Blog 39

For my screw ups with grammar usage, I would have to say the dreadful semicolons have to be at the top of the list. I do not know what it is, but I have always felt like a failure with grammar usage. This is probably because none of my elementary, junior high, or high school teachers ever really focused on it. This is the same explanation I gave my mom every time I got my ACT score back and the English was the lowest score. I swear, the English department in my schools focused solely on reading comprehension. The first time I have ever even used a semicolon in one of my papers is in this class. This year…that is something I should be embarrassed about. I have got to be doing something wrong if I never use them at all. Leslie probably taught me more about grammar in one day than what I have learned in my whole life. Let’s see, apparently these are the times you are supposed to include the dreadful semi-colon: “Use a semicolon in place of a period to separate two sentences where the conjunction has been left out…Use the semicolon to separate units of a series when one or more of the units contain commas…Use the semicolon between two sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction when one or more commas appear in the first sentence.” So yeah, I never use it; however, I will hopefully learn how to use this for future papers. See, I am already learning;)

Blog 38

Hooking your audience can sometimes be a daunting task. Throughout the years, I have been told to start the paper with a question or an interesting quote. I want to hook my readers by displaying examples that are very easy to relate to. In much of my blogs, I have included examples such as multiple celebrities that have had dramatic changes in their lives. Everyone in our generation has heard of Hilary Duff and Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana). They may not know what has happened in these celebrities’ lives, but they at least know of their existence because of media constantly revolving around them. Another way I want to hook my readers is to use a colorful vocabulary and keep the writing away from being called “a desert on paper” (aka a dry mess). During last class, we pondered the difference between a very dry paper and a paper that had a little more juice to it.  The first paper was very dry and not relatable by many means. There were things left in the air, such as that baseball quote. It was boring and I could barely keep my attention when reading it. Hopefully I will be able to incorporate more of the techniques from the second paper. I think the hypothetical situation blog that we wrote would either be a good way to start or to end the paper. I think a lot can be pulled from that blog to enthuse the audience to stick to the article.

Whose a better role model- Playboy Bunny Miley Cyrus or DUI Lindsay Lohan? Both of these celebrities started off as Disney Channel stars, but now they both have grown up and have left that stage behind them. Parents are outrages to see this happen. You know why? Because they know how much media affects our beliefs and decisions and they don’t want their precious, Hannah Montana obsessed six year old to grow up to live as a special kind of bunny.

Blog 37-Personal Anecdote

I can easily connect with the topic of media manipulation, as everyone else can. Even though college has slowed down my television consumption by, well probably by 95%, I am still engulfed in media on the computer for the majority of the day. I am still well-connected with the world and it’s influences. I can also see the trends of the people I pass by. I see all of the Sperry’s and North Face jackets. If a guy’s wearing a rainbow poncho while holding an umbrella with bunnies on it, I can guarantee this guy is going to be judged as a weirdo. I understand there’s a norm to any society, but I feel like media takes too much of a hold on it. Most of the judgments given off by us are kept in our mind, but the media releases the negativity to the world. Personally, I would not want to be a cause of a bad change in someone because of my judgments. I find it peaceful to keep an open mind rather than be clouded with the negativity on the news. I end up changing the news most of the time because the majority of what’s being broadcasted is full of the daily corruption in the area. One of my personal experiences has to be seeing one of the cast members from The Real World at McFadden’s. He is known for being the crazy drunk on the reality (“un-reality” to me) television show. At McFadden’s, Adam was on top of the bar the entire time pouring shots into the mouths of the dancers below.  This is highly expected behavior because that is how we saw him in the show. It would be a disappointment to everyone if he fell from that reputation and just roamed the bar like everyone else. Just like if you were going to pay to see a Lady Gaga concert; you would be disappointed if she came out in regular clothes while she at on a stool and sang. Poor lady, because of media, we now question if she is a hermaphrodite.

