Monday, 11 November 2013

Pop Genre - brief 2 assesment John Jaung

John Jaung 1263454 Popular Genre

Tintin Fan Fiction and Commentary

It was a sunny, warm day in the city streets of London. It was just like any other day in the urban areas of Belgium with busy streets, the birds chirping obnoxiously and our two protagonists Tintin and Captain Haddock sitting down whilst sipping on a cup of tea to begin their day. However, the mood for today wasn’t the same as it used to be between these two good friends, something was just not right.

“Captain, are you okay? Is something wrong?” Tintin asked.

“Do you even know what day it is Tintin?” Captain barked impatiently.

“To be honest it just seems like any other day to me, just been a bit busy writing articles for the Le Petit Vingtieme. Be sides that it has been just a completely normal day Captain. Is today supposed to be special?” Tintin asked slightly worried.

“So according to you, I am not even worth the importance of a stupid magazine company you work for? This is just one day in a year and you really forgot? What in tarnations is this Tintin?! Would you please explain to me? I really can’t understand what’s happening!” The captain yelling at Tintin’s face with uncontrollable rage.

“First of all my job is not stupid Captain! You will never understand what it’s like to be me and its best that you don’t know any way! I’m just doing what I love, which is my job you old hag!” Tintin was filled with rage as well.

Captain Haddock started walking closer to Tintin and they glared eye to eye. Blue ones met the dull grey eyes of Tintin’s.

“You listen to me Tintin! Since you don’t give and blistering barnacles about me, I won’t give you any respect and attention about your job or anything. I can’t believe after all these years and after all these adventures you forget about this day. You are the most inconsiderate person I have ever met in my life! How can you have forgotten my birthday?” Captain shoved Tintin.

Tintin shoved the Captain back.

“stop it Captain! Alright I have forgotten but you won’t know how I feel right now! After whatever I’ve been through! You just don’t understand what it is like to be me…” Tintin stated in a slightly whispering tone.

“fine then!” captain screamed as he bolted towards the door and slammed it.

The Captain was furious and in an enraged state, quickly left the building and headed towards his home Malinspike hall. Tintin drank some water and tried breathing in and out slowly to let off some steam. His hands were over held over his head and face down towards the table.

“I’m sorry Captain please forgives me…” He sighed holding his tears back.

The Captain was still filled with rage when he entered Malinspike Hall after his encounter with Tintin. He went inside the living room and sat down on his sofa with a grumpy expression. It may have seemed a bit immature, but Haddock was still very upset at Tintin about the fact that he thought his job was more important than himself. He was confused whether he himself over reacted or if it was all Tintin’s fault.

“Of course it is his fault! He forgot about that one day which only comes by once a year. Even Nestor remembered my birthday. It is his entire fault!”

He was certain that today would be one of his most disappointing birthdays of his life. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock and the doorbell rang. He wasn’t expecting anyone to come by. He had the feeling of excitement that it would be Tintin coming to apologize. But it was his old pall Oliver.

“hey there old friend? I’ve forgotten to bring you some rum that I brought for your birthday! Happy birthday my old chap!” he said smiling.

This brought a weak smile to the Captain’s face as he loved drinking alcohol. Yet he couldn’t get Tintin off his mind. Oliver seemed to have noticed the lack of energy in the Captain.

“Haddock you alright there?” Asked Oliver in a worried tone.

“Well not really old timer…” The captain whispered.

Do you want to talk about it?”

The captain nodded and let him in. They sat at the living room and Oliver started to open a bottle of rum that he brought and poured it into the glass.

“Cheers! It really means a lot that you are here old friend” said the Captain drinking the whole drink at once burning down his throat.

“So tell me what happened?”

“Well… It’s just Tintin... all the adventures we have gone through, he just doesn’t seem to understand how I feel. It’s always Tintin that gets all the attention, Tintin that gets all the praise, everything is just revolved around him without him giving me the appreciation that I deserve, when I have always been there for him.” The Captain sighed and poured himself another glass and chugged it straight away.

“oh what is this gin? Blimey this drink is great!”

“….”

Thump! And the Captain’s eyes shut and he fell down head first to the floor. His drink sure was no ordinary one. Oliver took off his mask and revealed his true identity.

It was just one of these days that Tintin was perhaps a little over sensitive and things weren’t going out the way he planned them to. He suddenly changed direction and set out his way towards Malinspike Hall.

