Bagdikian complains of a need that have adolescents to identify themselves or make themselves cool that can be met (seemingly no other way) through the media and by buying things.
Good point Bagdikian.
When I was in high school I noticed a wave of "cool" changing. At first it was cool to be like everyone else. Then it was suddenly cool to be an individual. And the way to be an individual was to dress differently than everyone else. Thus Hot Topic (or Hot Topic came, thus the changing of what was cool).
Hot Topic mass produces what isn't "in" (but of course, it really is in).
Teens across the nation flocked to this goth store where they found the keys to their identity. They all banned together to be individuals...together. They went against the crowd, they swam upstreem together.
So did anything really change? Hardly.
I think this is a good example of Bagdikian's three complaints.
1) Adolescents have increasingly fewer resources for identity outside of the media-corporation-produced mainstream.
2) The "Cool" available through media is dependent on endlessly purchasing products and access.
3) The stereotypes and caricatures presented do not provide resources for living in soceity (mooks and midriffs do not orient people towards being).
People feel the need to identify themselves and they do this by observing other people and then buying things that make them who they are.
~Nadia
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Silver Bullets
So...I just realized that I've only posted one blog this entire month. That's somehow surprising to me. I think it's because I always plan what I'm going to write in a blog. But now I see that I haven't actually written anything at all.
Aaannnyway...let's talk about the Magic Silver Bullet Effect.
We briefly touched on it tonight at our study session or else I might have forgotten about it. But I have noticed it running rampant through the Internet, television and conversation as of late.
You know why? Because everyone loves a tragedy.
As I'm sure you heard, there was a student at Virginia Tech decided that he'd shoot a lot of people at school. So last Monday 32 people died and many more were injured from the bullets shot by Seung-Hu Cho. It has been labeled as the largest massacre in the history of the United States.
And as I'll bet you also heard, lots and lots of people have the answer to problems to things like this. I'm sure you hear it all of the time. Columbine, 9/11 all of the major tragedies. And even though we all mourn at times like this, I have a sneaking suspicion that people love to take these opportunities to indulge in long and senseless ramblings of their opinions concerning such issues.
The Magic Silver Bullet Effect suggests that our media texts affect us in immediate, powerful, direct and uniform ways. I noticed that a lot of people tend to lean that toward that belief when these tragedies occur. Or at least they voice their opinions about them more.
Someone pointed out the high correlation bewteen kids who are violent and kids who play video games (particularly violent video games). I thought this was an absurd connection to make in the same way that it's absurd to compare the number of people who get in car accidents and the number of people who own microwaves. A lot of people get in car crashes and a lot of people own microwaves. The correlation is probably higher there because most people own microwaves, but the fact is a lot of kids play video games. I don't know exact numbers, but even without them I always thought it was ridiculous that Magic Bullet believers didn't realize this on their own.
More people seem to believe in Magic Silver Bullets than I thought. Would Seung-Hui Cho have shot up the school if he never played a video game, listened to any music or watched a movie? Maybe not. But I like to think that the media is less like a bullet and more like...ultra violent rays? They slowly soak into your skin, sometimes burning you immediately. But the burning fades away. You play in the sun a lot and still protect your skin from the rays. You can too much sun, you can get too little. See where I'm going? So on and so on.
~Nadia
Aaannnyway...let's talk about the Magic Silver Bullet Effect.
We briefly touched on it tonight at our study session or else I might have forgotten about it. But I have noticed it running rampant through the Internet, television and conversation as of late.
You know why? Because everyone loves a tragedy.
As I'm sure you heard, there was a student at Virginia Tech decided that he'd shoot a lot of people at school. So last Monday 32 people died and many more were injured from the bullets shot by Seung-Hu Cho. It has been labeled as the largest massacre in the history of the United States.
And as I'll bet you also heard, lots and lots of people have the answer to problems to things like this. I'm sure you hear it all of the time. Columbine, 9/11 all of the major tragedies. And even though we all mourn at times like this, I have a sneaking suspicion that people love to take these opportunities to indulge in long and senseless ramblings of their opinions concerning such issues.
