Cult Media: Felix!

There are some memorable animated characters out there nowadays, for example Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, and even Shrek. I did not know that the first fully realized animal character was Felix the cat! FELIX was more than just a cartoon, as explained in the article, “The Cat with the Killer Personality,” by Michael Cart. Created by John Canemaker, illustrated by Otto Messmer, and “exploited” by Pat Sullivan, Felix the Cat with the Killer Personality was a “commercial exploitation” up until 1919 when Mickey Mouse took the stage.

As I was watching some Felix cartoons, I found myself a little bit creeped out. Old cartoons to me are so scary, because I feel like they have a darker meaning than today’s cartoons. Sullivan was known to be an alcoholic and was convicted for rape of a teenager. He also had issues with the possession of Felix, as Canemaker acknowledged, “his proprietary paranoia regarding Felix’s ownership.” With such a disturbing back story on the creators of Felix, I think that’s what makes it so intriguing to so many people.

I think Felix can be classified as a cult classic. In the article, “Cultographies,” we are given a look into cult films, and what makes them so. “A cult film is characterized by its active and lively communal following,” but more precisely, they are categorized in four major elements, which are all very important.

• Anatomy, as in its content, style, format, etc.
• Consumption, in terms of how it is viewed and how much.
• Political Economy, which is the actual ownership, intentions, promotions, etc.
• Cultural status, which is how the film complies, exploits, critiques, or offends its surrounding.

Felix the Cat can also evoke feelings of nostalgia, which is one of the make ups for the anatomy of a cult film. Another one that can be applied to Felix is the many ways it can be interpreted, as stated in the article, “They revel in the number of references, interpretations and connections their knowledge allows them to make and by doing so they equip films with multiple subtexts.” I feel like cult films are for those who are attracted to odd cultural conventions that are challenged through its storytelling. The article mentions its difficulty to get a hold of such films, saying “In spite of often-limited accessibility, they have a continuous market value and a long-lasting public presence.” The Arcata Theatre Lounge is notorious for showing cult classics, like ‘The Big Lebowski’ and ‘Pulp Fiction.’ The reason why I like these films is because “Surrealist imagery and deadpan existentialist performances” are apparent.

I also think that because it was so classic in its black and white era, Canemaker mentions that they couldn’t quite keep up, “Sound, color, full animation, a cast of hundreds, and Disney-like illusory special effects diminished rather than enhanced [ Felix’s ] essence.” Felix had the “elegance of simplicity” at first, but once they had added a voice to keep up with the times, it went down the drain. There are a lot of people that feel that this was a time a great television, and that TV nowadays has gone to the gutter.

Apps

Apps are the newest thing to hit our phones with a big bang! I personally do not own a smart phone, in which apps are designed for, so I cannot tell you exactly how I feel about them, but I do think they are a nifty tools! In this week’s Deidre Radio, she so kindly explains the geek terms that I would have had to look up otherwise. A native app is a program for a particular device, like the Ipad. The HTML stands for hypertext markup language which lets us get to our internet website and understand it. If I were to work at the school newspaper or the radio station, I would most definitely create a native app; all because we need to keep up with the new technological advances and the time our students don’t have enough of. Because most college students have a smart phone, it would be beneficial to them to have a website device friendly to get through the day. Even though I do agree that we need to keep up with the times, those of us who do not have smart technology must carry on with a broader website developer. I feel like all of it should be readable from whatever device we use, and I know there is a lot of critical thinking that goes behind developing such apps or HTML; we are capable of doing so.

In the conference panel, we have two sides to “The definitive answer of web or apps as the future of mobile content?” it starts off with the statement, “the Internet sucks and Native Apps can un-roll the unhappy legacy of traditional publishers on the Internet.” While this may be true, there are steps the panel contributors are doing to ensure the success of their mobile business. Jason Pontin is on the side of the HTML, stating his work “could much more easily be done by committing to HTML, and one day to many of the cool things that we hoped to see in HTML5. So, in October of last year, essentially we closed down Android and iOS apps, committed to a fairly conventional river of news for our mobile platforms and have been moving towards the bright upper pastures of HTML5 later in this year.”

