Princess Mononoke Fanfiction [rhian]

This story follows Moro, before she has San.

It is still dark when I feel pain on my right ear. I jump up and growl in its direction. I can’t see who is there but I hear the sound of laughing and relax.

“Aiko!” I chasten, “what are you doing?”

Aiko, my cub, simpers up to me, aware of my temper. I look down at her with a fierce glare and raise my paw to discipline, but at the last moment, scoop her up and cuddle her close, tickling behind her ears.

            After a while, Aiko’s ears prick up and she bounds toward the opening and lifts her nose. I follow her, recognising a strange scent and soon we are running towards the Forest God’s sanctuary. Along the way Daitaro and Daijiro, my elder sons, join us and together we meet the Forest God as he transforms from the nightwalker to his day-self.

“Forest God, the eastern edge of the forest is alight!” I inform him.

“The northern edge is burning also!” Daitaro tells us.

“And the western edge is about to start!” Daijiro adds.

I hear Aiko mutter something about humans.

The Forest God beckons me forward for private consultation.

“The Lady Eboshi wishes to start a war on the forest. She wants to kill me so that she may own the land.”

“WHAT?”

“Calm yourself, Moro,” he warns me, “we are not to harm her, only make her leave.”

The Forest God gives me a look that indicates he knows something that he won’t share and this gets my hackles up.

“I ask this wolf pack to stop the encroaching threat…” the Forest God is cut off as Daitaro and Daijiro jump around getting excited, “without violence!”

“Whaattt?!” they both call in unison.

“You are not to harm the humans, only force them to leave.”

They both grumble but turn and lope off towards the affected areas.

“No, they need to be taught a lesson!” I tell the Forest God angrily.

“Calm yourself, Moro, lest you end up a demon!”

This comment sobers me and I realise that I am being foolish, risking endangering my family. With a stiff nod, I run towards the eastern edge with Aiko.

As we near the clearing, I stop.

“Aiko, it isn’t safe for you to be here, stay behind the rock.”

“Aww!” she whines.

I give her a look and as she simpers off towards her hiding place, I turn to assess the situation. Trees are slowly starting to catch alight and I can see a few of the humans flapping sheets at the embers to fuel and spread the flames. I could easily rip them apart before the rest join them, but after the Forest God’s warning, I don’t want to risk it.

            A rustle sounds to my left and I prepare for attack but it is just a boar.

“Evil,” he mutters to himself and I nod in agreement.

Then, I come up with a plan to make the humans leave without me needing to attack… Them. Quickly, I nip the boar on his tail and he roars in pain and charges towards the humans, trailing blood behind him. He screams in pain as I step forward and with my most menacing voice, I say,

“Leave now, lest this be your fate!”

With a final growl, they all scream and run towards their village, leaving their sheets behind. I laugh at the boar who is just staring at me now.

“Why didn’t you kill them?”

“Because I do not wish to become something as evil and vile as them,” I answer with composure despite the anger still burning through me.

“MAMA!” Aiko screams from her hiding place.

I turn and run as fast as possible to her, leaving the flames to die on their own.

“AIKO!” I yell as I near the rock.

“Mama…” the scream is less loud and sounds very forced.

As I round the corner, I see my Aiko on her side, blood pouring from her mouth and gut.

“I bit her, mama,” she says through clenched teeth, a small smile on her lips, “I bit the lady…”

“Good girl,” I say in a soothing voice, “you’re such a good girl, Aiko.”

“Mama?” she asks as her eyes flutter, trying to stay open.

“Yes, my love?”

“I don’t want to die.”

Unable to respond I curl around her decaying body and say,

“I love you my baby.”

“I love you too, mama,” she says as her last breath leaves her lungs and her body goes limp.

I close my eyes and soon everyone surrounds me: the Forest God, Daitaro and Daijiro, the boar. They are all asking questions but I keep my eyes closed and my body around Aiko’s, keeping her warm, keeping her there.

“Who?” I ask the Forest God in my head.

“Eboshi.”

All I can do is howl in pain.

                                                **3 months later**

I hear a sound in the trees. I sniff… human! Rushing, I meet them with a full-force leap that lands at their feet and with my most impressive growl send them running for the hills. As they leave, they throw something small at me as if it would save their lives. An offering? At first I want to ignore it, my fury still in my throat, adrenaline in my veins, but somehow I can’t.

            A soft smell emanates from the package as I inspect it further. A tiny cry escapes and I roll it over with my nose. It unravels and inside I find a human baby. My heartbeat slows and as I look into this baby’s eyes, something runs through my body like an electric shock. Aiko?

            I cannot leave her and so I wrap her back up and carry her to my cave. I name her San and teach her all about the war and how us wolves live. Her growl grows more impressive each day and her anger and determination to stop Eboshi rivals mine in ferocity. She is my Aiko. She is my San.

WK 11: How does Hill define reality TV?

In this piece, the author gives a detailed analysis of the reality TV genre and refers to various authors on how its continuous evolvement in a market where TV scholars and audiences are still in the process of trying to figure it out. There still seems to be conflicting ideas of how to differentiate the sub-genre a TV program may fall under, depending on the viewers’ perception.

Hill first mentions how in the past, reality TV industry, was considered to and “commonly used to describe a range of popular factual programming.” But more recently, reality TV has taken a completely different set of ideals; which have lead to the formation of many subgenres within the reality TV genre.

While on the one hand, Hill mentions how “Perhaps the most traditional industry term for reality TV is factual entertainment." But goes on further to say,"The term usefully merges factual programming with entertainment-based television, and highlights hybridization, a common generic feature of most reality programs.” She points to the categorization of the reality TV genre in the UK, and explains that the audience in the UK lean more towards factual programming that are similar to documentaries, current affairs, and investigative journalism.

