Tony Soprano and Freud

            I have already talked about Tony Soprano on these posts, but this week I want to focus on him by assessing him from a psychoanalytical perspective, i.e. Freud. The most prominent and significant way in which Tony inhabits Freud’s theory of man is in the way Tony refuses to ever change, despite an expressed desire to do so. Freud believed that a person’s personality and attitude was determined by the age of five. After that, a person is essentially in a state of stasis, never truly making any significant changes to their core personality. Tony completely embodies this idea. In Season Six Part One of the show, Tony suffers a life threatening attack. After a long stay in the hospital, he miraculously returns to life. He almost immediately promises that he has changed his ways, and he will no longer sleep around on his wife, he will no longer commit such violent acts, and he will not be the same man he was. This, as it turns out, proves not to be the case. He is soon back to his old ways, as if he never vowed to change. This inability to make actual significant changes to his personality is in accordance to Freud’s theory. This is not the only way in which Tony adheres to Freud’s theories though.

            Another way in which Tony adheres to Freud’s general theory is through Tony’s often surreal and symbolic dreams. Freud theorized that dreams are really our wants and desires cloaked in symbols. Tony’s dreams often do just that. The show depicts Tony’s dreams in a very surreal and bizarre way, but they always represent what is on his mind. Sometimes they even show what he is not willing to admit. In the episode “Funhouse,” Tony has a dream where he reaches the realization that one of his best friends has betrayed him. He had known it for a long time, but it was not until he had the dream that he was willing to admit to himself that his friend betrayed him. This completely correlates with Freud’s view of man, with dreams having significance far beyond our comprehension. Tony Soprano also inhabits Freud’s view of the effects of parenthood.

            Every woman Tony tries to have sex with is eerily similar to his mother, which fits Freud’s view of man’s relation with his mother.  Freud theorized that every man in life wants to have sex with their mother, which they then effects what they find attractive in the world. Tony truly inhabits this theory. His mother was a difficult person, to put it lightly. And for the entire length of the show, Tony constantly gets involved with women who are completely unstable. An example of this is that Tony at one point dumps one of these girls. A few weeks later, he finds out that the girl killed herself. That Tony is so attracted to such unstable women is a result of his affection for his mother, which fits Freud’s theory of man.

            Tony Soprano is a complete manifestation of Freud’s view of man. His personality, dreams, and sexual activities completely view Freud’s various philosophies about man. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown, but it feeds into the extremely deep and intricate characterization of Tony Soprano. And it is because of this complexity and attention to character detailing that the show became one of the most acclaimed television series of all time.

True Facts about...

You probably have come across the "True Facts about (insert animal name here)" videos on youtube. If you haven't basically its video clips of an animal living its life while a man tells you facts about the animal. I was recently introduced to the video about the mantis shrimp.

I like these videos because they present the information about the animals in a way that isn't dry like a textbook. The man talking in these videos has a very unenthusiastic tone when telling you these interesting facts and he is often bitter about the things the animals can do that he cannot. He always starts out telling the facts professionally and then he slowly gets more casual and more inappropriate as he goes on. Towards the end of each video he's cursing frivolously. I think videos like this are a great way to teach kids about animals they wouldn't typically learn about or want to know about.

The Obsession with Dexter

     When I told a friend I'd never seen Dexter he acted like I'd committed a crime. The popular show lasted for eight seasons on television, and it's fan base continues to grow now that it's on Netflix. I had never known much about the show, so I felt pretty indifferent toward it when it was on TV, but since it was so popular I thought I'd give it a try. Although I've only seen the pilot episode, I can't say I was overly impressed. I know I shouldn't judge an entire series off of one episode, but I'm not rushing to watch more.
     The show is unique, that's for sure. It relies heavily on voiceovers by the main character, Dexter. He can be very quiet and awkward and he's very secretive and reserved. The voiceovers are necessary for the audience to hear and understand Dexter's thoughts and feelings, but it seems to me that there are a lot of them and I'm not sure I like that style in a TV show.
     The obsession with blood is obviously a major part of the show, but it seems excessive and somewhat awkward to me at times. I assume that to understand this part of the show I would have to watch more of it, but the blood aspect of the show was thrown at you in the pilot episode. Dexter becomes enthralled in murder cases that involve a lot of blood at the scene. He can't think straight when he encounters a crime scene with no blood. I don't understand it, but that's likely because I haven't seen enough of the show to get into the character's head.
     Michael C. Hall does an excellent job portraying the character of Dexter, but the show as a whole may not be my cup of tea. The concept of the show is very interesting and different from anything I've seen so I want to like it, but its first impression on me didn't reel me in. I think a second chance is required.

