New Page for "The Medium is the Massage"

   Media, in this electric age has almost entirely reshaped the way we receive information and as a byproduct, form our own opinions. Surrounded by the 24 hour sensationalist news-cycle the media has transformed from reporting the news into trying to create the news, to manufacture stories and with them, our opinions on these stories. It has become a constant buzz that so many find it nearly impossible to disconnect or detach from, even for a short while. It has created in the mass a constant craving and hunger for more news, more information, more gossip. There is an incessant need to know everything that is going on around us, while growing increasingly detached from the world immediately around us.

Newsworld II- Assessment

        In this story the most prominent symbol is that of the original World Trade Center towers and in particular how their destruction mimicked the struggle and turmoil that the teenage boys in the tale were going through. The towers were used as a constant backdrop to the boys lives and one which shaped their experience.

This story connected on a personal level because being from New Jersey this event happened within sight from where I lived and I can vividly remember this day. I can remember coming home from school to hear that the towers had fallen and then in school all of the families who had lost relatives in the towers. As a result, this story held more personal interest than the other works that we have read for class.

In order to adapt this story to a photographic scene I would play up the film aspects of the story that create a good film still style scene, like the part when the group of boys is walking around the closed amusement park. This particular part lends itself quite well to a visual adaptation.

Auteur style piece

    I chose to watch three films by the director Wes Anderson. I picked his work to write about because I had seen The Grand Budapest Hotel previously and found it quite good in a quirky, days gone by way and wanted to see other examples of his work. I also decided on Anderson because he is still working and so it is possible to see how his work and his personal style has been developing and changing.

   The first film of his that I watched for this was The Grand Budapest Hotel. This particular film is a particularly bold display of Anderson's signature style of filmmaking which includes quite an element of nostalgia past eras as well as patterns and a highly saturated palette. These elements were, to a lesser extent present in the two other films of his that I watched as well. One of the more distinct elements in this film, its rather ambiguous time period, which looks back to an era not too long ago with a certain nostalgia is classic Anderson. Also in this film his use of a very bold palette is even more pronounced than in his previous works and he couples this brilliantly with patterns seamlessly blended into the scenes.

   The second film of his that I watched was Castello Cavalcanti. This film continues his tradition of creating live action films that have quite the illustrative feel and look about them. This choice makes his work instantly recognizable. Another key element of his films are shots where the set has very little apparent depth, even when he is showing the town center, it is filmed in such a manner that it appears to be almost flat.

   The last film of his that I watched was Hotel Chevalier. This film again continued with one of Anderson's patterns of using a select cast of big name actors that have worked on multiple films with him. By doing this he has created a select type of character that can be replicated in each successive film since the actors know his style and therefore can better bring those characters quirkiness to life.

   Together these repeated elements combine to form films that are readily identifiable as those of Wes Anderson. They show his nostalgia for the past and enjoyment of using saturated color palettes they also show that while his style is evolving, many elements have remained a constant throughout his films.

Comic Page

Fifth Writing Assignment

While reading Edwidge Danticat's Dewbreaker there were some points in the story where cultural differences between the reader and the author made it impossible to fully understand the authors position. However there were other parts where, although the particular events differed the experience was similar. For example when Ka is speaking with her father and he finally tells her after all the years about the secret from his past this is a situation that a majority of people can relate to. Then there are the aspects of the characters life that aren't as relatable to many people as that. For instance, her family having immigrated in her parents generation, and their difficulties with language and cultural barriers that give them a perspective that we, who live in our home countries cannot understand very easily. These points influence my perspective on the work in that I have an idea of how they feel with the language barrier from having worked with a crew that didn't speak English,
which helps inform my view of the character and her journey.