This video was a english 1311 assignment. This is the link.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
TV Influence Memo
Memo
To: English 1311 Peers
From: Alyse Ellis
Date: 12/1/2010
Re: Television Influence on youth actions
Message
The PSA I created was influenced by my cousins, who repeatedly mimic the TV. I feel that this issue is of great importance to insure a safe future. Children annually watch over 15000 hours of TV. In this case the expression “Monkey see, Monkey do” is alarmingly true. Movies and video games play a huge role in this sense. A nine year old child can name several automatic weapons from playing a few hours of Call of Duty. Similarly, the average pre-teen can mimic the latest graphic scene in a movie. These truths concern me, especially since movie producers are always topping there previous work. A few problems I did encounter in the process of creating this video were how to portray this problem in 60 seconds or less. As well as, communicating the severity of the imitations that might occur over time. Although majority of my PSA is humorous, these imitations are example of how youth voluntarily repeat what they see. I used humor to reach my audience simply because from experience I know it’s the easiest approach to grab their attention with an open mind. My approach to the video was to visually show how kids “watch and repeat”. Also I wanted to show that things in movies don’t always translate to reality. A few effective aspects of my PSA in terms of presentation are, although, the video is very literal it does show that youth will repeat what they see well. I also deem that my PSA leaves my audience to consider what minority will watch in the near future. My design decision came from a straight forward “Cause & Effect” concept. What is the effect if a nine year old child watches a scene in a move? Whether the scene is graphic, humorous, or fantasy. In my PSA the child repeats what’s seen. As the consequences might be, the child getting hurt or hurting others. Although, none of my situations resulted in injury, it still illustrates the “Monkey see, Monkey do” action. Moreover, what might be the consequences if a child or pre-teen reenacts a severely explicit scene from the latest action film? These imitations in a stern situation can result in serious injury/death. In conclusion, individuals should consider the content of a show, movie, or video game before allowing minors to see it. Hopefully this will result in fewer imitations of improper or explicit actions. As well as minimizing violence and outburst amongst the community. Moreover, this might influence not only the community but spread nationally. Ultimately, resulting in a better less menacing world. Through this PSA I hope to reach those with an open mind to help this problem diminish.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Community Problem Report
Television addiction Awareness
Alyse Cristina Ellis
10/28/2010
The University of Texas at El Paso
The TV has evolved tremendously throughout the decades. The likelihood of having a television twenty years ago was reasonably common. In the present the likeliness of not having a TV is extremely unheard of. Every time you drive home at the end of your day, the familiar bluish glow from windows of houses probably don’t phase you. As far as you’re concerned your only worry is how long it will take you to get home to watch your favorite show.
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube. Research has been done to measure things that come along with this new influence. These influences include: violence, language, commercialism, and other things. It’s astonishing to think by just watching a certain show your thoughts and actions can be altered in the future. Although we know majority of things on TV are not true or even realistic, beings continue to allow what they see to influence their future actions. The saying, “Monkey see, Monkey do” defiantly defines new heights after the research has been brought to my attention. Thus why are we so glued to this potential addiction?
However, have you ever noticed just how many of those windows portray this familiar glow? The stats, according to http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html, state 99% of households in America possess a television. Of those 99% a stunning 66% of Americans possess over three televisions. The number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans is 250 billion hours! If you were to be paid to watch this amount of TV at $5/hr. you income annually would be $1.25 trillion. Considering these numbers it’s obvious we spend majority of our spare time in front of a TV set. Man has become more and more dependent on media to familiarize with the outside world. In the past everyone relied on each other for news and important information. Now we rely mainly on the TV.
