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  1. Clown Train- RESPONSE

    March 21, 2014 by oliviapaterson

    In the film Clown Train how does sound contribute to the atmosphere of this film? Describe what you heard? Can you make reference to another genre film and how they utilise sound to create tension and a unique filmic space? 

    In the film Clown Train, sound generates the tense, overwrought and edgy atmosphere from the very beginning. It generates a sense of fear within the audience and allows the film to have more depth and integrity. The use of sound drives the audience to know more, they want to know, who is on the train? Why there is a clown? And what is going to happen to the guy? Initially sound is used to set the scene, it helps the audience understand the setting and sets the overall tone of the film.

    The first sound is of a train’s breaks screeching on the tracks, what is a common noise for everyday commuters, however the eerie presence of that noise singled out sets a scary tone. Additionally there are noise and echoes of other trains moving about in the underground tunnels intertwined with the noise of the engines as the air breaks slowly come on and off. These noises all come to a halt before the first image comes up to enhance the sense of tension.

    All that is left is the slight buzz of the train still running which allows the dialogue to develop the storyline. The 10-15 seconds of silence continues to develop the tension between the two people on the train and evokes a sense of fear within the audience which is followed by a single beat of a drum. The clear crisp question of the first character breaks the silence and draws the attention of the audience closer.  The frequent zips that accompany the short snaps of darkness where finally the sound builds and then cuts out and the audience is snapped back to reality by the bold laugh of the clown.


  2. Sherry Turkle

    August 26, 2013 by oliviapaterson

     

    Sherry aged 65, is a profound American psychologist/ Author who is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has obtained a Bachelor in Social Studies along with a PH.D in Sociology and Personality Psychology at Harvard University. Sherry’s work writes on the “subjective side” on humans relationships with technology but more specifically how humans relate to computational objects.

    Connected, But Alone

     

    Alone Together

    • “In Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Turkle discusses how newer technologies are greatly affecting this generation. In the first paragraph of a New York Times review, they use proper note of how adolescents are losing their attention spans and how they lose interest in many aspects. Examples include over-excessive texting, lack of interest in science, and an obsession with Facebook friends”.
    • “She focuses on the current era and how human encounters are growing fewer. Turkle talks about teenagers’ actions of “friending” strangers on Facebook and how kids prefer to text or instant message rather than talking on the phone or even face to face. In her book, she focuses mainly on the consequences of the new texting trend”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherry_Turkle)
    • Fresh Air with Terry Gross (NPR) — “In Turkle’s interviews with adults and teenagers, she found people of all ages are drawn to their devices for a similar reason: ‘What is so seductive about texting, about keeping that phone on, about that little red light on the BlackBerry, is you want to know who wants you'” (October 18, 2012).
    • On Being with Krista Tippett (American Public Media) — “Alive Enough? Reflecting on Our Technology” (April 7, 2011). “And here is the starting point for the conversation [Sherry Turkle] would encourage all of us to have within ourselves, within our workplaces, and especially within our families: just because we’ve grown up with the Internet doesn’t mean the Internet is grown up.” [on-air interview plus transcript]
    • A Conversation with Sherry Turkle,” James Nolan, The Hedgehog Review (Spring 2012).  Prof. Turkle discusses her new book, Alone Together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other”
    • Alone Together: So busy communicating, we neglect each other,” MIT Spectrum [Massachusetts Institute of Techology] (Spring 2011). “Prof. Sherry Turkle says if you don’t teach your children how to be alone, they only know how to be lonely.”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherry_Turkle)

  3. Do Schools Kill Creativity?

    August 26, 2013 by oliviapaterson

     

    • The ted talk focused on children’s capacity for creativity and how schools, or the traditional teaching methods tend to squander children’s talents.
    • I think that its true that nowadays creativity is as important as literacy maybe even more important, especially when it comes to original thought
    • I thought that his observation of the ways children compared to adults was interesting in that a child will take a chance,
    • “if they don’t know,  they will have a go”
    • They are not frightened of being wrong. He reiterates that if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.  So my question is how does that happen? When do we become unprepared to be wrong? And why are we so afraid to be wrong?
    • Most adults have lost the ability to have original thought.
    • Sir Ken’s answer is that schools and universities are educating people out of their creative capacity.
    • “all children are born artists” Picasso
    • another example- William Shakespeare, imagine him as  a child, even worse though imagine being his English teacher.
    • When you look at schools all over the world it is clear that they all have the same ranking of subjects….maths, languages, humanities, arts. With even arts being divided with music and art above drama and dance.
    • At school and as children we are steered away from the things that we like on the count of the fact that we will never get a job doing those things. Which is a notion that came about in the age of industrialisation where the more ‘useful’ skills got you a job and earned the most money.

  4. 0nly-my- feelings: I have bulimia. I have depression. I feel like I already live in hell,…

    October 22, 2012 by oliviapaterson

    Link: 0nly-my- feelings: I have bulimia. I have depression. I feel like I already live in hell,…

    I have bulimia. I have depression. I feel like I already live in hell, but with a little bit of color. I don’t know how to love. I don’t like to eat. I like tea and water. I like horses. I don’t like cats. My thighs are huge. My stomach is huge. I am 5’5- 17 years old- weight is 120. I want to…


  5. Enthusiasms: Welcome to the outside.

    January 19, 2012 by oliviapaterson

    Link: Enthusiasms: Welcome to the outside.

    Welcome to the outside. The outside is like the inside, only farther out. You may notice subtle shifts in your personality as you enter the outside. This is to be expected. You may notice a curious feeling located somewhere in the middle of your face. Outsiders call this “smell”, and it is…


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