Final Assignment: Media Awareness (Part 1)

Some things that we thought worked well in this video is that to hint what was going to happen at the end; they showed things in background such as newspapers with the headlines and also t.v's with the news playing. Another thing that we found effective was the use of camera angels. We liked how it focused on the girl and that they were all sort of close ups. Something that we found interesting was that the video starts on her birthday and you get to see all of the events that took place both good and bad until her next birthday. It shoes you that a lot can happen in only one year and you never know what life might throw at you. We liked how at the end is says "just because it isn't happening here doesn't mean that it isn't happening". This brings things into perspective that this is a reality for some people and that some people have experienced similar things to this during their lifetime.

I think what worked really well in this PSA is that the story at first is on a relatable topic to a lot of people. Two teenagers flirting and talking with one another at high school. Since this is such a relatable and common video topic no one really recognizes and focuses on what is happening in the background. It's not often that people would assume that there would be a teenager planning a school shooting, but when the video takes you back and focuses on what is happening it's shocking how someone can be planning something like that around you. This video helps you see that you never really know what's happening in the world around you, when you are focused on one thing. This video has a very clear powerful message that anyone, especially a high schooler can relate to. 

Sexual Images in Media

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This image contains some of the values that are found in pornography and main stream media. The value that I thought stood out the most from this image is that women are sexual objects. In this photo they are advertising black eel high-waisted leggings. However, to advertise the leggings they made sure that the leggings is the only thing that the model is wearing.I find that the codes of gender play a big role in this ad. This ad shows her being very submissive, powerless, and trying to look very sexy. The whole point of this image is to try to sell leggings, however, the main thing that they are focusing on is sexualizing the image to get people to look at it. I don't think that the codes of gender need to be reinforced in order for companies to sell their products. I think that if their product was good or worth buying it would sell on it's own.

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This image contains some of the values that are found in pornography and main stream media. The value that I thought stood out the most from this image is that women would sell sex when ever they could. In this image I don't even know what they are actually trying to sell. I know that it is the brand American Apparel, but I don't exactly know what kind of item they are advertising. This advertisement in particular main focuses on the woman and trying to use her sexual look to catch the attention of people. I don't like how people in advertising think that this is the best way to sell their items. I feel that it is bad that this is the kind of thing that grabs attention. In my opinion, this is a learned behaviour. If this wasn't something that we see all of the time it wouldn't be so normal. The fact that this ad even says "Now Open" makes this ad suggest that she is open for business in a sexual way. Especially because of the way that she is posed.

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This image contains some of the values that are found in pornography and mainstream media. The value that I thought stood out the most from this image is that male domination over women is natural and sexy. This image shows that the male is in power and he is dominate over the female. She is laying down very submissively and powerless. He is in complete control over her in this ad. I think that this ad not only puts pressure on girls to be sexual object, but it also puts pressure on boys to have to always be in control and to make the first move. This image teaches us a learned behaviour because we see it so often we think that this behaviour is normal.

Celebrating Canadians in Entertainment

Techniques and Technical Terms

Media Literacy Concepts

What is Media Literacy?

Media is very powerful and can be beautiful but also dangerous. 
Media is a great thing to have because it is useful for our daily lives today. It can be very resourceful and helpful when looking up information and many other things. Media can be used in many different ways, whether it is to post pictures, gather data, for entertainment, social media and many more. With all of the good things that come with media there are also a lot of bad things about media too. It is hard to control what other people are posting and some things could be very offensive to a certain audience. There are also hackers who are people who are able to manipulate and scam people. They can hack you and steal some of your personal information and could possibly grant access to credit card information etc.
No media message is objective; there is always a point of view and someone (or group) is left out. 
It seem today like every form of media today has a different message they are trying to tell you. telling us what we should do and how we should do it. but the thing about media is that it will never be able to appeal to all audiences. people who use media messages tell it on a specific set of views that will benefit their cause. This might mean that not every single viewer or listener will necessarily agree with the point of view the creator of this media has on a topic.  However the main group is reached my the message.
Not just having the ability to analyze media, but the ability to create it. 
It is very important to have the ability to analyze media because media can be very useful to you in many ways. However, if you have the ability to create media it is even better. If you have the ability to create media it gives you the opportunity to not just be an observer of other media but be able to create your own.
The goal of most corporations, including those that own media, is to make money above anything else. 
I think that this concept is very greedy, that corporations main focus is to make money above anything else. I think that their goal is to make media that satisfies the consumers.