Obama’s speech March 25, 2008

Recently, Barack Obama gave a speech about political issues and race. This is the kind of media coverage that people need to base their decision on rather than commercials which for instance make an attempt to scare people into voting one way or the other rather than showing the candidates’ opinion and suggestions having to do with political issues. Obama clearly stated what issues this country needs to focus on and how he plans on fixing them, and how it is important to solve smaller problems such as racism and work up to bigger ones like health care; before we start solving any other problems, we really do need to become united and one way to help is solving the problem of racism. When it comes to slavery in the past, he is basically saying not to let a ruined past ruin the present. He brought up how he dealt with terrible comments from his pastor which highlighted his personality and the way he deals with issues, fairly and effectively. I think that his speech was very powerful and genuine, and he made it clear that he was not just trying to get the black vote explaining that everyone needs to play a part in solving the problem of racism that we still see today. It is everyone’s responsibility, no matter what race, to put minute differences aside to become a united country so that we can get past other, bigger problems we are facing. After his speech, I think that Obama is a very powerful public speaker and made it clear that he would actively work to make these changes happen if he were to be President.

Art and Media March 20, 2008

In class we talked about the definition and the role of art in media. It made me realize that art plays a huge part in conveying messages. One piece of art has the ability to send different, even numerous messages to different people, even maybe more powerful or different messages than what the artist intended. For example, in movies, lighting or camera angles, etc can help to make a scene more dramatic and send out a more powerful message rather than simply just monotonously stating the message. Even books have the ability to create a visual in your mind to better understand the moral or message. For example, I know a lot of people who will read a poem and say, well why couldn’t he have just said his message it in simple terms instead of including all this abstraction, but other people are actually touched by them and better understand the message. To me, commercials with more color, more art, are more eye catching, exciting, and more memorable than dull, sluggish commercials making the more artful one more effective. I think that by using art, the media reaches more people than they would if they did not use art. It is human nature to be attracted to “pretty” things, to pay more attention to those things.

3AM ad March 20, 2008

In class, we watched a commercial encouraging people to vote for Hillary Clinton. The point of the commercial was to scare people into voting for her, which I found a little ridiculous. It implied that if citizens did not vote for Hillary, their children would face the consequences. I found it funny how one of the children in the ad is now a high school student actively supporting Obama. People should not base their vote on advertisements such as this because it doesn’t represent the candidate accurately. If Hillary’s phone rings, is she personally going to pick it up? I doubt it. The ad did not base their ad on the leadership qualities or other qualities that make up a good President, and it did not even talk about her standing on political issues, but rather sent out the message, “if you do not vote for Hillary, you are harming your children,” and I do not think that trying to scare people is a very ethical way to get them to vote for her; the credibility of the ad is minimized especially because on top of trying to use fear in order to persuade, one of the children in the actual ad is a strong supporter of Obama presently.

Blogging March 17, 2008

In class we watched a video about blogging and it brought up the question of whether bloggers should be considered journalists. I think that in some ways they are since the whole goal of journalists is to get news across to their audience, and whether a blogger is writing about current events or just their own lives, they are still targeting an audience and trying to get their news known. However, they certainly do not have the same standing as a journalist who thoroughly researches his or her topics and backs up his or her standpoint, whereas I’m just jotting down my opinions for example. They work a lot harder than a simple blogger; they get their work edited, they rewrite, what they write should be considered a lot more credible than a random blogger who may not have a clue to what he or she is writing about. I don’t think bloggers should be required to abide by the same rules as journalists because I see blogging as a way for people to say what they want to say and how they want to say it- the freedom of speech.

New Technology March 13, 2008

In Chapter 6, Berger raises the question of whether or not we should continue to create more advanced technology if we have the ability to do so. I feel like in some ways it would be beneficial to society but destructive in other ways. For example it would be constructive to have advanced technology to cure diseases that, as of now, we are not able to, but as technology advances, machines may end up taking over peoples’ jobs. But even when he asked this question, in my mind, I feel like newer technology is a part of our evolution; if we can create something, we will. Controversial issues of the past are not issues in today’s society, and in fact are commonly accepted. So, although the development of new technology might seem controversial today, in the future it might be common practice to use stem cells, for example. However, newer technology could also make the world a more self sufficient place by increasing productivity in factories, and making things like cell phones and computers cheaper to buy. This could unite social classes because it would make it easier for people with meager wages to obtain things that are out of their reach presently and also allow them to have a better education because computers and lab equipment would be attainable. On the other hand, newer technology could also mean easier means of creating weapons of mass destruction, and in the wrong hands, this could mean the end of society as we know it.