Goodbye MDIA 384, It was fun while it lasted. Final Post

My attitude towards media and media criticism has definitely changed in the last 5 weeks.  I’ve learned a lot about how there are different formats of media, not only in television shows and movies, but also in the real lives of some celebrities and even everyday, average people like myself.  The way the media affects people is quite strange I believe.  This is because if someone important is on the news, or a celebrity tells a mass of people to do something, a good majority will listen to them, all because of the way that mass media works in our society.

I also liked learning about the five different domains of Intertextuality and how they work, because now whenever I’m watching any kind of media, it will be a lot easier for me to understand what’s going on.  For example, now that I know what Paratextual Knowledge means, whenever I hear a television show reference something I’ll know exactly what the creators are doing and how their doing it.  Also, whenever a movie or television show has a line that really sticks out and seems quotable, I’m immediately going to think of Intertextual Performance.  

I also seem to analyze movies and shows differently since I started taking this class.  It seems like now every time I watch a show on t.v or a new movie, I look for things like the style and demeanor of the program, as well as how the camera angles are used to provoke different thoughts and images from the viewer.  Next, depending on the genre of whatever media outlet I’m watching, I look for the style and uniqueness of it, as well as if it is more of a straight forward, edgy show, or a unique, creative, and artistically funny show.  I also really liked the television shows that we were required to watch.  I think that Community was perfect for all of the people who prefer that kind of humor with the way the show was set up and shot.  Then there was 30 rock, which was hilarious as well and was perfect for the group of people who preferred that kind of humor over Community.  It seemed as if it were shot more professionally (to me at least), but at the same time had just the right amount of tacky, sarcastic and witty humor that Community did, just in a different vein.  Another thing that I really liked about both of these shows, was that both of them had an awesome list of guest stars, such as Chevy Chase, Queen Latifah, Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Drew Carey, Tracy Morgan, and Alec Baldwin.  Not only does this make the shows more watchable to their main audiences, but it also gives more laughs than most shows that don’t have as many guests, because it showcases all of these different people’s brands of humor.  Finally, I think that this class got the best of both worlds by having to watch both of these television shows for homework, as they are both extremely funny and easy to watch.

Another thing that I learned a lot about that I didn’t know much of before hand, was how some critics differ a lot from each other.  I used to think that all critics were the same and that they were all just critiquing on whether the show or movie was good or bad, little did I know.  Now that I know that there are a lot of different ways of critiquing, it makes it easier for me to understand where the critics are coming from.  It also showed me that some critics are very creative in their writings about media.  Some examples are critics such as Nell Minow, who starts off all of his critiques by telling the audience why the movie has the rating it has, as well as shows key examples as to what is in the movie that makes it have that rating.  Next, he gives an age recommendation of who he thinks should watch it, then show’s some possible discussion questions about the films, and finally lists other movies that are like the one he’s critiquing at the time.  I like this style a lot because he is really telling you about the movie, without giving away a lot of information about it.  Another critic I like a lot, is Nick Hyman; because he gets straight to the point about whatever he is reviewing, but still adds his own brand of humor in there.  Finally, there’s a critic by the name of Andy Greene who I like a lot, simply because he always writes a short bio about whatever he’s reviewing and it seems like everything that he reviews, is something that he likes a lot and seems very interested in.  Also, I feel like he puts a lot of thought into his reviews and what he is going to say, which I feel a lot of critics don’t do very well.

So as I draw to a close on my last blog entry of this class, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about not only the media all around us as a society, but also about the criticisms of these forms of media.  I’m very glad I decided to take this class, as it has not only introduced me to two new t.v shows that I’m going to start watching more, but it also helped me understand a lot more about why certain forms of media are criticized and how all media affects our society as a whole.

Intertextuality in Media

There are several situations that I have been a part of that use Intertextual Performance.  Most of these involve somebody quoting a line from a movie or television show that everybody involved either knows or likes.  When Superbad first came out I remember hearing quotes from it all the time.  My guess for why so many people quoted this movie, is that because it was such a popular and funny movie directed at teens and young adults, that everyone who had seen it in this age group could relate to what was going on in the story line, thus quoting it in normal conversation as a way to evoke laughter.

