Jordan Williamson 3091283

Morning Commute
From Home to Office and Everything in between

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Many of these pictures were captured to simply demonstrate the flow of a typical morning commute. However, analyzing these pictures with a newly acquired understanding of media allows one to see that they serve a much deeper purpose. Even though some of these photos were taken solely to demonstrate the flow of this morning ritual, it is apparent that media can be seen virtually anywhere.
Featured Slides: 2, 10, 18, 19, 20, 23, 25, 26, 28, 36, 40, 41, 43, 61, 64, 66, 75, 76, 78

New Understanding and Analyzing

Slide 10 was intended to show the daily routine of picking up a coffee. However, when taking into account the various types of media, one can see many of its forms in this photo. Wendys and Tim Horton's are the two most notable signs in this picture; they can be seen on the large focal sign, alongside their logos on the building. On a smaller scale, there is an advertisement for Satellite Golf below these main logos. One can assume they are trying to capitalize on the popularity of Wendys and Tim Horton's for their ad to be seen. On an even smaller scale, one can see the Chevrolet logo on the back of the white van. Nearly every picture contains this form of advertisement; this is an ad that can go unnoticed in our daily routine but is constantly present.

New Understanding and Analyzing

Slide 43 displays another common daily routine in which someone is checking the time. In this case it signifies a countdown until the end of the train ride. This picture shows how branding is a form of advertising. This watch was most likely purchased because of the basic need to tell time, then further evaluated based on the look of the watch. However, the brand clearly played a role in the purchase. In todays society we sometimes identify our worth through our wealth. Many would attribute this due to the medias focus on brand names and image. Often people construct a false reality of wealth through our appearance.

Point of View
Slide 42 shows a fence beside the GO Train tracks, covered in graffiti. Understanding different points of view is important when analyzing and interpreting various forms of media and their importance.

Point of View #1
Property Owner The owner of this fence may see this as nothing more than vandalism. I am sure it would be hard to convince the owner otherwise as this has defaced their property and having it removed requires time and money.

Point of View #2
Sociologist Someone involved in politics or sociology may take this as a representation of the locations demographics. This offers opportunity to analyze further points of view as well. One of these views could insinuate that the area is of low economic standing, with high levels of crime. However, another perspective could suggest that this community has an artistic youth population that lacks the proper outlets to express their artistic sides.

Point of View #3
Artist/Vandal I would assume that the person(s) responsible for the graffiti would view it as an artistic representation of self expression. This is similar to many other artists within the media; writers view their books or scripts as a form of artistic expression. Even people within the advertising industry utilize their artistic abilities when developing their projects.

Point of View
Slides 67 and 68 feature various types of Toronto Maple Leafs merchandise. Pieces of fan merchandise like these are an intriguing form of media.

Point of View #1
Fans The people wearing jerseys and hanging flags believe they are showing loyalty to their team. However, these people have actually paid into advertising for the Toronto Maple Leafs. These are people with much less money than the NHL, the owner of the team, or any other corporation involved and they are spending money to contribute to the success of something they receive no economic gain back from. The dynamics of sport team branding is very unique; many of us really enjoy going to The Keg Steakhouse for dinner, though we do not choose to wear shirts advertising for them as we do with sport teams.

Point of View #2
The Team The term team is being used in a broad sense to incorporate the owners, players, league, and all others who benefit economically by the sale of this merchandise. These people view merchandise like this to be a gold mine of advertising. They first produce products at very little cost, then sell them at inflated prices to people who will then go out and show it off for everyone to see. This benefits the team economically directly through the sale of the products, and indirectly by the increase advertising which will generate popularity and awareness.

Point of View
In slide 34 we see a very typical bank of newspaper dispensers. There are many points of view to account for when analyzing this picture.

Point of View #1
Consumer A consumer would believe that these racks outside of the GO Train station are a convenient form of sharing news coverage. They are clearly visible and easily accessible for commuters to grab before boarding the train.

Point of View #2
GO Station The administration of the GO Station would view these dispensers in a few different ways. The first perspective is likely what the public would like to believe, which is that they were put in place to benefit the customer. Especially for the sake of convenience, these papers are handy for commuters who might not have been able to grab a paper prior to the start of their commute. The second and probably the most important view is that these papers are a source of revenue. The companies behind these dispensers have to pay a fee to the GO Station to have their products sold there. One would assume that if these payments stopped, the GO Station would remove these rack shortly after.

