#comm10

[aljournal-10]

Rhetorical Analysis: Assignment 1 of COMM10 Module 2 (Introduction)

For this post, we were assigned an analysis on three different political advertisements. With the knowledge acclaimed from the discussion on rhetorical strategies, we are tasked to identify the rhetorical strategies found in each advertisement. In addition to that, we were asked whether or not these ads have persuaded us, to which we said no. The following posts will present our results and findings on the matter. ----

Analysis of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Political Advertisement

Analysis of Leni Robredo's Political Advertisement

Analysis of Isko Moreno's Political Advertisment

Our thoughts and insights

[i-speak]

Opposites?

Viewing society as Goliath, it can be big and sometimes unforgiving. As I grew older, I came to realize that I still have a lot to learn and more obstacles to conquer. My existence is a grain of sand by the shore, so I can’t help but feel intimidated sometimes.

In this big world, diverse information can be found. As humans, at some point in our lives, we tend to learn new details that could help us survive and take one step forward to our future. Processing information can be strenuous, but with the aid of convergent media, it can be workable.

Convergent media unifies other forms of media such traditional Media, print media, broadcast Media, New Media and the internet as well as portable and highly interactive technologies into a dimension. For example, a person can access the news, watch television, research, and talk with others in real time using just one device – a smartphone. In a way, it shortens the time consumed in gathering and sending information, and it promotes the concept of multi-tasking. Convergent media empowers the “Davids” or the individuals of the society by helping them navigate through several, sometimes murky data.

While convergent media somewhat amalgamates other forms of media, for me, it is not considered new media – the latter is one of the forms which is being encompassed by convergent media (Leeverage Edu, 2021). New media consists of data which is conveyed in a digital manner, while media convergence is a phenomenon of mass media.

The evolution of media, whether it be in the context of orality and literacy or traditional and convergent, is very significant when it comes to understanding how communication helps build or destroy society (Baran, 2013).  The similarity between the two evolutions is the integration of something new paper to literacy and devices to convergence of media to deliver information. In contrast, the transition from orality to literacy took a lot longer than in traditional and convergent evolution.

We, as individuals and actors of the world, can benefit in the study of the evolution of one of our tools to our modern tomorrow – but the power lies within us. We decide if we build or destroy. As a song lyric says “we run things things don’t run we.”

References

Baran, S.J. (2013), "Chapter Ten: The Internet and the World Wide Web" in Introduction to mass communication: media literacy and culture. New York, NY: McGrawHil

Bolinger, H. (2019). Who was Goliath in the Bible? What's the story of this giant philistine? [Online Image]. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-was-goliath-in-the-bible-what-s-the-story-of-this-giant-philistine.html

Leverage Edu (2021). Media convergence. Leverage Edu. https://leverageedu.com/blog/media-convergence/

[i-speak]

Changing Times, Trying Times

You know, my current college program is not the first field  I immersed myself in. I was a psychology major, but I transferred to attain anthropology as the focus of my study. I am still adjusting and still in the process of accepting that I may not graduate on time, but certain changes such as a shift in perspective and dreams happen to align us for our desired future.

The sky above our heads also changes. In some days, there are less clouds - we only have the scorching sun that burns our skin and makes us stay within the shade of our houses. In other days, the sky is dominated by angry thunders and rain. The mass media system that we have is the same – it can change like the weather or a career path through time. With change comes different stories to tell.

As technology evolves, so does our mechanism when it comes to communicating and receiving information.  Shifting from newspapers to radio implied the lesser use of newspapers. Shifting from newspapers to television implied using the latter more often to acquire the latest news.

Digitization opens the possibility for data transmission. This information or data can be processed by modern devices such as computers. Digitization of videos, therefore, meant that producers have to adopt foreign ways of manufacturing videos for their consumers. In turn, consumers will have to obtain a device and learn to navigate it – adopt to a new way ingesting information.

Such changes do not come without consequences to some sectors. The industries experienced turmoil because of a change in movie demands. Warner Brothers entertainment was unsure of which path to take – movie attendance was low, total album sales plunged, DVD’s declined in sales,  the video-game industry failed to show increase in demand, newspapers and magazines dropped in its circulation revenues, and radio listening became more and more sporadic. The rules of old media consumption were modified, but the high demand for media consumption remained constant (Bing, 2006, as cited in Baran, 2010).

The transformations of mass media system did not end on that note. The internet and world wide web became popular due to its speed and convenience in terms of accessing, disseminating, and storing information. To keep up with trends,  all the media systems  were compelled to make alterations in their business environment and machinations as the net rose to fame.

