Thursday, October 4, 2007
Im soooo excited...
to start this activist project! We got together for lunch the other day discussed the game plans. We have some brilliant ideas, it should be fun! I just hope we can get our word out fast enough and have enough support from students in the school to make a change. I feel that even if we do not make very much money as long as people get informed I'll be satisfied. ( but I really do wanna make a bunch of money for them. ha ha)
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Transform Apathy into Activism
For my first group assignment I got together with Cara Goodings, Vanessa (I am not sure of her last name) and Katherine O'Gorman. All girls are awesome to work with, although our busy schedules has made it hard to get together to pick our five minute clip.
When we got together we watched three documentaries. One was called Thin done by filmmaker Lauren Greenfeild. It was about a bunch of girls who were sent to Renfrew which was a psychiatric hospital strictly for girls with eating disorders. We wanted to go a different angle. We watched another film named Thank You For Smoking by Jason Reitman. I was told once upon a time it was a documentary and after watching it I am not so sure. That movie we all agreed was very directed to the media, as the main character was a spokesperson for a cigarettes and spun what he could on behalf of cigarette companies. However, with the cast and crew of actors such as Katie Holmes we felt this was not what we were looking for. Lastly, we watched a documentary named Invisible Children. When I was first told about this documentary from Cara I was told it was about children in Africa. I thought "great, its going to be another one of those spiels that shows starving children with pot bellies and flies in their eyes." When I said that Cara looked at me and was like, "it's different. You'll like it." I had my doubts. We did however discuss how we thought it was sad that it had to come to seeing the images of children starved with flies in their eyes for people to do anything about it.
Then we watched Invisible Children (filmed in 2003) and decided directly after watching it, that this was the film for us. The documentary which was filmed by three third year university students from California , Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole who had little to no travelling experience, no money, and really no idea what they were going to get themselves into. They started by sending out a letter to raise money for their adventure to Africa, as they were motivated to go and document the unseen war in Sudan and were going to use the power of stories to get the word out in hopes of doing some good. They spent some time in Sudan and found nothing more than what people have been seeing on television for years. Which is when they ran into a woman named Jolie who told them about 'Internationally Displaced People (IDP) Camps' in Gulu, Northern Uganda, where the Acholi tribe lives ,and how the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) Rebel movement is endangering children. This is where the story begins;
In 1986 a woman named Alice Auma (now known as Alice Lakwena- Lakwena the christian spirit said to have posessed her) claimed that a holy spirit had possessed and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholi's. Lakwena and her group of followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM)gained momentum as the resentment toward the government increased(3). It was told to the people in her army that rocks would explode like dynamite, and by rubbing Shea oil on their bodies they would be protected by bullets as long as they have full belief in god's will. Lakwena was exiled in 1991 leaving the HSM without a leader. Joseph Kony (who claimed to be Lakwena's cousin) took control and transformed the HSM rebel army into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel movement. The support from the Acholi's was decreasing rapidly due to the dwindling support for their cause and heightened government offensives(3), and because of the rapid decrease in soldiers Kony's LRA resorted to abducting children (usually between the ages of 5-12 because they are big enough to hold a gun, and small enough to sneak into schools to abduct more children) and brainwashing them to be soldiers. They do this by immediately exposing the children to death forcing them to watch other children get killed, as well as being forced to kill. They are told that if someone has done something against them, they they have the right to kill them. The children who do not follow the rules laid out by the LRA rebels will suffer severe consequences like being brutally beaten, getting raped, having joints broken or limbs amputated, and even death. The children's only hope is to escape from 'the bush' (the name given by the Acholi's). "Any abducted children trying to escape, however, are killed. Over 21 years rebels have burned houses, destroyed crops and camps, abducted children , cut off ears, legs and lips, have padlocked mouths and plucked out eyes. They have killed people and forced others to eat them. Many thousands have nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep(5)." This has left children of Northern Uganda completely terrified of being abducted and in hiding. Every night thousands of children will walk miles from their homes to sleep in bus stops, hospitals, and in the verandas because those places have become a place of sanction and safety. There are thousands of children who are out on there own who have nothing (not even food) and can not go to school because they fear they are going to be abducted.
Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole (the university students who created the documentary) spoke with many of the children whom had been abducted and escaped. The children talked about what it was like to live in the bush, and what the LRA did to them and the people they loved. After their adventure was documented; the three of them started their own movement to try and help the Acholi's find peace. They have come up with some brilliant idea's to raise money for their cause putting on tons of charity events and campaigns like Schools for Schools, Displace Me, Tri-Campaign, their tour for screening the documentary, and Night Commutes. Campaigns are not the only thing these kids have going, they are taking their help right where it is needed in Uganda. They set it up to have some Acholi's making bracelets each with it's own colour as their job, and having those bracelets sent to America where they will be sold and all the money collected goes towards the cause.
Honestly, these students have inspired me in ways I didn't even know I could be. I always knew that I was lucky to have been born into the family, into the world, that I have been born into. I never really thought three people could make such a dramatic difference. It is hard to believe you can have so much passion for a cause, and have your heart go out to someone you've never even met. The story of their success is remarkable. In 2001, the US Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization which was a big step in drawing attention to this conflict. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders(3).The Ugandan Government and the LRA are still working on finding a resolution, and still, last year roughly 1.5 million individuals live in camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation(3). To see such a change, motivated our group to do something about it, and so for our activist project we are going to do our own campaign ( but I wont spoil you with details). Before watching this documentary I was bias in thinking we could not compare Canada and Uganda that the worlds are too different. I rolled my eyes when I heard there was an entire documentary based on peoples lives in Africa. I would never believe that there would be a video with a message strong enough to change me.
And now, I never thought I could be so wrong.
1. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3166797753930210643 - video PLEASE WATCH THIS... it is only 55 minutes.
2. http://www.ugandacan.org/history.php - History of the War
3. http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ - The Documentaries Official Website
4. http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v7/v1i1.PDF/v7i1a10.pdf - Info on Alice Lakwena
5. http://www.brlsi.org/proceed05/worldaffairs0904.htm - History of the War
When we got together we watched three documentaries. One was called Thin done by filmmaker Lauren Greenfeild. It was about a bunch of girls who were sent to Renfrew which was a psychiatric hospital strictly for girls with eating disorders. We wanted to go a different angle. We watched another film named Thank You For Smoking by Jason Reitman. I was told once upon a time it was a documentary and after watching it I am not so sure. That movie we all agreed was very directed to the media, as the main character was a spokesperson for a cigarettes and spun what he could on behalf of cigarette companies. However, with the cast and crew of actors such as Katie Holmes we felt this was not what we were looking for. Lastly, we watched a documentary named Invisible Children. When I was first told about this documentary from Cara I was told it was about children in Africa. I thought "great, its going to be another one of those spiels that shows starving children with pot bellies and flies in their eyes." When I said that Cara looked at me and was like, "it's different. You'll like it." I had my doubts. We did however discuss how we thought it was sad that it had to come to seeing the images of children starved with flies in their eyes for people to do anything about it.
