Online Video Streaming...

One thing that I have been noticing more and more lately is the use of internet video streaming for just about any purpose. I mean, everything from news stories and advertisements to school presentations and such seem to be utilizing YouTube clips or hulu links. I even noticed this week that when I logged onto facebook, there were a couple of people who posted that they were catching up on their favorite television shows through online streaming. I have done this myself from time to time too, it just seems like video streaming is becoming more and more integrated into different aspects of day to day tasks.

Is this something that other people have noticed as well? Do you guys watch television/news videos online just as often, if not more than on television? Do you use online videos in school projects and things of that nature? I'm just curious about how common this is and how it is likely to evolve even further in the future...

The Oprah Effect...

I had seen a show a while back called The Oprah Effect, that was all about the talk show legend and the power she has when it comes to attracting the public to certain products, public figures, etc. and then I watched an episode of Chronicle that I had in the DVR that was all about the entertainment industry in New England and this show had an entire segment dedicated to the Oprah Effect as well. I knew Oprah was a very influential person, but I never realized just how much of an impact her stamp of approval could have on such a broad range of things. For example, one of the things mentioned was a pie company in Centerville who had sent Oprah two pies while she was on the Cape for Eunice Shriver’s funeral. Apparently Oprah and her entourage loved the pies and Oprah’s friend Gayle King who has her own radio show was talking about how great they were on the air. Just this brief mention caused the companies daily orders to triple. That is amazing! Another example that was discussed on the show was a writer from up north somewhere (Vermont maybe?) who had published a few books that had been moderately successful, but were not breakout hits with the public. However, after Oprah chose one of this particular author’s books as a selection for her book club, that specific title sold over a million copies! Basically, the point of the shows seemed to be that Oprah Winfrey has the Midas touch! Is it just me, or is anyone else fascinated by the fact that one person has such a strong influence over millions of people?

Distorted Views of Reality?

For my senior seminar project this semester, I chose to research reality television and I figured that since this is a media studies class, this might be an interesting topic to discuss on my blog as well. For the project, I wanted to find out whether or not watching reality television caused viewers to form false perceptions of the world in which they live. I used a survey to gather new data for the project and asked basic questions on things like the amounts of time spent watching television (and reality television specifically), as well as more specific questions about the portrayals of different kinds of relationships, social activities, etc. I also asked questions about whether audiences changed their own behaviors or altered their priorities based on what they saw on screen. The survey results showed that most of those who responded were light television viewers and for the most part, identified each element of reality television as unrealistic. The majority of participants also agreed that reality television downplayed things like working hard for success and caused some viewers to change the ways in which they prioritized things in their own lives. Obviously, the results only represented one distinct group of television viewers, so there is still a lot of room for future research, but I just thought I would share this and see what everyone else thought about the subject. Do you think reality television has significant effects on people who watch it regularly?

Paranormal Phenomenon...

Paranormal Activity cost just $15,000 to make and was filmed in one week at the director, Oren Peli’s home. Each of the unknown actors in the film was paid $500 to do the project. You probably already knew all of this, right? Well, I came across an article last night that said the film has already taken in more than $100 million at the box office in the past five weeks and had officially become the highest grossing R rated film in the horror/thriller genre of the past decade! I thought that with this week’s discussion on production organization and everything that goes into the making of a project, it was interesting that a film done on such a small budget, in a short amount of time, and with actors who are very new to the business, has become a bit of a phenomenon lately. I haven’t had a chance to see this film myself yet, so I can’t really offer an opinion about what has made it so successful, but it is amazing to see a “little film that could” dominate at the box office.

Has anyone seen the film? Any opinions?

American Movie...

Hmmm… what can I say about American Movie? Well, it was a lot better than I had thought it would be. At the beginning, I wasn't all that intrigued by it, but it became increasingly interesting as it went on. It definitely demonstrates how important it is, especially when trying to create a career in entertainment, to have dedication and a genuine interest in the entire process of filmmaking/production and not be blinded by the glamorous side of the industry, because it can be very difficult to get to where you want to be. With that said, Mark Borchardt, the man featured in the film was quite the character. You have to give him credit for never giving up on his dream, but at the same time, it was a little bit difficult to take him seriously because he just didn’t seem to have his priorities completely straight, man (sorry, I couldn’t resist). However, I was a little curious about whether or not he was still making movies, so I looked him up on IMDb, and he is actually credited on quite a few films as an actor, director, producer, editor and cinematographer, with one of his films, Scare Me, currently shooting and scheduled to be released in 2010, so it seems like he is still going after his dreams and you can’t fault him for that. What did everyone else think about this film?

Shattered Glass & The Importance of Research...

Shattered Glass, which told the story of the downfall of reporter Stephen Glass was a really fascinating film, in my opinion. Not only did Glass build his journalistic career on phony stories and nonexistent sources, but he went so far as to create fake business cards for his “sources”, set up websites for imaginary corporations, get family members to leave voicemail messages as his so-called sources, etc. It seemed especially surprising that something like this could occur at any professional publication, but especially at New Republic which was said to be one of the most respected publications around. In the film, one of the points mentioned was that each article circulates to multiple people for checking before it is cleared for publishing. With so many people responsible for making sure Glass’s work was accurate, how did he manage to get away with such ridiculous reporting practices for so long?

The film definitely reiterates the importance of proper research. The issues presented kind of raise questions about how credible the information we receive from the media actually is. If Stephen Glass was able to publish dozens of stories using fake notes and sources that did not exist, how do we know that everything we read in magazines, journals and newspapers is 100% factual? Any thoughts?

Reality Overload?

