The Mass Media

Mass media have pervaded into all aspects of our lives, namely the Internet, magazines, television, the press and radio.

How many of us can actually survive a day without either of those mentioned above?
It is our source of information. The fastest and usually, the most accurate.
Of the many functions of the media, one, is to inform.

In fact, I think the mass media powers the fashion industry. Think of the high-end fashion retailers that advertise in magazines. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Dior.. You name it, you have it. They set the trend for the season. And the fashion programs we have on television today.

Also, the coverage that fashion shows like New York Fashion Week garner in various international magazines.
It is through the media, that the works of designers such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenburg, Vera Wang, get admired and recognized by the public.



Now, where do you usually get the latest fashion report from? Is what you are donning today, of the latest trend?
For consumers who cannot afford luxury clothes, the advertisements provide inspiration for them, the way that they should dress for a particular season. Celebrities play a big role too. Due to their exposure, celebrities can easily create good publicity for fashion designers, as well as start a new fashion trend. Something that is not in style can easily become the next ‘it’ thing to have, once spotted on a popular celebrity.

Just because a celebrity has worn something before, people think that they will be able to look as good as the celebrity if they wear the same thing. Not all the time. Some celebrities have moments when they look like a walking fashion disaster. That’s when they are subjected to scrutiny by the press as well.

All these cannot be done without the mass media. Look at its importance in influencing the latest fashion trend.

Ever-changing.

Culture, they say, is passed down the generations.  In addition, culture is learned.

It encompasses human beliefs, ideas, taboos, customs and other related components.

In that case, Singapore has progressed a long way from death houses in the past to cemeteries and crematoriums now.  A death house consisted of a living space on the first level, with a funeral parlour below. In the past, aged and sick Chinese people were left at death houses in Sago Lane.  Left there to wait for their time to be up, along with others who were dying too. The duration of the “stay” there varied with the severity of one’s condition.

Slowly, while it was recognized that some cemeteries had to be kept open for burials, cremation was still encouraged by the state.  Singapore has two cemeteries that represent the largest burial area reserved for the Muslim community. This shows that the different customs among the races that reside in Singapore are respected.

The culture of how we deal with death, is partially shaped by the social climate that we are in, and our land constraints. As such, I feel that we have adapted our culture according to the environment we are in. Therefore, specific to us.

I know talking about death here is a pretty morbid thing, but then again, that is because Singaporeans do not actually have the habit of talking about it openly.  It is surprising actually to find that there has been an increase in the number of Singaporeans pre-booking their niches, choosing the spot they want to be placed at.

Seems like our culture is slowly evolving with the times and changing mindsets.

Thank goodness death houses are no longer around. 

Can You Hear Me?

Two weeks ago, our lecturer touched on interpersonal and group communication, which I found rather interesting. What was mentioned during these two lectures brought to mind the importance of the role of communication in relationships, and the way to build healthy, stronger relationships with others. Also, not forgetting how everyone is unique, and therefore we all have different firsthand communication experiences.

Like what is mentioned in the textbook,
‘Just as relationships are an integral part of our everyday communication experiences. Communication is an essential part of the relationships we have with others.’

For healthy beings like us, we talk, laugh and joke all the time. It’s so much a part of our lives already, that we rarely stop and think of the different ways in which we express ourselves. Getting our feelings or thoughts known to people, probably wouldn’t and shouldn’t pose much of a problem.
Then I suddenly thought of autistic children.

Based on recent research by the Autism Resource Centre (Singapore), 5,472 out of our population of 4 million are children under the age of 19 years, diagnosed with autism.

How do they get their thoughts across to others?
In a world of their own, these autistic children usually keep to themselves.
Aint they robbed of the opportunity then, to communicate effectively with the people around them because of their developmental disability? Depending on the severity of their autism, they are unable to show their feelings through facial expressions, eye-to-eye contact, and to feel for others. As though losing the ability to put their thoughts into words isn’t enough.
Moreover, they are unable to use regulators and adaptors to make their emotions known.