When researched the influence of TV on children the statistics are shocking. They not only analyzed the number of hours in school to the number of hours watching TV, but they also discovered in relation to violence how TV influences the community. The website, to http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html, says that the hour per year the average American youth spends in school is approximately 900 hours. Similarly the hours per year that the average American youth watches television is 1500 hours. This easily illustrates how at very young ages were accustomed to the TV. It’s also obvious that everything we watch isn’t always SpongeBob, or the Disney channel. So it’s logical to assume what we watch for nine years of our life has an influence on our actions. For example, children who watch adult shows, such as the history channel or Sci-Fi, may become more educated historically. As well as scientifically using this new knowledge in future circumstances to overcome an obstacle. However, when these educational channels are replaced with degrading violent shows it reasonable to assume that in a situation a child will use this new knowledge to surpass a problem. Majority believing that if it worked on TV its ok in the real world. The number of murders seen on television by the time a child finishes elementary school (about eleven years of age) is about 8,000. In relation to these murders seen, 79% of Americans believe TV violence helps precipitate real life mayhem. Now by the age of eighteen the average American has seen over 200,000 violent acts on TV. It’s been proven that teen violence has gone up due to its advertisement on TV. To be fair video games have influenced young Americans as well. Regardless it’s all thorough media that the negative acts have raised to an all-time high.
In a different light, commercials are also majority of what we see. These commercials are a huge reason to why we buy, eat, and consume certain things. From everything to a new toy on the market, or the newest restaurant in town. Commercials are the most efficient way to make known of whats available to the community. Of course because again, it’s given to know majority of people will see the commercial because of how much time we spend watching the tube. The number of 30- second commercials seen in one year’s period by an average child is about 20,000. Similarly the number of TV commercials seen by the average person by the age 65 is over 2 million! In relation to children the number of commercials aimed at children to make then more materialistic is estimated at 92%. These statistics were again provided by http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html.
Over all the television at first brought a new way to communicate and familiarize with our world. However, in time it’s proving to overwhelm our communities with false impressions of our world. Slowly our cultures are dying out due to this lack of physical activity. Our dependence on media is overcoming the way we function and proving to result in our actions. To regain order little by little communities need to turn off our TVs and interact with each other. Like in past time we have to rely on physical communication amongst ourselves to gain knowledge.
REFRENCE:
Monday, October 11, 2010
Rhetorical & Visual Analysis
Alyse Ellis
9/27/2010
Television Addiction
Anyone who has watched TV or even owns a television is subject to being the audience for this blog. We all know people who watch TV are not immediately addicted, although, they might fall victim to this habit and it result in addiction. The blog I have chosen has very little evidence aside from personal experience presented. However I feel it’s important to analyze this to see how one person took it amongst themselves to analyze their own addiction and record their thoughts and emotions.
The textual analysis in an ethos point of view would express that the author is a typical blogger. Although they have no specified authority or expertise, the statements made are opinion. They admit through the text a feeling of addiction to the television. Stated are a few of the symptoms and emotions he feels while watching and not watching TV. Majority of the emotions are negative. Thus the author concludes that he is against this dependency on TV. The pathos point of view in this text is best described as persuasive. They write in a way that moves the reader to feel it is a negative dependency. The text exudes this emotion through phrases such as, “[My addiction]… has caused me a great deal of mental, physical and psychological agony.” The word “agony” proves to the reader that the victim is admitting to distress, and misery. While looking at the logos aspect of the text, because it’s a blog the supporting evidence is limited. The only evidence given is that of their own experiences. Even then this evidence is not factual because it is an opinion. In this context the author is bias towards this addiction. Most likely because they have experienced it firsthand. Thus through their own experiences, as mentioned before, the text is persuasive by the choice of words used to describe their dependency. Although persuasive, there is no statistical evidence. The text is captivating because it’s logical to assume everyone in this century has a TV. However it holds that interest in forcing the reader to question their own situation, and whether or not they too are dependent on this media device.
