To Be Continued...

As the class comes to a close, there have been a lot of interesting terms and ideas learned in the class. Mass media effects more than I thought. As many know, popular shows that are shown in the United States are reproduced to air in other countries. The Simpsons, for instance, can be seen in various places in the Middle East. Even though the Middle East does not allow their television to show alcohol related things on the air, the Simpsons is still able to show. Jake Tapper and Avery Miller of ABC News write "from American Beer to Arab Soda." Hot dogs will become Egyptian beef sausages, and donuts will become popular Arab cookies called "kahk." Moe's Bar has been completely written out of Al Shamshoon, the name for the Simpsons in Arab. Is this surprising? Many of us growing up watch the legendary cartoon series Dragon Ball. It was dubbed from Japanese to English for the our pleasure. Ever notice that a lot of the money movies make are due to international revenue. Almost half the money Transformers made was from foreign money.

The media affects the way society thinks. Children are likely to listen or follow their role models. Partly the reason why I am playing football is because I saw Tim Brown back in 1995 destroy the NFL corners to get to the Pro Bowl. From that moment on I knew I was destined to play football. In a previous post, I said I use to wrestle because it was on cable. I believe that the media has to change in order to stay around. The Social responsibility theory of media says the media should serve the public by setting high standards ad avoid disseminating material that could lead to violence. The public has earned that right since they are paying for it. Ethics are at stake. Someone or something that has so much power should be responsible with it like Spiderman's uncle said, "with great power comes great responsibility," or مع قوة عظمى تأتي المسوءولية كبيرة in Arabic.

I'll leave on this note. Many nations are ahead of the U.S. on media literacy efforts. Society and the media need to change that to guarantee success in the future. Only time will tell.

Cause and Effect: Theories



WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon shown after hit
with a chair



As a psychology student, I come across theories all the time on the human behaivor, emotion, thoughts, etc. It was strange to find out that mass communication has some appealing theories. It is foolish to think the media has a limited effect on people. How could one even think so? Former President George W. Bush once said, "We cannot blame the schools alone for the dismal decline in SAT verbal scores.  When our kids come home from school do they pick up a book or do they sit glued to the tube, watching music videos?  Parents, don't make the mistake of thinking your kid only learns between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m." Nichloas Johnson also said, "All television is educational television. The question is: what is it teaching?" T.V. is suppose to be make-believe but is it? A show like Law & Order is not real but is based off of real-life situations. It is not like there is a big sign on the credits that say it is not real. A lot of people use to watch wrestling when they were younger. It wasn't until they got older did they realize it was fake. I myself could not understand how it was fake but the wrestlers bled. The neighborhood kids and us use to wrestle in a ring, with stage music, on table, whatever. If it was in the WWF then we did it. How do you fake a person falling off a 16 foot cell,twice? Take a look. (Cage fall) That was entertaining alright. It made me want to do so. Families, schools, churches, and other socializing agents do not influence this stuff. The media does it all.

Thousands of people saw The Undertaker throw off and chokeslam Mankind off the Cage. The beauty is that I came home after church one Sunday afternoon to watch this. At anything in my life I can match some sort of violence whether it is on the TV or the internet. The transmissional perspective of media sees media's purpose to control and they do that by having people tune in to their shows. With all the advertisements about that match, I begged my folks to get that Pay-Per-View.  Sure I could have done some studying but something told me I had to see it. There are a number of theories to help explain this phenoman. I remember when the first finale of Flavor Flav came on everyone was talking about it at school. My friend even told me that he was going to watch it because that was going to be the topic of discussion at school.

It is impossible to not be influnced by the media. Even if a person choses not to subscribe to its ways it is still influncing just not in the way the media wants. The mass society theory says the media is corrupting the social order and it is. Society is getting dumber. Like the President said, kids are going to watch a mindless video game then read a book. There was a time when people wanted to read. Now people can read but they choose not to. I am gulity as well. I rather play video games then read The Giver. We are dependent on the mass media. Without it, soicety would be in solitary confinement. Basically, in a cell with no light all alone with no one to talk to. There was once a Simpsons episode when Homer went on a rampage and started killing people because they where stuck in a house without beer or television. Just watch. (Homer Goes Crazy) This might just happen if there was no form of mass media nowadays. TV is like a drug and people are hooked to it.

