Resources and Blogs (1)

It can be quite frustrating when writers ramble about ideas and facts that seem to come out of nowhere. To prevent this irritating experience, I have added many resources and blogs to my page, which will be helpful not only in the postings, but also in the understanding of my blog. My resources include everything from surveys, articles, and tables that relate to the entertainment industry, societal trends, or to the correlation between the two. If interested in celebrities, media topics, or the entertainment industry in general, there can also be multiple blogs found on the Internet relating to these subjects. The blogs that I have linked to my page discuss controversy in the news media, the abuse of women in society, and problems in the fashion industry.

Two of my resources include surveys and tables, which contain data that will help me with future postings. One resource, titled "Survey: Teens and Celebrities," gives insight as to how teens feel about celebrities and their overall influence by them. However, the survey seems to ask the teens only hypothetical and "what if" questions as opposed to asking them about their own experiences with celebrities and the things that they have actually done or changed about themselves due to being exposed to celebrities; although, this resource is still helpful in understanding where some teens stand when it comes to celebrities. The table, titled "Entertainment and Media Industry Overview," gives information on how much money consumers spend on television, movies, music, and many other types of consumer entertainment. This table gives an understanding of exactly how much most Americans are exposed to different aspects of the entertainment industry. I have also linked a list of entertainment industry topics, which gives a sense of the multiple aspects throughout the entertainment industry, as opposed to just focusing on actors, singers, and models. For example, before looking through this list, I never thought to consider athletes as well as professional sports, as apart of my topic; however, they are also apart of the entertainment industry. The list also gives a good idea as to what all the entertainment industry entails for those who are unsure. Another resource that I have included, "Cultural Trends," is a list of websites that keep up with current cultural trends, which is very helpful because I can see what current trends are taking place and relate them to trends in the entertainment industry. The last resource I have included, "Celebrity Influence," is like an Internet magazine created by students, which discusses everything in pop culture from body image and appearance, to how celebrities are constantly playing a role in the things we buy and the way we act.

The blogs that I have linked are also related to the entertainment industry and society. They all discuss certain aspects of the entertainment industry and relate it to impacting the lives of Americans. Four out of the seven blogs that I have linked are blogs from My Space, which are viewed by a wide range audience, and also seem to be tapping into the same online community. Whoever the writer has as "friends" will by exposed to their blogs, as well as any others who are searching for blogs about how celebrities, television, or fashion is impacting American culture. For example, in the blog, "Godfather of Domestic Violence," the writer explains how celebrities accused of abusing or mistreating women are either not punished at all or punished very lightly, which sets women at a low standard in society. The writer is focused on getting society to view women with more respect and value. The blog "Discrimination in the Fashion Industry," explains how thin models and actresses are creating trends in culture, causing people to want to be thinner and have certain body images. This is also influencing the fashion industry, as the writer describes how clothes are being designed only for those with ideal body types and not for those with heavier figures. The goal of this blog is to create "more beauty and positive energy in this world," and to make our society see all body types as ideal and not just those of famous celebrities and models.

Another blog, "Celebrity Magazines," discusses how celebrity magazines tend to try to make celebrities appear as if they are "just like us" as they show them eating hamburgers and tying their shoes. The writer of this blog feels that this is condescending. This also shows how celebrity magazines expose us to the lives of celebrities even more, impacting our culture further. However, although this blog discusses how celebrity magazines "irk" her, it does not mention anyhitng about how these magazines actually do influence society and culture, as much as it discusses some of the irritating tendencies of celebrity magazines. The last My Space blog is "Class Starts...While You Are at It, Shotgun Your T.V." This blog discusses how television has become apart of our culture and is consuming the lives of many Americans. The writer of this blog feels that we would have a much better society if we got rid of television. One can see how the blogs included from My Space are similar in that they think that certain forms of entertainment are negatively affecting our society.

Another blog that I have linked is "Dare To Share's Top 5 Teen Trends of 2007." However, unlike the above mentioned blogs, this one is reaching out to a different audience. It is not so much addressing audiences interested in the entertainment industry and its influence, but more to audiences with religious backgrounds as the blog is religious based. It does not discuss celebrities or entertainment; however, the teen trends that the writer discusses will be useful in comparing them to those trends in the media. I have also linked the blog, "Mass Media," which discusses how the media and news channels are covering more and more stories about celebrities and entertainment. Since their content is based on public opinion, they cover stories that the public wants to hear and that they are entertained by, which shows our culture's high interest in these topics. However, this blog seems to be catering to an audience whose interest is in journalism because of its focus on news content. The goal of this blog is to have news with more educational content and content which requires more thinking about societal and global issues, as opposed to current celebrity hook-ups and weddings. The last blog that I have linked is "Celebrities," which is similar to that of "Mass Media" because the writer explains how our society focuses more on celebrities and their whereabouts, as opposed to more serious subjects like the war in Iraq. The goal of this blog, similar to that of "Mass Media," is to get our society to focus more on other issues as opposed to focusing on celebrity news.

Although my resources and blogs contain different material and are not all reaching out to the same audience, they are all related to the entertainment industry, society, and culture in some way. They will all aid in my postings, making them richer with other insight, facts, and information.