Globalization

     Globalization, as discussed in class, essentially refers to the process of interconnecting various cultures and regions from around the world. On a large scale, one may think of the Westernization of vastly different cultures like Japan as a result of the Internet and other Western-dominated media sources. However, globalization also encompasses the processes that happen on a local level across the world, as ideas and concepts are introduced and then adapted to fit that locality.
     This local aspect is known as glocalization. While a local region may borrow the general idea of another culture, it does not merely assimilate to fit that idea. Instead, it adopts the format but changes the content, thereby customizing it to fit the new culture's value system, sense of humor, and other particular attributes. This can be an argument against cultural imperialism, which does not take into account the interpretive and adaptive aspects of globalization.
     One example of this which is actually counter intuitive given our preexisting notions of Western cultural imperialism is the 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai. This film, notable for its innovative structure of gathering an elite team to achieve a common goal, was so globally popular that it actually inspired emulation in Hollywood. One of its most notable followers, The Magnificent Seven, however, completely changes the setting of the film into the American West and in many ways modifies the feeling of the film to fit American sensibilities.

Masculinity in Superbowl Snickers Commercial

     In this recent ad from the 2010 Superbowl, a group of people are playing football. Most of them are healthy, athletic, and masculine guys, and one of them is Betty White. After one particularly degrading sack, she is offered a Snickers by a frustrated girl watching from the sidelines, and is immediately transformed into a handsome and masculine dude. To me, it was persuasive because it challenged my sense of masculinity by asserting that unless I ate a Snickers, I'd probably be associated with weakness and inability to play good football.
     This ad features sex/affiliation appeal: it forces the audience to suppose that the characteristics portrayed on the screen are the most desirable for that gender. For females, it is usually sexiness and submission. If you aren't willing to subscribe to these, it pretty much says that no one will want to be around you. For males, it is toughness and charm that are hyped. Either way, it presents an ideal model of gender and tries to inspire you to recreate it.
     This ad in particular implies that if you don't do what Snickers thinks you should (eat a Snicker), you won't be good at what you want to do (play football). In fact, you'll look like an old person, and maybe even a lady. The tag-line reads: "You're not you when you're hungry. Eat a snickers." Nutritionally, this makes no sense, but rhetorically it sounds pretty good, and makes pretty much any guy want to go eat a snickers so they can, you know, be cool with the bros and make touchdowns and stuff. Well done, Betty White, and well done Snickers.

3-Part Structure in Spiderman II

     Spiderman II, one of my favorite movies, follows the standard Hollywood 3-part film structure pretty generally. The first act introduces Peter Parker as he continues in his battle with evildoers across New York. It establishes the difficulties that he is having in maintaining his personal life in conjunction with his superheroic duties, which foreshadows his decision to put away the Spidey-suit in the second act, as well as showing the growing contention between Parker and his friend Harry Osbourne, whose father was the villain of the first Spiderman movie and so, naturally was destroyed recently. Finally, this act lays the groundwork for the film's conflict by introducing Dr. Octavius, a brilliant scientist-mentor who is working on some kind of "break-through."
     The second act begins with the outcome of said break-through, in which Dr. Octavius's scientific exhibition ended in failure and the death of his loving wife. Bewildered and now attached to a set of mechanical arms that manipulate his ambition, he decides to get more of the precious resource needed to perfect his experiment by way of crime. This is a major turning point in his character, as up until now he has been shown as a morally sound man. This decision/plot point propels the film into a series of confrontations between the good doctor and Peter Parker as the latter tries to thwart the villain's plans. Stakes are raised and tension blossoms as further plot points transpire (Harry sells Peter down the river to the new-christened Doc Ock) and Peter's girl MJ proceeds with her planned engagement to an astronaut. The act and film climax when the nefarious villain obtains his necessary materials and constructs a device that if mismanaged could destroy the world, and kidnaps MJ for effect, but of course is overthrown by Spiderman.
     In the third act, the film winds down to a comfortable resolution. MJ leaves the astronaut at the altar, Peter settles down to the fact that he has to be Spiderman for ever, and the city once again hails him as a hero. However, there is one more plot point in which the young Osbourne discovers his dad's old stuff and vows revenge on Peter Parker, who he recently discovered is Spiderman's true identity. Thus, the story temporarily wraps up with a lull in terrible events, and a promise of more to come!

