peitakallinikos

Google defines climate change as a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. This week we discussed the impacts of global crisis in relation to global media.

The concept of climate change has come under scrutiny by major industrial companies, such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. Here In Australia a carbon tax was developed in order to reduce emissions, and gain funds in order to combat climate change. David Ritchie, the Australian senior career officer of the department of foreign affairs and Trade stated “Yes, we need long-term vision from our policy-makers to address the big issues – however, this is where we need to work together as an industry to help create awareness, informed debate, and meaningful discourse.” Mr. Ritchie’s comments from 2010 were disregarded, as were many others that supported the issue of recognising climate change as a global threat. The Media has shaped our outlook on climate change, where news channels such as FOX NEWS have shown a whopping 93% of references to climate science were misleading. Only 3 were accurate. This dilemma of falsified information addresses why ‘media education’ is so important as climate change is the “most debated environmental issue” in the mass media (Boykoff and Mansfield, 2009). Printed media and television are the most significant sources of “environmental information for the public in industrialised countries” (European Commission, 2008; statistics Finland, 2007).

One of the major consequences of climate change is the vulnerable state it put small Pacific Islands such as Kiribati. Kiribati is at the forefront of climate change impacts. Kiribati is about to be wiped out by climate change, and it wont be the last! If scientists are correct, the ocean will swallow most of Kiribati before the end of the century, and perhaps much sooner than that. Water expands as it warms, and the oceans have lately received colossal quantities of melted ice. Recent studies have proven that oceans are absorbing heat 15 times faster than they have in the last 10,000 years. Kiribati citizens may become refugees very soon, due to the consequences of global warming, as we saw in the video last week peoples homes were affected by the high sea levels that travelled through their town and main roads, and more tragically the island itself will very rapidly deteriorate, resulting in 103,000 citizens of the island to flee their homes. On the 20^th of September 2014, the Kiribati people participated in the ‘Peoples Climate March’ hosted by the Kiribati Climate Action Network (KIRICAN). The March was about standing in solidarity to show world leaders, that people are ready for climate change. World leaders are meeting in New York City for a United Nations Summit to discuss climate change and because of this, thousands of people from around the world including Kiribati are coming together to show that communities are powerful, united and resilient.

When the global media fails to provide awareness on issues like climate change, celebrity figures emerge to use their popularity to reach out to the public and inform them of the seriousness of issues. Recently, actor Leonardo DiCaprio spoke at the United Nations as a concerned citizen asking for more education and action taken against climate change.

This is my second semester typing blogs for BCM and I can easily say that I was just as nervous about it as last time. I am terrible with technology and I was absolutely mortified when I was told we needed ‘Twitter’ and ‘Wordpress’ accounts. This seemed way too high tech for me, but with the help of a few peers and overcoming a few anxiety attacks I finally got the drift of what I was doing, yet that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult.

When we were told we had to write a blog of 300 words every week for this subject I can say with great guilt and regret that I gave the worlds biggest eye roll. But what I wasn’t aware of was how these blogs were going to help me develop my knowledge and understanding of this subject. Too often this semester I would find myself quite lost amongst topic, may it be I didn’t catch onto things as quickly as others, or perhaps I missed something, but what was always there as a support was the blogs from my peers.

Before any blog I wrote I loved to have a look at what everyone else in the BCM240 world was talking about. This slight stalk allowed me to fully comprehend and deepen my understanding of what was being spoken about each week. Even though I was aware of what our lecturers were talking about, these blogs were always there to clarify any blurry areas I may have had throughout the week. NEVER did I think these blogs would be beneficial for me.

Each week of blogging didn’t even feel like a task really. It was a new and exciting way for me to get my ideas out there and I can honestly say that I have to some degree enjoyed the work I have been doing.

I am very pleased with my development over this semester, I feel my writing at first coming back from the holidays was slightly rusty and mediocre, and now I feel I’ve tightened a few lose screws, it feels sharp.

I thought that this ‘blogging’ would be a breeze, to my surprise, it wasn’t. It challenged me in many ways, and there were times I got frustrated but in the end it was worth it in the sense that my knowledge of the subject has increased further that I thought it would.

What I thoroughly enjoyed about each week of lectures was that Sue and Kate alternated. It was great to get new perspective each week, it was something I valued, as the swap and change in lecturer allowed us to keep engaged, something new was to be displayed each time we walked into our lecture theatre.