Then we watched Invisible Children (filmed in 2003) and decided directly after watching it, that this was the film for us. The documentary which was filmed by three third year university students from California , Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole who had little to no travelling experience, no money, and really no idea what they were going to get themselves into. They started by sending out a letter to raise money for their adventure to Africa, as they were motivated to go and document the unseen war in Sudan and were going to use the power of stories to get the word out in hopes of doing some good. They spent some time in Sudan and found nothing more than what people have been seeing on television for years. Which is when they ran into a woman named Jolie who told them about 'Internationally Displaced People (IDP) Camps' in Gulu, Northern Uganda, where the Acholi tribe lives ,and how the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) Rebel movement is endangering children. This is where the story begins;
In 1986 a woman named Alice Auma (now known as Alice Lakwena- Lakwena the christian spirit said to have posessed her) claimed that a holy spirit had possessed and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholi's. Lakwena and her group of followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM)gained momentum as the resentment toward the government increased(3). It was told to the people in her army that rocks would explode like dynamite, and by rubbing Shea oil on their bodies they would be protected by bullets as long as they have full belief in god's will. Lakwena was exiled in 1991 leaving the HSM without a leader. Joseph Kony (who claimed to be Lakwena's cousin) took control and transformed the HSM rebel army into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel movement. The support from the Acholi's was decreasing rapidly due to the dwindling support for their cause and heightened government offensives(3), and because of the rapid decrease in soldiers Kony's LRA resorted to abducting children (usually between the ages of 5-12 because they are big enough to hold a gun, and small enough to sneak into schools to abduct more children) and brainwashing them to be soldiers. They do this by immediately exposing the children to death forcing them to watch other children get killed, as well as being forced to kill. They are told that if someone has done something against them, they they have the right to kill them. The children who do not follow the rules laid out by the LRA rebels will suffer severe consequences like being brutally beaten, getting raped, having joints broken or limbs amputated, and even death. The children's only hope is to escape from 'the bush' (the name given by the Acholi's). "Any abducted children trying to escape, however, are killed. Over 21 years rebels have burned houses, destroyed crops and camps, abducted children , cut off ears, legs and lips, have padlocked mouths and plucked out eyes. They have killed people and forced others to eat them. Many thousands have nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep(5)." This has left children of Northern Uganda completely terrified of being abducted and in hiding. Every night thousands of children will walk miles from their homes to sleep in bus stops, hospitals, and in the verandas because those places have become a place of sanction and safety. There are thousands of children who are out on there own who have nothing (not even food) and can not go to school because they fear they are going to be abducted.
Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole (the university students who created the documentary) spoke with many of the children whom had been abducted and escaped. The children talked about what it was like to live in the bush, and what the LRA did to them and the people they loved. After their adventure was documented; the three of them started their own movement to try and help the Acholi's find peace. They have come up with some brilliant idea's to raise money for their cause putting on tons of charity events and campaigns like Schools for Schools, Displace Me, Tri-Campaign, their tour for screening the documentary, and Night Commutes. Campaigns are not the only thing these kids have going, they are taking their help right where it is needed in Uganda. They set it up to have some Acholi's making bracelets each with it's own colour as their job, and having those bracelets sent to America where they will be sold and all the money collected goes towards the cause.
Honestly, these students have inspired me in ways I didn't even know I could be. I always knew that I was lucky to have been born into the family, into the world, that I have been born into. I never really thought three people could make such a dramatic difference. It is hard to believe you can have so much passion for a cause, and have your heart go out to someone you've never even met. The story of their success is remarkable. In 2001, the US Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization which was a big step in drawing attention to this conflict. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders(3).The Ugandan Government and the LRA are still working on finding a resolution, and still, last year roughly 1.5 million individuals live in camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation(3). To see such a change, motivated our group to do something about it, and so for our activist project we are going to do our own campaign ( but I wont spoil you with details). Before watching this documentary I was bias in thinking we could not compare Canada and Uganda that the worlds are too different. I rolled my eyes when I heard there was an entire documentary based on peoples lives in Africa. I would never believe that there would be a video with a message strong enough to change me.
And now, I never thought I could be so wrong.
1. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3166797753930210643 - video PLEASE WATCH THIS... it is only 55 minutes.
2. http://www.ugandacan.org/history.php - History of the War
3. http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ - The Documentaries Official Website
4. http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v7/v1i1.PDF/v7i1a10.pdf - Info on Alice Lakwena
5. http://www.brlsi.org/proceed05/worldaffairs0904.htm - History of the War
Not Feeling Too Creative.
