Need Thesis, also need Outline fixed

Media Analysis Project: Thesis

Joshua LaFriniere

Rasmussen College

This paper was written on Monday, March 14, 2016 for Sara Weinstock’s MMC3407-02 Visual Communication in the Media online course.

Part 1

My topic is that television content can be harmful or helpful. This is because the primary role of the television is to air information as it is and thus it is upon the viewer to decide whether the information will boost his knowledge or will jeopardize his personal principles. There is, therefore, a need to come up with an analysis that outlines a transparent understanding of concepts displayed on TV. The primary role of television is to deliver news in addition to creating content for discussion (Christine, 2013). Opinions are unbiased thoughts of everybody and are subject to consensual discussions. The analysis should ideally consider the stand of the viewers and the favorite entertainment pattern of the viewers. It is considered an important asset in boosting the educational mind in a manner that cannot be achieved by other media sources. TV avails the viewers with an option of understanding the whole scenario as it was the choice of the viewer to settle for the right entertainment from the variety. It is recommended for viewers to think before switching on their preferred Television channel. The thinking comprises of what the viewer hears, sees and what he believes in the mind. Long gone is the era in which TV programs were aired without prior consideration for the fairness of the viewer. The new trend is to make a relative comparison on what is seen on television to what is happening in real life.

PART II

The television airs information of all kinds and it is upon the viewer to decide what is good for his knowledge from what is misleading. Therefore, television should be considered as a visual medium in which viewers freely look for their preferred programs in view of exposure to media and news. The article aims at understanding the role of video quality in determining the impressions on human mind.

The human thinking should be open-minded to television behaviors to benefit fully from them. The image in television is analyzed using the six perspectives of media analysis namely: personal, historical, technical, ethical, cultural and critical perspective. My focus is on a TV series called Arrow. Oliver Queen is the main actor who returns home after getting stuck in an island for five years to fight crime and corruption rampant in his hometown of Sterling City. Dressed in a hood and face painted, he forms a team of three to help him with tracking and making the suspects own up to the police over their criminal activities. Videos must meet the following criteria: the producer must know the culture the message is intended for and the culture must understand the symbols and language used by the actors.

The personal perspective deals with an emotional, subjective opinion. It invokes the thoughts of the viewer concerning the picture. This perspective bears personal bias as it is the first thing that crosses the mind of the viewer on seeing the video (Glen, 2009). Words and phrases such as “good, bad, I like, I despise” show that the viewer initially analyzed the image on a superficial level. Personal perspectives are important in the sense that they reveal the more about the character of the viewer. However, their use is limited due to the fact that they are just personal. A memorable video triggers strong personal reactions that can be positive or negative and exposes the culture it arose from. The viewer who jumps into a conclusion on a personal basis denies himself the chance of understanding the video in a unique way. When I first saw the scene of Oliver stuck in the Island, I thought he was going to perish just like his father. There was no sign of help forthcoming from the sea. To make matters worse, he was faced with the menace of marauding warriors who were capturing and killing defenseless victims. My first view of the Queen’s business empire gave me an impression of a successful woman out to make a living for herself & family by working hard. It is only in the later stages of the series that I learned the wealth was achieved through corrupt dealings prompting her son to stand against her in court. Officer lance is depicted as a stern parent who follows his kids' every move. I thought of him as those parents who control all aspects of their children's life making them unable to stand on their own in future. This was, however, his resolution after he realized that his daughter was associating with criminal elements in the society, and he was just doing his responsibility of protecting her. It is this close surveillance on her daughter that made him rescue her from a nearby kidnap ordeal at her home.

Historical perspective: Each medium of presentation ranging from typography to networked interactive multimedia has a unique history of circumstances that were set in motion and perpetuated by people who had an interest in promoting the medium. In view of typography, the history of writing goes back to the beginning of recorded history. In relation to the networked interactive media, the historical developments are recent. In the island, the most common form of communication was paperwork written in Chinese. The warriors communicated mostly via the use of signals and facial expressions. However, when Oliver returns home the communication becomes more technical. He sets up a base that is operated by Felicity, an Information Technologist. From this base, she is able to track and tap the communication in the cell phones of these wealthy politicians. The GPRS locations are sent to the phones of Oliver and John, who are able to launch the attacks on them when they are almost completing their dirty dealings. The police arrive at the scene and arrest them with evidence in their possessions (guns, forged papers, drugs & corrupt tenders). The knowledge of the medium's history allows the viewer to understand emerging trends in terms of their roots in styles and past philosophies. Creative visual messages originate from the consciousness about what previously existed, out of which future applications will be innovated.

Technical perspective: The viewer must be in the position to know how the medium of presentation operates. Knowledge of image production will make the viewer be in a position to know whether the production values are low or high, whether little or great care was taken, or whether little or more money was invested in creating the video. The hooded vigilante is well dressed to camouflage him from attacks by his targets. The costume designer initially availed forty masks out of which Oliver chose a green one. The producer also chose music that altered between romantic themes and actions. This was replayed at various episodes as the two themes played out among the characters.

