A (particularly busy) day in the life of a Park School student at Ithaca College

Truth be told, today was so busy that I had forgotten to put any thought towards a blog that was to be submitted, by midnight, for one of my classes. As I began thinking about what to write, with about thirty minutes left on the clock, I realized that the hectic nature of my day was exactly what could be talked about in my blog for the week.

What is it like to be a student majoring in Television-Radio, at the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College on a particularly busy day? Take a look at my schedule of events for the day I just completed to find out.

It began at 7:30 in the morning. Getting out of bed was difficult, especially after going to bed at 2:15 in the morning the night prior. I had to get up to go to work, which is at our school's equipment rental facility known as Park Portable Equipment Center and Services (PPECS).

I began my shift at 8:30, building orders to go out for the day, lugging around heavy equipment, putting it on carts, making sure that no mistakes were made. When you work at PPECS, the customer's success depends on you,  or at least that's what the customer tells you. They expect perfection.

Anyway, there is a lot more to the job, but I'm running out of time, so I have to keep moving. My shift went from 8:30am until 12:30pm, at which point I went to get lunch at the dining hall really quickly.

I had back to back classes from that point onward from 1:10pm until 5:40pm, however I had left my final class at 5pm to participate in a camera certification workshop led by one of my professors. This workshop lasted until 7:30pm, at which point I began my second shift at PPECS for the day.

The employees at PPECS do their very best to look out for one another, and so we often volunteer to cover each others' work shifts when one of us is busy or sick or whatever. I had agreed one week prior that I would cover my friend's work shift from 7:00pm to 11:00pm, knowing full well that I already had a four hour shift myself for that day.

In hindsight, it was not a really smart thing to do, but I need to be making as much money as possible to get a jump start on paying back what I owe for attending this very expensive school.

So in short, today I ate one quick meal, worked for eight hours, sat in class for five more, attended a workshop, and wrote this blog before bed. All of this was on roughly five hours of sleep, and a cheeseburger.

This is about what one should expect on a busy day in the life of a Park School student at Ithaca College.

The Simple Bear Necessities

Disney's trailer for the new live action "Jungle Book" was released this week. If you haven't seen it, here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcgJRQWxKnw. When I first watched the clip I was impressed and excited, especially when I saw Christopher Walken's name flash on the screen. (I love me some Christopher Walken.) Anyway, other actors the new movie will include are Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o and Scarlett Johansson. I think picking Johansson to play the role of Kaa (the snake) is a great choice. Her calming voice has a strange eeriness throughout the entire trailer.

Sssssssss

The entire look of the film is really appealing. It reminds me "Life of Pi," but that might just be because of the tigers. It also has a similar feel to the hit "Avatar." Many wide sweeping shots are used as well as interesting POVs that draw you into the action. Also of course fast paced dramatic music is playing in the background as well. 

But even with the amazing production quality, I'm sure a lot of loyal fans are debating whether it can stand against the original charm of the 1967 classic. I feel like there's a fine line between turning a classic into a  modern phenomena or completely ruining a classic and all your childhood dreams that go with it.

Short Term 12

Many of you may not know about Short Term 12, and maybe some of you have seen the title floating around Netflix, but I would like to dedicate this post to convincing all of you to go on Netflix and watch this film.

This film centers around Grace (Brie Larson), who is the supervisor of Short Term 12, a group home for troubled teens. She does her best throughout the film to help these kids get through life when they are dealing with difficult circumstances, along with her boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.), and their other coworkers. Grace bonds with a new teen at Short Term 12, Jayden, whose situation is eerily familiar to Grace. This film deals with some very heavy topics, and does so gracefully and in a revealing, refreshing way. It not only shares Grace and the other adult's point's of view, but those of the kids living in Short Term 12 as well.

This film is not only incredibly well written, both in story and character, but also has beautiful cinematography. The cast is wonderful and includes Stephanie Beatriz, Rami Malek, John Gallagher Jr., and Kaitlyn Dever. It is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and has won the Grand Jury and Audience awards at South by Southwest. It also scored a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was  I highly recommend this film to everyone. 

