A reflection of International Media and Communication

Once again my blogging adventure has come to an end. Learning about media and communication from an international perspective has really opened my eyes. I learnt about everything from globalisation to transnational film, media capitals to digital dissent, hip hop to television in translation; all on a global scale.

It was an interesting structure this semester, attending class and listening a different group present on the weekly topic each time. This structure was effective in my own opinion. In addition, I enjoyed working in groups; it was a great way to interact and meet new people.

Hip hop was definitely the most interesting topic for me, hence why I chose it for my presentation. I have always enjoyed music. I also am a lyrical writer in my spare time, which I focus on hip hop based rhyme lyrics in particular; you could probably see this in my previous blog post about hip hop. I found April K. Henderson’s reading Dancing Between Islands: Hip Hop and the Samoan Diaspora extremely intriguing. Previously I had only really considered hip hop from African-American history, or the uprising of Australian hip hop. The reading made me realise that hip hop was much more widespread than I had thought. One aspect that i would have liked to study a bit more is the changes and/or evolution from traditional hip hop to more contemporary artists.

Discussing hybridisation and Americanisation in the sixth week (Transnational film industries: Hollywood and beyond) was enjoyable. I like watching shows and film A LOT, so getting to watch snippets of TV shows, such as The Office, and movies, such as Slumdog Millionaire, made going to class even more exciting than it already was. Looking at such visual media and considering the concepts hybridisation and Americanisation actually made me enjoy them even more. I guess viewing something and considering with a certain concept in mind makes you truly appreciate it.

Well that is me signing out for the semester and the year. I have learnt so much in BCM111 that I’m sure I won’t ever forget. I have a new outlook on media from an international perspective.

Tommy over and out.

Ending pending

Let’s take a step back. Let’s reflect on my journey through the BCM110 blogging escapade.

I used to think a blog was just online writing that people might find and read. No, it’s not about that at all. I have found that blogging is a way to release the ideas from your mind and put it into words, not only for others entertainment but for yourself as well. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning the about different aspects of media and expressing ideas that go through my mind in relation to this.

I will admit, my introductory blog Welcome to the life of Tommy was tough. Talking about yourself is not the easiest thing to do, especially it being my first ever blog post. Though I was happy that I had recorded a song month before that actually went a little bit into my life, so I could explain myself lyrically (which I prefer doing).

My post Media Mediation was probably harder to write than the introductory blog. I had to actually apply my thought processes with the content I was learning in BCM110. Once I got started I was fine; I began enjoying what I was writing about which made me want to write more. The posts that followed this, especially Looking at Abbey Road and South Park is crowe-ing in the public sphere, I felt like I was able to grasp blogging even better. I felt I was using material effectively, communicating my ideas better and providing an interesting scope for other people to view what I was discussing. I had so much fun writing these two blog posts in particular because I was so interested in what I was talking about.

The thoughts that went through my head tended to be clearer when I expressed them without using personal pronouns; the ideas flowed better. Plus, I figured it’s my blog…everything that is written I have thought about and I am expressing myself.

I feel that I have developed my skills through blogging in BCM110, but in addition I have found another form of writing that I enjoy. This is not the last time you will hear from me on this blog.

I used words to voice my ideas. Now, these words run.

Tommy over and out.

South Park is crowe-ing in the public sphere

The mediated public sphere is a metaphorical space where people discover others ideas, information and feelings towards aspects that matter in society (McKee 2005); media is used as a framework of communicating this. South Park, a popular TV show, is notorious for ‘putting their own two-cents worth’ regarding public issues and contributing to debate. The show takes issues and makes them into a humerous, cartoon version to exhibit to the public a perspective on the issue.

South Park‘s popularity has seen the show become a talking-point, being constantly on the political talk shows and the news with their famous bold messages. By reaching a massive audience, they contribute to debate in the mediated public sphere no matter how big or small the issue is; they are able to get a reaction and create debate from society. A reviewer, under the alias Raven_Z, said this on IMDb of the TV show:

“South Park is a satirical look on most anything from Western society – politics, the media, today’s youth, celebrities, violence in our society, and much much more.“

In the past, Russell Crowe has been scrutinised in the mediated public sphere for his bad temper. The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, featured Crowe in one of their episodes, take a look.

