Why are we brainwashed? Well in Seth Godin’s “Brainwashed” he discussing at the beginning how everyone is brainwashed by the economy and then tells us seven layers to help you become unbrainwashed. While reading his seven layers, I connected with two of them; Make Art and Acknowledge the Lizard.
In the Make Art layer, Seth Godin tells us about how art isn’t just a painting or a poem but the human ability to make a difference. And that art can be a risky form because the artists take risks of people not liking what they create but they take those risks because it could lead them into getting rewarded. Art is also not something that has instructions that you can follow; it is the act of creating the uncreated.
The second layer I chose was Acknowledge the Lizard. In this layer it tells us how we have a lizard brain, which means we have a little voice in our head that encourages us to follow instructions and not be creative. And that the resistance(the voice) is part of the brainwashing. The voice normally occurs when you create something and then are scared of being laughed at or people not liking it. The resistance is the barrier that artists have to face. But instead of just giving in to the voice, we have to acknowledge it so we can ignore it.
I feel like these two layers relate to this blog by they both help inspire my creativity and isn’t that what this blog is about. By reading these layers it helps my inspiration for what I want to do for my career and that the advice it gives is very useful and helpful. I have felt that some of these blog assignments have been useful; mainly the ones with the articles we have to read. But I don’t like how we have to summarize what we just read because it seems like a waste of time. And I feel like the minimum 750 words for each blog is a little much because it is hard at times to explain something in great detail the thing you read or heard and sometimes there aren’t 750 words to explain it.
"Jar Of Hearts" by Christina Perri (Original Version)
"Jar of Hearts" By Kait Weston (Acoustic Cover Ft. by Tyler Ward)
The song I decided to choose was “Jar of Hearts”, originally done by Christina Perri; the cover song was done by Kait Weston (Acoustic Cover ft. Tyler Ward).The two songs are very similar but each still has a unique factor about them. The things that make these two songs similar are the lyrics, speed/tempo, and intensity. The lyrics for both songs are the same exact lyrics; they don’t change any of the words. The speed/tempo, for both, were andante (slow). The intensity was soft for both, which goes along with the andante tempo. The other similarity, between the songs, was that both songs are performed by a female.
While there are similarities about the same exact song, there are also differences because each performer brings there own twist to a song in order to make it their own. For the Christina Perri version there were different instruments that made the rhythm of the song. The instrument in the background sounded like a grand piano that helped keep the rhythm of the song. Also, throughout the song there are others instruments playing, like a string instrument.
For the Kait Weston version the instrumentation choices were different. The instrument that was used, to keep the rhythm of the song, was an acoustic guitar. The guitar was the only instrument used in this song, which made this song feel very organized because there weren’t too many instruments being played all at once. An element that I noticed in this song that was used, and not in the original version, was echo. They used the element of echoing Kait’s voice throughout the song to give the song more depth. This is song also has more of an acoustic feel to it than the other version.
After listening to both songs, over and over again, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the Kait Weston version better than the original version of the song done by Christina Perri. I prefer the Kait Weston version more because I like the instrument choice for this song; I feel it suits the lyrics of the song better than all of the other instruments used in the other version. I also liked the use of the echo on her voice to help create depth for the song instead of using more instruments. But I do feel like the song could have been better if they hadn’t over used the echo because at times it became distracting. The other reason why I like this version more than the original is because I felt Kait Weston has a better voice than Christina Perri; Kait’s voice just sounded ten times better with these lyrics than it did with Christina. Also, Kait’s voice just help bring the subtext of the lyrics out in the song better than Christina did; I felt the emotion of this song more in Kait’s version. So overall, I have found that cover songs by unknown artists can overall be better than the original (famous) performer; you just have to know where to look for them on YouTube.
This is the soundscape that Gretchen and I created. Our emotion that we had to portray in this soundscape was WORRY. And above is one of the photos that went with our soundscape. I hope you like it!
Jonathon Flaum spoke about two stories, that have a lot of subtext to them about life. I felt connected with the second story which was about a tiger being trapped in a cage in a zoo. The tiger wanted nothing more than to escape and be free but everytime that tiger escaped, it always ended up in another cage in another zoo. The author tried to convey that the zoo and cage are apart of the tiger and the tiger can just run away from it. Flaum's main point of this story is that we are all trapped in our own ways to something even if we don't realize it. We can't just run away or forget about something in a heart beat.
