Today we explored the idea of ‘policing’ language in the media. We looked at political correctness in the context of comedy and how critical comedians are ‘allowed’ to be in their work. Good comedy for me, is driven by relatable and personal content, when I read a joke and I can directly see it relating to something in my own life I find it a lot more funny. They say comedy ages with time and […]
Dolce & Gabbana: China Campaign Controversy
For the last few lessons we have been examining the Dolce and Gabbana advertisement designed to penetrate the Chinese upper class market. The ad was deemed highly controversial and even racist due to the way it vacuously represents Chinese culture and mindlessly humours eastern customs. We un-packed the advertisement down to the smallest details, highlighting the elements that created such a demeaning tone. Here are some points and details we considered about the advertisement video […]
Initiative For Peace – ‘Kays and Jahs’
Today during Initiative For Peace (IFP) we participated in an activity which aimed to simulate and recreate some of the key principles, emotions and misconceptions with the provision and acceptance of foreign aid. For the simulation, the Kays, were a rich, educated and privileged society, looking to help out the Jahs, an underdeveloped and poor society, I was assigned to the Kays. To begin with, as Kays, we were told that we had everything we […]
Representation and Identity in Mass Media
During todays lesson we looked at representation and how different cultures are represented in the media. The thing about mass media is that there is a huge imbalance in the amount different cultures are represented. Often cultures that are under represented end up being mis represented because of it. If an entire culture is expected to be represented through a single character or story it is almost impossible that it will provide a holistic representation […]
Common Task #1 – Representation
Victoria’s Secret Bra Advertisement Commentary: Even within the few days this Advertisement aired on the Victoria’s Secret website, before being taken down, ironically the advert attracted a lot more attention then anticipated. The idealistic stereotypes of beauty and mis-representation of women are painfully explicit both visually and textually. Further still, this advertisement draws more then subtle connotations between race and beauty. In this advertisement, even before reading the text, the first thing that jumps out […]
What is Culture?
Today we looked more closely at culture and how we define culture. Formally defined as ‘The ideas, customs and social behaviour of particular people or society’ culture plays a huge role in shaping the media that is produced around the world and how it is interpreted by different groups of people. Within culture there exists smaller subsets, the ones we looked at were dominant culture, subcultures and counter cultures. It is important to recognise the […]
Context & Interpretation
Today we explored context and how it can affect the way we interpret text. Everybody has a unique context, made up of experiences, religion, family and culture, just to name a few. Context is really an accumulation of everything in your life that gives you a unique lens by which you view the world. Our unique perceptions on text leads us all to have different interpretations of text. We may make certain assumptions based on […]
Management and Technology Summer Institute 2019
This summer I attended the Management and Technology Summer Institute (M&TSI) at the University of Pennsylvania. My interest in the program was a result of a spontaneous admiration of the M&T coordinated dual degree UPenn offers. The program combines business entrepreneurship and engineering in a pre-professional fashion that sets you up to thrive in the growing tech-markets. I applied very late as I only discovered the summer program when my mum brought it up at […]
Internship with Jungle Ventures – 2019
For the past 2 weeks I have been sharing a desk with David Gowdey, a senior partner at a leading venture capital firm in Singapore, Jungle Ventures (Jungle VC). My weeks at Jungle VC has been extremely strenuous and demanding, however, on the finishing end of the experience it has proven to be meaningful, insightful and good preparation for the university course I will be attending later this summer (Management & Technology Summer Institute Upenn). […]
TGELF Conference India 2018 – An Enlightening Experience
You may remember reading about my LIFE Competition experience early this year, in short, I entered a sustainable development competition with a group of friends where we designed an energy generating wagon for Rohingya migrants. Our idea and presentation carried us to second place with honourable mention in the competition. As runners up we did not receive the grand prize of $10,000 funding for our project, however, we were provided tickets to the 2018 Global […]