Broadcasting Companies… March 6, 2007

After all my posts this week, you all may feel that I am a crazy human being.  I however am just rattled to the core about how the media (in this case television media) feels they can pick and choose when and when not shows should be broadcast. 

For example, every week I anxiously await Thursday evening so I can sit down and watch Greys Anatomy.  For the last two weeks the show has not been on.  I find it frustrating how television shows (and it always seems to be the prime-time ones) are always having “time off”.  I mean they get the summer break much like students… I understand that actors should have lives too.  Seriously though, how much time do they need off?  This week and last week are re-runs of Grey’s, last Sunday Desperate Housewives was not on because of the grammy’s or some shit like that.  Prison Break has had numerous breaks… Like seriously… why can’t they just televise the friggen show?  Why don’t the broadcasting companies cancel a show that nobody ever watches like one of the 90 CSI’s or the Law and Orders? (I probably shouldn’t say that either though because I am a fan of those as well).

It’s funny how in class we learn that the media controls everything and I sit there and thinking how dumb it is that I am controlled by so many outer forces and I try to think of the ways which I can change so I can be an “independent” person, but hahaha what I have come to notice is that I basically live my life by these forces.  I don’t go to the Duke on a Thursday night until after 10 because that is when Grey’s is done.  I am not crazy, I just love entertainment.

Another thing that I love that is actually more or less broadcasted all the time is reality tv.  I could sit in bed and watch MTV all day long and I kid you not, be the happiest girl in the world.

So again, here is my rant, I hope you enjoyed it!

Here is a clip from MTV’s “The Hills” (it’s new on mondays on channel 80 if anyone is wondering):

Time March 5, 2007

Do you ever notice how when you are working or you are in class a minute actually feels like an hour?  I hate how when you are bored or doing things that you don’t like, time takes FOREVER to pass. However, when you are on vacation or visiting people, the time goes by so fast that when the trip is done it feels like you just arrived.  How frustrating. 

For example, when I am looking forward to leaving Lethbridge, I do a countdown.  This countdown normally feels like a week is a month.  Yet when I actually get to my destination (most likely that is Calgary),  I feel like I have no time to get anything done.  Much like final exam week… time goes by so fast that there is no time to sleep.

This may seem a little deep, but isn’t it weird how right now I am writing this post at 7:11 pm (now I feel like 5cent candies) that I will never get this minute back?  It kinda throws me through a loop when I actually sit here and reflect… wow how deep.

Anyways, I just thought that I would enlighten everyone with my thoughts…they are pretty interesting (haha I know, I am kidding too!) 

Seeing how I could not find anything to do with time specifically, I thought I would throw in a random video!:

Anger March 5, 2007

So as you can tell by my title, I am a little angered at the article “Take Those Old Records Off the Shelf”: youth and music consumption in the postmodern age” by David Hayes.

Hayes says he interviewed many teenage music fans who felt the same way about how music nowadays is all the same shit and there is no diversity from singer to singer.  For starters, who did he interview? Where did he get his information? And what type of sample size is he conducting?  I have no idea where he is getting his information from and if his sources are even valid.  This media article does not say anything about the validity of the information.

Secondly, just because these “teenagers” Hayes interviewed feel this way (and we don’t even know how many he interviewed- 10 maybe 20? Whose to say?)… does not mean the entire population does.  I can say that I completely disagree with the opinions of these teenagers that there is no originality or uniqueness in music today between singers.  Of course there is the same shit being performed by certain artists (Christina, Brittney…), but I do not find JT’s music the same as Usher’s or Jesse McCartney.  Just because people sing under the same genre does not mean that every song has the same meaning.

Thirdly, who are these people to say that there is no “meaning” in the songs as there was in the olden days.  That there are no true, real statements being made.  This is absolute horseshit!  These people are completely speculating on how music is made; let alone assuming the meaning that recording artists’ feel their songs have.  For instance, Brittney’s song “Hit me baby one more time” clearly does not have the same meaning as Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”.  Some artists just sing songs about random shit. Other artists, such as Whitney, write about passion and love and relate it to their life.

