On life and death -- to live on.

Documentary Part 1

Basically this movie is on a young lady, Chie, who had developed breast cancer. Her condition deterioted drastically and she only had a short time to live. Initially, she wanted to hide her condition from her boyfriend. However, she could no longer conceal the truth, and decided to leave him. Her boyfriend was initially taken aback, nonetheless, he was still devoted. Hence he found ways to reach to her, and told her that he would fight this battle with her. He goes on to plan a wedding despite his girlfriend only having one month left to live. You may say that this is just a typical Japanese tearjerker, but one characteristic that sets this movie apart from the rest that it is based on a true story. In particular, her life was reported on the television news, followed up by a documentary that documents her life, both prior to the release of this full-length feature film.

Chie Nagashima chose to document her remaining life because she wants young women to know more about breast cancer. It is a myth that breast cancer is only associated with women at old age. She believed that she would have been cured if only she discovered the illness at the earlier stages. She also wants to encourage other cancer patients, to tell them that they were not the only ones fighting the battle. Thus she contacted and invited Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) to accomplish it.

Even without in depth study of the media, Chie was able to identify the crucial media function that she can make use of, surveillance -- which is the gathering and dissemination of information. Through the news report and documentary based on her life, viewers are warned of the potential myths associated with breast cancer. Also, her message to other cancer patients to stay strong got disseminated.

When the documentary was first aired on TBS, it was very well received. The producers received more than 1000 responses from the public. Of these 1000 responses, there were cancer patients who thanked Chie for giving them encouragement and the motivation to fight on; there were also people who wrote that they now know to value their lives even more, to treasure the people around them even more, through Chie's life. Hand in hand with the documentary, the family and friends of Chie also started a movement to encourage more young women to go for body check-ups regularly, so as to discover any illness and be cured at the early stage. As showed in the documentary, the turn up for the event was more than expected, and Chie's family and friends were all pleasantly surprised with the public's response. Also, some schools were featured as the teachers used the documentary as a teaching tool. The students' responses towards this documentary showed that the media messages embedded within the product was evident and impactful. Many cried and were very encouraged by how positive Chie was. All these show how pervasive the television is, even in today's context.

On media determinism, Marshall McLuhan argues that the medium is more important than the message. Quoted, "the medium is the message". I felt that for this case, the medium was indeed the message. For instance, when the documentary was broadcasted on TBS, it emphasises the importance of the message solely due to the medium. And even though the movie based on the story was much more romanticised, the underlying message remains the same and the medium had the power to impact the viewers at a deeper level. This is because when in the form of movie, viewers gave greater affirmation since they chose to watch it. As such, the effect of the message was more concentrated (not as diffused as on television) and less sub conscious, with fewer distractions and selection of which elements to experience or omit.

Therefore all in all, I felt that the message was successfully disseminated by both the television and the movie. Also, the impact left on the viewers was very deep due to the natures of the mediums.

"Every tomorrow is a miracle",

please live your life to the fullest...

That is Chie's heartcry,
have you heard it yet?

P.S.: The documentary is really good! I digg it. Do watch the full documentary if you can afford the time to :)

P.P.S.: If you're curious, Chie died at the age of 24. The documentary was broadcast after her death.

P.P.P.S.: Other than Chie, the other character that impacted me most was her father! Both his beloved daughter and wife were taken away by cancer :'(

Television Advertisement Frenzy!!!

According to wikipedia on "Advertising",

It is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Frequently it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer.

After understanding the function of advertisement, we can infer that effective communication is required for advertisements to work. However, a specific techniques or strategies used in a television advertisement targeted at a high context culture would not be effective in a low context culture, and vice versa. For the purpose of discussion, I would focus on the techniques and strategies employed for television advertisements in high context culture (Japan).

FYI,

High context culture refers to a culture's tendency to use high context messages over low context messages in routine communication. In a high context culture, many things are left unsaid, letting the culture explain.

Low context cultures make much less extensive use of such similar experiences and expectations to communicate. Much more is explained through words or verbalization, instead of the context.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_context_culture

A little background...
Japan is the world's second largest advertising market, just behind United States of America. An interesting point to note is that Japan has rather high advertising budgets, so they will scout for popular celebrity to feature in the product and even outsource foreign celebrity talent to appear in the Japanese advertisements.

To begin, let us look at the advertisement of a well known confectionery giant in Japan, Ezaki Glico (Pocky).





In these advertisements, there’s a line that constantly repeats, “anata mo, watashi mo, pocky”, which literally means you, me, pocky. This strategy used is simply to feature a jingle that viewers can eventually relate to. Also, the celebrities who were featured in the advertisements are well liked actor and actress. Although there were no explicit verbal cues to elaborate on the attributes of the product, the advertiser has successfully allowed the viewers to recall the advertisements.

