College Boy

[Link to video can be found here]

1. College Boy a video by Quebec director Xavier Dolan has been viewed as controversial and offensive. Do you think it has gone too far in depicting school aged bullying? Explain.
I think it's meant for a more mature audience. I understand why people are regarding the video as controversial and offensive; reading some of the french comments below the Youtube video was very insightful to Quebec views. The message is clear as day in the video and the visual metaphors such as everyone wearing blindfolds extended the message to a territory few go to. Everyone is the bully if someone is the victim, whether you do it yourself, or do nothing about it. It's a very powerful message and looking at it from a religious perspective probably gave it more of a power push to that audience (The crucifiction of the boy was the offensive part, and I can see why with the message it sent out using Christ's image as well as the mature content and graphic image that follow). 
School age bullying, yes, this crossed a line that no one has crossed before. Is the message powerful? Yes. Should this video be played for schools? This is where another controversy lies. When looking at domestic violence and racial discrimination, the majority of the world is desensitized to it due to the content of shows on television and movies. I think it has gone too far along the lines of school bullying, but then again, there are more suicides from students who are bullied at school and suffer from mental illness then any other cause of death among the age group. 


2. What do you think people find particularly offensive about the video?
The religious references and graphic images int he video are offensive to an wide audience. Personally myself, I was unprepared for the graphic imagery of the student being beaten by the other students and the cricifiction of him. had I been prepared, I may have reacted differently but then the impact of the act would have been lost and the needing message of the video would have been dulled. The image of the cross and being nailed and tied to it was very graphic, which is what upset me. On the side of the religious figures, I can't say much. I'm not offended to the same extent that others would be by the imagery of Christ's image used in a controversial topic. I do like that the director went into no-man's land and used material that would create such a vivid and diverse discussion on a topic most ignore. 

3. Some people might have the perspective that the video sensationalizes bullying and makes the victim into a martyr. Define the two highlighted words and agree or disagree with this statement. 
Sensationalizes:  Present information about something in a way that provokes public interest and excitement in an exaggerated way. (Making events in a newspaper seem more vivid, shocking and devastating then they were)
Martyr: A person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs. 
I completely agree with the statement, whether I share it or not is another question. The video did sensationalize bullying in the generic sense. Most people are aware of the first part of the video, spit balls and paper thrown at you in class followed by names and the hallway shove and locker break in. What was exaggerated to the greater audience was the ending and the result of the boy being killed. It doesn't happen the way it was portrayed in the video in real life, but it does happen as well as the idea of turning the authority on the one who is the victim. 
I agree with the idea that the video was sensationalizing bullying to the wider audience, and the direct translation of the video makes the victim into a martyr, but looking at it with a broader mind, the message is looking at everyone (one of the topics discussed in the comments below the video)


I found reading the comments rather insightful and a wonderful view of Quebec attitudes about this. There is a thread going on with replies between eight people, three of them are on the side that it's controversial while the other five are relating it to different topics, issues, backgrounds, sexual orientations and beliefs and perspectives. If you understand french it's a wonderful discussion to read, if not, Google translate is a wonderful tool to assist you. 

Post-Modernism: South Park

Choose three key aspects of Postmodernism and blog about how they apply to this episode of South Park. 

1. Distrust: The episode we watched in class circulated around the topic of illegal downloading (and Christian Rock). The authority we see are the police, both in the station with the main interrogator along with the SWAT team (I think it was SWAT...). When introduced to the SWAT team, busting in through the windows after the boys downloaded a few albums illegally by the internet, they took them down, raised guns and loud voices- very much how it's always depicted in the movies. 
2. Intertextuality: Erick in the episode, when writing the music for his Christina Rock band, took real song lyrics and crossed out a few words and replaced them with 'Jesus', 'Lord', etc. The song titles played in the ad for the album were all spoofs of very real songs 'Three Times My Savior', 'I didn't die yesterday', etc. 
3. Currency: When the episode first aired in 2004, the illegal downloading of music was a serious problem and a huge issue. The contemporary theme of South Park, choosing to go after current topics and issues brings a new light in a parody way to the general public. As we laugh, we also start to realize (it's a little like George Carlin to me). 

The Sweet Hereafter

1) Name three Key aspects of Postmodernism and explain how they apply to the film The Sweet Hereafter. The most evident aspect is the movie's non-linear timeline. Jumping from the present to the past to the future made the movie more dynamic and allowed for more opinions to be formed as well as more suspense to grow. The craftsman ship behind this was beautiful as there was next to no confusion on where you were in the timeline once they were all introduced. 
The second aspect, which lends to the reasons of why the movie travels back and forth from past to present to frequently in the movie, is the rejection of universality. First in the movie, we meet the Lawyer and his introduction to the story, continuing on to meet a few of the families. Proceeding this, we leave the present to return to the past and see the accident in the view point and perspective of one of the families (then this pattern is repeated with another family, the bus driver and then again with the young Protagonist). There is no Universal Truth in the movie since we are persevering the accident from multiple eyes and recollections from multiple minds. Of course what the father driving behind the bus saw from his car is nothing similar to what one of the children in the front of the bus may have seen. 
The third aspect which ties together the entire movie, being a constant to the narrator (our young protagonist), is intertextuality: borrowing or referring to other texts, often to bring new meaning to both texts. In The Sweet Hereafter the children's story book, The Pied Piper is the constant text referred to. It is the relationship of the protagonist to her father as well as the accident as a whole. The times at which the text are read by her as a narrator bring new meaning to the scenes. 

