Blog post #1 Lock Up

Lock up is an hour long documentary on MSNBC that gives the viewer a closer look into maximum security prisons. MSNBC investigates what goes on behind the bars and inside the minds of the criminals and guards. The documentary style show is usually an hour long and focuses on specific prisons, some of which include San Quentin, Pelican Bay, Holman, Folsom and New Mexico. They also have shows dedicated to a specific topic whether it’s about gangs or the criminal minds themselves. They touch on many different issues and the precautions and steps they take when all hell breaks loose. Everything is raw with little edited out.

The show consists of interviews with the prison mates and guards as well as narrative of what is going on in certain moments of the show. There are often captions set on the screen either explaining what a certain prison slang word means, or describing the interviewee. The topic of the show is always stated next to the title “Lock Up” and each one is vague yet describes enough in a catchy way that one would want to know more about the topic at hand. For example the title Lock up: Hugs, not Drugs has a catchy saying that describes that the show is about drugs but not much more. Until one reads the information on it they may not realize that the show will be about the new ways the inmates have been using to smuggle in contraband. By having short yet affective titles of the show, it will draw in more viewers out of pure curiosity.

The setting is always dull and gray and it does not look like they use much extra lighting while taping this show. It seems that the more natural “raw” aspect of the whole show is a theme. Showing everything that happens inside the prison from fights breaking out, relationships inside the prison, gangs, riots, cell searches and close interviews with the inmates themselves MSNBC is holding nothing back from its viewers when airing this documentary. The narration is usually done by a man, an officer or guard, who has a serious tone while explaining different things that happen at the prisons. This keeps the tone of the show more serious and hard like a prison is perceived to be. The Music is always instrumental with usually just a beat in the background of someone talking or while showing a clip. The music is more of a harcore style with a rock feel.
Analysis:
It would be interesting to me to compare the prisons that are being taped. I am sure there are guidelines and rules that all prisons follow, but how issues are handled at each place mot likely does not always coincide.

I think that this show has many different views inside the prison. Each show has a different topic or some sort of action going on in it. The fact that it is so real makes it appeal to many. When it talks about maximum security prisons it lures people in because its something that not many people know much about and its interesting to see what happens inside a prison and learn about all the the different events that happen inside at a more closer look then one would see anywhere else unless they were actually there. Also, reality television along with crime shows in general have been more and more popular and with a show as open as this one it cannot get much more real.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036750/ This website has clips of some of the "Lock Up" shows that MSNBC airs.

This American Life

This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program that is hosted by radio personality Ira Glass, produced by WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, and distributed worldwide by Public Radio International. Since its creation in 1995, it branched out into an online podcast of the radio show, and a TV series (shown above) that, despite its change in medium, is structured very similarly to the radio show. While it is a program that deals entirely in nonfiction, and uses a lot of journalistic practices to get its content, it is not meant to be viewed as a news program.

Each week, a broad and simple theme is chosen. The program is divided into acts, which explore the theme on a deeper level through stories, memoirs, field recordings, and interviews. For example, a recent episode contained the theme "Life After Death", which was explored by stories of people who felt responsible for the deaths of others, even if they were entirely blameless. The first story, or act, was an interview with a man who, at age 14, was certain that his friend's death at his church camp was the result of his meddling with the supernatural. The second act was a memoir authored by a man who accidentally took the life of a girl in a car accident, and how he dealt with the guilt as he grew up, even though it was merely an accident. The last act was a story containing interviews with an Iraq War veteran who suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and his attempts to recover from it even as it causes him to do drastic things. The mood of the theme and even the individual story is rarely set in stone, and even in a short span of time, things can go from moving and sad to ironic and hilarious, showing different, very human sides to the subjects the stories are based around.

Although This American Life is a radio program based on nonfiction and distributed by public radio, it is not a news program. The entries and stories are things that have actually happened, and often have to do with important events, including Hurricane Katrina and the aforementioned Iraq War. But they are not explored in great depth. Instead, the program focuses on the accounts of the individual. And to further separate itself from news programs it makes an explicit effort to air the most outlandish and ridiculous stories it can find. But despite this, the stories are rooted in what is real, and no matter how implausible the story may seem, there is almost always something about them that listeners can relate to.

