Our Lives: Slipping Into and Out of the Grasp of the Media

figure 1.1 2014Toronto Maple Leafs Winter Classic Hockey Jersey
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     I began my final year of university in a large lecture hall which looked to Professor Michael Petit as its commander. The message in which he delivered was focused upon the conception of media and the different aspects of life which it permeates. Using the work of Lisa Gitelman, the encapsulation of the term media centres upon the presence of meaning which is sent into society, bringing with it a broad impact upon the human community (as qtd. in Professor Petit's Lecture: 3 Sept. 2013). One component of human living which Petit cleverly displayed during his presentation as being relevant in the context of media expression was clothing (Lecture: 3 Sept. 2013). He suggested that, far from being inanimate, the clothing that we dawn upon our bodies fails to fall silent when it comes to building our representation in the eyes of others (Lecture: 3 Sept. 2013). If I saw a person wearing the Toronto Maple Leafs jersey presented in Figure 1.1, I would ration with myself that they take residence in the city that the clothing represents; that hockey is present in their lives as an aspect of enjoyment or activity; and that they bear some semblance of passion towards the team suggested by the merchandise. 

     As the lesson was about to finish, Professor Petit questioned what fails to enter the realm of the media (Lecture: 3 Sept. 2013)? The designation of a certain aspect which lay meaningless seemed futile upon my several tries (Professor Petit Lecture: 3 Sept. 2013). I then began to think about dreams. A dream which I have can never act as a catalyst for information meeting the ears and minds of society as occurs through the conception of media, provided I do not wish to use a specific medium to illustrate the inner thoughts (Professor Petit Lecture: 3 Sept. 2013). This leads to an interesting discourse about our power: while the student who wears the Toronto Maple Leafs jersey does not feel the pangs of necessitation to put on the clothing, much in the same way that I am not required to deliver a rendition of my dreams, the former is visual, meaning the eyes of others are already allowing media to permeate the situation (Professor Petit Lecture: 3 Sept. 2013). In dreams however, provided no illustration of the thoughts are delivered into society, they will continue to have a non-existent relationship with media.

                                                                          Works Cited

Petit, Michael. "What is Media Studies?" The University of Toronto. The University of Toronto,   

     Scarborough Campus, ON. 3 Sept. 2013.

Shop.NHL.com. 2014 Toronto Maple Leafs Winter Classic Jersey. 2013. Online Image