Stop the Violence PSA

The Food Paradox Team Presents: Free Food

Project 3_Food Culture on Campus

Toddlers and Tiaras Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhY7t6rTlVs&feature=youtu.be

Here is the link to our project on YouTube.  Blogger was reporting problems loading the video directly to the site.

Enjoy!

Final Bitch Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrhcKzHoT6s&feature=youtu.be


I was not able to upload a video onto blogger so above is the link from youtube that the video is on.

Group Project

Put down the video games...

When I was younger, I was never allowed to play video games. My parents wouldn’t buy me game systems or let me go to friends house just to play games. It always bothered me and I didn’t know why it was such a big deal.

Instead of staying inside, my parents always sent my sister and I outside to play in the yard or go on a bike ride. They always wanted us to be active. If we did stay inside, it was to do craft time or create plays to show my parents. We never just sat in front of a screen.

Now that I’m older, I know that my parents were doing the right thing. My sister and I are social and active. When we got older, we used our time to volunteer with our church mission trips and around our own community. We made a difference by building houses, cleaning parks and donating our time to shelters and non-profit events. I strongly feel that if I had been allowed to sit in front of a screen all day, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do those things.

Jane McGonigal says that playing video games can eventually save the world. As much as I loved what she had to say, and I hope that it will someday work, I know for a fact that people can do more than that. Instead of sitting in front of that computer and playing games that might one day help society, get up and do something now. Volunteering is a great way to make an impact. Clean a park, do a Habitat for Humanity project, or volunteer at a shelter. It is much more satisfying than sitting around all day. And instead of helping the virtual people that you surround yourself with, you can actually help in your own community.  If we all made more of an effort to volunteer and help our society in the real world, we would all be in a better place. 

Advertising is not evil!

So many people complain about advertisements and the "influence" they have on people's choices. Or they talk about how advertising is "deceiving." It's complete BS! Advertising doesn't make you do anything. It's gives you options and you make the decision to follow it. Advertising does not force you to go to the mall and buy a shirt. It simply tells you about that brand and let's you decide what you want. It doesn't make you go to McDonald's and buy that milkshake. Advertising simply gives you options. Without advertising, the world would be boring. We wouldn't be able to find out about all the new products and brands that the world has. Advertising is exciting and always new. Brands and advertising will always be apart of our society. Instead of complaining about it, we should just accept it. They're not evil, deceiving, or bad. They just showcase the options and let us choose.

Anderson Cooper: The Pussy Willow Prince

Anderson Cooper's clip here

Media logic as we have learned in class is often materialized through comodification, amplification, and reduction. Is it necessary? Some viewing such stories as Anderson Cooper’s most recent “Ridicu-list” might say yes. Cooper must once again apologize for a laughing outburst earlier this week pertaining to Dyngus Day, an “ancient ritual”, as dubbed by EDDY DOBOSIEWICZ (Co-founder of dingus day). Dyngus Day is a newer holiday celebrated in Buffalo, N.Y.

            Is this story truly news worthy? Everyday, citizens access social media sites to complain about the lack of news we are receiving, or criticize the authenticity of the information that is leaked. But what is the alternative? If we were to get all of the facts and stories thrown at us, it would be up to the American people to decide what is news. We would have to sift through hours of footage similar to this.

            Media Logic is an unfortunate side affect to amplification and reduction. In all however I feel that it is necessary, as are the Gatekeepers who control it. An ideal alternative to our gatekeepers would be a series of sites that attribute all the facts of every story, thus creating more news broadcasts, each with equal breadth and depth. That is an ideal world unfortunately.

            Gatekeepers, amplification, and reduction may be a flawed system but a clear alternative does not exist for me. The American people need to take credit if they have any sense of being duped. Media logic is only as powerful as those viewing let it be. This is a call to action to the all news viewing people. Until we can start taking credit for the material we are absorbing, there is no hopeful alternative to media logic. There is always something important going on, report on it. If you don’t feel that a story is being accurately reflected, use social media to say so.

People or Race?

Our class had a very in-depth discussion on the issue of race. I have always been intrigued by the topic growing up since I was a minority where I lived. In addition I have also thought that racism is the dumbest idea known to man. “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire. Racism is a made up system of classification based on your skin or culture. The ideas of “authentic white and dark” disagree with my view however.

            When growing up I was called many racial slurs and when I was younger, did not understand most. In addition to what I was called, I didn’t understand the terms others were calling, and being called. Even more befuddling to me, was some people were permitted to use certain words but not others. On one occasion I was physically taught what words I could say. According to “authentic whiteness and darkness” I should have been allowed to speak whatever words I wanted.

            I grew up among the authentically dark. Crime ran rampant in my area of town as well as drugs and rap. Racism terms were heard daily for me but none were appropriate for me to use. In this I am similar with “Rabbit” of Eight Mile. I thought it was ironic that Rabbit’s character sought the approval of the authentically dark. Through their approval Rabbit overcame the idea of race because he was fully integrated into them.

            Rabbit in I differ in one extreme way. While Rabbit felt the need to achieve by seeking their racial and social respect, I want respect of all people, regardless of race. I do not see race but I see people. I do this because if I had indeed identified the people I was around as a race, I would be the racist.