The door was left open, which was out of the ordinary; the Captain always keeps his door shut. So Tintin went inside.

“Captain?! It’s me Tintin, where are you?” There was no reply.

Tintin searched around the house and the Captain was nowhere to be seen.

There was an opened bottle of whiskey and a note left on the table. It read:

“Good day dear boy and you thought I was out of the picture forever didn’t you? Well sorry to disappoint you, but I am fed up with your constant meddling in my business. This time I will crush you for good!

P.S the Captain is with me.

- Rastapopoulos”

Commentary

The very influential script reviewer Vogler (1998) once stated that all great filmic narratives share a similar deep structure which is universally acclaimed. Through my fan fiction I focused on the very beginning of a story and usually the part considered being the “separation act”. In this story I wanted to focus more on the two protagonists in the story Tintin and Captain Haddock and how their breakdown in their relationship brings a new call to adventure. Tintin always being the hero of the story is shown here that at times he maybe the classic protagonist who cares about the welfare of others over his own, but he is also an ordinary boy at times. Tintin being the hero sometimes expects himself to be the centre of attention which in this case upset Captain Haddock, the accomplice. I wanted to portray the humanistic views of these characters by using even the small matter of the Captain’s birthday to stir up an argument. Even if Tintin is the hero and mastermind crime solver, he is also a boy that requires attention and care. So therefore I thought that this scenario would be great to start to introduce and set up the whole process of a new Tintin adventure. Like Vogler’s structure of narratives I wanted to address the setting, characters and basic action of the story. Questions of what happened to the Captain and how Rastapopoulos dressed up as Captain’s friend Oliver, plus what happened to Oliver will be raised in bringing out the curiosity of what will happen next in the story. The catalysis I introduced would be the disappearance or kidnapping of Captain Haddock. This is the first turning point of the story precipitated by the appearance of Rastapopoulos. He is introduced in the ending of the story as the villain who has kidnapped Captain Haddock. This pushes the pace of the story and pushes it towards the next act in which there will be much more focus on the action and Tintin’s role of rescuing captain from Tintin’s nemesis Rastapopoulos.

Even though Volger’s model of ‘mythic structure’ and ‘character archetypes’ may seem very general and formulaic, while writing my fan fiction on Tintin, I realised that they were unintentionally brought up within my story. It could have been due to my long experience of screening sessions of various popular films and narratives that follow Vogler’s structure. All in all I would have to agree that Vogler’s formula presents a flexible set of elements commonly present in many films that are arguably elements in their popular success. I may have just written and introduction towards the narrative, but the story I planned out would have led to various turning points, tests, ordeals and a climax like that of Vogler’s model structure and more characters would have been introduced as the story progresses.

By: John Jaung 1263454

Saturday, 22 June 2013

John's final fan fiction

Harold and Kumar Fan Fiction

By: John Jaung

There she was. Her shinny blonde hair shimmering under the sunlight, her perfect body proportion from head to toe goes to show that she has the fit to be a model. The face of an angel I say. But why is she here? Why is she walking towards me?? Be yourself, don’t be nervous Harold Lee.

“So, Maria, what's been goin' on?”

“I actually had a very long week at work.”

“Anyways, what are you up to tonight?”

“To be honest, I'm just going to be sitting on my ass, probably eat a whole pint of Haagen-Dazs while I watch some terrible soap opera."

“Well, that sounds awful haha.”

“If you want some company, maybe you can come over and sit on your ass at my place.” Without any hesitation a grin could be seen coming from her face.

“That sounds nice.” Maria replied.

Bye.

Harold wakes up from his day dream while Kumar is blowing a storm of white smoke straight to his face. His heart was pounding just by the thought of Maria, the beautiful female being from next door smiling at him. At times when only the two caught the apartment elevator, not a word came from Harold’s mouth. Anger and shame rose towards him for not having the confidence to even ask such a simple conversation starter such as, “How have you been doing Maria?”

Harold hates himself for feeling the way he did. There have been multiple occasions to become closer with who could be his one true love, but he has so far wasted all opportunities.

“Roldy are you tripping? Cus I’m not smoking all of this myself. Hurry up I’m starving. Let’s finish this and get some White Castle.” Kumar offered Harold a puff.