To wrap things up, I just wanted to say that just because these teens say that music today is not unique and it gets published in the media (journal article) does not mean that it is true.  Like most things in the media, just because one person says it is true, does not mean it is.  Always check your sources, because in cases like this one, they are not necessarily speaking for all teenagers. 

Here is Whitney’s music video for “I Will Always Love You”…Enjoy!!!:

School… February 28, 2007

I am rather choked that it is only Wednesday and I am already stressed out about school.  It was great having reading week, but when I think back on it, I was stressed most of the time about all the papers and studying that I had to do when I got back to Lethbridge.  It is so frustrating how as soon as September starts there really isn’t a break until the last day of exams in December.  How brutal is that?  Like I know its University and blah blah blah, but seriously, everyone gets burnt out so fast. 

I wish that students were given a break that was actually a break… For example, I wish that it was against the Law for homework to be assigned over reading week. That would be awesome!!!

So this is my rant for this week! haha (I seem to have a lot of these!)

haha, here is alittle video that shows some angry students:

Movie Sighting Post!!!! February 27, 2007

            For me, going to movies is like eating and breathing; I do it like it’s my job.  For this assignment I thought it would be interesting to see the difference of a movie in two different theaters.  To add on to this excitement, I thought I would one up myself and see the same movie in two different cities.  I saw “Because I said So” with Dianne Keaton and Mandy Moore in both Lethbridge at the Galaxy Cinema and in Calgary at
Paramount studios.  To my surprise, I did not notice much of a difference.

            I do not care what anyone says; when you watch movies in certain surroundings or if you watch movies with others instead of just yourself, the final opinion of the movie can be completely altered. For instance, the first time I saw Napoleon Dynamite in theatres with my little brother I thought it was the most unintelligent, brainless film I had ever seen.  Later on however, I watched the film again with a few friends and thought it was quite possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life.  Surroundings and people have a HUGE impact on the outcome of a show.  I found this with “Because I said So” in the Lethbridge Cinema.  People were just enjoying being out in public having a good time, there were conversations and laughter all around me. The atmosphere really got me excited and eager to see the film. Hearing other people’s excitement and anticipation about the movie in turn made me more excited.

 It was not hard for me to take note of my surroundings at the theatre in
Lethbridge (or
Calgary for that matter) and the people there because I love people watching (in a non-creepy way). It is always interesting to see what people do and how they act in certain situations (the Calgary Stampede is great for this!).  For example, I noticed how there were more people with children in the concession line then people without children.  I also noticed that the “younger” couples and groups of friends were more off to the side in their own corner near the arcade room then with the crowd. It was as if the young adults had made a divide between themselves and everyone else.  The main thing I did notice at the Galaxy Cinema was how the in the theatre itself before the movie started, there was an abundance of females and a lack of males.

              In
Calgary however, the first part of my “experience” was not that pleasing due in full part to the fact that I had to pay $3.50 or something like that for a BOTTLE OF WATER.  I almost lost my mind, I could not believe it (I sound like Russell Smith here, but on the contrary I do disagree with him).  I did notice when I was in line to purchase my bottle of water that many of the people waiting to get their food and drinks were very anxious.  This was very interesting to me because it seems to act in accordance with all the media ads posted everywhere in the theatre (and not to mention commercials on television) endorsing the popcorn and encouraging the audience to try some. Anyhow, when I did get into the theatre and got into my seat that would be all mine for the next 2 hours, I was as happy as could be.  I love the smell of popcorn and the taste of sour patch kids and pop.  That is an experience worth every penny (yes all those ads work on me).  The people all around me were laughing and chatting and much like
Lethbridge, just enjoying being out. It is amazing how other peoples’ moods can affect your own!

