To sum up all I have written for this quarter is that media can be perceived with different meanings. I have realized that it is quite difficult to create forms of media when you know that the whole world can react to it differently. It's not really a big of a deal once it's just a clash of personalities or what but when it comes to really serious things like the values and morals are ignored and MTRCB prepares to get their hands dirty. Now you know that you're in trouble. As a person who is influenced by the media every single day, what I should do is to be careful. I should keep my values and morals intact.

"For Blue Skies"
Strays Don't Sleep

It's been a long year since we last spoke
How's your halo?
Just between you and I
You and me and the sad lights
I never believed you I only wanted to
Before all this what did I miss
Do you ever get homesick?

I can't get used to it, I can't get used to it
I'll never get used to it, I'll never get used to it

Remember that night among those same stars
We're in a red car you were sleep at my side
Going in & out of the headlights
Could I have saved you?
Would that have betrayed you?

I want to burn this film you alone with those pills
What you couldn't do I will

I forgive you
I forgive you
I forgive you
I forgive you

For blue blue skies
I forgive you

People can have different interpretations on this song. But if ever you hear it, you'll probably think of a sad and depressing event. The song is beautiful, and I'll confess that I cried when I first heard this song. It wasn't a boisterous song that could immediately grab your attention, but once you got to hear it you'll appreciate it for its sheer beauty. It is a very simple song, there were no guitar solos and no belt-out vocals, actually what I really heard in this song was the solemn notes from the piano.

What really interested me was that how a lot people debated over the internet what this song meant. One said it was about redemption and forgiveness, hence the line, "I forgive you". Another said that forgiveness was the theme, but the forgiveness of what or whom? Continuing on their train of thought one concluded it was forgiving a loved one who committed a suicide. The lines that lead him to his conclusion were, "How's your halo?" and the name of the song, "For Blue Skies", because skies usually represent heaven. For me, I think this song is really about forgiveness, but not exactly forgiving a person who committed suicide. For me, it was about forgiving a person to bring back the original state of their relationship. But unfortunately their relationship couldn't get back to its original state and the result was both of them can't get used to it. But I guess it was better to still have each other rather than losing the relationship itself. Well, that's my opinion.

Once again, media rears its unpredictable head. What I'm really bothered by is a lot of things have lots of meanings. Like how a kiss always means something, quoted from Peyton Sawyer. You can't kiss a person just for the heck of it, right? Media is so confusing since we have lots of interpretations of it. That's why probably organizations like the MTRCB are made. Media practitioners can't really force the viewers to think on the same line as they do, that's just wrong. Darn.

Credits to:
www.songmeanings.com
www.google.com

BOY MEETS WORLD

Mr. Feeny: The tragedy here, Mr. Matthews, is not about a dumb girl or the boy who kills himself because of her. It is about the all consuming power of love and the inevitability of its influence on each of our lives.
Cory: Are you aware that I'm only 11 years old?

This line was taken from the pilot episode of Boy Meets World. Basically what they're talking about is Romeo and Juliet, which in my point of view for a sixth grader is too much. I remember when I was in sixth grade that I already knew about Romeo and Juliet, but too study it, not so much. He was staying after school because of detention for attempting to listen to a game while Mr. Feeny, his teacher, was discussing the great value of love in people's lives. The reason why Cory tried to listen to the game was because he felt rejected after his brother chose a girl instead of him to take to the game. Well, if I were in his place, I'd guess I'd feel the same thing, too. But as the episode progressed it tells how his brother failed miserably at his date since he kept on tripping and had nothing to say. Instead of just giving up, Eric, Cory's big brother, was encouraged by Cory to call back the girl and try again. Cory then learned the importance of love and family.

Once again, this show was shown at Disney Channel, but when I was in third grade. I have to say that my memory is quite good, since I remembered the pilot episode, but the lines I didn't since I got them from www.tv.com! This show's target audience, that I just got to know recently, was kids. I can say that they were effective since when I was in third grade, right after the first episode I couldn't wait for tomorrow to watch the next. In my previous entry, I wrote about Fred Savage, who is the brother of Ben Savage, who plays Cory in this show. Boy Meets World focuses more of the dramedy (drama and comedy) side while The Wonder Years showcases serious events that wouldn't exactly make you laugh but is still appreciated very much. Throughout this episode, it introduced each of the characters in a span of time, like Mr. Feeny, who might start of as a teacher who you wouldn't really want to listen to, but at the end you'd see how Cory really does listen and takes into account what Mr. Feeny teaches. It was a great way to start a series.

Credits to en.wikipedia.org for the image and www.tv.com for the quotes.

