Access

Interestingly enough, I happened to pick up a magazine before class yesterday. It was called Access, it is targeted mainly towards college girls. It has many topics that pertain to the events that are going on right now. These are events that are important to college right now. for instance they had a stroy about to people getting married at the age of 20. For me, it was a neat story to read because I, myself, am in a serious relationship, and I ahve always wondered what it would be like if I did get married sooner. Anyways, there are many different magazines that I like for various reasons. A few weeks earlier, my mom brought home a magazine that cotained all kinds if recipes for vegetarians. Also, different faires and things that you could go to, to learn how to make these vegetarian meals. When i was younger I used to like reading Seventeen magazine. But then, it started publishing all these articles that were telling young girls how they should eat. I thought it was way too early for young girls to think about how fat they were and how skinny they had to be.

Kite Runner and propaganda

Nicole McMorran, teaberries8@yahoo.com
9/24/06
Kite Runner and Propaganda
868

The Kite Runner is a very powerful, moving novel. The novel is based both in 1970’s Afghanistan and modern day Afghanistan. A small boy named Amir, witnessed his best friend and servant being raped by a neighborhood bully. Throughout his entire life, he lives with this haunting secret; it tears him apart like a monster. Shortly after, Amir and his father leave to America to escape the Russian invasion. While living in America, Amir receives news that an old friend of the family is dying. Obligated to pay his respects to his friend, he returns to Afghanistan. Upon return, Amir is informed that his childhood friend/servant has had a child. This child was left fatherless and put in the hands of Amir’s childhood bully. Amir decides to confront his childhood bully. Interestingly, the bully has become one of the sole leaders of the Taliban.
This novel highly influenced my thoughts and opinions. Therefore, by definition of propaganda, this book was written as means of propaganda. I feel strongly that is bad propaganda. Before I began reading this book I had a different opinion of the Taliban. All I knew was that they were using religion as a means to control people. And, they had planned out the entire 9/11 tragedy. While I was reading this book I remember having a conversation about Afghanistan with my father. I mentioned that I had never realized how horrific life truly was in Afghanistan. I mentioned, also that I did not comprehend how awful the Taliban was. There is going to be media pertaining to the Taliban for a while. However, this book gives the impression that every member of the Taliban is a murderer, child rapist, and a robber.
It is very difficult for me to believe that all the members of the Taliban conform to these kinds of actions. When I was studying the Nazi regiment and the Holocaust in High school; I learned that all of the Nazis were heartless killers. For example, a book called Night was published shortly after the Holocaust. It was about a young boy that had been taken from his home and his family, and put into a concentration camp. The author describes all the terrible things the Nazis did to the poor Jews. The book highly influenced my thoughts about the Nazis. I believed that all the Nazis behaved this way and there were not any “good” Nazis. Later, in a documentary on a history channel, I learned that not all Nazis thought one way. There were many other reasons they had joined the regiment. They were scared for the lives of their families and the lives of themselves; if they did not conform there was no telling what the regiment would do to them. In the case of the Taliban it is hard to realize if there are any members that feel different from the whole of the Taliban government. Unfortunately, the Taliban has not been around long enough for anyone to do a documentary on the Taliban, and I do not think anyone wants to.
On the other hand, there is some feeling inside me that says that I should believe this book. From what I have heard from the media, such as news and magazines that I have read, the Taliban is an awful government. That type of government controls people solely by the kind of religion that they believe in. Also, they use religion as a means of controlling women, and they are willing to die for the cause that they believe in. Not only had they killed themselves in the 9/11 event, but they are continuing to kill themselves with multiple bombings. It is very hard for me to believe that if there were members of the Taliban that did not want to be in it, they would not be in it. Who is calling the shots and deciding who should die, and who should live to keep the Taliban going? The answer must be obvious, because there are still people very much a part of this government. However, I do not think it is obvious to many of the people around the world.
Even though the book was a little exaggerated, it still has some truth to it. It highly influenced my opinion of the Taliban and its members in general. I am highly influenced by the book because I only know about the Taliban from what I have heard from the media. Instead of the Taliban using race as a basis for control they are using religion. Before reading this book, I did not think about the Taliban that much. All I had heard was that they were a big part of 9/11, and they used religion to control their followers. The book made me feel sorry for the main character, and therefore it had a stronger influence on my opinion. In other words, if I had heard a story on the news about the Taliban, I would not have been so easily influenced. It was not until I read this book that I began thinking more about the Taliban, and their actions. Had I never read this book, I do not think that my opinion would have changed.

hmmm

As many of us know the adertising companies are very good at using different techniques to lure us into buying their products. The most commonly used technique is the scare tactic; used to make consumers scared of being the only ones NOT using the products. I read an article in Seventeen magazine a while back that kind of disturbed me. The article explained the proper way to eat a meal. The time, the place, the reason. It analyzed different ways young girls eat, and the solutions for eating better. I thought to myself: As if it isn't bad enough that young girls see all of these deathly skinny models. Now the media is implying that young girls are njot eating right, and they need to stop. If this article was possibly in a magazine directed towards middle age women, I could understand. However, young girls do not need to constatly worry about what and when they are eating. There is a point where it becomes very ridiculous.

