7th Entry

Hello people!

This is the last post of the semster and it is bittersweet, so I have decided to do a personal reflection for the final post. The final curtain call.

I have no doubt that throughout these 7 weeks of blogging about what we learned in our COM101 class and through the media, I have learnt plenty and gain extra knowledge. From perspection through communication to how culture is able to influence us, it has all been fun. For example, in the past you might not know that we are actually consuming the western media and are being influenced by them through american television shows. However, we are all being educated one way or another, being enriched with all the knowledge that our tiny brain can store.

Every sunday or friday nights, you will definitely catch me with a magazine under my nose or looking out for any means of media that relates to that week’s topic. At times, I would get writer’s block and not know what to write exactly. Other times, the idea will come to me like lightning speed and I will have my post done within less than an hour. However, that was really a few rare moments that I wished would come more often.

Now, I have a different view on the media. Be in television, magazine or radio, they are giving out the same report with a tinge of differences. Everyone has their own way of viewing things and naturally the perception varies from person to person. I feel, this is a good point. It is because, if everyone has the same thinking and perception of things in life, no one is special. It is the differences in people that allows you to stand out from the crowd. I mean, think about it. Would you rather have a friend who is special and has his or her own way of thinking? Or a friend who always listens to you and follow you wherever you go, with absolutely no opinion of his or her own? I would rather the first.

With a different mindset towards the media, comes with a different attitude. Every television show I watch, I will analyse why is this scene portrayed this way and why will the director cast those certain actors. With every newspaper article I read, I will look at it in a different point of view. I will definitely think of how a normal person will react when reading the article and will put myself in the journalist’s shoes and look at it from his or her point of view. I will look at it at a communication point of view. Afterall, I am a communications student.

And with that, I hope you have enjoyed my past 6 entries!

6th Entry

Howdy people!

This week, I’ll be talking about the influence of the western culture on us with the use of American television programs.

One of my all-time favourite show is FRIENDS. I watch their re-runs on the cable channel over and over again, including downloading the seasons. I believe those who have watched FRIENDS before will be able to relate to the 6 main characters, one way or another, and their way of life will somehow be rubbed off us.

We talked culture in class and how it is influencing other people and their way of thinking. Just after watching one season of FRIENDS, my way of thinking towards life and how people behave changes slightly. Western culture allows people to be open with their thoughts and opinions; a low context culture. As it was discussed, speech is a tool that is used by them to express, clarify and influence. The westerners are well-known to say it as it is and not holding back with their feelings. Whereas, Asians belong to the high-context culture. We think of how the person will feel if we say something bad and ‘face-saving’ is always on our minds.

Another factor different from the Asian culture is friends or the special other half cohabiting together. In Singapore, we stay with our parents and family till we get married and start a family of our own. There is no such thing as moving out and staying with your friends or the special other half. However, in countries like America, you are able to move out when you are as young as 17! That is when most of us are still in JC or Polytechnics. Wow! Imagine you staying alone when you are the age of 17, relying on yourself for everything. Paying of bills, settling your own meals, making your bed when you wake up and the list goes on. I do not think I will be able to survive one month of this.

When we watch television shows based on the other countries culture, we are consuming their culture and we will tend to be influenced by their culture. This could be good because we are exposed to other cultures, so we do not get a culture shock in future. I am sure you do not want to be a ‘mountain-tortoise’ when you go overseas!

I feel if there is a balance in whatever we consume from what we watch on the television, we will be able to gain knowledge from the other culture and still able to keep our roots at the same time. There is no need to stop any access of overseas television programs into Singapore as it would not help with technology improving. All we need to do is to strike a balance between both and vola! You get the best of both worlds!

Here I leave with you, the 2 videos on FRIENDS. Best show ever! Enjoy!

Sources: Youtube, Yahoo images

5th Entry

I found a lot of really funny videos on youtube about communications and decided to talk about miscommunication for this week’s entry. No offence to anyone out there when they see the video, it is meant to be a joke.

This first video talks about communicating on a different wavelength. Imagine having 2 people talking about different things on their mind. The conversation will go nowhere and they will end up being confused on what was being said during their conversation. This can be a waste of time too, if it happens way too often. It usually happens when 2 people from different cultures come together and are joined together in a conversation, and because of the different background and the different way of being raised up, they might think differently. Here is a funny video about cultural misunderstandings.

Another thing is body language. Using your index finger and your thumb and touch them together would usually mean ‘OK’ or ‘I understand’ to most people. However in other parts of the world, it would mean you are looking for sex or you are giving them the finger. To them, this sign is rude but to us, it is not. Another example would be, an Englishman calling to an Indian restuarant but no one know how to speak english there. Miscommunication due to language barrier.

