“McLuhan and the Toronto School of Communication”

By: Derrick de Kerckhove
http://www.mcluhan.utoronto.ca/article_torontoschoolofcomm.htm

I liked the fact that our last article related back to McLuhan, since we started the semester studying his concepts. He has had such a profound effect on the development of how media is interpreted. Many individuals have tried to discredit his work by proving his wrong, but like Elizabeth Eisenstaedt, have not found refuting his statements easy. McLuhan’s school of thought has been very influential and what separates him from other media theorists is that his ideas are timeless. It seems as though an effort was made by him to not say something that could become outdated quickly. I think that having this as our last reading was appropriate.

“Media Manifestos” Wired interview with Debray

By: Regis Debray
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.01/debray.html

The section of the article that discussed the ages of transmission technologies was the key part of the article as far as what I learned the most from. The relation to McLuhan made this argument more convincing. I’m not so sure that I agree with his criticism of McLuhan; I believe that McLuhan was right in the amount of emphasis that was put on the importance of the medium. (technology) I think that the development of technology and how it has evolved is hugely important on how it effects the response of audiences. I don’t think that Debray realizes this.

Week #12

(Wednesday, November 22, 2006)

I am feeling confident about the progress that I have made on my portfolio for it to be ready next week. All of the projects, including the bibliography, have been completed. I simply have to write my reflection on each project. I have not began writing my self-assessment and last word assignment, but I have a few ideas in mind for each of those.
I like how the majority of today’s class and the past few weeks have been spent looking at everyone’s progress on portions of their portfolios. It’s great how everyone has had equal opportunity to share their work with the class. I have found it interesting how different groups have interpreted projects in unique ways. I’ve especially enjoyed watching the image curations, because every group has been different in their approach.
The last project that my group completed was the image curation, which we were prepared to present in class today, but it did not play for some reason. We did have the opportunity, however, to watch the curations of a few other groups within the class. I especially enjoyed watching one that a few people had created that was a series of images from the news. Some of these images were very recognizable; for example, the bodies piled in the Buchenwald concentration camp following World War II or more recently, photographs taken outside Dawson in Montreal, where the shooting took place this past month. In between a series of images would be a quote from Shakespeare, which I found very effective in delivering the message. My group chose to focus on images that evoked emotion as well, but in a much different way. Our images were all close-up shots of individual’s faces, each of which evoked a different emotion, whether or not that emotion was obvious.

“Toronto School of Communication”

By: Twyla Gibson
http://www.mcluhan.utoronto.ca/tsc_mcluhan_basic_innovations.htm

Reading this article was basically a review of what we discussed in class regarding the most significant inventions related to the development of media to date. Gibson believes that electricity, the alphabet, the printing press and cave paintings. It makes sense that we cannot include more recent inventions since we cannot fully understand the effect that they have, but I still think that it is possible to evaluate their impact on society to date.

Week #11

(Wednesday, November 15, 2006)

My group completed our activism project today before class. We booked a table in the atrium and set up each of our lap tops along the table to the Amnesty International webpage where people could sign an online petition. The petition promoted sending UN peacekeepers into Darfur to provide relief for the crisis. I roamed around the atrium talking to passers-by and even if they did not sign our petition, I handed out small fact sheets that gave information about what is happening in Darfur and the website link for where they can go to help.
The discussion about technology and media today was also intriguing. I’m not entirely certain how brainstorming our ideas benefited us, but maybe it was simply a way of getting us to interact in class differently. With these lists, we arguably determined the four most important inventions as far as their impact in media. Each of them to an extent made sense, but I still believe that we are capable of measuring the impact of a technology on society even fifty years old. Perhaps the impact of this technology will evolve in the future, but I nevertheless believe that we can, for instance, determine how the internet has affected modern society.
My image curation group is in the process of completing our curation, which will ideally be ready to present for nest week’s class. I chose not to work with my larger study group, but rather a smaller group of people for this task. I thought that it would be valuable to attempt working with different individuals for a change. We have decided to focus our curation on already existent photographs. These photographs will all be head shots of individuals so that there is a determinable expression on each of their faces. I think that finding some recognizable images would also improve on this idea. I think that our curation has a lot of potential if we can find pictures that portrays this concept.

“Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing and Sniping in the Empire of Signs”

By: Mark Derry
http://www.levity.com/markdery/culturjam.html

This article inspired me to do more research on my own related to culture jamming. Before reading this article, I had viewed images that had been altered in consideration of this concept. I think that many people were able to relate to this article because some of us have taken a part in creating our own forms of culture jamming. I know that without realizing what I was doing, I have doodled in magazine similar to the form taken in “The Bubble Project,” which was mentioned in some of my external research on culture jamming.
This article also tied into a few images that members of my class had put on display as a part of their progressing image curation. One image was related to the war in Iraq and another altered the image of a face to make it look like a skull. I found this article especially enjoyable to read because I was able to relate to it.

