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hello pia! feel free to delete this if it’s too personal but i’d love to hear about your degree, what you learned from it, and how you think it has informed the way you write (whether it has or hasn’t!). i’m studying for a different degree, still humanities, but i’d love to hear about your degree since i.. well when i was in hs i didn’t know that it was an option. also if the above is too personal, please recommend some texts to learn abt mass comms .. thank you!
Hi anon,
I did my degree/s (Media Studies + Mass Communications majors, Scriptwriting (Drama, Film, Short Film) + Creative Writing (Poetry, Short Story, Literature, SFF) minors) back in 1999, so honestly, some of the information I learned then is out of date, and you're definitely better off looking at a university curriculum now for decent texts on mass communications. Even the Masters I did over 10 years ago, lol. I am an old.
You have to understand when I was in university for Mass Comm, the internet as we know it, and social media, literally didn't exist. And though 'Rupert Murdoch still owns a ton of Telcos' is still true, things like Wikipedia didn't exist, lol. The 'please don't use Wikipedia as a reference' didn't exist as a sentence, because Wikipedia just...didn't exist.
The media landscape has changed.
I've kept up with aspects of media studies that interest me (representations of mental health in the media, for example), but since the university texts still often cost hundreds of dollars, I can't get a ton of them every year and read them. You might be surprised what you can find in university bookstores in the clearance section, because books aren't in the curriculum anymore but are still likely to be 15 years more up-to-date than what I was taught with, lol.
I don't really know how to answer your specific questions though. There were a lot of different units within the degree, so I learned a lot from it, I don't know how to condense that down.
Probably the most important things I took with me are that media (fiction) does not have a 1:1 correlation with reality, and that we are not all mindless vessels with an inability to negotiate the media we watch (otherwise we'd buy everything in advertising ever), people who believe 'high art' is better than 'low art' are elitist ignorant dicks who don't actually understand art at all (if you've ever disparaged reality TV or soap operas, you are in this category, with soap operas giving you a side order of heavy misogyny to boot), media literacy is crucial and needs to be taught and prioritised on par (if not higher than) english fiction literacy (kids engage in more media than books, they should have more media literacy than book literacy), and that it's always important to know the politics and values of the people who own the news media you're watching (and that almost all news media is homogenised).
The biggest gift it gave me was to entirely remove my shame over watching or consuming any kind of media. I don't know what a guilty pleasure is, because guilty pleasures are a sign that you have some more work to do on unpacking your issues (often internalised misogyny believe it or not) over watching certain shows or listening to certain music etc. and finding joy in it. I feel NO shame in anything I watch, rewatch, love, get the most out of. Anon, I have done assignments on Big Brother and gotten high distinction/s for it. I've watched Misfits and gotten high distinction/s for it. I'm in the Golden Key Society because I watched a lot of Studio Ghibli and a lot of romcoms. Media studies does what creative writing doesn't - unpacks all your shame over enjoying different genres (sadly creative writing teaches a lot of that shame and can genre shame as well, it's extraordinarily outdated in many curriculums in that way).
It is so liberating to just watch whatever the fuck I want, and listen to whatever music I want, and not give a shit whoever knows I watch or listen to it. Like, I just... literally who cares. It's all art. It all means something and then I get to choose its further meaning. I get to decide what media I won't consume and why (usually around the politics and actions of the creator/s or actor/s, JKR can go to hell, or just not liking the show - I also feel no shame not liking things that everyone else likes), but it's never a choice based in shame or guilt. It is...truly, such a wonderful feeling when you realise there's literally no reason on this earth to have a guilty pleasure if you can think for yourself and understand why you've been conditioned to feel 'ashamed' for watching certain genres (surprise, it's usually racism or xenophobia or misogyny!)
Like, I did a unit called Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Cinema (Psych Psych and Cinema as we called it), which was a tremendous amount of fun and let me know that psychology is literally in everything but that representations of psychology in literally everything tends to be not great lmao. I did a unit called Postmodern Wetlands which literally analysed the relationship between swamp representation in mass media (particular horror films as relating to the monstrous feminine) and what that means for environmentalism which changed my entire relationship to my body and the environment permanently. Idk how to describe that unit to anyone who hasn't taken it, but it was literally life-changing, lol.
