Mass Communication Portfolio, Essay Example

Woollaston, V. (2014). Google Post-Apocalypse View: Turn your neighbourhood into an overgrown urban jungle with this software hack. Daily Mail, UK. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2583380/Google-POST-APOCALYSE-View-Turn-neighbourhood-overgrown-urban-jungle-software-hack.html#ixzz2wcILY0VV

A Swedish producer Einar Oberg has transformed conventional cities town and landmarks into urban wastelands. Oberg has adapted Google images in order to transform the views of conventional areas into areas which are filled with bushes, shrubs and other areas into desolate places. The scenes of applied by the application of programs which is similar to the photo shop view.  Any area which is accessible with google view can be transformed into an urban wasteland. The details which are added in the programs demonstrate what the world would be like if there were no maintenance in order to provide the conventional services of gardening and upkeep (Wooolaston, 2014).

The marketing of the article is based on what many have been in fear of an apocalypse since the beginning of the twenty first century.  Many of the common day views of civilization can be viewed on the Chrome and Firefox browsers. The marketing of the website is very popular due to the fact that many could be able to see the effects of the doomsday effects prior to their facts. The doomsday effects which have been observed could be a pandemic which affects a large percentage of the common population, the effects of the solar flares which would cause of a significant number of the population to be affected or global warning. This added the aspect of marketing of the scientific potentials that many are anticipating (Woolaston, 2014).

Marketing doomsday scenarios is very popular. People like to be prepared for what they anticipate as the end of civilization. It is very similar to preparing for the completion of an academic career a few years in the future. Many have no idea what could happen and anticipate lifestyles being significantly modified.  There are always individuals who are optimists and like to remain a few steps in front of the potential occurrences (Joseph, 2010).

These individuals who are optimist are disliked by many for their assertive optimistic nature. This can be attributed to lacking the encouragement to be an optimist. Many individuals perceive that they are not as prepared as they would like to consider themselves for the potential occurrences in life. This is why the sites such as the google post-apocalyptic view will continue to be popular well into the future. These sites and programs allow individuals to visualize the future and to make a schedule of things that they would like to accomplish prior to the envisioned scenario which is depicted in Googlepost-apocalyptic view (Joseph, 2010).

A communication studies colleague provided information that his family had formulated an emergency plan to reunite in the event of a substantial emergency such as solar flares or the lack of operation of the electrical power systems. Notwithstanding if the members of the family are able to remain in communication with each other; the perceived plan is to reunite at an old summer resort that the family members attended while the children were developing. This residence is agricultural and possesses the ability of sustaining residents for an extended period of time, in case that the food supply is interrupted.  In addition, the summer resort is situated on the edge of a lake which provides almost unlimited availability to fresh water supplies. The reservoir is filled with all types of fish and is connected to a creek where the members of the family would often fish for trout (Joseph, 2010).

My communication colleague, George has discussed the possibility of rehabilitating the summer resort and making it more prepared in the event of a critical emergency. George has discussed the possibility of burying canned produce on the property in a sealed barrel in case of a doomsday scenario. The challenge of this envisioned relief plan is that George resides in Miami FL. The retreat is close to Tampa FL. This is approximately approximately 400 miles away. The challenge would be that in the envisioned doomsday scenario as demonstrated by google post- apocalyptic view, the family may not have access to the gasoline which is stored in the tanks at the gasoline stations. This is attributed to the aspect of the gasoline stations requiring electricity in order to extract the gasoline from the tanks. In addition, traveling by airplane to the summer retreat may be out of reach as the air traffic systems may also be disabled in a doomsday scenario (Joseph, 2010).

There are relatively few families which possess access to a functional summer home which would be optimally positioned and established in order to endure a natural or manmade emergency situation. It can be considered that many people do have access to a retreat which is less than 400 miles away. Software such as Google’s post- apocalyptic view is very popular because of the reflections that they stimulate. It is important to formulate a family disaster plan.  The specifics of George’s family may not be unique. Everyone has family members and friends who can be accessed in a time of crisis (Joseph, 2010).

The reflections which are stimulated by the pictures which are demonstrated in the Google post- apocalyptic view are to formulate a family plan. It is important to know where are a good meeting place and the manner by which the family members should be able to get to the meeting place in the event of a man made or natural disaster. The questions which must be asked is that if the family has a retreat in case of the situations which are demonstrated in the Google post-apocalyptic view are who:  would be invited? Who would not be invited? These are important questions which should be formulated prior to a family disaster recovery plan (Joseph, 2010).

The Google post-apocalyptic view uses an avatar which is representative of Indiana Jones. The character of Dr. Jones is the central character in the franchise of Indiana Jones which had been conceived by George Lucas.  This is a manner of paying respects to the action characters of the serials which had been conceived during the post-depression era.  The Indiana Jones character which is featured in the avatar that is portrayed on Google’s post-apocalyptic view is demonstrated in theme parks, video games and comics. Indiana Jones was represented by Harrison Ford and the youthful Indiana Jones had been portrayed by River Phoenix (Macgregor, 1991).

