When I was little my parents didn't let my brother and me watch very many movies. One that we watched frequently was Yellow Submarine (bellow is a clip). It is a very creative movie with many Beatles songs. I think watching this media when I was little enhanced my imagination and probably made me love music like I do now.

I think this commercial is really interesting because it promotes Esurance as being eco-friendly when Esurance is an auto insurance company and therefore contributes to the pollution that cars bring to the environment. I think this company is better than others though because they don't use paper and instead use online technology for their business. However, by getting this type of media out there, I feel they are tricking the public into thinking they are more environmentally friendly than they really are. 

This is a commercial for Planet Earth, a series by the Discovery Channel depicting the some of the most amazing and beautiful places on this planet. I believe this series has had a profound impact on today's population and on me. I think it has made people more aware of nature and and how immense the environment is. It's really cool that a media form can have such a positive effect.

I was watching TV at my friends house the other night and I saw this commercial. At first I wasn't paying close attention and I saw how beautiful the people in the commercial looked. How healthy and nice they all seemed. I then realized it was a commercial for pills! The company is trying to sell little packets of pills that improve the health of the consumer. Somehow, the company convinced me, without me even being aware of it, that taking these pills was sexy and that good looking people do this. It made taking pills look fun! This is really bizarre to me because I don't think taking pills is ever fun or sexy and but somehow the commercial is very good at selling this idea. 

De/Re Construct Project

Like many other top heavy cars, Jeeps are known to easily tip over and crash. 

On Monday night I went to the Zion I show at the Abbey Theater. I have been listening to Zion I for a long time but this was the first opportunity I had to see them live. It was a really amazing show and I had a great time. I think concerts like this are powerful because they bring so many people together and spread messages through music. It is a different way to share information, ideas and beliefs.
Here is a link to their website:
http://www.zionicrew.com/flash/index2.html

The Celluloid Closet

I really enjoyed the movie The Celluloid Closet that we watched in class on Wednesday. I had never really thought about how gay people had been portrayed in movies over the years. I have studied how women and different races are shown in the media in some of my previous classes, however this video opened a whole knew perspective for me. It was really sad to see how badly gay people were and still are usually presented in the film industry. It scares me how much control movies have over their viewers. In the United States today, people learn things from television and movies rather than their elders passing on information. When gays are portrayed in such a negative and stereotypical way, it teaches viewers that gays are really like this and never explains how gay people and culture really are. I really liked all the interviews that the film contained as well as the many clips it featured. The video clips helped to hold my attention and it gave me a first hand look at what the film was talking about. I wish we could have finished watching the film in class because it captured my interest so intensely. I hope that the film industry will continue to change and improve that way they portray every kind of person including the gay population.

Today I was thinking about how women are portrayed in the media almost always as ex objects. For example, when a woman is in a commercial or some other from of advertisement, they are there for sex appeal. A man can be shown in the media and sex is usually not even thought of but if a woman is placed in the same media it usually becomes sexual. Is this because women’s bodies are more outwardly sexual? I think it’s very unfair that this is the case but I have no idea how it could be changed because even if a woman is fully clothed, it still adds sexuality into whichever media from she is portrayed in. 

Durango Film Festival

When I heard we were required to attend the film festival held here in Durango during the week of March 4th, I was very excited about going since I have never been to a film festival of any kind. Many of the films looked very interesting and I had a lot of curiosity about them. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the film festival. Instead I watched two documentary films that I had never seen before. My friends suggested a few documentaries to me and I ended up watching Lords of Dogtown as well as Mad Hot Ballroom. I really enjoyed both of these films.

