No Thanks USA - You Can Keep Black Friday...

Today is Black Friday! [and then followed by Cyber Monday]

For those of you who don't know what this is here is a little history lesson according to www.blackfriday.com ...

The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.

 So then retailers started to take hold of this shopping opportunity and started to offer big discounts to entice shoppers to buy more.  Black Friday is this really long day of shopping with big deals and discounts to be had, often with people waiting in line ups over night just to get a great price on lots of different items.

Over the past few years or so though, things have become a little crazy!  With stores offering big discounts, people's 'wants' become big 'needs' that many would do almost anything to fulfill.  Look on youtube, and search Black Friday Disasters ...  here are just a few examples.

This used to be just an American tradition, coming on the heels of Thanksgiving, followed by Cyber Monday.  Now, it is making its way across the border, becoming more widely spread here in the Canadian stores.  I understand wanting a good deal when going out shopping - but are we ready to have the craziness hit our stores like in the videos above?  I am certain that isn't the case everywhere - but even one instance of that kind of hazing really is inappropriate.

This kind of consumerism [consumer, someone who purchases and uses a product or service and ism, an organized way of thinking] is scary.  During a time of the year when we should be thinking more of others rather than ourselves, what does this say about today's society?  

However, there is a movement fighting back.  An organization called Giving Tuesday.  Here in Canada this organization is saying:

It is a new Canadian movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Cyber Monday. The “Opening day of the giving season,” it is a day where charities, companies and individuals join together to share commitments, rally for favourite causes and think about others.

They are encouraging to take a day to do for others.  Donate, volunteer, and if you can't do either of those - take the time to brighten someone's day!

So take a few minutes to think upon the following, and then respond on your blog.

- do you think that we buy more things that we really need each day?
- why do we, as a culture, feel compelled to buy things we don't need for survival?
- do you think commercials and advertisements make us feel we need things when we really don't?
- why do you think our culture and media encourages us to buy things constantly?  Is this a good, bad or neutral thing? why?

Brilliant Advertising

So a while back I received another 'funny' email from one of my friends, the kind of friend that forwards every email - and you swear you've seen certain 'jokes' a million times!  Anyone, this one time this email caught my eye...

Colgate has created a very ingenious advertising campaign to promote their dental floss, but before I explain to you the main detail of these images, I will let you appreciate them quietly...

Alright, now that you had time to quietly observe the images, in the first one you will now notice that she has one finger too many in her hand, in the second one a phantom arm is floating there, and in the third one the man has only one ear...
The campaign attained its purpose, because it proved that food that remains on your teeth draw more attention than any physical defect...

What a great ad campaign!  Effective, simple, eye-catching, you name it - I like it!  So that got me thinking, there are tons of different ad campaigns out there.  Some are fantastic, and others not-so-much.

For your next blog you are going to select an ad campaign that you feel is 'one of the best!'  Explain your reasonings behind your choice.  What makes this a great ad?  and why?  Research effective ad campaigns and make comparisons to the one you chose.

Social Media - Part 2!

Ok Ok I know - social media is often a hot topic here in the communications area!  Heck - many of us are checking it on a minute by minute basis!

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and more!  There are many good sides to social media - and of course there are a few dark sides that lurk in the shadows.

Watch the following video, read the blog post and respond to the hosts' question at the end.

"does it creep you out that a stranger can get this information about ya, or no big deal?"

Write a blog post discussing how you feel about social media. How much are you willing to share with others, and at what expense - if any?  What are some of the 'good' sides to social media and what are some of the 'bad' sides?  How much do you really share?

Youtube Sensationalism...

Twerking Troubles...

A few months ago, a video of a girl whose leg caught on fire after "twerking" was placed on You Tube.  It quickly became a YouTube sensation getting over 9 million hits in less than a month.  It was even said that Miley Cyrus and her VMA Twerking was partly to blame for this poor girls disaster! 

Jimmy Kimmel and Daphne Avalon

It was later revealed that the video was hoax, and the mastermind behind the video was Jimmy Kimmel.  He orchestrated the video and had it placed on YouTube.  A short time after the video became viral, Jimmy Kimmel, along with his co-conspirator stunt woman Daphne Avalon, revealed their hoax. 

Take a look at Kimmel's revelation video:

Once you have seen the video, comment on the hoax on your own blog.  What do you think of the original video and hoax?  Why do you think Jimmy Kimmel created this video?  What do you think he was trying to reveal about YouTube and our society?

Blogging ... the Right Way

Having an online presence can be a lot of fun, but also holds a lot of responsibility!  Here are some key tips to remember when creating posts for your blog.



- Don't divulge personal information: use your FIRST NAME ONLY, don't give any details with regards to contact information, home address, phone numbers, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or birth date.

- No questionable photos of you or anything else: If you wouldn't show it to your grandma, don't post it on the web! Avoid posting photos of yourself.

- Remember the internet is permanent! Anyone on the Internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer.

- Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. (Even so, it's better to assume anyone can see it.)

- Avoid trying to "out-do" or compete with other bloggers.

- Keep it clean and positive: Our blogs are reflective of our Catholic values. Sexist, racist, homophobic, or any type of oppressive and offensive language will not be tolerated!

Welcome to a new year...

Welcome to the 2013 grade 10 Media Arts course.  We are happy to have you all as students in this new and exciting school year.  For this blog unit we will be sharing some news, stories and events that involve digital media along with various other forms of media.


As part of your media arts / communications technology course you will be required to create and maintain your own media arts / communications blog. Blogging has quickly become a very popular form of communication and online journaling.


Through this course your will be required to reply to reply to six different media / technology issues or topics that will be posted here for you to respond to on your own blog. Each response must be no less than 300 words and should have discussions relevant to media arts and communication technology. You will also be required to respond to 6 other people's blogs with thoughtful ideas and comments with a 100 words (min). The evaluation for this unit is found in your unit guide. Once you have completed all tasks (which will take you several months) you will submit your unit guide, with a list of the six blogs that you responded to, for evaluation.


Happy Blogging!
Ms. Arturi/Ms. Powell

Hey! You Can't Wear That!

Abercombie and Fitch, a teen clothing retailer, has undergone controversy in the past.  Recently, an interview from 2006 with the company’s executive, Michael Jeffries, re-surfaced.  Please read the following article to find out what the interview was about:

Read this Article!

This issue was also featured on the Ellen Degeneres show.  Watch the following video to see how Ellen feels about this retailer:

Watch Ellen's Video Here!

Many individuals have been speaking out against Jeffries.  People are even being encouraged to sign a petition against the company’s policy.

Check out the following video to learn about what one individual is doing:

Trying to make a change!

Based on the article and the video above, comment on the questions below in a blog post of 300 words.

1.     How do you feel about Michael Jeffries’ view on who should wear Abercrombie and Fitch’s  clothing?

2.     Is it fair/equitable to target a particular group of teens?  Why or why not?

3.     How does this contribute to our already biased perception of what beauty is?