Have fun driving your new Scion TC on the sun!

Well now, it has been a long strange trip now hasn't it? Those 5 weeks really flew by! Media criticism is a foul mistress. but over the past weeks I've learned to saddle her up and make her make me a sandwich.

So overall my views on media criticism haven't changed much. As a Junior I've taken several media classes so watching shows objectively is an inconvenient second nature. Seriously, the only way to enjoy a bad show now is through alcohol. But I do have a fond new appreciation for the term intertextuality. Seriously an ad for a sit-com airing in a sit-com is like homointertextuality. I didn't realize that there were so many different types of intertextuality. Before this class I thought it was just referances to other stuff. The knowledge I have obtained in this class has really broadened my views

For instance, Community is a really fucking good show!

For two, I found a pseudo-lesbian BDSM photo shoot of the two chicks from Community, and It was Awesome!

For actual two, criticizing asshole critics is way funner then criticizing nice ones.

My attitude towards media has improved a tad because I have found a new show to enjoy. Criticism I still think is a bit overzealous. I mean seriously some people get so full of themselves acting like they know something. I know some critics have been in the industry but most seem to be as bad as me and just act like we know what we're talking about.

A lot of journalists consider bloggers to be the lowest form of journalism, if journalism at all. Critics are a little bit better, but not much. In essence, my experience blogging has proved this point to me. A small factual basis and a fuck ton of opinions with a lack of regulation, Like a Boss!

Third I learned that Blogging is fun!

...and really fucking easy.

That's just like your opinion man!

Well then we're getting into crunch time so its time for a bit of ehmm Intertextuality.

Intertextuality in lay mans...laymens....leighmans.... simple form is references to other works.

My three examples are as follows.

Domain one, Quotes and such.

In my experience this is one of the best ways to get to know if your taste matches up with someone else's. For instance if I am in a "Get to know you" experience like they have in classes, I'll make some references to my favorite movies, and whomever laughs I will typically end up being friends with. So the teacher says "Introduce yourself and tell everyone what you do for recreation." So I say, I'm Matt and Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback" At this point most of the class sigh and goes yeah bet you've done a lot of acid, weirdo. While a select few laugh at the obvious Big Lebowski reference. Those are my friends.

Domain 5, Parody- I think.

This is all about Weird Al. I love Wierd Al and what he's done for comedy music entertainment. I know a ton of his songs by heart, and depending on my level of drunk at karaoke night, you may hear "The Saga Begins" Instead of "American Pie." Or "Fat" instead of "Bad." Wierd Al Dominates this field because almost everyone that matters is cool with him. For instance, Wierd Al recently covered Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" with his rendition "Perform This Way." He, as he always has done, sent his idea to Gaga only to get a letter back saying, we'd like to hear it, a bit miffed Al sent the lyrics, "No, We want to hear it!" So Al spent the money and recorded it and sent it to Gaga's camp only to have it shot down. A few weeks later, it turns out Gaga's manager shot it down and she loved it and told him whats what. Now we have Alpocalypse!

Domain 3, Oh its a Sitcom!

Domain 3 from what I could tell covers distinctive conventions that define genre. How can I tell that "Everybody loves Raymond" is similar to "Two and a Half Men"? The typical sitcom laugh track, and the musical playoff into commercial. There are many conventions that define genre for audiences. Like in CSI and Law and Order, they use the same style cuts and love to open in the opening credits with a pun.... YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In fact many of these even overlap with Domain 1. I know when someone I know says a dumb pun I almost have to scream YEAH!!!!!!

The Rise and Fall of Charlie Stardust and the Goddesses from Mars.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the subject of this week’s Taco or Bust is Charlie Sheen!

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Then he created two and a half men and scores of floozies for Charlie sheen to nail. This is a longshh…. Err well never mind it’s not that far off. But the original image of Charlie Sheen sure is. In Sheens career he started out as a generic action movie other guy. You know, he had a gun, no sleeves and a handful of lines. He progressed up into co-starring roles and did Major League, despite being a Reds fan. He also voice acted a talking dog which is pretty boss, and of course no one can forget his role in Wall street, simple brilliant! Then he settled into his own sitcom and bit roles in crappy comedy movies.

What’s the best part about all of this? He did most of it while doing a bejesus (technical term) load of Cocaine! The public image of Charlie Sheen was that of an actor, but for years he struggled with drug addiction. The man OD’d in ’98 and never really slowed down. Now he’s touring the country in a lovely train wreak we call Winning.

The rise of the Sheen was a simple traditional one. Similar to Schwarzenegger he was an action star who worked his way up. He typically played a protagonist and was loved by fans worldwide. His role in Wall Street was memorable and one of his finest and it really put him on the map. In the ‘90’s he started doing B action movies and kid’s movies. Then in ’98 the drugs kicked in and he went to the one thing you can always do, especially when high, comedies. He was in Scary Movie 3 and 4, and we all know they sucked after 1 and 2. Two and a Half Men though, it’s actually a decent show. Seriously have a couple drinks and watch it. I mean it has been up for golden globes.

The decline of Charlie Sheen really kicked off in 2009. We all know about his Christmas assault on his wife that ended up in court. He ended up in rehab, on probation and on the verge of the greatest train wreak since Brittany Spears! In early 2011, Sheen began mocking people in interviews and saying all manner of retarded shit. “Come at me Bro!” ”Winning!” “I’m and F-18 Bro!” “I’m tired of pretending I’m not a total, bitchin’ rock star from Mars.” ßMy Favorite, It’s a David Bowie reference. ^_^ Those quotes are available on t-shirts and are featured on http://livethesheendream.com amongst others; many, many others.

