Limited Availability Special Media Blog Post: Birthday Edition (6/23)!!!

Long titles seem to be my specialty. If you read this one, you may notice that the date I enclosed in parentheses is not actually the same date as the posting date. Astute observation. However, June 23 is the date of my birthday, in the spirit of which I have written this post.

            But some of you may still be confused. "But Mil," you may be asking. "Why didn't you post this on your birthday?" To that, there is a simple answer: I spent the actual day partying and coming up with the concept for this blog post.

            But what is this blog post about (thank you, past self, for the flawless segue)? The topic of my birthday edition blog post is all about one of my favorite fixtures of media: memes.

            For those of you who have lived in a cave your whole life, far away from other human beings, never fear, I love definitions and will now present one to you.

            Meme, n.: an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.

            -a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc. that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users.

            Thank you Google, for your endless contributions. Memes can be spread in all sorts of ways. Family interactions, at school, in the workplace; these are all places where people communicate (or at least, should communicate) regularly. Memes can also be just about anything, like colloquialisms, gestures, clothing styles, etc. The most popularized understanding of meme is internet memes. Often these consist of a repeated image with a caption used as a reaction. Or, the image is the same, but the text can vary, typically retaining a previously defined theme. Memes are often offensive, inappropriate, or ridiculous. If you choose to foray into the world of memes after this post, I won't stop you. But be warned, it's an unsavory world out there.

            What kind of post on memes would this be if I didn't include some examples? First up is the "Doge" meme.

            I have a huge soft spot for Doge. I used a picture of this dog as my Steam picture. But despite my love for Doge and my many pictures of him on my computer, it's time to Look Behind the Meme.

            Doge is a silly meme. It consists of this wide-eyed Shiba Inu with words surrounding it, usually involving "wow", "so", "very", "much", and "many". A large amount of words in this meme also appear to be spelled incorrectly, as a sort of play on the name "Doge", which is obviously dog spelled and pronounced incorrectly (doughj).

            Doge is just one of the many image memes that exists on the internet. Let's look at a gesture meme that has recently gained popularity, at least in my high school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuVjLlCqLNQ

            I knew about the move, but I did not know about this. This video is a great propagator of the dab (although not the originator), a move that my fellow "kids" have begun to use on a nigh constant basis. A guy in my class would dab whenever he sneezed. During my first time bowling, I dabbed whenever I did well. Dabbing probably gained popularity because of the nature of iLoveMemphis' video. The singer references the whip, another popular gesture, and also has some pretty interesting lyrics. A lot of the words are either funny or inspiring. They were either nonsensical or talked about how the singer had made it from the bottom to the top. The dancers also are dressed very fashionably, and the whole video has this strange, exotic, cool air to it. I mean, it takes place in this kids play area! Dabbing obviously has deep roots, but this video has certainly helped it become even more popular.

            Gesture memes spread very quickly when people initiate face-to-face contact. But now, let's push onward to the wide world of social media.

            Thanks to social media, we can spread action memes. The Harlem Shake, Ice Bucket Challenge, Cinnamon Challenge, Highlighter Challenge… You name it. People either take pictures or make videos of these things and upload them somewhere (mostly YouTube and Instagram) and sometimes dare other people to do it and it becomes a fad. Why? The Cinnamon Challenge can kill, the Ice Bucket Challenge is thoroughly unpleasant sounding, and the Highlighter Challenge seems like a waste of makeup. But after participating in one of these action memes, people feel more connected, or they have fun in the process.

            Well, I think that covers some of the most prevalent memes. Now, I'll showcase a few of my personal favorite memes.

I love Beaker so much.

For those moments when a sad frog is your spirit animal.

            Now, what is the greater message of memes? As a medium of communication, memes are a fairly quick way to spread an idea or concept. We are surrounded by memes whenever we enter a social setting. Even reading or watching a movie can expose us to memes. I use them all the time, when I use idioms or reference popular things. They can also just be entertainment, a way of poking fun at something.

            As a professional meme-er, I love memes. Many of my friends have called me a meme, meme lord, meme queen, or just a propagator of memes in general. But even the most inexperienced meme person can achieve the in-factor that comes with the memes.

