Bringin’ it all home
Well, I can’t believe I’m already saying this, but Media Criticism is almost over, and these past 3 weeks have flown by. Within 12 days, I have learned so much about how to analyze a text, and can honestly say that I have gained a keen eye for appreciating the art of media. I have found that “blogging” is an innovative and creative way to express your thoughts and opinions, and I have truly enjoyed journey of becoming comfortable enough to critique a media text and stand by it.
For our last blog, we had to read and comment on three of our classmate’s blogs while providing useful feedback. It was fun to see the different opinions and writing styles of my fellow classmates, when I was writing about similar topics for my blog. I found things I liked about their blogs, what I felt could make their blog post improve, as well as new useful facts that I could have incorporated into my blogs.
I first choose to comment on Will Mu’s blog because the commercial he chose to analyze was very touching and a great way to celebrate the win of a baseball team who won the World Series in 2004. Here were my comments that wrote for his blog:
“Will, the initial title of your blog, “Nike’s Red Sox World Series” really caught my interest because I enjoy watching and learning about sports. Baseball is one of the sports I don’t follow up on too much, so I was curious to see what you were writing about. You started off your blog by sharing a really interesting fact saying the Boston Red Sox had finally won the World Series in 2004 after 86 years. The Nike commercial you showed on your blog really captivated the dedication these two brothers had for their favorite baseball team. As the years go by and you finally see the men witness a World Series win, it really makes you feel touched. I thought it was a clever approach to highlight a team who had just won the “Superbowl” of baseball. I thought it would have been neat to see you express why you decided to criticize this particular commercial. I wasn’t sure if you were a big baseball fan, liked the Red Sox, or just liked the commercial itself. Overall, the sequence of events that portrayed the years passing, as the color technology from the early 1900’s to 2004 improves was really interesting to watch and caught the attention of viewers. It also showed a strong sense of family ties as the boys attend the games with their own family and children over the years after their parents pass. Nike did a great job depicting a personal story of a family and their love for baseball, and you did well in analyzing this through media criticism.”
I then read and commented on Taylor Graham’s blog which I found out a lot about “How I Met Your Mother.” I learned about the characters of the show, and what their character roles were according to Vladimir Propp. I will definitely start watching this show after reading her blog. Here is what I said about Taylor’s blog post:
“As I came across your blog post and saw that you wrote about “How I Met your Mother”, I was instantly curious because I have always wanted to watch this show and never have! I hear that the characters each have very strong personalities, so I was happy to see you analyzed the text with narrative criticism. I loved how you instantly started you blog with a synopsis of the show. I learned the basics of the show, and learned exactly why the show is called, “How I met Your Mother” (I had no idea!) Linking a more in-depth synopsis of the show on IMDB was a wise decision for readers just in case they want to know more about the show. Great job introducing the characters and adding a picture of them, and I was pleased to read on and see that you labeled the character’s according to their Propp character role. I really developed a sense of how each character interacts with one another. Also, if you wanted to provide even more information about where to find full episodes of the show, that would be great because I wanted to start watching the show instantly after reading your blog. Great job!”
Lastly, I decided to check out Kara McGonigle’s blog about the Monopolization of Disney. It reiterated the major points explained in the movie we watched in class called, “Mickey Mouse Monopoly.” Here is what I had to say about Kara’s blog post:
“I first started reading Kara’s blog post titled, “Get a life, people” and was interested to find her opinion about Disney Movies and the younger generations corrupted by the senseless technology out there today. With such a bold statement expressing how our generation had it made growing up, I had to be honest and completely agree with her. Kara did a great job in reiterating solid facts shown in the movie, “Mickey Mouse Monopoly” by including the story about the little boy who misunderstood African American children for the hyenas in The Lion King. That was a controversial issue regarding a child’s false impression that I felt was important to include in her blog. Kara’s links to interesting articles added more background knowledge on the often disguised, REAL truth about Disney, which many parents overlook when letting their children become obsessed with the company. The only thing I would recommend are shorter paragraph lengths to keep readers in full attention and be able to take in all of the valuable points listed in the blog. Kara’s bold and to-the-point stance on the topic of Disney really got to the point in explaining that Disney may not be all it’s made out to be. Very interesting!”
