Had it not been for this last blog post assignment, I would have missed out on some very good blog posts pertaining to what we’ve learned. My classmates used fun examples to illustrate points made in class, which even helped me better understand what Dr. Nichols talks about 
(No offense, of course!)
To view what I thought about a few of them, click here.
Ideological criticism refers to a set of ideas that gives a particular account of the world, and those ideas are usually selective and seem natural and obvious (hello, hegemony!). This process studies how ideas reflect and serve interests of elites and how the ideas go largely unnoticed and unchallenged. It differs from other approaches because it’s just not looking at a text like semiotics does, but it looks at who produces it, how it’s structured and how a text interacts with life experiences.
Ideological criticism emphasizes value in understanding how media texts establish and sustain existing power relations and expose and challenge dominant ideas and values, even though such a concept can be confrontational (hello, counterhegemony!).
I’ll always associate The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You” with one of TV’s greatest, longest-running sitcoms, Friends.
Friends was an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004. The series revolved around three young men and three young women, all of whom are best friends, who lived in the same apartment complex and faced life and love in Manhattan. Not one of the six were above sticking their noses into one another’s businesses, either, which made for a majority of the comedic relief the show brought to its audience. They went through marriage, having babies, getting fired, getting hired, relationships, sex, money, and a lot of other different life situations. I’m sure they went through everything – the show did have 10 years’ worth of humor!
I’m one of those people others find annoying to watch TV with, mostly because I always have something to say about what’s going on. No, I’m serious. One time I was laughing so hard at a show my roommate was watching (because I thought it was ridiculous), she yelled at me and I had to leave the room until I could come back out calmer and quieter. I tried coming back out once, then just gave up and went straight to my room for the night. I’m working on being more open-minded, I swear. Through this course, I will try to reject the high vs. low culture hierarchy, and not be ashamed or embarrassed to sit through Dr. Drew’s special on MTV’s Teen Mom so I can spend more quality time with my roommate.
Media criticism is the systematic study of media texts, like reality TV, news and advertisements, to understand them as meaningful sociocultural symbolic forms and forces. There are critics of everything – art, sports, and scientific inquiries. Media is no different. One of the reasons studying media criticism is so essential is because being from a generation of those raised partially by electronic babysitters, I can attribute most of the influences to the little screen in the family room. Television especially allowed me the experience to pick up social cues, learn facts about medical conditions, law and forensics (thanks, CSI:NY), and provide me a play date with characters who serve as a partial functional replacement for real social relationships. But, I do have real friends, I promise.
