- Length: 3:44
- Description: This video describes the psychological effects of watching television.
- Chapter 9: Television
- Question: What is the name of the mental state induced by television, characterized by high reception and easy suggestion?
- Answer: Alpha Level
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Television
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_7CJ5ozaM&feature=related
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Movies
I don't watch very many movies and the only one released in 2009 I can remember is Up. I thought it was a decent movie but I didn't love it, as I'm not a big movie person. I thought the music was well done and was implemented into the story really well (it one the Academy Award for music). The scenery was great to look at, and it was interesting because it was the only Pixar movie so far to be set in the wilderness.
My all-time favorite movie is 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was released in 1968. It's my favorite because the pace is perfect for me, combined with the amazing way classical music is combined with objects floating in space. The story is unpredictable and cerebral, and you can watch the movie multiple times and interpret it differently each time. It has limited dialogue and instead relies more on visuals and sound to convey the plot and characters, which truly sets it apart from any other movie. I first watched in on the internet, where on veoh.com they had a 45-minute chunk of the movie. Then I went out and bought it on Blu-ray and watched it on my big-screen tv.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8TABIFAN4o
My all-time favorite movie is 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was released in 1968. It's my favorite because the pace is perfect for me, combined with the amazing way classical music is combined with objects floating in space. The story is unpredictable and cerebral, and you can watch the movie multiple times and interpret it differently each time. It has limited dialogue and instead relies more on visuals and sound to convey the plot and characters, which truly sets it apart from any other movie. I first watched in on the internet, where on veoh.com they had a 45-minute chunk of the movie. Then I went out and bought it on Blu-ray and watched it on my big-screen tv.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8TABIFAN4o
Magazines
The magazine I propose will be called "Random Pictures". The idea behind it is a magazine aimed at presenting interesting pictures from around the world, whether it be of people, places, or both. It has no specific subject other than compiling scenes from around the world from all realms of society. It is different from existing magazines because it isn't aimed at any specific demographic or psychographic, and it has a univeral appeal that you don't always find with more esoteric magazines.
The only psychographic this magazine will be aimed at is anyone with an interest in world cultures, places, architecture, natural beauty, philosophy, or anything in between. Since everyone likes looking at pictures (unless you're blind) there are basically no limits to the appeal of the magazine.
Other magazines serving this psychographic (this magazine isn't aimed at a particular demographic) might include National Geographic, Budget Travel, Architectural Digest, Popular Photography, among others. It puts many different psychographics under the same roof.
The magazine will have no problem finding advertisers. It could attract camera companies such as Canon, online book sellers like bookcrossing.com, possibly Rosetta Stone, car companies like Ford, travel websites, such as Travelocity, or anything else that relates to those areas of interest.
Five articles that might kick off the premier issue could include "Random City: Cupertino", "Shanghai - 20 pictures", "3 Random people", "Picture of the Day pg. 35", and "5 amazing places you've never heard of". The layout of the articles will stay relatively consistent throughout each issue since the pictures will be changing each issue, which would not be a problem because of the surprise and unpredictability of the pictures. Opening the magazine would be a surprise, much like opening Christmas presents.
The cover of the premier issue would show a picture of a building in Shanghai (since the city has such amazing architecture), which would be any of it's prominent ones. The cover won't be composed of just one picture but would have a centerpiece picture flanked by pictures of the same building from more obscure angles and/or locations amidst the building. The names of articles will be reserved from the lower part of the cover and be listed in a bullet point fashion, but maybe with different sized and styles of font in different colors to make it a little more interesting. I feel that the traditional style of covers with words all over the place is somewhat unoriginal. The text "Random Pictures" will be in very stylish letters, in hopes of attracting younger and older readers alike, unlike National Geographic which has a more scholarly, older-person look.
The only psychographic this magazine will be aimed at is anyone with an interest in world cultures, places, architecture, natural beauty, philosophy, or anything in between. Since everyone likes looking at pictures (unless you're blind) there are basically no limits to the appeal of the magazine.
Other magazines serving this psychographic (this magazine isn't aimed at a particular demographic) might include National Geographic, Budget Travel, Architectural Digest, Popular Photography, among others. It puts many different psychographics under the same roof.
The magazine will have no problem finding advertisers. It could attract camera companies such as Canon, online book sellers like bookcrossing.com, possibly Rosetta Stone, car companies like Ford, travel websites, such as Travelocity, or anything else that relates to those areas of interest.
