TV Critic assignment!

As we talked about in class today, this assignment is in many ways more about the research and preparation process than the writing. Try to figure out who this writer is and what their style is, based on some of the ideas discussed yesterday: perspective, vocabulary, rhythm, etc.

Some Guidelines:

1. Choose a TV show you watch now or have watched. Must be narrative (i.e. not news, sports or documentary; reality TV is okay)
2. Look around for some well-written criticism. It can be formal or informal, professional quality or more amateur. Snarky is fine!
3. Consider the publication and audience. Does the critic's style change from one venue (website or magazine) to another? In what ways?
4. You don't have to agree with what the critic says to find his or her style or viewpoint interesting.
5. It will be helpful to make a list of some words that describe the critic's style.


First step of the assignment:

Post to the blog in the next few days, 2 or 3 television critics whose work you like, who have written about the same show you're planning to write on, and a few thoughts (a couple sentences) on why you like it or find it interesting. Provide at least one link to their work. This should be somewhere between 200-400 words total.


Your assignment, a 500-800 word blog post in the style of the critic you choose, is due by Thursday March 13th.

Please ask any questions here! I will continue to post links of TV critics here, and we will also continue to discuss the assignment in class.

TV Critic assignment: helpful links

I have collected a few links from various critics who write about TV. Maybe these will inspire you or lead you to find some other useful sources...

First, Stephanie Zacharek. Former film critic for Salon.com, she also wrote about television a faire amount, especially Buffy the Vampire Slayer (maybe no other Salon critics wanted to write about it? or did she win the coin toss?). Here is her review of Me Without You, with the description of the torn dress...

Joyce Millman was Salon's first TV critic, and has also written for The Boston Phoenix. Her"Blue Glow awards" are always a good read.

The blogs at Television without Pity have a few good reviewers; amateurs, mainly, but this need not preclude good, insightful writing.

Many big city, mainstream newspapers like The L. A. Times have top-notch reviewers. Likewise the Chicago Tribune; here is their review of American Horror Story: COVEN.

Good Night and Good Luck

I very much enjoyed the movie about Edward R. Murrow, Good Night and Good Luck. I thought Clooney's cinematic choices such as having the whole film in black and white gave the movie a classic feel and added beauty to shots that would have been bland in color. The woman singer we hear ever so often throughout the movie helped add to this classic style and really set the mood for important scenes. I thought the sound work he did with some scenes was very effective. In certain scenes, we saw what was going on but we heard different sounds. In one of the scenes after a boardcast of Murrow's show, there is a lot of movement and craziness going on in the production room, however, all the noise drowns out and is replaced by the slow and melodic voice of the woman singer. In another scene where on of the company's men is being questioned about his affiliations with communism, we do not actually hear their conversation. Instead of the conversation in the movie, we hear the audio from the recording of the actual hearing of a Washington secretary in the 1950's. I thought this was done extremely well and served as a smooth transition for that historical information to be presented in the film. Overall, I believe that the cinematography of this film was exceptional. George Clooney made style choices that would not only make this film a classic but alsoproperly told the story of Edward R. Murrow. 

Goodnight, and Good luck

I, very much to my surprise, really enjoyed Goodnight, and Good luck. Everything about the film from the actors to the shots the camera took intrigued me and kept me very interested throughout the whole movie, even with the slow pacing. I used to be a film and video studies minor so I am used to paying close attention to detail when it comes to films, this just made me appreciate the movie even more. Goodnight, and Good luck is one of those movies you can watch multiple times and take something different out of it each time. I would absolutely watch this again and would recommend it to my friends that are also interested in film. It was surprising to me that I had never even heard of this movie before we watched it in class considering the popular actors cast in the production as well as the quality. The quality of the film really caught my attention. It being an independent film with a relatively small (in terms of the industry) budget of $7 million I was not expecting the quality that was put forth. Another thing I was surprised by, while searching IMDB was there incredibly low amount of movie showings there was of Goodnight, and Good luck in theaters. In the U.S there were only 11 screenings in its opening weekend, in comparison to thousands that other movies have. Overall, I was impressed by the way the actors seemed to accurately portray their characters even when real footage was showed to make a direct comparison too. This movie took what could have been a boring history lesson and turned it into a complying story that I really enjoyed, if only every lesson in school could be done like this!