The Magic Silver Bullet Effect suggests that our media texts affect us in immediate, powerful, direct and uniform ways. I noticed that a lot of people tend to lean that toward that belief when these tragedies occur. Or at least they voice their opinions about them more.
Someone pointed out the high correlation bewteen kids who are violent and kids who play video games (particularly violent video games). I thought this was an absurd connection to make in the same way that it's absurd to compare the number of people who get in car accidents and the number of people who own microwaves. A lot of people get in car crashes and a lot of people own microwaves. The correlation is probably higher there because most people own microwaves, but the fact is a lot of kids play video games. I don't know exact numbers, but even without them I always thought it was ridiculous that Magic Bullet believers didn't realize this on their own.
More people seem to believe in Magic Silver Bullets than I thought. Would Seung-Hui Cho have shot up the school if he never played a video game, listened to any music or watched a movie? Maybe not. But I like to think that the media is less like a bullet and more like...ultra violent rays? They slowly soak into your skin, sometimes burning you immediately. But the burning fades away. You play in the sun a lot and still protect your skin from the rays. You can too much sun, you can get too little. See where I'm going? So on and so on.
~Nadia
Monday, April 2, 2007
The Relationship Between Dane and Me
It was brought to my attention in class this morning that Dane Cook and I haeve a parasocial relationship. I am in a parasocial relationship with Dane Cook. I like the way that sounds. It makes me want to go on Facebook and change my relationship status from "single" to "parasocial" and then link my site to Dane's.
Oh how Dane Cook loves me.
Anyhoo, I was looking at my parasocaial scale and I decided to a little outline of it.
1) The media text shows you what Dane Cook is like.
Five
I strongly agree. From what I have heard from my Dane Cook media texts, I have become fully aware that Dane is an observant man who is very funny, energetic and lives a life much like you and I do. He puts a lot of personality into his work.
2) When Dane Cook jokes around with someone else, it makes the media text easier to watch.
Five.
I have chosen to interpret the word "easier" as "better." And "someone else" is "someone else-ish." I'd say that is fairly subjective. For the most part, Daney Boy stands alone up on his stage. But while he's telling his stories he includes a lot of other people and he imitates them so it seems as if Dane isn't the only one on stage. So his act is much better when he's joking with "someone else." Also, I'm quite sure that I am included under "someone else" and I am positive that when Dane Cook jokes, he jokes with me.
3) When Dane Cook shows me how he feels about an issue, it helps me make up my own mind about the news story.
One
Dane and I don't usually discuss these types of things.
4) I feel sorry for Dane if he makes a mistake.
One
If Dane Cook makes a mistake I laugh.
5) When I am watching/ listening to Dane Cook I feel as f I am part of the group.
Five
Absolutely. I am a member of the gigantic, laughing audience . And quite often, my beloved looks directly at me.
6) I like to compare my ideas with what Dane says.
Five
I do this more with Dane than with anyone else. Mostly because everything he says relates to my life. In fact, my friend and I came up with our own formula for how to tell a Dane Cook story.
-Find an average story and break it apart in to pieces.
-Point out the obvious in an exaggerated way.
-Coin your own terms and phrases for describing every day thoughts, ideas and occurrences.
-Use the Dane Voice Intonation
-Repeat yourself with emphasis
And voila, there ya go. You've got yourself a story exactly the way my Dane would tell it.
7) Dane makes me feel comfortable as if I am with friends.
Five
Dane Cook and are good friends indeed.
8) I see Dane as a natural, down-to-Earth person.
Five
He completely is. Dane Cook is just like you and me. He stands in long lines at Walgreens and buys things he didn't intend to get at first, he cries when he's upset, he likes to eat twistie cones. Dane Cooks life very average, he's just really good at being funny/
9) I like hearing Dane Cook's voice at home.
Five
I like hearing his voice anywhere. At any moment I'm ready to hop on that great Dane Train.
10) Dane keeps me company when I watch/ listen to the him.
Five
It's true. When Dane is playing in the car, Dane is riding in the car.
11) I look forward to watching Sir. Dane-a-lot on television.
Five
Why yes, as a matter of fact I do. In fact, I make plans to watch his DVDs with my friends. We go over each other's houses and enjoy him together. Dane can party with us any time.
