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| Bueso, Davidlohr. "Academy Award Winner". 9/6/2009 via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License. |
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Cluster of Stakeholders
My Cluster is aimed at unveiling both sides of the controversy on whether the Oscars are showing favoritism towards white members of the movie industry or if it is purely based off the nominees merit. Many black filmmakers who were not nominated are now boycotting the Oscars and feel discriminated against since they were not nominated and aim to increase minority representation at the Oscars. On the other side, the Academy believes that it fairly picked its candidates and wants to accommodate the misrepresented minorities without compromising it's integrity.
Reddit and What I Found There
For a forum on creative writing...
1. What kinds of things do people in the Reddit forums seem to be arguing about, debating, disagreeing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exhanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in the Reddit forums.
On the creative writing page of Reddit, there are numerous debates and meaningful exchanges criticizing and giving advice on various works of creative literature posted by the author. Also on the page there are various people asking for specific advice on writing short stories: character development, creating tension, etc.
2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting debates/disagreements you found in the Reddit forums? Hyperlink us to the two different Reddit threads and explain why you found those debates interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.
The first interesting debate I saw was posted in response to a question of how to create tension at the beginning of a story. The advice provided was contradictory as one Redditers told the original poster to rely on loglines: a tool used in screenwriting to generalize a movie's plot in one sentence and another said to focus on the complexity of the plot when writing a complex introduction. I found the debate interesting because the original poster simply used the discussion to pontificate about his own story.
My second debate was a criticism of a story written by the original poster. The first commenter heavily criticized the story claiming that the writer was "trying too hard". The second commenter believed that the story was fine as it was. I found it interesting because the online context of the debate made it easier for the first commenter to criticize the writer openly without ever meeting the person.
3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening in the Reddit forums? Were the people in those forums talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking aboput or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.
For writers on a creative writing forum, I assumed that they would have had better vocabularies. Also, I expected there to be much more posts on the page, which was only occupied by around twelve posts. I anticipated that the page would be mostly devoted to literary criticisms so I was not surprised by anything I saw content-wise.
1. What kinds of things do people in the Reddit forums seem to be arguing about, debating, disagreeing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exhanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in the Reddit forums.
On the creative writing page of Reddit, there are numerous debates and meaningful exchanges criticizing and giving advice on various works of creative literature posted by the author. Also on the page there are various people asking for specific advice on writing short stories: character development, creating tension, etc.
2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting debates/disagreements you found in the Reddit forums? Hyperlink us to the two different Reddit threads and explain why you found those debates interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.
The first interesting debate I saw was posted in response to a question of how to create tension at the beginning of a story. The advice provided was contradictory as one Redditers told the original poster to rely on loglines: a tool used in screenwriting to generalize a movie's plot in one sentence and another said to focus on the complexity of the plot when writing a complex introduction. I found the debate interesting because the original poster simply used the discussion to pontificate about his own story.
My second debate was a criticism of a story written by the original poster. The first commenter heavily criticized the story claiming that the writer was "trying too hard". The second commenter believed that the story was fine as it was. I found it interesting because the online context of the debate made it easier for the first commenter to criticize the writer openly without ever meeting the person.
3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening in the Reddit forums? Were the people in those forums talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking aboput or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.
For writers on a creative writing forum, I assumed that they would have had better vocabularies. Also, I expected there to be much more posts on the page, which was only occupied by around twelve posts. I anticipated that the page would be mostly devoted to literary criticisms so I was not surprised by anything I saw content-wise.
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| ZyMOS-Bot. "Reddit". 1/1/10 via Wikimedia Commons. Universal Public Domain Dedication. |
Evaluation of News Magazine Stories
For the article called "The Epic Fail of Hollywood's Hottest Algorithm", posted by Vulture, a branch New York Magazine...
1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with
specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.
The discussion of the article is based around the business practices of Ryan Kavanaugh, a man who claimed to have cracked the code on how to make high profit producing movies in 2003. Kavanaugh is extremely integrated into the movie industry and is known to be friendly with Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and many other famous actors and figures in the business.
2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?
The most sympathetic characters of the story would be all those who were let down and effected by the failure of his formula especially Relativity Media because they were invested heavily in his algorithms. I feel sympathetic towards all those effected because they all suffered great loses.
3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?
Ryan Kavanaugh was the least sympathetic character because many suffered because of plan's failure. He posed as a prophet of movie success and led many to believe that he was the "boy genius" of Hollywood. I have a hard time sympathizing with him because of all the people he harmed out weighs his own suffering as his plan failed.
For the article called "Bernie Sanders Is Getting a Surprising Amount of Donations", posted by Fortune Magazine..
1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with
specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.
The discussion of the article is based around the business practices of Ryan Kavanaugh, a man who claimed to have cracked the code on how to make high profit producing movies in 2003. Kavanaugh is extremely integrated into the movie industry and is known to be friendly with Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and many other famous actors and figures in the business.
2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?
The most sympathetic characters of the story would be all those who were let down and effected by the failure of his formula especially Relativity Media because they were invested heavily in his algorithms. I feel sympathetic towards all those effected because they all suffered great loses.
3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?
Ryan Kavanaugh was the least sympathetic character because many suffered because of plan's failure. He posed as a prophet of movie success and led many to believe that he was the "boy genius" of Hollywood. I have a hard time sympathizing with him because of all the people he harmed out weighs his own suffering as his plan failed.
For the article called "Bernie Sanders Is Getting a Surprising Amount of Donations", posted by Fortune Magazine..
1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.
The story was questioning the ability of Bernie Sanders's campaign to beat Hillary Clinton in the primaries of the 2016 presidential election without the support of the wealthiest people in the country. Many believe that Sanders has found a way around needing the support of wealthy lobbyists as his donations increase and more polls are won in his favor.
2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?
The most sympathetic character of this story is Bernie Sanders because he is essentially the "little train engine that could"of the 2016 primaries. The New York-born presidential candidate is also trying to win the election without accepting money from the 1%.
3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?
Hillary Clinton is portrayed simply as the anti-Sanders in the article. I find her hard to sympathize with because she is doing everything to win the election that Sanders morally refuses to do.
The story was questioning the ability of Bernie Sanders's campaign to beat Hillary Clinton in the primaries of the 2016 presidential election without the support of the wealthiest people in the country. Many believe that Sanders has found a way around needing the support of wealthy lobbyists as his donations increase and more polls are won in his favor.
2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?
The most sympathetic character of this story is Bernie Sanders because he is essentially the "little train engine that could"of the 2016 primaries. The New York-born presidential candidate is also trying to win the election without accepting money from the 1%.
3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?
Hillary Clinton is portrayed simply as the anti-Sanders in the article. I find her hard to sympathize with because she is doing everything to win the election that Sanders morally refuses to do.
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| Comets sock. "bernie-sanders-franklin-nh-20150802-DSC02607". 8/10/15 via Wikimedia Commons. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License. |
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Twitter and What I Found There
Upon googling "twitter creative writing" I was led here and here.
1. What kinds of things do people on Twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about or
otherwise engaging in meaningful exhanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in these Twitter feeds.
The majority of the tweets are based refining the craft of writing: links to articles on creative writing and writing challenges. Also the page frequently posts pictures and asks the viewers to come up with an opening line based off of the picture.
2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? Hyperlink us to the two different Twitter feeds and explain why you found those conversations interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.
One of the most interesting conversations I saw was one of the aforementioned opening line challenges based on a picture of a old ship sailing next to a whale with an island on it's back. I found it interesting because of the diversity of responses received, for instance, some people took the picture allegorically and others took it comedically.
The second page I visited quite honestly disturbed me because it was mostly advertisements for online writing classes and books on creative writing. This disturbed me because this page as well as many others were aimed at only making a profit. Also, there were very few conversations which leads me to believe that the majority of followers simply ignored the ads, gaining nothing from the page.
3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.
I got the impression that my major, creative writing, is saturated with fair-weather authors and screenwriters who believe that following a page on the topic of interest is a significant step in pursuing the career. I am disappointed by the lack of integrity of both the followers and the ad-polluted pages. I wish there was more discussion aimed at aiding the writing process instead of distracting from it.
1. What kinds of things do people on Twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about or
otherwise engaging in meaningful exhanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in these Twitter feeds.
The majority of the tweets are based refining the craft of writing: links to articles on creative writing and writing challenges. Also the page frequently posts pictures and asks the viewers to come up with an opening line based off of the picture.
2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? Hyperlink us to the two different Twitter feeds and explain why you found those conversations interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.
One of the most interesting conversations I saw was one of the aforementioned opening line challenges based on a picture of a old ship sailing next to a whale with an island on it's back. I found it interesting because of the diversity of responses received, for instance, some people took the picture allegorically and others took it comedically.
The second page I visited quite honestly disturbed me because it was mostly advertisements for online writing classes and books on creative writing. This disturbed me because this page as well as many others were aimed at only making a profit. Also, there were very few conversations which leads me to believe that the majority of followers simply ignored the ads, gaining nothing from the page.
3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.
I got the impression that my major, creative writing, is saturated with fair-weather authors and screenwriters who believe that following a page on the topic of interest is a significant step in pursuing the career. I am disappointed by the lack of integrity of both the followers and the ad-polluted pages. I wish there was more discussion aimed at aiding the writing process instead of distracting from it.
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| Rochon, Benoit. "Twitter Logo". 8/1/11 via Wikimedia Commons. Universal Public Domain Dedication. |
Evaluation of New York Times Stories
For an article in the arts section titled "Oscars So White? Or Oscars So Dumb? Discuss.":
1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the stoy at all? What role do they play?
In this story there did not seem to be a central protagonist, more two conflicting groups: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and those offended by the lack of representation for minorities in the film industry. The Academy, which is composed of over 5,000 members of varying professions in the movie industry and ethnicities, has been accused of intentionally not nominating deserving candidates for particular awards. Those offended by the misrepresentation include actors, directors, and even AMPAS members and aim to prove the prejudice of the Oscars in order to evoke a revision of the process.
2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
There is no specific setting for the story yet because the Oscars have yet to take place, but when it does the program will be viewed by millions of people across the world; hence the controversy.
3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is particiapting, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
The story is an articulation on whether the "whitewashing" of the 2016 Oscars is proof of whether the AMPAS is outdated, corrupt, or prejudiced or if the nominations are not unfair but the honest opinion of the board which is what people pay to see. For the minorities and their supporters who claim the nominations to be "whitewashed" fear that the lack of acknowledgment to minorities working in the film industry could lead to a lack of appreciation for all of their contributions to the industry. Their opposers fear that by altering the current nomination process the Oscars will be more about equal representation than achievement and merit.
For the article in the business section titled "Beer Ads That Portray Women as Empowered Consumers, Not Eye Candy":
1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the stoy at all? What role do they play?
In this story the main characters seem to be the Coors Brewing Company and the women of the USA. They are both central characters in the story because they are both fighting to end gender inequality. The Coors Brewing Company is attempting to improve upon this issue by illustrating empowered, independent women in their commercials opposed to sex symbols.
2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
There is no specific setting but when the commercial aires it will be seen across the nation. The high viewership of this makes the commercial extremely important.
3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is particiapting, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
There is a subtle debate in the story on whether companies like Bud Light, who is made out to be an antagonist, who use women as sex symbols their commercials are in the wrong or are they just trying to appeal to their target demographic: men. The women of America and their supporters, Coors, are at stake to have to further endure gender discrimination. Other brewing companies are at risk to lose clientele because of accusations of their commercials sexualizing women.
1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the stoy at all? What role do they play?
In this story there did not seem to be a central protagonist, more two conflicting groups: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and those offended by the lack of representation for minorities in the film industry. The Academy, which is composed of over 5,000 members of varying professions in the movie industry and ethnicities, has been accused of intentionally not nominating deserving candidates for particular awards. Those offended by the misrepresentation include actors, directors, and even AMPAS members and aim to prove the prejudice of the Oscars in order to evoke a revision of the process.
2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
There is no specific setting for the story yet because the Oscars have yet to take place, but when it does the program will be viewed by millions of people across the world; hence the controversy.
3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is particiapting, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
The story is an articulation on whether the "whitewashing" of the 2016 Oscars is proof of whether the AMPAS is outdated, corrupt, or prejudiced or if the nominations are not unfair but the honest opinion of the board which is what people pay to see. For the minorities and their supporters who claim the nominations to be "whitewashed" fear that the lack of acknowledgment to minorities working in the film industry could lead to a lack of appreciation for all of their contributions to the industry. Their opposers fear that by altering the current nomination process the Oscars will be more about equal representation than achievement and merit.
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| Prayitno/ Thank you for (9 million+) views. "OSCARS statuettes". 4/17/10 via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License. |
For the article in the business section titled "Beer Ads That Portray Women as Empowered Consumers, Not Eye Candy":
1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the stoy at all? What role do they play?
In this story the main characters seem to be the Coors Brewing Company and the women of the USA. They are both central characters in the story because they are both fighting to end gender inequality. The Coors Brewing Company is attempting to improve upon this issue by illustrating empowered, independent women in their commercials opposed to sex symbols.
2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
There is no specific setting but when the commercial aires it will be seen across the nation. The high viewership of this makes the commercial extremely important.
3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is particiapting, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
There is a subtle debate in the story on whether companies like Bud Light, who is made out to be an antagonist, who use women as sex symbols their commercials are in the wrong or are they just trying to appeal to their target demographic: men. The women of America and their supporters, Coors, are at stake to have to further endure gender discrimination. Other brewing companies are at risk to lose clientele because of accusations of their commercials sexualizing women.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Course Projects
- What are you most confused by or nervous about in regards to the four major projects?
- My biggest concern resides not in a particular project but in my own ability to manage my time appropriately.
- What are you most interested in or excited by in regards to the four major projects?
- I am excited to embark on the controversy postmortem because the majority things I have had to present on for my prior english courses were very safe and not controversial. I am excited to immerse myself in a controversy and construct a well-informed report.
- Based on your understanding of the major projects, what are the elements of this course that you have to plan ahead for? How will the coursework described in the four project assignment sheets challenge your time management skills this semester?
- I need to plan ahead in order to rent the equipment necessary to produce videos. Moreover, I am going to craft a much more stringent schedule since I have other demanding classes, a job, and plan on rushing a fraternity.
- How has your past English coursework in high school or college prepared you for the challenges of this course? What skills will you bring into the course with you?
- I am really good at completing assignments at last minute which is more of blessing than a curse in some scenarios. I also have taken three courses on video production.
- Do you have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets? What do you still want to know?
- I believe I have received all the information I need.
Reflection: From reading the other students posts, I realize that many of my concerns are shared with my fellow students. Also, based off of the times that the posts were posted it is evident that I am not the only procrastinator in the class.
Investigating Genres
Video essays are a commonly used genre in this day and age; especially in my life. For me video essays are succinct and artful ways to access information and I plan on using them for the rest of my life.
Generally, video essays are used to present creative pieces: poems, odes, pitches, and stories, and to present information; especially analyses of works of literature, cinema, or poetry.
One of the downfalls of this genre is how it is accessed. Typically, a video essay can be easily found online, however one usually is specifically searching for the video essay they end up watching. Therefore, this particularly avant-garde genre is restricted by the narrow interests of its viewers, unlike a video commercial which reaches large audiences who most likely were not intending to watch it.
