Vlog 2: Checking In

To some degree, this second vlog builds upon the issues explored in our first, "Millennial" —  isolation, media consumption, the notion of moderation in a culture of excess, etc. 

Take a look, and let us know what you think! 

Checking In from Media Matters: The Public Screen on Vimeo.

The Old Switcheroo Made New

By Wendy Faunce

Hana Pesut, a photographer born and raised in Vancouver, BC, began her portrait series titled “Switcheroo” nearly two years ago. Since then, she has taken hundreds of pictures around the globe and published a photo book describing the process.

To participate in “Switcheroo,” couples are required to take two pictures. The first is a simple couple photo. The second is a photo in which the man and woman exchange clothes and mimic each other’s previous stance. The result is more often than not a woman power-stancing in a suit and a man balancing in heals and a dress.

“I think the project shows how far we've come in regards to what is acceptable for men and women to wear,” says Pesut. “[N]ow it seems that almost anything goes.” However, she does not want to assign a specific meaning or gender issue to the series. “I still enjoy just hearing everyone's own interpretations rather than putting an idea out there of what I think it should be.”

That is the beauty of this portrait series. It may be interpreted as a project criticizing gender politics, stereotypes, and the changing boundaries of social norms within society. It also may be enjoyed as a simple and quirky way for couples to reach a further understanding of each other. What is your interpretation?

Private Closets, Public Catharsis

By Sam Watermeier 
 
Media, or any effective rhetoric, links the particular to the universal. 

LGBT activist Ash Beckham did exactly that this week during a TED talk about coming out of the closet.

"At some point in our lives, we all live in closets," she said. "No matter what your walls are made of, a closet is no place for a person to live."

Beckham talked about coming out of the closet in a way I've never heard before. Her speech evokes a startling revelation — the fact that we are all living in closets of some kind.

"Who can tell me that revealing you just declared bankruptcy is harder than telling someone you just cheated on them? Who can tell me that his coming out story is harder than telling your five-year-old you're getting a divorce? Hard is not relative. Hard is hard."

 

Through this discussion of repression and closets, Beckham took what is usually seen as a uniquely gay experience and made it a universal one. 

Her speech inspired me to examine what I repress and to start being honest about my own demons. 

How did the speech inspire you?

"Rocky Horror" Hits Home

By Samantha Smith 

 
For the past five years, Ball State has brought its rendition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Pruis Hall on Halloween night. Some go for excitement, others go to figure out what the show is about and hell, some people may go just to watch girls run around in their underwear for two hours. But the show has much more to offer beneath its surface. It gives viewers a chance to throw pre-conceived notions of gender, sex, and individuality out the window. 

The musical stage play, book and lyrics were written by Richard O’Brien in the '70s as a humorous tribute to science fiction and horror movies. However, to O’Brien, this was much more than just a show. For him, this line from Dr. Frank 'N' Furter summarizes its larger message: “Don’t dream it, be it."

In 1983, O’Brien was asked by CNN what that line really meant, to which he replied: “It means realize your dreams, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something and be yourself…..we’re all freaks at times, there is no norm…God made us in different ways thankfully and that’s the somewhat childish message I’m trying to get across." And that he did. 

Another one of the movie's main messages is that sex should be perceived as enjoyable and not something to be condemned. Some actually consider the show to represent different sides of the sexual revolution. Rocky Horror satirizes sex in America by personifying in Brad and Janet the two responses American society had toward the sexual revolution of the 1960s and '70s. For example, Brad responds by fighting even harder than before to stop the progression of sexual freedom, to demonize homosexuality, to condemn sexual independence in women, to blame all of America’s misconceptions, which are otherwise healthy expressions of sexuality, as dirty and inappropriate. The other half of America — Janet — responded with an almost manic sexual celebration and a kind of aggressive experimentation that today may seem outrageous. But if we think about it, is it really so outrageous for sexuality to be over the top in today’s society? Not really. Through advertisements and TV shows, sex and gender are everywhere, pushing limits everyday, and it’s not going to stop anytime soon.
 
Since the movie was released in 1975, it has become a worldwide phenomenon and a stepping-stone in the LGBT community. This movie made it okay for people who were considered “different” to be themselves which is why it is such a cult classic to this day. The show explores American sexual hang-ups, the excesses of the Sexual Revolution of the '70s, and the sometimes cruel myth of the American Dream. And because the show was created entirely by British artists, it has the advantage of genuine objectivity in its exploration and satire of these mostly American phenomena. However, when it was first performed in America in 1973, many of the people involved with the first productions of Rocky Horror said in interviews that the subsequent American productions in Los Angeles and New York made the film version lose much of what’s important about the show — its grit, its confrontational directness, its relationship with its audience — but it hasn't seemed to lose any of that.

