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Entry Eight: Blood, Guts and Glory

In comparison with my previous post, Black Mirror’s original season 1 episodes aren’t as cheerful cinematography wise as season 3. Episode titles were “The National Anthem, Fifteen Million Merits and The Entire History of You”. Now starting of this season Charlie Brooker shows the dark side of life and technology. And so naturally the set designs and lighting are in correlation to a dark and morbid feel. Season one shows unflattering looks into the lives of the characters, making the audience think a certain way and pulls the audience into seeing what’s possible in real life if not careful.

Shown above: The National Anthem Episode Screenshot

Shown above: Fifteen Million Merits Episode Screenshot

Shown above: The Entire History of You Episode Screenshot

The first season manages to capture the aspect of the future without needing all those flashy neon lights and without making the audience think they’re watching a fantasy show. It shows flawed characters while capturing the power of its cinematography to the audience.

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Entry Seven: A Change in Photographic Heart

Since Black Mirror contains stand alone episodes, the cinematography in each episode might differ from each other. However, comparing one season with another would show case a different set of design direction. 

In season 3, it contains 6 episodes titled “Nosedive, Playtest, Shut Up and Dance, San Junipero, Men Against Fire and Hated the Nation.” In comparison from the previous seasons 1 and 2 where the sets are more gloomy and dark, season 3 has a more of a kaleidoscopic, candy-coloured series of stories. According to an interview Turchiano asked cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, the episode that kick started season 3 had a pastel feel with hints of its futuristic nature and in correlation to the where the near future is that people strive to fit in and the constant need of approval by anyone and everyone (Turchiano, D. 2017). In Nosedive, props and costumes were carefully chosen as seen in the picture below, the colour code from the airport check-in counter signs to each characters’ costumes are pastel colour like peppermint green, periwinkle pink and baby blue.

Shown above: Nosedive Episode Screenshot.

Much like Nosedive, the rest of the episodes have if not exactly the same feels, it has hints of candy-colours here and there. 

Shown above: Playtest Episode Screenshot

Shown above: Shut Up and Dance Episode Screenshot

Shown above: San Junipero Episode Screenshot

Shown above: Men Against Fire Episode Screenshot

Shown above: Hated in the Nation Episode Screenshot

As season 3 puts off a less morbid feel in terms of its cinematography, it doesn’t entirely feel out of place in Black Mirror. While throwing slightly different cinematography into season 3 it still remains within reach to its original season where the episodes showcase the near-future setting. Season 3 stills drives to the point where the technology we rely on to live a normal life in the 21st century, is not very far off from destroying our lives entirely. However, the cinematic change from a dark and uneasy look to a pastel, kaleidoscope feel makes Black Mirror an easier pill to swallow when watching  

Referance

Turchiano, D. (2017) ‘Black Mirror’ DP Seamus McGarvey Talks About Finding the ‘Photographic Heart’ of ‘Nosedive’ Available at: https://variety.com/2017/tv/awards/emmys-black-mirror-seamus-mcgarvey-interview-1202520496/ [Accessed on June 2018]

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Entry Six: Sinimetogrefi. Did you  mean Cinematography?

According to the Dictionary, cinematography is the art and/or technique applied in motion-picture photography (Dictionary, n.d.). Without cinematography, your everyday films and TV shows would be just that. Cinematography is what helps create visuals that guide the audience to a roller coaster full of emotions. 

Understanding and learning how to modulate the camera’s movement, placement, composition, focus and last but not least lighting are essential when being a cinematographer. (Tersigni, A. 2017) Lighting is key simple as that may sound, lighting makes a huge difference in distinguishing a home made video to a professional film. Lighting creates moods and emotions in a film. 

With new technologies coming our way in terms of variations of lenses, the nature of the lights and amongst other things used for shooting a film. Anything is possible to create a certain type of mood or a constant signature in the film itself. Cinematography is a different kind of art. 