So, I was in line at the grocery store last week and happened to glance over at the tabloids that are always up by the register and I saw something that I thought was kind of funny. There was an issue of Life & Style prominently displayed on the rack and across the top of the magazine in large print, it said “Special Gosselin Free Issue”. I thought this was interesting because it is the tabloids that have made the Gosselins out to be such a big deal in the media and now even they are sick of them? It kind of reminded me of the Speidi ban that was implemented on E! a while back because so many viewers were tired of hearing about Heidi and Spencer Pratt from The Hills. Anyway… my point is, how much exposure is too much? Also, why is that reality stars seem to be the most overexposed? I mean, I know other celebrities have been the focus of too much media attention (The whole Brangelina or TomKat crazes, for example), but reality stars seem to be taking over a significant chunk of entertainment news these days. Why is this the case? Any thoughts?

Colorado Balloon Scare = Publicity Stunt?

I know a couple people wrote blogs about the situation that took place yesterday, in which a six year old Colorado boy was believed to have been inside a homemade flotation device that was accidentally released from its tether. However, I was watching the news late last night and saw that after the boy was found to have been hiding in the attic, the family appeared on Larry King Live via satellite and when the boy was asked why he didn’t come out of hiding when he heard his parents calling his name, his parents repeated the question, and he replied “you had said that we did this for a show”. This understandably left people wondering, was there really cause for concern, or was the whole thing a publicity stunt? I guess the family has been on the reality show Wife Swap in the past showing off their storm chasing skills, and the children have some kind of rap video on YouTube, so was the family looking for attention or were they genuinely worried, thinking their son was floating away in a flying saucer type contraption? Hmmm...

Here is a link to an article about the whole situation:
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20091015/US.Boy.in.Balloon/

This is a link to video from Larry King Live, with the family's response:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b149261_was_balloon_boys_whirlwind_day_all_show.html

Any thoughts?

Jon & Kate + Law & Order?

So I just heard something about an upcoming episode of Law & Order that is supposed to be inspired by Jon and Kate Gosselin, about a young mother who has multiple children and a reality show about her family. In the episode, the mother is murdered and the prime suspect becomes the father of the children. Now, I can understand that Jon and Kate have been in the headlines constantly, and there have been countless spoofs done on their situation, but does this particular situation seem a little inappropriate? I know that its just a work of fiction, but with all of the negative things being said about the Gosselins in the media, and the fact that there are young children involved, who have most likely already been exposed to some of the unpleasant things being said about the family, does this kind of portrayal seem to be a little bit insensitive? What do you guys think?

This Film is Not Yet Rated...

This weeks’ screening of This Film is Not Yet Rated was really eye-opening, to say the least. I knew what the MPAA was and what the purpose of movie ratings was, but I did not realize how secretive the whole process of establishing film ratings was, or how inconsistent movie rating seemed to be. I can understand that the MPAA wants to keep their raters from being put under pressure from outside influences, but at the same time, it only seems fair that filmmakers should have the right to know what types of people are determining the audiences that will be allowed to see their films. I don’t understand why something like movie rating needs to be kept under such close watch, to the point where it takes a private investigator to simply to know the name of a rater or even if the people responsible for designating movie ratings are the least bit qualified to do so. It was also interesting to see how biased some of the decisions made by the MPAA ratings board seemed to be and how uncooperative the appeals board was when filmmakers dared to challenge the ratings boards’ decisions.

I have never really been the type that pays much attention to MPAA ratings when trying to decide which movies to watch. Needless to say, this film has not made me any more likely to take ratings into consideration when forming opinions about films or making decisions about what to watch. I don’t necessarily think that being the “average American parent” is really enough to qualify someone as capable of determining what audiences can see certain films. Shouldn’t something like this be left to those who understand the motion picture industry best and can make the most well informed, unbiased decisions? Anyway… what did everyone else think of the film?

O'Reilly Defends Fox News...

So, I had come across a headline yesterday about the communications director for the White House calling out Fox News and saying that the network is essentially an extension of the Republican party. Knowing what I know now about the network because of the screening of Outfoxed earlier in the semester, this particular headline caught my attention. I did a little digging and found a segment from The O’Reilly Factor in which Bill O’Reilly confronts the allegations and defends the networks style of news coverage, claiming that hard news journalists at Fox News always provide fair opportunities for the Obama administration and that O’Reilly himself has both liberal and conservative viewers, therefore, his show must be fair. He says that his interview with Barack Obama before the 2008 election was Obama’s most difficult, therefore made him look better and claims that the woman making the claims against Fox News is influenced by other networks, such as NBC and CNN, which he believes acted somewhat biased toward Obama during the election.

Fox News = Fair? Hmmm... I'm not sure I believe that. If anyone wants to watch the clip, here is the link: http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/. Select "Talking Points 10/12" from the featured videos menu.

Any thoughts?

Ideologies & Why We Fight...

Last week’s reading on ideologies and power was something that I personally found to be pretty interesting because the influences behind media being presented to the public is something that I have been thinking a lot about ever since the screening of Outfoxed earlier in the semester. It can sometimes be difficult to discern what information is to be trusted and what information is biased or misleading in some way. How do we know that the things we have been taught or that are passed along to us by newspapers, magazines, television, etc. are in fact true? We really don’t.

Take this week’s screening for example. I think I mentioned this in one of my discussion board posts last week as well, but in Why We Fight, one of the points mentioned was the belief, as presented in the media, that there was some kind of connection between the war in Iraq and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We heard the story of a retired NYPD officer who lost his son on September 11th, and based on what he had heard in the news and from the government, believed that the Iraq War was a part of bringing the terrorists who took his son’s life to justice. To honor him, he asked for his son’s name to be written on one of the bombs dropped in Iraq, only to hear the President clearly state later on that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks. Hearing this man’s story of his honorable intentions in remembering his son and how the thing that was supposed to be a loving tribute became a part of a seemingly pointless war was a heartbreaking example of how the powers behind the information we receive can be inaccurate or in some cases, completely misleading.

