As an extremely musically-oriented, I'm open to most genres and I like finding new music to listen to any way I can. This week, I was introduced to an artist through another blog site I use. A blogger that I followed posted this video and I absolutely fell in love with it.
"Ode to Kulele," by Mal Blum, is a truly adorable song. Watching a Youtube video made for a song off of her new album that was posted on a blog truly represents both a technological shift and an aesthetic one. It's a case of convergence.
This charming video - rich with humor, warm fuzzies, repetition, and flattery - is a pretty clear representation of the type of music Mal plays. I've since begun listening to some of her other songs which are equally as amiable. Cutesy poetry about things like being an earthworm sung in her honest and almost childlike voice layered over simplistic acoustic guitar chords. The qualities in her music are qualities I don't think I've ever heard all in one artist and it's a refreshing thing.
Photo courtesy of malblum.com
At twenty-two, Mal is making a pretty solid start for herself as a musician. According to her Web site, "she has opened for many national artists including Kimya Dawson, Amanda Palmer and Bitch." While she is only making her start, I think there's a lot of potential for her to grow and become fairly successful. Her easy charm is extremely likable and so are her tunes.
Now, I'm the first to admit that I've watched way too much television in my lifetime. I've followed more than one series from beginning to end, from That 70's Show to How I Met Your Mother. I watch a range of different shows - polar opposites like the serious mystery and crime-based drama, Dexter, and the cheerful, laughter-inducing musical known as Glee. But no show has ever caught my attention like Avatar: the Last Airbender.
(image courtesy of beanpiepromotions.com)
I know full-well that this show isn't exactly geared toward eighteen-year-old college students. But this summer, with my insomnia in full-swing, I needed to find something to occupy my time at four A.M. I'd made my way through what had to be the majority of Netflix's selection of movies to watch instantly. I decided it might be worthwhile to peruse the television shows they offered. When I made the decision to watch the pilot of Avatar, it was more as a skeptical joke than a serious interest in becoming involved with the series. I had a few friends that were fans of the show, friends I'd harassed pretty frequently for their interest in it. I figured it might be worth watching the pilot so I could have proof of how dumb it was.
Shit, was I wrong. This show hooked me like it was child's play and it became an addiction. I couldn't stop watching it. The characters were honest and real. The storyline never lost my interest. It made me laugh out loud and I'll admit I almost cried a few times. It took me less than two weeks of near-sleepless nights to make my way through 54 episodes (a solid 24 hours worth of television). Afterwards I had no idea what to do with myself. I was like a crack addict who went from shooting up multiple times a day to suddenly going cold turkey. No other television show has ever managed to hit me that hard.
The opening for every episode, narrated by the character Katara, seems to sum up the storyline pretty well: "Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world."
Watching this show for me was a great experience with the technological shift - I took a show that was at one point broadcasted once weekly on network television and watched it all in one fell swoop through an online source.
The show also uses a lot of emotional transfer; even if - since it is a fictional story about a world that does not exist and powers people aren't actually capable of having - I can't directly understand what the characters are going through and I can't put myself in their shoes, I feel all of their emotions just as strongly. The show is designed for me to connect with the characters and become involved with their journey. And it achieved exactly that.
Now, let's sit back for a second and talk about movie adaptations. When we're looking at book to movie translations, the movie industry has been known to do a decent job. Yeah, they've botched a few classics here and there and let's face it, the Harry Potter movies don't even come close to reaching the level of brilliance that the books do. But I have never, NEVER in my life been so completely horrified by how terrible a movie adaptation is until I saw the Avatar movie. I don't even want to get into how much I hated it because I'll be angry for days, but I will mention that it destroyed everything good about the series, left much to be desired, and just all-around sucked a colossal amount of ass.
Shyamalan uses an unnecessary amount of distracting, shitty special effects to distract from the complete lack of character development, complete deviation from the real storyline, complete removal of the show's humor, completely horrible script, casting, and on and on and on. I can't even come close to describing just how awful it was, but here's a review that describes it EXTREMELY accurately.
That being said, the show itself is really brilliant television. It is a kid's show, aired on Nickelodeon, but older generations could just as easily enjoy its easy-going humor, action-packed storyline, and relatable characters. Its use of humor, nostalgia, warm fuzzies, group dynamics, and the race card make it incredibly effective. The allegorical message of world peace is related through, to quote the power tools, "mythical notions of racial harmony."
