Media is Inescapable

I was very skeptical about my media deprivation day. I knew it would be a very difficult task for me because media is such an everyday part of my life. I am constantly on my cell phone, searching the internet, listening to music, and watching television. While completing this assignment at my home in Frederick, Maryland I found it extremely difficult not only to avoid my personal temptation, but also to escape from my family’s use of media.

The day started for me when I woke up at two o’clock in the afternoon. I was extremely tired and I figured it was a great way of passing the time. My mother called me from work and I contemplated answering it, but I felt I should answer it in case it was an emergency. Then, I ate a bowl of cereal. It was strange to sit there in complete silence without the television glaring in the background. I decided that this would be a great day to get some of my homework out of the way, so I proceeded to take out my Sociology textbooks and my notebook. I sat in silence, reading and taking notes.

My mother came home at four o’clock. Within a few minutes I could hear Oprah from my bedroom. My mom was preparing her delicious Thanksgiving pies while watching her daily Oprah program. It was so tempting to go into the living room and watch it! I asked my mother to turn it down and she did, but it was still loud enough that I could hear it from my bedroom. Distracted by the noisy television, I decided to stop and take a break in order to clean my room that desperately needed it. I organized my closet and put away the clutter engulfing my room. Then it was back to my homework.

Later in the day I rode with my mother to the airport to pick up my brother who was flying in from Chicago for the holiday. The forty-five minute drive seemed like forever with no radio on! Before reaching the airport, my mother insisted that I call my brother to find out if his flight had landed. I didn’t want her to try and talk on the phone while driving, so I called him. The drive back home went by much faster because we were busy talking. Once we arrived back home my parents, my brother, and I spend some quality time catching up and introducing my brother to our new cat, Othello.

Knowing that I had homework to complete involving the computer and family gatherings to attend that would involve music and/or television, It would be almost impossible to complete my media deprivation assignment another day. After completing this assignment I learned just how much media is a part of my life and my family’s lives. I agree, however, with the students mentioned in “The Longest Day” article, that it is nice to have some peace and quiet for a while.

Paglia Won Me Over

During the reading, “Two Cultures – Television Versus Print”, I found myself mostly agreeing with Camille Paglia’s argument that television should not be ignored since it “is the culture” rather than Neil Postman’s argument that television “breaks the habits of logic and thinking”. Although, Postman seems to present a stronger argument by content, overall I tend to agree more with Paglia’s modern views on television. I agree that television does have substance and is not a “nihilistic compilation of unrelated events.”

Postman uses God and religion as the basis for much of his argument whereas Paglia uses many anecdotes and historical references. As a nonreligious person myself, I tend to be less influenced by the points that Postman makes and more drawn to Paglia’s argument.

One argument that particularly caught my attention was when Paglia and Postman argue about a particular television ad for Hebrew National featuring Uncle Sam and God. Postman states that “a sense of the sacred is being eliminated, or exploited by redirecting it to the profane world”, whereas Paglia notes that it “reinforces their symbolic meaning and helps young people have a historical perspective on their own culture.” I absolutely agree with Paglia that ads, such as this one, are not destroying our culture, they are simply giving us a greater understanding of our culture. When I watch commercials, I do in fact learn from them. I don’t see commercials as a mockery: I see them as embracing the full realm of our history and culture.

Click here to view the Hebrew National television ad.

No Escaping Nosferatu

“You can’t escape destiny by running away.” The old man walking along the streets of Bremen said it best. This phrase embodies the central meaning of the early vampire film, Nosferatu. The film follows the journey of a young realtor, Jonathon Harker, who takes a trip to meet with Nosferatu, also known as Count Dracula, who is supposedly looking for property in Bremen. He travels to Transylvania only to find that property is not what Count Dracula is interested in, rather fresh blood. Harker, bearing the fang marks upon his throat, hurriedly makes his way back home, meanwhile Nosferatu sneaks aboard a ship that also happens to be headed to Bremen.

One scene in particular fully captures the essence of this films meaning. The scene starts with Nosferatu and Harker sitting at the dinner table. Harker contently eats the food given before him, while Nosferatu anxiously reads the paper which he has so mysteriously drawn so closely to his gaunt, pale face. At this point nothing seems to be extremely out of place. It is only odd that Nosferatu does not eat with Harker; instead he quietly reads his paper and appears to ignore Harker’s presence.

Harker grabs a loaf of bread and knife, and then proceeds to cut a slice of bread, unknowingly cutting his thumb as well. The clock strikes midnight with a loud chime. Harker’s face freezes in freight while Nosferatu’s face appears from behind the paper, revealing his bushy eyebrows and haunting black circle around his right eye. His face gleams in anticipation for the feast to come. Harker is trapped in the vampire’s gloomy castle with no avoidance. The dreadful facade of Harker is one that is commonly seen in modern horror films. It is the moment where the “good guy” becomes aware that something dark and evil is about to happen. They are terrified that they probably will not be able to escape the villain, which generally they never do.