Good Night, and Good Acting

With a cast of amazingly talented actors, all portraying the characters that were needed to push the story forward, I thought that Good Night, and Good Luck was a great testament to Edward R. Murrow and his contributions to the movement against McCarthy. Being a fan of films that take historic events and reenacts them, I was thrilled to find that some of the scenes where Murrow is talking on his show about McCarthy were taken directly from broadcasts 60 years ago. David Strathairn did a mesmerizing job imitating Murrow's movements and quirks, to the point where it was truly an art. The slight angling of the head down to the left while speaking, and the steady voice only brings you more into history. Here's two videos of the speech that ends with Cassius' realization, the first with the real Edward R. Murrow, and the second with Strathairn's reenactment. Seeing the movie play out the situation so similarly to the historic event makes me only enjoy it more.

Good night and Good luck held my attention throughout the entire movie. The pace that the film moved was not particularly what did it, rather there was a sense of tension that was adamant from start to finish. Clooney did a good job of creating that tense state the media was in during the McCarthy era. I was getting the feeling that something was at stake, despite these events taking place 60 some odd years ago.
There were a handful of big name actors, even so I could not remember this movie coming out for the life of me. Edward Murrow was a very intriguing person, from this movie I got the sense that he was never content and always knew that he could improve the world and had at least one more battle to fight. I really got this impression when he was at his banquet dinner, and still made a profound and sharp speech which unsettled everyone in the audience, and made a statement that showed the dark direction television was bound for.
Other than that I thought the black and white style had a great effect, and some of the shots were pretty interesting. I would recommend this movie but only to people who might want to do some thinking while they watch.

Good Night, and Good Luck

I, personally, have mixed feelings about this movie. First off, I will start with what I did like about the movie; the positives. I liked the look and feel of the film. The black and white coloring helped make the movie feel as if it was really made in 1953. In addition, the costumes and hairstyles were spot on for the time period. Another aspect of the film that I enjoyed was Robert Downey Jr.’s acting. Robert Downey Jr. is an amazing actor with serious talent, and that talent really shines throughout the movie. Watching his performance helped me stay engaged in this overall mostly boring film.

As for what I did not like about the movie, one aspect was the plot, which moved too slow. The were several points during the film when I felt myself losing focus in the picture, due to the slow moving plot. Another aspect of the movie that I did not enjoy was George Clooney’s acting. While he may be a good director, Clooney suffers as an actor, due to the fact that he plays the same role in every one of the movies that he acts in; himself.

Good Night and Good Luck

            This is the second time I viewed the film in a class setting, and I found myself picking up on aspects of both the production and plot that I didn’t the first time. In regards to the production of Good Night and Good Luck, I found the pace of the film to be very interesting. This is an aspect of the film that we discussed in class and learned to appreciate throughout the duration of the movie. I thought that the pace wasn’t set up solely for the purposes of building a climax, but also for setting a realistic setting for that time period. During the 1950s, everything moved a lot slower than it does in present day society so the slow pace of the film was very relevant. The process of journalism and reporting during McCarthyism was much slower(to put this into perspective, the program Edward Murrow hosted was on once a week whereas news nowadays is instantaneous). This allowed journalism to be more thorough and factual instead of racing to be the first news company to cover the story. Therefore, the pace of the film set the tone and context for journalists in that time period.

