Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Crime & Gangster Genre
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Representation
This is an essay analyzing LGBTQ+ representation in a TV show I watched a couple of weeks ago, which I really liked. It is called "No One Will Miss Us." It's on Amazon Prime, and I highly recommend it.
Representation in No One Will Miss Us
No One Will Miss Us is a miniseries released in 2024. It is set in the 1990s in a Mexican high school, following a group of friends who do others' homework in exchange for money. Under this premise, various issues are explored through its characters, with one focus being on the underrepresented LGBTQ+ community and its struggles, which is the subject of this essay. The 90s setting is used so the writers can employ homosexuality as a deeper plot device, as it was less accepted than it is today. This environment affects the characters' self-perception.
The two characters that the series uses to represent homosexuality are Alex and Rafa. Unlike the typical portrayal of gay men in media, these two do not follow the usual stereotypes. Rafa is open about his sexuality, while Alex is in the process of accepting his feelings. Rafa’s character is presented as alternative and unconventional. His unique clothes and accessories, such as earrings, stand out compared to the other characters’ costumes. This reflects a real-life stereotype, where LGBTQ+ individuals are often seen as more open-minded, expressing this through their style. Some aspects of his acting also portray how he is different. He has a more refined way of speaking and sophisticated body language that doesn’t fall into typical stereotypes but challenges the usual image of the Latin American man.
On the other hand, because Alex hasn’t yet accepted his sexual orientation, he doesn’t show any signs of it in his clothing or behavior. He appears to be a regular straight teenager until he sees Rafa for the first time. His body language reveals his nervousness and the development of romantic feelings, highlighted by a subtle and constant twitch of his foot, shown through a close-up. Alex’s narrative arc is accepting his sexuality despite the societal values imposed on him.
Latin American culture has always been closely tied to religious values, which heavily influence how the LGBTQ+ community is viewed. This is part of the show's selection towards representation . When rumors about Alex’s sexuality start to spread, his environment responds with bullying and rejection, trying to break him down. Alex is mentally strong and isn’t deeply affected, but it does change his mindset toward the topic. Another character who represents the LGBTQ+ community is the teacher, Ilse, who is a lesbian. She offers Alex support, someone to talk to, but Alex, influenced by his surroundings, rejects both her help and his own feelings. In the end, he is able to accept his true self after self-reflection, but Ilse’s character shows how important a supportive environment can be.
No One Will Miss Us provides excellent LGBTQ+ representation, as it portrays challenges that members of the community can relate to. It creates a realistic depiction that fulfills its purpose.
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Sound Project
Sound is an often overlooked element while consuming media, but it is extremely important and arguably the most difficult element to produce. I consume a lot of media and try to appreciate sound design, but I didn’t know much about the terms used or how to classify the different types of sounds. So, the lesson before the actual project was really useful. Through different examples in films, I understood how the different types of sound work together to create meaning. It was a good starting point for our project, which consisted of creating our own soundscape—at least one minute but no more than two minutes long. Like the previous project, this one- to two-minute story had to be something that could happen in real life within the same time frame.
To plan our project, my partner and I decided to set our story somewhere related to water. We thought water provided a lot of opportunities to create a deep soundscape with a variety of sounds. To focus on making a rich soundscape, we chose a story about a man fishing in a swamp, where we could incorporate a lot of animal and nature noises. Thinking about these elements was our main task during brainstorming because the sounds a man could make while fishing were easy to imagine. We wanted to focus more on recreating the sound of nature in a swamp. So, we wrote down different kinds of birds and bugs, which ultimately created a pretty good background sound.
Our outline was divided into six plot points, which helped us plan how to change the background sound to indicate something happening. For example, the first plot point that changed our sound design was when the man arrived in a boat. As the sound of the engine slowly increased, we added sounds of birds flying away or animals jumping into the water to show how they reacted to the engine. In the outline, we also planned a sound perspective where the background noise would go silent, allowing the audience to focus on the moment the fisherman hooks a worm. We did all of this in Adobe Premiere, where I knew how to adjust the audio volume gradually. Premiere was also useful for creating a static effect in the music, so it sounded like it was coming from a radio, which was an important element in one of our scenes.
I was really pleased with the outcome of the project. It was extremely fun to make, and I think we achieved our goals. For the next project, I’d like to try more complex techniques, but I believe I’ll have that opportunity when we mix both audio and visuals. For a sound-only project, I think there’s little to improve.
Project: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c7iBc0bR8M8-vh72FIMeF6QRMvfPYPLV/view?usp=drive_link
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