War Reporting

When i came to do this blogg the first thing that immediatly came to my mind is the iraq war and how we are constantly bombardered infromation on the news about the effects of the war, so i decided to base this blog on the Iraq war and how western news presents infromation compared to Middle Eastern news.

Over the past few years mostly since the September 11th attacks, almost every night or at least once a week, we hear about the war in Iraq, the casualties that were lost and the sending off or the bringing back of troops. However when listening to the news and to what is happening around the world, have you ever just stopped and thought about whether or not the news presented is backed by sufficient evidence or not. Well I don’t know about you but to be honest I’ve never actually thought about it, its always just been something that I listen to and think to myself how much I feel sorry for these soldiers and their families…but is it really our soldiers and their families that we should feel sorry for, or the people in the countries who whether it be there fault or not had their whole life flipped around the day foreign troops entered their country.

In a world hungry for news, people need to understand that the context and complexities of this recent type of news reporting is not fact but rather a manipulation of reality. People depend on journalists to provide them with dependable and appropriate information. During the war in Afghanistan around 3,500 foreign correspondents were roaming the region covering the story. The way the news is presented on western t.v is not the way the rest of the world or more so the affected countries and nations witness it.

Its images like this one on the right which we are presented with on the front pages of our news papers and on the news reports of our soldiers doing the herois thing and helping children and families who are obviously being affected by the war

However over in the affected countries its images like the one on the left that they see where the soldiers in contrast to our image are painted as the wrong doers who are destroying their lives.

At home I have pay t.v, where I get Arabic t.v channels broadcasted through, let me tell you now come to think of it there is a massive and I mean MASSIVE difference between the way we are presented with the news here and how in the middle eastern countries they receive the news. An Immediate difference which I noticed is that on Western t.v the soldiers are presented as patriots and heroic people who are risking their lives to go get the ‘bad guys’ and make the world a better place, however is this really what’s happening. As I actually sat down and watched a news report from an Arabic channel I found a major difference. The thing that actually strikes me the most is the fact that the Arabic news was more violent, more confronting and that more dramatic images were shown of bodies, blood and just plain death everywhere. Personally watching these images I felt sick, because obviously these images are something that we are protected from on our news. so then come to think of it, is it because of the fact that we are not used to these images that we are protected from them or is it because the truth behind these images which is supposed to be hidden?

I did a youtube search just to see how different war reports were presented and the difference between the way western war reports were presented in comparison to the middle eastern reports and I found the following video.

Aljazeera Iraq - Haditha massacre witness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l1dyRhnq8o&feature=PlayList&p=A9377B2C9F8A5CDA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=13

As I began to watch this video I became surprised and shocked at what I was hearing, the way the American soldiers killed an innocent family and just basically left them for dead. In this video we clearly see the other side of what is told, we see the negative side of our western soldiers in these countries and how they are painted to be evil monsters by the middle eastern people, however in contrast when we watch our news its all based on the good soldiers and what they have to offer to these people.

To conclude, I think the way the news is presented is basically culture and society based. For example as I mentioned earlier on Australian television we are not exposed to the dramatic images of blood and dead bodies every where because in our society this is not something as part of the norm, however in other different countries where the war is a regular thing that has been occurring for a while these images of bodies and death are not so much normal but something the people are basically so used to seeing therefore on their news it is not a strange thing to watch.

What does the Internet do to Culture and Identity?

Recently the introduction of the internet has arguably caused significant change in a period of less then two decades. With the introduction of cybersex, eExtremist groups and online gaming, the use of the internet has rapidly spread to over 100 million users; as its attractions include information, email, multimedia content, tele-commuting, news, online communities, ecommerce, entertainment, and more.


