#toronto 2014

[impala-dreamer]

Don't know why I was thinking about this just now, but have a listen 💖

[eatfabulously]

My first ever poutine. Kensington Market, Toronto 2014

[bl0nd3-amb1t1on]

Blog Post #1

August 8th 2014, my best friend and I went to a concert in Toronto at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club, her having just turned 19 and me being three months away from turning 19 it was both of our first experiences in a club. Even though I suppose it only half counts as that night it was just a small concert venue with a bar on one side and small seating area on the other. The whole day was quite an adventure and it made the day and the experience that much better. Not being fully honest with my parents about where we were going and then spending the night at her house so we wouldn’t get caught. For our specific experience we went for the VIP experience where we got to meet MKTO before the show and even had the chance to listen to an acoustic set before they were to actually perform. Relating this to lecture, it would be audience-as-agents because it sees the audience not as objects that are affected by the media, but that people are allowed to choose what media we will consume, allowing us to bring in our own interpretive skills that allow us to create our own meaning (Sullivan p. 7). We arrived at the venue shortly before 4 o’clock as we had to be there earlier than everyone else for the perks of being a VIP. We signed in, showed ID to prove that we were the ones that bought the tickets, and we got our backstage pass, and a small poster of the group. As we lined up outside of the venue waiting for them to let us in, one of the opening acts came out to greet fans and offer us some candy and even take pictures with us if we wanted. Unfortunately at that time I had not heard of this particular artist known by the name of Tiffany Houghton. She came down the walk way introducing herself to everyone and chatting with them for a few minutes before moving on to the next person in line. When she arrived and my friend Marissa and I she talked for a brief moment before pausing and commenting on how long my eyelashes were, naturally I was in heaven having a famous person, even if not famous world-wide still famous enough, to compliment me. She continued on about how I was the third or fourth person she had seen in the line with long eyelashes and stated that it must be something in the Canadian water. She talked for a few more moments and asked if we would like some candy to which we respectfully declined before continuing on to the next person. Once she was done she went back inside but not before telling us how excited she was to play for all of us.

The line eventually started moving as they were letting us into the venue, the security guard at the top of the line was asking if anyone was of legal age and if they wanted to wrist band to allow them to purchase alcohol at the bar during the show. This unfortunately slowed the line down and we’re impatiently waiting to not only see the band play but to actually get to meet them. The line was moving fairly quickly but it still felt slow.  Once we had reached the threshold of the doors to the club and we knew it wouldn’t be long now. The director to help make sure things moved slowly was asking fans if they were with a group of people if they wanted their photo’s with the group or separately. I personally wanted to get separate photos but my friend wanted to get them done together so I agreed, ultimately it didn’t matter it just would have been nice. Our turn was quickly approaching and I could feel my heartbeat increase, I was sure that everyone around me could hear it but at that point I was so happy that my heart could have exploded out of chest and I wouldn’t have cared.

The director yelled “Next!” It was our turn, we climbed up stairs to the stage and were instantly greeted by them hugging us and asking for our names. I’m trying to get my brain to cooperate so I can actually form a proper sentence amongst my excitement. I tell them my name and Marissa does the same. They call us by our name and we have a short conversation before the photographer calls our attention to have our picture taken. The boys stand on either side of us and the picture is taken, the photographer informs us that in 24-48 hours the photographs will be available online for us to save a copy, and that they will only be up for a week and then taken down. He said “it’s a very small window so make sure you don’t miss your chance”. It came and passed so quickly and yet it was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. The idea of a parasocial relationship where I invest time and energy into following them on social media, watching anything they are involved in, and know so much personal information about them but they have no idea I exist; until this moment. In that moment I exist to them, they know how much I love them and support their dreams, and while they continue their tour and see hundreds of fans faces and inevitably they forget my face, my name, but in that moment it doesn’t matter. And now the idea of you has been planted in their thoughts, maybe they will remember you, maybe they will not. But no one will know so I can create whatever ideas I want and maintain this parasocial relationship.

