PTS(D), or post traumatic stress disorder is unfortunately a very common thing among humans, especially those how have witnessed the struggle and hurt of war. Through out the novel Ceremony, we discuss PTS(D) of which the main character, Tayo, lives with. In the video, a Native American Vietnam war veteran, Albert Laughter, speaks of his hurt with PTS(D) and how his home land saved him. He now runs Native American ceremony's for other Native American war veteran. Laughter talks about why he does the ceremony and says this. "A lot of veterans are still in their home area, but their mot all together  because their minds are still over there. And that's gonna follow you and that's gonna haunt you" (Albert Laughter). By having a human heart, these veteran's hurt and feel the war everyday of their lives. That is a very heavy burden to live with, but Laughter is trying to lift that weight.  In Ceremony, we see Tayo fight with himself and in the end wins with his PTS(D). "But lying above the center that pulled him down closer felt more familiar to him that any embrace he could remember; he was sinking into the elemental arms of mountain silence" (Silko 187). Tayo lets nature heal his heavy heart, just as it did for Laughter, and what Laughter uses to heal other veterans. A heart is something that is easily taken over and swayed. Like Tayo and laughter, many Native American war veterans let their human heart be overtaken with grief and regret, how could they not. But this also means the heart can be changed and swayed to the better. In Ceremony, Tayo think the following, but it hold roots to all war veterans. "..he could still feel the love they had for him. The damage that had been done had never reached this feeling. This feeling war their life, vitality locked deep in blood memory, and the people were strong, and the fifth world endure, and nothing was ever lost as long as the love remained"(Silko 204). Even though a heart can easily feel pain and carry that burden, it can also feel love and be changed by that love. A human heart is a very heavy thing. Most humans cannot help but have a heart the feels pain. PTS(D) is a good example of having a heart be a burden. We as humans have the ability to feel and with that our hearts can become a burden, carrying with it everything we only wish to forget, but a heart is also a beautiful and can feel love. That in it self is a burden, but can give life to those who need it the most.

As humans we want to feel and be felt. Every human longs for their own heart to be heard and felt by other and in other, it is just part of our genetic code. The most common way to get the communication of the heart across is by the means of art. With the modern day mass media and culture, the ability to spread ones heart is amazing. With the help through mass media and the humans dieing need to feel, the world of art is begging to become messy. Our want to be herd could ruin art. "Its global masturbation (Andrew Keen). Here, the music critic Andrew Keen describes the modern mass technology area of art as something that everyone feels they must be part of. He sees this as a bad thing, but that is not nessarly true. With the help of technology, people who would have never have had the chance to experience or create certain kinds of art, suddenly have that ability. Its not about how the art is made or felt, its about giving the heart the chance to feel and relive some of it burden. As the famous neoclassical musician, Olafur Arnals says in the film, PressPausePlay, "But I think it sounds good and that's what matters...and I hope that people realize that its no about elitism and rules...but about doing something nice"(Arnalds). With the help of mass media, more hearts are begin lifted from their burden then ever, and yes, while our need as humans to feel and be felt is creating a chaotic world of art on the inter webs, art is begin shared which can only help to bring people closer to each other and their own hearts. In the interview video with Arnalds, he says this, "...I'd rather have it just be about feelings and delivering something to anyone, and I like to open it up...Becca's I want to make music that affects people..."(Arnalds). Again, we see here in Arnalds statement that it is not about how the art is felt, but that it is felt, and by having the Internet that is easier then ever. Although by having the burden of heart wanting to feel, we as humans have created a messy art world in some peoples eyes, the amount of art everywhere is only helping to have people feel and be felt.

Empathy is one of the biggest burden's of the heart. Humans this genetic need to empathize with other and due to that need, we have created a false society of empathy. We now fill out need for empathy by using consumerism and technology. The modern thinker, and author of The Empathtic Civilization, Jeremy Rifkin, studied empathy and the part in play in our modern day society. "We are actually soft wired to actually experience another plight as if it we are experiencing it ourselves" (Rifkin). This is a big discovery into the human heart. To learn that humans are meant to feel empathy and act upon it, is huge and weighs quite heavily in our actions. Slavoj Zizek a modern thinker, think that because of this need to act on our empathy that we have created false ways to battle our need for empathy. "The real aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible, and the altruistic virtues have prevented the carrying out of the aim" (Zizek, First Tragedy and Then Frace). What Zizek means right here is that we has humans wish to be empathetic and help those in need, but we have begun to fins ways of only get rid of the burden of empathy upon ourselves without solving any modern issues in our world. Even so, empathy has begun to grow around the world due to mass media which can now connect people easier then ever. Even though we have begun to create a false empathy, there is still hope to create a generation of the most empathic people the world has ever seen. As Roman Krnaric says, another great thinker of our time, "I think that empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophy's of life, become more outrospective, to create the revolution of relationship that I think we so desperately need" (Krnaric, The Power of Outrospection). As humans we need our empathy to be fulfilled, and with the realization of our need to give empathy, we as humans can begin to rid our heart's most heavy burden, empathy, and begin to help the world.

In the film Seven Pounds, the human heart is a common theme both physically and symbolically. Seven Pounds truly is the story of the human heart and just how heavy of a burden it can be. The main character, Ben Thomas(Tim Thomas), kills seven people, including his wife, in a car crash that he caused. After the crash, Ben is in ruins, lost in his own despair. At the begging of the film, Ben says this line which really reflects his heart at the present moment, "In seven days, God created the world. In seven seconds, I shattered mine" (Seven Pounds). Ben is a very broken man, so much so that he related himself to God to describe the amount of guilt he has on his heart. We again see here that humans cannot help but feel. Our heart's are burden in the sense that when we least what our hearts to feel, they do. Ben wants to make up for what he has done so that the burden may be lifted. In the film, Ben plans to give his eye to a blind man by the name of Ezra. Ben calls Ezra right before he kills himself in a bathtub and says this, "I had to certain...that you where a decent man. Kind, slow to anger...I want to give you a gift"(Seven Pounds). Ben's need to make up for what he had done is so great that he not only plans to give his eyes to Ezra, but his heart to his love interest Emily. The burden of a heart feeling grief and guilt is obvious in the film, In the film Ben owns a box jellyfish, the most deadly jellyfish in the whole world. Ben kills himself with this jellyfish and in the film it is a symbol of acceptance with death. "I never forgot what he said, that is was the most deadly creature on Earth. To me, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen"(Seven Pounds). If looked at carefully, one can see the reflection of Ben's heart int his quote. A heart is a beautiful and deadly burden. We as humans wish for our hearts not to feel, but it is just one of the many beautiful burdens of having a heart.