Super Bowl XLIII Commercial Doritos Free Doritos In-Game Ad Funny

Goes with the previous post called, "Tell me something Joe."

Tell Me Something Joe

If your every trying to be persuade to by something, a person might be influenced by a advertising. The most effective way to advertize is through television's commericals. The best commericals usually come on during the Superbowl which really has to relation to products. According to the Nielsen ratings, the 2010 Superbowl had average audience of over 106.5 millions U.S. viewers. Some of those people are watching the Superbowl solely for the commericals. Prices for a 30 second commerical can cost millions of dollars. Expected commerical cost for this up coming year are estimated at $2.6 million. The commerical can be promising and worth its cost in the end.

Superbowl commercials gained populairty in the early 70s when football great Joe Namath paired up with sexy Farrah Fawcett in a shaving cream commerical. (Namath and Fawcett 1973)This would set the bar for good commericals but is nothing that compares to the 1984 ad. Apple would create a commerical so good that it would only air twice. This commerical would be the one to introduce the Apple Macintosh to the world, two days after the Superbowl. The commerical's estimated cost was around $1.5 million. (Macintosh Arrival) Not all Superbowl commericals are successful. The 1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo was said to promote street racing. Because of complaints, the ad was only ran once. It was a great commerical and if it was that fast I would buy the car. The ad would later be reran in 1995 with a little twist to it. (Twin Turbo Drag) Now what's a commerial without McDonalds, Micheal Jordan, and Larry Bird. Probably the most funniset occured in 1993, when basketball greats Larry Bird and Michael Jordan played for a Big Mac. They shot some ridiculous shots, check it out. (Jordan vs. Bird)

As soon as the century mark came around, beer companies would take over the Superbowl commerical industry. I think Budweiser and Bud Light are competiting aganist each other for some reason. Recently, they have had some of the best commericals. It is almost impossible not to laugh at a Bud Light commercial. THe ones in 2010 took the show by themselves. The list goes on with these commercials.

Advertising is about picking the right time and place to run a commerical. A company trying to sell beer would not run a beer ad on a cartoon network nor would a company trying to keep people from watching violence would run in ad during a boxing match. Also, time is key. A company would not spend millions of dollars to run a commercial that came on at 3 o'clock in the morning. How many people could that possibly reach? At least during the Superbowl, millions are watching. Not all commercial need to be shown during the Superbowl. These two final commericals is why I eat and drink these two products. Not really, but the commerical are funny. The last one is a Superbowl ad for 2008.(Swear Jar- Bud Light)  (Dortitos Crystal Ball) 

Still My Paper

Most people say that all a newspaper is good for is to hit flies on walls. Newspaper are at the top of my favorite forms of medias. When I go on the Internet, chances are I will visit a newspaper site whether it is my city's local paper, Desert Dispatch. or one of the state's major paper, L.A. Times. It's good to keep up with current events so one can know what is going on. A book or magazine is not as regular or current as a newspaper. The Internet is more consistent but sometimes the source is not credible. I cheat by using the Internet to view the paper. How else am I suppose to read the L.A. Times when I'm in the Midwest? This site, L.A. Times, cuts out the soft news and mainly has the hard news. The hard news is really what is important. All I am missing are the funnies. Hold up, they are on the web also. This is the best comic ever and it is called Love is...

I find it strange that people are not reading the paper as much. I guess it makes since when TV brings it to you just as fast. The papers that I remember as a child are still alive. I really don't see the L.A. Times ever disappearing. I did find that my local newspaper is part of a chain of papers in the High Desert. This chain is only in the So Cal desert area though not the U.S.

Just last year, the newspapers in my region raised the price of their papers by $.25. Why do you think that would happen? Come to find out, people only by newspaper on special occasions. I remember when Michael Jackson died that was the only day that all the newspapers were sold out. Also on Sundays the papers were usually gone. People don't have to buy papers because they are online now. Why would I go out and but a Quincy Herald paper when I could stay home and see it on the web? I really predict that both books and newspapers will be gone in the future. I hate to say but I use to like to wake up on a Saturday morning after a football game to find my face in the picture or my name in the news. If anyone is interested you can see articles of me in the desertdispatch.com newspaper. Don't mind the wrestling one; I just got done with the longest match ever and for some reason the camera dude decide that that was the best time to take a picture.  