Dictionary. (n.d.) Cinematography. Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/cinematography?s=t [Accessed on June 2018]

Tersigni, A. (2017) Award-Winning Cinematographers Explain Cinematography. Available at: https://www.format.com/magazine/news/photography/what-is-cinematography [Accessed on: June 2018]

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Entry Five: USS Callister

USS Callister is set in a more current day in time where Robert Daly, an unhappy beta male computer geek who is also the co-founder of “Infinity” a successful virtual reality gaming platform. Its success happened because it allows its players to simulate a replica of themselves for the virtual world by using their DNA. Now during Daly’s free time, he’s a captain on the Star Fleet, a Star Trek-esque virtual game where he takes control and torments the replica of his co-workers who have done him wrong in his real life.

USS Callister photo by Butcher Billy

The episode personifies how Daly who is presumably a weak male in his real life who can only fantasise about tormenting other in his virtual world as if he endowed god-powers, doing almost anything in his Star Fleet world rather than standing up to them in his real life. The message I noticed in this episode resembles cyberbullying. According to Betts, cyberbullying is a new form of bullying that reflects how digital technology has embedded in our day-to-day life. Figures from the UK had suggested that mobile phones are currently the most popular type of media for going online Betts cited Ofcom. Leading up to that, the mobile communication industry has evolved and now includes the Internet which becomes a mechanism for cyberbullying. As Betts cites Olweus, it is seen that cyberbullying is just as the same with face-to-face bullying. The difference is just that cyberbullying occurs via an electronic devices or online platform.  

References

Betts, R. L. (2016) Cyberbullying. Approaches, Consequences and Interventions. [Online] Available at:  https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/herts/reader.action?docID=4719821&query=&ppg=14 [Accessed on June, 2018]

USS Callister Poster. Available at:  https://www.behance.net/gallery/60492239/Butcher-Billys-Tales-of-the-Unexpected-Black-Mirrors  [Accessed on June, 2018]

Bibliography

Slonje, R and K. Smith, P. (2008) Cyberbullying: Another Main Type of Bullying? [Online] Available at:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2007.00611.x  [Accessed on June, 2018]

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Entry Four: You Had Me at Drama

Black Mirror poster.

And so, I couldn’t resist I decided to choose question number 4 and talk about the sinister and interesting way Black Mirror portrays the infestation of technology in 45 minutes to an hour long television episode. As to my discovery, trying to figure out why the title is what it is “Black Mirror. I had a sudden thought and possible reason for it, since it is about technology I noticed that when you turn off your laptop, mobile phone, television or really anything related to technology will turn black. Once it does turn black you would see a reflection of yourself resulting in a Black Mirror. 

I am indecisive on 5 episodes and which I should really focus on. A rough breakdown on each episodes are, 1. “USS Callister”. This is about how someone who is a lone-wolf shows bravery only through online gaming or internet but is afraid to stand up for himself in reality. 2. “Arkangel”. The episode Arkangel is in relation with helicopter parenting, after a woman almost loses her daughter she invests in a new technology that able her to keep track of her daughter. 3. “Nosedive”. Nosedive shows how sometimes we almost keep score on how many likes we get on Instagram and Facebook. This episode shows how in a parallel universe the “likes” you give on a persons personality is their currency. 4. “San Junipero”. Shows how a person that’s in her 70′s can defy the laws of space and time to re-live moments then happened in her 20′s. Lastly 5. “The Entire History of You”. This is set in the near future where everyone has access to a memory implant that allows you to record everything you do, see and hear.

Black Mirror Poster. (2011) Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/mediaviewer/rm545980672  [Accessed on June 2018] 

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Entry Three: Drama Drama Drama

The question that intrigued me the most was question number 4 “Select a drama series that has attained widespread popular. Identify the key values or messages it propagates, and how that is conveyed through its filmic qualities.” because I’m not the one to pass up an opportunity to talk and discuss about one of my favourite drama series. As to what drama I chose to discuss is “Black Mirror” 

Now, Black Mirror is a British science fiction thriller television series created by Charlie Brooker (IMDb, n.d.) With every standalone episode, it examines how modern society regarding with the unexpected consequences of new technologies that are usually set in and alternate present or future. Each episode usually portrays a dark and sinister like tone, although some are a little more light and experimental while hinting certain aspects of a “twisted, technology will take over the world” sense. I believe that the message Black Mirror propagates are related to how people are becoming technology dependant thus creating stories showing “the way we live now” 

If I were to move along with this question (which I most likely will) I would focus on 2 or 3 episodes from the series, like “Nosedive, Arkangel, USS Callister” to better draw attention to the different messages it comes across. 