Sephen Colbert set to replace David Letterman on the Late Show

I don't know if you've heard the news, but recently David Letterman announce his planned retirement in 2015. After three decades on the Late Show he feels it is time for him to take a break and enjoy the simple things in life. Now being that the Late Show holds some of the highest ratings then any other late night show we are all wondering who would replace this icon. Well, it turns out that there is talk about Stephen Colbert taking over for David Letterman which doesn't seem like a bad idea. Lately everyone has been getting promoted haven't they? First it was Jimmy Fallon, then Seth Meyers, Now David Letterman. The tides have really changed recently with who will be running these talk shows for the indefinite future. It is said that if Stephen Colbert does in fact take over the Late Show, he will not longer be posing as the political mastermind that he acts as for the Colbert Report. Instead, Stephen will just be his normal self and do what he does best. So far the transition of Seth Meyers taking over Jimmy Fallon's has been going well so hopefully if this switch takes place with the Late Show it will go just as smoothly. Fortunately tonight Seth Meyers i preforming at Ithaca College, so all those who will be seeing him first hand today (including me) can be the judge of his live performance. Hope to see you all there!

The Grand Guignol: Not for the Faint of Heart

Le Théâtre de Grand-Guignol, literally translated from French as "The Theatre of The Big Puppet Show", was a theatre that formed in a chapel inside Paris' red light district in the late 19th century. Renowned for it's displays of graphic horror and gore, the theatre gained a large cult following. It's actors (no, they weren't puppets) simulated astonishingly realistic acts of violence and sex such as hangings, stabbings, rape and all kinds of beatings.

The shows were so terrifying for it's audiences that it was common that at least two people fainted during the performances, many times up to fifteen people per night. Even the actors were injured and sometimes killed because of the shows. A doctor was kept on call every night in case of these events.

The Grand Guignol eventually closed in the sixties, unable to compete with the effects of cinema. But, the subgenre of horror movies known as splatter film was heavily influenced and based on the naturalistic effects invented at The Grand Guignol. Things such as inflatable animal bladders and pumps hidden under actor's clothes to spew out blood when cut were used at the theatre and adapted for the screen.

        

Many of today's splatter films such as the Saw franchise and movies like The Evil Dead were impacted by the shock factor that The Grand Guignol brought. The gore we know today started on the stage, and grew into a cinematic genre all of its own. The theatre pushed their actors and their audiences to the limits, exploring the horrific and bizarre, paving the way for horror cinema. Now, The Grand Guignol has reopened for special performances, allowing audiences to see what inspired the great gore films throughout history.

Torrent: Everybody Does Illegal Things

Many of us have seen these warning labels:

This screen pretty much states that any duplication of this film is illegal. ILLEGAL! There are ways to get aroud that. There is an software called uTorrent. It allows people to ultimately download anything that they want. For those of you that may not know what torrent is, here is a little bit of information about it.

A torrent file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers that help participants in the system find each other and form efficient distribution groups called swarms.[1] A torrent file does not contain the content to be distributed; it only contains information about those files, such as their names, sizes, folder structure, and cryptographic hash values for verifying file integrity. Depending on context, a torrent may be the torrent file or the referenced content.

I personally do not torrent anything, but I feel that it shouldn't be illegal if you already own a copy of whatever you want to Torrent. For example, if you have a dvd copy of the movie and you want to have a digital copy of the film, I feel that it is fine that you torrent a version of it.

Just thought this is information that you should know!

What is WebM?

