COMM 322 Grop Project PSA - 'Facebook activism'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_-CYD8aM2U&feature=youtu.be

Matthew Shepard's artcile 'hate crime'

I was born and raised in Tajikistan, Central Asia, where society is not accepting the GLBT community, even till this day; and of course there are many countries that don’t, even here in the U.S. some states even don’t recognize it too, which is sad. Today we live in a modern world and this issue of who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender should be not be an issue. Of course it also depends on the timing of the events and placing of it too, but a case like Matthew Shepard a gay man who was murdered in 1998 just because he was gay was not just right. Yes, it did happen in the last decade but till this day it remains a topic that we should not forget. 

I honestly was deeply sad after I read the article and got to know what had happened to him and how he was killed. I was asking myself, how could something like this happen? Honestly!Was that because of place? or just because he was a young white male? One thing I was not shocked was how the media covered this issue. Dropouts killed him, one would think 'ow bad guys' dropouts, but that could happen to anyone and anyone could do that too. 

 

Since I am a journalism student I can say that media always goes right to the topics that are in the eye of the society and when they pass they will forget about it. For example last semester the media was always talking about was in Syria and how Bashar al-Assad kills his people but now nobody talks about it; the same thing on the issue of the Shepard’s death. We shouldn’t blame the media on how they cover it or not. It’s a business! And current media knows how to make money out of it. Media always seeks the drama and I think the article also pointed this out too. However, hate crime was and still is a big issue that makes people to stand together. And that’s what happened when this young man was killed, people even in Indiana stood up against hate crime and even congress passed bills on this issue too.

Superhero culture teaches masculinity

Every time I read an article for a class or just for fun, I always learn something positive; and want to compare it to what I've experienced in the past that could be comparable. 

I grew up in Tajikistan, Central Asia, and a post-Soviet country that went through many difficulties in the past 22 years of independent. To be honest I did not grew up watching Disney movies. Well except Aladdin, but yet not all of it, since we did not have a good TV or electricity to sit around TV and watch all what was happening in the world of superheroes and little princesses. 

Instead we watched a very old Soviet Union cartoon of Nu, pogodi! “Ну, погоди!” It was about a very

A Soviet Union cartoon Nu, Pogodi!

angry wolf always trying to catch and ‘presumably’ eat a little rabbit. It was a good cartoon for kids of my era because we saw bad and good in every creature in the world. Since wolf was a good friend sometimes. 

We also watched Hollywood movies of Jean-Claude Van Damme. He was my superhero of childhood; a very muscular man who helped people and always involved himself in fights. I always wanted to grow up and save my people from hunger and poverty. But just to think about, even my childhood was affected by superheroes and princesses. So far away from the western world we also were affected by this culture of Hollywood and Disney movies. Van Damme was a strong image for many kids in my neighborhood and princes Jasmine of Aladdin was a beautiful queen for little girls. 

However, my parent not always wanted us to draw our attention to this world of superheroes and princes, but showed us the reality of everything.  Of course my parents made me to read a lot of books and find my heroes from there than from the movies but yet it also affected my childhood.

What I am trying to say is simple; parents are the one in here to be blamed to make their kids to think that they can do whatever they wanted to. There is or should be at least a balance between the media, and film industry. 

Most of those who grew in families that parents allowed them to do whatever they wanted to don’t live in a real world and everything are perfect for them. I experienced that in my first two month of being in here in the states. It happened that I met a family here in Muncie, Indiana for a dinner. In a conversation when I was talking to their 15 years old daughter about Disney movies she suddenly said, 'no those characters are real.- Like you, pointing to me, you came from the world of Aladdin. He lives there.' I laughed and told her that this all is not real, and that all those movies are made up. She became so upset and made me feel bad. I was more shocked when her mom said ‘oh don’t worry he is just joking, they do exist!’

To me it was a slap in the face. No! I replied they don’t. You should know that, and smiled to not be all negative. 

In conclusion, I just want to say that there should be some morals even when parents let their kids to think they are superhero or princes. It would be perfect if parents thought their kids the different between real and cartoon of Disney world.

The benefit of social media

Tajikistan in the world map

I think social media, no matter what it is; Facebook, Twitter or even Skype is a revolution. It gives us so much power that we don't even realize how helpful and powerful we became through social media. It gives voice to those who are not heard or connects those who are far away from the loved once. Social media is very helpful, especially when we travel abroad. Those who have been abroad well know what I mean.

