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Media affects everyone and everything; There is no escape. Media is everywhere and surrounds everything. Henry Jenkins and Marshall McLuhan have differing points of view as to what the meaning of media is. They both, however, have their particular posts which they describe well.
Jenkins talks about the different types of cultures that exist, focusing on popular culture, in his essay, " What Everyone Should Know About Popular Culture. " Mcluhan talks about the concepts of Narcicism and the " Global Village. " Both Jenkins and Mcluhan's ideas can be focused on a particular thing, such as Baseball. That can be further broken down and analyzed at the team level. The Los Angeles Dodgers have most recently been the center of attention due to the top media coverage of the team. The team does, however, have a great history. They were originally known as the Brooklyn dodgers until they made a move to Los Angeles in 1958. They then became the Los Angeles Dodgers and their owner became Walter Omalley.
He was the owner and president for the next twenty years. After that, he passed the team down to his son Peter. This is a great example of Jenkins definition of Folk Culture. A very important item was passed down from generation to generation of Omalley's, eventhough the item was quite massive. Throughout the years, however, the Dodgers were much a part of popular culture.
Baseball was known as " Americas Favorite Past-time, " and still is. The tradition that the Omalley family had with the Dodgers lasted until 1998, when a big corporation, the FOX group owned by Rupert Murdoch, took over the team. This was a time of chan! ge, but some could argue was for the best. Being owned by the FOX group means there is more media exposure for the team. Now that the team is owned by Rupert Murdoch, Mcluhan's ideas about media can be implemented.
Mcluhan's concept of narcissism can clearly be seen with the transition of the Dodgers from family-owned to corporation-owned. The availability of large funds to acquire key players makes the Dodgers seem narcissistic. People can think that they love themselves so much, that they will do anything to win. Most recently, Kevin Brown, one of the leagues top pitchers was signed to a 105 million dollar contract for 7 years. This is the biggest contract in baseball history. This and other aquisition's was supposed to lead the Dodgers to excellence this year.
Unfortunately for Dodgers fans, this did not happen. The team is 20 games out of first place with no chance of making post season play. All that can be done is look back and start thinking about next season. Unlike this season, however, the team should not talk and say they will win it all. They should go out and prov!
e that they can be winners, which they are. The Dodgers, as well as any other baseball team, can almost be treated like a religion. People will attend games regularly and wear their teams colors and logos, much like the Jewish people wear their yarmulkas. People follow their teams on television, radio, and any other type of media available to them. Most recently, the Dodgers have found a home on the internet. Fans can now watch clips of Dodger games or even hear a game live on the internet.
This relates to Mcluhan's concept of the " Global Village. " Having live broadcasts available on the internet is a great way for Dodger fans, who might happen to be in college in the east coast, to listen and keep up with the latest news about their team. It is good knowing that one can be a Dodger fan anywhere in the world. The internet facilitates the distance factor that exists between a Dodger fan in Boston and his team in Los Angeles. Baseball is a lot like filming a movie.
It involves pre-production, the making of the movie itself, and then some editing and post-production. In Baseball there is the preseason, the season itself, and the postseason or playoffs. For the Dodgers, there will be no postseason this year. Much like a bad movie that was trashed by the producers. The key is not to give up and keep trying. Dodger fans all over the world know that the year 2000 is the year of the championship.
There is no escape.
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Research essay sample on Rupert Murdoch Los Angeles