On student films, being strung too thin, and powering through.

If I were to sum up how I've been feeling the last few weeks, it would be the following action done by George Michael in Arrested Development.

Basically, I am straight up burnt out of energy.

I was going to write this weeks blog on one of my favorite films of all time, but I feel as though a ~student film~ journal entry of sorts would be more beneficial to my mental health & self-learning. So if you feel the need for some relatable quips about an overbooked film student, journey on. If not, I suggest you stop reading immediately because I'm about to get very honest.

In the few short weeks that the semester has been in session I have found myself strung more thin than ever. Which, in turn, has turned me from my usual bubbly and patient self into the Grouch, because of lack of sleep and an endless list of tasks.

me in the summer: enough sleep/am less stressed

me the last few weeks; literally disintegrating with garbage!!!!!

Between doing a thousand and one different things plus trying to put my 110% into our fiction field 2 film, I find myself constantly working on some sort of task with no time to stop and breathe. Most pertinent of them all is getting everything done production design-wise for my friend's media thesis film (which we're shooting all next weekend in Rochester!) It’s not that I’m not doing it all, it’s that there’s always something that needs to get done. And I always get it done, but it usually means sacrificing one of the three elements that are key to a college students’ success (and also sanity). That being: enough sleep, good grades, and a social life.

So you see, only:

A. superhumans

B. sleepless vampires

C. those ghosts in harry potter that choose to come back to life(???)

Are the real ones that can achieve the ~trifecta~ of success.

Most of the lack of sleep comes from trying to make everything perfect and to please everyone, which is a fatal flaw of mine. It's something that I am trying to work on because it keeps me from getting things done in a timely manner to be honest. But college is all about learning about to balance everything, right? right????? *buries head in the sand*

I'm going to wrap this up to avoid getting whiny. Really the only way to combat these problems are to just suck it up and deal with it, which is the approach I'm taking. Even though the day to day has been quite the struggle, i'm trying to keep a positive attitude (which probably doesn't show at 10 AM in our class, my apologies). Basically I want all the productions I'm working on to the best they can be, and if that means giving up certain aspects of my life then so be it. 

I'm really happy with the way the screenplay for Stopover City has come out so far, and I'm very excited to begin filming my friend's thesis. Things are "chugging along" and I'm "managing" but I suppose this is just the life of a classic Parkie. Now I'm off to do some more tweaking of our film's screenplay with my lovely co-writers. I shall end this post with this:

Go all with everything you have because hard work pays off, as Leslie of Parks & Rec always shows.

Hardcore

The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Enter the Void. All of these movies have one thing in common, the are all shot from a first person, of point of view, perspective. It's not used excessively in very many movies and it isn't usually the main selling point, but some have still attempted it, and sometimes with good results. Hardcore is looking to join the relatively short list as a movie completely shown in first person. It is a Russian action movie, which from the looks of the trailers, just seems to be the kind of movie where you tune out for some mindless fun. It's interesting to note that it started out as an IndieGoGo project that raised it's goal of $250,000 in one month. Sporting a minuscule cast with Sharlto Copley (District 9 and Chappie), the movie seems to aim for one goal, and one goal only: to have the most off the wall action that Russia has ever devised.

It will be interesting to see exactly how the movie comes out and whether or not the perspective adds to or detracts from the experience. A lot of times the issue with a first person perspective is that humans can naturally be shaky in their movements, and when sitting in a dark room staring at a bright screen for sometime, it could get very disorienting and even nauseating. Regardless, it should be an intersting watch, if only to see what a first person action movie would look like. Plus, every once in awhile you need something that you can just tune out for.

Inside: Inside Out

"Take her to the moon for me, Joy." This quote documents a very sentimental moment in one of the best movies I saw all summer: Inside Out. Inside Out is the newest Disney Pixar film that premiered in June of 2015. It takes place inside the brain of 11-year old Riley as she goes through a major transition period moving from her homey town in the Midwest to a foreign life in San Francisco. It is a definite breath of fresh air as it is unlike anything I have seen before. Disney does an amazing job of articulating a very complex concept (the human mind and emotions) for all audiences. Adults will get a kick out of it just as much as children and will understand it on a whole other level. The reason why this movie has such an impact is because it is relatable; we are all human and we all experience emotions, both good and bad. From the animation to the metaphors in this film, it is completely clever and creative.

