Extra cred.

                The internet! A teenager’s dream cure for boredom: screw reading, extracurricular activities, or other ways of having fun. You can now read electronically, “work out” on your WII consol and express artistic talents using the wonderful Photoshop. So, to answer your question: of course I had a blog before this RTF class. The 13 year old’s perfect blog at the time was xanga, and I mainly blogged because I was bored with my life and felt like maybe writing out how bored I was meant I wouldn’t be bored anymore. It sort of worked….and by sort of, I mean didn’t.
                I liked blogging for this class, because though this was a weekly assignment, it didn’t feel like it. Instead of “homework,” it was more like a fun way to discuss lectures. Instead of a group discussion or an analysis of the material, it was more engaging and fun to just write a paragraph or two about the topics in blog format. I also liked this blog because it was a nice way to take terms and ideologies from class and use them with our own examples.  
                I like to consider myself techno savy, so I didn’t really have any problems with the blogs. If I had a problem (conceptually) it was with finding an outside topic to write about. But, once I found my topic, it was easy to take the topic (like Mad Men, or The Lion King, or His Girl Friday) and relate them with terms from class lectures and readings. But, I think I easily overcame these problems by just thinking outside of the box. I thought about things I liked and therefore came up with ways to relate them to our lecture.
                The topics about film production the most fun. Also, it was fun to take examples from movies and really dissect them and make sense of them using film terms. The 3 act structure was my favorite topic, but watching the Lion King as homework was a lot of fun, too. Advertising blog prompts were fun, but only because I liked looking up pictures of Marc Jacobs’ ad for “Bang.” Guilty.
                Blogging should rule the university universe and dominate the “analytical essay.” I absolutely love writing analysis essays, but I think blogging is more fun. It doesn’t feel like a homework assignment, but another form of engaging in media (which is appropriate since this class is Media Studies…good usage of the class title, right?). I think more classes should have blog assignments, simply because it’s simple, doesn’t take up too much time or energy, and can be fun.
                If anything, all that I would change is more extra credit blogs…hell, they’re easy and fun, therefore I think more people would be more willing to do them. Plus, who isn’t a fan of extra credit? That’s right, no body! Also, you are more than welcome to use by blog for future references.

Wise Words of Wisdom....with The Beatles

Through music and a simply magnificent song, I must say that the Beatles surely provided a great definition of “globalization,” singing: “One thing I can tell you is you got to be free, come together right now over me.” (okay, so it may just be the one little part, but I really enjoyed it…plus it’s a lot more entertaining that just looking up a definition on dictionary.com, right?) Course it sounds like a long shot, but globalization is all about being interconnected, not only through people among our society, but nations, and even cultures. Therefore, I think “coming together” is a great way to provide a definition of globalization. And I am sticking to my Beatles reference. =]
 To explore globalization further, let’s take a look at the concept of cultural imperialism. There is a big difference between cultural imperialism and cultural influence. The former is sort of like the “taking over,” or dominance, of one culture or a trend. We don’t allow for one thing to slowly starting becoming a part of the community or society. Cultural influence, I think, learns towards heavily pushing the idea of something, so that is DOES become part of a new society. Let’s use the example of the expansion of everyone’s beloved restaurant, McDonalds! Now, this is something that is all over Western culture, and we never think “I wonder if there is a McDonalds around…,” simply because we KNOW that somewhere there is a McDonalds nearby. But McDonalds is slowly expanding to other nations and cultures. Some of these people may not like it because the western culture is managing to bleed within the cracks of their societies. While doing some research, I’ve read that the French had a giant outcry when the first McDonalds opened in France. And who could blame them? They don’t want cheese burgers and (although it would SEEM appropriate) French fries (haha, French humor) to become the new “French meal.” I do remember that when in Paris with friends and other people from the States, all of us at one point or another wanted to spot the golden arches and have a tasty meal (that we were accustomed to back in the States). We did manage to find one, only after struggling with placing an order in French, but we were all really bummed that there didn’t seem to be many McD’s all over like back home! And alas! An example of cultural imperialism. McDonalds is all over the US, and rarely we do find it throughout the streets of Paris, but this chain does manage to step outside of the States and in some way “connect” everyone. It is kind of sad that this restaurant is what connects us, but our western culture is managing to make its way to other people. Not necessarily to take over, but to make a common connection between people and cultures.
Hey, I still believe the Beatles said it best.

