He's Just Not That Into You Trailer

Clearly the link to my bootleg was too large and did not work. So I have decided to link you to the trailer for the movie, considering that it shows many of the scenes that I talk about. Also, you get the idea from my blog about what I am talking about, so you don't necessarily have to see the whole scene since I explain it pretty well. But I do highly recommend checking out the film when it comes out on video, because it is a very interesting interpretation of the ways in which men and women communicate. Enjoy the trailer and sorry you couldn't watch the whole film! :(

Genderlect Theory and He's Just Not That Into You

Summary of Movie- Since the age of 5, Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) has been told that when men act like jerks, it means they like her. Years later, Gigi is now struggling to find true love while shifting through men who are simply not interested. After her latest date, Conor (Kevin Connolly), has failed to call her, Gigi visits a bar he said he frequented in order to see him.

There, she is approached by Alex (Justin Long), a friend of Conor's who works at the bar. Gigi claims she is waiting for Connor, since she needs to return a dentist's pen to him. However, Alex quickly sees through her lie, claiming Connor's dentist is his father (not the name written on the pen). Gigi admits that Connor is not expecting her, and explains her confusion over his lack of response. Alex tells her that Connor isn't interested, and then takes it upon himself to explain the "signs" to Gigi.

Meanwhile, Connor, having just left his date with Gigi, calls his girlfriend Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Anna is shopping in the supermarket and runs into Ben (Bradley Cooper). He tells her to go before him in line, citing an indecision about gum as the reason. Anna tells Connor she has to go, and, as she is checking out, is awarded a cooler as a 1000th visitor gift. The two exchange numbers outside when Ben says he knows someone who can help Anna with her singing career. After a few moments of hesitation, Ben admits that he is married. The two part, and Ben walks over to a car and gets in. Neil (Ben Affleck) then asks Ben what that was about. When Neil returns home, he is greeted by his girlfriend of seven years, Beth (Jennifer Aniston). She announces that her younger sister is getting married. Neil, who is in the kitchen making tea, tells Beth that he doesn't believe in marriage. Beth, who desperately wants to get married to Neil, doesn't understand why he dislikes the idea so much.

Ben meets his wife Janine (Jennifer Connelly) back at their new townhouse, currently being renovated. Gigi, excited about the tips Alex gave her, eagerly shares them with her coworkers, Janine and Beth. Gigi explains that if he's interested, he'll make the first move, and if he's not, he won't. When she claims that there are exceptions, but that the majority are not, she unintentionally implies that Neil will never marry Beth, since they have been together for 7 years and they haven't married yet. Beth confronts Neil when she goes home, saying she can't deal with it anymore. When Neil continues to refuse to get married, the two break up.





Why I chose to do the blog- The reason that I chose to do a blog comparing Deborah Tannen’s “Genderlect Theory” and the film “He’s Just Not That Into You,” is because both the theory and the film parallel one another in terms of showing that men and women communicate very differently in everyday situations. What we as humans fail to understand much of the time is why this miscommunication happens, and in doing this blog, I was hoping to explore some of these issues, and get to the bottom of why men and women, though similar on many levels, differ greatly in the ways they communicate and relate, especially when it comes to romantic relationships. I was unable to find individual clips of the scenes, seeing as the film is not out on video yet, but I was able to acquire a bootleg copy of the film, hence the individual scene times for each of the scenes in which I portray the issues I focused in on. Also, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the movie, I attached a summary of exactly what the movie is about, and the precise gender and relationships issues being touched on, many of which I focus in on throughout the different blogs. Enjoy!





1- Biological Factors- Clip Example: Gigi being ‘lied to’ by her mother (0:30-1:30) In this first scene of the film, Ginnifer Goodwin’s character, Gigi, is being told by her mother that a young boy who treated her poorly really likes her, because boy’s who treat girls poorly, deep down, really like them. The point of the entire film is that from a young age, girl’s are made to believe that boy’s like them no matter what, whether the boy is treating the girl well or not, which is why so many girls and women have problems when it comes to reading what men are saying and doing on a regular basis. Tannen’s view? Well Tannen believes that men and women come from two different “cultures,” and that is why women cannot understand what men are saying and doing, because they are from a different culture with a different communication style. But what do you think? Do you think that men and women are just two different creatures or products of two different cultures that simply cannot relate much of the time, because of their differing cultural communication styles?

I think in a lot of ways this is an excuse for men to get off the hook for ignoring or neglecting women, or worse, for mistreating them when they simply do not have an interest in them. I also think that many times it can be difficult to interpret exactly how a man is feeling, because sometimes he may be acting standoffish towards a female to gain her attention, while other times he may be doing so to push her away. When this opposing behavior occurs, it becomes nearly impossible to understand what the man is thinking or feeling, which is exactly the point of the film, and precisely the reason behind the little girls’ look of confusion as her mother explains the boy’s behavior to her. For now, it is just an unresolved mystery as to why men think, feel, or act the ways that they do, so perhaps, a sequel to the movie will be coming soon.


2- Telling of stories and the differences between how men and women do this- Clip Example: Date in beginning of movie, Male vs. Female version of it (0:2:45-0:4:20)
In terms of stories, Tannen addresses the fact that men and women take different approaches to how they tell stories. Even though she states that the stories one tells relate to one’s hopes, needs, and values, the ways in which men and women go about telling them can be quite different. A man’s approach is consistent with his need for status, and that they tend to tell more stories than women, and usually more jokes within their stories, a way in which they build this status that they strive for. The overall goal of a man’s story is to top anyone else with the attention that he builds while telling the story, and hold the attention of his audience, while elevating himself, above his audience. Women on the other hand take a less heroic approach, and tend to express desire for community in telling stories of others. When a woman discusses a story of herself, it is usually one where she speaks of herself acting in a foolish manner, rather than a clever manner, thus putting herself on the same level with her audience and strengthening the support of those around her.

