American Beauty

American Beauty is a film from 1999 that embodies the dysfunctional beauty of one family, and relates it to the overall American cultural experience. The main character, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), sees no point to his existence: he is in a trying relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening); he barely talks to his daughter Jane (Thora Birch); and he has been put under fire at work. After a series of occurrences in his life such as meeting his new neighbor Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) smoking some pot, and becoming captivated by Jane's high school classmate Angela (Mena Suvari), Lester undergoes a remarkable transformation and decides to stop being a conformist. He quits his job, much to the irritation of his wife, and begins to work at a Burger King.

There is a great deal of suspense in this story line of this film: we are give the ending right at the beginning: that Lester will be dead in a year's time. However, how and why this is the case isn't revealed until the very last minute. The movie tries to tell us that conforming to a lifestyle dictated by society leads to dysfunctionality. But finding freedom as illustrated in the film isn't exactly great either.

As the movie proceeds, each of the characters experience a transformation that breaks them out of their rut and enables them to advance to the next level of existence. Each transformation is characterized by the movement between living a routine life and living a dynamic life, where everything is uncertain. At the end, only Lester has found true freedom. Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), the homophobic father of Ricky is left to confront his own issues; Jane and Ricky move away to become professional drug dealers; Carolyn's transformation leaves her alone; and there is nothing to fix Angela's insecurity.

First Episode of The Newsroom

The Newsroom is a television show that premiered in 2012 that depicts an interesting inside look of a newsroom for a very popular fictional news network. The creator, Aaron Sorkin, created the episodes around actual news events that were occurring in the country at the time. The show stars actor Jeff Daniels who plays the lead news anchor and has an outrageous, stubborn personality.

The first episode of The Newsroom was full of controversial topics and intense scenes that pulled you in right from the beginning. In addition to this, this show is identified as a comedy as well and it definitely contains comic elements that make you laugh out loud. In this episode, the first 10 minutes were the most powerful, because of the speech he made about why America was not the best country in the world. This sparked contrasting reactions from people that witnessed the episode, because he really went off on the government and how we are not as great as we used to be. This speech rang a harsh truth in many people's ears that they didn't necessarily want to hear. It created a conflict in the show that you were intrigued by and made you want to continue watching so you can find our the answer to it. In addition to this conflict there are many love conflicts that arise. One between the main character and his new producer that was an old flame, and a love triangle between the secretary and two guys that work for the station. These conflicts that are presented right away make everyone interested in the story and the dialogue. The Newsroom is definitely shot beautifully and the lighting is mostly natural from the windows and very bright. The shots include a lot of close ups and pans of the studio, and they undertake the feeling of the chaotic studio structure very well. The Newsroom is definitely a show that I want to continue watching and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to find a great show to see. 

            Here's the video of this great speech. 

The Way You Look Tonight

As I was flipping through the channels on my TV the other night, my family stopped to watch a press conference with President Obama about the ebola crisis in the United States.  As we watched him speak on the subject, I noticed just how tired he looked.  I remember canvasing for Obama back in 2008, and the now worn and tired president is not the same young and spirited man he was when he first ran for office. 

 I thought back to many history classes that I have taken in which we discussed the question whether or not Franklin Delano Roosevelt would be elected for office if he ran today.  If we think of solely his politics, it is easy to think that he would still be voted into office by Americans today.  However, we must also consider his physical condition.  A victim of polio as a child, FDR was weak in his lower body and used crutches and a wheelchair.  When he gave speeches, he leaned against the podium for support.  If television had prevalent in American homes at this time, would people have still voted for him, seeing that he was physically weak?

                








 Personally, I do not think that America would have elected FDR into office.  This was an era before television, an era before the majority of Americans could judge a public official based on their physical characteristics.  The first television was introduced to the American public at the 1939 World's Fair at which FDR gave a speech to welcome all of those in attendance.  It wasn’t until the early 1950s, however, that more than fifty percent of Americans owned TVs.

                 
  Television has influenced politics and increased the importance of the public image.  Before television, people could listen to politicians on the radio or read about them in the news, but there was no way in which the masses could observe the actions and the physical appearance of a person and make judgements about him.  With the invention of the television came the importance of having a presentable image.  Politicians are constantly under public scrutiny, for there are always fans, interviewers, or paparazzi waiting to film or take a picture of a public personality.   The public image has become so important in today’s society.  The body language and physical appearance of a politician suddenly became much more important to the public once the masses were able to watch a public figure live on TV.

                                                                               
                                                                              VS.

The importance of the public image adds a whole new element to politics.  Because of the influence of television, politics are no longer mainly based on what the politicians believe or what they promise their constituents, but instead on the way a politician looks.  America aims to vote for someone who looks strong, friendly, trustworthy, and like they will be able to protect America in a time of crisis. 

Athletic Supporting

Commercials made by sportswear companies all follow a similar formula. They involve pump up music, usually rock or rap, a very fit and muscular person working out while wearing the product. This appeals to a limited amount of people that are already in shape and good athletes.


 

There are a few instances though where the companies go for the other audience, the 'fatties' and the 'losers'. This is the audience should be exploited more. I believe they will respond more positively to advertisements and spend more money chasing their fitness goals.



The second ad in my opinion is much more effective. There is a much larger population of unfit people, especially in America. Encouraging people to work out and be healthy is more motivating than showing already very fit athletes working out.

