Racism still exists even as far north as Pennsylvania. (Northeastern, PA) Not that i didn't know this, but I still can't believe it. Though this is more of an indirect reference to media, I still think it's extremely interesting how some parents like the one pictured in the article are even making a point of saying that the way children are taught is what is helping spread racisim.

a quote from the article that just gave me chills

”A young boy said to my son, ‘You can’t play with us. My daddy and I are members of the (Ku Klux Klan) club,” said Mr. Dobson. “I don’t blame that boy. That little boy heard that at home.”

...this is just nuts. Racisim has to stop.

I came across “Voices 21” when I typed in Media Reform Movement in the Google Search Engine. The subheading of this informational website reads: “A Global Movement for People's Voices in Media and Communication in the 21st Century”

I clicked on this option first because of my intrigue from our observations of the documentary we watched on Wednesday of last week entitled “The Panama Deceit.” I was extremely disturbed by learning about the actions of former President George Herbert Bush Senior. I am concerned for the safety and lack of factual knowledge being given to our country in regards to what out government is actually doing in other countries...as well as how much they're telling us about what they do.

The phrase: “A Global Movement for People's Voices in Media and Communication in the 21st Century” made me think of how the people in Panama were lied to and mislead the entire time their city was bombed and their homes were destroyed. Even when some citizens were held in the Hanger for a year or two and the people who made the documentary came to interview them, the U.S. Army or Marines (not sure which) but one of these two government agencies were trying to not allow the film-makers to interview the people who were victimized by this attack by the United States.

When I watched this I felt absolutely horrible. I felt ashamed. George H. Bush lied to us, lied to the faces of the American Public and had the nerve to think he could endorse his son, AND believe it was just to practice bombing on the Panamanian citizens? HELPLESS Panamanian citizens at that!?! They weren’t even armed! They were completely defenseless. And this boggles my mind. What was the point? Seriously! What need was there to do this? To save his house in Kennebunk? To assure the financial security of all Americans? All rich Americans? No, no, I don’t think so. No amount of sacrificing human life is worth that. Absolutely none. And my family voted for him. We had no idea…

The movement of “Voices 21” states: “The central focus of the movement would be to tackle problems and find solutions to one of the greatest challenges of our time: To ensure that the voices and concerns of ordinary people around the world are no longer excluded!” (Voices 21)

This I think is extremely important because as individuals in a society where we are entitled to free speech and many various other civil and undeniable human rights, we are tremendously ignorant to knowledge that should be second-hand to us. I agree that if the government tells us everything that would clearly ruin security, but it isn’t right of them to lie to us either, AND use our tax dollars for experimental bombings/ammunition/weaponry that can easily melt the human body like a microwave melts butter. That’s just frightening…and WRONG. Test yourselves if you want to, but don’t test the unknowing and defenseless who never even asked to be a part of your experiments!

The creed and ideals of “Voices 21” which probably stands for Voices of the 21st Century is set up much like a constitution. Though instead of rules, there are points made of why there is a need for change and what the points in the constitution plan to do or can assist humans in making change and reform. It seems like a very socialist/communist idea, but unlike the failures of the system of Communism in foreign countries such as China and the former U.S.S.R., these are just ideas for the reform of the system of communication. These ideals do not blatantly suggest that the government needs to be changed. It seems more of an interest that people try to encourage legislative change in the way media communication is presented and that there is less exclusion from important information. Also the movement suggests that there is need for education into how media works and what’s gone on in and what continues to go on in the world(s) of media.

According to “Voices 21,” “This proposal [for media reform] calls for civil society and NGOs to form an international alliance to address concerns and to work jointly on matters around media and communication. We believe a new social movement in this field is needed, and is ready to act internationally.

Uniting civil society organizations that today use media and communication networks in their work for social change is:

--An awareness of the growing importance of the mass media and communication networks for the aims they are trying to achieve;

--A concern about current trends in the field of information and communication toward concentration of ownership and control into fewer hands

--A concern that state censorship is giving way only to more subtle censorship, through subjection to commercial exigencies and maximizing shareholder gain

--An awareness of the lack of public influence on these trends, in both developed and developing countries, in democracies and under dictatorships.

The central focus of the movement would be to tackle problems and find solutions to one of the greatest challenges of our time: To ensure that the voices and concerns of ordinary people around the world are no longer excluded!” (Voices 21)

The idea of this type of social/media reform I believe is necessary to creating a better understanding of how media affects us. If we as American citizens allow more incidents like the “Panama Deceit” to occur then we are prone to more terrorist attacks and a lack of faith and trust from other countries in addition to these countries losing respect for Americans as liars, cheats, thieves and greedy capitalists with no interest except in providing riches for ourselves.

http://www.comunica.org/v21/statement.htm
If the link I presented in the word "option" is not working, please use the above link.