The symbolic elements which identify the public with the Indiana Jones character are the trademark items which he applies in order to navigate the archaeological locations which are contained in jungle habitats. These trademark symbols are the leather jacket, bullwhip and fedora.  The Indiana Jones film franchise has been categorized as being the second most recognized film history. Indiana Jones is an acknowledged popular icon in American film culture and communication. The allure of the Google post-apocalyptic view is greatly enhanced by the application of the Indiana Jones character (Macgregor, 1991).

The popular novel which had been produced and characterized by Will Smith in 2007 was created by Richard Matheson. This was an aspect of the 1950s zombie category of films which had been popularized in the late 1950s. This novel was adapted to the movie which had been titled the Last Man on Earth in 1964; I am Legend in the later part of 2007 and the Omega Man which had been portrayed by Richard Janssen in 1971. The novel I am Legend becomes popular once again in the Google post-apocalyptic view. This aspect shows Will Smith in his 2007 interpretation of the movie I am Legend(Beale, 2007).

In the original novel, Robert Neville is the lone survivor of a pandemic which had been speared throughout the planet causing the victims to develop a form of vampirism. This pandemic is exacerbated by civil conflicts, the global warming trends and an escalation in the mosquito population which cause the pandemic to be transmitted to human hosts.  The original novel details Robert Neville’s existence in a large city subsequent to the spread of the pandemic and the elimination of all of the residents. Robert Neville endeavours to understand, investigate and to provide a remedy for the symptoms of the pandemic (Beale, 2007).

Neville is viewed in each of the interpretations as being alone and reflecting upon his existence by means of flash memory segments. Robert Neville encloses himself in his residence during the day, while he is protected by garlic, crucifixes and barricades. The vampires who have been mutated by the pandemic spend their nights contemplating the manner by which to gain entry into his residence. Robert Neville is the lone survivor who has developed immunity to the pandemic (Beale, 2007).

In the 2007 movie, Will Smith is engaged in scenes which probably inspired Google’s post-apocalyptic view. In the novel which is titled I am Legend, Robert Neville forages during the day for supplies and vampires who are lightly infected. He does this in order to procure rest subjects. In the novel I am Legend and the film, Robert Neville is befriended only by a dog. Eventually, the dog acquires the infection and succumbs to it (Beale, 2007).

The views from Google’s post-apocalyptic views cause the audience to use their imagination and to wonder about the condition of the world in a post-apocalyptic era. This is a recurrent theme which has been introduced in a number of Hollywood film productions which include I am Legend, the Last Man on Earth, Omega Man and the Planet of the Apesfranchise. The Google post-apocalyptic views are effective for motivating members of the viewing audience to understand that they cannot wish to continue destroying the environment which is required for the sustenance of civilization. This brings the aspect of social justice and ecology into the minds of the viewing audience (Beale, 2007; Joseph, 2010; Woollaston, 2014).

As the sun’s rays  have been extraordinary robust during the past and there have been rumours of asteroids crashing into the Earth, the plausibility of a post-apocalyptic world has become a subject which has become much more alluring in order to envision and plan for the potential implications to individuals, cities and nations. The solar rays have been exceedingly robust since the inception of the space race. The five most robust solar cycles in history have taken place within the past five decades. Notwithstanding, the temporal interval which extends from 2008 to the present has been the witness of a decrease in solar ray activity. The most fundamental manner of gauging the solar ray activities has been the review of sunspots which is a science which had been developed by the Chinese over two thousand years ago (Archer, 2009).

Galileo also made drawings of the changes which he observed on the sun which are maintained in the archives of the Vatican. The sunspots are defined as planet sized cosmic magnetic events which have been attributed to the initiation of droughts, the Carrington event and have the potential of causing massive blackouts in the current electrical grid systems by emitting electromagnetic pulses. The activity which has been assessed since 2008 may be the quiet before the storm. This is another reason why the Google post- apocalyptic view is extremely popular (Archer, 2009; Woollaston, 2014).

It has been documented that the period of relatively calm solar sunspot activities are sequenced by intervals of extremely robust solar sunspot activity. The present solar sunspot activity model is not in concurrence with the historically documented models. This aspect causes the astrophysicists to approximate that the subsequent solar sunspot cycles with be over fifty percent more intense than any which have been documented in history. This type of climax would be the origin of extraordinary explosions and sunspots. In the Carrington event which took place in 1859, the solar sunspot activity had become so great that the telegraph lines across the country had become inactive as a result of the electromagnetic pulse. If such a pulse were to occur in today’s digital technology, it would send humanity back several hundred years and potentially cost trillions of dollars to repair (Archer, 2009).

