Blog Assignment #4

Throughout the course of my career at Towson University I have been required to complete countless assignments for various purposes. For my Media Criticism class, I was required to complete a series of blogging assignments. I believe that this has been one of the most interesting learning experience I have had yet. For my most recent assignment, I was required to discover three of my fellow classmates blogging assignments, red  and analyze them, and then respond. I found that my fellow classmates are as intersting as they are different. I read things from the monopilization of the mass media, to the naturalization of the ideas presented in the Lion King. I was taken on a journey through the years of disney and how they try to dominate us as a media dependent society, while all at the same time learning a great deal of information.

I chose the follwing three blogs because I felt they were the best demonstrations of what a blog should look like, and they were related to topics that interest me. By the time I had completed reviewing each blog I felt that I had just been through a course in itself with all of the information I was able to observe. I felt that this series of blogging assignments was an excellent teaching tool, and I may even use my blog in the future although it is not required.

Nick Keim- Click Here to view his blog

 

Nick, I thought this blog was an excellent template for how all blog posts should look. I felt that you strongly demonstrated the idea of ideological criticism, and how it can be applied to media texts by critics such as oursleves in media criticism class. You did an excellent job in demonstrating how disney exerts is seemingly endless power over society. Some of the things that led to the success of this blog included, but were not limited to, your use of vivid imagery, your points on consumerism and materialism, and your use of facts and images to add to the overall quality of the work. The one fact that really grabbed my attention was mentioned about halfway through your blog, and really kept me intrigued. This was that you mentioned the fact that children under the age of 12 were targeted and in turn led to their parents purchasing over 700 billion dollars in disney products. This was an astounding fact that really grabbed my attention. Also, you did a solid job of identifying exactly what ideological criticism is, and how disney uses it to dominate the media industry.

 The only thing I would suggest working on is your word choice. Sometimes you use the wrong word in a certain context, or you simply mix two words up. This is a simple fix, as you can just re-read your work and return to it to later fix it. All in all, however, this was a fantastic post, and I feel it exemplifies what all professional style blogs should look like. Keep up the great work!

Sekou Bah- Click Here to see his blog.

 

 

 

 

 

Sekou, I would like to start by saying that you did a great job on this blog. I really liked your reminiscent tone that was evident in the beginning of the piece. I was able to relate to what you were saying about being a young child and watching the lion king without a care or worry in the world. I too saw it as a tale of heroism and was thoroughly entertained. You did a good job introducing the fact that only now, as media critics, can we be fully aware of the messages the lion king was trying to get across to the audience. I learned through your blog that not only do media elites try to establish dominance amongst the media corporations, but they also try to instill views on each and every age group possible. Not only are young children being targeted by the lion king, but even older people and all of those in between.

One of the very few things I would have liked to have seen in your blog was a bit more solidified information or statistics that could prove and bolster your points. It is one thing to hear about the dominating power of Disney, but it is another to actually see the numbers on how it affects us as a society. All in all this was a great effort and a learning experience for me.

Kelli Coughlan- Click Here to see her blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelli, I felt that you did an excellent job in a variety of ways in creating this blog. You were insightful, and went into great detail in describing the show modern family, and the accompanying genre criticism approach to understanding it. I was not fully aware of how genre criticism worked until I witnessed how you used it in your blog. You did a fantastic job demonstrating how it is a three part approach using the cultural diamond. There was also a good amount of information about the show modern family that I did not know before reading your blog. I have watched mockumentaries such as the office and reno 911, but never have I really understood the genre. Your blog led to a greater understanding of the genre, and a solid backing to the genre criticism approach in media criticism.

The lone suggestion I would make would be to give a more solid introduction, so as to give an outline to the reader. This helps to draw in viewers, and create a higher level of organization. Overall, however, I feel that this was a strong demonstration of how a blog should look, with plenty of factual and personal backing to create a well-rounded blogging experience.

