Scrapbook

Scrapbooking

My idea focuses on Theater, and its role in affecting my past present and future. I'm not sure if this is a fully developed concept yet, and would really love some feedback. Theater is a place where many things are learned, and critical skills can be developed. There are many things that go into a production that the audience may not see, but the production cannot be accomplished without these things. This also applies to life: There's a lot of background work that goes into creating a well functioning adult. (I digress...) Basically, Theater has shaped who I am. When I was a child, we always had season tickets to Musical Theater Southwest (It was actually a different company back then I think), and every few months we would go see plays. Oliver!, The sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Annie, Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Rent... a lot of plays. By the time I can remember going to summer classes, I was in Theater. Story Theater was the earliest, my favorite plays we did then were "The Blind Men and the Elephant", and "How the Camel Got His Hump." Then The big Musicals, like Guys and Dolls.

Later, I started doing things backstage, Like costuming, make-up, publicity, set design, and started realizing how much goes into these productions. It made me think a lot about our culture, and what goes on behind the scenes of what we see day to day. How much had to go into preparing the pre-made sandwich for lunch, or the posters advertising a club meeting? Who had to get the permission to hang those, who had to make them?

When I decided that I want to teach, something came up. Special Education students (Exceptional Learners) don't get the outlets that students get because of their special needs. How much can they benefit from a program that has them work in a theater? This concept has been budding across the nation, but there are no programs integrated into the public schools here to guide students. That's what I want to do.

So my theme, I guess, my thesis would be how theater can affect a life? What theater can do, how it can help, and what it can convey. I'm not sure if I'm not the right track, I was trying to give some background into my thoughts so that you understood where this was coming from.

Again, let me know if this is completely off base. Thanks!

Paper, Finally

Amanda Marcus
Rough Draft
DeviantART
Something that some artists have struggled for is the decommodification of their art. Many artists believe that their art is for sharing, and want others to enjoy their art despite socioeconomic status. Also, the art community has not only established artists, but aspiring artists. Aspiring artists have always wanted a way to get their art to their audience, an easy way to spread their name around. With the internet comes that opportunity, art communities on line. The largest of the on line art communities is DeviantART, or DA. This is an on line art community that lets artists put their work in a public setting where their art can reach the audience. For those artists who wish to make their artwork available to the households, the audience can buy a print of the artwork. These are generally inexpensive, and available to everyone. This community helps artists find an audience, and provides structured feedback for the artist.
Deviant art has been featured in this news article as “a youtube for artists,” and this quote from the article is a good overview for those who have never heard of the site:
“Think of it as a YouTube for artists trying to show their own work. Pieces can be viewed, commented on, even added to a user's own gallery of favorites. The range of work defies characterization, but there is a heavy dose of cartooning and fantasy art as well as some adult content, which is blocked for unregistered users.”
Despite the complaints in the comment section of this article (another discourse community, by the way), this article give the DeviantART community some interesting publicity. It also gives light to something that DeviantART has been having a problem with: Plagiarism.
DeviantART has few protections for plagiarism, besides watermarks. If you go into the website now, find a picture you like and right-click, nothing stops you from saving the picture on your private


computer. One would hope that there is some chivalry left in the world, unfortunately, people have had their artwork stolen. The most documented of these thefts is the use of a self portrait, taken when the artist was 14, used on the cover of a pornographic video. DeviantART has an art news section in which some artists report their artwork being stolen, and how their lawsuits are going. One artist describes how their work was stolen by the Lee company. In the news, this is not only happening on DeviantART, but on other sites, such as Facebook. There is an article about a family photo posted on Facebook, taken and used as a grocery store ad. This disregard for the artists rights to their work is something that the computer age has to deal with. Now we have not only the rights to music being fought for because of the internet, but personal art as well.
In the Artists Rights Society website, we can find a summary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which outlines artists rights on the internet. There is also a link to the US Copyrights Office, for full details on the DMCA. The summary is:
“On October 28, 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 was signed into law, implementing World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) copyright treaties of 1996 and updating U.S. copyright law for the information age. It is “designed to facilitate the robust development and worldwide expansion of electronic commerce, communication, research, development, and education in the digital age” (Senate Rpt 105-190), while providing for enhanced protection of copyrights in the digital environment.
Key among the topics included in the DMCA are provisions concerning the circumvention of copyright protection systems, fair use in a digital environment, and Internet service provider (ISP) liability, including details on safe harbors, damages, and "notice and takedown" practices. In general, the DMCA limits Internet service providers from copyright infringement liability for simply transmitting information over the Internet. ISP’s, however, are expected to remove material from web sites that they host which appear to constitute copyright infringement.”