Music also plays a big part in Intertextual Performance.  This is because when a music artist has a big following of fans, the fans seem to be able to relate to the music very well.  When the artist writes music and lyrics for his songs, normally they have something to do with him/her.  So, when fans listen to the words of their favorite artists songs, they remember and memorize them, keeping them close to themselves.  This is because the fans and musicians interact with each other through the music.  Most fans become attached to certain lyrics because they get what the artist is trying to say, or can relate to them as well.  This is why a lot of people memorize music and the lyrics, because it seems to fit in with what is going on with someone’s life at that period of time.

Music also has a huge part in Paratextual Knowledge.  It seems more common in hip hop and rap music, but a lot of the lyrics have to do with real world events that are actually happening.  Bands like Rage Against the Machine, Greenday, and System of a Down all do this a lot in their music, by writing music about their feelings on the american government.  Other hip hop and rap acts like Common, Dead Prez Club, and Mos Def talk about real world events like 9/11 or the oil spill.  These musicians know that by writing music that involves major events going on in the real world, that more people are going to know what their talking about in their music and hopefully pay more attention to the problem at hand in our current society.  

Ryan Dunn vs. The Media

Ryan Dunn has always been known to the public as one of the daredevils that performed on the popular show Jackass.  While some people don't like him because of all of the antics and jokes he plays, I feel that most people my age look at him as more of a funny guy and actor, having grown up while the show was popular.  Sadly, he passed away about a month ago in a car crash that took not only his own life, but his passenger's as well.  Ever since this happened, the media have swarmed over why he was driving that night as well trying to figure out what really happened.  This skyrocketed his image all over the world as some people put him down as being just another drunk driver, while others celebrated his death with memorials and tributes.  Also, probably the biggest part about this story is that through media and social networking, there is a rumor that his death was faked and he and the Jackass crew were trying to get everybody's reactions to put in a new movie.  I don't think this is true as it would be a cruel joke to the public and would result in major backlash against all who would be involved.
     Social media didn't really seem to affect Ryan Dunn's image before websites like Facebook and Twitter, and even after those sites became popular, him image was still pretty much the same.  The only difference was, was that he had a little bit easier of a time communicating with fans and he could talk about what he wanted.  Social media didn't seem to affect Dunn's image a lot until his untimely death back on June 20th.  After news of his death got out, media outlets all raced to figure out what happened and tried to explain their own thoughts and opinions on what happened to the daredevil.
     I think that social media does make it easier to become a celebrity, because once someone gets on a television show or has a song come on the radio; it is very likely that a large quantity of people will see or hear them and become interested.  This would be followed people telling their friends and family about the person, then which would be followed by more and more people becoming familiar with the person, creating a celebrity out of them.  Without social networking, the world would not have any celebrities.  Ryan Dunn probably wouldn't be a celebrity without any kind of social media.  This is because if he would have never been on the show Jackass, then no body would have seen him on it and no body would even know who he was.  He would be just like any other average person without the help of these media outlets.
     Our definition of a celebrity has been changed immensely due to the growing media outlets and what is considered popular by today's standards.  Before Facebook and Twitter, fans just heard about celebrities from news broadcasts or live events.  However, now that these two modes of social media are as popular as they are, the celebrities can communicate with their fans and post interesting information about themselves or their hobbies online for everyone to see.  Also, with Youtube becoming so popular, a lot of kids, music acts, and comedians have come to be hugely successful just from the help of Youtube.  I feel that Youtube is one of the most important media tools in the last 10 years, as it can launch someone's video for the whole world to see, possibly making that person very popular.  If Youtube never existed, then a lot of today's popular celebrities would never have been as prominent as they are, because without that gigantic form of social media, nobody would have had any idea that these people even existed or could do what they can.  Also, I’m sure that a lot of things that have become popular recently, weren't popular until somebody introduced the world to them.  So if something was never introduced, it is very possible that a lot of the general public would never have known that they would grow to like whatever it is.
     The role that social media plays in our world is probably one of the most important things that has ever happened to mankind.  This is because now as a culture and society, we have the tools to find whatever we want, or to show as many people as possible something new.  If somebody has an idea, they could just post a video on Youtube, or post something on Twitter or Facebook, and everyone that was connected to them would see the post, which would pass the idea along to thousands of other people.  This could all happen in a matter of minutes, which makes this form of media, one of the most useful forms ever.  I think that the beauty behind social media is that anyone can participate in it, and everyone who does has the capability to say whatever they want to, while sharing with the rest of the world, just from the click of a button.

