FINAL

Those who wish to heal, find, and share themselves must step outside of the boundaries set by society and create themselves through revelations and the utilization of resources that surround them.

Seven Pounds

In Seven Pounds, Ben Thomas is face with a daunting internal guilt. He feels that he owes a debt to society and must give himself to redeem himself. He helps to save seven people’s lives to replace the seven he killed. Throughout the story he must struggle through his painful memories and his love for Emily Posa. To redeem himself Thomas gives parts of his body to people in need but first he makes sure the people he donates to are good hearted. “He’s punishing you. How is he punishing you?” (Seven Pounds). Thomas probably doesn’t think of himself as a righteous man and he doesn’t believe he deserved to survive the accident. Now he is making sure that the people he’s donating to are deserving of his gift. Thomas is helping other people because he believes it is literally impossible to fix his. “In seven days, God created the world. And in seven seconds, I shattered mine” (Seven Pounds). Thomas had a perfect life until the car accident. After that, he lost everything and is forced into a life of guilt. Because he can’t fix his own life, he decides to improve other people’s lives. “I haven’t felt like this in a really long time” (Seven Pounds). Thomas brings life to Posa and shares a feeling with her because they’ve both gone through a lot. He improves her life not only emotionally but physically as well when he gives his life to save Posa with a heart transplant. Even in a time of deep depression, Thomas is able to find empathy for his society because he feels responsible for his actions. Thomas does want to heal his metaphorical wounds from the car accident. He can only do this by healing others and filling up the hole he dug when the accident happened.

PressPausePlay

                In PressPausePlay, new technology is proven to allow more people to have access to music and artistic creation. The new technology lets users easily create, publish, and share art. This lets the artists have a false sense of impact on society because they can share anything on the internet. They believe they can make a change on current culture with their art. "Slap up their early stuff on Facebook. On YouTube. It would get lost. It would get lost in the ocean of garbage" (PressPausePlay). As Keen describes, there is so much information on the internet that an artist’s chance of becoming noticed becomes extremely slim. The reason so many people swarm the internet with their art is because of new technology. Talent isn’t even a necessity when creating music anymore. “A big difference is that around that time you had to be around 30, 35, know people, and have a little bit of money to be able to record stuff” (PressPausePlay). Robyn elaborates on how in older times the artist created themselves whereas now people can easily buy their own recording equipment and make songs electronically without any musical theory or talent. There are few exceptions of artists who become famous or successful with such an overflow of other artists. Olafur Arnalds is an artist who became known through technology. He electronically creates classical music with computer software. “It was not some years of preparation. It was just a few months” (PressPausePlay). Arnalds explains how he quickly became famous without much musical knowledge and how simple technology had made it for him to spread his work. In rare cases, internet sensations may become famous. Most of the time, good artists are self-created and work to get where they are without the help of too much technology. Putting art on the internet makes it lose its special properties and becomes engulfed by other artist’s work. An artist on the internet is the same as a grain of sand on a beach.

Media

                If one wishes to heal themselves and find answers in life they must step out into the world with their arms open. Contrary to belief one must go experience the world instead of looking within themselves to fix their problems. In Media(Krznaric Lecture), Krznaric elaborates on how the human race must become more connected through empathy to function as a society and as individuals. “…empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophies of lives, to become more outrospective, and to create the revolution of human relationships that I think we so desperately need” (Media). To become healthy as a society, people must become more connected so cultural struggles can be understood by everyone. Krznaric has interesting ideas on how to help the realization of these struggles. "It’s not about dusty exhibits, but an experiential and conversational public space where there is a human library where you can pick out people for conversations" (Media). This idea of a museum could help people to find their place in society, learn about other cultural struggles, and perhaps share some of their struggles with other people.  The key to a better society of “enlightened” people is empathy. “Of course, empathy is more popular today as a concept than at any point in its history” (Media). American society holds great empathetic potential. The feeling of being closer as a nation would greatly increase if American society would try to understand each other instead of fighting. It is a society’s duty to take care of itself collectively and this will only be achieved when people realize each other’s struggles and acquire empathy.

Ceremony

                Some people become ill from emotionally impacting events. In Ceremony, Tayo is scarred from losing a close friend in a prisoner of war camp. Some of the deepest emotional wounds can be cured, but not by medicine. Tayo embarks on a journey to heal himself through connection through nature and storytelling. “I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death” (Ceremony). Storytelling is one of the main factors in Tayo’s healing. Stories can relate to an individual’s life and teach lessons that help fight their illness. It is human nature to lose touch with nature eventually. They begin to lose a sense of connection to the Earth and that makes them sick. “Josiah said that only humans had to endure anything, because only humans resisted what they saw outside themselves” (Ceremony). Humans destroy and neglect nature, therefore they must endure the pain of separation with nature.  Many of Tayo’s friends never tried to recover from the war. They used alcohol to forget about the war and submerged themselves deeper into the illness and confusion. "They went off to the war...Bars served them booze, old white ladies on the street smiled at them. At Indians, remember that, because that's all they were. Indians...These Indians got treated the same as anyone...They were America the Beautiful too, this was the land of the free just like the teachers said in school. They had a uniform and they didn't look different no more" (Ceremony). If an individual doesn’t attempt to heal themselves, they spiral into an endless void of illness.

Craigslist Joe

                In Craigslist Joe, Joe Gamer steps outside the boundaries of a normal life and lives off of his community using only people on Craigslist. Gamer is testing the empathy and sense of community of modern society by using the resources available to him. “Some say we’ve lost the sense of community that used to carry us through tough times” (Craigslist Joe). As people become more involved in technology, they also can lose their sense of community. Gamer sets out on a journey and finds many adventures lie in his path. “Reality is far stranger than any fiction Hollywood can come up with” (Craigslist Joe). Gamer finds that even though sense of community seems to be completely gone, society still has empathy and unconditionally will heal its members. It is amazing that such an old community can still take care of its individuals. “It was truly inspiring, you know, just on humanity…to know that we can take care of each other” (Craigslist Joe). Gamer finds that even though our community has possibly lost some of its connectivity due to advances in technology and social media, its people can still take care of each other selflessly.

