March 18, 2015

Wk 3 – Project Brief 1 – Lofi Media Self-Portrait

Take whatever you will from these pieces of the jigsaw

Photographs –

I’ve always been prone to surrendering to the power of nostalgia and now, more than ever, I’m finding myself in this constant struggle of distinguishing the line between childhood and adulthood. What I’m trying to convey through these images (taken on a polaroid, i-Phone and digital lomo camera) is certain aspects of both worlds that have me perplexed and transfixed – growing up and learning to come to terms with it. In some regard, my life right now is a coming of age film… sadly not directed by Richard Linklater.

Making mistakes and starting again
Exploration
Experiencing a multitude of firsts
Youth

Text –

(We are the people we encounter, in one way or another. These are just fragments of my memory mashed together that I think of from time to time.)

I once met a boy

Who kissed me at bible camp

And dealt coke for fun

But I knew a girl

Who liked to be called Pepper

Her teeth were like the sun

Then there was Bradlee

Who was neither boy or girl

With eyes like a porcelain cat

————————————————————

(Things that strangers frequently point out to me)

“Oh! Monaliza, like the painting yeah?” x1 million

“Like that painting!”

Yes. Like the painting.

“How did you get your hair so red?”

Hair dye.

Audio –

Children playing. I hear them outside my window everyday without fail and as much as I want to punch them for ruining whatever film I happen to be watching, you have to admire their free spirits… It still doesn’t stop me from wanting to break their scooters though.

3 O’clock on a Saturday? Still too early to hit the pres? Try this. It’s one of my friendship group’s favourite past times.

Video –

Since we’re unable to edit, I wrapped my i-Phone in pink cellophane to highlight the notion that I often romanticise things – seeing what’s not there in reality but what my mind conjures to be true.

1. I have too much nervous energy. It’s hard to believe that someone who loves acting and is an ex-school captain contains anxiety from even raising her hand in class. Since being at uni I’ve tried to work on that. The first week I sat in the back not speaking, bursting with ideas I wanted to share. This week I didn’t even raise my hand and just shouted my opinions. Five times. Progress.

https://vimeo.com/122534141

2. A small portion of my bedroom window. These trees have grown up with me – when they were planted they were no taller than my knee.

https://vimeo.com/122534140

March 11, 2015

Wk 2 – When Iran Meets Vampires

Since there were no concrete tutes this week, I thought I’d give a little review of sorts –

A mod, hijab-clad vampire cruises the sullen streets of Bad City on a stolen skateboard, searching for her next victim. She spies a James Dean-esque boy who is high on ecstasy and dressed as Dracula. This is the beginning of an unconventional relationship – a middle eastern feminist vampire romance if you will.

Excuse me whilst I revel in the brilliance that is Ana Lily Amirpour’s ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.’ Shot in black and white, the film etches a cloying, sad and solemnly fantastical story, which borrows stylistic elements from David Lynch’s ‘Wild at Heart’ and trashy comics. In stating that though, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

Set against the backdrop of an intermediate wasteland, a contemporary Arab rock meets 80s New Wave soundtrack dominates each scene – tying in the ‘California meets Iran’ vibe that Amirpour wishes to convey. The eccentric ensemble (a gangster drug dealer and past-her-prime prostitute included) that occupies the seemingly lawless town adds to the grimy atmosphere that the film feeds the audience and works well in establishing the madness of the piece.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night had me exiting the cinema saying “What. The. Fuck. Yes. YES” but also enraptured with a new found love for Arab electro – reflecting the woozy spell that Amirpour is sure to have you trapped in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nCARJM7EUA

March 11, 2015

Wk 2 – Media is Not a ‘Thing’ Out There

“Media texts do not simply ‘picture’ or ‘reflect’ a reality where meaning resides.”

It’s a frightening thought to think that we can’t separate ourselves from the media texts that we consume day in and out. We’re consciously and subconsciously overwhelmed by sensory perceptions, which is what the ‘excursion’ during the lecture reiterated. Heading out to Swanston street, I wasn’t entirely sure what to focus on first – my relentlessly ‘dinging’ messenger, the snapchat I sent, the signs on the buildings, the music blaring from stores or the Tibetan protest taking place on the steps of the State Library?

It’s worthwhile to think about the fact that we can never take a break from information or media outputs – even as I sleep the hum of my dvd player or the light from my laptop consumes the space and remains at the back of my mind. Just then I checked my phone twice as the quiet tapping of fingers on keyboards is therapeutically breaking the ice in the room.

