Globalizations Connection with Cultural Imperialism

            Hello fellow RTF classmates. I hope you all are having an awesome weekend; and may I just add: 51-17 HOOKE ‘EM \m/. That win that we’ve been longing for definitely made the weekend that much sweeter for me. This week’s blog post I will be discussing GLOBALIZATION and how it connects to CULTURAL IMPERIALISM. I hope you all enjoy my blog post and learn something along the way as well.

            What exactly is globalization? According to my “Media Now” textbook, “globalization is reducing differences that existed between nations in time, space, and culture” (Media Now, 503). Globalization of media is accelerated by technological advances, and increases interconnectedness among nations, cultures, and individuals. It brings an increase of opportunities for communication, migration of people across national borders, and exchange of material and symbolic goods. Globalization of communications media has some main issues; among these issues, cultural imperialism is included. Cultural imperialism occurs when one or more countries dominate all others in the media. In cultural imperialism, “cultural flow reflects an imbalance in global power structure. Global media flow has been very unequal in terms of direction and volume” (Straubhaar). In present time, there are only very few U.S. or transnational conglomerates that dominate global media flow. As a whole, the people of the United States have transformed from a nation that saves to one that mainly consumes. Computers are a good example of media that illustrates the ideas of cultural imperialism.

            Although computers have the ability to promote U.S. corporate centralization of global operations, computer networks and data transfers also allow for high-end jobs, for example computer programming, to be transferred to lower waged nations such as India. This has become an offshore outsourcing center for several corporations of all sizes. A situation like this depicts an economic opportunity for a number of Indians, but will result in a loss of jobs for a handful of Americans who had previously held the jobs that did that type of work. High-end computer programming and systems analyst jobs are being increasingly exported to India and other countries as well. This reverses the patter of dominance and determines where it is held. “In fact, an increasingly dense and complex integration of companies’ operations between the U.S., India, and lots of other places via the Internet is now one of the most crucial defining characteristics of globalization for many people” (Media Now, 529). This allows for the U.S. to outsource jobs to low labor cost countries, such as India.

            I hope you all enjoyed my blog post for this week and learned at least a little something about how globalization connects to cultural imperialism. You all will probably think that this is a really random video that I have given to you below, but, despite that, I’m giving it to you anyways! This is a video that I took at a Michael Buble concert in Dallas, TX this year. For those of you who don't know of him, he is the next Frank Sinatra. He is one of my favorite singer/songwriter/performers, so hopefully if none of you knew him before, you know him now and enjoy his music. Seems to always put me in a good mood! I hope you all enjoy and have an awesome Thanksgiving break!!

The Power and Persuasiveness of Victoria's Secret Ads

           What’s up everyone, I hope you are all having a great weekend. This past week was insanely busy for me, so this relaxing, stress-free weekend is exactly what I needed. This week’s blog I will be discussing Victoria’s Secret advertisements, their power, persuasiveness, and the specific appeal of advertising that it uses. I’m sure that most of you, just like me, aren’t the biggest advertisement fans out there. Most people tend to just ignore the ads in television until their show that they’re viewing comes back on. Though, there are a few ads that catch our eyes, and in my opinion, Victoria Secret not only attracts attention from the females who wear their clothing, but also the men who buy their product for their significant other.

            Music is my number one passion in this world. While browsing on an internet free music website, a large advertisement appeared in the background that caught my eye: a Victoria’s Secret advertisement. Also, I have recently been seeing Victoria’s Secret ads on the television as well. What do these ads consist of you ask? They tend to feature young, beautiful, thin, busty, female underwear models. I find these advertisements to be powerful and persuasive, because unlike many other ads that search for one target audience, I believe that with their ads, Victoria’s Secret not only reaches the women who wear their product, but also men who buy their product for their significant others. By reaching more than one target audience, Victoria’s Secret has a very powerful advertisement strategy that could, and more than likely does produce many more sales than your average advertisement. There are several different potential appeals of advertising, but the one that applies to these ads is the sex, affiliation appeal.

            The sex, affiliation appeal is the use of sexual or erotic imagery to present products that a certain company produces, and to attract potential customers to make sales for the company. Sex appeal in ads especially targets a young audience, one whose hormones run much higher than that of others. Most ads that feature sex appeal present women in erotic forms over using men. Sex appeal advertising gives the concept that not only the product itself is being sold to the consumer, but certain values and attitudes are being ‘sold’ as well. These values, for example, can be anything from a woman buying a product that will allow her to be a sexually attractive as the girl in the advertisement that supposedly used the product, or a guy seeing a beer commercial using sex appeal with a woman, making him believe that if he consumes that beer then he will also get the girl.

