My 12th blog post. 11th one longer than a single line. It has been a fun way of doing "journals" although i do not know if i'll be able to keep it up, now that it wont be part of a course to do them. Before this class, I had followed blogs myself, even tried to start one up myself up to several times, but it just never really happened.
It was nice with some real motivation, and some people in a class that would actively follow what I or others in the class wrote about, and came with comments. Although it wasn't a very wide audience, it still let me feel like i was reaching some people through it, which was very cool.
Blogging has definitely been an overall enjoyable experience, and although this final post (for now) is a bit after the deadline, i hope it can still be accepted. Just got back from an Arctic Monkeys concert at the House of Blues, after an intense day of Calculus study. It was great getting my mind off of that.
I definitely think writing these blogs have helped my get over my fear of letting other people see what i write. Though that fear isn't as big as if i was talking about something to others, it was still a great thing to overcome, and i think that if i can find interesting things to write about, i might just keep up with my blog writing - at least, once in a while.
A lot of things have been said about James Cameron's upcoming Sci-fi epic, Avatar. The Movie that he reportedly has been working on ever since Titanic came and blew away all box-office records, and still holds quite a few to this day.
Avatar is now set to do something along the same lines. with an impressive "fresh" rating so far on Rotten Tomatoes, and comments such as "Cameron's epic space western is a cinematic landmark" one can't help getting excited for this movie. Personally I have remained skeptic about this movie, since the first trailer came out, as it just didn't look the way I had expected, but with the praising reviews rolling in, and the promise of a fully utilized 3-D and motion-capture technology I am getting pretty excited.
Lately there's been quite a few 3-D movies coming out. Toy Story 1-2 have been re-made with the technology, pretty much all the recent animated as well, and even the latest Final Destination had gory 3-D scenes of carnage. However, I do not feel like any of the movies have really done anything to "Wow" me. Sure it's fun at times, but it has seemed like little more than a gimmick so far, and I'm excited to see what IGN.com says "validates all the hype and investment in 3-D and motion-capture animation".
I have begun to imagine Avatar as the first of many extremely well done 3-D films, that will really pack a punch so to speak. 3-D (or Tru 3-D as this newer version of it has been called) is a cool new visual effect that will only become more and more prevalent in the media. In fact Sony promises a 3-D capable TV set in their Bravia line next year, and both the Xbox 360 and PS3 promises 3-D games coming soon as well. (check link for first impressions: Bravia 3-D TV impressions)
It'll be interesting to follow, if 3-D will become the new standard - I hope that the developers can utilize the technology right, and make use of it like James Cameron apparently has for Avatar. For if they do, 3-D I think, is here to stay.
We have been reading and talking a lot about stereotypes in the media these days. We have also been discussing how there is a lack of racial variety in especially TV entertainment, where for many years most shows have been very dominated by white characters. Thinking about what TV shows i had seen commercials for lately, i quickly remembered two TBS shows, namely Tyler Perry's "House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns".
Now at first sight, you may think "great! Finally some shows that aren't all white" but if you actually see one of these shows, you might start thinking otherwise. Yes, the main characters in both these shows are African-American, which does show that at least some of the large companies are taking some chances by putting tv-shows on the air that follows strictly minorities, however, the content of these two shows in particular, is downright horrible.
Don't just take my word for it, take USA Today's: "Indeed, if ever a show could cause actual physical pain, TBS' House of Payne might be the one. Glaringly, shamefully, insultingly inept, this new cable comedy from filmmaker Tyler Perry isn't just the worst sitcom of the year, it's one of the worst of the modern era."
Not only one of these few "all-minority" shows on TV extremely unfunny, but it is also filled with stereotypes about African-Americans, that we should be trying to get rid of, instead of putting them on prime-time TV. It is disturbing to see how TBS can get away with even airing this show, when the only thing it has going for it, is increasing Format Diversity. Same exact criticism goes for "Meet the Browns" take a look at a sneak-peak for an episode here, and judge for yourself.
Personally, I didn't laugh a single time - and I think that perhaps instead of just choosing to air a show, just because you show the population that you have diverse programming, TBS should find shows that are diverse but at the same time actually work - like "Everybody Hates Chris" or even "The Cosby Show"
This is a blog for my Mass Media in American Society class. I will be discussing observations that I or friends have noticed about the mass media and how it affects us.
