Sunday, June 15, 2008
Ignorance is bliss.
This entire issue is something that has been ranted on about for years in all of Ontario, maybe the rest of North America doesn’t care but that doesn’t mean we don’t. Everyone else seemed to have moved on after the couple was put in jail for 3 counts of murder and multiple accounts of rape on Paul’s part. Karla only served 12 years and Paul is in for 25 to life. But recently there has been a tape let out of Paul being interviewed by detectives regarding another case, the death of Elizabeth Bain. The interview took place last June, but the judge allowed the tape to be released to the public. The Judge, David McCombs, says there is nothing wrong with releasing the tape because it does not contain any graphic content that can disturb the public, but that’s not what the problem is. Okay so the interview might be clean and whatnot but still, the media has totally hit the jackpot with this story, they already have a book and a movie, which is banned in Canada! By the way, I’ve seen the movie and it makes Karla look so innocent, of course she does claim to have Battered Wife Syndrome, whatever, we will never know the entire truth. Personally, I don’t think it necessary that we find it out anyway, there is no need for Ontarians to relive those dark days, and I feel really bad for the families of the two girls that were killed. Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French were both murdered by the couple and sexually abused, raped and kidnapped. This story gets worse, because the couple decided to video tape all the sex acts, but the court has those videotapes locked away. But who knows if 20 years from now those leaks might be coming around, nothing should be let out about this case unless the source is word of mouth, because we do not need to know the truth. News outlets have to apply to get the interview on tape but it can be found on websites like YouTube anyway. This tape shouldn’t have been available to the public since there is already enough hatred towards Paul, and the entire situation itself, I bet there is enough to cause a riot. CH NEWS conducted a poll and asked how the public felt about Paul’s attitude during the interview and as you can see it’s obvious that no one wants to hear from him.
Poll
Do you find Paul Bernardo to be: (Poll to run until Friday with final results on CHCH News at Six)
Honest 3.52 %
Compelling 3.08 %
Evasive 28.57 %
Arrogant 33.19 %
Deceitful 31.65 %
That’s only a bit of the 31 minutes interview, even though it’s not x-rated, I still find it disturbing to hear from him in anyway. It was better off when the news covered him and the story; I don’t think releasing the tape was going to help anyone get over what he did. The province is still recovering.
Poll
Do you find Paul Bernardo to be: (Poll to run until Friday with final results on CHCH News at Six)
Honest 3.52 %
Compelling 3.08 %
Evasive 28.57 %
Arrogant 33.19 %
Deceitful 31.65 %
That’s only a bit of the 31 minutes interview, even though it’s not x-rated, I still find it disturbing to hear from him in anyway. It was better off when the news covered him and the story; I don’t think releasing the tape was going to help anyone get over what he did. The province is still recovering.
It's just a case of bad timing.
It’s pretty sad when the media can get a hold of any story and twist around to fit their won viewpoint and mindset. Just like we learnt in class about cut lines and headlines, a picture should never be morphed to match the caption. Well when regular people or even celebrities begin to voice their opinions on media, suddenly the entire world has to stop and analyse each and every word that was said. We all know that there are many celebrities that help with charity functions, and voting campaigns.
Celebs do have an effect on the rest of the public because a lot of people tend to look up to celebrities and listen to their opinions with all ears because they are glamorous and receive a lot of attention. It’s a lot like advertising; companies should hire celebrities because they know that their product would be sold, especially if the celeb is very popular at the time.
