First off, watching Skyfall for the first time I must say I was very happy with how the movie turned out. It truly was a stand-out from other Bond movies which is definitely important at this point in the franchise. Other than the plot, the movie was built up through lots of fighting and action scenes.
Observing the lighting in this movie I noticed several things. First, there are many differently lit shots due to the vast range of areas this movie was shot. However, there are some key techniques that I noticed more frequently.
The first was the use of Cameo lighting in the first seen. We see Bond's silhouette step out into the end of a hallway. The vector from this causes him to walk slowly toward us until...
Hard directional light with low key lighting reveals his shadowed face. While shots outside during the day don't have low key, many of the indoor shots are low key. This makes the mood more dramatic and intense!
Concerning color in the movie, one thing really stood out to me. The villain in this Bond movie always wear a light tan jacket. Normally a villain would wear a dark color, and something with a prominent hue. I believe he is dressed in white to contrast Bond, not only to show they are good and evil though. In a way Bond and the villain are very similar, as they both were MI6 Agents. The warm hue also bring heavier energy/attention to Silva, the villain.
Bad guys. Everybody loves a good villain. Someone who can match, if not even over-power the hero can keep the story moving, and give the hero's journey some more meaning - beating this guy is important, and a challenge. Sometimes, if the villain is dastardly enough, he can almost become the selling point of the whole movie - The Dark Knight's Joker comes to mind, where Heath Ledgers performance became the main reason to see the movie, even earning him a posthumous Oscar award for best supporting actor. Of course, James Bond is no stranger to great villains. The new "Bond villain" is as highly anticipated as the new "Bond girl," or in some years, the new Bond. But how does this years main baddie compare to the evil doers of other recent summer blockbusters?
For this post, I'm going to compare Skyfall's villain to those from The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Avengers - arguably three of the most anticipated "good vs. evil" movies of the year
Lets start with, in my opinion, the weakest of the bunch. The Amazing Spider Man's villain was The Lizard. He was a guy who turned into a big lizard and wanted to make everybody else into big lizards, and do so as chaotically as possible. Not much character, not much development, just a big lizard trying to make things bad in the city. Next!
Loki from The Avengers was a bit more developed. His main goal is to, of course, take over the world, and enslave the entire human race to do his bidding. Though it's as generic of a reason as you can get, his jealousy of brother Thor certainly adds some depth to it. He was always looked down upon in favor of his brother, so his ability to take over an entire planet would show his capabilities. Nothing deep or complicated, but a good enough comic book villain for a good comic book movie.
Bane definitely had a lot to live up to in The Dark Knight Rises after the incredible performance of The Joker in 2008. Unlike the other two baddies up above, Bane is a bit more relatable, especially in the wake of stuff like Occupy Wall Street. At his core, Bane is a revolutionary, and a showman. Rather than taking apart Gotham City, he invites the city to do it for him. "Take back your city," he cries, until the streets are filled with chaos and disorder, all by it's own hands. Of course along the way he doesn't mind blowing up a football stadium or two. Now towards the end (SPOILERS, of course), he does loose some credibility, as he is revealed to be the sidekick of Talia Al' Ghul, the red herring main villain of the movie, and especially when it's revealed he has an unstoppable nuke ready to wipe Gotham City off the map, no matter what it's citizens did. So, in the end, he gets a little flat, but overall Bane shows that villains don't always have to be motivated by nothing more than "evil"
Which brings us right back to Skyfall, and Raul Silva. This guy is fantastically interesting, a bit of a change from Bond villains who just want money or power. Silva's motive is simple, but firm - revenge on MI6's leader, M. Almost a picture of a future James Bond, Silva, a top agent in his prime, was given up by MI6 to the Chinese government in exchange for six hostages. Ever since then, he's made it his goal to get revenge on M, in as flamboyant and showboat-ey a manner as possible. Leading Bond and the gang on an insanely wild goose chase throughout London and then some, Silva's fascination stems from his simple desire - to watch the world burn. Much like The Joker, villains who are simply sadistic and narrow minded are incredibly fun to watch. They let us escape from well minded society to watch "true evil" do it's crazy, messed up work.
