Monday, June 24, 2013

Assignment 1-4-6 Written Analyses 5



Written Analyses 5
            The topic I chose to complete my written analyses on over the past weeks, is relating YouTube to several different theories, ranging from formulas, stereotypes, and the concept of heroes. The theory I was able to relate my topic the most, was popular beliefs and myths. Being able to relate popular beliefs and myths to YouTube makes perfect sense; people often believe that submitting a video could lead to instant stardom, and the myth that if you are recognized by a talent agent, could lead to a million dollar contract. 

            We have all heard of people becoming famous overnight from submitting videos on YouTube, what most people do not realize is that thousands of videos are uploaded every day, and being noticed is far and few between. People often believe that stardom can be achieved overnight, when in reality it does not happen so easily. I found it interesting that website like YouTube and social media could have such a huge impact on society. Society has a tendency to believe everything on the internet, whether it is a commercial, reality video, or a photo, we all want to believe what we see and hear. State Farm Insurance created a commercial to remind everyone that what you see on the internet is not always the truth!


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Written Analysis 1-4-5




Promote Yourself
            YouTube is used in so many ways; in order to list one certain formula would be very difficult. YouTube is used to promote retail items, personal views, and social interaction. Viewers are able to dictate the type of videos they would like to watch, from self-help, instructional videos, to wild reality. The formula most fascinating about YouTube is every video can be linked to another, for example if you are searching for weddings, after viewing several videos you could be eventually be watching wedding failures, or wedding proposals. The list could go on and on with endless possibilities.
            YouTube’s motto of “Broadcast Yourself” explains a lot about what the website is trying to accomplish. A person has the ability to be their own director, musician, or actor without the fear of being judged face to face. If someone creates a video that turns out to be a huge success they can claim all the credit in the world for it, if for some reason it is viewed as a failure, it can be deleted just as easy as it was made. The user has all of the power when adding or deleting videos being viewed under their screen name.
            Trying to figure out what type of formula YouTube follows, has been quite a challenge, there is no good vs. bad, or story line ending of a super hero, what you have are personal stories that an individual has decided to submit to a website in order to entertain anyone willing to watch!
           

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Journal Article Analysis: ‘‘Taking Hell’s Measurements’’: Popular Science and Popular Mechanics Magazines and the Atomic Bomb from Hiroshima to Bikini





























Journal Article Analysis:
‘‘Taking Hell’s Measurements’’: Popular Science
and Popular Mechanics Magazines and the
Atomic Bomb from Hiroshima to Bikini
            “Taking Hell’s Measurements,” explains how Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazine tried to influence the public by downplaying the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Bikini test site in Nevada. Following the Japanese attacks at Pearl Harbor, The United State made the decision to attack Japan with an atomic bomb as retaliation for the surprise attacks which killed a total of 2,335 U.S. servicemen and wounding 1,143 (Rosenberg, 2011). The attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II, which would eventually lead to the era of atomic explosives. Following the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would explain the devastation to the American people, by stating December 7, 1941 would be "a date that will live in infamy." The American people used the attack as motivation to destroy any country trying to invade the United States, or threaten the freedoms of the America.

            Prior to the attacks in 1940, America had been experimenting with the developments of atomic weaponry. The developments began after Albert Einstein warned the United States government that Nazi Germany had been conducting tests on the effects of atomic weaponry. With the war continuing on in 1945, and the massive casualties suffered by every country involved, the United States made the decision to test the first atomic bomb in New Mexico. The most influencing factor for the test is when advisers warned President Truman, any type of invasion on Japanese soil would result in mass casualties to American soldiers. On August 6, 1945 President Truman ordered the first atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima, killing approximately 80,000 people and killing thousands more in the following weeks from radiation. Two days later President Truman made the decision to drop another bomb on the city of Nagasaki, Japan killing 40,000 more people, causing Japan to surrender, and putting an end to the war.

