Thoughts on My Academic Major at Shepherd University

              

       “ Professional communicators work in all sizes and types of media organizations including publishing firms, radio and TV broadcasting companies, advertising, and PR agencies, and even large theme park conglomerates” (4). I chose mass communications with a concentration in media studies as my major because I want to learn about the art of film making and other cyberculture programs that deal with new media. I have always been interested in learning new things about the computer and ways to help modify the process of producing film. I do not have a clear-cut idea of exactly what I want to do at this point of my college career, but I know I want to be involved someway in video production.

 I know I have a lot to learn, but I am very ambitious about attending the mass communications courses that Shepherd University offers! My major has exciting classes, such as the history of film or television, music video, advertising and imagery, motion graphics, radio or news practicum, narrative scriptwriting, single camera production, and more. So far, as a mass communications student here at Shepherd I have only completed voice and diction, which is a more advanced speech course, and the introduction to communications and new media, in which I have gained knowledge about the many aspects of communications and new media, as well as their philosophies.   Next semester I have signed up for advertising and imagery and the radio practicum. I am very much looking forward to both of these classes.

I think that the communications program and the communications courses offered at Shepherd are equally important to my future career. Being a future graduate of the communications department at Shepherd University will be a great credential for me. I know that Dr. Williams and the other instructors have worked hard to design a program to prepare me for the world of work in media one day.  The courses are also a very important aspect of the communications program.  Because the class sizes are small, I know I will get the individualized attention and information that I need from the instructors.  Shepherd University seems to be unique among other universities when it comes to class size. 

I hope to gain the knowledge and experience that I need to earn a satisfying career in mass communications. This is a growing field, and I know jobs will be available. More specifically I wish to learn and utilize computer programs, such as Final Cut Pro for editing.  Although this is a program that I can teach myself through using it, it would be nice to have someone with more in depth knowledge teach me the full ins and outs of it.  Also, the editing of a film work is equally as important as the shooting of it, so more emphasis being given to editing would further enhance the skills of all students in the department.

Although I have only had two professors in the communications department, Dr. Webb and Dr. Williams, I have checked out all of the communications staff on the communications page on the Shepherd University website and have learned their many credentials.  All are very qualified to teach and I look forward to having a pleasant working relationship with all of them.

As a Shepherd University student I am ready to receive a wonderful education in the field of mass communications through the teachings of well-trained instructors. I know I am getting the proper instruction and knowledge to move ahead and  to obtain a great career that I will love in the future!

Works Cited

Noronha, Shonan.  Careers in Communications. McGraw Hill, 2005.  Print.  P. 4.

           

           

Thoughts on “Why Cyberculture?” By David Bell

         The growing inventions of technology have swept the world up in the latter years of the 20^th century and have become “out of this world” so far in the 21^st century. David Bell reflects his ideas and the ideas of other theorists to explain why the earth’s growing technological advances came to be called cyberculture.

            David Bell uses the terms cybernetics, cyberspace, and cyberpunk, all words that stemmed and are all linked from cyberculture. The term cybernetics is  “the science of communication and control in living beings or machines” (60). Bell explains that a scientist, Norbert Wiener, who published many best selling books that dealt with the idea of “teleological mechanisms”, developed the term as early as the 1940s. Wiener brought about ideas and relationships between humans and machines.   To Bell, the term cyberspace is vastly imaginative and very “sci-fi” like, and believes that is how the future is meant to be. He thinks that cyberspace involves many different types of technologies such as digital animation, cell phones, medical equipment, iPods, and much more. Bell gives recognition to William Gibson, writer of Neuromancer a novel that came out of the cyberpunk genre, in coining the term cyberspace in to describe the setting of computer operation stations that characters would get linked into.  According to this reading, cyberspace involves technologies, and or humans that experience the use of these technologies.  It also involves people affected by technological advances who can tell of their experiences through stories and the use of imagery. The phrase cyberpunk goes back to the 1980s and is a word that is used in the genres of science fiction texts, and film. Its main focus is on the uses and effects of new technologies like, computers, and promotes images of cyberspace and other artificial intelligence. A prime example of cyberpunk in film is the movie Blade Runner, made in 1982.

