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Intimacy

The movie “Her” was an interesting movie. It has brought up so many questions as I was watching it in class. To me I feel though that Pettman and Her do have the same perspectives. The term Otaku and “Her” strongly correlate with each other in my opinion. Otaku is when men flirt with a virtual woman on their hand-held device, and that is basically what the movie “Her” is. In the movie “Her” Theodore falls in love with is operating system Samantha and they go through trials and tribulations of their unique relationship. In my opinion I feel that the movie her can be related to modern day Japan because of the connection to technology. In Japan and other parts of Asia, it is not to far from the norm to be in love with an inanimate object. There are so many cases of this type of connection, I remember reading about a woman on the east coast being able to marry and train station, and even in japan there is a step up to Tokimeki Memorial or TokiMemo for short.  With todays technology there are virtual reality dating simulators and holograms that people can be in a relationship with.

I feel that Pettman would describe the relationship in the movie “her” as an advance form of Otaku and Kari combined. The reason being is because Otaku would describe Theodore’s actions and feelings with his operating system. Kari would describe Samantha, even though Pettman describes Kari as unsophisticated I feel that Samantha would be a updated more advanced version of Kari, a Kari 2.0 if you will. I feel that this would become an cultural norm in America very soon. The reason being is that it has come a long way in parts of Asia. Back in April 2017, a Chinese man was tired of being pressured to marry by his family he decided to marry a robotic woman that he built the previous year whom he has dated for 2 months prior to the wedding. There is also a commercial out in japan of being able to but a hologram girlfriend and showing the benefits of being in a relationship with the hologram.

I personally feel that wordplay, authorship and writing are everything in their relationship. While I was watching the movie I felt a sense of genuine compassion in their relationship. I felt that the relationship in the movie between Samantha and Theodore was as authentic as it can be between a human and an operating system. The reason why I am saying that it is as authentic as it can be is because the feelings that Theodore has for Samantha felt so genuine but I just can’t grasp how Samantha can love Theodore back. In the movie, they had a real relationship, they had their ups and their downs, they took a break from each other, they got back together, the character development for them was amazing. They would call each other at night just to check up on each other. They would share each moment with each other, and even in one scene Samantha writes a song for them to act as a picture just because they couldn’t really have a real photo together. Samantha also takes the initiative to submit Theodore’s letters to a big publisher for him. The love that they shared with each other seemed so real. The only part is that how can Samantha love with out a heart. How can an operating system process feeling. I understand that this is a really advanced future, but is it possible that in this future that operating system can learn how to feel? Or does it process everything into an algorithm in their database to create feeling. For this specific reason, is why I said that Theodore and Samantha’s relationship is as authentic as it can be between human and operating system.

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Social Movement Media

Morozov’s article “Making History” talks about the different type of technology that had a specific duty to empower individuals, and instead empowered corporations. While the technology what were supposed to boost democratic participation by television it created the “couch potatoes”.  He speaks about the negativities of technologies and the first is the telegraph, created to be useful to find criminals were soon to be used by criminals themselves. With new technological advancement there was unfulfilled expectation. The radio created only a few elements of growth, and many dictators profited off of it. Like the radio television was seen to transform politics, creating an image of teledemocracy where people could directly participate in politics. Technology surpasses the creator’s intentions in taking on functions that its creator never intended for them to. He describes the Internet is unstable, and is too vast to handle. One of the biggest problems about most predictions about technology is that it is made based on the world today and not how it works in the future. Another problem with technology is that it is not free. It will cost something in life maybe not in the present but in the future. The price that we would have to pay wouldn’t be in a specific currency either; it would be with the environment. Morozov states that if we adopt a deterministic stance we would be have a lower chance of falling subject to technology and that there should be a balance with technology.

For the Social movement media, I looked through different forms of social media and decided to write about BillyKFitness. The reason why I chose him is because he promotes fitness, and positive living. He uses all forms of social media from instagram to YouTube to promote his belief of being happy with whom you are, and his motivational words to reach for your goals in life. He creates videos and posts on loving your body first before your transformation, because if you don’t love your body now, how will you love your body later. Each week he posts motivational words on how he thinks he would be able to help people. He uses social media activism to reach a specific demographic addressing what he feels like is important. He also posts before and after pictures of his transformation and his clients transformation as well.  I feel that he coordinates action on a small scale as an early initiator using his accounts to share information and his personal experience on his journey in changing his life around. He also has a website where you can access his personalized fitness programs and receive online coaching. Being an early initiator I feel like he is a pioneer of the “counting macros” trend in dieting. This is basically calculating just the right amount of nutrients for you, so that you would get the perfect amount for your goal whether its bulking or losing weight. After his success I started to see that a lot of people were steering toward that plan.