Blog Assignment #3

Ideological Criticism and the Political Economy Theory at work

Ideology is a reoccurring theme in the communication field. Assuming that you are not familiar with such a field, ideology is commonly referred to as a means of exerting power used mainly by elites, to create and maintain power relations. Basically, this just means it is a set of ideas that gives some particular account of the world. With this term in mind, ideological criticism examines how these ideas are embedded in and circulated through texts. Ideological criticism also looks at how they reflect/serve the interests of the dominant elites. This approach to criticizing the media differs from other forms in that it focuses primarily on dominant media elites.

A related concept is called, political economic theory explores how media institutions and media texts practice to establish and sustain existing power relations. This theory is also used to orchestrate how media advance the interests of dominant elites.

To make it a bit more interesting, let’s explore how these practices are used in specific media texts. The two texts that will be broken down are, “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood,” and “Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood & Corporate Power.”

The first film at hand, “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood,” explores how the media exercises their dominance over certain groups of people. The film mainly focuses on younger age groups and how they are increasingly targeted by marketers. The film sheds light on how the target markets are becoming more and more concentrated on younger generations to  create a lifelong loyal customer.

The first shocking portion that really grabs ones attention looks at how infants are being targeted by media experts almost from the womb. The strategies these marketers use include making the ads that are presented visually appealing even for infants that cannot understand the actual meaning. The images are planted in children’s head.

This proves how ideology is embedded in media texts, and is a reason that ideological criticism is essential in the understanding of such a concept.

Also, there is a growing market for younger generations of girls that seems to be ever expanding. The film provides information that points to how the target market for young teen girls is stretching to include a much wider variety of girls that seem to be acting older than any previous generation due to the ideas that are put into their heads by media marketers. They even go as far as to explore each and every event that a young teen goes through on an everyday basis. Marketers performed an extensive study where they even went as far as to observe children going to the bathroom and bathing.

This may come across as shocking to many, but it is seen as brilliant in the marketing industry because they are creating “brand loyal” customers, hopefully for a life time. This shows how media elites create and maintain the popular ideologies through their power. Ideological criticism is essential in understanding this, and the political economy theory is directly necessary.

The second film to show these concepts at work is called, “Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood & Corporate Power.” This film explored how the concepts of ideological criticism and political economy theory are utilized in the communication industry.

Most of us should be familiar with Disney and its incredible success through the years. This film takes a close and critical look at the almost unreal worlds these films show to the viewers, and the underlying stories. The stories they tell include certain ideologies about race, gender and class.

The conclusions they reached not only displayed the importance of ideological criticism and the political economy theory, but reached some disturbing conclusions about the world of marketing and materialism we live in today. Conclusions were drawn about how the concepts of innocence and fun are heavily put in place to draw in younger audiences. The video also analyzes Disney’s seemingly endless level of corporate power. There is also the exploration of its heavy influence on our culture in more of a global sense. These concepts are proven through the interviews and portions of credible information that are provided throughout.

Both films are similar in a large variety of ways, but still maintain a bit of difference. Both films used the concepts of ideological criticism and the political economic theory to explore how media texts influence the world as we know it. Both of these films also effectively draw viewers in, and create a certain passion for the discoveries that are made throughout. There is a certain appeal that each has, which creates the ideology that our young are being targeted, as well as the rest of us. There is the common theme that we must protect our young and that the media abuses their power.

These are powerful tools that are utilized in each, which is proven by the discoveries made in both ideological criticism, and through the lens of a political economist.

The dominant ideologies that are presented in this film are observed through the lens of a political economist, and are made using the ever important ideological criticism method to shed light on some important concepts that would be overlooked otherwise.

So what? If this question popped into your head upon reading this plethora of information, you are probably not alone. There is commonly the need to express why these concepts and how they are commonly used is important to our world as a whole.

To answer the ever elusive so what question, one must go beneath the surface and realize what both ideological criticism and the political economy theory are, what they bring to the table, and how they are used.

We explored what these concepts were, but did not talk about exactly why they are so important to us as a society. Without these concepts we would not know exactly how dominant elites can exert their power, and would remain completely unaware of what ideas the media puts in our heads on an almost unrelenting fashion. These concepts, and the explorations of them and how they are commonly used are also useful in challenging us as humans to realize how to remain individuals and make our own choices, and formulate our own ideas.

