This weeks screening of “12 Angry Men” was based in 1957 about a trial of a young man who killed his father by stabbing him to death. The jury was made up of 12 men who had to decide the sons fate. This movie actually reminded me of an episode of Family Guy that had a similar story line. The majority of the men stuck to one outcome just to get out of the trial fast to go home, but one of the men felt the opposite so they had to stay and decide the mans fate. The men weren’t given any names until the very last scene. Throughout the film, the men seem to have a range of different personalities, yet they still all settled in the case and just took the majorities favor in the group, but one of them kept standing up for what they believed happened. This to me was a great film to end the semester on since it is very relatable to todays current state. The country is so divided and people will see one statement and believe its true just because a lot of people agree with it, but that doesn’t necessarily make it true.

Though this semester had its many ups and downs, I could always count on this class to make my day. I really enjoyed all the material we looked at and discussed, it was very interesting to see the background and a lot of the phycological aspects that mass media has on people. When I was first coming into this class I had expected that we were going to focus more on the present day mass media outlets and was surprised to learn that we would start all the way back to the printing press. I have definitely learned a lot from this course. Prof. S, thank you so much for an amazing semester you were by far one of the best professors I have had at Alfred. Thank you again, I hope you have a wonderful and safe break! Happy Holidays!

The Use and Gratification theory is based around an active audience and is an approach to understanding why we as consumers enjoy and continue to enjoy specific forms of media. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs outlines four basic needs for someone to use a type of media outlet and can be simplified and applied to this series as, information, personal identity, personal relationships, and diversion. One of the main aspects that we focused on in this theory was the idea of fandom, or personal identity driving you to use media. Fandom began in the united states with baseball. Baseball became a very popular sport in the US and has picked up a lot of fans on the way. Fans were and still are able to buy and collect baseball cards featuring their most beloved players, but fandom (as we know) doesn’t apply to just sports. In the mass media world there are fandoms for almost everything, just look at what kind of groups there are on Facebook!

This weeks screening of the Galaxy Quest documentary and the Jaws 45th anniversary remake were very interesting and truly showed the power of the fans. I remember the first time watching Galaxy Quest when I was younger. My parents thought it was the funniest thing in the world, not only because it was casted with funny actors that they had grown up seeing, but it had also tapped into their childhood of watching Star Trek after school. This was accomplished by using actors who were real life and of the movies it was based off of, and real great use of special effects all the way down to the costume design and character development. This made it even easier for the movie not to come off as making fun of Star Trek, but making it a funny memory of good old times and possibly made it into an even bigger fandom.

What Fandoms are you in or were in?

Do you think fandoms are powerful enough to impact society as a whole to create change in a community?

Social media has become one of the largest forms of communication in the modern world. Many different types of platforms have been created over the years to insure everyone stays connected over the worldwide web, but have these platforms been used for their intended purposes? or have they spun out of control.

Facebook. One of the first major forms of social media that has spread from a few thousand to millions of users everyday. This website was created by Mark Zuckerberg when he was attending Harvard University. The initial reason Zuckerberg created this platform was to get back at a girl he was dating because she dumped him. Jealously, Zuckerberg stayed up for hours setting up a website for people at his school to rate girls that attended. Very quickly word got around of this hilarious website where you could see all the girls that went to your school and rate them. This soon became a big problem, obviously, when then school heard about it. They let him keep the website up as long as it was for the benefit of the school, so, Zuckerberg made Facebook. At first it was just Harvard, then it quickly spread to universities everywhere. Now I’m pretty sure we all know about the first scandal Zuckerberg was in with being accused of stealing the idea from the Winklevoss twins very early in the life of Facebook, but that’s not the only scandal Facebook has been involved in. Facebook is now known for stealing peoples privacy within the platform. Though almost everyone knows about this, so many people still continue to use it, I know I do. Nowadays there are so many types of social media platforms that Facebook might be left in the dust. I personally only use it to keep my family updated with my life just to make my mom and grandma happy lol.