The five emotions: fear, disgust, anger, sadness and joy are all given human characteristics and sit in a control room behind Riley's eyes. They see her life before her and adjust the controls according to how she should be reacting in certain situations. Joy is ultimately in charge, as Riley's goal in life is to be happy. Riley's memories are released from her brain as glowing balls, color-coordinated to her emotions. Her brain is an alternate world for the emotions to explore including places such as "the subconscious", "abstract thought" and her "islands of personality". The whole concept of the film is how Riley struggles when Joy and Sadness get lost outside of headquarters (which is where they control her emotions from). Controlling Riley's mind is left up to Anger, Disgust, and Fear. They are very lost on how to take control and result in Riley experiencing what seems like depression to her parents and new classmates. She dresses in black and has random outbursts of anger and disgust, but ultimately she is numb, lacking the two most common and important emotions we feel: joy and sadness.
This film is very psychological and gets into the real details of what we experience inside the head; some things we may not even be aware of. For example, "abstract thought" is a place in Riley's head where she thinks about concepts that are unreal or difficult to understand. When she is going through her rut, she has to comprehend the abstract thought of loneliness which is an unfamiliar situation after moving and losing her emotions.
Inside Out is sentimental film that depicts the themes of family, loneliness and the importance of feeling all emotions: even sadness. It is a breath of fresh air from other kids movies as it depicts life and emotions in a very realistic way and on a whole new level of maturity.

Production Design in Narcos

This week I watched two episodes of Narcos, a Netflix original series. (I'm really bad at binge watching television.)

Narcos is about the most notorious drug dealer of all time, Pablo Escobar. Much of the story takes place in Colombia in the late 70s and early 80s, where Pablo and his team produce mountains upon mountains of cocaine to sell in other South American countries and the United States. ('narcos' = narcotics. If you didn't get that, it's cool--I didn't until at least halfway through the first episode). The story is told by Steve Murphy (played by Boyd Holbrook), a DEA agent who moves from Miami to Colombia to stop Escobar.

Pablo and his cocaine. Bffs 4 life.

Th production design in Narcos, as I would expect with any major drama series, was excellent. Scenes in episodes one and two take place in the middle of the jungle, a fancy Colombian hotel, a random street in South Beach, Miami, the airport, a plane, a bowling alley, and a ton of other places. There was so much effort put into every little detail--as it should be.

This has inspired me to get involved in this part of production for our project, which was recently retitled as Dollhouse. In class we talked about using our location to resemble a dollhouse, so I started to think about exactly what that means.

I may have had this exact dollhouse growing up, actually.

I played with dolls (Barbies, Polly Pockets, Bratz) all the time growing up. However, I think what makes dollhouses a little creepy is when all the furniture is glued down. Not all dollhouses are like this, but the ones for very young children are, so they can't pick up the tiny furniture and start eating it. Maybe glued down furniture is an element that we can play with. We want the dollhouse to reveal characteristics about our antagonist, Hannah, so very minimalist designs might be best. Perhaps we could have shots of her straightening or tidying things around the house as she talks to Vivian, our protagonist. Vivian's room, in contrast, will look like the "normal" college student's--pictures and posters on the walls, some laundry on the floor, homework sprawled across the desk.

Obviously, we don't have the money that Narcos did, but that doesn't mean we can't put a lot of effort into our production design.

New Dog, Old Tricks.