Seven Pounds Essay

An element that composes an empathetic society is the ability of the people to pay it forward. When destruction is brought to a community by an individual, they must compensate to correct their actions. If the individual who caused this damage doesn’t fix what they’ve done, the weight of guilt and self-hatred leads to mental deterioration. The person who has committed unscrupulous deeds against their society will go to drastic measures to find a solution to cleansing themselves, even if what they did was an accident. In the film Seven Pounds, a man named Ben Thomas inadvertently causes the deaths of seven people in a car crash. It becomes obvious that Thomas feels responsible for these people’s lives. He decides to give his life to repay his debt to society and radically change seven other people’s lives. Throughout the film, the full story as well as the struggles the characters endure is represented through mise-en-scene, and cinematography rather than through words. Filming techniques reveal a deeper meaning in the lives of all the characters and provide elements that convey emotions more efficiently to the audience.

Mise-en-scene helps to reveal truths about the character’s lives and qualities. Whenever a shot of Thomas is shown he is surrounded by darkness and “rotten colors”. In one of the first scenes, Thomas is at his beach house which is supposed to be a paradise as pictured in flashbacks with his wife. The darkness surrounding him shows his struggles and depression he faces. After getting off the insulting phone call with Ezra, Thomas lists off the names of the people he killed. “Ken Anderson, Nicole Anderson, Ally Anderson, Ed Rice, Steven Phillips, Monica Freeman, Sarah Jenson” (Seven Pounds). Immediately, Thomas’ remorse is revealed as he stands in a dark room full of boxes showing that the place holds torturing memories and no longer heals him. Later in the movie, Emily Posa, one of the people Thomas is planning to save, is having dinner with Thomas. She gives him clothes to change into because he is always in bland business suits. “Yeah, it’s pink” (Seven Pounds). Thomas isn’t used to wearing colorful clothes. When Posa gives the pink shirt to him it represents how she brings life to him and is the only thing that can heal him since the accident. When Thomas is in his bathroom and remembering the car accident the lighting shadows half of his face. “In seven days, God created the world. And in seven seconds, I shattered mine” (Seven Pounds). Thomas reflects on how he ruined his and seven other people’s world. The shadow covering half his face resembles the guilt and lack of feeling he endures. The light on the other side of his face shows the hope and urge to correct his mistake. Mise-en-scene helps the audience to realize characters feelings, understand symbolism, and mirror emotions felt by characters in the film.

Cinematography is a basic element of filming that can show emotions or thoughts felt by characters, what the audience focuses on, and the overall reception of an image. Many shots of characters are taken close up to draw focus to their emotions. In Seven Pounds, this is very important to the film because of the intensity of the feelings felt by each character. In the shot when Thomas is trying to find out whether Stewart Goodman is a good person or not, the shot focuses on Inez, who is writing down information about Goodman on a paper. “He’s punishing you. How is he punishing you?” (Seven Pounds). After Thomas says this, the shot moves to a medium close-up on Inez to show her pain and sadness. She is so impacted by Goodman’s actions that she can’t even communicate and the focus on her instills a shocking and pitiful feeling in the audience. Later in the film, Thomas and Posa are in a bright, beautiful field with each other. The quality of the long shot captures everything important in the scene and conveys a warm, happy feeling. Posa expresses her feelings to Thomas. “I haven’t felt like this in a really long time” (Posa). The warm quality of the shot shows how two characters that represent death find love and happiness in each other despite their struggles that weigh them down. Also, the long shot captures nature and the tranquility of the space they are in to show peace, healing, and relaxation between Posa and Thomas. In another shot, Thomas remembers the accident and wakes up laying in his bed. The framing of the shot only includes his upper body and head to show his empty emotion. He looks shocked as he remembers the unfortunate day. A figure then rises behind Thomas outside of the depth of field and reaches a hand on to his face. The depth of field shifts to his wife but her face is still a bit blurred. This shows that she is currently a figment of his imagination and that Thomas is remembering his wife and obviously still misses her. The shot then shifts to an aerial shot of the bed and shows that Thomas is alone. This reveals Thomas’ manic depression and how his guilt is mentally deteriorating him. Cinematography is an excellent way to convey information to the audience indirectly and also can help the audience comprehend emotion better than words can.

Words are not the only way an idea can be expressed to others. In film, devices such as cinematography and mise-en-scene help to convey ideas. In fact, these basic film techniques can sometimes better explain concepts and emotions through visuals that indirectly connect with the viewer. In Seven Pounds, mise-en-scene is used mainly to expose the characters’ life, thoughts, and values. Cinematography is used to reveal emotions or thoughts felt by characters through framing mostly, what the audience focuses on through scaling, lighting, and focus, and the overall reception of an image. When mise-en-scene, cinematography, and editing are combined the artist can manipulate these devices to ultimately convey exactly what they want to. The artist can make the audience mirror feelings, understand a character’s life, and build bonds with characters. Without these film techniques, only words would be left to explain feelings, thoughts, and events. This would make the audience lose its connectivity with the entire film. Filming devices are truly what make a film stylistic and intriguing. The entire structure of a well-developed film relies on devices, such as mise-en-scene and cinematography, which conveys deep messages to the audience to help them connect and understand the character’s lives, thoughts, and emotions.

