Final Project 12/16

For my final project, I have created a mockup of a media resource website for a new University of Minnesota campus wide Media Literacy group we are exploring to be spearheaded by a partnership between the Libraries and the Digital Media Center (OIT).

The site is here: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/spic0016/medialit/


Background (objectives and site use):

In the Libraries, we like to think of media literacy as a 3 pronged philosophy with media literacy as an umbrella, and support for non-print media resources ("reading") and student-produced media ("writing") as the two core components of our media program. Of course, as we have learned, there is much more to being media literate depending on your audience and objectives (certainly, I have a lot more understanding of "critical media literacy" now).

There is more to it, but one part of my job is to go out and assist faculty with developing student-produced media assignments, make class visits to discuss the production process and services, and then providing equipment loans and on-demand support to students producing media in the SMART Commons Wilson/Walter.

The DMC also provides consulting services, as well as training on use of media tools and pedagogy (we taught a digital teaching seminar last summer together), in addition to technology assessment.

With all that said, when surveys go out every 2 years, we still find the number one concern is how to effectively integrate technology into curriculum. And I will admit, if you are a faculty member in a non-media intensive discipline (e.g., Sociology) and wanting to assign something like a video project to your students, there are resources (e.g., equipment, production stations, student production support) available, but they are inconsistent across campus (St. Paul has very little) and not always easy to ferret out. In addition, this may be your first time developing an assignment so where do you go for support with the various technology support groups on campus.


And that only covers the production support end of things. Remember media literacy is also about being able to think critically about the information you are consuming in all forms/genres. So, it is my responsibility to help faculty use non-print media resources (e.g., images/audio/video) to support their teaching as well. We license a great deal of digital content, and also have large physical non-print media collections, in addition to the vast repositories of online audiovisual resources.

So combining these elements (critical media literacy, student-produced media, media resources) and with a group on the horizon, I thought it would be a good idea to take a stab at a comprehensive site.

Here are the objectives (educate faculty):
1) What is media literacy and why is it important?

2) Why would I want to integrate media resources into my curriculum and how does that support not only reinforcing my learning objectives, but also media literacy?
a) Where can I find support for using the resources?
b) What media resources are available here on campus and online?

3) How can student-produced media projects enhance their learning, but also support media literacy?
a) Where can I find support for developing and assessing the effectiveness of student-produced media assignments?
b) What resources are available (they are varied by class/dept./college/campus wide)?
c) Can you show me some examples of media projects other instructors are integrating into their courses to teach?

4) What is critical media literacy? Where can I find resources on this topic and others?



Site Use:

While still a work in progress (my site) speaks to the above questions:

Home Page: Brief introduction of media literacy and the purpose of the site.
Why media?: Addresses the question of why it is important to create a multimodal environment and how that is beneficial.
Media Projects:Examples of some student media projects here on campus and the value of student-produced media assignments.
Media Resources:Starts to highlight some of the wonderful non-print media resources we offer (paid money for) here on campus and beyond to support teaching.
Project Dev. Support: Highlights some key resources on campus to provide support on developing media assignments.
Student Support: Discussion on local resources available to support student produced media.
Critical Media Literacy: Defines critical media literacy and why this approach is important in understanding information in the digital age, and its context within varying disciplines.
Digital Tools: Tools that can be used to support media production.
Media Literacy Bibliography: List of sources (articles, books, websites, videos) that better explain the importance of media literacy and uses of media in the classroom.

Film adaptation integration into Media Studies curriculum 12/10

In light of all the media discussion around current conservative rhetoric surrounding the election of Barack Obama, in addition to this new digital world that we live in where privacy is an afterthought (and this generation is alright appears to be OK with this), national wiretapping - U.S.A Patriot Act on library circulation, and information is less and less offered in tangible formats (e.g., 1984 being silenced on the Kindle) I would encourage students in my ideal media studies class to read and then view film portions of Orwell's/Radford's 1984 with a mind on these particular discourses.

