Slumdog Millionaire - Weekly Blog

A couple of weeks ago, the class was presented with a small clip from the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire'. At first, I did not know what to expect from the movie, but looked forward to watching it after hearing so many positive stories and reviews, and watching it win so many Oscars.
After seeing a short clip in class, I am now very eager to watch the entire movie. A young boy grows up in the slums of India and is a contestant on the 'Who wants to be a millionaire' show and ends up winning big. This leads people to become suspicious as to why the young boy knew the answers to such questions, and is targeted as having cheated his way through the game. I believe that this movie was such a big hit because this young boys life does a complete 360 from growing up in the slums of India to winning big and becoming rich.
After the clip, the class shared their thoughts on the movie and discussed questions related to the film. One thing that was mentioned in class was the stereotypes that were potentially represented in the movie. All the men were portrayed as being extremely mean, always shown yelling and being very violent, while the women were shown to always be very hard at work. Furthermore, the children in the movie were always screaming and being brats to one another in the street, and India itself was shown to be an extremely dirty and poverty stricken country. Although these stereotypes are clearly identified in the movie, individuals in class were discussing the reality to some of these stereotypes, and how many areas in India are just that - living in extreme poverty. It was interesting to hear different people's thoughts about the movie, and felt that it was a great class discussion.

DISNEY - Weekly Blog

Disney...friend or foe?

Last week during class we discussed Chapter 35 of our Media Literacy textbook. I was extremely interested in this Chapter’s topics and actually chose to do my PowerPoint project on it.
As much as I am a very big fan of Disney, and have watched Disney movies since I was a little girl, after reading Chapter 35 and researching the topic further, I could not help but think about the stereotypical images that are portrayed in a lot of these movies and the impact it has on children. Although Disney movies continue to evolve as years go on, most main character women in these movies remain white, middle/upper class princesses (Eg: Cinderella, Snow White, Little Mermaid, etc). With this said, children from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds may grow up thinking they are atypical and different. The Aladdin movie illustrates an Arab princess named Jasmine, but it is interesting to note that Jasmine is portrayed in the movie with paler skin and has no accent compared to the “bad guy” Arabs who wear turbans, have strong accents, and are given very large noses. Furthermore, while looking through the Disney movies and observing different stereotypes, I was shocked to see some of the lyrics. In Aladdin, the movie begins with a song that illustrates an extremely negative portrayal of Arabs and the Arab culture. Some of the lyrics are the following: “Oh I come from a land, from a far away place, where the caravan camels roam, where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face, its barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” Although I have never paid attention to these lyrics before, it made me realize that although Disney seems so innocent and fairytale-like for children; stereotypes are represented in these movies as well. For these reasons, it is important for parents and teachers to understand media, and to help children learn the meaning behind these types of messages as it relates to race, class and gender.

Cover Girl Commercial - Weekly Blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-C58XlHPc

What do you see?

I have never been a ‘big’ fan of TV talk shows; however I do like the Ellen Degeneres Show and believe she brings something comical, fun and different to the table. However, a couple of days ago I found myself wondering about her true intentions on her new, believe it or not, Cover Girl commercial. Known to be hilarious on her TV talk show, wearing little makeup and shown to care less about her outer appearance than most television stars, demonstrated a somewhat different side of her in the Cover Girl commercial.
I quickly turned to my mom who was also watching the commercial for the first time, and we both agreed that we didn’t see Ellen being up for doing a commercial like this. Ellen’s first words in the commercial are “inner beauty is important, but not nearly as important as outer beauty”, and although highly known as a comedian, and no doubt wanting viewers to recognize her deliberate ‘funny’ twist to the commercial, I could not help but think about the thousands of teen women who watch the Ellen Show that may view this commercial on a more negative level. Any thoughts?

Do women really like Axe anyway?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3qYT60DSKQ

Have you recently seen the new commercial for Axe on television? I find it completely disturbing to be quite honest...
Axe has for a while been an extremely popular body spray for men, however I find the way it is advertised on television is very degrading towards women. When I saw the first few commercials come out on television, I didn't think much of them. However, with newer Axe commercials continously coming out, it seems like they are more and more extreme. These advertisements illustrate that when men spray their bodies with this Axe body spray, women come running from every direction, and cannot resist groping, and fondling the "Oh so good" smelling Axe man. In the latest commercial, the ad goes as far as having the man made of chocolate, where in one scene two women are licking the man's chocolate face as if they can not get enough. In a second scene, a women on a bus is sitting close to this 'Can't resist' chocolate Axe man, and ACTUALLY takes a bite from the man's butt!!!? Isn't this a bit much?
Two things come to mind when I re-watch this clip on video - 1. How far do commercials feel that have to go to sell their product? and 2. Do women actually like the smell of Axe??? Personally, I feel that Axe, or any body spray for that matter has an extremely over powerful smell that smells like a cheap version of cologne...

