100MC Week 1 Feedback Session

In the feedback session for this week we shared our findings on the Cabinet of Curiosities and Media Diaries. We discussed some of the things that were included, why, their affects and similarities and differences. Below are some of my notes on the conversation.

• Everybody admitted to being manipulated by the media in some way or another. But to what extent, and in what ways, does this happen? Is it as direct as watching a TV advert and going out to buy the product? Can our opinions of something (such as a war, a famous person etc) be changed by watching a poignant film?
• We also discussed a few different media theories, which you may already be familiar with. They are the Hypodermic Needle Model, Uses and Gratifications, and Encoding and Decoding. I expect we’ll come across these quite a bit on the course so it’s definitely worth looking them up (try the Long & Wall book).
• The media industry is fast moving and constantly changing; for example, YouTube was established in only 2004, and now it’s one of the most popular and easily accessible mediums out there. That’s why it’s so important for us to keep an active interest in what’s going on, and it’s why the way we use the media is always changing too. We use the media to talk about the media.
• Although everybody likes to think of themselves as an individual, and we often seem to distinguish identities by our TV, film and music interests, we all mentioned the same types of things. We all spoke about English and American mainstream films, TV shows, radio stations and so on. So basically we concluded that we need to explore a wider range of media from different producers, different cultures, different genres etc.
• One of the ways we can expose ourselves to these types of new things is via RSS feeds. If you find an interesting website or blog, check to see if it’s got an RSS feed. If so, you can directly receive updates from that particular site. You can have these displayed on your WordPress blog (look in Widgets). It’s also worth looking at upcoming events at places such as Warwick Arts Centre and Birmingham Lighthouse. It was also recommended that we check out art galleries, and in particular research an artist named Bill Viola as his work has influenced the media.