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks

Octomom signs TV deal for all 14 kids!!!!

2009-07-26T15:43:00.002-04:00

Octomom has just signed a TV deal for all 14 of her children. They will each make a collective amount of $250, 000 over a three year period. Their contracts were filed on Friday in LA Superior Court. A European production company were the ones that presented the deal to Suleman (Octomom). Eyeworks is the name of the production company, and is also the creator of the show "The Biggest Losers."

The NY Times, states a summary from the amount the kids will make over three years of filming, the name of the trust fund and how they will not be able to touch the money that goes in there until they are 18 years old. How Octomom has 4 citations against her for filming the babies when they came home. That violates child labor laws and they will appear in court on Monday. The NY Times is however the only one to state that, "The medical curiosity of their delivery turned to public outrage when it was learned that the single, unemployed mother had been caring for her six other children with the help of food stamps and Social Security disability payments for three of the youngsters.

BBC News, states the same as the other news media. It is the only one that goes into saying film crews will not follow Suleman and her children 24 hours a day, but will document certain milestones, such as birthdays and special events. BBC News doesn't post the name of the trust fund, whereas NY Times and USA Today do.

USA Today, is the longest of the four articles. This article pretty much states the same, except it is the only one that focuses more on the fact that a court appearance will be made on Monday, and it goes into more detail about the citations received and what may happen in court, as well as the laws that were broken.

Laist, this news report is very against Octomom, whereas the other 3 had a neutral view point. The Laist says, from the opening line that this is a dream come true for Octomom. The article also says how Ocotmom has said from the beginning that she wanted her kids to be on TV.

The Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Debacle

2009-07-26T12:13:00.004-04:00

The arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a prominent scholar and director of Harvard’s Institute for African and African-American Research, made headlines across the globe this past week. At first the details were scarce, but after several hours of the story breaking the events behind the arrest had become much more clear.

Gates had just returned to Boston from a business trip and when he tried to enter his home in Cambridge the door wouldn’t open. He ended up having to push his way in, which to several neighbors it appeared someone was attempting to break in. After the neighbors called the police, an argument ensued between Gates and a Sergeant Crowley, after which Crowley booked Gates on the charge of disorderly conduct.

Why did these events make national and international headlines? There seem to be several aspects to the story, but two main points are doubtless the fact of a white officer arresting a black man in his own home (possible racial profiling?), and also the comment by President Obama on the situation itself, with him referring to the police as acting “stupidly.”

We’ll take a look at four articles covering the aftermath of the Gates incident:

The New York Times, “Obama Shifts Tone on Gates After Mulling Debate”

The NYTimes, well known for a liberal bias, comments on Obama’s effort to “diffuse a volatile national debate” over the events that had occurred in Boston last week. The article, which is two pages long, focuses on Obama’s shift in tone from Wednesday, when he made the “stupidly” remark during his national news conference, to Friday, when he placed calls to both Crowley and Gates, inviting them to the White House for a beer to discuss the situation. The Times seems to praise Obama’s swift reassessment of the matter.

BBC News, “Harvard Row Highlights US Tensions”

This article focuses on the racial tensions that still exist in the US, with the detail of a study showing that blacks are 3 times as likely as whites to be pulled over for traffic violations in Los Angeles. They refer to this study because at one point during the argument that took place at Gates’ home during his arrest, he shouted, “This is what happens to black men in America!” The BBC states that Gates, indeed, may have a point. This article seems to be somewhat unbiased, looking at raw numbers of a study done by a Yale professor.

USA Today, “Professor Gates: Ready to Move on from Arrest”

USA Today, known for its short article length and ease of reading, focuses on Gates’ willingness to move on and use the events from last week in a positive manner, bringing attention to injustice that still occurs in the US. Gates says that he has accepted President Obama’s invitation to the White House and that he looks forward to meeting with Sergeant Crowley. A noticeable difference in this article is not the length per say, but the shortness of each individual paragraph. I believe this is used to help hold readers’ attention.

Huffington Post, “Obama Addresses Gates at Briefing, Says He Called Officer”

The Huff Post is well known for its liberal slant, but has also become a trusted internet news source. This article is very similar to that of the NYTimes piece. The length and format are very alike, and the tone and subject matter are as well. There is, perhaps, more of a focus on Obama’s actions, as much of his speech during the conference and the briefing are quoted.

READ ALL OVER: Winehouse Ducks The Flash

2009-07-25T19:40:00.007-04:00

This past Thursday, British singing star, Amy Winehouse was trailed in London court. Winehouse took that stand as she was trialed for allegedly attacking dancer, Sherene Flash, last September. Reports say that, Flash was hit in the eye by the 25-year old musician after simply asking to take her picture at a charity ball. With the testimony of witnesses, prosecutor, Lyall Thompson, stated how it was evident that the defendant appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or “some other substance”. Prior to the hearing, Winehouse twirled in front of the judge t prove she was too short to be a brawler. With the singer denying any assault, she claimed to be startled by Flash’s drunken friend who tried to jump into the shot. She explains how she meant to “just get away” and how she was scared of those people who cannot “handle their drink”. Acquitted of the charges, Amy Winehouse was found not-guilty in the London court and was “relieved” and eager to go home.

