I'd love to say the exam went well but...

...the exam didn't even take place!

Yes, due to strikes the culture and communication exam (along with a lot of other Sociology modules) have been cancelled.

Need to check my email every day for if they decide to reshedule.

Hidden: Whodunnit or something more?

It's now deep in exam revising days. I wasn't going to mention it because I'm sure people reading this won't want to be reminded. I apologise profusely.

Last night, as a break I went to see a film, recommended as relevant to the module: Hidden (Cache).

Hidden is the story of a wealthy Parisian family torn apart when they start receiving videotapes of their house, accompanied by crude violent drawings. Daniel Auteuil plays Georges Laurent, presenter of a successful literary talk show on TV; Juliette Binoche is hie wife, Anne, who works for a publishing house run by an old friend, Pierre. The couple have a 12 year old son, Pierrot, who competes for his school swimming team. But someone wants to upset this Idyll, forcing Georges to unearth a dark secret hidden in his past and buried in his psyche.

I'd go out and see this film now if you can! It's one of the most powerful and thought provoking films I've ever seen.

Hidden has sparked a huge amount of discussion: Who sent the tapes? What do the tapes mean? What is the significance of the final scene? But according to director Michael Haneke, although it's good to ask these questions, people are missing the point: "I'm not going to give anyone the answer. All the theories are correct, but if you come out of the film wanting to know who sent the tapes and so on, you didn't understand the film. To ask these questions is to avoid asking the real question the film raises, which is more: how do we treat our conscience and our guilt and reconcile ourselves to living with our actions?" But the film appears to have a much wider message than simply our own personal guilt, but the guilt of countries, nations and perhaps whole civilisations. There are strong references in the film to the French massacre of Algerians in the River Seine on October 17th 1961. The videos can then take on a more metaphorical form, representing dark secrets from the past we cannot avoid, with Georges representing the French nation or possibly the West.

It's deep, it's disturbing and it's completely unforgettable. Highly recommended. Be prepared though, there's a very violent scene half way through the film, which comes as a complete surprise!

Feel free to use the Culture-Communication Message Board to discuss this film in more depth.

The Internet and the Music Industry

After writing a couple of songs, I finally got the opportunity to record them (on Apple's Garage Band) and (big sigh of relief) finish my coursework! The end result is something that I am not entirely pleased with, the songs are slightly ropey and the lyrics too hurried, but at least that's not what I will be marked on. There is one glaring disadvantage with my coursework; it has no message. The only thing the demo presents, is me with a guitar and, as Lecturer Henry pointed out, it has almost become "art for arts sake".

However, my proposed target audience is better defined. The internet has greatly increased the opportunities for new and emerging bands and artists, with specific websites devoted to helping all those poor people with delusions of grandeur (including me) get signed. For attracting my target audience; the record companies, I've signed up to a website called Record of the Day. The site has helped launch the careers of bands such as Nizlopi and Keane and works by sending members songs directly to the record companies who can provide feedback and in some cases offer record deals. To attract a more ordinary internet user I considered signing up to MySpace, a site which has helped the Arctic Monkeys achieve chart success. However, the site is extremely popular and swamped with wannabe artists, making the chances of being heard extremely slim. I decided not to join.

So now its on to revision which is in actual fact, something I really enjoy.

Did you really believe me? No, I'm not exactly relishing revision but it is a necessary evil.

The lecture today was the last before the exam, so as usual, it was packed. Henry mentioned this blog a couple of times and even said that it could dipped into for a spot of revision. I would just like to finish with a disclaimer...

This blog is only intended as a guide, anything written in here is my opinion and interpretation and should not be relied on in an exam...you're whole career cannot depend on my blog, I can't cope with the pressure!

Slightly More than 15 Minutes of Fame

You'd think that a lecture on Celebrities would be passable, that picking up a copy of Heat Magazine would be more beneficial. However, much to my surprise, the lecture was actually very thought provoking and a lot more intelligent than I imagined! Future students: It's definately worth going to this lecture!

I missed last weeks lecture due to a obviously contaminated beef burger from Chicken Hut, (a place I won't be attending again). The lecture discussed the rise of the celebrity culture, reasons for it and its roots.

