Nowhere is safe….

Recently Edison Chen, who was made more famous by this sex scandal, was sent a death threat.

The Chinese-Canadian actor-singer was sent a letter and a bullet which came in an A4-sized envelope. It was sent to the Hong Kong i-cable TV office in Tsuen Wan. It made direct reference to Edison Chen’s most recent official media appearance in Singapore. The death threat told Edison that he should stop all public appearances and promotional events. The deadline given to him was the 4th of April, which coincidentally marks the start of the month-long Qing Ming Festival. Edison was told to take this final warning seriously and if he doesn’t, his life will be in danger.

Edison Chen’s sex scandal took off when a photo of him and actress Gillian Chung in bed appeared on the internet in January 2008. More photos of him and other actresses appeared on the internet shortly after the first photos were posted. This caused a big stir in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

On the 4th of Feburary, Mr. Sze Ho Chun who is a computer technician, was arrested by the police. He allegedly copied photos from Edison’s laptop when it was sent for repair. The events that followed these two incidents changed the lives of Edison Chen and those who were invloved.

The internet is not a safe place. Yes, it is a good tool when it comes to searching for what we need for work or for school or just purely for entertainment. The internet being able to reach out to so many people in the world can be a good and a bad thing. Good, in the sense that, we can get information that we want faster. We are able to find out what is happening in the world faster. Bad, in the sense that, news that we do not want people to know are made known to everyone! So having the internet has its pros and cons. Something personal can be made into a big, public news!

This can happen to anyone. But, it just so happened that it happened to someone who is in the entertainment line and thus more emphasis is placed on this case.

Lesson learnt: You are responsible for your personal belongings. Guard them well.

You can read more about the article here: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,195667,00.html

The War of the Worlds – Would you have believed it?

During one of the lectures, when the class was discussing about the 7 theories of media, an example for the Powerful effect theory caught my attention. The example cited was “The War of the Worlds”. I remember watching a documentary on it and thought that how could people have believed in it. I was so amused by the whole event.

The War of the Worlds was a Halloween episode of the American radio drama anthology series, Mercury Theatre on Air. It was preformed on Halloween night on October 30th 1938 and aired over the Columbia Boardcasting System radio network. It was directed and narrated by Orson Welles and the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Well’s novel The War of the Worlds.

The manner in which the episode was broadcasted was in the series of  simulated news bulletin. This suggested to many listeners that there was really an Alien invasion going on. Another factor that added to make the whole broadcast so realistic was that Mercury Theatre on Air ran without commercial breaks. This heighten the effect on the listeners.

If you had listened to the programme then, would you have believed it and started running for your life? I guess, I would have! The effect is had on the public was huge. The listeners who heard the episode thought that there was an ongoing  Alien invasion. Eventhough the broadcast was heard throughout the country, it made the deepest impact in Concrete, Washington. A coincidental electrical blackout happened at the point where the aliens were invading towns and countrysides with flashes of light and poison gas. It caused a stir and many of the residents panicked. It was said there was one Catholic business whom got his wife into the car and drove to the nearest gas station and demaded for gasoline. He drove off without paying to Bellingham, Washington to see his priest for a last minute confession. He reportedly told the attendent at the gas station that it will not make a difference if he paid for the gasoline or not because everyone was going to die!

During that period, the thinking of the peoples were not so complex. If it happened now, I doubt many will believe in it.

Just by looking at this exmaple, it goes to show that the media has a great impact on the people. Be it, the powerful effects theory or the spiral silence, the effect is has on the people is great.

Read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)

What governs our daily lifes?

Ok.. The title for this post might not be appropriate but I am horrible at giving titles and this is the only title that is sticking out in my mind right now so I shall just leave it at that…

Anyway… On with the post and enough rambling!

What governs our lifes? Is it the principles we live by? Is it the the rules that are set by our parents and seniors? Is it the culture we are adapted to?

Well, I believe that we are govern by all the above but I guess the main thing will be the culture that we are adapted to. Because, without culture which is the “template for living”, we will not have the rules and principles that are set down.

Imagine you are in another country to further you studies or you are posted there to work. Do you still go ahead and follow the culture that you are adapted to or do you adapt to the new culture? I believe that you will adapt to the new culture. This can be hard because cultures differ from each other and if you are not able to adapt, you will suffer and it will be hard for you to continue your  life in that place.