The new James Bond flick Skyfall is definitely one of the best films of the year. Skyfall contains all of the heart-pumping, hand clinching, adrenaline rushing action that viewers have been experiencing since the first James Bond film. Daniel Craig does an amazing job of playing Agent 007 yet again.
There have been many films that have came out in the past five years that portray a hero with an important agenda of being the good guy. Superheroes such as Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man, Spiderman and Thor for example have taken the box office by storm recently. But what makes 007 think he can hang out with the big boys? James Bond has many characteristics and attributes of a hero. I came up with a few topics that compare Bond to other superheroes.
Weapons: Although we couldn't classify James Bond as a Superhero he still has an amazing selection of the most updated weapons. His weapon selection especially in Skyfall is mind-blowing. From Bond's bare knuckles to his new gun that can only be shot by him, his selection never seizes to amazing the viewer.
Athleticism: Another important topic when comparing heros is their athletic ability. James Bond is physically fit and shows great stamina when some fights come down to the wire. Due to his commitment at the gym Bond shows to be an extraordinary athlete. The most important is that his strength is all natural, no offense to the Hulk.
Fighting Skills: Skill sets that heros adapt to are very important. 007 never seizes to amaze us with his fighting scenes as bullets fly across his body. His finesse, acrobatic movement, and strength puts him up there with Captain America, without a suit and shield.
James Bond in Skyfall was a different Bond experience. James Bond and the heroism that he displays undoubtedly make him an important hero. His demeanor, attitude, leadership and bravery are like none that other heros have which makes him a unique figure.
This week my team decided to
critique the new James Bond movie: Skyfall. I found it interesting that the
people in charge of music had Adele do the introductory song into the movie. I
think this was a very good idea because it she is very popular and very talented
so this could potentially draw more viewers in.
I think that this drew more publicity to the movie because they could
play the song on the radio and then be like “Go see the movie!” and talk about
how good it is. I think that bringing in a big name artist was a great idea for
them because they could build the hype before the movie came out just by
playing the song on the radio. I think that in the long run this will help the
movie to continue to grow just because of the music. Also in the movie there
was a lot of great music, a lot of it was to build the suspense. I think that
they picked great music in the movie to describe each scene. Over all the movie
was great and they used their musical sources very well!
As mentioned in the previous blogs, heavy metal music with screaming in it is not highly favored by society. Most people consider this style of music to be painful to listen to, and why shouldn't it be? It's looked at as an angry style of music due to the history of metal, as well as the "Heavy" sound of the instruments and screaming.
However, I must say that Sky Eats Airplane is not at all your typical hardcore band. As opposed to syncopated, chugging 4/4 breakdowns and basic of use of the Minor Scale, Sky Eats Airplane branches out to the most obscure, complicated, and technical aspects of music.
They incorporate...
Odd Time Signatures (5/4, 7/4, 9/4)
Very Little Repetition
Use of all notes, not only one scale (Dorian, Phrygian, and use of Tritone/M7 particularly!)
Post-Song Techno Interlude/Transitions (Between nearly every song, some sort of electronic transition. This really adds a lot of depth when listening to the album through!)
Nearly Constant Vocals during songs, giving the listener a bank of lyrics.
Vocal Harmonies, Clean/Rough Vocals
A Variety of Genres in Every Song (Electronic, Metal, Hardcore, Nintendocore, Ambient, Alternative, and even Jazz Elements)
Heavy Transitioning throughout Songs (Song may be screaming one moment, calm the next)
Odd Rhythmic Beats (Which fit well to the time signature, but are very tricky to follow)
Powerful Leader Guitar (Sweeping, Tapping, Legato, Shred, and all with clever note choice)
A Versatile Drummer (While this guy can shred drums, he also knows when to pull back, which is very important, and emphasizes the song.)
If you couldn't tell, I am a HUGE fan, particularly of this album. The beauty of it is that when all of these elements come together, it creates more than a CD with 11 Tracks on it. It becomes a dynamic story, with twists and turns, and always an entirely new melody around the corner. To me it is clear that every moment of this album was precariously hand-crafted, and the final product personally hits me home. Even the lyrics touch me truly, and I've noticed that the music is very molded according to the emotion of the current word being spoken.
