Week 10 - Interview with a "young" person

This week's task is to do an interview with a "young" person to see what's current. As I'm over the age of 20 and I don't have a school to relate to I contacted my cousins through Facebook to see if they'd be interested. Three of my cousins responded: Rosie (19), Elise (16) and Georgina (14) responded and these are the following answers to their questions.
1.What is your favourite TV show?

R: Girls
E: Sherlock
G: Dance Academy

Girls Logo (HBO)

Sherlock (BBC) 

Dance Academy (ABC Kids)

2. What is your favourite character on that show and why?

R: Sharna - she's everyones conscience

E:Sherlock, because i admire how different and smart he is.

G: Tara, because she has similar embarrassing life problems. 3.Do you think that watching this show has influenced you in some way?

R: Made me more conscious of not having to have it 'all worked out for ages

E: Yes

G: A bit, in making me want to be able to dance when I clearly can't.

4.What’s your favourite movie? Why?

R: Billy Elliot - its different, it broke boundaries and made a big difference to the dance world

E:'10 Things I Hate About You', because it is a movie about high school so i find it relate able.

G: Ella Enchanted. It's my favourite movie because it makes me laugh and is easy to follow. 5.Do you like reading novels? Why/Why not?

R: yes, they transport you to a different world

E:Yes, because they seem more personal as you are able to connect with characters better.

G:Yes I love reading novels. This is because I am a good reader and I love to escape to other people's lifes and adventures. 6.Are you reading a novel at the moment? if yes what is it?

R: Yes, Midnight in Peking by Paul French (I went to China in the holidays)

E: Yes, Princess by Jean Sasson

G: Yes I am, but I've already read it once. Its Spellcaster by Claudia Gray. 7.Is there a book that made an impact to your life/ spoken to you?

R: The 5 people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom

E:The Harry Potter series

G: Yes, that would be a trilogy called The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. It is set in the 1800s and it really spoke to me, I've read it multiple times and I still love it. 8.Do you prefer magazines to books? Why/Why not?

R: Don't ask hard questions... I like both, they're different mediums

E:No, i like books better because they are more entertaining

G: No, because they don't have a story or anything and I just love books. I do like magazines though. 9.Do you read eBooks? If yes do you prefer it over a physical book? Why/Why Not?

R: Yes, but i prefer real books. the smell and you know where you're up to, you can quantify it

E: No

G: Yes, I have a kindle of my own that I got for my birthday last year. I don't prefer over a physical book though, because I love the smell of books and the feel of the pages. Although, my kindle is really useful for travelling. 10.What music are you listening to at the moment?

R: grace potter and the nocturnal stars

E:I listen to mainly pop.

G: I listen to a lot of different music, basically everything but country. A lot of pop and rock at the moment. 11.Do you like keeping up with what’s popular or do you do your own thing?

R: Bit of both

E:Yes and no. I listen to what is popular and to songs that aren't as popular, for example i like korean pop.

G: I do like to every now and then see what's popular, so that I don't wear something totally ridiculous and I like to keep up with the music trends but I don't care about celebrities. 12.Do you have Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr/Instagram accounts? How often do you use them?

R: yes, all of the above but twitter is just for uni - and i wish not to incriminate myself

E: Only Facebook and i check it rarely.

G: 12. I have a Facebook and Instagram account. I check Facebook all the time - its usual for social interaction and asking my friends about assignments and homework or just chatting. I used to go on Instagram a lot, but now I don't use it anymore. 13. Do you play video games? If yes, what is your favourite game and why? How much time do you spend playing it?

R: Just games on my phone: flow/boardroom tycoon/candy crush - I don't know

E: No

G:I do play the occasional mario kart and just dance but not very often. Just Dance and Mario Kart are my favourites 14. Do you thing that popular culture is making you smarter?

R: I think pop culture makes you more aware of the world around you. mostly its just like fashions and flings and whatnot but sometimes it clues you in on real issues like kony 2012

E: No

G: No I don't. The music doesn't have a good message - with the drinking, alcohol, smoking, drugs. And the activities that the 'cool kids' in my grade engage in is not good.

15. Do you read the book before seeing the movie adaption?

R: I try to

E: If i have time before it comes out i do

G: Yes I do. I read the book for the recent movie City of Bones back in 2011 and I've read the rest of the books in that series that have come out thus far.

