This was an interesting documentary. It seemed to produce the outcome that most documentaries try to achieve. I was informed on a not extremely well known topic: people who live in underground abandoned subway tunnels. There were things that I liked and didn't necessarily love. For one, this documentary wasn't really relevant to me, so it moved me slightly… But I didn't feel a whole bunch of sympathy. I'm also not exactly a sympathetic person. Either way, the relevance wasn't connected to me. It's a completely different world and lifestyle that I am confident I will never experience. However, I did like the framing and the story boarding I guess is what you could call it… It focused not on just one person, but many. That's one thing I like about documentaries. Most of them that I've ever seen hardly focus on one character, unlike in a scripted program. This one focused on many characters, with different stories for me to follow. They all had a common situation, and it helped pull together a sense of their lifestyle and community better.

About the black and white… I can't say that I can read exactly why the producers decided to do it in black and white. One of my thoughts as to why they chose black and white would be that it was chosen because the documentary's name is called "Dark Days." Why is this relevant… Well, although it was definitely dark in the tunnels (obviously), I think the choice to go black and white made the shadows more prominent and emphasized the name and subject of the documentary. However, it also gave me a feeling of oldness, which I can't really decide if that was relevant to the story or not. Anything filmed in black and white just gives me that affect since I was born into a generation where color television has always existed in my life. I also think they chose black and white because it reminded me of blindness. Many of the tunnel dwellers were very set in their ways of living, which I definitely understand why (freedom and whatnot) but once they moved out of the tunnels, they realized that they had been missing out and almost couldn't believe they let themselves live down there for so long. In the tunnels, it's a very sad and lonely place. There isn't any sunlight, and so I'm sure that the only lighting they had was very bleak. The black and white coloring also emphasized a kind of black hole feeling. One, the were in a tunnel, which pretty effectively portrays a feeling of a black hole. Two, the black and white emphasized the feelings of hopelessness and feelings of despair that might have been caused since they felt like they couldn't leave that place.

I also noticed that they didn't often play music (if at all) until the very end, where everyone moved out and seemed elated to finally be out of the tunnels. I felt like that was the most prominent time that music was played. In my mind it kind of symbolized hope and happiness. Music is a huge form of entertainment, and I don't think the tunnels were bustling with many forms of entertainment. It seemed to open up hope that the characters could now enjoy their lives like they should, and it kind of made me happy after watching about an hour of sheer disgust at where/how they lived their lives.

Possible Documentary Topics

Not really sure if there is much to investigate about Pinterest but here are some possible topics:

Pinterest is dominated by females. Maybe I can do something along the lines of that.

Pinterest is a place for thinspiration, which is basically inspiration to become thin. It seems to encourage eating disorders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uAMEscPOtb4

When I watched this video, I questioned if this should even be an argument. I don't believe that anyone can look at a great video game and say, "hey this doesn't tell a story, nor is it art." But I can think of a dozen games that I've played, or even seen played that definitely tell a story and are incredibly beautiful. For example, on my iPhone, there are so many amazing games offered that appeal to a story line and my aesthetic senses. A few would be Contre Jour, Lost Winds and Sword & Sworcery. All three of those games are extremely aesthetically appealing, and I would consider myself an artistically thoughtful person. They also tell a story, and these are just games that are on my smartphone… There are countless games on other platforms that tell a wonderful story, and are extremely aesthetically pleasing/ just plain artistic. I find video games very appealing in the respect that I really enjoy being able to interact with a story in a manner that is only experienced with a video game.

I've always liked video games, and I would definitely not say that I'm a hardcore gamer. Games like Call of Duty and Battlefield don't really appeal to me. What really appeals to me, are stories that I can follow, such as many of the Mario games, but also more complicated games like Dark Souls that leave you to interpet the story for yourself. As far as the argument of  video games being able to tell a story better or worse than "classic" versions of artistic expressions, I couldn't really say that it is better or worse. Stories can be interpreted differently by everyone. That might be a reason why stories are so popular in human history. However, I do feel like video games give you less of an imagination of some sorts, concerning the environment and what the characters look like… But I also think that video games allow more imagination, because with some, you might be able to just throw yourself into the game and pretend as if you are the protagonist because you decide your interactions. In literature and film, you can't control the story, what happens happened because of no part on your end.

As far as which medium I prefer more, I would say that the more "classic" forms of storytelling appeal to me more. Video games are fun, but they are a challenge, and sometimes I really just want to stop thinking about the challenges I face ahead of me, in real life and in the video game, and just read or watch the challenges of the characters in a book and how they overcome their obstacles. When I read or watch stories instead of playing a video game,  I feel like I can use the methods that the characters in the book did or didn't use to overcome their obstacles in my own life.  In a video game, I am the one facing the obstacle, and sometimes I like my form of entertainment to be worry free.