“I have to finish this project and got to get some more work done. I can’t go out tonight Kumar,” replied Harold in a disappointed tone.

“Come on Harold you always seem to pussy out but end up going. Your whole life is presets man, just take your laptop with you and get your work done on the car. Come on man these White Castle burgers just look so freaking delicious!” Stated Kumar, showing his complete eagerness for them juicy and tender White Castle burgers.

“They do look pretty good… Alright but we got to be back by midnight okay?” Harold sighed with a light smile on his face. He knew he wanted the burgers from the start.

It was just like every other day in the house of Harold and Kumar. Harold from Korean descent always being a law abiding citizen, junior analyst for Brewster Keegan, conservative and never breaks the law. Kumar, the complete opposite of Harold: from Indian descent, liberal, carefree and college drop out. The one thing the two have in common is the love for women and smoking marijuana. Through these two interests the two have been best friends and flatting in the same apartment for three years.

After the intake of their green substance the two stood up, packed their car keys and started walking outside the door, heading towards the elevator. And it was deja vu, there she was just like in his daydream. The girl of his dreams was coincidentally closing her apartment door and walking towards the elevator at the same time as Harold and Kumar
.

“Hey Roldy isn’t that the chick you are into? Go say hi to her.”

Harold froze. His heart started to beat faster and faster. His footsteps falter. He stops and starts for a second. Shock makes his mind fold in on itself, taking away all his thoughts. As the shock retreats, it sweeps the wall of numbness out of his body. He can't change what is happening in front of him. All he can do is force his feet to turn and carrying him away. Harold turned the other way and started walking slowly, then building up his pace.

“Where are you going Roldy? What the hell dude just go talk to her!”

Harold went back inside the door and shut it closed. However, something was different. The smell of smoke didn’t fill this room. Harold flicked the lights on. There were two things Harold noticed when he turned the lights on. Firstly he was at the wrong house. Secondly, this wasn’t just some normal everyday apartment room in his neighborhood.

The lights were very dim; it was dark even with the lights on. Nothing came to his head. He was stunned. The whole room itself felt like a black abyss. The dark aura was mind blowing: crosses, tables, the sofa, even the plates walls were done in black interior.

“Hey Roldy you are such a pus…. What the hell.. this isn’t our apartment right?”

“No shit dumbass.” There was a loss of confidence in his voice.

“Awesome, goth house!” Kumar smiled.

“No we are gonna turn around and go back to our apartment right now.” He was anxious to leave this place and never come back.

“Hell yes. Come on man 30 seconds and we are out.” Kumar started exploring the mysterious house.

And there it was, right in front of his eyes, “The Black Beauty”. The “Black Beauty” is known to be the biggest pipe ever made in the world. Kumar’s eyes doubled in size. His hands started to reach for this once in a lifetime creation. Then suddenly the loading sound of a shot gun could be heard.

“Whose there?” A cold hearted voice could be heard.

The light shined on his face. A masked man dressed in black from head to toe appeared. This bulked man looking around 6’8 showed signs of being just pure evil. Both Harold and Kumar were silent. They knew they were in for more trouble than they bargained for. The gun was pointing at both Harold and Kumar.

Five Fan fiction links:

www.fanfiction.net/s/7919699/1/Back-Away

The character of Harold is considered to be a stereotypically shy Asian male who always abides to the law. He has never had much success with girls and ends up with girls he doesn't even like. However, he ends up making out with the girl of his dreams, Maria in this piece of fan fiction.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6116153/1/After-the-Shot

The misconception of either Neil being sober or high is a key factor in this passage, as there is no valid reason for him to act in this matter. This passage is off one of the scenes from the film where Neil is having a "trip", from various drugs he has taken.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7492137/1/Harold-and-Kumar-go-to-Ponyville

This piece of fan fiction is a spin off of the Harold and Kumar series where a magical unicorn puts a spell on both Harold and Kumar. I believe it is a real good and creative introduction to a very unique and interesting story line ahead. It gets the reader to imagine and wanting to read more.

http://yuletidetreasure.org/archive/28/haroldkumar.html

I believe that this fan fiction is very professional, as the vocabulary and conversational methods are real similar to the actual characters of the actual film. The whole conception of "milfweed" is a very unique idea for a very creative plot.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4462578/1/Amsterdam

There seems to be a case of romance between the two protagonists. They both have loving girl friends but they seem to be forgotten for the moment to show some unique intimacy between the two. I don't think I will be writing about "bromance" on my piece of fan fiction.

