Media Log

By Amy L. Whitney

January 8^th, 2008—January 13^th, 2008

1. Apologize
2. Cell Phones: Communication
3. BYUSA Commercial

Apologize

Timbaland & One Republic song

http://a13.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/00339/21/03/339103012_l.jpg

Context/Description: I had just come out from viewing Tuesday’s Devotional in the Talmage Building and began walking toward the WILK. I was thinking about what President and Sister Samuelson had talked about: treasuring each day we have here on earth and that it is not too late to do so, and about heroes—how there are many among us who deserve our appreciation and acknowledgment for what they’ve done. I really needed to hear their words that day and it got me thinking about life, procrastination, and how devotionals affect me in my life. So with all that in mind, as I crossed campus towards the WILK there were people who were setting up tables and blasting music from Brigham Square. The song they were blasting was Apologize by Timbaland & One Republic. I like the song but hearing it that day after devotional I realized that the message wasn’t very uplifting. The music made me want to cry as an initial response but I’m not exactly sure why it made me feel that way. The lyrics are included here from <http://www.completealbumlyrics.com/lyric/131324/Timbaland+-+Apologize.html>.

Lyrics: Timbaland - Apologize lyrics
Album: Shock Value

"One Republic"

I'm holding on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground
I'm hearin what you say but I just can't make a sound
You tell me that you need me
Then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you're sorry
Didn't think I'd turn around, and say...

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

I'd take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it's nothin new - yeah yeah
I loved you with a fire red-
Now it's turning blue, and you say...
"Sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you
But I'm afraid...

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late
It's too late to apologize, yeah
I said it's too late to apologize, yeah-
I'm holdin on your rope, got me ten feet off the ground...

Analysis: I’m always fascinated with how many songs I or others listen too just because the beats are intriguing and not necessarily because the lyrics are noteworthy. In this song what got to me the most was the message that “It’s too late to apologize.” It never really is too late (till death I suppose) to apologize—we do have opportunities to turn our lives around—but messages like this stick in your brain to where it might eventually become a truth to some people. There are many times that I’ll be walking around, doing homework, cooking or what have you—when I realize that I am singing songs like this one and didn’t even realize I was! That scares me sometimes (although I love to sing) because it makes me realize how much music media impacts my life. It also brings to my mind the old movie Josie & the Pussy Cats. In the film the music industry is shown to be encrypting music with hidden messages to make those who listen to the music want to purchase various consumer goods. That movie is a bit of a fiction, but the idea and implications for music is not. Commercials use music all the time to advertise their goods. For example, every time I hear the Jump Around song by House of Pain (2000) that was used in a Pringles commercial…I want Pringles even if I’m not particularly hungry. The music feels good and it implies that the product (Pringles) will taste good too.

Lesson Plan Ideas: We need to make our students aware of the impact that music has on their lives so that they can protect themselves from the psychological tactics of the music and business industries. Have students listen to three to five songs in class that are from advertising campaigns. In a unit on music as media, teach students to analyze the lyrics of songs like how you would analyze a text or piece of literature. Teach students about the use of connotations and denotations in conjunction with this unit and advertising. Students will also be required to do a class project where they identify hasty generalizations in music lyrics such as “It’s too late to apologize” and write responses to those claims. These papers and assignments will help to augment class discussion.

Cell Phones: Communication

http://tech-faq.phonedog.com/r/c/7709-4282-167-175-250x275.jpg

Context/Description: I came home from my evening class on Tuesday and checked my cell phone. I keep it on “silence” during the day and usually do not check to see if anyone has called until the evenings. I had two voicemails. The first one was from a girl in my ward named Jamie and I about dropped the phone when I heard it. Rebecca Blazzard in my ward died Monday evening when a car failed to stop for her at the crosswalk. She died instantly. In the voicemail, Jamie said that our Bishop and Stake President were requesting that all members of our ward come to the chapel that evening for a special meeting. I would not have known about the meeting if Jamie had not called me and left me a voicemail.

Analysis: Cell phones make communication more personal than say an e-mail or letter. If I had learned about Rebecca’s death by e-mail or letter I probably would have cried still but words can be stale sometimes when it comes to relating situations like that in print. When I heard Jamie’s voicemail and her sorrow and her mourning it was more poignant. When you hear someone speak that way it naturally makes you want to sympathize with that person—unless of course you are just past feeling.

With cell phones it is very easy to engage ourselves in rapid communication and to get in contact with one another…but I know some people who refuse to get cell phones because they say “why would I want someone to be able to get a hold of me 24/7?” The whole concept of cell phones as an immediate form of gratification (as far as contacting and communication is concerned) got me thinking about how our cell phones really do act as a type of homing or tracking device for their owners.

Lesson Plan Ideas: All careers in the world deal with communication in one form or another. In a lesson, have students engage in critical thinking to categorize what the most effective forms of communication are today and why. Specifically highlight the implications for communication as it applies to cell phones. Students will judge how to communicate specific kinds of information effectively while considering the elements of audience, voice, and the roles of ethos/pathos/logos in their answers.

BYUSA Commercial

http://kennedy.byu.edu/student/sid/images/byusa_logo.jpg

Context/Description: I was asked to be an extra in a scene for a BYUSA commercial on Thursday. I was told it would go from 11:00 to 1:00. In reality I was there till about 2:00 P.M. The scene was shot in the library auditorium on the first floor of the Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL). The scene will join about nine other scenes to make up a 2-3 minute commercial segment. The commercial will air in about three weeks to launch a new campaign on campus called “Redefining Service.” The scene I was in was of a classroom where a girl decides to sit by another girl who is sitting all alone. The basic gist of the whole commercial will be that simple acts of service such as sitting by others in class, being friendly, or smiling (ect)—will lead to a ripple effect on campus. BYUSA wants to make campus a friendlier environment.

Analysis: There is a whole lot of planning and time and effort put into making a commercial, or into filming anything really. The filming session I was in took almost three hours and there were other scenes that still needed to be shot later. But from all of that footage only three minutes worth will be used. First of all, I think that says a lot about the kind of society we live in today. They don’t want hour long commercials—even five minutes could be stretching it—they want a quick teaser into the options available to them or into the philosophy being promoted. That is the kind of “fast” generation we live in: fast food, fast facts, fast phone calls, fast service, and in this case fast commercials.

Lesson Plan Ideas: Students will watch the final version of the BYUSA commercial or another commercial of your choosing that is related to service (make sure that it is appropriate for the grade level you work with; consider permission slips for viewing). Students will then describe or explain their ideas of service as it relates to the national, state, regional, and local levels. Students will then be assembled into groups where they will create and design a 30 second to one minute film clip supporting a specific definition of service they believe in and which incorporates the use of symbolism, testimonials, and/or short skits. Class time will be provided for filming as well as equipment, and the video segments will be accompanied by a written portion for formal explanatory purposes. Students will also be informed of ways that they can in reality fulfill civic duties to make their own communities a better place to live in.