In “Netflix: TV’s future is in the apps,” by Mike Snider, we take a look at the future of television, starting off with a straightforward statement “Apps are the future of television.” With our advanced technology and critical thinking, we have seen the new apps that allow us to watch a show that we have missed the day after it is aired, and this is revolutionary. I am a big fan of such programs, like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, all because I am a college student who does not own a TV, but still have show’s I want to watch. I think the article realizes that not everyone can set aside the time to sit down and watch TV, saying “Apps that provide on-demand viewing are critical because “people don’t love the linear TV experience where channels present programs at particular times on non-portable screens with complicated remote controls,” the document reads. “Finding good things to watch isn’t easy or enjoyable.”

Nick Alt from the conference brings up an interesting point about new developers are innovating with apps that the app store brought them. Traditional Media and native software are set in customers who are “converted” to paid subscriptions and models. He even states that we can do better than HTML and even HTML5. Apps nowadays are personalized by the person and can adapt to the different lifestyles we have. The panel even point out that the web experience is built to be mobile friendly now. 

Video Games

For this week’s blog, I decided to play a video game I haven’t played in a while. The game is called Grand Theft Auto and it was just one of those games my boyfriend had that was fairly simple and didn’t require that good of a game plan on my part. It’s basically the life of this guy who lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and is involved with gangs and all that jazz. I have to admit, it was very entertaining. You could walk around, go to the gym, you could even go to the casino! As I was getting the hang of things, it was suggested that I start trying missions and that required me to do all sorts of things. I wound up tagging over my “enemy’s” writing, stealing cars to get to my destination, running people over, and taking their money, and even more violent things. I got bored quickly though, and just started punching people. I ended the video game soon after that got boring. I think the reason why video games are so entertaining is because it is something you don’t really think about doing in real life, and when you get the chance to “act it out,” it’s fun. I am not too sure about that, I don’t play too many video games to be certain.

In the article by Craig Anderson, “Violent Video Games: Myth, Facts, and Unanswered Questions”, he gives us all the facts about the study showing a correlation between media violence, video games, and aggressive behavior. He clears up the myths and the facts about the subject. “Violent video games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased pro-social (helping) behavior,” he claims as a fact. I don’t play too many video games, but as I said, I have played Grand Theft Auto before, and as you can tell by the title, it’s not a nice game. You can steal cars, complete missions, kill anybody, and “cheat” your way to a better score or whatever the goal is, I’m still not quite sure. I did not feel like doing that in real life, nor would I if I could. Kids these days cannot differentiate between the television screen and real life, and I do not know how this came about, or how to end it. The article addresses this issue, and even gives us a clue as to how naturally aggressive people are more susceptible to behaving even more violent, but this is not concrete.

The next article we will discuss, “Death From Above,” by Christopher Beam, provides us a different perspective on the whole video game controversy. “The best-known game to deal with real-world battlefield scenarios is America’s Army, a popular multiplayer first-person shooter introduced by the U.S. Army in 2002 and the gold standard in ‘militainment,’” states Bam, which only tells us that the Army used video games with a purpose. Kids don’t play video games with a purpose. I know there is an ultimate goal when you reach the end of the game, but it’s not the same goal as the Army. I am not sold on the issue. I don’t think video games can solve serious issues, nor do I think they cause us to act violently. Plus, professionals take that experience and apply it to real life because they are instructed to do so. Kids play to have fun, pass the time, and talk about it with their friends.

This article reminded me of a TED talk about how video games are beneficial to the world, even stating that they can solve world problems. Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM

Parody News

In this week’s post, we take a look at parody news and its value, or lack thereof. Parody news is truly beneficial to young folks because of the way it presents itself. It is taking a lighthearted approach on serious matters that are very important in today’s world. Personally, I cannot stand the monotonous voices of the news, so shows like The Colbert Report, or The Daily Show with Jon Stewart can make it easier to understand what is going on.