While the textual analysis in more frank, the visual analysis is a little more abstract. This abstract trait forces the mind to reason through the picture and piece together things that may come with this addiction. This particular visual does not advertise any agency or authority they might have. This picture does, however, increase the effectiveness on the text that follows. The hypnotized look in the child’s face sends a message of enslavement to TV. The text does evoke an emotion of a spellbound dependency. The plain black and white hues are very blunt and straight forward. They portray a serious statement that is to be clear. This visual is very supportive to the text. It is also constructed in a plain manor. It is not crowded or blurry to again come off as very direct. The Internet is the medium used to get the photo acknowledged.
While the text alone is effective as is the visual, when combined the argument is a lot more effective. In both the main focus is addiction to television. The text and visual complement each other and balance each other to maximize efficiency in the argument. In both, the author clearly feels that the addiction is a negative feature in their life. Although the visual has no words it does suggest that we have a demand for television as the television has a demand for the electricity. The visual does deepen the understanding of the text. The visual is places at the top of the blog before any text. This immediately sets the tone and proposes the argument the author will take. If the visual was missing the text would not be as effective. It definitely sets the tone of the argument as well as the approach to the situation. It is a great assistance to the entire passage.
Annotated Bibliography
Alyse Ellis
9/30/2010
Citations
Tucker, L., & Friedman, G. (1989). Television Viewing and Obesity in Adult Males. American Journal of Public Health, 79(4), 516-518. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.
In this article, the authors conducted experiments to measure a relationship between the numbers of hours watched per day with the health affects obtained. They took a sample of 6,138 employed adult males. After they took note of the men’s age, smoking status, length of work week, measured physical fitness, and reported weekly hours of exercise, they began to record their experiment. Physical fitness consistently confounded the associations between TV viewing and obesity/super-obesity, but the other control variables did not do so.
McIlwraith, R., & Jacobvitz, R. (1991). Television addiction. American Behavioral Scientist, 35(2), 104. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.
This article debates on the dependency of the television, while exploring the problems concluded by studies of popular culture. They also analyzed how phrase making tends to establish the conventional wisdom on topics of popular culture before any data can be collected. They proceeded to wonder if existing psychological data on television addiction and TV addicts. They stated that nine possible criteria for making a diagnosis of substance dependency.
Mishraka. (2007, August 18). TV Addiction [Web log post]. Retrieved from
This blog is mainly about the personal experience of addiction. Stated are a few of the symptoms and emotions she feels while watching and not watching TV. Majority of the emotions are negative. Thus the author concludes that he is against this dependency on TV. The text is persuasive in the sense that they write in a way that moves the reader to feel it is a negative dependency. The text exudes this emotion through phrases such as, “[My addiction]… has caused me a great deal of mental, physical and psychological agony.” The word “agony” proves to the reader that the victim is admitting to distress, and misery. The only evidence given is that of their own experiences. Even then this evidence is not factual because it is an opinion. In this context the author is bias towards this addiction. Most likely because they have experienced it first-hand. The text is captivating because it’s logical to assume everyone in this century has a TV. However it holds that interest in forcing the reader to question their own situation, and whether or not they too are dependent on this media device.
Turk, James F. (2004, May 10). The Television Addiction. The Real Truth. Retrieved from
This web article gives plenty of information on this addiction. A few of the subtopics are, “The Plug-In Drug”, “Effects on Kids”, and “The Babysitter”. All of these subtopics complement the argument of being addicted to television. In a more statistical point of view, it also gives multiple percentages to support the argument. This article does argue the negative cases of the debate. It has a lot of statistics to help visualize how many families have come in contact with this addiction. It also shows that people of all ages are subject to this addiction.
Turk, James F. (2004, July 10). The Television Addiction. The Real Truth. Retrieved from
This web article is a continuation of the previous article, “The Television Addiction. He further discusses the addiction with addition to his statistics and argument. Although he continues to discuss the negative aspects of the case. He goes over subjects such as “Foul Language”, and effects of “Reality TV”. He also discusses how these shows might affect the lives of people later on. The author explores the possibility of how people act in shows might influence how younger kids act as they grow.
Pawlowski, C. (2005). Glued to the Tube: The Threat of Television Addiction to Today's Family.