Let’s focus on a place close to heart. Singapore, to me, is driven academically and we focus too much on a certain thing. From young, we are taught to be competitive and if we don’t, we will lose out. It is not a bad thing to think this way but the bad thing about it is that, the people will grow up to only want the best and thus, they won’t know how to adapt to other things which are not up to their expectations.

When I was younger, I remember my Auntie saying that I will never be as good as my cousin because I am poor academically and that I will never get a good job and no one will want me. She also shows off to me that she gets my cousin nice toys and dresses. I believe by hearing this, one will automatically become aggravated and want to strive for the better but this only spurred my determination to be better than anyone else. I didn’t think much and was only driven by my determination to beat my cousin academically and materialistically(I don’t even think that there is such a word). What I realise later on was that, this competitive rush didn’t really help me in my studies at all. I didn’t benefit from it! So what if I have good grades? Does it mean I have a better character? So what if I have nice toys? Does it make me a somebody? The answer is no! But sadly, I think many people live by this culture here. To strive and be number 1.

I feel that as a country, we still have much to improve and that we sould learn to stike a balance in work and in play. I can understand that we are a small country and that to compete with other bigger country is essential to our survival but is this the way we want to live? Do we want out children to be smart but not street-wise? I don’t think we will be able to survive in other places if we continue to live like this.

We are not alone..

Our lecturer talked about group communication in the previous lecture during comms class.

Group communications does not just take place within a commercial group. It takes place in a social group as well. Actually, group communication takes place everywhere and at anytime! Even now, I am talking to my family, isn’t that considered group communication? I believe so.

Why communicate in a group?

“Group Synergy”
Communication within a group can help solve problems and think of solutions for problems faster. Be it in a company or in a project group or in a social group, we all face problems and there are some problems we just cannot solve it on our own. That is where group communication comes in. By sharing our problems with others and coming up with a solution to solve it, it helps to speed everything up and it can be more effective than just thinking on your own.

“Cohesive groups lend support and commitment”
I feel that this is the most important factor in group communication. Without the full support and commitment of the group, I believe that nothing can be done and it breaks down the dynamic of the group.

“Group meet member’s interpersonal needs”
As humans, we depend on one another. Some people might say that they are better off on their own and they do not need the help of others. I respect those who say this but I honestly believe that, in the end, we still need the help of others because there are certain things that we cannot do alone. It is mean to say but yet, it is also right to say that, we depend on each other because we benefit from one another. This can be seen when we chose project groups. Most of us would want to have members in the group whom we can benefit from. But for me, what is most important is for someone or for members to be understanding towards each other.

This is my take on Group communications. As stubborn as I am, I still step out and ask for help once in awhile because there are certain things that will be better if we all asked and helped each other. What do you guys think?

About maintaining a relationship

I read an article about dating violence on Friday before I went to class and it is really sad that there are many cases happening over the years.

Here is the article: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,192751,00.html

In this article, the victim is dealing with her overpossesive boyfriend whom doesn’t allow her to have any contact with any of her male friends. To top it off, he has a violent streak as well. She thought that he could change for the better and so decided to continue with the relationship eventhough he abused her.

I feel that this relationship was not maintained properly. I do not know who is in the wrong but from the article is seems that the problem does not lay with the girl, it lays with the guy.

The article mentioned that no matter how much the boyfriend abused her, she still forgave him when he started treating her with care and concern. She has given in to him eventhough he has treated her badly. She is the one who tries to settle the so-called “conflict” everytime. I feel that the girl is the only one who is trying to maintain the relationship by trying to identify what will be good for both parties. But, the guy, he just kept empty promises and kept repeatedly abusing the girl.

The article mentioned that the boyfriend forbids her to have any contact with her male friends and he expected her to report to him daily when she went overseas for an exchange programme. I feel that the boyfriend did not exhibit trust. Whether he is committed to the relationship or not, we cannot tell. But, by not trusting his girlfriend and abusing her, he has already violated one of the process for maintaining a relationship. Thus, they are having such a “conflict”.

I feel that maintaining a relationship is actually not something hard to do. It doesn’t just apply to boy-girl relationship. It applies to relationship between and friends and family as well.

