Media Memories

So recently Disney acquired the rights to Studio Ghibli. This is a Japanese animation studio that was a favorite of mine when I was younger. They are famous for movies like Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro. And Disney has recently released these classics on DVD.

I purchased Kiki's Delivery Service at Target and watching it was a walk down memory lane. I love the story of growing up and becoming your own person. It is really touching. Some of the wisdom of the DVD I adhered to as I grew and so it has a powerful resonance in my soul. And it is rated G so it was a movie I was allowed to watch on Sundays.

I loved our class discussion, some weeks ago, on books that influenced us. I believe that movies often have similar aspects. My family still quotes movies of my childhood, including Chipmunk Adventure and The Goofy Movie. They have influenced all the siblings in some way.

My favorite media memories are the series that fostered my love of fairy tales. It was Shelley Duvall's fairy tale theater. Unlike Disney, these are the true fairy tales, many of which are more about teaching lessons then about happy endings.

It is always fun to enjoy watching the movies that touched your heart as a child and influenced who you became.

Lisa Norton

LDS Gender Survey

I participated in the LDS Gender Survey currently making the rounds on social media, especially Facebook. Facebook and social media is an amazing tool for reaching a wide variety of people. But in this case while I enjoyed the survey it was a bit difficult to take and misleading to me.

This article by the Herald Extra answered some questions I had including that it is actually not even related to the Church (I didn't think so, but was unsure) nor is it sponsored by the church. It also explains a bit about the funding for the research which was Kickstarter. Crowd-source funding is an amazing aspect of media that really allows for so much to be done, but that is probably a tangent. Maybe my next post.

I guess my thought is that the research is interesting, but the internet can easily have sources that seem misleading or confusing. And that sometimes surveys can be really emotional or difficult especially when pertaining to religious topics.

The internet is a great tool for doing research, but think before you participate and share. But also take the time to participate in research that can help you understand more about yourself and your faith (even if it is not church sponsored)

If you would like to take the survey the link is here: https://georgiasouthern.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_7ZOwz9Tl8qzd3G5&i=R_719WppofGjWDq7z

Obviously I found the experience to be a bit conflicting and can't really decide what I think. But I am interested to see the results of their research.

Lisa

Media Mock Trial

I was really impressed by the class mock trial. I learned a lot about media and the first amendment. But I think the biggest thing I took away was viewpoint discrimination.

You would think that most parents would want to protect their kids from the harmful effects of violent media, but I think that the government intervening to assist parent is going to far.

To say you are restricting offensive material is one thing, but the problem, viewpoint discrimination, would create massive conflict. I am an avid Harry Potter fan, but some groups found it offensive enough to burn! Violence in Disney shows is excessive and yet it is aimed toward children. So much of life is a conflict of opinions. And if the government give preferential treatment to one definition of offensive it alienates the rest of the population.

I guess what I am trying to say is I learned that government intervention needs to be carefully regulated. We may need the government to assist in some matters, but only in matters that don't take away our rights to make decisions for ourself about what is good or bad for us or for our children.


Lisa Jean