week 9 The changing of films

As a big fun of films, I watch films almost every week. I enjoy different kinds of films(not horror films),   in my point view, films are changing with the time, Asian films are Hollywoodized and Hollywood films are Asianized. 

The flowers of war( I discussed it last week), directed by Zhang Yimou and acted by Christian Charles Philip Bale, this is an Chinese film, telling a Chinese story, but acted by an American, produced by an American(David Linde), music by Joshua Bell, visual effect by Joss Williams,who's an English man. (The Flowers of War,2013) This is the expression of  Hollywoodized. 

(Image from<http://cul.shangdu.com/wallpaper/2010/20120104/311_524305.shtml>)

 Another expression of Hollywoodized Asian films, when I was young, I watch film acted by Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chow Yun fat,  these are my favorite actors when I was a child, I thought they only belong be China at that time, but now they are no longer only belong to Chinese audiences, but also the world. More and more actors and actresses go to Hollywood to fight for another world, if an actress can act in a Hollywood film, she's much more famous in China as well.  Hollywood is like a modal to Chinese people, a Hollywood film is much expensive than the same kind of Chinese film in the cinema.  The reason is goes without saying. 

（Image from<http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2013/06/jackie-chan.html>)

Opposite to Hollywoodized Chinese film, some Hollywood films are Asianized . A recently on show film called Man of Tai Chi is the first film that directed by Keanu Charles Reeves. The film is about Tai Chi, which is a kind of traditional Chinese Konfu. Acting by Karen Mok,Simon Yam and Chen Hu,three Chinese actors.( Clarence Tsui,2013) Kong fu is always a popular theme in Hollywood films. Jay Chow and  Christoph Waltz's film 'The Green Hornet' is another example of Asianized Hollywood film, however, it's still in Hollywood style. 

The forbidden Kingdom is directed by Rob Minkoff, acted by Jet Li, Jackie Chen and Michael A. Angarano. 'only this time the kid in question isn’t obsessed with old books, but with Kung Fu movies.' said Josh Tyler. (2008) I watched when I was in high school, if i didn't do the research, I could know it was directed by Rob Minkoff and it's a Hollywood film. It's so Chinese!

No matter Asian film are Hollywoodized or Hollywood films are Asinazed, the audience will only like the good film. 

Linrong Li

Reference List
The Flowers of War 2013, IMDB, retrieved 22 September 2013, <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410063/ >

Tsui C 2013, 'Man of Tai Chi: film review', The Hollywood reporter, retrieved 22 September 2013, <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/man-tai-chi-film-review-584062>

Thyler J 2008, ' The Forbidden Kingdom', CINEMA BLEND, retrieved 22 September 2013, <http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Forbidden-Kingdom-3089.html>

WEEK 8 Zhang Yimou--a global celebrity

When I was a young girl, I watched a film called' The Road Home', it tells a story about a young man came to countryside as a support education teacher(father), and his love story with a young girl(mother). The film is narrated by first person, and I still remember the sweet smile on the girl's face every time she meet the boy, and that was the first time I watch a film acted by Ziyi Zhang. Because of this film, I know Zhang Yimou, the best director in China in my mind. As I know, 'The Road Home' won the silver bear of 50th Berlin International Film Festival in 2000.

                   （Image from <http://zixun.hunantv.com/hntv/20080810/32041.html>
Zhang Yimou, as a global celebrity, he directed many fanatic films for not only Chinese audiences but also the audiences of the world to enjoy in his films. The least films the directed by him are, 'The Love of the Hawthorn Tree' and ' The Flowers of War' which is acted by Christian Charles Philip Bale. 

As my point of view, Zhang Yimou is not only a good director in films but also made great achievement in 2008 and because of this, he grand the person if the year of TIME in 2008. ' This year he captured this prevalent theme of harmony and peace, which is the spirit of the Olympic Games. In one evening of visual and emotional splendor, he educated, enlightened and entertained us all. In doing so, Zhang secured himself a place in world history.'(Steven Spielberg, 2008) As a Chinese, when I was watching the opening ceremony of 2008 Olympic Games, I'm really proud of it. He shown the 5,000 years history of China and made all the people get into a river of history. 

Zhang Yimou is a person who lives with his dream, he always wants to make the best for his audiences, he is no longer a celebrity of China but also a director of the world.


Reference 

DP/30 2012, ' DP/30: Flowers of War, director Zhang Yimou, actor Christian Bale', YouTube, retirieved 15 September 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD_ovaIRwiI >

Spielberg S 2008, ' Zhang Yimou', TIME, retrieved 25 September 2013, < http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1861543_1865103_1865107,00.html >

week 7 Connectivity in social media

'Not only focus on this remediation, but also on the distinguishing, specific characteristics or principles of computer games as a form of digital media: multimediality, virtuality, interactivity, and connectivity'. said Joost Raessens. (2005,p374)  Most of the social media(programs, games,cell phones) have these characteristics, but among them, I think connectivity is the most extensive and typical characteristic which is useful as well.