            The Victoria’s Secret ads and the sex appeal that it uses have proven to be very affective over time. The sexual and erotic way that the Victoria’s Secret advertisements portray their product on beautiful women grabs the attention of both women and men. Seeing the product on these models can have the effect of making women want to purchase the product to obtain the same sexual appeal and appearance as these models. Men can be attracted to these ads because of a similar reason: they want to purchase Victoria’s Secret products for their girlfriend or significant other in hopes that she will take on the appearance of one of the models in the advertisement. Sex appeal in Victoria’s Secret advertisements is very persuasive toward both female and male sexes, and is very powerful.

            Sex appeal is widely used in current time in advertisements from all over the world. Some reach more people than others, but the Victoria’s Secret ads, in my opinion, have overall been affective. They reach not only one target audience, but women and men alike. I hope you all enjoyed my blog post for this week. I have added a link to a Victoria’s Secret advertisement that is displayed on television. I hope you all had a great weekend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmNEG8IFd_Y

Hollywood's Three Act Structure in "The Proposal"

            First off, as usual, I hope you all are having a great start to the weekend. We’re playing Baylor, HOOK ‘EM!! \\m//, and it is also Halloween weekend which should be pretty fun. Second, I would like to say: SPOILER ALERT!! If you have never seen this movie, this blog entry may ruin it for you haha. I will be discussing Hollywood’s THREE ACT STRUCTURE and how it works within one of my favorite movies “The Proposal”. “The Proposal” is about a guy named Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) who, in order to keep his job, is forced by his boss Margaret (Sandra Bullock) to marry her so that she does not have to get deported back to Canada. This is a really funny comedy romance film with many amazing, A-list actors and actresses. Ryan Reynolds is one of my favorite actors, and in my opinion does an amazing job in “The Proposal”. I hope you all enjoy this week’s blog!!

            Hollywood’s three act structure is broken down into three parts: the introduction (approx. 30 minutes), the complication (approx. 30-60 minutes), and the resolution (approx. 30 minutes).  Acts one and two contain plot points which escalate stakes, imply complication, and end the act. Plot points are the equivalence to transitions and propel action into the next act. Act three, or the resolution, contains the climax which is the point of greatest intensity in the development and resolution of the film. In Hollywood’s three act structure the climax is shifted toward the end of the film. In the first act of “The Proposal”, the assistant editor of a publishing company (Andrew) shows up to his work. Once the editor in chief, or his boss (Margaret), arrives at work all of the employees scramble around to try to make it seem as if they were very busy. They are all scared of her because of the way she presents herself and treats others. Margaret soon gets called in to talk to people of higher authority in her building and tells her assistant Andrew to come and get her in ten minutes. She finds out that she is being deported for a year and tries everything she can to talk her way out of it, but fails to do so. When Andrew comes in to get her to leave he makes up an excuse to get her out of there. In Andrew’s last few words of his excuse he says, “I told her you were otherwise engaged, she insisted”. Margaret thinks about the word “engaged” and she makes a quick decision. In order to stay in America and not be deported she tells the men of higher authority that she and Andrew are getting married. In order to save both of their jobs, they must go to the immigration office to settle this issue. After talking to Mr. Gilbertson of the immigration office, Margaret and Andrew are told that if he finds out that they are committing fraud that Margaret will be deported and Andrew will face a fine and serve jail time. They have a schedule interview with Mr. Gilbertson to answer questions on one another and he will also be frequently checking up on them. Once leaving the immigration office, Andrew tells Margaret to get down on one knee and ask him nicely to marry her, in which he says okay. This is where the act peaks known as the plot point number one that implies that complication is about to begin, propels action into the next act, and asks a question that the next act will answer. The time of this plot point is about 21 minutes into the movie, and it escalates the stakes and ends the act.

            The second act begins with Margaret and Andrew on a plane to go to Sitka, Alaska to go visit Andrew’s family and to tell them about their engagement. During the trip they must review and learn the answers to questions that only a couple would know about each other for the interview with Mr. Gilbertson. Once reaching Andrew’s parent’s house, Margaret and Andrew encounter several physical and emotional complications. For example, when they first get to the house at Andrew’s welcome home party, Andrew announces his and Margaret’s engagement. After doing so, everyone shouts out for them two to kiss. Once they kiss, they have a real moment and seem to enjoy kissing each other, which really throws them both off. Another example is one night when they are about to go to sleep they start having a very personal conversation that turned out to be a good one. They are awoken by Andrew’s family who come in with breakfast and also a proposition. They want Margaret and Andrew to get married there at their home in Alaska the next day. They are forced to say yes because Andrew’s “Gammy” comes in and says that she wants to see her only grandson get married before she’s dead. They say yes to this proposition and Andrew freaks out. Margaret is there for him and makes him feel better, and the two of them have another moment together. They both realize that they are actually falling for each other, so Margaret then has a “freak out” moment herself and has to leave the house to go think about things. This is the plot point number two that occurs 66 minutes into the movie. This sets up the complications and action that will occur in the last act, which is the resolution, and also asks a question of what is going to happen at the marriage ceremony that will be answered in the third and final act.

