Blog.

I've had blogs before attending RTF305, and am currently using one now; however, the focus of the blogs were for personal entertainment purposes only, not for much public use. The positive aspects of using blogs in the course are that it is easier for students to feel less pressured this way to write something completely formal and research paper-styled. This way, it's easier for students to really relay what they learned about the subject at hand. There were not really any issues with using this blog to complete assignments because the blog were simple to understand. The difficulty of most of the blogs were pretty simple; the only ones I really had trouble with were the globalization one and the one about the studio system. For the most part, they were pretty interesting because they allowed you to choose your topics within a range of given topics. I would recommend using a blog as part of a supplement, not in replacement of essays or research papers (but it's more understandable with a class as large as RTF305), because you still should have the formal paper aspect of the class. As far as blogging goes, there's not much you can change to improve it, I think.

I use Tumblr! :)

Globalization.

Globalization is, according to dictionary.com, n. the process enabling financial and investment markets to operate internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved communications. Globalization and hybridization are connected in that hybridization is the mixture of cultures. Globalization, according to this definition, then, is a process that allows international markets to operate with each other. Therefore, the two mean relatively the same thing, except that hybridization is the mixture of cultures and globalization is the mixture of markets, the two of which oftentimes can seem to be used interchangeably nowadays. For example, the film, Slumdog Millionaire. It mixes the cultures of India and America, but it also mixes a Bollywood style in a plotline alongside the once-popular American television show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, mixing the American television market with an Indian film market. 

Advertisement.

The ad starts off with "the man your man could smell like." He begins showing you the endless possibilities in a set of random situations (A bathroom becomes a boat, which becomes a beach/horse). It's a powerful and persuasive ad because it successfully utilizes humor and entertainment to convince the viewer that this product is the right one. Many consumers actually purchase products because of clever ads, and this is one of them. It doesn't matter if the product itself is actually not that great, but because the handsome, confident man in the commercial makes it seem like an awesome product in a clever way, consumers are much more likely to purchase it. This ad fits the "aesthetic sensation" appeal.

The general characteristics of that appeal are the promise of a glittering, promising life after the purchase of the product. The main idea of the ad is that after you have ____ in your life, it will be like the people's in this particular ad, usually carefree, fun, and "perfect". This ad fits this appeal because this man is so confident and has an plethora of endless possibilities in his life that it makes women want their boyfriends/husbands to be like this, and men want to be like that too. He is "the man your man could smell like", and because of this, he is also the man your men which they could be.

Three Acts.

In the film, Mean Girls, the first act consists of the protagonist, Cady Heron, meeting all of her new school friends, Janis, Damien, and all the Plastics. At first, the Plastics are "wonderful" to Cady, pretending to be nice and inviting her to sit with them at lunch, thereby inviting her into their little group. However, Janis then reveals to Cady that they are actually evil robots that will ruin her life, and they concoct a devious plan to destroy the group. The plot point of the first act, the point where the storyline peaks in this act alone, is that one fateful Halloween night when the Plastics trick Cady into their Halloween party to go as an "ex-wife". By the end of the night, the closing of the first act is created: the plan Cady, Janis, and Damien create to destroy the group. This plot point, like a classic Hollywood film, occurs closer to the end of the act.

In the second act, the plan is executed, and Cady starts being a secret spy for the less cool "art freaks", while attempting to maintain her reputation within the Plastics. However, not surprisingly, Cady gets carried away after she realizes that she has the power to bring down the leader, Regina George, and replace her on the social ladder. Cady gets invited to all the parties, gets all the attention from the Plastics' loyal worshipers and boys, and receives all the perks of living the life of a Plastic. The peak of the act, the turning point, occurs when Cady skips Janis's art show to hold a party at her house when her parents are away, resulting in the wrath of Regina's Burn Book being exposed to all the students in the school and Janis turning away from her friend, Cady, and this plan as a whole. The end of the act happens when the Burn Book is distributed to the school, all the girls in the school are forced to stay behind longer to make amends, and Regina gets hit by a bus. Again, the plot point occurs at the end of the act, and the climax of the film occurs close to the end of the film.