When considering the effect of the internet on culture and cultural identity what is the first thing that comes to mind, the fact that this is something that can manipulate and define a person? A country? Or just simply a society? Culture and cultural identity could be seen as a concept or idea that comes from a number of sub-categories put together. Through linking religious beliefs, nationality and cultural practices (such as particular dancing, music, dress code and even just morals), ones cultural identity is developed. Therefore when considering these factors it is easy to see how through the use of the internet today, cultural identity can quiet simply be influenced.


The Internet is an important vehicle for the transmission of ideas concerning a national identity, particularly for people who have lost or left their homeland (Bakker 1999). With the current increase in migration and people travelling to foreign countries, the need to stay connected and informed with ones home country is essential. It was found that Since the second half of the nineties the amount of Internet users has grown beyond imagination (Bakker 1999). When we look more closely at the way people use the Internet, we see that a fair amount of usage is not exactly 'new', people book holidays, collect pictures of their favourite movie star or take a quick look at today's headlines (Bakker 1999).


Take for example the following site, ‘The Hindu Universe’ this is a Hindu based site, including all things Hindu. This is basically a one stop site that includes everything from information on Hindu resources, youth, woman and kids, the community, religion and basically anything that would tie back to the Hindu culture in India. Therefore through having sites like this ‘Hindu’ one available it is expected that cultural identity will be influenced by the internet because it is now becoming a rapidly spread phenomenon.


Therefore how do these every day uses of the internet effect the development of a culture and its identity? Put it this way through the push of one button and the click of the mouse, I could very easily visit Europe, America, Asia and the middle east in the time frame of an hour, getting a taste of music styles, dress styles and codes, morals, and even in some cases talk to people from these countries, How people might ask (even though it is a minority group that will have no idea on what im talking about) its called GOOGLE people, yes with Google earth I could very easily visit a country and even virtually walk in the streets with the new technological Google street, I could then find out information on history, politics food and even music through a basic Google search of that country and then finally I could go into a chat forum or chat room and make friends with people from that country, remembering all this in the time frame of an hour…amazing I hear you say OF COURSE its amazing this is technology of the 21st century for you. Therefore as im situated here in Australia I am witnessing almost first hand the experience of another culture and how its identity is promoted world wide.

Finally to conclude the effects of the internet on cultural identity are inevitable. With modern day technology improving rapidly so to does the means of sharing culture and nationality. With the wide availability of sites on the world wide web who knows what or how the future culture of Australia along with other countries will pan out.

Cyber sex and its real effect on society

Sex is the number one searched topic on the Internet. (Weiss 2000) Nine out of 10 children aged between eight and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, the sex sites were accessed unintentionally when a child, often in the process of doing homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for information or pictures (London School of Economics 2002). It is believed that 26 popular children's characters, such as Pokemon, My Little Pony and Action Man, revealed thousands of links to porn sites. 30% were hard-core. (Envisional 2000). At least 200,000 Internet users are hooked on porn sites, X-rated chat rooms or other sexual materials online (MSNBC 2000).

After doing a bit of research into this issue / topic I found the above statistics and let me tell you I was shocked. 9 out of 10 children between the age of 8 to 16 have viewed pornography over the internet. WOW! That is ridiculous especially that in most cases it was accidently while doing homework, I mean why isn’t anything done about that? Why don’t these sites have warning entry pages or why aren’t they censored until full consent of the site viewer is given. All these questions immediately come to mind when the severity of the problem is obviously known but nothing is done to stop it.

The fact that these sites have easy accessibility and uncontrolled censorship disgusts me as it is inevitable for anyone to come across a sexual site, image or even just a form of sexually written text. Take for example when you go onto any site the adult commercial sites displaying free teaser porn images on the homepage ‘are you single and looking for love’ pop ups of course people who are sexually aroused will click onto these sites and partake in sexual activity but this is also widely open for children and teens who are just on a site for study purposes. These sites need to be controlled or else this is eventually going to be a matter which will completely get out of hand.

