Blog #6

          
 -Link#1=  http://www.good.is/posts/death-in-the-age-of-facebook/


           Death in the age of Facebook is a very controversial topic and can be seen so differently through so many lenses. Death in the age of Facebook helps us mourn our losses. When a loved one passes away, we are finding it more popular that people are quick to make a Facebook page dedicated to the deceased. I feel that this new form of mourning is a great tool because it gives us a chance to be with our loved ones and be closer with them for a little bit longer. A source I read talked about a story of a woman supposedly killing a man. A powerful quote in this source stated "Facebook allows people to mourn as a group, no matter how geographically far away-in a way, taking places of cemeteries." When I read this quote, I thought about whenever I go on Facebook. I always see a friend liking or commenting on a Facebook wall saying "In loving memory of ...." and this gives people a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, or if they're not ready to say goodbye, they can talk to them through the Facebook wall, and if it makes people feel better about loosing a loved one, what's the issue? This quote supports my point because if you're 1,000 miles away from lets say your Aunt, for example, and she passes away, you would want some sort of connection piece where you could talk with others that are feeling the same way you are.
        Making a Facebook wall for a loved one is a very supportive and loving way to say goodbye to your loved one and to help people grieve and mourn their losses. People need a cushion where they can talk amongst others, view nice, unknown pictures, and even talk to the deceased loved one all through Facebook.

Another way of looking at this topic is...
-Link#2=  http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2010/07/coping_with_dea.php
          Death in the age of Facebook is a very confusing and disrespectful tool, which is why when a loved one passes away, we should delete their Facebook account. Facebook rarely figures out if a loved one has passed away, unless a family member lets them know. You could be searching for a friend, find them then all of a sudden see "Miss you ....." It is a very hard emotional process to take in. If I was on Facebook one day, and went to my Grandpa's Facebook wall (he doesn't have one, by the way) and saw all of his family members and friends commenting on his wall saying "I will miss you! R.I.P" It would make me feel confused and it would be such a shock. I would much rather hear that he passed away from my mother more than Joe Smith who has two mutual friends with my Grandpa. I would feel as if my Grandpa was a ghost on Facebook. "Since everyone grieves differently, she cautions against sharing private details of other family members, loved ones or the deceased themselves. Especially in a world in which so much communication happens online, the balming effect of a face-to-face gathering can feel even more magnified." If we feel that it is okay to speak of deceased loved ones over Facebook, where are we to draw the line? Death is such a sacred thing and many people with the many different religious backgrounds, it isn't appropriate and its not the ideal way to deal with a loved one's passing. Everyone grieves differently. That is self explanatory, people don't want to go onto Facebook to check in on new things in peoples lives, and find out that their family member died. It would make someone feel like they were forgotten when someone called around to let family know about their passed away loved one.
       Making a Facebook wall for a loved one or even keeping activated a deceased ones Facebook wall is a very inappropriate way to handle someone death. We go on Facebook to post funny pictures, read statuses about peoples funny pets. I would hope that if I were to pass away, someone would be kind enough to me to get rid of my Facebook account because I don't want to blend in with statuses about pets, or funny pictures. How would you feel if you went on Facebook with a light, and happy mood not expecting to see that your friend had passed away? Would you want to join in on all of the condolences? Or would you want to break apart from that and give the deceased more respect?


    

Blog #5

          In Feed, the way I read it is different from others based on my identity and experiences. I got my identity from being with certain people, going to certain places, seeing/hearing certain things, and when I read a text, I connect with it differently than others would. I feel that two factors that connect me to this book are Age and Gender. Since I am 16 years old, I connect to this book differently than a 49 year old. In Feed there is a lot of use of slang since this book is directed to a younger demographic.I feel that since I am a younger person and the use of slang is so widely used in my generation, I can connect closer to the book Feed.  I feel this way because of the use of technology and slang. I see people my age using technology on a daily basis (i.e Phones, computers, tablets, Ipods) and it affects the way we think and process things (i.e Books!) I feel that since I am a Female, I connect differently and process this book differently than to a Male would. For example, on page 158-159 Titus says "I ran over to them. I was going, "Holy shit! Are you okay? What happened?" and Violet, too, she was going, "Hey-- are you okay?" They stood there and looked at us, "Yuh," said Loga. It's Riot Gear. It's retro." I feel like this connects to me because I know women are more affected to Fashion and Clothing.  When I read that quote I thought of the billions of trends, and  how some can get so popular, but are completely ridiculous. When I go shopping, I see some ridiculous pieces of clothing that I just don't understand who would buy them, but it's the types of people that get sucked into the next big thing like Loga and Calista.

313 Words

Blog #4 Cont.

         The second advertisement that I  chose is a commercial for Makeup from Covergirl. I chose this one because I wear makeup on a daily basis and I am very persuaded by makeup ads.This ad is using colors. They are repeating colors from their Makeup and putting it into the color of Covergirl, and her clothing. They are using a celebrity to sell their makeup. They also have her walking down a runway and this is saying " With this makeup, you could take this look straight to the runway!" The background is light, so that makes me feel like this makeup is fresh and light. They keep changing the camera shots, from a full body shot, to her eyes, to the makeup itself. 