I recently was looking at “The Big Ideas 2005” issue of Adbusters Magazine. I was quite intrigued by several of the ads, especially ones involving the environment and the media’s exploitation of women. One ad a reader found on the cover of People Magazine and she/he explained their disgust with the way a little girl was portrayed as needing makeup to appear attractive.

In looking up Adbusters up on Google, I encountered a website where a reader was angry and claiming that Teresa Heinz-Kerry was funding Adbusters. It turned out that this wasn’t exactly the case. Another reader clarified that Adbusters is a non-profit organization. They have a donations section on their website, but this does not mean that Heinz-Kerry “supports Communism and Socialism.” http://www.etalkinghead.com/archives/defending-teresa-heinz-kerry-2004-04-27.html

I think it’s interesting how people get angry and don’t have a basis for their anger. Or, it seems more logical that there’s little reason to be angry if an individual doesn’t research their information first. Aside from trivial qualms about misinformed bloggers/journalists who refuse to get their facts right, I’m actually quite intrigued by this Adbusters magazine. Even its website catches my attention because many of the ideas reflect hypocrisies that I’ve been questioning quite often in my daily thoughts.

About a month ago I took an online Politics Test that I found to be quite interesting because it “supposedly” asks an individual about their political and moral beliefs and comes out with several different charts and allows you to see what particular people in real life and characters from movies, etc., fit into these four particular areas as well. This is the test if anyone’s interested in taking it. I find it helpful because it helps narrow down your beliefs instead of directly saying their completely liberal or completely conservative:

The reason I thought this quiz important to the subject of Adbusters is because the according to the website defending Teresa Heinz Kerry the site is communist/socialist. The results of this test that I took said I was socialist. They even give this picture of famous individuals and show where they lie on the chart and where you like in comparison to them.

In reading about Adbusters I became quite drawn in by their sometimes humorous and often blatantly truthful and heart-hitting advertisements (though often these are spoofs on real ones, their power is still emphatic) that make you realize just how horrible the state of many real advertisements is affecting our world today. Society just seems so screwed up. It can make a person sick to their stomach. On Adbusters’ online site their mission statement definitely struck me, especially being concerned about the state of media as I am.

“We are a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age. Our aim is to topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century.

To this end, Adbusters Media Foundation publishes Adbusters magazine, operates this website and offers its creative services through PowerShift, our advocacy advertising agency.
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Adbusters is a not-for-profit, reader-supported, 120,000-circulation magazine concerned about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces. Our work has been embraced by organizations like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, has been featured in hundreds of alternative and mainstream newspapers, magazines, and television and radio shows around the world.

While two-thirds of Adbusters' readers reside in the United States, the magazine has subscribers in 60 other countries, with one of the most diverse readerships of any publication. Our readers are professors and students; activists and politicians; environmentalists and media professionals; corporate watch dogs and industry insiders; kids who love our slick ad parodies and parents who worry about their children logging too many hours a day in the electronic environment.” (avail. Adbusters.org)

Adbusters is supported by its readers, by donations, etc. I think it’s supported because of just how many ideas it portrays, how it expresses truth and hypocrisy through mimicking and spoofing the ads that we take for granted everyday. Adbusters is teaching us of how to reeducate our supposedly already educated self. I think we’re learning everyday. We’re always learning and I don’t think we’ll ever stop.

One thing that really caught my attention was a statement at the bottom of their “About Us” page:

“Ultimately, though, Adbusters is an ecological magazine, dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment. We want a world in which the economy and ecology resonate in balance. We try to coax people from spectator to participant in this quest. We want folks to get mad about corporate disinformation, injustices in the global economy, and any industry that pollutes our physical or mental commons.” (avail. Adbusters.org)

I have to say finally that after everything, I’m starting to really get angry. I really want this world to change and I think magazines like Adbusters and Bitch Magazine and many of the others questioning the morality/politics of our world are going to help make a difference, but it won’t happen if we aren’t interested. I’ll tell you for sure now though. I’m interested. I’m ready to learn all I can.

~

This may sound simply personal, but it definitely relates to the documentary we watched in class on Friday. While reading a book by Carolyn G. Heilbrun entitled "Writing a Woman's Life" I found myself extremely angry at the way media has conditioned women to believe they have to be certain ways. Using myself as an example, I really am upset that the things I want in my life are really dependent on male acceptance and I can't get that because I just haven't found the right person. And it's been stressing me out so much in the past couple of years that it's leaving a mark on my health and my sanity.

I grew up believing that I someday I'd get married and have kids. Or rather I'd go to college get married and have kids. And now I'm less than two years from graduating and I'm worried about being an old maid. I blame society and the media for this. There's too much of the "perfect life" in the television world and this clearly isn't how it works. Happy endings are rare and the media plays it out like it's a way of life. As a result people like myself, especially women, are work themselves up about men and "having to be in a relationship" and this mindset is detrimental to the growth of other talents within us. I'm so upset that this idea is engrained in me. I don't want enough of what I should be wanting. And I blame myself because I feel my body image isn't good enough. I must not be sexy enough. I must not know enough about sports or want something more than just sex. (which seems to be all that I'm told guys want) And can I also say that I hate how men are conditioned in the same way as women, except that though they might not want a cinderella ending, but they still want the "perfect girl" on their arm? This is unfair to us all and I'm so sick of it. Media, Society and Culture needs to change before we all commit emotional suicide.

