reginas--world

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #10

Think of an ad (commercial, political, etc.) that really resonated with you. Were there elements of storytelling present? What were they, and how do you specifically think they helped make the ad impactful? (You should link to the ad, if possible!)

A commercial that I feel really resonates with me is the infamous ASPCA commercial with Sarah McLachlan. It is one of the commercials that I have always been able to recall seeing when I was younger and has stuck with me because it has always made me so sad. I’ve always been a huge animal lover but I think the commercial resonates even more with me now that I actually have a dog. I got my dog in 2016 and now I always think of her whenever I see this commercial or whenever anyone even mentions it. I’m pretty sure nearly everyone knows this commercial by now as “the really sad animal commercial” but I wonder how many people have actually shed a tear whenever it comes on (I’ll admit I totally have). The ASPCA definitely incorporated storytelling elements into this ad by crafting an emotional and moving message they want the audience to take away from it. They want viewers to be affected enough to do something to help these animals and it is impossible to not feel horrible for them as their sad little faces come onto the screen with the words “They suffer alone and terrified.. Waiting for someone to help” with the most depressing music playing in the background. Regardless of whether or not someone is actually able to donate like the ASPCA wants, it is safe to say that the storytelling elements are at least effective enough to change someone’s entire emotional state. It is as if the ASPCA is telling the story of these animals for them because they are unable to; they’re essentially being their voice and making a cry for help on their behalf. Even if the words they use are “they suffer alone and terrified”, I find myself feeling like I’m reading “I am suffering alone and terrified” - as if the animals themselves are telling the story. The narrative may not be extremely complex since this is not a hard concept to grasp but I can totally see the ASPCA relies on pathos to drive the “story” of the commercial. I think there are definitely better examples of commercials with more detailed storylines behind what they are advertising but this one still uses a lot of the key elements of good storytelling ads; it is easy to comprehend, emotional, has a purpose, and has the ability to inspire many that watch it to take some type of action. 

Link to the commercial: https://youtu.be/IO9d2PpP7tQ

Making Connections

I was interested in how effective ASPCA commercials actually are and if anyone has done research on how the storytelling elements impact people’s willingness to donate. I found this article where the author explores the reasoning behind why the ASPCA chooses to depict the animals in such a depressing way rather than showing them being rescued and having a happy ending. The reason may be because if a brand prevents themselves as a positive solution to a negative problem, they will still resonate with the general audience. It is clear the ASPCA has accomplished this through their incredibly sad storytelling approach; the organization has also gone on record saying this particular ad has raised 30 million dollars in donations. 

Link to the article: https://lrwonline.com/perspective/sad-dogs-and-sad-songs-how-emotions-impact-consumer-behavior/ 

actual footage of me trying not to cry whenever an ASPCA commercial comes on

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #9

Considering how the Internet has made media so much more accessible in the modern age, it makes sense that people will naturally put more effort into spreading both information and their own ideas of what is right and wrong. I have seen so many memes that act as a self-reflection tool, including Scumbag Steve and many other popular “meme figures” within the last several years. While I have never consciously viewed memes as a way to think about my own behaviors, I can definitely say there has been some passive, even unconscious, reflection on my part. There have been many times where I’ve seen a meme, thought to myself ‘Hey, I do that, too’ or ‘Hmm, that’s weird’ but continued scrolling and going about my day. Even though I was not fully aware a meme was prompting me to evaluate my own thoughts, values, and behaviors, it was almost an instantaneous reaction to relate it to my own life. I think after reading the article by Volpe, I’ll probably pay more attention to my reaction to memes from now on since I’m now aware this is a real phenomenon. 

Despite memes being a part of our daily lives now, I have never actually thought of them as a way to spread information and to get around censorship. When I think of memes, I think of laughter and viral pictures/videos. This probably has something to do with the fact that I do not live in a country where Internet access is censored like it is in China; if I want to speak out against my government on social media, I am allowed to do so without severe consequences. People without this luxury have come up with their own modern, creative ways to work around these limitations through memes, as we can see from how Chinese citizens reacted online to the Beijing pollution crisis. I can see ways that Americans also utilize memes whenever something happens here although I think the main purpose is completely different. I can remember how many memes were going viral on election night last year because so many of us were collectively experiencing the same feelings. We weren’t exactly using the memes to spread information about the election but to post content that people knew would resonate with millions of people across the country. Through the memes, people could relate to one another and think to themselves that they’re feeling the same way. This prompted many people to either like, retweet, or reply to the tweets which made so many go viral that night. I wouldn’t call it a celebration considering how frightened many people were at the time but it was as if the memes were being used as an outlet to vent frustrations and concerns in a more lighthearted manner. Rather than posting lengthy tweets, memes can convey exactly the message you want them to in a single image or video, given that you use one that is appropriate to the context of the situation. I find it so fascinating that we can assign meaning to memes far beyond just the simple Internet sensations that they become initially known for. I think in the future we’ll be seeing a lot more real world significance with them, just like how Pepe has now become associated with Nazism (which is something I just learned last year compared to how I originally knew Pepe as just a funny frog character). Overall, I think society at large may come to take memes more seriously than we all did in the past as we bring them into the realm of politics, global issues, and so on.