Mise-en-scene & Cinematography

In AMC's The Walking Dead, many examples of mise-en-scene and cinematography are incorporated into scenes to create a mood or feeling that is conveyed to the audience. The way atmosphere is represented directs the way a film is read. An environment in a film can be altered by decor, lighting, space, costume, and acting. In the The Walking Dead, all of these aspects play into the image of a realistic apocalyptic world. The Decor in the TV series reminds the audience of the values that were cherished in pre-apocalyptic times.

 The dead family that Michonne finds reminds her and the audience of her life before the zombie infections. The girls laying on the bed recall family values and the pink resembles carelessness. These are values that are no longer present in the post-apocalyptic world. Lighting can reveal much about a situation or character and perhaps even foreshadow an event. In this scene, low key lighting reveals much about the Governor.

The shadow caused by the low key lighting reveals the lack of humanity the Governor has. The shadow is on the same side of his face as his eye-patch. When he was stabbed in the eye he snapped and lost his sense of community and humanity. The brightness on the right side of his face brings attention to his wide open eye. This shows his pent up hatred and insanity. Space greatly affects how the audience reads the film. Utilization of space can shove reality right in the audiences face or leave them completely confused depending on the directors intent. Essentially, this ties together moods and relationships between elements in the world the characters must live in. In the beginning of the series a famous shot of Rick riding into Atlanta on his horse reveals the entirety of the situation he missed out on because he was healing in the hospital.

This example of deep space helps show Rick's bravery and how chaotic the outbreak of the invasion was. There are literally no cars entering the city so through reasoning, the city is a terrible situation because of its population density. This shot also projects the new abandoned world and its lack of civilization and order. The costumes in the show also refer to these qualities of the apocalyptic world. Through out the show the characters clothes become more ragged and stained.

For example, Hershel started out as a man on a ranch who held traditional values close and protected "walkers" who he still considered friends and family members. His clothes were completely clean and his beard was shaven. As he realizes that the world is changed and goes through many survival experiences, his clothes become worn out and his beard and hair are unkempt. This shows how the environment changed a very faithful man into a survivor. Much of the show is based off drama through acting. Emotional ties make up the base of the show and eventually lead to the biggest events in the show. Acting also reveals elements about each character and intensifies the audiences feelings about those characters.

Lizzie is a character who is perceived by the audience as a psycho because of the way she acts. She is seen in multiple scenes playing with walkers like they are her friends. She also feeds zombies rats at the jail which attracted more of them. Eventually, she kills her sister because she believes she will come back and will be "ok". Lizzie's acting reveals her as a character and shows how she is an outcast because despite how long she has been in the apocalypse, she still doesn't understand that zombies want to eat her.

Cinematography is the composure of a shot and the elements in it. These change how the film is received by the audience and can create suspense, confusion, awe, and other moods. Aspects of cinematography include quality, framing, scale, and movement. Quality is the balance of light and dark, the focus, relation of foreground and background etc. This helps create an appropriate setting for the film, quality is essential because it creates the feel of a shot.

In the scene where Rick kills Tomas, there are perfect examples of quality that create an image that causes surprise in the audience. The colors in the shot are all bland colors to create less vivid scene.The focus is on the man in the back more than Thomas and Rick to show his surprise at Rick's actions. The lighting is on the characters and is darker on the right side of the screen to show evil vs. good. Framing is the way the camera is positioned to a character or scene and how the camera acts in relation to that object. This can create suspense, chaos, dizziness, confusion, connections to the character's feelings, unawareness, and any other elements the director intends.

This shot's framing helps to focus on two important things. It is zoomed only on the door and on Meryl's face to show Meryl's fear of the situation he is in. He is in pain because he is stuck and trying to escape a zombie horde. Scaling can show the environment a character is in and even instill feelings in the characters. A great example of this is when Michonne enters the Governor's layer.

Multiple shots show Michonne in a room with the Governor's walker daughter. Most of the shots are medium close-ups. There are also many severed heads in tanks and the room itself is very small. This puts Michonne in a claustrophobic environment especially with the Governor right outside the door. The audience feels what Michonne is feeling due to the scaling of the shots in this scene. Movement is another great aspect of filming that often is used in action shots, dynamic shots, or even to suggest a stalker in the premises.

In this scene, the camera movement pans from the sword the Governor is pulling away from Hershel's neck to Rick standing on the other side of the fence. This is a hand held camera scene because it seems to be from the Governor's view. This brings hope to the audience as they see both the sword being pulled away and Rick's reaction.  This hope is then squandered when the Governor executes Hershel. This shows how a simple shot with camera movement can make a scene much more dramatic and unpredictable.

     In Falling slowly from the movie Once, the director tried to capture a day to day experience into one video. The genre of the video is a narrative showing the love story between the two actors. Throughout the film the director uses a good amount of rhythm editing to go along with how simple but powerful the song is. For example, when the two hop onto a motorcycle and drive away, the chorus o the song gets louder and quicker. The rhythm editing is an effective tool for the video and enhances the song. The Diegesis of the video is based on hope. Both actors are in a state of their life's where they sing "take this sinking boat and point it home, we still have time" (Falling Slowly). At this point in the song, both actors are falling for each other and find a sense of hope that it will work out. Mise en scene is all about the setting the lighting and everything in the scene. When they sing "raise your hopeful voice you have a choice you've made it last" (Falling Slowly). At this point the scene shows the guy looking out into the ocean and finding a sense of belonging, with the beautiful ocean, and also shows how distant he is to his love and the beauty of it. This video unfortunately has a sad ending, bu gives the viewer much hope.
     In the video the director shows a focus on the girl to show her vulnerable state. its dangerous for her to fall in love with him because she has a family and a husband prior to meeting the guy she falls in love with. When the guy sings "Falling slowly sing your melody I'll sing a long"(Falling Slowy). The shot of the guy towards the ending of the video wants to spend the rest of his life with the girl, but as the shot shows a close or of the guys face the viewer can infer that the love of his life is gone. The scene at the end of the video shows how the girl stays with her husband and child because she knew that she had to stay with them. "Words fall through me and always fooled me and I can't react"(Falling Slowly). This part of the song shows the conclusion shot and also how they will always love each other even though they will never see each other again. In the video, i could not find any flash back or flash forwards besides the concluding scene, that does jump forward in time. The main idea of the video is that love is a powerful feeling, and hope will make the love grow stronger.  