One hundred Ball State students had to be turned away this year because there were no more seats in the auditorium. That proves even more that this show only gets better with age. Throughout the years this show has expressed freedom and liberation no matter what your gender or sexual orientation is. However, I didn’t really understand what that meant…until I joined the cast.

I went to see the show for the first time during my freshman year at Ball State and I left the auditorium saying to myself, “I need to be a part of this next year.” To me, it seemed like a lot of fun to act that way. But as I did the show last year and especially this year, I started to realize that most of the cast, if not all of us, weren’t acting. For example, this year during the pre-show I walked around with “free kisses” painted on my chest, thinking to myself, “Oh, this should be crazy, fun and slightly awkward, let's do it.” But as I was walking around the lobby giving kisses to those who wanted them (I got 16 by the way), I didn’t find it weird at all. In fact people praised me for it, but the comment that really hit home was when a random stranger came up to me and asked, “So you’re giving free kisses?” To which I replied: “Yes”. Then he asked: “Are you sober?” I laughed and said “Yes” and then he just looked at me and said not that it was weird, or odd, or "you’re going to get mono." He looked me right in the eyes and said, “That’s beautiful.” Then he told me his coming out story and how much this show meant to him. That was the hit home moment, that’s when I realized that this is much more than just a musical where people run around half naked. It’s a place where people can come to be themselves, just for a few hours and forget what society says is right and wrong. And if you were to ask any of the cast to describe what we are I can guarantee you that all of our answers would be the same: A family.

History and Home Movies

By Wendy Faunce

 

Producer Arik Bernstein recently released the film Israel: A Home Movie. Shot between the 1930s and 1970s, the film features home video clips of Israeli citizens, giving an intensely personal and individual view of Israel’s history. “We spent between eight and ten years collecting all of the footage we have,” says Bernstein. “We put little ads in newspapers, I pushed myself onto every kind of radio show that I could, a lot of word of mouth.” In addition to the home videos, those appearing in the videos and their family and friends provide voiceovers to their clips. Some explain the situation in the clip while others nostalgically comment on their family and friends’ looks or even teasingly criticize the talents of the amateur cameramen.

Though it tells the history of Israel, the film turned out very differently than Bernstein expected. He states, “Israeli audiences told me that this was one of the most depressing films they’ve ever seen.” Israel’s history is by no means a tranquil one and the home videos capture that more fully than expected. A home video of a relaxing day at the beach between friends tells a particularly moving story.

Several shirtless men were enjoying the shoreline bordering a placid sea. As they dig their canopy’s legs into the sand, they spot something in the sky. “Suddenly they look up and they see an Egyptian jet fighter… They don’t know what’s going on [and then] they realize that there’s the surprise attack of the Egyptians and the 1973 Yom Kippur War has just begun.”

The film quickly turns into a melancholic exploration of the Yom Kippur War, capturing moments of confidence and despair. “The film goes from hope to war, from hope to war…” says Bernstein. “It shows in a very personal way, a kind of cycle that doesn’t end.” Not only is Israel: A Home Movie a film about Israel’s past, it is a film reflecting the state of the country at the present moment and, unfortunately, a very likely portrait of Israel’s future.

We often view history as a vast and untouchable something that is beyond us. This is by no means true, in fact it is nearly the opposite of what defines history. Family, friends, and strangers are history. History is individual stories, interwoven and intertwined throughout time, place, and culture. These home videos show raw and close history unspoiled by sensationalism and touched by living memory. People define history. People control these waves of hope and war, just as people suffer them. The impact and value of a single person, a family, an entire world of people is limitless. We have power, both good and bad, beyond measure.

Horror Is Here to Stay

By Jillian Jenée

 

The horror genre has been around forever, and from the looks of things, it isn’t ready to go anywhere just yet. 

This year has seen the second remake of Carrie as well as Insidious: Chapter 2, You're Next, The Conjuring, V/H/S/2, Evil Dead, The Last Exorcism Part II, Mama, and more.

           

Television shows like The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, and The Hollow grace our TV screens every week, picking up higher ratings than other shows outside the horror genre.

 

One could argue that horror causes a stronger visceral reaction than other genres. It sends chills down our spines and makes our neck hair stand tall. It also produces a win-win scenario, feeding our curiosity for danger without putting us in it. There's something universally appealing about being scared from the comfort of our chairs in a theater with friends. Perhaps in this age of so much simulated reality (Facebook being the major example), that idea of wanting to experience something without real physical harm makes horror even more popular now.