In the AM New York newspaper, the writer focused more so on the facts that led up to the causation and trial. The AM uses sources established from prior. As a weekly paper, it provided the cases' surrounding information. With the result of the case established after the sources publication, it has less information about the results of the hearings and case. From a more liberal angle, the AM seemed to slant in favor of the discharged defendant. The New York Post, a daily provider of media, manages to convey the facts during and prior to the case. With useful information about lawyers and specific locations, they are able to summarize the “big picture” and main outlook on the story. As more of an unbiased or conservative view, the Post not only shades a balanced light on the issue but also manages to convey the idea of how the charismatic celebrity "beats the slap" of the British Law. I feel that each article published was aimed to satisfy the taste of readers of both papers.

NYTimes.com:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/amy-winehouse-is-acquitted-of-assault/?scp=2&sq=amy%20winehouse&st=cse

ABC Local:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/entertainment&id=6929678

SCHWARZNEGGER RETURNS TO ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA - READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!!

2009-07-25T15:39:00.005-04:00

There is no doubt that California is facing budget problems. A 26 billion dollar deficit calls for cuts in income, schools, public programs etc. So was Governor Schwarzenegger’s Twitter video appropriate during times like this?

In the New York Times, an article named “Knife In Hand, Schwarzenegger Tweets About Budget”, discusses California Governor Schwarzenegger’s video on twitter in which he holds a large knife in the beginning of the video to symbolize budget cuts; most likely intended for sense of humor purposes. The article is about half a page long and focuses mainly on what occurred in the governor’s video, such as the governor’s plan on taking a follower’s suggestion of autographing the 40,000 government vehicles to sell it for even more money; about a paragraph on what the governor’s plans are for California’s budget problem. The article also seems to be neutral on whether the video was appropriate.

In USA Today, an article named “Schwarzenegger takes on budget cuts with knife video” looks a lot like the article in the New York Times if not completely identical. Both articles are written by the Associated Press, which explains the almost identical content and focus of both articles.

In the Huffington Post, an article named “Why Is Arnold Schwarzenegger Brandishing A Gigantic Knife? (VIDEO)”, written by Jason Linkins, focuses mainly on the governor’s twitter video, specifically the part of the video where Governor Schwarzenegger holds the massive knife. The length of the article is about two paragraphs; the content of this article seems to be biased and very opinionated due to the writers input of his personal feelings against the governor’s decision to hold a knife at the beginning of the video. Also, I noticed that the writer made a grammatical mistake in his writing when he wrote this statement: “It looks to me as if, in the moment before this video begins, he's just looked at the crazy, massive knife and asked it, "Well, who's your Messiah NOW, knife?” (mistake underlined in red)
In BBC, an article named “Schwarzenegger Wields Knife on Twitter” also discusses the video made by the governor. However, unlike all the other newspapers mentioned in this post, the article is only a few sentences long with very minor details; it took me a while to find. The main focus of the article was the discussion of the knife and its symbolism for budget cuts. The article is similar to the articles in the New York Times and USA Today because the article does not take sides on the controversy on whether the video was appropriate or not. In BBC, there were longer articles that pertained to the real issue of coming up with a plan for the deficits in California, which gives me the impression that BBC cares more about the real issues, as we can see that more work was put into the article pertaining to California’s deficit than the article about Schwarzenegger’s video.

New York Times

USA Today

Huffington Post

BBC

Back to square one!!

2009-07-24T21:34:00.002-04:00

In a time where America has marked a milestone by electing its first African-American president to the White House, one would think that an issue such as racial profiling by law enforcement officials or even race in general have become a debate that the country won’t have to deal with anymore.
Sadly, that hasn’t been the case since the issue has resurfaced over the previous week and has gotten an extensive coverage by the mass media. The unfortunate arrest of Henry Louis Gates who is a prominent African-American Harvard Professor, by a white Cambridge policeman has spurred a huge controversy that grew even bigger when President Obama commented on the event by stating that the police has "Acted stupidly".
Today, the President expressed his regret about the words he used and many media sources have weighed in from various perspectives on his remarks.
Firstly, the New York Times article offered various information on the latest remarks made by the president, along with comments made by the different parties involved from Professor Gates to the Cambridge Police department. Moreover, it has gone even further to contrast Obama’s stand on the issue from pre and post election through the fine line he has been walking in regards to race. Overall, the article can be classified as moderately dense and focused.
Secondly, USA today has looked subjectively on the event and implicitly supported the police version of facts by offering witness accounts of a Black officer who was present at the moment of the arrest and who fully supports his fellow officer’s actions. In general the article is more focused on the police disappointment with Obama’s remarks and moderately dense as well.
Thirdly, the BBC follows USA today steps on subjectivity through a short article on the issue, that mostly stresses Obama’s poor choice of words and the critics that seized on the opportunity to express their concern over the President intervention.
Finally, after reading the CNN article it is important to notice that it offers an objective view of the whole events and is very focused on every aspect of it. Clearly, a long article with high density.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/politics/25gates.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-24-cambridge-police-gates_N.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8168313.stm