The Email Newsletter: The Real-est

            We all get strange emails sometimes. It's not spam, it's not junk mail…. so what is it? I'm back to review one of the craziest emails I've ever received, and what it shows about how media is used to portray and perpetrate societal concepts. Sound like fun? You bet it does.

            A few days ago, I embarked on a massive clean-up of my email inbox. I had something like 6 or 7 hundred unread emails. Yes, the situation had reached its crux. I was forced to act. But, what did mine eyes light upon but an invitation to a conference (it was fairly outdated, I had never seen it before)?

            Yegads! What is this? REAL Men? Who was on this generic mailing list, anyone who could possibly be male in the Sacramento city limits? Despite my qualms about receiving this, my biggest concern was the content of the email itself.

            The newsletter first notes that this conference "redefines the real man", takes the ancient, lumbering caveman, and reinvents him in a modern image. The rest of this email, however, proves otherwise. R stands for "rejecting passivity". Nothing wrong with refusing to stand idle in the face of adversity. But how is that an innately male trait? How come only men are supposed to be invested in staying active? I can only see this as a positive trait for all people; taking action when necessary is always helpful. Expecting men alone to rise to the challenge of action is too harsh. That responsibility can't be carried by half the population, nothing will get done. Full support and activity in people is vital for passivity to be discarded.

            The E represents "expecting the greater reward". Greater reward of what? From what? Are these men taking on greater responsibility and a harder workload, and that's why they are to expect more? Because that would be sensible. More work, more reward. Or does it have to do with risk? Again, greater risk, greater reward. But I can't help but feel like this maxim insinuates neither. How does expecting more have to do with being more "real"? How does this relate to being a man in general?

            A, the United States' favorite letter, is for "accepting responsibility". This is good. Being responsible is great! But again, isn’t this something that makes people better in general? Shouldn't this be a REAL Person conference, if these traits don't just apply to one gender or the other?

            We end with L, last but certainly not least, "leading courageously". Ah, courage, a trait that once more, benefits us all. And leadership, another universally admirable feature. But again, how come these things are balanced precariously on men's shoulders? I can say truthfully, a lot of people, many of which are male, are not leaders. They aren't courageous either. In fact, I lost a friend in the past year because of his innate cowardliness. Understandably, this conference aims to ignite these traits in young men, starting in middle school. But how much of an effect can this really have? And again, wouldn't it be more helpful to the population as a whole to raise an entire generation, not just one group or the other, to be multi-faceted and hold many talents?

            It's a little disturbing that this conference was targeting males as young as middle-school age. It's a blatant sign that society and the media attempts to sway minds from a young age, resulting in a perpetuation of this vicious cycle of gender inequity and imbalance of responsibilities. This seminar was also meant to be an "empowering exploration" with a "powerful panel discussion" that would "build our families, communities, and nation one REAL man at a time". What? That last line, that little gem, very obviously notes that the main movers and shakers of any group are males. Not true, and not fair either. The email claims that this conference will have a  positive effect on these males and those around them. I beg to differ. I actually think it will have an overwhelmingly negative consequence. Young men will feel pressured to accept all of society's burdens on their shoulders, because, as this newsletter doesn't fail to impart, males are the most important parts of a society and must be all-powerful and alone in that power. It also encourages an inability to view women in positions of power or accept that a woman may be better than them at one of the above factors. Young women will be excluded from potentially useful traits and skill sets that benefit all of society if taught to a large group.

            When it comes down to it, it's obvious that these conferences intended to empower or aid actually end up being detrimental to society in the long run. Instead of being in something universal, like a newspaper, these messages are delivered to us privately, in an email, in something that doesn't necessarily inspire widespread response or protest. These covert media packages can hit us where we least expect them, which is why it's important for us to always be on alert for things that could be dangerous to our striving for healthy perceptions (if that is indeed our goal).

            As this email tells us, be a REAL man. A REAL neurotic man.

Mil Comin' in Hot

"He's back, he's back," screams a hyper old man after drinking a gallon of orange soda.

Well, it's true. I, Milton Blumquist, am back and here to stay. I think.