            The third and final act is known as the resolution. One of the first complications in this act comes when Andrew’s mother, grandmother, and Margaret go to a shop to get Margaret fitted in her wedding dress. Once after talking about being a part of the family, Margaret gets very emotional and has a meltdown because she forgot what it was like to have a family. Another complication arises when Mr. Gilbertson calls Andrew’s dad and his dad invites Mr. Gilbertson over to the house where they made a deal. The deal was that if Andrew confessed then he would be free and Margaret would be deported. Andrew told them that he and Margaret were in love and that they were getting married. In the middle of the wedding ceremony Margaret announces that she has something to say. Margaret confesses the whole thing once she found out how wonderful of a person Andrew was, and called the wedding off. This proved that Margaret was really in love with Andrew, and didn’t want to hurt him or his family. Andrew goes to look for Margaret and finds a letter from her to him. He realizes that he is actually in love with her and tries to catch her at the airport before she leaves to go to New York. Her flight leaves before he could catch it, and he does not get to tell her that he loves her before she is gone. Andrew then flies to New York and catches Margaret while she is packing at the office before she is deported to Canada. Andrew confesses his love to her and asks her to marry him, so he could take her on a date. She told him that she thought it would just be easier if she left, and he said, “You’re right. That would be easier.”  They both told each other that they were scared, knowing that they were in love, and then they kissed. This is the climax in the third act that occurs approximately 100 minutes into the movie, with around 8 minutes left of the rest of the film before the ending. The whole movie built up to this one point in the resolution that held the greatest intensity. The very ending showed clips of them with Mr. Gilbertson in their interview at the immigration office to end with them taking the step further to getting married.

            I hope you all enjoyed my blog post for this weekend. If you have never seen this film I HIGHLY recommend that you do!! The duo of Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock makes for an outstanding film. This film to me was a great example of Hollywood’s three act structure. I have included a link to a video of the trailer for the movie “The Proposal”. It’s a must see, so see it soon!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFL8b1p1ELY

Characteristics of the TV Sitcom and That 70's Show

            Hey everyone, hope you all are having a great weekend. This week’s blog post is about characteristics of the TV sitcom. I’m going to discuss how it functions within the sitcom genre, and I am also going to apply that characteristic of the genre to one of my all time favorite sitcoms: “That 70’s Show”. This episodic sitcom no longer runs new episodes, but it still runs on TV today. This is no doubt a great comedy sitcom that we as college students can look at and relate to, no matter which character it is that we are relating to.

            The television situation comedy, TV sitcom for short, is a genre of comedy that possesses several unique characteristics. A situation comedy is based on a storyline that usually consists of a family, a group of friends and/or acquaintances, or even a place of work with ongoing characters that consistently hold a place on the show almost every episode, if not every. The situations in the sitcoms can change show after show, and they also have the ability to play out across several simultaneous episodes where the characters and situations begin to change and evolve. Sitcom episodic characteristics include modified three act structure, series as cumulative and seasonal text, mini resolutions, cycles and repeated patterns, and character growth. With cycles and repeated patterns, the audience becomes familiar with the same characters and situations that each episode presents. Similar comedic situations, environments, and phrases are used episode after episode to act somewhat as a trademark of that certain TV sitcom for viewers to relate to. Another characteristic is character growth. During the time span of the episodes of a TV sitcom, characters usually grow in certain aspects such as age, adolescence, intelligence, responsibilities, growth in friendships and relationships, and etc. The characters’ growth and certain occurring situations during the TV sitcoms episodes combine comedy with seriousness, but making sure that comedy is the most important, utilized aspect, and is used throughout the sitcom.

            One of my all time favorite TV sitcoms is “That 70’s Show”. This show is based on the life of Eric Forman, his family, and his close-knit group of five friends: Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Fez, and Jackie. Based in Point Place, Wisconsin in the 1970’s, this situation comedy covered issues such as sexuality, drug use, feminism, the recession, and mistrust of the American government, all strategically acted out and combined in such a way to make each and every one of them comical in their own special way. “That 70’s Show” features the characteristic of cycles and repeated patterns. Similar characters, such as Eric Forman and friends (Donna, Hyde, Kelso, Fez, Jackie), Eric and Donna’s parents (Kitty and Red Forman, Midge and Bob Pinciotti), and a local hippie named Leo. These familiar characters consistently appear in a couple of main locations where the comedy takes place. These environments include: Eric Forman’s house (inside and outside), Eric Forman’s basement, the Vista Cruiser (Eric Forman’s car), and The Hub (a local eating joint where the gang hangs out at). The whole gang over time begins to develop phrases that stick with them throughout the episodes that the viewers become very familiarized with. Some of these phrases include: Fez’s “You son of a b***h”, Eric Forman’s “What the hell”, Kelso’s “Burn”, and probably the most well known is Red Forman’s “Dumbass”. All of these cycles and repeated patterns in the comedy of the characters, phrases, and environments are what made the TV sitcom “That 70’s Show” what it was. Another characteristic of the TV sitcom “That 70’s Show” is the strategy that the creators of the show used to comically present the growth of all of the main characters throughout the episodes. In this show from the beginning episode to the ending episodes the characters grow in age, adolescence, responsibilities, friendships and relationships. For example, in the beginning episodes Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti were just friends that had a crush on each other, but over the course of the episodes they started to date each other. When later episodes were made Donna and Eric got engaged, but near the end of the episodes they split up and were no longer a couple. The gang’s friendship grew stronger and closer throughout the episodes, grew older in age, and went through adolescence and matured over the years together.

