A Postmodern "Hero"

We watched this video in a class as we were talking about the postmodernist theory. I was so intrigued by it because of how it used a few different genres to do what it needed to. The video was both a music video and a movie trailer. The music is catchy and the images are random. It was interesting how the images changed my perception of the song itself. What was going on and what were the images saying that the song wasn't? What are the implications of the melodrama and how does that add or change the theme of the message he is sending?

I think the melodrama background helped to set up the main character as our protagonist hero character-- making anything he does ok and right. I also thought the women in the video were interesting. The woman with the American flag, for example: what is he saying with that image? Is this the American woman and what we build as an icon for what she should be?

After my discussion with my brother about how to effectively understand our audience (below), I pointed him to this video and we talked about what a viewer would need to know to understand this video and what the references are and how to interpret them. The video implicitly points to an older, more mature audience, but it also tells us explicitly at the very beginning with the "movie rating." We know that this is for an older crowd and what to expect in some ways about what that means about the content. Again- interesting.

Who does this?

I have a very creative and talented brother. That said and out of the way, he has recently produced some music and had it posted on itunes for popular consumption. The three songs he has so far are all Halloween music. The first song is an hour long track of sounds to play outside your house on Halloween and it is sold as a $10 album. The other two are funny rap/hip-hop songs with funny lyrics and catchy beats... as if he were attempting to create the new "Monster Mash." Just before Halloween, he and his group (the "Trick-or-Treaters") put together a music video for one of the songs. The conversation that we had about the video after I watched it taught me more than I think it taught him.

After I watched it I had many questions for him. Questions that I would ask a class in a similar situation I think. Who is the audience for this? What are you saying by showing these specific images with the music? For me, I wasn't sure I understood how the girls in the video would be spending time with the men that were there... it didn't make sense to me. The message in "I'm a Werewolf" then almost communicates not to hang out with older men because they are scary and turn into beasts. The concept of what he was doing was clear, but just maybe wasn't communicated completely effectively for who he claims he was marketing it for.

"It is for the Disney teen-age crowd," he told me.

Well if that is the case, then I have more questions:
What does a person need to know in order to understand this video? (Maybe the reference to Thriller that you are parodying or your comment on old-school rap videos where the only shots are of the guys from the dash of the car as they are driving somewhere... that usually ends up being a place with sleezy women).
And who are the people that will know and understand these things? (Those who were there for those things!)
What kind of media is the intended audience participating in already and how is this like that?

I thought of how we communicate to our audience and how thinking of them is vital to communicate our stories. As much as it is an expression and artistic and entertaining, it will not be marketable or engaging unless it is consistent and meaningful. The younger crowd will not understand this as much as the older crowd will, and the older crowd will be baffled by it. I am not, by any means, saying that the video failed or that it was poorly made. I am saying that as a marketing tool for music it will attract a different crowd of people than my brother intended. We also talked about the marketability of this music-- which was a whole 'nother topic. We determined who was his audience after all, and when the music would be used. This is a small group of people for a small percentage of the year. The important thing was what he said at the end of this conversation: "well, at least I know the process of how it all works now!"

Great! I have full confidence that my brother can produce marketable media for popular consumption now that he has learned the how-to's and the what-nots...

Tristan & Isolde - (Semi) Old School Movie Review #1

I had never seen this movie, though I have always wanted to. It looked like one of those movies that the preview alone would cause me to be ill, but that the movie would actually have enough substance for me to enjoy. I did. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a movie and not to get so cynical about how unbelievable it all was, but I did find it artistically fun to watch. This is the type of movie that I am not sure I would be able to use in a high school but the interesting part is that is is based on a story that many know. It is a medieval myth that has been turned into an opera and now a feature film. It would be interesting to compare the different stories and see how the story changes or what each of them communicated differently about the same story. I thought, for example, that this movie showed the relationship between the two as an almost instantly deep love. The story was more about the aftermath, and not as much about the relationship. The main themes in this version were the effects of the aristocratic order... and sex.

Then, to see how it compared to some other versions I did a bit of research and found this picture. (a painting of Tristan and Isolde from almost 100 years ago)What does this picture say about the relationship between the two lovers? Does it capture them in a romantic moment? Is this a different relationship than the most current version of the story told? What advantages does a film maker have over an artist to convey the same story? What advantages does the artist have?

I just thought the colors were interesting, the way Tristan is presented is far more feminine than he would be for today's audiences. The picture also gave more of a sense of something artistic that perhaps the two shared, but that she, as the woman, remained lower in station than he. Interesting.

