Media Ethics/Law

One case of media ethics was this year when talk show Jay Leno did not give credit to the right people for a video he used on his show.  You can read the full story here.  In the end Jay Leno and the show was forced to give credit to the right group of people.

Propoganda Techniques

There are two techniques that this brand used in their ad.  One of the techniques is bandwagon.  They use words like "together" and "us" when promoting their product.  Bacardi is a alcohol drink brand and they use bandwagon as a trick to promote their product.  Other technique they used was common man.  The video shows them trying to convince audience that we as people don't spend time enough together.  They push in using their product as we enjoy more time with our friends and family using the slogan "Get Together Project."  You can see their ad video here on facebook.  

Academic Research Project

My project is about how too much pornography effect our brains.  The internet is filled with pornography websites and most people use the internet to watch porn.  Here is a funny clip from Youtube about how porn and internet are now always associated together. 

Social Network

When I search "social networking websites" in Wikipedia, 193 sites showed up.  I didn't know there were that many social sites.  The only ones I know about are Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.  I went to "Friendster' sinece I heard about it before but never really knew what it was about.  The website is a poor man's Facebook.  Instead of having a blue layout it has green.  The site is very popular with the Asian community and between ages 25-35.
I am one of those rare people that does not have a Facebook or Myspace so I never use any social websites.  But I have friends who have gotten a lot of trouble because of Facebook.  My friend called in sick one day to go to a concert.  He would have gotten away with it but he put in his status that he was in the concert and was having a great time.  People saw his status and word came around to the managers, next day he was fired.  A lot of people are very careless with their pictures in these social networking sites.  People post pictures drinking and doing drugs.  People don't know that everyone can see those pictures.  Even if your not friends with your teachers, parents, or bosses there is always word of mouth. 

Television

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PHxTr-59hE

Length: 6:00
Description:  The video discusses violence in the media and why its is so captivating.
Chapter 1: Overview
Question:  In the video what was the main reason why there is a lot of violence in our media today in our television and movies?
Answer:  Violence travels well and does not need translation.  It does not take great talent or creativity and can be plugged in any adult TV shows. 

Movie Blog

My favorite of 2009 was Star Trek.  I was one of those people that was never into Star Trek.  I always thought that the people that watch Star Trek were nerds and I showed no interest in the movie at all.  Then when I saw the trailer for the new Star Trek and how they were restarting the franchise I was not at all excited.  I was a little intrigue though because J.J. Abrams was directing it.  As a Lost fan I look out for J.J. Abrams work.  Through word of mouth and rottentomatoes I gave the movie a chance and fell in love with it right at the opening scene.  The story was great and even better the sound score was perfect.  The best part about it is you did not have to be a Star Trek stan to enjoy and love this movie.  

Picking a all time favorite movie is like picking which one of your kids you love the most.  There are way too many movies for me to pick a number one.  I have probably 30 movies in my top ten if that makes any sense.  I like everything from "Godfather" to "Jerry Maguire" to "Reservoir Dogs" to even "When Harry met Sally".
From the top of head "Good Will Hunting"is the one that stands out.  Matt Damon's performance was outstanding and the script of the movie was perfect. It's a shame that they don't make movies like that anymore.     

Magazine Proposal

The name of my magazine proposal will be "BODY".  The magazine will be all about athletes and their bodies.  I would like to take pictures of male and female athletes fully nude but private areas will be covered with either their hand or a prop or the shadow.  My magazine will have athletes from every sport.  From football to basketball to baseball, and even wrestling.  I will not only put bodies that are deemed "sexy".  From Wide Receivers to Offensive Linemen our readers will be able to see how these athletes really look.  I will have a even amount of male and female athletes.  My readers will attract the younger generations and sports fanatics.  BODY will be all about the art of the body.  It will not be a X rated magazine but more about art.  These athletes are going to have to best bodies in the world and I want to show them in a artistic way.  Many will compare my magazine to Playboy or Maxim but Body differs because we will only have athletes in our magazine.  Playboy is a sexual magazine and Maxim are very anal about who they put in their magazine.  Playboy and Maxim only have attractive people in their magazines but Body will not discriminate.  From fat to think to whatever in the middle, as long as your an athlete you can be on our magazine.
Our articles will consist of athlete interviews.  We will ask them what their regime and how they keep their bodies the way they are.  Obviously a women golf players regime will be different than a Defensive Linemen from the NFL.  We will also have techniques how to exercise and get a healthy body.  We will have athlete tips from the sport they play.  From volleyball techniques to golf shot advices we will have everything. 
Our advertisers will be companies that are involved in sports.  From Nike to Under Armor and Old Spice deodorant to Tough Acting Tinactin.
My first cover will be a special one.  I would divide the magazine into to two with two covers, one in front and one on the other side.  One side will feature a male athlete and the other side which will be upside down will feature a female athlete.  One half of the magazine will be all male athletes while the other half would be female and the readers will have to flip the magazine to read either halves.  Since its our first issue we would love to make a big hit right away so we will try to get Tiger Woods as our male athlete and Serena Williams as our female athlete.  Two of the most popular and powerful athletes in our first issue will be golden. 