In the last act, Cady learns the lesson from what she has done, and what she has turned into. In a quick resolution, "Girl World" is at peace once again, the Plastics are demolished (all the members go on to do their separate activities), and Janis, Cady, and Damien are once again a happy group of friends: the happy ending structure.

Happy Halloween :). 

TV Sitcom.

The most important aspects of the television sitcom are that 1. it tends to be funny, and 2. they are usually episodic. These two aspects are important in the television sitcom because the episodes are usually a half-hour long, short enough to keep the audience interested in its humor, and long enough to develop a storyline. Because it is not a drama, it is better that is episodic because the viewer can skip a few episodes without being unable to understand too much. The stereotypical American sitcom is short and sweet, a show that viewers can sit down for a short while and be entertained and not bored. I believe that this way, the sitcom is able to attract more viewers because in the world nowadays, it is difficult for everyone to sit down and follow a television show longer than about 30 minutes without being an avid fan of it. American sitcoms often become the trendsetters of popular culture ("That's what she said!" ~The Office) and are subject to easy conversation.

For example, take The Big Bang Theory. It generally has a new storyline every episode (I can skip an episode on accident and not realize it, apparently), so it makes it easier to catch on for people who did not start from the beginning. It's short enough to keep me attentive (as I am easily distracted if I have to sit there for longer than 30 minutes), and it is extremely humor-based, but not so much so that it overtakes the storyline.

Shots.

From the lecture Professor Ramirez-Berg gave us, we learned that there are 3 different shots that are particularly important: the long-short, the medium shot, and the close-up. In 500 Days of Summer, there is a long-short shot of the main character, Tom, after his "girlfriend" gets married to another man when he's sitting in their spot, reflecting on life. This shot is important because it shows his isolation and loneliness, a shot that encompasses a lot of space, but no one else within it. There are many medium shots in this movie, many of them including when Tom and Summer are together, having a conversation. One scene, in specific, when Tom and Summer are sitting on the couch together watching a "movie", and it shows their intimacy with each other, showing the rest of the room while the two of them choose to sit very close together. It's almost like the long-short shot, but this time, there's less space and someone else is in it, showing comfort. Lastly, there is the close-up. The scene that comes to mind is the scene where Tom and Summer are about to kiss on the bed at Ikea, and the shot is very close up. This shows the most intimacy of all the shots, and it's easy to show the emotion the two have for each other in this close-up shot.

Studio System.

In the traditional, old-fashioned studio system, every aspect of production was in one place-- from the actual production of the screenplay to the film to the editing. This is interesting because the different film companies were therefore completely vertically integrated. This affected the films that were made because oftentimes the companies were linked to their own specific genre (Ex.: MGM = the musical). Long-term, this set the foundation for the different kinds of genres that are alive today. We still see detective films and comedies, all genres that developed from this studio system. Take the musical as an example. Because MGM had developed it from the beginning a certain way, there's a set of criteria that it follows in order to qualify as a musical and since that time, we've been able to develop it into what it is today.

All in the Family

All in the Family is different from, a modern, contemporary family-based television show (for example, Modern Family) because based on that one episode, every aspect of each episode seems to be a lot simpler. For example, the plot for each episode seems to be very centered on one story. Shows like Modern Family nowadays have several stories going on simultaneously, and they are all somehow linked. Also, there are much fewer characters in All in the Family. Total, there are 4 characters in the family. In Modern Family, there are 11 family members; even in the TV show from the 90s, Full House, there were 9 family members, plus a dog. (Perhaps families are getting bigger as time goes on!) In addition, the children in the family of All in the Family are not really children; they are adults, whereas Modern Family contains teenagers and younger. Lastly, the situation of the episode is based on trying to repair a mistake or attempting to accomplish something nowadays; however, for All in the Family, it was based a lot more strongly on belief systems.

However, the outline of characters is still generally the same: Fathers are usually silly, the "screwball" of the family; mothers are usually rational, but at the same time, hilariously overprotective. The children, of course, are still trying to get away from their parents' grip. The only difference in that now is that there is the existence of teenagers and pre-teenagers in the family now, rather than full-grown adults.