Perhaps we should all be trying to find some form of ‘silence,’ even if it’s just for a little while each day.

March 10, 2015

Wk 1 – This week on Girls

“But I think that I may be the voice of my generation… Or at least a voice… Of a generation” – Hannah Horvath, Girls

Like most people today I am an avid watcher of anything HBO. If it’s aired on this network, then I’ve most likely seen it – sadly, more than once. I feed off it like Humbert Humbert and his pre-teen Lolita’s, so when Monday strolls around and normal members of society are complaining about yet another working week, I run home giddy because it’s ‘Girls’ time.

I first heard about this show from the idle banter that one hears in the back of a high school classroom (paraphrased for reasons of decency) –

Student 1: That scene was so messed up

Student 2: That’s why I love her

Student 1: Like, I love her, but where does she come up with this stuff?

The ‘she’ in question is twenty-eight year old Lena Dunham, the creator, director and protagonist of Girls, a show which follows four friends in their early 20s as they try to make sense of life. To say that I was hooked from the opening scene is an understatement. Finally, a show on prime-time television that does not shy away from censored topics and furthermore, actually depicts women with accuracy.

What is to be admired about Dunham is the fact that she brings forth an array of truths on screen. Scenes that explore female sexuality are awkward and real – a lot of debate arising from the excessive nudity that the show presents as well as the amount of masturbation and ‘kinky’ sex involved. Additionally, the featured actors are not your typical Hollywood starlets. Tattoo clad, voluptuous and vulgar women like the character of Jessa are welcomed and according to Dunham, “don’t necessarily have to be liked because you know what, girls are annoying, [they] aren’t perfect, so we shouldn’t make them out to be.”

As a media practitioner, Dunham’s efforts are inspiring and courageous. Baring her soul and her body (literally) in what feels like every episode, she tears down the barriers of conventional beauty and though often revealing the ugliness of society, never fails to take viewers by surprise.

March 5, 2015

Wk 1 – Hi, my name is…

Introductions are difficult. What does one share with a group of virtual strangers? What is too much information or not enough information? Who do I want to construct myself to be? Hi, my name is Monaliza, I like new-wave French cinema, bad romance novels, musicals, beer, James Franco etc. etc. – all facts spliced together to create some sort of identity.

In this respect, it’s fitting that the first project brief consists of self-portraits, a topic which is omnipresent in this day of selfie culture. This is an opportunity to share who we think we are, and one that I am enthusiastic, though a little agitated, to explore. Humans have a tumult of faces that they present to the world – the respective masks they wear when with their friends, their work colleagues, class peers… So which is the one that I reveal through this project?

Moving beyond the front camera of my i-Phone to represent myself through various forms has my mind bursting with ideas but it’s a challenge to pick the right few and to place the proper pieces together. Marie McGrory of National Geographic establishes in her article, ‘The Un-Selfie: Taking Back the Self Portrait,’ that “[you don’t] need to see someone’s face to learn about their essence,” which is a quite serene statement. All of the qualities, talents and interests that we embody make us the people sitting in this classroom today – we are not merely physical beings that can be understood at a glance.

March 5, 2015

Wk 1 – Media is Relearning

Channeling the creative spirits of Lena Dunham and the Coppolas, I attended my first media lecture…

And contrary to the Russian dictatorial style that was expected, I was quite relieved to find that it was casual – a room full of likeminded people. Someone mentioned that we should think of university as being connected to our lives and not as a separate body of education, which is quite a beautiful notion to take into account – we are “media practitioners today” and not merely at the end of our degree. Those simple words really struck a chord and prompted me to shed a different light on this course and my ways of tackling it. In the timeless words of Mr. Keating, “Carpe diem boys, seize the day.”

The required reading, ‘Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes,’ Proved just how much I succumb to the generational shift amongst the youth of today…yes, I inhabit a very short attention span. Though aspects of the reading intrigued me (i.e.: the findings of Generation M’s media usage,) I found myself having to resist the urge to check Instagram and abuse the free wifi, which was the general concord of those surrounding me – “slaves to technology” as a new peer pinned it.

Anyhow, I suppose that by the end of this course, I’d like to have a firmer grasp of technology so that I’m fully able to explore my craft and express my art with an audience. I feel that the technical side of filmmaking is restricting my creative processes, purely because I don’t have much of an understanding of software and whatnot. I learn best by listening and mimicking the actions of others so I’m eager to see what everyone has to offer… Who knows, perhaps the next generation of Jean-Luc Godard’s are amongst us.

Can’t wait to meet you all, M.