In regards to the clip, many of the points that Tannen addresses do not shine through. For one, Conor is short and to the point when he talks about his date, not joking in anyway whatsoever, and showing no need for status above his friend Alex. In regards to Gigi, she does not express any need for community in her story, and does not speak about acting foolishly at all, but instead, discusses how well she thought the date went. Although I do believe that many of Tannen’s points are true in regards to most stories that men and women tell, in this example, it was not reflected. I do think though that many times men tell stories to puff themselves up, and make themselves feel more masculine, hence, the humor within their stories, and the need for status. In terms of women, I feel that women tend to speak more about themselves that Tannen gives credit to, and although they do speak about others to gain the respect and attention of their peers, they also tend to speak about themselves a lot to ask advice, feel good about themselves, gain attention, and so on.


3- Report Talk- Clip Example: Neil on marriage (0:9:08-0:11:06)
Tannen discusses report talk as “the typical monologic style of men, which seeks to command attention, convey information, and win arguments” (Griffin 433). What she means by this is that men tend to avoid small talk, especially in a public situation, but in a private conversation and setting, a man tends to open up more to a woman, especially when passionate about something. She says that men can often times use talk as a weapon, hence the “one-up” status mentality that many men have when it comes to conversational style (Griffin 433).

In the clip with Beth and Neil, Neil uses report talk to convey his feelings against marriage to Beth, despite her feelings after seven years in a relationship of wanting to settle down permanently. Although Beth tries to show how she feels, Neil uses report talk by constantly interrupting her, and commanding attention by showing how unhappy their married friends around them are and how this would happen to them if they were to be married. By trying to win the argument through guilt-tripping her, Neil traps Beth from being able to fully have her say in the situation, and the issue is left unresolved still, seven years later.

My feeling is that like so many men, Neil is in a relationship with a woman whom he cares about, but who he really does not have any intention of ever fully settling down with, no matter what her wishes or intentions might be. Although at the end of the movie Neil’s character comes around and realizes that he cares more for Beth and the thought of losing her, than he does for his stubborn feelings against marriage, it sickens me to think about all of those relationships out there that are like this with women that are trapped by men who just won’t settle down. It just shows that Tannen is right in thinking that so many conversations that take place between men and women reflect men’s efforts to dominate women (Griffin 430). Although Neil’s character was just trying to be honest with Beth, I still feel that the bigger thing for him to have done is to let her go, seeing as he was only trapping her for seven years into thinking that things would eventually change. Even though the story was a happy ending for Beth in the film, so many times this is not the case for many women in real life, and like the story goes, movies are just fairy tales with fairy tale unrealistic happy endings.





4- Conversational Style/Rapport talk- Clip Example: Gigi, Beth, and Janine talking in beginning of movie about men and Gigi’s date with Conor (13:55-16:40)
As Tannen states, rapport talk is “the typical conversational style of women, which seeks to establish a connection with others” (Griffin 432). By this, Tannen means that women tend to focus more on a connection, whether with a significant other or friends, while men focus on status. Tannen speaks about rapport being about “solidarity,” and about one getting what they want out of a conversation. In terms of the clip from the film, Gigi is speaking with Beth and Janine about her date with Conor from the evening before, and wanting to establish a connection with them, just like she wanted to establish a connection with Conor the evening before. In both cases, Gigi is not demanding power, which Tannen discusses is not part of rapport, but rather is trying to get her point across and be understood.

In the clip, Gigi does not demand power in the situation with Conor, but instead becomes desperate in her attempts to gain his attention, hence in doing to the bar to see him when it quite obvious that he is not interested in her. Tannen discusses in her book “You Just Don’t Understand, Women and Men in Conversation,” that women often feel silenced by men, even though that is usually not the man’s intentions. However, in this case, it seems as though it is Conor’s intentions, despite what Gigi is trying to make herself believe for her own feelings of self-worth. What becomes confusing about Conor’s communication in this scene, and what makes Gigi act crazily, is his “Nice to meet you” comment at the end of their drinks. In saying this, it gives Gigi hope that he had a good time, and that a second date would occur, even though he was saying it out of pure pity in a sense. It is what Tannen refers to as men and women talking past one another, and what so much of her “You Just Don’t Understand” novel is based upon. In this case, it is the cross-cultural communication, as Tannen refers to it, that is occurring, and why Gigi has one completely different interpretation of the date and story of it than Conor does.





5- Use of Questions- (Tannen’s G&D)- pg. 166 Clip Example: Cigarette questioning scene by wife of husband (0:49:15-0:51:05)
Another point that Tannen addresses in regards to men and women is their different approaches to how they use questions. It is like the frequently known fact that men simply will not ask for directions when lost on a trip, and if help is needed, they must figure it out themselves, or the woman must eventually ask someone instead of the man. Tannen’s reasoning for this is that men would lose their self-respect by stopping to ask for directions or help, and by taking a few extra minutes to find their way themselves, they are saving their dignity. Women on the other hand tend to ask questions, because they wish to establish a connection with others, similar to the idea behind rapport talk. A sense of community can even be built in a brief stop for directions, says Tannen, and that is exactly the kind of connection that so many women seek. Also, Tannen says that when women state opinions, they tag them with a question at the end of the sentence, known as a “Tag question.” These questions are meant to soften a potential disagreement from occurring and driving people apart. (Example: “That was a good movie, Don’t you think?”) Tag questions are also ways of participating in open, friendly dialogue, but men see this as wishy-washy (Griffin 434). Tannen also discusses in her novel, “Gender and Discourse,” about how women tend to ask twice as many questions as men do, and they seek greater involvement in situations by asking questions. Also, she states that women ask real questions, seeking real answers for their questions, while men ask many more rhetorical questions, not needing an answer for every question that they ask (G&D 166).

