Disney Magnet

Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, The Jonas Brothers.......and the list is still going on. These are just some of the countless numbers of Disney found 'stars' in their teenage years. Yet, Disney is still making more of young and famous television actors and actresses, as proven by http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1930657,00.html. This is a tactic that Disney (which is a global U.S.-based media company) is using to globalise Disney Channel (a form of mass media) even more and to ensure that the teenage celebrities are still active in Disney-related productions.

Disney Channel is dominating the international market rapidly. It is just one of the many U.S.-based media companies which has globalised successfully. The U.S. mass media industry is in fact the biggest exporter of television programmes and many countries such as Singapore and the Philippines rely on the U.S. for television programmes. This is so true because the U.S. is like an entertainment producer of all kinds of genre especially since the U.S. is home to the well-known Hollywood.

Disney is so keen to be able to make more teenage stars because of its profitability. Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place and Jonas are a few television programmes on Disney Channel that has allowed for a skyrocketed viewership. Princess Protection Program is also a recent Disney original movie which has managed to get a decent viewership. Which cute, innocent, little girl could possibly resist Hannah Montana? Even I myself love to watch Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place. These shows are just too funny to resist. I make attempts to catch every episode of the programmes because when you watch one episode, you just have to continue watching the rest. It is just so addictive. Let me just make it clear that it does not matter what your age is, you can definitely enjoy watching these Disney programmes. I even caught my father laughing at one of the episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place (and I thought he was only a football junkie).

The global trade in television programming is by far one of the biggest and fastest media businesses that are still expanding. Although the U.S. is already a huge country (and not forgetting to mention a continent as well), its media companies are not only preying on the local audiences but also the international market which is actually the two-prong approach that media groups usually take to globalise the media. The dominance of U.S. media products is prevalent in many countries. Even in Singapore, the cable networks, whether Starhub Digital Cable or others, provide tonnes of U.S. media television channels and programmes like HBO. Thus, it is almost impossible not to watch television programmes from the U.S. As for me, I think I should catch up soon with missed episodes of Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place.

"All The Single Babies!"

Does the title sound familiar to you? It is coined from Beyonce's All The Single Ladies which surprisingly became popular amongst young children namely babies and toddlers as highlighted in http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1929777,00.html. Apparently, the music video which can be watched in many forms of the media like the television and the internet is well-received by babies. Many would not think that babies would get attracted to such media because firstly, Beyonce's music is meant generally for the youths and the middle-aged group and secondly, people would associate babies' form of entertainment to for instance Hi-5, The Wiggles or Sesame Street.

Since the music video became popular with babies, it can be said that not only does the video serve its entertainment purpose, it is also educational when it comes to how babies respond to and socialise with the video (including all the elements in it like the high-contrast colours) in what is termed cultural transmission. It is quite surprising that the music video managed to clinch the Best Song award at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award.

The function of the music video is almost purely for entertainment. It provides viewers with enjoyment and gratification that allows viewers to sit back, unwind and just enjoy the show. It also arouses the audiences' emotions; whether the audience feels a sense of joy or excitement etc. when watching the video. The song is definitely addictive especially for babies out there, moving and grooving to Beyonce's cool dance moves.

Entertainment is not only the function of the music video. It is also pretty weird how the video is a form of cultural transmission in the sense that it is quite educational for babies who love the "good rhythm and repetition" as mentioned in the article and that the video allows babies to interact with the music by providing "visual and aural stimulation" as stated in the article.

Beyonce's music video is only an example of a form of media which has its inevitable functions. Entertainment and cultural transmissions are just two of four main media functions. Surveillance and correlation are the other two functions of the media. Surveillance refers to the gathering and disseminating of data to receivers. Correlation means the analysis and evaluation of information in which besides telling receivers about facts, the media also interprets and examine critically about issues in the world.

Receivers form a relationship with the media (the source), and this is the basis of mass communication, which is just like any other form of communication. In relation to Beyonce's music video, one can see how the relationship between the receiver and the media goes like. As for babies out there, hopefully they would continue to have fun dancing to Beyonce's All The Single Ladies.

Individualism vs Collectivism in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has long been known for its strict policies especially those that involve women. In the past, women there are to conform totally to strict guidelines of modesty particularly in their attire. The women were also deprived of human needs such as education and entering the workforce. However though, do not be surprised if you were to be interviewed by a female interviewer in Saudi Arabia when you go job hunting there nowadays.

