"WE ALL AIN'T 'GONE BE AMERICAN IDOLS, BUT YOU CAN AT LEAST GRAB A CAMERA SHOOT A VIRAL." Kanye West

I'm sitting in a new business center at the College of Charleston. I'm eating an early dinner and watching the tickers and new stories come up on the HD flat screens suspended from the glass paneling. I put my glasses on to see the CNN headlines a little clearer and I'm surprised to see "Student Dead in Police Shooting". The story alone is gut wrenching, but as I continue to watch a live video appears on the screen with scenes of violence and chaos. It almost makes me nauseous with the frenzy of the camera movement. The picture stays silent in the business center as students bustle about from classroom to class room. Although there is no sound, it spoke volumes to me.

Social media users and communication theorists are constantly asking the question: How far is too far? We see racy photos leaked, personal lives shattered and gossip stem from one tweet alone. In 2010 it seems as though nothing is "personal" anymore.

I remember watching the television and the word "Damn" was forbidden to be uttered. Now shows like "Jersey Shore" don't even bleep out explicative language degrading women and lowering the standards of society. This is a show that is produced and edited to appeal to targeted consumers. A person is in charge of releasing what they think to be "appropriate" for viewers. Yes the station is targeted to upper teens to upper 20s but calling girls "bitches" "sluts" isn't really sending a positive message.

How transparent is our media shield? That is, what do we consider to be acceptable in this day and age and what made it that way? A student being shot, a celebrity making a fool of themselves, horrible sights of buildings collapsing during earthquakes; although interesting and efficiently delivered, this information is leaked all too easily. Social media has cut out the middle man, but is that necessarily a good thing?

It is often argued that "We are the media." The 'we' meaning anyone with a video camera, blog, cell phone, twitter, facebook, even an e-mail address. We are the reason that news is being released. Not only in the sense that we produce that information but the media exists because of us. The producers are the consumers. I guess this is the case with any business. But media news is in high demand--often times we think things are more important than they actually are--this is where it gets dangerous.

Facebook is a prime example of useless, entertaining news. What people are doing for spring break isn't necessarily top headlines but important in our personal life, so therefore still relevant to us. The fact that "GOING TO CANCUN SB 2010" is posted via "Susie Q" on our news feed triggers something in us. We may look forward to the posting of her pictures of the trip. Or if there is an interest in Susie Q, someone might follow suit and grab friends to meet up with her. We create news for the world to see and think that they will be effected, most often times our "followers" are.

The fact that the world (or what some people think is just their friends list) can view our information about where we are going, what we think about a headline, and our relationship status can detrimental as mentioned above.

When we forget the Facebook world knows that I'm "in a relationship" and I break up with my boyfriend the next day, that little heart shows up on Susie Q's news feed. She comments with the click of a button "Like." This information is misconstrued. I think she hated my boyfriend the whole time we were dating, while she is excited to spend more time with me.

I'm offended by news I created.

Our media shield is getting in the way of our ethics. Ethics and journalism used to go hand-in-hand. An objective observer was the best observer. But if your favorite celebrity "likes" a page on Facebook or tweets you to a specific website or YouTube.com video, your shield will go down and the likability factor to the person posting will take charge of the links you click.

Nuances in media have broadened the horizon for news availability. Livestreams from soldiers Iraq and FaceTime with the new iPhone have broken all technological boundaries. The advancements in science are brilliant, and although predominantly used effectively, our shields are disintegrating. Just recently, one specific shield became so lowered that a student thought to air a roommates personal homosexual encounters for Rutgers to see via Twitter.

The popular culture's reaction to this tragedy is focused on bullying. But maybe bullying isn't the issue. Maybe it's diminishimg morals of media (and remember we are the media) and their disregard of the question "How far is too far?"

The Value of an Actor - Believe it or not, we think we're important

The recent tuition increase is hot topic on the College of Charleston campus in South Carolina. The state has decreased their annual funding and we, the students, are paying. The president of the College, governor of South Carolina and passionate faculty and students are advocating that the price of education be reduced. Arguments are tearing up the campus. Bulletins are being posted. Opinions are being published. But have students been lost in this idea and forgotten how to truly "value" their education?

