Media Law

The media ethics case that I chose to use is actually one that is still being debated: the California legislation's attempt to prohibit the sale of violent video games to anyone under the age of 18. More specifically, the law is banning the sale of games involving the "killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting the image of a human being."

Video game violence is a topic that receives a lot of attention these days. For whatever reason, people tend to single out video games despite the fact that violence is something that is ingrained within our culture. It is prevalent in every form of media be it movies, television, magazines - you name it. Personally, I think that this law is a clear violation of the first amendment, one of the fundamental principles that this country was established on.

Propaganda in Advertising

The Ad that I chose to analyze is one that is not advertising a consumer product, but rather a political canidate: more specifically, Meg Whitman. The Ad is based on the propaganda technique known as Ad Hominem, which is basically when one attacks the credibility of their opponent rather than their argument. Whitman makes no reference to Jerry Brown's proposed policies, but instead makes claims against Jerry Brown's ability to govern. This Ad also forces its message upon the population by appealing to people's fears. California is in the midst of recession. With one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, everyone is afraid that a bad governor will worsen the situation. Whitman highlights Brown's past failures (of course, non of his successes) to scare the population into thinking that Brown will be that bad governor.

Social Networking

Barring a mistake, the Wikipedia page listed 206 different social networking sites; most of them I did not know. The ones that I did know included Facebook, Myspace, Last.fm, and Twitter. A site that I didn't previously know is gamerDNA: this site allows its users to discover new games and make connections with fellow gamers based on their interests.

For the most part, I only use social networks as a method of communication or to find music. At the moment, I only use Facebook and Last.fm.

The only instance I can say that Social Networking Sites really helped(or hurt, for that matter) is when I was able to use it to re-establish contact with a lost friend. Other than that, there has been no significant instance. However, the lifestyle change that it has brought about has most definitely been significant in that I now have a convenient way to keep in touch with friends and leave them non-urgent messages.