Thursday, December 9, 2010
Self Evaluation
As far as the grade I think I deserve, I hope I am overstepping when I say that I think that I deserve an A in the class. I have completed most of the assignments that you have given out. I think that I improved in forming cohesive and coherent papers and blog posts. When I began this semester, I was not aware of where this class would take me as far as growth in writing. I have to admit that I was in somewhat of a writing slump when the school year began. This class, I think, got my creative writing juices flowing again. I feel like I had to put a great deal of effort into this class. A good many of the assignments I had to write required me to reach into myself and pull out memories that were not always good. I also had to pull out descriptions and phrases and colloquialisms and ways of writing that I did not know that I had in me. I have always been completely truthful in all of my posts and have created them to the best of my ability. If you recall reading my posts and essays from the very beginning of class, I have always remained as honest as possible. I think that that is part of what made my writing stronger. I felt that I had no need to hide anything or fudge the truth in any way, which made me pour myself into my writing. At certain times I did not even have to think about what I was writing. In some cases, that was the best thing. This was when ideas words and the statements I wanted to make flowed freely out of me. The free writes, I think, were the most honest versions of me.
The Media Made Me Do It
I believe that I have a very special and deep rooted relationship with the subject of media and consumerism. Ever since I can remember, I have been bombarded on a daily basis with the media, although, these occurrences were never truly realized until recently. My relationship with media and consumerism comes from television, internet, and the hand I had in it as well.
With television, I have always had a relationship with it. Ever since I can remember I was plopped in front of a television whether it was getting ready for school, watching Saturday morning cartoons, or simply out of boredom. This, I think, was the start of my consumer life. During the commercials of these shows the broadcasting companies would play commercials whose target demographic was children. I would constantly ask my mom if I could have the new Barbie. Then I would ask if I could have her outfits and matching convertible and all of her friends. Within a short amount of time, between segments of shows, at least three commercials are played. Within that time, companies successfully lured me along with millions of other children into desiring what they were selling. The shows themselves were a way in which the relationship between media and consumerism and me was thickened. The shows I watched made me want to buy products with their images on it when I went shopping with my mother. I wanted shoes or a shirt that a certain character wore. They had things that I wanted. My high school math teacher told me that when Christmas or birthdays come around, his children do not know what to ask for. This is because he does not let his kids watch television so they never see commercials. They do not know what to ask for because they do not know what the latest toy or gadget is. In a way, I think it preserves their innocence for just that little while longer, not being exposed to all the heaviness of consumerism as much as the rest of us.
The internet plays a large role in my life and my relationship to media and consumerism. First of all, every website you go to has numerous ads that try to get you to visit their site and buy their product. Everyone is trying to sell something of some sort in the internet. There are few things that are not accessible through the internet. You can get news from various sources as well as television and pretty much whatever your heart desires. I spend a great deal of time in the internet. One thing that the internet does is feed my consumer needs. As well as finding anything on the internet, you can buy almost anything on the internet as well. Within the last month, I have already purchased four items on the internet. It makes it so easy to shop and spend. It is also easy to get sucked into a whole virtual world in which you can spend hours at a time looking at the most random things from court case documents to pictures of cats in sweaters.
Another way in which I am attached to media and consumerism is through being on the producing end of it. I was Editor in Chief of my high school’s newspaper and for three years I worked to bring a source of media to the student population as well as the faculty and administration. I always tried to be as objective as possible, but it was not hard to make sure my audience clearly knew what angle I was taking. Every article has a bias and it was not hard to quote people with similar opinions to make articles lean towards a certain way. I also had to design advertisements for businesses who bought space in the paper. It was my job to make my target demographic want to buy these products or visit these places. I even redesigned the whole paper with a new name, different layouts and segments, and fonts sans serif to make it more modern so that the students would be more interested. My hand in the media gave me a better understanding of how media and consumerism operated and how it impacted me.
Media and consumerism is a part of everyone’s lives. Apart from living as a hermit in the base of a mountain, there is no real way to escape it. There are many different aspects of media that we do not always realize penetrate our lives. As much as I would not like to admit it, I am somewhat of a slave to consumerism what it has to offer.