On the other hand, Hill goes on to describe the evolution of reality TV in the US, and how it has taken another course by lumping anything and everything into one category. It was not until the 1980’s when the formation of “infotainment,” which blurred the boundaries of fact and fiction. Hill refers to the man that ‘changed the terms of factual television,’ Peter Bazalgette, and describes the reality TV category in the US as ‘reality entertainment.’

TV Scholars perspective

It was in the 1990’s when the TV scholars have realized and pointed out the variety in reality TV types. Hill refers to Steve Neale (2003: 3):

“Points out that ‘there is a generic aspect to all instances of cultural production, and that these instances are usually multiple, not single, in kind’. In terms of reality TV, there are ‘numerous aspects’, ‘numerous meanings’, and ‘numerous analytical uses’ of the genre within the academic community.”

For instance, one of these various meanings and aspects that was explained in Neales' reference is another reference to Richard Kilborn’s definition of reality television as a mixture of characteristics all in one package. Hill further exemplifies Kilborns' idea:

“‘real-life situations’, and also infotainment, or what Kilborn calls reality programming: ‘the recording on the wing … of events in the lives of individuals or groups, the attempt to stimulate such real-life events through various forms of dramatized reconstruction and the incorporation of this material … into an attractively packaged television programme.’”

One major point that Hill mentions is the “continuum” that ‘fact’ and ‘fiction’ is an ideal way of categorizing the relationship between current “factual programming,” and the different forms of “popular factual” television that the reality genre is composed of. The credibility of how 'real' the reality TV is authenticated only on the individual viewer to decide.

Television audience perspective

In 2000, Hill conducted a study and examined three different types of reality programs: observational, informational, and creative. In the findings, what were most importantly focused on were the fact/fiction criteria. In reference to Corner (1995), she exemplifies this main point by signifying and implying the different aspect of this type of genre is the unique perception of each individualized member of the audience to choose themselves by their own observation. Hills definition from a television audience perspective is concluded by pointing out that, “in many ways, the classification of reality TV in relation to ‘reality’ is connected with audience understanding of the performance of non-professional actors in the programs, and the ways ‘real people’ play up to the cameras.”

In conclusion, Hill defines reality TV as a genre that has dramatically transformed into this multi-industry corporation that has given birth to sub forms of television programs, that are in constant evolve/devolvement with no end in sight; but in the end, the common unifying element is up to the viewer to decide on what is factual/reality TV, based on this reoccurring idea of ‘fact/fiction continuum’ that the audience bases their beliefs on.

Reference:

Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 14 – 40). Oxon: Routledge.

WK 10: How does Buffy deconstruct traditional literary notions of good and evil?

Beth Braum wrote a critical essay about the ‘Ambiguity of Evil in Supernatural Representations,’ and compares the actions of both characters in both TV series Buffy the Vampires Slayer and The X-Files. In the case of Buffy, Braum pressures on several important points that show how Buffy breaks the stereotypical notion of what good and evil truly is, and also details how the series purposely instills ambiguous perceptions of good and evil to serve its own agenda. As Braum noted, “moral ambiguity” is the core idea of her critical essay, and how this relates to the traditional literary notions of good and evil.

Author Braum initially starts by discussing how the newer representations of supernatural TV series have a specific moral ambiguity that many inhuman beings and ordinary characters may sometimes portray. In addition, she also mentions how these ambiguities also seem to intertwine with themes related to sexuality and gender.

For example, she mentions that, “Both Buffy and The X-Files use sexual tension between various characters to drive the narrative,” moreover she goes on to state that, “In these representations, good and evil are every-shifting qualities.” In the case of Buffy, a young attractive girl who is suppose to represent ‘good’ is slaying ‘evil’ vampires finds herself in a predicament of falling in love with someone who some might think of as evil, Angel.

At first, Braum explains that in the series, Angel was first considered a tortured soul that needed someone like Buffy to care for him. When Buffy and Angel retreat to his apartment, they finally made love for the very first time. Braum explains, “Unbeknownst to them, Angel’s curse held that if he ever experienced a moment of ‘perfect human happiness,’ the spell would be lifted.” Little did the viewers watching that very same episode that his spell would transform him from a “tortured soul into a soulless demon.”

Braum compares this shift in relationship between Buffy and Angel to the psychoanalytical theory of Melanie Klein, which studies how “infants ‘split’ their mothers into good and bad ‘objects.’” She further details this same idea to relate it to “the tension between love and aggression that is often present in intimate relationships.” But, what makes Buffy different from the rest of the TV shows, “is that is portrays these psychoanalytically charged themes so effectively through the use of supernatural muthology. Furthermore this moral ambiguity within the main characters is reflected in the development of others on the show…”

Similarly, author Braum also points out to several examples of obstacles that love/hate relationships that are found between Scully and Mulder, in The X-Files. For example, she mentions the “portrayal of the love-hate relationship between the human protagonists and the alien/monstrous other.” Braum then differentiates this notion of good over evil that The X-Files may portray with agent Scully because of her ‘susceptibility’ was indirectly hinted at rather than being part of the plotline.

Furthermore, the themes of both good and evil are similarly used interchangeably depending on how they are portrayed. The barriers of stereotypical ideas about good or evil are broken. The sense of ambiguity of the norms is purposely done to make the audience ponder the thought about evil not being so evil after all, or even pondering the thought of doing “evil” for the “greater good” scenarios.

Finally, Braum notes, “they have in common an acknowledgement of the aggression within ordinary people and tendency to explore themes of good and evil through supernatural narratives incorporating complicated relationships between morality, sexuality, and gender.”