In the documentary Carigslist Joe, we once again come around to humans actions of empathy. Joesph Garner lives an entire month int he film off of nothing but he goodness and kindness of people, and the internet website, Carigslist. Amazingly enough he does survive and entire month and ends up back home on the 31st of December. On the website of the film it gives a quick synopsis of the film and the meaning behind his journey. "Through his exploration, Joe gained insights into our collective psyche, and took the pulse of an anxious nation teetering on a knifes edge of hope and uncertainty...His experiences raise the profound question about who we are as a society and where we are headed..."(Zach Galifinanakis). The discovery made from this film is that people can take acre of each other and that our need to help is greater then our need to be safe. This can be thought of as a burden of the heart, for sometimes it is better to not get involved with people. But our hearts will not allow it. What is wonderful though is that we are usually glade we listened to our hearts. In the case of the film, it is for Graner, and he came out knowing that people can take care of one another. "...the most inspiring experience of my life. The generosity of people, and like the stories they share,and the connections I've made in one month was so deep...truly inspiring on humanity...to know that we can take care of each other(Graner). The human heart's burden of needing to help and be compassionate it truly a beautiful thing and a bit strange. On his travels Graner really saw just how beautiful of a burden our hearts are. In the film, one of the men that helped Graner says this, "Reality is far stranger then any fiction Hollywood can come up with." (Craigslist Joe). This is very true, for no Hollywood movie could actually portray the kindness and burden of a human heart. It is amazing to be human. Our hearts are a heavy burden that makes us some of the strangest, and most beautiful creatures on Earth.

7 pounds

Water, an image of life and change is what comes to the mind of most humans. Water, is then, a very common theme used through out film to convey to the viewer when a time of change, or burst of life is occurring or about to appear. In the film Seven Pounds, water can be seen through out the entire film in many different forms to help convey the film's story. The film uses a lot of shots of physical water, like that of stormy seas and gentle rain. The many different tints and colors of water is used through out as decor and costume as well. Then the occurrence of water being used to act like glass is also seen in the film. The main character, Ben Thomas (Tim Thomas), is donating he organ's to seven people to make up for the car crash he caused, causing his wife and six others to die. Around him in the film, there is constantly the imagery of water and is part of his character and his story. It comes in the forms of the ocean, ice, colors, and many other outside sources around Ben, to give the viewer the diegesis of film, along with the situation and inner most thoughts of Ben. Through out the film, water is used to converse the ideas of Ben, to weave together the stories of the past and present, and to give the overall diegesis of life and death portrayed throughout the film. 

Water in the film is a direct link to the Ben and his inner most feelings. The viewer may not know what Ben could be thinking at any given time, and the only hints given is that of face the actor who portrays him. But water elements, such as color scheme and decor, that existence in almost every shot, help a viewer to come to know Ben.  The film starts with a shot of ocean. In the shot itself,  the actor cannot be seen and there is no dialogue, but already hints to the diegesis of the film(life and death) and Ben's character have been introduced to the viewer. "The shot is under water, with a reserved aerial shot so the lighting is seen above the water. Ben's silhouette swims across the light" (Seven pounds). Here the viewer already gets an image of Ben as a character. The ocean is very large and deep and is often associated as something that can be both beautiful and full of life, but also terrifying and destructive. By having the shot be under water looking up into the light, the viewer gets the idea of Ben's character being lost in depths of despair and reaching for the light associated with his inner beauty, that he cannot see. The viewer also gets the diegesis of film with  the underwater ocean shot. The diegesis of the film is life and death, something very much like that of the ocean, which gives a home to thousands of creatures, but is also very powerful and can take life easily. The relationship between reflection and water also helps for the viewer to get to know the most inner thoughts of Ben. In Seven Pounds, water is used like a mirror on several accounts. Like water, a mirror that is not broken, one can see their reflection, while if the mirror is broken or the water choppy, one cannot see there refection clearly. In the motel in which Ben dies, the walls are all blue and are covered with the paintings of stormy seas. Even though every shot in the room hints towards Ben's chaotic feelings, there is one scene that really stands out. " Ben Thomas stands in front of a crystal clear mirror. The camera then moves out to a medium shot to show Thomas in the mirror, the blue wall, a paintings behind him. Also to the jellyfish tank at the bottom left corner" (Seven Pounds) This shot shows beautifully the inner most feelings of Ben at that time and how see's his goal clearly. Right before this shot takes place, Ben speaks with his love interest Emily, and is getting ready to go to dinner with her. In this moment in time, Ben would seem at peace with himself, but as the shot frames back, that mood changes into one of despair and regret. The stormy paintings of the ocean on the wall behind him ,with the solid deep blue wall, continues to hint the audience Ben's inner battle's that are deep and rage on. Then the box jellyfish in the left corner tells towards Ben's accepts of death that he will achieve with the jellyfish, even in a time of joy. This shot reflects that Ben knows what his task is in life clearly because of the mirror, and his acceptance with death that he has chosen, even if people come into his life that may make him doubt himself.  In the begging of film, the ocean is shown multiple times. There is the shot of which is motioned above, which is just part of a scene shown through out the start of the film. The whole scene has shots of the ocean and the viewer is shown a very beautiful beach house. As a viewer is being shown all these beautiful shot's, Ben says this line. "In seven days God created the world, and in seven seconds, I shattered mine"( Seven Pounds). During this line, Ben is walking out of the ocean on what appears to be a warm beautiful day. The mix of the warm lighting, the ocean, and the words said in this scene gives the viewer the idea of what kind a person Ben is and what his mission is. Even though in this scene, Ben is obviously speaking of death, the warm lighting and him emerging from the ocean gives the idea of life reborn and moving on to bigger and better things, which is Ben's real goal. Ben's goal to bring life to other by donating his organs and making up for the seven lives he took. Although viewer does not know yet that Ben has and will be giving his organs to those in need of them, this scene brings the feelings of life that is part of the diegesis of the film.

The second role that water plays in the film is bringing the past, present, and future all together to give foreshadowing to the viewer and help the viewer understand the reasoning behind every word and action in the film. Physical water is used very much through out the film but so is the color scheme. Blue colors appear in the film quite often, especially when Ben is in a shot or something important is happening within the film. One of the first pieces of foreshadowing that is seen by the viewer is when Ben calls the lovesick blind man, Ezra. Even though it is very suttle the viewer gets a really good look at Ezra's face to see that Ezar's eyes are like the color of the ocean. While on the phone, Thomas says this to Ezra, "...I look at my life and it is surrounded by so much beauty, and you can't see shit...do even know what color the ocean is..."( Seven Pounds). The ocean holds much life and it home to much beauty, and with this shot,  the viewer sees the foreshadowing for later in the film when Ben will give his eyes to Ezra. The ocean holds beauty and life like that of the world that Ezra cannot see, but by Ben giving his eyes to Ezra, he will be able to see  experience that beauty and a whole new life. Ezra's eyes being blue hints towards the new life that Ezra will have and how that life is being given by a man who's heart is in a despair as deep as an ocean.  A major key element through out the film is the box jellyfish that Ben owns. The jellyfish helps him to kill himself and stands as a major symbol of death in the film. Not only is the jellyfish from the ocean, directly connecting Ben and water together, but in the in which when Ben finally says why he owns the jellyfish, the viewer gets a bit of light into Ben's past and inevitable future. As Ben fills up the jellyfish tank with water, his face is in the blue glow. The shot then cuts to a scene of Thomas at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a child looking at box jellyfish, and he says this, "I never forgot what he said, that is was the most deadly creature on earth. To me, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen"(Seven Pounds). Water being put into the jellyfish tank in this sequence of scene's connects to past, the present, and the future. The viewer learns about how Ben obtained the jellyfish, why he has the jellyfish, and the jellyfish's future propose, and the water that he is filling up the tank with connecting piece. Ben is literally filling up the vessel that holds the thing that kills him. Water brings life, like that of him finding the jellyfish beautiful, but it can also bring death. As a child Ben thought the jellyfish beautiful, but in this current moment in time, the jellyfish is nothing but a symbol of death to Ben. A  water major symbol through out the film is the relationship between glass and water, which reflects towards the car crash that killed Ben's wife and 6 others. This is most obvious towards the end of the film. Ben puts himself into a bathtub full of cold water and ice where he then puts the jellyfish in with him to be stung. In the scene, the ice in the bathtub looks like broken glass. "A medium close up of Ben, the whole shot is tinted blue. Ben's face is facing towards the right, eyes shut. Lying on his left side in a shower curtain and ice is spread all across his body, looking like that of glass"(Seven Pounds). In this shot, the ice he is laying in and the shower curtain look like that of broken glass. In this entire scene sequence the viewer sees flashbacks of the car crash, giving the viewer the sub conscious parallel between in the ice and the broken glass. By having the ice look like broken glass, this really brings the viewer back around to the car crash and the reasoning behind Ben killing himself in the first place. The ice is the water connecting piece in these scenes.

