Globalization

Globalization is the process of different nations and peoples coming together and fusing cultures through technological expansion. As popular culture is diffusing into more countries through technological diversification, cultures are beginning to be fused together as popular things in the one country, are also the same popular thing in another country.

            One of the concepts described in class that relates to globalization is cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism is pretty much the process of several large corporations owning popular culture and selling merchandise of popular culture to western audiences.  Cultural imperialism is affected by globalization because as globalization increases across the world, conglomerates that own the production rights of pop culture products gain markets all over the planet. The popular culture in one country affects the popular culture in another, and therefore the nation that has newly adopted this pop culture becomes a new market for western companies to profit from. This causes local culture and traditions to become less popular, and even fade out completely, making regional cultures non-popular in their own areas, reducing diversity.

            An example of cultural imperialism is Disney. This company has created some of the most popular children’s films of all time and is known all over the world. As a result, when a Cinderella doll or Mickey Mouse cup is sold in Germany, part of the profit is going all the back to Disney in the United States. This process of cultural imperialism, while good for western conglomerates, unfortunately reduces local culture diversity and ruins regional diversity.

I Don't Usually Like Ads, But When I Do, I prefer Dos Equis.

I usually don’t pay attention to most ads that I see on TV because they are either annoying or plain stupid, but there is one series of ads that I particularly enjoy and it is the ad campaign for Dos Equis beer, “the most interesting man in the world.”



I feel these commercials (especially the one at 1:14 in the above video) are very appealing to consumers in much the same way as the Old Spice ads are. They are not only funny, but appeal to consumers in a certain way. Based on the types of appeals we talked about in lecture, these beer ads appeal to consumers through achievement, prominence and attention. These types of ads show prominent figures or groups of people who stand out and demonstrate their product in a way that makes people want to strive to be like them. In that sense, the goal is for them to buy whatever product the person is advertising. This ad is expressing all the achievements of the “most interesting man in the world” and draws attention to his amazing, almost super-human personality. He makes men want to be like him, or at least do what he does (this is where the beer comes in). This ad definitely shows a man who is extremely interesting, appealing, cool, and has achieved many things that normal men can only dream of, but the one thing they can hope to do is drink the same beer as him, which is exactly what the ad accomplishes.

Harry Potter And the Sorcerers Stone

One of my favorite movies that has a three act structure is Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. The film starts off in the first act by introducing the main character (Harry Potter) and showing how he lives with his aunt and uncle. Strange things happen to him and he’s not sure why. The plot escalates when he starts receiving strange letters that his uncle will not let him read. Hundreds begin to come and eventually his aunt and uncle decide to relocate to a more remote house in order to escape the bombardment of mail. They are discovered by a man named Hagrid, and in the first plot point (marking the end of the introduction act of the film) he tells Harry that he is a wizard.

            The second act of the film follows Harry as he buys his school supplies, meets his fellow classmates, and is generally introduced into the wizarding world. Strange things are still happening to him and he and his friends discover a secret that is being hidden in the school. The plot continues to grow as they dive deeper into the mystery and the second act finishes with the second plot point that what is being held secret in the school is a magical stone that can turn any metal into gold and grant the holder immortality.

            The final act of the film even further builds the plot as Harry and his two friends Ron and Hermione seek out the stone because they think it is in danger of being stolen. They face traps and challenges throughout depths of the school grounds and Harry eventually comes face to face with the person who attempts to steal it, the murderer of his parents: Lord Voldemort. The final act of the film peaks with the struggle between Harry and Voldemort over the stone, and the climax of the film (plot point #3) is when Harry defeats Voldemort (for the time being) and protects the stone from being stolen.

