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Co-Authored with Alex Diehl

1. Movie: Scream
   1. Clip: School’s Out Scene [Principle is killed]
2. Notable Sounds:
   1. Draws on stereotypical “suspense-building” music four times
   2. Each time it is designed to hint that the principal is about to die.
      Then, this music is promptly cut off when it is revealed that the principal is not being killed
      This “fake out” happens four times (:15, :30, 1:15, 1:45)
   3. At the end of the scene, when the murder does occur, there is an unusually high-pitched note. (1:46) This note cuts off the fourth suspenseful sound as it is building to its crescendo
      This note, in addition to breaking the patterned suspense building the viewer has come to expect, also creates a screaming sound that comes before the principal reacts to seeing Ghostface.
      1. This creates a more immediate reaction in the viewer that exceeds the reaction of the principal [who can not be heard as easily]
      2. Overall, this sound choice illustrates that the viewer’s reaction is more important than the actual character’s death

1. Notable Space: 9 sec, 
   1.  Wide-angle shots accompanied by ominous music give the viewer a sense of something that could attack from any direction. 
      1. This is further emphasized by how dwarfed the principal’s large movements are within the wide shot

2. Zoom in on a door (8), accompanied by faint high-note violin, again gives a sense of imminent danger. 

3. As the principal enters a new room (40), church bells crescendo and decrescendo. 
4. Works Cited:
1. Clip and Images: movieclips. “Scream (1996) – School’s out Scene (6/12) | Movieclips.” YouTube, YouTube, 1 Oct. 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe_BzGXRDzo&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqoYueYBstS0-RZnL1WLJHWR&index=7.

Reflection: Sound Investigation

The sound file linked with this post is a small sample taken from a 13-minute-long video. Specifically, the video records my family [father, mother, and brother] and me playing a game of trivia pursuit. While family game night is not particularly uncommon, this specific clip comes from a winter vacation in a cabin in the woods. Between my parents and myself, someone in my family is usually working. This makes authentic vacations with complete relaxation a rare occurrence. However, this cabin did not have Wi-Fi or a strong cell single. Subsequently, no one in the family could actually work during the break. This unique situation made that particular break extremely relaxing, and playing board games with my family during the break remains one of my fondest memories. Thereby, when challenged to find a sound that created an emotional reaction, my mind immediately went to this.

Regarding how one could reuse this sound, I believe the audio would work well in a movie. The sound, if slightly muffled, portrays a sense of familiar fun and joy. It is, as a result of the source material, the sound of loved ones having fun and enjoying time together. Consequently, in film, overlaying the audio with a scene could help emphasize these thematic ideas. This trend is seen in many action films where the hero overcomes their final challenge while having flashbacks of the people they are fighting for. In such a scene, this audio clip could be overlapped with the flashbacks to emphasize the emotional connection with the people shown. Furthermore, in a different sense, this clip could also be played over a tragedy. This use would highlight the tragedy by emphasizing what was lost or destroyed. Hollsitically, in any film, I believe this audio clip could be used to connect with the audience’s memories of their family. This will enable the scene to have a stronger impact on those who view it.

Works Cited:

“Everything You Need to Know about Flashbacks.” ScreenCraft, 22 Sept. 2021, https://screencraft.org/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-flashbacks/.

2: Readings Response: Sneakers Have Always Been Political

A journalist for The Atlantic, Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell is a fashion historian who has written various articles and books on fashion (Chrisman-Campbell, About page). In one article, “Sneakers Have Always Been Political Shoes,” Chrisman-Campbell discusses the history of sneakers. This discussion specifically focuses on how the sneaker’s development mirrored societal changes. Initially, sneakers were developed in the 19th century for sports and activities. These shoes, however, were quickly given a negative association with crime. Following the industrial revolution, these shoes became much more accessible and affordable. This resulted in continued importance and normalcy in the shoes. In fact, in addition to being sponsored by various celebrities, sneakers were exempt from the World War II plastic rations. Hollsitically, as sneakers became more popular, they also began to carry more political weight. Celebrities were purposefully wearing [or not wearing] and designing sneakers to spread a specific message. Over time, this use of sneakers as a political billboard became more common and more explicit. This led to the prices and collectability of sneakers to increase as well. In fact, at some point, it became more important to buy a shoe not for use but for its celebrity designer or political message. Subsequently, in modern times, sneakers have developed a two-sided meaning of cheap and practical or expensive and collectible. Within this historical and cultural development, Chrisman-Campbell discusses two interesting perspectives on sneakers in culture. 

