Week 10

How does Buffy deconstruct traditional literary notions of good and evil?

I chose to answer this question as it is an interesting one to look into. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has got the traditional ‘good vs evil’ theme going on, but it warps and changes the boundaries of this immensely. For example “Evil is often less fixed... with many characters demonstrating both decent and demonic traits and behaviours across episodes or seasons. ‘Good’ characters may develop in frighteningly sinister ways; while villainous ones may surprisingly reveal complex and even selfless motivations” (Braum, 2000). This happens all throughout Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons, with some characters (such as Spike) starting off as an ‘evil’ character, then becoming friends with Buffy and seeming to become ‘good’ character, and eventually to commit more bad acts to once again blur the line.

Another example of this happening in Buffy the Vampire slayer is her interactions with the character Angel. He was a somewhat morally ambiguous character, with a dark past, but he swiftly became a romantic interest for Buffy. They would often fight vampires together and he would be there when she needed help. Eventually they made love, and this awakened Angels ‘curse’ (triggered by perfect human happiness) which made him revert back to his vampire form to become one of Buffys greatest enemies. This is a clear example of how Buffy the Vampire Slayer lines to deconstruct the literary notions of good and evil. The relationship between Buffy and Angel clearly demonstrates the tension between love and aggression that can often occur in intimate relationships (Braum, 2000.)

The show clearly bases everything it’s about on this sort of blurring between good and evil. With Buffy the teenage girl who has to fight all sorts of villainous creatures, and her array of friends/foes who are often changing sides or doing acts that the traditional ‘good’ character wouldn’t do.

Braum, B. (2000) The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The ambiguity of evil in supernatural representations. Retrieved 18 October, 2005 from: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0412/is_2_28/ai_64688900

Week 11

How has the documentary genre influenced reality TV and how it presents the ‘real’?

It can be a difficult proposition explaining the differences between documentaries and reality TV, but once both are viewed it becomes clear which genre displays fact, and which displays an illusion of the truth. Documentaries have helped the Reality TV genre grow because they share many similar properties. Biressi and Nunn (2005) explained with their work how John Grierson who first “coined the term ‘documentary’, happily acknowledged the role of aesthetics in the genre, describing the documentary process as the ‘creative treatment of actuality.’” This clearly shows us which themes a documentary will often have. The viewpoint of a documentary is often seen by just one perspective, which unintentionally means the documentary will have a somewhat bias view on whatever issue is being presented, intentional or otherwise. However, the documentary will try to portray the information it is delivering in a factual way, in an attempt to deliver unbiased information, but unless they cover a wide range of conflicting viewpoints then this very rarely happens. So the documentary genre is almost the pre-reality TV genre simply because reality TV couldn’t exist if documentaries were never created. Reality TV however is full of biased viewpoints put in by the media to help portray any given situation in a certain glorified light. It is a genre that is guilty of having one sided views for nearly any situation. An example of this is when the cast is arguing over food and water in survivor, when the participants are making gourmet dishes on Masterchef, or when the bad boy criminal is being taken down by the righteous cop on Cops. The handheld cameras, subtitled dialogue and the character voiceover narratives are but the tip of the iceberg of the techniques used to add the stench of reality and the dirt of  actual characters facing off against eachother that only reality TV can provide.

Biressi, A. & Nunn, N. (2005). Real Lives, documentary approaches. Reality TV: Realism and Revelation. (page 35-58). London: Wallflower.

Week 11- Anita Ibell

What signifiers of reality have emerged from the documentary genre? How have they constructed out conceptualisation of reality? (or at least what we recognize as being real on a visual level...)

The intorduction of realism began with Grierson who coined the term 'documentary' and defined it as the 'creative treatment of reality' (Biressi & Nunn, 2005) which, essentially gives realism structure and conventions. However, on a visual level, I would say that reality tv has many stylistic features owing to the pioneers of cinema vérité and its subsets (Direct cinema, Free Cinema and Candid Eye.) According to Leacock, cinema verite was all about wanting what you've got, rater than looking for what you want.' D.A Pennebaker made another interesting point in the documentary we viewed in class. He said that 'Life is a kind of drama when you find the right story..' which I think is extremely relevant when comparing cinema verite with reality tv. Both genres are concerned with the spontaneous and inclusive depiction of real life- but not in a way that it should necessarily be viewed as the whole truth. The filmmakers behind cinema verite were not disillusioned with their aim. Their films were the product of naturalistic filming techniques combined with careful editing in a way that would raise human consciousness and present the subject matter as provocative. Reality TV places an emphasis on the representation of ordinary people and allegedly spontaneous moments of unmediated reality, often the shows are filmed using the fly on the wall technique and shaky, hand held camera work that was first brought about in cinema verite. This technique helps the viewer to feel as though they are sharing an intimate space with the subject and promote realism.In the 60s, a significant development in technology came about with the invention of smaller hand held cameras, which in turn allowed for filming to move from the studio into the great outdoors, scenes that depict landscapes help to 'authenticate the fiction' Andrew Higson is quoted as saying in Biressi and Nunn (2005) these techniques are often employed in shows like 'Keeping up with the Khardashians' and 'Jersey Shore' where the viewer is subjected to all the activities that the subjects take part in over their day, we get to follow them around- I think by feeling like we are with these people in various locales, we can put ourselves in the frame and realistically feel empathy for the characters and see through an eye at their level.... it's important to the objectivity of the program

Another visual construct of realism employed by the documentary genre and reality tv is the depiction of time passing as an observational technique in order to 'foster a sense of unmediated connectedness between the pro-filmic event and the film shoot' (Biressi & Nunn, 2005). They show a flow that is removed from the fast paced dramatization of theatre and in doing so are another signifier of reality. I am not a big consumer of reality tv, or tv in general actually, but I have watched a few episodes of Survivor and Keeping up with the Khardashians- maybe a couple of Jersey Shore as well. I think a way in which these shows keep people entertained lies in the creative treatment of reality- the verisimilitude of dramatic scenes and exciting adventures, coupled with the mundane activities of everyday existance that we can relate to and in turn think of as 'real'. I think much of this is thanks to the developments in the documentary genre that happened with the Cinema verite movement.