In addition to the aspect of sunspots, the electromagnetic shield which covers the planet has been recorded to be decreasing. The electromagnetic shield which envelopes the Earth provides protection from all types of cosmic events. As the electromagnetic shield which covers the earth decreases, there will be more frequent and more severe atmospheric disturbances.  This causes the aspects which are demonstrated in the pictures which were derived from the Google post-apocalyptic view to be feasible representations of what a future municipality or landmark could be perceived as subsequent to a few years of a cosmic or terrestrial event (Archer, 2009; Woollaston, 2014).

These potential outcomes cause the Google post-apocalyptic views to be extremely popular. In this manner, the outcome could be anticipated. It is apparent that there is a warning trend occurring in the Earth’s hemispheres. The glaciers which had been present for centuries in Antarctica and the Arctic are dissipating. The mean global temperatures are exceeded every year. The productive agricultural seasons have been extended.  Entire island populations in the South Pacific have surrendered their land to the rise of the sea levels (Archer, 2009; Woollaston, 2014).

Commercial shipping lanes are anticipating that the Northwest Passage in North-western Canada could become a viable trade route for maritime shipping from Asia to the Americas. The hurricane seasons in the North-eastern Atlantic seaboard have been growing increasingly in their duration and destructive capacities. There have been so many hurricanes that there are no longer sufficient names for the hurricane events in the English language and Greek names and letters must be applied in order to categorize the hurricane events (Archer, 2009).

The distinctions between the weather and the climate should be made. The aspect of predicting future weather and climate trends have evolved into becoming so chaotic that it cannot be predicted. The aspects of the thermal energy in the environment are anticipated to rise significantly over the next several decades. The mean rainfall which is incurred by an agricultural area could delineate the difference between a drought and a productive agricultural season. A few inches rise of the oceans which border the coastal seaboards could cause inundations which make these coastal areas inhabitable (Archer, 2009).

Throughout history there have been a number of recorded weather events. Many have detailed that the onset of the bubonic plague in Europe during the middle ages had been attributed to the changes in the global weather environment. The slight changes in the global temperatures demonstrate substantial changes in the wellbeing of humanity, especially now that the global population of humanity is surpassing 7.5 billion inhabitants. The weather which had been experienced 20,000 years ago would be easily detected from an orbital view of the Earth. The mean temperature difference between the last ice age and the present climate is basically a difference of six degrees centigrade. Yet the six degrees centigrade difference in climate has the capacity of causing global destruction (Archer, 2009).

This reality is another aspect why the Google post-apocalyptic views are becoming increasingly popular. The times which are experienced by humanity have been demonstrated to be in a continuous state of change. Many would like to be comforted by being aware of the changes which could happen in the aspects of municipalities, landmarks and nations. This inherent curiosity adds to the allure of Google post- apocalyptic views (Archer, 2009; Woolaston, 2014).

In the Holy Bible, Jesus did not instruct that humanity has a challenge of ignorance. Jesus instructed his disciples that humanity is in possession of a severe issue of sin which exceeds humanity’s ability of resolving (Matt 12: 34; Luke 11:13) (as cited in Rhodes, 2001). Jesus instructed his followers that salvation may not be found by being aware of the situations which are presently occurring but by placing their hopes in the Lord who has been detailed as being the light of the world (John 3: 16) ( as cited in Rhodes, 2001). These applicable biblical revelations and truths has caused the Google post-apocalyptic view to become increasing accepted as many are anticipating changes which are to come ab out in humanity’s lifestyle. The awareness of the potential situation may be an aspect which causes the audience to return to the search of universal truths of humanity (Rhodes, 2001).

Conclusion

The Google post- apocalyptic view is a manner by which photo shop technology may be applied to currently produced photos in order to stir the imaginations of the viewers. The producer of the Google post-apocalyptic view is simply capitalizing on what has been humanity’s curiosity since the beginning of time. This curiosity revolves around what the future of the world could be like after the occurrence of a humanity changing event. This causes the audience to look at these pictures and ponder towards works which have stimulated invention from the beginning of humanity. These two words are “What if?”

References

Archer, D. (20090. Global warming: understanding the forecast. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, ltd.

Beale, L. (2007). A variation on a vampire lore that won’t die. New York Times, 14 January 2007.

Joseph, L. (2010). Aftermath: Prepare for and survive Apocalypse 2012. New York: R   Random House Books, LLC.

Macgregor, R. (1991). Indiana Jones and the seven veils. USA: Random House Books.

Rhodes, R. (2001). The challenge of cults and new religions: The essential guide  to their history, doctrine and our response. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Woollaston, V. (2014). Google POST-APOCALYPSE View: Turn your neighbourhood I into an overgrown urban jungle with this software hack. Daily Mail, UK.