Assignment #2: Music Video Analysis

 The above video is Michale Jackson's "Smooth Criminal", the best music video ever. It was released as a single for his album "Bad" in 1987, and the video was also featured in Michael Jackson's movie (yes, he had a movie. And it was terrible) "Moonwalker". The dancing, the pure kick-assedness of this video is overwhelming. Seriously, if you haven't watched it, watch it now! It's 10 minutes long, but it's worth it. I can wait, really.

Seriously, go and watch it.

It's fine. I made myself a sandwich, go ahead!

All right, good. Now that you've settled down, here's the part where I analyse it for my teacher- er, I mean, for you, my loyal readership.

 And I guess because I'm making a post about a piece of Michael Jackson's work, I have to talk about his unfortunate death. I think we can all remember where we were when we found out that our beloved MJ had died. Does that say something about our culture? Sure it does, but I wouldn't say it's necessarily bad. It's things like this, whether it be the death of a president or the greatest pop artist of all time, that bring North Americans (Canadians and Americans alike) together. I choose to see it as a good thing. Anyway, on with the show...

 In this video, Michael Jackson is presented basically as a god. In Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson does some of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. The dancing is perfect, the choreography of all the extras is perfect. I can't think of anything wrong with this video. (Well, the scene where everyone goes all quiet for a minute seems kind of out of place, but it builds up the tension). In one part, Jackson shoots a guy. Not only that, but the guy goes flying backwards and crashes through the wall. He picks up a pool ball, crushes it into dust, and blows it in someone's face to knock him out. This video enforces the belief of the time that Michael Jackson is a musical god!

 And that's something I can agree with. MJ did so much for the musical world. With Thriller he revolutionized the music video, and with Smooth Criminal, it was perfected. Now, like most videos, it presents the main character (the singer or whatever) is presented as being the pinnacle of humanity. Who doesn't want to be like MJ (before he died, or became creepy, of course). What 12 year old girl doesn't want to date Justin Bieber?
 On the same sort of line, this music video doesn't so explicitly express any specific values. I mean, you could argue that it glamourizes the life of a criminal, but it doesn't really. It's just a brilliant display of dancing and choreography, and it is awesome. You know what this video get across to me? It says "Zach, learn to dance. Only then will you unlock your full potential."

 This video can only be appreciated by people who don't suck. Most people I've talked to haven't seent he video, but I haven't met someone who saw the video and didn't like it. It perhaps doesn't indulge in sex and drugs like modern music videos tend to do, but at the end, MJ shoots up the bar. Kind of out of place, again, but this video is too awesome to be nit-picky.

 This is a great music video. it's fanstastic! Superb! Magnificent! Absolute- well, you get the point. It's awesome. I challenge you to find a more awesome video. I have never seen better choreography in my life. That makes this video worth loving. To me, anyway.

Seriously. Tell me this isn't awesome!

Sexism and the Internet

 All right, so I realize I may say things that people may not like, but that's the great thing about the internet: I don't have to care what you say! In all honesty, this post was done very quickly, and could have been way better thought out. But it's been a long week. And with that, we begin.

 So, the reason I'm making a post about this is because of Lindsay Ellis, aka The Nostalgia Chick, (Her videos can be found at http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette ) has been posting tweets and blog posts about sexism and the internet, particularly on her video's comments. Apparently some people have been making comments about her video about the X-Men cartoon along the lines of "You're a girl! You can't watch the X-Men!!11!one!!11". This, and the fact that Lindsay is a feminist, made her a little upset- And I don't really blame her.

 Here's the thing: being a High School student, I have to hear a lot of sexist jokes. Whether it be about a friend's mother or girlfriend, or "make me a sandwich" jokes, the general male population of my North American city will not shut up about how they think women belong in the kitchen. I'd be lying if I hadn't made the occasional passing joke like that, but I'd like to think I treat everyone equally (which may not always be a good thing. I'm an equal-opportunity sarcastic jerk) and with at least a sliver of dignity.
 No doubt you've heard of the website "mylifeisbro". For those who don't know (and I'm not providing a link to it. Google it, you lazy fools) it's a website in the format of "fml" (Google that too if you don't know) only full of sexist jokes about having sex with your friend's girlfriend followed by her making a sandwich. Whenever I'm forced to work next to the pricks at my school, I have to listen to them reading these "jokes" and I hate it. (Ironically enough, these are the guys with girlfriends!) The internet in general seems to be targeted at a male audience. Now, the numbers say that, while the ratio of male-to-female internet users isn't differed by much, males use the internet more often, and for longer. (http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1716582/the-online-battle-sexes). So, perhaps internet media is logically more geared toward males, but that doesn't mean that all this sexism is justified, or that the lovely ladies of the internet should just sit and take it.

 Now, that being said, I also love the internet because of it's free speech. Anyone can feel free to join a forum about anyone of their interests (whether it be 80s cartoons, Sci-Fi or creepy Furry-tentacle-Hentai) and make posts and live their lives anonymously as they choose. I'm all for that. And the internet shouldn't be censored either. So no matter what you do, it's always going to be there.