The issue of Crowe’s bad temper has been made into a comedic way to make a travesty of his past scrutiny. This evidently raised debate in the mediated public sphere with 60 Minutes, another platform that creates debate in the mediated public sphere, asking Crowe about South park’s rendition of him.

The fact that South Park is able to commnicate ideas, information and feelings towards issues while delivering perspective and implying messages suggests that the TV show is a contributor for debate in the mediated public sphere. The clever humour used to portray public issues is what makes this communication so unique. South Park will always contribute to debate.

Tommy over and out.
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Referencing:
Alan McKee, Introduction to the Public Sphere, Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Mobile phones: the drug, the addiction

Forget street drugs, the thing that is most highly addictive are the objects we call mobile phones. Answer this, how often is your mobile phone on you or close to you? Most people who own a mobile phone will answer the that they have their phones the majority of the time. Even when you sleep, your mobile phone is usually on charge somewhere close to you and easily accessible. And this is exactly what is becoming of modern day society, we rely on our mobile phones. These devices are now part of everyday life and are metaphorically a vital organ that we need in order to survive.

From The English Blog

Mobile phones are not just a device that is used for verbal and messaging communication anymore. The introduction of smartphones has now given people the ability to access the internet, play games, download whatever they choose and use applications. On top of this, mobile phones can now be used as your clock, calculator, GPS, notepad and camera, just to name a few. The fact that a mobile phone, a single object, that can replace a large number of other objects is a key reason as to why we are dependable and reliable on our phones; these features are also the reason for our addiction. Rhett and Link had a semi-casual discussion on cell phone addiction:

Social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, are also considered highly addictive media platforms that you can use easily on your mobile phone. There is now so many different ways to communicate with other people by just using your phone. Social media, along with the copious amount of features in mobile phones nowadays, are primary reasons as to why mobiles have become so addictive.

Tommy over and out.

The key to a lock is that you don’t always need a key

I have to come back again to when I posted Media Mediation. Today on YouTube I found this:

After I finished watching this, I was left a little stunned. At two years old, where would he learn to pick a lock like that?

One answer came to mind; he has seen it somewhere before through media.

There are movies like Ocean’s Eleven, Mission Impossible and The Italian Job where the plots are based around breaking into objects and places. It is even on day-to-day television, for instance on the show Castle. Video games such as Assassins Creed and Skyrim also use lock picking techniques in their games. This is not even to mention the countless amount of videos over YouTube. So, yes, that two year old boy could have learnt that from anywhere; there is enough media to show a person how to pick a lock.

It could be argued that this video of the two year old boy has been set up and he was shown how to open a door using nail clippers by his parents. But, for them to teach their child they had to learn it once too, right? It just shows us that media is so massive in recent times that it can influence us substantially.

Just out of curiosity, I searched “how to pick a lock” on YouTube. The most viewed video had 9,375,315 views. That is a large figure, and we can only hope it is not for criminal purposes.

Tommy over and out.

Looking at Abbey Road

Have you seen this before? Most people have. This is the famous image from the front cover of The Beatles‘ album Abbey Road.

To the naked eye the denotation of this is merely a photo of four men walking across a road. The actual image of the four men crossing the road is the signifier, and the signified is the four men themselves crossing the road.

Looking at this image more in depth, there are connotations we can make. It is obvious that these four men are The Beatles, and that this is the image from the album cover of Abbey Road. We are able to establish a musical context to this image, giving identities to the four men; George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon. The image is taken on Abbey Road, where Abbey Road Studios are located; this is where the album was recorded.

Let’s look at this using the ideology that Paul McCartney is dead. You might think that this is foolish, but let us delve into the connotations. Paul draws attention to himself as he is stepping with his right leg, while the others are stepping with their left. It is then noticeable that Paul is the only one in the image not wearing shoes; this is symbolic of death. Furthermore, take note how each of The Beatles are dressed and think of it as a funeral setting; John is dressed as a priest, Ringo as an undertaker and George as a gravedigger. Another thing, if you take a closer look at he number plate of the white car, it reads LMW28IF; this is suggesting that IF Paul was alive when this album was released, he would be 28 years old. (Read here)

The number plate of the white car from the Abbey Road album cover.

A text can be read from a number of angles, and when exploring a text deeper different ideologies and myths are recognised; this image is a prime instance of this.

Tommy over and out.