What I see out of these interviews - I expected the younger my interview subject the more into popular culture they would be and more 'with it' about what's considered cool but that wasn't the case. Rosie was more aware about popular culture and how it relates to The Sleeper Curve (see my week 2 overview for more details). I expected Elise's age group to be heavily involved in social media - this wasn't the case as Rosie actually spent the most amount of time engaged in these forums. From talking with Elise and Georgina the 'cool kids' are more aptly named the troublesome kids who engage in dangerous behaviours that aren't seen as cool by their peers. Reading novels is something that is still done, all of them mentioned escapism in some way and they aren't jumping to eBooks like drowned rats off a ship. I asked the movie adaption question because I have heard sweeping statements from some people about how teenagers will only watch the movies if given the option, boycotting the books. I was relieved to find out that this isn't the case.

Featured Pictures

Image 1: Girls Loge; wc licensed (Wikimedia Commons) by Beao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Girls_logo.png (HBO, 2013)

Image 2: Sherlock; wc licensed (Wikimedia Commons) by RanZag http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benedict_Cumberbatch_filming_Sherlock_cropped.jpg

Image 3: Dance Academy (cc by NC2.0) http://www.newvideo.com/flatiron-film-company/dance-academy-season-2-volume-2/ (New Media Group,2013)

Week 8 - Scholarly Article

This week this post is supposed to be giving an overview of a scholarly piece of work that helped us to understand the topic that we had chosen for the first essay. The first essay for me was a bit of a passion project - I wanted to help others (mainly my family) understand the concept of "shipping" and while this is hardly a new phenomenon, fandom members who do "ship" particular characters from their pop culture world have been written off in the past as either annoying or just downright weird. Being immersed within a Tumblr fandom (which I didn't use for my essay as the franchise is not pitched at young people), I could see that this wasn't the case. I was really glad when I found scholarly literature that reflected the feelings of this particular group.

One of the interesting chapters I used to in my essay was by Rebecca Williams entitled "'Wandering off into soap land': Fandom, genre and 'shipping' The West Wing."
In a nutshell, "shipping" is where a fan/person sees (or imagines seeing) a romantic relationship between two (and in some cases more) fictional characters. The relationshippers, known more commonly as "shippers" emotionally invest in these characters which are in some way linked to their identity as a fan.
By looking at shipping within the unusual selection of "The West Wing" is an interesting spin on previous studies by Jenkins and Fiske. Jenkins has previously looked at the notion of fans "poaching" material from their favourite film and TV texts in order to create their own material (aka fan fiction) while Fiske has previously looked at shipping in teenage fandoms such as Buffy. What makes The West Wing an interesting choice is that this show is considered by some writers as a high level drama with complex political themes, where romantic relationships between the characters are considered by most of the audience as "melodramatic" and that the "feminised" practice of shipping tarnishes the series (p271). Thankfully, this is where Williams steps up to bat for for the shippers. She acknowledges that , "shippers" are predominantly female but that they only make up a small percentage of fan dialogue posted on fan sites and forums. Executives and producers are able to gauge the reaction (positive or negative) from the fan-base by the decisions they make on the show: the "shippers" campaigning to see characters get together are just one section of this broader community. She also notes that television executives are usually reluctant to ship character combinations because of the likelihood that it could shorten the life of the show (or fall victim to the "Moonlighting Curse") instead offering fans teasers, giving them enough to be satisfied in the short term while maintaining the themes of the show.
One question that I wanted to ask is why do people ship characters in the first place? What do the "shippers" get out of it? From personal experience I can say that I honestly don't know, one minute I was a casual fan then I became absolutely hooked and needed to get my hands on every single episode. Once again, Williams backs us up. "These fans are not deluded, nor do they believe that the on-screen romance is 'real', but rather they identify with the emotions and developments they see on the screen... similar to that person's inability to why he or she is in love with another in real life" (278-279). People who become long term "shippers" tend to draw on personal experiences to be able to help construct the viewer's narrative of the relationship. They might see something of themselves in a character or remind them of a situation they've been in before or see similar behaviours in people around them. Either way, it impacts identity as they view with the show on a deeper level to the unattached audience.

RANDOM NOTE: The West Wing is the only TV Drama to win an Emmy for every year that it was on television. Overall the show picked up a total of 27 Emmys during its run from 99-06.

Williams, R. (2011). Wandering off into soap land’: Fandom, genre and “shipping” The West Wing’. Participations, 270–295. Retrieved from http://www.participations.org/Volume 8/Issue 1/PDF/williams.pdf

       

Week 7 - Istuff in Classrooms

Hey I know there has been a five-week gap since my last post – that is because something called Life and it’s friend Assignments got in the way!  