Thats me destroying in the background



Image

When I think of public relations, the movie Hancock comes to mind. Here you have a disgraced superhero who nobody likes. He goes around destroying things because of laziness and carelessness. In one scene he derails and destroys a whole train car just to save a person. One person in the scene asked him why he just didn't pick up the car and fly up which made more sense. At the same time he meets a Public Relations (PR) consultant named Ray. Ray helps turn the hated superhero into an actual hero. Someone who people will cheer for or to be happy when he arrives. He went from zero to hero.

Public relations representatives do things like they did for Hancock. Even the biggest companies and the most popular celebrities mess up from time to time. The almighty Kobe Bryant got himself involved in a little case back in 2003 where he was supposedly involved with some woman. I'm sure some team consultant help him build his image back after that. In 2003-04, people were calling him a rapist even though he was never proved to be guilty. Still, he lost the majority of his million dollar endorsements. Later in the future, he would regain some of those endorsements.

I kind of see PR reps as spin doctors. The only thing is that the spin doctor make the truth to be some sort of positive for the individual or company. Bill Clinton needed both when he was found to have used marijuana. PR reps and spin doctors would come up with the "... I did not inhale" part. We all now, how could you not inhale? PR reps don't only fix things but they also provide a future consequence if something were to happen. Every company has one, even the government. They are like the voice for the public or the people. Just know, if a person is ever in trouble with the media, chances are that a PR rep can help that person out.

Magazine in Review

It is hard to believe that magazines were made before the 1900. As a matter of fact, magazines first made an appearance in mass media back in the mid 1700. Almost 300 years later, they are still in existence. But how? Television, cable, and satellite created tough competition over the years for magazines. Why would you want to buy a weekly magazine when a person could watch a constant stream like cable television.? Magazines have the power to be distributed to people all over the world in a process known as internationalization. A person from France could get the same Slate magazine in the States with this phenomenon. Also, there is a magazine out there for anyone. Plus, magazines are on the go. It is harder to watch television in a doctor's office, before a job interview, or on the toilet. Like television and newspaper, magazines are online now too.

If a person has a particular interest, there is probably a magazine for it. There are magazines for tattoos, health, cars, recipes, tennis, fishing, teens, etc. There is even a magazine for Pokemon.

 

It is still hard to believe that people still buy TV Guide even with the guide on cable and satellite. In fact, TV Guide is in the top 5 of most revenue for magazines. It must be that good.

 

My favorite magazine is Men's Health. I try to stay in shape and get today's news on better health. They have plenty of good articles and advice Also, as an athlete I try to find the best workouts. Most covers have buff, ripped out dudes with six packs. The cover to the left has football MVP Drew Brees of the champion New Orleans Saints. This article has stuff about twitter which is interesting. It is basically trying to give men the heads up on twitter. I like how it has a football star on the cover. He makes me want to get it because I think he knows what he is doing since he won a Superbowl. I can have this with me for as long as I want and can read it when I have a chance on like television where I have to watch a program when it is on.

Television Revisited

How did people ever go without television? Forget the radio, just kidding, but seriously I kind of consider myself spoiled compared to my parents and their parents. I guess that’s why the elderly say my generation is getting dumber because people watch too much television these days. It has come a great deal since its creation. The tube itself has changed significantly along with its accessories. Look at the image to the right. This television set was one of the first of its kind. It is more speakers and switches than screen. That’s like a computer screen to contemporary standards if that. The television was still not in color but I really think that’s a bonus. Some movies and shows wouldn't be the same if they were in color. Imagine To Kill a Mockingbird or I Love Lucy in color. It would not be the same.

A lot has certainly changed from the old tube from above. The big, flat screen TV is almost the same size as the older version above. It hardly takes up any room because it is flat. There is plenty of more screen then speakers; more than likely the speakers on the flat screen work better. Also, the flat screen is in color. It is weird because my family still has the original television sets but only as a decoration. We actually have our newer, bigger TV sitting on top of it.