This weeks talk focused on the Commodification of Celebrities and was conducted by the trendiest looking professor I have ever seen: Ellis Cashmore. I found an old BBC news story on him today: Apparently he once (or still does) taught a module on David Beckham (see here).

The lecture in a paragraph: Celebrities are the ideal of ourselves, although reality TV has diluted the 'us and them' dicotomy. We tend to put Jade Goody through the 'Othering' process, similar to the way we perceive Al-Quaeda. Jordan on the other hand is the commercial alter-ego of Katie Price which is marketed to a completely different niche. A similar phenomenon can be seen in the multiple personalities and characters of Rap and Hip-Hop artists. Vertical integration of corporations means that companies can own, produce, distribute and collect the sales revenue of celebrities.

Up to a point I disagree with Ellis where he says that it is very difficult for a celebrity to become famous due to being invisible to the public eye. The graffitti artist Banksy is only known for his random artistic daubings which perhaps contributes to his mystery and ambiguity, feeding his (admittidly cultish) fame. Syd Barrett, the reclusive founder member of Pink Floyd disappeared from society in the early 70s and went back to live with his Mum. However, he does tend to get photographed in the Daily Mail from time to time.

Some interesting questions were put on the OHP at the end and will undoubtedly be similar to ones on the exam. But I will be annoying and not put any of them up here, you'll have to go to the lecture for that!

Advice for Video Making

The last lecture featured a talk from an external lecturer, Mike Neary from Warwick University. He had come in to talk about a video he and some of his students had constructed for their Sociology Courswork. The video was shown and we discussed ways and means of making our own videos at Aston.

Although the lecture was clear and useful, I feel it came a little too late. Most students have already decided on what their coursework will entail and even those who have chosen to do a video are fairly advanced in their research and ideas. Next year hopefully the talk will come earlier in the term.

However, the Sociology team at Warwick are involved in advice and conduct presentations around the country assisting students with their projects. If you want to get in touch with Mike with any questions or queries regarding the coursework, especially with regards to videos, check out his blog.

Final Coursework Decision

I've decided to go for the band demo idea for my piece of coursework. There's really not that much time left but the research is picking up. A few of my fellow band mates have started coming to me with song ideas which is useful and I've been experimenting myself.On the internet there is a wealth of information about making and sending off a good demo to a record company. My initial search has uncovered these useful sites:

Making a demo tape: here and here.

Attracting the attention of record companies: here

How to write lyrics: here

How to write music: here

This is a start...next stop world domination! (via a good mark for the coursework of course)

Vietnam

We watched a video in this lecture about the effects of journalism in the Vietnam. Some famous photographs were featured including...

The Execution (pictured) - Eddie Adams (1968). This well known image heavily influenced the American public who began to question the US support of an anti-Communist regime.

My Lai Massacre - Ronald L. Haeberle (1968). The question was raised as to whether the photographer should have stepped in and prevented the situation or whether it is a journalists duty to record and not get involved. The images of the massacre created world outrage and created an international scandal.

Napalm Girl - Nick Ut (1972). Perhaps the most famous image of the war which became a universal anti-war icon. The photo shows children running from a villiage which had just been Napalmed by the US.

Some more recent journalistic activity which had wide reaching effect come to mind. Firstly, the hilarious tabloid coverage of then Labour leader Neil Kinnock tumbling clumsily into the sea during a pleasant shoreline walk with his wife. Some say that from that moment the British public never did take the MP seriously and it is often the thing that he is most remembered for. If I find an image or article about this event I will endeavour to post it! Widely circulated newspaper The Sun also ran a damning headline during Kinnock's leadership campaign featuring the words "If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain turn out the lights." The second example I can think of involves film-maker Michael Moore. In a move to influence America and their voting habits during Bush's campaign for a second term, Moore decided on a timely release of his controvercial documentary Farenheit 9/11. Unfortunately for Moore the film failed to have an effect and Bush was re-elected by an even greater margin than when he first gained office.

Mr. Henry Miller Part 2.