Seeking to be understood by others would be a challenge for them, much less establishing friendships with other children of the same age.
Now, if interpersonal communication is already an issue for them, how would these autistic children take part in group discussions?
Interaction would be hindered by their weakness in expressing themselves.

Well.. at least they wouldn’t be subjected to any of the groupthink symptoms because they are not dependent on each other.

The Art of Communication

How many of us actually like Precious Moments Figurines? Are you drawn to these figurines, which are characterized by the famous teardrop eyes?

As I was reading through 30 Stories in 30 days emails by Precious Moments, I was amazed by how Precious Moments Figurines have brought so much joy and touched the lives of so many people in different countries.
Just these brightly coloured sculptured clay models, coupled with inspirational titles printed at the bottom of them. What struck me most was the sheer ability of these figurines to send out messages of comfort, friendship, kinship, peace, love and hope. Some people use the figurines to mark certain milestones in their lives, and therefore are significant to them. Others collect these figurines because they provide an outlet of expression; when people can’t find the right words to express their feelings and they are able to relate to the inspirational titles on the figurines.
The figurines serve as a non-verbal tool of communication.

Take a look at this: Precious Moments' 30 Stories in 30 Days: Day 12

My mom has been collecting Precious Moments figurines since one of her sisters worked for Enesco in Illinois. When I was much younger, I remember my mom collecting all of the pieces for the nativity scene. As the years went on, my brothers, Brian and Daniel, and I would buy PMs for our mom while she expanded her collection.

I gave my mom the figurine "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" because I have always drawn pictures and I am now an art teacher. Brian had a piggy bank full of his savings very similar to the one in the figurine "You Can’t Take It With You." "To My Better Half" reminds my mom of my brother Daniel because when he was little he would twist his Oreo cookies apart. My mom’s favorite, which represents all three of her kids, is "You Have Such A Special Way Of Caring Each And Every Day" because there is a blonde girl, a toddler boy with brown hair, and tiny baby, which perfectly represents our looks and age order. My mom told me the figurine looked like the three of us when we were little and so protective of each other.

One of my mother’s most significant PMs was obtained Mother’s Day 2005. The figurine is called "Lord I’m Coming Home" of a little boy baseball player running with all his might because he had successfully hit a baseball. Brian passed away January 13, 2005 in a tragic accident while moving from Salt Lake City, Utah to Denver, Colorado for graduate school.

Brian was a huge baseball fan and once I saw this figurine, I knew I had to add it to my mom’s collection. I gave my mom "Lord I’m Coming Home" only four months after Brian passed. When she opened the box and saw the figurine and the significance of the saying, I told her, “Brian wanted me to give this to you.” We both cried and when we finally stopped sobbing we felt at peace. My mom and I love how uplifting the figurine appears, as the young baseball player is running as hard as he can to obtain the goal of going on to heaven.

Once I started receiving the PM catalogue, I knew I had one more figurine to get in relation to Brian’s passing. On the one-year anniversary of his death, I gave to my mom "Until We Meet Again," a figurine of a girl and a boy, which we interpret as a mother and son, in sorrow saying goodbye. In between them lies a flat head stone with the word beloved and a cross. It is so hard losing anyone, but for my mom to lose a child has been extremely painful. Precious Moments figurines perfectly represent the real feelings and memories important to my family. Thank you.
by Renee MilneTooele, UT

Food For The Soul

People have different tastes in music. Some like classical, pop, rock. Others love jazz, R&B and dance. Sure, music transcends all language barriers and sometimes, act as an inspiration because we all interpret the music we hear in our own way.
For me, the first thing that attracts me to a new song would be the melody. The next thing that I look out for then, are the lyrics.
Why, you might ask.

This video above features 14 various female artists who performed the song ‘Just Stand Up’ live, on Fashion Rocks 2008. This song was created specially in support of Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C), a fund-raising foundation to further cancer research.
The first time I heard this song, it gave me goosebumps.
This is not just another ordinary pop song that talks about love. It is one that rallies artists to sing and gives courage to victims of cancer. The lyrics in the song speak straight to the heart.
The lyrics are communicative, cause they tell those stricken with cancer to keep fighting the battle and not succumb to it. We’ll never understand the pain and struggles that they have to go through.. emotionally and physically.
Through this song, we tell them that they are not alone in the fight against cancer. They need to find strength from within to carry on.

