"Broadcast Yourself" (Fake News)

Independent media is one of the more relevant aspects to journalism and the news which has been amplified by the internet. This type of news now not only includes information about current, global (or local) topics, but is free and only limited by what the user decides to limit it to.

This recent outburst of ‘public news’ is actually quite fascinating. As with many things concerning the media, there are both a good and bad side to this new phenomenon. For one, people (using the internet) can spread messages pertaining to a certain topic without any censorship or credentials for that matter. Things such as hate speech and inaccurate information are now free to the public's eye.

In my opinion, while this is true, it also opens up opportunities for a more honest look at where our world is going. Take for example, YouTube. During the presidential campaigns, people posted thousands of videos giving their personal opinions on what they thought of each candidate. I think this enables us to have a much more efficient democracy (applying this to Canada as well, of course) because of us now having a venue to exercise our freedom of speech.

Analyze this! (Theory/Praxis)

It is a well known fact that we are bombarded with the media and advertising every single day. In fact, Marshall McLuhan said we are like fish not knowing water until beached. If this is true then, companies are using mediums the best way that they can to promote their messages. That being said, it is a well known fact that advertising is indeed effective. That being the case, the only way for advertisements to be effective is to have enough people to ‘buy’ into them.

Are you media literate? Many aren’t.

What does this mean then? Well, ask yourself this question: do you stop and think about some of the ads you see around you? Or do you merely just say “oh that’s cool” to most?

It takes more than stopping and thinking, though. That’s only the first step in becoming ‘media literate’. Understanding the ways companies are using certain techniques and methods is another step in not ‘falling in their trap’, if you will.

What is the importance of being media literate? Is it merely to say that you’ve successfully deconstructed the inner workings of a company and not fallen subject to their tactics? Perhaps there is more to it than that. Being aware of what is constantly around you is the first step in understanding where our culture is going. Don’t be stuck in the ‘rear-view mirror’ as illustrated by Marshall McLuhan, observe what is in front of you now, and how it is changing us. That is the first step in understanding what “us” is, and where we are going.


Personally, I am always trying to be aware of the impact media has on me, even when I do become overwhelmed by it. If I find myself buying something because of the ad I saw on television for example, I analyze how this particular advertisement worked on me. What was my ‘weakness’ that encouraged me to buy this product? From there, I usually take note of this and try to remember it for future encounters with other products.

Take for example Apple Computers. I personally own an iPhone, and I’d like to point out their advertisements played a huge role in me purchasing one. Apple uses a very specific way of getting people to buy their products, and more often than not, end up coming out with a newer model of your product after they’ve hooked you into buying the first one. I view Apple Computers as one of the more effective companies in having you buy their products. Check out this older iPhone commercial to see what I mean. It’s called “Amazing”.

Media Tactics: When is Too Much? (Decoding/Deconstructing Advertising)

Check out the new ad for the clothes line for Dolce and Gabanna. Initial reaction? Some of you may recognize this ad as the one pulled for depicting ‘gang rape’. Others may just flip past this ad in a magazine as “just another edgy D&G ad”.

However, deconstruction of this advertisement shows two things:

1. This is ad is probably directed at men.

Besides the obvious fact that the majority of the clothing models are men, the woman is depicted in a way that is demeaning to herself. Also, examine the way the men are viewing the woman, most are looking down at her while she lays helplessly on the ground. John Berger, a famous art critic, notes in his essay Ways of Seeing that women are portrayed in paintings as objects, and more often than not they are depicted as being lower than men, and usually seen in some provocative way (Ways of Seeing, 52). This ad is evidently no exception.

2. This ad is eye-catching.

Whether or not this ad was actually trying to depict gang rape or not, it has done the job of catching our attention. As with many name-brand designer clothing ads, most of the time the advertisement is directed at promoting the company name rather than the actual apparel. Take for example, the famous Abercrombie and Fitch clothing line. Most of their ads consist of people hardly wearing clothing at all. Media can affect us in negative ways, but also make us think (about the company, advertisement, whatever -we are thinking about it).

John Berger displays a key idea in discussing the role women play in photos. The term ‘sex sells’ is used quite frequently when discussing advertisements like the one pictured above. Women sell too, or rather are used as a method to sell. There is of course the moral debate of whether women should be portrayed in this way in order to promote a company, but that is part of what makes this advertisement so effective. It has us thinking.

Works Cited:
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London, England: Penguin Books, 1972. Print.

Ever been to the beach? (Mass Media)

A fish doesn’t know water until beached – Marshall McLuhan

Our society doesn’t know the mass media until disconnected. Ever been to a completely remote part of earth without any technology? Some may describe this experience as ‘being at peace with nature’. But how many of us could live that way forever?

Marshall McLuhan had quite a few opinions on what the term “mass media” actually meant, and he describes it quite simply as the technological world around us. His infamous saying “the medium is the message” plays a key role in explaining the affect the media has on everyone today.

According to McLuhan, the water is all of the technological mediums around us, and the beach is only realized when we are pulled out of the giant sea of media that society is engulfed in.

The question is, are we drowning or swimming?

It all depends on the moral viewpoints you have of the media. Neil Postman believes that the constant flow of media needs to be monitored and viewed cautiously (Postman, 7). If the mass media is what is ‘housing’ our culture, should we just accept it rather than change it?

This brings up the debate of whether or not the media needs to be ‘controlled’. The internet in particular plays a big role in this debate. Because of its power, the internet has the ability to shape the way different cultures behave and interact with each other. Whether it is from a political standpoint or just merely on a social level, the internet is changing the way we live.