However, this complicated method of writing music often deters many listeners. I believe particularly those with an understanding of music/theory, or that play music are the people that can most enjoy and appreciate Sky Eats Airplane. The majority of the people though find music this technical to be random or chaotic. Melodies not in 4/4 or 3/4 become hard to follow, and what really guides the listener through these odd time signatures is the vocals, which for many people is something else difficult to listen to.
For some great examples of their different techniques, check out the following songs!
For a crazy time signature, listen to the intro of Disconnected, Numbers, or Long Walks on Short Bridges!
For crazy shredding guitar, listen to Machines!
For a soft, All singing song, listen to In Retrospect!
For great techno transitions, listen to the ending of The Artificial, Transparent, or Disconnected!
For VERY Odd Rhythmic Beats, listen to the picking pattern in the chorus of Numbers!
This week my group decided to turn our focus to albums of rather intriguing styles of music. Not just any music but music that has still been widely viewed as unacceptable and negative by a mainstream audience. What music do you ask? How about the genre of heavy metal. We are focusing our attention on Sky Eats Airplane- a heavy metal band that classifies themselves as an electronica, hardcore and metal mixture.
Im focusing on why this music seems to be personally more unacceptable than acceptable. While listening to a few of their songs on youtube the screams and loud banging on the drums were turning me away from a good experience. Personally I am not a fan of music like this but I also give it a chance.
I feel like when it comes to heavy metal you either like it or not. I never found an interest into this music because the very fast paced beat seems off to me and I can't understand the lyrics. While watching the bands music video named Numbers I was a little confused about what was going on. I had a very negative look to lyrics (when I could understand them) and the quick changing transitions within the music video. To me music is medicine for the soul. When I listen to a genre like this it seems like it has the total opposite effect. Like Chrissy pointed out in her post, this genre hasn't been apart of the mainstream. Maybe if it were more mainstream and appealed to a larger fan base, mine along with others perceptions may change for the better.
I've never been a fan of this kind of music, though I'm not completely sure why. There's a number of components to metal-core that I cite when discussing my dislike for it; the screamed vocals, the jarring transition between styles, the insane drumming - but as I think about it, those components exist in a lot of music that I do love, which leads me to wonder why I don't like them when they're together. So, in this post, I'm going to take each of those components and present some examples of their use in songs that I, personally, enjoy. Then hopefully I can start to understand why I enjoy them much more separated than together.
Screaming Vocals
Screaming vocals are weird for me.
I understand the desire, and sometimes need, to scream your lyrics in a song. What better way to express your anger, your frustration, or your absolute, undying passion than to scream them out? But, of course, there can always be too much of a good thing.
One of my favorite songs, with screaming in it or otherwise, is posted above; Beautiful Child, by Swans. The vocals are definitely screamed, but not in the same style as bands like Sky Eats Airplane. These screams are a lot more...decipherable, I suppose. They're more like furious shouts than high pitched screams. One thing that I love about this song is the change in intensity that singer Michael Gira gives these cries throughout the song. As the song progresses, he grunts through words about the things that he "holds on to," and the things he uses to "deceive [him]self." As the song continues on, he becomes louder and angrier, eventually screaming of his desire to "kill the child, the beautiful child" (the song itself is told from the point of view of some sort of pedophile murderer - but that's beside the point!), until his voice finally cracks under the immense pressure, and he ends, pleading, to "get out of my head."
This sort of build-up with the vocals impresses me much more than the constant, high pitched squeals of SEA and their peers. It's clear that the screaming is meant to add passion and fervor to the words, but when it all is communicated at the same level, that intense passion, to me, is lost.
Jarring Transitions
If you listen to the song from the intro post, I'm talking about the transition that can be heard around 0:35, when the music goes from intense, crunchy, non stop aggression directly to a softer, almost twinkly sung sound. For me, whenever I listen to a metal-core song, it's around the time of that transition that I decide to turn it off.
