Friday, November 6, 2009

Freud's theories and me

Have you ever thought about how Freud’s theories fit in with the current media? Freud developed his own thoughts on the human psyche, which includes the id, ego, and the superego. His theories separate the media into different categories. The Id is represented by shows such as The Hills, Rock of Love, and even the porn of today. The Ego is all of the news programs and documentaries of the past that can be frequently viewed on television today. The Superego is represented by Cops, Reno 911 and the religious shows that preach to the public. Which category do you most likely fit into? I think that I fit into the Ego portion of it more than the other two. I came to this conclusion because I seem to watch more news programs and documentaries than anything else. I do watch MTV shows and reality shows of that sort but they do not interest me as much. Since the ego focuses more on consciousness, could this mean that I am more realistic about certain things?

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Narrative Theory in Non-Fictional Stories

Narratives always have a beginning, middle, and an end. Fairytales and fictional stories are easiest to find this pattern in, but what about non-fiction? In fact, non-fiction stories have the same pattern as stories that are fictional, they my just be harder to see. An example of this would be the true story of Titanic. The beginning is when the ship was being made and people created the assumption that it was an unsinkable ship. The middle consists of the ship’s first voyage into the ocean; great excitement was created among the public when the ship first set sail so every moment on the ship was definitely a memorable one. The end is when the ship hits the iceberg and sinks. The aftermath of this tragedy could also be part of the end, along with the lesson being learned that a ship should always have enough lifeboats for every passenger.
So the pattern of fiction and non-fiction narratives is mostly the same. Fictional ones, of course, deal with people and situations that are made-up. In fictional stories, it is easy to focus on the narrative pattern while creating or writing the story. In non-fictional stories, however, it is sometimes more challenging to find the true beginning, middle, and end. They are events and real-life stories that have already happened so those three narrative traits may also be different for everyone who knows what is going on with the non-fictional story. So in the end, everyone has their own perception of non-fictional narrative and the exact situations that separate their pattern. It can also depend on the situation in which the story takes place. As I stated above, narratives can be easily read in fairytales and fictional stories; non-fictional ones are harder to find but sometimes can be a fun challenge!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

My favorite genre film? The remake of Halloween!!!


With horror films being my favorite film genre, it only makes sense that my favorite genre film is the new “Halloween” directed by Rob Zombie, which came out in 2007. I have always liked all of the “Halloween” films but the way Rob Zombie remade this film made it even better. The remake took viewers deeper into Michael Myers’ mind and even gave us his history, showing us what his childhood was like and what exactly made him the way he became. That simple factor of adding in the killer’s history was the reason this movie became my favorite; not only was the original remade and updated, but newer information was added in helping viewers to put together the mystery of Michael Myers. Not too many remakes add in a lot of information and extra scenes that were not in the original movie; so this is an original move that made this movie successful! When remaking a film, adding in your own theories and thoughts about the characters is a good way to give your own twist to the movie!

Photo used with a Creative Commons license.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Horror Films

Just in time for Halloween! My favorite film genre has always been horror films. Yes, I could branch out into my other favorites, including thriller and mystery but nothings beats a good horror film! Even though it is mostly always the same storyline (a problem is introduced, people soon die, the main character is alive in the end and the killer somehow loses) they still give you a good scare! The reason that I find them so exciting would have to be the fact that I love being scared! With Halloween being my favorite holiday (if it is even considered a holiday) loving horror movies comes naturally with that! Another good thing about horror movies is that once the movie is over, the fear is over also. Of course, you will be thinking about the movie for the next few days and may even have a few nightmares, but you seem to leave your fears with the end of the movie. Nothing is as bad as it seems once your horror movie has started!!!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Promise Rings: What meaning do they have?


Have you ever thought about what a promise ring really means? Engagement rings and wedding bands have a common meaning that almost everyone has adapted to but a promise ring’s meaning has never fully been established. It seems that everyone who gets one for someone has a meaning of their own to attach to the term. It is always some sort of promise but the type of that promise varies. Parents consider it a promise to “save yourself for marriage” but most boyfriends and girlfriends consider it a promise that they will stay together forever, sort of a step before the engagement ring. So what happens if you break this promise that the ring is binding to you? Couples would mostly likely break up and your parents would probably be greatly disappointed but forgive you in the end. So is the theory of a promise ring mostly a fabrication that humans set in their minds? It could be something that we believe in only for the sake of having a pre-engagement or it could give us reason to believe fully in something that we believe to be morally correct.

Photo used with a Creative Commons license.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

What are semiotics?

Semiotics. They are everywhere we look. They can easily be seen in advertisements and on signs; but what about objects? The line of dolls named Barbie, for example, has signs hidden in its product. Barbie is happily with Ken, always has on the perfect outfit, and changes her job everyday; Barbie easily does it all! The two signifieds that children are getting from this is that you can be anything you want and that life is perfect. Being able to become anything you want when you are older is a positive sign that children should be getting, but it is not reasonable to think that life should be perfect. So semiotics are not always putting off the best messages, but the signifier could be putting off multiple meanings that could be interpreted wrong. In the end, it all comes down to what we, as individuals, take from these signifiers.