Last week I read the book Ways Of Seeing by John Berger. I read through it briefly and found the text got lost due to the cascade of nude paintings, I think I have seen enough fat naked chicks to last me a lifetime. In no way am I under appreciating the art of painting and photography, I understand that's what people want to see, times haven't changed to much. Girls with luring eyes still cover millions of advertisements and fill the pages in dirty magazines. It was neat how he touched on the fact that back when photography was just beginning photographs were used to show what people already owned/had. What they wanted and what the painter possessed. The photo's helped accentuate their riches and possessions. Take for example the photo that was painted of young Rembrandt when he was with his first wife before she died. He was sipping alcohol and showing her off. He was young and careless with everything he could ever want. His age shows in a much classier, conservative, religious, and much older version of himself taken some years later with his second wife. Pictures were also painted to show off landscapes if you were a proud landowner ( Mr. and Mrs. Andrews by Gainsborough, painted beside a cornfield, Berger explains that the reason for their background does not illustrate their love for nature, but that they are proud landowners). Those were the topics I was more interested in although he did speak of races and how children of the rich would be painted with their wet nurse, which I believe led into speaking of races and different ethnicity.
Today, magazines and advertisements show us what we need. The photo's brag about all the things that could make you glamorous and if you do not have 'said' possessions you are not, and will not be glamorous. He mentioned how it is more of a need for those things otherwise you feel useless. "It proposes to each of us that we transform ourselves, or our lives, by buying something more. This more, it proposes, will make us in some way richer - even though we will be poorer by having spent our money. "
"Publicity persuades us of such a transformation by showing us people who have apparently been transformed and are, as a result, enviable. The state of being envied is what constitutes glamour. And publicity is the process of manufacturing glamour. " - both quotes by John Berger
Advertisements are used to make you feel like less of a person, because we measure ourselves on what we own and not as much who we are inside.
"The gap between what publicity actually offers and the future it promises, corresponds with the gap between what the spectator-buyer feels himself to be and what he would like to be"- John Berger
http://home.surewest.net/jukes/SEEING.HTM
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jsa3/hum355/readings/berger.htm
Today, magazines and advertisements show us what we need. The photo's brag about all the things that could make you glamorous and if you do not have 'said' possessions you are not, and will not be glamorous. He mentioned how it is more of a need for those things otherwise you feel useless. "It proposes to each of us that we transform ourselves, or our lives, by buying something more. This more, it proposes, will make us in some way richer - even though we will be poorer by having spent our money. "
"Publicity persuades us of such a transformation by showing us people who have apparently been transformed and are, as a result, enviable. The state of being envied is what constitutes glamour. And publicity is the process of manufacturing glamour. " - both quotes by John Berger
Advertisements are used to make you feel like less of a person, because we measure ourselves on what we own and not as much who we are inside.
"The gap between what publicity actually offers and the future it promises, corresponds with the gap between what the spectator-buyer feels himself to be and what he would like to be"- John Berger
http://home.surewest.net/jukes/SEEING.HTM
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jsa3/hum355/readings/berger.htm
What A Fucking Week. Yeah, Thats not French.
Pardon my language but FUCK this week was a doozy. I don't necessarily mean with classes although due to spending more than 40 unscheduled hours in a hospital I would have to claim myself as a wee bit behind this week. The smarter thing to do would have to have been to bring the books I was assigned to read to the hospital- and by the fourth visit I should have known the wait was going to be like five or six hours, clearly there was no room in my mind for thinking logically. Don't worry everyone, I am completely healthy, sadly, I suppose it is just not time for me to be a Mother.
Moving along-as I plan to do quite rapidly- I am going to speak about my assignment. I was really happy with my 7.5 . It showed me what I can do, and can not do as well. I knew my writing style was weak and to be honest I was not surprised I was one of the ones below average. I will use that as an eye opener for future blogs (not this one) and assignments. Now that I have seen a presentation on how 'cool' the writing center actually is and that my mere presence will only intensify this 'said' coolness, I think I may have to give that a shot. This assignment was pretty fun to do. As I mentioned I love playing my guitar ,and any chance I have to show-off that I really do know how to play, I will take. I'm not going to lie, I have played in front of a group of people, in fact, a group much larger than the one in class. The difference was I had some backup ( yeah- I was in a band ), and we were all a bit drunker. Needless to say, my nerves were off the charts and what no one knew was I changed the guitar last minute to make it more upbeat. The lyrics themselves were simple to do, I like to think of creative writing as my second nature, or maybe even third or fourth.