            I also found the role of women and corporations in the film to be particularly interesting. Every female character was in some sort of a secretarial position that was ultimately inferior to every male character. This is also relevant to that time period because although women were emerging in the workplace, their job titles were pretty insignificant. George Clooney also informed viewers of the power corporations had over journalism during the 1950s. . In order for networks like CBS to air shows such as “See it Now”, someone needed to pay the bills and the first volunteers were corporations. The dilemma caused by corporations sponsoring news networks like CBS, is that their beliefs and their perception of “news” takes priority over that of a true journalist. Therefore, the corporate agenda took priority and topics that hit the news began directing Americans towards escapism; disconnecting them from reality. For example, Edward Murrow stated in the film, “We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late...”  In other words, the corporate influence over the news was forcing Americans to avoid the truth, regardless of its relevance and significance to American society. Edward Murrow identified the responsibility corporations had on the increasing demand for entertainment and rejection of the ugly truth, which is precisely why nobody questioned the McCarthy trials.

            Overall the film was orchestrated strategically and it was surprisingly accurate. I think that people can watch this film for not only entertainment purposes but historical, educational purposes as well. 

Good Night and Good Luck Reaction

After watching this film I more so enjoyed the stylistic elements of how they shot it more than the plot itself. Although I acknowledge how this was a big part of history in the television industry I thought that It was boring and the plot just dragged along. I thought that the black and white was a nice aesthetic choice to use along with the many group shots that they took when the camera man panned all the way to the right or left. It gave me a great feel of how the environment was in there and made everything seem so lively. It was also nice to see actual historical footage in there as well which further established the context of when the movie was taking place.
Aside from that I thought that there was minimal character development which made it slow and kept me from fully engaging because I simply didn't care about what they had to say. I found it difficult at times to remember who had what role on the broadcasting network and the characters simply didn't spark any interest in me. Maybe this is a movie that you need to watch multiple times in order to appreciate and understand on a deeper level.
-Max Weinstein

Good Night and Good Luck

I loved this movie! I thought that it was beautifully done. I was so happy with they stylistic choice of the black and white. I think that it showed the intense relationships of the television industry, especially during production times. I don't know if anyone else noticed but when George Clooney was wearing his glasses through out the whole movie they were always reflecting something. It such a small detail but it had to be for some reason. I wonder why they choose to do this and what was he trying to get across to his audience by this action. The movie was a little slow to start however I thought it was just to set the pacing for the piece. As it got closer to the climax the pace moved a lot quicker. I think the ways that George Clooney chose to put in historical footage was great, I think that showing it through TV screens in the office or the screening room while pitching stories was a really creative way to blend the history to the story line.

Discussion: GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK

When I asked you all to discuss the film on the blog, I meant someone should go ahead and post about this topic! This is a 400 level course, and so it's really an expectation that you will all take some initiative where this blog is concerned. That said, this is the place to offer any comments on the film we watched last week, in particular its relevance to studying television and culture..

David Lynch is filming new 'Twin Peaks' footage. Season 3 airing in 2014?

I don't know if any of you have seen this yet. For anyone who actually went on and watched the rest of the series this could be pretty exciting.

http://www.mstarz.com/articles/24326/20140105/david-lynch-filming-new-twin-peaks-footage-season-3-airing.htm

Stylistic elements in criticism

Some things to consider when looking at stylistic elements of criticism.

Vocabulary:  (is it sophisticated? Scholarly? Literary? Colloquial? Accessible or not?)

Rhythm: Does the author mix long and short paragraphs, long and short words, different forms or patterns in the language?

Context: What is the writer's approach to the text? Is it a review? Informative, or critical?

Perspective: Does the writer seem to be making a qualitative or value-based judgment? Do they utilize any proofs or evidence or support to make their argument?

Audience: Who is the intended audience or demographic for the review? Does the author seem to consider this in a significant way?

Analysis: Is there depth of analysis in the writing? Is the author more concerned about a specific aspect such as the production values, the storytelling/narrative, the programming considerations (time, schedule, ratings etc.), than about approaching the text as a whole?

