If anyone wants to join forces email me at Shane_Farrell@brown.edu
31 October 2008
30 October 2008
Thurs. 11-11:30 Comedy Central
The Daily Show, sorry if this is repetitive it seems to be a popular choice
1) progressive.com commercial
2) Jack Linx Beef Jerkey commercial "Messing with the Sasquatch"
3) Daily Show begins, opening credits, refers to show from night before, refers to Obama as running for "President of TV," parodies Obama's info-mercial that was aired on 7 different channels
4) advertisement for Election Special on Tuesday night with Stewart and Colbert (Indecision08)
5) iPod touch commercial
6) GetSmart DVD commercial, encourages viewers to vote on Election day, ties election into commercial
7) Verizon commercial
8) Domino's commercial
9) RocknRolla preview
10) Old Spice commercial
11) back to show, montages of statements about "Community Organizers," parodying statements that Republicans have made about Barak's experience, parody interviews with Community Organizers (curse words are bleeped)
12) James Bond - Quantum of Silence preview
13) ad for "Cities of Underworld" on the History Channel
14) Sprint Instinct Phone commercial
15) M&M commercial (advertising sweepstakes)
16) BudLight commercial ("Drinkability")
17) RocknRolla preview
18) Transporter 3 preview
19) ad for Thank you for Smoking premiere on the Comedy Channel (Saturday at 10, similar viewing time)
20) return to show, Bill Kristol(editor of Weekly Standard) introduced, interview, discuss McCain and Palin, campaign, more serious, straight-forward than rest of show
21) ad for Indecision 2008 (Poll Dancing) , combined with adverstising for AT&T(sponsor)
22) separate AT&T commercial
23) preview for Zack&Miri
24) Gamefly commercial
25) Gilette Shampoo commercial
26) Subway commercial
27) RocknRolla preview (again!)
28) Indecision 2008 ad
29) Daily Show credits, goes directly into Colbert Report intro
I was surprised by the amount of movie previews(in theaters, not the ones shown on TV). Interesting cross-over of advertising between cinema and TV that I wasn't used to(haven't watched American TV in a long time) This was also not a category in Williams' article - recent development?
1) progressive.com commercial
2) Jack Linx Beef Jerkey commercial "Messing with the Sasquatch"
3) Daily Show begins, opening credits, refers to show from night before, refers to Obama as running for "President of TV," parodies Obama's info-mercial that was aired on 7 different channels
4) advertisement for Election Special on Tuesday night with Stewart and Colbert (Indecision08)
5) iPod touch commercial
6) GetSmart DVD commercial, encourages viewers to vote on Election day, ties election into commercial
7) Verizon commercial
8) Domino's commercial
9) RocknRolla preview
10) Old Spice commercial
11) back to show, montages of statements about "Community Organizers," parodying statements that Republicans have made about Barak's experience, parody interviews with Community Organizers (curse words are bleeped)
12) James Bond - Quantum of Silence preview
13) ad for "Cities of Underworld" on the History Channel
14) Sprint Instinct Phone commercial
15) M&M commercial (advertising sweepstakes)
16) BudLight commercial ("Drinkability")
17) RocknRolla preview
18) Transporter 3 preview
19) ad for Thank you for Smoking premiere on the Comedy Channel (Saturday at 10, similar viewing time)
20) return to show, Bill Kristol(editor of Weekly Standard) introduced, interview, discuss McCain and Palin, campaign, more serious, straight-forward than rest of show
21) ad for Indecision 2008 (Poll Dancing) , combined with adverstising for AT&T(sponsor)
22) separate AT&T commercial
23) preview for Zack&Miri
24) Gamefly commercial
25) Gilette Shampoo commercial
26) Subway commercial
27) RocknRolla preview (again!)
28) Indecision 2008 ad
29) Daily Show credits, goes directly into Colbert Report intro
I was surprised by the amount of movie previews(in theaters, not the ones shown on TV). Interesting cross-over of advertising between cinema and TV that I wasn't used to(haven't watched American TV in a long time) This was also not a category in Williams' article - recent development?
Barack Obama Infomercial
1.) Begins with slow motion shots voiced over by obama
2.) Cuts to obama in office
a.) Emphasis on change, hope, and "American stories"
3.) Cuts to clip about a missouri woman and her family
a.) Voiced over by obama
b.) Focus on economic issues and their effect on her family
c.)“all across the country I have met families just like rebecca’s"
i.)unity
4.) cut to speech
a.)speech focuses on strength of economy as it relates to the common man
5.) cut to obama in office again
a.) talks about how the economy has failed due to the Bush administration
b.) mentions rescue plan
c.) lays out what he will do to remedy the economy, tax cuts, incentives for those who hire in the US, etc.
d.) titles on bottom right highlight specific details
6.) cuts to obama in retirement home
a.) man speaks about how has pension was cut down severely from what it should have been
b.) obama responds: companies should keep promises
i.) accountability
ii.) security
7.) various government officals from various parts of the us comment on obama
a.) he's going to cut taxes for people who really need a tax cut
b.) very diverse group both in terms of location and race
i.) unity
8.) stay tuned for live event flashing through show
9.) cuts to another story about a family with obama as the narrator
a.) focus on health care
b.) "I take twelve different medications a day"
c.) Husband retired, no more medical coverage
d.) Husband had to go back to work
e.) Had to take out loan on the house they had already paid off
i.) Economic spin constant presence
f.) “I just wonder you know, where am I going from here”
10.) then cuts to obama talking about healthcare reform, same office, same suit
a.) emphasizes that Obama is "where we should go from here"
b.) hopeful music throughout stories but no music while Obama is speaking in his office
c.) talks about alternative energy
d.) “we know government can’t do it all, that’s why I’ll call on every American”
e.) “change our policy in iraq”
11.) cut to debate with mccain talking about spending in iraq
a.) Obama talks about how much the money spent in iraq could have done here in america with group of random americans in a room
b.) ceo of google says that “this is the right plan for America:
c.) again focuses on average individual rather than insurance companies, etc
12.) another segment about a family
a.) again focus on economic issues
b.) “every parent in America wants the same thing: a good education for their child”
i.) unity
c.) cuts to obama working with children while making speech about parents and education
13.) cut to obama looking more casual in a different room talking about his life and family
a.) relationship with father and mother
b.) Obama is "just like you"
14.) cut to obama making speech
a.) “now is not the time for small plans”
b.) talks about plans to improve education
15.) cut back to same office same suit talking about reforming schools
16.) cuts back to obama talking about his mothers death
a.) looking more casual again
17.) cuts to initial candidacy speech
18.) cuts to his wife talking about him
a.)talks about him spending time with his family
b.) clips of family playing together and having fun
c.) “I am my brothers keeper. I am my sisters keeper”
d.) “There is not a liberal or conservative America. There is a united states of America”
i.) unity, family togetherness, creating family where none exists
19.) various government officials talking about he “changed the rules in Washington” emphasis on ability to challenge the set patterns of Washington and overcome bipartisanship
a.) overcoming fragmentation
20.) joe biden talks about obama
21.) obmama talks about joe biden
a.) compares biden to self and the rest of America, hard times in past
22.) another story about a family from Kentucky, again focus on economy
a.)“struggling to make ends meet”
b.) family legacy in ford plant
c.) lack of job security emphasized
d.) need to pull together
i.) unity
23.) cut to obama making speech talking about family history
a.) “this is our moment”
24.) “I will never hesistate to protect our contry”
a.) talks about military and international issues same office same suit
b.) “I still remember a woman I met In iowa”
i.) family
25.) family story about military
26.) speech about family working for better opportunities for their children
a.) I may not have had _____ but maybe if I work hard they can have _____
27.) “I believe in this man because he has the power to bring people together”
28.) black and white photographs of obama with speech overlayed
29.) cut to live event
a.) “America, the time for change has come”
b.) “to all of you and all of those who have joined us from across the country”
c.) in six days we can chose to ____ ____ _____ ____
d.) choose change over the status quo
e.) coming together as one nation
f.) “if you will knock on some doors for me, if you’ll make some calls for me, if you’ll stand with me and fight by my side and cast your ballot for me”
g.) “together we will change this country and change the world”
30.) ends with build to thunderous applause and cheering
a.)hopefully music overlayed
31.) up next: deal or no deal!
Most pertinent to this clip for me was Jane Feuer's article on television. The theme of overcoming fragmentation was extremely apparent within the program. In fact, the infomercial was strikingly similar to Feuer's descriptions of Good Morning America. Obama fills the role of the anchor. This has even great ramifications than the mere national and familial unity that Good Morning America creates. Since Obama is the force that overcomes fragmentation throughout the infomercial it becomes obvious that the intent is to show that Obama will do something similar to our country as President. Shots of Obama in office are the "live" elements that link the fragmented program. The truly live event at the end seeks to link everything that was said up until that point to you the viewer right now (Just in time! Just for you!). Strangely enough the slick editing and high production values of the infomercial somewhat work against it's intent in that they lend an air of unreality to the program. The viewer gets the idea that he or she is watching a story rather than watching something particularly connected to reality and the now. Due to this I found a striking similarity to Showtime's television adaptation of NPR's "This American Life" with Obama taking the place of Ira Glass (here is a clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1LPf9mnyU&feature=related). A story with a specific moral highlights a central point and emphasizes that it could occur anywhere in America. The idea of liveness overcoming fragmentation serves as a metaphor for Obama's ability to overcome the fragmentation within America and thus solve its problems.
The infomercial can be found here if anyone would like to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1LPf9mnyU&feature=related
Anderson Cooper 360 (10:30-11:00 PM, 10/30/08)
1) 10:30 PM: Live Barack Obama speech in Columbia, Missouri; supporters chanting "Yes We Can!"
2) 10:33 PM: Ticker running below screen talks about a story involving 100 anthrax hoax letters. Countdown to when first polls close: 4 days, 19 hours, 26 minutes and some seconds.
3) 10:34 PM: Obama compares himself to Clinton, to cheers from the audience. Mentions "Obama-Clinton economics."
4) 10:35 PM: Ticker mentions "CNN: The most trusted name in news." Headline above ticker reads, "Ahead on 360: John McCain on the trail today."
5) 10:36 PM: Obama credits the audience as being the strength of his campaign and the country. Stresses the need for a new direction. Massive cheers.
6) 10:37 PM: Ticker - Attacks in Spain injure 19, blamed on Basque separatists; death toll from Pakistani quake rises to 170; Rebel leader in Congo offers channel for aid delivery.
7) 10:38 PM: Crowd behind Obama is mostly white but multiracial, wide range of ages. Young girl taking video on a handheld digital point-and-shoot camera.
8) 10:39 PM: Obama asks all in crowd who make under $250,000 a year to raise their hands. Majority of crowd complies.
9) 10:40 PM: Ticker has moved on to economics. Consecutive ticker headlines are all linked, with each referencing the last; it is difficult to catch on.
10) 10:41 PM: As of September, 760,000 jobs have already been lost this year, says the ticker. Reading this fact forces me to miss part of Obama's speech until my attention jumps back to what he is saying.
11) 10:42 PM: Are there no commercials? Obama again relates the story of his mother's passing.
12) 10:43 PM: Obama promises all college students who serve their country will be able to afford their tuition. Countdown to when first polls close: 4 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes and some seconds. (Will this keep going for all five days??)
13) 10:44 PM: Obama discusses military. "I will end this war." Will put more forces in Afghanistan to track down and fight Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorists.
14) 10:45 PM: Obama emphasizes this won't be easy. George Bush has dug us a deep hole. Ticker talks about the recall of a given weight loss drug.
15) 10:46 PM: New attitude, new politics, says Obama. "That's what we've lost these past eight years." I wonder how many times he has mentioned the phrase "past eight years".
16) 10:47 PM: Emphasizes the importance of a parent's job and how everyone has to work together. "Black, white, asian, etc… republican, democrat, old, young, rich, poor, gay, straight, able, disabled…"
17) 10:48 PM: Jab at Sarah Palin: "There's no real or fake parts of this country. There's no city or town that's more pro-America than everywhere else."
18) 10:49 PM: Ticker says Peter Frampton is frustrated about someone stealing his Barack Obama yard sign. Barack Obama, meanwhile, asks the audience to believe in its ability to effect change. Emphasizes the young who cast their ballots for the first time.
19) 10:50 PM: Woman named Robin in Fort Lauderdale emailed Obama, he says; son just diagnosed with heart condition. Treatment is expensive and family couldn't pay, nor would insurance. She asks, "When those who oppose you hold you down, keep fighting and talking to the people."
20) 10:51 PM: A commercial is quite overdue. Ticker says North Carolina is ranked #1 in pre-season ESPN coaches' poll.
21) 10:52 PM: "Don't think for a second that this election is over… we are going to have to work like our future depends on it, you know what, because it does… all of you [young people] have got to vote."
22) 10:53 PM: Obama concludes. Anderson Cooper voiceover kicks in. Ticker talks about weather. Cooper promises more polls coming up and "stunning" results for Sarah Palin polls, as well as coverage of Bill Clinton and Al Franken rallies.
23) 10:54 PM: Commercials!
a. Enablex (reduces bladder leaks and accidents) - side effects include "bird vision"?
b. Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu (The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure)
c. Lose Your Excuse - energy conservation commercial from the government
d. Samsung commercial - they support eyesight recovery
24) 10:56 PM: Back already. Anderson asks Candy Crowley questions. Obama is going into "solidly Republican counties."