Though social media has brought people together and has brought happiness and entertainment to all, there is a dark side to the internet that almost everyone has seen. Cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is when someone repeatedly comments or posts nasty stuff about someone else over the internet. Cyberbullying may not sound that bad because its not in person face-to-face bullying, but cyberbullying is one of the leading causes of suicide nowadays. When people are talking through a screen they feel almost invincible because they aren’t looking at each other in real life. This becomes a very viscous cycle of extreme bullying. When we look at people like Jennifer Connell, her nephew ran up and hugged her by surprise and fell over breaking her wrist. She decided to try and sue for the insurance money. Once the first news outlet found out about this and published the headline “Aunt Sues Nephew For Hugging Her”, it was all down hill from their. it could the eye of so many people and they began to call her names and told her to kill herself even when they’ve never met her. it got even worse when she got the image of some prissy rich New York City girl who couldn’t hold her plate at a party. Things like this get out of hand so quickly and hatred is spread so much faster. And its not even just in social media, its also in online video games as well. I see it all the time and try to speak up so they’d stop tormenting someone, but hatred always seem to prevail. its mind blowing to me how people get so angry and flustered over a game or a headline that they let themselves say these horrible things to someone they’ve never met before.

Do you think Facebook is gonna disappear with the boomers? do you think cyberbullying will ever stop?

Ever since the beginning of the internet and especially social media, there has been serious censorship with many different images and topics. As technology and electronics become more and more accessible to the point where everyone has a screen in their pockets, censorship has become more and more of a problem. This reoccurring blocking of information has become almost invisible to the public and most people don’t even realize its happening to them. Now more than ever more secret information has coming out from under the surface of media. More and more people are starting to see the truth through the screen and are able to see real problems in the world.

In the Ted Talk we were assigned to watch they discussed how the censorship not only affected the bigger people, but also the people who are paid to do the censoring. When livestreams come up where people are attempting to commit suicide repetitively, they also begin to feel suicidal thoughts and even end up committing suicide. The censorship of the media has a toll on everyone involved. When the public is being censored from the truth, the truth gets blurred and twisted. In the past censoring wasn’t as bad as it is today because social media was a newer platform of the internet and was always changing and shifting. Nowadays there is censorship and almost everything. I know personally I didn’t know much about the world and other world conflicts and troubles until recently when the group Anonymous came out again for the Black Lives Matter movement and started to unveil more truth. There is still some censorship with the tweets they post but i have already learned so much more than what i had known before. Before when i would scroll through social media i would only see funny memes or relatable posts or pictures of friends, but now my feed is full of videos and images of people suffering and revolting all over the world. I know some censorship is necessary in media especially for children, but we deserve to know the truth about the world and the conflicts that happen within it. Why does someone get to decide what we see and when, shouldn’t that be our decision? It’s our lives isn’t it. It only affects us if we choose to let it. If we do get the chance to choose what we see, is that better? To be in your own personal bubble secluded from the rest of the world?

Do you think the censorship in the media is necessary? Or should we be able to decide what we see or not see?

Television is one of the largest And most popular forms of mass media we have in the modern world. Ever since the television was invented, people went crazy for it. Think about it, when you’re bored what do you do? I know personally I either find a new show to watch or continue one I’ve been watching already. Even back in the day whenever you have down time you’d sit and relax and watch some TV. Television has a huge impact on us ever since we were children. Most of our childhoods were spend in from of the TV. If you were irritating you’re poor parents they just sat you in front of the TV to watch a children’s show. Watching these children’s shows made a big imprint on us because of how impressionable children are. That’s why it started being rumored that TV rots the brain, because of kids sitting there staring into a screen like as if they were zombies.

