Blog Evaulation

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         Before RTF 305 I had never written a blog, I was only a big fan of reading celebrity based blogs like perezhilton.com. Although some people aren’t thrilled to write a few paragraphs over something that is specifically assigned, I found that writing a blog over specific topics, subtly forced me to look over the material taught in class and helped me achieve an in depth understanding of what we learned and at the same time allowed us to connect the material to real world examples. Using the blog was fairly easy, the only time I had any sort of issues was making sure my real world example fit well with the blog prompt. To resolve this and make absolute sure I was going to in the right direction, I reread the class given examples or asked my TA for clarification. Out of all the topics that we covered in our blogs, I found the least interesting topic to be globalization. This is mainly because the topic can’t be connected to media but rather deals with the process of media being dispersed. I would definitely recommend using a blog in the future courses, because it aided my understanding of the topics discussed in class. Writing a couple paragraphs on a particular topic can really increase the grasp knowledge on the subject, and it allows you check your comprehension of the subjects. There is nothing I could really suggest to improve the blogging experience.

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

Globalization

Globalization is the process by which regional nations, cultures, and people have become integrated through technological progression.



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The process of Globalization directly deals with the concept of Glocalization. Glocalization consists of taking a previously successful idea in one place and adapting to another location. It’s a product that’s distributed globally, but may be tailored to conform to local consumer preferences. It’s based on the premise that a product is more likely to prosper when the product or service is fashioned specifically to each locality or culture it is marketed in. Through this process people are becoming integrated through a particular product that they each have in common.

Basically anyone can recognize the bright yellow “M” known as the universal symbol of McDonald fast food chain. The increasing quantity of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide is an example of globalization. The restaurant chain is the same but the menu changes in an attempt to appeal to local culture which illustrates the glocalization of the food chain.

Taylor Swift's Sony TX7 Cyber-shot

           Just selling over a million copies of her newly released album entitled Speak Now, Taylor Swift is one of music’s most successful young artists. Of course it was in Sony’s best interest to affiliate their innovative Sony TX7 Cyber-shot camera with the artist. This ad is very persuasive because it has the support and charm of the world wide adored star. Every consumer wants a product endorsed by the all American home grown country star.

 In the ad she uses the camera to take a panoramic picture of all her screaming fans. And there is also a humor element where one select male fan remains persistent at getting Taylor’s attention. This ad used huge celebrity appeal to get consumers to purchase the camera. There are millions of consumers in the world dying for any product associated with the name of Taylor Swift. She has become an overwhelming success in the past couple of years and buyers admire her humble and innocent persona. She’s a great role model for the young audience and because of that she has the support of the older parental audience. Just the young artist’s appearance in the ad was probably good enough to sell a multitude of these new little cameras.

The Structure of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

             In my younger years, Ace Ventura was my movie obsession. Who would have known that one of my favorite Jim Carrey movies followed Hollywood's 3 act structure? This structure is commonly used in stories involving a triumphant quest that resolves in a happy ending. This is precisely what Ace Venture illustrates.



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            The beginning (Act I) of the movie introduces the crime of the missing Miami Dolphin’s dolphin. It runs about 33 minutes until it reaches the mini climax, where Ace finds the first clue setting off the action for the rest of the movie. In this mini climax, Ace finds an orange amber stone from a Miami Dolphins 1984 AFC championship ring. He uses this clue during the majority of the middle of the movie to search for the football player missing that stone from his ring. In the middle (Act II) he has complications of searching for this ring. At about 51 minutes another plot point occurs where Ace learns that the dolphin’s old kicker, Ray Finkle, was still obsessed with a lost Super Bowl. Ace knew he had the perfect motive to kidnap the dolphin so now he just had to track him down. During the end (Act III) the crime is resolved and Ace solves the case. At around 66 minutes Ace realized that the police chief was actually Ray in disguise. Ray is arrested and the dolphin is saved. Then the happy cliché music plays as the Miami Dolphins play in the Super Bowl along side their newly rescued mascot dolphin.