25) 10:58 PM: Cooper promises still more news ahead. Talks about polls coming up, then asks if polls should be trusted, then promises some Bill Clinton.
26) Commercials again; that was two minutes.
a. American Lung Association recommends vaccination for influenza (Faces of Influenza)
27) 11:00 PM: Just one commercial; we're back to Anderson with "breaking news" about Clinton. Anderson already cuts to a replay of the Obama speech, a quote that was just on.
Commentary: Obviously, the majority of this 30 minute block of Anderson Cooper 360 was dominated by Obama's speech. Obama seems to be doing an incredibly effective job of controlling the media in these past few weeks; he also has a recurring theme of how urgent it is that we all go out and help his campaign. He involves the audience well; even on TV, it does feel like his message is tailored to the viewer.
There were three segments of the screen to focus on during Obama's speech: The speech itself, the speech's headline/tagline beneath (sometimes quoting Obama, sometimes promising other coverage ahead), and the ticker running below. The ticker often referenced previous ticker headlines, which made it very difficult to jump in at any given time. In addition, it was impossible to both listen to Obama and read the ticker. The ticker headlines were clearly divided into different segments based on different overarching topics (world news, economy, health, weather, etc.). Apart from the main three sections, there was also already a second-by-second countdown to when the first polls closed, almost 120 hours in advance.
The commercial breaks were surprisingly short - one two-minute break with four commercials and one one-minute break with just one commercial. After watching 23 minutes straight of Barack Obama uninterrupted, it was rather jarring to jump to segments of Anderson Cooper 360 and commercials that were each no more than two and a half minutes long. The commercials did seem to have a common theme, however, and one that was shared with the Obama speech - all appealing to an educated audience, trying to convince them with reason. Perhaps this atmosphere is appealing to voters who feel condescended to by an incompetent government, which is probably why Sarah Palin's approach is causing such a backlash.
2) 10:33 PM: Ticker running below screen talks about a story involving 100 anthrax hoax letters. Countdown to when first polls close: 4 days, 19 hours, 26 minutes and some seconds.
3) 10:34 PM: Obama compares himself to Clinton, to cheers from the audience. Mentions "Obama-Clinton economics."
4) 10:35 PM: Ticker mentions "CNN: The most trusted name in news." Headline above ticker reads, "Ahead on 360: John McCain on the trail today."
5) 10:36 PM: Obama credits the audience as being the strength of his campaign and the country. Stresses the need for a new direction. Massive cheers.
6) 10:37 PM: Ticker - Attacks in Spain injure 19, blamed on Basque separatists; death toll from Pakistani quake rises to 170; Rebel leader in Congo offers channel for aid delivery.
7) 10:38 PM: Crowd behind Obama is mostly white but multiracial, wide range of ages. Young girl taking video on a handheld digital point-and-shoot camera.
8) 10:39 PM: Obama asks all in crowd who make under $250,000 a year to raise their hands. Majority of crowd complies.
9) 10:40 PM: Ticker has moved on to economics. Consecutive ticker headlines are all linked, with each referencing the last; it is difficult to catch on.
10) 10:41 PM: As of September, 760,000 jobs have already been lost this year, says the ticker. Reading this fact forces me to miss part of Obama's speech until my attention jumps back to what he is saying.
11) 10:42 PM: Are there no commercials? Obama again relates the story of his mother's passing.
12) 10:43 PM: Obama promises all college students who serve their country will be able to afford their tuition. Countdown to when first polls close: 4 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes and some seconds. (Will this keep going for all five days??)
13) 10:44 PM: Obama discusses military. "I will end this war." Will put more forces in Afghanistan to track down and fight Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorists.
14) 10:45 PM: Obama emphasizes this won't be easy. George Bush has dug us a deep hole. Ticker talks about the recall of a given weight loss drug.
15) 10:46 PM: New attitude, new politics, says Obama. "That's what we've lost these past eight years." I wonder how many times he has mentioned the phrase "past eight years".
16) 10:47 PM: Emphasizes the importance of a parent's job and how everyone has to work together. "Black, white, asian, etc… republican, democrat, old, young, rich, poor, gay, straight, able, disabled…"
17) 10:48 PM: Jab at Sarah Palin: "There's no real or fake parts of this country. There's no city or town that's more pro-America than everywhere else."
18) 10:49 PM: Ticker says Peter Frampton is frustrated about someone stealing his Barack Obama yard sign. Barack Obama, meanwhile, asks the audience to believe in its ability to effect change. Emphasizes the young who cast their ballots for the first time.
19) 10:50 PM: Woman named Robin in Fort Lauderdale emailed Obama, he says; son just diagnosed with heart condition. Treatment is expensive and family couldn't pay, nor would insurance. She asks, "When those who oppose you hold you down, keep fighting and talking to the people."
20) 10:51 PM: A commercial is quite overdue. Ticker says North Carolina is ranked #1 in pre-season ESPN coaches' poll.
21) 10:52 PM: "Don't think for a second that this election is over… we are going to have to work like our future depends on it, you know what, because it does… all of you [young people] have got to vote."
22) 10:53 PM: Obama concludes. Anderson Cooper voiceover kicks in. Ticker talks about weather. Cooper promises more polls coming up and "stunning" results for Sarah Palin polls, as well as coverage of Bill Clinton and Al Franken rallies.
23) 10:54 PM: Commercials!
a. Enablex (reduces bladder leaks and accidents) - side effects include "bird vision"?
b. Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu (The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure)
c. Lose Your Excuse - energy conservation commercial from the government
d. Samsung commercial - they support eyesight recovery
24) 10:56 PM: Back already. Anderson asks Candy Crowley questions. Obama is going into "solidly Republican counties."
25) 10:58 PM: Cooper promises still more news ahead. Talks about polls coming up, then asks if polls should be trusted, then promises some Bill Clinton.
26) Commercials again; that was two minutes.
a. American Lung Association recommends vaccination for influenza (Faces of Influenza)
27) 11:00 PM: Just one commercial; we're back to Anderson with "breaking news" about Clinton. Anderson already cuts to a replay of the Obama speech, a quote that was just on.
Commentary: Obviously, the majority of this 30 minute block of Anderson Cooper 360 was dominated by Obama's speech. Obama seems to be doing an incredibly effective job of controlling the media in these past few weeks; he also has a recurring theme of how urgent it is that we all go out and help his campaign. He involves the audience well; even on TV, it does feel like his message is tailored to the viewer.
There were three segments of the screen to focus on during Obama's speech: The speech itself, the speech's headline/tagline beneath (sometimes quoting Obama, sometimes promising other coverage ahead), and the ticker running below. The ticker often referenced previous ticker headlines, which made it very difficult to jump in at any given time. In addition, it was impossible to both listen to Obama and read the ticker. The ticker headlines were clearly divided into different segments based on different overarching topics (world news, economy, health, weather, etc.). Apart from the main three sections, there was also already a second-by-second countdown to when the first polls closed, almost 120 hours in advance.
The commercial breaks were surprisingly short - one two-minute break with four commercials and one one-minute break with just one commercial. After watching 23 minutes straight of Barack Obama uninterrupted, it was rather jarring to jump to segments of Anderson Cooper 360 and commercials that were each no more than two and a half minutes long. The commercials did seem to have a common theme, however, and one that was shared with the Obama speech - all appealing to an educated audience, trying to convince them with reason. Perhaps this atmosphere is appealing to voters who feel condescended to by an incompetent government, which is probably why Sarah Palin's approach is causing such a backlash.
FLOW: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 10/30/08
11:00 - Intro, making specific mention of the channel as "Comedy Central"
11:01 - Reference to Obama's appearance on the previous night's program, revealing of this evening's guest
11:02 - Clips/discussion of yesterday's Obama infomercial
11:03 - Satirical description of campaign as a TV reality show ("Barack's Millions")
11:04 - Editing of Obama infomercial to include corporate product advertisements
11:05 - Clip: Obama refers to barackobama.com (inter-medium links)
11:06 - CNN clip of Larry King interview with John McCain, which took place at the same time as Obama infomercial; clip from "The Muppet Show" inserting voices of McCain and King in place of the hecklers Statler and Waldorf
11:07 - Video clips of McCain from various live appearances/television interviews edited, narration added to create a parody of the Obama infomercial
11:08 - Immediately cuts to an ad for Stewart and Colbert's election special
11:09 - Advertisement for iPod Touch; Get Smart DVD ad uses the election as a tagline; Verizon advertisement plays with horror movie cliches
11:10 - Domino's oven-baked sandwich advertisement; Rock n' Rolla movie trailer; Old Spice advertisement
11:11 - Stewart returns, parodies "Joe the Plumber" as intro to segment on "Barack the Community Organizer"; clips of RNC speeches by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin; interview with actual ACORN organizer
11:12 - Video of organizers and protests in their own communities; interview with Obama/ACORN critic who refers to bin Laden as a community organizer
11:13 - Interview with a self-described conservative Christian Republican who organizes in her community; she refers to Palin and Giuliani as reasoning behind her decision to volunteer Obama
11:14 - ACORN critic cites false registrations; ACORN worker argues his claims are designed to hide voter suppression
11:15 - ACORN critic links organization to buying of votes through crack cocaine; he then asks the organizer if she has any on her person
11:16 - Cut to commercial break as story ends; Quantum of Solace movie trailer
11:17 - History Channel ad for Cities of the Underworld; Sprint Instinct phone commercial set up as a parodic movie trailer
11:18 - M&Ms Halloween-themed advertisement; Dave Chappelle speaks for Bud Light in a commercial
11:19 - Another Rock n' Rolla ad citing Rolling Stone magazine and previous movies by the director; Transporter 3 trailer (designed to appeal to same target demographic?)
11:20 - Ad for the Saturday TV premiere of film Thank You for Smoking on Comedy Central; Stewart introduces guest Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard
11:21 - Stewart cites Kristol's written advice for the McCain campaign; he responds by joking McCain will win in an upset on Tuesday
11:22 - Stewart references Palin's "real America" comments, criticism of East Coast elites
11:23 - Stewart cites Larry King's McCain interview, the candidate's contradictions
11:24 - Kristol: "You've been reading the New York Times too much, Jon!" Stewart: "You WORK for the New York Times, Bill!"
11:25 - Stewart again refers to Kristol's own writing
11:26 - Discussion suddenly becomes serious, with Stewart frankly admitting he would have voted for 2000 McCain over Gore but no longer recognizes the candidate
11:27 - Name bar pops up reminding new viewers that this is Bill Kristol; commerical cut to a joint Comedy Central/Daily Show and AT&T special feature on debates
11:28 - Bookended by a reminder that this feature is sponsored by AT&T; directly followed by a more conventional AT&T ad
11:29 - Zac and Miri trailer; GameFly ad incorporates computerized footage of a football game,. various video game styles; Gillette advertisement; Subway 5 dollar footlong jingle
11:30 - A third Rock n' Rolla ad, a repeat of the second; another ad for the Stewart-Colbert joint coverage of Election Night
11:31 - Leads right back into the show's conclusion; Stewart says goodbye and introduces a McCain clip from a recent speech; the credits roll with a reminder of the faux ACORN interview
11:32 - Sister show The Colbert Report begins, and the flow continues (like the typical television viewer, I likely will "stay tuned".)
Just too good to let up:
11:33 - Colbert also refers to Obama infomercial as a fictional program; refers to McCain's Celebrity ad; includes clips from previous television programs such as Mr. Ed and The West Wing
11:34 - Colbert admits his fear that Obama will steal his Emmy, refers back to his three time Emmy loss
That's all, folks.
11:01 - Reference to Obama's appearance on the previous night's program, revealing of this evening's guest
11:02 - Clips/discussion of yesterday's Obama infomercial
11:03 - Satirical description of campaign as a TV reality show ("Barack's Millions")
11:04 - Editing of Obama infomercial to include corporate product advertisements
11:05 - Clip: Obama refers to barackobama.com (inter-medium links)
11:06 - CNN clip of Larry King interview with John McCain, which took place at the same time as Obama infomercial; clip from "The Muppet Show" inserting voices of McCain and King in place of the hecklers Statler and Waldorf
11:07 - Video clips of McCain from various live appearances/television interviews edited, narration added to create a parody of the Obama infomercial
11:08 - Immediately cuts to an ad for Stewart and Colbert's election special
11:09 - Advertisement for iPod Touch; Get Smart DVD ad uses the election as a tagline; Verizon advertisement plays with horror movie cliches
11:10 - Domino's oven-baked sandwich advertisement; Rock n' Rolla movie trailer; Old Spice advertisement
11:11 - Stewart returns, parodies "Joe the Plumber" as intro to segment on "Barack the Community Organizer"; clips of RNC speeches by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin; interview with actual ACORN organizer
11:12 - Video of organizers and protests in their own communities; interview with Obama/ACORN critic who refers to bin Laden as a community organizer
11:13 - Interview with a self-described conservative Christian Republican who organizes in her community; she refers to Palin and Giuliani as reasoning behind her decision to volunteer Obama
11:14 - ACORN critic cites false registrations; ACORN worker argues his claims are designed to hide voter suppression
11:15 - ACORN critic links organization to buying of votes through crack cocaine; he then asks the organizer if she has any on her person
11:16 - Cut to commercial break as story ends; Quantum of Solace movie trailer
11:17 - History Channel ad for Cities of the Underworld; Sprint Instinct phone commercial set up as a parodic movie trailer
11:18 - M&Ms Halloween-themed advertisement; Dave Chappelle speaks for Bud Light in a commercial
11:19 - Another Rock n' Rolla ad citing Rolling Stone magazine and previous movies by the director; Transporter 3 trailer (designed to appeal to same target demographic?)
