Silent Film

Breakfast

The Star Wars Underworld: Opinion: Open Letter To Bob Iger

The Star Wars Underworld: Opinion: Open Letter To Bob Iger: By: Benjamin Hart Much has changed recently in the Star Wars universe. When the first whispers about the Clone Wars' cancellation  s...


-This guy definitely needs to be heard for all fans of star wars. we cannot let Disney just make decisions that don't seem to make sense at the moment!

-Plus I will not accept the claim from Disney that says that do count the Expanded Universe as canon.

Interpersonal Communication - Real Life Report Number One

Ryan Licht

COM 201

01/24/13

Interpersonal Communication - Real Life Report Number One

 

Do you remember the last time you initiated a relationship? Initiating a relationship is something we all do cautiously and incautiously. Whether you are purposely initiating a relationship or not, we all use different strategies in which we initiate relationships. However, the strategies that we use must executed  conventional and efficient to establish the desired the relationship. In this report, I will discuss the four main strategies of initiating a relationship and my own personal account on my own relationship.

Networking is just one of the four main strategies for initiating a relationship. When you ‘network’, you are using a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups that have a common interest. For example, when you looked over the significant other’s “Facebook” to see what hobbies they may be into to help the first moments of contact go well. Another strategy to observe is “offering”. Offering yourself helps the other person to breach the awkward moment of initial contact. For example, by positioning yourself near the person; sitting down near to them or putting yourself somewhere that you know they will be approaching. The third strategy is called “approaching” and is probably the most feared. This strategy is so feared do the discomfort or the chance of being denied in the process. However, most people would prefer to be approached, so the chances can be more positive than some might think. The fourth and final strategy is called “sustaining.” This strategy is applied while already engaging with the desired relationship. In this scenario, the one who first initiated the relationship should keep the conversation going and not allow it to go flat.

Throughout this week, I found myself very busy and unable to observe a relationship initiation. Nevertheless, this is not to say that I have not experienced this form of communication in my personal life. I met girlfriend three years ago when we were both seniors in high school. I remember her sitting near me due the connection we had with a friend who already found seat next me earlier. As year went on, I got to know her on a more acquaintance level but I wanted to her more. To achieve this, I used the strategy of networking by communicating with our mutual friend, thus allowing myself to know her better. Over following weeks, I took on the strategy of offering myself by sitting closer to her, making it easier for to either converse or “flirt” with each other. Later, I began the two strategies of approaching her and sustaining a positive conversation with her. I continued this strategy by texting her by phone, increasing our familiarity with one another. During the break between our senior year in high school, the two us finally went on our first date. Since then, we have created a strong affection for one another and have developed a solid relationship.

Looking back on this moment, I can definitely account that age and culture play a role in both of us at the time. We are both roughly the same age and were experiencing the hardships of AP psychology class together. Now in my case, I was first to initiate the relationship but I was equally approached by her after the first step. I, however do recall making point to myself keep the conversation going before any amount awkwardness could creep in. Now as far as interactions being more likely to be initiated with persons of the same sex or opposite sex, I would have say that it depends on what they may have in common at the time. I have found myself in many social gatherings but found hard to associate with people that did at least share something that I liked in pop culture elements of bonding.

To conclude, by following a the four main strategies for initiating a relationship, you may increase your chances in developing strong relationship with the significant other. I found that when age and culture are typically similar, relationships are much easier to establish. This is due to people being able to create bonds with familiarity with pop culture or other elements of life experiences.

I.M.P.S. The Relentless

 

 

 

One of the reasons I started prop building and wanting to join the 501st was because of what these guys have created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metropolis

Where did the science fiction genre come from? Well the 1927 Metropolis film is a stylized and visually stunning silent film set in a dystopian future. It is because of director Fritz Lang's German masterpiece that brought the life to my favorite genre of science fiction. While searching YouTube, I noticed that there were many different versions on the Metropolis films. However, I did find a video that claimed they had as much of the original, including the original music, intact. 

The futuristic city is pictured as an industrial world with skyscrapers and bridges and appears to be divided or stratified into an upper, elite, privileged class of powerful industrialists and a subterranean, oppressed worker force. This directly correlates with what is happening in the time this film is being created. At the time, the Industrial Revolution was in its prime, the economy was falling to the rise of fascism in a pre-Hitler Germany and the rise of the American labor movement and unions during the 1920s due to oppressive working conditions. It also reflects the ongoing struggle between light and dark, good and evil, like in my favorite films of science fiction.

Additionally, Lang can be considered a profit of and the creator of science fiction. His vision is very impressive, and stands out as its own master piece next films that would later be inspired by his film. For example, Blade Runner is strikingly similar to the world and problems that Lang envisioned in his film. However, some of the most renowned players of science fiction did not care for Lang’s film. For example, while researching Metropolis, I stumbled onto a review by H.G. Wells himself. Throughout his review, he exhibits his distaste for “silliness” of the film. He also goes on to elaborate on how this film may have been copied from his own vision “When The Sleeper Wakes.” However, if you like the movie or not it has become more common for the Metropolis to be more easily admired than enjoyed.

http://www.filmsite.org/metr.html
http://erkelzaar.tsudao.com/reviews/H.G.Wells_on_Metropolis%201927.htm

Chuck Roberts-Year of China

            Chuck Roberts is a former CNN news anchor and has had the opportunity to teach media classes in China. Learning about his experiences was entertaining. It is interesting to find out all the differences another country has compared to our own. His students were not English speaking and he had to have a mandarin translator to relay the information he was teaching. This meant that he would have to speak a sentence, pause, wait for the translator to repeat the message, and then he could continue on with his lesson. That is something you would not find in America very often. That would be a lot of work and dedication to sit through a class with a professor you did not even have a common language with. Sadly, most American students would not be willing to go this extra mile and would not experience classes like this. Another thing I found interesting was the Chinese perception of Americans. He shared with us that Americans are seen as almost celebrities over there. They are not accustomed to seeing blonde haired people and will even take pictures with them if they come across them. This would be very odd for us to do since we are so used to seeing many differences in each person all over the county. As he described the way meals went in China, it was also a very big difference. While we may all sit around the dinner table and pass around food to each other, it would almost always be just enough food with hardly any leftovers. The way he was describing it was that there was obviously more food prepared and set out in front of them than there were people to eat it. Overall I really enjoyed Chuck Robert’s presentation. It was clear that he enjoyed what he was doing and loved being over there. He is even still in contact with one of his students over there. They will email him for advice on their works and even though they share no common language, it is still possible for them to communicate.