Stoolapalooza

     Barstool Sports is more than just a website, it represents a nation of “stoolies”.  The site provides an all in one stop for the latest rumors and news around the world.  The site goes beyond the latest sports news.  The creator of the site, “el pres”, provides his own input on articles and there is even a comment section where you can voice your own opinions on the subject.

      I began going on the website my freshman year at Babson, only because all of my friends would be talking about some viral video they saw on it.  It slowly became an essential part of my life because it is constantly updating.  Articles on the site do not just simply provide entertainment when reading them, but also create a great conversation piece in social situations.  Just recently I was on the phone with my father and he was telling me about a high school fight in my hometown in Florida that was making national news.  One of the girls in the fight is the daughter of a woman the works for my dad and he has been trying to find a video of the actual fight.  I went on the site and of course it was on there, showing how the site can even relate to each individual viewer.  The site has even been expanding to be more personal, having a section for the Boston and New York areas and even another sister site focused for women. 

       Our recent discussion in class about stereotypes directly relates to a specific section on the site where the headline is “Does this look like the face of a man/woman that would…” followed by a story such as a man that would steal a chicken from a supermarket or something outrageous such as that.  A picture is always included and viewers are almost encouraged to make a stereotype about the person.  All the stories are true and demonstrate how media encourages stereotypes to be made.

 Here is a link to "Does this Look like the Face of a Lady Arrested for Robbing her Grandmother"

               

Life without an Iphone

                Can anyone actually remember what life was like without a smart phone?  Every chance I get I am peeking at my iphone to fight off boredom or simply to continue to keep my mind busy.  The iphone isn’t just a single medium but rather an outlet that enables an endless variety of media to be viewed by the victim.  Between texts, e-mails, and the internet, I often have difficulties deciding which I would like to begin with.  The iphone plays such a key part in my life because of how it fills up any down time I have.  Why doodle cartoons in class when I can text a friend who lives in a different state?  Who needs a dictionary when you have Google in your pocket?  One of the greatest aspects of this media is that it can be used as a hot or cool media depending on how it is used.  The iphone can be used to interact with others or even read books alone, making it appealing to all ages.  The sheer customizability of the phone is just one of the ways that people become addicted to media.  Similar to the light bulb example McLuhan uses, the iphone allows the human element to decide what media should be used in its “light”.  Overall it can be determined that life without the iphone may be possible but would be filled with so much down time that many would not want to face this reality and feeling of isolation from society.

Define Media

            Media can be described as anything that provides the ability to convey a message.  Media can be something natural or manmade but is not considered a medium until it is perceived by a human.  The human element is what creates the message within the media.  In order to narrow this definition down one must first look at media as a message.

            Media comes in many different forms and the messages they convey are not limited to a specific sense it invokes, but rather the fact that it brings the human body into play somehow.  McLuhan uses the example of the electric light.  Although the light itself does not convey a message, it enables other forms of media to convey messages.  “This fact, characteristic of all media, means that the “content” of any medium is always another medium” (8).  The light itself does not convey a message but a variety of medias such a sports game, classroom, even hospital surgery can then take place because of the light.  Media can even be something as simple as a freshly baked cookie in which one can either see or smell to invoke memories and thoughts.  Each layer of media provides another medium that acts as a message that can be further looked into, resulting in an infinite effect of medias within other medias.

            Media can be broken down into three major categories: oral, typographical, and electric.  Each of these categories provides a different level of participation by the viewer that makes the message more or less meaningful.  An example of an electric media would be something such as a text in which the recipient gets some information but must also respond.  According to McLuhan, the greater the amount of participation required, the cooler the media is.  Meaning that since more information must be made by the viewer; the less the senses are invoked.  This is not to say that something such as a text message is not a media, but rather its message is not as great on the human body.

            In personal experience I previously believed that media was only limited to the idea of something conveying a message such as a newspaper or the internet.  Through McLuhan’s thoughts, it can be seen that media is more closely related to our own interpretations on these messages.  Although defining media, McLuhan’s ideas bring to surface many questions as well.  A photograph is a simple form of media that conveys obvious messages to the viewers, however can it still be considered a media to a blind person?  Similarly, can messages that people do not understand, such as an illiterate person that knows nothing about world news looking at a newspaper, still be considered a media?

            I believe that each individual has his or her own opinion on what media is.  In combination with McLuhan and my own beliefs, I think that media is dependent on the human element.  At the same time, just because there is a form of media that someone does not understand does not necessarily mean that it is not a media.  If someone does not understand the message being conveyed it may still invoke memories within that person such as when they were in a similar position and how they felt then.  As long as the message is able to stimulate one of the human senses or the brain then it should be considered a media.  

            When looking at what can and cannot be considered media, the effects the message has on the human viewer must first be looked at.  Media should be able to convey an infinite amount of messages within it that it affects an individual.  Media can come in a variety of forms and intensities that invoke deeper messages in an individual.