Terrorist in the LOST Airplane?

SawyerVsSayed

It has been a while since I started to understand what the ABC’s drama lost is all about, and I have kind of given up until the start of my project. In this clip Sawyer, a white cone artist with a less than an average IQ started a fight with Sayid, an Arab and an Iraqi communication officer for Iraqi republican guard in the first gulf war. Sawyer suspected sayid to be a terrorist and probably blasted the airplane before the crash. The timing of the show was perfect. The show aired while the Iraqi war still popular, the fear of terrorism so fresh, and the suspicion of Arabs who lived in the US was at all time high. Sawyer’s suspicion, fear and resentment represent a majority of people in the US if not all. I did not see the show at that time and have heard how so many people said that they would have probably done the same thing as Sawyer did.

They may relate Sayid to all the terrorist that have caused us harm in a way we have never been experiencing before. The fact is that he is currently working as a USA and Australian agent to infiltrate a terrorist cell to avert any terrorist attack on the USA. Since no one know this fact at this moment it does not matter who he is inside, but he is just another middle eastern now. Especially, when one comes so close to an Arab in the midst of an airplane crash that is so similar to ground zero in New York. For Sayid defending his innocent to this idiot was something he does not want to pass. He probably experienced this suspicion filled look where ever he goes. I do not know why it took them a while for the rest the survivors to break the fight. Did they take side subconsciously? Their mind probably was filled with the tragedy and their reaction to do anything slowed. Jack and Michael broke the fight. Sawyer seems to listen to Jack not because of respect for Jack’s Medical profession, but out of resentment.

Sayid had enough of this and does not want to take this pure stereotypical approach toward him from a fellow crash survival. Sawyer does not seem to hide his suspicion of a terrorism act on the airplane. The media, the government and his fellow country men has all been beating the drum of terrorism and Arab extremism since the terrorist act of 9/11. Sayid, a torturer while serving Sadam in the republican guard some how thinks he is not tolerating this analogy from Sawyer. The name calling and the fight must have happened to reflect the views of the audience. Sawyer did not want anyone to trust this Arab who caused this terrorist act, but for Sayid this is a defining moment to clear his name.

Now that the fight is over, Sayid decides to help the group by providing his communication expertise to find a signal on the radio so that they can get help. Through out the show there are a lot of stereotypical men and women portrayed as some how a representation of their ethnical, social and racial groups. Jack, the surgeon treated by every one as a leader even if he does not want it at times. The society sends signals as to who is cut out to be a leader and who are not. Why Michael was was suspected of being a thief? The fact is that he was a sketch artist, and a construction worker before the Airplane crash. According to the Mass Media Effects: Hegemony Theory “domination is not simply imposed from above, but has to be won through the subordinated groups' spontaneous consent to the cultural domination which they believe will serve their interests because it is 'common sense'.” In society it is too often that people accept their subordination often times due to the effect that the media has on our everyday lives. The groups of survivors on the island became a living proof that the mass is lead by the elites and the mass is to be subordinate to the few.

How are we preparing for a career?

How are we preparing for a career?

There were two lectures given at the skylight that are geared toward how we can find a career in the media. The first guest speaker, Mr. Jed Dietz, from the Maryland Film Festival, worked in the industry for a long period of time and gave us great points what the people in the media industry are looking when they are hiring. His first job is marketing the state of Maryland to the movie makers so that they shoot their movie in the state. The center shows more than 130 movies a year, including documentaries, silent movies and 3D with glasses.

Mr. Dietz’s major point is that there are opportunities for those who like or have an interest to work in the film industry, but they should be willing to work extra hard until they establish some kind of recognition. This hard work at times might be working for free as an intern since no one opposes anyone who offers to work for free while learning the techniques.

The second guest speaker, Mrs. Laney Solomon, worked in the print media for long time and currently working in marketing at for “What’s Up” advertising magazine. She has shared with how we need to know what we are advertising and we need to understand our audience. Once we find out our interest then we need to approach every thing as a problem solve therefore we need to be a problem solver. She has also given how important it is to be a person with a plan. In addition to this we also need to learn one key thing where ever we go and it is to learn what other people do in the business we are in or we have an interest to be in. We also need to learn our product. We need to learn about branding so that we can make our product to be selected from the line of so many brands. At last, but not least we need to be consistent on our product or advertising methods. I have talked to Mrs. Solomon and exchanged business cards so that I might get more information on how I need to broaden my business model.

Over all it was a very interesting and helpful lecture.

Lost: Ethnography Report

Trung’s family left Vietnam twenty seven years ago when he was just 4 years old. Like so many Vietnamese families Trung’s family left the country due to US and Vietnam War that literally destroyed the country. His family determined to leave the country with the departing US troops to the land of hope and future. They have tried so many times and finally they made it to the US with their four little children.

Growing up in Baltimore Trung has spent countless hours watching any TV shows. As a kid he has consumed hundreds hours worth of cartoons. There was no such thing as watching too much TV, in fact he and his older brother sharing a bedroom with a TV since he was eight or nine years old. When his brother is around he watched what ever his brother is watching. They watched TV while doing home works, folding cloth and doing any house chores.

His favorite shows are mostly comedy. Friends, everybody loves Raymond and Seinfeld are few of the comedy shows he loved. So my question was that how he ended up watching and attracted to LOST. I was wondering if he stumbled to it while surfing the channels. That is really what he does when he is watching TV by himself. He gets easily board. He does not remember how he stumble to the show, but it capture his attention, likes the suspense at first and to his surprise he did not even change the channel during commercial break, though he does not remember the commercial.

