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November 16th

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Chapter 9 on Alcohol:

I found this section of chapter 9 most interesting because I can see how college students can relate to the statistics about alcohol usage. However, it’s still surprising to know how much the percentage of teen drinking has dropped. “It is more than popular culture that encourages young people to think drinking is normal”(Sternheimer, 2013, p. 229). I personally do not believe a drink on a special occasion is not normal. I do however agree that the percentages rise with age regardless of popular culture. The majority of young adults living with their parents and under the age of twenty one may not drink as much as desired due to their living situation. Getting home to your parents drunk may not result in a good conversation with them. Especially if you are not twenty one and older.

“The peak age group for binge drinking was twenty-one to twenty- five, and rates only gradually level off for people in their thirties and forties” (Sternheimer, 2013, p. 229). I was surprised at this statistic because I can’t image being a binge drinker. I do have a drink on special occasions and I do not live with my parents, so to fit into this statistic I would have to drink a whole lot more. However, there are those who feel they need to drink to release stress and not only because they don’t live with their parents.  In addition, I don’t believe we should blame media for encouraging kids to drink because like mentioned in this chapter parents influence their children the most. Parents who drink often are most  likely to encourage their kids to drink heavily. Kids may not drink while their parents drink; however, once these kids are old enough to drink they may drink heavily like their parents once did.

Drinking and driving is another issue I can see related to age. Many people who drink and  drive do so because they are most likely at an age to buy alcohol. In my opinion, there needs to be more education on drinking alcohol. We only know what we know about drinking based on what we see or have seen from our parents. Could there be a more positive approach to avoid drinking problems. Why is drinking so popular and why do percentages rise as we get older? Could it be that young adults are more cautious of their surroundings and see how harmful drinking can be compared to older adults.

Street Art: 

I enjoyed watching the video on Ron English. Using billboards as an expression for freedom of speech is such an awesome idea. Rather than expressing emotions about corporations and politics in pictures or drawings he expresses himself using words anyone can understand. This method is definitely helpful for media education because the majority of the billboards address many problems in society today.  Like Ron English said “Corporations don’t have the right to freedom of speech, people do.” If we can’t stop corporations from selling and advertising harmful products why should someone like Ron English be stopped for advertising how bad some products or politics are.

 

 

Week 12 Readings

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Happy Sunday, everyone.

This week we had the Sternheimer reading as well as some other outside readings. I’ll start with Sternheimer. I did find this week’s chapter topic interesting. As someone who falls into the age group of those who seem to “party”, I was excited to read Sternheimer’s take on why media portrays teens and even college students as those who do a lot of drinking and smoking. Once again, Sternheimer made it very clear that there are always more factors at play than those the media focuses on. This was seen on when she discussed the link between teens and smoking, saying that there is an association, but not necessarily a casual connection (Sternheimer, 2013, p. 224). She also said that the differences in education and socioeconomic status are important factors that determine who smokes (p. 226). In the next section about alcohol, I noted that Sternheimer said that positive beliefs about drinking are the most important factor when it comes to teen drinking (p. 233). I think this is very true and is something I have experienced during my time in high school as well as now in college. My family is not big on alcohol and usually focuses more on the negatives associated with it rather than the positives. I never ever drank as a teen and I’m sure my parents’ views played a big part in that. None of my friends were big drinkers either, so my beliefs were not changed very much at the time. I found Sternheimer’s comment that adults need to teach moderation (p. 234) very nicely put. I don’t think parents always realize what an impact their behavior makes on their children and that the way they behave will usually be mimicked by their kids.  Another comment that I liked was that “society encourages better living via chemistry” (p. 239). This is so true and I never thought of its connection to legal and illegal drug use/abuse. Think of how many ads we see promising us a thinner waist, a healthier and better body? I also see this in terms of psychiatry, as a lot of people believe that antidepressants and the like can be a cure all to their problems. It makes a lot of sense to me that people would seek out other drugs that could also work to make their lives better, even though they may cause more damage or may be illegal. Lastly, Sternheimer discussed the relationship of substance abuse and social structure, saying that pop culture is not necessarily central to the understanding the key factors that predict substance abuse (p. 240). I wish I could have several adults read this section of the chapter. As we have come to know, pop culture and the media rarely accurately depict things like drug use and substance abuse (perhaps with the exception of shows like Intervention, but even then  who knows how much is “reality” television). I completely agree with this last piece of the chapter and thought it was a nice way to tie the discussion back into the relationship between drugs/alcohol and the media. What were your takes on it? Did you agree or disagree with her statements? Am I blinded by my lack of partying ways?

