Duplicate Magazine Cover Assignment

These are my completed magazine covers. The cover on the left is the original cover and my cover which I tried to duplicated is on the right. I changed the color of the text on the bottom from yellow to orange in order to achieve the same continuity throughout the cover- the colors co inside with the colors from the image of the two towers. Lastly, I decided to just duplicate this cover because I feel that it says enough in itself and there is no need to change its message, for better or for worse. Additionally I think the replication gives off the same feel that the original does.

Blog Quiz: MEDIA GLOBALIZATION

1.The emergence or and continued dominance-small number of media conglomerates or transnational media conglomeration

It has become increasingly evident that major corporations and fortune five hundred companies are slowly taken over society. Very large companies are gaining control over many smaller branches which limits all of the media's control to very few central corporations. For example Time Warner has control over HBO and AOL as well as a variety of other television programs and networks and magazines. This could be incredibly detrimental to today's growing society because it places restraints on the smaller corporations which can stunt the growth of these companies and corporations in other networks (that could be useful in society as well as new and innovative). I believe that this could also have an effect on the advertising because it could limit what is being advertised through each different medium. For instance Time Warner could only being advertising there products and their services on their networks and through their services which makes it hard for other companies to integrate into the system. Although personally I don't think that this conglomeration really has much of a significant effect on today's society, it has been functioning for so long in such a way that the technological world has not been deeply effected in such a negative way that change needs to be sought out.

2. The promotion of the ideology of consumerism

This whole idea of consumerism can be closely linked to the notion of capitalism. An array of different questions can arise when beginning to examine this concept in a bit more depth. The idea that this idea of consumerism can be linked with capitalism has a sort of negative connotation. It seems that this whole idea of capitalism and consumerism can also give the concept of making money and spending money a negative tone as well. It seems that society today is almost solely based on this idea of consumerism. Think about it, people are always in search of the latest and the newest services and "things" and yet there is a certain greed that accompanies this idea. It also seems that there are unnecessary needs that are offered which can also a lot to this idea of capitalism taking over. Moreover, we currently live in sort of capitalist society in which because are always attempting to get ahead and rise to the top. Therefore with regard to media globalization and consumerism there is in fact a negative connotation that is emulated from this idea of consumerism with regard to making money. Therefore I do think there is room for worry, yet I am not sure how incredibly detrimental this is to society in this day and age.

3. Uneven flow of information with a global system.

This concept is a little bit tricky, and can be looked at from both positive and negative views. This whole concept simply refers back to who exactly has the access, and who exactly can gain the access to this "flow of information." This also is linked with a social-economic function that cannot be ignored, there are currently information rich societies and communities as well as information poor communities. It seems that uniting these two can provide an obstacle for those working toward the flow. Additionally there is a digital divide in which people from 3rd world societies cannot have access to the same amount of information and technology as those from 1st world societies. This can propose many problems and dilemmas to this system because the flow is not even and everyone is not on the same page. It seems that these 1st world societies could be bypassing these 3rd world societies in the blink of an eye. This is a scary thing because it is indeed two very different worlds, and how can aid be delivered if everyone is moving from different directions and there isn't a common understanding against the board? This uneven flow also can be linked to media ownership and how there are only a few major conglomerations that hold all of the power, the distribution could and can be uneven, resulting in an uneven flow of information across the world and throughout different societies.

(Note: the image I used is to show figuratively how Time Warner should be broken down into smaller pieces which could result in more control over media by more corporations and companies)

Media Globalization: Family Guy

Family Guy is a popular television show that actually has a lot in common with The Simpsons (which was the example used in the book). It seems that this television program has reached a variety of different audiences, and often brings its audiences together-- establishes common ground. Social norms are discussed and critiqued, sensitive and politically incorrect topics are addressed with crass humor, and pop culture weighted. Like the Simpsons, Family Guy is a cartoon, an adult cartoon for more mature audiences, this can represent the crossover for adults, because generally cartoons are targeted toward more youthful audiences. Therefore this is an example of globalization in the media regarding Family Guy simply because of the medium and form that its delivered. Moving on, a lot of the topics that are addressed on Family Guy twirl around popular concepts that are relevant and parallel with today's society. Many political concepts are addressed, popular actors and actresses are mentioned and humored, it seems that Family Guy viewers need to be aware of the concepts and topics that are addressed before watching an episode of Family Guy. Therefore the integration of pop culture into this particular television show illustrates how Family Guy is an appropriate example of Globalization in the media. (ie: if one isn't familiar with what is going on in the world then they wouldn't understand the jokes). This also links to social context and globalization together. Additionally, many topics also surround "touchy" and politically incorrect ideas such as religion, ethnicity, social class, geographic location, and other belief systems and values. This too illustrates how Family Guy is a good example of Globalization in the Media.

Female Recording Artist Questions

1. What other kinds of demographic factors such as age, ethnicity, or class shape their fan base?

Britney Spears has a wide range of fans that have supported her throughout the years, additionally there has been a large portion of fans that have drifted from her as time elapsed and her image changed. For instance, initially, Britney targeted young teeny bopper girls who were looking for a talented role model, yet as her fame grew some of her fans dropped due to her racy image. Britney targets most ethnicities, possibly primarily young white girls from upper- upper-middle class families. As Britney's image matured, her fan base transformed into young males who found her "sexy" and attractive.

2. Is the Britney Spears audience seem to be male dominated or female dominated? Rock n roll audience? What difference emerge between male and female fans?

It seems that many of Britney's top supporters and fans are dominantly female, yet there is a great portion of male supporters, mainly because she can be considered by some as "hot" or "sexy." There is a certain aura of rock n roll that the Britney Spears name embodies, but in a much different way than U2. It seems that U2 has bee timeless, and around much longer than Spears, therefore they have sculpted their name into something much different. She represents youth and rock n roll, a mainstream pop culture rock n roll. Furthermore, there are some very strong differences that exist between her male and female fans. It seems the girls are listening because they like the beat to her songs and like to learn more in depth about who she is whereas the male audience simple watches and idolizes Spears for tangible reasons, because as noted before, she is attractive and desirable.

Medium-Content-Message Assignment 1

For this particular assignment I decided to focus in on the Apple Ipod. The medium can be defined as the Ipod itself, the MP3 device that we use to listen to music, view movies, and stay connected. The content is the actual music and the MP3's that can be heard on the Ipod, this is obviously displayed as musical notes, in their most basic form. Finally, the message can be illustrated as the graph I chose of Apple's stocks over the past 5 years. As shown, Apple's stocks have increased pretty steadily over the past five years. This increase could be a result of the Ipod, the Iphone, and other related products.