     WebM is an open source, royalty free, audio video format used for all type of video on the web such as streaming HD movies, live streaming, video calling, and any other web video. WebM was started in 2010 and was backed by Mozilla, Opera, Skype, Google, and others. It was started to provide users with a free high quality video format that is editable and able to be improved upon by the users. WebM tries to solve two major issues with current video formats. One is that it is completely royalty free and they will not charge people for using WebM. The other is that most popular video formats that exist today are not designed for use on the web but television and DVDs.

     WebM is currently still still trying to gain support so it's hard to say what we can expect to see from it in the future. As of now it is only supported by Firefox, Chrome, and Opera. To use WebM on Safari or Internet Explorer a third party software has to first be installed.  They hope in the future to get support for WebM built directly onto mobile devices.

Throwing Sound

The concept of throwing sound is a very interesting one. Placing a sound in a specific place is very difficult due to the eternal movement of sound waves. There is product out now that can throw sounds wherever you want them. Granted the speaker is the size of an old flip phone so theres not much output volume but nonetheless it is very cool.

Basically there is a small parabolic speaker that has a coned shape in order to "shoot" sound wherever you want. The effect is that you can point the speaker at someone and only they can hear it, like a whisper in their ear; when you move it away from the person it sounds like the sound is bouncing off the wall behind them. Difficult to explain in words but very easy if its actually been done to you. I found out about this product from a guest speaker in one of my classes who used chirping crickets to demonstrate the soundlazer to my astonishment. I had never heard such precise placement of sound I almost cried. In the entertainment industry, parabolic speakers are becoming increasingly popular in mixing sound for movies due to the precise location of the sound. Many new speaker systems are incorporating these speakers so engineers can adjust not only the direction of the sound but the HEIGHT of the sound. So say you're watching a movie and spaceship moves from the bottom of the frame to the top, you would hear the sound "underneath" you. Once the spaceship moves to the top half of the screen it would sound like it is "above" you. This was used in Gravity with amazing results and will soon become the new normal for mixing action movies. 

Super Hero Movies

During my usual week check on Rotten Tomatoes, I noticed that the new Captain America movie scraped in 95 million dollars at the box office. It really made me think, why the hell are these super hero movies grossing so much money? What makes them so appealing these days. Well for one thing Super Hero movies are a form of escapism. We love rooting for the underdog, and in every super hero movie the underdog quality is always there. One interesting fact I noticed that the last time super heroes were so big was during their debut in the 1930's. The 1930's was the time of the Great Depression, comics like Superman, Batman, Captain America, and Wonder Women were all made to help people escape via reading during tough times. I find it so fascinating that these films have becomes so popular during tough economic times. "In the 1930s, the American Dream had become a nightmare, and I think comic books and superheroes in particular provided an escapist form of entertainment that allowed the American public to go into a fantasy world where all the ills of the world were righted by these larger-than-life heroes," says Erin Clancy, a curator at the Skirball. Despite weather you like these films are not, they definitely give us a lot of hope during tough times. 

Raging Bull and Fear in Film

When you talk about fear in film, it is typically a result of design. The characters, lighting, and camera angles are arranged in a way to intentionally strike fear in you. The character’s alone in the house with the killer they’ve been running from the whole time, or something along those lines. These scenes, even when they work effectively, are fear of what is to come. You aren’t afraid of the teenage girl walking down the hallways of her dark house, you’re afraid of what may lurk around the corner. Rarely, if ever, is the audience in fear of what is happening in that moment. One of the few instances in which I felt legitimate fear while watching a scene was, funnily enough, not in a horror movie.

Jake LaMotta, portrayed in an instantly iconic performance by Robert DeNiro, is a violent man. His work is violent. His home life is violent. His sex is violent. And up until this point, it has done well for him. But as the film Raging Bull goes on, directed by Martin Scorcese in what may very well be his masterwork, what use to empower Jake and be his profession starts to undo him. His compulsions and drives for violence and self-gratification, which initially rewarded him, slowly start to undo him. He’s no longer respected as a heavyweight boxer. He has lost his family. And his relationship with his brother has been torn asunder by his ego and pride. What was once a proud, well-respected man at the peak of physical fitness has been reduced to owning a shitty bar in Miami. He’s overweight and reciting crappy comedy monologues to himself. Soon enough his wife divorces him. Then, to top it all off, he gets arrested for sleeping with an underage girl. He’s thrown in jail like some common sleaze ball.

