Author: rijafaisal

Rija Faisal

Can reality tv still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists?

Over time, the genre of reality TV has evolved to include a number of different genres and concepts through hybridization.  There are many different types of reality TV programmes around these days ( competitions, celebrity lifestyle, game shows, to name a few),  and these programmes all take on different styles and various sorts of formats. Because there is such a vast variety of the types of reality TV shows, tracing the history of the genre of reality TV and pinpointing it to a single point of origin is quite difficult. And because such a high level of hybridity exists within the realm of reality TV, the question arises of whether or not we can even consider reality TV to be its own genre, given that so many genres blend together to create this one, single genre that we know as reality TV.  

It can indeed be difficult to say exactly what the genre of reality has evolved into. Though it started out as a genre of its own kind, it has developed into a discourse of debate. Nowadays, reality TV has adopted many different sorts of formats, revealing the rapid frequency with which it changes. This frequency with which reality TV changes, is, according to Hill (2005), “an example of how television cannibalizes itself in order to survive”. He states that this is how television “draws upon existing genres to create successful hybrid programmes”. Then, this, in turn, is what leads to an entirely new genre being created.

While the genre of reality TV comprises of an abundance of different types of formats, these, on the whole, can be viewed as being chain-linked to each other. It does not really matter what sort of a reality TV programme one is watching ( be it a dating show, a dance competition show, etc), the commonality between all these is that they are meant for providing entertainment to the mass audience.  

Hill (2005) further states that trying to create an ideal notion of what the genre of reality TV truly is and which other sub-genres fit under its banner is “a fruitless effort”. We cannot force the reality TV genre to fit under one specific, special category. Reality TV is a genre in its own right, and while it it true that it has certainly changed and evolved over the years, and that individual types of reality TV pogrammes have sprung up from its branches, that does not take away the title of reality TV as its own popular genre.

References

Wood, B. (2004) A World in Retreat The Reconfiguration o Hybridity in 20^th Century New Zealand Television Media Culture and Society DOI: 10.1177/0163443704039709

Hill, A,. (2005) Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television, London, Routledge

Rija Faisal

How real is reality TV?

By definition, reality TV is a genre of television programming that is unscripted and documents purportedly real-life situations, starring unknown individuals rather than professional and well-known actors.

The genre of reality TV has morphed from game shows and amateur talent competitions into a genre that now includes a wide variety of particular styles of TV programs. Now, reality TV encompasses unscripted dramas, makeover sagas, talent extravaganzas, lifestyle shows and celebrity behind-the-scenes exposes, dating shows and various competition shows.

Nowadays, on any given night, one can watch The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars, Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model, to name just a few.  

Reality TV shows often involve the use of a host who runs the show or a narrator to tell the story to the audience, or to set the stage for the events that are going to unfold in the show. Unlike scripted shows such as sitcoms and dramas, reality TV does not rely on writers and actors, rather, the majority of the show is run by the producers and a team of editors.

The defining aspect of a reality TV show is the manner in which it is shot. It does not matter if the reality TV show takes place in a real setting involving real people, (in the manner of a documentary), if it is shot in a studio in front of a live audience or if it involves the use of hidden cameras, as reality TV relies on the camera capturing everything as it unfolds naturally. The camera is simply there to capture the spontaneous events as they happen.

So how real is reality TV? While the concept may vary from show to show, each concept is created by someone, usually the producer, the people starring in the show are either hired or land their role through an audition, and though the footage may bereal, it is, usually, heavily edited. Hours of footage are also shortened in order to fit into the restrictive time frame of a single episode. Some reality TV show contestants have claimed that their actions are often taken out of context and edited to be presented in misleading ways.

While reality TV shows typically do not have a script, often, though, they may have a shooting script or an outline detailing the aspects of an episode or a particular part of the show. These outlines might include directions for particular rooms or cameras to focus on, or they may set up a specific challenge that the contestants have to take part in, etc. A shooting script could also be used to create conflict between the participants (e.g, by pairing two people together as competitors for an episode, etc). Sometimes, a shooting script could also include a storyboard or a visual representation of the concept of a particular episode.     

Producers and editors of reality TV shows have a lot of control over what happens in the show. They put people together in certain situations, and they get to choose what footage gets aired and what gets cut, so it could be argued that reality TV shows are not as “real” as their name would suggest, as the producers and the editors are free to manipulate the show as they like.

Editors can also edit together excerpts and sound bits and pieces to create entirely new conversation or dialogue, creating a ‘false’ representation of reality. Alliances, fights, relationships, etc, can be created through editing, and footage that might have been captured over a period of days can come to appear as one single scene or situation.