References:

Biressi, A. & Nunn, N. (2005). Real Lives, documentary approaches. In Reality TV: realism and revelation. (pp. 35-58) London: Wallflower.

Week 5- Anita Ibell

Is anime a high or low culture/genre according to Napier (2005)? What are some of its subgenres?

Napier (2005) points out that Anime is increasingly being seen as an intellectually challenging art form by a number of scholars and their published writing on the subject (Napier, 2005). To these scholars and other connoisseurs of the genre; anime deserves to be studied due to it being a 'rich contemporary japanese art form with a distincitve narrative and aesthetic that harks back to traditional Japanses culture as well as moves forward into cutting edge media and art.' supposedly it als should be commended for the breadth of its subject matter that serves as a mirror to Japanese society and offers an array of views on everything from issues to dreams of the present day and is all quite adult in content, despite being simple in form. (Napier, 2005) To many other people, Anime is often lumped into the catagory of mass (or commercial) culture in Japan, and sub-culture in America- whereas the high culture of Japan is aligned with products such as haiku, Zen and the martial arts. The popularity of anime has been growing at a huge rate since the 1990s and is finding a comfortable niche on western tv, possibly due to the exoticism of it when compared to western cartoons. By looking at anime from these viewpoints it is hard to group it into what could traditionally be called 'high' or 'low'culture, so it sits somewhere in the middle ground where it remains as an important vehicle for contemporary philisophical debate and social commentary in a changing global world while still being globally poular and mass produced which I think stops it from being grouped with the products seen as 'high culture'. (Napier, 2005).

Sub-genres within anime are aligned with other genres of popular fiction such as cyber-punk and mecha which are within sci-fi's conventions, alternatative histories are sometimes presented and comedy is another sub-genre. often, anime deals with the role of technology in society. Anime can at once depict beauty, fairytale stories and philisophical ideals. Despite uniquely japanese themes and icons, I think that princess Mononoke and other films in the anime genre have achieved cross-cultural popularity because of being both familiar and exotic to international audiences. I guess what I'm talking about as the familiar is the idea that fairytale storylines are what help to make anime accessible to kids and adults but they also seem to run along a collective consciousness that helps them to be grouped together while being culturally specific- for example, Princess Mononoke is representative of japanese history (despite subversions that displace it..) but it has also been compared to the animated version of Tarzan that was created by Disney but is a much older story that deals with the place of humans within nature- like Princess Mononoke does (Napier, 2005). I guess this deviates from the question a bit, but I think it's something to think about when contemplating the status of anime and other popular genres of fiction.

The ancient high culture of Japan still lives, it's just been transformed by modern influences and shown through anime as re-thought tales of folklore. The hyperactive pop culture of japan might look like something from the future but really, it has its roots in traditions that create themes much deeper.

A question I've had in my mind while thinking about high vs low culture is; what place does high culture play in contemporary society anyway? In my mind, high culture belongs in the past- hung on gallery walls and inside glass cases at the museum or alternatively, as the domain of poets and art students. When I think of the future in regards to anime and other relics of pop culture I can't imagine them occupying the same space; for a start- how on earth would you choose what to include in such exhibits when they have been mass produced and churned out in such high volumes?.. Despite this pondering, however, I do think that what we're studying as pop culture has relevance and is really important in defining the times and the age we live in- especially because they're so fast moving and reflective of ever-changing and advancing technology. I just think it's harder to put in a box the way that cultural products once were.

References:

Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.3-14). Hampshire: Palgrave/ Macmillan.

Week 6- Anita Ibell

What are the underlying thematics of Princess Mononoke? How does it 'defamiliarise' its historical setting, according to Napier (2005)?

Narrator: In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts who owed their allegiances to the Great Forest Spirit, for those were the days of gods and of demons...

Princess Mononoke is set in 14^th Century Japan and, despite not being based on any particular historical event, is a meditation on Japanese History of the Muromarchi period; though this is done through a counter-narrative to some 'pivotal myths' of japanese culture and society. The film defamiliarizes it's historical setting by putting the marginals of society in focus and by taking place In a mythical place, located somewhere other than reality. The landscape of the forest is away from zen inspired landscape gardens, tea ceremonies, samurais, Lords and peasants and other icons of high culture that would normally characterize films set in that time period. It is inhabited by the forest gods- Kami and the doll like spirits called kodama (Napier, 2005). Illustrative of the defamiliariazation of history is the fact that three of the key characters of the film are female and have powerful, gender neutral roles that are unlike traditional female characters.Placing females in these roles creates interest in what might be a fairly straightforward and stereotyped story. That their overtly traditional female characteristics have been suppressed in favour of stronger, more masculine and mythical traits such as Lady Eboshi's military prowess, Moro's fierce protection of San without soft maternal affection and San's unstoppable rage, destruction and inability to connect to the human race all serve to offer an alternative and thought provoking discourse on difference, especially because 'cuteness' and the shojo are often aligned with the female and considered important in contemporary japanese culture- yet none of the female protagonists really embody these ideals at all.

