Understanding A Parasocial Relationship Between Fans and Celebrities

 During my free time, I normally do not follow news updates on celebrities’ activities, such as Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and Miley Cyrus. This is because they do not suite my needs as a person, and I really do not care about their everyday routines. I do not follow an artist just because everyone likes one particular artist. I only follow a artist based on his or her quality of the art, not just for the artist’s physical looks. The only times that I look up information and videos about those celebrities is the controversial aspects of them. For example, If you look up any videos of Justin Bieber going to a public place, you will usually see many his screaming fans that wants to get close to him.

I wanted to bring this up because I would like to briefly talk about the parasocial relationship between celebrities and their fans. One may ask, “What is a Parasocial relationship?” According to my Com 280 textbook, “A First Look at Communication Theory,” the textbook defines parasocial relationships as a make believe bondage, between a fan and pop culture icon (Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks 359). One example of a parasocial relationship is a fan that is into Christian Bale, and has imaginary beliefs that he or she will be loved by Bale. So why is the phenomenon of fans developing parasocial relationship with celebrities becoming more noticable? According to Pacific Standard’s article “Your Imaginary Relationship With a Celebrity,” written by Alana Massey, the reason that parasocial relationships of fans and celebrities are increasing in society because social media networks made it simpler for fans to interact with celebrities, and monitor the celebrities’ public activities. This can cause any fan online to make a request to the celebrity, to do something for the fan (Massey).  In my opinion on these parasocial relationships is that I think it is okay to talk to celebrities on social media sites, as long as the fans are making respectful comments and not send unexpected messages. I think it is also okay for someone to imagine meeting a celebrity, and that is normal. The important thing for fans of any Hollywood celebrity is understand that they are regular people, and they have other lives outside of their careers.

Emotionally Attached

When watching a movie have you every felt like you've gained a connection with a particular character or characters? when your character gets into an altercation, or goes through a break-up, or even dies do you develop a sense of emotional connection? Just like you many who watch films encounters the same emotional pattern that develops between the movie watcher and the character. But why? According to Howard Skylar a doctoral researcher of the University of Helsinki, states in the article The psychology of character Bonding by Rachel Norman state that we develop these feeling through empathy and sympathy. Skylar states that humans tend to connect to a character due to a similarity of a situation. Whatever is going on with the character, the viewer may be able to relate to what they're going through rather it being a loss in the family or a simple job promotion. The viewer forms a sense of empathy for the character when identifying the character's backstory, or their story displayed throughout the film or show. This opens the viewers need to sympathize for the character. For example, above is a clip from part one of the trilogy of Hunger Games (Spoiler alert if you've never seen this movie). In the scene displayed the young lively character Rue dies from a dart to the chest. This would be considered as one of the movie's high points that received a lot of reaction from the crowd. Many viewers became attached to Rue which made her death very emotional. Many even cried at the death of Rue (Okay, I confess), and some even upset. In the rebel of district 11, many moviegoers cheered in excitement as if they were actually there to witness it for themselves. Prior to that particular scene, Rue's character is developed through the back story of her life, where she was raised, her life history etc. This opens a sensitive boundary that allows the viewer to find out more of the characters personal background in which one may relate that character to someone who has similar characteristics or has a relatable situation. When there is a life-threatening situation the viewer may place another person that may substitute the character for a real person, or in other instances see that character as real and not fictional.

According to the article The Psychology of Fandom: Why We Get Attached to fictional Characters by Abby Norman, Norman continues Skylar's theory adding the idea of things that are fictional may be perceived as reality. Though we can not feel, or interact with the character there is a sense of connection viewers build that gives them the idea that the character is real. This idea gives homage to the actor in which they precisely portray a character so well that their actual identity is lost and sometimes become permanently referred to as that character rather than who they actually are. Let's take the Twilight Saga as an example. Many watchers not only gravitated to the series but gravitated to these three phenomenal characters.Kristen Stewart, also known as Bella Swan will always be known for her role on the Twilight Saga even though her acting career was well established prior to the famous Saga and is still thriving. However, her role as Bella will always be a part of her identity which will make it hard for her to break away from due to the connection fans have with that character. 

According to Ann Burnett and Rhea Beto, one may identify this as Parasocial Relationship theory. Parasocial Relationship is a theory that indicates a viewers development of a relationship between themselves and a character, tv host, etc. These relationships often develop individually and not within a set group of people. There is a sense of connection that a viewer may develop making the character seem real or close to them as if the character is a friend or companion. This has a large impact on a production. It is stated that a viewers idea may contribute to how producers may construct a characters script withing a series or sequel. Viewers become so emotionally attach that if a viewer is not pleased with a scene or a character's plot twist producers may switch, or re-create and revive a character for the popularity of the viewers. A viewers emotional attachment can not only have a pivotal impact on that person but also on the production or the characters longevity within a series or sequel. In today's age, most shows, movies, etc thrive off of viewers emotional connection with a character. If there is no connection to viewers one can be killed off a show or written a smaller role to the sake of the production. To be emotionally attached to a character can be a good and bad thing and largely impacts not only you but the production itself. 

