For my Digital Artefact myself and four friends have decided to create Project Five. This group includes, Isabella Mallon, Ava Di Donato, Charlotte Pierro, Caitlin Koloski and myself.
Project Five will be a YouTube channel where every week we try something different that is supposed to improve our happiness. An example of this is being vegan for a week. We got the idea from a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.
youtube video.
We will accomplish this by doing different things for five days (Mon – Fri), filming little snippets of ourselves throughout the week. At the end of the week we will come together, sit down and talk about how the week changed our happiness levels.
Project Five is aimed for young adults to be ‘inspired’ and show viewers that it doesn’t take much to improve your happiness and change your life as the five of us have very different personalities and interests yet are completing the same tasks every week.
No, I’m not getting married and no, I am not Greek.
This week we were asked to watch a movie and review it. Although the point of this is meant to be ‘Global Films’, as far as ‘global’ goes this is pretty much as far as we are gonna get here for me.
The movie I have chosen to ‘review’ is My Big Fat Greek Wedding because if I’m being honest here I really don’t have many options to go off.
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This movie was filmed in Toronto, Canada and I just had a confirmation from a friend that this movie, is in fact, cultural. Feeling proud of myself there. This movie is set in Chicago and is about a 30 year old Greek lady (Toula) who meets and falls in love with a very American man (Ian). This doesn’t really settle well with her very old fashioned Greek family but as the movie goes on they end up accepting him (with a few changes along the way).
Watching back this movie in a critical mindset, many things popped into my mind. The first being the producers really are trying to set a Greek scene through the use of music. Not only this, but by Toula introducing her huge family it makes the movie have a very ‘traditional’ and ‘realistic’ tone to it.
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The intended audience, having it be G rated, would be families with young children.
In terms of what cultural knowledge you need to ‘make sense’ of this film could be quite broad. Coming from an Italian background with families on both sides being quite traditional, there are a few similarities with the way Toula’s family acts and what they ‘expect’ from her. Although this movie is quite exaggerated as my family, personally, doesn’t expect a lot from me in terms of who I marry and what I do with my life as my parents accept everyone for who they are. Thus meaning, whether I marry an Italian or not does not affect them in the slightest.
Knowing the traditional European way, and seeing first hand expectations that the elderly expect would probably be the extent of cultural knowledge that one might need to fully understand this film. The reason for this being, otherwise you will be watching it and just thinking ‘this family is absolutely crazy’.
When it comes to the cultural homogenisation of this film it is pretty small yet portrayed. Having Toula explain that everyone in her family marries a Greek and has Greek babies then feeds everyone shows this homogenisation of the film.
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However, the cultural hybridisation is more relevant and a bigger aspect of this film. By Toula falling in love and marrying an American man this is portrayed. In saying this, instead of her family accepting Ian for who he is and making him part of the family, the Greeks instead, baptise him and make him learn the Greek culture. This is something that always seems to frustrate me coming from a European background. Although my parents are very ‘chill’ with who my brother and I date my Nonno and Nonna, however, have their set ways in which they want us to follow. They will never make someone change but they will definitely have their say. This has never affected me as I am not very close to my extended family due to many reasons. In summary, this film portrays the side of traditional European families that has always frustrated me. The fact that they needed to change Ian to ‘fit into’ her family so that they could get married.
If I’m being honest this weeks lecture and tutorial made me feel more like a typical white girl than ever before. I’ve never considered myself to be someone who is ‘generic’ and ‘like everybody else’, but this week just managed to prove me wrong.
Going around the room asking what ‘global television’ we watch and our tutor getting more triggered with everyone saying they watch American TV truly reminded me how uncultured us teens are. But I don’t understand what she expected from me, like to be able to speak another language fluently and watch it on TV? I just am not about that life.
So, in terms of what ‘global television’ I watch, what exactly is it? Well, I no longer sit in front of a TV with my family anymore due to many many reasons, so my ‘global television’ would be, Netflix. A huge shock .. I’m sure. I don’t really watch TV that often, I am more the type of person to get lost in the deep dark depths of weird YouTube videos but that’s a different story.
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At the moment on Netflix I am really into Kath and Kim because I genuinely find it hilarious but something else I am into at the moment is Brooklyn Nine Nine. With Brooklyn Nine Nine, I tried watching it a year ago and just couldn’t get into it but someone recommended me to try it again and this time round I am actually enjoying it. I guess you could say as far as my ‘global television’ goes, it doesn’t really pass American.
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What does Netflix tell me about the world I live in? Surprisingly, this question actually made me wonder, does Netflix portray a characteristic that society has formed into? If we break this down, Netflix really does tell me a lot about our society today and what it has come too. Individuals and families would rather sit at home and have a movie or show easily accessible at their home rather than go out to a video store and rent the show.
One of my most prominent childhood memories is going to the video store with my family or friends and renting a movie or show for that upcoming week. This could lead us to, Netflix becoming how big it is now, has truly an ended an era.