When the Dixie Chicks were sponsored by Lipton, it was great for both because each of them were getting funding and extra attention. But when the Dixie Chicks were on tour they decided to voice their opinions about President Bush, at the time Bush was really popular in America, and they didn’t make the smartest choice. Natalie (lead singer) said that she was “ashamed that George W. Bush was from Texas”, and she said this when she was in England! So basically it wasn’t even in the same country, word did end up getting around though, and soon enough all of America was talking about what Natalie had “blurted out”. The public and media made it seem like it was the end of the world! I’m pretty sure she wasn’t the only one if the universe who thought that about George! I know I agreed with her point and I still do to this day, but it wouldn’t matter if I said that, it only mattered because she is a celebrity. When the group returned to the States they received a lot of negative attention from the media, their CD’s weren’t being bought, they lost their spot on the top 100 songs chart, and their music wasn’t even being played on the radio! This was a major turning point for the group considering they were so famous and one sentence had changed their entire lives. So after the media had ditched the Dixie Chicks completely, the President’s popularity lessened as well. Soon after the broken promises he offered for the country were realized for by the public, The Dixie Chicks were thrown back into the spotlight but this time they hit the stations with a good comeback song. “Not Ready To Make Nice” was telling a huge story about what Natalie felt about the entire situation, she even mentioned how her life was threatened by a random man just because of what she said. The song was pretty effective and people understood that they were not wrong to speak out after all. I think that the group did pretty well overall when it comes to how they handled the consequences, they didn’t show too much vulnerability but the same time they didn’t act like tough guys. I know I would have a harder time if the news entertainment industry gave me negative attention.
In that video “Is this a matter of free speech or bad manners?” is mentioned by a news reporter, I don’t think that it was bad manners necessarily but more like bad timing. I’m sure that there were parts of America that were ashamed of Bush at the time, but it just wasn’t talked about. Some people do take free speech too far though and it needs to stop, a lot of problems in the news world when it comes to that. I’d like to point out one newscaster in particular, Bill O’reilly. He is a very opinionated man but I think he needs to set that aside for his own entertainment; his job is to deliver a story not his full opinion on the current issue.
That’s were the news world does wrong, and spreads negativity, when a news caster is too biased and they let it show it will effect how the audience interprets the story as well. It is just as effective as when a celebrity does the same. I see it as a “Monkey see, monkey do” situation, since the rich and the famous are so influential, we have no choice but to let them take over our brains for at least a bit.
Kanye West took it a little too far there, it was really unexpected, and not even Mike Myers knew what to say! Kanye does have the rest of the black community supporting him and what not, but not at that moment did he receive any back up. I think that was a case of bad manners, just because this entire purpose of him being there was to spread awareness about the tragedy, not to start a fight.There is a time and place for everything.
Celebs do have an effect on the rest of the public because a lot of people tend to look up to celebrities and listen to their opinions with all ears because they are glamorous and receive a lot of attention. It’s a lot like advertising; companies should hire celebrities because they know that their product would be sold, especially if the celeb is very popular at the time.
When the Dixie Chicks were sponsored by Lipton, it was great for both because each of them were getting funding and extra attention. But when the Dixie Chicks were on tour they decided to voice their opinions about President Bush, at the time Bush was really popular in America, and they didn’t make the smartest choice. Natalie (lead singer) said that she was “ashamed that George W. Bush was from Texas”, and she said this when she was in England! So basically it wasn’t even in the same country, word did end up getting around though, and soon enough all of America was talking about what Natalie had “blurted out”. The public and media made it seem like it was the end of the world! I’m pretty sure she wasn’t the only one if the universe who thought that about George! I know I agreed with her point and I still do to this day, but it wouldn’t matter if I said that, it only mattered because she is a celebrity. When the group returned to the States they received a lot of negative attention from the media, their CD’s weren’t being bought, they lost their spot on the top 100 songs chart, and their music wasn’t even being played on the radio! This was a major turning point for the group considering they were so famous and one sentence had changed their entire lives. So after the media had ditched the Dixie Chicks completely, the President’s popularity lessened as well. Soon after the broken promises he offered for the country were realized for by the public, The Dixie Chicks were thrown back into the spotlight but this time they hit the stations with a good comeback song. “Not Ready To Make Nice” was telling a huge story about what Natalie felt about the entire situation, she even mentioned how her life was threatened by a random man just because of what she said. The song was pretty effective and people understood that they were not wrong to speak out after all. I think that the group did pretty well overall when it comes to how they handled the consequences, they didn’t show too much vulnerability but the same time they didn’t act like tough guys. I know I would have a harder time if the news entertainment industry gave me negative attention.