Above is some captured footage I had my friend Katherine video 
tape, and to the side is a photograph of Mark Lipton and I. The photograph was right about the point when I was asking Mark to read the acrostic poem in the last verse of my crown of sonnets. However, asking him to read that did not go over as smoothly as I thought when he announced that he, in fact, did not know what an acrostic poem was. I was a little embarrassed for him. (ha ha, just kidding). After he tried about three times, followed by me having to tell him what in fact an acrostic poem was the humour of what it had spelled out was lost. I wish we had gotten that on video. (ha ha)
tape, and to the side is a photograph of Mark Lipton and I. The photograph was right about the point when I was asking Mark to read the acrostic poem in the last verse of my crown of sonnets. However, asking him to read that did not go over as smoothly as I thought when he announced that he, in fact, did not know what an acrostic poem was. I was a little embarrassed for him. (ha ha, just kidding). After he tried about three times, followed by me having to tell him what in fact an acrostic poem was the humour of what it had spelled out was lost. I wish we had gotten that on video. (ha ha)I am not going to state that this project in any way changed my life, nor did I really find out anything new about myself. I mean, I knew I was basically the greatest thing to come into the creative world, and I knew I had minor writing technique faults, that is just a given. But I will say it was a great project and I enjoyed doing it. P.S. PLEASE ( I know it is not right to use caps as it signifies yelling) try not to look at my legs in these pictures. They are caught at a terrible angle ( I tell myself) and the sight of them may or may not make you feel nauseated. So when you are on a date with your dog bingo tonight and feel you can not eat, remember I warned you. (insert sweet smiling face here :D)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Culture see, Culture do.
I real Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death before the first week of school was over. With my trusty dictionary to help me with understanding a few words I couldn't even pronounce, I thought I made it through quite easily. There were a couple very intriguing ideas that I thought I had grasped right away, however, after Mr. Lipton handed out the 'study guide' I felt my understanding of the book and its ideas may have landed a little short. I can easily define public discourse as language that is shared by society as a whole. I know it is about the way the public speaks and understands. I also understand that there is a sort of domino effect caused by purpose and function, however, when it came to answering the question:
"Give examples of several institutions involving public discourse and how television has trivialized them."
My mind drew blanks. So, I decided to leave that out of my blog but discuss more the ideas I found interesting. The difference between thinking in a word centered culture and thinking in an image centered culture being one of them. Clearly, most young adults today think in an image centered culture. When I say names like Brad Pitt, or Calvin Klein images of their faces,clips from movies, and often (in my mind) advertisements I have come across in newspapers, magazines and T.V all fill my head, but no words. We have come to an understanding of who these people are based on how we can picture them in our minds. I believe one of the exceptions to this idea is when you think of a band. Say you've never seen them live, or in newspapers, T.V., or magazines because they are not widely known. You haven't purchased the CD so you don't know what the cover looks like- in this case you would imagine the voice of the singer, the licks on the guitar and the all around composition of its music and lyrics. Their words. To take this a step in the other direction some could argue that the lyrics and the sound of the singers voice will leave you to imagine events in your past that it may reminds you of, or what you think the singer might look like, thus, keeping it in an image centered culture.
Another one of my favourite thoughts was the "Now... this." chapter. I never thought much about it while watching news segments. Postman's accuracy in pin pointing how effective the "Now.. this" theory is, brings me back to when I used to watch the news with my mom and dad. More specifically I remember hearing of car crashes, plane crashes and murders beyond any sane persons comprehension, but I never felt that what I heard was a tragedy at the time. I don't believe that I had enough time to let 50 deaths fully embellish itself in my brain before I was hearing of pet fashion shows and a smart kid who knows how to fly a plane.