      Continuing on the thread that I can't seem to clip and bring to a stop, the best time of my college life is usually spent on the vastly infinite expanse of Netflix. I was recently given the Australian adventure-comedy show Danger 5 to binge after I finished a few select others over the summer. Well, let me rephrase that. I lost a bet and had to watch the pilot with my boyfriend and, let me tell you, I still have no clue what the hell is going on. I've seen about 5 episodes and the only thing that I can actually tell you is that it was filmed rather recently but looks like it was made in the 70s, both visually and audibly (which btw, is so goddamn cool). I've also learned that every episode they are given a new mission and, of course, they must try and kill Hitler. I think Hitler is trying to steal famous monuments from around the world like the Eiffel Tower and the like. I honestly have zero idea what is going on but it's constructed in such a way that it's coherent enough to look like none of it is nonsense when, in fact, it's literally nothing but pure nonsense.
      While the show is made so it looks like it's straight out of a time that is not this current one, it's clearly got technology on its side. Reconstructing the sets, lights, and the rest of the jazz to look 1000 years old, Danger 5 tends to showcase the type of humour that could easily be from today or the past, which I adore. It's funny with its running gimmicks and jokes but also has gags that poke fun at the era that it's desperately trying to recreate. Spoiler, they are actually doing it better than the poor folks who made the inspirational material in the first place. The show incredibly has enough plot for those who actually want a show to watch with a little bit of weight to it instead of the class 'binge because it's got nothing going on'. Danger 5 does have a running storyline, it's just the fluff around it that's a little crazy. Ok, a lot of crazy. There's a lot of weird puppets and giant animal-headed people but honestly, that sounds like a normal Tuesday night for me. I totally recommend at least watching the pilot and appreciating the hard work that all of the hardworking people at D5 did in order for this show to become a reality.

The Perfect Guy: My first impression

Over the weekend I was persuaded by my friends to go see the film, The Perfect Guy. I was hesitant because I know how cliched these films can get, but I am a fan of Michael Ealy and Morris Chestnut! The film follows the traditional plot of a woman who breaks up with her longtime boyfriend Dave (played by Morris Chestnut), and ends up dating another man (Ealy) that seems all too good to be true. The film had a lot of promotion and I was a little surprised to see that it was rated PG-13, but then again that does explain the minimum amount of sex scenes and foul language. However, I have very mix feelings about this film.

The Bad

• Extremely cliche and no originality or plot twist. 
• If I fell asleep during the movie I would still know everything that happened when i woke up. 
• Predictable climax
• Time
• The beginning of the movie was extremely fast paced, I wasn't able to connect with the characters or even establish an understanding of any of the relationships. 
• The ending was too dragged out, for better words, Carter (played by Michael Ealy) could have died a lot faster, and didn't need all the suspense or hype.
• The feeling of "I've seen this movie before..."
• Enough starring Jennifer Lopez and directed by Michael Apted
• Obsession directed by Brian De Palma

The Good

• Empowered heroine, with no need of rescue
• I appreciated that for once in a thriller the men did not do the saving, in fact it was interesting that both males died as a result of loving this woman. 
• Cinematography
• One thing that struck me from the beginning was how well the cinematography in the film was. It was extremely good looking and Peter Simonite (cinematographer) did a great job at highlighting the casts dark skin tones without creating shadows, even in night scenes.




• Wardrobe 
• deserves a credit as well because they dressed their cast in suitable colors that weren't outrageously bright or dark. The lightening has to thank wardrobe for making there job slightly easier.  
• Casting
• Michael Ealy (Carter) was so calm and poised throughout the film that it made him scary. To physically know how dangerous he is throughout the film and to visually witness him be calm, and tactical is enough to sends chills down your spine. So for that performance he definitely deserves credit. 
• Sanaa Lathan (Leah) had attitude and never backed down throughout the film, I believe she embodied the character fully and may have possible recognized a familiar personality trait she and her character possessed.

Once again this film may have been cliche but it was shot beautifully.

Post Research... 

I came across an interesting article by Clayton Dillard about The Perfect Guy that really resonated with me. I do agree with the article in the essence that this film has illusions to film history(i.e. Birth of A Nation), and makes an extremely risky but daring argument- I appreciate that.  The argument is interesting and for the most part I believe of it to be true. And if the allegations that Dillard is making are true, then I commend the director David M. Rosenthal and writer Tyger Williams on creating a film that was so creative in the way they sent a message to the audience. 