There are two things that we have to do in order to maintain a good relationship. One, is to communicate and two, we have to trust each other. When you communicate and let the other party or parties know more about you, it will help them to better understand you and also it will help them better understand where you are coming from if conflict every arises. In turn, communication leads to trust between both parties. When you trust someone, you will know have any doubts when the other party does something unexpected because you know the person well enough to have an understanding as to why he/she did it.

Complementing each other..

In this video clip, we can see how verbal and nonverbal communications are used.

‘Verbal and nonverbal communications are part of a whole.’
Throughout the video clip, we can see quite a number of examples of what this statement means.

For example, the part where one of the host wants to try the One Spoon Mabo Tofu dish because he wants to know the outcome of the taste of the food but another host said it will surely taste like a normal Mabo Tofu, the first host got quite upset and he started banging on the table to show his frustration. He did this action while speaking in an annoyed tone. This shows how nonverbal communication complements verbal communication.

Another example for this statement was where one of the host was telling everyone that he did a statistic and he mentioned that 1 out of 5 people who tried the dish said that the dish tasted different. While he mentioned this statistic, his used his fingers to complement what he was saying. He made the numbers 1 and 5 with his fingers.

‘Nonverbal cues are an extrememely influential source of meaning.’
There are parts in the video clip where the hosts and guest express what they want to say through actions and expressions.

For example, when the guest was asked to eat the One Spoon Mabo Tofu and to tell the hosts and audience whether the dish tastes like the normal Mabo Tofu or does the dish taste like something else, she made an expression after eating it telling the audience that it probably tastes weird and she was trying to figure out which taste it was like.

Another example of this statement was where all the hosts were asked to try the dish and there was one host who made an expression telling the audience that the dish probably tasted horrible!

Through these expressions and action, people can convey messages to others without speaking a word.

‘Language and words communicate meaning.’
We use language and words as a means of verbal communication. This is the best way when we want to convey our ideas/opinions and emotions directly.

For example, when one of the host wants to try the One Spoon Mabo Tofu to know of the outcome of the taste, the other host immediately said that there is no point in doing it because it will surely taste like a normal Mabo Tofu.

Another example was where after one of the host made all the other hosts try the dish, one of them said that it tasted awful and another said that if he ate the onions last, the dish will taste like onions.

All these messages were conveyed just by using words and the meanings to all of these messages were simple and easy to understand.

Through verbal and nonverbal communications, we are able to convey messages to one another. Sometimes the messages are easy to understand because words are used and we do not need to think about the meaning. Sometimes the messages are hard to understand because words are not used and by using expressions and actions, it depends on whether the receiver understands or interprets the messages correctly or not. But, when both verbal and nonverbal communications are used together, it makes it easier to understand the message that the sender is trying to convey. If the actions or expressions used don’t make sense to you, at least, you can listen to the words that are used and understand.

I didn’t know that the word “Communication” can be so interesting!

Having had my first ever comms lesson last week was very exciting for me.

I have always known communication as an interaction between people. My opinion and views about communication have never gone deeper than that. But after attending my first comms lesson, only then I realised that there is more to just interaction during communication.

We communicate everyday. We use many ways to communicate. It doesn’t matter if we do it face-to-face or over the phone or by just looking at an advertisement. I would say that it is in us to communicate! Look at the prehistoric era, when speech was not well-developed, Cavemen used cave paintings to communicate and transmit information to each other. The same things can be seen on the walls of the Egyptian temples where hieroglyphics are used to tell the history of a certain Pharaoh and also about his journey to the after life. People in the past saw a need to communicate and therefore, they used whatever that was possible at that point in time to get their points across.

What struck me most during lesson was the development of communication. It started out as just oral communication and then it slowly evolved into something really big!  Communication went on to paper and then on to the mass media.

Oral communication was not just talking alone. Speakers had to stand in certain ways in order to convey certain feelings to give their speech more impact. It was not only about the audible aspect of communication but the visual aspect as well. When communication moved from oral to paper, views and opinions reached out to more people. This made discussion more frequent. But I felt what made the biggest impact on communication was with the rise of the mass media such as the television and radio and with the use of electronic devices. The mass media allowed communication to be more vibrant with people using advertisements, commercials, documentaries, music etc to convey certain emotions or ideas.

We all react to communication be it through comments or by just keeping quiet! In fact, our every action also communicates something to others! See! That is how interesting communication is!

HELLO!!

Yes.. Hello to you my Communication 101 blog!