Untitled @loudmotherlizard-blog - Tumblr Blog

The reason why I can't finish my assignment on time

Why Am I On Tumblr?

This media project has been interesting. Actually making posts on Tumblr rather than just studying the effects of media on people and ourselves was meaningful. Instead of looking from a second person perspective we are connecting super personally with the media itself.

Honestly it’s been pretty distracting at times.

Foolishly I told tumblr what I am actually interested in looking at on social media when first making an account so I found myself scrolling through cat photos for a little while before actually getting to work lots of times.

I liked having control over getting photos into my assignment. People say a picture says a thousand words, and we don’t get put photos in our essays. Its probably cause we have a word count.

Also I enjoy being able to link videos and websites onto my posts because its very easy to provide context to things without A ton of boring explanation.

I think that making posts on tumblr kind of diminishes the impact of the “media conversation.” Once you’re on social media you are automatically in “media mode”, or at least I am. So its hard for me to actually intake a lot of information in one piece if its not spoon fed to me with photos and stuff.

I enjoyed doing this project on tumblr though because I do enjoy sometimes writing in forms other than essays. :)

Doge Our Boy!

Doge memes were a huge phenomenon a few years ago and recently they have been making a huge resurgence...

And of course this makes sense! Look at how wonderful this is!

Essentially this meme is a slightly crazy on edge dog’s face in the place of the teletubbie sun baby.

The teletubbies was a show I watched as a little kid. I find the show deeply unsettling now. It seems to have philosophical themes about hard determinism that make me really uncomfortable when I think about it now.

In the teletubbies the teletubbies wake up when the sun rises every morning with speakers that pop out of the ground and tell them what they have to do throughout the day.

The Doge meme accurately outlines all of the first thoughts I have right after waking up. It uses simple, short sentences that make sense in the context of just waking up.

It also fills me with the usual bit of confusion and slight discomfort that I associate with memes.

I find it very relatable and funny!

Zombie Video Games and The Last of Us

The genre of zombie video games is very male dominated and violently portrayed.

The violence is glamourized. There are big guns, unlimited bullets, lots of blood and horrific looking zombies! It looks exciting to kill zombies and the people you play against!

Obviously making a video game that is entertaining is the ultimate goal of the company. Video game ads usually show some game play from the first person shooter perspective as well as some story or plot points.

(Such an iconic and completely ridiculous moment!) Zombie land. This is a movie but it shows a good example of the glamourized violence associated with most zombie themed content.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANtuiVojT2U

However many zombie killing games are not story line based and mostly just follow the characters as they kill things in order to survive.

The Last of Us is a huge exception. The story reaches the depth you’d expect in a post apocalyptic novel, while also being an entertaining game. The story includes relationships not often seen in the zombie genre. Friendship between teenagers, father daughter relationships. This broke barriers of what is acceptable to include in zombie games.

Since the game is so plot driven the development of character relationships is what keeps you interested. Consequently the violence is less emphasised and glamourized than in most zombie games. It is obvious that the characters don’t want to be fighting and would rather be living in peace. The tension and danger is decidedly higher when a fight between alive people is going on as opposed to hard core zombie bashing. The zombies pose less of a real threat and people are the ones you really have to watch out for.

The bloodthirsty, numb feeling associated with other first person shooters is absolutely not there. When characters die you are urged to care because throughout the story you’ve grown to know and appreciate them. The stakes are as high as a novel, keeping you glued to the story more than the violence. It is jarring to experience the deaths of well developed characters. In most zombie video games I would barely bat an eyelid over a death because I don’t really care about any of the other characters.

The Last of Us Two released its game play advertisement in June last year.

You can watch it here, (content is extremely violent)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMW_sycSs30

The extra mini game Left Behind features another idea commonly left out of zombie genre. The main character in this section is not the stereotypical strong, middle aged guy who is featured in most zombie games. Instead it features Ellie a fourteen year old lesbian. The part of the game is so special because who would have thought a young, female character would star in a first person shooter, much less a young, female character on the LGBTQ+ spectrum?

Most zombie video games have guns, destroyed landscapes, houses. The main character is usually a cis, straight, white guy who is super buff.

This game includes diversity of human perspective similar to what would actually be true of a real apocalypse. Not everyone who survives looks or acts the same.

Ellie is the main character for a large portion of the first game and will most likely be the main character for the entire second game.

#ZOMBIES

Supporting Honduran Farmers!

