Back To You: If It Were Up To Me...

INT. NEWS ROOM - AFTERNOON

(Ryan is in the doorway to Chuck's office)

Ryan: Chuck, I'm not criticizing anything, I just think you should have checked this with me...

Chuck (within): I don't see what the big deal is. It's hardly noticeable.

Ryan: But there's no reason you needed to do it in the first place.

Greg (Coming up): What's the problem?

Ryan: There's no problem (louder, to Chuck) NO PROBLEM (back to Greg) Chuck got a fan letter -

Greg: I thought we didn't accept fan mail - I've never gotten any.

Chuck (within): Of course we do, I get buckets.

Ryan: Anyway, one letter said that his hair -

Greg: Or lack thereof -

Ryan: Was a bit thin and graying. I took it to mean he looked refined, wise, like Sean Connery. But Chuck -

(Chuck enters with a very noticeable, blonde toupee, Greg starts cracking up)

Chuck: Thought it was time to improve my look. What do you think?

Greg: I...it's... (breaking up, he turns away, and Ryan lightly punches him)

Chuck: What's wrong?

Marsh (walking by): He's probably frightened of that ferret you killed and placed on top of your head to keep it warm. I mean your scalp, not the ferret. It's clearly dead.

Chuck: Greg, what story are you on tonight?

Greg: The sewage leak on Washington Ave.

Chuck: You should probably head out now. It'll take a while to wade through all that stinking refuse.

(Greg leaves, now subdued, as Kelly enters, reading scripts)

Chuck: Hey, Kelly, you're a woman, can I get your opinion on my hair?

Kelly: What hai - (looking up, and starting) Oh my god!

Marsh (walking by again): See, it's frightened her too. Though I'm not surprised, women are often sensitive about seeing dead animals. They frighten easily. I mean women, not the animals. 

Ryan: Marsh, you didn't happen to get that memo about making the station a more respectful, less rampantly insulting work environment, did you?

Marsh: Oh that? I assumed it was just a joke, considering how pissy all the women have gotten in the station since I refused to cover the WNBA scores because it's not a sport (leaves).

Chuck: So Kelly, what do you think of my new look? 

Kelly: Well, it's a definite departure from...you.

Chuck: What do you mean, I can now broaden my appeal, compete with the younger rival anchors. You dye your hair - what's the difference?

Kelly: I just think something more natural would be for the best.

(Montana enters, with a huge fan)

Montana: Ryan, what do you think about using this for my new entrance. Wind is a type of weather.

(She turns on the machine, and Chuck's toupee blows off, revealing bright red hair, as Marsh re-enters)

Marsh: AHHHH!! I've told you Ryan - NO CLOWNS IN THE NEWSROOM!!

(End Scene)

Giving and Receiving: A Short Love Story

I saw her again. I thought I was completely over the entire mess. But it all came back so fast…

I began crashing at my friend's place about a year ago, I’d been kicked out of campus housing, as if that was a surprise. I needed a ride to classes, and he wrangled her into driving me up to campus…they were neighbors.

That first time, I refused to talk to her, started smoking all kinds of shit in the car. She just went and frickin’ took my cigarettes, all my stuff, tossed it out the window with the strangest look on her face. As if it all just amused her.

How the hell she did that without me socking her, I have no idea. Maybe I was too messed up to do anything but stare at her. Right then, I hated her fricking, goody-two-shoes guts.

But when I heard a honk the next day, I got up and went out. I don’t know why. All she did was alternately reprimand me, try to get me to say things, talk about her life, or just drive, watching the road with a strange smile on her face. All the jackassed things I did didn’t really bother her. Like she knew I shouldn’t do all that shit for my own good, but it really didn’t make a difference to her…or, more that my general demeanor didn’t put her off.

She was so different from, well, everyone.  I had to start responding, to defend myself. We’d argue the whole ride—well, I’d argue and she would just talk around everything I said with that little smile on her face. Eventually it wasn’t even about the arguing, I just needed to talk to her.

A dreary February day, I got in the car and she wasn’t talking, didn’t have that smile. She finally broke down, told me her aunt had died.  The person she’d always been able to confide in was gone. It should have been weird to be the sounding board, the confidant, but with her it was suddenly so natural. Though I suppose we’d had a relationship for a while, that contact was the start of THAT kind of relationship.

