Snow White and the Perfect Man

         The specific aspect of my identity that I decided to examine in this weeks project was that of my gender as a male. The media source I chose to remix and exploit was the classic animated film Snow White (1937). While this film has several interesting components worth examination and remixing, the particular element I chose was the film's presentation of the perfect Prince Charming. This project relates to this week's reading primarily in the author's discussion of how art can come alive, and contrive deeper meanings through the attention an audience gives it. The theme contrived from this remixed version of Snow White relates to the more modern media source of such television shows as “The Bachelor.” Overall, this assignment was an interesting way to discover and examine on a more in-depth level different aspects of my identity as a human being, and the way the world categorizes that aspect.

        The form and content of this short compilation of clips were aimed at presenting the theme that men are all dashingly attractive, smart, talented and charming, and that falling in love with them is but a simple task. All of the content involved came from the original film, and when combined with the form of using a quick montage of clips, this theme can be easily exploited. In other words, the movie itself did present this version of a male character, who not only saves the day, but is the immediate love of Snow White after only “one song,” just on a more subtle level than my compilation.

         This similar picturesque presentation of males is also seen in modern media examples, such as the popular TV show “The Bachelor.” Each male is exploited for his physical qualities, and seems to instantly win the hearts of several dozen women over the course of just a few days. We can see the effect of these media sources as mentioned in this week's reading. Just as with the boy and the Velveteen Rabbit, audiences can make artistic and media presentations 'come alive' based on the merit and attention they lend to them. As our society grows more open to social media and celebrity presentations, they give these presentations unanticipated significance. Therefore, young adult men will begin to base their romantic personages on the charming and seemingly perfect men as media presents them. While similarly, young adult women will begin to asses potential companions on these specific terms.

        This style of picturesque males as historically presented in the media is, however, very far from the actuality. While physical attraction, and talent are important elements in relationships, the media has focused on them too much. This leaves little room for normal men with acne, who don't ride horses through the forest singing perfectly in key to the hidden instruments while saving kingdoms and slaying dragons. The Average Joe deserves a shot too.  

Trek Wars

        Our project this week was a Webspinna battle involving several well-known scenes from both the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises. Since this style restricted the use of presenting video, our content solely relied on the use of audio to communicate each advance in the 'battle.' This style produced a form mixed with our own choreography to match each scene. Thus, we created something new, based on the foundation of something familiar.
          The Webspinna battle activity related directly to this week's reading specifically on the note of Jonathan Lethem's explanation of plagiarism. In his essay Lethem explains that “literature has been in a plundered, fragmentary state or a long time.” To this effect, people have been using and re-adapting archetypal themes for centuries. In one case, mentioned in the essay, William S. Burroughs incorporated several “snippets” of other authors' works into his own book titled Naked Lunch. Lethem explains that while at first glance many would have considered this an action of plagiarism, Burroughs does not. As Lethem details in his essay, there are many famous, replayed and reused themes that exist in space. Many of these are so well known, and so often alluded to that we have accepted theses repeats without the judgmental finger of plagiarism. In a similar aspect, our particular Webspinna performance was based on these types of familiar and instantly recognizable clips. Many of the clips we used have become part of our culture. This brings up the question: was using them then plagiarism? As Lethem states with Burroughs, we too were simply “interrogating the universe with scissors and a paste pot” to create something new and exciting out of something old and familiar.
          Memes can be viewed as the visual form of a Webspinna Battle. Some memes take images from well-known movies and their stars and edit them for comic effect. For example, soon after The Avengers and other various Marvel movies were released, several memes appeared and went viral on the Internet. To anyone who is not familiar with the world, these memes would not make any sense. Just as with our performance, there needs to be a familiarity with the subjects for the joke to be funny. One particular meme counts on the viewer knowing the Daft Punk song “Get Lucky,” as well as the Avengers world, for the joke to make sense. This is what makes the meme funny. The same follows for the Webspinna Battle: this prior familiarity with the sounds is what makes the new form fun and interesting.
         The form and the content of this assignment were particularly well suited to each other. In the case of Star Wars and Star Trek, many of the most recognizable features are quotes; these are very easy to share verbally. Since this was an audial battle, the various quotes and scenes were easy for the audience to identify, such as “Live long and prosper.” Therefore, this assignment's success was based on our success of “cutting and pasting” well known content, and presenting it in a form that the audience would be able to understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGsKzZtRwxw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru4E-8aW2bQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__sDEWIjQ_g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2we_B6hDrY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNQBKFmrllo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbjru5CQIW4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkZwL9R8Yd0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHFy3YWpRx8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zezvjOHkYaE

“5 Styles”

Poems are really odd,

And sometimes don't have meaning,

Like most of haikus.