So no one told you life was gonna be this way...CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP

One of the characteristics of sitcoms as discussed in Wednesday’s lecture was the serial format sitcom. A serial format sitcom advances a long-term plot, is not as focused on lessons as episodic sitcoms, and the characters have long and complicated arcs. Serial sitcoms also do not have very predictable plots, and they can take a long time to develop (possibly multiple seasons). Many sitcoms may follow this format, but it is important to remember that they also may take some characteristics from episodic sitcoms (lessons may sometimes be taught/ multiple-part episodes usually leave off where they begin). In my opinion, truly good sitcoms have elements of both but for the sake of this blog I’ll focus on just the serial aspects of my favorite sitcom of all time:

            Friends ran for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004 and during that long run it developed an overall plot from the first season to the end. The major long-term plot question was obviously the Ross and Rachel situation (will they? Wont they? It took ten years to answer). Another example of a long-term plot is Monica and Chandler’s relationship (got together at the very end of season 4 and didn’t get married until the end of season 7), as well as However the show also demonstrates other aspects of a serial format in that it is not lessoned based, and the characters have long developments as exampled in Joey’s acting career (started as small time stage actor and worked his way up to a star of Days Of Our Lives) and Rachel’s career (started as a waitress and got a job in fashion, eventually ending up at Ralph Lauren). Overall this show follows a serial format (though taking episodic elements here and there) and as one of the longest running sitcoms of all time, people seemed to have enjoyed it.

(1994)

(After long & complicated character arcs)

=

(2004)

The Bourne Shots (Camera Shots That Is)

     For my post this week I chose a scene from The Bourne Supremacy. The scene starts with a long shot in which the audience learns where we are (with the assistance of a caption at the bottom.) This long shot is used to simply show the location of the following scene.

     This is followed by a medium shot, where we find out who the scene will be focusing on.

 This scene is focusing on the woman to the far left (in the film the camera follows her as she walks behind the pillar into the courtyard). This is the first time you see this character and you soon find out who she is and why she is important.

     Finally, this is followed by the close up of her face and her facial expression:

In the scene, after she walks into the open courtyard she sees a man she is familiar with come out of a car (this shot is actually immediately after she sees him) and from the look on her face she is not happy to see him. You soon after find out why she looks so serious and not content to see him, but from this shot alone you can guess how she feels towards him just from the close up look on her face.


     These shots all serve a specific purpose in the scene and create a smooth transition from the last scene to the next. If the long shot wasn't shown, you wouldn't know where you were. If the medium shot was omitted and it went straight to the close up, it would be jumpy and not smooth. If the close up was left out, you would just not be able to anticipate the upcoming events. All the shots are necessary and performed well.

The Times Are A Changin'

                                                                (Then)

Depictions of family life in sitcoms have changed dramatically over the past 40 years. In order for sitcoms to seem realistic, they try to create families that reflect current-day norms, and societal norms have definitely changed since the ‘70s. Everything from family dynamic to dialogue in sitcoms are directly related to how a normal society of the day functions.

            I decided to compare the episode “Judging Books by Covers” of All In The Family that we watched in class to the episode “Coal Digger” of ABC’s Modern Family.  Both shows focus on a typical current-day family, but are very different in how they are portrayed because times have changed a lot since the days of Archie Bunker. Even though the episodes have numerous differences, they do have some small similarities, and I’ll focus on a few of each.

            All In The Family is about a typical middle-class American family and in the 1970s that consisted of a husband and a wife, both white, and their daughter and her husband, living in an average sized home. The episode we watched focused on the main character Archie Bunker and his views of homosexuality regarding his son-in-law’s friend Roger. Roger in the show is depicted as a classy, fashionable, polite, enthusiastic, verbose gentlemen who Archie thinks is very unmanly by referring to him as a “fairy,” “flower,” and “little birdie,” to which the audience always roars with laughter. However derogatory terms like that are not socially accepted today (for good reason), which was actually demonstrated in class whenever he said those words, especially when he used the harsh term “fag,” there was no laughter in the classroom watching the video, because we all know that that type of language is not only extremely offensive, but in today’s society with a much more open view of homosexuality then was in All In The Family, it is not regarded as normal or acceptable speech.

            Modern Family is quite different in that it has a larger main cast, including three smaller households that are all related to one another and part of a big family. One household is a husband, wife, two daughters and son, all white. The second is a white, wealthy man (the wife of the first household’s father) and his young Columbian wife, and her son. The third household is the one that differs the most from All In The Family in that it consists of the wealthy man’s son who is gay and his partner, and their adopted Vietnamese baby daughter. Homosexuality in this show is obviously much more open and regarded in a much more mainstream fashion than All In The Family, which is the main difference between the shows. There is nothing strange about the relationship with the two men and no one in the family ever calls them derogatory names or finds offense in the fact that they are gay.

