Final Blog Post

This past February, I decided to give up social media for my Lenten promise. I decided to cut Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter out of my daily routine until easter and the results were interesting. It was fairly easy to make the switch but I would catch myself going for the app every once in a while. In the one second it took for me to get my room key out of my pocket and put it in the door, I was already trying to pull up Instagram. And it was purely out of muscle memory, which is kind of terrifying to think about. But once I adjusted, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. But the weird thing was how much it affected those around me. My friends had become so reliant on Snapchat that they felt like they had no way to contact me, even though they have my phone number. 

After lent was over at the start of April, I honestly forgot for a few days after that I could go back onto social media. But even after I remembered, I didn’t feel eager to hop back onto it. So once I got all of them back, I decided to keep the notifications off and I still have them this way now. Without the constant reminder by my friends and my phone, it is easy to separate myself from social media, which I find to be a lot healthy than my routine before this. Through this abstinence, it is like seeing inside the Matrix. Seeing how dependent others are on Snapchat or Instagram while I have taken a step back is fascinating.

Unfortunately, the majority of society is in the dependent category which in turn forces you to do so. If a company or industry you want to work for or be a part of relies on technology and social media presence then you have to be or else you won’t even be considered for the job. And considering I want to pursue a career in the film industry, it can be rather difficult to fully untether myself from all social media. Being able to cut it all out is a luxury only a few successful people can have. One celebrity in this category is famous film director Christopher Nolan. While Nolan has directed major blockbusters like Inception and The Dark Knight Trilogy, he does not possess a smartphone and doesn’t use email. In an interview, he has admitted to this by saying, “It's true that I don't have a smartphone. I have a little flip phone that I take with me from time to time. I'm easily distractible so I don't really want to have access to the internet every time when I'm bored.”

With all of this in mind, I believe technology can be positive and make us smarter but because of this it has made people scared to be wrong. The phrase, “I don’t know” is slowly dying out. Think about when you remember some of the words to a song but not the name itself. Instead of asking around or trying to remember, all you do is just put what you know into Google and the answer will pop up in a matter of seconds. Having the world’s knowledge on our phones has given us the excuse to not have any knowledge in our brains. 

Anyone who knows me knows that me saying “I love to watch movies” is an understatement. This passion is so abundant that I wish to pursue a career in filmmaking. Movies are without a doubt the form of media I consume the most. So one of the things I miss the most about the pre-COVID world is going to the movie theatre. So back in December when Warner Brothers announced that their whole 2021 movie slate will be getting a same-day theatre and streaming release on HBO Max I was heartbroken. I called my friends in disarray and anger. The theatre experience is dwindling and I am actually scared. I feel like going to the movies is going to go the way of the vinyl, where only a select few are going to consume the media in that “retro” form. Back to Christopher Nolan, he has publicly shared his thoughts on the matter by saying, “Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.” Another announcement that crushed me was the closing of the Cinerama Dome. An iconic Hollywood landmark I didn’t have the pleasure to experience is, as of now, closing forever. 

Sources: 

https://www.bbcamerica.com/blogs/director-christopher-nolan-doesnt-have-a-smartphone-or-use-email--52157

https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/08/christopher-nolan-hbo-max/#:~:text=So%2C%20how%20are%20filmmakers%20reacting,yesterday%20in%20The%20Hollywood%20Reporter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/business/media/warner-brothers-movies-hbo-max.html#:~:text=LOS%20ANGELES%20%E2%80%94%20In%20a%20startling,service%2C%20the%20underperforming%20HBO%20Max.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/business/cinerama-dome-closing.html

Diffusion Theory: Cassette Tapes

Diffusion Theory looks at technologies and how they are adopted or not. This does so by looking at the technology’s key components: Pioneers, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Adopters, and Laggers. And what better way to look at this theory than by looking at a product of a bygone era.

The Compact Cassette (or better referred to as cassette tapes). In September of 1963, this was a new format for audio recording and playback developed by a company called Royal Philips in Belgian but wouldn’t be mass-produced until 1965. This took the ideas present in reel to reel tape recorder but compacted it and was made to be more reliable. The initial purpose of this device was for dictation and voice recordings.

