Picture Documanary

January 24^th, 2008

Media in the contemporary classroom

Photo Essay

1. The narrative of these images is that of my apartment. It is the story of the past week that we have lived with no heat. The different images are thing specific to our survival in the cold of our apartment.

2. I was able to control what things I took pictures of, as well as lighting, placement of people/objects, and what I included in the pictures.

3. Figures include our furnace, our broken thermostat, snuggling room mates, coats, slippers, blankets, etc. There is a picture of my fish because we thought he was dead but he was just so cold that he stopped moving. We had to move him away from the window. I did not give to much thought to what was in the background, mostly I just tried to capture the main figures

4. The only pattern is the theme of the cold and dealing with the cold. I feel like all the figures presented are good representations for the cold in our apartment.

5. I think that showing a furnace of a thermostat is commonly understood to have something to do with temperature control. Also, coats, blankets, slippers, and things of that nature are commonly known to keep us warm. Those symbols are the most predominant.

6. I just want people to feel grateful for their warm apartments, and to get some understanding of what each image means.

Laugh out loud cats

So, in klas i talkd about talkin to ma bruthr. I cud not understand him wen he wus typin. he had me read lolcats so I cud understand him. at frst i cud not read it. After lookin at lots of pikshurs, I now can read them. It is intesting that this is teh new way fur kidz to writes. This is going to cauz prolums.




dis is one uf my favrits. this is the capshun that somone wrote for it:

Dis hits clos to teh home. Citee Ofishuls (fish? nom-nom-nom…) Atlanter sai pleh to teh baggee pantz. Dey can has teh law 2 pull up teh pants? I sez yesh…but udders do not want!

Translation: this hits close to the home. The city officials do not approve of baggy pants. They want to pass a law that requires people to pull their pants up. I agree with this, but other people do not like it.

Spider behavior

I was sent this video by my dad. he said it was a documentary I might find interesting. I was a little confused as to why he thought I might like spiders. However, after watching n it i saw what he meant. I think this video uses some great media tricks. I honestly thought this was a genuine documentary on spiders reactions to different substances. because I am working on my own documentary right now, I liked this because it gave me another way to frame my own. I realized that this was a great little clip because it was informative in the beginning, and entertaining near the end.

listening to music while doing homework...

In some of the first few days of class, we talked about the rising generation being one that multi-media-tasked. (for example watching TV and reading a magazine at the same time. Or surfing the web and listening to music.) I noticed something in the last few days that makes me feel dated and old. My baby sister (who is 16) spends hours on the computer. She always had her I-pod on her person and is always listening to it. She is listening to music when she rides in the car, but also when she is doing homework. My room mate, (who is only a year older than my sister... weird...) also listens to music while doing her homework. She even reads novels with the radio going full blast. Here is where I feel old. I can do anything that requires concentration while listening to music. At least not music with words. All my brain can focus on is the lyrics. I cant think about any other words when I am listening to music. Even in my car I listen to the same CD on repeat because I know the lyrics so well that I can concentrate on a conversation or something else while the radio is on. Likewise, I cant have the radio or TV on if I am trying to sleep. My brain can't tune out the words and it keeps my brain going even when I'm sleepy. There are a few movies that I can watch while falling asleep, but its because I have seen them so many times that know them by heart. I don't know what this entry is saying... but I'm saying it, :)

i was sent this clip by a friend and I thought it was ingenious. It was interesting to watch this after watching the VW commercial. Likewise, it is not immediately clear what this is a commercial for, and even after it is over, i still am more interested in the story than in whatever product this commercial is selling. (i think its lottery tickets, but i cant be sure.) Also, I must say that after watching this, I realized how absolutely awesome the kid in this commercial is. since the first time I saw this, I have been on a mission to find a time when I can use this trick.

Hairspray

I love the movie hairspray. I LOVE it. It is so cheesy and so happy, I cant help myself. In class, Professor Jensen made the comment that she would not yet allow her 7 year olds watch it because she did not think it was appropriate. I found this so strange, because this is one of the cleanest movies I have seen in a long time. I re-watched it today, trying to see why it might not be appropriate for young kids, because when thinking about it, nothing came to my mind. I was amassed at how many things popped out at me when I was looking for them. I am so used to some words and ideas and I just accept mild sexual humor as part of life that I never noticed so many of the little things before. I actually went online and found a parental review of this film and the list of things that were questionable was extensive!

Sex/Nudity (Heavy)
- A woman discusses "screwing the judges" and later refers to risking communicable diseases from such action. She later tries manipulate a man by implying that she wants to have sex, but he does not take the bait.
- For comedy, many different types of innuendo are present. A teen on the dance show will be absent due to pregnancy, and another teen sings that she won't go "all the way" but will go pretty far. After kissing a black boy, a girl states now that she has had chocolate she will never go back.
- Some teens on the dance show and in other places dance suggestively, and some women wear dresses that show significant cleavage.

Profanity (Moderate)
- The words "damn" and "ass" are used.
- The phrase "Oh my God" or derivatives of the phrase are used several times.

Alcohol/Drugs (Moderate)
- Some people are shown smoking, including several teenage girls smoking in the bathroom.
- Some pregnant women are shown smoking and drinking in a bar. A character comments that they are glamorous. The scene is intended to be funny, but the women are portrayed as beautiful and glamorous.

Bad/Disrespectful Behavior (Extreme)
- Several racial comments are played for comedy and to highlight the backward thinking of some characters who believe in segregation. In the opening song for the famous dance show, the teens sing that they are "nice white kids." Once a week the show has "Negro Day," when black dancers have their own dance party show. When Tracy gets sent to detention, the room is full of black students.


Still, I noticed that these were things that I couldn't even remember when trying to think of questionable content. I know this movie inside out, but none of these things stood out to me.
Also, i feel the need to state that Link is a stud, ;)

Coke plus

Whilst browsing my monthly subscription to cosmopolitan, I stumbled upon an advertisement for Diet coke plus. It looked almost identical to the one that I have found and posted here, except it read, "A Resolution, That tastes great" on it instead of the "your friend just got friendlier" I must admit that the add caught my eye. I have recently started weight watchers, and I also LOVE coke, (which i need to drastically reduce in my diet.) I feel kinda silly because I actually bought this product just because I saw this picture and I thought it might be worth trying. (it was not by the way. It tasted just like regular gross diet coke plus funny vitamin taste.) The silly thing is, I went back and found the add later to see what it was about it that got my attention. I realized it was 2 things. the first was the slogan: A Resolution, That tastes great! I had made a resolution to loose weight this semester, and this convinced me that it might be worth a try. The second thing is really silly: the flower emblem and the rainbow font. Lame, I know. It just looked so happy and like something I would enjoy, and therefor the coke must also be something I would enjoy, right? wrong. gross.

speical

My first post. arnt i special.