Week of April 21st

This week we have been presenting our music videos and analyzing them. It is great to see such a variety of genres and the songs deep meaning. For example, while doing research for my song, i wouldn't have expected Last Dance With Mary Jane to be about a guy dancing with a cadaver. Many of the videos have deep meanings that are portrayed by the scenery, sequence of events, and mise-en-scene. The meanings and aura of the songs become so much more powerful when combined with a video created by the artist. It really lets you know exactly what they have been through and the message they want to send to their audience. Some of my favorite music videos were Falling Slowly, and the song by atmosphere. They really show show the struggle that the characters go through in a symbolic and deep way. Now I am much more interested in music videos because they help to put forth what the artist is really trying to say.

Week of April 14th

      Empathy is the main theme through out all three videos. Sir Ken Robinson discusses changing paradigms and how institutions like schools are not adjusting to the needs of the digital era. He believes "we should be waking them up to what is inside themselves"(Changing Paradigms Robinson). Thousands of students are medicated today to help them calm down and focus on one thing at a time. But he believes that society should be waking them up to their full potential to be in present and changing the curriculum to fit each students needs. Roman Krznaric has a very interesting lecture on the power of outrospection, the new age of the twenty-first century. I though it was revolutionary how he came up with empathy museums where " its not about dusty exhibits, but an experiential and conversational public space where there is a human library where you can pick out people for conversations" (The Power of Outrospection Krznaric). Ideas like this really allow the viewer to experience sweat shops and appreciate everything one has like family, clothes, shoes, all the necessity's and luxuries and to hopefully realize that there is more to the world than just myself. This is the idea to empathy, learning everything about the struggles and lifestyles of others and appreciate the love of life.
     Jeremy Rifkin talks about an empathetic civilization and looks into the nuero science of how our brain works and shows how it is wired to be a nice people. In his lecture he go's on about how the human race is not wired to be basically what a lot of people are today. Rather be "compassionate, affectionate, attachment, sociability, and companionship" (Empathetic Civilization Rifkin). Its awesome to see how society is wired to act this way, but it seems like things like envy and lies change our natural adjectives to be selfish, rude, and false. Rifkin then discusses how our society can become empathetic. He says "can we connect our empathy to a single race writ large in a single biosphere" (Empathetic Civilization Rifkin). If society can connect in family like matter with people of the same religion and people in the same nation state, then why, with the help of technology, can't the world connect global? He believes that technology is the key to connecting the globe together and have a world where every single person is empathetic to the everyone. The only way that there will be successful future is if every single person can empathize with every one.      

Culture & Communication Essay

            The relevance of technology has grown throughout the ages and is now an inseparable part of society. As it evolves, so does surrounding culture and communication. What once started as an entrepreneurial idea has become the base of the lifestyles of many people. The public now has access to almost any information in a matter of seconds, can achieve an online diploma, and can communicate with each other through many methods such as pictures, social media, and texts. One can even live off the connections technology makes to the community. Advancements in technology create a world where about anything can be made easier, perhaps too easy. The uprising of a new era holds great developments for the future, but leaves behind in pile of rubble many values our evolving society may never again experience.

            Early technology thrust the world into a state rapid change to satisfy the urge to make a more efficient and better connected society. Before the 19^th century technology had little to no impact on the world’s communication. In fact, mass communication wasn’t even existent until Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. “The rotary press was just on tiny part of the great technological explosion known as the Industrial Revolution, which would irreversibly change Western culture and lifestyles” (Culture and Communication Part 1 25). This brought with it the first form of mass communication. Information could be sent out to numerous people. These messages were interpreted by civilians who could then respond the message by starting trends, contemplating a topic, or taking action to support or deny what they had read. People could now become part of a mass culture, however, some might call mass culture “conformity”. Mass culture would help to eventually break down the barriers between upper class and lower class citizens as a sense of community began to form. With a sense of community, empathy becomes more relevant as seen on Joe’s journey around the U.S.A. “It was truly inspiring, you know, just on humanity…to know that we can take care of each other” (Craigslist Joe). The evolution of technology had brought a new sense of community with it. Jeremy Rifkin argues that in order for the human race to come together as an extended family, we must learn to communicate better with each other in which technology can come in handy. “There was no such thing as Germany. There was no such thing as France. These are fictions. But they allow us to extend our family so that we can have loyalties and identities based on the new complex energy communication revolutions we have that annihilate time and space” (Rifkin The Empathic Civilization). Rifkin may be correct in this case. Identities like religions, sports teams, or nationality may help us become closer as a human race. As technology advances and becomes a part of popular culture, our society finds it easier to communicate, yet, ironically loses its sense of community which creates a pretentious culture.

