ELS Autoblog

8 democratic candidates face a new kind of questioning with queries straight from america’s living rooms

—CNN

This has been a defining moment in political and New Media history, and I’m glad I could experience it in an academic environment. CNN and YouTube held a two hour debate on television for the Democratic presidential primary candidates. For the first time, webcam wielding citizens have been able to publicly question politicians on television.
What this at first means, of course, is that American citizens have gained a new political power through the Internet. Given weeks of preparation, citizens had time to organize and refine their questions, and practice and edit their questions. Not only is this is especially important for the less communicatively savvy citizens who have less of a voice in politics, it gives citizens an edge in the debates by thinking through exactly what they want to say while the candidates […]

Original post by humanisticmystic

Dr. Campbell’s Film, Text, and Culture class has taught us all about how to analyze the technical aspects of film, and literature; and how that relates to the culture we live in. Personally, I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge in regards to the many different components that are necessary to create a film. While understanding the importance of certain aspects of film such as acting, cinematography, and editing is an essential part of this course; I think that being able to view a movie, and see through the surface of that film to comprehend the meaning behind it, is something very special that I will certainly take away with me. Before entering this class, my view of films in general was that their main purpose was to entertain. Obviously one of the major goals for a film maker is to entertain his or her […]

Original post by ellie

**I do realize that ‘Curriculartornessly’ is not a real word.  I was just trying to add some pizzazz to my blog title to grab your attention ok?!?!**
Let us delve into the concept of curriculum, shall we?  The word curriculum has its etymological roots in Latin words related to “course” and “career” (apparently).  This gives me the outstanding visual of a track (like the kind you run on) where there are lanes that you stick to in order to finish the race.  These lanes or “tracks” can in turn, help you towards a career you are interested in for the future.
What would it be like to learn without curriculum (or rather an open curriculum = no requirements).  Would there be chaos and disorder without structure of curriculum?  Do people NEED the type of guided direction that a curriculum provides?  I personally am not fond of running at all, and therefore avoid […]

Original post by Peanut!

Although not received well by critics at its original release in 1958, Vertigo has since become considered one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest masterpieces. Vertigo’s plot summary is as follows:
“John “Scottie” Ferguson is a retired San Francisco police detective who suffers from acrophobia and Madeleine is the lady who leads him to high places. A wealthy shipbuilder who is an acquaintance from college days approaches Scottie and asks him to follow his beautiful wife, Madeleine. He fears she is going insane, maybe even contemplating suicide, because she believes she is possessed by a dead ancestor. Scottie is skeptical, but agrees after he sees the beautiful Madeleine.” (Summary found on IMDB.com)
This movie is intriguing, mysterious, and captivating. What makes this so? There have been many movies with murder, love, and deceit. Yet, Vertigo is not like the others.
An aspect of Vertigo that fascinated […]

Original post by kcannon

Portrait of Jennie is an interesting and haunting story. I watched the movie years ago and I always remembered liking it. As I watched the movie again for class I was struck at how sad I felt. I just remembered it being a love story, but I was taken by how eerie it was. I do still enjoy the movie, I am just surprised at how time changes perspective. After recently reading the book, I am always interested to see changes that are made in the film. I think one of the most shock changes what that of Miss Spinney. While Spinney is feisty in both book and movie, the movie Spinney has much more influence on the story as a whole. Plus Mr. Matthews and Spinney’s relation is quite different. Sometimes I’m at a loss to know why certain changes […]

Original post by kcannon

We talked last Thursday about gender roles and our options for dealing with them. I didn’t weigh in on the conversation, I was very interested to sit back, observe and listen. For one, I think it would be imposible to to do away with the basic gender roles and the fact that do note men and women being different. I know the world isn’t perfect, but I really believe that a compromise can and should be made between men and women. Just because we different doesn’t make us unequal. And I do believe biologically we are very different. That isn’t a bad thing. I don’t think it’s possible for everybody to have this mindset all at once (I know there are some people out there they may object to a compromise). However, I will do what I can do and hopefully in the […]

Original post by kcannon

“8 Democratic candidates face a new kind of questioning”
Tonight at 7:00pm Democratic candidates engaged in a “new” form of interaction with voters. Users were invited to submit questions via home-made YouTube videos for the candidates, and both the chosen questions and responses were shown on CNN for two hours.
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Is it truly a “new form of questioning”?
While watching this debate, I had the thought that’s it’s almost a reverse kind of fireside chat. The phrase “from your living rooms” was used multiple times, obviously to emphasize the idea that these questions were coming straight from real Americans in their homes. It’s interesting that Roosevelt used radio to reach out to Americans between 1933 and 1944, and now that kind of connection between politicians and voters is being reversed, with YouTube users interacting with candidates on national television. But that still doesn’t answer the main question– is this a new type of […]

Original post by arynna

The 1948 film Portrait of Jennie is not really about a portrait or about Jennie; it is either a) a film about the search for inspiration in a creatively dry landscape or b) a film about love transcending time, depending on whether the viewer believes Jennie is real or not. For the purposes of this blog, we’re going to assume she is, because the character of Jennie is one that is deserving of further inspection and not mere dismissal as the figment of an artistic imagination. Although the film follows Eben’s journey from blocked and unremarkable artist to a creatively stimulated “master” of his muse, creator of work that will “one day hang in a museum,” Jennie too undergoes a journey that is largely ignored by the film. Molly Haskell on page 620 of her essay “From Reverence to Rape: Female Stars of the 1940s” justifies the omission thus: “The […]

Original post by anniek