Different Suggestions: Plavalaguna's Performance in The Fifth Element

Figure 1.1 Diva Dance from The Fifth Element
Source: Youtube

Last Tuesday, Professor Petit spoke of a conception called the male gaze, which suggests that a whole-scale relegation permeates the media which is relevant singularly to figures characterized as female (Lecture: 22 Oct. 2013). The thought process encapsulated within the male gaze leaves no ambiguity that a woman standing in the confines of a media artifact is designed in such a way that the visuals of her representation, along with components of sexuality, are the weight bearers of the most significance (Professor Petit Lecture: 22 Oct. 2013). Finally, Professor Petit acknowledges that women are imbued with a necessitated utilization, evident in their stance being situated in the perceptibility of male figures who simultaneously occupy media artifacts (ibid). Explanation and case study was introduced through an episode situated within The Fifth Element, whereby an alien of femininity, Plavalaguna (Maiwenn Le Besco) performs a song while the wealth of consumers are of the opposite sex (Professor Petit Lecture: 22 Oct. 2013; Youtube: Diva Dance from The Fifth Element). Yet, I have discerned that the audience also betrays female visitation in reference to the event under investigation (Youtube: Diva Dance from the Fifth Element), which I find interesting because the consumerism centering upon Plavalaguna then fails to be the solely the culmination of an equation connecting her with males, indeed bearing a linkage between the alien and both sexes. What does this suggest for the conception of the male gaze permeating the aforementioned scene?

                                                                             Works Cited

Frizull. "Diva Dance from The Fifth Element." Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 7 Mar. 2010.

     Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

Petit, Michael. "Rhetorical Analysis." The University of Toronto at Scarborough. The University

     of Toronto at Scarborough, Scarborough, ON. 1 Oct 2013. Lecture.

 

Sexual Illumination in the Media's Realm: Examining a Scene from Phantom Lady

figure 1.1. Phantom Lady - The Jazz Band Scene (1944)
Source: Youtube

During last Tuesday’s lecture offering attention to psychoanalysis and its theoretical affiliation with media, I was intrigued by Professor Petit’s documenting of Phantom Lady (1944), or in a more specific manner, the scene documenting a musical activity which betrays connotations of sexual intercourse (Professor Petit Lecture: 27 Oct. 2013). In the clip, the two integral characters are located in Carol Richman (Ella Raines) and a practitioner of the drums identified as Cliff (Elisha Cook, Jr.) (Youtube: The Phantom Lady - The Jazz Band Scene (1944)) . The camera-work can be characterized as majorly indifferent to Cliff’s affiliates, as it is he who takes over the view (ibid). In the illustration of his character, the bodily fluid of sweat storms forth while the portrayal of facial expression would make one hard-pressed to not perceive a dimension of exertion and gratification (ibid). Shifting focus to the captivated Richman, she appears to manifest the fact that something is pulsating her, suggested by her powerful and satisfying mannerisms of physicality (ibid). Greeting the culmination of the brief illustration from the motion picture was an inquiry of Professor Petit: what are the conceptions implicitly up for grasp within the aforementioned part of the movie (Lecture: 27 Oct. 2013)? Though I myself did not respond, another student suggested what I myself calculated in reference to the scene, which is that the engagement of Richman and Cliff illuminated an instance of sexual intercourse linking the characters, an instance which paid no attention to physicality and all of its focus to connotation (Professor Petit Lecture: 27 Oct. 2013). As Professor Petit suggested, this utilization of suggestion came to be catalyzed by postulations finding representation in the Hays Code, a documentation device which issued forth illustrations of what is a justifiable depiction, and what does not enter this realm, thus necessitating a Hollywood barrier to its visitation in the enjoying of a motion picture (ibid). One postulation is that illustrated sexuality will be barricaded from consumers of Hollywood, defeating any semblance of explicit materialization, which is telling of the Phantom Lady scene (ibid). Despite the secretive elements, I was able to grasp the connotation of the scene in an instantaneous fashion and I think this is because there is no ambiguity in my mind that the media which has come across my eyes has betrayed sexual illumination in its illustrations, a statement true of the music I have listened to since my teenage years, the programs on television I have been providing my attention to since high school, and the small amount of films I engage with. If these media have embedded something in my mind, it is that the sexual circulates media artifacts in a great way, thus allowing me to grasp that an eroticized perceptibility is continuously lurking.

                                                                       Works Cited

Petit, Michael. "Psychoanalytic Analysis." The University of Toronto at Scarborough. The University

     of Toronto at Scarborough, Scarborough, ON. 22 Oct 2013. Lecture.