References

Burnett, Ann, and Rhea Reinhardt Beto. "Ann Burnett and Rhea Rheinhardt Beto." Ann Burnett and Rhea Rheinhardt Beto. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

Nuwer, Rachel. Where to Watch. N.p., 13 July 2034. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

Norman, Abby. "The Psychology of Fandom: Why We Get Attached to Fictional Characters." The Mary Sue The Psychology of Fandom Why We Get Attached to Fictional Characters Comments. N.p., 19 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

               Our Obsession with the Apocalypse

It is no brainier to simply understand that from time immemorial our undeniably obsession and apprehension about the concept of apocalypse have left us quite gullible.

Whether it’s bad news about the world coming to an imminent and a catastrophic end or watching the dozens of Hollywood movies depicting survivalists beating all odds on the silver screen over the decades, all have assisted in festering our obsession with the apocalypse.

As an apocalypse nerd, I thinks finding the reason for our doomsday obsession and why it does exist is actually relevant. According to listverse.com, there are ten reasons responsible for humans' obsession with apocalyptic events. But for our argument here I've decided to select these four amongst the lot: An inflated sense of self importance, provides a sense of meaning, it gives a sense of power and it's predicts the end, especially in the Christian Bible.

 Because of our self inflated sense of self importance, we go around with the notion that the world revolves around us and everything should be about us. We think that power to control circumstances beyond our imagination can be manipulated by our intellect and according to our desires.

Understanding the nature of the universe; which consists of order and chaos, we try to provide a sense of meaning in the midst of everything. power being a basic human need, it becomes evident that our obsession with apocalyptic events is all about controlling others and the world around us. And because apocalypse is predicated- Christian eschatology (religious theory about the end of the world), adherents of the faith look forward to its fulfilment.

Over the years, the Hollywood film industry have tried endlessly to satisfy that insatiable taste of the American viewer with diverse apocalyptic movies. Over the years, movies scripts have been written and acted upon that left us some sense of recognizable elements of our universe society remains: after series of catastrophic events --in order to allow us identify with. The urge to glance at the remain of our destroyed city or town. Sometime, characters in the moves make us identify with them as the engage themselves in the use of our technologies.
I Am Legend: seeing actor Will Smith as Robert Neville driving through a deserted Manhattan streets haunting a deer makes the scene more related to the viewer. Whether we sit down to really watch dooms day movies like Armageddon, Independence Day, or the Fifth element, there is always that awareness that at the end humanity will emerge victorious (P.328).

References

http://listverse.com/2013/01/02/top-10-reasons-humans-are-obsessed-with-the-apocalypse/

Is it really love?

I actively say that I love Jennifer Lawrence. I love the way that she's unapologetically herself in interviews and on the red carpet, I love that she's weird and silly in a totally unprecedented way, and I love that she's not afraid to call Hollywood out for it's B.S. I make sure to see all of her movies, watch all of her interviews, and buy all of the magazines that she's graced the cover of (and sometimes I have dreams that we're best friends- more often than I'd like to admit). But is this really love? 

Laken (2009) describes a parasocial interaction like the one discussed above as when the audience response is more than just observing; they participate and interact with the actor or character on screen. The relationship itself is "one-sided, nondialectical, controlled by the performer, and not susceptible of mutual development" (p. 6). Furthermore, audience members share the media figure's life as though the performer is someone in their own life (p. 7). This can be seen in instances such as when Princess Diana died, and fans took to her tribute website to write through their grief. 

One person went so far as to assume that the two shared the same life milestones, saying, "Once we reached our early 30s we had developed our personalities and begun to gain independence. Our husbands forgot how to nurture us and give us the love and friendship that we both wanted so desperately" (Arnot, 2001). 

This parasocial interaction is encouraged by articles like Buzzfeed's quiz Which Celeb Should Be Your BFF Based on Your Zodiac Sign? or 7 Reasons Why Jennifer Lawrence Would Be An Amazing Best Friend. We're reminded that these celebrities are "real people, just like you and me!", and we believe it. We follow their careers, declare our love for them, and then we cry because we just can't handle all of the emotions. Take Cody and her love for Justin Bieber for example:

Despite the tears and the comical air to this video, the fact is that many of us engage in parasocial relationships. The question that remains is how far is too far?

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Animation Nation

         The movies of today have been defined by an era of animation and special effects, the time for on site filming has been usurped by this great cinematic innovation.

         From Avatar, Hunger games, Avengers, Godzilla, to the Hobbit, Star wars, and even the Wolf of Wall Street, films in the 21st century are using CGI (Computer Generated Imagery)  and special effects incessantly instead of the classic stunt man and on site shooting tactics. Nearly every movie you watch today uses some form of digital effects. Especially with todays craze of science fiction and post apocalyptic films, special effects such as CGI green and blue screen are used more and more and are becoming more prevalent in big budget block buster films.