 

Just having each other’s company was the best thing. It certainly was the healthiest relationship I’d ever been in. But the fact that someone I cared about, whose opinion I valued and who I didn’t really want to see hurt, still couldn’t get me to stop all my shit wasn’t good. It wasn’t good for her.

 

But I was so stupid I couldn’t see it. And she cared too much about me to care what was happening to her. She still picked and prodded at me, only now it really affected her. She started looking drawn, didn’t have her special look. Except by then I didn’t notice.

 

By the time I was finally put in the hospital, she was too. I shouldn’t have been surprised, shouldn’t have let her get to that point before I realized what I had done. Yeah, breaking it off was best—though it took a hell of a lot of convincing myself before I finally did it. She kept saying I needed her. I did. I still do. But she didn’t need me.

Seeing her now proved the reasonable part of myself, or the part of her that she left with me, right. She looked like herself again. My one regret is that I was able to get so much from those months, while I can’t honestly say she benefited at all. It’s damn hard to see her, cause I’m a hell of a ways from being good enough to be in her life again. I may never get there. But I have to keep trying--for her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Writing anything, and in any form, is difficult. I always worry about finding exactly the right (or write, hahaha) words. Getting my feelings on paper, well, into sentences in some form or another, is excruciating. It's like when I was little, and would have a beautiful image in my head that I could never draw the way I pictured it. Other people's opinions bring a whole other layer of self doubt into the mix. 

That's why the general, almost inherently known, guidelines of short story writing are so helpful. That selectivity is encouraged makes me feel not quite as insanely over-analytical. The other pointers are equally helpful. While longer works can definitely play with time in a more interesting and complex way, a sparse number of characters is something I feel helps most works, not just short stories. 

However, as with any art, it must be allowed to flow naturally--which means story conventions are secondary to what actually makes a story work. Though for me that flow is usually glacial, even molasses-paced, and often full of back-tracking and self doubt, there has been much comfort provided to me through the years knowing that it is alright to start sentences with "and" on occasion, or more important parts of my work, though not necessarily conventional, can work. 

Why We Watch

Why do we watch television? The article "The Extra-ordinary Appeal of Screen Media" makes the point that the inordinate amount of time children and teenagers spend watching television warrants an examination of the motives and results of the activity that dominates the time of the most impressionable among us.

However, I would tend to say that much of the information presented in the article is logical, common knowledge. The first topic presented in the article, the purposes and motives behind TV viewing, are indeed common to all information and entertainment media. Humans have always needed a release and escape from stresses, a means of gaining a wider understanding of themselves in the context of their environment, and keeping informed of the ebb and flow of society as a whole.

For these reasons, high television viewing, or any high media consumption, should not be seen in a negative connotation, especially given the additional statistics brought to light in the article. While it may seem alarming most viewers of media consume it ritualistically, the fact that many media are low involvement due to the ability to merely monitor entertainment and still comprehend and appreciate the story being told allows multiple activities to be participated in at one time. This directly plays into the findings of Robinson and Godbey the author highlights, stating, “ ‘more is more’…those who engage in one activity are more likely to engage in other activities.” Overall, those that watch the most television are also the most physically and socially active.

Admittedly there are some interesting findings on the developmental factors influencing media viewing and specific periods of appeal in growing children. The progression from fascination in “fuzzy animals” (infancy to about 7) to a “superhero” phase (7 to roughly 13) and finally to “realistic” content (teen years through adulthood) allows children to slowly transition to adult ways of thinking while giving them the ability to develop their own interests and thoughts.

Therefore, current admonitions of the large amount of time young people spend watching television and being on the Internet has not grown from time previous generations spent going to movie theaters and listening to the radio. It is merely a different format for their social and personal development. 

Issues with Subtitles

I just got Akira Kurosawa's Ran from Netflix, and while it's a fabulous film, I'm having a major problem with the whole subtitle thing. I have to read what the characters are saying, so I cannot multi-task and study for tests while watching it. 

One might say, "Anne, why don't you just watch it with English dubbing? Then you don't have to watch the screen." Ahh, but there's the rub. While that would be the logical thing to do, I am not a logical person. I am super anal, and have this complex where I MUST watch foreign language films with subtitles, not dubbing. 

