I recently watched a great TED Talk given by J.J. Abrams in March 2007. J.J. Abrams is one of my favorite filmmakers and story tellers. For those of you who don’t know J.J., he was the creator of the television show Lost, the writer, executive producer, and director of the new Star Trek movies, and the director of Mission Impossible III. He is currently writing, directing, and producing the new Star Wars trilogy that is set to be released in 2015. In his TED Talk, J.J. discusses topics such as the unseen mystery, character development, techniques used in storytelling, and the ever changing landscape of technology in art mediums such as film. His TED Talk gave me the idea to discuss the appeal of mystery. Why do unanswered questions appeal to us? Why do we seek answers to proposals that require a degree of interpretation?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Lost_letters.jpg

I have an unhealthy obsession with the television show Lost, and throughout the show, many questions were proposed that kept the audience thinking and debating for years to come. Along with the character development, the main appeal of the show was the mystery of why those people were on the island and what the island actually was. People were attracted to the show because they were able to debate these questions overtime as more information is slowly revealed to them. I would like to talk about why we enjoy mystery and what drives us to answer the unanswerable. In my TED talk, I will use examples from the television show Lost and other films and stories. Please let me know your opinion on this choice of topic and any ideas you may have pertaining to how I should approach this TED Talk. I am going to post a link to J.J. Abrams TED Talk if anyone is interested.

J.J. Abrams: The Mystery Box: http://www.ted.com/talks/j_j_abrams_mystery_box.html

http://www.allaboutjazz.com//media/large/d/b/9/ddc93ea64b7edd8e2579de128721b.jpg

A few nights ago I was arguing with my roommate over our different preferences of music. I’ve known my roommate for nearly eight years now, and both of our musical tastes have shifted over time. He recently developed an interest for country music which isn’t exactly my kind of music. I prefer rock based music dealing with anything from classic rock to punk pop and post-hardcore. Why do most of us prefer a specific genre of music over others? Why do most of us only listen to songs from our favorite genre or genres without giving other styles of music a real chance? Now there are many people who make an effort to explore all types of music, but almost everyone has a style of music that they feel they could never become interested in. Frankly, I hate country music, but I’m trying to give it a chance for my sanity’s sake because that’s all my roommate really ever listens to nowadays. We all seem to have a predisposition to listen to music that we’re familiar and comfortable with instead of branching out and appreciating all forms of music equally. I grew up listening to my father’s music which consists of the greatest rock artists of the 1970’s. With a basis in 70’s rock music, an interest in punk rock and post-hardcore music developed naturally over time for me. I listen to many different genre’s and styles of music, but that is the type of music that mainly defines my core interest. This week I am going to examine an artist that has done something different with a certain style of music. They have written songs that sound different from what was the mainstream style at the time by taking multiple sounds and mixing them with one main genre. Let’s take a look at the musical stylings of the seventies rock band Jethro Tull and their peculiar and extremely entertaining singer Ian Anderson.

http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/418/cover_3843152292009.jpg

Jethro Tull is a British progressive rock group that was formed in 1967. Their music is characterized by singer Ian Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre who have been with the band since the late 1960’s. Jethro Tull originally began playing experimental blues rock. Over time they incorporated classical music, folk music, jazz, hard rock and art rock into their sound to create something entirely unique.* Jethro Tull seems like a band that just walked out of the woods one day and began playing music. Ian Anderson, the singer, also plays acoustic guitar and the flute in multiple songs. On stage, Anderson hops on one leg while playing the flute in a manner that makes it sound like he’s beat boxing with it. The driving factor of Jethro Tull is their vast array of musical instruments and styles that are backed up by compelling lyrics written by Ian Anderson. Anderson has written songs about anything from bad reviews made by critics over trying something different to philosophical journeys that have many life lessons tied to them. In Jethro Tull’s album Passion Play, the first part of the album begins with the lyrics, “Do you still see me even here? The silver cord lies on the ground. ‘And so I’m dead,’ the young man said over the hill not a wish away. My friends as one all stand aligned although their taxis came too late. There was a rush along the Fulham Road. There was a hush in the Passion Play.”**

http://www.rocksinfonico.com/sites/default/files/n-7040.jpg

Jethro Tull was not extremely popular among critics at the time, but they were always loved by millions of fans. Music critics would criticize them for trying something different from the main sound of rock music. Jethro Tull would sometimes release albums with no separate songs. Instead there would be non stop music separated into two parts on the record. I’m asking all of you to put aside your specific genre preferences for a few minutes and listen to a band that tried something new and succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Altered seventies rock music may not exactly be your cup of tea, but I urge you to check them out nonetheless. I am going to post two live videos and an interview with Ian Anderson talking about why he chose to add the flute to his rock music below. By the way, Ian Anderson is the long bearded man jumping around with the flute in the live video of Locomotive Breath. Until next week, keep listening and keep rocking out.