In that video “Is this a matter of free speech or bad manners?” is mentioned by a news reporter, I don’t think that it was bad manners necessarily but more like bad timing. I’m sure that there were parts of America that were ashamed of Bush at the time, but it just wasn’t talked about. Some people do take free speech too far though and it needs to stop, a lot of problems in the news world when it comes to that. I’d like to point out one newscaster in particular, Bill O’reilly. He is a very opinionated man but I think he needs to set that aside for his own entertainment; his job is to deliver a story not his full opinion on the current issue.
That’s were the news world does wrong, and spreads negativity, when a news caster is too biased and they let it show it will effect how the audience interprets the story as well. It is just as effective as when a celebrity does the same. I see it as a “Monkey see, monkey do” situation, since the rich and the famous are so influential, we have no choice but to let them take over our brains for at least a bit.
Kanye West took it a little too far there, it was really unexpected, and not even Mike Myers knew what to say! Kanye does have the rest of the black community supporting him and what not, but not at that moment did he receive any back up. I think that was a case of bad manners, just because this entire purpose of him being there was to spread awareness about the tragedy, not to start a fight.There is a time and place for everything.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Photo Manipulation
Ever since I took this course I realise that I catch myself thinking of random things when flipping through a magazine or watching TV. It’s really opened my eyes to the world of photography and photoshop. I began dreading the word photoshop three years ago, when I first discovered myspace, and I only had one reason- how untrue and fake it is! Now, I can’t lie and say I’ve never used it on pictures of myself, but it was for quality enhancing purposes only. So in my eyes it’s not wrong, but when it’s used to get a point across-one that wasn’t there originally, that’s just lame. It’s pretty easy for me to separate the artistic pieces from the overly manipulated photos used to alter the viewer’s thoughts or appeal to them. However, not everyone in the world has that advantage, so I can only imagine what kind of pictures can be mistaken for reality.
For example someone as influential as Tyra Banks should be at least confronted about a photoshop stunt she recently pulled. And I really won’t stand for “she probably didn’t know they were going to photoshop it” excuse. Her intention was to redo the Sports Illustrated cover from 1997 just to prove she still looks good in a bikini even though she gained weight since she ended her modeling career. Not only did they reshape and resize her body, but she is completely airbrushed! Basically she contradicted herself, I mean she did make that “kiss my ass” speech that must have touched the hearts of a lot of girls and women, and don’t get me wrong it took a lot of guts to do what she did but….why hop onto the vanity train for the second time Tyra?!
That sort of manipulation is wrong and isn’t very useful, and this is because the message she’s trying to get across is not at all necessary. This was used to brainwash the public into believing that Tyra still has “it”. But other types of editing are welcome in perspective. Like for news reports, enhancing a photo is fine, but it can go to far when the photo fits the story a little too well. Any good journalist knows that a caption should be written after a photo is taken, and the caption should be built off of the photo, not the other way around. The story has the same rules, if a photo is manipulated to fit a story then that photo is a fake.
The O.J Simpson case is a different story. I do believe that James Gaines really intended for the picture to present itself with artistic purposes rather than a racist remark. The only mistake that Time Magazine made was when it was released, but there are always the pros and cons. So they did take a big risk but I think that since they backed themselves up with a reasonable explanation, they’re okay. I can see how some people did get offended; those people were either fans of O.J or apart of the black community.
So it’s obvious that O.J’s mug shot was darkened in the time magazine issue, but the truth can be maintained through the expression of art because it does not cross the line of convincing people t see something else. At the same time this was a “iffy” comeback because art is always interpreted differently. People coming from different cultures, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds will see this and have their own thoughts on it.
The latest photo manipulation issue that has caught my eye was pulled by Time Magazine once again, but I still don’t see all the harm in it! And I know my history, I know about world war II so I’m not being ignorant I’m just judging from a less politically affected perspective. They replaced the American flag with a tree, and this is to show that fighting against global warming is as hard as the fight of WWII. This is true, but some people who have lived through this and are very patriotic consider it a disgrace. Time Magazine had the right to publish this because they knew it would get people talking. Their approach to the issue took a lot of guts, but it really did have an affect, which is better than nothing.
Again, photo manipulation is basically the latest trend, and it’s really harmless but it all depends on how it’s used.
