Recently I watched a film called On the Downlow. The film follows several homosexual black men who live in Cleveland, Ohio. According to many of the men in the film, it is difficult to live as an openly homosexual within the urban black community, as it is in many other communities.
The beginning of the film introduces several men, all of who live in different circumstances. One character lived in a “foster home” for gay men living on the “downlow,” which basically means being openly homosexual only when the circumstances allow. Another character was a divorced father fighting to get custody of his two children. One character was an ex convict searching for love and a job. Each of these characters, and the ones I did not mention, explain when they knew that they were homosexual, the difficulty that they have had coming out, how they live their lives as “straight” men, and how they live their lives as the homosexual men when they are in comfortable environments.
Most of the perspectives offered in the film are the perspectives of the characters themselves. However, the film also interviews the mothers of a few of the young men. The film also captures one of the young men coming out to his father and one of them coming out to his girlfriend. The scene where the character comes out to his father is particularly emotional.
The film isn’t so much pushing an agenda as it is telling the stories of young men whose stories have not yet been told. The film is only 70 minutes long, which limits how much it can get across. An interesting technique that the film makers used was to film the young men both going about their daily activities in their home and among friends and family who they are out to, and going about their daily activities in public, where they feel the need to act straight. I myself did not see a huge difference in the identities, but then again, I knew that they were truly homosexual.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
KARE 11 - 10 o'clock news
On November 9, 2010 I watched the 10 o'clock on Channel 11. A few things that I discovered while watching were 1) People poor excuse for news, but was prepared for that, 2) it was actually quite relaxing. I am not sure why exactly. It could be that almost all of the stories were about areas that I knew and involved people who I knew by reputation or who I could relate to. Plus, since all of the stories were basically fluff (and short), it didn't require a whole lot of thinking on my part to follow along, and 3) all of the anchors just seemed so darn friendly.
This is the breakdown of last night's news:
15 seconds - "Good evening" introduction
2 min 7 sec. - News: Farmer runs over a wandering black bear with his combine. Family going to eat the bear. (Video footage and interviews)
2 min 15 sec. - News: Governor candidates comment on recount process (Video footage)
15 sec. - Reporter comments on recount process
25 sec. - High speed rail line debate
10 sec. - Woman hit by car on Summit Ave.
10 sec. - House fire in Belle Plain
15 sec. - Mankato State student sexually assaulted
15 sec. - 13 year old sexually assaults 12 year old on school bus
10 sec. - Update on deer hunting registration
20 sec. - University of Denver hockey player recovering from spine injury sustained during a game. (Video footage)
20 sec. - Fire on Carnival Cruise leaves passengers stranded. Coast Guard brings them food. (Video footage)
15 sec. - "Mystery Missile" trail spotted in the sky (Video footage)
3 min. - Commercials
4 min. - Top Story: Minnesota food shelves see increase in people needing food. (Video footage and interviews)
20 sec. - Plug for tomorrow night's top story: In the present economy should you reach into your 401K to pay bills?
4 min. - Weather
3 min. - Commercials
5 min. - SPORTS: Joe Mauer awarded Golden Glove (Video footage)
Timberwolves losing to Laker by 2 points with 8 minutes left in the first half (Video footage)
St. Thomas Tommies 10-0 so far this season. (Video footage and interviews)
Randy Shaver names Viking's Chris Kluwe "Player of the week." (Video footage)
3 min. - Commercials
30 sec. - Final story: Huge pumpkin grown in New York. Carved sections given to chefs who will make dishes out of it which will then be donated. (Video footage)
Many of the stories that were covered involved exciting footage, like athletes doing stuff, a Carnival Cruise just wading in the ocean, or a huge pumpking being carved with an electric saw. Some of the stories contained no footage, including the more tragic stories. I guess there isn't a whole lot of footage that you can give to the more tragic stories without showing something, well, tragic.
When the anchors reported on tragic stories, they ended the story with sorrowful tone of voice and often lowered their heads while saying the last few words.
During the Weather, the anchor walked outside to their well-lit patio to report. It was strange, but I thought to myself, "Hey, she is experiencing the same weather that I am," which felt kind of unifying.
When the anchors said "Goodnight," the camera panned out to show the entire studio while the anchors were still chatting with each other. Relaxing music closed out the program and I couldn't help but feel like the anchors actually liked each other and that they really loved their jobs. It was a pleasant feeling.
