2.1 and 3.1 Extension Reading
Ian Fraser, Television and Cultural Identity:HYPERLINK "http://www.nzonair.govt.nz/images/media/about/fraser.pdf" www.nzonair.govt.nz/images/media/about/fraser.pdf
Media Watch Audio StreamsHYPERLINK "http://admin.radionz.co.nz/nr/programmes/mediawatch" http://admin.radionz.co.nz/nr/programmes/mediawatch
News media ownership in New Zealand, Bill RosenbergHYPERLINK
http://canterbury.cyberplace.org.nz/community/CAFCA/publications/Miscellaneous/mediaown.pdfhttp://canterbury.cyberplace.org.nz/community/CAFCA/publications/Miscellaneous/mediaown.pdfThehttp://canterbury.cyberplace.org.nz/community/CAFCA/publications/Miscellaneous/mediaown.pdfThe
Future of Media Regulation – is there one? Russell Brown and Stephen PriceHYPERLINK http://www.bsa.govt.nz/publications/BSA-FutureOfMediaRegulation.pdf http://www.bsa.govt.nz/publications/BSA-FutureOfMediaRegulation.pdfReport on the 2006
State of the News Media in America:HYPERLINK http://www.stateofthemedia.org/ http://www.stateofthemedia.org/ (Executive Summary: HYPERLINK http://journalism.org/executivesummary.pdfhttp://journalism.org/executivesummary.pdf
Link to the Maori Television Website:HYPERLINK http://www.maoritelevision.com/http://www.maoritelevision.com/
Conference Paper “The Empowering Effect of Ethics” Annabel SchulerHYPERLINK http://www.jeanz.org.nz/Conference%202003%20Annabel%20Schuler.htmhttp://www.jeanz.org.nz/Conference%202003%20Annabel%20Schuler.htm
Scoop Article “Mourning the Loss of Objectivity” F. Al-AtraqchiHYPERLINK http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0212/S00124.htmhttp://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0212/S00124.htmBookhttp://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0212/S00124.htmBook
‘Reclaiming Journalism in New Zealand”HYPERLINK http://www.pjreview.info/issues/docs/09_1/09_03books-mcgregor.pdfhttp://www.pjreview.info/issues/docs/09_1/09_03books-mcgregor.pdfBookhttp://www.pjreview.info/issues/docs/09_1/09_03books-mcgregor.pdfBook
“Understanding Journalism” Lynette Sheridan BurnsHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=aohzQv4Cj94C&pg=PA1951&lpg=PA1951&dq=judy+mcgregor+on+ethical+journalism&sig=Y1uknK0zvZyeCY1QJKTcJuJ6fhM http://books.google.com/books?id=aohzQv4Cj94C&pg=PA1951&lpg=PA1951&dq=judy+mcgregor+on+ethical+journalism&sig=Y1uknK0zvZyeCY1QJKTcJuJ6fhM
New Zealand Press Council Annual Report, 2001 “What is News”HYPERLINK http://www.presscouncil.org.nz/articles/AR_what_is_news_ex.htmhttp://www.presscouncil.org.nz/articles/AR_what_is_news_ex.htmThehttp://www.presscouncil.org.nz/articles/AR_what_is_news_ex.htmThe
Human Rights Commission “The media and freedom of expression”HYPERLINK http://www.hrc.co.nz/report/chapters/chapter08/expression04.html#medhttp://www.hrc.co.nz/report/chapters/chapter08/expression04.html#med
Thursday, November 8, 2007
2.4 - Horror
HORROR SITESThese might be useful for the Excellence question.
1) ABC News: Are Horror films a Mirror of the American Psyche?
Very relevant to horrors reflecting the time they're made in (note that it's four pages long) with comments from modern directors likening today's films to those of the 70s because of the similarities between the Iraq and Vietnam wars (hence all the remakes of 70s films now).
2) Summary of Horror in the last Century
This is the handout I gave you in class (good for tracing villains over time).
3) Sex and Violence in Slasher Films
4) Analysis of 'Halloween'
5) Review of a Book on Technical Progressions in the Genre
6) 'Media Influence' on wikipaedia (lists some film 'copy-cat' crimes, though they aren't horrors)
7) The Dangers of Horror Films
8) Roots of Modern Horror VillainsThis site briefly goes over Michael Myer's motivations and there is a link to a detailed account of Ed Gein and which movies he influenced.
9) Violent Video GamesThis article is on video games desensitising people, but you could bring it into a debate on media violence and relate it to horrors somehow.
10) Violence in Media EntertainmentThis site has good links at the bottom to further sites with research into the issue. Articles on 'Media Violence Debates' and 'Research into the Effects of Media Violence'.
1) ABC News: Are Horror films a Mirror of the American Psyche?
Very relevant to horrors reflecting the time they're made in (note that it's four pages long) with comments from modern directors likening today's films to those of the 70s because of the similarities between the Iraq and Vietnam wars (hence all the remakes of 70s films now).
"I think the kind of horror that gets put out there really reflects, you know,
the environment we are living in right now, which is a pretty scary one, you
know?" said James Wan, co-author, producer and director of the "Saw" series."You don't know quite what could happen to us every step of the way. And I think a horror film is a way of expressing that up there on the screen, and it [is]
almost like a cathartic way of like venting one's fear, basically." "Well, I
think we're actually in a period that's cycling through the same area that the
horror films of the '70s were in because both were made during great periods of
culture clashes," said master of horror Wes Craven."You know — in the '70s it
was Vietnam and now we have, obviously what's going on in the Middle East. So
the horror films tend to be very visceral and, oddly enough, the ones these days
have a fair amount of torture in it, which is, obviously, right out of the news
and it seems that both countries — or both groups — are doing it: the United
States and its enemies."
2) Summary of Horror in the last Century
This is the handout I gave you in class (good for tracing villains over time).
3) Sex and Violence in Slasher Films
4) Analysis of 'Halloween'
5) Review of a Book on Technical Progressions in the Genre
6) 'Media Influence' on wikipaedia (lists some film 'copy-cat' crimes, though they aren't horrors)
7) The Dangers of Horror Films
8) Roots of Modern Horror VillainsThis site briefly goes over Michael Myer's motivations and there is a link to a detailed account of Ed Gein and which movies he influenced.