Technology has many obvious effects on communication and lifestyle in modern society. At first glance, most of these effects seem beneficial to society, however, some technological advances have hindered the fluidity of our cultures connectedness. New technology such as online socializing, banking, education, interviews, and conferences are just a few ways technology makes life easier and perhaps saves time. The fact that we rely on such technologies makes us a self-centered, introspective, and perhaps less empathetic culture. Roman Krznaric explains the key to a revolutionary and successful society. “…empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophies of lives, to become more outrospective, and to create the revolution of human relationships that I think we so desperately need” (Krznaric The Power of Outrospection). Technology is a form of communication without human elements. Therefore, human confrontation in “real life” is almost alien to a judgmental culture. Users of technology don’t truly experience people's stories and gain perspective on others’ lives which creates a barrier between subcultures and cultures. Connections become severed from these limited forms of communication. Communication isn’t just limited by technology, but it is also limited by mass media. Mass media, some suggest, has too much power when the opinion of the people is at hand. “In mass communication, professional communicators use technological devices known as mass media to communicate over great distances to influence large audiences” (Culture and Communication Part 1 7). Mass communicators carry out a single message that is usually biased towards their opinion so the audience is more likely to be influenced by them. This is corruptive in a way because people that don’t see past this ruse fall into the lure of having an opinion they didn’t create. Mass media becomes part of our life by discussing popular culture, advertising, and discussing national and international problems. Our culture is so familiar with the mass media around them that they can easily filter out all the advertising put up. “For many years America has been exporting its popular culture, first as images in motion pictures, magazines, music, and television and finally commercial enterprises” (Culture and Communication Part 2 36). Our society has adapted to mass communication and can simply thrive off of it without realizing it. Technology and mass media have contorted the trustfulness and communication efficiency of modern society.

The new age of communication effects modern and future society which will always function differently because of its impact. Left behind are many human values which civilization may never see again. Some think they truly help the community through buying into consumer items that support charities and that creates a false sense of community and satisfaction because you know you helped someone. Even though it does help, there is much more that could be done. Slajov Zizek compares this to buying organic apples to prove his point. “I don’t think you believe…that they are really any better…We are cynics they’re sceptics but you know, it makes you feel warm…I’m doing something” (Zizec First as Tragedy, Then as Farce). Our society is slowly losing its sense of community as ethical duties seemingly become easier to “satisfy”. People who suffer who we think we are helping aren’t actually being helped permanently. Their suffering is only prolonged. The only feasible way to correct this problem would be to create a society where poverty is impossible. Many other changes should be made in modern society to further benefit future generations and quicken societal evolution. Sir Ken Robinson gives an example of an element of society that should be changed. “Schools are still pretty much organized on factory lines” (Robinson Changing Paradigms). Education pumps out kids in batches, treating them like a product. They are all taught the same methods instead of focusing on what each individual child needs to blossom intellectually time-wise and learning-wise. If this isn’t changed, future generations may lose the individuality and boldness to thrust into the next revolutions. In fact, much more is at stake. Even the uniqueness and power of individuals (such as artists) are slowly fading. Technology has made sharing personal information, art, or work extremely easy. Keen argues against the ease of sharing of art through the internet.   "Slap up their early stuff on Facebook. On YouTube. It would get lost. It would get lost in the ocean of garbage" (Keen PressPausePlay). So many people can share their information and art that it becomes lost. There is so much other information on the internet that the chances of your message being heard by the community is very slim. Many more components of traditional society fade as technology and communication methods evolve.

The path to a better community lies through keeping traditional values while letting technology advance. Technology will create a better connected society but empathy must be kept intact through human elements such as sense of community. Society must find a way to use technology and maintain outrospective properties without becoming self-centered. The human bond will be strengthened if all these goals are achieved. A utopic society will never be achieved if the natural human characteristics cannot be maintained as a result of communicative suppression, but future generations will thrive if our culture learns how to better connect itself.

            

Week of March 31st Blog

This week we reviewed how mass communication and mass production influence our society (mass culture) today.
Media most likely has the greatest impact on our culture today through communication. Many don'd realize how much it engulfs our life, however, it is everywhere. The news channel, billboards, newspapers, ads on the internet, and social networking are just a few examples of parts of the media that form our opinions and raise questions. Some complain that the media has too much power and can filter their content so they can convince the general public to agree with their biased opinions. "Were the media guilty of emphasizing violence and downplaying moral value?" (Culture and Mass Communication 1).  Mass communication became relevant wen the typewriter was first invented. It became realized that now one message could be sent to multiple people. This sparked industrializtion and thus the printing press and other mechanisms that could bust out more messages to the public were created. This had great effects on society at that time. "...the weakening of bonds of kinship, and the declining social significance of the family, the disappearance of the neighborhood, and the undermining of the traditional basis of social solidarity" (Culture and Mass Communication 25). Many forms of mass communication would come that would forever change our society such as radio, television, and telephones. These have become part of our popular culture and broadcast interesting information such as sports games. Some might think that this was purely to entertain the public, but it was really all just about the money. "...timeouts for commercials had extended the average length of a professional baseball game from 2 hours, 57 minutes in 1978, to 3 hours, 11 minutes" (Culture and Mass Communication 30). These commercials could advertise a variety of goods to consumers and try to get them to buy what they were selling. "Coca-Cola and its logo and Levi's jeans have long been popular around the world" (Culture and Mass Communication 36). This all shows how our world has become lost in consumerism and now we don't even realize it happening around us.

March 17th Reflection

In the documentary PressPausePlay, the good and bad effects of new technology and communication are debated over. Many artists give their different opinions on the subject. Some think our culture is dying and others think it is blossoming.

Music production used to be much more difficult than it is today. Many artists appreciate the work required to make music and release it to the world. Now it seems that any artist can make their work public with new technology. "Slap up their early stuff on Facebook. On YouTube. It would get lost. It would get lost in the ocean of garbage" (Keen). Andrew Keen describes how true artists don't just become famous by posting their music on the internet. It would simply get lost with an overflow of other information on the internet and soon forgotten. This makes it significantly tougher for the true artists to emerge. Technology allows about anyone to use a simple program on their computer to create music.