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Labor

I don’t believe I would ever work for free. I would need to sustain a living in some way. Even if I loved what I did for work, if I didn’t get paid for it I don’t think I would work there. I feel as if in this day and age, money makes the world go round and in my eyes working for free wouldn’t give you enough to live on it would be more like volunteer work. For this weeks posts I chose to write about Randal and Bart. The reason why I chose them is because in a few of their past post I feel that it reflects Aspirational Labor.

Randal seems like he would be a good example of Do What You Love just because all of his posts on Instagram and his story is a balanced mix between work and leisure, and he does absolutely creates the image that he loves what he does. In all of his posts you get a sense of satisfaction that he loves what he does, but it doesn’t cloud the fact that he is working hard. He makes it seem that what he does is effortless. In one of his more recent posts, he went on a business trip to Europa Expo with a few of his employees and they seemed to enjoy what they were doing and everything.

I feel that Bart and Randal created a good image of instrumentality of effective relationships because of their posts and their communities. I have been following Bart Kwan on social media for quite some time now and I can say that he does have a great bond with his community. In his social media he has three communities, JustKiddingfilms, JustKiddingnews, and Barbell Brigade. The members in each community, sometimes over lap but that doesn’t change the fact that be builds effective relationships with the members of his community. Bart and his partner Joe have been known to take out his community on company trips. In the past they have been to Japan, Hawaii and Disneyland. In the posts during the time of the trip they show a lot of bonding activities and that they grow stronger as a company. Randal also shows that he is building relationships with his community buy having fun with his company and shows his company outings. He would also occasionally have people over to his house or have barbecues with his community.

For Entrepreneurial brand devotion. I feel like they have a lot of athletes that “ride on their coattails” even though they do not do it themselves.  Most of Bart’s athletes that forge a consistent brand identity with barbell brigade is a lot of Asian power lifters. When comparing it to Randal’s LVFT brand I feel that Randal has a bigger customer basis and that a lot more people are trying to ride his coattails and be apart of or recognized by Randal. I feel that these two are an empowerment to their entrepreneurial movement. They stand by what they create and are very humble from their beginning.

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Fans, Amateurs, and Professionals

In this weeks post I would say that the accounts that I am following are professionals. The reason why I would say that they are professionals over amateurs is that they are trustworthy, credible and that hey are getting paid for what they do. They made their job into a profession, instead of aspiring to become one. And each of them all have fans of their own. Bart Kwan is a YouTube star and has three different YouTube accounts. And each of his accounts he has over one million subscribers and he is paid for producing content on his account. YouTube pays you roughly $10,000 per 100,000 views. And a majority of his videos attract over a million views each! YouTuber’s also get paid for having ads on the videos as well which roughly adds up to $2,000 for every million views. Bart Kwan also has a huge fan base and will be recognized in the industry. Just last week I overheard a couple recognizing Bart in Los Angeles and asked for his picture. Bart also competes competitively in lifting competitions but is viewed as an amateur lifter when he is compared to other people who have been doing it for much longer and has more credentials or even sponsored.. Even though Bart is strong, he is still aspiring to become better.

The accounts I am following also take feedback very seriously. From what I can gather from all of the accounts is that they take their feed back and uses it constructively to better themselves or their company whether its instagram or YouTube. They find what products work and which ones don’t work. For all three accounts and their clothing lines, they always post up new content of their products to see what is liked and not liked between them. They stick with more popular colors and styles to sustain their popularity. If one color for a style doesn’t sell as much as another color, they would drop that color to profit off of the more popular one. By going through the comments of the posts and the sales, they are able to see what styles work for them. In Jenkins Grant McCraken states “corporations must decide whether they are literally, in or out. Will they make themselves an island or will they enter the mix?” this line states that they must keep up with the times and give consumers what they want. If they make themselves “ an island” they will do well for that specific trend” but if they “enter the mix” they will be able to diversify and make change where is needed to create new products and trends.