In the article, “Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America?” we take a look at the actual influence shows like the Daily Show has on Americans. The article tells us that The Daily Show has an evident impression on “getting people to think critically about the public square,” and even reference it as a “genuine cultural and political force.” These shows also display to us the contradictions in today’s politics, even presenting us with montages of politicians contradicting themselves. We all know they do it, so to have a show that acknowledges that makes me feel better. Stewart even calls his show almost like a “catharsis machine,” like a cleansing filter for all the distressing issues in the world.

In the Colbert Report, “Fallback Position,” Stephen Colbert gives us an insight to migrant workers and the trade-off Americans had with their job. Surprisingly, only three people had signed up for the job of a migrant worker, Colbert being the fourth. I worked on a farm chopping and stacking fallen wood from almond trees and wood chippers, and I was the biggest complainer. I applaud all those who work on the fields, it is tough work! Even Colbert realizes that “Americans are p****’s,” that complain immigrants are taking the job they don’t want. On his second shot at a farm worker, Colbert pokes fun at the actual work he had to do, but it is a very serious job. Anyone can take your job for more hours and less pay, and even though Colbert took a lighthearted approach to show this, it is unbelievably true. We must remember though all news is biased, and even parody news takes a stance on subjects that are influenced by its creators and hosts.

Documentaries

I remember watching “Super-Size Me,” in the 7^th grade, and it has haunted me ever since. It follows the life of Morgan Spurlock, an ordinary guy with the guts to pull off this type of stunt. We can say that it did not end well, but it did open our eyes as to what we are putting in our bodies, and why cheaper food is not necessarily the best option for us. Spurlock starts us off with a couple of rules, first, He must “eat three meals a day,” in which he will consume breakfast, lunch and dinner. He must also eat “Every single item on the menu at least once.” Spurlock also limited himself to only McDonald’s foods and products, and he has to super-size his meal “only when he is asked if he wants to.” To add to the challenge, he had to try to walk “5,000 steps a day.”

There were many times I thought Spurlock was going to hunch over and suffer sometime of health related attack. In Reality Movies, by Deidre Pike, she explained that he was literally “eat[ing] himself to death. Spurlock gains 25 pounds and achieves disastrous cholesterol levels.” He took huge risks to let us experience just how bad it can get if you don’t treat your body right. The one thing that also bothered me about the movie was when they pointed out that kids did not know important figures in American History, not even Jesus! The shocking part was that they recognized characters of big foods chains, such as Ronald McDonald, Wendy, and the Hamburglar.

The questions that come up in most documentaries are mostly concerned with its honesty and motive. It would be pretty hard to prove Morgan Spurlock didn’t eat McDonalds every day for thirty days, being as though he documented the entire journey, and let us witness such meals with him. Tidbits at the end allowed us to witness how McDonald’s foods broke down chemically, and the fries were the most unbelievable. They had containers of burgers and fries, and the fries still looked the same after time has gone by. If it is staying preserved out in the open, it is staying preserved in our bodies.

I could never take on such a challenge, and frankly, I wouldn’t even think about it. We all know McDonalds is really bad for you and your body, but we have to experience a bad burger for us to truly realize how disgusting it is. I saw an article on yahoo about a celebrity having to eat McDonalds because it was the only thing available. Jennifer Aniston is well known for her healthy body, and when she was forced to eat a Big Mac, her body did not respond well, saying it was like, “putting gasoline in a purified system.” This made me realize how important health is, and when possible, eat a clean meal as much as you can. Here’s the article;

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/07/03/jennifer-aniston-mcdonalds-big-mac-stomach-turn-terrible/2485515/

I admit, I still go to McDonalds every now and again, I’d say no more than once a month though, and that is due to my unexplainable cravings at night, and it is the only thing open.  Plus, the best part is that it is cheap, and if you ask me, this is why we have an uprising in the obesity epidemic. Cheap food equals bigger, unhealthier bodies.