Honduras has a very negative reputation now a days in the news. Most people have heard about the political turmoil and poverty that sends illegal immigrants fleeing to the borders on foot in search of safety.

And it’s true: Honduras is the murder capital of the world. Many local businesses are run by gangs. Violent protests often make it impossible for people to travel safely to their jobs. Being pulled over on the highway, for no reason, and bribed by police officers is common.

Many farmers still use the conventional slash and burn technique. This way to farm rapidly destroys and the fertility of the soil, leaving no plants to decompose and replenish the earth. It also results in lots of harmful CO2 being released into the atmosphere. This technique combined with the devastating effects global climate change is making it hard for farmers to feed their families.

However, despite its bad reputation and struggles Honduras is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. It has luscious tropical plants and animals that exist in few other places on Earth. There are naturally occurring waterfalls, mountains, and caves. Every direction you look is as fantastic as the glossy cover photos of National Geographic. It is truly an uncultivated gem of natural beauty.

In rural towns people are friendly and good natured. I have been welcomed into the houses of families, had broken Spanish conversations and been offered countless cups of sweet coffee. The communities are loving and hardworking. Many people I met brought me to dance parties and to play soccer with friends.

One thing that really struck with me was how people who could barely feed their children would hear that I was helping to build a school and immediately offer me coffee and bananas at their houses. The culture of endless generosity and kindness in response to a helping hand is almost devastatingly beautiful. This idea is one that I rarely see in Canadian culture. Money and generosity are tightly tied in Canadian culture. It is somewhat assumed that you will pay your friend back, for that coffee. Where as in Honduras If you stop at a neighbors house to say hello you’ll have kindness and warmness extended to you.

For a long time I’ve wanted to have a fundraising dinner party where I and a couple of my volunteer friends cook a traditional Honduran meal. I would intend to share the generous culture by serving the meal with excitement and smiles. The meal would cost a certain amount a plate to support PRR.

PRR is a corporation that helps local Honduran farmers with their agricultural research. They do tests to optimize crop yield at different elevations, and advocate against the slash and burn by teaching crop rotation methods. The program helps feed struggling families. It also insures that people can succeed economically when they might have ended up poor and vulnerable, to violence and gang involvement. This program over time will uplift the Honduran economy and lead to less turmoil.

Posting pictures and related news on an Instagram page and website would raise awareness around the unseen side of Honduras. It seems people are uplifted by donating money to a cause they see as beautiful rather than a cause that is displayed as hopeless. Showing the strengths and beauty of Honduras will empower more people to come out and buy a plate of food. In this image they can support a culture that needs help, but will thrive with a little help. These posts would support view on Honduras that they are not used to seeing in the same place.

Also making youtube videos that outline what a volunteer trip is like in Honduras is like would give people an idea of the trip. This use of media would attract people who are already activists and volunteers. It might also plant the idea in the heads of young people and people who have always wanted to start doing volunteer work. And it would give people who already volunteer a new sense of hope about Honduras and the effectiveness of the work they do.

Of course there are weaknesses and strengths to every social media platform for sharing information. Instagram would be good for showing pictures but probably wouldn’t be the best for sharing lots of text because people tend to skim through long captions quickly. Facebook and tumblr could work for longer descriptions of the event and the culture. I would probably also make a go fund me page to raise some money prior to the dinner.

The way my posts would describe the culture and beauty of Honduras would probably be very similar to the first half of this blog post!

Here are some cute Honduran animals :)

Keeping It Safe!!

After reading Adam Satariano’s New York Times article about limiting the range of what is available through new media in Britain, the ties from media to violence and extremism are very obvious.

New media is about as dangerous as cars. Car crashes kill and injure people regularly. Traffic cause road rage and long commute times. These may seem small and insignificant in comparison to the benefits that cars provide. Cars can travel long distances in short periods of time, making it possible to get to places faster and more effectively. However factoring only long travel times into the equation contributes to many people living a sedentary lifestyle. Not to mention that car crashes are responsible for many urban deaths and injuries.

The internet incubates terrorism. It is easy to find hateful content that can incite poor mental and emotional health and foster the formation of negative behaviors.

In order to drive a car you need a license. This used to be more lenient process, but now a days it requires students to take a theoretical and practical test as well as practise for a year before receiving a full licence. Could we take a similar approach with the internet?

Free speech is important. It means that a responsible and lifelong search for truth is possible. However free speech should not hurt others.