Week #10

(Wednesday, November 8, 2006)

Today we submitted our semiotic papers. I am relieved to have finally completed the paper and am satisfied by the work that I produced. I was surprised to hear from a few of my peers that they had not even completed the paper. I would have expected that everyone, whether or not it was their best work, had at least written the paper.
Today was an interesting class. We had the unique opportunity to take time to look at photographs that had been taken and were on display in the art gallery. The display was put on by senior image arts students, so it was neat to see the type and level of work that these students had produced. I enjoyed being able to openly discuss what stood out for each of us in the gallery. I think that some people did not view this as a productive use of time, but I found it especially interesting to hear opinions from the image arts students as I feel inferior. I am attempting to view images with a more critical eye, but I don’t believe that my interpretation of photography would be as accurate as some of my classmates. Overall, I took pleasure in starting today’s class this way and look forward to seeing my peer’s work on display in the years to come.

We the Media

The best part about this book is that I had the opportunity to choose which articles interested me the most and read them first. This book was especially helpful in strengthening my arguments for my semiotic analysis because so many divisions within media are discussed in this collection of articles. The only major draw-back to this book was that it has now become semi-outdated as media is constantly changing.
The first section of articles that I looked at was on advertising, which actually inspired my concept for my semiotic analysis based on the American Dream. I appreciated the effort made in this book to tackle two sides of the argument. Articles like “Selling Our Souls” and “Force Fed Television” were informative about the negative effects of advertising; however, unlike Toxic Sludge is Good For Us, there were also articles that discussed the benefits and positive uses of advertising. I really enjoyed reading an article by Herbert Chao Gunther titled “Advertising For the Other Side.” His article outlined how advocacy advertising is used for positive promotion. Advertising does not always have to serve the purpose of luring people into buying a product as it has become associated with, but it also can be used to promote positive beliefs.
The section called Access was also very interesting in its relation to media. The articles related to the hiring of traditionally oppressed groups. Whether it be minorities or females, there is an obvious effort being made in the news, especially broadcast news, to represent our population in Canada more accurately. This has been done partially in the interest of attracting a larger range of viewers to a given news station so that a wider audience base can relate to who is presenting the news. The article titled “The Unbearable Whiteness of Publishing” made an interesting point about how individuals that we cannot see in the news are predominantly white. (journalists) I think that this has changed more recently, as this article is outdated, but there is still an obvious distinction.
I would recommend this book because it is the type of book that can be picked up and set down at any given time. The articles are generally short and one does not have to be read to understand the other. I also liked the fact that this also meant that I was able to turn directly to the page of the articles that I wanted to read. There is an obvious effort made in this collection of articles to include many different aspects of media, so there is likely an article on something that appeals to a variety of readers.

Week #9

(Wednesday, November 1, 2006)

The biggest concern on everyone’s mind is the semiotic analysis, which is due in one week today. I do not have a completed first draft as of yet, but I am fully prepared to begin writing today. It seems as though a lot of people are still trying to figure out a topic to write about; I would not want to put myself under that kind of stress. Today we shared with the class our progress so far on the ‘Mapping’ assignment. Since my group has completed all of the group assignment, except that one, we unanimously decided to just get the basics of our research completed for today’s class. It’s good to hear that we’re on the right track with this assignment.
The only portion of the portfolio that I have not yet been able to work as much as I would have liked to so far is the image curation. We are planning to look at photojournalism as for the images rather than taking our own; however, we have not yet come up with a solid concept, which worries me a little. I am pleased that at least the more difficult tasks are out of the way. I think that my group planned very efficiently in getting each task completed. I feel confident that each of our projects will be completed with plenty of time for each of us to write our reflections and other parts of the portfolio that require individual work.
I look forward to handing in my semiotic analysis next week as it is probably causing me more stress than any of my other assignments. I don’t think that I have ever had to submit a paper that so heavily impacts my final grade. It was more time consuming than I had originally thought to plan out how I was going to write my essay. I am about midway through the writing process, which I am fine with because I find that planning my writing takes a lot longer than actually writing. I also plan on exchanging papers with three of my classmates, so that they can edit and evaluate it for me by Sunday or Monday. I have really enjoyed writing this paper and have put a lot of effort into covering all of the bases as far as backing up my argument. I expect that my mark will reflect my effort and hopefully I will be able to prove to Mark and Chantelle that my poor grade on the written portion of my autobiography does not reflect my best work.

Toxic Sludge is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry

I wanted to read this book as soon as I discovered that it was a part of our study. It related specifically to my specialization, public relations, so I was interested in learning more about the field. I anticipated that there would be a lot of criticism of the public relations industry involved because of the negative title, however, I would have appreciated there being more said about the positive efforts of public relations professionals. I think that too often public relations practitioners are made out to be manipulative in the eyes of the public, and this book supported that belief.
Although the book was negative for the most part, I did enjoy learning about the different past PR scenarios. The section on the environment stunned me the most. Being somewhat of an environmentalist myself, I have difficulty believing that major companies, such as McDonalds are able to get away with what they do. What I find more surprising is that I had not heard of this issue before. Perhaps the McDonalds environmental campaign is too out-dated for me to recall, but it seems like it should have been a big deal at the time. This reminded me very much of the launch of the recent McDonalds campaign to get healthy. The happy meal bags pictured all of the ways to eat healthy, one of them being eating healthy. There was a picture of vegetables and fruits. I found it very ironic that something like this would be promoted on a McDonalds product and wonder if at all this campaign was successful.
Another one of the sections that I found especially interesting was regarding smoking and the development of ad campaigns for smoking. The deception involved related to cigarettes and how they were advertised was incredible. Advertising has always been something that I have wanted to learn more about and this book is great for understanding advertising strategies; however, it seems as though many of the strategies outlined in this book discuss how to manipulate or lure consumers into buying your product. I think that there has been other successful ad campaigns for products that do not have to involve this sort of thing. Of course there always needs to be a way to lure customers in, but I do not think that lying is the way of doing so.
This book has an obvious bias and the authors are not trying to hide it by any means. It is important to understand how public relations has worked in the past and this book is helpful for the public to understand how they are potentially being manipulated by media as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with remote interest in advertising, media or the public relations industry. This was my favourite required reading of the term.

Week #7

(Wednesday, October 18, 2006)

This was the first class so far that enabled groups to share parts of the documentaries or creative videos that anyone had made. My group finally had the opportunity to show the music video that we had created. The response that we received from Mark and fellow classmates really proved to me that the collaborative effort put into producing this video really was worth it.
We also discussed the semiotic paper and what the expectations are for this assignment. My idea for this paper is going to be focusing on a music video, potentially only a portion of it, which satirizes the American dream and what it now considered and how it is significant in society today. I was not able to discuss my idea with the teaching assistant, Chantelle, which concerns me slightly; However, I believe that there are a lot of possibilities as far as what I can discuss in my analysis. The most challenging task will be to determine what exactly I plan on focusing on in my semiotic analysis. I have a lot of good ties to the book “We the Media,” which shouldn’t be a problem for me to incorporate into my idea. I look forward to making next week as productive as possible since it is the week that we do not have classes on.

Reading Response: October 11

The Advantages and Limitations of a Focus on Audience in Media Studies:

"...audiences are vital in communication. It is for the audience that the media are constructing and conveying information, and, if it were not for the audiences, the media would not exist."

I found that this quotation, taken from the second paragraph of the article, epitomized what this article was all about. This is why 'data mining' exists. Data mining is a term used to describe the method of tracking demographics through the internet, by what websites they buy from and what they buy. Data mining can also be used to track phone calls (i.e. if someone phones a particular branch of pizza parlours, they might not be surprised to see a coupon book from that particular branch in the mail).
I find in fascinating how much effort goes into marketing and what audiences are targeted by certain advertisements. This article was good because there did not seem to be any bias is the way that it was written, which made it easier to take in the information and form my own opinion. Although I find that some forms of data mining (i.e. the phone) are an invasion of privacy, I have to give credit to companies who market their products well by targeting the right audience.

Reading Responses to October 4th:

Ten Things Wrong with the Media Effects Model

I really enjoyed reading article because much of it made sense to me. I also enjoyed the fact that it was the type of article that I could jump around with while reading, meaning that I did not have to begin reading at any particular point in the article, but read what interested me most first.
The article was intended to be persuasive, but not in a manipulative way. It is made clear in the title "Ten Things Wrong with the Media Effects Model" that only one side of the argument is being examined. I found that knowing this immediately made me less cautious of allowing myself to be persuaded, because I knew which side was being looked at.
However, I did not find that there was enough information given outlining and explaining what exactly the media effects model is. If this article was intended to be seen by a very general audience, then there should have been more background provided. The criticisms of the model sound justifiable, but I think that there needs to be further specific ties to the model made in order to prove each point.
I did enjoy reading the article. There was a lot of good insight provided, especially regarding the generalizations that are often made in the media. These points were brought up regarding how all people respond to violence and how children respond to media. Therefore, this article was very insightful, but would have been easier to relate to had further information about the media effects model been mentioned.