UNtrue Love's "First Kiss"

This week, a short film called "First Kiss" sent the internet on a frenzy, becoming an instant viral sensation, with over 49 million viewers so far. Many of you have probably seen it. Ten couples, meeting for the first time on set, kiss each other in black and white to the soundtrack of French musician Soko's "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow". The result was awkward and heartwarming, to be able to see something raw and vulnerable shot in such a beautiful way. Here's the video:

Cute, right? Or so we all thought. The internet backlashed when it was revealed that the video was actually made to showcase a line for a small clothing company called Wren. The people in the film were all models and actors, friends of the film's director Tatia Pilieva. Apparently the video was submitted to Style.com for their Video Fashion Week, to show off the company's new fall designs.

But was it really a secret? The film clearly states in the beginning and in the credits that it was presented by Wren. Nevertheless, many felt duped because the company was not well known. Although the models and actors really did meet each other for the first time on set, crowds of viewers felt violated by the marketing tactics of Corporate America, no matter how unintentional it was.

Despite the controversy and the advertisement, I still felt that the video was sincere and creative. The emotions and reactions of the couples were real, no matter what clothes they were wearing. I thought the soft-focus and black and white was an excellent choice, and the music fit so well.

But, this film does have implications for future advertisements. Viral videos are an excellent way to gain exposure, and through product placement, who can really tell what's real and what's a commercial? Unfortunately, fact-checking is going to have to be on the back of everyone's minds the next time they see anything presented by the media.

Whether you're a fan of the video or not, something good did come out of it. Dozens of parodies, including one by Jimmy Fallon, featuring adorable puppies and kittens. Enjoy.

House of Cards Kills

After listening to Arturo's such positive comments about the brand new Netflix series "House of Cards", I decided I'd give the first episode a try and see if they held true. 12 episodes later... I concurred that Arturo was right.

House of Cards proved to be a very intelligently written political drama that kept you on the edge of your seat throughout. It was extremely difficult to stop watching once I got started, with the ending of each episode leaving you on even more of a cliffhanger than the last. In addition to the excellent storytelling, the acting was absolutely superb. Kevin Spacey delivers an immaculate performance as Francis Underwood, the ruthless Majority Whip whose hellbent on scheming his way to the Presidency, and not letting anyone get in his way. However he still doesn't outshine his co-stars, with Robin Wright, Kate Mara, and Corey Stoll bringing their A game as well.

This is the second original series Netflix has put out, and this one really knocked it out of the park. Whether or not the show is a success hinges on how many of Netflix's subscribers decided to watch the show and keep watching once they got started. Netflix hasn't released any numbers yet, but the hope is that releasing an entire season all at once will keep viewers hooked given the accessibility of the next episode, as opposed to releasing each one weekly. Essentially, Netflix hopes their original series inspires the "binge watching" in which many customers end up using the service for (especially college students). After my experience, I have no doubt that it will.

It's Amazing how much the World Changes in Eleven Years

     Well that day has come again. Eleven years ago a few moments shook our nation and dramatically altered the coarse of many American lives. For some generations this was the second major attack on home soil by a foreign enemy, others it was the first. For some it was all too confusing at the time to make anything of it and for some children, aged ten and under, it means they grew up their whole life while our country was at war.
     This tragic event has received a lot of coverage ever since that day. The news was the fastest way to spread the message of what happened that day as that was probably the most watched thing for the following days across America. The next thing I remembered seeing was the music industry, so many bands had been releasing songs or even albums dedicated to what happened that day. Bon Jovi came out with the song "Undivided" on his album Bounce in 2002, about how the nation came together that day. In 2003 Yellowcard's song "Believe" was dedicated to heroic acts that occurred that day. Also in 2003 Darryl Worley came out with the song "Have You Forgotten", whose imagery brings back vivid memories of what happened that day. Documentaries have since emerged. Inside the Twin Towers, 102 Minutes that Changed America, Ten Years On: Remembering 9/11 to name a few. The documentaries while not having the largest audience, definitely have the biggest impact because they tend to have true stories in them, not hypothetical or cliche stories in them. Recently Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close directed by Stephen Daldry came out. Eleven year old Oskar Schell, afflicted with Aspergers, tries to solve the last puzzle his father left him before his father, Tom Hanks, passed in the attack. It is a touching movie that has a few cliches and some disturbing videos from 2001. It created a powerful movie. The movie takes place over the span around one or two years.
     As mentioned above for some people they were too young to properly make sense of what happened that day. To this day they might not know what to make of it, I know I still don't know entirely what to think of it. Since a lot of people tend to look at the world through their own eyes, people in a different generation might not understand that. To them it might be seen as a horrible event with horrible outcomes that they understand and the though might not come across to them that its fuzzy to others.
     One of the amazing things that media can do is show new points of view on topics or even bringing topics to light. Things like the coverage of the Egyptian Revolution last year, or the Kony movement that briefly swept across the internet. While it's not the biggest thing in the world, I want to use my voice to show that story. The story of someone who to this date is affected by September 11th, 2001. With Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close it takes place soon after the attacks, but with what I want to do is make it more current. So the character could fit with someone within two years of my age. I feel like it will be a powerful piece and hope this will be one of my best pieces of work while in college.
     Never Forget 9/11/01. May all those effected find peace.