Genre Review and Ideas

Have started using this as a Genre Review. It is actually from the 90's and I am discussing how Lynch managed create such a big piece of American culture (the trends that still exist in today's TV culture from Twin Peaks) in such a short amount of time (2 seasons and Twin Peaks movie). I discuss this further by comparing the show's reception through one scholarly article, the above genre, and a mainstream review (also from the 90's). Any tips anyone? Thanks :)

Is the a genre review

I found a site about gothic television, but I'm not sure if it would count as a genre review. If someone could give me some insight that would be great.

Thanks for the help!

Blogging Tips

Create a title for your post.

Embed images, videos and links within the post itself, instead of pasting in URLs. Just select the text where you want to insert your link, and press the "Link" icon in the toolbar, and you can paste in the link easily.

Check the formatting or your blog entry after you post it, to see if it needs to be cleaned up and also check for errors; correct them with the tiny pencil/edit icon at the bottom of the text box.

TWIN PEAKS Writing Assignment

Assignment:







Find THREE different reviews of TWIN PEAKS online, and compare the ways in which the three different critical styles discuss the series. 

The three different kinds of reviews you need to find:






1. One Scholarly or Academic Review (may be a review, an essay, or a monograph)


2. One Mainstream Review (from a major newspaper or online magazine such as Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly, Entertainment Weekly, etc.)


3. One genre review from a specialized website such as one for horror film, cult TV, David Lynch fans, etc.







This essay should be about 1000-1200 words in length. You may list your sources in a bibliography at the end, and refer to them directly in your essay(footnotes or endnotes are not required in this assignment).







There are a variety of critical approaches seen in the vast body of criticism and analysis of TWIN PEAKS, because the show itself was so iconic and influential. Some are from major newspapers such as The New York Times or The Guardian. Many articles online were written when the DVD set was finally released, twenty years after the series premiered, and so reflect the passage of time and the evolution of television storytelling over two decades. Many genre-based websites and blogs also feature reviews: the quality of writing and aptitude of the criticism may cover a wide continuum from inept to mediocre to brilliant. Some specialized horror genre blogs like Bloody Disgusting might showcase some interesting approaches to talking about the show. 

Do some searching around for a wide variety of sources for your assignment; consider factors such as popularity of a given source, or the appeal of one particular writing style over another, in choosing the best examples of criticism.










 

Here are some links to help you find academic sources for this assignment, which is due next week.








As we demonstrated in class, the library website has an online database that is very effective for finding scholarly source material. If you look under letter 'C' for 'Communication and Mass Media Complete' and then do a search on Twin Peaks you will find a great many articles.







This website from UC Berkeley has some very helpful tips for finding scholarly sources of film and television reviews, plus many useful links.





This page from the University of Connecticut links to some good databases; you should be able to access them as an enrolled student.










Finally, this article from FlowTV is a very insightful and effective explanation of how television criticism works and what its implications are. All of you should read it to better understand the context of criticism as it relates to this course.


















Feel free to ask any questions here in the comments section.

I thought that this was pretty funny. This is the calculator that the iphone calculator is based off of. Even though we are now working on a more powerful and advanced device, the iphone calculator has less buttons than a traditional calculator. Just because we have more advanced technology doesn't mean we still don't need to do advanced math!

I chose these pictures because McLuhan compared children of this age being taught under an old educational system to an eagle being taught to swim. This quote jumped out at me because thinking about it now I honestly do not know how children would function learning under an old educational system. So of course after I put some thought into this blog, I searched for an eagle swimming and it turns out eagles have been captured swimming on a number of occasions. So who knows maybe it is not impossible for the children of the electric age to learn under a different maybe more challenging or less electronic system than McLuhan thought. 

I think kids nowadays are becoming less and less creative because of the impact of technology it has on their childhood. Children would rather stare into a screen playing games then being amused by just the unknown world around them. A lot of imagination is lost when you can find out whatever information needed in the palm of your hand. Some may even have trouble socializing because they are so confined to their ipads and ipods. I remember as a child being entertained with just about anything whether is was a stick, markers, playing sports or just beating each other up. But today most of the "hanging out" kids will do is sitting around on their devices.

