COM101 Blog Entry #7 : How the media treat murder

How the Media Treat Murder

http://www.newsweek.com/id/218911?GT1=43002

This article came across to me as rather disturbing and I have decided to blog about this for my next entry. (Sorry I'm getting back to more serious articles to analyze, guys) The article basically speaks about how the media chooses to disseminate certain information whilst keeping certain details away from the general public. The issue at hand in this article by Newsweek is that the murders of black women in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina are being ignored by the media, despite the probability of a serial killer on the loose. Instead, the media chooses to disseminate information pertaining murders of white women. Here we do not know the real issue of why the media has omitted such information from their articles, however, to the general public, this may come across as some sort of prejudice.

My main basis of analysis here would mostly pertain to the fact that the media filters certain information they choose to disseminate. As we have learned in Unit 4, Mass Media is the medium in which the general public receives information. Mass media, however, does more than just provide information. It educates, entertains, and most importantly, influences the lives of those who receive this information. The linear transaction model shows the one-way transaction of information. However, in real life, most media, be it the newspaper, television, or radio, are based on the interactive model, which shows that feedback from the receiver occurs. Based on this article, we can see that, due to the feedback received from viewers (receivers), the media is being put in a bad light because (according to my view) they are being accused of prejudice against the black minority in America.

Why the media choses to filter such information is a mystery (they too, have their politics). According to the article, some have said that some of these black women who were murdered were involved in drug abuse and prostitution. As such, the media chooses not to take this situation seriously because no loss is done to society as they are the malcontents of society (Pardon the words I use, this is just based on my perception and understanding). Nevertheless, this has caused much alarm from the general public, especially the black community, because they feel like they are being fringed from society. The media probably has a reason for doing this, however, they should still appeal to the receivers and not show any form of bias or prejudice.

*check out the url if you'd like to see the full article =))

COM101 Blog Entry #6 - Fire Burning

Sean Kingston's Fire Burning

First things first, I chose this video to give my readers some eye candy away from the boring (though undeniably hilarious) videos. This would probably give kicks to music fans. Yes, I know this song is getting pretty old, but I still totally dig it, and I know a lot of you do too! In this entry I will analyze the ways in which the director makes this music video an uncontrollably addictive one. And you guys probably would have never even thought about a music video in this way. Till now, at least.

1) Stereotypes

This video is definitely a clear example of the portrayal of stereotypes. The portrayal of women skimpily dressed in short dresses, skirts and shorts are "defined" as the people of the "underground". Well, I say underground because the setting that this video is being taken does look like an unknown place where people (as shown in the video) congregate. But that's just my perception. Back to the stereotypes, women are being portrayed as sexy and, arguably, sleezy- the exact kind women that men love to ogle at. That was probably why the director chose to have such a setting; so as to attract the male audience who would end up salivating (exaggeration, or not) in front of their TV screens or computer monitors. Either way, though women are stereotyped as such, their physical appearance plays and important role in fitting in to the song and setting. Imagine innocent schoolgirls in the scene. Err.... (crickets)

2) Non-verbal Communcation : Kinesics

Alright, it's definitely impossible for me to make this analysis without criticizing on the non-verbal cues (since its all about dance and movement anyway). Let's first start with emblems. Ok I know this isn't exactly the orthodox emblem, but, have an open mind, will ya? Ok well the dance which they do for the part "Fire Burning, Fire Burning, on the dance floor" is sort of like an emblem because we can see that all the people in that underground club know about it as they are doing it as the song plays. In addition, emblems are culture-specific and this emblem-cum-dance-movement is probably a gesture that only the people in this "culture" are aware of. In addition, affect displays play a crucial role in this video because the facial expressions and body language of the dancers and surrounding people matter in making the whole scene seem believable to the audience. We can see how Sean Kingston projects a very enthusiastic expression as well as energetic body movements. The dancers, too, are very much in their zone as they are full of energy and hootspa and this is shown through their movements as well as facial expressions. Imagine a whole group of people with glum faces and sluggish posture. (Totally unglam!)

Other than that, hope you all enjoyed the video because I think after reading my analysis you guys would probably have the tendency to criticize music videos whenever you see one.

Video's addictive, ain't it?

COM101 Blog Entry #5 - Mind Your Language

Mind Your Language

I reckon I'd be blogging about videos for most of my subsequent entries because I can't seem to get enough it. There just seems to be so many amusing videos to analyse (from a communications perspective, of course). The best part is, at least I know I'm not just wasting my time watching videos when I should be studying, hah.