I remember watching a scene from Back to the Future II when they were in Hillsdale in 1955. Marty was eating dinner with his mom's family watching The Honeymooners. During the start Marty says that he has seen this episode but he doesn't realize that the first ever showing was on that day. He says it’s a re-run and the family asks him what that was. I can't imagine never watching re-runs. Back then in 1955, if an individual missed watching an episode, he or she probably would not have seen it again for years. Now we have TiVo for that. If I miss something it will come on again if I did not set it to record to my TiVo box. What a blessing.

Currently, companies are in the works to making television 3D. There will be more to come after that and after that. Sooner or later it might just be inside people's brains will some microchip. It wouldn't bother me. Less energy bills.

The Evolution of Mario

Ever since I remember I have been playing video games. From the old Nintendo all the way to the Playstation 3 (PS3). Gaming has change so much in my lifetime alone and I'm only 20 years old. Some of the characters have significantly changed in the past couple of years. Lets look at the picture to the right. This is one of the earlier versions of Mario in the game "Super Mario Bros." for Nintendo in the 1980s. He barely has a face that can be recognized. Look at the clouds in the background; are they even moving? The graphics are terrible to modern day graphics but then they were the best thing since sliced bread. 

Now lets look at the same game in the early 90s.  This game to the left is called "Super Mario World." The graphics are a lot better. There is more detail to his face and hands, plus look at that honker of a thing he calls a nose. The clouds are a lot better. One could see this almost as a real world. It is still not in 3D but just wait.

This game looks like it took a couple steps backwards to some but it was the game next in line for development. The game to the left is named "Super Mario 64." Mario finally became 2D but what's up with his hands. They look like he wearing boxing gloves 24/7. I wonder how he picks things up. Their are clouds but it looks like the game before should be after this one. This game was released six years after "Super Mario World." No way Mario was going to be down for this count.

Well, Mario hasn't quite went 3D yet but here he is in 2.5D. In the game to the right, "New Super Mario Bros.", he almost looks like a real person; at least if people were to turn in to video games. His hands look like human hands. The clouds are a little off but you can't get them all. In this games he can do spins. The graphics look great. Mario and other games and characters like so have come a long way. The first game I can remember was pong. All that was was two sticks and a ball on a flat surface with only two colors. Some how people loved that. I would probably read the dictionary before I ever played that game. Hopefully in the near future, video games will be in 3D. We already have the TV for it.

FM Radio vs. Am Radio

Radio commercial/station are no different then a T.V. commercial or a magazine ad. They all want to target a specific audience, though they would have target the whole planet. Since people are have different likes and dislikes, it is hardly possible to get everyone out there. There are some difference amongst the FM stations and AM stations.

I think the real only problem with AM radio is the amount of static. Nobody wants to hear that. We want to have a clear, crisp radio signal in the car. I found that most AM stations consist of talk shows and traffic and news. If you need a traffic report then AM is the way to go. If you want to hear about a particular subject than AM is the way to go. Sports, family life, religion are all on AM. These station are for basically adults. I was listening to one radio station back home called "Stardust 910." They bascially play oldies and old school rock'n'roll. Their ads consisted of foot cream, the new back doctor, and vacation homes in Vegas. What kind of kid wants to worry about foot cream? There was only one kids station and it was "Radio Disney." If you do not know about Disney than you need to get out more. They had ads about fast foods and toy shops.

I couldn't really find an older adult show on the radio (FM radio). These radio station focus in on current desires and local events. At the sign time, they are advertised locally all over the place. The most popular FM station in my home is "94.3 The Duck." It plays "... today's Hip-Hop and R&B and all your favorite hit music," accoding to Mike. The station frequently says who owns the station as well as what is going on in the community. Yon can even hear the high school football games on it and the most popular Art Laboe show. The Spanish radio station also compelled me, 95.9 aka El Punto Nueve. They played old school Latino music and advertise local hispanic shops or store sales. FM is for everyone. I really recommend XM radio because there is no commercials and they label their station so you don't have to search every station for what you want.

