Media and its effect on children. Should parents be worried?

I am Peggy Spillane and being the mother of 4 teenage daughters, media...TV, movies, magazines, books, internet, and video games are something that we, as parents, have monitored over the course of our children's lives.  Media can either have a positive or negative effect, depending on what it is and what it portrays.  When our children were younger, we monitored what they watched and read a lot more closely than we do now that they are teenagers.  

We always had a policy that we needed to know and approve of what they were watching before they viewed it.  TV, movies, etc. can be harmless in many cases, but often, shows and movies contained violence, sexual content, or inappropriate language or behavior that we did not want our children exposed to.  I think children can often model or repeat behaviors they have been exposed to and seeing too much of these negative things seem to desensitize them and they start seeing these behaviors as "normal." We try to keep a loving, supportive atmosphere in our home and so many families portrayed on TV or in movies seem extremely dysfunctional.  When things were on TV, a movie, etc. that we considered inappropriate, we would tell our children why we saw it as inappropriate and help them understand why we did not want them viewing certain things.  

Before we went to a movie in the theater, we would check out the comments on a family friendly website to check out the reasons for the movie rating and then decide if it was something we wanted to see.  As our children have gotten older and have more freedom to make their own choices of what they see and hear, we hope we have equipped them with tools to choose wisely.   The internet is an area where children are easily exposed to things that are inappropriate.  Even an innocent web search can quickly lead to sites that no one would want their child to see.  Installing filters can be helpful, but children need to be taught to notify a parent if inappropriate sites come up.  Keeping the home computer in a public area of the house and periodically checking on what your child is viewing or playing can help avoid problems.  

A great deal of what is available on TV in informative, educational and entertaining.  However, with all types of media, I think using it in moderation is the best idea.  Setting a time limit for TV, video games and other forms of media will help insure that children have a more balanced life.  Media is causing our children to become more sedentary, so limiting the time they spend with these things will encourage more physical activity and time to seek out activities that require more thought and creativity.

ADvertising

Ads are always eluding to things even when whether it be obvious or subtle. There are many different types of ads and they differ in how they go about promoting their product.  So lets look at some ads and "decode" their message.

 "Gillette Safety Razor: Begin Early. Shave Yourself." 

In this ad, we see a baby that looks to be shaving, this visual part of the ad i would say it would be  saying a few things. such as "it's so safe even a baby could use it," also the baby is so happy you assume there is no way the baby has cut itself so its yet again alluding to the safety factor of the razor which in turn makes the point it needs to make making the consumer believe that the product is reliable.

"Non Smoking Area"

In this ad we have here, we see immediately that there is an anti-smoking ad and there is a section of grave stones that is gone with the label, "non- smoking area," with this idea in our head it is basically saying that those that aren't smokers aren't going to die as soon as the others that do smoke, so it makes you assume that the graves that are there are graves of smokers that died because of their habit.

"Heres the rest of your

 fur coat"

This ad is for Peta, so it is an ad that is trying to get people to think about animal rights and this ad specifically is to get people not to buy fur because of its cruelty factor. And this ad shows how cruel it is. It definitely uses the disturbing pictures in order to make you pity the dead, skinned fox. It makes you want to do something about it even if that just means to not buy fur.

I thought this commercial ad was very creative, it used the fact of the extreme dedication that monks have and then show that they went through years of training and they basically worship pepsi. 


All of these ads took remarkably different ways of promoting the product, but they all were successful in getting the attention of the consumer. They used unique tactics to lure in the audience, using pity, fear, and trust even. 

Aristotle's Rhetoric

"Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion."

                         

Aristotle's Rhetoric is a basic guide to argumentative/or persuasive writing. It is a guide on how to make your ideas and thoughts valid or to make them more valid than someone else's. Aristotle divided his categories of type of persuasion into three categories: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Ethos is a tactic that is used to instill respect in the audience to make yourself credible in their eyes. If we are believed to be credible, we are more likely to listen them and to believe what they are saying to be true. This is very important to be able to get your point across. If you have lost the audience in them thinking you are not credible, there is no way you will be able to communicate your point.

Pathos is a tactic used to tack a stab a the audiences hearts and make them feel the pain of a situation or on the other hand, joy or even emotions such as saddness, hate, love, etc. This can be used to enhance your argument  by grasping the emotions felt about the subject and to instill through your writing the emotions that you want to audience to feel. Things such as the volume of your voice, the tone of your voice, the speed you speak, key adverbs, as well as many other things can also portray the emotion you want to audience to feel. 

Logos is a tactic of logic as the name suggests. this was Aristotle's favorite tactic to use. it uses the means of persuading, by the use of, reasoning with your audience. It is one of the most important  type of persuasion, because if you do not have a reasonable argument your point will be immediately dismissed. Giving reasons to support your argument is the key to win, this just cannot be emphasized enough. It is what the foundation and cornerstone of your argument is, without it, it will fall to nothing. You must use this tactic in order to substantiate your thesis and give it its support.