This all seems to fall well within the decommodification of art, but it also takes the role that the artist played in their artwork out. As consumers, we need to realize and respect the artist in the artwork they provide, even when on the internet. Posting artwork on the internet is to give everyone fair rights as viewing and appreciating the work, not to make it public domain. Art is not Freeware. It should never be treated without proper respect for the artist.



Works Cited

News review of DeviantART
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9873228-56.html
About DA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeviantArt
Plagarism Lawsuits (Same Lawsuit, different articles)
http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2007/10/17/updates-on-the-lara-jade-case/
http://blogs.photopreneur.com/14-year-old%E2%80%99s-self-portrait-turns-up-on-porn-film
http://www.blogherald.com/2007/10/22/copyright-cases-to-watch-coton-v-tvx-films/
Wikipedia entry on DA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeviantART
Facebook Photo Article
http://www.switched.com/2009/06/16/missouri-familys-christmas-card-photo-stolen-for-czech-ad/
Deviant News
http://news.deviantart.com/article/46350/
Artists Rights Society
http://www.arsny.com/other.html
Copyrights Office Website DMCA
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf.

The delay

I'm sorry for the delay with my paper. I had an accident at work, and am having trouble with the pain meds. I will get it to you really soon, and review your papers as well.

Um.. Topic... Paper to come.

Hi guys. I realized I hadn't posted my topic/ thesis yet... I'm gonna be doing the community of DeviantART: Where art meets application. My focus will be on how the artists communicate, and the purpose of this specific online community. Thanks!

This may take a bit...

Alright. I'm not sure if these are all discourse communities, but I think they are.
NMSU
CNM
Facebook
Myspace
Livejournal
Blogger
Flickr
Deviant Art
Gaia Online
New Grounds
... I think thats all.... hehe.

I think I will be doing my paper on Flikr, or Deviantart. These 2 communities communicate though and promote art, and the sharing of art. These are very interesting discourse communities, because the common jargon is a mix of art terminology, as well as the images themselves as a way of communication. On deviantart there is also written word art, which is a whole other way of communicating things that are not always conveyed in our society. Ok. Check them out, let me know what you think?

Definitions

Discourse Community: A group of people who have a similar interests who come together to discuss or otherwise appreciate their commonality.

Commonplace: A book of things that have an individualized meaning or a specific content that is put together to keep a memory or record.

Peer Review

Writer/Amanda Marcus Reviewer/Sandra Monica

Confused
Angry
What were they selling, Britney or Pepsi?
Too long


Thesis: The advertising industry has a goal: to sell the product to the consumer.

Main supporting points: In this commercial the advertisers use sex appeal as the main component of targeting a consumer. This advertisement targets male consumers that range from pre- pubescent to mid 30's.
Some lesser aspects of appeal in the commercial are the use of the facial expressions on all the dancers as well as on the lead character. They are all smiling, and acting as though they are very happy. There is also an appeal to girls' emotions in this commercial. The girls who watch this commercial will have an "I want to be her" reaction, and subconsciously note that if they drink Pepsi, they will be like Britney Spears.

Paragraph 1 – Other (Thesis)
Paragraph 2 – Summary
Paragraph 3 - Summary
Paragraph 4 – Summary
Paragraph 5 – Argument/summary

Comment what is really successful: This commercial uses sex to sell its product. It also uses admiration, loyalty, fun, joy, and excitement. All of these invocations are essential to the advertisers enticing the consumer with their product. I liked the way she really summed it up with her last paragraph.

My Peer Review for you!