In Buffys world, it is clear that the traditional literary notion of good and evil is not of the norm. Buffy’s moral consciousness heavily conflicts with her actions of intuition and instinct; which might oppose the moral beliefs that any human might be used to. The borders of evil and good are very thin, and sometimes coincide with one another. Buffy has a Machiavellian way of dealing with things, “the ends justify the means.”

Reference:

Braum, B. (2000) The X-files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The ambiguity of evil in supernatural representations. Retrieved 18 October, 2005 from: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0 412/is_2_28/ai_64688900

Week 7 - The Themes and Concerns of 'The Man in the High Castle' by Philip K. Dick

Renowned author Philip K. Dick reveled in toying with the concept of reality; so much so, in fact, he dedicated an entire novel to the very idea of an alternate timeline in which the Allies lost the second world war, with America now under the brutal occupation of both Germany and Japan, conjointly. That novel, regarded as one of the best in the genre, is 'The Man in the High Castle', and its play on reality was inspired by Eastern Philosophy, in particular a Chinese text used to divine the secrets of alternate realities and worlds concealed by the empty space of the Universe itself, a text known as the I Ching (Brown, E, 2001.).

The theme of reality and its impact upon the "small people leading small lives", as Brown phrases it, is a central theme within the narrative, and its significance to the direction of the plot and its characters practically oozes from every letter of every word from the novel's beginning to its open-ended conclusion (Brown, E, 2001). As the course of the plot drives its central protagonists in their search for complete satisfaction in their lives, they are each soon drawn to the mystical properties of the I Ching, making use of its power in order to find direction and purpose so that they may no longer idle in abject non-fulfilment, trapped in a world that has gone to hell in a hand-basket (Brown, E, 2001.).

According to Brown, the characters are all in search of a Utopian world that is kept from them behind the impassable walls of the fabric of the Universe, an idea that Dick often knowingly perpetuates throughout many of his literary works; meanwhile, the people drowning under the shroud of the occupying enemy's shadow of oppression live alongside a constant feeling of terror and a "sense of claustrophobia", as stated by Brown (Brown, E, 2001.).

Making masterful use of these themes, Dick is able to establish a grim - but somehow ever hopeful - alternate reality that diverges from our world, whilst retaining an eerie sensation of familiarity, allowing us, as the readers, to form empathic connections with the psychology that drives his protagonists as they struggle to come to terms with the grave reality in which they must live and accept as unalterable (Brown, E, 2001.). The author employs the recurring theme that reality may not be as it appears on the surface, the I Ching serving to further shatter our presumptions of what we perceive to be reality, and does so in turn for the protagonists at the heart of the plot as they, like the reader, suffer as its whims dictate (Brown, E, 2001.).

Using the I Ching as the basis upon which to build his story, Dick adheres to a philosophy that is derived from Taoism, incorporating its core belief of the interconnectedness between all things to further develop his characters, whose actions later come to affect each other's lives in significant ways that establishes the course of the plot in the latter half of the story (Brown, E, 2001.). Adding to Brown's thoughts on 'The Man in the High Castle', allow me to contrast these with McKnee's ideas on the novel as outlined in the Reader for Week 8, in which he asserts that that world of the narrative represents the "yin world, in its most melancholy form" (McKnee, 2004.), an Eastern Philosophical paradigm in which the Western notion of good and evil are represented as the Yin and Yang.

According to McKnee, the world in 'The Man in the High Castle' is unbalanced, and it is only through a sort of "spiritual transformation" that this unbalance can be rectified, not simply through the removal of the foreign regimes that govern the setting within the narrative by way of rebellion (McKnee, 2004). This implies that the author believes that the problems plaguing the narrative's setting are not due to the totalitarian regimes central to the tone of the story alone, but rather a far more subversive dilemma that runs deep into the core of the ideologies that dominate the world from behind the scenes, a theme that reverberates again and again as the story progresses.

Dick later personalizes this theme in the form of his "most sympathetic character", according to the opinion of Brown, Juliana Frink, who becomes enamoured with this prospect of the existence of a Utopian alternate world that is revealed to her through the I Ching, and he condenses it further still with his inclusion of 'The Grasshopper Lies Heavy', a novel-within-a-novel, but also a reality-within-a-reality (Brown,E, 2001). If you've read the book, I'll trust that you know what happens next.

In summary, Dick's primary theme and concept at the epicentre of his many literary works is his deconstruction of reality and its illusory nature, an idea that was once largely his own, but which is now a derivative trope in the science fiction genre espoused by hack writers. Alternate timelines, once original ideas, are now the standard de rigeur in SF, but never handled with such aplomb as in Philip K. Dick's 'The Man in the High Castle'.

Week 8 - The Relationship Between Dick's Ideas and Theological and Philosophical Concepts

The written works produced by Philip K. Dick are frequently multifaceted and deeply introspective allegories that peel away the world's social structures, both of a personal and political nature, in an attempt to tap into the raw underlying ideological sources that form them. He draws from a great number or various theological concepts, including those of Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindi origins in order to establish a familiar framework or foundation that the reader then uses as tools to pry beneath the surface plot, revealing the inner-workings of the ideology that underpins the story.

According to McKnee, these theological roots that formed the basis of some of Dick's greatest works were often disregarded by scholars in their own analyses, who instead emphasized Dick's efforts to deconstruct the political power structures within his writings, particularly those as envisioned in 'The Man in the High Castle', as opposed to the theological concepts deeply rooted within them (McKnee, 2004.). This, McKnee argues, causes scholarly analysis to formulate inadequate conclusions and summaries based on Dick's fiction, failing to take notice of the author's intended allegorical meanings, which hint at the internal struggles embroiling his characters and their settings(McKnee, 2004.).

