Flash fiction

I believe Slash fiction is a particular web site in which gay men can blog and explore their fantasies through FICTIONAL characters. Slash fiction allows readers to take part in the insight of genuine narrative; a look into a world that may or may not be our own. As observed in previous readings, the development of technology has allowed consumers of larger medias to recreate, alter or invent and then publish personal literature, film, etc.

Quentin Tarintino's Star Wars?

The internet, in addition other technological medias, have enabled audiences to give feedback upon cinema. I agree that pop culture has become more democratized because of these technological outlets. "Hooks, books & looks" are monitored and altered by the audience, while film-makers aim to satisfy these requests. Free form creation in cinema only reached a particular audience. When the director posses almost all the power in the content, disregarding consumer's ideals, it is no longer a democracy of material- indicated by the amount of people who response to the film in a positive light. Ideas are often evoked by film, but today we have the vices to make our ideas into a visual expression using technology.

Architecture after couture

Kazys Varnelis' belief is that architecture is on the brink of demise due to the, somewhat recent, lack of creative structure. Varnelis focuses on the 17th & 18th centuries in which both couture, custom made goods (fashion), and architecture were correlated together in the sense that they displayed wealth factors and aristocracy. I believe the disunity of couture and architecture began after the second world war. Much of Europe was destroyed by battle and conquest and did not have the proper funds to rebuild buildings of high design. For instance, London possesses a much more industrial vibe with the occasional landmarks, that brighten and color the city... rebuilding as soon as possible, and as cheap as possible, was the goal of the time. The beautiful architecture of Europe is simply the remaining structures that bombs did not explode.
However, the reconstruction of Europe after WWII cannot conclude the division of architecture and couture. While fashion is continuiously evolving, the structure or ARCHITECTURE of buildings has remained rather primative. What needs to occur, is a demand. Today, couture is much more accessible. In 17th century France, the elegance and grace of buildings were to imply the wealth and status of the people inside; extravagence was meant to amuse those who could obtain or live in such structures. Now that couture has been popularized, the need to unify both fancy architecture and fashion has dissipated.

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Laura Mulvey's piece about the relationship between the audience and film identified familiar thoughts (while watching a film) as well as an explanation of the allure towards cinema. It is incredible how the dimmed, almost completely dark lights in a movie theatre allow us to zone in on the movie; we become so engrossed in the film when we can relate the characters to our people, and the stories to our own memories. While Mulvey does identify the audience's interest to voyage into the depth of the lens, she almost contradicts herself; Mulvey states how we must diffuse our scopophilia(s)? by understanding them and then finding other ways to enjoy eroticism- versus the third party/uninteracted perspective; however, much of the essay goes into to detail as to why we enjoy film they way we do. Also the cinematography of a given movie grants a particular point of view, from a character or angle, that adds to the dynamic of this voyeuristic glamour.
I found bits of this essay to be very parallel to the content in Chapter 2 of Ways of Seeing. The conclusions and explanations as to why women possess certain qualities, while men normally contrast them in art. The description of the various tones, in both photography and film, are easily transcended into real life circumstances. I enjoy reading these exerpts, which detail thoughts that occassionally surface or swim in my mind.....

Interpreting a Javanese art form

Ward Keeler's introduction to Javanese Shadow Plays, seemed scattered and unsuccient. The first six pages seemed to drift back and forth from the visualizations of the play, and the backstory behind each character. Despite the lack of specific focus, I could visualize the plays with each proceeding sentence. I got a sense of how elobrate and massive the production is with all characters involved in music and dance, while retracting back to a storyline with a moral and purpose. Wayang seems to parallel musicals here in the United States and Europe; the act of entertainment and storytelling are both components found in Javanese plays and Western musicals. As described in Keeler's passage, it is important to remain remotely impartial to the analyzation of the shadow plays. Natives analyists become distracted by their own viceral, nationalistic ties to the art form, while Westerners lack a certain appreciation and understanding of the culture.
What differentiates our national art forms from the Javanese shadow plays is the velocity of modernization. Living in a western world, I understand how contemperary almost everything is--clothes, music, styles, etc. It is refreshing to read a detailed passage of a world that maintains some tradition in their native distinctions. Many of my reactions to this reading were evoked by the similarities between a recent time and old tradition. Having lived in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, I saw the contrast and dynamic of the traditional dance taking place in the streets lined with Hummers, Mercedes' and terracotta roofed homes. Similar to Keeler, it is essential to live in a given place in order to adopt the most appropriate and proper opinions upon culture. That is why his scrabbled introduction, and commentary throughout seem factual, accurate and definitive to introducing this art form into my brain of knowledge.