Rationale

I chose to make an interview to a musician that writes jingles, a person who knows how to send a corporation's message through the lyrics of a song. This character is called Sam Wilkinson and he is in the fiction TV show that I made up called "In The Culture Studio" where different types of artist show up to talk about their work and to keep people informed about the news in the art's world. The presenter asked to the musician about how he could make some songs fit into a movie or into a TV advertisement "Presenter: -Very interesting. Tell me, how is it different to compose music for jingles than for rock stars?". Sam Wilkinson referred to the types of media, language and music that he could use to reach young and adults. I chose this format because the focus of the conversation can be easily lead by the interviewer avoiding getting to far from the topic. I wrote also about the corporations and how they try to get a particular image so the audience can get the essence of them and the publicity then is more effective. " The most important thing is to know what is the image that the company wants to project to the people. For example coca-cola relate their product with happiness."

Written Task 1

Presenter: -Welcome again to another episode of "In The Culture Studio", where we talk about the art, music, novels and much more. Don't lose the tonight's interview with Samuel Wilkinson, a jingles writer who worked in campaigns for industries such as McDonald's, Pepsi, Nike, and also Barack Obama's presidential elections campaign. He will refer to us how they used the media to send the messages and how it can reach different people. Now, welcome everybody Samuel Wilkinson (applause). Good evening Sam, how are you tonight?

Wilkinson: -Hello, I'm very glad of being here, thank you for the invitation.

Presenter: -You are welcome, please take a sit. So tell me about your life Sam, where did you study?

Wilkinson: -After high school I chose to study music composition in Juilliard School. When I was a young boy I used to watch all this big starts such as David Bowie playing their music in big concerts, with all the fans shouting mad; and I wanted to be like that. When I grew up I lost that dream of being a rock star, though I didn't lose the love for music. So I decided to join the music industry as a quite composer, I made music for campaigns, important idols such as Madonna, and movie's soundtracks.

Presenter: -Very interesting. Tell me, how is it different to compose music for jingles than for rock stars?

Wilkinson: -That's a good question. The most important thing of this business is to know how music can fit different needs. Sometimes music is free to play whatever the artist wants, that's the case of independent bands or a contemporary composers. But when music is at the mercy of others, for example religion or movies, the composer isn't free to do whatever he wants; he must use it to transmit a specific message. The last jingle I wrote was for a jacket brand. The most important thing is to know what is the image that the company wants to project to the people. For example coca-cola relate their product with happiness. In this case, the jackets brand, that is called "South Pole", wanted to make a relation between their clothes with the warm sensation of being at home with the family in winter season. So I can't just drop a pair of electric guitar riff and a hard percussion as if I was composing for a rock band. I need to be selective at the time of choosing the instruments, melodies and the most important, lyrics.

Presenter: -I think that the song from the South Pole's ad is awesome. It's very interesting to know from the words of a real composer these types of differences that are more technical. But how does the lyrics of your songs varies according to the message, the audience and the medium by which it will be transmitted?

Wilkinson: -Well, when an agency calls me to work with them, there are other bureaus that take care of those aspects of the publicity. Once I receive all the information about the media, the target audience and the image that they want to project, I can start writing. The media I commonly work with is TV, Internet, mp3 and radio. Those are the ones by which it's possible to reproduce a song. If the target audience is teenagers then the ad will be reproduced on certain TV shows, at a specific hour and station in the radio, and the Internet is much precise at this point because it offers profiles of the users. To reach teenagers we must know what they consider attractive, things like alcohol, parties, friends, doing sports, having a good time is what they like. So when a brand wants to link to a concept, they must consider to whom that is attractive. My songs lyrics can go from marriage to anarchist, it all depends whom are we trying to reach. And the music is vital, because generations identify themselves with different styles and genres. For example, if I try to catch the attention of an old man, I will surely write a classic rock ballad, something soft, acoustic and rhythmic. But if I want to catch a teenager, then I'll have to use synthesizers, a fast tempo, a loud melody, something that he would like to hear in a discotheque. The lyrics may have slang and jargon, but the image that the brand wants to represent is the main focus of the song's lyrics.

Presenter: -So the image that the company wants to project is the most important thing?

Wilkinson: -That's right. I cannot say in my lyrics only subjects that will call the audience attention, I must find the balance between the message that the company wants to deliver, and the things the audience wants to hear.

Presenter: -Sam Wilkinson, thank you very much for being part of tonight's show. I hope we can se you here again soon. Thank to the audience and see you the next weekend with more of In the Culture Studio. Goodnight.

Celebrity Influence on Youth Culture

Teenagers are bound to be influenced by celebrities to some degree, simply because it is impossible to escape celebrity culture. The media is fixated on what celebrities are doing, so that even the most respectable newspapers end up covering celebrity-related stories. Many teenagers want to become celebrities themselves, as they see the celebrity lifestyle as glamorous and sexy. When there are many celebrities who are famous for doing nothing, it isn’t surprising that many teenagers think that if they become a celebrity, they will have an easy life. 