According to a recent issue raised in the media, women in Saudi Arabia are slowly being given the freedom to express themselves more liberally by giving them the rights to do so. The women could face a brighter future with their increasing opportunities to receive education even up till university level and eventually entering the workforce. In a recent time magazine issue at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1929152,00.html, even the women who are currently in the workforce could choose whether or not to wear clothes adhering to the strict dress code namely the abaya (a black cloak), the headscarf and the niqab (a veil). This shows the increasing trend of the need to become more individualistic especially in the light of this modern era in which people almost all over the world are becoming more expressive of themselves as individuals rather than as a collectivist.

According to Harry Triandis (1976), individualism against collectivism is actually a great cultural difference in social behaviour.
In an individualist culture, social behaviour is influenced greatly by one's own goals, attitudes and values.
The following are some terms associated with individualists:

• freedom
• honesty
• social recognition

On the other hand, collectivism is influenced by goals, views and needs of the ingroup rather than of the individual.
The following are some terms characterised by collectivists:

• modesty
• fulfillment of others' needs
• high interdependence
  

Saudi Arabia is increasingly accepting the idea of women becoming more involved in the community, society and the country because in these days, it is not wise and logical for half the country's human capital to be staying at home 24/7 without contributing to the outside world. Besides, Saudi Arabia cannot continue to depend largely on oil. There is a need to develop new types of economies that can involve even the women whether totally or partly.

Any kind of change takes time. The change that we are seeing in Saudi Arabia is like a phenomenon. It is definitely not easy for Saudi Arabia to fully accept the new ideas being tested. As mentioned in the media article, "You have to prove you are not giving away your religious principles. You have to prove that participating in public affairs and taking leadership positions doesn't jeopardize Islamic values and Saudi identity." Thus, in any kind of society, even if the people are becoming more individualistic, they still have to adhere to certain basic guidelines that would not tarnish the image of the society. Let us just hope that the journey towards change in Saudi Arabia would be a smooth one.

Love Knows No Boundaries

(source: http://www.newmoonmovie.org/category/poster/)

I bet many of you have somehow or rather heard about the upcoming sequel to the movie Twilight, New Moon. You could have read both novels or watched the Twilight movie or both. The movie New Moon is based on the novel itself which is written by Stephenie Meyer. Click on the link to watch the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gomruCpWX1Q

Basically, New Moon is a love story (as well as a thriller) between two totally different individuals who experience challenges and difficulties in their not-so-ordinary relationship. One is Bella Swan, an ordinary eighteen-year-old girl who is in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. According to the relational formation and development, the relationship between Bella and Edward is formed from complementarities; the tendency to form a relationship with those who are different from us. They met each other in school where there is close proximity and greater opportunity for interaction in the movie Twilight. From then on, the interpersonal relationship continues to be built upon to the point of deep intimate love. But of course, every relationship has its downfall.

Fanatics of Twilight and New Moon would have known that Bella and Edward, the two main characters in the movies, encounter extreme challenges even to the point of life and death. Bella and Edward started out as friends also known to be at the "Initiating Stage" in Knapp's Model of Relational Development. Their relationship continues to progress but not linearly until the point in New Moon where there is a conflict in the relational needs of intimacy versus distance. To protect Bella from the world of vampires, Edward leaves the town of Forks. I believe both Bella and Edward still feel for each other but unfortunately, they are fated to face life challenges such as disassociation when Edward had to leave Bella behind in order to protect her.

Despite the challenges Bella and Edward are facing, they both knew the importance of self disclosure in which Edward is willing to inform Bella about himself, a vampire, which would usually not be accepted by the norms of relationship. Imagine if your partner is really a vampire or someone who is out of the norm. Would you be willing to overcome all the obstacles in your relationship and do what it takes in order to save it? Here we can see that self disclosure is essential to maintain a relationship. Trust and commitment towards the relationship are crucial because they are part of the basis of a promising (well hopefully!) relationship.

Every relationship requires some kind of a sacrifice in one way or another. Most people would certainly want to be more engaged in the “coming together” stages of Knapp's Model of Relational Development namely the “Initiating, Experimenting, Intensifying, Integrating and Bonding” stages. But then again, everything has its reason. Love is something that is fated and is sometimes beyond our control.

How Do You Interpret This Print Advertisement?

(source: http://www.popcrunch.com/oral-sex-innuendo-featured-in-controversial-new-burger-king-ad/)

What do you think of this advertisement? Do you see it as normal or do you find it offensive? It actually depends. This advertisement has been in the hot pan quite recently ever since it has become ubiquitous in Singapore. In fact, this advertisement has been removed due to complaints by people that it is promotes sexual innuendo.