9) Violent Video GamesThis article is on video games desensitising people, but you could bring it into a debate on media violence and relate it to horrors somehow.
10) Violence in Media EntertainmentThis site has good links at the bottom to further sites with research into the issue. Articles on 'Media Violence Debates' and 'Research into the Effects of Media Violence'.
2.3 - Representations of People with Mental Illnesses
Representations: Mental Illnesses
1a) Like Minds Like MineApparently you can watch the actual ads here in case you don't remember them. Thanks for the link, Megan.
1) Mass Media and Mental Illnesses Statistics on what % of representations are negative. Quite academic.
2) The Public Eye of Mental IllnessLooking at how images of MI are predominantly violent and this could change public perceptions.
3) Public Attitudes to Mental Distress
4) Results of Media Monitoring
5) Transcript of a Speech by Manukau mayor on MI
6) Section of a Blog commenting on why the Like Minds ads are effective
7) Like Minds Like Mine
Good analysis of the campaign and its aims and successes on pages 28-30 of the report.
1a) Like Minds Like MineApparently you can watch the actual ads here in case you don't remember them. Thanks for the link, Megan.
1) Mass Media and Mental Illnesses Statistics on what % of representations are negative. Quite academic.
2) The Public Eye of Mental IllnessLooking at how images of MI are predominantly violent and this could change public perceptions.
3) Public Attitudes to Mental Distress
4) Results of Media Monitoring
5) Transcript of a Speech by Manukau mayor on MI
6) Section of a Blog commenting on why the Like Minds ads are effective
I think you end up using different things as hooks. If you can get someone who
is charismatic, or who has made a big change in a short amount of time. Or who
has achieved really cool things after sorting themselves out.The Mental Health
ads with celebrities in them are a reasonably good example. There is something
utterly compelling about John Kirwin describing having a panic attach while
playing the French (or someone) and seeing the footage of the moment at the same time.Once they've got your attention they go on to provide some info about
anxiety that might be helpful and mitigate biogtry. And I guess you also
sometimes have to avoid mentioning some things which are likely to distract from
the point you're trying to make.It gives you less options, but possibly a better
long term outcome.
7) Like Minds Like Mine
Good analysis of the campaign and its aims and successes on pages 28-30 of the report.
2.3 - Representation of Teenagers
Fear of Teenagers: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/oct/23/youthjustice.familyandrelationships
Fear of Teenagers
http://www.changethatsrightnow.com/problem_detail.asp?SDID=1320:1533
Extract:
What is the cause of Fear Of Teenagers?
Like all fears and phobias, fear of teenagers is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in your past, there was likely an event linking teenagers and emotional trauma. Whilst the original catalyst may have been a real-life scare of some kind, the condition can also be triggered by myriad, benign events like movies, TV, or perhaps seeing someone else experience trauma.
Fear of Teenagers Isolates them
http://www.politics.co.uk/issueoftheday/domestic-policy/crime/youth-offending/ippr-fear-teenagers-alienates-them-$455454$455442.htm
Essay of Rep of Teens
http://www.frankwbaker.com/teenmedia.htm
Media Distorts Teens
http://www.layouth.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issue&action=IssueArticle&aid=1698
Adults Commit more crimes than teens do
http://www.layouth.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issue&action=IssueArticle&aid=1555
Positive Teen Image
http://www.layouth.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issue&action=IssueArticle&aid=1559
"Melodramatic representations of teenagers always bother me"
http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2003/09/05/thirteen/
Fear of Teenagers
http://www.changethatsrightnow.com/problem_detail.asp?SDID=1320:1533
Extract:
What is the cause of Fear Of Teenagers?
Like all fears and phobias, fear of teenagers is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in your past, there was likely an event linking teenagers and emotional trauma. Whilst the original catalyst may have been a real-life scare of some kind, the condition can also be triggered by myriad, benign events like movies, TV, or perhaps seeing someone else experience trauma.
Fear of Teenagers Isolates them
http://www.politics.co.uk/issueoftheday/domestic-policy/crime/youth-offending/ippr-fear-teenagers-alienates-them-$455454$455442.htm
Essay of Rep of Teens
http://www.frankwbaker.com/teenmedia.htm
Media Distorts Teens
http://www.layouth.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issue&action=IssueArticle&aid=1698
Adults Commit more crimes than teens do
http://www.layouth.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issue&action=IssueArticle&aid=1555
Positive Teen Image
http://www.layouth.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issue&action=IssueArticle&aid=1559
"Melodramatic representations of teenagers always bother me"
http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2003/09/05/thirteen/
2.1 - TV3 and general ratings articles
TV3 News Site - http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/tabid/183/Default.aspx
Throng - great site about NZ TV and what’s going on
3 News - http://www.throng.co.nz/3-news
Down the page it compares what was on each channel’s news– click ‘Read More’ to see the full comparison for each night’s news
Ratings for this week – Top 50 Watched Shows for Nov 6 http://www.throng.co.nz/ratings-tv-one-tv2-tv3/this-weeks-top-50-most-watched-programs
Rants - http://www.throng.co.nz/rants/
Raves - http://www.throng.co.nz/raves/
General News - http://www.throng.co.nz/news/
Throng - great site about NZ TV and what’s going on
3 News - http://www.throng.co.nz/3-news
Down the page it compares what was on each channel’s news– click ‘Read More’ to see the full comparison for each night’s news
Ratings for this week – Top 50 Watched Shows for Nov 6 http://www.throng.co.nz/ratings-tv-one-tv2-tv3/this-weeks-top-50-most-watched-programs
Rants - http://www.throng.co.nz/rants/
Raves - http://www.throng.co.nz/raves/
General News - http://www.throng.co.nz/news/
Sunday, August 12, 2007
2.8 – Where to Find Written Sources
Below is a list of sources you could use for your research assignment. Remember, you can use any visual, oral or written text so long as it has words in it. It is not exhaustive – there are probably other ones you can think of!
