Film Industry Global Flip

Image Courtesy Of Google Images

The film industry has been said to be experiencing a backflip with Hollywood integrating Asian film techniques into their production and Asian films basing their production on 'Hollywoodised' ways (incorporating Hollywood production into Asian cinema (Klein, 2004, p. 369)). 

Christina Klein in particular discussed this notion a decade ago noting the movie Kill Bill (2004) as being a perfect illustration of her argument. Kill Bill directed by Quentin Tarantino includes elements of cinema stereotypical to Asian production methods. The use of martial arts and sound effects during fighting scenes emphasises this along with the chosen music in scenes as you can see in the following YouTube Trailer. Klein states that 'Hollywood today (a decade ago) is fascinated with martial arts to an extent unseen since the heyday of Bruce Lee in the early 1970s' (p. 360). This is still evident today. 

The 2010 movie 'Kickass' and its sequel previewing this year, 'Kickass 2', continues with this theme of martial arts, fighting and prominent sound effects being used. Huaiting Wu and Joseph Man Chan (2007) state that 'oriental culture is globalized against the odds as predicted by theories of cultural imperialism' through the case study of the blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They note the influence of martial arts within cinema and its growing culture in the industry. Kickass is one example of the takeover. Several other recent films in this category include Dragon Eyes, The Man With The Iron Fists, and the remake of the Karate Kid (2010).

Similarly television series are taking on the Asianised stance specifically in the anime or cartoon sector. The 'Merriam-Webster online website definition for anime is, “a style of animation originating in 

Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled 

plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes.”' (p. 1) Several American shows have adopted these styles and incorporated Japanese context. Avatar The Last Airbender falls under this blanket being a Nickeledeon production however being branded an anime is controversial as it is not of Japanese orientation. This video discusses how anime is now a problematic concept with the American cartoons.

Asian films have also become Hollywoodised, incorporating the typical Western love story into their movies. One of the major films that stands out in this factor is London, Paris, New York which looks like a typical 'chick flick'. The storyline follows that of a Hollywood film in that two individuals meet and through their differences end up finding love. The cover of the film even represents the hollywoodised, somewhat cheesy, love story.

Both Hollywood and Asian films are expanding their market globally by trying to incorporate a culturally different approach. 

Reference List

Frost Bite: The Definition of Anime 2013, YouTube, Glass Reflection, 25 July, retrieved 26 September 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p51neLsWE-4>

IMDb 2012, 'London Paris New York (2012), retrieved 26 September 2013, <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2064849/>

Kick-Ass 2 Trailer 2013 Jim Carrey Movie- Official Theatrical Trailer 3 [HD] 2013, YouTube, Cieon Movies, 18 June, retrieved 26 September 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4p4VyP3tH4>

Kill Bill- Trailer 2007, YouTube, George Huange, 5 January, retrieved 26 September 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czwy-aVbbU>

Klein, C 2004, 'Martial arts and the globalization of US and Asian film industries', Comparative American Studies; An International Journal, vol. 2, no. 3, p. 360, retrieved 24 September 2013, <https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/143750/viewContent/1985501/View>

Klein, C 2004, 'Martial arts and the globalization of US and Asian film industries', Comparative American Studies; An International Journal, vol. 2, no. 3, p. 369, retrieved 24 September 2013, <https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/143750/viewContent/1985501/View>

Trygstad, J 2007, Living through Death in Anime, North Dakota State University, retrieved 26 Septemder 2013, <http://library.ndsu.edu/tools/dspace/load/?file=/repository/bitstream/handle/10365/22367/LivingThroughDeathInAnime.pdf?sequence=2>

Wu, H & Man Chan, J 2007, 'Globalizing Chinese martial arts cinema: the global-local alliance and the production of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', Media Culture Society, vol. 29, no. 2, p. 195, retrieved 26 September 2013, <http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/29/2/195.short>

Celebrity Take Over

Image Courtesy of Google Images 

When the word 'celebrity' is heard there are a lot of faces that come to mind across different industries. Majority of the celebrities that I identify are not Australian or Australian based, some of whom are not even from western cultures. It is through globalisation through means of media outlets that this awareness across countries has occurred. Celebrities are an entertainment factor for audiences and are now defined as newsworthy in journalistic terms. As a result the media is becoming a platform for celebrities to shape their own identity and become a type of role model for audiences. This is what David Marshall (2010, p.489) defines as 'specular mirror', 'a two-way mirror of projection on to the screen and the circulation of and interaction with those images and texts into the wider world'. 