            The TV sitcom “That 70’s Show” exhibits characters, phrases, and environments that show repeated patterns, and show the growth of the characters over time all combined with comedy. There are many TV sitcoms that each possess different and also some of the same characteristics that function within the sitcom genre. If you have not seen "That 70's Show" I HIGHLY recommend seeing it at least once in your lifetime. But I warn you: once you see it once, you'll be hooked! I hope you all enjoyed my blog entry for this week. Here is a link to a video of the opening credits of the first season of “That 70’s Show”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_3ECxWjPyc

The Shot Progression and Camera Angles in the movie "Gladiator"

            Hey everyone, hope your weekend is going a little smoother than mine. I don’t know about you, but classes are keeping me plenty busy! I’m doing this weekend’s blog post on scenes from the movie “Gladiator”. I will be taking different scenes and will analyze them to present to you the different camera angles and the progression of the shots that have been used. There are three different progression shots: long shot, medium shot, and the close up. There are also three different camera angles: eye level shot, low angle shot, and high angle shot. All of these different shots and angles will tell the viewers something important about the characters and surroundings in the shots, and how to feel for them emotionally. This is no doubt an incredible film. I would say I hope you enjoy this blog, but considering that it’s “Gladiator”, I know you will!

            The scene that I am going to address is titled “A Soldier’s Death”. In this scene Caesar has elected Maximus (Russell Crowe) to become the new Caesar, and not his own son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Because of Commodus’ jealousy, Maximus is sent to be assassinated on Commodus’ order. He does this before anyone knows of Maximus’ duty to become the next Caesar, therefore Commodus is hailed as the new Caesar. When Maximus now on foot enters the woods detained by Caesar’s guards, director Ridley Scott uses a long shot, or orientation shot, to show the audience the details of where the assassination would be taking place. There was dead grass, broken branches, brush, and even bones lying everywhere. It seemed to be a very sad and dead place, which is symbolic to the assassination that is supposed to take place. Next was a medium shot that gave the needed information on the status of the main character at that time. The medium shot showed that Maximus was tied up and in the guards’ full control. He was subject to the guards’ command, and was helpless. Although these shots appeared to be nothing but bad news for Maximus, Scott also used a low angle shot to show that Maximus, although detained and about to face death, still held power. This was important because it foretold events that may occur in the near future. One of the next shots in the scene presented a close up shot to give important detail on Maximus’ facial expressions, so the audience would be able to see, and even feel what he was feeling at that moment in time. The close up shot was held on his face, which is known as shock progression. At first Maximus’ eyes were watering, appearing to exhibit the feeling of sadness and desperation because he knew his life was soon to be at an end. But then, still using a close up shot, he acquires a new look in his eyes: one that makes him appear to have an idea or a plan to try to save his own life. A low angle shot is also used to show that Maximus is still very powerful in this shot. This shot was used very well, because in this scene Maximus, right before getting ‘a soldier’s death’, rises from his knees to not only fight, but kill all of the guards to escape with his life. Once Maximus escapes and rides off on a horse, at first a long shot and eye level shot are used. These two shots together show Maximus’ surroundings and where he is at, and also how he is very much alone and now neutral in power. The shot soon turns into a long shot with a high angle shot. This presented a very sad, alone, and powerless Maximus riding an extremely far distance through the mountains trying to get to his home and family. Once he reaches home, he finds that his farm, crops, and family have all been burnt and killed. A series of eye level close up shots were used to show the pain and agony that Maximus felt. These eye level close ups show a crying, speechless, heartbroken, beaten down man that felt he had nothing left to live for, and they allowed the viewers to truly feel the pain and suffering that Maximus was going through at that moment in time. This part of the scene was perfectly shot, because it was let known that this was Maximus’ lowest point in the film.

