Inspirational Media

Having our lecture last week about social media has really made me more aware of the social media usage that is going on around me and the ways that it can be used in a positive or negative way. Having the Easter holiday a week ago and then General Conference this weekend really made me aware of the positive things that can be shared using social media. For example, the church has the hashtag #LDSconf that is in the corner of the video prior to each session and this helps everyone share their messages or photos from the weekend. One thing I really liked though was that after his message in the Priesthood session, President Uchtdorf actually posted a message on Facebook about his talk and expounded a little more on what he had said. I think it is great that many of our church leaders use media in ways like this to help share inspirational thoughts and it's encouraging to see social media used in such a positive way. Personally, one of my favorite things are the shareable quotes that the church intentionally makes and allows you to share through different avenues of social media. The one I'm including in this post is from one of the talks that I enjoyed the most. I know that sometimes we may get tired of social media and some of the things that we often see posted, but I liked the reminder this last week that there are good uses for it if we look.

Taking Time from Media

Just this weekend I drove with my girlfriend to Idaho Falls, a trip of about three and a half hours. Typically when I drive long distances I always have the radio or my phone playing music to help pass the time. The trip up though we went the whole way without listening to a thing on the radio. Instead we talked and had some really good conversation. It even felt like a much shorter trip! I thought for sure on the way back we would have to listen to music of some kind, but again we didn't have to listen to a thing as we talked the whole way. I'm not saying that listening to music is bad as you drive or that my girlfriend and I are some amazing couple that doesn't need music to pass the time. Rather I just want to point out how much I appreciated using that driving time in a productive way, to get to know each other better and strengthen our relationship. I LOVE music, but I feel like I learned a lesson that sometimes it's ok to take a break from the media and really try to connect with people. It was a good reminder and I hope that I can apply it to other forms of media I use while engaged in different activities.

Real Beauty

This last week was by far one of my favorites in my media class. On Monday we watched a documentary called "Miss Representation" that was about portrayals of women in the media which was fantastic! Although there were some aspects that myself and others in the class didn't necessarily agree with, overall it was an eye-opening and powerful film. I'm attaching a trailer for the documentary with this post for those that would like to find out more about it. But then on Wednesday our class was a discussion related to "Miss Representation", male and female portrayals in the media, and body image. What I found to be one of the most shocking things was how much the media tries to make women feel anxious about their weight while they're pregnant and then about losing weight after their infants are born. It's super sad! Actually after class I called and talked to one of my aunts who I've heard sometimes mention how bad she feels about her stretch marks from having four children. I told her about what I learned in class and that I hope she knew that she shouldn't worry about how she looks because she has done such a great thing by being a mom. It was a really good conversation! So I was very grateful for the things that I was able to learn last week and I truly feel like I can be better at making sure I don't contribute a part in making others feel bad about how they look or how the media tells them they should look. I'd invite everyone to do more research on these subjects as well and find ways to be more supportive of men and women and how despite appearances they are still our brothers and sisters. Oh and tied into one of our class discussions we learned about Dove's Real Beauty campaign which is AWESOME. Hence, the title to this week's post.

Media in College Classrooms

I've really noticed over the last week how prevalent media has become in education, especially in our college courses. In several of my classes this semester we use power points that are often filled with links to YouTube videos with the purpose to either entertain, provide further explanation, or give examples for analysis. It's amazing to imagine that ten years ago being able to watch a video explaining Determinism (something I watched in my Family Theories class) would have been impossible.

 Of course there are always advantages and disadvantages to using media in the classroom, and that's probably why a couple of my professors have us print off our readings and just have us focus on discussions, but overall I think it has helped improve the learning process for many people. We all learn in different ways, with some of us learning through reading while others are visual learners and I think it's good to use a healthy amount of media in order to make education more wholesome and effective. I look forward to seeing how media can influence education in the classroom in the years to come.

Really Captain America?

One of my roommates broke his collarbone over the Christmas Break and has had a lot more spare time on his hands as he recovers from his surgery. As a result there has been a significant increase in the amount of movies that are being watched each week, with this last week seeming to carry a Marvel theme. 

One evening this last weekend we watched Avenger's 2 which includes a running gag revolving around Captain America correcting Iron Man for swearing. For the whole movie Captain America is the butt of everyone's jokes about cursing, until at the very end, he says a swear word of his own.

Even when I saw this movie in theaters I was bothered by the end result of this particular joke. It seemed like a sad lesson for audiences, especially for those that are younger and that would undoubtedly be watching the film, that if you're ridiculed for taking the moral high ground, it's ok to give in and join the crowd. 

Profanity in television and movies is something that seems to be on the rise, as more and more is allowed to creep in for the sake of a good laugh. It's too bad that the Marvel movies, a subsidiary of Disney would be willing to let some of their standards slip just so that their movies could win more audiences over. Couldn't there have been some other way to resolve the Captain America joke without him having to give in to his peers?

An Exciting First

For a Media and Development class I'm taking this semester I was asked to create a blog and discuss some of the media content I've been exposed to. I've never created a blog before, but I'm pretty excited. At least once a week I'll be posting about some of my thoughts regarding things I've watched, read, or listened to. Here goes to a great semester!