Since the first day of class we have been talking about stereotypes and I have learned many definitions of what this word means. I have put some of these descriptions together to form my own definition of stereotypes. I believe stereotypes can give us an inaccurate description (negative or positive) of all members of a particular group. This definition obviously does not give us the whole picture of a social group because not all members of the group posses these “descriptions”, and I believe we are wrong to think that they do. We tend to stereotype a social group with a mental picture that represents our opinion, prejudiced feelings, or our judgments. Something that is important to remember is that not all stereotypes are untrue or negative, even though most are.
In Chapter eight of Lippman’s Public Opinion he states “ Consequently the stereotype not only saves time in a busy life and is a defense of our position in society, but tends to preserve us from all the bewildering effort of trying to see the world steadily and see it whole.” This statement makes complete sense to me. He is saying that life is to busy for us to make our own judgments on people in society, therefore we just go by what society has defined for us, even if it is incorrect or wrong. He is also saying that we tend to use stereotypes as a defense to hold our position in society and to put others down. This way of thinking keeps us from seeing the whole picture in different societies.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The story behind Universal Pictures
The medium that I chose as my favorite, in a previous blog, was movies. I was asked this week to research and write about the company behind my medium. As you probably guessed, there are many companies behind movies, like Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Pictures, Miramax Films and Paramount Pictures to say the least. I decided to pick Universal Pictures as the company I would research. In my opinion I believe Universal Pictures comes out with the best movies, like Alpha Dog, Good Shepherd, The Break-up, and Miami Vice.
According to Hanson’s “Mass Communication, Living in a Media World”, synergy in a business world means that a combined company can offer more value, cost savings, or strength then the two companies could separately.
There is synergy at Universal Pictures. It is more then a movie company; it has three parks in Orlando, Hollywood and Japan. Universal Pictures also has many corporate partners: Volkswagen, Chase, Coca-Cola, Nestle Waters, PowerAde, Kodak, MasterCard and Minute Maid. These companies help each other with cross promoting their products. This is very important because advertising is one of the major sources of revenue for the media. Universal Studios merged with NBC Universal in 2004. Bob Wright who is the vice chairman of General Electric (one of the big six media companies) is also the Chairman and CEO of NBC Universal.
As you can see, Universal Pictures deal mostly with movies, but takes on other medias after merging with NBC Universal. This proves how a combined company can offer more then two companies could separately. Before taking this class I never realized that all the companies that deal with the media have all merged to form “The Big Six Media Companies”. I would have thought that this would have been considered forming monopolies, but they obviously argued that synergy helps smaller companies stay in business.
According to Hanson’s “Mass Communication, Living in a Media World”, synergy in a business world means that a combined company can offer more value, cost savings, or strength then the two companies could separately.
There is synergy at Universal Pictures. It is more then a movie company; it has three parks in Orlando, Hollywood and Japan. Universal Pictures also has many corporate partners: Volkswagen, Chase, Coca-Cola, Nestle Waters, PowerAde, Kodak, MasterCard and Minute Maid. These companies help each other with cross promoting their products. This is very important because advertising is one of the major sources of revenue for the media. Universal Studios merged with NBC Universal in 2004. Bob Wright who is the vice chairman of General Electric (one of the big six media companies) is also the Chairman and CEO of NBC Universal.
As you can see, Universal Pictures deal mostly with movies, but takes on other medias after merging with NBC Universal. This proves how a combined company can offer more then two companies could separately. Before taking this class I never realized that all the companies that deal with the media have all merged to form “The Big Six Media Companies”. I would have thought that this would have been considered forming monopolies, but they obviously argued that synergy helps smaller companies stay in business.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
How does your media usage function with picture in your head?
I believe reality is limited through the media because the only thing we know about an event is by what the news tells us. We base our opinions on what someone else tells us and this persuades us to think like them. News reporters can report only what suits their purpose because they have the power to make the public see an event as they want us to see it, therefore limiting our reality. A good example is George Bush’s state of the union address, he sugarcoated the war making it seem as if things are not as bad in Iraq as they really are. I believe that if you engage in more and different types of media, then your reality may become clearer. If you watch the news, read about the event in the newspaper and then read about it on the Internet, you can learn more about the event and fill in some blank spaces that you may have. If you analyze messages, the medium and gatekeepers critically you become less open minded. If you don’t like the person who is writing or speaking about an event then you automatically don’t want to listen or agree with what they have to say. Lastly, I have many stereotypes in my head about the media. Some are that the news is always negative (I think there may be some truth to this though), that newspapers are boring and for older people and that videogames make children violent. My goal is to start looking past these stereotypes and broadening my media usage.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Favorite Media
My favorite type of media is movies. I love how everything comes together and turns a normal film into a great film. For example, the music, lighting, and technology help change a movie for the better. I enjoy watching how talented actors and actresses’s can take on a persona as their own. I think it is amazing that there are so many movies out there, and yet producers come up with new ideas everyday that have never been done before. There are action movies, romance movies, comedies and documentaries to say the least. No matter what kind of person you are, there is always a movie out there that you can find that will move or change you for the better. I have seen so many movies that have changed the way I thought of the world and I left the theater more open mind. If you were to take away movies I would feel as if you were taking a piece of art out of the world. Movies are a great source of my imagination and if you took this away, I would be less open minded and not as creative as I am now. They are also a great source of entertainment where friends and family get together to relax or spend quality time together. If this type of media did not exist, then that would be one less thing for people do to in their spare time. Ultimately, if movies were no longer a source of entertainment, we would have to return to the old days of board games and cards by candlelight.