I remember watching this show together with my family at Disney Channel when I was in sixth grade. The reason why my parents liked it was because it featured the historical background of America during the 1960's up to the 1970's. On the other hand, the reason why I liked it was because it wasn't your usual teen show about peer pressure and raging hormones. This tv show features the life of Kevin Arnold, who is played by Fred Savage, who is now a director, who is also the brother of Ben Savage, the star in another renowned show called "Boy Meets World.

This show fascinates me since during that time I watched it, I could relate to it. During sixth grade, that was the point in my life where I found true friends and people I can really rely on. Kevin Arnold is just a normal boy dealing with problems a teenager usually encounters. Also I liked the way how there is an older and more mature Kevin Arnold narrating his experiences. It has a sentimental feeling to it, going back and reminiscing the past. It just makes you think how someday you'll definitely do this, too. Actually my favorite episode was where Kevin and his best friend Paul both had feelings for Winnie Cooper. But in the end, Winnie confessed to Paul that she had feelings for Kevin not for him. It was a typical scene that I could sometimes see in dramas but its charm was where they played this song called "With A Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker. It was a good scene and the song fitted perfectly because even though Paul got dumped by Winnie because of Kevin they were still best friends.

The reason why this show was really successful, in my opinion, because the storyline was relatable but not that cliché and it also featured events that really happened, like the Vietnam War. Also it catered to the audiences from my age during that time, which was 12 years old up to I think, 40 something. Also the songs are amazing, think 60's and 70's and right now, everyone loves those things. People love the classics.

Credits to en.wikipedia.org for the image above.

Broken
by Seether feat. Amy Lee


I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You've gone away, you don't feel me, anymore

The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away

'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You've gone away
You don't feel me here anymore

Basically what intrigued me in this song is how differently people view it. One person I know sees it as, of course, a dejected break-up song. Another one views it as a song for unrequited love. And the answer that I found weird and disturbing was it was a stoner longing for drugs. Okay then.... But for me, this song doesn't necessarily tackle your boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever, but vaguely a loved one. If I was to dedicate this song, I'd dedicate this to a person I met recently. He isn't a boyfriend (don't worry, Ms. Platon, :P) and it's not a song expressing my unrequited love and I'm definitely not a stoner. I'd offer this song to Lola Domeng, the person I met during our outreach activity a while ago. She told me her life story, in which I cried buckets, and even though it made me really sad, it made me think how lucky I was. I think her sharing was right on time, since I was feeling pretty pissed off at the direction my life was going, but after hearing her open up I felt horrible thinking how cursed my life is. I really want to express my gratitude to Lola Domeng, but unfortunately they don't have computers there and I doubt she'd even like the song I'd chosen for her.

All in all, a certain form of media might just express a single idea, but different people interpret it differently. That's why the media can be rather a double-edged sword. It can portray good ideas which can me misunderstood by others. We really have no control of this and all I have to say is that we got to keep our values on check.

Credits to www.azlyrics.com for the lyrics and www.impactlab.com for the image.

Taiyou no Uta
(Song to the Sun)

This Japanese Drama, or jdorama, is about a girl who suffers from a sickness called xeroderma pigmentosum, which may be described as an allergy to the sun and is not allowed to be exposed to sunlight, according to Wikipedia. Therefore, she doesn't live a normal life, since the only time she is allowed to go out is at nighttime. Yet, even though she lives a life like this she continues to dream on becoming a singer. When she was 16 yrs. old while she was in the hospital, every 4 am she would see and observe a boy who is always carrying a bento (lunch box) and one day she saw him throw away his guitar. On her whim, she decided to get the guitar and through that her love and desire for singing sprung all thanks to that boy that she will eventually meet in the next 2 years.

The plot might seem cliché but what interested me in the first place was the illness called xeroderma pigmentosum (xp). I never knew that there was such thing. Which is one of the reasons why I watched it in the first place since most of these type of scenarios often involved cancer, cancer, and cancer and don't forget cancer! But then again, as told on the disclaimer of this show, the sickness varies from person to person and can cause an early end to one's life, in her case at 20 yrs. old and the show she's currently 18. But I haven't finished the show yet and I'm still on episode 2, so who knows? She might still live.

Overall, what I like in this show is the plot, at least they gave cancer a break and I don't know maybe Jdorama's just get to me. Also the thing that I really like is their instrumentals. I love hearing those and thanks to those sounds it helps to emphasize the sadness or joy of a scene. For me, Japanese composers are great, they need no words, and besides I couldn't understand what they're saying if they had lyrics.

Credits to http://www.wiki.d-addicts.com and http://www.d-addicts.com/forum for the pictures