With television, I have always had a relationship with it. Ever since I can remember I was plopped in front of a television whether it was getting ready for school, watching Saturday morning cartoons, or simply out of boredom. This, I think, was the start of my consumer life. During the commercials of these shows the broadcasting companies would play commercials whose target demographic was children. I would constantly ask my mom if I could have the new Barbie. Then I would ask if I could have her outfits and matching convertible and all of her friends. Within a short amount of time, between segments of shows, at least three commercials are played. Within that time, companies successfully lured me along with millions of other children into desiring what they were selling. The shows themselves were a way in which the relationship between media and consumerism and me was thickened. The shows I watched made me want to buy products with their images on it when I went shopping with my mother. I wanted shoes or a shirt that a certain character wore. They had things that I wanted. My high school math teacher told me that when Christmas or birthdays come around, his children do not know what to ask for. This is because he does not let his kids watch television so they never see commercials. They do not know what to ask for because they do not know what the latest toy or gadget is. In a way, I think it preserves their innocence for just that little while longer, not being exposed to all the heaviness of consumerism as much as the rest of us.
The internet plays a large role in my life and my relationship to media and consumerism. First of all, every website you go to has numerous ads that try to get you to visit their site and buy their product. Everyone is trying to sell something of some sort in the internet. There are few things that are not accessible through the internet. You can get news from various sources as well as television and pretty much whatever your heart desires. I spend a great deal of time in the internet. One thing that the internet does is feed my consumer needs. As well as finding anything on the internet, you can buy almost anything on the internet as well. Within the last month, I have already purchased four items on the internet. It makes it so easy to shop and spend. It is also easy to get sucked into a whole virtual world in which you can spend hours at a time looking at the most random things from court case documents to pictures of cats in sweaters.
Another way in which I am attached to media and consumerism is through being on the producing end of it. I was Editor in Chief of my high school’s newspaper and for three years I worked to bring a source of media to the student population as well as the faculty and administration. I always tried to be as objective as possible, but it was not hard to make sure my audience clearly knew what angle I was taking. Every article has a bias and it was not hard to quote people with similar opinions to make articles lean towards a certain way. I also had to design advertisements for businesses who bought space in the paper. It was my job to make my target demographic want to buy these products or visit these places. I even redesigned the whole paper with a new name, different layouts and segments, and fonts sans serif to make it more modern so that the students would be more interested. My hand in the media gave me a better understanding of how media and consumerism operated and how it impacted me.
Media and consumerism is a part of everyone’s lives. Apart from living as a hermit in the base of a mountain, there is no real way to escape it. There are many different aspects of media that we do not always realize penetrate our lives. As much as I would not like to admit it, I am somewhat of a slave to consumerism what it has to offer.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
10:30am |||Painting Description-Frida Kahlo|||
The earthy tones of the landscape stretch into mountains in the horizons where they meet the blue and white sky. The woman in the foreground is lying on her side. There is a white pillow underneath an arm which props up her head. Her thick black hair covers most of it. The look on her face looks stern yet soft in a sort of contemplative way and is embellished by her unibrow. Her orange, yellow, and white dress flows down to below her feet as if she is being engulfed in a fire of fabric. Green leaves and their roots seem to be flowing out of her and connect with the ground as well as the surrounding landscape. She is thinking. She has thoughts of where she came from and how she got to be where she is.
10:30am |||Mustard Tiger/Cheeseburger Locker|||
Mustard Tiger
A Mustard Tiger is a term used to describe a very large, strong person, typically the "hunter" or alpha male who very animalistically eats hotdogs, causing mustard to get all over his face.
Cheeseburger Locker
The Cheeseburger Locker is a large back end on a person that is filled with cellulite. When a person eats a cheeseburger, the fat content goes straight to the arse, staying in place for years. The buttox will hold the fat (cheeseburger) in place until taken out via exercise or liposuction.
A Mustard Tiger is a term used to describe a very large, strong person, typically the "hunter" or alpha male who very animalistically eats hotdogs, causing mustard to get all over his face.
Cheeseburger Locker
The Cheeseburger Locker is a large back end on a person that is filled with cellulite. When a person eats a cheeseburger, the fat content goes straight to the arse, staying in place for years. The buttox will hold the fat (cheeseburger) in place until taken out via exercise or liposuction.
