Final Post: Top Ten and Questions

I have learned a great deal in this class about many aspects of the media, including advertising, corporate power, public relations, social networking, and various media sources. For my top ten list, however, I’d like to focus on some of the bigger picture, activist tools that I’ve found:

10) "5 Questions to Ask About a Media Message". Perhaps the most important thing someone could come away with is to ask questions. As I remember reading, democratic societies encourage their citizens to think and analyze their problems and ask tough questions about them. It’s important to reflect on what people are trying to tell you and why they're saying it. Be a skeptic.
9) "How to be a Media Activist- 10 Actions You Can Take". I really liked the activism proposed in these ten actions because they are things that everyone can do, with some extremely simple and others requiring more effort. These actions provide a wide range of opportunities for action that can greatly change the media environment around us.
8) "29 Persuasive Techniques". These techniques are a great tool to see how people may be attempting to persuade you (consciously or not). It’s great to be able to break down an advertisement or campaign by seeing through its fake attempts to convince without providing real substance or solutions
7) 5 Questions from "The Making of a Media Literate Mind". I really like how this article provides simple ways for breaking down the media around us and understanding how we’re being influenced. Asking these five questions is a great way to see the big picture of media and its impacts.
6) The Five Memes. I found the Five Memes to be particularly important because they show the major or root problems that we face. Fixing just any one would turn society upside down and vastly improve the way we function, benefitting individuals, communities, and the environment. I see these as the big goals that activists should have their eye on in the present and near future.
5) Spontaneity. Kalle Lasn suggests to live in the moment and not get caught up in the “spectacle”. I think it’s important to occasionally analyze your life and routines and think about why you do what you do. I think we often just go through our lives habitually. Why are you going to McDonald’s? Why are you buying that iPad? When you look at it from that perspective, you can make the decision that you want to make and do what you want to do with your time and life, not what others are persuading you that you should.
4) Education. This follows the belief that an informed public will do the right thing, which is something that I strongly believe to be true. I think that the main reason that there is so much wrong with the world is that people don’t fully understand the problems and their root causes. For example, climate legislation is on the table without a huge majority of Americans even believing in it. Imagine what we could do if everyone fully understood the causes and consequences.
3) Activism. This is coupled with education in that people need to apply their knowledge to their lives and the world around them. They need to see that they watch too much TV, have newspapers full of PR news releases, and how advertising attempts to influence their lives.
2) Activism. As it says in ‘Culture Jam’, “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul”. I believe that it’s important for people to be involved citizens and get involved with issues, or at least to work for one cause that they are passionate about. Imagine if everyone had just one cause that they supported when and how they could and then friends and communities supported these causes. The world would be a truly changed and democratic place.
1) Optimism. To paraphrase another quote, “If life sucks, then fix a small corner of it”. There is no point to moping around as the world burns. I think there will always be ways to make the world a better place and make people’s lives better. This is why it’s important to keep fighting the fight and trying to change things. I believe the book had some mention of how any victory is very rewarding and how it brings encouragement to others.


Questions
After this course, I have a lot to think about. This new knowledge has really changed my perspective and altered how I think I should go about my future work in the world. Before this class, I knew I wanted to get into “communications” in a way that I could work to better connect people to understanding the problems in the world and how to act upon them. Now I understand the flaws in our media and government much more thoroughly and believe that biggest solutions will be found as a byproduct of solving these media problems. Now I am trying to apply what I learned to how I want to use it in my own life and plans for activism and a career.

My first question is: What do I know? I’m trying to assess what I know, what I’ve learned from this course, and trying to break (or condense) it into categories and key points.
My second is: What I can do with this information? I want to figure out the many options for activism that are possible and what it is that I want to try to change. I know there are many various ways to try to make a difference and I want to further determine which tools I would like to use and what goals I want to have.
Lastly, I want to know: Who can help me? I have started to look at some more of the resources from that previous blog post, where we analyzed one site. I want to utilize all the support I can in whatever goals I determine for myself, because I know there are many other people and organizations out there who are working on a similar cause or willing to help with whatever mine may be.