The first documentary I watched was called Lords of Dogtown released in 2005 and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. This documentary was different from any documentary I had ever seen. Instead of the usual slow pace of most documentaries, this film moved quickly and grabbed my attention. At he beginning of the film, the camera takes you inside a map to the exact location of Dogtown in California. I think this is creative and very effective because it gives viewers an idea of where the film will take place and it puts them in the setting in an unusual way. The soundtrack throughout the film really contributed to holding my attention. The music flows well with the documentary and adds to the excitement featured in the storyline. The film is about a group of skateboarders called the Z-Boys and how they changed the sport and made history. It includes old videos and photos of the Z-Boys when they were young and also current interviews with these characters. This documentary had a huge impact on me. I loved how carefree the culture of the Z-Boys was. It made me want to skateboard because of how fun, exciting and creative the film presented it.

The second documentary I watched was Mad Hot Ballroom, which also came out in 2005 and was directed by Marilyn Agrelo. This is a documentary about a program in New York public schools, which required elementary school kids to attend ballroom dance classes. I really liked this film because the kids featured in it were very funny and cute. It was interesting to think about how after school activities like dance classes can have such an immense effect on the children involved. It helped many of them to stay out of trouble and to create goals and dreams for themselves. The film focuses on a group of eleven kids who at the end attend a dance competition and it really created a sense of connection between the viewer and this group. One of the unique things about this movie is that it is told from the perspective of the children and I think that makes it all the more interesting to watch.

I went to a Bassnectar concert the other night. I think it is so amazing how fast music travels. Music as a media I believe is universal. Everyone can here it and relate to it. This video is from a concert by Bassnectar and even though I wasn't there I can relate to it.

This video is so funny! When we learned about how videos on youtube.com often become memes, it reminded me of this video. It is very popular and many people have watched it and made different versions of the original video. Just like other memes it has evolved and spread across a variety of people.

Response to "The Corporation"

The makers of this film made the beginning of the documentary very intense by crossing intense music with fast changing images. They use the metaphor of apples to convey the seriousness of the “bad apple” situation. I really liked how the maker’s use many metaphors to describe how corporations work. Each metaphor has a separate video to go with it to illustrate the idea and engage viewers. In the video they say a corporation is centered on profit. I agree with this because every business I have been apart of had the sole purpose to gain profit. Why is this? I think it’s because in the U.S. culture today, people are pushed so hard to succeed that they will do anything to compete with others to get ahead even if it is at the expense of good will and morals.
I found it really interesting that a corporation is viewed as an individual person. This is really weird seeing that in reality a corporation is a group of people. It really does not function the way an actual person would and so it is not fair to see the two as the same. As a group a corporation can focus on profit without the things that hold back an individual such as feelings and emotions as well as loyalty and empathy. A corporation can forget these things and be purely selfish and profiteering.
Another point the film noted was that everyone seems to try and give responsibility as well as labor to others. I think as a society we are becoming this way out of selfishness and laziness. Not only do corporations take advantage of people but also they misuse nature and animals to get ahead.
The scene on guilty corporations was very powerful. The overlapping music, narration and images really enforced how many corporations have committed serious crimes and had to pay massive fines. It’s interesting that corporations if diagnosed as a person are clinical psychopaths. To them guilt is not a concern and so they do whatever they like to help themselves, with an extreme lake of regard for others.

I really like this commercial because it's cute and funny. I think it is very effective because the creators use the cuteness of the little boy to get viewers interested. Also the concept is clever since it shows viewers how important their children are and encourages them to invest in their kids future.

Reaction Essay #1

Simulacra and Simulations
(Jean Baudrillard)

When I first began reading this article I was surprised at how quickly the author jumped into complicated subjects such as the concept of “hyperreal.” I still do not entirely understand what this means. What I did get from this idea was that as things are duplicated in our society and around the world, as they often are today, they become unreal. Therefore as they separate farther and farther from reality they become "hyperreal." I think the author is trying to demonstrate that for something to be real it cannot be produced or reproduced. I can understand this in a symbolic way however in a literal sense it is hard for me to grasp. For example, if we are able to produce drugs containing chemicals, which cause reactions in people’s bodies, then the drugs as well as the reactions are real. They are not real in the sense of nature and natural occurrences but these substances and reactions are still just as real as anything nature has produced.

