May 2008
7 posts
Final part II
What I look most about my newfound media literacy is my ability to use Adobe products. Before this class, I had never used any, but I now dabble in Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash. Photoshop is by far my favorite, and I believe it is a useful tool worth purchasing. Flash was a royal pain at first, but I’m glad I was able to work out the kinks and eventually create an animation, as...
Blog entry # 9 - Cognitive Surplus
There is a really interesting video here. http://www.calacanis.com/2008/04/30/clay-shirky-cognitive-surplus-talk-at-web-2-0/ It is a lecture by Clay Shirky about how web 2.0 is changing our lives. He discusses that at the advent of television, people began wasting hours of their lives everyday. It was not until web 2.0 started that we as a society have begun to reclaim our lives…we started...
Blog entry # 6 - Idiocracy
After watching the beginning of Idiocracy, it has crept its way near the top of my to-see movie list. The idea that natural selection may become meaningless and we could end up ‘devolving’ has actually come across my mind before. Science has enabled us to live through and with all sorts of ailments, and these genes can be passed on now. The movie plays on the idea that lower class...
Blog entry #5 - The DC Madam
Call me a cynic, but I do not believe for one second the stories the media is telling us about what happened to Deborah Jeane Palfrey. Supposedly she hung herself on May 1st, and foul play is not suspected. However, I believe she was murdered. She was even quoted saying that she had no intention to kill herself. It is scary that because of her knowledge, the government would silence her in this...
April 2008
5 posts
Blog entry #4 - Marketing Mario Kart
On April 24th, Nintendo will be doing a little bit of viral marketing in New York City. To celebrate the launch of one of the company’s most anticipated titles this year, MarioKart Wii, Nintendo will be giving away free cab rides. Mario, the face of Nintendo, will be hailing cabs for several hours throughout the day. This is a great way to raise awareness about the video game title. People...
Glamour
Glamour can be described as a hybrid between perfection and beauty. It is an attribute that makes others envious of the glamorous one. In the film, How to get Ahead in Advertising, the main character, Dennis is an advertising executive. It his his job to put words and images to products in order to sell them. One technique he uses is glamour. Dennis has the job of promoting a pimple cream, and he...
March 2008
1 post
February 2008
12 posts
Collective Desires
As a society, one of our greatest desires is the feeling of belonging. This comes from the social nature of humans relating back to the days of tribes. In the show Lost, I think the real hero of this scenario is Hurley. He is an obese character that his sometimes a bit hard on himself; however, he is the one constantly keeping the spirits high in the group. In most ways, Jack is often the hero of...
The Century of the Self
While he is described as the father of PR, Edward Bernays is in many ways the founder of modern advertising. Using many of Frued’s concepts of human instinct, he found ways to manipulate the masses into buying products. I really am torn as to whether I completely admire his ingenunity or despise his trickery-like tactics. In one segment of the documentary, women are talking about how...
January 2008
6 posts
I was very sick this weekend, so I was forced to sit on the couch and occupy myself with movies. While watching Blood Diamond, I noticed Leonardo Dicaprio drinking a Guinness. He was cleverly holding the bottle so the label would face me, no matter what angle the camera was taking. If this were a couple of years ago, I may not even have noticed this. However, because Guinness is one of my very...
My friends and I are constantly sitting in front of our 55” HD TV, and most of the time we are playing video games. Companies have caught on to this notion, so they have started invading our games. Playing Madden ‘08, I noticed ads covering the stadium, and I was able to find this image online that makes my point. It is an ad for Reebok right in the top center of the in-game...
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