As Trung puts it perceptively the show is about survival. Survival and taking control in a situation that you have found yourself. The situation that challenges your instinct and the animal that is in you. It is a fact that people from different background take a plane each day. It is also a fact plans crashed a lot less than cars, but they do crash time to time. The thing is that we do not think about them. The ABC drama LOST captures that angle and that is why Trung is so drawn to the show.

He used to watch the show religiously, but since he does not like to watch serious shows with his wife he slowly changing his habit to something that is neutral for both of them and this time movies became the tie breakers. He still tape and watch the show when he is alone, the same night it airs even if it means staying up late. He considers his accommodation of his wife as the biggest sacrifice he ever made in his life. He does not even want to think about kids. Not at this moment.

The one thing he still likes about the show though that he predict some of the outcomes before the show begins and most of the times his predictions seems to hit the target. He does not know if that is one of the reasons that he loves show, but certainly LOST is the only drama based show with the reality twist that fascinated him each time

Media and Communication Studies

The future of the internet: Utopian and Dystopian possibilities. Was the name of the lecture by Jackie Regales, lecturer at the department of Media and communication studies at UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) I have attended the lecture to get some extra point for my class, AMST 325, but the lecture was more than I bargain for. The lecture focuses on how the internet, the information supper highway, changed the way we communicate with one another, the way educational institutes start offering their priceless courses for free for any one and any where in the globe, how free thinkers share their ideas to the society at large and off course how criminals using this supper high way for their own advantage too. The lecture also touches how we did not perceived how the internet changes the way we live our life so far and how we can not foresee how it is going to shape our future either.

Possible Interviewee and question

It is all about LOST

Four of my coworkers really like the show, watch it religiously and never get tired of talking about it. Two others watch the show when ever they can and do not mind participating in the conversation as long us others started the conversation about the show. One other coworker watched the show many times and says little, but if he was asked about part and places of the show he seems to know it more than all the others combined. For my interview I have chosen the one coworker who watched the show many times and seems to follow the narration of the show closely. Here are some possible questions I am piling up.

• How is your channel surfing habit?
• Do you jump from channel to channel, show to show or finish a particular show?
• What kind of shows you like to watch and why?
• What popular culture theme you can point in the show?
• Do you watch Lost regularly?
• What is that you like about the show Lost?
• Is there something you hate or do not like about the show?
• Do you watch this show with your wife or alone?
• If with your wife does she like the show as much as you do?

My Trip to Geppi's Entertainment Museum

I took my six and half year old son with me to the Geppi’s entertainment museum.

Room by room section by section the museum did a great job to keep the viewer engaged with the show. The computerized question boxes made the experience interactive and fun. My son and I keep going back and forth to the walls displays the most valuable artifacts (in my view) to find the answers for question and in a way learning a bit more. Off all the rooms I would probably stay a lot longer in the comic books section if it was not for the dragging pulling of my son. Most of the comic books tell a story about generation and the shift in cultural thinking. The graphics and the pictures full of guns, fighter planes, smoking pipe and blasts of all sorts of things say something what was acceptable a few decades ago. Among my favorites super man

and Action comic are few of them. I was not planning to travel fifteen thousand miles and twenty years back to enjoy the great memories I had with my child hood friends. It happens in a flash as I was staring at the great collections of these comic

books. Growing up in the third world country these comic books gave many of us the glimpse of the American culture. The pulling of my son brought back to now. The one thing that this section helps you to see is that how society or culture changes its view of guns and violent on comic books or what was popular then is no longer viewed as such now. If those comic books are published in this day and age we would see a lot of special programs in all the media and many so called professionals trying to relate all the violence occurring at school and every where with these comic books. Through out the museum the collections are really reflecting how popular culture shaped the American society as well as many culture around the globe.

The other thing I have observed in museum was that how the American culture influenced the entire world. As I have mentioned earlier I did not grow up here and some how I knew about most of the things even before I got here in the United States. Starting in 1960s and 1970s it is clearly visible how commerce played a big role in shaping our culture. It is also obvious how the American culture consumed and admired by billons around the glob.

My overall experience at Geppi’s was one of the best in recent time.

Most of all, my little boy enjoys every bit of it. Off course he bought few of his favorite stuffs and I could not find the strength to say no and give in to the commerce aspect of our culture, but the money was worth spent.

My Project Topic

In this project I would look in to one of the popular TV shows, Lost, to understand what this show is all about. To engage in a conversation with my friends and co-workers I have watched a few episodes of the show and did not gain any more understanding of the show than I had before start watching it. I have listened others discussing on how great the show is. My friends tried to explain the show as best as they possibly could, but did not make any difference in resolving my confusion in the show. I really want to understand the show and see why I am lost. Probably I am going to watch the first season episodes and try to connect the dot in order for me understand it.

A little more about me

This is my son, Zion, Whom I love so much (I love my wife so much too :) ) and each day I work so hard to live a lifelong mark in him. My family is the most important things for me in this world and I am so lucky to have them in my life. I also love to read any book well kind of. I am finding myself pulling away from fictions though. I like philosophy, inspirational, instructional (especially on how to manage my finance) and mystery books. One of the main reason I am taking Popular culture in my last semester at UMBC is that I would be able to understand how the society evolves and changes what pop cultures are and/ or aren't so that I will be able to carry an intellectual conversation with my son, family and who ever brings the topic of pop culture.

For the semester project I would like to focus the following TV shows and Movies

- Lost: I am really lost I do not understand that show and most of my coworkers love the show.

- Matrix: I love the first movie did not like the second one and I did not even watch the third one.

- Premonition: I like the move, but did not like the ending and I did not understand the alternate ending on the DVD.

- Desperate house wife: The show my wife likes and I cannot stand it.

I am here... I guess

Here I am stating my view, but first thing first. With co-workers (great folks), In the middle posing to show that I am here.. kind of :)