Locomotive Breath Live:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWubhw8SoBE

Thick as a Brick Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV-ASc0qkrM

Interview with Ian Anderson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saYguOKy2SA

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jethro_Tull_(band)

**http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jethrotull/apassionplaypart1.html

Everything was calm. The dust began to settle on the blood stained wasteland. The chaos that consumed the last few hours was finally coming to an end. I sifted through the pools of blood at my feet. Every so often I would have to kick away another arm or torso in my path. My squad and I naively assumed that the worst was behind us. Then the ground opened up. Out of the hole they came. Charging at us with no regard for their own safety. I could feel the heat from their bullets as they rushed passed me. “Take Cover!” screamed one of my squad mates. I dove behind a small car abandoned on the side of the road. There wasn’t much time to think. The enemy was just a few feet away, and I was out of ammo in my shotgun that takes heads off of bodies. Suddenly it dawned on me. The chainsaw attached to my automatic weapon was still functioning. I got the engine going, and next thing I knew, blood was splattering on my face as I sliced through three of the soldiers racing towards me. Another hole in the ground opened. More enemies began to surround my position. I opened fire and watched as blood and guts flew through the air signaling my victory and the end of the game.

My account of playing “Gears of War” does not do the graphical representation of the game justice. “Gears of War” is a video game of the modern area. It was created in 2006 by Epic Games and has since spawned two sequels and a prequel. The graphics in the game were considered revolutionary at the time of its creation. Technology has allowed video games to more closely resemble realistic images, or in the case of “Gears of War,” an image of the over the top violence and gore that has only occurred during the most horrific battles in human history. Through mediums such as film, television, and video games, we are constantly exposed to violent themes and disturbing images. We escape from our everyday lives through these forms of entertainment, so essentially, we are living a pseudo-violent and often murderous lifestyle everyday. Over the course of the history of film, television, and video games, violence has become much more common, vivid and realistic. The American people call for violence in their entertainment today to a much larger extent than they did in the past. “Grand Theft Auto V,” a video game where theft, murder, and torture are all a significant part of the experience, recently set the Guinness World Record for the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours. TV shows such as “The Walking Dead,” “Dexter,” and “Criminal Minds” are among the most popular and violent on television. The level of violence that exists in media today was not always this prevalent. There was a time when television was made up of fun family sitcoms and action sequences with no blood and gore, a time when most video games only included playful violence such as jumping on mushrooms and shooting ducks using a virtual plastic gun, and a time when movies were considered controversial if they contained violence that exists in most children’s films today. Let’s see what has caused this shift to more prevalent and realistic violence by looking at the film, television and video game industries, and let’s discuss the ramifications violent content in media has on society.

Violence in film has existed in some form since 1903 when “The Great Train Robbery” was released. This silent film has a villain who points his fake gun towards the camera, causing audience members to run from theaters in absolute horror over what they have witnessed. The film “Public Enemy” in 1931 was criticized for ending in “general slaughter.” There is a total of 8 deaths in the movie which all occur off screen. Now let’s compare these two movies to today’s movies where hundreds of people sometimes die in a gruesome manner on screen. When did Hollywood decide to depict realistic violence in all of its forms? When did viewers stop running from movie theaters when a gun was pointed at the screen and start basking in the blood and murder that makes up the “Die Hard” movies? A major transition in cinema seemed to occur during the Vietnam War era. In the 1960’s there was a rebellion against the establishment by the youth and against the Vietnam War. The protest movement was raging and times were changing. With changing times came changing imagery in film. “Lawrence of Arabia” included a scene where Lawrence gets caught in blood lust during the slaughter of the turks. This movie was the most violent film made by the director to date, and it marked one of the first occasions of the changing imagery of violence on film. The Vietnam War was the first war that was covered on television. The American people got to see a little of what war was actually like and not what Hollywood made it out to be. After the war, it was difficult for Hollywood to cover up violence and make it less explicit than it actually is. Once viewers were able to witness an actual war torn area on their televisions, they weren’t going to watch a movie that made war and general violence seem clean and comfortable for the most part. Movies began to show violence for what it really is; cruel and malicious acts that are often times disturbing. Later on, movies such as “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill,” and “Apocalypse Now” used violence as its path of communication to the audience. As technology improved over time, violent acts were able to be made to look more and more realistic. As long as there is a consumer demand for violent content in films, directors will continue to incorporate their artistic vision into their films without filtering these images. Violent themes exist in nearly every movie released today because people pay to watch violent content. Hollywood responds to the viewer. If people will pay to watch violent acts take place on film, then violent movies will continue to be released.

