Extra Credit

This was my first blog. It was somewhat helpful to rework the textbook definitions into my own words. I found that there were no difficulties with my blog, technical or otherwise. Sometimes I was confused as to why I received a 2 instead of a 3, but that is about it. The blogs I enjoyed most were those that I controlled the content of. Specifically, ones that let me work with my own examples. The blogs where I had to only regurgitate definitions were a bit dry. I would not recommend using a blog in the future. I know it was time consuming for both me and my TA with little to no pay off. Simply spitting out two hundred words didn't really further my learning. Studying for tests was when I learned in this class. I would, perhaps, like to do a blog for a different, more involved class. I would like it if there was more room to be creative and make my blog individualized. In the future, I would like it if the blogs involved more multimedia elements but with a particular emphasis on film studies.

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

Globalization is a term that describes the increasing interconnectedness among nations, cultures and people of the world. Globalization connects with the idea of cultural imperialism in several ways. Cultural imperialism describes how Western cultures use globalization to create consumers out of other cultures and slowly erodes the original culture. There is a significant imbalance of cultural diffusion since Western cultures (specifically American cultures) have far greater influence over the world than any other cultures. For example, little girls around the world have a favorite Disney Princess. From the Euro Disney to the one in Florida to little girls who just see them on TV, cultural imperialism has influenced little girls to become great fans of the princesses. As a result, they wish to consume as many princess related items as possible. First, they buy Cinderella on DVD. Then perhaps they buy the Cinderella costume. Then the Cinderella doll. What is lost is perhaps a local fairytale that they would have been devoted to without the presence of Cinderella.

Advertising

"The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"

Old Spice's ad campaign that centers around "the man your man could smell like" is my favorite ad campaign of 2010. The premise of the commercial is that the perfect man tells the audience that although their boyfriend cannot possess all of his amazing qualities, he can at least smell like the ultimate man. The ultimate man, of course, uses Old Spice body wash.

This is an appeal to sexuality. Or, advertising that specifically targets sexual desires in the consumer. The appeal may aim to excite the consumer sexually or may aim to make the consumer believe they need the product for a more fulfilling sex life. The character is supposed to be the ultimate boyfriend who caters to your every need. He is buff and many men would envy his physique. He is supposed to be a generic romantic partner for the audience to fantasize about. In that way, he supposed to excite (the female) audience sexually. Also, the fact that the communicates that the current body wash most men use is inferior aims to make (the male) audience feel a need for Old Spice to make them more sexually attractive to females. However, it is important to note that the advertisement is so effective in that it is very funny and original in its fast paced scenery changes.

Monster's Inc. in Three Acts

Monster's Inc. is a movie about a monster named Sully. Sully, our hero and protagonist, is introduced to us as the employee of the month at his power plant that specializes in scaring children at night and collecting their screams for energy. All is well for Sully (except for the plant's financial trouble) when the film opens, but things quickly turn when he accidently brings a child back to his world. Children are thought to be extremely dangerous by monsters. She is soon discovered and a frantic city-wide for search Boo (the child) is started. Sully and his friend Mike make the decision to try and sneak her back into her room by returning her at the plant. This decision raises the stakes since they are at great risk of being caught by law enforcement. This is about 30 minutes in.

In act two, the trio is faced with Randall, Sully's enemy at the company, trying to steal the child for his scream extraction machine. The machine will produce more energy and save the company money, but it will harm kids and can only be used after kidnapping them. After a long chase, the trio discover that the head of the company, once thought trustworthy, is really Randall's accomplice. Sully make the decision to try and return Boo despite all the obstacles and expose his boss as a kidnapper. This is the peak of the movie. They are cornered by the boss and it looks as if they are going to lose Boo-and their lives. This act ends about 10 minutes from the end of the movie.

In act three, Sully exposes his boss by recording him saying that he will kidnap children in order to save his company. The boss is apprehended and the child is returned to her room. Everything has turned out well. Even the company, with Sully as CEO, is doing well now that Sully has discovered children's laughter is a better source of energy than screams. This is a Hollywood ending, wrapping up all subplots and the main plot with a happy solution.

Sitcom - South Park

South Park is a situational comedy about four young boys growing up in Colorado. Throughout the series, they are faced with the misadventures the world presents them. Although it lacks the usual telltale signs of a sitcom (a laugh track and live actors) it contains an important element that many sitcoms have-a lesson at the end of almost every episode.

Many sitcoms use a narrative to put one or more of the regular cast of characters through a moral quandary. Whether the character(s) makes the right or wrong decision, by the end of the episode, they usually are able to summarize what they have learned in a tidy speech. However, the characters are usually pretty static and have more to learn next week. And so it is in South Park.

Nearly every week either Stan or Kyle delivers a speech on what the episode’s events have taught them. On the 200^th episode, Kyle delivered a speech about not bowing down to fear. This was inspired by the events of the episode, where the creators depicted a censored version of the prophet Muhammad. However, the speech was never played in it’s entirety because Comedy Central feared what would happen as a result. The episode aired with Kyle’s mouth moving but his words bleeped out and there is currently no way to legally view the episode online.

Shot by Shot: Goodfellas

The following shots are all from the "Billy Batts" scene from Goodfellas. It opens with an exterior long shot to show the location of the altercation. It is clearly a bar, orienting the scene.

The original scene in it's entirety

The next two are medium shots. It is a narrow hall, so the film utilizes two medium shots to show that both Billy Batts' crew and Henry Hill's crew are there at separate parts of the bar.

The following shots are close ups of Henry Hill's crew. This is used to convey the emotions of each character. Joe Pesci is enraged and out of control. We as an audience now know that he has a terrible temper. Then there is a shot of Robert DeNiro, who might be just as crazy as Pesci's character considering he is beating a man to death with a certain amount of detachment. These are both shot from below, displaying their power in the situation over the man they are beating. Ray Liotta's face conveys horror at what is happening. 

Meet Me in Old Hollywood

1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis starred a young Judy Garland in yet another musical. This was a result of her being under contract to MGM. The studio system meant that the stars were all owned and only allowed to work under the supervision of their particular studio. The result of this was an abundance of Judy Garland musicals.  To keep up interest in their stars, studios would have to use them frequently. It also meant that since they had all the tools to make a successful film over again (the same writers, directors, stars, studios), they flooded the market with similar films. For Judy Garland, those were musicals. She did nine musicals just with Mickey Rooney. There were a trademark for MGM, and so they are now synonymous with their famous star forever.