Some key text reading differences:
In the spirit of the Rachel Malchow Lloyd assignment (I know her family, by the way), I think it might be helpful to recognize some of the political differences in the two mediums. It's been a couple years, but apparently two major differences according to the Wikipedia entry are 1) evidently in the film party members are called "brothers"/"sisters" instead of comrades, which is interesting considering the Cold War was still very much in effect during 1984 (boycotted Olympics), but still fits with the 1980's language. In addition, Neo-Bolshevism is also mentioned explicitly in the book but not in the film.

Going back to my original point, I would like to students in my class produce a modern adaptation of 1984 (not a futuristic one mind you) within the contexts of media defined "conservative attitudes", information privacy, and information permanency. I think the distopian feel would still need to be there, so I would be careful for the students to make the film too modern. That said here is a possible story idea using many of the elements from the book/film.

For example, in producing some video or through image/audio on Voicethread, I could see students getting creative with a Kindle that has an e-book of 1984 on the screen, and then someone playing "Winston" in the Ministry of Truth pushes a button, and all of a sudden the book is gone.

Or someone is using Skype, and types something that is an NSA code word (e.g., Facebook on Obama assassination), and then an FBI agent shows up to the door - and you get some notoriety on the 24 hour news stations (themselves a kind of Big Brother in the cult of amature).

Students could even weave in our own cultural discourse on the influence of 1984 in the way we think about rights, privacy, and government roles/manipulation.

The point of this would be to show how the sounds and visuals inherent to the text provide a different level of texture, but not necessary a superior one. I think by bridging the gap between the 1940's when this was written (likely a reason why Neo-Bolshevism was not brought into 1980's film) and its very real application in the modern world; I think students could get a real understanding of how Orwell's world came to be and perhaps how it exists today in certain regions of the world (e.g., Iran, North Korea). Finally, not to be too alarmist as the Internet has a multitude of perspectives, but also how it could come to be within our society with so few true independent mass media channels.

Music Poetry Post 12/3

I have to be honest, I had difficulty being honest about the choice of song and musicians to select for this post. You see, going into high school I liked heavy rock music like Guns' N Roses and Led Zepplin, which graduated to alternative grunge with Nirvana (I still like both to some extent). But something weird happened to me when I was a senior. I became an obsessive Beatles fan (over a girl), and that may have been the start of a movement towards a more chilled adult contemporary, who knows? As I have gone through my 20's and now early 30's, it seems I have mellowed out a bit - at least with respect to music. (There was a stop in Techno, and pop, soul, and blues music have long been a standby as well).

Today, you are more likely to catch me listening to Ben Folds Five, Rufus Wainwright, Mason Jennings, or Regina Spektor. The song I chose to discuss is Regina Spektors' "Laughing With". The truth is this is a new song, so I don't really have a sentimental attachment to this song like I do others. However, what I like about Regina's songs is that she uses different vocal functions (such as the glottal stop (sp?)). Additionally, she writes her own lyrics, and they often include fantastical stories or in the case of "Laughing With", riddled social commentary that can be interpreted in different perspectives.

This song is about God, and the idea that people take God for granted until they are in dire straights or want something. It's unclear if she is pointing out the hypocrisy of this behavior, her questioning the existence of God, or if she is merely commentating on what she observes as our peculiar social relationship with the God. She lists all the reasons when "no one is laughing at God" such as:

When they are starving, freezing or poor.
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else And they hope that they’re mistaken

But then returns to the dismissive nature of God in postmodern American cultural context:

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke


So this is why I like Regina. She has a compelling personality, melody, and appearance. Her music is upbeat (even in minor), her songs are full of wit, and she has developed a cult following as a kind of humble, shy, entertainer with this great energy.

Which leads me to answer the larger question. Why do I like this genre of music? Well, I would say that race/culture (Regina is from a Jewish heritage), education, political ideology (she is most definitely, liberal), perceived socio/cultural-economic status all play a role as well. Not that everyone at her concerts is a young 30 something, non-married, white, Jewish, liberal, academic media librarian - but I would suspect that if I were sitting at a table with fellow fans, I would certainly relate to them more so than say, country music lovers...Though through Taylor Swift we might be able to find some middle ground! :)

Genre Analysis 11/19

The documentary that I have chosen to discuss is Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. In this documentary, Michael Moore explores the issue of gun violence in America, highlighting the massacre at Columbine High School at the hands of Dillon Kleibold and Eric Harris.