It is argued that only the most devoted of artists deserve recognition. People without musical education will find it almost impossible to make their voice heard. "I don't hear a lot of stories about the Robert Rodriguez's and Quentan Tarantino's who just sort of went out there and made a movie on their own and ya know became over night successes" (Watson). Adam Watson argues that it is very difficult to become a great film maker without going to film school and that many people think they can be directors just because they can buy higher quality cameras for less money.

However, new technology isn't completely bad. Olafur Arnalds has little music theory background, yet with the new technology he can create his music. "But still it's just sound frequencies. Theoretically there is no actual difference between a sound coming from a computer or a sound coming from a piano" (Arnalds).
Arnalds is able to make his music popular without having to be a prodigy of musical genius because of the technology that allows him to create digital music.

Computer programs such as Napster allowed individuals to download music for free. This was great because people could listen to what they wanted to without having to buy it and it was completely legal.This took much money from record companies. Sean Parker talks about how this affected large companies. "We were the the wake-up call for the record companies. We we're the first time that they were forced to recognize what was happening with content distribution on the internet" (Parker). This would change the way music was distributed forever. People could now get music off the internet instead of just records or CD's. This was great for those who couldn't afford the music they wanted.

Week of March 10th Reflection

This week we watched Smoke Signals which portrays how Native Americans seek healing through story telling and gives an idea of the reservation living conditions.

Thomas Build-The-Fire is a very perceptive Native American who doesn't act like a typical reservation Indian. He dresses nicely, wears glasses, smiles, and pushes social boundaries. He has a one-way friendship with Victor who obviously is annoyed by Thomas's presence and is always asking questions and telling stories about Victor's dad. Victor is aggrovated by these stories because he only sees his father as a dunk who left him and his mom alone. Victor is hurt by the fact that his dad left him and pushes away anyone who tries to help him by talking about it. Thomas talks about the time Arnold took him to Denny's after he found him on the bridge and that portrayed Arnold as a good person. After finding Arnold's wallet, Victor sees that his Father planned on going home and that he really does love him. In the final scene Victor throws Arnold's ashes into the river and this is the final point of healing because he realizes that he was a good man and not just some drunk who left him.

Much of the scenery in the reservation gives the audience an idea of what Native American life is like. One example is the flag hung upside down on independence day. This is ironic beacause Native Americans independence was taken away by America. Also, all the beer shows what kind of life Victor's dad has. Even the ironic poster in police office about justice shows the police man's racism.

Week March 3 Reflection

This week we finished Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. The ending of the book shows how witchery destroys and manipulates people and Tayo resists the urge to turn to witchery.

Before, Leroy, Pinkie, Emo, and Harley were all friends from the Vietnam War who would share their stories, drink, and curse the white people for the land they had taken. Tayo finds out that they are coming to get him, most likely to kill him. Tayo hides between boulders and watches as Emo slowly kills Harley to try to bring Tayo out from hiding. The witchery had manipulated Emo so that he thrived off of destruction of life. Leroy and Pinkie begin fighting too over a simple shove. Witchery had even made Harley and Leroy, Tayo's best friends turn against him and attempt to bring him to Emo to be destroyed. In order to finish the ceremony, Tayo has to avoid Emo and the others.

Tayo finds himself trying to resist the urge to stop Emo from killing Harley. He would have liked nothing better than to stab his screwdriver right through Emo's temple. However, if Tayo did this, he would become part of the witchery himself, be driven to insanity, and end the ceremony. It's hard to comprehend how witchery can manipulate someone to have the desire to kill another just because they are a "half-blood". Emo didn't really care about the importance of whether Tayo was sane or not. His cause to find Tayo was completely personal. Tayo does resist coming out of hiding and later, Leroy, Pinkie, and Harley are found dead and Emo has to move away to California because he isn't wanted in the reservation. This shows how Tayo was strong enough to complete the ceremony and that made the destructive witchery leave his life for good.

Week of Feb. 24 Reflection

This week, in Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko we read pages 163-208. This is after Tayo has gone through his ceremony and is healed. Tayo finally finds something to fill in the emptiness inside of him and begins to see Betonie's visions come true.

Caught in the middle of an exhausting trip, Tayo spots an Indian girl underneath an apricot tree. She sees how exhausted he is and brings him inside and begins to make supper for him. Her name is Ts'eh and she represents Earth and this is symbolic of Tayo being nurtured by nature. Nature is what Tayo lost his touch with in Vietnam and totally warped his inner being and Ts'eh is helping him recuperate. Tayo sleeps with her and immediately falls in love. She has filled his emptiness and he is noticeably more confident the next morning. Tayo finally feels "at home" and has found his place in the world.

Tayo notices that two of Betonie's visions come true. The woman he foresaw in Tayo's future is Ts'eh and the stars Ts'eh and Tayo saw were the constellations that Betonie envisioned. The only thing that was missing was the cattle. Tayo knew he had to find them and bring them back, for it was part of his destiny. Tayo is angry at all he white cowboys and ranchers because they dstroy the land around them and the animals. He is also angry at Indians like Harley because they value the things white people have and envy them. Tayo steals the cattle and finds that Ts'eh has a husband. Tayo doesn't seem to mind this fact however.

Week Feb. 17th Reflection

This week we met a man from the Navy SEALS, Clay. He told us stories, his feelings, and answered most of our questions.
Something that really struck me about Clay is how happy of a guy he seemed to be. He'd be making jokes in front of a bunch of high school students. When asked a serious question about his experiences in his work, his world seemed to freeze and his face would go blank. He would get very serious and remember the things he had to go through to complete his job. It was tough to imagine what it was like being able to relive those moments just by thinking about them. He can remember having to shoot a 12 year old, against all his morals, for the protection of his men and the civilians in the Cafe. He compared the taste of blood in his mouth to being able to remember the taste of your first birthday cake. He can recall many people yelling at him because he is a "ruthless killer", but he says he would die any day for them. This shows his dedication to this country and his belief that it truly is the best country in the world. He also told us that he did his job so none of us would have to which is incredibly inspiring. Some would call him a hero but he doesn't agree with the term because what he does is job.