Enjoy tonight's post, I cooked up something interesting to reengage my critical thinking skills.

Have fun,
Mil

Reflex-tion: The Media Reaction, Distraction, and Deconstruction

            How's that for a title? Real talk, this blog is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I have secretly wanted to keep a critical thinking blog since middle school, but I never knew exactly where to begin. This assignment gave me a starting point, and I couldn't be more grateful.

            But now, as the school year is winding down to a close, there is no longer a need to update this blog… or is there (stay tuned and see if I can keep my promises)? It's time for a reflection.

            My media reflexes have definitely improved due to this blog. Now, instead of just taking in things, I begin to deconstruct, to react outwardly, instead of internalizing the message passively. Now, I like to think that I have discarded my media illiteracy and am beginning to understand what is really being said, about life and myself as a consumer. Knowing this is important, because it can help us see past the lies (if you're into that kind of thing). It can also give us insight into other-- sometimes more commonly held-- perspectives. And last but not least, media education injects clarity into consumption. If we know what the people behind the screen are saying, we know what we're buying (at least, in theory).

            Now we come to the real question: has my deconstruction and reporting on media affected how much media I consume? Ben SChwartz (I remembered the 'c', Ben. I don't know if you're proud of me, but I am) and Ethan Lee got super real about this on their blogs. I also distinctly remember some of our classmates saying that they consumed significantly more media due to their blogs. While that may ring true for some of them, I'd like to note the ways it could be a misconception. Take yourself back to childhood. Think of the times you 'discovered something', like a different food, sport, game, subject, etc. They always existed, you just had not seen or looked closer at them yet. My peers have been so blind that upon being encouraged to truly examine their media consumption, they were overwhelmed by the magnitude of that which already existed, independent of Starace's assignment. They were finally exposed to their own consumption, which can be a great shock, especially if they didn't feel like they were doing much with media before. Ethan bespoke of a similar sentiment to my own, where he noticed that his 'critey sense', or his critical thinking powers, had heightened, therefore increasing his media sensibilities. Ben commented in his usual commendably blunt way, saying that his blog was only a place for expression of the thinking he had already done (holler out to my boy Ben: "When I wrote down what I was thinking, I was able to take it further instead of just wondering about it now and then during certain classes that shall remain unnamed" Same tho). While I did get more into Snapchat's Discover feature and new Youtubers and such, I believe that's a result of finals stress, and not due to this blog. I try to distract myself from the seemingly endless angst that consumes the entirety of my person.

            Speaking of distraction, the more I learned about techniques in media, the more I cut through the crap. Like, seriously. Clearasil tried to hit me where I'm vulnerable (facial acne), but failed, because I saw through their lies (straight through with my laser eyes of perception). The advertisers attempt to distract us with all these pretty, silly little things, but when it comes down to it, there's a lot of junk. I was mildly aware of it before, but receiving some semi-formal training on dealing with media has made me far more literate in the ways of the advertisement and editorial, the television show and the website. I am proud to say that I have more positive takeaway than negative from this year's learning.

            This blog has been a great source of entertainment for me. I learned a lot about myself, became more confident in my writing, and nourished some relationships with my classmates (shout-out to Ethan Lee. Bro, your blog is killer!). I also greatly enjoyed the blogs of my peers, and as I recognized in my earlier post, MEDIA-CEPTION, I gained insight into who they are and what they care about. Like I said, this year's got a great takeaway for me.

            Last words: Thank you Mr. Starace, and all of my classmates! While the assignment might end, my blog will (gods willing) live on. So thank you all, again, and have a wonderful summer!

Milton says bye, 4 now

MEDIA-CEPTION

            Wow, it's the last media blogs of the season, huh? Everything is winding down to a close. As a sort of last but not least, I'd like to do a bit of reviewing on the media blogs of my peers.

            Firstly, I'd like to address a post done by Grace Clark, called "Shrinking Women (it's about to get real, you guys)". When I read this post, I was struck by the power of the poet's words. Men, as the grow older, only appear to increase, to balloon up until they consume all that exists. Conversely, women shrink in on themselves until they disappear. Grace also notes a few parallels in her own life that she has noticed. For males, it is ok to be loud and outspoken, but when a female does it, she is seen as brash and offensive. Assertive women become aggressive, even if the intent was opposite. This post makes that double standard clear. Yes, apples are not oranges, males and females are different, but such an extreme standard is ridiculous.