Sheen then went on a, what I believe to be, drug fueled tour of the US. He started in Detroit and got booed off stage. After weeks in the limelight for going completely bat shit insane, Sheen finally completely fell into reclusion. I believe he’s still touring, but he hasn’t been in the news lately.

The thing that really fueled the Sheen craze was twitter. @charliesheen had the fastest growing following of any twitter account, ever. He used this to launch his insane platform. March 1^st, Charlie first tweeted a pic of him and one of his Goddesses, and he was off.

In my opinion, Charlie Sheen probably would still be a celebrity if there weren’t social media sites and the internet. Twitter was really the catalyst for his devolution into a social pariah and meme. If it was 1989 Sheen would still be huge. Cable news wasn’t keeping us informed 24/7, Network TV was it for most of America, and I believe people still used something called a landline telephone to talk, whatever that is. So needless today, Sheen wouldn’t have driven himself into oblivion. I don’t always rant about celebrities, but when I do, they deserve it. Also I use internet memes.

It’s a satire…

Critical analysis of a critical analysis

I read three reviews of Community including one for the season finale I watched. I myself had my first experience with the show through this class. I feel that my opinions meshed up pretty well with that of the critics. The most stand out review I read on TV Fanatic.com talked about the changing motifs, I loved this because well, I love star wars! I also love what they did with pierce. I feel like the character arc there would be a lot more meaningful if I watched more of the series though.

This is a type of show I like because you can watch one episode and enjoy it, but you can enjoy it so much more if you watch the series. I feel that this model of show is the best model for this generation. Many people have hectic schedules and are unable to commit to a show for more then a few episodes. This show model makes it accessible to everyone but more meaningful to those who can commit.

The reviews of 30 rock I found were a bit less organized then the ones I found for Community. I didn't particularly agree with the ones I found though. Many of them were a bit more critical and hard on the show then the ones I found for Community, this could explain the lack of enthusiasm towards formatting.

The first time I saw 30 Rock was on an airplane, this quickly made me skeptical but was even more quickly dismissed by how much I enjoyed it. I do have a big ole' celeb crush on Tina Fey though, so that kinda helped.

With both shows, before and after review reading, I would definitely start watching them. The reviews made it sound like i didn't watch the three good episodes of the bunch and the show is definitely worth watching.

Make way, I'm Reaganing!

Well, First off those shows are goddamn hilarious! Second, Chevy Chase still has work?!

Production wise, I can definitely tell that community takes a lot more artistic liberties then 30 rock. 30 rock uses more conventional story telling devices such as the cutaway. Community takes on that and adds a bit more in the digital effects department.

The episodes I watched were fantastically told. The Community paintball episodes were insane! The cast works tremendously together. I can really sense the chemistry between the cast members. In 30 rock the characters come off far to much as designated stereotypes beyond believably. In community they seem far more normal as far as character archetypes go. Perhaps they are more believable and normal because I can see my friends in them. A college student is what I am and a college student is what I can easily identify. Although this does place me in a better position to cast scrutiny because I know the roles better, but I'll let it slide.

As for intertextuality, I see a lot of references to the world in 30 rock. Notably a reference to Albert Pujols, the first basemen for the St. Louis Cardinals. Let me go on the record as a Reds fan and say FUCK ALBERT PUJOLS!!! That aside, I did appreciate an MLB references, they are very few and far between, well outside of Archer anyway, Johnny Bench called. They also referenced other parts of the show in the form of a flash back sequence of what I can assume are older episodes but a definite part of it was from earlier in the episode.

Community, I didn't notice it as much, I did appreciate the Star Wars reference though. A Muslim Han Solo, who would have thought. I wonder if they have done this in past episodes but I think if they made Chevy Chase make references to his movies and everyone look at him like hes stupid it would be funny as hell.

Random, A list celebrity usage. I started up 30 Rock and the first thing I noticed was Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, and Tracy Morgan. Started up Community, Chevy Chase! And Guest stars on 30 rock, Oprah, Steve Martin, Will Arnet! Community had LaVar Burton, Drew Carey, Jack Black, and Own Wilson! I mean the only time I've seen this many Celeb's in one place that is not an award show is probably the "Fight for your right revisited" Beastie Boys video.

Media Critic Breakdown

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw

Makes his reviews in the form of flash videos with a sped up audio track in his delightful British accent. Typically reviews are on the harsh side doing a great job of pointing out flaws in games. I like how blunt he is. Its nice to read something that's not sugar coated every once in awhile.

Dan Ryckert

Does great reviews both online and in the magazine Game Informer.

There are no links to his reviews. but if you look through the reviews, you'll find them. He's very optimistic and knows his audience. He points out the most notable features good and bad and gives you a good enough idea of what the game is so that you can make an educated buying decision.

Bullseye2

An editor at IGN. Also the resident Nintendo first party reviewer at IGN. Check out his Legend of Zelda 3DS review. He definitely covers exactly what the expectant fans are wanting to hear. His review of Legend of Zelda 3d was a very much anticipated game review. Everyone loved the original and wanted to make sure the proper improvements were made, and they were.

A Blank Slate

From the articles, I suppose the only thing I got from it was a brief synopsis of the history of media critics. Pretty much it went from a critique of the show from an unbiased(preferably) source, to an educated fan talking about the show. To me this is like watching re-runs of a series with a friend who loves the show. It's gone from a more objective analysis to a subjective one. This is a key flaw in the system in my opinion as it doesn't give the outsider a perspective they couldn't get from a friend.

The links I clicked on were just examples of the mentioned critics blogs. I just got a better understanding of what the material was referring to. Which is what I wanted to get out of them.