The diegesis of the film is life and death, and the idea of giving back a life that you have taken. Rain is used through out film as well as the imaginary of the ocean, to symbolise change and new life. When Ben first meets Emily, its raining outside, and Emily herself is a symbol for life for she often surround by rich-in-life decor and warm lighting. Towards the end of the film when Bem decides that it is time for him to take his life, it is raining outside. He then calls Ezra and says this, "..I had to be certain...that you where a decent man. Kind, slow to anger...I want to give you a gift"(Seven Pounds). The gift that Ben is talking about right here is the gift of his eyes that he is going to give Ezra after he dies. In this scene its raining outside and the background behind Ben in blue and dark, then when the shot goes to Ezra the lighting is brighter and yellow. With these two tints, combined with the imagery of rain, it gives the viewer the idea of one life ending and another begging, rain being associated with life. The deeper blue tints behind Ben suggest the colors of the ocean, which can easily be associated with death. As Ben kills himself in the bathtub, it's important for the viewer to notice all the blue in the scene. The whole bathroom is full of blue tiles and other blue things like the shower curtain. " An aerial view looking down. The bath water is a light blue with ice in it looking like that of broken glass. The tiles around the shower are a deeper blue, so is the curtain. Rubber gloves and the bottle of neutralizing liquid for the jellyfish sit on the bathtub. A note sits on the floor. Ben wears long pants, sneakers, and a short sleeved red shirt."(Seven Pounds). By having the all the deep blue's in this shot and also having a aerial shot in the scene helps the viewer to be reminded of the ocean at the begging of the film. Subconsciously, the viewer gets the idea of death in how the shot is aerial. At the begging of the film, the shot looks up through the water towards a light above. Now the shot looks down and there is no light. This gives off the feeling of watching someone rise up to heaven from death and of someone small and helpless, which is the feelings of Ben in this shot. The ice in this shot also looks like Ben is sitting in broken glass, giving off the theme of a broken man and death that occurred in the car crash. All the dark blue's in this shot along with the aerial view give the viewer the feeling of death occurring. After Ben dies he donates his heart to Emily, and the  theme of water and blue shows up again. As Emily is being wheeled into the the operating room the reoccurring theme of blues shows up , but in a much lighter tone. "A wide screen shot of the operation room Emily is in. All the doctor's are wearing blue. The equipment in the room also looks blue. A single light shines down in the right hand side of the screen where the doctor's are implanting Ben's heart into Emily." This shot represents life. This shot is similar to that at the begging of the film in that there is a single light shining through a blue background. This shot is the opposite of what it looked like  in the bathroom where Ben just took his life. The room is full of movement and lighter blues. Water can take life, but is also give life and in this shot that becomes clear to the audience through the lighting and the parallel image of the begging.

Film is a very moving art form. The ability film has to move an audience is above and beyond unbelievable. Film does this in many ways, and we see in Seven Pounds several method's that film can move a viewer. In this case, the symbolism was some of the most beautiful throughout the film and made a real impact on the viewer. Although maybe not seen at first, the symbol of water in the film leaves a special kind of emotion with the viewer and helps to bring the movie around in the large circle to bring to the surface how emotional the screenplay is. By understanding the deeper meanings behind any film and acknowledging the amount of passion and time put into film, helps a viewer to really feel understand the message that is meant to be left by the film makers. Seven Pounds is expectation, with its amazing imagery and moving theme. Seven Pounds is a very powerful movie full of life, death, and how to save humans and the human mind. The symbol of water discussed above was just one the amazing way that the creators of Seven Pounds helped to leave a viewer with an emotion of hope and understanding.

Television Film Terms

Television is sometimes not seen as a film, but this is very false. Television shows hold just as much cinematography as any movie. By picking apart the new hit show, The Black List, one will see many examples of how Television is like that of full length film.


In this photo, an example is shown of lighting, more specifically, low key lighting. Low key lighting is typically used in very intense settings and is a darker lighting then usual. The Black List is a intense crime show with a much deeper underlying plot that can be seen through the low key lighting used in this shot. The main character, Raymond Reddington is sitting on the right and with the bright light in the back it makes him seem more intense and shadows most of his body, making him seem very shady and untrustworthy. The man in the back left corner who is almost totally shaded also adds a dramatic feel and you get the idea form his shaded lighting that he not only works for Reddington, but he too is untrustworthy in this scene.
In this photo, a good example is shown of contrast. Contrast is used to help create intense moods and give a feeling towards one character over another. The background on the left side is much brighter and holds more yellows, while the background on the right is darker and holds more gray. This not only creates nice contrast but helps to give an idea into the character The man on the left, the woman's(right) husband has always been one step ahead. He has always had a plan, while she continues to stumble around in the dark. The contrast helps the viewer to see the man first and his image to help give and idea to the scene and the underlying plot's.

Here is good example of decor. The decor in a frame is just as important as what is happening with actor in film. Decor is used to hint towards the idea's and feelings that need to be brought out. Here we see the main character (Reddington), who is a very strong and independent character, but he does have an inner fear that haunts his every move, sitting  in this unfinished building. The viewer gets a hint at the other side of Reddington The room is a bit of mess and is being tore down. There is no paint on the walls and the only real furniture is the lamp. We also see the Reddington is sitting on a box labeled at Fragile, suggesting his fragile state and messy life he keeps hidden.
This is an example of shallow focus. Shallow focus if when the background for foreground is very out of focus and the depth of filed is little to none. The viewer will notice Reddington in this shot and nothing else and that is because the man on the left and the background are in shallow focus. Reddington is the only thing in this shot that is in focus the viewer will only really see him.



Here the viewer will see one of the warmer shots of the show with the lighting. Lighting is very important to create a mood and that can be seen very well in scene. Without knowing the show, one can tell that something touching has happened and for one of the few times in the show, Reddington is showing sympathy. Even though Reddington body language does not suggest the sympathy he is feeling, the lighting creates it his mood. The lighting in this scene also helps to give the viewer a brighter look upon these two characters relationships.