Media Checklist
1. I only use the telephone if I am at home. I use my cell phone all the time when I am at school. I most often call my mother and father because I do not get to see them everyday.
2. I feel guilty answering this question, but I cannot remember the last time I listened to a speech or a public speaker that was not required for class.
3.I use IM every single day. I actually use it anytime I am at my computer. It is much easier to talk to many people at once, unlike the phone that you can only talk to one at a time. I mostly talk to Megan Harding and Nancy Hammond on IM.
4. I don’t usually send emails but I check my email inbox several times a day.
5. I never buy iTunes, but I do attend several concerts in the summer. I do occasionally buy CDs if I really like the artist.
6. When I am at school, I don’t have time to watch much TV, but I always make time to watch Friday Night Lights on Wednesday nights at 8:00.
7. The last time I recorded a TV show was Friday Night Lights when I had to work and was going to miss it about a month ago.
8. I watch movies at the theater regularly. The most frequent movies that I saw were Pursuit of Happyness, We are Marshall and Déjà vu. I rent DVDs regularly also. I have probably seen most movies that have been in movies
9. I only listen to the radio when I am in the car, and I always listen to country or rap/r&b. I like country because I like the lyrics and I like rap/r&b because I like rhythm.
10. I LOVE to read books for fun. I like autobiographies and novels the most. I really enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s autobiography. I also enjoy every novel written by Nicolas Sparks. I enjoy reading because I learn about things that I find interesting. I am not being forced to read it; therefore I want to read it.
11. I read the newspaper over Christmas break. My mother subscribed to the Morning Journal at home. I read it while eating breakfast. I enjoy the comics the most.
12. I have a subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine. I get one monthly and read it when I am at work and have finished my readings for classes. I enjoy reading about the latest fashion and getting advise about boys or relationships.
13. The last time I wrote a letter was when I was writing to my ex-boyfriend that was is in the marines. It was his birthday so I sent a card and a letter inside. I wanted to do something more personal then sending an email.
14. A website that I frequently go to is www.packers.com. I visit it usually once a week during football season. I am obsessed with football, the Packers and Brett Favre, therefore I like to read about the organization and stats of the players.
15. I have a “Facebook” but I do not have a “My Space”. The only blog I have is this one, and I probably would not have it if it weren’t required for this class. I actually hate “Facebook” and recently just got it back. I don’t like people whom I don’t know looking at my profile. I blocked my profile but still feel weird that people can see things about me that I only want my good friends to see.
2. I feel guilty answering this question, but I cannot remember the last time I listened to a speech or a public speaker that was not required for class.
3.I use IM every single day. I actually use it anytime I am at my computer. It is much easier to talk to many people at once, unlike the phone that you can only talk to one at a time. I mostly talk to Megan Harding and Nancy Hammond on IM.
4. I don’t usually send emails but I check my email inbox several times a day.
5. I never buy iTunes, but I do attend several concerts in the summer. I do occasionally buy CDs if I really like the artist.
6. When I am at school, I don’t have time to watch much TV, but I always make time to watch Friday Night Lights on Wednesday nights at 8:00.
7. The last time I recorded a TV show was Friday Night Lights when I had to work and was going to miss it about a month ago.
8. I watch movies at the theater regularly. The most frequent movies that I saw were Pursuit of Happyness, We are Marshall and Déjà vu. I rent DVDs regularly also. I have probably seen most movies that have been in movies
9. I only listen to the radio when I am in the car, and I always listen to country or rap/r&b. I like country because I like the lyrics and I like rap/r&b because I like rhythm.
10. I LOVE to read books for fun. I like autobiographies and novels the most. I really enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s autobiography. I also enjoy every novel written by Nicolas Sparks. I enjoy reading because I learn about things that I find interesting. I am not being forced to read it; therefore I want to read it.
11. I read the newspaper over Christmas break. My mother subscribed to the Morning Journal at home. I read it while eating breakfast. I enjoy the comics the most.
12. I have a subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine. I get one monthly and read it when I am at work and have finished my readings for classes. I enjoy reading about the latest fashion and getting advise about boys or relationships.
13. The last time I wrote a letter was when I was writing to my ex-boyfriend that was is in the marines. It was his birthday so I sent a card and a letter inside. I wanted to do something more personal then sending an email.
14. A website that I frequently go to is www.packers.com. I visit it usually once a week during football season. I am obsessed with football, the Packers and Brett Favre, therefore I like to read about the organization and stats of the players.
15. I have a “Facebook” but I do not have a “My Space”. The only blog I have is this one, and I probably would not have it if it weren’t required for this class. I actually hate “Facebook” and recently just got it back. I don’t like people whom I don’t know looking at my profile. I blocked my profile but still feel weird that people can see things about me that I only want my good friends to see.
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