Media from today's class

Militainment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8yeSgJpJq0

Assignment 2 Examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIev3MCuypk&feature=player_embedded
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIsl4k8pLXo

"Coolness" of Football Uniforms

Here is my second post. Blogger wouldn't cooperate so here is the YouTube link.

Blog Post Two: "Coolness" of Football

Sorry for the delay. Picture citations are at the end of the video. However, one picture I forgot to cite was from the St. Louis Rams website. Thanks and hope you enjoy the post!

Crazy Branding World

This weekend I was walking through Target when I saw a board game that I'd never seen before.  It's called "The Logo Board Game."   My first thought was wondering why they could not come up with a more creative name for said board game.  But then I thought about when we were talking about branding in class.  A brand is not simply a logo on a product, but the logo certainly plays a role in a consumer identifying a brand.  I watched a video from timetoplaymag.com that reviewed the board game.  The man in the video described the game in a way that I found very interesting.  He explained that the game is about how well you've been paying attention to the logos around you.  I found this explanation interesting because it seemed like he was trying to promote the game as an educational tool.  While I admit it definitely takes knowledge, to me, the game just proved to be another way that brands are infiltrating our world at an alarming rate.

I began to wonder how many hoops Spin Master toys had to jump through in order to put the hundreds of companies logos on their board game.  Yet, I wondered if all these companies might have paid Spin Master for the free advertisement.  It seems rather innocent,  you buy the board game because it looks fun and it has the logos of brands you love, but maybe there are other motives behind it.  For the companies featured in the game, it gets their name and angle out there even more.  They do not have to bombard people with advertisements, they simply have to hope people want to play the game with all of their friends.  It is extremely clever, but also a little unnerving once you really begin to think about it.

Extra Credit

Hey Everyone!

Here are the details for the extra credit that I talked about today.

"Why Did I Just Watch That? Essentials of Entertainment Theory"
Jennings Bryant
Wednesday, February 29th @ 7:30 P.M.
Pruis Hall

Stealing Creativity.

When our class first learned about cool hunting, I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever heard of. The idea that forty year old women control the latest trend was fascinating to me, because we often think that they are made by celebrities and other people that we deem “cool”.

Now after days of letting the material marinate, I think it is a crime to humanity. That statement may sound a little bit dramatic, but it is true. These women think they are harmlessly snapping pictures, but in reality they are stealing the very essence of that person.

Even though trendsetters hate to admit it, they are constantly aware of how they look. I have many creative, fashionable friends. All of them take time to formulate what they are wearing so everything coordinates with their creative vibe and how they feel. They take pride in being individuals and expressing their inspired vibes. They are the painters, their bodies are the canvas, and the clothes they chose are the paint.

But the biggest problem with cool-hunting is that they profit off of someone else’s ideas. To many people, this may not seem like a big deal. Normal people would shrug it off, but let’s use an example.

Let’s take an example of an up and coming barely known artist. This artist slaves and spend hours of time and effort to express him or herself to the best of his or her ability. Once the song is completed a random person steals the song and sells it to a large recording label. Next thing you know, Rihanna is singing the song and making billions of dollars.

Corporations are making a lot of money off of other people’s creativity.

We used to think that only tangible items could be stolen and marketed.

BUT…

BE AWARE BECAUSE NOW THE ARE COMING AFTER OUR CREATIVITY!

Capitalism and its rule over Democracy

I believe there was more to say in our class discussion of the ties between capitalism and democracy. In class we seemed to concede as a group that there was no problem with our democratic system being held in the balance by corporations and brands. We also agreed that we were hopelessly entangled in this system. We are surrounded by brands and brands are introduced to our children and become recognizable as early as 18 months. We also agreed that it is by virtue of our democracy that citizens have the right to allow capitalism to lead our decision-making on products we buy and television programs we watch. After class I began to realize that this could in fact be very dangerous. As a society if we let corporate power outweigh our rights as citizens of a democracy, we are simply becoming pawns to corporate decisions and our politics become the policies of corporate endorsed lobbies. Many of which do not have our health or safety in mind and are purely in the game for profit.



Nick Naylor portrays a corporate lobbyist for the big tobacco companies in the movie "Thank You for Smoking" and is an example of the way corporations can influence decisions in our nation. For example in this movie the tobacco lobbies are paid millions of dollars to in some cases bribe politicians to pass policy that is beneficial to their industry. Furthermore, I do not necessarily see it as a good thing that our children can recognize brands like Mcdonalds that serves beef raised in feed houses and does not care about the health of its patrons. When corporate power goes unchecked and it outweighs the voices of individuals, I believe that we are no longer a nation by the people for the people, but rather we are a nation by the corporation for the corporation.