_________________________________________________________________
Works CitedArtist not available. “Tyra Banks: KISS MY FAT ASS. :].” YouTube. June 03, 2008.June 11 2008.
Artist not available. “Tyra Banks Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Pictures.” Hollywood Tuna. Date not available. June 11, 2008.
Artist not available. “June 1994” Photo Tampering Throughout History. Date not available. June 11 1008.
<>
Artist not available. “Time Magazine’s Feeling The Heat Over Global Warming Cover.”EcoRazzi.April 18 2008.June 11 2008.
For example someone as influential as Tyra Banks should be at least confronted about a photoshop stunt she recently pulled. And I really won’t stand for “she probably didn’t know they were going to photoshop it” excuse. Her intention was to redo the Sports Illustrated cover from 1997 just to prove she still looks good in a bikini even though she gained weight since she ended her modeling career. Not only did they reshape and resize her body, but she is completely airbrushed! Basically she contradicted herself, I mean she did make that “kiss my ass” speech that must have touched the hearts of a lot of girls and women, and don’t get me wrong it took a lot of guts to do what she did but….why hop onto the vanity train for the second time Tyra?!
That sort of manipulation is wrong and isn’t very useful, and this is because the message she’s trying to get across is not at all necessary. This was used to brainwash the public into believing that Tyra still has “it”. But other types of editing are welcome in perspective. Like for news reports, enhancing a photo is fine, but it can go to far when the photo fits the story a little too well. Any good journalist knows that a caption should be written after a photo is taken, and the caption should be built off of the photo, not the other way around. The story has the same rules, if a photo is manipulated to fit a story then that photo is a fake.
The O.J Simpson case is a different story. I do believe that James Gaines really intended for the picture to present itself with artistic purposes rather than a racist remark. The only mistake that Time Magazine made was when it was released, but there are always the pros and cons. So they did take a big risk but I think that since they backed themselves up with a reasonable explanation, they’re okay. I can see how some people did get offended; those people were either fans of O.J or apart of the black community.
So it’s obvious that O.J’s mug shot was darkened in the time magazine issue, but the truth can be maintained through the expression of art because it does not cross the line of convincing people t see something else. At the same time this was a “iffy” comeback because art is always interpreted differently. People coming from different cultures, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds will see this and have their own thoughts on it.The latest photo manipulation issue that has caught my eye was pulled by Time Magazine once again, but I still don’t see all the harm in it! And I know my history, I know about world war II so I’m not being ignorant I’m just judging from a less politically affected perspective. They replaced the American flag with a tree, and this is to show that fighting against global warming is as hard as the fight of WWII. This is true, but some people who have lived through this and are very patriotic consider it a disgrace. Time Magazine had the right to publish this because they knew it would get people talking. Their approach to the issue took a lot of guts, but it really did have an affect, which is better than nothing.
Again, photo manipulation is basically the latest trend, and it’s really harmless but it all depends on how it’s used.
_________________________________________________________________
Works CitedArtist not available. “Tyra Banks: KISS MY FAT ASS. :].” YouTube. June 03, 2008.June 11 2008.
Artist not available. “Tyra Banks Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Pictures.” Hollywood Tuna. Date not available. June 11, 2008.
Artist not available. “June 1994” Photo Tampering Throughout History. Date not available. June 11 1008.
<>
Artist not available. “Time Magazine’s Feeling The Heat Over Global Warming Cover.”EcoRazzi.April 18 2008.June 11 2008.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The busy lifestyle of Toronto's citizens allows the to express the various mtheods of transport available to them.
First of all, I think that the muchmusic environment is pretty awesome, considering that the majority of the people were at ease but still remaining professional. But at the same time I was a little shocked when I noticed how much work these people actually do to keep the station at it’s best. When Matte Babel was doing little bits of hosting we thought we were on air, but it turns out only half of that was sound check, I can only imagine what the rest was. All of it sounds and looks very technical to me but I can tell by how many people were in the room and ‘behind the scenes’ that a lot of effort is put into Muchmusic. When I was moved to the side by the floor director Kwami, I looked behind me and saw how many screens there were, all of them had different camera views. The lady behind me had a huge control dashboard infront of her, and it looked like the biggest keyboard I have ever seen. It looks like a pretty confusing job, but I can tell that these people are pretty trained and educated considering the fact that they are all at ease. That’s what I love about the place, everyone seems to be in a chilled out mood, which I honestly did not expect, because I thought there would be strict rules and stuck up employees. I bet there are other stations like that but, I liked what I saw.
