Media Blog #12

            This media blog will be discussing my outlook on the media and how I will approach media going forwards in my life.

            At the start of the semester, I mindlessly consumed media, indulging on my Netflix and late night comedy TV shows. I wasn’t particularly open minded and did not possess many of the H/C of a critical thinker.

I somewhat lived in a bubble where all my reality assumptions were reinforced by the media I consumed. I loved my time watching Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Seth Meyers at the start of the semester, whereas now I just feel like I am in an echo chamber when I listen to them. That isn’t to say that I don’t still think that they are clever, witty people that contribute to society, but because of how I approach media and think in general, I find myself a bit nauseous after watching too much of them. It seems as if since Trump, their shows have become a showcase for the Tu Quoque fallacy, ranting on how hypocritical Trump and Fox News are. Before this semester, I was under the impression that those were legitimate points they were making. Before this semester, I never really broadened my horizons and never gave much thoughts to people with different viewpoints. The one thing that hasn’t changed since the start of the semester is my love for John Oliver because he does emphasize open-mindedness and takes into account multiple viewpoints, seeing things from all angles, allowing him to make points that wouldn’t normally resonate with, for example, a conservative when he discusses topics like healthcare.

Now that I have taken critical thinking, I try as best as I can to make sure that I see everything from multiple viewpoints. To ensure that I understand what people across the country are thinking and to have a more comprehensive view of the issues facing the country today, I will at least once a week, travel into the deep cold dark depths of Fox News and read at least one comprehensive article not senselessly bashing democrats in order to try and see things from a conservative point of view. This I consider to be of upmost importance because I live in a very liberal neighborhood where I know people who would and have cut ties with close family for supporting Trump. I live in a liberal household as well. In order to try and counteract the political polarization we see today, this is something I would recommend everyone do, no matter how bad it hurts to read Fox News.  

            I also now view advertising from a different perspective which is important because before this class, I was completely unaware of the techniques advertisers used to try and appeal to my basic needs. Before, I was susceptible to diversion and transfer association which slipped by me and embedded in my subconscious. Now, I filter out all of these techniques which cloud what the actual product does. I now view things from a more objective point of view with respect to advertising and marketing. The one thing that I still find hard to spot is Maddison and Vine. I think part of the reason for this is because I personally find it hard to believe that every corporation displayed in TV in any way, even if only for a second, paid to get there. At that point, the waters are muddied even more because then it becomes a question of which ads are meant to be there and which ones were just chance, making it difficult to try and block out the transfer association happening with the products shown in TV because I can’t differentiate between what to block and what not to block because it all looks the same to me.

            In all, Critical Thinking was a class that has in many ways changed the way in which I see the media around me and will change the way I act, talk, and think. It has provided me with life skills I don’t think I would have gotten anywhere else in the world and I cannot thank you enough Starace for providing me with them.