I learned so much about Media Criticism in just 12 short-lived days, and have a new love for the art of blogging. There is so much reason in the world-and so much to learn about why certain media texts captivate you. When this occurs, your mind allows you to open up and allows you to feel established. When you are able to opinionate your thoughts into collective actions, or a blog, for instance, you’ll be amazed to see where it takes you. I hope you have enjoyed my blog, and PLEASE check out all of my other classmate’s amazing blogs as well!
That’s all for now!
Just what is Ideological Criticism, and what does Disney have to do with it?
Welcome back to my third blog post! So far in Dr. Nichols class, I have learned so much about how to accurately criticize a media text, and realize its value and meaning in our social world. The more I have learned through Media Criticism, the more I have started to look at a certain TV show or commercial and realize why it was put on the air in the first place, and how it impacts certain viewers.
Ideological Criticism
We have just covered a topic in class called Ideological Criticism-another approach to weighing out the importance of media in our culture. I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck ideological criticism is. The term Ideology derives from this kind of criticism, which is simply a set of ideas that gives some particular account of the world. The ideas are usually partial and selective, and HOW these ideas come to seem natural in our daily lives is the basis behind the term. Ideological criticism examines how these ideas are embedded in and circulated through texts. How they reflect and serve the interests of the dominant elites (media conglomerates), and how the representation of these ideas become accepted as normal, natural and how they largely go unnoticed and unchallenged (Nichols, 2012).
English, please.
Sounds like a lot of jumble and complicated words, but it’s not as dense as it seems. Everything is an idea. A thought, expression, sentence, place, culture, etc. derives from an ideologically that classifies into something that appears normal to our culture. For example, the idea that men are dominant and women are subordinate is the ideology of a type of power. It seems normal to our culture that men are stronger than women; the protectors, just like it is normal in our culture for women to be nurturing, and the caregivers.
This idea of power represents hegemony: a type of power elites (media conglomerates) can maintain over masses, enabled by the consent of the dominated (the public), which avoids the use of overt forces. Our values, ideas, norms, routines, ideas seem natural, perpetuated by social institutions. Socially, our culture has formed these norms guided by the elites which no one really argues with these set guidelines. What appears normal to our society has been taught to us since we have been taught to act out our gender since we were babies. Our culture has been established as being male or female, with certain norms and behaviors that come along with your “masculine or feminine” label.
There IS value in understanding how media institutions, texts and practices sustain existing power relations (assumption 1, Nichols, 2012). Many people let the elites just maintain the already-established way of living out our culture, through the media we watch, what we read and the advertisements we see. However, there is a way to strive for material changes by informing and empowering the oppressed to improve equality. Exposing and challenging dominant ideas and values, even though they may appear confrontational, can help us get one step closer in understanding the hegemonic power of media conglomerates.
Who are the media conglomerates?
“A media conglomerate is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the internet. They strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe” (Editorials, 1999). Simply, it is the ownership of media and how these media institutions, texts and practices establish and sustain existing power relations. Through hegemonic consensus, these media conglomerates advance to make ideas and values constructed seem natural and normal. Many people are concerned with the amount of power that these huge media corporations have, and in political economic analysis, people study just that.
What is Political Economic Analysis?
Political Economic Analysis is a study which examines the role of ownership in the media industry. They study how production and distribution practices shape the media texts, that is the link between media ownership and the ideology embedded in their media texts. We watched a movie called, “Mickey Mouse Monopoly” which tied in the idea of a media conglomerate (Disney) and its power and impact is has established via their movies, advertisements, merchandise, and overall culture that has been passed down to children of all ages. Many people are concerned with social values being taught to children through Disney’s ideas of being a male and female.
Disney is a wholesome, educational phenomenon for our children…right?
There is such a thing called “Disney Culture.” My generation the generation before mine and future generation have and will grow up with Disney. Half of my childhood relates to watching Disney movies, being Cinderella for Halloween, and carrying a Toy Story lunch box. However, political economist say there is way more than the surface which makes Disney seem innocent and magical. The movie pointed out an interesting fact, by saying that Disney hides behind innocence, and separates corporate culture and corporate power.
Disney has done a fantastic job in policing their image. Any negative connotation against Disney, such as a book going against Disney’s values, or an article depicting Disney’s negative impact are all policed in a very critical operation. Being a media conglomerate who owns numerous radio stations, restaurants, television channels, movie (you name it and Disney most likely owns it), Disney is able to cover up any negative image by showering the media with all of its positive values. By doing so and outweighing the negative feedback regarding Disney, the company is able to instantly repair its image by reiterating the fact that, “Disney will make you feel beautiful, happy, and that the world is a better place with Disney in it.”
