Blog Evaluation

Before my RTF class, I had never used a blog in my life. I had used MySpace and facebook, and even twitter for a while, but never proper blogging. I think that it is a great opportunity for students who, like me, had not been exposed to blogging, to learn about it and get more comfortable with it before trying it out for themselves. This is probably the most positive aspect of blogging for RTF 305, just learning how to blog. I found only one difficulty with the blog prompts in general, and it has nothing to do with conceptual or technical difficulties. The concepts are not hard, and the user interface for blogging is easy, so everyone should be able to blog effortlessly, but of course there is procrastination. Blogs are probably the ideal form of assignments for a class, because they eliminate paper handouts and as students, we can work on them when we have time. Other than procrastinating, I think that there should be no problem with students using blogs. If it does come down to procrastination, like it did for me, then the only way to overcome it is either to do work, or learn from mistakes when the grades are posted.

Personally, none of the blog prompts seemed hard in a mentally strenuous way; it's not calculus or quantum physics. However, the blogs which I did enjoy writing more were ones that I felt related to and that I felt I was invested in. For example, one blog about comedies where I compared and contrasted how issues and themes are presented in two comedies that I watch regularly. Given that students are disciplined, which they should be, then blogs seem to me like a great way to include participation grades in classes, especially for undergraduate students. Having a blog made me feel like I was in complete control of my grade, because I decided whether I wrote my blog or not; for graduate students, I feel, the continuation of their studies in a given field seems to depend on their contributions and understanding of that field. So, I think that blogs are great, especially for incoming freshmen like myself. I have no recommendations, but I do have a couple of things to say. The blogs should be organized, and the person who is to read and grade the blogs should do so promptly, as well as posting grades. In my case, this was true and it made my class less stressful.

Yes, you may use my blog in a paper or report.

Globalization

Globalization--What is it? According to textbook definitions it is the lessening of cultural differences through the spread of media. Others might say that it is the a euphemism for world domination. Those extremists. But really, what globalization is is the unification of different cultures into a global culture through media. Thanks the the availability of media, the spread of different cultures is catalyzed into a more holistic concept of culture. 

Tied with this concept of a global culture is the undeniable fact of cultural domination. By cultural domination I don't mean the domination of others through culture, but the domination of one culture over others in this 'mix' of cultures that globalization is. This can be then related to the concept of cultural imperialism; cultural imperialism is the domination of one country over another one through media. I can not start this discussion without bringing the United States into it as the hub of globalization. Thanks to its status as a superpower, the United States is where a vast majority of media is originated and then distributed. Film, television, and music are some of the industries that are the leading cultural exports of the United States. 

Countries that are not as developed as the United States are very much dependent on the cultural exports of the United States. Many Latin American countries are dependent on the United States to define their own culture. I can attest to this myself; I was raised in Mexico but the presence of the United States was pervasive throughout the entire culture. iPods, TV shows, movies and more are some of the media that we received from the United States. The emergence of Mexican Cinema is gaining momentum, and slowly becoming an important outlet for movies, but before, movies were exclusively American imports. However, countries that do not possess technological developments to mirror the United States, such as poor Middle Eastern countries and East European ones are left with the media that reaches them from culturally dominant countries. 

Absolut Advertising

Absolut Vodka had an advertising campaign some years ago that I consider extremely clever and very successful. The vodka company took advantage of the similarity between the English word 'absolute' and the Swedish word for the eponymous vodka, 'absolut.' The campaign consisted on several advertisements which had an image that had the shape of the Absolut Vodka bottle somewhere in it, and below it a statement that started with the word 'absolut.'

I think that the cleverness behind this advertising campaign is very much due to luck. The brand is lucky that the word absolut is spelled almost the same, that the word has such a big possibility of combination with other words, and that the bottle has such a distinctive shape. The word absolut gives the advertising campaign quite an enormous array of possibilities. In the example above, they use the phrase "Absolut Berlin" below a piece of the Berlin Wall shaped like an absolute bottle. The advertisement gives the vodka a relation to freedom, almost saying "drink our vodka and you'll demolish the barriers that you carry."

The brand realized the potential in their hands and exploited it completely. You can find advertisements that range in appeal from emotions to seasons, countries, cities, people, minority groups, almost anything really. Often, the company also teamed up with artists to design special edition bottles and then an accompanying campaign, like below. I believe that the range of appeal that the campaign has is extremely effective. It can make almost anyone believe that, by drinking absolute vodka, you can achieve almost anything.

What's the play called?

In Hollywood, the three act narrative structure is the norm for movies. Many big studio productions follow this structure, and rely on it's conventionality to convey the dramatization portrayed in the films. This structure derives from the dramatic plays that once were the chief form of entertainment. One movie that follows such narrative style is Anna and the King. Anna and the King follows the story of Anna Leonowens as she arrives in Siam to tutor the children of the king. The narrative structure follows the structure: exposition, complication, and resolution.

The opening introduces us to Anna and her situation. She has arrived to Siam and is going to tutor the children of the king, as it was agreed by correspondence. The introduction follows a typical structure, introducing the setting, the characters and the situations. Anna's rebellious attitude, her lack of assimilation into the culture, and war in Siam are the conflicting factors. The first plot point that propels the introduction into the next act, the complication, is a ball that the king of Siam puts together for important government officers of Britain.