A key theme that is underlying Princess Mononoke is that of what Napier (2005) dubs 'environmental apocolypse'. Depicted in the film is a nature/technology divide, which begins with the wild boar that rushes into Prince Ashitaka's village with a bullet in him and places a curse on the prince as he dies bitterly. The iron factory that the formidable Lady Eboshi runs is responsible for the bullet that caused the boar to die- as well as diminshing forests and the subsequent suffering and uprising of the forest spirit due to this. The lines of good and evil are complicated in the story as Eboshi has created the industry to help the outcast men and women under her care, but in doing so has disregarded nature. The film shows that there will always be a price to pay for technological progress. The destruction of the forest scars both Prince Ashitaka and San as well as the land. The message of this perhaps is that that the separation of civilisation from nature can cause harm. There is also evidence of a power struggle and dominance taking a leading role in the film's thematics too- San doesn't just want the forest and weapons factory to exist in harmony- she wants it to be destroyed in the same way that Lady Eboshi wants dominance over the forest. In the end, neither are completely successful and neither have directly failed.

References:

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan

Week6

According to Napier,how does this anime problematise traditional (or conservative) constructions of gender, class and race? 

Princess Monaoke seems to be set in 1500's in Japan, the fantasy that delves, despite the literal nature "god" and magic. This film is complex mixture of tradition Japanese spiritualism, class concern and the prospect of change is on offer in Japan. Princess Monoake appears brilliant on social concerns and progressive at that time (still the most concern today) of men domination of nature, technology and the increasing loss of spiritualism to the touch.  In contrast to the mythical ideal of harmony, progress and the non homogeneous problem, the government elite patriarchal, this vision of culture dissonance, loss of spiritual and environmental apocalypse offers.(Cavallaro, 2006). For example some films such as Samurai and Aristocratic classes focus on more common people who ignores in Japanese history. Although it is strange that the director chose to portray the Japanese society is divided head strong female character in way that almost seemed to be responsible for the cooapse of society, this is open to interpretation. Furthermore the character of lady "Eboshi" (militaristic strong material) definitely seems to be responsible for some of the major atrocities carried out in this film, to achieve a form of demonisation regardless on intention.

References:

Cavallaro, D. (2006). The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki. London: Macfarland and Company

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: From Akira to Howl's Moving Castle. Hampshire: Plgrave Macmillan

week11

How does Hill define reality TV?

According to Hill (2005), there is no definition of reality TV. People has describe this genre of several ways. A number of competing definitions of reality has been called style. This is because the reality television's based on genre and other genres or documentary style. After reading these definitions, is the Hill (2005) sources. Furthermore, Hill (2005, p.42) defines "Reality TV" that "perhaps the most traditional entertainment industry for reality TV is real." However, I note that there are over six different categories reality TV is that can fall under. One of the examples of Hill (2005) is "The ship" (documentary of Captain Cokkk sailing around the cast of Northern East coast of Australia), respectively. The use of documentary style filming and the use of "ordinary people as part of the experiment." (Hill, 2005, p. 42).
As well BBC launch its history and education, "made is difficult to classify as a documentary as a documentation specialist." (Hill, 2005, p.108)

Meanwhile, the early 1990s scientists have also dined TV is reality TV. For example Steve Neale points out the reality TV inculdes all aspects of general culture. Hill (2005, p.47) states "for Nichols, the reality TV shows, which include all those who already have serius accidents, usual situations or the real police, they often re-enact aspects of the assistance we win and sometimes arrest criminals still at large. "I tend to define Bazalgette as the reality TV, actual television programming which deals with human life and human situations that are familiar with our lives.

Reference:

Hill, A. (2005). The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and popular Factual Television. (pp.14-4o). Oxon: Routledge.

Week 10 - Sarah Hosking

What signifiers of reality have emerged from the documentary genre?

Major plot structures include 'Self-reflexivity' and 'Interactivity' which drawn from Documentary television has contributed to the Reality Television we are constantly subjected too (Ouellette and Murray, 2004). "The self-contained stories in programmes such as 'Police Camera Action!' attract occasional viewers who dip in and out of the series" The differences in length and format between Documentary and Reality Tv differ greatly, and I think this adds too reality tv's attraction. In the 'fast paced' world we've come to accept we now have an even smaller time to zone out infront of our tv.

Reality tv has a quick weekly narrative. Shows like Survivor where theres a set plan of whats to happen (with perhaps an added twist) which enables the viewer to know what to expect. Documentary tv is often thought of as slow or boring and often are movie length and involve a drawn out narrative eventually arriving at a ending point. Reality tv however has as stated above drawn many of plot and narrative structures from documentary television.

Reality tv shows like "Deadliest Catch" could in some terms be thought of as documentary television as it 'documents' the lives of one of the most 'deadliest' jobs in the world. The show is classed as "Documentary/Reality" and has no real direct narrative (by means of a voice over, etc) instead the 'real' people on the show document their own journey fishing on the Bering Sea. I think merging these two genres or having one create the other (like in this case) is a brilliant idea. Fishing shows are often boring and only a fishing enthusiast would really enjoy it. But by making it less educational and with no direct narrative it instead allows the viewer to 'see for themselves'(Hill.A 2005) and gain their own insight into this particular fishing method.