Flaum states that the author, of the tiger story, lesson was there is nowhere to run! Flaum also states that, "There is no easy escape from a situation that we ourselves created, because that situation, despite appearances, is no longer just outside us, it lives inside us." I relate to this story and this statement because it explains what kids feel like when they leave for college. They feel relieved at first because they are escaping all the rules that they had to follow at home and now have the chance to be free and make their own decisions. But little do they realize that they are entering a whole new undiscovered world for themselves a lone. They don't have mom or dad to help them through the hard parts in life. They also will discover new things about themselves and realize that they can never escape from rules because they are everywhere; they don't all just come from our parents.
On the playlist below I tell you my favorite quote and how it speaks to me as a creative person. I hope you like it!:)
Many of us struggle to find
those perfect creative ideas for films. I myself have struggle with this
process over and over again. Then, I read Mitch Ditkoff’s “14 Ways to Get
Breakthrough Ideas.” After reading this I began to realize how simple the most
creative and brilliant ideas could come about. I found myself amazed by how
right he was about how great ideas are created. I felt like each of the 14 ways
are very useful for trying to conjure up that breakthrough idea and are very
similar, if not the exact same way, I have come up with my ideas.
One suggestion from Ditkoff’s list that I found intriguing was #7, Listen to Your Subconscious. A lot of our ideas come from our subconscious because our subconscious is continually working on ideas that I floating in our head but are just taking their time to finally reach our conscious. Our ideas come at the most random times because it is a time when you aren’t straining yourself to come up with the most brilliant idea ever. Ditkoff even says, “If you study the lives of people who have had Eureka moments, you’ll note that their breakthroughs almost always came after extensive periods of intense, conscious effort. They worked, they struggled, they noodled, they gave up, they recommitted—and then the breakthrough came. And often at unexpected moments.” Ideas come when you are least expecting it. I have acquired my ideas from either my dreams or when I’m daydreaming, which means my ideas come about through my subconscious. Anytime I feel like I have prefect an idea I always feel like I can’t come up with anything and that I only want to pull my hair out instead. But at the times when I’m just listening to music or daydreaming in one of my classes is when my most creative ideas hit me. I would implement this suggestion into my life by just keeping my mind open and not trying to strain myself into finding the most creative ideas of all times for a film because most likely I won’t.
Another one of Ditkoff’s suggestions on his list is #8; Take A Break. In this suggestion, Ditkoff states how when you are stumped or is struggling with an idea, you should walk away from it for a while. I agree with this because the times I’m struggling with an idea, homework, or anything that has me frustrated, I will step away from it for a while, so I can get a clear mind. Most of the time I will workout or go for a long run; it helps me think about something else and it makes me feel like I’m running or working out my problems and frustration. Then when I return to my work again I feel refreshed and ready to accomplish things. Taking a break can be the best thing for a creator because without one eventually you will feel irritated with yourself for not coming up with something; you might become discouraged with yourself to a point of giving up completely. A break can equal success and less hair pulling.
Third and last of Ditkoff’s “ 14 Ways To Get Breakthrough Ideas,” is # 10; Hang out with Diverse Groups of People. Ditkoff suggests that a way to come up with a story or an idea is to hang out with different groups of people. He states, “If you want to increase your chances of getting a breakthrough idea, you will need to break the bonds of the familiar. Hang out with a different crowd. Go beyond the usual suspects. Seek the input of oddballs, mavericks, outcasts, or, at the very least, people outside of your field.” I believe this to be true because some of the best ideas can come from someone you meet. The people you meet might have an interesting background or a unique personality that could become one of your characters for a movie or TV show. The more we break out of our comfort zone of our friends and venture out and meet new people, the chances of our creativity will increase. It can be hard trying to meet new people but it can also be for the best. In most cases, you don’t have to necessarily go by yourself to meet new people; you can bring your old friends too. The best way I will implement this suggestion into my life is to venture to different cities and try and find interesting people. By doing this I could come up with a movie idea just based on someone I meet randomly in a random city. Overall, I feel this suggestion is similar to students starting their first year of college. When we first start out we want to make as many friends as we can, so we don’t feel a lone in college; since we are without our parents and our oldest childhood friends for the first time. By having that motive you begin to make friends with all different types of people because they may seem interesting to you and you think maybe it would be fun having them as your friend. I know when I came to college I wanted to break out of my shell and meet as many people as I could; that’s what I know I have to do again, in order to enhance my creativity.
I decided to choose suggestion #11; BRAINSTORM. This suggestions prompt,
which was at the end of the reading, stated,
“What is the
topic of your next group brainstorm? Who will you invite? Who will facilitate?