10:30am |||"Perfect" Article|||
While researching the topic for my paper, the title of the “perfect” article would be “Sex and Advertisement: A guide to sex in commercial advertisement, what it means and how it affects our way of thinking.” The article would outline what sort of techniques advertisers use when they have sexual content in commercials. It would also explain why they use it and what messages are commonly portrayed in these commercials. The article would give statistics of the companies I am researching to show sales and profits over the last year. It would also explain and give sources of how the images we see on screen affect how we think about ourselves, society, and the opposite gender.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Nostaglia essay
I am not certain if this qualifies as an object, but something that holds a great deal of meaning to me is my tattoo. It is inked behind my ear and is an outline of the beloved Disney character, Mickey Mouse. The outline is simple and black, but I cherish it dearly. Mickey Mouse is the symbol of Disney, but more importantly, it holds a lot of good memories of my past as well as parts of my present and hopefully, the future.
I grew up on Southern California less than an hour’s drive from Disneyland in Anaheim. When I was little, I would make at least one trip a year to the theme park. As I grew older, my visits to Disneyland became more frequent and increased to approximately once or twice a month. I grew up watching and experiencing Disney and Disneyland. Some of my favorite movies are Disney movies. I remember watching The Lion King so much that the film of the VHS started to warp and the pictures began to become distorted. Even now, at college, my friends and I watch Disney movies all the time.
I love everything about Disneyland. I love the noises and the sights and the smells and the people. My family has a little tradition whenever we go to Disneyland. During the fireworks show, which is absolutely amazing to watch, a couple of us will leave early to save seats near the river surrounding Tom Sawyer Island while the rest go to a restaurant in New Orleans Square to buy hot chocolate for the group. We meet up and watch the show, Fantasmic together. I have been doing this since I was a child. Every time I watch it I get such a pang of nostalgia that I simply cannot contain myself. We all sit, huddled in a group with mist sprayed lightly on our faces as scenes from famous Disney movies are displayed on the water, with characters from my favorite Disney movies dancing on their boats, and with Mickey beating the evil Malificent. The thing that really gets me, though, is the music. When I hear the Fantasmic score, tears begin to form in my eyes. For some reason it holds such power over me. My heart races and I cannot help the smile that has formed from ear to ear. Every time I watch it I am both awe-stricken and heart-warmed because I am with the people I love.
I grew up in a family that placed a lot of value in being together. All of my cousins lived within driving distance from me, with the farthest being in San Diego. We were together for pretty much everything. We would spend every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s together. We would even spend whole summers between each others’ houses. We all did stupid things together and got in trouble together. The way that we were raised was to love each other and stick by our family no matter the circumstance. I know of so many families that are broken with fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are all estranged from each other. It saddens me, but makes me grateful to know that I will always have people who will stand by me in my life. We place a lot in making sure that we spend time with each other.
Furthermore, I hope that all children in the generations to come could be like this, with a smile on their face and a happy-go-lucky attitude and an innocence that lasts forever. Unfortunately, I am not sure if that is where our culture is taking our youth. It seems as if there is a large disconnect between the generations as far as values and how we are being raised. With the technological advances of today, children are more concerned with their computers, ipods, phones, and video game consoles than they are with pretty much anything else. I never answer or look at my phone during dinner because I was raised thinking that meal time was family time. Why would I need to text someone if I can have a face to face conversation with the people sitting all around me? This is not the case with the youth of today and, I fear, the youth of the future. Every time I look around me when I eat, almost everyone has their phones on the table, more concerned with everything else going on in the world than with the people in front of them. I feel like this is the direction that kids are going in today. There is less of an emphasis on being together as a family and loved ones, and more of an emphasis on what new tech gadget is out.
My tattoo makes me very nostalgic. Every time I look at it I am reminded of my childhood as well as who I am now. I think about all the good things that have come out of spending time with my family in Disneyland and how I grew up. It also reminds me that I will never grow up, not really. I will always hold this childish love of Disney and just being a kid with me forever. I hope to raise my children in the way I was raised in hopes that they will turn out like me, or even, a better version of me. I want to be able to take them to Disneyland and let them watch all of the classics. I want them to spend time with their cousins. I want them to be as close to their relatives as I am now.