His central thesis is not that the high rates of gun violence in America are tied to gun ownership per say (despite the studies referenced by Wikipedia suggesting otherwise*), but rather a fear culture precipitated by the media (and his ever-critical analysis of the government). To support the idea the gun violence is not related to gun ownership, he travels to Canada where if I recall there was a higher relative percentage of gun ownership, but people feel comfortable unlocking their doors.

The intended audience of this documentary (borderline feature film - though I agree with his sentiment), is a mostly liberal minded, educated, middle-upper class.

Moore uses numerous filming techniques in Columbine (and most other of his documentaries). He makes random interview appearance with related key figures (e.g., KMart execs, Charlton Heston for the NRA), combined with video montages of shocking images, text, sounds, voice-over narration, and numbers...lots of numbers that look like data.

My primary criticism of Moore's films are that they are meant to shock, and he conveniently ignores research that disputes his theories (such as the suggestion that there is not a correlation between gun ownership and gun violence).

I think the point Moore is making in Columbine about our violent culture (e.g., mass media, Internet, entertainment), is believable because it helps shape the context, the discourses that we live in. Because critical discourse is such a difficult subject to explain to people as a rationale for school gun violence, Moore makes the mistake of his caricaturing and manipulating scenarios to try to bend to fit his need. I know it's not as entertaining, but this is where Moore loses credibility and authenticity.

I mean really, did he need to torpedo Moses (I mean Heston) to suggest the right-leaning NRA is responsible for creating this culture of fear, and according to Moore's thesis, gun violence?

I'm not sure, but it certainly was a provocative film nonetheless.



*Mentioned as a critique of Moore's documentarian bias, not necessarily as a proponent one way or another as I did not read the original source material and critique the study.

Media Critique for 11/12

Log: (critical analysis in bold)
KSTP: ABC News Eyewitness News (website: www.kstp.com)

H1N1: Health/Consumer 3:01 “H1N1 Affects Blood Supply”
- Many Americans still waiting
- Some will die because access not available to shot
- Ill donors and flu myth not donating blood
- Economy means less sponsors, less donors

Millions waiting for shots, and people are going to die. 4,000 have died up from 1,200. This combined with people not wanting to give blood because of scare of catching swine flu. Many Americans still waiting. -Clear play on people's fears. In fact there are several additional Swine Flu/H1N1 stories on the homepage. No question Swine Flu makes for good copy. Never mind that thousands more die annually from regular flu. Health experts interviewed, B roll of people getting shots.



Small Washington Co. Town Shaken by Murder: News 2:02
- Authorities trying to solve murder
- Small town, suspect seen, not from around the area
Video footage of dusty vacant roads to describe how desolate and small home this place is.

St. Paul Teen Didn’t Drink Himself to Death: News 2:08
- “Was it too much drinking or something more?”
- Reporter asked if Vue (teen) drank himself to death. Why? Because he was at a party? Does that upset you? (reporter asks)
- 15 year old, family upset that suspect was reported to die of drinking
- Clear that he is Laoisian
- Fight likely broke out. Died from internal bleeding.

Close up of sister with interview. Appeal’s to audience assumptions that Laosian teen was automatically drinking at the party – As in “did he die of drinking” the title of the piece. Actually, no one but the reporter suggested that was the cause of death. So the title was actually created by the reporter!


Minnesotans Endure Tropical Storm Ida in El Salvador: News: 2:10

- People returned from home from El Salvador
- Group from Thrivent-Financial building homes for Habitat for Humanity
- 14 inches dumped. Footage of helicopters, “waters rushing from mountains to sea” Images of building ruined

Perhaps a little bit sensationalized: Description of friends clinging trees, more then 500 confirmed dead (in the country), many more missing, friends (i.e., Americans) could have been killed but were saved.