            The ways in which the two episodes are similar is that when Archie finds out his strong, tough, ex-football playing bar buddy is also gay, he is very confused because he doesn’t fit his typical view of a gay man. In the episode “Coal Digging” of Modern Family, Cameron (the gay son’s partner), is not only feminine, but also an ex-football player who enjoys sports and camaraderie as much as the next guy. The episodes both show that just because someone is gay does not mean they don’t enjoy certain things that are unfortunately usually labeled as “straight” (like football for instance).

            The two shows both reflect current-day situations and society. In the ‘70s, homosexuality was not as open or accepted as today (even though there still is a lot of work to do today but that’s a whole other story) and it was reflected in the episode with the offensive language and humorous reaction from the crowd. Even when the episode ends you never know whether or not Archie accepts his friend for being gay, which in turn does not show the audience that homosexuality should be accepted or not. In today’s society however, homosexual couples are very common and even able to marry in many places worldwide. Offensive and snide remarks towards gay people, although unfortunately still used, are not as acceptable in society and many people, homosexual or heterosexual, would take great offense to them. These episodes greatly demonstrate how times have changed in America and how views on people and their lifestyles have grown more accepting and for lack of a better term “regular” over the past few decades. 

(And Now)

Roaring Radio- Entertainer of the 1920s

     It is safe to say that conventional radio today is nowhere near as popular as it used to be back in the early 20th century. The combination of television, satellite radio, and internet make conventional AM/FM radio much less significant than it was in the 1920s. Back then, radio was a technological revolution that changed the shape of entertainment as well as the advertising and news industries. The emergence of the radio as the main source of entertainment and news all happened because of one technological invention called the vacuum tube in 1906 by a man named Lee de Forest. 

     Before the invention of the vacuum tube, "wireless telegraphs" (later to be called radio) was already being used to keep contact with oceangoing ships across the atlantic that could not reach telegraph lines. They used Morse Code to communicate, which involves dots and dashes representing each letter of the alphabet to relay messages back and forth. It was not until 1906 when the vacuum tube- which could transmit and receive sound, voice, and music- opened up the possibilities for conventional use radios by the public. 

1920's Radio Clips

(Soundboard with various broadcast clips from the 1920's)

   After World War I, public interest in radio began to rise. Companies began to see the potential of radio starting with Frank Conrad and the Westinghouse Company in 1920. Once he set up the first regularly scheduled radio broadcasts in the country, radios started being sold more than ever to the public so they could tune in. Other companies began seeing the various uses for radios, particularly advertising. Entertainment shows could sell advertising spots to companies during broadcasts, the news industry could broadcast around the nation much faster than print news, and schools and churches could use radio to broadcast educational shows to a large audience of listeners. The possibilities were almost endless, and radio soon became the biggest industry of the age. The true TV of it's time, radio industries flourished off of music shows, news broadcasts, and educational lectures, all of which wouldn't have been possible without the development of the vacuum tube in which sound itself was made transmittable.  

            What would be your first reaction if your friend said they walked downtown last night by them self? I know my first words would be something along the lines of “did you get mugged?” or “why would you do that you could have been killed???” Is this a normal reaction? Why couldn’t I have said, “Oh that’s nice how was it?” or “did you see anything interesting?” I mean thousands of people walk downtown by themselves every night and some might have some trouble but it shouldn’t be the first thing you’d assume was going to happen should it? I’ve just grown accustomed to assuming bad things are going to happen if you are alone at night walking, well pretty much anywhere. This is probably because I’ve seen so many shows and movies about people being mugged or attacked or worse, I just immediately assume it’s going to happen every time.  This phenomenon is called the cultivation theory, and it creates a pseudo-reality that changes our views of the real world based on things we see in the media.

            Cultivation theory is the concept that things we see in movies and television (such as downtown muggings, shootings in bad neighborhoods, or crimes committed by certain groups of people) have a direct effect of how we view those situations in real life. For example, ever since 9/11 films and TV shows have taken the opportunity to make middle eastern people be seen as terrorists and villains, which causes people in real life to assume that all middle eastern people are potentially dangerous which is obviously not true. The same goes for crime shows that have situations where people get kidnapped or assaulted, especially when the person committing the crime is a minority. People viewing these shows may begin to believe that these events happen more often than they actually do, or that certain races are more dangerous than others, creating an unnecessary yet real sense of fear for an exaggerated occurrence.