I grew up on Southern California less than an hour’s drive from Disneyland in Anaheim. When I was little, I would make at least one trip a year to the theme park. As I grew older, my visits to Disneyland became more frequent and increased to approximately once or twice a month. I grew up watching and experiencing Disney and Disneyland. Some of my favorite movies are Disney movies. I remember watching The Lion King so much that the film of the VHS started to warp and the pictures began to become distorted. Even now, at college, my friends and I watch Disney movies all the time.
I love everything about Disneyland. I love the noises and the sights and the smells and the people. My family has a little tradition whenever we go to Disneyland. During the fireworks show, which is absolutely amazing to watch, a couple of us will leave early to save seats near the river surrounding Tom Sawyer Island while the rest go to a restaurant in New Orleans Square to buy hot chocolate for the group. We meet up and watch the show, Fantasmic together. I have been doing this since I was a child. Every time I watch it I get such a pang of nostalgia that I simply cannot contain myself. We all sit, huddled in a group with mist sprayed lightly on our faces as scenes from famous Disney movies are displayed on the water, with characters from my favorite Disney movies dancing on their boats, and with Mickey beating the evil Malificent. The thing that really gets me, though, is the music. When I hear the Fantasmic score, tears begin to form in my eyes. For some reason it holds such power over me. My heart races and I cannot help the smile that has formed from ear to ear. Every time I watch it I am both awe-stricken and heart-warmed because I am with the people I love.
I grew up in a family that placed a lot of value in being together. All of my cousins lived within driving distance from me, with the farthest being in San Diego. We were together for pretty much everything. We would spend every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s together. We would even spend whole summers between each others’ houses. We all did stupid things together and got in trouble together. The way that we were raised was to love each other and stick by our family no matter the circumstance. I know of so many families that are broken with fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are all estranged from each other. It saddens me, but makes me grateful to know that I will always have people who will stand by me in my life. We place a lot in making sure that we spend time with each other.
Furthermore, I hope that all children in the generations to come could be like this, with a smile on their face and a happy-go-lucky attitude and an innocence that lasts forever. Unfortunately, I am not sure if that is where our culture is taking our youth. It seems as if there is a large disconnect between the generations as far as values and how we are being raised. With the technological advances of today, children are more concerned with their computers, ipods, phones, and video game consoles than they are with pretty much anything else. I never answer or look at my phone during dinner because I was raised thinking that meal time was family time. Why would I need to text someone if I can have a face to face conversation with the people sitting all around me? This is not the case with the youth of today and, I fear, the youth of the future. Every time I look around me when I eat, almost everyone has their phones on the table, more concerned with everything else going on in the world than with the people in front of them. I feel like this is the direction that kids are going in today. There is less of an emphasis on being together as a family and loved ones, and more of an emphasis on what new tech gadget is out.
My tattoo makes me very nostalgic. Every time I look at it I am reminded of my childhood as well as who I am now. I think about all the good things that have come out of spending time with my family in Disneyland and how I grew up. It also reminds me that I will never grow up, not really. I will always hold this childish love of Disney and just being a kid with me forever. I hope to raise my children in the way I was raised in hopes that they will turn out like me, or even, a better version of me. I want to be able to take them to Disneyland and let them watch all of the classics. I want them to spend time with their cousins. I want them to be as close to their relatives as I am now.
Monday, November 29, 2010
10:30am |||Analysis|||
I am not certain if this qualifies as an object, but something that holds a great deal of meaning to me is my tattoo. It is inked behind my ear and is an outline of the beloved Disney character, Mickey Mouse. The outline is simple and black, but I cherish it dearly. Mickey Mouse is pretty much the symbol of Disney and it holds a lot of good memories of my past.
I grew up on Southern California less than an hour’s drive from Disneyland in Anaheim. When I was little, I would make at least one trip a year to the theme park. As I grew older, my visits to Disneyland increased to approximately once or twice a month. I grew up watching and experiencing Disney and Disneyland. Some of my favorite movies are Disney movies. I remember watching The Lion King so much that the film of the VHS started to warp and the pictures began to become distorted. Even now, at college, my friends and I watch Disney movies all the time.