Costume is very important in film to give insight into a character or to maybe give a character an image. Here we see the husband of the female lead, Elizabeth Keen, Thomas Keen. He always wears very simple clothes to give the idea of his life being less complicated and dark then his wife's, who always wears dark clothing. The clothing he wears is also meant to fool the viewer into thinking that he is a simple family man, which is not true. His clothing is used as a cover of his real purpose in the show and to shock not only the others characters in the show but the audience when his true identity is shown.


This shows what is called a close up. This is where the camera gets very close to the actor's face to show the detail upon the actors face whether it be an emotion or some important image upon the face. Close ups are typically used in a very personal moments for that character. It is used to bring the feeling of intimacy to the audience. In this shot, the close up was used  to show the human side of Reddington and make the audience see his weaker, softer side and to sympathize with him.

A medium close up is different from a close up in that it is usually not just the actors face but their bust as well. Medium close ups are not as intimate but do show more the background and what the character is wearing which. A medium close up can make the character seem closer with more intimacy then usual,  but still show the character living in the plot, as where close up's have a feeling of the character lost in themselves for a few moments and hold much more feeling then a medium close up.

In this image, the viewer sees a change in color. Color can be very important for creating moods whether it is a tint in the film for the colors seen through out the foreground and background. Here, the viewer sees a bit of green tint, suggesting towards illness. The color helps to make both Reddington and the other man look more sickly and stressed and also to give the idea of decay and destruction happening around them through out the scene.




Lastly framing. Where the images and actors are places in a frame can create a mood and can cause a viewer's to see certain things in the frame and not see others. In this shot here, Reddington is in t e right side of the frame and is also leaning to the right, forcing the viewer to look in his direction. This causes the viewer to see Reddington's face first before the emblem above his head to get an idea of what his mood is and how the scene will continue.

Blog Post 28

In my previous blog post I talked about common terms used in film and how they can be reflected into every day music video's. The terms included Auteur, Diegesis, Editing, Flashback and Flashforward, Focus, Genre, Mis-en-scene, and the difference between a shot and a scene. This week the class and I watched many more videos and continued to see these terms come into play for each video. For Auteur, or the "author" of the video, the song Swimming Pool by Kendrick Lamar. Just by listening to song and not watching the video or the background of the artist, one would have no idea that the song is

about Lamar's struggle with alcoholism. For diegesis, in the music video, See You Again by Carrie Underwood, you say an obvious massage of both happiness with reuniting and also with the pain of losing, but full of hope of never begin gone forever. The colors throughout the film where warm and the film was made up of other people stories of living and losing, helping the watcher to get the feeling's the song has intended. Flashback's and Flashforward in music video's are pretty common in that there is always at least one throughout the videos. I Carrie Underwood's video for Just a Dream, we see the

flashback and flashforward begin used almost continually to help hint the audience into the meaning behind the song and the feelings that were felt and are going to be felt to the person that is in the song.
In the music video the best of Times by Sage Francis, we see Mis-en-scene begin used very well along with interesting focus and stylistic type of genre.  The mis-en-scene, or the still shots in the film that could tell a story, are plentiful in this music video with casket full of photo's scene throughout, referring to letting the past go. The focus through out the music video is great as well as in Sage Francis face continually goes in and out of focus with his background. The video is made is a stylistic genre, which means it does not tell a story. Although there are some story like elements to the video, most of the shots and scenes do not follow a direct story-like pattern.

Music Video's are Film

Music video's although sometimes not thought of as "film", holds very much film like characteristics, and when looked at with a more careful eye, music videos hold the same values as normal film. One of the terms used for film that can be seen in music video's is Diegesis. Diegsis stands for how the film invokes an attitude and idea upon its audience. In the interesting animation music video, Rolling Girl sung by Hatsune Miku and animated by a man by the name of Vocaloid, although the audience is never told that the song is about abuse, due to the video it can be inferred that the song speaks out against

abuse and bullying.  For the same video, the Auteur is Vocaloid. Auteur stands for the author, or director of a film. This could just be the band itself or a film director. Another common term with film is Mis-en-scene. This is when, is still shot was taken in a special location within the film it would tell a story, without and movement or music. This can be seen very well in the music video Monster by Eminem featuring Rihanna. Through out the music video, you see Eminem himself in a cage like elevator. The song is a reflection of how Eminem is now famous and how it almost hurts to be as such. If the music video where stopped at any point where he is in the cage, a mis-en-scene is born. By looking at the still shot of him in the elevator you get the feeling of his being trapped and it tells his story of struggle with fame.

A lot of other common film terms can be used for music video, such as Editing, Flashback or Flashfoward, Genre, scene and shot. Editing can be scene in every music video. How the shots change and how they may speed up or slow down with the speed of the music is just one if the many editing styles that exists in music videos. Flashback and Flashfoward is very commonly used in music videos.

In the music video for What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts, flashbacks are constantly used to help the audience see the diegesis of the film. Genre in music video's usually stands for if the video if stylistic or narrative. What Hurts The Most is a good example of narrative and the song Something Beautiful by NEEDTOBREATH, is an example of stylistic.  Scene stands for a clip of video that is on going through a period of time in the film, and shot stands for every time the image in the frame changes. 