Semiotics For Beginners: Encoding/Decoding:

I feel much more equipt to write my semiotic analysis having read through this article. It confirmed a lot of what we had discussed in class. The points that I found confusing were cleared up in our class discussion this week as well.
Aside from what I found helpful to include in my semiotic analysis, I also enjoyed refreshing my memory about the communication model.

Understanding Comics

I've always enjoyed reading the Archie comic books that my mom had saved from her childhood when I was growing up. I also recall watching a children’s program on comics, and how they are created; so, I always have understood comics as being an art-form. I never realized that there were different ways (crafts) of making comic books, though. Chapter three outlines a number of ways that transitions can be made in different comic books. Certain comic books use certain trends of transitions than others do, which I would have never considered on my own. Every comic book that I have read has also been American, so I’ve never considered the differences in nationalities and how they fashion their comic books.
I actually found the coloured portion of the comic book took a lot more time to read. I think that was because colour adds a new dimension to anything that you’re absorbing. I also found it interesting how colours “…symbolize characters in the mind of the reader…” (page 188) as we associate certain colour schemes (i.e. blue, yellow and gray: Batman) with a given comic book. This is true to a lot of things outside of comic books as well. This relates to synesthesia: how a memory or experience can be triggered by a smell, image etc. That would also explain why a number of other publications always maintain not only the same colour motif, but also consistent themes. (like the same type of transitions)
The breakdown of how any work is created was also useful. (page 170) It’s true to follow for anything that it is created, not only comics. Leading up to this was a comparison of iconic and realistic drawings. (page 46) The point about how every time someone sees a circle with two dots in the centre, they associate it with a face. Not only do I associate this with a face, but I cannot interpret it as anything else.
I really enjoyed reading this Understanding Comics. It was a quick read, but also full of a lot of information that I had not considered before. I’ve always thought that people who do the art for comic books are very talented, but I did not consider how they finally pieced everything together. I think that reading this book is not only helpful to media students, but I would recommend it as an interesting read to anyone mildly curious about learning.

Ways of Seeing

By: John Berger

This is the first time that I have read a book of a collection of essays. The essay that I enjoyed reading the most was the seventh. It discussed how images have become so important in media today for marketing and advertising; it’s very true. The main focus of this essay was publicity and how “…it proposes to each of us that we transform ourselves, or our lives, by buying something more.” (page 131) I based my semiotic paper on materialism, and although I did not include this particular reference, I truly believe in the power of advertising. Even though people realize the purpose of advertising, it ultimately has the desired effect on all of us, which is to be consumers.
The first essay was the essay that we were instructed to pay the most attention to. I believe that this essay is more closely tied to the field of media than any other essay in this collection. It would be especially of interest to the image arts students. I like the point that made during the discussion of the camera “…destroying the idea that images were timeless…” (page 18) However, I disagree with that argument. I believe that candid photography captures a unique moment, but other types of photography that create the illusion of timelessness. For example, anything to do with nature: flowers, weather. There will always be a first snowfall every year or a first rose to blossom on a vine. These are both timeless moments that could be captured in photography.
I did agree with the argument about the uniqueness of a painting and how, unlike in photography, they cannot be multiplied in the same way. However, photographs have a sense of uniqueness about them as well. A photograph can capture a moment in time that can never be repeated or documented in the same way. Both photography and painting have pros and cons to the eye of the beholder.
By manipulating pictures [for example, the “…allegorical figure [becoming] a portrait of a girl…” (page 25)] is another controversial aspect of reproducing images. Doing so does not properly merit the artist for his/her work, and should not be allowed without their permission. However, it is also important that images are available for interpretation of meaning, whether or not the meaning someone contrives is not what the artist or photographer had intended.
The third essay also interested me. It discussed the differences in how men and women are portrayed in images. This included how women and men are perceived in pictures as well. One of the more interesting points made was that “…the ‘ideal’ spectator was assumed to be male and the image of a woman is designed to flatter him…” (page 64) I found this comment kind of bizarre, because every time I look at an advertisement, for example, it seems as though the female is being more emphasized than the male. The argument being made throughout this essay was that “…men look at women. Women watch themselves be looked at.” (page 47) I thought that that was an interesting statement because it is true outside of images. Women are typically thought to be more concerned than men of the physical appearance, which includes how they look in photographs as well.Overall, I enjoyed this collection of essays thoroughly including the image curations. The curations also gave me a better idea potential themes for my image curation as well. The arguments in the essay indicated things that I think a lot of people are already aware of. Hopefully now, I will be more conscious of images and their ultimate impact on myself.

