This class was rescheduled for the following week - week 8 due to Eid holidays and a clash in everyone's schedules. However, this was a very interesting topic to get into and I was looking forward to the lovely presentations in store for us.
Pre-Class
While reading the online lesson, some topics and ideas were fairly new to me for the fact that I personally don't care much about social class, status and capital. To me, I believe that the social hierarchy we are programmed to live in - created by society - has resulted in the depletion of happiness and true identity. Although I would agree that consumption is a major part of our lives, the segment in the online lecture that tackled this topic seemed very relatable.
During Class
During class we discussed on a LOT of different topics. One of the most important things that stood out to me was how society has commodified the meaning of relationships. It's insane how the world views relationships such as being treated with an expensive gift on Valentine's day rather than spending time with their loved one(s).
We discussed how receiving a rose on valentine's isn't enough anymore, its about the BRAND of a flower you receive (what?). The brand you gift to someone shows them how much you value them. If you gift them something as trivial as a watch or a ring, it should be made of gold, or silver or be one of the top brands of the world to justify your affection. This leads everyone onto materialism which, in my opinion, consumes the happiness out of a person. I don't believe that the more richer you get, the happier you'll be. I believe that happiness can be found in some of the smallest things in life.
We even went on to discussing how some of us make special custom artwork of our friends as gifts to them. Personally something as personalized like a card or an artwork is much more valuable than an expensive gift - because it is priceless. I believe in experience as a gift. The time I get to spend with loved ones is a gift. But, I guess, the way society has shaped into becoming a social hierarchy of class and capital has dawned on many as a cost in our day-and-age. The more you are in debt to loans, the more the happiness and purpose of your life gets sucked out of you.
This video below is a perfect example of my views and was a very informative and entertaining video to watch in the online lecture.
Post Class
Creative Media Project Progress
Our team's synergy is honestly such a lovable atmosphere to be in - we bounce off ideas from one another and come up with such interesting concepts that are creative and innovative. This week, we had a group meeting where we focussed on writing a script for our project. I had some ideas beforehand that I shared with the team and we all seemed to add and subtract things from one another.
The initial idea was that we each act out a role from our selected movies and have a voiceover with video footage from the film to explain our topic of Aesthetics in Mediated Violence in Horror Films. We titled our project "The Beauty of Horror". Hence, we want everyone to see and appreciate the beauty of horror the way we do. But since this topic is usually deemed as brutal, gory and 'unsuitable to the faint of heart', we wanted to portray the information in a more approachable way that could be targeted to a wide range of audiences - even those who think they can't stand horror. With this concept in mind, it sort of lures you into the world of horror - similar to the way Pennywise did to the kid in IT.
Other concepts we developed in the meeting are as follows:
IT (2017) is going to have Pennywise with make up jump-scare everyone very unexpectedly. The role is perfect for Josh in our team, and you'll see why...
Since A Quiet Place (2018) is a film that tackles the horror of silence, we thought about having Naya (who's going to be speaking about this topic) say a line in Sign language and talk in ASMR. It's going to throw everyone off in the way this is done, if it is done well (which I'm sure of).
Bird Box (2018) - the film I will be tackling - revolves around blindfolding yourself and NOT looking at the monsters if you want to survive in a post apocalyptic world. Hence, my concept is going to revolve around me blindfolding myself and comedically failing to do some tasks. Not going to say much here...
Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) is a film about witchcraft although the way the horror is exemplified through tying a bell around a corpse's leg, is a concept we wanted to work with. We thought about using the sound of the bell as a symbol of horror in our project although the way this is going to be executed is a mystery, for now...
Below is a script we came up with, together. I can't emphasize on how excited I am to start filming and recording my voiceovers for this.
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