War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast

 

As new technologies arrive, societies take time to adjust to them. Specially with the introduction of radio. Radio was a revolutionize technology that helped nations to be communicated. Now, the nation could be in the same page. Someone in New York will be able to listen to the same news and trends in Los Angeles. In my opinion War of the Worlds was such a hit because the radio kept the families together. In the point that someone believe it was true, many others will believe in and spread the terror. It was like a domino effect, once someone believe in it, others will be believe.

Comments: Singing in the Rain in Clockwork-Orange

In my opinion, as Kubrick became a teenager, he experienced how U.S. became a super power. This changed the American culture to believe that it was a perfect society. The media began to glamorize life,and ignore the issues the nation was living through. The kids who were growing up with this idea became disappointed to realize that life was not glamorous as in the films. As a result, they began to rebel and question authority.
I think that Kubrick used Singing in the Rain in his film to portrayed all the lies that it was a perfect society. There were many social issues, and the country needed to change for good. When I watched the original Singing in the Rain, it made have the sense of perfection and that there is nothing to worry about. It was like trying to tell me that life is perfect. While in the scene of Clockwork-Orange, Kubrick is singing that song while beating up a innocent and in defensive couple. For me, it was like he was trying to say, "Life is not perfect, it is very messed up. Wake up."

Stop Motion

According to the webopedia, "In animation stop motion animation is a cinematic process, or technique used to makes static objects appear as if they were moving. This technique is commonly used in claymation and puppet-based animation. The objects are brought to life by breaking up the figure's motion into increments and filming one frame of film per increment."It is very amazing how people will find new ways to use the technology they have in hand.  In my opinion stop motion is a product of bernacular art, since it is just people exploring new horizons with the resources they have available. They do not have a script or something to follow, they do whatever it comes in to their mind.

Refenrence
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/stop_motion_animation.html

Trip to the Moon

I think that what makes a Trip to the Moon special is the way of how was set up. It was just a way to show something different that never have done before. In my humble opinion, George Melies is a bernacular artist. As we discussed in class, bernacular comes from the latin common. As technology became available for the masses, the masses found new ways to exploit their potentials as new ways of art. It is not like painting, ceramics, sculpture arts that discipline have been established and guided for centuries. Video is different type of art, since there are always new developments and is not established as a concrete discipline. George Melies is actually someone to be admired, he did not do it for the money. He was just trying to do something new and have fun at the same time.
As a business major, this is an example of entrepreneur. A guy who invested and took risk. George Melies came from a wealthy family. He could stay in the family business, but he did not feel that staying in the family business was part of him. So, he was innovative and took the resources he had available. He began his videos with family and friends and ended up recruiting cast from operas.He ended up entertainment industry, which produce huge amount of profit.

Angel La Quinta's STAGE DOOR Blog.

It is nice to read a blog of someone expressing their opinion in Spanish in a professional way. It made me a little bit homesick, since all my Spanish readings at the moments are texts. It is a very warming blog. He is humorous and professional at the same time. The blog essentially is  talking to the reader, and explaining the post by  giving background and his opinion of the topic and even gives personal nematodes.

Behind the Scenes of Wicked

Wicked was a challenge from the beginning. Trying to adapt the novel into a musical without taking its essence, and differentiate was a task that no one could predict the public's reaction. They were willing to take the risk, they did not withdraw for fear of failure. By setting up a goal and try their best to accomplish it.

The key of the success of Wicked was team work. I like how they emphasize that the director did not control the play, but was part of it. That is what leaders do, they remind and put the team together in other to achieve the goal. Instead of doing what he wanted, he put himself as a part of the cast, and  participate to understand his team.

Reference
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/multimedia/video
http://home.messiah.edu/~cr1256/images/wicked%203.jpg

Professor Jono Vaughan's Presentation

For me, art is a way that had helped many people to express, specially the oppressed and confused. It is not coincidence that society that have passed from moments of oppression and confusion have created wonderful pieces of art like jazz, reggae (do not confuse with reggaeton), salsa, etc... Professor Jono Vaughan's presentation shows the influence of her life as a transgender is reflected in her art.
It is very admirable that she dedicates many of her paints to help others, by portraying her moments of gender confusion. I found very interesting her paint of the minotaur holding the harpy over her head. In my opinion, the paint represented the struggle in her mind about what society expected (the minotaur) and what she really felt (the harpy.)
I find her style very similar to Picasso. Picasso's style was very peculiar, it does not show cohesion or aesthetically beautiful. Many people argue that it symbolizes the period of confusion that Picasso was living, which was during the Spanish Civil War. In that period, the Spanish society was very confused of what was happening in the country, there was war between factions that were fighting more for political power than their ideals.