In the
Calgary theatre, I paid special attention to the people in the row right in front of me because they had a “fake seat”.  The lady put her purse down on the seat to her left so that there was only 1 seat left that was available.  A couple came by and asked if it was taken and the lady responded that it was.  Throughout the movie, I noticed that the seat was never filled.  I’m assuming it was a filler seat so that this particular lady did not have to sit beside a random person.  Why then do you go to movies in the first place?  This is what mystified me in Smith’s article: Why does he go to movies in the first place if he already knows he is going to hate them?  In my opinion I think he is fulfilling his own fate.  It’s as if he goes into the theatre with the idea that everything is pointless and that every single person in the theatre is a dirty, greasy, germy human who should just go home and shower.

Smith talks in his article about how he can not stand waiting in line for a ticket.  In today’s society this is not always the case; companies were created and advertised (mainly on the television and the internet) about pre-purchasing your tickets online and then printing them out at home.  This is a huge advancement for people who are impatient (which seems to be Smith) to avoid the ticket lines (every single fast-lane ticket booth in the
Calgary theatre was lined up).  This is what I did when I arrived at both theatres…makes the process much more smooth and fast (Smith should try it, I think it might make him just alittle happier!)

Smith uses an entire article to discuss how angry he is at the movie going world; yet he does not realize that this one form of media that he “can’t stand” must influence him because he is writing an entire article on his anger about it.  For example, Smith talks about how the trivia that is displayed pre-movie “…are there to remind you that you do actually know all the stars’ names, even without wanting to…”.  I find this fascinating because it really emphasizes the fact that people are influenced by media in so many different ways.  How else would people, including Smith, know all these actors names “…without wanting to…” (television, radio, internet etc.)?  Sitting in the theatre with my bottle of water, I noticed how the sound level among the audience went up when the trivia game came on.  Everyone began talking amongst their “group” trying to solve the question. I noticed how many groups would be laughing and having a good time with the trivia game to see who was right!

OK, now I am going to delve deeper into my movie surroundings in accordance with Smith’s article.  Considering how it is winter out and very cold, both times I went to see the movie everyone was all bundled up because it was freezing cold outside (lets be honest, in Lethbridge the wind makes me feel like it is -50 outside).  Smith does not appreciate or understand (in my opinion) that people enjoy staying warm when it is frozen outside.  I did not see a single person in either theatre not wearing a coat, scarf, hat, or vest.  I also did not notice people shuffling around with “seats pilled high with coats and scarves”.  I found that everyone in both the
Lethbridge and
Calgary theatres placed their coat behind them or on top of their lap and ate their food and talked amongst themselves.  There was no shouting across the theatre or food being thrown everywhere; needless to say, I did not feel like I was in a pig barn.  On the contrary, I found it amusing to listen to the ladies behind me in the
Lethbridge theatre talk about their children and how they are doing in school, or the couple beside me in the
Calgary theatre who, from what I could hear, sounded like they were having an argument about the night before.  

            This is what the experience is: being able to take all of the surroundings in. This is why in my opinion theatres are much more appealing and entertaining then watching a movie at home.  I attribute this reasoning to how the first time I saw Napoleon Dynamite I hated it versus the second time when I saw it with my friends I loved it. Maybe I am easily guided by my surroundings, but the second time around it was much more enjoyable.

My movie going experiences are ones that I do not intend to give up.  I love how people can talk about nothing and have a good time… who wants to think all the time?  I enjoy sitting there in the complete darkness with sound so loud my ears hurt when I leave the theatre, and I really love the food.  Popcorn from movies theatres is the best hands down (yes the advertising REALLY works on me).

My experiences at both theatres were ones that were worth every dollar (minus the bottle of water).  The atmosphere, the people, the food…everything about the theatres surroundings makes the “experience” superior to sitting on a couch at home by myself with imitation popcorn… how awful.  The movie “Because I Said So” is a great chick flick that I might even see a third time!

