As a team one of our triumphs was our ability to clearly take roles which allowed us to quickly organize what needed to be done, allocate these tasks and get the proposal done with adequate research before the due date. I felt during this process I took a clear leadership role. My strength of finding the easiest way for groups to cooperate in the easiest way possible was evident throughout this project. I introduced the idea of using word press as a collaborative tool so we could all continue to work through the project and record our efforts in an easy to assess place. Throughout the project I organized, delegated and set deadlines for completing tasks as well as communicating with Nikolai throughout the process. Jennifer was our recorder and resource investigator. She took on the responsibility of record, make sure that all we talked about was recorded so I could follow up on key points. Nick was the idea shaper and innovator; he was our creative power coming up with the idea of the underage night club, he was often key involving incidental issues such as what type of vibe would need to be created and how. Natalia was a boundary to our work, she was unpartcipatory in a positive way if she disliked the idea eg the word press collaborative site this created a huge barrier. Therefore her role was limited to that of negatively dominative.

A weakness in our proposal was although our research was thorough, the actually ‘reality’ of getting the required sponsorship and covering the costs would be difficult. Through the project some members where quite unrealistic about our abilities to get sponsorship, and were outspoken to the point that as a group we decided it was more efficient to appease them than try and make the project more realistic. This caused a flaw in our proposal.

Although overall our project was very successful – In the future I believe that it could be improved by all group members equally contributing and perhaps spending more time looking at multi-cultural impact to make sure we don’t isolate the certain social groups.

The course I found quite appealing as the blogs were fairly self-led. Although given a rubix of what was required and some topic idea, in general we had free reign over our own learning exercises. One of my blogs looked at the Digital World and Humanity. This was overall my favorite blog to write and also i think the best. It looked into the idea of how the introduction of technology is isolating us from our ‘tribe’ and questions if the idea of universal belonging is a good thing.

One of our required blogs was the prezi blog – I found this very challenging as I was unfamiliar with the program and It also took some visual creative flair. I overcame this by seeking assistance both from youtube tutorials, the website and also Jeremy.

From the course I developed the valuable skill of self-directed learning as a lot of the work required further research and also to travel down different ‘learning style’ sectors. Although i found this challenging I was please with how my blogs came out. Although not carefully crafted they fulfilled what i believed the basic requirements to be. In the future I would only change my approach by incorporating more video blogging as after seeing other examples of this I would’ve like to further explore the application of this to discover if it was just as effective in assisting the learning process as the written blogs.

For me, the most significant issue in the writing of these blogs was trying to think of interesting ways to present my ideas. Coming from a different style course I found it difficult to not use Academic format. As a result of this project I have come away more skilled at writing in different formats then I was before. Subsequently I realized throughout the writing process that my original idea of just writing regards on topic set (I had originally thought of just focusing on the film batman to prove its universality) was going to be ineffective. I adapted by changing my approach and producing varied work from both the visual and written world to demonstrate that media is not just film and television.

From the course I developed a valuable knowledge of filmic readings – particularly in focus on the Audience. Before the course began I had no understanding of Hegemonic readings and found this area of particular interest.  From the course I also was introduced to the significance of both product placement and the use of camera angles in film; to make things appear more ‘everyday’ and to allow us to better assimilate the film.

I overall was pleased with how my blogs came out, although I believe they could be more carefully crafted, I believe they fulfil the requirement of been both informative but also interesting. My use of imagery and media clips not only made the blogs pretty but served as an important link between me and my audience so they could walk away with a better understanding.

In future the only think I would change is perhaps I would look at different ways to present the blogs rather than in a plain written form – I could possibly utilize technology such as I-Phones to create a equally informative but perhaps more interesting video style blog.

Jurassic Park, which was released in 1993 , has always been on of my favourite films – indeed the only 2 films that surpass in amounts of times I’ve viewed are The Departed and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ; Below is the scene that I hold most affection towards.

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In this scene we watch as the velociraptor adapt to hunt down there prey. It shows their intelligence as the slowly and systematic isolate the position of the children; and how they work under a leader as a team to try to capture them. It’s also a fantastic scene because it is one of the few movies since the invention of CGI that manages to combine it with physical effects to make it seem realistic and also in a tasteful way. Although the technology is not as developed as it is now, this film seems more realistic than many that now are built on CGI alone. The rounding of the scene is also quite powerful as we see the normally peaceful Dr.Grant (Sam Neill) holding a gun.

This film I really love. However this is an alternative reading to how it ends which is quite humorous. It shows how even films which are staple childhood experiences can be opened up and condensed into quite funny sequences which can be as enjoyable as the movie.

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Through Sharing of our scenes , we learnt how different people read films and this itself was highly interesting. I particularly enjoyed John’s The Big Lebowski and Reece’s Sweeney Todd scenes.