For my song choices, I think I'm going to use "Heartbreaker" and "Broken Dreams Club," which are both by a band named Girls. I chose songs from the same artist because I feel as though it adds some unity. When I was kinda bummed in class, I was worried about picking two different songs making my essay sound messy. Instead hopefully it will be cohesive. I chose "Heartbreaker" because its relatively upbeat, like the first part of my essay, and "Broken Dreams Club" is much slower and somber compared to the first song. I also think that these songs won't be extremely distracting from my voice. These choices are subject to change...

Here are some links to listen, if you'd like.

Heartbreaker

and

Broken Dreams Club

As you can see, I've compiled 10 images for Lana Dey Rey's video called "Ride." These images are supposed to represent her video and tell a story. They arent in order… Sorry. Also, the way I had to position them sucked. Anyway, I chose these images because they tell a story about the men shes been with in the video. I think I can count four. However, I also chose pictures of her by herself out in the open desert on a tire swing, and also in an urban landscape, alone in both settings. In the video, it seems like shes quite lonely and has some sort of emptiness inside. She is then shown seemingly engaging in sexual relationships with various men. From my understanding and speculation, it seems like she is filling that emptiness and loneliness with the company of these men. I chose these images because it shows a contrast of what Lana's character is like when she's alone (in the desert and urban landscapes) and what she is like when she is with the various men. For example, in the desert and the urban landscapes, it looks kind of as if nobody is around, and she looks lonely, and a bit like a wandering soul. When she's with the various men, she seems a bit more content. Adding to that, when she is on the man's bike, she looks like she's freed in some way; she holds her arms out and has a smile, unlike all of the other photos. On another note, some of the lyrics from the song are:

"Don't leave me now 

Don't say good bye 

Don't turn around 

Leave me high and dry "

I think that these lyrics add to the story of her affairs with various men. She longs for company, and is unhappy and lost without it. Another lyric goes:

"Been trying hard not to get in trouble, but I 

I've got a war in my mind 

I just ride"

These lyrics suggest that she gets her mind off of her life and her conflicts within it to feel happiness. The photos of her on the back of the bike supports her statement there, because she looks blissful and free on the back of the bike.

All of the screenshots are from Lana Del Rey's video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_-3di1yx0

Ride

For my music video that I will be analyzing, I chose Lana Dey Rey's new video from her song "Ride." On the surface, it is a video about what the character she is portraying believes what freedom is. Lana's character believes "in what America used to be." I chose this video, because for one, I enjoy listening to her voice. Second, didn't think that anyone else would choose this video. Thirdly, I thought that there are a few points of slight controversy that could be discussed in it. Also, some parts of the video reminded me of a This I Believe speech, only a bit more sensual…

The video starts out with her character speaking a monologe about her life, and a few of the struggles within it. Throughout the video she is portrayed to be promiscuous, and takes some sort of happiness from it. She says that the men she meets give her some summer in a life of winter. This video may seem like one about sexual freedom on the top of it, but in my opinion, it's definitely not. It embodies some ugliness that isn't spoken of enough. The sexuality that Lana's character portrays is about how she has a deep emptiness inside, and somehow, the men she meets and her experiences with them seem to fill her in some way. It's not really meant to be an empowering song.

One reason I liked this video, as well as this song, is because in the video, it shows so much of what we've been trying to learn is important in art. That would be vulnerability and this video shows so much vulnerability. However, although I love her vulnerability, there are parts that I don't particularly enjoy about this video. The lyrics, and the video itself describe a freedom in which is delivered by the company of various men. It's quite sexist as well. The whole song is about riding, and she is portrayed riding on the back of mens motorcycles and atop them throughout the video. She is also hyper-sexualized throughout the entire video. The men in the video could be described as the opposite. They appear to be quite disgusting, at least from my point of view, while Lana's character is gorgeous and again, overly sexualized. I feel as though the video glamorizes promiscuity and evokes a feeling of freedom through that promiscuity, which I do not support. I will admit that she isn't trying to be a role model in anyway, which is ok and fine with me, but I did have a moment where I actually did want to be her character in the video, as yucky as that sounds. She is amazingly beautiful, and like I said, she definitely glamorizes promiscuity and sexual vulnerability in which I felt compelled to want to be kinda like her. Realizing that kind of scared me a bit.

Overall, I do like this video for enjoyment, since Lana is gorgeous and her voice is like silk, but there are a few underlying things that just grind my gears like her promiscuity and the glamorization of her characters lifestyle.

            There was a time when it was hard to show the world a little bit of who you are, and what you have to share. A time, in which, images were harder to obtain. Places to go, and things to observe, were in far off places that you could only imagine. You only knew of things that were in your environment, and the only way that you learned of these far off things would have been through stories and travelers. Then came along photographs. An incredible invention that allows things in real life to become recreated into a paper form to be shared with people who may not be able to see things in the photograph unless they were there. Then, pictures went digital, and the Internet was created. All of these inventions have helped people connect with each other.