            Ridley Scott uses a series of different shots in several scenes that hold an important place in the film “Gladiator”. This film was beautifully made, and some of the shots were the reason that the film turned out as great as it did. Depending on what the director of a film wants the audience to see and feel for different characters, he or she will use the different progression shots and camera angles accordingly. I am convinced that the film industry and movies would not be as popular today if it did not possess a variety of different progression shots and camera angles. Progression shots and camera angles tell the viewers what and how to think about the characters emotions and power, and also their surroundings. I hope you all enjoyed this weekend’s blog post. I sure did, considering that I got to watch different parts of one of my favorite movies! I have given a link to a video clip of the movie trailer to “Gladiator”. If you have never seen it, I HIGHLY suggest that you do. It’s greatness!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo

Film Studios and Their Star Systems

In this week’s blog post I am supposed to describe a specific aspect of how the studio system worked. There are many factors and individuals that contribute to the success, and unfortunately sometimes the failure, of film studios. In the next few paragraphs I will be discussing the importance of the STAR SYSTEM in Hollywood’s major film studios, and exactly how it functions and plays a huge role in the studio system.

As soon as Hollywood, California became the home of motion picture films, major film studios began “producing movies almost on an assembly line”, and developed teams of writers, directors, actors, technicians, equipment and etc., which allowed their production capabilities to grow at high rates (Media Now, 192). As production increased the studios began to understand that the popularity of certain actors/actresses was one of the main factors that contributed to the number of viewers the movie attracted. As a star was born, their “father” studio rose to the top; this is known as the STAR SYSTEM. The definition of star system in my “Media Now” textbook states, “The star system was the film studios’ use of stars’ popularity to promote their movies” (Media Now, 192). Studios now had a very valuable marketing technique that promoted studio films, and in result earned many more viewers. Each studio had its own star system which gave them their own style that differed from all of the others. Studios now began to develop their own genres that attracted different groups of viewers.

Whether the studios produced prestigious films, B movies, or both, the actors/actresses were bringing in consistent profits for their studios. Each film studio had their own star system, and each actor/actress had their own set of talents and acting skills that they were best at and well known for. This allowed for the stars to act in the same types of movies time and time again. The stars started to become associated with a certain genre, rather than acting in all sorts of different types of movies. Film studios that had stars that were talented in the area of singing and dancing began to produce movies under the genre of musicals. Musicals allowed the actors/actresses the chance to act out their true talents in the film. Other genres included: westerns, horror, action/adventure, comedy, romances, war movies, and etc. Actors/actresses that showed a strong point in one certain genre began to continually appear in the same types of movies in that specific genre.

A good example of an actor/actress that was committed to a specific genre is MGM star Judy Garland. Judy Garland had a consistent set of character traits, such as singing and dancing, which associated her with the musical genre. She acted in movies like “The Wizard of OZ”, “Meet Me in St. Louis”, “A Star is Born”, and etc. Every time a movie starring Judy Garland was produced, the viewers would know exactly what to expect: at least one or two singing and dancing scenes featuring Judy Garland. MGM also used Judy Garland’s talent and popularity to promote several other MGM stars in her featured films. For example,  the film “Broadway Melody of 1938” features a young teenage Judy Garland who sings the song “You Made Me Love You” to a picture of another MGM star Clark Gable. This shows the technique that the MGM studio used in their star system. They used a very popular actress, Judy Garland, to promote another popular star, Clark Gable, in their film. Of course, this is only one example of many. MGM was not the only film studio to use this technique in promoting their stars and films.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend and enjoyed this week’s blog post. Film is a huge part of my life, I love it! But then again, who doesn’t. Here is a link to Judy Garland singing to the picture of Clark Gable in the film “Broadway Melody of 1938”. This was also talked about and shown in Colin Tait’s appearance in our RTF 305 class as a guest lecturer. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-5PGkg1yg0

Works Cited: Media Now textbook, Colin Tait.

"All in the Family" VS "The Brady Bunch"

The 1970’s featured many great sitcoms including: The Bad News Bears, Happy Days, The Jeffersons, Laverne and Shirley, M*A*S*H, Sanford and Son, and one of my favorite shows of all time, Three’s Company. In this week’s blog post I will be comparing two family-based TV situation comedies. In the blue corner we have “All in the Family”, and in the red corner we have “The Brady Bunch”. The gloves are on and the mouth guards are in. LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!

Although “All in the Family” and “The Brady Bunch” possess both differences and similarities, I personally believe that their differences present a much broader topic. “All in the Family” featured a family from Astoria, New York. This family included husband Archie Bunker, who was a working-class WWII veteran, wife Edith Bunker (dingbat), daughter Gloria Bunker (little girl), and son-in-law Michael Stivic (meathead). “The Brady Bunch” was also an American situation comedy that revolved around a family of eight (nine if you count Alice the housekeeper). This family included Mike Brady, who was a widowed architect and his three sons Greg, Peter, and Bobby, and also had a live-in house keeper named Alice. Mike married Carol who had three daughters, Marcia, Jan, and Cindy. In “The Brady Bunch” throughout the whole series the six Brady children are between the ages 6-18, where as in “All in the Family” series, Archie’s daughter Gloria and his son-in-law Mike are in college and then graduate college. In “All in the Family” although Archie and Edith love each other dearly, they often disagree with each other and get into quarrels; Archie continually calls his wife Edith a dingbat. Archie and his son-in-law Mike also have many differences and beliefs and often get into disagreements. Archie calls Mike a meathead. This differs from the relationship of Mike, Carol and their kids in “The Brady Bunch”. Mike and Carol Brady of course do have their differences like any married couple and family, but for the most part they agree and make sure that they have a very tight-knit, united family. Unlike the Bunker family in “All in the Family”, the Brady family in “The Brady Bunch” was clearly wealthier. Mike Brady was an architect; where as Archie Bunker was a dock foreman for a company. The Brady’s house, clothing, family trips, and etc. were all indicators of the Brady family being wealthier.

