++ Tutorial 4? ++

a. How is the idea of "choice" a value that is built into consumer-capitalist society?

The idea of choice refers to the freedom to choice and having many more options in ones purchases.For instance, when an individual is buying a dress, she has the choice to either purchase the product from Forever21 or Bershka, according to her wants and needs.Elements that influence these decisions and choices are factors such as price, complementary gifts and maybe even external factors like if her spouse thinks it looks pretty or not.

b. What does it mean in terms of hegemony?

Hegemony means leadership by power and  is usually used in a more political atmosphere. For example in Malaysian context, Barisan Nasional has hegemony over the people of Selangor.

c. Why is it important for hegemony that we don't question its legitimacy? Why don't we?

Hegemony is leadership by power. therefore, the people in power assume that their methods and approaches are the only right ways although they may be completely wrong from another person's point of view. As a result, questioning the legitimacy could result in intense controversies making it difficult to control people in power and the ones questioning legitimacy. Therefore, one of the reasons people do not generally question the legitimacy is because of the fear that they may end up ruining their very own lives. It is obviously natural for humans to feel at ease and more comfortable associating with a group people rather than being a complete loner.Furthermore, humans in general prefer to avoid conflicts especially in things that are out of their control.

d. What is "the paradox of choice"?

A paradox can be defined as a seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true" and choice is "An act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities". 

Combining both words, it means that sometimes, things are just not what they seem to be. For example, the thought of having more options, more choices is thought to be better as one might be able to find an option that is tailor made to one's own preference.
However, there are times when having too many choices lead to complications just like how Schwartz gave his example of having too many choices of jeans but he ended up having difficulties in choosing.

++ Tutorial 3? ++

1. Examine class representations from American television's beginnings to today's sitcoms, reality shows, police dramas and daytime talk shows.

The old days of american television portray only the 'white' americans. Eventually, the races in american television became more diverse, with the addition of asians and africans. However, the whites are portrayed as the good guys whereas the africans will either be depicted as robbers or convicts. However, today, Africans are viewed in a enlightened manner with them playing roles as vital as other races, even the whites. A good example would be the actor Will Smith in movies such as The Pursuit of Happyness.

2. What is the American Dream and how has it been portrayed on television? Who has it excluded and why?

The American Dream is defined as the notion that the American social,economic, and political system makes success possible for every individual. The capitalist system brings joy, perfect health and wealth to every American. It is the thought of having perfection in reality such as a married couple having one son and one daughter. It is shown by the media that to make the American Dream a reality, one must simply work and dedicate themselves to their work as well as their country. If that is achieved then time is the only factor left. It has excluded the minorities such as the African-Americans probably because during the time the American Dream concept was created, they deemed the minorities as having little to no importance in the country and as of now, it all depends on how people view the minorities.

3. How do media representations of class reflect the larger social system and social inequality?

The media representations of class as a reflection of the larger social system and social inequality is somewhat true. Segregation has not happened too long ago and the Ku Klux Klan has not been forgotten yet. The only difference is that media tends to over-exaggerate certain points . However, there are times when they portray a form of biasness, such as having the white men having all the power and the minorities and having little to no power. Furthermore, media representations of class happen to be encouraging their portrayals in real-life situations rather than spreading awareness regarding it.

4. How is the working class portrayed when it has been represented?

The working class are often shown to be struggling  in their work life as well as their social life and seem like they are having immense trouble making ends meet.

5. What are the struggles faced in trying to get a show about working class people on TV?

The general idea about portraying real people and real work situations can be intense and difficult for the reasons of issues of time, as well as not wanting to portray their true selves. One way or another, what you see in reality shows are pretty much a fabrication of what they truly are and that is a fact. 

Some companies might even have policies against being recorded to avoid having their company secrets out in the air. In other words, no matter how well you manage to capture the work life situation, it can never be 100% accurate, especially since everyone experiences things differently.

6. How are race and gender intertwined with class on TV?

Race : white people are often portrayed as rich, and classy kind of people while the minorities are often shown to be poor and criminals.

Gender: Women are shown to be docile and dormant, always tending to house and children while keeping quiet about their own opinions and desires.