Firstly, she discusses how the changing racial democratic of sneakers illustrated simultaneous changes in racial sub-cultures. For example, when sneakers gained popularity in hip-hop and street basketball, they also gained popularity in white communities. Particularly the white communities that were beginning to adopt hip-hop and basketball as cultural staples. This starkly contrasted with the “kids of color who grew up in a depressed economic era” that had previously been the target focus of sneakers (Sneakers, 10). This example illustrates how the adoption of sneakers into sub-cultures served as a kind of beacon. Sneakers adopted connotations with various cultural phenomena, and, as a result, when sneakers shifted sub-cultures, so did the phenomenon associated.

Secondly, Chrisman-Campbell also emphasizes the increased popularity of sneakers led to more political connotations. In fact, during the 1980s, the newfound popularity of sneakers across all political parties led to renewed discussions about sneakers’ association with crime. Namely, while various influential people were contrasting this narrative, the “rise in sneakers’ price and social cachet led to a wave of sneaker theft” (Sneakers, 14). These contrasting occurrences created a cultural debate about what fair connotations were and what biases might contribute to these connotations.

Collectively, both of the examples provided in the article highlight how sneakers evolved beyond a simple fashion item. This raises questions about how other fashions of items have developed. One could go through numerous fashion items and see how their cultural connotations shifted over time. As an example of this, the bucket hat has recently become very popular in mainstream white America. This adoption followed the popularity of the bucket hat in Asian-American cultures, especially in K-pop groups. However, much like sneakers, the bucket hat can be traced even further to the 1990s. In its entirety, the history of sneakers serves as a single example of how fashion changes reflect cultural shifts.

Word Count: 530

Works Cited

Chrisman-Campbell, Kimberly. “Kimberly Chrisman.” Campbell, KIMBERLY CHRISMAN-CAMPBELL, https://kimberlychrismancampbell.com/about. 

Chrisman-Campbell, Kimberly. “Sneakers Have Always Been Political Shoes.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 15 July 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/sneakers-have-always-been-political-shoes/511628/.

Miranda, Alex, and Kaylin Cantor. “Devious Elements Apparel Brings Back Popular 1990s and 2000s Accessory: Bucket Hats.” WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale, WSVN-TVSunbeam Television Corp, 15 Sept. 2022, https://wsvn.com/entertainment/deco-drive/devious-elements-apparel-brings-back-popular-1990s-and-2000s-accessory-bucket-hats/.

1: Reading Response: The Vocabulary of Comics

Either comic’s leading theories “or a deranged lunatic,” Scott McCloud is an expert in modern-day comics (About, 8). From creating his own works to providing the public with an academic perspective on comics, McCloud is one of the world’s foremost speakers on how and why comics are perceived the way they are. This expertise is illustrated in McCloud’s nonfiction comic book “Understanding Comics,” where the various tools and subtitles of comics are explained through a comic. The second chapter of this book, “The Vocabulary of Comics,” focuses on how images and words interplay and affect the reader. In this discussion, McCloud focuses on the idea that the level of detail in comics changes how a reader relates to the story.

Initially, he analyzes how the art styles of comics and the varying degrees of simplification influence the reader’s perception. This discussion focuses on how a reader can recognize an object despite its lack of realistic detail. For example, this image of a face drawn in multiple styles is referenced repeatedly (Vocabulary, 29). McCloud utilizes it to visually explain how a person can identify a familiar object, the face, regardless of realistic detail. Namely, this phenomenon results from how people attempt to relate to what they read and see. A person, when interacting with a story, will initially attempt to put themselves into the story. Specifically, they will work to understand the characters by seeing themselves as the character. This means that an audience will actively be working to see themselves and their world within the story. Consequently, the images used to tell a story can be extremely simple and still relate to the reader.

Furthermore, since the audience will naturally relate to the story, any details that add grounding to the story will be noted. In this way, as McCloud discusses, adding realism to a comic’s art can take away from a reader’s engagement. As details increase, the story becomes more of a reflection of the writer’s reality. Unfortunately, this reality can be very different from the audience. These differences then keep the reader from fully being able to apply their world to the story and relate it to themselves. As McCloud words it, the reader becomes too aware of the art that is transmitting information to fully understand the information (Vocabulary, 37).

McCloud’s discussion of how details in images affect the reader’s perception raises numerous questions about how and why people latch on to the images that they do. For example, comic book readers tend to have their own favorite styles of art. These styles all provide a different level of detail, and why a certain person favors a style may say a lot. Particularly, the level of detail they favor could be seen as a reflection of how much their life matches that of the creators. Additionally, beyond comics, the art and images that people prefer serve as a similar reflection of how much they have in common with the author. To illustrate this, two of my favorite works of art are “Landscape With The Fall of Icarus” by Piter Brugel and “School of Athens” by Raphael. Both of these works use the motifs and familiarity of Ancient Greece and Rome to emphasize their primary ideas. Brule directly references the mythological story of Icarus to portray his commentary on people’s irrelevant to one another; similarly, Raphael uses Roman-inspired architecture and clothing to emphasize the greatness of those he is portraying. My favoritism for these pieces speaks a great deal to the culture I grew up around. In my childhood, the myths, greatness, and power of Ancient Greece and Rome were common trends. I grew up learning that these cultures were the foundation of great, timeless art and knowledge. Without this background, I would not be able to relate to the stories these paintings tell. Hollsitically, McCloud’s discussion of how detail influences perception extends beyond the images of a comic panel to every interaction one has with the visual world.