The Episodic Nature

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Sitcoms or situational comedies tend to run about 30 minutes in length and are based on reoccurring characters in a common environment in comedic situations. These sitcoms are usually episodic in the sense that one 30 minute block isn’t really relevant to another 30 minute block. You can have full understanding of what’s happening in an episode without having watched the episode previous to it. Usually in each episode occurs a climatic problem followed by the resolution at the end and throughout are humorous lines said by the characters. And the characters learn a lesson and grow and become “better people”.

          One my favorite sitcoms that definitely epitomizes these characteristics is Scrubs. Each episode includes the same doctors and friends dealing with patients in the Sacred Heart hospital. Although it’s in a rather serious environment, the comedic situations and humorous one-liners make it a hilarious comedy. The doctors deal with the everyday struggles of working in a hospital and with each episode the main character J.D. learns a little more about himself and his surroundings.

Angles of Shutter Island.

     Shutter Island to me is the first movie that comes to mind as a brilliantly diverse shot film. At the beginning of the movie Leonardo Dicaprio's character Teddy, gets off a ship and heads to solve the mystery of a disappearing patient at the elusive Shutter Island.

     The scene begins with the security guard escorting them off the ship to the mental hospital. This involved a medium camera shot with a low angle. The guard is in front giving him absolute authority since it’s “his” territory. The low camera angle weakens the power of Teddy and his partner rendering them vulnerable in unfamiliar surroundings and gives the power to the guard.

          Then it progresses to a close-up of Teddy and his partner, Chuck. This illustrates their extreme emotions and distress in the situation. They’re suspicious of the events occuring on Shutter Island and they’re unsure of what they’re getting themselves into.

          And finally the camera angle is an eye level, extreme close-up of Leonardo Dicaprio's. He’s very weary of the mystery of Shutter Island. No one seems to give him legitimate concrete answers to all his questions. The angle allows you to identify with him and be inside of his mind to find his complete distress and conern. The audience feels the strength of the emotions the character is experiencing.

Demanded Star Power

     One of the major elements in the success of the studio system was the star system. Several major film studios discovered that certain actors and actress could attract an audience to a film no matter what the movie was about.



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     “[Stars] became such attractions that their names appeared above the title of the film on theater marquees” (Straubaar 192). Such significance of these stars was associated with the rise of the studio system.

Studios began focusing on producing films that fulfilled the popular demand of single actors and actresses instead of a particular genre. Stars became contracted products and a representation of the films being produced.

     A particular standout example is Judy Garland, famous for her appearance as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz. Judy was an over worked MGM contracted star. Many viewers flocked the theater no matter what the movie genre, to awe in Ms. Garland’s wondrous singing talents. This became one of her consistent character traits that carried from film to film (Much like most of the popular contracted stars developed). Judy evolved into a huge MGM commodity used to promote other MGM stars in film. A single star powerhouse, sold in the form of film to attract an audience.

Below is a video showcasing her talents as she sings "Over the Rainbow", in The Wizard Of Oz

The Evolved Modern Views

     The "All in the family" episode we viewed was centered around Archie's bigoted views towards Mike's friend, Roger. Roger was more feminine than the men Archie usually surrounds himself with. This led to name calling such as "fairy" and "fag". In the 70's the idea of a person being a homosexual was less excepted. They were ostracized for displaying feelings that were different than the "norm" or usual actions of society.

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     Today America has become more accepting towards people's differences. We can see this with the most recent groundbreaking sit-com of the 2000's. Will and Grace. This show is actually centered around a homosexual male. It takes a comical but respectful light to being gay. Of course it had it's initial criticisms just like any other new product a consumer is exposed to. Viewers believe the show represented a limited view of the gay community and reinforced stereotypes when some felt it should be torn down. However as America evolved so did its perception of the show. Nominated for 83 Emmys, it's seen as the opening door for the string of gay-themed shows that followed after Will and Grace's popularity sprouted. It also became part of NBC's Must See TV line-up.