Films both cause and effect popular culture as it is often through this medium that trends manifest themselves. Lets take a look at Rock music in films sociologist Peter Berger describes the popular culture of rock music;” It’s attraction is not just due to a particular preference for loud, rhythmic sound and dangerously athletic dancing. Rock music also symbolizes a whole cluster of cultural values—concerning self-expression, spontaneity, released sexuality, and perhaps most importantly, defiance of the alleged stodginess of tradition.”

So how did the rise of rock music occur in through films. And how did films change the culture of rock music.

In Back to the Future not only is rock and roll is pivotal to the movie showing that culture is a lot better basically with Rock music. It also enjoys cameos by Huey Lewis – who also wrote an number of song for the movie. His music would from here become entrenched further in 80′s popular culture as an effect of the movie.

Popular culture of rock and roll is also seen in the movie the Boat that Rocked, it is about how people rebelled against the goverment  as rock and roll became a trend among the majority of people. Rather then cause further change in culture this movie came about as an affect of popular culture as in the 2000′s we started as a majority to look back at 80′s trends and fashions; The film purpose is to look at how popular culture became eminent, and how rock and roll was apart of that rise.  It is a product of the popular culture revival from the 50′s to Now.

Popular culture is always changing; to me its something that is difficult to understand because of this. It has no real defined cause, we can only truly track its effects; through film the phenomenon can change (like how Back to The Future influence the style of rock and roll in popular culture) and how it effects what we see in films and also how popular they become (The Boat That Rocked)

Another film where product placement is blatant is Transformers. So much so that when viewing if you leave to go to the toilet you can in fact get confused if it is just a continuous advert . This film’s target audience is generation Y, the up and coming key consumers. This is important as Transformers a heavily popular movie establishes further the status quo that we should not only expect but accept the fact that our experience of a film is going to be coupled with in your face consumerism.

Fast and the Furious , is another example of product placement at work. Nissan, Honda, Dodge, Toyota, Suzuki – all these companies benefited in some way from their cars been used in the series. What car enthusiast doesn’t want a Nissan Skyline, Dodge Viper , Toyota Supra , Honda S2000 or even the modest $17’000 Suzuki Escarda. In the movie these cars work as virtual advertisements for the cars – what they offer is something that not only will impress your peers but will give you self-respect. These cars, the story unfolds, will allow you to become something better than you are currently. This is a pretty convincing argument – better than any 20second ad on television. Films offer products surplus time to stamp there ‘brand image’ making the want for that product almost irresistible for those it has targeted, as rather than just been a car, the film provided a backdrop for them and helped the product become a symbolism for something more. But only if you have it. Advertising is particularly effective in films as it gives them time to stamp their brand. To make the product seem to offer more than in reality it does. This is all done by strategic product placement – in Transformers the heroes have Motorola and in Fast and the Furious we are offered the chance to prove ourselves to our peers and ourselves.

Most films of the new generation are overwhelmingly filled with product placement. Film’s often reflect the society they come from, and this I believe is the sad thing- like when watching a film we are constantly bombarded with the promise of something better from products. The promise to make life easier or even to give us status, but do many of the products do that? Should we continue to let product placement take over our films to the point that it becomes blurred as to their purpose? I hope personally that this is not our future that somehow we will find a way of preventing the constant bombardment of branding, even if it is just in the cinema.

“Verisimilitude, is when a film or TV show has the appearance of something being true. There are certain techniques that a film director would do to give that sense of reality, weather t would be from a sun flair, or shaky cam in movies.” To put it simply it is something  the quality of appearing to be true or real. 

It can be an almost amateurishness style that is used in an attempt to make the audience feel that the shocking events that are unfolding are live, that they are watching real people struggle through horrific and terrifying ordeals and that they are not safe because this could all hit them in minutes. This is seen in films like A Blair Witch Project.

And for your humour

Blair Witch used handheld cameras and the use of staged news report to help convince the audience it was real. At its release it was done so well, many felt wholeheartedly that it was infact real. Sending panic through many teens and flooding magazines,television stations and the police for request for new information but most importantly the internet- Which marketers had used slyly – continued the ‘false reality’ that the Verisimilitude style of filming had created.

This I believe is the best example of Verisimilitude that utilizes the handheld camera but the ultimate example of Verisimilitude itself is found on Television , Wrestling.

Wrestling has always caused ferocious debate around it been ‘real or fake’

It is the ultimate example because not only to Millions of people around the world watch it each week, people continue to question the validity of how real or fake it is. The interview below with Dave Finlay one of my favourite wrestlers is quite revealing

Verisimilitude uses our own beliefs on what makes something real to help us feel more engagement with something we are watching. In Blair Witch it used our fear of the Unknown, the fear that we are not in fact top predator and welded that to create  compelling film that left many questioning its place in fiction. Wrestling is an amazing example as people often question if it is legitimate or not.  It is the professionally in the filming that makes it seem real, rather that the amateurishness styling of Blair Witch. As we watch there ‘warriors’ go at it in high-definition we feel for them. We become connected to those on-screen just like those in Blair Witch. It has the appearance of being true, but in fact is scripted (but as Finlay argues does that make it false?) but appearance alone is enough to convince many of its validity. Verisimilitude plays on our belief that ‘seeing is believing’ and that if we see something with our own eyes that it in fact must be true.