12) If Dane appeared in another text, I would watch or read that text.
Another Five
Oh, most certainly. I remember when I first heard that Dane Cook would be in a movie. I was like, "What, a movie??? I have to see that." I haven't seen it yet, and I heard it wasn't that great but I still have every intention of experiencing a Dane Cook movie. Why? Because I love him. And if I ever come across a magazine or newspaper article I'll read it.
13) When my Dane performs, he seems to understand the kins of things I want to know.
Four
I suppose. After all, I want to know what Dane's going to say next. He understands that.
14) I sometimes make remarks to my Dane Cook on television.
Five
If by sometimes you mean often, then yes. Dane and I practically engage in full conversation at times.
15) If there was a story about Dane in the newspaper or a magzine, I would read it.
Five
Please refer to number twelve.
16) I miss seeing Dane when he has been absent from my life for a while.
Five
In fact, I am going through a small Dane Cook withdrawal right now. I need to go watch Tourgasm.
17) I would like to meet Dane Cook in person.
FIVE
I would be over come with joy to meet dear Dane.
18) I think Dane Cook is like an old friend.
Three
Not so much an old friend as a very good friend.
19) I find Dane Cook to be attractive.
Father, I cannot tell a lie. Dane Cook is an attractive man.
20) I am not as satisfied when I read or listen to similar media texts from other comedians.
Three
It depends on who it is. I do compare other comedians to Dane a lot, and since he is one of my favourites I am often less satisfied. But there are other comedians that I like just as much as or more than Dane (sorry Love). So it's just a matter of who those other comedians are.
That puts me at an 84. It was 71 when I first took it, but after upon further investigation and a bit of revaluation I decided that the relationship that Dane and I have is, in fact, even stronger than I ever realized.
so there we have it kids. I am in a parasocial relationship with Dane Cook. Facebook, here I come.
~Nadia
Oh how Dane Cook loves me.
Anyhoo, I was looking at my parasocaial scale and I decided to a little outline of it.
1) The media text shows you what Dane Cook is like.
Five
I strongly agree. From what I have heard from my Dane Cook media texts, I have become fully aware that Dane is an observant man who is very funny, energetic and lives a life much like you and I do. He puts a lot of personality into his work.
2) When Dane Cook jokes around with someone else, it makes the media text easier to watch.
Five.
I have chosen to interpret the word "easier" as "better." And "someone else" is "someone else-ish." I'd say that is fairly subjective. For the most part, Daney Boy stands alone up on his stage. But while he's telling his stories he includes a lot of other people and he imitates them so it seems as if Dane isn't the only one on stage. So his act is much better when he's joking with "someone else." Also, I'm quite sure that I am included under "someone else" and I am positive that when Dane Cook jokes, he jokes with me.
3) When Dane Cook shows me how he feels about an issue, it helps me make up my own mind about the news story.
One
Dane and I don't usually discuss these types of things.
4) I feel sorry for Dane if he makes a mistake.
One
If Dane Cook makes a mistake I laugh.
5) When I am watching/ listening to Dane Cook I feel as f I am part of the group.
Five
Absolutely. I am a member of the gigantic, laughing audience . And quite often, my beloved looks directly at me.
6) I like to compare my ideas with what Dane says.
Five
I do this more with Dane than with anyone else. Mostly because everything he says relates to my life. In fact, my friend and I came up with our own formula for how to tell a Dane Cook story.
-Find an average story and break it apart in to pieces.
-Point out the obvious in an exaggerated way.
-Coin your own terms and phrases for describing every day thoughts, ideas and occurrences.
-Use the Dane Voice Intonation
-Repeat yourself with emphasis
And voila, there ya go. You've got yourself a story exactly the way my Dane would tell it.
7) Dane makes me feel comfortable as if I am with friends.
Five
Dane Cook and are good friends indeed.
8) I see Dane as a natural, down-to-Earth person.
Five
He completely is. Dane Cook is just like you and me. He stands in long lines at Walgreens and buys things he didn't intend to get at first, he cries when he's upset, he likes to eat twistie cones. Dane Cooks life very average, he's just really good at being funny/
9) I like hearing Dane Cook's voice at home.