Today I was enlightened. Big surprise yeah I know.

***
It was one of those days that started at 6:00am as usual. A day consisting of; a short desk shift at the front of my Residence Hall where I work, an encore performance in a scene for my Acting class, 2 midterms and an on-call shift that evening. A strenous day in the life of an average college student.

I had prepared for the classes and exams that day but was not prepared for the knowledge I would gain.


After eating a hearty breakfast to "feed" my energy levels, I proceeded to my Acting class. 6 students, my professor and his tag-along daughter who had the flu, watched 4 duet scenes that had been previously shown to the class a few weeks prior. After the performances my teacher huddled us into a circle in folding black chairs, a commonality within the class, and asked us how we think we did.


I was the first to speak up and claim that my partner and mine's scene didn't seem "connected" today, mostly my issue. He wasn't understanding and I blamed my fumbled words on lack of sleep. Another student chimed in and said that the scenes seemed "dryer" today than they did in the previous performances, noting the point that they didnt' seem as entertaining. My teacher responded fabulously!


He said something along these lines:
Acting is a generous sort of practice. As actors we generously allow a character to inhabit our bodies for the time constraitns of the performance. Acting is an unselfish loaning.


My professor elaborated and told me that:
...as actors we must put aside our personal motives to make room for the motives of the character. This is the only way that the message will be clear. As a character, you want something, and you want it bad. To be successful in showing this to the other characters with you on stage, you have to focus solely on that motive. Everything else is unimportant in that point in time.


It made sense! For goodness sakes, I was stressed! I had 2 midterms and an early morning desk shift, I wasn't the most clear-headed person going into that performance. I was selfish with my motives and it was interpreted into the character I was playing that afternoon. The audience was more unaware than I thought, but when stuck in my own mind, I realized I did not give my character, 35-year-old, lesbian, dressmaker the time she deserved to "inhabit my body".


We began a discussion on empathetics and how majorly important it is for a good actor to be empathetic. My ability to act isn't defined as proper skills, it can be elaborated as that, but its the ability that I have to put myself in someone else's shoes. Not just show them sympathy but, for however long, be able to relate to them and feel what they feel.


I made a comment within the circle that this idea applies to everyday life and could be the reason the world can seem so messed up. If everyone was an actor (that is if everyone was successful at empathizing) we'd have a better understanding of one another. A student made a comment that "The philosophy classes are over there." And I understood her point. Some interpretations are meant to be spoken only inside one's brain.


As a corporate communications major, with a theatre minor, I applied this discussion to my every day life. This ability I have to "be someone else" is key in a world that says you have to make everyone happy. Often I choose to "pay it forward". I consider myself an optimistic, energetic student. To relay my personality to someone else, in terms of positivity,  can better their contentment, even for one short moment.


I'm not advocating acting classes or to never be yourself. Understanding isn't just listening but living. Actors live in a character and characters live in an actor. Often times this can be dangerous, but beneficial nonetheless in empathizing with copious amounts of people and within those encounters.

***

My enlightenment was simple. But effective.

I learned something today.

I was able to positively answer the inevitable question of  "How was school today?" It might have taken longer for me to respond, but any other answer than the one you just read would have underestimated my knowledge retention for October 15, 2010.

The value I place on today is of high-ranking. If students, faculty and people in general were to place value on their increased information capactiy for one day, the monetary cost of an education would seem peripheral to their goal of an education. Learning isn't a test you take and do well on, or do poorly on, its what you make of information you are given and the registration of it's value.

What I learned

Today I learned that blogging isn't just trendy, but it's how the world works. You need to gain followers to mean something. It sounds cliche and almost arrogant, but besides the Big Man, the world won't give you credit, and sometimes God doesn't even give that to you.

A speaker came into our class, Tom Martin, a member of the Advisory Council board at the College of Charleston for the Communications Department. He said that a company won't give you a second handshake if you aren't savvy in the blogging world and fluent in social media.

This is why I've created "Welcome to Nernia".

It's important to stay updated. Updates in today's world mean so much more than the latest CNN news headline. They consist of updated Facebook statuses, new tweets and an added link to a blog via social networks.

Keep up, and preferably with me!

Stay connected.
Nernia