NEWSpapers

The contents of a newspaper contain several sections such as the News segment, the Sports segment, the Entertainment segment and also the Advertisements segment. The newspaper serves as a method for advertisers to reach out to a larger portion of potential buyers in public. Companies are able to introduce and recommend their newly released products through newspapers thus increasing their products sales and ratings.

While reading The Star Newspaper, I came across this particular Samsung advertisement and was attracted by the colors and features of it. It was about a newly launched Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet and the advertisement actually dominated a whole page of The Star Newspaper. In this Samsung ad, we are able to comprehend that the new Samsung tablet has a multiscreen, (which allows the user to process two applications at once), a S pen which enables us to write freestyle on the tablet with a stylus. With this tablet, we can simply draw, design or even scribble down anything on the Samsung S note application with the help of a stylus. We no longer need to be restrained by using only a keypad for typing and noting down information. In this Galaxy Note 10.1, Adobe Photoshop Touch is available for those photo-taking lovers. It has the ability to modify pictures by editing the contrast, saturation and brightness of it as well as enhancing photos by adding frames and special effects to it. Another feature which we are able to observe is the processor of the Samsung tablet. It contains a quad-core processor, making it twice faster than any other ordinary dual-core tablet hence allowing games, video clips and movies to stream and load faster.

Without the assistance of newspapers to promote Samsung's products and services, some of the consumers wouldn't even know they existed. If Samsung did not promote its products through advertisements, the company wouldn't have been able to be one of the best brands when it comes to gadgets. To conclude it, newspapers play a significant part in enabling companies to advertise their products and services as well as to convince the audience to purchase them.

The Power Of MASS MEDIA..

Check this out! A celebrity doing a commercial for NIKE! Who else would it be non-other than the sensational footballer, Fernando Torres with his striking good looks and amazing body which will never go unnoticeable. 

First the ad opens up with an insect buzzing through the sign TOTAL 90. This draws immediate attention of the viewer.

     The famous football star Fernando Torres is shown effectively in slow motion :-

     1. By running to strike the ball with two other opposing players in pursuit.

     2. The Nike logo is visual - very apparent on the stationary ball before being kicked.

     3. There are ten positional short moves from the onset, all showing Torres running for the ball before he kicked it, and the Nike boot is shown with unmistakable clarity.

     4. The color scheme of jerseys in yellow and black, without an outstanding design, worn by Torres is equally striking in simplicity.

     5. The opposing players are both wearing dull colors football attire, so as not to outshine Torres. This should be considered as part of the effectiveness of the ad, as Torres and the Nike logo are the main focus. Playing in a dark background too is an added ploy to make the yellow images stand out.

     6. Torres is shown to deliver his kick in style and with a charged-up energy. This implies that such a performance could only be effected with the Nike equipment.

     7. The other sequences of the act, albeit with changes in camera angles, are no different in terms of sensationalizing the popularity of Nike sports equipment with a player like Torres accepting its use.

     8. Such an ad will have a tremendous impact and influence on people especially the younger generation with purchasing power, and who are known to be brand conscious. 

     9. Nike skillfully applies good visual effect and psychology to win the hearts of consumers exposed to this ad.

     10. Make-believe could be manipulated through the help of modern computer technology.

     11. The end of this ad is also catchy and unique with the insect appearing again.

These are the influences and affects of advertisements to the public. This Nike ad gave us a perception that anyone could be as skillful and talented as Fernando Torres by simply purchasing their Nike boots and wearing them. They tend to apply this method frequently which is using world-wide famous celebrities to promote their products in order to draw the attention of the audience and to manipulate them into buying their products. 

Theories, Theories And more Theories..

We were recently being taught on 'The Theories and Effects of Mass Communication' during a lecture in our media appreciation class. In this chapter, we learned about the seven different categories of the limited effects theory of mass media. I would like to focus and discuss on one of the classifications which is the Uses and Gratifications Theory.This theory is divided into 4 main forms: Cognition, Diversion, Withdrawal, and Social Utility. In this post, I would like to emphasize more on the factors of Cognition and Diversion.