They are under the following headings
- Library resources
- Resources you can create
- Resources you can find all around you
- Resources from the internet
2.8 - Library Resources
Use the school or town libraries to find written sources.
1) Books
Either directly about your topic or which may include something relevant
eg - a fiction book set during the war could have 'the language of war'
eg - a fiction book in which the main character is a surfer could have 'the language of surfing'
eg - a biography on somebody to do with your area would be relevanteg - an instructional book on how to play chess could help with 'the language of chess'
2) Periodicals
There are back-copies of newspapers, magazines and year books.
eg - the Woman's Weekly could have beauty ads or astrology items
3) Vertical File
Do not overlook the vertical file!!!! The librarians have already done the job of sorting out articles on key topics
eg - beauty, anorexia, texting
4) ERIC
There is also a search engine where you might find articles on your topic. This is on the computers.
5) Encyclopedia
There is the Encarta programme on the library computers.
2.8 - Creating your own Source
1) Conduct interviews
Oral sources have been underrated for years, but are now gaining respect in research circles.- this could help with primary data (see what slang/jargon they use to describe things)- it could also help with finding explanations as to why they use them (ask them!)
eg - interview a teacher about ways they've been advised to speak in class
eg - ask a skater what kind of terms average people don't understand
eg - ask someone who listens to heavy metal music why they think there're heaps of images of death or darkness in the lyrics
2) Observe
Go to an event or place associated with your topic
eg - jot down things your teacher says
eg – write down what a coach says at a game
eg - write down what fans are yelling out
eg - eavesdrop on a typical 'teenager' conversation between friends
2.8 - Sources in your homes and on the street
1) Labels and Instructions
Look at the labels on things associated with your subject.
eg - look at a food package if you're doing 'food'
eg - look at a CD cover if you're doing 'heavy metal'
eg - look on a clothing label if you're doing 'fashion'
eg - look at a list of ingredients
2) Communications
You can use your own personal letters, emails, texts as sources.
eg - your texts can be used for 'text language'
eg - your school reports could be samples of 'education language'
eg - a valentine's card could be used for 'the language of love'
3) Periodicals
Use magazines or newspapers.
eg - an article on a rugby game could help with 'sport'
eg - there could be advertisements you can use
eg - the cover of a Dolly magazine could help with the language of 'teens'
4) Movies and TV
Get quotes off of ads/programmes/movies
eg - a music video could have good 'rap lyrics'
eg - an interview with George Bush could be good the 'war language'
eg - 'Bring it On' could be good for 'the language of cheerleading'
eg - a coach's speech in a movie could be used for 'the language of basketball'
5) Books
Use books around your house.
eg - the bible is a source of 'religious language'
eg - a recipe book is a source of 'food' or 'instructional' language
eg - a children's book could be used for 'the language of children's literature'
eg - a joke book could be used for 'the language of humour'
eg - a text book could be used for 'the language of maths'
6) Billboards and Posters and brochures
Keep your eyes open when you're in town and you can see verbal sources all over the place
eg - a warning sign on the street could help with 'the language of fear or safety'
eg - an ad on a bus could help with the 'language of food'
eg – the road code could help with 'the language of cars or driving'
eg - a piece of graffiti could be used for 'the language of hate'
eg - you could pick up a brochure from a beauty clinic to help with 'the language of beauty'
2.8 - Finding sources on the internet
One source of primary and secondary resources for you is the internet. Here are some suggestions on how you can use it effectively for your assignment.
1) If you're still unsure of what some language terms mean....
- Comprehensive list of poetic devices in alphabetical order
- Another list, focussing on devices that can be used in persuasive writing.
2) Look for a list of terms used in your subject area, pick a few to discuss and see patterns in. Also try to find examples of them being used in another text.
- Try typing your keywords into google plus 'online dictionary'
eg - this is an online dictionary of skateboarding terms
- Go to a page that has lots of general glosseries and search for your subject- See what patterns you can find (eg - are the words all to do with really specialised moves, are there a lot borrowed from another sport or French, is there a lot of phonetic spelling)
- Make conclusions about why specialised words (jargon) need to be created for your subject area
3) Look for Galleries of Old and New Advertisements (posters, TV ads etc)
- Look for a group of advertisements by putting 'advertising gallery' or 'advertisements gallery'
eg - here is one for tobacco ads- Look at the words used in the ads. Have they changed over time? Can you find language techniques used in them (alliteration, metaphors, diction, use of pronouns), is advertising aimed at different races/sexes/age-groups slightly different?
4) Do a Very General Search to see if anyone has already researched this subject....
- Try typing 'language of ______' [insert your topic] into Google
- eg - this is a website on the language of hate- Look up a site that already analyses how language is used in an area
- eg - a site set up to help you write ads or obituaries
- eg this site looks at what works in advertising and why (eg - alliteration) and has examples
- Can you find examples of these techniques being used in your primary sources? Can you think of the reasons behind why they're used in this area?
5) Look for Oral Texts on your topic (lyrics, songs, speeches etc)
- Look for lyrics or songs on your topic
eg - this is a site that turned up for a search on 'love song lyrics'
- Use the word 'transcript' or 'speech' or 'interview' to look up an oral text
eg - for the language of rap I looked up 'eminem interview'
- Look at the words and how they're used. Can you find metaphors or other language devices? Is there vocabulary that keeps coming up?
6) Use an online encycolpedia to get initial info
- Try starting with an online ontology like wikipedia
eg - I did a wikipedia search on 'text language'
- This information might give you a good starting point for what you're looking for in your primary sources
7) Find video clips to do with your topic and pay attention to the words used
- For visual texts you can use the myspace video section (best if you have broad-band!)
eg - I found a selection of acne videos
8) Figure out what language devices are probably used a lot in your area and add that to the search topic or look up a particular language device and see if there's anything relevant
- go to a site that is about a specific language device and see if your subject is mentionedeg - this site has 'slang' and has topics of 'NZ', 'rap', 'drug related'
eg - this is a site that has euphemisms for death
eg - this site talks about how war metaphors are used in basketball
eg - this is a site on neologisms and you can search by subjecteg- this site looks at allusions to Mary Queen of Scots in nursery rhymes
9) Look up where words originated from (the history of them)
- Look up the origins of words by using the word 'etymology' in your search
eg - etymology of jazz words
- Can you make conclusions about why these words needed to be invented or what kind of trends you can see? What particular things needed new words? Is there metaphoric meaning?