         The first words "Whats the latest in eye couture?" tells me that this ad is trying to say that they feel that their product is very high end and glamorous. Literally, the advertisement is telling us about their new Intense shadowblast that is infused with built in primer that is there to last for hours. Figuratively, the advertisement is telling us that if you buy their new product, you will be like Drew Barrymore. It also is saying that you will be very trendy with the latest makeup. If you notice in the end of the ad, they also manage to slip in another one of their products, the Lash blast fusion mascara to "make an even bigger statement". The speaker is Drew Barrymore, and it is her perspective in the ad. 

         Even though I love makeup, I don't feel that this advertisement was successful at persuading me to buy this product. One, because I don't wear eyeshadow that often, and two because i feel that Drew isn't a very popular celebrity these days. I liked the ad, though, because I love makeup and this ad was very flashy and nice.

                 

Blog #4

*Search on the web for two advertisements that speak to your personal tastes or interests.

              This first ad that I chose was a commercial for Beats headphones by Dre. This advertisement is using repetition of celebrities to show that if you use Beats headphones, "anything could happen". The song is a younger generation song sung by a younger generation artist, so young people would relate to this commercial.  Each clip of each celebrity shows them being themselves, (i.e Loud, hyper, calm, energized, focused). The video looked very simple, It looks like they just had a white background, celebrities, and Beats headphones. All of these things tell me that they want to show us that if you buy Beats headphones you will be yourself and "anything could happen". 
               The first sentence "What will you be?" affects the meaning of the advertisement because it is saying "What will you be? Will you be like Ellie Goulding? Lil' Wayne? MGK? Well if you buy Beats headphones, you'll get closer to being like them!" The speaker is Ellie Goulding, and she is singing a song. She sings " I know it's gonna be, I know it's gonna be alright......anything could happen, anything could happen, anything could happen." In this commercial we have the celebrities' perspectives, and if you look hard enough, you can catch a clip of a younger boy smiling with Beats headphones around his neck. We don't get non-celebrity adults perspectives in this ad. 
             Well by watching this ad I am definitely wanting to go out and buy these headphones. They made me feel good. They made me feel like with these headphones, I would have a great time listening to music. I don't use headphones when I listen to music, because I just listen on my computer, but if I was in need of headphones, I would look into these first. I suppose this ad persuaded me, seeing that it's making me want these, but obviously not enough for me to go out and buy them!
       

Blog #3

      
 Think about our conversation regarding the four big ideas of media studies. Then, reflect on the commercial clips that we viewed and discussed. What did you learn? Was there any information or ideas that surprised you? What kinds of thinking did you have to do to participate in the conversation about the commercials? Discuss your thinking and comment on any new ideas that came to you through our discussions.


        Ads always want something from you. Whether it's your support, or your money. They always want something. Through discussing about the four big ideas of media studies, I learned that advertisers construct messages through ads very secretly. It many not seem so secret to us viewers, but they add a lot of things that they don't actually say. I thought the Dove ad about the natural beauty of women was very clever. I liked it because it showed how society creates an image, then changes it, and again, and again, and that makes us women do the same thing, and it becomes tiring. I thought the ad about Green Peace bashing Dove was very irrelevant and odd. It was attacking Dove with the same format of commercial about their use of palm oil, when in the Dove at they weren't even advertising their actual Dove products at all. It was a little confusing, and a little odd of Green Peace. To participate in the conversation about the commercials, I had to watch the ads in a different way than I normally would, and analyze what the overall message of the commercial was. It was interesting, because I'm now watching commercials a different way.

Blog #2 Ilianna Gerst

What kinds of advertisements do you see on a daily basis? Where and in what form do you see them? Do you believe these ads are affecting your life at all? Why or why not?


         Advertisements are EVERYWHERE. They impact us to buy frivolous things, things that we think we need, and rarely, important things. I've grown up watching ads after ads on the cartoon channel about the latest barbie, the coolest stickers, or the best candy, and it made me want all of it. I was mesmerized by all of the cool things that I thought I needed. To this day, I still get mesmerized by ads, except they're a little bit more mature. Whenever I sit down to watch TV, I probably see about 40-70 ads, and that's just in ONE show! Whenever I go on the computer, I am drowning in ads, whether it's just on the side with small print, or popping up constantly. I see ads everywhere from Sarah McLachlan in ASPCA all the way to ads about 411 pain! These ads are so persistent because they want to make sure they stick in your brain, which is why I can sing the 411 pain commercial jingle, the National American University jingle, etc. etc. I believe these ads are affecting my life, because they change me. They change the way I think, dress, speak etc. etc. because like I said, they are very persistent at getting you to buy their product. I hate ads.

Blog #1 Ilianna Gerst

Imagine that television, movies, the internet, etc. were never invented. How would you be spending your free time without these things? How would you have grown up without these things?

 Without television, movies, the internet, etc. I wouldn't be typing this blog. When I was a kid, I spent my time exploring the unknown (to me) of my backyard. I used to sit at my arts and crafts table painting, drawing, creating, but mainly, making a mess. I didn't grow up on much technology as you can see. The most technology I had was the television and the phone, but even then I wasn't really interested in them. Once everyone started becoming more entwined with technological gadgets (cell phones, video games, etc.) It seemed that my love for exploring and creating faded from me. I now see myself spending an hour or two a day just on Facebook, Pandora, or twitter, and I'm always glued to my phone. Without these things, I would be spending more face-to-face time with my friends, I'd start drawing  more, and I'd like to take up knitting or sewing.Without technology, I would be finding my own entertainment just like I was when I was a kid. I could be able to live without technology, but I feel that we're all in so deep, it would be impossible to rewind.