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/24/officer.gates.arrest/index.html

I've Read All Over About...The New Jersey Arrests

2009-07-24T15:39:00.002-04:00

New Jersey has never been more in the news than this past day. 44 people were arrested on various corruption charges, and the persons arrested included 3 mayors. As I watched news coverage of this story unfold on most of the major news sources I started to put together this post.

I started my perusal of articles pertaining to this story by looking at the New York Times coverage. Written ably by David Halbfinger, the article is detailed and does not appear to slant one way or the other. It gives facts and some details that other news sources do not, like the name of the federal informant who helped the FBI break this case, as well as detailing the fact that this all came out of a sting operation that took the FBI 2 years to put together before arrests were made.

Next, I turned to USA Today, and indeed, they had coverage of this story. Their main story was written by reporter Rick Hamson and aided by dispatches from the Associated Press, but its focus is the scandal of the political figures arrested. After the first paragraph of the story are quotes from New Jersey residents, which seem to say, "yeah, we've seen this before, it doesn't change." They also do not detail any of the international money laundering that was the first focus of the arrests.

The Huffington Post is not a news source I am that familiar with, but I decided to look at their coverage of this story, and found this coverage the most slanted of all that I looked at. Written by several contributors, they also focus on the political figures arrested, starting with the stepping down of a member of the governor's cabinet amid the scandal. This news source is, like I stated, not one I look at regularly, and given the slant of this story, is not one that I will turn to much in the future.

Lastly, I looked at coverage by the BBC. Of all the sources, this one is perhaps the shortest of all the articles and does not even have a byline listed, but it is, to my eyes, the most unbiased. It details the focus of the international money laundering operation and then gives names of who was arrested. Yes, the names start with the political figures, but then you get the names of the rabbis arrested as well. It tells the reader that the FBI used an informant to approach the political figures, and that this was a sting operation. I like looking at news stories reported by sources outside the United States because you get a different, more outside view. I regularly turn to the BBC for news about the United States, and would recommend their coverage of most major stories.

Corruption in politics is not a new concept, nor is it likely to stop just because the FBI arrested a bunch of people. My first memories of political corruption go back to the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. I stay skeptical about all political figures until they prove to me, by deeds alone, that they are worthy of my support. Having news sources all report their versions of the same story gives all of us a chance to weigh facts and make up our minds about political personages.

READ ALL OVER

2009-07-24T11:26:00.001-04:00

I looked at the NY Times, USA Today, BBC and the Huffington post in terms of their media coverage on the Henry Gates Scandal. Henry Gates was an African American professor at Harvard University. He had just returned from a trip overseas and upon arriving him found his door jammed and had to force it open with the help of his driver. A neighbor called the police thinking that someone was breaking in and when they arrived Gates allegedly shouted at the police officer and was arrested for disorderly conduct. Gates feels that he was arrested based on racial profiling.

The New York Times clearly takes Mr. Gates' side. The writer says that what he did was irritating not criminal and that the police officer should have left, no matter what the professor was shouting. The article is densely packed with information, the writers personal opinion and examples of other times when similar situations have occurred. I think that this article did a good job in not oversimplifying the matter and concluded with wondering whether or not this is acceptable, regardless of whether the citizen in white or black, which to me is the real point here. Of the 4 the New York Times by far had the most clear point of view and opinion. While the others were more fact of quote based the New York Times article really tried to hit people hearts and talked about human tendencies and feelings.

BBC's article was very short, about 2 paragraphs long, and oversimplified the matter. They provide a short account of what happened with no real slant, focus or sources.

USA Today provides a somewhat liberal description of what happened that day. They provide quotes from gate's attorney and provide examples of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge. Initially I thought there there was not much slant to the article but upon further inspection I think that they take Gate's side in the incident. they do not really provide the officers account of what happened but provide a lot of information from Gate's point of view.