It definitely influences my writing style, partly because I write serials based off of like... scriptwriting techniques I was taught for television drama back then. In terms of how media studies influences it - well mass communications probably not so much, and then media studies a whole lot, lol. (Mass Comm =/= Media Studies. One focuses on telecommunications/telcos/ISP providers/internet cables even, politics and the vehicles with which we spread mass media, the second one focuses more on the analysis of the products/works/pieces of art that end up on that mass media. One is a lot more discussion of 'which television stations do China / Fairfax / Murdoch own' or 'how are those internet sea cables going and how's the terrorism around that?' vs. 'what messages does the TV on each of these stations send').
But media studies influences my writing a ton, but I couldn't tell you how anon, aside from those two units I specifically mention above lol. Oh and the fact that we had to take a mandatory philosophy unit called Critical Thinking, which should be mandatory for every degree. That definitely taught me how to think critically, which...a lot of people don't know how to do! I probably couldn't even tell you the rest of how it influenced me, if you asked me 2 decades ago when I was actively studying it. I'd like to think it just makes me a more nuanced writer, and absolutely Teflon when it comes to fanpol / antis / anti-shippers, lol. But who knows!
I still think looking at current university curriculums for Media Studies (also known as Media Analysis in some other countries) is probably the best place to find recs. But you can also check out the books on media in my Goodreads list and go by star rating.
#asks and answers#pia on media studies#media studies and mass comm#they're both very different#you can do media studies and not know anything about mass comm#and vice versa#but they do go hand in hand#mass comm is still an area i find fascinating#because it's where the big politics are in the world#and also where the terrorism etc. is#but it can get heavy very quickly for that reason
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I'm re-reading the Discworld series for reasons, and honestly the most relatable part of reading these as an adult is how many of the protagonists start out being tired, used to their little routine and vaguely disgruntled by the interruption of the Plot. Sam Vimes wants to lie drunk in a gutter and absolutely doesn't want to be arresting dragons. Rincewind is yanked into every situation he's ever encountered, though he'd much rather be lying in a gutter too. (Minus the alcohol. Plus regretting everything he's ever done said witnessed or even heard about fourth-hand in his whole life.) Granny Weatherwax is deeply suspicious of foreign parts and that includes the next town over; Nanny has leaned into the armor of "nothing ever happens to jolly grannies who terrorize their daughters-in-law and make Saucy Jokes"
Only the young people don't seem to have picked up on this---and that's fortunate, because someone has to run around making things happen, if only so Vimes and Granny and Rincewind have a reason to get up (complaining bitterly the whole time) and put it all to rights. Without Carrot, Margrat, Eric, etc. these characters don't have that reason; they're likely to stay in the metaphorical gutter and keep wondering where it all went wrong or why anything has to change.
............well, that's not quite true. You get the sense that Vetinari knows how much certain people hate the Plot. And as the person sitting behind the metaphorical lighting board of Ankh-Morpork, he takes no small pleasure in forcing the Plot-haters specifically to stand up, and say some lines.
