Activism

A cause that is truly dear to my heart is domestic violence, because my aunt and grandmother have both endured and overcome abusive relationships. An organization that brings tremendous amount of attention to the problem is www. dvam.vawnet.org, Domestic Violence Awarness Months official website.

My grandmother left her abusive marriage and decided to raise five children on her own despite economic difficulties. I was not alive at this time but I admire my grandmother’s strength and courage to become a single mother during the 1960’s (the height of the nuclear family).

As a child I can remember my aunt spending nights at my home, lying on the floor in the fetal position, crying violently until she vomited while my mother tried to comfort her and provide her with help needed to leave her abusive relationship.

My aunt eventually did leave her abuser, but as I’ve grown older, these images continue to haunt me. I have consciously made an effort to educate myself about domestic violence and make others aware of the problem. During my last year of high school I decided to create a self-help guide to leaving an abusive relationship as my independent study unit. I decided to create the book in the form of a self-help guide because research indicates and I truly believe that one must truly help themselves in order to safely leave an abusive relationship. During high school I also helped create announcements, that we`re played throughout the school to during October to help bring awareness to domestic violence awareness month.

Domestic violence constitutes any of the following physical aggression (or threats, sexual abuse, emotional abuse; controlling behaviour, intimidation; stalking, neglect and economic deprivation.

It is essential that people also realize that abuse is not love and that abuse can happen to anyone regardless of gender, age, race, religion or socioeconomic background.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month is recognized every October internationally. DVMA is also represented by purple bracelets and ribbons. The Domestic Violence Awareness Month`s website features information about domestic violence, how to identify if you or someone you love is in an abusive relationship, resources for battered persons and how to raise awareness within your own community.

For more information regarding domestic violence please visit

http://dvam.vawnet.org/index.php

If you or someone you know is afraid or have been beaten by a partner please contact

Emergency services- 911

Or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800- 787-3224

Works Cited

The Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

Culture Jamming

The term Culture Jamming was coined by a collage band Negativland in 1984 and derives from the term radio jamming, but the practice of culture jamming has been around since the 1950’s when activists in Europe referred to themselves as situationist’s. Culture jamming is a radical revolt against mainstream corporate advertising and social conformity. Naomi Klein explains Culture Jamming as parodying corporate advertisements and changing their intended meaning. Culture Jammers believe that consumers should be able to participate within the media rather than passively absorb disseminated material.

Culture Jammer’s take advertisements a hot medium and transform them into a cool medium.Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the terms hot and cold medium and describes them as:
"Basically, a hot medium excludes and a cool medium includes; hot media are low in participation, or completion, by the audience and cool media are high in participation ".

Absolut Vodka verus Absolut Impotence

The pictures above both feature bottles of Absolut Vodka. Absolut Vodka is an easily recognizable alcohol due to it's name, variety of flavours, 40-50% alcohol content and distinctively shaped bottle.

The picture featured on top is the parody of Absolut Vodka created by popular culture jammer’s Adbusters. The picture featured on the bottom is the advertisement created by Absolut Vodka's advertising agency TBWA worldwide.

The advertisement created by Absolut Vodka is to enforce the prestige, sexiness and elegance of the brand through the use of a seal, cursive writing, colour and the word imported in a large, black and bolded print.

The spoof by Culture Jammers features the Absolut Vodka crumpled and leaning over to the side. The cap is sitting in a pool of spilled vodka beside the bottle. The bottle's position is reminiscent of a sloppy drunk staggering person. Underneath the bottle there are two quotations one reading “Absolut Impotence". Absolut Impotence is a play on Absolut Vodka’s brand name. Merriam Webster dictionary defines the state of being impotent as “not potent: lacking in power, strength or vigour as well as obsolete: incapable of self restraint”. Impotence is not a desirable trait

Underneath of the 'impotent jab' theres is an infamous Shakespearean quote, from his play Macbeth "Drink provokes the desire but takes away the performance".
The imagery used by Adbusters reiterates that drinking excessive amounts of hard liquor seriously impairs one judgement. Adbusters advertisment suggests that there is nothing sexy about that girl we’ve all seen. You know THAT drunken girl, hunched over in a corner, about to pass out while spilling her alcohol all over the place.

