Media literacy assignment #11

This final chapter opens with a quote from Australian scholar Alex Covey, "Taking the Risk out of Democracy". He is quoted again later on pages 202-203, defining the terms 'propaganda' and 'education', and relating these both to democracy. After finishing the chapter, reflect on the opening quote and the idea of democracy. What does 'democracy' mean to you? What have you learned about public relations and other media related topics as they pertain to democracy? How do we as concerned citizens exercise our democratic rights within a capitalist economic system? Share your vision of a just and truly democratic country. Where is the hope? What is your role in making this a reality?

In my mind, democracy is supposed to be a means of government in which every citizen has an equal voice in decision making. This is the beautiful picture that was painted for me during my elementary and high school education. Until about a month ago, I wasn’t told that corporations have constitutional personhood, or that news channels are owned by big businesses and can lie and make up stories. I feel as though democracy has been severely immobilized in the United States, and I don’t think that we really have the kind of ‘freedom’ that radical patriots carry on about. It has been made increasingly clear to me that we are all treated as mere consumers. Nearly everything we are exposed to is intended to persuade us to buy things. Individuality is emphasized and made to seem fashionable, and yet most of us are basically the same. Public relations corporations seem to have their hands in everything. It is completely unclear what I can and cannot believe to be fact.

The best way to exercise your rights as a concerned citizen in a capitalist system is to engage in civil disobedience and grassroots activism in order to catalyze positive change. When the majority of people are blindly being guided by corporations and a corrupt government…that’s when you know you’re in the USA. People need to create an outcry, and many of us are doing so. It is essential to live more simply, purchase less junk, watch less TV, and become more connected with your community. Public education is really important, as well. I think that if more people knew what was involved in producing the goods they consume, well, they wouldn’t consume those things. Although I am confused about that, because I know a lot of people who just don’t care about social, environmental and animals rights issues that much. I am wondering if the utter dysfunction of our democratic system has left people aware of their apparent powerlessness, and caused them to be apathetic? Or has an overdose of violent TV and games left us desensitized?

My vision of a true democracy is a bit of a utopian, idealist society. First of all, I would hope that corporations as we know them would not be allowed to exist. Companies would not have constitutional personhood, and would be taxed appropriately based on how rich they became. My ideal society would not be capitalist. Free, local food would be given to people when they went to the polls to vote. Education would be more equal and accessible to all people. Inner city schools would be given more access to funding so that those children would at least have the opportunity to get into a better socio-economic situation. Hopefully, racism wouldn’t still be such an issue in the first place, and minorities wouldn’t be so concentrated in slums. Animal rights would be taken much more seriously because, rather than corporations having so many rights under the constitution, animals would actually have some rights. For this reason, exploitation such as commercial hunting, factory farming, zoos, animal testing, rodeos, and puppy/kitten mills would be completely illegal. Genetically engineered organism would undergo more testing for safety, animals could not be genetically modified, and no life from could be patented. Monsanto would be shut down, George Bush would be in jail, less federal money would be invested in killing people and more would be invested to rehabilitate returning soldiers. I could rant on and on (obviously) about my visions, but the point is that these changes would make for a more just, equal society. The gap between rich and poor would be narrower, and this country would be less vicious and more compassionate toward all.

Group PSA Project:

My PSA group (Morgan, Nate and Zack) will be meeting tomorrow at 1pm in the Bailey Howe Library to get the ball rolling. I have been doing some background research on the issue and coming up with some ideas to present to my group members tomorrow. I looked at the webpage for NORML that you emailed to us. It was really interesting. There are a lot of videos and news clips in the site that could be useful, along with a map that categorizes the laws regarding marijuana in every state of the USA. It seems that marijuana is decriminalized in about 12 states so far, which is pretty impressive. I have also noticed a lot of articles about the issue in local media over the past month or so. I thought it might be interesting to incorporate local news headlines. Your suggestion about not using humor as a focus of our PSA for this issue makes sense. I think my group and I will have to think about whom we are targeting. Aside from our classmates, who will see our message? If the majority of viewers are peers, it might be effective to use light hearted humor to get their attention, then provide resources to mobilize/get active toward changing marijuana laws.

Overall, I am a bit frustrated and stressed, not because of this class project in particular, but because I have 5 group projects due in the next three weeks. Two of these projects involve making a video, and I have no experience with media production whatsoever. It is also difficult to arrange times to meet with groups when everyone’s schedules are different. I hope that my group decides to make good use of out class time over the next two weeks.

30 Minutes outdoors:

Last week, I woke up early to catch up on reading before one of my classes. I ended up having some time to spare, and it was one of the first really warm beautiful days this spring. I walked to the Main Green on UVM campus and sat on a bench. There was still dew on the grass, and very few people were really out and about quite yet. I sat quietly and noticed that, after just a few minutes, small animals emerged from the trees and bushes to have breakfast. I watched several grey squirrels and countless sea gulls and other birds as they scratched and pecked the soft ground for bugs and seeds. I was comforted by the presence of some animals. I closed my eyes and began a mindful meditation. As I sat still, eyes closed, I noted the sounds of cars driving past, birds chirping, and the wind blowing from Lake Champlain. I find it really calming and grounding to meditate whenever a good opportunity presents itself. It is definitely easiest for me when I am outside. I think that a lot of information was conveyed to me as I sat outdoors. I observed a daily routine that the smaller urban wildlife go through each morning, I acknowledged that there were many people driving past my University, presumably on their way to work, and arguably most importantly: I had some time to decompress.

30 Minutes of TV-Friends episode:

It is 8:45pm on Sunday evening, and I am about to watch TV for thirty minutes and observe how I feel, as compared to my feelings when outdoors for thirty minutes. I spent almost my entire weekend outside because it was so beautiful, and so I am just now beginning to do my homework assignments. So at this point, as I sit down at my desk, about to play an episode of Friends on DVD, I feel a bit anxious. It seems as though I always feel a bit guilty when I watch a movie or TV show because I know that I should be spending my time more efficiently. This time at least I am making observations for a class, but still…

Since I was watching a TV show on DVD, there were no commercials and I had seen this particular episode before. When I first began to watch, I was completely aware of the fact that I was limited to 30 minutes and felt like maybe I would end up not wanting to turn it off. Although it is pleasant to be lazy and sit here starring at a screen, I was anxious the whole time. I fidgeted and texted throughout the episode. I feel like maybe a lot of people feel this way when in front of a screen. There is an urge to get up and do something else, but at the same time you’re glued.

The show itself is about a group of six likeable people in their mid twenties to early thirties whom spend all of their time together living in New York City. This episode in particular was all about two of the characters, Monica and Chandler, who were engaged and trying to write their wedding vows. All of the characters were reminiscing about how the couple got together, and so there was a lot of romance and ‘warm fuzzies’. Of course, all of the characters are attractive, have decent livelihoods, and end up happy in the end. Each character represents personality traits that we could all identify in people whom we know. Overall, I think that Friends portrays what people that age would hope their lives are like, and the problems which people deal with alongside their friends as they go from fresh college graduate to ‘real world’ adult. There is a definite emphasis on romance, and the need to have a lasting relationship. Monica in particular is obsessed with getting married and having children, which may say a little something about the American society, or even humanity itself.