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #8

After reading the Danksy piece and playing/watching The Stanley Parable, what elements of narrative game design did you observe? Were there any moments in the game that struck you as particularly engaging, and why? How did the game's storytelling design facilitate this?

After reading the Dansky piece and watching The Stanley Parable, one key element of narrative game design that I observed was the narrator had a very clear, deep voice that made him easy to listen to. He pronounces every word clearly so that the gamer doesn’t miss any words and his tone makes you feel as if he is reading something from a book. His narration is actually somewhat comical and I found myself laughing along with the player, especially the part when the gamer purposely wouldn’t walk through the red door. I also noticed that the narration isn’t continuous the entire time and there are pauses depending on when you reach certain points while you’re exploring the office. 

i personally feel the narrator should get an academy award. that was a really good performance. i’ll be right there in the front row during his acceptance speech. 

Another element I noticed is that the actual design of the game is both simple and detailed at the same time. The main setting isn’t a complicated one (just an office) so there isn’t a need for too much intricate detail. However, all of the details are easy to make out and I could see there were some that really made the design more realistic (such as the texture of Stanley’s hair). The way the designers worked so hard to make this look like the real world makes you feel as if you are working through an actual office, even though you’re just watching the setting from a character’s perspective. 

Another element I noticed was the sound effects. You could clearly hear footsteps, the sounds of doors opening and closing, and even background noise that reminded me of something like an air vent. I feel like this adds another layer of realism to the game and makes it easier for the player to immerse themselves in it. You hear noises that remind you of ones you hear in everyday life and I imagine this makes it easier for someone to forget they’re actually sitting behind a screen pressing buttons. 

I also found that the narrator takes the player to play another game, and a really popular one at that. I’ve never even played Minecraft before but I was able to instantly recognize its trademark grasslands because the designer made sure to make it look as much as the original game as possible. I wondered how they could even do this, though. Wouldn’t there be issues with copyright? Or are both games developed by the same people? 

I found the entire game to be engaging especially with the narration. One moment in particular though was when the game gets darker and Stanley finds himself in what looks like an abandoned office. It suddenly felt like we were playing a dark horror game when just seconds before we were playing Minecraft and the setting was bright. It made me feel like I was on the edge of my seat and I was wondering if there were gonna be any jump scares. The fact the narrator disappeared and there was suddenly a complete silence besides the sound of Stanley’s footsteps, as well as the the lights in the office being off, all facilitated a sudden, more eerie feeling in the game. There was definitely anticipation building up for me but then nothing scary happened. The feeling still lasted though. I was wondering why the developers had made that one particular part so suspenseful. Maybe to trick the gamer into thinking something was going to happen?

honestly i felt like this when the gamer was walking through the dark hallway. i thought something was gonna pop out at any minute.

Making Connections:

I wanted to read more about the importance of narrative game design but pretty much all of the articles I found said the same things that Dansky did. I thought this one article from Sliced Bread Animation was interesting though because the author talks about how narrative gaming has become a part of so many people’s everyday lives. The author also actually mentions The Stanley Parable as well when they begin talking about narration which I thought was really cool. They also discuss how so much of narrative gaming is rooted in real world experiences so it’s easier for a player to immerse themselves which is something I took note of earlier with The Stanley Parable. The article also mentions alternate endings which the game includes and which makes people want to play the game longer. If the player knew exactly how the game was gonna end, would they even bother playing it a second or third time? Alternate endings add variety and it honestly makes me think about real life because we are often given choices that we don’t know the consequences of in advance. As humans, we sometimes look back and think what would have happened if we had chosen the other alternative. I’ve played games like this before where I’ll get lost or lose a life because I chose the wrong option and it feels like the same principle can be applied to these games as it can in our real world decisions. I find this so interesting because I’ve never thought about it like this until doing this assignment.

Article: https://sbanimation.com/the-importance-of-video-game-narrative/

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #7

After reading the Bernard piece and watching Speed Cubers, what do you see as key differences in how documentaries tell stories compared to entertainment film? 

