Miriam College

Proper Distance Collage

Hannah Cariño
Rollin De Leon
Jo Carol Fernandez
Phoebe Lotuaco
Zephyr Rivera
Michaela Sogueco

Celebrities are constantly stalked by papparazzis who want to catch them acting "just like any human being." Their private lives are penetrated to the deepest level, down until their most private acts such as sex tapes.

Media has shaped the audiences vision of people such as Kim Jong Il, Jack the reaper, Abu Sayaff and Hitler as heartless and down right evil. The media dictates that these people are creating havoc just for the sake of it and the hardly dwell into the possible reasons for their behavior.

Proper Distancing in the media talks about how the media shows our similarities and differences at the same time. Our group has chosen the 9/11 attack media coverage because it shows the audience something that is distant from them , which is the attack and terror but at the same time homogenizes the audiences because everyone knows the feeling this event evokes which is anger and sadness for the lost souls.

Com11 Collage Sia. Pacapac, Landoy, Gonzales, Bella

Too Close

Proper Distance

Too Far

Ateneo Com11 - B

Daet, Fabros, Huang, Geli, Lambino, Mamaril, Ravida

Too Far



Too Close


Proper Distance

Too far, too close, proper distance

Ateneo de Manila University
Com11 E
Aurelio, Camacho, Enriquez, Gabionza, Hui, Magalona, Wee

When media is able to create the illusion that the self and the other are devoid of differences, having a "too close" perspective is committed. Although it is considered a privilege to be able to peek in to the lives of different celebrities, the media's depiction of personalities such as Lindsay Lohan, Kris Aquino and Manny Pacquiao allows the self of any viewer to closely associate himself with the subject, therefore blurring identity and individuality among people.

Media falls under the perspective of "too far" when it fails to recognize the subject as an individual. The portrayal pushes the subjects to a point that they have striking and bizarre traits. Marilyn Manson, William Hung, Amy Winehouse, and anyone who has been tagged as being 'eccentric', may be viewed more as what they appear to be, rather than what they really are: human beings. As a result, they are viewed as though they are strange and out of this world.


A “proper distance” perspective is defined as having a sense of steadiness in the depiction of any media-related subject. The collage above gives a fairly balanced picture of the events that are part of man’s history. This is so because the media’s portrayal of these occurrences to many people maintains the respect for diversity and similarity of the viewer with the “other”.
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Ateneo De Manila University Comm11E

Nocom, Del rosario, Hahn, Crisostomo, Wong, Balatbat, Magahis

(right click images then view or open image to see the image in full resolution)

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PROPER DISTANCE

The concept of proper distance can be described as a seesaw. the people from the different sides of the seesaw have to be at proper distance, in proportion to weight, for it to be at balance. The proper distance of the people symbolizes the The proper distance which is a combination of the too close and too far perspective, whilst the weight can be perhaps other categories to take note of like backgrounds, ethnicity etc. In the end, proper distance gives the viewer a sense of both being too far (knowing nothing about the person or actions they are doing) and being too close (knowing exactly how it feels to be in that person's shoes or knowing what that person stands for.) In short we are being told in this concept it is needed in the news to make the news important but limit the indifference and close to the personal things but not to close that it invades privacy.

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TOO CLOSE

It is the magnifying the lives and events of different people by the media. Exposing the reality is what the media does and what they are required to do but sometimes they get “too close” and shows too much detail. Just like these pictures which show different people having their lives being exposed too much by the media. By becoming “too close” we discover the lives of these people even more but at the same time because we never knew these things about their lives which are deemed to be private; these overshadow our view of them. Thus, we see them as a whole different person.

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TOO FAR

The too far pictures represent how these events are seen only as leaves on a tree and nothing more. The distance between these events are distant too us which, in a way, limits us too fully understand what these people/ groups have gone or are going through. (These pictures consist of both the ongoing GRP-MILF memorandum within Mindanao and the Hurricane Katrina victims at New Orleans)

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Sources

http://images. search.yahoo. com/search/ images?p= emergency+ news&vc=&fr=yfp-t-104&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fp_ip=PH 
http://images. search.yahoo. com/search/ images;_ylt= A0S020pe19dIqncB CCKJzbkF? p=hurricane+ katrina&fr=yfp-t-104&ei=utf-8&x=wrt 
http://images. search.yahoo. com/search/ images;_ylt= A0S020yF19dIfQsA z.yJzbkF? p=hurricane+ ike&fr=yfp-t-104&ei=utf-8&x=wrt 
http://images. search.yahoo. com/search/ images;_ylt= A0S020mt19dINL8A gASJzbkF? p=proper+ distance&fr=yfp-t-104&ei=utf-8&x=wrt 
http://images. search.yahoo. com/search/ images;_ylt= A0S020u319dIxSsA CMeJzbkF? p=japanese+ tea+party&fr=yfp-t-104&ei=utf-8&x=wrt 
http://images. search.yahoo. com/search/ images;_ylt= A0S020vi19dIKEcA HQKJzbkF? p=weird+happenin gs&fr=yfp-t-104&ei=utf-8&x=wrt
http://images. search.yahoo. com/search/ images?p= enemies+shaking+ hands&sp=1&fr2=&y=Search&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-104&x=wrt&js=1&ni=21&ei=UTF-8&SpellState=n- 2392066867_ q-rkrsYh65aA/ /eSkyjp69YwAAAA@@