Five
I like hearing his voice anywhere. At any moment I'm ready to hop on that great Dane Train.
10) Dane keeps me company when I watch/ listen to the him.
Five
It's true. When Dane is playing in the car, Dane is riding in the car.
11) I look forward to watching Sir. Dane-a-lot on television.
Five
Why yes, as a matter of fact I do. In fact, I make plans to watch his DVDs with my friends. We go over each other's houses and enjoy him together. Dane can party with us any time.
12) If Dane appeared in another text, I would watch or read that text.
Another Five
Oh, most certainly. I remember when I first heard that Dane Cook would be in a movie. I was like, "What, a movie??? I have to see that." I haven't seen it yet, and I heard it wasn't that great but I still have every intention of experiencing a Dane Cook movie. Why? Because I love him. And if I ever come across a magazine or newspaper article I'll read it.
13) When my Dane performs, he seems to understand the kins of things I want to know.
Four
I suppose. After all, I want to know what Dane's going to say next. He understands that.
14) I sometimes make remarks to my Dane Cook on television.
Five
If by sometimes you mean often, then yes. Dane and I practically engage in full conversation at times.
15) If there was a story about Dane in the newspaper or a magzine, I would read it.
Five
Please refer to number twelve.
16) I miss seeing Dane when he has been absent from my life for a while.
Five
In fact, I am going through a small Dane Cook withdrawal right now. I need to go watch Tourgasm.
17) I would like to meet Dane Cook in person.
FIVE
I would be over come with joy to meet dear Dane.
18) I think Dane Cook is like an old friend.
Three
Not so much an old friend as a very good friend.
19) I find Dane Cook to be attractive.
Father, I cannot tell a lie. Dane Cook is an attractive man.
20) I am not as satisfied when I read or listen to similar media texts from other comedians.
Three
It depends on who it is. I do compare other comedians to Dane a lot, and since he is one of my favourites I am often less satisfied. But there are other comedians that I like just as much as or more than Dane (sorry Love). So it's just a matter of who those other comedians are.
That puts me at an 84. It was 71 when I first took it, but after upon further investigation and a bit of revaluation I decided that the relationship that Dane and I have is, in fact, even stronger than I ever realized.
so there we have it kids. I am in a parasocial relationship with Dane Cook. Facebook, here I come.
~Nadia
Friday, March 30, 2007
I Am a Fan of Many Things
This morning in class we discussed fandom and how it helps us build identity and community. So I've decided to take a look at myself and see howmy life is made up of fandom of different sorts.
Fandom builds our identities:
By articulating our personal identities:
*Through Inspiration to try new things
Let's see. I already said in class that I want to be a martial artist. Would I ever want to be a martial artist if it weren't for shows like TMNT and Power Rangers? Well maybe. Both of my parents are martial artists. But they fail to make it look nearly as cool as Michelangelo does. And being like Michelangelo is just about as great as anyone can possibly be i.m.o.
*By influencing our vocational choices.
It's true. I have been influenced by a major media text that I was once a fan of when it comes to choosing a vocational path. When I was a kid, there was a show on Nickelodeon called Caitlin's Way. According to many of my friends it was a pretty lame show (which is probably why it didn't last very long). But I thought Caitlin, a troubled teen living in foster care, was pretty cool girl with a pretty cool camera. And she took pretty cool pictures. I saw that show and decided that I too would take awesome pictures and develop them beneath the red lights of wonder. So I did. And I loved it. But I'm not very good in the dark room and film photography is much too expensive, so I'm all digital now. Even so, this is what I plan to do with my life. Thank you Caitlin for showing me the way.
*Through symbolizing dreams and motives.
I suppose that it's obvious that if fandom inspires you to try new things and influences vocational choices that it must influence dreams and motives. Otherwise, we'd never try the news things or make the vocational choices. But then there are those unachievable dreams and motives.