Picasso's Guernica

South Pacific

The movie South Pacific explores the life of interracial relationships during the time. It shows the relation of a nurse from the segregated South of United States with a mix-racial man, and the relation of a lieutenant of the United States with a native of the island. The nurse struggles with her ideas of purity in which she was raised and the idea that she had fallen in love with a mix-racial man, when the lieutenant struggles with the pressure that society will put on his shoulder for being with a native of the island.

Even thought, the movie has been released many years ago and made people aware of the situation. The theme of mix of identities still provokes a lot of controversy.  For example we have the recently Coca-Cola's Superbowl ad, which was the American anthem sung in different languages. Many people were outrage, and claim that America should only be represented and sang in English.

In my opinion this is not racism, contrary to popular believe. It is that people feel that their identity have been threat. As a Chinese-Panamanian, I have heard many stories about parents having heart attacks and exiling  their sons and daughters for bringing a non-chinese at home as their partner. Most of the time is not racial issues, it is just that they feel that their children have dishonored their identity as Chinese. I think that it might be the same case in United States, people have this notion of America and when it is changed they feel that someone have offended their identity.

Oculus is Awesome for Games, But It's the Future of Movies

Oculus is device that allow us to experience a virtual world, it is like breaking the fourth wall of multimedia. It is mainly being develop for gaming, but film makers see infinite opportunities to revolutionize the film industry. In my opinion, Oculus is a cool idea. I would love to experience my favorite movies as if I were part of them, but as a Wall-E guy, I am afraid of the effects of this new technology in the behavior of future generations. I mentioned being a Wall-E guy, because the movie Wall-E is about how humanity has forgotten the meaning of life. Machines have been programmed to make the life of humans already figured out. Cool idea, until you realize that you have a society without desires or able to accomplish.  People are living constantly in flying chairs in which they do not do more than watch T.V., and eat. They do not have dreams or ambitions. Wall-E is a movie that shows how humanity obsession of seeking perfection, make us lose track. Instead of using the machine, we will become part of it.

Reference

Image: http://www.sickchirpse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Wall-E-2.jpg

Madama Butterfly

In my opinion Madama Butterfly portrays the situation when we get obsessed with an idea that will doom us. In this case, the Japanese doll falls in love with the captain. She is so into the idea of having found her true love that she is not able to see that the captain had abandoned her. Time passes, and she has a baby. The kid symbolizes her true love, but when she sees the captain's boat back, you can see that she has almost abandon her daughter.She still wants  to pursue that idea of dream. She had not realized that her true love is already with her, her daughter. We can see the captain taking the daughter, this could symbolize how the pursue of old ideas that have failed can lead to the disaster of our current happiness. At the end she dismember herself, maybe because she just realized that she had her true love and because of her obsession with the captain made her lost the real true love.

Birth and Life of Opera

The Birth and Life of Opera is a documentary about the influence of opera in history. The idea of opera was born during the Renaissance by intellectuals called Camarata discussing about a new music drama based on Greek tragedy. The first famous opera was L'Orpheo, which burrowed church music into the play to help to create a dramatic environment. This new kind of music drama became a success and spread thought out all Europe. Mozzart, thanks to the popularity of operas is able to spread powerful messages that will unleash the periods of revolutions. Opera was also utilized by governments as a propaganda tool to influence the people into their ideologies like Fascism and Nazism.

Opera was born from an ideas that spread ideas throughout everywhere that was an opera house. I found fascinating the influence opera had in shaping the current world. It could be say that opera gave helped to give that push in order to make the oppressed masses rise.

Deus Ex Machinima

Deus Ex Machinima comes from the latin, God from the Machine. The term used in opera to describe the apparition of a divinity flying on stage. This was possible for the use advancement pulley system for the stage that was able to lift men in the opera. For example in the first popular opera, Orpheus. Orpheus after failing to rescue his love from Hell, Apollo came and make him a divine figure.  The term Deus Ex Machinima has evolved in today days to describe to describe the use of unexpected events that flip completely the story line.

                                        
                                    

King of Beggars
The story is about a young kung fu prodigy from a wealthy family that have lost everything.In the final battle, there is a wind that flips the Shan Long Eighteen Palm's books that helps him to realize the eighteenth move.

Zoolander
The story is about a model that is brainwashed to kill the prime minister of Malaysia. The model had a birth defect, he is not ambiturner (he is just able to turn one side.) In the climax of the movie he is able to stop a shuriken that was thrown to kill the prime minister of Malaysia by turning left.

Chucho Jefe
Chucho Jefe is an episode of  Betito Bacalao, a short comedy from the Panamanian T.V. show La Cascara. The serie talks about the life of Betito Bacalao a convict who suffers from bad luck. In this chapter Betito's friend Chucho is incharge of the prison and is willing to give the convicts special treat,even a visit from Betito's love in exchange of money. After the convicts gave their money to Chucho, he ran away. Later, it was find out that the whole thing was a scam, and Betito is not able to see his love.

Reference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3WvEQzcMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx9O6q0pDAU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0-eLrWRm48