Polysemy & Futurama

     In TV sitcoms, recurring characteristics such as intertextuality and polysemy give depth to the show and allow popular culture enthusiasts enthusiasts to engage in a sort of I-Spy game of references. An especially nuanced sitcom episode may reference everything from the Bible to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but of course it takes an equally nuanced audience member to catch on to everything, and in most cases different audience segments understand only given sets of references, thus allowing multiple interpretations of the same episode. While many enjoy this I-Spy game, some detractors from excessive intertextuality say that it discourages the creation of original plots and cheapens the screenwriting expectations.
    Animated sitcoms such as Family Guy and Futurama are especially fond of intertextuality; it is a staple of their productions. Entire episodes are often structured around retellings of classic parables or literary classics, so the audience is often fully aware of where the plot is headed. An interesting thing about this modern sitcoms is that they even reference other television shows, which is a sign that the medium of television is maturing. Other times the subject of reference is more exclusive, such as one particular episode of Futurama which followed the protagonist as he battled an army of antagonists drawn from popular video or arcade games from the 90's.  While older followers of the show probably did not recognize many of these references, the show's core target audience of young males were having a field day of nostalgia. Thus, intertextuality allows the television sitcom to feel personalized for audience segments, and sustains viewership.

Shots and Angles in The Man Who Wasn't There

     Angles and shots can be used (as mentioned in the notes in reference to There Will Be Blood), for ironic effect as well as dramatic.  In one of the early scenes of the Coen brothers' 2001 film The Man Who Wasn't There, the dour barber protagonist gloomily describes his wife's fondness for going to church on Tuesdays–Bingo Night. While this voiceover proceeds, the camera slowly descends from a low angle shot of a crucified Jesus Christ to another low angle shot of a bored priest calling out Bingo numbers. These combined low-angle shots provide an ironic juxtaposition of the gravitas and dignity of the savior of the Christian world with the silly indignity of a man of god reduced to playing game show host with the same awe-inducing perspective.
    In another scene, the Coens use a long shot of Scarlett Johannson's character playing piano with her back turned to the camera to show her isolation from the party that is going on in the house around her. As the barber, a distanced character himself, approaches her, listening in appreciation, the camera tightens to a medium shot and then to a close shot. When the barber finally sits, he is on eye level with her, and as their dialogue begins, a series of eye level shots occur. The effect of this sequence is to establish a similitude and a building relationship between these two characters who both find themselves apart from society.
    Later, as the stoic barber puts his drunken wife to bed, he contemplates the circumstances of their marriage and gazes down at her. He is shown in low-angle shots, and she in high-angle shots. In these, she is shown to have fallen from her position of domestic power to pathetic inebriety, and seems a much smaller and less potent figure indeed.

The Studio System

     During the Golden Age of Hollywood, the studio system's convention of recycling stars in similar roles created a generation of characters that is quite different from today's actors who seek to challenge and reinvent their characters with every film they undertake.

     Because of this, the films of this period were largely formulaic, cycling between a set of genres such as musicals, detective stories, and comedies. Today, films are often centered on a single performance by a dynamic actor or actress, taking on a role that is quite different from what they've done in the past, but classical Hollywood preferred the "name brand" performances of Humphrey Bogart and Gene Kelly. As a result, audiences knew what to expect when they went to the cinema and primarily went for reaffirmation of the cinema they knew and loved.

     For instance, in Singin' in the Rain, Gene Kelly's brand of musical was highly acclaimed and beloved by all, even though it was stylistically no different from what he had been marketing for years. A modern actor like Daniel Day Lewis, however, is renowned for his diversity of characters, from the misanthropic oilman of There Will Be Blood to his turn as an Italian writer full of sexual issues in Nine. The public taste, as well as the industry conventions, has shifted far from what was normal in the Golden Age.

All In the Family

     Because of its unprecedented discussion of controversial political issues in mainstream programming, All In The Family opened the eyes of America to the realistic need to confront these issues, whereas a modern program such as Arrested Development, although it also incorporates controversial issues, fails to address these issues in a serious manner, which downplays them in the mind of the viewer.
      Both shows depict dysfunctional families striving to exist in spite of each other. For all their differences though, they all continue to interact regularly, which shows that the family unit is essential to the well-being of the individual (or perhaps just for the well-being of the sitcom). The basic format of the comedy in both is based on the differing ideology of the central characters.
      All In The Family was successful as a series largely because it served as a forum for the political clash between the counterculture generation and the conservative viewpoints of their parents. Archie's stubbornness and bigotry is a recurring element in the show, and his clashes with his progressive son-in-law Michael provide an arena for the ideological battle these two represent. In Arrested Development, there are significant issues at hand as well, such as alcoholism, Oedipal complexes, the social problems developed as a result of poor parenting, but these issues are treated irreverently throughout, and are rarely taken seriously by the characters involved. Nothing is holy, and yet nothing engages an active viewer.