One of my favorite television shows is Law and Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC. It airs at 10:00 on Tuesday nights and stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni. Currently in its eighth season, SVU is one of NBC’s top rated shows and the highest-rated Law and Order franchise.
The show deals primarily with sexual assault, children or the elderly and breaks from the previous Law and Order tradition of focusing mainly on casework; in SVU the show follows the two main characters, Detectives Benson and Stabler and their story as well as the crimes they investigate.
SVU’s ratings for the week of April 2nd were 11/16, which means 11% of Nielson households (10,138,400) and 16% of all televisions in use had tuned in. Among adults 18-49, the show’s rating is 3.9/11. These ratings seem comparable to some of the others I’ve seen and given the genre, I feel that a Tuesday night slot is fine for the show.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Machinist, cont'd.
Mr. Weaver notified me that the review should not only exceed 300 words, but it should be 500-700. So now we see my observational skills are poor. So here’s more about The Machinist!
The film may put some in mind of Momento, a film written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss. The film shares with The Machinist a fractured, jarring storyline that keeps the audience in suspense. Films such as these, and others such as Stay and 11:14 all may be described as suspense/thriller and some have even depicted them as noir.
I believe that the appeal of these films ultimately derives from our own sense of self. In all of these features, the characters focus on what they have experienced and their relationships with the other characters. In The Machinist, Reznik’s sleep-deprived and guilt-haunted mind create a pretext upon which the entire movie is based. When the audience views themselves through his perspective, the events become all the more intense and compelling. It is this empathy, along with the mystery of the film, that help to pull the viewer in and push the story forward. The ominous notes Reznik finds in his apartment, the strange new co-worker, his insomnia: all contribute both to the empathy factor and the mystery.
Unfortunately, I really can’t go into too much more detail without spoiling the film, so suffice it to say that the themes, the mystery/fun of figuring out the mystery, and the empathy one has with the characters make this feature worth seeing.
The film may put some in mind of Momento, a film written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss. The film shares with The Machinist a fractured, jarring storyline that keeps the audience in suspense. Films such as these, and others such as Stay and 11:14 all may be described as suspense/thriller and some have even depicted them as noir.
I believe that the appeal of these films ultimately derives from our own sense of self. In all of these features, the characters focus on what they have experienced and their relationships with the other characters. In The Machinist, Reznik’s sleep-deprived and guilt-haunted mind create a pretext upon which the entire movie is based. When the audience views themselves through his perspective, the events become all the more intense and compelling. It is this empathy, along with the mystery of the film, that help to pull the viewer in and push the story forward. The ominous notes Reznik finds in his apartment, the strange new co-worker, his insomnia: all contribute both to the empathy factor and the mystery.
Unfortunately, I really can’t go into too much more detail without spoiling the film, so suffice it to say that the themes, the mystery/fun of figuring out the mystery, and the empathy one has with the characters make this feature worth seeing.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Review of The Machinist
The film The Machinist, with Christian Bale, was released in 2004 and directed by Brad Anderson. The plot centers around Bale’s character, Trevor Reznik, a industrial machinist who suffers from severe insomnia. Plagued by the condition for a year, Reznik has lost an unhealthy amount of weight and becomes increasingly paranoid. His only comfort is taken in late-night conversations with Marie, a waitress at an airport café and with Stevie, a prostitute with whom he shares a few emotional moments. Mysterious Post-It notes on his refrigerator and the arrival of a new co-worker that apparently only Reznik has spoken to begin a dark spiral that ends in an unsuspected twist.
The underlying message of the film is to show what guilt can do to the human mind and body. While the acting talent is not inconsiderable, the plotline and character development are what make this film what it is. The real entertainment stems from the mysterious signs that lead up to the conclusion. The progression of events keeps the audience guessing as to what will occur next and how it will affect Reznik and the other characters. On a more subtle note, there are a number of references to Dostoevsky: the writer of the film, Scott Kosar, stated that the script was influenced by Dostoevsky’s The Double. Other references stem from The Idiot, Crime and Punishment, and The Brothers Karamavoz.
Without giving away more of the film and not exceeding our blog’s suggested 300 word maximum, I will conclude by saying that this movie will keep the audience entertained and engrossed from the opening scene to the final one. The motif and overarching themes of paranoia and guilt create a powerful film that should not be missed.
The underlying message of the film is to show what guilt can do to the human mind and body. While the acting talent is not inconsiderable, the plotline and character development are what make this film what it is. The real entertainment stems from the mysterious signs that lead up to the conclusion. The progression of events keeps the audience guessing as to what will occur next and how it will affect Reznik and the other characters. On a more subtle note, there are a number of references to Dostoevsky: the writer of the film, Scott Kosar, stated that the script was influenced by Dostoevsky’s The Double. Other references stem from The Idiot, Crime and Punishment, and The Brothers Karamavoz.