Furthermore, Dick's non-fiction writings within the field of religious study were misinterpreted in a fashion similar to the critical misconceptions that had also dogged his fictional works, which were subsequently erroneously categorized as the works of a "gnostic", a general term that did a disservice to the deeper nature of the material (McKnee, 2004.). As noted by McKnee, this frustrated the author greatly, leading to his eventual condemnation of the opinions of these critics who had so grievously misinterpreted the intentions behind his numerous written works (McKnee, 2004.).

As McKnee clearly illustrates, the mislabelling of Dick's written works as "gnostic" meant that the generalities applied to that label failed to acknowledge the author's deliberate synthesis of various theological concepts, which were drawn not from a single source, but a diverse array of religious sources that coloured in the fulfilment of the meaning (McKnee, 2004.). The same could be said of the multifaceted nature of the author's literary works, layers upon layers of which operate on a multitude of levels, each requiring a careful analytical and observational sense in order to ascertain the subsurface meanings encoded deep within them.

It seems that Dick was quite adept at hybridizing various religious motifs and embedding them within the framework of his narratives, each adding poignant and symbolic layers of depth to often-times seemingly innocuous or ordinary scenes that subtly hint at the deeper subtext that brews below the surface of his literary figures and settings. The deliberate decision to mutate disparate religious concepts, incorporating their fundamental components in such a way as to formulate whole new concepts, allowed Dick to establish the meat of his narratives upon the skeleton of theological thought that lay beneath it.

I believe that Dick wanted nothing more than total emancipation from the rigid social structures that dominate the modern world, and that through the storytelling craft, he was effectively casting off the shackles imposed upon him and the wider society of humanity at large, in a bid to discover the unseen hinges that conjoin individual ideations that are proliferated throughout the social consciousness of mankind. As a storyteller, it is essential that one writes from a stance completely free of all restrictions, and this rule is extended to the social structures that may impose limitations on independent thought and inhibit one's expression of self-hood, thereby granting the storyteller the freedom necessary to analyse the world in greater detail.

A fallacy of thinking among those belonging to academic circles is their enduring need to categorize the thoughts and ideas that encompass all manner of literature, the need to impose structures upon them that are often an ill fit at best, as a means of making sense of the great works of art that are borne of the minds of men and women who typically do not fit into any designated category at all. I would argue that Philip K. Dick was actively rebelling against this notion of imposed structural categorization that was awkwardly forming around his literary works, challenging the beliefs of his critics regarding his writings and novels through his breadth of theological understanding, but that he was ultimately doomed to fail in the attempt.

It is interesting to note that the films of master Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki, were also once the subject of imposed categorization among the academic community, and like Dick, he was also quick to shoot down the theories of his critics regarding his works, just as Dick had done before him. Like Miyazaki, Dick was a storyteller eager to plumb the depths of the human psyche and dredge up what lay below the surface, and it was due in large part to the theological and philosophical concepts that he drew from that he was able to do so, enriching his stories with a keen social conscience that remains unique to Dick and his classics of literature even to this day.

Week 9 - The Role of Fandoms and New Media in the Construction of Cult TV

New media has transfigured the television industry a great deal, due in large part to the intersection of communication and information made possible through social networks and the Internet, giving groups like fandoms the opportunity to gather and share their opinions and views on television programmes (Hills, M, 2004). Fandoms, or 'Telefantasy' as persons taking part in them prefer they be known as (Hills, M, 2004), are communal in nature and often form on websites started either by the programme's producers, or by the fandoms themselves, and many of them have topical, forum-based discussion boards that allow for discourse between fans on a number of subjects related to the programme (Hills, M, 2004).

Alongside discussion boards, fandom websites typically include sections dedicated to user-generated fan-fiction, which Hills explains is due largely to the formula that cult TV programmes establish as a basis for their narratives, that basis being specific questions that act as the axis upon which the narrative world depends (Hills, M, 2004). These questions are deliberately left unanswered, due to the programme's reliance on these questions to propel the narratives of these worlds forward, and leaves gaps in the plot-line that the fandom may attempt to fill through elaborate fan-fiction, or through the postulations of the more devoted fans with the necessary depth of knowledge to connect the loose threads of the lore to form viable hypotheses (Hills, M, 2004).

Through new media, the fandom is able to take ownership of the otherworldly realms that exist within the narrative worlds of cult television, coming to define them and their broader themes independent of the narrative's source, which supports the popularity of "fan activities", as Hills calls them (Hills, M, 2004), such as fan-fiction writing and the discourse between fans on discussion boards, within the social context provided by new media. This degree of intercommunication between people involved in fandoms is possible only through new media, which is an indication as to why so many fandoms have sprung up in recent years, given the efficiency and borderline instantaneous interpersonal communication that the Internet and social networking allows for, and it is precisely these aspects of new media that feeds the expansion of online fandoms (Hills, M, 2004).

Many fandoms are also cross-cultural, likely comprised of fans from all over the world, some of whom may reside in countries situated a great distance away from the cult programme's country of origin. New media allows fans residing in the same country of origin as that of the television series to disseminate information among those fans living overseas, keeping international fans abreast of recent announcements and developments pertaining to the programme; without new media, this task would make for a very daunting prospect, indeed. It is this kind of community mindedness that lends credence to Hills' suggestion that fandoms operate as online societies, replete with cultural customs and rituals that move beyond the television series that spawns them, independent of the bitter reality of the outside world (Hills, M, 2004).

According to Hills, however, the hardcore fans within these fandoms whose depth of knowledge far exceeds that of newer fans' may instill a sense of elitism within fan communities, alienating some fans from the larger collective of cult television enthusiasts (Hills, M, 2004), which may lead some outsiders to hurl labels of "fanboyism" levelled against the more knowledgeable, pedantic sorts common among cult television fandoms.

