Christopher "Play" Martin

Yesterday Christopher Martin came to our class to speak on media which later turned into his life lessons and experiences. I took the Hip Hop in Context class last fall so it was really good to hear him talk about something besides Hip Hop. He has a venture called Brand Newz that is a media outlet for current events. The website is set up similarly to a blog and its really neat. He also touched on his personal life which I found to be really brave and interesting. He talked of him being torn between to people...."Play" and Christopher Martin. "Play" was the life of the party and caused the "death" of Christopher Martin. For a long time he wouldn't talk about his former life saying it was something he didn't want to be associated with after his finding Christ and turning his life around. He has a company called HP4 Productions. HP4 is House Party 4!!! Not the movie but its a "house party" that has taken on a new face in media and production. I found his talk with us very educational and enlightening. This former "knucklehead" has definitely come a long way from and it was a privilege to have him come talk and share his past and his present and future ventures!

I still can't believe he wanted to rap to get a nickname though...LOL!!!

Black Women Walking

My inital reaction for BWW was complete and total shock. I was really appalled at the experiences that these women went through. As a black female, I have been subject to the cat calls but not as derogatory as each woman described. I always figured it was just the way of the world. So my first reaction was "What is the big deal...why even give it the energy of bothering with it"? I didn't understand the seriousness of it all until the ending where the dedication was to a girl who was killed for rejecting a guy by not giving her his phone number.

Expectations

I have a WHOLE lot of expectations for the class Mass Media and Society. I have always been interested in how mass media impacts the society through different outlets. I personally would love to learn exactly how it works and maybe even possibly its beginnings. I am taking the course to enhance my writing skills and become more knowledgeable about mass communications. I really just want to grasp some of the basic concepts of the class.
I also expect to be allowed to be creative but also learn how to become more structured in my writing. I am really excited about the class because I get to write in a blog (YAY!!!). I have always found media pretty interesting and I really don't want to pursue a career in it but I would like to know more about it.