Representation & Maria, Full of Grace...

I have to say that I actually really enjoyed Maria, Full of Grace. I did not realize that the film was in some way about drug trafficking beforehand, but I thought that the film was very well done. In terms of the theme for the week, representation, this film seemed to be a great choice. In my opinion, this movie in particular seemed to present a very realistic portrayal of a young girl doing whatever it takes to support her family and figure out what she wants in life, even if that means taking a few unfavorable detours along the way. Obviously this film didn’t really make life in Colombia look like a walk in the park, but it did feel like an honest account of some of the hardships and some of the complicated, sometimes immoral decisions that one may face in trying to better themselves against insurmountable odds. I think that this type of story is one that a lot of people can relate to, I mean obviously not the whole drug mule thing, but as far as trying to find oneself and making tough transitions in life.

What did you guys think about this film in terms of representation?

Genre, Ringu & The Ring...

Okay, so despite good intentions with the second round of blogging, I seem to have somehow fallen behind again, so I am going to pick up where I left off, with one of the topics covered in class a couple of weeks ago.

So, getting into the discussion and subsequent response paper on genre for this class was something that I thought was actually pretty interesting. The readings and the writing assignment got me thinking more about the genres I prefer and why, which is something that I honestly had never given much consideration to before. One of my favorite film genres is horror, and I have seen The Ring and The Ring Two a few times before, so I was kind of excited to see the film that inspired them and see what similarities and differences there were. What I found most surprising about Ringu was that it was almost identical to its American counterpart. With most of the film remakes that I have seen, there are obviously many elements that are similar to the original, but there usually seem to be plenty of clear distinctions between the two. It seemed like the only significant difference in Ringu was the ESP factor, but I actually think the fact that the two films were so much alike made them more interesting to compare.

What did everyone else think about the similarities (and slight differences) between the two films?

Social Networking...

So, I recently created an account on Facebook, about three months ago (I'm a little behind, I know) and one of the things that I noticed is that the social networking sites all seem to be converging to some extent. Some of my friends have links to MySpace pages on their profiles, while others post status updates on Facebook via Twitter accounts. Maybe I am just not up to speed yet, but do most people use all of these sites in conjunction with one another? I am just now getting used to keeping up with my Facebook page, so I can't imagine keeping track of three different social networking venues.

While I'm on the topic of Facebook, another thing that I have noticed recently is the fact that things I search for on Google just happen to appear in advertisements on my Facebook account the next day. I remember reading something in my Media Literacy class about the ways that activity online stores information that allows advertisements to be displayed that are tailored to people's individual interests and have noticed this ocassionally in the past, but it seems like such advertisements have been popping up more and more these days. Has anyone else picked up on this?

C.S.I. Miami & Other Crime Dramas...

Okay, so I have never been one to watch crime dramas, until recently that is. A few months ago, I started watching Flashpoint, mainly because it came on after one of the shows that I usually watch anyway. One of the things that caught my attention with this show was that it seemed to be set up in such a way that the events taking place were occuring in real time, rather than covering a number of days in a one hour episode. I think shows like this are appealing because they almost make the situations seem more realistic by going through situations point by point and by showing situations where the "good guys" don't always win in the end, which is not usually the case in television anymore.

Then this past week, after watching C.S.I. Miami for class, I found myself sucked in yet again. Of course the show isn't a great representation of reality, it seems to be more about the entertainment value, but it really grabbed my attention. The story within a story format of the show was kind of interesting and the characters, although some of them came across as being a bit cheesy, had an interesting dynamic that made the show that much more entertaining. I know I am quite a few seasons behind at this point, but I might have to try to catch a few more episodes in the future...

Interpreting Media...

So, chapter one of the textbook, appropriately titled "Interpreting Media" was pretty interesting for the most part. I have had some background in things like content analysis and semiotics from past communications courses, but I'll admit that I didn't remember as much about these things as I probably should have, so the explanations in the text turned out to be quite helpful.

One of the things that I thought was interesting in this chapter was the section on codes and social nature of signs, particularly the part that discussed the debate over different ways of wording things in the media ("terrorists" vs. "resistance movement", "massive job losses" vs. "slimming down the work force"). I had never really given much thought to the effect that wording things a certain way in the media could potentially have on the viewers receiving such information. The concept of "anchoring" as an attempt to limit different interpretations of chosen words got me thinking about how important it actually is to pay attention to the mixed messages that can come from the wording of a statement, depending on the way each individual person chooses to read into certain messages.

Anyway, I personally found the chapter as a whole to be really informative, but the areas that discussed interpretation and meaning that can come from wording in the media was what really seemed to catch my attention, so I just thought I would mention it briefly...

Outfoxed...

Last week's screening, Outfoxed, was probably one of the most interesting documentaries that I have seen so far. Granted, I have never been a big Fox News viewer so aside from the names of some of the on-air personalities, I didn't really know much about the network's programming to begin with. However, this particular documentary made me more aware of some of the subtle (and some not so subtle) ways that the media or more specifically, FOX NEWS, is capable of convincing broad audiences that their views are the right views. Not only that, but also making people feel as though they are getting "fair and balanced" news coverage, when in fact, they are essentially being told that voicing an opinion or believing something that might be a little different than the image the network wants to project is unacceptable.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't completely shocked by the ways that people with more liberal views were basically verbally attacked for expressing any kind of opposition to the conservative opinions of the network's hosts (Bill O'Reilly for example) or were, in some cases, completely cut from the program. How can it be justified that in this day and age, people are urged not to think for themselves or share their opinions simply because they might not fit into the beliefs of a select few. There doesn't seem to be anything "fair and balanced" about it, if you ask me...