Some teenagers are not prepared to knuckle-down and work hard at school because they become convinced that they can make their fortune by appearing on American Idol or some other ‘talent’ show. Of course, many teenagers will grow out of this phase and realise that they have to actually do something with their lives, rather than continually follow a dream that is unlikely to come true. There are some who won’t face up to this reality, though, and who believe that eventually they will get the fame they deserve.

Body image is an issue for teenagers and here celebrities have some influence, particularly over girls. It is very unusual to see celebrities carrying a bit of extra weight and those who do are often the subject of derision. Whenever a celebrity is photographed by the paparazzi looking less than glamorous, with no make-up, a flabby stomach and visible cellulite, there will no doubt be sarcastic comments made by the ‘journalist’ writing the ‘story’. A few weeks later the same celebrity will be photographed looking ultra-svelte and sophisticated.

Celebrities feel the pressure to stay slim and to make the most of their appearance, which is something that teenage girls and, to a lesser extent, teenage boys feel. The media obsession with celebrity, particularly how celebrities look, may not create eating disorders, but it is certainly influencing how teenagers feel about their own bodies.

Teenagers are comparing themselves to impossibly perfect celebrities who all have their own stylists on hand to help them look good. It is when these celebrities leave the house without their personal entourage that they are snapped looking less than perfect! These aren’t the images that teenagers tend to pay attention to, though, as they have a tendency to look at images of celebrities who always look good, which just makes them feel bad about their own appearance.

There may be some teenagers who eschew celebrity culture, but when celebrities are used to advertise anything and everything and even pop up in news stories, it is very difficult to escape the power of celebrity. It is even tougher for teenagers than adults, as they are often desperate to fit in with their peers who may have a greater interest in celebrity-related matters.

By Michelle Wilkinson                                      http://www.helium.com/items/2069310-how-celebrities-influence-teenagers

The Basics about Paper 1

• Paper 1 exam is a written commentary about two random text.

•The student has two hours for the making of the analysis.

•The commentary should compare both text in terms of register, style, tarjet audience, intention, bias, effecto of medium, author.

Act 1 Image analysis

  Black and white are the colours present that give a sad atmosphere. Television, newspaper, radio, internet are all the elements that media uses, they are all connected because all of them give information to the people. The text seems to be sarcastic, it gives us a reassuring message, but, do we know who is behind media? No, we are forced to trust people that we don't know to filter the information and select the news. 

FOA Written Reflection

Area to which the task is linked. (Please include the sub topic to which it is linked)
Language in Mass Communication. Language in Songs. 

Activity type:  Oral Presentation


In the table below, candidates must list the source of all support materials that relate to the presentation. (You should also attach a properly formatted bibliography, as appropriate.)

Title of Work/Text	Author	Text Type
Jargon, Dialect and Pronunciation	Rob Allison and Brian Chanen	English A: Language and Literature. Course Companion
The Sixties	Susan Goodwin and Becky Bradley	http://kclibrart.lonestar.edu/deacade60.html (21 april, 20:36)

Aims for the task: 

To understand how language varies in song, in order to reach different tarjet audience.

Comment on your performance and the progress you made in achieving the aims above.

_With a lot of investigation and a hard way through I was able to explain the context, the topic and the language of the songs I previously chose.

Further Oral Activity reflective statement: Guidance

You may consider the following for your reflective statement, in line with the IB guidelines for the Further Oral Activity. The statement should be about 200-300 words, similar to a rationale for a Written Task.

You should try to give some specific ideas about decisions you made concerning structure, content, language, and so on, in order to meet your aims with the presentation.

Your reflection should respond to the following questions:

What was the overall purpose of your particular choice of oral activities?

Applying the concepts about language that we learned

How did you determine to achieve that purpose? 
By Showing examples and the record it self to the audience.

In addressing the above questions, you might address the following:

1) In what ways did your Further Oral Activity explore the ways in which the circumstances of production and reception affect the meaning of the selected text(s)? 
I explored the hole context of the sixties, including things like the counter culture and the vietnam war. I also compared the text I chose with actual ones and made a contrast of the significance the language has.

2) How does your task relate to the study of texts and topics from parts I or II? Be as specific as possible. 
My task relate directly to the "Dialect, jargon, pronunciation" subtitle that can be found in the page 167 of the English A: Language and Literature Course Companion. And also the "Register and Style" section in page 165.

3) What sort of language and register did you choose to use for your task, and why? 
I chose formal language, because my presentation consisted on showing to the audience how language varies in two different songs, so it wasn't necesary for me to use any type of slang or jargon to show this. My objective was to transmite my analysis to my class, and they use formal language.

4) How did you structure your analysis, and why? 
I made an introduction to the topic by showing the context of production, so people can understand later the real meaning of the words. Next I read a paragraph from the first song and made an analysis, then the same with the second song. At the end I made a comparison with a conclusion.