The one story he told about the 12 year old girl and his seriousness as he told it made me realize how traumatizing that situation really was to him. It really was devastating to him because he had to shoot a girl who thought the best thing she could do was blow herself up because someone either tortured her or brain washed her. It gut wrenching how real the world is sometimes. He told that if he could redo the entire thing, he would have ran across the road and blown himself up. This interested me because he would have died with her instead of just her dying. I don't really understand his reasoning for this but I'm sure he has a good one. He says that he still sees her eyes staring at him every night before he goes to sleep and maybe this haunting image is why he wants a do-over on the whole thing. This just shows that even the world's top warriors can be traumatized and scarred for life.

Week of Feb. 10 Reflection

This week we reflected on pages 1-80 and also read pages 105-118 of Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. Themes throughout the book were revealed and many important quotes were pointed out. During the class discussions I noticed that ignorance and denial seemed to be a trend in Native American life. All of the Native Americans in the bar are a great example. They use alcohol and having sex with blond women to ignore the truth about their lives and how they will never be more than what they are right now, "Native Americans", meaning that they will just be discriminated against and live in a cycle of poverty and alcohol until their lives come to the end. They also blame the whites for change not only in their land but in their racial purity too. However, they don't realize how much they are changing inside of themselves too in their values, culture, and morals.

On pages 105-118, Tayo goes to the medicine man to prepare for a ceremony. he very observant medicine man learns about Tayo's struggles. The medicin man talks about how everyone is angry that the white men have took their land. "...Tayo, we have done as much fighting as we can with the destroyers and theives: as much as we could do and possibly survive" (Silko 118). This relates to how Tayo has fought this struggle with in him for so long that he is about to lose himself and that he needs to stop the internal battle if he wants to live on with his life.

(I know it's a Spider-man photo but I thought it fit the subject well)

Week Of Feb. 3 Reflection

This week we read pages 40-105 in the book Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. In these pages, it became obvious how relevant racism was in the life of Tayo and other Native Americans. The author also reveals how the characters hide their sorrow from the war and the truth behind all of their lives.

The reader doesn't get to realize the full extent of the racism in this novel until they reach these pages. Before the Native Americans began wearing a military uniform, people never cared about them. "White women never looked at me until I put on that uniform..." (Silko, 37). All that the white women really were attracted to was the status of the military uniform which reveals that the white women would otherwise avoid the Native Americans because they were "inferior". Emo is shown as a dominant Native American who thrives off killing enemies. "...Some men got sick when they smelled the blood. But he was the best; he was one of them. The best. United States Army" (Silko, 57). This part of the book breaks the stereotype for Native Americans that states that they are all peaceful and respect their enemies as opposed to men in white warfare who kill their enemy without even knowing them or acknowledging them.

The Vietnam War made some of the Native Americans feel like heroes, but when they came back from the war, they realized that they were not heroes, but still the same discriminated Native Americans from before. The men block out the truth by drinking and having sex with white women. Tayo creates a satirical story to encompass the truth of why they are acting this way, "They went off to the war...Bars served them booze, old white ladies on the street smiled at them. At Indians, remember that, because that's all they were. Indians...These Indians got treated the same as anyone...They were America the Beautiful too, this was the land of the free just like the teachers said in school. They had a uniform and they didn't look different no more" (Silko, 38). The other Native Americans already knew all of this but they just wanted to shove away the truth because all it brought was pain and sorrow to them.

Reflection 4

This week the class watched Reel Injun which revealed many things I didn't know about how Native Americans live and are affected by the media.

Many of today's Native Americans live on reservations. These are some of the most poor places in America and the people live in less than good conditions. Many of the reservation cars only run in reverse because the Natives probably can't afford to fix it. It has been tough for the Natives to retain their culture as they have been pushed in to confined living spaces. The only thing that has kept them going through all the hardship is comedy. Learning to laugh at what is happening around them has helped to lighten the burdens and sorrows that they carry with them.

America's view of Native Americans has been skewed by the media, especially the cinema. Native Americans are made out to be savages and people with low intelligence and primitive cultures. For example, in Looney Toons, Bugs Bunny is killing Native Americans casually and they are trying to shoot him with arrows. Another example is John Ford's movies which portrayed Native Americans as nothing but dirty people and that the only good "Indian" was a dead one. In one scene an injured Native American is found beneath a rock and Ford shoots him multiple times in the head. It is surprising how prominent stereotypes were against Native Americans were and how easily manipulated Americans views of them were.

Reflection 3

This week the class began to read Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko.

Tayo, a half-blood Native American boy is scarred by the war in Vietnam when his role model, Rocky, gets his skull smashed by a Japanese soldier right in front of him. It seems that Tayo mourns his "brother", Rocky so much that it makes him ill. Tayo blames himself for letting Rocky die on the road when the Japanese soldiers had taken them as prisoners of war. He does this because he believes that he could've done something to prevent all of this from happening even though he truly couldn't have. In fact, the corporal said that Rocky was dead before his head was crushed. I believe what makes this the most traumatizing for Tayo is that his Auntie purposefully kept him inside the house and excluded from society because he is half-blood. This made Rocky his only friend and now he lost the only thing that really kept him motivated to live his life. It is very easy to see how Tayo could have P.T.S.(D.) after the Vietnam War.