For the rest of the paper, I am going to discuss the ties violence has in the television and video game industries. These two paragraphs are going to be structured in a similar manner to the paragraph on violence in films except they will be based on their respective form of media. I will conclude the paper by discussing how the increase of violence and graphical content in media is effecting our culture. I will primarily focus on youth exposure to extremely graphic content at a young age and how very graphic video games can effect people of a certain age. Video games are an interactive experience so they seem to connect to people more than TV shows and movies. 

Let me know if you have any suggestions for additions to my paper or an idea for restructuring the paper in some way. I am slightly concerned about the length of the paper because I’m bound to exceed five pages at this rate. 

URL’s of Sources Being Used

http://www.dove.org/news/uplink/hu0410.htm

http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309836.001.0001/acprof-9780195309836

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/symploke/v020/20.1-2.di-leo.html

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mfr/4919087.0002.102/–social-perspectives-on-violence?rgn=main;view=fulltext

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|CX3468303306&v=2.1&u=psucic&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=4db5b205211d55369d0fd45125fc10f4

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/15/entertainment/la-et-st-violence-tv-20130217

When thinking about a topic for paradigm shifts, my mind immediately went to the entertainment industry and its acceptance of controversial material today compared to only 30 years ago. One topic I am considering is the fairly recent acceptance of violence in society, specifically in the form of entertainment. For example, movies and video games both include more graphic and violent content than they did only 30 years ago. Video games like “Grand Theft Auto V” give the player free will to cause whatever mayhem he or she wishes on society without consequences. The game includes scenes of torture, prostitution, murder in cold blood, and other controversial topics. The movie “Kill Bill” includes so much violence and blood that one scene had to be made in black and white so the movie was not given an NC-17 rating. This acceptance of violence and gore is drastically different from the 1950’s where every movie was nearly the equivalent of a PG rated movie by today’s standards. It’s not that the recent inclusion of violence in the entertainment industry is a bad thing. The art involved in movies and video games is improved by being able to explore controversial topics such as these. I personally enjoy video games and movies with a lot of blood and violence as long as there is a good story attached to it. It’s interesting to see the shift over the past half decade or so on this issue though.

Another topic I am taking under consideration is the shift in musical preference by society. This topic is slightly more tricky because many different styles of music have existed for quite a long time, but there seems to have been a shift from the classic rock music of Led Zeppelin in the 1970’s to the hits of Katy Perry and Nikki Minaj today. There has not only been a shift in the interest in the style of music that is considered “popular” but also in the themes and ideas portrayed in the lyrics of songs. Let me know if you prefer one topic over the other or if you have suggestions of things to focus on dealing with one of these topics.

What do you think of when you hear bands like The Fray, One Republic, and Panic! at the Disco? How would you describe their style of music? Now let me ask you a different question. When you think of the word “emo” in terms of music, what do you think of? Most people think emo music is dark and disturbed and involves songs about suicide and cutting yourself. This misconception is often the reason for people turning away from this style of music before even listening to it. The Fray, One Republic, and Panic! at the Disco are all bands that play emo music. Don’t believe me? Google “emo bands” and look at Wikipedia’s list of emo artists. Emo is a style of rock music that is characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive lyrics. The phrase emo is actually a shortened version of the word emotional. Emo music has evolved over the years to combine with the genres of pop punk and indie rock and has spawned a complete different lyrical style and sound in music. There is a certain quality in the lyrics of emo songs that can’t be found in any other genre. Many songs delve into expressive topics and are often very confessional in their nature. With this in mind, let’s look into this weeks band. This band’s music is described as alternative rock, post-hardcore, pop punk, and yes, emo.** They formed in 1999 which technically makes them a 90’s punk band. This is Taking Back Sunday.

http://stateinthereal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/TakingBackSundayPR290311.jpg

Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Amityville, New York. They were formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes and have since released five studio albums.** Taking Back Sunday plays fast, melodic punk-rock music with meaning. Most of the music commonly heard on the radio today deals with partying and sex, and there is no real expression or message behind a lot of these popular songs. This is definitely not true in all cases, but alas, it is the sad truth for some popular artists. This doesn’t make the songs bad necessarily. They just don’t make you think as much as songs with true emotion behind them in my opinion. The meaning in Taking Back Sunday’s songs, coupled with the precision of their instrumentals, elicits feelings from their listeners and gives them an emotional and thought provoking experience. Emo music is able to do this. Taking Back Sunday’s songs deal with topics of jealousy, loneliness, struggle, and friendship. There is a line in the song “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team)” that says, “And will you tell all your friends you’ve got your gun to my head. This song was only wishful thinking. This song was only wishful thinking.” This song is about a guy who has feelings for a girl that will never love him back. He makes her something larger than life and lets his feelings for her control his entire being. There is often a raw emotional strain in the singers voice as he belts the lyrics to these songs. Taking Back Sunday makes their music enjoyable and thoughtful at the same time. They have a killer combination of a fun sound coupled with songs that have many different meanings behind them.

http://www.similarsong.com/sites/similarsong.com/files/artist/taking-back-sunday.jpg

Taking Back Sunday is currently on tour. They were in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania just yesterday, and they were the headliner for Penn State’s 2012 homecoming concert. I have heard nothing but great things about this band and their live performances. I actually just started listening to Taking Back Sunday just a few days ago and I’m hooked. They were recommended to me by so many people that I had to take the time to check them out, and I’m glad I did. Below I’m going to post the links to two of their songs like I always do each week for the band being highlighted. The first song is entitled “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team)”, and the second song is entitled “MakeDamnSure.” The music video for “Cute Without the E” has some flashes of the movie Fight Club and is probably the most interesting music video I’ve ever seen if thats any incentive to watch it. “MakeDamnSure” is an extremely popular song and you might recognize it if you listen to it. I highly recommend taking the time to check this band out. Until next week, keep listening and keep rocking out.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo

**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_Back_Sunday

Cute Without the “E” (Cut From the Team): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap0mqwvf7H0

MakeDamnSure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ldjbjwim4k

It is rare that a single album can describe nearly every aspect of a band from its sound to the messages commonly portrayed in the lyrics of its songs. Usually you need to listen to numerous albums from a specific artist in order to get a sense of their style and understand what they are trying to convey through their music. Most bands are genre specific. Some bands play country music, some play acoustic ballads, and others play head banging metal. A Day to Remember is no ordinary band. They play more than one genre of music, crossing the unspoken boundaries set by previous bands and artists that made up the music scene. Their newest album entitled “Common Courtesy” is also an album that describes the band entirely. Every aspect that makes this band great is included in “Common Courtesy.” This album is a mix of the sound and attitude developed in their previous material. Let’s take a look into what makes A Day to Remember so great by dissecting Common Courtesy to get a feel for one of the biggest names currently in music.

http://hasitleaked.com/2012/a-day-to-remember-common-courtesy/

A Day to Remember is a rock band from Ocala, Florida that was founded by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs in 2003. Their discography includes five albums, and they have toured all over the world.* A Day to Remember developed a unique music style that was completely new at the time. They are known for mixing post-hardcore, pop-punk, and acoustic music in their songs. “Common Courtesy” is essentially an album for just about anyone. If you like energizing pop-punk music then A Day to Remember is your band. If you like head banging metal music then A Day to Remember is your band. If you like a nice soft acoustic ballad then A Day to Remember is your band. The point is that A Day to Remember is a band that appeals to many different types of people, and “Common Courtesy” is an album that takes all of these great sounds and puts them together on one album. No matter what your taste in music is, you will most likely find something in this album that appeals to you. When discussing A Day to Remember’s unique sound, singer Jeremy McKinnon said, “It’s weird. See, it’s funny because we have been doing this for so long. When we started, this sh*t was not cool. Everyone told us mixing the two genres wouldn’t work. Hell, a lot of people still feel that way. We’ve just always played what we wanted to hear, and to be honest people weren’t doing it back then. We loved pop punk, we loved hardcore bands, and we couldn’t decide what to be. So we said f*ck it. Let’s do them both.”*

http://pupfresh.com/post/14244843864

A Day to Remember mixes their energetic pop-punk sound and head banging hardcore sound with lyrics that discuss issues such as violence and bullying in society, getting back on your feet, and standing up for what you believe in. In one section of the song “Violence (Enough is Enough)” off of the new album “Common Courtesy,” the lyrics say, “You can call this a warning. It’s a warning that we’re drowning in our malcontent. Tear me down like a cancer, what’s your answer? We’re different and it makes you sick.”** Singer Jeremy McKinnon uses the heavier songs on this album to vent about his problems with society. A Day to Remember really is a band for everyone and you should definitely check them out. Below I am going to post three songs that represent the different sounds of A Day to Remember. The first song is a pop-punk song entitled “Right Back At It Again,” the second is a post-hardcore song entitled “The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle,” and the third is an acoustic song entitled “You Had me at Hello.” I suggest listening to all three songs, but if you only have time for one, listen to “You Had me at Hello.” It is a dynamic acoustic song that sounds entirely different from the four chord simple love songs common in today’s music. Until next week, keep listening and keep rocking out.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Day_to_Remember