The articles in this week’s learning pack relate to Youth, Schooling and Libraries. The Cook, Pachler & Bachmair article related to the increasing use of mobile phones by young people in schools and should there be more in the curriculum to incorporate this new type of learning. The current smartphones are basically mini-computers in which students have the capacity to look up information at the touch of a button. I have heard of some learning institutions making some textbooks available to app format so “young people” (I use that term loosely) can access the text in a way they feel comfortable with. I can also see the downsides – I remember when I was in high school how many girls used to text each other during class, take photos of each other in the bathrooms not to mention that it probably increased the number of people who heard about their shenanigans (both at lunch and outside of school). On a more serious point cyber bullying is a major problem in Australian schools, giving students access to smartphones may be encouraging this type of behaviour.

The Derby article also addressed issues about the digital revolution and addressed some of the criticisms that some have towards letting mobile devices into classrooms. The case study in the text was very similar to what a friend of mine saw at Sheldon College while doing her teaching prac a few years ago. Students in one class were given a Nintendo device and 30 minutes of every morning was dedicated to brain training games while students in the other class spent the same time with traditional methods. While the teachers of neither class saw a dramatic rise or fall with the results of their students, students how played games during that time apparently raved about it. Just by looking at this example it proves Derby’s point – that other formats can be incorporated into lessons without teachers compromising their students learning, in fact the students may be more open to it then the traditional methods.    

I found Moore’s blog article interesting. The post discussed the topic of Social Reading and that how eBooks have combined with social media features, has opened up a space for people to virtually discuss books. Moore claims that it the first time where reading has gone from being a solitary act to something quite public. I don’t overtly agree with this. I am an avid reading have been a member of many book clubs over the years and always enjoyed discussing the books that I’ve read over pastry and milkshakes. How are these groups any different to the online spaces of Twitter and Facebook? People thought that eBooks would be a death to libraries and the hardcover book that we know of – I have to admit that I agree with Stephen Fry “Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators” – i.e. There is a time and a place for both. There is something about having a hard cover book in your hand that is comforting; however when backpacking around Europe with very little space or being old and needing to increase the size of the font – an eBook is preferable.

Week 2 - The Good Stuff

I have decided to split this post in two because it was getting too long.
Now to the stuff I actually wanted to talk about - The Hunger Games and (to a lesser extent) Twilight.

The Hunger Games

I picked up the Hunger Games in second year university without any knowledge of it's following. I found it an interesting book. I read that the author came up with the idea after flicking channels from Iraq war coverage to kids competing in reality television and deciding that combining the two would be a good idea for a book. You can feel for Katniss as she tells the story from her point of view. The reader sees that her world is bleak and she is doing everything she can to fight it. When I read the book I wanted a happy ending and by seeing it was in the Young Adults section, I knew there was a 95% chance that I would get one.
When the hype was beginning about the movies I wondered about how it would transfer onscreen. The Hunger Games contains some very serious themes including dictatorship, censorship, class struggle and media control. Depending on the age and maturity of the child, these are important topics that need to be discussed, even if some think that it is too delicate for young people to handle.
One thing that did confuse me was people's reaction to the movies. On one hand people were concerned about the notion of kids killing kids and how it would be too violent for them to watch. Yet they watch coverage of wars happening overseas, where children are roped into fighting - regardless of whether they want to or not. On the other hand people had shirts with "Team Katniss" written on them, and fans boasting that she was a good role model for girls. Hang on, let's think about that a moment. Katniss is a survivalist, she is rude to her mother, she is surly, sarcastic and doesn't like making friends, she doesn't take compliments and doesn't like the authorities. I don't know about you but if I saw any of those qualities in my own kids I would be pulling my hair out (Yes, I know she volunteered for her sister at the Reaping, but this is because Katniss saw her sister Prim as someone who is small and weak,  and who needed to be protected, but I don't think this act alone makes Katniss a role model).
The Hunger Games has a huge following online - there are Tumblr pages, Pintrest boards, whole sites dedicated to Fan Art. Another feature of this fandom is that people can join the Paneem community (Paneem is the ficitonal country the Hunger Games takes place in) through Facebook and generate an ID card which categorises them into a District, gives them a personalised id number and gives them an occupation (including Tribute - For the Record I was put as a farmer in District 9, which is responsible for grain). After logging on people "show district pride" and write fan fiction using the character traits they'd been allocated, even adding the long id numbers after their names so people. This level of participatory culture is on the rise as the second movie Catching Fire is due to hit cinemas in November.