Yourveins. "Phantom Lady - The Jazz Band Scene (1944)." Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube,

     4 Sept. 2008. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

 

The Arising of Stereotype in the Media Construct: Detrimental and Effectual Practice

Brian L. Ott and Robert L. Mack suggest that the illustration of figures in the media’s projection who hold positions of the myriad of races perceivable in our multi-cultural world can be explained utilizing the conception of the stereotype (140). The author’s explanation of what a stereotype is extends to an encapsulation of a given collection of people whose common denominator is race, while the major hallmarks of the concept are illustrated in their failure to betray any semblance to the realistic form of the group and leaving no room for complexity of representation but instead offering a demographic connection with the minutest attributes (Ott and Mack 140). After a brief description, the authors tackle the conception of ramifications, explaining that the engagement with stereotypes delivers a configuration of the group finding stereotypical representation from the media’s hand, putting forth significant qualifications about the people encapsulated, such as whether they are allotted an advantageous or disadvantageous aura (ibid 140). The consumer, however, also appears as a significant stake-holder in this equation because visiting stereotypical dimensions of groups can be the directing agent in the engagement we experience with similar peoples, the suggestion being that our eyes viewing entertainment with stereotype permeating it will consequently allow the detrimental mode of perception to paint the picture of our reality (ibid 140).

Everybody Loves Raymond Season 8 DVD
Source: HMV.ca

            My favorite television show has always been Everybody Loves Raymond, and though I would not suggest it is tremendously significant to the program’s backdrop, when the nationalistic atmosphere is conveyed, its extends to the Italian demographic ("Roberts Date" Everybody Loves Raymond). When I read this section from Ott and Mack, I thought about an episode where Raymond’s (Ray Romano) brother Robert (Brad Garrett) acknowledges that something is “whack,” a term which holds a position in the lexicon of slang, the word meaning ludicrous and similar synonyms (ibid). Upon Raymond’s acknowledgment of the enunciation of this term, as well as a perception of his brother’s form of use, he makes the stereotypical comment that due to the Italian aspect of their lives, the connotation of “whack” bears no relation to outrageousness, while Raymond’s implied connection pertains to mafia language (ibid). I am interested in the comedic dynamic this creates. If a character in a television show forwards a humorous comment with the conception of stereotype permeating it, I am not sure if the audience comprehends that a reality-based suggestion has been aimed at them. If my perception is true, there is no ambiguity that a stereotype continues to be a disadvantageous conception but at the same time, perhaps it can fail to permeate thought processes.

                                                                      Works Cited

Everybody Loves Raymond Season 8 DVD. Warner Home Video. HMV.ca. Web. 13 Oct. 2013

Ott, Brian L., and Robert L. Mack. "Cultural Analysis." Critical Media Studies: an Introduction.

     Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. 123-150. Print.

"Robert's Date." Everybody Loves Raymond. CBS. 1 Feb. 1999. Television.

 

Analyzing Media's Overview of Class: Watching MTV Cribs

figure 1.1 Chad Kroeger on MTV Cribs
Source: Youtube

In the sixth chapter of Critical Media Studies: an Introduction, Ott and Mack are suggestive of the fact that the activity of media analysis opens many valuable doors to one who wishes to study the ever flowing American belief systems in reference to the country’s different classes (136). Two perceptions are attainable when engaging with significant media role-players, illustrated in the conception of television for instance, as well as their postulations within the subject matter of class (Ott and Mack 136). The first illustration is one which conveys no sense of ambiguity in depicting the presence of differentiation in the midst of different people stationed within constructs of class, each of which are painted with significantly different brushes (ibid 136). As the authors suggested, take the MTV television show Cribs for the purposes of an explanatory device (ibid 136), a program which I have utilized in the construction of my blog through the segment offering view upon Nickelback’s lead singer, Chad Kroeger, and his residence. In becoming acquainted with the tremendous things which come to constitute the house, evident in the glamorous swimming pool residing within the home’s construction and the inventive and tremendous kitchen where cuisine is prepared, among other examples (Youtube: Chad Kroeger on MTV Cribs Smooth), there is a suggestion which arises from this representation for the consumer: The viewer, who is suggested as being a constituent of the middle class position, if not the lower, perceives the discord between their life’s standing, and that characterizing a celebrity (Ott and Mack 136). As Ott and Mack suggest however, another acknowledgement is housed within this dynamic constituted by the media’s directives in connection with class. The other suggestion which arises is the postulation that if one imbues themselves with significant effort and tremendous aspirations, they will simultaneously fail to succumb to economic disadvantage but instead experience the conception of elevated life (ibid 136).

