Kendrick Hester

    This class was very interesting. It helped me understand things more as far as the relationships we share with celebrities as the publics. Starting off with defining and clarifying the word celebrity helped me notice how much they influence the world around us. I am also clearer on marketing and public relations. This class taught me many things that will help me in the future because I now understand celebrities and fame through the eyes of the celebrity as well the public. Out of all the things I learned from this class there were three things that interested me most. These three take away were; para-social relationships and how serious they can become, the bad guy sports "paradox", and the difference between liking and identifying.

    Para-social interactions (PSI) was probably my favorite topic of this semester. I got a lot out of this topic because it was very powerful. PSI is when you have a relationship with someone that you do not know. I did not realize how much this happens until day 7 when we first discussed this topic. One of the examples that they talked about in the video was the relationship people share with god, for those who are religious. It is amazing how powerful of a bond people share with God although they have never seen him or been introduced in person. Para-social relationships happen every day to people of all ages. Have you ever watched a TV show or movie and felt as if you could get along with a character or as if you can relate to the role they play? This is an example of a PSI. I am a student athlete and I feel like I have para-social relationships when I watch movies about sports. For instance the movie "Coach Carter". It is about a group of high school kids who come from a rough part of town who all have dreams of going to college. I felt as if I could relate to the roles of these characters because I was in a similar situation in high school. Because of this bound I felt with the characters I find myself more into the movie every time I watch it, I even feel a little bit of emotion when some of the conflicts and dilemmas happen. Online relationships is another topic that was discussed. This is an example of a PSI and is getting more common in our world today. People meet online and begin dating without ever seeing each other. There a lot of things that come into plat with these relationships like, trust issues and lying about your identity but it is still crazy to know how people genuinely fall in love online before meeting in person. This is a display of PSI and how much power it can have over an individual. I think this is increasing in today’s society as technology continues to become more and more reliable. It’s almost as if we don’t need to associate in person with all these social networks. We do not have to rely on our interpersonal skills as much ruining out face to face communication.

    MY next take away from this class is the bad guy sports paradox. When it comes to sports reporting it is as if the reporters love when athletes mess up, they are so quick to criticize them. Is this fair? Are we too hard on athletes? From a public relations standpoint I can understand why it would be beneficial to them because they have more trending topics making it easier to do their jobs. In my eyes we do set the bar a little high for our athletes. I think sometimes we forget the fact that athletes are regular humans just like us, they are not perfect. When an athlete is considered professional it is important for them to know that they will get more attention than the average person. Another thing they have to notice is that they are now representing an organization or brand name so when they mess us it is not just them who looks bad but the rest or the organization as well. For example if Kobe Bryant messes up he does not just look bad the whole Lakers organization looks bad. This is something that has evolved over time. Today PR reporter are able to find something out and have the world informed within minutes. This is amazing that they have the technology to do this now days but I think it has its downfalls too. I don’t think it is fair to put someone’s personal business available for the whole world to see just because you are a professional athlete. I am not saying it is ok for athletes to break the law, they should be punished like everyone else but they should have to option to keep some things confidential. When your business is posted worldwide it may lead to more negative activity out of retaliation or maybe it can scar a family. It may be deeper than reporters know, we should put out self in the athletes shoes for once.

    My last topic is liking vs. identifying. After takin this class I now know that there is a clear difference. We are able to like something but not want to be like that something we like. An example of this is when I watch the movie “Jack Ass”. I watch this movie because it is funny and it entertains me. I do not have any common interest or relations to any of the characters. Being able to identify with a character or movie is different. Identifying is when you are able to put yourself in the shoes of the character in the movie you are watching. This is important to understand, mainly for the youth. Younger kids are more influenced by media. I think kids should be taught this at a young age because if not they may begin to follow something they like and try to identify themselves with it. For example if they like playing a violent video game and don’t understand that it is fictional they may become violent. This could affect our future generation if this is not make clear to the youth. With the easy access to internet kids are able to be easily influenced by the things they see and the things they like. If they are taught the difference between liking and identifying it can make our world a better place.

    This class helped me understand the importance of celebrities and fame. It was also very interesting and I enjoyed all of the topics we covered. The main topic I took away were; PSI, the bad guy sports paradox, and the difference between liking and identifying. Now that I now these topics I will be able to inform other about them and also apply them to my life.