Media Reflection Letter

During the school year, I consume between 8 and 12 hours of media a week.  My consumption goes up quite a bit during the summer when I have more free time.  Most of those 8 to 12 hours are spent watching the cartoons Family Guy and American Dad, and the reality shows Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Storage Wars and Scared Straight.  I occasionally see movies, read magazines, skim blogs, scan newspapers. and watch basketball videos online.  Media is primarily an escape for me from the tedium of homework and pressure of basketball. 

            My media consumption has not changed appreciably during this course, although I was  on the lookout for interesting ads, controversial billboards, and peculiar bumper stickers.  What has changed, however, is my perception of what I am watching, seeing, reading and viewing.  Advertisements are no longer just dreaded interruptions to what I am watching or reading; rather they are now creative efforts designed to get me and others to consume.  When I see a print advertisement, I now notice font sizes, colors, logos, alliteration and fine print.  When I watch commercials, I pay attention to story lines, music, angles and aestheticism.  Prior to this course, I only paid attention to the message of an ad, assuming I could even figure out the message.  Now I cannot help but focus on how the aesthetics of an ad--music, print size, colors for example-not only create but also reinforce and shape the message. 

            The influence this course has had on the way I interact with media is not limited to advertisements.  Of course, it is important to be media literate as consumers so you do not fall for advertising trickery.  Media literacy is also important because it allows you to detect biases and stereotypes.  For example, I listened tonight to much of the discussion of Lance Armstrong's PED use.  It was easy for me to detect the biases and agendas of both those supporting and opposing him.  I occasionally watch FOX News and MSNBC.  It has now became clear to me that there is no such thing as objective journalism.   There is always an agenda.

            I tried to use the blogs to sample a whole range of media including print advertisements, bumper stickers,. billboards, television shows, movies, and even a political cartoons.  What I learned is that regardless of the medium the techniques that are used to create a message are often the same.  One might ask what does a Batman movie have to do with a Geico  commercial.   Well the creators of both used certain camera angles and colors to accentuate their message.  Similarly, one might wonder what an anti-Ritalin billboard has to do with a Reebok workout poster.  Well both used humor to emphasize their message.  The mediums may be different but many of the techniques are the same.  Fifteen blogs over approximately a month is quite a bit of work.  However, over that month I went from a disinterested spectator of media to an active and critical observer.