I still kind of feel like a recovering crack addict whenever I talk about the show, so luckily for me, I don't have to focus on recovering too quickly: the creators of Avatar recently signed a deal with Nickelodeon for a sequel called The Legend of Korra that will premier in 2011. I couldn't be more excited.
THESIS: This publication, one in a series of Ultimate Music Guides from the makers of the magazine Uncut, is a 148-page "John Lennon 70th birthday collectors' special" intending to review his complete discography, display rare photos, and long-unseen interviews.
Photo courtesy of zinio.com
FIVE FACTS: Uncut was launched in 1997 as "a monthly magazine aimed at 25- to 45-year-old men that focuses on music and movies." Former editor of the magazine Melody Maker Allan Jones edits for Uncut. It is owned by IPC Media. Each edition of the magazine comes with a free CD. The rate of a full-paged ad in Uncut is around £4,190, or $5,825. BONUS FACTS: The Beatles signed 80% of their earnings to Apple Corps to avoid taxation in 1967. In a poll, Lennon was voted eighth of the Greatest Britons, between Queen Elizabeth I and Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. Lennon was first inspired to get into rock after hearing Elivs's "Heartbreak Hotel." He was the last Beatle to land solo No. 1 hit. Lennon died after being shot four times by Mark Chapman on the 8th of December, 1980.
TRIUNE BRAIN: The neocortex and the limbic brain are given a good workout in reading this magazine. There are a lot of words for the brain to process, from long articles to quotes to small boxes featuring fun facts, accessing the neocortex. The 148 pages of content also heavily feature rare, limbic images of Lennon that are used to accentuate the articles, quotes, and stories about the man.
The small fun fact boxes are entitled "Gimme Some Truth!" to play off of one of Lennon's songs.
EIGHT TRENDS: This magazine issue speaks to an aesthetic shift. Instead of just looking at images of Lennon or just reading a singular article about him or just listening to one of his albums, it combines the experience. I can put on a Lennon song while the combined effect of reading about his death and looking at the accompanying pictures of his mourners for a really powerful combined, converged effect. It also references an epistemological shift. While the magazine features a lot of text, the photographs also receive a heavy focus and are even advertised on the front cover. Even when buying the magazine, I saw a woman pick up the magazine and flip through many of the pages just to look at the images before putting it back down, not appearing to have read any of the text.
SEVEN PRINCIPLES: Emotional transfer is a main principle utilized in this magazine. As a multimedia experience, the content speaks to the reader on an emotional level and, to quote the power tools, was "designed to transfer the emotion from one symbol or lifestyle onto another." Through the mixed media experience of photographs and different types of text about Lennon's solo career and eventual death, the reader truly feels like they know Lennon better by the end and are struck emotionally reading about his murder. Production techniques are also very important. Images, symbols, colors, arrangement, and font styles are all used to make an eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing, impacting magazine.
TWENTY-NINE PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES: This magazine's most heavily utilized technique is nostalgia. It was put out to honor a musician who has passed on what would've been his 70th birthday by reviewing all of his solo albums (all released more than thirty years ago), showing rare photographs of him, and bringing back interviews that have gone "unseen for decades." It is all a nostalgic look on the career and impact he had when he was alive. In addition to nostalgia, the magazine makes use of testimonial - quotes from important figures in Lennon's life such as Yoko Ono, Jim Keltner, May Pang, and Lennon himself through former interviews.
1. After studying 21st century media for eight weeks in this class, what have you learned? Please be specific.
I've learned how media works to control us (the machine is us) but is simultaneously being taught by us (the machine is using us). I have learned how to analyze the production techniques and persuasive techniques used in producing any piece of media and how it works with the different parts of our brain. I've learned that a lot can come from becoming personally involved with media instead of just looking at it. It means a lot more when you don't just take it at face value.
This video just really stuck out to me, of all of the ones we've watched. I feel that I learned a lot from it and the work that we did with it.
2. What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a critical reader, a writer, and a thinker in this class so far?
I've learned that I know a lot more than I originally thought I did about media, but also that I have much more to learn. I've also realized that I have a LOT to say that I haven't been saying about the media and how it influences us. I have learned that it is necessary to dig a little deeper when reading or watching anything, and that if you have something to say about it, there are many ways I can do so and I shouldn't hesitate to do so. I have also learned that I have much to contribute to the world of media.
