9- Final Blog Entry

        Jour 2 has taught me a lot about how the different media play an impact on peoples lives. Before this class I never took into account the effects that media and the changing technologies have on my own life. I wasn’t aware there were so many ways that media can persuade our decisions and thoughts, makes me think twice about what I believe in. I now see media in a an entirely different light, it can be used for spreading truth and joy but is much more commonly used to directly influence people into doing what “they” want.. I don’t know about you but I’m not the biggest fan of brain washing. Another thing I’ve learned about media & the first amendment is that if you want to get the word out about something that the government or other media controllers want to conceal, then be prepared to have your freedom tested.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/26/1182220/-Research-Study-Explains-How-U-S-Media-Brainwashes-The-Public#

Over and out,

Mario Milana

8- Media Law Case

This week I'm going to give you a quick look at a current even in American media law. Lets take a look at the Obsidian Fin. Grp. v. Cox (2014) a case in which, a blogger was sued for publishing posts that accused Obsidian Financial Group of many illegal activities. Since the bloggers statements were posted as a source of media they were dismissed as constitutionally protected opinions. I'll add a link that provides much more detail below.

http://www.medialawmonitor.com/2014/04/blurred-lines-9th-circuit-applies-same-first-amendment-protections-to-bloggers-as-traditional-media/

I believe any source where a type of language is used should be protected by the first amendment. It's unfortunate that people have to learn that one media at a time. 

7- Annotated References

Korpi, Michael F. & Kyong Liong Kim (1986) The Uses and Effects of Televangelism: A Factorial Model of Support and Contribution. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 25(4), 410-423. Database: Academic Search Premier. The first source I chose is pretty straight forward, it explains a model that televangelists used to basically be compensated for their work and how they get and hold their viewership. I chose this journal because it has a broad history on how televangelists have and still continue to persuade people to give them top dollar for a service that quite frankly may not even exist.

Howley, K. (2001). PREY TV TELEVANGELISM AND INTERPELLATION. Journal Of Film & Video, 53(2/3), 23. This is a journal stating how televangelists target their viewership by misleading fear and anxiety into them. This journal will be great research because it shares how and why televangelists help you by helping themselves.

Meng, V. (2009). Everyday a miracle: History according to trinity broadcasting network (TBN). Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 21(3), 1-29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232425451?accountid=38235. This journal is a history and study of Trinity Broadcasting Network, one of Americas largest and longest airing televangelists programs. This journal holds statistics, analysis and other quality information for this specific program to give me a little more in-depth detail to how these televangelists successfully cornered the American market for television religion.

6- Propaganda Ads

http://youtu.be/uQB7QRyF4p4
Budweiser "Puppy Love"

I'll start off with one of Budweiser's most famous super bowl commercials called "Puppy Love" I chose this because even when I first saw it my thought was, what the hell does this have to do with beer, which then left me puzzled. Now I can clearly see that it is an act of propaganda on several levels. The first being obfuscation, I say this because they're clearly trying to get you to think of anything but beer, the more vague they were the deeper they could sink into your thoughts. I also believe some transfer was used in this ad, by using puppies, horses, a family, a nice scenery & so on, they were attempting to lay a cover over the drunken, violent, alcohol abusive & other harmful aspects of what Budweiser actually brings to the table. I didn't see the name for it but I'd like to add appeal to emotions because they were very presently trying to make people "feel" something from this ad.

http://youtu.be/OkdPfbOp_8g
Army "Recruiting Ad"

I mean, really.. I barely need to explain how this is propaganda. Lets see, we've got repetition because they're implying that apparently you'll be all kinds of "strong", let alone a type of "strong" you absolutely under no circumstances could find elsewhere. Then we have black & white because you can either be "army strong" or just that lame regular strong. Bandwagon plays a factor because they love showing how theres hundreds of people already doing it, so it must work right? I absolutely love how vague they are though, leaving out the most crucial factors like, oh ya, you now must do what your told and nothing else, you'll be spending several years in a dessert ditch where you can speak to your family once a week, and most of all that you're about as expendable as a pencil with no eraser.

4- Me & Movies

Where to begin.. 

