Activist Project: Women's Rights

In John Berger’s novel, Ways of Seeing, he writes “…owners were usually men and the persons treated as objects were women, this unequal relationship is so deeply embedded in our culture that it still structures the consciousness of many women” (Berger). Because this idea of inequality between men and women has been around for so long, it is something that is very hard to get rid of. As human beings, we contribute to our society and our culture; and we must work towards the abolishment of the idea of inequality.

Justice for Girls in an active organization that works to prevent the issue that is often brought up in Berger’s Ways of Seeing: objectification of women and inequality. This organization promotes freedom from violence, social justice and equality for teenage girls living in poverty.

Since the age of 5, I have been periodically involved with the YMCA – both as a participant and a leader in their programs—and as an extension of the YMCA, the YWCA. The YWCA works in local communities providing activities and support groups for young women. This organization has worked with over 25 million women in 22,000 communities (Brennan). While in high school, I was involved in a program run by the YMCA. The goal of this program was to bring about equal rights for women all over the world. This is an issue that women have faced for many, many years. Although women are given equal rights under the law in Canada, there are still inequalities that take place in our nation between men and women; as well as in many other parts of the world. As a woman, I feel it is my duty to stand up for women’s rights, and to help create a world of equality.



Works Cited
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguion Books, 1972.
Brennan, Susan. Women Leading Change. 2009. 12 November 2009 .

Culture JAMMING

The term culture jamming refers to “billboard alteration and other forms of media sabotage” (Culture Jamming). The producers of these “culture jams” transform the original medium to produce an ironic or satirical effect (Wikipedia: Culture Jamming).

The above image has been altered to create a play on words. The image states “Years in the fashion industry made me a salve to my ill figure.” The words “Tommy Hilfiger” have been changed and made to say “to my ill figure”. The reason for this is because the fashion industry as a whole sends out the message that the “ideal” woman should be over 5’9” and have a 22” waist. They must be unreasonably thin—to the point where it could be detrimental to their health—to be beautiful. Although this is not ideal and is completely unrealistic, women in many parts of the world strive to acquire this “beauty”. This specific example of culture jamming makes us stop and think about what the fashion industry along with the media are doing to women; how it is harming them.

Throughout Scott McCloud’s book, Understanding Comics, specifically in chapter five, he uses cartoon images to make emotions visible. Chapter five begins on page 118, and starts off by asking “can emotions be made visible?” (McCloud). Stop and think about this question for a moment… Can emotions be made visible? I believe that they can. On page 121 of Understanding Comics, McCloud goes on to say that “The idea that a picture can evoke an emotional or sensual response in the viewer is vital…” (McCloud). To me, this image supports that idea. Although the girl in the image appears to be free from any emotion, the image as a whole evokes a lot of emotion in its viewers. It represents the pressure on girls and women to conform, to look a certain way, and to fit in.

Works Cited
Culture Jamming. 10 November 2009 .
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1993.
Wikipedia: Culture Jamming. November 2009. 12 November 2009 .

Net Neutrality: Don't take our freedom away!

Net neutrality refers to “non-discriminatory treatment of traffic” (Save Our Net.ca). In other words, this means that all information accessed on the web is treated equally. It is all delivered as quickly as possible by the company who has published/ posted the information. Because of net neutrality, internet users are able to use any content, application or service on the web without interference from the provider. The job of the network provider is simply to move the information; not to choose how efficiently the data is transferred based on its content (Save Our Net.ca).

Debates regarding net neutrality are taking place on an ongoing basis. Internet Service Providers feel that network usage should be monitored and controlled. They feel that certain information and sites on the web should be accessed at a higher speed than others. ISP’s wish to have control over user activity, however, after having so much freedom on the web, would this really work for users? Some may think so. Some may feel that more “useful” sites will run more efficiently, whereas “useless” sites will not be as efficient. Maybe they feel that this will increase productivity. It is my belief that net neutrality is something to be valued, as it gives users the freedom to access any information at a standard pace.

Lawrence Lessig, in his book entitled Free Culture, says “Through legislation, litigation and changes to the network’s design, copyright holders have been able to change the essential character of the environment of the original internet. The architecture and law that surround the internet’s design will increasingly produce an environment where all use of content requires permission... this is a creator’s nightmare” (Lessig , 277). This quotation describes the future of the internet without net neutrality. Without network neutrality , the internet will become a place of constant restriction, rather than freedom.



Works Cited
Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture. New York: Penguin Books, 2004.
Save Our Net.ca. 5 November 2009 .

Media Hegemonies: Who Owns What?

Hearst Corporation is a very prominent media corporation and is located in one of the busiest cities in the world, New York City. This corporation is very diverse with interests such as newspaper and magazine publishing, business publishing, television and radio broadcasting, cable networks and internet business.

Hearst owns over 15 newspapers that are delivered to people all over the United States on a daily basis. This company owns close to 20 US magazines and creates nearly 200 international editions of these magazines (Hearst Corporation). Some magazine titles include Cosmopolitan, CosmoGIRL, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar and O, The Oprah Magazine. Their broadcasting sector includes 29 television stations in different states across the country, and two radio stations. Some of their major television channels include ESPN, A&E, Lifetime and Cosmopolitan TV (Columbia Journalism Review). This corporation also owns Sirius/XM radio. Their business media ownerships include 20 business-to-business information services and electronic databases (Hearst Corporation).

