Money Can't Buy Happiness

 

Incase some of you have never heard of the old school movie “Citizen Kane” I’ll fill you in on the story.

Citizen Kane came from a poor family, was given away to a rich family, ran a few newspapers became one of the richest most successful men in the world, couldn’t find love or keep a wife, and lived miserably amongst a bunch of expensive stuff. Now, if you’re into black and white 1941 movies, this movie is great for you! If not, then don’t bother.

What I found pretty interesting was the overall message of the story, that money doesn’t buy happiness. Citizen Kane wasted millions of dollars on statues and fancy items, but he lived a lonely life with no real friendships. (The only ones that stuck by his side were the ones he was paying). You could say he lived a life of luxury, but all he really wanted was his childhood back.

To me, this is a very sad life. Even though he could be a major jerk you can’t help but feel sorry for the guy. I mean what good are fancy items when you have no real relationships with others? That was the one thing he couldn’t buy, real relationships and friendships with people, that’s priceless.

                                       Citizen Kane vs. Orson Welles

One thing that’s kind of neat is that the man who made this movie, Orson Welles, lived a really similar life!

Both came from a rough childhood, became highly successful and mega rich, and sadly both died lonely and unhappy with their lives.

I think Orson Welles unconsciously paralleled his and Citizen Kane’s lives.  

                                                              
en.wikipedia.org

sensesofcinema.com

The Medium Is The Message

 

One of the greatest, well known thinkers, Marshall McLuhan once said “The Medium is the Message”.

Now, if you’re like me you’ve probably never heard of him before. I hadn’t until Media Studies. One thing I learned first off just from watching a youtube clip, he’s very boring. Well I guess he appears to be boring, but if you really listen to him and think about his ideas, their all true. It’s crazy to believe that he said this in the 60’s and people are still talking about it today.

Even though he made this statement decades ago, it still applies to our modern day world.

 

What does “The Medium is the Message” really mean?

Well, this is what I think.

I’ll give you an example that is probably easy for you to relate to. When the class gossiper tells you a story, you usually shrug it off and forget it, BUT, when your best friend tells you the same story, you realize it’s probably true.

The same thing goes for the media. When we see something in the Kings County Record yeah that’s great, but when it’s in the Globe and Mail, we really pay attention. The medium that news is displayed can really affect how we receive the message.

“Our technology forces us to live mythically”

― Marshall McLuhan

The problem with the fact that the medium is the message is that sometimes the medium has a bias opinion, and nobody really stops to question it.

Take Perez Hilton for example, we look at his as a “Reliable Source” … kinda sad. He’s just one person and obviously has a bias opinion, so why don’t we question him?

At first I found Marshall McLuhan extremely boring (sorry Mrs. Smith) but statements that he made years ago are still true today. He was a pretty smart guy.

                                                                                   

                                                                    anamsh13.blogspot.com

www.streamfoundations.com

What If...

 

What if there was no cable, radio, or news networks, and only individuals created content?

Well one thing’s for sure; our world would be a completely different place! It’s hard to even imagine a world with none of that, I grew up with cable never giving it a second thought. Children now days are mind blown that when their parents were growing up there were no cell phones, so it is most certainly strange to imagine a world without cable, radio, or news networks.

If there were no news networks nobody would really know what was happening on other sides of the world. We would be unaware to what is going on outside of our own community.  I think that life would be very community based and many people would have bias opinions.

These bias opinions would come from the fact that only individuals would be creating content. So if everyone hears one person’s opinion, nobody will second guess it. The irony in this is that is that today we are brought up having bias opinions. We don’t think to challenge the things we see on television or hear on the radio, we just go with it. In that sense, the world would not be too much different.

Life would for sure be different and strange if there were no cable, radio, or news networks, and only individuals created content.

                                                                                                                            

http://nofatclips.com/02007/10/15/puppet/whatif.jpg

Stay Cute and Cozy This Winter

 

So, my latest fashion obsession is knit scarves. I mean who doesn’t love scarves?! Big cozy knit scarves are the perfect winter fashion accessory. Whether you’re curled up at home on a storm day or just out on a walk after a recent snowfall, a scarf will complete your outfit. You can be cute yet cozy.

I recently fell in love with this pale pink knot scarf from Costa Blanca. It’s HUGE and I love it. SO cozy and SO cute. You can wear it with pretty much anything. I must confess.. I do have a scarf addiction (you don’t even want to know how many are hiding in my closet) but this is definitely one of my favorites. Practical yet fashionable.

So my advice to you is next time you’re shopping, definitely buy a knit scarf, or make one on your own. It’s the perfect winter accessory and can top off any outfit.

How does the media impact our perception of reality?

 

The media has a HUGE impact on our perception of reality. Were constantly surrounded by the media and it most definitely alters our perception of beauty.

Take a look at a magazine. The model on the cover of that magazine looks beautiful, right? Well that model has a ridiculous amount of makeup and hair product, not to mention photo shopping. If we took all that away, is she still beautiful?

Were so used to seeing “picture perfect” people on TV, the internet, billboards that we start to think in order to be beautiful you need to look the same way. When that mascara commercial comes on and we see how long and volumized the models lashes are, we want to go buy it. The media has impacts our perception of beauty and many girls think they need to look just like a super model to be pretty. But in reality, the supermodels don’t look anything like their pictures. Our perception of reality is majorly impacted by the media.

House Hippo Evaluation

 

We all know that children can be naive, but often times we don’t realize how badly the things they watch on TV can affect them.

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the North American house hippo commercial, a household favorite. (Just in case you’re not I posted the link at the bottom). Now this commercial had been around a long time! I remember watching it when I was younger, and wanting a house hippo of my own. I mean how could you not want one of those adorable creatures nesting in your closet?!

For the longest time I believed house hippos were real, and I know I’m not the only one. (This is a little embarrassing but I just found out they weren’t real a few years ago).  This just goes to prove that children often times believe everything they see or hear.  By the time the message from the Concerned Children’s Advertisers would play I would already be too busy imagining a house hippo drinking from my cat’s water dish to even notice.

The objective for this commercial was to raise awareness about how gullible children can be, and its effectiveness can be debated. Personally, I think the commercial proved children to be gullible, but at the same time not very many children learned from it. I know I’m not the only one who didn’t realize these cute miniature hippos don’t exist! On the other hand, the house hippo has helped more parents to open their eyes to children’s naivety.

Children really do believe what they see, and they do need to be taught to stop and ask questions (Sooner than I did). The Concerned Children’s Advertisers certainly raised awareness of how gullible children can be with the house hippo commercial.

The House Hippo Commercial