Of the 4 The Huffington Post provides by far the most liberal description of what happened. They had accounts of both what Gates believed had happened and the officers account of what had happened. They provided many outside sources and quotes from Gate's colleagues, Reverend Al Sharpton and others. It also gave many more details than the other articles did about his court date and his academic background. It does the best job of the 4 in not oversimplifying the matter, and it is densely packed with sources and information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/us/24iht-letter.html?scp=1&sq=henry%20gates&st=cse

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8161929.stm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-23-cop-gates_N.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/20/henry-louis-gates-jr-arre_n_241407.html

THIS AMERICAN LIFE: MEDIA FRINGE

2009-07-23T15:47:00.000-04:00

If you would like to listen to the rest of the "Media Fringe," the episode of NPR's This American Life that we began in class after Quiz #1, go here:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=45

Study Guide for Quiz #1

2009-07-20T23:13:00.001-04:00

Quiz #1 will cover concepts and vocabulary in all assigned readings (including textbook chapters), lectures, and the media we watched or listened to in class. It will cover everything up through Magazines (July 13-20). This includes:

• All terms from all assigned textbook chapters. Most are in the margins of the textbook. (I will give you the definition, you write the word.) Additionally you will need to study these definitions from Hanson, Chapter 1:

o Mass Media
o Mass Communication
o Ritual Model
o Publicity Model
o Reception Model

• Stanley Baran’s “What is Culture?”
• Stuart Hall’s on representation (video)
• John Carlson on media ownership deregulation (video)
• Obama’s on media consolidation (video)
• Radio Lab show on The War of the Worlds Broadcast (mp3/link)

You should review all assigned readings and study the terms and the lecture notes (on Blackboard). I will not accept temporary Blackboard outages as an excuse for not studying the course materials, as there has been plenty of time to access these materials.

The first Quiz will be 15% of your final grade.

Magazines Images

2009-07-20T16:44:00.003-04:00

The Gentleman's Magazine:

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Saturday Evening Post cover:

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Halftone Portrait of Matthew Brady:

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People Magazine ("Nothing is better than celebrity death"):

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Halle Berry on Cosmo, 2002

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Media Effects

2009-07-20T15:53:00.000-04:00

Link to Nazi propaganda poster database:
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters2.htm

memoriable media experience

2009-07-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

There have been many big media events in my life that have effected me, or I can remember, but the most memorable media experience in my life is 9/11.
I can remember exactly where I was the second the news hit the television. I had stayed home from school sick that day, and about 10 minutes before the news broke on TV, a phone call came from my cousin who at the time worked in the World Trade Center building. All he said was “ tell everyone I’m okay” and hung up the phone. Me and my mother were not sure what he meant by that, but soon enough the television programs were being interrupted with news. I assumed it was some stupid presidential speech or something boring, so I flip the stations trying to find something other then the news. Within seconds I jumped and screamed to my mother to inform her of what’s going on, with the image of one of the towers up in smoke. Seeing it live, and seeing the news anchors completely distraught, and all of the chaos going on I was sure it was the end of the world. The media defiantly shaped the experience, because at that time there were no answers . Once the second building got attacked, I thought this was a joke. No one on TV had any explanation for anything. Was it an accident? Was it an attack? Is my cousin alright? All that was on the TV was a still shot of the twin towers slowly disintegrating and peoples lives being over one at a time. When I saw a news anchor man crying on live TV, who’s job is to tell the country the worst and the best going on, that’s when it hit me. From then on, this constant fear or question is in the back of everyone’s mind. Finding out my cousin was alive and safe was a huge relief to my family. Through out the years, the tension of fear has lowered but the wonder if a terrorist attack with happen again, is still in the back of peoples mind. Living through the tragedy of 9/11 and seeing the wreckage of that day, is a day I will never forget.

My Most Memorable Mediated Event

2009-07-20T09:27:00.000-04:00

I was in 8^th grade when I found out about the attack on the Twin Towers. With the plethora of technology today and ways in which we as a society communicate, it is crazy to look back and remember just exactly how I found out. On September 11^th, 2001, I did not own a cell phone, so there weren’t 50 messages in my inbox informing me of the terrible attacks. Instead, I found out when my principal came over the loud speaker in my Social Studies class. From what I can remember, it was a very strange message indeed. All she said was that a plane had hit the World Trade Center and I’m not sure if I remember anything else. I later found out that the kids in the high school were allowed to sit around and watch live coverage of the events unfolding, but as I was in middle school we were deemed “too young.” I didn’t really think much of the news that I had heard because as far as I was concerned it was just a plane crash. The full scale and impact of that day finally hit me when my mom came to school and pulled me out early. My dad was in the NYPD for over 20 years and on that day he was at work in the city. My oldest brother being a firefighter was working as well, and naturally they both were there to help in any way that they could. I remember how frightening it was sitting around my house with my family glued to the tv in just total and utter shock. It was especially frightening that night because neither my dad nor my brother came home. It’s definitely something I take for granted these days, the ability to just pick up my cell phone and send a quick text and immediately be satisfied to know that the ones I love are safe. It wasn’t until the next day that through all the chaos of what was going on, my brother and my father were able to reach us and let us know that they were ok. The events of that day and the subsequent media frenzy that soon followed after will always be with me. Looking back on that day, I am somewhat relieved that I did not have the internet because I probably would have gone crazy and had a breakdown with the immense of amount of information as the 24/7 coverage that bombarded the television was enough.

mjs death

2009-07-20T08:41:00.000-04:00

Experiencing Michael Jackson's death through the internet, specifically facebook as a social network site, has shaped my perspective of his life and death and contributed to my views of Michael both as a person and celebrity.