"There is no murder so brutal, no earthquake so devastating, no political blunder so costly- for that matter, no ball score so tantalizing or weather report so threatening- that it can not be erased from our minds by a newscaster saying"Now...this""
Neil Postman - Amusing Ourselves to Death p.99
I've come to realize how slice and dice (hot or cold/ hard or soft) the news could be. Then again, my mind was usually off day dreaming of the very cute news anchor Kyle Christie- sadly- the reason I began participating in my families 6 o'clock news frenzy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KIRjvvAegw&mode=related&search=
I found it interesting to read about the different ( and quite unique) teaching methods like the rock and roll teacher, however, I did not quite understand what was so wrong with televised teaching for young children. For example, sesame street. Postman claims it is teaching by a series of commercials. Commercials by definition are of T.V or radio and are paid for by advertisers; having profit as the main aim. Sesame street is not paid for by advertisements but by the viewers. I do not believe that the 'letter of the day' or the 'number of the day' are there to be used as profitable margins but more as a visual learning tool such as a card with a picture of a dog on it, and the word ' dog' spelled in bold letters underneath. When we teach our children to speak we use words, and images to help them understand what they are saying in both terms of the object and the word. We use the sounds that the dog will make. How is this different? I understand how you could believe that profit is one of their main aims due to the vast majority of merchandise set out for consumers to buy (or better yet kids to beg for) but it is not just sesame street but all cartoons and children's shows that reach for the consumers wallets. It is a way of life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK9RmlTlpE4
I enjoyed reading this book. It did not necessarily persuade me to believe the hard media determinist way of 'culture see culture do'. However, it did inspire me to take media out of my life for 48 hours and see how it effects my everyday life. In two days I was allowed no contact with: T.V, Music, cell phones, telephones, radio, computers, camera's, newspapers, magazines, or even books. It was a couple of really tough days. I went to visit friends in their rooms and we ended up talking more. It was more time consuming, and always a huge let down to go to their rooms and find out they were not there. Usually when I am bored I would dash to a computer and surf the net, or grab one of the latest gossip magazines. I found I went for more walks in the horticultural trails that before my little extravaganza I hadn't known existed on campus. I used to go to the gyms and run on a treadmill now I run outside. I did homework on paper, wrote with a pen( which in all reality isn't further from what I do currently). I talked to my boyfriend instead of sitting ourselves in front of a T.V., we went out for picnics. Instead of watching movies we went for walks on Lakeshore. On the car ride, we would talk instead of blasting our favourite radio station. Over all it made me see how much media interfered with my closest relationships. Needless to say, I love all my gadgets and couldn't fully give them up, but I do set them aside for any intriguing conversation.
"Give examples of several institutions involving public discourse and how television has trivialized them."
My mind drew blanks. So, I decided to leave that out of my blog but discuss more the ideas I found interesting. The difference between thinking in a word centered culture and thinking in an image centered culture being one of them. Clearly, most young adults today think in an image centered culture. When I say names like Brad Pitt, or Calvin Klein images of their faces,clips from movies, and often (in my mind) advertisements I have come across in newspapers, magazines and T.V all fill my head, but no words. We have come to an understanding of who these people are based on how we can picture them in our minds. I believe one of the exceptions to this idea is when you think of a band. Say you've never seen them live, or in newspapers, T.V., or magazines because they are not widely known. You haven't purchased the CD so you don't know what the cover looks like- in this case you would imagine the voice of the singer, the licks on the guitar and the all around composition of its music and lyrics. Their words. To take this a step in the other direction some could argue that the lyrics and the sound of the singers voice will leave you to imagine events in your past that it may reminds you of, or what you think the singer might look like, thus, keeping it in an image centered culture.