11:20 - Ad for the Saturday TV premiere of film Thank You for Smoking on Comedy Central; Stewart introduces guest Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard
11:21 - Stewart cites Kristol's written advice for the McCain campaign; he responds by joking McCain will win in an upset on Tuesday
11:22 - Stewart references Palin's "real America" comments, criticism of East Coast elites
11:23 - Stewart cites Larry King's McCain interview, the candidate's contradictions
11:24 - Kristol: "You've been reading the New York Times too much, Jon!" Stewart: "You WORK for the New York Times, Bill!"
11:25 - Stewart again refers to Kristol's own writing
11:26 - Discussion suddenly becomes serious, with Stewart frankly admitting he would have voted for 2000 McCain over Gore but no longer recognizes the candidate
11:27 - Name bar pops up reminding new viewers that this is Bill Kristol; commerical cut to a joint Comedy Central/Daily Show and AT&T special feature on debates
11:28 - Bookended by a reminder that this feature is sponsored by AT&T; directly followed by a more conventional AT&T ad
11:29 - Zac and Miri trailer; GameFly ad incorporates computerized footage of a football game,. various video game styles; Gillette advertisement; Subway 5 dollar footlong jingle
11:30 - A third Rock n' Rolla ad, a repeat of the second; another ad for the Stewart-Colbert joint coverage of Election Night
11:31 - Leads right back into the show's conclusion; Stewart says goodbye and introduces a McCain clip from a recent speech; the credits roll with a reminder of the faux ACORN interview
11:32 - Sister show The Colbert Report begins, and the flow continues (like the typical television viewer, I likely will "stay tuned".)
Just too good to let up:
11:33 - Colbert also refers to Obama infomercial as a fictional program; refers to McCain's Celebrity ad; includes clips from previous television programs such as Mr. Ed and The West Wing
11:34 - Colbert admits his fear that Obama will steal his Emmy, refers back to his three time Emmy loss
That's all, folks.
Wednesday, Comedy Central 11-11:30 (Daily Show)
1) Opening graphics of Daily Show. Jon Stewart announces that guest will be Barack Barack Obama by satellite (enticing us to stay watching the show). Stewart talks about “Obama magic”, flowers come out of his mouth, colors fly across screen. Audience laughs.
2) Video of Obama saying McCain is similar to Bush, it’s a clip from a news show. We cut away from the Obama speech, anchor begins talking about a car chase. Video of white van. Cut back to Stewart’s confused reaction. He shows image of a white van with Joe the Plumber text on it. (Here is an example of pieces of a news program from another channel being shown on a comedy news program---the world of TV)
3) Stewart shows us clips of news reporters saying Palin is going rogue. Fake trailer: “They set her loose, but they forgot one thing….she couldn’t be contained”. Over-the-top Hollywood action style, clips from movies. Flashing lights say malfunction, chase scenes. Movie voice says, “Only 6 days to stop her from destroying everything”, “they created a monster”, “this November, Sarah Palin is Going Rogue”. (Here the Daily Show is engaging in the worlds of cinema and politics). Rogue Magazine with Palin on the front cover (referencing other forms of media as part of the joke).
4) Stewart wants to know what it meant to “go rogue”. Clips from news shows of reporters saying Palin disagreed with some of McCain’s tactics. This is much less dramatic than Stewart expected, he asks “and blew up a warehouse?” Audience laughs.
5) Another news clip of a reporter saying Joe the Plumber will be out on the campaign trail for McCain. Stewart reacts in horror—says septic tank is overflowing.
6) Cut to clip of Joe the Plumber saying vote for Obama is a vote for death of Israel. When asked why by a reporter, Joe says his supporters should explain. Cut back to confused Jon Stewart. Clip of Tito the Builder on Fox News, Tito says Obama is similar to Hugo Chavez, says he can smell it. Stewart asks if people are voting based on smell. Audience laughs (the audience laughs at nearly everything Stewart says).
7) Stewart interviews “Bob the Builder” (another example of inter-textuality between shows, except in this case the children’s show character is very crass).
8) Commercial #1: Daily Show brought to you by AT&T. “Jeff’s phone here” –He doesn’t have AT&T so does not have reception. Get the new LG phone.
9) Commercial #2: Kung-Fu Pana commercial—“One of the best movies of the year” –DVD is out.
10) Commercial #3: “What makes a Hershey’s bar pure?” People eating Hersheys and enjoying it.
11) Commercial #4: Movie Trailer: “Rock and Rolla”, shooting, explosions, people yelling.
12) Commercial #5: Gas pumps leaking, car commercial, Lexus is more fuel efficient. Visit Lexus.com/intelligent choice (referring to online media here)
13) Commercial #6: Movie trailer: “Zach & Miri”
14) Commercial #7: Colbert and Jon Stewart will have a show on election night. (Stewart appears in this ad which is obviously not live, but right after the ad we return to the live Stewart).
15) Back to the Daily Show. Stewart says he’s going to interview Barack Obama (this is the second time he’s said this—trying to entice viewer to stay). He says he feels so lucky to have interview with Obama ---Clip plays from the show Extra. Reporter mentions upcoming “exclusive interview with Obama”. Cut back to Stewart angry, addresses the reporter from Extra saying “I hope it went well for you”. (obviously this is scripted but Stewart acts like he’s reacting spontaneously to the clips. This seems to be a major pattern in the show). Cut back to Extra talking about the reporter’s pants crisis before the interview. Stewart jokes about musical pants.
16) Commercial #8: Sarah Silverman program trailer.
17) Commercial #9: movie trailer: Four Christmases –family, comedy.
18) Commercial #10: movie trailer: Rachel is getting married, woman driving, crashes into scene. Text and voice says “Jonathan Demme’s best film since Silence of the Lambs” –title of movie is “Rachel Getting Married” ---seems to be a female-oriented drama.
19) Commercial #11: Movie trailer: “Zach & Miri” trailer again. –adult-oriented R comedy.
20) Commercial #12: Mercedes Benz commercial. M-class senses collision. We see crash testing. “Absorbs and reflects energy” –very safe car.
21) Commercial #13: movie trailer: “Twilight”--- vampires, teenagers—female-oriented.
22) Commercial #14: Lotion commercial. Smiling woman says “this stuff really works”.
23) Commercial #15: Rain-X latitude has developed revolutionary wiper blades to outsmart the elements.
24) Commercial #16: Shampo. Its so soft and gentle. “Selsun Blue”, “the difference is clear”. Woman in shower.
25) Commercial #17: network premiere for movie “Thank You For Smoking” coming soon. Clip from “Thank You For Smoking”. (There have now been 10 commercials as opposed to the first block of 7 commercials. Since people are interested in seeing Obama on the Daily Show, it makes sense to increase the advertising at this time.)
26) Back to the Daily Show. Stewart says Obama is joining us by satellite –clapping, Obama is seen on split-screen with Jon. He’s in Florida. (The announcement and clapping left plenty of time for someone who was just listening to come back into the room and see Obama before the interview began). Obama is in front of an American flag (patriotic) and books (smart)
27) Stewart asks about Obama’s 30 min special—Obama says it’s the Obama infomercial—his daughter had been worried that her programs would be interrupted but he had assured her that it wasn’t going to be on Disney. (referencing other channels)
28) Transitioning between the split screen to Stewart taking up all of screen and Obama taking up all of screen. –makes it seem like they are together but they are actually in different places. Obama says purpose of infomercials is to remind voters “here’s what I’m going to do” and to let people make up their minds.
29) Stewart mentions everything that people are afraid of and have accused Obama of being---terrorist sympathizer, socialist, witch, etc. Obama laughs and says average voter is more concerned with house, healthcare, etc. not paying so much attention to ridiculous stuff. He jokes that proof of his socialism that his opponents found was that he shared toys with the other kids in kindergarten. Audience laughs. A lot of clapping for Obama.
30) Stewart discusses Bradley effect. Says Obama is part white, is he concerned that his white half will decide not to vote for himself. Obama jokes that it’s a problem and he’s making sure he’ll vote properly.
31) Stewart asks if its possible for Obama and McCain to like each other after the election. Obama says he admires McCain’s service to country and hopes he can work with McCain after election. –a lot of issues need bipartisan support like global warming and oil issues. Audience applauds loudly.
32) Stewart points out that America has had even more problems recently and asks Obama “is there a sense you don’t want this?”. Obama laughs and says this is the time to become president and have the chance to make an impact. He says we’re generally a pretty conservative society and we leave things alone until there is a major challenge and then must deal with it. Stewart thanks him for the interview. Audience claps.
33) Commercial #20: Movie trailer: Family issues, one man punches another. Woman slaps a man. “Soul Men”.
34) Commercial #21: Halloween themed commercial—“scariest part of Halloween is giving away Reeses”
35) Commercial #22: clips from the movie “Get Smart”. Voice says “Vote November 4th and buy Get Smart on DVD” (this seems to reference Obama’s presence on the Daily Show and all the election-themed talk)
36) Commercial #23: Dominos oven baked sandwich.
37) Commercial #24: Movie trailer: James Bond walking dramatically, flashbacks, voice over “I have some unfinished business”, action montage, “Quantum of Solace”. (Its funny that this trailer came two commercials after “Get Smart” which is in many ways a James Bond spoof. Also the action-themed trailer recalls the Sarah Palin spoof trailer on the Daily Show)
38) Commercial #25: Video game commercial---old 40s style song on radio (lyrics---“I don’t want to set the world of fire”), camera zooms out through a dirty, abandoned bus, city is devastated only shells of buildings remain. An armored warrior stands in the foreground saying “War…war never changes”. Then title comes on “Fallout 3”. (This is also an interesting commercial because the fictional, wartorn world brings back to mind Stewart asking Obama if he really wants to lead America in a troubled time. It also puts some of our issues in perspective---atleast our cities haven’t been nuked…)
39) Commercial #26: Colbert and Stewart will be covering election night. Same ad as before promoting the channel.
40) Colbert Report begins.
(Its interesting that the last group of commercials seems to be aimed at a more male audience--James Bond, videogames, etc.---whereas the earlier commercial blocks were clearly more female oriented. Perhaps the advertisers are trying to cover both demographics)
2) Video of Obama saying McCain is similar to Bush, it’s a clip from a news show. We cut away from the Obama speech, anchor begins talking about a car chase. Video of white van. Cut back to Stewart’s confused reaction. He shows image of a white van with Joe the Plumber text on it. (Here is an example of pieces of a news program from another channel being shown on a comedy news program---the world of TV)
3) Stewart shows us clips of news reporters saying Palin is going rogue. Fake trailer: “They set her loose, but they forgot one thing….she couldn’t be contained”. Over-the-top Hollywood action style, clips from movies. Flashing lights say malfunction, chase scenes. Movie voice says, “Only 6 days to stop her from destroying everything”, “they created a monster”, “this November, Sarah Palin is Going Rogue”. (Here the Daily Show is engaging in the worlds of cinema and politics). Rogue Magazine with Palin on the front cover (referencing other forms of media as part of the joke).
4) Stewart wants to know what it meant to “go rogue”. Clips from news shows of reporters saying Palin disagreed with some of McCain’s tactics. This is much less dramatic than Stewart expected, he asks “and blew up a warehouse?” Audience laughs.
5) Another news clip of a reporter saying Joe the Plumber will be out on the campaign trail for McCain. Stewart reacts in horror—says septic tank is overflowing.
6) Cut to clip of Joe the Plumber saying vote for Obama is a vote for death of Israel. When asked why by a reporter, Joe says his supporters should explain. Cut back to confused Jon Stewart. Clip of Tito the Builder on Fox News, Tito says Obama is similar to Hugo Chavez, says he can smell it. Stewart asks if people are voting based on smell. Audience laughs (the audience laughs at nearly everything Stewart says).
7) Stewart interviews “Bob the Builder” (another example of inter-textuality between shows, except in this case the children’s show character is very crass).
8) Commercial #1: Daily Show brought to you by AT&T. “Jeff’s phone here” –He doesn’t have AT&T so does not have reception. Get the new LG phone.
9) Commercial #2: Kung-Fu Pana commercial—“One of the best movies of the year” –DVD is out.
10) Commercial #3: “What makes a Hershey’s bar pure?” People eating Hersheys and enjoying it.
11) Commercial #4: Movie Trailer: “Rock and Rolla”, shooting, explosions, people yelling.
12) Commercial #5: Gas pumps leaking, car commercial, Lexus is more fuel efficient. Visit Lexus.com/intelligent choice (referring to online media here)
13) Commercial #6: Movie trailer: “Zach & Miri”
14) Commercial #7: Colbert and Jon Stewart will have a show on election night. (Stewart appears in this ad which is obviously not live, but right after the ad we return to the live Stewart).
15) Back to the Daily Show. Stewart says he’s going to interview Barack Obama (this is the second time he’s said this—trying to entice viewer to stay). He says he feels so lucky to have interview with Obama ---Clip plays from the show Extra. Reporter mentions upcoming “exclusive interview with Obama”. Cut back to Stewart angry, addresses the reporter from Extra saying “I hope it went well for you”. (obviously this is scripted but Stewart acts like he’s reacting spontaneously to the clips. This seems to be a major pattern in the show). Cut back to Extra talking about the reporter’s pants crisis before the interview. Stewart jokes about musical pants.