The second act, the complication, deals with the fact that the other nation still views Siam as a primtiive third world country. Furthermore, a coup d'etat movement has been gaining momentum, and it turns out that the military advisor of the king is in charge of it. This leads to the climax, where the king's children and Anna are evacuated from the palace and into a safe shelter. The decision that the king makes, not to kill his advisor, is the climax. But then an explosive goes off and his advisor dies. This is the second plot point which leads to the resolution. In the resolution, the Anna shares a last dance with the king before returning to England. We see that the prince takes over the throne and abolishes slavery, a movement that Anna felt very passionate about. This movie follows all the cues of a three-act narrative, and lays them out well. It includes an intricate story that is laid out for the audience in a neat manner.

What is a sitcom? What is Glee?

According to long-standing conventions, there are specific genre differences that identify sitcoms from dramas in television. Typically sitcoms are half-hour, episodic situation based that are somewhat absurd; dramas tend to be hour-long and have a more seasonal theme that tries to mimic reality. Genres help audiences know what to expect, and creators know what rules of thumb to follow when making products such as TV shows. A show that has blurred the line between the two is the sitcom Glee, which uses a different format and therefore creates changes to the genre.

Glee follows a much more seasonal theme sequence throughout the show, as a pose to an episodic one. Also, it analyzes these themes in an hour-long broadcast as a pose to a half-hour one. In this sense, it follows a traditional drama's structure. However, even though the themes are 'realistic' ones, such as teen identification issues, coming-of-age, bullying and self-identification, the way the show explores these is a very comedic manner that usually relies on hyperbolic settings. Characters often overreact to situations and serious actions, such as the bullying seen by coach Sue Sylvester, are turned into comedy.

Furthermore, the seriality of the show is much more drama-like. The entire first season concentrated on the Mr. Schue's effort to unify the Glee club and get them to win at the sectionals competition. Instead of basing every episode on an issue and answering the issue as well as demonstrating a moral message. The relationship of Finn and Rachel is an example; it is spanned over several episodes on both the first and the second season but it does not give have a specific overall message regarding relationships because it concentrates on the dramatic aspect of the relationship. A show like Modern Family usually presents a problem about relationships at the beginning of the show, and by the end it clarifies what the issue was and the way it was resolved. Glee does not do that.

If you're a bird, I'm a bird shot

The famous 'chick flick' The Notebook has many different aspects that make it interesting other than excessive melodrama. But, this movie uses effective camera angles to achieve an exacerbated melodramatic effect. Instead of analyzing the heart-tugging scenes, I will analyze the famous scene where Noah tells Allie, "if you're a bird I'm a bird."

The shot follows the familiar long shot, medium shot, close up progression. It starts with a long shot showing that Noah and Allie are in the beach. Instead of being an isolating shot, we can see how both of them are interacting with each other. The waves and birds around them help create a sense comfort in nature. Of course, trying to achieve a generally sympathetic relation to the public, the scene is shot for the most part in an eye level angle. We can see how Noah and Allie are in love, and the way that the audience feels is like an outsider looking into their relationship. This forms a sort of bond between the lovers and the audience, because we can see their interaction.

Progressing through a variations of long shots and middle shots, we can see how Allie and Noah start getting closer to each other physically. These shots are all shots at eye level, once again solidifying the relationship between them and the audience. The camera zooms in and out slightly, but not enough to go back to a panoramic shot. We don't feel that the characters have an established power, nor do we feel that they are destitute. These shots are meant to show how 'normal' of a couple they are, having a date in the beach. 

Finally, to close the scene, Allie jumps and Noah catches her. After she asks him if she could have been a bird and he responds yes, she tells them that he should say he is a bird too; after that he says "if you're a bird I'm a bird" and all the girls in the movie theatre go "aw." All of this is shot in a close up shot leading up to a kiss. Here, their love is perpetuated and we can feel very connected and sympathetic towards them because we as an audience feel that we have been with them and seen their relationship develop, even though it's only been one short scene. After the kiss, the camera zooms out into a long shot, showing the two lovers hugging. Again, the audience feels even more connected because it is as if they were one figure in the frame. Who can resist that?

Here is the link to the scene in youtube: If you're a bird I'm a bird.

Studio system

During the 1920's and all through the 1940's, the studio system took control of Hollywood. The studio system was characterized by a the total vertical integration of the industry, with five major studios controlling it. The studios however were still tied to a major aspect of the system, the stars. More than the content of the film, studios realized that actors and actresses were a major magnet for audiences. Being under contract, stars were tied to one studio, but studios were tied to the stars' popularity among the public. This was a major driving force in the industry, because it shaped the way studios, films, and genres developed. 

Stars were a cornerstone in the creation of genres and films. At first, certain characteristics of films were very much tied to the stars' characters, and therefore to the star. Stars would often play characters with similar personalities or circumstances even in completely unrelated films. Characters were very much defined by the stars who would eventually play them, because previous characters' characteristics became stigmatic for many stars. The adherence to star conventionality was so strong that it sometimes even created discrepancies in films. Characters played by stars who often appeared in musicals would sing in the middle of films that were anything but musicals. It also affected the films made by studios. Since these stars were tied to a specific archetypical character, all the movies with this star would follow the plot or setting that fit with the archetype. So, the studios with stars that played musicals' characters would produce musicals.

This is true for stars such as Judy Garland. Judy Garland started her career extremely young, and as a young girl in films, she often sang and performed. Many roles were playful or meant to be entertaining, and this became true of most of her younger years. Signed by MGM, many of her films were turned into semi-musicals. For example, The Wizard of Oz, where characters often performed throughout the film. Later, her roles became increasingly dramatic, and so did the films, like Meet Me in  St. Louis. This example shows how films, studios, and genres accompanied conventions created for stars.