            The only way to combat racism is to ignore it. People attach senseless meaning to words. If no meaning was attached to the words, no one would feel discriminated against. Those using the idea of race are perpetuating the stereotype. Disregard race and listen to Eminem’s music as a struggle, It’s still really entertaining.

Princess Power, Pro or Con?

Parents, Disney, and Barbie… These are two main culprits behind Princess Culture. Our civilization has become so concerned with distinguishing gender and being normal, that children’s personalities are being left at the wayside.

            Children absorb information at an alarming rate. According to one site, “Decay is loss of information from memory as a consequence of die passage of time and lack of use. It has been suggested that memory is stored in memory traces, which disappear when not used for a long time.” It is also said that 2 hours after learning something 50% of information learned is loss. A mere 6 hours later less than 15% is retained. This, accompanied with media logic, can be extremely dangerous, particularly in young girls are involved with shows marketed to them.

            If you were to analyze a classic Disney movie such as The Little Mermaid one would find a bevy of underlying detrimental themes. To continue with The Little Mermaid, a viewer could see Princess Ariel (lead) as an active female character. Empowering for women right? Only on the surface…

            The messages presented are also much more detrimental. What it really shows to young women is an abundance of personality flaws. Ariel gives up everything in pursuit of a man. She essentially sells her sole to a witch. Her talent (her voice), her family, her life, and all of her friends are given up in pursuit of a man. This encourages young women to make negative and drastically life altering decisions for a man.

            Similar negative effects can be seen in young boys. A young boy could see this and immediately think that love will find him if he can look good enough and fix all of someone else’s problems.

            After the decay happens, what are children left with? Truth be told, children are not remembering all of the show, only that though Ariel was active in the story, it required a man to come save her. I am not bashing Princess or Superhero cultures but instead offering an alternative. Don’t put the pressure on your children to assume a role. Remove the gender barriers and let your children decide.

Superhero or Zero Value?

Would you let your child watch Captain Planet, Dragon Ball Z, or even Thundercats? All of the previously mentioned shows revolve around the central idea of Superheroes. Our culture today has developed into one of parroting what we see around us. Media logic runs rampant and individuals cannot afford to go without paying attention to what is being presented. In our class we have discussed many varying thoughts about the subject of Superhero’s and their influence on young children.

Before one can accurately examine the positive and negative aspects of this culture, a brief history of how children learn must be explained. According to many social psychologists children learn in three stages:

“1. preparatory stage - meaningless imitation by the infant; assumes roles but doesn't understand what they are

   2. play stage - actual playing of roles occurs; but no unified conception of self

   3. game stage - completion stage of self; child finds himself; must respond to simultaneous roles; the individual can act with a certain amount of consistency in a variety of situations because he/she acts in accordance with a generalized set of expectations and definitions he/she has internalized”

            Children begin observing at a very young age. If you camp your child in front of a television constantly as it blares these types of television of programs what will they retain. Messages such as sculpting body image, fighting for what you believe in, punishing those who stand against you, relying on teamwork to save you, or men must be active.

            The question now arises, are these positive or negative messages? Pros of these messages such as sculpting body image or, men must be active could lead to a healthy life style involving fitness. Pros exist in the other mentioned areas as well. Fighting for what you believe in and relying on teamwork all offer positive messages enforcing cooperation and standing firm in your belief.

            All the viewpoints afore mentioned possibly could be seen as negative. Through the attainment of these goals however, is where problems occur. Boys often get the message that to achieve these goals it is okay to hurt others. The message becomes mixed and discrepancies arise with what the real message being presented is.

            My children one day will be watching television and dealing with other children and I will run into the issue of what to let me children watch. Superheroes or the alternative… You decide.

World Of EarthCraft

Online games are dominating our culture. As mentioned by Jane McGonigal of the future institute humans have played over 5.2 million hours of games. McGonigal views this as a positive thing. She says that if we can shift people into playing positive games, the world can change for the better. Games that benefit mankind are the focus of McGonigal’s research. Though these pro-world games exist, it seems unlikely they will take.

            I will admit that I used to be addicted to playing games. I played over 60 hours a week at my worst. Often I wish that I had spent the time doing something positive for myself, rather than wasting away on an online world. Everquest and World of Warcraft were my games. My characters were the highest level with the best gear. I poured more emotion, time, money, and health into that game than anything else at the time. When my parents traded my accounts for a social life I was depressed for weeks. Imagine writing a book and it is burned in front of you before anyone can read it. That was the heartbreak and desolation I felt.

            Now, I ask you to imagine over 500,000 other people with that love and determination for a digital world. Can you imagine them trading their “books” in for real world advances? The feat seems impassible. There is, however, one hope. Our saving grace exists within only a percentage of gamers and hopefully a new generation that is not already emotionally invested in their games. If only a portion of the Earth’s gamers were to invest their time in something like this, then it does seem possible. Given today’s self-centered society and a gamer’s need to escape reality, I don’t think McGonigal’s world benefiting game is plausible… yet.