As previously mentioned, on a video by video basis, video essays typically reach limited audiences. Typically the audiences of a video essay are restricted to those who specifically searched for the video essay in question or had it recommended to them by the website that the video essay was viewed on. In summary, people with specific intent search for and watch specific video essays.
The biggest distinguishing feature of video essays is the idea of audio video connection. Just as images pop into our heads when we hear words, images pop onto the screen in accordance to the narration.
A video essay is a genre that combines narration with photos and videos that illustrate or strategically juxtapose the narration. Typically, this genre is used for artistic or analytic purposes.
Reflection: Upon reading the other posts, I realized I could have done a lot more to abide by the conventions of the traditional blog post by adding pictures, using a numbered or bulleted format, and using shorter sentences. I felt that the information I presented, on the whole, was accurate to the prompt but definitely not as thorough as some of the other posts I read.
Noelle Young
Rashaan Malik
Generally, video essays are used to present creative pieces: poems, odes, pitches, and stories, and to present information; especially analyses of works of literature, cinema, or poetry.
One of the downfalls of this genre is how it is accessed. Typically, a video essay can be easily found online, however one usually is specifically searching for the video essay they end up watching. Therefore, this particularly avant-garde genre is restricted by the narrow interests of its viewers, unlike a video commercial which reaches large audiences who most likely were not intending to watch it.
As previously mentioned, on a video by video basis, video essays typically reach limited audiences. Typically the audiences of a video essay are restricted to those who specifically searched for the video essay in question or had it recommended to them by the website that the video essay was viewed on. In summary, people with specific intent search for and watch specific video essays.
The biggest distinguishing feature of video essays is the idea of audio video connection. Just as images pop into our heads when we hear words, images pop onto the screen in accordance to the narration.
A video essay is a genre that combines narration with photos and videos that illustrate or strategically juxtapose the narration. Typically, this genre is used for artistic or analytic purposes.
Reflection: Upon reading the other posts, I realized I could have done a lot more to abide by the conventions of the traditional blog post by adding pictures, using a numbered or bulleted format, and using shorter sentences. I felt that the information I presented, on the whole, was accurate to the prompt but definitely not as thorough as some of the other posts I read.
Noelle Young
Rashaan Malik
My Writing Process
From a young age, I have always been fascinated by writing and have practiced my craft for both academic and recreational purposes regularly. Thinking back, I have never really taken the time to properly categorize and define who I am as a writer.
After deep introspection, I think it is fair to say that, as a writer, I dedicate large amounts of time pondering and conceptualizing throughout the day while relying on last minute epiphanies to tie all of my big ideas together.
Using the Student's Guide as reference, I believe myself to fall under the two following categories:
After deep introspection, I think it is fair to say that, as a writer, I dedicate large amounts of time pondering and conceptualizing throughout the day while relying on last minute epiphanies to tie all of my big ideas together.
Using the Student's Guide as reference, I believe myself to fall under the two following categories:
- Heavy Planners- I spend extensive periods of time getting ideas clear in my head before actually typing anything. Depending on how passionate I am about the topic I am writing about, I have anywhere between all of the main ideas vaguely planned to specific sentences I plan to write before typing anything.
- Procrastinators- I cannot remember the last essay I wrote before the day it was due. Though I feel this fact transcends laziness and is essential to my writing process. When I have too much time to write an essay, my work becomes less succinct than it should be. In my opinion, the best baseball games are won in the ninth inning and I write my papers accordingly.
So far my writing process has been successful especially in timed writing assignments: I scored a 5 on my AP Literature exam by writing about Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. However, I know waiting until last minute to write my essays will bite me in the butt one of these days.
I feel that trying to use any approach besides the one I am using now would make my writing lose its crude charm, but I would have more time to revise my work.
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| Sidwell, Adam. "Fight Club". 9/5/2010 via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License. |
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