So while reality TV does feature real-life people and portrays real-life events, it can be manipulated in ways that make it seem very ‘unreal’.

References

Winifred Fordham Metz, n.d. , how stuff works, How Reality TV Works, retrieved from: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/reality-tv.htm  

Rija Faisal

How does Dick use the I Ching and how did his views on the oracle and its role in the novel shift over time?

In The Man in the High Castle, Philip K Dick uses the I Ching or The Book of Changes, as an oracle to aid him in the construction of his novel. (Mountfort 2020) The central plot element of the novel is the use of the I Ching by the main characters. Dick’s obsessive consultation of the oracle provided him with answers which then acted as key elements in the writing of the novel. (Mountfort 2020)

Mountfort writes that this helped to set up a powerful metafictional dynamic between the author and his protagonists of the The Man in the High Castle. While Philip Dick does in fact use the oracle to help him in his writing, it is mentioned by Mountfort that Paul Williams did an analysis of the most important points in the text where the I Ching was used, and Williams concluded that he did not believe the plot of the novel was gained only through the reading of the I Ching, and that the I Ching was not used throughout the book’s development, but rather only when the characters in the novel used it themselves.

Mountfort (2016) argues that the I Ching provided a philosophical base for the story of the novel, in the, quote : “synchronistic notion of simultaneity” or the “meaningful coincidence” which is contrary to classical western views of causality. He argues that the I Ching does not not merely act as a consultation device for certain points in the plot, but rather, it is a device that actually unifies both the stylistic and the philosophical levels of the novel.

In the end, however, as helpful as the I Ching may have proved to have been for philip Dick, it turned out to be quite the opposite. The oracle suddenly transformed from a helpful guide into this bitter version of an antagonist.  

The ending of the novel never truly satisfied Dick, and he wrote that he would have liked to have an ending that was “stronger and better” than the one he had ended up with. He blamed the oracle for it, in fact, believing that it had both misled and betrayed him, giving him an unsatisfying ending to the novel, and that it had done so on purpose.

References

 Mountfort , P. (2016) The I Ching and Philip K Dick’s The Man in the High Castle SF-TH Inc

Rija Faisal

Q. According to Mountfort et al. (2018), what are the three main genres of cosphotography, and how did they historically develop?

Cosplay photography, or cosphotography, refers more to the subject matter of the cosplay which is being photographed rather than any specific type of genre. In cosphotography, the cosplay itself is the subject of what is being photographed.

Just as other “types of photographers”, cosplay photographers can also range from occasional hobbyists to full-time professionals. Although this is a bit rare, some cosplay photographers are even paid to cover grand cosplay events such as comic conventions, to take photos for posters, and to collaborate with cosplayers to publish books.   

While cosphotography might not in itself be a particular form of a genre, specific genres within cosphotography, however, do exist.

According to Mountfort et al. (2018), there are three main genres of cosphotography:

1. Runway: Glossy and glam, this is a style of cosplay photos one would associate with fashion magazines. The emphasis on these types of shots is to capture the cosplay character in the most flattering way. These shots require quite a lot of planning and preparation, often months in advance. Props might be introduced into the photos to embellish the final product.

This style also requires a bit of post-processing. Often camera shots do not come out looking the way one would want them to look, so some edits are done to make the picture look as perfect as possible, these may include tweaking exposure and setting saturation, adding special effects or retouching.   

2. Hallway: The hallway shot is a common type of a cosphotographic shot. The photograph is shot in a relaxed, almost formal style, so it appears as if the photographer just happened to come across a particularly interesting cosplay by chance and captured it with a quick snapshot. The result of the photo is such that it appears fun and spontaneous, and reflects the cosplayer’s excitement of the cosplay event.   

3. Studio Portrait: Casual portrait shots focus all of the camera’s attentions on the cosplayer, and the attempt here is to try to capture the true “essence” of the character being portrayed by the cosplayer, an element that can often end up blending in with the background in quick snapshots.

Portrait shots are not spontaneous. They require good planning and communication. When capturing a studio portrait, it is the photographer’s job to make sure the cosplayer is “isolated” in the shot, i.e, there is no busy or distracting background in the photo which might result in attention being driven away from the cosplayer and the character he/she is portraying. The studio portrait photographer must be somewhat familiar with the character, as then they can look for shooting locations they know will suit the character, as the right location enhances the character’s story.