America wants to be entertained

Reading the newspaper in print is like reading a book in print. There is something about being able to hold the newspaper in my hand while I am reading it that makes it more real. The same people writing the newspaper are the same ones that write the internet news. However, it goes both ways. I still like to read the internet news sometimes, because I do not always have the time to grab a newspaper from the stand. But, I am always on the computer, and all i have to do is type the website in. The news pops up and it is quick and easy to read. Plus, you can watch video which is much more entertaining than just reading the newspaper. Reading the newspaper in print tends to get tedious, the print is small, and boring. The news can be made more exciting on the internet. After all, Americans always want entertainment. Media=entertainment; at least it does today.

Well It's News to me..

The other night I sat down to have a nice evening meal with my family; unaware of the Ecoli monster that had swept into the Salinas county. The meal for the night was Raviolis with spinach and cheese. To join it, were green beans and fluffy white rice. For all who do not know spinach is one of my favorite things to eat. After all, I am a vegetarian. After feeling full and content, I decided to watch the 10 o'clock news before going to bed. The very first story was that of the outbreak of Ecoli in Salinas/Monterey area. Millions of dollars worth of spinach was being thrown away because of Ecoli. The reporter warned not to eat spinach, cooked or uncooked. "If you have it, throw it out," he blurted. My stomach immediately dropped to my feet. Hadn't I just eaten spinach for dinner? All of a sudden i started feeling nauseous. Uh, oh did I get Ecoli? The next morning I woke up perfectly normal. I had comletely forgotten all about the terror of Ecoli. That is until I went to MCOM 72, the topic happened to News. The Ecoli spinach story was brought up once again, and my stomach began to feel dips and churns of knots being tightly wound inside. I whispered to a friend next to me, and told him that I had eaten spinach the night before. We exchaged a giggle, but underneath I still felt the worried emotions. In the evening, I talked to my mom about the outbreak in spinach. Her reply was, "Oh, yeah that's been going on for weeks." Wow, I hardly listen to the news, and the one time I do, it happens to be a little too late. "Wait, a minute don't you realize that we ate spinach last night?" I said. "Oh, yeah don't worry about it Nicole; you'll be fine," my mom said confidently. Well, today is the third day since I've eaten spinach, and still there is no overwhelming symptoms of Ecoli in my system. So, what's news to me, may not be news to others, but the moral of the story is: pay attention to the news.

Prop-a-what?

We've seen propaganda since we were little minds just beginning to learn about the history of the U.S. Looking back, I actually remember thinking that Great Britain was a horrible place. The way it was written in the history book, it seemed like the British government was so oppressive. All they wanted to do was make money off the Americans that had moved here by imposing ridiculous acts on them. The Americans were the good guys trying to make it on their own in a free land. Finally, the Americans were heroes in the war and we got Britain to leave us alone. All the way up to my senior year in high school, it was the same kind of propaganda; the Americans were the good guys and the british were the bad guys. What about all the Fast Food Nation books and the Super Size me documentary? These propagandas were highly influential to people all over the nation. They focused primarily on the bad things about fast food. Once I was finished reading the Fast Food Nation, I could not step foot into a fast food restaurant. It would make me sick to my stomach thinking about the kind of stuff that they were putting into my food. Super Size Me was even worse. This man did nothing but eat McDonald's 3 times a day for 30 days. Everything that could possibly go wrong with his health, did. He gained anywhere from 25-30 pounds, his liver started having problems, and the biggest tragedy: he lost his libido. He couldn't even perform for his girlfirend anymore, and apparently this caused some serious problems in their relationship if you know what I mean? Uh, oh this seemed like a problem people had to get rid of. Well, these propagandas seem to be the big talk when they first came out. They were the discussion in two of my classes, sophomore year in high school. All of a sudden nobody wanted to eat meat or go to Jack in the Box to pick up a quick burger. I am not saying that this propaganda is a bad thing. Actually, I think it is very good; people should be aware of what kinds of things are going into their meals. Especially when there are mass amounts of people consuming fast food. In my opinion, Fast Food Nation= good propaganda; which nowadays is very hard to come across.

p.u.b.l.i.s.h.

Publishing has taken a long course in the U.S. starting from the beginning when it really did not exist. Then it took its course and it came what it is today. But, answering the question about publishing in the future is a very difficult one to answer. A few companies (like Sony, from what I heard in class) are trying to develop something that looks and reads like a book but it is on the computer. Or, there is the computer that looks like nothing but a set of pens. This computer displays the screen on to any white surface. This way, if you really want to read a book on the computer you can dispaly it on your wall. However, in my case I really like to read books at the beach sometimes. Where am i going to find some white wall to display my book on so that i can read it? There is something about be able to have that special, physical relationship with my book that makes it fun to read. I think publishing needs to stay around; according to the majority of the students in our class, most of them like to physically have the book to read. Yes, I will pass on books to my grandchildren. One of the most important things to me as a child was being read a bedtime story before I went to bed. It was nice, quality time that I got to spen with my parents and even my granparents. In the future, I don't want to have to say, "Hey, why don't i send you this book online, and you can print out and read to your kid". It's just not the same, all the pictures will be lost, the tecture and smell of the book will disappear.

eh..