We have never seen Jake weak. Hell, we haven’t seen him up until this point be anything but a brute.  He is nothing now. His ego, pride, greed have nothing to hold up to anymore. All he has is his violence. His animalistic fury. And he uses it.

“WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY”

                 When I watched this movie for the first time, I cowered in my seat while watching this part. Knives held in the dark, creepy men in masks, long dark hallways. Whatever. That's all technique, not storytelling. But this is pure unbridled anger mixed with fear and self-loathing. I cannot quite articulate what about this scene sticks inside my gut so much. But it’s haunting. It’s a man at his lowest point in his life. When he is stripped of it all, this is how he acts. And that’s terrifying to bear witness to. Surely more fear inducing than any thriller or horror movie I've ever scene. It causes me to worry about man and what he is capable of. 

                An amazing scene, an amazing performance, an amazing film.

Colbert Succeeds Letterman as "The Late Show" Host

Just one week after David Letterman announced his retirement in 2015, CBS announces that Stephen Colber has signed a five-year contract to take over "The Late Show."  The 49-year-old comedian is most well-known for his political satire show on Comedy Central,  "The Colbert Report."  

Colbert stated that Letterman has always been a mentor and role model for him.  Letterman later released a statement saying, "Stephen has always been a real friend to me. I'm very excited for him, and I'm flattered that CBS chose him."

Due to his Comedy Central background, many were left wondering if Colbert was the right choice. Will he be able to break away from his mega-conservative comedic character? It's reported that Colbert will be leaving his persona from "The Colbert Report" behind. Jon Stewart, Colbert's fellow Comedy Central host, says we will soon see a new side of Stephen Colbert. "He's got a lot more he can show...He's got a lot of the different capacities."

I'm curious to get a glimpse at the "real" Stephen Colbert.  He's very witty and clearly enjoys what he does, making it even more enjoyable for the audience to watch.  I would like to extend a huge congratulations to Stephen Colbert on landing this position.  I can only imagine how much hard work and dedication it took. Whether or not you're a fan of Colbert, you have to commend him on this achievement. 

Les Stroud Vs. Bear Grylls: The Real Survivor

Although the debate may have begun long ago, even today I still hear people talk about who is better: Les Stroud (Survivorman) or Bear Grylls (Man Vs. Wild). If I were to take a stance on this argument, I would have to say that without a doubt, Les Stroud is the king of the wild. Here are some of the differences between the two survivalists:

While Bear Grylls does put himself in some dangerous situations, he always has a crew and medical team following close behind. This is unlike Les, because he is always alone and whatever situation he is in is truly dangerous, never staged. Les often has shots of himself walking far off into the distance. Because he is actually alone, this means that he has to walk all the way out, often climbing up steep slopes, only to have to do it all over again to go back for his equipment.

Even though some may argue that Survivorman does not have enough action and may even be boring at times, I would say that it is more for the educational value. When it comes to Bear Grylls, he tends to go for the shock and aw approach. You will not see Les Stroud bite the head of a live snake, but that is definitely something that Grylls would do.

When it comes to Les, his approach is to teach the viewer how to survive in real life situations. He brings almost nothing with him, and uses his knowledge of survival to adapt to different situations. I am not saying that Grylls isn’t smart or that he isn’t a real survivalist, I just know to take his show for what it is; entertainment. If that is what you are looking for as a viewer then by all means, watch a show where the host brings an entire crew and has a raft prefabricated for himself so that all he has to do is put it together. If you want a show that is going to actually help you survive in the wild, then I would tune into Survivorman.

Disney's Hercules

Hercules is by far my favorite Disney movie. I think that's the reason I became so interested in Greek and Roman mythology. I recently had to watch this movie again for my class. Although this movie is not even close to historically accurate according to the real myth, it still has quite the story line. I enjoyed how this version of a classic myth really takes into account what it takes to be a "true hero." They did a good job of incorporating the 12 labors of Hercules under a different base story. You get the stables and the lion snuck in there without you noticing. If you didn't know about the labors you might not notice them which I think rewards people who know the real story. It allows them to alter the story without upsetting too many people.