The specular mirror allows for celebrities to brand themselves and create their own image. Victoria Secrets model, Candice Swanepoel, has become a world reknowned model as a result of being associated with not Victoria Secrets, for one, but also Vogue. The South African model has appeared on the front cover of the Australian, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Italian versions of Vogue and has a whole list of other magazine covers to follow. This relationship between the companies has resulted in her being able brand herself as a high-end fashion model.

 

Image Courtesy of Google Images

Celebrities are also a tactic used in product promotion. This is what Marshall refers to as a specular economy, as consumers are influenced to buy products that celebrities are advertising to 'mirror' the image of the idolised celebrity. Candice herself endorses several brands including, but not limited to, Guess, Nike, Diesel, TopShop, Ralph Lauren 'Big Pony' Fragrance and Versace Eyewear. Her status allows for consumer interest in the brand.

Image Courtesy of Google Images 

Due to the celebrities being a topic of interest in the news, magazines, and even on celebrity gossip television programs celebrities are under constant surveillance to generate a high profile story. The surveillance society, as based on Foucault's panopticon prison, allows for constant unknown monitoring by authoritive figures. In this case the surveillance society, or specular surveillance is what generates news of celebrities and therefore creates the specular economy. Hence, celebrity status globally is established.  

  

References:

Candice Swanepoel.com 2013, 'Biography', retrieved 25 September 2013, <http://www.candice-swanepoel.com/biography.html>

Marshall, D 2010, 'The Specular Economy', Symposium: Celebrity Around The World, vol. 47, p. 489, retrieved 25 September 2013, <https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/143750/viewContent/1985498/View>

Lyon, D 2008, Surveillance Society, Queens University, retrieved 25 September 2013, <http://www.festivaldeldiritto.it/2008/pdf/interventi/david_lyon.pdf>

Video Game Interpretation- How Are They Shaped To Aim Target Publics

(Source: www.last.fm.com)

Growing up with two older brothers in an age where video games became a prominent activity of leisure, majority of the games we owned for the Playstation were masculine in nature. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 was one of them. The game involves selecting a real life professional skateboarder protagonist to visit cities where you participate in competitions against other pro skaters. A major influence over the protagonist that I chose was the gender. The game only featured one female pro skater, Elise Steamer, which was evident when I was younger.

Stuart Hill (1973) discusses the audience reception to this viewing in terms of preferred, or dominant, reading, negotiated reading, and oppositional reading which can be applied to the game.

A preferred reading is how majority of the audience 'decode' a particular message. The dominant interpretation of ProSkater 4 would be the reflection of professional skateboarding, in being able to mimic the maneuvers that skateboarders attempt and land and being involved, in a virtual sense, in the skateboarding subculture. It is merely a sporting game.

The negotiated reading allows for one to shape the dominant reading in terms of their own social situation (Pillai, 1992). Being a female playing the game I applied a feminist perspective noting the lack of females in the sport. Research conducted by Kelly, Pomerantz and Currie (2005) indicated that 'skater girls saw themselves as participating in an ‘alternative’ girlhood' due to this male dominance. Negotiated readings can also understand the game through race involvement. Kareem Campbell was the only male African American included in the player choice. This could be the result of the skate culture and its appeal to different races or it could be the result of professional skater selectivity in the game production.

   

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

And finally the oppositional reading is decoding the game so the audience disagrees with the hegemonic view. A typical oppositional interpretation of Tony Hawk would be in the character behaviour and the image association of the skateboarding culture. A major aspect of the game is in players inflicting pain on themselves (through falling off the board) and to others. This violent behaviour could be seen to negatively influence younger players.

I personally take the preferred reading as the game is a reflection of the skate boarding culture but does extend it to make it entertaining.

Reference List

Hall, S. 1973, Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse. Birmingham [England: Centre for Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, 1973. 507-17 

Kelly, D, Pomerantz, S & Currie, D 2005,  'Skater girlhood and emphasized femininity: ‘you can't land an ollie properly in heels’', Gender and Education, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 229-248, <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540250500145163#.UkKDI4amiZ4>

Pillai, P 1992, 'Rereading Stuart Hall's Encoding/Decoding Model', Communication Theory, vol. 2, no.3, pp. 221-233, <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2885.1992.tb00040.x/abstract>

Political Debate Over Blogs- The Function Of Blogs In Political Campaigns

(Source: Herald Sun)

My last blog entry highlighted the use of these blogs in political agenda and being an essential tool in twenty first century political campaigns. In the lead up to, and after, the current Australian election, the use of this technology was highly evident.