I totally love "Mind Your Language" and I think I'm addicted to it. I think this show is most relevant with communications because its about a bunch of people from different countries who are constantly misunderstood. The show's not just good entertainment but also a good source of analysis. In this analysis I'll touch on non-verbal cues and group communication. However, much of my analysis will hover around why language plays such an important role in effective communication.

1) Non-verbal Communication

Due to the lack of understanding between the individuals in the video, many resort to non-verbal cues as a means to repeat (by using illustrators). For instance, Ms Courtney uses hand gestures to illustrate directions so that Ali would understand it clearly. Mr Brown also had to use illustrators to get his students to sit down.

2) Group Communication

It is very apparent that there is communication breakdown within the classroom. Due to people coming from different cultures and backgrounds, all the people are unable to understand one another and thus this leads to a lot of miscommunication. This would be an example where group communication is inefficient because all members are not able to understand one another. Group socialisation (a situation where individuals and the group seek to influence each other to best meet their needs) is not evident as they are constantly arguing with one another. The chaos created in the classroom shows lack of regulation and thus the lack of group management.

3) Culture and Perception

Culture plays a major role here because all the characters are made up of people from different cultures and thus they learn different languages and they also have different ways of doing things. Thus their perception about certain things would differ. Specifically, the students of the class would perceive what the teacher is saying differently from what he really is trying to say. For instance, one of the students misunderstood the teacher when he introduced himself as "Brown". Mr Brown, too, misunderstood his student when he said he was "Sikh". Here we can see that our cultural background plays a crucial role in determining how we perceive others because we are accustomed to certain beliefs and lifestyles.

COM101 Blog Entry #4 - Miss Singapore World Interview

Miss Singapore World 2009 Interview

First things first, yes I know this is so "last season", but all we do when we watch this video is laugh uncontrollably at BOOMS and... you know...? Yah! Ok, jokes aside. My analysis on this interview would definitely not include any personal judgements about her being chosen as Miss Singapore or what she says, but more on the way she communicates. Besides, that's what all the fuss is about, right?

My analysis will focus on Non-verbal Communication and so I wouldn't be analysing so much of what she says, but more of how it is being communicated.

1) Physical Appearance

She is rather well-kempt and presents herself well. Her hair is neatly pulled back with natural make-up to enhance her features. From this we can interpret her as someone who is able to carry herself well, maybe a model, or someone in a profession that requires her to present herself well (maybe the media).

2) Oculesics (Eye Behaviour)

At the start of the interview, she looks directly at the camera, thus projecting confidence. Subsequently, she alternates between looking at the camera and at the interviewer.She tries to keep eye contact with either the interviewer or with the camera (audience), and this can be interpreted as her having a very friendly personality. Occasionally she will look either upwards or away, especially just after being given a question. This may indicate nervousness.

3) Paralinguistics (Vocal Behaviour)

Vocal quality : Her tone and pitch is more on the higher side and it tends to fluctuate often. There are certain words that tend to be higher in volume and thus it is emphasized (such as "red" and "loud"). This emphasis is known as accenting. The sudden increase in pitch and volume shows her excitement and enthusiasm about the topic.

Vocalizations : There are occasional giggles that, I would say, are supressed, and thus might indicate nervousness.

Vocal segregates : There are a few occasions where there are pauses, for instance at the start, when she pauses in between "Currently I'm majoring in my" and "Diploma in Health Science..." This short pause is accompanied by a retraction in eye contact and thus indicates some form of uncertainty or anxiety. In addition, she uses fillers such as "you know" and "yah." The use of fillers allow any speaker more time to think and formulate his or her thoughts. In this case, she is being interviewed and the fillers allow her to have a tad more thinking time whilst sorting out her thoughts. Fillers are very useful when it comes to speaking to an audience or during an interview. However, usage of the same fillers constantly might hamper the overall quality of the speech as it may be interpreted as uncertainty.

4) Kinesic (Body Movement and Gestures)

Throughout the whole interview, the interviewee has used two gestures that come alongside what she is saying. The first would be when she says "BOOMS" which is being accompanied by hand gestures that illustrate an explosion. The second would be when she says "strut down Orchard Road" and makes a hand gesture that illustrates a walk forward. In both cases, the use of hand gestures act as illustrators, which are gestures that accompany speech and add to the meaning of utterances. In addition, illustrators describe an object/event and indicate its size, shape or movement. These illustrators repeat what the communicator is saying.

