Author Archives: Jasmine

About Jasmine

I am pursuing a duel degree in English and Communication at The University of Massachusetts Amherst. I have a passion for creative expression including all art forms; reading writing, dance and media.

True Friends Let You Use their Netflix Account

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With the internet’s explosive use of media outlets like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, watching shows on the web has become more and more popular seemingly leaving television in the dust. It seems like TV is quickly becoming a thing of the past creating space for the come up of more web series. Along with the rapid progression of web series, it is becoming easier for users to get hooked due to the easy access the internet provides.  I am usually the type of person who has 2 to 3 shows I watch on television, during the summer you can often find me glued to the couch watching them during their air premier time because I usually have more time on my hands.htyt      When I go back to school I often miss a season due to the lack of availability I have with television. This past semester I found out one of my friends has a Hulu Plus account he never uses.  Being the good friend I am, I offered to watch the missing seasons of my favorite show, not even needing to turn on my TV in my dorm room.  I also have a friend who graciously pays for her Netflix account while letting me and a few others mooch off of her.  Thanks to my great friends, I really have no need to sit and watch television, because I can watch my favorite shows on my computer screen for free.  It is interesting to see the shift from television to web in my life because of its convenience and low cost.

When thinking about web series I did not really know much about them, let alone watch any.  Class time was probably one of the first times I sat down and saw a web series displayed, and I have to admit they were pretty entertaining. I found myself laughing at the jokes, and the production and format of the web series were so approachable, and the dialogue not overdone. The people on screen could have been my friends. I started to get a sense as to why they are becoming so popular; another thing brought up in class and readings was the emergence of black themed webisodes. This was allowing a meeting space for the black community to engage in topics and jokes, while also giving black actors to chance to display their talent and add diversity to this online world.  I appreciated this because I was able to see people more close to what I deal with in life, and it is always refreshing to feel like you can connect to what you’re watching, which is what I think we aim for when we watch programs.  I will definitely be looking out for webisodes and thanks to my friends, the access I have to online programming is expanding.

 

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All Good Things Must End

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Untitled     Over the course of this semester we learned a lot about media and how it impacts us. New media is especially important within our generation, because we are so connected to it in our daily lives. The way we socialize with each other, share and receive information is so fast pace.  It is constantly changing, so it becomes important to step back and look at the factors at play and also look at who, and what, is behind all the media we engage in daily.  We have discussed memes, a popular component of social media and Mashups videos complied together to make fun of, or recreate shows or ideas and the meaning behind them. We have spoken about Google, and the many privacy issues involved. We use Google drive and when placing information like addresses or phone numbers there is an automatic component. We have spoken about Facebook’s presence of taking our information and selling us to advertisers, as well as Youtube’s impact and how one can make money for views. Amazon has also been a big topic of conversation considering their deal with Umass students and text books, and what role that will play in our lives, the students. Platforms and how the big 4 uses them to connect to people was covered, as well as neoliberalism and its power lying in corporations vs. the people.  Web series were discussed and the role of television becoming less prominent.

Out of all the topics covered I was the most connected to video game representation as far as gender and race went, due to my involvement in the video game group. I went from knowing nothing about the video game world, to acknowledging that it is made up of all kinds of people who come together to engage in something they love.  The world knows of a stereotype surrounding people who play video games, but that is only a portion of people who are gamers. Anyone can be a gamer, and it was important to realize that different people deserve their versions of representations in the games they spend money on to play.  It was also interesting to learn about independent game developers and how they essentially hold the future within diverse games. They hold the key to change, and those are the people we need to look for to invest in, as far as buying games. I never realized video games could be a part of new media, especially because I knew nothing about games, and also when compared to Facebook and Amazon. I am glad I was a part of this particular group because, it was one of the topics I was so lost in and I gained a lot from researching and hearing interviews from gaming professionals.

 

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Memes on Memes on Memes

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Thinking about the word Meme and how a few years ago this word meant nothing to me is interesting. I can’t go on social media now, and go a day without seeing a meme and knowing what it means within a social setting. Whenever there is an award show on television, something happened in the media, or someone is caught making a crazy face, you can guarantee that someone somewhere will have made a meme about it. They are everywhere and people have seemed to take memes, and give them a mind of their own. Making memes yourself is even easier than ever with meme generators. Around the time Wolfe of Wall Street came out, there was a meme going around with Leonardo DiCaprio’s face and I myself joined in on the meme epidemic and with a generator created this meme.Displaying FullSizeRender.jpg   If I were to post it up now, it would have no relevance and people would probably wonder why I’m posting about an “old movie”. The thing about memes is they seem to have expiration dates. Whatever memes are popular in the moment, can also tell you what is popular within culture in the moment.  They are time shots of what is happening as it is happening, and if you wait too long to make a meme about a moment, it may miss you, and god forbid leave you out of the loop.  Just two nights ago the Met Gala was happening, and when Rihanna wore a statement piece the internet went wild and with it came a stream of memes.