Once we had our meet and greet, we were able to claim a spot to watch the rest of the show from, there was no seats so you would just stand around the stage, and another benefit of being in the VIP was you were able to get extremely close to the stage. In this case there was only one row of people between us and the stage. Even being that close you could still perfectly see the entire stage. We waited and just talked amongst ourselves while the band finished the rest of the meet and greets and once they were finished they started the acoustic set. They played their more popular songs for this one ending off with their most popular song Classic. It was incredible to see them perform live; you get that feeling where it all of a sudden hits you that these people are real. If you have ever been to a concert you know the feeling I am talking about. Where you get a thrill and that excited feeling just being in the same room, to actually be able to see someone you admire in person, it is an indescribable feeling.

After the acoustic set was over the next act was not coming on was not until 7PM so we had an hour and a half to just hang around. This is when most people went to go get drinks or some even went back to the seating area to sit down while others, myself included, stayed where we were as we did not want to lose our spots. Time seemed to move fairly slowly, it was odd just standing there waiting for the next thing to happen, there was no music playing from the speakers just to have some form of noise, the only thing happening was the stage hands setting up between acts. This relates to Social Learning Theory in the way that we looked and observed those around us to find out how to use the time in between acts. What people did to pass the time, how people behaved, to try to fit into the crowd (Sullivan p. 45). Now where social learning theory is often applied to child it can be used in all lie stages and people grow and have new experiences and we learn how to act because of these experiences and also how these experiences affect our learning. Although hundreds of people were at this particular concert, not everyone experienced it the same way.

When the time finally came the lights dimmed and Tiffany came on to the stage. She talked to the crowd a bit to get a feel of what we were into as far as music goes. She asked if we like boybands and followed it up with a cover of What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction, the audience went crazy. She admits her love for boybands and how that inspired the first song she was going to preform: Band Boys. She played 4 or 5 songs then thanked the crowd for being a wonderful audience and that she couldn’t wait to come back and play for us again. This was followed by another intermission of 30-45 minutes long; most of the crowd seemed unfazed by this large gap of time in between acts where Marissa and I were confused. It was the first time we had been to concert in such a small venue, no more than 200 people in the crowd. Is this how it always was? Even at large concert there is usually a break but it is no more than 15 minutes and even then they usually still play music to keep the audience entertained but there was nothing. As odd as we found it, it didn’t really matter because overall the experience was amazing, being so close to the stage and still excited over the fact that we got to meet them.

�xMš

Finally the next opening act came on, another odd thing, never had I been to a concert where they had more than one opening act. This band was called Action Item, they had a small splay list of 5 songs, none of which I knew but they were catchy songs and I wanted to learn more about this band. They interacted with the crowd getting them to sing the lyrics along with them or trying to get us to dance along with them. At the end of their set, they asked if it was okay if they took a picture of the crowd, it was a ritual they had for each of their shows.

Once they finished their set, there was a short intermission of 30 minutes before the main act came on. The lights dimmed one last time and the crowd went crazy as they walked on stage and their music started playing. They started off by doing what every artist does, asking how the crowd is doing, which is usually not followed by an answer but by a large amount of screaming. Of the 11 songs on their only album they played 10 songs, the one song they left out Marissa and I were disappointed as that was one of our favourites. During the performance, they included the crowd by reaching out to the crowd and holding hands with fans and at some points in the show hold the microphone out to the audience to allow the crowd to sing back to them. The idea of a concert follows along the lines of the three models of audiences, in this case it can fit into two categories: audience-as-mass in the sense that while you are aware of the people around you, but when the music starts playing you are now essentially in your own world, interpreting the music how you want, subject to your ideas and experiences. Everyone else around you simply just fades away while you focus on the band preforming (Sullivan p. 6). Or seen as audience-as-agents because the audience knowingly chose to come to this venue to hear them perform, they bought the tickets. We chose to listen to their music and support this group.