After reading the Bernard piece and watching Speed Cubers, one key difference between the way documentaries tell stories and the way entertainment films tell stories is that narratives in documentaries are more rooted in reality than those of many entertainment films. Rather than hiring actors and actresses to portray the people the documentary is telling the story about, documentaries like Speed Cubers make the effort to interview the actual subjects. Through these interviews, we get to hear about their thoughts, feelings, and struggles in an authentic way that a lot of films cannot achieve because they do not have this first person point of view. Bernard talks about how fact checking is one of the most important parts of making a documentary and hearing something directly from the source makes the story even more credible. People want to be entertained but they also want to know that what is being shown to them as “the truth” is actually true. Entertainment films lack these first person accounts and instead have to incorporate research about an event or a person into a complex storyline. For example, I recently saw the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, a film which tells the story of Freddie Mercury and his journey through fame with the band Queen. As I was watching, I found myself wondering how much of it was accurate and if some parts may have been dramatized or added in just for the sake of the plot. An article published in Rolling Stone shows just how much of the movie had been written based on false claims, from a supposed record label dispute to the band apparently breaking up before a huge event. The movie even depicts a man named John Deacon as the band’s original bassist, something that was not even true. Andy Greene, the author of the article, fact checked all of the so-called “real events” in the film with Mercury’s actual life story and found that the writers had left so much out. He refers to this as “fudging the facts” and attributes it to film simply not allowing enough time for Mercury’s life story to be told one hundred percent accurately. I am sure someone like Bernard, who places so much emphasis on getting the information right, would have a lot to say about entertainment films such as Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Another key difference between documentaries and entertainment films that I noticed is that documentaries appear to be much more simplistic than entertainment films are. I have never seen any documentaries that have the multi million dollar budgets that are given to Hollywood movies. Since entertainment films have these higher budgets, the filmmakers can spend more money on things like special effects and elaborate sets. Opposite this, there are documentaries like Speed Cubers that are able to get the point across without having to spend nearly as much money to tell a story. We see the camera crew follow Max and Felix to their speedcubing matches, as well as interviewing them and their families. This is essentially the entire documentary; there is no elaborate editing, no special effects, and none of the typical dramatics you would see in a major motion picture. Although Speed Cubers lacks these elements, the story and the emotions are still conveyed just as well. Some may argue it is even better at conveying these things since we get to see Max, Felix, and their families themselves instead of watching actors/actresses portraying them. The ability to capture genuine, raw emotions is another key difference between documentaries and entertainment films. Of course an entertainment film can capture the raw emotions of someone playing a role but we know that these emotions are prompted by a script. With documentaries, there are opportunities for these emotions to play out in real time, such as when we see Max and Felix crying about their frustrations. They have that feeling of realness to them that I think entertainment films cannot truly grasp. 

Rolling Stone article: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/freddie-mercury-queen-biopic-bohemian-rhapsody-movie-fact-check-746195/

side note but the documentary really made me cry. i looked like this when max’s parents were talking about his progress and how much he loves felix.

Making Connections:

I was curious what the prevalence is of entertainment films getting the story wrong compared to documentaries. I did some research and couldn’t find any articles talking about the specifics since that would be too difficult to make an accurate estimation of. However, I did find one interesting article in which a marine biologist - Dr. Stephen Kajiura - discusses how often entertainment films portray the ocean wrong. For example, Dr. Kaijura talks about how these great rescue scenes are often created in which a person is saved from the deep depths of the sea and comes to the surface totally fine. He mentions it is impossible for someone to be brought to the surface that fast without decompressing and dying. Another instance is when movies portray large monsters that feast on humans they encounter in the sea (such as in the film The Meg). He states it is impossible for a creature this massive to sustain itself in the ocean because there aren’t enough energy sources to keep them alive. I found it so fascinating that people see such frightening depictions of the ocean and that they carry these with them throughout their lives. I know I definitely felt more afraid of the ocean after seeing movies like Jaws. These portrayals can definitely become problematic for someone like a marine biologist who wants people to be informed about the ocean but cannot get the facts across since most of us watch films more often than we listen to marine biologists speak. I’m sure a documentary featuring actual marine biologists would get across the message with much more accuracy than entertainment films ever could.

Article: https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/5/29/21273288/a-marine-biologist-talks-about-what-hollywood-gets-wrong-about-the-ocean

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #6

After watching "The Fallen of World War II," what techniques did you notice being used to facilitate the story being told? Did you find these effective/ineffective, and why?

