Category: Uncategorized

I wanted to write this post after watching the halftime show of the Super Bowl because I was sure it would be worth commenting on.  And sure enough, it was.  With a great performance by the timeless The Who, this year’s Super Bowl halftime show was a performance worth watching, not just for its musical aspects, but its technical visuals as well.

It’s not often that one would think of football and relate it to art– but that’s exactly what came to mind.  Art is abound in this 100 yard field covered with bulky, athletic men.  From the colors of the uniforms to the layout of the playing field, from the architecture of the stadium to the rippling colors of fans’ football jerseys, flags, hats, and other paraphernalia, football (and other sports) is just another diverse playing field of art.

This year’s Super Bowl is no exception.  What astounded first and foremost about this year’s halftime show– as it did for many others, I’m sure– were the lighting effects.  The stage caught my eye early on, as I carefully observed the transition taking place behind the sportscasters offering their mid-game commentary.  I could already see that there were many white lights and lines.  And when the camera cut away to center field and I saw those rows and concentric circles of many bright white lights, I knew instantly we were in for a great performance.  The way those lights flashed and pulsed with the music, how they ran over and into each other, created these great shapes, gave bursts of light and dissipated in time with the singing, as they flashed in accordance with each stroke of the bass, I was captivated.

I do enjoy watching football for its athletic aspects, but this was one of the first times that I’ve seen it for its truly artistic aspects as well.  Super Bowl XLIV was brimming with art– incorporating not only the art of colors and movement, but also music and visuals and nature and science and technology.  Showing yet again, that art is not merely confined to its separate, specified industries but that it surrounds us daily and astounds us in the most surprising events.

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Gabby Park enjoys watching football and especially critiquing the commercials aired on Super Bowl Sunday.

Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general are rather lazy.  They spew out the same things over and over, so much so that any little variation from the norm attracts big attention.  But why do they do it?

Simple.  If it worked in the past it’ll work again.

Take the blockbuster film for example.  It’s meant to be a giant hit, brought about by high publicity and high costs, meaning big stars and elaborate sets.  This started in the 50’s, when the film industry suddenly found it was being challenged by television.  Only big spectacular productions could lure people out of their living rooms and into the theater.

Come the 1980’s, blockbusters were still big productions, complete with a larger advertising budget, huge opening weekend and franchise-friendly characters to increase revenue.  They were also typically action-adventure films and special effects-oriented.  Hmm, doesn’t seem like anything has changed does it?

Blame Superman.

Released in 1977 it pretty much set up the requirements for the  popcorn blockbuster. Special effects, action, and a large cast of relatively well known actors. It also made more money in non-U.S. box offices than it did here.  It essentially opened Hollywood’s eyes to the worldwide appeal of the superhero.

And since it worked once, what was to stop it from working a second time? Or a third?  Enter a long line of superhero movies that continue to persist even today.  They all hope to make money, and all follow the same recipe for instant blockbuster, but not all make it.

We all know about about Tim Burton’s Batman, but how many of you heard about the movie version of The Punisher (1989) or The Crow (1994)?  And we all can recall how great that 2003 version of the Hulk turned out.

And yet these movies continue to be made becuase when they do well, they do really well.  The turn around, if temporarily, of a stale box office in the mid 200o’s is credited to the release of the Fantastic Four in 2005 and X-Men 3 in 2006.

Anyone else getting tired of this formula?  I mean, it has produced some decent flicks, but I do like variety.  Apparently so does the Academy, since a superhero movie has never won Best Picture.  Times change and maybe the formula for making movies should reflect that.

And maybe we’ld get more variety of TV shows too. How many different crime solving shows are on the air now?  Never mind, I don’t want to know the exact number.

Your indie movie loving blogger,

Jenny

It’s intrinsic to want what we can’t or don’t have.  Whether it’s putting on that extra layer of lipgloss for that special someone, or swearing to put down the tub of ice cream and start doing leg lunges so you remember that you still have muscle there; we all, naturally strive for an idealistic world.

Wanting what you can’t have makes life spicy, fun and spontaneous.

Have you heard of the expression, “Stay true to yourself?”

How do you interpret that?

You can infer that it means stick to your morals, judgments and beliefs, but I find holes in this ideology.  You may call me a skeptic, but I believe this phrase restricts change.

I am a strong believer in representing the person who you want to be, but does that mean being the same person day in and day out?  What if you were to alter your personal character every so often, would you be called a poser or a fake?

I’d like to argue not.

While versatility has its boundaries, don’t be afraid to spice it up.  Wear those outrageous flower tights, raise your hand in a lecture of 200 people, and take someone into the stacks for an unforgettable kiss.  So what if these things are out of character.  Stretch your comfort zone a little.  If you want that desirable ‘other,’ work hard to be free from yourself in order to allow yourself to encounter your infinite possibilities.

Let your artistic creationism shine everyday.  No painter painted the same scene over and over again, so why not start fresh with a new canvas from time to time?

