Since its inception by Charles Babbage (during 1820 and 1871) the Computer has evolved from taking up a whole room of hardware just to run the simplest of programs, to being pocket-sized and capable of doing a limitless amount of things. This has allowed users to be involved in events across the world, from the security of their living room.
Now that everyone has their own personal computer, communication is instantaneous and everything can be accessed and shared immediately, there is a constant demand for updates, maintenance and improvements to what we have. Therefore, a new element has been added to the workforce which takes place in “Cyberspace”.
Cyberspace and the Internet create a change in the communication aspect of organisations, changing it from a hierarchical establishment, where people must report to and communicate through their superiors, to a distributed network, where people may communicate with whoever they need to, freely.
At 7pm on a Thursday night a few weeks ago, I got a group message asking if anyone wanted to watch the new Spider-Man: Far From Home film. Of the 10 people in our group chat, only 4 agreed to come along, but that didn’t stop us.
It was 9:10pm when we all rocked up at Greater Union Cinemas Wollongong, parking was easy as everyone had cleared out for the night. 4 of us met in the parking lot, then headed over to the Cinema. The doors opened inwards and we piled in out of the cold, inhaling the smell of fresh, warm popcorn as we did. There’s twenty minutes until the movie begins, and Con ducks out to the Woolies 100 meters down the road.
We got a phone call from another friend in Primbee, asking if it had started, and after waiting ten minutes, until right as the movie was about to start, he walked in with us. During that ten minute wait, we spent the time outside on our phones and talking to each other about what we’d been up to, whilst Connor got snacks and Max drove from Primbee.
I brought a packet of Sour Cream & Onion Pringles with me from home, and the others brought an assortment of M&M’s, Chips and Soft Drinks to share during the movie, and we passed them around throughout the duration of the film.
We got into the movie just as it was beginning, and from the moment it began, I was blown away. I’ve been an avid comics fan since childhood, and seeing everything that Marvel had created and expanded upon was an incredible experience. Throughout the film, I was whispering with my mates every time something amazed me, which was a lot.
We were sat in a side aisle, and, being 6’4.5″, my legs pressed into the seats in front of me at Greater Union, so I had to sit straight up, rather than slouching or stretching out.
On second thought, I probably should’ve gotten an aisle seat…
The cinema was warm and dark, a big contrast to just outside the cinema, where there must have been at least a 10ยฐ C drop in the temperature. We finished at 10 to 12am, and we all walked straight out of the cinema and towards where we had all parked, next to each other, in the same parking lot, down Church Street. During the walk we discussed everything that we did and didn’t like about the film, offering up our different opinions of each scene.
Upon the way to the cars, we stopped at McCabe Park for an hour, chatting about everything that had happened to us in the last few months, as we hadn’t seen each other for a few weeks and wanted to share everything with each other. Slowly, we made our way back to the cars, stopping again to continue our talking, both about the movie, and our recent life events.
Now, The Internet gives Users, who were formerly a passive audience being sold information by larger gatekeeping corporations and the Government, the ability to share their own content and potentially reach just as many people as those larger entities and profiles do.
In this way, The Internet has become a “Libertarian Utopia” – a Digital Society where users have complete autonomy and freedom to do as they please.
As such, a Society based completely online, where its Subjects have complete freedom, with almost no input from the State, and where “All nodes are equal”, becomes a sort-of “Cyber Communist” Nation.
Get Smart (2008) is a fun and exciting adaptation of the 1965 series of the same name, which manages to take everything that’s fun and enjoyable from the original and modernises it. The movie focuses on newly-promoted Agent Maxwell Smart (an instantly likeable, bumbling, clumsy parody of James Bond), and his sophisticated, competent partner, Agent 99, who work for CONTROL, as they work to prevent the evil organisation KAOS from detonating a bomb in Los Angeles.
A few key changes to the film help to differentiate it from the tv series, such as the changing the role of Agent 99 from an infatuated yet competent sidekick, to a competent spy who refuses to work with Max due to his inexperience, however, slowly, she begins to like Max, despite his clumsy and foolish nature. The addition of Agent 23 (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) as well as the Chief (Alan Arkin) are extremely funny additions to the cast, providing plenty of dry humour as well as some touching and heartfelt scenes, and adding an interesting dynamic to Max and 99.
This movie changes just enough to modernise itself, whilst remaining faithful to the original, resulting in an extremely enjoyable watch. The film is a good watch for the whole family, with humour that people of all ages can enjoy, and is child-friendly.
Though it doesn’t offer the most thought-provoking storyline, it pays homage to the original series extremely well, whilst changing itself up just enough to suit a modern audience. I give this film a 7/10.
This film was made in Hollywood by Warner Bros. with filming taking place in Los Angeles. The film features a strong cast of Hollywood Actors such as Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who all help to sell this film.
The film is intended for American families, with parents who grew up watching the original series, with young children, who can all sit down and watch a movie together.
To fully understand the movie, one must have seen the original series and understood all the jokes and gimmicks the series uses. For example, in the final act of the film, Max steals a Sunbeam Tiger/Alpine and drives it to the Chief and 99’s location. He then calls them from his “ShoePhone”. Both are frequently used by Max in the original series, and their inclusion in the film provides a fun easter egg for fans of the original series.