10) Blogs or message boards (like Bebo) can be used as primary sources
-eg here are the search results on www.blogger.com for 'rap'
They are under the following headings
- Library resources
- Resources you can create
- Resources you can find all around you
- Resources from the internet
2.8 - Library Resources
Use the school or town libraries to find written sources.
1) Books
Either directly about your topic or which may include something relevant
eg - a fiction book set during the war could have 'the language of war'
eg - a fiction book in which the main character is a surfer could have 'the language of surfing'
eg - a biography on somebody to do with your area would be relevanteg - an instructional book on how to play chess could help with 'the language of chess'
2) Periodicals
There are back-copies of newspapers, magazines and year books.
eg - the Woman's Weekly could have beauty ads or astrology items
3) Vertical File
Do not overlook the vertical file!!!! The librarians have already done the job of sorting out articles on key topics
eg - beauty, anorexia, texting
4) ERIC
There is also a search engine where you might find articles on your topic. This is on the computers.
5) Encyclopedia
There is the Encarta programme on the library computers.
2.8 - Creating your own Source
1) Conduct interviews
Oral sources have been underrated for years, but are now gaining respect in research circles.- this could help with primary data (see what slang/jargon they use to describe things)- it could also help with finding explanations as to why they use them (ask them!)
eg - interview a teacher about ways they've been advised to speak in class
eg - ask a skater what kind of terms average people don't understand
eg - ask someone who listens to heavy metal music why they think there're heaps of images of death or darkness in the lyrics
2) Observe
Go to an event or place associated with your topic
eg - jot down things your teacher says
eg – write down what a coach says at a game
eg - write down what fans are yelling out
eg - eavesdrop on a typical 'teenager' conversation between friends
2.8 - Sources in your homes and on the street
1) Labels and Instructions
Look at the labels on things associated with your subject.
eg - look at a food package if you're doing 'food'
eg - look at a CD cover if you're doing 'heavy metal'
eg - look on a clothing label if you're doing 'fashion'
eg - look at a list of ingredients
2) Communications
You can use your own personal letters, emails, texts as sources.
eg - your texts can be used for 'text language'
eg - your school reports could be samples of 'education language'
eg - a valentine's card could be used for 'the language of love'
3) Periodicals
Use magazines or newspapers.
eg - an article on a rugby game could help with 'sport'
eg - there could be advertisements you can use
eg - the cover of a Dolly magazine could help with the language of 'teens'
4) Movies and TV
Get quotes off of ads/programmes/movies
eg - a music video could have good 'rap lyrics'
eg - an interview with George Bush could be good the 'war language'
eg - 'Bring it On' could be good for 'the language of cheerleading'
eg - a coach's speech in a movie could be used for 'the language of basketball'
5) Books
Use books around your house.
eg - the bible is a source of 'religious language'
eg - a recipe book is a source of 'food' or 'instructional' language
eg - a children's book could be used for 'the language of children's literature'
eg - a joke book could be used for 'the language of humour'
eg - a text book could be used for 'the language of maths'
6) Billboards and Posters and brochures
Keep your eyes open when you're in town and you can see verbal sources all over the place
eg - a warning sign on the street could help with 'the language of fear or safety'
eg - an ad on a bus could help with the 'language of food'
eg – the road code could help with 'the language of cars or driving'
eg - a piece of graffiti could be used for 'the language of hate'
eg - you could pick up a brochure from a beauty clinic to help with 'the language of beauty'
2.8 - Finding sources on the internet
One source of primary and secondary resources for you is the internet. Here are some suggestions on how you can use it effectively for your assignment.
1) If you're still unsure of what some language terms mean....
- Comprehensive list of poetic devices in alphabetical order
- Another list, focussing on devices that can be used in persuasive writing.
2) Look for a list of terms used in your subject area, pick a few to discuss and see patterns in. Also try to find examples of them being used in another text.
- Try typing your keywords into google plus 'online dictionary'
eg - this is an online dictionary of skateboarding terms
- Go to a page that has lots of general glosseries and search for your subject- See what patterns you can find (eg - are the words all to do with really specialised moves, are there a lot borrowed from another sport or French, is there a lot of phonetic spelling)
- Make conclusions about why specialised words (jargon) need to be created for your subject area
3) Look for Galleries of Old and New Advertisements (posters, TV ads etc)
- Look for a group of advertisements by putting 'advertising gallery' or 'advertisements gallery'
eg - here is one for tobacco ads- Look at the words used in the ads. Have they changed over time? Can you find language techniques used in them (alliteration, metaphors, diction, use of pronouns), is advertising aimed at different races/sexes/age-groups slightly different?
4) Do a Very General Search to see if anyone has already researched this subject....
- Try typing 'language of ______' [insert your topic] into Google
- eg - this is a website on the language of hate- Look up a site that already analyses how language is used in an area
- eg - a site set up to help you write ads or obituaries
- eg this site looks at what works in advertising and why (eg - alliteration) and has examples
- Can you find examples of these techniques being used in your primary sources? Can you think of the reasons behind why they're used in this area?
5) Look for Oral Texts on your topic (lyrics, songs, speeches etc)
- Look for lyrics or songs on your topic
eg - this is a site that turned up for a search on 'love song lyrics'
- Use the word 'transcript' or 'speech' or 'interview' to look up an oral text
eg - for the language of rap I looked up 'eminem interview'
- Look at the words and how they're used. Can you find metaphors or other language devices? Is there vocabulary that keeps coming up?