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This may portray Netflix in a slightly negative light, however there is something that Netflix tells me about the world I live in which makes me feel very appreciative. Having Netflix gives content creators or even budding writers to be able to put their thoughts and dreams into action and turn it into something for all to view. This being the hundreds of Netflix original series and movies streamed on this site. On the flip side of this, viewers are now appreciating and acknowledging individuals or groups of writers who have always wanted to create a show. This is just something that truly amazes me about Netflix as it is opening more and more opportunities for our society.
Long story short, I am part of every other teen who watches American TV. Maybe I should start to branch out and watch different content.
We are always told by our parents; “be careful what you put online”. Yeah well, they’re right.
GIPHY
Everything that we do online is being recorded. It’s like a life lesson. ‘Don’t say something you don’t mean’ … yeah well, don’t do anything online that you don’t want others seeing.
During HSC my teacher played a clip from Black Mirror, because in Society and Culture we learnt this exact thing, and people were ranked on their behaviours. These rankings basically determined the rest of their life … where you went, who you dated, the friends you had.
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Scary thing is, China have surveillance cameras on their streets and they watch citizens every move to make sure everyone is following the law. Will we ever have privacy anymore?
GIPHY – aka me always
It’s daunting enough for me to know every move I make online is being watched. So, do we really have privacy? Who knows anymore!
“How do we know everything is real anyway” as Ted would say.
Honestly, I couldn’t even describe to you what a ‘software’ is, simply because I am not the tech savvy teen I should be. On top of this, I didn’t even know online programs had ‘codes’. Yes, I AM in fact, an idiot.
Well, I learnt that an open source is where the “source code is publicly available” which users can change as they desire. An example of an open source would be WordPress as we create the way our websites look and modify the codes … I took a guess with that one.
A closed source is an online application that we don’t have access to the ‘codes’ and cannot modify what we are using. The majority of the applications that we use are closed sources and are Microsoft Office and Skype.
You wake up in the morning, see a friend request on FaceBook from a familiar name and face but don’t quite remember who they are. Do you accept, decline, or leave it?
Introduction
Deception is “the act of hiding the truth, especially to gain an advantage”. A form of deception is when individuals create fake online profiles to lure in victims to begin a relationship or potentially make money off them.
Social media can be dangerous at times, so if there is one thing for you to take away from this explainer it’s to always be cautious when using social media. Social media is so powerful, use this wisely and keep it a safe space for all.
What is ‘Catfishing’?
Catfishing can be described as a “deception about one’s online identity, generally with an ulterior motive” Therefore, catfishing is where an individual creates a fake online identity and pretends to be someone that they are not in order to persuade another individual into a relationship or friendship.
Some individuals use the ‘virtual world’ in order to live a life that they have always hoped for. Therefore, they live through this made up person in order to potentially help with their insecurities.
2. Revenge:
People who have had bad break ups, ex best friends, enemies and so on, are looking for revenge. Therefore they make fake profiles and try to ‘trick’ this individual or make a fake profile of the actual individual to get revenge.
Thus meaning, they make fake profiles in order to make money off others.
4. Mental health:
People with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and many more create fake profiles as they are scared to reveal their authentic self. Due to their mental illness, once this individual begins to live this life, it can become quite addictive to them without them realising the damage they are doing to others.
There are many signs that an individual is being catfished but there are some main signs to always watch out for when using any form of social media relationship. If the relationship is progressing quickly without having met the other person then this is definitely a first sign to be wary of. If the person refuses to send photos of their face or FaceTime you, then something is fishy (pun intended). At this point of your ‘relationship’ an individual should be requesting to meet instead of keeping it strictly online. A huge sign that a person should see and understand is, if the catfish begins to ask for money. In this case, it is pretty clear that whoever the other person is, is only doing this for money. Those aren’t all the signs on how to catch a catfish but they are the main one’s everyone should be looking out for.
Some Cards posted about a lady opening up to her catfishing story. A 22 year old lady begun to talk to, what she thought was, a 27 year old army man. She ended up falling in love with him and told him about a story one time when she got drunk. To this story he did not react well and would throw in her face that she even got drunk to begin with. After an argument, he deleted her and blocked her and she was absolutely devastated. She tried looking him up on other social media accounts and couldn’t find him anywhere. Finally, she looked up his ID and found that he was a 40 year old man who catfishes not only women but men as well by pretending to be a female.
Looking up the individual’s name on other social media platforms will really give a good insight into whether or not you are being catfished.
Can authorities handle catfishes?
In serious cases of catfishing, police, private investigators, FBI agents, lawyers and courts can and will begin to involve themselves. The following is an example of a case where this occurred. The case has been ongoing for eight years now and will recommence for sentencing on June 6 2019.
Lydia Abdelmalek pretended to be well-known actor Lincoln Lewis, a star in Home and Away. A girl named Emma, who had known Lincoln Lewis from primary school received a FaceBook friend request from who she thought was Lewis. This fake account began to chat online too Emma and they ended up in an online relationship. They had spoken over the phone and planned to meet up a few times but ‘Lewis’ would always cancel last minute. After this went on for a while, Emma became suspisious, ended up finding the real phone number of Lincoln Lewis and the real Lewis confirmed that he had not in fact, been in touch with her nor been in an online relationship with her. He recently tweeted out the following tweets regarding his case.