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Referencing:
The Beatles Is Paul McCartney Dead? Rare Recording Rumor Hoax Billy Shears. 2013, <http://www.ispauldead.com/552.html>

Dave Grohl has foo with copyright

Just a quick post here to add to my post yesterday, The music industry: where is the wrong in copyright?. I stumbled across this on YouTube after re-watching the rant video from my previous post. It is interesting getting an opinion on copyright from a renowned and accomplished singer of a rock band, Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters. Have a listen…

Dave Grohl is so cool.

Tommy over and out.

The music industry: where is the wrong in copyright?

The music industry is changing on so many levels due to copyright and media platforms. The internet has become a free-for-all access point for the public to use media platforms, in particular cloud storage sites such as Mediafire or Rapidshare that are commonly used for downloading copyrighted music illegally, and YouTube.

A cartoon from the BBC

Cloud storage sites on the internet, such as Mediafire and Rapidshare, are a form of media platform. These websites are intended for uploading different forms of media for storing and sharing on the world wide web, however they have become some of the most common websites for downloading music illegally. Gradually some songs get taken down or removed from being shared publicly, but the internet is so large and widespread that it is virtually impossible to catch every offender that downloads a song. Copyright has become a law that is so easy to break yet so hard to get found out, it’s like the perfect crime. Not only that, but downloading music illegally is something that is so common that it is socially accepted; we as a society are now embracing copyright infringement.

There are thousands, perhaps millions, of videos on YouTube that would technically be subject to copyright. This is a tangled issue when it comes to cover songs on YouTube. Everyday you can see people from all around the world posting up their own versions and attempts at existing songs. But, under the copyright laws of different countries, doing such a thing is actually a legal infringement. In saying this, it is unlikely that if you do put up a cover song on YouTube it will get taken down; there are simply too many videos.

Have a look at this rant on copyright infringement.

Tommy over and out.

“The medium is the message”

“The medium is the message” – that is the phrase that Marshall McLuhan famously expressed in regard to media. In simple terms, McLuhan is suggesting the the message isn’t in the information being communicated; instead the message is contained within the medium itself.

Music is a medium. Even without any vocals or lyrics, music communicates a message. In recent times, especially with the rise of electronic dance music, many songs don’t have any vocal component. Instead, the music (the medium) is relied upon to give a tonal impression and stimulate emotion. Let us take a look at a popular song from 2012, “Jar Of Hearts” by Christina Perri. Have a listen to the instrumental version with no words.

The music in this song gives a sombre tone. The piano and orchestral musical elements of the song implies that this is a sad song. To a musical ear, it is evident that the chords played in this song are ones that are not considered happy or bright, like B-minor and E-minor, which again enhances the sombre tone. By listening to the instrumental version of “Jar of Hearts”, we can tell that this song is going to have sad, sombre context to it; all this is recognised through the medium, which is the music. Now listen to the song with the lyrics.

The lyrical meaning in this song is about a break-up. Perri is expressing here sadness, hurt and regret; the lyrics have a sombre tone, as the music suggests. The medium is the message, the medium communicates the message, and therefore the medium is key. Thankyou Marshall McLuhan.

Tommy over and out.

Media mediation

I was interested in finding out what the true definition of media is. The dictionary defines media as “the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely”. The key words that were embedded in my mind from that were “reach or influence people widely”.

In the modern age, media is distributed massively. This means that anyone with access to media, especially using the internet, will be influenced by it. Such media can have encouraging and constructive effects on a person; alternatively it can have undesirable effects. On a social scale, the media ‘effects’ model is around the wrong way; the background information and context should be considered before the media is viewed.

Despite some positive outcomes, media is being more negatively scrutinised nowadays due to the realisation of how influential it actually is. Take, for instance, the expectation of females. Females are now more than ever ‘watching their weight’ at even younger ages. Magazines, movies and music videos are just a few types of media which tend to show the ‘perfect figure’ that a stereotypical male apparently wants to see and is attracted to. Therefore, females are striving to gain this ‘perfect figure’ in order to impress the male. But it’s not only weight, this includes a females all-round appearance; their choice of clothes, hairstyle, use of make-up and so on. The expectation of what is considered being attractive is being dictated by media. The video below goes into more depth about this.

The question that arises from this is prominent; is the influence of media good or bad? There is no true answer. Like anything, media is always going to have its pros and cons, and will always be scrutinised whether it is for the better or the worse.

Read further on media influence here.
Read further on the things wrong with the media ‘effects’ model here.

Tommy over and out.