Mass Culture; A Time of Growth in Humanity

The affect of mass media and mass communication on today's modern era is changing society's around the world from the  way art is experienced and interpreted, to how humans view the world and each other, giving a whole new birth place for empathy and communication to flourish. Is all this change in our society's bringing humans closer, or is it tearing humans apart is still up for debate. As a whole though, mass media and communication is making the world smaller and bringing people together in way that was  not possible before now.
Mass media and mass communication began during the time of the Industrial revolution when the six day irk week turned into five, and people began to have free time to spend. From this developed some the modern ways in which today mass communication is spread and how humans of the modern era spend their leisure time. It began with mass printer invented by Johannes Gutenberg to spread written works, then it was mass produced  art by Albretch Durer, the novel came into production, then the creating of the ballpark changing America forever and eventually leading to the radio, phone, and television which are still big parts of modern days leisure time and mass communication. In these years we see the first beginning's of Popular Culture, a term used that "can be defined as the culture of everyone in a society...In other words, it is to us what water is to fish: It is the world we live in." (, Chapter One, Culture and Mass Communication; How They Interact). Popular culture is what humans live by in this modern era. What is "in" and where an individual fits in the popular culture is something humans live with everyday. Where does mass communication and mass media fits into this? Mass media and mass communication is popular culture.  Popular culture and Mass culture, a term created in the industrial revolution for folk culture, often gets intertwined with popular culture, because in this modern era they are the same. "...mass culture, has evolved. This refers to the things in our popular culture that are mass-produced or shared through the mass media. In America today, that represents almost everything in our popular culture." (Chapter One, Culture and Mass Communication; How They Interact) Although not so highly influenced in other countries, in America, popular culture is created by what society's see through mass media, from commerical's,  news channels , and the ad's that show up on social media websites. Mass media has created the popular culture of the modern era. Many feel that mass media and communication is ruining the arts and the feeling that media once used to have. Part of this is true in that everything in modern society in advertised and Americans especially, are spoon fed what they want to hear by mass communication. But this is that way the world will continue to be. Mass media will continue to change popular culture. It is now the job as a mass culture to find ways to use mass media and communication to the best of humans abilities and help humans grow. In an lecture by Sir Ken Robison, he speaks of the the problems with education around the globe and how humans are  Anaesthetising children with drugs and methods of teaching.  What he says though, also can be seen by the eyes of the whole world. " Our children are living in the most intensely stimulating period in the history of the earth. They are being besieged with information and parse their attention from every platform...collaboration is the stuff of growth."(Robison, Changing Paradigms) Mass media is creating popular culture and it will continue too. Looking back on earlier humans, one can see how the growth in mass media will continue to change the world of  popular culture. The sooner humans can begin to create their own ideas and spread communication around the globe the sooner humans can make mass media and communication work effectively.
Many feel though that mass media  is slowly begging to destroy our world of communication, especially in the form of the arts. With the production of mass media and endless advances in technology, what an artist is capable of in today's modern world is endless, and due to mass media it can reach an endless amount of people. In the documentary PressPausePlay, some of the biggest people in today's modern art world where interviewed on their feelings about the spread of art in today's mass culture. A movie director Lena Dunham who was interviewed at the begging of the film says this. "There's a million different platforms, so that's all really good for people want to express themselves but also makes it a lot harder to kind of break through all the noise." (Dunham, PressPausePlay) Dunham has several a good points here. With the help of technology and mass media, artist's have millions of ways to express themselves and to have other people be influenced by their art. Dunham also had a good point though and that is, it is much harder for and artist to be discovered.  Within the film, several people who are part of the elite culture of art is interviewed. Elite culture is defined as this, "fine art, literature, and classical music."(Chapter One, Culture and Communication: How They Interact) Before the industrial revolution this was a culture of people of higher means, but now in this modern era, folk culture, or mass culture has over taken and many  wish for the elite culture to stay set. In the film the author Andrew Keen in interviewed. He does not agree with the amount of art  begin spread by the means of mass media and art begin created by technology.  "Its global masturbation." ( Keen, PressPausePlay) What Keen means by this is that everyone across the global is trying to get on the "band wagon" of  mass media art, letting those with talent be harder to be found, and only helping to blur the line between the artist and the viewer which, leaving it harder for and artist to make an impact. Keen feels that art should still be a special thing that can only be created by the few who are extraordinary and only be seen/listened to by those who truly care about the art. Even though its highly debated, mass media and technology are not ruining art, but helping to let those who would never had  the chance to experience or create art, get the chance to do so. "I think this is an incredibly fertile time for artists. There is no cap on creativity, the technology advances have given the artist an open door..." (Brenda  Walker, Music Journalist, PressPausePlay) Art is meant to show the artist emotions and is meant to be shared, that what artist's live for, the chance to influence people. With the help of mass media and technology, art can begin to grow and go in direction no one thought is could and then it can be shared to anyone. Art is something that can free the human soul and with the help of mass media and technology more people then ever get the chance to try and experience art, who would have never been possible without the new forms of mass media and technology.
Mass media and communication are not only helping to spread art, but it is also helping to spread human empathy. In recent years, massive amounts of research has been done about human empathy and what it is exactly. Durning the 20th century, ideals developed that humans are nothing but greedy people who only do what it best for themselves. In this modern era though of the 21st with its new forms in technology and communication, the thought process is changing. Jeremy Rifikin, a modern thinker of the modern, mass culture time, says this in his speech, The Empathic Civilization. "We are actually soft wired to actually experience an other's plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves."( Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization) With the research that has been done, it has been determined that in humans DNA, their is natural need for empathy. As mass media and mass communication begin to grow, humans are seeing empathy grow as well. With the help of mass media, ones need can be heard and cared quicker then ever. An excellent example is in the documentary called Craigslist Joe. Joseph Garner, decides to live and entire month just off of the kindness and empathy of people on Craigslist. Garner goes out into the world with no money or place to stay, all he has is iPhone, a computer and the cloths on his back. In much amazement, he survives entire month and travels across the entire country back with only Craigslist as his guide. Empathy is more alive then ever. In his speech on Empathy, The Power of Outrospection, Roman Krznaric says this. "I think that empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophy's of life, become more outrospective, to create the revolution of relationship that I think we so desperately need." ( Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection) Empathy will begin to help heal each other and the globe with mass media there helping to close the gap, and to let that empathy reach father. There is a down side though to how empathy as grown due to mass media and technology. The famous philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, speaks  about this in his speech, First Tragedy and Then Farce. "The real aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible, and the altruistic virtues have prevented the carrying out of this aim." ( Zizek, First Tragedy and Then Farce) What Zizek talks about through out the speech is how the need for empathy is begin met my  consuming. Humans are not going out to give empathy with boost in mass media.  Instead "buying" empathy with goods has taken its place. In America especially, people will buy special products that supposedly help someone across the globe, whether this is a new pair shoes for a African child, like the shoe brand Toms, or just buying organic fruit, its is a round about way of empathy . With mass media and communication empathy is begin spread from county to country, from person to person around the globe, but is it only making the empathy less true and is in the end not helping. To Zizek this  is fact, but it does not have to stay that way. In PressPausePlay, the self made musician Olafur Arnalds, who is interviewed through out the film says this. "...I hope that people realize that's its not about the elitism and rules...but about doing something nice."(Olafur Arnalds, PressPausePlay) With the help of mass media not only the art which Arnalds creates, but empathy can be spread and understood. Humans live in a consumer kind of empathy for now, but with some of the world most modern thinkers and with the realization of empathy, mass media will someday help to spread empathy and change the world for the better.
All that could not be achieved before the 21st century when it come to art, empathy and communication, is now all possible by the modern world which humans live in today. Many would say that mass media and mass communication is destroying humans virtues and is giving birth to a whole new evil  between humans. This is not true however. With the help of mass media and mass communication, humans have begun to open their eyes to see themselves as a global unit, not just and individual. Art and inspiration is begin shared more then ever, and empathy has become something that can be shared across the globe in a bigger better way. Mass media and commutation along with new technology is helping to create a more tightly bound  globe then was never possible before now.