The director J.P didn’t really have much control over the hosts though, he wasn’t pushy enough. Matte had approached us so many times attempting to strike up a conversation but J.P would always interrupt him, and even when Matte was being called over he would basically ignore J.P. When Leah came in she was insisting to do and say something her way but it looks like Matte always has the final say because he basically told her no, and she seemed to be sulking a bit but, she does look like the whiney type anyway. Matte should be the director because he just seems to have the most power in the room, and he is very approachable which balances out his bossy side. I think that all the hosts are powerful in their own ways though even Tim, was impressive although he was a lot more subtle than Matte, of course this is the impression the hosts want us to believe just to keep a clean reputation. I understand that, but they are all equally outgoing and extroversive. During the commercials the hosts came up to us and tried to make the most conversation they could, which I thought pretty cool as well.
The camera men actually seemed to reappear at the most random times, maybe I only noticed them when I wasn’t distracted by Matte, or when I wasn’t posing for a photo. I also tried to direct the most of my attention to the people working behind me but it looks like they were working harder when the commercials were rolling. What really grabbed my attention was when someone asked to go to the washroom and she had to be walked out by a bodyguard, and they also announced that she had to go to everyone there; I guess it was to let everyone know she wasn’t just a random walking around. I would love to work at Much, I actually have a cousin who was an editor there for awhile, and he said that it was a cool environment but he was so intimidated that he always made sure he did his work even if he worked overtime. It looks like the people that work there have an equal amount of respect amongst each other but at the same time nothing is taken too seriously, and MuchMusic is still a fabulous station.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Harajuku Girls Controversy.
Gwen Stefani is a leading lady in the eyes of many, her success has been building up since the 1990's, and it's finally reached it's peak. Her image has helped her in so many ways, i believe it even over powers her music. For the last 4 years she has been walking around with Harajuku Girls all around her. These girls originate from Japan, and their style come from the Harajuku District. They have captivating outfits,crazy make up, and very animated personalities. Gwen was drawn to this image and decided to wear it herself.
In 2004, Gwen Stefani released her first solo album called "Love,Angel,Music,Baby", this was a breakthrough for Gwen considering she was always known as the lead female singer of No Doubt. But suddenly Gwen's style completely changed, she went from punk rock princess to a Harajuku style scene queen. Harajuku is a Japanese fashion that is worn by many teenagers in the Harajuku district. The problem is that many people assume that Gwen has ripped off this style but at the same time she has sparked great controversy for a fashion that wouldnt be recognized if it wasn't for her. Gwen has done a pretty good job at getting the Harajuku area noticed. I didn’t even know it existed up until I saw her music videos, but at first I didn’t understand what their purpose was, and to be honest I STILL don’t. Okay, I get it, you can be infatuated or inspired by a certain type of style or culture. For example most immigrants are easily sucked into north American style but Gwen Stefani has sucked out the originality of the Harajuku style! I think she’s getting a little insecure as well, I mean shes technically a poser..shes not from the Harajuku district so its why she has four Japanese girls around her. She knows she would be hated on if it was just her representing that fashion. Her lousy attempt at being unique or making a fashion statement makes these money grubbing ACTRESSES look inferior and incompetent. I call them actresses because they’re acting the way she wants them to, the way they’re told to and they’re getting paid. So yeah, maybe it IS voluntary but they don’t care that they are selling out Harajuku culture and style. Gwen is known for having them around her constantly so basically they are just an accessory. She wants harajuku fashion to reach Americans just so it can the original idea can trace back to her. I can only give credit to Gwen for introducing me to the whole thing in the first and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one.
