Evaluate.

-Had you ever used a blog before attending RTF 305? IF SO, WHAT WAS ITS FOCUS?
I have never used a blog before, I read several blogs but I have never written my own.

- What were the positive aspects of using the blogs in the course?
I thought the blogs were a nice way to review certain topics, and they helped your grade if you choose to do them.

- What difficulties did you encounter in using the blogs? (both technical and conceptual)
The website was pretty self explanatory so I didn't encounter any technological problems. Conceptionally, the blogs were pretty straight forward so I didn't encounter many problems there either.

- If you had difficulties in using the blog, how were you able to overcome the difficulties you encountered?
If I wasn't sure of a concept I just looked at my notes/textbook/online.

- What types of blog prompts were more or less interesting or difficult? (provide an example and rationale)
I liked the one's where you had to use a movie as an example because they really forced you to think about the concept. I realized the concepts where I had to search for a specific example I know better because I had to do more research. 

- Would you recommend using a blog in future course, either in RTF 305 and other undergraduate courses at UT-Austin? (explain why..)
I really like the blog system. In such a technologically savy society it is important to know how to communicate electronically, and I found the blogs to be really helpful. It is also is a unique assignment that isn't too time consuming, so I never had trouble completing them.

- What would you suggest to change or improve the blogging experience in the future?
I would come up with a better grading system because I feel like each TA grades differently/has different grading policies. I also think the blogs should be a grade reinforcer so it should be encouraged to get the 3 points if done on time. Also I like how you are offereing an extra credit blog to make up for one, and think that should be a reoccuring thing. 

Made in the USA

Globalization is reducing differences that existed between nations in time, space and culture. Recent technological advances has accelerated the process of globalization. The problem is that not all countries are on an equal playing field when it comes to media. Cultural imperialism occurs when some countries dominate other countries through the media. There is an unequal flow of film, TV, music, news and information between nations. Many American TV programs are broadcasted in other countries, and people are starting to worry that American ideals will become universal due to the influence television has on its viewers. An issue with imperalism is that it does not always work both ways. For example, the United Kingdom shows many American television programs on their stations, yet America shows very little British programs. Even when we do pick up a British program like The Office, we completely Americanized it, recasted it, and rewrote it, only keeping the premise. So in America we tend to be exposed to American style television, but globally we also broadcast our programs, making sure other nations become informed on the newest trends, phrases, issues and stories that we Americans find so amusing. 

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Dog Eat Dog World

Regardless of how you feel about animals you can't help but feel sad during the ASPCA's commercial. It is trying to help end animal cruelty and is full of disheartening pictures of lonely pathetic animals. The combination of cute puppies and Sarah McLachlan's Angel playing in the background makes you immediately want to hop in your car and rescue a pet. I feel like nurture and guidance applies to this ad, because it is encouraging you to nurture a stray and help save it's life. Your potential guidance is all that a poor innocent animal needs to live a long and healthy existence. This ad is chalk full of pathos because it is just constantly pulling at your heart strings, and also uses an ethical appeal by providing statistics to further guilt you into to getting involved.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gspElv1yvc

Cold, Hard, Shiny Plastic

Mean Girls follows the three act structure. The first act is an introduction to the movie, it introduces the protagonist Cady Heron and antagonist Regina George. They develop of "friendly" relationship once they allow Cady into 'The Plastics'. The plot point that closes out Act 1 occurs at 29:30. It is when Cady finds out that Regina took Aaron Samuels, the guy she liked, back. She goes over to Janice Ian's, her non-plastic friend, and together they decide to get revenge on Regina. This decision provides complications throughout Act 2. 

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The majority of Act 2 focuses on Cady sabotaging Regina, but at the same time she is becoming more and more of a mean girl herself. The end of Act 2 occurs at 1:00:35, when Janice and Damien call out Cady at her party for becoming genuinely plastic. They tell her she is truly a mean girl and lost who she used to be. At the same time Regina is mad that she wasn't invited to the party and decides to frame Cady for the Burn Book. The second plot point occurs when Regina spreads the Burn Book all around the school halls. 