Though the two advertisements earlier were aired a few years ago in Japan, similar strategy is used in recent advertisements. Let me introduce you to this product, a gum, Lotte Fits.

Season 1:


Season 2:


In the season 1 aired in Japan earlier this year, they used a similar strategy to create a strong impression on viewers so that they can relate to the product once they hear the jingle. Also, they tried to induce humour where the mannequin came to life and joined in the Fits dance, and another part where the dog became humanised, stood up to join in as well. Again, not many verbal cues were used to deliver the main message of the product and in fact the absence of it. Furthermore, there was a joint publicity by having a competition for the best Fits dance. I would say that this is unique and only probable for the Japanese culture because they are known for creative, wacky and cheesy ideas, and people are not too shy to post their videos on Youtube to participate. In fact, there were so many entries from all levels of occupations. (Check out Lotte’s Youtube Channel for them. http://www.youtube.com/user/LOTTE#p/c/75CBE61675BB8514) And indeed, the winner of season 1 was impressive! By looking at the responses from the public and all, we can say that they have effectively communicated a subtle message to the public even though it may seem unrelated at first. Somehow, it just made sense to the people of the home culture! Then recently, there is a second wave of publicity for this product, using the same dance. With this second wave of publicity, there is going to be another Fits dance competition. Expect nothing but surprises!

Do you know Takuya Kimura (木村拓哉)? He is one of the most famous celebrities in Japan of all time and because of that, he has a whole list of endorsements from ranging from the dorky ones, to the more mild and serious ones.

Let us revisit one that was shown in Singapore


Other related Gatsby Products:






**LATEST!!!**


I think we can all recall when we first watched the first advertisement on the television! Initially we found it a little silly because it was almost totally unrelated to the product that was advertised – hair wax. As I recall, I identify this as one of drawbacks of using the same advertisements that was targeted at the home market to another country. Even though we're also in a relatively high context culture, adjustments have to be made because we do not have the same expectations and experiences as the Japanese. The adjustments could be easily made and it was soon embraced, being a hot topic. We could hum “I… can give you Gatsby” and when we hear that jingle somewhere, we would know almost instantaneously know that it’s related to a Gatsby product. It shows that it is successful and effective the advertisements is in bringing attention to the product in high context cultures. However, if this were to be shown in a low context culture like United States of America, there would be more criticisms and far from being well received. This is because the viewers would not be able to make any sense out of the whole advertisement. They expect more verbalisation and messages that made sense (definitely not "I give you Gatsby). Moreover, the person featured is not someone the Americans could relate (unlike in Singapore, where some of Takuya Kimura’s works were shown on our free-to-air channels). In that case, there is a lack of common experiences and expectations between Japaneses and Americans.

All in all, I feel that advertisements targeted at a high context culture should not be used in a low context culture because it brings about ambiguity and misunderstandings. The ineffectiveness is mostly attributed by the construct of the advertisements, where one is focused on featuring the explicit attributes of a product using verbal cues (low context culture) while the other focuses on creating memory on viewers by providing entertainment (high context culture).

This could never go wrong:

When in Rome, do as the Romans do :)

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Though it is apparent that Japan uses less verbal cues in advertising products, there are some advertisements which use many verbal cues because of the nature of the product, for instance, laptops and cameras. One of the most effective ways in advertising these products is to focus on the special features of the product, which is the pulling factor for most potential buyers.

Horrible history

Irving Jarvis on groupthink:

"It is a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action".

Recent controversy stirred up by Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, brought my attention to this episode of horrible history: The Holocaust. According to him, holocaust is nothing but a "myth". Also, he has repeatedly denied the holocaust, calling the deaths of millions of Jews during World War II a mere "historical event" which is "a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim". Western powers exert strong condemnation towards Iranian president's denial; Germany said the comments were "a disgrace to his country" while the US said they would "isolate Iran further". However, we all know that the holocaust is genocide of approximately six million European Jews, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, its allies and collaborators.

Is this a result of group think? I would say that the holocaust does have many symptoms of groupthink.

Let's examine them:
1. Shared stereotypes
This is rather apparent as members of thegroup view the Jews, as well as some other minority groups, as "undesirables". These people outside the group do not match up with the group's ideals, hence the desire to exterminate them.

2. Illusion of invulnerability
Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany’s leader, once proclaimed that his rule would last a thousand years. This clearly reveals the tendency to create excessive optimism and encouragement of risk taking in decisions.

3. Believe in group's own morality
Evidently, the Nazi Army had a very strong belief in its morality. The morality of the group is unquestioned, and the members tend to ignore the consequences of their actions.