REFERENCES
(Ouellette and Murray, 2004). Reality Television two (2011) Aut University.pdf
Hill, A. (2005) The Reality Genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp.44-40). Oxon: Routledge.

Week 8- Anita Ibell

How does Dick's essay (1999; 1964) illuminate his use of Nazism as a motif in High Castle?

The Man in the High Castle's narrative is heavily focussed on the fascism that the Nazis employ to run the world of the text- including their anti-semantic views. According to Dick, (1999; 1964) Nazism is truly the focus of the novel, and serves to show how we are still very much fascinated and disgusted by the Nazis. In his essay he states that “Phobia is phobia. It springs, as Freud and Jung and H.S Sullivan showed, from the depths of the self unknown to the self.” I think from this that it could possibly be taken to mean that Nazism has been used as a motif for fear. Fear is then shown as a pre-cursor to unhappiness which ultimately leads to limited progress as a race, and an individual because fear is a way in which the self is repressed from bigger, universal ideas. I thought some of the characters in the text to be quite racist, especially Robert Childan who seems to admire the Nazis and at one point says; "We live in a society of law and order, where Jews can’t pull their subtleties on the innocent. We’re protected". By fitting accepting the regime, he is protected from his fears but is unlikely to find redemption from something he knows is wrong, he won't be finding any higher reality or truth for that matter.... The I Ching presents an alternative to fear, as it provides a device that characters can take advantage of to provide direction to their lives, redeem themselves and escape, - like Juliana Frink does at the climax of the story. Although, this is still not quite freedom, but rather it is another way in which the characters are to be governed.

By using Nazism as a motif in The Man in the High Castle I think Dick invited readers to put some thought into the idea of reality and conscioussness by pushing fear in our face as a question of what reality in association with the self. Hannah Arendt once argued that 'providing a comforting, single answer to the mysteries of the past, present, and future was the main source of the mass appeal of totalitarian regimes.' (Villa, 2000) but as Dick is maybe trying to highlight; this isn't necessarily a way to solve life's problems. The characters in the novel are struggling inside the sensible world of the text and they have an option to change, if they become aware of it. As mr. Tagomi said, “We can only control the end by making a choice at each step.”

References:

Dick, P.K. (1995), Nazism and the High Castle. In Sutin, L. (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp.112-117). New York: Vintage.

Villa, D.R. (2000), The Cambridge Companion to Hannah Arendt. (pp.2-3). Cambridge University Press.

Week 7- Anita Ibell

What does Brown (2001) Identify as the central themes and concerns of The Man in the High Castle?

“Truth, she thought. As terrible as death. But harder to find.”- Juliana Frink (Dick, 2001:1962)

According to Brown (2001), Philip K. Dick was obsessed throughout his literary career by the notion of the universe only being apparently real and the idea that an illusion might perhaps be dwelling behind the truth, biding time before it is to be exposed. He used sci-fi as a genre to explore metaphysics, the nature of perceived reality, good and evil and the abuse of power (pp.vii.) Dick explored these themes through characters that he had drawn from real life, as a way to show the affect such big themes can have on the individual. The individuals in The Man in the High Castle in my opinion, are effective expressions of the key themes because of their weaknesses. I think that maybe I see the characters as victims because of the awareness I had that they were unsuspecting pawns in a philosophical discussion of reality., therefore they were weak... If that makes sense?

The theme that swam around my head the most after reading this was the notion of perceived reality. There are indicators throughout the novel that ask us to think about what is truly real.Dick has presented us with an speculative work of an alternative history, in which Nazis and Japanese have turned the world into a totalitarian state and begs us to ask the question - what if the Allies didn't win the war? He has done the same for the characters in the novel, by putting a novel within a novel. The Grasshopper lies Heavy gives the characters speculation over what may have happened if, instead of the germans and Japanese, the Allies had won the war. There are other events and objects in the novel that explore this theme too. At one point, Robert Childan reaches an understanding that his 'genuine american artifacts' are indeed, fake. At a climatic point of the novel, Juliana Frink is told by the I Ching that her whole world might be based on a lie- that the Japanese and the Germans did, in fact, lose the war.. this is a hopeful message as she has become obsessed with the idealistic view that The Grasshopper Lies Heavy has presented her. (Brown, 2001) What we perceive as real can be changed so easily. The I Ching is another device used to show this. Again, Dick used it to determine the way that the text moved, but also inside the text to help the characters move forward. If the I Ching were to disseminate different messages than the ones used, how would the text be different? We don't know. Nor would we know any different if it had.

Personally, I found this novel pretty mind bending.

References:

Brown, E. (2001). Introduction. In Dick, P.K., The Man in the High Castle (p. v-xii). London: Penguin.

Dick, P.K. (2001: 1962) The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin.

WEEK 9- Anita Ibell

Hills (2004) lists a number of defining characteristics of Cult TV that contain similarities to the defining characteristics of popular genres (e.g fantasy, science fiction) discussed earlier in the Popular Genres paper. Can you identify these and discuss why you think that these characteristics are repeatedly viewed as underpinning popular genres?

One of the ways in which Hill (2004) defines Cult TV is as depending on texts. According to this definition, it could be argued that Cult TV programmes are characterised by a number of shared textual attributes- although some of these shared qualities may exist on quite an abstract level if the comparisons stretch over a wide net of Cult TV programs.

