Journal #5 Generation of Comedy

The Office (comedy TV series)
http://wallpapercup.blogspot.com/2011/12/office-background.html

 

Did you ever wonder why our parents do not always enjoy watching the same TV shows that we find hilariously comical? Elizabeth Charlotte Grant wrote an article called Make ‘em Laugh: Sitcom Humor for Millennials, which answered that very question (http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/164601-make-em-laugh-sitcom-humor-for-millennials/P1). The article explains that there is a generational funny divide when it comes to watching television. Some TV shows that people aged 18-30 find to be funny and entertaining, such as Arrested Development, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and many more, may not be entertaining for the older generations.

There are three reasons behind this divide in generation comedy explained in this article, laugh values, humor for humor’s sake, and from funny to absurd in 30 seconds. Laugh value is explained as the fact that we enjoy these series because the comedy of real life excites us, whereas for our parent’s generation this comedy is so true to real life that it makes it stressful to watch. Humor for humor’s sake is describing how even though the comedy is very similar to real life we understand this isn’t our life we are watching. Lastly, from funny to absurd in 30 seconds is the relief we find in the absurdity of the comedies because it give us hope for the future.

I really enjoyed reading this article and it brought up a lot of points that I had never thought of before reading this article. The article itself was well written with lots of examples. I agree with all of the observations that the author makes during the article and can relate to all her reasonings.

Journal # 4 Is Post-racism here?

http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-2214318838

       Everyone has an opinion on racism, if it is still around today or not, but it is not something that it brought up very often, until after the elections. Molly Brown wrote an article on this topic, Color Television: What Diversity Looks Like in America Today  (http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/165353-color-television-what-diversity-looks-like/). In this article the author brings up a very interesting observation, during the filming of the election results it shows an almost too perfect mix of race in the audience. Brown brings up the idea that either this is staged or maybe the world is really finally going to be at the post-racist time.

        After reading her article I agree with her suspicion that either the filming was staged or it was a very perfect incidence. In all reality I would like to think that there is no more racism in the world, however I feel that even now the world is not ready to put aside all their prejudgments. I feel that the world is headed in the right direction, but after this election it seems to be pushing back as people who are not fans of Obama complain and make racist comments in anger of the results. Racism may not be as bad today but we aren’t completely in post-racism yet.

Journal #3:Hungry for the Hunger Games?

The Hunger Games movie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chsia/7907724702/sizes/m/in/photostream/
Taken by: Christopher Hsia

         

          As one of many Hunger Game fanatics, I read an article that was written about the movie The Hunger Games. The film article, The Hunger Games was written by Scott Tobias (http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/). This article was well written and gave a good summary of the movie. Having read the books then after seeing the movies, what I learned from this article was that, for people who just watched the movie, there were often too many characters that were only developed a small amount for viewers to keep track of. When the author talked about the rating of the movie I do agree that it made the violence go down a great amount from the book to the movie in order to make it a PG-13 movie. I really enjoyed how the author compared parts of the movie to different TV shows such as the dangerous game coming from The Running Man and how it is similar to the TV show Survivor. Lastly it was compared to The Truman Show. Overall I felt that the author, Scott Tobias, had a negative attitude for the movie which I don’t agree with, but it was a well written article the included good supporting points.

The Scene that Changes it all

The Prestige movie poster

http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2007/best-of-the-year-mark-chadbourns-faves/

 

Christopher Nolan’s creation of The Prestige, is more than just a movie about magicians, it is a mystery like no other. Two new up and comer magicians, Christian Bale as Alfred Borden and actor Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, begin their journey working together as stage hands, however after one tragic night everything changes. Scene six, the strong knot (23 minutes), is the most important scene in the movie. This is when there is an intense twist in the plot causing the beginning of a great rivalry.

