Opening of Class:
→We looked at the Burlington Free Press at the article on the Livable Wages and the naked strike. We discussed how being naked itself is a good way to get attention.
→Then we talked about freelancers union and national writers union. Which led into the discussion of how corporate media is downsizing and re-training its workers to do more. It is now expected of a few people to do more.
→We then discussed how in Burlington Free Press, they have people send in their own pictures of events that they were at. Someone mentioned how digital photography is a medium that speaks/represents itself and that professionals are not necessarily required.
__The main focus for today’s class is a wrap up of our discussion on TV__
Questions to focus on/keep in mind:
1) What do we learn from television?
(not only from a viewer’s standpoint, but from an anthropological standpoint) furthermore;
2) What do we learn abut people by the way the watch television?
3) What do we learn about people by the way they talk about television?
Entourage
→People talked about their own relation to the show. Whether they aspire to have the unattainable lifestyle in the show, or assign certain characters roles within the show to one’s groups of friends.
→ Appadurai’s point was brought up of how the Globalization of media unleashes new imaginations for people. It creates new ideals for their own lives.
→Another point was brought up about the intimate value of otherness, and how people in third world countries did not see themselves as “others” until they had watched television. This was brought up in the Belize article.
→We then discussed the difference with Egyptian soap operas versus ones in the US. One major difference is how in Egyptian soap operas there is this strong sense of nationalism. Next we explored further as to why this was so and looked at who controlled the media in both places. Egypt’s media is controlled by its elites who want to maintain the cultural sense of nationalism; which is why it is in their media. While in other countries the government controls the media, in the United States it is privatized.
→ One example we looked at was Little Bush the cartoon television show on Comedy Central. We then discussed the concept of a “controlled rebellion” where society believes that there is a rebellion going on and are pacified, when in actuality it is not a true rebellion because it is controlled. This is similar to the “Truth Ads” that tobacco companies run.
→ We then also discussed Fox and the strategy that Rupert Murdoch uses of playing both sides. Where on the one side he has shows like the Simpson’s, which make fun of Fox itself, to actual new/shows that the Simpson’s make fun of.
We then talked about Wilk’s theories of viewer-ship. There are the:
→Oppositional viewer- who is critical attitude towards what they are shown
→Dominated viewer-who takes in what they are shown “hook, line and sinker”
→Negotiated Viewer-who finds pleasure in watching television, but does not necessarily take every message @ face value.
∗We talked about how media can redefine us and our own daily lives.
∗We also touched upon how television has been used as somewhat of a reference point in redefining what relaxation and work actually are.
We then discussed MTV’s Pimp My Ride
→We talked about the function of having a television in one’s car (the ridiculousness of one in a steering wheel, the quieter car rides, the peace it created for parents). It has the potential to save relationships, but in creating silence because people are in their own “bubbles” televisions could also break up relationships; from fights over what movies to watch to not having conversations that would have taken place had tv’s not in fact been there.
→We also talked about how it was a symbol. By having a television in one’s car is a symbol of having it all.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.