The Hills Season Premiere

The two-part season 5 premiere of The Hills was complete entertainment. From a pissed off mother-Montag, to sobbing drunk girls on a yaht, to a bar fight over a promiscious bartender. The fake reality show left no dramatic stone unturned. The questions in my head are bubbling. Will Heidi dump Spencer? Will Heidi mend things with Lauren? When did everything revolve around silicone Heidi? Is Heidi going to be the season 6 narrarator? Is it possible that I've had more thoughts about their lives than they've had about their own? Check out episodes you've missed at http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/the_hills/series.jhtml

Meg and Dia {Media Literacy}

Meg and Dia's final stop on their tour was in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Launchpad. The opening bands were: Good with Grenades, Endless Hallway, Shoot My Cupid and Avenge Apollo. Besides the crude-pedophiliac comments bu the Good with Grenades guitarist and the high school girl passing out in the middle of a song, the concert was good. The small Launchpad venue provided an intimate setting. Despite their exhaustion, Meg and Dia's energy was amazing and inspiring. Check out their new CD "Here, Here and Here" which is available on their website http://www.meganddia.com/home for pre-prder and is available everywhere April 21st, 2009. Also, be sure to look up the artists I mentioned on http://www.myspace.com/ or on iTunes.

Alli is a weight loss pill that claims to not allow fat to stay in your body. They try to hide the side effects which I put on the add and that they suggest that you wear dark pants because of these side effects.

Durango Independent Film Festival {Media Literacy}

My favorite documentary, at the Durango Independent Film Festival, was "1,000 Journals". It was a about a guy, who goes by Someguy, an artist who came up with the idea to send out 1,000 journals around the world. He started a website to find people who wanted to receive the journals and to keep track of them. The demand was overwhelming. Someguy designed each journal with his artwork, which made them hard to let go. He asked people who received the journals to let him know where it was and if they could to scan what was in the book and post it via the website. He received a small amount back, full of peoples thoughts, artwork, rants and raves. The rest are still traveling, we can only hope. Someguy scanned all the work onto the website and when he had enough he created an exhibit where the attendees could touch and look through the journals. As a result of the 1,000 Journals Project a website started called 1001 Journals where individuals can start journals of their own that they either send out, keep at a public location or they just post their own personal journal. Right now there are 6033 members on the site (Including me), 573 personal journals, 1810 traveling journals, 105 locational journals and 1004 journals that have posts on the website. This is HUGE.

Merchants of Cool {Media Literacy}

The way that corporations get teenagers to buy products is a lot more complicated then I ever thought. It makes sense though. It was always very noticeable that when something was cool you had to like it but it quickly stopped being cool because everyone liked it. This movie shows the planning and scheming it takes marketers to make their products appealing to the teenage generation, like having focus groups to ask kids what is cool and what is not and going out on the street and find up and coming styles that can be sold to teenagers because it isn't popular yet so they'll be able to sell more of it before it goes out of style. So what is happening is these Merchants of Cool are taking individuality and making it popular and by doing that killing that style. It is said that corporate America has created a character to appeal to male youth. The mook is a guy who acts like a jackass, just like the show on MTV. They're saying that boys follow the actions that they see on TV because they are portrayed as cool, but you also have to think that this mook was created in the image of these young men, this is what they want to see and so that is what is going to make money. On the other hand for girls there is the Midriff who is "prematurely adult", she is sexual and is proud of it. An example of this is Britney Spears, she started out when she was 16 in a very sexual filled music video. The quote "flaunt your sexuality even if you don't understand it" made me think a lot. I'm not sure what to think of it, but it's stuck in my head. Corporations soon learned that sex sells, ex. Dawson's Creek, 90210, and Cruel Intentions. The questioned is then asked, does tv mirror teenagers, is it the other way around, or is it too blurred to tell?