Another major issues which is linked with this phenomenon is that there is no way of knowing who you are talking too that just immediately screams out danger to me. These sites are the perfect opportunity for stalkers, rapists and paedophiles to find victims. And people are largely deceived. It is believed that one in five children who use computer chat rooms has been approached over the Internet by paedophiles. (Detective Chief Superintendent Keith Akerman, Telegraph.co.uk January 2002 ). Child abusers have also been known to seek out unsuspecting victims by posting seemingly innocuous messages in computer chat rooms." -- BBC News, June 16, 1999

I have been in the position of accidently going on an explicit site and I wasn’t happy about it: it would have been a few years ago now when the Simpsons movie was coming out anyway and my little brother who was about 5 or 6 at the time has this major obsession for the Simpsons and he wanted to go see the movie so naturally we went on google did a plain search on the “Simpsons” but I must have misspelt it or something and the next thing I know im on a completely graphic porn site, and my poor brother was standing right next to me, luckily he had no idea what it was except he managed to say “ewww that’s gross”, that in itself is just a small example of how unexpectedly any person is vulnerable to this material, and let me tell you that was not a good experience in one word AWKWARD.

But in my case for example this didn’t affect me as I was easily able to ignore it and move on with what I was doing. However, in contrast it may have completely had a major impact on someone else’s life, someone who was intrigued by the images and wanted to partake in this form of sexual satisfaction possibly leading to obsession.

Ryan Singel suggests that “Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, and erectile dysfunction” and further Mary Anne Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Cognitive Therapy also suggests that “Pornography addicts have a more difficult time recovering from their addiction than cocaine addicts, since coke users can get the drug out of their system, but pornographic images stay in the brain forever”.

However although I disagree with the new cyber sex phenomenon I must admit there is a positive side to it. The fact that people are protected from the possibility of being infected with STI’s and women obviously do not have the possibility of falling pregnant this is seen as a physically safe way of partaking I sexual activity. It is also good in the sense that it is seen as a form of psychological treatment for people who are unable to have physical sex due to medical conditions.

To conclude, although cyber sex has its many negatives and small amount of positives it is a newly developing phenomenon which has greatly expanded over the past few years opening up new gateways to the availability of porn and in particular cyber sexual activity. If proper precautions are not taken into consideration cybersex might be the future form of prostitution.

London School of Economics January 2002
Dr. Robert Weiss, Sexual Recovery Institute, Washington Times 1/26/2000
MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Associated Press Online, 2/29/2000
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2004/11/65772 http://www.horizonz.com/statistics.htm

The real effect of eExtremists

Is the web really the prime tool for extremist hate groups to expand?

As the Internet has fully fledged, the rise of extremist sites has kept intensifying in number and in professional composure," (the Age, May 14 2009). Extremist groups have made the Web their "prime tool" to transmit hate, and the number of online dogmatist on Facebook is growing faster than efforts to remove them (the Age, May 14 2009). Every aspect of the Internet is being used by extremists of every classification to replicate old hatred, degrade the Enemy, and to raise funds in support of their ‘force’ as the Australia first party refers to themselves. The Internet’s unique global reach and scope combined with the difficulty in monitoring and tracing communications make it the prime tool for extremists and terrorists (the Age, May 14 2009).

Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, which have millions of users, are being used by extremist groups to engage members. As these sites are well known and common within society it does not come as a surprise that extremists actually utilise these sites to recruit more members. Further, by cleverly making these extremist sites readily available it is expected that these groups will develop and gain followers.

Through well developed sites and easy accessibility it is inevitable that any average Joe could just go on a random site, become intrigued with the debatable topics presented and eventually get brainwashed with the information readily displayed. So does that mean the web really is the prime tool for eExtremist? Yes I believe so. Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, which have millions of users, are being used by extremist groups to engage members. As these sites are well known and common within society it does not come as a surprise that extremists actually utilise these sites to recruit more members. Further, by cleverly making these extremist sites readily available it is expected that these groups will develop and gain followers.