This semester has allowed me to learn how to link relatable information into discussion, and has allowed me to connect and share my work on a global spectrum. My writing throughout the session has been informal amongst my blogs and I believe this technique of writing in a colloquial format is beneficial in engaging with those around the world, it shows that you can connect with those around the world just by writing in relaxed form, you can get your message across without having to really think about what you are reading.

But what really amazed me about this semester’s blogging is that the more I read, the more my writing skills developed, I am very grateful for that!

I never thought I would be a ‘blogger’. When I thought about people who blogged I thought of fashion, I thought of food, I thought of weirdos, now all I can think about is education. Blogging is a new and innovative way to strengthen the education of our generation. It is a form of social media that we can relate to and engage in, and our views can be viewed on a global scale. This to me seemed amazing.

What was also amazing is that my blog has been a personal reflection about me and who I am and more importantly what I believe in. my blog in its layout and its contents paints a accurate image of who I am as individual, and only when I finished my last blog did I realise this. I looked at my WordPress wall and was proud of what I have created.

There was one week in particular that really stood out for me and I thoroughly enjoyed and that was week 5, going to the movies to learn, what more could a Uni student want? This was not only a fun task but very informative (mostly fun). Challenging Hagerstrands ‘Social Planning Constraints’ turned out to be great fun, but also the observation of the way people interact in social levels was also very interesting.

This semester challenged me to improve the way I write, my level of knowledge on how to use technology and most importantly how to look at the views of others in new ways. This blogging technique has equipped me with new and valuable knowledge that will further incorporate into my work! Overall I have enjoyed blogging over this semester, my technological, writing and reading skills have been enriched through this process and I feel there is only more room for development. I don’t think I will stop blogging after now that I have started, I have been able to read and develop new ideas from other peers and for that I am very appreciative. I only hope that my blogs have helped those within the BCM world as much as they have helped me! Thank you to all who have read my post!

The last Australian film I watched….hmm I don’t even know if I ever have watched one to be honest. I probably have but I really cannot remember. I think that’s enough to say about the Australian film industry. The only Australian film that I can say I actually love, is anything with Chris Lily, I love Summer Heights High!

I think the low level of Australian film watchers is due to the lack of knowledge the Americans (the film makers) have about our nation, they will use every stereotype about us as possible and it makes us, the people, cringe! I feel so embarrassed every time I sit down and here an American spit the typical ‘G’day mate’, like no one talks like that here, it is like not one American individual has ever visited the country. We do not ride kangaroos to work, and we do not live on dessert land!

I feel that we as Australians cannot stand the Australian film industry because the people who make the films must not understand that we as a nation cannot handle the typical stereotypes that they put on us, it is truly embarrassing!

I feel another reason (a probably more legitimate reason) is that Australian film is not as advertised as much as American film. Also Australian films do not remain in cinemas as long as American films, which automatically, rapidly reduces the potential audience base.

The idea I would put in place to gain a higher Australian audience is more advertising! The higher level of advertising, the higher potential in grabbing audience attention.

Audiences want to be swayed at the movies, they want to wind down and relax, not be humiliated by what the world thinks we are. Australian theatre has a long way to go compared to American film, if it wants results it needs to be amazing, it needs to be what people can relate to, and most of all it needs to be easy to watch.

As I was growing up I was fascinated with the idea of being a detective, so many great things to unravel, so many codes to punch into systems to make an invisible door appear for me to walk through down into a hidden dungeon, of course my imagination was limited due the censorship conducted by my oh so reliable parents. All of my ideas were brewed from basic cartoons but I always craved more, so when 8 o’clock came around and it was time for bed, dad would sit down to watch some crime/detective show, I would always sneak out of my room and peek in on what was being watched, all of my genius ideas were in the making.

Of course television and moral panic are always going to have relatioship together, but is discontinuing and cesoring a television show/movie the answer to this problem?

Whilst I was growing up my parents where not the type to block out mine and my brothers minds from everything that seemed inappropriate, they felt it was important for us to begin to learn about the real world, but in saying this they did not make us sit down and watch Wolf Creek for us to understand that there was such thing as murder. But they did however allow us to watch shows like Neighbors, The Simpsons for example to gain a grasp on topics such as humor, sexuality, family, love, bullying etc.