Businesses Can Enter to Win Free Office Space: News: 1:38

- Drawing, company is trying to convince people to office with them. One winner gets a year of lease. Push to fill it up. 14% vacancy rate in downtown Minneapolis. Stimulus package.

What I would classify as the "cute" story. How businesses are getting creative to attract business. No analysis on how those who could not afford to rent now would be able to do so in the future. Feel good story nonetheless.

Sports: Fire Coach Byron Scott (AP) Nothing new there, but interesting Ad for WWII (masculine) documentary.

Toyota ad (X4),
Interesting Ad for EyeTeam Report: Kids in Schools without vaccinations – Parents opting out of shots. Are parents putting you and your kids at risk? Health expert interview again, and of course the shocking intonation in the voice offer "Are parents putting you and your kids at risk?" Watch to find out!

Media I consume in a week:
Radio: KDWB (Clear Channel), MPR (Public), KQRS Morning Show (Disney)
TV: CNN (Time Warner), History Channel (A&ETV), Comedy Channel (Sumner Redstone, MTV Networks Viacom), ABC (Disney)

Internet: Comcast - and doing a shoddy job at that.

Magazine: MacWorld (International Data Group)
Scholarly Publications: American Libraries (ALA), ACRL/ACRL News (ALA) Though there are a number of Reed Elseviere titles in there as well!

Music: Ben Folds Five, Rufus Wainwright (Sony), Regina Spektor (Warner) - Concert: Ticketmaster, Jam Entertainment(sp?)

Newspaper: Star Tribune (Who knows anymore - formerly Knight Ridder cum Avista Partners.

Websites: MinnPost, Columbia Journal Review, CNN, SportingNews, ESPN

Do I learn from alternative media (not gained through regular channels)? Without question. The amount of investigative reporting and sharp analysis is more significant in the niche alternative rags.

Study? Nah... Chi, Chi, Chi, Chia Eduspeak...

Why bother taking years' more courses, amassing stacks of highly typographical paper with administrators names you'll never meet, all so that you can sit through, and understand, a conference keynote exclaiming the next best "radical" pedagogical paradigm? I say skip the zig-zag and take the ladder to the top with: EduSpeak Open Content. With this tool you can...deploy multidisciplinary innovative linguistic discourse strategies to enable collegial dialogue across all your cohorts. And if you act now, we will enhance

Parody for 11/5

Here is what Walmart wants people to believe is their image on supporting health care:


See, we're just good down home people. How can you not trust grandpa, a man in a wheelchair, and the world's happiest pharmacist?

Here is the reality:

Beware falling prices

This program and commercial has been about reshaping WALMART's PR image on supporting health care.

While WALMART has made strides in its support of employee health care, as this Washington Post article indicates, they still have much work to do.

Presentation Posting on genre 10/29

http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=df98zk4f_4f7ndd7gp



Assignment: Pick 3 modern and 3 historical (40 years or older) TV/Film clip examples that exemplify a genre. Compare and contrast the style between the two time periods, and speak to its cultural context for the time. In other words, from what perspective did the audience receive their film.

Presentation Posting

http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=df98zk4f_4f7ndd7gp

NASCAR Fan Ethnography 10/22

This past week I had the pleasure to present at the Consortium of Colleges and Universities Media Center conference (CCUMC) in Greensboro, North Carolina. One of the keynote speakers was Janie Brown, retired prof. of the Physical Education Department of Elon University. Her expertise is the economics of sports, and in particular the history of NASCAR, so she presented on the economics and history of NASCAR which I found fascinating. Having some friends who appreciate the sport - while not entirely understanding it myself - I thought it would be interesting to take a glimpse into the social experience of the average NASCAR fan.