Should Marijuana be legalised?

New Zealand is, and should be preserved as a clean and beautiful country with minimal crime rates and drug use. There have been on-going debates as to whether the use of marijuana should be decriminalised, and I believe that it should not be legalised in New Zealand. Detriment to health, societal consequences which arise due to the drug and the problems that society already faces due to legal substances such as alcohol are the reasons why marijuana should not be decriminalised.

Firstly, there is no safe level of drug use. Marijuana has no positive effects on one’s health. “Previous studies…suggest that there may be risks to both mental and physical health from using cannabis.” (Van Ours and Williams, 2012) According to Van Ours and Williams (2011), there is a higher possibility of forming mental health problems, with the probability of experiencing mental distress with the use of cannabis. Williams and Skeels (2006) found that the probability of being in good or excellent condition was 8% lower for those who had used cannabis in the past year, and 18% lower for those who were reported to use the substance weekly. Such research supports the notion that the use of marijuana lowers the level of health. It decreases psychological wellbeing for men especially. Although these risks are small, it is very significant. If marijuana becomes decriminalised in New Zealand, the use of it will no doubt increase, it may become easier for young adults and adolescents to access the drug, perhaps by means of second-hand smoke as is often the case with tobacco. The thought of children being exposed to cannabis is disturbing; it should not be used in public places, if at all.

Not only is health affected, but are there also societal consequences. Long term effects such as impaired concentration, memory and learning ability all contribute to the person’s ability to perform certain tasks which are required in everyday life, whether they are in university or in occupations. In general, if cannabis was to be legalised, with the increased use of the drug would be the increased rate of these long term effects. This will inevitably be harmful towards society, with a net loss of skills and ability throughout the population. Not only this, but if the overall health rates decrease, then the health of future generations’ is also at risk in New Zealand. Other social problems such as disagreements and frustration over the drug use could cause family arguments and also affect relationships, another phenomenon which is bound to increase with increased use. Although studies suggest the drug does not have a high rate of addiction; “Most people use cannabis without becoming addicted,” (Van Ours and Williams, 2012), rates of addiction are also likely to rise with increased use. If marijuana was to be legalised in New Zealand, there would likely be a larger number of people having to struggle with addiction, withdrawal and intoxication associated with marijuana use which is definitely not the best for the economy, society or the country in general.

Marijuana can be compared with legal substances such as cigarettes or alcohol. Marijuana has similar effects as alcohol, and studies suggest that many people think it is less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes. “In New Zealand…cannabis is by far the most widely used and purchased illegal drug.” (Wilkins and Sweetsur, 2006) and the widespread use of marijuana “reflects the common belief that cannabis is not a particularly harmful drug”. (Van Ours and Williams, 2012). One could optimistically say that if the drug was to become legal, those who wish to smoke it would use it with responsibility. However, this theory is difficult to accept, as legal mind-altering substances such as alcohol are already being abused. What makes one think that people won’t abuse marijuana? The prices of cigarettes, not only in New Zealand, but around the world, are rising slowly but surely as a means of persuading smokers to quit. With the decriminalisation of cannabis, common problems which arise with the use of mind-altering drugs would also increase. Driving after using the drug can cause side effects such as distorted perception, impaired coordination and sleepiness. There are already more than enough accidents associated with driving while; an increase for accidents associated with the use of cannabis following legalisation would a truly unfortunate. Injuries and death associated with intoxication, as well as the possibility of increased crime rates due to decreased impulse control all could be a by-product of the legalisation of marijuana.

Marijuana should not be decriminalised in New Zealand as doing this would not yield any benefits for the country. Marijuana poses harm not only to health, but it also has a detrimental effect on society. Diseases such as respiratory disorders, cancer and perhaps psychotic disorders are associated with long-term heavy use of marijuana despite public perception of it as a ‘safe drug.’ The risk of increasing the rate of people with substance abuse and crime related to the use of marijuana is also a reasonable concern. On balance, the detrimental effects of legalising marijuana mean that this is an issue which requires on-going discussion with all invested parties in order to create effective legislation, it is certainly not an issue to be dealt with lightly.

References:

Drug facts: Marijuana. (2010, November). Retrieved October 5, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana.