Without giving away more of the film and not exceeding our blog’s suggested 300 word maximum, I will conclude by saying that this movie will keep the audience entertained and engrossed from the opening scene to the final one. The motif and overarching themes of paranoia and guilt create a powerful film that should not be missed.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Philo T. Farnsworth
Philo T. Farnsworth has the unfortunate distinction of one who has done great good and had the thunder stolen from him. In the documentary we watched in class before spring break, we learned about his life as a genius farmer and his subsequent invention of the electronic television. The young inventor had little money, fewer compatriots, and competition from the giant RCA, but what he lacked in resources he more than made up for in talent.
The film told of his dedication to his work, which is evidenced by his choice to remain in the lab instead of attending his son’s funeral. While this led to some marital problems, Farnsworth and his team eventually realized the goal of creating the television and screened it for a small but excited audience in Philadelphia in 1928.
Farnsworth’s decline began when his competitor, Vladimir Zworykin, visited him posing as an investor. The man then sent the concepts back to his company (Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, as it were) and by so doing got a leg up on Farnsworth’s group.
This applies to our sociology class in that Farnsworth constituted the minority--a small-time farmer turned inventor with few resources and no real corporate backing in comparison with large-scale companies that were to become Farnsworth’s competitors. Given his rural background, Farnsworth was ill-equipped to handle the intense corporate competition involved in the race to invent the television.
Farnsworth is a perfect example of what a minority can experience against a much larger and better-funded majority.
The film told of his dedication to his work, which is evidenced by his choice to remain in the lab instead of attending his son’s funeral. While this led to some marital problems, Farnsworth and his team eventually realized the goal of creating the television and screened it for a small but excited audience in Philadelphia in 1928.
Farnsworth’s decline began when his competitor, Vladimir Zworykin, visited him posing as an investor. The man then sent the concepts back to his company (Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, as it were) and by so doing got a leg up on Farnsworth’s group.
This applies to our sociology class in that Farnsworth constituted the minority--a small-time farmer turned inventor with few resources and no real corporate backing in comparison with large-scale companies that were to become Farnsworth’s competitors. Given his rural background, Farnsworth was ill-equipped to handle the intense corporate competition involved in the race to invent the television.
Farnsworth is a perfect example of what a minority can experience against a much larger and better-funded majority.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Bluest Eye
There are times when a book appears that makes the reader look not only at his own views but also at the society of which he is a part. Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye may be considered one of them. Told in splintered perspectives of multiple characters, the book delves into taboo subjects such as menstruation, prostitution, incest, and racism.
Set in Lorain, Ohio in 1941, the story tells of the perils of (among others) three little girls. Pecola, the displaced daughter of an abusive alcoholic father and Frieda and Claudia, two sisters whose family takes Pecola in. Pecola and her mother are enamored with white beauty, Pecola with Shirley Temple and her mother with older screen actresses. While Frieda and Pecola share a mutual admiration for Temple, Claudia loathes her, citing jealousy: “…I hated Shirley. Not because she was cute, but because she danced with Bojangles, who was my friend, my uncle, my daddy, and who ought to have been soft-shoeing it and chuckling with me. Instead he was enjoying, sharing…with…white girls whose socks never slid down under their heels.”
Additionally, she hated white baby dolls and would rip them apart to look for the reason why they were pretty. She disliked the fact that everyone assumed without asking her that a baby doll is what she wanted for Christmas.
A disparity is drawn between the Breedloves (Pecola’s family) and the MacTeers (Claudia and Frieda’s family) by setting the former in an old storefront that had furniture that had no personal memories on the part of the owners and the latter in a clean, well-kept house. Also, the Breedloves did not provide a good atmosphere for children to grow up in, while the MacTeers, while strict, tried to.
One particularly jarring aspect of the book was the Breedlove’s self-induced “cloak of ugliness.” They believed they were ugly and inferior, hence their infatuation with white movie stars and other celebrities. Morrison describes them in the opening part of the novel using adjectives that are not necessarily considered ugly when used in a different context. The idea that people can place a “cloak of ugliness” upon themselves is alien to many.
Also, the book dealt with incest and other sexual taboos. Mensruation (“ministratin’”) is discussed in one of the book’s earlier segments. Pecola experiences menstruation and the girls try to hide it from their mother, resulting in alerting a neightbor girl, who in turn tells on them.