Nowadays with technology advancing, there is no more need for snail mail to keep in contact with your bestfriend who is staying halfway round the world. Everyone is using e-mail and instant messaging to keep in contact because no long waiting is needed. But technology can also fail us. Lagging of the internet while logged onto instant message or some interruptions during a phone, not allowing you to hear the other person clearly. All these can lead to miscommunications.

Still unbelievable? More examples for you. While logged onto instant message, you are practically talking to your friend ‘in person’ but you have to type out your message. But what if your internet is lagging, whatever you might type during the lagging might not be sent over and a different sentence would be formed. Thus, leading to miscommunication all because she did not know of your lagging internet.

Even with all these real-life examples (I believe everyone has gone through the examples I have given), we are still a slave to technology. Do not blame technology, I say. We should all be clear on how we communicate and speak, whether through body gestures or using a different language. When in a different culture environment, always be sure of the body language you use because this might cause a displeasure to the people and it might offend them. To end this off, this is a video on the 5 steps to better communication. It is just for laughs to end of the weekends, so do not take it seriously! (;

Source: Youtube

4th Entry

Same old, same old. I have been cracking my brains over what to write for this week’s blog entry. Till I chanced upon a video of Fann Wong and Christopher Lee’s wedding.

Over the past few weeks, the hype for everyone has been over Christopher and Fann’s wedding. The media has crowned it as ‘The Wedding of The Year.’ There was even a movie produced just for them! Let me see this here first, before I go on with my entry. Fans of the couple, please do not throw rotten eggs or tomatos at me, I mean no harm towards them. I come in peace.

Advertisements, television shows and endorsements have all been about these couple. Let us ask ourselves, is it too much attention showered on them? Isn’t a wedding supposed to be just between 2 people, private? Let us talk about these whole hype around the Singapore entertainment industry.

They are Singapore’s very own Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston (back when they were still married). Everyone wanted to see them get together, get married and start a family. Everyone wants to see how the baby of 2 handsome and pretty humans look like. When they announced that they are actually a couple and they did not make it known till recently, not surprisingly, everyone was happy for them and not angry that the whole thing was under wraps.

Everywhere you go to nowadays, people are talking about the whole wedding even though they have not been there. Like what my mum used to say, ‘You know them but they do not know you. What’s the point?’ I totally agree with this sentence now. I do not hate or dislike them but I am not a fan too. I just feel too much publicity has been given to them and it gets a little irritating seeing them and only them throughout the past few weeks.

Even though Fann Wong is Singapore’s pride because she acted in a Hollywood movie, I personally feel she has been given too much of an attention. Christopher Lee included. Yes, a certain extend of publicity has to be given to them as they are famous celebrities. But, what about the other important things happening around the world at the moment?

For instance, the typhoon in the northern Philippines? Not much coverage was given to this particular news. What if people living in Singapore has family members or friends over at the Philippines? They would not know much about the whole situation there.

I think, maybe an even spread of news coverage would be better for everyone. This way, fans of Fann Wong and Christopher Lee are able to know about their idols’ wedding and other people are also able to know about the world news too. Best of both worlds.

I shall leave with you, a homemade video of the couple, made by one of their fans (i guess).

Source: Youtube

3rd Entry

Initially, I was unsure of what to write for the third entry, constantly thinking of a new topic and on the lookout for any interesting thing happening around me.

It was not until this evening that the idea came to me. The bus that I was on, stopped at this bus stop which had the yellow ribbon advertisement. The picture was a guy’s back filled with tattoos, showing him trying to take out this post-it slip pasted on his back. ‘Ex-offender’ was written on the post-it slip.

If you read it closely, there is this sentence at the bottom, saying ‘Help remove the label of prejudice.’ If you would pause and think for a moment, have we really stop having prejudice against ex-offenders, or are we just putting on a show? I know of some people that still have some level of prejudice against them, but I do not blame them. I mean, how many people (around you) actually mean it from the bottom of their hearts that they have no prejudice or whatsoever again ex-offenders?

From young, we have been taught to give others a second chance no matter what wrong things they have committed. Given our naivity and innocence, we believed everything that was said and a second chance was given. However, things changed when we all grew up. We begin to think more complex, to make even the simplest things look hard. Why is it so hard for us to give them a second chance now when we’re more mature and older, compared to when we were young, innocent and know nothing.

If I am not mistaken, this particular advertisement has been running for a few months now. We are able to see this advertisement everywhere, at the bus stop or even in a magazine. But do we stop to read it and ponder over the content? Or do we just flip the page, thinking that it is just another random advertisement? I admit, sometimes I do the latter.

This advertisement is created for a reason, to create awareness among Singaporeans and to allow the ex-offenders another chance at life, to be able to have another chance to start life anew. Television dramas and reality shows, all of them do the same storyline about ex-offenders over and over again. Do we take note of the point that they are trying to bring across to the public, or just treat it as any other drama series? These are the questions that were just coming to my mind the moment I start thinking about the advertisement in a different way.

