Politics vs. Hollywood

Lately I've noticed an annoying trend on sites like CNN.com and other political news websites. I find they've been reporting a lot more on what's going on in celebrities lives, instead of using their time and resources to report on important political news and events. Just today I've seen stories on home pages about TI's jail time and Rhianna's new tattoo. Leave it to the gossip shows to report on these events, CNN, don't pollute your stature by becoming a gossip network. Okay, so I might be exaggerating a tiny bit when I say they're heading toward becoming a gossip network, but I don't think it's doing them any good reporting these kinds of things. Do you think they just bust out these stories on slow news days or are they heading in a new direction as to possibly appeal to a different audience? Whatever it is, it's annoying. 

Recycling Music

So the other day I went through my old CD's that by now I'm embarassed to have. I decided to sell them back to Newbury Comics and try to get at least a little bit of cash back for them. I brought back 6 CD's and hoping I would get AT LEAST 5 bucks for each of them, I walked away with $15.75. I sat in my car and though, I must have got ripped off, there's no way that's right. I went home, hopped online and searched for prices of the used CD's I sold back and sure enough it was about 2 dollars for each of them. I feel like I totally got ripped off, spending $12-$15 for a CD and getting $2 dollars back for it (and no, they weren't scratched at all, they looked brand new). There's really not much you can do but either keep them in your closet and forget about them or sell them back and get a stick of gum or two. Oh well. 

Sex In The Media

Sex is a very big part of todays media. It's becoming much more acceptable in society than ever before. Film uses sex to draw in viewers, as it can get away with a lot more than television's censorship. But where is the line between art and sleaze? This is going alone with our discussions on art films vs. mainstream films. It seems that art films get away with a lot more sexual scenes because they aren't trying to exploit sex, but rather depict it in a certain light, whether it's a good light or bad. Mainstream films seem to exploit sex, providing many sexual instances just in their trailers alone. Even certain roles in mainstream film require a stereotypical sexy girl/guy, an example that comes to mind is main or secondary characters in horror films. Are mainstream films just as entitled as art films to use sex in their story? Do they both use the same motives for including sex in their films or are art films more just in their use of sex?

Music In Commercials

Almost every commercial you see uses music, whether its music created specifically for the commercial, or popular music. Sometimes the music merges so well with the commercial that every time you hear the song, you're reminded of the commercial. I find this happens a lot, but I have mixed feelings on it. From a television standpoint I think it's a great way to advertise and give something familiar to the viewer to relate to. From a musical standpoint, I think it's annoying that whenever I listen to the song it makes me think of the commercial! Even though it's a show, one example is The Who on CSI. Whenever the songs come on it makes me immediately think of CSI. It kind of puts a damper on the song when you relate it to a completely different entity on TV. It is, however a great way to advertise and I think television uses music as a great asset to sell and entertain. What do you think and what are some examples you've noticed of popular music that makes you think of a specific show or commercial every time you hear it?

Annoying.

 The only time anyone really enjoys watching commercials is during the Superbowl. They are best used for bathroom or food breaks in and between shows. Money is spent on ways to get around watching commercials (for example, TiVo). It's one thing to advertise during an allotted time in the show, but I find one of the most annoying new methods of advertising on TV is DURING a show. Some stations are worse than others, but these ads will appear on the screen in the middle of the show and sometimes take up up to 1/2 the screen. They can be animated and be very distracting to what's going on behind it, not to mention you cant even see the show thats on! I hate this new way of advertising and I think companies should stick to the basic full-screen commercials and not take away from the entertainment of their programming.