#I finished guards guards just yesterday and I forgot that vimes and wonse were set up to be mirror images#both boys from the shades of very different natures; who made good (ish) in wildly different ways#also it's interesting reading this books from an adult perspective; my mind isn't blown that these books exist#anymore; plus I've read so many good books since#and they're not perfectly constructed novels! especially these early books;#there are plenty of spots where I can feel the narrative get thin; where there's more handwaving than I remember#but each book IS better and tighter; the jokes are funnier and the irony sharpens; the footnotes are better utilized#the characters are getting more interesting and complicated as opposed to set-ups for jokes.#it's an illustration of someone getting better at their chosen field and that in itself is more impressive than I was anticipating.#discworld
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Zelda goes mushroom girl
#tloz#a link to the past#zelda#link#my art#I was happy with that first one but for some reason decided it still needed a companion piece so I spent way too long on that second one...#I don't think there was any time during the progress where I was happy with it but hfduhdfu at least I got to Attempt drawing moss hell yea#I also at some point sat in Pyu's art stream and said I enjoy drawing legs As I was being murdered by the infamously impossibe (imo) squat.#it's ok I had fun !! but I need to learn how to let doodles be doodles or I'll never finish stuff at this rate dfsuhfd#if everything in my tloz tag looks like it was drawn by different people uuuh 2023 was art crisis year ngl......#I'm falling back into my old ways rn though#anyway I think about these two a lot I think they're both stone faced and awkward ppl in different ways but they try rly hard to be friends#like I like to think it starts out so incredibly awkward and a bit sad bc they keep stepping over each other's toes accidentally the harder#they try but idk they find comfy middle ground idk in my brain they have a very interesting friendship I wanna get around to drawing it#in a proper way that might make sense....#if I don't write 200 tags I will die maybe it's bc I grew up on dA or smth#and yes I know how to find 1 (one) type of mushroom /I/ am not mushroom girl unfortunately smh
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Trans Danny Fenton?
Amazing. Yes.
Twin Damian and Danny.
Beautiful. Wonderful.
Imagine with me for a second.
Damian is finally reunited with his long lost twin, he is angry to hide how relieved he is that he is no longer the only blood child anymore.
Elle is just really confused why Robin clocked her as a clone, then changed his mind and decided to hug her while crying. This was not what she was expecting was going to happen when she ventured into Gotham.
#batfamily#batkids#dp x dc#dp x dc crossover#dpxdc#danny phantom#ellie phantom#damian wayne#damian is just excited to have his twin#ellie doesn't know that this is danny's twin brother because dANNY DIDN'T THINK TO MENTION IT?#they're both confused#for very different reasons
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03 Don adopting the Rise kids in any form immediately wins me over. Dragon in the Woods just took that concept and stabbed me three dozen times in the heart by throwing in a dash of Empathy is Learned and mind melding across the universes. How dare you.
Don't even LOOK at Dawn's kids or he'll stomp you to death.
anyway brb I gotta go cry about turtles
#tmnt 2003#rottmnt#sage draws turtles#no but seriously please read the fics amevelloblue and alicat54c write#they're both very good and have wonderful concepts that explore a lot of different timelines#and they're both very VERY good and curb stomping my heart
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Ye old Shen twins au where they both become peak lords EXCEPT. Instead of making them twin peak lords or something, we pretend the evidence that the beast peak does likely not exist is lies, and Shen Yuan gets to become peak lord of the beast peak. Why? Because he would LOVE IT there. It's his territory. He gets to be unapologetically nerdy about beasts 24/7 and make it everyone's problem.
As he should.
And bonus! He can snatch LBH at the disciple hole digging. Plot solved! (Assuming the system wouldn't you know. Pull system stuff and force LBH to end up on Qing Jing or some shit.)
And everyone lived happily ever after or some bullshit idk. I reread the 79 extras as well as the TLJ & ZZL ones let me have fluffy AU thoughts goddamnit, my heart has been irreparably damaged-
#svsss#shen qingqiu#shen yuan#shen jiu#shen twins#shen bros#svsss au#cue everyone having to look out for their overly beast enthusiastic pl SY#one of these days yqy and sj are gonna die of an aneurysm due to SY constantly seeking out the most dangerous beasts#sy looking at obviously dangerous monster: OOOO IS THAT A [insert pidw monster here]??? *runs towards it*#yqy: Yuan-di please stop xiao jiu's gonna be on his third qi deviation this week#sj: if u die I'll master necromancy so I can revive you to kILL YOU MYSELF GODDAMNIT A-YUAN STOP APPROACHING IT#liu qingge probably gets promoted from uber driver to full time babysitter (and enabler) of Shen Yuan#yqy having to juggle two (2) chaotic shidis (though different flavors of chaotic)#at least in this one SY probs helped yqy and sj sort their shit out so they're both a) more chill and b) actually talking#also please imagine white lotus LBH as very enthusiastic lil disciple among a bunch of fluffy beasts the beast peak is keeping
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the way frater imperator's alexander mcqueen drip has a similar-ish shape to the cardinal jacket has me emotional it has to be said
#the band ghost#rite here rite now#rite here rite now spoilers#ghovie spoilers#i dont know the first thing about coat terms and they're barely similar - i'm on about the swoop from his waist to the collar#executed very differently both times#but copia has retained his taste#he knows what he likes#picturing him shopping with the ministry budget for his new outfit and hes like finally... i can return to a suave jacket.........#lets get a fun little shape in here again that was nice back in the day
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It's a little amusing just how similar Spock's and Garak's patterns of speech are. They're not identical, of course, and they emphasize things very differently, but they do for sure say the same type of shit sometimes. Are you an EDUCATED HOMOSEXUAL with a FACADE? Try using LARGE WORDS and DOUBLE NEGATIVES today!
