A Snippet of My Media Blog: The Choice of Language in Gay Marriage

     As I was browsing the Interwebs for a current topic to discuss,  I came across the websites of several news outlets that all had at least an article on the topic of the gay marriage decision in the Supreme Court.

     Different news sources, like the Washington Post or the New York Times, have articles about this. The first thing I noticed about these articles was the diction used. First, there's the use of the phrases "same-sex marriage" and "gay marriage". Since when did we become so sensitive that we had to create a euphemism for gay marriage? "Gay marriage" is great. It's simple and direct. It tells us what we need to know. However, our society has become so weak and sensitive that us humans don't want to face the truths of reality. Nowadays, "gay" holds a negative connotation for many of us. Its associations aren't positive. Many people view "gay" as an insult, and on the other hand, "same-sex" has more of a neutral connotation. This term doesn't hold weight to it even though both terms refer to the same thing. New York Times also uses "marriage equality" in one of its articles. "Marriage equality" is another euphemism for "gay marriage". This just shows that as we add more syllables to something, we are more comfortable using it. This is the power of language.

      Washington Post uses a particular phrase in one of its articles: "Public attitudes...have undergone a remarkable change..." This is an example of what Orwell considers to be  a "verbal false limb". The phrase mentioned above is inflated to seem more important than it actually is. It would be just as meaningful to say that the public attitudes have changed. The sentence was padded with extra words and syllables, even though a simple verb would have managed to deliver the meaning across to us. WP also uses the sentence "The acceptance is driven by higher margins among the young". Why does it have to be this complicated? Passive voice was also used in this sentence instead of active voice, which Orwell mentions as something that we prefer doing but should avoid doing. The authors of the article could have just written something as simple as "Many young people voted in favor of gay marriage".
   
   The meanings of different phrases have been done away with, and it's completely sterile now. The reality that we can't seem to face is buried under extra words that don't mean anything. We add these extra syllables because we can't face the harsh reality that we live in. We need simple and direct language.

A Choice Snippet of My Media Blog: The King of Ratings

   

     Ever since the beginning of my class discussion on the topic of advertisement, I've been wanting to write this post.  "The King of Ratings" was the first thing that I thought of when my teacher mentioned product placements in media.

What is "The King of Ratings", you ask?

     It's a gag segment from KBS World TV's Korean sketch-comedy show, Gag Concert, which is one of the oldest running comedy shows in South Korea. "The King of Ratings" is just but one of its popular skits. This skit is a parody of the satirical dramedy (combination of drama and comedy) The King of Dramas, which is about what goes on behind the scenes in the making of TV dramas. 

     "The King of Ratings" takes and exaggerates common methods used in the media to help gain popularity and help with advertising of, for example, a product. The comedians in this skit take things like typical soap-opera plot lines, idols actors, PPLs (product placements), and other cliches that, no matter how obvious and ridiculous they are, still bring in high viewer ratings.

     In this particular episode of Gag Concert, "The King of Ratings" starts off as it normally does, with Director Park, played by Park Seonggwang, scolding one of his directors for bringing in low viewer ratings. Park names himself the "King of Ratings", and his main goal is to bring in the highest viewer ratings as possible no matter how they do it, even insisting on the awkward insertion of a PPL. This time, the setting is in a hospital, with the drama named "White Tower", which is similar to another real Korean drama, Behind the White Tower. (In each episode, this skit takes a drama name and puts a spin on it, which makes it more relatable to those who recognize the original, and as a result, more likely to continue watching this skit.) A patient comes in, who is diagnosed with a cold by the doctor. As the comedians act out "White Tower", Producer Park continuously complains about the viewer ratings. As the scene progresses, Park puts a twist on it, turning the patient's cold into something that will only allow him to live for three months.
 