Television Commercials and Crime...

Okay, so this is probably a strange thing to blog about as my first entry of the semester, but yesterday afternoon my house was broken into while I was visiting my grandmother. Normally I wouldn't think twice about discussing this in a class focused on the media, but when the police were here filling out the reports, one of the officers said something that really caught my attention. He mentioned that since the recession, there have been a ton of cases where people have been stealing gold jewelry from homes because of the fast cash opportunities they see on things like the Cash 4 Gold commercials.

I thought that this was interesting because in my senior seminar class, I am actually writing my final paper on the effects of a certain genre of television on viewers beliefs and behaviors, so to hear from a police officer that they are seeing connections between a media outlet and criminal activity really got me thinking. Once the issue of the commercials promoting quick money making was mentioned, I started tying in what was said to the material for this course and the ways that meaning behind words or signs in the media can take on various meanings and possibly effect people in different ways. Anyway, I just thought the link between the commercials and local crime was worth mentioning as a real world example of how the media impacts its audience.

Oh, another thing that got me thinking about this class was that as the officer was dusting for fingerprints, he looked at me and said, "now you're gonna get to see what real crime scene investigation is all about. This isn't like what you see on C.S.I.", and proceeded to explain the process of identifying fingerprints, which was really interesting, but that I also found to be a little funny considering that the screening for the upcoming week consists of episodes of C.S.I. Miami. Well, the screenings this week should be even more interesting now...

Now That the Class Has Come to an End...

Well, the class is officially coming to an end. Is it just me, or does it seem like this semester went by really fast? Quite honestly, I have to say that this has probably been one of the most interesting courses that I have taken thus far. I have taken a few other online courses, but this course was definitely more involved than the others, which I think was a good thing. By having so many different elements to the class, I think we were more invested in the course material.

In my opinion, the class discussions were always interesting and it was great to be able to check out everyone else's blogs to see what they thought about the films, readings, or even outside material that could be connected to the class in some way. The films themselves were very insightful. I was not the type of person that was all that interested in foreign films before (I sometimes get lost in the film trying to follow the subtitles), but I will admit that I have a new appreciation for foreign films after this semester, because all of the films that we saw were fascinating in some way. There were some stories that I liked better than others, but even in the films that didn't jump out at me in terms of storytelling, there were usually other elements such as cinematography, lighting, etc. that were really intriguing to watch.

I think that one of the biggest things that I will be taking away from this course is a better understanding of Central Asian culture. As I have mentioned before, I did not know much of anything about Central Asia a few months ago. I could name some of the countries, but that was about it. Apples are from Kazakhstan and the variety of films over the course of the semester have really opened my eyes to a region of the world that I was basically clueless about, so in that way, the course has been particularly helpful.

Well... I hope everyone has a great summer and for anyone graduating next week, congratulations and good luck!

Thoughts on the Final Paper...

Since the process of writing the final paper for the course came to an end a few days ago, I thought I would talk a little bit about it here. My paper was a formal analysis of You are Not an Orphan, which in this case focused on some of the cinematographic techniques in the film and how those techniques helped to convey the effects of the war on the characters in the film. Since the paper was set at seven to ten pages, I focused specifically on three elements of the visual aspect of the film: canted framing, close up shots of characters' faces, and frame height.

I chose this topic because You are Not an Orphan was one of my absolute favorite films that we saw this semester, and in my response paper for the film, I did sort of a mini version of this type of analysis but didn't really get into too much detail. I enjoyed looking at some of the visual components of the film in a more critical manner, so I thought it would be interesting to kind of expand on some of those ideas.

Quite honestly, the paper was more challenging to put together than I had anticipated it to be. My first draft of the paper was a little too detailed and seemed to ramble on for pages, making it kind of boring to read, in my opinion. I ended up changing the format a little bit and I think it turned out okay (I hope so anyway), but there is no denying that the process of getting the paper written in a way that was decently organized and written clearly enough to get my point across proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Even so, a little bit of a challenge is a good thing, right?

Little Angel, Make Me Happy...

Well, what can I say? I thought the last film of the semester, Little Angel, Make Me Happy, was really good. It was heartbreaking to witness Georg's ordeal, but there is no denying that it was a good film. One of the things about this film that I thought was interesting (and something that everyone seemed to pick up on as well, based on the class discussions) was the fact that the Germans were portrayed as the victims, rather than the villains. This is not something that I expected to see in a film set around World War II. I guess this just goes to show that the views on foreign countries during the war that we are taught growing up may sometimes be one-sided, causing us to form our own biased opinions. It really reiterates the fact that unless a person has experienced a certain event from all possible perspectives, it is difficult to understand the effects that such an event has had on other cultures.

I know that I am about a week behind with this film, but being the last film of the semester, I had to say something about it. Looking back at all of the films that have been assigned for this class over the last few months, I can't think of any that I didn't find interesting in some way. Obviously there were some that I really liked and others that I didn't find as enthralling, but all of them taught me something about Central Asian culture and/or presented certain stylistic features that were quite fascinating to think about. I have to say that I think Little Angel, Make Me Happy was probably one of the best films of the bunch and was certainly one of the most emotional. It seemed like a good choice for the last film for the course.

Kosh ba Kosh...

Okay, so I know that I am more than a little bit behind here. With all of the end of the semester assignments that needed to be done, I kind of forgot about the last round of blogging. However, I've blogged about every film so far, so I can't start leaving them out now.

In my opinion, Kosh ba Kosh was an interesting film. It seemed like one of the more relatable films that we have seen this semester. The tumultuous relationship between Mira and her father and the bond she builds with Daler were interestingly translated on screen. I thought that the film was really interesting visually as well. I know, I know. I always talk about the visual aspects of the films, but what can I say, that is what I tend to notice most often. I actually wrote my response paper about this film on things like the framing on the staircase when Mira is introduced and the dark shadows cast over Mira and her father after their dance towards the beginning of the film. I just thought that these types of elements were interesting to look for and try to find meaning in, as with any film.