I believe this reflects the Cultural Proximation Theory, as this is a remake of the original which many Americans grew up watching, and they would prefer to watch a remake of something they’re familiar and have fond memories of, rather than submit themselves to potential disappointment, by watching something from another part of the world. The film stars are also big names in American culture, whose works many Americans enjoy and the humour is a similar style to that which they are familiar with.
The main source of my feedback loops for North Gong Daily are Instagram stories and replies, Twitter posts, word of mouth and comments on Facebook and Instagram. These are posted every few weeks, and ask viewers if they’ve seen the site, and if so, whether they liked it or not and what could be done to improve the site. Feedback from the Owners of North Gong Daily is extremely important too, as the site was built for them, and should meet their wants and needs.
Monetisation was suggested last time, through ads on the site and selling more merchandise, and I’ll need to talk to NGD about where the profits would go, as it is their site, but I did produce it and am still curating and aggregating everything on it. The money earned wouldn’t be a lot, so discussing it may be time-consuming and not be worth a lot, but is still something that I want to look in to.
For the past couple of months, I have been using my parent’s Netflix Account, binging tv shows late at night when everyone goes to bed. I’ve also watched Television since I was a child and so far, I have watched a vast array of shows including:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (5ish times)
Arrested Development
Big Mouth
The Inbetweeners
Gotham
Disenchantment
Young Justice (3 times)
Teen Titans Go!
The Big Bang Theory
Justice League Unlimited
Batman the Brave and the Bold
Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Batman 1966
Modern Family
Friends
NCIS
NCIS LA
Arrow
Star Trek
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (twice)
And much more.
Most of these TV shows originate from the United States, and are available in multiple different countries. The amount of American shows and movies that are available online vastly outweighs all other countries amount, showing just how influential America is when it comes to the media.
A good television show starts with good characters.
They contain a dynamic friend group.
They make you feel like a connected member.
You fight for the hero and support their development.
You see their growth and encourage their maturing.
You can quote and relate them to every situation.
Though these shows vary in terms of content, story lines, characters and problems faced, they all repeat these key steps, resulting in a captivating and enjoyable experience which enchants the audience and evokes a wider range of emotions.
Nowadays, the ability to search something and get millions of answers instantaneously is taken for granted, however, this ability has only been around for a relatively short amount of time.
Before the Internet and the World Wide Web existed, information had to be accessed from a central gatekeeper such as a library, government archives or the owner of the information wanted and could take forever to be attained.
In 1989, at 34 years old, Sir Tim Berners-Leebegan to develop the idea that would become the World Wide Web. Since then it has grown to the point where almost everyone is connected and has the ability to access almost all information, and can connect with anyone else from across the globe.
This creation has allowed for the formation of a decentralised network, where each user can share information with anyone the like, rather than a centralised society where information must pass through a gatekeeper and gain approval.
Music has played a large role in my life since the age of 10, listening to Rainbow, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and other heavy metal bands with Dad, we often jammed out to the same songs on car trips, bonding along the way. Often he would play a new song that I’d become hooked on, or he would let me choose what was playing from his phone, and he’d then crank the sound up in the car.
(that’s Metallica btw)
However, my discovery of Spotify in 2016 changed my music habits as I am able to play it when I want, where I want, especially in the car whilst driving myself, or in the bedroom having my own jam session.
My tastes have also drastically been altered, by letting me branch out and discover many new sounds and people to listen to.
My music taste went from heavy metal and rock, to rap and hip hop, with artists such as Eminem and Kendrick Lamar taking prominence. Since then, my music taste has branched out, with my new favourite artist becoming:
Jaden
In 2018, a friend introduced me to Jaden’s 2017 album, SYRE, and I was instantly hooked on his songs Icon, and B L U E (four songs making up one whole), which focus on sadness, anger and regret after a break up, and the story of Adam and Eve, as well as Icarus from the perspective of Syre, an alter ego of Jaden’s. In an interview with Complex, Jaden promised that “this album is something completely different from what they think”, and SYRE followed through on that, as it blew my mind and changed music forever for me.
On the 5th of July, Jaden released a sequel to SYRE, titled ERYS. This album continues the story created in SYRE, taking the story of the boy SYRE as he becomes ERYS, a darker, more determined version of himself. Jaden has described ERYS as a “strict hard-rap album”, featuring such hits as P I N K (Like BLUE, they are four parts of the same song), NOIZE, Summertime In Paris and Fire Dept.
One of my favs
Originally, I didn’t like ERYS, however, after recommendations by a friend, and multiple listens on Spotify, I have grown to love the album, even more so than SYRE, which was a game-changer for me. Since then, I have been able to hold conversations and suggest songs for friends and bond with new friends over a shared interest in the same albums, songs and Artists, especially Jaden.
However, without Spotify, I wouldn’t be able to stream all of this music whenever I like or share my interests with others, and in turn receive recommendations which have changed my viewpoint.
