Stanley's+Media+Log

Stanley's Media Log



**My Experiences With****Media**

**#1 When I decided to take media studies as an elective, I envisioned the course to be about how companies use different form of medias such as TV, radio, internet, etc to help promote their products and messages. As well as studying celebrities and how they play a significant role in media. But what I did n ****ot expect to take from this course so early on is how to interpret and break down these messages, how Hollywood actors were not always as hyped up as they are now and the idea of celebrity was created to promote movies, and how m****uc****h media shapes our lives even though I used to believe that we decided how to shape it ourselves. It is hard to determine what my experiences with media are on a daily basis, as I will explain later, they have become so subliminal and forceful, that the messages have almost replaced knowledge in a way. Experience with media happens from the moment you open your eyes every morning. It goes beyond watching TV, radio, internet etc. The first thing you see is your room. You may not know it but everything in your room relates to media. Your room was probably inspired by something** **you saw in a magazine or in an IKEA catalogue. If you look at your walls, if you have things hanging on them, each of these** **pieces relates to media in one way or another. For example, a picture of you and your friend - seems simple - but y****ou could be at a Starbucks, a****t a concert, or shopping at the mall. All of these places have massive amounts of messages and ads that yo****u could only see by breaking them down! You could see posters, maybe your closet is open. You wear all of your clothes because of the media. You buy what is sold in stores, almost as if they are telling you what to wear. You may think** **you decide what you wear, but, you really do not. Just because you love the clothes that Jacqueline Kennedy wore does not mean you will get a fingerwave and dress like you are from the 60's even if you really wanted to. Even if you sowed your own clothes, what you want them to look like is inspired by the media. Next, your alarm clock is either the usual alarm clock beep which changes about every 5 years, or a song - which has many forms of media behind it. These daily exposure to messages is so overwhelming that we pretty much compensate by not noticing them conciously at all. The messages that we are exposed to have been almost been replacing knowledge in a way. For example, //the way we perceive a company is truly not our perception, but the messages they send you to perceive.// I think that with the invention of the printing press and large companis and corporations, the world of pop culture and the use of sending messages through media was born. I truly believe that all these experiences to media that not only I go through and notice after taking this course, but everyone around me. We are all exposed to the same messages, no matter where you live, everyone wants to fit in one way or another. The world of media in a way unites not only me, but everyone with each other.**