Hate speech, in opposition to all other speech is not allowed. Racism, Sexism and Homophobia are generally looked down upon and sporting an opinion that aligns with any of these values anywhere in society will leave you with few friends. But when does an opinionated discussion go wrong? I’m sure nearly everyone has had some sort of discussion with family members that went from fine and calm to destructive in a matter of minutes. It’s hard to put a finger on where opinion ends and the “ism” start. Online hate speech is particularly hard to detect, since people talk to others with similar mindsets, the line between hate and opinion can get blurry between the media producer and the audience. Also the internet is so huge that even when people are hired to find hate speech and report it much will definitely go unnoticed.

Instead I think that education around new media usage should be created. From kindergarten to high school, a curriculum could be taught that emphasises safe internet usage and helps students to identify when they or a friend might be at risk of seeing triggering content or being brainwashed. Obviously this will be a lot of work but with the drastic uprising of concern and a growing audience, there has never been a better time.

For the most part I think that the amount of monitoring we have right now does what it can. More monitoring and controlling of the allowed content on the internet would probably not change that much of what is actually available. If it did cause a change, it would start to infringe on free speech, which is a whole other issue. So instead of hiring more people and making more rules I think it would work better to inform people on how to stay safe throughout their lives.

REpresenting the dreaded gym

Going to the gym can range from being fun and empowering to sending me into a seemingly endless pit of self deprecation and dissatisfaction. Gym ads specifically send a view that no one is good enough. Most gym ads support the commonly believed idea that the only way to be good enough is to be skinny and muscular.

Media has a very small and distorted view that generally limits the ideas of who you will see at the gym and how you’ll look comparison. Pretty much it says that if you’re not ripped and small you may as well hide of spend your whole life doing crunches and eating carrots.

An absolutely disgusting gym ad I found that unapologetically supports the view that women should be thin and muscular was for Gold’s Gym.

??????????????????????????????????????

Why is this necessary?

First off, who looks at a pear and thinks, woah! look at that woman!?

Probably only women who have had the idea ingrained into them from a young age that this is what their body looks like. First off its important that I mention for anyone who has had this experience: your experience is not dumb or silly. This form of cleverly disguised sexism and repression is very real! However, fruit and women share very few of the same characteristics. For example pears lack arms, legs, vital organs and most importantly a personality. Your body probably does not resemble a pear, and beyond that you are so ,much more than how you look!

Even the supposedly “positive” gyms support weight loss and diet over life satisfaction and confidence.

Curves is a great example of a gym the does not practice what it preaches in terms of representation. As an all female gym supports women looking to become healthier, you’d think their target audience would be large enough to embrace diversity in their ads.

I don’t see to many curves in this ad to be completely honest. These women are about 25-30 years old, white, slim and able bodied. Curves is meant to be a place where women can work out without the often aggressive male gaze or body judgment. Why then do the ads not include a variety of ages, shapes, ethnicities and abilities?

Gym ads get a bad reputation generally and honestly Curves is one of the better, safer gyms, with more kind, less glaringly horrific ads. I just think they can do much better at representing who they cater towards and in the process make potential gym members feel more welcome!

Yoga Journal has tried…..

Oh gosh we all know where this is going, but don’t worry..

On their January 2019 cover Yoga Journal has two alternate pictures of yogi leaders.

Their striving to include a wider variety of yogis did not entirely work. As soon as a different looking body landed on the cover, a less radical alternative was also supplied. They received lots of backlash on social media from disappointed people.

Luckily they formally apologized and explained their rationel on an instagram post linked here,

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsgfhfKBusi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Yoga is still seen as a form of exercise mostly limited to white, mid twenties women and monks. But, despite their recent pitfall, Yoga Journal is trying to expand the horizons of who does yoga in media and advertisements.

In my experience I can usually read about halfway through a yoga journal magazine of scroll through about ten of their posts on instagram without being completely filled with self hate. Much longer than any fitness instagram account or gym website!

Yoga Journal emphasizes positivity and love because that’s a lot of what makes up yogic philosophy.

(Yay SELF LOVE!)

Another supporter of exercise as a form of fun and self love rather than self deprecation is author and activist Anastasia Amour. In her book Inside Out she explores her recovery from anorexia and attempts to help others heal from negative body image and eating disorders.

Body positivity on instagram has made a huge surge in recent years. A new movement towards mindful exercise and treating your body correctly regardless of size and shape is becoming more common. People outwardly loving their bodies and speaking against the hegemony is beginning!