Five articles that might kick off the premier issue could include "Random City: Cupertino", "Shanghai - 20 pictures", "3 Random people", "Picture of the Day pg. 35", and "5 amazing places you've never heard of". The layout of the articles will stay relatively consistent throughout each issue since the pictures will be changing each issue, which would not be a problem because of the surprise and unpredictability of the pictures. Opening the magazine would be a surprise, much like opening Christmas presents.
The cover of the premier issue would show a picture of a building in Shanghai (since the city has such amazing architecture), which would be any of it's prominent ones. The cover won't be composed of just one picture but would have a centerpiece picture flanked by pictures of the same building from more obscure angles and/or locations amidst the building. The names of articles will be reserved from the lower part of the cover and be listed in a bullet point fashion, but maybe with different sized and styles of font in different colors to make it a little more interesting. I feel that the traditional style of covers with words all over the place is somewhat unoriginal. The text "Random Pictures" will be in very stylish letters, in hopes of attracting younger and older readers alike, unlike National Geographic which has a more scholarly, older-person look.
Books
I've done loads of reading in the past year and here are a few of the biggest books that have influenced me.
The one that influenced me most is a book called "The David Icke Guide to the Global Conspiracy" by David Icke. It's not very well known in the United States, but the author, David Icke, is famous in the UK. In short the book explains in depth how the world is really run. He explains the truth behind the banking system, elections, government systems, and many other things, and how they all tie into a secretive group that works to install a global dictatorship. Sound ridiculous? I can understand, but I encourage people to read the book before criticizing.
http://www.amazon.com/David-Icke-Guide-Global-Conspiracy/dp/0953881083/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286569577&sr=1-1
The second book that influenced me most is called "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before" by Jean Twenge. In short it's about today's generation, or in other words everyone born from 1971 onward, and how this generation behaves and will inherit the world of tomorrow. It covers the psychology of the generation, the habbits, the interests, etc. and the author's central claim is that this generation is the most spoiled and selfish in the history of the world. She calls it "generation me" because the main aspect of this generation is it's narcissism. A very thought provoking book.
http://www.amazon.com/Generation-Americans-Confident-Assertive-Entitled--/dp/0743276981/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286569640&sr=1-1
The third book is called "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen. It's about how the school system typically distorts history to suit the special interests of the people who run the school system, as well as the authors of school textbooks. It puts emphasis on American history and how nothing is written about the wrongdoing of this country, the neglect of minorities, and other things. I haven't looked at history tought in school the same again.
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Everything/dp/0743296281/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286569658&sr=1-1
The one that influenced me most is a book called "The David Icke Guide to the Global Conspiracy" by David Icke. It's not very well known in the United States, but the author, David Icke, is famous in the UK. In short the book explains in depth how the world is really run. He explains the truth behind the banking system, elections, government systems, and many other things, and how they all tie into a secretive group that works to install a global dictatorship. Sound ridiculous? I can understand, but I encourage people to read the book before criticizing.
http://www.amazon.com/David-Icke-Guide-Global-Conspiracy/dp/0953881083/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286569577&sr=1-1
The second book that influenced me most is called "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before" by Jean Twenge. In short it's about today's generation, or in other words everyone born from 1971 onward, and how this generation behaves and will inherit the world of tomorrow. It covers the psychology of the generation, the habbits, the interests, etc. and the author's central claim is that this generation is the most spoiled and selfish in the history of the world. She calls it "generation me" because the main aspect of this generation is it's narcissism. A very thought provoking book.
http://www.amazon.com/Generation-Americans-Confident-Assertive-Entitled--/dp/0743276981/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286569640&sr=1-1
The third book is called "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen. It's about how the school system typically distorts history to suit the special interests of the people who run the school system, as well as the authors of school textbooks. It puts emphasis on American history and how nothing is written about the wrongdoing of this country, the neglect of minorities, and other things. I haven't looked at history tought in school the same again.
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Everything/dp/0743296281/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286569658&sr=1-1
Media Impact
A decent idea for a research project would be to see if playing more violent videogames corresponds with a higher rate of supporting a war (i.e. Iraq or Afghanistan). I predict that this will be true, and it ties in to the cultivation theory, saying that the media distorts peoples' perceptions of the world, in this case making players think the world is full of enemies that need to be fought. A method of testing this would be to ask how frequently M-rated games are played, and see if the same group has a higher chance of supporting a war than the casual or non-gamer. Since the textbook illustrates cases where people who watch violent TV hacw greater feeling of being mugged, I wondered if the same would apply to videogames. Since videogames frequently involve shooting guns in military settings, I thought maybe this would engender sympathy with real-world military policy.
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