Movie Reviews & Relfections
Christina Aguilera Reflection
Christina Aguilera’s “Your Body” music video falls into the category that Kristin Lieb presented as The Temptress. I believe many female artists fit this role at some point in their career. They act as a daring sex symbol capturing the gaze of millions who watch. Essentially, the majority of female artists have a point in their career where they attempt to be wanted by the masses, yet makes it known that not anyone can have them. Cristina Aguilera fits this role in “Your Body. Lyrics such as “I want your body” and “I know you want it” promote herself as being a temptress. Even conceptually in the video, she supports this theory. Throughout the video, she is luring multiple men in into her trap where she acts as if she is going to have sex then she murders them. Aguilera did not always promote this message. Released in 2012, this video strays far from her music released in the early 2000’s. I believe she made this video, falling into Lieb’s category, in order to stay relevant. In the music industry, sex sells. Her label believed that this was the best avenue for her to have her music heard, and they didn’t fail. This video currently has over 175 million views on YouTube, which is one of her highest viewed videos. The comments are filled with viewers completing her “sexiness”. This role of playing “the temptress” seemingly draws the attention that it is aiming to get.
Brandy is another artist that fitted into multiple categories that Lieb proposes. Due to her beginning her career as a teenager, brandy fulfilled the “Good Girl” stereotype. She was loved and praised as being this wholesome girl who had an amazing voice. The label continued to promote this until it was publicly revealed that she was pregnant. She received a lot of backlash from this because it did not coincide with her image that she attempted to maintain. Therefore, her career took a turn where she transformed from the good girl to the diva. She began to use sex more as a symbol. Her content was not as provocative as that of a temptress, however, it consistently promotes a strong image as a diva. In her music video for “put it down”, lyrically she is suggesting her power as a sex symbol is irresistible. “I’m a put it down, you're going to fall in love”, is a prime example of how she promotes herself. In the music video she is pursued by multiple men, none of which are good enough for her. Again, the public appears to prefer this image of a “temptress” or “diva” as opposed to a good girl. Her music that is more provocative is well received by the masses.
To Die for Movie Review
Buck Henry’s Too Die for is a film that predicted the sociopathic trend in young people of the digital age. Released in 1995, the film is a comedy-drama set in a murder plot but is symbolic of much more. During this time Facebook, Instagram, and other a social media platforms didn’t exist. The television screen is the only place where people could be seen on a large public scale. Specifically, in this case, Nicole Kidman is obsessed with being a weathergirl (Due to the time period, I wouldn’t consider this a rare aspiration). Her obsession eventually leads to her getting her husband killed. Throughout the film different characters’ obsessions caused them to be reckless, suggesting that if it wasn’t for Kidman’s role as a weathergirl, her husband will still be alive. The film plays with the consequences of digital media. Jimmy, the boy who is in love with her “image” (one he first saw on the television) killed her husband simply because she told him too. Is her image, or star power that powerful through this digital medium? I believe that this foreshadows the behavior we see in the youth today. Children are obsessed with images as they constantly scroll through their phone, presented with society's perception of “beauty”. People do reckless things on social media. Many of them look up to various stars on the internet and would execute an inappropriate behavior just because their idol does the same, or promotes this behavior. Every day we see children killing themselves, getting arrested, or attacking someone just because of an online trend. The behavior today makes Kidman killing her husband in the film for increased notoriety, very plausible. Kidman’s role in the movie is one that is symbolic of the impulsive actions seen by young individuals in present-day social media.
Fruitvale Station Response
I was 11 years old when Oscar Grant was killed. I remember seeing the video on YouTube as my dad was watching it when I was very young. I also remember the riots and outrage that occurred after the incident. Black America was livid and hurt at the unnecessary death of this young Black man. I believe this was the first time that police brutality caught with a bystander’s phone sparked movements. This set a tone for the digital age and showed how quickly media can spread. The same was seen in the case of Rodney King. Fortunately, (if you want to see it that way) a news camera caught his vicious beating and broadcasted it across America. This event caused riots and public discourse as well. The incident with Oscar Grant really pushed this action of recording anytime the police are around. Thousands of cases of police brutality are caught by civilians every year. The digital age provides a platform where the unseen is brought into the light.
Fruitvale station was a powerful film. I appreciate how they portrayed Oscar Grant as a loving father who also had his own flaws. The film did an amazing job at making Grant a beloved character. As the film went on, I believe the audience could connect more to Oscar. His image was one of pride, love, and determination. It’s saddening to see the ending scene, but this is a reality for all Black men. Any Black man, despite wealth, can be in the same position. Media has made this evident as every week there is another Black person killed by authorities. Digital Media just helped the nation acknowledge this.
S-Town Reflection
S- town represents the towns that I recognize as the real America. Plagued with racism, homophobia, and prejudice, S Town is a symbol of all the values this country was found on. I have seen people like the characters in the story. But never the whole town. As a Black man, a town like this is not one that I would ever step foot in. They kill each other and are able to get away with it. I don’t want to see what they would do to a Black man. The best term to describe the characters in this podcast is “rednecks.” For a moment I thought there might have been neo Nazi’s in the town due to the multiple bald haircuts. The behavior is seen in this town in one of rural southern slave master culture.