There's just something about hearing the actual language that adds so much to watching and understanding the movie. And it makes it more real. It's inherently funny hearing dubbed voices: a fake quality. I could maybe see myself watching Kung Fu Hustle with dubbing, but Kurosawa's serious pieces? No way, Jose. 

Oh well. There are worse dilemmas. 

Walt Disney Company SWOT analysis

I. 

The Walt Disney Company has grown from the children’s cartoon dream-factory of brothers Roy and Walt Disney into the world’s second largest media conglomerate, behind Time-Warner (Hoover’s). Anyone with at least a peripheral knowledge of current popular culture knows there is not much Disney does not do.

While television and film are what the corporation originated as and constitute the majority of Disney’s profits and public identity, virtually every asset and product the conglomerate has exists in multiple forms through the many types of groups owned by Disney. The numerous companies under the Disney umbrella are divided into four segments: media networks (43% of fiscal year 2006 covering broadcasters like ABC and ESPN, radio, TV production and syndicate companies, and channel-related Internet sites); parks and resorts (29% fy 2006, including parks in all nations, the Disney Cruise Line, and ESPN dining); studio entertainment (21% fy 2006, in which movie studios Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, and Miramax, and TV/DVD distributors belong); and consumer products (7% fy 2006, including merchandising licensing, retail stores, and children’s book publishing) (Amobi).

Ithaca College alum Bob Iger, President, CEO, and Director since 2005 has encouraged the use of synergy between the four segments, leading the Burbank, California based Walt Disney Company to its best shape ever, with 137,000 employees and a 2007 total revenue of approximately $35.51 billion (Hoover’s). With each year, new technologies emerge allowing for more cross-promotion and increased revenue. The Walt Disney Company will certainly not be filing for bankruptcy any time soon.

II.

As mentioned above, Disney’s media networks constitute the largest percentage of the company’s revenue, and in fact lead all other such media divisions of competing conglomerates (Bond). Though much of the money coming from Pirates of the Caribbean, High School Musical, Grey’s Anatomy, and Lost, among others, is from ticket revenue, airings, and DVD sales, Disney excels at bringing in larger amounts of income from cross promotion and collaboration between its partner companies (Schiller). For example, to promote the third Pirates movie, Disney associates Volvo, Verizon, Coca-Cola, Circuit City, Best Buy, Visa/Commerce Bank, Gibson Guitars, Toys “R” Us, Madame Tussauds, etc. each had promotions featuring characters from and prizes related to the film, and did so willingly (Shiller). This acts as advertising for the films and the other businesses involved, as well as increasing sales of Pirates merchandise and the products featuring that theme. Amobi notes, “Disney’s business strategy feeds a virtuous cycle of content creation that, with relatively minimal incremental costs, allows it to leverage its premier media and entertainment franchises across multiple platforms.” It is impossible to not notice the flooding of the marketplace with everything from toys to bathroom necessities to tie-in books whenever a new Disney film or show is going to be released soon.

One of the primary reasons for such successful synergy is the leadership of Iger. With the philosophy that he should create a business plan, but leave a great deal of the development to those senior executives who have a more intimate knowledge of task at hand, Iger has done a great deal in a mere three years at Disney (Steptoe). In this manner, company heads directly interact with those they would be cooperating with and are not being simply told what to do. Additionally, Iger is continually trying to keep Disney on top of the latest technology, making an exclusive partnership with Apple, Pixar, and iTunes owner Steve Jobs and completely revamping Disney.com as a more interactive property (Steptoe). 

III.

Despite the pressure Iger is putting on increasing Disney’s Internet presence, it in no way can compete to the popularity of properties such as Google.com, Youtube.com, and Myspace/Facebook.com, which are either owned or have lucrative deals with Disney’s top competitors Time Warner, CBS Corp, and News Corp. (Hoover’s). While the new Disney.com has used formats like those of Myspace and Youtube, they are targeted to a much younger audience, and thus not as successful (Steptoe). Though the Pirates films were all rated PG-13 and a number of television shows (like Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Lost) are aimed at more mature audiences, Disney still has a public mystique as the children’s studio. And while merchandise aimed at children is a huge market, such a public image can have a kiddie-stigma attached for young adults.

