Category Archives: Random Post

No comments

/ Annotated Bibliography from Popular Culture /

  By samanthabeniacbrooks • June 1, 2015 , , , ,

So here is a post relating to the elective I am doing at the moment (Popular Culture).

I wrote this Annotated Bibliography to submit for the final assessment piece (we had to write 3 bibliographies).

I want to know what people think of the idea between Fan-Celebrity interaction. It was previously discussed in a lecture for Media 1 and I myself am definitely apart of this fan-celebrity culture which is why I am so interested in it.

Here it is below.. enjoy!

Ferris, K 2001, ‘Through a Glass, Darkly: The Dynamics of Fan-Celebrity Encounters’, Symbolic Interaction, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 25-47.

 

In this article, Kerry O Ferris examines the interaction between celebrities and their fans, further suggesting that perhaps there could be a theory developed for fan-celebrity interaction. The article explores the dynamic relationship between fans and celebrities, and the ways in which some “fans make and take advantage of opportunities for prestige encounters at public events” (Ferris 2001, pg. 25). However some fans actively pursue celebrities to create fan-staged encounters often blurring the line of being an, ‘active fan’ and showing similarities to ‘celebrity stalkers’. Whilst Ferris acknowledges the face-to-face contact between celebrities and their fans, she also brings attention to the interaction between fans and celebrities via mass media and the way in which it “can incorporate the fictional and the extraordinary into their real, ordinary, everyday lives” (Ferris 2001, pg. 25).

 

To form a deeper understanding of fan-celebrity relationships, Ferris collected observational and interview data over a two-year period from ‘active’ Star Trek and ABC soap opera fans. She describes active fans as “pursuing beyond interest, consumption and enjoyment of the television show”, whilst also “forming social bonds with other fans and participating in activities” (Ferris 2001, pg. 28). Collected were a series of twenty in-depth interviews with active fans (fifteen women and five males), who discussed their “television viewing habits and practices, personal histories of fan ship and fan-celebrity contact” (Ferris 2001, pg. 29).

 

The article provides a deep insight into the developing theory of fan-celebrity relationships, recognising that not all fans blur the line between ‘active fans’ and ‘celebrity stalkers’. Whilst also having collected subjective data from interviews, Ferris gathered notes whilst attending “conventions, autograph signings, and personal appearances at store openings” (Ferris 2001, pg. 29) in which fans can interact face-to-face with celebrities, providing an ‘in the field’ perspective. This enabled her research to have a multi-faceted approach supporting the theory of fan-celebrity relationships.

 

Whilst the article provides a range of data to suggest that there is a potential for a theory of fan-celebrity relationships, there are some limitations which include the fact that Ferris has used an unbalanced male to female ratio (15 females and 5 males) potentially giving an inaccurate result, as the results could be gender-affected. However, this ratio could perhaps suggest that there are in fact more female ‘active fans’ than there are male ‘active fans’, implying that further research within this area is suggested. Ferris also states that the data is focused primarily on fans, as it is “solely from the fans perspective” (Ferris 2001, pg. 30), giving no other outlook (that of the celebrity/celebrities involved). Nevertheless, this could also be seen as a strength of the data, as it is purely “naturalistic data” (Ferris 2001, pg. 30) which enables for the examination of “indigenous perspectives and meanings” (Ferris 2001, pg. 30) of these active fans.

 

The article is useful for individuals looking into the fan-celebrity interaction as it provides a multi-faceted approach to the developing theory of the contact between these two groups. Potential research into different fan-celebrity groups is however required as this article only looks at Star Trek and ABC soap opera viewers. In addition, it may also be necessary to gain a perspective from the celebrity’s viewpoint.

No comments

/ There is something wrong with Teddy /

  By samanthabeniacbrooks • May 29, 2015 , ,

The above is a YouTube video posted by user ZeFrank1.

This little video is something my brother showed me the other day. I was a little confused at first because I didn’t understand the reason for it, but as it went on, I became more interested in it and I wanted to know what happened next.

The video is classified as a ‘dark-humour’, which explores the notion of a stuffed Teddy Bear having a medical procedure to remove ‘bad things’ from his body. Some of the contents within him include gangrene kidney crayons as well as cigarette butt filled bon-bons (which made me feel sick lol).

The whole video surrounds this teddy and we question how it got so sick. We find out that, “Teddy loved a bad boy. What did the bad boy do, Teddy? Oh Teddy, the bad boy broke Teddy’s heart’s heart.”

This made me feel a little emotional because I always used to think (and still kind of do) that toys have hearts and they get hurt too. Growing up, I used to take care of my toys as if they were my babies because I had a genuine care for them. It is interesting to think about this as they obviously do not have an actual alive heart and they cannot breathe. But this video basically says that they do and this teddy has been affected by a bad little boy who was his owner.