Now, not to say that intensely different styles of music can't coexist in one four minute song. In the song posted above, Sugar Pill by Indian Summer, the song starts off almost inaudibly quiet, with plucked guitar and whispered vocals in the background. Around 1:16, though, quick blasts of loudness are presented, more and more often, until around 1:55 where the whole song bursts into a frenzy of crashing drums and screaming guitars.
So, here's what I'm thinking. Clearly it's not the 'jarring transitions' themselves that I don't like. They can keep the song alive and constantly moving, which helps it be interesting to listen to. I think my issue with the SEA-esque transitions is their immediate-ness. The song can go from a wall of aggression straight to a pretty section with no context - I think that's what it is, really. Songs like Sugar Pill have some build to them - they aren't quick to jump from style to style on a whim, there's some sort of reasoning behind where the song goes.
Blast Beats
Oh, blast beats. How I loathe you.
Blast beats are the intense, repetitive, loud double bass hits you hear throughout lots of metal songs, and I think they're truly the biggest reason for my dislike of this genre, and many other genres like it (black metal comes to mind). The blast beats quickly become overwhelming, and can sort-of drown out the rest of the song in their constant thumping.
I honestly could only find one example of a song that I like with blast beats in it, and it's a pretty poor example in that regard. Around the 8:33 mark of The Antique by Kayo Dot, you can hear some blast beats come up. The thing is, though, they don't stick around. They play their part, and then they go away (transitioning into five minutes of seriously some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard - but, again, that's beside the point). Even these blast beats are somewhat subdued, and more buried in the mix, letting the multitude of other instruments ring through.
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix of the black metal band Liturgy wrote an interesting, though completely and utterly pretentious manifesto called Transcendental Black Metal, describing the blast beat (and, in turn, hyper blast beat) as the backbone of transcendental black metal, the sort-of vehicle that can take plain, old run of the mill black metal and make it transcendental. I'm with him, in a sense - I believe that music can truly be transcendental, and one method of achieving that is through large amounts of noise and dissonance. But, in the case of metal core and SEA, the blast beats are way too high in the mix, drowning out the rest of the essential sounds that the band puts forth.
Conclusions
So, lets put it all together. If I like each of these aspects on their own, why can't I like them as a whole? If I were to ignore the massive elephant in the room that is the blast beat, and at the risk of sounding as pretentious as Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, I think it might come down to some sense of authenticity. In music that I like to listen to with screams or jarring transitions, there seems to be some unspoken yet understood reasoning behind it. The screams represent the song's character and his increasing anger at himself. The transitions can be tracked, and while surprising, somehow they make perfect sense. To my ears, Sky Eats Airplane and bands like them seem to be following some sort of formula that says you should scream all of your lyrics in the same tone, and after a few bars switch over to a squeaky clean tone that should represent variety in the song, but ends up making it a bit more predictable. I think that might be the word I've been looking for: predictable. You know that the song is going to transition over to the clean tone, and once it does once, you know when they'll do it again. You expect the vocalist to be screaming the whole time, though there might not be an evident reason for it.
In the end, I think it's all part of the genre. There's obviously people who like to listen to that kind of music, and plenty of bands who want to play to that formula. Formulas aren't intrinsically bad, of course - I just don't seem to like what this formula churns out.
The Texas based band, Sky Eats Airplane, classify themselves as being electronica/hardcore/metal. This band plays music that is considered more aggressive, they have someone that screams which is why they are viewed as hardcore but they also have clean vocals. They use synths so this makes them fall under the electronica genre. Other bands that are associated with Sky Eats Airplane are Of Mice and Men, Periphery, In Theory, and In Fear and Faith. These genres are becoming more popular but are still not the most accepted. There are a lot of people that don't like this kind of music yet so the bands that play these genres aren't mainstream but as music continues to evolve I believe these genres will grow to be more mainstream.
This week, we'll be taking a look at the band Sky Eats Airplane, with a focus on their self-titled album. We'll look at their fanbase, their genre and style, musicianship, as well as some input from people who aren't exactly in to this kind of music
NOTE: Cody's post exists in the comment section of this post
I've been and Olan Rogers fan since the days of Balloon Shop, before he became a one-man show. While we used to see him in many skit-based videos, he now does essentially "Story-Telling" videos from his bedroom, using a new set of techniques. My area to focus on are these new techniques, and how Olan uses them to present himself to his target audience.