One chapter, headed by a Dick and Jane mantra that characterizes the book’s chapter titles, involves the history of Cholly (Charlie) Breedlove and the subsequent rape of Pecola. Both the history and the description of the rape bring up strong feelings about sexuality, incest, and child abuse. A similar episode occurs with the MacTeer’s houseguest, Mr. Henry. In fact, throughout the book sexual incidents are depicted in lucid detail, a subject some are not comfortable reading about.
Morrison’s work is not, however, about comfort. She does her best to make the reader feel empathy for the main characters specifically and the effects of racism in general. Reading her work may well open the reader’s eyes about a number of subjects.
Set in Lorain, Ohio in 1941, the story tells of the perils of (among others) three little girls. Pecola, the displaced daughter of an abusive alcoholic father and Frieda and Claudia, two sisters whose family takes Pecola in. Pecola and her mother are enamored with white beauty, Pecola with Shirley Temple and her mother with older screen actresses. While Frieda and Pecola share a mutual admiration for Temple, Claudia loathes her, citing jealousy: “…I hated Shirley. Not because she was cute, but because she danced with Bojangles, who was my friend, my uncle, my daddy, and who ought to have been soft-shoeing it and chuckling with me. Instead he was enjoying, sharing…with…white girls whose socks never slid down under their heels.”
Additionally, she hated white baby dolls and would rip them apart to look for the reason why they were pretty. She disliked the fact that everyone assumed without asking her that a baby doll is what she wanted for Christmas.
A disparity is drawn between the Breedloves (Pecola’s family) and the MacTeers (Claudia and Frieda’s family) by setting the former in an old storefront that had furniture that had no personal memories on the part of the owners and the latter in a clean, well-kept house. Also, the Breedloves did not provide a good atmosphere for children to grow up in, while the MacTeers, while strict, tried to.
One particularly jarring aspect of the book was the Breedlove’s self-induced “cloak of ugliness.” They believed they were ugly and inferior, hence their infatuation with white movie stars and other celebrities. Morrison describes them in the opening part of the novel using adjectives that are not necessarily considered ugly when used in a different context. The idea that people can place a “cloak of ugliness” upon themselves is alien to many.
Also, the book dealt with incest and other sexual taboos. Mensruation (“ministratin’”) is discussed in one of the book’s earlier segments. Pecola experiences menstruation and the girls try to hide it from their mother, resulting in alerting a neightbor girl, who in turn tells on them.
One chapter, headed by a Dick and Jane mantra that characterizes the book’s chapter titles, involves the history of Cholly (Charlie) Breedlove and the subsequent rape of Pecola. Both the history and the description of the rape bring up strong feelings about sexuality, incest, and child abuse. A similar episode occurs with the MacTeer’s houseguest, Mr. Henry. In fact, throughout the book sexual incidents are depicted in lucid detail, a subject some are not comfortable reading about.
Morrison’s work is not, however, about comfort. She does her best to make the reader feel empathy for the main characters specifically and the effects of racism in general. Reading her work may well open the reader’s eyes about a number of subjects.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Documentaries
Documentaries are an important part of our modern media. From an expose to an educational film, documentaries have existed as a way for the general public to gain insight into a specific area, be it societal, political, or racial.
Wikipedia.com defines a documentary as “a creative work of non-fiction, including: documentary film, radio documentary, [and] documentary photography.” While this is a standard “textbook” definition, much more goes into the production of such a work. A documentary should be as objective as possible, refraining from having a bias towards any particular side, other than the education of the populace. Many films include political views to help sway the audience to a certain ideology. While it is difficult to eliminate bias in certain circumstances, documentaries should try to present a clear and educational viewpoint as opposed to a sensationalist or politically charged one.
Wikipedia.com defines a documentary as “a creative work of non-fiction, including: documentary film, radio documentary, [and] documentary photography.” While this is a standard “textbook” definition, much more goes into the production of such a work. A documentary should be as objective as possible, refraining from having a bias towards any particular side, other than the education of the populace. Many films include political views to help sway the audience to a certain ideology. While it is difficult to eliminate bias in certain circumstances, documentaries should try to present a clear and educational viewpoint as opposed to a sensationalist or politically charged one.
Stereotypes
I must admit that I came down with bronchitis just around the time that this assignment was given and am just now starting to play catch up. If this post isn’t what it should be, I apologize.
Lippman defines a stereotype as an “ordered, more or less consistent picture of the world, to which our habits, our tastes, our capacities, our comforts and our hopes have adjusted themselves.”A stereotype as defined by Dictionary.com is “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” As we learned in class, the original working definition was actually a copy of an archetype for printing. It is easy to see how today’s interpretation of the word evolved.