Additionally, the attempt to get into video production and to stop licensing characters and other intellectual property to established video game makers has so far not paid off. The decision has reportedly cost $130 million in FY 2007 (Coolidge). A similar attempt to delve into Disney brand mobile phone service was not successful (Coolidge).

Finally, there is the continual cost of updating parks and resorts. This segment of the Walt Disney Company, while the second most lucrative, needs constant enhancement, to ensure safety and make sure the attractions are not outdated (Bond). Particularly in this next FY, a large sum will be spent updating the California Adventure theme park. 

IV.

As mentioned earlier, when initially rising to his current position at Disney, Iger’s first act was to negotiate with Steve Jobs. The Pixar and Apple Computer chief executive did not have a good relationship with Iger’s predecessor, Michael Eisner (Steptoe), which cause a temporary split between Disney and Pixar. Now, many ABC programs and Disney Company produced films are available on iTunes, with the number increasing every day (Steptoe). It is also noted that just over two years ago, January 2006, Disney bought Pixar from Jobs for $7.4 billion, giving Jobs a seat on the Disney Company board. This close partnership between the content producing company and one of the developing major distribution channels of this new Internet-based age provides Disney with little risk: no need to put all its eggs in one basket (Steptoe).

Additionally, despite having no financial stake in big-name Internet sites, Disney products are increasingly using television channel-associated sites to build buzz and interest for properties (Steptoe). Iger has said, “it’s now an entertainment medium, and so it’s essential for us to find ways to use it to deliver our branded products and programs (Steptoe).” Transmedia storytelling for some Disney properties have thus formed. Lost in particular has used not only ABC.com, but fake sites for companies featured on the show to expand the universe of the show.

The huge juggernauts that are High School Musical and Hannah Montana have shown the incredible power of tween audiences, with HSM bringing in over $100 million for the company over the past two years (Bond) and Miley Cyrus (whose alter ego is Hannah Montana) creating a frenzy for both live concert and filmed concert tickets. Cyrus had a successful predecessor, Hilary Duff, which makes it likely that the conglomerate will be able to produce such runaway tween hits in the future. 

V.

While Disney’s divestment of ABC Radio has garnered a great deal of additional money this past FY, there is some question as to whether it was a smart move. Radio Disney is a popular station, both on FM and satellite radio, for children and tweens to listen to. Coolidge sees the divestment of the profitable business as a mistake, as the money garnered from the sale is not likely to fund new ventures to equal what would have been made if ABC Radio was maintained.

With so much revenue generated from the tween sensations, there is the chance that Disney will be lulled into a false sense of security, resting on the money brought in. Though we can never be certain how specific trends will ebb and flow, most trends do eventually wind down (Amobi). The company must ensure it stays prepared with ideas for new, equally huge cash cows should interest in Cyrus and HSM wan as the tweens that love them now grow into the age of Youtube and Myspace. Already, sales from these assets, while incredibly large, have not been able to stop a slightly lower revenue for the first three quarters of last FY (Bond).

Finally, despite the success of theme parks throughout the world, there is reason to be hesitant about how much revenue they will likely take in in the future. The notoriously exorbitant prices of Disney parks and resorts, coupled with rising gas, expensive airplane ticket prices and the general economic downturn make traveling to Disneyland or Disney World, at least in the United States, less attractive (Coolidge). 

VI.

Though coming from those disturbing outlooks, overall the Walt Disney Company is poised very well for the future. The leadership of Bob Iger is particularly important to the continuing success of the company. An unassuming head, Iger does not assume autonomous control of the hugely influential conglomerate, instead putting much trust in his associates, creating an incredibly positive working environment.

Though Disney is not the innovator behind the new forms of media consumption and distribution online (iTunes, Youtube, Google), the Company has begun to run with and profit from the ideas of such advances. Iger’s monumental deal with Jobs, creating a partnership between Disney and iTunes, provides a legal, revenue-creating manner for products to be distributed. Additionally, many Disney television channels and shows have taken off using the Internet as a means of delivering additional material and creating sprawling, successful examples of Transmedia storytelling. Obviously Iger understands the benefits and opportunities this creates—and knows how to develop goodwill among those creating said material. EW.com has quoted the Writers’ Guild president Patric Verrone as a crucial leader in the development of the potentially strike-ending agreement.