Harker notices the bleeding cut upon his thumb and reaches for a napkin to wipe away the oozing crimson blood. Jolting up from his chair, Nosferatu signals Harker to stop at once as he glides around the corner of the table towards him. “Blood! Your precious blood!” Nosferatu grabs Harker’s hand, lifting him from his chair. Terrified, Harker steps back one footstep at a time, but Nosferatu stiffly follows him with his tall, bony figure. The men continue this movement into what appears to be a living room, where eventually Harker stops moving backwards and stands in horror while Nosferatu creeps towards him. Now Harker is trapped; cornered in a room with no way of escaping. “Let us chat together a moment, my friend. There are still several hours until dawn, and I have the whole day to sleep.” Nosferatu signals for Harker to have a seat in the chair behind him. The scene ends with Nosferatu stepping towards Harker. One can only imagine that Nosferatu then, forcefully holds Harker and sucks his blood.

The Tragedy of the Cell Phone

Have you ever felt aggravated by someone using their cell phone in public without any regard to those surrounding them? The use of cell phones has become a common source of disrespect in public settings, which could be linked to society experiencing cultural lag. Cultural lag, coined by sociologist William Ogburn, is described as “the period of time between the introduction of a new technology and the much more time-consuming social adaptation to that new technology.” People have not socially adapted to rules of etiquette surrounding this relatively new form of technology.


The first cell phone call was placed on April 3, 1973 in New York City by a man named Martin Cooper, who worked for Motorola. It was a rather large phone by today’s standards, weighing in at thirty ounces. The cell phone was not brought into the market until ten years later in 1983, when they were used for commercial service and was priced at an astounding $3,500. Luckily, with time and development, both size and price have decreased, making it available and appealing to the mass public.

Now, in the year 2007, it is nearly impossible to go anywhere without seeing dozens of people chatting away on their cell phones. Cell phones are everywhere, from drivers on the highways, shoppers in grocery stores, diners in restaurants, and even children in schools. With a wide variety of functions, convenience, and effectiveness, it is easy to see why so many people use cell phones.

As with all technology, there are gains and losses. The gains seem quite obvious; however, it takes a little more searching to truly see what is lost. One loss of high concern is the lack of common courtesy and respect towards others. Everyday, people disrespect others by using phones while driving, in educational settings, and in public places such as restaurants and movie theaters.

Drivers who use cell phones are not only jeopardizing the safety of their own lives, but also the lives of others around them. Imagine someone having to live with the guilt of taking the life of someone! Envision how furious the victims family and friends would be if they found out the accident that took their loved one’s life could have been easily prevented by putting a cell phone
down.

Driving is a dangerous activity. Combine driving with a distraction such as a cell phone and you get a lethal combination. Conversing over the phone causes drivers to advert their attention and concentration, losing track of what is going on around them. A survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company in January 2007 found that of 1,200 drivers, seventy-three percent talk on their cell phones while driving.

Hands-free devices have emerged in an attempt to make driving while talking safer. A study from researchers at the University of Utah concluded that talking on a cell phone while driving, even with a hands-free device, is as dangerous as driving drunk. The driver is still attempting to concentrate on their conversation instead of on their driving while using this device.

Drivers also send and receive text messages while driving, adverting their attention and eyes. In the same survey by Nationwide, it was found that nineteen percent of motorists text message while driving. An August 2006 survey conducted by Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) showed that text messaging is considered to be the teenage driver’s biggest distraction. It is known that text messaging while driving is prevalent among teenagers.

Driving while text messaging is not the only way teenagers disrespect others. They also use cell phones in educational settings, such as in classrooms and libraries. Have you ever been in the middle of taking a test or exam, when all of a sudden a fellow student’s cell phone blasts an obnoxious song or tone and your train of thought completely vanishes? It not only irritates the teacher or professor, but also the classmates of that student. The instructor will usually then proceed to dismiss the student from the test or take their cell phone away, but either way it is another distraction that the students are faced with.

Libraries are another educational setting where cell phones are disrespectfully used. The library is supposed to be a quiet, relaxing place where students can focus on reading, studying and completing assignments. When there are cell phones ringing and people talking on their phones, it can be quite disturbing to those around them who are just trying to make the best of their education. Cell phones became such a problem at Yale that they decided to do something about it. In one of the school’s residential colleges, they prohibited the use of cell phones in its library, and asked that the students keep them on silent instead of vibrate.