Empathy; The Begging of Something New

Empathy has become a very studied term within our modern area of the 21st century. The ideas of humans begin only monsters and that everything humans do as a individual and as a race is for our own good. This theory  devlpoed in the time of the 20th century, but it has begun to change. Research is being produced more and more proving that humans are born with a very strong empathy for other living things. Jeremy Rifikin, on modern thinker of this new age empathy says this. "We are actually soft wired to actually experience an other's plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves."( Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization) We see empathy deep within DNA soft wiring appearing now more then ever with the age of modern technology, that is helping to spread empathy at a faster pace then ever. Empathy in this modern area is becoming one of humans strongest defense against each other. In speech done by the just another famous thinker of our time, Roman Krnaric, he says this about mass empathy and it power. "We normally think of empathy as something that happens between individuals, but I also believe that it can be a collective force..."( Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection) Empathy and mass media many people believe in modern days society of bringing back human relationships that where lost in the 20th century and through out history due to political and social disagreements. With the new science about what empathy really is and with the great thinkers of modern times, as a human race, we can begin to change our world of  disconnection and hate into one of peace and connection. "I think that empathy is the way to revolutionize our own philosophy's of life, become more outrospective, to create the revolution of relationship that I think we so desperately need." ( Krznaric, The Power of Outrospection)  Empathy is very much real and alive, and with the eyes to see it out society's can begin to change into one of mass understanding and help.
With the discovery of empathy though, all new problems have occurred within humans complex society's. With the help of mass media and technology, underlying problems within our education systems and the need to fulfil humans empathic needs, is shining through.  Some of this reflection of change of attitude can bee seen through the  system of which children are still taught. The  way that children are educated to this day is still based of a factory line ideal and the minds of the industrial revolution which first introduced public school. Times have changed, due to not only the ideas of empathy and begin more in tune with the one and precious life that living things posses, but due to the most stimulating time the world has yet to see. Media has overtaken human lives and even though it is helping to spread the empathy is so important to our community, it also causing mass distraction in school. We need to change our methods of teaching and have more empathy for the children of the modern technology age. Due to the distractions created by the technology and media, standardized testing and standardized teaching have increased. Sir Ken Robison speaks on the issues with old fashion teaching with new technology and says this. "It about standardisation [modern day education]. I believe we need to go in the exact opposite direction." ( Robison, Changing Paradigms) We need to start to "waking up" children not "bring them down" if we want to succeed in modern era. We also see the underlying issues with the realization of how important empathy is to our society. Consuming has become the number one way giving back to fulfil humans empathetic needs. The example used by the famous philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, is when you go to Starbucks and buy a coffee, you are not just buying a company, you are helping to increase coffee growers pays around the world. This idea of consuming and giving back had changed empathy and has become the reason why it seems so easy to give back. Zizek does not agree with this method of empathic completion. "The real aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible, and the altruistic virtues have prevented the carrying out of this aim." ( Zizek, First Tragedy and Then Farce) Even though empathy has become more prevalent in the modern area and has helped to change the view of not only our individual selves , but ourselves as race, the idea of so much empathy has begun to have negative affects on our soctiety that also need to be seen.     Zizel argues that you are not really helping any cause by being a consumer sympathizer, yes it is better then nothing, but you are only helping your own ego. Empathy can become a great solution to the worlds gap between people of culture but we also must make sure as a race that technology does makes empathy double back on its self.

Popular Culture and Mass Media

The study of mass media and mass culture is now a topic that has really begun to be study into. With the help of inventions such as the radio and television, a social and culture world was born full of mass media and mass communication, and has created the popular culture we live today. In the textbook, Mass Media/Mass Culture, An Introduction, Fifth Edition, the writers begin to go into the depth of the modern Americans culture and how that has been shaped by mass media and mass communication.  Culture as they say in textbook is, "...everything the occurs in society." ( Wilson-Wilson) In this modern age, our culture has been altered and changed by mass media. They talk about popular culture or pop culture as "the culture of everyone in a society." (Wilson-Wilson) Everyone in this new society is directly related to mass media. We have begun to see how popular culture is becoming mixed up with mass media and mass communication, to the point where it is hard to distinct the three. "Most of today's popular culture is mass-produced and is disseminated through the mass media." (Wilson-Wilson)

We have now come up with the term Mass Culture which is used to refer a popular culture created by and through mass media. But we must not forget all this advanced technology is not the only one creating the popular culture, but mass media is changing communication, a big part of pop culture. This was the other large topic spoken about in the first chapter of the textbook, the effect of mass communication, like news, upon our society. What we are begin told as a culture, and when and how we see what we are begin told through mass communication, effects how we think as a mass culture.  News channels air certain news stories at certain times to change a audiences attitudes. Commercials and merchandise within movies and videos help the growth of the certain elements to catch on in our mass culture. This is what is called mass communication, "...a process whereby professional communicators use technological devices to share messages over great distances to influence large audiences." (Wilson-Wilson) Very little do we realize how mass media has become part of our society and has created our popular culture through not only the news but through other methods like the Internet, to create a complex society balanced on the modern humans need for technology to the point where Culture, Popular Culture, Mass Communication and Mass media, have all become part of our society to form Mass culture.

PressPausePlay

In the documentary PressPausePlay, famous artist's talk about the modern and the effect of technology and mass media has had on the art of the world, especially music. The basic battle that is fought throughout the film is whether the mass media is helping the spread the culture of art or if mass media is destroying it and creating democratisation. Olafur Arnalds, a modern technology composer who was discovered over the Internet, is the major push through out the film that technology is good, that technology is changing the world of music for the better.
A movie director Lena Dunham, interviewed several times throughout the film says this within the first couple of minutes of the film, and sets the stage for the battle of art in the modern era. "Theres a million different platforms, so that all really good for people want to express themselves but also makes it a lot harder to kind of break through all the noise." (Dunham) All this technology is opening up doors for artists but it could also be destroying the magic in the art.
Andrew Keen, an author interviewed within the film is obviously against all the technology and he speaks about humans think that they are they artist and every human thinks that they can do better then the next guy. To put it in simple words he says this, "Its global masturbation." ( Keen) Humans are loving them selves more then the art that humans listen/look at. Mass media has destroyed the elite image that art used have. All though people within the film says technology is destroying arts commutation eliminate, many other believe that technology in helping with the communication in art.
Brenda Walker, a music journalist believe that all this technology is helping artist to open doors to a whole new thing and is helping to create messages that could never have been shared without technology and mass media "I think this is an incredibly fertile time for artists there is no cap on creativity, the technology advances have given the artist an open door..." (Brenda  Walker music journalist) Art should be able to be experienced by everyone and be able to move everyone. Maybe art is begging to lose some of its power and it is harder for a great artist to be discovered, but artist's live for changing people life and communicating with an audience, that's all that should matter and is cared about with modern day artist, not money.

Within the film, Arnalds is asked to compose a piece of music for a full orchestra, something he has never done before. He is very worried about, for he is worried that those in the audience will not like the piece for it is not totally classical and maybe not as amazing. Even so he says this. " But I think it sound good, and that's what matters...and I hope that people realize that's its not about the elitism and rules...but about doing something nice." This digtial world humans now live is helping to spread a message and amazing art to people that would never have been able to feel or see that art do to mass media. This is changing the world.

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For me this film spoke very deeply. I am living in this age of change when it comes to the arts. I believe that what we are creating is more beautiful then ever and with the help of technology art is toughing more people then ever, and that is truly amazing and something I think I have longed to see and continue to see grow throughout our small world. Art is amazing and we have the chance to spread it and share it so, why not?

                                                           

Blog 22

My class and I have begun to watch this film which discuss's how the world of the arts has changed due to mass Media and technology. So far the film is very interesting to me. Being a fellow musician , visual artist, and me also living in the "new age" of technology, I see somewhat first hand how technology is changing the world of the arts. I will not go into much detail about the film now, for as a class we will be doing that later in the week, but I do wish  to share the music video. In the film, they interview an Irish musician by the name of Olafur Arnalds. He creates music by mixing classical with new age sounds and technology. This music video below is one of his. The video was done by a fellow fan of his, and after seeing it , he made sure that it became the official video for the song. Even though the movie only showed a second or two of the music video, it captured me. I then went home and watched it, finding myself on the brig of tears by the end. It s truly beautiful music and a beautiful video. Its amazing what technology can do.