Sports

Sports were something that I enjoyed in high school, playing tennis for four years only to stop when I went to college. Sadly, I don’t keep up with it as much as I used to, but I know how great sports can be for children and adults, and I have always had a good experience on the court.

In the Radiolab podcast, they mention the erratic emotion sports fans erupt in, even referring it to “the feeling of life or death.” I personally cannot relate to this type of feeling over a sports game, but I understand the rush you get when the time is ticking to make that one shot. “It can turn you into a monster,” the podcast states, and it seems to be true.

In Sports and Film: Fantasies About Fantasies, by Robert Lipsyte, he mentions the films of sports stars are all centered on the underdog gaining redemption through winning. Boxing is a prevelant sports movie that has I have to say that all those movies are so very inspiring, and even in the Radiolab pocast, “We love the ‘no shot’ chance.” This means all of the movies have a seemingly impossible stunt they need to be performed by a guy who doesn’t know if he can make but takes the shot and actually does it! It’s very exciting.

We have seen the good sports can bring out of a community, the pride and joy of your sports teams doing great, but unfortunately there are bad things that arise in the midst of all the face paint and jerseys. Born and raised in Los Angeles, I was already “born blue” as my uncle called it, and was a fan of the baseball team, the Dodgers. About two years ago, I was ashamed about being a Dodgers fan because of the message that was portrayed about us. I think we can all remember the brutal beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at the Dodger parking lot in Los Angeles. It was the opening game day, and a confrontation occurred with two other gentlemen, and it escalated quickly, leaving the giants fan with brain trauma. “A good game is a war,” the podcast stated, and apparently the gentlemen who started the fight forgot the rule of leaving behind the tensions of the game at the field.

I can admit that I don’t know a lot about sports nowadays, so I asked someone who did, and it seemed to correspond with this week’s lesson on sports and its culture. “You can tell a lot about a person based on what sports they watch and who they root for,” says my boyfriend, who is a sports fanatic. It seems to me that most people root for a team in the city they were born or raised in. Sometimes a person can like the player of a team for whatever reason, and continue to watch them even when they have been drafted somewhere else. All in all, I think sports are very engaging for a group, but having a good attitude makes it fun for everyone!

The Mighty Midterm

We have hit the middle of the course and now it is time for the mighty midterm! In this blog, I will be discussing the arguments presented by four speakers from The Aspen Institute’s State of Race 2013 panel on Media and Popular Culture. The multi-cultural panel featured Anna Deavere Smith, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Brian Yang, José Díaz-Balart, all respected personalities and educators. The discussion was about racial and cultural attitudes in media, and how different types of media stir up public awareness. The moderator, Diaz-Balart, starts off the discussion with stating “Entertainment has a wider impact on the young than the news.” Unfortunately, I would have to agree with this in terms of all of the social media we experience in our everyday lives. From Youtube to TMZ, movies, and especially music, entertainment media has a profound effect on the lives of the younger generation, and this brings up the focus of the discussion on how it shapes our racial and cultural outlooks.

Anna Deavere Smith argues that stereotypes are obvious in today’s society, and are almost expected by the people, bringing up at one time the well-known Trayvon Martin case, in which she says, “everyone wears a hoody and he was killed for it.” She continues by saying, “We are suffering from a moral crisis.”

Bryan Yang is an actor that experiences a lot of stereotypical roles. He said he is known for playing a doctor or knowing martial arts. He brings up a very good point about Asian Americans being recognized for their work on Youtube. I am familiar with this, and recommend watching this upload by kevjumba, a Youtube star who frequently uses those Asian stereotypes as his main spoofs on his channel. There is humor to stereotypes, and I agree that although they are a serious issue in today’s world, there is humor in them as well. We can all benefit from a little laugh, and sometimes I laugh because it is true!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSCOPvPJ7g

Jose Diaz Balart addresses the genre of hip Hop, and states that, “There is no us in hip hop.” From my own personal experience, I would have to agree. Hip Hop music nowadays is portraying this thug-like person to raise above all the “haters.” Language barriers are brought up as well by , saying that parents determine the language at home, and Yang commenting that he learned Mandarin from his home. I have grown up in a Spanish-speaking household, and the way I learned English was through television and going to school.  I have noticed the cultural shifts that have occurred in both of my racial backgrounds, and this only strengthens Diaz Balart’s statement.