         To put it into perspective, in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, over 75 percent of the scenes are shot using CGI and Green Screen, and that number only gets higher in the prequel trilogy, The Hobbit. Out of the entire LOTR trilogy, there are 3240 digital visual effects shots used. (Weta Digital (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2004.) The Lord of The Rings series (including the Hobbit) is comparable to the timeless series classic Star Wars. 

        Director George Lucas was the father of special effects because of his renowned series. When the first movie came out, A New Hope, "Movie goers were awed by Star Wars's opening sequence, as the large space ship appeared to hover over the head of the audience and converge into the middle distance." CGI was a brand new system in the 70's and it was expensive. Lucas actually only used 90 seconds of CGI footage in his first film, his prominence as a special effects master came from the animatronics, puppetry, "matte paintings," mass amounts of miniatures, and other effects techniques. It is important to know this because when hearing the word special effects, most people thing CGI and green screen, but many times it means hours and hours of creative analog genius. Referring back to LOTR, the miniatures team in the Two Towers film, worked the most out of any special effects crew logging a grand total of one thousand days. Yet Star wars was still one of the first to use such a technology as CGI and it would make way for major films such as Jurassic Park, Men in Black, and so on. 

       As we venture deeper into this cinematic wonderland, some people fear that we are loosing the classical art of aesthetic film to digital blockbusters. Yes the Return of the King, a digital masterpiece, won 11 Academy awards (IMDB), but the prevalence of poorly shot digital films is very real. The great movies that win awards such as Avatar, LOTR, or Titanic are high budget and use the best special effects companies. It is the films on the sci-fi channel that give special effects and CGI a bad name. Even some of the major movie theater quality films have been criticized for their special effects; Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, The Mummy Returns, the Green Lantern, and R.I.P.D to name a few. 

       The use of animation and special effects in todays world of cinematography is very prevalent and will only increase with time. Will we forget about how to make great movies such as The Notebook or Casablanca without the use of special effects, or will we hold sacred the values of analog film and film making. Personally i enjoy animation when done right and i think that it can add a whole new realm to film. But the reality that special effects have the power to ruin film is much to great. 

Pretty Little Liars will invade your heart, and then your twitter feed.

If you have had to scroll through endless tweets, Facebook posts, and other online conversations based on the latest Pretty Little Liars episode, you are absolutely not alone. Perhaps, you have even been apart of these conversations. One can simply hate and scroll through their feeds each premiere night, or join the fandom to see what everyone is crying and screaming about (literally).

Pretty Little Liars is a television series on ABC Family which follows five high school girls as they try to entangle the mystery of "A," a figure who texts them and sends them messages, threatening the disclosure of their secrets. The series has been classified as a teen drama, thriller, and mystery, and is currently in the middle of their sixth season. Pretty Little Liars has conquered something that all other series and networks can learn from; it has been the number one most-tweeted cable television series from 2012 to the present.

The main audience of the series is teenage girls, those who already spend much of their time on the internet and smart phones. Pretty Little Liars used this to their advantage to market their show even further, and ultimately sky-rocketing their success.

One way in which they have done this is through creating online communities. For example, the Pretty Little Liars Facebook page is consistently thriving in the growth of "likes." There are fan-made Twitter accounts, fan-bases on Tumblr, and a community for PLL fans on just about every social media platform. The communities have grown by the series using exclusive content on Facebook and other websites. One could "Like to Unlock" a preview of the next episode. Also, specifically targeted for Twitter, the episodes will show a hashtag during a dramatic scene, so those who are tweeting can track conversations, opinions, or reactions on the scene of reference. This has been substantial for twitter activity, since it makes viewers feel included during the premieres of each episode and like their thoughts important to the series. Everyone wants to be on top of things and "in the know," and the hashtags have helped viewers experience that.

Another way in which Pretty Little Liars has engaged their media-consumed fan-base is by filling the gaps in between seasons. Often, fan-bases die down when there are multiple months until the next season premiere. However, PLL has worked to fill the gaps with interviews or mini-series' that release new information about the show and its characters.

Lastly, a substantial technique used by Pretty Little Liars to capture the hearts of fans is by letting them engage with the actors and actresses of the show. The actors will create hashtags on their twitter accounts to give the fans the ability to tweet in their questions or comments. This created a flood in the twitter-sphere on its own, since every fan dreams of being acknowledged by these actors.

Pretty Little Liars has made its mark on the modern television watching experience. It is no longer a personal hobby that is maybe brought up in small talk, but it has become largely an internet craze. Social media platforms are consumed with hashtags, theories, exclusive content, conversations with actors, interviews, etc. If you are on Facebook or Twitter and want to understand what the hype is about, you best keep up with this series. It is almost like peer pressure in the media world, which is marketing genius for the show. It has even affected the enthusiasm of the show in day-to-day. If one wanted to be apart of the conversation, he or she should have watched the premiered episode the night before.