Sex Sells: A True Story

This is clearly a powerful ad, in many different ways. Though it is an ad to promote cologne, there is also the need to put in the man who made the cologne, Marc Jacobs. Not only do they feel the need to throw him into the photo shoot, but he is also nakedly promoting his own cologne.
When we think of the ways this ad appeals to audiences, we mainly think about how sex sells. With the ubiquity of the ad, this picture captures the attention of readers regardless of their sex, sexual preference, or age. The picture holds our attention, but not because we are interested in Jacobs' new cologne, but rather because of Jacobs is behind his cologne, in a sexy and naked pose. Through sex appeal, this ad works to grab everyone's attention as well as to "promote" his cologne.
But this ad is just one of many that uses sex as a form of appealing to audiences. Even the name of the cologne itself, Bang, is one that makes you question if there is any innuendo behind the name. But, we wouldn't be guessing if there is any sexual connotation behind Bang if there was not a naked man within the picture. This advertisement does a great job of putting two different things together, and allowing the reader to put the two puzzle pieces together: to form a sexual advertisement. There is a pro within this ad, and that is the ad stimulates the purchase of a new product. Of course, many people see this ad and think they need to go out and buy the product because the ad is that hot. But we don't really need new cologne do we? Here lies the con within this ad. We think just because the ad is powerful enough to hold our attention and we begin to drool over it, that we need to spend money on worthless things we don't NEED. And in this case, many men have said that this cologne doesn't even smell good! This equals an even BIGGER waste of money. It is true what they say, sex does sell.

"His Girl Friday" and the 3 Act Structure.

The 3 act structure within the film, His Girl Friday, is quite simple. In the film, Hildy is a former journalist who comes to say goodbye to her ex-husband (Walter, who is also the Editor of the newspaper) and run off with another man whom she has fallen in love with. But Walter does not want her to leave, and tricks her any way he can so she can stay and write for his paper. Through Berg's terminology, we will look at the plot points of the film, and where and what the climax is of the film.
The intro of the film just sets up the situation of Hildy and Walter's past relationship. We see how the two interact with one another, as well as how they both act with Hildy's new fiance, Bruce. Walter wants Hildy to stay and cover the story of a convict (Earl Williams) about to face the death penalty. There is much controversy with the situation, with people for/against the penalty, as well as thinking that Earl is an innocent man. Seeing as Hildy loves a good story, and with a desire for writing, she decides to stay in town (instead of hopping a train with her new to be hubby). This is the first plot point within the film. This plot point asks a question (what will the article read, will Williams be freed, etc.) and the next act will answer this question. This first plot point is at 23 minutes.
The film goes on, showing us the "answer" to the previous plot point's question. Hildy visits Williams in jail and writes her manuscript for the article. Once she has everything she needs for Walter, she wants to hop the train and head off to her big trip. But Walter still wants her to stay (and to secretly try to win her over). This time though, it is not Walter who convinces her to stay, but Earl Williams! He escapes his jail cell and finds Hildy to question her about the article she is soon about to publish. The second plot point (60 minutes out of 91) is at this moment: Hildy panics and calls up Walter. With both fright and delight she tells him that she has Earl Williams in the press room. This PP is exactly like the last one, but this transition also escalates the stakes. We don't know if the mad man will win or what will happen to Hildy, etc.
Hildy has a mad man in her newspaper press room, and everyone wants to know all the juicy details. Cops, family members, coworkers, and Walter all come to her aid and try to make out what exactly is going on. To not give much away, I will skip ahead to the climax! Now, you may think that the climax has something to do with Earl Williams and his psycho personality, but that is where you are wrong. Instead, the climax (which happens around 90:15/91) is this: Hildy realizes she really is in love with her goofball editor Walter and wants to stay with him. It's kind of sad for Bruce, but it makes everyone in the audience feel warm and cuddly, breaks the tension, provides a great deal of comfort (obviously), and shows us a perfect example of the Hollywood Happy Ending. His Girl Friday is a great example of the Hollywood 3 act structure, and all around a fun and enjoyable film.

30 Rock!

My favorite tv show is, without a doubt, 30 Rock. I love the humor and I have a huge crush on Tina Fey (who doesn't though, right?!) And after Professor Tait's lecture, I enjoyed trying to categorize 30 Rock within a sitcom category. Tait did use 30 Rock as an example within the lecture, but with the aspect of characters, and I can see that 30 Rock definitely has axial characters. But, what I could not figure out was whether the show was episodic or serial. I think that the show definitely has traits of both. Tait used an example with "Friends," asking if two characters will ever get together, which that itself displays both examples of serial and episodic. Seeing as Tait said that it is important for a sitcom to contain characteristics of both, 30 Rock is the perfect example of a sitcom containing both episodic and serial traits.
Throughout 30 Rock, we see the life and shenanigans of Liz Lemon, the head writer of a comedy show. Aside from her life, we see glimpses of other characters' lives, but only when Lemon is involved (which demonstrates the episodic characteristic of the sitcom; this really doesn't allow much character development for other characters, which is a tad disappointing). Liz always manages to learn a lesson from Jack Donague, or from her fellow coworkers. This lesson usually isn't learned until the last few minutes of the sitcom (a characteristic of episodic sitcoms), but the road to learning the lesson takes place the entire duration of the sitcom (this is where 30 Rock is not as serial centered). 30 Rock isn't as episodic in terms of the structure of the story lines. While most episodic sitcoms pick up where the last episode left off, 30 Rock doesn't have a structured plot. The script for the series is more sporadic as far as events and character development (meaning 30 Rock does not follow a long term plot, but does mean that the plot is not as predictable, a serial characteristic). To put it plain and simple, 30 Rock is an acrobat, walking a tight rope between Episodic and Serial.