             While terms, like cyberspace and cybernetics, are claimed by specific people, cyberculture is not. The origins are uncertain.  Bell gives us his definition as this: “cyberculture is a way of thinking about how people and digital technologies interact, how we live together… ways of life in cyberspace, or ways of life shaped by cyberspace, where cyberspace is a matrix of embedded practices and representations” (62).  I can totally understand Bell’s point of view. Cyberculture involves the evolving relationships with new technologies and humans and making it part of their culture. Bell brings up an interesting point stated by Paul Taylor. Taylor describes everyday interactions with cyberculture as “living in the gap” (63). He means that everyone utilizing technology is living in the gap, and people who do not, are living in a more archaic pre-cyberculture reality. This assertion goes along with the term, technological determinism, which is how technology and society shape each other.           

            Many people use technologies, like the computer, and are connected to the world of cyberculture. They can be active or passive. Bell seems to be urging individuals to be active members of cyberculture. He gives a lengthy list of cyberculture studies, or ways to contribute to the world of cyberculture. Part of his list includes: media studies, work on new media, multimedia, digital media, film studies, work on sci-fi cinema, digital film making, and new modes of film production (66). These are some of the cyber-based subject materials that I am learning about, or will be learning about, in future classes of my major. I am contributing to cyberculture studies right now by writing this blog. David Bell lastly, in so many words, states that the world of cyberculture is ever changing, and that even the act of theorizing it and writing about it is never set in stone or concrete, it is complex and truly amazing.  With this I fully agree!

             

               Works Cited

Bell, David. “Why Cyberculture?” A Media Studies Reader. Editor: Williams, Kevin. 2010, University Readers Inc. and Taylor & Francis Group. P. 59-69

Comm 203 The Graphic Novel as a Mode of Communication

So far in my communications and new media class, the most interesting and enjoyable project that I had the pleasure to work on was creating my own graphic novel.  At first, I was apprehensive about this assignment because I have never been a reader of comics or graphic novels.  I was worried that I might not be able to recreate the style of a classic graphic novel.  Fortunately, using the program Comic Life made this task easier for me, as did my professor’s instructions. Comic life is a really fabulous program that allows you use pictures that you either take yourself, or retrieve from the Internet.  The Comic Life program transforms these pictures to look like a drawn, or cartoon-like print. There are many page templates to choose from to fit these filtered images by stretching, and bending them to your liking.  These layouts look like the pages of a comic book.  You can put in thought and speech bubbles, and caption boxes to show the characters thoughts and dialogue. There are also many text fonts and colors to choose from.  The program has many more features, but since this was my first attempt at using it, I tried to keep the features simple so I could better focus on my story. 

While incredibly fun, my graphic novel project presented some special challenges because I choose to do my own photography using my not so well trained cats as characters. I created a fictional story called, “The Unwanted.” It is about my two cats, Pixie and Sophie.  The premise of the story is that the main human characters, Hannah and Owen (played by my boyfriend and me), want to adopt a new cat to give their existing cat, Pixie, a new playmate.  Not wanting to loose her position as her owners’ center of attention, Pixie devises several wicked plots in an “Evil Plot Book,” to force her owners to take the new cat, Sophie, to the animal shelter. “Evil will not prevail over good” is the main message or moral that I wanted to communicate in the narrative. Pixie is the evil antagonistic force that tries to prevail over Sophie, the protagonist.  Like most stories featuring a malicious plot, the bad guy, or in this case, the bad cat comes out the loser.

The amazing thing about comics is that they express themselves though pictures more than words.  While the use of words was necessary in conveying the plot of my graphic novel, not all comics are reliant on a plethora of dialogue to communicate their message.  While my graphic novel was meant to entertain, the comic-like style of a graphic novel could be used in other forms of communication. I have seen printed advertisements that utilize this style.  I’ve also been exposed to educational materials written in the style of a graphic novel.  Even Liechtenstein uses comic style images as art pieces. Using visual images, with or without, dialogue is an excellent, eye-catching way to communicate a thought or idea.  The graphic novel concept could be used to make more complex ideas simple.  For example, instructions for assembling something would be much easier for a visual learner if the directions were presented in the form a short graphic novel.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words! 