Celebrity Award Shows Blog Post:

Every year millions of human beings tune into the Oscars, Grammys, SAG awards, and Golden Globes in an effort to see which popular songs, TV shows and major motion pictures will win a prestigious title of the year. Rich in elegance and flair, award shows such as these delight the masses as people relish and wonder in the thought of what it might be like to experience fame for a few hours. Aside from just the entertainment provided during the shows themselves these televised events have also helped to spur shows such as Fashion Police on E! network and other commentary on popular shows such as Good Morning America and the Today Show. Everything from the gowns and garb that celebrities walked the red carpet in, to the gossip surrounding who is likely to win and even who might be in attendance for the event is all the buzz amongst different media outlets in the days leading up to event. More specifically though, if we examine these types of events with regard to popular culture and the narrative perspective that is outlined in our text we can too begin to see that human beings love a good story. In many respects the narrative perspective largely surrounds the idea that through story telling human beings eclectically engage in popular culture. In the stories that swirl from news agencies and media outlets leading up to the event and even after the award show has passed highlights the very idea that human beings are vested in their time an effort to engage in a good story. Stories today differ, and whether it is watching the nightly news or reading a trendy blog about popular culture it seems that in the end there is no denying the lengths to which individual will go to delve into a new narrative.

Gladwell and Stone on Activism

     The discussion in class between the views of Gladwell and Stone have been on my mind and there have been many situations that have come up causing me to think more deeply into the topic of activism. I like to think of myself as a caring individual who will go out of my way to protect someone/something or fight for something I believe in, so since our in class discussion I have been analyzing my habits surrounding the topic of activism.

     The definition of activism is: The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change. By this definition I would consider myself an activist; I donate money here and there for causes when I can afford to, I occasionally retweet tweets when they mention campaigns for non-profits, I try and shop on days when companies donate a portion of their profits to charities and so on. So, in this sense, according to this definition, I would consider myself an activist. However, after reading Gladwell’s article I feel like calling myself an activist is somewhat insulting to other individuals that have done much more and that have put much more on the line for causes they believe in.

     After reading both Gladwell and Stones articles, discussing the articles in class, reviewing my habits and researching the topic a little more I cannot say I choose one author over the other as correct but I will state that I agree more with Gladwell than I do Stone. I agree with Stone in the fact that little things people do can make a great impact and that doing something little, such as spreading the word on Twitter, is better than doing nothing at all. I don’t agree with Gladwell’s statement that you’re body must be put in physical harm to be considered an activist but I do believe that if you are going to call yourself an activist of something you have to do more then retweet or share something via the internet while your sitting in the comfort of your home; to be considered an activist you must do everything in your power to better that situation you are supporting. If you are not doing everything possible to support your cause you are not an activist, you’re just a person who did a good deed. 

Survivor Men Vs. Women

Survivor just started their 23rd season on Wednesday with a twist that not only included the men being pitted against the women but it included the fact that they would all be living in one place thus the name One World. The first episode can be looked at from a Marxist approach in what is normal in interactions on survivor versus what is normal in interactions outside of survivor. Using the Preferred perspective in the marxist approach the women needed the men's help to get fire and in order to do this the women wove palms together to create the roof of the men's shelter. The women also seemed to be a lot weaker than the men and they were the first to experience an injury during the challenge. The men played a little dirty which in real life isn't something that would happen which could be an example of the inflected oppositional perspective. This was oppositional because in real life men would not have stolen from the women or ended a challenge early just because they had the chance to but it is inflected because in the game of survivor these things are normal. I find the relationship and how alliances are formed to be one of the most interesting parts of survivor. The men and women both decided to create alliances based on the strength of members which happens to be really important due to the fact that if the tribes can't win the challenges they have no chance to ultimately win the game.

This is a link to the overview of the men vs. women idea:

http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/2198307059/survivor-men-vs-women

The inflected oppositional perspective in action:

http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/2196898241/survivor-one-world-no-second-chances

The rest of the season could be interesting because the last time survivor did a men vs women season the women ended up being mostly all lesbians and creating a really strong bond that the men couldn't break. In this season that does not seem to be the case but the interrelations between the tribes who are living in the same place could get interesting in terms of future alliances.

Nick + The '90s

In class on Thursday we briefly talked about television shows from our childhood and how many of them are starting to show up again. This past Summer, Teen Nick aired some of Nickelodeon’s old shows from the ‘90s. I was excited to watch Doug and All That for the first time in years. Of course they weren’t as great as I remembered, which made me a little sad, but it was pretty cool to be able to see Pierre escargot and Patty Mayonaise on television again and to see the shows of my childhood trending on Twitter.

As happy as I was that Nick was curing a little bit of my ‘90s and childhood nostalgia, I was pretty disappointed they didn’t air Are You Afraid of the Dark? The show was definitely one of my favorites. I remember the eerie intro with an empty boat rocking in the water and a skateboard moving across a creaky attic floor. I loved watching the show even though I would lie awake in bed at night wondering if the pool I frequented during the summer was built over a graveyard or not. I realize now that the storylines and dialogue would be on the verge of extreme corniness, the outfits and style outdated, and the acting bad. I wouldn’t mind though, because Are You Afraid of the Dark? takes me right back to my childhood, and the intro still gives me chills like it did when I was a kid!

Here’s a clip to an episode about a creepy radio station and the afterlife. For those of you who care, Ryan Gossling might show up...so keep watching. :)   

Cool Hunters I Follow

In class Thursday we talked about cool hunters and how they go out and find individualism in fashion and how in the videos we watched about the culture of cool one of the ladies were taking photos of people walking on the street. Well I follow 2 cool hunters that are based out of New York City. One of the cool hunter sites I follow is http://swaggernewyork.com/profilin/. This website goes around New York City in different parts of New York and takes photos of individuals own interpretation of fashion.