When I used to watch MTV Cribs, I never felt a poor disposition or disadvantageous in relation to the famous figures within society appearing on the program, despite the wealth illustrated. Speaking for myself, I would not characterize the differentiation suggested by Ott and Mack as an instance of detriment for those grasping a station of class located in lesser conceptions than celebrities. Instead, the construction offered in the Cultural Analysis chapter betrays, if anything, positivity. As the authors suggest, American media acknowledges that putting one’s tremendous strength in the formula for the grasping of the advantageous is integral, and in my opinion, this suggestions is marked by positivity (ibid 136).

                                                                              Works Cited

Humosch. "Chad Kroeger on MTV Cribs Smooth." Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 9

     Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Ott, Brian L., and Robert L. Mack. "Cultural Analysis." Critical Media Studies: an Introduction.

     Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. 123-150. Print.

 

 

We Give the Meaning: The Human Delineating of Suggestion

Traffic Light
Source: MDSA10H3 Lecture: Petit - Rhetorical Analysis 

In discussing signs, one facet of the discussion bears reference to the conception of arbitrariness, an element which explains that the message received by society through the sight of a sign locates its contingency in atmospheric ideas of society, such as its perception within different eras of time and the intellectual affiliations with which others have placed alongside the visual concepts (Professor Petit Lecture: 1 Oct. 2013). Professor Michael Petit suggests that signs attain the capability of suggestion because figurative human hands have delineated a message to speak alongside a given visual form, thus acknowledging that any evocation that permeates a sign fails to be the handiwork of its own devices (ibid). Professor Petit illustrated this with the examples of a traffic light and smiley face. Focusing on the former, it is feasible to suggest that common knowledge extends to the connotations delivered by the red, yellow, and green bulbs within the traffic device. In humans delineating what the message of a given color will extend to for instance (ibid), this action seem to me another example of societal education, similar to delivering the news (Ott and Mack 13). The common denominator is that these lines of action come to undertake the objective of providing information the impetus to sprout within the construct of society (Professor Petit Lecture: 1 Oct 2013, Ott and Mack 12-13).

                                                                          

                                                                          Works Cited

Ott, Brian L., and Robert L. Mack. "Introducing Critical Media Studies." Critical Media Studies:

     an Introduction. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. 1-19. Print.

Petit, Michael. "Rhetorical Analysis." The University of Toronto at Scarborough. The University

     of Toronto at Scarborough, Scarborough, ON. 1 Oct 2013. Lecture.

Traffic Light. MDSA10H3: Introduction to Media Studies Lecture. The University of Toronto at

      Scarborough. Photograph Taken from PowerPoint Presentation, 1 Oct. 2013. 

Signs Conveying Difference: The Case of the Guitar



Gibson Firebird V Electric Guitar
Source: Long and McQuade

 

Schoenbach Student Violin Package 220 4/4 OF
Source: Long and McQuade

This past week in lecture, Professor Michael Petit was suggestive of three aspects encapsulated by the conception of signs (1 Oct. 2013). Though significance can be attributed the all three of the concepts, I am going to focus upon that of difference. Professor Petit acknowledged that anytime a sign gains a form of illustration, a linking process in reference to different images is continuously prevalent “behind the scenes”  (Lecture: 1 Oct. 2013). Take the case of the guitar: the instrument’s design features extended strings, analogous in physical conception to the violin, among a myriad of examples, and yet the agents of differentiation centering upon the connection between the two musical tools are what allows for the full and multi-layered grasping of them in their own respects (ibid). In this conception, which provides an outfit of role-player for both similitude and a lack of sameness (ibid), I am curious about which of the two is more pivotal in the formulation of product, in this case the guitar: If the instrument pays its greatest adherence to concepts of construction which place it underneath the umbrella which also houses the violin, it indeed appears painted in the light of a simply modified manifestation of stringed musical tool (ibid).

 

                                                                                 Works Cited

Gibson Firebird V Electric Guitar. Gibson. Long and McQuade. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

Petit, Michael. "Rhetorical Analysis." The University of Toronto at Scarborough. The University

     of Toronto at Scarborough, Scarborough, ON. 1 Oct 2013. Lecture.

Schoenbach Student Violin Package 220 4/4 OF. Schoenbach. Long and McQuade. Web. 6 Oct

     2013. Web.