Toxic Sludge, Outside vs. TV, PSA

Toxic Sludge
I think the opening quote really shows how significant corporate power has become and how big of a role propaganda plays in allowing this to happen. It shows that without these billions of dollars being thrown into public relations, corporate power would not even resemble the monstrosity that it is today. Democracy to me means the active involvement of citizens in their government. For most people, this means voting. For true democratic citizens, this means fighting for a cause, whether that’s helping a candidate win election or fighting the creation of a landfill in your town. Democracy is about people working for the improvement of society by influencing the government’s actions from a local to international level. Without this pressure, the government has no reason to do anything besides follow the interests of corporate power and influence, which they have a tendency to do currently. As the article stated, citizens must keep a “constant vigilance”. The unchecked power of the public relations industry to secretly influence public opinion is certainly a barrier to true democracy. Currently, we are a nation excepting propaganda for news, while what we need is objective reporting that shows the issues and facts, allowing people to draw their own conclusions. I believe that the solution for true democracy may lie in the repossession of the media by the citizens. I think citizens should exercise their democratic rights by simply getting involved. I think the best way is to pick a fight and latch onto it. A citizen who is passionate, focused, and informed can be a powerful force. In a truly democratic country, everyone is involved with the government’s actions. The news informs us of the possible problems in our society and the politicians are directed by the citizens to act on these issues or their jobs will be at stake. The government, corporations and the media are controlled by the people. The hope is that people everywhere are making change for the better. Everyday, someone is out there working to fix a problem in society and sometimes the good guys win. My role is acting as an informed, involved citizen. My goal is to work to gradually become more and more involved in issues that I care about. I have been doing well at informing myself on these issues. I have signed a few petitions and even occasionally written to the press or elected officials. Now, I plan to step up my efforts to the next level by either getting more involved with many issues or committing to work on one problem (or both). It may be tough and depressing work, but I think that taking part in the fight is really what matters and any victory will be a great reward and lead to the encouragement of others to join the battle which will make it all worthwhile.

Select Observations:
TV
-a bit tenser than outside
-angry at commercials- lack content, blatant manipulations attempts, propaganda techniques, wonder if there's actually a show on this channel or if it's just commercials
-feel controlled and alone
-feel sluggish, eyes glaze,
-look at watch and out window
-consider stupidity of the actual show's content

Outside
-feel good, noticeable mood improvement
-calm, peaceful, free
-optimistic- it's hard to feel down when you're sitting in the sun
-consider that some people rarely experience this in any way
-notice the wind, sun, clouds, trees swaying, etc.- appreciation for nature's beauty
-see people having fun, family and friends interacting
-time to think deep thoughts

PSA
In my PSA group, we have decided on our topic and worked out a storyboard that seems like it will be very effective in portraying our message of "unplug". Our group seems to be working well together and the project has been progressing smoothly. Next time, we plan to begin filming and perhaps then we should divide some responsibilities such as editing, adding music, research for text, etc. So next class, I plan to do some filming and determine the exact text of the video.