Question and Thesis

Question: Would banning violent video games and other violent forms of media lead to less mass violence in America?

Thesis: Violent video games only encourage violence and can lead to mass killings such as the Virginia Tech. shooting, Columbine shooting, Thurston High School shooting, etc... and while violent video games are not the only reason behind these killings, they do play a role and should be banned.

Question and Thesis

Question: Do news media report crime stories in a way that perpetuates racial stereotypes?

Thesis: While not all news media perpetuate a pro-white, anti-minority sentiment when reporting crime stories, some major stations, such as CNN, Fox, and MSNBC, tend to have a biased tone to their reports.

Question and Thesis

Question: Why has the percentage of public confidence in media dropped every year since 1979?

Thesis: Confidence in the media has dropped for many reasons but one of the overarching truths would be that journalism changed from a trade to a profession.

Question and Thesis

Question: As the use of social media increases as a society we do less face to face interactions, is there a way to reverse this inability of confrontation or are we too far past the point of no return?

Thesis: The increased dependency on social media in the younger generations of society has changed the way we interact with one another face to face and on the internet.

PROJECT #1: MIDPOINT Post/Update due for Wednesday, March 5 for class presentation

By March 5, in a SINGLE stand-along post here at the course blog titled with your NAME and PROJECT #1 MIDPOINT UPDATE, please post:

1. FOUR NEW Photoshopped project images (both the original and the altered version);

2. Your opening 5-7 sentence paragraph (underline your thesis sentence, please);

3. A bulleted OUTLINE for your 8 paragraph project.

You will present this update to us in class on Wednesday March 5.

Looking forward!

Dr. W

Question and Thesis

Question:
How does media affect the evolution of the music industry?

Thesis:
Ultimately, the impacts of media are broadening the music horizon and we see more artists becoming famous because of the easy access of the internet.

Question and Thesis

Question: In order to be elected, do presidential candidates need to be media savvy?

Thesis: The recent 2012 presidential election has demonstrated an increase in the importance of effective social media campaigning in politics.

Thesis

Question: How does the representation of gender and sexuality in the media affect societal standards?

Thesis: In the United States today, modern media is largely heteronormative, ignoring and detracting from the "alternative" standards of femininity, masculinity, and sexuality that are increasingly visible in our society.
(Heteronormativity: the cultural bias in favor of opposite-sex relationships of a sexual nature, and against same-sex relationships of a sexual nature. (civilliberty.com))

Question and Thesis

What kind of image are media corporations trying to create when they use tools like photo shop to distort models?

Media corporations are intentionally presenting models that are just beyond unattainable. 

Question and Thesis

Can media have an impact on how we treat the earth?

Environmental organizations use media to raise awareness to the ever-growing issues that plague our earth.

Dillon- Project Photo #1

This is my guy Carrol Doherty.  He is the director of Political Research at Pew Pesearch.  Before he did this he worked with President Clinton and before Clinton he worked as an off air investigative reporter. Doherty is frequently seen on BBC, CNN and NPR.  

Photoshop #1

I distorted the background and added another piece of technology to the picture. Also I fixed the boy's creases and bags underneath his eyes. I distorted the background becaues technology and the media distorts our reality.

photoshop 1

Photo #1

The original picture (bottom one) is from the Aerie Real campaign which is one of the campaigns against retouching photos of models. The above picture is my photoshopped version of a noticeably thinner model standing on a beach. I'm going to use Aerie as one of the companies I will research.

Research Photo Project

The above photo is from a video clip that went viral. The model was changed by a program like Photoshop within 37 seconds to look more "beautiful". I am using this video to further my research on how programs like Photoshop are distorting ads and images of models that create an image that is unattainable.

Research Photo 1

This is a photo of one of the "Artic 30," the Greenpeace activists that were arrested in Russia following their protest of oil ships in the Artic. Phillip Ball of Great Britian is one of the last to be released, and walks out with the words "Save the Arctic" sewn onto his shirt. In the edited version, he is in front of the Greenpeace vessel Artic Sunrise, which sails around the world promoting their environmental viewpoints.

Research Project Photo

This is Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower. The first photo shows Snowden at an interview with The Guardian in 2013. The second has been altered to give a sense of Snowden's current situation - having been exiled to Russia after being declared a fugitive of the United States due to a highly controversial charge of espionage. This is controversial because of the NSA's secretive spying program targeting American citizens (and other countries' citizens and diplomats as well) in the first place.

Research Photo Project

This is President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the original image Roosevelt is surrounded by network radio microphones, in the altered image his face is on current president Barack Obama's figure, he is also using a smartphone. Obama and Roosevelt are two examples of presidents who incorporated a strong relationship with media to relate to their constituents during their presidency. 

Research Photo Project

This is the British model Kate Moss. The top photograph has not been retouched and is how Moss looks naturally; however, the bottom photo has been altered through photoshop and resembles what society is used to seeing Moss look like. This comparison shows how usage of photo alterations have embedded themselves within our society, perhaps lending a hand in negatively impacting the self-esteem of many citizens.

CLASSROOM SCREENING: Budweiser Super Bowl Advert