Nowadays, the net provides thousands of information which are accessible almost to anyone. The business industry can utilize this to maximize their reach. Potential costumers may increase if they promote products well. Art can also be shared and appreciated across the globe. Advocacies have the chance to be seen and elaborated for the knowledge of all. Education sectors benefited from it – having the ability to retrieve information without physically going to the library seemed convenient.

In contrast, media accessibility may be manipulated in favor of the powerful. Access to media is a privilege, and not everyone has the chance to be informed of the truth. Thus, those who don’t have the capacity to obtain information may make wrong judgments about themselves and others. Currently, there are various pages spreading misinformation to the public which alters their perception and decision making.

The sector of education gained something, but it may also face consequences like hindrances in the development of skills within a learner such as reading comprehension. Moreover, it opens doors to intellectual theft due to easy accessibility. Finally, children in the present times  can operate devices to entertain themselves, but they might come across media content not appropriate for their age.

The way information is given and accepted is not set in stone. It undergoes critical changes and so are we.

 References

Baran, J. (2010). Chapter 2: The evolving mass communication process. Introduction to Mass communication: Media Literacy and Culture. 33-49.

Smith, J. (2017). Hero-misinformation [Online Image]. Data & Society. https://datasociety.net/library/media-manipulation-and-disinfo-online/

Freepik. (2017). Mass media and its impact on mankind’s evolution [Online Image].  Linked In. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mass-media-its-impact-mankinds-evolution-mubarak-bamatraf

[i-speak]

Orality and Literacy not Orality vs. Literacy

In our current learning modality, I can’t imagine learning without texts to read. I have a short attention span, and I am more comfortable in writing or typing my lessons. My philosophy is, once something is put on paper, it is solidified and can be perceived visually, so one’s brain can grasp the information.

It does not automatically mean that I abhor speaking – in fact, I hold people who can comprehend information after hearing it once to a high regard. Plus, reading a book aloud counts as a demonstration of orality. My skill in oral communication is one of the things I aim to enhance during my stay in the university. 

Human communication is different from media in such a way that media or the ‘medium’ is not quite the message. In Ong’s interpretation, human communication needs anticipated feedback to repeat its cycle and sustain itself. In models, the message flows from sender to receiver position. In human to human communication, a sender also expects to become the receiver and vice versa to complete the chain of exchanging messages (Ong, 1982). Basically, one cannot talk to themselves and call it true human communication. Furthermore, ‘media’ model of communication comprises printed or written texts, therefore, it exhibits chirographic conditioning. 

In analyzing orality and literacy, it is more productive to scrutinize how the two coexist to uphold human interaction and consciousness for thousands of years, rather than to drive a wedge between the notions. Walter Ong in his book Orality and literacy: technologizing of the word raised important statements to supplement facts about the information, dissemination, consumption as well as critical perspectives on the role of orality in media and communication. He shed light to the similarities between oral and literate cultures – the use of mnemonics and formulas, concrete real-life examples, and somatics. Mnemonics and concrete examples help retain information in the brain, while somatics engages parts of the body while communicating (Ong, 1982, as cited in Jkendell, 2012). On the other side of the coin, oral and literate cultures differ because oral culture tends to be additive rather than subordinate, aggregative rather than analytic, redundant or ‘copious’, conservative or traditionalist, close to the human lifeworld, agonistically toned, Empathetic and participatory rather than objectively distanced, homeostatic, and situational rather than abstract (Ong, 1982, p.31).

For example, oral cultures lean towards redundancy because to preserve it and successfully pass it to the next generation, the old communicator must repeat the information through word of the mouth, and so on. It is also  characterized by word baggage which is why oral cultures are aggregative rather than analytic.

Moving on to the brief history of orality, writing, and being human, in the past, people who identified themselves as ‘civilized’ or literate people held a prejudice against those who they deemed ‘primitive’ or those who didn’t identify with literacy. The term, along with ‘illiterate’  were offensive, and in the present, kinder and positive terms are associated with understanding the earlier states of consciousness (Ong, 1982).

Orality and literacy both propel our human experience and bridge our past and future. Thus, it is important to remain open to it and other critical perspectives of communication to understand society.

References

Blanche (2020). In their own words [Online Image]. Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/blog/inside-atlassian/how-to-navigate-diverse-communication-styles-at-work

Jkendell (2012). Orality and literacy – In what ways are oral and literate cultures similar? ETEC540: Text, Technologies – Community Weblog. https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540sept12/

Ong, W. J. (1982). Orality and literacy : The technologizing of the word. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Roy, B. (2021). Communication skills in the workplace [Online Image]. Vantage Circle. https://blog.vantagecircle.com/good-communication-skills-in-the-workplace/

[itsjineekaa]

(Module 4) Activity 1

As I examined my selfies in this class, I came upon the realization that most of my selfies do not mirror who I truly was. I did those selfies to comply with the attendance check/requirement. So, I took those selfies with the knowledge that my Professors and my other classmates would see it and because of this I became conscious and because I was conscious I represented myself in a way that would make me look good and confident. In addition, to make my selfies more appealing/pleasing/attractive I rely on angles (I am not a fan of filters, so I rarely use them). Lastly, I do not consider my selfies as a fair representation of myself because pictures or photos can be easily manipulated. I mean, I can look good in a selfie if I want to with the use of filters, photo editors and the picture-perfect angle. I can fake a smile or a laugh even though deep-down inside I am a crying mess.