Enjoy life and the world around you!

Sara majors in Art History and enjoys long walks.

Oh the joys of a sale! There is nothing that makes me happier than the sight of red tags and discount signs. I love the rush of scouring through racks and racks of clothing while simultaneously utilizing my knowledge of algebra (who knew those percent problems would be useful past the seventh grade?!). It’s that feeling of beating the “Man” at his own game that warms my heart. Just the idea of finding eight-dollar jeans and five-dollar sweaters makes all the lines and chaos seem worth it. However, my love for bargain hunting was tested this past week when I braved the cold and made my way down State Street to Urban Outfitters.

For those of you who were unaware of last week’s proceedings, Urban Outfitters had a season ending sale where sale items were an additional 50% and on Friday, regularly priced items were 10% off (with a valid student ID). As one can imagine, there was quite a buzz on campus. Every recessionista/recessionistor (the gender variations of this noun are still up for debate… as is the spelling) made their pilgrimage to their holy land in hopes of getting their hands on the latest in homeless chic.

As I neared the store I prepared myself mentally and physically for what I was about to endure. I quickly made sure my credit card and cell phone were easily accessible in the event of a shopping catastrophe. Clutching my bag close to my body I swiftly moved through the endless lines and clusters of people. I eventually made my way to the sale section, which was painfully bare. As I scanned the hangers that were still holding clothes, I noticed a gorgeous orange and blue racer back tank hanging in the corner. I rushed over as quickly as I could and snatched it up. I excitedly checked the price tag ($10!) and then the size. To my utter dismay it was a large, but I tried to convince myself that it would be perfect for the days on which I was bloated/housing a burger from Wendy’s. But alas, I couldn’t help but notice that most everyone who was waiting in line with me had the same tank top as I did. Did they have my size in their possession? It didn’t matter. After spending a few minutes in the dressing room grabbing at excess cloth in various places, I couldn’t keep convincing myself. The top didn’t fit. I had failed.

I left the dressing room empty handed and began walking towards the exit sign when the shopping gods above decided to give little ol’ me another chance. Awkwardly hanging behind a support beam was a collection of orange and blew racer back tank tops in seemingly different sizes. Hallelujah! I deftly squeezed myself between a fellow shopper, the support beam, and the rack in hopes of picking up my one true desire. However, I couldn’t reach the shirt- the other girl was deliberately standing in front of what was rightfully mine. As an avid shopper I used my previous shopping experience to wiggle my way to success. I began inching closer and closer towards her, all the while trying to be polite and excusing myself of my clothing inspired craziness. She didn’t budge. I then had to just go for it and make my move. As I reached over her to grab the top, she immediately intercepted my hand with her overgrown nail, scratched me, and proceeded to snatch the shirt away. “Sorry,” she said as she placed the top on a pile of other clothes and walked away. What a bitch. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. As I walked out of the store I was no longer consumed by the thrill of shopping, but by the large mark on my skin. The lines and chaos were no longer worth it.

It’s commonly expected that when a book is made into a movie, the original is typically better. There simply are things that are better expressed in writing than in visuals.

Feelings for one.  Books allow readers access to the character’s thoughts and motivations. A lot of personal conflict is internal, something that is hard to transfer into movies because it is such a visual medium. And a lot of the beauty in writing is the arrangement of words on the pages, the metaphors and mental images that have no business in film.

At once she was looking right through her with a sharp inscrutable expression. Chihiro jolted as it felt like someone kicked open the back door to her soul, tromping through her insides with muddy feet, ripping open closets and overturning tables while anxiously searching for something.
~A Road to Somewhere

This image is very vivid;  how would it be able to be transferred on to film and still make the images on the screen coherent? It’s not possible.  And what about other times, where an experience is described in relation to a past one, such as using a story of getting kicked in the balls for the first time in the character’s life to talk about the now sudden and overwhelming feeling of helpless pain he feels? Some things just do not translate.

Others do so surprisingly well.  J.K. Rowling’s descriptions of Hogwarts are only solidified and made more real to the reader because of the movie, and I will never be able to view the Balrog in the Fellowship of the Ring in any other way except as rendered in the movie.

Though perhaps Peter Jackson was too good at imagery. I have been unable to match the fulfillment I got from reading Tolkien’s books since I have seen the movies–all my mental images are replaced by Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortinson. And then there are others like the The Seeker, based on Susan Cooper’s amazing book The Dark Is Rising that are just so completely wrong. Nothing is as I imagined it.

And that is another beauty of books over movies, they allow you to see things the way you want them to seen. They are a more active medium of entertainment than cinema and that is why there will always be a market for them. And that is why books are better than the movies based off of them.

But what about cases where it is the other way around? When the movie predates the book? Or at least the production of it; it’s not uncommon to release the book as a promotion for the movie.