Works Cited

The official ABSOLUT website. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

"The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan." Heim.ifi.uio.no. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

"Naomi Klein : No Logo : Ad Nauseum." Spike Magazine: Book Reviews, Interviews, Music, Art, Self Publishing, Travel and More. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

"Spoof Ads | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters." Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters | Journal of the mental environment. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

Participatory Culture

During Neil Postman's keynote address given at the Inaugural Media Ecology Association Convention, Postman references Stephen Vincent Benét’s poem, John Brown’s Body. Postman quotes the last lines of the poem, "Say neither, it is blessed nor cursed.
Say only “It is here.” Benét’s poem was published in 1928 and was speaking of the Industrial Revolution, but more than 80 years later the words continue to ring true when we speak of new media particularly the participatory culture that is social networking.

A social network is an online community of people. Social networks provide users with the opportunity to interact with users with similar likes and interests in various ways.
I spend quite a lot of time on social networks for recreation. It was not until this year that I began to participate in one regarding academics (our class wiki: ways of seeing YAY!)

I began using Msn messenger when I was in grade 5 when I saw my older brother who was in grade 7 using it. At first I probably had 6 friends using msn messenger at the time (if I was THAT lucky) but by the time I had entered grade 7, my brother and I began fighting over computer time. I had the majority of my friends from school as well as my cousins from the US and Caribbean as contacts.

I first joined Facebook in December of 2006 after receiving invitations from several friends. Facebook is on the surface is simply a social networking website that allows its members to interact with family and friends but the online community helps to provide me with perhaps the most fundamental human need, the sense of belonging.
As I even write these blog entries I find myself distracted by my msn messenger ( my contacts continue to message me although I’ve set my status to busy and changed my msn name to working on mass communication blog entries!). I also have several tabs open on my web browser perhaps most notably Facebook. I have to remind myself to remain focused on the task at hand and not get distracted by the constantly updated live news feed.

The Phenomenon of social networking’s popularity has led to researchers studying the impact social networking has on its users lives. Studies have found that there are differences in the way people of different genders, races and ages use social networking websites. A particular study stood out to me. Researchers at Ohio Dominican University claim that college students who use the social networking site Facebook have significantly lower grade point averages in comparison to their peers who do not have Facebook accounts. Researchers studied 219 undergraduate and graduate students and found that Facebook users grade’s are typically a grade lower (3.0- 3.5 GPA) than non- Facebook users (3.5- 4.0 GPA)

The findings of the study are ironic, even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerbeg dropped out of Harvard in 2004!

So does this mean I can blame Facebook for getting a bad mark on an assignment I left to the very last minute?

The answer is no.

The results of the study indicate that Facebook has replaced many of the “tools” college students have used for years to procrastinate such as hanging out at a friend’s house. Facebook has allowed us to enter our “friend’s homes” from the comfort of our own homes.
It is not only students who use Facebook that get lower grades it is all students who waste their time have lower grades. That is only logical.

Social networking is addictive and distracting, just like every newly introduced medium. I’m sure my mother experienced similar problems with television while attending Humber College in the late 80’s early 90’s. Engaging in participatory culture requires responsibility. We must always remember that when we are overwhelmed by the benefits and distractions of these mediums we can simply log off!

Works Cited

"Facebook users get low GPA in college | CJReport." Citizen Journalism Report - News Stories. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

"The Humanism of Media Ecology :: MEA Proceedings." The Media Ecology Association. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .

Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is fundamentally the belief that all internet usage should come with no restrictions. Users pay a fee to use the internet and once that access is gained internet service providers should have no input on that usage. Within Canada Network Neutrality is becoming a highly debated topic between internet service providers and neutrality supporters but the public is mostly unaware of the brewing “war”.
Internet service providers currently use two main methods to control internet usage, bandwidth throttling and IP blocking. Bandwidth throttling (also called traffic shaping) consists of internet service providers slowing done the speed of a customer’s service if there bandwidth usage exceeds a certain amount. IP blocking is when an internet service provider deliberately blocks access to an IP address (Internet service providers often do this to websites featuring child pornography).