Anyway, thats all I really wanted to say about Kosh ba Kosh. Like I said, I wrote about all of the other films over the last few months, so I had to say something about this one before the end of the semester.

Kino Kultura Reviews...

I don't know what everyone else thinks about the supplemental reading material that has been assigned over the last few weeks, but I personally have found them to be very insightful, especially the Kino Kultura reviews of Beshkempir and The Orator.

For example, with Beshkempir, I thought the film was great and the use of color was really interesting, but I didn't realize what the significance of using color at certain points in the film was. After reading the review, that approach made much more sense to me. In retrospect, it seems like something that I should have been able to pick up on by myself, but anyway... my point is that getting a better understanding of the film through the review made an already fascinating film seem even more powerful.

With The Orator, the film review kind of puts the distinctive style of the movie into perspective by briefly comparing it to the more serious approach of past films representing the same point in history. The author, in doing this, looks at The Orator as a film that is more along the lines of fantasy ("told according to the rules of a fairytale"), which was kind of interesting to think about. I can see how one would come to this conclusion, based on the narrative quality of the film, but I would not have thought of the film as a whole as being "unreal", so the author's explanantion of the events of the film as they relate to the format of a fairytale made me look at the film a little bit more critically than I might have otherwise.

Well, I guess thats all I really have to say about the readings for now. I just thought I would mention them because I have found them to be really helpful in making me think about the films from a different perspective and giving me a better understanding of some of the subtle details that I may not have figured out on my own.

The Orator...

Well, this film was, in my opinion, one of the best so far. From the first scene, where the narration begins , introducing the story with Iskander's shadowed figure on the wall, I was intrigued by this film. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was just something about it that seemed so different from most of the other films we have seen. It might be the use of narrative, or maybe it is just the story itself, I don't know. Some of the other films, while still intersting in their own ways, were contructed a bit roughly. That was not at all the case with The Orator. It seemed to flow nicely and included some really interesting cinematographic techniques that translated beautifully on screen.

Aside from the basic elements of the film, there were also some fascinating cultural aspects portrayed in the movie as well. For example, Iskander's inheritance of wives, and the relationship he had with his many wives (they thought of him as their master) was something that I was a bit suprised by. Also, the movement for women at the time to burn their veils, become educated and find their own identities was interesting to see because it is a part of Central Asian culture that we have not really seen in any of the other films. Those are only a few of the many things about this film that were quite attention grabbing. I honestly thought that the film as a whole was very well done, but in the interest of not rambling on too long, I won't go into detail (you've all seen the film and know the story, so I won't bore you with too many things that I'm sure you are already aware of). Anyway... definitely a film that I would recommend to others!

Researching to Write About Film...

One of the things in the Corrigan text that really caught my attention recently was the importance of diligently researching films, filmmakers, etc. before actually writing about a film. I know that it seems like something that should be obvious, but I always just thought that when I wrote about a film, I was supposed to write based on what I observed on my own. I mean, of course I have written papers for other classes that involved research about a particular genre or change in subject matter, but never in such an intense manner as what is suggested in the text. My film related research usually consists of online journals, reference guides, and textbooks, but the book presented some really interesting options that could be very helpful in writing not only the final paper for this course, but with future projects as well.

One thing that Corrigan suggested was watching the bonus features on DVDs to find things like interviews with the cast and crew, behind-the-scenes footage and storyboards, among other things. I thought that this was interesting because I usually watch the supplementary material on DVDs anyway simply because I enjoy seeing the process of putting films together, but I never would have thought that these types of features could be helpful in conducting research, and while it may not necessarily be a viable option for researching the final paper, it is good to know for the future.

Another feature in this section of the text that I thought was excellent was the index of different sources (journals, reviews, commentaries, etc.). I have had trouble finding reliable sources of this nature in the past, mainly because I didn't know of many places to even begin looking, but I think some of these sites and publications just might prove to be quite helpful with the final project, which would be great.

So far, the Corrigan text as a whole has been very enlightening and has given me a better understanding of film in general and the many elements that are essential in making a film either very powerful or somewhat weak, but in all honesty, I think that this chapter may have been one of the most insightful for me personally simply because it provided so many different ideas for places to find relevant and reliable information for future research papers relating to media studies which, as I mentioned, is something that has proven to be somewhat of a challenge with other projects.

Beshkempir...

Where should I begin? In my personal opinion, Beshkempir was a very good film. It was probably one of my favorites so far, actually. I thought that the film seemed to be very well constructed, had an interesting story line, and was really creative in terms of visual techniques.

First of all, Beshkempir's journey of self-discovery in the film was intriguing to watch on screen. His awkward relationships with his parents and the strong bond he shared with his grandmother (seemingly one of the only people who really understood him) were conveyed beautifully on screen, while the ending to the film can be considered somewhat bittersweet in a sense. The reasoning for this is because even though Beshkempir loses his grandmother, he starts to form a bond with Aynura, the girl he is interested in, sort of providing him with a renewed sense of comfort or the feeling that he has someone in his life that he can trust. It almost seemed like a new beginning for Beshkempir.

Aside from the story itself, the use of color in this film was quite creative and made the film even more interesting than it already was. I have seen the mix of black and white with color in movies before, but have rarely seen it utilized in such a unique way. I will admit that even though I enjoyed this element of the film, I was initially unaware of what the significance behind the use of color was. After reading the supplemental readings, more specifically the review, it makes the film seem even more powerful knowing that the director often used color to highlight details pertaining to Beshkempir's grandmother, who seemed like one of the most fascinating characters in the film, if you ask me.

