EVERYTHING IS A REMIX.

So… since we talked about how pretty much everything that exists is a remix of other works one way or another, does it mean that copyrights don’t necessarily mean anything?

Being an artist getting ready to go out into the real world of business and licenses and copyrights, I’ve been told al my life and all the time that I’ve been here that it’s important to reserve and copyright our material and works.  But now that I think of it, what would be the purpose? I know it’s a way to protect our works… but then we see that there are people out there that will still take and rework everything from the originals to create something new? It’s a really confusing aspect. I felt like the Buffy and Twilight clip was a perfect example of remix. It doesn’t get any better than that, really. Here, you have two huge entertainment companies who have a show and a movie that are both widely popular… and regardless of what they put before the movie starts; (i.e: Any copy, manipulation and redistribution of this will result in $250,000 fine etc) people still find a way to bootleg everything and steal clips from movies they find free online and take those clips and plaster it with music and post it on the internet and call it a day. This goes the same with music and how people would rather download music free rather than buy it. What is copyright though? That’s my question. As soon as I saw and learned about this subject today, I just now realized that it’s almost nothing compared to what the audience can do with a movie or company so serious.

WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?

Week 5 and 6

Write a blog post that considers what are the defining characteristics of your generation. Discuss a few specific works that in your opinion give "voice" to the outlooks and attitudes shared by your generation.

Literature has definitely come a long way, except I don’t really prefer this generation’s books and novels unless it’s something that’s truly a piece of work. Of course, that’s all based on opinions and personal preference, but I feel like the works now are a lot duller than decades ago. I guess ‘Simple is Best’ but for some things, it’s not necessary at all. I’m not saying that there are no good works now, they’re just very hard to find without flowing along the clichés of very popular subjects; such as vampires and werewolves. Those subjects are way overboard because of sudden popularity over the years in a short time.

Reading older works, however, I felt like it had more depth. Authors had intricate words, and a more ornate style of writing. Reading works from people like Poe, I love the way the words are put together, as well as the format. There’s a more cultural feel to older works too, especially the novel, The Great Gatsby. I know that the subject spectrum isn’t as large as it is now back then, but I just feel like it’s a better collection back then than now.

For this week's blog posting please write a 350-500 word review of the novel focusing not on whether you liked the book or not, or whether you thought it was good or bad, but rather on a description of the experience of reading the book and what you think are the most defining aspects of the novel.

Honestly, I was not expecting this book to be like this whatsoever.  At first, I thought that this novel was going to be something similar to something along the lines of a girl and her journey, something probably not so… alien. But that’s what I really liked about it. I would have never known that this novel was about a girl and her family trying to start life on a different alien planet. It immediately came to me as a slight sci-fi novel. It being an older book, I assumed it would be something describing the culture wherever it took place. Don’t get me wrong, it still had culture, but it was a made up culture, and I think that was a great point for the author to ‘wow’ readers. I highly doubt that there were many of that kind of novels back in that time. All in all, I found it very confusing, but I kinda enjoyed it even though I had a hard time grasping it. It personally just seemed a bit awkward to me because I didn’t expect it in the first place.

How the act of reading changes when the text is comprised of both words and pictures. Please give specific examples to support your observations.

Throughout all life stages, reading has always been a choice among avid bookworms. From children storybooks and fairy tales to young adult adventure to adult works of sci-fi and fiction. We are introduced to reading at a very young age, but I think one thing that really helps the young get into reading are the artworks and illustrations that are provided in earlier year texts. What is it about pictures in storybooks and novels that help a reader view the story differently?

It all depends on the reader and his or her preferences. It is understandable that a reader won’t like illustrations because it’s too much of a distraction, but that’s not certainly bad. I feel like illustrations and pictures in a novel or in a book really help with how the reader visualizes the different scenes and happenings, so it narrows it down to how the environment really looks, how the characters look all the way to the features on their faces to the clothes on their back. But not only that, it can definitely show what kind of culture takes place in that story.

Now, this isn’t a bad thing, but for me, reading a novel or a story without pictures, I start to develop my own idea of what the environment and the characters look like in the plot. But then as soon as a picture or illustration appears and I take a look at it, all my ideas of what the story is, is completely pushed out of my mind because of the picture that really represents the story itself. We might not all agree with the illustrations, but for people who read more non-illustrated works, it can be quite a frustration.

Good examples of how pictures and illustrations can have reading changes would be a children’s ABC’s book, and a young adult’s sci-fi novel. For children, an ABC’s book is one of the most important things in their life. Now, if all it had was text, and everything to describe A-Z without images or examples, how would thc children learn to know what started with A and what started with Z? How would they know that A is for that red fruit a teacher has on her desk, or how would they know that Z is for the striped four-legged creature at the zoo? Pictures play a big role in childhood. As for sci-fi, I’m sure it’s not hard for the young adult reader to develop their own imagery in their head, but the images in the novel could also help describe the intricate and ornate ideas of sci-fi novels.