ADMU COM11-B

Araos, Buenviaje, Choa, Ocier, Pow, Sanvictores, Tan

TOO CLOSE

The compilation of the paparazzi shots of Gretchen Barreto and KC Conception, the public funerals of FPJ and Rico Yan, and the picture of Chris Tiu illustrates how the media can portray various subjects as “too close” because it invades their privacy and disrespects their differences therefore becoming a form of symbolic violence. Media creates the feeling of almost knowing them by drawing the audience too close to be indistinguishable from them and hindering them from diversity through extensive intrusion.

TOO FAR

The representation of Madam Auring in FHM magazine, President Gloria Arroyo as “Adolf Hitler” and the popular show Fear Factor (show concept and what it makes its contestants do) is an example of how media can depict people as “too far” because media fails to regard these people they portray as human beings and pushes them too far that they seem not individuals any longer. Media is able to epitomize them as the “distant other” for people in general tend to overlook and forget that these people are far beyond what media depicts them to be for they also possess various ethics, mind-sets and emotions and have diverse functions, purposes and roles in society as well.

PROPER DISTANCE

Although we see poverty, calamities, destruction, and hunger that would stir up sympathy and engage us emotionally in these pictures; the people in these pictures still have this humane quality that can be seen in every one of us. These may seem far from what we are used to, but they give the reality of these situations. In this collage, we see a boy picking up trash, but at the same time, helping his brother. Another one is of a tricycle driver, still doing his job, despite the heavy flood. The circumstances in these pictures may depict extremities that may be alien to most of us, but seeing a father holding his son tenderly while sleeping, despite being in the streets make us think and feel something both at the same time.

Comm11-B

Batingal. De Leon. Gomez. Hermano. Lumauig. Samonte. Sy.























all pictures found on google's image search with the names of the celebrities as keywords.

Chang, Daligdig, Montemayor, Ong, Santos, Uy

Ateneo de Manila University
Com11 E

PROPER DISTANCEThis collage depict proper distance because of the way they reveal facts not known to many which are present beneath the initial message that society gets from these pictures. Among these pictures are other truths about people and the nature of human beings.

TOO FAR

This group of pictures says that people that have a hard time speaking English are seen as a laughing stock of the nation. We disregarded the fact that they are also people who makes mistakes; and it just so happens that when we commit them, we aren't covered by the media.

TOO CLOSE

Amidst various predicaments, that the world is facing, the media's effort to showcase various artists, in this case Britney Spears, undermines what is really important. A case too close for comfort, they focus and center their attention to her resulting in the audience's emotional interpretation of this so called entertainment news.

Com 11 E Ateneo De Manila

Aranguren, Julian, Lacsamana, Rodriguez, Ramirez, Sy

In cases of ‘too close’ media coverage, there is a clear invasion of personal space of the persons featured (as in the picture of Princess Diana and Lindsay Lohan). The distance between the Self and the Other, Us and Them is traversed so as to extinguish personal differences as well as the idea of diversity, to provide a sneak peak to others’ private lives (Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus), which results to the audience’s tendency to relate to the media’s emotional side rather than its contextual side. Additionally, the audience’s emotional involvement renders the media as mere entertainment to be appreciated only for its face value instead of its cultural, political, or social value, which is evident in the pictures presented.

Too Far

These are media’s too far depictions of the Other, specifically unpopular leaders such as Hitler, Bush and Hussein. These people, who are distant from us not only geographically but also ideologically and culturally, are pushed too far from us by the media by demonizing and dehumanizing them in these depictions, such as comparing them to Satan and to pure evil. We have forgotten that despite their unpopular acts, they are human just like us.

Proper Distance

The collage features celebrities in their daily lives and in an activity many of us can relate to, showing them as caring parents and as regular members of society (Claudine Barretto and her child; Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin with their child) without invading their privacy, as they are comfortable with their photo being taken. The photo of the Sumilao farmer can also evoke and drive people into action (for the justice of the farmers) as there is a balance between context and emotion since it shows the farmer in a moment where she is laughing like a regular person; she is not depicted as a crazy activist. These photos maintain the objectivity of their subjects and are neither too close nor too far to the Other; they neither depict them as inhumane nor indistinguishable from regular members of society.

ADMU COM11-E

Fortun, Lim, Sarmiento, Tan, Sinjian, Gervasio and Leitheitner

Too Close

Although the red carpet is a venue for celebrities to be classy and to showcase a flawless image, it is also the place wherein numerous stars commit the major fashion faux of letting their private parts hang out for the public to see. This is a literal case of "too close" because although they are indeed human and are predisposed to committing mistakes, the media depicts an image that is too vivid and definitely too close for both the audience and subject.