Blog Assignment #2

The Sopranos

A Narrative Analysis

By: Gerard Dalsey

 

The television series entitled “The Sopranos,” is in the drama genre. It was created by David Chase, and revolves around New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. The many conflicts in his life lead to an on-off professional relationship with a psychiatrist named Dr. Jennifer Melfi. The show contains very mature and graphic content, and is therefore recommended for a mature audience.

 

The Sopranos

In order to define and describe The Sopranos, one should use the old method of Narrative Analysis. More specifically, I will be using the Aristocelian Approach. This specific approach to understanding a narrative invlolves exploring several aspects of a narratives dramatic elements. There will be an exploration and demonstration of the plot, characters, setting and theme of The Sopranos. We will also discuss the vehicles of the series, which includes the language used, vocalization, and performance. The overall theme is that of a sitcom, so bare that in mind throughout this demonstration.

The Sopranos takes place in Northern New Jersey. The majority of the show takes place either in Tony Soprano’s home, which is a very upscale house in a nice neighborhood, or in the strip club that he owns and runs called Bada Bing. He is constantly surrounded by one of two families. One is his Italian Mobster family, and the other is his blood related family which consists of his mother, uncle, wife, and two children. Each character plays a pivotal role in the series progression, as they themselves progress through the series six lengthy seasons.

Although the show is dominated by inter-related families and the issues that they have, there are a variety of “outside” characters who play a big role in the stories progression. One such character is that of Tony’s Psychiatrist. Tony encounters several problems throughout the show, some of which put him on the verge of suicidal thoughts. In each and every episode, Tony meets with his psychiatrist, who in turn helps mitigate his feelings. Another outside character that has a large role is a dirty cop who is corrupted by his addiction to gambling. He turns to Tony and his “mob friends” to help him find his way out of debts in exchange for his protection and inside information as a police officer.

Each episode of the Sopranos follows a similar structure. They start out with everything being seemingly fine. Once everything begins to seem too good to be true, Tony or another main character who influences the way tony feels, runs into a problem. Depending on the type and magnitude of the problem, the show then goes on to try to solve the problem and find a solution with minimal downside. Although they try hard to find a minimally destructive plan, they always seem to run into some problems along the way.

The show intelligently keeps you on edge by alternating the sources of the problems. In one episode, Tony might be having family issues where his daughter or son are being disobedient, or his wife is very agitated with him, while in another Tony might be faced with some series of decisions he must make to benefit his crime family. Regardless of which family it is that he has issues, he usually does a very good job of solving these issues.

After Tony encounters a variety of issues and things seem to overwhelm him, he visits his previously mentioned psychiatrist. Throughout the progression of the show, he builds a strong bond with his psychiatrist. So strong in fact, that in one episode he confesses to her that he loves her. He feels this way because she is simply the only one who he can be almost fully open with about both sets of family issues, as he finds that he cannot talk about one family to the other family, as he knows series consequences and problems would ensue.

The show typically continues after his meetings with his psychiatrist, and he almost always ends up running into another problem, despite his meetings with her and the several medications she puts him on for his prolonged anxiety and depression. Tony faces numerous hardships towards the end of episodes. Sometimes these problems are fixed before the end of the episode, and sometimes they are not, which is a brilliant utilization of a cliff-hanger type ending.

The vehicle’s that are used in the series do a great job in helping the audience better understand the plot, characters, and setting. The series uses very vulgar and un-censored language to help authenticate the viewer’s experience of what a “mob-life” would be like. Also, the characters have distinct and authentic Italian accents to add further authenticity to the viewing experience, and show the reader exactly what this lifestyle would be like. These vehicles help to add to the viewing experience and make one feel that they are really there with the characters, rather than just being a bystander watching from afar.

As you can see, The Soprano’s does follow a sort of classic approach to narratives in that is starts well, the main character experiences some problems, and then the character uses the rest of the time to try to solve those problems, which usually happens by the end of the episode. This is usually the case, but as was mentioned, there are occasions when the show strays in different directions and aims to keep the viewer’s off balance so as to ensure people will want to watch the show.

