War footage is heavily edited so as not to show the most gory bits. Yet the reporters talk about death and show shooting, but may actually resort to computer generated graphics to substitute for real war footage of killing. It also depends greatly on the country as they can have political and economical reasons for representing a conflict in a particular way.
"Society of Spectral" was a term the lecturer used to explain that the bigger and flashier something is, the more we tend to focus on it.
During a recent comedy sketch, the lecturer talked about how a family struggled to find the right place to sit in their living room as their was no TV, thus without a focal point they were lost. This was interesting as this is a reflection of real life in which TV's have become so dominate in our society that living rooms are usually planned around the TV. Likewise you could say the same for a radio back when TV's didn't exist. Before even radios however a fire might have been used by families and early tribes would use a circle around a fire for meetings.
We were shown the beginning of the most recent X-Factor and asked to look out for its authenticity.
From what I saw it seemed incredibly manufactured and more as if I was watching a scripted movie than a live show.
Some points I noted include the following.
- Was incredibly flashy, bright and loud in order to keep people tuned in and pumped up.
- Previous footage of the singers crying in slow motion and talking about how this competition is their dream was shown. They talked about their families and that they are competing for what they have always wanted. Music would also kick in to push up the emotional response to the footage being shown.
- Said that the judges are entrusted with the contestants' "hopes and dreams".
The lecturer also pointed out that they take away things from the singers. For example, they took away a girls rather nice soulful voice and gave it auto tuning, thus removing her originality and authenticity. They also did this to her wardrobe and make up, as they wanted to make her look more visually pleasing for a TV show.
Mobile phones are now being used by the audience even more, as not only can they record the shows they are watching live, but they can also act as a fifth judge and Tweet what they think of each contestant during the show. Clearly these Tweeters hope that their comment will be posted on the big screen alongside others, despite it only appearing for a second.
Having watched the show, we were asked to discuss it. It was interesting to watch again as it reminded me of the harsh truth that it is, in a way, a freak show similar to circus freaks in the past. After all, when I was a child I used to watch X-Factor just to laugh at the horrible singers and then got bored during the serious bits.
In fact, my sister used to try out for X-Factor when she was younger as she admits now she had 'stars in her eyes'. Now, however she sees it for what it is and disagrees with the way it portrays everyone.
In summary, shows like X-Factor are a false reality that presents their contestants in such a way as to be appealing to the widest demographic possible. Thus the singers are no longer excepted for who they really are and instead have to adopt a pop idol persona. The show is also so bright and loud that you might as well compare it to someone dangling keys in front of a baby, thus going back to the term previously used, "Society of Spectral.
For next week I need to look at the first six pages of the other article given to us last week and write my own opinion of it.
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