For example consider ‘Australia first party’ Founded by Graeme Campbell Member for Kalgoorlie Federal Parliament between 1980 to 1998, this is a mild Australian extremist group compared to major American groups however still holds substantial weight. The Australia First Party (AFP) is an incorporated body, and as such, may also become a federally registered political party under the sponsorship of the Australian Electoral Act. Australia First Party is a political party which as incorporated under the provisions of the Associations Incorporation Act 1984 (NSW) shall be formally known as "Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated" but which for ease of expression in this Constitution shall be referred to as "Australia First" or "the Party".

When considering such a group for example, I know that personally if I came across this site with a naive mentality I would be fooled. The fact that it is a ‘website designed to serve Australian nationalist’ is immediately assumed that these people might actually be a positive influence rathe then a negative impact. With the patriotic images of Australia land marks, historical images and the clear display of the Australian flag of course people will be deceived, it looks so genuine. But don’t be fooled, if you take a minute to actually read some of their articles you will be shocked at some of the racists comments they make for example “Overseas Students Go Home!”

However, something thing that really got me thinking was the fact that they actually call themselves a ‘Force’ I mean does that not immediately bring shivers down your spine it’s like your joining a gang rather then a political group which in hindsight is true. Then as I had a look at there membership page I was even more shocked when I read this “The AFP offers membership to all who agree with the programme and who are willing to abide by the constitution of the party. Prospective members complete a membership form. Abide by the constitution of the party, what is that? That’s ridiculous I can’t believe they actually have a constitution that a member needs to ‘abide by’. Personally I think this is more like a cult then a political group.

To conclude, it should come as no surprise that the internet does play a pivotal part in the development of eExtremist groups, with the widespread publicity and the lack of censorship and control it is an inevitable fact that people are actually influenced through the World Wide Web.

links:

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/web-prime-tool-for-hate-groups-wiesenthal-center-20090514-b3n2.html The Age (15 may 2009)

http://ausfirst.alphalink.com.au/

Culture and its Influence

After reading an article from the World Net Daily (Published by a Christian Fundamentalist organization) criticising youth culture, I was absolutely shocked. I had to seriously sit back to take it all in, after reading the first article I was so intrigued and fascinated about what David Kupelian had to say that I went on to read the initial article headed (selling sex and corruption to our kids). At the beginning of this article there was a personal anecdote from David’s life which I related too as I thought this is soo true because that’s exactly what happens to me all the time.

This is just a little part of it:

Our family had travelled to Cape May, New Jersey, to vacation on a warm Atlantic beach with close relatives we hadn't seen in a long time. Joshua hit it off great with his cousin Mark, several years his senior. A fun-loving and thoroughly decent kid, Mark didn't have a mean bone in his body. One little thing, though. Mark wore a choker around his neck. Of course, Joshua had always regarded necklaces, bracelets, earrings and the like as strictly girls' stuff, and wouldn't dream of donning such gear himself and "looking like a girl" (or a "weirdo"). Inevitably, obviously he wanted to be like his older cousin, hence the desire to wear a dumb-looking neck choker, you guessed it. By the end of one week, Joshua told me he really wanted to get a choker, like his cousin's. He just … felt like wearing one, that's all. No big deal, Dad.

When I read this I immediately thought to myself how many times have I been influenced by someone or something around me, and I came to the conclusion that this is always. I remember back when the converse chucks came out, I was completely against them and disgusted by the way they looked, less then six months later I was so used to seeing them everywhere that I thought I need to have a pair of those and now I’m absolutely in love with my pair of chucks, same goes with the Jeanie pants I couldn’t stand them when they first came out now I own a pair and once again I love them because they are so comfy. So does that mean we are a culture that is highly influenced by the society we are a part of, I believe so.