Furthermore, fandoms seem to revel in the underground vibe attributed to cult television, and this correlates with the narrative worlds which they so zealously worship every smidging aspect of; both are incomprehensibly foreign to the casual onlooker, and are "niche", "kitschy", and "fringe", entirely removed from the reality of life and the world that surrounds them. Perhaps this is a key part of the appeal of cult television, and why fandoms are so resistant to newcomers, because in actuality they desire to preserve the gaping chasm between the real and surreal worlds, to sustain the fantasy a while longer in its purest, unspoiled form by shielding it from the influence of the outside world with all its flaws.

After all, as Hills suggests, it is only through this extreme and undying devotion that embodies a typical fandom that any cult television series even achieves the mark of "cult status" at all (Hills, M, 2004), keeping the worlds depicted in them alive while other television series go the way of the dodo once initial interest diminishes among other, less passionate viewerships.

Week 11 - The Documentary Genre's Influence on Reality Television

As noted by Hill in his exploration of the genre, reality television is the uneasy hybridization of fact and fiction (Hill, A, 2005), a reconstruction of not only fiction but the facts that support it. This is similar to the methods news broadcasters employ in order to dramatize current events to illicit an emotional response from the viewer, the manipulation of the facts behind a story that allows it to be restructured by media corporations. Almost nothing in reality programming can be analysed as a means of making out the seams that conjoin the real and the unreal, as the margins are simply too obscured (Hill, A, 2005.)

Documentary film-making operates with a similar pretense in mind, but usually with greater emphasis on the facts that underpin them to lend the films credence, otherwise they risk losing a sense of credibility among those of the audience. Reality television, while still factual in the loosest sense of the word, dispenses with most of the facts in favour of the dramatic fictionalized elements that are the essence of reality programming.

Another area where reality television and documentary film-making converge is the treatment of their subjects via highly-stylized cinematography, awkward or erratic camera angles that are employed to capture the motion and flow of reality (Biressi and Nunn, 2005), allowing the camera's wielder to influence the construction of a bastardized variation of the real. It is through this posturing of camera angles that film makers are able to recreate a sense of "immediacy and intimacy", as described by Biressi and Nunn, that is coveted by the audience, and it is a style adopted by reality television in an attempt to achieve the very same.

Where reality television diverges from documentary films, however, is the emphasis on fictional dramatizations over factual interpretations of the subject, whereby the editing process gives producers the power to shape the fictional happenstances of everyday life in order to engineer something altogether different from the actual event that took place. In the same way that documentary films entice punters with emotional stories drawn from the lives of ordinary people (Biressi and Nunn, 2005.), reality television opts instead to record the friction that brews between people caught in trying circumstances, and exaggerates it for the sake of entertainment.

Documentaries, according to Biressi and Nunn, have a political and social conscience that peers into the lives of working-class folk only just making ends meet (Biressi and Nunn, 2005), often-times juxtaposing them against the theme of a rapidly urbanizing/industrializing/corporatizing world and how they fit into it, or shape it, whatever the case may be. Reality television is also concerned with ordinary people, but to a differing degree than that of the documentary genre, which surrenders its subjects' character flaws and insecurities to the microscopic scrutiny of the programme's producers and, by extension, the general public. Documentaries are more intellectual and informed in nature, often sharply contrasting with its uninformed and frivolous counterpart, reality television, which concerns itself with the superficial nature of human interaction and socialization.

In summary, while yes, the documentary genre has had a significant impact on the development of reality television, it has not always been in entirely positive ways. Reality programming has seen fit to borrow from the great leaps and bounds documentary cinema has made in the film industry, but rather than refine the formula, it has manipulated it in order to create an artificial construct of reality that does little to expand conscious thinking on important subjects.

As its popularity continues to escalate, it will become increasingly difficult to ascertain which percentage of reality television is fact and which percentage is fiction, further blurring the margins between the real and the unreal, potentially altering public perception of society as a consequence.

Week 12 - The Role of New Media in the Success of Reality Television

Given the enormous financial investments that media corporations must contribute to achieve the high-production values demanded of dramatic television, it seems only logical that the focus on these mainstays of televised entertainment would shift to reality programming, which are often regurgitated concepts of other productions and easily replicated to varying degrees. One example would be talent contests, such as 'American Idol', which has since seen subsequent adaptation by various other networks into copy-cat iterations, like 'The Voice' and 'The X-Factor'. They are often supplied with limited budgets and are usually designed to generate maximum profits, and may be renewed for countless seasons more depending on the success of the formula, which is where new media comes into play.

New media is a major incentive that encourages these public access networks to support reality programming, which covers everything from voting systems that invite viewers to participate with the judging or elimination process (Hill, A, 2005), usually via text messaging paid for by the viewership. Multiply the cost of text messages by the number of viewers, which for 'American Idol' may mean around 15-20 million viewers, and you'll agree that this is a substantial increase in generated capital. This would also serve as an explanation as to why certain telecommunications providers are so eager to ply reality programming with their brands and logos; more viewers of reality shows using their services also serves to generate lucrative business opportunities for themselves in turn.

Compounding this is the revenue generated by advertisements on websites based around popular reality programmes, which are often subjected to millions of hits a day, e-traffic that marketers are keen to capitalise on. You may have noticed something similar to this on 'American Idol', whose judges are careful in assuring big name brands like Coca Cola that their drinking glasses - each emblazoned with Coca Cola's signature labelling - are always directly facing the cameras, insuring that the viewership recognizes the branding. Media corporations are quick to sign exorbitant deals with major brand names, whose marketing campaigns begin to saturate reality television websites with the iconography of respected commercial brands.