The Native American war veterans all drink at the bar heavily together. They talk about the white women they have "done" and how America is stealing their land. They do this to wash their sorrow from the war away. They all know that the women just love the military uniform, not the man inside of it. They just chose to ignore it because they don't want to dwell over the bad times of their past. Emo, who sits with the men is diametrically opposed to Tayo in regards to moral values. He always insults Tayo for his bloodline and how he acts because of Rocky's death. Emo had no problem killing an enemy and it was almost a cake-walk to him. However, Tayo couldn't stand to kill an enemy because he would think about the enemy and how similar they are to him. Tayo begins to drink more and more in order to suppress his sorrows because he believes it is the only current way he can try to forget about what happened.

Reflection Week 2

This week we watched the second half of Dances With Wolves. John Dunbar was a changed man and had transitioned into his new perfect life. This is when the climax of the movie happened and it revealed a struggle that John Dunbar had to face.

Before Dunbar had been in contact with the Sioux, he feared and awed at the frontiers. He hoped to make peace with the Natives but, he didn't expect to become a part of their society. After saving one of the the Sioux women, the Sioux were curious about Dunbar. They shared items of their culture and made closer connections. Dunbar was awoken one morning by a stampede of Buffalo. The scenery was hazy and purple. Dunbar ran up the hill as Buffalo ran past him. This symbolizes how it was dreamlike and euphoric because there was a shortage of food and now this event was happening. The fog represented his confusion as all of this was happening. He notified the Sioux of the "tetonka" and they went on a hunting mission. He gains the trust of the Sioux and their most stubborn member, Wind In His Hair, when he saves his son, Smiles A Lot, from a wild buffalo. This is the where Dunbar becomes a part of the Sioux. He begins trading, socializing, an engaging in their activities.

After being accepted into the tribe, Dunbar has to face a fork in the road. The Sioux are moving because of the Union Soldiers expanding into their land and Dunbar decides to make a trip back to his station to retrieve his journal. He did this because it was a record of how he became part of the Sioux culture. However,his horse is shot and he is taken prisoner and treated very badly. This resembles how discriminating the soldiers were. He was being beaten and disgraced because of his change in culture even though he used to be a soldier himself. Later, some illiterate soldiers are using his journal for toilet paper which shows the lack in respect they have compared to Native Americans. Dunbar is later rescued at a river crossing and his journal washes down the river. Earlier the wolf that gave him his name, Dances With Wolves, is shot which represents his history of being Dances With Wolves is being washed away. He decides he must leave the tribe because they will try to find him as an excuse to raid the Sioux. This shows his care for his family and the sheer helplessness of the situation. Dunbar had to face a struggle that would not turn out good for him either way when he had to make a decision to abandon his people. It shows how he has transformation the inside and ho much he valued the way of the Sioux.

Reflection & Tribe Research

Navajo
The Navajo are the largest recognized tribe in the U.S. with about 300,000 tribal members. Navajo literally "Planted fields". Before contact with Europeans, the Navajo were mainly hunters and gatherers. The men took the leadership positions and were warriors/hunters while the women were farmers/caretakers. They lived in houses made out of earth called hogans which were dome shaped.

Apache
The Apache were very religious and believed that spirits were everywhere. Apache men were trained warriors at a very young age and all members were expected to defend their village. They were very talented in arts and crafts. In the 1850's the Apaches turned to scalping and raids as they were being pushed off their homeland.

Blackfoot
The Blackfoot's four independent tribes all spoke Algonquin. They often wore animal hides for clothing because of how cold the weather was. The Blackfoot were known for being hard to get along with. They fought the Assiniboine, Cree, Crows, Flatheads, Kutenai, and the Sioux.

Week Reflection Semester 1 Post #1

This week the class has been all about Dances With Wolves. Both the setting and how things are represented show the differences between the white and Native American cultures.

The settings show the difference between how the white men live and how the Native Americans live. When John Dunbar is first entering the western frontiers the establishing shots and music present the awe of the newly discovered land away from most of white civilization. The shots show amber waves of tall grass, peaceful babbling brooks, and valleys. He has never seen land so wild and beautiful and he feels in touch with nature. Living near the Sioux and the Pawnee make Dunbar live in fear because because he doesn't know what to expect of them. After he earns their trust he becomes part of the Sioux tribe and indulges in their culture and leaves most of his behind. His new environment with the Sioux gives him a new family that he is sworn to protect. He is very committed to them as compared to the U.S. Army in the civil war where he attempted suicide. I found it amazing that just the setting someone is in can change who they become and what they're influenced to do.

(This made me think about how John Dunbar must have felt when in touch with his true spirit and nature)

Much was represented by images in the film. The Sioux all took pride in their hair and it is a trophy of their accomplishments and a story of their life. They all had straight hair which they could decorate with feathers or beads. This is why some tribes like the Pawnee scalped their enemies for a trophy. This is similar to John Dunbar's diary. It tells his entire transition from a soldier to Sioux and is very sentimental to him. In contrast, the soldiers of the U.S. Army valued things for their function instead of sentimental values such as when they kill several buffalo and only take their hide and nothing else. Instead of letting the animal go to waste, the Sioux use all body parts of the buffalo for tools, decorations, tipis, and other items. They also thank the animal and believe that it dies for a worthy cause so it is very disrespectful to kill a buffalo and not use parts of it. However, the two opposite cultures do have a few intersects. They both value family highest over all else. When Wind In His Hair's son is about to be killed by a buffalo, Dunbar shoots the animal right before it can reach him and to show his appreciation, Wind In His Hair offers its heart as a gift to Dunbar as a sign of trust. Before this happened Wind In His Hair disliked Dunbar. Another time at the camp, Dunbar trades his soldiers coat to Wind In His Hair in exchange for his necklace. This symbolizes two cultures ignoring their differences and living in harmony to trust each other. Throughout the film, there were many examples of cultural differences, but personally I found myself awestruck and inspired by the fact that they came together and somehow gained trust from one another.