Twilight

I won't mention too much about Twilight as I don't find rants very attractive. Twilight came out when I was in high school. I read it. It was like reading the diary of some of the girls I went to school with. I remember girls swooning over Edward when I thought he was just down right creepy (give me Neville Longbottom any day of the week). I did see the movie with my brother's girlfriend - it wasn't my cup of tea. At least I didn't fall for the advertising pitch it was a "vampire movie".
But I suppose some good has come out of Twilight. It got girls who rarely read novels into reading. It brings up issues like sex before marriage. Over 200,000 fan fictions have been written (and as far as my friends have told me almost a third of them are amateur attempts of writing porn) which I guess gives people an outlet to... express themselves.

Look Forward to next week
(RANDOM NOTE: Did you know that the infamous 50 Shades of Grey began as a fan fic entry? with Chrisitan Grey being the AU, Alternative Universe, version of Edward Cullen. This may explain why the character is rich and creepy.)

Week 2 - Reflecting on Resources Pack A

Reading Material

 Johnson (2005) in his article Everything bad is good for you, floats the idea that being involved with popular culture can be good for us and won't, as our parents put it, give us square eyes or make us misfits within society. In some ways I can agree with this - if you spend long enough playing Angry Birds, you will actually use the long lost components of your brain to apply maths and physics in a sort of real world application (otherwise known as making killing the green pigs to get to the next level). With that being said, this is shouldn't be used as an excuse to spend hours watching TV and claiming it to educational.

I found the video lecture by Jenkins fascinating (I was googling to find more videos of him after the clip ended - I could have listened to him all day). Participatory culture has been around for generations, but the internet age is really the first time that adults and adolescents can come together and share ideas as equals. I think it's a mixture of changing social norms and technological advances which means that every voice has equal weight. There are few barriers which stop people from engaging and everybody believes that their opinion matters. He also goes onto say that participatory culture ignites an informal learning. This links in with the Johnson article by saying that this engagement can develop important leadership and communication skills along with equipping them with various norms, mores and ideas that can help serve their broader offline communities; there is the fact that while these "skills" are being developed online - they are probably not being put into practice in real world settings and that the most important thing about these technologies is balance.  (I love the story of the Chilean senator and his theory that World of Warcraft holds the key for Latin America becoming more involved in global conversations).

Now for the not so good stuff. I found the Fiske article dry and dated, it lost me when it said that popular culture has come out of people oppressing women and children and "a housewife regularly buying romance novels and finds some pleasure in her husbands disapproval..." (Fiske, 2010, pgs 44-45) What? How the hell is that relevant to the modern day? Who care's if she reads romance novels (not that this isn't at all stereotypical) As for the example of the Newlywed Game... I could see the different reactions and how the "text" impacted them but the fact he was arguing that it was used to deal with patriarchy? When the women on the show answered "Yes Master" about their sex lives - yeah, I'm not buying it.

Week 1 - Introductions

As an LIS major, this class is one of only two electives I have in my degree - and I've been looking forward to it.

So Youth, Popular Culture and Texts... I'm 22 so I'm still young at heart and I still have connections with the current popular culture (we'll worry about the "texts" part of this class later). 

There were questions in the introductory lecture about what is popular culture? who decides what's popular? and why do young people need/have it? I don't really know all the answers to these questions but I can give it a go.

Every generation has had their sub-cultures and what they think is cool; not every person within that age and sex demographic but "popular culture" can be considered what the herd thinks is fashionable. 

Popular culture and the various "sub-cultures entertainment" are communicated through various mediums - you only need to look at fanfiction.com to realise that stories like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight and being used to "act out" and demonstrate moral dilemmas, issues like sex, drugs and relationships along with ideas of heroes and villains. 

It also helps reflect societal notions of a range of topics such as sexuality, censorship and racism. A rise in post-appocolyptic fiction could be a possible reflection of how people are worried about the state of their society and could be used as a way to help process real-world issues in a safe forum. 

Bring on week 2!

(RANDOM NOTE: "cool" is the only slang word that has not gone out of fashion, it became popularised by jazz bands in the 1930s and has enjoyed a steady usage ever since while other terms like "groovy" and "sick" have fallen by the wayside).