There are many public places, including libraries, where cell phone use is a sign of rude behavior. Public places include locations such as restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores, shopping malls, and churches. In an ABC News poll released in September, eighty-seven percent of respondents said the bad behavior they observed the most was people making annoying cell phone calls.

It is without a doubt that cell phones are causing society to change, for both the good and the bad. The cell phone recently topped the list of inventions that people hated the most but cannot live without in a 2004 MIT survey. With the various ways people use cell phones in a disrespectful manner, it is easy to see why people may hate the invention. How can a person show that there are far more positives than negatives when it comes to cell phones? You can pull over to answer your cell phone while driving, put your cell phone on silent while in public, and give everyone around you the time and respect that they deserve. We are not robots; we need attention and kindness in our lives.

Click here for a funny video on cell phone etiquette.

Media: An Academic Tool

I walk into my dorm after returning from class. As I plop myself down in front of my laptop I focus my eyes on its entrancing screen. I log into myUMBC webmail to check if my professors have sent out any e-mails that may be of importance to me. Then I log into Blackboard to see any assignments that I may have to complete or if there are any notes posted for my classes. If I have time I may briefly check out my facebook page. In the future I may even use it to contact classmates in order to study together. I turn on the news to see what is going on around the world so I will be prepared for a current events discussion in AMST. I call up a friend to see if he can assist me with my math homework that I so dreadfully don’t understand. While I wait on him to arrive I begin reading the next chapter in my Sociology textbook, McDonaldization. This is a typical day at college for me.

After entering college, media has become mostly a tool to help me succeed in my academic career. Before I entered college I used media more as a source of entertainment. I actually had the free time to follow numerous programs on television, go to the movie theatre to see the latest movie craze, listen to the newest songs on the radio, and talk to family and friends on my cell phone for hours. Media as an academic tool began increasing during my junior and senior years of high school when I checked my grades online at Blackboard, researched possible colleges to attend, and read enormous textbooks for my AP classes. During my junior and senior year I pushed myself to get straight “A’s” and do well on the AP exams by taking advantage of the available tools I had, such as my textbooks and the internet. By using the internet to research colleges, I knew I would have to get outstanding grades those two years to get into the college of my choice.

Now that I am attending my college of choice, I will continue to use media as a tool for academic achievement. In the future I envision using the media as a tool in pursuing my teaching career once I graduate. The media may assist me in informing others of my availability for a job and it may also assist me in finding a job opening.

Media is constantly evolving and will continue to do so. In just my 18 years of life I have experienced significant changes in media such as the popularity of the cell phone, the invention of the ipod, and the increasing use of the World Wide Web. I can only imagine how significantly media will change within my lifespan.

Who am I? Why am I here?

Hello! My name is Leanne Lenhart. I'm 18 years old. I am currently a freshman at UMBC. My hometown is Urbana, Maryland located in Frederick County. I have one brother who is 23 years old and graduated from UMBC in 2006 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He currently lives in Chicago which is where the photo to the left was taken. My parents and I visited him there this past summer and fell in love with the city. My dad took the photo when my family and I took a bicycle ride along the shore of Lake Michigan.

I’m a very easy going person. People generally find me very easy to get along with. I enjoy spending time with family and friends. My favorite place to visit is the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My family and I visit there usually at least once a year. I love the beach and the laid back atmosphere.

In my free time I enjoy watching movies. I watch everything from comedies to dramas to horror films. I also enjoy watching television. A few of my favorite shows includes Friends, Desperate Housewives and Mythbusters. During the warm months I like to be outdoors doing activities such as biking and hiking. In the winter I love to go skiing and shopping. One of my favorite activities to do year round is swimming. I was a member of my high school swimming and diving team for all four years. Before that I swam for several years on summer swim teams and one year on a club team.

I am very interested in traveling the world. I have not been fortunate enough in my 18 years to have traveled outside the United States. Sometime during my college career I would like to study abroad for a semester. I want to learn about different cultures and visit historical landmarks. I would particularly like to visit France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Greece.

I decided to attend UMBC because I really like the campus and the outstanding reputation the school holds as an honors university. I plan to major in Social Studies and receive a teaching certificate in order to teach at the high school level. I would love to teach Sociology and Psychology. Getting a college degree is a necessary step in becoming a teacher.

During high school I was an intern for a psychology teacher who was my teacher the previous year. The experience made me realize that I loved the subject and would greatly enjoy teaching it. I also took Sociology my senior year and grew fascinated with the subject.

I am enrolled in AMST 222 in order to understand the importance of communication as it relates to history and currently. I hope to become more comfortable speaking in front of an audience because being a teacher requires a lot of speaking and communication skills.