Possible Topic Ideas

thinking about questions i may have regarding media i came up with a few ideas i was curious to explore...

1) what criteria does "news" have to meet to be shown to the public, and why bigger, controversial stories don't get the same light as crime and violence. 

2) minorities on Tv, more specifically roles played by minorities. 

3) gender roles in movies, when powerful, strong women were portrayed in movies.

there are so many more i want to investigate but these are the three i picked specifically.

Movies!

My favorite movie of 2014 is by far, Boyhood. I was attracted to the film when i found out it took 12 years to film with the same cast. It was incredibly shot, you really feel as if you watch the family grow up. It has to go in the top 5 of my favorite movies of all time because of the creativity in filming and how relatable the movie is to me. The acting is great as well. I saw it in theaters and was disappointed when the movie ended, not wanting it to end. two thumbs up
My favorite movie of all time would have to be Forrest Gump. It was hard to choose, there are so many great movies but this one hit all my senses. The film speaks for itself.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/boyhood/

American Turtle Neck Magazine Proposal

Let me be first to introduce you to 'American Turtle Necks'! You've been waiting for it and we delivered. The magazine we created differs from any other in many ways. There are plenty of fashion magazines but the idea of expanding on clearly the most popular form of torso-wear excited us! Everybody will love 'American Turtle Necks' but our demographic is the youth. We know how a high percentage of turtle neck sales are to college kids so we want to milk that thriving market for what it's worth. In a majority of studies taken at college universities, women admitted finding turtle necks more attractive than tank tops. Of course we will have to compete with the other big mens fashion magazines like GQ but as we mentioned before... We have turtle necks. We are renaming the phrase "sex sells" to "turtle necks sell". We have a handful of advertisers including: Pete's Coffee, Staples, Trojan, The San Francisco Giants and Build-A-Bear. The real gold of 'American Turtle Necks' is once you open this gem and begin to read through the articles and interactive pages full of turtle neck crossword puzzles, turtle neck mazes and of course the turtle neck word search! a few of the articles are as follows:

Article One: Celebrities Wearing Turtle Necks

As mentioned above, the impact turtle necks have on society are massive. Pop culture and celebrities have paved the way for the younger generation of turtle neck wearing citizens. Photos and interviews with celebrities who wear turtle necks. The list is extensive and reaches from Justin Timberlake, Steve Jobs and all the way back to Marky Mark from the Funky Bunch. 

Article Two: Turtle Necks of the Season

As any fashion magazine will tell you, there is right and wrong times to wear certain fabrics and colors and this is an easy guide for new turtle neck owners and seasoned turtle neckers. Our turtle neck insider Fuzzy Hugtight writes an inspirational encounter with his first turtle neck and passes it to our intern Suzy Wrapdup who explains this seasons turtle do's and turtle don'ts!

Article Three: The 29th Annual Turtle Neck Convention

Our staff and writers all travel to Littleton, Colorado for the highly anticipated turtle neck convention. with pictures, interviews and results from the 'comfiest turtle neck' competition. Also Surprise appearance from the turtle neck activist himself James Franco.

Article Four: The President Weighs In On Turtle Neck Tax

As i'm sure you're aware of, the united states TNT (turtle neck tax) in under review and could possibly inflate up to 24%. Being a nationwide issue the public has forced the president to weigh in on his stance and give the people an answer, and who got the first interview? that's right, our lead reporter Constantine Itching got in there with the only one on one interview with the president and his important decision facing the TNT discussion.

Article Five: The Countown until the National Turtle Neck Day Parade

As a sponsor of the event, we provide full coverage of the parade that happens every year with crowds growing to over 300,000 people and an expected 325,000 this year. The 3 day event is the mecca of the Turtle Neck world where everybody from around the globe comes to show support to the turtle neck community!

Great idea, i know!

Books

It was hard for me to choose only three books to talk about after some thought i decided the most influential/controversial books i've read to this day would have to be "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle, "12 Years A Slave" by Solomon Northup and "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" by John Cleland. I'll expand a little further into why i chose these three but i have to give honorable mention to a couple of my favorite funny books that aren't very influential or controversial but still some of my favorites. "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby is insanely funny, as is "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. "Life of Pi" is a really, really good book too (better than the movie, which was good too). If you're looking for a good read i highly suggest any of the above!

"The Power of Now" - Eckhart Tolle
"The Power of Now" is a guide to spiritual enlightenment that teaches lessons of appreciating the now! The content is a little heavy and might take another pass to really let the book sink in but after reading this book my life was changed. It taught me to appreciate life and not to take things for granted. You'll regret more of what you DON'T do than things that you DO. Take chances, live for today, speak your mind, give off good energy because tomorrow isn't promised. This would be classed as 'influential' more than controversial but regardless it's an extremely inspiring read.

"12 Years A Slave" - Solomon Northup
"12 Years A Slave", similar to "The Power of Now",  is an  extremely heavy read. I'm sure a majority of you have seen the movie and felt first hand the emotional toll that movie took. Imagine weeks of reading through it using only your imagination? I was nervous to turn the page fearing what the next page had in store but on the same note was infatuated with the book and couldn't put it down. The story of a free man sold into slavery for 12 years is imaginably life changing. The will, fight, influence the main character had was inspirational. The book is a memoir/slave narrative by Solomon Northup. (True Story)

"Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" by John Cleland
This last book is going to easily categorize itself in the VERY controversial section of this blog post. The book is also known as "Fanny Hill" but either way it's been one of the most prosecuted/banned books of all time. It's one of the first English book to use pornography in the form of a novel. It's an extremely erotic book. It was published in 1748 so you can imagine the language/vocabulary that was used in the book. I was excited to get my hands on such a controversial book but i wasn't necessarily impressed. The book isn't great, but for the time it was published and the amount of attention it received (negative attention) i would have to say it's by far the most controversial book i've ever read.

Media Autobiography

Before we start, I think a proper introduction is in order. My name is Shane McCambridge and i'm a psychology major. Mass media plays such a major role in the sculpting of society i was intrigued to get a little deeper look. As most kids my age, growing up i was bored by any sort of news coverage but loved reading magazines and listening to music on the radio. I used media mostly as a form of entertainment rather than for information or news. I've always had a pipe dream of being a news anchor, but more with a Ron Burgundy twist. I'm not very confident the news station would enjoy that as much as i would but hey, let a man dream. Of all eight types of mass media, reading books will probably consume the biggest piece on the pie chart although I do spend a good amount of time on the internet and listening to music. I also do go to the movies religiously and am a self proclaimed movie critic. I have a few issues with mass media in terms of how it's used but can admit it is probably the fastest, most affective way to get a message out to a large, diverse group of people. I think the advertisement industry is a moral mess and the particular ads being directed towards children rubs me the wrong way. I want you to go home and watch the news and comment on this post if you heard something positive or uplifting. I don't believe i'll get many comments but i'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Thank you for reading and i'm looking forward to a fun quarter with you all.