Many of these shows constructs immensely detailed, often fantastic and expansive narrative worlds that transcend our viewing experience. Because of this convention, it is then possible for narrative rules to be broken and for questions to be left open throughout the storyline. Hill also reckons that because of these fantastic narratives being developed over a lengthy period of time, the fantastic often takes on 'a quality of everydayness by virtue of its repetition, familiarity and narrative iteration.' and this is one of the reasons it is so popular with audiences. (Hill, 2004. p511.)

I think that the ideas presented by Hill when analysing Cult TV can be applied to all of the primary texts that we have studied throughout this Popular Genres paper. Some of the ways in which popular genres such as fantasand sci-fi deviate from other genres of fiction is how they present an alternative view of reality. exist in fantasy worlds, or have fantastical creatures or conventions, which removes them from traditional realism. Going as far back to the graphic novel focus of Weeks 1 & 2 Herge's Tin Tin also utilises these characteristics- the charater of Tin Tin goes on these big adventures through exotic (though not other-worldly) places, landing himself in situations that would appeal unrealistic to the people reading the text.

'Popular genres are often relatively new or recent, being the products of technological development, especially in terms of the evolution of new media...' (Taken from Week 1 Lecture) Cult tv is activated as anti-mainstream, where it's role is partially to re-value otherwise devalued popular texts through a new structure, new technology.
so shows like Buffy can play on the conventions of sci-fi that was explored first in books such as Man in the High Castle by using newer media (TV) that's relative to a new audience.

Buffy and the Scooby gang are brought together through their involvment with the demon underworld. It's something they can't share with their classmates and the community around them and helps to the characters to form a close friendship. I think that it also helps to connect us with the narrative too because as the viewer, we know something that some of the other characters don't even know, in the same way that when we read a fantasy novel, a comic or a work of science fiction we are transported to another world and remain in that world for the duration of the text. I think the idea of these texts as a form of escapism is also relevant and maybe this is one of the reasons these characteristics continue to be shared as underpinning themes in popular genres of fiction.

Another idea I found interesting when looking over our introductory lecture from week 1, is the way in which fantasy characters are often represented as Jungian archetypes, rather than normal, everyday people. I think as well as being applied to characters like Ged from A Wizard of Earthsea the hero label could be applied to characters in cult TV. Buffy, for example, possesses powers and supernatural abilities and goes through a journey in the way that none of her normal teenage friends do. Despite not being a normal teenager however, she battles moral dilemmas and faces challenges that we can still relate to, such as the way her relationship with Riley is challenged in 'Goodbye Iowa'- even though it is because of murder, demons and other surreal reasons. This idea goes well with one of the definitions of fantasy as discussed in a previous post; "One of the most important elements that fantasy can aim to give is comprehensible form to life, death, good and evil" - through storylines that can clarify philisophical and moral conflicts while not being directly applicable to our own lives." (Attebery. 1980.)

Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1-10.

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.

Week 10- Anita Ibell

In what way was Buffy influenced by the romantic gothic Tradition? Yet how does Buffy deviate from this tradition?

“It is one thing to make an idea clear and another to make it effective to the imagination and it is the imagination that all art must address: the imagination, not reason. Through imagination, art must reach the passions...”

Edmund Burke.

When Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, she used her imagination to explore complex philosophical and moral questions in the tradition of Romanticism, during the age of traditional upheavals (Rose. 2002). By directly comparing Shelley's 'Frankenstein' to the episodes of Buffy that include the monstrous Adam it can be seen that Buffy has 'adopted and adapted' many of the conventions used by Shelley in this tradition (Rose. 2002); such as using dramatic symbolism to contrast the natural with the supernatural in order to explore real psychological concerns and a penchant for the gothic aesthetic, all monsters and demons and darkness, used- perhaps, to scare us into thinking about these things.

Both Frankenstein's monster and the demons that come out of the Hellmouth represent something strongly felt, socially relevant and destructive- yet unseen. In Frankenstein, the monster is a symbolic representative that infiltrates a realistic world of normal people. He is given part of the book in first person narrative to further elaborate his purpose. After killing the little boy, the monster says: “I too can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him.”(Shelley) If the monster is a symbol of the collective fears surrounding 'industrialization and science and their effects on morality and humanity' (Rose. 2002.pp.135.), then this message is not a hopeful one. It causes reader concern for his creator, the romantic hero who struggles inside his own head against the opposing forces he faces in his psyche. He is also the only one who knows of the beast and has any chance of stopping him and thus his journey is a lonely one full of despair and hard lessons- as the romantic hero's often was. (Rose, 2002. pp.135)

In comparison, Buffy and the Scooby gang fight a league of demons and vampires that inhabit the world of unknowing citizens and they too, are among the only people aware of this underground threat. Buffy is the re-imagined feminine hero without most of the inner torment and conflict of M. Frankenstein, because she has the power of the team to back her up and create strength. Adam is strikingly similar to Frankenstein's nameless monster as he is the product of Maggie's scientific greed. However Adam has more knowledge & power than Frankenstein's monster ever did. He doesn't need his mother creator though, only the information she has left him with. This, I think is a comment on how technology and science has advanced past Shelley's imaginings. There are similarities obviously within the theme that's explored through having the monsters so similarly created, however Buffy deviates from the romantic gothic tradition by blurring gender roles (Rose, 2002.) and amalgamating individual strengths to triumph over evil and illustrate how important social cohesiveness is in the face of chaos.