Word Count: 655

Works Cited

“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.” British Library, British Library, https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/landscape-with-the-fall-of-icarus.

McCloud, Scott. “About.” Good Morning, Comics, https://www.scottmccloud.com/5-about/index.html.

McCloud, Scott. “The Vocabulary of Comics.” Understanding Comics, William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, NY, 1993, pp. 24–59. 

School of Athens, MVSEI VATICANI, https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/stanze-di-raffaello/stanza-della-segnatura/scuola-di-atene.html.

Co-Authored With: Alex Deihl

3: Reading Response: Facilitator Assignment

During World War II, the United States Government [U.S.] was fighting two battles. Physically, the U.S. was in Europe fighting to stop the Axis powers. However, the repercussions of this war had a profound impact on domestic life in the states. This introduced the second battle in which the U.S. had to continually remind and encourage citizens to support the war. To achieve this goal, the U.S. introduced multiple propaganda poster campaigns emphasizing key points about why the war was important and what civilians could do to help.

The Powers of Persuasion exhibit is a small collection of some of these posters. In this collection, there are four primary goals repeated over and over again. These goals are women in the workforce, racial unity, conserving resources, and supporting our presence overseas. The last goal is more abstract and generally refers to ensuring that the American public supports the United States being in the war. The other three goals each represent solutions to specific problems the war created.

While all the posters share the goal of motivating the viewer into a specific action, the methods each used to create this motivation varied greatly. There were some posters that used bright colors, smiles, and images of patriotic pride to inspire the viewer. Other posters used darker colors and threatening images to create a fear that sparked action. One such example of this can be seen in how women are depicted in the photos. To “quote” the exhibit, the image of a woman was used in two ways. Firstly, smiling, happy women represented how women joining the workforce was a fantastic way to overcome labor shortages. Posters like “Rosie The Riveter” and “Keep Those Fingers Flying” inspired women to join the workforce without fear of losing their feminity. Contrastingly, women were also used as a target of threats. In “Keep These Hands Off” and “Wanted For Murder”, women are shown in danger of being attacked by Axis powers. Subsequently, these images motivated viewers to join the war effort out of fear of what would happen to the women.

Furthermore, another goal that was depicted through threatening posters was conserving resources. This refers to the ideology that civilians were responsible for saving dwindling resources so that the armed forces could use them. To achieve these goals, propaganda posters would weaponize guilt. Namely, they associated using more resources than necessary with aiding Hitler and negating the sacrifice of American troops. In fact, one poster goes so far as to state that not carpooling is like riding with Hitler. Contrastingly, the goal of racial unity was promoted through positive, inspirational means. The period of World War II was seen as a chance to get “victory over fascism abroad and over racism at home” (Powers, 3). As a result, the U.S. created a campaign of posters that highlighted the success of African Americans and depicted a racially unified workforce. These posters used bright colors and patriotic images like people working under the American flag to support the idea of racial unity and tie it with supporting the war effort.

Lastly, the Four Freedoms poster illustrates how fear and inspiration could be utilized together. Based on the speech by President Roosevelt, this series of posters referenced the Four Freedoms that were vital to American society and the duty of all Americans to protect (Congress Address, 75 – 79). The freedoms of speech, religion, from want, and from need were each given their own poster and painting. Each poster was extremely inspirational and painted a somber image of these freedoms’ importance. However, the phrase “Ours to fight for” creates an underlying threat of what the world would be like if these freedoms were lost.

While viewing these posters, there are two questions that come to mind. The first is “how effective would these posters be today?” and the second is “how do modern-day infographics compare to these posters?”. In response to the first question, these posters would probably not be as effective or well-received today. This is due to the fact that the mindset and beliefs that these posters are based on are now considerably out of date. For example, the idea that a woman needs other people to protect her spans from a mindset that has since become increasingly countered. However, regarding the second question, the art style behind these posters would likely draw significant attention. This mainly reflects how unique and uncommon the poster design would be now. Unfortunately, this same unique style means the posters themselves are less informative than infographics. This would create a limit to how much information each poster passed on.

Word Count: 766

Works Cited

“Powers of Persuasion.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers-of-persuasion.

 “President Franklin Roosevelt’s Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress (1941).” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-franklin-roosevelts-annual-message-to-congress.