Blog 36

Suppose everyone took all the bullshit thrown at us by the media seriously. What if everyone actually thought that aliens existed because of the false UFO pictures posted in magazines? What if society based their political opinions on the campaigners’ commercials? Even better, our children would grow up to be the next Snooki or Miley Cyrus. This world would be full of idiots who could not even pick apart what is real from what is fake. We would be shunning the celebrities that TMZ and E! have been tearing apart over and over throughout the years. The beauty of the human mind would be dissolving because of the incapability of making individual conclusions. The lives of those being picked on would end up living to their reputation, such as Lindsay Lohan being an alcoholic criminal and Chris Brown being a woman abuser. They would have no job, no loved ones, and they would be banished from society. But the thing is, no one actually knows the whole story unless they are a part of it. It is like someone trying to give you relationship advice, even though they could not possibly know the whole story.  Political positions would be handed to the ill-prepared because people only listened to how the “other side” is a horrible person who will lead the country to the ground.  This hypothetical situation leads to everyone hating on those being exposed. The world is full of enough hate and corruption as it is…let’s just add to it by believing the bogus stories given to us by the media.

Blog 35

My purpose to my Commonplace paper is to influence the audience to not base their thought processes and decisions on what media says. It could be said that my paper’s topic is ironic since I will be trying to influence the audience to not listen to the media’s influences. Throughout the paper, I will hit on the topics that we can all examine and relate to, such as the hits against celebrities, criminals, and people you pass everyday. I will also analyze the commercials that affect the way we feel upon different things like politicians and abused animals. I find it important to analyze the affects because it becomes unfair when we judge others by unreliable sources. These judgments can change a person in negative ways, like celebrities that have grown up with paparazzi hunting after them wherever they go. The media’s influence does not limit it’s correlation to only the celebrities, but it also affects our decisions and reputations. We grew up in a generation that is consumed by highly dramatic television shows, such as Jersey Shore and The Real World, and this has the capability of showing teens this is how you are supposed to act. I like this topic because it relates to our age where we start to make our own beliefs, set apart from the beliefs that we have gotten from our parents’ minds. It is an important thing to separate the information handed to us by it’s credibility to create better beliefs and conclusions.

Blog 34

Making media manipulation my paper’s topic will give the audience an understanding that the material in the paper is credible because it is very easy to see what the media does to society. It is very obvious that things influence us, such as family and friends, and one of the biggest of these things is media. Media forces us to feel certain ways. Take the animal commercials, featuring Sarah McLaughlin. You get about two minutes of depressing images of abused animals thrown at you. How does this commercial influence it’s audience to think? Either people will instantly be saddened…or they will change the channel because they can’t handle the poor, innocent kittens in casts. I also have to work on how to “put myself” on the page. This area seems somewhat confusing. The way I am thinking about compelling people is to write a paper that everyone can relate to. You know how comedians are especially funny when they tell jokes that you relate to? This is what I am going to try to do. Creating a relationship between the audience and the author is an easy way to hook the reader. I find this a good tactic because I am a horrible reader. If a book does not grab my attention within fifty pages, it is hard for me to even try to get through the book. This is probably the reason why I only read books that have been highly recommended to me. So, hopefully I will be able to hook the reader with my attitude towards the propaganda given off by the media.

Blog 33

The topic of the day is RELEVANCY. Manipulation from the media is relevant in each of our lives. They manipulate how we talk, how we dress, and how we judge others. If I were to walk down the street, I could make instant judgments on the clothes of everyone I pass. Tonight was a perfect example of this…high street is full of different characters. Now, these judgments are influenced by the visual factor initially, such as what fashions I have encountered in the newest Cosmo or watched on Fashion Police. Now, I will be very defensive in saying how I have a very open mind with my judgments, and I will instantly judge anyone who tries to tell me they do NOT judge. I encountered this type of person at a house…last night. Some guy tries to tell me he does not judge others.  I laughed in his face and said he’s full of crap. Everyone judges. It’s normal. Do you think people are going to judge you in a better manner if you tell them you do not judge others? Okay, enough with this repetition of this word, right? All I am saying is that this happens all day and every day. The biggest thing we have to deal with media is the miscommunication to the audience because of the way they present the material. Because of the fear of someone judging us badly, we turn to the media to tell us what to wear and how to present ourselves.