The above analysis on the interviewee's use of Non-verbal Communication may have deeper implications however that will be up to the interpretation of my readers who are so kind so as to leave comments. =)

COM101 Blog Entry #3 - Banned Condom Commercial

Banned Condom Commercial - "Mama said I could"

I suppose the title is good enough to attract your attention, however, i'd have to disappoint you because the video and my critical analysis is free of filth.

I wanted to do an analysis on a banned commercial and sift through the strategies the company used and, ultimately, figure out the reasons why the commercial was banned. In case you're wondering, no, I did not purposely go around youtube looking specifically for a condom commercial but i chanced across this and it's SO cute, but of course, disturbing to certain extents at the same time. And anyway, the title's good publicity on my part.

Alright, let's go right down to the analysis. Now that you've seen the commercial, you may all have different takes and perspectives on it. Some of you may love the cute boy, and some of you may wonder the link between the boy's actions and condoms.. well, I'm about to give you my perspective, and you are all welcome to COMMENT!

Strategy #1 - Innocence (The use of children)

They used the small boy, who, amidst a very obvious mischievous look, seemed to always act innocently especially whilst screaming out "My Mom said I could!" Of course, the use of the small boy was meant to make the audience relate well to it because adults are generally attracted to kids. Thus this advertising company chose to use children as a means of grabbing the audience's attention
In addition, even though the boy is doing things he isn't supposed to do at that age, the audience would not associate him with "the streets", just for the simple fact that he's a boy.

Strategy #2 - Humour

As the boy does extremely outrageous things (some are only outrageous because they are illegal for him at that age), some audience may find it funny especially since he does all those acts but ends up saying "My Mom said I could!" and pushing the "blame" all to his Mom.
Furthermore, the kind of deviant activities that he does are all so outrageous to the extent that to the audience, it seems almost impossible for such things to happen in real life and thus it ends up being a humorous thing.

Strategy #3 - Progressive

The child progressively does more and more outrageous and dangerous (at that age) acts eg. eating a lot of icecream, touching a snake, getting a tattoo, vandalism, driving a car, then finally flying an airplane. From here we see the gradual build of interest that the advertising company is trying to instill in the audience.

Strategy #4 - Non-verbal Communication

The child has a subtly deviant and mischievous look on his face and this is part of the company's strategy of Non-verbal Communication. I think that the look the boy projects plays a major role in the success of the commercial because if he had been a boy who looked TOO innocent, then there would be more "Awwww...." moments and the audience wouldn't really notice that there's a real problem at hand. Of course, the audience needs to realise that there's a problem because it will help them to link that to the main idea of why the child is doing all those things (as shown at the end of the commercial)
Another apparent use of non-verbal communication would be the child's stance and the way he portrays himself whilst doing all those deviant acts. He seems to be tough and rough when doing all those things however, the anticlimax comes when he uses his Mom as an excuse. Most audience may not realise how much of an anticlimax it is, especially since it is alright for children to refer to their parents for everything.

Let's now analyze why this commercial was banned. If I were a critic, I would point out every single small detail about why this advertisement shouldn't go on air. And that's exactly what I'm about to do.

1) The juxtaposition of children and mischeviousness
Aside from the usual "Mummy, what are condoms?" questions, this commercial is practically dangerous if children watch it because they might think that it is alright for them to do such things (as done by that small boy). In addition, the poor boy in the acommercial had to go through so much counselling to make sure that he is aware that all those things he did are not real and just for a commercial. Either way, children and mischievousness just should not be portrayed on national television, especially since children are getting more puckish these days, anyway.

2) The submission of adults to the child
The adults in the commercial seem to immediately submit to the child when he says his "tagline". This can be seen in the scenes of the snake and the tattoo. This reversal of roles might annoy parents as they may not be too happy with the fact that children are rising above adults in decision-making. In addition this might have negative effects on children as, if they watch this, they might think that they have a certain extent of power over adults and take advantage of them

3) Animal Rights
As silly as this may sound, I love animals, and PUTTING A CAT IN THE WASHING MACHINE is totally not my thing. SORRY.