ADS, ADS, and more ADS....

Have you ever thought to stop and look around you while you were walking on the streets downtown Montreal? If so, then you probably could not help but notice the enormous amount of advertisements that surround you in an attempt to try and drag you into buying their product… Perhaps some of the above ads spark your memory?

Notice how these women are being portrayed. The first ad depicts an extremely thin looking woman who supports the media’s ‘ideal image’, in which muscular half clothed men are fighting for this woman’s attention. The second ad on the other hand, demonstrates a woman whose face is completely blocked by the presence of a hand bag –which is what the ad is trying to sell. Both ads are examples of how women are being negatively represented in the media.
With this in mind, the media has formed the belief that in order to be beautiful, sexy, attractive, loved and ‘begged’ for by muscular men, women need to buy these makeup, clothing and perfume products. The interesting thing behind this is that if these women are lucky enough to have their face displayed in the ad, it is usually not without having a limited amount of clothing, or being represented as sex objects.

The Smart Smartboard...

When I first registered for this course at the beginning of the semester, I knew that my learning experience would overall be very interesting and challenging seeing as I have never really been a computer’s ‘best friend’. I was certainly up for the challenges, and was excited to learn new things as it relates to technology, and ways to properly use them as a future educator. Throughout the semester so far, I have learnt how to embed videos onto PowerPoint (which I am sure one day will become very useful), I’ve learned how to make photos albums using Bubbleshare, and to create my own blog... However, this week I saw something for the first time that I was extremely interested and excited to learn about – The SMART Board!!! Throughout different classes in my first semester at McGill, I overheard classmates talking about their experiences on stage and about this magnificent ‘SMART Board’, but really could not grasp a full understanding of what it was. Finally though...I have been provided with a visual and the chance to use one during our Media lab!
I really enjoyed seeing the different options that the SMART Board provides to teachers and students that are not available on a regular chalk board. I think as much as the SMART Board can potentially take away from the traditional way of teaching, and sometimes distract students from the actual subject being taught, I do think it is an extremely useful invention with many positive benefits. I believe it provides students with a fun learning environment, allowing teachers and students to positively interact and share their learning experiences with one another.

Media and weight gain - weekly blog

Ever since I was a young teenager, I have been quite aware of the media and its portrayal of women. Since I can remember, the especially thin, frail looking woman has been promoted in the media as the 'ideal image'. Luckily, the media intensity when I was a teen was much less than it is today. As years go on, this 'ideal' figure becomes more and more portrayed in the media. If you search on the net for the 'ideal image for women', almost all of the women that are presented are way too thin, demonstrating extreme frailty. It is actually upsetting to think of the amount of young teens who are impacted by the medias 'ideal image', and try to change their appearance according to their Hollywood stars/role models.
I was watching television this past week, and was disturbed by the outpoor of comments related to Jessica Simpson and her 'so-called' weight gain. I was rather disturbed by these rumors/comments because if anything, Jessica Simpson remains extremely thin. If anything, she looks healthier! However, instead the media decided to pick away at Jessica's 'slight' weight gain, by announcing to the world, that her weight gain was rather evident. The TV show, then went on to demonstrate their point by showing the public eye photos of her slight weight gain. Just to imagine what this is doing to every young teen who looks up to Jessica is devastating.
Such thin portrayals lead to devastating eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia in young teens. Therefore, it is extremely important as future educators to recognize the spotlight in which women are presented in the media, and to understand the impact this can have on young students.

Exploring Media Project - 'Some of the most influential people in my life...'

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.


Education and learning is an extremely important part of my life. When I reflect upon the people who have made a significant impact on my life, I think of my family and friends. For the purpose of this exploring media photo album project, I have selected photos of specific individuals who have significantly contributed to who I am today - my family, my best friends and my boyfriend.

