Students explore Paley Center for Media
The Media Living Learning Center students visited New York City on a networking and experience trip over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, Jan. 15-18. During the trip, they met with alumni and toured the offices of New York’s famous media sites.
By Hannah Rea
The lights dimmed over our heads and the screen suddenly exploded in gray.
Mindless, identical figures march down hallways, intercut with scenes of a young woman in bright clothes with a sledgehammer evading security guards. A screen comes into view, the face of their leader addressing the masses in a high and cruel voice. The woman tenses, swings and throws the hammer with all her might, smashing the screen and freeing the world.
“You’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.”
The famous 1984 Apple Macintosh campaign first of several dozen advertisements, compiled into a video spanning from the 1950s to the 90s. All used cheesy jingles, patriotism and stereotypes to sell their products.
Famous faces like Shaq and President Eisenhower made appearances peddling things like dancing cigars, reliable cars and the virtues of Coke over Pepsi.
The juxtaposition of bright colors and witty black and white pictures was just a glimpse of what the Paley Center for Media does. It “leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance” of media, according to their website. Conserving radio and television programs, advertisements and other forms, to study society through the entertainment it enjoys.
Read more student reports from the Media LLC’s experiences in New York.