2) Why do you think the character Nicole Burnell (Sarah Polly), lied at the end of the film? What are various ways in which we ca defend the lie or do you think she tells the truth in the end?
I believed she lied (this is also my mind set looking at the scene once more through the mind of an anthropologist). Her reasons; protecting the relations that were still salvageable between the town members as well as saving herself from her father's pedophile nature. Her decision was noble seeing as she put herself in a position most would try to avoid, as well as put another innocent at fault (her testament said that she bus driver was going too fast) however at the end, we see her in the future 2 years later driving another tour bus with a happy ending. 

Post- Modernism: Here There Be Dragons

1. Give one example of a Media Text that  was outlined in the article Post-Modernism Theory into Practice. 
The novel series, The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica: Here There Be Dragons written by James A. Owen. Fantasy.
The series is comprised of 7 books:

• Here There Be Dragons
• Search for the Red Dragon
• The Indigo King
• The Shadow Dragons
• The Dragon's Apprentice
• The Dragons of Winter
• The First Dragon

2. Choose one key feature of Post-Modernism and explain how your media text is an example of that key feature.

The Novel series as a whole demonstrates the key feature of 'Intertextuality'. Intertextuality is Post-modern texts that frequently  refer to, borrow from, other texts, often for the purpose of bringing new meaning to both texts- the one referred to and the one referring. The contexts of the book and genre is fantasy, about a group of adventurers, for lack of a better word, who travel in the hopes and mission of keeping a book safe (one of the group is the protector and it is his job to guard the book- the Imaginarium Geographica). The characters themselves are revealed at the end of the first book (Spoiler alert!) to be the writers of the stories James A. Owen took bits from as a form of credit to them. The authors include JRR Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, CS Lewis, author of Narnia, and Charles Williams, author of War in Heaven.
Capturing the various species and characters that are treasured and beloved from the other series, Narnia especially with the fauns and talking animals, James A. Owen brought a new enjoyment to his series with the anticipation of seeing a character from another text and his interpretation of them. 

(Please Note: If you are a reader of this fabulous series, I apologize for the brutality of this explanation  I would love to go into an in dept analysis however, spoilers would be in every line. I do recommend this book and the series for any literature lover of fantasy or the texts and authors above.) 

Reddit and Worldstarhiphop vs. Freedom of Speech

Read the two articles that criticize Worldstarhiphop and Reddit and answer the following questions.
Article Criticizing Reddit  ||  Article Criticizing Worldstarhiphop


1. How do we find a balance between free speech and hate speech on the internet? Should all websites have a moderator to censor content that is unfit for viewing?
Yes, I believe websites should have at least two or three moderators if I'm honest with myself. Through personal experience, being the host and moderator to a blog, I know that when stress builds up you can make impulsive decisions (mostly when hate comments come in, replying to them with a sassy attitude that doesn't really give a damn about what they say when really the question should be deleted) that hinder the effect and professional reputation a blog can have. In the last few months, I've recruited a co-host to assist me in what the blog was created for (It's a writing blog) and she and I both work off one another so we can continue the professional appearance the blog has. 
Regarding the articles: The people of the internet believe they can push the boundaries society has set concerning responsibility and rights and have managed to put both aside when it comes to posting opinions. As one of the most famous lines in Comic Books goes (Marvel's Spiderman- Uncle Ben), "With great power comes great responsibility". This I find applies to these situations. People with power believed they can say what they wish when in reality, this is far from the truth. If an article on the internet, or a video or any source material shows something that can be offensive to someone on a personal discriminatory level, I believe then that it is inappropriate and should be looked over by a moderator. 
2. Should there be a law banning people from uploading videos of abuse and illegal acts.
I believe there should be yes. However appealing to this matter on a different side, internet videos have helped multiple investigation services find those responsible for a crime or act. For example, there was a video a few years ago of a group of young men breaking into a car and smashing it up. Within 24 hours the police found and arrested each individual because they uploaded the video to Youtube. Now this is simply stupidity when trying to commit a crime in hopes to get away with it in my humble opinion. Looking back on my initial view though, the boys probably wouldn't have gotten the idea of break into the car in the first place if there weren't already videos posted on the internet of others committing the same act. The question has multiple answers, each with valuable facts and reasons behind them however mine remains at yes, there should be a law against posting videos and abuse and illegal acts to the internet. 
3. Does having sites like Worldstarhiphop and Reddit do anything to add to our culture and society or they simply a reflection of the darkest part of our society? 
This question is a difficult one to answer, I believe there can be multiple ways to answer it, very much like the question above. It would be ideal to think they only show the darkest part of our society and contribute nothing to our culture however like most thoughts regarding such a matter, the ideal isn't the reality. The culture of 'hip-hop' has been taken far away from that of what I believe was the original intention. The videos on the internet and the articles and opinions posted spark a thought in others heads that think this kind of behavior is acceptable and right. This thought sparked creates the next set and generation of acts that follow along in their prior's footsteps, this being said, yes these acts today have and will add to our culture. 

