Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Readings
Links to two new readings for the coming week are posted below:
Please prepare some talking points for class- the coming weeks are vital to your class participation grade and this is your opportunity to shine
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Assignment Number 2
Your group assignment 2 is as follows:
You have been assigned various sectors of the media industry. Each group is working on one part of a puzzle and when you all present you will be putting together the whole picture. Your task is to figure out how your assigned sector impacts the entire media landscape. I have attached a picture of a flow chart I made for the US media system. You as a class are going to make one for Pakistan.
First: do some basic research on the internet. Some sectors have a great and very informative websites i.e PEMRA. Try and pick out the relevant info and put it in a form that your class fellows will find interesting. Be sure to provide annotations and references wherever possible. Beware of false or biased information on the web- there is plenty of that.
Second: find a contact (more than one if possible) someone who works in your sector. Arrange a meeting and go find out whatever you can about the sector. What role does it play in the media landscape. Who owns it or appoints the people who work in this sector? What is the accountability? Is there transparency? Do you need a special degree to work here? What are the constraints? Does this sector have power over others? Do others have power over this sector?
Third: Prepare a presentation for you class fellows. 15 min max includes set up time - so if your laptop is not hooked up you won't get to finish. The presentation can be a short film and none of you have to speak. You can do a song, a classic presentation, a stage show, a poem what ever you want but make sure it is informative.
Fourth: Prepare handouts for your class fellows. THESE HANDOUTS WILL BE ON THE EXAM so take them seriously.
Fifth and final (THIS STEP WILL BE GRADED AS A SEPARATE ASSIGNMENT)
Prepare a blog entry with video, photos, powerpoint, polls or any other stuff possible via blogs that you think are useful for your part and then give the link to your class blog master who will put it up on your class blog. This part is meant to share the knowledge you gathered with the world. And should include interviews/profiles of the people you interviewed.
Put a Like button on the class blog. We will circulate the blog links in IBA and on your facebook pages. Whichever class makes the best blog will get a treat. probably Dunkin Donuts.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Rashomon Movie Review
Not many films have earned the mandate of comparison any time a similarly-structured movie follows it, but any time a modern film is told from multiple perspectives, Rashomon is referenced. It has to be. Akira Kurosawa masterfully combines the testimony of four witnesses/participants in a rape/muder occuring in the woods in the era of feudal Japan. It all sounds straightforward at the start, but by the end, we're left to wonder exactly who's telling the truth, or even if the participants know what the truth is. The exploration of subjectivity has never been so thrilling, and Kurosawa is at his pinnacle as a filmmaker, framing testimony shots in earnest close-up and staging the flashbacks with inimitable grace. But of course it's not just a beautfully constructed movie, it's also a biting commentary on deceit, gender roles, and due process (not to mention Japanese culture). And every viewer is given the opportunity to draw his own conclusions.
The new Criterion disc remasters the film brilliantly. Most of us have seen aged VHS versions that don't do justice to Kurosawa's gorgeous camerawork. It's restored here, along with an introduction from Robert Altman (irony: Altman claiming Throne of Blood is 'more accessible' than Rashomon... as if any of Altman's films were 'accessible') and a commentary from Japanese film historian Donald Richie. Also included is a fantastic booklet, which includes the original short stories 'In a Grove' and 'Rashomon,' upon which the script was based.
Not only is the DVD highly recommended, it's a must-have for any serious DVD library.
Aka Rashômon
http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1950/rashomon/
What should be the Role of Media in Pakistan?
The media mainly television has become the main storytelling vehicle and the journalists have become the key players in legend making and identity building. Professional journalists are responsible to create a sense of belonging and to encourage the youth of Pakistan to behave like a responsible Pakistani.
On the contrary, Pakistani media has taken a completely new direction and is determined to create a dreadful situation in the name of ‘freedom of press’. The competition has gone so fierce that they need negative tools to increase their TRPs which results in huge revenue chunks. Is this what they are working for? The effort should be focused to support the national image rather than highlighting the most harmful and depressing news to de-motivate the common man in Pakistan. It is not good to come up with such comments that our media works as paid workers of our rivals, but sometimes, you are strained to pronounce it.
Media has always been a unique and sophisticated ground to play on when we talk about image building It is good to be truthful, but when we talk about national interest, it’s our obligatory to be noiseless on certain instances so the issues can be sorted out within our own people without being influenced or carried away by the international community who will never come forward to extend their support to resolve our domestic problem. They will take advantage of the situation and will work on their aged tale of ‘divide and rule’.
Image building is more likely to produce desirable perceptions when action conforms to the projected images. It is important to identify a fact that that it is easy to maintain an old negative image or to gain a new negative image, but, it is extremely difficult to build a new positive image of a country. To put it in a different way that it is painless to be branded with a horrific image and very hard to rectify and heal the wound.
Media are swapping diplomats. Diplomatic profession is being undercut by the arrival of global television. In this regard, diplomats are conventionally occupied in intelligence gathering, negotiation, reporting and representation. No institution is perfect in this world, so is the media, and still there is still a huge scope for improvement where media can work according to the aspirations of the people of Pakistan where they want to cultivate the attitude of ‘Pakistan First’ in every Pakistani.
Media is like a watchdog in a democracy that keeps government active. With the passage of time it has become a more matured and a more responsible entity. But few talk shows and programs are required to be monitored who portrays a negative image of the country in the name of autonomy of press.
Government media and the private sector should remember that managing and creating a positive image building is by far a colossal task. It’s no more a matter of choice, it’s a prerequisite in present day’s situation. It’s about time that our media must work on the Positive Image of Pakistan.
Mumtaz Zaidi,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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