Blogging

I had forgotten how clueless I was about blogging until I just reread my very first blog post. I just was not accustomed to having people reading my writing. The thought of putting it on the web for anybody to stumble across was kind of daunting. The truth is though, that if someone actually takes the time to read my blog, out of the millions of other websites they could be viewing, then I'm cool with them reading my writing. Even, if they disagree with what I have to say. With all this talking we've done this semester about the media as a public sphere where ideas are debated and negotiated, it's a good thing to have to hear somebody else's point of view and have a relative debate about it. And even if nobody is really reading my blog posts besides my class, I'm okay with that too. I realize that hasn't just been a waste of my time. It forced me to really take a stance and articulate it. Sometimes it becomes so easy to just "go with the flow" and accept things the way they are. Or even, if you don't agree with a certain dominant ideology, you find yourself just quietly grumbling to yourself about it instead of speaking out about it. This blogging process has been a good way for me to gage where I stand on certain issues. So it's fine with me if this is more of a personal thing then a message that is going to be received by a large audience. Not to say that it wouldn't be nice for it to reach somebody. I might want to start by actually telling some more people about it and hopefully that will be motivation enough to continue blogging.

On a side note, I've been listening to this band Grizzly Bear a lot lately and as I was perusing the New Yorker website earlier I came across this video....it kind of cracked me up:

Reality TV

The popularity of reality TV in our society is something that is hard to ignore and should be addressed. A lot of these reality TV shows like America's Next Top Model, American Idol, Project Runway, and So You Think You Can dance, tie in with ideal of the American Dream because they give people the hope that they can be famous too. A lot of these shows emphasize that anyone can make it, no matter what kind of a background you come from. There is always someone who on these shows that makes it pretty far, but came from a broken home, a small town, has a handicap, or some other challenge to overcome. While on the one hand it is good to have a diversity of people on the show and to believe in yourself, being a finalist on American Idol is still not a possibility for most people. Sure, someone who never thought they would make it big always wins American Idol, there were still the thousands of those who auditioned and didn't make the cut. Furthermore, the "reality" of reality tv shows is very questionable too. I recently watched a short clip of a talk given by the filmmaker Bill Guttentag about why reality tv is so popular:

Firstly, Guttentag points out, that is with all television shows, the primary concern is making money and selling a product. Reality TV shows are much cheaper to make then regular dramas

because you don't have to pay for expensive sets, or pay lots of money for involved screenplays, or hire expensive actors. Moreover, in the end the pay off for popular reality TV shows has been

much more then regular dramas. Thus, there is more incentive for producers to continue creating reality TV shows because they like to play it safe and show what they know sells.

Another important point to consider is that most of the time reality tv shows aren't all that real. The producers of the show want to create the kind of drama and dialogue that sells. So, a lot of

times the clips that we see on the actual show are taken out of context and manipulated in a way so that it fits into the idea of what the producer wants it to be. Personally I enjoy my share of

reality TV (Top Chef, SYTYCD, Project Runway anyone?) also, and there is nothing wrong with watching it for entertainment. It is just important to remember to distinguish between"reality" tv shows and actual reality.

Glenn Beck

The circumstances in which you grow up in have a large effect on how you view the world and how you you interpret things. Your race, gender, class, sexual orientation, and politics, all determine what perspective you approach things with. Thus, although media products have a certain message they intend to get across it does not mean that the audience will get that particular message out of a media text. What someone might find funny someone else might find offensive. This is where the clash between structure and agency come in to play.

I recently read an article in The New Yorker by Nancy Franklin, about "Fox News Channel's latest blowhard," Glenn Beck. As is well know Beck is an extremely controversial character. It would seem that Beck's intention is to get people riled up and support his wild notions about politics, and in particular his hate of the Obama Administration. However, Glenn Beck and his segment on Fox News is and example of how audiences can interpret the media in different ways based on the social context and background they are coming from (polysemy). As Franklin writes, "Some see him as a joke, and some see him as a danger, and some {...} are grateful to him and his efforts to 'take back America." Those people who tend to be more right wing and conservative, and those same people who are against the health reform and the Obama administration in general, might find Beck to be a spokesperson for them. Others think that he might have enough influence over his supporters to be dangerous. They think of him as war-mongerer who is just trying to stir up trouble. Still others view him as an egotistical joke, who is just a lot of loud talk, and who could take him seriously anyways? The scary thing is some people to do get sucked into his banter, but at the same time he turns many people off. When he makes statements that Obama is a racist and, "This President, I think, has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture, I don't know what it is," he is alienating a lot of people, in particular probably the black/non-white population. On the other hand, for those people who agree with Beck, and are possibly racist themselves, it gives them even more reason to believe this is true.

I'm sure you've all heard some of the outrageous things Glenn Beck has said in the media, but here's a several clips to remind you: