Narrative post

Narrative response

Sahan Jayawardena

New Girl

New girl is about how a girl lives with three guys that are best friends. New Girl takes the typical notion that girls are powerless, that girls have no say and that girls are just used for sex. Jessica Day is a quirky girl that is like no other woman on television. She is completely who she is and is one hundred percent okay with. She’s put in to a dynamic with three guys that clearly have a lack of direction. They mesh well together, but with Jess, it’s a smooth running machine. 

Traditionally, if a girl moves in with three guys that she barely knows, either a) she’s a slut or b) she is going to be a slut. New Girl shatters this stereotype. Like the audience, the three guys eventually learn to love Jess like a sister. She is untouchable not only because of how independent she is, but also because of how confident she is. This is translated in the TV show by her strong personality. The very beginning of the show begins with her introducing herself to the three guys. She’s trying to persuade them to let her stay at the apartment, and within the first five minutes of the show, the audience and the three guys are won over by her quirkiness.

Jessica comes in to the show with a major problem that she tells the guys, and within the first week of her staying with them, they are immediately there to help out. This proves how much influence she has on them. Immediately after she’s introduced in to the living dynamic, everything has changed. The power that she eventually develops in the show stems from this moment.

New girl does a good job transforming the image of single, independent woman. A lot of times they can be overlooked and taken advantage of, but instead, Jessica Day wins over the hearts of everybody she interacts. New Girl shatters the pre-conceived notion that woman are powerless by portraying Jessica in a fun, quirky way. Overall I very much enjoyed this show and have been addicted every since the first episode.

3) Reading Response to NYTIMES and Guardian articles about surveillance

While I understand some people's problem with taking pictures of other people through their window, you've got to be able to appreciate the art behind it all. The pictures that were taken are beautiful. It not only shows the daily life of the everyday person, but also beautifies it. Who knew taking a snapshot through a window could provide such artistic potential? I don't think that you should be arrested for it, although taking pictures of other people without their permission is a little bit sketchy and should probably never happen. Nonetheless, the artistic side behind the window photographs should triumph over the contreversy (unless you are taking of pictures of something illegal, which should then be reported).

I am very intrigued with the Edward Snowden case and the idea of surveillance in this article. Encrypted emails and security keys relating to the government always provide a good storyline. I also think that it is incredibly awesome that Laura Poitras was able to successfully help Snowden spill the secrets that he had without getting in major trouble for it, at least in her case. By using film as a get-around, I think that Laura is a genius.

Audio response

Sahan Jayawardena

Audio Response

http://www.radiolab.org/story/91569-memory-and-forgetting/

            I have never listened to an audio program before, so this was quite an experience. I mean, I have listened to NPR on occasion, but never for a full hour and never without being in a car. Nowadays my generation doesn’t have time to sit down and listen to an audio program. I would never give it my full attention, mostly because my generation was never brought up with radio. My earliest childhood memories involved a television set. My idea of engagement is with both an audio and visual component. By taking away the visual aspect of an hour-long program, it creates a struggle to continually listen. My mind almost needs a visual component, which should be my imagination, but since I’ve been brought up with watching programs that have such a tight integration between their audio and visual components, I doubted that I would be able to sit through an entire program and be entirely involved in the process.

            However, audio programs seem to be way ahead of me. Because the programs rely solely on the audio, the programs are very complex in terms of their setup. Regular NPR broadcasts are very monotonous and basic, with one or two voices that run the broadcast throughout the hour. During RadioLab’s program, the audio was different and engaging. If I closed my eyes, I would think I was watching a documentary about the mind and its memory. The audio is so complex that it feels like it has been directly taken from a documentary. My mind automatically fills in the visual gaps that I believe should be there. There is never a moment long enough where the audio stays the same; instead the program continually changes in order to keep the listener active, whether that is by adding in a new voice, adding in an effect or even complete silence. The effects in the audio programs help stimulate the mind to go along with the audio program, which is actually in some aspects more appealing than watching a set visual component. The different voices help add a new sort of depth to the program, helping move the narrative structure along without boring the listener.

            Overall this experience was very exciting. Audio programs like these are very cool to listen to because they are so complex but yet so simple. My mind is able to get lost in the program and relax without having to rely on a visual component, which is nice for a change. The different voices and audio effects help move the program along and keep the listener like myself very engaged throughout the entire hour.

Breaking Point

Breaking Point from Sahan Jayawardena on Vimeo.

Working Title, Rough Cut - First Scene

Working Title Rough Cut First Scene from Sahan Jayawardena on Vimeo.

The Music Room

The World in Our Pocket

The World In Our Pocket from Sahan Jayawardena on Vimeo.

