Media Theories

I feel like I could go on for hours on some of the theories covered in today's class. More specifically, the Hypodermic Needle Model, Gatekeeping, 2 Step Flow, Agenda Setting, Cultivation, and Media Ownership. For the sake of time and keeping myself from rambling on incoherently, I'll try to keep everything short and concise.

The Hypodermic Needle Model is a theory that I feel a great connection with. Not in the sense that I feel that I have been directly effected, but rather the total opposite. I have grown up playing video games that many would consider extremely violent. I have always watched violent movies. I have even listened to music that many people have considered "bad for kids." With all of this evidence stacked against me, I have SOMEHOW managed to keep myself from committing random acts of violence. It's crazy, I know. I think this notion is completely backwards. I don't think violent media tends to cause people to become violent, I think that violent people tend to enjoy violent media.

Gatekeeping is something we see constantly on the major television news networks. The 2 Step Flow and Agenda Setting are also parts of that. Do we really expect people like Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olbermann to not try to influence their viewers with their own ideas? People like this are on television solely to express their opinion, despite the fact that they're on news networks. I'm not necessarily complaining about this, but that's because I have the mental capacity to distinguish unbiased news from pundits and their opinions. The bad part is that there are some people that can't do that, and will take in whatever they're told, as long as it fits conveniently with what they want to believe.

Cultivation is something that I find myself thinking about often. I am very intrigued by people who live their lives emulating what they see on television. I don't mean that there are people out there trying to solve murder cases in similar ways that the detectives on CSI do it, I mean more along the lines of people mimicking people throughout pop culture. It's always interested to see what new (and often strange) things will show up in music videos and concerts, and then to see the huge amounts of people in the public swallowing it all and looking exactly the same within days. I like to think that I have somehow avoided this, but who knows? Maybe I'm not as "free" as I think I am, or as I would like to be. After all, I'm not the only 23 year old kid out there today wearing black jeans, black shirt, black shoes.

Media Ownership. I only have one thing to say, and it's VERY opinionated as well as very short. F*** Rupert Murdoch. Seriously, that guy sucks.

Copyright Criminals

Watching the screening of "Copyright Criminals" was very interesting. It showcases the fact that we are currently going through a point in time of utmost importance pertaining to art versus the law. I think it will be interesting to look back on this point in time once this all gets figured out, that is, IF it ever gets figured out. I wonder if this will someday be looked upon as, for a lack of better terms, "The Man" trying to hold back a wave of new artists that are on the verge of something new. Sure, this battle has been going on for about 15-20 years, which seems like a long time to us, but in timeline of the world, this time frame is just a blip on the radar. The most important battles take a long time to get through, therefore they are always remembered. Depending on who "wins," though, the way people in the future look at it can be very different. If "The Man" wins, though there will always be people sampling other pieces of music, will it ever be as widespread as it is today? If the artists somehow find a way to keep making their art without fear of law suits and copyright laws, will sampling become as big as things like painting and drawing?

This has the possibility for everyone that wants a chance to make their own music using samples to do it. Want to make a painting? Do you have paper? Do you have paint? Do you have brushes? Yeah? Then go for it. On the same level, want to make music? Have a computer? No problem, all you need is some software and some music to start with. This is already becoming evident now. With the style of mash-ups becoming so popular (with the help of Dangermouse's "Grey Album" and the albums of Girl Talk), more and more "Average Joes" are attempting to make their own music in a similar fashion.

But success is a different story. Anyone can buy a cook book, put everything together perfectly, make it taste absolutely wonderful, but does that make you a chef? Of course not. Will throwing samples and beats together make you a successful musician? In the same sense, not at all. The successful chefs are the ones that are out there creating new and exciting meals for people to enjoy, and the same goes for the people making music using sampling in a new way.