It is interesting to see that Memes and social media have created a perfect bond between what is, and is not relevant and popular in culture. They have become another component of entertainment within social media itself, and I do not see memes going away anytime soon. It is a way for people to connect their sense of humor with intelligence, and create something that can go viral and get hundreds of retweets and views. I love memes when they are relevant to what I’m interested in pop culture and I often find myself laughing and sending them to my friends. It’s another way for people to share their interests, and it has definitely been successful.

 

Missing Gamer Girls

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Thinking about representations across video games, not much came to mind. I don’t really play video games and on the rare occasion that I do, I like to stick to racing games where I embarrassingly enough don’t know what buttons on the control do, and spend most of the time spinning out of control in the wrong direction ( no judgement). What I do remember from my younger years as kid watching all the boys hog the TV, was the fact that they never wanted to let the girls play. It would take a lot of begging for a turn and when they did let us play, it would be one round only and then back to the boys, because “they knew what they were doing”. Thinking back on those moments I realized that the idea of a “boys only” world within video games is something that is programmed into our minds from a young age. Early on gender associations are assigned and video games become something off limits for girls, and on the occasion that they do play well it is never better than the boys.

As the demographic of players get older, and females who stuck to playing despite the already biased idea of a boys only zone try to find female characters that do not embody a stereotypical weak representation, it becomes something hard to come across compared to male characters. Going through the articles it was interesting to read that in the Williams piece the most common portrayal for females and characters was the complete absence of females within games, and when represented they are often oversexualized and victimized. This idea of the absence of female characters resonated as well with the claim made that the absence of images in media, creates certain impressions on readers. If they do not see themselves represented they begin to reflect those same ideas within society.  If females or minorities for that fact do not see themselves in the very games they play, then the idea of becoming game creators or engaging in math and computer skills to get there becomes a far fetched impossible concept. This further aids in continuing the lack of diversity in games because those who represent the very concept daily in the world, are rendered invisible by the gaming community.

 

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Amazing Amazon

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gb5_ATURCM

 

When thinking about Amazon, I have always seen it as a shopping tool to get what I want from the internet straight to my home. When I first discovered it I was in heaven, I was able to find the products that I wanted and compare the same product across different sellers. I would pour over reviews making sure what I was purchasing was legit, and after receiving the product I would often leave a review myself returning the favor. With the Amazon Prime free trial for students, I was hooked even more, I was able to order something and have it in my hands two days later making it that much more convenient for me.

After reading some of the articles and engaging in the class discussions, I’ve come to realize that there’s a lot more to Amazon than just a website I like to buy products from. Amazon is platform that connects people through its use of selling products. It connects me as a customer to the buyer, they have something I want (product) and I have something they want, (money). Amazon also has the ability through their platform to create connectedness across many aspects of consumerism. It includes a variety of people from advertisers, to the users themselves, to the clients, and creates partnerships through its use of platform.

 

 

Along with being a platform and creating partnerships, it has recently hit more close to home with Amazon’s partnership with Umass and textbooks. This partnership will begin to change the way students access their textbooks and will determine if this will be a change for the better. It brings up questions like will the books be cheaper? If so by how much?  How can we be certain they will be? And who is really benefiting from this exchange to begin with? Overall, Amazon has proven to be more than just a shopping website. It is a huge company that through its platform has the ability to bring people together and affect others. It also reinforces the idea that although it does a lot for its buyers, it is essentially nothing without us; the customers and users.

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YouTube Playlist

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While trying to compile a playlist for this assignment, I sat for a while and tried to think of the last time I went on YouTube to watch something. I recently remembered looking up an album by one of my favorite rap artists, and I remember looking up choreography inspiration for a dance I am creating. These searches while over a month ago, was the last time I remember being on YouTube for a substantial amount of time. Anything beyond that was old searches and videos that I used to watch over a year ago. By trying to compose a playlist, I came to the realization that I do not actually use YouTube as much as I thought I did. Whenever YouTube comes to mind I think about this area of internet space where every video imaginable can possibly be found and I often take for granted this accessibility. I am not sure if getting older has made me less inclined to use it, but when it was first a “thing” I would look at hair tutorials, use it for karaoke sessions, and most importantly to me apparent in my playlist, my love for dance and how I would use it for inspiration. Class discussions  has also opened up a new world of YouTube to me where webisodes exist and viral videos live, something I never thought about before. Perhaps I will try to browse YouTube more and explore some of the options it has to offer.  Below on my playlist is some of the videos I spoke about, J Cole’s album which I recently listened to over winter break while cleaning my room, doing chores etc. While I do not use it often, Youtube is where I can access albums for free and listen to them easily. I have also used it to look up diy. There is a makeup tutorial, how to install a broken coat zipper, and as I mentioned a whole lot of dance videos which used to be my main use for the site.