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Act 3 opens up with the entire junior class freaking out over the Burn Book, and all the girls are called into an assembly. The climax occurs around 1:15:30 when Janice tells Regina that Cady has spent the whole year ruining her life. Regina storms out and while fighting with Cady gets hit by a bus. The rest of the film serves as a resolution. Cady admits to the Burn Book even though it wasn't entirely her doing, she wins Spring Fling Queen, and the Plastics split up and find their own individual friend groups, and it ends with the new Freshman Plastics walking up to campus. It's a classic 3 Act Structure film with plot point at the end of each act that move the story along. This movie is full of complications, because as  the Mean Girls see it, life's better with a little drama in it.

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/mean-girls/images
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An Episode A Day, Keeps The Doctor Away.

Sitcoms, or situational comedies, are typically thirty minute comedic television programs. Sitcoms are characterized by their "mini-resolutions" and there episodic nature. Because sitcoms are only thirty minutes long they usually don't delve into too heavy subject matter. They try and focus on simple problems that can be resolved in the short time span of an episode. Sitcoms usually don't have huge cliff hangers or huge climaxes. Many times they focus on relatable day to day issues, but in a hyperbolic manner. Sitcoms mock everyday life, and many times are even considered satirical. Being episodic, anyone can watch an episode of a sitcom and know what is going on, although you might gain more from the episode if you are a regular viewer. Each episode has it's only mini plot that can stand on its own. The whole season ties everything together, but it is not necessary to watch weekly to get what is going on. 

My favorite sitcom is Cougar Town. I actually only started watching this show randomly when I would catch it on, but because it is episodic I was always able to enjoy it. Now that I am a more dedicated fan I watch it regularly and find the jokes slightly funnier because I have background information. Each episode has some sort of mini-conflict. A few weeks ago, the whole episode revolved around the definition of being in a relationship and how each character felt about that. Within 30 minutes they were able to cover 2 days, 4 couples, and resolve two fights-all of which was done in a comedic way. Sitcoms are always enjoyable for me because they are easy to watch, and I can usually get a few laughs out of them. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpSQYD1d3iw

Up Close and Personal

When it came time to pick a movie to use for this weeks blog, my mind immediately went to Juno. Not only is Juno one of my favorite movies but the cinematography used is quite appealing. Until this lecture I didn't know much about shot progression, but now I cannot help but notice it. Not only do shots have descriptive meanings but the also provide connotative meanings.

The movie opens with a long shot, showing Juno in the corner looking upon a house. She is shown in the distance and is alone. When a character is shown by herself, it emphasis the isolation she will soon feel because of her pregnancy. From the beginning of the movie, you know that Juno will go through a lot on her own just from the shot selection.

The scene then moves to the middle shot, which provides more information to the viewer. By looking at this shot, you see Juno staring at a chair holding a gallon on Sunny D. It is easy to guess that the chair has a significance to the plot. The relationship between Juno and the chair does not seem to be a happy one, yet not bad either. She looks more or less confused.

This is confirmed by the final shot in the scene, the close up. The viewer now is provided with important details about Juno's feelings and thoughts. Her face is overcome with doubt, worry, and concern, and this can all be inferred by looking at her close up.

Shot progression is extremely important because all of this information was gathered in under a minute, and the scene contained no dialogue. So much information in movies is not just told to you but shown. That is why it is so important to pick the right type of shot when filming a movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0SKf0K3bxg

There's No Place Like Home.

http://thejudygarlandexperience.blogspot.com
/2010/08/new-book-on-mgms-back-lot-coming-soon.html

Studio System’s created movies in the form of vertical integration, meaning they had control over production, distribution and exhibition. Additionally, they had stars who worked under contract for one particular studio, and quickly became associated with their respective employer. The studios began to rely on their biggest stars to promote their films.

Because studios “owned” certain actors they would create films in particular genres. Stars became the best representation of what a studio did. Each studio had a ‘house style’ that combined their preferred genre with their contracted stars, and audiences began to expect movies to be a certain way depending on the studio it was created in.