McLuhan Post

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKKVQLDYYcw

Unlike the regular TV commercial, this one filmed someone who was actually not an actor as he went through what seemed to be a crazy night. As he is surprised throughout the process, running into numerous celebrities he finally gets to the grand finale. His excitement led to him taking out his phone and taking a video of everything happening around him.
This relates to McLuhan because it shows how due to technology we can barely live in the moment anymore. It seems as if we would prefer to see the world through our smartphones instead of our own eyes.

From Erin Moran...

I spent quite some time trying to find an image that accurately depicted technology in society today and that represented some of the things McLuhan discussed. While searching the internet I opened a new tab to check my hawkmail account. Then I found the exact image I had spent so much time looking for. This image was taken to represent campus life at SUNY New Paltz. It does so quite accurately because the woman who is the main focus of the image is a zombie to her phone. She does not appear to realize the photo was taken, and the photographer doesn't seem to mind that she (or students of SUNY New paltz) was going to be portrayed this way. This image is so 'normal' in our society today that most people wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. 

I Forgot My Phone

This is a short film that accurately depicts how our culture is now addicted to our smartphones. People's phones are now an actual extension of man and this video proves it and it isn't that exaggerated. You see many people just alone on their smart phones, even while surrounded by others. We are obsessed with capturing moments instead of just merely experiencing them.  It's a very real portrayal of modern life and is shows how we often use technology at the expense of forging real, human connections.

Check it out

ecards have a great way of explaining things

These two ecards represented to me a piece of Marshall McLuhans theory about media. He states environment is always changing. The media content, and the media itself. These two pictures are at opposite sides of the spectrum but still give the same underlining theme about technology according to McLuhan. The picture on the top represents the past, while the picture on the bottom represents the future. Changes in technology have been so rapid that guessing what will be next is easy. The pattern recognition is possible just like McLuhan believes. I thought the top ecard was especially funny because as a kid I remember playing with Etch-a-Sketch and they do have the same looking format as the iPad. This reminded me of the "rearview-mirror view" where McLuhan stated, in his interview with Playboy, we are only aware of what was before because we are always one step behind in our view of the world. If next year we did have teleportation and the time machine, we wouldn't have to worry about transportation, gas, time. That would be nice. We could travel back in time and see people we don't see anymore, or go to a specific time where we wish we could experience something again. We could see our love ones that past away. I hope I'm alive for this technology. That would be nice to experience. Doubt it would happen, seems crazy, but who knows now a days.

I had to watch this video in another one of my classes and thought that it was relevant to the topics we are currently covering in class. If anyone gets a chance they should take a look.

http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html

McLuhan picture

I think that this picture does a good job illustrating the attitudes people have towards one another and technology in present day society. You can see several friends "hanging out" with each other but nobody is actually engaging in conversation. They are simply sitting together while they are glued to their phone. This portrays the idea that technology has become an extension of ourselves and that even when we are with our closest friends, we care more about whats going on everywhere else. Another aspect of this photo that reminds me of McLuhan is the fact that nobody is enjoying themselves. Technology is supposed to entertain and engage people in ways that have never been possible in the past but as you can see they look indifferent and bored-as if nothing is keeping their attention.

I thought that this photo was another great illustration of some of McLuhan's ideas. Branching off the previous photo, this girl is absolutely surrounded by technology. She has a laptop, Ipad, cell phone, Ipod and television all on around her but she's sleeping. This is an exaggerated illustration of technology acting as extensions of ourselves yet, it still isn't enough to hold her attention. Even though the photo is exaggerated, I don't think it's very far from the truth. I find my self surrounded by technology, in constant contact with everyone I know yet I still felt alone. I find it ironic that when technology is supposed to bring people together, it is actually pushing them further and further apart.