Every single day, we are bombarded with advertisement which is influencing our culture, from the typical ‘you need to by this product because so and so uses it’ to the ‘get your hands on the latest i-pod so you know you will fit in’ commercials, there everywhere!. But in saying that, this isn’t just happening in or society and culture today but has been happening all through out history. It all goes back to the idea of social norms, one must try to fit in and abide by the norms of society or else they are a weirdo, outcast or just plainly a ‘freak’.

As Kupelian suggests to be a part of society today there is a uniform that one must abide by, as the military has a uniform, schools have a uniform and so does every type of sub-culture or society for example a gangster is uniformed in baggy jeans massively long t-shirts and the basketball looking shoes not to mention the bandana and the awesome caps they wear. However in complete contrast someone who for example belongs to a formal group or political party is always seen dresses in a suit and all done up.

Through out the article (today's youth culture has gone insane) Kupelian eludes to the fact that youth culture today is insane, to some extent yes it maybe however, I believe this is an overly exaggerated generalisation, as with all culture there is the ‘insane’ factor evident. If we think about culture which posses ‘insane’ characteristics we would have a never ending list, some may think that having the death penalty for committing adultery in some countries is insane, others may think that not being able to have the freedom of speech in other counties is ‘insane’ so does that make the world an insane place to live in. yes I must admit some of the things Kupelian mentions in his article like the ‘bug-chasers’ yes that is insane and the suspender people yeah that’s insane, but these people are a tiny portion of society which to me where none existing till I read this article. So as an over all generalisation that all ‘today's youth culture has gone insane’ I completely disagree with that.

To conclude, for some people belonging to a sub-group may just simply be having something in common with someone else, all with the same intention, goal and life. Belonging to a sub-culture is not something to be ashamed of, as society is made up of subcultures which define who we are today as individuals. As an overall view, I support and believe that Kupelians view of being influenced by culture is inevitable in society today however I don’t believe that all youth culture is ‘insane’

The Art Behind Gaming

Video games shape our culture. It’s time we took them seriously (Henry Jenkins)

Over the past 25 years, games have progressed from the primitive two-paddles-and-a-ball Pong to the sophistication of Final Fantasy, a participatory story with cinema-quality graphics that unfolds over nearly 100 hours of play (Jenkins 2000) . The computer game has been a killer application for the home PC, increasing consumer demand for vivid graphics, rapid processing, greater memory and better sound. The release of various next-generation consoles by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, signals a dramatic increase in the resources available to game designers (Jenkins 2000).

So as Henry Jenkins asks, ‘are video games a massive drain on our income, time and energy? A new form of “cultural pollution,” Are games teaching our children to kill, as countless op-ed pieces have warned? ’ these are all questions which have been brought up over and over again by media representatives, political bodies and people who have nothing better to do then point the finger and blame at whoever.

The 1999 columbine high school shooting massacre brought the gaming industry under major scrutiny as it was believed that the teens went on this rampage due to the content of Videogames which was believed to have lead to the boys’ trigger-happy nature. But, where does the blame truly lie? When the two boys entered high school, they found it difficult to fit into any of the cliques a normal yet common problem which most young teens face at school which could lead to a feeling of anger and hate. The boys found themselves frequently picked on by athletes and other students once again a common reason to feel anger and hate and also a sense of vengeance. However, the two boys seemed to spend their time doing normal teenager activities. They worked together in a local pizza parlour, liked to play Doom (a computer game) in the afternoons, and worried about assignment which needed to be due. So does the fact that they played ‘Doom’ as a part of their daily activities immediately become the reason behind the massacre, while the fact that they were bullied and harassed is completely left disregarded. A new study has since found that, Video games will only make children more violent if they already have a tendency towards aggression or even if they are simply provoked (Sydney Morning Herald 2007). Such as in the unfortunate case of these boys.

Although, it is gaming that is seen as the art form of today as film was to the 20th century and a novel was to the 19th century it is easy to see that although film and written texts may take the mind on a journey, they are not as interactive as videogames taking both the physical and the internal body and mind on an overwhelming journey to places never sought possible. Take the WII console for example who ever thought that one could play tennis with the TV in the lounge room, or even with playstation having a whole band play to and with others from around the world.