#they're such different characters. but they both talk. surprisingly similar. just remove a few 'my dear's and contractions#and then the words they're using are almost the same. they phrase things the same way.#very formal and very passive. things like “it may be wise to consider” and “you appear to have forgotten“ and ”if i may interrupt“#they're both scrupulous about using titles. spock only really first-names Jim and garak only first-names people without last names#AND they're both lying liars who lie (albeit that's Also for very different reasons.)#idk maybe i'm making things up. but i see it.#ds9#ds9 garak#garak#elim garak#tos#spock#star trek#star trek ds9#deep space nine#star trek tos
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i find it so strange when people act as though the japanese ffxiv script is the only canon allowed. like yes it's a japanese game but a LOT of work is put into the localisations? it’s hardly some random fan translation people are putting stock in?
anyway i don’t care if it’s just a reference to monkey island the translators put in im going to accept that thancred can hold his breath for 10 minutes (or that he’s just exaggerating for dramatic effect)
#eloise talks#things get lost in translation things get added things get changed such is the violence and beauty of it#eng and jpn dark knight quests are both very good#they're quite different and they're both valid and they're both good#(idk about other languages but i assume they are also good)#the eng localisation of haurchefant was an excellent decision#one day I’ll do my jpn playthrough of the msq#when i do that know it’s because I’m probably having a rough time irl
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Golden Retriever puppy vs Chihuahua puppy
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#art#fanart#drawing#sketch#cult of the lamb#cotl#cotl narinder#cotl shamura#cotl heket#my hand is starting to die out#anyway i totally think shamura is its favorite sibling and it would constantly give them longing looks behind their back#i hc that theres only a 1-3 year difference between heket and narinder so there's constant fighting when they're around each other#i didnt want to add a thousand dots so just imagine she's signing#i actually dont have shamura yet im a bit sad about that#very shoddy sketch i couldnt go over it again cause my hand started killing me midway through#a crown for shamura too because both the death cat and war spider have lost their minds in some form of way 😁👍
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james t. kirk, tarsus survivor, whenever someone needs help and support: we should get hotdogs. in fact we should get two hotdogs. i’m going to get cookies. we’re going to split the cookie.
#something something pike and kirk both use food as a love language in very different ways#there's something about how they're both like at least no one will be hungry#at least i will feed them#james t kirk#star trek strange new worlds#strange new worlds#tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow#lost in translation#s2e03#s2e06#me looking at the writers appraisingly: i see u and this is excellent#snw#st
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Buttercups and Golden Flowers
#i drew this mostly because i noticed that a lot of people mistake buttercups and golden flowers as being the same thing.#so i wanted to try drawing them like. distinctly different in the same image.#it's not a big thing but i do think the fact that they're different has some significance. or at least like. symbolic meaning.#my art#undertale#chara#chara dreemurr#safeutdr#something about the fact that they both look similar at least in color but one of them is poisonous.#the way golden flowers are clearly a positive symbol throughout the game and clearly heavily associated with Chara.#contrasted with the very negative connotations buttercups have. with asgore getting sick and chara using them in their plan.#you never see buttercups in the game. which makes it even easier to mistake the two. because we've only seen one kind of#golden/yellow flower. who's to say 'golden flowers' aren't just referring to buttercups? well.#why would there be golden flower tea if they were poisonous? why would chara want to see the golden flowers from their village if they're#the same kind of flower? they clearly have buttercups in the underground.#it feels almost intentional the way golden flowers are so easily mistaken for buttercups. or at least that the difference is so subtle.#it goes well with the way they're associated so strongly with chara who's also a very subtle yet important part of the narrative.#from a surface-level perspective the flowers that took their life and the one's they actually like/are important to them are the same thing#but when you pay closer attention to the narrative you can see the different symbolic meanings.#well. uhh I've thought about it too much don't mind me.#see i think about it from the perspective of chara being super adamant about them being two different flowers#and frustrated when anybody gets it wrong. because clearly. CLEARLY they're not the same.#'STOP confusing buttercups and golden flowers. i literally used buttercups to kill myself do you think i would still like them after that?'#'do you think i want to be associated with them? they're not the same!!'#<number one golden flower enjoyer number one buttercup hater.#i need a badge that says 'i have strong opinions about chara dreemurr because i kin them. i apologize for the wall of text' at this rate.