                The scene begins normal as the beautiful stage hand Julia McCullough (played by actress Piper Perabo) selects from the audience Borden and Angier to come on stage and perform their ever famous dunk tank trick. It isn’t until Borden is tying Julia’s hands that the scene makes a sudden change. The director made it vitally important to the viewers the slight pause and hesitation that Borden displays as he pauses his knot tying, looks up at Julia with deep concern, then after exchanging a glance he begins to tie a different knot around her wrist. The trick continues as normal until you notice that unlike the last time when the film flashes to a clip of the audience, instead of drowning out the sound of the stop watch it continues. When it has become aware there is a concern, manager Cutter (played by Michael Caine) tries smashing the tank open. I noticed that the clicking of the stop watch is still being exaggerated but it is now also joined by the exaggeration of the banging on the glass, Julia’s last gasps for breathe, and the cracking of the glass. During this part of the scene, it seems to be drawn out for suspense and the director also uses several different cuts to different filming angles.

      

          All together this scene makes up a very vital part of the movie and is produced with a lot of attention to the filming in order to build the intensity of the moment.

Journal 2: The Entertainment of Movies

Just Go with it the movie
http://www.amazon.com/Just-Go-With-Jennifer-Aniston/dp/B003Y5H524

The hilarious twist and turns that are found in Dennis Dugan’s 2011 production of Just Go with It make for an exciting and entertaining movie night. This is my favorite movie for several different reasons but my main reason is because Jennifer Aniston stars in the movie as Katherine. Jennifer Aniston is my number one favorite actress, but I particularly think she does a well job in this movie. Also in this movie is another great actor known for great comedies, Adam Sandler. Acting is the most important part about a movie to me. I find when they have actors, like Jennifer Aniston, who are normally casted with very down-to-earth roles, that the movie is more intriguing and also comical.

The second most important part about a film to me is the plot of the film. If it is intriguing and makes you want to watch the rest of the movie is it a good plot. Also if it is a plot that includes a very life like problem and it is somewhat relatable to the audience it is an entertaining plot because the viewers can put themselves in the actor’s position. For example when it comes to Just Go With it the overall plot of making up a fake family might not be an everyday occurrence for people, however it draws on the aspect of entertaining and drawing in the audience. There are a lot of part of the movie that are relatable like trying to date, some of the family issues they include, and seeing people you would rather not see in the most unlikely places.

Overall the choice on actors and the plot are just the main aspects of the movie Just go with it that make it so entertaining to watch.

You Cannot Change the Past

            To many proud Packer fans the recent game against Seattle is not one that will be easily forgotten. In the article, “Winning Actually Isn’t the Only Thing,” written by David Maraniss, there is a question that really makes you think. If you were to switch the teams in the football game and the Packers had won, would you still get angry over the referees call? Maraniss’ point of view on this argument was that even if the tables were turned the call was wrong and they Seattle team reacted in an inappropriate way to their victory. In the article, the author uses appeal to authority by quoting Vince Lombardi, a man all dedicated Packers fans know and respect. He shared how Vince Lombardi was about more than just getting a victory; to him it was about playing the game. Maraniss also appeals to emotion when he talks about all the frustration and anger toward the replacement referee. From the way the article was written you can clearly tell that the author is a true Packer fan.

 

            This article was written with a large amount of bias; you can really tell that Maraniss was very disappointed with the outcome of the game. I agree with the author when he states that the opposing coaches might have overacted too much to their victory. I also agree that if the situation was switched and it was the Packers that had received the victory, that there would be a very different reaction from the Packers fans. What I do not agree with however is with how overly dramatized this whole debate is. The author himself even says, “That football is only a game,” so why does it still matter what the call was even after the game has been decided. The overall fact of the situation is you cannot change the past.

https://uwsp.courses.wisconsin.edu/content/enforced/1871907-engl202lschmeli11121210/Maraniss_Winning%20Actually%20Isn%27t%20the%20Only%20Thing.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=HbnQChchWpgsdLM4DKQ87b91u

Believing Game (Part B)

Lots of people in the world have bad habits, such as biting their nails or chewing on pencils. Smoking is a habit that displays one of the biggest health concerns. In the long run, smoking can lead to serious health concerns such as lung disease and in some cases it can lead to cancer. It can also cause oral problems, such as loss of teeth, gum disease, and bad breath. Not only can smoking affect an individual but it also affects everyone around them due to second hand smoke. Lastly smoking can lead to intense addiction. If you are a smoker no only should you be aware of the possible health concerns, but also of what smoking can do to the people around you.