Now, on to the fun stuff.

20131005-15030174-1 (This is one of my favorite Banksy pieces, done during his month-long residency in  New York City a year or so ago. The idea was to have a paradise amidst the crazy and hectic city life, a place of calm and tranquility that was mobile. I found it really beautiful and this photo really captures the idea behind it, rather than ones of mobs of photographers trying to get a glimpse.)

I am a really big street art aficionado, so when I saw the extra readings for this week I got really excited. I do think that Kaia proposed a really interesting question: how does this kind of “art” relate to media education? Is it helpful or hurtful? I have been following Banksy for a long time now, so my opinion may be a bit different. I do think that at a time, this kind of “street art that makes you think” thing was really great and actually was helpful towards media education. I think this art can point out the problems that we don’t want to hear about, the ones that the media doesn’t focus on it. For example, earlier this year Banksy did a series of pieces in Gaza, drawing media attention not only to his work but to the situation going on in the Gaza strip. In the Ron English clip, he had many anti-media sentiments (“The media is the massage”, “Shop while they drop”) (Wrayer-Battle For A Free Mind, 2006). However, I do think recently people have begun to focus less on the message and more on the price of the work or the experience of being witness to it (especially in Banksy’s case). I think this really distracts from what once was (and still kind of is) a really interesting commentary on media literacy. Nowadays, the media frenzy surrounding the reveal or finding of a new work by artists like Banksy is not about what the piece says, but about who will become the owner of it. This is almost a subversion of what these people set out to do with their art, which I find kind of funny. I see this, especially with Banksy’s Dismaland. I remember reading about it a few months ago and I absolutely loved the idea. I felt as though Banksy was poking fun at consumer culture and contrasting the beauty and pristineness of Disneyland with this dirty and run down wasteland. However, the media focused instead on how many people had bought tickets and how temporary the place was (so people should be concerned about whether or not they could go and see it in person). I’m really interested to hear everyone else’s thoughts on this part of our reading. Do you think it is helpful or harmful? Has anything by these artists made you stop and think, especially about media?

3d699e2e3f33712ce88bcb2552ae188a(Probably my favorite Dismaland piece :) )

November 16th

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Ch. 9 “Does Pop Culture Promote Smoking, Toking, and Drinking?

This chapter as I have mentioned in previous posts did a good job in explaining statistically that it isn’t just the “crazy teens” who are drinking and smoking, but more so adults. The book says that people are quick to blame pop culture and the media in general because it is easy to do and is the most simple and logical explanation. However people really do become blind to other reasons when they are focused on just one of many factors. Differences in family stability, education, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender, peers, ads and so on all have an effect in substance use. Something that stood out for me in the book was when it said a 1998 report said “that much of the racial and ethnic differences found disappear when income is taken into account.” (Sterheimer, 2013, p. 226). I have issues with this because people compare income with race all the time, to say that these differences disappear, just sound odd when are society knowingly or unknowingly makes these connections. When the chapter moved on to the topic of alcohol I thought it was important to note that “gatherings often involve alcohol as a normal part of adults life.” (Sterheimer, 2013, p. 229).  Our society has made it such the standard to have alcohol as part of our normal life’s when it doesn’t have to be. I also found it interesting that music videos have a rather big impact on teens and their usage. There are many grey areas to understanding the hows and why of substance usage and abuse among teens and adults, however age and gender where reoccurring themes in this chapter as to who are the heaviest users. There were several points in the chapter where is spoke about men needing to be taught to handle a certain amount of alcohol and women were not as heavy of users are the men where. And back in the day when women were caught smoking they were seen as rebels. Another note away from the age and gender is that Latinos and Asians are the least likely to use drugs out of any other minorities. However “men have been and remain more likely to smoke than women”. (Sternheimer, 2013 p. 225). The book also explained that white and African Americans are the largest groups of smokers. There are various factors as to why but if anyone has possible explanations as to why they think this is I think it would be an interesting conversation. Especially when a previous report said that when looking at income the difference between race and ethnicity seem to “fade away”.