The day Michael Jackson died I was sitting at home looking through my facebook. I saw that several people had updated their status to things like "the king of pop is dead" and "r.i.p M.J." I clicked on a link to cnn.com; they had just updated the front page minutes prior with a breaking news story that Michael Jackson suffered from a heart attack and died.

Facebook provided a unique portal to the event as I was able to witness and participate in a collective reaction to his death and of his life. All at once I was flooded with information in various forms: music videos, old music clips, news reports in text, and opinions of my peers and people that would otherwise (if not for facebook) have been outside of my social and information circle. The internet also provided a real time delivery of the news that is not possible with other media forms such as newspaper or even television.

This influx of information also gave me a new view on Michael Jackson's life that I would not have formed had I seen the news through a different medium. I always had an impression of Michael Jackson as a weird plastic man who allegedly abused children. Growing up after Michael's prime, I had never seen him as a pop icon or experienced any of his musical talents. This rush of all of his contributions to pop music at my fingertips helped me appreciate him as an icon and see a more complete picture of his career. It opened a new view of the many good things that he and his music brought to people.

Confessions of an Economics Junkie

2009-07-20T08:19:00.000-04:00

Coming home from school typically implies a cynical slump into the nearest piece of cushioned furniture. My key hit the lock and was answered with, “The Dow is down 700 points!” Stock market observation and macro-economics is my favorite hobby, so my natural response was, “70?” The number 700 is repeated as I rush to the living room. My mother’s girlfriend was glued to MSNBC, a full ashtray of cigarettes butts before her. I stood beside the couch unable to believe the sweeping chain of red numbers scrolling across the bottom of the screen. I knew the economy was bad and replaying the proceeding months should have expected a drastic fiscal downturn, but those three digits are still a slap in the face. I shoved a cigarette in my mouth and struck my lighter to get past the initial shock and better analyze the situation. The floor was frantic – reporters staggered through details not yet official, calling on every financial correspondent hoping for different numbers. I told her to change the channel expecting one reporter with controlled emotions. CNN through FOX News, the words were vaguely altered, the panic stricken eyes the same. They artfully avoided the one phrase we were all thinking: Great Depression. I imagined old newsreels of businessmen and brokers jumping off the tops of buildings rather than seeing their portfolios in shambles. A representative of a heavy hitting brokerage firm came on to discuss the what, how and why? He’s the first stoic face I’ve seen in the past hour. This was a direct contrast to the cubicle pool behind him. Every broker was rapidly grabbing phones and the lines of the their mouths moved viciously over explanations. I most clearly remember a young broker over the stoic’s right shoulder. Phone in hand, he jumped up, arms flaying, face taut insinuating the diatribe he was unloading. His balled fist slammed onto the desk, as every good economics junkie watched, before collapsing back into his seat. You had to chuckle at the writhing emotions, but admit that was our feeling: anger followed by a humbling defeat. I began a strong pace after opening Google finance to attempt to find a pattern by studying interrelated industries. My head cocked towards the screen, I heard ‘It was speculator fear and bear market loathing that brought us to this.’ I burst out laughing having read too much Hunter Thompson to ignore the irony and humor contained in the female reporter’s conclusion of the day. Now recalling the event I am forced to reconsider the statement. At the time I didn’t believe the simple conclusion, but the plunge certainly played into a domino effect of fiscal terror. The journalistic fervor and wild-eyed brokers brought greater trepidation and while a market downturn was inevitable certainly fear and over indulgent speculation played a large role in the market's crash from September to October 2008. In retrospect the 2008 crash is now considered the result of a mass panic, which as witnessed through televised reports, is the best interpretation of the economic event.

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman"

2009-07-20T07:37:00.000-04:00

I was an avid supporter of Bill Clinton, I went to his inauguration and agreed with many of his political stances. I will never forget the disappointment I felt when Bill Clinton stood up at a White House press conference and lied to the American public saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky". News of the story first broke in January 1998, when I was still in Elementary school. I remember finding out about it from my Mother and talking about it in school before actually seeing the press conference. A few months of speculation went by before DNA evidence from a blue dress with Clinton's semen stain, was provided to prove the relationship.

