week 11

Week 11: How does Hill define reality TV?

Hills classifies reality TV as three main parts in defining a genre which are television industry, television scholar and television audiences. The most of television industries is creating factual entertainment as realty TV show or popular factual television in traditional. But now, Hill says reality TV is flexible which could fit any types of TV programs that industry wants to make high audiences watch rate.

There is an argument of defining reality TV from scholar in the text. Hill points that most of television scholars have same trend to discuss reality TV to ‘reality genre’. They highlight that “subgenres within realty TV are the result of a complex borrowing from other television genres.”(p 49).  The definitions from television audiences are quite different as well. The reason they have several definition is because they have added what they think of reality TV and it depends on what show they have been watched.

Thus, why reality TV shows is so successful is because it has created the real environment, some real personality on character and manipulate how the viewers would feel. There is no such correct definition of reality TV but many completed definition of reality genre.

Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 14 – 40). Oxon: Routledge. 

week 6

Week 6 : What are the underlying thematics of Princess Mononoke? How does it ‘defamiliarise’ its historical setting, according to Napier (2005)?

Princess mononoke is a story about how human ignore natural environment to mine ores. The consequence of being destroy nature is that animals from forest revenge. Living in a harmony with nature always is a issue until now. Through the whole story, love has been a clue between Ashitaka and San, between San and wolf and between forest spirit and forest.

At the beginning of the films, San is not the one playing the hero, but is Ashitaka shows up with a handsome looking and ride in a horse. This is quite clear for audiences that Ashitaka is a key character for the whole film. However, for the whole film, the animals in forest are the clue is a clear clue; they fight for freedom and get survival. The love between Ashitaka and San is another clue that is potential. The most wonderful sense is when Ashitaka says to San that she is so beauty. Why is that so impressive? From Ashitaka’s point of view, he is into her and it’s a reveal. He is nearly dead, so it’s what he want to tell San and hope she can understand. However, San seems shocked, the reason why she so uncomfortable is because she never like human before even though she is a human and no one says what Ashitaka says before. She is brought up by wolfs. She changes from wanting to kill Ashitaka at first to fall in love with him. That wells up out of a theme with ‘love’, closely link with ‘freedom’. From my point of view, the behavior that these animal fight with human although they know that’s would be no chance to win is a dauntless spirit. The ‘family love’ is happening at Moro saves San when she is nearly dead. And at the ends, the forest spirit, Jigo sacrifices its life to restore the earth. That’s a love to his forest.

According to Napier (2005), he points out “de-familiarizes the myth of the Japanese as living in harmony with nature de-familiarizes conventional notion of Japanese history through Miyazak’s decision to set the film during the fourteenth-century.  ” (2005, p. 233). Furthermore, Miyazaki choose make the film while anime is being ‘high cultural’ at that time to represent the inharmonious between human and nature when the world is being technical. This film is made from myth which is not real history.   

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

week 10

Week 10 : How do you think Buffy has influenced the contemporary vampire drama “True Blood” and the “Twilight” series of novels and films?

In late 1990s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer actually can be thought as a master work of this type of TV, it's one of the most popular American TV series. Later on, there is a great mass fervour of vampire move in American. There are two examples of contemporary works which are ‘true blood’ and ‘twilight’. I am most of teenagers have seen any of them and wait to see more with passion.

These three works have similarity that they all got romantic gothic literature. Romantic gothic literature emphasizes that creation freedom, against classism and requires breakthrough literature reality. They re-excavate the history themes that classism thinks it’s dark. These three vampire TV shows do break the normal traditional way of against forces of darkness. Not only excellent special effects and confusing plots have appeal us so much but also the film has add the elements of youth and love. In these stories, love has been a clue. Buffy has fallen in love Angel however it makes Angel loses his soul become a monster. In season 5, Buffy sacrifice herself in order to save the world. While Buffy is hunting the vampires, she is try find a balance of the family, friendship and love.

Through what I find in the ‘Buffy’, these are what happen in the ‘true blood’ and ‘twilight’ as well. ‘Buffy’ has been the leader of this type of film is because it breaks the rules of saying darkness and love. Vampires are not always bad, they have got love same as human. But human sometimes can be so selfish and evil while they feel lost. We can easily find the later work of vampire films has some shadow of ‘Buffy’.

Has courage to break down the normal rules to represent the niceness in a different way. It’s like find a little bit sunshine in the dark, its novelty. That’s the reason ‘buffy’ would have a impressive effect to later vampire works.

Rose, A (2002) Of creatures and creators: Buffy does Frankenstein, in R. Wilcox & D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

week 9

Week 9 what role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?