I must say that Amy Brown, J.M. Barrie, Cicely Mary Barker and especially Bill Kroyer have motivated me to go out and try to find fairies. I've searched for fairies and dreamed of becoming a fairy all my life. Of course, I can never be a fairy because I was already born as a person. And seeing how fairies are not real, I will probably never find one (I can say that now because I am no longer child. But if a child would have said that he or she did not believe in fairies, it would have caused a fairy somewhere to drop dead. I wouldn't want to do that. But I am confident that I no longer fall under the category of child so I am not worried about it.). I am a big fan of fairies.
That's all I'm going to say about identity for now. How about community?
*Shares Values
I am a big fan of children's books. In fact, my clothes display that fandom today. My Dr.Suess hoodie, complete with Horton the Elephant and his quote "A person's a person no mater how small" is showing on the top layer with pride. But if I take that off you will see my gray "Where the Wild Things Are t-shirt, beneath." That's an amazing book. Read it to your kids.
Anyway, I love to read children's books to kids. I must say, the value they hold in these books is a bit different than the value I hold in them. Even so, the value is shared. The End.
*Developing Standards of Authority
Um...I can't quite remember what that means. Is it the one that has to do with Trekkies vs. Trekkers? If it is then I do have an example like that. I'll come back to it in a second.
*Models belonging.
I have found my sense of belonging at a place called P.I. (Perfect Isolation), which is a board for Nine Inch Nails fans. It is definitely a community and that is where the best of Nine Inch Nails fans go to talk to other NIN fans. And we have our NIN lingo which will take me back to what I said I'd get to into in a second.
If you're a NIN fan on PI, then you are a NINie. Newbs and n00bs who come to the board and address us as NINers are quickly corrected. NINes who go over-board with enthusiasm and are too often too drooly are quickly labeled as fan boys/ fan girls and dismissed. If you're a fan boy, then go back to being fifteen years old. You're not welcome at PI.
*Participate in interpretive community. Wait, maybe that's what the Trekkie vs. Trekker thing is about. I can't remember. Either way, I covered something. So that's about it.
I am a fan of many things.
~Nadia
Fandom builds our identities:
By articulating our personal identities:
*Through Inspiration to try new things
Let's see. I already said in class that I want to be a martial artist. Would I ever want to be a martial artist if it weren't for shows like TMNT and Power Rangers? Well maybe. Both of my parents are martial artists. But they fail to make it look nearly as cool as Michelangelo does. And being like Michelangelo is just about as great as anyone can possibly be i.m.o.
*By influencing our vocational choices.
It's true. I have been influenced by a major media text that I was once a fan of when it comes to choosing a vocational path. When I was a kid, there was a show on Nickelodeon called Caitlin's Way. According to many of my friends it was a pretty lame show (which is probably why it didn't last very long). But I thought Caitlin, a troubled teen living in foster care, was pretty cool girl with a pretty cool camera. And she took pretty cool pictures. I saw that show and decided that I too would take awesome pictures and develop them beneath the red lights of wonder. So I did. And I loved it. But I'm not very good in the dark room and film photography is much too expensive, so I'm all digital now. Even so, this is what I plan to do with my life. Thank you Caitlin for showing me the way.
*Through symbolizing dreams and motives.
I suppose that it's obvious that if fandom inspires you to try new things and influences vocational choices that it must influence dreams and motives. Otherwise, we'd never try the news things or make the vocational choices. But then there are those unachievable dreams and motives.
I must say that Amy Brown, J.M. Barrie, Cicely Mary Barker and especially Bill Kroyer have motivated me to go out and try to find fairies. I've searched for fairies and dreamed of becoming a fairy all my life. Of course, I can never be a fairy because I was already born as a person. And seeing how fairies are not real, I will probably never find one (I can say that now because I am no longer child. But if a child would have said that he or she did not believe in fairies, it would have caused a fairy somewhere to drop dead. I wouldn't want to do that. But I am confident that I no longer fall under the category of child so I am not worried about it.). I am a big fan of fairies.
That's all I'm going to say about identity for now. How about community?
*Shares Values
I am a big fan of children's books. In fact, my clothes display that fandom today. My Dr.Suess hoodie, complete with Horton the Elephant and his quote "A person's a person no mater how small" is showing on the top layer with pride. But if I take that off you will see my gray "Where the Wild Things Are t-shirt, beneath." That's an amazing book. Read it to your kids.