References:

Rose, A (2002) Of Creatures and Creators: Buffy does Frankenstein, in: R. Wilcox and D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the Forces, what's at stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

Shelley, M. (1831?) Frankenstein

WEEK 12-ASHLEIGH

WHY IS REALITY TELEVISION SO POPULAR FOR BOTH PROGRAMME MAKERS AND TV VIEWERS?

Reality programmes belong to a diverse genre that constantly “draw[s] from existing television genres and formats to create novel hybrid programmes” Hill, 2005, p.24. With such a large range of popular factual television available there is no wonder why the genre is so popular and the audience demographic is almost indefinable in its range.

Looking at the networks point of view, reality programme series cost “only half of what the networks pay for license fees for a 60 minute dramatic series.” Essentially this means that networks can afford to churn out many different reality series that target niche markets because of the low costs involved in making them (Dempsey in Hill, 2005, p.25). For example we get reality series like ‘Americas next top model’, ‘New Zealand's next top model,’ ‘Project Runway’, and so on. Although each show has their differences, the point is that all of these shows have a similar central idea, can ‘makeover’ themselves in the form of a new show, stay successful, and continue to bring in ratings for the networks.

The viewers appeal comes from reality programmes adoption of the free cinema approach to use ordinary people as the subjects. The contentests after all are only ordinary people thrown into a situation of conflict or stress. Viewers like the idea that they themselves could be a contestant or the ordinary person thrown into an extra-ordinary moment. According to Peter Bazalgette (in Hills, 2005, p.30) it is ‘the spectacle of the reveal’ and ‘watching other people in the raw’ that also contributes to the success of the genre. People like to watch the Cinderella transformation from being an average person to reaching their potential, and while in the back of their mind still knowing that it could be them next. And with the amount of reality programmes being scheduled, viewers have the opportunity to capture this 'feel-good' moment as many times as their heart desires. As a seasoned viewer of many reality programmes I think its safe to agree that I would love someone to follow my life and make a show about me.

Reference:

Hill, A. (2005) The rise of reality TV. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 15 – 40). Oxon: Routledge.

WEEK 11-ASHLEIGH

WHAT SIGNIFIERS OF REALITY HAVE EMERGED FROM THE DOCUMENTARY GENRE?

The ‘documentary’ industry has played a significant role on the influence of reality television. It has lent various techniques of the early documentaries like edgy, shaky camera work, fly-on-the-wall techniques and recognition of subjectivity to signify to the audience that the reality TV they are watching is ‘real’. The free cinema documentary valued subject matter of “popular culture, youth culture and the working class.” Also favouring hand-held cameras, real locations and a sometimes raw style” Biressi and Nunn (2005). These are all subject matter and styles that remain present in the hybrid genre of reality television. It is from free cinema as well as cinema verite and direct cinema documentary styling that we see reality television to have grown from and borrowed from. Audiences of reality television remain skeptical to the actuality of the genre and so they are more likely to trust the portrayal of reality by seeing these techniques. This is perhaps because audiences can recognise the signifiers of an accurate portrayal of people that has already been established as a notion of the ‘real’ by the documentary genre.

When comparing two reality television programmes ‘The hills’ and ‘Jersey Shore’ and the production techniques involved to signify the ‘real’ factor of the show I noticed major differences.

Programmes like Jersey shore I could easily call ‘real’, accurate constructs of reality. The show uses fly on the wall camera techniques borrowed from direct cinema to signify that the cameras are ‘peeking’ into these peoples’ everyday life. The show takes use of hand-held cameras producing the shaky camera work of free cinema. It shows the characters ‘raw’, or un-edited, furthermore contributing to signify the reality of capturing events as they unfold. There is recognition of subjectivity, much like cinema verite. In cinema verite it was believed that “by entering the frame the filmmaker avoided the pretence of objectivity, thus creating a more equal or truthful relationship with the subject.” Audiences tend to dislike ‘perfect’ camera work in reality TV as it takes away from the capturing of real moments. Therefore by occasionally seeing the camera man’s reflection in the shop window or the bodyguards steeping into the frame once a fight breaks out, Jersey Shore speaks to the audience by saying that it is not perfect but it is real.

I believe that the attractiveness of a show like Jersey is that it is reminiscent of British mid 50’s ‘Free Cinema’. It is a programme about eight everyday people living out a believable everyday situation. Perhaps one of these characters you can identify with or may remind you of someone you know.

It is possible to contrast this against another programme ‘The Hills’ which interestingly enough is produced by the same network MTV. The Hills is a show about a bunch of privileged 20-somethings. It is often critisised for being unbelievable maybe because they use people whose normal everyday life is so glamorous. Biressi and Nunn (2005) explain this idea when they describe:

“Realism becomes measured through the subject matter being reconstructed and that realism depends on notions of suffering, raw experience and personal struggle emblems of the real” p.36

It is then incomprehensible for the Joe-average to believe that these ‘ordinary’ people are living such extravagant lifestyles and there tends to be a bit of jealousy from viewers towards the subjects as well. It almost feels like these people come from such perfect worlds so how is it possible for anything to be wrong in their little bubbles? Other techniques used by this show include still camera shots, movie-quality lighting and movie-quality drama. This further portrays this idea that they live in such perfect worlds, they can not be suffering and showing raw emotions, therfore the petty drama that goes on is all an act. Going back to the signifiers of reality stemming from the documentary genre, The Hills does not follow the constructs of the genre. This all equally adds to viewer’s suspicions that the show is not real, as well as each character seeming fake and scripted.

REFERENCES:

Biressi, A. & Nunn, N. (2005). Real Lives, documentary approaches. In Reality TV: realism and revelation. (pp. 35-58) London: Wallflower.