Costuming in early Worldcons provided important models that later became adapted into cosplay Mountfort et al. (2018). Costumes would go on to be showcased in two major convention settings.

The first was in formally staged costume competition. These originated in annual Masquerades – fancy dress balls- , and the second was in more informal spaces for conventions. These eventually led to the term “hallway” costumes. These two convention settings (formal and informal) gave rise to the emergence of two photographic cosplay genres: the competition “runway” shoots and the hallway snapshots.

By the 1970s, a third photographic genre had emerged, that of the studio portraits. Back then, these types of shots were generally staged at convention centers rather than in proper photographic studios. These shots resemble fashion studio-style photographs. In early examples of studio shots, portraits were kept large and props were kept few. Nowadays, though, more props are often introduced, and the use of a blue screen is utilized, to get a clearer and a better image quality.   

References:

Mountfort, P. Pierson, Smith, A. Geczy, A. (2018) Planet Cosplay Intellect Books.

  

Rija Faisal

Referring to Mountfort et al. (2018), in what ways is cosplay analogous to citation?

‘Cosplay’ refers to the act of dressing up in a costume in order to recreate the appearance of a character from a work of fiction. Popular forms of cosplay involve dressing oneself in the outfits of characters from video games, comic books, popular anime series, animated and/or live action films, etc. Cosplay can also include dressing in non-character specific costumes, such as a maid or in a school uniform.

Cosplay is considered to be a form of performance art. Through the use of costumes and accessories, gestures, behaviour, and attitude, an individual ‘cosplaying’ a character attempts to morph his/her persona into that of the character he/she is dressed as. The idea is to inhibit the role of the character whom one is dressed as as skillfully as can be done.  

Cosplay in the twenty-first-century is a form of mass cultural engagement. Mountfort et al. (2018). It can be found both online as well as offline, and especially in large events such as manga and anime conventions, comic con, and within its own fan-based cosplay communities.      

A distinguishing feature of cosplay which separates it from other forms of costuming performances ( such as circus and carnival performances, or theatre performances), is that cosplay depends largely on texts from popular forms of media. A source or a reference text is required, and this is where the main inspiration for a cosplay is derived from.

Another feature which distinguishes cosplay from theatre and/or screen performances is the length of performance itself. A cosplayer does not recreate/act out the entire script/plot of their chosen text. Rather, they only perform what can be called ‘chunks’ or ‘portions’ of the original source text, ones which the cosplayer himself/herself filters out as being significant to the actual performance.  

On the subject of citation, cosplay can be regarded as a form of citation as cosplayers commonly reference their chosen text, and perform a multitude of citational acts. Mountfort et al. (2018). In a cosplay performance, it is the cosplayer’s own costumed body which then acts as the text or as a ‘site’ referencing a text – in the case of cosplay, this would be the specific media source which is chosen by the cosplayer to be performed.

Props (such as weapons) alongside the costume also act as citation links, as they help in linking the cosplay back to its source text.     

Citation in cosplay can also be seen being as similar to referencing. In a cosplay performance, a familiarity with the original narrative of the cosplay is important, as this is what allows the cosplay audience to recall the source of the original narrative. The cosplay audience play a crucial part. Without them, a cosplay performance simply would not be successful or be as powerful if say, it were performed for an audience that was unfamiliar with the original narrative. These three elements- the text, the cosplayer and the cosplay audience – together make up the citational qualities of cosplay.      

References

Mountfort, P. Pierson, Smith, A. Geczy, A. (2018) Planet Cosplay Intellect Books.

Rija Faisal

(Q). Reyes (2014), describes Body Horror as being a “fictional representation of the body exceeding itself or falling apart, either opening up or being altered past the point where it would be recognised by normative understandings of human corporeality.” How do The Colour out of Space and Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth make use of this definition to explore themes of the unknown?

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a tale by American writer H.P. Lovecraft. The tale can be viewed as Lovecraft’s own comment on the advancement of technology that was beginning to emerge in his time and of its growing influence on the lives of American people and on their lifestyle, and of the potential dangers such an influence could pose.

After the Industrial Revolution, the early 1900s saw a great boom in technological development and the field of scientific research. Lovecraft uses The Shadow Over Innsmouth to explore the danger humans were exposing themselves to by exploring new and unfamiliar territories, and by seeking unknown knowledge that could potentially end up being more destructive rather than beneficial for the human race.

In The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the unknown elements of this new ‘scientific’ age of humans is represented in the form of a character named Zadok Allen. In the novel, Zadok is a representation of the knowledge the human race could gain by pursuing scientific interests. At the same time, Zadok also represents the terrible consequences that could befall the human race if they were to acquire such knowledge.