When I was growing up, I always thought that I could find a man like prince charming, and he would sweep me off of my feet. One thing is true that I will most likely (and hopefully) find a man who I will fall in love with, but that doesn’t mean I will attract him with my body, or appear desperate, like Disney movies show in their movies. For example, in almost all Disney movies, you see the women seducing the man with her figure by the way she walks and carries herself. By constructing the notion of femininity this way, girls may think it is okay to use your body to attract a man.
Disney did not invent this tactic of attracting the opposite sex, but they sure did wrap it up in “Disney Wrapper” and sell it to us (Mickey Mouse Monopoly, 2001). Another example being Beauty and the Beast. The beast is very abusive to Bell, and even locks her up in the dungeon without eating, unless she eats with him. After Bell forgives the Beast, she simply excuses his rage as a temper. Then, they fall in love and “live happily ever after.” Political economists may look at Disney and see its power over children who watch these movies. By giving them a negative message, it could possibly give children the idea that excusing abuse is okay.
Is the Disney message intentional?
Whether messages like this are intentional or not, it is essentially the same message and effect. Even with these messages given out by Disney to children, they are still known for their positives because of the way they handle the media. With such a large company who owns everything, it is very hard to change their image for good. You may be able to point negative points hidden in Disney messages, but millions of people around the world will always think of Disney as the happiest and most magical place on earth.
In conclusion
I know I covered many challenging points relating to media criticism, but I hope I opened the floodgate to what the media is showing us, and what the truth is. Because media conglomerates own so many media, they are able to publicize the image and message they want people to see, even if it is not the truth. That is why Disney is so powerful and has been able to keep their positive image-the media that is showing Disney’s positive message is most likely a channel, radio station, or merchandise that Disney owns. It is hard to change hegemonic power when it is already situated in our culture, but striving to improve equality and uncover the truth, we may be one step closer to understanding the media.
How about Grey’s Anatomy for dinner tonight?
Welcome back everyone! This is my second blog where I will share some really awesome facts about my all-time favorite show in the WHOLE world, Grey’s Anatomy!!!
Not only will I talk about the juicy gossip, characters and plot regarding the show, I will also show you easy ways that you can start looking at media text’s through a critical eye.
What is Grey’s Anatomy anyway?
Grey’s Anatomy is a show airing on ABC about an american medical drama TV series that follows a group of residents and doctors each with a passion towards medicine. I will refer to a main synopsis from the ever-so-helpful Wikipedia: ” The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in Seattle, as they struggle to complete their medical training and maintain personal lives” (Greys Anatomy, 2012).
The (very good-looking) doctors of the show
Since it first aired on ABC in 2005, we have been introduced to many characters along the way, with some characters coming and going through the years. The main doctors that have stuck with the show are:
Doctor Derek Shepard (the hero), played by Patrick Dempsey
Alex Karev (donor, dispatcher) played by Justin Chambers
Christina Yang (the donor) played by Sandra Oh
Richard Webber (the chief of residency, the magical helper) played by James Pickens Jr
Miranda Bailey (the nice villain) played by Chandra Wilson
Callie Torres (donor, dispatcher) by Sara Ramirez
Mark Sloan (donor, dispatcher) played by Eric Dane
and the main star of the show, Meredith Grey (the hero, princess) played by Ellen Pomoeo.
The show is usually from the viewpoint of Meredith Grey (hens the show’s title), as she encounters love with Derek Shepard, friendship ties and struggles with her best friend, Dr. Christina Yang, as well as the dynamics she see’s inside of the hospital.
Why this show is great for narrative criticism?
I could go on and on about the steaminess, juicy hook-ups and fights, and the dramatic encounters the doctors have with their patients, but let’s save that for the criticism. The show is all about drama, very story-based from the eyes of Dr. Grey, and makes a great text for analyzing the show’s importance and place in the media.
Grey’s Anatomy is story-based
Dr. Grey ALWAYS opens up the show with a quote or story relating to what is about to happen over the duration of the episode. Often, you will hear a voice-over by Meredith Grey relating a quote or experience to what is happening in the show, and she will end the episode by rounding up her story or quote that she initially talked about while opening the show. Sounds confusing, but after watching one episode of Grey’s Anatomy, you will know what I’m talking about. (See an example here). By this, you can clearly tell that the show is told by stories and experiences that Dr. Grey has encountered. Dr. Grey makes it very easy to understand what exactly she is going through during the episode, which is then applied to make sense of our lives.