This is the breakdown of last night's news:
15 seconds - "Good evening" introduction
2 min 7 sec. - News: Farmer runs over a wandering black bear with his combine. Family going to eat the bear. (Video footage and interviews)
2 min 15 sec. - News: Governor candidates comment on recount process (Video footage)
15 sec. - Reporter comments on recount process
25 sec. - High speed rail line debate
10 sec. - Woman hit by car on Summit Ave.
10 sec. - House fire in Belle Plain
15 sec. - Mankato State student sexually assaulted
15 sec. - 13 year old sexually assaults 12 year old on school bus
10 sec. - Update on deer hunting registration
20 sec. - University of Denver hockey player recovering from spine injury sustained during a game. (Video footage)
20 sec. - Fire on Carnival Cruise leaves passengers stranded. Coast Guard brings them food. (Video footage)
15 sec. - "Mystery Missile" trail spotted in the sky (Video footage)
3 min. - Commercials
4 min. - Top Story: Minnesota food shelves see increase in people needing food. (Video footage and interviews)
20 sec. - Plug for tomorrow night's top story: In the present economy should you reach into your 401K to pay bills?
4 min. - Weather
3 min. - Commercials
5 min. - SPORTS: Joe Mauer awarded Golden Glove (Video footage)
Timberwolves losing to Laker by 2 points with 8 minutes left in the first half (Video footage)
St. Thomas Tommies 10-0 so far this season. (Video footage and interviews)
Randy Shaver names Viking's Chris Kluwe "Player of the week." (Video footage)
3 min. - Commercials
30 sec. - Final story: Huge pumpkin grown in New York. Carved sections given to chefs who will make dishes out of it which will then be donated. (Video footage)
Many of the stories that were covered involved exciting footage, like athletes doing stuff, a Carnival Cruise just wading in the ocean, or a huge pumpking being carved with an electric saw. Some of the stories contained no footage, including the more tragic stories. I guess there isn't a whole lot of footage that you can give to the more tragic stories without showing something, well, tragic.
When the anchors reported on tragic stories, they ended the story with sorrowful tone of voice and often lowered their heads while saying the last few words.
During the Weather, the anchor walked outside to their well-lit patio to report. It was strange, but I thought to myself, "Hey, she is experiencing the same weather that I am," which felt kind of unifying.
When the anchors said "Goodnight," the camera panned out to show the entire studio while the anchors were still chatting with each other. Relaxing music closed out the program and I couldn't help but feel like the anchors actually liked each other and that they really loved their jobs. It was a pleasant feeling.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Mammoth mouths
For a while I considered my love of "Eating a huge amount food" shows to be a guilty pleasure. I have gotten over it.
Cooking shows have been on for years, and even eating shows have had their time in the sun, but the emergence of eating shows where the host eats ALOT is relatively new. Two of the most famous of this genre are "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" hosted by Guy Fieri, and "Man vs. Food" hosted by Adam Richman. Now, to the cynical viewer, these shows are about nothing but large men eating large amounts of food, thus perpetuating the ever-present stereotype of Americans as gluttonous swine. Ok, so the show has aspects of that, but I swear, there is more.
First off, the hosts are legit. They have done their time in the culinary worlds and have the credential to prove themselves.
Each show follows the same basic premise: The host travels to some city in the U.S. and searches out restaurants to stuff their faces at. However, once they arrive in the city, they take the role of a tour guide, and lead the viewer around providing history, stories, and humor. The host introduces us to the restaurant owners and employees, asks them an array of question about the city, their restaurant’s clientele, the restaurants influences, focus, history, and usually asks about famous people who have stopped in. All the while, the viewer is treated to an abundance of god-awful jokes and aimless comments. I actually like the asinine commentary because it makes me feel like I am not watching the show alone, which I usually am.
Unlike the more prestigious travel and cooking shows, (don't get me wrong, I love those too) the pig-out shows appeal to the more "common" viewer. The food is often greasy, the guests outrageous, the pace fast, and the backing soundtrack simplistic and rock oriented. The entire show is like reading the Comics and Sports pages, with Anthony Bourdain being the World section.
But just because the shows are more "working class" as far as culinary shows go, they do offer a lot of fascinating information about foods. What kind of cheese makes the best Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich? What are the ingredients to Cleveland's city champ chili 5 years in a row? I often take notes during the shows and they have really paid off.