Community and 30 Rock Reviews

Community Reviews:

1).  http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/back-to-community-college-magna-cum-laughter-1.1450816

2).  http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20304584,00.html

3).  http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/111672-community/

30 Rock Review:

1).  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116008368469484155.html

2).  http://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/review/30-rock-season-one/39

3).  http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2006-10-10-review-30-rock_x.htm


My background with Community isn't very extensive at all.  I didn't really watch this television show until I started this class.  However, some of my friends do watch this show and have told me how hilarious it is.  I never knew that I could watch it online, and since I haven't been able to watch a lot of television in the past 9 months I haven't had the chance to sit down and enjoy this show or any recent show of any kind for that matter.  Nobody in my house watches this show, but after watching it my self I'm definitely going to recommend it to some of my family who I know like these kind of shows and some other friends as well.  One of the things that I found relevant from the first review is that it really explains the premises of the show and helps viewers who aren't familiar with it be able to know whats going on.  From the second review I found that at the end of it, it gives a letter grade as a ranking as a way to show viewers what a general kind of show it is and how good that particular critic thinks it is.  As for the third review, I like how it explains the way that the comedy is put in and what kind of comedy is used in the show.

My background with 30 Rock also isn't that extensive, just because of the fact that I haven't watched a lot of television in the past 9 months.  The first time I ever saw this television show was when I watched it for this class.  Just like Community, nobody in my home watches this show or has ever watched it.  Also, I never knew this show was available online to stream either.  Something that I found relevant about the first review was that it explained some of the background to the show and also talked about the way in which the characters act and the roles they play in the show.  From the second review I liked how it explained how the show was created and came to be on the main television program that it's on.  Finally, for the third review, I really like how they give a lot of credit to Tina Fey for creating the show and Alec Baldwin and the other actors and actresses on the show for making it as good and funny as it is.

As for the reviews, they did mesh with what my interpretations how both shows were.  The reviews didn't change my perception of the show at all, except for the fact that some of them did bring up some things I didn't know about the either show, such as how they came to be on the air.

30 Rock and Community

As far as the production goes for both of these shows, I feel like Community uses more of an artistic approach and is focused on how the characters interact with each other.  I like this because it shows how a lot of people in the real world act without masking it with fake situations and other things that just don't seem probable to the viewers.  I also like how the scenes are more focused on more than one or two characters, and instead are used with two characters and up in each shot.  The way that 30 Rock's production goes, is that there are a lot more cut scenes and uses of flashbacks and stories that have already previously happened that the viewer doesn't know about.  These seem to be based off of television cartoons in the same vein as Family Guy.  Also, I feel like the humor is different in both of these shows.  30 Rock seems to have more one liners, while Community seems to have more funny situations happen.

30 Rock seems to have a lot more references to the "real" outside world rather than Community does as far as intertextuality does.  I feel like Community is more focused on the story lines that are included in the script and use little outside resources to add in some comic relief every once and awhile.  I think this is a good idea, because it attracts the audiences more to the shows plot line, than to something else that is happening that isn't related to the show.  On the other hand however, the way in which 30 Rock incorporates more intertextuality into their show, makes it a lot funnier and works very well for the kind of humor that they are attempting.  All in all, I think that the use of intertextuality in sitcoms is a good and bad thing, based on what kind of show it is used in.  I feel that it works great in 30 Rock, but not as much in Community.

