Week 05: Mediating

King (2005) discusses the similarities between media coverage of a disastrous event and a Hollywood blockbuster. One of the ways he does this is by comparing the audio-visual effects used in ‘action-disaster movies’ to the reality of an actual explosion (p. 48). For example, this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PWr7x7zPiQ may incorrectly be interpreted as a movie trailer as it has fire, explosions, dramatic music and even suggests some narrative involving a koala! However, as the context is clearly explained on the YouTube page the audience knows this is some sort of tribute video.

King highlights differences between the “spectacle of the real” (p. 49) and blockbuster movies such as dodgy camera focus and a reduction in the volume of visual information available. The problem here, he points out, is that these differences audiences had once used to distinguish reality from fiction are now duplicated to make fictional media appear more realistic. For example, Cloverfield (2008) created a feeling of realism by using a shaky hand-held camera and revealing very little information to the audience. This creates the illusion that the audience is witnessing the first-hand account of a disastrous event. The Blair Witch Project (1999) chose not to advertise with a trailer, but instead used a viral campaign. This was done with signs in public places, postings on the internet and word of mouth which effectively changed the context in which Blair Witch would be perceived. The actors in Blair Witch were unknown, and the film was shaky and badly edited. Blair Witch successfully convinced their audience into believing their film was a documentary that went horribly wrong – reality not fiction.

Something else that comes from the blurring of the lines between reality and fiction is questioning our own morality (Freeman-Greene, 2011). Is it ok to watch a natural disaster unfold? Is this a form of voyeurism? I find it difficult to come up with a definitive answer to this as I often find myself viewing senseless destruction or the macabre. In fact, I was shocked earlier this week when I found out that a video had been posted of the death of Knut, Germany’s favourite polar bear. As upset as this made me, I was still drawn to watch Knut take his last breath. It could be argued that this is a way for the viewer to feel empathy or a connection with those involved in disaster.

On a final note, I found King’s writing refreshingly simple and can only hope we get more readings like this one!

References

Cloverfield 2008, motion picture, Abrams, J.J. & Burk, B., New York, USA.

Freeman-Greene, S. 2011, ‘Drawing a line in the morality of watching disasters unfold’, The Age, 26 March, viewed 28 March 2011.

King, G. 2005, “Just Like a Movie”?: 9/11 and Hollywood Spectacle in The Spectacle of the Real: from Hollywood Reality to Reality TV and Beyond, Intellect Books, Bristol, pp. 47-57.

The Blair Witch Project 1999, motion picture, Cowie, R. & Hale, G., Maryland, USA.

* Knut * Polar Bear Dead* see his last minute here * R.I.P * 2011, 231045, 22 March, viewed 28 March 2011, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGmtAWqwiZ0&feature=related>.

**Australian Bushfires **2009, xjoeyxSydneyGirl, 7 February, viewed 28 March 2011, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PWr7x7zPiQ>.

Week 04 - Writing

Although at first confusing, Game and Metcalfe’s (1996) reading contained some valuable insights into writing, and also reassurance. I found profound comfort in the significance of the “purification ritual” (p 96) which now allows me to openly confess my obsessive need to clean before I sit down to write. The other pleasurable part of the reading that spoke to me was the idea of transformation through writing (p 91). If transformation is in mind while you sit down to write, it can really take the pressure off the individual to get it right the first time. Instead, writing may be considered as a journey or a learning process which allows for straying off track at times without admonishing yourself.

The film that first came to mind when thinking of the transformative process was Spike Jonze’s Adaptation (2002). The film centres on the protagonist, a screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman who is desperately trying to adapt a book to film while doing it justice. The quirk in this however, is that the audience is watching what he writes unfold onscreen, whether he makes changes, has input from his twin brother or have the producers dictate how the script should be written. In essence, the audience is privy to the transformation process which takes place when one begins to write.

The book that struck me as relevant was Will Self’s The Book of Dave (2006). The story is set in post-apocalyptic England where the people of that time worship ‘The Book of Dave’ as would today’s Christians worship and follow the bible. The interesting part of this story is when it flashes back to the present day where a misogynistic cabbie called Dave is writing a book. Dave’s motivation for writing his book is that his wife has left him. She has also taken his only son away from him leaving him disgruntled and at times slightly psychotic. He writes this book, venting his life frustrations, and then buries it in his ex-wife’s garden in the hope that one day his son will find it and see his side of the story. The reader watches Dave transform from quite a balanced man to a frail psychotic shadow of his former self. The reader then has an unfortunate foresight of what rules and laws the people of the future have interpreted from Dave’s crazy writings.

Finally, I saw fan fiction as a form of “poaching” (De Certeau 1984), where an individual who is particularly fond of the style of a book or film can take the already existing text and make it their own (Schaffner 2009).

In conclusion I have sworn to embrace this transformative style of writing in order to calm my terror of putting pen to paper. Never again shall I be afraid!

References

·         Adaptation 2002, motion picture, Demme, J., Landay, V., & Saxon, E., Los Angeles.

·         de Certeau, M., 1984, ‘Reading as Poaching’ in The Practice of Everyday Life, transl. S. Rendall, University of California Press, Berkley, pp. 165-176.

