POSTER POST

I found several posters that were perfect for this assignment. Two of which display changes in pop culture, and another represents the mindset and concern of its respective era.

The first poster i chose was from Flash Gordon and The Conquerers of The Universe. This piece is indicative of the era in two ways. Firstly it represents the film genre of Space Opera. This genre, known for its grandiose plotlines and now humble special effects, was widely popular in the 1930s. Secondly it represents just how naive our nation was in the realm of space exploration at the time.

My second poster is almost directly related to my first. In 1977, Star Wars was released and almost immediately re-kindled interest in the Space Opera genre. The film also made great advancements in the realm of visual effects and was a great influence on science fiction films that would follow.

The final poster i'm featuring is from former Vice President Al Gore's acclaimed documentary on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth. This is one of the first films that brought one of our nations biggest concerns, global warming and climate change, into conversations around the nation.

Theres No Such Thing as Silence/Image Text Hunt

Quote: Theres no such thing as silence.

From: Frank Miller's Sin City: Family Values

This quote brought to mind several aspects of modern society. For obvious reasons, this quote brought to mind any bustling city in particular. It is extremely difficult to escape from the constant drone of a busy city. The quote also evoked, for me, the destruction of wildernesses around the world. Wildernesses being places where silence can be easily found. And lastly the quote reminded me of the somewhat recent advent of the personal media device. People can now take their music, movies, games, and internet almost anywhere they go. This is a major contributor to a lack of personal silence and reflection. It seems, these days, that whenever one is alone they are somehow connected to the world around them. This is achieved through laptops, phones, and i pods. It seems that we're entering a time where people won't know what to do with isolation and silence without some form of gadgetry to entertain them.

Persepolis: Icons and Ideology

Upon watching (reading) Marjane Satrapi's 'Persepolis,' it may become apparent that her use of western pop culture icons, namely rock and roll bands, is used to convey the stark contrast between ideologies of the western world and the middle east. Satrapi weaves into her narrative pop culture figures and groups like Iron Maiden, ABBA, Michael Jackson, and the Sex Pistols to show the sheer contrast in ideologies between western society and the principles of islam. These groups or individuals, to fundamentalists of the Islam faith, represent a rebellious and equally decadent lifestyle and are widely frowned upon in the film by the main character's school instructors. What gives this opposition even more emphasis is the fact that young satrapi's school instructors wear the hijab, the traditional Islamic headdress. The juxtaposition of these two symbols-the hijab and rock and roll apparel-make apparent the tension and conflict within the nation of Iran during the revolution.