Fire by Blog

I have been thinking about how I am getting my news lately and how it is so far and few and in between. I don't have the time to listen or watch the news like I used to, and reading the paper is out of the question. This saddens me, as I do so enjoy knowing what is going on in the world. After I found out about the fires last week in San Diego, my heart sank a few stories. I have quite a bit of family that I love all live in that very area of California. After hearing the news from my mother, I quickly got online to read my uncle's blog. This personal view of what has been going on is far more powerful for me because of the connection I have there. I am initially interested in the news because of my family. I wish I had more time to spend to stay updated, but for now, the important information for me is how they are. There are at least three families that are out of their homes and one that may have lost theirs. I am not sure about the other families yet, but it is definitely scary. Coming from Eldon though, it is just interesting to see how he writes about it. Blogs are more personal by nature and yet informative. Though the fires are across most of southern California right now, I only have to see the part that I want to. In a way that sounds like I might be naive or heartless to be ONLY getting my information from the one source, but I think it goes to show how many people view the broader news. We watch what affects us.

Shed a little light on Vegastown.

My roommates all spent the weekend in Vegas as I was here in P-town all alone without them. They took this picture while they were there because they thought it was just so "neat." I couldn't stop looking at it because I think it captured something quite interesting that the girls maybe didn't notice even after they took it. The first think that comes to mind is how much the man's face in the middle of the ad stood out to me-- he has a very distinct facial expression. I wonder what he is thinking. I also instantly thought of how neat to have captured this ad because I have never seen one on a moving vehicle like this one before. I don't know if the church has thought about where they are advertising specifically, but it wouldn't surprise me. They are selling family values right there in the middle of the strip and they must be as big and bold as the world around them to do it. I wonder if those in charge of this "campaign" wanted the words to be coming from the man in the picture. That would make it even more powerful to see maybe. I also found it so poignant to see the buildings and the statue in the background because it clearly puts this picture right down in the world of Vegas.

If I were using this in a class I could ask the students what is interesting to them about it and what they notice that makes this picture have meaning. Why was this picture worth taking? What does it capture and what message does it send?

"John Wayne is a tellibler name for a cowboy!"

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and we were discussing the movie "Hero." I first found it interesting that he loved this film so much because I have yet to find an Asian who doesn't. When I first watched it, it felt a little silly and I felt like the flying and language was out-of-control unreal to me. I had absolutely no context for understanding it and therefore, it wasn't as entertaining for me as maybe it was for my Asian friends who so admire it. Then we got to talking about other Asian movies and how I did enjoy "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon."

Why? Why do I not mind the artsy flying and intense story in the one movie and find the other very hokey?

My friend enlightened me: for the same reason that we might enjoy a John Wayne flick over Will Smith's "Wild Wild West." The art of using the flying in Chinese movies, he explained, is it's own genre in Chinese media and culture just as the western movies are in ours. It made me regret letting my brain heave this movie into my dumpster of non-entertaining films because I think that even that small tidbit of information would have given me a greater insight and helped me to understand the campy/hokey nature of this style of film.

A haiku that fits

Peace: felt in the air
A warm hand and a smile
The sun gave us hope

To elaborate: When we were asked to think of a picture this was the only one I could think of. The context is that this was my boyfriend at one point. We had dated for many months and then he had moved to DC to work and I had to stay here to finish school. For about four months we had off and on tried to date and not date until we decided to make another visit. This picture was taken about an hour or so after I picked him up from the airport. We are at the park just next to the capital building in Salt Lake. We had stopped at a small cafe-ish place and got little sandwiches, and I had brought his favorite drink products (that he can't get on the East coast!). We had a great day- one of the most perfect I can remember. The sun was perfect: not to hot- not to cool, but a perfect light breeze on a perfect sunny day. We talked about what we wanted to do and this conversation marked the first time we had really discussed what we wanted. After we talked, we laid down on our backs on a blanket and just watched the leaves blow around above us-- it was a beautiful and hopeful day I will not soon forget.

Penelope

I think I have talked about this before, but I think it is interesting how the humor in the nighttime comedy shows has shifted over the years. Also, the amount of show watching has increased since I was younger. Now with shows like "The Office" and "Arrested Development" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" or even "Seinfeld" it seems like we enjoy watching awkward situations to make us laugh. I think "The Office" is becoming such a standard in TV comedy: the very familiar situation that finds the humor and runs with it-- runs far.

I think this clip from Saturday Night Live, a show I watched religiously as my brothers were all teenagers, is so funny to me because I know people like this. I know of the people that have to "one-up" everyone else at the party. I had a friend who swore she drank 4% milk and rode a 59-speed Huffy. The recognition level of humor is a very popular one and apparently what America likes to watch.

http://digg.com/videos/comedy/SNL_Penelope_Friggin_Hilarious

If I were using this in a class I would ask what is funny about this? Why does the audience clap the moment they see her? Who could this be making fun of and what message is it trying to communicate to us?

