Different set of rules apply to the art of writing depending on the medium of publication/broadcast. Even within a particular medium, writing can be divided into creative writing and reportage/opinion, with the latter usually based on facts. Various genres exist within conventional creative writing – prominent among them are novels, short stories, poetry and plays. …
Category: Media Studies
Propaganda and Mass Media: A Theoretical Analysis
The dependency between government and media is a contentious issue in contemporary times. The media, once termed the Fourth Estate due to the unique role it plays in society, is supposed to be the conscience of the First Estate, namely the government. Yet, a simple analysis of the functioning of media organizations makes obvious that…
Can we really trust our senses and the interpretation of sensory data to give us an accurate view of the world?
The human sensory faculties, in addition to the processing power of the brain, play a vital and definitive role in how knowledge is acquired. The five major sensory faculties are sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. Cognition is the higher faculty that integrates and interprets inputs from these five senses. But what is also interesting…
Cultural Theory and Images
The three images perused for this exercise do provide the viewer with broad interpretative scope. When looked at without cognizant of the title or the context in which they were made, the range of possible meanings contained in them grows. Take, say, the imaged titled Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait with Spread Fingers, 1911. Self portraits are…
Shakespeare in Love (1998): A critical evaluation
Shakespeare in Love, produced by David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, and others and released in 1998, is the movie chosen for this essay. There are several aspects of the movie that impressed me. These include the acting performances by lead actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, the fictitious storyline surrounding the greatest English poet of the…
Mass Media Critical Analysis: Family Guy
The animated sitcom series Family Guy, which began broadcasting on American television channels in 1999, has always courted controversy. The perceived crude humor and lack of inhibitions in the characters of the show have offended the conservative sections of American society. At times unfavorably compared to The Simpsons, an animated family comedy which preceded it,…
Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for things they don’t need
Commercial advertising is a phenomenon closely associated with capitalist consumer culture. The ubiquitous ad space that engulfs urban human habitation has no parallels in terms of its reach and influence. Advertising performs a key role in industrial economies and its infiltration into both print and online formats is unlikely to abate. With ad spends always…
Four Top Experimental Filmmakers from the UK and America
Daniel Robin is a contemporary filmmaker who is given to experimentation. Often, his films blur the line between fact and fiction. A classic example is the film My Olympic Summer, which won the Best Short award at Sundance Festival in 2008. In the film, Robin attempts to simulate truth in such as way that “audiences…
Why do people make Experimental Films?
Experimental filmmakers are a brave breed of creative artists who swim against the popular tide and style. People make experimental films for a variety of reasons. But one core motivation is the faith they have in their directorial ideas. Needless to say, many experimental films don’t see the light of day in terms of commerce….
Italian Renaissance Artists: An Overview
Renaissance is a French term for rebirth. It was coined first in the 19th century to denote the revival of art and letters under the influence of ancient Roman and Greek models. This revival started in Italy in the 14th century, flourished in the 15th, and in the subsequent century reached apogee and then met…