Looks like this is the end of the line, an end of an entire semester’s worth of media criticism. And also the end of an entire college career in my case. But before I plunge into the scary world of real life, it’s time for one more blog post to wrap up the semester! So you might be wondering what I could possibly talk about to tie things off. Well, we’re going to be ending by commenting on other people’s work with critiques and general thoughts on what they wrote.
Sounds like a daunting thing, right? It’s every freshman’s nightmare in a writing workshop, where they don’t know what else to say but ‘fantastic‘ so they don’t hurt someone’s feelings. But writing comments and critiques – and also receiving them yourself – is one of the best ways to help out with writing! If my first blog post made absolutely no sense in discussing media criticism, then how else would I know unless someone told me? So, join me in reading the comments I made on several of my classmate’s work! Links are provided at the beginning of the comment, so you can look at their work as well!
As I’ve learned in my previous mass communications classes, South Park is definitely one of the best shows to analyse for media criticism since it’s just fun! I was happy to see that you picked that show to apply Semiotics to.
I think you did a fantastic job explaining just what media criticism is and why people should care about it. I laughed at the GIF you put at the bottom of your post, which gives me the idea of putting GIFs into my future blog posts.
However, I do think that you should have introduced South Park into the discussion earlier in your blog post, and maybe used it as an outlet to show how media criticism is worth while. Is South Park just funny satire of society, or is it giving us messages regardless? How would South Park become different when you think about it in a critical lens? How would you apply the definition of media criticism to South Park?
I also believe you could say more about Semiotics towards South Park. A lot of what you said is about how someone would apply Semiotics to South Park rather than showing us how you can put Semiotics into South Park. Go into depth into the Semiotic approach to South Park, delve into a rough analysis while reminding the reader that they could read it in a completely different way and still have a valid interpretation!
Otherwise, it was a great read! Keep up the good work!
Honestly, your blog was awesome, covering all the bases on media criticism, semiotics, and structuralism! While I personally had never watched Orange is the New Black before, I felt like I had a basic understanding of the show. Or at least enough to understand what sort of direction you were taking with your analysis through semiotics.
One thing I would have liked to see more of is how a counter-argument could be developed, like if someone didn’t agree with your reading of Orange is the New Black, then how could they use the same tools to find their own reading. Be a guide for those who could potentially disagree and be open to it all.
A complaint I had about your article was that the video to the trailer was at the bottom of the blog. It could have been easily inserted into the middle of the blog, and I felt like I was disrupted during my reading since I had to scroll all the way down to watch the video. Since you were using the trailer for your analysis, you should include it inside the blog post because even watchers of the show may need a reference point to where you’re taking the interpretations from.
But otherwise, awesome job!
Awesome job in explaining what media criticism is and how people can use it in their regular life! I think you really honed in how people use it to oppose the hegemonic forces that the media enforces on the consume, which was a direction that I hadn’t seen in a lot of other blogs I looked at. Definitely taking this more revolutionary attitude is really cool and can get people to pay attention!
One critique I do have is that you should have introduced semiotics as your primary media device a little earlier! That way your audience would know what to concentrate on when you’re describing all the ways that you can analyse a text!
I thought it was really interesting to see your perspective of the piece of media that you were critiquing! It is definitely interesting to see a perspective that isn’t American who is looking into what we consume as a culture! I think you did a good job of explaining it from your point of view as well!
One thing you could have included is to describe how someone could do it for themselves. Maybe describe how certain women look and then pose a few different way in which someone could interpret them? Or show how they could develop their counter-argument by describing how you came to the conclusions about the ad!
Awesome job!
By looking at my classmate’s blogs, I also discovered how I could find flaws in my own work. Basically, when you look for flaws in someone else’s work and helping them by providing constructive criticism, you can discover how to find the same things in your own work and improve for yourself. And also, since this is for a mass communications class, commenting helps you with developing communication skills to peers. Nobody likes it when someone just says it’s good without any constructive feedback, right?
And thus ends my journey through media criticism. I hope you enjoyed my blog posts as I enjoyed creating them for you enjoyment! Taylor McQueeney, signing off!
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