References

http://www.karanovic.org/courses/mca008/archives/1311

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/29/entertainment/la-et-ct-abc-family-pretty-little-liars-twitter-20130529

https://www.capstrat.com/posts/abc-familys-pretty-little-liars-has-mastered-social-media-game/

Panem Today. Panem Tomorrow. Panem Forever.

Suzanne Collin's masterful Hunger Games trilogy has sparked debate ever since its conception in 2008. After gaining serious momentum within the literature community, the trilogy was adapted to monumentally successful blockbuster films. 

 The series appeals to a wide demographic. Rich in action, romance, and suspense and aligning perfectly with the ever popular "apocalyptic" or "dystopia" genre, the film franchise has found profit in many beyond the book fandom. 

Collin's work is a truly powerful piece of literature that holds meaning far deeper than Gary Ross or Francis Lawrence would have been able to capture and convey through in their films.; nor is it necessarily the platform to elevate these components. Luckily, due heavily to Collins working closely with the film franchise, a number of her deeper themes 

translated into the film medium furthering her impact. 

The Hunger Games trilogy is a deeply political series full of allusions to history like Nazi Germany, the depravity and severe imbalance of class division, and serves ultimately as a glaring commentary on our modern society. 

Upon the series initially gaining momentum in both the literature community and within larger culture, the complaint of brutality within the work surfaced. People were shocked at the audacity and abhorrence of the Capitol as they forced the district's children into the arena to play their sick game. However, how different is the Games from what we watch everyday within our society as a means of entertainment? From MMA fighting to reality television to the innumerable horror films produced each year, we are no better than the citizens of Panem. 

Within his article "'The Hunger Games:' A Commentary on Society", Alexander Vassiliadis states, "The Hunger Games take the concept of 'reality TV' and successfully blows it up in society's face... What is Collins trying to tell us? Are we blind to the very fact that our entertainment today is elevating... Shows like Fear Factor and Ninja Warrior are only primitive examples of violent, revolting, and action-based reality TV. People need to take a step back and realize that if these types of exaggerated media were to evolve into something bigger and a bit more ludicrous -- based on historical data showing the magnitude of violence in films and video games today -- who says that a reality TV show in which kids come together and fight to the death is really out of modern-day society's reach?" Collins sketches the horror of these games with true intentionality and seeks to hold a mirror to the grimace of society as we thoughtlessly consume media with equal insensitivity and brutality.

The franchise pulls slightly on the threads of history Collins incorporates within her texts by using propaganda images as advertisements for the upcoming installments of the series. 

Within the books, the elements of history are obviously much more clearly pronounced. This layer of political history is just another of the many deeper pieces of Suzanne Collin's work. 


Within our text, Matthew Leggatt also evaluates some of the more substantial components that Collins incorporates. In discussing the first film, he states, "The economic consciousness of the film reflects only one element of today's concerns. This film also deals with over-indulgence, fascism, state propaganda, and the manipulation of the work force primarily through fear and surveillance" (331). Leggatt continues to say, "These are certainly not films that celebrate the end. Rather their purpose is to mourn the loss of the future. Why do we watch them? Perhaps to find something that lies outside the system of capital...or maybe we watch in order to remind ourselves of the bleakness of the future" (332). However, in the case of The Hunger Games, I would argue our attraction steps from an unconscious connection to the culture of Panem. Within social science, it has been proven individuals are generally more attracted to other people and materials that are seemingly similar. And while we, of course, would prefer to identify with our incredible protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, we see ourselves more clearly in the faces of the Capitol citizens. 

Leggatt ponders throughout the chapter what makes this apocalyptic and dystopian genre so popular within our culture. While he believes it to be a direct result of our obsession with the end of the world, I would say it stems more from our culture's preoccupation with excess and over stimulation, much like the Capitol. In her impactful trilogy, Suzanne Collins creates a dystopian society that's a little too close for comfort when we break it down. She confronts the unsettling truth of how desensitized our culture has become, and ultimately conveys a powerful and sobering message through an engaging and accessible platform; an unfortunate necessity within our Capitol-istic culture. 

Obession with End of Times Cinema

   
                                                             Obsession with the End of Times

    In society, each film is watched by individuals with their own specific purpose.  Some people may use movies for a sense of escape or to be thoroughly entertained.  Whatever the reason, films have a purpose and this purpose is often studied in order to create better understanding for certain decisions.  In this blog, I am in search of discovering the obsession of the general population in the genre of apocalypse. 

    Since the attacks of 9/11, it seems as if the popularity of doomsday movies and a peek into the events that can lead to the end of civilization as we know it. Leggatt (2015) describes the idea behind the genre, "Apocalyptic films invariably depict massive-scale destruction and the end of life as we know it" (p.325).  For example, a movie like 2012 came out which depicted when the world would end and a scenario of how the massive destruction would go down.  While seen as a work of fiction, some people were left to believe the possibility that it was predictive programming to get people used to tragedy instead of being completely shocked.  So why the obsession?  There are two ideas that I stumbled upon which can lead to better understanding: being unsatisfied with current societal dynamics and a sense of failure which led to a decrease of optimism.