Thomas Chatterton Williams argues that the African-American community wants a better representation for themselves as a culture. He states that “Blacks are moving away from the stereotypical box,” and are in need of self-definition. He also addresses the hip hop genre, as it “Functions as a secular religion to voice marginalization.

I thought this was pretty interesting too. It shows the types of characters actors play all the time.

http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/typecast-actors/

“We cannot expect culture to deliver changes in society,” Smith states. Anthems are needed in the “revolutions” we experience today, and music seems to be aspirational to many, but if the music was missing that objective, then we are left in despair.

Reality Television

It’s been nearly a decade since reality programming came to a prime-time network TV in the United States, and thousands of people have been featured on unscripted series across nearly every channel. The television industry is an essential part of the entertainment world. TV is the most widely used telecommunication standard because it is considered the main source of entertainment and news. We live in an age of mass culture, but what happens when that culture lowers the bar as to what we are willing to watch? Reality television has changed the way the public views the TV industry as a whole, but has it been for the worse?

Reality television is probably the most popular genre in this generation. It depicts “real-life” drama and events. I personally love to hate reality television. Despite the outrageous behavior, the screaming, the fighting, the foul-mouth cursing, the astonishing drama and overall low-brow scripting of some of the most popular reality TV programs, the marketing advantages of reality TV have proven to bring in more business and new customers than even the best editorial coverage in the highest-circulation nationally known magazines or entertaining morning television programming.

In ‘Reality TV Is What We Make of It,’ by Eric Deggans of the New York Times, it gives us the good and the bad of reality television. Shows nowadays just want to be talked about, as suggested in the article, and I completely agree in which they stated, “Reality TV is us; a reflection of our best and worst urges in one toxic blend of arguments, ominous sound effects and music montages.”

There is abundance in reality television, for example, dating-based competition, job search, self-improvement, makeovers, renovations, social experiments, dating shows, talk shows, hidden cameras, supernatural, paranormal, and hoaxes are just a few. With all these programs, we all have the opportunity to find that guilty pleasure wherein we can’t wait to see what happens next because we’re already hooked. Plus, it’s a great conversation starter, discussing how something that happened on TV was amazing, or even how ridiculous it was.

South Park’s ‘Raising the Bar’ even addresses the phenomena of Honey Boo Boo. After realizing the world is going downhill fast in terms of our health, Kyle watches an episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and is surprised by what is shown. “Maybe somehow we lowered the bar, a long time ago. And now we’re all sitting here in the stink of it all,” he states. I think the creators grasped the concept that there is no shame over anybody’s actions anymore because the bar has been lowered too much, too fast.

I admit, I have watched an episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo before this assignment, and I can see that they are a very loving family, but, like our professor Diedre, I could not handle it. I don’t think I relate to the type of humor they display on the show. They have a new season coming up with the slogan “Watch and Sniff.” I wonder what that means…

If we believe in freedom and free speech, then we have to accept reality TV as an expression of popular taste. Nobody is compelled to appear in reality TV programs or for that matter, watch them. So what can we expect in the future of TV? We can expect a return of the hidden camera, more models, fashion designers and relationship experts as well. Whichever program is being publicized, we all need to remember that reality TV is just harmless fun that passes the time.

Music

What makes an artist successful? Do they really have the power to influence the minds of fans across the globe? These are the questions I tried to answer while writing this week’s blog. While reading “Don’t Stop Believing,” there were objectives given that applies to all music, which are honesty, independence, and productivity. To address all these objectives for usefulness, we first have to look at the start of all music, which is taken by many different paths.