Class #6

(Wednesday, October 11, 2006)

I met with Mark Lipton today to discuss my grade on the written portion of the autobiography assignment. I did not expect to receive as brutally honest of a response as I did. After being told that my writing does not reach university level expectations, I am motivated to take more time to improve my writing skills in hope of proving that I did not represent my writing capabilities in the first writing assignment.
I enjoyed today’s in class discussion because it was one of the first opportunities for everyone who may not consistently participate in class. For example, the quiz that Mark distributed in regard to picking out the facts in a story was interesting. I find that some classes, which are based soley on discussion may not appeal to all class members, or, even if it does, it is often difficult to pay attention for a two hour and forty minute long class.
My group has been able to complete a lot of projects to include in our portfolios this past week. The script for out podcast has been completed, and will be recorded within the next few days. The timeline is ready to be incorporated into the website, which is also in progress. Finally, the most exciting part is our video. Yesterday we finished recording all of the scenes that we need to make our video. Corbin also had his song recorded in a studio; it sounds amazing. I am very anxious to begin editing tonight as our goal is to have the video prepared to show in class next week. So far, we have captured all of the portions of scenes that we want to include in the video. Now we need to put it all together along with the music. This video has taken a lot of planning and effort by numerous people; so, no matter what, I think that everyone will be pleased with the finished product.

Class #5

(Wednesday, October 4, 2006)

I was disappointed today after our media autobiographies were returned and I did not achieve a mark that I would have at least been satisfied with. I realized upon submitting the written portion of the assignment that it was not my best work, as it was a little rushed; However, I did not anticipate that my grade on the written portion be as low as 50%. I think that it will be worth my while to write a persuasive letter in order to achieve a higher grade, which I think that I am deserving of. Perhaps I focused too much of my energy on the creative process, rather than being overly concerned with the description and outline.
Following this class, I also feel a lot more confidence regarding my search for the topic of my semiotic analysis. I was impressed with the example of the Gap commercial, which Mark used to illustrate his argument, ‘Madonna’s on top.’ He was very effective in presenting evidence to support his argument, as nobody in the class even attempted to refute his argument. I think that doing that is important in our analysis’ as well. It is my understanding that Mark is looking for each of us to present our arguments in a persuasive way, so that none of our points can be refuted. Therefore, it makes more sense to me that we cannot select something that is a great deal to work with. Otherwise, it would be easier for someone to pick on things that we may miss in our discussion.

Class #4

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

My group has made a lot of progress so far in our portfolios. Our biggest plan is to make a music video for a song that my fellow group-mate, Corbin, is getting professionally recorded. We already have a general idea for our script made up, which is going to be finalized within the next week. My role for this portion of our portfolio will be mainly co-editing the video. I have not yet had experience editing any kind of film in the past, so I am very excited to learn about the process.

We also have started working on four of the more difficult assignments within the portfolio. We have been divided into groups to research different portions of the pod-cast. We are going to be doing a tour of Main street in Unionville, Markham. I think that this location will give us a lot to talk about given the number of events that take place in this area. The website and timeline will be combined. Some of the people in our group have had experience putting together websites before; so, once the rest of us come up with a timeline, we are hoping to collaborate assignments. Finally, there has been a lot of discussion about what to do for the activism project. Initially, our ideas would have involved a lot of complication. Therefore, we decided to simplify the plan. We made mutual decision to focus the activism project on Darfur and the genocide that is currently going on in this region. The main objective presently is to send UN peacekeepers into Sudan to help the situation; so far that has not be implemented. I feel very strongly about this issue, so I hope that we will be able to make a difference by at least increasing awareness of this tragedy.

Class #3

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The due date for the media autobiography was today. I found that once I had committed to a solid idea, it was a lot easier to do the creative aspect of the project. I was pleased with how my project turned out. It reflected my vision perfectly. Although, I have to admit, putting together a collage on the computer was more of a challenge than I had expected.
The main difficulty that I had to overcome was putting my idea into words. I am concerned that I did not explain my concept in a way that Mark will be able to understand. I believe that the Olympics have such an impact on the world. Through the media, we are all connected. I decided to take an optimistic point of view because I think that a lot of other students are focusing on the negative. For example, how women are portrayed in the media was very popular.
It was very interesting to see my classmate’s assignments. It seemed as though a popular idea was how females are represented through media or sexuality and it’s importance in advertising. One of the more original ideas was a television that was gutted-out and filled with newspaper/magazine clippings and a mirror symbolizes how her autobiography was a reflection of self.