My heart hurts

This is quite sad. Yes, I know. My family and I have watched this short video so many times and laughed very hard at it. I think it is great that this little clip captures so much of its time and culture. The outfit that she it wearing screams 80's, the hair screams 80's.... and "Star Wars?" This is more old school than Van Halen! I also loved that she had to dance and play her instrument all at the same time because it showed more talent. Right. It also then shows her ability to act (she could be MDT!). This is why stuff like this has always been so fun for me to watch. In Arizona these cheesy pageants used to be a big deal. A lot of people cared about them, but the talent contests would become only vocalists, pianists, and violinists. If you couldn't do one of those-- well, you either had to fake one of those, or come up with something so unique that you could get noticed. This girl did just that, but she is so serious and intense about it that it makes for an interesting commentary on the times and how they may have changed.

Fellowship of the Ring - (Semi) Old School Movie Review #2

I have always loved the LOTR movies but never have the time to watch them. I wish I had the time to sit and watch all of the extended versions in a row-- I think I would love that day. My sister was in town this last weekend and had to watch the first one for her English class. I noticed a few things that I didn't notice the last time I watched the film:



* The cinematography- every shot was a beautiful picture and very well composed. Also, most every shot in the movie is moving; the camera rarely stays still. We talked a little about that and why they might do that. Well, for one, they may have wanted to get all of the amazing locations that they found to use (most of them are huge!), or maybe it helped to move the story along. Frodo is on the constant move, so it makes sense that all of the shots move continuously. The colors are very obviously treated in post in some areas as well. In some of the scenes, Frodo's eyes seem so vibrantly blue and match his surroundings almost perfectly. I think the blue is to show his goodness and purity in a way and it is a very subtle but interesting way to show us how his character really is.

* The music- The other conversation that we had after watching the movie was about the music in the credits. My brother thought that the song didn't fit the movie at all because the movie was so action- packed and loud and intense, while the song ("May it Be") is lilty and slow and beautiful. I thought about the end of this movie. The story is not over here, and Frodo has yet to relieve himself of this burden that he alone can carry. It is also hopeful at the end because of his companionship of Samwise...etc. So the song does more than explain the ending mood because it also links this movie to its successor.

It is interesting to think of how the media can use these elements to help to support the message or story that they convey. All of the elements together make for more engaging media, but we may not see them until we break it down and notice them.

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?