Impressions concerning the reliability of satirical news!

Last week, I wrote about alternative media and how satirical news reporting would in fact be another example of culture jamming.  As a response to that post, I have gone through several of my CPCF 1F25 class mates blogs and tried to grasp the general conclusion of the topic.

            When writing my post, I stressed that these media sources were all sources of satirical media and that they were a refreshing point of view on the topics at hand. Brittany Shannon (http://britshannon.blogspot.ca/) states, “Satirical news gives individuals a new perspective of current events. This gives us a diversity of opinion which can be useful in our culture”. Something I firmly believe true as well.  As a society, we are always taking news in such a serious, one sided, political view. What these program are trying to do is take the news of now, and giving our society and culture a chance to laugh about troubling problems, or even better open the horizons of their minds to a different side to current arguments.

            Student Amy Lowe (http://lifeoflowe.wordpress.com/) brought up the point that these programs use the point of view of the audience. She stating that this type of reporting works as an “effective way to connect with their audience. The use of comedy draws in viewers, while subtly educating them on the issues surround their culture”. This is the perfect way to explain how exactly these programs work towards informing our society. People feel less upset about the issues arising, due to the presence of comedy, however they are also becoming a part of the argument, ideology, or thinking behind these issues due to the sheer presence of these programs. They plant the seed that gets people talking about issues in our current society, and even though other news stations do the exact same thing, these programs branch out new ideas, conversations, and opinions as well as bring a whole new audience into the world of news and politics that would otherwise be completely left in the dark.

            I really love the way Matthew Famele (http://matthewfamele.wordpress.com/) spoke on the topic. “These programs work in a similar concept as devil’s advocate; an alternative argument for the sake of deeper contemplation. These programs are a useful addition to the media because they let the viewer rethink what they are told”. I love how he speaks of these culture jamming shows as a “Devil’s advocate” because it is simply the truth. These shows may not be the prettiest form of news casting, or the most accurate, but it gives you the point of view that news companies might not want you to take in consideration, and for that alone I feel these programs are needed.

            In conclusion, programs such as the Colbert Report are in fact a viable source of culture jamming within the public sphere. They open up minds and bring separate audiences, who otherwise would not be so interested in the news happening now.

IS THE FAKE NEWS REAL NEWS

            Culture jamming is, in a sense, a subversive form of satire. It is usually used by people who want to send a message about the dominant ideas/power in society. Components of society, like news, are taken, and twisted to create new meaning, to portray the ways we are being controlled by mass media.

Programs like The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, or the Rick Mercer Report are in fact what we would call Culture Jamming. These programs are however satirical, and may not be the greatest place for your day to day newscast, however it gives the public a different view on the news of what is really going on in the world. Also it makes the news light, and funny, which is a nice change of pace for feeding us information that might not be the greatest information to hear.

            People may argue that satirical news is not as accurate as “real” news, which would be a fair argument. What is not a fair argument is the idea that culture jamming is a less valid form of information distribution to the public. It is, arguably, a “smarter” form of delivering the news, and in that audiences must interpret the meanings. This forces the audiences to critically think about the concepts being presented to them. In this way, culture jamming is a beneficial form of conveying information on our society, while maintaining a light, comedic tone.

Blog Response #3

 After reading many of my classmates blogs from the previous week I found that many looked for commercials that used their gender and ethnicities. They point out that these specific advertisements do in fact pin point demographics and pave societies “norms” in life.

   Writer Abbey Unyi (http://abbeyunyi.wordpress.com/) touches on ethnicity and writes:

“At this point of our life, we are entering university, and trying to meet new people. No matter what age you are 8, 19 or 35 you want to be accepted by others. This ad shows a girl about our age, as happy as can be, in American Eagle jeans, surrounded by many others who are also in American Eagle jeans. I also noticed that there are people in this ad of many different ethnic groups. This contributes to the idea that no matter who you are, what race you are, you can feel included and get along with everyone else, as longs as you wear American Eagle jeans.”

 It is quite interesting to see her take on the advertisement in question. She points out that it is important that anyone can be comfortable with whom they are, and anyone can wear these great American eagle jeans. That is something important within the advertisements these days, because society as we know it is growing and expanding multiculturaly.

   

   Another classmate, Simon Turkel (http://turkelsimon.wordpress.com/) points out the important gender defining commercial adverts saying:

 “Most heterosexual young men stereotypically are attracted to beautiful women, so using that method alone isn’t very original, but it always seems to work.  And in the commercial asking “What do women want?” which I know from personal experience, and I am sure most guys can agree, is a question we have shared amongst each other for as long as we’ve lived. “

 Gillette seems to take the things that any man dreams of, A beautiful woman, a nice body, and a clean shaven face to attract young males into joining this masculine, ridiculous lifestyle to back up their product. Advertisements like these are the reason why men go through such extents to present themselves as the man in the commercial would, and if you look outside you can see that it has worked.

   These were just two of many great responses that touches on these subjects. The different ideas and views expressed were interesting to read and showed me just how diverse our demographic really can be.

What the Hail?

                Many companies go about advertising to demographics in different ways. In regards to male University students, the ads that seem to grab hold to them (or at least me) seem to be the exciting, crazy, motivational ads that make you want to just go out and live. They let you feel like you’re a powerful person, and I love that. Everyone says that we are the future, so why shouldn’t companies motivate us AND sell their products.

                The first company I would like to address is the Do the Dew campaign (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD-ecR9uv1Q) Mountain Dew recently came out with. This commercial is AMAZING. They show multiple inspirations from musicians to pro snowboarders doing what they love. They show all of this then hit home with a quote from Lil Wayne, saying “Find your name, and DO YOU!”.  This is exactly what I mean by a company making us feel powerful and motivated. A quote from our very own textbook, “ Media studies sometimes stresses the individual role of media moguls...These characteristics of the media relate to the ideology of individualism that permeates Western culture.” (p. 189), that explains just what Mountain Dew has done here. They have shown individuals who have followed their dream, and they express want for individuality through emotion and the words of our idols.

                People may argue that by using all of these symbolic people are a form of brainwashing, and concerns may arise saying that people who listen to these icons are just trying to follow the same road, almost as if these people were stencils for our own very lives. However, I feel the diversity of media and the wide variety of iconic people with different talents, standpoints, ideas, and inventions strengthens our individuality. We get to see parts of different people, and in that we get to widen our individual horizons. “This is a form of consciousness raising that can give us more power and awareness in terms of understanding ourselves and others” (p. 191).

                It is commercials like this Mountain Dew one that really pops out at my demographic in a great way, and because of this I would say it is fair to say that companies can successfully advertise to us. They truly can grasp the attention of consumers and make them feel like they are an asset to this world, which I know from experience and friends that at this age may be difficult to feel. Thumbs up Mountain Dew!

Work Cited

O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media and Society. 5th ed. Australia: Oxford University Press, 2012. 181-191. Print.