Finally in August Clinton admitted to having an "improper physical relationship" with Lewinsky. Clinton claimed that he believed that sexual relations did not include oral sex and this was why he initially claimed to not be intimate with Lewinsky. Even then, in Elementary school, I remember just simply feeling lied to...who didn't know that oral sex was improper relations and what kind of fools did he take us to be?! I remember how everyone though Clinton would be impeached, we were just waiting for the announcement, but after a lot of back and forth between the senate and the US House of Representatives, it never came and he held his position in office. I remember watching Monica Lewinsky on the news and being more upset with her than with Clinton, I remember not liking the way she carried herself or the way she spoke- looking back I am not sure if this was a reflection of how the media wanted me to see her or if I would have the same problem with her today.

My Most Memorable Moment

2009-07-20T07:19:00.000-04:00

Michael Kim
My most memorable moment was when South Korea won their first ever game at the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea & Japan. Koreans are known to love the game the soccer; however, Korea, as a republic, never won a single game at the World Cup before leading up to that year. So there was extra pressure on the players, coaches, and the nation, as a whole, because they were co-hosting the event. The media swarmed the players and coaches watching every move they made since 2000. The whole nation put their hopes and dreams onto the people.
It was June 4th, 2002. 8:30pm, 7:30am for me because my family was watching it from New York. The stadium was packed with crazy Koreans chanting in Korean, "Republic of Korea!" It was so loud and crazy that the camera broadcasting the game was shaking. Every single hair on my body shot right up. Other camera shots were showing Korea's Capital City Hall and other big places filled with people sitting outside just to watch the game together as a nation. Them, too, were chanting in one voice, "Republic of Korea!"
When Korea got their fist goal. The crowd, as well as I, went crazy! Then we got our second, we got even louder. With ten minutes left in the game, you can tell there was an overwhelming sense of nervousness of the possibility that the players can screw this lead up and lose because that was what our nation was known for; chokers. Even the commentators mentioned it.
It was stoppage time and we were counting down by the seconds: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... The whole nation went into a bliss. Players fell down on their knees and faces over great joy. Fans were crying. It was beautiful mess. That year, Korea went all the way to the Semi-finals, beating powerhouse nations like Portugal, Italy, & Spain.
That morning, I was never more proud of being a Korean in my life. Koreans all over the world came together in their respective areas to support and cheer for their country and players. It was a once in lifetime experience.

MY MOST MEMORABLE MEDIATED EXPERIENCE: 9-11

2009-07-20T06:49:00.000-04:00

We always hear about wars taking place at the ends of the earth. We never see our towns or our cities as the battleground. On that day I woke up just like I did on any other Tuesday morning. I was off to High school as a sophomore. The school year had begun only a few days ago. It was during my second period class: 3D sculpture. . Our teacher was young. Well in his thirties but, he really had a young soul. He joked around about everything and promised to grade very generously if we played along. Everyone wondered how he could be in such a great mood this early in the morning. Every morning. I guess it was just his way.
I was working away at my sculpture, drifting into the land of an artist's dream when my teacher received a phone call. Since we are all working individually on our projects, he is usually supervising and/or giving helpful advice on how to make it “work better”. He usually does answer his phone in class. Students were forbidden to, but teachers had special privilege. A privilege he shared with any student who would be careful enough to conceal it when another teacher walked into the room. the caller told him what had happened and to turn on the news.(we had a small AM/FM radio in the studio that he turned on from time to time).
He announced, “I just heard a plane flew into the twin towers, it was probably an accident”. Everyone started saying the same thing. How bad a pilot must someone be to fly into a skyscraper? No one thought of terrorism. And definitely no one thought of the human casualties at that time. We saw no pictures and we didn't understand the gravity of the situation. We thought perhaps a helicopter or a small private plane. No explosion. No crash. The pilot probably ejected from the aircraft before the plane “flew in”. It was a big studio. Although the radio was playing, it definitely was not on the highest volume as this may have distracted us further from our work. Only the teacher, and those directly adjacent to him could even make out what was being said on the radio. Then he made another announcement: “listen up guys, another plane hit the other tower.” that is when everyone started to really pay attention to the radio. We listened in as the news radio anchormen painted a picture of the breaking news.
Our teacher, a usually happy, relaxed and easy going individual looked shaken. If you weren't afraid, after taking one look at him, you would be. He started pacing back and forth around the area with the radio. We couldn't even believe our ears. Next we heard the the 2nd tower has just collapsed. How could this be happening? What is going on?The loudspeaker creaked. Everyone quieted down, hoping the orator had some news to tell us. As the news unraveled, people began peering out of windows, producing cellphones and trying to contact loved ones. Many of us never knew that America had enemies. Life is hectic but its definitely not war- like. People do not usually die as casualties of war in Manhattan. And my school definitely didn't have a built in bomb shelter in the basement. We really didn't know. Thinking back on the experience, I know that hearing the radio newsman is definitely not the same as seeing it on screen. I grew up in an age of technology. The fastest and most efficient way for me to grasp the situation would have been through television. Listening in on the radio, we feared what we didn't see. But we believed. We had no other means of contact with the media except through the radio. And we believed. The media did not paint a rosy picture. There was no amelioration of the situation. When classes ended around 3:30, we were able to go home and see the destruction on screen. That is when we couldn't deny it.

