Fighting Cops and Dinos

On the Radio Shows "Dick Tracy" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

I have never taken an ear to older radio shows. When looking through the selection of old programing available, I found two that my interest: “Dick Tracy” (because I love the movie, awful as it is) and “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (because I enjoyed the novel). These two programs, like many of the things aired on radio at the time, were episodic in nature and held characters that were portrayed were stereotypical archetypes. Radio then was like television, used to entertain through acting, script, and talk shows. Radio in the modern era is still used for talk shows, but they are pocketed amongst the more frequently consumed music tracks. Modern radio is home to mostly music, stations featuring songs for the majority of their air time, while including blips of talk shows or, in certain cases, live sports reporting. But the episodic series has vanished from modern radio. This is due to the invention of the television and the shows pertained therein. 

Most of the old fashioned radio programs were constructed and acted out much like television shows are today. They consisted of series of short stories (or one long story carried out in parts)—chapters the characters played out each week.  The build in plot and character development is evident in both old time radio shows and modern televised series. It is obvious that television took the framework of radio shows and applied it to their criteria. 

Out of the few shows I peeked at, the ones I have chosen to analyze, “Dick Tracy” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth” caught my attention the most. “Dick Tracy” achieved this through merely being Dick Tracy—I loved the tacky 80’s movie, so I was curious as to what the original radio series was like. It turns out that the radio show is just as tacky as the movie. The character of Tracy retains his silly swagger and the bad guys are just as awful with hideous voices and ridiculous names. As for “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” I enjoyed the novel and began the series with a literary eye. Because the shows at the time were auditory and not visual, the scenes and people had to be described by the actors in detail so that the audience could get a feel for what was happening in the scene. This lead to a vary novel-like delivery. I thoroughly enjoyed the character’s descriptions and the old-timey narration of the professor. I felt like I was reading the novel through actors.

As for the popularity of the two shows, both have adventurous, thrilling plots that transport listeners to another time and place. The escapism allowed citizens to get lost in a journey that was not their own—in this case, they were either fighting mobsters to save some dames or plummeting into a fantastic realm hidden beneath the crust of the Earth. In regards to the type of media, I believe that people preferred radio to print because they could hear human voices acting out or otherwise speaking the entertainment that they sought instead of just reading flat words. The likening to radio shows over film may have been caused by the episodic nature of radio. Because the episodes were short enough to catch in between other plans and listened to whilst going about everyday tasks, the appeal of radio prevailed. This also may have been caused by the fact that people did not have to leave their homes to listen to radio shows, as opposed to going out to the movies. Also, going to see films cost money, whereas turning on the radio (after the device was paid for once) did not cause its audience to spend a cent. 

There are some similarities between old school radio shows and modern television. One of these commonalities are the stereotypes (“Dick Tracy” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth” both feature block characters: cops and robbers, Bogart style, and the old-fashioned professor and the young adventurer) portrayed. Another similarity is the use of over-acting. This type of acting is still noticeable among certain shows, like soap operas, cheesy episodic series, and reality television. Television has also done a good job of retaining original style: “Journey to the Center of the Earth” is comparable with the semi-popular television series “Lost Word” based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Some differences between TV and radio are that there are fewer stations compared to radio, which provides a better sense of community because more people are watching the same thing. This is less apparent in the modern era, because networks are branching out and the size of the public’s television selection is growing.

Belligerent Stereotypes

On the Reality Show "Cops" and its Use of Stereotypes

                I love any form of art, whether it be drawn, spoken, sung, written, or acted. But if there is a kind of television series I cannot stand, it is reality television. Soap operas can annoy me, but at least they are written to be over the edge and they all follow a classic feeling that is common amongst their kind. But reality shows rub me the wrong way. The script is either all staged or cut apart from a vast amount of footage in order to obtain a desired effect or situation, yet is projected as truth. 

                Some reality shows depict the worst of society again and again, fueling a mean world syndrome that falsifies the truth. One such reality show is the television series “Cops.” “Cops” shows the worst behaved, most uneducated individuals it can find to entertain the public. The types of cases and the people involved tend to repeat, creating negative stereotypes. A few of these include the beer slamming frat boy, the alcoholic and/drug induced redneck, and the uneducated, thieving Black man from the ghetto. These characters, especially the latter two, reoccur so often in “Cops” that they have become staple characters. It is impossible to watch an episode without seeing a giant handful of these stereotypes. 