6) Use an online encycolpedia to get initial info
- Try starting with an online ontology like wikipedia
eg - I did a wikipedia search on 'text language'
- This information might give you a good starting point for what you're looking for in your primary sources
7) Find video clips to do with your topic and pay attention to the words used
- For visual texts you can use the myspace video section (best if you have broad-band!)
eg - I found a selection of acne videos
8) Figure out what language devices are probably used a lot in your area and add that to the search topic or look up a particular language device and see if there's anything relevant
- go to a site that is about a specific language device and see if your subject is mentionedeg - this site has 'slang' and has topics of 'NZ', 'rap', 'drug related'
eg - this is a site that has euphemisms for death
eg - this site talks about how war metaphors are used in basketball
eg - this is a site on neologisms and you can search by subjecteg- this site looks at allusions to Mary Queen of Scots in nursery rhymes
9) Look up where words originated from (the history of them)
- Look up the origins of words by using the word 'etymology' in your search
eg - etymology of jazz words
- Can you make conclusions about why these words needed to be invented or what kind of trends you can see? What particular things needed new words? Is there metaphoric meaning?
10) Blogs or message boards (like Bebo) can be used as primary sources
-eg here are the search results on www.blogger.com for 'rap'
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Articles no longer online
Shedding new light on dark days
03 October 2006
The making of a film about the Aramoana tragedy has been both fraught and rewarding for film director Robert Sarkies. He talks to Margaret Agnew.
Proud is not the right word, says filmmaker Robert Sarkies. "Relieved" is more like it, he observes wryly.
Making a film, Out of the Blue, about the massacre at Aramoana on November 13, 1990, when resident David Gray shot and killed 13 people, has not been easy.
Many Aramoana residents, survivors of the shootings, family members, friends and neighbours of the dead, have strongly opposed the film.
And now that it has had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, some have even asked the chief censor to ban it from New Zealand screens.
The director acknowledges that for someone with connections to Aramoana, this film "is never going to be a pleasant thing".
During our interview, he ranges from the brutally honest to the combatively defensive, taking his time answering questions, at times speaking slowly and deliberately, desperately wanting to be understood.
You get the sense that he is struggling internally, with the career-focused filmmaker at odds with the boy from Dunedin who wants to be understood and liked.
With the benefit of hindsight, would he agree to the project again?
"I have to say `yes, I would'. As a storyteller, I think it's really important that our society allows our own stories to be told. Our own stories are sometimes painful. They're not always the feel-goods or the World's Fastest Indians, but as soon as you restrict your storytellers, you end up in a pretty sad and repressed society."
Making the film has undeniably been good for Sarkies' career, with journalists beating down his door and even bad publicity counting as good publicity with his producers.
Obviously he doesn't want to be seen as benefiting from tragedy, but he certainly has.
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My family has owned our crib in Aramoana for several decades and generations of my family have grown up holidaying at The Spit, as it's known locally. None of my family is thrilled with the idea of the Aramoana movie.
Rosemarie Clouston, sister of Gary Holden, who was David Gray's neighbour and his first murder victim, and Donna Jamieson, whose father Tim Jamieson was killed that day, are both among those publicly opposed to the film.
Yet Sarkies insists that most people who object to his movie are those slightly removed from the tragedy, who are "much more resistant than the very people whose story we were telling".
"It comes back to that core question, I suppose – who owns the story? I don't. I don't claim ownership in any way, but I think society does.
"For me, it was one of those events. I remember the headline in the Sydney Morning Herald the day after. It really resonated with me, it was: `The day New Zealand lost its innocence'. That's a huge thing to say.
"There's no point in overstating (Aramoana's) importance, but I don't think you can overstate its emotional impact on the country at the time or its continuing impact right through to today.
"The publicity we've had ... not publicity," he corrects himself, quickly and self-consciously. "The controversy we've had over the film hasn't just been generated by a small number of locals. There is a natural fascination about this subject matter by everyone, including journalists all over the country."
What struck Sarkies about Aramoana at the time was that: "it connected us to similar events that had been happening and continue to happen around the world. There's nothing extraordinary about `man running loose with a gun'. Big deal, we see it in movies all the time. But for us as Kiwis, the idea that that could happen here, in a place of true innocence, was as completely mind-shifting as the idea that America could be internally bombed by foreign terrorists would have been to Americans at that time. I think as a piece of history, it connected us with the rest of the world."
Out of the Blue fits into that peculiarly New Zealand Cinema of Unease that Sam Neill so eloquently explored 11 years ago. This is a shift for Sarkies away from his darkly humorous short films and first feature film, Scarfies.
He says it wasn't a deliberate shift, however. "This wasn't the project that I was intending to do next."
Sarkies was planning to stay firmly in the fantasy realm with a bigger budget children's fantasy film – "slightly dark, but very funny" – that he and his brother Duncan have been working on for the last five years. Film funding is hard to find for any locally made independent film, let alone a big budget one, and the Sarkies' project started to slow down.
Robert Sarkies began thinking about "getting real", maybe doing a documentary. It was then that he heard that the producers who had optioned Bill O'Brien's book, Aramoana: 22 Hours of Terror, were trying to approach him with the Aramoana movie project.
"It's obvious why they thought of me. Because I had a local connection. It's fair to say that having a Dunedin connection, and my parents still live there, it did mean that you couldn't hit and run."
The visuals of Aramoana are enormously appealing to a filmmaker, he says. The mole, which stretches out into the Pacific, "it's a visual symbol really. You talk about the Cinema of Unease, well that's the road to nowhere. It's the southern equivalent of little Janet Frame running down a road, only she's not going to end up anywhere," he laughs. "It feels like the end of the Earth in a positive exotic way."
Aramoana is an incredibly peaceful place, and a place where, ironically, Sarkies had sought time out from a hectic schedule years before his current film project.
"Strangely, the only day off while I was filming Scarfies, which was over seven weeks, the thing that I did, having no idea it would be my next film, was I hired a bike and cycled to Aramoana. I did that to seek peace. I did that to get away from the chaos of filmmaking and to come back refreshed and replenished. And that's why Aramoana attracts so many artists and different types of people.
"That's part of the sadness of what happened there. Why there?"
Sarkies is at pains to point to the intense collaboration he and his co-scriptwriter Graeme Tetley (who has worked on many New Zealand films including Vigil and Bread & Roses) went through in making this film.