        

As long as fans continue to thirst for blood hungry vampires, vicious werewolves and psycho murderers that never seem to die, you can expect for the horror genre to be around for a long, long time.

Picture Personal

By Wendy Faunce

On the streets of New York City, Richard Renaldi combines photography and a social experiment, creating a very unusual project. Renaldi composes shots of two or more off-the-street volunteers who have never met intimately posing as friends, family, or lovers. The resulting photos are astounding. While some convey the awkward closeness of strangers, most of the photos reflect the weak yet genuine bond created between the volunteers within minutes. Responses like, “It was a good feeling” and “It was nice to feel that comfort” are very common among the participants despite their initial hesitation to participate. A thirty-something poetry teacher responded, “I felt like I cared for her,” when posed with his arms around a 95-year-old fashion designer. The photos often move Renaldi himself. He states, “It’s kind of lovely.”

 

One volunteer read further into her experience, reflecting, “We are probably missing so much about the people all around us.” And she is completely right. Though it may seem clichéd, we have the responsibility to acknowledge the inherent beauty of each person we encounter. We should not require a person with a camera to enable that acknowledgement. As renowned writer C.S. Lewis stated, “it is hardly possible for [people] to think too often or too deeply about [the glory] of [his/her neighbor].” He goes on to claim, “It is in the light of [the] overwhelming possibilities [of our neighbors’ glory]… that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.”

Our greatest asset and source of life is each other. There are so many people in our lives that it seems impossible to even acknowledge, much less revel in the glory, of each and every person we encounter. However, considering the number of people stretched throughout time, culture, and place, one realizes that a relatively small and specific group of people is present in one’s life. 

Though it is impossible to create and maintain deep and meaningful relationships with every person we encounter, it is possible to recognize everyone as being of significant value to our lives and vice versa. Renaldi’s photos remind us that, in the words of Lewis, “[t]here are no ordinary people…” and that, even if in very small ways, we must treasure and celebrate the miraculous and remarkable existence of the human person. 

Video Blog Premiere: Millennial

Today marks the introduction of an exciting new feature for Media Matters — video blogs. 

Our first video is a look at the intense self-indulgence and scrutiny perpetuated by the digital age. This short film, Millennial, is the tale of a young man literally starving himself whilst wallowing in emotionally malnourishing social media and technology. 

When he’s not counting calories or rigorously exercising, protagonist Nick Holloway (Sam Watermeier) is consumed by media. Perpetually plugged-in and walled off by screens, he embodies the sense of isolation associated with the iPod generation. The film follows Nick as he feeds his obsession and ultimately realizes that his physical withering reflects the social erosion of the world around him.

Part of a longer film project, Millennial ends here on an ambiguous note. Will Nick continue wasting away, physically and socially/spiritually, or is there a light at the end of the dark tunnel in and outside cyberspace? Tell us what you think! 


Millennial from Media Matters: The Public Screen on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Evan Dossey, Wendy Faunce, Eli Ralston, Heath Schlatter, Brent Smith, and Harry Watermeier for their input and contributions to this film.

Protecting the Past: The Lens of History

By Wendy Faunce

 

Marc Hermann, an ex-photographer for the New York Daily News, is bringing history and present-day together in a project called “Daily News — Then & Now.” The project consists of a series of photos that combine crime scenes of past decades with current photos of the locations of those scenes. The result is an eerie and downright ghostly recreation of the past. 

Describing a black and white photo of a 1951 church fire, Hermann states, “You ask anybody around the neighborhood today, probably nobody’s old enough to remember that it ever happened.”

So what is the purpose of digging up New York City’s past? “The whole point of my project, really, is to remind people of the history they’re living among here in the city,” says Hermann.

Walking into buildings, down streets, or even through doorways, people generally do not remember those who must have done so 10, 20, 50 years ago. Most do not envision the history those places must hold, especially places which seem mundane and ordinary. How much more could people of today understand the world if they saw it as Marc Hermann does? How much more would people appreciate their community if they realized that their classrooms, coffee shops, and staircases are gifts from past generations?

The “Daily News — Then & Now” project serves as a profound reminder of the people who came before us and built our homes, our cities, and our nations. It reminds us to recall the past, but also reminds us to look to the future. We must remember that the people of the present-day are the people who build up the communities for future generations. These photos ask us to be sure the place we live and work is a place that we are unashamed to give to future generations.