Is media taking bullying to the next level?

What is bullying? Bullying used to happen face to face, one on one, five against one. Most people would agree that was how the majority of bullying was done, not today. Today's world is much more complex then that, you can bully someone without them even knowing your real name, or even what you look like. No, today you can conveniently hurt someone via text message, e-mail, and internet, more specifically Facebook and other social networking sites, cyber bullying. Some might say, "Well why would you care if it was someone you didn't know, someone that meant nothing to you?" Bullying is still hurtful and mentally harmful whether it's coming from your best friend or someone across the country, a person is still coming after you.

People are getting hurt all the time via text message, e-mail, facebook, maybe not necessarily being bullied but things are misconstrued 24/7. It doesn't help that very young kids are now allowed on facebook where they can gang up on others the same way you would face to face but now it's easier and there is usually no one around to stop them. There has been a trend emerging on Facebook called Formspring.me where anyone can anonymously ask you anything they want. Recently cyber bullying has been leading to suicides, how far is too far? Media is becoming increasingly powerful but it is because of society. Media is compelling and dynamic all by itself but we activate it, we bring it to the next level because it is so present in today's world.


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What's up with 3D?

New trends are emerging in the media every day, it seems as if today's generation is upping the anti on technology. New things are approaching faster than ever, the itouch, ipad, the kindle, internet on cell phones, and 3D movies. Wait, is 3D new? Surprising to most and even myself at first to find out that 3D movies are not as new as we think. The new part is that the 3D world is surviving and even more than that, thriving. Why all of a sudden is this "new" (or maybe not so new) world of 3D becoming the next big thing? Some say it's because this generation, this world we live in, our society is wanting everything bigger, better, more spectacular, more out of the ordinary, just more. I definitely agree that, that reason is absolutely true and 100% correct, but I also believe that are other factors to be calculated into this equation as to why 3D is becoming so successful.

Was the movie Up portrayed as the same fantastic movie in 2D as it was in 3D? For most the answer was yes but what about Avatar? Somebody told me that when they saw Avatar in 3D it wasn't just a movie, it was an experience, some even said it made them dizzy. Every person I asked about Avatar who had seen it in 3D said nothing about the story line but about the special effects. We are seeing that the movies that are in 3D fall into more of an action based catagory because what use is it to see Valentine's Day in 3D? A 3D action or adventure movie is keeping people on the edge of their seats and more stimulated than ever before.

Another reason I believe that 3D is maintaining such a high status in the media industry is because of the money it is taking in. Going to see a movie is certainly not as cheap as it used to be and the rates seem to just keep rising making people in this economy stay away from movie theaters. The internet being one of our main sources of media capturing other media within it, newspapers, music, TV shows, and even movies. There are many sites that stream new movies for free, so why pay $11? When it comes to 3D movies they have yet to find a way to stream those for free, but they have come out with the new 3D televisions which is bringing them more money. According to CBS going to see 3D movie in IMAX is going to cost the average New Yorker $20. In this economy will it stop people from going to the movies? I believe that until 3d movies are streaming online for free or until everyone can afford a 3D television people will continue to go to the movies, maybe not all, but most.



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What is a smart commercial?

Mislead By The Media

The Boy In the Striped Pajamas - The best video clips are here

In today's society what we hear and what we can actually see can sometimes get blended together. Now with all this new media at our fingertips giving us information faster then ever we can now see it even before it is rumored, but it wasn't always like that. Some people believe that media didn't have any affect on societies up until recently, but that definitely was not the case, just because they didn't have televisions or internet doesn't mean people were not influenced. Some tend to forget that although certain technologies weren't available there was still newspapers, and more importantly newspapers with pictures. An example that comes to mind is the Holocaust, people, more specifically children believed what they saw.

A movie that was made not too long ago, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas, set in World War II and told through a child's perspective, provides a perfect example that media can make the world seem like a completely different place. The main character was misguided to believe that a concentration camp was nothing more then a big playground for Jewish children. Why did he think that? Because that was what he was shown on a projector. His sister, a girl who used to play with dolls traded them in to hang up pictures of Hitler because that's all she read about.

This poster was printed by Der Strumer who specialized in anti-Semitic cartoons. He created the slogan in 1923 that the "Jews are our misfortune." This poster was designed to dehumanize the Jews who were posed in distorted and humiliating positions. Der Strumer also set out to give the impression that the Jews were different, less human and not nearly as good as the German people.

Media, no matter in what form, when or where, is vital and impacts society more than I believe people ever realize. When events are happeneing I think it is hard to take yourself out of your world and be able to see the difference of what is actually happening vs. what the media is showing you and perhaps it just isn't feasible. Is it possible that maybe it has to happen first and then we can look back and realize the damage it has caused? In the movie, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas being mislead cost the boy his life. I believe media has the power to do good and bad, it is society who needs to figure out the difference.