1/3 Having your number, address, personal details illegally obtained & photos doctored was scary. Having them used to catfish people is sickening. But nothing can give back or make right what this sick person did and took away from the victims. https://t.co/MW2ICAlXap
2/3 For everyone, but especially for those with kids, KNOW who you or they are talking to online. BE ABSOLUTELY SURE of it! Social media can be great but also a scary place as there are sick twisted people out there. Be safe.
3/3 I also want to take this time to thank the incredible police & detectives who have worked tirelessly on this case over the last 8 years. You see the worst actions in people yet never give up. You are amazing. Thank you.
After catfishing Emma on a second occassion, pretending to be her ex-boyfriend, Emma sadly committed suicide over the whole situation as she has genuine feelings towards ‘Lewis’. One of her friends stated in a police statement “She said she had lost the ability to function, she described to me that her mind and body were out of sync.” The fake profile begun to send threats to her victims which is where the Queensland police were involved. Abdelmalek is a 29 year old woman who lives in Melbourne and is now known for her catfishing abilities. She appeared in court in May 2019 after 4 years of trying to keep her name hidden and continuing on with catfishing victims. She has been found guilty of six different counts of stalking.
Through this story, there is something that can be learnt. Catfishing is a serious matter that police will not take seriously until threats and physical action is taking place. This is the reason why it is so important to always be cautious with who we are associating ourselves with online.
But, what can be done in the case of a serious catfishing scandal? If threats are being written, sent or published to you somehow, showing the police or FBI this evidence will be the best thing for you. They will then take matters into serious hands and help you catch your catfish.
Here’s My Answer:
To answer the question that begun this explainer … you do whatever feels right, but always ensure you are safe and meet the online user.
Love Your Light is aimed at adolescents who are looking to improve their mental health through the use of positive quotes, crystals and essential oils.
I really do hope it has made someone smile.
My first dilemma was creating a theme as a I wanted the Instagram account to flow. My solution was to post via every three posts accompanied by hashtags.
First post is a tip, usually how to use an essential oil or crystal which talks about it’s meaning and powers and how to use them the most useful way possible
Second post is a photo usually taken by Charlotte Pierro and these photos’ captions usually contain something positive for the individual to think about during the day or for them to appreciate
Third post is a quote that I have gathered from another instagram account. In this post I put my own design on the quote which is in quotation marks and tag the account that I found it on.
With every post, I will usually gain around 2 – 4 followers. The main problem I am having is that the people that are liking my photos aren’t actually my followers. Therefore, the hashtags that I am using are bringing people to my posts but from there people aren’t following my account and I am still stuck with how to fix this.
It usually takes me around 5 minutes to post each photo. I need to ensure the caption is written in a way which is engaging and relevant to users and the account as a whole.
example of caption on a tip. instagram: @loveyourlight_example of a photo from @pierroperspective. instagram: @loveyourlight_example of caption on quote photos. instagram: @loveyourlight_
I made an unexpected YouTube video during the process of my DA which was in collaboration with a friend named Mia. This video is relevant to my DA as it helps my followers to understand that there are different ways of meditating and how much meditating can give you a peace of mind.
People create content to gain something else. Take away the money gained, the followers who followed and the fame risen, would they still create?
Ted’s Presi
I was told the HSC was important. Was it true? No. It was a constructed reality that I was told. I will always regret finishing high school for many reasons but all it did was deteriorate my mental health.
But was the HSC created for adolescents to gain an education or is it for teachers, principles, governments to have extra money?
Linking this back to today’s lecture. If content creators didn’t gain something from their content, would they still be producing it? They wouldn’t create more because they would see it as a “moo point”
Honestly, the terms discussed today are still confusing me so let’s try to break it down.
Hyper-reality: “is an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality” (online dictionary) Therefore, viewers do not exactly know if what is shown is real or fake. “It’s here and not here” as Ted would say.
Spectacle: “can only be acquired through the purchase of consumer goods”. So, in the long run, advertisements aren’t selling us a product, it is selling us an appearance?
We discussed different ‘types’ of societies. ‘Society of Control’ discussed school. We put our hand up to show our permission to ask or answer a question. This shows that we have been ‘programmed’ to raise our hands to order to speak in class. It can also be a sign of respectfulness and shows ones eagerness to learn. Well at least, that is what we are told to think.
I mean, school could be a simulation of a prison but I guess me saying that is a little dramatic.
This photo is from my Instagram page of 16 year old Ruby, in New York. I captioned this post “ice skating” but I can’t skate to save my life. If you think I’m joking, I’m not.
The reality of this photo is that my hand is holding onto that railing bar as tight as you could imagine. I waddled onto the ice, had my best friend snap a few photos and slid straight back to normal ground. That was me ‘ice skating’.
What I’m trying to say is, this photo of me looks like I am all chill on the ice (pun not intended), when it was really just a constructed perception that I wanted my followers to think I was doing that day.
What can I say? I’m a master at construction of perception.
immerse into media 