Most of the time we see that the major moral panic in the public towards television is that people are going to act like what they see on T.V. In a way I agree and in another way I disagree. I disagree in the sense that if people watch a movie filled with murder and crime that they are going to wake up in the morning and say ‘hey I might kill someone today.’ But I agree when we are faced with film that promotes happiness, motivation and inspiration, people look up to these qualities and aim to possess these characteristics. I significantly believe that children are effected by television most, I clearly recall watching movies like ‘Honey’, or ‘Blue Crush’, and think ‘Yep, I’m going to be a dancer, and Hell yeah I’m going to be a surfer’. (I still think this when I watch these movies- GUILTY).

I think it’s important that censorship is not completely ruled out, but I think it is very important to individuals to be exposed to what is appropriate for them as an individual.

An immense part of comedy is depicted through the looks of the actor and the cultural context. If these two elements are not considered when translating humour then the humour is often lost in translation. This is what happened when America translated the successful Australian show ‘Kath and Kim’.

Professor Sue Turbull highlights in this weeks reading “comedy depends not only the performance but also on the body of the performer”. Kath and Kim’s genre is ‘character comedy,’ which is comedy derived from a persona invented by the performer through both the looks and actions. The actors fully embody their characters mannerisms, tone and looks. Without doing so, as seen in the American version of Kath and Kim the stereotypes and the form of mockumentary are not as clearly portrayed, as viewers see that it is actors playing a character as opposed to becoming one.

When focusing on the looks of the American Kath and Kim it is easy to see why they couldn’t pull off the original self-deluded characters created in the Australian series. Many critics claimed that the American Kath and Kim was a ‘miscast’ as their Kath and Kim were not monstrous enough to be clichés, stereotypes or parodies. In the Australian Kath and Kim, Kim is quite delusional and believes that she is a beauty queen with a skinny waist. Comedy is depicted by her looks as her appearances contrast this allusion she has. The American Kim, however, leaves no room for this irony, as she really is beautiful with a skinny waist so it becomes un-relatable and people don’t get it.

As comedy is dependent on the cultural context and paradigms of the target audience we can also look at cultural differences as a factor in successful television translation. This idea can be demonstrated by the you-tube video ‘Shit you don’t hear in Wollongong’.

You wouldn’t understand this video if you didn’t have any prior knowledge of Wollongong culture and nightlife particularly amongst young people. This video also illustrates that there can be cultural differences not only on a national level but from state to state and even town to town, as well as between age groups.

Looks and cultural differences play a major role in why the American version of Kath and Kim didn’t translate the Australian version successfully. In hindsight the US producers could of casted more appropriately and translated the show successfully to suit the context of the audience but instead followed the Australian script so closely without considering the cultural differences which meant that the humour was lost in translation and wasn’t received well by American audiences.

Multitasking is a disaster for me, I am bad at it, unless I am in the kitchen, I love cooking and multitasking in this sense is about the closest I’ll ever come to success. In regards to Uni work or organisation skills, sadly yet consciously I can only focus on one thing at a time, I would rather do everything individually as I know I can say I’ve given it my 100% attention. Too often I sit in lectures and am distracted by what the world can offer one small person, I’ll have 10 tabs open yet my brain can only focus on 2 of them max!

But just because I’m bad at multi-tasking, it doesn’t mean I don’t do it! Just in the time that I’ve been writing this blog I have had dinner, washed the dishes, bought tickets to Wicked the musical, ordered a new outfit and fed my chickens, I wish I could say that this blog hasn’t taken me that long.

On a simple level our everyday activities such as walking, talking, listening, driving etc come naturally to us we do not consciously monitor our levels of multi-tasking, now that I think of it whilst driving home yesterday I was on the phone (Bluetooth of course), singing (loudly), sipping a drink and actually driving the car, that’s 4 different tasks at the same time, we do not actually realise how amazing we are until we think about it.

Me thinking about how amazing I when I realised I could multitask

I got distracted from my blog even more after trying to find a decent meme; I continued to scroll looking at more hilarious things.

But in relation to myself and how I monitor how many tasks I can undertake I usually just count the amount of devices in my hands and on my lap, counting the tabs and actually thinking about how many tasks I’m really focusing on!

(ME TRYING TO MULTITASK)

This lecture was amazing to me as we were asked to go to the movies, what a great assignment! But what was even more amazing was that I had already planned with a friend to go to the movies that evening to watch ‘The Inbetweeeners 2’, so it was just a perfect coincidence. When I had made these plans however, I felt somewhat guilty as I did have a fair amount of Uni work to get through, but as soon as we were told that we needed to go to the movies, all my worries just disappeared!