Sourcebooks.
This book comes across as a very straight forward negative aspect of the addiction. She very bluntly states in her book, “For better or for worse it can be argued that TV is not only a part of the family, but has become its dominant member.” She cites statistics gathered by Joshua Meyrowitz in his book, No Sense of Place, that suggest children ages two to five watch between twenty-five and thirty-two hours of TV per week and these viewing habits often last a lifetime. She continues to discuss on average how long a child will spend watching TV. This later turns out to be a shocking ten years! This book is definitely persuasive to the sense that it gets the reader thinking in a bigger picture. To say that we watch TV for an hour a day is not nearly as effective as saying we watch ten years’ worth of TV in a life time.
Herr, N. (2007). Television & Health. California State University, Northridge. Retrieved October 6, 2010
This site lists the information discovered. It is very straight forward and presented bluntly. This list includes: Family life, Children, Violence, Commercialism, and General. All of these lists give reasons to why this addiction is bad. It also suggests ways of getting rid of the addiction. Although limited the site is helpful. It also does have text about “The Influence of Television”, to back up the lists presented. The text is very subtle in suggesting how negative this addiction is. However, it does make the point known that is a negative habit to have.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
TV Addiction
Alyse Ellis
English 1311
TOPIC PROPOSAL ON TV ADDICTION
In society today our world revolves around technology. While a few short years ago to have a cell phone or TV available everywhere was uncommon. Although, now to not have a TV or cell phone is completely unheard of. Our dependence on technology has revolutionized how we function as beings. For almost anything we resort to our media device. The time, latest blog, conversations, even the latest gossip is updated thorough our phones. As for television, this is available in our cars, computers as well as our phones. Parents have resorted to this addiction to calm down or bribe their children. Adults look to TV as a way of relaxing and familiarizing with the situations around them. This addiction is undeniable. Anyone who owns a cell phone or television is not necessarily addicted but on the other hand a vast majority are. On a more specific note, anyone who has certain apps on their phone belongs to that discourse community. For example, the facebook, myspace, or twitter apps. I believe this topic is crucial for investigation to merely document in a year’s period whether it is as much a ritual in the future as it is now. While investigating this topic I hope to learn more about the addiction. Whether it is more severe than I thought, or if it is an over exaggeration. I also hope to learn about any negative health affects it might have. Throughout this research I hope to shine some light on the health issues that may come with this addiction. I also believe many other people besides myself should familiarize with this topic to decide whether or not they fall into this addiction. And if so do they fall into a category of severity that is reason for concern. Just as media devices might be necessary in some situations, in other they may not be. Thus bringing the argument of when media is not necessary is it considered obnoxious or insulting. I’ve heard before that in certain places to use a media device in certain places is looked down on. I am very excited to pursue this topic not only for the benefit of myself, but my peers as well as my community. I hope my research is looked at as an accomplishment to better the community. As I hope that people take it to heart to better themselves.
Agency Discourse Memo
Agency Discourse Observation Memo
To: English Peers
From: Alyse Cristina Ellis
Date: 10/7/2010
RE:
Message:
Immigration is a huge issue in the United States. Living in El Paso we are right in the middle of the problems. Although because of our mixed culture and close relationship to the Mexican border solutions are more difficult to obtain. Personally I feel that the immigration is getting out of hand. However, I too have mixed emotions about the situation. I understand how anyone would want to better their lives or their children’s lives, but I take it personally when their benefit is my loss. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement works to prevent immigrants from crossing illegally. They do their best to help those immigrants who try to cross truthfully. The immigrants that cross with wrong intentions are penalized.
This discourse agency uses its resources to remove any type of counterfeit, illegal substances, or illegal beings from the country. I think it is important for the people to involve themselves with the issue of immigration. The problem that started small has escalated to where it is finally seen as a threat. If people would have foreseen the issue in the past maybe our future would not seem so grim. I make it a point to enlighten myself with issues of this topic daily.