            Popular Science and Popular Mechanics would use the atomic bomb after the war to influence society of how atomic energy could benefit the future, by providing environmental benefits, cures for disease, and economic development. Popular Mechanics focused on using atomic super explosions in order to extinguish large forest fires, calm severe hurricanes, and clear ice from shipping lanes in cold climate areas, clear forestry to build roads and massive dams (McDermott 5, 160–162). Popular Science would take on the role of how to promote atomic energy in order to help medical research and claiming, ‘Telltale atoms may soon strip the mystery from some of man’s deadliest enemies—cancer, hardening of the arteries, diabetes, heart disease’’ (Nitkin 145). After seeing the type destruction caused by the atom bomb across the world, people wanted to believe that atomic energy just wasn’t going to be used for destruction, but had the potential to help lead society through the 21st century by providing new energy resources.

            The following year the United States announced it would be testing multiple atom bombs in the area of Bikini Atoll, Japan; Bikini Atoll was a small island off the coast of Japan, used as a radar installation during the war. In 1945, the last year of fighting, the U.S. landed a small force to secure the site. The battle was brief and had no strategic significance. As the war ended, the United States decided that Bikini Atoll would be suitable for nuclear detonation tests, and shortly before Christmas 1945 it was selected to be the site of the world's fourth and fifth atomic bomb detonations. Soon after the bombs being tested, Popular Science wrote an article describing the effects of the radiation fallout from the explosions titled, “Taking Hell’s Measurements” (Popular Science 65, 91). In the article, the radiation left behind from the bombs, was described as more deadly than the bombs themselves, leaving the public with the feeling that an atomic future was not looking as good as it was described in previous articles. Popular Science and Popular Mechanics tried to establish in the years between Hiroshima and Bikini, and what “Taking Hell’s Measurements” essay tried to depict, is society being able to understanding the atom, and how its discovery affected American culture. Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines used their magazines to explain the how the atom would benefit their readers, by “Taking Hell’s Measurements.”

            “Taking Hell’s Measurements,” tells us a lot about the public’s mindset in the 1945 era, the atom bomb had been depicted as providing new resources for a bright future, and in reality it was nothing but a radioactive deadly weapon of mass destruction. After reading the article a person may understand why the public could be deceived by such claims, prior to the 1940s people had not been exposed to atomic or nuclear energy.

            The author of the article Scott C. Zeman did an excellent job of explaining how the media was willing use magazines to make the public believe that something so destructive, could be so beneficial to society. History claims that the atomic bomb which killed around 200,000 people actually prevented the loss of more lives, due to the mass destruction of the bomb ending the war, causing the Japanese surrender after its deployment.


References
History.com (2006).”Cold War” Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Retrieved from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima
McDermott, W. F. ‘‘Bringing the Atom Down to Earth.’’ Popular Mechanics  Nov. 1945: 1 – 168.
Nitkin, Nathaniel. ‘‘‘Tracer Bullets’ on the Trail of Cancer.’’ Popular Mechanics, June 1946: 145.
Popular Science, Sept. 1946: 65, 91.
Rosenberg, J. (2011). Pearl Harbor Facts; Facts About the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. About.com 20th Century History. Retrieved from: http://history1900s.about.com/od/Pearl-Harbor/a/Pearl-Harbor-Facts.htm
ZEMAN, S. C. (2008). “Taking Hell's Measurements”: Popular Science and Popular Mechanics Magazines and the Atomic Bomb from Hiroshima to Bikini. Journal Of Popular Culture, 41(4), 695-711.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Heroes and The Cult of the Celebrity




Heroes and The Cult of the Celebrity
            Everyone has heard of people performing heroic acts that amaze us by their courage and their ability to selflessly sacrifice their own lives to save others. My blog is supposed to be about associating “heroes and the cult of the celebrity” with YouTube. Anyone can log into YouTube and view selfless acts of heroism, and view the make believe life of celebrities. When I say “make believe life”, that’s exactly what it is, people being portrayed as not having everyday problems, being wealthy beyond belief, is just a smoke screen covering up their unhappy lives. Anyone reading this that has been fortunate enough to have a lot of money will understand money does not equal happiness! We all have problems and all the money, fame, notoriety in the world will not solve them, finding happiness is not about money or fame, but about personal gratification. My question to you is, would you rather be remembered as a hero, or a celebrity? I bet most will answer a hero; being viewed by your family, friends, and peers as a hero would be more self-gratifying than being seen as a celebrity.
           