My family has a little tradition whenever we go to Disneyland. During the fireworks show, which is absolutely amazing to watch, a couple of us will leave early to save seats near the river surrounding Tom Sawyer Island while the rest of the group goes to a restaurant in New Orleans Square to buy hot chocolate for the group. We meet up and watch the show, Fantasmic together. I have been doing this since I was a child. Every time I watch it I get such a pang of nostalgia that I simply cannot contain myself. We all sit, huddled in a group with mist sprayed lightly on our faces as scenes from famous Disney movies are displayed on the water. The thing that really gets me, though, is the music. When I hear the Fantasmic score, tears begin to form in my eyes. For some reason it holds such power over me. My heart races and I cannot help the smile that has formed from ear to ear. Every time I watch it I am awe-stricken.
I grew up in a family that placed a lot of value in being together. All of my cousins lived within driving distance from me, with the farthest being in San Diego. We were together for pretty much everything. We would spend every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s together. We would even spend whole summers between each others’ houses. We all did stupid things together and got in trouble together. The way that we were raised was to love each other and stick by our family no matter the circumstance. I know of so many families that are broken with fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are all estranged from each other. It saddens me, but makes me grateful to know that I will always have people who will stand by me in my life. We place a lot in making sure that we spend time with each other. Being in college has been the longest I have been separated from my family and it pains me. I am unbelievably excited to go back home and see them and go back to Disneyland during its peak season.
My tattoo makes me very nostalgic. Every time I look at it I am reminded of my childhood as well as who I am now. I think about all the good things that have come out of spending time with my family in Disneyland and how I grew up. It also reminds me that I will never grow up, not really. I will always hold this childish love of Disney and just being a kid with me forever. I hope to raise my children in the way I was raised in hopes that they will turn out like me, or even better than myself. I want to be able to take them to Disneyland and let them watch all of the classics. I want them to spend time with their cousins. I want them to be as close to their relatives as I am now. I hope that all children in America could be like this, with a smile on their face and a happy-go-lucky attitude and an innocence that that lasts forever.
I grew up on Southern California less than an hour’s drive from Disneyland in Anaheim. When I was little, I would make at least one trip a year to the theme park. As I grew older, my visits to Disneyland increased to approximately once or twice a month. I grew up watching and experiencing Disney and Disneyland. Some of my favorite movies are Disney movies. I remember watching The Lion King so much that the film of the VHS started to warp and the pictures began to become distorted. Even now, at college, my friends and I watch Disney movies all the time.
My family has a little tradition whenever we go to Disneyland. During the fireworks show, which is absolutely amazing to watch, a couple of us will leave early to save seats near the river surrounding Tom Sawyer Island while the rest of the group goes to a restaurant in New Orleans Square to buy hot chocolate for the group. We meet up and watch the show, Fantasmic together. I have been doing this since I was a child. Every time I watch it I get such a pang of nostalgia that I simply cannot contain myself. We all sit, huddled in a group with mist sprayed lightly on our faces as scenes from famous Disney movies are displayed on the water. The thing that really gets me, though, is the music. When I hear the Fantasmic score, tears begin to form in my eyes. For some reason it holds such power over me. My heart races and I cannot help the smile that has formed from ear to ear. Every time I watch it I am awe-stricken.
I grew up in a family that placed a lot of value in being together. All of my cousins lived within driving distance from me, with the farthest being in San Diego. We were together for pretty much everything. We would spend every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s together. We would even spend whole summers between each others’ houses. We all did stupid things together and got in trouble together. The way that we were raised was to love each other and stick by our family no matter the circumstance. I know of so many families that are broken with fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are all estranged from each other. It saddens me, but makes me grateful to know that I will always have people who will stand by me in my life. We place a lot in making sure that we spend time with each other. Being in college has been the longest I have been separated from my family and it pains me. I am unbelievably excited to go back home and see them and go back to Disneyland during its peak season.
My tattoo makes me very nostalgic. Every time I look at it I am reminded of my childhood as well as who I am now. I think about all the good things that have come out of spending time with my family in Disneyland and how I grew up. It also reminds me that I will never grow up, not really. I will always hold this childish love of Disney and just being a kid with me forever. I hope to raise my children in the way I was raised in hopes that they will turn out like me, or even better than myself. I want to be able to take them to Disneyland and let them watch all of the classics. I want them to spend time with their cousins. I want them to be as close to their relatives as I am now. I hope that all children in America could be like this, with a smile on their face and a happy-go-lucky attitude and an innocence that that lasts forever.
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