Intertextuality Redundancy

     Although it's always nice to spot an intertextuality, sometimes it can be overwhelming, and just doesn't have the same excitement as the first time we find it. It becomes redundant and not as interesting anymore. Let's take a look at Scary Movie. It's a spoof of many popular horror movies which are combined together in one story line. It was funny, entertaining, and quite popular in the 2000. Followed by its success, there are a couple other movies alike. However, they weren't not as funny and entertaining as Scary Movie. They even  tried with the Scary Movie 2, but the result was pretty disappointing.

     The first Scary Movie grosses around 278 million USD worldwide, and the second one released in 2001, grosses around 141 million USD. That's only about half of it. While other movies alike such as; Epic Movie which was released in 2006, grosses around 86 million USD, and Superhero movie which was released in 2008, with only 71 million USD. 

      By looking at the numbers, we can see the drop of people's interests overtime on these kind of movies. Although, redundancy can do good in some cases like; language learning, memorizing things, etc, but in media it's mostly not a good idea.

sources: http://boxofficemojo.com

Culture in Media Thoughts

       A bold and unique culture usually found in an isolated place where everybody seems to follow to a certain rules or habits. In a more diverse place however, is sometimes not very strong. Recently, the London Olympics has gotten the most attention from the world. Everyone still remembers how great the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics in 2008 back then, and people think that there is no way London was going to beat that. And they are right, I personally think that the opening ceremony in London was okay. It was grand and hype with all the fireworks and performances, but there is nothing really memorable. Unlike the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony which I still can picture it in my mind. People said that it's because of the unique culture elements that China has. England on the other hand, is very diverse.
       This makes me think of my own country, Indonesia. Indonesia is a multicultural country itself. It has more than eighteen thousand islands, over five hundred languages and dialects, three hundred ethnic groups, and five different religions. But the interesting thing is despite of our backgrounds, I'm sure if I say batik represents Indonesia, most of them will agree.

Thoughts on Culture

        The first thing that comes across my mind when I heard the word "culture" is religion. The two are not the same, but are highly related. As well as religion, culture needs followers. You might have unique routine that you do everyday, but you can't call it a culture unless other people do it too. But how many people needed for something to be called a culture? Does it measure how good or bad a culture is? As for the number, I don't think there's a specific number for something to be called a culture, but it definitely doesn't tell whether a culture is bad or good. It may measure the strength of it, but it doesn't make a culture right or wrong. In religion, there is nothing as the best religion or the worst religion. My uncle who studies religions told me that every religion in the purest form is beautiful, but sometimes people misinterpret it and turn it into something else. Culture sometimes can be very weird and unusual, and makes you think why do these people do these kind of stuff. Well, I think it's the matter of beliefs. They set their minds into something, and the do what they believe in. and I think we should respect that.

Iconic and Arbitrary

        Arbitrary means a mode in which the signifier does not resemble the signified or purely conventional. For example a warning sign below;

You might or might not remember that one point in life when you asked your parents about the meaning of this sign, but for a sign like this you will need a guidance at least to really know what's its meaning.

        On the other hand, iconic is a mode in which the signifier is perceived as resembling or imitating the signified as being similar in possessing some of its qualities. For example a portrait of William Shakespeare below;

The message can be perceived easily by anyone. It is a drawing of William Shakespeare.

Few weeks ago I came across this interesting painting, painted by a Malaysian artist, Keng Seng Choo.

It is the transformation from iconic which is the birds pecking on the lower side of the painting to something more arbitrary on the middle-left area on the painting which expresses movement of the bird that I found very unique. 

Sources: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem02.html

              http://www.kengsengchoo.com/paintings/pigeons

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

           The "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The multi-faceted meanings that can be perceived from the "Cave" can be seen in the beginning with the presence of our prisoners whom are chained within the darkness of the aforementioned cave. The prisoners are bound to the floor and unable to turn their heads to see what goes on behind them. To the back of the prisoners, under the protection of the parapet, lie the puppeteers whom are casting the shadows on the wall in which the prisoners are perceiving reality. As Socrates is describing to Glaucon about the cave and the situation of the prisoners, he conveys the point that the prisoners would be inherently mistaken as to what is reality. Because we as readers know that the puppeteers behind them are using wooden and iron objects to liken the shadows to reality based items and people, the prisoners (unable to turn their heads) would know nothing else but the shadows, and perceive this as their own reality.
          This is an important development to the story because it shows us that what we perceive as real from birth is completely false based on our imperfect interpretations of reality and Goodness. They are actually names of things that are not visible to us, things that we can only grasp with the mind. This line of thinking is said to be described as "imagination," by Plato.
          Once the prisoner climbs out of the cave and is fully immersed in the sun's rays, Socrates continues to explain the prisoner's bewilderment, fear, and blindness to the objects he was now being told were real. The natural reaction of the prisoner would be to recognize shadows and reflections. After his eyes adjust to the sunlight, he begins to see items and people in their own existence, outside of any medium. This recognizes the cognitive stage of though. The prisoner now is aware of reality and truth. When this has occurred, the ultimate stage of thought has been achieved, and that is "understanding."
          Upon returning to the Cave, the prisoner would metaphorically (and literally) be entering a world of darkness yet again, and would be faced with the other unreleased prisoners. The other prisoners laugh at the released prisoner, and ridicule him for taking the useless ascent out of the cave in the first place. The others cannot understand something they have yet to experience, so it's up to this prisoner to represent leadership, for it is him alone who is conscious of goodness. It's at this point that Plato describes the philosopher kings who have recognized the Forms of Goodness as having a duty to be responsible leaders and to not feel contempt for those whom don't share his enlightenment.
          The "Allegory of the Cave" represents a complex model as to which we are to travel through our lives and understanding. The four stages of thought combined with the progress of human development represent our own path to complete awareness in which the most virtuous and distinguished will reach, and upon doing so shall lead the public. The story as told by Socrates and Glaucon presents a unique look at the way in which reality plays such an important part in our own existence, and how one understands it can be used as a qualification for leadership and government.