The Anatomy of a Split Second

Personally, I love watching commercials. I never skip the channel in the middle of a programming because I enjoy the small 4-5 short stories that are shown in the breaks. One reason why I like them so much is because of the some of production techniques involved can be really cool and innovative. A lot of technique is necessary to pack a story while promoting a product in under 30 seconds. One method of catching the audience's attention is using inventive post production and graphic animation to embellish the commercial. I ran into this one commercial made by the BBDO branch in Ireland for the Road Safety Authority there.

I really liked how they used a simple looping editing technique to build tension and leave an shocking impression. Directing comes heavily into play here to uniquely tell a story using formal techniques. If this leaves you with an impression like it did with me, then I think it's safe to say this ad got its message across clear.

Arthur: Greatest Kids Show Ever? (1996-2003)

     I say hey! Let's go back to our childhood and to the glory days of Public Television. The days of "Cyberchase", "Between the Lions", "The Bernstein Bears", "Wishbone", "Clifford the Big Red Dog", and I guess there was "Caillou" (but actually f*** Caillou). In all of these though only one had a intro song performed by Ziggy Marley with an original point of view, and only one reigns supreme. That is "Arthur", created in 1996 based on the Marc Brown book series, and it is perhaps the greatest kids show of all time, so open up your eyes, open up your ears and let's get into this.

     The genius of Arthur, and the reason why it is still on today, is completely due to storytelling. I think today in kids television shows people can't relate to the source material. They can't relate to the problems the characters face, and even though to kids the content itself is viscerally interesting they don't get sucked into the characters as much as they did (and still do) with a show like Arthur. Take shows today like "Martha Speaks," "Word Girl," and "Dinosaur Train." They all lack one thing, relate-ability. Though the zany adventures of dinosaurs, talking dogs, and a super-girl with monkey sidekick are all interesting within the nature of themselves how could we possibly relate to their problems? Arthur was about kids who had real problems, bullying, being different, making new friends, saying goodbye, the bond of family. The stories were rich and progressed the character development in the series, something educational television severely lacks these days.

     Every episode Arthur tackled an issue that mattered and effected the lives of us kids. When we watched it we could relate, and in some cases lived, these exact scenarios. They enriched and educated us, made us into better people, supplemented our education on how the world works and how we need to treat people better and work together.

     Arthur was a show not about ratings, or fast paced action, or learning the alphabet, it was about Love; and Love is universal and timeless. That why is Arthur will forever remain the greatest kids show of all time.
   

Simple Wire Removal

Hey guys,
So we talked about Wire Removal today in class so I figured I would dig some stuff up to show you. It is really quite simple and is nothing to worry about. the only thing that would make it an issue is if the camera is moving and not locked down.

So if you dont know how something like this is done it is done in Adobe After Effects. In the Effects side panel you can find what is called a simple wire removal. It is a little tricky when you get into the key framing however the entire process can be completed in about a half hour if the shots aren't super long.

Here is a link to a video tutorial on how to use the tool. 

Simple Wire Removal  

The Green Screen: Just fix it in post (but really)

Not to sound like an old person, but technology absolutely amazes me these days. I was just recently shown the new Snapchat update, which includes new features like being able to put crazy animated features on your picture that track and move with your face on the screen. If you really take the time to think about it, that's pretty freakin' cool. How long would someone have worked to create that effect on a moving picture only fifteen years ago?

Almost every major production involves green screen, or chroma key, in some capacity. Whether it is creating a fantasy land, or making a slight change to the background, green screen technology gives filmmakers the power to manipulate the onscreen world in more ways than one. So, how did we get here?


The first use of a green screen, or at least the idea behind it, came from Georges Méliès. Ol' Georges didn't use a green screen, or any screen at all for that matter. He used a 'matte shot' by actually painting (matting) parts of the frame black, which would stop it from getting exposed. He would then rewind the frame and matte our every ELSE in the frame, and only expose what was originally matted, resulting in two 'different' shots in one frame via double exposure. And thus "green screen" technology was born:

As on screen trickery evolved, another more direct technique was developed. Filmmakers would actually have a piece of glass painted, and then place it between the subject and the camera. Kind of the ultimate perspective manipulation. This technique was perfected by early filmmaker Norman Dawn. 