"All of the people who are alive and depicted in detail in the film, those living people helped us with the script. The help that we had from those people made me and Graeme feel morally OK with putting their story on film, because they did trust us.
"Absolutely no-one said `yippee, the film is being made'. Of course they wouldn't, but some of the people who we spoke to said they were surprised a film hadn't happened earlier. A lot of people I've spoken to (who were) involved in the event said a strange thing, which was that it felt like a film when it was happening, I guess because it was so surreal."
The director says, "We didn't want to come to the story with any agenda, except the agenda as filmmakers to make a compelling film, or attempt to, and for that film to have some meaning. We didn't (want) to point the finger at the police or anyone, but on the opposite side of that coin, we didn't want to make everyone feel squeaky clean.
"What interested me about the story was that these people were people. Some people drink a bit more than they should and other people swear a bit more than they should and, you know, some people collect a few too many guns than they should.
"We made it for New Zealand to look at. You always make a film hoping that the story you're telling is actually larger than the events you're depicting."
Despite opening the film in Canada's prestigious film festival before releasing it in New Zealand, Sarkies claims that he doesn't care whether Out of the Blue appeals to the international market.
"I'm sure the producers ... ", he stops himself from saying what his producers may think, and takes a different tack.
"You want your film to appeal to as many people as possible. Appeal is a weird word with this one, because it's not an appealing film. Usually when I'm introducing a film I say, `I hope you enjoy it' but introducing this one I can't say `I hope that you enjoy it" but `I hope that you experience it', because that's what film can do. It can enable you to be in the shoes of Helen Dickson and ask `would I be that brave?'."
Sarkies visited Helen Dickson (played by 74-year-old Lois Lawn) who was awarded the George Medal for her bravery at Aramoana, and is now in her 90s living in a rest home.
"It's a typical thing for New Zealand heroes. They never say `I'm a hero'. It's always just `anyone would have done it'. Maybe that's true that many other New Zealanders would have acted that same way.
"I would like to think it's celebrating the nature of us as a people, as New Zealanders. I suppose it's celebrating the nature of us 15 years ago. I hope the film will allow people to reflect on `do we have that same innocence now?', `do we have that same care for others?'.
"I don't really know my neighbours in Wellington. I know them to wave to and say hello to, but it's not a particularly meaningful relationship."
This is reflective of another way New Zealand is becoming more like the rest of the Western world, says Sarkies. Although, "We're still better. The longer we hold on to our caring nature, and the longer we hold on to the idea that people come first, before money, and I think that's still the case in most of New Zealand, with the exception of parts of Auckland, the better."
So what sort of reaction did Sarkies' film get at the special screening held in Aramoana a few weeks ago?
"The reaction in Aramoana wasn't (hostile) to my face. Everyone was really respectful."
He says that one person who had been against the film at the first public meeting in Aramoana came to him after the private screening and said they'd been waiting for him "to stuff it up and you didn't".
"Another lady there (who'd been against the film) came up after the screening and was very very chatty and definitely felt we'd done a good job. Her main complaint was that I ummed too much in my introduction, which I did."
Some opponents of the film have refused to see "the massacre movie" as one Aramoana resident described it to me.
"That's completely their right," Sarkies says. When he was ringing the people directly affected by the film's depictions, he told them: "It might be better not to see it. You need to choose and not to feel compelled by other people in the community or by me."
"I think 70 people from Aramoana turning up to a public screening is a pretty decent number so it would be unfair to say there was a large number (missing). There will of course be some, but I guess you make a film about an entire community at your peril. You can't hope to please everyone, and making a film about this event, you can't actually hope to please anyone.
"No-one wants something that's in their past that they would rather forget, brought back. And I know that. I think you've got to temper that fact or problem with a greater need for storytellers to be able to tell stories, for journalists to be able to write articles, for documentary makers to be able to make documentaries."
The crew filmed many of the beach scenes at Aramoana, and only filmed there for two days. "Aramoana liked to think that it won by not having us film there. We were never going to film it in Aramoana. It's changed so much. Aramoana now is not Aramoana of 15 years ago. It's got paved roads. The whole area around David Gray's crib is completely transformed."
Plus, he adds, "Just the idea of taking guns, or firing blanks even, in Aramoana is just as abhorrent to me as it would be for anyone."
It remains to be seen what sort of response his film will get from the New Zealand public and the international film community, but it's undeniable there have been huge benefits for the director in making this film.
He's a sensitive man and does not seem to have come out of this experience unscathed. A lot of this interview seems to have been spent in self-justification.
Obviously filmmakers look for compelling stories, but the question remains: should this film have been made?
Sarkies believes his film will help people, especially Dunedinites, to talk about it.
"Dunedin people don't speak of this. It's like an ugly sore that festers under the surface. I know the film's painful for many of the people involved. I've just gotta hope, as its maker, that it does some good as well.
"Making a film is like having a baby. You can't help but feel protective of your baby."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3816080a1870,00.html (no longer available)
Otago
Aramoana film pledge honoured
Wednesday August 9, 2006
The unofficial world premiere of a film based on the Aramoana massacre will be shown to the community hit by the tragedy in November 1990.
Filmed mainly at Long Beach near Port Chalmers in February and April, Out of the Blue will get a private screening before its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The move honours a commitment film-makers made to the people of Aramoana this year, director Robert Sarkies and producer Steven O'Meagher said yesterday.
The film tells the story of the community during the 22-hour ordeal when resident David Gray went on a shooting spree, killing 13 people.
When the project was announced in November last year the film-makers faced opposition from some in the Aramoana community who said they did not want old wounds reopened.
"What we will be doing is honouring a commitment to the Aramoana community to be the first to see the film," Mr Sarkies said.
Another promise was to remove the name Aramoana from the film title.
Mr Sarkies thought many people in the community would decide against seeing it.
The film-makers had originally hoped the film would have its world premiere in Dunedin during the international film festival currently on in the city.
But they realised after filming that more time would be required for editing.
"We're very disappointed to not get in a festival here," Mr Sarkies said.
"We didn't want to rush it for the festival deadline. We wanted to make a better film."