In the clip, Janine is questioning Ben about whether or not he is still smoking cigarettes, seeing as she found some hidden outside, and her close relative died of lung cancer, and so it is something very passionate to her. As seen in this example, Janine builds a sense of community by wanting Ben to not smoke and be healthy, as well as wanting him to be courteous to her sensitivity on the subject since her relative died of lung cancer. Also seen, Janine asks twice as many questions as does Ben, especially in her angry state over the situation. While Janine’s questions are very real, because the situation in her eyes is real, Ben’s questions are somewhat rhetorical, as he makes light of the situation. I feel that in this scene it only becomes prevalent how horrid a character Ben really is and how awful he treats Janine, and yet how blind she is to it. It makes me quite sick to my stomach to see how Ben could be so deceiving, and yet it is so realistic to everyday life, in that this kind of scenario happens all of the time. To Tannen though, it could just be a miscommunication.





6- Conflict- Differences among men and women Clip Example: Home Depot fight scene (1:15:30-1:17:40)

As Tannen describes, the issue of conflict is handled differently by both men and women. To men, life is seen as a contest, and therefore, men are more comfortable with acting out in anger and in conflicting situations than women. As with women before, connection is a big deal, and therefore, conflict is seen as a threat to that connection, and is to be avoided at all costs. Also dealing with conflict, men tend to notice more easily than women when they are being told what to do, which is why they tend to backfire and lash out more easily than women when this occurs (Griffin 435).

In the Home Depot scene from the film, Ben and Janine are facing the fact that Ben has cheated on Janine. Unlike what Tannen says though, Janine lashes out fairly quickly at Ben, in small spurts though, seeing as she does not want to cause a scene in public, nor does she want to worsen the situation anymore. Ben however, does very little in reacting, especially considering that he is the root of the problem in the first place, and he himself does not want to make the situation any worse as well. What is interesting to see here is how weak Janine’s character continues to be, even after it is confirmed that Ben is truly treating her poorly, and it is not longer just a guess in her mind, but now a fact out in the open. As Tannen also discusses, men tend to make excuses for their behavior so much of the time, and this is seen so much throughout the film by Ben, as well as during the fight scene when he claims that it was a mistake, and yet he then continues to cheat on her for the remainder of the movie. I know that it is probably very difficult being with someone that you love and finding out that they have cheated on you, but if someone did the things to me that Ben did to Janine, and it was confirmed for me that they did them, I would be out the door in a second, no questions asked.


7- Amount of talk, Interruption as Dominance- Clip Example: Affleck and Anniston on Boat at end of movie (1:46:15-1:49:05)
As obvious as it may be to anyone, men and women have different ways that they speak and different amounts of how much they speak. According to Tannen, men for the most part do more talking than women, seeing as it is an issue of dominance and power for them. But this is not the case in all situations, and certainly not in the scene that I chose to display. In this case, it is what Tannen refers to as “Interruption as Dominance.” This is when both parties are speaking, and yet one takes over by completely dominating the situation, or when one party is speaking, the other completely interrupts and will not let the other chime back in, no matter what. It is more of a male tactic, especially when men refuse to speak to gain power, and yet females use it as well (G&D 56).

In terms of the clip, Beth and Neil are on Neil’s boat discussing marriage once more, and yet Beth will not let Neil speak, seeing as she wishes to dominate the conversation. Even though Neil tries to interrupt, trying to gain his status and power as a male as Tannen discusses, Beth refuses to let him in her actions and words, and dominates until her point is across. What is important to see here is that Beth is standing up for herself, even though she cares deeply for Neil, unlike Janine ever standing up against Ben and his misbehavior. Despite the different communication styles, both the men and the women should be allowed to present their views, something that Tannen strongly points out in her novel “You Just Don’t Understand.” What Tannen points out though is that so many times, men and women feel that their views are not understood or heard, especially by significant others, and this is especially the case with women. I think that it was very strong of Beth’s character to stand up against Neil in her situation, especially considering that for seven years she had sat back and done nothing. I feel that if Janine had been able to do so with Ben, it may have been able to save their marriage, or at least have fixed their situation a lot sooner.


Works Cited Griffin, Em. Communication, Commuication, Communication, A First Look at Communication Theory. McGraw-Hill, New York, 2009. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001508/synopsis Tannen, Deborah. Gender & Discourse. Oxford University Press, New York, 1994. Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don’t Understand, Women and Men in Conversation. HarperCollins Publishers Inc. New York, 2001.

Who I Am.

Matt's War Remix

Bret Schlein's 'Every Girl' Remix

Go here to view my remix: http://astro.temple.edu/~tua61850/Remix_Every_Girl_2.ppsx

If you do not have PowerPoint on your computer, download this free viewer here: PowerPoint Viewer 2007 (for Windows)
or download it for your mac here: PowerPoint Viewer 2007 (for Mac)

My purpose for making this remix was to point out different female stereotypes of beauty that are in our culture. I did this by using the song 'Every Girl' by Lil' Wayne, Drake, Jae Millz, Gutta, + Mack Maine. Over the song, I used various images of women, throughout the slide show. Without stating what the stereotypes for beauty are for women, I let the song and images do that for themselves. The audience for the remix is intended for this class only, especially since JumpCut is shutting down. I want the audience (the class) to watch the remix and interpret it in their own ways. Each person thinks differently. I do want each person to be able to pick out the different stereotypes of women that stand out, through the combination of the song and the constant photos of different women.

I used Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 to create my remix. I used many images that I found using various websites, such as Google Images, Live.com, and Photobucket. In order to portray the messages that I wanted to use, I used various techniques. One technique was to select images that fit into two different themes; beautiful women and stereotypically ugly women. I chose the song, 'Every Girl,' so that many of the images would fit well with the song, while the others would clash. I also placed certain images at certain points of the song, so that it would create new meanings, when the original meanings of the song and image clashed.

My remix is a fair use of source texts, because it is transformative. Using the images that I used, along with the song, I added new values and purposes to both forms of media.