Documentary Response - Dear Zachary

Dear Zachary

            Dear Zachary is one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever seen. It takes the viewer on a journey through some many different twists and turns, taking them through some really dark moments, but at the end, restoring their faith in humanity. Dear Zachary is a film that is about the murder of Andrew Bagby, his ex-girlfriend who murdered him, and the family’s grief, all for Andrew’s child, Zachary.

            The documentary is made as a memoir of Andrew for Zachary. Kurt, the man behind the entire film, is the one telling the story. He is one of Andrew’s close childhood friends. The two grew up together and Kurt is considered to be part of the Bagby family. Kurt tells Zach (and the viewer) that the point of the film is to let Zach know everything there is to know about his father, Andrew. Kurt narrates the film and directs his narration towards Zachary. After hearing about Andrew’s death, Kurt travels the country to visit friends and family of Andrew to gather all of this information. The viewer, along with Zach, is taken on Kurt’s journey. Since the film is made in the point of view of Kurt, the best friend of Andrew and a close family friend, the viewer is thrown in to the center of deep, raw emotion. Since the film is made by someone who is so close to Andrew, it has an extra sense of purpose and emotion. The viewer can see through the interviews and narration the struggle of every single person interviewed and we witness Kurt’s pain as well.

            The power in this film is phenomenal. The focal point of the story is the legal battle over Zachary between Andrew’s parents and Andrew’s killer and ex-girlfriend, Shirley. Kurt does a good job exposing the holes of the government and the legal system and helps break down the case easily (after all, this film is made for a child). But towards the end of the film, just as the viewer believes that things should swing in favor of the Bagby family, the main focus of the film, Zachary, is murdered by Shirley. The viewer is left in a lost space because it seems like the film has lost its entire purpose. If Zachary is gone, then why was the film still made? It is here where Kurt reveals his true purpose for documenting the story in its entirety. At the center of it all, the two people most affected by the deaths and the two people who fought their hardest to keep Zachary alive, were Andrew’s parents. The viewer then learns that after the murders, Andrew’s parents had become activists and helped fixed the flawed system that allowed for the murders to happen. They published a national best seller and helped spread their story. Kurt made this film as a testament to them. The film shows the power of unconditional love of parents and how hard they fight to make things right.

            I didn’t realize how moving Dear Zachary was going to be when I originally started watching, but from the beginning, I was hooked. The viewer establishes a relationship right away with Andrew’s parents, and we follow their journey just like it’s our own, and suffer right along side them. This film does a great job of documenting such a heartbreaking story but ending on a heartwarming, fulfilling note.

Still:

Andrew's parents and Zachary's grandparents.

Videos

https://vimeo.com/81563277

Single Shot Video.

Photo Project

Original project:

Re-Edit:

The Medium is the Massage

“Art is anything you can get away with.”

Response to pages 122 - 127:

This first passage talks about the birth of authorship. The basis of writing, from more of an academic perspective, wasn't considered to be very important, in today's sense. Today's professors and researches immediately brand their name in to their work before releasing it in the world, no matter how basic or advanced it is. However, before the invention of print-press, the work of any writer, (professors, novelists and researchers), were thrown together in a collection of writings. It was uncommon for any author to claim their own work, noting that the key objective of their work was to educate. This is actually quite interesting. Nowadays, leaving your work un-copyrighted is a complete waste of time and money. Why let somebody else take credit for your work? But because of this new need of copyright, did we lose the love to learn? Did we lose just a little sense of sharing? However on the next page, it is addressed that because of the print-press and other new technology, anybody is able to become an author or publisher, and because of that, more and more information is pooled together.

The next section addressed the birth of television and how immersive it is. At the time that this book was published, the television was still fairly new and still something to be marveled at. The television is described as the completion of the human sensorium. The age of this book shows when it says that the TV demands attention and engagement and that it won’t serve as a background. Today, that perspective is completely flipped. With the introduction of sitcoms and cartoons, the television is served as a background for many daily activities. Although it serves as a distributor of major news and events, in most cases, the television nowadays is the usually found to be less engaging than when it was first invented. Is this because the invention of sitcoms and other mindless television shows? Or because of that now the television is common in most households?  

Sahan and a Day

A collection:

24 hours with a cell phone.

·      Wake up

·      Blew my nose

·      Took a drink of water

·      Put a shirt on

·      Took a shower

·      Took glasses off

·      Put contacts in

·      Put on deodorant

·      Said hello to roommate

·      Got in the elevator

·      Ate breakfast

·      Cleaned room

·      Checked email

·      Watched tennis

·      Chewed gum

·      Worked on homework

·      Ate a snack

·      Went down the elevator

·      Went up the elevator

·      Played ping pong

·      Went to the bathroom

·      Took a shower

·      Took shoes off

·      Took clothes off

·      Put pajamas on

·      Went to sleep

48 hours, chewing gum

Rules:

1) A photo must be taken whenever I take a piece of gum
2) Whatever is photographed must be chewed
3) Any breath mint or other mouth cleansing candy counts