16) Commercial #8: Sarah Silverman program trailer.
17) Commercial #9: movie trailer: Four Christmases –family, comedy.
18) Commercial #10: movie trailer: Rachel is getting married, woman driving, crashes into scene. Text and voice says “Jonathan Demme’s best film since Silence of the Lambs” –title of movie is “Rachel Getting Married” ---seems to be a female-oriented drama.
19) Commercial #11: Movie trailer: “Zach & Miri” trailer again. –adult-oriented R comedy.
20) Commercial #12: Mercedes Benz commercial. M-class senses collision. We see crash testing. “Absorbs and reflects energy” –very safe car.
21) Commercial #13: movie trailer: “Twilight”--- vampires, teenagers—female-oriented.
22) Commercial #14: Lotion commercial. Smiling woman says “this stuff really works”.
23) Commercial #15: Rain-X latitude has developed revolutionary wiper blades to outsmart the elements.
24) Commercial #16: Shampo. Its so soft and gentle. “Selsun Blue”, “the difference is clear”. Woman in shower.
25) Commercial #17: network premiere for movie “Thank You For Smoking” coming soon. Clip from “Thank You For Smoking”. (There have now been 10 commercials as opposed to the first block of 7 commercials. Since people are interested in seeing Obama on the Daily Show, it makes sense to increase the advertising at this time.)
26) Back to the Daily Show. Stewart says Obama is joining us by satellite –clapping, Obama is seen on split-screen with Jon. He’s in Florida. (The announcement and clapping left plenty of time for someone who was just listening to come back into the room and see Obama before the interview began). Obama is in front of an American flag (patriotic) and books (smart)
27) Stewart asks about Obama’s 30 min special—Obama says it’s the Obama infomercial—his daughter had been worried that her programs would be interrupted but he had assured her that it wasn’t going to be on Disney. (referencing other channels)
28) Transitioning between the split screen to Stewart taking up all of screen and Obama taking up all of screen. –makes it seem like they are together but they are actually in different places. Obama says purpose of infomercials is to remind voters “here’s what I’m going to do” and to let people make up their minds.
29) Stewart mentions everything that people are afraid of and have accused Obama of being---terrorist sympathizer, socialist, witch, etc. Obama laughs and says average voter is more concerned with house, healthcare, etc. not paying so much attention to ridiculous stuff. He jokes that proof of his socialism that his opponents found was that he shared toys with the other kids in kindergarten. Audience laughs. A lot of clapping for Obama.
30) Stewart discusses Bradley effect. Says Obama is part white, is he concerned that his white half will decide not to vote for himself. Obama jokes that it’s a problem and he’s making sure he’ll vote properly.
31) Stewart asks if its possible for Obama and McCain to like each other after the election. Obama says he admires McCain’s service to country and hopes he can work with McCain after election. –a lot of issues need bipartisan support like global warming and oil issues. Audience applauds loudly.
32) Stewart points out that America has had even more problems recently and asks Obama “is there a sense you don’t want this?”. Obama laughs and says this is the time to become president and have the chance to make an impact. He says we’re generally a pretty conservative society and we leave things alone until there is a major challenge and then must deal with it. Stewart thanks him for the interview. Audience claps.
33) Commercial #20: Movie trailer: Family issues, one man punches another. Woman slaps a man. “Soul Men”.
34) Commercial #21: Halloween themed commercial—“scariest part of Halloween is giving away Reeses”
35) Commercial #22: clips from the movie “Get Smart”. Voice says “Vote November 4th and buy Get Smart on DVD” (this seems to reference Obama’s presence on the Daily Show and all the election-themed talk)
36) Commercial #23: Dominos oven baked sandwich.
37) Commercial #24: Movie trailer: James Bond walking dramatically, flashbacks, voice over “I have some unfinished business”, action montage, “Quantum of Solace”. (Its funny that this trailer came two commercials after “Get Smart” which is in many ways a James Bond spoof. Also the action-themed trailer recalls the Sarah Palin spoof trailer on the Daily Show)
38) Commercial #25: Video game commercial---old 40s style song on radio (lyrics---“I don’t want to set the world of fire”), camera zooms out through a dirty, abandoned bus, city is devastated only shells of buildings remain. An armored warrior stands in the foreground saying “War…war never changes”. Then title comes on “Fallout 3”. (This is also an interesting commercial because the fictional, wartorn world brings back to mind Stewart asking Obama if he really wants to lead America in a troubled time. It also puts some of our issues in perspective---atleast our cities haven’t been nuked…)
39) Commercial #26: Colbert and Stewart will be covering election night. Same ad as before promoting the channel.
40) Colbert Report begins.
(Its interesting that the last group of commercials seems to be aimed at a more male audience--James Bond, videogames, etc.---whereas the earlier commercial blocks were clearly more female oriented. Perhaps the advertisers are trying to cover both demographics)
Sound
I found Rick Altman’s paper on television sound to be most compelling this week. It seems as though, in the way American’s “watch” television today, sound has become the most important component.
This is all because, when the set is on, it is only being watched anywhere from 55 to 76 percent of the time, on average (569). When the television sound cues the “viewers” to return to the screen, they likely will, and then after the event subsides, they return to what they were doing. While this is all great, it still seems as though the television can get its point across without having its “viewers” actually look at it. Because “ratings count operating TV sets rather than viewers” (569-570) and “attention time is not limited to eye contact time” (569), Altman seems to suggest that A.C. Nielsen needs to revise the way they assess ratings. The ratings, however, no matter how they are created, are what drive the industry, so the networks only aim to keep TVs turned on (570).
I think even this is a fine way for the television to transmit information. Viewing need not be the key component, so that television becomes a sort of radio with optional visual content. On the other hand, I wonder if networks have come across ways to get the television left on even when people have gone out of earshot entirely, or left the building. This would be a strange way to accrue ratings that would, by their own merit, bolster the network’s popularity. Perhaps television would have taken a different direction if A. C. Nielsen were not the premiere source of ratings and viewing time were the actual measure for them.
This is all because, when the set is on, it is only being watched anywhere from 55 to 76 percent of the time, on average (569). When the television sound cues the “viewers” to return to the screen, they likely will, and then after the event subsides, they return to what they were doing. While this is all great, it still seems as though the television can get its point across without having its “viewers” actually look at it. Because “ratings count operating TV sets rather than viewers” (569-570) and “attention time is not limited to eye contact time” (569), Altman seems to suggest that A.C. Nielsen needs to revise the way they assess ratings. The ratings, however, no matter how they are created, are what drive the industry, so the networks only aim to keep TVs turned on (570).
I think even this is a fine way for the television to transmit information. Viewing need not be the key component, so that television becomes a sort of radio with optional visual content. On the other hand, I wonder if networks have come across ways to get the television left on even when people have gone out of earshot entirely, or left the building. This would be a strange way to accrue ratings that would, by their own merit, bolster the network’s popularity. Perhaps television would have taken a different direction if A. C. Nielsen were not the premiere source of ratings and viewing time were the actual measure for them.
I apologize in advance for how ridiculously long this is
I. (Female broadcaster facing camera)
Woman: “Tipping the Balance” may select 2 or 3 of new justices; how much could McCain or Obama
II. (broadcaster’s back and facing author – Campbell Brown, see both in shot, show author from long distance shot with supreme court justices in background, fancy patriotic images in background)
Woman and man: discuss different supreme court justices in references to Obama and McCain
III. (Close up to author who is making eye contact with broadcaster)
IV. (Show newscaster turned in seat toward author)
V. (author switches between eye contact with camera and with newscaster)
discuss issues: abortion, affirmative action
VI. (newscaster facing author) Woman: asks about Obama’s views on Constitution
VII. (“Coming up” written in bold font across the screen)
Woman: Coming up next, Joe the Plummer
(shot to Joe in interview)
VIII. (Film woman walking with outdoors – Target commercial)
voice over discusses finances that “open doors for you”
IX. (Film computer on internet) Voice over: Not sure who to believe on taxes? Calculate how much you would have to pay, Tax Policy Planners → Obama’s campaign
X. (Film “average” people)
Voice over: sick of paying for gas, never get enough work done
sick of traveling for meetings?
“GoToMeeting.com” log on to start your conference call
XI. Voice over: reminder of Campbell Brown’s appearance
(flash Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull)
XII. (Film female newscaster)
Woman: introduces Joe the Plummer
XIII. (Joe standing at podium “McCain” written on front, patriotic imagery)
Voice over: first stop on Joe the Plummer campaign bus tour
XIV. (2 announcers sitting at podium)
Woman: introduces Randy Kaye introduced
XV. (“The Briefing” written on side of screen)
Randy Kaye:
Hudson’s nephew murdered
Palin will leave campaign trail → Alaska to vote on election day
Market surge
Northeast first snow storm: images of snow
XVI. Campbell’s news: “I’m pregnant”
(Film On daily show, 2 discussing sitting at desk (one of announcers from CNN there → connect televisual world)
XVII. Voice over: coming up: Minneapolis airport police interview with sen Larry Craig
XVIII. (Film air plane and Mt. Everist)
Voice over: “Conquered...” air plane, Mt. Everset
→ shaving commercial, film content man feeling cheeks
XIX. Reminder: Larry King Tomorrow Night → John McCain on CNN
XX. Voice over: Barak Obama approves message
(Film John McCain saying: “I voted with the president over 90% of the time”)
XXI. (Film lamas running around in field)
AOBA: Alpaca livestock industry
XXII. Reminder: McCain and Obama Revealed on CNN Saturday night
XXIII. (Film Larry King leaning forward toward camera)
Larry King: “Coming Up”
• McCain and Palin having issues
• 3 formers secretaries will be with us
• Campbell Brown will be back after this
(Words “Coming up” in bold letters)
XXIV. (Film average people)
Voiceover: Insulate.com: save money on bills
XXV. (Film shots of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, John McCain)
Voice over: Gambling: Paris, Britney, John McCain → Fair Elections Act
XXVI. (Film therapy session, conversation between 2 men one speaks different language)
Voice over: Edward Jones → get broker you can understand
XXVII. (Woman newscaster sitting at desk facing camera, long shot, zooms in slowly)
Woman: Sen Larry Craig pleading guilty to misdemeanor → solicit gay sex from undercover cop
“I am not gay, I never have been gay”
comedians make fun of incident
resigns from senate, then later says nevermind
effective senator → shows senator discussing with average people, switch shots to Idaho
(whole time “No Bias, No Bull” Campbell Brown in corner of screen
Woman: No Bias No Bull Rogues Gallery
XXVIII. (Joe Johns, eye contact facing camera)
Man: makes announcement
XXIX. Man’s image juxtaposed next to other woman newscaster
XXX. Image in news room reads: 7 Days Until Election Day (intense music plays)
XXXI. (shot switches between Obama and McCain, advertisement for Election Day, words read: McCain and Palin “have clashed”)
XXXII. Voice over: news Breaking right now on Larry King Live (patriotic colors shown)
XXXIII. introductory voice before see image of who’s speaking (just see shots of people and political colors)
XXXIV. Larry King sitting at desk, close up leaning in and facing camera (introduces rest of show that will be following)
XXXV. (Juxtapose John King next to Larry King → John King facing camera)
John King: discusses “last minute campaign frenzy” → Latino voters
XXXVI. Voice over continues (Shots to crowds of voters with flag, “Democratics have advantage, juxtapose his image next to crowds rallying)
XXXVII. Larry King’s voice over introduces next interviewee
XXXVIII. (Film woman juxtaposed next to Sarah Palin at speech)
Woman: democratic party advantaged
XXXVIX. Larry King: (voice over) briefing what’s to come, then introduces next guest
XL. Woman speaking juxtaposed next to crowds at Obama rally
XLI. (Shot of Larry King)
Larry King: is this winnable for McCain?
XLII. (Man engaged with audience answering, juxtaposed next to rallying crowd)
XLIII. Larry King’s voiceover with next guest’s image (while he asks her question about Obama vs. McCain)
Discusses Cuban vote to win Florida
XLIV. (Films image of speaker at Palin Rally)
Larry King: announces break
“we’ll be right back” → intense “finale” music, applause
XLV. (film family outside, cars, calm music) → Subaru commercial
XLVI. (Film woman sitting with face mask on, metamusile pills)
Voice over: beautify yourself
XLVII. Voice over: 1 week to go until election day: CNN facebook (get started on forum)
XLVIII. Voice over: Larry King tomorrow night: John McCain on Larry King live, tomorrow night
XLVIV. Have you had Kidney failure? Heart surgery (intense background with cardiac monitoring machine) → drug consultation
L. (Cartoon of dog teacher)
Voice over: your pets need year round medication “1-800-pet-meds”
LI. Voice over: One on one with Barak Obama: Friday 6 eastern
LII. Larry King: We’re back (Larry King facing camera, switch to Palin rally image)
LIII. Larry King: Economy remains number 1 issue with voters: watch McCain (Films McCain speech → Obama “redistribution of wealth”)
LIV. Woman announcer discusses redistribution (Palin’s speech juxtaposed with applause)
LV. Switch to Larry King (“Live,” “7 Days to Election” in corner entire time)
LVI. (Palin giving speech)
Palin: are you ready to send us to Washington to mix things up
Commentary:
This specific sequence had a very clear connection: the election. The “commercial breaks” in this sequences do not even seem to interrupt the flow – they constantly refer back to the current show (i.e. segment XI). Also, for the most part the content of the commercials connected to the news coverage, seeing as it was all either directly or indirectly linked to the election. For example, during the first commercial break after segment VII that introduces Joe the Plummer (the epitome of the “average guy”), all of the commercials aim to appeal to the “average person.” The commercials are successful in doing this simply by filming people doing average activities as well as addressing financial concerns (i.e. VIII and IX). The pervasive commercials regarding finances also smoothly tie in with the election and the discussion of each candidate’s stance on taxes.