Blog Post 21; Ceremony Complete

My class and I finally finished the novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko this week, with its rather surprising and almost "Cliff hanging" feel of an ending. I was very unsure what to expect at the end of the novel and was pleasantly surprised to see how much is resolved just in the last fave pages. I was amazed how Silko made the ending resolve, but still made it have a depth to the ending that left many things unsaid, left to be thought over by the reader. The poem at the very end of the novel is an excellent example. Even two days later, I continue to mull over the true meaning behind the poem. The poem made me feel resolved and made me feel like the story had come to end, but I can tell that the poem holds much more than that, a deeper, underlying meaning. So I once again find my self battling with the deeper meaning of this novel even after it has been finished, which is what I think, Silko really intended this novel to do in the first place. She has succeed with me.

"Whirling darkness/ started its journey/ with its witchery/and/its witchery/ has returned upon it./ Its witchery/ has returned/ into its belly./ Its own Witchery/ has returned all around it./ Whirling darkness/ has come back on itself./ It keeps all its witchery/ to itself./ It doesn't open its eyes/ with its witchery./ It has stiffened/ with the effects of its own witchery./ It is dead for now.../ Sunrise/ accept this offering./ Sunrise." (Silko 242-244)

Blog Post 20; The Love Remains

I have now herd from about three men what it is like to go through war. I have had all of these three presenters in school and each of them have held a place in my heart. Each story is different and takes place in different eras, but their is one thing that remains; the pain that is felt when that solider comes home. Weather they lost family or friends to war, the hurt, guilt, and terror of the lives they have taken, and lives lost along side them, always come home. In the novel Ceremony by Leslie Maramon Silko, we see the main character Tayo, a war veteran of World War Two, fighting with the P.T.s and the knowledge of war after coming home, and trying to fight off the pain he feels for all of his loved ones he has lost. Even those Tayo's case in special in some way that he watched his cousin die in a jungle and came home to find his uncle dead, the pain that Tayo feels follows any solider . There is a quote within Ceremony in which Tayo reminds himself that they are not totally gone. That his family and all the friends and people that died still love him, even after death, they are not gone from his heart. I think this paragraph is very important and something I think every solider read and anyone how griefs for loved ones, friend or family.

"The mountain could not be lost to them, because it was in their bones; Josiah and Rocky were not far away. They were close; they had always been close. And pulsing over him as strong as it had ever been. They loved him that way; he could still feel the love they had for him. The damage that had been done had never reached this feeling. This feeling was their life, vitality locked deep in blood memory, and the people were strong, and the fifth world endured, and nothing was ever lost a long as the love remained." (Silko 204)

Blog Post 19

In the book Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, racism is a common theme discussed in the novel. Now that my class and I are close to ending of the novel, the pure hate that ringed throughout the first half of novel has begun to change to understanding the reasons behind of racism,  and why humans have created and continue hate each-other races'. Even though there is obvious reasons for why Tayo should hate the white man,  the race that took his culture, his home, his life, and in the end took his very reasons to live, Tayo has begun to see a new light. He sees that Whites are just humans as well, and there is more to racism then just hate. Humans have created racism and hate because they are afraid. Humans have been lying to themselves for centuries about other races because they are so afraid and don't know how to get rid of the fear, so humans have continue to think that the path they are taking must be true, the path of hating what they fear. If humans continue to think this way, there will always be hate, and we need to learn to stop lying to ourselves and others about what we are doing and what others are doing really and see what we all truly, humans.

"The Lie. He cut into the wire as if cutting away the lie inside himself. The liars had fooled everyone, white people and Indians alike; as long as people believed the lies, they would never be able to see what had been done to them or what they were doing to each other." (Silko 177)

The Art of Leslie Marmon Silko

When asked to write a blog post this week on the novel Ceremony  by Leslie Marmon Silko, I am not sure what to write about. Not only have I written several blog posts on this novel already, but so much has happened within the story that it has become much harder too put my thoughts and feelings about this novel into words. Now that my class and I are half-way done with the novel, and the reading has become harder and more confusing with its jumps in time and symbolism I find it hard to write about one thing and only for a few paragraphs. Even so the pure poetic genius of writing writing Silko has create within this story continues to amaze me.
Never have I read a book in which takes such delicate matters such as racism and P.T.S.D. and truly digs into them. Most authors of historical fiction novels are afraid to dig as deeply as Silko has into the truth in these matters, and yet Silko does her digging not only correctly, but in beautiful style, making the writing flow while making the reader think as well. Silko's art is more about pulling at the emotions and at the strings of the human mind then writing a good novel and or that I am grateful. Silko's novel by far has been one the toughest and one of the most wonderful novels I have read within in school and my life. This will be one of the few book that will change my view point on life.

The Stories That Heal

The novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko has many messages thorough out it, and depending on who reads the novel, the more underlying messages that are discovered. Some of the obvious messages though include; healing through culture and story telling, the racism between Whites and the native Americans, P.T.S.D, racism between Native Americans, and even some sexism. For me I really feel a connection to the idea of story telling healing and the deeper parts of racism that really comes into the light in this novel.  Below I have put two of my favorite quotes from the novel, that ring with what I feel,  Silko is trying to get to in her story  of Tayo's tale.
1. The first is about story telling. After coming back from the war the main character, Tayo, is starting to see how stories will heal him with time. Before the war he don't totally understand how important stories where not just to his culture, but to himself. While suffering with his P.T.S.D., Tayo beings to see what his grandmother and other people in his culture meant with story telling and slowly without knowing it, it has began to heal him.
2. The second quote in about racism and was said the female character Night Swan, a woman who was both involved with Tayo and his uncle, Josiah. Nigh Swan, being of mixed blood herself, says this to Tayo who has been criticized his whole life for being a half breed and not full Native American, creating not only more racism with Whites, but within his Native culture. Although the novel points to the basic racism of all Native Americans and Whites, I think it beautiful how Silko includes the racism within a Native American group. What Night swan says here I feel is very true.  I think part of the reason humans have created racism is because we fear change. Whether we want to admit or not, humans are afraid of change and we lash out because we don't know how to handle that fear, creating think like racism. Silko does great within the novel making the reader see that with quotes like this one.

1. "Everywhere he looked, he saw a world made of stories, the long ago, time immemorial stories, as old Grandma called them. It was a world alive, always changing and moving; and if you knew where to look, you could see it, sometimes almost imperceptible, like the motion of the stars across the sky." (Silko pg.88)
2."'...most people are afraid of change. They think that if their children have the same color of skin, the same color of eyes, that nothing is changing.' She laughed softly. 'They are fools. They blame us, the ones who look different. That way they don't have to think about what has happened inside themselves.'" (Night Swan pg.92)

Reel Ingun; The History of the Native American in Film

In the documentary Reel Injun, we get a look into how Native Americans have been perceived in film throughout time and how in this modern day, Native Americans are trying to get themselves back on the map as humans using film. I have know how harshly Native Americans have been treated in Americas past and I understand that in film they are are usually perceived as savages and killers, but never I  have I really understood how terribly perceived  Natives are until this documentary. Having Native Americans be savages in movies I believe is so ingrained into us at an earlier age, that we no longer question if this is the correct way to see these people. Luckily with the bringing of Dances with Wolves in 1990 and other films during that time, Native Americans have begun to rebuild themselves in the movie industry and across the U.S.