source: http://voices.yahoo.com/platos-allegory-cave-analysis-summary-25170.html

Ideas and Individualism

     In the video, it's explained how great ideas come from several good ideas combined together. A group of people looking at a problem from different perspectives and provide contribution to the solution. In a modern society, individualism is widely spread. Not limited by traditions, religion, etc, a person can do and/or think whatever he wants. However, this can lead to negative behaviors such as; egoism, anti-socialism, etc. and this concerns me because the only way good ideas can grow into great ones is by discussing with other people. Even a genius man like Albert Einstein, shared his ideas and feelings with his close friends.
http://famous-relationships.topsynergy.com/Albert_Einstein/

Modernism and Individualism

     The rise of capitalism in the early nineteenth century marked the appearance of the language individualism.

The capitalism economic system emphasized the individual both as the holder of self-interest and as the foundation of all legal rights. One of the famous people that supported economic individualism was Adam Smith. Although he is sometimes labeled as the first great capitalism economist, he preferred to describe his system as "natural liberty". When individuals are left to their own devices, Smith held, the ensuing system possesses an inherently self-adjusting quality that will ensure the maximum satisfaction of individual desires. 

Edmund Burke was concerned that this would lead to the fragmentation of persons into atomized individuals lacking any sense of identity or place. The French social commentator Alexis de Tocqueville similarly believed it might lead to individualistic isolation in which people retreat from public life into families and small groups of interested combines.Nietzsche proposed, instead, that an individual might attain the "transvaluation of values," by which he meant that one could generate authentically for one's self the unique principles that would guide oneself and oneself alone. The authentic individual must discover in a radically individualized way those precepts that realize his or her own valuation.

source: http://science.jrank.org/pages/9786/Individualism-Individualism-Modern-Society.html

Impersonations and intertextuality

After reading Media Intertextuality chapter in the AS Media Studies book, I acknowledge forms of intertextuality such as; mimicry, parody, pastiche, homage. One thing that came through my mind was what about impersonations. One of the best impersonators I've known is Kevin Spacey who is a very good actor himself. Here is a video of him, impersonating some of other well-known actors.

The interesting thing about impersonations is that it's a mix of mimicry, and parody, but it can be a form of homage as well. It's definitely a mimicry because as you can see Kevin Spacey tries to imitate other actors. not just voices, but also their expressions and behaviors. A little bit of parody here as well because even though you don't recognize any of the actor that he impersonates, you can tell by the reactions of the audiences, the host of the show, and even Kevin Spacey himself. However, it is also some sort of a homage. In order to do such things, He must have watched and analyze their movements, expressions, voices, etc multiple times.

Intertextuality in Movies

Recently, I have been working on making movie posters. The movie that I've been working on is The Matrix. One of my favorite movies.Thought provoking and has very interesting depths and details. After watching it so many times, I've found some interesting intertextualities in it. let's take a look at the obvious one.

"Follow the white rabbit." One of the early scenes in the movies. If you've ever watched Alice in Wonderland , the original cartoon of course, your childhood was awesome and you'll get this reference right away. White rabbit in Alice in Wonderland leads Alice to the Wonderland itself. In this case, it leads Neo to the Matrix world.

Some say the movie has some religious elements in it. Let's have a look at the characters.

Neo, Morpheus, Agent Smith, Trinity, Oracle, Tank, Dozer, and Cypher. The story behind these character names are related to a couple theories; classic mythology, Greek mythology, The Bible, Latin, and even anagram. "Neo" is actually an anagram of "One" and his given name in the movie "Thomas" which in the bible is a man who doubts Jesus. "Trinity", the number three is a powerful number in many stories and traditions. "The Father, son, and holy spirit" from the Bible is related  as well I believe. Morpheus as the "father", Neo as "son", and Trinity as "holy spirit".

As you can see, the characters, the scenes everything in the movie seems to be carefully thought and meaningful. which is difficult to find these days. There are more things that I can list out, but I'm afraid I've gone to the rabbit hole a little too deep.

source: http://www.thematrix101.com/matrix/symbolism.php

The Hero's Journey

    

                        The Hero's Journey is a pattern of narrative that was identified by Joseph Campbell. This pattern can found in books, myths, religious rituals, psychological developments, and my personal favourite; movies.    It all starts with "The Ordinary World" stage. The hero is introduced to the audience against a background of an environment. Then, "The Call to Adventure" stage. Something comes in to the hero's life, so that the hero must face the beginnings of change.  "Refusal of Call". The hero feels the fear and tries to turn away from the adventure briefly."Meeting with the Mentor" is a stage where the hero comes across someone who gives him or her training and advice that will help on the adventure. Then, "Tests, Allies and Enemies" stage. The hero is tested and sorts out problems. "The Approach".  The hero and his/her new allies prepare for the major challenge. And comes, "The Ordeal". The hero confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Sounds similar? There are still a couple more stages. "The Reward" stage.  The hero takes possession of the prize won by facing his/her fear.   and then, "The Resurrection" stage. At the climax, the hero is tested one more time, but on a higher level. By the hero’s action, the conflicts at the beginning are finally resolved. Finally, "Return with the Elixir" stage. The hero returns home or continues the journey with elements of the prize that the hero won. Think about some books or movies that you've read or watched. I had my mind blown when I found out about such pattern. A hidden intertextuality used by great movie makers and writers.                                                        

      

       source: http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm

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