Ira Glass is the host and overall narrator of the show, but it also draws heavily upon contributors. Many of these contributors have distinguished careers, and the show often helps bring them to the public light. It isn't just journalists, either. White House aides, comedians, columnists, and humorists have all made regular contributions to the show. Some examples include comedian Mike Birbiglia, and John Hodgman, who is perhaps most famous now as the "PC" in the ongoing Mac vs. PC ads made by Apple Computers. John Hodgman's first contribution, which aired on the episode "Superpowers", dealt with his findings on an informal survey that asked whether people preferred the ability to fly and the ability to turn invisible and why the choice was dependent on personality. This story showed that John Hodgman, although a very talented humorist, had a keen insight on the human personality that would not have been shown on a Mac vs. PC ad or on The Daily Show.

Despite all of the input from significant sources, however, the show does its best efforts to efforts to remind us that the stories, no matter how insane they might be, are about real people, and their real decision. In one story, you can find yourself relating to the narrator or the subject of narration in one moment, and then view them as monsters in the next, simply because of a tough choice they may have made. This works the other way around, as well, as the narrator may seem distant and irrational at first, and then someone you can relate to as you explore his character.

Analysis:

Perhaps one of the most outwardly noticeable thing about this show in relation to other public radio shows is how it seems to try to energize itself in order to catch listeners generally younger than the audience of most radio shows. While other prominent radio shows, such as Prairie Home Companion seem to place large value on their "Old Time" fashion and traditions, this show seems exceptionally welcome to new concepts and ideas. On many of their shows, they usually have at least one interviewee or story subject that is in their twenties. And not only that, but most of the contributors are exceptionally sharp on modern banter, slang, and lingo, and put a large amount of it in their presentations.

The music, both in the background and during broadcasting breaks, is also exceptionally modern, containing samples from modern genres such as electronica. When the music isn't entirely modern, it is usually referential and easy to catch for young listeners. Even Ira Glass, the host of the show who has had a career in radio broadcasting for thirty years, sounds like a man barely into his thirties, and is certainly knowledgeable in his pop culture references as well. Given the unusual structure of the program, and the efforts public radio seems to be making to reach a demographic outside of its aging base.

4chan.com

/b/

(not my real post for the assignment)

blog assignment #1

Taps: The Atlantic Paranormal Society

Taps is a show on the Sci-Fi channel. It follows two men and their team all over the United States looking for paranormal activity. This team was founded by two men, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. These men have a strong interest in the paranormal and investigate cases brought to them.

The show begins in one of two ways. First, it could begin with Jason and Grant working at their other job, Roto-Rooters where they work as plumbers. Second, they could be at Taps headquarters in Atlanta. They are always getting requests to come and look at possibly hunted places, some they consider looking into. Jason and Grant go to each place and they take a team with them to check it out.

The first thing they do when they get to their location is sit down with the owner(s). They ask what’s going on in the house or building, and the owners then list their experiences in detail. Next they go through the residence and check out all the rooms in the house that these experiences happen.

When working on site Taps usually only has a few hours to try and catch some activity on their equipment. They set up cameras in all the rooms and recorders to catch any noise they can. They have a device to pick up electromagnetic waves which helps explain things and they use this to look for major changes that indicate paranormal activity. The team will sit in every room and try to initiate contact with anything that could be in the room.

The setting always seems to be slightly eerie, and the music in the background is usually a little creepy. A lot of the time all the lights are off and the viewer is looking through night vision on the camera.

After they have collected all the evidence they can in the time they are given they go to a hotel to review the evidence. Jason and Grant are usually are not the ones doing this, they have other members of the team look through the information. More than never they find something interesting, whether it is a loud noise in the background or if something moved etc. Next whoever is looking at the information calls Jason and Grant in to look at the findings. Right away they try to come up with logical answers as to why this happened.

The last thing they do is go back to the owner and go over their findings. They will bring video and audio clips and play them for the owner. Jason and Grant will give their interpretations and then leave it up the owner to decide what he or she wants to do about it.

Analysis:

I believe this show has become so popular just because of the content. Everyone is intrigued by the possibility of a supernatural world. This show is meant to entertain the people, even though the business may not be. They way you get to see exactly what they are doing to capture these experiences, and when they actually get something it’s very exciting to the viewer.

Sample for Blog Post #1: "How Clean Is Your House?"

Description

“How Clean is Your House” is a BBC America show that follows “cleaning experts” Aggie McKenzie and Kim Woodburn as they rehabilitate a dirty house and its owner(s). All of the episodes of the show follow a set format.