My recent days in university are constantly loaded with tons of never-ending assignments and homework. Only a minimal time is given to us to finish up all the projects which are always piling up the tables until I have gotten so sick and tired of it at a certain point. But, thank heavens for the Internet. With it I am able to access to websites such as Wikipedia, Thesaurus and Dictionary to search for sources of information which are useful to assist in my assignments. On the other hand, The Star Online Paper serves as a great info site for me to obtain the latest news and to keep myself up to date. I would like to stay knowledgeable at all times and wouldn't want to feel ignorant to the current happenings of the world. This defines cognition. When a person is using the media to gain news and information, he or she is using the mass medium in a cognitive way. 

Sometimes no matter how hard I try to focus on my studies and fight through the laziness in me, I would have to give in to tiredness eventually. I would make use of the mass media as a diversion to relax myself both physically and mentally. Websites like Youtube, where i will be able to stream countless videos and movie clips regardless of its genre. Watching videos releases stress and relieves me of the pressures and burdens I face from my studies. Reading magazines and novels stimulates my emotions along with the ability to increase my general knowledge too. Fun sites such as 9gag, which contain hilarious posts and pictures but mainly internet memes never fails to give me a good laugh.

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google plus, Myspace, Flickr, Blogger, Tumblr and others serve as a portal for me to express out my thoughts and feelings along with connecting friends and relatives through a simple click of a button. By accessing Facebook, I am able to browse through pictures and statuses of my friends and get in touch with them in order to maintain our friendship. Through Skype, free video calls are accessible thus giving me the opportunity to video call my out-stationed family to keep each other updated with our current lives.

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

SKYPE

All in all, mass technologies helps to refresh and rejuvenate my mind. Mass media plays a big part in my life and I could not even bear the thought of living a day without it. 

Tuhh-booo~

Knowing the fact that we would be playing a game instead of having media appreciation tutorials in class for that particular Thursday, I was without a doubt thrilled and excited about Hardip's class on that day. With a sense of curiousity rising in me, I quickened my pace to the lecture theathre and found a seat. And finally after a few moments of waiting, the game Taboo was finally revealed and introduced by our lecturer. 

Taboo is basically a word guessing game which consists of an hour glass, a buzzer, a pencil and a paper to keep scores, and a few hundred cards with one main keyword and four other tabooed words on each card. The objective of this game is for the player to hint the keyword to his or her teammates to guess without using the restricted words given on the card. The player will be given only a limited time of one minute to indicate the given word to his/her teammates for them to figure out as many keywords as possible without any penalties for wrong guesses.

examples of cards in Taboo.

While the whole class was playing the game, I was completely engrossed in it and was trying my best each time to guess the correct words which was hinted by the players. Time flies in a flash without me realizing that class was finishing soon for I was totally immersed in that game and wasn't willing to let it end just like that. It was a pity that we had only two-hours of fun time with Taboo due to the fact that I genuinely loved the game and craved for even more of it.

I was truly glad that I had the chance of playing Taboo . Throughout the whole progress of the game,  I came to a sudden realization that I was undoubtedly having troubles describing the tabooed word on the card. The words were  stuck in my head and I was having serious difficulties trying to process the exact words in my brain. Before I knew it, the sand in the hourglass was fully turned and my time was up. There were several times which I unintentionally mentioned the tabooed words got buzzed. Playing this game, I realized my vocabularies for English were actually inadequate and was actually struggling hard in attempt to prompt my course mates to guess the correct keyword on the card. This game actually motivated me to gain and widen my knowledge on the English vocab which I'm unfamiliar of in order to not encounter the same difficulties again in time to come.

HORROR & COMEDY? Anyone?

Having some free time over the weekends? Looking for something to get your hands on to pass time? Or you're just craving for a gory, blood-splattering, horror movie with a tinge of dark humor concealed in it? Well then, DELICATESSEN is just the ideal movie for you horror-movie addicts.

The movie basically is about a butcher who is the landlord of an apartment building in a post-apocalyptic country who lures and slaughters human and prepares their body parts to sell to his tenants. The rising action of the movie begins when Louison, an ordinary middle-aged guy who's cashless and desperate for a job arrives at the apartment of the butcher's with a taxi.