In acknowledgement of the various reviews I found on Amazon in regards to this particular soundtrack, I found most of them to be positive and agreeing in my opinion of the music, however, there were a few excessive and crazy fans who wanted “12+ hours of symphonies,” and I thought geez, poor Howard Shore. Knowing music well myself, having written music and actually having played a classical instrument for ten years, I know it’s difficult to complete one song successfully without creating 12 hours of music. I agree that perhaps they didn’t include all of the great music, but they didn’t put in all bad music either. What I’m saying here is this, is be reasonable guys and gals; the movie’s only 3+ hours long, and I think the extended editions are approximately six hours long, so 12+ hours of music would be a little excessive….just a teeny bit…

Don’t get mad when I say that, just think outside the box of your LOTR obsessive compulsiveness when it comes to wanting 12+ hours of music; I understand your love of these movies and there music because I love them a lot myself, but when you make a review, make legitimate accusations and understand that they aren’t going to put out twelve hours of music on a CD unless it’s something that’s classic and the composer’s really famous and been dead for hundreds of years….

So aside from my opinion of some of the reviews on Amazon.com, I would like say that I looked at the Return of the King Soundtrack, enhanced CD, limited edition that I had purchased a few months before the movie came out on DVD. It includes an approximately 14 page booklet in color, some small collector’s stickers and is graced by what appears to be a green leather-bound cover. I particularly enjoyed the enhanced edition because of these additions as well as the fact that there was an accompanying DVD slideshow with a new song on it by Howard Shore featuring Annie Lennox. My only wish is that they had included that song on the main soundtrack CD. They could’ve had another great hit. Into the West was a captivating piece of music with a modern voice that almost brings us home to the real world; it’s bittersweet in that sense, but I think reminds us of the enchantment of an idealized childhood and the magic that each of us has within us. The piece also wakes us to the reality of death, but adds that child-like feel of death being sleep, or a journey to another land, as Frodo, Gandalf and the elves make.

Instrumentally speaking I love Return of the King. I have a hard time ultimately choosing between this one and the Two Towers, especially as to saying which one’s “better,” but Return of the King is classic in that it returns to many of the main themes included in the first two soundtracks. It’s almost blasphemy to say “try and make a comparison and say which collection is the better of the two soundtracks.” Two Towers has a different feel to it, as well as a different artist for the end song. If I were reviewing the Two Towers soundtrack, I’d have to say that Shore chose a fabulous singing voice for “Gollum’s Song” (Emiliana Torrini) gave me chills. But as I was trying to make an attempt at explaining before, the subtle difference in the mood and style of the music makes it impossible to compare. Each soundtrack has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Return of the King holds a lot of promise for me as something as near to classical music as a soundtrack can get. It is still noticeably soundtrack music, but Shore has characteristics of older music that bring listeners that old time feel of more classical pieces. I’m not trying to say however that it compares to that of Beethoven or Dvorak, but Shore holds fort on his own as a great instrumental composer. I’m particularly partial to the violin solos throughout the three soundtracks because of my experience playing the violin and the swells of passion within the dynamics of the music.

“The Fields of Pelennor” is a piece that for the first 1:24 seconds sounds very much like “old school” classical music if you will. Shore also adds dissonant, yet powerfully effective voices to this composition that reflect a similarity to some Russian choral music that I can’t pin down the name of at the moment, but it has structural elements and sounds of older pieces, yet a modern spin with the “there’s something scary going on here, and everything’s about to come and attack us” kind of music that you might hear in any sort of action packed film, but Shore’s subtle and effective combinations help create his own individualistic style.

~

I recently discovered this music video by European artist Gunther. It takes simple phrases like "Tra-la-la" and "Ding-ding-dong" and creates sexual inuendos. These words meant nothing more than spelled-out sounds or exclamations. Now they mean something else. My question to you is what does a video like this say about our worldly society, making the hypothetical statement that after all pop culture does reflect values within our everyday lives and culture. This is not to say this reflects an actual fact or my personal opinion, I'm just interested in honest and intelligent responses. What does this say about us as people, a culture, a growing and expanding, even dying ecosystem? What are our values? What do we focus on? What do we care about?

In order to view the video of Gunther's Ding-Ding-Dong, follow this link to ebaums world, right click and hit select save target as and download the video to watch it. You'll be...surprised I'm sure...an understatement to the video, but just check it out and make all the blazing mad comments you like...

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/dingdingdong.html