Discourse Communty Map & Responce
ALYSE ELLIS
DISCOURSE COMMUNITY
DISCOURSE COMMUNITY
In the world around us today, we have many organizations, clubs, or even cliques. These groups of people share the same goals, interests, and values. These groups more appropriately can be defined as “Discourse Communities”. To be involved in a Discourse Community, you might have to abide by certain requirements to join. Along with being a part of a discourse community, you can also participate in the specialized language, values, writing styles, or goals the group has. These communities also must use different forms of medium to communicate their goals or conventions. I personally belong to four different types of discourse communities. They can be best described as a civic, personal, academic, and professional discourse community.
My dance team, for example would portray a personal discourse community I belong to. The audiences we target as a team are any one with a dance history, or want in the experience. There are certain requirements however to become accepted into this group. Tryouts, is one way we determine whether someone is eligible for the group. A series of dance routines are taught and performed in front of judges to be scored. The result of the score will determine if you make the team or not. If you do make the team, immediately after we ask for phone numbers to voice when practices or performances will take place. We use text, flyers, phone calls, and after practice talks to communicate when our next convention will be. It is very important to use these types of communication. Without it we would have nothing organized. In this community we also use specialized language, such as, mental, PK, Axil, or funk. These words alone might not make sense. Although, when used in a sentence during practice it can tell everyone what to do in an instant. “ Girls, do a mental, don’t forget the PK before the axil, and the last funk.” This means, do the dance I your head, to remember the specific turn sequence before the axil jump, and to remember the kick sequence called funk. It’s much easier to have nicknames for often used tricks than to say everything properly. Conventions to gather the team would be performances practice. As mentioned before we use different types of medium to contact our members.
My commitment to the Lakers basketball team would be considered a professional discourse community. This type of community however is more open to its members who wish to join. Ways to join are to sign up online with a fan club. Although, it also could be as simple as wearing a Kobe jersey on game day. Types of medium this community uses are, internet, e-mail, text, television, and many others. Specialized language we might use are, travel, championship, push, or 3pt. These words can voice what’s happening in the game, or what a player did to an opponent. It is a way of speaking to another member that can also mean you are familiar with the team. Topics written about this community extend from the winning game, to the players home life. Anything concerning the team is an interest of the members.
My commitment to the breast cancer awareness is a example of a civic discourse community. This type of Organization is also very open to its members. Their goal as a group is to raise awareness and funds to support the research for a cure for cancer. More specifically, a cure for breast cancer. To join this group you simple start a volunteer project with the group. For instance, Race for the Cure, is a nationwide project held by the organization. The members meet at a certain location to have people run miles to promote the awareness. Members organize this through all types of medium. News casters will film the race as well as announce the upcoming event. Flyers, broachers, phone calls, and t-shirts might also advertise the upcoming convention. Topics written about in this discourse community are cancer. Moreover, breast cancer and how it is caused, what it affects, and goals of the group to find a cure.
Finally my attendance to The University of El Paso, UTEP, is my example of an academic discourse community. To become a member there are strict requirements to obtain. Transcripts from past schools or institutions are needed, as well as an application. These things are looked over and evaluated to determine whether or not you would be an asset to the institution. Specialized language used in this community might be major, minor or professor. These words can place you in which department you belong to. To be more specific however, once determined the major, for example, chemistry, you can place yourself in a more specific discourse community. A chemistry major may obtain specialized language such as lab, Na, or density. These words can describe what an element is or what you need to find for a substance. The need for this language is essential to understand the subject of chemistry. The purposes of writing in this community are extremely necessary. We constantly have to document our research to verify what paths we’ve taken or haven’t taken. We also can write about our discoveries to further help other people. If Chemists did not document their work there would be no way to move forward. We would keep repeating things or steps and go nowhere. Conventions chemists partake in are research projects, classes, or labs. The way we communicate to one another is to use phone, text, e-mail, and mail.
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