Consumption Log {Media Literacy}

On February 15th, 2009 I logged all the media I was subjected to or subjected myself to throughout the day. I woke up at 9:30am to my very annoying VZW Default Ringtone on my Verizon VCast phone. I turned off the alarm and saw that I revieved two text messages at 8:00am while I was sleeping, the first on from VPOP and Buzz Entertainment news. I drove to work at 10:30am and listened to my Charlotte Sometimes CD. As I drove to work I saw very familiar signs flooding the sides of the road: McDonalds, Wellsfargo, Albertsons, Office Max, Big 5, and Serious Texas BBQ. I got to my job at the Alltel kiosk in the Durango Mall. The Mall radio station is set on Sirius XM channel 26, they played news on Lilly Allen, then songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies, Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillet, Nickelback, Katy Perry, Kid Rock, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson and then there was some more entertainment news and then it started all over again. I work right next to a WaldenBooks so I went over there and bought a book called Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand that I have to read for a scholarship. I went on Facebook for about an hour and then FastWeb Scholarship search. I looked around the mall and read all the signs: JC Penny, FYE, Maurices, Claire's, Bealls, Famous Footwear, Walden Books, GNC, Kay Jewelers, Pac Sun, Vanity and Zumiez. When I left work I drove back to the dorms and listened to Charlotte Sometimes. I got back to the dorms and turned the tv onto Disney Channel and did my Art homework until 7:00pm when I changed the channel to fuse and watched FUSE20 and then at 8:00 I watched Fools Gold till 10:00 and then I went to bed.

Versa Visa {Media Literacy}

Last night I went to see a Durango local band in the Extreme Room of the Sub Cub on Fort Lewis campus. I didn't really know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. The lead singer had a hint of 311 mixed with Thrice in his voice but more of a Soasin type of music backing him up. The guitarist added a lot of vocals to the mix, including some very impressive screaming. The drummer was intense, in a fun way and the bassist played a few technical solos between songs. This concert was free, but I would pay to see them again. They have no facebook or myspace page which is a shame, but if you see flyers on campus or around town I suggest you make time in your schedule to check them out. I will post concert dates on this blog if I see any as well.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist {Media Literacy}

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist came out on DVD this Tuesday February 3rd, 2009. This awkward comedy is based around an indie playlist and the idea that music can bring people together. The best part has to be Caroline and her gum.

Media Use and Effect {Media Literacy}

When I was younger my media use was purely educational, even if I didn't realize it at the time. I watched PBS with my family when I got home from school, I listened to classical Japanese violin CDs to practice for my mandatory violin class at my Elementary School, and I read a lot of short novels. The Elementary School I attended from three years old to fifth grade was a Montessori School. The basis of the Montessori theory is that every student learns at their own pace and it relies heavily on visual and auditory learning (http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Montessori.html), examples of this would be: Playing Oregon Trail, Having all Fridays' be art day, making music a required class, learning how to take photographs and develop them yourself in a dark room, watching educational videos in the classroom once a week and being required to participate in The Shakespeare Festival, which included having to read the plays, rehearse them 3 times a week and then perform them in front of a large audience and judges. I strongly believe that my constant exposure to this type of learning improved my reading, writing and analyzing skills that I still excel at today, it also boosted my confidence.

When I went to Middle School it was a big change from what I was used to. It went from constant interactive learning to listen, memorize, repeat and forget. I still did well in my Language Arts and elective classes, but my confidence in my ability to understand the material diminished exponentially. I no longer participated in acting or arts in any aspect because my creativity was no longer appreciated. I also no longer read for pleasure because I had so much required reading. In 6th grade I lost a lot in my life and so when I was alone I would lose myself watching TV. It felt good. I began avidly watching the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was already the end of the fifth season when I began watching it so I borrowed the seasons 1-4 from the library and saved up my allowance and babysitting money so that I could buy them. I soon became known as the Buffy girl at my school (I was even voted "most obsessed" in eighth grade).