OH Movies…. They are not all the same! February 27, 2007

I love movies.  Comedy, romance, horror, etc… I am not hard to please when it comes to movies (I am a big fan of war movies).  But, not all movies are made to the same caliber; which is why I am going to talk about the movie we saw on the last day of classes before reading week.  In the movie ”Thought Control in A Democratic Society” a man discusses “the basics of good journalism”.  Immediately when I heard this, I began to think to myself what does “good” mean?  Does it mean true information, or is it the information that grabs the most attention?  I guess that is a question that everyone answers individually. 

 For me personally, good journalism is knowing that the information I am reading is true.  Journalism is not “good” if it is fabricated in such a way to make the headlines.  Journalism is so important in today’s society because people form their opinions and judgements on the information that is given.  How can society make an informed opinion if the information they are using is false?

I don’t know about anyone else, but I would be choked if the thoughts and opinions I currently have on issues around the world were in fact invalid because the information I was given was tampered with. 

This is me if I am getting false information:

Is it wrong to enforce publication bans? February 13, 2007

 For starters… how sweet is festivus?  What a great holiday. Seinfeld is awesome, choked it is off the air!

Onto my blog, I never realized the major role that “politics” and the law play in journalism.  I was reading chapter 7 in the text book and I came across the section on Gatekeeping involving the Homolka and Bernardo trials.

I found it very interesting how the judge ordered a publication ban on Homolka’s trial in order for Bernardo to have a fair trial.  I was younger when this happened so I did not really understand the lengths of this trial until later on.  I think that the judge ordering the publication ban on Homolka’s trial was what he had to do in order to serve Bernardo’s individual rights as a Canadian citizen.  The section on this in the chapter talked about how the reporters were not happy at first that the publication ban was enforced… how were they supposed to tell the world and warn people about what was happening?  The judge ordered that they were only allowed to write about what was published by the government.  I was surprised when I read that this was obeyed by the reporters.  I would have thought that seeing how this is such an extreme case that someone would have leaked information on what was happening.  Leaking information did however happen through the American networks and Internet.

It was interesting in my opinion to read how it was difficult for the journalists when the ban was lifted for Bernardo’s trial.  I would have thought that everyone would have been happy because they can write and publish whatever they feel society should know (this in itself is a scary thought).  However, the journalists found it hard to write about the trial because it was so disgusting and vulgar that they did not know how to tell society that this happened in their own backyard. 

It is weird to think that this can actually happen in today’s world.  I suppose I am living in a protected, unrealistic world, but I would like to think that it is possible to walk down the streets and not have to look behind my back all the time making sure nothing is going on.  The fact that something like this can happen in today’s society and that there can be publication bans put in place scares me in a way.  It scares me to think of all the things going on in the world that may have a publication ban.  There is no way to know if we are getting the whole story? With reading about things like this, it really makes me wonder how much society is not being told???

And on that scary thought…

Why is it that we never get the full story? February 11, 2007

This is a scary thought: we only know what the media tells us.  Society bases their opinions and decisions on, in my opinion, a fragmented story. 

For example, the article Abuse Your Illusions by Russ Kick talks about the political dimensions in Venezuela. It discusses  how it is stated in certain American newspapers, like the San Fransisco Chronicle, that there were way more people who did not support Chavez (in other words anti-Chavez) then people who supported him.  Kick talks about howin the San Fransisco chronicle, there was only a photo and a caption (no actual article) on how about 100,000 people marched against Chavez. Yet there was another march of about 200,000 people in support of Chavez that was never printed or for that matter acknowledged.  This was not posted or printed in any American newspaper! Why is this? Why is the media picking and choosing what to tell society? I feel that this is what society is coming down too… lies and cover-ups.  There is no way, unless you witness “life” everywhere with your own 2 eyes that you can know whats going on everywhere.  This is a problem because people can not be in 2 places at once; which is why people depend on the media so much.

So to bring me to the point of my blog here, I am worried.  I am scared that everything we know aboutthe media we do not really know… I would love if someone could refute me on this but I really don’t see how it is possible.

There is no way to know if society is actually getting the full story when somethinghappens across the world.  How do we know that both sides are being fairly told, or if a story has been influenced by blackmail?  We will never be able to tell because we are so dependent on the media for all of our information.