The use of social media, in particular Twitter, were platforms for the political candidates to send their messages to, and try to convince Australians to vote for them. Kevin Rudd is an active user of the site, utilising it to further his political speeches and keep public's aware of the Labor policies along with scrutinizing the Liberal party policies. His tweets were daily, sometimes more than once, with these being particular examples:

'I will fight for Australia's future. For your jobs, your schools and a fair go for all. KRudd' 
@KRuddMP 28th August 2013

'Under state liberals, 4000 health workers sacked, 1000 on Bris northside alone. Quality of health care being hit. Jobs lost. Appalling. KRudd'
@KRuddMP 1st September 2013

Mr. Rudd currently has 1,391,435 followers on his page, thus his message reached and promoted debate for 1,391,435 people. Rudd also took to social news and entertainment website, Reddit to participate in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) where he answered the public's questions on the election and Labours intentions in parliament. The thread received 9562 comments from the public. 

A study conducted by Larsson and Moe (2012, p.733) analyzes how this use of technology especially Twitter was used in the 2010 Swedish Election in a similar fashion to that of Australia. The study assessed the reasoning behind political blogging as conducted by a member of parliament and its effectiveness. It states that:  

'Golbeck et al. (2010) analyzed the contents of over 6000 tweets from Members of the US Congress. The analysis showed that the members tweeted primarily to disseminate information, often providing URLs to news articles about themselves or to their blog posts.'

In relation to our current political use of blogging and social media, the direct use of these outlets tends to reflect the study. These internet sites are a massive expansion of the public sphere and are an outlet for political campaigns and debate to spark community interest.

Reference List:

Kevin Rudd 2013, 'KRuddMP Twitter', retrieved 12 September 2013, <https://twitter.com/KRuddMP>

Larsson, AO & Moe, H 2012, 'Studying Political Microblogging: Twitter Users in the 2010 Swedish Election Campaign', News, Media and Society, vol. 14, no.5, p. 733, <https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/143750/viewContent/1978556/View> 

Reddit 2013, 'I am Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia. AMA!', retrieved 12 September 2013, <http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1lbe0s/i_am_kevin_rudd_the_prime_minister_of_australia/> 

The Blogosphere Public Sphere

(Photo reference)

The blogosphere is a domain which enables individuals to voice their opinion on particular matters using a blog as a platform. It generates a certain amount of debate, feedback and comment regarding issues that are prominent in our society. This depends on the type of blog. Blogs can come in the form of fashion, music, inspirational, health and diet, fitness, sporting, political blogs- the list is endless. They're topical regarding matters of interest in society. This is a outlet for people around the world to both consume, produce, and discuss worldly issues in a space. 

The following video gives insight into the blog process, how it works and how it is successfully being utilised in political campaigns, becoming a significant tool of communication.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj1_WgWLHrM

The video highlights the use of blogs in political communication, supporter connectivity and debate, which is entails aspects that could be a likened to the public sphere. The public sphere as defined by Habermas is ‘the space of communication of ideas and projects that emerge from society and are addressed to the decision makers in the institutions of society’ (Castells, 2008). It includes all forms of communication that through some medium reaches publics to create discussion, such as the media journalism, newpapers, magazines, television, word of mouth conversation and the internet. As the internet and new media are becoming increasingly popular as a device for information consumption, they are beginning to make an impact on the public sphere. Blogging, a form of new media, in this sense relates directly to participatory journalism, an idea that is already held within the public sphere, where communication of news is two-way. Kathy Gills (2004) notes that

'today’s practice of blogging embodies these concepts of journalism. Not only does it provide many viewpoints on shared experiences, but it often also serves as a collective databank used to jog the faulty memories of those who write or report for major media. It is the latest in a series of technologies that have changed the face of both mass communication and social networks.'

Thus, with the public sphere stemming to online sources, the blogosphere is becoming a significant factor of the public sphere and even creating its own domain of communication. 

Reference List-

Castells, M 2008, ‘The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 616, no. 1, pp. 78-93

Gills, K 2004, How can we measure the influence of the blogosphere, University of Washington, retrieved 2 September 2013, <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.124.2509&rep=rep1&type=pdf>

Blogosphere 2007, YouTube, IAMAW Grand Lodge, 14 August, retrieved 2 September 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj1_WgWLHrM>