I feel like being able to distinguish between fans, amateurs, and professionals would help a lot in today’s media ecology. In today’s world media plays a big part in all of our lives and being able to adapt to the change of media would be beneficial. In all forms of media there are things that can be classified in categories and you can see which one they are through their content.

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Online Minority / Taste

The social sites that I am following are very big in the fitness and entrepreneurial culture. I feel that they would be identified into the mainstream group, just because of the way that they present themselves and their company. I feel that their taste in content and their product are classified as mainstream even though they are three different people with three different accounts. Mainstream is seen as what’s normal, conventional or like a dominant trend. LiveFit apparel, Barbell Brigade, and Gym Shark all have created a big name for themselves in the fitness community. That’s why walking into a gym and seeing people wear those brands feel like the norm to me and that’s why I feel like they represent the mainstream perspective. They all share the same “taste” looking back through their social media they all share the same pastime, which is working out. They have all competed professionally with their three different styles of working out.

While doing this assignment, the first account that has come to mind was Bart Kwan’s account. The reason being is that he just posted a new video on his Instagram introducing the revamping of his new logo and fall collection. By introducing his new collection I felt like he was trying to come out with some new fresh products to create more popularity for his brand. It seems that his ideology is to keep ahead of the game and always-presenting new products too keep up with the times. I feel like this belief goes across the board with clothing lines to keep up with fashion and creating new products so that customers keep wanting more.  Being an avid supporter of all three accounts, I have been shopping from each of their lines and there have been big changes from where each brand first started and until where they are at now. In one of my recent blog posts Randal Pich did a collaboration with an LocalMotionHawaii and I feel like that shows the same ideology as Bart Kwan by creating new product. Even Ben Francis flew to New York City a Few weeks ago to gather new ideas for his own brand. I feel like their values to always hustle and give their all to their company connects them to the mainstream culture. Their tastes in creating active street wear are very similar. Their products are all original but some from a similar mindset.

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Gender

For this weeks topic we covered Gender. Going through the three instagram accounts that I chose to follow for this project, there were a couple of photos that felt like it would fit in this weeks topic. In the reading Gill states, “ One of the most striking aspects of postfeminist media culture is its obsessive preoccupation with the body.” In the post that I chose is a picture of Randal Pich and the LiveFit group posing for a picture. The picture shows that the men are in regular LVFT shirts and shorts, but for the women, they are in tight tank tops or sports bras and leggings in poses that show’s off their bodies. Scrolling through his pictures there is a sense of femininity as bodily property. There are various pictures of the LiveFit models looking sexy in the outfits that they are modeling. To me this clearly depicts that a sexy body is a source of their identity. I can see the reason why the models are posing the way they are, because they are there to sell the product, and if women buy the clothes they can look like the models. Since I am following Fitness accounts just by buying the clothes won’t make you look like the models. Putting in work is key. In class the phrase “ buff is beautiful” came up. And going through my accounts that I am following there is a strong connotation to that. I feel like it shows that this is how women feel good and pleasing their own desires shows individualism, and choice and empowerment. Another post that I found interesting for this topic was a post from Ben Francis. In this post Ben is in a photo with one of Gym Sharks model and her new kitten. The picture shows the Gym Shark model taking a mirror selfie of her standing in a very nice all white urban living space. While standing in front of Ben in a pose that showoff her assets in a flattering way, and Ben behind her with a tiny kitten in his hand and you can only see the face of the kitten. The caption for this photo is “ Say hello to her new sidekick” (referring to the kitten). But obviously the model was the main focus of the picture posing in leggings and a sports bra. I feel like this would correspond to Self-surveillance and discipline by showing off her body shape, muscle tone, size, attire, and home. I also feel like this post can relate to makeover paradigm by having women feel like they need to have a nice house or need to have a nice body or what ever they are lacking. I feel like this also relates to the feedback that the accounts have been receiving. Which makes me wonder how many pictures did they take to get everything just right for the photo that they posted. In my opinion the role of feed back has a lot of pressure on these photos just because of the fact that both of the photos contains the models of the specific brands.  They wouldn’t use the photos that they didn’t think would make a good impression on the followers. I feel like they all work hard to create an image of what they want to stand for. The models work hard for the way they want to look, to give the right representation of themselves and what they want others to perceive them as.