IMDb. (n.d.) Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/ [Access on May 2018]

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Entry Two: I Am Woman

After some trying to dig up some research on question number 3 “Examine the representation of women in a local or regional media. How are women portrayed? Are they affected by feminist or other identity issues often seen in more Western countries?” I thought about the definition of feminism and according to the Dictionary, feminism is a social, political belief and all other rights of women made equal to the rights of men. (Dictionary, n.d.) Once I heard about this question, it reminded me of Malaysian singer, Yunalis Zarai or better known as Yuna. As a Malaysian, you would be proud to have a representation of your country up in the world and that is exactly what Yuna has done. She thrived, followed her dream and became a well known muslim Malaysian singer worldwide and making her family, friends, fans and country proud! 

However, due to the fact that she is a muslim woman, she is supposed to be portrayed in a certain way. For example, after performing on of her hit single “Crush” with Usher at Philadelphia, USA in 2016. Yuna had given him a head bow after their performance while User went for a hug that lasted merely seconds.

Most of the Malaysian muslim threw a fit after watching said hug. Because in Islam, men are forbidden to touch a woman whom are outside of their family circle. Unless in a state of an emergency like male doctors being able to touch female patients. Some could defend Yuna by saying that Usher wasn’t familiar with the guidelines of Islam and Yuna wasn’t going to reject his hug in front of millions of fans as it of seemed rude of her. 

So as a muslim singer traveling, touring abroad and accidentally doing the wrong thing would cause a stir in the community whether their trying to do good and tell her of her wrong doings politely or being judged for a mistake that lasted maybe 3 second.

Dictionary. (n.d.) feminism. Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/feminism?s=t [Accessed on May, 2018]

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Entry One: Divided Between the Two

 Upon receiving the brief we got for the Module, Media Cultures. Two topics caught my immediate attention. Which are, question number 3 and number 4. Number 3 being “Examine the representation of women in a local or regional media. How are women portrayed? Are they affected by feminist or other identity issues often seen in more Western countries?”. And number 4 being “Select a drama series that has attained widespread popular. Identify the key values or messages it propagates, and how that is conveyed through its filmic qualities.” 

I’m being particularly drawn to these to questions more than other most probably because question number 3 made me aware of how the society depicts and view women. The stories of how women were and occasionally still are under appreciated. For example, the recent movie titled The Hidden Figures, a biographic film about Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson who had no options but to calculate the complex equations that allows astronauts like Neil Armstrong, Alan Shepard, and John Glenn to travel safely to space (Blitz, M. 2017). The world did not know about the women behind the successful space missions centuries later in 2016.

Moving to question number 4, this caught my attention because explaining how one of my favourite drama series identifies key values or the messages it propagates would be really enjoyable. The drama series that I want to discuss is “Black Mirror”. Black Mirror examines modern society, particularly talking about the consequences of new technologies meets the world, whether it be a good thing or a scary thing.

Blitz, M. 2017. The True Story of 'Hidden Figures' and the Women Who Crunched the Numbers for NASA. Available at :  https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a24429/hidden-figures-real-story-nasa-women-computers/ [Accessed on May, 2018]

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Entry Eight: AIM the Influencer

AIM may have had it’s glory days but now it has come to an end but it will always remain to be a greatest influence. AIM helped shaped the internet culture that we have today along its communication and it will not be long forgotten (Sklar, 2017). 

Now, go back to 1997 where Barry Appelman had patent his Buddy List which notifies the user which one of his/her friends is currently log into AIM. This feature is currently being applied on so many of the modern messenger apps and Mark Zuckerberg himself had built the chat feature on Facebook in response to how AIM was designed (Sklar, 2017). Although Facebook Messenger has come a long way, they still have the basic fundamentals from AIM such as the buddy list, online statuses and ability to have a personal conversation with someone or to do it with a group of friends (Sklar, 2017).

