Blog Post 8: Frozen Barriers Broken:

           

            Over the weekend, I was conned into watching a movie by my fiancé that I thought I would never watch in a million years. Being the Disney freak that she is she wanted to watch frozen with me. When I sat down to watch it I couldn’t help but think that feeling of “Awwww here we go again.” The feeling that I have gotten from watching any Disney princess movie. The feeling that of course the girl is going to find the prince and live happily ever after. But with this movie, I was in for a rude awakening.

            The movie is about a young princess Elsa, who takes the seat of her parents’ throne following a tragic event with their parents. When this happens, she is forced to come out of hiding and ends up showing a secret that she never wanted to have known about her.

            This movie was revolutionizing in the ideas that were conveyed. First of all whenever I watch a movie like this it always has the same premise. That being the girl finds prince charming and the whole happily ever after takes place. Well the first part dose in fact take place but… The latter never occurs. It comes to be found out that the prince is all smoke and mirrors. He is deceiving, a liar, and many other things. In my opinion this teaches girls a valuable lesson. That lesson is that this idea of running off with the “perfect one” may not be all it is cracked up to be. There may be a case where instead of the frog turning into a prince, it is the other way around. This is a good thing because it dose not say that there is no perfect one, but what it does say is that girls should wait and see if the guy is all that they are cracked up to be. 

            The second thing is that true love is not just what the prince expresses to the girl in order to save her. True love can come from a number of different places. This one in particular is the love of a sibling. At the end of the movie as a result of the cold feelings that she has the princess acts out in rage and strikes her sister. When this happens, her sister’s heart is turned cold and it ends up resulting her sister being frozen solid. The only way out of this is that there must be an act of true love that can break the curse. Someone very unexpected breaks the curse. That person being the very one that placed the curse on her. This was interesting because unlike other Disney movies, this one dose not have a prince saving the day, but instead the sister. This in my opinion shows that it is not always the love of the prince that saves the day but the love someone that can be someone you are with everyday and would do anything for you.

            Lastly, the one thing that this movie did that no other Disney movie has ever done before. That is the fact that there was a hint of a same-sex relationship. Following the movie’s release, there was criticism that this was an issue that was a little too complex for kids to understand. But the way I see it, it would be better for kids to learn about it in an environment that is controlled rather than see it in the way that the biased news channels can show it to be. It goes on to show that times are changing and that from early on kids should be tolerant to the ideas of any relationship.

            I think that this movie has broken many barriers and because of this there is evidence based in this movie that supports the idea that there is a change in the style of Disney movies that are going to be produced. So I have to say that overall this movie really opened my eyes to these situations and after looking into it farther has led me to understand these ideas better.          

Blog Post 7: Animation Marketing; is it always a good thing?? Midterm Submission:

When I thought about the post that I wanted to submit for my midterm I couldn't think of one that that was more interesting than the one I wrote the other week on Animation Marketing. This is the origional post below.

In class last week, we looked at a cartoon character known as Buster Brown. What was interesting about this was that it was the first instance in which an animation was used in the marketing of a product. This was a revolutionary way to be able to get consumers to buy a product. This has since been used to promote what seems as an infinite amount of products. Everything from cereal all the way to types of clothing are being advertised nowadays by animated characters, there are even some characters that are thought up just to market that one product. This is all fine and dandy, but there is one thing that happened with marketing and animated characters that was a setback.

This instance that I am referring to is the character that was created to advertise Camel cigarettes known as Joe Camel. Throughout the 1990s when I was a kid I could remember seeing this character always looking as cool as possible with a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. Now I am not against smoking, I know plenty of people that do, but these comics did look like they had a likeness that could appeal to children. These ads were in any magazine that an adult would usually read and some of them do in fact look amusing, but when you are dealing with kids who try and hang on to everything that they read or see on television it becomes a problem. The problem that usually generates out of these ads is that the kid wants to look as “cool” as the character on the ad. Due to this they are convinced that in order to be “cool” they need to smoke. The point that I am trying to make out of all this is that things like this should not fall into the hands of kids it is just another thing for them to try and hold on to. This is why advertisers need to be a little more careful as to what they use in order to advertise to people. So, this poses the question is animation marketing always a good thing? 