But thats quite an alright thing to do,

There are many styles to choose and who-

Knows it may be a,

Limerick type day,

And they will try out that pattern too.

If all else fails,

As far as pattern and rhythm go

You can always try and write in free verse

Which is even better than blank verse

Since not only do you not need to rhyme—

But you don't follow any meter pattern either.

That seems,

Like such an easy way

to live then

Again there

Are some classic

Style 's worth mentioning.

In sonnets—

A poet has to make old things unique

He must conform also to rules and guide-

Lines which are set to teach—the key

Is open if poets only try not to hide

Behind the fake, reality can then

Be open'd up to all our senses but

Provide him first with tools, important: ten

Syllables needed. Sonnets also cut

Poetic lines off in to iambic.

Also needed: certain number, fourteen

to be exact, lines needed for this trick

The lines must also follow a rhyme scheme,

In order, first with third, second and fourth,

The poet follows that on each stanza.

But, most vital to all poets in expression and style is the simple couplet form,

Two lines, that rhyme—maybe this is where the first poetry was born.

Artist Statement on “5 Styles”

          The specific medium of art expression that I chose to examine for this project was poetry. I decided to analyze and display several different types and styles of poetry—primarily: haikus, limericks, free verse, sonnets and basic heroic couplets. I decided to use the specific rules regarding syllable count and rhyme scheme as a frame work for the poetry to talk about itself. In short, I combined five meta-poetry examples, one from each of these poetic forms, and used their meter and rhyme guidelines to discuss the elements of poetry. This was a unique experience that allowed me to understand the different ways art forms can both restrict and allow us to express ideas.

          

            In dealing with form and content, the rules for these different types of poetry each helped set the stage for the different ideas I wanted to express regarding poetry. The content for each separate poem was—in some part—restricted by its form. For example, opening up the list was a vague haiku, about vague haikus/poetry. The idea I wanted to express was tied into the haiku form: short, specific syllable count for each line; and the limit of information allowed in these three simple lines. Other examples of when content and form were tied together are seen in the sonnet, where the actual words used were restricted by a noteworthy attempt to appeal to iambic pentameter. This caused each individual poem to have a specific language about the same topic: poetry.

            I related this activity to this week's by following a similar pattern as McCloud. For example, in his short comic McCloud dove into what comics are, and where they originated from. He also spent some time trying to articulate a clear definition of 'comics.' However, his ideas were restricted by the comic book form; he couldn't skip over to a movie montage of old comics, or explain in an essay format with bullet points. Similarly, I had to use the tools within poetry (rhyme, rhythm and meter, or in the case of free verse, the flow of line breaks) to talk about rhyme, rhythm and meter. This assignment also correlates with the poem "Arte Poetica" by Vicente Huidobro. In his poem Vicente asks his audience to allow 'verse' (or poetry) to be like a key to open millions of doors. He also calls the poet, "a little god," since he is able to use poetry to express an infinite amount of ideas.

            Although many of the poetic restrictions limited what I could say, this assignment also served as a celebration to poetry because it guided the way I could express ideas, and gave them more force. The power and beauty of poetry is that it isn't a simple written statement, but rather, through its aesthetic qualities, it resonates in a more powerful way. So, although I could not say everything I wanted, that which I was able to 'fit' into each poem's structure, came across with more depth than my own original choice words would have.

Earthquake Script

Historical Story Artist Statement

Earthquake

           The historical event we chose for our script was the Northridge, California earthquake which occurred on January 17, 1994. We incorporated this week's reading in trying to display how this historic event would affect individuals on the family level. Just as the 1980 cultural conflict affected the girl and her family in our reading of “The Veil,” we contemplated how an earthquake, and potentially deadly situation, would affect individuals in a family. While “The Veil” presented the relationship between the cultural conflict in a comical view, from the child's perspective, we tried to explore the sentimental route of the earthquake's effect on a dysfunctional family. We took advantage of the opportunity to present a story based around the facts of when and where the earthquake hit and what could happen. In this sense, we explored the dynamic relationship between how our fictional characters acted—initially the classic angry son who learns his responsibility in the family—with the fictional, but common family situation, in the real environment that we placed them in. In other words we tried to explore how the life-threatening situation of the shattering earthquake would effect an already broken family.

            
               The initial idea for the historical script was a mom and son surviving the earthquake and becoming closer because of it. In the collaboration process we created a script that depicts a mother and son struggling to overcome the recent abandonment of the father and husband. The earthquake comes to be a metaphor for how the characters felt internally during their emotional struggle, and provides a medium for them to symbolically let go of things out of their control. Once the mother and son decide to move on and work together against the uncontrollable situation they have been placed in, they become a stronger, slightly more functional family unit.