            Cultivation theory doesn’t always have to do with fear however. Some of the most common examples have nothing to do with fear at all. Instead they deal with things like how men and women should look or behave in society. We’ve all seen ads depicting women in scandalous clothing, looking sexy and ready for action, and then we look down and see they are holding something like a golf ball or can of beer. Like this commercial:

Is this how women were meant to look? Apparently all women in society must have huge breasts and be ridiculously attractive, while men are in power (all but one committee members are men, as well as all but one lawyer). After watching those women for two minutes you almost forget that the commercial is for website domain names, and I for one never knew that people thought a website for naming websites was sexy before. For men, the cultivation theory isn't usually exampled in steamy ads (except sometimes for clothing), but more often shown in how men behave in movies and TV shows. The movie Tough Guise focuses on how media depict men and how it can effect how men in real life act because they want to fit into this unreal identity of “manliness”. The strong, macho, testosterone-filled, always ready for a fight guys in action movies create a sense of false reality that guys might begin to associate with lest they be ridiculed by other men who have already fallen into this unfortunate trap:

Blood, gigantic muscles, protecting a helpless women; all characteristics of a “real man” while at the same time showing minorities as villains. The continuous depiction of racial stereotypes, sexy women and tough men reinforce the cultivation theory and further create an untrue reality that people adopt into their real life, thereby making it into a real reality, not because of experience, but simply because someone else told them it was true.



"Man":

Framing in Media

How do frames work? Generally speaking they usually add a nice border to a picture or painting for visual effect. But more specifically what is contained within a frame? Often it is something that somebody wants seen. When a photographer or painter frames a picture, they are framing something that they obviously want people to see. Framing in the media works the same way and a clear example of media framing is often found in political campaign advertisements.

Framing is the act of including/removing certain facts or details in a story or video to shape the viewers' interpretation of whatever the story is depicting. For example a reporter could frame a story about worker unions either positively or negatively. If they were to frame it positively, they could report about the good things unions do, such as fight for workers' rights. A negatively framed report of unions could talk about their method of striking as a poor form of protest that hurts the economy and the community. Either way all the facts are not included, and in a framed story, one side is depicted while the other is avoided even though both may be true.

As before mentioned, political campaigns are usually very good examples of media framing, especially if they are attack ads. These attack ads will pick on every flaw of an opponent and try to get viewers to think of them negatively. The tone in the ads make all the facts seem terrible, even though they do not explain why they are bad. They also do not include any positive things the candidate did because they want the audience to completely associate them with bad emotions. An example of this political media framing is this advertisement by Meg Whitman against opponent Jerry Brown during the 2010 race for Governor of California:

This ad uses the words "fail" and "failure" more times in 60 seconds then I have ever seen before. This negative framing is a way in which Whitman tries to get voters to see Brown as an enemy of the state and a horrible politician. She frames what she thinks are his negative acts in politics and not only deliberately leaves out any positive things he has done in his career, but does not explain why he did the things he did and if they were even bad or not. She just knows that voters hate spending and know that job cuts are bad, so she uses that to her advantage, not needing to explain herself.

Framing is done all over the media, in advertisements as well as stories in newspapers, online reports, and even television shows. This way framers can show the audience exactly what they want them to see, and leave out everything else.

Post #1: Why am I taking RTF 305?

Besides the fact that RTF305 is required to take further classes in the RTF field, I actually do have a few reasons why I want to take this class. I'm currently on the fence about what to major in (deciding between RTF or Design) and I'm hoping this class can help me make a decision. Just from the first lecture and reading the first chapter in the book I can already tell that it's not only going to be a very interesting course, but also an important one in understanding the communication of the future. Different forms of media are constantly surrounding us at almost every point in a given day, so understanding how they work together and where the future of media is headed seems important regardless of what major a person is in or what they plan on doing for a career. I'm hoping to learn how various forms of media effect our everyday lives and how the future of media is going to affect the way we handle business, education, and communication in society.

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This is a blog by Dan Gurewitch, a writer/actor who works for CollegeHumor.com. He posts videos he helps make, pictures of his life, and various posts about things he thinks about that are interesting to read about.