“If the mind keeps thinking you've had enough

But the heart keeps telling you don't give up

Who are we to be questioning, wondering what is what

Don't give up

Through it all, Just Stand Up.”

Moreover, the star-studded cast helps SU2C to garner attention from the public. With greater awareness, more people can band together to further promote this cause to treat cancer.

I have always thought that music holds the key to memories, and emotions. How true.
Music moves.

Hey, beautiful!

Nowadays, with advertisements like that, we think of the models featured in them as the “ideal” image of how women should be like.

Are you someone who is like that? Now think again.

The reason why, is because we perceive women who look beautiful, slim, have flawless skin, to be the most successful in life. This distorted perception comes mostly from the media. From magazine covers to dramas, many people tend to believe that celebrities have perfect bodies and lead glamorous lives. To live up to this expectation, some people take drastic measures to lose weight, which maybe detrimental to their health. The pursuit to attain this "ideal" image is endless.
Yet, we all know that whatever we see in magazines is not an accurate portrayal of how majority of women look like. A standard, that is almost impossible to attain.

“Better Skin. Better Style. Better Shape. For a Better Me.”
And not forgetting their Mission: To help people of the world develop a stronger sense of self-image and confidence.

Clearly, this advertisement tells us that being who you are simply isn’t enough. You need to have clearer skin, a more defined figure, in order to step out into the world today. Simply because someone else looks good, you need to look good as well.
But why can’t we be comfortable just who we are? Is it really necessary to lose those few pounds so that you can fit into that skirt? Or to lose sleep because there are one or two pimples on your face?

There needs to be a change in current definitions of feminity. We do not measure one’s self-worth by the way one looks like. In this case, education would play a very big role in alleviating the emphasis placed on the “ideal” figure. With the amount of advertisements one is inundated with everyday, education can change the way one perceives the messages of these advertisements.

We do not have to be passive consumers of these slimming advertisements which tell us that it is wrong being ourselves. Instead, we can write in to newspaper columns, call in to radio stations, to stand up and speak up against this “ideal” image. First, by learning to love ourselves for who we are, then can we understand what it means like to love others.

Get that Book!

In our well-connected world today, it is possible to keep in touch with and communicate with people from all over the world with much ease. Mention online communication tools, and one would immediately think of MSN Messenger and Skype.
Online networking sites, such as Friendster and especially Myspace and Facebook, enjoy worldwide popularity. According to estimates, more than 530 million people are using social networks worldwide. Many have already hopped onto the bandwagon of getting a Facebook account. It is not hard to understand why.

So by now, many should have heard of Facebook. If you haven’t, then you are missing out on a chance to reconnect with your long-lost friends or old school mates. Or even an opportunity to maintain your connections with your clients and customers. And possibly, as a campaigning tool too.

Not to be left behind, some companies have turned to Facebook to market their product, which appeals to vast majority of the Y generation. One example would be Victoria’s Secret. Through advertisements and forums, Victoria’s Secret can promote their products and widen their customer base. These advertisements, can then work on the emotional aspect of wealthy ladies, also known as pathos.

Facebook can be used for multiple purposes. It is at the basis, an interactive model of communication, where one can leave a message on another person’s wall in virtual space. It is also a two-way process, because the receiver can then reply through the same means, resulting in a series of messages.

Not only that, one can also explore their friends’ profiles, look through their photo albums and comment on them. It is therefore easy to find a like-minded friend sharing similar tastes in music and hobbies. In this way, Facebook helps to converge lives.

Moreover, on Facebook, you get to set your own privacy settings and decide how much you want to share with friends. There is a status feature that allows you to announce to your circle of friends, your current activity or feeling. And in doing so, it acts as a platform for self-expression.

Yes, but how long more can the Facebook frenzy remain before the fad runs out?
As such, it can be considered a very useful tool of communication, only if used properly.