There are also some similarities in the two 1970’s sitcoms. Both “All in the Family” and “The Brady Bunch” are focused on the lives of a Caucasian family. This is important, because although racism was not as much of a big problem in the 70’s as it was in decades before, the shows still exhibited that the white race was dominant. Despite all of the disagreements and arguments, both the Bunker family and the Brady family showed that they could and would get past them and unite together with the ones that they loved. The creators of both “All in the Family” and “The Brady Bunch” wanted to show viewers what their view of the real American family was like and how they dealt with certain issues. Both of these families also had children. Although the Brady family has six children and the Bunker family only has one, two if you include the son-in-law Mike. No matter the amount of them on these two shows, the children play an important role in the families and shows. Both “All in the Family” and “The Brady Bunch” had loyal viewers who agreed with the views and opinions of the shows and their characters, and really related with the shows in general.

“All in the Family” was an American situation comedy that depicted the issues of racism, homosexuality, women’s liberation, politics, and etc., which were topics that used to be believed as unsuitable for a television sitcom. This sitcom revolved around the main character, Archie Bunker’s views and beliefs on the controversial topics, and how he was “dismissive of anyone not in agreement with his view of the world” (Wikipedia). In “The Brady Bunch” the issues covered by this sitcom were not near as harsh as the ones in “All in the Family”. “The Brady Bunch” focused on issues dealing with the kids and their childhood, such as sibling rivalry, family unity, responsibility, dating, self-image, puberty, and etc. “On occasion, remarks relevant to the ‘real world’ were covertly thrown in, but never truly impacted the innocent, carefree charm of the series” (IMDB, Rathjen). “The Brady Bunch” presented issues about the children and what they were going through in their stages of growing up, such as dating, self-image, puberty, sibling rivalry and etc. “The Brady Bunch” was much more suitable for children and the whole family to watch together as a source of entertainment and something that the family could really relate to. This was quite different from the prejudiced, discriminative, argumentative, harsh remarks and opinions on the ‘real world’ in “All of the Family”. “All in the Family” is more for the mature audience rather than for the whole family, unlike “The Brady Bunch”. “The Brady Bunch” was a sitcom that was appropriate for and viewed by families, adults and children included. “All in the Family” covers more controversial topics including race, sexuality, politics and etc. that are not suitable for all ages, and some viewers may find offensive. This sitcom also presented issues that the viewers could relate to and agree upon.

Works Cited: IMDB, Wikipedia.

Well I hope you all enjoyed my blog post for the week. I wasn’t ever much of a fan for “The Brady Bunch”, but when I was younger I did watch “All in the Family” with my grandparents sometimes; I thought that it was a very funny, successful show. I still wish we could have watched an episode of “Three’s Company” in class, though. I love that show! It’s one of my all time favorites! If you’ve never seen it, I heavily suggest that you do ASAP, if you’re looking for a million good laughs. Here is a link to a “Three’s Company” fansite that I have included in my blog post. I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoy this link!

http://www.threescompany.com/

How Technological Change Influenced and Affected the Evolution of the U.S. Radio Industry

Woo hoo!! We’re finally getting into the portion of the class that I personally find most interesting: radio and music. I don’t know about any of you, but I’m pretty psyched.

Since its creation in the 1920’s, the U.S. radio industry has evolved quite a bit over the course of time. Although there being many impacts on why this statement is true, I believe that the main reason for the radio industry evolving the way that it has is in response to the TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE in our society. With a combination of recording technology, changes in programming, popular music styles and etc., the radio industry has made crucial changes in the way that it functions with society. The U.S. radio industry has really evolved since its beginning in the 1920’s, has made a huge impact, and has held many important roles in our society.