    Throughout the world, there are large number of people who suffer due to either a lack of economic success, opportunity, and chance at free will.  In the United States of America, there is hardly a lack of free will due to our democratic society.  However, there are a large number of people dissatisfied with the economic structure and lack of opportunity to succeed.  In this sense, people would deem it fit and have a desire for the world to end.  Instead of struggling in an imperfect world, people would rather see civilization as we know come to an end and have an opportunity for society to start anew.  While some people have this vision, others may see these doomsday as a reconciliation for many past mistakes we made as a society. 

    As a society of humans who were created to be imperfect creatures, often mistakes that have been committed have piled up.  As a result, people have often become numb to the fact that there could possibly an existence of more good than bad.  In the grand scheme of things, at the end of times, we seemingly will be judged by God.  These images of destruction often show what the result of humanity was after not learning from our mistakes and starting on the road to redemption. Leggett (2015) dives deeper into this idea, "Redemption is the point of these films: the world must be saved so that in films to follow it can be blown up all over again...In Albert and Allen Hughes's The Book of Eli (2010), we are merely told that 'The war tore a hole in the sky" (p.328).  At this point, there is a wonder of the true meaning behind that message and often leads to curiosity of whether or not humans have a lasting impact on the future of society.

    The apocalyptic genre is one that has grown interest amongst the general population within the last decade.  People often can view these movies as a way to escape for reality and envision a better future with increased opportunity to succeed.  Others like to see their imagination of how the world would end come to life on screen.  Each moviegoer has a purpose and whether they like it or not, these fictional films are meant to entertain but also warn people of the consequences that can occur if not careful with their decision-making.  The world is destined to end at some point, whether by the grace of God, human error, or natural scientific erosion.  However, the obsession seems to have heightened due to the message being broadcasted by our media to entertain with the possibility of instilling fear in the general population.  Whatever the case, enjoy these films but also realize they are works of fiction. 

OMG, He's dead!!!

Just very recent on one of my favorite television shows "the walking dead" season 6 episode 3 a character known as Glenn on the show died, oh so I thought. Before I share what I felt when watching the show and what happened on this episode I would like to share a little history about the show.

The Walking Dead

Above are some of the cast for the Walking Dead series season 6. This television show is an American horror drama series developed by Frank Darabont which aired on October 31 of 2010 on cable television channel AMC. Basically the show is about a post apocalyptic world that is overrun by zombies. The survivors have to adopt to the new world and learn to live with zombies and fight them when their lives are at stake so that they don't get bit and turn into one of them. I choose to talk about this show because it made a big impact on the American viewers when one of the characters played by Steven Yeun known as "Glenn" on the show died, so we all thought. When I saw Glenn fall back on a crowd of zombies and being torn and eaten, I almost cried and thought that the show was not worth watching anymore because of one character, many Americans had the same reaction to the episode.

Why do the fans have this reaction when someone they love on the show dies?
This happens because we get used to seeing this character on the show especially if they are good or if the show seems to be so much better with them in it. Bellow are some things that fans said about the death of a loved character:

Glenn can’t die! (Denial)
How could they kill off Glenn? Damn writers! (Anger)
Maybe he crawled under the dumpster. (Bargaining)
   I can’t watch this show anymore. (Depression)
             Poor Maggie. (Acceptance)






The image above shows a scene from the actual episode where Glenn falls back into the crowd of walker (zombies) and is ripped to pieces, but what they did not show (spoiler alert for those who watch the series and did not watch the episode) is that Glenn was not the one that was being ripped apart but one of the other survivor.




 

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/10/26/sorry-walking-dead-fans-but-that-death-was-real/

Cinema Film: Fans, Interactive Audiences, and Movie Producers

People enjoy going to the movie theater where they are transported to a different setting. It seems that cinema film is a main event with movie watchers purchasing tickets and buying snacks, candy, or soda. I also love cinema film, so I watch movies in the theater and buy pretzel bites whenever I can. Hall and Bracken (2011) note that people particularly enjoy cinema film because cognitive empathy creates the perception that viewers have the capability to form insightful interpretations of characters feelings during scenes. This implies that cinema viewers enjoy cinema film with being able to follow a storyline and have a proper understanding of the emotional events in the movie. Hall and Bracken (2011) claims that “cognitive empathy may also affect audience members’ responses to media narratives by contributing to their affective responses to the characters in the story” (p. 91). Therefore, cognitive empathy regarding cinema film allows spectators to feel emotionally connected to a character because aspects of this character align with cinema viewers as well.

Some fans identify with characters so well that they will dress up as the character at conferences and movie showings. These fans would be described as interactive audience members. A researcher named Jenkins defines active fans “as a specific type of audience that can be substantially distinguished from the majority of media consumers” (as cited in Shefrin, 2004, p. 273). Active movie fans are the cinema viewers who can extensively note the differences between a book and a film that was based on the book. Moreover, active fans seek to transform movie characters “with personal artistic expressions, such as clothing and creative fiction” (Shefrin, 2004, p. 273). Thus these active fans are embodying the movie character(s) to enhance the character’s significance.