Besides that, AIM also had created usernames or screen names and I suppose that was one of the first forms of having an online identity, whether the user would use their real name or a more unique nickname to have that unique identity to it. As a results of that in today’s world, we have Twitter accounts or Instagram accounts with fun a quirky usernames as their alter ego online. 

AIM was the pioneer for some great features that will be passed down from generation to generation as technology evolves. Maybe some features like the buddy list will remain for a long time or maybe someone would invent something more of an interesting and effective way. But in the end, instant messaging today leads back to AIM in the 1990′s.

References

Sklar, J. (2017) AOL Instant Messenger Made Social Media What It Is Today. Available at: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609769/aol-instant-messenger-made-social-media-what-it-is-today/ [Access on 18th December 2017]

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Entry Seven: Recent Tragedies for AIM

According to AOL’s help centre, they had announced that their legendary instant messaging provider, AIM will be discontinued on the 15th of December 2017. Why? Because they state that they’re going to bring in more new innovative experiences that users want and build next generation of iconic brands like AIM for the future users to come (AOL, 2017).

This is the end of AIM after 20 years of service to the public (Fiegerman,2017). They are hanging their coat over to the next generation of instant messaging platforms like Whatsapp and Telegram. With this news, AIM may be gone but it did create a cultural shift in the way we communicated with each other through a screen for the next generation to follow in its footsteps and maybe even create bigger and better steps with the new technologies that is more to come. 

Some things are bound to become obsolete towards a certain degree, AIM may have died but was it because of the up and coming new instant messaging apps that keep rising leaving AIM to bite the dust or did they want to stay in the past because it became such an iconic pop culture?

References

AOL. (n.d.) AIM will be discontinued on December 15, 2017. Available at: https://help.aol.com/articles/aim-discontinued#windows [Access on 30th November 2017]

Fiegerman, S. (2017) AIM officially shuts down, but its influence lives on. Available at: http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/15/technology/aim-shuts-down-legacy/index.html [Access on 17th December 2017]

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Entry Six: AIM’s Competitors

AIM is an instant messaging platform and it’s not the only one. AIM does have competitors to look out for. An example would be Yahoo! Instant Messenger 

Let’s first talk about AIM, their software offers access to a wide variation of AOL’s features and services be it on your desktop or mobile devices (Scott and Robert, 2002). AIM delivers instant messaging communications to any other AOL user regardless near or far with its additional features like the Meet New People tool, IM greetings, HTTP proxy support for connecting AIM’s service from corporate environments and work and so much more (Scott and Robert, 2002).

While Yahoo! Messenger provides rapid instant communication as well. Some features that Yahoo! has could be more interesting to another group of users because not only do they have instant messaging with interactive, they also are able to support Webcams and free phone like call through you PC, having the ability to create a personalised the theme of the users chat-box and even having multilingual messaging support for the non-english speaking users (Scott and Robert, 2002).

Yes in my previous post, AIM did go through some phases and had created some break throughs along their journey but having a healthy competitive relationship with their competitors is a good start as I think it pushes their boundaries to create new and upcoming features for the system to maintain their users and even gain some new ones.

References

Scott K. Beall, Robert L. Hodges. (2002) Instant Messaging Applications: Software Comparison Columns. Available at: http://www.bus.umich.edu/kresgepublic/journals/gartner/research/103100/103157/103157_1.html [Access on 17th December 2017]

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Entry Five: Once Upon a Time, AOL Instant Messenger was born

In another life time, around the 1990′s AOL managed to control the program that celebrated online messaging without even trying and were the ones who brought the internet into the homes of the American life (Abbruzzese, 2014). After launching AIM, it’s popularity increased rapidly as AIM was a shiny new toy that the public just fell in love with (Abbruzzese, 2014).

During the early days, users couldn’t see if their said friends were online or not instead they had to manually type out their friends username on their search engine. However, Barry Applemen changed that and had patent a buddy list where instead of checking whether your friend has logged on, the system tells you like the picture below (Abbruzzese, 2014). 