McLuhan Related Picture

Unfortunately, these kids are unaware that they are setting themselves up for a world full of expectations set by fictitious societies portrayed in whatever Netflix show they all are respectively watching on their laptops that are nearly as big as they are (especially the little one in the middle). They should go play stickball or do gymnastics.

Doc Oc Technology Extension of Oneself

This is a picture of Doctor Octopus, the villain from the movie Spiderman 2. I think this character is a pretty literally meaning of the phrase, "technology is an extension of one's self." When Marshall McLuhan says this, he means that we need technology by our side 24/7. That we wouldn't be able to live without it close to us. Also, more importantly, that it helps us learn what's going on in the world and helps us with communication. 

Doctor Octopus's four robotic arms are literally an extension of himself. In the movie/ the comic books he is featured in, he uses them for walking, for carrying things, for building things, for fighting, etc... 

Avril Lavigne Meme

I chose this meme (which features Avril Lavigne, and specifically quotes and references her song "Complicated") because it is my honest reaction to McLuhan's responses in his interview. Why does he have to criticize so many parts of society? He analyzes a lot of different things in the world that he lives in all too much and it just gets plain annoying reading. I believe that it is silly to worry about the things we cannot control in our lives, and that it is exactly what this guy is doing. Why worry about these things when life is so short? It honestly, going back to Avil Lavigne's "Complicated," "gets me frustrated."

Google Glass and McLuhan

This image is a woman wearing the new Google Glass. We discussed these in class and it is a big debate in the tech world, as well as the rest of the world, whether they are a good idea. In McLuhan's interview he mentions technology being an extension of man. I think the Google Glass is taking that concept to the next level, literally having technology on your face and in your vision at all times. Whether or not it is good or bad, technology is becoming an even bigger part of our lives. The seems like a scary concept but it will be interesting to see how the Google Glass works out once it becomes more available to the public.

Technology the Humans 8th Sense

In today's day in age McLuhan's ideas are still very relevant. Technology still controls the human race even more so then it was in the past. Now one electronic can do what 8 different pieces of technology can do in on.  Technology has become just another part of the person and when a person can not have there technology then they start to have anxiety that they are missing something important that is happening in their friends lives.

Another Meme that I found to be really accurate, in the past receiving paper mail was the norm and when someone would get an email on the Internet, it was so exciting because it was new and exciting. But in today's society companies are taking advantage of email because it is one of the most direct methods to send mail. However because of this technology writing letters has become an art and not many people know how to write and send a letter to communicate with one another. Today everything is becoming so instantaneous because of the Internet as well as texting.

Fish In Water

McLuhan was right when he implied that we as a society live in a media and electronic based world without being aware of the negative effects that could come from it. Like a fish that is unaware that they swim in water, we go about our every day lives engulfed in our modern electronic ways and don't often think about how we are being taken advantage of. Small gadgets have become so important to us because of efficiency, but people do not often consider how companies like Apple try to take advantage by using planned obsolescence. Not only this, but because we are so attached to these gadgets that help us to accomplish every day tasks, we ourselves are becoming more and more dependent on technology. Sooner or later, this is going to catch up to us and the human race could be in peril.

McLuhan vs. Technology

This image shows the evolution of man and the different methods of survival man has developed over time; from hunting, to farming, to physical labor, to technological achievements. However, this image also illustrates how man appears to be going backwards evolutionary-wise. The first half of this image shows the progressive improvement of each individual man’s posture, appearance and technology over time. Although man’s technology and appearance continues to advance in the second half of this image, his posture almost reverses, returning to the state it was before his evolutionary process even began. 

If this image were shown to Marshall McLuhan, I believe he would argue the reverse in evolution is a direct result of technological advancement. One of McLuhan’s main points in his interview with Playboy was that the development of technology lifted society out of our natural, cultural roots and almost brainwashed us to the point where we are unaware of events occurring in our surrounding environment. I think McLuhan would agree with this image because it is showing that the latest technology has brought humanity back to an animal-like state of intelligence and focus.