I don’t know, maybe it sounds silly but this definitely grabbed me because of the content surrounding what we see. Maybe I am just a very emotional person. I don’t know… I loved the video though.

I definitely recommend you have a watch. 🙂

No comments

/ Sound Design /

  By samanthabeniacbrooks • May 24, 2015 , ,

Nobody understands the excitement I feel to be starting a new elective next semester. Cinema has been great but the subject as a whole is not where my heart lies. Sound Design is one of my many passions and I just cannot wait to learn how to use particular programs to create sounds even if it is for film.

So what is Sound Design?

According to Google: Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production, and video game software development.

Here are several different links you can follow to some of my favourite all time soundtracks/songs from movies in the past 20 years. Everyone hypes over movies like Frozen but I hype over those movies that have the most beautiful instrumental pieces.

In some particular order:

Social Network; David Fincher (2010) (Music by: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yydZbVoCbn0

The Imitation Game; Morten Tyldum (2014) (Music by: Alexandre Desplat) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVDQ9eHYJqk

Interstellar; Christopher Nolan (2014) (Music by: Hans Zimmer) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDVtMYqUAyw

American Beauty; Sam Mendes (1999) (Music by: Thomas Newman) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al21Vtlsg4A

Here is a long video with quite a few different songs from several different films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nM33VDmzvk (It’s important to note that Hans Zimmer appears quite a few times suggesting that he has done pretty well for himself and is now a well-respected Sound Designer).

Happy Listening!

No comments

/ Prepare your tissues /

  By samanthabeniacbrooks • May 24, 2015 , ,

So after seeing a friend share this video on her Facebook profile I decided I would have a watch… and it was pretty worth it!

It is about a young, to be wedded couple, who go through a life-changing make-over through the ages that they will in the future become (ages 50-90).

The couple get to see each other through these ages together commenting on how they are feeling about what they see and what they think about themselves. Christie mentions that “it’s a really affecting thing to see someone you’ve known since you were 19, in their 70’s and imagine what life would be like then” which for me is important to hear as it shows just how much love these two share for each other and the fact that they still would want to be together at this age.

The idea of togetherness brings many people watching to tears as it shows just how powerful and strong love truly is and that the way a person looks is all to do with the journey they have been on. Christie also mentions that there is a “strange comforting feeling seeing him this way” (THE FEELS !!!)

Something that really stuck with me was the statement Christie makes towards the end of the video; “being about to get married.. I couldn’t be more sure that this is what I want.” #goals

Have a watch and see for yourself just how beautiful this video really is 🙂

 

No comments

/ Self-Promo (tbh) /

  By samanthabeniacbrooks • May 8, 2015 , , ,

I’ve decided to upload this lil cover I did of Sia’s Titanium. Singing is a huuuge passion of mine and I sort of wish I was doing that as my main career but it’s so good to have back-ups right! Plus I don’t think I would get very far.. HAHA.

anyway if you are reading this – give it a listen and tell me what you think xx

No comments

/ Random Post about Project Brief 4 – Sound /

  By samanthabeniacbrooks • May 4, 2015 , , , ,

Screen Shot 2015-05-04 at 10.59.11 am

 

So last night I was watching the news with my family and I saw that the Kew Tram Depot was celebrating a centenary. They showed images of children using tram simulators so that they could see what it is like to drive a Tram. This shocked my brothers and I as we thought it was the coolest idea EVER.

My brothers and I are all really obsessed with any type of game simulator whether it be flight simulator, train simulator or truck simulator. So us being us, we googled ‘tram simulator’ and I found this little website: http://tramsimulator.com.au/. I clicked in and found a big red button. I clicked the button and there was just a tram ding. Not the best outcome BUT it has come in handy as for our Group 4 Project, we are creating a soundscape of the media bombardment in which we all experience every day.

We will now record this ding being played in order to add the sound of trams as a media text.

Sometimes my random thoughts can be helpful!

No comments

/ Netflix and what not /

  By samanthabeniacbrooks • March 30, 2015 , , , , , ,

So I wanted to write this because of Netflix finally being made available to Australia (thank god it’s here now).

I used to watch the American one where I filtered my location to Los Angeles or something in order to access the beautiful streaming service.

To give an overview of what it is, thanks to the companies overview page: Netflix is the world’s leading Internet television network with over 62 million members in over 50 countries enjoying more than 100 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

Sounds fabulous does it not? WELL IT IS.

I don’t know whether having Netflix will now cause a stir in terms of Foxtel because people potentially will no longer want to pay for Foxtel when they can access things online for a cheaper price. However it’s great because I think we are moving back to paying for watching things online (I never really watched anything illegally that was downloaded but I know many people did) and I believe that now with the introduction of Netflix and then the Australian versions Stan and Presto, people will be more inclined to pay a monthly fee to watch as many things as they like.
Hmmm.. leaves me thinking!