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.