Extra Credit Evaluation Blog

The following are the answers to the questions posed in the email regarding the blog post sent to our class email list:

This is the first time that I have ever had to create and regularly use a blog. The biggest positive aspect of the blog, in my opinion, was the fact that the blog posts made me critically think about concepts that we reviewed in class. Without the blog, it is likely that I would have just memorized the lessons we learned during lecture, rather than think about their effect on my life and on our culture as a whole. In addition, by developing the concepts it helped clarify things that I was confused about during lecture. I appreciated the extra push that the blog provided to read further into tough concepts and definitions.

I enjoyed the blogs that developed ideas that are currently controversial in today's day and age. For example, I particularly enjoyed the blogs that I wrote regarding women's image in the media today because it was eye opening to see how easily the image of the "perfect" woman is engraved in my mind via advertisements and women's roles in all different media outlets. On the other hand, I found it difficult to elaborate on the blog regarding the Hollywood System, because it was hard to relate to something that hasn't existed in my life time. Although, I did learn a lot by looking into the effect of the Hollywood System and its audience an its actresses, which I appreciated. 

Although I did feel that the blog had some positive effects on my learning experience in RTF 305, I don't think that I would recommend using it again. This is because I felt that the blog assignments didn't help my understanding of the majority of the concepts we discussed in lecture. Although it enhanced my understanding of a few topics, when it came time to study for the exams I wished that I had completed assignments that clarified a broader range of topics that were on the powerpoints during lecture.

If the blogs do continued to be used in future semesters, I recommend that the sections make a point to cover topics that students did not elaborate on in their blogs. This way, the teachers will make sure that the students get to clarify all of the concepts, not just the ones used on the blog prompts.

Globalization

After lecture concluded on Wednesday, I have come up with the following working definition Globalization. Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness among nations, cultures, and people through developments in technology and media. Globalization increases the opportunity for people to communicate with each other no matter how far away they may be. As a result, an abundance of information is now available for massive amounts of people due to the seemingly unlimited access that technology gives to its users which creates a global audience, rather than just a local, regional or national audience.

However, one must look at the positive AND negative effects of Globalization and the "global" audience. It can be argued that increased globalization can lead to increased cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism is the idea that, due to globalization, nations are becoming more Westernized and Americanized which is decreasing the amount of local, indigenous and national culture. The idea of cultural imperialism doesn't take into consideration 3 major factors. First, cultural imperialism doesn't take into consideration the diversity of different national cultures and media outlets. Second, cultural imperialism does not address how a product is made, or how the product is used in different nations. Third, many view cultural imperialism as too totalizing across different media outlets, nations and audiences.

A great example of cultural imperialism and globalization is the fact that most news stations are owned by 3 corporations.  In class we learned that the most "global-est" news corporations were AP (US), AFP (France) and Reuters (UK & Canada). Although there are definitely perks to having few conglomerations running the majority of the news, such as increased amount of information and access to news on an international level, there are some serious negatives as well. The power of that these few corporations have can be very dangerous in terms of their ability to call attention to certain issues, rather than others. For example, if there is a scandal with one of the news agencies, they have the ability to keep the details of the scandal under wraps, do to their massive power over an abundant amount of stations. Since globalization is creating more mass audiences than ever before, the ability to keep a story from getting into the news means that a massive amount of people will not hear about the story. This type of power held by so few companies leads to what is now referred to as a media conglomerate. In other words, the rich and the powerful have final say about what is important for the entire world to learn about on the news. This example could definitely be viewed as a way in which one corporations can have a large amount of power on the world, rather than just one nation or region.

Below I have attached a link that further develops the ideas of cultural imperialism and globalization in the media today.
http://www.mediamonitors.net/osama4.html

Subaru "Baby Driver" Commercial Attempts to Connect with Parents using the "Safety" Appeal Technique

Normally, I hate commercials. Most of them are ineffective, and highly irritating. However, Subaru recently came out with an ad titled, "Baby Driver," which I found to be effective. The ad shows a conversation between a father and his daughter, a new driver, only the daughter isn't the typical age of a new driver. Rather, the daughter shown in the beginning of the commercial is about 5-years old. The father is rattling off safety precautions while the young girl is putting her seatbelt on and starting the car.  I found the ad to be effective because the conversation was very realistic, and it reminded me of the speeches I received from my dad when I first started driving. In addition, the little girl's adorable voice and appearance made me highly sensitized to the ad's message about safety. 