During our Skype conversation with my family.

In 2010 I came to Ball State as an exchange student and the only way I could communicate with my friends and family from back home, Tajikistan, was through Facebook. Back than my family didn't know how to use Skype so we communicated via Facebook for a while. That didn't work well because we couldn't see each other. I taught my family how to use Skype and from that moment on we have been using it for different reasons. I've even had lunch with them. My poor mom! She gets so happy every time when we Skype. She says, "Safar, I know that it's not like you are here physically but morally you are with us. And having lunch with us makes me to think you are with us because we do see you and hear your voice, even though it's through the camera." What a miracle. Isn't that wonderful? It connects us even though we are so far away from each other. But yet it's sad. It’s better that nothing right? 

I haven't been home for more than two years now. Last year, I got engaged and my family met my fiancé through Skype. All of them were so happy. Well, they will get to see her soon after we go back home to get married. However, I am getting married this summer and realized that since my family won't be able to come due to expenses, why not to Skype our wedding, so that they also participate in my American wedding. Everything is set for that to happen. It just made things so much easy for me.

I am sharing this peace of my life because I wanted to share my opinions on what I think of social media and let others know and realize that it can be used in ways that is helpful to us. The platform gives us options; it’s just up to us how to use it.  

My Parasocial Relationship with the Prison Break

I always wanted to write something about my parasocial relationship with the Prison Break (2005, TV Series) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455275/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1but always hesitated because I didn’t know much about the word itself. And after our class discussion I decided that now it’s time to revile an old secret. 

As it describes in the book a parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship, where one party knows a great deal about the other, but the other doesn’t. This sort of relationship is based on a bond of intimacy. Here we can bring an example of a viewer, when he or she knows a lot about that celebrity, TV-show or whatever he or she is attached, even though he or she ‘celebrity’ knows nothing of the viewer’s existence. 

Sometimes I think we the viewers or those who have a parasocial relationship with someone or something may not realize that we do have this relationship based on one side. For example, I can bring an example of myself; I did not know that I had such a relationship until we talked about it in class. In 2005 when the Prison Break came out I was crazy about it. I always watched it and waited impassionately to watch the next show on TV. I even got mad one time when a friend of mine told me that I take too serious this ‘stupid TV-show.’ I even started to talk like T-Bag (Theodore Bagwell) even though he played an even role.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS-E8WdpqjM He was such a great actor that impressed me with how he played his evil role. Or Michael Scofield (Wentworth Millers) role, he is a great guy and such a smart person that prisons himself for the sack of his brother.

I think I liked this show due to facts that prisons are a dangerous place and not that many people can stand in the prison. He is a realistic approach to what I know and don't know about prisons. When Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) got to prison his brother Michael Scofield went prison to save him from death penalty. And just seeing everything outside of the prison so much relating to what it exists in our society depicted why I got so much close with this TV-show.

Inspired by bloggers

In 2010 I came to Ball State University as an exchange student from Tajikistan to study journalism. I still remember my first class, it was about social media and how powerful blogging could be for future journalists and reporters. I didn’t even know what blog meant, so I had to look it up. After that class I felt in love with this system of online writings; Today I blog about what I think on certain issues and link other sources to what I write. 

Blog is a powerful writing technic that could be used in multiple ways. Some of my friends who blogs say, it’s like a diary for them. Personally for me it’s not only a diary, it’s a place where I archive my thoughts, writings and let others know about what I think on certain global issues such as health, international wars, globalization, peace, humanitarian and so on. 

Since I want to become an international correspondent I follow those who are already successful in this area of journalism such as Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn who both are New York Times journalists. For me it’s interesting to see what Kristof writes and reports for the Times and then turns and blogs about the same issues.http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/60441.Nicholas_D_Kristof/blog When this happens we can see two different reactions. For instance, in journalism there are ethical laws that they have to follow when reporting or writing but with blogs, it’s a different story. You own your own thoughts and the only ethical issue you have to deal is what you say.

According to Scientific American journal blogging is good for our health. As it this article report: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-healthy-type/ blogging helps those who blog with their memory and sleep and boosts their immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery.So blog while you can.