Discussions for class

My posts haven't been showing up on the discussion board even after I hit submit, so I'm going to put all my previous discussions for class on my blog, along with all future discussions.

INTRODUCTION-posted 1/29
Hi everyone
My name is Cui Wang (pronounced Sway) and I'm currently working in ad sales research for NBC in midtown. I graduated from Rutgers with a B.A in Communication and I'm really excited to be back in school again. At the moment, I'm undecided about my concentration, but would like to take classes in media management and try my hands at production.
I hope you all have a great semester! ;)

DISCUSSION 1-posted 2/6
I enjoyed Carol's presentation a great deal. It gave me a better picture of the origins of many of the theories, concepts, and ideas that continue to shape what media and communication are today.
I was struck by her slide on the Buddha, and have been doing some research on Buddhism and it's origins and teachings. The basic principles of living a honest life, being truthful, doing our best at all times, and treating others with respect are qualities that we should all strive toward, and can still be applied to the world today, especially the media and journalism realms.
I was also fascinated with video art- can't wait to check out the links that Heather provided! Thanks Heather!

DISCUSSION 2-MEDIA & HEALTH posted 2/16

I found the Mills and Mattern readings to be very helpful in terms of organizing my ideas and thoughts for my autobiography paper. For a while, I was feeling very frustrated, not knowing where to begin or how to narrow the focus of my thoughts to a meaningful topic worth researching.

I’m in the habit of making lists, and scribbling down thoughtful notes when new ideas hit me, so I was happy to see that I was taking a step in the right direction, according to both Mills and Mattern. Mills’ suggestion of keeping a journal in order to encourage intellectual growth really appeals to me. It makes a lot of sense for me because thoughts tend to get jumbled inside my head and then they sort of scatter if I don’t make the effort to catch them at the right time. I think keeping a small portable journal would be a good idea for me- this way, I can capture feelings, experiences, and ideas while they are fresh in my mind.

I also highlighted Mills’ paragraph on the three questions that we should consider when putting together our research paper- 1. How difficult and complex after all is my subject? 2. When I write, what status am I claiming for myself? 3. For whom am I trying to write?
Too often, we forget who our audience is, and our argument or ideas fall on deaf ears. We need to think about who we are trying to convince and understand where they’re coming from before we can formulate our own arguments.

As for my research paper, I’d like to concentrate on the effects of Media on the emotional development and the health of teen girls. I feel that in our society, the media has flooded our minds with unhealthy and unattainable images of beauty, with shows like The Girls Next Door and Gossip Girl. Teens are at an age where they are most vulnerable and eager to be accepted. While I was a student at Rutgers, I worked with many teens with self-esteem problems and eating disorders. They believed that molding themselves to fit our society’s idea of beauty was their only ticket to popularity, acceptance and success in life.

I’d like to find possible solutions to these problems, such as ways to promote more real, healthy and intelligent women as role models in the Media, build a higher number of appealing health advocacy campaigns and programs (similar to the Milk campaigns and controversial anti-smoking ads) on TV and in schools. With a background in Communication and Nutritional Sciences, I’ve always been interested in health advocacy and believe this is where my passion lies. I was lucky to have studied with some brilliant and passionate professors who inspired me to follow my interests and to pursue a Master’s degree.

That’s it for now…more to come…



OPERA-posted wed 2/24

Hi everyone! Hope you're all warm and dry on this crappy day.
My boyfriend and I went to the Opera for the first time last week and saw Ariadne auf Naxos. It was an extremely eye-opening experience for me- I had always imagined the Opera to be slow and boring, without being able to understand any of the lyrics or plot. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there's a small screen in the front of each seat, where you can choose subtitles in either English or German, since the Opera was sung in German.
The Opera was neither dry or slow- it was humorous, raunchy, and passionate. Audriadne was composed of two parts- the Prologue and the Opera. It's a play within a play, in which the prologue shows two very different theatre groups (a burlesque troupe, and the other an Opera company) backstage in the house of "the richest man in Vienna", getting ready to perform. The two groups are stunned to find out that the master of the house wants them to put on a performance at the same time, and then the Opera begins.
As you can imagine, there were a lot of funny moments, since the Opera group was putting on a very serious and melancholy play about Adriadne being left on an island and abandoned by her lover, while the burlesque group was trying to cheer her up with clown like dances and songs.
I have to admit that I enjoyed the show very much-all three hours of it. The costumes were beautiful and the singing was something out of a dream. I am a big fan of broadway and never thought I would like Opera, but I'm definitely happy to be wrong in this case. I would highly recommend it to all!
Here's the link if anyone's interested:
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/production.aspx?id=10440