There are various ways interactive audiences engage with other fans and movie producers. Some of these approaches include “close textual readings, sampling and appropriation of commercial texts and images, and the use of the Internet...as speaking back to producers and media companies” (Jenkins, 1992, p. 277-279). Today it is common for fans to use the Internet for voicing their disagreement with scene writing and scene actions that do not align with fans expectations. This technique is present with books that are turned into a series of movies. For instance, the author of the Twilight series was hounded with complaints from fans who read the books first then watched the movies inquiring about why certain scenes were portrayed differently in film.

An Interactive audience might desire to personalize characters because their embodiments make these fantasy creations realistic. Also, this audience is influenced by the movie producers since they also generated the image a interactive audience is seeking to transform. For example, active fans of Star Wars will wear face makeup and outfits that mirror popular characters. Interactive audiences would not be able to showcase their love or personalization of characters without movie producers depictions. Hence, both movie producers and interactive audiences depend on each other to accomplish their goals.

The Rise and Fall of Interactive Audiences

             America’s Got Talent, Albanians Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor, American Idol, Canadian Idol, and The Voice…what do all these shows have in common? Interactive audiences. Gawlinski (2003) defines interactive television as, “anything that lets the television viewer or viewers and the people making the television channel, programme or service engage in a dialogue. More specifically, it can be defined as a dialogue that takes the viewers beyond the passive experience of watching and lets them make choices and take actions” (p. 5). On each of the shows mentioned, audience members are able to cast their votes and determine the fate of different contestants. Interactive televisions hands a lot of power to the people watching the show; allowing the audience members to direct the course of the show. No longer can simply watching other people, the judges, determine who wins satisfy the audience; people want to say they had a hand in the success of their favorite contestant.

It is not just TV shows that have become more interactive. Commercials on Pandora and YouTube offer their audiences a chance to interact with a commercial to either make the commercial go faster or enjoy advertisement free listening after interacting. This type of interaction is different from the ones seen during a TV show. Here, businesses are hoping that consumers will stop and look at their advertisement even if that means not being able to advertise to them through the rest of their Pandora listening session. The hope is that a consumer will actually pay attention to the advertisement if there is an incentive to stop the advertisements instead of simply tuning them out.

          In a study done by Sperring and Strandvall (2008), they researched how the interactive aspect of TV affects a game show called Enigma. They found that when a show has the ability to let the audience interact or have a part in determining where the show goes; audience members have more enjoyment and excitement for the show. This finding was especially prevalent among young adults. Sperring and Strandvall (2008) write, “the integrated interactivity in the game show Enigma adds value to the viewing experience in general among young adults” (p. 233). More and more shows are adding the interactive aspect because audience members enjoy being a part of the show or at least feeling as though they have the option to voice their opinion. But, how long will these interactive shows last?

          American Idol is airing its’ final season this coming January. The show started in 2002 and had a large following for many years. Recently, however, audiences have lost interest and American Idol will have the curtain coming down on it. So, what happened? This show was one of the first extremely popular interactive audience shows to hit the screen and it seemed like people enjoy cheering and voting for their favorite contestant. When did the show lose its enjoyment? Perhaps it was the fact that so many other shows came onto the scene that was just like American Idol. Personally, I lost interest in the show after about two seasons because it was so repetitive. It was the same drama between the coaches, the same bad auditions, and the same stories over and over again. I also got tired of rooting for someone to win, watching them win, and then watching as they did nothing with their career. With the exception of a few singers from American Idol (Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, ect), not many of the contestants on the show actually amount to anything in the music industry. There is also the aspect of wanting to watch TV to just relax. When a person gets home from work, sometimes they just want to mindlessly watch a TV program. They do not want to worry about casting a vote to make sure their favorite contestant remains on the show. In order to keep viewers interested, producers are coming up with a new spin on the typical show interactive show. The Voice has become a huge hit and has quickly moved past its competition American Idol. On The Voice, the judges are not allowed to see the person that is singing the song. This type of blind audition is to make sure the judges cannot pick based off of appearance. Another newer aspect of The Voice is the way the judges have to try and convince the singer to be on their team. These small changes are enough to separate The Voice from other shows, but for how long?

Gawlinski, M. (2003). Interactive television production. Oxford, England: Focal Press.

Sperring, S., & Strandvall, T. (2008). Viewers' experiences of a TV quiz show with integrated interactivity. International Journal Of Human-Computer Interaction, 24(2), 214-235. doi:10.1080/10447310701821590

Trust me, I'm not a doctor but, I watch Grey's Anatomy

Television has a crazy way of making us believe that we can do anything. With 3 seasons of Law and Order we can crack any case in real life. A few episodes of Grey's Anatomy seem to be the only qualifications to be able to properly diagnose friends and family. I won't deny that after binge watching Breaking Bad that I definitely grew more paranoid. But why?