Point of View #3
The Newspaper The company behind the paper being sold or provided can also interpret their purpose in more than one way. The first and most important perspective it that this is an opportunity for them to promote their paper to the public. Furthermore, some of these papers cost money and are not free press. Selling a paper is an opportunity to generate income outside of the most profitable avenuethe advertising within the paper. Another way to look at this from the newspapers perspective is as a way to expand the market. Not everyone gets a paper delivered to their home and not everyone stops at a convenience store in the morning. Having the paper available in as many locations as possible allows for a larger market reach. To a lesser extent, it is worth mentioning that a paper that is only available in the Burlington area could be purchased at the Burlington GO Station, then left on the train and read by someone at another stop as far as Toronto.

Point of View
Slide 70 features two young adults sitting in the financial district of Toronto begging for money. At first glance, many may have a negative attitude towards this situation. However, after considering media literacy and critically thinking about it, one can see a non-corporate level of advertisement. These two people are advertising much like the companies on the billboards in slides 57, 58 and 59. They are also using the same strategies that large advertisers do. In slide 57, Fallsview Casino plays on our sense of excitement for their advertisement and in slide 59, Telus plays on humor and the love of animals in their campaign. The people in slide 70 are capitalizing on our sense of empathy to generate economic gain; they are presenting themselves as impoverished and homeless youth. However, critically analyzing them leads to some skepticism. Both people are wearing very clean clothes; the male has a well-groomed beard and the female has artificially colored hair. It can easily be concluded that if their conditions were so grave that food was an issue, clean clothes, dyed hair and a groomed beard would not be a financial priority.

Point of View
Slide 72 features a picture of a sign for the Royal Bank of Canada. The sign itself captures attention because of its size and placement. The sign is very large and placed in the middle of a very busy side walk right outside Union Station. It almost feels as though it is being downplayed by calling it a sign, podium or dais may suit it better. Also the material it is built out of is metallic in color which contrasts it from the earth tone stone floor. The sign is highly visible by people walking down the sidewalk, or people passing on the road either in car, bus, or street car.

Point of View #1
Looking at a typical bank advertisement the target market would be an adult somewhere between 30 and middle aged. Looking at this point of view, a bank would be seen in its rawest form as a place to save, store, or borrow money. However, banks use advertising to show this target market other products and services they offer. These include investing opportunities through GICs, RRSPs, College Saving Funds for their children, and Index Funds. Also, banks offer insurance for basically everything including car, home, and life insurance. Banks capitalize on this age bracket because they are typically the highest earning demographic, and have retirement and children to worry about along with a mortgage and other common financial needs.

Point of View #2
A very simple point of view of a bank would come from a child. Most children would say that a bank is where parents keep all their money. In recent times taking into account the latest recession, children of some house holds may refer to a bank as where their parents owe money.

Point of View #3
Another simple perspective of a bank, but not as straightforward as a child's, may be that of an elderly senior citizen. Banks have greatly evolved in the last twenty five years and more so over the last fifty. Although this age group may understand the new diverse world of banking, they most likely to not interact or indentify greatly with it. Most people in this demographic would see a bank as a place to pay bills, get a mortgage, and to save and borrow money.

Reflection
A morning commute is a daily ritual for most people. Whether it is a quick walk to school, a drive downtown, or a train ride into another city, commuters follow daily rituals that are completely saturated in media, often without realizing it. Following the commute of a Bay Street business man from Hamilton, ON to Toronto, ON gives a very detailed look into the media we are so accustomed to. Along the way, I aimed to see different forms of media from various points of view as displayed in the previous slides. The main goal of these pictures was to capture as much media as possible and be able to offer different perspectives of each form. I wanted to demonstrate how saturated our lives have become with such forms of media to the point where we do not even realize how it has consumed us. Needless to say I was able to capture numerous forms of media, so much so that I had to trim my original 240 images down to just 77. Obviously my method of ordering the images consecutively was to simulate a morning commute. The journey began in a car which travelled from a suburban home in Hamilton to a train station in Burlington while making a stop for the ever important morning coffee. During this portion of the trip, advertisements by small companies are featured such as company branding on a truck or the building side of a local deli. Once at the train station, the advertisements began to get more obvious. For example, while boarding the train one encounters many signs that advertise for the GO Station as well as other companies. When travelling on the train you begin to notice how so many forms of media are present such as graffiti, billboards, building side advertisement, and many others. Although the media is diverse, one commonality remains present; all media is presented within view of the train passengers. Both the advertising executives of various companies and a graffiti artist realized this is a good way to get your image noticed. When entering Toronto, advertisement and media becomes increasingly present. In every direction you look there is a television, a billboard, a poster, or even building side covered with media. This assignment allows one to recognize the various perspectives of media. Typically you would only view media as a target of advertising. However, through this assignment one can understand the perspective of those presenting the media, or others that are even indirectly affected. I can honestly say that if not for this course and assignment I would have never thought that street beggars could be analyzed as a form of media. It was my intention to display the overwhelming and constant presence of all forms of media through this assignment.