After watching “The Fallen of World War II”, I noticed that the main technique they used to facilitate the story being told was to present the data visually in various ways. This video was created to tell viewers about the soldiers and civilians who died throughout the entirety of the second World War and to provide specific information about their deaths. For soldiers, the creator focused on what battles they died in and what years these occurred; for civilians, they addressed the specific wartime conditions in their countries that led to their deaths, such as food supply being cut off. To provide us with visual representation, they included a simple graphic of a person that represented 1,000 deaths. Soldiers were given the same graphic but theirs included the detail of them holding a gun with a strap around their body, presumably as a way to distinguish it from the civilian one and to make it more “soldier”-like. Though the graphic used was minimalist, I felt this was done intentionally to not distract the reader from the actual information being told. Some pictures are also included that were taken during the war but these are few, likely to keep the viewer focused on the data.

I found the use of these graphics to be very effective in teaching me just how many people died in WWII. The simple animations were much more useful in grabbing my attention than if someone had sat in front of their camera listing off WWII statistics. The narration blended perfectly with the graphics which were structured purposefully to show us just how much loss came from WWII. Rather than giving us numbers, the graphics were piled on top of one another as the death tolls were tallied, in a way that made each country's toll almost look like a skyscraper.  In particular, I felt like this was meant not only to inform us but also to mess with our minds a little bit. We clearly know so many lives were lost in the war but when you see the numbers being calculated in real time using the graphic, it really blows your mind just how many people this was. I noticed my jaw was open as I watched these tiny animated people stack on top of each other, becoming smaller and smaller as the numbers grew. The video was very organized too because the creator assigned colors to the graphics to represent the different countries involved (red for the Soviet Union, yellow for Nazi Germany, pink for Poland, etc.) There are even some points in which the graphics are formatted in a way to make them look like the country’s flag. My interpretation of this was that the creator wanted to emphasize that these were the lives of actual people and not just statistics; so many people were simply innocent bystanders trapped in the tragic conditions of war. If this was the true intention, it was definitely effective in making me think beyond the data and also about how senseless violence leads to lives cut short far too often. The video ends on an optimistic note by showing a timeline depicting how wartime deaths have decreased in recent decades and the narrator states that “peace has been growing around us.” The entirety of the video is extremely depressing so it felt almost necessary to end it on a high note - something I felt was effective in encouraging us to imagine a brighter future for the world.

I really found Dykes’ article super interesting and the articles that we looked at in class which prompted me to do more research on the benefits of data storytelling. I came across a Column Five Media article that talks about data storytelling serving major benefits to the marketing industry. The way that marketers can integrate data storytelling into making their brand look better is by telling a compelling story through visuals; this is quite similar to Dykes’ statement that when you combine visuals with data, you can create a story that influences change. For people working in the marketing industry, they hope that this change is one that compels you to buy what they’re selling. Author Katy French calls this kind of storytelling a standout in a world of “regurgitated content” - a striking statement that really emphasizes the uniqueness of this kind of data presentation. French also talks about how people want credibility, and when this is combined with something that is visually compelling, it is an ideal combination to persuade them. The three factors of data storytelling mentioned by French are different from those mentioned by Dykes but it is still the same central idea; she lists off comprehension because our brains are wired to process visuals quicker than language, retention because visual data is easier to recall, and appeal because this type of data is appealing and attractive. 

I took an advertising class last year and can remember being taught about the importance of visual advertisements. These kinds of ads can pull you in with pretty and stimulating images and this seems like the same concept to me with data storytelling - the key difference is that the emphasis is on how the numbers and images enhance the brand’s overall images, whereas advertisers seem to focus more on the individual products. I have seen many ads use pleasing visuals with statistics and am curious if this is considered a form of data storytelling as well, even if the primary goal is to sell something and not to inform. As a communications major, it seems necessary to practice my data storytelling skills, whether I decide to go into advertising, PR, marketing, or any related job. The articles by Dykes and Field make me feel that this technique will only grow in popularity and become an essential skill for everyone in this field. 

Column Five Media article: https://www.columnfivemedia.com/data-storytelling-brands-data-visualization

me doing research on data storytelling so i can become a pro and make some $$$

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #5

Prompt: We tend to think of journalism is straight-forward information-sharing. How do you think providing a narrative structure to news might aid in journalism's quest to inform the public?