                These depictions create false stigmas that pigeonhole groups of people, like country folk and Black people. I know these archetypes are untrue based on personal experience. For instants, not every “redneck” I have met is uneducated or a drunkard. It is also true that not every Black person I have met steals and acts a thug. In reality, any person can succeed or fail at life. One of my good friends is Black and makes fifty thousand a year as an IT technician. She also does not do anything illegal and speaks clearly, two things you would never see on “Cops.” So why the stereotypes? The answer lies is in the nature of the show. “Cops” is fueled by illegitimate stereotypes because it requires people of bad taste to commit crimes that are noteworthy enough in intensity and/or behavior to be aired. Once these are selected, “Cops” chooses instances that reflect social stigmas so that the general population can relate through their exposure to such stereotypes. I do not believe this is ethical because it exploits the criminals shown and reinforces false portrayals by making racial/social examples of dysfunctional people.

Concept Exploration - Television

                I am a film buff and a lover of television, so Chapter 8 was pretty intriguing to me. The legalities and happenstance regarding business bored me to tears, but the types of television shows and their evolution I found enjoyable. For instance, I liked the transition of America’s favorite type of comedy from sketch to situational. I enjoyed the analysis of situation comedies (sitcoms) regarding culture—that the characters portrayed are made incompetent so that the audience feels smarter than them. In sitcoms, the characters make many unfortunate mistakes and while problems arise and even out every episode, the characters do not grow and develop. Instead of learning from past mishaps, the people in sitcoms make errors over and over again, building up the viewer’s ego to make he or she feel superior to the apparent idiots being watched on screen. I found this portrayal of characters interesting. There are, in contrast, domestic comedies, where the characters do grow and develop. I also found it neat that episodic series, especially chapter shows, reflect America’s hopes, fears, and other emotions.

Exploring the Concepts of Old Recording Devices

On Chapter 5

                I find early technology fascinating and gorgeous, from typewriters to oil lamps to the first telephones, and the first born musical devices are no different. There is some old fashioned part of my soul that feels partial to inventions from the 1800’s through the late Victorian ages. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I adore old fashioned technology. I am also the person who wishes we still rode around on horses instead of driving cars. But there is something that is so aesthetically pleasing to me about brass, copper, pig’s hair, and wax. I hate plastic and Plexiglas and other modern product materials. Perhaps, I possess a soul that is existing in the wrong time period, or that has already lived a life in the 1800’s and wishes to return. Or maybe I am more primal than most and as we near further away from natural resources I grow more and more uncomfortable. 

I was not even around for the birth and growth of record players, but I feel an artistic, almost nostalgic connection to them. So when I read about their history in Chapter 5, I was thrilled. My favorite was in the 1850’s when a hog’s-hair bristle was used as a needle that carved into a thick liquid coating a funnel via a vibrating membrane that connected the two. How cool is that?! Sound recorded by a boar’s-hair and waxy liquid—very primal, indeed. I love it! Even Edison’s phonograph which used foil cylinders in 1877 and its evolution into the graphopohne, which used wax ones to record sound are gorgeous in appearance and interesting in function. 

The idea of carving into wax cylinders to record sounds reminds me of a very, very cool short story (the name escapes me) from the anthology “Steampunk.” The short story is told like it is being played back from a recording device. The story is post-apocalyptic and, like the name of the anthology suggests, is Steampunk in nature. The sound recording devices used are wax cylinders (with a more elaborate processing system than the products mentioned in our book) and the piece reads as if you were listening to a recording of a diary/document regaling that had been etched into one. The neat part is that the story will cut off mid-dialogue or at certain points and will instead say things like, “scratch in cylinder…data missing” or have static/distorted sound effects in *’s. It’s a fantastic story and a great anthology in general—I highly recommend it.

Cough it Up, Companies

On the Future of the Music Industry and Illegal Downloading

                It is amazing how much the music industry has changed over the span of its lifetime, especially the past ten years. Studies like the graph that is depicted on page 129 of our media theory textbook prove the rapid, steep buying trends. The most intense shift is the spiral in CD purchases. Sales of CDs shot up in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, once word was out and the price index for the disks dropped to an affordable rate. Because CDs were the latest technology in the music world and were clearer and better quality than anything else as of the moment, their sales reigned supreme. The decline in demand surfaced when digital downloads were born.

                As mp3’s and other digital song formats increased in popularity, species like the mp3 player, iPod, and Bluetooth spawned at a rapid pace and the CD grew less and less popular. Because customers could now download songs from the comfort of their homes (not to mention had the opportunity to buy only one or a handful of tracks instead of having to purchase the entire album), the need to travel to music stores or department stores to purchase CDs began to die. But it is not only the convenience of the download ability and the evolution of technology that has killed the sales of CDs—the ability to pirate copies for free has choked the music industry. So many people are illegally downloading music that record labels are now scouting for musical talent that is already semi-established online. Fewer artists rely on record deals to promote their music, choosing to govern their own sales through online media like Myspace or personal websites. The future of recorded music in America is looking drastically different form a few years ago. Because less and less artists are relying on record deals for a break, sound studios may be used more in the garage or on the home computer than by a major company.