Nowadays, people use social media at most of their times. They use them at work, during study, before sleep, even in the toilet（every time I go to the toilet, I take my mobile phone with me, my boyfriend say I'm afraid to get lost at home). That is why, programs update so fast, mobile phones change very year.  Also, social media seems like a necessary part in our lives now. For example, this semester, I study ACN203, we work in groups, and the best way we communicate with each other is to create a Facebook group and share information there.  Another simple example, how does your mother ask you for dinner if you are not at home. Therefore, the connectivity social media is obvious, most of people are connecting with social media. 

(image from <http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-man-mobile-phone-sitting-toilet-image29685147 >

The connectivity of social media is not only useful for students but also in professional areas. '  Social networks, blogs, and other forms of communication online also create new challenges to the patient-physician relationship.' (AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION,2013) That is to say, the use of social media is extensive in most of the areas in the society. The connectivity of social media is shown in different areas as well. 

‘ The likes of Twitter, Flickr and Facebook enable you to interact with others in your network, but the most interesting aspect of Social Media is the cascading effect of connecting with others X degrees from your personal network.’ (Jim M Goldstein 2013)People can get information from your blog, Facebook or other social media network. Then the information is not only can be seen by one or two people, it can be more than you can imagine. People pass the information, after that, the information is not the thing that only you know ( maybe you get it from some one else). People can connect with each other not only by talking to each other, they may be connected by other people they already known. 

Linrong Li

Reference

AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION,2013,' Opinion 9.124 - Professionalism in the Use of Social Media', retrieved 7 September 2013, <http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion9124.page>

Goldstein J M 2013, ' The Power of Social Media: Connectivity -4 Metrics of Social Media Impact', JMG GALLERRIES, retrieved 7 September 2013, <http://www.jmg-galleries.com/blog/2009/08/13/the-power-of-social-media-connectivity/ >

Raessens J 2005, 'COMPUTER GAMES AS PARTICIPATORY MEDIA CULTURE', P374

Week 6--Community and Culture in the Blogosphere

Blog is more like an electronic diary to me, I never use it as a tool for a community or to spread any kind of culture I think. So when I saw this topic, I find it interesting and I really want to think about it. I usually blog as a tool to show my emotion or something interesting, something important and something I like. However, I can't deny that, blog is also can be used to spread culture(words, images, videos...) for the communities. 

As Merlyna Lim said,' Dean’s Blog for America showed how a blog could be used for building social networks of political support'.(Lim, M., 2012) That is to say, blog  can not only use to share your emotion with other people, but also can be used to change the current situation of the whole society. I can't say that political parties and groups are communities, but they do work as big communities. And now, they use blog to share the information of the parties, tell the blog users they can keep pace with the time. 

With culture, I think blog is also a good way to spread it. 'According to the The Nielsen Company, as of 16 February 2011, there were over 156 million public blogs in existence'.(Answers,2013) As there are so many people are using blog, it is not hard to imagine how fast and how many that the information will be extended.  So no matter what communities they are, they can use blogs as a medium  to share the information to the bolt users, then the users may share to others who don't use the blogs. This is like a circle, you don't know how big is it, but information is spread much more faster in this way. 

When I use the blog, I don't  consider myself is pass something to other people, I believe I'm doing what I want to do, however, I can't decide who will read about what I write and tell to someone else. May be I have helped or will help some communities to share the information. 

Linrong Li

Reference 

Answers 2013,'How many bloggers are there worldwide?', retrieved 02 September 2013, <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_bloggers_are_there_worldwide >

Lim, M., 2012 ‘Life is Local in the Imagined Global Community: Islam and Politics in the Indonesian Blogosphere’, Journal of Media and Religion, vol. 11, pp 127-140.

Week 5 Thoughts of UK destroyed hard drive in Guardian

When I was reading the article 'NSA files: UK and US at odds over destruction of Guardian hard drives' I was shocked and couldn't understand why. 

I'm not a person that very interested in news. So I heard about the Snowden stories, I feel really have a good opinion on him. But if I want to know more about Snowden stories, I have to find more information. 

Edward Snowden, 29, he worked for Booz Allen Hamilton as an infrastructure analyst for NSA in Hawaii. 'I've been a systems engineer, systems administrator, senior adviser for the Central Intelligence Agency, solutions consultant, and a telecommunications informations system officer; said Snowden. (Laura Poitras and Gleen Greenwald, 2013) 

(Image from BBC News, < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22837100>

Sonwden gave the journalist Green Greenwald, from The Guardian new in his secret place in Hong Kong. He told the journalist about the secret how American government monitoring people's life. Actually, this video is not how the first news came out. Snowden first gave the secret file to The Guardian and The Washington Post, after 5 days, Snowden came out of the suspicion and told everyone. he is the whistleblower. 

