Laura Enescu, Unit 2

The Media: Understanding Choices

Lesson 6 6) Personal-opinion paragraph

My favorite medium for receiving news is the website, in other words, the internet, because you can choose the information you are receiving and you can compare the same information from one website to other websites. Doing so, you see more details and other opinions about the same topic. Also, the news on TV or newspaper, are quite short, and they do not give out the whole details and information. Often, it depends on the personal opinion of the particular channel, so the news can be influenced by it. Using the internet, you can search very fast about some information you read on the news websites. For example, on the news you see or read they are presenting the causes and the victims made by breast cancer. After you see this new, you can search and find out some medical website where you can receive more information about causes, treatments, what you can do to prevent it and so on. Also, you can find some blogs or forums where women are talking about their experiences with breast cancer, their fears and their thoughts. I once saw a new about cervical cancer and some vaccine for it, so I wanted to know more about this particular cancer and about the vaccine. The internet was very helpful and I found the information that I needed. The websites are offering you more information about international news. Usually, on TV, the international news are not that many, just the most important ones for the country you live in. On the internet, you can find some official news websites from international countries and to read the news directly from there. You might find something important and interesting for you or your friends and family. Lets say you want to find more information about UK or Australia, because you plan to go there in vacation and you need to know if everything its all right or if there are any problems so you can prepare or cancel the trip. In this case, it is better to take the information directly from the source. I am very interested in what happens in Europe and Romania (SaudEast Europe), because Im originally from there and I still have family and friends back home, and I want to know all the time what is the situation in Europe and my country. I might also go back home in vacations or maybe I will move back. I never know what will happen, so I like to be informed. In my case, the internet is the only option to find out about my country, since on TV they do not give any news about it. Another thing I like about the internet is that, on website you can choose the news you want to know about and the information you care to know. You do not have to wait minutes for the unimportant news to pass so you can finely receive the information you care about. Also, you can ignore the impropriate news and videos. For instance, I do not care about what pop-stars or movie-stars did on their birthday, on Sunday or

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what they eat for breakfast. I find it pretty boring and I consider this information useless. I do not get why I should care about some peoples life I will never meet. Some of them do not even deserve to be known about. In conclusion, I believe that the internet is the best option for receiving news and for finding useful information. You can easily combine official news, with professional information, peoples experiences and opinions, in just a few minutes, whenever you want. Easy, smart and fast.

Lesson 8 8) New Bond film a giant advert

a) How is Bonds creator, Ian Fleming, also guilty of product placement? Ian Fleming is accepting product placement in the film, because it represents a great business. The product companies are paying big money to have their products show within scenes. James Bond is a man who loves his labels and Ian Fleming even wrote in the original script that the hero drove a Bentley. b) Describe the target audience for this film. From your own ideas, explain one reason why product placement in Bond films might be effective and one reason why it might be not. The target audience for this film is very large, from young to old. Product placement in Bond film might be effective because Bond it is a very popular movie and people tend to copy what they see on the screen. The fans of James Bond will buy the products he uses, so they can be just like their hero. Teenagers and young people are more likely to buy the products they see James Bond uses, because they want to impress their friends and they usually tend to made fan-clubs. On the other hand, some people might not make the difference between the films screen and the product advertises from the movie, and they will think that the products are fiction, just like the movie itself. People over 30-35 years or seniors can watch the Bond film, but it is less likely for them to buy the products they see on the screen, because they have bills to pay, kids to take care of, car, mortgage and they usually dont try to identify themselves with the characters from the film, because they already know who they are. c) Why are advertisers turning to product placement, rather than traditional forms of advertising? These days, there are many people who prefer to watch the films directly in cinemas or on their computer. It is more comfortable to watch movies without the advertising break. The

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same things are available for reality-shows. There for, the product companies are placing their products in movies, reality-shows, so they can make sure everybody sees and discovers their products. It is a good way for the products to reach more people, not just the ones who are watching TV or videos where the ads can be skip. d) Why are advertisers particularly interested in placing products in Bond films? The advertisers are particularly interested in placing products in Bond films, because the movies have many fans and they are very popular worldwide. Also, Bond films have a large audience and it represents a great opportunities for the products companies. e) What does the final sentence of this article mean? The last sentence of this article means that is getting harder to make the difference between advertising and the actually film script. People are getting used with it and they will take the product placement as part of the film. f) Provide another example from your own experience of the blurring of the lines between advertising of the content and explain how it shows these characteristics. I was watching Next Top Model and two aspiring models were posing for the photoshoots holding in their hand some deodorant spray and they were pulverizing it in the air. They were in Finland and most of the decor was white: snow, trees and houses covered in snow and ice. Since it was the first time they were taking photos with spray, you had the impression it was part of the challenge and photo shoot, especially when you were seeing the picture, but after a few seconds I realized that it was product placement, , because they were showing the product brand. Despite the fact that they were promoting that product during their photo shoots, the after pictures were amazing. Lesson 9 9) Part A a) What is the main idea or purpose of this text? The main idea of this text is mass bomber rides of Germany and the damages it causes for Germans civilian. b) Provide two facts from the passage that supports this idea. The text tells us that 600.000 people died and other 5 million remained homeless. Also, the main point of strategic bombing was to crush civilian morals.

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c) Are there any generalization or exaggeration in this text? If so, quote one of them. One possible exaggeration might be this: The value and morality of the strategic bomber offensive against Germany remains bitterly contested. d) Quote two examples of emotionally charged language used in the text, and briefly explain why you chose them. Examples of emotionally charged language: vast destruction and heavy loss of life and bitterly contested. I chose these to quotes because both of them express the emotions of the texts author. The first quote expresses sadness, mercy and the second one expresses anger, disappointment. e) Veteran Canadian soldiers were angered by this text. Explain why they might feel this way? They probably thought that their efforts and their suffering were unappreciated and the author was rutting for their enemy, Germany. f) Since the text its factual, why do you think the Senate subcommittee said the museum should change it? Give two points in your answers. The Senate subcommittee said the museum should change the article to make the veterans soldiers happy, to calm them down and to avoid conflicts. Also they might want to put accent on the Allied efforts and losses, not on the Germany damages because of their past actions. Part B a) State three ideas that remain the same in both versions. In both texts says that Germany was under strategic bombing and the reason for it, the number of dead people and homeless people remained the same. Also, the fact that the strategy did not work as they expected, is found in both texts. b) As you can see, the new version is longer than the original. Name three kinds of information that werent in the original text and have been added. There are three new information in the second version: the strategic bombing was a success and it was approved and liked by the public and political, detailed about what was destroyed, like oil facilities and transportations, every part of major cities, and last but not least, the fact that 80.000 Allied people were involved, including more than 10.000 Canadians. c) Why might Canadian veterans like this version better than the original version? State three points.

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The Canadian veterans like this version better because it says more about their efforts, it states an approximately number of how many Canadians were involved, the material efforts and it shows that the strategic plan was supported by the political and public, which makes it look more better that the other version. d) As a citizen or resident of Canada, which version do you prefer? Explain your choice with at least two supporting arguments. I prefer the first version, because I do not think the history should hide the mistakes. Every nations has some dark moments in its history, besides it was in the past nothing will changed it now. The truth remains the truth, even if we changed it to suite our opinion. I am not saying Canada did something wrong, but we should know how the actions affected other nations, in this case civilian Germans. The version was factual and directly.