Stereotypes exist primarily (I believe) as an easy way to classify people or things quickly. When you hear the word “Florida” what springs to mind? Oranges, beaches, old people, hanging chads, and for history buffs, Andrew Jackson. Of course, there is more to the state than just these things, but if we were to describe it to someone who didn’t know, we may start off by using these ideas. In another vein, stereotypes can be very negative, such as when categorizing ethnicities or nationalities. Every race and creed has a stereotype, resulting in a simplified and under-educated view of that race or creed, which can lead to hostility and discrimination.
In regards to what we have learned in class, stereotypes represent the “pictures in our heads,” or what our pre-conceived notions tell us. They can be used by those in power to implement their will (think antebellum Southern US) or to merely maintain the status quo.
Lippman defines a stereotype as an “ordered, more or less consistent picture of the world, to which our habits, our tastes, our capacities, our comforts and our hopes have adjusted themselves.”A stereotype as defined by Dictionary.com is “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” As we learned in class, the original working definition was actually a copy of an archetype for printing. It is easy to see how today’s interpretation of the word evolved.
Stereotypes exist primarily (I believe) as an easy way to classify people or things quickly. When you hear the word “Florida” what springs to mind? Oranges, beaches, old people, hanging chads, and for history buffs, Andrew Jackson. Of course, there is more to the state than just these things, but if we were to describe it to someone who didn’t know, we may start off by using these ideas. In another vein, stereotypes can be very negative, such as when categorizing ethnicities or nationalities. Every race and creed has a stereotype, resulting in a simplified and under-educated view of that race or creed, which can lead to hostility and discrimination.
In regards to what we have learned in class, stereotypes represent the “pictures in our heads,” or what our pre-conceived notions tell us. They can be used by those in power to implement their will (think antebellum Southern US) or to merely maintain the status quo.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Media and Reality, Continued
In terms of modern media, one must look at a number of sources in order to have any degree of dependability. Today in class we talked about Senator Obama and the allegations that he grew up in a terrorist training camp, which is completely false. There are many things to consider when viewing media--political slant, time of publication, source of data, just to name a few.
Professional historians are taught to look at what is essentially the equivalent of the sociological imagination in order to discover the truth. At many points in history, the men who recorded it were of a certain school of thought or perception and some have outright lied. It is the job of the historian to get the facts straight and disseminate them as such. This idea is similar to what we must do as media viewers. To take in more information about a subject is one way to be more objective about it, and I feel it is in this way we will become an aware society. The further we analyze our gatekeepers and media in general, the more able we will be to sort the fact from the fiction, and just as important, to find the kernel of truth under layers of hearsay.
Professional historians are taught to look at what is essentially the equivalent of the sociological imagination in order to discover the truth. At many points in history, the men who recorded it were of a certain school of thought or perception and some have outright lied. It is the job of the historian to get the facts straight and disseminate them as such. This idea is similar to what we must do as media viewers. To take in more information about a subject is one way to be more objective about it, and I feel it is in this way we will become an aware society. The further we analyze our gatekeepers and media in general, the more able we will be to sort the fact from the fiction, and just as important, to find the kernel of truth under layers of hearsay.
Media and Reality
Reality is a funny thing. From the earliest stages of cognitive thought we take reality to be what we perceive, understand, and assume. For example, as a small child, I believed that my grandmother had served a stint in a pirate navy in her youth because she loved telling me fantastical stories. Today I know that the farthest away she's been from her home in Penn Hills is Toronto and that she had been a telephone operator, not a pirate, as a young woman. I believed her stories because (aside from the obvious "because I was eight") I had nothing else to base my opinion upon. In other words, the only media I had were Grandma's stories. Had I engaged other media (maybe my mom) I would have found evidence to refute my beliefs.
It is in this way that one's sense of reality is drastically limited. Today, our reality can be limited by the media as much as it can by imaginative grandmothers when we are children, albeit for different reasons. One example was used early in this course: the natives of our continent had no idea that there were any white men headed to a "New World" and at first believed that the canvas sails of the explorer fleets were deities. Furthermore, the Europeans hadn't a clue that they'd encounter people there, thus limiting the respective realities of both cultures. In a more modern vein, the reading includes an account of an island inhabited by French, English, and German residents in the pre-Great War months. Since the mail ship was still weeks away, the citizens carried on as friends until they heard the news of the Archduke's death and the subsequent violence. Now their view of reality was totally different, despite the fact that the impetus of that shift occurred long before.
In the interest of length and readability, I'll make a new post for the rest of the topic.