     These kinds of plot twists are so common in dramas nowadays in order to, for example, instigate conflict between certain characters or to extend a show that really should just be ended. Producers also may insert a scene where it acts as a catalyst for the protagonist to get what he/she wants. There's the typical "love interest gets hit by a car", for example. In this, the love interest is close to death, perhaps in a coma, which makes the other main character finally realize his/her true feelings. Or, there's the typical "main character gets amnesia" arc. The amnesia arc is very cliche in Korean dramas, and many people like to poke fun at it. It is put in to help move the plot along. These types of plot twists typically make viewer ratings go higher because the audience wants to know what's going to happen to the characters that they've grown so attached to.

     They soon have to "operate" on the patient, but the doctor and intern who are residing over this patient end up being too nervous to operate to a comedic extent. They skip the operation scene because Producer Park wills it, and the patient is perfectly fine now. But, of course, we can't allow the viewer ratings to drop, can we? The patient suddenly is in an emergency state, and the doctors use a defibrillator.

     The doctor says he wont give up on saving the patient, and he sits on him. Then, he suddenly get sick as well and falls on top of him. The intern, who is a comedian known for skits centering around her weight, tries to save the doctor, but then "falls" on top of the other two as well. 

     Producer Park later brings in another doctor: the good looking idol doctor, played by comedian Ryu Geun Ji. This is the typical idol star who is put in a drama despite his/her extremely bad acting. Even if those idols are completely horrible at acting, some directors and producers keep them to keep ratings up. Ratings shoot up, and Ryu purposefully acts out exaggerated bad acting. He recites the instructions, "Open parenthesis. Walk. Step. Step. Close parenthesis", which makes it all the more funnier, emphasizing the horrible acting of idol stars. (Of course, not all idol stars are horrible actors/actresses.) This brings up a strategy commonly used in real life. In order to profit, some may do whatever they can to achieve this, and will take advantage of someone or something. In this case, directors take advantage of the idol's popularity to gain higher viewer ratings in order to appeal to a large group of fans who would probably watch a whole drama just to see their bias. Fanatic fans wouldn't actually care if their bias's acting was bad--they probably would protect their bias to the ends of the earth. This is what directors feed off of in order to gain profit.

 
     Everything's messed up now because of the idol doctor's horrible acting. Now what? Oh, okay, we'll just make this all a dream! (Producers might insert a plot twist like this in order to abruptly end a drama.) Then comes the absurd PPL.

     Of course, real PPLs aren't like this in the movies and shows we watch today. (At least I haven't noticed any this painfully obvious.) In this skit, everything is exaggerated, and it lets us have a good laugh about it. But a lot of the time, we see many products being used by a character, or a product lovemark in the background somewhere. What exactly are they trying to tell us? "Go to this place and buy this stuff because you see your favorite characters trying these things out, and they're so happy with it, so you will be as well!"

     "The King of Ratings" makes fun of all of the elements used by producers in their dramas. Each part is exaggerated, from colds being a deadly illness to a hiking boot in a stomach during an operation, which makes it even better to watch. This exaggerated, comedic style not only parodies those elements used, but it also makes us stay and continue watching, because these absurd aspects stand out to us and we want to know everything that comes next.

     I definitely would recommend this (actually, I would probably recommend most of the Gag Concert skits). I think they're all very entertaining, and it definitely makes me laugh. The ideas that the comedians come up with are just pure gold (of course, I'm probably just completely biased). Of course, a handful of the jokes that the comedians come up with are definitely jokes that would only make sense if you were born in Korea and were used to their culture (it probably would help if you actually knew the language as well). But I believe that many of the skits would be appealing to many of us. Or, I'm just so used to their sense of humor that I'm the only one that thinks this is funny.

If you want to watch it (you really should), here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8bsGHKJQDA

Week One | The First Snippet of my Media Blog: The Nostalgic Tale of my Relationship with Media

Greetings and salutations, everyone, and welcome to "Cherplestantinople".

   










     Media has always been an extremely intricate and extensive network, one of which has been woven into our lives since the day that us humans have been born, regardless of whether or not we were capable of recognizing this at the time. It has always been there, ever since newspapers came into play, and maybe even before then through other forms of mass communication.


So, what exactly is my relationship with media?