A tragic hero is a person who initially is well – respected and hold a high reverence within society. They are of high moral worth and high ambitious in what they set out to achieve. A single mistake or a tragic flaw can, bring them to damage, with a loss of everything that they possess. [1]
In both Othello and Macbeth it is singular tragic flaw in both natures that causes the inherently good men to meet their downfall “becoming nothing more than a precious villain”. They characterize themselves as tragic heroes as they at the end of the plays in some ways redeem themselves. Othello is pulled down by the flaw that he of a ‘free and open nature and thinks men honest that but seem to be so” and Macbeth by his ‘overleaping ambition’ to become king of Scotland. The plays focus on how these men’s flaws slowly ‘seep’ through and poison their good natures- and by extension negatively affect those they lead Although we see this is an Elizabethan period play, real life events in the modern world also show how the relevance of the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s plays.

George W. Bush it can be argued is the ultimate modern Shakespearian tragic hero. He it can be argued set out to restore America to its place of pride, he wanted to restore what he believe was right for America, to ‘fix’ it. He like Macbeth sort nothing more than to make America a better nation for its people. Unlike Macbeth however it was not his ambition that proved to be his greatest flaw, but his stubbornness. His blind faith in his advisors and the abilities of a nation that already slowly beginning to fade from its height of power to become once more a nation its people could be proud of. He proved that Shakespeare even now is vital in our understanding of people and on who we elect in power. That although most leaders enter power like Bush wanting a better future, it is fatal flaws that have often helped them rise that will lead to the demise of both themselves and the nations they lead.

Last one is fake – but is actually a common look at George at the end of his presidency

Shakespeare is one of the greatest and most important media ever produced. It help develop and audience expectation for great media to capture something universal rather than just a singular event. Like in Othello and Macbeth, Shakespeare has captured the idea that the powerful of men can be quickly brought down by the very things that make them powerful turning them from leaders into tyrants.

[1] http://afalade.blogspot.com/2011/02/othello-character-analysis-paper.html

In Interpreting Media we have been watching the gregariously unsubtle film – The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton). This film  was unnerving because of its unsubtle use of Symbolics and lives as proof that subtlety is not always the most effective means of scaring people.

“Like any great novel or play, a film becomes poetic by incorporating into itself an image system. This poetic system must be more than subtle, it must be subliminal, the audience is not to notice. The moment the audience reacts to an image as ‘symbolic’, the effect is destroyed.”

The Night of The Hunter is one of the best examples of a film that utilizes a symbolic poetic structure, however it can be used to argue against this quote. The film is so blatant with its symbolism that the audience does in fact naturally recognize it and react to it. This provides a dark comedic element to the film and in fact enhances its story telling ability, makes it more poetic. The audience become unbalanced as they are unsure if they should be laughing at the obvious nature or disturbed because like the characters of the film they could in their everyday life be missing the ‘evil nature’ of an individual around them.

The film’s main theme is the struggle between good and evil, but also focuses on the main protagonist, Harry Powell’s deeply misogynist feelings. One particular scene that exemplifies this is the scene where he describes how women are like “false prophets” that they are the devil as the “control those that are good”- in fact he is referring to his own weakness that he loses control over himself – more so his sexuality takes over. And he as a control freak is no longer able to ‘contain’ his primal instincts. In the burlesque scene his fist is adorned with the word “hate” which he clenches as he watches the women dance, he then puts his hand into his pocket and a knife flicks through his clothing. Harry Powell is evidently impotent, but his knife serves as a violent substitute. In an early scene, Harry sits in a burlesque house, watching the grinding of a stripper onstage, his official disapproval undercut when his knife flicks open and pricks through his pants pocket, symbolizing his apparent arousal [1] (and perhaps prevailing need to play pocket pool)They key hole camera shifting indicates how Powell sees this as a dirty thing, that should not be flaunted but kept behind closed doors. The director also used changes in Harry Powell (Michium) tone of voice throughout this scene slowly developing into a deep baritone as he becomes more sexually aroused.  Looking at this one scene the blatant use of Symbolism is apparent in the story telling; so blatant in fact it is frightening because the audience instantaneously understands something about the deep murky workings of Harry Powell’s minds.

This one scene is just one of many in The Night of The Hunter that are disturbing. Not simply because they idea of misogyny is looked down upon but the way it is presented. The almost off hand darkly comedic and unsubtle way of showing it leaves the audience feeling unnerved and the idea that they too could be missing signs of a ‘big bad wolf’ in their own communities