As Hill states, reality programming has produced a kind of mass "commercialization" of public network television (Hill, A, 2005), and the faux interactive nature of reality television is devised as a subtle means of buoying the coffers of media corporations and the bank accounts of high-flying network executives. Taking into account that the decisions made by viewers who wish to oust a certain contestant may, in fact, be ignored altogether in favour of the decisions of the programme's manufacturers, and it becomes apparent that the "interactivity" of reality television is merely ornamental.

To boost the public profile of reality programmes, magazines may feature stories of popular contestants who became embroiled in feuds with other contestants starring in the same show, or a burgeoning romance that took place between them that grew in intensity after filming, which are often engineered as a method of encouraging more people to watch for the ensuing drama to come. It is more than likely that these stories are fashioned by the creators of the programme, constructed to appeal to the human tendency to partake in salacious gossip-mongering, and are supplying the magazine in question with hefty financial incentives to run the "story".

An example of this in the form of new media would be websites that specialize in sensationalized gossip-mongering, only now the "story" may be reiterated across many countless different websites at a significantly reduced cost for the networks, thereby effectively eliminating print media as a means of codifying public interest in reality programmes. Though some of these stories may, in fact, be true, most are a part of the process of the artificialization of reality that takes place during the production of reality programmes. Inviting the viewers to partake in the so-called "interactive" nature of any given reality programme is a strategy that compels the viewership to become invested in preferred contestants, whose development during the show endears them to the audience, who may then watch the show on a more regular basis in order to follow the progress of that contestant (Hill, A, 2005).

Although television dramas and sit-coms may inspire loyalty of the same magnitude among their respective fan-bases, commercialization is not as present within these forms of televised entertainment as it is in reality programming, yet may still garner huge returns on revenue generated by the advertisements of elaborate marketing campaigns via new media. 'Lost' is a fine example of a popular television series that utilizes its inherent popularity to generate immense financial returns, and was the subject of a number of websites sponsored by the show's creators that encouraged viewer participation in unravelling the perplexing mysteries that surrounded the Island and its inhabitants.

This was a cunning marketing ploy that enticed many new viewers to become part of 'Lost's' viewership, resulting in increased revenue from advertising executives eager to hop on the bandwagon and market their wares to an expanded audience. In this way, an ardent fan-base making use of new media may prolong the life-span of a television series with a more niche demographic or saddled with an inconvenient time-slot; the creators and networks may recoup any losses through high-traffic websites that act as hubs for fans to gather and discuss the show and its key characters and themes.

Reality television, on the other hand, exploits new media to the Nth degree by pushing brand names down the throats of its audience, the concept of the show itself reduced to little more than window-dressing for subliminal marketing measures that proliferate throughout the genre in an effort to maximise profit margins.

So long as it remains fortuitous to utilize new media as a part of brand recognition and product placement, reality television shall continue to endorse companies and products that agree to bankroll them, and it is unlikely that this trend will see a reduction in the foreseeable future.

week twelve [rhian]

How does new-media (the internet, cell-phone technology, etc) play a significant role in the success of reality TV, as well as cult TV series such as Buffy?


Internet
Most people use this everyday to catch up with their friends, read up on the latest goss and watch video clips of things on YouTube. Here people can talk about their likes and dislikes, their day and what they plan on doing later in their lives (be this a month, a day or a minute). The internet is the best tool for advertising due to the reliance people have on it for their everyday lives. Reality TV, cult TV and in fact, every single kind of popular genre is affected by this incredible new-media invention. Here are some of the websites that add to the success of all of these genres:


- Facebook - millions of users logon everyday and talk to their friends about what they watched, or are about to watch on TV, what their favourite novels are, what new movie is coming out at the cinemas. This generates a lot of hype for the TV show, book or movie, making more people want to see or read the texts so that they can add their two-cents in. It's like a never ending loop where one person mentions something and then that person mentions it to someone else, and so on and so forth.


- YouTube - people tune into this popular website every single day to look up anything and everything video related. Be it trailers of new movies, interviews with their favourite stars or just the music aspect of it, videos are constantly being watched for informative and entertainment reasons. Advertisements on videos is generally the best way for popular genres to achieve recognition as they are all over the page, drawing people's attention to them. Buffy, for example, has over 44,000 hits with the generic search of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".


- Fan-fic sites - people LOVE to make stories up, however only a few of them write them down for fear of being told it's bad or whatever, the great thing with fan-fic sites is that you can post whatever you want anonymously about whatever tickles your fancy. There are heaps about different reality shows, what people thought should have happened, what people think will happen and characters that people want brought in. There are plenty of cult TV fan-fic's, it is a very popular genre (pun intended) to write about. This adds to the success of these genres as it generates more interest from other people who read the fan-fics. It can also be a source of inspiration for the writers who are feeling under-appreciated or need new ideas (J. K. Rowling actually asked a few of her fans if she could borrow some of their ideas for her books).


- Program specific sites - these obviously work as the fans who want to know more about plot, characters, release dates or anything else can go to these sites and run wild. It's another medium to generate interest and fill in the fans eagerly awaiting the next season/episode/installment with stuff that they can get excited about.


Phones
Obviously, the main reason why phones work for adding to the success of TV shows is because it works like facebook: you talk to your mates about what you liked and disliked about a film/TV show/book and they go and check it out in order to understand what you've said or to counter your opinion.


Smart-phones
Applications on iPhone's and Androids are becoming super popular and this also works like the internet as the application connect to specific sites. 'IMDb' is a very popular website and application that people use to find out about all things film. TV shows and movies, characters and actors, everything is on this website. Another good one is 'Sidereel' which allows you to see when your TV shows are due to come out and find links of where to watch them online.


New-media is the best way to generate dialogue and interest based on reality TV, cult TV and any kind of movie, novel or TV show as people use these devices so often, it's impossible to ignore the advertisements for trailers or news articles about your favourite celebrities, they are the digital billboards for the online world.

week eleven [rhian]

How have they constructed our conceptualisation of reality (or at least what we recognise as being real at the visual level)?