Hit Me Up On My Facebook!

Facebook is an absolute Internet phenomenon that millions of people of all ages, especially the young, spend their free time with. Facebook is ubiquitous and infectious because it is such an amazing tool for communication.  In using Facebook people can express themselves, connect with family and friends, meet new people, enjoy entertainment, promote themselves, and even find new job opportunities.

I finally jumped on the bandwagon, and signed up to become a member of Facebook the summer of 2008 on my eighteenth birthday. I was memorized by the infinite features that it had.  The search feature allowed me to connect with old friends that I had not seen since elementary school, and friends that I see frequently by simply sending them a “friend request.” I remember when I first signed up I spent hours setting up my profile information, filling out my “interests,” choosing some “favorites,” and uploading pictures and videos for all my close friends and acquaintances to view.  The safety/ privacy settings allow you to choose who sees your profile. This gives me a feeling of security knowing that I have control over who sees my information. My security settings allow only my friends to view my profile.  It is also remarkable in the fact that it has features like instant messaging and sending personal messages, like that of an email, to someone or to many people all at once. I really appreciate those particular features because it’s a lot more personal and not out in the open for all to see. Personally, as a rather shy individual, instant messaging is a great way to get to know a person as a “follow up” icebreaker after meeting someone new.  In other words, asking if someone is on Facebook is equivalent to asking for his or her number! The personal message option is also a great way to send invitations, and make plans to hang out with friends. I usually always communicate to my friends via Facebook to confirm plans if I can’t see them in person or talk to them on the phone. It is an especially great tool for communicating with friends who don’t attend Shepherd University, or with friends who live too far away to inexpensively communicate with via telephone.

I love to write on my friends’ wall just to say hello, and keep in touch. I know it brightens my day when I receive a “hey, what’s up?” or if someone comments on my status update. Internet interactions like these make me feel like I am closer to my friends, even though they are miles away. It makes me feel happy and secure about the people I connect with.

If chatting, commenting, uploading pictures and videos, and posting isn’t enough entertainment in itself, there are always fun little quizzes and games that you can play for fun.  Although I do not partake in the games or quizzes on Facebook, connecting with my friends keep me entertained and content.  

Another great tool of Facebook is that it can serve as a virtual scrapbook.  I can look back at pictures and entries that I’ve made over the years and relive some wonderful memories with friends and family.

Facebook is a fantastic way to promote a product or business, as well. There are ads that are designed to fit your consumer personality and the Facebook user can also promote products by “liking” or “subscribing to them.  I have “liked” or subscribed to certain bands and products that I am interested in and they keep me informed of their new products and promotions. For example, I am subscribed to the Facebook pages of certain clothing stores, whenever they are having a sale, I get the news right away because it’s on my wall feed, or I know when my favorite band is going on tour.  How great is that?

Searching for jobs is an extremely bright option that is included in the many folds of Facebook. I haven’t really explored this realm of Facebook, but I am sure I will in the near future.  

Facebook is an extraordinary tool that can facilitate communication in many realms of a person’s life.  It can serve as a tool to keep in touch with friends, to preserve memories, to meet new people, to entertain, to promote one’s self or products, and can aid in a job search.  I can’t imagine life without Facebook!

The VALS Survey

       The VALS survey is used to determine your personality type as a consumer. It includes forty statements such as, “I like a lot of variety in my life,” or “I follow the latest trends in fashion.”  It then gives the survey taker the answer choices of “mostly disagree”, “somewhat disagree”, “somewhat agree” or “mostly agree.  After completing this survey, the survey taker is shown eight different areas of behaviors that reveal their consumer type.  The final results show the two main personality characteristics that supposedly suit the survey taker. These categories of personality are: innovators, thinkers, believers, achievers, strivers, experiencers, makers, and survivors. The results for my personality as a consumer revealed that I am a striver and an experiencer.