Some criticism: Yep, the hosts are rather obese men and they do eat a lot during the show. For the same reasons that many people love these programs, they also kind of hate them. Obviously Guy and Adam are not role models (still waiting for them to score Lebron-esque commercial spots) and the average human should not be indulging in the diets (regularly) that these guys seem to on a daily basis. Quick note: my friend recently read an interview with Adam where he describes what he does on days where he is not shooting an episode. Answer: Treadmilling. Also, the non-meat eating population is probably disgusted 2X by the quantities of meat that these guys eat. I cannot remember the statistic, but it is something about how if each American cut their meat consumption in half, then something like world peace or daily rainbows would come to be. In all seriousness, a lot of food is packed into these guys for the sake of entertainment that could otherwise go to more hungry mouths. Really big debate on food justice exists here.
Other criticism: The show is pretty male centric. There are a lot of aggressive personalities and macho lingo thrown around. I tried watching this show with my sister and she shook her head throughout and said simply, "This is dumb. The concept and the guys are just dumb." "Man vs. Food" is particularly "Bro" infested. Occasionally, Adam is even escorted from pig-out joint to pig-out joint by frat brothers. It is all tongue-in-cheek of course, but then again, so is a lot of sexist material.
Cooking shows have been on for years, and even eating shows have had their time in the sun, but the emergence of eating shows where the host eats ALOT is relatively new. Two of the most famous of this genre are "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" hosted by Guy Fieri, and "Man vs. Food" hosted by Adam Richman. Now, to the cynical viewer, these shows are about nothing but large men eating large amounts of food, thus perpetuating the ever-present stereotype of Americans as gluttonous swine. Ok, so the show has aspects of that, but I swear, there is more.
First off, the hosts are legit. They have done their time in the culinary worlds and have the credential to prove themselves.
Each show follows the same basic premise: The host travels to some city in the U.S. and searches out restaurants to stuff their faces at. However, once they arrive in the city, they take the role of a tour guide, and lead the viewer around providing history, stories, and humor. The host introduces us to the restaurant owners and employees, asks them an array of question about the city, their restaurant’s clientele, the restaurants influences, focus, history, and usually asks about famous people who have stopped in. All the while, the viewer is treated to an abundance of god-awful jokes and aimless comments. I actually like the asinine commentary because it makes me feel like I am not watching the show alone, which I usually am.
Unlike the more prestigious travel and cooking shows, (don't get me wrong, I love those too) the pig-out shows appeal to the more "common" viewer. The food is often greasy, the guests outrageous, the pace fast, and the backing soundtrack simplistic and rock oriented. The entire show is like reading the Comics and Sports pages, with Anthony Bourdain being the World section.
But just because the shows are more "working class" as far as culinary shows go, they do offer a lot of fascinating information about foods. What kind of cheese makes the best Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich? What are the ingredients to Cleveland's city champ chili 5 years in a row? I often take notes during the shows and they have really paid off.
Some criticism: Yep, the hosts are rather obese men and they do eat a lot during the show. For the same reasons that many people love these programs, they also kind of hate them. Obviously Guy and Adam are not role models (still waiting for them to score Lebron-esque commercial spots) and the average human should not be indulging in the diets (regularly) that these guys seem to on a daily basis. Quick note: my friend recently read an interview with Adam where he describes what he does on days where he is not shooting an episode. Answer: Treadmilling. Also, the non-meat eating population is probably disgusted 2X by the quantities of meat that these guys eat. I cannot remember the statistic, but it is something about how if each American cut their meat consumption in half, then something like world peace or daily rainbows would come to be. In all seriousness, a lot of food is packed into these guys for the sake of entertainment that could otherwise go to more hungry mouths. Really big debate on food justice exists here.
Other criticism: The show is pretty male centric. There are a lot of aggressive personalities and macho lingo thrown around. I tried watching this show with my sister and she shook her head throughout and said simply, "This is dumb. The concept and the guys are just dumb." "Man vs. Food" is particularly "Bro" infested. Occasionally, Adam is even escorted from pig-out joint to pig-out joint by frat brothers. It is all tongue-in-cheek of course, but then again, so is a lot of sexist material.
Lesson Plan: I think that students could get a real kick out of making their own versions of a pig-out video. The language used on the show is usually very colorful, and the hosts are actually quite theatrical. Having students write a script for a pig-out show and videotaping an experience would be a blast. Encourage them to be silly. Buy a nasty hot dog at Super America and treat it like the wiener form Mt. Olympus. Be eccentric and over the top. Be theatrical about their food. Make a triple-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich and have their friend time them and chant their name as they try to mow it down in under a minute. Eating competitions are absurd and comedic. Why would a human endanger themselves while engaging in the most basic of needs? But people do it, and make television shows about it. Discussions about the absurdity of the shows could be quite eye-opening for students raised in our consumer culture. How does the rest of the world view “Man vs. Food?” How would a third-world country view it?
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