Studying the way ‘the world lives’ is difficult, though. However, according to Marshall McLuhan, it needs to be done. He believed that many were too wrapped up in studying the history of our race, instead of looking at what is happening now, in the present. He called this the “rear-view mirror” theory. Of course, you cannot drive a car without looking directly ahead of you. McLuhan suggested that you cannot drive humanity forward whilst looking at the past ("The Playboy Interview", 20).

How do things like television, radio, and the internet change the way our race is being shaped? According to McLuhan, it is up to the ‘artists’, the ones looking forward instead of backward, that will lead the way in developing better ways to ‘swim’ in the mass media engulfing us all.

Works Cited:
Postman, Neil. "The Humanism of Media Ecology." Media Ecology Association. 17 June 2000. Fordham University, Web. 5 Oct 2009. .

"The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan." Playboy March 1969.: n. pag. Web. 10 Oct 2009.

The Internet: Beyond Good and Evil? (The Ecology of Media)

The World Wide Web is arguably one of the biggest phenomenons to hit the 20th and 21st century. It is what enables this journal to be published free of charge, and for anyone with a connection to view. However, before I get into any of the implications of the internet, I’d like to focus on the famous media scholar Neil Postman.

Neil Postman essentially developed the idea of having ‘media ecology’. And within that body describing the way humans and culture develop within a certain technology, there are finer details to explore.

In a keynote address delivered at the Inaugural Media Ecology Association Convention, Postman describes his viewpoint of studying media as more ‘moralistic’ (Postman, 2). As opposed to Marshall McLuhan (whose name frequently, and most appropriately, appears in his speech), Postman believed that instead of just examining the media without any prejudice (as McLuhan suggests), one should be able to deconstruct the present media with great prejudice, and examine if a certain medium is actually benefiting our society (Postman, 7).

If we were to take Postman’s idea and combine morals with the study of a medium, how then should the internet be viewed? It boils down to how the internet is affecting us as human beings. At the end of his speech, Postman notes that:

“…it [media ecology] exists to further our insights into how we stand as human beings, how we are doing morally in the journey we are taking” (Postman, 7).

The internet is a vast topic that can be discussed for days. However, important questions can be posed that enable us to think about how our generation is progressing with the use of the internet.

For one, the internet is constantly growing. Some popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. If you notice, there is a common link between these three web phenomenons, and that is networking.

Yes, networking is only one of the many uses for the internet, but it is ever more prevalent today. Going back to an idea posed by Marshall McLuhan, we are expanding our range of communication at an alarmingly rapid rate and widening the ‘global village’("The Playboy Interview", 17).

But, how does this relate to media ecology and Postman’s idea of ‘media morality’? Where is this taking our societies? In a word, forward in many ways. Whether it’s political or social issues, networking sites can change the way people view a certain issue, and awareness can be raised.

That being said, we should approach the internet with particular scrutiny as well. Whether or not the internet is a ‘good’ or ‘evil’ medium, it would be wise to remember the words of McLuhan when he warned future generations about the ‘overload of sensory’ we would experience with the progression of new technologies (McLuhan). Internet users can anonymously choose to influence other users on the web, and opens up a method of communication that was never seen before. The internet is not the real world, and we must be aware of technology now in the present day and how it is changing the way we communicate with others.

Works Cited:
Postman, Neil. "The Humanism of Media Ecology." Media Ecology Association. 17 June 2000. Fordham University, Web. 5 Oct 2009. .

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London, England: Penguin Books, 1972. Print.

"The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan." Playboy March 1969.: n. pag. Web. 10 Oct 2009.

More than Just a “Blog”? (Academic Blogging)

As I sit here at my desktop plugging away at my keyboard, I stop for a moment, and think about what exactly I am writing about. Blogging? No, that is much too vague. Actually, it is, because in fact writing about blogging is a bit redundant and somewhat boring. Instead, I choose to write about how this very blog, I hope, is going to change you (and by extension, me in the process).

Change you? A bit pretentious wouldn’t you say? But this is my goal, and I see no other way to write in my online journal except to benefit you, my audience. After all, the medium is the message ("The Playboy Interview", 2) and by extension of the internet, this blog serves its purpose as that medium. That being said, I would like to pose two questions before continuing to write any more.

1. What does having your own space on the internet mean to you?
2. If you were to suddenly have a lot of popularity with your blog, which way would you try and influence people in?

After thinking about the first question, I reestablished a strong feeling of a personal interconnectivity with the internet once again. It is true; we take for granted what is readily available to us. However, if I were to answer this question in one word it would be ‘power’. Power is a word with many meanings though, so I will explain myself. I reckon power to being able to change the way a person thinks about something. What philosopher Marshall McLuhan says is true, media has changed and grown at a rapid rate. Twenty years ago, one could only dream of having a journal published in a book. Imagine that – the thought of knowing your work was actually good enough to be published somewhere, for someone else to read and be influenced by it. The internet makes this possible for anyone with a connection, and in turn opens up a whole new dimension of information and knowledge. This does not come without a price though. Some people will influence others the wrong way, intentionally or not. So I ask that you only do one thing when reading my blog, and that is to question, and think for yourself. I would never accept something anyone wrote for face value just ‘because’.

The second question was a bit confusing at first (confused by my own question, brilliant). I suppose there is only one answer for me personally, and that is to not try and influence people at all. Here is what I see, here’s my take on it, and the rest is up to you.

Enjoy.

Works Cited:
"The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan." Playboy March 1969.: n. pag. Web. 2 Oct 2009. .