     Officially, media is "the means of communication, such as radio and television, newspapers, the internet, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely". However, it is also so much more than that and cannot be summed up into a simple definition. To many people, media is essential in their lives. These are the types of people who are constantly on their "Sky Phones", as my Latin teacher likes to call it, and their lives are constantly connected with technology with all their hash-tags and their instagramming and whatnot. Other people may consider media to be a contagious disease that constantly plagues the human race.




   







   

     When I was assigned this blog concerning the topic of media, the first thought that came to mind was definitely the internet, and then came television. There is so much content on the internet, ranging from educational sources to sources of entertainment. Personally, I have to admit that I'm not exactly on the front-line of the know-hows of media. I definitely wouldn't be the go-to person when trying to learn about all of those social media applications.

     Just as media itself is a complicated system of communication and entertainment and education and much more that reflects the culture of the society that we live in, so is my relationship with it.

     When I think back to how I used to be when I was younger and of how I live my life now, I can easily recognize and acknowledge that the times have seriously changed. Seriously. Although I love media, for without it I would be hopeless in attempting to procrastinate, sometimes, I definitely wish I could have a escape from the chains that media has effectively shackled us to by luring us in. There's always so much to do nowadays with so little time. One minute I'm surfing the web for primary sources on my term paper, the next minute I'm on YouTube watching cat videos. (I recommend this. Seriously, what's cuter than cats demanding attention?)

     I cannot exactly pinpoint a time where this relationship with media started, but this kinship started to become prominent to me in middle school. Growing up in a family where my parents were extremely strict on me, making sure that I did all the work I could to get straight A's, they never really allowed me to have contact with technology. I didn't get a cell phone until quite a while, compared to all my friends. I couldn't watch television unless it was on Saturdays, and even so, I only got to watch a show or two. Even if I finished my homework, my father would find an excuse to make me do something productive, like studying for a test I would never have. However, there were definitely positives during the years that I was deprived of technology. I actually hung out with friends, although since I was pretty antisocial, and still am now, even though there were only a few. I also remember having the freedom to read whatever books I wanted to because I was stuck in this little bubble of ignorance on the world of media, so I had nothing else to do. Other than that, my exposure to media as a child was limited. Then came middle school. These were the years where I finally got a cell phone. Although I couldn't do much with it, I was still satisfied. I actually had a computer to use as well, even though several people in my family shared it. I was perfectly fine. My relationship with media was moderate and controllable, but these were the years that I was exposed to the most convenient mediums to unveil the different forms of media out there in the world.

     Nowadays (well, more like since middle school, but now it is more prominent in my life), I seem to find myself not quite obsessed, but, rather, involved in the Hallyu wave. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's pretty much referring the increasing popularity of South Korean culture. It's becoming a globalized phenomenon. Other than this, I could care less about the everyday scandalous news of the personal lives of American celebrities (Do I really need to know who got dumped and cheated on or got caught doing drugs? No thank you, media.). However, as I'm typing this, I find myself becoming more inconsistent. As I think about it, I'm perfectly fine with discovering news concerning the lives of Korean stars, but cannot stand the actions of Americans that are unseemly in my eyes. Perhaps, gasps, this is an effect of the media's excessive negative portrayal of every single American celebrity? No, it just can't be!

     How much change media has gone through in this world is overwhelming. I mean, I grew up in an era of Game Boy Advances and Game Boy Colors (I'm pretty sure I still have both devices). Now, you see all these iPhones and iPads and tablets and so forth. And all of these devices are all being featured in advertisements in an attempt to entice us consumers. It's both remarkable and scary to see how much change technology has gone through.

     As of right now, I believe that this kinship with media is fairly healthy. When I need something, access to it is a click away. When I procrastinate, the people on the other side of media trying to lure people in benefit, whether it be from a page view or spreading of news. We both benefit. Of course, there are those days in which I surf the web too often and end up staying up too late to finish up a homework assignment. Nonetheless, overall, my relationship is moderately controlled. I do believe the area in which I need to improve on is current events; I barely read or watch the news, and this ignorance has consumed me over the past few years. I need to take the responsibility of trying to enlighten myself with knowledge about the whole world, no matter how tedious the learning process may be.