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Friendship

For this weeks readings we have covered Friendship. For my first post that I  chose for this topic is a Picture from Randal Pich’s account. In one of his posts this week he posted compilation pictures of him and his friends on their trip in Hawaii for work and leisure. The reason why I chose this picture is because it is a clear representation of friendship and correlates to the reading. In a few of the pictures of the compilation you can see that he does have some “bromance” pictures with his friends flexing and posing for the camera. I feel that having a “bromance” creates a stronger bond between you and your friends; I personally have a bro date or bromance with my bestfriend from kindergarten every so often. An in class discussion question we had on wednesday was if we think that does longevity matter in friendship. My opinion is that it is situational. For my bestfriend Brian and I, I feel like the 18 plus years that we have been friends has created a stronger bond for us. Our social relationship together is purely friendship, we don’t do anything for the sake of something in return but we do it just because of the bond that we have with each other. I feel like it is the same way for Randal and his friend Omar who works at LiveFit apparel, they both have known each other for a long time and through thick and thin and I feel like their bond goes stronger with age as well.

For his trip to Hawaii it was a work and leisure trip and I see his relationship with Local Motion Hawaii to be very instrumental. The reason why I say that is because they partnered together to create a meet and greet for their collaboration designed apparel that dropped in Hawaii. Randal and his team made their way to the Local Motion Hawaii shop and promoted the new collaboration line. Even though they work well with each other, the two parties seem transactional by having each other’s assistance to benefit each other. Randal gets a storefront to sell his products and Local Motion Hawaii gets new products and marketing in return. In the compilation of pictures in the post you can see that there are pictures from the meet and greet, the collaboration designs and the leisurely aspect of the trip, everything was kept professional in the post.

Throughout Randal’s Instagram there is a sense of quality in his posts, he uses quality materials for his clothing line, he has a quality team working for him, and in his post he shows the quality of friendship. In “Faux Friendship” by William Deresiewics, page 11 states “But when I think about my friends, what makes them who they are, and why I love them, it is not the names of their siblings that come to mind, or their fear of spiders. It is their qualities of character.” I feel like this quote describes Randal and whom he surrounds himself with perfectly. In all forms of his social media you can see that he shows everyone respect and everyone respects him. In my eyes that’s a strong trait for friendship.

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Hcom 315 Blog

Entrepreneurs

 In this day and age, social media is playing a big role in our lives. It’s a way of staying connected to people wherever you are. There are many ways to connect and share with people whether it is Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook. So for this project I would like to track the effects of social media and the success of an entrepreneurial business. All around my area people have been making a name for themselves and their brands through Instagram. All of the marketing and self-promoting have been making an impact. I have been following these accounts and others like them for a while now just because I like the story behind the name. Each of the entrepreneurs has their own backgrounds and different ways that they have reached fame. For this proposal I will be following local entrepreneurs on their personal accounts to see what lives that they live and compare and contrasts the differences between the business owners and how they promote their own brand. I will exam each of their posts and see how their follower’s react to what they are posting and how it can affect their business. The accounts that I will be following for this project are Randall_pich, Bartkwan, and Benfrancis, they all have their own brand and came into popularity in different ways.

           Randall Pich the C.E.O of LiveFit apparel started from long beach and created his own fitness clothing line from nothing. He started off working for a telemarketing service-calling people to take surveys and now he has created one of the top known fitness clothing line. Bart Kwan is a pretty famous youtuber but he is also the C.E.O. of Barbell Brigade and Barbell Brigade apparel. He grew up in Los Angeles county and was a troublemaker all of his life until he decided that he wanted to make a change a joined the marines, after the marines he started his YouTube career which help him create Barbell Brigade. Which is his very own gym and fitness clothing line. Finally Ben Francis is the owner of gym shark fitness apparel I have seen gym shark everywhere. Ben is not a local but he started with his own businesses when he was at a young age. He first started selling customizable license plates then he started fitness app that would help count macros and after that he started Gym shark, and he based his whole success on creativity.

           I have been following all three of these entrepreneurs for the longest time.  Their popularity is insane and one day I would want to start my own company and hopefully all of the tips that they have posted and all of the posts that they have posted on their Instagram would help me.