Pushing Daisies

As I have been following along with the shows my brother has tivo-d and recommended, I decide to watch the first episode of Pushing Daisies. I have no idea what it is about and I am unaware of anything I am about to see. I only know that my brother whom I love and trust says that it is fabulous- whatever that means. As a media literate minded one, I watch the intro, fascinated by how beautiful every frame is. Every shot is a fun new surprise fill of color and symmetry and life. It is obvious to see that the artistic director meant this because it seems to be a recurring theme.

Again we meet a character who finds that he has a power that causes things to come to life when he touches them. If he touches them again-- they die. It is one of those things that sounds odd and lame when explained, but if you just watch the show, you will understand and love it. This would be fun to show in class because it looks like every shot was created from a perfect advertisement of some kind. Everything looks perfect and in place, everything is in full and vibrant color, and the actors are so fun to watch. It would be fun to have the class bring in advertisements and/or pictures and create a short film or storyboard for one where we use some of these images and explain how we would use them. I think this would be good also because it would open a discussion about how artistic directors work and how the students can do the same thing as they create their own media. Link to watch Pushing Daisies, the full episode: http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing (may have to download a player)

Dealing with Issues

This is another clip from the band "Flight of the Conchords". I love it so much because of the humor that is in the mixing of genres. I think we find this funny because of how seriously these two take themselves about extremely unserious things. They say that the song talks about "real world issues" and they point to only a few things and they are not all real. They also use music to make sounds as they tell their stories. Instead of showing a man cry in pain, they do it on pitch. It is funnier that way.

I was interested in this clip because in my "Teaching Composition" class today we were talking about Genre Theory and how we can teach the various genres of writing and how they are presented and how people and play with genre. We read a "fairy tale" that changed our perception of what a fairy tale is because it doesn't have the exact elements of what we consider to be a fairy tale, yet it is definitely introduced as one.

I think it would be a fun idea in class to have the students present a story in all different genres. For example, if we were to read a play or film in class, give the students a part of that script and let them choose various ways to retell the same story. This way we can talk about the different ways that the medium changes our message. Have them maybe choose from a hat either a storybook, a commercial, a short film, a reality TV show...etc. and then discuss how the story changed from each genre of media.

O the Magazine

My roommate and I had to go to the store for some things and at the register, which is packed with what she is interested in- advertising crap... we noticed Oprah's magazine. I am a sucker for this kind of stuff and admittedly, I can't help but enjoy anything that she likes. Well, most of the things she likes. So we bought it and I flipped through it during the ride home and would show her the pages with great pictures or great bits of things. For example, there is a page that looks like it would be found in Oprah's personal blog of some sort-- it listed cereals, and shopping secrets... all of the things that, when you first look at the page, you might think come directly from Oprah herself. upon closer look, however, we can see that perhaps Oprah has nothing to do with anything in this magazine at all. She shows for the photo shoot, but maybe she doesn't have very much of a say in the design or what is inside the book at all. She does have a column dedicated to Dr. Phil, whom I know she likes a great deal, and she lists the books on her booklist. I just find in interesting how much power she really has.

I also read about the fact that she helped to fund Obama's campaign. This is of course frustrating because of the influence she has on our society, and more than financially. Sh says that she can only donate up to a certain amount, but her stamp of approval is more than any check she could write. Every book that Oprah has put on her book list has become a top seller. Can someone get her to put the BOM on there?

I think Oprah is an interesting topic because she controls so much of the media. What she loves, we love, and what she loves sells. I would use something like an article from her own magazine, or the interview with her and ask what dangers there are of having a woman with so much power? Are there any? What does it mean for those voting- and how might it change even the voter population? How are the pictures and scenes presented in her magazine and what is it saying to the reader?

Media Literate Roommates make me smile

My roommate is a marketing/advertising major and is in a media literacy class. She just came home all excited about the movie that they had watched for the whole class. She seemed quite excited that they even got to watch a movie for class, but the fact that it was a good one was great. They apparently have been talking about lighting and sound and how that effects a piece and the message that it conveys to the audience. They watched Good Night and Good Luck. Which happens to be a movie I love. I love the fact that it is black and white and I love that some of it is real and I mostly love that George Clooney directed it. We were talking about how that movie is so effective in black and white because of how it supports its authenticity. Most people are also surprised to find out the George directed it too.

In a class we could talk about why the director chose to do this film, obviously made in our day, in black and white. We could talk about how the lighting and the editing of the real footage alters the story for us. What does that do to our perception of these events in history?