According to a 2009 study done by Brian Quick from the University of Illinois involving the affects of viewers of Grey's Anatomy concluded that "heavy viewers of Grey's Anatomy perceive this program to be credible" (Quick, 2009). This means that the way the doctors, surgeries and procedures on the show are perceive as truth to the people that watch the show consistently.

During this study, Quick discussed cultivation theory and how it connects with the amount of television that is being watched by users. According to masscommtheory.com Cultivation Theory is the idea that "high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid...heavy viewers of TV are thought to be 'cultivating' attitudes that seem to believe that the world created by television is an accurate description of the real world."
The more television people watch, the more they believe messages to be real, and their perceptions of how the media portrays different characters also have the potential to be engrained into the minds of its viewers as truth.
 
Knowing the impact that television has on our perception of everyday life, the content of these messages can be detrimental. Even if TV consumers watch a program and are aware that the source is invalid that is sometimes not enough. According to the "sleeper effect" we can "hold onto a piece of information while gradually forgetting it came from an unreliable source" (alternet.org). So while television consumers are being cautious of the inaccuracy of portrayals and information, eventually it can become truth in our minds. 

For example, the legal drama Boston Legal showed an episode in 2007, where a child had an allergic reaction to which the teacher used an EpiPen on the student. In the episode the EpiPen did not work, and the child died soon after. EpiPens are helpful and effective ways to help an allergic reaction, however people had a new image of this device after watching the episode. A study led by Jakob D. Jensen from the University of Utah showed a number of students this episode, and afterwards there was a significantly higher amount of doubts about the effectiveness of EpiPens. The media is not guaranteed to have 100% accuracy, but upon watching the media on a regular basis we can believe its messages as truth, as well as changing our perceptions of the world dependent on what we are watching. Keeping this in mind it is important to remember that portrayals in the media are not always accurately describing reality, and watching Grey's Anatomy incessantly does not make you a licensed doctor, but a regular television consumer.

Do Romantic Movies Influence Our Personal Romantic Beliefs?

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      The romantic comedy genre was the sixth highest grossing category of films between 1995

and 2010, it had over $10 billion in gross revenue during this 15-year period (Hefner & Wilson, 2013). However the question is does the public's viewing of romantic relationships affect the way people view real romantic relationships? Hefner and Wilson (2013) conducted a study that looked at what romantic ideals were prevalent in the top 52 highest grossing romantic comedy films from the last 10 years. In addition, they handed out a large-scale survey of 335 undergraduate students, who were asked to report their romantic comedy movie viewing and their beliefs about romance. 

          According to Hefner and Wilson (2013) both male and female adolescents seek out romantic content in television and movies in order to gain information about dating. In addition, Hefner and Wilson (2013) cited that past research regarding romantic comedies suggested that romantic media tends to cultivate idealistic or even unrealistic beliefs about romance. An example of this is when a survey was conducted on high school students and found that heavy viewers of romantic television were more likely than light viewers to hold traditional dating role attitudes, such as the belief that men should be in charge on dates. In other words, romantic content influenced the beliefs of the viewers of romantic ideas. 

        First Study 

       The first study looked at the construct of the romantic ideal as comprised of the following four themes: love conquers all, idealization of partner, soul mate, and love at first sight. This study found that all (98%) of the movies chosen in this study contained at least one romantic ideal expression, so any of the four previously mentioned. 

1. 40% of the movies had the romantic ideal expression of having a soul mate.
2. About one third of the expressions fell into the idealization of other category
3. One quarter of the expressions were coded as love conquers all 
4. Less than 10% of the expressions were categorized as love at first sight 

          In addition, the first study suggested that the romantic films included in the study held only some of the romantic ideals, whereas they also challenged or contradicted some of the other romantic ideals. For instance, some movies made fun of the romantic ideal of love at first sight. Some proved this ideal false and incorrect.

Second Study

          The results of this study suggest that exposure to romantic comedies is related to

young people’s endorsement of romantic beliefs, but this relationship is not as strong as what the researcher's predicted. They found that repeated viewing of romantic movies was positively related to

only one of the four beliefs that make up the romantic ideal: idealization of one’s

partner. So in other words, people that viewed romantic movies a great deal are more likely to have idealization of one's partner as a romantic ideal in their personal life due to viewing this form of romantic media. 

Conclusion      

         All in all, romantic movies hold four common romantic ideals: love conquers all, idealization of partner, soul mate, and love at first sight. The most common romantic ideal is that of partners being with their soul mates. However, the audience is only strongly correlated to believe in the romantic ideal of having an idealization of their partner in their own personal romantic lives. 

References:

Hefner, V. & Wilson, B. J. (2013). From love at first sight to soul mate: The influence of romantic 

      ideals in popular films on young people’s beliefs about relationships. Communication                           Monographs, 80(1), 150-175. 