Adbusters: Starbucks

 Starbucks was in the news in November of 2008 due to the concerns of environmentalists and those concerned over the world's fresh and clean water supply. Beside (or above, however your browser accepts this webpage) is an Adbusters spoof ad that I've made in Photoshop as part of this unit and assignment. The text reads: (Top) We'll waste the rest of the world's fresh water supply to give you the highest in sanitary heath standards in our mission to provide you with over priced coffee. As it's probably obvious, I'm not a Starbucks person. I much prefer Tim Horton's and a good University fund.

"A controversy erupted last week when a United Kingdom newspaper reported that millions of gallons of water was being wasted by Starbucks each day because of its policy of keeping taps running non-stop at thousands of stores around the world."

Was the first paragraph in the article from Greenbiz and was pretty much the sum up of the article. With the world's fresh water supply only being 10% and most of it being unattainable, are we really able to throw our precious resource away like this? Yes sanitary standards are a major concern, especially with big companies and corporations however the environment should take bigger claim over decisions than egos.

Royals in the news

The Royal family has had their spill in the news to over the past week due to Kate Middleton's health status and a prank pulled by an Australian radio show looking to get the inside scoop. Calling in, they spoke with Kate's nurse who released information she shouldn't have. With all the controversy on this matter and the uproar of the media, the newest addition to the long line story is that the nurse is believed to have commit suicide.
Jacintha Saldanha age 46 was found hung in her appartment and now the question is who is to blame? There are four main catagories of this answer, 1. The pranksters 2. The nurse herself 3. The Royals 4. I won't take sides on this matter. The two Australians have now lost their radio show and have been taken off the air and the nurse is now dead. Some theories have been formed that the nurse had emotional problems and was mentally challenged and some blame the force of the hospital on the matter while others blame religion (this has not been conformed, merely a theory).
Pranks have been in celebrity life for a long time now and as much as many people don't agree with them, they still encourage them for a source of their entertainment. The only reason this blew up and out of propertion fo that basic fact is because someone died. That's the part where this story draws its line. Celebrities, the Royals especially given their possition in the UK and the world, live that life every day, always looking out for something that could be used against them and trying to avoid the paparazzi. There are mixed opinions on this story and mine isn't an exception to that. I'm not going to blame anyone because there is still little to go on. Twitter is blowing up with opinions and now the bullying effect has started as a few people who tweeted things supporting the DJs and saying it wasn't all their fault have now deleted their account.

(link: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1299033--london-hospital-expected-to-make-statement-over-possible-suicide-of-woman-where-kate-middleton-was-treated)

Media studies: The Truth of sexting- media comparison

Six Questions to Ask about Any Media Message

1. Who made - and who sponsored - this message, and for what purpose?
2. Who is the target audience, and how is the message specifically tailored to them?
3. What are the different techniques used to inform, persuade, entertain, and attract attention?
4. What messages are communicated (and/or implied) about certain people, places, events, behaviors, lifestyles, etc.?
5. How current, accurate, and credible is the information in this message?
6. What is left out of this message that might be important to know?

A Thin Line (Quiz)

1. The quiz and website were made and sponsored by MTV and it's purpose is to educate teens on internet behaviour an consequences.   

2. The target audience is teens (both girls and boys)
3. Techinques used were language (in the questions texting language was used to engage the audience) colour (flashy colours that do attract the eye)
4. Messages that are implied are that every teen taking the quiz has a cell phone and is in a relationship, has been in a relationshiop or is interested in persuing a relationship. Only one questions though is implied that the taker of the quiz is hetrosexual, all other questions are neutral as to the taker's sexuality.
5. The website is current in my opinion, touching basis on cellphones, texting language andtypical relationship problems that are timeless.
6. Things that are left out or excluded of the message is teens without a cellphone, teens with a different sexulaity to hetrosexual and people who don't understand texting language.

Common Sense (PSA)

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/truth-about-sexting- video link

1. The video and website are sponsored by Common Sense.org, a non profit organization and the video was made to educate parents and teens on 'sexting' and the possible consequences.

2. The target audeicne is parents and guardians as well as teenagers; the video at the beginning exclusivley says it may not be suitable for children. The language used in the video and the voice over are targeted towards parents because of the calmer demenor and educational tone that most teens tend to avoid. "Parents should remember..."

3. The different techniques used to engage and attract the viewer is the images and video clips mixed with the images and music videos of celebrities at the beginning of the video.

4. The messages implied in the video are that most teens are secretive and don't tell their parent/guardian about what they do and also that all teens are rebellious and up on pop culture and own a cell phone (which in many cases isn't the exact truth)

5. The message is fairly current in the aspects that they used modern celebrities (Rhianna) and clips from television shows (Glee) however the phones they were using are outdated and inspire laughs from a general group of teenagers rather then intent listeners.

6. Things that are left out are statistics- how often are minors caught with possession and how many cases have been sent to court?