Aggie and Kim are mobile. They are middle aged women, who look and act like someone’s very tidy mother or grandmother. They go to all corners of Great Britain, either at the request of the actual “filth offender” or at the request of someone who is close to them. The opening scenes of each episode show them in transit to the location of the house that they are going to clean, and feature snippets of an interview with the subject(s) of the episode talking about how their house got into the state it is in.

When Aggie and Kim arrive, they go into the house without the occupants being present. As each room is examined, the video is made artificially gray and dingy, accentuating the feeling of squalor, and there is ominous music playing in the background. Kim and Aggie go to each room, with particular focus usually on the kitchen and bathroom, examining and commenting on how filthy the house is. Kim takes particular “delight” in smelling things that look disgusting (e.g. toilets, rotting food in the kitchen, dirty sheets, etc.). Since the viewers are obviously incapable of smelling the contents of the dirty house, we are left to rely on the horrified reactions of Kim and Aggie to tell us that it is disgusting. As Kim often says “Oh – the smell!” Aggie is particularly focused on the presence of bacteria, mold, or insects, and is responsible for pointing out the presence of beetles, and speculating on the dangerous organisms harbored by the house. Both will usually express wonderment that people could actually live in the house, and emerge horrified and angry about the state of the house.

Next, the “filth offender” arrives to a scolding by Kim and Aggie. They point out how horrible their house is, and the reactions range from contrition to denial, depending on the person. Eventually, they are forced to admit that their house is disgusting and filthy, and needs to be cleaned up.

At this point, Kim and Aggie transform from prim and tidy women into down and dirty scrubbers. Of course, they aren’t dirty, though – they literally transform into white coats (reminiscent of lab coats) and fancy rubber gloves. They cordon off the house with yellow tape that looks like police tape, and the cleaning commences.

The “filth offender(s)” are then educated on the importance of cleaning, and the use of common household items to utilize while cleaning. Kim usually takes the offender(s) in hand and shows them how to use olive oil, or lemon juice, or baking soda to clean. She is particularly interested in using natural or unusual household items for cleaning. For example, she might use shaving cream to clean a dirty sink, or toothpaste to clean the door of a refrigerator. At all points, she tries to impress on the homeowners how easy it is.

Meanwhile, Aggie is on a mission of science, documenting bacteria, mold and fungi that are in the house, and sending samples off to the lab. When the results come back, she sits the “filth offender(s)” down to look at pictures of the “nasty little buggers” and to show them graphic pictures of the worst case scenario in terms of the health problems they can cause. Basically, Aggie uses science to scare the homeowner.

After the embarrassment of the opening scene, and the hectoring by Kim and Aggie, the house is finally clean. The homeowner is then shown back into their newly cleaned house, and the viewer sees a series of before and after shots of each room. The contrast between the before and after shots is heightened by lighting and by the use of music. As the filth offender is taken on tour, many exclaim that “this can’t be my house!” They are left with a stern charge to keep the house clean, and then Kim and Aggie promise to return to check on them.

Next shot is “two weeks later,” and Kim and Aggie evaluate the house. Depending on how the “filth offender” is doing, they might be the subject of praise, or perhaps a muttered declaration that the whole thing had been a waste of time. Then Kim and Aggie are off to find more filth to fight!

Analysis

There are a couple of notable patterns in “How Clean is Your House?” that would be interesting to examine more closely.

First, “How Clean is Your House” is part of an emerging genre of reality television shows that you might call “reclamation project” reality television. In the United States, examples include “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover,” “Biggest Loser,” “What Not to Wear,” and “Nanny 911.” In Great Britain, besides “How Clean is Your House?,” examples include “Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares,” and “You Are What You Eat.” In all cases, these shows follow similar narrative formats. They identify an unacceptable condition (a child’s behavior, the weight and health of a person, or the state of a business), embarrass and expose the offender, subject the offender to expert advice and help, and then see whether they can continue the newly learned skill. The sheer number of these shows indicate the importance of the genre. It would be interesting to examine the similarities and differences between shows in the genre.

Secondly, “How Clean is Your House” is an example of a show that originally showed on British television, and is ripe for transformation and adaptation for an American audience. A number of popular television shows in the US today are direct adaptations of BBC television shows. These include “The Office,” “Trading Spaces,” and “Cash in the Attic.” Sometimes, these adaptations are very successful, and others are not. It could be enlightening to examine the similarities and differences between American and British versions of the same show to learn how they have either succeeded or failed in the adaptation.

