Viewers everywhere have fallen in love with James Cameron's new film, Avatar (2009) and to be honest, I don't blame them. Rarely does a film live up to its expectations after you've heard such hype about it. However, I will give Cameron a lot of credit, his movie is a truly a spectacle and a film you get completely involved in. I was captivated by the world of Pandora and the Na'vi characters.
However, Cameron's completely immersive spectacle may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.
A user named Mike wrote on the film's fan website Na'viblue that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.
"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.' "
This idea of fans taking a movie so seriously and to heart is nothing new. These days, the rule of fandom is anything worth doing, is worth overdoing, often to a terrifying degree. Just take a look at what's going on in 'Hometree', Wisconsin...
I recently went to go see the Coen Brothers' new film, A Serious Man. I didn't know much about the film before I went, but my brother saw it previously and was dying to see it again. First off, I must say, I can't imagine the film is as funny if you're not Jewish. My mom, brother and I were the only ones laughing at parts because the Coen Brothers hit it right on the button. The Coen Brothers grew up in a Jewish home in Minnesota and use their personal experience to create the setting for the film.
A Serious Man opens with a dimly lit folktale prologue about a dybbuk — the dislocated soul of a dead person who curses a home into which he’s been invited — and a thrust dagger that might permanently seal the fate of the Gopnik clan.
From this, the Coens cosmically deliver us into the 1967 world of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg, sweaty and strangely resembling Joaquin Phoenix).
Larry is is a brilliant but tormented physics university professor up for tenure, who suffers through a number of endurance tests. His life is suddenly coming apart in all directions and he can't understand it since he considers himself a good person.
Larry learns, out of the blue, that his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) wants a divorce with a gett (a Jewish ritual divorce so she can have a rabbi perform the ceremony when she remarries) to marry of all people, the film's ironically called serious person, an overbearing recent widower named Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed).
As Larry's tsuris (woes) intensifies, with even more incidents thrown into the mix like a fender-bender, and having to pay for his wife's new interest's funeral, we catch him consulting with his high-priced divorce attorney (Adam Arkin) and with three learned rabbis to help him understand why things have gone awry.
The young rabbi speaks in metaphorical clichés. An older rabbi offers gnomic stories including a hilariously pointless one told in flashback about a dentist who discovers a message written in Hebrew on the back of a Gentile's teeth. The last rabbi, an ancient figure from the European past, is too deep in thought to give him an audience, though he later turns up in a comic and extremely moving scene with Danny after his bar mitzvah.
Eventually, Larry, who always tried to be a serious person, live up to expectations and be a good person who helps others, finds there are no such things as definite answers to the meaning of life. After all, no one said it would be easy to find out what God wants us to do.
At first, the film is slightly frustrating because it leaves a lot of open-ended questions. However the film makes you think, and stays with you a few days after your first viewing. A Serious Man is definitely not your average blockbuster - but something new and refreshing! Check out the trailer:
Happy holidays everyone - I hope everyone had a great break and is enjoying the new year!
So over the holidays, I noticed the Microsoft Windows 7 commercials on television. You know the ones where the person has a flashback of themselves thinking up a concept, informing Windows of their idea and... boom- it becomes a reality. If you don't know what I'm talking about here's one of the commercials:
The whole concept for the set of commercials is -"I'm a PC and Windows 7 was my idea". This statement suggests that the consumer feels as though the new innovations Microsoft is making to their system was his/her idea that he/she passed along to the company and the company listened.
When I first saw the commercial, I thought it was slightly humourous that when the guy has the flashback he is a much more attractive version of himself. However, after I saw a few other versions of this commercial, I wondered if it was humourous at all.
With these ads, Microsoft is telling users that they realize Vista was a bomb, they’ve listened to their suggestions and complaints, and used them in the design for Windows 7. As such, Windows 7 is the idea of the people.
I understand that they are trying to highlight the ideas of "regular people", however why include reenactments where people are a better looking version of themselves? Are the commercials suggesting that these people are delusional? That they have low self-esteem? Perhaps these commercials are suggesting that we all want to have, or do have, an image of ourselves that is slightly better than what others see.
At first the commercials seemed funny to me, but after seeing a few, I didn't understand why they incorporated the reenactment, and didn't just focus solely on their program being the idea of the people. Because if Microsoft is trying to say people like you and me helped to create Windows 7, why not have everyday, regular people talking about it?
Besides, the people in the commercials are fairly attractive to begin with, so why make them look like completely different? I feel by bringing in this switch of actors in such a short amount of time, it is more likely to cause confusion and a chance that the viewer will miss the main messaging of the commercial.
If you're feeling the stress of the end of term right now, here's something that will make you smile. Especially the little guy who chuckles at the end! :)
So today, December 2, 2009 - Tiger Woods released another statement regarding his accident and the media attention he has been receiving.
He comments on his official website:
"I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family".
Although he never comes out and states his infidelity, I'm assuming that's what he means by "transgressions"?
What I find the most interesting is on his official website is comments from viewers are allowed. I'm surprised that this is allowed as I'd assume most comments would be negative towards Tiger. However, when going through the comments posted, I noticed a lot of the posts were supportive of him and fans offered their love and support during his difficult time. I would have assumed a majority of the comments would have been negative.
I wonder if his sponsors will be as understanding and keep him as the face of their products?
Why you should always tell the truth, tell it all and tell it first...
On Friday, November 27, 2009 golf's superstar Tiger Woods was in a traffic accident. A Florida Highway Patrol report says Woods pulled out of the driveway of his $2.4-million home in a black Cadillac Escalade at about 2:25 a.m, struck a fire hydrant and then a tree on a neighbour's property. Police arrived at the scene with his wife Elin, standing over him. The back window of the car had been smashed out.
Tiger and his wife have both declined comments to the media and even to the police regarding the issue. However today, Tiger made a comment regarding the crash on his website.
Woods said the crash was a private matter, and he intended to keep it that way.
“Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible,” he said. “The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.”
Although I can understand why Tiger would want to keep the accident a private matter, he is a well-known celebrity and unfortunately doesn't get that luxury. When an incident like this occurs to a celebrity, especially one with a reputable reputation, the media and public want to know all the details. However, because he and his wife are hush-hush on the matter, it seems slightly suspicious and leaves the possibility for a few questions:
— Where he was going at that time of the night?
— How did he lose control of his SUV at such a speed that the air bags didn’t deploy?
— Why did his wife smash the rear windows of the Cadillac Escalade?
— If it was a careless mistake, why not speak to state troopers trying to wrap the investigation?
By not answering these questions, it seems as though Tiger has something to hide, especially since the accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters. Tiger should have released a statement immediately to prevent suspicions and such questions.
I am a second year student in the Creative Communications program, majoring in Public Relations. I also have a degree in film and english from the University of Manitoba.