To solve the problem of motion in film, both primary and secondary, the "black screen" was born, the ancestor of todays green screen. This allowed a entire background to be matted, and also eliminated any matte "line" that actors would have to avoid crossing or else ruin the effect. It was most famously used in The Invisible Man.

As technology advanced, several different colors emerged in efforts to perfect the matte process, but in the digital age green has emerged as the industry standard. 

It seems like each year some new, visual stunning film comes out that totally blows us away. From Jurassic Park to Avatar, Gravity to Interstellar, Alice in Wonderland to The Hobbit,  green screen digital effects seem to be taking over cinema. They allow a surreal escape into fantastic worlds, or, as technology continues to advance, it just might be easier to "green screen it" and literally fix it in post.

Some interesting examples:

Give the Bad Guy Some Love

When it comes to film's I feel like I'm a picky watcher. There are things that I see in films, maybe only for a few seconds that almost completely ruin the experience for me (I.E. in the newest hobbit film when legolas was able to jump up the falling debris). Although there is one transgression that to me ranks high above the others, and that's having a bad Bad Guy.

What constitutes having a bad bad guy? Well that's a question that could yield many a thesis, but for now I'll say that I think a bad guy should always have solid reasoning for their actions. Take Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, now besides having one of the coolest designs of any Disney villain, he was also one of the most well written characters in the Pirates series. Look at the way he's introduced in the film:

He doesn't slither onto the screen declaring his delight in general dobaddery, rather he sinks down to the eye level of one of his captives and offers him a choice. A choice by the way that resonates with us as an audience. We know that Davy Jones is a bad guy, but the temptation of a prolonged life is so attractive to us on a primal level, that many of us may be tempted to look past the tentacles and see this swarthy cephalopod as someone who is looking to save us from whatever judgement we may be subject to in the great beyond. 

Now on the other hand let's look at the villain from Marvels newest solo film "Ant Man". 

"Imagine a Soldier the Size of an insect"

...

What does that even mean? So what if a soldiers the size of an insect? I squash six bugs before breakfast, talk to me about an insect the size of a soldier and then I'll by twelve of whatever you're selling me.

Yellow Jacket's plan makes no sense, his threats hold no weight, and as a character his isn't the slightest bit memorable. This kind of thing makes a difference.

 If you watched both of these clips blind, which one would interest you more? I rest my case your honor.

Aspect Ratio, Part II - Shifting between aspect ratios as a creative tool

Speaking on aspect ratio in my previous blog, I had begun exploring the creative decisions made in regards to aspect ratio on many of my favorite films. Through this exploration, I had begun viewing footage from my favorite IMAX films, and how the aspect ratio plays into making the IMAX experience a more visceral one.

The first film I examined was Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. When viewing my blu-ray copy of the film, I noticed that the film was shot in a standard cinemascope 2.35:1, with the exception of the overhead cityscape shots. The aspect ratio made a dramatic shift from the 2.35:1 aspect ratio to the standard IMAX ratio when showing overhead shots of the city. This created the effect of making the city in this narrative, Gotham City, much larger.

The other film that really got my attention was the second installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, titled Catching Fire. There is one scene in this movie in which the film permanently changes its aspect ratio to accommodate the subsequent rise in action. When the protagonist enters an arena in which she must begin fighting for survival, her senses are heightened, and this is represented in the audience's heightened sense of sight that comes with opening up the ratio at which the film is shot.

These two films are two striking examples of how using different shifts in aspect ratio is a very clever way to showcase visceral experiences. I want to continue exploring some of my favorite films to find other creative decisions that vastly improve the viewing experience for the audience.

Top 3 Movies

In one of my other classes, we were discussing what makes good films, and what makes our favorite films our favorites. So I have decided to post what my 3 favorite films are and what makes them my favorite.

1) To Kill a Mockingbird

This is in my opinion, is one of the greatest films ever made. I absolutely love how the story was adapted for this film. It is an incredibly well written screenplay, and still is able to capture the best and most important parts of the roughly 300 page novel in only 120 page screenplay. Also the camera seems to be able to capture the perfect moments of the actors performances. Not to mention the score of this film works so well in bringing out the emotion of the film.