A (Too-)Distant Conflict: The Russia-Georgia War

2009-07-20T01:52:00.000-04:00

Early August 2008 seemed to be consumed with the joy surrounding the upcoming Olympics. Despite the bouts of opposition reports surrounding human rights issues clashing with the idea of the Olympics (opposition which I do not recall being so popular in 2001), the mass media could not help but glorify the approaching Games. And, come opening ceremonies, this glorification seemed well placed; the spectacle left the world everything short of speechless. That special kind of happiness that stems from forgetting all of the politics of the world hung in the air. But, it was short-lived; not too long after, discussions of dancers on glowing globes and wall-trotting torch-lighters were quickly replaced by talks of war.

It’s necessary for me to preface discussion of the Russia-Georgia War with a scene of the Olympics in order to address the difficulty surrounding receiving continuous information on the conflict. The ongoing games took the attention of the major broadcast networks for most of the month. Though word of the progressing conflict did find its way to the mass media, it was constantly overshadowed by the Olympics. The ways in which the Russia-Georgia War was handled by our mass media proved to be very eye opening. Honestly, I did not even come close to following up on every detail of the conflict; however, in retrospect, I feel my distance from the story allowed me to get a better feel for trends surrounding its treatment by the media. (And, on that note, you won't see any more links to related stories in this post, as I am still writing as a distant observer).

My first impression with how this event was covered was the general favoritism for Georgia. In the days and weeks of developments regarding the conflict and issues related to it, I very much grew a sense that we, the American population, were supposed to feel sorry for the people of Georgia. From where I observed, much less emphasis was placed on the fact that Georgia had initiated conflict by attempting to claim what I recall being referred to as “disputed territory;” the media seemed to prefer reporting Russia’s response. Georgia seemed to be painted a bullied victim before Russia began to push far into uninvolved Georgian territory. Stories of families in the United States worried about family in Georgia appeared; but, apparently, there was no story to tell for those people in the disputed territory who identified with Russia, not Georgia. The media seemed to be careful in its favoritism; though a pro-Georgia feel lingered, there was no general, blatant anti-Russia ideal.

Still, though this sense of favoritism existed in my observations, it did not do very much to appease my second impression: a sense of unimportance in the eyes of the media. Generally, importance and detailed media coverage seem to go hand-in-hand. Important stories do not just contain general information; the smallest details are presented in big stores. When details of the conflict in Georgia were broadcast, this sense of detail was often not present. I cannot recall whether death tolls for either side were reported in the hundreds or the thousands; whether most deaths were military or civilian; to what extent the war affected community infrastructures; or, going back on my first impression, how Russians were affected at all. For years, we have been used to constantly receiving great details on the conflicts in which the United States is involved. Though we are obviously the favored members of stories of violent occurrences in Iraq, for example, there is rarely an occasion where the details of Iraqi deaths and damage to property after a bombing are not reported. In a day where the mass media enables Americans to be very close to an event, reporting of the occurrences in Georgia made us seem very distant.

I don’t intend to claim that all of mass media was extremely biased in favor of Georgia when making reports about the war. Nor do I intend to imply that the media either largely masked details of the war, or completely lacked any interest and care for the subject. I’m sure that with some more active participation in informing myself of the details of the war, I could discover much of what I missed. What I do want to express, however, is what becomes prevalent when one is a passive observer. In taking in news in passing, rather than searching it out for oneself, is one able to consume news in an impartial and informed manner, regardless of the story? From this experience, it seems as though the media has chosen sides for me, and has decided what is unimportant. What does this say for the general habits of mass media? How much should be expected from the consumer in order to gain the full story? Yes, we are in an age of the Internet, with which we can easily uncover details of events from various sources; should that take away from what is expected at the level of mass media reporting? How much should mass media really be held accountable for? I have few answers available, but one strong conclusion: the activities of mass media, for better or worse, are very much questionable, and should be questioned.

MEMORABLE MEDIATED EXPERIENCE - Uighurs

2009-07-20T01:01:00.000-04:00

The mediated experience that immediately comes to mind is the unrest in Xinjiang. I first heard of this group through a joke on the David Letterman show. He was relating the fact that four Uighers from Guantanamo had been moved to Bermuda and were 'out fishin'.

I had never heard of the mostly Muslim area of Xianjang in China and as a result of the Letterman reference had looked up their history. A few days after this, massive protests in China came to light. I was at home alone when I read about the Uighurs revolt on July 5. It was all over the news, both online and on the TV. Back stories about the people that the Chinese government sees as rebels and their reticence to appreciate Chinese ‘progress’ began appearing all over the media.