Third, I’m interested in the use of the rhetoric of science in this show and others like it. “Sending samples off to the lab” is a common feature of this show and the other that often follows it on BBC America, “You Are What You Eat.” The scientific certainty of the test results is used to convince the offenders of the seriousness of the situation. Many other popular television shows also use the certainty of science as a crucial element of their plot. For example, the enormously popular “CSI” television franchise is built around the idea that science is infallible and will inevitably lead to the guilty, while exculpating the innocent. The faith in science that television shows both rely on and build in the audience would be a good topic for future analysis.

Assignment #1 Repost

In case you lose the paper copy, here's post describing the first blog post assignment. Remember, these begin to be due this Monday, if your last name is at the beginning of the alphabet!

COMM 1061: Introduction to Mass Communication
Blog Assignment #1

The first blog entry is based roughly on our activity from last week, analyzing a series of TV advertisements from Apple Computer. Basically, the point is to introduce the readers of the blog to an important, interesting, or noteworthy slice of the media, and to begin the process of analyzing it.

The structure of these blog posts will be standardized, so that you have some guidance about what needs to be included. The structure follows two of the five stages described in the section of Chapter One titled “Media Literacy and the Critical Process” on pp. 28-29.

1) Description: Paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study.
2) Analysis: Discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage.

As you will note, the fifth stage, Engagement, is the culmination of the process of writing and posting to the blog. As we develop a body of work and promote our blog, we will be engaging in an action that adds our own voices to the process of shaping the cultural environment.

There are several things that need to happen to enable you to complete this assignment.

First, you must email me your email address by Monday, September 8th so that I can add you as an author for the blog. You will receive a message from Blogger inviting you to join the blog, and you will receive a username and password. The address for the blog is centuryonmedia.blogspot.com.

Second, you should look at some examples. Within a day or two, I will post an example of the kind of post I would like to see, following the two stages listed above.

Third, you should pick a subject for you to write on. We will spend some time in class generating ideas, and I will compile these. When you send me your email address, I will include a document that compiles these ideas. Basically, pick something you like to watch/consume already – whether it is Dancing with the Stars, The Daily Show, political advertising, whatever it is that you already consume.

Fourth, you should follow the stages above. It is really important to describe in detail what it is that you are analyzing. Keep in mind that not everyone may have seen or heard the media artifact you are working with. If there are web sites that you can hyperlink to your blog entry, you should supply them for your audience. If there’s a video clip on YouTube, paste it into your post. You are not trying to comprehensively research or fully evaluate that which you are analyzing – rather, you are trying to provide an avenue for future research and provoke some thoughts about the media artifact.

Fifth, remember that you are working on a deadline. Each student will be provided a due date for their entry, and you must post your entry by 5 PM Central Time on the due date. You are welcome to post your entry earlier if you like.

Sixth, an appropriate length for a blog entry is approximately 3-4 double spaced pages, or 1.5-2 single spaced pages. The bulk of this will probably be close description of the media artifact, and this shouldn’t be too hard. I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you type up your entry on a word processor, save it, and then paste it into the blog. This gives you the ability to edit and review your post, and eliminates the possibility of losing because of some kind of glitch.

EVALUATION:

The first blog entry is worth 15 points. You lose 2 points for each calendar day it is late, and since the assignment will be “collected” on a daily basis, these calendar days include weekends and days that the class doesn’t meet.

Your blog entry will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1) Presence and use of the two stages of the critical process,
2) Clarity and depth of description of your chosen artifact,
3) Ability to identify interesting patterns and features for analysis,
4) Clear and accurate use of the English language.

Remember, this blog post is publicly available, so make sure it is polished and ready for a public audience.

COMMENTING:

It is expected that you will read the blog posts as part of the class, and commenting on the posts of your classmates is part of your participation grade. In this first round, I expect each class member to make at least 2 comments on posts other than your own. I evaluate comments on the following criteria:

1) They must be substantive – in other words, they should do more than say “Yeah!” or “I disagree.” If you disagree say _why_ you disagree.
2) They cannot be repetitive – there can be overlap, but just posting that you agree with an earlier comment isn’t enough.
3) Comments should be approximately one paragraph in length.

Schedule and Due Dates:

If your last name begins with A-F, your post needs to be up by 5 PM September 15th (Monday). If it begins with G-P it needs to be up by 5 PM on September 17th (Wednesday). If it begins with Q-Z it needs to be up by 5 PM September 19th (Friday.)