Wait And Think!!!

A/Level classes for 2015 starts…. Be quick for your admissions!!!

This is one of the latest advertisements we see in newspaper. O/level exam was finished and mostly students are getting into the A/levels.  As an unwritten law students select the same subjects that are followed by their elders. But they have the opportunity to select the subjects from different streams, for an example a commerce stream person can choose Mathematics as a subject in his/her A/level subject. Normally Arts stream people have more choices rather than the other streams. But still nowadays people are not ready to go beyond the traditional subjects. Always around within a small circle. Tamil, Hindu culture, logic, economics, fine arts, geography and etc.. I’m not criticizing for their selections but now the Government introduces Media studies and Information Technology as main subjects in A/levels. Think!!! How many of us aware of it? Who are ready to study?

Specially I’m focusing on Jaffna students. Most of the students have some barriers to choose their subjects for their A/level. Just they blindly follow what their elders and neighbors did. Media studies and IT have more opportunities in Job market. There are plenty of media in Srilanka  and they are waiting for the youngsters . Normally the media studies are developing your knowledge related to various field and improve your leadership skills. IT is the dominator in Job market now, as everyone knows. If a person selects IT as a subject definitely he/she will have the powerful opportunity to get into the job market.

Students have more opportunities to do their degree program in these fields and shape up your knowledge well. Media field makes you fit  in the International Market.

Media studies in Jaffna

Only 4/5 schools in Jaffna offer Media studies as a subject in A/level. Therefore students have limited facilities to choose this subject. Actually government should appoint the proper teachers for this subject in schools. But students also want the eagerness to select this subject .At that time students and parents should speak about this matter to the proper officers.

So guys… Hope you started to THINK…

Social Media Are The Antidote To Folk Media ?????

Folk media are the one of the best channel to transfer the information. From the ancient time we can find the folk media in every culture. This is the basic and first communication channel in the world. The primitive people of those days spent their time usefully with the folk performance. They didn’t have any formal training for these performances.

• ·        Folk media – of the people, by the people, for the people
• ·        Tell their own stories with their own view
• ·        Flexible
• ·        Active audience

             Folk media specially the folk performances explore the own ideologies , problems, feelings of the folk people. For an example ‘lullaby’ – mother can put any words according her wish and she can express her worries, happiness and her status as well.

               Everyone has the opportunity to participate in the folk performances according to their culture. Audience have the opportunity to ask questions when people are performing, and they able to get the feedback.

                 
                          Flexibility is one of the best features in folk performances. These are informal media so they can change the theme according to the audience. They don’t have restrictions and schedules. So people have the chance to express themselves freely.

                  Social media are really interacting with the society very much nowadays. Everyone can allocate a space in the social media. Social media were base to many social revolutions.  For an example we can say the Egypt revolution by the social media. As folk media here also we have the opportunity to give our own ideas and able to change the theme according to the audience. Freedom of expression is the important factor in social media too. Audience are active here, everyone can comment and criticize on a post in new media.

In folk media people used ‘parai’(drum) to spread the news immediately and briefly, here in social media we have ‘twitter’ to spread news within 140 characters.

                In folk media people play many dramas and talk about their problems and say some messages to the audience. In social media people write some articles about social issues and problems, and post in blog, tumblr, wordpress and etc. Another thing through the you tube people upload many videos about their culture, problem, awareness programs and etc…

Folk media have some restrictions such as caste, religious views, some ideologies and myths.

                   In social media there are some restrictions from the government, constitutions of the social media providers/companies

                        Eg: china banned google

            In social media we can’t have the real intimacy with the people. We able to connect all the people but that never equal to the direct face to face communication with people.

But In this machinery world we can say ‘social media are the antidote to the folk media……….’

Problems of women in media.........

For a long time there was male dominance in the media field. no one was ready to encourage women in this field. people think that  some fields such as media, sports, politics and etc... are only for male society. they labeled on these fields as only for male.

but now most of the women work as journalist in everywhere. still women need to fight and raise their voice to get the equality with male society. there are many successful women in media field, but we can't say every women have the same situation in their working places. the society of Journalism should take action against to the gender discrimination in their institute.

IFJ ( international Federation of Journalists) did a research on women in journalism with considering three things such as 

• statics : participation of women in journalism
• wage     :wage for the men and women who are  in the same power
• Representation  of women

For a long time there was male dominance in the media field. no one was ready to encourage women in this field. People think that some fields such as media, sports, politics and etc... are only for male society. they labeled on these fields as only for male.

But now most of the women work as journalist in everywhere. still women need to fight and raise their voice to get the equality with male society. there are many successful women in media field, but we can't say every women have the same situation in their working places. the society of Journalism should take action against to the gender discrimination in their institute.

IFJ (international Federation of Journalists) did a research on women in journalism with considering three things such as 

• statics : participation of women in journalism
• wage     :wage for the men and women who are  in the same power
• Representation  of women

Throughout this research  the association found that the status of women in media was very bias to the male society. According to the results, in the higher position they could find more unequal between male and female. So, women who are in the low position have less power. So women continuously face the problems.

Women should participate and give valuable comments on the social issues. Every woman should think about their problems and find how to overcome from them.

Achieving the higher position in the media world- this is the very big problem among the women society in media.

The promotion should be decided by the talent, experience, ability, and strength not by the gender. Every institution should follow this way. The changes should raise in every one’s mind.

Open interview is the best way to select the person to the higher posts, in the selection panel should include men and women.

Most of the women resigned their job in media, because the way of the promotion is blocked by the male society, then women were under frustration and leaving from their jobs. Other than this there are some reasons such as sexual abuses, wage differences and the ideologies of women in the society for the withdrawal of women in media.

The law and order of the institute, family structure and expectations are sometimes consider as barriers to the women in media.

Media institutions should understand the women’s problem in work place and tries to help them. The family support is very essential to women especially in this field.

Media, government, organizations and etc .. have to offer training to the women in the media. The government has to introduce some workshops on journalism for the youths.

The organizations and government should award the talented and capable women in media.

Media institutions should concentrate on the sexual abuses in their institution. They should make sure of the protection of women from men.

Each and every one should take care of the rights of women not only in media  but in real world also…………………….

From the speech of ms. Jacqueline park

(oodaka nokku) 

women's representation in tv advertising

media has an important role in representation of different groups in society, television has the most power among the people. television programs mirror dominant gender relations and patriarchal values that still remain in post- modern societies.

stereotype on women in advertising

in the washing powder ad

• always show a women on that ad as washing the whole clothes specially the men’s clothes
• show the women in the kitchen / in the home

these are unrealistic and stereotypic , based on older patriarchal models and values. from the another point of view , they mentioned that the women is the duty of men.

in the perfume ads

• show the women as a sexual object
• women addicted to the men

see this ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzSQtMhC_Xg

this ad for the men’s deodorant, but why they used women here? and they show the women as a pure sexual object, they never think about the women as a subject.

this men’s fairness cream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgBevCTBTJw&feature=related

• show the women as passive 
• show women as a fashion icon
• show, women always focus on the body of the male

in the children’s advertisements also represent the girl child as powerless, emotional and victims. from the childhood they started to talk about the gender issues, not only in the real life but in the media field also.

advertisements mainly represent gender roles of women in a traditional way.nowadays women are in the whole field. currently we can see some advertisements with post modernist idea, but still most of the ads following the traditional way. it should be change in future