2) Back To The Future Part II

I absolutely love all of the Back to the Future films, but part II has always risen just a little bit above the other two. I think the art direction and production design in this film are awesome. All of the so called "futuristic" things like clothing and cars, and technology are just crazy and funny. This may not have won any awards or anything, but its still great.

3) Monsters University

I was a kid when I first saw Monsters Inc. which was great because it was a kids movie, and now getting Monsters University when I am in college, is only part of the reason that I love this film. The color and beautiful animation alone are enough to make anyone love this film. However, even though it is targeted at children, the film actually is relatable to any college student. It blends fantasy and reality in a well written, and beautifully shot film.

The Innovative Comedian

I was never really all that into stand-up comedy until I recently discovered the hilarious Amy Schumer. She made her big debut about 4 years ago on the Comedy Central show, Last Comic Standing. Although she is a recent sensation, I first became introduced to Amy Schumer last semester when I was in Los Angeles. My good friend, Diana showed me one of her skits and I was instantly hooked.

Schumer is what I like to call a filterless comedian. She is known for her subversive feminism commentary and touches on some very sensitive subjects. Direct quote from her: “I enjoy playing the girl who time to time, says the dumbest things possible…” This may come across as an ignorant quote but Schumer’s ability to go against the grain of what’s acceptable actually works in her favor a lot of the time. Not that this is anything new for comedians, but Schumer has a very unique way of making her points that we actually tend to encounter on a daily basis. For example, one of my favorite Amy Schumer skits is titled, “I’m so bad.” This skit depicts several beautiful young women, sitting around a table enjoying lunch. It is commentary on women who deal with petty, individualistic problems when there are much bigger issues going on. Here are some examples that come up in the skit, “I was cyber-bullying my niece on Instagram the other day and I literally ate fifteen mini muffins, I’m so bad.” or, “The other morning, when that woman walked off the GW bridge, I didn’t do anything to help her, because I was chewing my calzone. I’m so bad!” As I said - Schumer is a filterless and what some would consider an offensive comedian, however her humor is definitely something unique and rings true to a lot of what we see today.

This past summer, Amy Schumer came out with her own movie titled, Trainwreck. This film definitely captures her notorious humor but also hits on a deeper level. It depicts her life as a promiscuous young women afraid of monogamy because her father told her so. The film follows her romantic life and the struggles she faces, when she starts to fall in love with a nerdy sports doctor. What I like about this film is that it is different from what I am used to. I always saw Schumer as a hilarious comedian but her ability to develop a story arc and make us feel emotions as an audience gives me a lot of respect for her as a storyteller. As a semi-new comedian, she is about as successful as she can be and I can’t wait to see what kind of innovative ideas she comes up with next.

Dudism, and the Pursuit of Dude

So last semester I was in the class "Leisure and Society", and we were assigned a group project where we needed to analyze a movie of our choice and how it related to recreation or leisure. It didn't take long for the group that I was in to choose The Big Lebowski. The movie just exudes leisure, especially through the life of the protagonist, The Dude, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. Initially we chose the movie just because they like to bowl a lot, but soon we discovered that the movie had a pretty interesting impact on the world since it's debut.

Normally when people say the worship a movie or a character in it, they are usually just joking around, but in the case of this movie, some wouldn't be lying. A religion, based on the lifestyle of The Dude, was founded and that religion is known as... Dudism. Sure at first it seems like a joke, but then you realize that some people are actually serious about this. They have books, had specials on Dateline, and offer up the chance to become an ordained Dudist priest (which is hilarious in it's own right).

Basically, Dudism is based on a modern form of Taoism, with it's main principle being to take it easy, man. A religion where everyone lounges around in a funemployed state and rolling with the punches is definitely an interesting idea, and one that more one person has gotten behind. In short, media can have impact in unusual and unexpected ways. I'm sure the Coen brothers had no idea that a religion would spawn from the movie, but such is life. In any case, Dudism was born, and I personally feel that it is a cool faith to follow or practice, but that's just, like, my opinion, man.