There are several things that help to make Olan's show what it is. First let's talk about the setting, and why he prefers to do the videos in his room. When we watch Olan in his bedroom during a video, it's as if we've stepped into his own little world. It's as if we're more in the mind of Olan Rogers as he gives us insight into his world through whatever story he is telling. This setting is casual, inviting, and low-energy.
Olan's editing techniques are similar to a rising collective of other youtube channels, where the video is simply a person talking to their audience. The style these people use takes many short clips and phrases of the person talking and essentially stacks them together. This creates a high-energy atmosphere since the video can cut at any time and Olan could be doing anything in a moment's notice. This style works for Olan because of how goofy and spontaneous he can be.
The last thing I'd like to talk about is how Olan presents himself not through the aesthetic elements in his videos, but in his personality and character he plays during these videos. Olan Rogers has several main things going into his presentation. For example he uses a very interesting set of vocabulary, using many "quirky" words. His emphasis and annunciation of these words draws lots of over-the-top high energy as well which makes the video funny and keep them moving forward and not boring. He keeps the energy very high in his face as well, being a dynamic reader. Lots of silly faces are certain to be seen through his videos.
Overall Olan's videos are like taking a quick walk through his world, as he spills the bright and various colors of his mind out for us to do with as we please. I choose to laugh, and I think that there is something to take away from his videos. He seems very happy and excited in his videos which is contagious and makes us happy and excited about whatever he is talking about. I also do know that Olan plans to do more complicated videos in the future (if he can scratch up the money for it) which is exciting for me.
So after last week of critiquing the infamous show of 2012 "Honey Boo Boo"
I have decided to take on another path. I have decided to critique the short youtube videos of Olan Rogers who has made a name for himself in the comedy world. My topic that I would like to discuss is about the charity that Olan Rogers has generously donated after sales from his clothing line.
Since the new year of 2012 his apparel shop has donated some of their sales to needy kids around his area.
From his own site he includes a quote from himself... "This is a team effort too because your guys support makes this possible thank you from the bottom of my heart and know you guys are changing some kids lives for the better! :)"
Not only is Olan Rogers striving to be a comedian but, he is also a very thoughtful person when it comes to profit and distribution.
Olan has some very popular videos and people really do seem to like watching him. One of his videos, Ghost in the stalls, has over 3 million views. There are endless pages of comments and people say how much they love him and how much they laugh because of him. One person went as far as saying "I just peed a little bit!" I personally love Olan's videos. I think that he is very funny. His stories don't even have to be that great but the way he presents them makes a world of difference! One of the only comments I have found that says anything about the way he does his videos says that they don't like the way he keeps looking to the left. He replies to this person with a very adult and informing comment saying "It's pretty awkward staring straight into the lens of a camera. In film they tell you never to stare into the lens of a camera, it's a habit to want to look away. Not to mention there is a weeping angel in my room." I think it is very professional the way he handles this. I know that there are people who do not like Olan or the way he presents himself. One of the women I work with does not like him because she says he's just "another spaz telling a story." There are a lot of older people who think this. I think that the people that follow Olan the most are younger. He does say "poop" a lot and makes childish jokes but to younger generations that is funny. One reason I think his ratings are also high is because some people will watch his videos multiple times (guilty). There are a lot of people that comment and say "IT'S MONDAY!!!(Is it bad that every Monday I come and watch this?)." Even one of his lower viewed videos still has over 3,000 views. In his video Midnight Claw, Olan talks about how a bat got its nail hooked into his sock because his socks were to long in the front. He has about 570,000 views on this video! One of the things people comment about a lot is that his sock situation is relatable. Thats another reason I think people like his videos so much. He talks about everyday things that happen, which if I were telling the story it may just seem like another story, but when Olan tells it he adds a lot of character and humor which makes it better and more likable. He also promotes his videos with clothing that he makes which helps his ratings. He can make a shirt that says "It's a Monday!" and when someone sees their friend wear this shirt every Monday they're like "WHAT THE POOP!" Some of the money he makes from the clothing line goes to help needy kids. When people hear this it makes them want to buy more of his clothes and watch more of his videos to find out why he has a bear that is holding an axe with arrows shoved into his pelt and has a bag full of arrows but no bow, on a shirt.I think overall Olan does a lot to make people happy and its the little things that will take you places in life. I personally think that Olan is fantastic and that he should keep doing what he's doing!