Spotify has allowed me to connect with both family and friends, old and new by letting me stream all of my various music tastes, from metal to rap, and discover new sounds and artists that appeal to me.
In this increasingly digital age, more and more technology is being used to track, record and develop online profiles of its users. This is evident in China, where they are currently in the process of implementing a “Social Credit System”, which restricts people from doing certain things, such as boarding flights or buying train tickets, if they are deemed “untrustworthy”.
Think of it as a bigger, more controlling version of Reddit’s Karma system, where, if you don’t have enough points you can’t participate in certain Subreddits. China’s tracks its people as they move throughout, and if you do something the Government deems wrong, you lose points, and when you do, you’re banned from doing things such as taking a holiday or enrolling in a private school.
The program also monitors each individual’s behaviours and tries to predict what they’ll do next, with the aim of reducing crime by seeing it before it happens, reminiscent of a certain film…
According to James L. HiltonandWilliam von Hippel, “Stereotypes are beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviours of members of certain groups. More than just beliefs about groups, they are also theories about how and why certain attributes go together.” Stereotypes are often based upon our exposure to a few prominent examples of people of a certain race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., do something we view as wrong or different, which then shape our understanding and beliefs of all those in the same demographic as those examples.
When the media is flooded with reports about a certain event or issue, people belonging to the same demographic as the perpetrator/s often tend to be alienated by the rest of society, especially if the group is a minority. This occurrence is evident in the aftermath of the September 11 Attacks, for which the terrorist organisation Al Qaeda claimed responsibility, which had constant media coverage for the next few months. The 9/11 attacks were extremely damaging not only for the victims and their families, but for the Islamic community as a whole. In her academic journal, Erin Kearns stated that “Attacks by Muslim perpetrators received, on average, 357% more coverage than other attacks.”
A stereotype is a broad, often oversimplified assumption made about all members of a particular group
According to data released by the FBI, 93 Anti-Muslim assaults were reported in 2001, 81 more assaults than were reported in 2000, which had 12 reported Anti-Muslim assaults. Since 9/11, 18 years ago, Muslim hate crimes have not yet significantly decreased, with the Christchurch Massacre taking place on the 15th March 2019, where a white supremacist shooter live streamed himself entering multiple mosques in New Zealand and opening fire, and has since been arrested and now faces 51 charges of murder and 40 charges for attempted murder.
Despite being the victims of such a horrible crime, words of hate have still been spoken across the world, most prominently by Senator Fraser Anning, who claimed that “Whilst this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence”. This quote was taken from a document that Anning posted on his Twitter account, which has since been removed due to containing statements which breached Twitter’s code of conduct and was met with outrage. Anning’s document reflects how people still view Muslims as the problem, which has been created by the negative stereotypes of the media.
How Stereotyping Occurs and avoiding it
The MEAA Journalist’s Code of Ethics requires that the Media “Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.” When publishing content, Media Professionals can publish information regarding the gender, race, age, etc. of people, however, they must ensure that they remain completely unbiased in their reports.
Stereotyping occurs when Journalists forget to remain unbiased when talking about a specific event or person, and instead place their own personal beliefs about the event into their report. Examples of this stereotyping would be if a road accident were to happen, and then placing emphasis on the fact that the driver was Asian, despite no proof that was a factor in the crash, with data suggesting that this is the opposite of the truth.
To avoid stereotyping when publishing reports, Media Professionals should ensure they don’t let their personal beliefs and values influence their writing, and avoid blaming or placing large emphasis on the demographic of the perpetrator, victim or witness of the event that occurred, unless it is a factor which influenced the incident. When reporting, the Media must ensure they follow the same ethical standards for all demographical groups. According to Mehdi Hasan of Al Jazeera, “The media often โhumaniseโ the non-Muslim perpetrator by referencing mental illness or interviewing family members”. Hasan also believes that to reduce the negative portrayals and stereotypes of Muslims, more diversity and multiculturalism is needed in the media, and rather than focusing on publishing positive or negative stories, the Media needs to publish just the truth without taking a side.
The Media needs to understand how harmful the blaming of stereotypes or placing emphasis on them can be for the parties involved in their reports. The use of stereotypes by the Media creates a divide between different cultural and socioeconomic groups. By using stereotypes, the people in these groups become dehumanised to the rest of society, and they become irritated and disenchanted, and may begin to feel neglected or targeted and resent other people, leading them to do bad things. Magdalena Zawisza offers ways to reduce stereotypes, such as by focussing on the positives of a community, especially when a horrific event has taken place, the Media can report on how a community is helping another out and showing inclusiveness. An emphasis on positive group role models are also important, as it gives those who are affected by these stereotypes someone to look up to, aspire to be and seek guidance from.
Journalism and the Media’s main role is not to provide personal opinions and explain why something happened by blaming stereotypes, but rather to educate people on what’s happening currently. The Media shouldn’t be taking sides when reporting, instead remain unbiased, not trying to draw conclusions using stereotypes, which often has harmful effects for those being stereotyped against.
๐พ๐ช๐ง๐ก๐๐ฎ ๐ค๐ฝ 