BCM110 is teaching me to challenge what I am presented with by the media.
Through my weekly assigned blog posts I have been able to further explore the topics and issues raised in class, discovering examples and linking them back to the readings, lectures and tutorial sessions.
I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to think about texts I consume, and explore them in a different light. For example, my blog post which was looking at the mediated public sphere and the issues explored in television show ‘Gossip Girl’ showed me how texts I interact with, or at least consume, are catalysts for broader discussions.
This week’s discussion of surveillance and the media really brought to light a whole new media issue for me; it has definitely made me more aware about the role of surveillance, and the way it permeates my whole life – surveillance cameras are everywhere. I also think it is genius the way in which individuals and groups are utilizing and manipulating technologies such as these for their own artistic purposes.
Considering myself part of this technology culture, BCM110 in the past few weeks has really made me question the media more, from magazines through to television news broadcasts and even advertising slogan, and I have been challenged never to take any of this at face value, to try and discover the motive or purpose behind specific portrayals.
This questioning has been complemented by the ability to read and interact with my fellow peers’ blogs; often they cause me to reconsider my views on a particular subject, or influence me to have the ability to look at media portrayals from different angles, making me think about things which usually would have just passed me by.
Most of all, BCM110 is teaching me that the world of media has a lot to offer, but to always be mindful of traps and risks associated with it, and not to be afraid to question something if I don’t think it is right.
P.s. Thanks Craig’s Corner for the image.