Gender Stereotypes

When we look at television, commercial, and advertisement what do we see in regards to the ideal female or the ideal male? In Media, Women and men have been strictly stereotyped for years dating back to the beginning television and advertisement. Men and women play major roles in identifying the different gender stereotypes within society. From the choice of color in a newborn room to the type of movies selected for viewers are all results of gender stereotyping within television and commercials. When you look at commercials of the past and today. You’d see that when identifying or promoting sales of certain items those who are in charge of promoting those items selectively use specific people to identify for specific things. For example, when you look at this 1950’s ad you’d see the advertising promoting the sale of a refrigerator. However, instead of having a male as the face of the advertisement there is a picture of a female instead. There stands a woman in an apron in front of the fridge. This woman gives off a very home-like look portraying a stay at home wife, or a mother of 3 as the representation of mothers to attract the motherly, home-wife type of buyer. According to Chris Baker’s Cultural Studies Theory and practice, Baker states that womanhood may be defined as “passive and subordinate, that is being tied to housework, husband, and children… most women (34) were depicted as housewives.”(318) there is this sense of a woman in pertaining to being motherly, and submissive that would attract other women in that role to purchase a refrigerator. Just like this ad nothing had entirely changed. Woman are still being referred to as submissive and nurturing. However, for men this is totally different. For men, in advertisement and television, men are seemed to be portrayed as more dominant and powerful. Most of those who are placed in male ads are seen a masculine lacks emotion. 

When looking at this next picture of a modern male ad you may see a gentleman who seems to have been working very hard. The man is caring tools, wearing a hard hat, who is promoting the sale of boots. Now, the question that may arise is why can’t women promote the sale of these boots? When looking for the sale of hard-core heavy duty boots most of the time the PR’s main focus is to gear towards the hardworking man. In this case promoting a hard-working male who seems powerful and dominate will attract just that. There is the promotion of masculinity which can be identified as “strength, power, stoicism, action, control, independence, self-sufficiency, male camaraderie/mateship, and work amongst others.”(Baker 312) Why is it that we and media place a specific perception of the male and female population in reference of negatively stereotyping by gender instead of making things as a natural base? Why can’t men sale refrigerator? Why can’t women sale boots? It is in fact that they can, however, many will probably not see it as convincing due to a pre-conceptualize idea of what is selectively accepting and what’s not. Has society’s idea of genderlect stereotyping changed? Maybe. 

There are now multiple ads that promote gender equality within the commercial, television, and ads production. In this particular video listed. There is a promotional video that points out the idea of conceptualizing the idea of a girl in attempts to change media’s perception of the definition of a girl and making their audience aware of the unknowingly stereotyping of the idea of what a girl looks like. This video may not only bring aware to the gender stereotyping of females but attacking those ideas starting at a young age to skew the idea of the conceptualized idea of what a girl may be defined as. According to a CNN article by David Perry entitled for strong daughters, stop with the sex stereotypes, It states that our culture should fight this idea by “working against the grain, resisting gendered language and emphasizing the internal over the external”.

Perry, David M. "Opinion: How Sex Stereotypes Harm Girls - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 May 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Baker, Chris. "Cultural Studies Theory and Practice." Cultural Studies. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

The Death of a (Woman's) Career

After watching his filmography over the years, one thing is for certain: Johnny Depp likes his women young. To be specific, at least 11 years younger than himself. In only one of his movies has he had a love interest be less than 5 years younger than himself, and once the age gap between him and the leading lady spanned a whopping 33 years. It's become an obvious trend that in Hollywood, the leading men age while their love interests don't. The same trend can be found in films starring actors like Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Richard Gere, and Tom Cruise (to name a few).

Author Whittington-Walsh (2013) comments on this phenomenon, saying "Growing old, apparently the biggest social taboo for any female, means the death of a career, causing some celebrities to visit plastic surgeons and request that they be transformed into themselves" (p. 182). The pressure to stay young that is placed on women (celebrities in particular), while recognized as being unfair and unattainable, is still the standard. Comedian and actress Amy Schumer shared her thoughts on the subject by writing and starring in a satirical video on Comedy Central titled "Last F*ckable Day". In the video, Schumer runs into a group of actresses who are celebrating one of their own's 'last f**kable day'- that is, the last day that the media considers them attractive. In the video Tina Fey (one of the actresses Schumer stumbles upon) explains the idea of the 'last f*kable day' to Schumer, commenting on how Sally Field was Tom Hank's love interest in Punchline, and then 5 years later was playing his mother in Forrest Gump. 

This idea of women aging faster than men is not unheard of- scholarship on the subject has been written. Lincoln and Allen (2004) found that research conducted by the Screen Actors Guild suggests a "double jeopardy effect" for female actors who experience aging differently from male actors throughout their careers. Although as of 2000, 43% of Americans are over the age of 40 (US, Bureau of the Census, 2000), women over age 40 received only 24% of all female roles cast in television and film, while men over age 40 received 37% of all male roles. The Screen Actors Guild (2002) also noted that obtaining roles in feature films posed an even greater challenge for female actors over the age of 40. However, this gendered age gap in films continues today, as shown by the charts above. It begs the question, when will the playing field between men and women finally be even?

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