 

In relation to Hagerstrands ‘Social Planning Constraints’, I found going to the movies quite an easy experience!

 

Capability- Can I get there?

The answer was YES! I have a drivers licence and had a car to get there, but the friend I attended the movie with lives close by, so we decided together! She picked me up and this made the evening a lot more carefree.

 

 

Coupling- Can I get there at the right time?

Again, the answer was YES! The movie began at 8:50pm, so I was picked up at 8pm to get there at around 8:15. We allowed time to go into Coles to grab snacks because we believe the movie prices are ridiculous.

 

Authority- Am I allowed to be there?

Once again, the answer was YES! The movie is rated MA15+ and I am 20 years of age so I was safe in this situation!

 

When we arrived at the movies we were politely greeted which made the evening quite enjoyable! My friend and myself were seated next to eat other in ‘Row K’, Seats 12 and 13. Back in the day there was no specified seating which made me realise the rapid change over time!

 

We were quite comfortable, as we went to Hoyts in Warrawong, as its $9.90 movie tickets and the cinemas have been refurbished, so we knew we would be comfy in the new cushioned seats.

 

In my opinion the night was a success, I didn’t have to worry about driving, I paid a little amount of money for tickets, I successfully snuck food into the cinemas and most importantly I loved the movie. This was probably the greatest task I have ever had to do for a subject, thanks Sue and Kate!

 

In this weeks reading, Michael Curtin defines media capitals as “locations where complex forces and flows interact, they are neither bounded nor self-government entities”. I define media capitals as cultural spheres that consider in terms of patterned alteration rather than essential qualities. Media capitals allow a wide read knowledge of a hybrid, multicultural experience for consumers. Television has especially embraced media capitals by disrupting the conventional structures of domination. It allows us to speak of cultural spheres of influence without conceiving them as coherent, restricted entities.

The media capital of the world was traditionally America, however, there are several other emerging media capitals. Other industries throughout the world such as India and China are on the rise. In this week’s reading Michael Curtin describes these capitals as “places where things come together and, consequently, where the generation and circulation of new mass culture forms become possible.”

The clip below explains that China and India have 40% of the world’s population and two of the fastest growing economies in the world, which could actually spell double trouble in the United States. Mohammed Sadiq from the India-China economic council explains in the clip below that “they are very insecure about everything and it is in there benefit that these conflicts keep coming up between India and China so that none of us can ever grow” – in reference to Washington D.C, America.

It is apparent that there is currently a rising clash of civilisations. This is the premise that the central foundation of conflict in the modern world will not be ideological but instead predominantly economic. The clash of civilisations may perhaps segue a division between cultures. I would like to stop this clash of civilisations as I believe this could be a positive move to create further media capitals for additional influences rather then a contained boundary. This video below explores this idea.

Countries like the aforementioned China and India could potentially work together to challenge America’s place of the worlds leading media capital. We have the potential to create a global public opinion and I believe that this could be the new super power.

Reference List:

Curtin, M 2003, ‘Media Capital; Towards the Study of Spatial Flows’, International Journal of Cultural Studies, vol.6, no.2, pp.202-228

Khorana, S 2012, ‘Orientalising the Emerging Media Capitals: The Age on Indian TV’s‘Hysteria’, Media International Australia, (8/1/07-Current), 145, pp. 39-49.

‘Okay, I’ll meet you at Panizzi in 5’… (Hangs up).

**Finds a seat all alone and waits awkwardly until friend arrives!**

Thoughts in your head screaming ‘Oh my God, I am such a loser sitting here all alone’, better whip out my phone and act like I’m doing something, just to ensure those around me that I am NOT a loser, and that I’m actually quite cool sitting here on my new iPhone 6.

Ever felt this way? Raise your hand… GUILTY!

But now ask yourself this, why do you feel like a loser? Why does the absence of another individual excuse us from feeling comfortable sipping a coffee on our own? And why are our devices the so-called ‘solution’ to this problem?

Our devices have become our safe place, a place to escape, yet they have also become our personal diaries, they constantly in our hands and we quite frequently use it to document our lives. Too often I find myself in hilarious situations that I will without even thinking, take a photo of what’s going on, so I will never forget it, but I without fail always question whether it is appropriate or not to be seen on social media, and if the person in the image is okay with it!