3. What's one thing you would do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?
I think I would not do much of anything differently, aside from maybe reading the text a bit more thoroughly. But all in all, I love this class and that keeps me engaged. I think I'm doing well with the subject matter and I think I am learning a lot. Being open to the information helps me and I am keeping up with the work. So I don't think I would change anything.
Satisfied! Photo courtesy of my PhotoBooth.
4. What's one thing you would like me to do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?
I think it would be helpful to discuss or review the text we're reading before we do the blog entries about it, or even afterwards. It's a lot of information to process in general, and I think it would be hugely beneficial to discuss it further in class instead of just taking in all of this and not doing anything with it. Maybe you could also inform the class, for those who didn't pick it up, that the book is available online. It is tremendously helpful, for me anyways, when doing the homework. Sometimes after reading so much information in one sitting like I do with the chapter, it is nice to then read the summaries online and take quizzes to make sure I understand the basic concepts and all of the information I'm taking in.
5. Please comment on the usefulness of the power tools, our course blog, your personal blog, our in-class quizzes, our films, and our book(s) as learning tools.
I find the power tools to be extremely useful I think the course blog is also really helpful. Everything we need to keep track of in for the class is conveniently located there in a single location. The personal blog I love because it helps me to practice the power tools on my own, outside of the school setting, with things I really care about or find interesting. The quizzes keep us on our toes and force us to practice and study the power tools. The films are helpful in practicing the tools and are interesting to analyze. The book, however, is a different matter for me. It is full of incredible and interesting and new and helpful information that I didn't know before, but I don't see how to connect it to anything else we're learning because we literally never talk about it, revisit what we've read, discuss how it relates to all of the things we talk about in class, so why the hell do we bother reading it or blogging about it? The disconnect really bothers me because even if I'm learning, the homework is useful if I don't put it into practice or get a chance to really digest it by discussing or processing it with other people. I think the book would be more useful by tenfold if it actually connected our homework to anything we discuss.
HANNAH) You don't need much knowledge, to know that champlain college is the place you want to be, it's completely free.
(ZACH)Best college ever, not hyperbole ain't a big lie, it's plain to see
(errybody)everyone get dat champlain feva, chilling with chauncy the beava He say everyone so sexy, everyone so fly if you don't go here you can just shut up and die
(megan)don't act like a strong man look more like a straw man sit down before I knock you wit da back o mah ring hand
(alexa) Go hard or go home, go to class feed your dome, rockin out all my jews say SHALOM!
(HANNAH) Where ya goin, where ya at? Best be champlain cuz it's phat Ain't no shame-ah in being a gamer If ya think you're better then you're probably lamer.
(errybody)everyone get dat champlain feva, chilling with chauncy the beava He say everyone so sexy, everyone so fly if you don't go here you can just shut up and die
As embarrassing as it is to admit, I'm addicted to Jersey Shore. There's something about watching a house of overly tan individuals in their twenties drink too much, scream at each other, and pick up girls that reaches an insane level of entertainment. Everyone loves to watch it but not everyone is quick to admit it. It seems on the surface like a huge and colossal waste of time to be watching a show about people we don't know getting tan and getting hammered, and to be honest it really is. But it's all about entertainment.
Season 2 of the Shore is well underway and there has been no lack of alcoholism, obsessive tanning, and tremendous amounts of drama. After first season there was a high standard and season 2 has yet to disappoint.
Now that everyone knows about my pathetic obsession with Jersey Shore, let me explain how it's relevant to what we've been learning. Due to an unfortunate incident, my roommates and I no longer have working cable hooked up to our television and as such, I have been keeping up with the housemates on Hulu, an online site where you can watch episodes of your favorite television shows via the internet. As a girl with no cable and bad insomnia, I've found Hulu to be extremely helpful in keeping up with various shows that I used to watch back at home. Hulu is interesting. As Doctor Dub posted on our M&S blog, is it the future of television? It very well could be.
While watching the show on Hulu speaks to technological shift in media, it also relates to the reading we did on television this past week. Reality shows have thrust their way to the forefront and have pushed sitcoms far back in everyone's minds. Reality television is very present and it isn't going away soon, especially not with "guilty pleasure" shows, as I refer to them, like Jersey Shore.
