Multimedia Montage Project: Joining Communities

This project sounds awesome - but scary at the same time. It is worth 45% of the class' grade! That's intense! But at the same time, this project really will demonstrate if I've learned anything - and definitely put my skills to the test (which I am scared of the most because creating complex multimedia is my weakest skill).

As I was going through the variety of project audiences, I couldn't make up my mind. It was only after I thought about which objective would benefit me the most did I decide on the one. Instruction for K-12 Students sounds great and something I could share with my future class but as I just said, my future class, and therefore cannot even pick a grade level or subject! Professional Development for Teachers sounds exciting as my dream goal is to become a professor in professional development! But I'm still learning (not yet an official novice teacher) and cannot choose what to teach myself and professionals (plus, it'd be a bit hypocritical). Online Community Awareness sounds challenging... I would choose a specific matter (fueled with passion and curiosity), learn about the issue (from the nuts and bolts to its analysis), and decide on its projectile (is it to inspire, to call for action, to disseminate resources, all of the above?).

Why not?
(I say this as I shiver with anxiety)

So exactly what educational topic do I want to explore and share about? NCLB? Achievement Gap? How schools kill creativity? How education varies across countries? I don't know, I don't know, I can't make up my mind! 

People are always talking about the American education system, and the education system as a whole. People are filled with opinions, "it is broken", "it is outdated", etc. I have a general idea of the American education system (i.e. compulsory education; high-stakes testing; more strict teaching evaluation; stark racial academic achievement gap; federal curriculum of  the Common Core; lowly ranked Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores across industrialized countries), but I feel like I do not really know that much about the U.S.'s education system. I feel like I've heard from many people's opinions but did not necessarily formulate my own independent or different question...maybe because I always felt like I didn't know enough or experience enough for me to judge appropriately. 

So maybe I'll start with that first. I'll try to compile a mass of information about the American education system and how it relates to other other countries. This is going to become very political. 

As I was perusing through the Thinkfinity groups, I found myself to be slightly disappointed; many did not pertain to my general question of "WHAT IS THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM?" As I reached to the 7th page, I found the International Perspectives on Education (IPE) group. Awesome. Recent content includes 2 months ago, 6 months ago, 2 years ago... not so awesome. But it'll do; I'll just read their archived stuff and see if I can instigate participation (*shrugs*). I figured that this group will give me insight about how other countries view education - perfect for my exploration of the U.S. education system compared with other countries. With this, I can compare and contrast international education systems. As for the other online community, I subscribed to John Bergmann's , creator of Flipped Classrooms, blog  http://jonbergmann.com/blog/. It was actually difficult to find an online community that talks about educational issues (many was to subscribe to information like this site that offers archives of educational issues and trends). The concept of Flipped Classrooms is radical in terms of students studying/learning about the content before they come to class. This pedagogical system has been enacted specifically with urban schools and is showing some signs of improvement. I hope that my subscription with this blog will illustrate the possible turns of American Education and its pedagogy. 

Media Analysis from a Viewer and a Creator: Ciroc Vodka

Blog #1:

The commercial that I saw was by Ciroc Vodka, called Diddy/Sinatra Ciroc commercial (on YouTube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF3G7vdM2UI. Sean Combs, popularly known as P. Diddy, a famous American rapper and record producer, stars in the commercial as (I interpreted,) a host of the party providing Ciroc Vodka. The crowd, also noted in the location, appears to be of a high income class as they stroll and relax dressed tuxedos and cocktail dresses. In addition, the commercial plays Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me" in the background of the black-and-white video, with the lines, "Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly" most prominent.

Analysis: 
The purpose of the video was to instill the idea that Ciroc Vodka is high-end and apt for any celebration. Starting from the commercial, Combs explicitly noted, "When I celebrate life, I celebrate with the best - Ciroc Ultra Primuim Vodka", with Sinatra belting out the line, "If you can use some exotic booze, there's a bar in far Bombay". Although the type of celebration is not verbally specific, "celebrate life responsibly", the visuals denote that Ciroc Vodka is appropriate for high-end celebrations.

However, how true it is to its claims is a bit unknown. Accordingly www.thedrinksbusiness.com, and gayott.com, Ciroc Vodka did not even get reviewed into the top 10 vodka brands (http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/09/the-top-10-vodka-brands/11/; http://www.gayot.com/spirits/top10vodkas/grey-goose-vodka-review.html). And accordingly to a vodka review site, Ciroc Vodka was rated 2 out of 5 stars (http://vodkabuzz.com/vodkas/ciroc/).

So how exactly "high-end" is Ciroc Vodka?

Audience:
Considering that Combs, the star of the commercial, is African American, and the majority of the cocktail crowd is African American, I would reason that the target audience is African Americans. However, it is not necessarily targeted to wealthy African Americans, as they are portrayed in the video, but to African Americans of middle-class or higher. It is unclear why African Americans are the targeted group, concerning that they are not the largest consumer of alcohol across ethnic groups nor the largest within minorities (Chartier & Caetano, 2010) (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh40/152-160.htm).

Representation:
Since many are clothed with jewelry and tuxedos, the figures are portrayed of a high socioeconomic status. As a creator, I would single this SES class to highlight the idea that Ciroc Vodka is high-end. After all, it's the stereotype that the wealthy consume expensively, and therefore, the products are assumed of high quality. Combs is also used as a form of celebrity advertisement in which his image is used to promote and endorse Ciroc Vodka.

Design:
First, the video is shown in black and white and the location is of a luxurious house with out-dated appliances like a record player. Followed by the Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me", which was released in 1958, an Old Hollywood feel is illuminated. I think that these design techniques were used to highlight the idea that Ciroc Vodka is high-end and to give off a nostalgic desire.