Sound Project Final

Radio Response

          This is a response to the Radiolab Podcast titled Quicksaaand! This podcast discusses how the fear of quicksand has significantly decreased since the 1960's. In the 1960's quicksand was used as a serious threat, in serious movies. Movies like Lawrence of Arabia uses it, and Woman in the Dunes used quicksand. Because of this a lot of people were afraid of quicksand. It is interesting to listen to how this fear has dissipated along with it's dissipation in the media. At one point they discuss the fact that it does not fit the right metaphor for how we as a nation are feeling.
          This podcast uses a lot of sounds for examples. They use sound excerpts for MLK, Lawrence of Arabia, My Little Pony, and more. They are using sound for examples. It's like showing found footage, only in audio form. The different voices don't necessarily create a different dynamic. It's a little exciting when they introduce the writers of Lost, because I like the show Lost, but the dynamic is consistent throughout the episode.

Narrative Response

           

           Let's talk about the pilot episode of Freaks and Geeks. In this episode the title character who we follow through all 18 episodes (because this show was wrongfully cancelled after one season) Lindsay Weir is faced with new and different challenges in high school. Though she is certainly not new to the high school, after the death of a grandparent she herself has changed from what we understand she used to be; she was once a mathlete, and is now considered a "freak." This show deals a lot with stereotypes, and though some play into what we would expect, and others do not, most everything is accurate, and realistic. Lindsay is not a stereotypical girl. Though there are still feminine qualities present, she constantly wears an army jacket, she doesn't appear insignificant (which girls sometimes do) she is very smart, independent, and rebellious. She does not dress "sexy" in any way, she just dresses like Lindsay. She almost plays a heroine role in some cases, like when she stops the kid in the beginning from bullying her little brother, and when she asks Eli (who is mentally disabled) to the dance to (again) stop him from being bullied. This show successfully reveals every layer of some of the stereotypes we think we know and understand, including the feminine perspective. Some stereotypes remain a mystery, but that's a result of perspective.

Documentary Response

         

         For the documentary response I chose to watch the full length documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated. This is a film that explores the rating system in Hollywood, how films are rated, what experiences past filmmakers have had with movie ratings, and how the MPAA decides what is what, and who they really are as a corporation.
         This is a participatory style documentary, which means that the people on the screen look like they are at the same level of power as the viewer. As Kirby Dick goes through this process of getting to the bottom of the rating system, we feel as if we are coming along with him, and it's the same idea as the when he hires the private investigator. Shots such as the ones where we feel like we are in the car with him are good examples of why we feel like we are on the same level as us. He also shows you images, and proves his point so well, that we not only feel like we are on this journey with him, but we also sympathize with his argument.

This project is composed of excerpts from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The reason it is structured, and sounds the way it sounds to play with the idea that we all zone in and out of different things in regards to key words, volume, emphasis, tone, ect. What words stick out to you and why? I know what words are important to me, but are they the same words that you hear?

https://soundcloud.com/eliana-lustig/sound-project-final

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