When discussing Justin Bieber in “Don’t Stop Believing,” it was mentioned that religion can play an important aspect of a musician’s art, but he believes that it is not his duty to convert his fans. I think that if you are in a position to influence the minds of many, there is no need to force your thoughts to them, whatever the issue is. The fans probably won’t even take you seriously, and take what you have to say as another fad. One example that came to mind was the Artist Madonna and her red bracelet symbolizing her Kabbalah status. I remember all the jokes associated with that, and the outcome probably wasn’t what she wanted. What happened to the good old days? Singing about nice weather, or being nothing but a hound dog (Elvis reference J), that’s the type of music I like to listen to.

I don’t have as close of a relationship to music compared to my younger days. It all seems to be focused on partying and living life while you’re young. Don’t get me wrong, these songs are fun and catchy, but I would not choose to listen to them, nor would I think to buy concert tickets to said artists. He are a couple artist that I think just want to be popular and appeal to a bunch of young people so that they stay relevant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbPED9bisSc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOubzHCUt48

There is truth in music however it is largely up to the style and discretion of that artist combined with the perspective of the listener can therefore make the music either extremely influential or completely ridiculous. What’s true to one person can be false to another, so to understand the honesty of music ultimately depends on the person. It can be as true as you want it to be.

Music is productive in terms of the artists and the listener. The artist can spend all day writing songs, while the listener spends all day listening to that song. In the article, it mentions the use of such music has a “range from helping a human endure repetitive chores, encouraging learning, and providing a means of self-reflection or illumination.”

Beneath the Cover

The assignment was to watch “The September Issue” which gave us a peek inside the world of Vogue magazine. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this movie, and to be honest, I was not expecting much. I never could relate to Vogue magazine. It is super expensive, and not my style, so I didn’t really pay attention to it. The film follows Vogue’s editor in chief Anna Wintour, the so-called “Ice Woman.” When asked about her nickname, she simply responds, “Well, this week it has been very cold that’s all I can say.” My aunt gifted me a year’s subscription to Vogue recently and all I do with it is look through all the pictures. One cannot deny they are strangely beautiful and captivating, but that’s all I do with it, look at it. For some people, they do the same, and the others, like the film suggest, treat it like it’s their life.    

In, “All Good Print Magazines Go to Digital Heaven…Or Do They?” by Samir Husni, he discusses the ways in which the digital world can hurt a magazine, or add to its popularity. “If you’re not selling ads in your ink-on-paper magazine, what in the world makes you think you’re going to make gazillions of dollars on the web?,” asked Husni, and he is exactly right. Vogue does not have any trouble with this, being the most recognized magazine in the world, and considered to be the most elite.

The ideology was something that I could not quite figure out. It is a different world, one that I cannot fathom being in, nor would want to live in. All of it seems pretty grand in my eyes, and even though I think it is all very beautiful, I just cannot imagine myself in 98% of the clothing they feature. Here is a quote from Wintour which I think explains the notoriety of all of this. “I think what I often see is that people are frightened about fashion. Because it scares them or makes them feel insecure, they just put it down. On the whole people who may say mean things about our world I think that’s usually because they feel, in some ways, excluded, or, you know, not a part of the ‘cool’ group, so as a result they mock it.” Brilliantly said, by a brilliant woman. Think about it, she calls the shots of what someone would wear, whether it looks good on them or not, or whether they even like it. She decides what is “in” if you care about that stuff. It’s an amazing power that I cannot imagine possessing.

Doing some other research about, “The September Issue,” I found that it was basically all advertisement. It is over 500 pages, and more than half was based on merchandise advertisement, and this was their goal. This sheds a light to a Youtube video I watched about advertising and its tricks. In “The Perfect Lie,” they exposed the truth behind advertisement, focusing on them using photo-shop to alter appearances on celebrities and models. They mentioned the Dove ads as an insight for girls to understand that they don’t have to look like the girls in the magazines, because they don’t even look like that in real life! One thing that annoys me about this is the fact that the marketing team behind Dove is the same team that advertises Axe body sprays. We all know those sexist commercials, but here is one to show that you just can’t trust ANY advertisement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tWZB7OUSU