Enjoy my remix,

--Bret Schlein

My Life in a Slideshow

1) The purpose of my remix is to express part of who I am as an individual with a series of images from my life and captions that describe these images. My audience is whoever sees the blog where the remix is posted, as well as my Myspace where I also posted the remix, and possibly my Facebook if I decide to post it there as well for my friends to see. It will circulate on these three websites only as far as I am concerned. My intended meaning behind the remix was to express some of my interests and hobbies, as well as the people and things that I care most about.
2) The techniques and choices that I used to create and communicate my remix were to pull a variety of images over the years that displayed a bunch of different aspects of my life, and make these pictures come alive in colorful and unique ways. By adding captions with color, as well as the heart transitions between slides, it helped me to more creatively show who I am as a person, and not just post a bunch of pictures, but rather make them pop and stand out.
3) I believe that everything that I portrayed is of fair use, because many of the images were taken by my friends and I on my camera, and so they were mine to use as I pleased, and the ones in which I took from the Internet I used in my own fashion and with my captions, and so I transformed them for a specific purpose, that being entertainment. The slideshow website that I used provided me the options of color and background/transitions, and so everything that I did to make my slideshow come alive was all within boundary of avoiding copyrighting. I believe that it is transformative, because although I am sure that there are other slideshows out there like it, no other slideshow is exactly like mine in that it has the exact same images, captions, and so on, and so mine is unique to who I am as an individual, and it sticks to what the fair use video guidelines lay out as being reasonable and within fair use rather than crossing over to copyrighting.

Teaching Media Literacy

The pages of the article that our group had to read about were from 3-18 and 32-34. We read about the skills needed in a media culture, the overall participation in the culture, the three problems with teaching media literacy, and how to sample media text. I'll talk about the reasons we should be teaching media literacy. Firstly I think that education is going in the direction of learning on the internet using remixes and using social interaction through myspace or facebook. Our class is mainly geared around learnign through these types of media. We use blogs and remixers to learn about the different theories and ideas that are presented to us. We learn through one another by reading others blogs and watching the clips provided. Its essential to teach kids how to use these tools provided to them. Everyone should have access to the internet and should try to learn the different programs on the computer so they won't fall behind in learning. Also I htink that when students learn how to use media in their work, they also need to be wary of Copy rights and that they could get in trouble for not citing their work.





Ok, i know that this video is about copy rights and media literacy, but the professor is on this one. I have to make it work somehow.:P This video is concerned about students using video or materials in their works that are copy righted and how they could get in trouble if they use them. The reason they use the clips is, because the work so well with what they are trying to convey. This is a part of media literacy, because it teaches students how to be wary of copy rights and when it is appropriate to use videos in their work. Copy Rights is a big issue with downloading songs and using other peoples' work in your work. I think this is a big deal when it comes to learning how to use the tools at your disposal and this should be taught to students. I for one, don't know to much about Copy Right laws.

Genderlect Styles

In Deborah Tannen's Genderlect Styles Theory, she described the conversational styles of men and women. According to Tannen, conversations between men and women are cross-cultural conversations. For example, Tannen states that men and women "speak different words, from different worlds. Even When they use the same terms, they are tuned into different frequencies" (Griffin, 429). Tannen then, went into detail to describe all of the differences between male and female conversational styles.

I do not fully agree with her theory. Deborah Tannen has come up with a decent basis that further research and studies should be focused around. I did not find her argument's to be strong, because I thought her results were too extreme, without enough evidence to prove her findings.



This is a simple video of a man (Stevie) talking into the camera about the differences in communication styles, between men and women. According to Stevie, he states that "when it comes to communication, women are subtle [and] men are direct." He says that when a woman wants a man to do something, she throws him subtle hints, instead of just asking him directly. Tannen did not mention anything about women being subtle, but she did mention that women are more sensitive in nature. Tannen and Stevie do agree that men are more direct, in nature. Stevie also stated that women will not let you know, if they are mad at you. They might drop subtle hints or ignore the fight altogether. Tannen agrees that women try to avoid conflict, at all costs. She states that women view conflict, as being a threat to connection, therefore they will try to avoid it at all costs.

--Bret Schlein

The feminist communication theory is based on three criteria of gender, communication, and social change. All of which encompass and understanding of how communication and gender interact with the respect of assumptions constructed by society.

-The feminist communication theory is stated as explanatory because the theory itself is designed by experience. It is articulated by the experiences that individuals have and their perspectives involving the significance of communication in the every day rituals of females.

-It's political because the politics surrounding feminist communication reach a personal level. Women have been silenced and been seen as insubordinate in one way or another has been such a huge part of society's history that it cannot be seen but anything as personal.

-The theory is seen as polyvocal because it has been formed by many different female voices with many different opinions, philosophies, and morals which at times can be conflicting interests. Because of the all the different kinds of women with so many different experiences the theory has so many different perspectives to draw conclusions from.

-The idea of a true "voice" is when one as the ability to articulate thoughts and then in turn also be able to listen to what others have to say that may or may not be in conflict to your opinions and/or ideas. As I mentioned before there have been so many times throughout history when women have been denied the power of their voice and have been silenced and so women were forced to find other creative ways to express the communication that they were denied.

Deborah Tannen stated in chapter on genderlect styles that males and females think on two different levels and express themselves in very different ways. She used the really great examples of dialogue from the movie, "When Harry Met Sally" to better illustrate her point.

The following is a clip that defines certain stereotypes that define the differences men and women and who they are as individuals.

Racism in Society

In Stuart Hall’s lecture entitled “Race as Floating Signifier,” Hall discusses why race matters so much to people today, and how race works in one’s head, and the logic behind it. Hall notes that the meaning of race is constantly changing all of the time, hence the “floating signifier” aspect of the video. In the video Hall makes many valid points about race and how it has become almost a form of “human classification,” but one point that he focuses on in depth is his “politics without guarantee” theory.