It is in this way that one's sense of reality is drastically limited. Today, our reality can be limited by the media as much as it can by imaginative grandmothers when we are children, albeit for different reasons. One example was used early in this course: the natives of our continent had no idea that there were any white men headed to a "New World" and at first believed that the canvas sails of the explorer fleets were deities. Furthermore, the Europeans hadn't a clue that they'd encounter people there, thus limiting the respective realities of both cultures. In a more modern vein, the reading includes an account of an island inhabited by French, English, and German residents in the pre-Great War months. Since the mail ship was still weeks away, the citizens carried on as friends until they heard the news of the Archduke's death and the subsequent violence. Now their view of reality was totally different, despite the fact that the impetus of that shift occurred long before.
In the interest of length and readability, I'll make a new post for the rest of the topic.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Favorite Media
Books are my favorite media. I grew up in the sticks (Adams Township was still sticks until about 5 years ago) outside a small farming town without cable (until my sophomore year in high school) or the internet (much later). I didn't see my friends outside of school or Boy Scout meetings unless we had our folks drive us down into town, so most of the time, my brother and I just played out back or went for hikes. When I got tired of that, I went down into the cellar and perused an old set of Encyclopedia Britannicas that my grandma had given us awhile back; I remember being mostly fascinated with history and space.
As I got older, I read everything I could get my hands on and became a huge science fiction fan. Heinlein, Niven, Pohl, they all became demigods to me--I must have read every piece of literature on space in the Mars library! During this time, my teachers gladly fed me some classics as well and I guess I never stopped reading.
The written word is the first form of media after language and song, so hopefully we can hang onto that. I wouldn't be too happy if it was gone.
As I got older, I read everything I could get my hands on and became a huge science fiction fan. Heinlein, Niven, Pohl, they all became demigods to me--I must have read every piece of literature on space in the Mars library! During this time, my teachers gladly fed me some classics as well and I guess I never stopped reading.
The written word is the first form of media after language and song, so hopefully we can hang onto that. I wouldn't be too happy if it was gone.
Media Checklist
1. I use my cell phone all the time. I just read that book Cell, by Stephen King, though and now I wonder if I ought to start sending smoke signals.
2. I listened to a speaker about the Synoptic and Gnostic Gospels awhile back. The other speeches I’ve gone to have been for class.
3. I almost never IM. I guess I just never get around to it.
4. I email quite a bit.
5. The new Jet album, but I got it for Christmas. I would have bought it anyway, so that counts, right?
6. The premier of American Idol, the one with the guy that Simon called a monkey, because my mom was watching it and it was funny to watch those poor schmucks who think they can sing.
7. Probably the ALF movie back in the mid-nineties.
8. Theater, Children of Men, which was great. DVD, under protest and with my mom, The Devil Wears Prada, which was two and a half hours I’ll never get back.
9. DVE, they were doing the Gladiator spoof bit.
10. World War Z, by Max Brooks. It was about the zombie invasion.
11. The Herald, because it was on the table in the TUB.
12. The February issue of Popular Science, because I wish I was smart enough to be a scientist.
13. I used to write to my Grandmothers pretty frequently, but I think the last time I wrote to anyone was from the AF Detachment at Ft. Wood, because it was cheaper and quicker than a phone call.
14. NationStates, the online political simulation game. I was just on there yesterday. Why? Because I’m a nerd.
15. I have a Facebook profile. I wanted to see what people were talking about.
2. I listened to a speaker about the Synoptic and Gnostic Gospels awhile back. The other speeches I’ve gone to have been for class.
3. I almost never IM. I guess I just never get around to it.
4. I email quite a bit.
5. The new Jet album, but I got it for Christmas. I would have bought it anyway, so that counts, right?
6. The premier of American Idol, the one with the guy that Simon called a monkey, because my mom was watching it and it was funny to watch those poor schmucks who think they can sing.
7. Probably the ALF movie back in the mid-nineties.
8. Theater, Children of Men, which was great. DVD, under protest and with my mom, The Devil Wears Prada, which was two and a half hours I’ll never get back.
9. DVE, they were doing the Gladiator spoof bit.
10. World War Z, by Max Brooks. It was about the zombie invasion.
11. The Herald, because it was on the table in the TUB.
12. The February issue of Popular Science, because I wish I was smart enough to be a scientist.
13. I used to write to my Grandmothers pretty frequently, but I think the last time I wrote to anyone was from the AF Detachment at Ft. Wood, because it was cheaper and quicker than a phone call.
14. NationStates, the online political simulation game. I was just on there yesterday. Why? Because I’m a nerd.
15. I have a Facebook profile. I wanted to see what people were talking about.
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