I don;t understand why he is did that and if he really has some secret of plan of did theses things. I believe he did the right thing and I think his dream of living in a country that is fair and respect its people is reasonable. 

Snowden said in the video, ' Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I realised that I was part of something that was doing far more harm than good' (Laura Poitras and Gleen Greenwald, 2013)

In my point of view, Snowden is brave and wise. He can stand out after almost the whole world is guessing who is the whistleblower and I think he knows that The United States is not going to sit watching. However, I could think that he did this to protect the others out of trouble. 

I believe he is smart enough (otherwise he will not work for the CIA). He released the information and had an interview with a journalist,he also planed to take refuge to other countries. If he is doing this all by himself, he is really wise person. 

About UK government destroyed the hard drive about Snowden storied in Guardian, I think Alan Rusbridger is right, tried to destroy the hard drive is pointless. (Julian Borger, 2013）



Linrong Li





Reference 

Borger J 2013, 'NSA files: why the Guardian in London destroyed hard drives of leaked files' the guardian, 21 August 2013,retrieved 25 August 2013, < http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/nsa-snowden-files-drives-destroyed-london >


Poitras L & Greenwald G 2013, ' NAS whistleblower Edward Snowden: I don't want to live in a society that dose those sort of things.-video', thegurdian, 10 June 2013, retrieved 25 April 2013, < http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video >

Intimidation versus resistance

‘Powerful perpetrators often act in ways that intimidate their targets. Most individuals are frightened when they are taken to court by a large company. ’ said Brian Martin, Chris Moore, Colin Salter (2010) This is not a exaggerate saying to  just to scare people, people sometimes will face this kind of problem. 


For example, a friend of mine is facing this kind of situation at this time. Make a long story short, before she signed the contract with her agent of her apartment, the agent said she can transfer the contract to somebody else. But now, when she intent to transfer, the agent asked her to pay for her braking the contract and refused her ask of transferring. Their problems are not only this, and in my point of view, I do believe she could for a while and get her money back. However, when she got an email from the agent of charge her in the court, she decided to gave up. I asked her why, she told me that she doesn't want to go to court with a big company, that cost more than 1,000 AUD.


I can't say her thought isn't right, people fear of those who has power and strong. They also don't like to spend too much money and time for things are complicated. At this time, justice becomes a form and saying, at this time, people choose to save troubles rather than protect their benefit. 


A big company itself is an intimidation to small companies and individuals. They can solve some problems and break the resistance without using any methods. However, this is not a common phenomenon in the society, but it do happens sometimes. What we can do, is to protect our own benefit by using right methods and do not fear of something or someone if we believe we are right. 


Linrong Li



Reference List


Martin, B, Moore, C and Salter, C. 2010, ‘Sharing music files: tactics of a challenge to the industry’, First Monday, vol. 15, no. 12, [available:http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2986/2680]. 

Photoshop - a new way of showing art

' Globalization is being shared by technological change' said Jan  Nederveen Pieterse. ( 2004,p. 8) The result and a good representation is the use of Photoshop. 'A brand name for computer software used to digitally alter digital photographs or other  graphics'. (Dictionary,2013)  The definition of Photoshop shows the main purpose of creating this program- to alter an image. If the user has plenty skill, the image can be whatever they want. 

                                               ( Image from fanpop.com)

Photoshop can be thought as a new kind of art style. However, this kind of art style is under querying. Some people argue photoshop misleading them in different ways. To me, Photoshop is changing the way I'm viewing art. 

I learnt photoshop last semester and I found it wealth learning because I can make an image much more beautiful than before and it's amazing in some ways.  This is the image that I make last semester. A man changes his face with a fish. I made this image to encourage people pay more attention of the animals, think about what they feel. And I believe this image may change some people's mind and love the animals. That is how Photoshop is changing my view of art. By using it, I find it can be used in many ways and can be used to show different things that real images can't. I don't believe some one can take a real image like this one. 

The disadvantage of Photoshop is obvious. People can use it to alter an image to whatever they want.  The most critical is to use it in a right way. 

Linrong Li 

Reference 

Dictionary, 2013, ' Photoshop', retrieved 5 August 2013, < http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/photoshop >

Fanpop,2013, ' Extreme(photoshop) makeover', retrieved 5 August 2013, < http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/photoshop/images/3515453/title/extreme-photoshop-makeover-photo >

Nederveen Pieterse, J 2004, ‘Globalization: consensus and controversies’, Globalization and culture: global mélange, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, Md., pp. 8