One major point that Hall made with this theory is that society does not know how to conduct politics without guarantees, and that we have yet to find an ethically responsible way to conduct politics around race without the guarantee of biology. What comes out of this are so many stereotypes of people of color, such as their loud ways, their better ability in certain sports over whites, their abrasive natures, and so on. What Hall tries to convey in his lecture is how people of color have been fighting for themselves against these kinds of stereotypes throughout history, and that people need to take biology less seriously, and such stereotypes as blacks being less intelligent than whites that are not true, and need to be proven even more so, rather than being pushed aside, and instead finally be put to rest for good.

In the following video that I found, the boy discusses how one should “act black” in response to a question that somebody wrote to him and asked. The point that he tries to make in the video in my opinion is that there is no real way to “act black,” and that all of the stereotypes that exist around black people do not define them as people, just like stereotypes of white people or any other race of people do not define them or make them act in certain ways either. The thoughts that I leave you with are why do you think these stereotypes started in the first place, and what would it take for our society to completely abolish them for good and come together as one or is that impossible? And the second video is for your own enjoyment, because I believe that the lyrics really speak true to our society today, and how judgmental it has become, and how we really need to come together as one and stop the stereotypes and hate. Enjoy!

Stuart Hall Cultural Studies

I think the realist, linguistic, and Discursive position all play a role in Race. There are genetic differences in people, differences occur through our different languages and cultures, and through the systems of thought and language we use to make sensee of our differences. I don't think we can say that one position is more right than the others. Maybe its just how my system of thought and my language come into play, just like Hall said. I don't know if that is correct to call what I am and how i view race. I guess Hall is correct that we have different systems of thought that we use to make use of the differences, but then again everyone has a different system of thought. I'm not to sure what to make of his thoughts. I mean it makes sense, but what exactly does his ideas do for the world to see everything the same.



I picked the part of Do the right hting that Sut Jhally used in the movie we had to watch. Like him i think it shows exactly what these three positions mean and how the men in this clip use them. All of hte guys use descriptors that either talk about genetic differences, cultural differences and thought differences.

"...where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it 'history.'"

For centuries the media has influenced the way society thinks and feels. However whether the media influences intentionally or not is another debate. Stuart Hall is a retired professor of sociology at the Open University. Hall is responsible for the communications theory of Cultural Studies. Although Hall believed that media does produce images that may at times influence society his theory states that the way a theory is interpreted is left up to the people. When I read the chapter I visualized Hall's theory similar to the human digestive system. The viewers eat the information that is being given to them and as they digest the body decides what to do with the "food." Is it believable and used to better the body or is it disagreeable and turned to waste? This is where the obstinate audience comes into play. Is the "food" operating inside the dominant code and accepted, applying a negotiable code, or will it be substituting an oppositional code?

It's not just the words we speak that can interrupted oppositely but it's also visual images or even people.

In the musical Wicked the Wizard sings a song to Elephaba about one person can be looked at completely oppositely by different people. Here is a video clip from the show and the lyrics so you can read at your own pace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-WxYP3R1S8

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/wicked/wonderful.htm

I still have one last question. Who is the person who decided what was wrong and what was right? What is true and what is false? And why have we believed them all this time?

Semiotics

Semiotics is a theory by Roland Barthes. Semiotics is the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems. In other words, it is the analysis of anything that can stand for something else (Griffin 323). According to Barthes, a "sign" is the combination of the signifier and the signified. The "signifier" is the actual image of the sign, as we see it through our senses. The "signified" is the meaning we associate with the sign. Signs carry ideological baggage/meaning with them, wherever they go. This ideological baggage/meaning is called "connotation" (Griffin 324).
The example that I found to illustrate Roland Barthes' Semotics is the well-known Oscar. The Oscar is the award that is given out at the Academy Awards Ceremony.

The Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnGtmKEPko4 (The embedding option was disabled, so you have to go to the site)

The signifier is the golden Oscar statue. The signified is respect. In the movie industry, if you win an Oscar, you receive a great deal of respect from your fellow peers and the public. The prestige-building Ocsar statue.

Semiotics in the World of Flowers

According to Roland Barthes, Semiotics is “the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems”, also known as “the analysis of anything that can stand for something else” (Griffin 324). Every sign in his eyes was a combination of a signifier (the physical form of the sign as we perceive it through our senses, also known as an image), and the signified (the meaning we associate with the sign (Griffin 325). According to Saussure, “semiotics tells us that we are always sending messages to other people and they are sending messages to us. But interpreting what these signs mean is a complicated matter” (Berger 7).



As seen in this video, there are many different interpretations and meanings behind roses and the different colors that they hold. Seeing as Valentine’s Day was somewhat recently, I thought that this example was fitting, because of how taxing it can be sometimes for men and women to interpret the meaning behind the different colored roses and flowers that they receive from others, whether it is on Valentine’s Day or not. I know that when I was in high school, around Valentine’s Day there was always a rose sale where one could send different colored roses to friends and loved ones, white, pink, or red, and it was always a challenge to decipher what it meant if you received one from a boy. I recall that if you received a white one it meant friendship, a pink one it meant I like you, and a red one it meant I love you, and yet it could not always 100% of the time be assumed that way.

I think if Barthes theory shows us anything, it is that different signs can really stand for a number of different things, and I think that is exactly what the above video fails to show. I know that in watching the video, I thought beforehand that a number of those different colored roses stood for different things then what the video said, but I think that is what the video does not portray. For example, I always believed that the yellow rose stood more for mourning and funerals and such, seeing as you tend to see them displayed so much in death situations, but the video instead said that the white rose stood for that. I think it is an interesting concept to think about, and I’d be curious to see what all of you think on the topic. What do you all think the different colors stand for? Do you think that they all have multiple meanings and can stand for different things, or can be interchangeable?