Following this post there were a few comments that were posted to this that I would like to take time to acknowledge. 
The First is the comment on The Flintstones advertising for Winston Cigarette company https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdHSIquSHMw. I do agree that animation does appeal to all, but this particular commercial was in a time where many things were not known about smoking. But as time went on, more research was done and now we are trying to make sure that our kids don't pick up the habit. It is very interesting as to how these commercials make you think. On one hand you see your favorite cartoon character getting ready to light up, but nowadays it is something that almost seems to be taboo for television. It really is amazing as to how times have changed. 
As for the second comment, I could not agree more with the fact that there are some cartoon shows that are all about pushing product. that video game cartoon is a very good example. The show is titled "Captain N: The Game Master." I did not even have to get through the opening segment when I saw little hints of marketing. Part of the title was written in the very same characters that Nintendo uses to brand themselves. So I can see where there is a way that advertising through animation can appeal to all, but both of these cases are not the best for children. For the cigarette ads, there has been enough research conducted to show that yes they can kill you, and now we see all of these ads for smoking and what it takes away from you. Obviously this is so kids do not even want to start. As for the video game show, this is a problem that has been taking toll on kids since I was growing up. Yes video games are ok but, there needs to be moderation and time taken for physical activity. This is why there has been an ongoing spread of the idea of the World Wide Day Of Play idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImEuVrgK8Qg. This was started up by Nickelodeon and has some animation mixed in with live action to show just how much fun it can be to get out of the house. So have there been instances to say that animated advertising is not too god of an idea, which is what I agreed to before. But now I am having second guesses I believe that there is a massive sweep in animated advertising that is leading to healthier lifestyles based on what is being shown. With that being said, I believe that there was a lot of bad in animated advertising but now there is a new wave of advertising coming in trying to repair that of what most of us saw when we were all kids.

  

Blog Post 6: Animation Marketing; is it always a good thing??

In class last week, we looked at a cartoon character known as Buster Brown. What was interesting about this was that it was the first instance in which an animation was used in the marketing of a product. This was a revolutionary way to be able to get consumers to buy a product. This has since been used to promote what seems as an infinite amount of products. Everything from cereal all the way to types of clothing are being advertised nowadays by animated characters, there are even some characters that are thought up just to market that one product. This is all fine and dandy, but there is one thing that happened with marketing and animated characters that was a setback.

This instance that I am referring to is the character that was created to advertise Camel cigarettes known as Joe Camel. Throughout the 1990s when I was a kid I could remember seeing this character always looking as cool as possible with a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. Now I am not against smoking I know plenty of people that do, but these comics did look like they had a likeness that could appeal to children. These ads were in any magazine that an adult would usually read and some of them do in fact look amusing, but when you are dealing with kids who try and hang on to everything that they read or see on television it becomes a problem. The problem that usually generates out of these ads is that the kid wants to look as “cool” as the character on the ad. Due to this they are convinced that in order to be “cool” they need to smoke. The point that I am trying to make out of all this is that things like this should not fall into the hands of kids it is just another thing for them to try and hold on to. This is why advertisers need to be a little more careful as to what they use in order to advertise to people. So, this poses the question is animation marketing always a good thing?

Blog Post 5: Ghost In The Shell Review:

Well in last class we watched a movie that I found to be very interesting and at the end I had many questions that maybe the ones that view this could answer. The movie is titled “The Ghost In The Shell.”  I don’t do this often but for this blog I am going to review this film and have questions to pose for the readers at the end.

For a brief summery of the movie, it takes place in a futuristic city that has some hints of Asian flare in it. The characters in the movie are able to take their ghost and move it through the web. The movie is about a detective that is trying this cyber terrorist known as the Puppet Master. She is combing the city over looking for this terrorist, and the terrorist ends up finding that the terrorist is in the station for a short time before being abducted. She continues her pursuit of this person until ultimately she becomes part of them.

I found this movie to be very interesting because of how futuristic the movie was due to the fact that I did not see too far off based on the amount of developments that are being made every day. Also throughout the movie I got this sense that the main character was trying to get a better sense of her existence. There was the major question that she seemed to wrestle with which was what was her purpose.

Also the design of the anime was really interesting. There was so much more detail to the characters than there is to any other form of animation that we have seen in class. This in my opinion gives the characters more of a real humanistic trait and makes them seem more real than that of the other animations that we have watched.