            The test results explain that strivers are fashionable and carefree. Strivers are inspired by successes, and worry about the thoughts and approval of others. Although money delineates achievement for strivers, they don’t have sufficient funds to obtain their wants. They prefer trendy products that imitate the buyers of individuals with large material assets. Many strivers look for a job rather than a career because they lack skills to move forward. Strivers are lively consumers because shopping is a social experience and shows others that they are able to purchase. As consumers, they are willing to spend as much as their financial status will permit. The other personality type I was given that goes along with being a striver was an experiencer. Experiencers are young and active in their social lives. They look for excitement and entertainment when purchasing products. They are attracted to new and exciting things!  They become excited about a product but are disinterested in it after a short period of time. The items that they purchase show that they deem having new and current items as something very important to them.

            I would agree at this point in my life that I am a striver and an experiencer to a certain degree. I am a young college student with not a lot of income. When I do have money, I tend to purchase items such as clothing, jewelry, movies, music, and concert tickets. I also enjoy spending money on meals out with my friends.  I, however, do not tend to grow tired of a product quickly after purchasing it. I am the type of person who takes great care of the items I buy and am inclined to keep them for a long period of time. I do like variety and tend to shop for unique items. I very much disagree that I am worried about the opinions and approval of others in making choices about my purchases.  I usually buy what I like, or what I think is a good value for me regardless, of the opinions of others.  Money is not the definition of success to me, as the survey indicated. I could care less about what other people think of me, and happiness defines how successful you are not income or possessions. 

            Although there are some truths to my results in the VALS survey, I think my current position as a college student with a low income and a low amount of financial responsibility helped to shape those results.  Once I am out in the real world, with my own career, my own income, and my own bills, I know my priorities are destined to change.  

Thoughts on “Talking About Videogames” by James Newman

        Writing about videogames feels like a daunting task for me.  My own experiences with videogames seem to be rather limited compared to the experiences of my peers.  As I was growing up, my family always had a gaming system of some kind in our home.  Our earliest system was a Super Nintendo, followed by, a Nintendo 64, a Play Station II and finally a Nintendo Wii.  While I have enjoyed playing performance and trivia games like “Sing Star,” “Dance, Dance Revolution,” or the “Buzz” trivia game that we have for the Play Station, I’ve never really developed an interest for action, combat or other types of videogames.  Because of my lack of experience in the world of gaming, I was a bit worried that James Newman’s, “Talking About Videogames” would be beyond my scope of understanding or interest.  Thankfully, I was wrong.  Although I know very little of the storylines or rules of the games mentioned, I can identify with the concept of video gaming as a social culture, and although I don’t consider myself a gamer, I have been exposed to many of the elements that Newman mentions in his writing and can identify with their value.

            Newman observed that the creation of multi-player games, “where all players are co-present in a given space”(463) has made video gaming a more socially interactive experience rather than a solitary one.  I easily identified with this because my only gaming experience has been with multiplayer games where I’m competing with friends or family, and not playing alone.  Even games that we own that are single player are usually played with others giving suggestions or strategies to the single player.  

            Newman also indicates that people talk about videogames in much the same way that people may discuss the storyline and characters of a television show or movie.  I’ve witnessed my own sister and friends engaged in conversations about Link from Zelda or about levels in Super Mario World.  More than once I’ve listened to friends’ and family members’ discussions concerning predictions, tips, and criticisms of the latest game they are obsessed with.  I also have friend who is involved in a gaming group, leading to further social interaction and discussion.

            As well as discussion, video games have created a magazine culture.  The closest I’ve come to awareness of this was leafing through my sister’s old “hints” magazine for Zelda for the old Super Nintendo!  Things have really changed since then.  In addition to hints, today’s gaming magazines feature articles about current and future games, as well as opportunities for gamers to write in and share hints and successes and ask questions or make comments about games.  I think the most important point of the section on the “magazine culture” of video games is that, according to Newman, they “provide considerable reassurance that other like-minded gamers exist” (469).  That reassurance must provide a feeling of connectedness among gamers.