I am not sure how the media shaped my experience, other than to make me curious to find out more on my own. Following the news in articles from Le Figaro, The Economist, BBC, El Tiempo, The New York Times, etc filled out different points of view on the riots and conflicts, but didn’t give me an understanding of the people and/or their experiences as a minority under Chinese governance. When there are clashes of this intensity, there are usually economic underlying reasons and the Uighur claims of being ‘frozen out’ of jobs and opportunities seemed more real to me than their looking for further autonomy or separation based on religious differences.

In retrospect, my understanding of the event has changed some because of my own desire to research the people and their history more in depth. When I first began hearing about the problems it seemed like just one more separatist group in the immensity of China. The disruptive presence of the Uighurs at the Beijing Olympics, or involvement in the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) are negative ways these people are highlighted. I read an article by Rebiya Kadeer in the Wall Street Journal called "The Real Story of the Uighur Riots" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124698273174806523.html) . She spoke there about how the “Han Chinese took to the streets in Urumqi seeking revenge by carrying out acts of violence against Uighurs.” This was on the 6/7th July. Just a week later on 14 July, supposed authorities from the “North African wing of Al Qaeda (had) threatened to attack Chinese workers in Africa in revenge for the deaths of Uyghurs in East Turkestan”. Where and how this can escalate does not just matter to those in China – it matters globally as do the issues of ethnic violence, religious suppression, and minority rights.

Letter to Kurt Cobain

2009-07-19T20:47:00.000-04:00

Dear Kurt Cobain,

Admittedly, in 1991 when your groundbreaking Nevermind album was released, catapulting you to international “punk rock” stardom, I was more enamored of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody of your hit single than of the single itself. But a few years later when, at age 12, I listened to your subsequent effort, In Utero, I was sufficiently glandular and miserable that I could personalize the “angst-ridden” sounds and the images that accompanied them. Glamour combined with pretty good songs; I became obsessive. Then you killed yourself with a shotgun. For the following few years, I feverishly consumed every magazine and MTV special and book and biopic (authorized or not) I could find. I wore Converse Jack Purcells, cardigan sweaters and flannel shirts, my stepfather’s ripped jeans, in approximation of your televisual image. In my room, I limply imagined suicide. Then I started listening to other stuff. Now I wonder if a 12-year-old American – or even an 18-year-old American – would be exactly sure of who you were.

I’m not a member of “Generation X, ” which is probably why Nirvana inspired me to Teen Beat reverie rather than musical evaluation. Notwithstanding, you wrote some valuable songs. Even when I preferred “Weird Al”, the song “Lithium” was mesmerically familiar to me. It reminded me weirdly of the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin'.” And In Utero remains significant for the tired reasons its critics have always cited: it combines a Beatles pop sensibility with all the qualities of your less palatable influences – Scratch Acid, the Raincoats, etc. Where the songs are not always well-constructed, they are still unusual and unusually moving.

But all of this is incidental. Nirvana’s music has always seemed genuine to me. What seems retrospectively disingenuous is your reluctant star performance. Consider your now exhaustively-documented private longings for rock stardom. Weigh them against your public misery at your “unexpected” rise to celebrity. Is this conflict a compelling explanation for suicide? Rolling Stone seems to think so.

That you seemed to believe you could toe the line – living at once in the spontaneous “rebellion” of punk rock and the calculated commercialism of major record labels – made you an unwitting exemplar of the direction both punk rock and postmodernism have taken – a direction away from artistic devices and towards advertising tropes. Reflect, for just one example, on your appearance in the enormous corporate interest that is Rolling Stone wearing a tee-shirt that read “corporate magazines still suck.”

Is it coincidental that punk rock and postmodernism declined more or less simultaneous with your ascension? Maybe it is. Maybe you indicated a cultural trend. At what point did mainstream culture, media, and advertising begin to co-opt both movements? Do we all remember the exact moment at which, e.g., television commercials stopped trying just to sell us stuff, and began winking at us about their intentions to sell us stuff in order to sell us stuff? Of course we don’t. As David Foster Wallace points out in his excellent essay "E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction" (The Review of Contemporary Fiction 1993, collected in A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, 1997), it simply started happening. The anti-mainstream was appropriated by the mainstream; your trademark irony was incorporated and sold back to the public.

Anyway, I don’t mean to get you down, Kurt. Your legacy survives! The ubiquitous Urban Outfitters peddles the ubiquitous flannel shirt. Grunge’s hallmark Dr. Martens boots have returned to vogue. And I have you largely to thank for inspiring me to years of obscure touring, sleeping on hardwood floors, and playing music to small and intermittently enthusiastic (and occasionally contemptuous) crowds.

Yes, thank you.

Michael Friedrich