This week we were assigned to watch a film from “Pioneers of Television” called “Funny Ladies”. This show was revolutionary for the television industry and for women everywhere. For the first time ever, women were starring on hit television shows and started having payable jobs. It shifted the whole view of The typical women’s roles In general. Women were seen as stars and icons and began to be recognized as a talented human being rather than an object. These early television shows also helped shape the structure of the story in television today. Early television used to have stories going from episode to episode, now, shows are categorized by season And story’s can last over a few seasons long. Soon the television industry had to shift over time to more cinematic shows to compete with movies coming out. The show “Dallas” that aired in the late 70s used a now very common tactic to real viewers into their shows, a cliff hanger. One of these most suspenseful things a show could do is leave you, for as long as they want, not knowing what happened after a dramatic event. Who Shot J.R. Was the big question for this episode of “Dallas”. Today it still holds the record for the most Live viewed episode of a television show ever with a grand total of over 83 million people watching when it aired.

Do you think a show today could possibly top the record that “Dallas” holds with viewers? Do you usually watch some tv shows when you’re bored? How impactful was “Funny Ladies” to you?

Ever since the invention of television in the 20s, People have been going absolute bonkers over TVs and I don’t blame them! The technological evolution that the television has gone through is mind blowing. Back then the television was a big ugly rectangular box that couldn’t even play sound and had a tiny black and white screen. Today we have massive jumbo screens and huge amps to produce a whole other level of experienceS. This not so new invention has become a major source of mass media in todays world.

I usually enjoy watching “Tuning into media” and agree with most things they mention, but this weeks video had me all confused. They talked about how television was starting to become outdated and fading away, but I think television is going to be staying for along while. The television industries have been becoming too big to fail in my eyes. Kids all over the world rely on television as their main source of entertainment. New funny cartoons and movies will always be coming up and filling joy into children’s hearts. Television is also used for information about the country’s current positions and news. I know today too many people may be relying on some information outlets and news stations on television that might be poisoned with lies, but there are many options in choosing what you want to watch and take in. Personally I don’t think television will ever be a thing of the past. It may go through changes and different orientations, but in the end it will still be considered television. Even when considering the new inventions In how to stream media like Netflix, HBO, Hulu,etc. television will still be a pretty popular media outlet. To me personally, I’ve seen mostly teens and young adults using these new streaming devices to watch shows and other programs. I feel as if older generations usually stick to cable shows instead of paying for a subscription.

When thinking back on my childhood and what shows I watched, i realized how much these shoes have influenced me as person. When i was younger i used to wake up super early with my dad to watch animal planet and National Geographic shows. Today i am very conscious about animals and the environment and have changed my life style to help keep them from being destroyed or abused. Even when i was hat young i was the person in my family to take car of any spider or flies in the house because i would refuse to kill them, so i would catch them with a cup and paper and set them free. In todays world television has become very persuasive, especially in the news and has persuaded people to think or believe certain things whether they were truthful or not.

How persuasive do you think television can really be? Do you think television is starting to become a part of the past?

Music. It’s the one thing everyone can agree on. Over the generations of music changing, forming, and inventing, It’s one of our main sources of entertainment. Whether your out for a run or in the car blasting bops, You can’t deny the impact music has on our daily lives. Music has a way of moving people and bringing people together in the best and worst of times. Not only does it have an impact on us as individuals, but as whole societies.

The human race has been creating and inventing new ways to produce music and sound since the cave men. Making sounds is literally how we communicate today! (Except we have actual languages created) Archeologists have been digging up all sorts of ancient musical instruments and other pieces of evidence that supports our ancestors creating music. Whether you realize it or not, music has been brainwashing you and implanting its rhythmic ways inside your head! We hear certain tunes or rhythms and beats and we connect it specific memories or feelings, almost as if music holds the memory for you. Whenever you hear the graduation song (do you hear it lol) you usually either get excited (if you haven’t graduated yet) or get emotional because it was a big step in your life, the same with wedding bells. As a musician myself (classically trained violinist for 10 years), whenever I get into the rhythm of a song my whole body tends to feel the beats and melody’s and tends to move with it. Creating and playing music tends to act like writing in your diary and helps let loose of all your feelings and feel fresh again. I know that sometimes if I am feeling stressed or sad or overwhelmed, I like to take a drive in my car and blast my sad or favorite songs and screaM just to let out my feelings. Heck! I listen to music all day! I’m even listening to it while writing this blog! Music has also brought me together and closer to a lot of relationships I have. I would’ve never met some of my bet friends today without music. It has also helped me to become closer with my family, singing during long car rides or even just randomly in the house ( have 6 people living in my house so some dance parties got a little more crazier than others LOL).