These wouldn’t just give consumers the ability to listen to their music on the go, but also an opportunity to make their own recordings and playlists. So as the technology for cassette tapes improved, it is no surprise their spread and popularity grew as well. 

Some people who were hesitant about this new form of media may have not seen any use of it. With the ability to have a record player at home and a radio in the car it would seem like having this device may be pointless. Also, the personal recording aspect of the cassette tapes could be intimidating for consumers who are just casual listeners and don’t see themselves using them for that reason. It could also be seen by some as dangerous, having access to music wherever you go and not being aware of your surroundings of everyday life.

This form of audio technology had peaked its popularity in the 1980s but then came to a screeching halt with the invention of CDs in the 1990s. But today the cassette is still kickin’ as black tapes are still being manufactured and sold and big named artists sell tape versions of their new albums at select stores (I even have a few of my own I have collected through the years). It almost seems like cassettes are trying to catch the wave of resurgences that vinyl has been able to create in recent years. 

EOTO

Motion Pictures

Video producer Craig Benzine said it best by describing film as being, "a universal language that let us tell stories about our collective hopes and fears, to make sense of the world around us and the people around us.”

In 1878 a man named Leland Stanford had bet with his friends involving how a horse runs. The differencing opinions were if at one point all four legs of the horse were off the ground or if there was always at least one. Twelve photography cameras were set up and in settling the bet, something far greater was discovered. When showing these pictures at a rapid speed, the motion picture was born.

Later Thomas Edison had his photographer, William Dickenson, find a way to make this process easier and with more film. He came up with a box that would run the film through it called the Kinetoscope, but one of the problems with it was only one person could view it at a time. That was until a german man named Ottomar Anschutz found a way to project the film. The first actual film was in 1888 called Roundhay Garden Scene, and film is a very loose term as it is only a few seconds of people in a garden. After this, film took off especially at the turn of the century with revolutionary motion pictures. 

Cupid Angling (1918) was a major step in the industry as it was the first film to be in color. Following that a few years later was The Jazz Singer (1927) which was the first film with sound. This art form now combined all art forms into one: photography, storytelling, painting, acting, poetry, theatre, music, etc.

And once it was seen this way, several artistic movements happened in cinema.

The German Expressionism movement of the late 1910s dealt with the more scary and somber aspects of filmmaking as many were inspired by the horrors and aftermath of war. This gave us movies like Nosferatu and Metropolis.

Later down the line, the French New Wave movement occurred in the late 1950s in which traditional filmmaking techniques were rejected and were more experimental. This is one of, if not the, most important movements in cinema. It had revolutionary artists making their own rules to make the films they wanted to see. Taboo subjects and editing techniques came from this movement, such as the idea of the montage.

America then had a New Wave of their own in the form of the New Hollywood movement of the mid-1960s. This gave young, fresh-faced filmmakers of the new generation the ability to come to prominence. Two films that kicked off this movement were The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde, both released in 1967. These movies paved the way for big manes like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas.

Antiwar

When you ask someone what they think of when they think of United States history, they will most likely mention a World War, Civil War, or Revolutionary War. These were all extremely crucial to American history because it is how we got to today. I think one of the main reasons why people do not talk about being antiwar is because it is hard to justify your views on that topic while still remaining in the United States of America and not trying to get that opinion heard. A big problem that we see every day is that people have strong opinions about America but they also live here and work here so they tend not to do much about it. Antiwar is a difficult opinion to have here in the United States. Another reason we most likely do not see more antiwar in the media is because having that stance as a media source would cause a lot of backlash. While you want intriguing headlines or first-to-the-scene stories, you do not want something so out of the societal norm that you end up losing readers or viewers. Here in the United States, we appreciate active duty military or veterans more than other countries. We celebrate them all the time and even more so on US holidays such as the 4th of July. It is hard to say that you are antiwar when every person in every state is celebrating it at least one day a year. 