From what I understand there are many bands that do not use the record company to help them distribute music. So, they are working full time jobs in order to make money to support their band. There are a lot of online companies that can help make posters, shirts, and CD's. A local band that I know has been working hard to promote their band. They joined up with a guy that has bought recording equipment to record their music. This guy knows everything about recording music and his equipment can spit out CD's, from what I understand. This is a great way to get the music distributed. It does not cost that much and the band couold sell their music for more than it cost them to make it. Also, the other company that makes the buttons and shirts provides them at a low cost if you make a certain amount. These shirts and buttons can be sold at their concerts, too, for a fixed amount. There could be certain performances where they hand out free CD's to keep the fans coming back. Then, they could start charging $5 for a CD. At local shows if a person really likes the band they will definitely be willing to buy their music, because they can not get any other way. This is the same with shirts, button, and anything else the band wants to distribute at their shows. This is how they will be compensated for their music. This will probably work because I have been to a show where i bought the CD and a shirt from the band. It helps when people know the money is going directly to the band.

media/art

Currently, I am taking a MUSE class with professor Fosdick called Visual Arts, writing and reviewing. If any of you know him, he is an expert at what he does. I've learned a lot from him so far. He brought up the question: "what is art?" I found that this was a very hard question to answer because there is no real answer. However, i thought it tied in wtih the media tremendously. I think the way we look at art has a lot to do with the media, and how it is changing all the time. This might change the definition of art for some of us. Do you think media affects the way you view art? And if so, do think your view of art has changed along with the technology of the media?

media consumer

There really is media everywhere I look; it's really hard to escape from it. I thought about it last night and even when I'm reading a textbook from school I'm still tapping in to the media. That thought seemed weird to me, because I had never really looked at it that way. If anyone has started reading the text for class, there is a section in chapter 2; the 5 different ways of publishing. When i think about what kind of media I consume it would have to be: books, radio, recordings(not so much), television, and films. Some of these I consume more than others but all the same I still consume them. When school is in session, i do not consume that much television, but when school is out it becomes a totally different story. During the summer I saw films once a week, and i watched t.v. everyday. Now, there is no time to watch t.v. So, I mostly read books and listen to the radio.

Technorati Profile

Reality has nothing to do with it

I still have not figured out why they call it "reality" television; there's nothing "real" about any of those shows. The shows are staged so they excite people. Media consumers today live to see other people be humiliated, cheated, hurt, and broken-hearted. For all of those "reality" T.V. watchers, that's what excites you. If it doesn't have those aspects on the show then forget it; you might as well be better off walking the dog, or doing your homework.
Fear Factor has people eating, walking, and breathing disgusting concoctions that nobody has ever heard of, or even thought about before. American Idol, people are competing to show that they possess they best talent. In the end, it is up to Simon Cowell to humiliate the contestant and send them on their long journey back home. It's even better if that conestant makes a huge fit after his or her audition crying, yelling, they might even go as far as to ask random people on the street if they think he or she should have been the American Idol. That is when the show gets really funny, the contestant is literally willing to humiliate themselves no matter what the circumstance. What about the shows where there is a group of complete strangers put into a house and they have to live there together for a certain amount of time. The goal is to compete for what ever it is they are on the show for( a husband, wife, or the ultimate: money). The word "Compete", in a standard dictionary, means to strive against another or others to attain a goal, such as advantage or victory. The contestants demonstrate this definition to the extreme by doing all of the above. Does this sound familiar? Well, it is the plot of about 10 different "reality" T.V. shows: Flavor Flav, Big Brother 1, 2,3... Bachelor/Bachelorette, Survivor, Amazing Race, The Real World, The Vault, Celebrity Fit Club. The list is endless but they all have the same exact "reality" about them. I took this oppurtunity to look up the definition of reality. Everything I saw contained words like "fact, actual, independent". This brings me to the next question: "What is reality?"

music distribution

There are so many variables involved when it comes to this form of entertainment. There are the distributors who distribute the music, their ultimate plan is to make money, after all it is a business. However, there are also the customers that want the music for the cheapest price they can get (free). So where is the happy medium? Well, the answer is there isn't one. The truth is, these distributors have the "dinosaur" technology(CD's) that can no longer sell because no one is using it.
Take the iPod for example. It is the newest, easiest piece of equipment that can be used for playing music. Almost everything is based around the iPod: Purses, pants, shirts, entertainment centers, cars. That's right this little piece of equipment can go anywhere with you. How many people like to fall asleep with their iPod? Well you can do that comfortably now with the new "pillow for your iPod". All you have to do is plug that iPod in your pillow and you're set,the music comes right out of the pillow. Why aren't the record companies trying to promote this wonderfu; technology? They should promote buying of music over the internet. It is possibly the best thing that ever happend to them. They don't even need CD's anymore! Wow, what a concept.