In class we discussed different appeals of advertising that companies use to connect with their consumers through commercials. The appeal that Subaru used in this commercial was the appeal to safety. The safety appeal approach is generally aimed at an older audience, who is concerned about not only their safety, but the safety of their loved ones as well. Safety ads are generally less flashy, and more realistic. Ads with safety appeal use realistic situations to give their potential consumers assurance that their product will keep them, their families, and friends out of harms way. 

The Subaru commercial perfectly uses the safety appeal in its commercial. The commercial plays on the heart-strings of parents everywhere, who all share the same fear of handing the keys to their car to their child for the first time knowing all of the dangers that lay ahead on the road. It is a realistic situation that doesn't discuss all the flashy and up-to-date elements of the Subaru itself, like other car ads do. Rather, Subaru and its advertising team decides to focus on the consumer rather than the product. The consumer, after viewing the commercial, is supposed to feel confident that if he/she purchases a Subaru, the people he/she cares about most in the world will be safe while operating a motor vehicle. 

Below I have attached two links. 

The first, is the link to the actual ad. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qf8OGLqE1s

The second, is an article that supports my claim that the "Baby Driver" ad uses the safety appeal in the commercial. 

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/08/new-subaru-ad-promotes-brands-safety-captures-teen’s-“first-time-out”-driving-moment.html

3-Act-Structure and "Liar, Liar"

Professor Ramirez-Berg's lecture on Monday was very informative, particularly in regards to the different structures used in film narration. Professor Ramirez-Berg explained the three different types of narrative structure: 5 Act Structure, 3 Act Structure and Alternative Structure. Today, however, I will focus on the most common narrative structure, the 3 Act Structure, which is split into an introduction, complication and resolution.

"Liar, Liar," starring Jim Carrey is one of my favorite comedies and I have seen it countless times. The comedy's first act introduces the main characters and their relationship. Jim Carrey plays Fletcher, a father who has a bad habit of lying to his ex wife and his young son whom he has joint custody of. The first plot-point,  is when the son, makes a birthday wish that his father "just for one day.... won't tell a lie." This scene escalates the stakes, because the son's wish comes true and turns Fletcher's life upside down (the complication.)

The second act, the longest act of the film, shows the effect on Fletcher's life and career that his son, Max's, wish has on him. He struggles fighting a court case in which he depended on lying in order to win. He also slowly realizes the devastating effect his continual lying has had on his son and his ex-wife, who he still deeply loves. This act clearly explains the complication that his sons' wish has imposed on him. The second plot point comes at the end of this act, when Fletcher realizes that his inability to lie is not actually a curse, it is something that he wants to continue after the 24 hour period is up. He realizes that his son and wife are the most important thing to him by not being able to lie to them for one day. This plot point propels the movie into the third act by inspiring Fletcher to track down his ex-wife and son on an airplane in order to get them back for good. 

The final act is the resolution act. In the climax of the film, Jim Carrey successfully tracks down his ex-wife and son after a wild chase down an airport runway. In the end, he confesses his realization to Max and Audrey and convinces them to give him one last chance. He expresses what he has learned from the "curse" and that he wont be lying ever again. Hence, the Happy Ending Structure that the 3 Act Structure has become synonymous with. 

I have attached a short clip of the climax below. 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/39184/liar-liar-stopping-the-plane

Mini Lessons taught via TV Episodic Sitcoms

After lecture on Wednesday, I had a greater understanding of how distinct the characteristics of popular TV sitcoms. One of the characteristics that we discussed was the idea of each episode having a "mini-resolution" at the end of each show. The mini-resolution coincides with the idea that the conflicts in sitcoms are not continual. Each show has a small conflict, usually between two main characters, that is almost always resolved in one way or another by the end of the 30 minute program. In many shows, particularly sitcoms aimed at children, the mini-resolutions provide a mini-lesson of sorts to teach its viewers. The mini-resolution gives the viewers a feeling that the episode came full circle from being to end, and allows its viewers to be able to watch episodes without necessarily seeing the one that was aired the previous week since the conflicts are rarely continual.

One of my favorite shows growing up was Full House. Each episode of Full House had a mini-resolution that offered its children viewers a valuable, but indeed cheesy, lesson about growing up. For example, recently, on a Full House re-run I watched on ABC Family, the littlest girl in Full House was attempting to learn how to ride a bike, but she fell off and got hurt during her first attempt (the conflict). In the final scene of the episode, the little girl learns from her trusty uncle that giving up isn't the answer, and that she must have confidence and courage in order to tackle the task of learning how to ride her bike. The little girl learned that the feeling of achievement once she conquers riding her bike will make her failed attempts worth it (the resolution and lesson). Each episode had similar situations and solutions for the various members of the family. The lessons varied depending on the characters' ages and interests, which made the show appealing to kids of all ages and lead to the shows undeniable success despite its cheesy writing and plot lines.