Ethical perspective: Six ethical philosophies can and are used in analyzing a picture. Categorical imperative deals with unconditional situations hence do not require any justifications for happening the way they did. Once a rule is established for a proposed action or idea, behavior and opinions must be consistently and always applied in accordance to it. For example, Oliver is dressed in a hood and is set not to reveal his face to his victims. He does this face hiding even to his girlfriend Laura and the police who attempted to arrest him. His method for capturing the criminal elements is shooting at them using arrows. The police collect the arrows and agree they originate from a single source though they have no clue. Utilitarianism is the belief in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The vigilante believed that most people in the city were suffering because the control of resources was in the hands of a few corrupt individuals. The love for the people is what drove him to begin restoration of the city by wiping out the criminal elements. Here, most diverse bandwagon results of an action are imagined and the outcomes that help people the most are approved. The producer used disturbing scenes of Oliver Queen stuck in the island, but it was the only way it prepared him to fight against criminal elements in Sterling City. He went ahead and took his mother to court over corruption allegations, drug trafficking, and drug smuggling. Though this is likely to be considered by most people as heartless, it opened up employment opportunities to deserving citizens and united families when he took over the management of the family’s Queens Consolidated Company. The philosophy of hedonism is concerned with pleasure. It states that people should fill their minds with intellectual pleasures so that they are better positioned to their personal lives through making the right decisions and productive relationships. In the modern world, it is expressed in phrases like: “live for today, don’t worry, be happy.” Oliver used his intelligence to survive in the island from the marauding warriors, and it is his ability to learn self-defense mechanisms that saved him from captivity before he masterminded his escape from the island back to his hometown. His family is jubilant upon his return and holds a celebration party. The golden mean refers to finding a neutral point between two extreme views. For example, Laura was the girlfriend of Oliver yet her father and Oliver were two opposing personalities. Officer Lance was opposed to the vigilante's sporadic methods of tracking down criminal elements in the city. It got to a point where Laura had to compromise and take both to court for prosecution over their opposing counter accusations and brawls. The Golden Rule philosophy is that of loving your neighbors as you love yourself. In the series, the producer airs a close footage of the family embracing upon the return of Oliver to Starling City. Oliver is displayed mourning in the island after his father passed on when the series begins. This shows the feeling of love he had towards those around him. The veil of ignorance philosophy ascertains that all people are equal. It is on the basis of this philosophy that Oliver, John, and Felicity are on the mission to wipe out the wealthy criminal elements in Glades that have been oppressing the poor.

Cultural perspective: The cultural analysis of a picture is associated with symbols used in the image and determining their meaning for the society as a whole. Characters may be considered heroes or villains just by looking at the way other characters talk about them in the movie.

Critical perspective: This is an all-round analysis of the program that draws on the ability to study a particular video and draw general conclusions about the medium, the culture in which it was produced and the viewer. It gives the viewer the opportunity to use the information learned from a medium to postulate general comments about the society that accepts or rejects the video and images. Therefore, the critical perspectives re-define a person's initial personal perspectives with regards to universal conclusions among human nature. The series is a reflection of what happens in the society. It is human nature to keep traveling from place to place in search of income or recreation. Sometimes, accidents do happen, and it takes more than our skill to survive to ensure we maneuver through the challenges successfully. The society we live is tainted by social evils such as corruption, drug trafficking, discrimination, crime and political gimmicks. There is a need for a person to stand up for all the disadvantaged groups within the society and deliver them from oppression. In as much as the savior might face resistance from well-armed cartels and individual elements, strategy and the spirit of persistence will make sure that one day all the good deeds prevail over the bad. At times, we might be faced with difficult situations involving our loved ones. Some of our relatives have broken the law in one way or another, and we are covering them up. We need to emulate the spirit of Oliver, who did not hesitate to sue her mother for crimes against humanity, corruption, and drug trafficking. In the end, our good deeds will reward us, and we will make the society a better place to live in for all irrespective of race, class or region.

Conclusion

Television has proved to be an important tool of analyzing the society as it displays events happening in real life (Shepherd, 2012). The viewer must, therefore, take the time to reflect on the impact that such information is going to have on his immediate environment. A producer of the message must possess deep understanding of culture of the audience and use symbols that are comprehensible to them. This has the effect of helping a viewer to understand, interpret and appreciate art.

REFERENCES

Shepherd, R. (2012). Elementary Media Education: The Perfect Curriculum. English Quarterly, 25, 2-3

Christine, D. (2013). Putting the ME in Media Literacy. Middle Ground: The Magazine of Middle Level Education, 6, 15-21

Luke, C. (2009). Media and Cultural Studies in America. Journal of Adolescent and Cultural Literacy, 42, 623-645

Glen, M. (2009) Television Analysis, California, University of California