Suspense is also prominent during this sequence in multiple forms. First, the channel constantly reminds the viewer of the upcoming election (i.e. segment XXX) with countdowns, advertisements, and its overall political emphasis. Also, during commercial breaks, there are frequent reminders of the channel’s upcoming agenda. In addition, the bold letters “Coming up” accompanied by the typical music (i.e. XXIII) intensify the suspense.
Overall, this sequence had a very clear political focus that was apparent in both the commercials and the actual program. The only break from this “political agenda” was segment XXI – the commercial for livestock. When I was watching the sequence, I was aware of my involvement with the flow and my mind was actively thinking about the upcoming election the entire time… until this bizarre commercial. I am still debating over the reasoning behind its inclusion, but it did have a local feel to its quality, which could be attributing to the channel’s targeting the “average person” and directly connecting to the viewer in a specific region.
Woman: “Tipping the Balance” may select 2 or 3 of new justices; how much could McCain or Obama
II. (broadcaster’s back and facing author – Campbell Brown, see both in shot, show author from long distance shot with supreme court justices in background, fancy patriotic images in background)
Woman and man: discuss different supreme court justices in references to Obama and McCain
III. (Close up to author who is making eye contact with broadcaster)
IV. (Show newscaster turned in seat toward author)
V. (author switches between eye contact with camera and with newscaster)
discuss issues: abortion, affirmative action
VI. (newscaster facing author) Woman: asks about Obama’s views on Constitution
VII. (“Coming up” written in bold font across the screen)
Woman: Coming up next, Joe the Plummer
(shot to Joe in interview)
VIII. (Film woman walking with outdoors – Target commercial)
voice over discusses finances that “open doors for you”
IX. (Film computer on internet) Voice over: Not sure who to believe on taxes? Calculate how much you would have to pay, Tax Policy Planners → Obama’s campaign
X. (Film “average” people)
Voice over: sick of paying for gas, never get enough work done
sick of traveling for meetings?
“GoToMeeting.com” log on to start your conference call
XI. Voice over: reminder of Campbell Brown’s appearance
(flash Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull)
XII. (Film female newscaster)
Woman: introduces Joe the Plummer
XIII. (Joe standing at podium “McCain” written on front, patriotic imagery)
Voice over: first stop on Joe the Plummer campaign bus tour
XIV. (2 announcers sitting at podium)
Woman: introduces Randy Kaye introduced
XV. (“The Briefing” written on side of screen)
Randy Kaye:
Hudson’s nephew murdered
Palin will leave campaign trail → Alaska to vote on election day
Market surge
Northeast first snow storm: images of snow
XVI. Campbell’s news: “I’m pregnant”
(Film On daily show, 2 discussing sitting at desk (one of announcers from CNN there → connect televisual world)
XVII. Voice over: coming up: Minneapolis airport police interview with sen Larry Craig
XVIII. (Film air plane and Mt. Everist)
Voice over: “Conquered...” air plane, Mt. Everset
→ shaving commercial, film content man feeling cheeks
XIX. Reminder: Larry King Tomorrow Night → John McCain on CNN
XX. Voice over: Barak Obama approves message
(Film John McCain saying: “I voted with the president over 90% of the time”)
XXI. (Film lamas running around in field)
AOBA: Alpaca livestock industry
XXII. Reminder: McCain and Obama Revealed on CNN Saturday night
XXIII. (Film Larry King leaning forward toward camera)
Larry King: “Coming Up”
• McCain and Palin having issues
• 3 formers secretaries will be with us
• Campbell Brown will be back after this
(Words “Coming up” in bold letters)
XXIV. (Film average people)
Voiceover: Insulate.com: save money on bills
XXV. (Film shots of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, John McCain)
Voice over: Gambling: Paris, Britney, John McCain → Fair Elections Act
XXVI. (Film therapy session, conversation between 2 men one speaks different language)
Voice over: Edward Jones → get broker you can understand
XXVII. (Woman newscaster sitting at desk facing camera, long shot, zooms in slowly)
Woman: Sen Larry Craig pleading guilty to misdemeanor → solicit gay sex from undercover cop
“I am not gay, I never have been gay”
comedians make fun of incident
resigns from senate, then later says nevermind
effective senator → shows senator discussing with average people, switch shots to Idaho
(whole time “No Bias, No Bull” Campbell Brown in corner of screen
Woman: No Bias No Bull Rogues Gallery
XXVIII. (Joe Johns, eye contact facing camera)
Man: makes announcement
XXIX. Man’s image juxtaposed next to other woman newscaster
XXX. Image in news room reads: 7 Days Until Election Day (intense music plays)
XXXI. (shot switches between Obama and McCain, advertisement for Election Day, words read: McCain and Palin “have clashed”)
XXXII. Voice over: news Breaking right now on Larry King Live (patriotic colors shown)
XXXIII. introductory voice before see image of who’s speaking (just see shots of people and political colors)
XXXIV. Larry King sitting at desk, close up leaning in and facing camera (introduces rest of show that will be following)
XXXV. (Juxtapose John King next to Larry King → John King facing camera)
John King: discusses “last minute campaign frenzy” → Latino voters
XXXVI. Voice over continues (Shots to crowds of voters with flag, “Democratics have advantage, juxtapose his image next to crowds rallying)
XXXVII. Larry King’s voice over introduces next interviewee
XXXVIII. (Film woman juxtaposed next to Sarah Palin at speech)
Woman: democratic party advantaged
XXXVIX. Larry King: (voice over) briefing what’s to come, then introduces next guest
XL. Woman speaking juxtaposed next to crowds at Obama rally
XLI. (Shot of Larry King)
Larry King: is this winnable for McCain?
XLII. (Man engaged with audience answering, juxtaposed next to rallying crowd)
XLIII. Larry King’s voiceover with next guest’s image (while he asks her question about Obama vs. McCain)
Discusses Cuban vote to win Florida
XLIV. (Films image of speaker at Palin Rally)
Larry King: announces break
“we’ll be right back” → intense “finale” music, applause
XLV. (film family outside, cars, calm music) → Subaru commercial
XLVI. (Film woman sitting with face mask on, metamusile pills)
Voice over: beautify yourself
XLVII. Voice over: 1 week to go until election day: CNN facebook (get started on forum)
XLVIII. Voice over: Larry King tomorrow night: John McCain on Larry King live, tomorrow night
XLVIV. Have you had Kidney failure? Heart surgery (intense background with cardiac monitoring machine) → drug consultation
L. (Cartoon of dog teacher)
Voice over: your pets need year round medication “1-800-pet-meds”
LI. Voice over: One on one with Barak Obama: Friday 6 eastern
LII. Larry King: We’re back (Larry King facing camera, switch to Palin rally image)
LIII. Larry King: Economy remains number 1 issue with voters: watch McCain (Films McCain speech → Obama “redistribution of wealth”)
LIV. Woman announcer discusses redistribution (Palin’s speech juxtaposed with applause)
LV. Switch to Larry King (“Live,” “7 Days to Election” in corner entire time)
LVI. (Palin giving speech)
Palin: are you ready to send us to Washington to mix things up
Commentary:
This specific sequence had a very clear connection: the election. The “commercial breaks” in this sequences do not even seem to interrupt the flow – they constantly refer back to the current show (i.e. segment XI). Also, for the most part the content of the commercials connected to the news coverage, seeing as it was all either directly or indirectly linked to the election. For example, during the first commercial break after segment VII that introduces Joe the Plummer (the epitome of the “average guy”), all of the commercials aim to appeal to the “average person.” The commercials are successful in doing this simply by filming people doing average activities as well as addressing financial concerns (i.e. VIII and IX). The pervasive commercials regarding finances also smoothly tie in with the election and the discussion of each candidate’s stance on taxes.
Suspense is also prominent during this sequence in multiple forms. First, the channel constantly reminds the viewer of the upcoming election (i.e. segment XXX) with countdowns, advertisements, and its overall political emphasis. Also, during commercial breaks, there are frequent reminders of the channel’s upcoming agenda. In addition, the bold letters “Coming up” accompanied by the typical music (i.e. XXIII) intensify the suspense.
Overall, this sequence had a very clear political focus that was apparent in both the commercials and the actual program. The only break from this “political agenda” was segment XXI – the commercial for livestock. When I was watching the sequence, I was aware of my involvement with the flow and my mind was actively thinking about the upcoming election the entire time… until this bizarre commercial. I am still debating over the reasoning behind its inclusion, but it did have a local feel to its quality, which could be attributing to the channel’s targeting the “average person” and directly connecting to the viewer in a specific region.
Film on Television
VH1’s Movies that Rock Series: Purple Rain (1:03-1:33 a.m.)
1:03-1:22:
1) Morris Day soliciting Apollonia to listen to his tape (all the central characters in Purple Rain, with the possible exception of Prince, retain their real names; elision of fiction and actual celebrity—a semi-autobiographical film about the rise of a real life star on a network that promotes that star). The VH1 logo appears constantly in the bottom right hand corner, and sometimes advertises later VH1 programming.
2) “Don’t you want to be a star?” he asks (the question exploited by the reality television later advertised).
3) Words and sex scenes are censored (a difference between the intended audiences of film and television).
4) Scenes of domestic abuse; Prince as The Kid struggles to resist his father’s violent impulses within himself (a film critical of the family, on a network which appeals to young people, curiously edited to gesture towards appeasing a family audience—what?).
5) The Kid gives Apollonia his earring after she gives him a guitar (subversion of gender roles! Conservative America is frightened).
6) “When Doves Cry” plays. The film has what are in effect music videos and concert footage within it; prime VH1 programming.
7) The Kid’s father advises him to “Never get married,” followed immediately, as if by way of emphasis, by a…
8) Commercial break!
a) VH1’s Sunday line-up is advertised.
b) A reality show featuring scantily clad women wrestling and otherwise behaving badly is advertised.
c) Simon and Garfunkel parody fast-food advertisement.
d) Video game advertisement.
e) Car commercial parody that is actually a razor commercial.
f) A competing fast-food advertisement emphasizing large portion sizes.
g) Finally, a family ad: K-Mart Halloween!
h) Straight car commercial.
i) Birth Control commercial parodying 50’s style synchronized swimming.
j) Holiday family movie featuring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon which also ought to appeal to the Purple Rain demographic.
k) Scrabble.
l) Home business commercial.
m) Another reality television show with scantily clad fighting (non-wrestling) women.
The commercials are aimed at a variety of demographics; few are family oriented. Almost all, however, fail to compete with the coolness/awesomeness of Prince and undermine VH1’s claims to cool, especially the home business advertisement.
1:29-1:33:
9) After seven minutes of commercials, Purple Rain returns. “Movies That Rock” is advertised in the corner. Celebrity rehab is also advertised.
10) The Kid and his band The Revolution perform “Darling Nikki” at a club. There is a lot of thrusting. The idea that removing nudity and several words makes the film more appropriate becomes increasingly non-sensical. Also, the advertisements increasingly seem to bear no relation to the kind of person who watches Purple Rain.
11) Preliminary conclusion: television doesn’t make sense. Or, more clearly, the flow is not at all coherent, even in a half-hour window.
1:03-1:22:
1) Morris Day soliciting Apollonia to listen to his tape (all the central characters in Purple Rain, with the possible exception of Prince, retain their real names; elision of fiction and actual celebrity—a semi-autobiographical film about the rise of a real life star on a network that promotes that star). The VH1 logo appears constantly in the bottom right hand corner, and sometimes advertises later VH1 programming.
2) “Don’t you want to be a star?” he asks (the question exploited by the reality television later advertised).
3) Words and sex scenes are censored (a difference between the intended audiences of film and television).
4) Scenes of domestic abuse; Prince as The Kid struggles to resist his father’s violent impulses within himself (a film critical of the family, on a network which appeals to young people, curiously edited to gesture towards appeasing a family audience—what?).
5) The Kid gives Apollonia his earring after she gives him a guitar (subversion of gender roles! Conservative America is frightened).
6) “When Doves Cry” plays. The film has what are in effect music videos and concert footage within it; prime VH1 programming.
7) The Kid’s father advises him to “Never get married,” followed immediately, as if by way of emphasis, by a…
8) Commercial break!
a) VH1’s Sunday line-up is advertised.
b) A reality show featuring scantily clad women wrestling and otherwise behaving badly is advertised.
c) Simon and Garfunkel parody fast-food advertisement.
d) Video game advertisement.
e) Car commercial parody that is actually a razor commercial.
f) A competing fast-food advertisement emphasizing large portion sizes.
g) Finally, a family ad: K-Mart Halloween!
h) Straight car commercial.
i) Birth Control commercial parodying 50’s style synchronized swimming.
j) Holiday family movie featuring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon which also ought to appeal to the Purple Rain demographic.
k) Scrabble.
l) Home business commercial.
m) Another reality television show with scantily clad fighting (non-wrestling) women.