A lot of body positive social media accounts do not talk much about exercise. It’s often avoided because of the bad experiences many people had in gyms and with disordered eating and exercise habits within the community. It’s too bad that so many people have been hurt by the portrayal of exercise and ideal bodies in media because exercise really can be fun and empowering if it’s done in a good mindset.

Anastasia explores her reclamation of exercise confidently. It’s very heartwarming and inspiring to hear about someone actually enjoying exercise!

This is her website devoted to helping the parents of children and teens with eating disorders in supporting their children

https://more-love.org/

Hopefully in coming years there will be representation that empowers people of all shapes, sizes and abilities to exercise and care for their bodies with love. Hopefully gyms will up their game and body positivity activists will share how they exercise with self love, rather than self hate.

#gym #social media #body postivity

The Mediated Life

So I’m trying to be honest with myself about how much social and new media I use on a regular basis. Maybe after some exploration I can improve the way I decide to use my time!

So honestly my media usage according to the infographic doesn’t seem too bad. I think most students use social media as much, if not more than I do. I still think I should use this as an opportunity to cut down on the amount of time I spend watching cat videos on instagram and youtube! Honestly I’m not even sure why I watch youtube videos but it cuts into time I could be spending sleeping, doing homework or even hanging out with friends (lol actually having life, what?). So I hope to put that into practise.

Also I’ve been looking into the biases that exist in the news I consume in podcasts. Usually I listen to very liberal news sources. I prefer this, but I need to look into other forms of media to get a good big picture of what’s going on in the world.

#mediatedlife

McLuhan Time!

“We shape our tools and afterwards, our tools shape us.”

This aphorism really speaks to the role media, especially new social media has played in the past few years. Because of rapid increase in the sheer quantity of information we absorb through media, the way we perceive the world has changed. Each experience we have, thing we read and conversation we have with another person changes our perspective slightly. If you think of perspective as a window, an interaction could be seen as a sponge. The sponge clears away a muggy areas, or polishes an already clean area. However invariably the sponge will leave some sort of soapy and blurred area at the edges, around where the window was scrubbed.

New media, particularly Facebook and Instagram are very good at showing us a very narrow view of the world. The same spot on the perspective window is being continually scrubbed. This strengthens the clarity of that one spot while continually limiting its range, with a build up of surrounding smudges._

Human beings are drawn to what is familiar. Obviously human beings created Facebook and Instagram and the algorithms that cater to our increasingly narrow perspectives. This is why media that reflects our own opinions and interests back at us are so useful for advertisement and keeping us glued to the screen.

This media induced, continual limiting of our perspectives changes us. Most people consume media that interest them, from sources that they can relate to. Automatically this sets a certain perspective. This is not a new phenomena, people do what they are interested in because it is what interests them. Our brains are hardwired to find familiarity. We crave companionship and support from others who do things similarly because it makes sense evolutionarily. A group of like minded, friendly individuals would pose a bigger threat against bears and be less likely to starve, than a group who didn’t particularly enjoy each others company. Even now our friends generally resemble us in one way or another, or else we probably wouldn’t be friends with them. Not because we don’t like them but because we don’t have common interests. Our set of biases are supported not only within media but also from beyond. This is because our social media has been created to be familiar to us and the processes automatically happening in face to face interactions.

Most people enjoy having their opinions supported and their interests considered. This is fine! Support and familiarity are some of the aspects that make media so useful and constructive for people. It’s a great way to make friends with common interests and feel validated in what you enjoy. The danger comes when a users perspective becomes so limited that the person is completely unable to acknowledge other perspectives. This dangerous loop has been seen on social media when people make bad decisions based on extremely limited perspectives that are continually supported by others and never questioned by the individual. In extreme cases this can lead to acts of terrorism. Terrorism has been around for far longer than social media. However, media’s expansive and vastly limiting media forms not only a breeding ground but also an incubator for extremism to occur.

Many people actively seek out ways to broaden their perspectives. Going into a philosophy class or reading a book that shares a perspective you don’t fully understand are ways of applying a media to expand perspective rather than just enforcing our own perspectives. However this aphorism certainly isn’t limited to new social media. Books, newspapers, radio shows and television all have their own biases and blind spots as well. This is why expanding beyond media is so useful. Actually experiencing things is absolutely essential to expanding perspective because of the inherent biases we as human beings have, and that all media consequently absorbs.

#media mcluhan

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Untitled