The issue of Network neutrality truly became an issue in Canada in 2005 when TELUS blocked its subscriber’s access to labor union blogs during an employee strike. TELUS alleged that website suggested that striking workers sabotaged the company by jamming phone lines and posting pictures of employees who chose to cross the union’s picket lines. TELUS agreed to unblock the website once all pictures and postings were removed that threatened and intimidated TELUS workers.

On April 3rd 2008 The Canadian Association of Internet approached The Canadian Radio-Television Commission in regards to Bell Canada. The CAIT claimed that Bell Canada was favouring other applications by intentionally slowing down internet traffic generated by peer-to-peer file-sharing applications to reduce network congestion; the CAIT requested that the CRCT force Bell Canada to stop the practice. In November of 2008 The CRCT ruled in Bell Canada’s favour and claimed that the status was not discriminating.

This ruling is intensifying the fight between private and public interests in regards to internet usage. The CRTC has given internet service providers the right to control the internet. Not only will this affect our internet usage but also our freedoms and creativity.This will enable providers to introduce tiered internet service, providing higher paying users with faster use of the internet and thus disenfranchising the “little guy”.

Law professor, Lawrence Lessig's book, Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity expresses that "This punitive system of regulation will systematically stifle creativity and innovation. It will protect some industries and some creators, but it will harm industry and creativity generally”(Lessig, 192).

Internet service providers currently have the freedom to place toll booths, speed bumps and congestion on the “information highway”.




Works Cited

"CBC News - Technology & Science - FAQ: Net neutrality and internet traffic management." CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. Web. 22 Nov. 2009.
.

"CRTC denies CAIP application, but will examine Internet traffic management practices." Site Web du CRTC - Bienvenue | CRTC Web Site - Welcome. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .

Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture. United States of America: Penguin Books, 2004.

Media Hegemonies

During a lecture in mass communications class we watched a clip of an episode of 30Rock. The episode featured Tracy Jordan (played by actor Tracy Morgan) approaching Jack Donaghy (played by actor Alec Baldwin) with a proposal for "The Tracy Jordan Meat Machine" Jack Donaghy green lights the proposal after claiming it was not the worse celebrity endorsed idea he had heard, but informs Tracy Jordan that General Electric will not produce "The Tracy Jordan Meat Machine"due to the products uh "uniqueness". Donaghy then pulls down a corporate food chain that maps General Electric and all of its subsidiary companies. After mapping out the companies to whom General Electric are major shareholders such as Winnipeg Iron Works, Pokerfastlane.com and NBC, Donaghy concludes that AHP CHANAGI PARTY MEATS in North Korea will produce the product.

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d114/simbadogg/?action=view¤t=asdf6.flv( Link to the video)

The purpose of this parody is primarily to entertain, but after this clip was played I realized that 30Rock is broadcasted on NBC and decided to further research the factual content featured in the clip.
cjr.org is the official website of an organization called Columbia Journalism Review and their resources page enables people to enter the names of fortune 500 companies and map their far reaching ownership.
By selecting General Electric from a list of companies, it is revealed that GE is a primary shareholder and or owner within many industries. As of 2008, General Electric is the proud owner of:
• 14 NBC stations in the USA
• 14 Telemundo in the USA and Puerto Rico
• NBC Universal Television Studio
NBC Universal Television Distribution
• CNBC
• MSNBC
• Bravo
• Mun2TV
• Sci-Fi
• USA
• Sleuth
• Oxygen
• Universal Pictures
• Universal Parks and Resorts
As well as their primary GE products:
• GE Aircraft Engines
• GE Commercial Finance
• GE Consumer Products
• GE Industrial Systems
• GE Insurance
• GE Medical Systems
• GE Plastics
• GE Power Systems
• GE Specialty Materials
• GE Transportation Systems