We consider reality to be the real, non-fictitious and non-fantastical side of life. The one in which we live. The one which we are so disappointed with constantly. In my opinion, part of the reason why people watch and read fiction is because they are searching for something more exciting than their own lives. Television writers have become attuned to this reaction to life and are constantly working on ways to make "reality TV" be popular with this in mind.


Reality TV isn't actually real most of the time. If we followed people around their everyday lives, we'd see that although there are sparks of interest, there are also many extremely dull moments. So, in reality TV, scenes are constructed to look exciting and interesting and drama is created to keep the audiences begging for more. Although a lot of the scenes don't have specific scripts to follow or words to say, it's still not completely real because the writers want it to hold the attention of the audience. This has been called different things such as "Scripted Reality" and "Unscripted Drama" (Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor, 2003.)


There are specific techniques that are used to create reality TV without a full-blown script. Here are a few we heard about in class:
- take scenes from what they've shot and cut and paste it into a different chronological order than how they really happened to create more drama. 
- putting voice overs from the cast on top of a scene to make it have a completely different undertone than what it may have been in reality.


Hill (2005) says "the treatment of 'reality' in reality programming has changed as the genre has developed over the past decade." With this, reality TV has also managed to warp our perception of reality along with it's development. In the beginning, in the beginning, law and emergency type shows were created, probably because that was the most interesting reality at the time, however these days, we follow anything and everything: teenagers at high school (My Life As Liz), people competing for a prize (Wipeout, Survivor, etc.) and even people are who specifically dumb and specifically Italian/American (Jersey Shore). These days, we think that it's realistic for these people to act this stupid and do these things because that is what reality TV has scripted for us.


As the question says, it is how reality TV writers have constructed our concept of reality through a visual level, when in reality, Snooki gets paid $100,000... Per episode! I highly doubt that people get paid that much for living their lives. Oh and a free trip to Italy, not to mention an awesome palazzo with free drinks and automatic entrance at all of the best clubs. I'd sure act like a dumb blonde if it meant I got all of that!


Despite this however, reality TV is still super popular even though we know that there is no way that it is real. I personally love Jersey Shore and can't wait to travel to Italy and see that awesome club that has flames all along the back wall!


References

Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 14 – 40). Oxon: Routledge. 

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/12/1068329621438.html - 'Surviving and Thriving' - Mark Burnett.

(Week 12) Why is reality TV so popular for both programme makers and TV viewers?

During the 90s, the cost of producing drama sitcoms, soap opera and comedy became very high because of which unscripted popular factual programming became a viable economic option Such programmes included infotainment, docu-soaps, lifestyle and reality shows and drew on existing popular genres such as soap operas as well as game shows. By the late 90s and early 2000s the reality shows became successful in both the U.K as well as the U.S.A and drew unprecedented market shares of over 50%, regularly appearing on the Network’s top 20 shows (Hill. A. 2005)
These shows were easy to produce and had a very quick turn-around time, making these very popular with the programme makers. The success of these programmes can be attributed to the use of popular genres and creatively using real people and events in a style of entertainment.

From the viewers’ point of view, it was a genre that was very interesting and easy for viewers to engage with. It was about real-life situations which appeared familiar to them as they were informative and they could see the factual footage emerge in front of them. Moreover, it was easy to watch and audiences could get into it without having to follow the story such as in the case of a sitcom. It appealed to a broad range of occasional viewers who were comfortable with moving in and out of the programme without having to think of the continuity or connection between characters and episodes/seasons of the programmes

In conclusion, reality television is popular with programme makers as they are simple in terms of their production and sometimes cost on one hand and they are informative, entertaining and easy to watch for viewers on the other

References
Hill, A. (2005) The rise of reality TV. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 15 – 40). Oxon: Routledge.

(Week 11) What signifiers of reality have emerged from the documentary genre?

“The category of reality TV is commonly used to describe a range of popular factual programming” (Hills A. 2005. The rise of Reality TV).  The genre of Reality TV has emerged in the last decade or so beginning with, focus on police and emergency services (Cops, NYPD etc), and going on to game shows that we are familiar with now e.g. NZ Idol, Masterchef. It has borrowed inspiration from the documentary mode by providing facts and adapting and framing games to present facts in a more interactive and entertaining fashion. (Corner J. 2000).

The Reality genre is based on factual information just like documentary; however, it has been creatively moulded to suit daily life situations and issues that people face and how they would deal with them. A point to note is that there can be more than one way of presenting each issue which makes it more realistic. One can argue that there seem to be loose boundaries around these programmes. However as Roscoe and Hight (2001) suggest “Documentary does not provide an unmediated view of the world, nor can it live up to its claims to be a mirror on society”. Documentaries present facts in a seemingly staid and direct manner whereas reality shows present the same facts in a more creative manner. Both genres provide ‘Infotainment’ with a different focus on the presentation.

In conclusion, the reality genre has drawn the Factual Information and Entertainment aspects from documentary genre and has created a speciality genre by itself.

References

Hill A. (2005). The rise of reality TV. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 15 – 40). Oxon: Routledge

Roscoe and Hight (2001). Faking It

Corner, J (2000). Television Form and Public Address Corner

(Week 8) How does Dick’s essay (1999; 1964) illuminate his use of Nazism as a motif in High Castle?

Phillip K Dick attempts to ‘undermine’ Nazism as a motif of ‘The Man in the High Castle’ by suggesting that “Nazism is the absolute culmination, the logical fulfilment of all that is German” (Dick, P.K. 1995. pg3). He attempts to rid the world of the memories of the dark side of the Nazis. His intention is to make the reader see that all that Germans, (Mostly those who were Nazi) were no different to the rest of the world in their fear, although he states that it was their fear which lead them to persecute the Jews. They were not the only ones to carry out such drastic action in history.