            Everyday, I see images that inspire me. And everyday, I try to spread some of these images. Every afternoon, after class, I go back to my dorm room on the 18th floor, and I open up my laptop. I usually check my email, and then I log into Pinterest. Pinterest has evolved into my creative inspirational hub. I use Pinterest to gather my personal thoughts in the form of images. I also use Pinterest to be inspired and share my inspiration with my followers, and their followers as well. I share the inspirational images that I find through pinning. Pinning is something that is kind of personal to me. I don't just pin everything I see. I pin things that have personal meaning to me, or inspire me to become a better version of myself and improve my life. Although I love to pin now, it wasn't always that way. 

            When I first made my Pinterest account, I was intimidated by pinning. Like I said, you are sharing a part of yourself with your followers. I've never really been too great with expressing my feelings, and sharing my personal thoughts and likings intimidated me. Pinning is exactly what I thought I was never good at, which is sharing myself to others. Pinning would mean that I would have to break out of my inner shell. One day, I realized that these amazing images I found around the Internet should be shared with everyone. I realized that I needed to come out of my shell and express myself. I realized that a great way to share inspiration with others was through Pinterest. I believe in spreading inspiration. When you inspire someone, they may just break out of their shell, they may learn something new about themselves, and they may go on to inspire other people in their own way. What on Earth would the world be without inspired and inspiring people?

We Are All Stardust. Today, I read an article about a woman, Kimberly Woodbury, who believed that we are all stardust. Her speech is extremely spiritual, and maybe that's one reason why this particular speech doesn't speak to me. I expected the article to lean on the more scientific side than the spiritual side. In Woodbury's speech, she says, "I believe that I will, during my lifetime, inhale seven of the very same molecules of air that were exhaled by the incarnate Christ. I believe this because I did the math. I really did." This particular quote spoke to me in a negative way. I thought it was very strange. I wonder how she came to do the math of how she was going to breath in seven molecules of Christ's breath. I, myself, absolutely cannot relate to this at all. Like, honestly.. What the fuck. Do you really want to breathe in Christ's exhaled molecules? I don't really want to think about inhaling anyone's molecules. Maybe this essay simply didn't speak to me because I'm an atheist but… There are still some Christian stories that I can relate to, specifically ones about good and evil, and happiness. I have trouble relating to this because she referred to her God as a photon… All I could think was "Uhhh… Wut?" In her article, she mixes her religion and chemistry together, which are two things that kind of throw me off when put together. Religion and science for me, are two things that I don't like to put together. In my opinion, there isn't very much science to religion, and there's absolutely no religion to science. I believe that there is no science involved with the spiritual things that happen in religious happenings. From what I've learned throughout my life about Christianity, there is nothing scientific to the religion. Then again, her religion isn't really Christianity, but that was the most relatable religion I could think of. Anyway.. She also refers to the beginning of the universe to God's great cataclysm, which is different from what I believe, which is the big bang theory. I guess I just have a hard time relating to people who's beliefs are shaped in such a concrete way, where there is no margin for swaying their opinion, but I guess that's what religion is about. Anyway, I guess I was babbling this whole time, but I found it kind of difficult to find an article that I really didn't care for. I think this one did the job though, even though I bashed her the whole time in a way.

A Drive to Achieve the Extraordinary. This is the "This I Believe" essay that I read today. I say read because I couldn't listen for some weird reason. Anyway. The essay was written by Juliet Frerking, and in her essay, she starts out with talking about her fascination with the Guinness World Records book. She was inspired as a young child to achieve greater things in life, to go above and beyond even if your friends or family heckle you for trying. This essay especially inspired me because I feel as though almost everyone, especially on UK campus, conforms extremely easily. I feel like many people are always doing the same things. Juliet's essay reminded myself that it is admirable to be different, and to go above and beyond the normal. In Juliet's essay, she said "Reassured by Mrs. Balanoff, our third grade teacher, that we could be anything when we grew up." This is always a belief that I've held close to my heart, and have always thought back upon it when I was feeling that I had to be something that I'm not. Many people do things that they have absolutely no interest in, just so they can impress their friends or family. I like to do things because they interest me, and because I'll gain happiness from my actions and efforts. For example, my studies. I am studying Marketing and French because I want to go into fashion marketing, and I love the language of French. Instead of going pre-med or any other major that doesn't interest me at all, I'm ignoring my families urges for me to go onto something that will guarantee me a job, and doing what I want and love to do. I could really relate to Juliet's essay for many reasons. Some being: her early inspiration to follow her dreams, her perseverance through criticism, and her determination to become something greater than she would have imagined.