Each studio had it’s own distinctive style and reputation. MGM Studios’ were known for their “Technicolor musicals”. They created movies like The Wizard of Oz and used their biggest celebrities, like Judy Garland, to sell their movies. The audience began to not only like musicals and MGM but they also grew fond of Judy Garland. The studios would then continue to cast her in similar roles with consistent character traits which encouraged people to continue to see MGM’s movies. This was the cycle followed by all the big studios in Classic Hollywood. Even though it did sell movies, it created an oligopoly within in the industry and regulation started to occur

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Tune In.

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The presence and reliance of the radio in American households during the 1920’s rapidly increased by the audience’s demand for entertainment, news and music.Without audience demand the radio would have no reason to stay in business. If there is no demand, there is essentially no purpose for radio, so the radio stations must work to satisfy the audiences needs and desires. As the demand for radio increased, more rules and regulations as well as technological advances were needed to keep things running smoothly. Without a demand for radio all the other forces would be more or less useless because without an audience there is really no need to improve radio standards.The 1920s was an era when technology was starting to change and society was becoming more and more advanced. Before the radio, Americans had to rely on newspaper or word of mouth to find out the latest happenings, or listen to music live or on records for entertainment. Once the radio became popular people were able to listen to radio shows, music, and news all from the comfort of their homes. People were so impressed with the convenience of the household radio they didn’t even mind listening to the frequent ads which were necessary to get the stations funded. The audience’s interest in radio is what paved the way for television and other media sources down the road. 

Scandalous.

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The cultivation theory further explains why promiscuous television shows lead young adults to have false views of sexual relations and recreational activities. The cultivation theory suggests that exposure to TV, as well as other media sources, overtime will gradually begin to create the audiences perception of reality. The problem with this is viewers begin to believe that TV showcases common everyday experiences that make up “reality”. In actuality, such occurrences are often rare. It doesn’t help that when people witness this supposed “reality” they see on TV, they are even more willing to believe its true. Consider Gossip Girl, a show on CW that follows the lives of privileged high school and college kids in New York, which is centered on scandalous subject matter and promiscuous behavior. The viewers of this show are constantly being exposed to teenagers engaging in sexual behavior, underage drinking and generally immoral activities. Due to the cultivation theory, the viewers have a tendency to think this is how the average teenager acts and therefore thinks they should do the same. It makes them more willing to try things that were taboo in society at one point and time, and it doesn’t help when one of their peers is having sex, or binge drinking, or dating an older man, because what they already believed was true is confirmed, which leads them to an even more distorted view of reality. 

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Just Beat It

Agenda setting is commonly used in media to select what issues in society people should focus on and often leads to the over-coverage of undeserving events . By choosing to put greater emphasis on certain issues all aspects of media are telling the public what to think about and therefore are setting the agenda. If news stations are reporting stories with a conservative bias they are attempting to get their audience to think like a republican. The headlines of newspapers and magazines are typically the topics talked about around the water cooler, and because of agenda setting the topics talked about are not always the most important. For example, Michael Jackson was the headline of every magazine, newspaper and newscast for weeks after his death. I’m not saying that the loss didn’t deserve some coverage but so much focus was out put on the “King of Pop’s”  death that people forgot about the dying soldiers in the war, the dying health care debate, the dying of our environmental sustainability, and death of our nations priorities. Agenda setting would work if every topic, viewpoint, and problem was fairly represented but in today’s media dominated culture that is not the case.

 

Why RTF 305?

I am taking RTF 305 for two reasons: the first being that it is apart of my Freshman Interest Group, Reel to Real, and the second  being that I have always been interested in Radio TV Film. A few years ago I attended a RTF camp at the University of Texas and ever since the program has intrigued me. I hope to learn the various aspects of Radio, TV, and Film and how RTF can applied to many different career fields, as well as media relation to the progression of society. Media is such a broad term, and I am excited to learn all that entails.

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