Based on my own experiences reading journalism pieces, and after reading the New York Times article about how close the Notre-Dame came to collapsing, it feels as if narrative structures have become more popular and essential for some to feel engaged with the news they consume. People now want to connect with the media they consume on an intimate level and journalism seems to be no exception to this; it makes sense why people would feel this way as the stories journalists report on often reflect our communities, nations, and even the whole world. No matter who we are or where we live, there is always a story in the media on any given day with relevance to us. Sometimes, though, reporters do lack accuracy when covering an event and may even put out false information altogether. An article on Poynter highlights some examples from 2017 when even the most popular outlets failed to gather the facts accurately, particularly relating to Donald Trump’s first year in office and the Russian collusion scandal. The author points out a particular instance in which CNN incorrectly reported on the time frame in which Wikileaks had sent the Trump campaign emails and had their mistake corrected by the Washington Post. I found it so fascinating that even competitors can notify the public of an outlet’s mistake so quickly, a testament to their dedication to give their readers nothing but the facts. The Poynter article also includes several instances where journalists were either suspended or resigned as a result of false reporting. It made me wonder if a stronger relationship with those outside of the journalism bubble could limit these mistakes from happening so frequently by including other voices in articles via a narrative structure.

Poynter article: https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2017/not-fake-news-just-plain-wrong-top-media-corrections-of-2017/ 

While I was reading the New York Times piece about Notre-Dame, I found myself extremely engaged with the content because of how the journalists structured the story. It was as if the reader is meant to imagine the events unfolding before them and put themselves in the shoes of the guards and firefighters who had to try to save the cathedral. They even include drawings from a firefighter’s journal to show how the fire spread that offer us visual representation. The article transcends far beyond the journalists’ interpretation of the events from their own fact-gathering and instead informs us about what occurred in a play-by-play manner with eyewitness accounts to back up these claims. The narratives given by the guards and firefights lets us know their feelings at these exact moments, how scared they were, and what actions they took which makes us feel more connected. It would not have the same effect on us readers if the journalists had simply summarized their words or assumed what they were thinking as the cathedral was burning; rather, having direct quotes assists in the quest to inform the public because we have no legitimate reason to be skeptical of those who were actually there. 

Providing a narrative structure to journalism can make the difference between someone falling asleep halfway through reading a report and finding it incredibly fascinating. The more people feel engaged with journalism, the more likely they will be to recognize its importance. Feeling connected with this type of media will also hopefully encourage people to fact-check and speak up when they notice false information. Realizing this made me curious if others share the same sentiment; I did some research to see if they did and came across a TedTalk by journalist Stephanie Hanes. Her main point was that journalists focus too much on the fear factor of their stories and as a result, many people feel that just living is dangerous in itself. She calls for more diversity in the narratives that are constantly used (i.e. more positive ones) to balance out the tragedies we read about everyday. Something she said really stood out to me; she said that this is a problem for journalists because it does not reflect the world since there are many positive experiences we live through every single day that are not covered. It really made me think if people would be more willing to be informed if they weren’t so afraid to see sad and scary stories everyday. I know people personally who have said they don’t want to read or watch the news because it worries them or makes them depressed. I wonder if these kinds of people could get more engaged with journalism if they reported more frequently on success stories - things like someone beating cancer, donating to charities, inventing something significant. Of course, it is necessary for tragedies to be reported but Hanes wants a balance that will make people less afraid of living their lives.

Hanes also acknowledges that scary stereotypes of nations such as Africa have been perpetuated by Western media for so long; they are constantly being depicted as places that are full of disease and terror. People who don’t live in these nations never really get a chance to see all of the beautiful aspects of them and these ideas can even carry over into something as huge as making foreign policy more difficult. I feel that if we had voices in journalism from these places who could tell us about their cultures and all of the positive experiences they have had in their countries then people could begin to rid themselves of these preconceived ideas. We want to trust journalists but we also need journalists to adopt better narratives that make readers feel like the world is not a completely terrifying place.

As a final note, Hanes also calls on us to do something to bring about the new narrative of journalism by sharing positive stories on social media. She tells us that we have the power to shape the news and change it from a fear narrative to one that is better suited for us and our well-being. She recognizes many are rejecting the media because of their fears and as soon as more people become involved with journalism, then journalists can succeed in their quests to better inform all of us. 

TedTalk: https://youtu.be/oPo-NVO0oFw

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #4

After listening to "Money Tree," what was your impression of the storytelling? How is podcast storytelling different from the radio plays we've discussed earlier this semester?

After listening to Money Tree, my impression of the storytelling was that it was very straightforward and much more mellow than the radio play. I actually thought to myself that it almost felt like the narrator was giving a TED Talk; however, at the same time, there was also another voice providing us with additional background information about Betz-Hamilton and the sequence of events in her life. The woman running the podcast was able to give it the direction she desired by deciding when to ask Betz-Hamilton what questions and at what point during the podcast. This made it feel more like I was listening to someone read a biography or a written interview about someone else. The background music also made it feel very relaxed, unlike the radio play we discussed earlier in which the music was included to intentionally try to build a sense of fear and suspense. It felt like the music in the podcast was included to make it feel less empty and it stopped at certain points so that it would not feel as continuous or excessive. There were also a lot of open-ended questions that are extremely important to podcasts because they let the conversation keep flowing and give the person being asked more to talk about (as opposed to just answering a yes-or-no question). There is no need to worry about this in a radio play as the dialogue is already planned out and the actors have memorized a script; a podcast is much more unpredictable because even though the interviewer can plan out their questions, they cannot predict what response they’ll get. 