            No matter the social issue or area, technological change has made a huge impact in America history; take the industrial age of society, between 1850 and 1901, for example. It’s simple: as technology changes and improves, the more opportunity citizens will have to use the technology, and the more options citizens will actually have with using the new technology. The whole idea of continually changing technology is to better objects and ideas that we, the people of the United States, already have, giving us a broader and more enjoyable usage of these products. The American society has a characteristic of being very diverse. To ensure that all citizens, having many different view, beliefs, and opinions, all are happy and satisfied, the world of technology has really had to step up in the world. The advances in technology allow people to see, hear, and say what they want, how they want, and whenever they want to for their convenience. A good example of this would be television and the TIVO DVR. This device allows users to not only watch the television programs that they love to watch, but now they have the opportunity to record the program to watch at their later convenience.
            In the year 1896 the wireless telegraph that used radio waves was invented by an Italian inventor named Guglielmo Marconi. Marconi created and built up a business named the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company that was held in Italy, Britain, and then the United States. His company did what the telegraph wires were not capable of doing: “setting up a series of shore-based radio stations to receive and retransmit telegraph signals to oceangoing ships, where telegraph wires could not reach. His company also manufactured and operated the radio equipment and dominated radio in Europe and the United States in the early years” (Media Now, 159). A very good example of how Marconi’s wireless telegraph played a role in the world is the tragedy of the sinking of the ocean liner the Titanic. The ship struck a large iceberg in the North Atlantic. Once the captain and other important people in charge of running the ship found out the damage and knew they would be sinking, they used the Morse code to send radio help calls over the Marconi wireless system. Marconi and operators based in New York received the message and were able to save the lives of many passengers. The news of the disaster was then reported, in result, attracting the public to the technology, and beginning the regulation of the airwaves. Over time technology grew better, bringing the rise of radio networks and the selling of individual radios. These played key roles in many American family households. Families would gather around their one single radio and obtain their source of news, many types of entertainment including music, talk shows and soap operas, and other vital information. Decades passed and technology continued to grow better. Because of the American society’s diversity, radio stations began to hold not only a few different stations, but made it to where there would be several different stations for the public to choose from. People have different tastes, opinions, ideas and beliefs. Now they were able to choose what they wanted to listen to. Throughout the years the changes in technology gave society more choice and options as to what they wanted to hear, and when they wanted to hear it. This increased sales and increased the market for these new and improved technologies and the radio industry. Now days we have things like iTunes by Apple that allow us to buy any music we want, whenever we want. Also, the internet has given us the opportunity to go to several different websites to listen to all types of music of our liking and at our convenience.
            As technology evolves and grows better, this only makes things that much better and easier for its users. The growth of technology gives society more and more choices, and more simple ways of using things and obtaining important information and entertainment. Who knows what advances in technology will be invented in the next decade? One can only hope and dream of what is to come. I hope you all found this week’s blog post enjoyable. Have a great weekend!

Here is a link to a great radio station based in the Dallas, Tx area. The station is 106.1 Kiss FM. It's a top 40 hits radio station: http://www.1061kissfm.com/main.html.

Social Learning Theory in Today’s Media

Hey class! I hope everyone is having a good start to their weekend and getting ready for the UT vs. Tech game, HOOK ‘EM HORNS!! This week’s blog post is going to be about the social learning theory and how the media today influences the minds and actions of society. I have obtained all information in this blog post from my “Media Now” book, my class lectures, and the two films “Tough Guise” and “Killing Us Softly”.  I hope you all enjoy my post and the weekend as well!

People all around the world have their own views and opinions on things that make them act the way that they do. What is it exactly that makes people think and act the way they do? Do they get it from their parents, friends, school teachers, or some other influential source? There is a theory that presents an answer to this question, and this theory is: the SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY. Social Learning Theory “explains media effects in terms of imitating behavior seen in the media” (Media Now, 413). When people view things through the media, such as film and television, they begin to admire the characters that they are viewing in a way so much that they begin to pick up and possess the same characteristics as the fictional people that they watch.

On Thursday September 10, 2010, my RTF 305 class presented a screening of two documentaries: “Tough Guise”, a film showing the relationship between media imagery and the way in which society views masculinity, and “Killing Us Softly”, a film about how the feminine gender is represented in advertising, and how those advertisements are viewed by society. The film “Tough Guise” suggests that in today’s society, boys and men have an idea in their heads of what a so called “tough guy” really is. They feel as if they need to put on a disguise, or more accurately, a tough guise, to ensure that everyone views them as tough. Where do the boys and men get these ideas from? It’s a number of media related sources such as movies, television shows, radio stations, CDs or other forms of music, video games, and of course the internet. The media portrays the way that they themselves view things; in this case, the way “tough guys” should appear and behave. The media represents tough boys and men in such a way that their ideas promote strength, violence, bad attitudes, and crime. Male viewers who consistently watch violent TV shows and movies embed the media’s characters’ behaviors in their minds, making them think that this image of the person they are viewing is the image that they want and need to have. These boys and men think that the tough guy characters are guys that they would like to resemble, so they imitate the behaviors that they have come to believe are correct for their gender. One example of this is the Columbine High School Massacre. Two teenage boys committed a shooting at their high school killing students and teachers, and then themselves. These two boys were known to have problems of depression and anger management issues, but it is known that a combination of violent movies and shows, music that expressed violence, violence on the internet, and more than anything violent video games were some of the causes of these boys’ violent and lethal actions.