When?”
The topic that will be at my next group brainstorm will be about coming up with the main plot/story line for our Episodic Soap Opera and what other horror film ideas that anyone has to share with the group. To this brainstorm I will invite all of the group members that were in my 48-Hour Shootout group and a couple people that went on the Spring Break LA Trip with me this past spring break. I will facilitate this gathering; I will contact them through Facebook or talk to them in person. Our next group brainstorm will occur this Sunday via Skype.
Growing up I was given lots of opportunities to be creative. It started when I was very young by making up games to play with my sisters then it later transformed into stories that we would capture on film. My parents were supportive of my desire to be creative at a young age by letting me use their video camera and by doing that they let me create short stories that my sisters, my friends, and I would come up with. My inspiration and creativity comes from everything around me. Mostly, my inspiration and creativity comes from the dreams I have, my friends, my family, songs, and the world around me.
~Three Examples~
Hercules by Ron Clements and John Musker
This is one of my favorite movies of all times when I was growing up. I would watch this movie constantly because the story was so inspiring. I admire this film but not really the creators of it. In this story you are presented with heroes and villains. I noticed which characters were which by how contrast they looked from one another. For example, the villain Hades is blue, wears black clothes, and has blue fire as hair. The hero’s were Gods who lived on Mount Olympus who wore colorful clothes and had glowing warm skin. Throughout this movie you notice the motive of the main character, Hercules, because of how he is activelytrying to become a god again, so he can rejoin his family on Mount Olympus by defeating many villains. The reason I’m so drawn and admire this film so much is because of its story and meaning. This story is relatable to its audience because one of the objectives is how Hercules is trying to find a place where he belongs. Many people struggle with fitting in places and I feel this movie does a great job in display a character’s struggle with finding out who he is and where he belongs, which is what most of us face in life. This film inspires my work by I want to tell stories like Hercules; I want to tell stories that have a meaning behind them and is relatable to my audience.
“You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift
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Taylor Swift is one of my favorite artists because I feel her songs are relatable to me and what is going on in my life. Whenever I listen to one of her songs I can picture exactly what the music video would look like, if it hasn’t been made yet, and I also get new movie ideas based on the subtext of her lyrics. One of my favorite songs of hers is “You Belong With Me.” I like this song because of how it is relatable to teenage girls who have liked a guy but the guy is with someone else. The textof the lyrics describes how the contrast between a girl who is in love with a guy to the girl who is with the guy now. The subtext is about the love this girl feels for this boy and how they belong with each other.
Steven Spielberg
JAWS
Jurassic Park
Saving Private Ryan
Steven Spielberg is known to be one of the best directors of all time. He is also one of my favorite directors. I believe that he has a great talent of bringing his stories to life on the silver screen. Every time I watch his films I get even more inspired to make my own films, so I can have the chance to tell the world my stories and be able to bring them to life. Steven Spielberg has brought his movies to life to where I subjectivelybelieve what is happening on screen is real. I feel like they are so realistic that some of his movies have actually made me fear things I have never feared until after I saw the movies. For example, I am deathly afraid of sharks and dinosaurs because of watching the movies Jaws and Jurassic Park. After I watched those movies I can never go into the ocean ever again because I am too afraid of getting eaten by a shark. To this day if I watch any of those movies or just see one little scene, I will have nightmares that night. But I can say not all of his movies have scared me to a point where I can’t watch them anymore. One of my favorite movies of all times is Saving Private Ryan. I can’t even explain how amazing this movie is. The casting for this movie was great and just how life like Spielberg made this film. The characters in this story are so contrastamong each other that make this movie interesting. Steven Spielberg truly made this movie, which is based off a true story, come to life in more ways than I can even explain.
It's is the first lab class for MDIA 203 and I would have to say that I'm feeling very tired at the moment since it is a 8-10am class. But I have good reasons for choosing this particular lab time. First reason; if I ever wanted to go home on Friday I needed to be able to make the GO BUS, which leaves at 10:15am on Fridays. This lab time was the only time that allowed me to still make class and make the bus in time to go home.
Second reason; when it was time for me to schedule my classes the only time slots available was the 8-10am and 3-5pm. Both not the best of times but I didn't choose the 3-5pm because it would interfere with my work schedule.
Third and last reason; Most, if not all, my friends signed up for the 8-10am lab and I wanted to be in the same lab as them, so I would know people in the class.