To finish off, I think all the hype and negativity around video games has come from background fear. Deep inside people are always afraid of change, a concept that many people don’t adapt easily too. Hence, from this constant generation of fear came the idea that video games are one of the main causes behind violence and aggression in children, when clearly it’s the misconception of society which has lead to this overrated conclusion.

www.geocities.com/lgartclass/handouts/ArtfortheDigitalAge/ArtFormfortheDigitalAge.html

www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspxid=12189&channel=computing&section

www.smh.com.au/news/National/Mostkidsunaffectebyviolentgames/2007/04/01/1175366055463.html

culture jamming

Culture jamming is a form of expressive art allowing one to express inner ideas and thoughts, although some may consider graffiti to be a form of vandalism, I see it as a form of self expressive art. Why should we as individuals with individualistic ideas sit back and let those in power control our thoughts and ideas inevitably becoming string puppets controlled by ‘superior bodies’. Everyday, evidence of the works of culture jamming is seen in our society and within the mass media. Through any of various methods of modifying mass media (especially advertisements) to convey a different "message" culture jamming is at work. However does this mean that culture jamming is good or bad. Personally I agree with the use of culture jamming because I see it as a way of self expression on an issue that one is passionate about or even just keen on spreading the word on. However this once again depends on the view of different individuals, as culture jamming is seen as being individualistic turning away from all forms of herd mentality – including that of social movements.

As the famous American blogger Mark Drery almost perfectly explains culture jamming‘might best be defined as media hacking, information warfare, terror-art, and guerrilla semiotics, all in one. Billboard bandits, pirate TV and radio broadcasters, media hoaxers, and other colloquial speech media jerks who intrude on the intruders, investing ads, newscasts, and other media articles with rebellious meanings.’ The Internet has been at once inescapable and counterproductive in the theory and practice of culture jamming. It has been a place where ideas of culture jamming are promoted and jammed material is displayed. Thus there are many websites devoted to billboard alteration and website spoofs(William Thake's ) such as ‘Shovelware’ Mark Derys’ site, Adbusters and even sniggel.net AKA jammers encyclopaedia.

Consider this following photo for example:

When I was on the Adbusters site I found this image and I must admit this is one of my favorite photos on that site. When i look at this image I just think that all my thoughts on how young women and girls are depicted through out the media as being the perfect weight the perfect body, the perfect hair and skin, and it just makes me so angry because its as if there is a certain criteria a girl or women has to follow to be able to fit in with society. I must admit when I flick through magazines such as Girlfriend, Cleo, Dolly and even just normal everyday stuff like the target or Kmart advertising mags that come in the mail I look at the perfection of the models and think well how could I become like that and as stupid as it may sound im sure most females who read this will agree with me when I say on more then one occasion after flicking through regular mags you have considered either major surgery, starving yourself or even simply just feeling horrible about the way you look for the next week. I know im like that.


Once again found on the Adbusters site this is the perfect depiction of culture jamming at work therefore, when putting mark dryers comment into perspective one can then begin to understand the origin of his idea. This image is simple, however conveys a deep effective meaning about the McDonald’s food chain. With the heart reading in the shape of a ‘Big M’ and the quote ‘Big Mac Attack’ this image immediately allows the consumer to consider their options before forming a decision. I believe that is exactly what culture jamming is about, allowing people to consider their options before being persuaded or wrongly directed to follow the usual form of advertising.

Just before I finish my first official blog (woohoo), I think culture jamming is a key part in the sanity of mass media because without it the world will be a dull opinionated free society with absolutely no controversy to stir up the ordinary.



Sites that were used:
http://www.english.ilstu.edu/bmthake/folio/docs/finalcj.html
http://www.markdery.com/culture_jamming.html
http://www.adbusters.org/gallery/spoofads/fashion