Social Uses/Implications of Technology and Media

Though I used music as my strongest media influence for my media autobiography, I am going to discuss my computer, more specifically the Internet, and its impact on my life. Every morning, I wake up and turn on my computer, waiting for it to start, I shower, and get ready. Before I get dressed, I check the Weather Network for today’s forecast, and then put on one of my favourite radio stations on via their website. Before I leave for class, I check my e-mail and Facebook page. I then shut my laptop, and take it to class. In class I use it take notes, and to look up concepts I don’t know on Google. I then come home, check my e-mail again, and do my homework, which almost always involves the Internet, I then usually catch up with people from home on MSN, and finally go to bed, to do it all over again tomorrow. I don’t know what I would do without my computer. I wouldn’t know what to wear, sometimes I would be lost in class, and I would get bored of the music on my iPod. The way my dorm room is set up even shows how my life revolves around my computer. When you walk in, my room is usually very clean, with not much stuff lying around, and my chair and my computer waiting anxiously for me on my desk beside my printer. I think I’m so drawn to the Internet as opposed to television or print media because I feel as though I have more control. I do not have to sit through commercials, though there are advertisement banners, I feel they are easier to ignore. To me, the Internet is more of a personal form of media, but still has the ability to connect you to the masses. I can listen to music, or connect with friends, or I can learn about the latest technology in Japan if I really wanted to. As much as I enjoy the Internet, I do believe that it has some negative implications. A lot of the information is not trust worthy, and the media is more hidden than in a television commercial. An example of this are those sneaky pop-ups that claim to have a million dollars waiting for you just because you’re the ten millionth visitor. There have been times where I am so distracted by what I am doing on my computer, that I have ignored reality. I think this is a really dangerous, and ignorant type of behavior and try to stay away from it as much as possible, but the Internet is so encompassing… speaking of which, I have just received a new e-mail from Facebook.

Theory/Praxis

Media literacy. This is a term that was foreign to me prior to this course. I never appreciated the need to fully understand everything I saw and heard from the media, until I realized how much I didn’t know. When watching a commercial, or listening to the radio, I rarely looked beyond the surface of the ad. After reading McLuhan, and seeing the Media Autobiography presentations, I am better able to conceive the truth behind the message, or rather decipher the equivocations. Through researching the theory, I came across a definition I find to be parallel to my own understanding, “Media literacy education must aim to produce students who have an understanding of the media that includes a knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses, biases and priorities, role and impact, and artistry and artifice” (AML). I’d heard the term “don’t trust everything you read” but didn’t know how ignorant I was to the impact of the media. I really appreciate the idea of media literacy. To me it means taking something for more than its face value, to find out what is really being said (or meant), and to think critically for oneself. I am so easily sucked into ads, and am the target of cross merchandising. Now I can actually see the marketing behind the advertisements; I’m able to see why certain companies use celebrities, and who they’re appealing to.
Rather than taking everything at face value, people should look deeper and find the true meaning behind the message.


Works Cited

“What is Media Literacy?” The Association for Media Literacy. 06 October 2008.

Decoding and Deconstructing an Advertisement

The advertisement I am analyzing is one I found in the September 2008 issue of Vogue magazine. Michael Kors, the self-promoted “leading American designer for luxury sportswear and accessories” is the subject and the hefty funds behind the full-page ad (Kors). This ad features a man standing beside an old-fashion car with a large group of paparazzi behind a fence in the background. The most interesting part of this ad, in my opinion, is the fact that half of it is distorted by lens flare. Because of the sunspots, the main subject of the photo lacks detail. Rather than seeing the handsome facial features of the model or even the superb fit and texture of the clothing we are used to seeing in advertisements, we instead are graced with the presence of this obviously important gentleman. The luxurious ambiance of this photo is displayed without the need for detail. Though I cannot make out the hood ornament, the car is obviously high-end; it is a classic creamy white, very clean, looking as though it has never been used, complete with white walled tires. The model is in a dark navy-blue suit, and seems very nonchalant with the situation he is encountering, acting as a well-seasoned celebrity might when stepping out of a car into a crowd of crazed photographers. The subject’s attitude towards the whole situation gives the impression that this is a regular occurrence. This leads us to believe that the subject’s Michael Kors suit and matching sunglasses are the reason he is able to handle this event in such a classy and sophisticated manner. The message is that the clothing is of such a prestigious caliber that one who wears Michael Kors should expect to attract attention. For Michael Kors to sell his clothing, he does not need to advertise them. What he is instead advertising the life style this ad portrays.


Works Cited

“About Us.” Michael Kors. 2007. 6 October 2008. missionstatement.php>

Mass Media

After discussing the term media in class, my original ideas abut ‘the media’ were changed. I had always thought of media as being newspaper, television, the radio etc. I’m not sure ‘the media’ know what media is; Dictionary.com defines media as “the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely” (Dictionary). This is a general and basic definition, widely excepted by most people, and one I have come accustom to. I never thought outside the realm of journalists and photographers. After discussing McLuhan, and the way media affects us, I better understood the term media. The process is information or any idea that is delivered to someone. In this process the information is the content, and method of delivery is the medium. Taking this into consideration newspaper is a medium, but so is the apple you ate this morning. Both deliver some form content; the newspaper delivers the daily news, and the apple delivers the common connotations that people hold when they look at an apple. This may seem like a stretch, but everything we see carries some form of personal connotation. The apple for example, comes with religious connotations, as mentioned in class, and perhaps memories of Autumn. This shows us that an apple is a medium, just as rightly as the newspaper, and a basket of apples is the media. From this, we can re-work Dictionary.com’s definition, and make it less specific; I define media as the means of communication. After narrowing this definition, I can look more at mass media. Mass media is a medium that delivers a message to a large group of people. Within this line of thinking, I also think that this same idea applies even if the message received isn’t perceived the same by every individual it reaches.

“Media.” Dictionary.com. 05 October 2008. browse/media>