While his YouTube channel mainly focuses on his minimal story videos, Olan Rogers has much more up his creative sleeve to offer.
Before Olan Rogers the channel existed, Olan Rogers the man was part of another YouTube group, BaloonShop. A comedy group, their videos derived their humor from quick cuts, strange situations and a general awkward and quirky atmosphere. And yelling - lots of yelling and loud noises.
BaloonShop seems to have gone on hiatus, as their last uploaded video is from 2010, but the sense of humor present in those videos has been carried over to some of Olan's personal videos. Same kind of quick cuts, yelling, and quirky atmosphere, but with a different supporting cast.
...and then, right when you thought he was a one trick pony, there comes his episodic series's. New Prime showed a somewhat new side of Olan Rogers, making a five part sci-fi adventure series with more varied camera work and a much more complex script (meaning these videos have an actual story line, rather than the joke-focused approach of his other videos). The first few episodes are still definitely made in the mindset of his other comedy videos, just with a more dramatic overtone. By part five, though, there's some actual drama put in - and it works quite well. Rogers is clearly trying to branch out from his previous work into a more...lets say, artistic style of film making.
This stylistic change is definitely starting to take over Rogers's channel, as seen by one of his more recent videos, a trailer for a new series called Pop Rocket. With a higher production quality, some serious dramatic acting and more expansive costumes and sets, Rogers is showing everyone what he can really do. With the gaps in his comedy videos becoming larger, it's clear that he's putting all of his focus into this new series. Only time will tell how it turns out, but if it's anything like this trailer, it's definitely something to look out for.
So last week the team critiqued, "Hunny Boo Boo Child." This week we are focusing on a comedian named Olan Rogers or is he a comedian............. Anyone can sit here and talk about and say the word "poop". But because he says it does it make it funny? I find it very interesting that America chooses to watch this guy every month or so. The man even gets roughly a million views every 2 months!!!! The man is selling out stadiums by talking about "poop."Olan also is very scitzafrentic. We find this funny because he seems like him spazing out. We as Americans think that anything to do with bodily functions whether it be farting or poop is extremely funny. REALLY!!!!!! COME ON AMERICA!!!!!!! We laugh at some of the dumbest things!!!!!! I mean, people also watch a kid named Fred who just changes his voice and acts spazmatic too!!!! He even got his own movie!!!! Here look at it for yourself!!! I posted a link to Fred so people could see what i am talking about. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!
The next piece of media we're going to be focusing on are the videos of Olan Rogers. He puts out videos on his YouTube channel somewhat sporadically, with an average of a month or so between uploads. He also runs an apparel shop, and has done work with BalloonShop and on other videos.
His channel can be found here, and one of his videos is embedded below.
...for the outrageous ratings that Redneck
Reality show, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" is receiving! I imagined
after watching the first episode that people of such a naturally repulsive
nature would turn away viewers, but isn't this always how Reality TV works?
High-hitting reality shows typically do involve high conflict, extreme
behaviors, and bizarre personalities. Now we begin to see how Here Comes
Honey Boo Boo delivers when it comes to ratings, and its ability to bring in an
audience. Character's bobbing for pig feet, diving in waters inhabited by
flesh-eating bacteria, making trashy fart jokes, and having just general
stupidity it seems, comprise just the 1st episode of this show. While these are
not high class members of society, they definitely do plenty of things we don't
see everyday, which can be entertaining to many people.
(Highlight to read next paragraph) The numbers speak for themselves, and it is
undeniable that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is a major success. It was the #1
program in delivery among all ad-supported cable for three consecutive episodes
as well. A large portion of its viewers are young to middle-aged women as well
(my theory is watching this show makes them feel hotter? I know I would...).