            Of the online gaming culture, I have no experience, but I can understand and appreciate it as another way for gamers to feel connected to one another and validated that what they are doing is worthwhile.  Because people are able to communicate about the games they are interested in via microphones while playing, or through blogs or chat rooms they can share moves or hints, and voice opinions about the quality and content of the games they enjoy.

                                                           Works Cited

Newman, James.  “Talking About Videogames.” A Media Studies Reader.  Editor: Williams, Kevin.  2010, University Readers Inc. and Taylor & Francis Group.  P.463-483.

             

                       

           

            

Comparing and Contrasting Brian Sutton-Smith and George Herbert Mead’s Theories on Games and Play From the Reading “What is a Game,” by Egenfieldt-Neilson, Smith and Tosca

        The subject of games and play is a very interesting one.  Educationist, Brian Sutton-Smith did much research on the role of games as play in the 1970s.  Social psychologist, George Herbert Mead wrote the book Mind, Self and Society in 1934, and discussed in detail the function of play and games as role training.  While both scholars voiced their beliefs in different decades, the content of their research has validity.  Though Sutton-Smith and Mead have different philosophies on games and play, they do share several similarities in the themes of games and play in society, in goal orientation, and in the necessity of rules.

            Both Sutton-Smith and Mead see the playing of a game as having a role in society.  Sutton-Smith believes that the games of a society reflect how evolved that society is.  He states, “The more complex a social system, the more advanced its games” (159).  This makes perfect sense.  One can imagine primitive societies, where all of the members of the group spend the majority of time focusing on meeting their basic needs, as having very little time for games or play, as even the youngest members of the society are helping their parents.  Even with time for play, more primitive people might base their play solely on imitation, and not have formal rules of play.  The members of more complex societies, where basic needs are more easily met, have time to engage in play and create games with more structure and rules.  George Herbert Mead sees play and games as the building blocks to understanding one’s self and the roles and rules of society.  He believes that through “make-believe” play children learn to understand the roles of others and they begin to “understand the symbols that indicate that role” (160).  Once a child involves him or herself in organized games with others, such a team sport, they are forced to learn the roles of others in the game and their relationships with them.  This prepares them for fitting in with society as they mature.

            Both Sutton-Smith and Mead agree that games are goal oriented.  Sutton-Smith sees the establishment of “dominance by making the right moves” (159-160) and creating a clear winner or loser as the goal of game playing.  This goal can be achieved through one-on-one play or through team play.  Mead sees the goal of game playing as a method for the player or players to understand themselves and those around them, and believes that this understanding will later translate to the player’s role in society. If Mead were on a soccer team, he would be focusing on his position and role as a player, and how his role relates to the others on the team.  Where it seems that Sutton-Smith would be focusing on his interaction with the others on the team in order to for his team to win the game.  Mead seems to focus more on learning about self and others, where Sutton-Smith’s focus seems to be more on winning.

            In addition to agreeing that games and play have a role in society, and that games are goal oriented, Sutton-Smith and Mead both see the necessity of rules in game.  For Sutton-Smith, rules help to “produce a disequilibrial outcome,” (159) or an outcome with a clear winner or loser.  For Mead, rules aid in defining the roles of the players.  They allow an individual to go from “play to game” (160). 

            Play and games are an important part of the development of most individuals.  While Brian Sutton-Smith and George Herbert Mead have differing beliefs concerning the functions of play and games, they both recognize that play and games have a role in society and that play and games are both goal oriented and have a clear need for rules.

                                                                                          Works Cited

Egenfeldt-Neilson, S., Smith, Jonas, H., & Tosca, Susana P.  “What Is a Game?”  A Media Studies Reader.  Editor: Williams, Kevin.  2010, University Readers Inc. and Taylor & Francis Group.  P. 151-173.