For this assignment, I chose the film "Saving Private Ryan,'' which is a 1998 American war drama film set during the Invasion of Normandy which took place in World War II. The film has been put in the spotlight for its famous opening scene of the American soldiers storming the beach in Normandy which is the only non fictional part of the whole storyline. The film eventually went on to receive five well deserved Oscars in 1999. There are a plethora of filmic elements throughout this entire film, mainly including realism, intensity, movement, scale, etc., that make the film a perfect haven for anyone interested in film and media studies. The director uses numerous ways to demonstrate how the brutal the war actually was and uses many cinematic techniques to express as well as illustrate this. Though there are numerous methods utilized in the film, the four most prominent are the lighting used, color of the landscape, the camera angles/shots and Mise En Scene. This film is interesting because the director, Spielberg, was chasing for a realistic film based on the war but only ended up basing the opening scene on genuine, realistic events. The rest of the film is not historically accurate and the remaining storyline is totally fictional to the actual events of World War II but it is the opening scene that sets the tone for the audience. The opening scene is set on Omaha Beach which was a main stronghold and entry point in Normandy, a part of France heavily occupied by the German forces. Captain John Miller who is played by Tom Hanks and his men are searching for Private James Ryan who is the only surviving son of the Ryan family.
In the opening scene, the director uses a wide variety of techniques to grab the viewer's attention and set the stage for an intense battle. The first obvious technique is the color of not only the entire landscape (water, sky), but the faces of the soldiers prior to storming the beach. The sky is gray, dull and desaturated as well as the water, even though as a viewer you aren't there on the beach, you can still get a taste of how cold the water is from the use of color. The grey and pale faces of the soldiers as they are on the landing crafts awaiting their fate symbolize how emotionally stricken and drained they are by the war. The dull colors set the overall depressing tone of the scene and enables the viewer to feel the strong emotions of being terrified, uneasy and tense by the looks of the soldier's faces. One soldier begins to projectile vomit, while another kisses his cross which shows how unsure they were of their survival once the gates of the landing crafts dropped to release them into hell on earth. In addition to colors and saturation playing a roll in the mood of the scene, the movement and scale are vital in delivering the effect. Once the gates drop, the angle of the scene is as if the viewer is behind the soldiers in the landing craft with the machine gun infested bunkers looming off in the distance. This depicts the soldiers as sitting ducks for the German gunners who are well protected in the bunkers hundreds of yards away. The scale of the bunkers being so small compared to the soldiers in this instance is sort of an illusion that shows just how far the American soldiers have to go until they can reach where the Germans are. The aspect of sound in film is just as important as any other film technique and it greatly assists to the realism of any situation. In this film, the sound of machine gun fire, exploding bombs, sniper fire, tanks and mortar in combination with the visualization of the horrors of war make for a realistic feeling for any viewer. In the opening scene, Captain Miller played by Hanks is seemingly shell-shocked and traumatized within minutes of storming the beach and the sound is muffled and suppressed for this clip to symbolize the deep confusion felt by Hanks in this scene. The distant sounds of bombs going off, gunfire, men screaming as they lay dying is extremely intense and makes the viewer feel as if their eardrums are actually popped from the bombs and gunfire going off. Not only in the opening scene is the effect of sound utilized, all throughout the film the sounds of gunfire, enemies and comrades screaming as they suffer before succumbing to their injuries gives the viewer the notion of death and it's eeriness. The scene of the American sniper calmly speaking to himself before picking off his enemies with precision unlike anything else also utilizes sound, though it is much more subtle. Overall, the realism in this film is present regardless of how historically accurate the entire storyline is. The soldiers on both sides that don uniforms that are mirror images of the genuine uniforms worn in the war, the brutality, gruesomeness of the injuries from bombs and gunfire, realistic weapons paired with the enemy speaking their own language makes for a cinematic experience unlike anything else. All of these elements and concepts throughout the film kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entirety of the film due to the fact that I got the sensation of realism produced from this film. Watching this film with surround sound and the lights slightly dimmed gave me the illusion that I was fighting alongside the soldiers and the battle was taking place in my own home. Had this been a documentary for example, it would send a different message, definitely had been more dull and not given me the same insight provided as this war drama did. It utilizes a plethora of intricate techniques to deliver an extremely strong message to anyone viewing it, war is hell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT3q8tba_lw