Not many people would have known about Harajuku culture if it wasn’t for her, but at the same time shes the one who is getting all the spotlight just because she acculturated the style. She might as well raid the streets of the Harajuku district in Japan and snatch the clothing she finds appealing, stick her “L.A.M.B” label on it and call it her own. And then she can continue to allow her human pets to model her “unique” fashion line while she makes millions acting like they are a figment of her imagination. “Stefani fawns over harajuku style in her lyrics, but her appropriation of this subculture makes about as much sense as the Gap selling Anarchy T-shirts; she's swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women.” Well said from an article by MiHi Anh called “Gwenihana”
So, naturally one would assume that Gwen’s got it all wrapped up and knows exactly what shes doing, which SHOULD be the case, I mean, if I was ripping off a style or culture I would be sure to educate myself and project a flawless image atleast. But nah, it seems that Gwen decided to skip all that and get straight to the money making! In her video “What You Waiting For” there is a symbol that flashes across the screen it represents “love”. This is what the character looks like: 愛 but in the video they added an extra dot on it.
I find that really pathetic… she rips off the style, but now the language!
Overall I think that Gwen has ripped off the Harajuku style, I know if I was a REAL harajuku I would be super annoyed by Gwen’s transformation of the image. The style is not supposed to serve the high fashion or catwalk industry it’s merely something that’s done for fun in the Harajuku District. Gwen has changed this and made money from it. In the end she wins.
In 2004, Gwen Stefani released her first solo album called "Love,Angel,Music,Baby", this was a breakthrough for Gwen considering she was always known as the lead female singer of No Doubt. But suddenly Gwen's style completely changed, she went from punk rock princess to a Harajuku style scene queen. Harajuku is a Japanese fashion that is worn by many teenagers in the Harajuku district. The problem is that many people assume that Gwen has ripped off this style but at the same time she has sparked great controversy for a fashion that wouldnt be recognized if it wasn't for her. Gwen has done a pretty good job at getting the Harajuku area noticed. I didn’t even know it existed up until I saw her music videos, but at first I didn’t understand what their purpose was, and to be honest I STILL don’t. Okay, I get it, you can be infatuated or inspired by a certain type of style or culture. For example most immigrants are easily sucked into north American style but Gwen Stefani has sucked out the originality of the Harajuku style! I think she’s getting a little insecure as well, I mean shes technically a poser..shes not from the Harajuku district so its why she has four Japanese girls around her. She knows she would be hated on if it was just her representing that fashion. Her lousy attempt at being unique or making a fashion statement makes these money grubbing ACTRESSES look inferior and incompetent. I call them actresses because they’re acting the way she wants them to, the way they’re told to and they’re getting paid. So yeah, maybe it IS voluntary but they don’t care that they are selling out Harajuku culture and style. Gwen is known for having them around her constantly so basically they are just an accessory. She wants harajuku fashion to reach Americans just so it can the original idea can trace back to her. I can only give credit to Gwen for introducing me to the whole thing in the first and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one.
Not many people would have known about Harajuku culture if it wasn’t for her, but at the same time shes the one who is getting all the spotlight just because she acculturated the style. She might as well raid the streets of the Harajuku district in Japan and snatch the clothing she finds appealing, stick her “L.A.M.B” label on it and call it her own. And then she can continue to allow her human pets to model her “unique” fashion line while she makes millions acting like they are a figment of her imagination. “Stefani fawns over harajuku style in her lyrics, but her appropriation of this subculture makes about as much sense as the Gap selling Anarchy T-shirts; she's swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women.” Well said from an article by MiHi Anh called “Gwenihana”
So, naturally one would assume that Gwen’s got it all wrapped up and knows exactly what shes doing, which SHOULD be the case, I mean, if I was ripping off a style or culture I would be sure to educate myself and project a flawless image atleast. But nah, it seems that Gwen decided to skip all that and get straight to the money making! In her video “What You Waiting For” there is a symbol that flashes across the screen it represents “love”. This is what the character looks like: 愛 but in the video they added an extra dot on it.
I find that really pathetic… she rips off the style, but now the language!Overall I think that Gwen has ripped off the Harajuku style, I know if I was a REAL harajuku I would be super annoyed by Gwen’s transformation of the image. The style is not supposed to serve the high fashion or catwalk industry it’s merely something that’s done for fun in the Harajuku District. Gwen has changed this and made money from it. In the end she wins.
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