This idea of technological advancement being seen as something to fear rather than to pursue is further highlighted in a more subtle way, as well, by the mention of railroad tracks. For the narrator of the tale, the railroad tracks represent an escape route from Innsmouth, but the tracks are rusty and abandoned. This neglected state of the rail tracks implies how a part of technology has been abandoned before in the past, and thus should be left as it is and not be taken up again. And even when the narrator does manage to escape from Innsmouth, his escape does not save him in the end. Even with technology’s help, he is not saved. This is the writer’s way of implying that technology, therefore, could potentially end up being a lot more trouble than its worth.

In Lovecraft’s writing of the tale, we can clearly see that the concept of placing oneself and the situation in the hands of forces that are beyond our control or understanding is not portrayed as a favourable thing to do. In the case of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, this is applied to technology. The writer distrusts the largely unknown world of science and all that science attempts to explain.  

I believe The Shadow Over Innsmouth does make use of the Reyes (2014) description. In his tale, Lovecraft is commenting on the dangerous, but inevitable, path that humans are choosing to tread- the path of technology- which might potentially lead to the downfall of society. In this tale, technology can be viewed, metaphorically, as a sort of alien deity. While Lovecraft acknowledges that technology could hold value for society, he also points out that, just as a deity, technology holds the ability to be far more superior to humans, and it cannot be fashioned to become our servant.

Humans and technology exist in an equilibrium, but what might happen if technology, our own creation, turns on us someday? What would it turn us into?

What would become of the human race then?  

Colour out of Space

The 2019 film “Colour out of Space” is a science fiction body horror film based on the The Colour out of Space, a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. The film deals with a meteor that lands in the house of the Gardner family, after which they find themselves battling an extraterrestrial organism that infects the mind and body.

I believe the Reyes (2014) description of the “body exceeding itself or falling apart, either opening up or being altered past the point where it would be recognized by normative understandings of human corporeality” applies perfectly to this movie, as the entire plot deals with the mutant organism infecting the minds and bodies of humans, leading them to experience bursts of insanity. The human body loses control of itself, and takes on aggressive qualities, transforming the human being into something entirely inhuman, into an alien creature. This fear of becoming something other is the main focus of the film’s plot, and what the story is actually about, the fear of the Gardner family not knowing what the alien creature will do to them, and whether there is any way to stop it or to get free from its hold.

We can view the aftermath of the meteorite landing and the “birth” of the Colour- the purplish hue the sky turns to after the meteorite lands- as seeming to point towards some sort of alien testing. It is shown that the Colour only effects a small, remote region, almost as if this is only the beginning stage and some sort of preliminary sample, and the worst is actually yet to happen. This appears to be done to gain information about humans, judge the Earth itself, and to take a sample for next time, almost as if the worst is yet to come.

We as the viewers know that even if the danger is temporarily over, traces of the extraterrestrial material the meteorite brings with it are still present in the sky, and no one knows what that might lead to. There is fear over the unknown. The uncertainty of not knowing what will happen could itself drive the humans in the film towards madness, and that, I think, fits in with the description of Body Horror very well.

References:

(n.d.). Literature/ The Shadow Over Innsmouth tvtropes.org Retrieved from: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth

Daniel Kurland (JAN 24,2020) Color Out of Space Ending Explained screenrant.com Retrieved from: https://screenrant.com/color-space-movie-ending-explained-lovecraft-alien-threat/

Rija Faisal

What is the ‘shōjo’ and how does it often function in anime?What is the ‘shōjo’ and how does it often function in anime?

Shojo is a specific genre in Japanese comics and in animated films. Shojo means “young women”. The term is usually used to refer to girls aged twelve and thirteen. Shojo can also refer to young girls making the transition from childhood to adolescence, and the word can also symbolically refer to the changes one goes through, from childhood to adulthood, powerlessness to power and innocence to awareness.  

In Japanese manga, the Shojo genre is primarily aimed at a young female audience, for instance, teenage girls, and it is characterized by the focus it places on romantic and personal relationships.

The Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki uses the concept of shojo in his works as a way of portraying female characters who are strong. His shojo girls are portrayed as very independent and are often quite assertive. Strong female characters give young girls an idol image to look up to, providing them with a sense of power and leadership.