Towns like this police themselves. The citizens decide how justice should be given out. It is reminiscent of Jim Crow days. I wouldn’t be surprised if the characters in the podcast would have thought they were still in the Jim Crow Era. These towns were everybody knows each other is a dangerous setting. Usually, anyone with authority dictates the laws. This cultural authority is the reason why unsolved murders occur in places like these. At one point, many towns in the metro Atlanta area where like this. I used to live in Covington Georgia, a redneck town that became invaded by people of color due to gentrification. With the blend of these opposite cultures, I have been targeted due to the fact that I am Black. I could only imagine how life would be if Covington was still an all-white town.
Despite the racism, S-Town does dive into a complex topic dealing with homophobia. Through the character of John B. Macklemore, the podcast manages to represent the struggles homosexuals experience in these type of communities. Towns like this can be violently homophobic. Shedding light on this issue and exploring the mental health of people in communities like these left a positive impact on me.
The Social Network: Movie Review
This film reminded me of how many billionaires in the entertainment industry got started. When it comes to new technology, many inventions were stolen. Mark Zuckerberg stole Facebook from his best friend. Bill Gates stole the idea of Windows from Steve Jobs. The nature of this environment causes me to question the ethics of some of these people. People like Mike Zuckerberg and Bill gates are geniuses. However, they are morally conflicted due to their deceitful actions. I propose the theory that through this issue, many new technologies will all be identical to each other. Think about it; how different are Apple and Windows from each other today? They look different, but essentially, they do the same thing. Facebook just bought Instagram for billions of dollars. Instagram just stole Snapchat’s software. The taking of new ideas is creating this blend of gadgetry. Most gadgets today in the same category do the same things. How different are PlayStation and Xbox’s?
I see a future where one corporation controls all digital media. It probably exists today but is not apparent. We have too many corporations that do the same things. This trend where businesses are being bought out by larger businesses will continue to increase. Will this be positive or negative for digital media? I believe that this may increase the amount of digital convergence that we see. If all resources are put towards one gadget, the probability of that gadget being improved are higher. Perhaps in today’s digital age, the generalization of technology may be what is needed for our advancement.
Mr. Robot Film Review
Mr. Robot is representative of the egotistical and overly confident nature of digital media. Digital media has the ability to empower its users. Users create a false sense of their character when online. Sometimes this may translate to live offline. This is represented in his character. Online he is a genius anarchist, plotting against society. However, in real life, he is a socially introverted character. I appreciated the complexity of this character as I imagine many people who are so deeply intertwined in the digital world act in similar ways.
The film also sheds light on the fragility of digital media: the lack of security as we use these gadgets. Through our fake online lives, our real lives are at great risk of exposure. Mr. Robot does an excellent job of stating the obvious, if you are interacting with digital media, you are at risk. Realistically, a massive breach of data can make the world crumble. The show really placed an emphasis on digital business, showing how significant it is to our everyday society. A simple hack can send society as we know it into chaos.
Power is a major theme of this show. The show expresses how powerful digital media is. Ever since the surge of digital gadgetry, the higher powers that be use these machines to control society itself. You control the machine, you control society. Mr. Robot does an amazing job at setting this hypothetical circumstance up in the plot. Even though this is a television series, an act like this can occur at any time in our society today.
Outside Media Event 1
Human Health Screening: The Fits
The Human Health program host a film series during the semester where they show films that pertain to physical or mental health in society. Hosted by Dr. Christopher Eagle, the first film he chose to show in this series was the film, The Fits. This film focuses on a Black young girls dance troop in Cincinnati that became plagued with awful seizures and spasms. This is based on real stories where people classify this phenomenon as the “dancing plague.” Seizures spread from person to person on this dance team as if it was contagious. The interesting part is, only girls on the dance team suffered from this. Men where practicing their sports in a room over, yet they did not experience any seizures. This phenomenon speaks on social settings and how diseases can be spread. There is a historical consistency of events like this occurring. Nobody has figured out why these things occur.
After the film we had a discussion about why we think these things are happening. I proposed that perhaps some type of biological marker in women causes the seizures between them. Someone else said that the dance movements they are doing caused this. Strangely, these issues just resolved themselves. They occur for a series of months in a society, then it moves on. Behavior like this resembles some sort of supernatural event. The mystery behind these seizures is what causes scientist and public health practitioners to become so obsessed.
Outside Media Event 2
Merli Review
Watching Merli immediately reminded me of the Netflix series, Thirteen Reasons Why. I liked the film, but it was a bit unrealistic. I went to a high school were cyber bullying was extremely prevalent. Many girl’s pictures were passed around school and no one showed any sympathy. Unfortunately, children rarely come together and do the right thing. In today’s society, digital media has made that worse. Social media has proposed this standard of how people should look and present themselves. Any one who is different is subjected to ridicule. Exposing anyone’s naked photos is a breach of privacy that is a consistent issue today. Cyber bullying occurs more than physical bullying. In fact, cyber bullying probably causes more of a psychological effect than physical. We must address these issues that we see in our society.
Teachers like the one presented in the movie are needed in these environments also. The professor is extremely flawed, but his intentions with the students seem genuine. In school many times the teachers were the ones to provide consul to the students. Young children in school are to wrapped up into social media to truly help anybody else. Teachers replaced friends in my high school. Merli promotes unity amongst the students. He is the reason why they even accepted the girl back into their networks. The use of philosophy as a discourse adds to the overall theme of “out side of the box thinking.”