The commercials are aimed at a variety of demographics; few are family oriented. Almost all, however, fail to compete with the coolness/awesomeness of Prince and undermine VH1’s claims to cool, especially the home business advertisement.
1:29-1:33:
9) After seven minutes of commercials, Purple Rain returns. “Movies That Rock” is advertised in the corner. Celebrity rehab is also advertised.
10) The Kid and his band The Revolution perform “Darling Nikki” at a club. There is a lot of thrusting. The idea that removing nudity and several words makes the film more appropriate becomes increasingly non-sensical. Also, the advertisements increasingly seem to bear no relation to the kind of person who watches Purple Rain.
11) Preliminary conclusion: television doesn’t make sense. Or, more clearly, the flow is not at all coherent, even in a half-hour window.
FOX NEWS AT 10 (REPUBLICANS ALL THE TIME)
Fox News at 10, Providence Local Edition
Frame 1: "10 Live from Providence" (middle of screen, bolded, capital letters)
Fram 2: "Top Local Story"
--> shot of (correspondent Walt Buteau re. teenager's alcohol-related death) (story itself narrated by woman's voice)
-Helicopter shot of site where body was found
10:01 : shot of girl's face
(deep drum roll-esq sound)
10:01: Police Investigating 2 robberies on same street
Alex Duprado (announcer 2) live on Thayer St.
-Interview with shop owner (zoom in on black eye)
-(LIVE written in top left corner; red, white and blue text banner along bottom edge of screen)
10:04 "Financial Crisis" (reads on screen, centered)
Dow Jones discussed by (announcer 1) Joan Moran (set with digital background of r, w, b, Wall St.)
-Footage of stock market
-Footage of major retailers (Macy's, Toys R Us) and consumers shopping
10:05 Interview with Stock Market Anaylst
10:05.30 Houses have dropped in price
-Footage of houses "for sale" signs, etc.
-Interview with former CEO of Citigroup
10:06: "Im Joan Moran with Eyewitness News"
10:06.30 Plans to build a strip mall in RI (narrated by Moran)
"New Details" (reads on screen, centered)
-Discussion of Hudson family tragedy
-Footage of community vigil
10:07 Barack Obama vs. McCain coverage
-"Campaign 2008" (reads on screen, centered)
-10:08: Cuts os image of McCain first "McCain ripped into Obama" (nb. language choice "ripped into")
-Shot of Kim McCyntyre (correspondent) standing in D.C. talking about campaign
10:09: Romney and Polenti discussing potential of Obama
10:09: Cranston Mayorial Election --> will it be a woman or an Asian American?
10:10 Ted Kennedy back in RI (narrated by announcer 1 again)
10:10 'Live Pinpoint Doppler' (reads on screen, centered)
-Meteorologist speaks re. weather
-Minimal shots of speaker, mostly radar
10:11 "Target 12 Exclusive" (reads on screen, centered)
10:12 "News Chopper 12 brought to you by..."
Advertisements
1)Cardi's Furniture
2)Cinco's Plumbing and Heating
3) Bath Splash Showroom
10:13 (4) Honda Accord
(5) Dunkin Donuts
(6) Cinco Heating (again)
(7) Chrysler Jeep Sale
10:15 "Another big story" --> Hit and run accident in Warwick, woman hit by car
-Interview with victim
-shot of driver
-Interview with reverend
10:16 "New Details" (reads center screen)
-Officer Charged for leaving equipment in car
10:17 "Police in Pawtucket are asking for your help"
10:18 New Chief of Police in Pawtucket
10:18 Nearly 20 soldiers scheduled tmrw. for deployment to Iraq
10:18 "New at Ten"
-8 year old boy shot himself with gun
10:19 Senator Wilikerson caught taking bribes
10:20 coming up...
Advertisements
1)GMC dealers
2) Target 12 Investigators Exclusive: Probing Pensions
3) Fagan Door
4) Ford Motor Company
5) Jack Reed (Senate)
6)Toyota
7)Fox Providence Talent Show (sponsored by...3 names listed)
10:24 Demolition of Barry's Nighclub in Warwick
"New Details" (reads on screen, centered)
Newport, RI --> Easy Pass (helicopter shot)
-Interview with Gov. Carcieri (r, w, b banner at bottom again)
10:25 (shot of male announcer) Intermodal Facility at TF Green
"Tomorrow's Headlines, here's Tim Murphy from the PROJO Newsroom"
10:26 Local Politics
"Coming up next...details you'll only see on Fox News"
10:27 (Advertisements)
1)Bank RI
2) Cinco Plumbing and heating
3) Rhode Island Lottery
4) Miralax
5)Cindy Crawford Home Furniture
6) Cinco Plumbing and Heating
10:30 "Coverage you can count on, this is FOX Eyewitness News"
Notes: Overuse of r, w, b colours within texts and backgrounds (alignment of FOX with "national news", with THE news for America"
-Esp. in conjunction with statements like "coverage you can count on" or "only with Fox News"
-Very strong, husky voice of male newscaster (who's wearing dark blue suit, white shirt, red tie) - --> Quintessentially 'all-American' --> he's the one talking about the hold-ups, the near- fatal accidents (clearly more 'masculine' subjects)
-Prevalence of middle-class related ads (ie. plumbing, cars like Ford, etc.)
-Total of 20 advertisements
-5 car commercials
-11 commercials concerning RI-specific products
-2 commercials for other FOX programs
-1 political commercial
-1 clearly geared to elderly (Miralax)
-We all know FOX is conservative (-> McCain comes first when discussing politics, little mention of Obama, NO mention of local environmental issues, little economic analysis, no mention of Greenspan, Bush, etc.)
Altman
NBC Wednesday, 9:30-10:00 PM (starts mid-episode of Deal or No Deal)
- Commercial 1: Preview for NBC 10 News at 11 PM—weatherman calling the anchor by his first name—“James we’re looking at this kind of weather forecast…”
- Commercial 2: Dodge truck
- Commercial 3: another News commercial
- Deal or No Deal returns—reel at bottom for 30 Rock—Howie (host) mediates conversation between contestant and her three family members—the Deal or No Deal scoreboard frames the contestant’s head—after a long time she decides not to make a deal with the dealer—Howie: “3 million dollar cases still in play…come on back! Call your friends!”
- Incessantly trying to keep the viewers as well as gathering new viewers. This emphasizing the competition among networks. It also sets up a homelike arena…you’re local friends will also be participating in the excitement of this show…it will be a topic in the local community.
b. Reel shows that the network wants to promote itself.
- Commercial 4: Shows exactly what just happened in the show
a. This is an example of Altman’s italicizing. The summary informs us and allows us to understand what is to come in the show. It also treats us as if we are equal viewers as those that have been watching from the beginning…we are on the same plane.
- Commercial 5: Explains the at-home version of Deal or No Deal. You can win $10,000 if you choose the right case with your cell phone
- Commercial 6: Fisher Price toy
- Commercial 7: Another Fisher Price toy
- Commercial 8: Dodge truck…cowboys and men endorsing
- Commercial 9: Kmart…Halloween costumes
- Commercial 10: AT&T
- Commercial 11: Advair for asthma…black and white with several different people saying how long they’ve suffered with asthma
- These commercials show a large targeted audience. It starts with children/parents, then men, then what could be argued as mothers with Halloween costumes. The network is appealing to every viewer.
- Commercial 12: new NBC show, New Life
- Commercial 13: original Law and Order returns…NBC only place to catch new episodes
- Deal or No Deal returns—clapping heard before we see Howie—Howie summarizing exactly what just happened—says to conetestant “you are a real person, you have a real life…we at Deal or No Deal are happy to share this with you”—we can’t see dealer, only communication is through phone calls with Howie—new offer of $677,000—Howie then says “tell me what you’re thinking”—models clapping, audience clapping, everyone clapping when she decides to not make a deal with the dealer—Howie: “you just picked Brook, if Brook has the $300 case then you are an instant millionaire”—then he repeats that almost EXACTLY to us at home
- Howie needs to gather every viewer. If they are confused, they will change channels.
- And what? He tells her she is a real person??? This emphasizes that she is real and that we can relate to her because she is “live.”
- Commercial 14: announcer says we could have a new millionaire TONIGHT! “tonight said at the exact same time as contestant’s name flashes on the screen (her name is Tomorrow)
- The network knows that her name is slightly confusing, so they place the words in a certain way that will eliminate confusion. The deliberateness of this act shows the network’s crave for clarity.
- Commercial 15: At-home game continues, winning case revealed…”if you chose this case, you could be tonight’s winner!”
- Commercial 16: DVD commercial…comes with 3D glasses
- Commercial 17: Sprint cell commercial…only one with the Now Network
- Commercial 18: hair dye
- Commercial 19: Toys R Us
- Commercial 20: NBC ER commercial…Halloween episode
- This ties us into Halloween. It emphasizes liveness. Also the order of the commercials shows that the network wants to balance the reader.
- Commercial 21: NBC next…new Lipstick Jungle next
- Keeps the viewer into the specific channel.
- Commercial 22: NBC sports newscasters
- Keeps viewer into the channel as a whole.
- Deal or No Deal graphic—Howie: “the best game ever”—repeats what has been happening again—Howie: “we have already given away a million this season…she didn’t have a board this good”—Tomorrow chooses Case 15—Brook, the model, says “You are a millionaire”—music plays, confetti—Dealer in his upstairs room looks angry—Howie says congrats and that this is a historic moment—shots of family members, winner, Howie, audience—bottom of screen shows who won the at-home game
- Creates suspense and importance within the show.
- Commercial 23: Preview of next two Deal or No Deal episodes
- Even though this show had a great climax, they don’t want their popularity to plummet because a climax has been reached.
- Commercial 24: actresses of Lipstick Jungle hum the NBC famous three tones—then laugh and one comments on the butt of one of the others
- Commercial 25: Preview of tonight’s episode (mini trailer) of Lipstick Jungle—news reel at bottom advertising NBC’s 30 Rock
- Keeps the viewer on NBC. Economical emphasis.
i. Emphasizes the network.
23 October 2008
Ultimate Indifference
Camera Lucida’s reader is clearly aware of Barthes’ fascination with the “madness” of the photo. He is intrigued by the “photographic ecstasy” (Barthes 119) derived from the absolute and original realism that the photograph embodies – its powerful existence as pure, undeniable evidence. In viewing the photograph, the spectator is actually confronting the “terrified conscious” (Barthes 119) of Time’s domineering power of his/her own mortality. Therefore, it is understandable that society attempts to tame the photograph – we are inherently in denial (or at least terrified by the concept) of our own mortality. Barthes claims that cinema acts as a medium for this taming process. As a society, we find comfort in the fictionality of the “hermetically sealed world” (Mulvey 201) that mainstream cinema provides – it gives us the illusion of a safe reality unbounded by Time. By taming the power of the photograph, we enable “pleasure [to pass] through the image” (Barthes 118). Just as Mulvey’s two forms of pleasure (voyeurism and narcissism) are ultimately means of distracting men from their castration anxiety, the overall purpose of entertainment is a means of distracting society from Time anxiety – cinema is a distraction from the terror of reality that photographs induce.
However, Barthes also states that it is this ideological “universalized image” that lacks originally, and consequently, the intriguing, essential punctum. Therefore he requests that we “abolish the images” (Barthes 119) that are distracting us from reality, thereby promoting the notion of confrontation. But what good would come out of this confrontation? I project Barthes’ notion to inevitably be a never-ending circle constantly returning to societal indifference: so we confront the reality of Death through photographs and then accept our fate and our powerlessness under Time’s authority. Soon, this acceptance would become a casual, detracting from the wounding bite of the punctum (which Barthes deems is the source of power from the photo). Without this punctum and through our casual acceptance of fate through confrontation with reality, we would then become, once again, indifferent. Barthes claims that the choice between settling with comforting “perfect illusions” and confronting “the wakening of intractable reality” (Barthes 119) is his ultimate decision. My response is this: it doesn’t matter – either route will eventually lead to societal indifference.
However, Barthes also states that it is this ideological “universalized image” that lacks originally, and consequently, the intriguing, essential punctum. Therefore he requests that we “abolish the images” (Barthes 119) that are distracting us from reality, thereby promoting the notion of confrontation. But what good would come out of this confrontation? I project Barthes’ notion to inevitably be a never-ending circle constantly returning to societal indifference: so we confront the reality of Death through photographs and then accept our fate and our powerlessness under Time’s authority. Soon, this acceptance would become a casual, detracting from the wounding bite of the punctum (which Barthes deems is the source of power from the photo). Without this punctum and through our casual acceptance of fate through confrontation with reality, we would then become, once again, indifferent. Barthes claims that the choice between settling with comforting “perfect illusions” and confronting “the wakening of intractable reality” (Barthes 119) is his ultimate decision. My response is this: it doesn’t matter – either route will eventually lead to societal indifference.
Sight and Grizzly Man
Firstly, Harrison, thank you for bringing up the point about the believability of photography within the modern world, I think that in a modern context Barthes' ideas about photography showing reality without truly being influenced by a human hand would need to be reconsidered. I think our generation is, in fact, very skeptical about the realism of photos. No one looks at pictures of models in magazines anymore without thinking "well that's not what they really look like, it's all airbrushed anyway." We find ourselves looking up on snopes.com whether the latest photo released of some politician doing something stupid or inappropriate is Photoshopped or not. Your example of that glass is really a vivid example of, as you mentioned, the obsession with realism that is now a part of photography as it used to be with painting. In addition to this, the use of digital photography and programs like Photoshop allows the artist to have much more of a hand in the creation of the image, which speaks against Barthes' idea of a relatively unaltered picture of reality.
