Blog Evaluation!!

Well i had never even READ a blog before this class and i usually never had time to check any out so this was my first time reading and writing blogs and i thought it was very educational. I actually am thinking of starting one soon because i feel that they help you express your opinions without being judged by anyone and it allows you to think before you speak and put your thoughts where everyone can see them. The only thing i had trouble with was the uploading of different links but once i got the hang of it i wanted to upload any and everything i thought was relevant to the blog topics for each week! One example of a blog topic i thought was very interesting was the hybridization and glocalization of cultures. I had the chance to read a lot of my peers blogs and i had no idea the magnitude and effect of cultures coming together and the effect our own culture has on the countries around us. None of the topics were difficult because reading other peoples blogs helped me better understand the concepts discussed in lectures. I definitely would recommend using a blog for future courses but i really do believe they make a difference in understanding key points and that comes in handy when reviewing for tests. The only thing to improve the blogging experience would be to elaborate on the different things you can do in blogs like linking pictures and videos and maybe have a crash course on how to do all of these. Other than that blogging was awesome!!!
"yes you can use my blog in a paper or report"

Globalization

   Looking back on our lectures globalization to me is the diffusion of cultural ideas and thoughts around the world. It is the "process of increasing interconnectedness between ideas, cultures, and people." Without it, we as well as other nations would only be able to rely on travel to experience other nations. Fortunately, we have globalization in the media to inform and educate us.

   Through Globalization, one of the results is hybridization. An example of hybridization is taking an idea that was successful and bringing it around the world to a place that you think will also result in success for the idea. One of the things that i think portrays this hybridization is the way American television shows have made an increasing impact on other cultures and countries such as Mexico. For example, there are shows in spanish that are the equivalent to shows such as deal or no deal or dancing with the stars. Also one of my favorite movies in spanish is called "Bajo La Misma Luna" and it is about the struggles people have leaving their family when trying to cross the border. It connects the lives of american people and the lives of mexican people and shows the similarities and differences they have and i think that it is an ideal example of hybridization. It also has been translated in english, "Under the same moon," so that the people on this side of the border understand the obstacles certain people face in pursuit of a better life. Below is the english trailer of Under the same moon.
Under the same moon

Advertising!

   One latest advertisement that i saw that really resonated with me was an antismoking ad that was online. It is very rare that a one page ad could convey so much without being a commerical. In the ad, you see a young man, with an emphasis on the young part, who is sitting on the couch but he is putting his cigarrette in the ashtray. However, what you see in the ad is in fact an image of him putting many cigarrettes shaped as a gun in the ashtray. It is a really important topic that still creates global controversy.

  There are many appeals in the advertisement: appeals that pertain to your pychological needs, appeals that relate to your safety, and appeals that relate to you need for guidance. These are all important in the topic of smoking. How a person feels or the personal reasons a person has for smoking are there pychological reasons. The way an ad focuses on safety typically focuses on anything that pertains to your health and your need for guidance is important but is very tricky to persuade people who will agree that they need this said guidance.
    I believe that the ad is leaning more towards safety because of the focus of the gun. This ad gives the audience the idea that when you are smoking each cigarrette you might as well put a gun to your head becuase you are slowly but surely killing yourself. This type of appeal is very effective at times for people to realize that their actions have a direct effect on their health. This ad was very effective for me because even if i dont smoke the ad draws me farther and farther away from the concept of smoking.

Three act structure-Mean Girls!

   There are many examples of three act structures and i chose to write about an old movie that really hits home with a lot of teenage girls. The first act of a movie usually introduces the characters and it is no different with the movie Mean Girls. In the first act they introduce Cady, a sixteen year old who grew up in Africa who moves to the suburbs and starts a normal high school life in the states. There she meets the plastics, the cool clique in school, and they ask her to sit with them. This incident leads to cady confesssing her crush on a "plastics" ex boyfriend and the number one plot point in the act is when that plastic steals the guy away from Cady which leads to conflict. This act last around 30-35 minutes.
   The next act structure usually includes an action that will ultimately lead to the climax in the third act. In the case of Mean Girls, Cady has a revelation when she overthrows the "plastic" as queen bee. She throws a party forgetting all of her old friends and they call her out on being one of the "mean girls" nobody likes.
This act is usually the longest and the most detailed lasting for 45--50 minutes.
   The third and final act structure includes the climax of the movies or the lesson that has to be learned. In Mean Girls, Cady is given the cold shoulder at school and she decides she does not care about popularity and joins a local math club. She goes to competition and she has an epiphany about the way teenagers let their ranking at school rule their lives and she win the competion. She goes back to school and there everyone forgives her as she gives a speech about all that she has learned and accomplished. This act lasts for 25-30 and is the final act of the movie. Below is a clip of the movie!
Mean Girls 

Tv sitcom! Friends!