My Buffy obsession quickly led me to become obsessed with other shows as well. First of course was Angel, which was a spin off of Buffy. Along with collecting all seven seasons of Buffy I collected all five seasons of Angel. I started following forums online talking about my favorite shows and new shows that I began watching. One forum I am a part of is
http://buffyforums.net/ I've collected all 5 seasons of The OC, 5 seasons of One Tree Hill (it's still on air so I have to wait for each new season to come out), all 3 seasons of Veronica Mars, and the collectors set of My So Called Life. I am working on collecting Burn Notice, Degrassi, Friends and Heroes.

I don't collect all the shows that I watch. I am an avid MTV reality show viewer, including The Hills, The City, The Real World, The Real World/Road Rule Challenge, Made and True Life. I do know that these shows are scripted and the reality is not real but I do enjoy these shows. I turn the media analyzing switch off in my head and just sit back and enjoy the drama. I find the plots funny and entertaining and just because it's not actually reality doesn't mean I can't enjoy it, it's just like another prime time soap opera. I enjoy watching music video compilations on the FUSE channel and Best Week Ever on VH1 (it's where I get all my pop culture news).

Along with watching the shows I also collect the music that they use in shows. I also found a website that lists all the songs that have ever been played on One Tree Hill, I tried to buy all of them but I ran out of money. http://oth-music.com/.Music has had a great impact on my life . It was never as noticeable as my obsession with television but it was something I could bring with me wherever I was. I never realized how much I could learn and take from music until my 12th birthday when my cousin Josh sent me a mix CD. He was living in New York and sent me an indie mix of bands that he liked or had seen live. At the time I was listening to mainstream pop/punk music like Avril Lavigne and Good Charlotte. He opened my eyes. I listened to that CD for a month until I had enough money to buy the discographies of the bands I liked. One day when I'm working for a indie record label I'll send him a mix CD of my favorite indie music with a letter thanking him.

I am constantly changing the genre of music that I listen to the most, but Indie Rock has remained my comfort zone, what I always come back to. Most of the music on the television soundtracks I own are considered Indie Rock. It's interesting the way the community around this type of music works, where every band promotes their favorite band and so on, this creates a constant exposure to new bands without having to look very hard. Listening to my favorite bands, reading about how they came together, and learning what it takes to record a CD and go on tour has inspired me to want to work with bands and help them promote and create a new community that someone like me would want to join. I want to learn to be able to create that kind of community, to find a band and promote them and have a group of people talk about what that music means to them.

My obsession with television, pop culture and music has all come together to make me the analytical media observer that I am today. Trying to understand why things are shown and not shown makes everything so much more interesting and gives you so much more to look for. Media is deep, no matter how superficial the quality is, there is something underneath, there is reasoning for the choices made. I want to be someone who makes those choices, someone who is in control of what the public sees and hears, and the person that makes people ask questions about what they're experiencing. That's my goal. Even to this day I can say that my media use is purely educational, not the actual content of the shows I watch or the music I listen to but what I can see that others can't, I have become a media analyst.

The Hush Sound {Media Literacy}

Genre: Indie Rock

Yet another band I have been lucky enough to see in concert. The two lead singers, Greta and Bob are both strong charismatic performers but in a way that does not overpower each other. This band also makes it impossible to forget the bassist and drummer, Chris and Darren, who do the backup vocals. This is especially prevalent in their latest single "Medicine Man" which heavily relies on the drums and bass to add a strong beat to backup the Greta's competitively strong voice. I believe that this is an amazing feat for a group, to make every part of the band noticeable. Another thing they did in concert to do this was giving Greta drumsticks and have her switch places with Darren, he sang her part and she played the drums, or it might be more accurate to say she attempted to play the drums. I listen to their newest CD "Goodbye Blues" in my car a lot. I listen to it loud, and yes I do get strange looks. The Hush Sound is not a band you hear blaring, driving down the street often, but it should be. Greta's voice is meant to be played loud. They're not an angry rocker band, but they are not a 'everything is marshmallows and rainbows' band either. Their lyrics range from sad, empowering, excited, happy, angry, so on and so forth, and yet every one of their songs is full of such enthusiasm that there is never a wrong time to be listening to it. For the people who have never heard of The Hush Sound or want to know more about them click the links below. Their discography is on iTunes and they have a constantly updated MySpace page. I also strongly suggest that if you ever have an opportunity to see this band live, take it, you will not regret it