Media Ecology: Back in the Tribal Age

McLuhan's analysis of history places us in the electronic/digital age. He says that we are starting to revert to our original dominant sensor, which was hearing. I think that we are more in the digital age and are reverting to the "touch" sensor. People aren't necessarily talking on the phone, they are sending text messages, posting on line and using Facebook and Myspace. This is definitely the age of touch. There are some ways that hearing is still dominant, for one, listening and speaking work much better during team play on XBox live. Things that require speed are much more efficient using sound. The following clip is a history of how the cell phone is shaped. but the reason i picked this clip was to show some of the statistics is has on it.



This clip shows the transformation of the cell phone through the electronic age starting in 1985 and working its way up. This supports his claim that the hearing sense is returning and making us tribal again. However, there is this thing called text messaging. Around 1:59 in the clip one of the blurbs said "17 Billion text messages were sent worldwide in 2000. 250 billion in 2001, 500 billion in 2004, and 1.9 trillion in 2007... I think with the amount of texts flying around that we are not in the tribal age again, but we hit it briefly and are now in a completely different age using touch as our main sensor. We do it this with facebook and myspace websites, this enables us to stay in contact with people much easier. This new age is all about the words on the page.

Bret's Agenda-Setting Theory Analysis

In Maxwell McCombs & Donald Shaw’s Agenda-Setting Theory, their initial claim is that the news media does not tell the public what to think, but tells them what to think about. The mass media has the ability to transfer the importance of items on their news agendas to the public agenda. According to McCombs & Shaw, “we judge as important, what the media judge as important” (Griffin, 359). They know that people have their own minds and ideas of what each thinks are important. On the other hand, the people that are the most influenced by the media agenda are those with a high need for orientation or a high “index of curiosity.” McCombs & Shaw later concluded that the media does not only tell the public what to think about, but they also may tell the public how to think about it, what to think about it, and possibly what to do about it (Griffin, 366).



This is a CNN news clip about Michael Phelps being caught in a photograph, smoking marijuana out of a bong. This portrays the Agenda-Setting Theory, because it is a clip of news media that is telling the public that this is important. This clip extends to almost nine-minutes in length, so CNN must find it to be an important news topic. The news reporter starts off this segment mentioning that Michael Phelps is a “role model” and is asking for people’s opinion on what they think about his actions. Not only is the reporter helping to show the public how they should view Phelps’ actions, but he is asking other people for their opinions as well. This will help mold those watchers, which have a high “index of curiosity,” as to what they should think about the issue.

I agree with McCombs & Shaw in that the news media does shape what the public finds to be important. All news media outlets picked up the Michael Phelps smoking marijuana story and within a week, it seemed that a large amount of people were talking about it.

--Bret Schlein

Agenda-Setting Theory.

The Agenda-Setting Theory was established by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw. They believed that the, '"mass media [has] the ability to transfer the salience of items on their news agendas to make them public agendas"' (Griffin 359). In other words they believed that the media had the ability to form the publics opinion but that's not what their intention was. According to McCombs and Shaw, the media's agenda is to tell the public what they should be thinking about opposed to what they should be thinking and the ideas and opinions they should inevitably be conceiving.

The chapter on agenda-setting by Griffin goes into more detail about all aspects of the theory and how it's been tested and countered. One part of the chapter that most grabbed attention was not a quote but an actual section title within the chapter entitled, "Who Sets The Agenda For The Agenda Setters?" And within that section Griffin talks about an experiment that three gentleman by the names of Iyengar, Peters, and Kinder attempted to conduct that increased awareness to the global issues of economic inflation, national defense, and environmental pollution. The three men found that they were limited to choose what stories to do their experiment on from only stories that had been aired. Only three quarters of the stories that come across a news desk are actually aired on television. There is a lot of blame and fingerprinting to who is actually to blame but what I think it all boils down to is that we all want to make ourselves look good. I don't believe there is a conspiracy that all the news editors in the universe prevent all news from circulating and I don't agree that the subjects themselves that are being reported on all for the media to make themselves look good. Everyone is to blame because even if we don't make ourselves look good at one point in time you're either going to help someone else look good or buy into whatever agenda-setting techniques they've used to help form your opinions on what they want you to think about. Do you agree?

I'll leave you with this clip from an episode of West Wing. The entire time I read the section on agenda-setting I couldn't get this episode out of my head and I was so glad I was able to find a great clip on it.

In the following clip the White House's Press Secretary C.J. Cregg acts as the agenda setter for the media who acts as the agenda setter for the rest of the government and the American people.

Cultivation Theory- Television Grows Fearful Thoughts

In the chapter of Cultivation theory Griffin writes about Gerbner's survey to discover the cultivation differential. Gerbner targeted four attitudes in this survey: Chances of involvement with violence, Fear of walking alone at night, Perceived activity of police, and the general mistrust of people. What Gerbner did was take two groups, the light and heavy viewers and asked them about each category. What he got was the heavy viewers believing that they are more likely to be a victim of violence, they fear that 1 in 10 of them will be of risk of violence on any given day. Light viewers believed that in was more like 1 in 100. Crime statistics actually indicate that 1 out of 10,000 is more likely. Watching shows like CSI and 24 people fear walking alone at night, because the shows make the person believe that something will happen. The other perception is that people who are heavy TV viewers think that police are always out in force patrolling the streets. This is not the case. I can say that this is also not true because my dad is an officer and he often tells me about the lack of police on the streets. The final attitude is that most heavy TV viewers have a general mistrust of people, because of all of the backstabbing going on in most shows that are on TV these days.

In this video from 24, it shows jack and his team entering a suspected terrorist hideout where they end up killing all of the people inside.
This depicts a very violent situation where people are dying and to the heavy viewer they may take this show as being real. they might think that this is actually what happens on a regular basis with our counter terrorism and police forces. This video goes along with the perceived activity of Police. Police normally do not engage in all out firefights with suspects.
This is the problem with people watching to much TV, they gain perceptions of different things which are not substantiated in any way but through TV shows. I do not watch much TV, I probably see about one hour per week for a snowboarding show I watch. To me I can understand why people would have fearful thoughts from TV. If they do not have any other experience than whats on TV, then I think that Gerbner's survey was effective.

