"With Friends Like These", "Killing Us Softly", "The Making of a Media Literate Mind"

“With Friends Like These”

Thesis: Facebook, a.k.a. Big Brother, claims to create meaningful connections, but really just isolates people, while profiting from their personal information through 'narrow-casting' marketing.

Agree:
I agree that Facebook’s use of personal data is disturbing. When you are on Facebook, it seems you've submitted yourself for personalized advertising and are “in the system”. Not only this, but also the CIA can check you out. I haven’t broken any laws nor am I really worried about the ads Facebook might throw at me, but it seems wrong and having your personal data up for sale just doesn’t seem right. I also agree that Facebook is a wonderful, yet deceiving, business idea. Once the program is created, you just let people flock to it, submit their information for advertisers, and they experience the warm fuzzy illusion of connection.

Disagree:
I disagree that everyone should Facebook because Peter Thiel owns 7 percent of the company. He may be a shady character, but what about the other 97 percent of ownership? I’m sure many other very popular companies have many more creepy neocons in their ranks, say perhaps Google. There are many reasons not to support Facebook, but I don’t think this one man should play much of a role in that decision.
I also disagree with the dark tone cast upon Facebook. I think the business is genuine in that it was created to help people connect and still strives to do that (perhaps whether it does is up for each individual to decide). The privacy aspect is simply something that people should be aware of in using the tool. Using our information that we post to market to us is just common sense for any entrepreneur. Facebook isn’t evil, but still, I’m not sure I trust it.

Also: I deactived my Facebook account the other day. I decided it's really not worth anything to me except to waste my time and the privacy stuff weirds me out. The deactivate page had pictures of my "friends" saying "So-and-so will miss you". This encouraged me to deactivate. I will give it a week then probably delete my account, which is possible: http://antisocial.nectareen.com/how-do-i-delete-my-facebook-account/

Killing Us Softly 3

1.Advertising in America has made pornography mainstream. It’s an absurd statement, but a moment’s reflection shows it’s totally accurate.
2.Human qualities are divided in half- masculine and feminine and the feminine traits are devalued. We are all half people. That is the ideal that has been put forth for us, to aspire to become half of a person.
3.The message sent to women is that their body is most important and if they buy they can get it right, but they can never reach the computer generated standard.
4.Advertising sells concepts, such as defining what is normal. I repeat, advertisers have actual control over what is normal. Not okay.
5.Attitude change is needed from ‘aware, active, educated’ citizens (not consumers). At stake is the ability to live an authentic and freely chosen life.

The film made me frustrated by how our culture is forced upon us by advertisers, and we don’t even know it. The past couple years I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with my life and how I can create change through whatever career I find. I had been looking at the political arena- politicians, lobbyists, etc., but maybe advertising and mass media has found an even higher rung on the ladder. They determine our culture, deciding what’s normal, and telling us what to want, and determining our values

Jean Kilbourne uses some propaganda techniques very effectively. She scapegoats the advertising industry for all of these problems. I’m sure they’ve found ways to pass the blame. She definitely appeals to our sense of fear, showing us the disturbing influence of ads. Humor is interjected into her script, which definitely ads to the power of her message as she mocks the ads. I’m sure there were many rhetorical questions. Timing is well played, with offensive ads played after her main points to back them up. Strength is also a big part in that she shows that we have lost our power to determine our own lives and that we need to take it back.

“The Making of a Media Literate Mind”

The first half of the article basically emphasized what we have already learned, punctuated by this line, “For the first time in human history, Gerbner notes, most of the stories about people, life, and values are told not by parents, schools, churches, and others in the community who have something to tell, but by a group of distant conglomerates that have little to tell and everything to sell”. This is a powerful statement and it’s as disturbing as it is true. What I enjoyed about the article was how it transformed the cynicism and discontent it generated into actions. The five actions were certainly a “simple solution”, but even if just those were implemented in every public school it would make such a difference. I think the point of using the media to teach is very important, both for media literacy and just as a way to reach students. According to Rob Williams, solving the “media problem” can be solved by giving the storytelling powers to students. It’s an eye-opening solution, providing freedom from the mass media by creating our own media. In the generation of YouTube and Twitter, that may be possible.