This past week's discussion was on spoilers in the media and the type of fans that shows produce. I started out by reading a bit of Jenkins and about the Survivor spoilers, which I think would make me upset if they were to tell me the end of my show...however, I am the type of person who also admires a little gossip here and there. The idea that fans have such an impact on the way media is delivered today really does have a stark difference from when it used to be. Because of this class, I actually went home last night and told my mother that my child can’t always watch On Demand shows because it instills in her a sense that everything is available right away without the perception of patience. I read an article a few days ago and again today in the school’s newspaper about how the show Spongebob Squarepants is under fire because researchers say it causes immediate mental effects on children. I think the study is somewhat flawed because the children that were used on the study were not pre tested before they watched Spongebob Squarepants.
As we discussed in class today, the future of television has an evolving process to make both viewers and advertisers happy. We are force fed advertisements so much that if they put them in the shows we probably wouldn’t even recognize it. Also, with ads now coming before our films when we go to the movies, we can’t escape it. I cringed the first time I saw a commercial before my movie…I was supposed to escape into a world that didn’t remind me of everday life. If anything ruined that perception, it was television ads.
In Shirky’s chapter 1. reading, I did like the way he started by depicting the gin craze and how that can be mimicked with today’s media consumption. I had to ready Shirky’s book when I took a class by Carrie Brown in the Journalism department and I can say that his research is amazing in the field of communication and journalism. That side, the way he writes his information to appeal to audience makes it not only easier to read but also not a typical academic read. He touched on the whole subject of time and how we have set aside time that is as long as a part time just to consume television media or that of another media. I agree that is does reflect the gin craze, but also that if we took a step back our society is beginning to evolve around these new forms of media. It will be interesting to see the next ten years of tv, film, and internet.
I was in my globalization class on Wednesday nights and we were talking about instantaneous satisfaction that we perceive or want from how our world and society is evolving. I didn't have many comments to make but I did ponder the idea of ABC's show "Greys Anatomy" (if not familiar is a dramafied ER) But when have we ever been to the doctors office, let alone the hospital, and got immediate results or care from the doctors and tests. As adults we clearly see the flawed perception of how hospitals run ( hopefully not from many experiences but non the less we still know better)... But i agree, that children will quickly loose their sense of patients if they watch shows with this 'make believe sense of time'.... even if the show is only an hour. HA
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