HERE is the link to the lecture slides.
Please post here your reflections/opinion/arguments/questions pertaining to the Introductory Lecture. Again this is a free space for discussion. Feel free to raise anything relevant to our lecture.
As nudge for further reflection, you can address some of these questions (however, feel free to raise any idea that you may have):
1) We used the example of Ugly Betty in class and how the show can be studied in different ways. What other media products are you interested in studying, and what might be the possible questions/approaches that you can take in studying them?
2) Give examples of how the discourse of globalization is framed as a) dream and b) nightmare.
3) Follow the news coverage of today's terror threat in London. How are discourses of risk and terror constructed by the media? What are the recurring codes and themes that they employ?
4) Following our discussion of Lost and Ugly Betty, can you give further comments as to how Otherness and sameness are "played with" in media narratives? Any examples from Philippine programs?
5) What enabling/disabling roles does the Internet play in the global media space?
I am excited to hear your thoughts.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
MAG people, try to catch Transformers. Not only is it an audio-visual spectacle, but one can "read" so much stuff in it. It's interesting how popular discourses of modernity, risk and terror, and technology filter through the film. E.g., on modernity: they deduce that the robots' advanced technology is Japanese, alluding to the "alternative modernity" (they're modern but not in the "Western" sense) that Japan represents. Also check out how they represent LANGUAGE in the film.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Hi Sir! Sorry, I haven't seen Transformers yet. Thesis is eating my life! Haha.
Anyway, here goes:
4) It's not really a media narrative but I think the "reality show" Pinoy Big Brother is very interesting in relation to the interplay between Otherness and Sameness.
The show, which ended last Saturday, tried to create an image or a definition of Filipino-ness. There is Sameness in how as a whole, the housemates were able to get along and relate to one another as they all had a Filipino root (i.e. either they were born and raised in the country, have Filipino parents, speak Filipino, etc.)
Yet, it was interesting how the housemates nuanced "Filipino-ness" in their perceptions of one another. For example, in their explanation of who should be the Big Winner, the housemates said that Mickey qualifies even if "he's not really Filipino" (Mickey grew up in a different country and speaks "bulol" Filipino). However, in their defense of why Bea should win, they no longer felt the need to mention that she is part-Taiwanese. It was as if they viewed her purely as a Filipina as opposed to Mickey who for them seemed like a pseudo-Filipino. It was noteworthy how they established that Other-ing against Mickey and not Bea.
Then again, all the housemates, regardless of their differences, were presented by the show to the public as "truly Filipino."
Comments/Questions
*I can see how globalization can become a nightmare. For instance, why does there have to be an American Idol, a Philippine Idol, etc. or a Pinoy Big Brother, *insert citizenship here* Big Brother, etc.? Some argue that these global tv show formats create a homogeneity between cultures. BUT some say that such formats actually highlight the peculiarities of each culture.
*Oh and Sir, I don't really get the explanation on the screen as an interface. How about an example? =)
1. Sir, have you seen Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? It's like a more serious, more engaging "30 Rock" by Aaron Sorkin. I like how we see how the "actors" and the "crew" and all the other people on the inside perceive themselves and their role in contributing to media. It's very metafictional.
2. Snide comparison, but in the NBA, we often see how globalization can be both a dream and a nightmare when teams draft or add foreign players to their roster. In past years, there has been a large influx of foreign born players and it's nice to see how some of them are just universally hailed as saving a franchise (Yao Ming) and other are just reviled (Nikolov Tskitishvili). At the same time, you can argue that teams are now placing less emphasis on local American players and how its ironic because you can better examine how an American player is going to shape out as compared to foreign players, etc.
If you look at the situation now with Yi Jianlian, a Chinese player who is now demanding that he be traded to a city that has a larger Chinese or Asian population, you can see how these players can be both a boon and a bust of certain franchises.
1) Because of thesis (as you already know), I am interested in exploring the politics of Pinoy media and the entertainment industry, specifically the construction of the celebrity. Perhaps a good case study regarding these matters are Sunday variety shows, ie ASAP, SOP and how the quintessential celebrity is portrayed (Toni Gonzaga? Hahaha).
2) Today, I kept mumbling “time-space compression” and “time-space distanciation.” Perhaps this is a more personal take on the globalization as nightmare thing (or a hangover from reading Rantanen), but I felt very claustrophobic in a metaphysical sense. The lines between certain territories, or aspects of my life felt too thin, or perhaps they weren’t there anymore. It was like there was a movement from outside to inside (or the other way around, depends on where I stand). To be all irrational and foolhardy about it is to blame it all on globalization and the primacy it gives on economic gains and the so-called wonders of mass-mediated relationships but I am more reflexive than that. Of course, this heavily relies on the context of my here-and-now. Basta, ‘di lang bilog ang mundo—maliit din!
5) Connected to my #3 exposition, the Internet, more than just facilitating communication has revolutionized the way we see communication, per se. The electronic age has given me the impression: space as imagined, therefore can be arbitrarily and somehow easily breached by different modes. Also, in conjunction with Marshall McLuhan’s “medium is the message,” the Internet took whatever concept of global media space we had and replaced it with far-reaching but very fragile lines that connect points to multiple points, taking with it a new process of uploading and downloading new information and connections. As a disclaimer on possible accusations of reductionism on my part, I do look at this as both positive and negative. While it facilitates faster and relatively easier communication strategies, the question of the quality of the (hyperreal) relationships it pushes forth does arise.
Ayee, I like your example of Pinoy Big Brother. It is definitely a show that constantly "flags" national identity. And being a reality program (versus a fictional program), one can argue that its constructions of nation appear even "more" natural.
And yes, the process of glocalization (global product being translated to local context) needs to be approached with a more nuanced lens than the age-old imperialism thesis. And here we will use the concepts of hybridity and translation. Mixing and intermingling shouldn't be seen as a seamless fusion but as an experience of tension and ambivalence. And post-colonial critics will highlight the relations of domination that continue to be reproduced. More on this later.
Re media as interface--"the literal inscription of image and text"--I believe Silverstone stresses the ability of the media to caption, to label, to anchor, to contextualize, and to give meaning to the images that we see in the media. Here I turn to Hall and his concept of the "preferred reading" as well, of how media messages are always-already given a particular framing.
Adrian, I haven't seen Studio 60, unfortunately. I have a lot of catching up to do with regard to the most recent TV season. The concept of metafiction is indeed interesting, but in itself it's not really an issue to be discussed in a globalization and media course. I'm excited however for you to take your interest in sports further. Your concern over the "flows" of players across physical/imagined borders should be interesting to study from the perspective of how media discourses talk about this, whether it's a celebration of an intermingling or a panic over an invasion.
Tin, your celebrity studies thesis sounds promising. I'm excited to hear as well whether you plan to examine constructions of celebrity and their intersections with nation, race, gender, sexuality, etc. :)
I just realize something sir about Ugly Betty. The series that we watch today is the "Americanized" version of the show, but aren't there more versions of it especially in the Latin American countries. I have encountered the show "Betty La Fea" as well as "Betty La Mas Fea" and so on.. i think it's interesting on how a single product absorbed for a global consumption.
So would you argue that Ugly Betty is an example of contra-flow (Colombian, "non-Western" product imported to US)? It would be interesting to compare different constructions of Latina and beauty in the different contexts as well as how audiences respond to them. Myka, do you plan to study Ugly B for your case study?
I know some people here watched Transformers already. Post naman, people! :)
Post a Comment