Drink-or-Treat!

I guess this is an appropriate topic... considering it's the Halloween weekend. Seeing that I'm on-call and need to go around buildings, I get to see a lot of students in their costumes. Some are funny, others are scary and a few are just down right whack. Because I'm on-call, I don't have the privilege to dress up as something. Some students stick to the tradition costumes, while others impersonate other people. Some people are very creative with their costumes.


Seeing all of this makes me conclude that costumes are a medium because they portray a message. Depending on how "into" you are in Halloween you might have different interpretations on different costumes. As chapter 8 of Croteau and Hoynes states that the Active audience theory highlights the polysemic nature of media products. In this case both humor and irony can be seen. Costumes are a way for people to laugh at and say how funny or ridiculous they look and other costumes are ironic to the person wearing it. 


Depending on how well you know current celebrities, some costumes might be funny while others are supposed to make fun at the character they are imitating. Happy Halloween!!!

Fahrenheit 451

Has anyone ever heard of Fahrenheit 451? Well it's the temperature at which paper burns. In a novel by Ray Bradbury title Fahrenheit 451, he writes about a dystopian American world where books are illegal. No one can have books. I thought it would be appropriate considering we had a debate about books in class on Wednesday.

In Fahrenheit 451, firemen don't put out fires, they start fires to burn books because they have been outlawed. In this futuristic American society, the masses are hedonistic and the critical thought through reading is not allowed. This society strives to have the most pleasure by minimizing the amount of suffering that can be caused, which to them are books. This book is a representation of the government censorship in the United States, especially during the Cold War. Another interpretation of the book is that the effect of mass media and television on literature in the future.


He also explores the topic of how mass media alienates us from ourselves and others around us. In an increasing mass media world, many people become connected virtually but disconnected in the real world. Now a days you see us connecting with friends on facebook, twitter, email, and sometimes by phone, but why not in person if most of them are close by? This weekend I tried to see what percentage of my time I spent talking to friends online rather than in person. I was stunned to realize that over 50% of my time I spend chatting with friends online... the unfortunate thing is that most of them are on campus so I can easily go visit them. This alienation of people by media is a big topic in the book. Not to forget the censorship of government on media. Click here for a link to a 4 minute video of the movie adaption, it's a great way to see how this dystopia functions with censorship, alienation and influence of mass media.


Do you think we'll ever get to live in a dystopian world where books will no longer be needed and possibly outlawed because of the atrocities and suffering caused by books like the "Hit Man"?

The Melody of My Life

This weekend I had the privilege to go home for a weeding, my young twin sisters birthday and for my church anniversary. On my way back on the train I was able to b ring my guitar back home to show my friends and family because I had recently bought it. Now that I'm on the train heading back to Babson thinking of what medium to write about I thought that I would take the time to talk about my guitar. It's a simple acoustic Fender guitar, nothing great, but lately even though I have so much work I manage to find at least 20 minutes to practice. It's becoming my primary tool to unplug myself from all other mass media and other electronic mediums that hinder me. When I start playing my guitar, which I still barely know, I'm able to renew my mind. The guitar has special abilities to transform mere sounds into a melody, creating music.

As an active audience, I not only listen and play music, I share music with others by talking about the latest music out there. Also, I consider it to be a cold medium. Even though the song is complete and there is no need to add anything to it, the interpretation and the effects it has on people differ. Some people might take Mozart music as soothing and relaxing, others might think it's only for smart people, yet another group might ante it because it makes them fall asleep or want to kill themselves. I personally love it.

That's why my guitar is my favorite instrument because it not only allows me to escape my world from all other mediums, it also takes these noises, thoughts and coordination from my hands to craft a melody. That's how I create the melody of my life. 

Walking Advertisement

This week I was at the mall looking at advertisements on the walls and the posters hanging from the ceiling. Then it hit me... we are all advertisers. Many people don't notice but when we walk around wearing an Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt or a Hugo Boss shirt, we are promoting them. We are advertising the store and the brand that we are wearing. Every time I go into a store, especially Banana Republic, the workers wear the clothes and some times makes me want to buy the clothes because maybe I can be as good looking as them. Or when I walk around the mall and I see another person wearing a shirt or a tie I like, there is a force inside my mind that tells me that I need to go to the store and buy it. The funny thing is that I tell myself that I "need" it, not "want" it making me more vulnerable to go buy it.

We are all influenced by the outside world and one of the biggest influences are people. We try to copy and replicate each other by the way we dress and present ourselves. We want to be like them because maybe I can get a step closer to becoming more and more like the picture-perfect models, which is never real. We try to make other things around us look like what's on advertisement because we want to live the perfect life that is always presented to us in the mass media. Looking at the picture to the left with the guy looking at a car magazine rather than the girls face showing that the ultimate attraction isn't the girl but the fantasy that you can have that's presented by media.

Instead of media trying to imitate reality, each day it seems that reality tries to copy media, making reality become more and more like fantasy. Maybe one day we will no longer live in the "real-world", maybe it'll be a fantasy world.

A kick from "The Last Samurai" Tea

This weekend I've been a bit under the weather. Sniffle, sniffle. I decided to have some of my tea (I'm a big tea person). I love Teavana! It's a bit expensive but well worth it. My favorite is Samurai Chai Mate (if you want some click on the link); it's made up of many ingredients, which include green mate, red rooibos, cinnamon, pineapple, orange peel, lemongrass, almonds, cardamom, aniseed, coriander and cornflower blossoms. WOW, that's a kick right there! And let me not forget  the sugar, German Rock Sugar that perfects the tea. That's yet another kick.

As I was sipping my Samurai Chai I started to think how it serves as a medium. Going back to our first reading by James Reston, he discusses the concept of hot and cold media. Well tea is definitely hot when I'm drinking it but in reality it's a cold medium. My Samurai Chai is perfectly made; however, there is space for imagination. When drinking tea, the flavor is complex. There are two aspects that are open to a person's personal opinion, taste and aroma. The taste can be different for every person and the aroma can also vary. I know that my taste buds get all excited when the tea starts rushing through. The smell of samurai chai is just splendid. No need to buy Glade or Febreze fresheners, the tea makes the atmosphere warm and delightful.

Because I was drinking my Samurai Chai I decided to watch The Last Samurai as well but that's another medium and can wait for another post. 

As for the tea, I'll let you be the judge of how it tastes and smells (if you have any). It's keeping me warm and complete this early morning but it continues to be cold and incomplete as a medium. Maybe you'll get a kick out of drinking some tea!