Media Reflection #1

I signed up for Aice Media Studies with little to no knowledge about movies or the real depth that goes into making them. I just knew I loved to watch movies in my free time and thought it might be a fun Aice class to throw in my schedule. However, throughout the first couple weeks of taking this course, my knowledge, awareness, and understanding of media has increased significantly. I feel that I have experienced great personal progress in this course thus far, and much more is to come. 

Specifically, my relationship with media has started to change in many ways during the beginning of this course. For example, I now understand how many factors such as lighting, cutting on action, and even framing are intricately adjusted to help further convey the filmmaker’s meaning. Prior to taking this course, I was not aware of the extent to which these factors, and many more, make a difference in a film. This course has helped me open my eyes more to the blueprint of what it takes to create a successful and effective movie. 

In addition, my relationship with and consumption of media varies from time to time. Although I do posess a quite busy schedule, I do enjoy watching nostalgic Disney movies or a trending series with friends, family, or even on my own when I can. I would definitely say that I spend much more of my time browsing on social media than watching films, due to the easier access and shorter time span of videos. Although media is quite entertaining and at sometimes even informational, I do try to limit my consumption of media due to the many flaws and negative effects of its continual consumption. 

Moreover, although not many, I do have a few potential struggles with the analysis and early stages of this course. For example, at times I struggle with the concept of being able to name popular movie stars, being able to depict what some experimental films are trying to convey and being able to point out a film noir. Typically, when I watch a movie, I only know a few of the super popular stars but not all of them. If this is something I must be tested on in the future there's a good chance I might be cooked. For experimental films, especially the one we were shown in class of the letters, I had a hard time really understanding what the filmmakers were trying to convey through making it which kind of frustrated me. For film noir, I feel we mightve not talked about that type of movie much, so my memory is sort of foggy on that category. Other than that, I feel that I have had a pretty good understanding of the early stages of this course. 

To conclude, I feel that my progress in this course so far has been increasing significantly. My relationship with media has definitely changed for the better, and I’m sure it will continue to throughout the year. I’m excited to learn more about media!