The section that discusses illness as well as medicine caught my attention because the author states that when someone simulates an illness they are producing an illness in themselves. When I think about this idea, it seems that the illness would still be real. After reading this section I began to think that perhaps when someone fakes something like an illness, it can cause the actual symptoms to occur. This reminds me of the placebo effect, where the subject thinks they are taking medication but in reality it is a simple sugar pill. What is really interesting is that the subject’s symptoms will often improve just because the subject believes they will.

I have never been to Disneyland so when the author discussed this it was hard for me to relate it to my experiences. When the author related Disneyland to a concentration camp, I thought that that was a little harsh. I can however see how Disneyland is a fake and a conformity forming as well as enforcing operation. What I understood from this section of reading was that Disneyland is all imaginary and therefore not real and its purpose is to conceal how unreal the United States has become. Since the theme park is so unreal, it makes the rest of the United States seem very real. I think the author is saying that the whole country has become very unreal because our society is based on conformity and thus on the reproduction of everything. In nature, everything is unique however in the United States very little is unique. Most things have been reproduced over and over again like everything we see in stores. There are multiples of almost everything we use and have today in this country.

Overall, this article was confusing to me. I liked a lot of the ideas about how fake the world is coming. I also found his points very interesting although some I found very hard to understand. I found some of his opinions way too strong and harsh but overall I agreed with a lot of his ideas.

Reaction to "The Merchants of Cool"

The Frontline video “The Merchants of Cool” really captured my attention. I don’t think I was really surprised by anything covered in the video but it did make me really sad to see how consumed with media teens really are today. I have heard of kids being paid by advertisers to explain what they like. This is such a strange concept because really it does result in companies selling teens back their own ideas and likes. One thing that really scared me was that companies actually pay kids to throw parties for their friends and give out free merchandise to promote the company’s product. I can see how this is appealing to teens because not only are they getting paid to throw a party they would probably have anyways but they also get free stuff from the advertisers. At the same time I feel like they should be smart enough to realize that these giant corporations, in order to gain maximum profit, are just using them. Maybe they are aware of this and they, like the advertisers, just care about making money and not about their values as individuals. This I also find extremely sad.
The scene about the young girl that wants to be a model was very disturbing to me. I have always found it quite strange how young models are recruited. For the most part models are used as sex objects to display cloths in a beautiful or sexy way and for such young girls to have that role is absolutely wrong. They are too young to be around the kind of people involved in the modeling industry. They are also way too young to be presented as sex objects.

Last night my friends and I were "stumbling" through YouTube.com trying to find funny and interesting things to watch. One of the things we found was this ski jump video. I think it is incredible that through the Internet we can share videos like this one. Any one including normal, everyday people can post videos and the whole world can see and share in the amazement, shock and comedy of what they view. 

Consumption Log 2/12/09

5:00 am: I woke up to the sound of my roommate's alarm. The song is the first media I am confronted with today. I fall back asleep and wake up at 9:00. As I get ready I notice all the labels of my lotions and make-up that constantly remind me of the product and company names. While I get ready I also listen to music on my laptop which is almost always playing when I am in my room. When my suite mate wakes up, we walk to the cub to eat lunch. At the cub I notice many signs advertising things like the food downstairs and upcoming events at Fort Lewis. After we eat lunch, I go and check my mail. I receive my phone bill as well as more advertisements one from Sephora and one from Macintosh.  It seems every time I purchase something, the company from which I bought the product, never ceases to send me advertisements. I listen to my Ipod on the way back to my dorm and when I get there I again listen to music on my laptop while I work on my homework. I don't have any class today and I am too tired to ski so I spend most of the day doing homework. Every hour or so I get bored and I start surfing the Internet. I check my facebook and my email and I watch funny and interesting clips on YouTube.com. At 3:00 pm I go to the lounge and watch the television show Weeds for a few hours. At 6:00, my friends and I get hungry and so we leave for the CUB for dinner. Once again I see the same advertisements. After dinner, we head back to the dorms and I spend the rest of my night listening to music and talking with my friends. At around 12:00, I get tired and go to bed. Throughout my day, I came in contact with a large assortment of media. It effects what I do with my day and what I think about. Music is the most prominent media in my life since I am almost always listening to music either on my laptop or my Ipod. 