I have attached an article that vouches for the many lessons kids have learned via Full House and its use of mini-resolutions within each episode.

http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2002/04/25/Spotlight/Column.Tv.Show.full.House.Teaches.Valued.Lessons-244502-page2.shtml

Forrest Gump

For years now, "Forrest Gump" has been my all time favorite movie. I have seen the film more times than I can count and I can recite the entire movie from start to finish. However, after learning about the various angles used to shoot movies and the meaning behind them, I watched "Forrest Gump" with a completely new set of eyes, so to speak. In this post, I plan to illuminate how the long shot, medium shot, and close-up shot are used to convey a certain mood and meaning throughout the film through three specific examples.

In lecture we learned that the close up shot is commonly used to express the emotions of the character being shown. The close shot of the character's face, for example, is supposed to inform the audience on whether or not the character is lonely, sad, happy, excited, etc.. When Forrest Gump first rides the school bus, none of the students want to offer him a seat. However, a young, kind and innocent girl, named Jenny, offers him a seat next to her on the bus. The close up of Jenny's face shows her kind and accepting demeanor, and her interest in Forrest. Jenny immediately looks up at Forrest and shows her concern for his need to sit in this particular close up.

The medium shot is commonly considered to be the "information shot." This shot is used to show the relationship between two or more characters in the film. The medium shot informs the audience as to the manner in which the characters in the film relate to one another whether it be on a romantic, platonic, or familial level. The medium shot of Forrest and Jenny spending time together in the tree is a perfect example of how the medium shot explains the relationship between two main characters in a film.

 

Finally, the long shot is commonly used to represent sadness, loneliness and isolation. Although there are countless long shots used in "Forrest Gump" to show how isolated Forrest was from the "normal" students growing up, I believe that the long shot is perfectly used in the scene where Forrest goes to visit Jenny's grave. The director's decision to zoom out captures just how lost Forrest is when Jenny is gone for good. 

The Star System and Classical Hollywood

After listening to the guest lecture on Monday and Wednesday of this week, it was apparent that there were many different defining characteristics of the Studio System in the Classical Hollywood era. However, the characteristic of the Studio System that intrigued me the most was the way in which different studios contracted specific actors for their projects, known as the Star System.

I learned in the lectures that in the Studio System in Classical Hollywood stars were tangible products of immaterial production. The Star System effected the way in which the films were made because after the stars were discovered and contracted by the studios, they became the studios' main tool to sell the their products. The stars that were contracted by studios were the greatest representation of what the studios were capable of as a company. As years passed, the public began to associate particular stars with certain studios. The star system effected the films because the stars essentially became the faces of the biggest and most powerful studios. In some cases, most big stars ended up having a trademark, of sorts, that they used in all of their movies. For example, Judy Garland, who appeared in countless MGM movies, was always expected to sing in her films. Humphrey Bogart, in addition, was always expected to be seen in his raincoat and fedora at some point in all of his films. In essence, if a consumer wanted to see Judy Garland sing, they would attend a film made by MGM studios, ultimately increasing the success of MGM as a whole.

After researching "The Biograph Girl" after the lecturer briefly mentioned her on Monday, I realized that she is a perfect example of how the studios treated their contracted actors and actress as tangible products of immaterial production. "The Biograph Girl" was a woman named Florence Lawrence acted in a total of over 35 movies. In all of her movies, Lawrence was never credited with her performance. Each one of her roles was performed anonymously. As a result, Florence became known as "The Biograph Girl" due to her association with Biograph Studios. Her anonymity made her increasingly more famous as the mystery of what her real name was became more intriguing to her fans. In addition, fans now wanted to see "The Biograph Girl" in more and more films, which lead to her title as the first "movie star" of the Classical Hollywood era. The idea that Florence Lawrence was an anonymous actress who was used as the face of Biograph Studios in order to sell more tickets to the studio's movies is a prime example of how Classical Hollywood studios used their contracted stars as products to increase their sales.

Below, I attached a link to one of Florence's early films, "The Awful Hats," from 1909. The beginning credit shows that the film was made by Biograph Studios, but as expected, does not show Florence's name on the slide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORwC7gNyUaY