Listen Up is a youth media network the mission for this organization is to connect with youth producers and their allies to achieve youth voice in the mass media. It a place for youths to express themselves in different creative ways. Even if its positive or negative, I watched the video about a teenager girl discussing the battle that she has had with Obesity since she was a child. She talk about how she uses food as a comfort to replace he father that is not in the picture. Then she interviews her family and they discuss how as an African American family, obesity is a problem in their family. The girls grandmother discusses the issues that she has with Diabetes and all the medication that she has to take. The whole story is very sad and the girl decided that since she saw herself on the tape, she has changed her eating habits. I find this story to be inspirational because other teens can watch her video and relate to her and learn from her experience. This site reminds me of the reading that we did on Horace Mann. This website is another form of a social website but it is visual and can be used for bad or good. I think that these websites are a good way for people to express themselves and it should not be restricted in anyway. This site is a wonderful way for teens to express themselves.

Henry Jenkins and Testing Horace Mann

Henry Jenkins is an article that is concentrating on the reason why Myspace and social websites in general is necessary for teens. It discusses the reason why teens explores these sites, what they do on the site and why do they go on the sites. The article discusses how teen go on these sites to express themselves and to have their own space where they can say whatever they want to say and no one can restrict them. If these social websites are safe and how easy is it for pr editors to get through to these teens and try and abduct them. " Regardless of medium, the humiliation occurs when the entire school or social community knows of the attack; Myspace and other online mediums may help spread rumors faster, but they have always spread in the halls of school pretty quick. No one of any age enjoys being the target of public tormenting, but new media is not to blame for peer-to-peer harassment simply because it makes it more visible to outsiders" I agree with this quote completely, alot of things are blamed on the media or social networking sites. If these sites were not around people would find another way to spread rumors or pass information that is not suppose to be passed around." The media coverage of predators on Myspace implies that 1)all youth are at risk of being stalked and molested because of MySpace 2) prohibiting youth from participating on MySpace will stop predators from attacking kids. Both are misleading; neither is true. In the article Testing Horace Mann i think situations wear the children are using FB for bad things to torment their teacher is terrible and I think the children involved should get in trouble no matter who the parents are. I think that if these social network sites are used constructively then the teens should be allowed to roam the sites freely. There is more good that comes from these sites than bad.

Prep

Prep is a story about the trials and tribulations that a young girl goes through in boarding school. It was her decision to go to a school thousands of miles away from her home. Lee tries to fit in at Ault but everyone around her is different from her. Lee is also trying to discover herself and figure out her sexuality. She is fighting with herself to figure out if she is gay or straight. I feel like if Lee doesn't know who she is it will be hard to fit in. In Ault there are groups and clicks that hang out together and you have to know which category that you fit into in order to blend. It is all about your status on campus, its either you are popular or trying to be popular. When Lee gets to hang out with Cross is when she finally felt like she fits in. She put her guard down and was starting to act like herself, and not who she thought people wanted her to be. Through out the chapters that we read Lee felt like she didn't belong until the day she hung out with Cross. Then when it was over, Lee began to miss the feeling of belonging. I think it is sad that people were not friendly to Lee because she didn't look like the "normal" Ault student. Teenagers all go through puberty, but for Lee it was difficult because she was out of her comfort zone. I think Lee took the smart way to fit in. not like her roomate that was following people and acting like something she wasn't. I can relate to this story because my highschool was very clickish, but i didnt let it get to me I was still my own person.

Outline

Brian I met today and the outline that we came up with is:

WHAT DOES THE MEDIA TEACH US ABOUT EDUCATIONING TEENS ABOUT DRUGS

1. Intro-The main questions we're asking are: who do they have in mind when they develop these programs? Why do they feel they are neccessary?

2. Questions-Representation

3. 5 minute clip of commercials that relate to Drugs and media

4. Discussion questions- our take on things, connection to class (Hines, Greenfield, Teen Influence)

5. Closing comments- Class discussion, closing statement

Checking In

Hey, just checking in to let you know that me and Brian are going to meet on Thursday to discuss our topic

Fast Forward Ten Years by Lauren Greenfield

Greenfield's article is about the pictures that she took for her book in the article she discusses how when she took the pictures for her book she was still an adolescent. When the book was published she was an adult. She originally she began taking pictures in her hometown of LA but her project grew into something bigger. She discusses how when she was working on her first book only the rich kids new about the expensive designer. When she started to work on her second book she noticed that kids from urban areas and suburban areas were wearing the same designers. It doesn't matter where you are from or if you can afford it they were wearing it. Then she realized the media is the reason why these kids all are dressing alike and wearing the same designers. Teen over seas are more worried about MTV than whats going on around them. Young girls are dressing and behaving like they are women in music videos, but when adults see her pictures in the museum's they act shocked. Because they see themselves in these pictures or they see their children, and still say that there lives and values are not like the ones in the book.
Greenfield is basically trying to show people that even though teens are young they are still impressionable. Everything that goes on around them affects them, especially the media. Even if you try to keep them away from it, some how they are still influenced. It is amazing and you really can't point the blame at one person because it is all around them. I agree with Greenfield and think that everything she discusses it true. Parents always try to act like they never did anything their children did when they were younger, but they probably did worse. Parents should talk to there children not criticise them.

Black Noise by Tricia Rose

Rose discusses in her article how Hip Hop is not dead but, it needs reconstruction. She states that the commercial market is taking over the industry and sexuality and racial stereotypes is what sells right now. Therefore artists like Jay Z and 50 cents is what fits into those categories and they are selling a lot of records. The underground rappers who rap about being positive and bettering yourself does not fit it the corporate standards, so they are not selling or heard on the radio as much as mainstream artists. Rose is not trying to talk bad about the main stream rappers in her article, but she is just trying to state that they need to take responsibility for there music. Even though they are not trying to force you to listen to it but it is all you hear on the radios and on TV. Rose states that Hip Hop is not what it use to be, when children and parents could listen to the same music. When music was about education, history and trying to make yourself a better person. Rose discusses how Hip Hop is seen as violent, she totally disagrees with this statement. She thinks that in the 1960 black America was violent, but it was a way of fighting for rights not just something to do to make noise. I think that this article has many strong points. At one point in time I also thought that Hip Hop was dead, but then I decided to re evaluate the situation. I stopped listening to Hip Hop and decided to switch to R&B, but that did'nt help. I then decided to change the Rap artists that I listened to, but that didnt help. After reading this article I know why "Same thing with Jay-Z. Even he has acknowledged that he's "dumbed his music down" so that he can sell records." Jay Z at one point in time was one of my favorite rappers, but the content of music started to change. I feel that artist should not lower there standards of music to sell more music. Hip Hop is black america's way of telling our story, it is like a verbal history book. When artist water down there lyrics it changes the way youth look at themselves. Hip Hop as a community needs to come together and repair what corporate America has done to it.