So this is my third attempt at posting this assignment :( . I typed and typed, and either I hit a character limit or mis-clicked with the mouse pad. Theory three is the martians ate my blog assignment. I'll try to make this attempt more concise.
I start my day by logging onto my computer. I turn on a show or movie and let it play in the background while I wake up and get motivated. After I have "overcome gravity", I head to the kitchen to work on breakfast and read the morning paper. The San Antonio Express-News is not much of a paper but it gets the job done in this case. I am convinced they only make the story "continued on page six..." or whatever to force an extra chance at ads into my eyes. The act itself of reading the paper is what i find calming about it. This paper is not what I use as a primary news source. I still prefer the comics in it like Get Fuzzy, Bliss, Dilbert, Pearls Before Swine, and Doonesbury. Having accomplished my morning literary goals, I turn my attention toward the bright and shiny logos drawn on the packaging of milk, cereal, bread, eggs, etc. These tiny little billboards have enough effect on the eye as to suggest what the body is actually craving as a food source. After eating, I put on my work shirt with the company logo on it and walk to work. On the way, I cross Austin Highway which is a sea of billboards the whole length of the road from the ground to about 40 feet in the air. I also pass a tattoo shop, although whether that counts as "mass media" depends on the person and the design. My Tattoo is not a billboard but a lot of tats are. (here is a hint to those who get "drunken tattoos" on a vacation or with friends, DON'T GET A NOUN! tattoos that are persons, places, or things stretch out over time. they cease to represent whatever it was you thought was worth getting at 2 am in South Padre over spring break. besides, Tattooing a noun is DEFINITE billboard behavior.) By now I am at work. At work, we play "Italian Music" (it is an Italian restaurant) that comes from a corporation called Muzak. It plays everything from Opera to old Frank Sinatra songs. Basically, that particular channel sounds like the soundtrack for The Sopranos. I have my doubts whether all the songs are their original singers. Several of the songs sound very close, but subtly different, perhaps to avoid paying Royalties. Recently at work, we bought a TV so now I also have CNN and ESPN going on in the background. I also count the customers' clothing as Mass Media as well. Things like that say a statement about a person (or so they hope) in a non aggressive and nonverbal manner. However, I believe that is a passive-aggressive thing like "read the rest of the story on page six" that forces the eye to notice it whether it wants to or not. having put my time in at my job, I head home passed the same billboards and tattoo shop. Once home, I click on my computer and throw on some dubstep music before I fire up the old Xbox. The Xbox dashboard is the main screen for playing a game, but it is also the video, game, and music marketplace. I can download or buy all kinds of mass media from this convenient box under my TV. Then it is time for the News on TV and to cook dinner with more bright little logo splashed packaging. The news will be a topic for a different blog. After the News, I watch either Netflix or HBO with my family. I do not consider these products themselves to be mass media, but the movies themselves undoubtedly are. I brush my teeth with something with a major label and get ready for bed. When I fall asleep, I usually leave the computer or TV on. It is very likely that I am absorbing mass media by osmosis in a REM state, but seeing as I am not conscious, I can not assume either way. I would like to hope that my brain has more important dreams to dream on then whether Coke beats Pepsi in sales, but who knows?
Well...so much for concise. I think it is safe to say my day is bombarded constantly by companies and media giants. Even camping gear has logos and I would have the previous memories of life with TV, Newspapers, and Radio, so I never will escape it. I CAN recognize it for what it is and ignore most of it. All hail the mighty brain filter. On a side note, I originally typed this blog in the third-person, so thank the martians for eating that copy (JEB thinks it would have gotten old pretty quick! xD)
Until next Blog
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