Street Art

This section was a bit difficult for me to comprehended and write about, and honestly I mix graffiti street art and any other related thing into one big group. When something is illegal I am really closed minded that it is bad and shouldn’t be looked upon as good behavior. Many of these people try to say a certain message about ads or other issues in society. As I said in a previous comment creating art for a cause, or issue to inform the public is different than just going out and doing something just because you can. What I have issue is with where the line is drawn with this repetitive behavior. I understand some look at these people’s work and think highly of it while others find it a public disturbance. These people are certainly daring and ambitious but does that make it right to do it?

Extra Extra…..Read all about it!

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Hello and good morning, as we have all heard over the radio, or seen on the news cast, there has been a horrific event taking place in France. Multiple bombings causing thousands of casualties and 129 deaths,(My heart goes out to all of the family and friends of the victims). As most of the readers of this blog know that I am involved in a university and we are digging into social media and how it can be beneficial for everyone. Facebook and Twitter got the call on Friday and they stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park.  First, just moments after the first attack in Paris occurred, Facebook launched a new feature called the “I am safe” page. People that were in the attack zone were notified that such a page was available and could be used to notify all those friends and loved-ones that they were safe and out of danger. I was at work Friday night when a person at the bar received a notification from Facebook informing her that her friend had checked in and was indeed safe. The new setting that has been introduced by Facebook is a marvel in many ways, it notifies everyone on your friends list simultaneously saving precious time that would be taken by texting or calling each individually, thus getting the information train running much quicker. Also Twitter came through like a champ as it was a major player in the crisis.  As French government put a strict curfew in place and almost a marshal law, many were out on the streets with no-place to go or stay. With word traveling fast of multiple bombing locations, and other areas being threatened, Twitter users all over Paris sent tweets out to direct those in need of personal housing, shelters, or hotels offering shelter for the night. Those caught out in the mayhem were now finding shelter through social media. This is a prime example of how social media can be used for the good of the people and how powerful it has become. I cannot say for sure that lives were saved, but  can say that many slept better that night by either having a place to stay, or knowing that a loved one was alive and safe.

Even though terror has tried once again to break the spirit of the people, the world has shown that the free will can never be broken. The French Red White and Blue is being flown around the world in support of our friends the French, on Facebook, Twitter, lighting on national monuments, capitol buildings and religious figures. The message is clear that we stand together against fear and terror.

CDR

 

Is Pop culture Promoting Drugs and Alcohol

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Thinking of this problem before reading Sternheimer’s pontiff view I would have said that all media and pop culture promotes drinking and drugs but I would’ve been wrong. Studies showing that drinking among teens was a bigger problem in the 60s and 70s and has slowed down in the recent years. Children are also more likely to drink alcohol if they see a parent or guardian drinking and we thought it was pop culture. I found it very interesting that 40 percent of television shows are showing alcohol and drug consumption and the media keeps it going. A study following high school students showed that “video games and television shows with people consuming alcohol, including teens,is not the main problem, but the music videos is where the problem lies”Pediatrics(230). That is a part of pop culture though and with all these new videos popping up how do children stand a chance? It is way more effective to have the hot new artist drinking or splashing in champagne rather than our favorite fruit juices. Maybe it is a way for the different parts of the media to blame each other then nobody hasty where to turn.  With all the new information out and ads for everything in our faces for hours of the day it is easier forbids to get the things they want weather its a beer or some pills. With the declining numbers of substance users since the 70s and 80s a new problem has climbed the ladder and that is prescription pills. “In 2009 marathon 1 million emergency room visits were the result of prescription drug use”(238). I found this crazy but I believe it and the text also stated “Oxycodone was 3 to 1 and Hydrocodone was 4 to 1″(238). This was a 98 percent increase form 2004 and that means that parents and schools have even more responsibility to communicate and counsel their kids and students.