Native Americans within the U.S. are fighting everyday for the survival of their culture and that does not even include their individual tribe's culture but the Native Americans culture as a whole. When the 1990's came around, Native Americans I feel really saw a chance to being their healing as a culture within the U.S. through the media of which had brought them down. We are lucky in this age to now  have Native Americans directing Native American films like Smoke Signals and The Fast Runner, bringing back the human in the Native American. I think with more films and time, Naive Americans will be able to gain back the impedance they have lost and create of better life for their people in reservations and also their image within the land they call home. 

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

In school, my class and I have begun to read Ceremony By Leslie Marmon Silko, a post World War Two story of a Native American,  Laguna Pueblo man, Tayo, after seeing the hardships of war in Japan. Tayo, a half White half Laguna Pueblo, lives on the Laguna Pueblo reservation on New Mexico and is trying to survive the P.T.S.D that he now lives with by healing with stories, nature, and and other culture methods of his people. Although the novel does not yet have an obvious plot line, the novel is written gorgeously, and digs deep into inside battle of P.T.S.D, the Laguna Pueblo culture, along with human nature. I am right now having a lot of trouble focusing on the story just because the book is so beautifully written. Below I have put in parts of my favorite paragraph from the book thus far, because of the amazing language within the paragraph, and how it is used to create the desired  feelings and setting of which Tayo is in.

"Jungle rain had no beginning or end; it grew like foliage from the sky, branching and arching to the earth, sometimes in solid thickets entangling the islands, and other times, in tendrils of blue mist curling out of coastal clouds...this was not the rain he and Josiah had prayed for, this was not the green foliage they sought out in sandy canyons as a sign of a spring. When Tayo prayed on the long muddy road to the prison camp, it was for dry air, dry as a hundred years squeezed out of yellow sand, air to dry out the oozing wounds of Rocky's leg, to let the torn flesh and broken bones breathe...Tayo hated this unending rain as if it were the jungle green rain and not the miles of marching or the Japanese grenade that was killing Rocky. He would blame the rain if the Japs saw how the corporal staggered; if they saw how weak Rocky had become, and came to crush his head with the butt of a rifle, then it would be the rain and green all around that killed him." (pg. 10 Silko).

My Reaction on the Native American Culture

When doing my research in my past blog, and as watching Dances with Wolves, I have become really excited to learning about the Native American culture on a more personal level in the novel Ceremony  by Leslie Marmon Silko, and seeing how being part of this culture in the modern worlds effects the Native American every day.
As I was doing the research on the Chippewa Native Americans, I wanted to keep writing about their amazing culture in my blog post, which in the end, would have been almost a novel itself. I have always really enjoyed looking into the personal life of the other cultures and I find it amazing, and the Native Americans are no exception. Although I wish to learn more about the different Native Americans  tribes past, I understand that I now to dig deeper then just the culture and being to look into the personal affairs with politics and racism that Native American continue to have to learn how to overcome, even in this modern day, and I hoping the Ceremony and other films such as Dances with Wolves will achieve that.

The Chippewa Native Americans

The Chippewa Indians, also know as the the Ojibwa and Saulteurs  in some parts of Canada and Northern Untied states are from the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan area of the U.S. and is the  Fourth largest surviving tribe in modern day with about 115,859 members. It is thought that the Chippewa native people first lived in Canada and moved slowly down in the U.S due to spiritual visions. They eventually made it all the way to great lakes where most still live to this day.
The culture and religion of the Chippewa is very completed and not fully understood. One thing that is understood though and has been passed down since their beggings is that the Chippewa live in doodem's or clans. As of today there is about 150 different clans.
These clans have a major connection to the Chippewa's complicated religion. It is believed that seven great miigis, or holy beings, appeared to there ancestors to teach them a good way of life. One the miigis was unkind to the people and returned to the ocean. The other six remained and created the first doodem's. There was five, the Wawaazisii (bullhead), Baswenaazhi ( crane), Aan'aawenh (pintail duck), Nooke (bear), and Moozoonsii (little moose). Each of these tribes was symbolised with an animal.
Due to this  method of different clans, one can only marry if there are from different clans and
 the wife and husband pair will live in the clan of the husband.
The Chippewa speak the Ojibway language and in modern day many speak English. They are a people know for the Birch bark canoes, sacred Birch bark scrolls, cultivation of wild rice, use of copper arrow points, beautiful bead work and using cowrie shells for trading. They lived a wooden lodges called a wiigwaam, and they are also known for their strange burial mounds. The Chippewa do to bury their dead but instead create a jiibegamig or "spirit-house" over a mound. This is a wooden stake in a mound engraved with the decease's clan sign. Although interesting, this caused many grave looting when the white man started to arrive in that area of the U.S.
The Chipppewa was involved in many American Treaties in its earlier days like most Native Americans and they have done a pretty good job at keeping there land and being humble in it all. One of the hero's from history though was Kechewaishke, or "Great Buffalo".  A man of extremely high stature for his was labeled as the chief of Lake Superior Chippewas, a group of 41 Ojibwa leaders in 1825.  No treaties went through without Kechewaishke approval. He is known for is work, dedication and signing of The Pine Tree Treaty in 1837 to change the laws of foresting in the Ojibwa territory, The Copper Treaty of 1842 over the production of copper across the land and the Ojibwa need for that copper,
and the 1845 Treaty of which led to the guarantee to hunt, fish and gather on all the ceded territory for the Ojibwa. Kechewaishke died on Sep. 7 1855, but helped much in creating territory and land for his people.


Sources:

wikipedia.org
www.indians.org
www.bigorrin.org
http://www.infoplease.com/

Dance With Wolves

The famous movie Dances With Wolves has always been part of my childhood. Although I never sat down and watched in the movie in one sitting as younger child, and  rarely understood what was happening in the film, it is a found memory of my weekends and of the person my mother is, for she loves the film. Now watching again as a young adult and in a different setting then I am used too, I have begun to see the true beauty of not only the cinematography, but the story as well of this film.
In the film I have begun to notice how the camera shots and such cinematography elements, such as music, tiny details in set and costume, and areal shots, have really made this story come to life. I like how our teacher told us when watching this film to think for certain elements that help the story along. Since I have been told to look for these elements, I have gained a lot  respect for the  movie now more then ever because of a the small beauty's that shine through  and then to truly make the movie rememberable. Even though the cinematography in great in the film I feel that there are parts where the story it self lacks and I wish the film stretched m
ore into the life of the Sioux people. I understand how the film tried to show the communication between the white man and the Native Americans of past, and to show that communication and understanding can be gained if given the effort, but on a very personal level I wish that in the movie they showed more of John Dunbar learning of the Sioux's culture. All in all though, I have really come to love this film's beauty and its message.