Once the concert was over, that was the time to buy any merchandise. The one opening act Action Item came out and was standing at a both that had their EP that they were selling to try to get their name out there and to grow their fan base. That was the time you got to talk to them and we even got to take a selfie with one of the band members. They were walking around talking to fans to build that relationship with them and they were able to share their social media with the audience to allow them to get updates on when new material came out by these artists. We went up to the table that Action Item had set up because we liked their music and wanted to hear more. Marissa and I got to talk to the band directly while they were selling their EP and even got a selfie with one of the members.

With all of the material that has been covered in lecture, I can now look back at this experience and think about how the audience reacts to the medium and why they act that way. This entire experience and it came to be can be shown through Sullivan’s idea of the power of the media, he states that power involves the ability of one party to alter the decisions made and experienced by another (Sullivan p. 19). My friend was introduced to the group because every time we were in the car I forced her to listen to one of their songs as I drove her home from school. Since then she also was interested in the group, so when I saw the opportunity to go and see them preform live there was no question, I bought the tickets. She was going regardless. Even when comparing the idea of the audience, and how it has changed through history much has stayed the same. Audience as a crowd which referred to the working class commoners which gathered at specific times and places to experience some form routinized behaviour (Sullivan p. 13). In this case, while it is not just for the working class anymore it is still very similar to this definition. Usually to maintain some fairness in the idea of a concert, there is a set list that does not change, so there is a certain level of predictability to a concert, there are still small changes made to make it appear like it is not the same show played over and over again. Essentially a crowd is gathering at a specific time and place for a show to be put on. Even during the concert there can be a modern form of media propaganda, in the sense of vendors trying to sell you merchandise with the groups, name or logo or even pictures on it, which are meant to be worn and act as walking billboard and essentially free advertisement While media propaganda typically refers to “disseminate or promote particular ideas” (Sullivan p. 36). It does work for concerts, the merchandise is a way to promote the band or group which ca help the popularity of the group grow.

 Works Cited

Sullivan, J. (2013). Media Audiences: Effects, users, institutions and power. Sage Publications Inc., New York, NY.

[wheremyiphonesbeen-blog]

[wheremyiphonesbeen-blog]

[greco-photography]

Downtown Toronto, Ontario greco-photography

[fycanadianpolitics]

Many observers have already commented that this election demonstrated the power of incumbency: 37 of the 38 sitting councillors who were running won back their seats. The 2014 council will therefore look very much like the 2010 council—and that includes its lack of diversity. Fourteen of Toronto’s 44 wards will now be represented by women, a slight slip from the record-high 15 women who were elected in 2010. In terms of racial diversity, only 6 of the 44 newly elected councillors come from visible minority communities, unchanged from 2010. All of them are also incumbents: of the great many promising visible minority council candidates who ran for office, not a single one managed to break through and win.

These numbers are dismal.

In a city that prides itself on diversity, we still have representation that isn’t remotely representative.

This was true of the mayoral race as well. Olivia Chow was long seen as the only woman in the race with a chance of winning, and there were only a handful of women in the 65-candidate field to begin with. Chow was also the lone visible minority mayoral candidate considered a contender.

While elected officials are empowered to represent all of their constituents, regardless of race or gender, it is deeply troubling that women and visible minorities continue to be so underrepresented. Their absence contributes to a narrowing of perspectives and experiences among our politicians. Chow, for instance, was the only mayoral candidate to speak with authority about the troubling instances of racism throughout the campaign. Sheeven noted that, as a candidate of visible minority status, she risked alienating the electorate by talking about racism—the kind of nuance we need to have in our public discourse—while John Tory denied that white privilege exists and Doug Ford redefined the victims of racism to include anyone who was called a racist. An individual of any background can serve his or her constituents well, but collectively our government must include the full range of experiences and communities that make up Toronto if it is to serve us—all of us—adequately.

The city has implemented mentorship programs to encourage more women to run for office, and non-profit groups like the Maytree Foundation have provided training for women and visible minorities who aspire to elected office. Given last night’s results, it is clear these efforts are not enough. We must begin talking about how to do better, and we need the politicians we have just elected to do the same.