Violence in the media, along with other behaviors portrayed by the media, has an enormous effect on the views and actions of society. Although we, the people of this world, will occasionally enjoy violence in film and television, but are we really understanding the effects it has on our society? I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog post. I have included a link to a video of a great film titled “The Godfather”. Although being an AMAZING movie, it may have influenced violence in the behavior of some people in our society. Is the SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY true? You be the judge…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZNCh474Q54&feature=related (youtube).

Framing and Its Involvement in the Drilling Moratorium Story

Hey everybody... My blog post for today will be focusing on how people and reporters use FRAMING in stories and reports. I have read and learned many things about framing from my “Media Now” textbook that I am reading for my RTF 305 class, which is awesome by the way. I now have the knowledge and understand the connection between framing and issues presented by the media, such as the story I will be discussing about what experts say how the White House ‘misrepresented’ views to justify drilling moratorium.


In the media, reports and stories of all kinds are presented for viewers all across the world to see and hear. The news on television shows us (the viewers) issues that they believe are important for us to be aware of; but what is it that tells us exactly how to think about these issues and topics and everything associated with them? The answer is… Drum roll please… Framing. The theory of framing is that reporters have the ability to alter a story on an issue. The reporter is able to choose everything that he or she wishes to include, and also what he or she doesn’t want to include in the report. For anything that is included in the report, the reporter chooses the facts, tone and words of the story, and also the interpretation of the facts. The contents of the report are fully in the hands of the reporter.

Fox News presented a story on the topic of the safety of offshore drilling that was published on June 11, 2010 by FOXNews.com. There were seven experts recommended by the National Academy of Engineering who, after the Deepwater Horizon Explosion occurred, advised the President on the issue of offshore drilling safety. Although the seven experts opposed a six-month drilling moratorium, President Obama’s administration said differently. The experts then accused the administration of “misrepresenting their views” to make it seem as if they really did support and back up the drilling operation (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). The experts claimed that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar altered their report a month before, after they had already signed it. According to the seven experts, Salazar also included a couple of false statements that comprised of “calling for a moratorium on existing drilling and new permits” (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). Salazar issued a report to President Obama stating that the seven experts ‘peer reviewed’ his suggestions, that consisted of “a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs and an immediate halt to drilling operations” (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). Here is what the experts had to say to Fox News in response to Salazar’s false testimony: “None of us actually reviewed the memorandum as it is in the report. What was in the report at the time it was reviewed was quite a bit different in its impact to what there is now. So we wanted to distance ourselves from that recommendation” (Arnold, LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). Salazar later apologized and made the point that he appreciated the experts’ proposal, but it was ultimately the President and his decision on the moratorium, and not the seven experts. A letter was then sent to Salazar from the experts saying that “they said his primary recommendation ‘misrepresents’ their position and that halting the drilling is actually a bad idea” (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). This is an excellent example of how reporters or people of higher authority have the ability to revise reports in any form they choose to do so. Salazar used framing to modify the report and recommendations of the seven experts to appear as if they supported the drilling moratorium, when in fact, they actually opposed it. Salazar wanted the public to view the situation HOW HE viewed it. Framing is what tells us exactly how to think about issues and topics and everything associated with them, right? Well… Salazar did just that, making the public view the report and situation how he wanted us to view it. Framing is an incredibly important part of the media and how we, the viewing people, view it.

Here is the link to where I received my information on my framing example: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/10/experts-say-obama-misrepresented-views-justify-offshore-drilling-ban/. I hope you all enjoyed this blog post and learned a little something as well!!

Why I Am Taking RTF 305...

First off I'll start by telling all of you that my name is Eric Hill. I was born in Dallas and raised in a town just south of Dallas. Why am I taking RTF 305 you ask? Well in order to find that answer out, you must follow me and read my next blog. I'm totally just kidding with you. Ever since I can remember I've been obsessed with great films and all types of music; I mean c'mon, who isn't? The whole idea of a having a career is to make a good paycheck to provide for yourself and, if you have one, your family, and also to ENJOY and LOVE what you do while you're making money. A career in media is just what I am looking for. I'm not quite sure what it is exactly that I want to do, but I do know that I either want to be in the film or music industry. After taking this course I hope to have learned all of the essential information that I will need in order to take and pass my future RTF courses and also to succeed in my career. I'm looking forward to learning in this class, and also to meet and make some good friends in the process. Good luck to everyone in the course!!

I don't necessarily have a favorite blog, but here is a link to one that I found interesting: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers

Like I was saying, music is a big part of my life. I love and respect different types of music and I always try to surround myself with it. It makes me happy. Here is a video that I took at a John Mayer concert I attended last year here in Austin at the Frank Erwin Center. It was definitely a good time.