A perfect example of uncertainty as to whether or not I should post a particular photo fell into my path the other night, I was at a housewarming party but I was driving, so whilst everyone was getting intoxicated I was left to observe everything going on with sober eyes, which is when one of my best friends fell over in her new bedroom, taking down an ironing board, a few items off the table, oh and also another human.

This was probably the most hilarious things my eyes had seen in a while and

straight away the phone was out and the situation was captured forever, and when I had my finger on the post button I thought last minute ‘ooh better not, she might get cut tomorrow’!

I clearly understand that posting photos without the other persons consent raises concern about our ethical behaviour, and it was only in this instance that I thought better of it, but like the public I have become accustom to using my phone to document my outings and post what I feel comfortable with, even without the other persons consent, I really believe that there is no longer such thing as public and private space when out of the home, I’m sure there are photos of me on some strangers phone of me failing at trying to park, and driving off to avoid humiliating myself further! The world is funny, and so is this lady asleep on the train… a beautifully captured image by me!

There is nothing worse than having to wait for a tab to load, with every second that goes by whilst we wait literally feels like each individual strand on my head is being plucked out. As I write this though, I feel somewhat selfish and don’t seem to realise how lucky I am to even possess these devices. But as my generation has grown up whilst the Internet has, how can we expect anything less than speedy Internet access? In a family of four we collaboratively possess 10 Internet accessible devices:

• 4 iPhones
• 2 laptops (MacBook Pro & Dell)
• 2 iPads
• 1 MacBook Home Desktop
• 1 PlayStation 3

 

We do not however have NBN in our area, but we do have a Limited Optus Broadband account. It constantly reminds us via text our monthly usage in a percentage, and as the month progresses so does the usage, and the speed of Internet steadily decreases. As annoyingly slow as the Internet can get towards the end of the month, I am quite grateful that we do have this restriction otherwise I know we would just go wild and abuse it!

 

I would say that the main users of Internet in my home are my brother and I, yet my dad does use it quite a lot as well for work. But that’s where the difference lies, Kimon (brother) and I use it mainly for music, television and social media whereas dad uses for an actual purpose.

 

The Internet towards the end of the month isn’t even that slow when we think about it, its probably and extra 4 second wait, but because we are so used to speed that we love, it does make using our devices quite frustrating.

 

Mine and Kimons reaction when the Internet goes slow goes a little something like this…

 

 

When I interviewed my family to no surprise my mum had no idea what NBN was, but after explaining to her what it was she was not fussed at all, and gave a simple response of ‘oh, yeah whatever, it seems good but our home Internet isn’t bad’. From this I took away that mum wasn’t really bothered about the idea of having faster Internet connection. Mum is the least user of Internet in the home, so this response didn’t baffle me.

 

Dad also gave a similar response to mum saying ‘what’s the difference, you’ll only be waiting an extra few seconds’. This trend allowed me to create a theory, I believe that the elder generations aren’t particularly fussed with the speed of Internet, as they didn’t grow up with it, I think they are just grateful that it’s so accessible.

 

Kimon on the other hand believes that when NBN is finally introduced to our area, that the world will become an easier place to live. As he streams and downloads music, shows and movies I understand why NBN is so important to him. It really is a great feeling when you stream something and do not get interrupted with constant pausing for it to buffer.

 

Although I do agree with my brother and NBN being a blessing, but I cannot help but think that our lives are so driven by the Internet. Why is it so important to us, and why do we rely on it in everything we do?

 

To me the answer is simple, we grew just as technology did, we adjusted to it and the development of technology, we do not know better. Although I am grateful that I did not fall into the younger generations who are obsessed with iPads and apps as I believe they are the ones who will very easily lose human interaction.

 

As family who all use the Internet in the home, whether it be in our bedrooms, or even in the lounge room when we are all together with the television on in the background, it is a growing concern for us that we are losing quality time together to connect. In a way I agree with Turkle in her belief that over use of devices can lead to loss of human connection, but also believe that it allows us to enter a bigger world of communication.

 

I do not think our family has lost interpersonal connection over time, every night we sit down as a family (no devices allowed at the table), and have a very good chat about how our days were and what’s going on in our lives.

 

I would not like to see my family lose our close bonds over Internet accessibility but then again I love my Internet especially when it’s as fast as Usain Bolt! So bring on NBN and give me what I love.