0 Comments
Pros and Cons of Media Consolidation
Media consolidation also know as media convergence is the concentration of media ownership with only a few companies or individuals. Media consolidation has been stiring up debate on whether it is more of a positive or negative thing. You can argue both sides due to the pros and cons. With media convergence comes convergence technologys. Phones, TVs, and internet can be purchased from a single company making it easier for people to only have to pay one bill. Another benefit of media convergence is people have the control and not the governemnt. Since the media is controlled by what people want to see, the people have the most say, giving the government little to no power. The cons of media consolidation may outweigh the pros for many reasons. Donald Trump was quoted saying "It is too much power in the hands of too few". There is a lack of competing viewpoints and perspecitives because these big media companies are in charge of controlling all aspects of the industry. It is proven that this has led to lack of meaningful content and alternate viewpoints in the media. The next con is with media convergence, money has become more important than public interest. The consumer can't do anything about the medias lack of variety because they have no alternatives. Therefore they must pay the price even if it is too high. Media consolidation has had a negative impact on journalism and the ability of news to provide important democratic information to it's citizens. There is a loss of factual information and more opinionistic view points.
2) Single Ladies- Beyonce You won't ever want to be in a relationship after the top hit "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. It may even be a lesson to men when her lyrics say "If you like it then you should have put a ring on it" I know I'm happy to be single when I hear this song. Beyonce has a way of empowering woman to be strong and independent. This song is a great example that you don't need anyone but yourself to be happy. Beyonce really hit home with this one. Director Brett Gaylor produced "RIP: A Remix Manifesto", an interesting documentary on copyright and culture. The cast includes Girl Talk, Lawrence Lessig, and Corey Doctorow. The film is structured on four main topics: Culture always builds on a past, the past always trys to control the future, our future is becoming less free, and to build free societys you must limit the control of the past. Gaylor titled this film as the "worlds first open documentary". He uses the terms "CopyRIGHT" and "CopyLEFT". CopyRIGHT is suppose to represent the free exchange of ideas and "CopyLEFT" is suppose to represent the free flow and growth of creativity and ideas. RiP: A Remix Manifesto made its international debut at the International Documentary Film Festival Amerstdam in November of 2008.
The United States and Russia have never been able to see eye to eye. Recently, there has been a lot of conflict between the U.S. and Russia shown in the news and media. One of the main issues we are facing is Russia’s impact on the United States during the 2016 presidential election. Russia has been putting out misinformation about the United States to the media throughout the election. There have been accusations that Russia is hacking American elections to influence the upcoming vote. Corey Flintoff (Former Senior NPR Correspondent), stated that Russian President Vladimir Putman claims to not take any part or interest in other countries elections. I do not believe this to be true because many Russians have been in favor of Donald Trump. The effect this might have on America is how our upcoming presisential election will result. With Russia being in favor of trump the chances of him being elected for president are higher and will decrease Hillary Clinton’s votes.
The problems we are facing today with Russia will not only affect our relationship with them now, but it will also have a great impact on our future relationship with Russians. Russia has been known for their spreading of false stories in the media and until this comes to an end the U.S. and Russia will always have ongoing problems. Corey Flintoff stated, “Putin has succeeded in many ways in making Russia an essential player there. He seems to have stabilized the Assad regime. And he has limited the options for the U.S. and its allies, you know. He has air control over a significant amount of territory. And he can prevent the allies from establishing a no-fly zone there.” I think the main thing to understand is Russia and the United States operate in very different ways and in order to have peace we must be able to see eye to eye. Sources: https://www.rt.com/news/362695-russia-us-relations-scorched/ |