I could probably go on about some of the other visual aspects of this film as well, because there were plenty of them that I found to be really fascinating, but it seems like I always talk about the visual elements of the movies more than anything, so I won't get into that this time. Overall, I thought the film as a whole was really good, so I'll just leave it at that.

Aksuat...

Well, if I'm being honest, I didn't really like the film Aksuat all that much. Its not that it was a bad movie or anything, I just got kind of confused and had trouble following along with what was going on in the film. After a while, I started to catch on to the story in this film and the significance of the characters, but it just wasn't one of my favorite movies of the semester.

One of the things that I did find interesting in the film was the use of composition and lighting techniques to convey a certain tone for the characters. I wrote about this in my response paper in greater detail, but one of the scenes that stuck out was in Aman's home, about fifteen minutes into the film. Aman was sitting in a chair when Kanat and a friend entered, trying to convince Aman to loan his brother money to flee from his homeland. In the scene, Kanat and his friend were towering over Aman, and were casting imposing shadows on the wall behind them, and at one point Kanat offered to leave his wife Zhanna and his unborn child behind as collateral.

I thought that the dim lighting and shadows in the scene were really good at foreshadowing the ruthlessness of Kanat's character and the fact that he was going to be responsible for trouble later on in the film. Also, the character placement (Aman seated, Kanat standing tall and looking down on his brother) was an interesting way of showing the contrast between Kanat's agressive, selfish personality and Aman's passive demeanor.

I just thought that I would mention this because it is one of the things about this film that really caught my attention. I could be completely wrong about it, but this was my interpretation of the meaning behind the lighting and positioning of characters within certain scenes, this scene in particular being one example.

Daughter in Law...

For the most part, I thought that Daughter in Law was a pretty good movie. This was another one of those films that seemed like something that many people can identify with on some level. In the film, we see a woman living in the desert with her father in law and coping with the news that her pilot husband has lost his life in World War II, yet continuing to hold out hope that just maybe its not true, and that he may one day return to her. The film used an interesting mix of flashbacks to convey life before the war when her husband was still around and she was happy. Through those flashbacks, the contrast between the joy of life pre-war and the loneliness felt after finding out that a loved one had become a casualty of war became quite clear and made the film more emotional.

With so many families in the United States dealing with their loved ones being sent to fight in the Middle East, this story seemed to be very relevant to the current state of our society. I'm sure that there are many people that relate to what the woman went through in the film and understand the heartbreak and emptiness that she felt. In this way, the film seemed capable of reaching its audience on a much more personal level than it might have otherwise and was quite powerful.

Hasan Arbakesh...

Overall, I thought that Hasan Arbakesh was a very enjoyable film. First of all, it had some interesting visual elements, which is one of the main features of any film that I usually gravitate towards (I'm sure I have said that many times before, but its true). However, one of the best things about this film was the story itself. Throughout the film, Hasan seems so intent on building a relationship with the girl of his dreams, yet everytime he gets a chance to be with her, he backs away. She wants to study and make something of herself, while he is uneducated and makes a living driving his Arba, causing him to feel that he is not worthy of her and leaving him completely unaware of the fact that she doesn't care about their differences. The story just seemed like something that many people would be able to relate to on some level, which made it really interesting to see on screen.

Goodbye Kyrgyzstan, Hello Uzbekistan...

After I finished my last post, I started thinking about the fact that both articles mentioned were from February and that at this point, the U.S. has probably already settled on an agreement with Uzbekistan, so in the interest of keeping up with the blog posts, I did some additional searching and found an article that addressed the issue. This article was from February 25th, and it confirmed that a deal had in fact been reached between Uzbekistan and Nato. With this agreement, the U.S. (and any other country associated with Nato for that matter) is able to transport non-military supplies through Uzbekistan as the last leg of a journey through Russia and Kazakhstan, on the way to Afghanistan.

The article also mentioned that there was a possibility of Russia allowing the U.S. to transport weapons across their territory at some point in the future, which I thought was surprising because the other articles had suggested that Russia was not happy with the U.S. presence so close to them at the base in Kyrgyzstan, so it seems strange that they would be considering giving the U.S. permission to use their land to move any supplies at all. Anyway, I just wanted to post some updated information because after I thought more about it, I realized that my last post didn't cover as much as it should have.

This is the link for the article on the Nato-Uzbekistan agreement:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=385&sid=1610049

Loss of U.S. Base in Kyrgyzstan...

The BBC article that served as the supplemental reading for week six was one that I found to be really interesting. I am probably not as up to date on foreign affairs as I should be, so I was not aware of what was going on with the Manas airbase in Kyrgyzstan until I read about it for this class. In reading the article, it seems as though the decision made by Kyrgyzstan to end its ties with the U.S. and Nato is putting the United States at a disadvantage at a time when the base would be very beneficial to them. As the article mentions, the Obama administration is planning to increase troops in Afghanistan, and since this base did serve as a key stop for troops on their way to Afghanistan, they are now faced with the challenge of coming up with alternative means of transporting not only soldiers, but supplies as well.

This article mentioned an upcoming vote on the matter that would finalize the decision, so I did some searching and found an article posted thirteen days later on an Asian news site that confirmed the passing of the bill by the Krygyzstan parliament (the final vote was 78-1 against the US!). It was said that the closure did not have anything to do with Russia's offer of $2 billion to Kyrgyzstan, but the update article suggested that the U.S. was not providing sufficient rent, so is it really believable that Russia's offer didn't play any role at all in the decision? Anyway, both the BBC article and the article from the Asian news source made a point of mentioning that the United States was attempting to work out an agreement with Uzbekistan, so I guess now we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Here is the link for the update article:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/19/content_10849960.htm

Writing About Film...