              A movie that shares a similar theme of disaster bringing family together is the film Deep Impact produced in 1998. When news of a meteor possibly crashing into Earth hits the inhabitants of our planet, we see the "impact" it has on a father and daughter, as well as a newly married husband and wife. Each character has their internal struggles that shine through and must be resolved before their ultimate physical destruction takes place.

           The sources we drew from for this assignment helped us gather the facts regarding the earthquake. We learned the location, covering the San Fernando Valley community of Northridge, and the time it hit, around 4:31 in the morning. The Los Angeles Daily News was a close to home report on the event and the NBC timeline article also gave us a detailed timeline of the events, such as the initial quake and many of the devastating reports—including widespread fires and floods, some of which we incorporated into our story. It was a devastating event, but like all others had some positive repercussions: bringing families closer and reminding people in general how important others in their lives truly are.

Sources:http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20140111/northridge-earthquake-1994-disaster-still-fresh-in-los-angeles-minds-after-20-years, http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Timeline-The-Northridge-Earthquake-240665071.html

            FLAB Screening of Hellboy

            Today we had the FLAB screening of the film Hellboy with Sharon. It was a unique experience to gather together as film students and sit down to enjoy a film as a group. Sharon spent some time in the beginning of the forum to explain ideas revolving around the film, including its content in relation to contemporary issues, as well as aesthetic principles that she enjoys. A large focus that she presented regarding Hellboy in its contextual aspects, was its thematic element of the need for something inherently evil to battle another evil. She also spoke about cinematic elements she enjoyed, and told us to pay attention to specific scenes from the movie. Overall it was a good introduction to looking at the film with a new eye—or rather, through a new lens.

          

           At the core of Sharon's “Hellboy: an inside look” was the film's thematic presentation of a devil-like creature to help us fight for the greater good. She related this to our recent involvement in the war with the middle east, in the aspect that we started to do bad things. These bad things—essentially off shore illegal activities—were, in a sense, to fight against a greater “bad.” We were trying to combat against this great evil, and the only way we could retaliate was with evil. The film portrayed this issue since Hellboy was the essential hero of the film, who although from hell, was fighting to protect us here on earth against darker evils. This film doesn't condone this action, it simply provides a medium to express the issue.

           Aspects that related to her discussion were also seen in the film's plot. In the opening scenes, the Nazis—possibly one of the biggest evils the world has witnessed—are trying to open a portal to wreck havoc on earth. This is happening during the war, and just as they are in the attempt, the 'good guys' jump in and kill them; committing an evil action, to stop a greater evil from happening. Its also important to notice the focus on ignoring the evil actions of us as a people. The film touched on this element with a constant theme of how secretive their band of super heroes were. No one knew of their existence, and they were hidden from the world. Its as if this plot point is to say, here we have this evil part in ourselves, that gets the job done when we need it to, but then we have to shut it away for fear of being discovered.

        Sharon also pointed out her enjoyment of the film based on cinematic qualities. Briefly she explained the beauty of cinematography throughout a specific, funeral scene. It was during this scene, the one that she says is the most beautiful presentation caught on film, that she realized Guillermo was a cinematic genius.   

Bill Draper Forum

                  

                This forum was a very unique experience to become more acquainted with the media-arts lifestyle through a business related viewpoint. Bill Draper, production manager at Warner Bros, spent two hours with us, detailing his history and “lucky” rise to success in his field of work, and several different tips to help us during our journey. One of his most prominent themes, of course, was the focus on how competitive this job is, and that the Hollywood lifestyle is not for everyone. Overall this was a great opportunity to meet a top-level production manager, and get some insight into what awaits us after graduation in that almost-imaginary place often called “the real world.”

                 

              Bill's specific history, as he explained, was one very, very blessed and lucky. He was lucky enough to get into BYU, and later one of the 8 students selected for their BFA in theatre and film. He originally didn't want to do film studies, and was studying business, until a friend suggested a fine arts class that captured his attention and pushed him to change majors. His experience in business was one of the attributes that he explained greatly helps in his line of work; having a background in business is a good attribute in the film industry. After working for Disney, he bounced around several companies, and was eventually offered a job at Warner Bros where he steadily rose, and has been there for 19 years.

               

              His lifestyle is very busy, and he is always working to the point where even on vacation, the phone calls are still constant. He explained that film industry jobs are competitive, to the extent that if he died today, there would be someone at his desk by monday. He also said that there is no “route” to success, that there are many different ways to go about it, but that the most important elements to have are talent, and hard work. Hollywood doesn't care about color, position, etc—they care about talent, and the ability to deliver. Bill expressed the importance in going to Hollywood prepared with an “arsenal” of material, that you know back and forth, both ready to be confident about presenting it, and ready to accept when others tear it apart. Seems like a fun road ahead.