Class Highlights

I can't say with complete certainty that my perspective on media has changed. I was already well acquainted with most of the aforementioned mediums, but I was able to gain insight on the production and labeling of some things- namely about the differences between advertising and public relations. I was also able to take an opportunity to learn about the hostile media effect, which I found surprising. I also didn't realize that flag-burning was protected. The more you know...

Perhaps the most incredible thing I learned in this class was the realization of each media's history. Your standard high school history course depicts every medium as a technological innovation that changed the human perspective on culture. While this may be true, this class brought to light the (admittedly angst-ridden) conflicts that are rooted in the development of each form of media. I learned about how film ratings were swung back and forth with perhaps the most haphazard and arbitrary restrictions. I learned about how every decade had their own .mp3 vs. .flac audio war, from betamax tapes to audio cds. I learned about comic books and how conservative parents led to the various ages and eras. While I was slightly familiar with many of these strange circumstances, highlighting the conflicts grounded these mediums in reality. History has a tendency to depict the slightest change as the greatest glory- but as it stands, all that glitters in not gold.

Even the Golden Era of Film and Comic Books.

Thank you for the wonderful course.