Study Night

So finals are coming up fast and all the students of Reinhardt are working hard.... but NOT as hard as we are... see the proof for yourself!

LIVES PUT IN JEOPARDY BECAUSE OF "AVATAR" THE MOVIE!

People went crazy over the movie Avatar, talking about its beauty and magnificence. But not only did this movie awe people with its brilliance, but it has actually caused harm to people after having watched it. Leading them to depression, obsession and even suicidal tendencies. This story was covered by CNN back in January 2010. and its crazy to think about it but in this movie avatar humans were the enemies. THis thought has caused people to think that maybe if they committed suicide then they will be rebirthed in a land such as Pandora, The land of the Na'vi.

In order for you to get the whole picture of whats happening around this movie, I copied the article from CNN.com for you to take a look at, it will shock you.

CNN) -- James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

On the fan forum site "Avatar Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.

"I wasn't depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy ," Baghdassarian said. "But I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don't have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed."

A post by a user called Elequin expresses an almost obsessive relationship with the film.

"That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about 'Avatar.' I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na'vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie," Elequin posted. 

A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site "Naviblue" that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.

Video: Depressed after 'Avatar'?

"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar'"

Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality.

Cameron's movie, which has pulled in more than $1.4 billion in worldwide box office sales and could be on track to be the highest grossing film of all time, is set in the future when the Earth's resources have been pillaged by the human race. A greedy corporation is trying to mine the rare mineral unobtainium from the planet Pandora, which is inhabited by a peace-loving race of 10-foot tall, blue-skinned natives called the Na'vi.

In their race to mine for Pandora's resources, the humans clash with the Na'vi, leading to casualties on both sides. The world of Pandora is reminiscent of a prehistoric fantasyland, filled with dinosaur-like creatures mixed with the kinds of fauna you may find in the deep reaches of the ocean. Compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia.

Ivar Hill posts to the "Avatar" forum page under the name Eltu. He wrote about his post-"Avatar" depression after he first saw the film earlier this month.

"When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed ... gray. It was like my whole life, everything I've done and worked for, lost its meaning," Hill wrote on the forum. "It just seems so ... meaningless. I still don't really see any reason to keep ... doing things at all. I live in a dying world."

Reached via e-mail in Sweden where he is studying game design, Hill, 17, explained that his feelings of despair made him desperately want to escape reality.

"One can say my depression was twofold: I was depressed because I really wanted to live in Pandora, which seemed like such a perfect place, but I was also depressed and disgusted with the sight of our world, what we have done to Earth. I so much wanted to escape reality," Hill said.

Cameron's special effects masterpiece is very lifelike, and the 3-D performance capture and CGI effects essentially allow the viewer to enter the alien world of Pandora for the movie's 2½-hour running time, which only lends to the separation anxiety some individuals experience when they depart the movie theater.

"Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far," said Dr. Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect."

Fans of the movie may find actor Stephen Lang, who plays the villainous Col. Miles Quaritch in the film, an enemy of the Na'vi people and their sacred ground, an unlikely sympathizer. But Lang says he can understand the connection people are feeling with the movie.

"Pandora is a pristine world and there is the synergy between all of the creatures of the planet and I think that strikes a deep chord within people that has a wishfulness and a wistfulness to it," Lang said. "James Cameron had the technical resources to go along with this incredibly fertile imagination of his and his dream is built out of the same things that other peoples' dreams are made of."

The bright side is that for Hill and others like him -- who became dissatisfied with their own lives and with our imperfect world after enjoying the fictional creation of James Cameron -- becoming a part of a community of like-minded people on an online forum has helped them emerge from the darkness.

"After discussing on the forums for a while now, my depression is beginning to fade away. Having taken a part in many discussions concerning all this has really, really helped me," Hill said. "Before, I had lost the reason to keep on living -- but now it feels like these feelings are gradually being replaced with others."

Quentzel said creating relationships with others is one of the keys to human happiness, and that even if those connections are occurring online they are better than nothing.

"Obviously there is community building in these forums," Quentzel said. "It may be technologically different from other community building, but it serves the same purpose."

Within the fan community, suggestions for battling feelings of depression after seeing the movie include things like playing "Avatar" video games or downloading the movie soundtrack, in addition to encouraging members to relate to other people outside the virtual realm and to seek out positive and constructive activities.

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This video below is what inspired me to write this blogpost. It shocks e to see that people will alienate their true selves in order to BECOME what they fantasize. 

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Piazza, Jo. "Audiences Experience 'Avatar' Blues - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html>.

Video Game Survey

Hey guys if you could help me out, I'm working on a speech for a different class. So if maybe you could take my survey I made, that would be helpful!! 

>>Survey Here<<