                Music can now be self-made via tinkering programs and recording software. Artists can, with modern technology, mess around with digital switchboards and hook up quality microphones and other such recording devices to their computers to create tacks without the help of official studios. Even more importantly, aspiring musicians can make a name for themselves by posting their music online and doing self-promotion. This cuts out the need for a major label. Record companies are already suffering from this phenomenon and will continue to decline unless strategies are changed. Big music businesses will die off unless they embrace the digital download pattern instead of trying to fight it. Perhaps, companies can offer a significant number of free downloads before they start charging for tracks. People will be less likely to pirate if they are given the chance to download a good amount of free tracks—or at least companies can drastically cut their digital prices to stimulate sales growth. 

Instead of charging a dollar or more per song, businesses should lower their prices to twenty cents or somewhere along those lines. The only way the record company can combat the frequency of illegal downloads, I believe, is to provide a multitude of cheap (and a heap of free) tracks. As for record companies and the issue of labels and signing artists, more companies should create online hosting sites and charge a small fee for artists/bands to post their work for public view and download-ability. No matter what, fans still have to pay ticket costs to go to shows or dish out for merchandise, so the push for such events and memorabilia should be heightened. By a combination of these changes, the music industry may be able to stay afloat.

Escaping Reality (and Copying it Again and Again)

On the Popularity of Young Adult Novels and the Reasons and Implications Therein

                Over the past decade and a half, media convergence has created a new world of marketing. In general, there are several ways a book could be advertised: through magazine review sections, literary publications, through television (whether it be reviewed on a program or, rarely, displayed via commercial advertisement), talked about during a radio program, or on book-promoting websites. Now, with the convergence of these different media, it is possible for a company (or person) to promote a book through a handful of these options at once. Instead of choosing to put out an add in a newspaper or magazine for the promotion of a novel or trying to get a spot on a television program, one can have a title with a short description on countless book review sites acquired through relentless emailing. The same goes for book-related applications on smart phones. The larger the number of resources for which to push a novel, the larger the chance of success will be for representation. In the modern age of media convergence, it is easier for someone to get his or her book noticed because there is an infinite number of websites, blogs, magazines, and the like for which to submit work. 

                Due to the sheer number of applications and websites easily available to the public, like E-Readers, book sellers (like Half.com or Amazon), and otherwise downloadable literary content, it has become easier for readers to acquire books. Because there are more interfaces from which to access the written word, people who would not normally read have begun to do so. For example, there are smart phone users or Kindle owners who download and read books due to the ease of access and would have otherwise avoided a trip to the library or bookstore. This widens the audience to include citizens who do not normally read novels. Here, the young adult novels enter. 

In relation to media convergence, many young adult novels are made into movies and heavily promoted. Now older individuals who do not normally delve into literature have young adult series like “Hunger Games” and “Twilight” pushed into their faces via news talk on their smart phones, promotions on their Kindles or Nooks, and Hollywood films that reach high popularity and remind the public that they were originally books and should therefore be read. The phenomenon of the Hollywood book is bothersome in and of itself. Many adult novels (including “Twilight,” “The Golden Compass,” “Eragon,” “Harry Potter,” “Hunger Games,” “The Lightening Thief,” and countless others) are snapped up and spat out as shiny, highly promoted films that cater to the same large audience that the novels were meant to reach. Here, I believe, is where adults (and sometimes children) get the idea to read the novel. So many times I have personally witnessed people come out of the theater saying, “Wow, that was pretty good—I have to read the book now!” Parents who tag along with their children get inspired to read the original source and go forth to do so. Through the convergence of film and print and the adaptation in between, viewers become readers. While the series are turned into films because of their popularity, I believe this is how the multitude of the young adult novels are sold and read. After the films are released, there is an increase in department carrying and online text promotion. 