**http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/daytoremember/violenceenoughisenough.html

Right Back At It Again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBoq_FPK2T4

The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NirSkHUT57I

You had Me at Hello: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye0XhDdbFs4

We determine the effectiveness of an argument through our acceptation or rejection of the idea being portrayed by the speaker or medium. A rhetorical analysis is essentially an observation of the rhetoric being used to convince someone to think or act in a certain manner. For the Rhetorical Analysis Essay, I am debating between one of two topics. The first is the analysis of a movie trailer and its effectiveness to convince viewers to see the movie being advertised. I am currently looking at analyzing the trailer for either “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” or “Filth.” “The Hobbit” trailer creates suspense and an epic atmosphere whereas the “Filth” trailer is rebellious and extremely controversial like the movie it is depicting. I could analyze the dialog of the characters, the setting of some of the scenes, and the images being portrayed throughout the trailer in order to analyze the effectiveness of the rhetoric being used. The second option I am considering is an analysis of Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech from 2005. Steve Jobs was an exceptional speaker during his lifetime. In the speech, he talks about his life experience so others can learn from his successes and his failures. Let me know what your opinion is on either of these topics, and let me know if you think I should deviate from either of these choices in any way.

It’s in human nature to want to feel as though you belong to something bigger than yourself. Most people fill this desire by making friends and establishing themselves in a group. So how do we meet people and connect with others? You can argue that you see specific people so often that you are automatically connected to them. I believe there’s more to it than that. Something has to compel you to make someone a major part of your life. We often choose our friends based on similar interests. Sometimes we just choose interesting people to be our friends. In both cases, there is something about that person that drew us to them. So what spurs social engagement with others? Music is an appealing medium that brings people together on many levels. Music is essentially a power source for social interaction with others. We use music to describe ourselves on a level that words can’t, and we can connect with other people by playing and listening to music together. Concerts are a perfect place to interact with others in a musically enhanced environment, and One Republic is coming to the Bryce Jordan’s Center at Penn State on Thursday, October 3rd. This concert is free for students which makes it the perfect opportunity to meet new people and improve relationships with people you already know. So let’s learn a little about One Republic and their style of music.

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One Republic is an alternative rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have a varied style of music that combines aspects of rock, pop, indie and hip hop into their songs. One Republic often cites The Beatles and U2 as two major influences on their music, and they have expressed a desire to move listeners onstage in a similar manner to U2.* I was not extremely familiar with One Republic before I heard they were coming to Penn State. The only two songs by them that I had in my music library were “Stop and Stare” and “If I lose Myself.” As I explored the band, I came to realize that I knew many of their songs. One Republic is played very often on the radio, and they are a popular choice among DJ’s. The more I listened to them, the more I began to appreciate their specific style of music and the emotion behind their songs.

http://www.bubblews.com/assets/images/news/1817473389_1379082806.jpg

One Republic uses a vast array of instruments and devices to back their emotionally binding and inspiring lyrics. These instruments range anywhere from the classical guitar to synthesizer machines, violins, and prerecorded beats. Bands get into dangerous territory when they use digitally backed tracks instead of producing the music themselves on instruments. Fortunately for one Republic, they are able to mix classical music recording techniques with current day technology to bring a unique sound to the music scene. One Republic’s lyrics often involve relationships with others. In their latest hit song “Counting Stars,” One Republic delves into the topic of overcoming poverty and hardship in order to establish a better life for you and the one you love. The song “If I lose Myself” describes a relationship with someone who has never left your side and never will. A live show by One Republic is sure to be an experience that will connect the people in the Bryce Jordan’s Center to one another and to the incredible atmosphere that this band is sure to create. I have never seen One Republic live before, but I am looking forward to experiencing their music in person. Below this blog are links to the song “Counting Stars” and a live concert video from 2012. If the concert at the Bryce Jordan’s Center is anything like the concert shown in the video, then the One Republic concert at Penn State will be an experience no one should miss. Until next time, keep listening and keep rocking out.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OneRepublic

One Republic live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMemDxzetiI

Counting Stars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_nvWreIhg