I think an interesting question, though I know it is very vague, is why sight itself is so equivalent with truth in the human mind. We are all very well aware of the fact that our eyes often "play tricks" on us, we even enjoy looking at optical illusions, allowing ourselves to be fooled, and yet we still rely so much on our sense of sight as proof and evidence. This phenomenon, I think, is part of what makes film and photography such powerful art forms. And has our (I think rightful) skepticism towards digital photgraphy, altered our reliance on sight, so much stronger than that on our other senses?
One other, relatively unrelated, point about Grizzly Man: Isabel alluded to this as well, but I think the sense of death that Barthes talks about being embodied in the photo was extremely applicable to Grizzly Man. Partially, of course, this feeling is emphasized by the fact that the narrator talks about Treadwell's death as we are watching the footage of him alive, but also I feel it had something to do with the realism of the footage itself, cut as it was. Treadwell, being basically completely alone, I feel was for many portions of the video very much simply himself in front of the camera. We see him cursing himself for takes that didn't go well, we hear him speaking freely, without a script, often quite inarticulately, his speech fueled much more by emotion than intellect. The footage, no doubt meant to be edited and censored by Treadwell, was instead shown in a very raw and real form. This made Treadwell, for me at least, a very real person rather than a character, removing that duality of identification that is so often a part of cinema. This identification with solely a "real" person, not a fictional character in any way, made the sense of this footage as defying a death that we are consciously aware of throughout the film very powerful.
I think an interesting question, though I know it is very vague, is why sight itself is so equivalent with truth in the human mind. We are all very well aware of the fact that our eyes often "play tricks" on us, we even enjoy looking at optical illusions, allowing ourselves to be fooled, and yet we still rely so much on our sense of sight as proof and evidence. This phenomenon, I think, is part of what makes film and photography such powerful art forms. And has our (I think rightful) skepticism towards digital photgraphy, altered our reliance on sight, so much stronger than that on our other senses?
One other, relatively unrelated, point about Grizzly Man: Isabel alluded to this as well, but I think the sense of death that Barthes talks about being embodied in the photo was extremely applicable to Grizzly Man. Partially, of course, this feeling is emphasized by the fact that the narrator talks about Treadwell's death as we are watching the footage of him alive, but also I feel it had something to do with the realism of the footage itself, cut as it was. Treadwell, being basically completely alone, I feel was for many portions of the video very much simply himself in front of the camera. We see him cursing himself for takes that didn't go well, we hear him speaking freely, without a script, often quite inarticulately, his speech fueled much more by emotion than intellect. The footage, no doubt meant to be edited and censored by Treadwell, was instead shown in a very raw and real form. This made Treadwell, for me at least, a very real person rather than a character, removing that duality of identification that is so often a part of cinema. This identification with solely a "real" person, not a fictional character in any way, made the sense of this footage as defying a death that we are consciously aware of throughout the film very powerful.
Treadwell.
I found it intersting in looking at Tim Treadwell as a photographic subject. As a result of filming himself he was naturally aware that he was being filmed and as Barthes argues; he could not help but to contrive a pose. Treadwell aims assure that the image captured in the photo coincides with his "self" or the "self" he wants to portray to the audience. While Treadwell believes his focus is on the grizzlies and nature; the audience comes to the conclusion that the indirect focus is on Treadwell. In his work Treadwell was not the individual but rather the filmmaker Treadwell. This posing as the filmmaker was complimented by Werner Herzog's inclusion of the outtakes, re-shoots, and rants that could all be deemed "real" and not posed. I feel as though there is a necessity on Treadwell's part to keep his filming about the bears and away from the bears relationship to his life personally. Treadwell makes a concious effort to maintain what Barthes describes as our "air (110)". However the brillance in the film is when he breaks his concious shapping of his character and is "raw". While it is still on flim he does not believe he will include the segments in his actual production. The moments where he steps out of his Treadwell filmmaker role are the most interesting and the best indicators of who this complex character really was.
The Credibility of the Photograph in the Digital Age
Bazin writes that “the objective nature of photography confers on it a quality of credibility absent from all other picture-making” (13). Barthes seems to assign the same value of credibility to the photograph. These statements got me thinking about whether the photograph in the digital age can still be perceived as a credible source. Photographs have always been able to be manipulated through optical effects, but the advent of digital photography and image editing programs like photoshop have made it much easier to profoundly alter images. It’s usually easy to tell that a photo is false when the Photoshop work is done poorly, but with enough time and skill, a person can create a fake image that looks totally believable. Furthermore, the rapid advance of computer graphics can blur the line between the artificial and the real. Taken side by a side, a good CG render of an object might be indistinguishable from an actual photograph of the same object. For example, look at the below images. Without reading the text at the top, see if you can determine which one is CG and which one is a digital photograph.
The practice of computer graphic is often obsessed with realism, analyzing objects down to minute texture details and interactions with light. Bazin argues that photography has liberated painting from the confines of realism, but this cannot be applied to the relatively new art of CG which has gone in the opposite direction. As game designers and computer scientists continue to develop new computational models to render photorealistic worlds, the line between the real and the fabricated will become even more pervasive.
Since digital technology can be (and is often) used to undermine the association between photography and the real, can we still say that photograph is “credible”? Or must we instead develop a kind of “paranoid” relation to the photographic image, insure of its truth and thus questioning of its authenticity?
The practice of computer graphic is often obsessed with realism, analyzing objects down to minute texture details and interactions with light. Bazin argues that photography has liberated painting from the confines of realism, but this cannot be applied to the relatively new art of CG which has gone in the opposite direction. As game designers and computer scientists continue to develop new computational models to render photorealistic worlds, the line between the real and the fabricated will become even more pervasive.
Since digital technology can be (and is often) used to undermine the association between photography and the real, can we still say that photograph is “credible”? Or must we instead develop a kind of “paranoid” relation to the photographic image, insure of its truth and thus questioning of its authenticity?
La jetée photography and cinema (and paint just for the hell of it)
La jetee quite obviously drew our attention to the subtlety of the differences between cinema and photography. Since it is a "film" made up of still photographs it can be analyzed as both film and photography. Another interesting follow up question is: at what points of the short does it become film and at what points does it become photography? This line actually seems quite simple to draw. In certain shots the focus is on motion and the still frames in sequence actually become a primitive type of animation. It is at these moments in the short that it becomes more film than photography. For example, I would classify the scene in which the main character is running down the dock as film. Scenes which focus more on individual still frames tip the balance toward photography (such as scenes at the site of the experiment which would switch between different shots of characters faces without focus on any particular sense of motion). This poses an interesting challenge to the audience. Throughout the duration of the film the viewer must switch from interpreting the short as film and interpreting the short as photography within mere seconds. Due to the celerity at which the film progresses the viewer must then focus almost entirely on the punctum of each individual photograph. There simply is not much time to focus on anything else. Each viewer will notice what first jumps out at him or her and almost immediately after a new frame will arrive on screen. This interestingly puts the film somewhat out of the directors hands and also opens it up to a more broad variety of interpretations. Since each viewer will likely have different punctum for each frame the director somewhat loses control of the visual direction of the film. Each viewer will notice and focus on different details that produce a quick and strong reaction. With all of these puncta going through one's mind at once combined with the switches between more filmic aspects and more photographic aspects the film almost becomes and exhausting experience for the viewer, but more importantly a somewhat obvious and extremely effective meditation on the differences between film and photography (and to think this covers only what the film accomplishes within it's form, disregarding any sense of plot or other issues not directly related to form).
Also I thought I would include something as a bonus. Approximately three weeks ago I completed a black and white gouache painting based upon a frame taken from La jetee (this realization didn't hit me until I began watching the film). I thought it would be interesting to include it. The frame it is based upon occurs at the point in the film when the narrator says "Until, ahead of him, he senses a wall" or something to that effect. The body parts that I have superimposed on the painting were taken from a separate source.
Photography and truth
Does the photograph necessarily represent a truth? Barthes seems to suggest that it does; however, this is an extremely dangerous acceptance and one that is based on viewer subjectivity when truth, I would contend is universal. He identifies "truth and reality in a unique emotion" (77) stemming from the punctum and his interaction with the Winter Garden photograph. His notion of the punctum is based on a subjective view of the photograph. What is the punctum for me, is not necessarily the punctum for someone else. Even if the "unique emotion" that the particular punctum for an individual stimulates is a photographic truth, it is not necessarily an absolute truth. If we accept Barthes' assertion that the photograph, by definition is "what has been" (85), we accept only that it captures a reality, not a truth; the truth he asserts is rather a truth in regards to the nature of photography and what attracts a viewer to a particular photograph, not the absolute truths that are universal.
Furthermore, this reality is not necessarily truthful; a photograph can be manipulated and indeed the reading, as Barthes acknowledges, is subjective, as well as, what the photographer chooses to photograph and how. The potential for photography to become a propagandistic or otherwise distorting agent is enormous. Barthes contends that the madness of photography is that it is a representation that can assure him of the past of a thing: "with the Photograph, my certainty is immediate" (115), but with digital photography and the easy manipulation of photographs, this blind acceptance poses an enormous threat.
This brings to mind Barthes' discussion of the Photograph as a subversive agent, "not when it frightens, repels, or even stigmatizes, but when it is pensive, when it thinks" (38). In light of the advances in digital technology the potential for photography to "think" expands and becomes something uncontrollable by the public, but increasingly controlled by the agents that employ photography. Barthes describes the photograph as violent "because it fills the sight by force" (91); though while he uses this to transition into his discussion of photography reminding him of his imminent death whether he like it or not, he does not address the potential for this characteristic to manipulate the viewer. I found interesting the similar language used by Barthes and Keenan; similar to how Keenan viewed language as a violent light breaking into the private, Barthes employs similar language also to refer to the knowledge forcefully imparted by the Photograph.
Thus we return to the notion of knowledge and whether knowing more is "enlightenment," whether knowledge leads to action (Keenan), whether the photograph can be an agent of action. A representation of reality, I would agree, in Barthes' terms that it captures something, that has been, even if it is only the particular frequencies of light existing in a moment; to accept blindly any more would be to put put oneself at risk of being manipulated; it is not necessarily objective or without mediator. The Photograph is complicated by the tension between reality and truth. Truths, I would argue are universal and objective, something that the photograph perhaps can be, but is not necessarily.
The Legitimacy of the Punctum
Barthes’ concepts of the studium and the punctum are understandable, but throughout he seemed to come to the punctum as an emotional conclusion as opposed to a logical conclusion. Its very definition (a “sting, peck, cut, little hole”) implies that it is outside the completely rational. I understand this idea and even relate to it when I view certain photographs, but this answer just isn’t very satisfying. I feel there should be a more objective understanding of how photos affect us. The idea of the punctum seems to be so free that anything in the photo can strike its viewer and elevate the photo from one that is “liked” to one that is “loved.” The cause and the effect are too vaguely defined.
Barthes does become more specific when he defines his second punctum, which is Time. Because the photo becomes a “that-has-been,” the spectator becomes aware of Death. This forces us to contemplate our own death, and therefore the reading of the photograph becomes much more personal. This version of punctum that is related to time seems more productive through its specificity.
“La jetée,” the punctum, & cinema
Bathes’ remarks in section 23 of Camera Lucida claim that cinema, while it has no punctum, nevertheless engenders a “blind field” to which photographs with punctums also provide access. In other words, the two arts use different means to achieve the same end of bringing out what some theorist, in one of their less flattering moments, might call the artfulness of art (a little joke). I wish to consider that effect of the “blind field”, which Barthes describes on page 57 as something like the phenomenon of bringing out the life or nature of the image, particularly in the context of the blurry line between photography and film exemplified by “La jetée.”
The film is composed of a series of photographs, each shown for a number of seconds, slideshow style, and a narrator and score. Consequently, for most of the film, there is enough time to be “free to shut [one’s] eyes” and in so doing to discover the punctum of the images (55). The use of the punctum in film is achieved in other ways outside of La jetée as well, for example through slow motion, freeze frames, repeating images and motifs. In short, one is given time away from the image to “allow the detail to rise of its own accord into affective consciousness.” Incidentally, and as a result, La jetée was in my opinion the most emotionally affecting film we have seen in the Screens and Projections series.
In La jetée itself, the narrator in his introduction of the protagonists’ mysterious memory of the pier at the airport says that, “Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments; only afterwards do they claim remembrance on account of their scars.” This claim would suggest that memory works like photography too, with that which we remember being the punctum of our ordinary moments, our experiences. When viewed next to Kafka’s idea that “We photograph things in order to drive them out of our minds…a way of shutting [one’s] eyes” (54) taking photographs, or continuing to live and accrue ordinary experience, are a temporary relief from the “sting” (27) of the punctum, which comes from the idea, perhaps, that “what the Photograph reproduces to infinity has occurred only once…” (4), despite the blind field of life surrounding it. In other words, it is only an absence which can elevate art, and by then, the moment is already gone.
The film is composed of a series of photographs, each shown for a number of seconds, slideshow style, and a narrator and score. Consequently, for most of the film, there is enough time to be “free to shut [one’s] eyes” and in so doing to discover the punctum of the images (55). The use of the punctum in film is achieved in other ways outside of La jetée as well, for example through slow motion, freeze frames, repeating images and motifs. In short, one is given time away from the image to “allow the detail to rise of its own accord into affective consciousness.” Incidentally, and as a result, La jetée was in my opinion the most emotionally affecting film we have seen in the Screens and Projections series.
