The Merchants of Cool

In the Frontline production in 2001, “The Merchants of Cool” the program describes how media takes a turn and begins appealing to teens. Teens have become huge consumers today, and whether they buy the products or not they also have a huge influence on what is purchased. Many households today have 2 fulltime working parents and as a result teens are getting what Frontline calls “guilt money.” Parents are unable to spend a lot of time with their children so they give them money to make up for the lost time. Marketers have reacted to this and have begun a new form of advertising that appeals to teens. They have began creating focus groups that look at the “cool” kids so that they are then able to appeal to these “cool” kids. Media has a huge influence on what we consume, and with this new form of research many teens are directly seeing what they like become part of the advertisements for things that they buy. I have always made the argument that the larger clothing brands determine what the “style” is going to be for that year. As a teen in today’s world it becomes very important to try and fit in, and when your best friend has something that he or she thinks is “cool” you just have to have it too.
I don’t find this to be an attack on Americans youth I see it as a marketing strategy, however we need to start to educate teens more so that they are not so influenced from just marketing. We need to ask ourselves the questions: Why is it so important to fit in? What determines what is cool? What are our own likes and dislikes. We also need to start to complete studies to find out why teens feel like they have to buy a certain product to fit in. It is a good feeling to fit in well with a community, but the factors that are determining why teens fit in are un ethical. Teens have to work very hard every day to try to gain acceptance from their peers. We need to take a look at what is making teens feel accepted, and why those things are making them feel acceptance and not other personality attributes that really determine what kind of person you are. That is what is important, and that is what should be the idea of “cool.”

Blog Post

This is my vision for America. This is how I grew up, cutting hay, selling lemonade, and watching a homecoming parade. In a small town people band together, and have pride in our country. We support our troops, and our cause. I believe FREEDOM is worth fighting for. It is what our nation was founded upon, and it is what we work toward everyday.

The Corporation

The documentary “The Corporation” brought forth some new ideas about how a capitalist country works. My question is when did it become wrong to work towards a better life style? The film was a direct attack on those whom have money by making the argument that “The Corporation” is treated as a person, and not a company. This idea was created simply so that corporations can buy and sell land legally. I understand that it is important work towards a more sustainable economy, but why can’t you be sustainable and still make enough money to go for your dreams? I completely understand the issues that corporations can create, and how some may feel that our culture is dictated by a corporation. However, I do not believe that all corporations are bad. For example, Dell is working to move all their foreign businesses back to the US to help the economy by creating jobs, while becoming more sustainable at the same time. I feel that this film was an attack on the American Dream. Americans should still purse their dreams, and define their own success. Capitalism is why our economy works, and many people get to be part of a larger idea that helps many Americans live their lives better every day. Success is different for every person.
To solve the problem we just need to place stricter rules on corporations not attack the idea of becoming successful. We need to work together to become more sustainable in the sense that we are keeping our investments on the home front. However, many other countries rely on American corporations as a huge support for their own economy. So we need to place strict rules on the environment, and working conditions not just in the US, and this will take an effort from all countries.

Riggenbach Blog Entry

This song really shows what Patriotism really is. We need to continue to fight for our FREEDOM. This song has given a lot of hope to those that feel that justice will not be served. Although the song dose make generalizations, it really dose give people a sense of security, and when the song first came out our country really needed that!