Writer: Mandy Marcus Reviewer: Amanda Morton


2.)
- Thought it had been on TV before
-skanky
-I hate Pepsi still
-looked like it should have been for the Superbowl
-Wondered why it was banned?
-It’s no worse than any other of her music videos
-Very long for a commercial
-Slightly humorous, that was a long time ago and now looking at all the stuff that has happened to her makes me laugh when I saw that rather than thinking she was “sexy” or wanting to be like her

3.)
Thesis: The advertising industry has a goal: to sell the product to the consumer

Main argument: Generally, an advertisement will appeal to the consumers' ethics, emotions, and their logic, otherwise known as their Ethos, Pathos and Logos. When appealing to these different aspects of consumer minds, the company wants the consumer to be thinking: "This product is good




Main Supporting Points: This commercial the advertisers use sex appeal as the main component of targeting a consumer. This advertisement targets male consumers that range from pre- pubescent to mid 30's.

The company also made note of what was popular in the target generation, the "new" generation, and chose a spokes model accordingly. At the end of 1999, Britney Spears debut album had sold 10 million copies.

Her sex appeal in the commercial was an interesting combination of covering herself and bondage- type clothing. In the first image, she is completely covered by a coverall, which is ripped off moments later to reveal the second image, in which she is wearing a bustier, with multiple straps holding up her tiny shorts. There is also a necklace in the second image, pointing to her cleavage.

Some lesser aspects of appeal in the commercial are the use of the facial expressions on all the dancers as well as on the lead character. They are all smiling, and acting as though they are very happy. There is also an appeal to girls' emotions in this commercial. The girls who watch this commercial will have an "I want to be her" reaction, and subconsciously note that if they drink Pepsi, they will be like Britney Spears.




4.)
Paragraph 1-Other (Introduction)
Paragraph 2- Summary
Paragraph 3- Argument
Paragraph 4-Argument
Paragraph 5-Argument
Paragraph 6-Summary
Paragraph 7-Other (Conclusion)


5.) The part of the paper that I think is very successful is the ending paragraphs; I would have never thought to look for the red, white and blue. That is such a great message and underlying tone in the commercial that I would have never even thought was there. It is so true though, that they took that theme and incorporated it with the sex appeal, as well as the idea that buying Pepsi is good for the United States and will make you a better American citizen.
The language that is used in the paper especially in the conclusion is very grabbing and written well. The words that are used make me even want to drink Pepsi if I’m going to feel like that. The paper itself is also written very well, flow and choice of words, and main points really are able to capture and display the uses of the strategies.

Here you go! Let me know if you have any questions about what I wrote.

A

Here is an in blog version of my paper.

Amanda Marcus
Draft 1

Commercial Analysis: Britney Spears Pepsi Ad
First, the link to the commercial I am analyzing. I found it on www.youtube.com, when I searched for banned commercials. I think banned commercials are very interesting because it is every advertisers fantasy: an ad that people search for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFnSrwLmd8g&feature=related
The advertising industry has a goal: to sell the product to the consumer. The ways in which they achieve this goal are varied and in some cases complex. Generally, an advertisement will appeal to the consumers' ethics, emotions, and their logic, otherwise known as their Ethos, Pathos and Logos. When appealing to these different aspects of consumer minds, the company wants the consumer to be thinking: "This product is good. This product makes me happy. This product is useful." The commercial I chose was a Pepsi brand commercial, which has Britney Spears as the lead character. This commercial the advertisers use sex appeal as the main component of targeting a consumer. This advertisement targets male consumers that range from pre- pubescent to mid 30's.
Some lesser aspects of appeal in the commercial are the use of the facial expressions on all the dancers as well as on the lead character. They are all smiling, and acting as though they are very happy. There is also an appeal to girls' emotions in this commercial. The girls who watch this commercial will have an "I want to be her" reaction, and subconsciously note that if they drink Pepsi, they will be like Britney Spears.
The company also made note of what was popular in the target generation, the "new" generation, and chose a spokes model accordingly. At the end of 1999, Britney Spears debut album had sold 10 million copies. The use of a popular Americana icon as a selling tool is an effective way to grab the attention of the youth who follow their icons like lost puppies. Not to mention, she was very sexy and already used that fact to her advantage to sell more products. Her sex appeal in the commercial was an interesting combination of covering herself and bondage- type clothing. In the first image, she is completely covered by a coverall, which is ripped off moments later to reveal the second image, in which she is wearing a bustier, with multiple straps holding up her tiny shorts. There is also a necklace in the second image, pointing to her cleavage.
Image 1 Image 2
All through the commercial we also see a color scheme that is very familiar to the United States. Pepsi attempts to capture the American spirit with its red, white, and blue color scheme. The show of patriotism is meant to make the viewer feel as though they are showing a commitment to their nation by drinking Pepsi. The use of perceived patriotism to sell a product is something that we looked at recently for class in the World War II propaganda posters. In those posters we saw a push of patriotism to support different aspects of the nation. This is a different use of patriotism, in that the commercial uses it to sell to those consumers who want to show how patriotic they are by immersing every aspect of their life in American culture.
The lyrics in the song sung during the commercial focuses on not thinking, just doing. This is a common theme in commercials, because it implies impulsiveness. The advertisers rely on these impulses being connected with purchasing their product.
This commercial uses sex to sell its product. It also uses admiration, loyalty, fun, joy, and excitement. All of these invocations are essential to the advertisers enticing the consumer with their product.