Well I hope you liked my analysis. DO leave your comments =))

COM101 Blog Entry #2 - Persistence of Memory

“Persistence of Memory”

Salvador Dali

I chanced upon this painting while surfing the net and it somehow seemed to grab my attention. This was a painting by Salvador Dali, a painter well-known for his surreal works. I did some research on Dali’s works and discovered that he did a bunch of paintings that were influenced by the surreal. Still I found this particular painting rather interesting as Dali uses certain methods of communication through his painting. In this analysis, I wish to comment on the way Dali communicates with his audience.

A person who is looking at the painting for the first time would notice a white apparition in the foreground, three white melting clocks and an orange clock, all being put into a bleak setting. The audience would certainly find the painter’s communication methods rather baffling at first. Undoubtedly, surreal paintings usually have such effects, especially when the audience is looking at it for the first time.

Upon further critique, the audience would realise other more specific features of the painting, such as the rigid angles and lines on the left side that are being juxtaposed onto a majorly natural setting. The audience would also notice the orange clock on the bottom left hand corner of the painting to be coated in black crumb-like objects.
What I find interesting about this painting is the fact that our first impression is not usually what it really is. Nevertheless, having false first impressions is part of the type of reaction a surreal artist wishes to get out of his audience.

Let’s start getting into the specific analysis of how Dali uses non-verbal forms of communication (symbols) to express himself.

1) The white apparition – It is, in fact, not really just a white apparition, but part of a face. The face seems to be melting, just like all the clocks. Many have said that the face represents Dali himself. This barely definable figure appears in many of Dali’s other works. I believe that chose to depict himself in much of his paintings to indicate his presence in the kind of world that he has created.

2) The melting clocks – Dali portrayed melting clocks as a symbol to literally represent the irrelevance of time. Melting clocks are undeniably the key feature in this painting that depicts the surreal. In my opinion, the use of melting clocks seems to indicate that Dali was trying to convey a message of distress. He communicates this in a very subtle way by taking a humble object, the clock, and transforming it so as to bring across a message.

3) The insects – upon further analysis, the black crumb-like objects on the orange clock are actually ants. In addition, a fly rests ever so peacefully on one of the clocks. These insects are being portrayed by Dali as a symbol of decay and decomposition, and probably death. Here he tries to emphasize the irrelevance of time by using objects that have negative and extreme connotations.

There are many other aspects of this painting that are essential in Dali’s overall message. In summarizing my analysis, I would like to point out the fact that a person’s perception of this painting may differ to others’. I may look at it as Dali trying to convey a negative message, however a friend may choose to say that the natural setting seems to provide a more optimistic light.

Dali has used various ways to communicate with the audience, either through ethos (how a person’s personality influences his or her perception of the article), pathos (how the article evokes emotions that may have effect on the person’s perception) as well as logic (or the lack of it, in this case, at least). For surreal paintings such as this one, a person uses his experience of logic to decipher what the painter tries to communicate.

If you're craving for more visual pleasure by Dali, visit
http://www.virtualdali.com/

COM101 Blog Entry #1 - Your Face Communicates

This is my first entry and I thought it would be fun to start of with some lifestyle tips, more specifically for the girls.

Ladies, check out this link:

http://www.todayonline.com/Style/EDC090905-0000038/Paint-a-pretty-picture

I read this article from todayonline - "Paint a pretty picture".

At first I thought it was about the visual arts, many would think so. Well, that's perception.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, its content includes make-up tips for the ladies. It includes how to achieve different looks such as a "Peachy blush" or "Bold eyes". But more importantly, it describes the kind of image we would like to portray, or communicate, when we use these make-up techniques.

Well this article just got me realising that even our most basic, yet most prominent, body feature, the FACE, plays a major role in non-verbal communication. Our face acts as a medium of communication and we can alter it any way we wish to, to achieve certain looks and just with a splash of colour, we change the image we wish to portray to others. Yes, the face is a passive feature, considering how else we can communicate (body language) however first impression overrules everything.

Many women choose to communicate by "painting" their faces because they have an objective in mind. Maybe they wanted to portray professional, or maybe flirty. Whatever the case, make-up, for many women, is passive COMMUNICATION.

On the receivers' end, reaction to this form of communication may differ. Too little and people may think, "Ugh, she looks pale". Too much and people will go "Aiyoh, WAYANG1 !". Well, this is perception. How different people perceive this type of communication will differ, and so will their feedback. Some may choose to ignore, some may give a disgusted look. Some may even start offering make-up tips to those who look like they're in need of it!

Ladies, communicate with your face, and you may achieve some very unsuspecting reactions! =)



**Wayang1 - dramatic