Money Tree was also someone’s personal account of the real events that occurred during her life regarding identity theft committed by her mother, whereas The Hitchhiker was a fictional horror story created for the purpose of entertainment. This difference makes the podcast feel more grounded in reality than the radio play, although the radio play definitely included themes that are especially relevant to real life (such as the fear of having a run-in with a stranger any given day who could harm you). I could really feel the difference between the two forms of media storytelling by the way that the stories were organized and presented to the audience. Unlike the radio play, I felt like Money Tree was structured the way it was not only because it was told via podcast but because they really wanted Betz-Hamilton to be able to get her story out there in a way that would make people take it seriously.

Making Connections:

While I was listening to Money Tree, I started wondering if there are certain structures that most people use in their own podcasts. I really have never listened to podcasts before so I had no idea if most podcasts would be similar to this one or if there are different types with various structures. I found this video that talks specifically about how to set up a podcast from the intro to the closing. One thing I found really interesting about this video is that the narrator points out how each person is unique and that should be an aspect to integrate into your own podcast; in other words, you shouldn’t try to copy someone else’s podcast structure and should be authentic. I also enjoyed that the narrator talked about how each step in the podcast structure affects not only the show but also how the audience will interpret what they hear. They also mention that podcasting isn’t much different from other mediums that people listen to for entertainment but that podcasting is unique because they are more intimate. It became easier to understand how a podcast is planned after watching this video: https://youtu.be/gZs1uY1d19Q

I also listened to another podcast just to be able to compare and contrast it with Money Tree and see if they shared the elements included in the two readings we were given for this week. I searched up what the most popular podcasts have been recently and found a list of the best ones of 2020 by The New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2020-in-review/the-best-podcasts-of-2020). I listened to the first episode of the podcast they crowned number one which is called Floodlines. It was very emotional, a lot more than Money Tree, and features a man named Vann R. Newkirk II discussing the passing of his mother after a battle of cancer in 2020 and the timeline of her life. He also discusses how his mother grew up in the United States as a black woman, during a time when her voting rights weren’t even guaranteed; he also shared his opinions on the state of democracy in this country through the eyes of his mother. I really enjoyed listening to what he had to say and I felt it was so relevant to the discussions we have today about our government, especially considering this came out in 2020 during the pandemic and in an election year. The interviewer’s questions were personal but felt necessary to the conversation and also included many clips of people talking about their own experiences and protesting in the heat of the Civil Rights Movement as well as clips of news reports from 2020 discussing how polls were difficult to access in Georgia. I figured that they were likely doing this to make the listener feel as if they were there with them and not just watching from the future; it also made the podcast more emotional. You already know this is not a fictional story but you can feel how real it is with Newkirk II’s narration combined with speeches and interviews that were given during the Civil Rights Movement. This podcast differs from Money Tree because of these additional elements; it is not just the interviewer and the interviewee with some background music. There is so much more to take in. It is definitely worth listening to and I learned so much from it about what life was like for black people in the United States at the time and about how a podcast can be just as emotional as watching a film.

Floodlines podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/floodlines/id1501433969 

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #3

A lot of people would say that graphic novels and comic books are less "legitimate" works of fiction/non-fiction that a traditional novel or non-fiction book. (Has this perspective changed with the popularity of comic book Hollywood films?) What are your thoughts on the merits and/or criticisms of graphic novels/comics as storytelling mediums? 

There has long been the claim that graphic novels and comic books are less “legitimate” works of fiction and non-fiction than the traditional book is considered to be. It appears as if the inclusion of art, leading to fewer words on the page, has led many to dismiss these two mediums as either childish or illegitimate, even if the message of the story is the same as one you would find in a work by Shakespeare, for example. Why is it that you could have the same exact story - one told in a graphic novel/comic book format and one told in a standard novel format - and still have people dismiss the former format as less legitimate than the latter? For years, I have heard many people say that comic books and graphic novels are something for children and that those who enjoy them as adults are in the wrong for doing so. I feel like the massive success of the MCU movies has led to a shift in this perspective but not entirely; one reason I feel hesitant to say that it has changed much stems from the realizations I came to when I took a Film and Literature class in the fall of 2019 at Emmanuel that was primarily structured around the DC/Marvel graphic novels and comic books. We read Black Panther, Wonder Woman, and Captain America and then had to watch the film adaptations as well to draw comparisons. I found it extremely fascinating and actually shocking that a professor was teaching film and literature through these mediums instead of the “classic” works that are typically assigned in an English class. It also brought me back to my sophomore year English class in high school when we read Persepolis, the first time in ten years of schooling I had ever been assigned a graphic novel to read. These were the only instances in my entire schooling career that comic books and graphic novels were included in the curriculum; I wondered why every other book that was ever assigned to me in an English class was a standard book (typically a lot of the “classic works” like Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.)