As a result, most white men are shown as the elites of society and bosses of big corporations while black women are often portrayed as house maids.

++ Tutorial 2? ++

1. What is media concentration and conglomeration? How are they similar or different to each other?
Media concentration means progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Real life giants of the media industry are Time Warner and Walt Disney. Media conglomeration is a process of  companies owning large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing,movies, and the Internet. They basically mean a large company "swallowing" smaller companies so there are less and bigger companies in the market.

2. What is the political impact, if any, of concentrated corporate ownership of news and other forms of media?
If the owners of corporate conglomerates are politically biased, they might spread political propaganda through their news and media to the public, and this can result in political unfairness.

3. What is the relationship between media ownership and diversity in media content? Compare and contrast this relationship in the news and popular music industries.
Oligopoly can result in a limited diversity of media content. It can result in a tunnel point of view being transmitted to the audience and they may not know the truth other than the viewpoint shown by the media owner. For example, the Fox News reports incidents slanted in a way that shows only what the owner Rupert Murdock wants people to think.

4. What relation does media production advertising have? Does advertising benefit or harm media production?
Advertising helps media production because it spreads awareness about the media.

++ Tutorial 1? ++

1. Explain how the influence of mass media extends beyond what we know to include how we relate to the social world.
Society learns through the mass media and we learn from social interactions with others. Everything we define is shaped based on society's definition. If the newspapers, television or radio tells us that baldness as an attractive feature, majority of society will think it is true and will shave their heads bald to become more attractive. If your girlfriend/mother/best friend then tells you that, you may be inclined to shave as well because you want to appear cool. Most of the media content is controlled by news organizations and the government in Malaysia though, so news, especially political news, are mostly untrustable.


3. How does the presence of media affect your life? How would it be different without mass media?

- I'm more informed of what is going on in other countries
- I keep in touch of what is "in" and trendy
- To entertain me; I can't live without movies, games and music, and that's all sourced from the Internet.
- To keep in touch with my old schoolmates and my best friend in Holland
- Without mass media, I would be a caveman. Maybe a healthier, more social caveman, but nontheless an uninformed, disconnected one.

4. Overall, do you think the growing presence of mass media in our lives is a positive or negative development? Why?

It can be both negative and positive. Negative in a sense that kids now no longer spend time outdoors anymore, but play sports games on computers. The younger generation is very dependent on mass media, so basically we can no longer survive without it, and that dependence is unhealthy. Positively, mass media introduces to things beyond the scope of our knowledge. We can cross the time and geographical differences to connect with other people across the globe, and people can gather together to fight for a cause as a united front. Take the Kony campaign for example. We are crossing the boundaries of human capabilities as we speak. 

5. How do you think the presence of television has changed family life? Do you think the spread of the internet will have similar effects? Why or why not?

I believe that the development of the television has made families closer. I know not of better ways to bond than sit around watching a movie with my family and having a good laugh with them. There are also many sitcoms about family life broadcasted on TV that makes us realize the importance of family values and relationships. The spread of the internet has a double-edged effect on family life. Families are not going to be as connected if every member is too busy surfing the internet on their laptops/ desktops/ Ipads/Ipods everyday. On the other hand, the use of social media such as Facebook and Skype help to keep families that are apart keep connected. 


6. What do you think is the most significant media development in your lifetime?

The most significant media development of (almost) everyone's lifetime is the Internet. It has been developed on such a large scale that it has covered the entire globe; even if the residents of certain rural areas are unable to connect to the World Wide Web, we could still know how they are doing via the Internet. It's changing the way we see the world and the way we connect to the people on it. Businesses are also starting to change; no business with sense would not have a website and a Facebook page to promote itself. In short, the WWW is redefining the world as we know it.

++ Looking Into Me ++

Hi there, and welcome to my little cove of horrors. My name's Loh Shan Min, but I'm mostly known as Sam. Most people think of me as "that emo kid". I kinda think it's cool the way I am.

Bit of alright, innit? Now we got weselves settled nice and cozy, let's begin.

Interests

My forte and biggest interest of all is drawing. I've started to self-learn since I was twelve. As of today, I still take a lot of inspiration from Japanese anime and manga. Drawing was a major confidence boost in my unsocial life. Basically, it is my life. Most of my art are influenced by gothic, punk rock and Victorian era cultures as well and can be seen here. 