TOO FAR

From sex offenders to terrorists to dictators; the media creates a negative façade that affirms their being evil to the point that we distance ourselves from them --- forgetting that they too are human. They become too far and we are forced to misunderstand because they are made unrecognizable by the media.

PROPER DISTANCE

The media covers the different issues in our world today with the proper amount of context and human emotion involved so that we do not misunderstand the true message by either distancing ourselves from the issue or having too much human emotion involved. From emergency news where media cannot yet create its own image of the issue such as fires, earthquakes and other natural calamities to properly covered news such as man-made accidents and epidemics, we are now capable of undestanding the true message sans media manipulation.

Web Sources for Photographs:
http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/britney-spears-nipple-slip-again.jpg

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/02/entertainment/main597582.shtml

http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,1007288_1007385_2,00.html

http://images.google.com.ph/imgres?imgurl=http://static.flickr.com/51/107771895_102e74c790.jpg&imgrefurl=http://hautegossip.blogspot.com/2006/03/another-nip-slip.html&h=500&w=332&sz=94&hl=tl&start=12&usg=__sURIIi4GVKgPbcYrbcKyXxT6an0=&tbnid=uFYzb2RxzpYg3M:&tbnh=130&tbnw=86&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnip%2Bslip%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Dtl%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG

http://itp.nyu.edu/projects_documents/1176587884_database_rc.jpg

ADMU Comm11 B

Dizon, Moreno, Silan, Tan, Uybarreta, Zapata


Too Close


As a result of the proliferation of media-based concepts, the media portray the identity of each person in this collage as "too close". Due to the nature of their roles and status in society, these people's lives have become the focus of the public sphere, where their individuality is most often compromised because each individual in society takes a part of their identity and make it his own.


Too Far




Media has a way of molding the audience’s perception of things, and it takes advantage of this power to dehumanize those who are deemed to be too strange and different. The people in the collage are an example of those being pushed beyond humanity, as the audience has negative and twisted perceptions of these people.


Proper Distance




Proper distance requires a symbiosis between what humans perceive as the similar and the different where the similar does not mean the exact and different does not merit isolation. The people in the collage present proper distance as being nameless but not faceless - nameless in the sense that their cultural and socio-political differences are identifiable but not faceless that they are completely indistinguishable from the viewer.

AdMU COM11-E

M. Bautista, K. Co, N. de la Cerna, A. Ignacio, L. Santiago and S. Tan

TOO CLOSE



Often times, entertainment news goes overboard while exposing the lives of celebrities. Coverage on Anna Nicole Smith’s death, the Jolie-Pitt children and the video leakage of the Cebu doctors show too personal views of issues. They were too in-depth, too opinionated, biased as to their treatment. Public was subject only to view the scandalous lives of these celebrities. People too immersed to see the situation from a contextual view-that they are also humans who have personal lives.
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TOO FAR




Poverty is a harsh reality that has been stripped of a proper face. Nowadays, it seems it has been reduced to mere statistics, ineffectual numbers flashed across screens and print ads. It is not a wonder why the common citizen would seem unconcerned about this matter.
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PROPER DISTANCE




Recent natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina and China’s earthquake have taken thousands of lives. Thankfully, because of well-covered exposure of these events in broadcasting, millions of people around the world have united in efforts to alleviate the situation of the victims (through donations and rescue missions). Such is an effect similar to that of our EDSA I where people unite and have been spurred to action by objective news exposing the truth behind the government and where victims voices are heard.

Photo sources:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f27_1208563235&p=1
http://www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com/pictures/20071002/anna%20nicole%20smith%20death%20photo/anna_nicole_smith_death_photo.html
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2006-12/18/content_761289.htm
http://www.time.com/time/yip/2005/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12602068@N00/2496035265/
http:// caffeinesparks.blogspot.com
Google images

ADMU COMM11-B

Kagaoan, Macaraeg, Mendoza, Que, Uy

Too Far

(In the picture: Undertaker, the wrestler, prisoner, strippers, gay marriage, magicians)

Even though they commonly exist within our realms, the media still portrays them with such peculiarity that is already beyond their humanity. Too close to losing their humanity…too far from the rest of the world. 

Too Close

(In the picture: Kris Aquino, tabloids, olympics coverage of winners, FPJ's funeral) 

The contemporary media removes the fine line between the public and the private lives of prominent personalities. Gaps are filled in to make illusory connections that are actually products of boundless intrusions.

Proper Distance

(In the picture: Children in Boracay, Wrestler with his child, John Cena, the wrestler, with people, different races united) 

The audiences deserve a whole view of the big picture. The media must further intensify its role to give people a clear, blue and pristine view of what is and what is not, of what is wrong and right, and of what is ideal and what is real.