Often, I find myself relating Dr. Grey’s quotes, stories or analogies to my own life. For example, I always look up Dr. Grey’s quotes and apply them to my daily life, because she has much insight on human nature. For example, one of my favorite quotes that Dr. Grey has said in an episode is, “At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don’t really expect it. It’s like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it’s not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away” (Meredith Grey Quotes, 2011).
In narrative criticism, you often see stories that share common features, regardless of media and culture. In Grey’s Anatomy, you see a common string that ties in the main points of each episode. Whether the story she shares is about love, pain, death, emotions, the story or quote will ALWAYS relate to what is shown in the episode. By relating Dr. Grey’s stories and quotes to your own life, you can feel a sense of comfort that other people are feeling the way that you are.
Beginning, middle and end
In narrative criticism, you see the particular media text structured into a cause-and-effect chain of events with a beginning, middle and end. By understanding the sequence of events, it helps reveal potential meaning embedded in texts. In Grey’s Anatomy, you could look at ALL of the seasons and see a beginning, middle and end, or you could look at the sequence by each episode. In one Grey’s Anatomy episode, so much goes on that you can detect the beginning, middle and end. If you were to look at Grey’s Anatomy as a whole by analyzing all of the seasons combined, you could see that in the beginning of the show, most of the doctors start out as plain-old interns and residents who are just starting out on their journey to becoming doctors. They are very young and their knowledge of medical practice is very limited. As the show progresses, you see the interns/residents become a year older; a step higher in the medical field, and many events occur overtime. If you analyze the show by each episode, you will notice that each character comes across a dilemma, or a situation where they must make a decision. Nine times out of ten, the decision that they must make determines their fate between their love-interest, or jeopardizes their position at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.
The Story behind Grey’s Anatomy
There are many things that can be seen while watching Grey’s Anatomy, but there are also many things that you can only infer, and feel during the show. Dr. Grey’s use of voice-overs give the audience a sense of what is going on in her head, and allows us to feel a certain way.
Plot
The plot of Grey’s Anatomy is strategically placed for the viewer to see the main events and emotions behind the characters, while still leaving room for imagination by the audience. Shonda Rhimes, the writer and creator of the show, chooses to show the audience a certain amount of text, then leaves it up to the viewer to feel the emotions behind the action. Rhimes uses this strategy often to let the viewer feel their own emotions as they watch the characters deal with the issues and struggles involved in the show.
Emplotment
By showing a selection or arrangement of events into a coherent narrative, you are able to see a better understanding of why the director chose the events to make up the big idea. In Grey’s Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes chooses to show certian images to make the viewer feel a certian way, and also uses the voice of Dr. Grey to make the viewer feel another way. By using the power of images, the viewer is able to SEE the chain of events, and using voice-overs without seeing images allows the imagination to take over and let the viewer see in their own way the chain of events. By using a combination of the two, the viewer can develop their own emotions which tie into the drama behind the show’s plot.
Narrative Criticism allows us to see the arrangement of elements to achieve certain effects. In Grey’s Anatomy, you could examine Narrative Criticism through the Aristotelian approach, which examines through elements of drama. Since Grey’s Anatomy is very drama-based, this would be a good approach to use if you wanted to further criticize the show. The dramatic vocalization of Dr. Grey expressing her thoughts as they relate to the episode, and the explosive performance of each character, you are clearly able to detect the challenges that each character goes through.
In conclusion…
There are many ways you could examine Grey’s Anatomy through a narrative criticism. If you have a passion towards this show like I do, it is really fun to detect why Shonda Rhimes did what she did, and why she chose to display the plot like she did. To me, Rhimes is a fantastic writer and director, and has mastered how to show a strong sense of emotions through the characters of Grey’s Anatomy, and in a hospital setting. I hope this blog post will encourage you to check out Grey’s Anatomy, because I promise that you will be hooked instantly. If you are already a fan, I hope that you can appreciate the work and emotions put into the show by the actors and Shonda Rhimes, to make up one of the greatest drama-series ever aired on television.
Lets start with the basics
Hello everybody! Welcome to my blog, a place where I can really share with you the fascinating things I have learned in Media Criticism, and show how we can all use the media to our advantage. Media is EVERYWHERE-through print ads, commercials, films, tv shows, written publications, etc.