Influencial Books

I am what you call a required reader, a person who only reads if he has to.  So unfortunatley most books I have read are textbooks.  Textbooks are boring and most of the time you forget what you read as soon as the page turns.  Books however can stick to you and even sometimes change the way you view life.  Even though I am not a book head there are a handful of books that have stuck to me ever since I read them. 
Last year, in my English class, I had to read Persepolis.  Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a memoir about growing up during the famous Iran revolution.  The reason why this book stuck to me is it was a true story and the things she went through as a kid was amazing.  After reading Persepolis I instantly felt blessed with my life.  Like every person I complain about life but in reality I should be grateful.  Grateful that I live in America and never had to experience airplane bombs in my neighborhood. 

The next book that influence me was Dale Carnegie's How to win Friends and Influence People.  The book was recommended by a good friend.  He told this book came improve your self being and be more of a influential guy.  I recommend this book for everyone even if you think you don't need it.  This book turned an asshole of a guy to a halfway decent man after one read. 

Out of all the books I have read, The Game:Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neill Strauss is the most influential for me out of all the books I have read in my life.  The book is about a chump nerd who turned himself into the best pickup artist in the world.  The book shows his journey and life with other pickup artist.  The book shows great insight of a society that a lot people do not know that exist.  Not only was it a fun read the book gives you numerous tips in how to pick up women.  The crazy thing about this book is that those tips and techniques they tell you to use actually do work.  After reading this book, I know truly believe any guy can get any women he desires.  Looks, money, your car do not matter.  As long as you have it you have a fighting chance.

Media Impact Research

       I would love to research the theory that violence in video games are the main cause of violence in young children to young adults today in our society.  I would like to prove this theory wrong because I was one of those kids that played a lot of violent games as a teenager.  From Grand Theft Auto to Halo, I played almost any form of violent game that came out this past decade.  The end result, I never been into a real fight nor have I even imagined bringing a gun to school and start firing like a maniac.  There are some government officials that would love to banned games like Halo and Call of Duty because of there violence but there has not have been significant evidence of playing these games will raise crime level.  I can be wrong, but I believe that these types of video games should not be banned or criticize.  The parents should take initiative for their kid.  If they think these games are bad for their kids then they should take extra steps to make sure their kids wont be able to reach these games.  
       I believe in the Individual Differences Theory, where the mass media will affect different media users in different ways.  My test would consist of randomly picked teenagers from a public school and another set of random teenagers who are in a private school.  I will interview and talk to each kid before the test.  Find out what their mindset is and ask them how they feel about violence in the media and violence in general.  The only video games they can play are games that are rated M, for mature, for two months.  After two months I will interview the same kids and discuss how they feel after two months of playing rated M games.  I will ask them the same question I did prior the test and compare the answers.  I believe I will see the kids who have a not so great background have different results than some of the kids with a "good" life.  I believe that it all depends on the parents of the kids.  A kid can be a good kid but I believe if a kid has nothing to look up to than other than video games, especially violent games, than he will be more influenced than the kid that has a role model in their life.

Media Autobiography

       Throughout my life the mass media has been a big part of my life, from books and magazines, to T.V. and the internet, media relations are important in everyday life.  Out of all the media types T.V. is the most likely media source that I use the most my whole life.  Since I was a kid T.V. has been a big part of my life, from cartoons to sports T.V. was my number one source for entertainment for a very long time.  Not until I moved to America did I find out about the internet.  Back in the Philippines the internet was not the "internet" yet, I'm sure if I was to young to know what it was or if the Philippines had not caught up yet with technology.  I am pretty sure I was just to young to understand what the internet but right now I have a sister who is seven years old that can use the internet better than most senior citizens.  Having the internet around has changed everything.  Books, newspapers, radio, and even the T.V. have become less important in my life.  You can get instant news on the internet instead of waiting for the newspaper on the morning.  Radio has become non-existent in my life ever since I found out about Pod casts and online radio.  Besides I cannot stand radio music.  They play the same thing over and over and they never play anything good.  With online radio you can choose what genre you want to listen to and even skip songs that you dislike.  Now even television has fallen off for me a little bit.  Ever since I found out about Hulu, I don't need to wait or have to record shows anymore.  Hulu has almost every show you want to watch the next day.  The internet is also my number one source of watching movies.  Seems like nowadays you type a movie title on Google there will be a link of that movie.  Not only is it convenient, its free.  Everything you need is online, I even do most of my shopping online.  The only bad thing about online shopping is the wait but nothing can beat online prices.  My relationship with media is all about the internet.  I am part of the next generation where we use the internet for everything in life.  Much has change in the past decade and I can only imagine what the next big thing would be.