Music can influence generations of people! I remember reading about how when the Beatles got popular everyone wanted to buy those cliche bowl cut wigs so they could pretend to be them. It’s crazy what music can really do and how it can affect our everyday lives. That being said, Do you think music has enough social power to create a whole movement and bring real change to our society today?

Before doing this weeks readings I never even thought about how much goes into producing a newspaper article. I always imagined the classic office going crazy with papers flying and phones ringing scenes in movies and television shows, but never gave it enough thought. Newspapers were one of the key places to get your information and happenings on the world and still is for most people. Its also interesting to think about how much the newspaper persuaded people in how to think because it was their main source of information, especially which newspaper you read.

The very first form of a newspaper was created by Julius Caesar in 59 B.C. to inform the public about important social and political events. Before the printing press it was hard for information to get around, especially because most people didn’t even know how to read! In 1440 Johannes Gutenberg in Germany invented the printing press which was able to print over 3,000 pages a day compared to the handwritten 40 pages a day, but enough about old ancient history!

The newspaper has developed into a super major source of mass media. They travel all over the country spreading news and major events. Its crazy to think about how many things have been filled into newspapers to seem more appealing to almost every audience there is. There’s the basic news sections where you can learn on day to day things happening in the country, there’s a sports section for those who might’ve missed a game or event, there are crosswords and word searches and other puzzles to keep the viewer more interested and keep up there brain muscles active, and there are even cartoons so kids can start being interested about reading the news! Though, since technology has advanced highly over the years, is the newspaper something of the past?

Nowadays the television is a much more popular outlet to be informed than the newspaper. In the interview with David Simon he talks about the times when he was a reporter for a newspaper in Baltimore and never even had television on his mind, then ended up working for television for over 10 years. Simon also discussed how the newspaper business as a reporter is ruthless with having the high expectations to find the best stories. He had to pick and choose between different things he could potentially make into a headline. When Simon talks about working for HBO he brings up how they had to pick certain characters to be in certain scenes so the viewers would enjoy the show better. Simon discusses how mostly rich white people get murdered on shows like Law and Order, “They’re protecting the franchise. Those stories are more interesting to the white consumerist audiences coveted by advertising executives. The truth is that violence follows economic deprivation. The vast majority of murders have to do with people who don’t have a lot. They’re chasing after the scraps falling off the table.” This helps shows almost a similarity with newspaper and television considering both make adjustments to what they are presenting that make the viewers enjoy the media more.

In present day I almost never see people reading the newspaper, maybe only my grandparents occasionally. There are so many other ways to receive news and important information than sitting and reading a newspaper. The news and ads scream at us all day long on our devices popping up over and over again, does this mean we need newspapers to keep us from our heads exploding? or do we just stop wasting money on it and throw it away because we already have so many other outlets? Are newspapers a thing of the past, or will they stay relevant for a few more years until another new technological form of media takes it over? Do you read the paper or even touch a paper on the regular?

Hi my name is Lauren and I am from Buffalo, NY! I am a second year art and design student. I came to Alfred because of their glass blowing and painting programs and fell in love with the atmosphere and environment. My favorite sports are swimming, soccer, and hockey. My favorite foods are sushi, mashed potatoes, and spaghetti tacos. I am very excited about this class and excited to get to know everyone a little bit better!