Obsessed with Celebs

Celebrity and Celebrity Culture.
One the most influential aspects in society today are the role that celebrities play.
What makes us so obsessed with celebrities but? Is it jealousy or pity or resentment for the lifestyles they lead?

For me, celebrities are iconic because they are on a pedestal that we are all aiming for. They indicate our own secret desires and dreams, which for most of us are completely unrealistic and unattainable.
Or perhaps, it is because we find them easier to relate to then our own family, friends and acquaintances. Britney Spears and her public break down, Blake Lively's confirmed nose job or even Delta Goodrem's battle of cancer.

Celebrities make us conscious of the public version of ourselves and how others look at us. They arouse in us the way we should look, the clothes we should wear and the way we should act. Yet, we are still reading the latest trash magazines and watching the latest reality TV shows. Are celebrities corrupting society? With the impact of new media such as television and the Internet, people all over the world now recognise these significant people. This leads to the major concern of who is actually content in this world when they do not live a life like Kim Kardashian or Liz Hurley? When typing a K into google, the sixth, seventh and eighth most searched all include celebrities.

It is the evolution of new media that has enabled society to become obsessed and influenced by the powerful celebrities and the lifestyles they lead. 


References:

Henry David Thoreau, "Are celebrities corrupting society?" http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/12/20/212251/38

Deborah King, "Celebrity Addiction", http://www.deborahkingcenter.com/resources/celebrities/

The Colliding and Convergence of Culture

Convergence culture- where new and old media collide.
In his new book, Henry Jenkins describes how this is the flow of information across multiple media platforms. New media, involving blogging, social media and the internet is now disperesed among the old media of newpsapers and radio. We have entered a new stage in society where nearly anyone now has the ability to publish their thoughts and opinions so that they are influencing the world around them.
Whether it be decisions made in corporate boardrooms or decisions made in a teenagers bedroom, new media has enabled everybody the chance to discuss their thoughts over the internet..

There has been much discussion about whether the newspaper is now dead, in a society where the latest information can be found within seconds on the internet, is the traditonal source of information in the daily paper, slowly dying?
I believe that although I still try to read the newspaper every day, many people (especially in the younger generations) will soon begin to reach for their smart phones and Ipads for news information instead of newspapers and radio.. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would never listen to the radio apart from it being in my car? I don't think I even own a radio.. point made!

Consumers now have the ability to get the information they want, when they want it, where they want it and how they want it.. and at the moment this through the ability of accessing both new and old media!

References:
Jenkins, H, (2006) 'Welcome to Convergence Culture'  Date Retrieved: 6/9/12 http://henryjenkins.org/2006/06/welcome_to_convergence_culture.html

Wearing thongs and a flanny!

I'm not gonna lie, this blog post is going to be boring.
After accidentally skipping my week 5 blog post, I have looked back onto the topic of diaspora. A term that was derived from the Greek word meaing scattered or dispersed.. Thanks Wikipedia!
But on a more serious note, the term diaspora did specifically refer to the exile of Jews from their homeland to around the globe. This term has evolved into a definition of "members of ethnic and national communities, who have left, but maintain links with, their homelands." (International Organization for Migration) This theory conveys the notion of transnational populations, migrants maintaining relationships with their homelands and an array of divided loyalites.

The question to discuss in this blog post was: How do you make culture?
This question really stumped me, I've never really thought that I influenced the world or the culture around me. Growing up living in Australia, as an Australian, with no other homeland, I felt like I didn't really fit the stereotypical "mate" who cooked a barbie and wore thongs and a flanny.  I wasn't connected to any other homeland, I didn't have a specific 'role' in life.

Do I make culture through music? No. Art? No. Politics? No. I can't say I am muscially or artistically creative in any way whatsover. I can play sport yes, but I've never felt that was making culture either.
As I kept thinking about how I make culture individually, I feel that perhaps it is through my own personal traditions. Like my strong family orientations. We spend every Easter and Christmas together no matter what. We sit down to a family dinner most nights at the dinner table and without fail I will sit down for coffee with my cousin every single Tuesday morning.

These traditions make my culture, and make me who I am.

References:
(2011) "What is meant by diaspora?"
http://www.diasporamatters.com/what-is-meant-by-diaspora/2011/

Ionescu, D. (2006) Engaging Diasporas as Development Partners for Home and Destination Countries: Challenges for Policymakers IOM Migration Research Series Paper No. 26, International Organization for Migration, 2006