Blog Assignment 3: Books

I love reading books, and I can name numerous books that made a difference of some kind in my life. The three books that had the most influence on me would have to be the following:

1. Othello, by William Shakespeare

When I first read Othello, I was in high school. I immediately fell in love with the Shakespearean tragedy, intrigued by its characters and, of course, Shakespeare’s artistic use of the English language. In high school, I enjoyed the story of the Moor Othello, and his rapid fall from greatness due to his jealous nature, because it reminded me of the fact that all humans have flaws. After having re-read Shakespeare’s work in college, however, I found that there is so much more to Othello than I had previously realized. I discovered themes and symbols I hadn’t acknowledged before and found that these discoveries helped enrich my experience as a reader. Thus, Othello had an influence on me, not only because it is a fantastic story with a great message, but because the work and its complexity allowed me to take to heart that literature is often best understood after multiple readings.  

     

http://www.amazon.com/Othello-Folger-Shakespeare-Library-William/dp/0743482824/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304077848&sr=1-1

2. The Metamorphosis (in German: Die Verwandlung), by Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis ranks among the most unique books I ever read. On the very first page, the absurdity of a man having turned into a human-sized insect overnight grabbed my attention. In Kafka’s novella, Gregor Samsa unwillingly transforms into a bug to embody his hard-working, yet under-appreciated nature. As a human, Gregor worked to support his family. When he turns into a bug and is unable to work, his family treats him like vermin. Gregor is left to die in solitude, and after Gregor’s death his family is relieved. I found the story fascinating because, although Gregor’s situation is undeniably obscure and one-of-a-kind, I was able to see similarities between Gregor’s ultimate fate and the fates of people who are (not literally) dehumanizing and killing themselves, working to earn money for others who take advantage of them. Reading Kafka’s work reinforced a fact I already knew about fictive literature: It can shed light on real-life issues, even if plot lines don’t reflect reality.  

          

http://www.amazon.com/Metamorphosis-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393967972/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304077873&sr=1-3

3. The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling

The Harry Potter books have had a great impact on my life. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (the first of the seven books in the series) was one of the first full-length English books I read. I read it in the third or fourth grade. I liked it so much, I begged my mom to buy all the Harry Potter books available, the day I finished reading it. I loved how reading the books allowed me to dive into a world full of fantasy and excitement. I discovered that I could read each and every one of the books over and over again, and still be entertained! While I also liked watching the Harry Potter movies when they came out, I found they didn’t satisfy me in the same way reading the books did. I believe that, in a sense, the Harry Potter series enabled me to recognize and acknowledge my passion for reading. 

  

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304077981&sr=1-1

Blog Assignment 2: Media Impact

  Always under scrutiny, the media is blamed for a multitude of real-life problems. Amongst these problems is the increasing rate of childhood obesity the United States and several other nations are confronted with today. 

  According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the prevalence of childhood obesity has “more tripled in the past 30 years.” In 1980, 6.5% of children aged 6 to 11 were considered obese. This number has risen to 19.6% in 2008! Childhood obesity has turned into an epidemic and we simply cannot help wondering what or who is to blame for this.  While some believe parenting styles are responsible, many of us point our fingers to the media. 

Why is the media blamed? 

  To begin with, through the media, young kids are constantly exposed to food advertisements. Food ads are featured in magazines, on TV, on the radio and online. Do these ads attempt get kids hooked on fresh fruits and vegetables? No. Advertisements usually promote soft drinks, candy, sugary cereals and calorie-laden fast food. Toys and prizes are frequently promised for the consumption of these foods (Kelloggs cereal, McDonald’s Happy Meals, etc.) and popular cartoon characters are employed to make the advertised foods even more appealing to kids. People who believe the media is to blame for childhood obesity argue that children will “model” the behaviors of their favorite TV characters or celebrities. If the media shows them consuming unhealthy food and vast quantities of it, they say, kids will follow suit. 

  In addition to the exposure to advertisements prompting kids to crave fattening foods, the more time kids spend using media, the less time they spend engaging in physical activity. In front of the TV or the computer screen, kids also often munch mindlessly and, as a consequence, consume more snack foods than their bodies need.

  Studies like the Framingham Children’s Study (published in 2003) found links between obesity and television viewing. Thus, we must ask ourselves: Is TV viewing time merely correlated with childhood obesity, or Is TV (along with the other media types) a causation of obesity in children? 

  Finally, there is an interesting YouTube video in which the media’s effects on the childhood obesity epidemic are discussed by Dr. Stephen Cook. Here it is: 

Take a look!

Sources of information used:

http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/The-Role-Of-Media-in-Childhood-Obesity.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/

Blog Assignment 1: Media Autobiography

  Today, almost all people living in developed nations are exposed to the media on a daily basis. Books, newspapers, magazines, movies, recordings, radio, television and the internet – these are the eight types of media. I have past and present experiences with all eight types and I would like to share some of these experiences, along with comments and opinions. 

  As a kid, I remember having preferred movies and television to the print media. This is not the case anymore. I now enjoy reading above all else and I read as much as I can! One could, indeed, refer to me as a “bibliophile,” since I take joy in reading lots of books. Although I tend to read mainly fantasy novels, I enjoy almost all literary genres. I also like to flip through magazines and I do so whenever I am at the grocery store. This is a habit I picked up as a teenager. I often can’t resist picking up tabloid magazines with shocking headlines, but I also adore fashion magazines like Elle. While I don’t read print versions of the paper regularly, I browse through the news stories explored by the German website www.tagesschau.de every morning. 

  In great contrast to this, I rarely take the time to sit down and watch a full-length movie. I must admit, I appreciate only a select few films. If a movie does not almost immediately grab my attention in the first couple of minutes, I generally stop watching it. As a little girl, however, I watched many Disney movies, especially those that featured princesses. Currently among the movies I do find enjoyable are: Titanic, Little Miss Sunshine and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The time I spend watching movies definitely decreased as I became older. Similarly, I don’t watch as much television as I used to. Together with my family, I used to watch around two to three hours of television each evening. Now, I turn on the TV only to follow my favorite television series: Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and The Office.

  Not only did my preference of media type change as I grew up, the type of media I had most experience with as a little girl is not the type of media I presently use most often. When I was younger, my use of the media consisted mainly of listening to recordings. I grew up in Germany and listened to German “Hoerspiele” on a daily basis. Translated, Hoerspiele refers to radio plays or audio story-books, and they are very popular among German children. The Hoerspiel I listened to most often is called Pumuckl. It is about the adventures of a goblin named Pumuckl who lives in an elderly carpenter’s workshop. Today, all recordings I listen to are in the form of music on my Ipod. Occasionally, when I’m sitting in my car, I turn on the radio to listen to music. Generally, however, I don’t like listening to the radio because there are so many advertisements. On many radio channels, it seems like only a fraction of time is spent actually playing music... 

  The media type that is most important in my life today is, without a doubt, the internet. On average, I would say I spend approximately four to five hours a day online. I use the internet to do research for homework assignments, to catch up with my friends on facebook, to stay up to date on current events and much more. In a way, I am almost addicted to the internet! Whenever I am unable surf the web for an extended period of time, I can’t wait to just turn on my computer or phone to be able to visit my favorite websites.

  In the future, I would like to gain experience with the media not only as a consumer. I intend to major in Communication or a related field once I transfer from De Anza College to a four-year university in the near future. While I am still unsure of a specific career I would like to pursue, I want to prepare myself for a potential career in the print media industry. 

Introduction to my Blog

Hi everyone!

This is Valentina's JOUR 2: "Mass Media and its Impact on Society" blog.