I have taken other film related courses in the past, and I have had to write about films on many occasions, but I have to say that the Corrigan text is really making me take a more critical approach to watching films.

I have always paid attention to the visual aspect of films in terms of composition and camera movements, but I had never really considered how much of a role editing played in the quality of a film. Recently, I have found myself paying attention to things like continuity and transitions between scenes, which are things that I had not given much thought to in the past.

Another concept from the text that caught my attention was the idea that sound in film has a big part in conveying a certain emotion or idea in a scene. I never really considered the importance of sound, or lack of sound in some cases, and how the sound in a film is capable of bringing deeper meaning to a scene or linking a number of scenes together in some way. With the few films I have seen since reading this section of the text, I have been more aware of the significance of the music, sound effects, etc., in relation to what is taking place in the movies, which is something that I rarely paid attention to before.

So far, I have found the text as a whole to be interesting, but I just thought I would mention editing and sound because those are the two elements that really stuck out to me.

Media Fasting...

In my Media Literacy class, one of our assignments is to conduct a Media Fasting experiment and reflect on what we find. We are supposed to keep a record for the first two days of every type of media we use throughout the day, then on the third day, avoid all types of media and record what we do as an alternative for the day. I’m on day two right now, and I have to say that this assignment is making me realize just how much I actually rely on different types of media on a daily basis. I mean, between reading a newspaper or textbook, listening to the radio when I’m driving, using the computer to get school work done (like I am right now to write this blog entry), and watching television or a movie at night, a large percentage of my day seems to involve some type of media. I know this shouldn’t be that shocking since it is obvious that technology is becoming such an integral part of our society, I just never really paid attention to how often I personally use different media outlets throughout the day, so I thought it was interesting to actually see how much I rely on media as part of simple, everyday tasks.

The Aral Sea...

One of the supplemental readings for this class that really caught my attention was the 2001 BBC article about the devastation surrounding the once prosperous Aral Sea. The article mentioned how the Aral Sea, bordered by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, once provided the people of this region with a profitable fishing industry, but has been steadily declining since the 1960's due to the addition of irrigation canals branching off of the river that served as the main water supply for the sea. Reading the article was absolutely heart-wrenching because it basically explained that because of the drastic changes occuring in terms of climate, many people have moved to different locations and those that have chosen to remain in the region have been suffering severely. Not only did the shrinking size of the sea essentially eliminate their fishing industry, but the people living in the area have been sickened by their environment as well in the form of poisoning from polluted air, high rates of anemia, etc.

I was curious about what advancements there had been in recent years, so I did a little more searching and came across an article from the New York Times in 2006 that discussed the plans for improvement of the Aral Sea. According to that article, there is a plan in motion that is already raising the sea level with the use of a dam that was finished in 2005. In addition, the Aral Sea repair plan includes future renovations on an existing dam that is in need of some work and a canal that would link the small and large portions of the sea. Eventually, millions of fish are expected to be let loose in not only the Aral Sea, but other lakes in the area as well, in an attempt to revitalize the floundering fishing industry.

While there is a long way to go for this region, the steps being taken so far seem to be a move in the right direction. Hopefully the plan proves to be successful, because the people in this area are in desperate need of some positive changes in the future.

Here's the link to the New York Times article if anyone is interested: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/world/asia/06aral.html?_r=1

You are Not an Orphan...

Well, where do I begin? I would have to say that You are Not an Orphan was definitely one of my favorite films thus far. The film as a whole was so incredibly moving and there was so much emotion involved, that it is next to impossible for the viewer to not connect to it in one way or another.

When the film first began, I got the impression that the movie was going to be another one of those typical war-type films that was riddled with violence and devastation, but when I figured out what the actual story behind the film was, I was pleasantly surprised (which seems to be a common theme for me with the films this semester, but was especially true for this film in particular). Seeing the struggles that the family had to endure and the difficulties facing the children in terms of dealing with their personal hardships and figuring out where they fit in as a part of a somewhat unconventional family dynamic really brings out a sense of compassion for the characters and all that they are going through.

Aside from the story itself, the visual aspect of this film was very well done, in my opinion. I tend to pay attention to the framing and camera movements, so I found this film to be really interesting in that way. There were some very creative framing choices, whether it be canted angles, close ups on characters faces, etc., that made the film even more intriguing to watch than it already was. I thought some of the most powerful shots in the film were those that consisted of close up shots on the childrens' faces. There were many cases where the facial expressions said more than any dialogue possibly could have, so the close up shots were especially meaningful.

There really wasn't anything about this film that I didn't like. The film was definitely emotional, but had a hopeful ending. Finding out that it was based on actual events caused it to make even more of an impact, as well. It is without a doubt, one of my favorites so far.

White Mountains...

Well, I have to admit that I am more than a little bit behind schedule with my blog posts at this point in the semester, so I am going to try to catch up now. I never got around to commenting on White Mountains, so that seems like the best place to start. While this was not my absolute favorite film so far this semester, I did find it enjoyable. One of the things that I liked most about the film, and the topic I chose for that week's response paper, was the way certain values were conveyed through particular characters.

One of the main characters, Mukash, was really interesting to watch because he represented determination and the drive to go after the things that one wants out of life. The character, even after being given the opportunity to settle into a routine existence and be in a stable environment, stays focused on what he really wants and comes to the realization that he is willing to do whatever it takes to reach his goals. Even though the film brought Mukash's journey to a depressing end, the message that his character sends is kind of inspirational.

The other thing about this movie that was so touching was the kindness of the community in welcoming Mukash and doing whatever they could to help him. Unfortunately, people sometimes forget how important it is to show compassion for others and to do what you can to help them out when they need it most, so it was really refreshing to see such generosity among these people in the film.