The Cultivation Theory- Violence on TV

According to Griffin, the violence that exists in the world around us so many times is connected to what one views on television. Dramatic violence, as Griffin refers to it, is “ the overt expression of physical force (with or without a weapon, against self or others) compelling action against one’s will on pain of being hurt and/or killed or threatened to be so victimized as part of the plot” (Griffin 350). In terms of this theory, Griffin believes that so many of the primetime shows that we watch on a regular basis contain violence, with such examples as Lost or CSI, and that these dramas include an average of five traumatic incidents per hour (Griffin 350-51). By the time one graduates from high school, they on average have observed about 13,000 violent deaths on television (Griffin 351).

In regards to what groups are most displayed in these violent acts, whites account for around 50 percent of the center of these violent acts, and women are outnumbered to men in a 3 to 1 ratio (Griffin 351). In one of my favorite primetime dramas, One Tree Hill, I witness at least five traumatic incidents per hour episode, and many times it is the abuse, or even worse, the death of a character. With such messages being displayed in what is supposed to be a show meant for teenage-aged individuals, it is no wonder such immense amount of violence occurs in our society.

I agree with Griffin that much of the time these violent acts are experienced by female members of the casts of these shows. In the video clip that I chose, one of the main characters, Brooke Davis, is recalling her prior attack by a male individual who previously attacked her, and is now fighting back against him in defense of herself and her foster daughter Sam. Although the message of the episode is in some ways a hopeful one, teaching young women the act of self-defense and standing up for oneself, at the same time the violent acts are still being displayed. So I have to ask, is it better to display these types of acts with a hopeful and inspiring message attached to them, or to not display such acts at all? I think many times these shows and networks feel that their ratings would go down or be non-existent without such action and suspense, but for the sake of preventing such acts from occurring in real life, I almost feel myself that it would be better to approach the issues from a different, less violent, angle.

Aristotle's Rhetoric

Even though Aristotle lived in the time of Ancient Greece and over 2,300 years ago his ideas and theories on rhetoric are still relevant today. Aristotle developed a theory that the "available means of persuasion are based on three kinds of proof: logical (known as logos), ethical (known as ethos), and emotional (known as pathos)" (Griffin pg. 280).

This is an audio clip from the movie Legally Blonde proving that even with a small speech that over 2,000 years later Aristotle's views on rhetoric are still prevalent.



Logos is proof of a logical nature that comes from the argument found within a speech and is persuasion based on deductible reasoning. Elle Woods, in the movie Legally Blonde, uses logos in her Harvard graduation speech by first quoting Aristotle and then proving him incorrect by offering her logic from her experience at Harvard.

Ethos is "ethical proof, which comes from the speaker's intelligence, character, and goodwill toward the audience, as these personal characteristics are revealed through the message" (Griffin pg. 283). In the Legally Blonde speech Elle uses ethos because as Professor Stormwell mentions at the beginning of the clip Elle is the graduation class' elected speaker and the professor also mentions that Elle has been invited to be a part of one of Boston's most renowned law firms. The audience of Elle's speech are her peers and it's made obvious that they see the characteristics in Elle that are the same characteristics that build ethos because they choose her to speak and if anyone was weary of her qualifications their doubts should be dismissed because of her job offer.

Pathos is, "emotional proof, which comes from the feelings that speech draw out of those who hear it." If you've seen the entirety of the movie, Legally Blonde, you know that at the beginning when Elle first went to Harvard she was not widely accepted by her classmates based on first impressions. In her speech to her peers she offers advice to them: that first impressions are not always correct, to always have faith in people, and always have faith in yourself. What you cannot hear in the audio clip but can visually see in the movie are the emotions from her classmates that show how far they've come from from first meeting Elle and a deep appreciation for what she has just taught them and the conclusion of her speech is met with a roaring applause.

Bret's First Post

Hello, my name is Bret Schlein and I am a Broadcasting, Telecommunications, + Mass Media (BTMM) student. The BTMM major seems to fit my life well, since my biggest passion in life is music. Ever since I was young, music has naturally been a part of every thing I do. I have even started my own blog, which I mostly use to spotlight different songs and artists. A music video, which I recently posted on my blog, that I greatly enjoy is "Day 'n' Nite (Crookers Remix)" by Kid Cudi.


I interned for the radio station Wired 96.5 last semester. It was great. I learned a great deal of experience in the radio industry and enjoyed every moment of it.

My current goal is to get a job in the promotions department of the radio station, when a position becomes available. Mass communication is an important part my life, because I want to get a job at Wired 96.5. Besides listening to a good deal of music, I also watch plenty of television and try to go to the movie theater whenever possible. From this class, I want to gain knowedge about the BTMM field that will help me for my future career. Since I have had the opportunity to intern at a major radio station, I offer some knowledge in the radio field. I know a little about how the radio affects the public. I also have knowledge in some of the methods that radio stations use to reach the public and to keep their audience listening.

Matt's First Post

Hey everyone, My name is Matt Murphy and I am a Senior Political Science Major. I chose this major, because I like talking about world events and international relations, not so much the local politics of our nation. I love to Snowboard! If I'm not in class or at work I'm probably on the mountain hitting the park. Sometimes I'll go up to New Hampshire or Vermont and board on those mountains. My goal for next year is to get out west and experience the Rocky mountains and some Pow. I am also learning how to ride motorcycles, here is a photo of me on one of my friends R1.














Here's a video of me and some of my friends in Vermont: (Vid soon to come)



Mass communication serves a purpose in my life. I do watch some television shows, I text people, I always listen to the radio. So i have some exposure to mass communications. In terms of snowboarding I do get magazines about snowboarding and I watch movies about it. The reason I took this class is to graduate, but I hope to learn about the various theories surrounding the field of communication so that I am able to think a little deeper while i'm viewing a movie or some sort of message. As for what i can offer the group...I can try to offer my ideas about the subject that come from the readings, but I think I am going to learn a lot more from my group mates than they are of me.