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Simon "Ghost" Riley is not having a good day (someone called him old man)
#simon ghost riley#simon riley#ghost cod#in my crossover it was jason todd because he met him for the first time years ago after the Lazarus Pit#i really like to draw them because they both have VERY traumatic experiences but they're so different#jason todd#giotanner#ghost call of duty#call of duty#cod fanart#artists on tumblr#drawing
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testing out drawing maormer 🪸🐚🪸 and a nelvas 🧣📜🩷 i'll ramble about maormer a bit in the tags
#tes#skyrim#my art#do you like my nelvas emojis🧣📜🧣📜 get it? scarf🤗 and scroll🤗 Everything hurts sofucking bad#anyways i talked about them wif my friend quite a bit i basically 'agree' w/ everything that is written about them && their biology in -#- canon; except tes is very much all Talk and no good actual visual presentation of what it's talking about#cus all of the maormer look like garboooo likeee what am i looking @#but since this is just a first test i think i'll keep playing around with their looks later; they are most close to altmer obvi in the -#- sense of how 'mutated' they r. however maormer are more gross looking for the typical human#they do have flat faces and alldat in canon already but i want them to just have nostrils and no real nose bridge#and they have no lips😝 they also have very visible gums. && have anglerfish teeth#what would be fur on other mer is just scales on them and is placed is scattered in the same places#i was thinking of making swimming most comfortable for them so i gave them more fins#they'd have them on arms and legs and the hair on the tail for them is just a big fin🐠#as for hair i'm thinking of them having none of it at all bcos it looks sooooo ugly on them it's very unnerving to see hair on fish#either no hair at all or something with a different texture. like slimy silky thin seaweed#or the hair that m*necraft striders have LMAO#webbed fingers is cuuuute they'd have webbed armpits like they're those flying rodents🐿 lol#i'd place their gills on both the neck and their ribs#whenever they wear clothes they tie their arm and leg fins up ; i think from birth they just stay in water until they hit puberty and -#- r able to actually walk around#another cute fact is that males and females wud look literally the same almost (women are flat chested too)#fish fish fish#maybe i'll rethink some stuff. i still wanna draw fish babies#but in reality i think even the mere existence of maormer is very pointless bc they don't really matter at all do they#tes lore is soooo overstuffed that's why i don't know anything about it my time is so valuable to meLMFAOAOOO#saw a typo in this sorry i'm just chill like that
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Fun fact
Tatsuya Endo, the author of Spy x Family, did a one shot manga back in 2014 called Rengoku no Ashe or 'Ashe of Purgetory'.
And the design of the main character is just straight up teenage Anya Forger, five years before Spy x Family came out:
I mean... even their clothes look like different versions of the same uniform.
#SPY X FAMILY#spyxfamily#Tatsuya Endo#Manga and Stuff#Mangacap#Manga#Art#Ashe of Purgetory#Rengoku no Ashe#both also got super natural powers#Anya can read minds and Ashe is just a straight up witch#that being said they're very different characters#and I am not trying to shame Endo here or anything#why not use a great character design more than once?
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