Well who would have ever thought that a University reading would be inspiring!
I read the reading after I got home from the Women’s March on International Women’s Day and it confirmed to me that I’m in the right course and the right profession. I’d spent the afternoon posting content on my own website’s Instagram (@genzine) posting images and live posting to the Instagram Story feature.
I got home and to read David Gauntlett’s “Introduction” was incredibly refreshing. I also took note of Brian’s comment in the lecture about the phrase “the media”. Sometimes I feel conflicted about whether this is the profession I want due to the lumping together term “the media” for example, “The media, gives young girls negative body images.” or “The media glorifies celebrity status.” but Gauntlett’s point about the media containing old themes of ‘old media’ “but with two new peaks of exciting and vital activity on either side” (Gauntlett 2015)
I created these two images to visually describe the points made in the reading. Sometimes it is easy to look at the pessimistic view, to think that the media is only negative and only talks about negative topics, is depressing and reminding the population that the government is reading their data and watching their every move (Hello Orwelian dystopia) However I am and have always been an optimist! When I say “I want a career in media.” it contains the themes of inspiration, empowering through the everyday and creating beautiful things and this inspires me to continue on. I want to make things happen, be a part of the media that creates movement and change not simply “a channel for communicating”. In this new era of social and networked media, we as media makers have a responsibility to question others but also question ourselves and if we are producing content to innovate and cultivate or create division and exploitation…