Of course the best part of this Disney animated film is the music! The songs are catchy and upbeat and straight to the point. They aren't just fluff pieces added in. They truly add to the story in my opinion. Plus the Muses are so sassy and fun!

The Anxiety Attack that is Gravity (Spoiler Alert!)

     I hadn't seen Gravity until after it won several Academy Awards and after I'd heard raving reviews, but it was well worth the wait. Despite giving me anxiety attack-like symptoms throughout the entire movie, I couldn't look away until the end credits rolled.
     The cast was made up of just a few secondary characters that appeared only briefly as well as two A-list actors, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Despite having a small, focused, top of the line cast, the movie didn't focus on promoting Hollywood and Hollywood actors but rather on the characters and the story. Sandra Bullock played her part so well that I forgot that she was Sandra Bullock, famous actress, and saw her only as Dr. Ryan Stone, the alone and afraid medical engineer on her first shuttle mission to space. I felt her fear more than I'd ever felt fear from a character. I imagined myself in her place and I panicked inside.
     Dr. Stone spent the vast majority of the movie floating around in space with no space shuttle to return to, no real knowledge of how to get back down to Earth, and no one to help her. Since I already had an irrational fear of outer space, this was particularly horrifying for me to watch. I was rooting for Stone the entire time, as was everyone else who saw the movie, I'm sure. I wanted nothing more than for her to choose to live and to figure out how to get home. However, that didn't seem like a likely possibility to me, given the circumstances, her lack of experience in outer space, and her lack of training in this type of situation.
     For those reasons, I was utterly shocked but also unbelievably happy when she finally crashed down into the ocean on Earth. She had made it, and I couldn't imagine the amount of courage and calm that it would take for a person to do that.
     But it couldn't be that easy. When she opened the door to the tiny shuttle she was in and the ocean water started rushing in, my panic attack began. How could she get through a catastrophe like that in outer space by herself only to get home and drown?! Apparently Dr. Stone thought the same way and she just kept on fighting until she got herself out of the shuttle and swam/drifted to shore.
     The last shot of the movie was of Dr. Stone grabbing onto the beach she washed up on and finally standing up on land for the first time since she left Earth and experienced that disaster in space. We see her muster up the strength to walk into the land and the credits roll. That last shot really got to me. I can't imagine what it must feel like to feel the land beneath your feet and the force of gravity for the first time after spending a while in outer space, floating around. After the turmoil that Dr. Stone experienced, it must've been an incredible feeling.
     I had to remind myself several times during this film that it was just a movie and that Dr. Stone was just a character. I became more emotionally attached to the character than I normally do. At the same time, I spent a lot of time wondering how the filmmakers made this movie. The visual effects were amazing, and I think the simulation of zero gravity is really interesting and even more interesting when an entire movie is filmed using it. There wasn't a single aspect of this film or its making that didn't grab my attention and hold onto it for its duration. I'm glad I finally got around to see it, and I think everyone should do the same, if they haven't already.

Cosmos...A Space Adventure *cue trumpets*

After taking the class critical thinking and mass media by professor Ben Crane, I learned the scientific method is the only real way to prove the existence of any theory. But I also learned that the show cosmos sheds light on all of these things I learned in class. In 1980 a television series called Cosmos: A personal Voyage was released on PBS. This show written, and narrated by professor and scientist Carl Sagan created a milestone for any scientific documentary. This year they decided to bring back a new version of the show called Cosmos: A Space-time Odyssey. This series was developed to bring back the foundation of science to network television at the height of other scientific- based television series and films. This show is executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, whose brilliant financial investment helped develop this show into something extraordinary. Not only does the show contain amazing content, its graphics and locations are incredible. This is a show I recommend for everybody, especially for people who love the truth.

The original Carl Sagan above discussing multiple dimension theories.

The new cosmos which is way cooler looking. All in all, a very good show that will appeal to the intrigue, intellect and insight of everyone.