        I’m employed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and see firsthand on a daily basis what type of heroic acts the men and women of law enforcement accomplish every day.  The media portrays a heroic act, as rescuing a child from drowning, capturing a robbery suspect, or arresting a murderer. What society doesn’t get to see is what truly makes a person a hero, changing an elderly persons tire, helping someone with directions that may be lost, or speaking to a classroom of children about how to avoid being victims of crime. Heroic actions are not about becoming a celebrity; they are about helping others in need, not for notoriety, or fortune, but for doing what is right!
           
 Being a hero doesn’t make you a celebrity, and being a celebrity doesn’t make you a hero!




Wednesday, June 12, 2013

My Favorite




My Favorite
My favorite movie of all-time is “Forrest Gump.” To me, this movie means that when a person puts their mind to complete a goal, nothing can stop them. The movie is based on a fictional character by the name of Forrest Gump. From the time Forrest was born, he was stereotyped as being stupid, because he had a disability. He was diagnosed with having a crooked spine and a very low IQ, wearing large, metal braces on his legs starting as a young child.  This may imply, or stereotype, that all persons with a physical disability are stupid or may also have a mental disability.   Forrest had a life changing moment on his first day of school, riding the bus; on that day, he would meet his best friend Jenny. Jenny was from a poor family and constantly abused by her father. From the very first time meeting one another, they immediately became best friends. One day, while Forrest was walking home from school with Jenny, some local bullies started throwing rocks at him, calling him names. When Forrest started running from bullies, he ran so hard is his leg braces busted off, and from that day forward he ran everywhere, surprising his family and the community by doing something they thought personally impossible for Forrest.
Against all odds Forrest received a scholarship at the University of Alabama, after the head football coach seen how fast he could run, ending the stereotype of being physically disabled. After graduation, he went on to serve in Vietnam, earning a Purple Heart, and saving his platoon from being killed, after being shot in the buttocks. He soon discovered he had a talent for playing ping pong, while recovering from his gunshot wound, and eventually won a gold medal in the Olympics for it. Forrest eventually ends up in Louisiana starting a shrimp boat company called Bubba Gump Shrimp, named after his friend that was killed in Vietnam. The company would soon be the only shrimp boat on the southern coast after all of the other shrimp boats were destroyed by a hurricane, making Bubba Gump Shrimp Company the only boat left to catch shrimp. The storm being unfortunate for others turned Forrest into a multimillionaire. Forrest Gump’s list of great accomplishments, misfortunes, and life struggles, all the while overcoming the stereotype of other people thinking he is stupid, are endless in this movie.
The movie is a reminder that a person can overcome any obstacles in life with hard work, a positive attitude, and the willingness to keep moving forward; even when life is beating you down. The reason for this movie being my favorite, is when I think about the struggles I am going through in my life, it reminds me to keep moving forward, no matter what obstacles are in my way!
The stereotyping of Forrest Gump is explicitly expressed, from the time he was a small child, people constantly told him he was stupid.  This type of negativity was fully expressed by the people around him and nothing was ever held back. The forces that contributed to the emergence of this stereotype include, Forrest suffering from a physical disability as a small child in combination with having a low IQ, which contribute to the stereotype that people with a disability are “stupid.”
Society is constantly being stereotyped by marketing ads, whether it is through clothing, beauty supplies, or sporting goods. People are stereotyped by what type of clothing they wear, especially with youth.  If kids are not wearing what is considered “in style,” they are viewed as not being cool. This type of stereotyping influences people to buy name brand clothing in order to fit in to what they think is the “cool crowd,” marketing techniques by using good looking people, with lots of friends around, makes people think they too can be viewed this way by wearing certain types of clothing.

References
Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. By Eric Roth. Perf. Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field, and Mykelti Williamson. Paramount Pictures, 1994. DVD.