There are a number of implications that can arise out of cross media ownership. One of these implications is that a number of the company’s sectors could publish/air the same information in order shine a positive light on the company. Because the information is coming from just one source, the information is likely bias. Although this may contribute to the success of the company, this can make for inaccurate news. This issue is touched on in Toxic Sludge is Good for You. On page 89 of the book there is a quotation stating “he can make a strategically planned program look like a spontaneous explosion of community support” (Stauber and Rampton). This is what media corporations do by putting a news story/advertisement/PR segment in one of their publications or on one of their broadcast station. They then continue to support the story using their other media ownerships. They create a hegemony: an influence or control over a group of people.

Works Cited
Columbia Journalism Review. 25 October 2008. 2 November 2009 .
Hearst Corporation. 2009. 5 November 2009 .
Stauber, John and Sheldon Rampton. Toxic Sludge is Good for You. Monroe: Common Courage Press, 1995.

Fake News: Designed to alter perception and reshape reality.

In the book Toxic Sludge is Good for You, Stauber and Rampton discuss propaganda and its implications on news and the media. “Journalism is in fact in demise, and its collapse is opening ever more opportunities for PR practitioners to increase their influence in the news room” (Stauber and Rampton). This quotation suggests that the news delivered in the media today is less factual, and more about advertising and propaganda.

“PR has become a communications medium in its own right, an industry designed to alter perception, reshape reality and manufacture consent” (Stauber and Rampton). This definition of “public relations”, taken from page two of Toxic Sludge is Good for You, relates very closely to the definition of “propaganda”. “Propaganda” is information, ideas or rumors deliberately spread widely to influence one’s perceptions.

Public relations practitioners work to make the individuals or corporations that they represent look good. Therefore, the information that they provide often stretches the truth. Because of this, we come into contact with propaganda. Propaganda “presents facts selectively” to bring about a desired reaction. Technically they are not “lying”, however, they are “lying by omission” (Yahoo Answers). This results in individuals who all believe the same thing because of what PR professionals are telling them. We no longer form our own opinions about the “news” we are reading. We are persuaded into believing what these public relations workers want us to believe. If PR continues to take over true journalism, we will no longer have factual news, but media full of propaganda.



Works Cited
Stauber, John and Sheldon Rampton. Toxic Sludge is Good for You. Monroe: Common Courage Press, 1995.
Yahoo Answers. 2009. October 2009 .

Buy Nothing Day – a day in which people around the world work to create awareness about over consumption—has been taking place for almost as long as my fellow classmates and I have been alive. This day takes place on November 25th and includes events such as free, non-commercial street fests, relaxed family outings where no money is spent, credit card cut-ups and public protests.

One may ask “what is Buy Nothing Day all about?” This year (2009), Buy Nothing Day will confront the economic crisis we are in. The recession that we are currently in has caused financial meltdown for many; so again, what is this all about? "If you dig a little past the surface you'll see that this financial meltdown is not about liquidity, toxic derivatives or unregulated markets, it's really about culture," says the co-founder of Adbusters Media Foundation, Kalle Lasn. "It's our culture of excess and meaningless consumption — the glorified spending and borrowing of the past decade that's at the root of the crisis we now find ourselves in” (Buy Nothing Day Confronts the Economic Meltdown). This quotation makes a valid point in saying that this economic crisis that we are in is a result of our culture. A culture of over consumption. One where credit cards and borrowing create purchasing power. Because borrowing and over consumption are so prominent in our culture, many individuals, families and large corporations are in debt; causing a recession. By taking part in this day, we will become more aware of over consumption and hopefully work towards putting an end to it.

An example of the “excess and meaningless consumption” that Kalle Lasn is speaking about the in the previous quotation is television. In Understanding Comics, McCloud says “Television has reached into the lives of every human being on earth” (McCloud , 59). This statement shows just one example of over consumption. Ask yourself “Do I really need television?” When you really think about this question, you will come to realize that there really is no need for television. It is just one of the many things that we as humans spend more and more money on. News that we see on TV can be read about in the newspaper; the same goes for advertisements (which for the most part are contributing to over consumption anyways). Perhaps you feel that you need television as a form of entertainment; however, why not entertain yourselves in other ways? Ways that don’t cost money; like spending time with family and friends. Let’s remember what is truly significant in our lives, like our family, and put more of our time and effort into spending time with them, rather than spending money on useless, materialistic objects.

Works Cited
Buy Nothing Day Confronts the Economic Meltdown. 2009. Obtober 2009 .
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc. , 1993.

Participatory Culture: FACEBOOK

“Human beings live in two different kinds of environments. One is the natural environment and consists of things like air, trees, rivers, and caterpillars. The other is the media environment, which consists of language, numbers, images, holograms, and all of the other symbols, techniques, and machinery that make us what we are” (Postman).

Social Networking, including websites such as “Facebook”, “My Space” and “Twitter”, are all a part of the “media environment” referred to by Neil Postman. These sites are all designed to bring together people who wish to share aspects of their personal lives, make new friends and find old ones, discuss issues, etcetera.

Although Facebook is considered a “social network” I feel that it is more than just that. It allows one to access games, blogs, knowledge communities and many more features; therefore I think that Facebook fits into many categories of “participatory culture”.

“Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and video, and learn more about the people they meet (Facebook)”

The above description pretty much sums up my usage of social networking. My purpose in using Facebook is to become more connected with those around me. It allows me to keep up with both old friends and new ones; I can view their photos, as well as share my own with them. I can see what they are doing on a daily basis through their “statuses”. I can share my ideas and opinions with them through “notes” and “blogs” and I can learn more about them through their personal profiles.

What will they come up with next?!



Works Cited
Facebook. February 2004. 10 October 2009 .
Postman, Neil. The Humanism of Media Ecology. June 2000. 7 October 2009 .