<>

 

AM	FM	Hide AllShow All
Pros and cons:	AM has poorer sound quality compared to FM, but is cheaper and can be transmitted over long distances.	FM is less prone to interference than AM. However, FM signals are impacted by physical barriers.	hide
Range:	AM radio ranges from 535 to 1705 kilohertz	FM radio ranges in a higher spectrum from 88 to 108 megahertz.	hide
Stands for:	AM stands for Amplitude Modulation	FM stands for Frequency Modulation	hide
Origin:	AM method of audio transmission was first successfully carried out in the mid 1870s.	FM radio was developed in the United states mainly by Edwin Armstrong in the 1930s.	hide

The King Has Returned

I found it very interesting what it said in the book about singers going into movies. In the movie "Don't Be a Menace to South Central..." one of the characters even say that all the singers are taking the acting job. My Grandpa told me this happened way back in the day with Elvis. He remembers him from Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, and Viva Las Vegas. My personal favorite of his is G.I. Blues. Singers in movies seem to be a building trend now. T.I. did it, Bow Wow did it, Snoop, Miley Cryus, Diana Ross etc. It does make me want to see if they can act.
The movie industry has come so far along. My old coach use to call players that were not performing well the "Keystone Kops." That coach was like 40 something. They date back to the early 1900s in silent films.

I do like to watch old movies as well. Tell me someone who has not watched Casa Blanca or Gone With the Wind. One of my favorite black and white films is "To Kill a Mockingbird." That movie itself could not have presented the racist arguement as well without the black and white background. Just look at the image yourself. It sure helps me to make a decesion. Why else do you think it is in black and white.

To me, magazines are dead. I really only read them to order stuff and when I am sitting down waiting for someone. Still, I'm only one person. Others are still reading and subscribing to magazines. One could save themselves some money and research it on the internet. I could do the same when I'm trying to by some cleats but I guess I perfer it the other way.

Then and Now

The book industry and the newspaper industry has dramatically changes in my lifetime, and I'm only 20. In the past century, only educated people were reading books. Now anyone can do it but we don't. I think as the years go by books will be nonexistent. With books now being put online (e-books) and books becoming movies people aren't reading as much. If it wasn't for textbooks, book sales would be seriouly in trouble. I too am gulity of not reading. Still, one of my favorite books ever is Hamlet. The subject matter is extremely well written. I've only read the "sparknotes" edition of the book which translate the wording to modern English. I really did not understand "to be or not to be" until I read this book. What really shocked me is the recent list of band books. I remember reading such books like The Chocolate War, Goosebumps, and Harry Potter as a kid. Books like The Giver, Of Mice and Men, A Wrinkle in Time, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Outsiders, etc. were required reading in my home state.

I was just looking at some of the best selling books of all time and guess which books were up there? To Kill a Mockingbird just by itself as sold over 30 million copies since it was first published in 1960. The Goosebumps series has sold over 300 million copies since it was first published in 1992. Also, they made 62 of those books. On top of the Goosebumps series is the Harry Potter series which has seven books and has sold over 400 million books and still counting. The 7th book itself, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has sold over 40 million copies and was also voted the "Best Book for Young Adults" by the American Library Association. Goosebumps and Harry Potter are both children books and are both on the banned list. Maybe the association banning books used look into the books they are banning and see why they are doing so.

The Beginning

Well if you don't know me by now I'm Luis. Tonight I lose my blogger virginity, just kidding. Mass media has been in my life since day one, whether directly and indirectly. I'm sure that my mom and dad did not automatically know how to raise a child. Someone is the very beginning told someone else which got told to another and to another and so on. Eventually this is where we come to know baby books and children magazines. Still, I use media today. As a matter of fact, I'm using it to write this blog. A person has to be living under a rock to not see the T.V., hear the radio, or explore the internet.
In Southen California, most people on a Sunday night are tuned into to the Art Laboe Show. He's an old school DJ that has been playing oldies type of music since the 50s. He comes on different stations all over the state. I could be going to Vegas on a Sunday night from L.A. and all I have to do is change a couple stations to listen to him. He even tills me what station he is in in each city. He even has his own star on the walk of fame.
Even without that I still watch my Raiders games on Sunday, my Miami  Hurricanes and Ohio Bobcats on Saturday, my email in the morning, and my novelas (spanish for TV stories) in the afternoon. All these also are part of my cultures. Majority of my family are Raider fans. I only like the Hurricanes. I have a brother in Ohio. And there is not one Mexican who does not watch novelas. It all connects some. Well, thats it for now. I kind of liked this but it isn't something that I'll probably do after this class is over. It's good to spil the mind sometimes.