Sundays with Gene Kelly

Growing up, my siblings and I were only allowed to watch church movies, musicals, or select Disney movies on Sundays. I grew to love musicals, especially musicals with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. These musicals were always really fun to watch and sing along with. The story line was clean and my parent's never had to worry about questionable material. As a teenage girl, I had pictures of Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in my locker while my friends had the latest heart throb.
Today, I decided to watch "Anchors Aweigh" featuring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. As I watched, memories of watching it before when I lived at home came to my mind. The songs were fun and nostalgic and I fell in love with Gene and Frank again.
It is interesting how much movies have changed. At one point, musicals were the normal thing to come to theater, now a musical is a rare occasion. I want to instill a love of musicals in my own family when I have children. I think it's important for parents to know what their kids are watching and old movies like "Anchors Aweigh" is a movie no parent should have to worry about.

Boy Meets World meets Girl Meets World

I've been watching Girl Meets World, a spin off of the 90's Boy Meets World, for my groups content analysis project. It's been nostalgic as I watch grown up Cory and Topgana as the raise two kids of their own. I remember afternoons spent watching Cory, Sean, and the gang grow up. It was one of my favorite shows and I really felt I could connect to some of the life challenges. Watching Girl Meets World has been interesting. I'm definitely not a tween anymore so the humor found in the show doesn't appeal to me. There are still circumstances that I'm sure teens can relate. I do think it's fun that Disney decided to re-do the series, this time with Cory and Topanga's daughter as the lead. It's fun to see some connections to the past series and see how it is applicable to the youth today.

Coldplay - A Sky Full Of Stars

In class on Wednesday we were learning about music. Dr. Coyne asked each of us to think of a song that described us or our life. I had the hardest time thinking of something. I went home and asked my husband if he could think of anything. We both came up empty. Then my husband reminded me of when we were dating. The song "Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay came out that year and was really popular. Turns out that whenever my husband hears that song he thinks of me and when we were dating/ engaged. I love this song and think it has a great beat, but also is a great love song without being overly mushy. In the song it talks about how in a sky full of stars he sees her and for my husband, whenever this song comes on, he thinks of me. Enjoy the music video!

Infants and Books

I had the opportunity to watch my 19 month old niece this week while her parents were away. I've watched her many times and it's always so much fun. This time my niece was excited to show me her books. We had just learned in class about the effect that media has on infants. As we read some simple books together, it reminded me of  the list of how infants learn.

1. Synchrony (matching your emotions to theirs)
2. Joint Attention (both caregiver and child are looking at the same thing)
3. Repetition
4. Simplicity (easy concepts)
5. Prosodic features of language
6. Segmentation (break down into smaller segments)

As we sat together and read, I recognized all six steps. As my niece was excited about pictures I responded by mimicking her which was synchrony. We experienced joint attention together as I focused on the book with her. It was repetitive as we read the books over and over, repeating the words or what was in the pictures. The images and words were simple and easy to understand which kept her attention. As I spoke, I found myself talking in a prosodic way and lastly each part of the book we read was broken down into smaller parts making it easy to follow.

I really enjoyed this interaction. I felt that my time reading with my niece was beneficial to me and our connection to each other was made stronger.

The Great British Baking Show

There are so many different TV series, reality shows, movies, etc. to watch. Sometimes it is difficult to decide what is worth watching, what adds value, or what is appropriate. It's easy to find something that doesn't add value and isn't appropriate. Too easy. My husband and I were on the search for anything that was interesting, yet left out any profanity, back biting, sexual content, violence, etc. What we found?? The Great British Baking Show.
Unlike other cooking/ baking competition shows, The Great British Baking Show doesn't have the back biting, jealousy, profanity, or other negative aspects. This show focuses on the abilities of each competitor without putting others down. At times contestants even help each other. When a person is sent home, the judges and other competitors even hug and say goodbye. The overall atmosphere is supportive, positive, and uplifting. As we watch we are educated about the baking process of different dishes and end feeling good and excited for all the contestants.
I definitely recommend The Great British Baking Show. You won't be disappointed!

The Start of Something New

I am excited about the chance I have this semester to take Dr. Coyne's "Media, Family, and Human Development" course at Brigham Young University. I've always been quite interested in the effect media has on families - especially children and adolescents - and look forward to what I will learn.
As part of the course I have been asked to keep a blog describing and analyzing the media I am exposed to, hence my blog title: "ME"dia. I hope you enjoy my media journey over the next few months and gain as much insight as I will. Enjoy!