4. Collective rationalism
It was evident that they had a collective rationalism where they rationalise their decisions on the killings with reasons which are largely attributed by the strong belief of the extermination of the "undesirables".

5. Self-censorship
There was a strong group consensus and ideology exerted within the group. Thus members do not challenge or present ideas that deviate from the group's consensus.

6. Pressure on dissenters
This is probably one of the more obvious factors. Members who are considered as disloyal would be heavily sanctioned. The Nazi Army had so much power and dominance over the people at that point of time that even people not in the group, had to comply. Saul Friedländer writes that: "Not one social group, not one religious community, not one scholarly institution or professional association in Germany and throughout Europe declared its solidarity with the Jews."

One may point out that this historical event is not attributed by groupthink, rather by the pressure of the bureaucracy and its ideology. However, I am still in support of the point that groupthink is the foundation of the causes.

If we could turn back time, would things have changed if they had combat groupthink?
1. Appoint a devil's advocate
2. Be open to alternative decisions and reviews
3. Monitor group behaviour; be aware of symptoms
Above 3 points are some ways that we employ to combat groupthink. If these were to be applied to that context, it simply means that someone in the group has to stand up for his cause and present an outsider's point of view. Though this person could be heavily sanctioned, by voicing out his point of view on the brutality of the group, he is effectively busting the common belief of members that there is a consensus within the group and also the illusion of unanimity.

Besides mourning over this sad episode of horrible history, let us all remember and learn from the pains and sufferings of the Holocaust, and never to let history repeat again.

References and further reading:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8263548.stm
http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/128978354015238644.htm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113171156&ps=cprs
http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/nazis.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany

Music and lyrics

When you decode a message from a song, is it the verbal communication or non-verbal communication that takes place?

Arguably, there are people who take on the polarities. I, for instance, think that it's more of non-verbal communication than verbal communication though I concede to the fact that non-verbal communication must work together with verbal communication to complete the message.

Historically, music and lyrics are known to be used by human beings to express themselves, specifically their feelings. Religiously, it is also holds true.

"He has given me a new song to sing,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see what he has done and be amazed.

They will put their trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40:3, Bible)

From this, we can tell that people use music as a form of praise towards God. On top of that, they also use it to intentionally send a message to people who were watching, so that they "will see what he has done and be amazed". I believe that the songs sang then did not necessarily contain many stanzas of lyrics, but largely music. From the music they play to worship, it would largely be prosodics, which is the rhythm, stress and variation of pitch, which sends out the non-verbal cues. This is one of the reasons why I thought that the music could convey a message more effectively than verbal communication (words).

Even in classical music, we can see that Beethoven's signature C minor is used to create powerful and emotionally stormy atmospheres. This demostrates that even without words, we can feel the music, based on the different emphasis and the change in tempo.

Symphony No.5


Also, the reason why I feel that non-verbal communication plays a bigger part is because I personally get touched and connected with a song even when it is sung another language (I hope it isn't just me, haha).

Take this music video for example:

Ikimonogakari - Yell



After listening and watching the music video once, I felt that it is a touching song, which one could possibly relate to when he parts ways with his friends upon graduation. I did not decode all these messages based on my understanding on the language. Rather, I decoded the message from the non-verbal cues, namely objectics and paralinguistics. Objectics were in the form of environmental objects, where the music video was set at a school, the field, and they also included students. At some scenes, the students held up placards with their smiley faces which I infer could be their dreams for the future. For paralinguistics (particularly prosodics), the lead singer made different emphasis on the song, especially at the bridge when her voice combined with the music and voices of the students, I thought it expressed some form of regret and conveyed a sense of loss.

However, that being said, I would not be able to decipher the complete message without understanding the lyrics of the song. I would have thought the song ended on a sad note. The translated lyrics seem to signal that the departure does not signify an ending, but rather a new beginning for everyone as they embark on the next stage of life and they stay connected with their dreams. After reading the translated lyrics of the song, I confirmed my decoding of the message and filled in the other details necessary to complete the message. From this, we learn that non-verbal cues and verbal cues cannot be deciphered separately (as suggested by theorists). Verbal and non-verbal communication work hand-in-hand to complete a message.

In conclusion, although verbal and non-verbal communications are part of a whole, I feel that non-verbal communication is still more important especially for songs. The non-verbal communication part of the song transcends language. Moreover, a good set of lyrics would not evoke the audience's emotions and/or if weren't paired with a good set of music.

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent."
- Victor Hugo
(French romantic poet, novelist and dramatist, 1802-1885)

What's your take on this? :)

Other references:

http://www.jpopasia.com/play/22378/ikimonogakari/yell.html

(Translated lyrics of the song is available here!)

Just a song to share :)

Perfect love drives out all fear

Love makes you strong