First Post

Hey Guys!
My name is Catherine Cannon and I'm a sophomore BTMM major at Temple. My sophomore year so far has been really awesome. The Phillie's won the world series and I was able to run down to city hall, Obama was elected into office and the Steelers are going to the Superbowl! I was born and raised and Pittsburgh which makes me a die-hard Steelers fan and I cannot wait until Sunday, February 1 for the game!

To the right is a photo and below is a video that combines two of the most incredible parts of my year so far.




When I was first deciding what to major in when I was applying to colleges the only thing that made any sense to me was the field of communications. Communication and especially mass communication is such an important part of my life and honestly it's almost sad to say that I'm not sure how I could survive without the internet, television, newspapers, etc. I am a very type A, energetic person and having media and so many forms of communication at my fingertips is just so exciting to me. I like to know all the information and right when it happens and the different forms of mass communication make that easy for me. However even with all the positives that mass communication gives to me I would have to agree with Sarah that there are flaws with the day by day development of mass communication. Life seems to have become more and more interpersonal which is something that worries me. In the United States we are all already in a mindset of each man for his own and mass communication seems to have impacted the interpersonal relationships even more strongly in a negative sense where we see less and less physical human interaction. But I have hope for us.

I'm really excited to be taking this class this semester and getting to know everyone. So far in my experiences at Temple my favorite classes each semester are those that are contributing to my major so I hope this is a similar experience. I also hope to gain an even greater understanding of the field of communication so I can walk away with a great education (as I'm sure everyone does in whatever the pursue). But yes, enough rambling. See you in class!

A little about me!

Hello Everyone! My name is Asa James Carr and I am a junior Communications major at Temple University. I believe it is safe to say my daily schedule, and routine are openly embedded with multiple facets of mass communication. As far as my own individual experiences with it, there are many. To start I get my day going by watching the morning news, or Sportscenter, then its sports radio again on the way to work or school. Then throughout the day, I am either texting on my phone, checking sports updates, emailing etc. Therefore, as you can see mass communication is a huge part of my life. Aside from that, it also affects me in my plans. I have an A.A in journalism, and fully intended on becoming a sports writer. Growing up my favorite thing to do was reading the paper. However, with the dawning of the technological boom that industry has all but dried up. Soon, only a few select papers will remain, and the internet will control most of the news. Which in reality does not bother me, but more than anything just brings about a sense of sadness. I already feel that as a country we have gotten away from core values, and ways of life that once uniquely defined us. Moreover, the dependency on technology and the separation it causes to the everyday interactions goes hand and hand with the shift in lifestyle. However, for me to sit here and label technology the devil would be irresponsible, and hypocritical. I feel once a system is in place to regulate content on the web, it can become an even more beneficial entity.

Wow! I know I sound like a confused, pessimistic individual; however, that is the complete opposite. And, that is why I am particularly stoked about taking this class. It will allot me the opportunity to filter out the misconceptions, and help develop, and legitimize my opinions regarding mass communication, and technology in particular. I feel that I have many important experiences to bring to the table. Outside of being an avid user of technology in my leisure time, I also have experience using it for work. You see I worked as a sports writer for a long while and also blog about sports as well. I thoroughly enjoy writing, and it is safe to say I am a tad obsessed with sports (Baseball leads the packs). In summation, I look forward to a semester with everybody, and hope we have a fun, eventful, worthwhile experience.

Asa

First Post About Myself

Hi All! My name is Sarah Sibel and I am a senior Communications Major at Temple Ambler. I'll start off with a little bit about myself. I enjoy singing, acting, skiing, and golfing. I also love music, movies, spending time with my family and friends, watching and going to sporting events, going to the beach, playing poker, and basically just having a good time. I have one older sister and no pets, but I love dogs. The video that I decided to include is a music video by an up and coming artist named Kate Voegele. I chose this because I love her music and I love to sing myself, and I think she is amazing live in concert, but I think it is a cool video of one of my favorite songs by her. Enjoy!



I believe mass communication to be important to my life, because without it, life would be that much more difficult, but like everything else, it has its pros and cons. In terms of identity and relationships, I believe that many times people rely too much on technology and certain forms of mass communication to associate with one another, and this takes away from the closeness and caring factor among people in so many cases. I think that mass communication is obviously a huge factor in helping work to be accomplished more quickly and efficiently, but to rely solely upon technology too just makes society lazy to a certain point. It is my belief that mass communication should help support our lives, but not completely hinder us from living them to the best of our ability outside of the technological world.

In terms of this class, I would like to gain a better understanding of why people communciate the way they do nowadays, and why technology has to completely take over our lives, rather than just supplement them. I think that I will be able to contribute my own personal experiences with the growing technology and how it has affected my life and society in general today, as well as my own understanding of how some of this technology works. I look forward to how this class will pan out and how the different perspectives of people will bring together the different concepts behind mass communication.

Welcome A-Team

Welcome Team A--Catherine Cannon, Asa Carr, Matt Murphy, Sarah Sibel, and Brett Schlein.

For your first post, respond briefly to the following:

• Introduce to yourself generally
• How is mass communication an important factor in your life? (answer in terms of your identity, relationships, philosophy, beliefs, habits, work and/or ambitions)
• What do you want to gain from this class?
  
• What perspectives will you offer the group from your experience with mass media and communication?

Since this is an academic blog, please write primarily in complete sentences and standard English.

To post, click on the orange and white "B" icon (for blogger) in the top left corner. That will bring you to your dashboard for your Google accounts. Then click on the button to add a post to this blog. You should be able to figure out the rest.

If you have trouble, use the help functions. You can also try contacting your group members (here or through Blackboard) for help.

Welcome aboard!