It is important to use this type of media criticism so that audiences can better understand what they are watching, and put it into perspective with their daily lives. If you are simply watching something without any knowledge of how to realistically interpret it, how can that be beneficial to anyone, much less yourself?

Blog Assignment #1

About Me

Hello world! my name is Gerard Dalsey. I am a Communication Studies major attending Towson University. I am an avid sports fan and follow all D.C. metropolitan area sports with a passion. I love music, writing, and life as a whole.

What is Media Criticism?

Enough about me. The main purpose of this blog is to demonstrate to you what media criticism is, and tell you a little bit about it, so that you can become a more appreciative and intellectual media critic. Media criticism by definition is known as, the systematic process used to understand media texts as meaningful sociocultural symbolic forms and forces. I know what you are thinking, “wow what a mouthful.” Although this definition makes the concept seem complex and evasive, but when broken down it is far less intimidating. Media criticism is basically just the study of media and its various texts (such as television, the newspaper, or a magazine).

Why should you care?

Media criticism covers a variety of media outlets, and can help lead to a much more educated view of the media as a whole when it is properly used. The concept is important to study for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it is important for us to understand our media saturated environment. We are constantly surrounded by media and the messages it conveys, each and every day. I challenge you to think of the last time you went through an entire day without being exposed to some sort of media. I highly doubt that any of you can say you have done this, and this just proves how important it is to understand and be able to criticize the media, and the messages it is constantly sending.

Also, it is important to understand Media Criticism so that you can understand your own media consumption habits, and how they affect the way you conduct yourself, and how you view the world around you. Media is such a powerful tool that it can actually effect the way certain cultures conduct their daily lives, and some of the views they have. The concept that can help understand the medias power to do this is known as hegemony. Hegemony is basically the power of large corporations, or the elites, to maintain control of the public and shape their views of the world and how it should work.

One of the main areas of the media, that can help us understand media criticism and why it is important to understand, is television. An adequate media critic could tell you that television is an industry which is motivated by profit, and is also an appliance that we take for granted. Television is a constant flow of fragmented images and sounds that has the power to entertain, socialize, educate, create communities, inform, and interpret information. This lays a heavy burden on the television industry as it has so many responsibilities. All important aspects of television and its role in the media can be studied systematically through the use of some tools learned through media criticism. These tools are also known as critical methods or approaches, which can be text centered (centered around the media messages), producer centered(centered around the producers of the messages), reception  centered(centered around those who are receiving the media messages, or culturally centered(centered around the culture which surrounds the media and the effects the two have on each other.

Text Centered Example

A good way to understand the media and its specific texts are to take a specific outlet, which will in this case be television, and break it down to understand the text by using a specific program, or show, which is in this case “The Office.” In order to understand this show and the text as a whole, we will take a text centered approach, which we discussed earlier. For those of you who are not familiar with the show, it is a comedy about your run of the mill paper company, Dunder Mifflin. The show explores the everyday aspects of working in an office in America.

Now that you know the premise of the show, we can begin to dissect it. First, we must ask the question, Who is the targeted audience? The answer is middle-class working Americans. We know this because the show focuses on you everyday “average” working class citizens, and explores their struggles and triumphs. After we have discovered our target audience, it is time to discover what message the show is trying to deliver. For this, you could say that it is trying to tell people that they are not alone if they think their life is normal and boring. The show spoofs this concept to try to demonstrate that although we may think this to be true, we should also think that there is nothing wrong with this and we can make the best of it by enjoying what we do.

Following this, we can try to analyze and interpret the shows messages, to examine the larger meaning of the show.  For this, we need not look further than the image above. The image shows that “if you are a middle class working American, you should dress the part and conduct yourself in a professional manner.” To analyze this further, this is basically saying to us that all middle class workers are jumbled into one group. The show fails to take a multicultural approach, and examine the uniqueness of marginalized groups in society.

We can further evaluate the show by picking out the structure of the workplace, and how each member plays their part in the show as it is expected in our real life society. The office takes on a hierarchy similar to that of our American government structure. There is the boss, who makes decisions and tells everyone what to do, the second in charge, who basically reinforces what the boss says and does, and then the marginalized group of “workers” who are all held on an even keel.

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