The invitation to screen the film at the Toronto festival next month meant it had been "recognised as something worthy of a festival", Mr Sarkies said.
"It's fantastic for the film that it gets a prestigious premiere.
"It will be interesting to see how it works for an international audience, which will be different to the local audience," he said. "We have got so much more emotional investment in the story."
Whale Rider and In My Father's Den went on to further success after they were screened at the Toronto festival.
The official New Zealand premiere is expected to be in Dunedin before national release on October 12.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
03 October 2006
The making of a film about the Aramoana tragedy has been both fraught and rewarding for film director Robert Sarkies. He talks to Margaret Agnew.
Proud is not the right word, says filmmaker Robert Sarkies. "Relieved" is more like it, he observes wryly.
Making a film, Out of the Blue, about the massacre at Aramoana on November 13, 1990, when resident David Gray shot and killed 13 people, has not been easy.
Many Aramoana residents, survivors of the shootings, family members, friends and neighbours of the dead, have strongly opposed the film.
And now that it has had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, some have even asked the chief censor to ban it from New Zealand screens.
The director acknowledges that for someone with connections to Aramoana, this film "is never going to be a pleasant thing".
During our interview, he ranges from the brutally honest to the combatively defensive, taking his time answering questions, at times speaking slowly and deliberately, desperately wanting to be understood.
You get the sense that he is struggling internally, with the career-focused filmmaker at odds with the boy from Dunedin who wants to be understood and liked.
With the benefit of hindsight, would he agree to the project again?
"I have to say `yes, I would'. As a storyteller, I think it's really important that our society allows our own stories to be told. Our own stories are sometimes painful. They're not always the feel-goods or the World's Fastest Indians, but as soon as you restrict your storytellers, you end up in a pretty sad and repressed society."
Making the film has undeniably been good for Sarkies' career, with journalists beating down his door and even bad publicity counting as good publicity with his producers.
Obviously he doesn't want to be seen as benefiting from tragedy, but he certainly has.
Advertisement
spac_writeAd("/site=s/area=s.stuff.entertainment.film/aamsz=300x250/ch=");
Advertisement
My family has owned our crib in Aramoana for several decades and generations of my family have grown up holidaying at The Spit, as it's known locally. None of my family is thrilled with the idea of the Aramoana movie.
Rosemarie Clouston, sister of Gary Holden, who was David Gray's neighbour and his first murder victim, and Donna Jamieson, whose father Tim Jamieson was killed that day, are both among those publicly opposed to the film.
Yet Sarkies insists that most people who object to his movie are those slightly removed from the tragedy, who are "much more resistant than the very people whose story we were telling".
"It comes back to that core question, I suppose – who owns the story? I don't. I don't claim ownership in any way, but I think society does.
"For me, it was one of those events. I remember the headline in the Sydney Morning Herald the day after. It really resonated with me, it was: `The day New Zealand lost its innocence'. That's a huge thing to say.
"There's no point in overstating (Aramoana's) importance, but I don't think you can overstate its emotional impact on the country at the time or its continuing impact right through to today.
"The publicity we've had ... not publicity," he corrects himself, quickly and self-consciously. "The controversy we've had over the film hasn't just been generated by a small number of locals. There is a natural fascination about this subject matter by everyone, including journalists all over the country."
What struck Sarkies about Aramoana at the time was that: "it connected us to similar events that had been happening and continue to happen around the world. There's nothing extraordinary about `man running loose with a gun'. Big deal, we see it in movies all the time. But for us as Kiwis, the idea that that could happen here, in a place of true innocence, was as completely mind-shifting as the idea that America could be internally bombed by foreign terrorists would have been to Americans at that time. I think as a piece of history, it connected us with the rest of the world."
Out of the Blue fits into that peculiarly New Zealand Cinema of Unease that Sam Neill so eloquently explored 11 years ago. This is a shift for Sarkies away from his darkly humorous short films and first feature film, Scarfies.
He says it wasn't a deliberate shift, however. "This wasn't the project that I was intending to do next."
Sarkies was planning to stay firmly in the fantasy realm with a bigger budget children's fantasy film – "slightly dark, but very funny" – that he and his brother Duncan have been working on for the last five years. Film funding is hard to find for any locally made independent film, let alone a big budget one, and the Sarkies' project started to slow down.
Robert Sarkies began thinking about "getting real", maybe doing a documentary. It was then that he heard that the producers who had optioned Bill O'Brien's book, Aramoana: 22 Hours of Terror, were trying to approach him with the Aramoana movie project.
"It's obvious why they thought of me. Because I had a local connection. It's fair to say that having a Dunedin connection, and my parents still live there, it did mean that you couldn't hit and run."
The visuals of Aramoana are enormously appealing to a filmmaker, he says. The mole, which stretches out into the Pacific, "it's a visual symbol really. You talk about the Cinema of Unease, well that's the road to nowhere. It's the southern equivalent of little Janet Frame running down a road, only she's not going to end up anywhere," he laughs. "It feels like the end of the Earth in a positive exotic way."
Aramoana is an incredibly peaceful place, and a place where, ironically, Sarkies had sought time out from a hectic schedule years before his current film project.
"Strangely, the only day off while I was filming Scarfies, which was over seven weeks, the thing that I did, having no idea it would be my next film, was I hired a bike and cycled to Aramoana. I did that to seek peace. I did that to get away from the chaos of filmmaking and to come back refreshed and replenished. And that's why Aramoana attracts so many artists and different types of people.
"That's part of the sadness of what happened there. Why there?"
Sarkies is at pains to point to the intense collaboration he and his co-scriptwriter Graeme Tetley (who has worked on many New Zealand films including Vigil and Bread & Roses) went through in making this film.
"All of the people who are alive and depicted in detail in the film, those living people helped us with the script. The help that we had from those people made me and Graeme feel morally OK with putting their story on film, because they did trust us.
"Absolutely no-one said `yippee, the film is being made'. Of course they wouldn't, but some of the people who we spoke to said they were surprised a film hadn't happened earlier. A lot of people I've spoken to (who were) involved in the event said a strange thing, which was that it felt like a film when it was happening, I guess because it was so surreal."