What would you do if you were ever stranded in an abandoned, isolated city which is long deserted and all that was left was a single unit building with a few survivors including you? A city where signs of life were beyond hopeful and food sources were scarced? Would you just give up and wait for miracles to happen or just starve to death? Or would you fight for your chance of survival? Even if it means murderering and slaughtering humans? Would you desperately result to cannibalism as a last resort? Call me sick, cruel or insane, but if that was the only chance of survival being left behind, I would rather resort to eating human flesh than to die of food shortage. Ultimately, I supposed if anyone was left without options, they will have to give in to cannibalism eventually regardless of their reluctance and unwillingness towards it.

The climax of the movie begins when the male and female protagonist were escaping for their dear lives from the butcher and the tenants in the apartment. The scene was so intense til I had adrenaline rushing through me and my heart was literally pounding hard on my chest. My eyes were completely glued to the screen and my nails were half bitten when I watched as the main character Louison, was urgently pursued by everyone in the apartment save Julie Clapet(his lover) and barely made out of the building alive.
                 

Louison and Julie Clapet escaping.

Even though it was a bloody and cruel film which left me utterly disgusted, it was entertaining especially when there were a couple of scenes in the movie where Aurore Interligator, a tenant lady who was constantly attempting to commit suicide but never ever once succeeded in it.She even tried a quadruple suicide which consists of four various methods of killing herself, in order to ensure the death of her own. But in the end, still she failed miserably to murder herself. It was hilarious to watch the amount of countless attempts and funny ways she tried so hard to end her life along with the irony in it when she died eventually with her husband in a simple gas explosion.

Aurore Interligator

I find this movie truly appealing to my taste. It was overall an exciting and intriguing film which won several awards not only in Europe at the European Film Awards, but even in Japan at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1991. 

Beware of The Faceless One..

During a lecture in Media Appreciation, we were being assigned to post a blog on writing reviews by our lecturer. We were given permission to post a review on any genres based on our own personal preference. For me, I chose to write a post on a particular game which currently seems to captivate the public precisely gamers.     

Have you ever heard of the man with a tall, slim figure, with a black coat and a tie, a blank white face who comes out in the forest at night and captures humans? Some say he's human, others claim him to be an unknown creature who stalks people with unclear motives in the woods. He's been labelled as The Tree Man, The Faceless One, The White King, The Operator, but he's commonly known to the public as SLENDERMAN. It is said to be a mythical creature who seems to possess an unusual behavior which is tracking down victims and torturing them for various unknown reasons in the forest at dusk. 

  

Recently in June, Parsec Productions released an indie-developed video game called Slender, which is mainly based on the character Slenderman. The game later received a large amount of positive response and feedback and it became one of the top most discussed horror video games on the internet. Reviews stated that Slender was a truly horrifying and disturbing game and it was not suitable for the faint of heart. I have never thought much about this game before. In fact I found this game absurd and overrated. But after several times of persuasions from my friends, I've finally decided to give it a try and this game has been stuck in the back of my head ever since then. The objective in this game basically is to find and collect all 8 pages of papers in the forest while avoiding Slenderman. At the initial stage of the game it didn't seem to be as terrifying as it was said to be, but as the game continued, Slenderman's pursue became more urgent and that was when it started to send chills down my spine and left me with goosebumps all over my body.

                                                

Some people think that there's nothing specially creepy and terrifying about Slenderman. But it is not the faceless, tall, slim figure of the creature which causes my heart to pound like mad every time, but it's the eerie vibe and feeling of knowing someone who is constantly tracking and pursuing you but yet you're clueless to his whereabouts. The game is added with spooky sound effects in the background to intensify the fear of the player and in addition to it, it's been programmed in such a way which the only equipment the player has is a torchlight and his or her field of vision is limited due to the nighttime scene, causing additional panic and hysteria to the player. Overall, I find this game to be remarkably interesting and nerve-wrecking especially when you're all alone in your room playing Slender at twelve midnight with no lights on. I'm amazed and awed by the fact that such video games with only simple graphics like Slender could be such a hit on the internet and well-known to the public.