[soledadmpfq]

Soledad, Maria Primitiva Felicita Q.

BS FT 2nd year

Comm 10

Attendance check

One way or another, selfies do become somewhat of a reflection of ourselves although as much as most people would not want to admit it, these images are still not as "genuine" as we would like to claim considering it is still an idealized version of who we truly are. After all, there is only so much a photo can show about a person. Especially on social media where we tend to show the desirable parts of our image while there are things that are still kept hidden. It is natural though, because even in real life and during first meetings we try to present our best self to make a good impression. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean the positive image we portray in our selfies aren't a genuine portrayal of our identities because those things are a part of us as much as the hidden ones as well. Of course part of the process of portraying myself in these photos involves making sure I look pleasant either by dressing up or wearing light make up at times, showing beautiful sceneries along with photos of myself are always an option as well. It is not just because I want other people to be pleased while looking at the selfies but also (and more importantly) taking care of my appearance makes me feel good, confident, and at peace with myself. However, I do not consider the selfies I take as a fair representation of myself. Because, as I mentioned before, the things that make up the wholeness of my identity is more than what can be shown through photos no matter how genuinely I portray myself to be. After all, each selfie can have different meanings depending on random factors such as the event when I took it or just simply how I was feeling at that specific moment in time.

[blogcomm10]

Orality and Literacy

                               Buenafe, J. Ebreo, H. Laylo, M

                            Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

           Communication has already come from a long away. Primary oral culture is the first type of communication of people 30,000 to 50,000 years ago. They passed down their tradition and ideas through storytelling and verbal cues. But because they are only dependent on oral communication and memorization, a large chunk of their history is lost. After a thousand years of verbal communication, the literary culture has emerged. Literary culture is when every thought and important occasion are all written down. This means that people have now recorded their history, and can be consumed by the people in the future. Thus, we cannot deny that both of them are related as Ong said, writing is “technologizing the word’’ in which people use a tool to write the verbal words.

          The intersubjectivity of communication is when a person is talking with a peer, they first think what to say to the other person and also coming up with possible answers that his peer may throw at him, thus making communication takes place in his head first before they tell it to his peer. According to Ong,  "communication takes place when both sides of the sender and receiver have feedback to each other". Communication only works out when the receiver hears the message encoded by the sender and gives a response on it. While media is only a passageway for the sender to send the message to make it through the receiver.

         Chirographic conditioning is a one-way type of communication, that means that the sender, sends his message through a medium and the receiver, received the message but there’s no feedback from the receiver. Some examples are writing, radio and television.

                                                  Reference

Ong, W. (2002). Orality and Literacy. London, UK: Routledge.

[blogcomm10]

Traditional Media, Mass Media, New Media

                               Buenafe, J.  Ebreo, H.   Laylo, M.

          The evolution of media has been constant throughout mankind’s history. Newspaper and magazine were the principal sources of mass communications in mid last century, but later, radio became a better medium and after that, television turned into an essential source of assets. One of the factors that ousted a medium with a better one was primarily the innovation in science and technology, especially in the search for something that works better and more impressive than the previous one. Another is the chance to publicize and commercialize everything by the organizations that feed content to the masses.  Television provides an easy way to advertise programs targeting specific audiences. Further, and has the most effect, the comfort. Need is the mother of creation, and the need for comfort is never satisfied. People always want convenience, and big companies continue to invest in research and development for the next big hit.

                               Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash

             Technological developments such as digitization revolutionized the communication system of the world because of the capacity and ease it provides for both makers and consumers of media. Digitization consequently made sharing, preservation and access to information and media far easier. Today, users can access more videos across the various platforms and devices available. Advances in digital technology are also providing the public with a more personal and interactive information consumption experience.

            Media accessibility prompts a quicker and simpler method of data dispersal. The news is conveyed on moment and individuals are updated now and then. It is likewise utilized for educational purposes and as a source of entertainment. Also, voiceless are allowed to be heard. It also helps a nation in political and financial aspects. Indeed, media is said to be an influencer of its users’ behaviour. Nevertheless, abuse and misuse of media could result in disinformation, hate, chaos and injustices.

                                              Reference

Baran, S. (2019). Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture. New York, NY, USA: McGraw Hill.