http://www.thehushsound.com/

http://www.sweettangerine.net/index.php

I also added a good interview I found by TV Guide with Greta and Bob.

Cassy and Deb's Ultimate Blog 3

AD Deconstruction {Media Literacy}

I found this ad when I searched "weird commercials" on youtube. Due to the language they are speaking in the commercial you can tell that it is foreign. It's 40 seconds long, which is an average length for a television commercial. This commercial is educational rather than made for selling a product, but they sneak in the brand Zazoo condoms at the end. The audience for this commercial is sexually active men from teens to their twenties. The fact that the father is a young man depicts this. This commercial tells a story of a man and his son in the grocery store when the boy throws a fit over not being able to get his "sweeties". When this happens the man looks lost in the situation and like he has no idea what to do. When they show the exasperation on the man's face text shows up saying "USE CONDOMS". There is a large lack of information in this commercial like, where to buy condoms, who you can talk to if you have questions about sex. They barely advertise the brand of the condoms until the very end and only for a moment. They very much appeal to the fear in young men that they will be stuck with a kid after having sex, so they offer a alternative to have safe sex rather than become abstinent. The weakness in this advertisement is that not all people think that having kids is a bad thing and it could be considered offensive.

There is a young man and a child used in the commercial and surrounding grocery shoppers to show the horror of the child throwing a fit. The setting is a grocery store, a normal, everyday setting to show that this incident could happen to YOU. It was also set at the grocery store to put it in public to show the embarrassment that the man face because he has a child who threw a fit in front of everyone. The boy screaming gets annoying really quickly to show how easily YOU would get annoyed with a child. The closeup on the mans face makes the annoyance very obvious. The intended effects of the ad is to get people to think twice before having unsafe sex because they might be put into the same situation the man in the commercial is being put into. One of the unintended effects of this commercial is that it upsets the people who believe in abstinence until marriage. This ad is very controversial because it shows a child as a consequence of sex when many people believe that it is the reason for it. I don't think that this ad is very effective because for the people who want kids find it offensive and the people who agree with the commercial are most likely performing safe sex already to avoid having a child. I personally found it funny and so did the people my age with the same beliefs about safe sex that I asked to watch it. I believe that this commercial is majorly for entertainment and shock value.

Rilo Kiley {MediaLiteracy}

Jenny Lewis is a strong woman. She is something I aspire to be. I don't want to be a musician, I'm not very talented in that field, so it may seem confusing that I say this. It's the essence of this singer, actress, songwriter that makes me not want to be someone else, even her, but to become more of myself than I've ever thought possible. I've been listening to the band Rilo Kiley a lot, the lead singer is the previously mentioned Jenny Lewis. A year ago I was lucky enough to see Rilo Kiley perform at The Ogden theater in Denver with my friend Luke. It was our first (and last) date and even though he was a very nice guy he was overshadowed by the lyrics and attitude that emitted from this small powerful redhead. The reason that I have been listening to Rilo Kiley more frequently lately is because I have become confident enough in myself to be in a relationship, have a job, go to school and live a life separated from my home and friends without losing myself. I found peace with myself and learned that I didn't need people in my life to make me happy, this made the people I did choose more satisfying to have there. This band's music reminds me of point when I realized all of this was possible and that I could do it on my own.

Check them out for yourselves at:
rilokiley.com

Cassy and Deb's Ultimate blog on Youtube