NASCAR has been widely cited as the fastest growing sport in the United States and second most popular, behind the NFL. According to Prof. Brown's presentation, the sport has its roots in the south, where the sport likely traces its roots originally to bootlegging moonshine. Would be outlaws took "stock cars", modified them with souped-up custom parts and outran police in chases to avoid arrest or later, taxation. This area in Wilkes county, particularly around the Appalachian which has long since been skeptical of government intervention, made celebrities out of these drivers. Over time, stock car racing became popular around the southeastern area and starting in the 30's as a racer and later promoter, William France, Sr. in the 40's incorporated NASCAR and began to enforce admission to watch races in Daytona, Florida. NASCAR expanded, and tracks were created elsewhere including Talladega speedway (AL), Charlotte Speedway (NC), Daytona (FL) and moving north to Indianapolis. Tracks can now be found across the country, but the base is widely cited as the south and midwest. As a result of these beginnings, and as one who was just in North Carolina during the Lowes Charlotte, NASCAR is very much embedded into the culture of the southeast. But, to be the second largest growing sport something else must be at work. I mention some possible rationale below during my observation.


So who is a NASCAR fan? According to a 2004 ESPN survey of adults, there are 75 million NASCAR fans (1/3 of all adults), the average fan is male though just barely (60/40), it is a sport with younger fans (54% are between 18-44), and are middle class (46% earn 30-70k; 41% earn 50K+). According to a Scarborough research report the race is overwhelming white (up to 86%), and 60% have some post-secondary education, according to Suite 101.


Perhaps, nothing is as telling about the appeal of NASCAR as its orientation as a family sport. 60% of viewers are married, and 37% have children under 18 (compared to 34% of the general population) according to the ESPN survey.

______________________________________________________________

I observed my friends (a close friend and his wife) and interviewed them watching the NASCAR Sprint race.

Observation and Interview:
Discuss the specific social viewing/game participation practices that you observed:

My friend often switched back and forth through out the afternoon. It seems that NASCAR is more like a sport that is watched off and on Sunday afternoon. In addition, the event is not necessarily as much about a particular race but the standings over an entire racing season. His wife stopped in for a bit, then a son was watching, channels were flipping, people were relaxing even sleeping.

I suspect that the passive viewing experience is partially responsible for its popularity (tv on and spending Sunday afternoon with the kids (they have 2), as mentioned in the family demographics above). I heard their older son exclaim "the M&M car!" the car of Kyle Busch, their favorite driver.

In contrast, earlier my friend and I were watching football and were actively engaged, passionately yelling at the T.V. over each play. NASCAR does not appear to incite the same passion (perhaps, because it's hard to sustain over 500 laps!)

What was their shared social agendas?

I observed a loyalty to paying attention to a specific driver: Kyle Busch. This is something that was mentioned in Brown's presentation that often also translates into driver sponsor brand loyalty (e.g., Kyle Busch - M&M's).

My friend and his wife also mentioned that they became interested in Kyle Busch in part because her sister likes Busch, and they started following him. This commitment by association for fandom is fascinating, as other sports generally gather a following due to geography.

How were their social purposes for responding shaping their responses?

Their interest was shaped by their internal and extended family. It appears to be one of the few shared recreational experiences they share as husband and wife. In addition, there appears to be shared experience with extended family through being fans of Kyle Busch.

What were the shared stances?

They both like Kyle Busch. My male friend is also a fan of Tony Stewart.

What was the relationship between their own stances and the stance invited by the text or context (T.V.)?

The race correspondents generally appear agnostic to particular drivers. They report what is happening and try to explain strategy. The reporting of the race itself did not appear to incite a reaction.

How do these shared stances reflect their attitudes or certain discourses?

That said, there is a ticker at the top of the screen and my friends were commenting that certain drivers did not deserve to be at the top. For example, Kyle Busch was farther back, and they were shocked another driver was near the top. Having both appreciate the same drivers provided this framework.
____________________________________________________________

While the presentation, research, and observation still leave me challenged to fully explain the appeal of NASCAR racing, for the home viewer (people who attend the events live are a different discussion), I believe that significant appeal relate to:
1) social acceptance derived from shared dedication to one or few drivers
2) the relaxed weekend viewing experience with family
3) cultural identity (particularly in the south and midwest)
4) some appreciation for motor sport (these cars move fast!) and strategy
5) drama, including crashes and driver's personas (e.g., Kyle Busch is a bad guy).



