Category Archives: REFLECTIONS

In class, I was handed a sheet of paper and asked to plot points on a graph to represent how I have progressed throughout Media One.

The variables related to; media objects & stories, working independently with tools & equipment, critical thinking and our understanding of the blog.

As I had expected, each of these variables increased gradually and consistently, there were no dramatic spikes aside from a slight increase in my understanding of the blogs, chiefly developed from observing my peer’s work and Geoff Lemon’s – a journalist from The Guardian.

I am looking forward to developing my critical thinking as I progress throughout the degree.

The Graf Thing

The Blog Board

12 May 2015 – Lectorial

In our enlightening lectorial, we explored what an institution comprises of. We established that; institutions are governed by expectations, they may have some kind of legal framework, cultural rules,  rituals, symbols and community recognition.

After an enjoyable analysis of David Simon’s HBO drama The Wire, marriage came into focus as one of the most universal examples.

This got me thinking about my situation.

So, I’m engaged. I finally popped the question in 2014 after 10 years of being with my life partner. But, we’re not married yet… and we may never get married, the reason for this is that we plan to prioritise our spending on overseas travel, living expenses and our daughter’s education.

My grandmother is 93, she’s sharp as a tack, speaks her mind like she’s got nothing to lose  and wouldn’t hesitate to offer you a bed if you were down and out, though she is old fashioned. She was born in the 20’s when institutions were a lot different, for example, women had only just been granted the right to vote!

Naturally, a bone of contention has grown between us as a result of our opposing ideals, it is mostly lacquered over with funny quips like “When are you getting married?” “Let me look at my watch!” etc. Through this light exchange, there is a mutual understanding that times have changed, however, it is hard to look away from the underlying hurt that ensues from our opinions on life. My Gran does not hold back from reminding me that illegitimate children born out of wedlock were shamed in her day, similarly, I am often expressing contemporary views about the world that, for her, may be regarded as offensive.

The ideals of certain institutions that  have been forged in to our minds,  seem to have become indelible; they have fastened themselves to the psyche as if they were a part of the human anatomy.

As an advocate of change, I find these interactions challenging, I find it hard to rise above my Gran’s antiquated views because the more we disagree, the more we seem to dig our heels in.

We have become obstinate, disillusioned and tired of the impositions that have been lugged on to us from our ever changing society.

To agree to disagree seems to be the best resolution but, really? Is this all we’ve got??

Social media 1 hour per week 1.68% – being less engaged in social media like Facebook, Pintrest and Instagram than I once was maybe 2 years ago, a have resorted to these forms as more of a quick message check each morning to see what the world is saying.

TV 14 hours per week 23.5% – admittedly, my vice consists of The Simpsons, Futurama, Big Bang Theory, The Antiques Roadshow and The ABC News. I’m always trying to justify if my TV consumption as a relevant means to my growth and… hell yeah! It is helping me grow! It’s satire, it’s progressive, it’s full of fables and emphatic meaning. I am viewing my toons in a different light now that, I’ve started analysing narrative, semantics and the mise-en-scene.

Print 7 hours per week 11. 8% – which I worked out as being primarily research books for school and the MX on the train travelling home.

Cinema 2.33 per week 3.9% – I’m including screenings for cinema studies and perhaps 1 movie that I might catch each month at the Como.

Internet entertainment 7 hours per week 11.8% – this HBO series model has had me imitating Portlandia’s 2012 sketch where a couple obsessively view until their regard for a world outside becomes futile in their minds. Yep, that’s me and many of my friends and family! I blame Breaking Bad for my Dad’s dog’s weight gain.

All up, I’ve worked out that 52.3% of my life is taken up by media consumption and though it may seem like a lot, still, I don’t think I have enough.

Hazel Ocskó and Benedict Kazlauskas in All War is Deception (2013)

After reading the reading by Robert McKee, I was inspired to bring my focus back to my first theatre production. I had received much positive feedback about the story that I was telling however, there were criticisms that, most of which, were centered around the story’s development.

Forced to adhere to an encroaching deadline, I had to fast track the preproduction process and move things to the stage as soon as I could. Despite each character being thoroughly developed and explored, there were still gaps for the audience; I ascertained this from surveying those in the know, some audience members and the performers themselves.

I guess the reason I keep banging on about my play is that, I want to rewrite it and apply all that I’ve learned from Robert McKee, Lajos N. Egri, Konstantin Stanislavsky and Gilles Deleuze and bring these characters back to life. Because the majority of the play’s development was centred on character, I, and some of the performers, feel that we have become friends with our creations. I have empathy and sympathy for each character as they represent a part of us.

I believe that McKee’s idea of the switching protagonists could be applied, also, Bordwell and Thompson’s notion of establishing a primary narrator.

So, just to offer a synopsis in a nutshell; it is a tragedy where a box of toys come to life within in the mind a young boy, there is a box ballerina and 3 toy soldiers, each of which have their own character traits. The toys world is set in the time of the Second World War and the ballerina ends up being gunned down before the third soldier can profess his love, this is paralleled by the boys story whose dysfunctional family is falling apart. The protagonist model as it stands goes, A) ballerina B) young boy C) Soldier3. Long story short, it’s confusing… there is no one to root for. Should this production be revisited, the protagonist model with need to be strengthened by simplification, perhaps it begins with the ballerina until it is superseded by the boy.

www.allwarisdeception.com