   Many of the characteristics that Colin Tait included in the lecture had to do with sitcoms. One of the main characteristics is the fact that they had to create humor out of everyday situations, hence the title "situation comedy." This is also usually accomplished within the 30 minute time slot that differentiated them from dramas. Sitcoms are also very convenient because they are episodic meaning they have conflicts that they resolve in the same episode so no one will ever be lost watching any episode they may see. Another characteristic Tait talked about was the character growth we see in some sitcoms like King of Queens where we see them mature as time goes on and this helps us relate to the characters becasue we are growing with them.

     One of my favorite tv sitcoms is Friends and it is a perfect example of a episodic sitcom. Friends contains all the characteristics Tait talked about during his lecture. It is a 30 minute long show that focuses on humor as its main attribute. They also have six protagonists: Ross, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe, Monica, and Chandler. For example in one episode two of the main characters, Monica and Chandler, are about to get married and Chandler seems to get cold feet which is a common problem people face so the audience can relate. It is a conflict that at the end of the episode is resolved when he realizes he wants to spend his life with her. Below you will see the example...
Monica and Chandler cold feet

Shot progression and No Country for Old Men

     It is no surprise that directors use a variety of camera shots to tell their story. The way theses shots are arranged is the key element and the difference between a good movie and a great movie. The movie i chose to interpret is "No Country for Old Men." The film revolves around a man who has encountered a suitcase full of money and is effectively pursued by the owner of the suitcase, a psychopath killer with a weird view of justice.
     In the very beginning of the movie there is a wide variety of shots that include the scenery we will see all throughout the film. This is the Long Shot view where we see the overview of the place and the setting that will introduce the characters. To be more specific, the scene in the movie where the protagonist, Josh Brolin, finds the money is a perfect example of shot progression. Below is the long shot where we dont really know who the actor is but we see a connotative meaning of a dark and mysterious man who is about to encounter something dangerous. It also shows the setting as a very isolated even scary place.

   The next shot we see is the Middle Shot where we now know who the actor is and what he has in his hands. We see it is Josh Brolin and this shot gives us very important information about the suitcase full of money which is significant throughout the entire film. It also gives us a taste of the character Josh Brolin plays. He looks rugged and he looks as if he is not scared about the consequences that will come due to the suitcase.

         The very final shot we see is the close up of Brolin after he has effectively taken the money with him. The closeup shows emotional meaning in the movie and it conveys facial expressions clearly. Here we see Brolin and he has a look of seriousness to him. He does not look like he is scared but he does look like he has committed a heinous crime. It is as if he has guilt in his eyes even. The denotative meaning just tells his appearence its the audiences first impression of the character. The connotative meaning is the way we perceive him and the way we set his character up for the rest of the movie.

Classical hollywood and the star system

       One specific aspect of the studio system i deemed the most important was the star system and the effect it had in the production of movies. At the beginnning of the film industry surprisingly film was seen as  astep over the circus and it was merely for the "working class." Most actors were embarassed to be mentioned or seen on film so they would mask their identity in order to "keep their dignity." However, after a while audiences began to demand the names of their beloved actors and they wanted to know who was behind the film they watched. They began to nickname the actors since they all remained nameless. Then the Star System emerged and it changed everything. Studios began to give names to faces and it quickly affected the film industry.
      The Star system was comprised of up and coming actors who studios created personas for and gave them an identity that would be with them for the rest of their acting careers. This affected the way people saw movies because not only were they watching a scene in a film but they were relating and creating a bond with a character like Lucille Ball or Cary Grant. This also made film stars gain extreme power from their audiences demanding to see them in the next movie. This is the power studios were trying to avoid in the beginning. Stars such as Marilyn Monroe walked out on their contracts until studios met with their demands and as their popularity escalated so did the profits for the movies they were included in.

      One example of the star system was dated back to 1915, a woman names Theda Bara was the very first "vamp woman." She was repeatedly cast as vmapire and as other "femme fatale" roles and in everyones minds she was known as the "vamp woman." The repetition of similar roles creates a persona for the character that continues on through their career. Another perfect example is Marilyn getting cast for "ditsy blonde" or continuous "sexual" roles creating that character for her.
Marilyn monroe-Lets make love