Miyazaki’s female characters are also very ‘shojo’ in their physical appearance. Take the heroin of the Japanese animated film Spirited Away: Chihiro. At the beginning of the movie, Chihiro is portrayed as a typical little girl. She embodies what we can call the stereotypical image of the Japanese ‘shojo’ girl. She is young, cut and sexually innocent. Through her experiences and the time she spends in the fantasy world, Chihiro comes across and interacts with different characters, she grows as a character and becomes ‘mature’ in a sense, reaching a new level of understanding and self-confidence that previously may not have been there.  

So Miyazaki’s female heroins display the ‘shojo’ traits in their age, cuteness, innocence, their love for cute animals, etc, but at the same time, they are also endowed with the more ‘masculine’ characteristics: Courageous, adventurous, assertive, etc.

Miyazaki’s females experience and go through a progression. He uses the stereotypical image of the ‘shojo’ girl to mould and shape his characters into stronger, more ‘developed’ versions of themselves.

References:

Freda Freiberg (July 2006) Miyazaki’s Heroines Senses of Cinema. Retrieved from: https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/uncategorized/miyazaki-heroines/

Miyazaki’s Heroines

Rija Faisal

What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

Before the release of Akira in 1988, Japan and its culture (art, food, animation, etc), was alien to the western world.

In making the film, a lot was borrowed from what was then popular in classic as well as contemporary western cinema. The combination of what was presented to the audience in the form of the film Akira ( the combination of cyberpunk dystopia, the alienation of youth, philosophy based on science), all of which were already a big part of the sci- fiction genre in the western world during the 8os, helped to elevate the film’s appeal to its audiences.

Akira marked the first time the western world engaged with Japanese culture on a large level. It left quite the impact on its audiences. The film’s influences can still be seen in the modern world. We can see how Akira helped to shape the modern science – fiction genre. Films such as Inception and Chronicle are good examples. Stylistically as well as thematically, both borrow from Akira.

A similar theme to that of Akira can also be seen in the popular TV series Stranger Things, which is based around the character of Eleven, a child trained to use her telekinetic powers as a weapon. In Akira, this theme is apparent in how the government is planning to use telekinetic people as weapons.

Akira has had major influences on western culture since its release back in 1988. Through its introduction into the US and the UK, it opened up new routes for both anime and Japanese culture to be accepted by the western audience.  

Akira is a film which is still considered to be one of the best films in the anime canon. It opened up the opportunity for cultures across the world to understand and show that social issues could be addressed. The futuristic style of the film, from its intrinsic details of cityscapes to its tale of power also inspired a whole new generation of works, as well helping to shape and morph the sci-fiction genre into what we know and recognize it to be today.

References:

Max Covill (April 3,2017) Akira is Frequently Cited as Influential Why Is that? filmschoolrejects.com Retrieved from: https://filmschoolrejects.com/akira-influence-12cb6d84c0bc/

https://filmschoolrejects.com/akira-influence-12cb6d84c0bc/

Rija Faisal

What gaps are there in Herge’s representations of women?

While much has been said and addressed about the representation of race in Herge comics, what has often been neglected to be addressed is his representation of women.

Women play very limited roles in The Adventures of Tintin comics. Herge claimed once that women had little place in the Tintin stories. “Women have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s”. The Tintin stories, Herge stated, were concerned with men getting themselves into misadventures rather than adventures, and that he found he simply could not mock women in the same way. “I like women far too much to caricature them. And, besides, pretty or not, young or not, women are rarely comic characters”.

It is not surprising therefore, given these statements and belief’s of Herge’s, that women are almost invisible in the Tintin series.

One of the few ways women tend to be used in the Tintin comics (when they are used at all, that is) , is as a background. They are visible among large crowds of people, such as in a scene set in a square or a marketplace, seen behind simple figures within the crowd, such as in Tintin and the Land of the Soviets. They do not stand out in any particular way, simply blending in with the background. In Tintin in America, as well, women remain creatures of the background, often being displayed with a child nearby, reducing their statues simply to that of a housewife or a mother.

Another way women are depicted in the Tintin series is by placing them within the small realm of labour. Characters representing female labour are portrayed as housewives, nurses, and mothers. This stereotypical portrayal of women serves to effectively limit the number of roles they can portray. White they are not being ruled out in this way, they are certainly being pushed into limited roles, e.g, that of an assistant or a stewardess.   

When viewed through the context and the mindset of the time period in which the Tintin comics were produced, this portrayal is easily understandable. Applied to the mindset of modern times, we can see why this portrayal would raise issues.       

References:  

Participation of Women in Tintin Adventures Tintinologist.org Retrieved from: https://www.tintinologist.org/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=8&topic=5922

https://www.tintinologist.org/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=8&topic=5922