Week 9 - Sarah Hosking

What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?

Shows where the main character or characters are apart of a global community or strongly for or against an unpopular ideology which may cast them to the outer boundarys of media acceptance in my opinion causes popularity in equally segregated groups. Show where female main characters are as powerful as a man (or more so) and believe in the power of woman like Charmed and Xena often are neglected as serious television (because of their female leads) but its these types of shows that thrive in the cult television culture. "...to side with a more romantic version of cult status as somehow created by fans." (Hills p.510) Although I would agree with this remark on the surface out of my own synical views ont he media and the human race in general, I can't say that the fans are being lead completely by the producers and writers of such programming.'

REFERENCES
Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, In R.C. Allen & A. Hall. Loondon.

Week 8 - Sarah Hosking

According to McKee, what relationship did Dick’s ideas have to (a) Christianity (b) religion and philosophy in general?

Mckee states in the opening paragraph, “Dick’s SF has received a good deal of critical and scholarly attention.” And more often then not it’s negative and Philip k. Dick reacts horribly to it. “If they couldn’t get us to write serious things, they solved the problem by decreeing that what we were writing was serious” Taking a pop form as ‘serious’ is what you do if it won’t go away…they get you to submit your S-F writing to them to criticize.” Dick said in the 1978 Exergesis in response to the scholars ‘attack’ on his work. This sort of reaction and “attack” on Dick’s work doesn’t surprise me in the least. The genre in which he writes wasn’t at the time a credible work of English Literature.

McKee throws around the term “Gnostic” a lot throughout this piece of writing. I can’t agree that Dick’s ideologies can be boiled down to the most basic and religious ceremonies or demonstrations as some other scholars of Dick’s can. I agree whole heartedly with Lorenzo DiTomasso, “So many Dick Scholars take for granted the view that his philosophy is static or entirely coherent. It is not, and sometimes not eve within the context of a single novel.”

REFERENCES

Lorenzo Ditomasso, “Gnosticism and Dualism in the Early fiction of Philip K. Dick,” Science Fiction Studies vol. 28 (Spring 2001)

McKee, Gabriel (2004). A Scanner Darkly: Dick as a Christian theologian. In, Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter: the science fictional religion of Philip K. Dick. Ny: U press of America

Week 7 - Sarah Hosking

What does Dick (1995) himself theorise about the I Ching?

Philip K. Dick uses the mechanics of a Schizophrenic to explain the ideologies in I Ching (The Book Of Changes) and also uses the drug LSD as a margin to explain further the deep revelations in I Ching. LSD he explains gives the user a 10 hour insight into the world of a Schizophrenic and through that he suggests using ‘The Book of Changes’ to make decisions in your life. “I speak from experience. The Oracle –The I Ching- told me to write this piece” (Dick 1995)

REFERENCE
Dick, P.K. (1995) Schizophrenia and the I Ching. In Sutin, L. (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (p.175-182).

Week7

What was does dick (1995) himself theorise about the l Ching?




According to Dick (1995, p. 179), “the “l Ching” is analytical and diagnostic, not predictive. “There is nothing to do with the future telling and the cause of effect with concurrency which deals with synchronicity and can’t be pre-empted.” I explain this properly defined of synchronicity: “apparently meaningful coincidences in time of two or more of the same or similar identical events that are causally unrelated” (Dictionary.com). Dick (1995) states, these events occur outside the usual time, and disrupt linear time. “The I Ching permits examination of the “koinos kosmos” and that is the shared world.” But a person becomes immersed in static time, if they attempt to live their life completely by the book. (Dick, 1995). My point of view about “The man in the high castle by Dick (1982) is to note both yarrow stalks and coins were interesting when the oracle was consulted, but surely the use of different media must bring about different hexagram result, since a moment is only fleeting, here now and past , perhaps the results of this is not something that can ever truly be examined.




References:


Dick, P.K. (1995). Schizophrenia and the I Ching. In Sutin, L. (ed.), The shifting realities of Philip K. Dick (pp. 175-182). New York: Vintage.

Week 10

How does Buffy deconstruct traditional literary notions of good and evil?

The world we live in often separates the good from the evil clearly. The Buffy series, however, deconstructs traditional literary notions of good and evil according to Braum (2000). It does this through the inconsistent portrayals of a lasting good or evil. This is evident in season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Angelus shifts from his evil self to the opposite, due to a curse bestowed upon him by the family of a former victim; this curse being set off by just one interaction of “perfect human happiness” (Braum, 2000); this being sexual intercourse with Buffy.

The X Files too was no different in Scully’s shift from good to the evil side, due to a sexual encounter of her own. This, however, was not a pleasant pleasurable one like that of Buffy and Angel; her transition was caused by a highly unusual bee sting in the breast-like domes in a Texan desert.

As the Buffy season 2 progresses, Buffy is forced to switch back and forth too with bad and morally wrong choices she makes along the way. Regardless of the killing of her then former lover possibly being viewed as an evil act, for the greater good it seemed the right thing to do; it was her ultimate duty as the slayer.

Season 4 of Buffy sees Maggie Walsh, head of “The Initiative” aiming for a better world with Buffy as her trusted ally against evil. There is, however, a string of problems that turn her against Buffy, against the good side; attempts to kill Buffy were made but died at the hands of her creation “Project 314” before she could succeed. The same episode shows Spike, who like Angelus from earlier seasons, changes sides from an evil heartless vampire to a more tolerable humanlike state; he is seen carrying what seemed like a bag of groceries – seriously, what representation of evil goes grocery shopping?