Having read so many books for school in this typical words-only format made me wonder why more classes weren’t being taught like my Film and Literature class; I remember the realization I came to was that it was probably because there were still a lot of teachers who did not view these mediums as legitimate and were not willing to let go of the classics. I felt so engaged throughout the semester even as someone who had never really watched any of the DC/Marvel movies before, let alone read the comics, and this experience made me feel that everyone should get to take an English class like this as well. We also drew so many connections to the real world from these comics and their movie adaptations which showed me that it didn’t matter that these weren’t the “classics”. They still had the relevant themes that we had discussed in so many English classes prior so why did it matter that they included more artwork than text? I actually found that the visuals made the story so much more fun to engage with and made me more fascinated in the class overall. My personal experiences have definitely led me to feel strongly about this debate and make it difficult for me to accept any criticisms of comics and graphic novels as legitimate storytelling mediums. I believe people just need to approach it with an open mind and free themselves from these preconceptions before automatically dismissing them.

My Film and Literature class was my first time ever both reading and watching Black Panther. I absolutely loved both the graphic novel and the movie and I would honestly consider it one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Of course, they could not fit all of T’Challa’s adventures in the novels into this one film but I feel that they stayed true to the strength of his character and his bond with his sister Shuri (who he rescues at one point in the graphic novels; she also plays an extremely large part in T’Challa’s victory in the film).

Making Connections:

#1. This is a short article I found that talks about the actual science behind the benefits of graphic novels serve in the classroom for students (i.e. the effect of images in addition to text on brain processes) and how the presence of these images leads to different interpretations of a story: https://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/blog/research-behind-graphic-novels-and-young-learners 

I imagine this would surely make for more interesting classroom discussions in which the students can offer multiple perspectives on not only what they are reading but also what they are seeing, too. Not to mention I’m sure many kids grow tired of always reading stories for school in the standard book format and reading a graphic novel instead might make them more willing to engage. I think more teachers should attempt this approach and see how it impacts their students’ participation and grades.

#2. I also found a TedTalk by Gene Yang, who was once a teacher and a graphic novelist, in which he expresses the importance of graphic novels in the school curriculum and urges teachers to let go of their refusal to teach using them. I thought it was so upsetting but not at all shocking that he was not allowed to bring a comic to school as his sustained silent reading book when he was a student: https://youtu.be/Oz4JqAJbxj0 

#3. Something else I thought of while I was reading Cinema’s Discovery of the Graphic Novel was how important the character of Black Panther is to the black community in particular. I can remember after the movie’s release and after Chadwick Boseman’s passing, there were so many social media posts and articles written about how Black Panther offered the kind of representation that not only young black children need and deserve to see at an early age but also that black adults have long been waiting to see on the big screen. Without the original Marvel comics, this character would have never existed and became such an important and beloved figure for so many people to see. I imagine anyone who can see the relevance of Black Panther and who is able to see themselves in this character would agree with me that the graphic novel is just as important of a medium as the film is in regards to this franchise. To them, I imagine it is not the medium that is most important but also the message they take from the storylines (sorry, McLuhan) and the real-world implications Black Panther has had for them. Here are 2 videos I found of black voices expressing why Black Panther means so much to them: https://youtu.be/VlF0X1YaHYQ and https://youtu.be/tzp4COHtZNw

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #2

After listening to "The Hitch-Hiker," what are your thoughts on radio as a storytelling format? Did you find the story captivating? If so, what multimedia elements contributed to that? What do you think are shortcomings of this format? 

After listening to The Hitch-Hiker, I find radio as a storytelling format to be both strange and interesting. It was very weird to only hear a theater production instead of seeing all of the visuals, theatrics, and body language that always accompany one. I thought to myself that I felt like I was listening to a television show with my eyes turned away from the screen. There was also this sense of calm right before the suspense began to build up that made the show more captivating, though; when the story starts to pick up (the narrator sees the strange man), there is this eerie background music that begins to play. There are also other auditory elements such as the sounds of screeching tires and car horns which made me feel as if I could easily visualize the scene unfolding in my mind. 

side note: this was literally my reaction when the hitchhiker started howling. i nearly jumped out of my skin. that had me terrified for the rest of the show.