The director says, "We didn't want to come to the story with any agenda, except the agenda as filmmakers to make a compelling film, or attempt to, and for that film to have some meaning. We didn't (want) to point the finger at the police or anyone, but on the opposite side of that coin, we didn't want to make everyone feel squeaky clean.
"What interested me about the story was that these people were people. Some people drink a bit more than they should and other people swear a bit more than they should and, you know, some people collect a few too many guns than they should.
"We made it for New Zealand to look at. You always make a film hoping that the story you're telling is actually larger than the events you're depicting."
Despite opening the film in Canada's prestigious film festival before releasing it in New Zealand, Sarkies claims that he doesn't care whether Out of the Blue appeals to the international market.
"I'm sure the producers ... ", he stops himself from saying what his producers may think, and takes a different tack.
"You want your film to appeal to as many people as possible. Appeal is a weird word with this one, because it's not an appealing film. Usually when I'm introducing a film I say, `I hope you enjoy it' but introducing this one I can't say `I hope that you enjoy it" but `I hope that you experience it', because that's what film can do. It can enable you to be in the shoes of Helen Dickson and ask `would I be that brave?'."
Sarkies visited Helen Dickson (played by 74-year-old Lois Lawn) who was awarded the George Medal for her bravery at Aramoana, and is now in her 90s living in a rest home.
"It's a typical thing for New Zealand heroes. They never say `I'm a hero'. It's always just `anyone would have done it'. Maybe that's true that many other New Zealanders would have acted that same way.
"I would like to think it's celebrating the nature of us as a people, as New Zealanders. I suppose it's celebrating the nature of us 15 years ago. I hope the film will allow people to reflect on `do we have that same innocence now?', `do we have that same care for others?'.
"I don't really know my neighbours in Wellington. I know them to wave to and say hello to, but it's not a particularly meaningful relationship."
This is reflective of another way New Zealand is becoming more like the rest of the Western world, says Sarkies. Although, "We're still better. The longer we hold on to our caring nature, and the longer we hold on to the idea that people come first, before money, and I think that's still the case in most of New Zealand, with the exception of parts of Auckland, the better."
So what sort of reaction did Sarkies' film get at the special screening held in Aramoana a few weeks ago?
"The reaction in Aramoana wasn't (hostile) to my face. Everyone was really respectful."
He says that one person who had been against the film at the first public meeting in Aramoana came to him after the private screening and said they'd been waiting for him "to stuff it up and you didn't".
"Another lady there (who'd been against the film) came up after the screening and was very very chatty and definitely felt we'd done a good job. Her main complaint was that I ummed too much in my introduction, which I did."
Some opponents of the film have refused to see "the massacre movie" as one Aramoana resident described it to me.
"That's completely their right," Sarkies says. When he was ringing the people directly affected by the film's depictions, he told them: "It might be better not to see it. You need to choose and not to feel compelled by other people in the community or by me."
"I think 70 people from Aramoana turning up to a public screening is a pretty decent number so it would be unfair to say there was a large number (missing). There will of course be some, but I guess you make a film about an entire community at your peril. You can't hope to please everyone, and making a film about this event, you can't actually hope to please anyone.
"No-one wants something that's in their past that they would rather forget, brought back. And I know that. I think you've got to temper that fact or problem with a greater need for storytellers to be able to tell stories, for journalists to be able to write articles, for documentary makers to be able to make documentaries."
The crew filmed many of the beach scenes at Aramoana, and only filmed there for two days. "Aramoana liked to think that it won by not having us film there. We were never going to film it in Aramoana. It's changed so much. Aramoana now is not Aramoana of 15 years ago. It's got paved roads. The whole area around David Gray's crib is completely transformed."
Plus, he adds, "Just the idea of taking guns, or firing blanks even, in Aramoana is just as abhorrent to me as it would be for anyone."
It remains to be seen what sort of response his film will get from the New Zealand public and the international film community, but it's undeniable there have been huge benefits for the director in making this film.
He's a sensitive man and does not seem to have come out of this experience unscathed. A lot of this interview seems to have been spent in self-justification.
Obviously filmmakers look for compelling stories, but the question remains: should this film have been made?
Sarkies believes his film will help people, especially Dunedinites, to talk about it.
"Dunedin people don't speak of this. It's like an ugly sore that festers under the surface. I know the film's painful for many of the people involved. I've just gotta hope, as its maker, that it does some good as well.
"Making a film is like having a baby. You can't help but feel protective of your baby."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3816080a1870,00.html (no longer available)
Otago
Aramoana film pledge honoured
Wednesday August 9, 2006
The unofficial world premiere of a film based on the Aramoana massacre will be shown to the community hit by the tragedy in November 1990.
Filmed mainly at Long Beach near Port Chalmers in February and April, Out of the Blue will get a private screening before its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The move honours a commitment film-makers made to the people of Aramoana this year, director Robert Sarkies and producer Steven O'Meagher said yesterday.
The film tells the story of the community during the 22-hour ordeal when resident David Gray went on a shooting spree, killing 13 people.
When the project was announced in November last year the film-makers faced opposition from some in the Aramoana community who said they did not want old wounds reopened.
"What we will be doing is honouring a commitment to the Aramoana community to be the first to see the film," Mr Sarkies said.
Another promise was to remove the name Aramoana from the film title.
Mr Sarkies thought many people in the community would decide against seeing it.
The film-makers had originally hoped the film would have its world premiere in Dunedin during the international film festival currently on in the city.
But they realised after filming that more time would be required for editing.
"We're very disappointed to not get in a festival here," Mr Sarkies said.
"We didn't want to rush it for the festival deadline. We wanted to make a better film."
The invitation to screen the film at the Toronto festival next month meant it had been "recognised as something worthy of a festival", Mr Sarkies said.
"It's fantastic for the film that it gets a prestigious premiere.
"It will be interesting to see how it works for an international audience, which will be different to the local audience," he said. "We have got so much more emotional investment in the story."
Whale Rider and In My Father's Den went on to further success after they were screened at the Toronto festival.
The official New Zealand premiere is expected to be in Dunedin before national release on October 12.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
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