I honestly think pictures and illustrations are important in a novel, but it’s also understandable that because of modern society, images are more suited for magazines and full color books, because novels are usually in black and white.

I think it’s all based on preference though.

Assumptions and Me as a Reader.

After re-reading my response on why The Hunger Games and The Wizard of Oz are why they are similar and considered to be “American Fairytales”, my assumptions before and after are pretty much the same. I talked about how The Hunger Games is a more realistic and logical version of The Wizard of Oz, and even though some might disagree, the storyline and parts of the story are strangely similar even when they’re in completely different sides of the genre spectrum. The story of The Wizard of Oz is more straightforward, where everything happens after the next, whilst The Hunger Games involves more of internal feelings and emotions because of the reality of it.

I tend to look more to the side of stories that delve deep into insane psychological experiences. A good example would be between The Wizard of Oz and The Hunger Games. I’d choose The Hunger Games over the other simply because it’s not so straightforward. It makes me question more of the storyline itself rather than expecting what will definitely happen. Aside from that, reading for me when I can find a good book, feels more personal. It doesn’t matter how many people have read that book, or how popular it is, but there’s a sense of feeling where you’re completely submerged into the story itself.

Week 2: The Great Gatsby

Why is The Great Gatsby a literary work?

Most people grew up reading The Great Gatsby. It’s one of the most well-known novels out there that describes the scene and the people in the 1900s. The plot itself is very intensely put together, showing the good times and the troubles all the characters go through regardless of it being such a wonderful time-period.

Of course, I see how The Great Gatsby can be a literary work, and I strongly believe that it is a very well executed one- because this novel jumps right into it so fast. At this time in history, everybody is trying to achieve the American Dream. Especially when it takes place in New York city, it’s a definite place where we can see people coming from different parts of the nation- like Nick from Missouri, for example- to see the new side of business, and how these great people make a living.

Of course, most of the characters in the novel are filthy rich, living the wonderful life, and having all the money and things they want- but there are darker sides to it all. There are affairs, lies and deceit. It shows themes of decadence, idealism and resistance to change. I feel like this novel really expresses and shows the era of that time extremely well. The atmosphere that is created is very precise, so it gives you a strong feeling that you’re in the time period. It ranges from the ranks of people in society, to the clothes on their backs. So not only does the culture show, but even the little things tie it all together.

Week 1: The Wizard of Oz

Writing Assignment: Write a blog post (350-500 words) that discusses the proposition that the Hunger Games is like the Wizard of Oz. Consider the question whether or not all American fairy tales are like the Wizard of Oz.

I have never read or watched any of the Oz series in my life. I’ve heard many good reviews on the storyline, so I gave it a go at reading and audiobooks. I have to say that from all that I’ve read, the story is a very classic, very wonderfully written piece of work. It’s considered cliché, but that’s what I love about it, because no matter how cliché it may be, the story itself will never get old. Only because this is also an American Classic.

As we discussed in class about how the Hunger Games was a more modern version of the Wizard of Oz, I slightly see the similarities on how they relate. Looking at it from afar, the Hunger Games often is described as a survival story. Clearly it is, but it isn’t just that. There’s a lot more than that once it’s looked at and compared, especially to the Wizard of Oz.

I know that the characters are taken away from their comforts of their home; In Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is taken away from her home in Kansas into the Land of Oz, and The Hunger Games when Katniss instead of having the option to stay safe in her home place, bravely sacrifices herself as a replacement for her sister Primrose. Even though The Hunger Games is a lot more modern in comparison to The Wizard of Oz, they still roll on the same line of a main character thrown into a different society by themselves. Having aid from the right people, and trying to avoid the wrong. They both find helpful friends along the way, but in The Hunger Games, it’s a lot more different because there’s more logic and reality involved. Death is a lot more prominent because it is a reality in The Hunger Games rather than the Wizard of Oz. Instead of being like Katniss fighting for her own life in this horrifying game that she is placed in so she can return home, Dorothy has a handful of friends that she meets along the way, and for her, it’s pretty much a journey to find the Great Wizard Oz so she can find her way home to Kansas.

These stories are different and similar in their own ways, but I feel like not all American Fairytales are like the Wizard of Oz is because of contemporary ideals and views. Especially through media, people would be more likely to see a hardcore version of The Wizard of Oz rather than an original, mainly because that’s what strikes people more nowadays is the intense, “WOW!” effect most movies show.