I found the media to be interesting at an early age because I realized that it wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, the media is more apparent than ever, and I am fascinated by how people react to different types.
But before I go into the media among us, I want to share some information about myself. I am almost 21, and before entering college, I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had many different interests, and didn’t really know how to narrow them together and choose a major that I could stand doing for the rest of my professional career.
When taking Mass Communications 101, I knew instantly that I had a passion towards the ever-changing media and social interaction we hold through social media, the internet itself, and interactions we carry through what we see, hear,watch and read in the world.
I promise that you will find many things in media criticism interesting and applicable to your own life, because our world is very much shaped around today’s technology. Douglas Kellner, a very knowledgeable source on cultural studies and media criticism, once said, “Radio, television, film, and the other products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge our very identities; our sense of selfhood; our notion of what it means to be male or female; our sense of class, of ethnicity and race, of nationality, of sexuality; and of “us” and “them” (Kellner, 2011).
You can get the full article by clicking this http://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/papers/SAGEcs.htm. Every media text that we see allows us to shape opinions, a sense of who we are and how this text applies to our life, and how we categorize us and them.
Being a millennial, we consume the most media, and are the most connected group who have the power to influence culture today. The most popular media vehicle is-of course-TELEVISION. Did you know that more than 99% of people own at least one television in their house today? It is a powerful medium that allows us to entertain, inform, connect, socialize, and educate.
Allowing yourself to have a keen eye for criticizing the media is extremely important. This doesn’t necessarily mean judging every TV show you watch, or HAVING to have a full opinion on reality TV. It just simply means understanding more about why we choose to watch what we watch, what we can take away from the particular show, commercial, ad, or film, and the impact it has on you and I in society. Sounds like a lot, I know, but once you really understand why the media is so apparent in our everyday life, you can tell how it has shaped our culture-for the better or worse.
So what is media criticism? Simple. It is simply the Systematic process used to understand media texts as meaningful sociocultural symbolic forms and forces.
Lets take a television show, for example. Why we select a TV show to watch. Does it contain your likes, interests? Does it have NOTHING to do with your likes or interests, therefore you decide to check it out? There could be any reason why you chose to watch it. Why did you become engaged and ultimately look or watch the particular text, or how did the text (show) choose YOU?
Next is determining the message behind the show. Is it a positive message, trying to educate you on a particular topic or issue? Is it light-hearted, trying to make you feel happy or relaxed? Or, is it a disturbing message trying to scare or intimidate you.
I love to use the example, American Horror Story for this part. If you haven’t watched the show, be prepared to think, ‘Why is this show so f%&#ed up, yet it all makes sense?” This show is gravitating, and the message is very strong and in your face. It is violent, thrilling, and ADDICTING.
If you want a short synopsis of the show to better understand what I am about to dig into, check this clip out that highlights the first season-you may just become addicted like I did! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDb4SqqiQag
Once you develop the message of the show, and the reason for allowing people to watch it, you are able to analyze the message. Do you see any patterns continuing, or is it a different tone/message every episode.
You are able to see why the writers and directors chose this message for the audience. For American Horror Story, the writers really wanted the audience to feel confused, scared, slightly uneasy. How do they make you feel that way? What tactics do they use to make the viewer feel a certain way.
The way we feel for a certain show such as American Horror Story has a lot to do with your culture and how you were raised in society. An individual who grew up in the projects, and has seen a lot of violence in their life may not be as threatened or feel as uneasy as a person watching AHS, who has seen little violence, gore, and hardships in their life. That is what is so fascinating to me. People interpret media differently depending on where they are from, how old they are, how they were raised, etc.
After we analyze and interpret the meaning, we can evaluate the impact of the message. How did it leave you feeling after watching the show. Everyone has different reactions and evaluations of a text, depending on what level it affected them.
For better understanding on how we interpret media, check out this link http://www.transparencynow.com/mediacrit.htm
Everyone has an opinion, a certain feeling after they read or watch a particular text. Media criticism is not just about opinions or for entertainment, but critically looking into the depths behind the text, and why it was put out there in the first place.
Well, that is just a quick intro to media criticism, and we still have so much more to learn and interpret. Until next time, think about the next show you watch on TV, and how you would interpret its message. It was meant to be on air for someone like you to grasp its message and a reason for being on TV.
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