The Lion King...in Film making Terms

Throughout this post is the dissection of Disney's best animated feature, The Lion King, throughout the terms of film making (as previously stated). Through three types of shots, we will see both the connotative and denotative interpretations for the three basic shots (LS, MS, CU).

The long shot: What I remember most (aside from the great musical numbers) from this movie was Simba’s journey back to Pride Rock. It was a nice simple long shot with Simba represented in two forms: one was in a small form, running across the screen, and the other displayed just his paws on top of the first shot, in a lower opacity. The denotative description of this shot is simple: it sets up the “going home” scene perfectly. The orientation shot shows us Simba leaving the world of Hakuna Matata, and going back to his responsibilities at Pride Rock. This sets up a moment of happiness. Yay, Simba is finally going home to challenge Scar and take his place as King of the Pridelands! However, when we look at this in a connotative connotation, we analyze it in a different matter. Simba is represented as a tiny form, and we see the scenery on a much larger level. The fact that he is so small shows us how isolated the character is, and how overwhelming his surroundings may be. Even though he is going home and we see this as a good thing, through the connotative description of the long shot we understand that his journey isn’t easy since he leaves his friends behind and ventures off alone.(In the screen shot, you can barely see little Simba, but his blurry shape is right above the paw in the shot)



MS- As the movie progresses and Simba reaches Pride Rock, we see a glimpse of his home and what it now looks like with Scar as King. Then we see a scene with Scar and Simba’s mother, Sarabi, which provides an excellent medium shot. In this shot, the audience understands what life is like now that Scar is King of the Pridelands (denotative). Through the screen shot, we see a nice visual representation of the two attitudes between the two characters. Sarabi keeps her head high and tries not to break to Scar and his dictatorship. Scar, however, is the opposite, and he is displayed as evil and downright mean. Their relationship (connotative) is perfectly spelled out through their words as well as their nonverbal communication.

 CU- Simba to the rescue! After Scar attacks Sarabi and Simba steps in, the audience sees interaction between Scar and Simba. Throughout these scenes, most are close up shots between the two rivals. Here we examine the important detail (denotative) of the two characters. We see Simba and how he really feels towards Scar. There is resentment throughout his words, and written all over his mane (connotative). Even with the close ups of Scar, he looks frightened and worried. Throughout their sharing of words, there lies the important detail of the plot of the story and what enfolds in the next couple of minutes.

The Lion King displays perfect examples of the shots we learned in class, as well as shot progression. Aside from just shots, the film also displays great camera angles and variations.

Hollywood!

  The studio system during the early days of Hollywood acted as nothing but promotion. Through Tait's lecture, we saw how strict Hollywood maintained its vertical integration. Through various examples, we see how stars, and even directors and screenwriters were seen as a way to bring in the money. But in reality, we never see, or recognize their names much later on throughout the years (we recognize the titles "Gone with the Wind," and "Casablanca," but in reality we probably wouldn't ever guess the person who directed either film).
   Through "contract talent," the studio system owned certain people to keep their image (or studio name) alive throughout pop culture. Studios like MGM managed to film movies with stars who had big voices and thus, most of MGM's films were musicals (examples: "Singing in the Rain," "The Wizard of Oz") MGM knew that the singing voice of Judy Garland would bring their studio popularity, and it became known that whatever movie Garland was in, she would probably be singing sometime throughout the film. Aside from just singing, some of the stars would even include other MGM stars (example: seeing Garland sing to the infamous Clark Gable).
As sad as it is, audiences saw the rise and fall of Judy Garland (who is a perfect example of the studio's "contract talent"). After fame and recognition in "The Wizard of Oz," people saw her singing in more and more movies by MGM. However, MGM Studios eventually overworked Garland, and her fame soon went downhill. After constantly moving from film to film within MGM Studios, she couldn't keep up with all of the Hollywood fame, or continue to live among "the stars in heaven." As we all know, Garland died by an accidental overdose, after all her life she was told this and that about her appearance by various studio executives, and even attempted to commit suicide more than one time.
The studio system liked to use their stars, rather than just "promote" them. Though contract system seemed like a good idea (i.e using singing sensations in various films and promoting other actors in the process), there could also be drawbacks, as anyone could see just by reading about the life of Judy Garland.