According to Hill (2004), fandom has enthusiastic passions with cult TV. Once they are into any one of cult TV they will appreciate of the work and keep their loyalty to watch cult TV. Audiences would like to watch cult TV through the fan culture. Fans for cult TV distinguish to other genres TV program because they might make the elements of making TV show. A great cult TV wouldn’t be made for commercial activities; it’s more for fans activities, because “always define themselves against ‘consumers’.”(p.p 4, pg 517). Cult TV would become one of their habits through their lifestyle.

Media helps fans have more than one show or one star, they share qualities with others. They use ‘intersexual network’ to connect cult into their life. There are lost of website use ‘cult’ as a title because that’s what fans would like to see. Internet would be a new stage for fans to collect, share and discuss what they have found about ‘cult’ from their daily life

According to Hill (2004), the definition of cult is more equal fan audience rather than a TV show. In somehow, cult TV shows is made of audiences rather than made by produce, because fandom actually has big effect for propaganda.

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York:Routledge.  

week 4 late post

Week 4:  how does the fantasy genre relate to modern media such as video games?

There are many modern media around us such as computer games, Facebook, email, video games.  Through the text, I can tell most of the video games are made from fantasy. “The Lord of the Rings gave rise to one of the most popular of the modern game-genres, the RPG (roleplaying game).” (Burn, 2005, n.p).

Harry potter stories have been considered as a good structure of games. In the video game, players don’t need to be Harry Potter,  they can be themselves in the game they can play the way they like. Now days, players don’t like the game is too safe and regulated. Although the video game is based on fantasy genre, it’s different from the book or film. In the film, we only see Harry has the power to against the spider, in the game is different players’ skill become most important power , they have their own way to make game has the scene only happens in the game.  So actually, a fantasy move could be shown so many types in the video games.

Furthermore, Harry is gaining his power for later challenges by go the lesson in the games, in the meantime,  the players  is improving their play skills as well.  One of the group, they are caring about how they feel of Harry, is like in the move. They do feel the same position. However, there are some plays don’t have time to worry about Harry’s feeling.  That’s may is the difference between film and games. The person controls the feeling whoever is the narrator or the players.

Reference:

Burn, A (2005). ‘Potter-Literacy-from book to game and back again; literature, film,game and cross-media literacy’, in papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature Vol 14,NO3

week 3 late post

Week 3 ：how does Attebery(1980) define fantasy? Find at least 5 definitions?

Atterbey thinks the fantasy world is like the film ‘The Lord of Rings’. Fantasy is an arbitrary construct with all sorts of imagination.

 “Any narrative which includes as a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law-that is fantasy.” Fantasy can be made up with around magic objects. The environment can be one of the elements to show fantasy. According the text, except from the objects, characters, events can help us make difference between fantasy and related genres. “Fantasy is a game of sorts, and it demands that one play whole-heartedly, accepting for the moment all rules and turns of the game.” The ‘marvelous’ Is the point of fantasy because all supernatural happenings is unquestionably of fantasy. Fantasy is like ‘fairytale’ more generally termed nonsense or absurdity. Fantasy can be found any of normal and basic things in the life they are happened in normal life such as life, death, good, and evil. This is folktale. “folktale was one of the early genres of folktale.

Attebery, B. (1980). Locating fantasy. In The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guinn (pp. 2-9). Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1980

week 2 late post

Week 2: what does Baetons(2001) mean by ‘monstration’, ‘graphiation’,and ‘graphiateur’?

As my point of view, the graphic is narrative utterance. It’s going to give readers a first rough copy which makes them discover something of the initial narrative drawing. Sometime even it gives reader different impression compare with ending it doesn’t matter because it might be an unfinished drawing.

All drawing is made of three features what are lines, contours and color that the narrative is the agent who is responsible for it. Marion does not see garphiation as a different and parallel type of narration, but as a subordinate part of it.

To analysis the specific narrative situation of movies as the hierarchical combination of several types of narration or, that Marion calls it as “monstration”.

From the article, garhiation is more about self is like narration. It obviously shows self identity and thoughts. By proposing to add to the point, it mentions that monstration is going to be more detail and far from having the same figurative transparency in comics.

Therefore, ‘garphiation’ is related to the character in the drawing by adding personality of artist.

References  
Baetons, J. (2001). Revealing Traces: a new theory of graphic enunciation. In Varnum,R.& Gibbons, C. (Eds), The Language of Comics: world and image (pp/ 145-155), Jackson: U Press of Mississippi.