Besides the invention of the buddy list and the system telling you who is online and who it not, AIM was a paid subscribed platform but later in the period of time however later they managed to turn it into a free product and business was booming for the company (Abbruzzese, 2014). 

During the late 90′s and early 2000′s AIM drastically became one of the primary messaging program and it had started adding new elements onto the system to further attract users. For example, voice chat, file transfer and even their very own chat bots that can interact with people. (Abbruzzese, 2014)

I thought the buddy list was a much easier way figure out whether your friends were online or not because let’s say you have one too many friends and need a shoulder to talk to, going through one by one would be a hassle and might take up too much of your time. Bear in mind that back then you had to pay hourly to be logged in (Abbruzzese, 2014). Turning AIM into a free messaging platform also was probably a difficult but smart idea AOL had to face because the paid subscribers were how they got some cash however, making it a free messaging platform probably boosted their users.

Reference 

Abbruzzese, J. (2014) The Rise and Fall of AIM, the Breakthrough AOL Never Wanted. Available at: http://mashable.com/2014/04/15/aim-history/#EY8MesX_ZPqY [Access on 30th November 2017]

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Entry Four: I Found the One, to Write About.

Some digging has been made into my research and I have come to a verdict that I would actually like to write my essay based on topic number 3, “How an online community or trend over a decade ago may or may not evolved over time and why?” 

The reason being I get to almost relive in that community for a few weeks, to watch the community grow in a time-lapse like speed and learn a couple of things on how online communities could try to stay in trend and relevant to the users for as long as possible.

I’ve decided on talking about AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) because it was a huge part of the 90′s as millions of paid users would log in online to chat with their friends (Abbruzzese, 2014) However just recently, AOL had announced that AIM will be discontinued on the 15th of December 2017 (AOL, 2017). Thus more research to be done as to how and why did AIM die down after more than a decade of service to its users.

Writing about this would put it into perspective that someday somethings are just built obsolete.

References

Abbruzzese, J. (2014) The Rise and Fall of AIM, the Breakthrough AOL Never Wanted. Available at: http://mashable.com/2014/04/15/aim-history/#EY8MesX_ZPqY [Access on 30th November 2017]

AOL. (2017) AIM Will Be Discontinued on December 15, 2017. Available at: https://help.aol.com/articles/aim-discontinued [Access on 30th November 2017]

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Entry Three: An Online Community Was Born

After going through a long list of internet communities that were born in the past decade or so I stumbled upon a few of my options. Which included Facebook, Neopets and AIM also known as AOL Instant Messenger. All three of these were quite a hit from what I have seen throughout my childhood. Children born in the 1990′s were practically born into the technology world because some can’t remember their life without it (George, 2016). 

Before we go any further, let’s break down the meaning of a community. According to the Dictionary, it’s an expandable social group with members being is a specific area or have a common culture and heritage (Dictionary, n.d.) and online means a system that operates under the control of a computer (Dictionary, n.d.).

To research about an online community is some what intriguing to me. How did these few communities start off and have their fame of glory and to study how far they have gotten and might go down into the history books. 

References

George, K. (2016) 7 Reasons People Born in the 90′S Terrify People Born in the 80′s. Available at: https://www.bustle.com/articles/138936-7-reasons-people-born-in-the-90s-terrify-people-born-in-the-80s [Access on 14th December 2017]

Dictionary. (n.d.) Community. Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/community [Access on 14th December 2017]

Dictionary. (n.d.) Online. Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/online [Access on 14th December 2017]

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Entry Two: Compare and Contrast

For one of the topics that peak my interest is comparing between two online representations of a renown contemporary designer. 

Now, what exactly is a contemporary design in the first place? According to the Dictionary it’s belonging to the same time or it’s about the same age or date. (Dictionary, n.d.). In simpler terms it means whatever is happening in that moment in that specific point of time. Based on my findings from a website called homedit, contemporary are decorations that are in the current trends because what someone would call contemporary back in the day may stay there and not be considered as a contemporary item anymore (homedit, n.d.). From there we can see that contemporary design can evolve much faster than we think it could. 

