Mass Media and Oral History Essay PDF

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Essay for Mass Comm with Chris Martin...

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Aguirre, Sophia Interview Subject: Jill Smith-Aguirre (mother), Age 56 Dr. Christopher Martin COMM COR 1010-02 April 18, 2019

Project #2: Mass Media and Oral History

The mass media, oral history, and technology as a whole has evolved greatly over the last several centuries. From cavemen discovering how to invent a wheel to modern day technology that has allowed society’s greatest engineers to create a self-driving vehicle, the mass media, oral history and technology as a whole have come so far. Not only that, but the way humans have evolved in terms of communication have also advanced dramatically. Throughout this project, the ideas and reflections from the viewpoints of a middle-aged individual will be explored throughout their experience with the history of mass media in society will be thoroughly explored. For this final project in Mass Communications and Society, it was instructed that each student interview an individual over the age of 55 to learn and record their experiences with the mass media through the past several decades. For this specific individual, I decided to interview the most intelligent and informed person I know; my mother. Over the years, my mother has involved herself with many programs and organizations. Not only that, but she also loves to

educate herself about the current happenings in the world. For verification purposes, my mother’s full name is Jill Smith-Aguirre. She is 56 years old, and I interviewed her in person on Saturday, March 30th. On another verification note, a majority of my mother’s mass media experiences took place in Iowa, and others took place in New Jersey. Beginning with my mother’s experience and knowledge over the years related to sound recording and radio, I thought it was very intriguing when she discussed that used to use record players to listen to her music when she was younger. While I understand that it was not that long ago that record players were very popular, it seems almost unbelievable in this current day and age considering how technologically advanced our society has become. Along with listening to records as a little girl, my mother discussed that a 45 single record was one dollar. Sound recording and music has definitely come a long way since then. When I had asked my mother about how she and her peers discovered new artists, she replied, “We only had radio at this time, so listening to radio and then choosing to purchase certain 45 singles or an entire album was about the only thing we could do to ‘discover’ the newest and up and coming artists.” My mother added onto this statement to say that her favorite music genre during this time of advancement was 70’s or 80’s music, and that her favorite artists were Rod Stewart and Fleetwood Mac. When my mother and I discussed certain restrictions to her playing the radio or music, she stated that her parents did not have any large restrictions on her or her brother. However, she did mention that when she purchased her first stereo set, a ZENITH stereo system, her parents did have some guidelines on when she could play her music and how loud she could play it. While ending out our conversation on radio and sound recording, I asked my mother what her fondest memories were growing up related to radio. She replied, “Certain songs bring back old, good memories

about my friends and activities done at that time. I miss blaring my Top Hits station with my friends who rode with me back from school in my litte, red Mazda.” When it comes to the topic of television and cable, I was not surprised by the descriptions of what my mom grew up with, but it was somewhat difficult to wrap my head around, considering how readily available television and “on-demand” channels are today. Back when my mom was in high school, she (as well as many other American households) had only three television channels, and a remote control was not even a preconceived thought. Even with those few television channels, my mother said that her family was fortunate enough to own a higher quality colored television, but the only time she could watch television was obviously when she was home. My mother grew up in a rural Iowan home outside of Solon, Iowa. She made it clear that while they had a decent TV at the time, the reception was not always the greatest, since they lived out in the sticks. When I had asked my mother what kind of shows she and her family watched on the TV, she replied, “TV programming was very limited and very family friendly. We really didn't have any programming that needed to be monitored for unsuitable content. We tended to watch the evening news (national and local) along with family programs like Happy Days. ” Along with being limited to watching the news and some regular television specials, I asked my mother about what kinds of commercials she saw when she was younger. Her reply was most definitely did not pertain to advertisements related to the newest tech that everyone “should go out and buy”, but instead, advertisements and commercials back in the day were very simple. My mother recalls seeing commercials for Oscar Meyer Weiners, Folgers Coffee, and Mutual of Omaha advertisements. However, my mother said her most favorite and memorable commercials were from when she was a little girl. She discussed the excitement she experienced

on Sunday mornings to watch cartoons and to view the unique cereal commercials that were on television. If there is one thing my mother is grateful for now, though, it is the ability to have more options to watch different shows that fit your interest. Back then, you could not just flip through 100 different channels to find and binge watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians . According to my mother, you got what you got, and there was no room to complain about what was on TV. When I interviewed my mother on the topic of of digital games, she did not have much to talk about as she was not a big gamer when she was younger, nor did she have the time for it. “I never played video games,” my mother stated, “I was never that interested in them to begin with, and I was very involved with different activities growing up.” In regards to the Internet, though, my mother believed that was one truly life-changing creation (just was as many other people thought at the time). When my mother talked about how life-changing the Internet was, she mentioned that it was monumental in the sense that you had the ability to send professional documents and other sorts of contact information by the simple push of a button. It was almost too simple to be true! According to my mother, AOL was the website she visited the most, and a lot of that had to do with the fact that AOL was the website that held her primary email address. Of course with time, the Internet has grown exponentially since the days of AOL. Not only did my mother mention the Internet changing her life, but she also stated that the mobile phone was life-altering as well, “The lure of the internet and social media is CONSTANT, but there are so many benefits that come with it.” My mother went on to say that the Internet and mobile devices have mostly helped her with her job as a pharmaceutical representative. According to her, “I

need to be able to get a hold of doctors promptly, and I need to see when shipments of medications would arrive at an office. Technology has made my job significantly simpler.” All in all, talking to my mother about how greatly the mass media has evolved was very eye-opening. In all honesty, it makes me more grateful for the technology we have in society at the moment. According to my mom, life back when she was young was not difficult, but life is definitely a lot easier now because of the creation of revolutionary technology. With that being said, this interview makes me very eager to have discussions like this with my future children down the road. The mass media and technology has come so far already, but it still has so far to go....