Anyway, I love to read children's books to kids. I must say, the value they hold in these books is a bit different than the value I hold in them. Even so, the value is shared. The End.
*Developing Standards of Authority
Um...I can't quite remember what that means. Is it the one that has to do with Trekkies vs. Trekkers? If it is then I do have an example like that. I'll come back to it in a second.
*Models belonging.
I have found my sense of belonging at a place called P.I. (Perfect Isolation), which is a board for Nine Inch Nails fans. It is definitely a community and that is where the best of Nine Inch Nails fans go to talk to other NIN fans. And we have our NIN lingo which will take me back to what I said I'd get to into in a second.
If you're a NIN fan on PI, then you are a NINie. Newbs and n00bs who come to the board and address us as NINers are quickly corrected. NINes who go over-board with enthusiasm and are too often too drooly are quickly labeled as fan boys/ fan girls and dismissed. If you're a fan boy, then go back to being fifteen years old. You're not welcome at PI.
*Participate in interpretive community. Wait, maybe that's what the Trekkie vs. Trekker thing is about. I can't remember. Either way, I covered something. So that's about it.
I am a fan of many things.
~Nadia
Monday, March 19, 2007
Christian Values for Society
This morning our media squad was brain storming about what we thought a good society should be based on. One of the things we decided was that our laws should be (loosely) based on good morals. And good morals, we decided, were Christian morals. Biblical morals.
This, of course, isn't to exclude other religions or beliefs from the system. We noticed that the laws we have now are based on Christian morals. For instance, most of us would agree that people should go around killing other people, or sleeping with other people's spouses. These are Biblical principals that are not unique to the Christian religion. Most societies seem to agree that laws should forbid these types of things, no matter if the ideas came from the Bible or not. The point is, it is things like these that we consider to fall under the "good morals" category. And since the word "good" is debatable, we put it under Biblical morals.
But this isn't to say that every single law should be based on whether Christians believe it is right or wrong. For instance, I would have to say that most Christians view things like abortion, (or as Andrew Rudd mentioned this morning) smoking weed and prostitution as immoral. But some would argue that these things should be legal just the same. Not because making it legal would be saying, "Yes this is good, go ahead and do it," but because these things will go on whether they are legal or not. And if they are legal, then we (the people, the government...whomever) are better able to regulate, keep it under control and if at all possible, find any beneficial sides.
Over all, though, I think that a society that is based on Christian morals (along with other qualities of course) is a good society.
~Nadia
This, of course, isn't to exclude other religions or beliefs from the system. We noticed that the laws we have now are based on Christian morals. For instance, most of us would agree that people should go around killing other people, or sleeping with other people's spouses. These are Biblical principals that are not unique to the Christian religion. Most societies seem to agree that laws should forbid these types of things, no matter if the ideas came from the Bible or not. The point is, it is things like these that we consider to fall under the "good morals" category. And since the word "good" is debatable, we put it under Biblical morals.
But this isn't to say that every single law should be based on whether Christians believe it is right or wrong. For instance, I would have to say that most Christians view things like abortion, (or as Andrew Rudd mentioned this morning) smoking weed and prostitution as immoral. But some would argue that these things should be legal just the same. Not because making it legal would be saying, "Yes this is good, go ahead and do it," but because these things will go on whether they are legal or not. And if they are legal, then we (the people, the government...whomever) are better able to regulate, keep it under control and if at all possible, find any beneficial sides.
Over all, though, I think that a society that is based on Christian morals (along with other qualities of course) is a good society.
~Nadia
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Music Can Be A Sign
Here's an entry I meant to post ages ago that has been collecting dust in my saved drafts:
Last Monday evening I watched the Oscar Awards. Everyone there was in some way involved in the creation of a movie. Dressed to impress and looking their best all in sparkles and glitter, celebrities and whatnot flocked to the ceremony. The crowd was was a mass of excited people, anxiously awaiting the announcement of who would get what award. Who would be rewarded for their hard work, time and effort? Who would be recognized? Who would be given the shiny trophy and a shining moment of glory?