The importance of education has always been a common thread that runs, is shared and is supported by my family and friends. Growing up, I was surrounded by people who believed in me, who supported me and helped guide me in my educational decision making. I feel it is this type of a belief and support system that has encouraged me and helped shape my learning experiences to be positive, formative and successful.

The ability to follow your educational aspirations, and achieve your goals are not always easy growing up. There are many influential aspects of life going on around you that can have a positive or negative influence on your decision making. In particular, it is difficult for students to remain on task, conduct the appropriate activities and actions to maintain a consistent educational path needed to reach their individual goals and objectives, especially with the many influential distractions that exist within day-to-day society. Distractions like your peers, pressures from school, life in general, to include the influences from the media mania world we live in. Having a positive support group around me throughout some of those turbulent times (where you feel the rug has been pulled from beneath you), can sometimes make or break achieving ones goals.

That being said, not everyone has a support group! So much so, that some students do not have anyone around them who share the same vision or values. As much I am can easily think of the positive mentoring that my family and friends have had on my educational successes, it is as important for me to know that these positive influences are not commodities that you can buy. It is important to realize not everyone is as fortunate, and that not all students had a family who share that common thread on how important it is to achieve a good education, so that your aspirations and goals can be realized.

Children, who are raised within an environment that provides positive influences, mentoring and coaching, support, and respect for the educational system, are likely to have an easier opportunity to achieve their goals. It is this type of environment that has provided me with the opportunity to receive the support I needed, when I required it, the push and debate I got, when I needed to be challenged at times, resulting in where I am today; working on my second degree, studying at McGill University, and working towards my Masters in Educational Psychology.

Educators need to provide positive mentoring and coaching support opportunities for their students, which will hopefully help support them in achieving their aspirations and goals in life, particularly for those students who do not have positive family and friend support systems in place beyond the classroom. There are many opportunities to help children reach their educational dreams, and we as future educators need to be there for them, we need to demonstrate where there are positive resources available, to include within the media mania world we live in.

Weekly blog..

Although I was relatively aware of the mass media and the influence it has on its audiences, I have found that after a few weeks of our Media and Technology class, I have become even more aware of the enormous impact that media has on society today. Since our Media class has begun, we have had class discussions, lectures, and readings that have made me recognize different sources of media in a somewhat different light. I find myself paying more attention to commercials/advertisements - the way in which they persuade people to buy their product. I have also found myself looking deeper into television shows, that I would have normally watched for pure entertainment. For example, in one of our lectures, the class discussed how characters on most television shows never finish eating their meal. I had never noticed this before and decided to pay extra attention to this when watching TV. And infact, it is certainly true, teenagers rarely finish their meal on television!!! I was shocked, and can only imagine the influence this can have on teenagers today.
Another example would be how teenagers are portrayed in the media. TV shows such as 90210 and Gossip Girl demonstrate families of extreme wealth where kids "appear" happy, however there is a much more dark side when you look more deeply (e.g. depression, unhappiness, divorce, drugs/alcohol, etc).
During this past weeks lab, our TA showed us how to use youtube, and record videoclips and embed them into our own blogs. It was very interesting to learn, and I found it to be much easier than I thought it would be!

Practice with youtube...

Class Issues - Weekly blog

Monday's topic was on 'Class Issues', which I found to be extremely interesting. Everyone participated in an open discussion on various television shows and movies that individuals in society fantasize/idealize about being similar to (e.g being overly wealthy, having a huge house, multiple cars, etc.). Some of the common television shows that were discussed in class were 90210, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives and Entourage. One aspect that was dscussed was the fact that while most people fantasize about having similar lives to these characters on TV, there is also a dark side that people may not see to the wealth that is depicted on television - most of the characters are upset and unhappy, and most of the teens are either on drugs, heavily depressed, or drink heavy amounts of alcohol.
With this in mind, it is extremely important for future educators to become more aware of the media and it's potential negative effects on children/adolescents of the present and future.
Also, during our lab on Monday, the class was taught how to make photo albums by using a website called 'Bubble share'...I think this site is extremely useful, and will no doubt use it again in the future.

Creating photo album on Bubbleshare!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Media & Technology and Education - Class 1

Today was my first Media, Technology and Education lab. Although I was somewhat overwhelmed to use a Mac for my first time, I was excited and ready for the challenge. 

During class, I also learnt how to create my first blog, which was really interesting and fun! There were a lot of different options while making our blog, to personalize it and make it our own!

I am very excited for this course, and believe it will be a positive learning experience!

C