Got it! The movie that I enjoyed most from 2013 was most likely ‘The World’s End”. I say most likely because there are so many awesome movies that came out in the past 2 years. I chose World's End because Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have always found hilarious ways to hit my laughter switch. Let alone they combined aliens and zombies for a most epic journey to recapture "a better time" in this picture. I first saw this movie in theaters.

As far as my favorite movie of all time I would have to say ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back'. Kind've unoriginal but this movie played a huge roll in my childhood and always kept me dreaming of what could be. I first experienced ‘The Empire’ on VHS (this box shaped thing people used before DVDs). 

Links: 

World's End: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_worlds_end/

The Empire: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/empire_strikes_back/

3- Magazine Proposal

Alter Ego Mag

What separates Alter Ego Magazine from other magazines is that we not only want to explore local graffiti but we want to take greater strides towards the background of how “street art” is created and how it finds it way to inanimate objects around the globe. We also want to dive in a little deeper to artists’ back-stories and what in their life lead them to such an inconsistent way of living. “Street art” is not just vandalism or just art, it is an adventure, and we would like to show our viewers exactly what they have to go through to get their artwork to where it is today.

Our viewers will most likely be street artists, which is a vast market that expands everyday. They will most likely be between 15-35 years old, mid-range income, and primarily male but in no way targeted towards them directly. Our viewers are extremely confident due to their background as undercover lawbreakers but also intelligent enough to realize they’re not trying to pay for a book of ads.

Since this market is somewhat open as far as opposing magazines go, our main competitors will be more local based such as: Graffiti Magazine, Juxtapoz Magazine, Clout Magazine & StyleFile Magazine. All of the previously listed magazines try to reach a target market of their local surrounding areas, which are highlighted in each issue. We would like to step a little outside of those boundaries and highlight this growing industry worldwide.

Five advertisers that we are sure will reach our consumers are: Montana Colors, On The Run Ink, Ironlak Spray Paint, Yard Master Paint, Adobe Illustrator, and miscellaneous apparel and backpack companies. We will also take steps toward trying to help grow more underground companies, in attempt to connect artists with product that isn’t only what they are told they should use and let them find out for themselves.

Five articles for the first issue would be:

1.     Behind the mask: which will highlight artists around the world and their back-story.

2.     Handstyles: a section that would go into detail explaining how new hand styles come to be recognized.

3.     Graffiti music: this section will highlight the music that is listened to by the different graf communities and to help our viewers find a wider range of vibe music that they can listen to while getting up.

4.     Vandalism vs. Street Art: this will be a mildly controversial section in our magazine to explore both of the main mediums of graffiti and how they clash with one another.

5.     Finding perspective: a section that will help newer artist find ways to add a little flavor to their style so they don’t have to learn tricks that took older artists years to master.

2- Me & books

Welcome back! Today I am going to share with you a little piece of how books, in some way or another, have influenced my life.

First off, let me take you way back to when I was a small child growing up. Honestly more books were read to me than I had gone out of my way to read on my own time. So lets start there! The first book I was influenced by was "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. I feel the values of that short book have road with me throughout my life, it has taught me to respect those who care for me and it has also taught me that I must eventually take care of those who had once taken care of me. I definitely recommend it to anyone who plans on or has children. Link: http://www.amazon.com/Love-You-Forever-Robert-Munsch/dp/0920668364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413768090&sr=8-1&keywords=i+love+you+forever+hardcover

Next up is "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi. I was originally recommended this book by my kendo sensei and was taken away by the powerful writing and lifestyle of Miyamoto. It is a very passionately written book on this mans perspective not only on ways to live but the trials that life puts one through. This book has influenced me in many ways but mostly just helped me find a more humble way of living. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Great read! Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1590302486/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=42707483666&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8234357943927090200&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6tmcku0w80_b

The last book I'd like to add is "The Art of Happiness" by Dalai Lama. This book is a piece of artwork, composed of positive thoughts and enriching information that can literally lead one to a more positive path both mentally and physically. It has taught me many things but above all else that the meaning of life is, to find happiness and peace even through all of the trials that life throws at us. Link: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Happiness-Handbook-Living-ebook/dp/B002UK6NO0/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413769183&sr=1-2&keywords=the+art+of+happiness