The sound effects and music are the multimedia elements that primarily contributed to why I found the story to be more captivating; I think without them, I would have just felt as if someone was reading from a script since there were no visual elements to this production. Since I am someone who would rather watch than listen to something like this, I had a preconceived idea that I wouldn’t really like this but I actually found myself getting really involved with the storyline. The actors and actresses were also extremely good at conveying his emotions through their voices, primarily the main actor; I could even hear his voice getting shaky at the parts he was supposed to be the most fearful of the hitchhiker. It is as if he was making up for our inability to see his facial expressions by really putting these emotions into his voice. 

One shortcoming of this format that I thought of was that it honestly does not feel like a theater production. Without being able to see these events played out on a stage, it felt more like a movie or a TV show to me. This occurred to me when I realized that I was visualizing what was going on in my head like I was watching it on a screen and not on a stage. I feel like a lot of people would agree that the stage is a hallmark of the theater and without it, it may make it easier for some people to discredit this as real theater. Another shortcoming is that it is likely more difficult for some people to pay attention to the story without any visual elements; this is because some people are simply able to engage more if there is something they can actually see. This, of course, wouldn’t be a huge deal for everyone but I could see this being a barrier for a lot of people that may turn this off from radio as a storytelling format. In my opinion, I found it fascinating and not as complicated to engage with as I initially thought it would be.

Making Connections:

For some reason, listening to this made me think of the War of the Worlds broadcast on the radio in 1938. Although this was a book and not a play (both are works of fiction, though), it still made me think of how influential and powerful radio can be despite not having any visual elements to it. I took Intro to Media and Communications in the fall of 2019 and my professor played this video for us, which is the entire original broadcast of War of the Worlds. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g

Despite being a fictional story, people interpreted what they were hearing as real events because they had not tuned into the broadcast from the start and had such a strong trust in the radio as a source of information. It made me curious how many people would have thought “The Hitch-Hiker” was someone telling a real story that had happened to them had they suddenly tuned into it around this same time period. I think in the modern day, this would not ever happen again as it did in 1938, but it is still worth remembering how the radio was once a hallmark of everyday life, whether as a source of news or of entertainment, and the impact that the War of the Worlds broadcast had on American society.

I also found this short video on YouTube that talks about the elements of radio dramas and plays a drama called Shadows of the Past to exemplify his points. Ironically, I watched this after writing about War of the Worlds and he actually mentions that broadcast in this video. He also touches upon how its necessary to visualize the scenes in your own mind which I was thinking about the whole time I was listening to The Hitch-Hiker: https://youtu.be/Jo8_dVsGzKA

[reginas--world]

Blog Post #1

Question: Do you think that most stories fit Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey Monomyth model? Why or who not? Can you provide an example or two?

Based on the many movies, TV shows, and books that I’ve come across in my 20 years of life, I have seen Campbell’s Hero’s Journey Monomyth model played out so many times. Whether it’s in a magical fantasy film like Harry Potter or in an animated Disney movie like Finding Nemo, there are countless instances of stories that depict a protagonist receiving the “Call to Adventure”, as Campbell puts it, and struggling with the inner conflict of deciding whether to embark on the journey or not before eventually venturing into unknown territory to face villains and other danger along the way. Harry Potter is a prime example because Harry’s life before his journey to Hogwarts was both uneventful and tragic; he was an orphan taken in by family members who treat him horribly. It isn’t until the giant Hagrid appears and tells him that he is a wizard - this is Harry’s “Call to Adventure” - that he is then faced with the ultimate challenge; to go to Hogwarts and take out new responsibilities or not. At first, he is extremely hesitant and overwhelmed by all this new information, but an attack from the enemy provokes him to accept his wizard fate. Throughout the series, we see Harry’s story play out just as Campbell has highlighted in his model; this is seen when Harry moves into the magical world and enrolls in Hogwarts (“Crossing of the First Threshold”) as well as when he encounters an evil professor in the first movie, Tom Riddle in the second, and all of the other villains he must defeat in each movie (“Entering the Belly of the Whale”). I would also say that there is also “Atonement with the Father” exemplified in Harry’s constant battles with Voldemort as their feud is very personal (Voldemort murdered Harry’s father). At the end of the franchise, Harry wins the final intense battle against Voldemort and vanquishes him for good before returning the Elder Wand to its rightful place. The return of this wand symbolizes Harry’s triumph and the restoration of peace in the wizarding world. He can now cross the threshold from the magical world into the real world again now that he has prevailed in the land that had initially called him to action, making him the “Master of Two Worlds”.

[reginas--world]

my intro video!!