Please note: I did not want this piece to be about repudiating or confirming the stereotype of a NASCAR "redneck"(generally portrayed as a white, southern male, with Christian social conservative values (old southern democrat), racist, poor hygiene, uneducated, and lower class).

While some of these aspects may be visible in some of the base, stereotypes of course, do not ascribe themselves well to empirical study (i.e., what is considered uneducated? Low class? "Redneck" (other then nominal Irish descent)?) So I wanted this to be a study of what I researched and observed. For the record, one of the two friends are well educated (he is an engineer and has a UofM degree in Aeronautical Engineering, she has no post-secondary experience), they live in the midwest - Michigan, could be considered a Christian values conservative Republican, is likely solidly middle-class, white, married, racially tolerant, and lives in a suburban home. They fit the demographic reported by NASCAR, but not necessarily the one that I began my study with.

Critical Race and Discourse in Media Stereotyping Perspective Assignment 10/8

I was watching Transformers 2 tonight, and I was immediately taken aback when I noticed 2 goofy looking, characters in the movie Mudflap and Skids that were designed as stereotypical urban African Americans. Michael Bay, the director himself, apparently acknowledged as much in an interview with the Association Press but was not concerned suggesting that this was the way the voice actors chose to voice these characters, dismissing the characters as simply being robots. Though the movie was shallow on plot, I have difficulty believing that the racist cartoonish depiction of these two characters would be left up to voice actors, and was not instead planned to appeal to young white audiences with preconceived perceptions.

There is a particularly poignant scene early in the film when the two robots are asked to read a tattoo, and they say with an urban accent (below: 1:48) "we don't really do much reading" - thus reinforcing race stereotypes, without question.

The perspectives I am reading these characters from include both critical race and critical discourse perspectives as African American obstacles to literacy derive from slavery and continued cultural and economic barriers to education. Despite Mr. Bay's assertion, anyone with some minor history understanding should be able to understand just how insensitive two goofy looking, African American sounding characters stating their illiteracy actually is.




The above is copyright of Paramount Pictures, 2009. Persuant to section 107 of the Copyright Act excerpt of this material is believed to be used for fair use under:
“quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment"

Practice Video

For my practice video I created a little mashup of the experience SMART supported with the PSTL 1906 - Water Sustainability. This experience culminated in a public
symposium, where many of the subjects the student's interviewed were present.

Life as a House Scene Selection

For this weeks assignment, I have chosen to break down a particularly moving scene from Life as a House.








This movie had a significant impact on me years ago when I first saw it. I was able to relate to the character Sam and so it was effective in moving me emotionally (still is, though Hayden's follow up role in Star Wars has taken some of the shine off this acting).

Introductions

Here is my introduction video

Begin Here VLOG Post

I chose to examine the personal VLOG post of Begin_Here as my assignment. This video is cool on so many different levels.

First, this is an inspirational piece. The creator uses speeding rapid side-scroll text as a literal message ("you can start right here, just buckle down, just focus focus your eyes"), metaphor, and physical provocation to focus and realize that skill can become second nature with time, sensitivity, and concentration.

From a technique perspective, the interplay of the fast - but smooth video, a techno rhtythm (homemade), over the fast moving text, and slow moving background of a child drawing video plays well. Because these three mediums are not overly fighting each other (except for certain back lighting portions), the audience is actually comfortable playing along with the creator's game.

Without diving too deeply into the realm of schema theory: immersion and engagement (Douglas and Hargadon, 2001), I believe the type of audience that would most greatly appreciate this title (and perhaps who it was designed for), are those who want to take the challenge to become more deeply engaged with the content and keep playing it back to try and get down what the rolling text says.

Great article from CRJ and NY Times on the new Google Flip-Fast technology search. I reiterated some of the points in my current blog post.

CNN also used the occasion of the Flip-Fast launch, to report on Bing's bucket search type approach for images. A kind of arms race between the search engines is brewing, and this has important ramifications for how we find and consume (e.g., aggregation) information.