Another one of my favourite thoughts was the "Now... this." chapter. I never thought much about it while watching news segments. Postman's accuracy in pin pointing how effective the "Now.. this" theory is, brings me back to when I used to watch the news with my mom and dad. More specifically I remember hearing of car crashes, plane crashes and murders beyond any sane persons comprehension, but I never felt that what I heard was a tragedy at the time. I don't believe that I had enough time to let 50 deaths fully embellish itself in my brain before I was hearing of pet fashion shows and a smart kid who knows how to fly a plane.
"There is no murder so brutal, no earthquake so devastating, no political blunder so costly- for that matter, no ball score so tantalizing or weather report so threatening- that it can not be erased from our minds by a newscaster saying"Now...this""
Neil Postman - Amusing Ourselves to Death p.99
I've come to realize how slice and dice (hot or cold/ hard or soft) the news could be. Then again, my mind was usually off day dreaming of the very cute news anchor Kyle Christie- sadly- the reason I began participating in my families 6 o'clock news frenzy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KIRjvvAegw&mode=related&search=
I found it interesting to read about the different ( and quite unique) teaching methods like the rock and roll teacher, however, I did not quite understand what was so wrong with televised teaching for young children. For example, sesame street. Postman claims it is teaching by a series of commercials. Commercials by definition are of T.V or radio and are paid for by advertisers; having profit as the main aim. Sesame street is not paid for by advertisements but by the viewers. I do not believe that the 'letter of the day' or the 'number of the day' are there to be used as profitable margins but more as a visual learning tool such as a card with a picture of a dog on it, and the word ' dog' spelled in bold letters underneath. When we teach our children to speak we use words, and images to help them understand what they are saying in both terms of the object and the word. We use the sounds that the dog will make. How is this different? I understand how you could believe that profit is one of their main aims due to the vast majority of merchandise set out for consumers to buy (or better yet kids to beg for) but it is not just sesame street but all cartoons and children's shows that reach for the consumers wallets. It is a way of life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK9RmlTlpE4
I enjoyed reading this book. It did not necessarily persuade me to believe the hard media determinist way of 'culture see culture do'. However, it did inspire me to take media out of my life for 48 hours and see how it effects my everyday life. In two days I was allowed no contact with: T.V, Music, cell phones, telephones, radio, computers, camera's, newspapers, magazines, or even books. It was a couple of really tough days. I went to visit friends in their rooms and we ended up talking more. It was more time consuming, and always a huge let down to go to their rooms and find out they were not there. Usually when I am bored I would dash to a computer and surf the net, or grab one of the latest gossip magazines. I found I went for more walks in the horticultural trails that before my little extravaganza I hadn't known existed on campus. I used to go to the gyms and run on a treadmill now I run outside. I did homework on paper, wrote with a pen( which in all reality isn't further from what I do currently). I talked to my boyfriend instead of sitting ourselves in front of a T.V., we went out for picnics. Instead of watching movies we went for walks on Lakeshore. On the car ride, we would talk instead of blasting our favourite radio station. Over all it made me see how much media interfered with my closest relationships. Needless to say, I love all my gadgets and couldn't fully give them up, but I do set them aside for any intriguing conversation.
Friday, September 7, 2007
I Sure Hope I'm Doing This Right.
I survived the first week of University. I can honestly say that I think I am going to like it here. Other than the giant malfunction that is Guelph-Humber registration I have no complaints. Please don't get me wrong, the school was very informative during orientations. I learnt a lot about my new surroundings, and the lovely employees at the registration (or any of the offices) gladly tell me were I should be and that the three offices I was told to visit before were clearly not informed of the situation at hand. However, even after all of my question asking and prying (how many teeth do I have to pull here?) I still remain a student with no student card, or a password to a computer/ a computer in general. I hate to say it, but I along with many other university goers have become very dependant on technology (especially in the computing category) so leaving me without is going to make these first few weeks a living hell. I would guess you are wondering how I am typing this up then? Well, I have my ways of getting around any obstacle big and small. This is mere childs play my friend. I will leave it up to your imagination. Maybe I hacked into the computers motherboard, or maybe I am just in that Internet cafe just down the road you decide, after all, you are only limited by the limits of your own imagination right?