Stable Change

The idea that a more open society is less violent and therefore more stable definitely has its pros and cons.  I do not think that giving angry citizens the opportunity to speak their minds would be less violent. If you think of anger like an addiction, it is clear to see that speaking about it in a healthy way is beneficial, but speaking about it in a negative way leads to the addiction once again. Addicts with serious substance abuse problems do not go out right away to talk about how much they love drinking and blacking out right after they get out of rehab or they will relapse. If you take this mindset into consideration of angry citizens speaking about anger, then it will most likely end up with more anger. To take it to another extreme, some serial killers do not realize their habits or way of thinking until someone else speaks about it and open their minds to that concept. On the other hand, if angry citizens were to speak their minds in a peaceful way that is asking for change rather than just complaining, then I could see where there is the chance for a less violent community. To a certain extent, the government will either be on everyone’s minds or absolutely no one’s minds. Those who are invested in economics and tradition will most likely always be willing to consider the government no matter what the issue is. Others will never trust the government because, no matter what party is primarily in charge, there is simply not enough trust there for someone to fully commit to the idea. Stable change is a difficult idea mainly because every single person is completely different. Everyone has different passions, different stories, different goals, and different motives. These factors play a big role in who we are and become. An angry citizen might very well have good reason to be angry in their own mind, but when considering if they should be able to be angry aloud to everyone, it is important to note that their reasons for being angry might be the exact same reasons someone is unconditionally kind. I do not think that a more open community will lead to a stable change. I am not sure that even a more open government will lead to stable change. I think it is a combination of both of those things as well as the willingness to truly learn that will bring change. Anger does not have to be the only emotion shown by an angry person. They can be passionate, hurt, loving, open, accepting, and more. We should not focus on anger, but rather focus on the other emotions that might be perceived as angry. Passion is one of those. We as a community and as a nation need to listen to people, not just hear them. We will continue living in the same patterns until people start realizing that nothing will change unless every single person looks within and finds what they personally need to change to make this world a better place. That might be a stable change, but when looking within, it is harder to find balance and acceptance with your true emotions.

Blog #3

The Six Freedoms of the First Amendment have been talked about more in the past year than it probably has been in the last ten years. Throughout the Black Lives Matter Movement, everyone has taken a side; for or against.  Those who are for it will talk about freedom of speech and the right to assemble peacefully. However, those against it will suddenly put all these restrictions on those “Freedoms” to fit their ideas more accurately. People or news sources might not directly say which side they are on, but they make it clear with how they speak of the topic. Those who are supporting Black Lives Matter tend to refer to it as a movement or activism. Those who are against the issue will most likely call it riots, destruction, or simply just violence. If you read an article from a media outlet that has a bias towards the extreme right, such as Fox News, you will see accusations of violence and cults. In an article Fox News did in September 2020, it says, “Black Lives Matter has become a major political force during this intense election year, getting favorable coverage in the left-wing media as its foot soldiers have been the center of violent riots, looting, protests and other unrest breaking out in recent months” (Smith). However, if you look at a media outlet that is skewed left, such as CNN, there will be more talk of activism, movements, and change. The same month the Fox News article was released, CNN released an article saying, “About 93% of racial justice protests in the US since the death of George Floyd have been peaceful and non-destructive” (Kaur). No one has the right to take away the Freedoms of the First Amendment, yet the media only likes to recognize those freedoms when it is useful to them.

Kaur, Harmeet. “About 93% of racial justice protests in the US have been peaceful, a new report finds.” CNN, 4 Sept. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/us/blm-protests-peaceful-report-trnd/index.html.

Smith, Rob. “Rob Smith: Black Lives Matter doesn’t really care about Black lives lost unless group can blame police.” Fox News, 9 Sept. 2020, https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/black-lives-matter-protests-rob-smith.

1.) Apple News

Apple News is a collection of many different news sources so it allows many different options and a variety of subjects ranging from politics to sports and even popular culture.

2.) Twitter 

There obviously some problems with Twitter as a "news source" but official accounts posting smaller headlines is an easy way to get quick information.

3.) The Wall Street Journal

I use my student discount for a WSJ account. I find it to be a fairly balanced news source. 

4.) National Public Radio

Since it is a non-profit, I believe it to be a fair news source that doesn't take sides and tells the news how it is. And that is hard to find these days

5.) USA Today

I don't use this one as much as the others when I'm at school but at home, I read it because my family has a subscription. I also believe that having something tangible really forms a better understanding of the material.