Exploring Global Media

Reflection

Instructor: Joe F. Khalil

The class Exploring Global Media was a class that provided the building blocks to the Northwestern classes to come. The class covered a range of topics that aimed to provide an overview of what the world of media and communication entails.

The class had a range of assignments which included reflections, exams, presentation, an interview and a final paper. For the interview, we had to ask an international student about the media within his country. We interviewed Wesley Chen (GUQ 20’) on the media in Taiwan and how people in his country prefer to communicate and receive information. It was my first time conducting an interview that is recorded and learning how to edit a video. My partner on this project handled most of the editing part since she is a communication student and has much more experience than me, while I handled collecting the research on media in Taiwan. However, my partner showed me the basics of the software (Adobe Premiere) she used in case I would ever want to try using it in the future. This project helped develop my team working skills as we both had to rely on each other to create the final product.

For one of the reflections, I focused on understanding participatory culture. This reflection made me realize that communication and media has somewhat become two directional. Within the quarantine, I’m sure many of us are using Youtube on a daily basis. Video sharing platforms and blogs allow an individual to not only the consumer but also the producer. I came to the conclusion that being able to share content and ideas is very empowering and allows you to cross borders to become part of a wider community.

Within the class, the discussion on the domination of Western media was repeated and highlighted within a variety of topics. Towards the beginning of the course, we discussed the World Systems theory which highlighted that a majority of the media is coming from the West into the rest of the world. We also discussed cultural imperialism where peripheral nations constantly import media from abroad such as Hollywood movies which spread American values and promote a different way of living. The class aimed to provide different lenses and theories to help us look at the same issue and analyze topics from different perspectives.

The final paper we wrote focused on female Italian directors and how we can increase the participation of women. The task required us to act as if we are pitching a plan to a company on how to achieve the goal of increased female directors. The structure of the paper was not similar to the papers I usually write since it had to be in bullet points and is simplified to help deliver ideas quickly and clearly. We had to make the paper visually appealing but formal at the same time. This assignment provided a great lesson on different ways we can present our information and the need to adjust it to our audience. Furthermore, it taught me about the disproportion of male to female directors that sadly exists in the world.

Interview

Interviewee: Wesley Chen (GUQ 20')

Created in collaboration with: Jawaher Al Majid (NUQ 20')

The aim of the interview was to understand