My Choice-  What I liked about both of these shows is how they both seem to incorporate stupid humor in with real life situations.  It's almost like being able to watch something that could happen to someone without anything bad actually happening in real life.  Both of these shows would not be what they are if it weren't for the different kind of humor that they both use.  Another thing I like, is that 30 Rock incorporates a lot of different celebrities, such as Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Tracy Morgan and Oprah Winfrey.  Community does this as well, incorporating Chevy Chase, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Drew Carey.  The fact that both of these shows can use so many different celebrities as guests on their shows, really shows that they know what their doing and are both unique enough to have celebrities want to come and do guest spots on their shows.

Critics

1).  http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/6195632-421/family-fare-movie-reviews-for-parents.html

     This is the first critic I found that I enjoyed, his name is Nell Minow.  I like the way he reviews his movies and the style in which he does it in.  He starts off by explaining why the movie is rated what it is by pointing out key examples of topics like: Language, Sexual Content, and Violence.  Next, he gives a recommendation of who he thinks should be allowed to see the movie, based on age.  Then, he talks about what a discussion of the movie could be like based on what happens in it, and finally, he lists other movies that are similar to the one that he is reviewing.  I like how he does this, because he is showing his opinions on the movie and then showing what the movie industry's opinion on the movie is.  Also, he doesn't give away to much information when talking about different parts of the movie.

2).  http://www.metacritic.com/feature/6-picks-for-week-of-june-20-2011

     The second critic that I found to be interesting is Nick Hyman.  I like the way that he writes because he gets straight to the point about what he's reviewing while still being able to add some humor to the writing.  For example, when he was reviewing Cars 2 in the above article, all he talked about was the actors who are playing in it, the plot, and then the release date.  I also like how he puts a link to a Youtube video that is related to whatever he is reviewing for that article.  Another thing I like about his writing is that he puts in little interesting facts about whatever tv show or movie he is reviewing.  For example, when he was reviewing Cars 2 in the above article, he says that Pixar put in some characters in the movie that will probably be in the next movie made by them.

3).  http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/a-treasure-20110609

     The third critic that I chose is Andy Greene.  I like a lot of the reviewing that he does because he writes for one of my favorite magazines, which is Rolling Stone.  The way in which he reviews is that he first gives a brief bio on the artist or movie before he starts talking about it.  I love the way he talks about different songs, he seems to either know exactly what the song is about, or have his own way of describing how it sounds.  I think one of the reasons that I like him, is because he seems like he really enjoys the music that he is critiquing and puts a lot of thought into what he thinks about the album or movie before he knows what he wants to write down, which I think makes his reviews better than a lot of the other critics out there.

Slate Article Response

     After reading the two slate articles, I learned that there are different ways that critics work that makes each one different.  For example, Alan Sepinwall reviews between 10 to 15 shows a week and writes about each episode of each show.  I think that this is pretty impressive and didn't realize how much time these people put into their line of work.  I also had no idea that there were so many different ways of approaching their job.  I thought that the way that critics and television shows have evolved is pretty interesting.  In the article it says that critics used to just review a few episodes to get an idea and write about it, nowadays, critics are reviewing every episode of a television series.
     There were some interesting hyperlinks throughout these two articles and two of them that caught my eye were one about how soda could be bad, and the other was about how Shakespeare could have used Marijuana as an influence to writing his sonnets.  I found the article about soda to be interesting because soda is something that millions of people in our country drink and if it's harmful, then it could be a serious problem.  What I found from clicking on this hyperlink is that soda use has increased obesity and diabetes in the past 20 years.  Also, researchers have found that there could be a link between soda and high blood pressure, liver disease, gout, and some kinds of cancer as well.  This is a bit unsettling.  However, what I found from the other hyperlink about Shakespeare, is that a South African Anthropologist has found traces of marijuana, cocaine, and myristic acid on pipe fragments found in Shakespeare's garden.  Upon seeing this, I had to click on it as it seemed entertaining and something you don't normally see on a news website.