The issues All in the Family dealt with are much more controversial and serious (although they didn't make it seem serious) than ones dealt with in television shows now; if issues like that were handled on TV now, there would be arguments and possibly lawsuits. The issues that people deal with now on television are much more shallow and unimportant, probably to avoid controversy. If issues like that are mentioned in television episodes today, it would be handled in a much more serious light.

The Radio Industry of the 1920s.

In the 1920s, much of the radio industry developed because of the audience's demand for what was being listened to; it determined what was broadcast on the radio at the time and made a difference on what is being chosen to be broadcast on radio today. The audience's choice in content created stirs in society as a whole. New ideas were being established and "mass produced" throughout the population of the area, and government would have to step in and perhaps censor what was being said. At the very beginning, people were amazed by what radio could do, and there was pretty much a channel/show for everyone to enjoy.

The radio industry in the 1920s set the foundation of what our media is like today-- what is/is not or can/cannot be shown, what people like to see/hear, etc. For example, RCA was the first huge radio broadcasting company, developed by Sarnoff. In 1926, the NBC radio network was developed by RCA, and today it has become a huge television broadcasting company, broadcasting television shows that millions of happy viewers avidly follow.

Priming and Sex Within Society.

In the society we live in today, it seems as though we are living in promiscuity; a lot of it seems to be due to the  priming of sexuality within the media. The priming theory is the idea that the images we see in the media as an audience plant thoughts in our minds. The media has so much power nowadays, with its infinite ways of reaching audiences, from music to film to television, and naturally, it should have the ability to supplant ideas unseen within the audience's brains. Specifically, the media creates an image of sex that makes it desirable, and the idea that if you are not out there enjoying it with your girlfriend/boyfriend/some random hot person you picked up at a bar, you're missing out on life. Let's use the example the textbook uses: the hit TV show, Gossip Girl. Now, I won't deny it, I am an avid fan of the television series, but I also won't deny the unrealistic levels of scandalous activity and sexual promiscuity in every episode. Whether it's because the audience thinks that on a certain level that this is the kind of promiscuity out there in the upper east side of Manhattan right at this moment or if that is the social norm, it is media like this that promotes the idea that premarital sex is completely normal and socially accepted. Personally, I believe in the abstinence of sexual activity before marriage, but now it seems as though the majority of unmarried people, regardless of their age, disregard the idea of abstinence, and I strongly believe that media has a lot to do with the implantation of the idea that abstinence is unimportant. Think about it: society used to believe that the showing of ankles is considered some level of prostitution, yet... how are we today?

Hegemony: The Dominant Ideology.

The concept of hegemony within the media helps us to understand the development of sexism in society and its acceptance by people. Hegemony is the idea that the dominant ideology is made to seem natural. Since Biblical times, women have been seen as passive and, in most ways, "weaker" than men, and at the same time, men are given pressure to be the stronger sex, and therefore, they attempt to depict that image through physical means, often leading to violent or unnecessary actions. As they described in Killing Us Softly and Tough Guise, this ideology has morphed into such a ridiculous stereotype that women are expected to be extremely vulnerable and dependent, and that in turn is what men use to describe attractiveness. On the flip side, everyone expects men to be strong and dominant, but it has gone so far that most of the violent crimes committed within society now are at the hands of men.

For example, nowadays, children and teenagers make jokes such as, "Woman, go make me a sammich (sandwich)!" or "Big men don't cry." From the very beginning, boys and girls are placed into stereotypes that reflect later on what they will be expecting of themselves and other people to fall under. If we try so hard to break out of our racial stereotypes (because Asians aren't really all such terrible drivers, and some of us really are not very good at math, Blacks aren't truly verbally deficient and all "gangsters", and Indians don't just eat curry all the time), who says that we should continue to succumb to these gender stereotypes?

My first RTF 305 blog post!

As a potential RTF major, I strongly believe that being a part of radio, television, or film will change my life. Since the moment I began my first video project, my path had been decided. Whether it was someday being successful in the film or television industry, or something completely different, RTF will be an essential stepping stone to whatever I will accomplish within the next 10 years and for the rest of my life. I hope to learn so much beyond what I can even comprehend at this point. I hope what I can gain from this course will be the beginning of something amazing that will be accomplished for the rest of my life.

Favorite blog: quote-book.tumblr.com/
And a hardly inappropriate but hilariously entertaining video! :)