Scott Lang

Four Common Coding Interview Mistakes

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http://blog.generalassemb.ly/4-common-coding-interview-mistakes/?utm_content=buffer4e6b4&utm_medium=owner|social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=me%3Dglobal|po%3Dga

Association for Unarmed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Channel Islands Symposium

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On Friday October 23rd was the 2nd annual Symposium for Unmanned Systems. The program began in the Petite Salon on the CSUCI campus, where several panels gave presentations on their individual disciplines. Between panels, the group recessed outside where there were several display booths. President Rush was the opening keynote speaker, and gave several insights toward the university’s commitment to using Remotely Piloted Systems (RPS) for both education, and research. Furthermore he stressed the importance of STEM education, and stated the intent of the university to start an engineering school, working in conjunction with the current efforts in robotics. There were multiple talks about environmental, agricultural and emergency responses uses of unmanned vehicles, through a number of distinguished organizations such as: AeroVironment, the Naval Post-graduate School, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Our own professor Sean Anderson spoke on behalf of the research that he and CSUCI students have been conducting. Anderson talked about the marine ecology and coral bio-fluorescence research using ROVs, and the aerial mapping of natural resources in the Cook Islands, the oil spill in Santa Barbra, and the other projects that PIRate lab carries out. The central point of view was that RPS are useful tools in better understanding and researching the environment, and can be used to help save people’s lives, especially in the event of disaster.

The outside demonstrations were mainly comprised of the Ventura County Sherriff’s: search and rescue and bomb squad, and our team’s UAV and ROV demonstrations.

Our UAVs next to the Sherriff's Department's
Our UAVs next to the Sherriff’s Department’s
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The Sherriff’s Department Search and Rescue quadcopter, made by AeroVironment
AUVSI built us a cage to fly in.
AUVSI built exhibitors a cage to fly in.
Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue and Bomb Squad
Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue and Bomb Squad
Inside the Sheriff's command vehicle
Inside the Sheriff’s command vehicle

November 16 Ch 9 Blog

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I agree with the fact that most adults are smokers, drinkers and addicts as compared to teens. Its also interesting to me that the study that was done in teens smoking didn’t release that fact and only what they wanted. unless a person knows how to read articles and what too look for its easy to be satisfies the  info they release to society. The influence that media has is still the same however, there’s way more education on all 3 topics and awareness campaigns. When I was in elementary in the 90’s all we had was the D.A.R.E program on drugs. it was only a 4 page little comic book and red string that read Drug Free on are fence that’s it!! Today’s youth see’s meth, heroin, smoking and drinking real life examples and stories which I do believe help them. Because a lot of teens are fixated on looks and their image and losing your teeth to meth is not the business nor is them turning yellow. I know not all but, in my experience the cycle starts at home within the family. Family doesn’t have to be addicts to produce addicts alcoholism is big  in families and that can lead a teen to drugs so when a family  says no one does drugs well do they drink or take pills maybe even over eat? As for movies yeah it has influence HELLO Star Wars fans, Harry Potter, Lord Of   the Rings. Anything can spark a phenomenon. but I have yet to see 20,000 teens showing up to Smoking Con or dressed as a butt. ( Get it) LOL! I believe that poverty has something to do with people smoking because their stressed or don’t give a shit about their health they got other problems. Now the drinking well once again your environment has a lot to do with you chances of drinking. Parents can have a liquor cabinet and well dang it some of their stash may get drank it’s life. When kids see their family do it they cant wait till their 21 to join especially if drinking is a part of birthdays, holidays, promotions, bar b q’s let’s face it how many teens have seen that person get wasted at the wedding and everyone laughs like nothing was wrong. Hell  my friend I’m always with in class  was breakdancing at her sisters wedding not to long ago. LOL! The authors should go to AA meetings and ask open addicts and alcoholics about their experience and record that!  It’s the same for drug use but the pill takeover I don’t know I got addicted after my weight loss surgery last June  and am coming up on 9 months clean from them it just happened so fast. So I feel for teens because it seems harmless taking a pill especially if their prescribed. But let’s face it teens get it from their parents or grandparents medicine cabinets. I trukt believe if family’s locked up their medicine cabinets it would make a change. Or throw your old bottle of Vicadin away shit go to the doctors if you need more but a lot of people like having a few just in case so they don’t have to make an appointment or go to the E.R maybe they don’t have insurance either way  how has that worked for them?