·         Game, A. & Metcalfe, A., 1996, ‘Writing’ in Passionate Sociology, Sage, London, pp 87-105.

·         Schaffner, B., 2009, ‘In Defense of FanFiction’, Horn Book Magazine, Vol. 85, no. 6, pp 613-618.

·         Self, W. 2006, The Book of Dave, Viking Press, Bloomsbury, UK.

Week 03 - Reading

According to Stadler and McWilliam (2009) the basic structure of a movie narrative is structured into three acts: a state of equilibrium to begin with, followed by a complication or conflict which then leads into a resolution or a new sense of balance. Although this tends to be the most widely used and popular structure, fragmented and multi-strand narratives are becoming more frequent in mainstream film as audiences seek a new kind of stimulation from their viewing experience (pp. 156-157).

American Psycho (2000) is a character based film, set in the 1980s, which is structured in a classical narrative (three act) style. In the opening scene, the audience is introduced to the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, an attractive white male who is the embodiment of masculinity and materialism. The camera uses a low angle to indicate Bateman’s social standing and power while classical music plays in the background lending him an air of intelligence and wealth. This scene is frightening even though Bateman is simply going through the motions of getting ready to go to work, he gives a glimpse of the conflict to come, “Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don’t know why … I feel lethal, on the urge of frenzy.”

The equilibrium soon dissolves into conflict as Bateman goes on an all-out murdering spree to satisfy his blood lust. The story ends with a strange resolution when Bateman confesses his crimes to his lawyer but the lawyer doesn’t believe him. The lawyer believes the confession is a joke and the audience are left with a strange resolution, wondering whether Bateman actually killed anyone or if he was just completely delusional and imagined it all. American Psycho uses binary opposition throughout the movie with rich white men opposing women, homosexuals, poor people and African Americans. As the film’s protagonist is a totally unlikeable, it appears that the film intentionally exposes the dominant ideology of the capitalist white male.

Go (1999) is an example of multi-strand narrative which employs prolepsis in its first scene with one of the protagonists sitting in a diner having coffee with an unknown person. From the first scene, the audience is drawn in to the mystery of who the protagonist was having coffee with but the plot takes us back to the beginning of the story where we have to watch everything unfold in order to find our answer. The story centres around a drug deal gone wrong and is told from three points of view giving us three protagonists. The three individual narratives intersect at different points and in turn affect the outcome of each other’s stories. The multi-strand narrative worked well in Go as it captured the mood of the drug/rave scene by cutting abruptly between the narratives, emulating the fractured state of mind of those in the movie.

As I reflect on Stadler and McWilliam’s reading, a plethora of fantastic films and concepts swarm into my mind: the anachrony and analepsis of The Usual Suspects (1995), Gattaca’s (1997) challenge of identity assumption, and the way The Road (2009) uses binary opposition to sharpen the disparity between pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic earth. The vast content each film carries is overwhelming, and it seems that I will never view them in the same manner again.

References

·         American Psycho 2000, motion picture, Halsey Solomon, C. & Hanley, C., Toronto, Canada.

·         Gattaca 1997, motion picture, DeVito, D., Shamberg, M. & Sher, S., Barstow, USA.

·         Go 1999, motion picture, Freeman, M., Liddell, M. & Rosenberg, P., Los Angeles, USA.

·         Stadler, J. & McWilliam, K. 2009, ‘Screen Narratives: Traditions and Trends’ in Screen Media: Analysing Film And Television, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, pp. 155-182.

·         The Road 2009, motion picture, Schwartz, PM., Schwartz, S. & Wechsler, N., Pennsylvania, USA.

·         The Usual Suspects 1995, motion picture, McDonnell, M. & Singer, B., New York, USA.

Week 02: Looking

Nick Lacey explains the importance of context and meaning in his book ‘Image and Representation’ (2009). Although it is easy to assume that when one views a text, they automatically understand its meaning, it is not quite so simple. Interpretation of text is a personal thing with each individual taking away their own meaning. These meanings stem from the way we have learned to decode the world around us as we have been taught by those in our culture. For example, many Buddhists in the Eastern world believe that the swastika symbol symbolises goodwill as it is an ancient design (Smith 1999), although in the West we are more likely to have negative connotations arising from the symbol, relating it to racism or Hitler. More recently, the movie Twilight (2008) brought the concept of vampires being mysterious, seductive or even cool into the mainstream. However, I’m not sure that the audience that viewed the classic vampire movie Nosferatu (1922) would come to terms so easily with the vampire being benign and attractive.

References

·         Lacey, N 2009, Image and Representation: Key Concepts in Media Studies, 2^nd edn, Palgrave Macmillan, London, UK.

·         Smith, C. S. 1999, ‘In China’s Religious Crackdown, An Ancient Symbol Gets the Boot’, Wall Street Journal – Eastern edn, Vol. 234, Issue 48, p.B1.

·         Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens 1922, motion picture, Enrico Dieckmann Albin Grau, Berlin, Germany.

·         Twilight 2008, motion picture, Catherine Hardwicke, Washington, USA.