As for the questions that I have, I want to know what happens after the credits come on. Does she continue to be a cop or does she take what in I got out of it as herself reborn into a new person and goes to find a new way of life. These are just a few of the questions that were left with me when the movie ended.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie. I could relate to the main character easily, (which is something I often like to do.) As for the rest of it, to me there was just enough balance to the action and downtime ratio. The one question that I have is what does everyone think that she did after the credits rolled?

Blog Post 4: Love Stories Don't Need to be Written in a lot of Books:

                 When most people think about a love story they think of the classic story of how the guy comes along and sweeps the girl off her feet and they live happily ever after. This can take many chapters as well as books to relay the story to the reader. But, this is not always the case. In the movie “Up,” it takes the art of telling a love story to the next level. Without trying to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it I will discuss how in a mere 10 to 15 minutes we see the story of a guy and girl and how their story has every key think that a love story needs, and did not take a series of books to tell.

            Like all love stories it has to start somewhere. In the movie “Up,” it starts with this little adventurous boy that hears somebody in an old broken-down house. He decides to sneak into the house to see what all the commotion is about when a tomboyish girl who has the same adventurous imagination as he does meets him. They play for what seems like an eternity when things are sped up and they are getting married. Following this the film shows significant times in their life like one being the fact that the very house they played in, the ended up buying it and fixing it up. Following this, the audience sees many other significant times in the characters’ lives some hard times and many good. In my opinion I believe the reason for the inclusion of the hard times is that it shows that even though they live “happily ever after” there is still things happening after the final curtain goes down at the end of a book. Following the bad and good times, they still are able to grow old together and have a happy life together. That is until the end of the love story. This I will not divulge due to the fact that it gives too much away. But as for the love story itself, it is something that has to bee seen to really understand. But, it does in fact have a better love story in those few short scenes than any book I have ever read. My fiancé and I both agree to this, and maybe if you too see it, then you may agree.        

Blog Post 3: Expression Through Animation:

            For those who watch the show “Family Guy” think of the show as very offensive, funny, or something entirely different. But what is interesting about the show is the fact that the show’s creator Seth MacFarlane has in a way been able to express himself based on some of the events that have happened in his life.

            One event in particular has interested me quite a bit. The event was that Seth was actually supposed to be on one of the flights that were hijacked during the events of 9/11. What happened was Seth had been partying the night before and was told by his agent that his flight was flight 11 and scheduled to leave at 8:15am when it actually left at 7:45am. Seth had just missed the flight and was forced to wait until the next available. About an hour later the event that shocked America occurred. The very same flight, Flight 11 was flown into the North tower of the World Trade Center.

            Now after going on with this whole back-story about this event you are probably wondering what it has to do with animation. Well in a way it has all to do with animation. There have been several episodes of “Family Guy” that have joking references towards terrorists as well as the events of 9/11. This is just an idea, but maybe as a way of coping with what he had gone through he created those stories as a way to keep himself grounded in a way. Now those episodes may be offensive, but maybe his only way that he could deal with was to do what he does best and make light out of things like this.  

Blog Post 2: Determination

“Well, back to the old drawing board.” This is a very famous saying from a martian that we all know. That martian is Marvin Martian. He is most known for his endless pursuit of Bugs Bunny as well as other characters in the “Loony Toons” franchise. The martian often utters this phrase from time to time whenever he finds himself on the opposite side of his grand scheme plan to catch the other character whoever it may be. What is interesting to me about this character is the amount of determination that Marvin has throughout his endless pursuit of the character that he is chasing.

            In my opinion I believe that the children that watched this could bring something very useful away from this character, which is to be more determined in whatever it may be that they are doing. I think that Marvin reminds me of Thomas Edison in a way due to the fact that he always was trying to figure out how create the light bulb. Edison stated that “I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that wont work. This is a similar personality to that of Marvin because he is constantly and wittingly looking for a way to catch the one who evades him. With that being said I think that since Marvin never really gives up and is always willing to go back to square one and figure out a new plan, many people can take away the sense that if one plan dose not work than go back and make a new one. There is nothing wrong with being wrong. You can always “Go back to the old drawing board.”