The same thing occurs in Charmed season 4, the line between good and evil is dissolved when the middle sister Phoebe chooses the love for her demonic husband-to-be over both her sisters and the greater good in episode 19. Consequently she becomes the queen of the underworld and ends up helping to lead the demonic underworld, however, she aids her sisters at the same time in episode 20; she is forced to decide between her sisters and her newlywed husband Cole one last time. The fact that her husband is a demon but can love and marry further deconstructs traditional views of good and evil – including mine.

The same can be said about the Buffy series and in the X Files because “aliens and monsters are variously imagined as both desirable and loving toward, and terrifyingly indifferent to, human needs” (Braum, 2000). Both television shows continue to imply that good and evil is not a simple black and white issue, but in reality there are many gray areas; a character can switch between sides from episode to episode depending on a heated situation.

Despite the obvious differences of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X Files, Charmed and others alike, there is one common suggestion I firmly agree with and can always easily reflect on and relate to; “underneath our civilized demeanours, we all have the capacity for evil” (Braum, 2000).

Braum, B. (2000) The X-files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The ambiguity of evil in supernatural representations. Retrieved 18 October, 2005 from: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0412/is_2_28/ai_64688900

week5

What is "Shojo" and how does it often function in anime?

Shojo is the Japanese manga. "The age of the Shojo audiences is between 12 to 18 years old. A little/young girl called shojo in Japanese language."(Wikipedia, 2011). This type of manga has an important role in the region. Furthermore, some of manga made for young girls from six years old and the ladies from 18 to 25 years. The Shojo manga describes the love story; the heroes are rich and handsome and heroines are cute and brave, also there is always happy ending. The Shojo manga also try to make readers comfortable world. I have experienced reading Shojo at my young age, as it was very easy to understand and an interesting story, I can say reading that story made me dream about heaven future. Shojo plays an important part in anime. Therefore the reason why Shojo can be absorb the young girls is, the performance of great love and how powerful is love. That is what people are after in books and mangas.

References:

Lent, J. A. (2000), Animation in Asia: appropriation, reinterpretation, and adoption or adaptation. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from

       http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr1100/jlfr11c.htm


Shojo. (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from 
          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Djo

week9

What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?

Hills (2004) has suggested, “a cult status comes from, ultimately, the desire for a TV show’s audiences.”  Hills (2004) suggests that the role of fans in the construction of the cult TV is one the three definitions of the cult TV. In this case, the fans or the audiences who make and come with the whole concept called cult TV.    In my point of view, new media such as blogs or portfolios make it much easier for fans of cult TV to recognize their own ideas in relation to cult TV.  Hills (2004) states, “the internet and forms of media makes it easier for fans to contact other like-minded veterans and increases the possibility of small-scale web forums organized around the emerging wider variety of TV shows. Furthermore it is a wider audience and fan base as it allows the forwards. “This opening allows the boundaries of fandom that most people participate in culture technology and the television programmes values obtained as fan.”(Hills, 2004). With the help of the internet, it can become more main stream and a lot more people can understand and enjoy.

Meanwhile I guess with kinds of new media, it is much easier to target wider range of audience to a group of people who are using this media day to day basis. 

References:

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Text, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge. 

week8

How does Dick’s essay (1999; 1964) illuminate his use of Nazism as a motif in High Castle?


According to Dick (1995), “it is sub rational; it is psychological, not logical”. The man who illuminate the castle to highlight how the fear of Nazism, for example, Dick (1995) argues  why some people  fear of cats, dogs, or darkness, it is psychological and intellectual (maybe it is rooted in the past) but it is not logical. Deeper level of this research, unlike Nazism, is caused by adverts or brainwashing. However, we can see how the Jewish people would prevent others being with the same treatment as the other coming to their defense. 



References:
Dick, P.K. (1995). Nazism and the High Castle. In Sutin, L. (Ed). The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp. 112-117). New York: Vintage. 

Week 9

Hills (2004) lists a number of defining characteristics of cult TV that contain similarities to the defining characteristics of pop genres (e.g. fantasy, science fiction) discussed earlier in the Pop Genres paper. Can you identify these and discuss why you think that these characteristics are repeatedly viewed as underpinning popular genres.

The defining characteristics of cult TV that Hills (2004) refers to are made up of three different types. The first considers it to be a text dependent analysis which and is often associated with fiction, fantasy and horror (Hills, 2004).

The second defines the characteristics through inter-text analyses and is influential on which meanings are portrayed on television. It also circulates the main message intended in the primary text and is likely to persuade viewers.

The third, however, is primarily reliant on practices fans are engaged in; which can raise questions of what these fan driven activities are.

There are similarities between cult TV and the likes of fantasy in that narrative closure is never really satisfied for viewers. They are often left wondering and asking the same question. For example like the sisters on Charmed, in Buffy is it even possible for her to have a successful love interest? With there being just the one slayer in existence at any one time, why is there more than one as the seasons progress? Also on Xena Warrior Princess, are Gabrielle and Xena more than just friends? Another similar feature with these different forms of popular genre is that they provide viewers with an in-depth fantastic universe with self-governed rules.

Fans of cult TV, fantasy and science fiction may meet online, at conventions or be immersed in comic culture etc, as referred to in ‘Definition III’ (Hills, 2004); they keep cult TV among other pop genres alive, strong and well.

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.