When a person's name was called after being read on a card, he or she would make way to the stage beaming, speech prepared. The person was given a brief moment to accept the award and say a few words expressing gratitude and thanking the little people. After the speech was given, the orchestra (which was -amazingly to me- placed directly beneath the translucent stage floor)would begin to play happy "You've just received an Oscar" music, accompanied by jovial applause.
But I noticed that there were times where people didn't seem quite ready to let go of the microphone and prance merrily off of the stage. A person would be not quite finished speaching it up, but time had run out. So the music and applause would ring loudly, a cue to stfu and get off of the stage. This was blatantly pointed out when Al Gore jokingly stepped up to the mic prepared to announce his decision to jump into next year's presidential race. But before he could get the words out, the orchestra began to play and he was forced to head back to his seat.
Now of course Al Gore wasn't literally forced back to his seat. No one physically removed him and put him in his place. In fact, there probably isn't even a written rule. How did he know to have a seat? Was there a big sign, in all caps? ATTENTION OSCAR WINNERS: PLEASE LEAVE THE STAGE AND RETURN TO YOUR SEAT WHEN THEN MUSIC BEGINS. I doubt it.
People are able to put two and two together. Every time someone leaves the stage the same music is played. So if the music is played while no one is leaving the stage, automatically it comes to mind, "Oh, I should leave the stage now."
And think of how awkward and absurd it would have been to stay on stage and keep on talking while the orchestra played. For one thing, it would ruin the happy "You've just received an Oscar" effect that the specially chosen exiting-the-stage-music was supposed to have. How could it give the happy feeling when someone is loudly talking over it? It would have broken unspoken rules. It would have been a social no-no. Imagine what people would think, "Is he really still talking?" It would have just been an awkward moment.
Remember when Michale Jackson gave that speech accepting an award he hadn't received? Awkward...
So yeah. The exiting the stage music played is a sign. It means "Thank you come again."
~Nadia
Last Monday evening I watched the Oscar Awards. Everyone there was in some way involved in the creation of a movie. Dressed to impress and looking their best all in sparkles and glitter, celebrities and whatnot flocked to the ceremony. The crowd was was a mass of excited people, anxiously awaiting the announcement of who would get what award. Who would be rewarded for their hard work, time and effort? Who would be recognized? Who would be given the shiny trophy and a shining moment of glory?
When a person's name was called after being read on a card, he or she would make way to the stage beaming, speech prepared. The person was given a brief moment to accept the award and say a few words expressing gratitude and thanking the little people. After the speech was given, the orchestra (which was -amazingly to me- placed directly beneath the translucent stage floor)would begin to play happy "You've just received an Oscar" music, accompanied by jovial applause.
But I noticed that there were times where people didn't seem quite ready to let go of the microphone and prance merrily off of the stage. A person would be not quite finished speaching it up, but time had run out. So the music and applause would ring loudly, a cue to stfu and get off of the stage. This was blatantly pointed out when Al Gore jokingly stepped up to the mic prepared to announce his decision to jump into next year's presidential race. But before he could get the words out, the orchestra began to play and he was forced to head back to his seat.
Now of course Al Gore wasn't literally forced back to his seat. No one physically removed him and put him in his place. In fact, there probably isn't even a written rule. How did he know to have a seat? Was there a big sign, in all caps? ATTENTION OSCAR WINNERS: PLEASE LEAVE THE STAGE AND RETURN TO YOUR SEAT WHEN THEN MUSIC BEGINS. I doubt it.
People are able to put two and two together. Every time someone leaves the stage the same music is played. So if the music is played while no one is leaving the stage, automatically it comes to mind, "Oh, I should leave the stage now."
And think of how awkward and absurd it would have been to stay on stage and keep on talking while the orchestra played. For one thing, it would ruin the happy "You've just received an Oscar" effect that the specially chosen exiting-the-stage-music was supposed to have. How could it give the happy feeling when someone is loudly talking over it? It would have broken unspoken rules. It would have been a social no-no. Imagine what people would think, "Is he really still talking?" It would have just been an awkward moment.
Remember when Michale Jackson gave that speech accepting an award he hadn't received? Awkward...
So yeah. The exiting the stage music played is a sign. It means "Thank you come again."
~Nadia
Sunday, February 25, 2007
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