‎"So here's how it is. Women are going to be in your space and they aren't going to say sorry for it. They will watch your shows and play your games. When they go to cons, you don't get to grope them. If you build them a pretty ghetto out of popsicle sticks and glitter glue, they will not move in. When you troll their sites in an effort to shut them down and make them go away, they will laugh and move forward."-bitsyrant. That about sums it up right there. To be honest, I think that if someone wants to make a sexist comment, they might as well do it, because quite frankly, no one can stop them. But they shouldn't be surprised when someone comes back and starts hating on them.


 My main point is this. If you want to say something stupid, you have the right, but by doing so you open yourself up to all the other people who have that same right to start hating you. To the ladies: if you have a problem with someone's sexism, do something about it. If you want something to change, then help make that change1 Make a well thought out blog or video that does your gender justice. You're called the fairer sex for a reason! (See what I did there? Fair, justice. Heh). Send them a polite reply and show them that you're the bigger person. You need to keep us guys in check.


 Anyway, just thought I'd post this little something. Also, I've been informed that Nestle and Kraft use child labour to make their products. So.. y'know... boycott them I guess.

Next Stop: Everywhere

 All right, folks. This begins a blog that is part of my assignment for my Media Studies class, but will most likely be updated after the assignment is complete. With that being said, let Post Numero Uno begin!

 Media is extremely important in my life. I'm a nerd. Not only that, my friend John and I started an A/V club at our school, just to give you an idea as to how big of a scale we're talking in terms of my geek-scale. (It's way over 9000, btw).

 To me, film and the Internet (not too specific, I know) are the most important to me. Film is perhaps my favourite art form, as it incorporates every aspect of art and storytelling and brings it in to make one beatiful piece. The Internet is really important, as well. For one thing, it's what's allowing you to read this right now. Communications over the internet like emails and the like have made the creative process easier. No longer would a writer have to mail a script to a director, it now takes only seconds via email.

 For my next trick, I will choose 3 different types of media, and tell you (and explain in detail) my favourite example of each. First off...movies.

 Ah, movies. How I love thee. Being my favourite art form makes it hard for me to choose my favourtie. So many great films came out last year. As a young boy, I didn't have parents as you may have. My parental units would place me in front of the television set. I, like many children, had a different favourite movie every week or so, and would watch it each day at least once. Over the past few years, I've really delved into film analysis and the like. It's what I'm known for (well, I'm known for a lot of things. The ladies call me "magic fingers"). Anyway, I'm going to narrow my list to my favourite/best movies that came out in 2010, because quite frankly, it was a great year for movies. Inception is definitely my favourite movie of the year. The way it was set up is in such a way that you can misinterpret anything in the movie, and Chris Nolan makes you rethink and overthink every detail of the film. The next one is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. This movie isn't for everyone. It's for people who are into geek culture, and it was pure fan-service. And I love it for that. I always have to remind people to judge this movie like a musical. People always ask me "how do they fight like that? Why are the physics so messed up? It's all like a video game! IT'S SO DUMB!!111!one!" When you watch Grease, you don't question how they all know the dance steps and sing in unison, and it's the same idea with this. Of course, I have trouble naming my favourite movies of the year, but I'm sure you'll hear about them over the course of this blog's running.


 Next, I'll do video games. I don't play games like most people. I'm not a gamer, really. I grew up and didn't have the latest and greatest systems. We had Sega Genesis, Gameboy and Playstation. And only a few games for all except the Genesis (we had a tub full of games for that baby!) I played all the classic Nintendo systems with my next door neighbour when I was a lad. I now have a DS Lite and a Gamecube. Anyway, favourite games are Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Classic game that didn't need a complex plot to move it along. (As Alex Day says... "Sonic doesn't need a story. He runs fast and gets rings and loop-de-loops his way into your heart.") I also dig the Super Smash Brothers series. I can kick some serious butt in that game, and it's super fun to play with people. Same with the Mario Kart series. I casually game. Pokemon is also on that list, as it's incredibly nostalgic for me.


 For my third media type, I guess I'll choose Television. There's a lot of good TV out there. My favourite TV show, as show apparent by my username and the name of this post, if Doctor Who. The concept of this show is so simple that it's versatile enough to go basically anywhere, but specific enough to have cannon and keep your interest. Another show I love is (despite SOME PEOPLE'S opinions) is The Big Bang Theory. I understand the complaints with it, and I realize that the characters are kind of like shells, but it's like Italian comedy in that there are a select few niches of characters, and they make jokes with them. Same for any sitcom really. And finally, even though the show is finished, Arrested Development. A hilarious show that is WAY better than Modern Family. Loved every moment of that show.


 And finally, the home stretch. What I use media for. (If you're not my teacher, you could probably care less about this part, and are free to skip to the next paragraph). I use media for a whole lot of things. Whether it be hitting "random page" on encyclopaedia dramatica, or finding out the latest news going on in Egypt, I use the internet for everything from reading comic books (completely legally of course. Pshaw) to talking about them on forums and message boards. I watch movies, I listen to music, I read... media is everywhere, and I embrace the best (and sometimes worst) of it. And in the end, that's what this course is about.


Too long to read? Bummer for you, huh?