5) What can you say about your performance? 
I think it was efective, because of the response that the public had, and the effort I put into it.

6) What can you say about your progress in achieving the aims you had set yourself for this task? 
Where were you successful, and what might you do differently? In general terms I reached my aims, I could improve the part where I had to make the audince participate.

Idea Planner for Written Task 1 on Language and Mass Communication

Idea One:	Text type: A screen play for a documentary
	Topic: How Walt Disney used the media to reach children all around the world
	Audience: People interested in history.
	Why this text type is appropriate to topic: Because the topic is based in facts, not opinions, and documentaries are used to tell people about historical events, and therefore I expected to be absent of bias.

Idea Two:	Text type: Interview
	Topic: A musician talks about his laboral experience as a jingles writer, and how he usde this medium to spread messages sent by corporations
	Audience: People interested in music
	Why this text type is appropriate to topic: Because it can easily lead the center of the conversation, avoiding going to the branches of the conversation.

Idea Three:	Text type: A letter to the editor
	Topic: The reflection of a reader about a new that was proved it was fake. This new lied about it content in for of a native tribe.
	Audience: People who read the fake new. Interested in the subject.
	Why this text type is appropriate to topic: Because it allows the writer to express a strong critic with free expose of arguments.

"Why Antigua and Barbuda?" Analysis

This extract is a persuasive article that by the use of personal opinions and selective information wants the reader to travel to Antigua and Barbuda. It uses formal language. “Why Antigua and Barbuda?” the title tell us that the text will be arguing for the country, “the beaches are beautiful” is the way the writer describes one of the many places, subjective? The article is located in the webpage “wheretostay.com”, so this is probably just one of many countries/cities discribed in the page. The author is not mention in the extract, it could be the webpage's administrator, a user loyal to the site, or someone from the government of Antigua and Barbuda promoting the country. This overview is very bias and it only shows the good and expensive places of the country, by doing this the audience reached is wealthy people and families, and it makes sense, this people will spend more money, that is what the country needs.

The hole text is in english, without any link to a spanish version, reducing the audience only to certain type of cultures/countries such as, England, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia, english speakers. From the very beginning untill the end the author mentions the luxury and glamorous places to stay and visit, "Luxury hotels", "The largest and most developed tourist destination" the text always refers to the best of everything, "better-known hotels", "best-known resort", with this kind of references is impossible to a medium class family make any kind of planification, the ones that are meant to read this are rich and wealthy families. The activities that the author offer are very particular, things such museums and historical places, "The museum of Antigua & Barbuda", "historical site called Nelson's Dockyard"; very attractive activities for a senior or a bookish. There are also natural landscapes and just one place to dance, the favourite activity for teenagers, "rugged mountain peaks ideal for island overviews", "the site offers panoramic views", "the atmosphere is pure fun and local bands play infectious dance music"; the author focuses much more in fathers, by offering relaxing and comfortable activities, probably because they are the ones that choose where the family goes on vacation. There are some elements to consider at the time of knowing the tarjet audience, "lack of presence of a U.S. -based chain.", "British Empire is still evident in both the formal demeanor of the local population"; the lack of U.S. based chain hardly be used as an argument to convince someone to visit Antigua and Barbuda, but it is more likely that some group of people won't visit the country because of this, americans nationalists; the mention of the British Empire and the discipline of the inhabitants is something that an englishman would love, these implicit messages are some of the techniques used by the author.

The description of Barbuda begins in the fifth paragraph. This one differs markedly with Antigua's description, "is wild, woolly and barely inhabited", "one tiny cement block structure"; this types of adjetives shape our perception, words like tiny, woolly, or cement block structure, aren't glamorous nor luxury at all, a repulsive feeling is what they make the reader feel. Is difficult to find a reason for this ugly description of Barbuda, the writer could be trying to offer all types of atmosphere and activities to the audience, or, as I said in the begining, the author could be a user trying to show the good and bad things of the country. The first nice place to visit, according to the text, are the isolated beaches, "beautiful stretches of uninhabited beach", maybe the view is beautiful, but its not part of human nature being alone, so just a minory would like to visit Barbuda.

As we saw in the analysis, the effect that the author want to cause on the reader is the need to travel to Antigua and Barbuda, this is seen in the variety of activities and atmospheres offered, but the text isn't objective at all, the author says many personal opinions and he mentions only the best places to stay. With formal language the writer mentions relaxing and historical places to visit, thus defining the public.

The Power of Media

1. What is Harold Laswell’s Chain of Communication’s Model?

2. What does the theorist Marshall McLuhan’s mean by stating that “the Medium is the Message”?

It doesn't matter what they say, but to who and how.

3. Refer to Jurgen Habermas’ “Public Sphere as a Platform for Advertising”

4. What is the connection between Self-Presentation & the Celebrity Image?