Here’s another example. Recently about the whole hoo-ha of Miss Singapore World, Ris Low, has created some comedy and critics to her poor command of english. There is new news about her, but it has nothing to do with her poor command of english.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090925/tap-283-miss-singapore-world-convicted-c-231650b.html

The above article from yahoo news shows that she has been convicted of credit card fraud in May this year, and was on two year’s probation. Who would have expected that? Now, everyone is debating whether should she be given a second chance, or should she be just stripped off her title because of the bad representation of Singapore? What do you think?

Sources: Yahoo News, Wikipedia

2nd Entry

Verbal communication.

Meaning of this: ‘The basis of communication is the interaction between people. Verbal communication is one way for people to communicate face-to-face. Some of the key components of verbal communication are sound, words, speaking and language.’ (source: http://cobweb2.louisville.edu/faculty/regbruce/bruce//mgmtwebs/commun_f98/Verbal.htm)

This is extremely important to us, and we will definitely use it in our everyday life. The first thing that comes to mind will be human beings talking to each other. Whether it is talking to a random stranger at a bus stop while waiting for a bus, talking to your friend on a phone or just screaming across the field, it all boils down to communicating verbally with one another. But if you would stop and think for a minute, does verbal communication (speaking)  just stops at humans alone? Or is there more to it than what we think?

In this entry, I would like to emphasize more about speaking (not just for humans), in verbal communication.

Take a look at this video. (source: youtube.com)

My friend posted this video on her facebook page recently and it caught my eye the minute I read the title – ‘Husky Dog Talking.’ I mean, seriously, wouldn’t you have also stop to re-read the title again, just to be sure? At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, cause it was 2am in the morning and I was practically sleeping with my eyes open. But really, it is a video of a husky dog talking!

I immediately played the video to convince myself. (Watch it, you’ll be in awe!) It was real! Dogs can communicate with us verbally! Obviously training is needed before any verbal communication can be made by the dog, but still, it is possible now. Without this video, I would not have believe that a dog can actually say ‘I love you.’

After watching this video, it caused me to think for a moment. How in the past, humans tried to understand dogs by their behaviour or by their constant barking (that would usually irritate people), but now, with patience and constant training by the owner, it can actually be done.

Now, we all know that human beings are not the only ones that are able to communicate verbally through speaking, dogs can too! I’m thoroughly amazed! This can also be linked back to, never judge and the whole perception of ‘dogs cannot speak’ in my first entry.

I personally feel, if we could teach dogs to communicate with us through speaking some words, nothing is impossible for us to achieve. Before you leave this page, take a minute of your life to think about this – If the husky dog could learn to say I love you (it is quite a mean feat to achieve for a dog), are we able to accomplish those little things in our lives without complaining and whining, and having the never-give-up mentality?

1st Entry

I was watching a movie one day, and I realised that blondes have always played the dumb and sex symbol roles in most movies. They have been perceived by the media that way, and we have not question this. Is it really true that all blondes are dumb and just sex symbols? Here’s a thought for you.

Movies, such as; ‘House Bunny’ and ‘Blonde and Blonder’ are perfect examples of blondes being perceived as dumb and bimbos. Take for example Anna Ferris in House Bunny, she’s acting as a blonde playboy bunny. Throughout the whole show, it is always showing how dumb she can be and how by using her sex appeal gets her anything she wants. This is what the media have perceived blondes to be, and this movie is just reinforcing the whole myth.

Of course, they add comical effect to the whole movie and attracts people to the movie with their sex appeal.This is why we are so comfortable with this whole perception that the media have created and no one has done anything to change the way of thinking.

This perception by the media has been so popular and well-received by us, that it has even incorporated into our everyday lives. The word ‘blonde’ has often been used in our daily conversations. For example, ‘Y0u are so blonde,’ is a sentence that many people use. I’m sure many of us have used this sentence before. Not to insult the person, but as a form of a joke and to add pun to it. Well, I use it.

As a girl, I admit that I like watching these kind of movies. Like what people call it, ‘chick flicks’. Chick flicks, as what people have perceived it to be, movies that have lots of hot chicks and blondes that act dumb. I feel that, because of how the media have perceived blondes, the latter have taken upon themselves to act the same way. Such example is, during one of the episodes of ‘Are you smarter than a 5th grader?’

I have included a short clip of the episode here, so you guys can let me know what you think about it.

Even though with the media creating such strong perception of them, I strongly believe that there are blondes who are equally smart and beautiful, and they do not deserve to be judged based on perceptions created. Being a blonde is only a hair colour, and this could be due to genes or a change in hair colour. People, who are blondes, might not necessarily be dumb and stupid. They could be really clever and be on the dean’s list. This treatment from the media has been very unfair to them. We should all have an open mind, and not have this thinking that what the media perceive of them is what they really are. As the saying goes, ‘Never judge a book by its cover.’

Sources: Youtube, Yahoo Images