Information concerning Britney Spears Career
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/12/01/photo-timeline-the-rise-fall-and-return-of-britney-spears/
Costume worn in ad picture 2
http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/nsprojects/ns1fall2001/taste/brit.gif
Costume worn in ad picture 1
http://fliiby.com/images/_thumbs/me_shulg0dx5c1.jpg

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, Oh My!

I have looked at and created my own definition of the 3 types of persuesion in context of ad's.

I find Ethos to be The ethical and moral arguments presented to the viewer, very overt in policial and religious messages. These specific examples are because in politics the politician is appealing to his audiences background, which is sometimes that persons religious background as well. The use of morals to guide a religious argument is somewhat obious, since religion is many peoples basis for moral standards.

Pathos is defined as the appeal to emotions, or passions it invokes in the viewer. Sometimes this is referred to as "women's advertising," because it is generally more noticably geared towards a female audience, such as jewlery, and perfume commercials.

In Logos, we find the logical arguments as well as a gear towards utility. These commercials point out the usefulness, and the simplicity of a product. This is most recognizable in informercials. It also is the section where a viewer might think that they will become or embody the actions in the commercials. IE. If I buy this, I will get _________ as well.


Commercial # 1: Arranged Marriage
In this commercial, we see the propor Indian family doing a traditional arranging of a marriage. This aspect appeals to the Ethos. The Pathos in this commercial comes from the aspet of honor, since in a tradition family honor comes first in all aspects of the family. In the end we see her with options, and being enabled. This appeals to the Logos. "If she gets options with this aspect of her life, so will I," is the message that the audience is likely to subconciously internalize.

Commercial # 2: Pepsi
In this commercial, we have the ideals of working class and nationalism in the Ethos catagory. The brand Pepsi has Red, White and Blue as its logo colors, and they are not only on the label, but the main color sceme for the whole commercial. There are many appeals to the pathos, such as the sex appeal, the fact that everyone is happy and smiling. The logos is twofold. The though process for this commercial is : "If i drink Pepsi, I will get a woman, and dance better."

That what I came up with so far. Let me know if you see anything else.

Questions

Mandy,

How did you get your page so pretty? I can't figure out what to click(weird question). Just wanted to ask


Amanda

Potential Commercials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5HLsvwLPpQ&feature=related
This one has many interesting elements that I can analyze, such as the role reversal of cultural roles. I can also discuss where this commercial would have played. What do you guys think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFnSrwLmd8g&feature=related
This one relates closer to home. I think people will relate to this one better.

WW2 Posters

Hi everyone. Here is the link for my poster.
https://salsa.nmsu.edu/SCRIPT/jalmjeld02_SU/scripts/serve_home
I chose the " When you ride alone..." poster, because it is one of the images that I really love from WW2. The artist used some strong words in their poster, invoking a sense of fear in the reader. The use of fear is a common element used on both the Allies and the Axis sides. While the Nazis used very overt forms of fear tactics, the United States was more covert about their propaganda techniques. This one uses the sketch of Hitler, which is an interesting visual element because it is so contrary to the color scheme of the rest of the poster.

First Post!

Hi everyone. This blog should be interesting, as I have never done a multi- author blog before! Hope I did everything right and you guys can find it.