How Drugs Affect You: Cannabis. (2012, January 25). Melbourne: Australian Drug Foundation. Retrieved October 5, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/drug-facts/cannabis?gclid=CMbPsfD45rICFQXhQgodzxkATA#effects

Van Ours, J.C., Williams, J. (2012) The effects of cannabis use on physical and mental health. Journal of Health Economics, 31 (4), 564-577.

Wilkins, C., Sweetsur, P. (2006). Exploring the structure of the illegal market for cannabis. New Zealand: Springer.

Brief 3

“www.ratm.com” is the legendary political alternative rap/rock band Rage Against the Machine’s official website. This site has been designed for all fans of the band’s long history and provides detailed information about the band. Their music, merchandise, concert information and various other details are shown on this site. The band is known for their left-wing political views, focusing on anti-war activism, imperialism, class struggle, human rights, and various sociopolitical sentiments. These themes are strongly echoed throughout this website.

Images:

The cover image of the main page includes various books that have influenced the band. It would appear that the bands left wing views were influenced by these famous texts. Overlaying the image of the texts is an ongoing slide show with expanding pictures of the bands logo contained with a photo of each group member taken from their live concerts. Also provided overlapping the cover photo is a music player which allows visitors to stream the bands’ music. The overall effect of the cover photo is to provide multiple images that create a strong impression of what the band stands for, in terms of music and ideology and would be very helpful for viewers who are not familiar with the band and enable them to get an immediate idea of who each member of the band is.

Layout:

The layout of the website is very simple, with the homepage itself having a single row of links to the other parts of the site, which is presented as one column. Nielson has stated that users do not go through a web page reading every word but scan in an F shape pattern (Nielson, 2007). This website contradicts conventions of structural text layout and just provides all the information on one single page. No special viewer appealing technique has been used to engage viewers. It seems as if there is too much information on one single page to be an effective ‘eye-catching’ website. However, the band themselves are known for their socialist beliefs and anti-commercialism, this may be reflected in the site, which does not try to use techniques to manipulate the viewing experience.

Colours/font:

Wysocki (2004) states “The visual presentation of a page or screen gives you an immediate sense of its genre”, and the design of this website certainly reflects the band’s outlook. The background of the whole website is in black, creating a serious and edgy atmosphere in keeping with the band’s use of their music to raise awareness of political and human rights issues – their music is a tool for activism, not merely a mode of entertainment. The use of red brings out the connotations of blood, passion, hostility and danger – this stark black, red and white design echoes the style of communist propaganda and punk imagery which again emphasizes the band’s philosophies. The red star motif, a well-recognized communist symbol definitively announces the band’s political stance. To delve deeper into the choice of colours for the website, one could interpret the use of white text on black rather than the conventional black text on white as a statement in itself. The white bright gothic typeface, the content of which is largely text supporting political movements (as well as promoting the band) are like an illuminating light in the murky landscape of commercial rock music.

Links to other areas of the website:

At the top of the home page, there are various headlining links that lead to other sections of the website. The navigation links from the site are very helpful for people who want to find out more about the band and what they stand for. There are also distinct headlining links to the “Freedom Fighter of the Month” and an exterior site “Axis of Justice”, giving visitors a chance to find out more about the politics of the band. The use of an out link is usually discouraged in traditional textual structures, as it removes the commercial idea of “stickiness” (Warnick, 2006). This is another example of how this website is unconventional and is aimed at getting the band’s message across as much as promoting the band.

Conclusion:

All in all, this website is unusual in a number of ways and has a distinct design in order to achieve a specific goal. Colours and symbols are used to highlight and promote the band’s political stance and this is given as much attention as promotion of the band itself. Not many structural or textual techniques were used on this website, perhaps reinforcing the band’s staunch anti-capitalism. However, the design of is website is well-suited to those who actively wish to know more about the band with free streaming of their music and videos and their non-musical interests, with the option of visiting external websites to learn more about the band’s activism.

References:

Nielson, J. (2007). Writing for the web: Research on how users read on the web and how authors should write their web pages. http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/

Warnick, B (2006). Rhetoric on the Web. Peter Land Publishing Inc., New York.

Wysocki, A (2004). The Multiple Media of Texts. Michigan Technological University.

Thursday, 7 March 2013

sleepy

I need sleep. Lack of sleep can cause health problems.