#postbycassidy

The structure of Fun Home mostly resembles that of the first picture. Most pages are filled with panels that look similar to that in the first picture, but every so often, a page will be filled with a large picture with a key or several boxes of text. The colors are all muted throughout the graphic novel. No color strays from blues and greys, possibly because of the content of the novel.

While we haven’t discussed theatre in class, it is still a media form that builds characters upon stereotypes and continues the trends we see in film and on tv. Max von Essen, an actor currently starring on Broadway in American in Paris, talks about being an openly gay actor in a community full of supposedly openly gay individuals and how that influenced his perception of being a gay man.

This article discusses the growing presence of black women on tv wearing their hair naturally rather than wearing extensions or straightening their hair. The author also agrees with Mittell and other authors from class, that television can have an impressive impact on audiences. The move towards more natural appearances is one of importance because it shows women of color that they do not have to conform to society’s pre-conceived ideas of beauty.

This documentary follows the life of Aaron Swartz, a gifted programmer, in addition to being an “information activist”. He fought the government when he ran into legal trouble after mass-downloading academic journals off of JSTOR using MIT’s subscription to the database. He fought for a free-Internet, one where each user had the same opportunities online.

Tina Fey's new show is adding to several outstanding lists of recent trends in television. The show features a female lead, is a female-driven comedy, and will be premiered and regularly shown on Netflix. She is making large and impressive strides in the television industry, reminding us all that boundaries are meant to be stretched and questioned.

In this segment from Jimmy Fallon's show, The Tonight Show, he recounts his night at Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary show. The reunion and celebration lasted 3 hours and became a melting pot of artists, entertainers and executives from different industries within Hollywood, New York and entertainment in general. This specific episode of SNL showcased the ways in which media industries interact, connect with each other, and build off of each other. At least a dozen films were created based on sketches and characters that originated on the sketch-comedy show. Musicians vied for coveted spots to perform each Saturday night of the SNL season. Actors, comedians, celebrities and politicians alike host the show each season, showcasing the perfect example of the relationship of multiple media industries.

In his essay, "Dwelling in Possibility", Mark Edmundson critiques the role of technology in a modern-day classroom. He uses several widely known authors and theorists, such as Emily Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson, emphasize his aversion to technology, particularly against computers, while in a University classroom. He believes the purpose of education is to "slow down" the thought process in order to find honest and useful information while the aim of computers is to move the user through life as fast as possible. This hits on the issue of situationalism within our most recent reading. The place of technology changes depending on the environment. Several of my own professors do not allow laptops in class because of their disruptive nature, while others encourage their use because of their efficiency in note-taking and continuous participation.