Mass Media Class

For this class I would have liked to do more things like making videos. Videos are a form of mass media, and in order to make the video we had to learn all the camera angles. Making videos was fun and we learned from doing it. One thing I did not enjoy about Mass Media was all of the work we did in the book. We had to read almost a whole chapter in between each class period and take notes, which is an extreme amount of work. I liked it better when we read in class and discussed it together. I understood the material better then because I wasn't reading it just to say I read it. I also don't like blogging. I don't like how everyone can read what I say. I prefer the traditional journaling. I did find all the information we learned about how to take pictures and videos useful. I will use that in the future when I take pictures and videos. This class did open my eyes to how big of a role mass media plays on my life. I had never thought of how what a news source informs on affects what I think. For example, People writing an article on Justin Bieber could encourage people's obsession with celebrities. One thing you could have done differently is, like I mentioned before, do less from the book. I liked more of the hands-on activities.

Our Commercial

I was surprised at how much work went in to a video that was only supposed to be 45 seconds long (in our case it was 90 seconds). Planning the video is probably what took the longest. We had to think about what angle we wanted to shoot each clip because each angle means something different. Although, the hardest thing was trying to get the video to look good. We definitely lacked the right equipment to make this video, and it does show. We tried to make it look more professional, but it was difficult. However, I did enjoy making this video. It was fun.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

The last movie I watched was Paul Blart: Mall Cop, directed by Steve Carr. This action/comedy movie features Kevin James, Keir O' Donnell, and Jayma Mays, and takes place in a shopping mall. It begins by showing the life of a mall security guard, Paul Blart (Kevin James), who is kind of a social outcast, but does have a daughter he had with a Mexican who needed a green card. Blart has a crush on a vendor in the mall, Amy Anderson (Jayma Mays), but she seems way out of his league. The shopping mall gets a new security guard, Veck Simms (Keir O'Donnell) whom Blart is in charge of showing the ropes to. In a turn of events, the usually boring mall gets robbed by Veck and his associates. Veck takes hostages, including Amy, Blart's daughter, and Amy's boyfriend. The movie ends with under-appreciated Blart saving the hostages and getting the girl against all odds. Overall, I think this movie was good. The way the film was shot was creative and gave a comical view to the serious things happening in the movie. The script was well-written with little details that were hilarious. Kevin James played the part of Paul Blart perfectly. With his segway, there was no doubt in my mind that James was a socially awkward mall cop. I definitely recommend this movie to others.

Movie Theater or Home Movie?

If I had to choose between watching a movie at home or in a theater, I would choose to watch it at home. It is considerably cheaper at home, and you have so much more freedom while watching a movie at home. For example, if you wanted to wear your pajamas to a movie at your house you could. Also, in your own home you can pause the movie whenever you want. However, I do enjoy going to movie theaters every once in a while because it is a change in scenery, and you usually go to movie theaters if you want to be with friends. So, that makes movie theaters enjoyable, too.

Most Memorable Moment in Movies

One of the most memorable moments I have seen in a movie was when Rafiki held up Simba on Pride Rock. This happened in the movie Lion King. This moment is so memorable because it shows the future leader of the pride. It is also important because it is an innocent cub who has so much power on top of Pride Rock. In this shot of the movie, the camera is below Simba and Rafiki, so that makes them seem so much more important.

Carmike Cinema

I think all of the subliminal advertising in that video was smart. It gets people thinking about food, which probably makes them want to buy the food in the video. The subliminal advertising shows our consumer culture. Our culture uses every opportunity to advertise. There wasn't a need to advertise the food in that situation. They could have just shown the movie, but they didn't. They inserted the part about the food and drinks because they wanted people to buy it, which shows the consumerism.

All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses

Of the first 25 on this list, I saw only one in theaters. Although, I did see a lot of them out of theaters. I just don't go to the theaters very often. I think a lot of these movies are in the top 25 because of the popularity of them before they came out. For example, The Avengers was probably famous because a lot of the characters in that movie had movies about them before, so the people that liked the first ones wanted to see the new one. Also, I think a lot of the movies did so well because they were so different from previous movies. Avatar is an example of this. That movie was one of the first 3D movies, and its content is so different. I think the differences between the top 25 and other movies is what appeals to moviegoers, like how Avatar was offered in 3D.