            Ben Schwartz (*has trouble spelling 'Schwartz'* Edit: I really cannot spell. Sorry, Ben.) wrote a post that I really liked for its honesty called "Men Wear Masks and Women Wear...Very Little". One of the reasons I like it so much is because Ben sort of screws over political correctness for the truth. As a class, we watched a film called MissRepresentation. However, Ben discusses the sibling video to that: The Mask We Live In. He really hits on how the issue with men's representation in the media doesn’t tend to be discussed, which I have noticed myself. He also mentions that while women are controlled by men's standards, in a way, men are also controlled by women's standards (and he proceeds to explain that it is a relevant diagnosis because the majority of society is heteronormative). Steffany Wong described it as a "vicious cycle" on Jonah Wiener-Brodkey's blog post about the same film. This post was interesting to read because it is to-the-point and truthful about these issues. There are impossible standards for each sex to uphold-- the more they are perpetuated, the harder it becomes for people to move past them and to show themselves as a more complete individual.

            I think this was the first post I commented on. Ethan Lee created a post called "It's Just A Prank Bro" where he discusses the issue with social experiments and the (sometimes) losers who do them. He also asks an important question, "But when is a prank no longer considered a prank?". I enjoyed this post immensely, because it speaks to a subject that I sometimes have issues with: jokes are supposed to be funny for all involved. People like to call things pranks or social experiments instead of what they really are, which is a way to humiliate others and deny responsibility for it. I tend to be overly serious when interpreting the words of others, so I sometimes have trouble (especially if I am not well-acquainted with the individual) seeing the nuance in their expressions. However, if a joke isn't funny, I can still definitely tell. Anyone who knows me knows when I find something funny. And if you're trying to poke at people from some safe place where you can say, "It's just a prank, bro!", then you need to organize your priorities.

            Out of all the blog posts I read, these three really stood out to me. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy any others, made by different people. I just really got into these specific three. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of my classmates' thought (again, not to say they aren't usually deep). These are complex social issues, and when high-schoolers go in for the kill on them, it is pretty cool to see.

            As a larger media connection, I think that the response to media done by my peers goes deeper than most. The media madness tends to be accepted by the masses, but seeing my own classmates sort of rear up in response to the outrageous gives me hope. I learned some things about these specific people from what the wrote as well. Grace wants to be equal-- she is also a woman ready to act, she just hasn't quite decided her game plan yet. Ben is honest and straightforward. Steffany sees the connections, and recognizes (in her comment) that there may be no end in sight. Ethan is more sensitive than he lets on. This is what media can bring out of people. And I think that this was what our media blogs were all about.

Me (Crying) Before You

            Me Before You, a romance film that came out on June 3rd, is the movie I am dying to see. It's supposed to be silly, deep, and heart-wrenching at the same time. And let me tell you, I am so ready to watch it. But before I do, I'd like to discuss my discovery of it and my reactions to the pre-movie hype-up.

            Here I was, scrolling through Snapchat's Discover feature. I had clicked on Buzzfeed, because I love Buzzfeed, and started to scroll through their offerings. It was slim pickings in early May, to be honest. But I happened upon an ad. Usually I'd just scroll past, but the soft music and colors had caught my eye. Before I go on, it's important to note that I'm a huge sucker for romance and sappy, overly-sentimental experiences. Anything that makes my heart squeeze in my chest is a good thing. However, this also means that I am prone to sudden outbursts of tears or dry sobbing. Be warned.

            Anyways, after watching several of these small ads, my curiousity was peaked and I could not help but search the hashtag. I then found Me Before You's website. I proceeded to watch both trailers AND the music video, crying quite a bit. It looked really good, even though I had not read the book (regretfully. I must do so in the near future).

            All I can say is that while media may have led me to this movie, I'm trying to avoid every spoiler ever, or I'll be very upset. Media is a double-edged blade.