Because  cinema is visually driven, there is usually a lot of action. And I don’t just mean car chases and explosions, but dance numbers in musicals and the day to day hustle in chick flicks. Dialog is important, but there are very few times where we actually know what the characters are thinking. It has to be said aloud and when it’s not we are just taking a guess.

This of course can be remedied through a narration, such as JD’s usual narration in Scrubs. But it’s a rather uncommon use of sound and sometimes seems like an old fashioned Dragnet episode. But then again, Dragnet typically was spewing a metaphor of some sort and not personal feelings.

Because of this, ideas and aspects of the characters are left out of the film. When a younger sister protects her older sibling, is she doing it to help her family member or simply to one-up them? When someone hesitated to pull a gun, was it because of the face of the person it was pointing at or an inner moral struggle? The production crew may know and you can make an educated guess, but things really only become more clear when it’s expressed verbally.

This can be done through guide books, interviews with cast and crew, or novelizations of the movie. The novels add a whole other layer to the story, answer so many different questions, and perhaps explain what went on behind the story followed on the screen. How did so-and-so know where to show up and how did he get the information he has?

The books can answer such queries and make a more rewarding and realistic integration into a world whose characters you enjoy.

Your bookworm blogger,

Jenny

(cont. from last week’s post)

The media is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand created by the people for the people, particularly in this nation’s political revolution, it is also an outlet for the dissemination of tyrants and profit-seekers.  Yet, isn’t what the media gives us what it thinks we want?  As much as it was conceived to be a public service, what is a public service but something the public wants for itself?  Yet, by doing us this service of feeding us the latest news on Tiger and the whereabouts of Paris Hilton’s lost chihuahua, is the media actually providing a disservice?

But maybe that’s unfair.  After all, we can’t say that we all want to hear about celebrity news or the watered down versions of the war in Afghanistan.  We can’t say that none of us are interested in international affairs and that’s the reason for which foreign news coverage has decreased by almost half in the past decade.  I am certain there are many out there who desire to know about all of the things this world has to offer; equally certain that there are many who do not.  Then, who is to blame?  Is there any one specific person or entity?

Journalists have a hard job.  That job is to report, “objectively”, on every situation at hand.  What does it mean to be “objective”?  That we provide all different viewpoints?  That we quote any relevant parties?  Is there such a thing as objectivity?  Some reporters believe that, no, there is no such thing: once a journalist decide to report on something and not on another thing, then in that moment, that journalist has stopped being objective.  After all, what makes one story more worthy of being reported than another?  Why is one quotation inserted while another is ignored?  How come Person A gets to be interviewed yet not Person B?

And after considering this argument, I would have to say that they are right: there is no objectivity.  In fact, the journalistic ideal of objectivity may even be harmful to journalism itself; journalists strive to maintain the appearance of being objective that they subsequently attempt to incorporate as many point as possible, people as necessary, quotations to be credible, etc, that the true story is lost underneath all of the weight of “objectivity”.  As readers, what are we really being told– that Haiti needs the money or that the US doesn’t believe Haiti deserves the money?  What is with this portrayal of Haiti as an entirely corrupt, immature nation that needs outside guidance for providing stability to its people?  Especially when the real problem has been rooted in centuries of neglect and sometimes even hindrance by the outside world?  And is this story objective?  The way it begins is not like a journalistic, “objective” report but rather a fictional, dramatic novel.  What is this saying about journalism?  What is this saying about objectivity?  Is this written in a way that shows distance and removed reporting?

Journalism doesn’t have to attain the ideal of objectivity– in fact, what is an ideal but that which cannot be attained, only striven for?  Maybe they should just be honest.  Corporate, governmental, external influences/power notwithstanding, the sole responsibility of a journalist is not to be objective, but truthful– in any and every way that may hurt.  The responsibility, first and foremost, of a journalist, is to deliver accurate news and give power to the unheard and oft-ignored, not to serve the powermasters of profit.  I must acknowledge that the “truth” to everyone may be biased– however, we are already in a biased news environment– pundits from the left and right, Fox News, CNN– what are these but biased, partisan news figures and outlets?  And the matter of truthful reporting is hard, particularly in situations where little information is available to anyone and reporters must dig somewhere for the facts, from which they then have to build a concrete idea or story to inform the people.  Being a journalist is HARD.  Yet that is the responsibility that comes with it– full of freedoms and blessings, burdens and hardships.  Being a journalist is like being a soldier or a doctor– they take one for the people.  When those who are to protect the meek become pawns of the strong, where are their priorities going and whom are the serving?

Not all journalists have to be like Mika Brzezinski and throw away their news scripts.  And not all of us should discredit the importance of those who report on celebrity news– they shape our culture and define the trends of our times.  It must only be recognized that “proper” reporting is a hard one– not only because telling the truth is hard, but also because knowing what the people want is sometimes even harder still, because that is what drives a lot of the content we see today.

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Gabby Park is a triple concentrator in Communications, French, and History of Art who likes to play with snow.