Hannah's Media Blog

The 2005 show Burn Notice is incredibly entertaining. Set in Miami, Florida, it details the life of a spy who was kicked out, or "burned" from, the organization who he was working for. Jeffery Donovan stars as Michael, but also wrote, directed and helped produce the show. He may have intentionally put the underlying messages and morals in this show that a watcher might unintentionally pick up, most of which shown through product placement. The first, and most major ad for a policy or group is for the NRA. One of the main characters, Fiona, is a gun nut, and all the characters in the show use weapons regularly. There are a ton of shoot outs and gun fights between Michael, Sam, and Fi (the main characters) and whatever criminal organization they are fighting at the time. The lifestyle they live is pretty badass, and it appeals to the person watching. They want to live that life; be a spy like Michael Westen. The association between the lifestyle they live and guns is so inter...

In advertising today, I have seen all of the four marketing strategies mentioned in "The Persuaders" video. The one that struck a chord most with me, however, was lovemarks. From shoes to clothing to bicycles to cars and more, advertising lovemarks are ingrained in our society. All you have to do is look around the halls at school- look at the Converse, Vans, Birkenstocks and Doc Martins worn religiously since the 80s for most of them, the scrunchies on almost every girl's wrist, the American Eagle and Urban Outfitters logos, Apple vs Android debates, etc. All of these brands use a form of lovemarking to sell these products. With these particular brands and the high school environment, I believe the appeal to fit in and look like everyone else does takes over for many people, and these companies play on those feelings, making their brand the one you haft  to have or the one that is what you see most. The images put out by these brands are often showing beautiful, unre...

Yes, trolling is bad, but I'm just giving Trump a taste of his own medicine. If I get points taken off, so be it (though I think Starace just doesn't want us trolling each other). This is an analysis of Trump's inaugural address using George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language". Right off the bat, Donald makes an error. Saying " We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people". This statement is as vague as answering a yes or no question with "okay". Rebuild? Rebuild how? Is our country lacking buildings? Roads? Rebuild what? He also doesn't specify what promise he is referring to.  Actually, the whole speech is filled with the vague political language Orwell paints in a negative light. Examples of this include " We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done" and " Th...

Analyzing current music for its meaningful content moves you away from what's on the radio and what's popular. There are so many artists and albums and bands coming out daily, making it difficult to find what you like and even more difficult to identify why. Everyone has their own particular style (both the artists and listeners) and everyone can interpret music in the way it will benefit them most. This analysis  is really going to be about how mental health, the good and the bad, shows through in music, focusing on one particular example. Recently, artist Billie Eilish released her new album and made half the world, and probably more than half of our school, explode. Just starting out stating my opinion- I think she's absolutely incredible and that it's amazing that she has built a career at 17. Her age also makes her easy to relate to and approachable. Her personality in interviews is open, modest, and generally kind. That being said, let us dive into an analysis...

My relationship with media, compared to those of my peers and in this time period, I would say is a relatively good one. And good is an incredibly vague word, so let me explain. I use the resources and media around me to my advantage to make my experience on this earth better. The first example of this, and the one that comes to mind easiest, is music. I listen to music constantly to elevate my feelings or suppress them, and to make moments more meaningful. I use it to hype myself up or calm down, and simply because I enjoy it. It makes me happy. I've never thought about music as a source of media before. Though my parents have surely been concerned with some of the messages the grittier rap I listen to has (gotta love Mac Miller for scaring my parents out of my room), I never thought about it influencing my thoughts, which is what media does. At least, I've never thought about it unconsciously influencing me. I think the point of this assignment is to become aware of those ...