Evaluation

1. Before this class, I had never used a blog before.
2. It was a convenient and easy way to do the homework, and easy to get into the habit of doing one per week. The blog also helped me understand more difficult concepts, such as hegemony, by requiring me to talk about it in the discussion sections.
3. I never really had any problems using the Blogger website.
4. See above.
5. I liked the Film Language blog about describing a scene from a movie and showing how the director conveyed emotion because it made me think about how I would have shown the emotion if I had directed the movie.
6. Yes. It is easy to get into the routine of doing it every week using topics from class. It keeps important ideas in your head longer than just the day they are talked about in class. It's also easy to look back over them if you want to study the topics you talked about.
7. I would possibly have the graders comment every once and a while on various blogs explaining what was good or bad about it so you get feedback on how you are doing sometimes.

Yes, you can use my blog in a paper or report.

Globalization

Globalization is the system of interaction among the countries of the world in order to develop the global economy.

Cultural imperialism, which is the practice of promoting a more powerful culture over a lesser known or desirable culture, can be attributed to the rise of globalization of the media.

This excerpt from The Telegraph shows how even in England, the country the US fought a revolutionary war with, a country that has had its own culture for quite some time, cultural imperialism is still effective.

         "In Britain, we are exposed to American culture so extensively and in such depth that one might be led to imagine that we have absorbed it entirely. We might, indeed, be presented as the ultimate example of the American cultural imperialism that has aggrieved so many people around the world – even, in some cases, to the extreme point of persuading a few of the most insane to engage in terrorist acts against America and Americanism."

 It is thorough the globalization of the media that the extent of America's cultural imperialism is possible.

Advertising

The advertisement I am choosing is the new Nike ad featuring Lebron James. The ad is basically a response to his fans after his choice to move from Cleveland to Miami. It shows Lebron at first by himself asking the viewer what he should do. As the commercial progresses, he keeps asking the question while trying out different ideas ranging from acting to selling shoes. The ad eventually ends with Lebron scoring a basket and the Nike slogan "Just do it." appearing on screen. It was powerful because Lebron is directly confronting fans and the media that are mad about the decision he made. It feels very personal.

In Professor Straubhaar's lecture he talked about how one appeal of advertising is achievement, prominence, or attention. A few characteristics of this type of ad are the style. Usually the ads are very stylish and hip causing viewers to talk about it. They also grab your attention, and sometimes even media attention. They also focus on repetition to get their point across.

By using one of the most high profiled basketball stars in the world and having him directly address his fan base, using a very stylistic approach, and repeating the same message of "What should I do?", this ad embodies all of the characteristics of a well done commercial. Most importantly, it got people talking about Nike.

Three act structure

The movie "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" uses the three act structure that Professor Ramirez-Berg described as being in use in Hollywood today.

The first act sets up the conflict, a floundering film-making oceanographer's best friend is eaten by a "jaguar shark" and he is out to exact his revenge. Along the way we are introduced to the main crew of the ship, and meet a possible son Steve had many years ago. Before the crew sets out on their journey, a reporter is assigned to them to write a story, thus completing the first act around 30 minutes into the movie.

The second act is about 60 minutes long and deals with the crew's search for the shark. Along the way we learn about what each crew member does and what they do in their free time. Steve, in an effort to catch up to the jaguar shark, decides to recklessly cut through unprotected waters getting the crew taken hostage by pirates. He then attempts to fight back and successfully defeats the pirates, ending act two.

With wounded pride, Steve and the crew who haven't abandoned him set out to rescue the bond company stooge and finally kill the jaguar shark. The third and final act lasts about thirty minutes. It is here that Ned, Steve's son dies, but not before they find the florescent snapper, a sign the jaguar shark is near. The crew then goes down in the mini-sub and sees the jaguar shark actually exists. Steve, after all he's been through, decides to let the shark live and ends up making, like he used to, a hit documentary, bringing the movie to a close.