I'm torn between two coursework ideas, the band demo and the promotional video. today I went to see Henry Miller (the lecturer not the deceased American writer/artist) again in a search for answers. It sounds like he has a slight Aussie twang or is it my imagination? He could be an Irishman who's lived a long time in the East End of London.

If I want to do the video, I have to find a group. I'm not crazy about that idea, as I would rather have all the creative freedom to myself. Mr. Miller suggested that he makes an announcement for me in the lecture for interested groups. However, a video would take a lot of time and effort and already there's lots of work to do. Is it worth the effort, or will I get just as good marks with the band demo? I should've asked that question.

The band demo though is a much more enjoyable prospect. A trip to Bristol, some rock and roll antics, the possibility of fame! I'm getting all misty eyed just thinking about it. There are some issues to consider: is there more than one audience? (Record companies/public), what about the CD packaging? Independant lable or big corporation? I'll have to do some research.

Dave

Danish Cartoons

The third lecture was an interesting delve into the media world with questions of censorship, control and ownership of the media.There were some interesting articles discussed including the controversial danish cartoons which have recently stirred up trouble in the Muslim world. Click here to see the cartoons.

Personally I believe the cartoons were insensitive but they highlight the gulf that there is between the Western secular view and the highly religious Middle East. Some people have said that it is important to uphold free-speech, but free-speech needs to come with responsibility. The European press needs to act with every European in mind and Muslims are very much a part of European culture. In todays Guardian I was amused to see the explaination the police gave in London for taking a light-handed approach to the protesters: "Don't worry, we're taking photographs of them."

The cartoon debate threw up interesting questions about censorship which links nicely to an article I found about the struggles reporters often have in conveying the truth. Click here. Also mentioned was the influence James Murdoch has on policymakers. Click here. The story involves shady briefcases, secret documents, high class lunches with Britain's most powerful men, it's like a plot from a James Bond Movie. Almost.

As for the coursework, I've still not come to a final decision and time is against me. I've booked another meeting with the tutor and will possibly email everyone on the course to see if they like the video idea. Personally my favourite idea is the band demo, but we'll see.

Mr. Henry Miller

At the second lecture yesterday I decided it would be a good idea to meet with the lecturer and see what he thinks of some of my ideas for the coursework. Lecturer, Henry Miller (not pictured, the picture is of a famous American writer and artist of the same name), liked some of the ideas, but others, not so much.

I was surprised at the amount of research and development that needs to be done in order to get a good mark. I thought some of my ideas were a bit strange, but apparently, there have been worse. It's encouraging to know that.So far, I have four main ideas as follows:


A promotional video for Aston University featuring sign-languageRecord some restful music to play to babies to help them get to sleep at night

Record a band demo

Create a themed blog

After consulting with the tutor, the ideas that seem to have the most potential are the video and the band demo, and ironically, not the blog, although he thought it would be a good idea to create a blog anyway.

Some Coursework Ideas

Since the first lecture, I've had a couple of ideas regarding the coursework. My favourite so far (but also probably most challenging) is an art exhibition based on Live 8. My idea was to somehow create an exhibition which represents the way the media focused on the concert and the celebrities rather than the people suffering in Africa. Yes, a vague and half-baked idea. I drew a couple of sketches to help me create a few ideas.

My other idea is to film a promotional video for Aston University, but for people with hearing difficulties. I'd have to somehow find someone who can do sign-language. It might be quite tricky, but I reckon that's the idea I'll go for at this stage.

Welcome!

Hello there, my name's David (see the rather fetching picture on the left), currently in my final year studying MAS at Aston University.I chose the culture and communication module despite not really knowing what was required or even what it was all about. After attending the first lecture I didn't regret my decision. As a whole, the module seems quite interesting, especially in comparison to some of the extremely dry business modules I am currently studying!

The coursework is worth 60% of the final mark, and involves coming up with a piece of communication individually, or as part of a group. The communication can be anything from a video to an article in a newspaper, and can be themed in any way decided by the individual. Some good examples from the year before were shown including an art exhibition on 9-11, and a video on how to learn the guitar, both of which got high marks.

To compliment my piece of coursework and to provide a website for future students who may be curious as to how much work goes into the culture and communication coursework, I have decided to set up this blog charting my progress.

Feel free to have a look around!

Dave