     Being gay is now branching closer to the norm of society. Now we see homosexual couples quiet often in the media and it's not given a second glance. If Archie was presently speaking his prejudiced opinions towards Roger. HE might be ostracized for disrespecting those who aren't that much different from everyone else. We see in this video clip below the modern more comical and light view of homosexuality in today's world mixed in with the prejudiced views of Archie.

 

Radio Demand

     Although you can attribute the formation of the radio industry to many other factors including technological change, and / or regulation. Audience demand stood out to me as a very substantial cause in the evolution of the radio.

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     The radio industry used audience demand as a way of catering to what the people wanted to hear. Thus creating a larger demand to engage in media and instigating its high popularity. The industry is aware of what the viewers are interested in and that allows them to promote the topics that will draw in the largest audience. The larger the audience, the more favorable that type of media became. Once you know someone's desires it's much easier to take advantage of that and reel them in, so they're interested.

     In the 1920's the industry was very interested in what types of shows would bring the highest number of viewers in. The industry favored show's in which their audience would plan their lives around a particular show. Like we saw with the little boy in Radio Days. He made it a priority to listen to the Masked Avenger. These types of shows would not only bring in high ratings but strong consistent ratings as well, since it became a routine part of the people's lives.

Violent Cultivation

      The cultivation theory explicates the effects that mass media has on the human perception of reality. People who are exposed to certain mass media through means such as TV broadcasting might associate these melodramatic events they view to their everyday life.
      Media systems deliver a consistent message of a false reality to an audience through cultivation. For example a viewer exposed to highly violent television may be influenced to believe they are in danger of violent crimes. The viewers also adopt this violence as a common occurrence, and identifies it to their lives as "typical". An audience views this falsified world and adapts its characteristics to their everyday lives.



   This clip of a violet attack in an episode of Law and Order: SVU is only one of the infinite examples of an over exaggerated reality. An audience might begin to tolerate violence such as the stabbing in the clip above because it's what they're accustomed to seeing. Cultivation helps explain that this is an overdramatic distorted view of reality that the media presents for an audience to conform in to their actual lives.

Gender Hegemony in Ads

Hegemony as described in the course packet is the power of dominance that one social group holds over the others. Or in lamens terms is a consensus around certain ideas, so that they come to be accepted as common sense. I think hegemony helps me understand this fashion advertisement because it illustrates the common or supposed role of women in society as subordinates to men.

Hegemony is more than just the basic power over a social group but it is the method for gaining and maintaining said power. It's the framing of the wanted depictions of reality and to make that the accepted reality of most individuals. Its an agreement of people to be ruled by certain thoughts and principles thought to be common sense. As with this fashion ad depicting a sense of gender hegemony.

The woman in this ad is on all fours much like a pet dog would be. She also has a ring around her neck like an animal with fleas would wear. It follows the gender hegemony principles that woman are subordinate in society. They're kept as a possession and for a male, most likely white to take ownership of. She doesn't have much purpose in the ad but to look pretty and be an accessory to the house.

This ad also illustrates gender hegemony. Saying that a woman's purpose is just to please her man. And here's all the things necessary to make HIM happy. It leaves nothing to what would make the woman happy. As is if she wasn't a person with emotions or feelings as well. But a compliment to a man to satisfy him in his life.

The Begining of RTF 305

The whole idea of RTF 305 intrigued me, as soon as I saw that was an available course on campus. I've always had a little passion for studying film and the affect it has on the audience it's being shown to. Although its something I'm not currently interested in majoring in, it could be a possibility later in the future. In my time in RTF 305, I hope to learn more about media's role in society, and get a deeper understanding of it. I also hope it will broaden my horizons on this campus, since I've never taken a course quite like this one before. Maybe it will inspire to study a subject that I didn't consider before.


One of my favorite blogs, even though some might categorize it as superficial, and classless, is http://perezhilton.com/ because it's so entertaining and he always knows the latest before a lot of other sources.

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