The Medium is the Message

In this world full of technology today, it is no doubt how easy it is to rely on any form of technology to gain information - television, internet, wifi, laptops etc. People these days live no longer on painful self-discovery, and inquisition. But instead, we all gain knowledge through the use of only our fingers - surfing the internet, turning on the television, and switching on the radio while driving.

The media is so involved in our lives only because technology is so advanced. I find myself not searching for news anymore, because news just comes to me naturally. Everywhere I go, I am fed with countless information through advertisements, billboards, magazines, newspapers, and television shows. The internet is even made accessible through the availability of the Wifi function not only in our laptops but in our phones too. What has the world become? In this global village of technological establishments we live in, the medium now has very much become the message, only because we rely on it so much.

Because of how technology is part of our lives now, we start to believe in every information that technology has laid before us. I find this so true when I was watching an advertisement on Channel 5 one day. It was a gambling advertisement by the National Council for Problem Gambling (NCPG), which was part of a campaign called the "know the line" campaign. When I watched it, I was rather moved by it. It was rather artistically done, and every essence of the advertisement captured my attention and emotions. At the end of it, I realized what made me so drawn to it was how I resonated with it and this made me think about what I learnt in class about Cultivation Theory where the media is able to resonate with us and vice versa as we are able to relate ourselves to the characters on TV. The whole idea of a father and daughter, the way the father misuses his authority, and the way the girl looks so helpless simply tugs at my heart strings because the issue of family is just so close to me.

Here is the Ad:

The more I watch the Advertisement, the more I feel about Problem Gambling and am aware of it. With this, I see how the government has observed the great impact television has on people. Through the means of the media, and technology, they have effectively and easily conveyed a message that could be hard to influence through other sources like newspaper or books. This is just amazing what technology and media can do to/for us!

Julie, and Julia

When I saw this poster being advertised in the cinema, I was instantly attracted to it, and I told myself, " Julie and Julia" is a must - watch! The first reason was because Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are such great actors that it would seem a pity to give them a miss. Secondly, it is simply because this show is about cooking. I mean, how often would you watch a show about cooking in the movies? Also, I just love food.

Watching the show, however, has opened my eyes as the show is certainly more than meets the eye! Little did I know that there was actually a woman who loved another woman's cooking so much, that she decided to cook from all her recipes, and blog about them! Such a true story can really be quite inspirational.

Focusing on how Julie Powell blogs on her cooking, I realized that there are actually many characteristics of public blogging that I can pick out, which is rather interesting; but at the same time, I wonder if I actually do blog the way she does.

Blogging, after all, is a "performing" act. We all blog to show, to tell, and to express not only to ourselves, but to others as well.

The language that Julie Powell pens on her website is definitely one that is clearly thought through, and "censored" to a great extent.

When she quarrelled with her husband in the movie, Julie wanted to talk about how she quarrelled with her husband because of her blogging and cooking, but chose not to go into detail about it. This goes to show that when we blog, we actually create an image that we want our viewers to have of us. Thus, nothing nasty usually ends up there.

Also, Julie actually turned to blogging, not simply because her friend suggested it to her, but also because she felt that her working life was rather bleak. When she got into the w , hole lifestyle of cooking and blogging after work, these routine became a source of therapy for her. It was as if she immersed herself into the realm of cooking and bloggingand nothing else matters anymore (her husband was neglected, in her case).

Truly, do we treat blogging as our "everything", and do we use it as a platform for a "public purpose"? Can blogging ever be a real journal or diary?

Surely, if Julie Powell wrote a diary instead, the content would certainly be more exciting than what she blogged.

BON APPETIT!

Talk about Dramatism

I was at a park near my place not too long ago, taking a short stroll to get away from the hustle and bustle of my life, and at the same time, do a bit of self-reflection, and sorting of thoughts.

All was peaceful, until I heard a nasty shout from not too far away, and there! A chinese foreman was lambasting and hurling vulgarities at some Bangladeshi workers that work under him, I suppose. It was appalling! It so happened that it was drizzling at the same time, so the workers were apparently trying to hasten their work pace, so as to get some rest, and shelter.

Looking at that scene right before me, I was flabbergasted by the fact that the workers were treated so brutally, as if like animals! This whole dramatization was such a scene! And it made me see how the foreman was playing this bossy role as a leader just a bit too much.

It made me wonder, is this just how society works? Does the foreman have a story to tell? Do the workers deserve the treatment?

What I saw was just one perspective. I am certainly not in the position to judge, as I am in no vantage point in that scenario.

Behaviorist or Humanist?

The winding road of fall: This semester has been a good one I would say; one that has made me a greater thinker, and a better learner...
The start of the fall semester in school has made me all psyched up for a brand new journey of learning and an attempt to make the most out of my term by doing my best in my studies. However, it seems like what I am studying in school can't help but urge me to think about life even more this time.

It is inevitable how learning Principles of Persuasion just makes me think about the way I phrase my sentences to sound persuasive, if my critical mind can work even on paper, or if I have enough knowledge about current affairs to counter any arguments on politics. I realized that this module of Persuasion has got me really interested and amazed by the power of words alone! Being more aware about how I come across through words now, I become more cautious about the way people behave around me, and vice versa.
And see, I even borrowed a book from a friend to enhance my knowledge on the module!


At the same time, studying Communication Theories surprisingly has generated a lot of thoughts in my head- particularly the idea of humanists, and behaviorists. Well, as much as I am not a researcher or scientist, I realized I can be a humanist or a behaviorist in my everyday life as well!

Personally, I find it really easy being a "behaviorist" when attributing things to other people apart from myself, with my focus on "observable behaviors" of other people. I can easily make myself think that any intrinsic motivation of others is irrelevant when it comes to judging people or simply observing them. I do not show any mercy at all when it comes to talking about someone (someone I don't know, that is), and I can even resort to thinking that I am better off than them! This seriously critical, judgmental and utterly prideful side of mine has made me a filthy behaviorist who does not know how to compliment people based on their hearts and character, and shows no mercy when people do me wrong. Fortunately though, this side of me is simply a devil inside me that hibernates, and has yet to evolve into actions. But these thoughts, it seems, are bad enough.

Recently, I have been thinking a bit more about the bad things that people do in the world (the recent case about the man who sexually harassed a girl and hid her in his basement), and as I have been hooked to the American drama series Prison Break these days, I see how the characters in the show come from different backgrounds of crime, which can be really appalling. A part of me feels really bitter about how so many people in the world just do not seem to know what they are doing in their lives. Even when I look at my friend who recently got depressed about her life, and started cooping herself at home, I feel that darkness can really be everywhere these days! Despite all these evil, what is beneath it seems much greater. This is when I feel the side of the humanist makes so much sense!

Through the course of this, I came to a revelation that brute facts alone do not speak much of any situation but simply provide plain facts which do not help at all in understanding things that happen! But just like how every prisoner in Prison Break has a story to tell that makes their actions much more logical, so does how any anomaly I see in the society or a friend has a reason for the outcome. When I understand that I have to search for meaning in what people do, I start embracing the not-so-pleasant in life. And life seems to become more acceptable henceforth.

Simple as perspectives in life may seem, insights I reap can be surprisingly revolutionary.