I also enjoy writing, whether it is simple poetry, song lyrics or short stories. There are dozens of ideas for stories of all genres crammed into my thick skull. My inspirations come from manga, games and a good deal of novels which I have read.

Other than that, I play a lot of video games, both on the PC and PlayStation2. It was an addiction that I blame on the classical SNES games I played when I was a kid. In the 90's, games were not yet social norms and gamers were considered geeky, but it was the beginning of the era. Unlike the modern games that focus on eye-watering graphics and a million controls, games back then were made for one purpose: fun. And fun they were. 

Music has played a major part of my life as well. I listen mostly to Japanese heavy metal. My favourite bands are DELUHI and D'EspairsRay, both five-man bands with talented hunks and known for their unique style, and both broke my heart when they disbanded within months of each other last year. Lately I've taken quite a shine to Marilyn Manson, an American shock-rock whacko.

If all men above thirty still look like this...

Favourite band of all time!

                                                                                 

A man with fifty shades of awesome.

Other interests I have are baseball, camping, singing and watching dramas. I love rabbits, things with intrinsic details on them, horror games and movies, deep discussions about theories and facts, stars, hoodies and the colour red. I hate worms. HATE.

Dreams and Aspirations

The usual ones of being a rockstar or fashion designer or interior designer or famous artist/author. An achievable benchmark would be publishing a short story or novel or comic in the next few years (hopefully). I've already had some things in the workings before this, and currently I'm focusing on designing some hoodies and T-shirts for my club and class. I aspire to be a hybrid of Stephen King, J.R. Tolkien and John Grisham, writing fantasy stories with a touch of humour and darkness. I also aspire to inspire people. I would like to live in Japan, too.

I came from

Johor Bharu, but I moved to Kuala Lumpur at the age of two. Typical city kid.

My childhood was

Unremarkable. I was an obedient, dreamy, imaginative child who played with carton boxes and Barbies. I was and still am very close to my younger brother and sister. I was quiet in general, but turned into a demon when I was playing with close friends. My childhood revolved around my father's parents' house in SS2, where I lived for ten years, and my mother's side of the family tree in Kuantan. 

Family conditions

My family consists of my stubborn parents and a younger sister and brother. My father is a strict, intelligent civil engineer with a short temper and a sense of humour. He used to be an artist and inspired me to draw as well as instilled the bookworm in me. My mother is a simple accounting manager who takes pleasure in planting and shopping and throwing out things that seem useful to everyone but herself. My brother is a grade 8 pianist and guitar player. My sister is an imprint of me but is better at handicraft than drawing. I love them to itsy bits.

Top 3 experiences that made a lasting impression on me

1.    The first time I discovered I could draw. I drew a ninja on a piece of paper in tuition class to humour a friend. I was surprised that it looked decent, because I never learned the basics of drawing. It was the beginning of my interest in art.

2. Meeting a group of four guys in my Form 4 class. I loved how they were a tight-packed group but accepted me into their "brotherhood" and never gave me special treatment. We were great bros. They showed me that I can be whoever I want without caring what society or my family would think, and from then on I broadened my social circles. Subsequently I became close to more guys than girls and became a bit of a tomboy :P

3. Going to Jogjakarta and Shanghai on holiday with my family. Jogjakarta had a mysterious, ancient feel to it whereas Shanghai was crowded and had an upbeat city vibe. The contrast between these two places opened my eyes to what the rest of the world could be like. 

10 Several most important given circumstances
*I'm going to pretend that I know what this means*
1. Malaysia : Being born in this country makes me a more cultural-diverse person. It also makes me see that "democracy" can be only an external shell. People with enough power can get away with bribery and dumb things.
2. My friends: I don't have too many of them, so every one is dear to me.
3. My family: Of course, who would I be without them?
4. Having artistic genes from my dad
5. Being brave enough to be a little different from the norm
6. I'ld really like to have been born during the Victorian era. Or in Japan.
7. Having the luck of meeting my best friend, who keeps me sane

And I don't even know anymore x_x

I'm sorry all this is that long. That is me :)