The media is so much more powerful then I ever could have thought.  I never really understood how they actually do RUN our world. They basically have the power to pick and choose what they want us to know.  THIS IS INSANE!!!  Why do a few people get to choose what the WHOLE WORLD gets to know? What is so much power placed into the hands of the people who run the newspapers, Internet, news shows etc…? 

This makes me ponder… is society the way it is today; with so much violence and lack of contentment, because of what the media is portraying? Is our society lacking the vibe of the “good ol’ days” because of what the media is depicting to us?  I am choked. 

p.s- Even though the media may not always tell us everything, Seinfeld really did contribute to today’s society!  Like Festivus!  Seinfeld created festivus and now it is a holiday that people actaully celebrate! This is awesome!!!

Yes Dear… February 9, 2007

This is the greatest daytime television show on earth.  It’s on TBS (as per last weeks argument- a good broadcasting network), its at a good time (2:00), and its got a great cast.  The reason I think this show is so good is because it is easy to relate to.  It has a good theme throughout it, and it really depicts how life can be sometimes.

Today for instance, it is on how children really do pick their parents friends.  hahaha this episode has the parents (Jimmy and Christine/ Kim and Greg) pointing their children in the “right” direction to the children with the cool parents.  This is hilarious. 

Anyways I really feel that everyone should take an intrest in this show.  I have been known to not take a 2:00 class so I can watch this show.  Picture this: A  nice cold pop, mini eggs, and Yes Dear.  This would be the greatest hour ever.  It is also followed by a pretty good show which I think people highly underestimate: King of Queens.

So there is my educational information for everybody today!  Enjoy!

Canadian Networks Versus American Networks February 5, 2007

Now this is strictly my opinion but American TV and cable is wayyy better then Canadian.  Yes as stated in chapter 5 Canada does have some major networks like CBC, CTV, Global, and Chum… but who really watches the Canadian programs on these channels when they show them? 

For example, CBC “was created by an act of Parliament in 1936 as a radio network” (109); who watches this show for anything but news updates…and of course hockey night in Canada (woohoo!!!)?  Peter Newman supports my point by saying “Canadians need the CBC to become important again. With our kids watching more then 900 hours or more of TV a year-and it least 80% of it spreading the gospel of the American way of life…” (109).  This could not be more true.  Who watches more then 1 program of Canadian television besides the news religiously?  I am in my third year of university and I do not have a single friend who religiously watches more then 1 Canadian program.  This may be why CBC is not the most popular network for people around my age (unless it is Hockey Night in Canada)!

Now Global television on the other hand…that is fantastic programming.  Global started in Winnipeg (weird I know haha).  The text talks about how after more then 30 years of buyouts and takeover the now CanWest Global is Canada’s 3rd national network and 2nd private national network (110).  Global shows many American programs that I thoroughly enjoy such as House and the newly acclaimed Heros.  The Canadian programs such as Survivor:Canadian style…well I did not know that existed until I read the chapter.

Now onto American Programming…the good stuff!  The American system has fabulous networks like NBC and ABC.  I really learned alot reading this chapter.  For instance, I had no idea that NBC was bought by General Electric in 1985…who knew?  I really like NBC and the shows that they air because well for starters who does not like Saturday Night Live or any of the Law and Orders? Great shows, very relatable and very enticing.  ABC is however my favourite network because it airs GREYS ANATOMY!!! hands down, best network.  Now I do know that other networks do air Greys, but no one else has as good of previews as ABC!

To wrap up my little discussion here I guess the whole point in this blog is that American television is more popular and in a sense, better then Canadian television.  How happy am I for instance that MTV is showing in Canada on normal cable now?  American and Canadian television is like American and Canadian movies… when I go to Blockbuster I walk right by the Canadian section…don’t even look.  American television is more popular perhaps because it is more publicized, or maybe because of the better actors? Hmmm…

Enjoy…(sorry I could not resist….)