This past Sunday when I was watching the Super Bowl, Michael Phelps was mentioned in one of the commercials for news. The news reporter stated that in the upcoming news program they would talk about this photo and the accusations against Michael Phelps. I think that it's really sad that one photo, like the one above, can destroy a person's whole career and reputation. I find it really unnerving that anyone could take a picture of someone and show it to the world. It makes me realize how careful we all have to be about doing things in public. Even if your just with your friends, any of them could take an incriminating picture and show it to anyone else, for example on facebook.

I was browsing through youtube when I found this ad for ipods. I really like this ad because I really like the song it features by Daft Punk. I think it illustrates how amazing music and dancing can really be. Ipods are all about enjoying music wherever you are and this commercial really inspires me. I personally love music and many of the ipod ads intrigue me with the songs that they contain. I think Apple does an amazing job of capturing the attention of their music loving audience with awesome music and dancing. 

Ad Deconstruction

Advertisements for alcohol are notorious for their sexual content. They usually use girls in very little clothing to gain the attention of men in order to sell their product. What I like about this ad is that it targets a different kind of audience, one that is interested in being healthy and active. This advertisement for Absolut Vodka is part of a series of clever magazine ads by Absolut Spirits Cooperation. This advertisement is intended for men and women 21 or older because it is for liquor; however, most people are aware that underage drinking is rampant, so I believe this ad also, perhaps unintentionally, grabs the attention of a younger audience as well. The yoga aspect is intended for an audience of people who do yoga or at least want to be or like the idea of being healthy.

When I first looked at this ad it caught my attention because the bottle is placed upside down. This not only captures the attention of a viewer, since it is different and unexpected, but it represents the flexibility, agility and most importantly the balance needed to be successful in yoga.

This ad is very simple and has very few words. The company can do this because it is so popular that most people know what Absolut Vodka is and therefore extra words are not necessary. This allows the viewer to focus on the message of the perfect simplicity of the vodka. I think the representatives of Absolut Spirits Co. are trying to convince their potential customers that their vodka can be part of a healthy lifestyle. The vodka is being compared to yoga, therefore it is representing balance and health. This is ironic because alcohol is destructive to the body while yoga does in fact have a positive impact on health and overall body condition. I think that anyone who views this ad would know and understand that. Still, this ad works because of the underlying message it conveys to its viewers.

When you look deeper into the meaning of the ad I think the underlying message Absolut Spirits Co. is trying to present is that their vodka is perfect for any kind of person no matter what their interests are. If you look at other ads from this campaign you will notice that they are all very different and each is trying to target a different audience. By doing this, the representatives of Absolut Vodka are creating a very broad spectrum of possible customers.

I think it is very interesting how the lighting is distributed throughout the photo. The bright circle of light around the bottle highlights the drink, which is important in order to show that it is the object of the ad. This type of lighting also puts off a sense of peace and tranquility. This definitely contributes to the aspect of yoga and its supposed enlightening effects on the human mind and body. This ad pushes these ideas linked with yoga on the viewer and makes them subconsciously emphasize the connection between the beverage and the activity, even without considering them.

Over the weekend I attended the 2009 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. This event is one of the many popular sporting events filled with a bombardment of advertisements. Even before you enter the venue you can see the bright lights and blazing logos demanding attention. After you pass security all the sponsor booths come into view. Everyone is crowding around trying to get whatever free merchandise they can, whether it is from Oakley, Pizza Rolls, the U.S. Navy or Taco Bell. Aside from all these advertisements, the media advertisement that struck me the most was when, immediately upon finishing a run, the competing skier or snowboarder was handed a Monster Energy drink. As they were filmed and broadcast to viewers across the world, they were drinking and holding this energy drink and therefore promoting Monster as a sponsor. This shows just how powerful the influence of a famous person can be and how easily it can be used in advertising.