The success of such young adult novels rests in the plotlines and the particular kind of struggle that the main characters go through. For the sake of this case study, I am choosing to look at two series: “Twilight” and “Harry Potter.” Although very, very different, the two series retain many of the same qualities. Both are fantastical in nature and involve supernatural/magical endeavors. Both series string their fantastical worlds through the mainline of “real life.” The train to Hogwarts can only be found by those that know it is there and the wizards and witches of the novels live in secrecy from most normal humans. “Regular” society in “Harry Potter” is kept aloof from the magical realm that lies therein. The same goes for the war between vampires and werewolves in the “Twilight” series. The monsters live alongside humans but are hidden in the shadows, kept secret from “normal” eyes. This theme is popular in young adult novels and is lapped up by readers because it suggests a privilege that the reader is let inside a world otherwise inaccessible to others. “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” make the audience feel like they are part of something larger, something that should be secret. Also, the theme of escape makes these series popular. Both main characters become involved with a magical plot and leave their normal homes and lives behind to embark on a great, otherworldly adventure. When adults, young or old, are having hard times in their lives, they long for an escape. Through the runaway adventurer, readers can transport themselves into the main characters’ footsteps, so in a way they are running away from their own problems while reading. These ideas of escapism are agendas set by the authors, whether consciously or not. I do not believe, however, that this use of fantasy to peel away reality is a negative thing.

Negativity, on the other hand, does breed in the publishing industry as a result of the popularity of such young adult fiction. Because of the sheer number of sales of series like “Harry Potter” and “Twilight,” a multitude of spin offs are thrown up from the bowls of the industry. Quickly written to be churned out during the height of series popularity, piggy backed novels are released like a plague. Poorly constructed and closely resembling their inspirations, such books are published just because they are similar to currently famous series.  The quality of these novels is not as important as the themes that they are built on. These fad books limit the publishing industry’s spectrum. Looking specifically for popular themes and easy to sell plotlines, other books that could be published/promoted are dropped to the dust only because they do not conform to what is currently trending. This sales bias limits the kind of novels that are published and is an unfair restriction based on money making instead of knowledge or imagination expansion. I personally have seen this affliction affect my mother, who had read the “Twilight” series and immediately bought every tacky vampire book off Wal-Mart’s shelves. Instead of filling her head with a variety of novels, she got blinded by popular young adult fiction and pigeonholed herself into mindless (and often poorly written) escapism.

The Endangered Bookstore

                The bookstore has become an endangered species. With the evolution of electronic readers and online purchasing, bookstores have begun to die off rapidly. Personally, this hurts my soul because I’m a literary nerd who grew up with her nose in a book. I always had friends, but my favorite friends were the characters I read about in novels. I remember being in the third grade and getting to enter the Schoolastic book bus for the first time. My heart was pounding as I filled onto the mobile tightly crammed with books, shelves lining every inch of wall. We got an hour to spend in that bus, and with hands flying through pages, thumbing covers, and grazing art, it was one of the most exciting hours of my life. I picked out my first adult chapter book in that bus. It was “The Hobbit,” and I still remember the way the pages smelt. 

                I’m afraid our future children will miss out on such an adventure. With the rise in electronic media and the decline in print copies, the paperback is becoming endangered. While print books are still existent and selling, they are being purchased online through sites like Amazon and not through in person retail. Future generations may never know what it is like to physically search for books, funning fingers along hundreds of spines, all the shapes, textures, and colors snuggled back to back like soldiers of the imagination. Even though printed texts may still exist and be bought in the future, the shopping process will be detached—an experience between a person and their cold, flat computer monitor (or phone screen). One will be purchasing novels by reading lines of website text, given only a glimpse of the contents through the unfeeling scan of inner pages, unable to feel the book or see it aside its kin. 

                Perhaps I’m just personally partial to the physical interaction between man and novel—but it is not just the touching of books before purchase that is lost when the bookstore perishes. The cozy, dimly lit ambiance will fade along with the shelves. No more will be the soft jazz and the thick oak tables filled with scholars and readers will disappear and the intellectual, artistic cave that is the bookstore will fade in to nonexistence. You cannot sip a cappuccino while flipping through tabletop hardbacks, haunting music floating between isles and clinging to the backs of maroon lampshades. There is no place quite like a bookstore, and that gathering of ambiance, coffee, socialization, and paper might soon be lost forever. 

                As for the printed book itself, I do not believe that paper pages will die. While they may greatly decrease in number, the printed book is a treasured item among literature lovers and paper is beloved by its fans. There will always be collectors and print will exist to some extent no matter the development of digital novels. The places to find said paper books will, however, greatly diminished, to the point where the internet may become the only source through which to find them. Here, also, the fate of libraries comes into question. Will they continue to service the public years in the future? Will they continue in the same way they do now, acquiring new books to lend out? Or will they, too, pass into the digital afterlife and become a scan-able list of electronic copies? It is possible they could evolve into a museum like species, meant only for historic purpose. Only time will tell.