November 16

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Well first I would like to say that I had never Ron English and of all the artist we were introduced too and saw their work his stood out to me more. As we all know billboards have a huge Impact on delivering messages to our society. I like the way he contradicts Mc Donald’s those  are my favorite because many Americans eat their every morning including myself. The only issue I have is that because their done illegally that gives a lot of people the room to say oh he’s a rebel he puts up those ads on billboards companies rent. my fear of this issue is because many are ignorant and although their teens or children might see the billboard and start to digest the message. parents can be quick to point out the fact that he does it illegally therefore is dismisses a enough of his credibility to were some might dismiss his message altogether because we teach are kids to do things the right way. This is just my opinion and something I’ve seen done in my life. However, looking past that issue I  see artist like Ron as fearless heroes because they have no fear of going to jail to spread a message that others may fear to make them un popular. The TRUTH tobacco ads worked so I know that billboards have an enormous impact on todays youth.

Blog Session 12

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After reading the online reserves I had an Interesting thought. Art is extremely powerful form of propaganda. I was thinking that if someone is watching the news, or a television show or other types of media the use words it is easier to influence how they think. However when someone views a pience of art, with no words it allows them to try and interpret the meaning on their own. In this class we have been told that in order to be media literate you need to think for yourself and not just believe everything you hear. I believe art allows people to do that. I understand that propaganda can obviously influence people, however Ron English was my favorite artist of all. Although all these artists are rebels and controversial, I enjoyed his political ads. English did many ads going against the biggest corporations like apple, camel cigarettes, and coke. I think his art will let allow people who may not be media literate to understand the deeper message in his art. Ron English controversial posters are easy to interpret and allow people to instantly recognize the deeper meaning which I enjoy. The second reserve i enjoyed was “Dismaland” by Banksy . As I started to watch the video I noticed right away that only white people were in the entire film. The only time there were people of other race was when it looked like he was making fun of the It’s a small world ride when it looked like black slaves were crammed in a boat. His purpose of this film did not hit me until I finished watching when i understood his message. Until today i never realized that all disney characters are white.  I can not think of one Disney princess of another race. When I tried to think of any colored disney character it was either an animal or a villain, like Ursula from little mermaid. I am surprised that even after being in this class all year i never realized how practically all Disney characters are white.

The other artist I enjoyed was Shepard Fairey who is the artist for the Obey brand. I actually have a shirt by him and wore it without even realizing the deeper message. I appreciate his controversial art as well. However I feel his art is so beautiful and dynamic that it takes away from the message. Ron English’s political and controversial art is so simple that you can not ignore it. It is right in your face for even a person who is not media literate could see. This is why I personally preferred English. However Fairey art is more complex with much more details. Altough his messages in his art may not be as obvious I appreciate his how he discusses political controversies and other important news in his works.

For the Sternheimer reading on Chapter 9 I feel that media, pop culture have a huge influence over the youth when it comes to drinking and smoking.  When I was a little girl i always looked up to Britney Spears, Mandy Moore and other celebrities. I used to try and copy their outfits and do anything  I could to be like them. Nowadays young kids have the media tools to follow their idols daily on instagram and twitter. Miley Cyrus is constantly posting pictures half naked, smoking weed and other outrageous acts. Although i personally like her I understand how she can have a negative influence over young girls especially. In this chapter they discuss how smoking cigarettes in becoming less popular, however I think that smoking marijuana has probably skyrocketed even since the 60’s. I believe that media has a large influence over children. Therefor  movies such as “Pineapple Express” or TV show like Weeds may encourage teens and young adults to smoke. I feel that because marijuana is becoming much more socially accepted TV shows and Movies use it to their advantage for profit. Since more characters are “stoners” on television it allows more and more viewers to be influenced, or at least want to try it.

In conclusion, it again is clear that media has the power to influence. Some want to have a positive influence like the controversial artists, and some use media and propaganda just for money and profit.