Contemporary designers range from fashion to furniture and some interior designs. But I kept in mind that if I were to choose I would want to compare between Malaysia’s Melinda Looi and Europe’s Stella McCartney. 

Melinda Looi managed to grab the attention from the fashion world with her graduate design and caught the eyes of the Malaysia Young Designer Award in 1995. Her designs range from collections like couture, bridal and her basics (Armitage, 2016). Her website - https://melindalooi.com/ showcases her various collections and is also user friendly. Her collection called “The Interiors” seem to have bright colours and mixed textures. 

As for Stella McCartney, her label is defined as a contemporary feminine line. While having her own self name brand, she also has collaborated with Adidas on designing women’s sportswear (Hardy, 2016). Her website -  https://www.stellamccartney.com/my/ has a difference with Melinda Looi’s because when one enters her website, not only can you take a look at her previous collections but you are able to purchase some of her designs on the website itself. Although her collections are categorised based from the four seasons, they still do feel unique in their own way.

References 

Dictionary. (n.d.) Contemporary. Available at: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/contemporary [Access on 14th December 2017]

homedit. (n.d.) What Is Contemporary Design? Available at:  https://www.homedit.com/how-to-define-contemporary/ [Access on 24th November 2017]

Armitage, (2016) Malaysia’s 10 Best Contemporary Designers: Fusing Luxury and Edge. Available at:  https://theculturetrip.com/asia/malaysia/articles/malaysia-s-10-best-contemporary-designers-fusing-luxury-and-edge/ [Access on 24th November 2017]

Hardy, (2016) The Top 13 Contemporary European Fashion Designers. Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/articles/the-top-13-contemporary-european-fashion-designers/ [Access on 24th November 2017]

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Entry One: Decisions Decisions

After reading the brief that I was given, I did my readings and then continued to do research to shed light on the topics. And two topics got me contemplating my decision to only choose one, wether I should choose to compare and contrast the online representation of two renown contemporary designers (topic number two) or if I should write on how an online community or trend over a decade ago may or may not have evolved over time and why? (topic number three) 

As for topic number two, I think I managed to find a few contemporary designers from two parts of the world one from my very own country Malaysia and one from Europe. These two countries would be a good pair to compare too as there are different culture being adapt by both of them.

Now for topic number three, to me sounds pretty cool as I get to go back to the past, into the beginning of something that for some would have called life changing. I’ve got some ideas as what online community to write about but I could not think of a trend that people back in the early 2000′s started and it blew up or just tanked. Maybe a meme had started a long time ago and it just blew up during the 2010′s? And maybe I should do more research. 

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Entry Five: Nazi Germany’s Propaganda Art.

Propaganda is a powerful tool used in wars to persuade the public’s opinion and it was a well known thing to use during the Second World War; “the power to persuade a society to accept a belief or rise to action” (Dinsmore, 2011 p. 3). Now, Germany’s government had one very powerful way of showing their propaganda which is art. They knew art was a powerful tool for communication thus it is always manipulated to favour their political beliefs and agenda. (Dinsmore, 2011 p.4)

Hitler’s propaganda art was effective to the T simple because the people felt lost and because of this ideological weakness, Hitler could shape the mind sets of the people to emphasise a “pure” Germany.

This is a young Aryan-looking member of the Hitler Youth, idealising Hitler as if her was a God. The message that was interpreted with this poster was that children as young as 10 should serve the respected leader by joining the organisation (MiE, 2012)

Hitler used the Nazi ideology to brainwash the young members of the Hitler Youth and it was compulsory to take part in tough physical activities. (MiE, 2012)

Reference:

Dinsmore, B. L. (2011) Art as Propaganda in Nazi Germany. [Online], available at: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=comssp .Accessed on June 28th, 2017.

MiE. (2012) 10 Disturbing Pieces of Nazi Education Propagand. Available at: http://www.master-of-education.org/10-disturbing-pieces-of-nazi-education-propaganda/  .Accessed on June 28th, 2017