In La jetée itself, the narrator in his introduction of the protagonists’ mysterious memory of the pier at the airport says that, “Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments; only afterwards do they claim remembrance on account of their scars.” This claim would suggest that memory works like photography too, with that which we remember being the punctum of our ordinary moments, our experiences. When viewed next to Kafka’s idea that “We photograph things in order to drive them out of our minds…a way of shutting [one’s] eyes” (54) taking photographs, or continuing to live and accrue ordinary experience, are a temporary relief from the “sting” (27) of the punctum, which comes from the idea, perhaps, that “what the Photograph reproduces to infinity has occurred only once…” (4), despite the blind field of life surrounding it. In other words, it is only an absence which can elevate art, and by then, the moment is already gone.
Swords?
I don’t know what about Barthes changed, but I found myself liking him in this book, as opposed to in Mythologies. My copy of Camera Lucida has various meaningful and meaningless annotations in what appear to be several languages, and there are several at the beginning that focus on death. At any rate, death and photography makes me think of Goosebumps (Say Cheese and Die).
I don’t think there’s a single untruth in the whole book (well, other than the few things from the beginning that he must rethink or rephrase near the end as he works through them in his thoughts). The main emphasis, that photographs display “that-has-been,” was, is, and always will be true. In terms of digital cameras, there is no way to retain, instantly, the situation of a photograph without it becoming a video. Therefore, as soon as it is taken, the referent has become changed, however slightly, whether by temporal or physical displacement. This quality of the photo being permanently of one referent, as it was in the past, automatically links it to death.
I don’t think you can take a photo that isn’t reminiscent of death. Even the brightest, happiest photos (like those in Kodak Picture Enhancer [or something] commercials), are frozen in time. You must recognize that, relative to the time in the photo, those people are going to die. I think, and have no reason to believe that nobody else does, the very attraction of photos comes from the fact that the moment captured doesn’t last forever (“take a picture, it lasts longer”). The photo comes with (or recreates) a memory, and, for whatever reason, it seems people desire to live on in memory. Like biographies and such, the photo becomes, similar to what Bazin said, a corporeal replacement. This is “the preservation of life by a representation of life” (Bazin, 10). Thus, the photo, consciously or not, is a weapon with which to fight death, though, paradoxically, an eerie harbinger of the death it is to fight. You can have a pretty sword, but it’s still a sword.
I don’t think there’s a single untruth in the whole book (well, other than the few things from the beginning that he must rethink or rephrase near the end as he works through them in his thoughts). The main emphasis, that photographs display “that-has-been,” was, is, and always will be true. In terms of digital cameras, there is no way to retain, instantly, the situation of a photograph without it becoming a video. Therefore, as soon as it is taken, the referent has become changed, however slightly, whether by temporal or physical displacement. This quality of the photo being permanently of one referent, as it was in the past, automatically links it to death.
I don’t think you can take a photo that isn’t reminiscent of death. Even the brightest, happiest photos (like those in Kodak Picture Enhancer [or something] commercials), are frozen in time. You must recognize that, relative to the time in the photo, those people are going to die. I think, and have no reason to believe that nobody else does, the very attraction of photos comes from the fact that the moment captured doesn’t last forever (“take a picture, it lasts longer”). The photo comes with (or recreates) a memory, and, for whatever reason, it seems people desire to live on in memory. Like biographies and such, the photo becomes, similar to what Bazin said, a corporeal replacement. This is “the preservation of life by a representation of life” (Bazin, 10). Thus, the photo, consciously or not, is a weapon with which to fight death, though, paradoxically, an eerie harbinger of the death it is to fight. You can have a pretty sword, but it’s still a sword.
22 October 2008
The "That-Has-Been" in the Age of Instantaneousness
For Barthes in Camera Lucida, the essence of the photograph lies in the past, in the realization that the object represented (and he emphasizes this word as the photographer's re-presentation of something that has been to the spectator of the future) existed at one point. It is at once an emphasis of the object's reality - for unlike the less exact arts of copying, photography is dependent upon this reality - and a distancing from it, for the reality expressed is one of the past with little or nothing to speak of regarding the present day. The photographs Barthes uses as a basis for these arguments largely stand by this concept, and it is reasonable to say they represent a decent cross-section of the photography readily available to him, or at least those aspects he found personally interesting - those which for him possessed a distinct punctum. These images are frequently historical, drawing out Barthes' fascination with the photographic image as the bearer of "that-has-been". In this one-time presence, he seeks to draw a line to the concept of Death; the historicism of the photographic image as a thing that has passed forces the possibility of death, which becomes inevitability in the sympathetic spectator. The photographic object occurs at one point and one point only, without reference to its progress within the passage of time, and that point is firmly rooted in the past, a period of "that-has-been". The spectator may wonder whether the photographic subject remains, but the possibility exists that it does not or has dramatically changed since its static image was captured. That possibility is enough to root Barthes' photograph in the awareness of Death and divide it from any sort of life of the present. The "that-has-been" cannot simultaneously be, except in the form of the image which can speak no further than the past existence of its object.
By the publication of Camera Lucida in 1980, photography was already played a significant role in both art and personal life, and yet since then, developments have occurred that Barthes could not possibly have anticipated. The foremost of these has been the ubiquity of the digital image, a phenomenon that with each advance further challenges the notion of the "that-has-been". The rampant spread of the digital camera, especially when correlated with expansions of Internet connectivity in public places and for non-standard devices, has led to an environment in which the photographic image can truly represent the instantaneous, the current, the up-to-date - the unmistakably living. There is no "that-has-been" when cell phone snapshots are uploaded to the Internet literally seconds after being taken; by the time these images have sufficiently faded into the background of the past as to cast Barthes' proverbial shadow of Death, they have almost certainly been replaced with others. The modern desk setup is as if a communications platform centered upon the image; without leaving one's chair, it is extraordinarily facile to create and transmit an immediate, living image that denies its own flatness and origin in the past. It is only necessary to to reach for a camera, snap a shot of the self or environment, plug the memory card into a convenient slot on their laptop, and send it on its way to a distant friend or loved one. These spontaneous creations of the image are often inspired by a conversation in another medium, removing even the short intermediary period between the recipient's sporadic glances at their inbox; rather, they are waiting when the image arrives, an image that has just been taken and is unmistakably a thing of the present. The punctum of these images is as much their immediacy as any visual element, for it denies these ingrained notions Barthes suggests of photography. The past as the realm of the photograph is not so strictly defined as to absolutely begin in mere seconds, minutes, or even hours back: although much can happen in this time, it is important to note that it very frequently does not. The photographic object is visually unchanged in these intervals, and this knowledge creates a blurring of the temporal dividing lines, allowing the digital photograph a place in the present, the land of the living and vital. It has not yet had time to take on the distancing reality of the photograph as history, to "have been"; it simply is, and in this it is a reminder of life and not the spectre of Death Barthes proposed - not a re-presentation of something finished but a presentation of something new.
By the publication of Camera Lucida in 1980, photography was already played a significant role in both art and personal life, and yet since then, developments have occurred that Barthes could not possibly have anticipated. The foremost of these has been the ubiquity of the digital image, a phenomenon that with each advance further challenges the notion of the "that-has-been". The rampant spread of the digital camera, especially when correlated with expansions of Internet connectivity in public places and for non-standard devices, has led to an environment in which the photographic image can truly represent the instantaneous, the current, the up-to-date - the unmistakably living. There is no "that-has-been" when cell phone snapshots are uploaded to the Internet literally seconds after being taken; by the time these images have sufficiently faded into the background of the past as to cast Barthes' proverbial shadow of Death, they have almost certainly been replaced with others. The modern desk setup is as if a communications platform centered upon the image; without leaving one's chair, it is extraordinarily facile to create and transmit an immediate, living image that denies its own flatness and origin in the past. It is only necessary to to reach for a camera, snap a shot of the self or environment, plug the memory card into a convenient slot on their laptop, and send it on its way to a distant friend or loved one. These spontaneous creations of the image are often inspired by a conversation in another medium, removing even the short intermediary period between the recipient's sporadic glances at their inbox; rather, they are waiting when the image arrives, an image that has just been taken and is unmistakably a thing of the present. The punctum of these images is as much their immediacy as any visual element, for it denies these ingrained notions Barthes suggests of photography. The past as the realm of the photograph is not so strictly defined as to absolutely begin in mere seconds, minutes, or even hours back: although much can happen in this time, it is important to note that it very frequently does not. The photographic object is visually unchanged in these intervals, and this knowledge creates a blurring of the temporal dividing lines, allowing the digital photograph a place in the present, the land of the living and vital. It has not yet had time to take on the distancing reality of the photograph as history, to "have been"; it simply is, and in this it is a reminder of life and not the spectre of Death Barthes proposed - not a re-presentation of something finished but a presentation of something new.
Grizzly Man and the Punctum of Cinema
I found it a pleasant surprise that we were watching Grizzly Man this week in screening; I had wanted to view the film for quite a while, so it promised to be quite the departure from the horror of Weekend. After viewing the film, however, I took on a new understanding of Barthes's Camera Lucida as well. Barthes attempts to differentiate photography from cinema and, though he sticks by his distinction, admits that it is far from perfect. Grizzly Man, while it certainly does not follow classic Hollywood film structure, is a perfect example of this blurring of the lines between art forms.
Analyzing Grizzly Man as Barthes analyzes his photographs, it is easy to see the studium of the film and each scene - the intended, academic, somewhat indifferent analysis that the artist provides us. In this case, Treadwell wants the viewer to examine the bears, foxes, and general wildlife, not himself. Though he does not necessarily want the audience to gaze upon the situation in a detached state of mind, he does attempt to convince viewers with reason and according to a plan. He shows the grizzlies fighting, eating, surviving, and interacting with him in a non-aggressive manner, and he shows the foxes he plays with. In the impromptu moments that Herzog describes as the "magic of film", Treadwell attempts to show the more innocent side of the animals with the hope of reaching out to the viewer.
And though this approach is somewhat successful, a viewer of the film learns far less about these animals than he or she does about Treadwell himself. Treadwell, in his unplanned rants and numerous takes, reveals more about his own existence and his own desires than he likely realizes. The punctum of the footage, it could be argued, is Treadwell's battle with himself and his rejection of and by society. He talks about how much he prefers the beauty of nature to what he considers the menace of human society; he discusses his troubles with women numerous times and makes even more mention of his disdain for civilization as a whole. This is not what Treadwell, the "filmmaker" who recorded the majority of the movie, intended as his result - it is simply what stands out to his viewers, or at least, what stood out to me. (After all, the punctum is always subjective.)
There are other parallels that can be drawn between Grizzly Man and Barthes's analysis as well. When Barthes discusses gazing upon the photo of the boy who will be put to death, and the incredible meaning this adds to the image, the same can be applied to viewing Treadwell interacting with the bears that we know killed (and partially ingested) him. The link this highlights between cinema and death is clear and undeniable. And even when Barthes discusses the erotic photo, this same idea of the "blind field" is utilized by Herzog when he listens to the recording of Treadwell's death: the audience cannot hear what he does, but we cannot stop ourselves from imagining that which we cannot hear or see. Essentially, if there is one example to destroy Barthes's attempted distinction between film and photography, it is Grizzly Man.
Analyzing Grizzly Man as Barthes analyzes his photographs, it is easy to see the studium of the film and each scene - the intended, academic, somewhat indifferent analysis that the artist provides us. In this case, Treadwell wants the viewer to examine the bears, foxes, and general wildlife, not himself. Though he does not necessarily want the audience to gaze upon the situation in a detached state of mind, he does attempt to convince viewers with reason and according to a plan. He shows the grizzlies fighting, eating, surviving, and interacting with him in a non-aggressive manner, and he shows the foxes he plays with. In the impromptu moments that Herzog describes as the "magic of film", Treadwell attempts to show the more innocent side of the animals with the hope of reaching out to the viewer.
And though this approach is somewhat successful, a viewer of the film learns far less about these animals than he or she does about Treadwell himself. Treadwell, in his unplanned rants and numerous takes, reveals more about his own existence and his own desires than he likely realizes. The punctum of the footage, it could be argued, is Treadwell's battle with himself and his rejection of and by society. He talks about how much he prefers the beauty of nature to what he considers the menace of human society; he discusses his troubles with women numerous times and makes even more mention of his disdain for civilization as a whole. This is not what Treadwell, the "filmmaker" who recorded the majority of the movie, intended as his result - it is simply what stands out to his viewers, or at least, what stood out to me. (After all, the punctum is always subjective.)
There are other parallels that can be drawn between Grizzly Man and Barthes's analysis as well. When Barthes discusses gazing upon the photo of the boy who will be put to death, and the incredible meaning this adds to the image, the same can be applied to viewing Treadwell interacting with the bears that we know killed (and partially ingested) him. The link this highlights between cinema and death is clear and undeniable. And even when Barthes discusses the erotic photo, this same idea of the "blind field" is utilized by Herzog when he listens to the recording of Treadwell's death: the audience cannot hear what he does, but we cannot stop ourselves from imagining that which we cannot hear or see. Essentially, if there is one example to destroy Barthes's attempted distinction between film and photography, it is Grizzly Man.
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