Basically, what I enjoyed most in this film was the portrayal of some very important, yet commonly overlooked, human characteristics. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by the ending, but overall the film was interesting and it definitely leaves the viewer with a deeper understanding of the importance of kindness and the will to succeed.

Land of the Fathers...

What can I say about Land of the Fathers? Overall, I think it was a pretty good film. The story portrayed in the film was very touching. After seeing the struggles that Bayan and Ata went through to bring Bayan's father home, you can't help but feel for them in the end. Seeing the sadness in Bayan's face when he sees his father's name on the communal grave was heartbreaking. I did like the ending of the film when Bayan and Ata were reunited though. It would have been a bit depressing if after all that they had been through, they were left alone.

The only thing about this film that bothered me a little bit was that I had some technical issues when I tried to watch it. The images kept freezing or breaking up and the audio was cutting in and out, but this was only for the first part of the movie. I kind of felt like I was missing some of the crucial scenes that set the tone for the rest of the film, but once the technical problems were resolved, I was able to figure out what was going on.

Personally, I have to say that I was drawn in more by Mongol and Borat than I was with this film, but the story being told in the film was very interesting and I did enjoy it more than I expected to.

Thinking about global issues...

So, last week in my senior seminar class, one of the topics for discussion was the media's coverage of global issues and whether or not people in the United States are well informed of all that is going on in the world. When I was trying to think about something relevant to write about for this blog, that class discussion came to mind right away because reading "Apples are from Kazakhstan" and watching the films for this course has made me reconsider how much I actually know about world history and current events in foreign countries. I feel as though I have a pretty good base of knowledge in terms of world history, but at the same time, I am starting to realize that I still have a lot left to learn. This class has made me think about the fact that up until a few weeks ago, I didn't know much of anything about Central Asia (or a couple of the other regions of the world for that matter). Then, when the topic of exposure to news worthy events on a global scale was brought up last week, it gave me even more of an interest in making a conscious effort to pay more attention to the issues making headlines outside the United States, so that is something I definitely need to work on.

Well, I guess thats all I have to say about this. I just got to thinking about the issue again today, but I don't want to sound redundant, so I'm going to stop talking about it for now. (I probably should have just done some research on Central Asia or foreign news in general instead of talking about the fact that I don't know much about it, huh?) Anyway, bye for now!

Mongol...

Well, I have to say that last week's film, Mongol, was surprisingly interesting. I will admit that when I figured out that the film was about Genghis Khan, I wasn't exactly thrilled about having to watch it. I wasn't all that excited about the subtitles either because I have never really been a huge fan of films with subtitles (not that there is anything wrong with them, I just get a little bit distracted by them sometimes). However, after the first few minutes I was hooked. I thought that this film was absolutely fascinating. Everything in this film felt very authentic, but I tend to focus on things like composition, camera movements, things like that, so the visual aspect of the film stood out right away. I thought the cinematography in this film was stunning. From start to finish, every scene was captured beautifully. Aside from that, the story itself was really interesting. Who would have thought that Genghis Khan had a heart? Based on my own misconceptions and what I had learned about him in the past, I was expecting to see this savage being who destroyed everything and everyone that got in his way. It was pleasantly surprising to see him portrayed in a more humane way (okay, so maybe humane isn't the best word to use to describe him, but you get what I'm trying to say, right?). After watching the film, you kind of feel for him in a way because of all that he had to go through from the time he was a child. You sort of gain a new perspective on why he behaved in the ways he did. It wasn't because he was a monster, he was doing what he thought needed to be done to protect himself and the people he cared about. The film definitely puts a fresh spin on the story of a man that is generally known for being a barbarian, so it was really interesting to see. It makes you think about the fact that sometimes things are not as they seem and reiterates the importance of considering certain issues from different points of view to get the complete story.

Thoughts on Borat...

I realize I'm a little late on this one, but how can I not comment on Borat. I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see that this was the first film of the semester. I had heard a lot about the film in the past, but I had never seen it until last week. It was definitely interesting, to say the least. It took me a while to decide whether I thought the movie was a work of comedic genius, or if went a little too far and crossed the line one too many times. I mean, Sacha Baron Cohen was hilarious as the very bold title character, but some of the subject matter was definitely over the top. Overall, I will admit that I did like the film. I wasn't expecting to at first, but I did. As much as one can argue that Borat might have been a bit too extreme and used the comedy as a way to exploit the people of a little known country for our amusement, it did leave an impact. For me personally, the film generated more of an interest in learning, not only more about Kazakhstan, but about a lot of different places that I don't have a great deal of knowledge about just yet. In my opinion, the film made me more aware of my own misconceptions of places that I never really gave much thought to in the past. I mean, I LOVE the Travel Channel, so I have learned a lot about different regions of the world that way, but I've never come across a Passport to Uzbekistan or anything like that, so I think that this film gave me more of an interest in exploring the countries that have essentially been forgotten until now. In this way, I have to say that the film was justified in using such an extreme approach, because it made me, and I'm sure many others as well, look at certain things from a fresh perspective and brought about a desire to know more that I probably wouldn't have otherwise.

Well, thats all I really have to say for this film. I'm looking forward to Mongol and the next installment of "Apples". That book turned out to be so much more interesting than I thought it would! Anyway, see you on the discussion boards!

Getting started with this whole blogging thing...

Hi everyone! So, I'm finally getting going with this whole blogging thing. I have to admit that this is my first time ever participating in any type of blogging, so I haven't really figured out what I'm doing just yet. I'm probably a little bit behind the times here, because it seems like everyone is familiar with some form of blogging. Anyway, as soon as I get used to this and get the page all put together I'll post something with a little bit more relevance to class. I promise I'll try to make the next postings more interesting than this one. Bye for now!