Film Industry

I definitely think the film industry is still a viable art form. I think movie theaters will survive even with the competition from internet and television. People still enjoy going out to the movies and people are still willing to pay the higher prices for it. They just may not go as often. A movie I have recently seen that I would recommend is Twilight. I have only recently watched it because when it first came out I thought it was just another vampire movie. My aunt finally talked me into watching it and it was so much more than a vampire movie. It was an interesting story of how vampires and humans can coexist and even fall in love. I have also enjoyed the movie Fireproof. It had a message behind it and a great storyline. After watching it, it kind of makes you appreciate your spouse more.

Images

The image of the Confederate flag usually brings up controversy. For a lot of southerners, the Confederate flag symbolizes pride in their southern culture and country music without any political meaning behind it. African-Americans see the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism as to them it represents the South wanting to keep slavery in existence and because it is used by racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

McDonald's logo, the golden arches, is another image that is widely recognized around the globe. For a lot of kids, it represents happiness. I can remember being treated to McDonald's as a kid and being so excited about getting a Happy Meal and playing on the playground.

Embedded Reporters

The media had been disappointed with the access allowed for reporters during the 1991 Gulf War and 2001 invasion of Afghanistan so embedded reporters were allowed by the U.S. military to travel with troops during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The military decided to allow this to aid in “information warfare” and to get their own story told in hopes of garnering more support. I think this was very appropriate. Reporters wanted to go and report what was happening and they were willing to be trained and take the risks. They probably saw it as part of their job just as the soldiers did. (http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_world_story_skin/148827 War reporters get battle training)

In March of 2003 with the invasion of Iraq there were around 570 to 750 embedded reporters. However, by April 2003 the number of embedded reporters began to fall to around 100 and in 2005 there were 48 embedded reports in Iraq. The financial strains have caused media outlets to pull their staff from Iraq. Sig Christenson. a senior military writer for the San Antonio-Express News and president of Military Reporters & Editors says that “those few journalists who remain embedded in Iraq bring a perspective and context to the conflict that is important to convey to the audience back home. “Everything you live as a military writer, you bring back to your work,” he says. (http://www.journalism.org/node/2596 The Vanishing Embedded Reporter in Iraq)

Propaganda

Propaganda is a means of persuasion used to mislead and deceive people into believing and agreeing with the propagandist's point of view. Propaganda can be used to persuade people of causes that are good as well as bad. Good propaganda can persuade someone to donate money to a charity or to become a volunteer at a local hospital. They can use the bandwagon propaganda by saying things such as "Join the global effort to fight breast cancer" insinuating that everyone else is doing it but it would be a good thing to join the fight against breast cancer that would benefit a lot of people.

Companies can also use propaganda to persuade consumers to purchase their products. They use types of propaganda such as testimonials by having celebrities endorse their products in order to persuade consumers to buy what they are trying to sell. They are banking on the fact that people will like that celebrity and respect them enough to agree without stopping to think if it is something they themselves really need or would use.

Politicians also use propaganda in their campaigns. They use many types of propaganda. One example would be card stacking. They use this type of propaganda in that only certain facts that are desirable to the candidate are presented and they ignore the facts that would make them look bad to the voters. They might list all of the good things that were achieved while they were mayor of a city in a campaign for a senate seat. They would not say anything about the negative aspects. They might mention that property taxes were lowered during their term but may not mention that taxes on other things were raised like building permits, food, gas, etc. Another type of propaganda often used by politicians is name calling. They label their opponents with words of bad connotations in hopes of persuading voters to believe them without really thinking about the issues at hand and in turn the voters will not vote for the opponent but for the politician doing the name calling. They will also use name calling against the ideas and policies of their opponents. They are wanting the voters to react to their claims unquestioningly. A lot of people labeled President Obama as a terrorist during the presidential campaign because of his father having been a Muslim. They were using name calling as well as faulty cause and effect. They were trying to say that because his father was Muslim then he must be too and because some terrorists are Muslim then anybody who is Muslim is a terrorist, which is not a correct assumption.