Now, I just need to remind anyone who is reading this I did have a point. The good things about university. First, my fellow students. I have met and fallen for almost every single one I met (so far). There are leaders and brilliant minds I can not wait to work with. Not only have I felt inspired by them, but the professors as well. I have yet to meet three out of the four so far but each I can see all have there quirks. Tilby Bittles just lights up the room with stories of all her past experiences. Although, she did loose some points with the class pulling out a surprise spelling bee worth 5% of our marks. Jim Chambers is just a character. My first impression of him was pure intimidation (that could be because I was five minutes late for his class. Oops.), my second was that he was trying a little to hard to make jokes and be 'hip' as the students would call it these days. But my lasting impression is on his intelligence, and the way I feel his class is going to motivate me to try my hardest. And lastly, Mark Lipton. He entered that class and after his opening speech everyone in the class was instantly inspired. This blog I am writing is for his class but I am stressing right now this is not a brown nosing technique. He had a way of making everyone in the class feel as though they were all on the same level. He didn't bring himself down to our level, but he made us feel like we were up at his. I feel intimidated by his intelligence, but the way he speaks, and the freedom he gives us in our assignments makes me want to see how far I can stretch my ideas. My goal in this class is to leave him impressed. Show him how beautiful this young white tulip will grow. Although, at sometimes I am sure he will only be feeding me fertilizer (yeah- I stole that one).In his first Class he warned us that the workload was going to be greater than all three of my other classes combined. The first class we were given an assignment and a book to read. It's been two days and I am halfway done the book (which I love so much, and have already connected some of the things that Neil Postman wrote and Mr. Lipton said in our first class) and my mind has gone completely wild with ideas for my assignment. I just have to sit and organize my thoughts and it will leave peoples jaws dropped. Which is were I am signing off before I give myself away. I am sure my next blog will be about Neil Postmans book, followed by the progress of my very first University assignment. Look out Guelph-Humber, prepare yourselves to be blown away.
Now, I just need to remind anyone who is reading this I did have a point. The good things about university. First, my fellow students. I have met and fallen for almost every single one I met (so far). There are leaders and brilliant minds I can not wait to work with. Not only have I felt inspired by them, but the professors as well. I have yet to meet three out of the four so far but each I can see all have there quirks. Tilby Bittles just lights up the room with stories of all her past experiences. Although, she did loose some points with the class pulling out a surprise spelling bee worth 5% of our marks. Jim Chambers is just a character. My first impression of him was pure intimidation (that could be because I was five minutes late for his class. Oops.), my second was that he was trying a little to hard to make jokes and be 'hip' as the students would call it these days. But my lasting impression is on his intelligence, and the way I feel his class is going to motivate me to try my hardest. And lastly, Mark Lipton. He entered that class and after his opening speech everyone in the class was instantly inspired. This blog I am writing is for his class but I am stressing right now this is not a brown nosing technique. He had a way of making everyone in the class feel as though they were all on the same level. He didn't bring himself down to our level, but he made us feel like we were up at his. I feel intimidated by his intelligence, but the way he speaks, and the freedom he gives us in our assignments makes me want to see how far I can stretch my ideas. My goal in this class is to leave him impressed. Show him how beautiful this young white tulip will grow. Although, at sometimes I am sure he will only be feeding me fertilizer (yeah- I stole that one).In his first Class he warned us that the workload was going to be greater than all three of my other classes combined. The first class we were given an assignment and a book to read. It's been two days and I am halfway done the book (which I love so much, and have already connected some of the things that Neil Postman wrote and Mr. Lipton said in our first class) and my mind has gone completely wild with ideas for my assignment. I just have to sit and organize my thoughts and it will leave peoples jaws dropped. Which is were I am signing off before I give myself away. I am sure my next blog will be about Neil Postmans book, followed by the progress of my very first University assignment. Look out Guelph-Humber, prepare yourselves to be blown away.
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