Media Consumption Log

Time	Media	Effect
6:00am	"That aint my truck" -alarm clock
6:15am	Checked e-mail
6:30:am	Checked voice mail
6:45am	CMT music videos
7:00am	CMT music videos
7:15am	CMT music videos
7:30am	CMT music videos
7:45am	CMT music videos
8:00am	CMT music videos
8:15am	Checked e-mail
8:30am	Advetisments on campus (Apply Now Student Housing)
8:45am	Jazmins Coffee
9:00am	Advertisments for Organic Farming (Ag 180 class), In Class advertisments (Gateway, Infocus, Expo)
9:15am
9:30am
9:45am
10:00am	Checked e-mail
10:15am	Car Radio
10:30am	Car Radio (Thrive advertisment), and advertismets on the way to thirve
10:45am
11:00am
11:15am	Car Radio (Thrive advertisment), and advertismets on the way back from thirve
11:30am	River Rock Café (The FLC Independent)
11:45am	River Rock Café (The FLC Independent)
12:00pm	River Rock Café (The FLC Independent)
12:15pm	River Rock Café (The FLC Independent)
12:30pm	Checked e-mail
12:45pm	4 txt messages
1:00pm	Listened to Paul Harvey
1:15pm	Watched Fox News
1:30pm
1:45pm	Campus Advertisments
2:00pm	In class advertisments (Dell, InFocus, Expo,)
2:15pm	In class advertisments (Dell, InFocus, Expo,)
2:30pm	In class advertisments (Dell, InFocus, Expo,)
2:45pm	In class advertisments (Dell, InFocus, Expo,)
3:00pm
3:15pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
3:30pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
3:45pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
4:00pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
4:15pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
4:30pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
4:45pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
5:00pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
5:15pm	Media Lit Class (Gateway, Epson, Fort Lewis College, Class advertisments)
5:30pm	3 Text Messages (River Rock Café)
5:45pm	4 Text Messages (River Rock Café)
6:00pm	5 Text Messages (River Rock Café)
6:15pm	ROCA Meeting
6:30:pm	SPC Meeting
6:45pm	Campus Advertisments
7:00pm	Check E-mail, Check Facebook
7:15pm	Check E-mail, Check Facebook
7:30pm	Check E-mail, Check Facebook
7:45pm	Residentce Hall advertisments for programs ect.
8:00pm	Phone Call
8:15pm	Phone Call
8:30pm	Check E-mail, Check Voice Mail
8:45pm	House on Hulu
9:00pm	House on Hulu
9:15pm	House on Hulu
9:30pm	Residentce Hall advertisments for programs ect.
9:45pm	Check E-mail, Check Voice Mail
10:00am	House on Hulu
10:15pm	House on Hulu
10:30pm	Phone Call
10:45pm	Text Message
11:00pm	Residentce Hall advertisments for programs ect.
11:15pm	Check E-mail, Check Voice Mail
11:30pm	CSI NY
11:45pm	CSI NY
12:00am	Residentce Hall advertisments for programs ect.
12:15am	Check E-mail, Check Voice Mail
12:30am	CSI NY
12:45am	CSI NY
1:00am	CSI NY
1:15am	CSI NY

Americans today are constantly being exposed to all different types of media from newspapers to RSS feeds sent directly to a cellular device. Many scholars have augured positive effects and negative effects of the instant communication we now have to the world. It was not until I actually looked at all the media I was consuming to realize how much it affects my daily life. Media has become such a common part of our culture that it has become a normal part of our daily routine, and subconsciously we block out a lot of time for media. After logging all of my media exposure for just one day I realized how easy it is to communicate with the world. I am constantly checking my e-mail, voice mail messages, and receiving txt messages. However, there are both positive and negative effects of this new form of instant communication with anyone in the world.
Email has revolutionized communication for the businessperson. Outlook has many features that allow you to message many members at once, creating meetings, and look at your co-workers schedule. This program has helped me to improve my proficiency and professionalism. Many of my professors prefer to communicate over e-mail, and it is a skill to be able to construct a professional e-mail. This is a skill that has not been addressed in my secondary education, but it is one key skill I had to learn to be successful throughout my college career and to help obtain my professional goals. Some new challenges the Americans face with this type of communication are alarming. With instant communication with anyone in the world, it is so easy to organize and gather a lot of information from many parties in a short amount of time giving anyone the ability to use this form of communication and organize many different types of plans. This could even include a terrorist attack. However, e-mail has also made it easier for homeland security to detect such activity and stop it before it happens. Overall e-mail has had a positive effect in my productivity and professionalism.
Text messaging has just evolved in this new generation. Text messaging has been like learning a new language. For example “ttul” means, talk to you later. Text messaging has not only made instant communication even more accessible, but it has created a whole new slang. In text messages many do not use proper semantics in their message. Text messaging is a much more social connection to the world, as opposed to email which is both professional and social. Scholars are concerned about the effects text messaging has on America’s youth. Is text messaging make us poor writers? I would disagree greatly I feel that text messaging has greatly improved my spelling and word choice. It can be a challenge to find the shortest way to say something long and important, however it is a very good skill to have to be able to clearly and concisely communicate your point. Another challenge you face however, is how to express emotion over text messages. People can often miss read a text message, and therefore you have to be even more detailed while still keeping your messages. Short. My question is why has education not addressed this topic and being in educate people on proper text message usage. I can image text messaging becoming part of the professional world very soon, and we need to start education youth on what is proper, and scholars need to decide what is proper. Are we going to adapt this newly founded slag or is text messaging going to evolve into a professional form of communication much like e-mail?
Overall, media is dose have an impact on my life. My primary uses of media are in forms of communication. However, television, music, and advertisements do give me new perspectives on different things every day.