General Electric was founded By Thomas Edison and initially was viewed as a power generation company, but with its growth GE has been able to acquire the ownership of various companies in various sectors. General Electric has a huge impact on what Americans view throughout the day. Viewers who believe that they are receiving a subjective opinion by watching MNSBC news and a local Spanish Telemundo newscast are receiving information from the same source. General Electric has a huge impact on what Americans view throughout the day. General Electric has a huge impact on their consumer’s perception. This type of media hegemony allows General Electric to promote its agenda and potential biases through the media usually undetected.
Due to the fact most people are not aware of such media hegemonies many people are under the impression that they are exposed to a wide array of views when they are in fact passed through the same filter and provide viewers with the content and biases corporations deem as appropriate to their audiences.
Fortunately in Canada the Canadian Radio-Television Commission (an independent media "watchdog" has introduced laws barring Canadian corporations from the same level of media hegemony prevalent in the US. The law allows corporations to only have shares in two major broadcasting mediums.
Although Canada is trying to prevent the monopolization practiced in the United States, I highly recommend that everybody educate themselves about media hegemony so as viewers and consumers we can filter the information being served to us and think objectively.

Works Cited

"CRTC denies CAIP application, but will examine Internet traffic management practices." Site Web du CRTC - Bienvenue | CRTC Web Site - Welcome. Web. 22 Nov. 2009

Who Owns What |." Columbia Journalism Review. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .

Buy Nothing Day

Buy Nothing Day is an international day protesting consumerism and overconsumption. It was founded by Vancouver native and artist Ted Dave in 1992 it was held in September but was changed to the Friday after American thanksgiving in North America and the day after that internationally in 1997. The Friday after thanksgiving is referred to as "Black Friday" within the United States, it marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. "Black Friday" draws consumers with big sales and is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. On Occasion injuries and fatalities have occurred due to consumers rushing for the chance to acquire unprecedented bargains. Organizers of Buy Nothing Day have used such incidents as an opportunity to reiterate the negatives associated with consumerism.

Buy Nothing Day is not only about not purchasing items from stores but organizers encourage participants to turn off their lights, television, phones, computers and not drive their cars. Choosing to Participate in Buy Nothing Day is choosing not to participate within our consumer driven culture for at least one day.

But what is really accomplished by participating in Buy Nothing Day?

Truthfully A limited section of our society choosing not to spend money one day a year is not going to gravely affect retailers or big business. Or undo the damage done to the enviornment by our consumerism.
Buy Nothing Day is truly about consumers reflecting on the affects of their own consumption habits, the problems overconsumption causes and sustainability.
Within the Western world we are constantly being encouraged to keep wanting and buying more than we actually need. Our overconsumption is wrecking havoc on the earth’s natural resources and will ultimately destroy our environment.

This year Buy Nothing Day will be subsequently celebrated on November 27th in North America and Israel and November 28th internationally. In the spirit of the upcoming Buy Nothing Day I decided to calculate my carbon footprint as it is directly related to my consumption practices. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a carbon footprint as "the negative impact that something (as a person or business) has on the environment; specifically: the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period".
I completed a quiz featured at www. Myfootprint.org after completing several questions regarding my eating and shopping habits and use of transportation, the results revealed that my consumption is excessive. The quiz estimated that it would require 5.21 worlds in to sustain everybody living on this planet if they lived my lifestyle. Unfortunately, we only have one planet. Buy Nothing Days mission is not to save people a few extra dollars, but to educate them about the negative impacts of consumption and the need to make lifestyle changes to ensure sustainability.

Works Cited
"Buy Nothing Day | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters." Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters | Journal of the mental environment. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .

Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .

Ecological Footprint Quiz by Redefining Progress. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. .

Propoganda

Fox news is a news corporation owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Fox‘s very own logo says fair and balanced, but does this truly stand true?

Fox’s CEO Roger Ailes worked as a former image consultant for several former republican presidents. Fox news has been accused of being biased towards the right wing several times by organizations such as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and Media Matters in America.
As a corporately funded news station, Fox news has the right to reflect the views of its owners. But by doing so, they have compromised their journalistic integrity. Journalists are supposed to present the masses with the facts without any bias or personal opinion included and by refusing to do so I believe that Fox news has tarnished their image as a reputable source of information. We must ALWAYS remember that it is the journalist’s responsibility is to sell the truth.

Work Cited
Fox News." Fox News. 13 Oct. 2009 .
"The Most Biased Name in News." Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR). 13 Oct. 2009 .