It's highest episode yet yielded a 1.8 HH rating, 2.6 W18-34 rating, and a 2.1
W18-49 rating. It's also been very successful in capturing the online audience,
taking the number one spot on Trendrr.tv's top social cable chart for the
fourth consecutive week! Not only is the online audience watching the show
though, but Twitter has been Tweeting hard on this one. There have been at
least 20 trending topics with over 1.5 billion impressions since the premiere
of the show.
The shows closest competitor is Royal Pains (USA), coming in with very similar
ratings consistently. Other shows of similar ranking for Wednesday's include
Family Guy (Adult Swim), The Big Bang Theory (TBSC), Robot Chicken (Adult
Swim), and American Dad (Adult Swim). The only shows to overtake Here Comes
Honey Boo Boo since its premiere have been The Big Bang Theory, Family Guy, and
Royal Pains.
It definitely says something about our society when we see Reality shows such
as this highlighting the ratings. We complain that the people may be dumb,
spoiled, obnoxious, annoying, or any number of things, but maybe this is the
reason we are so entertained. Entertainment has no standards, and as long as
the TV is on for shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, we only prove that this
is material we consider worth watching. While we justify our reasons for being
oddly compelled to watch fat rednecks, TLC will continue reaping the benefits
by exploiting a disgusting southern family, but a family nonetheless, for a
quick buck.
The show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" takes place out in a rural part of Georgia. They live out in the country with a bunch of red necks. The people that live around them like to go mud diving and bobbing for pig feet. They have a lake there that June "Mama" won't let the girls swim in because there is a possibility that you could get a flesh eating disease from the water.
The family seems very happy with each other and what they do. They have six year old Alana "Honey Boo Boo" in pageants which she seems to really like. I think it is good to have a girl like Alana in pageants because she has a lot of attitude which she can display while doing what she likes to do. Although Alana is in pageants her family is not picture perfect and proper. This is one of the things I liked about the family. Mike "Sugar Bear" makes the comment that they are all red necks and one of the daughters says they're not because they still have all of their teeth. I think that they are red necks. They like to go mud diving, bobbing for pig feet, and they wash their hair in the kitchen sink. They don't use proper english, which may be part of the show, they also have VERY thick accents. June calls herself "beautimous" and prides her girls on making themselves look good. I think that is a very good quality in a mother to want to make their child feel good because they look good. The girls decide that they are over weight and choose to make a plan to loose weight, all the while eating cheese puffs and chips. I don't think that they will follow through with the plan because they would have to change a lot about how they eat. Also they say that they are going to loose weight by farting so I don't think that they are going to get very far. I think that looking at their lifestyle as a whole they are happy but unhealthy and that Mike was absolutely correct when he said that they are red necks.
As I am critiquing this show with my team, my mind keeps asking myself,"What is this!!!" Has America finally hit rock bottom of the totem pole to where we resort to watching a little 6 year old prance around like she is on America's Next Top Model? This show is a spin off of one of the morst famous TV shows, "Toddlers and Tiaras." This is a show where mothers go and dress their little toddlers up and take them to numerous pageants and try to win cash prizes and contracts. THEY ARE 6 YEARS OLD!!!!! They should be worrying about what flavored lollypop they are getting for desert, not counting their calories!!!! In my opinion, people watch this specific show for one of two reasons. One, being they enjoy watching cute little girls participate in these pageants of number two, to watch how crazy and chaotic their families lives are. But,"Hunny Boo Boo Child" isn't just another contestant. She even has her own special juice to get her ready for these, "pageants". Its called her,"Go Go Juice." This drink consists of caffeinated beverage and a shot of pure energy!!! THESE KIDS ARE 6 YEARS OLD!!!!!!! WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!!
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo tells the story of the Thompson family, living in rural Georgia. The family is run mainly by "Mama," with her boyfriend "Sugar Bear." Mama has four daughters; Anna, Jessica, "Pumpkin," and the titular "Honey Boo Boo."
Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon
In the opening of the first episode, Honey Boo Boo describes Layryn as "the crazy-ist." Her title is somewhat proven when the family goes to the redneck games. First, she joins in the game of bobbing for pigs feet, which is exactly what it sounds like. Then, as the temperature reaches 100 degrees, she jumps right into a body of water that has a massive sign in front of it, warning patrons that a flesh eating bacteria lives in the water. I suppose you could chalk all of that up to pubescent adventurism, seeing as she's only 12.
Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon
Jessica is described by Honey Boo Boo as her "favorite-ist." At the redneck games, the two of them join in the mud pit belly flop, which, again, is exactly what it sounds like. What's interesting about her character, though, is her nickname. Needless to say, the entire family isn't exactly...fit. Or, really, healthy in any concevable way. Jessica, however, is the only one who suggests the family start losing weight. At 15, she says that she was starting to get ridiculed at school because of her weight, and suggested that the family all lose weight with her (of course, she suggested this while swallowing down a whole bag of pork rinds and cheese balls). You have to wonder if the only cause of her desire to lose weight is her school mates, though - Mama always calls her "Chubette," despite Jessica's hate of the name.
Anna "Chickadee" Shannon
Described as "the pregnant-ist" by Honey Boo Boo, Anna...simply wasn't in the first episode. In fact, she's only really introduced in the end of the third episode, at her baby shower, and even then she only has one or two lines. Doing some quick research tells me that she gave birth last July - to a baby with three thumbs. The father of the child doesn't seem to be in the picture at all.
Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson
Mike, Mama's "baby daddy," seems to only be there "for the testosterone," since the rest of the household is so filled with estrogen. He is the father of Honey Boo Boo, and the boyfriend of Mama for the past 8 years. He doesn't seem to do much but sit on the couch, and probably wonder what he's doing with his life.
Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson
The "star" of this show, Honey Boo Boo, is a child pageant star of 7 years old. According to the first episode, she has never won first place at a competition. Despite this, Alana is still very confident with herself, in all aspects. She proudly declares that "nobody's bringing home the crown but me!", she gleefully plays with her belly that's way too large for a child of her age, and her speech is generally proud at best, cocky and sassy at worst. She has a pet pig, which is somehow unsurprising. But, is she truly the main character of this show? No. That 'honor' belongs to...
June "Mama" Shannon
Mama. According to Honey Boo Boo, she's "the boss of the house." Most scenes focus on her, even when they aren't actually about her. She's always the one talking about Honey Boo Boo's pageants. When Jessica wanted to lose weight, all the attention moved towards Mama losing weight. Clearly, the people running this show want to put Mama front and center. And why not? She's certainly the most interesting character on the show. Or at least, the most exploitable. She's certainly a character of extremes. Extremely obese, she flaunts her "two or three chins," and proudly proclaims her secret of staying healthy is (and I'm not making this up) "to fart 12 to 15 times a day." It's clearly working. Outside the show, she's even more 'interesting.' Sugar Bear is only the father of Honey Boo Boo; each of her daughters has a different father, each of them in or have been in jail. In fact, she doesn't even know who Lauryn's father is. But, despite her unhealthy (and, sadly, entertaining) lifestyle, Mama is undeniably loving. She loves her family, supports Honey Boo Boo in her dream even when she loses, and tells them all that they're beautiful in their own body. She might not win any mother of the year awards, but she's trying her best.
While watching and analyzing the the first episode of this new show I wanted to talk about how it seems to pull viewers in. This show displays a different aspect of reality shows... one that comprises of a young girl that has one thing in mind- winning beauty pageants and a family that backs her up to the fullest extent. Her family is funny, gross and even disturbing at times. It reminds me of when swamp people came out. It is something that many people don't see in their daily lives making them intrigued and interested about how this family lives and what surprises they can give to us the audience. The show takes a whole new twist on beauty pageants and it makes me question how ethical it is for a girl as young as Honey to be playing barbie. This will be an interesting season.
On this blog, we're going to be analyzing TLC's newest sensation, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, about a child beauty pageant family and all of their "wacky antics," centered around five year old title character Honey Boo Boo. We'll start, of course, with episode one, which is embedded below.