Another action which he brings out as an argument against the dark side of Nazism is that, the world has always seen incidents in which one race or group of people have victimized another race throughout history and continued to do so. Ironically the Jews treated the Arabs in much the same way when Israel was formed and they chased the Arabs out of their homeland where they lived for over 2,000 years. He tries bring about the awareness of a sympathetic side in them, especially in the character (and real-life person featured in the novel) Heinrich Himmler who could not bear to see Jews being killed and other acts of humanity performed by the average German. He attempts to raise the theme that atrocities such as the Nazi’s actions continue to be carried out by members of other races or religions. These include the 1994 conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi people of Uganda, something which was immortalized in the film ‘Hotel Rwanda’ (2004), the Darfur crisis, the Somalian tribal conflict, the 1995 Srebrenica genocide and of course the German holocaust which inspired a non-fictional book and later a film, Schindler’s List

Phillip K. Dick elicits that it is not only the Germans who are guilty, every human being who harbours disrespect towards another human or group of humans just because they are different in terms of race, religion, culture/tradition etc is as guilty as the Germans.

References

Dick, P.K. (1995). Nazism andthe High Castle. In Sutin, L.(Ed.), The Shifting Realities of
Philip K. Dick (pp.112-117). New York: Vintage.

week ten [rhian]

How do you think Buffy has influenced the contemporary vampire drama “True Blood” and the “Twilight” series of novels and films?


Buffy was probably the first successful modern depiction of vampires being more than bloodsucking fiends that are nothing other than evil murderers. Yes, "Dracula" aimed to do that and "Frankenstein" worked on making the monster seem relatable, but as they were older works of fiction, they haven't truly been accepted into todays society, having a miniscule impact on our feelings towards monsters of the underworld. What Joss Whedon succeeded in doing was breaking the whole notion of evil down and turning it around so that the audience saw not only the bad side, but also the good side in people such as Angel and Spike who, unlike Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, received emotions from the audience that revolved around the good sector - empathy, love, they even had people rooting for them to win.


"True Blood" and "Twilight" are the newest, most popular additions to this romantically evil genre that Buffy has created. Both of them relate quite explicitly to Buffy in both characters and audience response towards those characters.


In "True Blood" there are vampires as well as werewolves, shapeshifters and all of those supernatural monsters that used to keep you awake at night. However, all of the monsters have their own personality. None of them are straight up evil, despite their normal depictions in fairytales and horror movies. With individual personalities comes the audience being able to relate to the characters, even though they aren't generally likeable characters in real life (not that they are real, but when people refer to vampires and monsters, most people are anti them.) The main vampires are:
Bill Compton, who all of the girls swoon over because he is an old school American gentleman in love with a human Sookie Stackhouse, but are also scared of as he is capable of killing.
Eric Northman, who you are never sure about. Sometimes he helps out Bill and Sookie, but other times he opposes them. He is kind of like the trickster in Vogler's character archetypes.
Both of these characters get a lot of positive audience feedback, much like Angel and Spike.


In "Twilight", the characters are much less awesome in the fact that although they are vampires, they don't kill humans, which is kind of a bummer, but better for a younger audience who might still get nightmares over this stuff. But every fan loves Edward, the vampire, and Jacob, the werewolf, because Stephanie Meyer makes sure that they have human tendencies, not just animalistic. The audience relates with them and pities them when Bella, the main human girl, treats them badly because she can't choose who she loves most. It's a love story, kind of like in Buffy, but with much softer details.


There are many more books and movies and television shows coming out based on this popular genre. The teenage fiction section at Borders is proof of this as it's really hard to find a good book these days with all of this love of the undead fever happening. There is no doubt that Buffy was the start of this, as all of them contain components from this original storyline and made it a part of theirs.

Week 10 (Rachel)

Cult TV

In what way is Buffy influenced by the romantic gothic tradition? Yet how does Buffy also provide a contemporary critique of this tradition?

I once read a quote defining Romanticism as ‘ an unending revolt  against convention, authoritarianism, insincerity and moderation, an extreme assertion of the self and the value of individual experience.” (Willet, 2006).

Central to the themes of the romantic gothic tradition is a “fear of science and technology and the effects of humanitycan be seen as a rejection of the values of order, calm, harmony, balance, and rationality of the late 18th-century”.

Anita Rose suggests that “Buffy employs Romantic ideology in contemporary contexts and terms and suggests alternatives within the framework”

Many of these themes can be found in Buffy. The characters in Buffy are not portrayed as all good or all bad, for example the characters of Spike and Angel are both morally ambiguous, this is a tradition seen also in classic gothic romantic texts such as Frankenstein.  Rose notes with particular emphasis the idea of the individual, she explains that traditionally the romantic figure is essentially sensitive and lonely, Buffy on the other hand is close with her Scobby- Doo gang and is also presented as tough. However Buffy is constantly having to reassess how she can work to work as a team and also maintain her individuality which is also re-occurring theme in a ot of teen drama.

Rose also points out the character of Adam in Buffy pays homage to the Frankenstein, with one of his first victims being a young boy. In the episode “Goodbye Iowa” we see the disastrous effects of technology if it is misused, pursuing scientific goals without thinking about the ethical effects. This theme is also addressed in Frankenstein. It is a common theme and has led to the stereotypical character in fiction ‘the mad scientist.’

References:

Rose, A. (2002) Of creatures and creators: Buffy does Frankenstein, in R. Wilcox & D.Lavery (eds) Fighting the Forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the Vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

Willet, E. (2006 ). Jimi Hendrix: Kiss the Sky. Berkeley Heights, USA. Enslow Publishers