By continuing to build on the pre-exiting Internet developments and using it to further the use and success of the superb synergy skills of Disney affiliate companies, the corporation can remain on top. Staying stuck on a certain type of success, creating huge blockbuster films (a-la Pirates) and relying on racking in the cash from tween-targeted films and shows (HSM) will not provide a stable future for the company should interest in those types of media change or diminish.

Such warnings are, for the most part, unneeded as the Walt Disney Company, through its more than eighty year history, has always been able to prove itself as adaptable. Under the current leadership, Disney is not just poised, but already a real part of the new environment of digital media. 

Sources

Amobi, Tuna. “Disney: Mouse on the Move; S&P says the media and entertainment giant has several catalysts for growth and a solid balance sheet, and rates the shares a strong buy.” Business Week Online (May 8, 2007): NA. General OneFile. Gale. Ithaca College Library. 5 Feb. 2008 .

Bond, Paul. “ ‘HSM’ sounds good to Dis.” Hollywood Reporter 402.44 (Dec 27, 2007): 7(1). General OneFile. Gale. Ithaca College Library. 5 Feb. 2008 .

Coolidge, Carrie. “Mouse Trapped.” Forbes 180.13 (Dec 24, 2007): 110. General OneFile. Gale. Ithaca College Library. 6 Feb. 2008 .

Hoover’s. “Disney – Company Overview.” Hoover’s Inc. (2008). 5 Feb. 2008 .

Juarez, Vanessa. “WGA Members to vote Tuesday on ending strike.” EW.com. (Feb 10, 2008) .

Schiller, Gail. “Partner ship: 13 sail with ‘Pirates’: Disney’s sequel laden with promotions, cooperation.” Hollywood Reporter 399.35 (May 22, 2007): 6(2). General OneFile. Gale. Ithaca College Library. 6 Feb. 2008 .

Steptoe, Sonja. “Building a Better Mouse.” Time 169.26 (June 25, 2007): Global 1. General OneFile. Gale. Ithaca College Library. 6 Feb. 2008 .

*Note: websites for the sources are not showing up*

The Transmedia Trend

Honesty, the notion of Transmedia scares me. That may seem strange for an eighteen year-old who has grown up during the genesis of this storytelling format, following characters and storylines that evolve through presentation in different media, to say. I admit, it’s a viewpoint much more likely to be held by those collecting social security and not familiar with the new technologies through which Transmedia storytelling occurs. But there ya have it.

 

I am sure there are many, primarily young people who have grown up engaged by Transmedia enterprises, who find it able to provide vehicles to tell and interlink all the little facets of the stories they want to get out there. But for the most part, I am convinced Transmedia is the design of synergy-using media conglomerates to get more money by creating hooks for products related to earlier products (built-in advertising). You do not need, for example, to have seen the Barbie fairy princess movie to enjoy playing with the dolls. But Mattel would certainly love for children to think that the movie and dolls are mutually exclusive. 

 

Coming to college, I felt like the kid who, raised thinking of carrots as a treat, came to kindergarten not knowing what the heck those salty, crunchy, greasy, yellow things all the other kids brought were. But I don't regret the comparatively medieval way I grew up. I may not know who Yoshi is, but I fondly remember creating my own little worlds from pulled-up chunks of grass for my dinosaurs and Lion King figures to play in. I played a lot with Barbies, but never remember needing to see those cartoon Barbie movies. I did jump on the Pokemon Transmedia bandwagon: collecting cards, watching the show, ands seeing the movie. However, that had more to do with my awkwardness and desire to fit in when I was little (an issue for another time) more than any actual investment in the Pokemon world.

 

Despite all my apprehensions about the use of Transmedia to tell stories and sell things, nowadays there can be no denying it is the wave of the future for storytelling to all ages. We are a culture that has a particular propensity to become obsessed with things, be they television shows, movies, books, etc. While the story of Lost told on television can be appreciated as is, the producers have created various online additional stories, from the Internet scavenger hunt-like Lost Experience to new online segments that fit in, add information, and lend new meaning to the show itself. I must admit, Transmedia-phobe that I am, as an ardent Lost fan I have followed some of the online additions, though not all. This form of storytelling is able to expand, and thus further the reality of, these fictional plots. No matter what the motives are behind the use of Transmedia, it's the perceived reality of stories that fires up the imagination. Which is the best result.