Firstly, how people would view this advertisement depends on their perception. Perception is the process by which we make sense of the world around us. How people perceive the advertisement above depends on their physiological and cognitive nature and is also influenced by psychological and social factors. As such, different people would perceive the advertisement differently. As for me, I do feel that the advertisement is quite offensive probably because of the image of the lady opening her mouth wide open trying to stuff the long burger down her throat which is not so polite. The image might also remind us of its sexual motives. The print advertisement would be perceived differently by different people as it is receiver-oriented and subjective. Secondly, how the advertisement is being viewed depends on people’s interpretation meaning how we attach meaning to what we select (how we attend to information in the environment for processing) and organize (the way information is ordered, arranged and differentiated).

But do you feel that it is necessary for people to go to such extremes to remove the advertisement? The advertisement should have been reviewed by the board of censors before even being put up. Why bother putting up the advertisement and then only to remove them? Maybe it is a human mistake. Maybe it is to protect the young ones like children.

The advertisement may look pretty offensive but not everyone could see it as being directly offensive. There are even more directly sexually offensive advertisements in public areas which should have been removed. So why only the controversy in the Burger King advertisement? Well for one thing, it could be due to exaggeration by humans. After all, humans are complex individuals.

My Friend, Singlish.

"The Education Ministry will set up an English Language Task Force to study ways of improving the standard of English in schools." This is an excerpt from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1005491/1/.html. What first came to your mind when you read this statement? Well, for me, the first thing that I could think of is Singlish. For non-Singaporeans out there, Singlish is basically the local informal context of the English language which is made up of the different languages locally such as the Chinese dialects like Hokkien and the Malay and Tamil languages. Why did I associate the statement with Singlish? Personally, I think that somehow, the underlying reason for the current standard of English amongst the younger generation is due to the influence of Singlish but I am not implying that Singlish is all bad.

Although most Singaporeans are synonymous with Singlish, I believe that there are those who are actually proficient in English but are sometimes more comfortable speaking in Singlish because it has become a custom here in Singapore. As for myself, sometimes it is easier and more straightforward to speak in a bit of Singlish. For instance, the typical "Where got?" in place of "Where is it?" depending on the context.

Singaporeans should be proud of their own unique brand of English. The existence of Singlish shows that Singaporeans have their own identity, that it reflects its users and the history behind Singlish. Singlish is learned through socialisation and experience. Based on my personal experience, I actually learned Singlish through interaction with the different ethnic groups of people mainly in school. How not to? I mean, every now and then, my friends would mention their "lah", "mah" and "lor". As a student myself, I believe other students would be familiar with the term "pon" too which is derived from the Malay word "ponteng" which means to absent oneself.

Singlish is not just a language, it is indeed also a culture that will and should continue to exist but used sparingly. We cannot totally stop people from speaking in Singlish. Instead, we should learn to appreciate the existence of Singlish and yet continue to upgrade ourselves with good standard English. Use (or appreciate) Singlish to identify amongst ourselves as Singaporeans but use English to communicate with others especially at the international level.

Charging Twitter Users?

I believe that many of you know what Twitter is. It is similar to blogging except that there is a limit to the length of the messages being posted up online. Twitter is such a convenient form of communicating with online users be it for the purpose of leisure or even for business. Anyone can twitter anywhere even on-the-go on their mobile devices. Twitter has indeed become a popular culture amongst people in the world.

Twitter is an example of the interactive model in communication in which senders and receivers on Twitter are active participants of the communication process. Currently, using Twitter even for the purpose of advertising, which makes use of Logos, Pathos or Ethos or a combination of them by persuasion, is free. However, the co-founder of Twitter, Biz Stone, has had a second thought about making advertising on Twitter chargeable especially for business companies that use Twitter as a platform to advertise their campaigns for instance. This issue has been recently raised online on http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/technologynews/view/1004539/1/.html.

Do you think it is advisable to charge fees for businesses that use Twitter for commercial purposes? Personally, I think that Twitter should not do so. It would seem rather unreasonable to make businesses pay for what they advertise on Twitter because who knows, there could even be individuals out there who use Twitter for advertisement. If Twitter were to start charging for advertising, then might as well charge Twitters for tweeting or blogs might as well charge blog shop owners for advertising their products. It would seem rather late for Twitter to start charging its users who advertise because if it really wanted to do so, it should have been stated in the first place under its Terms and Conditions.

Since Twitter started out as a free online platform for its users to post up messages, it should continue to do so. Even if businesses were willing to pay for what they advertise on Twitter, it would seem unfair because like I have mentioned, there could be individuals who advertise too. Besides, Twitter found out that even if they charge its users in general, it would not be able to generate revenue.

Thus, if Twitter were to make money out of its services, it would defeat its original purpose of providing a free means of allowing its users to spread messages on Twitter.